[Manic Monday] Thank You Aquarius Mahakam

This morning I stopped by Aquarius Mahakam. The fence to the parking area was still partly closed with only one car parked, because they will only be open at 10. A security guard was sweeping the parking area from dry leaves and litter. I asked him: “Sir, I hear the store’s closing?” He turned, gave be a slight, bitter smile and answered “Yes, so they say.” “Until when will it be open?” “End of the month,” he answered. I moved on as I had to rush to the office.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] Thank You Aquarius Mahakam

[Manic Monday] Reaching For ‘Magic’

Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, once said that ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic‘. Even today, the technology we hold in our hands, the cellular phone, is nothing short of magical if we are unfamiliar with its inner workings. A flat box that can be used to talk to people in other towns, and can be used to read about any information we desire, just by asking.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] Reaching For ‘Magic’

[Manic Monday] Picking The Copyright Lock

I spent all night yesterday to try to jailbreak an iPhone 4, given to me by my brother who lives in Japan since he has replaced it with a newer iPhone. It’s not the first time that I received a hand-me-down phone from my brother; several years ago I got an iPhone 3G which I successfully jailbreaked so I could use it with another operator SIM card. All phones in Japan are locked to the telco that sells it, so a jailbreak is necessary. Since I have jailbroken before, I thought, how hard could it be, right?
Continue reading [Manic Monday] Picking The Copyright Lock

[Manic Monday] Studying The Technology Tacticts Behind 3D Movies

During the past few years, 3D movies have experienced a resurgence all over the world; almost all action blockbuster movies have a 3D version for the audience. The price of 3D movie tickets varies depending on country, but is generally more expensive than traditional 2D movies. In spite of this price difference, interest in watching 3D movies, especially in urban areas, is quite high, at least if seen from the amount of people willing to buy tickets for the costly IMAX 3D.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] Studying The Technology Tacticts Behind 3D Movies

[Manic Monday] Supporting Songwriters and Music Publishers With Technology

One of the most important – and often not known by the public – parts of the music industry are the songwriters and the music publishers. Artistes and musicians often appear at big concerts and TV, when in fact the songs they sing may not be their creation. Of course, there are many artistes and musicians who write their own songs, but there are also many who write songs for others, focusing on writing songs and not becoming an entertainer. There are also others, say, like a member of a band, who also write songs for other artists.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] Supporting Songwriters and Music Publishers With Technology

[Manic Monday] The Technology Behind Running Competitions

Lately, Indonesia has been hit by running fever. Running, as a sport, could be said to be the ‘new cool thing’ to follow, although quite many already love the sport. Of course, this trend has a much better impact to society compared to, say, trends of eating at fast food restaurants or hanging out at 24-hour convenience stores, as this trend advocates living healthy.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] The Technology Behind Running Competitions

[Manic Monday] The Importance Of Entertainment Infrastructure

Today, we as entertainment consumers have a multitude of choice. We still can enjoy entertainment channels handed down from the 20th century: TV, radio and print media – the variety of these three types of media is increasing, fulfilling the ever-widening preferences and needs of society for entertainment and information. With the growth of digital media like the internet, the variety of content or entertainment technologies has also increased. In a period of around 10 years, the cellular phone has evolved from a simple communication device into one of the main entertainment devices, to the point that the technology advancement of cellular phones is outpacing the PC industry. Any kind of entertainment is only a few clicks away, through browsers or applications.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] The Importance Of Entertainment Infrastructure

[Manic Monday] Taking Exhibitions Into The 21st Century

In Indonesia, especially Jakarta, as the country’s largest trade center, each week there are exhibitions and trade shows of varying sizes held at places ranging from mall atriums to hotel ballrooms and all the way to proper exhibition buildings hosting thousands of visitors per day. These exhibitions cover a variety of industries, from education, real estate, electronics, to the currently-running car exhibition at JIExpo. These exhibitions basically fulfill a need from those industries to display and sell their products or services; but as with most open for public events, exhibitions have become an entertainment source of its own.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] Taking Exhibitions Into The 21st Century

[Manic Monday] What You Can Learn From Krayola

This time I want to tell you a little bit about myself – more specifically my experiences several years ago, as part of a band called Krayola. Krayola is a band that actually has been around for a while in Jakarta’s music scene, and once often played at various high school events. Because all of its members had jobs, the development of the band itself was somewhat slow – a quite standard tale in Indonesia’s music industry.

Continue reading [Manic Monday] What You Can Learn From Krayola

[Manic Monday] Music Discovery And Curation

Last Friday, I came (a bit late) to a discussion forum and get-together held by Seven Music, attended by people from many walks of life, among them artist management, bands that are just starting out, to bands who have signed on to Seven Music. I was introduced to a few of the attendees, among them a band called Tokyolite, who just finished their home recording EP, and were offering their CD for sale. It turns out that they have already had a chance to play on a TV show in Japan, after being discovered by the TV show’s producers through their YouTube videos. Tokyolite is naturally still at the start of their career, and if they are smart, they can take advantage of these opportunities to further their music careers.
Continue reading [Manic Monday] Music Discovery And Curation