A most dangerous computer virus to strick on 1st of April

No, its not an April fools day build-up but a real big threat to thousands of computers around the globe.

A new sleeper virus that could allow hackers to steal financial and personal information has now spread to more than eight million computers already. Its said to be one of the most serious security threat that time has ever seen. Its Known as the 'Conficker/Downadup'.

It's so bad, Microsoft has a running $250,000 bounty for the author, dead or alive. An extraordinary behind-the-scenes struggle is taking place between computer security groups around the world and the brazen author of a malicious software program

What exactly is it and What does it do ?
Conficker, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, is a computer worm that surfaced in October 2008 and targets the Microsoft Windows operating system. Upon infection, the worm saves a copy of its DLL form to a random file name in the Windows system folder, then arranges to load thereafter itself at boot as a system service with a randomly-generated name.

The worm launches a brute force dictionary attack against stored administrator account passwords to help it spread through admins' shares.

How can I prevent it infecting my machine ?
The best way is to get the patch and install it company-wide. The second way is password security. Use long, difficult passwords -- particularly for administrators who cannot afford to be locked out of the machines they will have to fix.

If you are on a network or have a full-time connection to the Internet, such as a DSL or cable modem, disconnect the computer from the network and Internet. Disable or password-protect file sharing, or set the shared files to Read Only, before reconnecting the computers to the network or to the Internet. Because this worm spreads by using shared folders on networked computers.

Reference Links:
Protect yourself from the Conficker computer worm

Detailed Analysis of Conficker

W32.Downadup Removal Tool

Hyundai to release more watch phones

Hyundai is all set to bring a watch phone to the UK market for around £200 Sim free. The MB-910 is a touchscreen mobile phone condensed into a watch, with GPRS connectivity on the 132 x 176 pixel screen.

The Hyundai MB-910 includes talk-time of up to 3 hours and 70 hours on standby, users can use the bundled headset, or talk directly into the watch itself for that secret service look.

The Alternative from Hyundai:

Hyundai's W-100 being the recent to be launched. Hyundai's W-100 sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 176 x 144 resolution touchscreen, Bluetooth, support for English / Chinese languages, an integrated MP3 player and a microSD slot for loading up your tunes.

World GDP - PIB Mondial

The Macro-economics of Mobile banking

It is well-documented that the introduction of the mobile phone created extensive shifts in the make-up of the macro-economic spending profiles. For instance in markets where mobile phones took off, beer sales and even clothes sales went down. This means that people actually diverted money from drinking to pay for communications.

If we assume that mobile banking initiatives will ultimately lead to huge financial success, we should be able to identify those sectors that would "loose-out" and which less money will be spent on. In other words, from which sector will money be reverted to pay for mobile banking? I would like to venture the following:
  • Businesses that work with cash (printers of cash, cash distributors, etc.)
  • Transport companies as people would not have to make trips that they otherwise would have had to do
  • Expenses related to distribution (distribution of airtime, postal services etc.)
  • Money remittance companies with big margins
  • Banks (when they charge big fees)
It may be worthwhile to give this more thought, as this would be an indication what industry players may be apposed to mobile banking.

Apple iPhone caused the recession

I just had a good chat with my friend Falk and we agreed (after an intense discussion), that the Apple iPhone caused the recession. The user-interface of the iPhone is brilliant for music and other multi-media. Anyone that has one will agree on that, but it is impossible to read and (especially) write e-mails on this interface.

With the growing adoption of the iPhone more and more people reverted to responding to e-mails haphazardly and this led to the downturn in the economy.

...not all of my postings should be serious.

Some comments on the Obopay deal

So the Obopay, Nokia deal was announced this week and everybody with an interest in this space saw it. Nothing has been as big since the Firethorn deal. (see my blog about this). I have also written a blog some time ago comparing the differences between Firethorn and Obopay (see here), and have also highlighted the fact that Qualcomm now have shareholding in both.

This is all history now as Nokia has now emerged as a key player in the space, with a sizable shareholding in Obopay (we think) and a senior Nokia executive now on the board of Obopay. While we all applaud the deal as it raises the visibility of mobile banking (and set a new benchmark for valuations also...), a number of questions must be asked about the transaction?

1. On what basis was the valuation done? One needs to ask this question as it is probable that Obopay was valued in access of $200 million. Seeing that Obopay does not have much of a revenue history it is unlikely that the basis for the valuation was profitability.

2. What is it that Nokia would would want to do with this investment? I have difficulty reconciling this with their handset strategy. Whereas the Navtech deal made a lot of sense, controlling a niche financial services company will not do much. The last thing that clients want is a financial product that only works on one handset.

3. The dynamics of Obopay relative to banks with a telecommunications company as a major shareholder would become interesting. At the same time, mobile operators (while hugely dependant on handset makers) are not the best strategic friends of these companies. Does this mean that Obopay will now "go-it-alone"?

4. Last question: What does Obopay want to do in Africa? And maybe this is the key question and the reason for Nokia investing.

Great to ask these questions. Would be nice if we could also know the answers.

Why did China Ban Youtube ?

In most of China, YouTube has suddenly become inaccessible from 23rd March. Google has confirmed that YouTube once again is down in China, apparently a victim of Chinese censorship. China has a history of blocking websites which carry messages it views as politically unacceptable.

Some speculate that Chinese officials could be upset about footage of Chinese soldiers beating Tibetans appearing on the YouTube site.

Another possible reason for the blockade is the US Navy's recent release of videos depicting five Chinese ships apparently trying to snag a Sonar array cable trailing behind the USNS Impeccable, which appeared on YouTube.

China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) indicate that approximately 253 million people across China have access to the Internet re-enfourcing its internet supremacy.

The Chinese government in January began a crackdown of what the government calls “vulgar” websites. Under the crackdown, 91 sites were blocked in just three days. China warned Google and Chinese search engine Baidu that they needed to do more to censor “inappropriate content.”

Whats your take on this censorship statergy of China? do post in your views and thoughts below.

Tips: Here are some easy hacks to access YouTube from China.

A day in the history

I stumbled on an old document on my hard drive that I wrote in 2001. It was named "Fundamo competitors". I found it interesting to see who I rated as the players then and to think what became ofthem. Below is a list of companies that I viewed as competitors in 2002:
  • Arctic Website Hosting - I think they were acquired by some-one, but am not sure what
    happened to them
  • Macalla - Neill and his partners are still going strong
  • Mobile Magic from Finland - I don't know what happened to them
  • Brokat - remember the big collapse, then the Ecorus story and then the purchase of the assets by First Data?
  • Siemens - I think Siemens was re-selling Brokat solutions then (They also had a small stake in Brokat if I remember correctly)
  • Cellpay - This is the Israel-based company, also known as Adamtech. They closed down.
  • Trivnet - Still around. I think they are now doing well after some difficult years.
  • Digital Rum - Diversified and now selling different products
  • ACI - I am not sure if they ever were very active in the space, but I viewed them as competitor in 2001.
  • Elata - Company based in England. I am not sure what happened to them
  • Sicap - One of the first solutions based on USSD technology. I am also not sure what happened here
  • Vallista - What happened to Vallista? I have not heard from them for some time now.
It would be interesting to learn more about the people that created these pioneering companies and what they do now.

How to retrive deleted emails from Outlook

Did you system recently crashed? Did you lost data including your important emails from Outlook, or did you happen to accidentally delete any emails from Outlook.

Well now there are softwares to retrive those deleted emails form Outlook, but often the best email recovery program are commercial and require purchase license to use. Here we bring you a freeware that could come handly at the time of crisis.

Derescue Mail-Cure is free email recovery software can recover EMail from a damaged dbx file or deleted email dbx file or drive. The mail fragment can be saved as EML file. Mail-Cure supports Outlook Express and Foxmail format. Even if the file name is lost by deleted or formatted,

Mail-Cure freeware can scan the lost EMail from hard disk drive.

Download it for free from here.

Just how big is the U.S. Bailout Plan? a $2.5 trillion dollar plan..

The White House plan to rescue the nation's financial system through bailouts, the US administration officials are committed to flood the financial system with as much as $2.5 trillion US dollars...

With terms like "billions" and "trillions" tossed around very frequent nowadays, it seems Billion is the new million, and trillion is the new billion. But how big is this ONE TRILLION... you would be amazed to know the below facts..

But first list try to visualise how One trillion dollars looks like... check out the below video.


And now the facts. Did you know One TRILLION DOLLARS...

.. can pay for all the goods and services produced in Australia in one year.
.. can fund the military of every NATO country combined.
.. can pay the rent for every renter in the US for 3 years.
.. is enough to run the US federal government for 103 days

they say if you start spending a million dollars every single day since Jesus was born, you still won’t have spend a trillion dollars.

1 million seconds is about 11.5 days, 1 billion seconds is about 32 years while a trillion seconds is equal to 32,000 years

Quite a loooooooooooot of money... to turn around the Global Recession ?? do post your comments below..

The World Wide Web turns 20 years

On March 13 of 1989 a software consultant named Tim Berners-Lee proposed a solution based on a distributed hypertext system (a global hypertext system) which eventually gave birth to the World Wide Web.

Tim Berners-Lee working at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research handed a document to his supervisor Mike Sendall entitled "Information Management : a Proposal". "Vague, but exciting" is how Mike described it, and he gave Tim the nod to take his proposal forward.

A mere two decades after its inception, the Web has revolutionized almost every aspect of our lives, from business to healthcare to relationships.

Happy Birthday to the World Wide Web - and sincere thanks and respect to Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

Heres a small documentary video on the topic.. enjoy!!

Consumer Cellular Launches Cell Phone Plans for Seniors

Here's a new set of cell phone plans for seniors. Consumer Cellular recently sent out a press release heralding the company's basic data and messaging plans for seniors. A quick glance at at the Consumer Cellular press release indicate that these services are among the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors.

According to Phonescoop, Consumer Cellular is a company that targets the senior population and does not require contracts for its services. The company offers simple, affordable cell phones and calling plans that are ideal for elderly users. Let's go into the details of these new Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors.

The official press release explains that Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors are ideal for limited cell phone users because they are offered on a pay-per-use basis. The new Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors enable users to do a lot of things like send picture messages, check news from their phones or download ringtones, wallpaper images, screen savers and games.

Why do I feel that these service are one of the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors? Well look at the rates for the Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors. Sending or receiving messages cost 10 cents and affordable bundles are also available.

Here's some of the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors or bundles offered by Consumer Cellular:
  • Consumer Cellular 100 Pack: $2.50 After 100 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.
  • Consumer Cellular 200 Pack: $5.00 After 200 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.
  • Consumer Cellular 500 Pack: $10.00 After 500 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.
  • Consumer Cellular 1000 Pack: $20.00 After 1000 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.

Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors also offer the Wireless Web feature which includes up to 1MB for $5, 5MB for $10, and 10MB for $20.

Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors are only products ideal for elderly users. The company also offer basic phones together with some of the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors. You can check out basic plans and cheapest cell phone plans for seniors at the Consumer Cellular website.

Consumer Cellular Launches Cell Phone Plans for Seniors

Here's a new set of cell phone plans for seniors. Consumer Cellular recently sent out a press release heralding the company's basic data and messaging plans for seniors. A quick glance at at the Consumer Cellular press release indicate that these services are among the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors.

According to Phonescoop, Consumer Cellular is a company that targets the senior population and does not require contracts for its services. The company offers simple, affordable cell phones and calling plans that are ideal for elderly users. Let's go into the details of these new Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors.

The official press release explains that Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors are ideal for limited cell phone users because they are offered on a pay-per-use basis. The new Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors enable users to do a lot of things like send picture messages, check news from their phones or download ringtones, wallpaper images, screen savers and games.

Why do I feel that these service are one of the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors? Well look at the rates for the Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors. Sending or receiving messages cost 10 cents and affordable bundles are also available.

Here's some of the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors or bundles offered by Consumer Cellular:
  • Consumer Cellular 100 Pack: $2.50 After 100 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.
  • Consumer Cellular 200 Pack: $5.00 After 200 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.
  • Consumer Cellular 500 Pack: $10.00 After 500 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.
  • Consumer Cellular 1000 Pack: $20.00 After 1000 messages, additional messages are 10 cents each.

Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors also offer the Wireless Web feature which includes up to 1MB for $5, 5MB for $10, and 10MB for $20.

Consumer Cellular cell phone plans for seniors are only products ideal for elderly users. The company also offer basic phones together with some of the cheapest cell phone plans for seniors. You can check out basic plans and cheapest cell phone plans for seniors at the Consumer Cellular website.

Mobile Commerce: Pakistan

I recently attended mCommerce Pakistan held at the Marriot in Karachi on the 11 March. The event was organised well with a big audience and a lot of interest in the presentations. It was clear that the initiatives taken by the Central Bank to define the deployment of branchless banking have an impact in stimulating mobile banking initaitives.

Although the title of the conference indicated a much wider topic (mobile commerce - which typical should include advertising, LBS, mobile TV and entertainment and much more - see my recent blog), almost all the discussion and presentations focussed on mobile banking. This was of course very satisfying as I believe that mobile banking is fundamentally at the heart of mobile commerce.

The other factor that was very interesting for me, was the number of banks that were represented at the event. One usually see mobile operators and players in the telecommunication industry attend mobile Commerce events. Atthis conference many of the attendees (but also speakers) were from banks.

Defeating poverty

So why am I so passionate about mobile banking? I find the technology fascinating and the complexity of helping to set up a working eco-system will aways enthral me. Yet, I honestly believe that we can help to ultimately defeat poverty by means of mobile banking. And this is what really excites me.

What is it that mobile phones bring that can make this dream possible? It is immediate feedback. Mobile phones in the hand of a consumer is the only way that the system can give immediate feedback to some-one spending money. It is my opinion that a lack of financial skills (how to budget, how to control spending and how to save) sits at the heart of the poverty problem that we have on here on earth where we live. If we are not able to teach people these skills, we will always sit with the problem of poverty

By utilising the ubiquity of mobile phones it is possible to develop education mechanisms with immediate feedback that could teach people basic financial skills. In this way it may be conceivably possible that we ultimately defeat poverty.

Mobile banking is business in the US

In a recent report published by Synergistics some startling findings about the take-up of mobile banking for Small Businesses are made. (Read more here). While the size of the sample and the research methodology can probably have an impact in the interpretation of the results, this is a massive endorsement for mobile banking.

According to this research, large percentages of the sample reportedly use mobile devices for financial transactions. As much as two thirds doing some kind of banking transaction, whereas about 40% have reportedly used their device to do a money transfer transaction. (40%!!). If this is just partially true, this is a major revolution. I still remember people talking about the potential of mobile banking for small businesses in the US just one year ago.

Granted, some of the transactions are e-mail based. (This is what you get in a Blackberry dominated society). Something to blog about in future maybe: Can an e-mail channel on a Blackberry be utilised for mobile banking?

Mobile banking South America

I was recently challenged to write something about mobile banking in South America. It is impossible for me to keep up to date with all the initiatives globally (I sometimes have difficulty to keep track of all the mobile banking initiatives that we are busy with in Fundamo - this is now getting close to fifty!)

However, I have known about Yellow Pepper and their successes in South America for some time and I believe that they have earned the right to be mentioned on my blog. Serge and his team have carved a specific niche for their services in a number of South American countries (Equador, Gautemala, Panama, Columbia, Peru and Bolivia). Since the company was founded in 2004, they have successfully deployed solutions to predominatly banks. Their success model is built on delivering defined products quickly and to take away the complexity from their customers.

It is companies like Yellow Pepper (and many more in other countries too), that will create a mobile banking enabled world.

LUUP in a loop?

The LUUP public relations function has been quite busy during the last few days. We have been exposed to two very powerful (and somewhat conflicting) messages within days from each other:


  • The first message started hitting the media during the early part of this week (read here). "LUUP is dumping customers" one heading read. We were all interested (and shocked) that LUUP has closed their operations in the UK, Germany and Norway and not gradually or in a calm way. No, the message was something like: You have a month to move your money. After that no more LUUP service.
  • The the second message with a very positive spin: Deutche Bank is embarking on a massive project and have selected LUUP as their partner to do this. Congratulations! Phew, for a moment there we thought that LUUP was in difficulty.
Then I started wondering: why, if you have just closed this big deal with such a major bank, why then immediately (with obvious urgency) close down your own operations? And if you have to do that, why not wait a month or two before starting to do this? What could the reason be for this urgency? Did Deutche Bank demand this as part of the deal? Does LUUP have limited resources and must now get everyone to focus on the German opportunity? Or was this just bad PR planning? Why is it that Deutche Bank did not do this selection on a RFP basis? Did they consider other solution providers?

Or as one blogging site commented: ("LUUP no longer needs their customers"). We will probably never know.

Skiing with Maemo Mapper and Google Earth

Last weekend, we were skiing for three days, and I took the N810 with me to do some GPS tracking. Back home, I wanted to visualize the route that we took, so I saved the track as .gpx file in Maemo Mapper, copied it over to my laptop and loaded it into Google Earth:

The result is quite impressive. Although there are some tracks missing, one can get the idea which slope we were going down most often. Sadly, Google Earth's satellite maps for this specific area do not show any snow, so the pictures look a bit weird. A nice use case for the tablets - thanks to Maemo Mapper!

gPodder 0.15.0 now in Maemo Extras

The latest release of gPodder, a podcast downloader for Maemo has been released today, and packages for it are already available in Maemo Extras for Chinook, Diablo and Fremantle Alpha (..but there is no Extras-Promoter for Fremantle yet?).

Highlights of this release:

  • Download resuming between sessions
  • Finger-friendly lists using libmokoui2
  • Friendly folder and file names for downloaded files
  • Finger gestures for the episode list

The finger gestures are very nice and can be used to show episode details or play back episodes. Enable the configuration option maemo_enable_gestures and then swipe left to display shownotes or swipe right over an episode to listen to it.

Get it from Maemo Extras.

Now share you likes with your friends... literally

If you like it then share it... a new online startup that allows you to find things you like and share them with your friends. In other words it lets you share personal recommendations about virtually anything with the world.

This recently launched start-up Likaholix is actually developed by two wonderful Google employees, Bindu Reddy and Arvind Sundararajan. Previously, Bindu was a Group Product Manager at Google whereas fellow colleague, Arvind was a Senior Staff Engineer at Google.

The interface of Likaholix is simple and clean. You simply search for what you might like and click the Like button once you’ve found it. You also have the option to add a note telling why you liked something. It automatically crawls the net to find movies, music, books and other things that you may find interesting.

Likaholix is also useful as a place to find recommendations. You can easily tell what your friends like, which provides you with a trusted recommendation and possibly an entire discussion thread detailing why people like something. The next time you’re looking for feedback on a major purchase or you can’t figure out which brand of laptop you should buy, you might appreciate having access to a database full of stuff that people you like…like.

Try it now... Sign up

Cell Phones with GPS for Elderly Users

Earlier this year, I made a post about the Wherifone GPS Locator cell phone. This handset is a cell phone with GPS for elderly users. These devices are very useful because they can remotely track the position of a loved one in real-time via the web or by placing a phone call. Cell phones with GPS for elderly users are especially valuable for seniors who suffer from Alzheimer’s because they tend to wander off.

I thought that it would be a good idea to provide a short list of cell phones with GPS for elderly users. These handsets are simple and ideal for seniors and they also offer GPS for track the position of a senior citizen.

1.) Wherifone GPS Locator phone

Of course, I need to mention the Wherifone GPS Locator handset because it inspired me to create this list of cell phones with GPS for elderly users. But since I've already blogged about this cell phone for seniors then I won't discuss it extensively. This is one of the first cell phones with GPS for elderly users. You can read about the Wherifone by this link: Wherifone GPS Locator mobile phone


2. G-Trac Phone

This member of the cell phones with GPS for elderly users category offers a lightweight, durable and sleek design. The G-Trac Phone is simple making it ideal for senior citizens. This handset provides constant communications with the help of GPSanywhere! servers to ensure that users will have the access and power to locate the device from anywhere.


3.) G-MobilePhone

The G-MobilePhone is another notable phone that can be placed among the top cell phones with GPS for elderly users. This portable device allows users to call for help with a single the push of a button.

The G-MobilePhone combines global positioning satellites (GPS), cellular phone communication and the Internet to transmit its exact location in seconds. This cell phones with GPS for elderly users also provide other useful features like 2 speed dial buttons that can call up to 2 predetermined numbers and the Geofence or “safety zone” feature.


4.) SafeGuardian GPS phone

This basic cell phones with GPS for elderly users provides a single button that can connect a user to a personal assist who will notify and send any necessary assistance to the callers location. The SafeGuardian GPS phone is also equipped with a handsfree speakerphone and a 95dB siren that can ward off any potential intruders.

However, this cell phones with GPS for elderly users is strictly an emergency phone because it does not accept incoming calls. Users have to contact a dedicated call center to connect them to other individuals for non-emergency purposes.


5) Gemtek Tracking phone

The Gemtek Tracking handset is one of the smallest devices among the cell phones with GPS for elderly users. This handset combines GPS (global positioning system), GPRS (general packet radio service) , SMS (short message service), GSM (global system for mobile communications) and to provide a complete solution.

This very compact cell phones with GPS for elderly users also provides an dedicated “SOS” button that will send an alert notification to multiple contacts in the event of an emergency. The Gemtek Tracking phone also offers 24-hour access to the Gemtek online interface, mapping software and tools.


That's it for this list of cell phones with GPS for elderly users. There may be other cell phones with GPS for elderly users that are not included in this list and you can surf the web to find them. I hope this list can help you find a good mobile phone for senior.

Cell Phones with GPS for Elderly Users

Earlier this year, I made a post about the Wherifone GPS Locator cell phone. This handset is a cell phone with GPS for elderly users. These devices are very useful because they can remotely track the position of a loved one in real-time via the web or by placing a phone call. Cell phones with GPS for elderly users are especially valuable for seniors who suffer from Alzheimer’s because they tend to wander off.

I thought that it would be a good idea to provide a short list of cell phones with GPS for elderly users. These handsets are simple and ideal for seniors and they also offer GPS for track the position of a senior citizen.

1.) Wherifone GPS Locator phone

Of course, I need to mention the Wherifone GPS Locator handset because it inspired me to create this list of cell phones with GPS for elderly users. But since I've already blogged about this cell phone for seniors then I won't discuss it extensively. This is one of the first cell phones with GPS for elderly users. You can read about the Wherifone by this link: Wherifone GPS Locator mobile phone


2. G-Trac Phone

This member of the cell phones with GPS for elderly users category offers a lightweight, durable and sleek design. The G-Trac Phone is simple making it ideal for senior citizens. This handset provides constant communications with the help of GPSanywhere! servers to ensure that users will have the access and power to locate the device from anywhere.


3.) G-MobilePhone

The G-MobilePhone is another notable phone that can be placed among the top cell phones with GPS for elderly users. This portable device allows users to call for help with a single the push of a button.

The G-MobilePhone combines global positioning satellites (GPS), cellular phone communication and the Internet to transmit its exact location in seconds. This cell phones with GPS for elderly users also provide other useful features like 2 speed dial buttons that can call up to 2 predetermined numbers and the Geofence or “safety zone” feature.


4.) SafeGuardian GPS phone

This basic cell phones with GPS for elderly users provides a single button that can connect a user to a personal assist who will notify and send any necessary assistance to the callers location. The SafeGuardian GPS phone is also equipped with a handsfree speakerphone and a 95dB siren that can ward off any potential intruders.

However, this cell phones with GPS for elderly users is strictly an emergency phone because it does not accept incoming calls. Users have to contact a dedicated call center to connect them to other individuals for non-emergency purposes.


5) Gemtek Tracking phone

The Gemtek Tracking handset is one of the smallest devices among the cell phones with GPS for elderly users. This handset combines GPS (global positioning system), GPRS (general packet radio service) , SMS (short message service), GSM (global system for mobile communications) and to provide a complete solution.

This very compact cell phones with GPS for elderly users also provides an dedicated “SOS” button that will send an alert notification to multiple contacts in the event of an emergency. The Gemtek Tracking phone also offers 24-hour access to the Gemtek online interface, mapping software and tools.


That's it for this list of cell phones with GPS for elderly users. There may be other cell phones with GPS for elderly users that are not included in this list and you can surf the web to find them. I hope this list can help you find a good mobile phone for senior.

Screenshots of gPodder in Fremantle Alpha SDK

As we all know, the Fremantle Alpha SDK has been released, and it features (at least parts of) the new UI. I downloaded the SDK and tried running gPodder inside it, and wanted to show you some pictures so you get an idea how an unmodified Maemo 4 UI looks on Fremantle:

Some other remarks: It seems that images have inverted color. I don't know if this is just a bug or if it's intended to be. Also, Xephyr sometimes crashes, which seems to be related to Clutter, although I do not really know ;) I expecially like how they managed to move the buttons of GTK Dialogs to the right side and stack them. This is a very good decision for the widescreen display, and it also means that one dialog in gPodder fits the screen nicely in Fremantle now that did not (and still does not - my fault ;) on Maemo 4.

See all screenshots at gPodder on Fremantle Alpha SDK on Flickr

S&p500 Bear Market (1950-2009)

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MFS as a mCommerce category

In a recent e-mail from Mushinzimana , I was asked if mobile financial services (MFS) is a mCommerce application at the same level as mAdvertising, mEntertainment etc.

I promised that I would post some comment on this.

First of all, it is clear that MFS is a "m" play. The question then is if one could see payments and banking (in this context) as commerce and if MFS should be seen as a subset of mCommerce. In looking at the other categories of mCommerce, mPayments sits at the root of any commerce. It is impossible to think of "commerce" without payment.

In conclusion, I would have to say that MFS is not a mCommerce application, but rather the foundation, the basis of mCommerce.