A very nice walk down memory lane. Click on the link to read the article.

While Android is getting a lot of attention because it has attracted so many phone makers, those companies, Mr. Rubinstein [CEO of Palm], argues “have to depend on the kindness of strangers” — meaning Google — for their software.

“The companies that will deliver the best products are the ones that integrate the whole experience — the hardware, the software and the services — and aren’t getting one piece from here and one piece from there and trying to bolt it all together,” he said.

I really do root for Palm to succeed and I do believe their model of providing both the hardware and software is superior. They are in this camp together with Apple and RIM against the likes of Microsoft Windows Phone and Google Android. Why do I think Palm’s model is better?

Google Android may have the biggest buzz right now, but I think in a few short years we will see the OS forking into many versions as handset makers and telco operators make customizations to fit their own needs. Developing for Android will be a nightmare and users will be just as frustrated when they find out their apps stop working when they switch to a different Android phone. I think what we will see with Android is how Linux is right now, where each distro is just different enough to confuse a non-geek and discourage him to use it.

Google themselves are vague about the strategy between Android and Chrome OS. Listening to CEO Eric Schmidt’s interview at CNET Conversations, I get the feeling that Google prefers to throw both Android and Chrome OS into the market to see what develops before making a decision on which OS to put their weight on. While this strategy works fine for a company with Google’s resources, it doesn’t mean well for the end users.

An MRT for Jakarta is completely irrational,” Penalosa said. “The land acquisition and the huge investment needed are enough to provide for more buses and the ability to transport more people through many more routes.

The quote above is from Enrique Penalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Columbia, who was interviewed by The Jakarta Globe while visiting Jakarta recently. I wish The Jakarta Globe would get deeper on the articles. It’s not clear to me how subway requires more land acquisition if it’s underground. Living in Singapore, it’s obvious that MRT/LRT can transport more people faster compared to busways. Additionally, you can’t create many busway lanes in Jakarta because the existing (narrow) streets are not built for it. Even if the money for MRT/LRT is converted for more buses, putting more buses on the busway lanes won’t necessarily make waiting time shorter for passengers. If the number is too many, the buses will just wait on each other (the buses can’t pass one another in the busway lane).

Penalosa also said that “the upper-classes will start using public transportation when it moves faster than cars.” Well in Jakarta, a lot of the upper-classes don’t live in areas where a busway stop is within walking distance. A lot of them would need to take other means of public transportation — inconvenient, cramped, dirty ones — before reaching the air-conditioned, safe and clean busways. I doubt the uper-classes would want to convert to public transportation before the whole network is upgraded.

I agree with Penalosa, however, that political will is crucial to handling Jakarta’s traffic problem. The current stall with the MRT project is a perfect example of lack of political will.

A new mobile phone charger that will work with any handset has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations body.

They should have agreed on a standard years ago, if you ask me. Currently, even one handset maker cannot maintain a standard for their own product lines. I have two different chargers for all the Nokia phones in my household. Even the industry-standard USB chargers had an iteration from mini to micro. So, good job, ITU!