Month: July 2014

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A Week with Firefox OS Flame

Firefox OS Flamedisclaimer:

  • I’m still using the stock version of the o/s shipped with Flame which is 1.3.0.0-prerelease
  • I haven’t hook the device up to my Mac and do something with either AppManager, AppMaker or anything else

Following my previous post about unboxing Firefox OS Flame, it’s now time write a little review about the device. I was using the phone for the past week, not doing much actually. Mostly i used it for making couple of calls (voice and ussd), browsing, trying some apps, taking screenshots and photos.

So here it is.

For a very young O/S, Firefox OS has done pretty well to serve the basic, as a phone O/S. The screen is bright and nice. I hate the vibrate-when-you-press-buttons so i’ve disabled it (did it too on my G2 and Mi3). It’s somewhat different than I am used to, but seem to work fine after playing for a while. The battery is so good IMO. It can be a day phone compare to … my iPhone 5 :) You can leave the Flame unplugged overnight after some playing around with it and it just cost you about 25% of the juice. I was using it in 3G GSM mode most of the time, not yet trying to use it for tethering.

Mail is one of my must-have app. And Firefox OS mail app is doing fine. Setting up account, fetching the mail and reading and compose. Right now, you can only attach video, music or photos from your gallery or taking picture with the camera.

 

As photographer and heavy Instagram user, I use camera a lot. Flame’s camera is decent enough to take pictures but not by my standard. It might be unfair because I’m using iPhone’s and G2’s camera so far. Well leave the metering filter and all the fancy things, it’s nice if you can at least pick your own focus instead of the “auto focus” offered by the camera app. You’ll now what I mean when you try it.

These are some picture i took. Indoor in CGK airport. The light was enough to take pictures without adding flash. And I was surprised that online exif viewer I used said the photos were taken at f/2.6 :) My Mac’s Preview app said it’s f/2.8.

Sample of EXIF reading

These are photos taken with my iPhone 5 for comparison:

Good thing is in Firefox OS 2.0 the camera app seems to have an upgrade. Rara showed me her Flame (which’s been upgraded to 2.0 nightly) camera app can do manual focus selection. You’ll see that green square box showed up when you touch a focus area in your screen. But still. the JPEG output still need a lot of work.

Apps.
Well like i said, i used the Flame for browsing. So i have nothing more to say about the browser. It’s Firefox anyway :D
I’m still using the stock apps. Camera, Messages, Facebook, Twitter and Market Place. Annoying part is when you run an ‘app’ there’s a time when you need to go back to the previous stage/screen of the app. There’s no Back button in place. Instead, there’s a tiny face down white arrow in the bottom right corner of the screen. You have to gently slide/touch it up to bring up the set of back-forward-refresh button.

I haven’t test the FM Radio yet.

The voice call is also crisp and clear. But the first major problem i’ve encountered was from the dialler app. I was filing a bug for not being able to make USSD calls using ZTE Open C with Firefox OS 1.1. Now in 1.3, the USSD feature is still buggy.

In Indonesia, USSD is the main course for operators to help their customer accessing their services. Because its menu driven view. My case was:
1. making USSD call to *888# (Telkomsel) to check my balance. OK, hung up.
2. after top up, make call to *888# again and hung up.
3. call to *363# to view the data related services offered by Telkomsel. browse along the menu, and found 1 menu taking too long to get the response. hung up
4. retry #3 and try different menu, found 1 menu too long to response. hung up.
5. retry #3 and after press call suddenly FFOS gave me session expired confirmation.
6. trying different USSD short codes, same behaviour appeared. Session expired message right after you press that green call button.

So i have to do the Blackberry way, take out the battery, wait for couple of seconds, put it back and turn the phone on. USSD back to normal. (????) :P

Once, i left the phone powered off for a whole night. When i turn it on in the morning everything looks normal. I saw the red Thundersoft splash screen followed by the blue firefox os boot up screen. But after that blank. Only a screen with that green grass background, no icons, no text, nothing. I’ve press all the buttons, slide up down left right still no changes. It went back to normal after i turned the phone off and wait for couple of seconds and turn it back on.

I also have a case when my SIM card suddenly not recognised. Back to normal after i set the airplane mode on, wait for couple of seconds and turn the airplane mode off.

Last update, when i’m writing this post, I call to *363#, choose menu #8 and then #1 to check my status, got Radio not Available. Then i enter 9, it should return incorrect keyword but i got stuck in “sending….” status instead. And it went like that for minutes until i took off the battery.

iphone5_480x640_IMG_2067
Stuck in this state for minutes until remove the battery

*yawn* That’s all i can write this time. I think FFOS 1.3 still has many issues, specially the USSD and the O/S stability. I’ll try to play it around a little longer before decide to try the FFOS 2.0 nightly.

Anyone know how to import my Google/iCloud contacts to the Firefox OS contact?

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Antara BCA dan Spam Telemarketing Asuransi Rekanannya

Masih soal spam dan telemarketing.

Terkait dengan semakin maraknya telemarketing, berikut ini pengalaman saya menjadi korban telemarketing asuransi yang juga merupakan rekanan dari BCA.

Anda sekalian bisa track sendiri percakapan tweet saya dengan @HaloBCA. Tapi biar lebih mudah, transkripnya adalah sbb:

https://twitter.com/nurikidy/status/472274711791927297

@nurikidy
@HaloBCA tolong dong, data nasabah CC jgn disebar2 yg buntutnya jadi bahan spam call agen asuransi n sejenisnya!
2:14 PM – 30 May 2014

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy Kami informasikan bahwa data nasabah bersifat rahasia & pihak BCA tidak menyebarkan pada pihak manapun, terkecuali (cont) 01 ^DK
 

@nurikidy ?@nurikidy May 30
@halobca lha ini barusan ditelpon 021-29264001 ngaku dari BCA nawarin commonwealth dengan tagihan dibebankan di cc

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy apabila pihak tersebut bekerja sama secara resmi dengan kartu kredit BCA. 02 ^DK
 

@nurikidy ?@nurikidy May 30
@halobca Tolong infokan pihak mana saja yg resmi kerjasama dengan BCA supaya saya n customer lain bisa milih

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy Pihak Commonwealth merupakan pihak asuransi yang bekerja sama dengan kartu kredit BCA, apabila Anda tidak berkenan (cont) 01 ^DK

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy dengan asuransi yang ditawarkan, maka Anda berhak menolak, dikarenakan (cont)02 ^DK
 

@nurikidy ?@nurikidy May 30
@halobca saya sudah menolak sekian kali, tapi tetap saja diganggu, sudah saya blog-kan sejak tahun kemarin http://www.nurikidy.com/2013/11/11/spam-telemarketing-asuransiktakk-dll/…
 

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy Anda tidak diwajibkan mengikuti asuransi tersebut. Kami informasikan bahwa beberapa Asuransi yang bekerja sama (cont) 03 ^DK
 

@nurikidy ?@nurikidy May 30
@halobca dan saya jadi terganggu spam2 gini hanya karena saya nasabah cc BCA yg oleh BCA data saya dioper ke rekanannya.

@nurikidy ?@nurikidy May 30
@halobca Saya dan mungkin nasabah lain meminta BCA bilang ke rekanannya itu untuk stop nelponin. Bisa ga? Yg nyebar data kan situ

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy dengan kartu kredit BCA seperti contohnya adalah Commonwealth Life ataupun Asuransi Cigna. 04 ^DK

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy Utk dpt menindaklanjuti keluhan Anda, mohon berkenan follow akun twitter kami agar bs dikonfirmasi via DM. ^FN

 
@nurikidy ?@nurikidy May 30
@halobca lho kenapa ga publik ajah? yg terganggu ga hanya saya karena sebar2 data nasabah cc kaya gini

 

Halo BCA ?@HaloBCA May 30
@nurikidy Utk menindaklanjuti segala keluhan,kami membutuhkan data pribadi nasabah yg bersifat rahasia sehingga akn dikonfirmasi via DM. ^FN

 

Selebihnya sih dm-dm an ajah ngasih nomor hp, dan email.
Dan ga pakai lama, petugas BCA menghubungi saya via email untuk konfirmasi keluhan saya dan menanyakan beberapa informasi tambahan yaitu:
– Nomor kartu kredit / Nomor customer
– Kapan dan sekitar pukul berapa Bapak/Ibu dihubungi oleh pihak asuransi tersebut
– Detail permasalahan yang Bapak/Ibu alami
– Nomor telepon Bapak/Ibu yang dapat dihubungi

Setelah saya balas dengan informasi tambahan seperlunya, saya mendapatkan konfirmasi lagi. Dan sampai sekarang saya tidak/belum pernah mendapatkan telpon telemarketing lagi yang mengatasnamakan BCA atau rekanannya. Yah semoga sih.

Terima kasih banyak BCA

Tapi perhatikan statement:
“Kami informasikan bahwa data nasabah bersifat rahasia & pihak BCA tidak menyebarkan pada pihak manapun, terkecuali (cont) 01 ^DK
@nurikidy apabila pihak tersebut bekerja sama secara resmi dengan kartu kredit BCA. 02 ^DK”

Sudah jelas-jelas emang bank (dalam hal ini BCA) yang bocorin data kita ke rekanannya…. semprul!!
Ada di antara kalian yang menandatangai form yang menyatakan data kalian bersedia untuk disebar-sebar ke pihak ke-3,4,5,6,7,8 dah seterusya? Saya rasa ga ada.

Ini baru BCA, dan hebatnya respon mereka bagus sekali. Nah bagaimana dengan bank-bank penerbit kartu kredit lainnya? Selama ini sih keluhan saya ga ada responnya apalagi ditindak lanjuti. Biyuh…

twitter-nurikidy-halobca-1

 

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Unboxing Firefox OS Flame

At MozSummit 2013, me and a fellow developer from France asked (or maybe complaint :P) at Chris Heilmann class about the difficulties on getting Firefox OS device. Sometimes simulator is not enough. You need to test your functions, your app in a real device to get the feel and to get to know that it will actually work.

At that time, only Geeksphone selling Keon and Peak to open market. But they seemed to be unable to fulfil the developers’s enthusiasm to get the device. They’re just small company anyway (we’re talking about Samsung, Huawei class of manufacture :P).

Meanwhile, device makers like ZTE/Alcatel only sell the device as part of operator’s bundling program. You need to have contract with the operator (other friends said you must be a citizen of the country where the carrier operates). Even at last MWC Barcelona where Mozilla has a big booth there we couldn’t buy any devices. They were for display and testing only :P

So when I read Asa Dotzler (Director of Firefox OS Participation at Mozilla) post at hacks.mozilla.org that we could pre-order Firefox OS Flame device from everbuying.com for about USD 170. I didn’t think twice. Paid my order on May 28, and got the device in my hand last Friday :)

So, Firefox OS Flame is the reference phone and considered as the flagship of Firefox OS powered device. It’s not a super high end phone, but it is higher end than any of the previous devices such as Geeksphone Keon, ZTE Open C for example. It’s got dual sim cards, front and rear cameras, adjustable memory, etc.

It’s unlock and this is the specs:

  • Qualcomm MSM8210 Snapdragon, 1.2GHZ Dual core processor
  • 4.5” screen (FWVGA 854×480 pixels)
  • Cameras: Rear: 5MP with auto-focus and flash / Front: 2MP
  • Frequency: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
  • UMTS 850/900/1900/2100MHz
  • 8GB memory, MicroSD slot
  • 256MB – 1GB RAM (adjustable by developer)
  • A-GPS, NFC
  • Dual SIM Support
  • Battery capacity: 1,800 mAh
  • WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, Micro USB

I’ll try to use it for a couple of days during mudik and make review of it :)

DHL charged me IDR 281,000 for tax and handling, but i heard Andi @belutz has to pay IDR 400,000. Is it right, Ndi?

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Share mozilla love.

Got a package today. And it’s  “#mozlove” t-shirts. from Mozilla :)

Yayyyy… thanks Mozilla :)

hmm, a package from Mozilla?
hmm, a package from Mozilla?
T-Shirt!!!! Yayyyy \^_^/
T-Shirt!!!! Yayyyy \^_^/
Thanks Mozilla :) \^_^/
Thanks Mozilla :) \^_^/
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#MozBelajar Part 1 & 2

it is good to share knowledge
it is good to share knowledge

So, what is #MozBelajar?

#MozBelajar is series of events held by Mozilla Reps and Mozillians in Indonesia to introduce The Mozilla Projects to the community as well as conduct knowledge sharing workshops with them.

In the last 2 series, we had workshop about WebMaker, a Mozilla project dedicated to helping you create something amazing on the web. For example, we can learn about how to create a webpage from scratch or remix it from the existing one. We can also make videos in simple and easy way using images we have or again remix it from other web contents. The tools (X-Ray Googles, Thimble, Popcorn Maker), events and teaching guides allow webmakers to not only create the content that makes the web great, but — perhaps more importantly — understand how the web works.

You dont need to be that nerdy geek to make a webpage. Just go with the flow (a lil bit concentration will be helpful) and feel the fun :)

These are some pictures i took from #MozBelajar 2 which was held last July 19th, 2014 in Jakarta. Many thanks to @rendy and qwords.com for providing us the place and bandwidth :)

#MozBelajar Part 2 Photo Gallery

This is a video from #MozBelajar 1 & 2 compiled by Yofie Setiawan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cicdGp-7qLs

another post about #MozBelajar part 2:

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Yang Tersisa dari Final Piala Dunia 2014

Piala Dunia 2014 telah berakhir dengan Jerman sebagai juaranya setelah Mario Goetze mencetak satu-satunya gol ke gawang Argentina di menit 113. Lionel Messi terpilih sebagai pemain terbaik Piala Dunia 2014 dan berhak membawa piala Golden Ball, James Rodriguez dari Kolombia mendapatkan piala Golden Boot sebagai pencetak gol terbanyak dengan 6 goal dan Neuer meraih Golden Glove. Sementara itu Paul Pogba terpilih sebagai pemain muda terbaik.

Nah, terkait dengan pertandingan final antara Jerman vs Argentina ada beberapa fakta menarik:

  • Miroslav Klose memecahkan rekor pencetak gol terbanyak sepanjang turnamen Piala Dunia dengan 16 gol, rekor yang sebelumnya dipegang pemain tuan rumah Brazil, Ronaldo. Penampilan pertamanya di Piala Dunia 2002 dia langsung mencetak 5 gol, semuanya melalui heading. Piala Dunia 2006 dia kembali mencetak 5 gol dan meraih Golden Boot. Piala Dunia 2010 dia hanya mencetak 4 gol, golden boot 2010 diraih rekan satu timnya, Thomas Müller. Miroslav Klose adalah pemain tertua di timnas Jerman dengan usia 36 tahun sekaligus pemain dengan caps terbanyak yang berlaga di Brazil dengan total 137 International Caps.
  • Jerman adalah negara eropa pertama yang berhasil meraih tropi Piala Dunia di benua Amerika. Selama ini jika Piala Dunia diadakan di benua Amerika, juaranya pasti dari sana juga . Mulai 1930 Uruguay yang menjadi tuan rumah + juara, hingga terakhir 1994 di Amerika dengan juara Brazil.
  • Sami Khedira menjadi pemain ke-10 yang memenangkan trofi Liga Champions dan Piala Dunia di musim yang sama. Christian Karembeu tahun 1998, Roberto Carlos tahun 2002 dan 7 sisanya adalah pemain Bayern Munich 1974 :)
  • Ini adalah pertemuan ke-3 antara Jerman vs Argentina di final Piala Dunia. Argentina menang 3-2 di 1986, Jerman menang 1-0 masing-masing di 1990 dan 2014. Pertemuan keduanya di final adalah yang terbanyak dibandingkan kontestan lainnya. Jika dihitung mulai babak penyisihan grup, Jerman vs Argentina telah bertemu sebanyak 7x, sama halnya dengan Brazil vs Swedia
  • Kekalahan 4-0 di perempat final 2010 atas Jerman adalah kelahan terbesar Argentina di Piala Dunia dalam kurun waktu 40 tahun (0-4 vs Belanda di 1974).
  • Hanya Müller (2010 dan 2014) dan Klose (2002 dan 2006) yang mampu mencetak 5+ goal atau lebih di 2 piala dunia berturut-turut.
  • Sementara itu Messi dari 2006 hingga 2014 hanya mencetak total 5 gol, dan semuanya hanya di babak penyisihan grup. 1 di 2006 sewaktu Argentina menang 6-0 lawan Serbia Montenegro. sisanya di Piala Dunia 2014 lawan Bosnia, Iran dan Nigeria (2x).
  • Lionel Messi adalah pemain paling kreatif selama Piala Dunia 2014 dengan menciptakan 21 peluang mencetak gol untuk Argentina. Ga heran jika Argentina tergantung sekali pemenang 4 kali FIFA Ballon d’Or berturut-turut ini.
  • Müller mendapatkan Silver Boot dan Silver Ball di Piala Dunia 2014 ini.

strategy_ger_finalwc2014

Jerman

  • Rata-rata umur pemain 25 tahun
  • Permain tertua adalah Miroslav Klose (36 tahun) bermain untuk Lazio, Italia
  • Pemain termuda adalah Matthias Ginter (20 tahun) bermain untuk SC Freiburg, Jerman
  • Caps paling banyak adalah Miroslav Klose (137), paling sedikit adalah Erik Durm (1)
  • Dari 23 pemain timnas Argentina, 16 orang bermain di liga lokal, 4 orang di Premier League, Klose dan Mustafi di Serie A dan Sami Khedira di Real Madrid

strategy_arg_finalwc2014

Argentina

  • Rata-rata umur pemain 28 tahun
  • Permain tertua adalah Hugo Campagnaro (33 tahun) bermain untuk Inter Milan, Italia
  • Pemain termuda adalah Marcos Rojo (24 tahun) bermain untuk Sporting CP, Portugal
  • Caps paling banyak adalah Mascherano (105), paling sedikit adalah Agustín Orión (3)
  • Dari 23 pemain timnas Argentina, hanya 3 orang yang bermain di liga lokal yaitu Agustín Orión & Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors) dan  Maxi Rodríguez (Newell’s Old Boys). Selebihnya bermain di Eropa kecuali José María Basanta yang bermain di klub Monterrey, Mexico

 

Terkait dengan banyaknya anggota timnas yang bermain di liga luar membuat CBF, badan tertinggi sepakbola Brazil mengeluarkan wacana untuk membatasi expor talenta bolanya ke luar negeri. Yah jika melihat komposisi timnasnya, hanya Jô, Fred, Victor, Jefferson yg bermain di liga domestik Brazil. Sisanya di Eropa. Ok, Júlio César baru pindah ke Toronto FC Kanada.