ELECTRONIC COMMERCE (IT357)

 

BSc (HONOURS) IN COMPUTING

UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

 

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE (IT357)

Assignment

tERM 1/2010

 

 

Instructions:

 

    Answer ALL questions.

    Marks will be awarded for good presentation, referencing and thoroughness in your approach.

• Make sure you have read the Turnitin instructions on the forum.
  

    NO marks will be awarded for the entire assignment if any part of it is found to be copied directly from printed materials or from another student.

• Ensure you have completed the following checklist.
  
• Complete this cover sheet and attach it to your assignment.
  

  
   

  
   

  
   

  
   

IGC coursework checklist	Tick when included
MS word or RTF document (not PDF)	*
Front cover attached	*
Student number on every page	*
Student number included in title	*
Plagiarism check done in Turnitin	*
Turnitin Score	13 %
Score discussed with facilitator (if over 10%)
Turnitin ID + URL (paste here)	Last page
References:-	*
Quotes are referenced	*
Reference list provided	*
Has an ECF been submitted for any reason

 

Student declaration:
I declare that:			I understand what is meant by plagiarism The implication of plagiarism have been explained to me by my institution This assignment is all my own work and I have acknowledged any use of the published or unpublished works of other people. In submitting this form and assignment I state that all work carried out is my own, in content, words and ideas, unless otherwise shown using correct citations and quotation marks. In checking the boxes above, I declare that these items have been checked and are correct.
Student's signature: …………don……………….					Date: …………2010.3.21……
Total number of pages including this cover page.						33
Submission Date		2010.3.21		Due Date		2010.3.21
Student's ID		47215		Class Code		IT357
Student's Full Name		Kalupathirannalage Don Duminda Nadeera Karunaratne
Lecturer's Name		Dr. Alice Good

OFFICIAL USE ONLY

MARKER'S COMMENTS
Marker's Name		Marks Awarded	/ 100

Part A

 

Business plans are written for many reasons. In this case and the most common reason is to acquire funding for the business from investors or banks.

 

    Harry Smith intends to write a business plan in order to get funding from the bank. In doing so will force Harry Smith to think of the future, set up achievable goals, look for and analyze competitors , figure out how to reach markets , and setting up a good revenue system. So we see the importance of business strategy, not the plan itself for the business to be successful. A successful e-commerce implementation will contain a dedicated payments system, a customer support system and customer relationship management procedures.

    

 

Figure 1(Porter, 2001)

 

 

 

Well the impact of the internet and e-commerce on a company's strategy and its profitability will differ from industry to industry. All the forces that shape competition in any given industry originated from one of five areas which are shown in figure 1. Interestingly according to the figure 1 (Porter, 2001) the internet make business less attractive for the owner since there are more (-) points than (+) points. But it's the other way round from the customers prospective

 

     According to the Strategic Planning Process firstly an analysis should be conducted on Globetrotter Organization and its environment. This should focus on the organizations missions, goals, strengths, weakness, and assessing competitor factors, business need in the market place, and also the owner's ability to meet the needs.

 

 

 

I have performed a SWOT analysis on the given scenario and the results are as follows,

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

I have analyzed and shown the services provided by GT to Customer and to Hotels in the figure 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well analysing only on Strategic elements will not be sufficient, so we need to take a look at the Operational elements as well. I have given the company Mission statement, marketing plan, financial Plan and operations plan below.

 

 

Mission Statement

 

The mission of the organization should be attractive and motivational,

 

"To become the number one resources provider for the global traveller with the collaboration of a unique mix of hotels; offering trustworthy and accurate services at all time."

 

 

 

Marketing plan

 

With the increase in popularity of web sites that provide online reservations, customers have the opportunity to compare prices within seconds and they tempt to go for the best offer. (e.g.hotwire.com) so harry smith needs to offer all possible services to keep the customer base intact and to attract new customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial plan

 

Harry Smith intends to take a bank loan to bare the infrastructure costs. Granting the loan will depend on the revenue model.

 

Revenue model

 

The revenue model of Globetrotter is based on transaction fees where the company receives a commission on the volume of the transaction.

Harry Smith must come into agreements with the hotel owners on the commission fee per transaction and to offer the hotels at special rates. If harry Smith offers a Hotel Room for the same amount as the particular hotel offers it on its web site then there's no way of continuing with the business. A Possible revenue model is shown below,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operational plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Also another option to consider is having a DR site in case of emergency.
  
• Accept payments using credit cards B2C from customer using a credit card processing (Gateway) e.g. merchant banks and the credit card interchange (Visa, MasterCard)
  
• So Harry Smith needs to create an merchant account which also includes signing contract with credit card companies (Visa ,MasterCard)
  
• Purchase a credit card processing software (cyber cash, cyber source, this will depend on the web site host)
  

 

 

Reference

• (2008, oct). Retrieved mar 2010, from Direct marketing assosiation: www.the-dma.org/cgi
  
• how-credit-card-transaction-works. (2006). Retrieved 3 12, 2010, from http://www.merchantmole.com: http://www.merchantmole.com/how-credit-card-transaction-works.php
  
• Porter, M. E. (2001). Steategy and the Internet. Harvard Business Review , 67.
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part B

Well as stated in the scenario the heart of the Globetrotting Hotels system is its website, the databases of customers and the clients. As a pure-play organization any competitor can run Globetrotter out from business if the intender manages to force the GT web site offline for a short period of time.

In an e-commerce environment attacks occur on two channels. Those been the Communication Path and the Asserts. (Key computers, network and information assert.)We will first consider on assets in the GT environment and then move on to the former.

Threats on Asserts

Firstly we must identify the key Asserts that are vulnerable to attacks within the GT scenario. (Assert Identification), then assess the risk (Risk Assessment) and then prioritize by probability (Implementation). (Efraim Turban, 2006). Table 1 shows the information regading the identified asserts.

 

 

The risks and protential threats against these asserts are both Technical and non-Technical. Non –Technical methods can be called as social enginearing methods which basicaly palys on human trust, on an individuals desire to help , an individuals fear in getting into trouble etc.

1. Social Engineering Threats
   

Kevin Mitnick the famous hacker once quoted that more than half of his attacks were carried out through social engenering methods. (Mitnick, 2002) Globettrotter emplyess might recive mails requestion sensitive information such as passwords etc.Or the intender can contact the employees as the ISP and request valuable information. According to Kevin its all about building trust and playing with human stupidity. (Mitnick, 2002) So certain positions in the GT scenario are valnarable for these types of attacks.

Combat Social Engeniaring

Harry Smith can focus on three aspects which are globaly followed to combat the issues.

• Education and Traning :
  

  Educate all staff members about the social engineering tecniques.
  

• Policies and Procedures :
  

  Develop certain rules to follow which guide the emplyees to respect confidality.
  

  • Penatration Testing:
    

    The policies ,procedures have to be tested by playing the role of a hacker and show the employees there weekness.
    

    
     

Also in the meantime Harry Smith needs to Physically secure the office premises as well. without going through much trouble woring about the technical aspects the intender can freely walk into the office and hack the web server or perform any kind of thef and go unnotice.

So Harry Smith needs to foucus on Access Control and Authendication tecniques.such as
All the emplyees schould be athondiated proir loging into the system,verfiy who and who are supposed to enter the server area, use security tools such as Passive Tokens, Active Tokens etc. implemention of securty camars. Boimetric Systems are also avilable but due to its high expensive nature Harry Smith can afford , not to consider it.

1. Technical Atacks
   

Moving into Technical Atacks on the asserts identified above , basically these type of attacks are done by programming code introduced to an Assert with the intention of recovering valuable information.

 

Table 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attacks on the Transmission Path

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Securing E-commerce Communications for GT

    Loking at the amount of security threats It's certain for an e-commernce site to have a well planned network structure.I have implemeted a plan based on the "cloud computing " concept(http://communication.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing.htm) for GT scenario.The basic network diagram is shown below(figure 1) and the process/components are been discribed later. A common example for cloud compunting is our email services.

What is the Process ?

 

 

 

The network infastructure is hosted on a 3^rd party Cloud Provider such as 3Tera, Appistry, Cassatt etc. It primarily consists of 3 major components the UTM, VmWare and the SAN. Those are been described in the following table.

Table 3

 

Security Mesures Taken..

• Since the web site is needed to be updated by Globetortter employees they have been provided with a Virtual Private Network inoder to get a speedy connection and also to secure the data transfer channel.
  
• Other transfer channels involving the customer,Hotels and the Merchant Bank are secured with SSL.
  
• The UTM component which is instaled in the Cloud has 8 applications related to security and network trafic. (shown in the above table) UTM is responsible for securering the servers as wel as minimisonf data trafic.
  
• Harry Smith needs to implement a Disaster Recovery site as well. having a extra site on another 3^rd party cloud is important,so that the DR site can take over if the first site fails.
  
• Security standered ISO 27001-0 is followed through out the process.
  

(10 reasons why Cloud Computing is the Wave of the Future: http://laptoplogic.com/resources/10-reasons-why-cloud-computing-is-the-wave-of-the-future)

Selecting a Payment System for GT

B2C(GT and customer) and B2B(GT and Hotels) are the two bussiness models in the GT scenario. There are many Online Payment Systems Avilable. I have criticaly discused Credit Card payment systems for the B2C transactions and Bank Transfers for B2B transactions below.

Using Credit Card Payments for B2C

(+) points

• This payment system has been widely accepted by consumers and merchants throughout the world, and by far the most popular methods of payments especially in the retail markets (Laudon and Traver, 2008).
  

  
   

• Advantages in using this method are privacy, integrity, compatibility, good transaction efficiency, acceptability, convenience, mobility, low financial risk and anonymity.
  
• Will Avoid the complexity associated with the digital cash or electronic cheques, consumers and vendors are also looking at credit card payments on the internet as one of possible time-tested alternative. (Singh Sumanjeet University of Delhi, 2009).
  

  
   

(-) points

• Online credit card payment seeks to address several limitations of online credit card payments for merchant including lack of authentication, repudiation of charges and credit card frauds.
  
• Consumer fears about using credit card such as having to reveal credit information at multiple sites and repeatedly having to communicate sensitive information over the Internet. (Singh Sumanjeet University of Delhi, 2009)
  

 

Figure 3 gives a basic idea on how Credit Card Payment works…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many Points to consider for Harry Smith when choosing a Merchant account, payment gateway, and a shopping cart. Firstly he should consider about the compatibility offered by each service provider. (Tips for chosing:http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles2/back-end-ecommerce.htm)

 

Using Bank Wire Transfers for B2B

(+) points

• In the case of a bank-to-bank transfer, no actual cash is exchanged, but electronic balances in the respective accounts are adjusted accordingly.
  
• This is a very secure way to transfer funds, as positive identification of both account holders is required
  
• There is no chance of a charge back, unlike with a personal check.
  
• B2B payments are mostly monthly payments
  
• It's better to stay away from online payments when the transfer amounts are high.
  
• No Security vulnerability at any end (partner Hotel or GT) because the respective bank take care of it.
  
• Also Companies such as Western Union offer an alternate method of wire transfer. They maintain outlets worldwide which allows wire transfers between any outlets around the world.
  

 

Reference

• Das, R. (2010). Threats to E-Commerce Servers-Part I. Retrieved 3 15, 2010, from http://www.technologyexecutivesclub.com/Articles/security/artThreatstoEcommerceServers.php
  
• Erraim Turban. (2006). Security Risk Managment. In E. Turban, A Managerial Perspective for Electronic Commerce (pp. 512,513). Pearson.
  
• Laudon, C. Kenneth and Traver, Carol (2002), E-Commerce, New Delhi: Pearson Education.
  

 

• Mitnick, K. a. (2002). The Art Of Deception. New york: Willy.
  
• Singh Sumanjeet1 University of Delhi, I. (2009). Global Journal of International Business Research Vol. 2. No. 2. . EMERGENCE OF PAYMENT SYSTEMS IN THE AGE OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE .
  

Part c

 

With the emergence of wireless and mobile devices e-commerce has been extended to a new application and research area, M-commerce which can be defined as the buying and selling of goods and services, using wireless hand-held devices such as mobile phones, Smart Phones, PDAs etc.

 

 

Well M-commerce is classified simply as an extension of e-commerce in the first paragraph but we can also regard m-commerce as an independent business field and consequently as an alternative mechanism to e-commerce as well. Figure 1 gives the Holistic approach of M-commerce according to Tiwari, 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1 A holistic perspective of m-commerce .source: Tiwari, 2007

Below I have discussed the Potential of adopting M-commerce strategy into GT and also its challenges.

Potential in adopting M-commerce to Globetrotter (GT)

 

    According to the scenario the whole system is based on a traveller and GT should be able to provide access to the web site regardless of the location, and deliver their service via mobile devices. Strengths off this approach in business and technological perspective would be.

High Reach ability: As Figure 3 represent the growth rate of mobile subscribers in comparison to desktop internet users and fixed line subscribers shows clear gap. So according to the stats GT will be able to increase their customer base at a rapid rate if Harry Smith decides to provide services via mobile devises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2 source: Nua Surveys 2000

 

 

Figure 3 Source: ITU Telecommunications

 

 

 

High Mobility: Obviously the global traveller will not have access to a desktop internet connection at every time or at every location but since mobile devices are portable the travellers will take the devices wherever they go. So the customers can make real-time contact with GT regardless of the location.

 

High convenience and accessibility: it's convenient for Customers to operate in a wireless environment; all they need is an internet enabled mobile device. Services like GPRS and 3G offer 'always-on' connections to the Internet, so a mobile terminal can provide the customer with continuous links to the Internet.

 

Localization – Knowing the customers location is the key to provide relevant services and network service providers can localize the customers with the use of techniques as GPS, GSM or UMTS. With localization, GT can accurately provide their existing services such as Store Locator, Road Maps, Travel guides and Travel Planner and in the meantime concentrate on new services and market opportunities like Location Based Advertising (with the relationship of the local stores), Emergency Response Cell Phone Calls, Telemetries etc.

M-commerce opens new business opportunities by enabling innovative, location-based services (LBS) that the Internet cannot offer. (Thiwari, 2007)

 

Reduced Hardware Cost: Customers will have to use a WAP enable mobile device to access the GT service. E.g. Smart Phones. As shown in figure 4, Cost is reduced at a rapid rate on new technological gargets and the sales will grow rapidly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also there are some other aspects which are empathized in figure 5 where Harry Smith will be able to focus on upon adopting M-Commerce strategy.

 

Capabilities of M-Commerce and its benefits

 

Individual Mobile services of similar kind can be bundled into applications. Table 1 shows some of those applications which are relevant to GT.

 

 

 

 

 

Having described various m-commerce applications, we need to take a look at the payment mechanisms possible for GT customers after the adoption of M-commerce. I have chosen 3 payment methods SMS Transactions Direct Mobile Billing and Mobile Web payments. Figure 6, 7, 8 empathize each method respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 7

 

 

Figure 8

 

Figure 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenges to GT and Users

 

Conclusion

We have clearly seen that mobile commerce is the birth of a brand new era open to endless possibilities for personal finance, trading and mobile transactions. Mobile phones will become a uniquely powerful distribution channel, available anywhere, anytime, in the palm of the consumer's hand. For Harry Smith it's always good to be the first mover than a follower into M-commence in order to expect a rapid growth in GT customer base.

 

 

 

Reference

• Tiwari, R. and Buse, S. (2007): The Mobile Commerce Prospects: A Strategic Analysis of Opportunities in the Banking Sector, Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, page 33.
  
• Schiff, J. L. ( 2010, March 11). Why-You-Need-a-Mobile-Web-Site. Retrieved from www.smallbusinesscomputing.com: http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/3870041/
  

  
   

 

Part D

Social media is a buzzword that is used to describe a variety of Web-based platforms, applications and technologies that enable people to socially interact with one another via the Web or Web 2.0.

Some examples of social media sites and applications include Facebook, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Twitter, Digg, blogs and other sites that have content largely contributed based on user participation that is, sites that organize and deliver user-generated content (UGC).(figure 1 shows a basic overview of Social Media)

 

Figure 1

Many businesses owners primarily focuses on getting listed in Google for no reason other than to drive Google's search traffic to their own Web space. Likewise most businesses are looking to leverage social media traffic to help their own sites and brands.

 

In the GT scenario Harry Smith can start with a company presence or profile on different, but appropriate, social media sites. Harry Smith can create a Fan page on Facebook, get his employees on LinkedIn, sign up for Twitter, or start submitting relevant articles and content to social bookmarking sites, like Digg and StumbleUpon. Also Harry Smith can use free blogs like Blogger to open a dialogue between him (business) and the customers.

 

 

The Influence of Social Networks

As mentioned in the scenario Harry Smith has intended to mainly focus on social networking to support Marketing. Here are some stats to back his decision. (Figure 2)

 

Plus Points in Adopting Social Network Marketing for Globetrotter

• Research ideas, and learn more about what customers and prospects are saying about their needs and experiences on GT.
  
• Gain new market and competitive insights to improve your products and services.
  
• Create and join conversations with customers, prospects, partners and other constituents about key issues and concerns.
  
• Create positive word-of-mouth about your products and services.
  
• Grow your company's reputation as a thought leader.
  
• 
  
• Able to keep a pulse on what people are saying about GT (good or bad), competitors and major trends.
  
• Able to represent GT in a positive, authentic way.
  
• Harry Smith can build credibility for his expertise and business and link to customers and prospects quickly.
  
• Ability to minimize damage from negative comments (customer blogs etc) about GT by quickly responding to complaints.
  
• Steer people to other marketing programs within and outside GT.(easier to individually track and manage individual customer)
  
• Promote new launches and products.
  

 

Minus Points

• The businesses are engaged in social media and if GT gets comments and posts that are not positive that will harm the company's reputation. (Social media links can travel fast and bad news even faster)
  
• Customers/Fans will get hurt if they don't get any responses to their posts. So GT has to increase the man power to keep the customers satisfied as the fan base grows.
  

 

Some Points to consider for Harry Smith, upon and after Implementing Social Network Marketing to GT.

 

• Upon implementing a fan page or similar account in a popular web site Harry Smith should look for spaces where the customers have already formed the social glue that holds online relationships together, so you don't have to create a new space.
  

  
   

  
   

• Linking up the profile pages. (E.g. include a link to your blog or Web site on Twitter profile.) Also By linking the profiles, with one update GT will be able to blast the message to multiple social sites. (Twitter application lets your Tweets become your Face book status update)
  

 

Figure 4

 

 

 

• Be Open, Honest, and a Little Social. The employee or Harry Smith should let the fans know that he represent a business but there's also a person behind.
  

  
   

• Harry Smith needs to make sure that staff members will continue to update these pages with fresh posts and Give a reason for customers to show up.(special offers .etc)
  
• 
  

 

• Merge Social Media With other Advertising techniques like
  Google search engine optimism, email marketing, newsletters etc.
  

 

• Optimize RSS feed to personal pages. With RSS feed it's possible distribute your content to other sites and share to other users.
  

 

 

Out of the many possible social media channels I have chosen Facebook and Twitter as Main Marketing Options for GT. Figure 6 and 7 will backup my decision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 6 cont…

 

 

Reference

 

• Beal, V. ( 2009, February 5). How-To Guide: E-Commerce Marketing on Facebook. Retrieved from www.ecommerce-guide.com: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions/advertising/article.php/3800976
  
• Beal, V. (2010, Jan 26). Top-5-Social-Networking-Tips-You-Need-to-Know. Retrieved from www.smallbusinesscomputing.com: http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/emarketing/article.php/3860766/Top-5-Social-Networking-Tips-You-Need-to-Know
  
• Corbin, K. ( 2010, March 17). Social-Networking-is-King-Facebook-Edges-Google. Retrieved from www.smallbusinesscomputing.com: http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/3871186/Social-Networking-is-King-Facebook-Edges-Google.htm
  
• Erraim Turban. (2006). Security Risk Managment. In E. Turban, A Managerial Perspective for Electronic Commerce. Pearson.
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Import From Sri Lanka-eHow

How to Import From Sri Lanka

By an eHow Contributor

I want to do this! What's This?

Sri Lanka is the small Southeast Asian island-nation that is known for the rich export of everything from cinnamon and rubber to precious gems. Sri Lanka has been in the midst of an economic boom, and there are several business opportunities available, especially if you would like to import from Sri Lanka.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. 
   
   1
   Create a plan for why you want to import from Sri Lanka. Begin by meeting an untapped market for a product Sri Lanka can provide. Writing a business plan detailing your plans to import from Sri Lanka can help you decide if importing certain products will benefit your business.
   
2. 
   
   2
   Decide how you will transfer the product you plan to import from Sri Lanka. You can choose to be responsible for transferring the product on your own or hire a third party like a Sri Lankan customs broker.
   
3. 
   
   3
   Find the right source in Sri Lanka to provide you with the product you need. Consider cost, the quality of the product and whether the vendor has a history of successful business transactions with US businesses.
   
4. 
   
   4
   Determine how you will purchase the product you want to import from Sri Lanka. Arrange for a prepayment in the form of cash, a down payment arrangement or a letter of credit.
   
5. 
   
   5
   Consider Homeland Security issues as you import products from Sri Lanka. Check with your local customs small business program to get all the information you need about important security regulations.
   

Read more: How to Import From Sri Lanka | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2265284_import-from-sri-lanka.html#ixzz0yCD1naeD

Working with SDP simulater....

these are the steps :
1) Extract the sdp-simulator.zip and go to bin folder, in there you will see startup-sdp-simulator.bat or startup-sdp-simulator.sh file. If you are windows user run the bat file of that. If you are a linux fan run the sh file by typing "sh startup-sdp-simulator.sh".
If it success you will see some information going on your command line. ~ , Go to your browser and access these URL :
http://127.0.0.1:8081/mosim
u done the first step successfully then ~. if further help please read the README file and pdf files.

2) By using simulator you can send sample sms to your application. So you need create an application to recieve sms. So by using the simulator you can send application to your application. great hah !.

3) So first lets try with the sample application that u have downloaded called "sample-mo-listener.zip" extract the file. please go throgh the README file and source code first for juz to get basic idea. if it is hard to get idea dont worry you will get those things time by time. This sample-mo-listener is the application for recieving sms from the user. To test this application we need a server. so i recommend you to download the apache tomcat server and install it. if you haven't that. then copy the sample-mo-listener folder to webapps folder in the apache-tomcat.

4) try to access that on browser http://localhost:8080/sample-mo-listener. obviously you will get 404 error dont worry becase there no file to display. But it is working. go to your apache-tomcat folder and
apache-tomcat-6.0.20/logs there is a file called catalina.out . open it.

5) Now here is time to run. go to http://127.0.0.1:8081/mosim and input the phone number and MO URL for the MO URL please type your http://localhost:8080/sample-mo-listener and input the message. Submit it .

6) now you are done. please re-open the catalina.out file and you will see your message on it. if you are a linux fan, have a tail -f [..your apache installed folder path]/logs/catalina.out

7) So try understand those source code first and if you have doubt please post it we will help


more info-http://mchoicedeveloper.hsenidmobile.com/sdp/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21

SDP in the Cloud

What is mChoice™ Aventura?

hSenid Mobile, a multi-national mobile software platform and applications company launched mChoice™ Aventura, the Cloud Enabled Telco Platform with a state of the art mobile applications developer portal at CommunicAsia 2010 Asia’s most recognised & established one-stop ICT Exhibition and Conference.
With increasing prudence in capital and operational investment, telecom operators are warming to the idea of deploying core solutions as managed services. mChoice™ Aventura is an open, scalable and extendable platform which addresses operational capacity requirements of telecom operators.
Dinesh Saparamadu, chief executive officer, hSenid Mobile says: "We are extremely proud to present and bring mChoice™ Aventura to the telecom industry with an unmatched business proposition that appeals to various stakeholders in the market. The Cloud enabled Telco Platform is designed to benefit innovative telecom operators who wish to maintain their position by constantly deploying new services yet sustaining their investment base and an untapped pool of mobile application developers who wish to be the source of that innovation."
One of the significant aspects of the Cloud Enabled Telco platform is the mobile application developer portal which accommodates developers with varying skills in programming to create and deploy mobile applications with ease. Without concerning themselves about the complexities of connecting to the network and underlying telco protocols, application developers can focus on unleashing a series of sought after mobile applications.
With an incentive scheme of earning a share of the revenue for their applications, mobile application developers now have the opportunity to transform their innovative ideas into untapped business potential directly on a diverse mobile subscriber network quickly.
The resulting vibrant developer community and the simple infrastructure that mChoice™ Aventura provides enables telecom operators to constantly roll out innovative services to its subscribers presenting a new wave of revenue streams and a better churn management of its subscriber base.

KPs last words...

the below given is the last Q shot at KP .....n dat includes da cream of the whole 4 week interview.....
glad that he accepts that the whole cope was a mistake...but do we need to forgive him/them?


Q: We have spoken for a long time. There are so many things to talk about. Maybe we can talk on another occasion. But before we conclude do you have any special message to Sri Lankans in general and the Tamil people in particular?

  Yes I have two messages. The first is to my fellow Tamils. This is what I say. The war is over. Prabhakaran and other senior commanders are no more. Tamil Eelam is a lost cause. Please dont be deceived by irresponsible people into thinking that the armed struggle is  not over. Please give up the confrontational attitude and help our broken people to re-build their lives. I appeal to members of the Tamil Diaspora and Tamil Nadu politicians to refrain from idle rhetoric and instead help Tamils in Sri Lanka to live in harmony and prosperity with others. We need reconciliation  and co-operation  not confrontation and friction

  The second is to all my fellow Sri Lankans. We of the LTTE and other militant groups commenced an armed struggle to win back our lost rights. We thought Tamil Eelam was the answer and that the end will justify the means. In the course of our armed struggle we have caused much harm and misery to the people of Sri Lanka. We have violated all norms of civilized conduct at times. When I reflect on the past I am appalled by what has happened. As a senior leader or ex –leader of the LTTE I sincerely beg the forgiveness of all Sri Lankans for this. Please pardon us and help us to  forge a bright future for all Sri Lankans.

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Nimalesh Paramasivam Nearly 300 goats and chicken were slaughtered today as a part of a Hindu sacrifice.................is this called real Hindusiam???????????

Sri Lanka News-Adaderana-Truth First - Controversial rites?

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Yesterday at 3:43pm · Comment · · View Feedback (16)Hide Feedback (16) · Share · Report

•  Sujah Sivashanthi Kumar A true Hindu never do this kind of bloody things. Hindu means anbe sivam
  
  Yesterday at 4:35pm · · 1 personLoading...

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  Ratha Rukmani if you eat chicken it is slautered some where
  so
  why you bother about this. millions of chicken and goats sluatered everyday in the globe because of the eaters of flesh
  this matter is tiny when compared with the whole affair
  

  Yesterday at 4:47pm · · 1 personLoading...
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  Nimalesh Paramasivam no comments..............
  

  Yesterday at 5:04pm ·
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  Kapilkanth Sithambaram Hi dude would you think all those above peoples who are carrying animals are Hindu??
  Look at their face..
  

  Yesterday at 6:12pm ·
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  Sujah Sivashanthi Kumar Ppl r misusing the religion for their own benefits.
  

  Yesterday at 6:17pm ·
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  Prashan Jayatheepam How many people were slaughtered during the war...?...The monks should have protested then...!
  

  Yesterday at 7:10pm · · 1 personLoading...
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  Don දුමින්ද ‎@ Prashan so u agree with this act ??
  sad dat u dnt get da difference betwen a war n this...
  

  23 hours ago · ·
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  Prashan Jayatheepam
  

  Mr Duminda Karunaratne……Nice to have got a comment from a fellow Thomian……OK It was a ‘War’ yes…but it was more of Genocide – now don’t you dare say ‘NO’ to this – because the whole world knows it was ‘Genocide’ and this is why Mahinda and ...his relatives are not letting foreign investigators in to the country…! So where is the transparency…?
  
  To your question ‘Prashan so u agree with this act ??’ my Answer is ‘No’ I don’t agree with this act either...!
  But my initial point was - Buddhist Monks were against this act…OK good! So shouldn’t have they been against the Genocide act during the War…? It’s a Shame to see they care for animals now when they didn’t care for humans during the War…?
  
  Also I am not sure if you are a vegetarian…but if you are I respect your earlier ‘Comment’ – If you aren’t a vegetarian then you are doing the same thing Sir…it’s just that they killed everything in 1 day and you might eat more meat than this during the course of your entire life.
  
  Also clicking through some of your ‘photos’ under ‘SICI Random clicks’ – looks like you are having a good bite with some roast ‘Chicken’ on your plate…? Killing or Eating they are all the same mate! If you don’t agree with this act…then you should be seriously thinking of becoming a vegetarian!See More

  22 hours ago ·

  
  

  Don දුමින්ද
  

  ‎1. As long as we (Sri Lankans) declare LTTE as a terrorist group y care abt transparency ? how many inocent ppl lost thr life's coz f them??n this transparency rule applies only to 3rd world countries??
  
  2. Yes the Monks were always against... the Genocide acts by the Bloody terrorists...
  
  this is not abt me being the a vegi or wat evr..u seem 2 hate wat evr da monks do...again u hv brought in mahinda into this without ny relation to this topic...Sri Lanka is not wat it ws wen u left SL :) things hv changed...things like these will be banned soon...See More

  20 hours ago · ·

  Nimalesh Paramasivam it's sad that this has turn to no where, but i dont accept this, in the same time to be honest i m not vegi too....10 hours ago · .

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    Prashan Jayatheepam
    

    Mr Duminda Karunaratne your reply is all muddled up!
    Let’s start it somewhere else as Nimalesh doesn’t accept this on his wall…
    I don’t have to Live in SL to know about SL…I read more transparent news Online than what you would read in SL…mos...tly all opaque by the media! If by chance you read some transparent news then the Reuter gets shot by a mob of 4 on motorbikes in Attidiya...
    
    'things hv changed...?' - That will be an Idle Conversation!!! That will never happen!!! - Living in SL you wouldn’t know how corrupt & crooked the country is – Only when you live abroad can you weigh against the 'Kith & Kin' Government!
    
    Yes I agree to one pint – These things should be prohibited soon!See More

    6 hours ago · · 1 personNimalesh Paramasivam likes this.
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    Don දුමින්ද
    

    transparent news??? lol i doubt u get those kind f stuf wen u live abroad ..haha crap..n plz dnt think dat u read more than another person...not gud for u
    no point talking to a guy who sees nothin positive...hope u dnt hv plans to cum back t...o SL...jst pay a visit, aft that v'l talk...dnt jst b based on media :) tc byeSee More

    6 hours ago · ·
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    Prashan Jayatheepam
    

    If you doubt why don’t you come and live abroad to see whether you get transparent news or not from BBC & CNN Reuters? And what’s crap? I can promise you we get more transparent news from Reuters in the UK than what you would get in SL – an...d our Reuters don’t have to be petrified to get shot by a mob and we have the right to report!
    Who said I was talking to you – for God’s sake I was only arguing…! I don’t personally know you to ‘sweet-talk’ you!
    
    I have visited SL more than 10 times in the last 8 years and I will keep on visiting the country – but the Corruption, Sleaze & dishonesty has to stop somewhere! A good place to start would be the parliament!
    If you don’t want to base it on media - what else should you base it on Sir…? Can you give me some examples…?
    
    “no point talking to a guy who sees nothin positive...” – This is the easiest escape route you can trigger in an quarrel! I am up for it…What’s next…? You started it…I should finish it!
    
    I pity the country if you become president one day!See More

    5 hours ago ·
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    Don දුමින්ද
    

    ayyo..i am wasting my time hear arguing with a guy who rely on BBC & CNN Reuters....atleast read a SL based online paper...
    
    "Who said I was talking to you – for God’s sake I was only arguing…! I don’t personally know you to ‘sweet-talk’ you!... "
    hel no i dint mean it...i left college 5 years back n i left ma old habits thr..so i dnt think thr's a chance for any sweet things :P
    
    "what else should you base it on Sir…? Can you give me some examples…?"
    ya..cum c it in ur own eyes.... Colombo is not al abt Sri Lanka..stupid idiots think dat colombo equals SL..... at least visit Gampaha..:P
    
    no more replies please...wasting time...See More

    about an hour ago · ·
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    Prashan Jayatheepam
    

    Gampaha...Surely there's a better place for an Example? If it was wasting your 'Valuable' time why did you start it Initially...? I never started it...!
    
    “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear 'Stupid' than to open it and prove you'...re a complete FOOL!" Stupid people always think they are right!
    
    It's 'here' not 'hear'...Disgrace!See More

    34 minutes ago ·
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    Don දුමින්ද
    

    seems u dnt kw wr Gampaha is ....haha
    
    "It's 'here' not 'hear'...Disgrace!" ya accept it...
    
    “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear 'Stupid' than to open it and prove you'...re a complete FOOL!" Stupid people always think they are ri...ght!"
    
    exactly :P

Use Gmail to make VoIP calls

Use Gmail to make VoIP calls: Hands-on review

http://cnettv.cnet.com/make-phone-calls-from-gmail/9742-1_53-50092183.html?tag=cnetRiver

Google's dialpad for making outbound calls from Gmail.

With Google's rollout Wednesday to Gmail, the built-in Google Talk chat app is finally getting its own voice. Specifically, a plugin that lets you surface a dial pad so you can launch VoIP calls from the Gmail.com in-box, or from within iGoogle. The big caveat is that the service is currently being rolled out only to U.S. Gmail users.

We've been expecting something like this to happen since Google snapped up VoIP company Gizmo 5 last November, and there's even been speculation that this could have been a desktop app. But no, on Tuesday we discovered the online feature in-house and on Wednesday, Google made the VoIP news official. We buckled down to review the new service as soon as we got our online update.

Calling from Gmail

We tested the Google Talk VoIP capabilities on a Windows desktop, a Windows laptop, and a Mac laptop. You'll see the "Call phone" button in the Google Talk sidebar just under your name and status bar. In some cases, clicking to activate Google Talk's VoIP service will prompt you to install the Google Talk voice and video plugin before you can begin dialing. The plugin is requisite, but you may have already done so to try out video calls, an existing feature.

It may go without saying, but we'll say it anyway--you will need to have a microphone handy, either in the computer itself, or in a headset, in order to hear your caller from your computer.

The VoIP interface itself is plain, in typical Google fashion, with just a dial pad on the bottom right of the screen. One extra tab shows your call history. Making outbound calls is straightforward--just type the digits. Since the new VoIP chat feature is integrated with your Google address book, you can also type a contact's name to get their number to appear; then call, call away.

When Google has added calling functionality to your Gmail, this is what you'll see.

We were pleased with the call quality, overall, which we tested with other U.S. callers using landlines and mobile phones. Calls were loud and mostly clear, however, there were a few moments of garbled voices on multiple calls. There was also sometimes a noticeably persistent high buzz, but it did not distract from the meat of the call. The experience was about on par for VoIP calls, which are known to break up due to variable conditions with the callers' hardware, strength of Internet connection, and the telecommunications channels that process the voice data.

We were also able to link our Google Voice account to our Gmail account. This made it possible to receive and answer inbound calls from our Google Voice number, though it isn't necessary to have a Google Voice number to use the new VoIP feature in Google Talk. However, you will need a Google Voice account to pay for International calls (Google Voice numbers are free, by the way.)

Is Google's VoIP a Skype killer?

We're going to hold off on any final pronouncements until we live with the service for a while and get some more local and international calls under our belt. What we will say is that there are a few compelling reasons for users to choose Google Talk's Gmail VoIP service over Skype, and convenience is chief among them.

Google Talk has already had a video chat integrated into the service; this competes with video calls made through Skype, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and other chat services. Adding free local and low-price international calls will be attractive to users who can easily launch a voice call from within Gmail if video isn't an option. However, we didn't notice an easy way to switch between voice and video calls once a phone call was under way.

Google's rates, compared to other VoIP providers.

Having the VoIP service tie into the Google address book is another perk that could attract new users. If you're keeping track of the service offerings, then the ability to make free outbound calls from the computer to a landline (in the U.S. or Canada) may tip the scale in Google's favor, depending on your individual calling habits. Skype calls are free from any computer in the world to any other (or from one mobile Skype app to another), but calling from the computer to the landline requires purchased credits. Google's phone calling service currently doesn't appear to dial other users through their Gmail accounts.

According to a Google's chart on calling rates (pictured above), calls cost 2 cents a minute to landlines in the U.K. and France, and 6 cents a minute to India. As CNET mentioned in an earlier post, Google says it has no plans to raise rates beyond 2010, though the company will see if it grosses enough on international calls to continue supporting free calls to the U.S. and Canada.

Vote for Mahela Jayawardene in the LG People's Choice Award at www.lgpeopleschoice.com.

GoV scd ban this....

Sri Lanka News-Adaderana-Truth First - Controversial rites?

How PRABHAKARAN met his death :KP Speaks out

 How PRABHAKARAN met his death :KP Speaks out(Exclusive Videos of KP visiting the IDP camps with a delegation of senior diaspora)
http://www.nftnews.com/full_story.php?id=1021&catid=20

Written By Daily Mirror | 2010-08-25 01:15:20
Q: What happened finally to your plan of rescuing Prabhakaran and his family by helicopter? Why did the plan not take off?  It�s a very sad story After Prabhakaran�s son Charles Anthony   asked me to rescue his family members by air I devised a plan and made preliminary arrangements. I arranged for a ship to be kept waiting at a far �off port beyond the reach of the Sri Lanka navy. I also made arrangements to buy a second-hand helicopter from an Ukrainian contact. The idea was for one or two trained pilots from the LTTE�s airwing �Vaan Puligal� to fly into the Wanni. If Prabhakaran was willing ,the family except for Charles Anthony were to be flown out. If the leader was unwilling then he and a few other of his bodyguards and senior leaders were to be flown by the copter and dropped off in a jungle location in Lanka.  Afterwards the heli would fly out to the ship with Prabhakaran�s wife Madhivadhani, daughter Thuwaraga and younger son Balachandran and perhaps a few others. I would be waiting for them at the ship. Thereafter I planned to keep the family safely in one of three countries. Perhaps in rotation. Q: Were these countries ready to accept the family? Were they western  nations?   No, they were not countries in the west. Two were in Africa and one in Asia. I had been in touch with senior govt officials of these countries through my representatives. When I had sounded them out on this matter they were willing. Q: The plan itself was rather risky? Were you confident of it succeeding?   Yes, it was risky but I was ready to carry it out. We had no choice. If we didn�t risk it, the alternative was certain death. I also had a secret hope that Prabhakaran may agree at the last minute and opt to fly out. So I devised the plan. The key element was surprise. If the first stage was successful we may have tried further flights too to rescue others. Q:  But then what went wrong?  It never worked out. It required about 1.5 million US dollars to implement the plan. I did not have that kind of money. The LTTE overseas structure had to give me the money. Castro had promised Charles Anthony that Nediyavan in Norway will transfer the necessary funds to me. But he never did it.  I made repeated requests that it was urgent and time was running out. I would be told, �the money is coming, money is coming�. But sadly it never came. Also Nediyavan was in touch with Atchuthan the Air wing chief living abroad. Earlier he had agreed to provide the required LTTE pilots for the operation. But then suddenly acting perhaps under Nediyavan�s orders he stopped communicating with me. I was really frantic. I approached mercenary pilots to fly the helicopter but nothing further could be done without necessary funds. And then in mid-May the Sri Lankan army launched a three �pronged offensive and boxed off the  Valainjermadam- Mullivaaikkaal- Vattuvaahal area. After that it was too late to attempt a helicopter rescue. So with great sorrow I abandoned the plan. I was furious with Nediyavan and Castro but helpless to do anything. Q: And within days all were dead? Yes. They were all dead. The whole family was gone. I was extremely sad at Balachandran�s death. He was only 12 years old. I had never seen the boy in person but when he was a child I used to talk to Prabhakaran frequently. This boy would be on his lap and Prabhakaran would often give the phone to him saying �Intha KP Mamavode kathai�(Here, talk to KP uncle) So I would chat with him. Later I lost touch with the boy but I was apparently still  existing in his memory.  When the war escalated and shelling increased the boy was very frightened. Later when Charles asked me to arrange for an aerial rescue and I started working on the plan , young Balachandran had been told not to worry and that  he would be going to KP uncle soon. The little fellow had then put some of his belongings in a small bag and  had been carrying it around with him all the time saying �Naan KP Mamata poren.� ( I am going to KP uncle) Sometimes in my thoughts, I visualize Balachandran with his bag telling people that he was going to KP Mama and waiting for a rescue that never  took place. When I think of that I get so sad and angry at Nediyavan for obstructing the plan. Q: Why did he do that? I really don�t know but it must have been on Castro�s instructions. They did not want KP to get credit I think. But this was really a symptom of what had gone wrong in the LTTE. Individuals were letting their petty jealousies and divisions affect the overall good of the movement and struggle. Q: You are sure about the entire family being killed? There are stories spread by sections of the Tamil Diaspora and Tamil Nadu politicians that  Prabhakaran is alive and Madhivathani is alive and so on? What do you say? These types of tales are spread by some for their selfish motives and others believe them because they don�t want to accept emotionally that it is over. Q:  But you don�t have first �hand knowledge of this?  Obviously no! But I was in touch with Soosai till the last stages. I have also heard about these matters from official sources. Most importantly I saw Prabhakaran�s body on TV. Q: But these people disputing it say it was  not his body?  Utter nonsense. When I saw the TV image I immediately knew it was Prabhakaran. I was so upset that I cut myself off from people and spent hours alone crying, reflecting and meditating. Q: One of the reasons for this confusion was due to yourself also. When Prabhakaran�s death reports surfaced you announced to the media that it was not so and that he was  alive in a safe location. Subsequently you went back on that denial. This action eroded your credibility greatly and  provides ammunition to your critics. Why this flip-flop? Can you explain?  Yes, I will be happy to explain. What happened was that Prabhakaran ,Pottu Amman and some others broke out clandestinely in one group and moved through the lagoon and coast. Two other groups also moved out in different directions. The idea was to reach the jungles safely.  Reconnaissance missions done earlier showed that  the soldiers were in three layers around the encircled area. Soosai with whom I was interacting  was informed that Praba and Pottu had broken through all three layers. After that there was no communication. We both assumed that  the leader had reached a safe place and predictably cut off communication to avoid being monitored. It was after this that I issued the statement about silencing our arms. I did this in consultation with Soosai. I was using this statement as a basis to accelerate peace initiatives and come to an arrangement where the remaining people could be saved. Nadesan and Pulidevan from another location were also engaged in negotiations. It was the earlier, information  received by me that Prabhakaran had broken through the  military layers that gave me the  belief that he had reached safety. It was this confidence that made me dismiss reports of Prabhakaran�s death and state that he was safe. Also the first  media report about Prabakharan being dead was in relation to the ambulance escape. That report was false. Prabhakaran was not in an ambulance  But shortly before I lost contact with Soosai the sea Tiger chief  surprised me by saying that Prabhakaran could not break through and had returned. Soosai said that he was only a few hundred yards away from the place he was in. Soosai said that the break out attempt had failed and Prabhakaran had returned without Pottu Amman. He could not give me any more information other than that ,except to say the fighting was really fierce. A little later I lost contact with Soosai.  Some time later I saw Prabhakaran�s body on TV and immediately realised it was all over.  But I must emphasize that my earlier statement denying Prabhakaran�s death  and subsequent statement  confirming it were  both given with all honesty. I did not intend to mislead anyone. I made them on the basis of the information available at that time. People must remember that fighting was going on and communication was difficult. They say �Porin moodupani�(fog of war) about war situations where people get wrong information about the situation.