Sabahans rejoice! Your connectivity and entertainment are about to get supercharged with high-speed broadband and access to the latest shows thanks to Astro’s new, competitively-priced packages. These packages bundle access to up to 90 channels of content and 100Mbps of fibre internet.
The new packages are already being made available from Astro. There are primarily two bundles being offered by Astro Fibre – the Astro Fibre Bundle 100Mbps + Primary Pack that comes in at RM99.99 monthly and the Astro Fibre Bundle 100Mpbs + Sports Pack that comes in at RM119.99 a month. The new bundles come after the announcement that Astro will be partnering with Celcom Timur to bring WiFi Kencang and connectivity offerings to Sabah. According to Astro, the 100Mpbs internet speed is a free upgrade to the base 50Mbps for two years. No word if the speed will be reverted to 50Mpbs or if higher prices will be enforced after the two years.
The new offering gives subscribers access to over 80 channels. This includes channels like Lifetime HD, TLC HD, Asian Food Network HD, Love Nature 4K, AXN HD, KBS World HD, NHK World Premium, TVB Jade, Star Vijay HD and more for the Primary Pack. The Sports Pack on the other hand gives you access to over 95 channels including beIN Sports, Astro SuperSport UHD 1, W-Sport, and SPOTV. Subscribers can add more packs to their packages for additional fees.
The packages will come with a free WiFi 6 router, a free Ulti or Ultra Box, access to the Astro GO app, access to the Astro Fibre app and free installation. You will be able to monitor your internet usage as well as set up safety rails for the internet for your children.
This article is contributed by Joanne Weng, Sales Director at Synology
In today’s digital age, backup solutions are more critical than ever before. Businesses of all sizes must ensure that their data is secure and easily recoverable in case of data loss or cyberattacks. One of the most commonly cited backup rules is the 3-2-1 rule, which suggests having at least three copies of data stored in two different formats, with one copy stored offsite. While this serves as a solid foundation for a backup strategy, it may not always be practical or feasible for all businesses.
Should we follow the golden rule of 3-2-1 backup?
The golden rule has its limitations, especially for small businesses with limited resources. Implementing a complete backup solution can be costly, as it requires additional hardware and offsite storage solutions. According to a 2021 report from Databarracks, “implementing the 3-2-1 backup rule is becoming more expensive, with the cost of storage and cloud services rising by around 10% over the past year” (Source: TechRepublic).
For SMBs, prioritizing practicality in your office’s data protection plan is crucial, and identifying a suitable solution for your business is paramount. According to a survey by ITProPortal, 40% of small businesses do not have any data backup solution in place. Moreover, 34% of businesses have experienced data loss due to hardware failure or human error, and 25% have experienced data loss due to cyberattacks. Hence, the primary concern here is to implement this data protection strategy seamlessly and initiate it as swiftly as possible.
Reasons why small businesses don’t backup
Let’s delve into the reasons why SMBs often lack proper backup solutions. As previously mentioned, one of the primary limitations of backup is its cost. Budgetary constraints are consistently a major concern for most businesses. Backups might be perceived as both time-consuming and expensive due to hardware costs, recurring software license fees, and maintenance expenses.
Furthermore, constructing and managing a robust backup solution also demands significant effort, which many SMBs are unable to allocate. A dedicated IT team for setting up the necessary infrastructure is often lacking, leading to the outsourcing of such tasks.
Lastly, the recent adoption of hybrid working has resulted in office data scattered across different platforms and devices. This situation makes data centralization and management initially cumbersome. Additionally, data migration in such cases can give rise to security risks.
Backup solution with compatibility, capacity, and value cost
To overcome these challenges, small businesses need a data protection solution that facilitates scalable backup appliances, simplifies IT deployment and maintenance, as well as offers flexibility and secure integration across various platforms and devices.
Synology backup solutions are ideal for businesses, offering both on-premise and cloud-based backup solutions to cater diverse business needs. These solutions come with three key advantages: compatibility, capacity, and value cost. Unlike traditional backup appliances, there is no need to select corresponding backup software based on varying endpoint requirements and software compatibility. Synology’s hybrid-cloud provides a centralized backup appliance that spans across platforms, along with scalable storage. Utilizing enterprise-grade technologies such as global deduplication and changed block tracking (CBT), maximized storage efficiency with simplicity.
Moreover, the backup software licenses cover everything, from folder-level and bare-metal backups to VM and SaaS backups, and all of this is available at no cost—100% free. Synology’s public cloud backup service adopts a pricing method that only calculates storage space, instead of the number of devices or employees. This transparent pricing approach ensures there are no hidden costs associated with the backup package, setting it apart from other solutions available in the market.
Backup is not that hard: Deployment sizing recommendations for different usages
So, considering all the mentioned benefits, let’s focus on practicality: What is the ideal backup setup for small to medium businesses? Here are three recommended sizing for different segments of usage scenarios.
Smaller-sized businesses and startups
Starting from smaller-sized businesses, such as startups with around 30 employees. These companies require endpoint and SaaS backup capabilities to safeguard the data of their remote-working staff. Additionally, they might require storage scalability to accommodate future needs. Given that these businesses often lack dedicated IT personnel to formulate a comprehensive backup strategy, Synology’s Plus Series 4-bay or above model with cloud storage backup will be the most suitable solution.
For this context, the best approach is to employ Synology’s Active Backup for Business. This tool enables the automatic backup of office data from PCs, servers, and SaaS accounts (like Microsoft 365) to centralize all the data on the NAS. To further enhance the layers of protection for this centralized data, Hyper Backup can be adopted. This solution facilitates backing up the NAS, along with all its configurations, to options such as external hard drives, public clouds, or another Synology NAS device.
What’s more, the user-friendly intuitive UI, coupled with the setup wizard, allows the staff to easily set up the system. The powerful hybrid protection strategy comes at a cost comparable to that of protecting a set of individual PCs, making it undeniably a cost-effective backup plan.
Medium-sized businesses
Moving on, for a company size of around 200 employees, the deployment approach remains comparable to the one previously mentioned; however, a larger company size introduces additional factors, such as the need to back up virtual machines and the necessity for faster access speeds and greater storage capacity due to the increased scale. Normally, businesses of this size would have an IT team for handling backup tasks, Yet, given the larger number of devices to be backed up, challenges arise in terms of cross-platform deployment and ongoing maintenance.
This is where Synology’s comprehensive backup software setups in to provide assistance. It not only supports almost all the common platforms in SMBs IT infrastructure but also provides a central management portal. Thus, Synology emerges as the most fitting choice for SMBs.
Similar to the Startups package, here we would recommend 8-bay or above Plus Series models along with C2 Storage for the data protection plan. This package could cover all the backup-needed platforms, and the storage can be easily expanded by providing flexibility in expansion in the future.
SMEs or Larger-Scale Corporations
Lastly, when considering larger companies, such as SMEs with approximately 1000 employees, the pain point would be similar to what SMBs face, but enterprises would require more complicated management due to the significantly larger number of devices. Furthermore, these enterprises would need more immediate recovery to minimize downtime. To meet the critical requirements in enterprises require, we can provide the corresponding one-stop backup solution with multiple-layer protection.
The highly scalable 2U rack models paired with Cloud backup prove to be an optimal choice. and in consideration of the recovery time requirement, it would be great to have another on-prem NAS for disaster recovery solutions so that enterprises can utilize Snapshot Replication for instant recovery. Even for large-scale enterprises, Synology would still become the best choice with flexible data protection deployment, including on-prem, cloud, and an extra DR site.
In conclusion, while the 3-2-1 backup rule is an essential starting point, it may not be enough to meet all business backup needs. Synology offers flexible backup solutions that can help businesses achieve reliable and cost-effective backups that suit their unique needs and risks. By taking a holistic approach to backup and regularly testing backup systems, businesses can ensure that their data is secure and easily recoverable in case of data loss or cyberattacks.
Microsoft seems to be standardising the uncoupling of Teams from Microsoft 365 to global markets. The move comes a few months after the company was forced to unbundle the app from its productivity suite – Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365). Microsoft claims that the move will provide added flexibility and purchasing choices when it comes to using its productivity suite globally.
Teams was introduced in 2017 and grew in popularity over the course of the pandemic as one of the company’s answers to remote work and productivity. However, in 2020, Slack – one of Team’s main competitors – petitioned the EU alleging anticompetitive behaviour by Microsoft. The complaint alleged that it used its market-dominant Office 365 suite to push installs for Teams and force users to install it without the ability to remove it. This bundling was seen as an anticompetitive act suffocating competition. This complaint has led to ongoing antitrust investigations into the company concerning Teams in the European Union (EU).
The unbundling of Teams from Microsoft 365 comes months into the investigation. It was initially rolled out in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Now, Microsoft seems to be standardising the unbundling globally both to align with the feedback from the European Commission and to preempt any further legal action that could result from the bundling of Teams in Microsoft 365.
Moving forward, Teams will be offered independently and as part of Microsoft 365 bundles. The app will be offered for USD$5.25 (RM24.95) monthly. Office without teams will be priced at USD$7.75 (RM36.84) to USD$54.75 (RM260.23) depending on the package. The pricing seems to be in line with the EEA pricing. However, it’s worth noting that global pricing has not been released officially.
Hyundai Motor and Kia unveil DAL-e Delivery’s new design and advanced technologies, such as autonomous driving and face identification
The robot’s design is based on Plug & Drive (PnD) modules to improve delivery performance, especially in complex settings like offices and malls
DAL-e Delivery achieves a top speed of 1.2 m/s and navigates easily around obstacles and in narrow passages
The robot is equipped with face identification technology developed by Hyundai Motor Group’s Robotics Lab and certified by the Korea Internet and Security Agency
Its enhanced suspension ensures stable transportation, with an increased cargo capacity for up to 16 cups of coffee and items weighing up to 10 kg
Set to debut at IGIS Asset Management’s ‘Factorial Seongsu’ in the second quarter, DAL-e Delivery aims to revolutionize efficient F&B and parcel delivery services
SEOUL, South Korea, April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor) and Kia Corporation (Kia) today unveiled the new design of their DAL-e Delivery robot with images and a video clip. This robot, based on the delivery robot introduced in December 2022, is expected to improve delivery performance, particularly in complex settings, such as offices and shopping malls.
DAL-e Delivery
Drawing from the insights gained from Hyundai Motor and Kia’s previous conveyance pilot project, DAL-e Delivery has undergone significant improvements in both design and performance for swift and dependable delivery services in complex indoor environments.
DAL-e Delivery
“DAL-e Delivery offers efficient and reliable F&B and parcel dispatch services to ensure customers receive goods promptly,” said Dong Jin Hyun, Vice President and Head of Robotics Lab at Hyundai Motor and Kia. “Our vision extends to implementing infrastructure interworking across diverse spaces, including offices, restaurants and shopping malls.”
DAL-e Delivery
To enhance driving stability, DAL-e Delivery is designed in a square column with rounded corners with the center of gravity at the bottom. The sensors are discreetly integrated, and the sophisticated metal-like design lends DAL-e Delivery a sleek, premium aesthetic.
DAL-e Delivery is based on four Plug & Drive (PnD) modules, a mobility solution that combines a motor with steering, suspension, braking systems and environmental recognition sensors. It can speed up to 1.2 m/s, with the free-moving PnD modules combined with advanced autonomous driving technology to recognize obstacles and easily navigate in congested areas. Also, the robot’s enhanced suspension provides a steady ride over bumps in the floor to ensure stable delivery.
Samsung announced its brand new Galaxy A series only weeks ago. One of the biggest upgrades when it comes to the Galaxy A55 is its system on a chip (SoC)- the Exynos 1480. However, there wasn’t much known about the SoC until now. The new Exynos 1480 is Samsung’s Foundry’s new midrange hero when it comes to processors.
The new processor is built using Samsung’s new 4nm process. This has resulted in the processor being more power efficient and also more power than the Exynos 1380 before it. The new 1480 is an octacore comes with a new configuration of four Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.75GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0GHz. This setup of four performance cores (Cortex-A78) and four efficiency cores (Cortex-A55) allows the processor to deliver better performance at lower power drains and also keep base power drains at lower level than before. This lends itself to better battery life and better overall performance.
The Exynos 1480 is Samsung’s first midrange Exynos chip to come with the Xclipse graphics system. The Xclipse 530 GPU on the SoC uses AMD’s RDNA architecture. Although, it’s not clear if it’s using RDNA2 or RDNA3 as the website only states that its using the “latest mobile RDNA architecture”. The new Xclipse 530 GOU boasts a 53% performance improvement over the previous generation. It also supports ray tracing (variable rate shading) and supersampling (super resolution). This promises better gaming and graphical performance in devices using the Exynos 1480.
On device AI is becoming increasingly more important for devices regardless of whether they are flagships, midrange or entry-level. To that end, the Exynos 1480 is coming with an improved AI Engine that runs on an enhanced NPU. This combination is responsible for a near 4x improvement of NPU performance over its predecessor. This feature also helps reinforce the security of your data on your device as it reduces the need for data to leave the device to be processed. It also results in smoother, more fluid AI functions.
The new processor also comes with a 5G modem that supports both mmWave and sub-6GHz bandwidths. It boasts a download theorectical maximum download speed of up to 5.1Gbps which is twice the speed as the previous generation. It also supports WiFi 6E (ax), Bluetooth 5.3 LE and GNSS positioning.
When it comes to image processing, the Exynos 1480 comes has a pretty capable ISP (image singal processor). It supports up to 200-megapixel in single camera mode, a single 64-megapixel at camera with 4K video record at 30fps or dual camera setup with dual 32-megapixel sensors that support 4K recording at 60fps. Display-wise, it supports a Full HD+ display with a max refresh rate of 144 Hz. It also supports high speed RAM with the LPDDR4x and LPDDR5.
So far, only the Samsung Galaxy A55 is using the smartphone. It won’t be surprising to see the processor make it to more devices as the year progresses.
