Category Archives: Business

Business, News

AWS Outposts Land in Malaysia

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Paradigms are shifting when it comes to how companies are managing their data. It shifted from having their own, on-premise servers to having cloud based infrastructure to support their data storage and compute needs. Now, the paradigm is shifting to a complementary approach which focuses on what the industry is calling – the hybrid cloud. Amazon Web Services (AWS) addressed the growing demand for a hybrid solution for their customers with their announcement of AWS Outposts at their annual Re:Invent conference last year.

AWS Outposts: Overview and How It Works

The new AWS Outposts offering brings the power and flexibility of AWS’s cloud platform on premises for businesses that require it. The service provides customers with an customizable server stack that is able to provide any of AWS’s numerous modules. These workloads can then function exactly like their cloud counterparts but at a drastically reduced latency; allowing for local processing for workloads that require low latency. The new service also allows users to store and access their data locally. This negates the need for businesses to sacrifice large chunks of time uploading their data to cloud servers and data lakes. It also helps businesses that handle sensitive data maintain their integrity while bringing them into the future.

AWS Outposts are a fully managed service allowing companies to rest at ease when it comes to maintenance and troubleshooting. In fact, AWS Outposts are designed to give the exact same user experience as AWS’s regular services. Users won’t need to learn a totally new interface or jump between the interfaces when it comes to handling these hybrid workloads. Outposts are also able to interact with AWS Cloud seamlessly.

AWS Outposts have now made it’s way to Malaysia. The infrastructure is ready for Malaysia’s homegrown businesses to take advantage of. The introduction of AWS Outposts in Malaysia allows businesses to process compute workloads on premises. In fact, two major companies have already adopted the technology in their everyday business.

Starting on the 25th of June 2020, AWS customers in Malaysia are able to bring AWS’s compute, storage and graphics optimised instances on premises. This includes the recently announced AMD powered instance in addition to AWS’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Elastic Kubernetes Services (EKS), Relational Database Service (RDS) and more.

Business, Contributed

Pandemic Outcome for Small Businesses: Why It’s Time to Change Attitudes Towards Technology

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Small businesses are some of the most represented in many countries, employing millions of workers and making a huge contribution to the global economy. In fact, they represent around 90% of the business population and more than 50% of employment worldwide. In recognition of the sector, the General Assembly of United Nations declared June 27 a Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day to “raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development”. Such initiatives become even more relevant today, when many small companies face challenging times due to the pandemic. With small businesses looking to get going again, now is the time to take on board lessons learned and improvements that can help organizations move forward.

Technology as one of the key factors for survival

To adapt to the new reality, businesses have been strongly advised to adopt and embrace new technologies so they can continue to operating effectively during the COVID-19 lockdown. That meant introducing new digital tools for collaborative working or specific ones for online sales for example, to enable effective remote working while maximizing productivity. Indeed, according to a survey from the Connected Commerce Council, 76% of small enterprises in the US said they rely more on digital tools than before the pandemic and that without their use, a third would have had to close part or all of their business.

Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels

However, the attitude towards technology implementation is not uniform: some companies do not feel ready to adopt digital services and are reluctant to accept changes, even when operating under normal circumstances. Any halt to normality, or a crisis, can highlight the value of deploying new technology. I don’t mean dramatic innovations like the implementation of artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things. I’m talking about using technologies that facilitate operations, such as cloud-based or more convenient software.

Expectation of cloud adoption versus reality

Although cloud and SaaS are still buzzwords and their adoption rates considered high, many small businesses of up to 250 employees still use on-premise solutions. According to a survey from Analysys Mason, cloud-based applications are the top priority for these businesses, and 60% of them are planning to increase spending on cloud services. However, the survey also revealed that on-premise solutions still dominate in all types of services – including productivity, procurement, and business management software, among others.

The COVID-19 lockdown revealed the extent to which companies are ready to move the entire office to work remotely. Those that only have on-premises infrastructure may have struggled, as their IT administrators would not have had the tools or knowledge to manage employees’ desktops remotely.

Photo by panumas nikhomkhai from Pexels

Uncertainty, risks and compliance issues, and a lack of resources are all common reasons to resist making the move to cloud solutions. Lack of resources in particular is cited time and again, with IT managers of small and medium companies often having to maintain their infrastructures on a very limited budget or without any at all. With many businesses currently more focused on meeting immediate demands, it is understandable for strategic visions to be put on hold. But, as soon as the crisis is over, it will be important to bring back priorities and make adjustments to IT operations according to lessons learned.

Resistance to change

Sometimes, even small changes – such as software improvements that are designed to simplify usage – are met with mistrust.

Let me give you an example from our experience at Kaspersky. We regularly update our product features and functionality to enhance the user experience, such as, turning processes from manual to automatic to simplify security management. However, customers get used to manual actions and our support team often receives feedback asking for features to return to the previous way of working.

Photo by bongkarn thanyakij from Pexels

For example, in older versions of our endpoint security product for Windows, there was an option to manually manage a security application update, run and stop it. In later versions, a seamless upgrade was introduced to reduce the number of manual operations for IT administrators, meaning there was no ‘update’ button any more. The updates rolled out automatically when it was necessary, even when no one was working on a device.

Our product support team received dozens of requests from customers about this update, as they believed the product worked incorrectly. Most of the requests included questions like where to find the manual function, how to use it in the new version, why it has disappeared, and how to bring it back. As well as a reluctance to change, this reaction also highlights a key lesson for us as a vendor: all improvements should be explained to customers very carefully so they understand and buy into the benefits.

Change is scary but inevitable

COVID-19 has brought huge challenges for many small businesses. But if there is one positive to take from the situation is has to be the readiness for changes. All of the examples highlighted above are not only about taking a conscious decision to move to the cloud or a new way of working. It is about making a change to your overall mindset. Businesses should be open to new ways of doing things, especially if it simplifies their work. Changes don’t need to be wholesale, but small ones that make daily routines that little bit easier. During challenging times – like the one we are experiencing – when businesses have to transform on the fly in order to survive, this mindset will serve them well. I personally hope that the current crisis will never be repeated, but it’s always better to be prepared for anything that might come your way.

Business, Computers, News

Lenovo ThinkPad E Series Empowering the New Work From Home Culture with AMD’s Ryzen in Malaysia

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Lenovo’s laptops have long powered the productivity of small and medium businesses. In fact, their ThinkPad brand has been in the business for more than two decades now! The series has become synonymous with sturdy, well built, purpose built laptops which Lenovo has taken to the next level with models such as the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. However, the company didn’t announce another top of the link ThinkPad this time. Instead, they’ve shifted their focus to their affordable, durable, and purpose built line up: the ThinkPad E series.

They’ve partnered with AMD this round to bring even more efficient but powerful performance with AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series. The Ryzen 4000 series has been touted to bring better power efficiency and double digit performance gains over the previous generation of Ryzen processors. In fact, it’s boasting more than 30% increases in performance.

The two new entries: the ThinkPad E14 and ThinkPad E15 come equipped with the AMD Ryzen processors ranging from the Ryzen 3 to the Ryzen 7. These processors come with an integrated AMD Radeon graphics processor which provides enough power for regular day to day graphics and data processing. The processors are complemented with support for up to 24GB of RAM. 8GB of the RAM is soldered with an extra slot for users to add up to 16GB of RAM. On the memory side of things, the ThinkPad E14 and E15 both are able to support a dual SSD setup with up to 1.5TB of combined space. By default, the laptops come with up to 512GB of memory. The second SSD is an optional add on with support for up to 1TB of memory.

When it comes to display, the ThinkPad E14 comes with a 14-inch, Full HD screen; users have the option of a higher contrast IPS display or a TN display. Similarly, the ThinkPad E15 comes with a 15.6-inch display with the same options. Both laptops come with dual 2W Harman speakers with Dolby Atmos certification and a dual array microphone for conference calls. In fact, the laptops are optimised for conference calls with quick shortcut functions for answering and hanging up on con-calls directly on the keyboard. To complement this, the laptops come equipped with a 720p webcam with an optional Infrared function.

If privacy is a concern with the 720p webcam, Lenovo has got you covered with Lenovo’s built-in ThinkShutter allows you to cover the webcam when it’s not in use. However, the webcam is also used to keep your data secure by locking your laptop when you walk away and unlocking when you return. This, of course, works with Windows Hello and will require the IR sensor to work.

Other than that, the laptop comes with a few Lenovo staples including the spill-resistant keyboard and also the slim form factor that has now become ubiquitous with the ThinkPad brand. Both also support WiFi 6 connectivity.

Pricing and Availability

The ThinkPad E14 and ThinkPad E15 are already available in Malaysia with prices starting at MYR3,499 and MYR3,449 respectively.

The laptops are available via their official partner, SNS Network (M) Sdn Bhd. Customers can make their order in one of three ways:

  • Head to their head office in Petaling Jaya at C-11-2, Block C, 3 Two Square, Jalan 19/1, 46300 Petaling Jaya.
  • Email sales@sns.com.my
  • or call 018-2028616
Business, Contributed

Why Technology is The Key to Malaysia Overcoming the Fallout from COVID-19

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Despite its developing economy, Malaysia is still prone to instability and disruption, both natural and man-made.

The ongoing pandemic has shown us that, but it has also raised another concern – how do businesses continue to manage and maintain operations when staff are unable to physically access the workplace or technical facilities, and yet are still required to be ‘present’ and productive by their employers?

In the long term, the solution will require a change in mindset, organisational behaviour, and a new way of doing business. However, in the short term, technology can help.

Technology steps up in time of need

As millions of workers remain isolated, the pivotal role of technology and how it helps keep the country’s economic engine running has been pushed into the spotlight.

Over the past few turbulent months, a range of software, solutions and applications have ensured that prescient businesses continue operating while navigating the recent unpredictability and uncertainty.

Without a doubt, cloud technology has helped. The adoption of public, private and hybrid cloud services provided access to, and availability of, critical data.

At the same time, the transition from hardware-based to software-defined infrastructure has meant that physical access to offices, tech facilities or datacentres is no longer required and central operations can be handled remotely or by a skeleton staff. Thus, the heart of many organisations has continued pumping.

A truly mobile workforce

VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) and DaaS (Desktop as a Service) are perfect examples of how technology is keeping businesses across Malaysia and Asia running. VDI is a cloud-hosted desktop normally located in an on-site datacentre and operated and maintained by in-house IT personnel.

The advantages of VDI is that it provides the ability to customise and control the on-site hardware and environment – ideal for companies with highly sensitive data. The flexible infrastructure can also be easily expanded incrementally. This is an optimal solution in the face of unforeseen demand surges we have all experienced recently.

That said, the true benefit for the enterprise is that it provides mobility and flexibility for personnel without compromising business security, productivity or performance. VDI allows employees to work from anywhere, on any device with secure and complete access to their work desktop, files and network.

At the height of the Hong Kong unrest, the city’s financial giants used VDI to maximise the safety of their staff, avoiding unpredictable and hazardous commutes, and allowing them to operate safely and securely at peak capacity.

DaaS on the hand is a fully outsourced solution providing a virtual desktop. It neither relies on, nor consumes, any internal hardware. It provides the same flexibility, safety, security and access as VDI – but it is fully handled by a third-party cloud provider and hosted on their cloud.

A software-based future

Together, VDI and DaaS provide Malaysia’s businesses with a simple and accessible option for ensuring their staff remain productive and efficient no matter where they are physically located. The two models are set to become central pillars of the nation’s business survivability strategy as companies seek to mitigate future risk and disruption.

For those businesses caught with an isolated workforce, there is affordable, accessible and immediate relief at hand. 

As VDI and DaaS are cloud-based solutions, virtual workspaces for teams, customers, or partners can usually be up and running in under an hour. Isolated staff can then have safe and secure access to any application simply from their home web browser, with no software download or upgrade required. It is almost as simple as point and click.

For Malaysia’s intelligent businesses, their prudent approach in a volatile region is already paying dividends.  For the rest of the country’s companies, the sooner we all embrace the modern tools we require to keep our staff safe, mobile and productive, our business resilient to disruption, and our economies growing in turbulent times, the sooner we will secure our future. It is up to all of us to ensure Malaysia continues to play a leading role in ASEAN’s future success.

Business, News

Aruba Introduces ESP (Edge Services Platform), A Sixth Sense for Networks

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When it comes to networking there’s a myriad of considerations that go into securing, deploying and even managing the network. This is further exacerbated when it comes to large networks with the current perimeter of safety being disintegrated with BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) and even with distance work cultures. Corporations and even homes are left with a huge gap that they have had to fill with multiple solutions which sometimes just don’t coalesce.

Aruba has been hard at work developing a solution that will help companies be forward thinking while keeping their security in check. Their new ESP (Edge Services Platform) allows companies to adopt policies such as BYOD without compromising their network security and without them having to dedicate human and large financial resources in managing and administering network access. ESP essentially empowers the network with an AI-driven sixth sense that provides actionable insights for network administrators while taking the bulk of menial tasks off their to-do lists.

Meet Aruba ESP

The Aruba ESP framework essentially consists of three principal components: AI Ops, a unified infrastructure and Zero Trust Network Security. These components work in tandem to deliver increased network reliability and security. With a cohesive approach, Aruba has managed to build an offering that is able to be implemented at scale and even with smaller businesses. In fact, ESP is able to be deployed according to client needs over a period of time.

The AI Ops component of ESP works to help with identifying, segmenting and remediate network issues. With Aruba’s implementation of AI Ops, the network is able to analyse and segment the network to isolate and protect company assets while allowing employees and guests to access the network with their own devices. It also proactively monitors the network for any security risks such as infected devices or even probable attackers to prevent any downtime. Even if there is downtime, AI Ops will allow Aruba’s ESP to automatically heal and repair the network which will, in the best scenarios, negate possible downtime.

Introducing Aruba ESP

The Edge Services Platform is also a turnkey solution for corporations that allows the consolidation of their networking solution on one unified platform. Running on their already proven Aruba Central network management solution, ESP is able to provide administrators with a cloud native solution to manage everything from switching, Wi-Fi and SD-WAN across their campus network. The single, unified interface also allows them to have a one-stop platform to identify and deal with potential networking issues which may arise. This together with the analytics and insights from AI Ops simplifies the process identifying, isolating and fixing network issues. What’s more, Aruba’s ESP is brand agnostic allowing devices and services from other vendors to be seamlessly integrated into the network.

ESP adopts a Zero Trust approach to network security. However, it doesn’t just segment the network. Instead, it uses built-in, role based access technology that will enable Dynamic Segmentation. This simply means that the platform is able to identify and isolate devices dynamically as they enter the network. It uses an AI model that has been trained to identify certain parameter and automatically assign or isolate devices to help prevent potential security risks or breaches. This approach allows companies to be forward looking while keeping their assets and data safe from intrusion; empowering remote work and BYOD policies which have been proven to increase productivity.

Source: Aruba

Aruba’s ESP heavily leverages telemetry and insights derived from the company’s many years in providing networking solutions and hardware to deliver an ever evolving, rapidly adapting solution that can be deployed according the needs and constraints of their customers. That said, ESP isn’t just reliant of Aruba’s data and telemetry, it evolves with the company and learns from the data and telemetry that is natively derived from the organisation and its policies. Aruba ESP will be available for current platforms including Amazon Web Services.

Business, Computers, News

Less Weight, More Power – the ASUS ExpertBook B9 is here for MYR 6,299!

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Working on the go and off site is a pain. But it is a norm these days. It is becoming more of a norm as the world faces the global pandemic. Working from home is now an essential part of plenty of companies. That also means that companies now must make their employees a lot more mobile. Heavy, permanent desktop PC set-ups are going obsolete and staffs now make do with mobile workstations and notebook PCs.

Of course, there is no replacing raw processing power when it comes to rendering videos and design work. For that kind of power, even the replacement notebook PCs are quite heavy as it is. But for those who needs to be even more mobile, there is another way. There is the ASUS ExpertBook B9.

You have to keep in mind that this is not something you want to carry if you edit videos or design graphics on-the-go. We recommend the ASUS ProArt series for those. Either those, or go on the ROG line-up. The ExpertBook B9 is made for the executives, the guys that need to quickly pop and email out and check on work documents, the ones that need to send final drafts, edit PDF files quickly while staying mobile at all times. Oh, not to forget, they are mostly not near a charging point.

Source: ASUS

For that, the ExpertBook B9 weighs next to nothing at 870g at a minimum. It is no thicker than your traditional notebook and pen at 14.9mm, but you still get full set of I/O ports including a full sized USB port. But it is not that much larger than an A4 paper too, still with 14-inch of display inside mind you and you can get up to two storage options within its body. Oh yes, this comes with its own dedicated NumPad too. Not in the usual way that you think though.

Do not think for a moment that you are giving up plenty of power to get it weighing less than your cat. You still get a 10th Generation Core vPro i7 (up to), specifically built for corporate users where security is of utmost importance. The new processors are also proven powerhouses for all kinds of work purposes, which means you might be able to edit light videos with it too.

Pair that to 16Gb of RAM (up to) and you get a working powerhouse like no other. You can load up as many tabs as you wish to and still get the ExperBook to run nicely. Of course, with the benefit of WiFi 6 capabilities, you can surf or stream all you want. That, or download as many things as you want on up to 2TB of SSD storage. Not enough storage? Just add another SSD!

Source: ASUS

The added power does not come with a higher tax on its battery life though. A 66Wh non-removable battery ensures a full day of use time. When we say a full day; means 24 hours full day, not an 11-hour workday. As if that is not enough time to get your from one airport to another, you can keep your work going with just about an hour of charge with the fast charging technology. This is partially thanks to the clever energy efficient display panel they use on the ASUS ExperBook B9 too.

It is not like you are giving up on quality as well. Of course, something you take around with you on all your work travels would need to be durable and reliable. That is why ASUS have built this to MIL-STD810 US military standards so that you can drop it, spill coffee on it, bring it to Dubai and then all the way to Greenland, and it will still work; you might not.

All these things and you still get a 14-inch Full HD display with sounds by Harman Kardon for when you need to enjoy some down time, or when you need to make important business web calls with the 720p webcam. For ultra-flexibility, your NumPad is integrated into your touch pad. This gives you more reason to get a wireless mouse though.

Yes, we did say that security is a big concern in the corporate world. ASUS addressed this with a physical webcam cover, for when you are not using the webcam. That webcam also works with Windows Hello as a facial recognition tool however. You can either rely on that or the one-touch fingerprint sensor on the ASUS ExpertBook B9.

  • Source: ASUS
  • Source: ASUS
  • Source: ASUS
  • Source: ASUS
  • Source: ASUS
  • Source: ASUS
  • Source: ASUS
  • Source: ASUS

The ASUS ExpertBook B9 will be available in Malaysia today onward. You can get your hands on one for MYR 6,299 onward. Of course, if you are doing a bulk purchase, you might want to work directly with ASUS or their official distributors. If not, you can get your hands on one from ASUS’ stores and partner retailers across the nation. For more information on the ExpertBook B9, you can head to their website.

CPUIntel® Core™ i7-10510 Processor
Intel® Core™ i5-10210 Processor
Intel® vPro™ technology support(Optional)
Operating SystemWindows 10 Pro(ASUS recommends Windows 10 Pro)
Windows 10 Home
Display14” FHD (1920 x 1080), sRGB 100% (NTSC:72%), Anti-Glare, 300 nits brightness
4mm thin bezel, 94% screen-to-body ratio, Anti-glare
On Board Memory8GB / 16GB
Memory Slot1
StorageDual M.2 NVMe PCIe® 3.0 x4
512GB / 1TB/ 2TB SSD (Up to dual 2TB)
External video display modeHDMI 1.4
Integrated GPUIntel® UHD Graphics 620
Video CameraHD 720p CMOS module
FingerprintYes
Wireless ConnectivityWiFi 6 (802.11ax) + Bluetooth 5.0 (Dual band) 2*2
LAN10/100/1000 Mbps
Interface2 x Thunderbolt™ 3 USB-C™(up to 40Gbps, DisplayPort and power delivery support)
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x HDMI out, 1 x micro HDMI for LAN insert, 1 x Kensington® lock slot
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x HDMI out, 1 x micro HDMI for LAN insert, 1 x Kensington® lock slot
AudioQuad 360° far-field microphones(Support noise cancellation)
Built-in Stereo 2 W Speakers, Certified by Harman Kardon
Grade RatingUS Military Grade MIL-STD 810G
NumberPadYes (Exclusive dual-function touchpad)
Built MaterialMagnesium lithium
WeightStarting from 0.87 kg with 33W battery
Dimension32.0 (W) x 20.3 (H) x 1.49 (D) cm
AC adapter65W AC Adapter, Plug Type : USB Type-C
Output: 20V DC, 3.25A, 65W
Input: 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
Battery66Wh, 4-cell lithium-polymer battery
33Wh, 2-cell lithium-polymer battery
Keyboard typeBacklit Chiclet keyboard
Spill-resistant
SecurityTPM 2.0 (Hardware TPM), Windows Hello with facial recognition software (requires IR camera),
Webcam shield, Fingerprint sensor, Kensington Lock Slot
ASUS Business Manager with secure drive setting and lock control to USB storage devices
CertificationEnergy star 7.0, EPEAT Gold, RoHS, FCC Compliance, BSMI, CCC, CB
Warranty3-year limited International hardware warranty.
2 -Cell @ 33Wh modelUp to 12 hours battery life*870 gram (1.92 pounds)
4 -Cell @ 66Wh modelUp to 24 hours battery life*995 gram (2.19 pounds)
MODELPRODUCT VARIANT SPECSBATTERY RAMSTORAGE  SRP in MYR
B9450F-ABM0278Ri7-10510U / 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD*2 (TPM) / Win10 Pro 4CELL 16GB2TB
(1TB x 2)		RM9,299
B9450F-ABM0242Ri7-10510U / 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD (TPM) / Win10 Pro 4CELL 16GB 1TBRM8,599
B9450F-ABM0238Ti7-10510U / 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD / Win10 4CELL 16GB 1TBRM8,299
B9450F-ABM0285Ri5-10210U / 8GB RAM / 512GB SSD (TPM) / Win10 Pro 4CELL 8GB 512GRM6,599
B9450F-ABM0284Ti5-10210U / 8GB RAM / 512GB SSD / Win10 2CELL 8GB 512GRM6,299
Business, eSports, Gaming, News

Gamer’s Rejoice, Gamescom Asia Will Still Happen; in 2021 That is.

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Video games are a big part of our lives. The industry continues to grow and fascinate anyone who cares to look at its stats. In Asia, the industry grows at a pace that is quite unprecedented.

The only thing missing in the grander scheme of things in Malaysia is a big gaming convention that we can liken to E3 in the United States, or Comic Con, or PAX East, or even Gamescom. Well, that was about to change later in the year with Gamescom Asia happening in Singapore from the 16th to 18th of October 2020.

So far, they have been adamant about holding the event in 2020. The mounting pressure that surrounds COVID-19 situations globally though is not encouraging. That is why they have made the decision to postpone the event instead to 2021.

The new dates are 14th to 17th of October in 2021. Yes, it is happening in the final quarter of 2021, about a year after the 2020 dates. It may not be a bad thing though. We are seeing large improvements over the COVID-19 situation currently and would most likely see a large improvement in the coming year with vaccine’s produced and circulated.

While we are going to not see the world’s biggest convention coming to Asia this coming October, we remain excited for the upcoming Gamescom Asia happening next year October 2021. They have reported that the participations and requests for Gamescom Asia 2020 has been quite overwhelming. They also mentioned that there will be AAA title publishers present in the Asia leg of their convention. It will be a world class event, they say. We are hopeful that we would see it too.

Gamescom Asia 2021 will be held, as mentioned, from the 14th to 17th of October in Singapore still. The convention will be housed in Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre; that is right in the heart of Singapore. For more information on Gamescom Asia, you can head over to their website.

Business, News

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Gets More EPYC with AMD Powered Instances

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the most prolific web service platform in the world. In fact, it’s estimated that over half of the world’s small and medium businesses have adopted the technology platform as their platform of choice when it comes to dealing with cloud services for their needs. AWS provides one of the most diverse platforms supporting Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and even rudimentary data storage. They provide their different services as deployable modules which allow companies to deploy and terminate instances as they need to.

AMD is one of the latest additions to the platforms array of instance which can be deployed. The new AMD EPYC instances will be powering the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) C5a instances. These instances will be powered by AMD’s 2nd generation server grade EPYC processors which also power one of the largest supercomputers in the world. The AMD EPYC processors will be able to run at frequencies of up to 3.3GHz and will be able to provide users with high performance x86 processing for large compute workloads. This includes batch processing, distributed analytics, data transformations, log analytics and web applications.

The new EPYC powered C5a instance joins the increasing number of AMD powered instances available on AWS. It will be available in eight configurations with up to 96 virtual CPUs (vCPUs). The new AMD EPYC powered instance also delivers on AMD’s promise of being able to deliver high performance compute at affordable prices. On AWS, the new C5a instance is the one of the lowest cost per x86 vCPU in Amazon’s portfolio.

The C5a instance is already available in AWS U.S. East, AWS U.S. West, AWS Europe and AWS Asia Pacific regions. AMD also has five other instances already available on AWS under the EC2 catalogue: M5a, M5ad, R5a, R5ad and T3a. These instances also provide users with compute capabilities that are catered to their needs and price points.

Business, Contributed, Lifestyle, Mobile, Social Media

Parenting Digital Natives

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*This article is contributed by Nana Murugesan, Managing Director, International Markets, Snap Inc.*

Parenting the next generation always raises a new set of challenges as well as opportunities. After all, new parents are raising their children in a world that is very different from the one they experienced in their own childhood. Over the past couple of decades, technology has also changed things more fundamentally with parents today raising a generation who at times can feel as if they are speaking an entirely different language to them.

In his 2001 paper “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” the author Marc Prensky said that the rapid arrival and dissemination of digital technology at the turn of the century has created a generation of digital natives who have grown up immersed in technology and who are separated from the generations before who have come to learn technology.

Today’s parents face the challenge of parenting digital natives in a rapidly evolving world that their children understand and adapt to far better than themselves. But while it can sometimes feel like they are inhabiting different worlds, there are ways in which parents can bridge the gap.

Celebrity parents such as Reese Witherspoon and Julianne Moore have realised that Snapchat is a cool way of communicating with their teenage children. The platform can be part of any parent’s digital set up to maintain and develop an intimate relationship with their digital native offspring

Understand their thoughts to understand their actions 

A study conducted by Snap Inc, The Friendship Report[1], explored friendships in four distinct age generations, from Gen X to Gen Z. While both Millennials and Gen Zs can be classified as digital natives, there are some key differences in how they interact and present themselves in the (digital) world.

From The Friendship Report, 37% of Gen Z in Malaysia was found to be more selective over the people they let into their close circle of friends, as opposed to Millennials, who are comfortable sharing intimacies beyond the borders of their close friends.

This is also reflected in differing preferences for social and messaging platforms. While social networks are built to curate a digital representation of one’s self, Snapchat’s emphasis on privacy by design offers the ability to control who has access to your Snaps, is one of the reasons Gen Z’s prefer it over other, more public, platforms. Local Gen Z (27%) are more reluctant than Gen Y (56%) to share life updates publicly on Facebook.

At Snapchat, we have put a great deal of thought into how to empower young people to engage creatively, safely and positively with their close friends when online. Our app was built with privacy at its core — starting with ephemerality — and designed to combat the online popularity contests fuelled by other platforms. In line with that, Snapchat was deliberately designed to be free from public vanity metrics such as likes, comments or shares. Our focus is on creating fun and surprising experiences that make snapping with your best friends fun. We strongly believe that there are different types of screen time and that we should be judging quality and not quantity.

Get on their wavelength

While the familiar trope of parents attempting to be fun, hip or cool will outlast us all, there are ways to learn and understand your digital native’s language. One way is to meet them as an equal and show understanding, which begins with putting away judgement and nostalgia about “the way things were”.

One of the best ways to get to know someone is to find an activity to share. While Snapchat’s audience is predominantly made up of Millennial and Gen Z digital natives, there’s plenty to interest everyone, not just the teens. Create an account and explore the messaging app, which offers entertainment via Discover and Snap Games, and AR experiences through Lenses. Why not move your family group chat over to Snapchat, so you can discuss and celebrate genuine, private family moments with full control over what gets shared outside the group?

Things they don’t teach you in school

In today’s day and age where information is available at the tap of a finger, we have access to high resolution videos of the highest highs, and the lowest lows of humanity. It’s important not to be overwhelmed, and to tackle this anxiety-inducing state of affairs by educating ourselves and our children. Teach them to be discerning consumers who critically assess the information they gain over the internet. One key step is in learning to be discerning when choosing news outlets, which is a lifelong practice.

Discover is a curated platform, with shows and news coming from trusted news sources, and what you are served isn’t based on friends activity – preventing the widespread dissemination of fake news, or creating an echo chamber.

Parenting often involves having one foot in the present and another in an unknown future. While all parents want the best for their children, we can learn to be nimble, and collaborate with our digital natives. Along the way, they might teach us a thing or two about this brave new world, though they can’t imagine a time before cellphones were a gateway to the rest of the world.

Business, Computers, Editorial

The Art of Enabling the Disabled

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Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI and ML) technologies have come a long way since its first inception. Who would have thought that we would have a working model of actual computer-based assistants that can do things like manage our schedules? Who would have thought that we could even use these assistants to manage our homes? These things can even be used to diagnose cancer patients, something impossible without doctors even five years ago.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is at the forefront of AI and ML technology. As one of the world’s largest technology innovators, they would naturally be at an advantage to feed enough data to the technology and accelerate their development. Because they are also one of the largest technology firms any man has ever seen, they are also at an advantage in placing AI and ML in places and applications we may never have imagined.

Linguistics is one segment that has benefitted greatly from technologies today. Linguistics, if you think about it is also one of the most complex things that us humans can create and understand. The context of it and interpretation can be affected by plenty of things too. Linguistics is affected by area, culture, community, heritage, and even lineage.

For example, there are differences between French spoken in France and Canada. There are even subtle differences between French spoken in France and Monaco, or even Switzerland. The most common language of all, English has differences even in spelling and context in Britain, the Americas, and even Australia. English spoken today is also a distinct form of the language that was spoken 50 years ago.

The Pollexy Project

The progression of technology in linguistics have progressed through years and years of feeding all these data into it. That has allowed us to communicate with global communities with more ease than peeling an orange. AWS has taken it a little further than that though. They have gone beyond spoken or written languages. Through something called AWS DeepLens, they have developed translation algorithms to sign languages.

While that technology might sound like it is as simple as gesture controls, it is plenty more than that. Yes, it is technically gesture control and recognition. But it is way larger and more complex than just a solution for end-point devices. The trick is to teach the native algorithm to recognise all the available sign words and even alphabets. The AWS DeepLens Community projects so far has learnt to recognise most of the alphabets in the American Sign Language.

But technology also goes beyond just recognising alphabets to understanding proper words with the algorithm in Amazon Alexa. It is not just about communicating with your friends anymore. It is about using the platform as a home assistant tool, a customer service tool, a command center, and user defined PC experience that mimics voice control and command for us. Instead of using voice though, its all in the gestures.

Making Amazon Alexa respond to Sign Language using AI

The tool they use is called Amazon Transcribe. It works just like any transcribe apps you can find in the market. It supports up to 31 languages currently with more being added by time. It even supports ASL as a component to create text from sign language.

Simple communication is just the beginning for the technology though. AI and ML still has a long way to go even in the medical field. Just like the human race, the technology gets better everyday though. If you really think about it, the technology is not that new in the first place. We have embarked on the journey of having machine built and defined assistants since we started developing computers to help us with simple and complex mathematical problems.

It is just that simple mathematical problem solver has become something much bigger today. Who would have thought that we would let computers fly a commercial airplane? Who would have thought that cars can drive themselves today? Who would have thought that we could hire a private translator without spending any money or any time? You just have to look into your pocket.