STARTWO, THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2009

Malay added to Google Translation

INTERNET giant Google announced it was
adding nine more languages to Google Translate,
its automatic translation program.
The company, in a blog post, said Google
Translate was now available in Malay, Afrikaans,
Belarusian, Icelandic, Irish, Macedonian, Swahili,
Welsh and Yiddish.
The addition of nine new languages brings to
51 the number of languages offered by Google
Translate, it said.
The translation quality of these newest
languages is still a little rough, but it will improve

over time and were continuously working to

improve quality for all languages supported by
Google Translate, Google said.
Google Translate allows users to automatically
translate webpages from one language to another
and the feature has been added to other Google
products such as Gmail and its blog reader.
Google also announced that it had added
automatic translation to Google Docs allowing
users to instantly translate documents. Google
Docs provides wordprocessing, spreadsheet and
other programs hosted on the Internet. AFP

Lenovo announces
another AIO

ENOVO recently
introduced its
IdeaCentre C100
all-in-one (AIO) PC,
which integrates a
traditional tower
desktop with the
monitor into a compact
form factor.
It sports a 18.5in
screen (1,366 x 768pixels resolution)
with 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
thats only
52mm
thick.
The
C100
comes with a
choice of a single
core Intel Atom 230
(1.6GHz) or Intel Atom 330 dualcore (1.6GHz) processor, 1GB of
RAM and a either a 160GB, 250GB
and 320GB hard drive.
It also comes with a DVD
burner, four USB 2.0 ports, a 1.3megapixel webcam, integrated
stereo speakers and WiFi
connectivity.

Reuters

The Lenovo IdeaCentre C100

will be available in the fourth
quarter of this year. Local pricing
was not available at press time.
++++
www.lenovo.com/my

TECHNOLOGY

T13

Concerns over
portscan attacks
IF YOUR security program keeps warning you about
portscan attacks, you shouldnt be overly worried.
Almost any computer on the Internet will get that
kind of random inspection from afar. And as long as
youve got a firewall and all current security patches
in place, the bad guys cant tamper with your
computer. You can think of these scans as the
equivalent of strangers checking out your car after
youve locked the doors and made sure nothing of
value is visible inside. LAT-WP

ENGAGING AUDIENCES
VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
W

HEN the name of a

search engine is an
unofficial verb, you
know the Internet has definitely
changed how we connect and
search for information.
A more recent trend is the
acceptance of social networking
sites such as Twitter and Facebook
as part of our everyday communication tools.
These sites are not only used by
consumers to keep in touch with
long lost friends anymore as more
and more companies are using
such tools to get in touch with
their customers.
This is just a natural progression
for social networks, said Dr
Michael Netzley, assistant professor of corporate communication
practice with the Singapore
Management University.
All technology innovations go
through an adoption cycle and we
are now just seeing the
mainstream adoption (of these
services), he said.
Although businesses are starting
to use these services in their
marketing and promotions strategies, he said the game hasnt

changed very much and whether

or not they do a good job is a
secondary matter.
You do not have direct control
over what users say, so active
engagement becomes critical if
your corporate voice is to be part
of that consumer conversation, he
said.
The mainstream adoption of
such tools also shows that its not
just a trend among the younger
generation anymore.

Netzley said many Web 2.0

applications tend to be associated
with a younger crowd but in
reality, the demographic of
consumers is changing.
While Web 2.0 is more popular
with Gen Y, it can still be as
popular with Gen X and Baby
Boomers, he said.
But not all companies are
experts in using such tools to help
with their marketing and
promotions strategy. Some are still
feeling their way through this new

environment, he added.
To hear more of what Netzley
has to say about social media, head
online to www.star-techcentral.
com.
Netzley will also be in town
tomorrow to give a talk entitled
Adventures with Social Media
Lessons from Asias Internet at a
half-day seminar.
The seminar will also feature
R.AGE assistant editor Niki Cheong,
who will speak about his
experience in using Twitter and
other forms of social media as a
form of communication.
The half-day talk will be held at
10am at Menara Star, Phileo
Damansara II, Petaling Jaya. It is
organised by PRCA Malaysia in
collaboration with The Stars New
Media department.
Entrance fee is RM30 for PRCA
Malaysian members and RM50 for
non-members. Corporate members
may register 10 consultants and/or
guests at members rate.
For more information, contact
Ong Gaik Hong or Ida Zarina Faiz
of Maverick Communications at
(03) 6207-1558 or e-mail to
secretariat@prcamalaysia.org.