Non-CP are taking role of a VAS, so what do "conventional CP" can do?

CP term is quite popular recent years as enabler to work with telco to provide value added services (VAS). As enabler, it provide channel to deliver content or services from other entity, such as news sources, music labels, games developers and marketing companies, as mobile-fit service. So we seen lots of service allied to certain artist, TV broadcaster, even daily product brand. It could be video on demand service, song downloads, games for mobile phone, phone enhancement or sms text news alert. But lately, the term "CP" quite allergic to some correspond to unethical service way.

As now, so many services are product and sells as their internal service. These provider affiliate with handset manufacturer so that ever since the first time we unwrap a new handset, we've forced to review so many services. They are trying to create a shortcut of CP's value chain. Broadcast companies are having their own shortcode, games companies also have their own connection to telco. So what does "conventional CP" can do as their role are no longer needed ?

To answer the economic challenges, there are several suggestion that a CP can evolve to :

1. Be a media company
As media industry expanded, cp could also become as media sources, that specialized for mobile user. Of course kind of hard to beat CNN that has correspondent all over the world, but world now evolve to personal reporting, where everyone could submit their own news. sure this is a very potential business in the future. And I'm glad to say that my company I work now is evolving to this direction too, although the idea is not quite the same. It's more to music-related broadcast channel.

2. Be an IT backend company
This idea is not new. There are used-to conventional companies now are strong player provide back end services for mobile banking, mobile airline service and even telco intern system like billing and RBT platform.

3. Affiliate with music industry
The third way is, become strategic partner with certain music labels. As now, copyright is the main issue where CP no longer can create and sell music product they used to sell, all product variant is binded with string of copyrights. Only product under Cc can be modified and sold freely.
To overcome this matter, either cp be the stratigic partner of music company or have own artists. there are advantages of having own artist, as cp will have unlimited idea to explore an artist could be, beside conventional artist has, like publishing songs, concert, promotion on radio/tv/online.


These are options for a "conventional" CP have, where a company could evolve as one type or all of them if they capable to.  Happy new year 2009 ! May coming year bring properity to us all.

Reference
1. CNBC Mobile
2. Universal Malaysia
3. Metamobile Jusradio

Sharing USB files on Ubuntu

USB flash disk is no doubt industry standard for portable storage. Everybody carrying one or more, even that's a "pure" USB flash disk or any portable device with storage, since most these modern gadget has USB Mass Storage profile.

To share these files on Ubuntu for other users, you may use Samba file sharing. Samba is file sharing server act just like Windows share, for sharing files and printer. To install samba on ubuntu as simple as installing other program.

> sudo apt-get install samba

Once installed, start sharing folder by right-click on a folder name opened using Nautilus (the de-facto file manager) -> Sharing. Make sure the file you going to share has appropriate permission. To be able to read, at least has read privileges on "other". Chmod them to 644.

To be able to share USB files, you need to change default privileges of USB flash disk files. As it auto-mounted when you insert it, USB flash disk get file permission setting from gnome setting editor. Change them with :

> gconf-editor

Go to system>storage>default_options>vfat, double click "mount_options" on the right, click "add", enter the text "fmask=000", click ok. Also double click on umask need to change to "000" (that's triple zero). Remember that's masking code not the mode itself. So umask = 000 equal to 777 filemode. Save it then remount the volume.