Viral Hit Sensation "Pen-Pinapple-Apple-Pen" Sets Guinness World Record

Jakarta Globe, November 03, 2016

A still from "Pen-Apple-Pineapple-Pen" Music Video by Pikotaro. (Photo
courtesy of Youtube)

Jakarta. Viral music video “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen” by Japanese comedian Pikotaro has made it to Guinness World Records as the shortest song ever to hit the Billboard Hot 100.

The original music video, which features the 45-second hit sensation, was first released at the end of August earlier this year, and has been viewed more than 75 million times on Youtube. Piko Taro is the alter-ego of the Japanese comedian and DJ Daimaou Kosaka. In the video he dresses in animal-print shirt and trousers, which has now become his trademark, and happily dances to the catchy tunes of his song.

“PPAP” became a viral hit soon after Justin Bieber shared the video with his 89 million Twitter followers, saying it was “his favorite video on the internet.”

The previous record for shortest song to make it to the Billboard Hot 100 was held by US group the Womenfolk, with their 62 second single “Little Boxes.”

Following the success of “PPAP,” Piko-Taro released a longer version this past week. The 2 minutes and 41 seconds video has been viewed more than 11 million times.

Pikotaro is a pseudonym for Kazuhito Kosaka, who also goes by Daimaou Kosaka. He is the first Japanese musician to hit the Billboard chart since 1990. The Daily Mail reported that Piko-Taro announced a contract-signing with record labels such as Sony, CNR Music and Times Records for a worldwide distribution of “PPAP.”

German software giant boosts Palestinian IT sector

It’s easy to assume that nothing much goes on in the Palestinian territories other than war and violence. But the German enterprise software giant SAP has spotted an opportunity there.

Deutsche Welle, 23 June 2015

Murad Tahboub is the first to admit that the year 2000 was not a good time to start his IT services business in Palestine.

"It was just before the second intifada, so it took us a long time to get going, and it wasn't until 2005 that we started landing some serious export business," said Tahboub.

"Even now, it's a challenge overcoming the stereotypes about Palestine. But our company ASAL Technologies has been growing healthily for the last ten years. We started with 10 employees, and today it's more than 150."

Tahboub's business is not an isolated example. Despite periodic outbreaks of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians (the most recent being Israel's offensive against Gaza last year) there is a flourishing IT software industry in Palestine, and its universities turn out more than 2,000 graduates in IT-related subjects every year.

Strong startup scene

The industry's strengths lie in software development in all areas, and there's a lively startup sector of small businesses with bright ideas looking for investors to take them to the next stage of growth.

So although a recent initiative by SAP may have raised eyebrows elsewhere, in Palestine it's seen as due recognition for their growing IT muscle. In 2005, information and communications technology (ICT) was worth $112 million (98.6 million euros) in added value to the economy; by 2013, it was $453 million at constant prices, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. ICT accounts for about six per cent of GDP.

The SAP deal is this: in the last few weeks, eight Palestinian universities have joined SAP's University Alliances program to develop graduates with critical IT skills. Palestinian graduates will also be recruited into SAP's Young Professional Program, where they'll receive training in SAP solutions and tools.

Although there is no guarantee of jobs with SAP, the graduates will effectively be part of the software giant's push into the whole of the Middle East. It has around 1,350 customers there already and the region is one of SAP's fastest-growing markets.

Unknown to many, Palestine's economy is more than just vegetable growing

So it was a hard-headed business decision, but Senior Vice President for Strategic Investments Marita Mitschein prefers to emphasise the social benefits. "SAP believes in the importance of IT to shape people's lives in the Middle East and we are proud to play a part in doing that in Palestine," she said.

On the ground in Palestine, they don't disguise their pleasure at SAP's move. "It's significant for the training of our graduates, but the connections that SAP partners will make with each other are more important," said Yahya Al-Salqan, chairman of the 150-strong Palestinian IT Association.

"It will be a network that will help us build a strong industry in the region, and we need that to hold on to our brightest graduates. They often have to go abroad to get a job. We have lots of bright people, a reputation for quality and great value because our costs are about half the costs in Europe and the US."

Outside help

SAP and Palestinian IT didn't just fall into each other's arms. The marriage broker was the Office of the Quartet Representative (OQR), which has a brief to promote economic development. Tony Blair is currently the Representative and the Quartet was set up by the EU, the UN, the USA and Russia. The OQR brought in David Dick, an IT industry executive, to attract the world's big IT players to the region – the likes of Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft and SAP.

"I've had a whole career in IT, so I've been engaging with senior IT execs to persuade them about the opportunities in Palestine. SAP were quick to offer their support and they put me in touch with their Middle East business and their worldwide university training team," said David Dick.

"The key to drawing in the big global businesses is to get Palestine onto their radar. They already place much of their support work in low-cost locations anyway, so it's not difficult for them to add Palestine to the mix. SAP is just the first, and we hope to make another announcement soon."

Back in Ramallah, Murad Tahboub is brimming with optimism. "The SAP initiative is a wakeup call to all multinationals to take a look at the valuable resource we have here. Things are looking rosy for the IT sector here, and despite all the obstacles, I believe that the generation of jobs is the key element for peace and prosperity in the region."

Action plan aims to double e-commerce sales in China

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-05-17

The homepage of Taobao.com, one of the leading e-commerce platforms
in China. (Internet photo)

China is aiming to almost double the value of its e-commerce sector in two years by tapping in rural, small city and foreign markets, under an action plan published by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

The ministry promised measures to help e-commerce businesses make further forays into these relatively unexplored markets, as well as encouragement of cross-border trade through better coordination between online platforms and brick-and-mortar stores.

With these measures, the ministry predicted the country's 2016 e-commerce transactions will hit 22 trillion yuan (US$3.6 trillion), almost double the 13.4 trillion yuan (US$2.16 trillion) recorded for 2014.

The ministry is also aiming to lift the annual value of online retail sales, referring specifically to those through third-party online marketplaces like Taobao, to 5.5 trillion yuan (US$885 billion) in 2016. The figure would also nearly double the 2.8 trillion yuan (US$450 billion) recorded in 2014.

To achieve these goals, the ministry said it would first "nurture 200 counties to lead e-commerce development in rural regions" by encouraging them to sell farm produce online. It will also support e-commerce companies to establish bases and sales channels in the countryside.

The ministry also plans to set up 60 national e-commerce demonstration parks and establish 150 "e-commerce companies with strong competitiveness," meaning larger firms demonstrating best practice.

According to the plan, it will also place equal emphasis on development of logistics firms, and work with other government departments to improve infrastructure and distribution networks in order to facilitate the e-commerce sector's expansion.

"The action plan is important for optimizing production, expanding employment and improving people's lives," according to a statement on the ministry's website.

The plan falls under the "Internet Plus" strategy championed by the central government, which is trying to give new impetus to the slowing economy by integrating the Internet with traditional industries.

The new action plan is concerned with making online shopping more convenient for consumers in small cities, with the ministry saying it will support the establishment of localized e-commerce platforms to compete with existing companies.

Meanwhile, it is aiming to help the e-commerce sector explore value-added services such as parcel keeping and bill payment to benefit residents of large cities.

Physical stores, including retailers, restaurants, launderettes, appliance repair shops and ticket sellers are encouraged to use the internet to offer diversified services such as online orders and delivery.

The ministry said it would also encourage domestic e-commerce companies to establish storage facilities outside China.

The State Council, the cabinet, said last month it would smooth the way for e-commerce to grow by abandoning rigid registry requirements on e-commerce businesses, encouraging venture capital to enter the sector and reducing share-holding restrictions on foreign investment.

Related Article:

China pledges faster and cheaper internet

'Smart agriculture' changing lives of China's farmers

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-12-25

A rice field in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, Dec. 21. (File photo/Xinhua)

The internet is changing China's agriculture sector through the use of sensors, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data, which are helping create semi-industrialized production methods, Guangzhou's 21st Century Business Review reports.

"The use of big data and the maturing of the Internet of Things will compensate the shortcomings of traditional agriculture, making the industry more scientific," said Fang Fahe, chief technology officer at Beijing-based iSoftStone.

The company has begun building its model for smart agriculture, setting up sensors with cameras in farms in northern China's Hebei province to collect data about crops, temperatures, precipitation and humidity. The data, along with that recorded by farmers through mobile devices given by the company are then uploaded to the cloud and analyzed to help better manage the farms, according to the magazine.

The process also allows regulators to easily trace sources of food when there are safety concerns and allows better management of production, inventory and logistics, the magazine added.

"We now offer clients comprehensive solutions. The environment was quite restricting in the past because of lagging development, but the conditions have matured," Fang said.

Fang also told the magazine that growing demand for equipment used for the Internet of Things has pushed the development of new technology and microelectronics.

Market researcher Gartner has forecast that the new equipment to be deployed for the Internet of Things will grow by 30 percent from 3.8 billion to 4.9 billion next year, and to 25 billion in 2020.

The use of the internet will lead the industry's efforts to push production by order, since the use of technology can help reduce water needs in agricultural production and keep farmers in touch with market demand, Fang said.

Several e-commerce companies including market leader Alibaba have expanded into agriculture, which Fang described as a positive development for a sector that relies on the use of big data, since Alibaba itself is competing with the edge of being the owner of a sizeable amount of data.

With new tech tools, precision farming gains traction

Yahoo – AFP, Rob Lever, 29 June 2014

Andrew Isaacson watches from a tractor in a corn field as screens show where

 he has fertilized at the Little Bohemia Creek farm on June 17, 2014 in Warwick, 

Maryland (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Warwick (United States) (AFP) - At Little Bohemia Creek Farm, the tractor pretty much drives itself, weaving through rows of corn using GPS technology as it injects carefully dosed amounts of fertilizer.

Farm employee Andrew Isaacson sits in the cab -- his main job is to monitor computer screens that control the vehicle and sprayer.

"I just turn it around at each end," he says.

A trench made for injecting liquid fertilizer

 is seen between rows of corn at the Little

 Bohemia Creek farm June 17, 2014 in

 Warwick, Maryland (AFP Photo/Brendan

 Smialowski)

With computers guiding field operations "it makes it easier in some ways but at the same time it makes it harder. You have to put more information in".

The farm on Maryland's eastern shore is part of a growing "precision agriculture" movement that uses high-tech tools to replace seat-of-the-pants farming.

GPS auto-steered tractors cut down or eliminate overplowing and overlap that wastes fuel and time. Other technologies can sense just how much water is needed in a field to cut irrigation costs.

At Little Bohemia Creek, the tractor's sensors gauge the health of various segments of a field to deliver fertilizer and other chemicals more efficiently, which has an environmental benefit.

"This technology allows for more intricate data collection to make decisions," says Rich Wildman of the agricultural consulting firm Agrinetix, which provides technology advice at the farm.

This permits the farmer to "do more fertilization or seed planting to match the needs of a field within an inch variation," he said.

Various studies suggest farmers can save between 10 to 20 percent on fertilizer and chemicals, while improving yields.

- Farming in the cloud -

Little Bohemia Creek owner Jon Quinn, 48, is using for the first time this year the system called GreenSeeker, from California tech firm Trimble.

"I don't know if I'm using less nitrogen, but I'm putting it in the right place," Quinn explained.

If that holds true, the fertilizer will mainly be absorbed by the corn instead of running off into nearby rivers.

Paul Spies of the Chester River Association, an environmental group, said Quinn is one of a handful of farmers in the pilot project, which aims to show the benefits of this technology.

"You're asking farmers to alter what they have been doing for years," Spies said. "They want to see proof that it will work."

Quinn also participates in a "precision planting" project with Monsanto, using data from his field to determine how seeds fare in different soil types.

"I download it to my iPad, and it goes to the cloud so they can see it," he said.

These technologies mean farmers need to crunch big data.

A sensor that uses visible and invisible

light to judge crop health is used at the

Little Bohemia Creek farm on June 17,

 2014 in Warwick, Maryland (AFP Photo/

Brendan Smialowski)

"The real power is when you can take that data so farmers can see how different parts of the field yielded and think about (crop) management changes," said Joe Foresman, a specialist with the DuPont precision farming division Pioneer.

Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer, a Purdue University agricultural economist, said that in the past 15 years, technologies such as GPS and auto-steering have become the norm in mechanized farming in the United States and other countries, from Australia to Kazakhstan to Sweden.

"The economics are incredibly clear," he said. "You make gains either with higher yield or lower costs, and sometimes with improved quality."

Purdue researchers found more than 80 percent of US farm equipment being sold includes these technologies, which would mean hundreds of thousands of farms.

For newer technologies like soil and crop sensors, mapping and analytics, Lowenberg-DeBoer said the picture is mixed, because specialized training is needed to reap benefits. Just seven percent of US farm dealers offered sensor-driven equipment in 2013, Purdue researchers found.

"It will transform agriculture but it's not clear now exactly how it will do it," he said.

- Bring in the drones -

Also on the horizon is the use of drones to provide real-time data to farmers to pinpoint crop problems in time to fix them.

"We can detect plant problems before they are detectable through the naked eye," said Dennis Bowman, a University of Illinois crop specialist who tests drones for farm use.

But drone use is limited while US authorities study safety issues -- an issue clouded by the more prominent drone applications for military and intelligence purposes.

"We would like to see common sense rules that look at the situation in agriculture," Bowman told AFP.

While corn and other grains have been the main focus of precision agriculture, Florida-based AgerPoint seeks to do the same for fruit trees and vineyards, using laser scanning to give producers data on plant health, and early hints on diseases and other problems.

A sensor is seen attached to a tractor

drawn liquid fertilizer applicator at the

 Little Bohemia Creek farm June 17, 

2014 in Warwick, Maryland (AFP Photo/

Brendan Smialowski)

"This next generation of growers want real-time access to all the data on their crops," said AgerPoint president Thomas McPeek. "The more informed the growers become, the better decisions they make and the more money they make."

The advances mean farmers need to consider upgrading equipment like tractors and combines, which give them real-time data to view on smartphones.

"They're all skeptical at first," says Bryan Peterman, a sales manager at Atlantic Tractor in Delaware.

"But this is a generational issue. You have the younger generation who use smartphones and iPads who are quick to use this. But we have to show the farmers that it is user-friendly and that it saves money."

Dale Blessing, who farms on several thousand acres in Milford, Delaware, said he decided to add a harvesting combine with auto-steering which sends data to the cloud and makes it available to him in real time.

"It's just more efficient," he said. "You can make more with less."