Looking Back at 2007 - Digital Metamorphosis

Year 2007 has been quite great for Indonesians, digitally speaking. For myself, it has been a huge turning point. During the last three months, I've migrated to a new OS, replaced almost all of my digital gears, adapted to a new mode of computing, and changed the way I used Internet. The transformation is dramatic, not unlike a metamorphosis.

In my opinion, some of the most important aspects of the change are:

• The 'switch' to Mac. For me, it started as value buying. My bank offered a no-interest installment plan to buy iMacs, at a remarkably low monthly payment. It was small decision that eventually led to a total migration. I eventually sold, traded or gave away all my previous Win PC stuff lock, stock, and barrel, and got myself a new set of everything Mac. It's now several months after, and I've gotten comfortable with the new system, even somewhat skilled at it. I can honestly and heartily say: Life is indeed better, simpler and prettier in this new land.
• The web goes 'social.' My close friends introduced me to Multiply. Out of curiosity, I checked out almost everything else: Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, etc. I couldn't get into Orkut though. I opened accounts at YouTube, Flickr, del.icio.us, Shelfari, LibraryThing, etc. My conclusion, the web has changed fundamentally and will continue to change dramatically, probably as important as the emergence of previous giants.
• Filesharing via RapidShare, MegaUpload, etc. Coupled with dropping cost in bandwidth and diskspace, filesharing reached a new critical mass. If BitTorrent represent a new level of filesharing over conventional file download, then these new services represent the following level. It's much more productive and useful. During the last three months, I must have downloaded nearly a terabyte of stuff through RapidShare. I bought a couple of 750gb hard disks (WD MyBook) in anticipation. It been only a couple of months, but it's rapidly filling up.
• Affordable broadband. This is probably one of the best things of the year. I'm thankful that I live in the southern part of Jakarta that's quite well-served digitally. We've had cable modem service for many years and then late 2006, TelkomSpeedy became available. It was actually quite okay. Its main problem was price. Unlimited use is possible but pricey. Usage limits made subscribers worry about getting hit by huge overlimit charges. And then a sweet solution arrived the form of FirstMedia: affordable and fixed price, unlimited use, reliable, and very good speed. Such combination actually changes the way people use the Internet. It became more like a utility service such as tv or radio. There is no rush and no hesitation or worry. It opened up many new areas of the Internet such as media-heavy sites youTube etc.) or highly dynamic sites or Web 2.0 sites.
• iPhone. It was an iPod touch that I first tried in a Singapore MacShop. I was looking to change my mobile phone (Samsung i320) and I've whittled down my options to either htc touch, blackberry, or iPhone. Remarkably they were all in similar price range. In the end, it was the Mac platform and the memory of the tactile experience that clinches the decision. As is the Mac case, it's a couple of months after, and I can repeat the above admission. Simply put, it's a category-buster. Definitely not just a phone + an iPod.

There are of course other exciting events, but I think these are the cornerstones.

Tony J. Djohan

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