F(N)AQ

After attending the INAICTA, Indonesia ICT Award, I am a little upset. Yeah, I know I shouldn't, we have just been selected to become one of the grand finalists. But, still... I wish people would have Frequently Asked Question about research and development:

- Cool, how do you develop that?
- Can I have reference of your works?
- Hmm.. the technology, can this implemented on x stuff?
- I have a great idea, bla.. bla.. bla.., what do you think?
- If I'm trying to develop another project, what should I do?
- What problem could be solved by this?
- What is the future of the project?

Yet, those become Frequently [Never] Asked Question. What's wrong with you people? Why I'm suddenly feel ashamed to be an Indonesian? Isn't research about the long term investation?

I know that few of them were invitation to work with us. But, why not a single quote I heard about the research? Why people always asking us about the money stuff?

Am I wrong, or most of the people can't use their imagination for something that not nude and have big breast?

Still, I am a little proud when someone took the picture of our project with her vidcam. I know that she was trying to hijack our idea. But, that's okay. That was what we envisioned since the very beginning from the project. That was why I changed my mind after opposing Iang and Adin about opening the source. We wanted this nation to learn.

Yeah, I know I may be an idealist living in an "ideal" environment. But, I see the big picture of the economy. How long do you think your company will survive? How long will you stand to the competition? Have you envisioned your company? Do you have mission statements? Have you draw your roadmap?

Any sustained company do those things and R&D is the cost prove of it.

I believe when Universitas Indonesia has taken a direction to becoming a researching university, she has taken the right choice. I believe the research we have here would be a big contribution. I see many research field is opening wide for it. This would lead us into another creative products. In the end, when the harvest time, UI will have competitive fine products.

I know that research is costly and any mid to small company would never survive to have it. But, I think if the research is based on another research and fine tune it, any individual will have it done. That's why the open source is the right choice to have common research facility.

Btw, our research product is UI SMart Infrastructure. Many of you may believe that many implementation have already exist out there. Well, guest again! Many of those are based on SDKs which they bought from Singapore. SDK which runs only in Windows and bound in (usually) MS SQL Server and bound to a hardware vendor.

We can compete those easily. We can deliver a fine tuned solution which could easily integrated with your system. Our framework even can easily integrated with any ISO**** cards, which every vendor out there must comply. We can run this framework in multiple platform which would put down costs if used with free OS such as GNU/Linux.

Can they compete that? They must put very hard effort if they only have binary-only library with dongels and run only in a proprietary software.

But, then again, I wish we could have a strong nation where education is the most important things. Because, educated people knows well how the research is the key factor for sustaining future.