RanksTel-The local Telco Brand Leader

By  Mahbub Manik 

 

 

 

RanksTel, the telecom brand is born in Bangladesh, grows up locally and visions to be an international one.
Govt. has been welcoming multinationals since nineties. Global telecoms giants like Telenor, Orascom, TM, Warid etc invested in the country and doing business successfully.

But jingoistic people always hope that some local brands must stay strong in the market. Rankstel is here to do that dream job. More than 450 local graduates’ directly and more than ten thousands people indirectly work with RanksTel.

RanksTel brand

RanksTel brand has already created a strong position in the market and emerges as the largest Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) service provider in the country.

RanksTel is the brand name of Ranks Telecom Limited, with a tagline 'connects us'.

The brand endorses the slogan "Keep country's money in country" (Desher taka deshe rakhun). RanksTel uses popular CDMA technology.

RANGS to RanksTel

Ranks Telecom Limited is a member of country's one of the largest business organizations RANGS Group. RanksTel is one of the largest private sector investments in the country with an accumulated investment of BDT 200 cores. Ranks Telecom Limited launched its Wireless Phone Services under the brand name of RanksTel on April 14, 2005 and had first introduced the post -paid service on April 14, 2005 and later introduced pre-paid service on 01 October 2005. Value added service RanksTel established the 24/7 Call Center, introduced value-added services such as SMS, Call Conferencing, Call Waiting, Fax, Internet, Voice Mail service and many other products and service. From the very beginning RanksTel placed emphasis on providing good after-sales services.

Services

It presently offers pre paid and post paid services. There are some packages like Agami, Kotha, Gati, Corporate Wireless Phone, SME Business Proceed etc.

Masrur Nawaz Waiz, Head of Operation, RanksTel informs,"RanksTel enjoyed 125% growth in this year that proves the potentiality of this sector. Mobile phone is a mobility solution and there are some services like PABX, WPABX, VPN, Data, Bandwidth, E-1,Corporate SMS, Call Center Outsourcing etc cannot be provided by mobile phone".

The main issue is telecom service; PSTN is a detail telecom service solution, added Masrur.

RanksTel -the market leader

The total number of PSTN phone subscribers has reached 1294.281 thousand at the end of July 2008 in our country. The PSTN phone subscriber base of all operators goes respectively (in thousand): BTCL 872.409, Ranks Telecom Ltd. 148.468, Telebarta Ltd. 56.424 , Jalalabad Telecom Ltd. 3.948, Onetel Communication Ltd. 38.017, National Telecom Ltd. 35.905, Peoples Telecom Ltd. 44.931 , Westec Ltd. 17.000 Dhaka Telephone Co. Ltd. 54.029 , Sheba Phone Ltd. (ISL) 9.571, S. A. Telecom System Ltd. 13.553, Banglaphone Ltd. 0.026. T and T rebranded as BTCL is the oldest public telecom service provider in our country. RanksTel is a private PSTN telco service provider and number one in private telco industry.

Future Rankstel

Rankstel looks to connect individuals and businesses through providing excellence services. It wants to be the prime land phone provider in Bangladesh. The company is aimed to bring the phenomenon of the telecommunication technology at the doorstep of the people at a very competitive price, which is long desired by all the sectors and thus would contribute in the total national development of the country. "We want to reach 3 lack customer base at the end of 2008 and 5 lack customer base at the end of 2009" goals Masrur Nawaz waiz.

"We want to adopt all new technologies. We want to work intensively on PCO and Internet service in future. We will cover whole country quickly as possible and we will go for new ways to reach our vision", says Masrur.

- The piece was published at Weekly Economic Times in 2008

Browser Battle

 By Mahbub Manik 

 

Logo Of Google Chrome 

 

On Friday last I got into Internet through Internet Explorer (A Microsoft's product) and searched 'Obama' using Google search (A product of Google Inc) and it showed the links of 1 - 10 of about 150,000,000 links for obama in 0.16 seconds. As a browser Internet Explorer of Microsoft and as a search engine Google is the first and easy choice for Netizens.

To retrieve any information from the sea of Internet, Google is unparallel till today, though there are many beautiful search tools are in the market. Google Inc has many products in market but all did not get that much of popularity like Google Search. But the breaking news is that Google for the first time released a web browser and declared its dream to emerge as a market leader.

Simply we can say that web browser is a door to enter inside Internet. It is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text, images, videos, music and other information typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network. Some of the Web browsers currently available for personal computers include Mozilla Firefox, Avant Browser Safari, Google Chrome, Konqueror, Opera, Flock, Internet Explorer, Epiphany, K-Meleon and AOL ExplorerContents.

Beta version of 475k sized of Google Chrome is now available at no cost for Windows Vista and Windows XP. Google said it's still working on versions compatible with Apple Inc.'s Mac and the Linux operating system. And will be work in Linux and other open source operating system in full speed soon.

Highlights of Chrome:

According to Google, Chrome is an ambitious attempt but not a me-too product or a rebranding of someone else's browser, but a significantly new contestant.
-It has a tab-centric interface, with a default home page that shows snapshots of your favorite sites and new memory management techniques designed to prevent tabs from bogging down your browsing;

• It uses sandboxing to prevent malware from doing damage to your PC
• It includes built-in anti-phishing
• It uses an all-new JavaScript implementation designed to provide snappy performance for Web-based applications.

In a Monday blog posting, Google touted Chrome as a more sophisticated Web browser better suited for displaying the more dynamic and interactive content blossoming on the Web as people migrate from television, radio and newspapers.
"The Web gets better with more options and innovation," Sundar Pichai, Google's vice president of product management, and Linus Upson, Google's engineering director, wrote in the posting. "Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the Web even better

75 percent of the web surfers use Internet Explorer of Microsoft. The pressure between Microsoft and Google now appears probable to escalate with Google's attack into Web browsing. Microsoft has been trying to thwart Google by investing billions in the development of its own search engine and making an unsuccessful attempt to buy Yahoo Inc. for $47.5 billion.

End of the day it's a war to control Internet!

The article was published on Sunday, September 14, 2008 at Weekly Economic Times

iSchool Revolution

iSchool, an evangelic initiative by an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) student Raqeebul I Ketan, paving the way to change teaching method in Bangladesh.


By Mahbub Manik

‘Acid turns litmus paper red and base turns it blue’, most of the Bangladeshi school students memorize this basic of chemistry just by heart without experiencing it in lab and understanding the reasons behind it. The scenario is almost same for; it may be a theory of mathematics, laws of pendulum or respiratory system in human body. This is how science education walking, of course, walking behind the time.

Education is the key to changing and unlocking the windows of local and global opportunities; to establishing sustainable equality and harmony in society, instigating people to better living style, provoking them to think to research, innovation and discovery, moulding the mind for modest attitude to human kind. “Education is the backbone of a nation”, the oldest adage said, so a nation’s strength and future totally depend on its education system. With the fastest advancement of science and technologies, teaching methods are also evolving around the globe, and state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge technologies are enriching education system. A better education system consists of better curriculum, testing, instructional tools, teacher training etc.

Our problems

Bangladesh where iSchool happens. The country situated in South Asia.

Bangladesh is a developing country of only 147,570 square km area and has been struggling hard to provide basic needs like food, housing, clothes, medicine etc to its around 160 million people. So it’s easily guessable that the education system here is mainly century old, static, one-way, monotonous and non-productive. Education system becomes dependent on coaching centres and private tuition. Most of the students go for blind memorising their courses without proper understanding, just to get good grade, because of the lack of good teachers, lab facilities and good textbooks. There are some good schools, but most of the students are deprived of good teachers and good schools. Millions of students drop out of primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities each year. One of the main reasons is that they can’t do better in classes. Even after completing their tertiary education, most of them don’t get suitable job and can’t compete in local market with those who got better opportunity during their student life, let alone global market. Because of the blind memorisation students become not only unproductive but also counter-productive. They can’t be skilled, innovative, risk-taking and entrepreneurial. We are proud, that with this backdrop there are some extraordinarily talented Bangladeshi students who can make a position in world’s top universities like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc every year. But this is an exception and exception can’t be an example.

So wee need change in teaching system
There were many committees to reform education system. Debates have been going on about the instruction media, religious studies, duration of schooling, but little was talked on modernising the teaching method for all students.

Raqeebul I Ketan, the idea owner

 

 

Hence, the country should congratulate and engage with Raqeebul I Ketan, a Bangladeshi youth studying in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has been thinking how to make our teaching system more interesting, understandable and easier since his school life here in Dhaka. He initiated an idea branded as ‘iSchool’. MIT is the heaven for this kind of initiatives. He presented his idea to MIT PSC (Public Service Center) in 2008 and could convince the authorities to award him Peter J Eloranta Fellowship and David J Shapiro Fellowship subsequently.

Ketan shares his school life experiences. He says,” When I was a student of A level, I hated chemistry. This mysterious subject has often eluded me. My impromptu remedy to this learning dilemma was blind memorisation. Soon I came to the realisation that I was not really learning chemistry, I was merely gathering facts, facts that would make no difference to my understanding of science. “
He continues, “After my A level I got into MIT. I got advance standing (meaning that I did not have to take the preliminary courses) for physics and math but for chemistry. My impression about the futility of blind memorisation grew stronger than ever.” He ends, ”Now I not only imagine but also work towards the goal of establishing iSchool.”


iSchool solution

iSchool's action flowchart.

iSchool envisions to develop a video lecture series for SSC (O level) and HSC (A level) both in Bangla and English with interactive components e.g. animations, slide shows etc that would be cost-effective and must not rely only on the usage of computer and viewable using a TV and VCD player. The content would be distributed to schools at free of cost. The content will be portable in CD, VCD and available in website. Teachers can show videos after completing the relevant chapter to students, once in a week, at least. School has to buy or rent a PC or a TV. The content will be complementary of the textbook. Volunteers of iSchool are using MS PowerPoint, Bangla font software Abhra and video capturing software to build the contents.

Progress in iSchool

The team building work is in action ...

iSchool launched its programme for the first time in a remote village in Panchagarh district with some 150 students as a test phase of the suitability and sustainability of the initiative in January last. The outcomes proved to be highly encouraging. The core mission of the project; to devise a low-cost sustainable solution, was achieved. Volunteers from IBA, Dhaka University compiled the animations, meaning that the administrative and design costs were null. The cost of blank DVDs added to the rental cost of DVD players and TVs, was minimal. Most importantly, the animations proved to be highly effective with students showing improvements up to 35% in their test score. Professor Peter Dourmashkin of the department of Physics at MIT helped design the test questions and later performed a post-programme evaluation. The students in each merit category performed substantially better after watching the videos. The improvements were more marked in tackling the qualitative questions and were most significant among the lower merit group students
The content building work for SSC’s (O level equivalent) physics is in full progress. Volunteers from IBA, BUET, BRAC, EWU and many other universities joined the project. Team building meeting are held regularly. The workload is huge.

Revolutionary movement

This how the content will be delivered to students.

The iSchool initiative can be revolutionary, if the content building work can be finished successfully and material can be reached to all schools across the country. Students then really can understand and visualise the formulas, graph, equation, definition etc instead of memorising by heart without proper concept of the topic. Teachers will be more efficient; students will not go to coaching centres. The number of dropout of schools will be decreased. That can shift our teaching system from one way to interactive, counter-productive to productive, chaos to creative, monotonous to enjoyable, and burden to freedom.

[ The article is also published at Weekly Economic Times ]

EWU CSE Adopts The Most Up-to-date Syllabus — Prof. Dr. Mozammel Huq Azad Khan

By Mahbub Manik

East West University (EWU) has started its challenging journey in 1996 of providing world standard, quality education at an affordable cost in Bangladesh with the motto of "Promoting eastern culture and values, and meaningfully blends eastern and western thought and innovation."
Computer Science and Engineering Department of EWU, emerges as one of the best choices for the aspiring students to study computer science and engineering in Bangladesh. The department was launched in 1996 with an ambition of developing competent work force for the emerging ICT world.

Prof. Dr. Mozammel Huq Azad Khan is currently the Chairperson of the department. He is known as one of the top most experienced and diversified pioneering educationists in the field of computer science and engineering education in Bangladesh.He describes the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of EWU.

 

[ The Profile of  Prof. Dr. Mozammel Huq Azad Khan

Prof. Dr. Mozammel Huq Azad Khan is currently the Chairperson of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
He has obtained B. Sc. Engg. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, M. Sc. Engg. degree in Computer Engineering, and PhD degree in Computer Science and Engineering.
He is one of the pioneering professors of Computer Science and Engineering in Bangladesh. He started his teaching carrier in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at Bangladesh Institute of Technology (BIT), Rajshahi, Bangladesh [currently Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET)] in 1986. In 1991 he shifted to Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh and, as the founder Head of the Department, established Computer Science and Engineering Department there, which was the second of its kind in the country after that of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka. He was also the founder Head of Electronics and Communications Engineering Department and also the founder Dean of Science, Engineering and Technology School at Khulna University. In 1999 he joined East West University. He served as Chairperson of Computer Science and Engineering Department and also was the founder Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering and the founder Chairperson of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at East West University.
He is a renowned researcher in the broad fields of logic synthesis and evolutionary algorithms.]

The conversation is below:

Mahbub Manik: When did the department start?

Prof. Dr. Mozammel Huq Azad Khan :

The department was opened in September 1996 with a vision to produce technologically and computing skilled work force to meet national and global demands. Soon the department got huge responses from the aspiring students across the country. Within 2000, the department turned into one of the best places for CSE education in the country. The department has been enriching within the times through facing challenges and hurdles.

 

 

Professor Mohammed Sharif, 
Current VC, EWU








MM: What is the standard of the courses that EWU CSE offers?

Prof. Khan:
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at East West University offers four-year Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) degree program in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE).
Our syllabus is the latest and most up-to-date, industry focused and international standard. We embedded the latest development and knowledge in the field of computer science and engineering in our syllabus.
The curriculum of the degree is prepared with the intension to groom up the students to effectively contribute in all aspects of ICT. Therefore, the curriculum of the B. Sc. in CSE program focuses on (i) Theoretical Computer Science, which builds the theoretical and mathematical foundation of solving problems using computers, (ii) Software Engineering and Information Systems Design, which enables developing software for solving various problems and creating information systems for the corporate and public sectors, (iii) Computer Communication and Networking, which develops capability of creating computer networks and using telecommunication infrastructures and the Internet for effective communication of information, (iv) Computer Hardware Systems, which prepares for designing, installing, and maintaining computer hardware systems, (v) Intelligent Systems, which provides opportunity for developing smart and intelligent software systems for solving very complex and complicated problems, and (vi) Signal and Information Processing, which develops competency in effective processing, storage, and communication of various audio, video, graphics, and text information.

Class Work Is In Progress. Mathematics Teacher Anindita Paul Conducts Her Class.

The above competencies require a solid foundation of basic sciences such as mathematics, statistics, physics, and chemistry. Therefore, the curriculum contains sufficient courses on these areas. Today's ICT personnel must be aware of society, economics, business, law and ethical issues, and must have good communication skills to effectively use ICT for betterment of the humankind. Keeping this thought in consideration, a number of courses in English, Business, Economics, and other Social Sciences and Humanities have been incorporated in the curriculum. The curriculum also makes provision for gathering hands on experience in research and development through final year Thesis/Project course or getting exposure to the real life ICT industry through Internship course. Moreover, the curriculum has the provision for a student to develop focused expertise in his/her field of interest by choosing optional courses.

MM : Great syllabus indeed. What are the other reasons to choose CSE at EWU except the syllabus?

Prof. Khan:
We have dedicated cutting-edge and high-tech laboratory on Software, VLSI, Network, Digital System, Circuits, Telecommunication, and Electronics with fiber optic backbone of 6.5 Mbps internet connectivity.
Students can stay in the labs and practice. We take care of individual student.

Lab Work Is In Progress.

Special care is offered for the weak students. Teachers are bound to help students during office hours.

There are teaching assistants to help student.

There are merit scholarships based on academic achievements, financial needs and on campus employment as teaching assistant.

MM : What are the qualifications of the teachers?

Prof. Khan:
There are nineteen faculty members in this department currently and among them eight are PhD holders. These professors are the best teachers in Bangladesh. Some of them are core computing science PhDs. Few universities in Bangladesh have this amount of PhDs.

MM : How are the CSE graduates doing?

Prof. Khan:
Graduates are serving in top ranked govt. and corporate organizations. Many of them are doing PhDs in USA, UK, Germany, Sweden, Korea, Japan and Australia. Some are working as faculty members in public and private universities. Some emerged as the entrepreneurs.

MM : How are the EWU CSE students connecting with the industry ?

Prof. Khan:
We are working with the local ICT industries. We have partnership with Microsoft Bangladesh Ltd in MSDNAA Networks. Our students are working in software firms and ICT firms.
MM: What are the working fields for CSE graduates in the country?
Prof. Khan: There are substantial opportunities for CSE graduates. First, for building 'Digital Bangladesh', country needs thousands of computing professionals, especially software professionals. On the other hand, in telecom sector, there is huge demand and opportunity to create value added contents and applications.
Besides, there are many software and IT firms.

Prof. Dr. Mozammel Huq Azad Khan In Lab Session Of 'Digital Logic Design'.

MM: So future of computer science is bright.

Prof. Khan:
In no doubt, the future is bright both in nationally and globally. Global economy is getting strength day by day. There will be more and more job opportunities in the developed countries. The technologies are evolving with the time and there is a relationship with computing and any technologies.
A recent report says that Dhaka is one of the top destinations for outsourcing and freelancing. Web based services are opening new horizons for the IT skilled people.

MM: So ICT sector is a potential mine to solve our unemployment problem.

Prof. Khan:

Yes. I believe government can do more concrete works to boost this sector. Graduates should get bank loan without collateral or hassle. We have to sow the seed of entrepreneurship in the mind of the students. Then they can take the sector to sky high.

MM: Nice to talk with you. Hope your talks can inspire hopeful students. Bangladesh needs huge computing graduates. Thank you.

Prof. Khan:
Future of computer science is bright. I invite students to grab the opportunities that EWU CSE offers. Thank you too.

>> The interview was originally published at Weekly Economic Times

Before you buy: 12 things to know about the iPad

By John D. Sutter, CNN, April 2, 2010 10:01 a.m. EDT

You've seen the television commercials and the product reviews. But maybe, like many gadget lovers, you're still debating whether you really need this new touch-screen computer from Apple.

To help you make sense of the hype, here are answers to 12 common questions about the iPad, Apple's much-anticipated "slate" computer, which goes on sale Saturday.

Buying an iPad? What will you do with it?

Is there anything else you'd like to know? If so, please post in the comments section below and we'll do our best to answer your questions.

1. How is the iPad different from a laptop?

The word "laptop" is getting somewhat brushed aside for a truckload of new, confusing categories.

The Apple iPad falls into the slate (some people say tablet) category of portable personal computers, because, unlike a laptop, it doesn't have a hardware keyboard.

Another key difference: To type and to navigate through files and photos on the iPad, you touch its screen in the same way you operate an iPhone or iPod Touch. That's possible on some laptop models, but not many.

2. How is the iPad different from e-readers like the Kindle?

Reading digital books on "e-readers" like the Amazon Kindle is becoming increasingly popular. The iPad acts like an e-reader and like a personal computer, but there are some notable differences between the two.

For one, the iPad has a color display. The Kindle, by contrast, is only black-and-white. Some people think the iPad, partly for this reason, will be popular with students who read textbooks with colorful diagrams. Others say the Kindle's screen, which isn't backlit, will be easier on the eyes over long periods.

Video: Demoing an iPad

Make a computer decide

If you're still unsure about whether or not you should get an Apple iPad, you may want to check out this quiz from the Web site Hunch.

It takes you through a series of questions about your gadget preferences and then decides for you.

There's an aesthetic difference, too: The iPad will display books horizontally, with two pages showing, or vertically, zooming in on a single page of text. The Kindle only works in vertical mode.

Perhaps more importantly, the devices access books from different online bookstores. iPad users buy books from Apple's new digital bookstore, called the iBookstore, which supports an open e-book format called ePub. Kindle users must buy their books from Amazon.com.

3. How much does the iPad cost?

Prices range from $499 to $829. The more expensive versions have more storage space, which means you can put more music and videos on the device.

iPads that connect to the Internet with Wi-Fi only are less expensive than those that can connect through Wi-Fi and through AT&T's mobile Internet network.

4. Do you have to sign-up for an AT&T contract when you buy the iPad?

You don't have to buy an AT&T mobile Internet contract to purchase the iPad.

If you buy a Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad and have a Wi-Fi connection at home, or you want to use the iPad primarily at coffee shops or public places that have wireless Internet connections, then you probably won't have to deal with AT&T at all.

Pricier versions of the iPad are able to connect to AT&T's mobile 3G network, allowing them to browse the Web from many more locations.

Surprisingly, you don't need a contract with AT&T to use this service, either.

Users can pay by the month and cancel at any time without penalty, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the iPad unveiling. The unlimited data plan with AT&T costs $29.99 per month.

The Wi-Fi-enabled iPads go on sale on Saturday. The AT&T-enabled iPads will ship in late April, according to the online Apple store.

5. If there's no keyboard, how do you type on the iPad?

Instead of being a piece of plastic with physical keys, the iPad's keyboard is a graphic that pops up on the device's touch-sensitive screen -- an interface that will be familiar to iPhone and iPod Touch users.

iPad users type by touching pictures of keys on the screen. The iPad keyboard is about the same size as the one on your desk, but you can't feel the keys.

When he unveiled the device in January, Jobs said the iPad is "a dream to type on." But some bloggers, including this writer, have complained that the iPad's touch-screen keyboard is difficult to use.

6. What does the iPad do best?

The iPad is designed for consuming various types of media -- reading books, browsing the Web and watching videos, in particular.

It's also marketed as a portable gaming device, and there are hundreds of games for sale in the iPad App Store.

The device doesn't have a DVD player, but you can download videos from Apple, or stream them from the Web.

The iPad is best suited for people who would, say, want to read their e-mail, but wouldn't have to compose lengthy responses.

It's better for a blog reader than a blog writer.

7. Can you create documents, spreadsheets and presentations with the iPad?

Apple created a new suite of "apps" specifically for the iPad. These iWork programs, which cost $9.99 each, let users create documents, edit spreadsheets and create business presentations from the iPad.

It's unclear how easy these programs will be to use. Some reviewers say it's easy enough to compose business documents on the iPad. Others say serious users will need another computer to be productive.

The iPad has a Wi-Fi connection, which, in theory, could be used for printing documents wirelessly through your printer. There is some debate online about what apps will perform this function.

8. Can you view any Web site on the iPad?

A certain format of online video, called Flash, does not play on the Apple iPad.

While there are some workarounds for this, many Web sites are redesigning themselves, using a type of code called HTML5, so they will work on the iPad.

That code allows video display on the device, but you may notice some sites, including this one, will have holes because the iPad doesn't support Flash video.

9. Will the iPad replace my current computer? Or do you need both?

Some technology writers and critics say the iPad is an all-in-one machine. Others argue that it's more of a portable accessory, and that most computer users need a desktop or laptop computer in addition to an iPad.

What works for you really depends on what you use your computers for. If you spend a lot of time typing or creating things with your computer, it may be easier to use a laptop. If you just want to surf the Web, read books, play games, watch movies or send an occasional short e-mail, the iPad might work.

Apple and others sell keyboards that can be attached to the device in case you need to write a longer e-mail and don't want to fiddle with the touch-screen keyboard.

10. Is the iPad lighter and smaller than other laptops or e-readers?

The iPad will be about a half-inch thick and weigh about 1½ pounds.

Its screen is 9.7 inches across, when measured diagonally.

That's smaller and lighter than some laptops. A 10-inch netbook from Dell is similar in size but weighs about a pound more.

Amazon's Kindle DX is slimmer than the iPad, at only a third of an inch thick, and it weighs slightly less: 1.2 pounds, according to Amazon.

Its screen is the same size as the iPad's, but it doesn't display color.

11. Can you subscribe to newspapers and magazines on the iPad?

Some magazines and newspapers have said they hope the iPad will help save their struggling industries. A number of them have reformatted their publications for the iPad's screen and are offering new digital subscription plans.

The Wall Street Journal, for example, will charge $17.99 per month for an iPad subscription to its newspaper.

12. Are there iPad alternatives?

Apple is not the only computer maker offering a slate device. Some are on the market now and others will come out soon.

HP briefly showed off its slate computer before an audience at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Dell has announced plans to make a personal computer in the slate category.

Viliv and Asus have tablets on the market, too.