Beautiful Lake...

Singkarak Lake

Between Solok and Batusangkar is Lake Singkarak, which is a little less grand than Lake Maninjau. It marks the gateway to the incredible basin of Solok.

The main road skirts the lake's clean, gently sloping shore for a distance of twenty one kilometers, many lodges and restaurants available along the like shore.

Singkarak Lake is an ideal place for recreation and water sport, 36 km from Bukittinggi. There are several motels and restaurants in the area. Singkarak Lake is located about 10 Km of Solok city and ± 35 Km from Kayu Aro. This lake is located in X Koto district and spread across Solok - Bukit Tinggi way.

The lake is state between two regencies that is Solok regency and Tanah Datar regency with ± 129,70 km2 (± 1.129,29 Ha) width. Singkarak Lake is the widest lake in West Sumatra and the second widest lake in Sumatra Island after Toba Lake. The Lake that located in 362,5 m height from the sea level, has special species of fish that only live in this lake and the only in the world. Society around called as Bilih Fish (Mystacoleuseus Padangensis).

Uniquely, this fish cannot live in other habitat, both in an aquarium and in a pool. The people around are often selling this fish and the visitors can enjoy the specific taste of this fish in the restaurants that located around the lake. The Lake is equipped by some facilities, such as; hotels, motels, restaurants and also water sport facilities. Beside used as tourism objects and the economic source of society around, nowadays, this lake also used as the electric source of Sicincin.

IT Management

Efficient Processes and Appealing to Customers

The retail trade must invest in IT because otherwise it cannot meet customers’ demands, according to Zygmunt Mierdorf, Management Board Member at the METRO Group. The trading concern is a trendsetter for technological innovations in trade, which are tested at the group’s Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany.

Mr. Mierdorf, your Future Store caused a sensation three years ago when it made innovation in the retail trade a focus. What have you learned since then? At the Future Store we want to get a feel for what is possible. In doing so we have found out that customers are much more adventurous than we had expected—even across all age groups. But above all new technology must be user-friendly, like an iPod: It is best to have no more than four buttons. Another very important insight is that we need time to introduce our employees to the new structures because they must change how they work entirely.

What do consumers accept easily? Customers are particularly interested in speeding up the checkout process and in anything that makes it easier for them to find what they are looking for. As a result, self-checkout counters are very well-received, as are intelligent scales that recognize fruits and vegetables automatically through a camera. Also the networked information terminals are so popular that we are implementing them in our other stores in greater numbers.

What is the main driver for the retail industry to invest in IT? Is it to cut costs or to increase innovation, image, customer loyalty? There are two main drivers: On the one hand, there is shopping for supplies. When doing so customers expect to find what they need right away; they want to get through the checkout line and back home as quickly as possible. And then there is experience shopping—for example, when looking for clothes or consumer electronics. Customers talk with a sales associate about things like flat-screen televisions; they research them before buying.

The technology has to give consideration to both shopping situations. For the first one we need a thoroughly structured supply chain and a highly efficient, smooth process at the store. We must use our resources so that they achieve the greatest effect; after all, the retail trade is a low-margin business. So we are automating administrative processes and reallocating our employees to real value-added activities in customer service.

If you find a salesclerk in the department store who will help you, you will gladly pay for your purchase at a self-checkout! We are working on putting more people out on the floor. Automating our processes also makes them more secure, but data quality remains a challenge. Processes sometimes get hung up because they must be reworked to enter missing information manually. Our processes in the retail trade still include a lot of format conversions, and we have to get rid of them.

So gaining productivity is at the forefront of process optimization. We must work in both directions. Efficient processes are a basic requirement for keeping costs under control. The other side is more exciting of course: Investments in appeal, customer loyalty, customer retention. Something like the Smart Mirror: You select a hair color from the shelf, and then the device scans your face and shows you how you would look with it. These are emotional things in which technology is an important factor. If we speak of process optimization, however, we are still talking about the things that do not have to do directly with operational commercial transactions…

Such as? Corporate governance and compliance: How do we make sure that our processes are structured and documented so cleanly that we can prove if necessary that the decision paths have been followed and that there is a documented set of rules that precludes organizational failure and individual error? The management’s responsibility to investors is to plan security structures to provide risk-free processes. To do this we need systematic business process management, which we are now working on with IDS Scheer.

The process is the engine for change The business concept is the engine from which the processes are derived. You have to be constantly screening new technologies—while being aware of the processes: What fits or could fit in the future? There are two things to look at: What helps customers? What annoys them? What perturbs them the most? And: How can I help our employees? Nothing else concerns CIOs these days, because everything is largely standardized. They have experts on their team who negotiate with IT manufacturers and network operators. The crucial added value of CIOs really comes from their knowledge of the processes.

What do you think are today‘s greatest technological challenges? What would you like to see from the IT industry? Two or three years ago that would have been the interoperability between individual manufacturers. In the meantime this has increased a great deal. It is important to us to be able to integrate data from the back-end systems so that employees can access it from their workstations all at once.

Eventually, our employees should be able to handle all necessary work processes via single sign-on without having to think about which applications and systems are behind what they are doing. Your prediction: How will shopping change over the next five years? That is a short period of time. Even the most innovative store has a volume problem: We must equip 2,000 branches. I would be happy if we could roll out all the ideas that we have today within the next five years. •

Hotel toiletries supplier recalls toxic toothpaste

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A leading supplier of toiletries for luxury hotels recalled complimentary tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste worldwide Monday after tests showed some contain a potentially toxic chemical.

It was the latest in a series of recalls of Chinese-made goods — toothpaste, children's toys, tires and pet food — because of shoddy and perhaps dangerous manufacturing methods.

Gilchrist & Soames said it is recalling its 18-milliliter or 0.65-ounce tubes with the name Gilchrist & Soames on it. The company said Monday some samples showed the tubes contained diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze that can be toxic to the kidneys and liver.

"They're just kind of the little complimentary size you get in the hotels, and it's branded Gilchrist & Soames," said Cindy Duran, a spokeswoman for the company, which is based in Indianapolis.
West Virginia's Greenbrier resort uses Gilchrist & Soames lotion, shampoo, conditioner and bath gel, but not the brand's toothpaste, said spokeswoman Lynn Swann. The White Sulphur Springs resort uses Colgate toothpaste.

travel business in Toba Lake

Toba Lake

World famous is the crater Toba Lake in the Batak highlands; approximately five hours drive from Medan. Toba Lake is the largest lake in South East Asia and also one of the most spectacular, surrounded by tall mountains and with the large island of Samosir in the middle. If we descend from the mountain we see the lake glittering in all its beauty.

The Dutch writer Rudy Kousbroek even called Toba Lake, 'the most beautiful place on earth'. Most visitors stay on the peninsula of Tuk Tuk on Samosir, named after the linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk. In general people stay several days on Samosir to discover the island, to visit traditional Batak villages, to swim in the lake and go to the hot springs in Pangururan.

The centerpiece of North Sumatra, Lake Toba's bracing climate and magnificent panoramas clear the mind and soothe the soul. For decades a magnet from regional and foreign visitors alike, Toba has developed into a full-featured highland resort while retaining the rustic charm and relaxed ambiance that define Toba's attraction.

Formed by a stupendous prehistoric volcanic explosion, the 100 km long lake is the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the deepest and the highest in the world. The drama of that cataclysmic birth persist in 500 meter cliffs dropping into the blue-green waters, surrounded by steep, pine covered sloped, the climate is fresh and pleasant, with just enough rain to support the lush vegetation.

Telkom Kejar 75 Ribu Pelanggan Speedy di Sumatera

Sabtu , 11/08/2007 13:59 WIB
Telkom Kejar 75 Ribu Pelanggan Speedy di Sumatera

Jakarta, Telkom akan membangun 100 titik hotspot Speedy di Sumatra hingga akhir 2007. Selain memperluas kawasan layanan, tujuannya tak lain demi mendorong pencapaian 75 ribu pelanggan Speedy.

Executive General Manager Telkom Divisi Regional I Sumatera, Muhammad Awaluddin mengatakan, saat ini pelanggan Speedy di Sumatera baru mencapai 25 ribu sambungan, di mana 12 ribu di antaranya berada di Medan."Perluasan layanan Speedy di berbagai kota di Sumatera dan tarifnya yang murah itu mempercepat pertumbuhan jumlah pelanggan Speedy," ujarnya dalam keterangan pers yang dikutip detikINET, Sabtu (11/8/2007).

Menurutnya, sudah ada 10 kota di Sumatera yang sudah bisa mengakses Speedy, yakni, Medan, Pematang Siantar (Sumut) , Padang (Sumbar), Pekanbaru (Riau), Batam (Kepulauan Riau), Palembang dan Baturaja (Sumsel), Jambi, Pangkal Pinang (Bangka Belitung) dan Bandar Lampung.

SMARTBIZ ARTICLES

SMARTBIZ ARTICLES

Negotiating Successfully When You Have A Weak PositionNegotiating really means compromising. Sometimes you get everything you want and more, and therefore you don't have to compromise. But successful negotiators know they have to be ready to give something up--even if they never actually have to do so.
Customers ARE Your BusinessTom Peters, the author of "In Search Of Excellence" and numerous other business books, has developed a formula to figure the true value of a customer.
Developing Win-Win Joint VenturesI prefer to think of joint ventures in terms of what I call a host-beneficiary relationship. In essence, you serve as a "host" introducing someone else's complementary and appropriate products or services to your customers--preferably under your express endorsement.
Developing The Right AttitudesTo be truly effective at delegating, you must have the right attributes and attitudes about delegation. These positive attributes, outlined below, include personal security, risk taking, a trusting nature, task-orientation, and a good degree of patience.
Bruce Fox, founding Editor-in-Chief, RT MagazineWith two decades of experience reporting on the retail industry, Fox has established himself as the leading editorial voice in coverage of today's online retailing boom.

Shopping Centre

Mall Grand Palladium

Jl. Kapten Maulana Lubis No. 8

Medan 20112 North Sumatra

Indonesia

General Information

Open Everyday from 10.00 to 22.00 local time

Shop Directories

Department Store, Computer Store, Cell Phone Store, Hyper Market, Theater, Food Court, Restaurant & Cafe, Bread & Cake, Boutique & etc

Things to Do

Shopping, Watch Movie, Eat & Drink, Chit-Chat & etc

Getting there

Taxi, Trishaw (Beca), Mini Bus (Sudako)

Internet

Hot Spot & Wi-Fi available

Congratulation..!

Congratulation Miss Duma Riris SilalahiFriday, 3rd August 2007:

Duma Riris Silalahi, from North Sumatra has been chosen as 1st Runner Up in Miss Indonesia competition. Followed by Ika Fiyoda (DKI Jakarta) as 2nd Runner Up. Duma Riris Silalahi will deputize the Miss Asian Pasific, whereas Ika Fiyoda will deputize the Miss International Beauty Pageant. Putri Raemawasti from East Java received the crown of Miss Indonesia and will deputize the Miss Universe in the upcoming 2008.

Ice Hotel does Hot Business in Cold Quebec

By Dan SchlossbergConsumerAffairs

Com December 12 2005 It happens every January

a crystalline structure slowly rises above the wintry landscape 30 minutes west of Quebec City. It's the Ice Hotel, a 32-room property with a short season but a long reputation. Designed to melt the heart of guests, the hotel was the brainchild of winter sports enthusiast Jacques Desbois, who read a magazine piece about a similar property in Sweden. Since its inception in 2001, the Ice Hotel has hosted 220,000 visitors and 10,500 brave souls who have actually stayed overnight.

Although its design is different every year, the Ice Hotel has tripled in size since it started. Beyond its rooms and suites are art galleries, exhibition rooms, interior courtyards, an ice chandelier that hangs from a lobby with an 18-foot ceiling, and such surprising touches as Jacuzzis, fireplaces, heated washrooms, and a movie theater. There's even a chapel for people willing to put their marriage on ice -- literally.

The N'ice Club reception room holds 400 people and the Absolut Ice Bar serves 200, with an intimate Scandinavian-style relaxation place reserved for those who prefer meditation to mixed drinks. The whole place is natural, with 30,000 square feet of hotel carved from 12,000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. Even the furniture has been carved out of ice blocks. At peak capacity, the hotel can pack 84 people into its 18 rooms and 14 theme suites. The more the merrier, as body heat helps stave off chilly Canadian nights.

Guests manage to keep warm by engaging in assorted activities, from dog-sledding to snowmobiling, ice-skating, ice-fishing, and cross-country skiing. Swimming is not listed. The Ice Hotel must be doing something right: it will open its first spinoff on Dec. 23. The N'ice Club Mont-Tremblant, about one-tenth the size of the hotel, can accommodate 200 people at a time. Made of 1600 tons of snow and 100 tons of ice, it will provide private alcoves, a dance floor, and a bar with cocktails served in glasses carved from ice.

The constant interior temperature will be 28 degrees F. Both the hotel and its igloo-like imitation key a watchful eye on the thermometer; once it tops 32, the carefully-crafted structures start to melt. That's why the season for the smaller ice structure at Mont-Tremblant ends on March 19 - less than three months after it starts. The Ice Hotel's season is also short, running from January through April, 2006. Bookings are brisk during the 2006 Quebec Winter Carnaval, slated for Jan. 27-Feb. 12, and Valentine's Day, immediately after the festival closes.

Increase Online Sales ?

Increase Your Online Sales Don’t just bank on one product. Learn how to generate even more sales by adding backend items.
By Derek Gehl October 25, 2006

People are always coming up to me and asking, "What can you tell me to help increase my internet sales?" And all too often, when I ask them to tell me about their business model, I discover they're selling only one product. So I ask them, "Have you ever considered selling backend products to your customers?"
Backend products are simply other products you can offer to your existing customers after they've made their initial purchase. Because you know what they've already bought from you, you should have a good idea of other things your customers would likely buy. And that should make it easy for you to think of new things they'd want to purchase. In fact, by adding just one more product to your site, you can increase the lifetime value of your customers--and increase your revenue--by 30 to 50 percent.
Here’s an example: The other day, I got an e-mail from Amazon.com telling me about a new internet marketing book they just got in stock. They knew I might be interested in it because I'd bought other internet marketing books from them before. And I was interested in that new one, too. In fact, as soon as I got the e-mail, I immediately clicked through to the site, checked out the book and bought it. And in doing so, I boosted my lifetime value to Amazon by another 20 bucks.

Launch Bluetooth

Launch a Bluetooth Device Business This fresh technology offers a bevy of business opportunities, from consumer goods to the medical field.
By Amanda C. Kooser November 17, 2006

Launch a Bluetooth Device Business
This fresh technology offers a bevy of business opportunities, from consumer goods to the medical field.
Adds Article to your Entrepreneur Assist Bookmark page.

Bluetooth is turning out to be the little technology that could. With an estimated install base of at least 1 billion devices by the end of 2006, it's a veritable tidal wave of blue. For entrepreneurs, feeling blue can be a good thing. Bluetooth is showing up in cell phones, PDAs, cars, digital cameras and billboards. Billboards? Yep. Push advertising that sends product messages to passersby is a new market with a lot of potential.
Look into wirelessly pushing information (like new menu items, coupons or train times), and you have a new market for creative uses of the technology--and new entrepreneurial opportunities related to Bluetooth services and device creation. "We see a large number of smaller companies [entering the market]," says Mike Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group in Bellevue, Washington. "There is lots of space for either smarter devices or devices that take advantage of services people want to employ." Services might include push advertising, information transmittal, remote control capabilities or mobile commerce.
Here's one reason now is a good time for entrepreneurs to consider Bluetooth as a business: "We're working to create a high-speed channel within Bluetooth," says Foley. "[One of] the next progressions is high-quality video." That will make room for large-bandwidth applications, like moving hefty multimedia files from TVs and DVRs to mobile devices. The next couple of years will be prime development time for this new version of Bluetooth. You won't have to hold your breath to get blue in the face!