Archive for the 'Life' Category

Rant: What the fark is wrong with TM/Streamyx?

Sign #1 as to why one is an internet addict: Extreme mood swings due to the presence (and lack of) quality internet access.

Dear TM, please get you act together. Piece of shit ISP. Internet Shit Provider.

Streamyx. Must. Die.

Grrr…

Grafitti: Check out what somebody drew for me on Facebook using Grafitti

Street Fighter II

A friend of mine recently drew me this on social-networking site Facebook, using an app called Grafitti. With it, you can doodle or even create minor works of art such as shown below. Go check it out if you have the time. Facebook can be pretty addictive, so if you don’t have the time nor the self-control, don’t even think about it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Sample Grafitti on Facebook #1: Dustin Sohn

Sample Grafitti on Facebook #2: Javier Sedillo

Thoughts: Will mobile number portability really take off in Malaysia?

Lim Keng Yaik once again reminded us that the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications is pushing ahead with its plan to implement a mobile number portability (MNP) system in our fair country. MNP basically means that subscribers will be able to take their number and subsequently their business to another carrier/network in the event that they are not satisfied with the incumbent for whatever reason whatsoever.

I, for one, will welcome such a scheme, as it would surely spur the carriers to look after its subscribers. As a long time subscriber to one of the big carriers here, I feel neglected by my current carrier, as it is concentrating its efforts on getting new subscribers (and hence market share), rather than looking after the churn rate.

Now, I’ve been itching to switch to another carrier for ages now, but what’s holding me back is the hassle of getting everybody updated on my new mobile number, in the event of the switch, but with this new MNP system in place, I can just hop-on and hop-off as I please, without barriers to change. What this system will ideally achieve would be to force competition between carriers to another level. Carriers will now have to pay more attention to the churn rate, as well as provide incentives for existing subscribers to stay with the carrier, perhaps tying subscribers down with a free phone & contract tie-in, or entice users to switch by providing switching incentives or packages.

I foresee a certain amount of stalling being carried out by some of the big carriers, but internally, I’d bet they must be gearing up face such a challenge in the local telecommunications service provider industry. I’d place my money on Digi being at the forefront of this new development as they seem to me to be a pretty innovative company, rising above odds to compete against bigger competitors. I don’t want to shill for them but it would be interesting to watch what happens. Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments below.

The Star Online

[via The Star Online]

Thoughts: Will Sirim guarantee products carrying its approvals?

Saw this in The Star Online today.

The Star Online

Reading this made me think. So, Mr. Immediate-Past-President (!) of The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia (TEEAM), by virtue of implication, are you saying that ALL plugs carrying the Sirim sticker are guaranteed to be safe? Dear sharks lawyers, please keep this in mind the next time a fire occurs due to a Sirim-approved plug burning out. I smell a class-action suit waiting to happen.

[The Star Online ]

Life: Who gives portable storage as a wedding gift?

Well, apparently, in this part of the world, I do. Initially, I wanted to give him cash, but he said he would rather a gift instead. So me, being the lazy arse that I am, I just outright asked him if there is anything that he would like, within budget, of course, and he said that he would like to have some storage to go. And so, I got a few friends together and we pooled some small change together and got him a portable hard disk drive. And off to the shops I go and when I got back, this was what I ended up with.

Guts, guts, all over the place

Continue reading ‘Life: Who gives portable storage as a wedding gift?’