Kuwait ISPs Capping Bandwidth

Updated1: Tuesday 7th, 8:44 PM

Update2: Wednesday 8th, 8:17 PM

ISPs in Kuwait have decided to gang up on residential consumers rather than step up to the Ministry of Communication's abuse. After all, it's easier (and cheaper) for multi-million companies to bully users rather than file a lawsuit against a ministry.

ISPs have setup what they call Fair Usage Policy, where they claim they have generously defined daily bandwidth cap/limits on users, to ensure that everyone has a pleasant experience. They have enforced this policy, WITHOUT NOTIFYING USERS!

Fair Usage Policies: QualityNet, KEMS, FastTelco and GulfNet. As you can see, some have blatantly put up the caps and others are doing it subtly without mentioning what the caps are.

According to them, "some" bandwidth abusers are the cause of this, as such, everyone must suffer!
It is not enough that they have increased their prices by at least 70% this year (February 2011), the increment was approved by the Ministry of Communications, and now the ministry is saying it'll fight the price increments!!! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE FOOLING?

In addition to the high prices and bad service, consumers were never compensated during the days of degraded service when there were regional cable cuts, which lasted for about 3 weeks.

If ISPs are saying that a few abusers have caused this, then why provide them with bandwidth if the ISPs can't handle it? Don't provide 24Mbps if you don't expect users to download at 24Mbps!!!

Speed (Mbps)	Max Downloadable/Day (GigaBytes)	New Cap Limit/Day (GigaBytes)
1	10.54	1.7
1.5	15.82	1.9
2	21.1	2.9
3	31.64	3.8
4	42	4.7
5	52.73	5.4
6	63.3	6
7	73.83	6.8
8	84.4	7.9

The formula is: Daily maximum downloadable content = (Speed in Mbps/(8*1024))*3600*24

As you can see, we're getting barely 15% of what we paid for! And that's FAIR! Take a look at this nice table for more info.

Consumers are enraged and are forming an alliance to file lawsuits against the ISPs to fight for their rights. It doesn't matter if the contract mentioned Fair Usage or not, it doesn't matter if the contracts says it can be updated without prior notice or not, you cannot rip us off like that.

We have games to play online, buy & download games online (via Steam), rent movies online (iTunes, YouTube, NetFlix and Hulu) and watch many kitty-infused videos on youtube, in HIGH DEFINITION.

ISPs do NOT get the right to define what the Internet is.

Update1: We're using the hash tag #q8cap on Twitter to rant and disclose information about the topic.

Update2: @justjimmar provided a chat log with KEMS on Facebook. Ridiculous reasons for the cap! (original link to chat log)

New Google Docs Shows No Love For Blogs

I haven't used Google Docs to publish posts in a while and I found out today that the new version of Google Docs does not support publishing to blogs. I found out after I had finished writing my post.

I didn't find a way to revert back, as the option to use the old version has been removed. Also, Blogger has no option to import a post from an ODF or Word.
My options are limited to one: Pasting the text into the composer then manually removing any coloring of the text, since it hard-codes the colors which contradict with my theme.

I'll blame myself for trusting Google in maintaining a usable solution after deploying it to the masses. I'll stick to writing in Blogger's direct composer from now on.

Google: Please Stop Raping GMail

I opened my browser and logged in to my GMail account and heard this odd music playing out of no where!

It was frustrating that I did not know where it came from, I could not stop it, and the browser tab kept freezing! And there on top, I noticed a new feature by Google called "Priority Inbox" and after a few times of refreshing the page, I got to click on it and turns out it had a video!

This is the 2nd time Google does this kind of stunt! It's irritating! You could have used the HTML5 version rather than the crappy flash one!!!

And since I'm ranting, I might as well take this off my chest: YOUR NEW USER INTERFACE IS BAD! And I'm not the only one complaining! And here is a list of comments written by users on Google's topic.

List of disadvantages to the new GMail interface:

1. I hardly ever click on Contacts. I don't need to see it in my face all the  time!
2. I don't use tasks. Why can't I hide it like the other labels?
3. I liked "Compose" as a link more than it is as a button now. At least it was obvious that I could hold SHIFT while clicking the link to compose in a new window.
4. The drop list. I despise the drop list! I can't express how much I hate it! Instead of a single click, now I have to click the drop list then choose an option! Why increase the effort to 2 clicks? Is this your idea of an optimized user interface?!

If you're having problems loading your GMail account, load the HTML interface: https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=html&zy=a

Google: I'm disappointed.

Companies And The Love of Proprietary Formats

I mentioned in an old post how to extract SMS messages from a Nokia .NBU backup file. Today I had to suffer, and sacrifice 2 bunnies and a goat, to get 1 SMS messages that was saved in the Drafts directory in one of the backup files I had of my, piece of crap, Nokia 9500.

The reason I couldn't use the same software in my old post is that it couldn't see the Drafts directory, and since Nokia had decided to create its own format for backup files and NOT provide ANY extraction functionality, I had to look for programs to do that for me.

How long has it been for companies like Nokia in the market so far? Or for any mobile phone maker company for that matter? For the sake of simplicity, let's say 5 years.
In those 5 years, I'm yet to see a company that makes mobile phones, and provide software that properly backups, restores and is able to extract data from those bloody backup files!

I could never understand why such companies decided to lock up OUR data in a weird format. To make it worse, they won't even provide decent functionality in their crippled softwares!

Apart from Nokia's mindless lack of extraction features, Sony has decided that SMS is not important and as such, it will not be backed up for you. Oh, guess what, you won't notice until after you've formatted your mobile and in the process of restoring what you think is a backup.

My sister had lost all her SMS messages because of such idiocy. Luckily, she didn't have messages with critical information. Learning from that lesson, I searched for FREE software that did a proper & decent full backup when the time came to backup my mom's mobile. (My mother would've slaughtered me and grilled me if any of her messages disappeared)

I seriously don't understand the mentality of the monkeys that take decisions on locking the data format. You'd think they might sell other software that provides the lacking features, but they'll be happy to prove you wrong and tell you that you can't get your data unless you restore it. If you are able to.

In the end of this rant, I'd like to say to both Nokia and Sony: Burn in hell you idiots. I'll never buy a phone from you ever again.

P.S.: I used a program called NBUExplorer to extract an SMS from the Drafts directory, which was in another proprietary format (.VMG). I double-clicked that .VMG file and it opened with Nokia's PC Suite and I copid the text to a normal text file. NBUExplorer is free & open source.

HotZift: A Sprinkle of Free Frustration

Microzift (Microsoft - soft + garbage) just can't have enough frustrated people using its products. I think Bill Gate's cash is generated by selling anti-depressants and assigning its hell-desk (help desk) drones to Suicide Hot Lines!!!

I was subscribed to some groups without my consent. I emailed Google about this last week and got no response while still being spammed at my old Hotmail account. So I read Google's help pages again and saw that if you email the +unsubscribe@googlegroups.com you get unsubscribed automatically!

So click on one of the spam emails to see the address of the sender and then copy the email: groupname@googlegroups.com, then I paste it in the To field.

When I tried to click after the group's name to add '+unsubscribe' I couldn't!!! The email I already entered got highlighted and is no longer modifiable!

WHY???? GIVE ME ONE GOOD LOGICAL FREAKIN REASON!!!!



(Before you comment on why I keep using the dreadful hotzift: I keep this 10 year old account because most of my old buddies can only be reached through MSN and they don't login much and even if I email them my new email they're unlikely to open the email. So shut up.)

IT Consultant

As tempting as it was, I didn't open the email.

Linksys WAP54G Access Point

I got a Linksys WAP54G AP and wanted to configure it for the first time.

The place where I want to deploy this AP has no DHCP server, and each PC has its own IP address assigned manually. This AP would replace a previous malfunctioning Linksys AP (same model).

Took the AP out of its package, hooked it with power and connected the supplied network cable to a PC, only to find out that the software that comes on the CD is telling me that I should connect it to a switch/router!

1) What if I want to deploy ONLY wireless using an ACCESS POINT?! NOT ALLOWED? MUST I HAVE A SWITCH? HMMM????

2) Their crap "auto-configure zomg pink ponies emo" software is for Windows only, and the manual on the "CD" (50 lines under "CD") is just the "quick" startup guide.

I had to drive back from Salmiya to industrial Ardhiya just to get to my office and download the FULL MANUAL, which is 2.2MB ONLY. COULDN'T YOU INCLUDE THAT IN THE CD??????!!!!!!

The "secret" default IP of the AP is: 192.168.1.245 -- I assumed it was 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.254, but NOOOO Linksys has to screw you up somehow...

Oh, and in the manual, they say that the default user is "admin" and password is "admin" -- only that doesn't work. You just need the password, and leave the user blank.

While reading, a phrase almost pushed me in a time wormhole: "Launch Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator." -- Netscape???!!! ........

After deploying the crappy NEW AP, the signal was "Very Good" only... and sometimes the AP doesn't even show up and the connection gets dropped...

From now on I shall call these: LimpSys!

Model: WAP54G
Version: 3.1
Serial Number: MDG30Gxxxxxx and MDG30Hxxxxxx

Death of The Floppy Drive

Or not!

Update [Mar 7 2009]: Advanced timings corrected
Update [Feb 14 2009]: I finally got the machine to stabilize. The shop had given me 2 kits of different voltages and Corsair's support helped me tweak the box to stability. Muchos Gracias Corsair!

I got a new machine, with one of the extreme motherboards: EVGA nVidia 790i Ultra SLI MCP. It supports many features, including a built-in RAID controller, which is the focus of this post.

I assembled the box, and configured the BIOS to enable the RAID controller on two SATA ports. I reboot, configure a RAID 0 array, reboot again and insert the Windows XP Pro 64-bit with SP2 CD, and it couldn't detect the RAID array that I had just created.

Reading about this problem a few months back, I remember that I need a floppy drive (which I didn't buy for this new box) and a floppy diskette. And another computer, with Windows on it, to use the RAID floppy maker tool from the motherboard's CD.
I managed to salvage a floppy drive from another machine, which also happens to have a Windows partition (luckily). I copy the tool to it and use an old driver diskette. The tool formats the diskette and puts the drivers on it. Great, I'm good to go now.

Well, not quite. Windows Setup didn't see the drivers on the floppy, for some reason. So I take the floppy to the other machine, format it from Windows, and then copy the drivers to it manually (there was a directory of the drivers extracted). Windows happily saw the new drivers.

After installing Windows, I installed the drivers on the box from the mobo's CD. Then I install the driver updates which I had downloaded from the Internet earlier during assembly. The update tool detected that there were previous drivers, and the new ones will be installed on the next boot, and it rebooted, but never booted!
The "smart" update tool deleted the old drivers, which included the RAID drivers, rendering my array inaccessible. The only way to fix this is by booting to Windows Setup and run a repair on the existing partition, which I did. The Setup froze during file copying. I boot again to Setup and this time run a new installation.

There are two parties to blame here: EVGA, the motherboard manufacturer, and Microsoft, the Operating System maker.
1) Microsoft: Seriously, I'm using the latest ORIGINAL Windows CD, why the hell won't you update the Setup program to allow mass storage devices like USB Memory sticks? THIS IS 2008! 1995 Says hi!!!

2) EVGA: You soar losers! You could've included a floppy with the WORKING drivers on them! AND put a warning (even if tiny) on the cover that a floppy drive is required if RAID is to be used!
What if this was my first machine to be built? How the hell am I supposed to make the RAID floppy?!

And in case you're wondering, no, I didn't get to install Windows successfully yet (with drivers). Whenever I install the drivers from the CD, it reboots & the array doesn't boot anymore. 3 failed installations, 1 failed repair due to freeze & another failed repair due to driver installation.
I'm attempting a different approach: Create a striped array of ONE disk, install OS, then migrate using the software tool from the CD (read that it's possible from the nVidia RAID Guide).
I'll update on the result.

P.S.: The floppy drive is not dead, yet. You can thank Microsoft for that.

update:
It finally worked!
1) Create bootable stripe array of one disk ONLY
2) Install OS to disk, using drivers from floppy -- reboot
3) Install drivers & programs from CD -- reboot
4) Install downloaded updated drivers and programs -- reboot
5) Use MediaShield program to migrate your array to a 2nd stripe disk (will take time -- DO NOT REBOOT!)

I had lockup issues where Windows would freeze randomly. After doing some search, I ended up updating the BIOS (from EVGA website) to P07, but the RAMs caused some lockups too, so I had to keep the clock settings to "auto", while manually setting the memory FSB to 1333MHz (it was detected as 1066) -- after consulting with Corsair, I've manually set the memory frequency, voltage, timing and SPP voltage.

Using 2 different kits of Corsair CM3X2048-1333C9DHX. The printed timings are: 9-9-9-24, but the voltage on the version 3.2 kit is 1.7v while the 1.2 version had its voltage rate set as 1.6v.

Stable settings: Confirmed on Feb 14 2009
Stable timings at 1066MHz are: 9-9-9-24 (2T)
Advanced memory settings (auto):

tRRD = 4
tRC = 27
tWR = 10
tWTR = 14
tFAW = 17
tREF = 7.7us
tRFC = 59

Voltage rate for SPP & Memory:

SPP = 1.40v
Memory = 1.80v

According to Corsair's support: Both memory kits are warranted up to 2.0 volts, so no need to worry. Also, Corsair support asked me to set the SPP voltage to +0.2 the default value, which is 1.5v but I tried 1.4 first and it was working fine, so I didn't try 1.5v.

BIOS flashing utility info:

For 132-CK-NF79-6A61MB02C-00     Date: 26/6/2008
Flash type: Winbond W39V080A     Binary file name: nf79_p07.bin

After flashing new BIOS, when powering on, BIOS info:

Pheonix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
6A61MB02  Release number 811N2P07
nVidia BIOS Version: 2.053.E8

MediaShield ROM info:

MediaShield ROM BIOS 9.85

Mesh Networks and Traffic Jams: A Double-Edged Solution

Intro
Being stuck in traffic jam is horrible. Being stuck in traffic jam with only a radio & nothing to listen to but rap music, is terrifying!

What if you could see traffic flow in real-time, before you leave and while driving? Sounds great, right? But what if you could see traffic flow AND be able to surf the Internet using the same inexpensive solution? THAT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME!

Background
Let's get realistic: In the United States, it's possible to get traffic reports using GPS units. This is done by attaching an antenna to receive radio transmissions from the respective service provider (either for free or by subscription).

This solution has been debated to not provide information security, as the FM radio transmissions can be spoofed and forged, producing false reports. There's also the monthly fee you have to pay to the service provider.

Proposed Solution
What I propose here, is creating a distributed mesh network, which can be tracked in real-time and provides Internet access at the same time. Each node is a mini-router that is configured to search for similar nodes of the same network, forming a bond and a redundant, anonymous, decentralized network.

Real-Life Application
Deploy a mini-router from Open-Mesh.com in each car and let it be pre-configured to join a network of the name "adrenalin" -- And let there be edge nodes (houses/flats/shops) with also a mini-router, but connected to the Internet.

Assume you're driving on an empty road and no one is in sight. Your router will not be able to connect with any node since none exist, and thus your path is free and there exist no traffic jam! (And unfortunately no Internet :( )

If you're driving in the city, there will be both cars and edge-nodes, hence your router will connect to one of these and you'll be able to see a topology representing the scatter of cars around, and you can determine congested routes and steer away from it, while at the same time, you gain the ability to access the Internet, thanks to the edge-nodes.

And guess what, the more jammed the traffic is, the more bandwidth is available for you to surf the Internet!

Open-Mesh.com provides a web-interface to see and manage all these nodes, and there exist projects to further enhance the application of these networks.
Go to the Network Status page and enter the Network Name as "test" (without double quotes). Leave the password field empty, and click sign in.

All mobile nodes (cars) are anonymous, and the edge-nodes can choose to be anonymous as well, protecting the privacy of people.

Solution Feasibility: Technicalities
* Each router has 2 interfaces: A public one and a private one. This means while your router is hooked to other routers, you connect to your own only, using a laptop or a PDA. The router has built-in firewall and encryption.

* The router runs on 5 volts only, and any car battery can handle it easily.

* If you have a computer in your car (carputer), you can hook it through LAN.

* The antenna is detachable, so it's easy to upgrade or relocate it.

Solution Feasibility: Mass Deployment
Let's assume this is a government sponsored project. When buying a new car, the person pays a subsidized sum to implement the mini-router along with the license plate fees.

According to open-mesh.com, a pack of 20 routers cost $799; that's $39.95 per mini-router (almost 11KD). The government could sell it for 4KD, and 1KD fee for the license plate, so the total is 5KD!

Local ISPs can join the party by offering free edge-nodes that allow Internet access. They make profit by displaying advertisements in a frame at top of the page. The profit made can be split with the government, to make up for the cost of the devices.

Microsoft Windows XP End-User License Agreement

For the sake of amusement, I decided to read Microsoft's Windows XP Professional End User License Agreement.

I have read the EULA and decided to write some comments, or just highlight some points.

Head start:

YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS
EULA BY INSTALLING, COPYING, OR OTHERWISE USING THE PRODUCT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO
NOT INSTALL OR USE THE PRODUCT; YOU MAY RETURN IT TO YOUR PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A
FULL REFUND.

• Right. So, if you don't agree with ANY of the points, you're not allowed to use this piece of software.

---

Without prejudice to any other rights, Microsoft may cancel this EULA if you do not abide by the terms and conditions of this EULA, in which case you must destroy all copies of the Product and all of its component parts.

• I would like to point out that there's no mention of the word "refund."

---

The Product may not be used by more than two (2) processors at any one time on any single Workstation Computer.

• There's no mention of the word "cores," so by processor, they mean a physical chip. And God forbid you may have a dual processor motherboard and utilize both! I have seen some XP licenses that are valid for multiple CPUs. I don't know if they're referring to the whole computer or just a processor.

---

You may permit a maximum of ten (10) computers or other electronic devices (each a "Device") to connect to the Workstation Computer to utilize the services of the Product solely for File and Print services, Internet Information Services, and remote access (including connection sharing and telephony services). The ten connection maximum includes any indirect connections made through "multiplexing" or other software or hardware which pools or aggregates connections.

• So if you live in a dorm, you can have only 10 friends. If you get naughty and make more than 10 friens, they'll be upset to know that you can't permit them to access your fancy collections over the network. And if you think that you're smart enough to have the computers pass through a single gateway to appear as a single computer, then you're performing an illegal operation, my naughty friend. Microsoft shall spank you!

---

Except as otherwise permitted by the NetMeeting, Remote Assistance, and Remote Desktop features described below, you may not use the Product to permit any Device to use, access, display or run other executable software residing on the Workstation Computer, nor may you permit any Device to use, access, display, or run the Product or Product's user interface, unless the Device has a separate license for the Product.

• Is this still "my" computer?!

---

There are technological measures in this Product that are designed to prevent unlicensed or illegal use of the Product. You agree that we may use those measures.

• It's within their right to protect their software, but wait till you get to the good part of this deal, below.

---

Microsoft reserves all rights not expressly granted to you in this EULA.

• In other words: "All your base are belong to us!"

---

After upgrading, you may no longer use the product that formed the basis for your upgrade eligibility.

• So if I upgrade from Windows98 to XP, I'm no longer allowed to use Win98, which I paid for? Delightful.
  
• If I had to format, God forbid, how am I supposed to install XP without the right to install the base OS (Win98)?! (unless install doesn't count as using)

---

You may move the Product to a different Workstation Computer. After the transfer, you must completely remove the Product from the former Workstation Computer.

• I thought it wasn't allowed. Good to know it is.

---

You may not rent, lease, lend or provide commercial hosting services to third parties with the Product.

• To all of you little kids who had dreams of starting a tiny web-hosting service, now that you have an OS with a graphical interface and all, sorry to say that it's not going to happen! HAHA! In your face!

---

You agree that Microsoft and its affiliates may collect and use technical information gathered in any manner as part of the product support services provided to you, if any, related to the Product.

• "in any manner" -- yup! They lived to that promise alright! But I have a hunch we'll be reading about yet more exciting new ways :D

---

You acknowledge and agree that Microsoft may automatically check the version of the Product and/or its components that you are utilizing and may provide upgrades or fixes to the Product that will be automatically downloaded to your Workstation Computer.

• Does this mean, that by turning off the AutoUpdate service, I've violated the EULA?!
  
• Does this mean, that Microsoft can check my system, even when I have AutoUpdate turned off and never visited their update site/portal?!
  
• What if I don't want your fixes and updates (that might break certain parts of MY system)?

---

Content providers are using the digital rights management technology (“Microsoft DRM”) contained in this Product to protect the integrity of their content (“Secure Content”) so that their intellectual property, including copyright, in such content is not misappropriated. Owners of such Secure Content (“Secure Content Owners”) may, from time to time, request Microsoft to provide security related updates to the Microsoft DRM components of the Product (“Security Updates”) that may affect your ability to copy, display and/or play Secure Content through Microsoft software or third party applications that utilize Microsoft DRM. You therefore agree that, if you elect to download a license from the Internet which enables your use of Secure Content, Microsoft may, in conjunction with such license, also download onto your computer such Security Updates that a Secure Content Owner has requested that Microsoft distribute.

• Oh? So at some point of time, the "Secure content" which I have paid for, could be rendered useless, because the provider felt like it's not secure enough?
  
• I don't see the word "refund" in the text
  
• This sounds more like Digital Restrictions Management

---

NOT FOR RESALE SOFTWARE. Product identified as “Not for Resale” or “NFR,” may not be resold,
transferred or used for any purpose other than demonstration, test or evaluation.

• Hmmm... The original CD sitting in front me of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition, has the following on it: "Not for retail or OEM Distribution. Not for resale." -- does this mean I may not use it in production environment and only for "demonstration, test or evaluation"?! I sure have paid for a production environment copy!
  Either the shipping elves sent me the wrong CD, or the EULA is mistaken...

---

11. LIMITED WARRANTY FOR PRODUCT ACQUIRED IN THE US AND CANADA.
Microsoft warrants that the Product will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying materials for a period of ninety days from the date of receipt.
...
Any supplements or updates to the Product, including without limitation, any (if any) service packs or hot fixes provided to you after the expiration of the ninety day Limited Warranty period are not covered by any warranty or condition, express, implied or statutory.
...
This Limited Warranty is void if failure of the Product has resulted from accident, abuse, misapplication, abnormal use or a virus.
...
Microsoft’s and its suppliers’ entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at Microsoft’s option from time to time exercised subject to applicable law, (a) return of the price paid (if any) for the Product, or (b) repair or replacement of the Product, that does not meet this Limited Warranty and that is returned to Microsoft with a copy of your receipt.
...
Outside the United States or Canada, neither these remedies nor any product support services offered by Microsoft are available without proof of purchase from an authorized international source.

• Microsoft guarantees you its Operating System (OS) for 3 months only, because God knows what kind of viruses might be unleashed to masses to hijack their precious Windows-based machines after 3 months. Microsoft surely can't be held liable for that! Nor its poorly designed and unsecure OS!
  
• Oh! Goody! Even their bug fixes aren't guaranteed! Fantabulous!
  
• You're a financial controller at a big firm and you're almost done from the year's financial records to close it down, and to your misfortune, got infected by a Trojan Horse which exploited a security hole in Microsoft Windows Firewall. This not-so-friendly Trojan has corrupted your precious OS and you no longer have access to your files. Your company doesn't close on time and falls into financial problems. Who's fault is this? Who's responsible to pay for the damages?
  
• Following the scenario above, you may not be so lucky to be granted Microsoft's love and get your $185 (imagine loss in millions). Or even better, they will give you another CD of the same OS! Yay! Oh .. I forgot to mention that you'll have to pay for shipping the CD you have to them first...
  
• What about the 3 months period? How come it's not available to those outside US & Canada?!

---

Except for the Limited Warranty and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Microsoft and its suppliers provide the Product and support services (if any) AS IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS, and hereby disclaim all other warranties and conditions, either express, implied or statutory, including, but not limited to, any (if any) implied warranties, duties or conditions of merchantability, of fitness for a particular purpose, of reliability or availability, of accuracy or completeness of responses, of results, of workmanlike effort, of lack of viruses, and of lack of negligence, all with regard to the Product, and the provision of or failure to provide support or other services, information, software, and related content through the Product or otherwise arising out of the use of the Product. ALSO, THERE IS NO WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, QUIET POSSESSION, CORRESPONDENCE TO
DESCRIPTION OR NON-INFRINGEMENT WITH REGARD TO THE PRODUCT.

• It speaks for itself...

---

After these points, I don't know how you feel about your purchased copy of Windows, but it feels to me that I'm renting the software with a gun to my head, and my face glued with an awkward smile... (Glue made Microsoft, of course).

Freezing Internet Account: QualityNet: Not Possible (almost)

Updated: July 13th

I'm moving to a new place, and I had renewed my account one month before I found out that we're moving.

When I no longer was using the DSL at the old place, I called QualityNet support at 804444, and told them that I need to freeze my account and shift the service later to another phone line.
The representative said that it's not possible, but he was kind enough and logged the issue in the system for his superior to look at it and follow it up. He said that I'll be contacted with in 2 days.

I called the next day, just to be sure and make a reminder (since I'm losing days here), and they assured me that the problem was logged and I'll be contacted.

Indeed, the day after, I was contacted and spoken to a woman, who said that what I'm asking for is not possible. I argued that it's not logical and that I've been subscribed with them since August 2005! I then asked on whether it's possible to get a refund, but that wasn't possible either.
After some thinking, I asked if it's possible to transfer the amount available in my balance to another account; that is, convert the number of days that I have left in my service into money, then deposit it into another account.
She said she'll ask and see if that is plausible or not. The same girl called later and said it was OK, but I'd have to go over to their HQ and ask them to do it there.

Although we are able to come to a solution, I don't understand why it's not possible to freeze the account and hold the amount in it. I do know that the ISPs rent space from the Ministry of Communication where they install jumpers on the phone line, which is then calculated as part of the cost and the customer ends up paying for it.
This does not apply here, since the jumper is going to removed anyway (I'm moving out, remember?), so there's no cost!

If you're a QualityNet user or a staff member, I ask you to make a fuss about this, because it's ridiculous not be able to shift locations.

Unless they want us to renew month by month, just in case, and they benefit from the increase in price!

Update: I have went to QualityNet's HQ and the clerk suggested I ask an employee regarding freezing the account, and he said that such a thing is done as a courtesy only, and the maximum period is 1 month. It wasn't enough in my case, so I shifted the cash to another account.
When shifting the cash, I had to pay a certain amount so that the total covers a month, or a multiple. (not counted in days of subscription!)

Internet Shopping: Dreaming of Things You Will Never Purchase

The Internet provided means of reaching people without boundaries, beyond borders and resulted in a huge expansion in International freight & logistics services expansion.

However, post 9/11 events, the US & EU have "tightened security", along with credit card companies, and made everyone outside their region miserable, by requireing ridiculous set of rules that reduced (if not prevented) International trade over the Internet.

Many great websites like NewEgg.com & TigerDirect.com wee considered the best places to purchase computer hardware & accessories, because of the low prices compared to the local market (assuming the local market had it in the first place) and because of the wide variety of items, that they offer. Unfortunately, due to the reasons mentioned, those websites can't sell to anyone unless they verify his/her identity, by requesting name, VISA card, social security number & residence, and all this info must match that registered on the VISA, otherwise, you're considered a fraudster and denied transaction (if not reported to VISA & police as well!!)

The problem with such websites (I had personal experience with them), is that they do not mention that they accept American credit cards or paypal accounts only, and people like me end up going through the whole search-purchase-wait-disappointment process. It would help a lot, if they would mention that fact in their FAQ or at least in the payment page... It would save us the time and look for other sites, and them the time to attend to useless orders & emails.

In the past 2 years, our local market has become a monopoly where most shops agree on a certain price for all items, and the victim is the consumer, and the only way out is to purchase from the Internet, and now that famous websites are being locked out, we're forced to turn to non-famous websites that may in fact be a total rip-off. So how did the credit card companies reduce fraud? I have no idea.

So, where do I get my stuff from? Mostly Amazon.com, which for some reason, does accept International VISA and doesn't enforce ridiculous rules on the buyers.
The problem? They're not a computer house, and even though have some things, it's just not the place for the computer-holic to get his/her dosage of hardware & accessories, not to mention price differences, as they tend to be higher than websites like newegg.

If any of you have a way to purchase things from the US or EU without pleading & begging in emails to companies, please let me know!

Google Docs: Interactive Transient Docs, Please!

Updated!

As I'm going to write more technical posts, I'll be sharing designs, views, ...etc. with you, and I thought of using Google Docs, since I can write from anywhere and be able to share those documents & spreadsheets.

Yesterday, I emailed my manager a link the design I made for a fileserver, which was first made using Openoffice, then uploaded to Google Docs, and the sheet had forumlas, which change when changing numbers. I realized that my manager can't change the numbers since it's a view-only/public document.

Looking further into all options available, nothing can serve what I need: An Interactive Public Sharing, where each visitor gets to see a transient copy of the document, and make changes, but those changes are never saved.Yes, I realize that I can add you to my list to be able to do it, but that would violate your privacy, which I respect. There's no need for me to see who's viewing my documents, and whoever is viewing, should be able to use those documents to their full extent.

I already submitted a feature request at Google Docs, hoping they'd add that feature soon.

Update: I found a free online document system from a company called Zoho, which offers interactive spreadsheets, where visitors can change values of cells and watch those formulas do the magic! My sheets have a found a home that appreciates it :')