Crushdepth

Multimedia Asia have done a lot of good work for us - and no language hassles.

Anyone else having problems with using AIS's GPRS network ? I have been using it to connect my computer to the net via mobile. It was working fine until the start of the month. Now it only seems to work intermittently - up one minute, down the next.

At the moment I'm going on the theory that the bandwidth is full. I've tested a couple of different phones in different locations, so I think its a network problem - when I can't connect to GPRS neither can anyone else. The service center said it was possible that the bandwidth may be full if a lot of people are using it in your area - I'm sure they know, but they aren't handing out solid answers.

From what I've seen this isn't a local problem, its everywhere. Which sort of sucks, because they have only just released the (now not very useful) flat rate data plans.

Anyone else having problems ?

...in return for letting Canberra flood the Thai market with farm and food products that would ruin the local industry...

<deleted>. Thailand is well and truly self-sufficient in most agricultural produce and can produce it *much* more cheaply than Australia. The kinds of foods that will be imported are likely to be things that Thai's don't eat much or don't produce (like decent tomatoes and yes, they are lifting the 250% tariff on imported wine The competition from China is a much more serious issue for local agriculture.

The group added there was a likelihood Australia could use the FTA to dump in Thailand inferior-quality meats carrying possible health risks or those destined to be used in animal feed.

Unbelievable ! Meat packed for export in Australian export facilities is subject to a much higher inspection standard than meat sold for domestic consumption at home. The export grade product is better and safer due to stringent requirements imposed by importing countries - who also send their own inspectors out from time to time.

However, a lot of exported meat designated as 'pet food only' does end up on the table in Asia - but not due to dumping ! It comes from dodgy *importers* that buy designated pet food and repackage it for human consumption. So if you're worried about eating inferior meat products go buy an imported Australian steak from Villa, and push for greater regulation of the local meat industry.

Why didn't they arrest the chick for wandering around with no clothes on :-)

They caught 91 porn peddlers ? Thank god we have the BKK police to maintain order and uphold the morality of the nation. I feel safer already :-)

I don't give a rats about the porn but I wish someone would round up the bloody 'sexy movie' guys in Pantip. Is it my imagination or has their sales pitch gotten more aggressive ? As if leaping in front of you and shouting "Sexy Movie !!" in front of the whole crowd isn't annoying enough. One of them actually grabbed me yesterday - and then turned nasty and called his mates in when I removed his hands from my body. Nice.

I'm going to get some "No Sexy Movies !" T-shirts made for future visits (in Thai). Either that or "YES !! Gimme two of the barnyard specials".

He had one thing right - many of the 'western' embassies do treat Thai people like crap when they try to get a visa - particularly single females. I have been embarrased by the treatment meted out to friends trying to go to Australia for a holiday. If a country wants to have strict visa controls fair enough - but they should be able to do it in a professional and respectful way.

The Dear Senator would do well to try and put his own house in order first though. It's a shame the first thing people see in the land of smiles is a scowling immigration official. And the visa department...

Try adding another layer in your logo file (underneath the drop shadow layer) that *exactly* matches the background colour of your webpage. Your drop shadow will then blend seamlessly into your website.

If you don't know the background colour code of the website, do a screen capture and paste it into photoshop, you can use the colour sampler tool to 'measure' it. Best to set your colour preferences onto the web graphics defaults (sRGB).

Yep, you can use GPRS on One-2-Call, the rate is 1 baht / minute. The only restriction with One-2-Call sims is that AIS won't let you subscribe to one of their flat-rate GPRS data plans, they only let you do that if you are a post paid subscriber (but if you've had your One-2-Call account for a while they will let you switch over with the same sim and number).

You need to request activation of the service, give the service centre a call and they send you an SMS that configures your phone somehow. I don't think your UK sim will work, and if it does they will charge like bandits

Sounds interesting but how do you know or can you explain why there are no flaws in these browsers?

Mozilla (and other open source browsers) are developed through a community process - the code is open so there are stacks of people playing with it and spotting bugs. M$ keeps its code a secret, and because they have fewer people working on it they tend to make more mistakes. A lot of open source software is now more reliable than its commercial counterparts, for example mysql has a policy of 'no known bugs in production releases'. Nice.

The M$ is working off a very old and rickety code base too, so they are stuck with a lot of legacy issues. I wish they'd throw it out and start again. Sooner or later they'll have to.

Thaksin said yesterday, “I don’t know who Sompob is”

He later added "But I'm sure he'll make a great Head of the Army..."

Thailand's underground industries, such as gambling and prostitution...

Underground ? Underground ??? Of course ! I'm heading down the subway right away

Looks fine on Inet. May I suggest slightly larger font....and bigger pictures (feeling hungry

You know most blame the UD today for the worlds...The Americans have cleaned up the srewups of everyone else for a century or better

i) Yes, you are absolutely right, 'most' do. ii) Cleaning up other people's screwups ? For gods sake man ! Stop taking drugs and pull yourself together !!! Normally I would put the boot in here - but since this is obviously a (very poor) troll and since you are obviously not American (their school system isn't that bad), I will let it pass.

There are some good pharmacies around Victory monument. The prices are about 50% of what you will pay in the major hospitals.

OMG! Imagine the *horror* of not being able to use your mobile for 15 minutes while you are underground ! Of not having to listen to half a dozen excruciating musical ring tones ! This is against the Geneva Convention for sure. I hope proper medical care will be available for those who cannot cope

Madsere: Whether you can still call out or not while using GPRS depends on the hardware in your phone. Some chipsets only allow voice or data, some allow both at the same time (and are more expensive, of course I think my Nokia 3650 only allows one thing at a time - it definitely suspends GPRS while sending SMS messages.

Stumonster: You can use GPRS on prepaid sims (such as Once 2 Call) at 1 baht / minute flat rate. I think you have to ring the call centre and ask them to activate the service. Unfortunately you can't access the data plans on prepaid - that's why I shifted to post paid. It actually worked out marginally cheaper anyway (but hey, I don't know anyone to call

If you move from pre-paid to post paid AIS will let you keep your number (and sim) so long as you have been registered with them for a certain period of time - I don't know how long.

AIS are offering GPRS data plans now (start 1 July). They are extremely cheap - you can sign up for anywhere between 2 and 400 hours per month of GPRS access (for between 30 baht and 900 baht per month - 120 hours will cost you 350 baht). There is no limit on the amount of data you can download (I think they may introduce a cap in January 2005).

The cool thing about these prices is that it is less than you pay for a typical dial up ISP - and you are getting mobile wireless internet access !! If you have a data cable or a bluetooth phone it is now affordable to connect your laptop or PDA up to the internet from your favourite cafe / beach / whatever.

It looks to me like AIS is trying to build their mobile data subscriber base prior to rolling out their EDGE network next quarter. I posted an analysis of their Evil Plan To Rule The World on Crushdepth.net for anyone that's interested.

Crushdepth.

I put together a list of Bangkok hotspots on Crushdepth.net. The number of hotspots available is growing at an amazing rate - 6 months ago there were virtually none, now there are quite a lot. Get yourself a sniffer programme and just turn it on.

There are a few pay-for-use networks turning up in the major shopping centres etc - I think TA offers one and ShinHotSpot for example. Its hard to find information on how to subscribe in English at this stage.

Crushdepth.

You can either get a card that plugs directly into your laptop card slot or a GPRS modem that plugs into the computer (I think USB), which is more or less the same idea. Either of these give your laptop / computer GPRS capability directly, no phone required. The downside is they are fairly expensive - I think the Aircard is about 17,000 baht, and I saw a GPRS modem a couple of weeks ago for about 9,000 baht.

Alternatively you can buy an internet sim card for your mobile phone. This is a lot cheaper (1,200 baht from AIS) but you have to connect the phone (must be GPRS enabled) to your computer via a data cable or by bluetooth.

Regardless of what you do, you also have to pay a monthly subscription fee. I think the internet sim is about 1,200 baht / month, and about 850 baht for card/modems.

One other thing to look out for: AIS has just changed its billing scheme to time-based charging (it used to be data-based charging). If you tend to surf the web or suck down huge amounts of data very quickly, this is a good thing. However, if you want continuous access for instant messaging purposes (which was the whole idea of GPRS really) it totally sucks.

Under data-based charging there were quotas of about 400MB per month, and you paid extra if you used more. I don't know if these quotas still exist under the time-based charging. Would be worth finding out before you sign up.

Regards

Crushdepth.