spog

It was a stupidly short time. But it all got done in time as it was launched a couple of weeks ago along with the usual big press stuff.

I really don't understand any of her comments though. Is this a bad translation of a Thai article or just very bad reporting?

Loopholes uncovered in e-passport scheme 

"After listening to the information, the sub-committee raised issues concerning the 120-day period for establishing and developing the system, a period which we regard as being too short", sub-committee chair Khun Ying Kalaya Sophonpanich told reporters.

"As a result, the installation system will be ineffective. There have been no attempts to link automatic doors with the e-passports; so passport holders won't be able to pass through the doors", she noted.

Khun Ying Kalaya said that the sub-committee was concerned that the personal data of e-passport holders would not be secured, and noted that representatives from Chanwanich Co. had been unable to satisfactorily answer the committee's queries.

--TNA 2005-06-22

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Anyone know what the heck's she's talking about?

Automatic doors? What automatic doors? Does she mean the automatic gates at the airport which open with a passport?

Hong Kong is cheapest. There is no VAT on stuff there.

I wouldn't buy from Thailand given the bad service you will get if/when it goes wrong.

The problem with Japanese stuff is that you will need to replace Windows with an English version. Then find all the appropriate drivers (since the discs supplied may only have japanese drivers). And you can't guarantee to find english versions of everything.

Chuck it.

Unless it is a honking great 21" monitor, it's not really worth the cost of repairing.

Even if they do fix it, there is a good chance that the problem will come back again.

New ones aren't expensive.

I have a kensington laptop cable, but to be honest, I rarely use it.

I leave my laptop in my very large and well locked suitcase.

Of course, you could always invest in a "fire safe".... :D         

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Two firesafes!

From now on 2 copies of everything, cased and sealed. (2 cd's fit in a single case )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Two different cases in two different locations!

Think what happens if there is a fire. I have one set of archive CDs in my office, one at home (and a third set in a different country, but that is a little overkill)

You can buy the Orange Sim pack from the Orange shop and they don't ask for your passport.

I have had quite a different experience with CD-R backups.  I've been writing CD-Rs since the days when the write speed was 2x (maximum) and there were only SCSI writers (no IDE).  I still have those discs with me, and they're still 100% readable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Same here: once written OK, they stay OK. I tend to write at 4x or 2x thinking that the chances of getting errors are less. Don't know how true that is.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, I remember reading somewhere that slowing down the speed can actually lower the quality of the burn.

I think it was because the hardware is optimised for the fastest write speed and running at a lower speed is less efficient and so more errors are introduced. Of course, given the wide range of hardware out there, your mileage may vary.

I always burn two copies of everything important on CD and store them in two locations. If I ever lose one disc, or it gets scratched, then I use the 'archive disc' to create a new 'general disc'. With the cheap cost of media, it's not expensive and pretty much guarantees integrity.

I don't recommend a hard disc as your only form of backup. They can and do fail - granted, it's less common, but not unheard of. It's also easier to retreive data from a scratched CD than it is from a dead hard drive. Flash memory is less reliable than HDs and more suspectible to damage.

I think that samran is trying to say that even though the new technology is with us, it aint worth a w**k until all retailers are using the EFTPOS/PIN readers in the shops. So the card can still be copied and used elsewhere as long as the retailer dont need a pin...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As you say, the problem is, you can't just change from magstripe to chip overnight. So you are going to be in the situation where the uncrackable chips are on the same cards as the easily-copied magstripes.

But eventually, the magstripes will disappear. Give it a few months and I will be wiping my magstripes so that only the chip is accessible.

There's nothing wrong with that spec - Win2k will run quite happily on that.

before had to print fake passports, now have to re-write mag.stripe on it. "much" secure, indeed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The new e-passport has a chip on it, not a mag stripe.

You get the drop-down boxes for the Barclays UK services (ibank.barclays.co.uk)

I am a little surprised that they have a different system for their offshore accounts - you'd think they'd just develop a single system to save costs.

How do you find the offshore services? I have the standard account - but you cannot register as a non-tax payer with Barclays, so you end up paying tax on your interest, even though you are supposed to be tax-free. I'm a little annoyed about that!

my bank is Barclays and it was their famously secure site that somebody managed to get into!!! Mind you they have been excellent at following up and by locking out my account and changing all pass codes and issuing new details within minutes of the incident.

For everyones info, i have been informed that there is a programme that is readily available that can record every key pressed on a selected PC, which is bloody scary!  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Interestingly, Barclays uses a login system where as well as typing a PIN, you also have to enter two characters from your password, using a drop-down box with your mouse.

This is to protect against keyloggers - since you are not entering a keystroke, it is not easy to capture these characters as they are entered by mouse.

Plus, they request a different pair of characters each time - and you only get three attempts to get it right before your account is locked.

In my opinion, you left yourself logged into the session and the next user saw you were logged in and simply tried their luck.

In most applications, you can use ALT - 159 (on numeric keypad) to get £

Though peversly, while I am typing this, I get ƒ

Check out the airport, there are several there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

All require subscription, don't they?

No free ones

they have a special promotion going on for AIS customers. I think it is free equipment.

I am not sure whether I would qualify if I got an AIS prepaid phone. Spend a few hundred baht and save a couple of thousand baht.

I'm trying to get boradband for my apartment

I have a TOT line and the owner suggested:

http://www.buddybb.net/

You pay 2,100 baht for the equipment, then it is 650 baht per month for a 2Mb connection.

anyone got any experience of this?

I'm attempting to build a database of "free" wi-fi hotspots in Bangkok.  Can anyone help? 

I'm interested in knowing the location, speed, ease of logging in and reliability of free hotspots in cafes, bars, restaurants etc. 

So far I know of 3:

1) The Irish Xchange, Covent Road - (802.11b/g, adsl, fast and reliable)

2) Larry's Dive, Sukhumvit Soi 22 - (802.11b/g, adsl, fast and reliable)

3) The Londoner Pub, UBC2 Sukhumvit Soi 33 - not tested it yet

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Steve.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Siam discovery centre has one by the mac shop. There is pay starbucks in the same location.

not yet tested, but it did work on my PDA a while back

Anyone had any luck getting 5x7 or 6x8 digital prints in Bangkok? The ones I had done at Eastbourne in the Emporium are weird. Their machine automatically boosts the brightness (they say they can't change it) so that photos with a darkish foreground and light grey sky come out with a completely white sky, which looks terrible. Also, for 5x7 the print height is about 4.75 inches instead of 5, and has a white border on the top and bottom. This means you have to cut the top and bottom to make it fit in a frame, and there is always a bit of white showing.

There is a place on the 5th floor of the Emporium where they only do 4x6, 8x10 and 8x12, but they can print with brightness unchanged or increased as you wish, and the prints are exactly the right size for standard frames. What I'm looking for is somewhere like this that does 5x7 and 6x8.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've found a couple of places:

By Sala Daeng BTS, there is a kodak shop - pretty good quality

In World Trade - there is one with a multi-coloured sign - good quality, but they will put a virus on your memory card.

Central Chid Lom - next to powerbuy

If you want a perfect crop, do it on your PC first. Crop to the exact proportions you want and save it.

If my memory is right, these guys do all the standard sizes - though I may be wrong.

So, I figure scanning the passports onto a diskette (a scanner is available at the local school) then going to the local internet shop and attaching the resulting pdf files to an email.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

By far the best option.

one suggestion :use a jumpdrive instead of a floppy

It's lazy programming on behalf of the website. They are checking that you have the right version of IE to ensure that their site works. However, it may work fine with Firefix, but they haven't bothered to check for it.

But with FF, there is always a solution:

https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extension...x&id=59&vid=617

It allows you (via the tools menu) to change the way your brower reports itself to a website. e.g. I have firefox, but websites think that it is IE6.0

Last time I took my pda there, there were two discoverable wifi networks. One had free access, the other didn't

Well, as Chanchao has the same model that I am interested in and it works alright, I should be fine. My other half wants us to be a Sony house, so I am kind of limited in choice.

Besides, I don't like getting cheap stuff, they just don't seem to last.

Just don't mistakenly test out your latest Nong Nat movie at the shop.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am pretty sure that they have an official shop copy for the customers to try. Got to be better than the Van Helsing DVD that some shops offer as a freebie.

thx for replies so far. removed battery within 1 minute but did not have proper screwdriver-device to open the mobile phone immediately after the incindent (or should I say accident?). Point is, I "might" find a solution to have partly $ of the retail value back from my (home country) insurance co for a destroyed phone BUT my data is still on it as well...and that is what I am mostly concerned about. Again my question about how much thai repair shops might charge at least (if possible)  to regain the data?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The phone is dead, right? Once it is dry, try the battery and see if it comes to life.

If the data is on your SIM card (ie telephone numbers), then it is a simple case of swapping the SIM card into a new phone (better remove it now).

If it calendar stuff or photos, the way to do it is to connect a datacable and sync it with a PC. If the phone appears dead (no screen), enough of it may be working that you can suck the data off via a PC. (This will only work if the brain of the phone is working)

Which phone is it? I wouldn't pay more than a couple of hundred Baht for someone to retreive the data and save to a floppy disk (if possible).

If you are going to try and do something, do it immediately. Corrosion will be setting in now and you can almost watch it form before your eyes. Seriously, we are talking hours.

If you can claim on your insurance, do so. Even if they manage to resurrect your phone, I don't think it will last very long.