Gumballl

francois

We had similar change with landlines in Belgium a few years back.

Changes like that are bound to happen....probably unavoidable.

So yeah give Thailand a break

Here it is every 6 months.

We dono9t have to give Thais a break, whatever we give them gets broken anyway...

Anyway, as said above, we need more numbers BUT its time everybody here gets assigned a phone number usable with any company for life. Current systems are stupid...

From whose perspective is the current system 'stupid'.... your perspective or the phone carrier's perspective?

A couple of years ago, the FCC in the US forced all telecom carriers to allow consumers to take their number (i.e. continue to use it) with another competitor. This was a radical new concept and great for the consumer. Phone carriers were bitching that this would cost them money. Now a consumer who lived in LA with a 310 area code number can move to NYC and still use the same number. You can bet that the phone carriers lost a great deal of money on this idea. No longer does the consumer have to fork over new monies to setup new phone service.

As you can imagine, phone carriers make money everytime a consumer switches to a new number. Therefore, from the phone carrier's perspective, the system, similar to the one in LOS, is not 'stupid', but in actuallity a money maker. If you were in the business, you probably would agree.

Anyhow, I just wanted you to see the other side of the coin.

For question 2, if you have to resort to using two SIM cards (one for each phone), see if you can set up call-forwarding from the PDA phone to your smaller one.

Beginning September 1, users of all mobile telephone systems will have to dial the prefix 08, he said. For examples, the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to 08-112-345-67 and the new number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-912-345-67.

wouldnt it be easier to understand if you say the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to

08-1-12345-67 or number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-9 -12345-67. so in other words you add the prefix follow it by previous prefix, simple. Just a different way to explain

I LOS, I have seen numbers listed as 0-xxxx-xxxx and also as 0x-xxx-xxxx (where x represents a number). Dissimilar formats if you ask me. Personally I favour the latter style, since this is somewhat similar in the US.

Anyhow, it seems that in LOS businesses might print their number as 08x-xxx-xxxx.

P.S. Interesting enough, this almost starts to look like the US-style of telephone numbers. However, for whatever reason, a zero (0) cannot be used as the first number in the US. (Or has that changed now that we are living in the 21st Century?).

seems to me to hear westerners in their home country!

never satisfied!

always something to complain about!

give Thailand a break, would you ...

francois

Quite right. Here in the UK we've been through all this many times with mobiles and landlines. Of course some people are making big money out of it. My only concern is that they are underestimating future mobile use and will have to change again. UK - 55M people with good landline infrastructure is 11 digits. Thailand 63M people with poor landline infrastructure = 10 digits.

The US with approx 300M people has only 10-digits. Seems that the UK has dropped the ball somewhere.

In some populated cities in the US, it is required to dial all 10-digits to complete a local call. Here in New Mexico (where I live now), all that is required is that one dials 7-digits to complete a call. Yet dialling all 10-digits still works. (BTW, New Mexico has only about 1.3M residents).

The concept of local and long distance calls in the US is for the most part history. All calls are treated the same (and charged, for the most part, at the same rate). If someone is getting fleeced with "long-distance charges", then they need to switch carriers.

Some say that time = money. With all of the time spent on this topic (jeez... 22 pages!), one could have visited every national park in thailand at least once!

There are certain times during the year that even Disneyland has dual pricing for entry. A low price for the locals, and a normal (higher) price for visitors. This is not racism, it's merely a pricing scheme to lure in the locals.

I have had management check the meter on several occasions which involved turning the power off to see if the meter was still running. They insist that the charges are correct and there have been no mistakes.

I think that what Lopburi and Tuki were suggesting is that you check the meter yourself. Don't rely on the accounts of your building's mgmt. They could very well be inflating your costs, or as suggested, a neighbour could be tapping into your power source.

Is it just me but I've been noticing more and more of these things on the road around Phuket?

Big shiny black things usually without a trace of mud.

They are often being driven in a very unfriendly aggressive and stupid manner.

Seems to me they are a show off vehicle and the drivers display their ignorance by driving like a-holes.

Fortuner owners here have mentioned they drive like a sports car but I swear some of these idiots must think they are driving a Porsche oblivious to the fact that they have the same tyres and brakes as a pickup truck.

Black also is the worst colour for a vehicle. Black shows scratches and dirt much more readily.

It would be interesting to ask the insurers what the accident rates are for these vehicles!

I bet it is not just the Fortuner. A lot of folks that buy SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) think that they are bullet-proof and safer than a regular automobile. They are wrong, and that stats show that.

Nevertheless, I for one prefer a bigger vehicle... hence I also drive an SUV (I have a Toyota 4Runner). Do not worry about me though... I take my time when it comes to driving.

And on that subject has anyone came across any other countries that use them alot??

Anyone ever travelling or living in the US knows that there are numerous places where it gets outright hot and humid in the summer. Yet, here in the US, the usage of beer-bottle "condoms" in bars is rarely, if not ever, used. Here in the US bars rely on an old invention to keep beer and customers cool... it is called air-conditioning.

Beer "condoms" are available in the home though for those outdoor cookouts.

I'm here in Thailand on a Type-O visa (3 months). I'm going to get married, and i'm trying to set up a bank account so that i can deposit the 400,000 baht to get the 1 year extension.

But no banks will allow me to setup a bank account (been to Bangkok bank and SCB), both said that i require a work permit in order to setup an account.

I do have a Thai military bank account (which i open 2 years ago when i was here on a student visa). But TMB seems kinda of ....shady? Is wiring 600,000+ to TMB a good idea?

I didn't realize it would be so difficult to open an account here.

Bangkok Bank gave you hassles? That's odd. I just recently went to the Bangkok Bank office near Sukhumvit Soi 8 and had no troubles opening a savings account. I am also married to a Thai, but I did not have to prove that, nor did the bank official ask. Furthermore, all I had was a 30-day entry permit (no visa of any flavour whatsoever).

The bank did require me to get an affidavit from the US Embassy to verify my identity (in other words, the US Embassy verified that my US Passport was legit).

Anyhow, that was it. I opened an account, and deposited a mere 1000 baht. Aside from the trip and delay at the embassy, the process at the bank took less than 20 minutes.

By Dress up, I'm assuming a suit shirt and tie would be the order of the day?

Ps. here in england everyone is getting excited as the weather is ooooooo, almost 22 degrees

Nah ... long trousers, nice shirt with collar and proper shoes is plenty.

What you do'nt wear is beach shorts, tank top and rubber slippers.

Naka.

When I opened my Bangkok Bank account I wore shorts, a shirt, and flip-flops (because it was bloody hot/humid on that particular day). I had no trouble opening an account. If I was at home in the US, under similar circumstances, I would probably do the same.

I am not saying that I am proud of dressing this way when going to a bank, but merely stating that it was not a big concern to the bank that I dressed casually. I think that some folks worry too much. Perhaps they lack a good demeaner/character, and have to make up this deficit by dressing up like a prom king. Or maybe they are impervious to the hot/humid weather in LOS. Kudos to them if they are.

I want to create a bank account. I have a non-immigration visa from getting married.

How do I fund it from Thailand?

Having only a tourist visa, I was able to open a savings account at Bangkok Bank (BB). The bank required me to have my identity verified at the US Embassy (I'm a US citizen). After bringing back the embassy-certified letter stating that I am indeed the gent appearing in my passport, I was able to open an account with a small amount (I only deposited 1000 baht initially).

Returning to the US, I setup the means to perform electronic (wire?) transfers from my US-based bank to the BB account. BB has a branch office in NYC, thus all I needed was the BB's ABA number and my account number. In the rest of the world, I believe that a Swift code is used in lieu of the ABA.

I hope this helps.

Tourism down??? I visited LOS 4 times during 2005... doesn't that count for something?

I think the OP is merely fishing for responses to his/her unsubtantiated comments. What do other folks call this scheme?.... trolling?

None at all.

Xerox is a generic name for a photocopier, like hoover is for a vacuum cleaner.

I have a friend that used to work for IBM. When he told his manager that he would return in a jiffy with a Xerox of a document, his manager pointed out his "mistake" (Xerox is/was a competitor of IBM). From there on, my friend erased Xerox from his venacular and resorted to using the generic term "photocopy".

Can anyone provide me the names any software (or engineering) companies in LOS that would hire a foreigner (I'm from the US)?

I have over 16 years of experience as a s/w engineer, with all of my experience within the government/aerospace/satellite business in the US. I am not looking to earn a tremendous salary, but merely to live in LOS to be closer to my wife and daughter, and to settle down.

I have interests in SCADA or embedded software systems.

Just do it yourself. It is not rocket science.

I would just move away, perhaps even out of the country. I doubt that the dishonoring a contract is a criminal offense (even in LOS). Therefore, if you fail to pay the 40K (or whatever amount agreed upon), I doubt there is much recourse for the motorsi's owner, other than to beat you to a pulp... hence the reason to move away.

P.S. Stake out the owner; see where he goes after the shop closes. Perhaps the motorbike is at his residence. Take it back if it is. You have the key right???.... or did you leave it in the ignition of the motorbike?

Tywais and rcm,

Your responses were great. Networking linux systems is a breeze, and from what I can tell, most folks visiting an internet cafe only want to browse their favourite websites. This of course can be accomplished with Linux and Netscape/Mozilla. Of course, there are always those POS websites that are IE-compatible only... but hey, these need to be neglected anyway, so any customer beeachting about not being able to visit these particular site(s) can go hump themselves.

Seriously though, I was thinking along the lines that it would not be possible to run a webcam (under linux) that is compatible with Yahoo Messenger or (that other POS) Windows Messenger.

As always, your thoughts (and experience) are appreciated.

What is your opinion concerning the use of Linux vs. Windows? Everytime I check into an internet cafe, they are running Windows, which as you know costs a fortune per copy (if business is legit!), and is vulnerable to viruses and who knows what else.

Would it be conceivable to set up an internet cafe business running Linux-only PCs. Or is there some functionality that Windows can perform that Linux cannot?

I'm looking to buy an inexpensive laptop (for about $500 or less) that can run Fedora 5.

I've seen some commercially available laptops that run Linspire that fit my budget. Do any of you think that it would be possible to rebuild this system with Fedora 5?

My main concern is the availability of device drivers for all of the laptop's functions (i.e. wi-fi, touch-pad mouse, sound, video, etc).

BTW, for those of you who are not familiar with Linspire (previously known as Lindows), it is based on Debian linux. Read here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linspire

trap 'echo "Control-C disabled."' 2

i tried this on the bash... all it does is echos the text when ctrl+C is pressed, doesnt actually block the effect of the control-C

Simmo almost had it correct. For purposes of simplicity, simply try...

trap "" 2

This should disable the ability of a user to use Ctrl-C. Remember, this must/should be the first statement in the .bash_profile file.

why are you putting your computer in "standby" mode?

Follow Firefoxx's instructions (second paragraph), and then leave your PC or laptop powered-on 24/7. I presume you are at home, and have a power outlet for your computer.

I heard the trains were slow, dirty and not air conditioned. Is that true? Where as the busses can be first class cool and clean?

just curious, I'm taking a taxi, unless I learn enough thai between now and then to be "experimental"...

I've taken the train (to Nong Khai for a visa run to Vientienne) in the second-class compartment. These compartments have air-con, were clean, and even had a "bed" in which to sleep.

Next time I am in LOS, I will consider taking the train to Korat, as that is where my wife lives. I will definetely book an air-conned cabin.

Oh ... there is a good chance that if the duty is NOT paid that the contents will just be "destroyed" and not sent back

Destroyed... not a chance. If the Thai official cannot get its duty tax, the he/she will take it home and either keep it, re-gift it, or sell it. A free market economy... you gotta love it!

I should also say that I am still not impressed with Ronaldinho. Why is this guy so popular? Is it because folks can say his name and feel like they are rolling their "n"s.

I can't wait to see how this chap does in the World Cup for Brasil.

Barcy 2 - Arsenal 1

Looks like the ref favoured Barcelona with that call in the first half against Lenman (sp?). I think that should have at most been a yellow card. C'est la vie.

As for Arsenal, I think they played a wonderful match during the first half, and a complacent one during the second, thus allowing Barcelona to use the rain and Arsenal's fatigue to their advantage.

Well played match. It could have gone either way for these two brilliant teams.