nikster

cut down one torrent site, ten others pop up

im still using the original - arrrrr matey! Works fine. If you use adblock it's not even annoying.

This has nothing to do with Autoplay (as bad as Autoplay is). 

This is a trojan that can turn a normal USB stick into a malware USB stick.

The malware USB stick pretends to be a keyboard to the computer. And enters thousands of keystrokes in a second which is basically an executable program which can do whatever it wants on your system. 

The researchers say this cannot be detected or prevented by current AV programs - I agree.

Some things a keyboard connected to a computer can do:

- Turn off your AV program, or modify it so it won't cause alarm

- Get admin rights via various other exploits

- Install itself as part of the boot process

- Download more code from the internet

I can imagine future AV programs could protect against false USB devices. For example rate-limit the keyboard to typing speed.

There are pretty nice Android smart phones for about 2,000 Baht out right now.... you might have to upgrade from your 600 Baht phone.

Did this with True 3G once. International Roaming wasn't expensive, and I had the option of turning off data altogether (to avoid ridiculous charges). Just call customer service.

I don't think I paid for incoming SMS either. 

I am SHOCKED to read all of this heresy from Apple users. I've always been in the PC/Android camp, and not always happily so. From afar I have admired the beauty and apparent ease of use of Apple hardware, but am too cheap to pay the premium prices. It seems like a closed, proprietary system, as opposed to so called "open source." In so many forums, whenever a user talks about a problem with their "Windoze" gear, there's always someone chiming in about how "I got a Mac and have been happy ever since."

 

This is especially true for the legendary IPhone. I thought these were universally loved by everybody who owns one; that it's still the standard by which all "smartphones" are judged. Now some of you guys are saying it ain't necessarily so.

 

This isn't a putdown. If I had the money, I'd probably buy a top of the line Mac, and all the software. It's lovely  gear, from what I can see. Next life!

Just talked to a couple, both friends of mine. She had a MacBook Pro for 6 years. It still works but she upgraded to a MacBook Air. He's a Windows guy; he's had 5 different Windows laptops in the meantime. Which one's cheaper? Hahahah.

Apple makes quality computers that's all. And hers wasn't even one of the newer unibody designs, which are really indestructible. Windows has been resigned to absolute garbage hardware, with very few exceptions. Not sure why.

On iTunes I have to agree - at this point it's a schizophrenic monster with a million functions, doing none of them well. 

iTunes needs to be split out as a standalone music player, the way it started out. It was a great music player, one of the best out there, and still would be if they hadn't added ten thousand features to it.

iTunes

- Plays music. It should do that.

- Organizes the library. It should do that.

- Syncs iPods, iPads, iPhones. 

- Does back ups of all these devices

- Manages permissions for these devices

- Books

- TV shows

- Video (which it does really badly, always has)

- iTunes Video store - actually its saving grace is instant gratification. You can buy something and it starts playing in minutes.

- iTunes Music store

- App store (!) - why in the world is it managing the iOS app store? It shouldn't, never should have, and does a terrible job at it.

- Ringtones

- Podcasts

- iTunes University (WTF is this even)

- Audiobooks

... and probably a few more things I've forgotten

iTunes should be doing the first two, and none of the others.

The biggest offender is syncing your iOS devices - that requires things like syncing my email settings, doing backups, syncing contacts... none of that stuff has anything to do with music. It's really complex too. That should just be in a separate app.

The purpose of the helmet is not only to protect your skull from cracking open when hitting anything at speeds as low as 60km/h, but to prevent the neck, face and being knocked out unconscious on the middle of the road waiting for another car come over you.

Gloves... ALWAYS wear gloves, the hands are the first to land on the floor.

Wear Leather Boots, at least with steal caps. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/740726-why-you-should-wear-leather-boots/

 

A week ago, I just hit a guy on his bike that cut in front of me out of nowhere without looking for incoming vehicles, he came out in front of a bus, very reckless. 

I hit him with my front fork to the end of his exhaust, barely a scratch on my bike (CB500F) but his old wave jumped maybe a couple meters and he landed on his hands on the middle of the road with many incoming cars!

 

Managed to brake hard, from 60Km/h to 30Km/h in less than 2 meters, but not enough to prevent it, I tires were really cold, I had just left home to work.

 

His both hands were so badly hurt and bruised... luckly he was not hit by a car, or he could have been dead, since he had one of those 300 baht plastic crap on his head.

 

so, a really small incident, at very low speeds, still can get really hurt, had he been wearing any cheap 500 baht gloves (cheaper than his whisky bottle on the weekend)  his hands would have been fine. 

 

I gave him 1000 baht note and I told, take this and buy a set of gloves. my GF said I should not give him, but I felt guilty about the poor ignorant.

 

 

Learned that on my first crash - brand new D-Tracker, too fast around the village, bike with sidecar parked in the middle of the road after a bend. I braked hard, lost my front wheel, and came to a sliding halt just centimeters from the guy - sliding on my hands. Ouch!!!!! I've worn gloves ever since. Always

For your accident I know sometimes these guys jumping out from behind somewhere are impossible to avoid but you do have to consider you are to blame in part too - because you know people are crazy and jump out from behind parked / slow moving vehicles - so if you can't see around the vehicle you can't pass it closely, or only at a very low speed differential.

I hit such a guy too once, t-boned a scooter coming out between parked traffic - only my front tire impacted, didn't fall, he didn't fall, and by the time I had prevented my bike from falling over he had taken off. Since then I am very careful passing parked or slow traffic, especially if it's a van or another high car I can't see over. Blame all you want, of course these guys are stupid coming out without looking but this is the reality of traffic here and you need to adjust to it. 

It is your duty in traffic to make up for the mistakes of others, as much as you can. If everyone didn't do that, we'd all be dead, and nobody would be getting anywhere as everyone makes mistakes at times and relies on other traffic participants to compensate.

When you get on a bike, take responsibility. 

F800GS just became available as an option, for 530k a really good deal. Sorry I just think the FZ-09 is grossly overpriced - it's a fun, budget bike, except in Thailand it's not budget so it sort of defeats the purpose.

I'm still madly in love with my Hypermotard; best bike I've had, everything else feels lame now. Tested a Multistrada 1200S Pikes Peak recently - awesome bike but felt kind of sluggish coming off the Hyper hahaha.

Out of interest what expected LOS pricing do you have in mind to label the FZ-09 as "grossly overpriced"? I'm not trying to pick a fight here - I'm genuinely curious as to what you think. Personally I do think it is somewhat overpriced even by LOS standards, but not by much - I'd say around 400K would be 'reasonable' for LOS (400K would be UK pricing) for a CBU Jap import.

Shouldn't be more than 350k. In the USA this bike costs the same as a Versys with ABS.

I understand it's overpriced because it's an import. But that doesn't change the fact?!

Man, I should have read to the Gmaps link - drove up and down the wrong road today for 30 minutes. At least I had the picture so a police officer showed me to the right path. Eventually. As any man knows, asking for directions is the last resort, only to be applied when all else has failed repeatedly.

Once I was there I was out again in 2 minutes. Paid 500 Baht / 1 day because these guys are super nice and really have a great service - there's copy machines right behind the desk to make those copies, I can't ask for more. They told me 10 days I can get it for free.

Here's the Google Maps link again: http://goo.gl/maps/3z03V

The sad truth is Ducati Thailand and the factory here aren't very organized. It might very well take them a long time to start producing the Monster 821.

F800GS just became available as an option, for 530k a really good deal. Sorry I just think the FZ-09 is grossly overpriced - it's a fun, budget bike, except in Thailand it's not budget so it sort of defeats the purpose.

I'm still madly in love with my Hypermotard; best bike I've had, everything else feels lame now. Tested a Multistrada 1200S Pikes Peak recently - awesome bike but felt kind of sluggish coming off the Hyper hahaha.

So yeah chances are its just the usual Thai "crackdown" on whatever, and in a month or two everyone will have forgotten about it....

Reading this press release I'm realizing that BMW bikes are produced in the same facility that already makes a variety of BMW cars.

Explains the ability to ramp up production and expand to new models really fast. It's been what, 6 months since they made the first model?!

Explains why I'm seeing the F800GS all over Facebook and Line...

This is fantastic news!

The new monster 821 is a totally different animal to the old. Everything is different. The old one was known for not actually being a very good bike, all the things you pointed out basically. It was too radical - taking the "strip everything away" philosophy too far.

From all reviews the new one is much improved.

Hyper is still probably better its got rave reviews, all owners love it, and its definitely the best motorcycle ive ever ridden. Its not the specs its about the whole package. Needs a better fuel tank but other than that, wow...

As a practical matter the only real difference I've noticed since the "crackdown" is bikes stopping behind the line at traffic lights. I've been doing it too, mostly, but I'm not going to stop using overpasses or start riding in the left lane.

A funny side note is I noticed a huge sign at the NIDA intersection in Bang Kapi that translates to something like "Zone where traffic laws are actually being enforced.... really!"

Lol - thats refreshingly charming! Thats the old Thailand we know and love, good to see its not going away. A helpful warning that traffic laws are actually going to be enforced, some anyway.

There were intersections in Chiang Mai where police officers were running around waving everyone behind the white line. But not handing out fines. So this isnt all about collecting tea money.

I really like the looks of it too, much better than the 796, despite the swing arm thing... it looks like a squashed Hyper. Which is a good thing.

The Hypermotard sound absolutely great with the stock exhaust, and by reviews the Monster 821 sounds even better.

I think it's a plastic tank. I also think they fixed the gasohol melting issue. It was recommended to me to fill only benzene, but OK to use gasohol 95 too. Most Ducati guys seem to just use gasohol in their bikes. Since the price difference really doesn't matter very much I usually use benzene 95 when available. But yeah it works fine with gasohol too, and I can't tell the difference in feel.

I love that the monster 821 has a bigger fuel tank - range is my only complaint with the Hypermotard. The tank really only has 14.5 liters usable (spec: 16). The Monster 821 gets 17.5 liters, and hopefully it's all usable. Should have a range of 250+ km. Engine economy is pretty good at 15.5 km / liter riding it like a maniac...

It is like the guy who goes to the bar and chats up the most beautiful girl he has ever seen but he decides he will wait for the one who will put this one to shame. At closing time he leaves alone.

Except for two things: The 2015 R1 is coming. And it's better.

And you don't have to chat it up, you just plunk down some cold hard cash and it's yours. Although that usually works with girls too

Come to think of it, I have the document even if my Thai isn't good enough to decipher it. Here it is:

I was passed along a sort of press release today about big bikes that was absolutely ridiculous. Google translate of a Thai document, so not 100% accurate but it seemed to say

- big bikes are considered the same as scooters, stay in the left lane or the motorcycle lane

- big bike riding in groups need official approval for group ride from some official ministry blah blah

- big bikes are expensive and people who ride them are rich and they think they can get away with anything and we'll show them that's not the case (ok I made that up but the whole thing sounded like that...)

Because this is TV: This was not targeted at foreigners, obviously. Just big bikes in general.

My guess is it's part of the law enforcement spree and will be gone again at the latest when the military government is gone. It just fits with the general idea that laws must be enforced, see the other traffic crackdowns, the big bikes in underpass crackdown, the phuked beach razings, the custom fee enforcement (which was quickly taken down).

Since there are indeed quite a few rich Thais riding expensive big bikes I can only hope they band together and form some sort of lobby. Clearly these laws can't be enforced 100% because if they are big bikes would instantly become useless, and the big bike market in Thailand would collapse, and Honda et. al won't let that happen. Still. <deleted>.

City: Gloves and full face helmet in the city, moderately protective shoes, long jeans - this isn't good riding gear but it's the compromise that works for me. If I ever find a nice and cool and light protective jacket, I might add that back in.

I had a Yellowcorn jacket like that - very small, but with armor, and not hot. It was not hotter wearing the jacket than wearing a t-shirt. But it's too old now, and I was wearing it on both my crashes so it'g got some holes. This jacket wouldn't satisfy gear geeks and probably wouldn't work in high speed race track crashes, but it did work well for me! Any gear is better than none. Got some other textile jackets but they are all huge and bulky - too much for day to day riding especially as my bike doesn't have storage. I guess these could work if you have a large top box so you can store gear when parked. Lesson learned: Not all textile jackets are created equal!

Touring: Leather jacket and a prototype of a new textile pant which is made from some indestructible material. It'll pass EU level 2 abrasion testing. And boots, helmet, gloves, the whole 9 yards. 

Decision for touring is very easy as it's not only safer, it's also much more comfortable touring in good gear. 

I'm still looking for a perfect city jacket and a city helmet, real touring gloves. The quest for better gear never ends. 

first, I cannot afford a smart phone. seriously, I don't need it.

all the youngster around me, are showing off their beautiful smart phones and tablets. one day, I sat with them and they told me their spending on these smart devices ( plus monthly services ), is about 30% to 40% of their regular 'salary'.

well, they put 1/3 of their income on these device, and they spend 1/3 of time on these devices. this is their life.

Thanks for adding some sense to the discussion.

Just look around you, what do you see? That's right, people looking at their phones, or furiously swiping at them.

A phone is important. People spend money on it. That's all. And also if you look around you you will realize that Thailand is not dirt poor. There is a lot of money here. 2M+ scooters get sold every year and anyone who can afford a scooter can afford a high end phone. For many, a phone will be the first thing they buy, long before they get a scooter.

No, it's not all gigs. The vast majority is people spending money on something they see as essential in their life. People having enough money to spend 25k on a phone.

A phone is a much more affordable luxury item than a bike or a car if you think about it. The standard crap phone is 5k baht. For only 20k more you get the Ferrari of phones instead. Unlike a real Ferrari, you're going to use this thing day in day out, so much that you have to keep a spare battery in your bag. Not many people have an extra 20M Baht for a Ferrari, but many can come up with an extra 20k for phone. Not all. But many.

And you get a really excellent digital camera thrown in for free. In fact with the many photo apps for effects, and instant sharing, my phone is a better camera than most cameras.

PS: I am actually amazed on the plans. Most (all?) Thais I've talked to spend more on the phone plan per month than I do - 700 -800 Baht! I have a 599 plan. And they don't need it, they could get away with a much cheaper plan as they're not using anywhere near the 2GB data limits on their plans, but they don't know how to do it. So they rent a room for 2,500 baht, and spend 800 baht on the phone bill.

Meh - if you're so much into testing, do a blind test. Then I'll believe you. Until then, I didn't see any difference before on the Kawasaki Versys, and I don't see any difference on the Hypermotard.

Ducati recommends getting Benzene so I do that most of the time, but 95 is just as wheelie-friendly...

Send the wife or a friend to the gas station with your bike, and tell her to get either gasohol or benzene, write it down, but not tell you. Then you get rid of the mind-difference. If there still is a difference, it's legit.

I'm definitely not going to let the Duc sit for long periods with gasohol in it. The Honda Wave of course sits for months with gasohol 91 in the tank, and always fires up first try... on an 8 year old battery. So I am inclined to believe that if a bike has trouble starting up when it sits for a while, it's the bike, not the gasoline

I've heard that all gasoline in Europe is gasohol... FWIW.

^ sure those are normal prices. 205k for a 2012, why not. no red flags there.

When I sold mine 1 year old I think the loss vs new was 65k. But that was I think an all-time low for used ER-6n prices. They went back up later.

I still think it's a genuine scam and there's something else wrong with that 2012 - why would anyone advertise a "2014 brand new bike" in green when it's actually a 2012 in white?

Smells sky high. Leave this deal be. Or learn an important life lesson. Really your choice