Veazer

Is it possible to get incoming connections? I wanted to access an OpenVPN on a machine that uses a 3G WAN connection but when I've used port forwarding sites I can't find any open ports. Is this not possible on AIS 3G?

edit: typo

I'd love to get one for XMBC, but i think 256mb memory is a bit limited for desktop use. I'm interested in the Cotton Candy stick, but it's priced much higher (LINK)

My 1 year non-immigrant visa just expired but I need to stay a few more months to get some things wrapped up. Does anyone have any experience obtaining a tourist visa at the Thai embassy in Bangladesh?

I've setup a few Acer Aspire One 522 netbooks for people, I found them to be quite nice. The 1GB model can be had for about 9300 baht without windows installed.

They've got a dual core AMD fusion processor, good video performance, a nice screen (1280x720 resolution instead of the standard 1024x600), good keyboard. They can also handle 4GB of memory, though installing memory on them is a bit trickier than most laptops. Glossy lid and bezel are annoying, but this is a common issue with lots of laptops.

It's only slightly outside her budget but far better than the Atom based machines in her budget, imho.

I use USB flash drives for demonstrating PortableApps and Linux Distros to IT students in the region. There seems to be a limited variety sold and none that I've found are great performers, especially in terms of write performance. I'm in Chiang Mai, perhaps BKK has a better selection.

In the US, I found Patriot Rage drives to be a decent price/performance compromise (see here) but my order failed to ship before my departure. I've tried contacting the regional outlets said to carry Patriot Products in Malaysia, Singapore and Viet Nam but none have responded.

Does anyone know of anywhere in Thailand that carries performance USB flash drives at a decent price? I'm looking to buy about 150 units.

They moved you from PPPoP => DHCP?????

PPPoP = The Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) is a network protocol for encapsulating Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) frames inside Ethernet frames. It is used mainly with DSL services where individual users connect to the DSL modem over Ethernet and in plain Metro Ethernet networks

DHCP = Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

In 'simple' English, the first one is the protocol the ADLS modem talks to your ISP, the second one is about IP address on your network at home = they have nothing to do with each other.

What exactly did True do?

Most logical guess is that the previous modem was in bridge mode and the new modem is handling the PPPoE connection... I'm very familiar with the difference, and they have a lot to do with each other with regard to modem and router configuration. If your modem is handling the PPPoE connection and you don't have admin access, you won't be able to to use it in bridge mode and will be required to do DHCP or, less likely, a static ip WAN config on the router.

True recently stopped by my house a few weeks back and told me they were doing a mandatory cable modem upgrade on all cable internet users. My previous modem used a PPPoE connection configured on the router but the new connection is DHCP (let's hope i'm not double NAT-ed, but that's another subject).

Since the 'upgrade', several times per day the connection drops out for 30-60 minutes or more. If I attempt to do a DHCP renewal on the WAN side in the router admin, I am assigned a private 192.168.100.x IP address with a very short lease period of 30 seconds. My router continuously renews the WAN ip during the down time every 30 seconds until finally being giving a usable IP after the 30-60 minutes mentioned before. There doesn't seem to be any recognizable pattern to the downtime and it is a @#$%^ pain in the arse, especially during VoIP conference calls, Skype, etc. Worse, the downtimes are happening more and more frequently and for longer periods of time.

Are any other True cable modem owners having this issue as well? True is trying to blame the problem on my router, which is BS since i can directly connect a machine and see the same problem.

I'm located in Chiang Mai, just outside the old city btw.

does the kindle read normal ebook's or do they have to be re-formatted? so can the ebook's i already have on my laptop be copied/sent to the kindle i was thinking of buying, or can you ONLY get the book's via amazon???

The Kindle 3 reads most common ebook formats, have a look at their specs for more info. I use "Calibre eBook Management" to convert the others. I've never even registered my Kindle. PDF can be a pain because they are usually formatted for a full page (printable) and the kindle is a 6" screen, but I just use landscape mode. If you have lots of PDF eBooks, you might consider the Kindle DX instead

I promise not to hijack this thread, but it seems to me that most of the negative remarks regarding the Kindle are answered through: The iPad!!!

They aren't directly comparable imho.

The kindle is a low price e-reader with a few extra capabilities, the ipad is a rather pricey tablet that can be used as an e-reader. The ipad will cost far more, at least 400% more than I paid for my Kindle. The base price is $500 for 8GB and no 3G. 3G adds $130 and doubling the storage adds $100 ($500 for 8GB, $600 for 16GB, $700 for 32GB)

I've got a 16GB ipad and I wouldn't want to use it for reading for more than 90 minutes or so, the eyestrain would get to me. The ipad is really convenient but i'm often forced to switch to a PC because the ipad renders a web page wrong and i can't use it. For instance, just a moment ago I was trying to use an online chat feature at an e-commerce site and it wouldn't work, i could only see what the support person was typing but couldn't type myself. Also, Apple's tight grip on the ipad bothers me, they blocked the Google Voice app that would have allowed free calling just to protect AT&T and for a long time didn't even allow skype over 3g. I would prefer a more open platform like Android. Needless to say, my next tablet won't be built by Apple.

OTOH, I've got a little Dell Mini 9 netbook running XP and Linux and it is far more usable. It might lack the wow factor, but it does what i want well and cost a fraction of the ipad.

Well, the primary use would be as a reader for my daughter. I understand from the reviews and details about the Kindle that the 3G version is available in the UK with free 3G access, and that Amazon has confirmed to customers that whilst they do not encourage users to use the free connection to access the web/send email etc, there is no technical reason that restricts this.

The Kindle is a lot cheaper than the iPad! (And I have 3 kids ==> $). Additionally, my kids do not want a 'computer' with all applications etc. They have that at school and there is a desktop PC at home. What they want is a lightweight device on which they can read books, check and send simple emails, and access documents that I send to them. (I understand that I can send them docs in the correct file format. So it seems feasible that they could store many different types of documents on their Kindle, such as school timetables. They just need to get them converted to the right file format, which I can for them.

But I want to buy one myself - to test out everything first. Nothing worst than Dad sending an Xmas present that doesn't do what you want!

Simon

random thoughts...

I just got a new Kindle 3 a few days ago for 3700 baht (in the US). It's great as a reader, but i'm not using it for Amazon's selections ($10 for a digital paperback! jesus..) . i just use it for my own ebooks and documents and drawings for work. I like that it can render PDF files decently, though having a full size Kindle DX would probably be better given that my PDFs are full page. (Unfortunately Amazon decided to reduced the pixel density from 167 to 150dpi on the DX)

The browser is still pretty weak, but that could improve in future firmware versions. Even checking email would be a bit tedious. Hopefully this will change in future releases. I strongly recommend against buying this for the purpose of browsing unless things change drastically. They won't.

There a lot of flaws IMHO, some in design and some in implementation:

• Lacking a touch screen, web browsing is quite painful and the slooooow b&w screen doesn't make things better.
• MP3 playback is AMAZINGLY poorly implemented. Imagine this.... Take an ipod shuffle with no display, then remove the 'previous track' button and the 'fast forward' function from the next track button. It can only skip to the next track and there is no on screen display for MP3s at all - nothing. This could be quite a cool player, but they failed miserably.
• Amazon has decided to block VoIP and voice chat apps and vowed to never allow them yet the Kindle has an [unused] microphone. Why not expand the functionality of the device?
• The GUI and navigation feels quite clumsy. It is non intuitive imho.
• Apps are still almost non-existant, just a handful of puzzle and card games.
• the keyboard quality is about on par with a label maker and equally as enjoyable to use. Not important as a reader, but something to consider for other purposes.

If it's a gift for the kids, i would be tempted to wait for the flood of Android tablets coming. It won't be as cheap as the kindle, and won't have an e-ink screen, but they'll use it much more.

Just realized there is a simpler way as long as the extension is associated with the application. This doesn't require calling the application directly.

start "openoffice" "C:\Users\Windows XP\Desktop\homework.odt"

Thanks for the help. I got all the programs to open.....and, as you mentioned, ?faster? than normal. I'm happy! Thanks

My DOS years still comes in handy sometimes.

If you wanted to go even further with it you could use the nircmd app in a batch file to force the size and positions of each window, so you could have multiple layouts in different batch files...

EDIT: NirCMD is from here: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd2.html#using Nir Sofer's applications are very well done, small simple utilities.

Avoid Thai ISP SMTP servers at all costs. They lose mail, get labeled as spam, usually don't offer SSL/TLS, etc.. The list goes on and on. A friend on loxinfo told me she had some complaints from recipients that they were receiving multiple copies of her emails so i asked he to send me one on that account. During the next 8 days i receive 33 copies of the same email.

I have also had trouble accessing sites using True ADSL.

Including Myspace, Windowslive and sometimes random sites like my Blogpage.

My sister in-law works for true and I asked to find out what it was and she had no idea, reckons it has nothing to do with banned sites or blocking as far as she knows.

Well, if you get redirected to the MICT page here then it most likely has to do with banned sites....

If there is no response or a blank page it might be related to MICT, bad internet service or several other reasons.

I definitely get a redirect but MICT page never loads. True insists that they never do any blocking themselves.

this is working on true now - http://win.softpedia.com/

Yes, the subdomains seem to be working. Only www is blocked...

If anyone is feeling up to it, True gave me the number to contact MICT about this issue: 025057193

I've reached my "TIT" limit today + too much coffee. Enjoy!

Someone in the blocking office must have thought that a website called softpedia had something to do with "pedia philes" of the soft variety.

Soft ones are less of a threat aren't they?

I just contacted True and they didn't even know what w3.mict.go.th was. They kept telling me they couldn't access it...

Daren covered much of it, but I would add that TVs are very picky about "timings" and are much harder to get a pixel-perfect image where the monitor shows the images without any resizing/stretching. You often need to use special software to get your pc to output exactly timings it needs or the image will have overscan or underscan, etc. PC monitors are much more forgiving.

I'm really getting frustrated with this aimless site blocking, if anyone knows of a place to "appeal" blocked sites please advise. This makes no sense.

And now the TVUPlayer site (P2P tv) is banned as well.... why? Fear of accidentally learning something on discovery channel or nat geo?

@#$% morons.

It is illegal to buy these substances in Thailand without a prescription from a physician. They are scheduled drugs and nowhere in the UK or US where the same system exists, can these be bought over the counter.

The fact that some pharmacies sell these does not make it a legal transaction in any way and, if you are caught with it, however unjustified this seems, it remains illegal.

Technically correct in terms of legality, but many don't know this is the drug's legal status in this country because of the fact that the pharmacists are willing to freely sell it without a written prescription. If the police wish to take action, why not just go after the seller who is indeed aware of the legalities?

It's usually fairly reflective of actual conditions for me, using a maxnet 6mg biz connection. When the connection goes to hel_l, speedtest reflects it.

My cheapo True cable connection at home runs circles around my expensive maxnet connection from work, frustrating. I can pull almost 600 KB/s on the home connection, about half that on the maxnet connection. Maxnet (oh sorry! "Triple-T") is horrid.

They've got the Asus UL20 at some shops in Chiang Mai. Nice specs overall, especially the 64-bit Core 2 Duo CULV instead of the atom, but the intel graphics is a downer. The one i saw had an HDMI out, but this one reviewed didn't.

Yeah that would be nice but forget the intel graphics. This new Ion graphics chip means the new Asus 1201n and Lenovo s12 can play 1080p movies and play games like Call of Duty 4.

Of the two I'm going for the Asus, dual core atoms should be fine as a lot of the legwork will be done the GPU

Also the nvidia supports video acceleration (h.264) under XP whereas the Intel only supports it on Vista/7. The GMA 4500 can handle 1080p fine, but gaming would be a slideshow.

If so, why do they make them with 'glossy'? I assume they must be cheaper than matt?

I tend to be one of the minority who actually prefers the gloss for some use. Deeper blacks and a cleaner overall image. On the other hand, if i were using it in brighter environments more the gloss would definitely get to me. I tend to work in darker environmentsi guess PITA to keep smudge free also.

The screen on my Asus 1000h is so matte it looks like frosted shower glass, the pixels sparkle as you move your head around. I find that worse than the reflections of a gloss screen.

To answer your question, i believe it is cheaper to produce gloss screens, though i'm sure that depends on the method & material used.

Ok changed my mind now that i have heard what Asus are bringing out:

Eee PC 1201N

Display 12.1" LED-backlit WXGA screen (1366 x 768)

Operating System Genuine Windows 7

CPU Intel Atom 330 Dual Core processor

NVIDIA ION Graphics

Default Memory DDR2 SO-DIMM 2GB/3GB

Storage 250GB HDD/320GB + 500GB ASUS WebStorage

Wireless Data Network 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

Battery Life 5hrs, 6-Cell 63Wh Li-ion Battery

Multimedia Camera 0.3M Pixels (with digital zoom function)

Audio Codec Hi-Definition Audio CODEC

Speakers Stereo Speakers

Built-in Mic High Quality Mic

Interface 1 x VGA Port (D-sub 15-pin for external monitor), 1 x HDMI, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x LAN RJ-45, 2 x Audio Jack (Head Phone / Mic-in), Card Reader: MMC/ SD(SDHC)

Physical Dimensions 296mm (W) x 208mm (D) x 27.3~ 33.3mm (H)

Weight 1.46kg (3.22lbs)

Colors Black, Silver, Blue, Red

Out in Jan in the UK for 399 sterling

<br />Ok changed my mind now that i have heard what Asus are bringing out:<br /><br /><br /><br />

Eee PC 1201N<br />Display 12.1" LED-backlit WXGA screen (1366 x 768)<br />Operating System Genuine Windows 7<br />CPU Intel Atom 330 Dual Core processor<br />NVIDIA ION Graphics<br /><br />Default Memory DDR2 SO-DIMM 2GB/3GB<br />Storage 250GB HDD/320GB + 500GB ASUS WebStorage<br />Wireless Data Network 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR<br />Battery Life 5hrs, 6-Cell 63Wh Li-ion Battery<br />Multimedia Camera 0.3M Pixels (with digital zoom function)<br />Audio Codec Hi-Definition Audio CODEC<br />Speakers Stereo Speakers<br />Built-in Mic High Quality Mic<br />Interface 1 x VGA Port (D-sub 15-pin for external monitor), 1 x HDMI, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x LAN RJ-45, 2 x Audio Jack (Head Phone / Mic-in), Card Reader: MMC/ SD(SDHC)<br />Physical Dimensions 296mm (W) x 208mm (D) x 27.3~ 33.3mm (H)<br />Weight 1.46kg (3.22lbs)<br />Colors Black, Silver, Blue, Red

<br /><br />Out in Jan in the UK for 399 sterling<br />

They've got the Asus UL20 at some shops in Chiang Mai. Nice specs overall, especially the 64-bit Core 2 Duo CULV instead of the atom, but the intel graphics is a downer. The one i saw had an HDMI out, but this one reviewed didn't.