ballbreaker

Hi ballbreaker, can you order the service at any AIS shop .. or is it a different provider .. or 2 providers (Edge & ISP)?

Any AIS simcard allows you to use gprs out of the box. You will get charged 1 Baht/minute AIS is the ISP, so only one charge.

Both on pre-paid (one2call) and post paid you can opt to chose for a monthly package. Many are available to suit your needs. This can be done by calling 1175 and talk with their English speaking staff.

For example on one2call you can chose 100 hours/month for 250 Baht. You just need to make sure sufficient credit is on your phone everytime the package needs to get renewed...

You can also just dial *138 and select english language then select number for mobile net package when asked. It will then give you the list of options for GPRS/EDGE service. Never have to talk with live person.

And as monty says make sure your prepaid has enough credits each month. I usually get message a few days before month is up saying they will be deducting credits on such a date for mobile net package.

You can also check your remaining minutes for package by dialing *139

I live full time out in the boonies 4 km from the nearest landline a 6 km from AIA, Dtac and True (in the village) and I use a Nokia 3110c with AIS GPRS/EDGE depending on what site I can get on.

I connect to my laptop using the laptop Bluetooth connection or by usb cable to the Nokia suite.

It costs me 500 baht a month for 250 hours of internet service but it is measured in minutes and not in Mb downloading. On a 30 day month that works out around 8 hours a day and to be honest if I am on for 5 hours a day that is a lot. I can get my emails, Thaivisa, downloads, read the papers etc and if I go anywhere else in country where there is an AIS site I just switch on and away it goes. Easy peasy.

Hi Bill, how does your speed compare to standard dialup?

I live 30km north of Korat and use AIS GPRS/Edge for connection to the internet. My speed varies throughout the day and can be different from day to day. Before noon I can usually download files at speeds between 12-17 kB. As the the day progresses the speed drops and the connection can be so slow at times I don't bother going on the net.

In the last couple months I have noticed better performance in the afternoon and evening. I would also like to say slow speeds seem to be when connecting to sites outside Thailand while Thai sites are normal.

In the processor world, what is a xeon? and what do they cost?

Xeon is marketing name for Intel's server-class CPU's. I don't think its something you need.

You didn't say what your current system is but being only 3+ years it should be okay for what you do unless you want to play some of the latest games.

Save the money and take vacation instead.

You are right, my current system handles my needs, It is just a case of simple materialism. I want something new.

If the money is burning a hole in your pocket then I think your choices will depend on how much cash you want to spend.

CPU - either Core 2 Duo E6750 (2.66Ghz), E6850 (3.0 Ghz) or Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 Ghz). The E6750 will save you 3k baht and the other two are about the same in price at 9.5k baht. I went with the Quad core because as the newer software applications take advantage of the quad core you will really have some performance improvement that will override the clock/FSB speeds of the other two CPU's.

Motherboard - Will depend on which CPU you pick but ASUS and Gigabyte are good choices if not the best. If your work is important you might consider a board that supports RAID.

Graphics card - If gaming is not very important then go for Geforce 8600 GT card. It will save you 5k baht over the 8800 GT (with 512Mb on board)which is around 9.5k baht. The 8800 GTS (with 512 Mb on board) will cost maybe 13k baht. If you have the cash always get something better than you need so all the possible needs are covered.

RAM - Again will depend which CPU and motherboard you buy but you want 2-3 Gig. DDR3 is the latest generation RAM but you will pay for it through the nose. DDR2 is much less expensive and it was my choice because they had a DDR2 that uses a 1066Mhz FSB which matched the Quad CPU and was much cheaper. Not sure if they have an DDR2 that runs at the 1333Mhz FSB that is required by the Core 2 Duo's mentioned above. Corsair. OCZ and Geil are good names for RAM.

You might check www.busitek.com for prices before you go shopping.

Can people please read the posts....

The OP doesnt want his girl to access the d drive...therefore he puts permissions on the drive itself..easy..

Why people keep posting stuff that is irrelevant ill never know...

he doesnt need to re-create another user..he needs to set permissions..

he doesnt need to encrypt with a 3rd party app..he needs to set permissions...

and he doesnt need any other false misleading infomation..he needs to set permissions..

vey easy even for the trained professional to crasp!!

He has it right but didn't tell you how.

Right click on D drive and select properties.

Click security tab.

Under groups or users names select Users.

Then under Users permissions uncheck all and she will not be able to access drive.

You didn't say what your current system is but being only 3+ years it should be okay for what you do unless you want to play some of the latest games.

Save the money and take vacation instead.

Sorry if this is a dense question, but what is PE in "Windows Vista PE Recovery CD ISO Image"?

Microsoft Windows PE (Pre-installation Environment) provides preparation and installation tools for the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. Windows PE is the core deployment foundation for Windows Vista. It is designed to make large-scale, customized deployments of the new Windows Vista operating system notably easier.

Its more intended for large scale deployment of Vista in say a company enviroment where you have many machines to setup. I think an individual user is better off making a recovery disk or using ghost.

Stayed with GF in a room that was about 24 sq meters for 2400 baht a month several years ago. It had no hot water but did have air con and balcony. I installed on demand hot water unit for her without any problems. It was located off Sukhumvit Soi 93 on one of the small sub soi's. She still lived their until several months ago when she moved to house out by new airport.

I for one did not like staying in such a small place because it leaves no place to sit except the bed. Could not take it after a couple months and had to bail.

Currently live in a place that is 40 sq meters and its perfect for me and cost 9k baht. Plenty of room for king bed, sofa and desk. I have been here for 3 years because close to fresh market, Lotus, Carrefour and most of all 300 meters from BTS. I travel 100-150 days a year outside Thailand so more expensive is waste of money for me and this place fits all my needs.

I never have a problem with meter taxi desk or taxi. I walk up and tell them where I want to go at which time they write out a slip which I hand to the guy at the head of the driver line and away I go on the meter.

The extra 50 baht is a small price to pay for a cab that has spent several hours waiting to get a rider. My last trip a few days ago cost 127 on the meter plus the 50. Gave the guy 200 at my destination and all were happy. I was in my apartment in On Nut BTS area 1 hour after the plane wheels touched down.

Prices vary so you need to be more specific about your needs in a notebook.

I won't say it'll cost a fraction of what a brand name PC will cost, but you can put in exactly what you want, and as such save on things you don't want and splash on the rest!

I wouldn't advise to do it if you've never done it yourself though, it's not hard, but you do need the basics of how PC's and their common components are assembled, along with which parts go together.

Go to any component shop in the big IT malls (Pantip, TukCom Pattaya,...) and they will be happy to assist you with which parts go together, and then put it all together while you are watching, at no extra charge!!!

If you need a gaming rig, you'll better do a bit of research as with which graphics card you want to go... There's quite a few threads here with discussions and complete component lists of what our members have put together into what they find a perfect PC for their needs!

For the amount you state. you'll be able to whip together a very capable machine, which will handle any game on the market albeit not always at the highest resolutions.

One tip from me though, especially if you plan to use a decent graphics card, is go for a brand name PSU (power supply) and trash the Chinese one included with most cases. It'll save you a lot of grief. Decent brands are Enermax, Coolermaster available not in all shops, but several stock them (Busitek Pantip has a good selection). I have two high end 600 Watt Asus PSU's and am very happy with them...

I agree with all monty has said.

You can get good reading info from the following site. www.tomshardware.com

You can also find price info from this site. http://www.busitek.com/forms/pricelist.html

If I were you I would try and determine what you wanted in the system and not rely on a shop in Pantip because if you pick the wrong one you might get screwed.

If you post your computer use requirements myself and others I'm sure will give you recommendations.

Not sure were you are in Thailand but your elevation angle in conjunction with your azimuth pointing will determine if it will be a problem. Most likely it will be ok because the elevation angle from Thailand will be in the range of 57-64 degrees. Elevation angles that high can see over most obstacles without any problem.

Although most banks will check with you first before sending off 30% to the government its best to use multiple transfers if amount is over $20k US. It might cost a bit more but you will avoid potential problems.

Unless I missed it you never mention your age. That also can play a part in type of visa.

I give my old failed electronic equipment, TV's computer parts, etc., if I plan on replacing, to a school located in Klong Toey. I 'm not even sure what its called but I do know its some type of government school to provide training to people at a very low cost. They have these types of schools all over Bangkok. The electronics class is always in need of equipment to learn on. I'm sure if you ask a few Thai's you know they might be able to point you toward one.

I also have one of the multi-format players but I burn files to blank DVD then play on player.

Last year Qantas in Melbourne refused to check me in on the return of a round trip ticket back to Bangkok because I didn't have an onward ticket even though I had a valid type "O" (retirement) visa and re-entry permit. Granted the visa was only good for 2 more days but I have never had a problem renewing being married to a Thai and having 800k baht in the bank. They said it might not be renewed so I needed a onward ticket. Needless to say I ended up buying a one way fundable ticket to Singapore at which point they gave me a hard time about not having onward ticket out of Singapore. They finally checked me in after more arguments.

A side note concerning my US passport. When this occurred they also pointed out that my passport was valid for only 7 more months and had it been less than 6 they would only board me on a flight back to the US.

I'm surprised all Bangkok hospitals do not provide detailed receipt. The receipt for major abdominal operation at private hospital in Korat provided a full list in either Thai or English.

Total was 44,369

some of the larger items:

Physician Fee 10,000

Anesthetic Fee 7,800

OR medical equipment 5,150

OR medical supplies 3,932

OR and Recovery room 4,500

Patho Specimen 5,300

Medications 4,285

I do not know if they would provide a further break down of each item but for me it is not necessary.

Surely someone with a maid and driver can afford the additional 900 baht.

Thanks all for feedback. Sounds like no problem making connection.

I paid 33.9K baht for round trip Bangkok-Auckland on Thai Airways direct flight this past January.

Yes they have moved to the TOT building that is located south of town on highway to Bangkok. Its about 7-8 km south of the Sima Thani Hotel on left side of road as your going south. Multi floor building (5-6 floors maybe) so easy to spot.

Making a roundtrip in January via Tokyo (Narita airport) and was wondering if 2.5 hours from arrival to departure of connecting flight is enough time for Narita airport? Have not done a connections in Narita before.

Can use VOA for total of 90 days in six month period.

Thanks Prasert but I'm still confused.

I'm not a computer guy, I'm a plant broker. I know the botanical names of thousands of plants but I don't know the different terms or the how to's of Internet traffic.

Living here I learn a little bit more everyday but I'd rather pay every month and have a computer that does what it's supposed to do.

We called TOT today a number of times. Here's the latest:

1. They said they were going to change our plan to 2mb/1mb for a week for us to try, no charge.

TOT Speedtest result: 183/63

2. We called again, they said it was changed, TOT Speedtest result: 24kb/63kb

3. We called again, they said the pipe has been down for 3 weeks and bandwidth is severly limited and it'll be fixed soon. They gave us another number to call and complain to. TOT Speedtest result: 223kb/200kb

So the best that we've been able to get on a 2 mb 8000 baht per month plan is 223 kb down and 200 kb up.

Where I come from, that's called stealing.

I don't know anything about the IP Star equipment but you might find out if the terminal has the capability of doing some type of loop back either modem or RF. This would allow testing from your computer through some of terminal equipment at your location without the space segment being involved. This would help determine if your terminal may have a problem. I think it is hardware related, possible your terminal, because I have read other people are very happy with the service but maybe they are comparing to dial up modem and not looking at what they were promised.

I also hope that the technician while on site also verified proper pointing of your antenna for max signal strength because that can cause problems.

With GPRS/EDGE on my cell phone I'm getting 160/42 so yes you are getting screwed. Have you thought about checking with Hutch or CAT to see which of the two offers CDMA service in your area. I don't know what either of their networks promise for internet but I know max for 3G networks is up around 2.5 Mbits.