woodyleonhard

I seem to remember reading in the newspapers that the founder of the Villa Market died recently??

Wonder if that has anything too do with its alledged decline??

Khun Pong the founder of Villa is still alive!!

Absolutely. He's a delightful guy - a real pioneer and one of the most enthusiastic people I've ever met. I talked with him a couple of weeks ago. Very much kickin' and rarin' to go. I hope we can do something with him soon.

Any chance of reviving this thread?

My son's 19 months old, and I figure we should get him in a preschool around the time he turns 2 - maybe two and a half.

As mentioned above, I'd like to start with half-days. He's too young to be in school for eight hours at a stretch.

Most classes should be in English, but some in Thai (and I wouldn't mind another language - perhaps a Chinese language?).

We live in Patong, but will travel anywhere.

Is there a list of available preschools, along with fees, and (hope!) contact details? Surely there are hundreds of people on the island who would be interested in that info.

Article about the two-account approach, and a mention on getting SMSs enabled, in the Phuket Gazette. Bottom line is that the banks here won't do much, although a few individuals have had some luck getting banks to refund their money.

Phuket Gazette Live Wire: Protect yourself from ATM skimming http://phuketgazette.net/archives/computers/2012/article12177.html

...so far no luck in finding any 3 hour disconnecting comments , surely there must be others out there with the same problem.

Chances are good that if other people are getting disconnects at 3 hours, they don't realize that they're being disconnected. All that I notice is that I have to reset my iPad.

Which reminds me... I was going to ask... how do you know that you're getting disconnected? It's unusual to have connection-intensive apps running over wireless lines - although it certainly does happen. Are you getting a notification from your Vodaphone software? Or are you running an app that requires continuous connection?

I contacted my local CAT office several days ago about my constant 3 hour disconnection problem, the office in turn passed me onto a CAT engineer, I outlined my problem and he seemed to think it was a problem with my computer set up or USB modem, when I explained that I was getting the same problem when using 3 different computers , one Mac and two windows machines , and all so two different USB modems, he still thought it was some thing to do with my set up. I then pointed out that there were comments on a Thai forum outlining that more people were having the same problem, he said ok, he would pass on my comments to the CAT technical dept , since then ive heard nothing and the problem still persists .Its very annoying to have to manually reconnect every 3 hours

Sounds like you've nailed the problem - and the tech is clueless. Since CAT and Truemove both use the same towers (possibly the same equipment???), it's undoubtedly a boneheaded setting somewhere on their end. The guess that they're resetting IPs every three hours makes a lot of sense.

This project definitely has potential. Much depends on the execution.

One big problem at this point: the schools with satellite-only access are going to be in a world of hurt. I wonder how many of them can be converted to HSPA "3G"? The government may find it more cost effective to get HSPA out into the boonies, rather than trying wired connections.

(You cynics in the crowd should realize that Apple just proposed doing something like this in the US through its iCloud services and iBooks Author. At least in concept, it makes a lot of sense.)

Some responsibility rests with the people taking this excursion to determine if the boat met their safety standards. They could have asked, they could have verified.

You come to asia and expect the same standards as you have at home for half the price, get a life. Good that no one lost their life but people need to take a bit of responsibility for their own safty.

I vehemently disagree. Tourists taking a trip in Thailand should expect simple, fundamental standards of safety, and it's the responsibility of the government and its tourism authority to ensure those standards are met. I don't know the details, and it's hard to say which "Destination Asia" organization is involved - there appear to be several. But people booking a tour in Phuket shouldn't be required to inquire into the seaworthiness of the vessel, or understand what's necessary for basic safety.

Update:

I went through the steps of setting up a non-SCB account for transfer, but cannot receive a OTP over my mobile phone (1-2 Call). My mobile phone is working, I receive/make calls, and a bank manager even sent a test SMS from his mobile phone to mine, no problem. But when I use the SCB-easy online service to establish the link, I have to request a OTP. I go through the whole process.....but my mobile phone receives no password. The SCB folks (3 different English speaking reps on their 24-hour line) have not been able to determine the problem.

SCB has no other method of transmitting the OTP.

On Monday, per their suggestion, I will go to my SCB branch and add my friend's mobile number (DTAC) as a secondary mobile number. Then I'll try again and see if the SMS goes through that way.

I easily spent 2 hours on the phone with reps trying to troubleshoot the problem......so far, no luck.

S I G H!

I had the same problem once at SCB. Ends up the clerk had typed the wrong phone number into my account - off by one digit.

FWIW, the previous posters are correct: you set up the "Other Bank" account with an OTP, make one transfer to it with an OTP, and after that transfers don't require an OTP.

I do believe that all Internet traffic in Thailand is logged or at least monitored to some degree. If not be a central government agency, it is by the ISP you use. Now, that being said, unless you're doing illegal activities, no one is going to care or even request to look at those logs. So, what have you got to hide?

Incidentally...if you have ever used google, gmail, hotmail or any other US provider service.... the US government has full access to it all.

I think the registration and limit is necessary or it will be flooded and useless. It's a step in the right direction. I don't see many North American cities with this kind of service so thumbs up for Thailand at least making an effort. I hope it works though...

@Mowgus - you're quite correct. All internet traffic in EVERY country is logged and snoopable by the authorities. Nothing different here. Free universal WiFi is an amazing gift to the people of Thailand. Few cities in the world offer it. The registration's necessary for many reasons, including the one you mention. Now I just have to figure out how to navigate the MICT site in Thai...

... 3G is definitely not for "power users" who consume large volumes of data...

For comparison, consider that even if you're "only" getting 512kbps on average out of your unmetered connection - then you have a connection which is capable of delivering roughly 150Gb/month. Now, switch over to a much faster, but metered connection and work out what 150Gb would cost you at B180/Gb...

From what I've read, you're right - CDMA technology handles large volumes of data from fewer users better than HSPA+.

But you're assuming that people will have access to unlimited CDMA accounts in the future, and that CAT will continue to support its CDMA network in a reasonable way. That isn't a given. It all depends on how CAT wants to play it.

Prices listed by CAT last month for the "My Click" service run B 590 per month for up to 4 GB of data. Comparable service via TrueMove-H is B 899 per month. It's not clear from the material I saw if "My Click" includes phone time, SMSs, and so on.

Right now, you can't sign up for CAT's CDMA (EV-DO) service in Phuket. They won't sell it to you. Remains to be seen if they'll force EV-DO users over to the new HSPA+ network.

Reading between the lines on this announcement, it sounds like True (actually BKFT) built out the HSPA+ network on CAT's towers, Now CAT will offer access to the same True-built network that serves TrueMove-H customers, at a lower price. My guess is that only the backend will be different. If that's the case, it's an interesting development in a long, twisted tale.

By the way, CAT isn't getting into 3G for fear of "losing some revenue when the concessions it granted to TrueMove and Digital Phone Co come to an end in 2013." Presumably, at that point CAT could tell True to take a hike, or charge a very high rate for True's continued use of CAT's spectrum and infrastructure.

CAT's really concerned that AIS (read: TOT) and True - and to a lesser degree DTAC and the others - are starting to build up customer bases that will be hard to erode in the future. CAT needs to start developing its own retail brand now.

I wonder how long it'll be before CAT starts reselling iPhones and iPads. Both AIS and True - and to a much lesser degree DTAC - are doing a huge business as resellers.

Everybody's waiting for the 2.1 GHz auction. That'll change everything.

Anybody know if there is some way for individuals or groups to contribute to this effort?

Old news. And not entirely accurate.

Oct 18: http://www.infoworld.com/t/hard-drives/the-impending-hard-drive-shortage-and-possible-price-hikes-176453

Oct 31: http://www.infoworld.com/t/computer-hardware/hard-drive-prices-skyrocket-177515

Nov 9: http://www.infoworld.com/t/laptops/buy-ssd-based-laptops-now-prices-jump-178505

Shops in Phuket will only sell internal hard drives if you buy an entire PC. They'll sell externals, but at horribly elevated prices.

Errors in AFP's report: Floods in Thailand affect about 25% of the world's supply of HDDs. Laptop PCs are particularly affected because the WD plant at Bang Pa-In made 2.5 inch HDDs, the size used in laptops. There will be cuts in total output, but 51 million is way overstating the case. Demand is up because of panic buying. IDC is blowing smoke when it predicts a 20% drop in PC shipments in 1Q 2012. And prices have gone up much, much more than 10%, all over the world, in all segments of the supply chain.

3. Patong to the airport is possible in 18 minutes.

??????

Quicker than i thought, order monday-ready friday !!!!

J

I've been seeing a lot of mixed reports. TOT Fiber 2U used to be a tremendous (albeit a bit expensive) package. Now the speed reports tend to be slow - although a few people are doing fine.

When you get the line installed, please drop by www.phuketinternetspeed.com and sign up to start reporting your speeds. Crowdsourcing internet speeds really works - and TOT is watching the speed results.

i think there is some daily/weekly limit for the full speed, dont know for sure though. Most of the time I get the full speed (1MB/s) for the first couple of gigabytes for the day. after that the speed is steady 175KB/s for a while...

i got 3BB 9mbit too

Its exactly the same for me I have realized now. This is pretty shitty to say the least, and I guess theres is no use in calling and complaining.

It's probably the 3BB monitoring program kicking in. I have an article on throttling in last week's Phuket Gazette.

If you haven't yet written to me and started running the MIT Glasnost test routines, drop me a line (address is at the end of the Gazette article). I'm trying to come up with a definitive list of which ISPs throttle torrents, and the Glasnost test will tell you definitively when and how and how much.

True has promised me that they'll string a cable to my house with internet (using DOCSIS technology, see http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article10632.html ) and on the cable they'll have all of the True satellite signals plus six HD channels.

I'm still holding my breath.

Just back from Tesco near Samkong. Almost all vegetables gone. No rice. Very little bottled water. Diapers nearly gone. Many shelves nearly bare.

Baby formula, though, was still well stocked.

No idea if Tesco has enough stored locally to replenish supplies.

I expect demand in Phuket has increased substantially because of the flooding - many people from flood-stricken areas are here in Phuket, waiting it out.

State of Emergency=Disaster Warning

Same Same but different?

Apparently, in some peoples' estimation, foreign investors are able to draw a distinction.

there is plenty of land in Thailand that doesn't flood, like on the road to Korat around Pak Chong where Seagate is. smart businesses you think would set up shop there.

Seagate did exactly as you said - built outside of the flood plain. But many of the suppliers who sell them parts for hard drives were in the flooded areas.

there are thousands of people facing starvation... someone is planning to make new wifi hotspots so they can use their iphone 4s and laptops when the electric comes back on .......only in thailand

Beg to disagree. A reliable free WiFi system could be invaluable to relief efforts - as was the case in New York City, after many people turned off WiFi encryption to help in the post-911 effort.

The devil's in the details, of course, but this is a very worthy goal - if they can make it happen. Just putting free WiFi in major travel spots - bus stations, airports, piers - would be a huge benefit for tourists.

Krabi town and ao nang now have 3G from truemove with an aircard in laptop have seen speeds off 5.5 meg download a little bit slower on phone around 1 - 2 meg

I'd be very interested in seeing how fast the TreuMove-H system is in Krabi. If you have a chance, could you drop by www.PhuketInternetSpeed.com and try the test there to Los Angeles? Sign up for an account, if you like, or email me the results. Thanks!

Unless they define "4G" this report is basically meaningless.

HSPA+ technology is already rolled out in much of Thailand. TrueMove calls it "3G+". Yet, in the US, Verizon calls the same technology "4G".

The "G"s are meaningless. Bloomberg should know better.

A credible effort from a capable group. Kudos.

The final post is ludicrous. Twitter accounts get taken over all the time. NBC News, Bank of Melbourne, Chrysler, Ashton Kutcher, Vodafone, several US Senators and Congressmen, PayPal UK, Britney Spears, Facebook's official Twitter account, Huffington Post's, Gawker Media, Fox News, and USA Today have all been hacked - as have tens of thousands of others. Even Barack Obama's Twitter account was compromised at one point.

If the suspect used a particularly clever method for finding K Yingluck's password - broke into the Twitter servers, say, or sniffed a mobile phone transmission - it'd be interesting to know how he found it. If he simply guessed, he just took advantage of a poorly conceived password. That's hardly a "How can she protect the country?" caliber indictment.