anon8

Krishnas are doing their thing past 2 weeks or so on Beach rd.. But they dont look Russian, and one of their guys was speaking to Hindu guys, definitly not Russian.

But maybe there are more than one group.

I wish they didnt carry amplifiers and loudspeakers, noise they make is so loud, my headphones are no help to block their singing.

I use Skype only for messaging to friends, who prefer Skype, and dont use other apps.

I like Viber much more, for both messaging, and phone calls. Calls are free

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Check this, we crossed yet another barrier!

The Boy Scouts of America will allow openly gay scouts for the first time as of Jan. 1, with the century-old group facing conservative dissent from within for making the change and criticism from rights groups for not going far enough..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/01/boy-scouts-gay-youth-scouts_n_4525614.html

Duh. I also love diversity more than you can know. The Russians have brought the opposite of that and the culture they have brought is a dreary joyless one at least in its PUBLIC face. Now if it was MEXICANOS dominating that would be a super fiesta for all.

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Love diversity?...You don't show it by your recent posts. Perhaps your perception has been misplaced and needs to be re-evaluated.

How many times do I need to make the same point before you get it? Diversity means MANY while a domination of ONE nationality is the opposite of many.

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If you posted the same about thr domination of pakistanis in Southall, or somalians in Tower Hamlets and Newham, as you do about Russians in Jomtien you would be arrested.

I doubt Newham is overtaken by Somali 2 week package holydaymakers.

Probably you mean recent immgrants are starting to dominate some areas of cities in UK. Would discussing it really get you arrested in UK?

I had a numbe of macbook pros. Many had failed due to bad motherboards

And Mac has become so arrogant with declining customer service. I took back a macbook pro with a defective motherboard which mac admitted was bad and the pretentious little Brit manager at the Century City mall in LA said "cannot help". He pretty much summed up what Apple had become: overpriced and overrated.

Same here. I bought 17" unibody macbook pro 4 years ago, I have always admired Apples industrial design, and excellent build quality. And 4 years ago it was just about the only large 1080p display you could find. Installed Win7 on it, never like apple os.

But what Apple is doing now is beyond.

The cost of upgrading storage on ipads and iphones is obscene, even Apple fans admit that.

Of course Apple ipad and iphone will never have SD card slot, god forbid user will buy 32Gb sd card for next to nothing, while Apple charges $100 for 16G uprade.

Same with Macbbok Air, uprading cost to larger SSD is inexcusable.

For reasons known only to hardcore Apples fans, this business model works.

If was Mac fan, I would feel this is insulting. I would change the team.

Thanks. After some advice in another post, I had a look onthe internet.

I'm looking at a Sony Vaio E Series in 14". Not too much bigger than the 12.1". It's got good specs and looks to have a decent build quality. I would like to see and touch one though. I'll compare it the the models you mentioned shortly.

E Series must be an older model, even though it's brand new. They have one with Windows 7 Pro and one with Windows 8. The one with Windows 7 is actually more expensive. :)

Undetood! But 14 incher is pretty much full size laptop, not ultra portable. But if it is very thin and light, and you know you take it with you everywhere, go for it!

But for travelling I dont like anything larger than 11". There are some 9" netbooks, even Sony had one about a year ago, but it was very low spec.

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Thanks. After some advice in another post, I had a look onthe internet.

I'm looking at a Sony Vaio E Series in 14". Not too much bigger than the 12.1". It's got good specs and looks to have a decent build quality. I would like to see and touch one though. I'll compare it the the models you mentioned shortly.

E Series must be an older model, even though it's brand new. They have one with Windows 7 Pro and one with Windows 8. The one with Windows 7 is actually more expensive. :)

Undetood! But 14 incher is pretty much full size laptop, not ultra portable. But if it is very thin and light, and you know you take it with you everywhere, go for it!

But for travelling I dont like anything larger than 11". There are some 9" netbooks, even Sony had one about a year ago, but it was very low spec.

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Thanks. After some advice in another post, I had a look onthe internet.

I'm looking at a Sony Vaio E Series in 14". Not too much bigger than the 12.1". It's got good specs and looks to have a decent build quality. I would like to see and touch one though. I'll compare it the the models you mentioned shortly.

E Series must be an older model, even though it's brand new. They have one with Windows 7 Pro and one with Windows 8. The one with Windows 7 is actually more expensive. :)

Undetood! But 14 incher is pretty much full size laptop, not ultra portable. But if it is very thin and light, and you know you take it with you everywhere, go for it!

But for travelling I dont like anything larger than 11". There are some 9" netbooks, even Sony had one about a year ago, but it was very low spec.

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Whats all this rubbish about W8. Just press the Microsoft key and the old desktop pops up just as it was in W7. Why need a start button? Put the programs you use s icons on desktop. For shutdown, Alt & I lead you to it.

Cos Win8 is crap.

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Heck, with a good touchpad which allows you to do all of your display scrolling/tapping/movement with slight movements of your fingers while your hand lays on the laptop why even use a touchscreen as your arm gets tired constantly reaching out to tap the screen and of course your display gets all smuggled up. During my recent laptop looking and buying decision I played with some touchscreens and came to above mentioned conclusion. And of course, a touchscreen usually ups the laptop's price by a healthy amount. IMO a touchscreen is a great thing for smartphone/tablets, but for a laptop it just adds cost and it may not get used that much...but once more touchscreen models are sold the cost will come down and touchscreens will probably become standard on all to most laptops, whether people use it or not....by when will that occur in the future I can't say....I would guess around 5 years.

Exactly. Why on earth does a laptop with full keyboard and trackpad, need a touch screen!?

Answer is simple, Microsoft NEEDS to come with new stuff, and MS decded to make same op system for tablets and laptops. Good idea, but why push for win8 laptops to have a touch screen?

So my fav lAptop, Sony Pro 11 has win8, and it has touch screen. Why would I want to touch my laptops displey? There is no need for it whatsoever. I prefer my displey clean, touching the screen w fingers leaves smudges.

Is there anybody, who uses a full keyboard laptop, and has a need to touch the displey?

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JT - I can't help wondering what your day consists of and how you've managed to seemingly let the so-called Russian invasion affect you. On a personal note, I find the Russians to be quite diverse in their looks, attitudes, and demeanour.

Because quite frankly, I was on Jomtien beach yesterday afternoon and early evening with my wife, and I didn't see or feel what you did. I had a bloody good time just doing next to nothing and watching the sun go down.

It is Russian invasion, maybe invasion is wrong word, but no one can argue that they now dominate Pattaya and Jomtien. Just as they dominate resort towns in Turkey, Alnya and Atalya. In Egypt Sarm el Sheik was over taken by Russians 4 years ago.

There are hardly European tourists in Pattaya area now, compered to just 4-5 years ago.

To me this no big deal, in some ways I like it. But I can see how many expats, who moved here 10, even just 5 years ago now find themselves in completely different town.

Russians are gloomy, they never smile to strangers, smiling is considered weakness, if in Russia a guy smiles at another guy, a stranger, in Russian mans mind it can mean only one thing.

But they are very friendly to each other in all Russian restaurants, in baht buses strangers always start frindly convo, usuallt talking about where they are staying and what they payed for their 2 weeks holyday. Then they start talking about what an awful place this is, and rude ThAis are towards them. I listen these convos in baht buses every day

Jomtien has changed so much, the scene is very different from few years ago.

It can be still a pleasant place to visit once or twice a week, you enjoyed your day there, but it something entirely different if you live in Jomtien, day after day, 12 months of the year. I did stay there once almost for 2 years. Not any more. I can't, and I don't.

Get Sony Vaio Pro 11 if you are after the very best, current cutting edge machine, 11" is super portable device, and can be specked to the max.

It It is so thin, so beautiful, there is nothing else out there to even compare it to.

Or get Pro 13, same machine, but 13"

Both are carbon fiber, super thin, gorgeous machines. Sadly Win8, but you can install 7.

Pro 11 and Pro 13 are replacing Sony previous flagship, the Vaio Z. Fully loaded i7 Z was 70.000 baht in Dec 2011. So both Pro models are priced very reasonably.

There is no competition for those 2 Sonys, nithing even close. Samsung 9 series is nice notebook, next to Pro 11 it looks like ugly brick.

Unless you consider Macbook Air, but why would you! If you like the Alu look, and install Win7 to Air, then that would be an option. I like Al look, I have 17" macbook pro, naturally it runs on Win7.

Both Pro 11 and 13 are starting around 34.000, to match the Air.

http://www.sony.co.th/productcategory/it-pc-series-svp?site=hp_en_TH_i#IT+PC+Series+SVP

2 words, MacBook Air.

I can't think of worse advice.

Although there were plenty of Russian diners, the plus side is that many of the Russian ladies were absolute stunners.

So it's not all bad news with the Russians.

You know, these Russian stunners in Pattaya, are only special cos they are under 60, and white. They are a novelty for Pattayas expats.

In Russia, there are many truly beautiful girls almost everywhere you look.

But for some strange reason, the Russian tourists in Pattaya, are average looking farm girls, the only Russian dudes who would do them, are desperate loners, or very drunk.

But its not their fellow Russian men, who bother to chase those girls, its Arab men in the Walking street night clubs, who off them, compensations start from 3000, and up from there, 6000 about average.

For older Western gentlemen, they may look stunning exotic beauties, but not to Russian men, not even close.

I've shared this comment on Twitter and getting extremely good feedback. One baht bus driver and restaurateur in particular.

I bet this is the same baht bus driver, who has a secret crush for Jingthing!

My Gf has the core.. nice little phone.. One slight downside to all the current low cost Samsung's they are still on a lower version of Android Jelly Bean

There are better phones for the money BUT many Thai girls love Samsung..

Android version makes almost no difference. Be it 4.2 or latest 4.4... What exactly is so much better if you have 4.4 Kitkat? Nothing. Very minor differerences. Unless u are hardcore gamer.

If I was to hand you an Android, and you use ut for 30 minutes, browsing, messaging, watching movies and online clips, using camera.. I bet you wouldnt be able to tell if its 4.2 or 4.4 Kitkat.

Its the screen size, and resolution, the pixel density that matters. All you really do is look at the screen. So hi resolution displey is what you should be looking for.

Processor speeds above 1.2 Ghz are important only to gamers. Allmost all netbooks used 1.2 Ghz Atom just few years back. Current mobils have more processing power than netbooks. For everyday use such as movies, skype, browsing, Android 4.2 is more than adequate.

And if dont watch HD movies, even pixel density is not important, no need for 1080p

Whats important is screen size, it's the screen that really matters, ram and processor speed have been adequate for past 2 years already. We all use messangers. Most people use smart phones to just make telephone calls less and less.

Phones are replacing laptops now, unless you are working, and need to type fast, multitask, there is no reason to even own a laptop any more.

Large displey = easy to type, small = painful to type.

4.2 or 4.3 or 4.4 who cares!

Yes, they dismamtling it right now.

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On Dec 29 around 8pm, it took a friend of mine 1 hour and 30 minutes to drive from Jomtien police station and 7 11 corner to Pattaya. Buying a car or taking a taxi is no answer.

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They tour get sun drink beer and get drunk and bring familes and kids along unlike us lot who come here for the mongering whats the problem with them they just seem happy

Russian tourists who I see in Pattaya, look anything but happy.

.. so paying 20 baht for a trip along the beach or from Pattaya to Jomtien for me is a pleasure and I do not begrudge the amount at all. I am sure there will be the usual wingers saying about you should only pay 10 baht etc etc

..

Not good!

Next time one of us payes 10 baht, the correct price, may get into verbal altercation, or even be assaulted, because driver feels he deserves 20, double of correct fair.

You may enjoy paying twice the correct price, but please do in maybe at FXS theaters at Central, pay 280 baht instead of 140! There are security cameras at cash registers at SFX, I doubt the ticket sales guy, or a girl will risk assaulting a customer, if he/she feels like charging 280 the next guy buying ticket.

Outside, late at night, baht bus driver can do pretty much what he feels like to a foreigner.

Please don't make life difficult for people, who insist on paying correct fair.

In past 2 months I have seen 1 Russian guy in Starbucks, Beach rd. I go there 2-3 times a day, and stay for 30 minutes at least. They sometimes buy banana pancake outside the cafe, and if there is vacant table, they sit down, of course without ordering anything. Staff tolerates it.

But one time last week, 4 of them sharing one pancake occupied the table next to the beach side door, somebody must have complained, one staff girl came outside to chase them away. Russians looked and seemed confused, as to way they shoul leave. At first they ignored her, and made rude, loud comments, then one of the Starbucks customers sitting at the other table next to the door, told them speaking in Russian, that the table is only for customers of cafe, and they need to order something, if they want to sit there. The foursom grudgingly walked away.

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Try Sri Racha. Russians are very thin on the ground. You would hard pressed to spot one.

Yeah, but down side is you need to live in Sri Racha

What make and model phone do you have?

It does sound like an APN issue

..

I am curious too!

OP last posted 4 hrs ago, I think we will never know, but most likely it was APN not set.

People often get advice, the issue is sorted, there is no need for them to come back and post any more.