I received a surprise in the mail today. It’s the iPhone cable I won in a giveaway organized by LiewCF.com. Thanks LiewCF and I should also thank MudahAlih.my for sponsoring the gifts.
I laughed because I expected that he will send me a pink cable, as I commented about pink in the post:
Thank you, this made my day.
If you’re here to look for the way to forward the phone that comes to UniFi to another phone number, I apologize. I don’t know how. I tried asking TM call center but they told me to call UniFi support for UniFi phone.
For the record every time I try *61*XXXXXXXXXX# the automated voice response is “harap maaf, anda tidak mempunyai akses ke nombor ini”. I think it’s related to a protection so that users can’t simply forward to any number. Protection is good only if there are procedures to follow to make a feature useful. Not in this case.
I created a ticket in the My Support section in myUniFi only to be closed by X1012121 – it’s not even a real name. The ticket was closed without any explanation whatsoever. Nada. Nothing. Nil.
So what they put in their Microsoft SharePoint website Phone (Voice Features) page doesn’t work. At least for me. If you can see any instructions on adding custom phone numbers to the forward list, do let me know. I might need new spectacles.
As a matter of fact, I created a ticket a week earlier about something else and although I specifically asked to be emailed, they called. Maybe the text on their system is too small to read especially the “Preferred communication” field. I don’t know. The annoying thing was that the person kept calling and calling and calling when the call was not picked up.
When the call is not picked up, please call later.
If you’re not going to fully support your value added services, you might as well not offer them at all. I am fully satisfied with the Internet service, but since there are “FREE” added service I thought I might utilize it. Now that I know they don’t work, I’m unhappy.
One thing that really bothers me is that I think they don’t really have an SLA with customers, and KPI to fulfill. Closing tickets without any reason is unacceptable by any standard, not even in inter organization support services.
I will never understand why TM work like this… and I know this post will not mean anything to them. I am just disappointed. Having some exposure on how they do stuff, I think they can do better and generate more profit than now but the mentality is just beyond me.
Malaysia boleh?
I have always been a fan of Crocs shoes because of their lightness, durability and the airy design. As someone who suffers from athlete’s foot since the teen years, airy means better air circulation and dryer feet.
Back in 2009 or 2010 we went to a Crocs warehouse sale in Ikano Power Center in Damansara. It was held in an empty unit next to the IT hypermarket at the top floor. We bought 5 pairs – two for myself and three for my son.
I bought myself an Olive Baya, and a Black Trailbreak.
For my son we bought him a Green Baya, a Batman Cayman and a Crocs Electro.
For other models than the Baya, links are from other websites as they no longer exist on the official website. Maybe they have been taken off production or something.
The purpose of this post is to make sure that if there is any more warehouse sale in the future, and if you’re going, you better thoroughly check the shoes you’re buying.
A few days back, my son was having trouble to put on the Crocs Electro on his left foot. That was weird, and at first I had a silly thought that his left foot has grown more than his right foot. I was surprised to see that the shoes, although marked with the same size, had the left one smaller than the other.
I don’t know how this happened but I’m not happy. Lucky for us we realize this before his feet were bruised more. It is not my intention to accuse anything at anyone but I have to admit that I am disappointed. Knowing Malaysia, we can’t return the shoes especially since it was bought in a warehouse sale. Heck, we can’t even return them if we buy them at retail price.
And of course, living in Malaysia I’m not excluding the possibilities of foul play. It’s how most businesses make maximum profit anyway…
“Tak Nak“, literally translated to “Don’t Want” is a tag line for Malaysia’s anti smoking campaign. In true sense it means “Say No To Smoking”. It’s a collaboration between the Government and a few other organizations.
I was lucky enough to have some time to recently visit the National Zoo of Malaysia (locally known as Zoo Negara). For the record, I have not been there for more than 20 years. To my surprise, I was welcomed with cigarette smoke and cigarette butts everywhere. Since it’s an open park people seems to think that it is alright to smoke in public.
The only no smoking sign was found at the corner of the ticket counter, and even then the security guard was smoking 1.5 meters away (welcoming visitors with tobacco smell). I’m amazed on how undeveloped Malaysians minds are.
Yes, I do smoke but I don’t smoke in public attractions or even restaurants where kids and women are around.
I am not trying to make enemies or humiliate anyone, so I will be applying “mosaic” to the faces.
The tiny No Smoking sign is on the glass, top right corner:
If you are a UniFi subscriber, and live in the Puchong (plus Damansara reported by achmatibrahim via Twitter) area you might have already been aware of the downtime since yesterday afternoon (8 December 2010). At the moment I am writing this post, it has been more than 12 hours. TM is not actively informing users about this downtime and all we get is this from their Twitter account:
I have just called the UniFi Center a few minutes ago and the guy who picked up the call was a sales guy. He tried to contact the technical department but he failed. At least that’s what he said. So he promised to call back with a ticket number. I think he will not call me until the whole thing is over. I will just lodge a report with MCMC.
At first, he told me that TM is aware of the downtime and it’s because of server upgrade. That’s a lame and insulting excuse. There is no announcement on the UniFi website.
Please people, if you are one of the affected subscriber please do your part by calling 1 300 88 1222 and insist on a ticket number for the downtime.
Even if it’s one day, for VIP5 package subscriber that’s already RM149/30 = RM4.97 and if every single person as mentioned in the tweet above makes a claim for rebate, that’s already costing TM the amount of RM9,940 in rebates. Don’t take it from TM that “it’s OK to be down if so many people are affected”. We pay for this service.
Don’t ask for a rebate when calling the UniFi Center but ask for a formal report to be done. With the ticket number, go to MCMC website and lodge a formal report. The direct link to the Aduan is here.
We need to send a message to TM that downtime will cost them money. Otherwise it’ll be as usual for every single service we have in Malaysia where we just sit and wait for the service to get back.
We need to make them go out of their beds and work on fixing the issue. I am serious about this. You can do your part.
Yes, I am getting old and like to rationalize instead of rant.
iPhone 4 has just been launched in Malaysia, and I have also been closely following the progress.
Looking at SoyaCincau’s comparison between Maxis and DiGi, I was attempting to load DiGi’s page again. I have done this before.
Instead of talking about iPhone 4 itself, I am going to see why the page is showing me 3GS instead. Yes, I am a nerdy SysAdmin and it’s hard to change.
The page is here http://www.digi.com.my/iphone/getone_want_iphone_payment.html
Here’s the page in my browser:
I was about to blame it on Maxis Broadband’s transparent proxy when I saw that it was a MISS from Squid. And then I saw the modification date is way in the past (highlighted above).
This is not something serious, but just in case you get the old page, clear your browser’s cache and you should be able to see the new page. Or, access it via HTTPS:
Notice the last modified date makes much more sense now.
The technical explanation to this is because your browser sees that the page has not been modified and decided to show you the cache. It’s as simple as that. This may happen because of misconfiguration or something like that but as I said, this is not something serious.
I just hope those who has been seeing 3GS list can now see the updated 4 list.
Have I decided which provider I am going to choose? Well that’s a secret for now…
I had to transfer 2 WordPress blogs to another hosting provider last night, as the free one is going to expire today. It should be as easy as:
In a few hours after the DNS propagation is finished I should be able to point to the new site. If not, I should be able to use the host file /etc/hosts to point to the new server and make sure it works well.
I’ve had the trouble with Maxis transparent proxy before when it was blurting out random errors to random sites.
Today, even when OpenDNS is already updated with the new IP (DNS propagation has finished), the transparent proxy is still outdated and points to the old server.
I am sure if I call Maxis or even use its MaxisListens Twitter account, they will not even understand the concept of DNS.
The thing with transparent proxy is, as long as it’s HTTP traffic it will be going through it (not HTTPS), and it does not matter if I use a host file.
Oh well. I guess I can’t test this quickly right now except by using an anonymous proxy or connecting to an external VPN. Who appreciates time these days?
BTW, making modifications in domainregistry.my was very fun and it took me more than 30 minutes to modify one domain.
I had to go through quite a significant number of resumes the other day, and here are some tips for fresh graduates out there.
In summary, when contacted take it as a big opportunity even if you are not a fresh graduate. These days one job opening may have hundreds of applicants, so a simple mistake that annoys employer can mean that your resume and cover letter end up in the shredder. It’s that easy to be disqualified, really.
Always remember that the employer representative communicating with you is a human. That’s the most important thing of all.
Good luck. I hope this helps.
It was an interesting morning today, when a friend told me that his brother received a job offer in a Forex trading company in Shah Alam. It was great news that he was able to get something after searching for opportunities for quite a while. However since my niece experienced this more than once, I am skeptical about such companies in Malaysia.
I asked him to check with the Securities Commission and whether or not the company presented an offer letter to his brother.
At first I thought that Forex is administered by the Securities Commission (SC) but I was wrong. When called, SC said that Forex is administered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
BNM Foreign Exchange Administration said:
In Malaysia no company or individuals are given license to do forex trading except for registered merchant banks
Which corresponds to this List of Authorised Dealers of Foreign Currency. One thing that disappoints me the most is that BNM did not ask the company name, showing that they have no immediate interest in closing such fraudulent businesses.
Signs that a company might be working on something fraudulent:
It is a great thing that my friend’s brother told him about it. My unfortunate niece did not share the news with me so she ended up wasting weeks without getting paid. And imagine if the office is raided by the authorities. I wouldn’t want to be a part of that, would you?
So the lesson to learn here is that you should always tell someone about your opportunities, and never immediately trust just any company no matter how desperate you are for a job.
And of course, always get an offer letter first before you start working. This is the most important thing of all, when getting a new job.
You can consider this as an honest and sincere opinion from me, as a Malaysian and a heavy Internet user. Maybe, if Rais reads this it will be much fun.
It’s all because of this news article: Malaysians advised against being immersed in Facebook, Twitter.
In twitter, the tag #yorais has been spreading like mad. The tweets are hysterically funny but too insensitive so I don’t think I should include them here.
In my own opinion, Rais should have not linked any of the online services with religion. In short, he should not have assumed when he has no idea himself.
From the text: “He chided some Malaysians who belittled those who were no savvy of the Facebook and Twitter culture.” it looks like Rais is offended by some people who might have said he’s left behind in technology. What I think he should do, is learn instead of condemning technology.
Admit it, everything has its own disadvantages and advantages. It’s not Facebook that Rais should condemn – it should be the users or more specific Malaysians. There exists fanatics and extremist in every single thing in this world and Facebook is not excluded.
It’s unfair to condemn services just because they were created by Westerners. Blame the users.
Facebook and Twitter has helped a lot of users even Malaysian to publicize their businesses and meet old friends, just to name a few. If you use something correctly it’ll be good, and vice versa.
As a matter of fact I just saw one of my respected businessman being bombarded with bad comments in a fan page named “I hate XXX” just because he made a bad comment about another related profession. Not cool.
I wish that Malaysian ministers would learn more instead of following the traditional way of thinking and assuming – what we all do in our beloved country. Don’t you?
The Star even published the outcome of Rais’ statement: Rais comment has Net users boiling, creates global sensation
My better half told me yesterday that we can now add our local bank accounts in PayPal. It was too good to be true so I decided to check. I went to check my PayPal emails first just in case I missed an announcement. However, I don’t see any. It’s kinda weird that when a new language is available PayPal sends us an email but not for something as important as this?
Oh well, not a big deal. I am all hyped with this new ability, and am already thinking of ditching my Al-Rajhi account (debit card account used for withdrawals).
Adding a bank account is very easy. On your “My Account” page, click on “Profile” which will reveal a drop down where you select “Add/Edit Bank Account”.
Next, you just enter your details:
Don’t put in the wrong routing code. Always double check. This routing code is also sometimes referred to as the SWIFT code. I am amazed on the considerably long list.
And that’s it. The next thing you will see is that it’s listed in your bank account page:
Please, be sure that you entered the correct bank name, account number, and routing code. As the fee list suggests, you will be charged RM15 for every rejected transaction:
You’ll be charged RM3.00 for amounts less than RM400, free otherwise. I think it does not get any clearer than this.
Enjoy your new ability! It does not involve in eating brains this time.
I spent 6.5 hours from 9.00AM to 3.30PM at Puchong Naza Kia service center, wasting time because I didn’t realize they have free wifi.
As planned, we rushed to the Big Bad Wolf book sales at Amcorp Mall. The traffic was moderate, but Amcorp Mall was packed with people. Arriving at the outdoor parking space we can already see people carrying boxes and plastic bags sporting the Big Bad Wolf logo. When we reached the 3rd floor we were relieved to see that there are still pile of books ready to be taken away.
It wasn’t easy to go through the crowd, and it was even more difficult after office hours that day as there were an even bigger crowd. We managed to go for lunch after the first session, and came back for the 2nd session.
Here are the results of the first visit. 41 books altogether, plus one for a friend. I only got myself 3 technical books which are dirt cheap at RM15 each compared to the shelf prices that may reach more than a hundred ringgit. And I don’t have any favorite author either. The last fiction I read was the 4 books from Dan Brown and I am waiting for the paperback version of The Lost Symbol to be published. It’s just too tiring to stay there too long. I am getting old.
The interesting thing is that when we return home to look at the website at http://www.bigbadwolfbooks.com the site was suspended because it went out of resources. Too many visitors perhaps? It was back up on Friday, though.
Things didn’t change the second day when we went there with a niece, except for there are less management books available. We didn’t see any change for the children books either. They have added more technical books, but most are references for outdated technologies.
I didn’t get any books for the second visit but my better half and niece found theirs.
Estimated off the shelf price for both days: RM2000
Spent: less than RM500
This does look like reckless spending if you don’t read, but for book lovers this is the best you can get. They don’t get any cheaper than this.
The sales continues until 2nd December at Amcorp Mall. Although they say that they unbox new boxes everyday I am not sure what is available at the days approaching the end. Look for them in Facebook. I hope there will be more books for me the next time they organize the sale.
I don’t think so. Last week, I was on leave for the whole week and did some light browsing at home. To avoid contamination with other PCs in my house, I conducted this test while purely tethering on my BlackBerry device. WIFI was turned off.
The only objective is to see how much data I am using per day to browse the Internet – lightly. No streaming, no gmail, no gaming, no real facebooking. Facebooking was done on the lite interface at http://lite.facebook.com.
From the simple test I was able to determine that I use around 420MB per day for light browsing. Multiply that by 30 days and I will get 12900MB which is roughly equivalent to 12.6GB!
Now that explains it why at the end of each month my connection is in snail mode because it’s most likely that Maxis is capping my speed because of overuse.
Bear in mind that this is only for 1 computer.
I have been starting to miss Streamyx which I used to hate so much. At least they are slow because of the International link and such, not because they intentionally limit my speed. To me, Streamyx’s BitTorrent capping is fair.
Plus, these Telco are changing their packages like changing underwear! (If they do!)
And of course:
I can’t wait to have Streamyx back. Currently I am limiting browsing at home, so that my better half will not encounter problems doing her business online.
This is an overdue post that I wanted to write right after I came back from there on Tuesday, but I couldn’t.
That day, I went back home earlier than usual as my other half was craving for pasta. Pizza Hut and Kenny Rogers pasta were also candidates but we like the Carbonara at Italiannies best because of the full flavor. It was our second time at Italiannies Sunway Pyramid, as the first was on Father’s day where I enjoyed a free Grilled Salmon Oreganata (that is a RM44++ meal gratis). I like the branch in Sunway Pyramid better than the one in The Curve as the restaurant is bigger, the air conditioning is a lot cooler, and the environment is much calmer. Plus, the service in Sunway Pyramid is superb.
If you have been following my posts, you will know that I am easily annoyed with bad service. I was annoyed at first with the weird, hard to understand accent but it faded away when they gave their best service. The first time I went there they helped me carry the stroller up the stairs (we used the wrong entrance by the pub to the smoking level). This time, they brought a pillow for my kid’s back support when they saw that I had to use one of my hand to support the kid’s back on the considerably large high chair. They paid good attention and gave help without the need to be asked. I felt so grateful I almost shed some tears but fortunately I didn’t.
If tipping is practiced in Malaysia those two servers would get a fat tip from me. Well I would still tip them if I feel like I have money to spare but not right now. Maybe some day, hopefully soon.
Italiannies in Sunway Pyramid consists of two levels – the lower level is the smoking level and there is an entrance near the pub (I can’t remember the name). If you’re coming from inside the mall, the entrance is at the back of TGI Friday’s. Yes, you have to enter TGI Friday’s, go left and straight to the back where there is a door waiting for you. I personally prefer this entrance.
I will go there again, to try the Sicilian Pizza. I ended up having the salmon again since they were out of ingredients for the pizza (it was quite late in the evening).
So what about you, do you like Italiannies and what can you recommend to have there?
Really? That short notice? I was casually browsing my Google Reader when I stumbled upon this exciting news. Exciting? Not anymore. I don’t know why but the frustration of waiting has made me less interested in iPhones. The time stamp on the news was like 4 hours before I started this entry. Fresh!
Going to into Maxis site there is now a big banner “Be among the first to own an iPhone 3G“. No, Maxis did not do anything wrong and it’s still a great news except that right now there may be hundreds of people in Malaysia using cracked iPhones. Among the first? I don’t think so. It should say “Be among the first to own an official and uncracked iPhone 3G“. Yes that’s me trying to be funny. Ha ha.
If you’re interested you may go here at Maxis’ spanking new iPhone section. Enjoy it. I don’t think I will be getting one anytime soon.