I’ve always looked at alternatives to Streamyx for my internet connection. Not that I despise TMNET but just because of the fact that their service way below par! I’m sure many Malaysian broadband users would attest to this. I had the opportunity to try out Maxis, Digi and P1WIMAX and I think I can share some of my experiences here.

Maxis Broadband

This is the first option I tried. Well, I opted to get their HSDPA modem which theoretically can offer data speeds up to 7.2MBps. I should say that my expectations were pretty high. But then, I realized that I could only get EDGE speeds. Excruciatingly slow speed on a HSDPA modem. I tried tweeting about the problem to @maxiscomms and after a few attempts I managed to get a response from them. From that point onwards, the technical team got in touch with me through email and asked me to send them a snapshot of the connection status on the diagnostics tool. After a day of waiting I was told that my area did not have a good coverage for 3G and there were no immediate plans to improve it as well. So I had to terminate my contract and move on.

Here’s a roundup of the plans available from Maxis broadband:

P1WIMAX

I was actually hoping that P1WIMAX would be the right plan for me. First of all, it offers the best value for money – The 20GB plan is just RM 99 per month. The speed was a little bit inconsistent. I was told by their technical support that from the 10th floor onwards they only offer speeds on a best effort basis. Fair enough that this was told upfront. Best thing about them, they have a 7 day trial period. That is so awesome! I was really sad to return their modem on the 6th day but then I did give them a chance. Their customer service is absolutely great and they are really responsive on twitter too. You should follow @p1wimax and get more details.

Here is a roundup of the plans that they offer:

Digi Broadband

Finally I decided to give Digi broadband a try. I must say that I did not have high expectations at all. But you know what? Their service surpassed my expectations. Initially I was told to try the prepaid internet plan. Of course, the speed is capped at 384Kbps but I was getting around 300Kbps consistently! And the connection status was full coverage for HSDPA! So I decided to go for the postpaid plan and signed up for their 10GB plan. Here is a snapshot of the speed I normally get.

Not too bad that I can get around 700Kbps on an average. Their data plans are pretty competitive as well. And not to mention their support on Twitter – excellent. Follow @DiGi_Telco for any support issues or updates. I am hoping that their service level remains the same throughout the tenure of my contract. So for now, I’m sticking with Digi!

So unless Digi really screws up, I’m not even going to think of Streamyx for now. Maybe Unifi next year, but not Streamyx!

Finally after a break of almost 3 months I am trying to revive matblogger.com. As I was thinking of a suitable topic to blog about, I decided that I will write something concerning the green energy movement that is currently being talked about. I did some research on my own and here are some of the information that I actually found:

• Surging oil prices, increasing environmental awareness, growing imports of oil is driving the government to promote renewable energy
• Malaysia is situated in the equatorial region with an average radiation of 4,500 KWh per square meter
• Malaysia gets on an average about 4.5 hours to 8 hours of free and bountiful sunshine
• Since solar projects are capital intensive, solar power is still not fully harnessed in the country

Also it has been said that Penang and Sabah are the most suitable spots for generating electricity from Solar Energy. Living in Penang I think I can attest to that after being baked in the sun for months on end. Here is an excerpt from the Daily Express:

The State Capital and Sabah, in general, together with Penang are the best two spots to produce electricity from sunlight, according to Ahmad Hadri Haris, Head of the Renewable Energy Unit, Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (Malaysian Energy Centre).

“In terms of the amount of sunlight we can capture, Kota Kinabalu measures 1,800 kilowatt hour per metre square per year compared to 1,500 in the Klang Valley,” he said.

For this reason, a service provider in KK can actually produce 30 to 30 per cent more electricity than the guy in KL, Ahmad noted. He was speaking in conjunction with the 32nd International Energy Agency (IEA) PVPS Task 1 Experts Meeting, here, Wednesday.

However, Ahmad said that to install a grid-connected solar system to generate and sell electricity to SESB, the cost is RM26,000 per kw for a typical house.

So as you can see, the initial cost for setting up a solar system in your house is definitely going to cost a bomb. But a better way to go about this is to connect solar panels and modules in most street lights in major roads and highways which could serve 2 purposes. Firstly, it could serve as a source of energy to power up the lights and the extra energy can be fed back into the grid and supplied to the utility company. This is turn can be sold to the normal consumer to be used for regular energy consumption.

Such a system has already been implemented in New Jersey, USA since July 2009. This is called the PSE&G Pole Attached Solar Project. Can we implement something similar in Malaysia?

Looks like the big A is getting sued again by unscrupulous lawyers again. I mean c’mon give them a break guys. What’s with going around scouting for big companies who might have incorporated a small portion of a design which was patented before and using the opportunity to make some big bucks? These are nothing but the “patent trolls” of the legal world. I have the least respect for them as they are just slimy opportunists waiting to take advantage of bigger firms. They either arm twist these companies to pay them out or get them to pay some kind of royalty or licensing fees.

I know I’m no lawyer but there has to be a line drawn between legal issues and common sense. Patents were filed to protect intellectual property and not to use it as a vehicle to make some quick money. A person’s intelligence is not tangible like a product and hence a patent is necessary to safeguard it. But at the same time there are quite a number of products which might use a small portion of the patent somewhere in the design out of necessity. This should not be considered an infringement as the final product might not be doing the exact same thing as the patent that was filed.

I know this is a web of confusion when it comes to handling the legal aspects of it but something must be done soon to preserve the sanity of big cash rich companies such as Apple. A good patent system should not be a hindrance to development of innovation! Otherwise we might as well be better off with a system such as one in China where there is no system to protect the IP of any company or individual. What’s your thoughts?

Via TUAW

I’ve been wanting to write something really personal on my blog and I guess this is the best time to do it. A recent incident which happened in my life has led me to write this post. Even though I didn’t get to complete my MBA due to certain personal commitments I still have an interest in picking up books on business, motivating employees etc etc. I’m sure there’s a lot to learn from these books. And I’m sure a lot of managers or entrepreneurs would love to read this book and apply it in their daily work life. I guess you can find a lot of material on the Internet on this subject too – like “10 ways to motivate your employees” or “How to build a profitable business”. I’ve been thinking that there should be some reading material on some great ways to piss your employee off since there are so many experts around in this field.

So here is my contribution to this often neglected subject. Feel free to add on if you like.

1. Call for pointless meetings
2. Say “You’re doing a great job” while in fact you’re thinking “Your so screwed!”
3. Arrange for a one to one meeting with your employee. Postpone it 20 times (minimum). Finally meet up with employee. Postpone the meeting again for an hour. Prepare to visit a client. Tell your employee “Can you walk me to the door? We can talk along the way. It takes 2 minutes to reach the door anyway”
4. Keep changing your employees product portfolio but don’t communicate it to him until he learns of it from his peers
5. Give your employee absurd quota numbers to meet
6. Give responsibility but no authority
7. Never ever respond to your employee’s emails until he reminds you at least 3 times (via email too)
8. Ignore phone calls
9. Call him anytime you like
10. Make him your personal technician to fix/upgrade your PC, mobile phone, smartphone

Nice, that makes 10 on the list. I’m sure this list is going to expand since we have so many innovative managers who don’t have any idea about what they are doing. Angry employees with tons of experience on this field can add on too!

For some comic relief, check out this video below. Beware of the pissed off employee!

One of the age old questions when it comes to running a business isn’t it? Do you know who actually coined this phrase which has turned out to be quite a nightmare for many an entrepreneur? This phrase was actually coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London in 1909. If you running a business, or have experience in running a business or even been in the customer service line if your company you’re bound to come across this phrase more than often during management and escalation meetings. I personally have heard this phrase way too many times and it more than often irritates me than anything else. Listen – the customer is NOT always right! Face it.

I have been facing customers in my line of work for the past decade and recently been running my own business too. I’m amazed how I manage to restrain myself given the potent combination of my short temper and the jerks I meet as customers. The reason I tend to believe that the customer is NOT always right is because some of them can be really disruptive for your business and can actually be bad for your profits too. You need customers to make money, but if they’re going to suck you dry you don’t need them. It is even worse when you have a bunch of employees who have to face such jerks and eventually their morale is going to be pulled down as well.

The phrase “Customer is always right” is being used indiscriminately these days. It was initially coined to give the customers a sense of security that the business will provide their best services for them and to also motivate employees to provide excellent customer service. But there are so many customers who take advantage of this and think they are some kind of “God” and deserve to be kissed in the ass. Sorry that’s not going to work. Yes, you will bring money to my business but if you’re going to be disruptive you can take your money elsewhere. Also think how unfair it would be to more “gentle” customers when you start giving in to abrasive customers. Something that you would not like to promote as a precedent in working with you or your business.

It’s definitely not wrong to say that the customer is wrong at times. Stand up for yourself and your employees – they will be motivated to work for you and in fact will improve your customer service in the future. You take care of your employees and the customer service will be taken care of by itself! Let there be a more professionally relationship between you as a vendor and the customer and things will fall in place. If you made a mistake – own up and fix the mess. If you are being taken for a ride stand up for yourself and stop being so spineless. After all money without dignity is nothing in life.

So you tell me – Is the customer always right?

To all the rotten nuts at TMNUT,

RE: Persistent disruption to my Internet Service (Yes, it is a big deal)

I have finally decided that it is high time that I pen this “love letter” to you in the hope that I can knock some sense into your thick skulls. Although something tells me that it is a futile attempt, I am going to try it nevertheless. I hope that you realize that when one pays money for a service, he or she expects the service to be provided in full at all times. I hope that you do realize that your customers do not pay you on a “best effort basis” but rather on a monthly basis when the payment is due. When was the last time that a customer told you that this is the best he can pay you for the crappy service that you provide? Wouldn’t you very efficiently bar his connection and promptly ask him for a reconnection fee?

Now I have been without your shitty internet service for the past 2 days. When I called up your so called “support” I was informed that my area was affected due to a maintenance issue and your support staff did not know when is the due date for completion. His response was “It does not show up in my system”. Wow, do I need a member of your technical support staff to tell me this? Why all the hassle of asking me to dial “1 for technical support, 2 for billing, 3 for roti canai and 4 for nasi lemak?”. I’m sure all the calls go to the same dumb zombie you have employed to give us mundane answers which are nothing but obvious! Now I ask you dumb nuts, are you going to pay me back for the 2 days loss in connection plus compensate me for the loss in productivity as well? Yes, productivity IS a word that exists in the English dictionary.

I am lucky enough to have subscribed to another ISP as well which serves me well in these times of distress. Although their service is nothing to shout about as well (as with the rest of the services provided in this country) I have not encountered such poor service though. I have even done a comparison between the two ISPs which was published some time before. Soon after the comparison was published, one of the nuts from your company promptly sent me a comment which was the most hilarious that I have ever read. I have republished the comment for comic relief as well.

It tickles me to no end when I start reading articles in the local newspapers about K-Economy, Telecommuting, working from home etc. We the people of this country must be living in a dreamland to even think about all these when we can’t get a simple stable internet connection at all times. Everyone has decided to put up with mediocrity and accepted this as reality. Do you think this will be acceptable in other countries? If you are not able to provide a viable internet infrastructure to less than 30 million people, what kind of service are you actually running? Maybe the bunch of you should have chosen a profession which doesn’t require too much thinking. I have a few suggestions in mind, do let me know if you are interested to know. We can talk it over a couple of cold ones.

There is but one last thing I would like to say – “Screw you TMNUTs” (pun intended)

Amazed by your “efficiency”
A loyal (forced to be) customer!

Not going to say much here! Walt Mospuppet sure has the hots for Steve Jobs… Oh by the way, DO NOT I repeat DO NOT watch the video at work. There’s a lot of geeky humor in this video, so if you don’t get it you know you’re not one of us. All the same, enjoy the video!

Thanks to The iPhone Blog.

Happy MERDEKA to all my readers! As we are celebrating our 52nd year of independence from the British, it is also probably a good time to evaluate how much the country has achieved and what we are missing on. I’m sure we can do better in a lot of things but being a tech blogger I thought it would really make sense for me to list down 10 things on my tech wish list for Malaysia. They are not arranged in any particular order. Here we go…

1. Faster, stable internet connection
2. Better mobile network coverage
3. Digital transmission for all our TV channels
4. Cashless toll system for all roads to ease congestion
5. Integrated parking payment with touch n go in all shopping malls and major office complexes
6. Better cars from Proton
7. More free WiFi hotspots in public places
8. Cheaper mobile phone rates for better technology adoption
9. More green energy for Malaysia – Solar, Wind etc.
10. A better integrated public transport system

I have compiled the above list based on the frustrating experiences I have had over the course of the past years. Most have them have been a big hindrance to getting a lot of work done efficiently. Do you have a top 10 list that you would like to share?

Apple recently approved my all new iPhone Application – MTB. This application is an iPhone version of Malaysian Tech Blogger and is intended to reach out to a wider global audience to promote Malaysia. While the app is effectively an RSS reader which gets updated whenever there is a new blog post on Malaysian Tech Blogger it also has different tabs which supports my iPhone App development business and also promotes my iPhone forum – iPhone Kopitiam. I am basically using this application as a marketing tool for my blog, business and also my forum. It is incredible how Apple has opened up such a great platform for app developers to not only sell applications but to also use it as the marketing platform for the 21st century.

Although the first version of MTB is pretty simple I have plans for enhancements which will be done over the next few weeks. MTB is currently on the app store as a free app and I have received very good response especially from fellow Malaysians. I hope that you will download MTB as well and hope to receive your feedback as well. So if you love gadgets, technology and tips and tricks I’m sure you will love this application and what better way to keep in touch with it than to download it on your favorite iPhone.

I had recently completed yet another app for the app store and happily submitted it on itunesconnect waiting for approval within a week. Well it took about 10 days for the iPhone Developer team to reply and they responded that the app was actually rejected due to incorrect rating. This was definitely quite unexpected for me since this was a fairly simple app and of all the reasons I didn’t expect it to be rejected due to an incorrect rating. So what is the rating of an app? When you submit an application on itunesconnect, Apple expects you to rate the application like below:

My application had no nudity, no obscenity, no pornography and certainly no offensive materials. So I chose the lowest rating (which is of course the best rating in this case) and sent it to Apple. But I received an email from them about 10 days later which literally made me fall off my chair. Here is what the email said:

My iPhone application actually has a couple of tabs which connects to the internet. But these webpages are hardcoded in the app and cannot be changed by the user. There is no way of entering any other webpage as I did not provide a full fledged browser to enter the URL as well. It was a custom made browser with a couple of harmless webpages. I wonder how smart the people at the iPhone Developer team are to come to the conclusion that this application allows unrestricted access to the internet and hence should be rated 17+? Weird!

But then again, I’m just a small drop in the ocean for the immensely popular app store and I decided to not swim against the current. I updated my app on the “Mature/Suggestive Themes” column and chose the option “frequent/intense“. The next thing I know, my app is a 17+ app instead of a 4+ app. Well I guess I can’t do much other than to send the app for approval and sit tight! Alright Mr. Smarty Pants at the iPhone Developer Program, you got your way. Now let my app get into the app store!