cglow.com

Close to over a decade ago, a time when local calls were (nearly) free and i could logon to local BBS at 9.6kbps the whole night playing LORD, through the days when the Internet required Trumpet Winsock, to the bittorrents and youtube net life of today, i’ve pretty much stayed with TMNet as my ISP. Since it’s raya break and i’ve got time to burn i’m giving another local broadband provider a spin.

P1 is PacketOne, a subsidiary of greenpacket, which recently premier-ed WIMAX services in Malaysia. The WIMAX device offered is a black square brick, small enough for a home but probably not one for carrying around. Experience is pretty much plug and play, which i gathered means the device is pre-configured when i signed up with P1. So, on to the tests -

Test #1 – Speeding Around the World … technically.

A comparison of speedtest.net results -

For streamyx i could barely get the London server to start and it crawled to the result above. In any case even if it’s 1MB vs 1.2MB it’s obvious who’s the clear winner. Speed test can vary but no matter how you see it, Streamyx is just pure congested and nearly twice as slow for me.

Winner : P1 w1max

Test #2 – Download a file on the web

64MB Apple iTunes download at http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Consistent with Test 1, the P1 download was over 4x faster.

Winner : P1 w1max

Loading a ~5 minute clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHO1JTNPPOU

Youtube streaming on Streamyx has often been choppy. So much so that it’s common practise among my friends to press pause, make coffee, fry an egg and take a bath before streaming the vid. Your results might vary but i have to say streaming on the P1 line was great.

Winner : P1 w1max

Test #4 – Bittorrent

Download a 25MB torrent at http://beta.legaltorrents.com/get/190-vhs-recall

Below is a snapshot of a 25MB download in utorrent, give and take 10kB/s to the Down Speed. This is on a fresh install of utorrent – no tweaking of any settings. It’s common knowledge that TMNet bandwidth throttle on torrents.

Winner : P1 w1max

Test #5 – Pricing and Bundles

With P1 you’re getting 1.2Mbps/500Kbps for RM99 at 12-month contract and RM89 at 24-Month contract

With Streamyx you’re getting 1.0Mbps/384Kbps for RM88 no modem without contract. Synergies with Celcom means that bundles such as the recent Home, Hop and Away plans are hard to beat to value for a Mobile/Fixed Broadband combo.

Winner : TMNet Streamyx

Test #6 – Network Stability

NOW HERE IS THE CATCH. When i first brought back the box and placed it where my PC usually sits, it can’t even negotiate a connection. Bring it closer to my front door and window, it flies. WIMAX, typical of any wireless solution like HSDPA, is susceptible to the usual interference and constraints of your house. You cannot beat a physical copper line. Although i’ve expected it, it is nevertheless dissapointing when you hit a red light(literally on the modem). On the bright side, P1 does offer a 15 day money back guarantee.

Winner : TMNet Streamyx

Verdict

You really can’t take the results above as yours because simply, it is my results with my constraints. The age of your copper line, your distance to the nearest DSLAM, network congestion and even which floor you are in pretty much defines which may be the best service to go for.

If you can spend a bit more, don’t mind fiddling with the WIMAX modem placing (assuming coverage is decent in your area) and is comfortable with setting up wireless network devices to compensate, P1 can be a good alternative mainly due to it’s (current) low congestion and the imminent rise of centrino 2 in every intel powered notebook. If you’ve got a fixed line or maybe even a celcom line, TM has got great value for money HSDPA/ADSL bundles and is probably more foolproof to set up.

While the competition’s great, Broadband in Malaysia is sadly still too darn expensive. We’ll need to wait a while longer for the promises of WIMAX, Mobile Broadband and HSBB/HSBT to break down the price barriers and all these term contract non-sense that just ties us down. On an end note, most ISPs around the world has already implemented capped bandwidth plans and bandwidth throttling. So you have to count your blessings sometimes if you’re a torrent-addict and bandwidth hogger. For the rest of us it’s irrelevant. All we’re asking for is for a speedier and more pleasant internet experience – and of course – a lot cheaper.

Winner : Poor You and Me (Hopefully)

[UPDATE 21 Nov 2009] As most of you have come to this site searching for broadband reviews, you probably figured out by the comments that it can be very subjective especially when it comes to wireless broadband. You might want to check http://blog.cglow.com/?page_id=623 for an update on the broadband packages offered in Malaysia. Take the broadband poll as well !

After 3 weeks in Europe for my honeymoon, the longest vacation i’ve had, I’ve decided to mark it all up in google map for the memories.Click on the placemarks to see the photos.

My map for the rest of the year of course will be pretty static as i’m darn broke now.

Now here’s (not exactly) the deal (of the century) – you pay RM38 to feed a bunch of doctor fish for half an hour.They feed veraciously nibbling on you like there’s no tomorrow and you get a million tingles all over your feet. I can assure you this is not therapeutic on the go but after a while – it’s kinda novel not to mention fun, but then if these “doctors” can cure psoriasis, it must be good for your feet.

I don’t remember these fishes being this BIG the last time i came here when Kenko Fish Spa first launched in Pavillion (I understand there’s another one in 1U called Foot Master). Business must be darn good for them to grow at this rate, what with them eating dead skin for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Verdict : Try it out. It’s a win-win. The fish gets fed, and you end up with an interesting weekend, a good story and smooth leg. and it’s still cheaper than a gold class ticket next door.

My daily jolt of caffeine will no longer be the same once i leave Melbourne. Not only does coffee in Melbourne taste good, the best of them looks good.

This one was taken in St Ali, a place i frequent and i could swear that anybody who bothers to make latte art this consistently good, is too bored of making great coffee. If you’re in the city try out the Brother Baba Budan on Little Bourke for the same. Starbucks? Don’t stand a chance.

It’s time to go back to the local Old town white coffee and my Nespresso at home. On the bright side – Italy Beckons in September!

Came back early from work today to pack my bags and found a double rainbow outside my apartment, and left to ponder on the wonders you miss in the hustle of work… and the fitting goodbye to a beautiful city.

This is one of the better optical illusion – Is the Lady turning clockwise or counterclockwise?

spinning lady illusion

I see her clockwise most of the time but can switch quite easily now.

Hint : Focus on the left leg and the shadow and imagine it spinning the direction you want it to -

Today on hustled walk down swanston street for my weekend groceries, a young lady approached me and claimed that she had lost her wallet and needed to borrow some money to travel back by train. She claimed that she has never done this before and would give me her mobile number and will arrange to pay me back in the city. The entire event took a little less than 30 seconds.

Going through my mind :

[Stranger] I’m sorry but i lost my … can you borrow .. i will return …

[My mind] Deja vu. another scam artist. I’ve had this done to me in more than a few countries. The best was an indian guy who practically cracked down in front of me in Genting Highlands. His atrocious acting and body gesture gave it away. When he walked away, i actually tailed him for some time out of curiosity. i obviously distressed him as he could not do his 2nd act. You wouldn’t be worried if you’re genuinely distraught no?

[Stranger] it’s the first time i’ve done this… please…

[My Mind] Why was i “targeted” even in the beautiful city of Melbourne ? do i look foreign ? is it the way i dressed ? or is my gullibility index extremely high ? At this point i looked her straight in the eye. She looked genuine. But as the lights turned green for me to cross i just had to walk away and suggested that she seek help with a tourist/city authority, maybe the tourist center at fed square just a block down

[Stranger] But they won’t help !

[My Mind] To which i thought and replied : who else will ? erring on the side of caution.

5 minutes later….

[My Mind] I had an SLR and should have taken a picture and just borrowed her the money. It would have made me feel better if i was wrong. and i would have a deserved picture for my blog if i was right. oh well …. until the next rerun ….

Some similiar food for thought :

Borrow Money…

Beware of the con artist

UPDATES : I have bumped into the lady again since then, targeting my friend. Get a job !

Planning a vacation online can be a real bitch. What with all the reservations lying around in your inbox and no way to consolidate them into a single view. TripIt attempts to do just that – and it’s killer feature is the way it does it – just by you sending your airline, hotel or reservation service booking to a designated email.

You start out of course by first registering for an account at http://www.tripit.com/. Follow through with the confirmation email and then set up any other email addresses it should recognize to accept your reservation from -

Locate that buried travel reservation or confirmation email somewhere in your inbox. In my case, it was one from virtuallythere and it doesn’t even have the details on it but a link. i forward this email to plans@tripit.com

This works with an impressive variety of supported sites and you can opt to receive a confirmation mail. It’ll tell you if it can’t understand your email as well. Now what do you get out of this simple action ?

Pure magic. I love it.

I’ve been in Melbourne for 1 month and find myself deeply impressed with it’s public transport, under the umbrella brand metlink. The trams and trains are always on time, a far cry from the dysfunctional system we have back home. All we ask for with our tax money is an attempt in efficiency and public accountability -

You see this in every tram here in Melbourne. But then i thought maybe i’d give ours the benefit of the doubt – So i swiftly googled up our closest transport equivalent RapidKL. Lo and behold – i practically striked lottery -

Says it all huh ? With the rising oil crisis, it is time our transport and urban planning ministers plan a lawatan sambil belajar to melbourne. It’s cheaper on jetstar.

A test of the new wakil rakyat – from whatever pakatan/barisan you may be as long as you can resolve issues and show some accountability for once -

Dear City Hall -

I am a resident of Setapak and on i believe on behalf of all the residents here and in the vicinity ( Gombak, Wangsa Maju, Genting Klang ) would like to understand the rational behind the traffic flow controls for traffic heading towards Lebuhraya Mahameru via the Jalan Pahang roundabout / Pekeliling underpass.

This was implemented over a year ago where traffic police used to direct during morning rush hours to ensure that cars coming from jalan tun razak and the pahang roundabout can be controlled. While there was still a crawl it was cleared very much within 10 minutes.

What was then done was an “experiment” to direct traffic straight parallel to the overpass but was poorly planned from the start :
1. Openings are still allowed for cars to cut in just before the overpass.
2. Lack of signs during the early stages with cars confused what are the options, road signs are not properly placed.
3. The new traffic route parallel to the overpass has a traffic light with a very short green, adding to driver’s perception that this is not worth taking.
4. The alternative road direct traffic to heavy exits path ( 2 Jalan Kuching exit, 1 PWTC exit ) from the right, while most of the intention is to go to PJ of course.

It now takes 20-25 minutes just to clear this stretch and is an epitome of the bad traffic planning we are used to in KL. Irregardless of the greater good in traffic planning ( as this was supposedly to ease traffic for hospital emergencies ) it is still very ironic that the residents in my area who have financed the jalan pahang toll for years before it was dismantled are now severely inconvenienced.

references -
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/20/central/17191138&sec=central
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/17/central/16582089&sec=central
http://www.kenasaman.com/viewtopic.php?p=187&sid=4d7cc263a0d173d34e09802266a10d67

:: chingeh.