P for Positive

If you are like me, with little or no knowledge about Palestinian-Israeli conflict, then you need to watch ‘Occupations 101′. It is a 90 minutes long documentary that takes viewers through history to the current conflict in Palestine. There is so much I did not know about. The pathetic role that British played, massive amount of US aid that Israel gets every year, opposition of Israel by many Jews, non existent Arab leaders and most importantly, the meaning of occupation. I also learned about Rachel Corrie, a true hero, who was brutally killed by Israeli forces. What a courageous, loving and selfless person she was! I was able to find the speech Rachel gave in a talent show when she was in 5th grade (it is in the documentary as well).

This documentary is for anyone who would like to know the other side of the story, which is never reported by the mass media.

I waited more than three months after requesting PTCL’s business DSL service but never got it. During this time, I spoke with various people at PTCL including a segment manager anda senior manager. Didnt help much. I am posting this information for those who need higher bandwidth than what is available for the consumer market (2Mbps shared, as of last month). Particularly, for CIR requirements, business DSL is a cheap solution.

PTCL’s service is pathetic. The business unit is better than calling 1236, but the service is still very poor. You need to have time and patience. The service is also not cheap – the 384kbps service costs Rs.15,499/month with a one time installation charge of Rs. 750. There is also a one time fee for router which ranges from Rs.2500 to Rs. 15000 depending on the router type. I have the pricing for different packages in a PDF document that was sent to me by PTCL. Not sure how I can upload it. Leave me a comment if you need it and I will email it.

I got the segment manager’s number by calling 1236 and asking for business DSL. The first person did not understand what I was asking for and kept telling me about 2Mbps DSL service. The second person ave me a wrong number. I finally got to the segment manager who was quick to respond and emailed me the information the same day (which is a miracle in Pakistan). After going back and forth several times and escalating to Mr. Senior Manager, I learned that they were having technical difficulties. Apparently some genius decided to launch the service before the configuration was complete. Long story short, I got business DSL service from Maxcom which I will talk about in my next post. Meanwhile, if you need business DSL, get fresh pricing from PTCL. Make sure that you ask about existing customers. Good Luck,. You will need it.

I was not aware that Mobilink uses Squid which is a proxy/cache server. I guess this is how they implement bandwidth quotas. Not sure if other ISPs in Pakistan also use it. If implemented correctly, proxy can be a good thing, however, there are applications just don’t work well with proxy. The other day I experienced a weired problem where web sites would load erratically. Initially, I thought that they problem is with my computer, but after a couple of reboots, I got the following message:

Mobilink Squid Error

Ok, so Mobilink uses Squid to proxy and cache Internet requests. I guess this is controlled via settings in the Zyxel box, as no  browser configuration is required. Or, perhaps, it is a transparent proxy. I really believe that the use of cache server should be optional. If configured properly, a cache server can reduce the download time significantly. It can also mess things up, as evident in the above image.

Nando

The service was quick. Appetizers came within ten minutes of ordering. Food followed a few minutes later. The staff was polite and tended to everything. However, they were bit unprofessional in that they were laughing and cracking jokes at each other. The decor was nice. Lighting was OK (a bit too bright for me). Seating was comfortable.

I paid around Rs. 1200 plus tip for two appetizers, one main meal selection, dessert and two drinks. It is comparatively expansive, but not bad for a nice family dinner.

Talking to a friend, I found out about Peri Peri and Nando’s. Peri peri is another name for African bird’s eye chili. New in Pakistan, Nando’s is a 30 years old Portuguese restaurant chain with restaurants all over the world.

I have been using Mobilink Infinity wireless broadband service for almost three months now. I signed up or their pre-launch offer with upfront cost of Rs. 6000 for CPE and Rs. 2000 for security deposit. Installation charges were waived as part of the promotion.  The monthly charges were supposed to be Rs. 1,199 for 1Mbps bandwidth of unlimited data usage and free voice calls (to Mobilink customers only). Today, I was told by customer service representative that unlimited download package will end on November 30^th, after which I will have to choose one of their capped packages. I chose Mobilink over Wateen because of their unlimited package. The new packages are useless for me. Mobilink is not offering opt-out option. If I cancel, I will have to pay 50% of the upfront price as the CPE cost. This is simply outrageous. I have a call open with customer service department. I am contacting PTA if this issue is not resolved to my satisfaction.

To be fair, I have to say that up until today, I was happy with the service. I get good bandwidth most of the time.  While it ranges from 30Kbps to 110Kbps, most of the time I get 70Kbps – 100Kbps (just a reminder – there is a difference between KBps and kbps). Following are screen shots of some of the bandwidth tests:

Mobilink Infinity Bandwidth Test - Ubuntu Download

Mobilink Infinity Bandwidth Test - CNET

Mobilink Infinity Bandwidth Test - Speakeasy

While the bandwidth is good, the connection drops several times a day, sometimes requiring a reboot of the CPE. According to Mobilink’s tech support, the connection drops due to electricity outages at the tower (one of the techs told me “is me sara qusoor WAPDA ka hai). I am sure that their towers are backed up by generators and UPSs. My guess is that there is a delay between power loss and generators kicking in, during which receivers lose connectivity to the tower. In any case, I have to reboot my device at least twice a day.

There are two CPE devices: indoor and outdoor.

ZyXEL Indoor CPE - Top

ZyXEL Indoor CPE - Ports

The two CPE devices are connected via a special 10 wire RJ-45 like connection. This connection provides power to the outdoor unit (so no power is required outside). The cable itself is as thick as a coax cable, but the connector is about three quarters of an inch. I had to drill a hole to connect the two CPE devices. The outdoor CPE (receiver) is typically mounted on the roof in the direction of the tower. Installation may be an issue for those who don’t have access to the roof or live in shared apartments. One of the problems that I see with Mobilink service is that they collect upfront fees first and then send the installation team. If for whatever reason, the installation is not possible or the coverage is poor, they issue a refund. Not a customer friendly practice. They should survey and test for wireless coverage before committing to the service.

I could not find specifications of the CPE which in my case is ZyXEL MAX3×0HW2. The indoor CPE has four LAN ports, two voice ports and built-in wireless. Unfortunately, Mobilink does not share the device password with the customers (I fail to understand the logic). Technical support can “see” the outdoor CPE but don’t have a view of indoor CPE. One of my frustrations is that the technical support sees my CPE connected even when I don’t have Internet connection. I used to call them regularly, but now I just reboot CPE (sometimes 2 or 3 reboots).

I have been using Worldcall’s EVDO Broadband Internet service for over a month now. I have mixed views about it. First, some details about the service. I signed up for their 512k package which cost Rs.1800 per month with a one time fee of Rs. 4500 for the modem. The sales person showed up the same day I called. I had to give him a copy of my NIC, a copy of a recent utility bill and a check in the amount of Rs. 4500. In return he handed me Anydata’s ADU-510A EVDO modem. The service was activated in about four hours (which was impressive).

About 9 centimeters in length, the modem sticks out a bit when connected to the laptop. It appears that Anydata has discontinued ADU-510A (specs). At least it is not listed as an available product.

Software installation was a breeze. It requires a reboot though.

Now the most important question: bandwidth! The technology (EVDO Rev A) supports data rates of 3.1Mbps downstream and 1.8 Mbps upstream. With 512 Kbps service, I have seen bandwidth ranging from 60Kbps to 270 Kbps. Typically I get 100 Kbps. I have tested  download speeds from two different locations and at different times. So far, I have not been able to figure out the reason for lower bandwidths at times as there is no pattern. Most of the times, service works good. Below are some screen shots of the bandwidth tests that I ran:

Keep in mind that Worldcall’s EVDO is relatively news service. Therefore it does not have many users. What will happen when the number of subscribers will double or triple? Most likely the available bandwidth will decrease. I have not called support and therefore don’t know anything about Worldcalls after sales support.

I think that EVDO is a great solution for those who need mobility. Otherwise, cheaper alternatives are available (at least in Karachi). Worldcall offers a 45 day trail period during which you can cancel the service by returning the equipment. There is a Rs. 1000 cancellation fee. If you ared looking for an alternate to DSL or WiMAX, trying EVDO for Rs. 1000 may not be a bad idea.

Correction: Worldcall charges for usage during evaluation period. So if you return the equipment within 45 days, you will be charged Rs. 1000 plus usage. The device can only be returned at Worldcall’s office located at Fayyaz Center on Shahrah-e-Faisal. They will issue the refund via check after 10 days which you will have to pick up from Fayyaz center.

Today, I went to Largess, located in North Nazimabad, for lunch after about five years. The place have not changed much. My last experience her was good. This time I was a bit disappointed. First, the waiter brought one menu for three of us, second, there were no napkins, third, several of mutton items were not available, fourth, BBQ was not available, fifth, they were out of Pistachio ice cream, sixth, the waiter brought tooty-fruity ice cream instead of strawberry falooda and seventh, the staff was less than friendly.

Now a few positives – the prices are fair, with most entries between Rs. 150 – Rs. 300. We paid Rs. 320 for a cheese steak, Rs, 220 for brain masala and Rs. 10 for a naan. Desserts are between Rs. 80 and Rs. 110. Brain masala was good, while naan and steak were OK. The place is clean and quiet for the most part. The ambiance is dim.

It is an ok restaurant to go once in a while for folks local to the area. I would not invite friends from defence to this place.

The steak I had at Copper Kettle this Monday was the best I have had in Karachi. I ordered my Americano Steak raw and got it raw. In most restaurants here, raw, medium and well-done means well done. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a generous portion of raw, juicy and tender steak. Garlic bread was good. Fries were compliments of the house and were nice and crispy.

The restaurant is bit pricey with most main entries ranging between Rs. 450 and Rs. 550. Appetizers and dessert items are between Rs 120 and Rs. 200. It is good value for the money though with great food, quick service and nice ambiance.

The only negative – smoking is allowed. This would have been a huge problem because i am allergic to smoke. However, only one person smoked and that too, when I was about to leave. All in all, it was a good experience and I would recommend this restaurant.

There are a several programs and scripts to get the members of local administrators group on a Windowx XP or Win2K Pro computers. Recently I wrote a batch file based on the command

psexec -n 5 \\<computer_name> net localgroup administrators

‘psexec’ is a  command line utility that allows you to run processes on remote computers. The utility is part of command line toolkit provided by Microsoft and can be downloaded from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx.

A variation to the above command is

psexec @filename.txt net localgroup administrators

This commands takes a file with a list of computer names as an input. Hopefully in another post I will write the reason why I chose to write a batch file with computer name instead of using a file with computer names.

Today I ate lunch at Arizona Grill located on Shaheet-e-Millat road in Karachi. Overall, it was a good experience. I would rate the restaurant above average. It was clean with nice decor. The staff was professional (I like warm and friendly – but professional is ok). The food was ok. I ordered mozzarella sticks, Mexican Steak and Mocha cake. M-sticks were horrible. They were thick and sweet. The sauce was sweeter. Mexican steak was really good. Mocha cake was average. I thought that the prices were a bit higher than other places. Most of the steaks were between Rs. 375-450. Appetizers and desserts were between Rs.150-200. Drinks were between Rs.50-125. A bit pricy, but a good place for meat lovers (like me )