Jan 17 2008
there's alot of pipe laying happening in melkbosstrand at the moment. i didn't take too much notice and assumed the government was upgrading some or other line, but then i spotted a neotel branded truck. it looks like melkbos will be one of the places that neotel will launch it's public offerings to (when they do launch). at the rate these guys are going, i doubt the wait will not be much longer!
Posted by sarah | add a comment | information, tech
oct 17 2007
part of the new design and launch was supposed to be the rss feed for the blog.
which i subsequently forgot to add, i had it all coded and ready but never added the link at the bottom, left hand side of the page. so now i have and it's there.
use it, don't use it...
aug 22 2007
it looks like south africa will finally join most of the world in having access to cheaper, faster broadband... but only in early 2009 and courtesy of the second national operator, aka neotel.
the heading of the article is "Cheaper broadband service in SA soon", i guess 1 and a half years isn't really that long.
yay for neotel! hopefully they can deliver when they say they will!
Posted by sarah | add a comment | information, tech
jun 11 2007
wow, this is pretty cool. it's a coffee table with a touchscreen, running on a windows vista os.
it's actually a little more than that. it's revoluntionary and due to be launched as soon as november 2007.
according to the possibilities promo video, you'll be able to split the bills by simply dragging your items across to your credit card. it also recognises physical objects, but i bet they have to have microsoft os's...
another video, a demo on how they envision this working the real world
Posted by sarah | add a comment | goodies, tech
jun 03 2007
it looks like the americans have caught one of the world's most wanted terrorists (imo anyway).
US prosecutors said they captured on Wednesday a nefarious Internet marketer responsible for so much junk email they called him "Spam King".this guy spammed 10's of millions of email addresses and they want to seize a mere $773,000? i know that spammers only make very small percentage on their efforts. but take 10's of millions and take a 0.1 percentage of that on an item that sells for $10... that's a lot more than $700,000!
Posted by sarah | add a comment | crime, tech, web
Jan 19 2007
i have finally ported my number and yes, i moved over to mtn. out of all the places i went to, they were the friendliest, most helpful and least fussed that am a freelancer and don't have payslips for the past 3 months. cell c wanted me to supply a ck1 form (or something similiar, ie registered business), 3 months business bank account statements aswell as the normal required documents in order to port to them. i was with vodacom, indirectly, but i wanted to port from my 3rd party provider (altech autopage) directly to them. i didn't get to ask them what they wanted from me in order to port, they were unfriendly and didn't have any deals that rang my bell.
i started the process last week, it took approximately 5 business days for the change to happen. slow, but there was a delay because i supplied my cheque bank account details and wanted to get debited on my credit card, so they actually needed my credit card statements from the last 3 months. i got approved on tuesday morning and got my new sim and phone that afternoon, my port from vodacom to mtn only went through this morning - it wasn't ported by the time i went to bed last night but when i woke up i was officially an mtn subscriber!
i got the imate kjam and after 2 days i know the basics. it comes with a 190 page manual that i haven't even started reading... so this w/end will be spent figuring out all the features. i must say i am impressed so far and the camera is really cool - although it has nothing on the nokia n73, which was initially my first choice - but i didn't buy it for the camera!
now i need some mtn subscriber readers to drop me a line and tell me more about what i can do as a subscriber to mtn. i already know how to check my balance... and that's about it!
nov 02 2006
last week i had alot of spammers attacking my comments. as most bloggers know, it sucks, big time!
when i created the back-end for the comments it was pretty standard. ie. i had basic validation on the comments - supply a name, a valid url and a comment.
the average scum-of-the-earth spammer jumped at the opportunity to nuke my comments. initially it was pretty easy to block them because they were all using one keyword that set them apart from the genuine commentor. but then (and i hate to say it) they got 'clever' and diversified their spamming. so i worked out another method to block them. this was a very impractical way of dealing with it because i had to physically update the comments web page and upload it everytime i changed it.
so, last week - after some serious spamming was hitting the comments - i decided to make a better spam blocking system. i don't use a blogging tool like wordpress or blogger, the backend is completely developed by myself, so i had to develop something to block the spammers.
so now i have a system that is practical and convenient, which i can't go into because i think the average spammer can read... but i think a week later with nothing coming through is pretty good!
what i'd really like to know though, what purpose does spamming comments fufill? is there tons of money it? do people actually see a spammed comment and click through? is it a page ranking thing on google?
oct 15 2006
since early september i have been waiting to change my cellphone provider. i was going to wait just a few days because it was supposed to happen on the 18th september - cool, the day my contract expired! but the 18th passed and nothing happened! quite quietly the powers that be decided that it wouldn't happen on that day. i went to a few cellphone shops and no-one could give me a date.
i was assured that i wouldn't have to sign on for a new contract in the meantime. meaning that i would still be connected on my number at a normal contract rate until i signed up on another contract, either with the same provider (belch) or by using mnp and using a different provider...
so i have been waiting and it seems like i won't have to wait too much longer, because the 10th of november has been earmarked for this to actually start taking place, hopefully.
so what's the big deal with number portability? well, basically, i don't have much choice in what i have to pay on a monthly basis regarding the type of contract i want to sign up for at my current provider. i also don't have much choice on the phone that i get with said contract. plus, there's an awful lot of providers offering all sorts of 'freebies' (laptops, hi-fi systems etc) with their contracts that my current provider doesn't offer!
so, it seems like my provider doesn't have alot to offer me does it? that's what i thought and that's why i'm waiting for the mnp to kick in.
what i did discover throughout all of this was that if i am on a vodacom contract but with a preferred vodacom provider (like altech autopage), i couldn't move directly to vodacom. so it's not even about moving from mtn to cell c at all, it's simply about being able to move freely between any provider that is out there!
here's a pretty good faq on mobile number portability.
aug 08 2006
i don't know why i don't visit iafrica's portal more often. anyway, their front page seems to always offer some pretty nice reads. like this article on how good tv shows are compared to hollywood blockbusters.
then i spotted this article on how windows vista (which isn't even commercially released and has been called the most secure version of windows os to date) has already been hacked. so? as far as i understand it, everything is hackable, just takes a little longer and more effort sometimes.
it's not like mac's are totally secure, they get viruses and hacked too. it's just because windows is the 'big evil corporate'... arggh, it just seems so childish sometimes.
Posted by sarah | add a comment | tech, web
oct 26 2005
this is a seriously wicked shockwave media app, make sure your speakers aren't on too loud when you go to get changed!
oct 18 2005
ripe design won two awards at the loeries this past weekend.
i'm well stoked to be apart of such a creative team!
having said that sasi swimwear 2005 launched yesterday. look out for some easter eggs in the form of the motorola logos (batwings), hidden throughout the site (there's 4). for every easter egg you collect you get a 'hidden' movie, upon collecting all 4 easter eggs you get a 5th highlights package movie, enjoy!
okay, here's a little more info...
batwing one: movie of kim smith
batwing two: movie of tanit phoenix
batwing three: two movies of roxy ingram
batwing four: three movies of tanit phoenix
and that's all i'm saying, search the site and find those movies!
oct 12 2005
It is significant that yesterday, the Minister of Communications, Minister Ivy Matsepe-Cassaburi announced that the Second National Operator (SNO) will be granted a licence on 17 September 2004.[source] (search for "sno", date: 27 august - 2 september 2004)
It is unfortunate that it has taken this long to announce the SNO, and we are hopeful that the September 17 deadline will not be shifted.[source] (once again, search for "sno", date 27 august 2004)
President Thabo Mbeki labeled the rates charge on fixed lines telephony in South Africa as "unacceptable" in his State of the Nation address in February [2005].nice observation president, what's being done to fix that?
may 11 2005
lately the terrible casino ads on iol have been driving me nuts, as much as i tried to zone out the constantly, annoying flashing text in those ads i couldn't. so i would resort to quickly scanning the top section of the article and then quickly scroll past the ad to continue reading the rest of the article. if it was a long article, i would be able to scroll the ad out of eyesight in the browser window.
but now i have aardvark and i don't see those annoying ads anymore, just a white space where they used to be. yay!
this is how my iol now looks:
feb 23 2005
yesterday and today i worked on getting the last big section here on phunkd dynamic. that section would be the portpholio section.
today it is dynamic. meaning i don't have to copy and paste from the previous update of a page or add additional lines of code to the old static portpholio holding page. checking all the links between the pages and adding the new page link to the other pages, then uploading only to see i've made a mistake with some link or text. no ways... i have a whole admin system for that now. it's faster and simpler. i really should've done this a long time ago.
i'm not sure about the layout of the page for viewing a specific portpholio but i'll have to sleep on that for a bit.
aswell as the portpholio section being dynamic it is searchable now too!
Posted by sarah | add a comment | tech, web
feb 18 2005
i have added a search facility to the website. unfortunately not all the content is dynamic yet. it searches blog posts, comments and the descriptions of the bloggers. results are shown for the different sections that are searched. i will be having a look at making it better, but at the moment i am quite chuffed.
try it out and let me know what you think?
Posted by sarah | add a comment | tech, web
feb 11 2005
i finally got my java applet working with all the functionality i envisioned... but it's not web friendly at all. what's the point then heh? well, i just don't know...
i'm presenting the assignment tomorrow morning at 11am and i doubt it's got to work in a web page, i flippin hope not. i'll have to check the assignment document when i get home. then i'll start pooping, or not. i've searched and scoured the web for a solution to this but there doesn't seem to be. i compiled the app in WebStart and that didn't help. i created a policy file and that didn't help. i have figured out that it's probably because of the layout...
so do i undo tons and tons of code and basically start from the beginning to get it right? well, yes if i only knew how... i guess, now is a good time to start.
but before i go i need to mention the wind. the-super-gale-force-wind-that-almost-blew-me-off-the-balcony-when-i-opened-the-door... go away, i've had enough
Posted by sarah | add a comment | ranting, tech, web
feb 03 2005
i've been a busy little bee in the background the past few weeks. i've been reluctant (for obvious reasons known only to me) to mention it, but i've made some good progress and i'm darn happy and wanna just tell somebody (after all these days of slogging).
during my 2 weeks leave i spent 1 week learning the theory of java. the next week i was back at work and keen to start trying out some stuff, but i never had the time, it was chaotic and busy. then i had another week off and i tried to focus on learning the language and the concepts but it was hard to focus when the sun was shining outside ;)
so far this week i have had some time to explore and i'm overjoyed. i've got an assignment from the course that has to be handed in next week and it's all falling into place. when it's done i'll put it on the site so you can see what i did.
i've also been thinking about adding search functionality to this website. but i'll only start scoping that out after i've finished my java project.
in the meantime here's an addictive little applet that gave me plenty of insight into buttons and arrays: pairs (not my work by the way. also, i tested in mozilla and it doesn't work, so check it out in internet explorer folks!). you'll need the java plug-in to view it and java enabled on your browser...
and today is thirsty thursday, yay!
Posted by sarah | add a comment | personal, tech
Jan 06 2005
so there i was, cruising along beach road in table view on my way to work. minding my own business, checking out stuff... everything but the road in front of me and not a second too early (or is it late?) either. the kind driver in front of me had stopped at a pedestrian crossing and i was about to say howzit to the rear end of her car.
screeeeech, a little sideways on the road (and off the road) plus alot of smoke from the burning rubber of my tyres.
the pedestrian gave me the evil eye and the kind driver sped away. i turned back onto the road, hoping that i'd pay more attention since i was wide awake now!
other road news: it happened awhile ago but it's been bugging me. who is the feather-plucker that decided that the 'slow' lane from table view to milnerton needed all that patch work? i think they've actually made the road worse and since i don't like to get speeding fines, i find i drive in the slow lane quite abit. it's just completely doff and bumpy, what a waste of our taxes!
thanks to coda for pointing out the dubious going-on's at musica digital. i'll wait for the mozilla friendly version...
Posted by sarah | add a comment | music, personal, tech, web
sep 15 2004
my colleagues and i received some shifty unsolicted bulk email last week. the dodgy people went to our website and grabbed our details from there and then sent an email to each of us requesting some more information.
it pissed me off so much i did some research.
i found that the email wasn't even sent from the companies that are mentioned in the email, Interactive Direct and Decision Makers (dot coza). it was infact sent from another company called analogue dot coza. salama at analogue dot coza to be exact. i have no doubt that this person doesn't even exist!
what i did find interesting was that my favourite web hosting company (webonline) hosts analogue dot coza. so i sent a mail to them (accounts) and the ispa.
updated 13 oct 2004
on friday stewart from webonline got back to me and told me that they have received other complaints and are following it up, can i please send him the original email? sure. wow, i didn't really expect to hear much from anybody.
i feel like this is unresolved... i have a list of names of the people that own all the domains i mentioned, plus their contact details (address, phone and email). i don't know what to do with all this info though? anybody have any ideas?
sep 03 2004
i've spent the past 2 days editing, changing and securing phunkd in order to have some friends and family become regular bloggers here, hopefully they are interested.
so far so good. i just need to get them to register, get some dodgy pics of them (and myself) and then we're ready to rock 'n roll.
i will be trying my damndest to get baby pics of all the registered bloggers, including myself. you'll notice that the author of a blog post (currently only mine is there) is clickable now, this will take you to a page with a run down on that blogger, with links to all the other bloggers.
tonight we'll be having some fun as we are hosting a farewell party for lauren (hopefully a future blogger here) at our place. chicken / beef stir-fry, a film preview and lots of loud music. it should be pretty good!
Posted by sarah | add a comment | personal, social networks, tech, web
jun 14 2004
i tried to work this w/end... on this website ofcourse to have it all up before monday morning. ha!
my laptop had other ideas, or should i say windows xp. i struggled and got nowhere trying install apache and php to run on it. i am still stumped... so my mission is to get that working before i continue with more development for this website, although i am not too sure what else i'd like to add to this web thing i currently have... oh i remember, comments to my blogging? hmm
Posted by sarah | add a comment | personal, tech