Archive for April, 2005

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KTM to implement Touch ‘n Go in July

Sunday, April 24th, 2005

After a recent flurry of news in The Star, it seems KTM will implement Touch ‘n Go (TnG) on their Komuter trains in July 2005. Hence making three commuter trains systems (Putra, Star and KTM Komuter) in Klang valley allowing TnG usage at their gates, leaving only ERL and Monorail not allowing so.

On 22 April 2005 Leong Shen-li wrote, “The Government spent RM10mil to set up electronic fare-card readers at KTM Komuter, monorail and Express Rail Link stations to allow commuters to use Touch ‘n Go fare-cards on all systems … But one-and-a-half years later, the fare-card readers remain idle because the rail operators and Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd, which runs the Touch ‘n Go system, are still wrangling over the commission rate … Sources said Rangkaian Segar wants 2.5%, while the rail operators were prepared to pay less than 2%.”

On 23 April 2005 Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy weighed in, “Excuses given by rail operators and the Touch ‘n Go card operator for not launching the fare-card system will not be accepted.” And Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd CEO, Swinder Grewal said it “would be sensitive” to the issue of commission rates in further discussions with the rail operators.

On 24 April 2005 KTM Berhad said in a statement “it will implement the Touch ‘n Go system for its Komuter train service in July following the Government’s call for a common ticketing system for public transportation in the Klang Valley.” with no mention about any agreement on the commission rate.
(more…)

Posted in Transportation | 2 Comments »

Open source Computers and Software inventory

Thursday, April 21st, 2005

I have a need for a software to help the guys/gals to inventorize all our PCs (now getting to 500+) including their specs and serial number. A quick google search found me an open source candidate, OCS Inventory 3.00 Final released on 29 March 2005. Its main site gives the following introduction …

Open Computers and Softwares Inventory is an application designed to help a network administrator keep track of the computers configuration and the number of copies of software that are installed on the network … The application comes with Microsoft Access database which stores the applications to search for and the results that the inventory agents return … The inventory agent is a small (about 300 K) executable that can be run from the login script for each user … Informations about Hardware and Operating System are collected …
(more…)

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Linux SCM Saga

Sunday, April 17th, 2005

Scott’s nice write-up on 11 April 2005 about Linux SCM provides a nice perspective on tridge’s possible viewpoint …

… I suspect that someone who didn’t know the people involved would assume that the whole mess was Tridge’s fault—he’s the one that was working on cloning BitKeeper, even though any sane person would know that it would really piss Larry off … I’m aware of two other cases where he’s dug in and reverse-engineered similar sets of protocols and file formats. The first time, the result was Samba, which was (and still is) really one of Linux’s first killer apps. The second time, he decoded TiVo’s on-disk media format … Getting off of BitKeeper is probably best for Linux in the long run. It’s a pity we couldn’t have waited for another year or so for open-source SCM software to mature more, though …

… that I have some sympathy with.

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Random

Sunday, April 17th, 2005

Some random thoughts about random today. ;-)

  • True Random Number Service – generates random number from atmospheric noise picked up by a radio receiver tuned to an unused frequency.
  • The LavaRnd Random Number Generator – generates random number from chaotic sources such as a webcam CCD chip in a dark can.
  • Random Website – provides a link to a new random website with disclaimer “don’t leave the house with your fly open. make sure you’ve got up-to-date virus protection“.
  • Jokes2Go Random Joke – a joke at each refresh.

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Blogging No-no and Yes-yes

Sunday, April 17th, 2005

I’ll agree with 5xMoM’s 10 blogging no-no …

1) No to black background because it is overused …
2) No to lengthy post …
3) No to digress too much …
4) No to leaving the blog not updated for several days or even weeks …
5) No to attention seeking title every day …
6) No to sticking to only one topic …
7) No to under-estimating your blog …
8) No to extreme characteristics …
9) No to boring titles …
10) No to the statement – I am blogging for myself …

… even though my blog is more of a weekend update type rather than in daily update category. Now to the yes-yes part. Shel Israel’s and Robet Scoble’s The Red Couch has a series of blogs on “Corporate Blog Tip” that are certainly worthy reading even for non-corporate bloggers ;-) …

  1. Corporate Blog Tip #1 (improving the title tag) – 23 Feb 2005, about the blog title itself. «… what’s the likelihood that you’ll click on somebody with the name “joe’s average blog?” … how likely you’ll be to click on something that says “Joe Wikert’s book authoring and publishing blog.” … »
  2. Corporate Blog Tip #2 (read a bunch of blogs before you start) – 2 Mar 2005. “… we recommend you get an RSS News Aggregator … If you read 50 blogs for two weeks and you don’t have something to write on your blog to start it off you probably aren’t gonna be a good blogger …“
  3. Corporate Blog Tip #3 (write in a granular style) – 20 Mar 2005. “… You want people to talk about you, right? And pass around your information, right? So, make it easy for them. Make one post contain one idea, or set of links …“
  4. Corporate Blog Tip #4 and #5 (demonstrate your passion and authority) – 26 Mar 2005. “… A good corporate blog is both passionate and authoritative … How do you show your passion? Post often … Which brings us to tip #5: demonstrate your authority …“
  5. Corporate Blog Tip #6 (add comments) – 26 Mar 2005. “… A good blog is a conversation, not a one-way PR channel … If you don’t have comments your corporate blog will be seen as a PR channel …“
  6. Corporate Blog Tip #7 (make yourself accessible) – 14 Apr 2005. “… make it easy to get ahold of you … On my blog I put my cell phone number so people can get ahold of me … you never know who wants to get ahold of you … But you’ll never know if you don’t have at least an email address on your blog …“
  7. Corporate blogging rules – 27 Mar 2005, about Thomas NelsonPublishers’ first and second draft of their “Corporate Blogging Rules”.
  8. Stonyfield Farms Interview – 13 Apr 2005, about interview with Christine Halvorson, Stonyfield’s chief blogger, and their corporate blog strategy.

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Bloglines is Down Today!

Saturday, April 16th, 2005

Since I discovered Bloglines on 19 Mar 2005, my public bloglines subscription has grown to 50+ feeds. It was certainly to my horror I found I couldn’t login into my Bloglines account today and my public bloglines sub giving error “You have entered an incorrect user name“.

Slightly less disconcerting is the error message “There is a problem with the database. Please try again later” when I tried to create/register a new account. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the database to be restored and hope my 50+ feeds are still intact. ;-)

Another week has gone by, another weekend to blog by.

Update: 17 April 2005, 0835h.
Just got an email reply from Blogslines at 0520h MYT saying, “We believe the problem has been fixed regret any inconvenience“. Tested, great my bloglines is fixed. ;-)

Posted in Blogging | 9 Comments »

How to Blog Safely Unanonymously?

Sunday, April 10th, 2005

Is what I thought of when reading the EFF article (that Jon Choo post led me to) on How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else) published on 6 April 2005 …

Blogs are like personal telephone calls crossed with newspapers. They’re the perfect tool for sharing your favorite chocolate mousse recipe with friends–or for upholding the basic tenets of democracy by letting the public know that a corrupt government official has been paying off your boss … Here we offer a few simple precautions to help you maintain control of your personal privacy so that you can express yourself without facing unjust retaliation … The best way to blog and still preserve some privacy is to do it anonymously. But being anonymous isn’t as easy as you might think … One way to make sure your blog doesn’t earn you a pink slip is to make sure that you write about certain protected topics. Most states have laws designed to prevent employers from firing people who talk openly about their politics outside of work, for example … As long as you blog anonymously and in a work-safe way, what you say online is far less likely to come back to hurt you.

What I really want to know is “How to Blog Safely Unanonymously“. I’m certainly not anonymous to those who really wants to know more about me such as; my name, employer or work place. So far, I’ve been holding on to the tenet, “Only write what you don’t mind everybody knowing” that I hope have limited me to writing only safe stuff. ;-)

  • Dumbster plus how to blog safely – by Jon Choo, 8 April 2005. “I disagree with them that one should be anonymous when posting a blog but to each his own.“
  • Your Guide to Blogging Safely – by David Deschenes, 8 March 2005. Refers to CNet article.
  • CNet New.com – FAQ: Blogging on the job – by Declan McCullagh, 8 March 2005. Good round up on issues around blogging at work or impacting work. “Delta Air Lines last year fired flight attendant Ellen Simonetti because of her blog. Friendster, Google and Microsoft also have waved goodbye to employees or contractors who, in the opinion of a corporate manager, were unacceptably indiscreet in their online scribblings.“

Posted in Blogging | 8 Comments »

Office Romance and Employee Dating Policy

Sunday, April 10th, 2005

Did you know that dating a subordinate or the boss is the biggest office romance no-no? Gerri Willis gave 5 tips for dealing with office romance last Valentine’s day, 14 February 2005 …

  1. Know the rules of romance … Check out your company’s employee handbook and take a good look around you. If no one dates or has dated, you could be in a strict environment …
  2. Consider the unintended consequences … Many employers don’t encourage office romance because if there is a disagreement or the romance fizzles, it can make for a very uncomfortable work environment for you and others …
  3. Steer clear of the absolute no’s … Don’t date a subordinate and certainly avoid the boss … For one thing, you could become the target of a sexual harassment suit …
  4. Keep it on the down-low … If you do find the love of your life a cubicle away, try to be discreet …
  5. Discuss the issues that might arise … If you’re the boss of two lovebirds, Challenger, Gray & Christmas suggests meeting with each separately, to discuss any possible ramifications …

Links:

  • Love on the company clock – 58% of employees have dated coworkers, 23% admit to trysts in the office, elevator, restroom, oh my. – by Sarah Max, 9 February 2005. «“At the Christmas party the second year into our relationship the CEO walked up to us and said, ‘It’s OK, you guys have done a good job and you don’t have to hide anymore,’” said Simmonds. “Then he sent out a company-wide memo saying dating in the office was not recommended.”»
  • Office Romance – Romance in the office can lead to marriage or to a lawsuit. – by F. John Reh. “Many companies tried to ban dating among their employees. Most have since abandoned that plan, because of legal restrictions and a recognition of the inevitable. Instead most now try to restrict such activities that are harmful to the business … For instance, it is never a good idea for a manager to be romantically involved with a subordinate in their own organization … A well-written, widely publicized, strictly enforced fraternization policy won’t prevent office romances from developing. It will, however, make life a lot easier, and less litigious, for you when you have to deal with it.“
  • Rhodes College: Fraternization Policy – “Virtually all faculty members, administrators, and staff members are, or can appear to be, in a position to exercise power or authority, directly or indirectly, over students, whether or not an individual student is enrolled in their classes … Because of the commitment to maintaining an environment that supports our educational goals Rhodes College prohibits romantic, sexual, and exploitative relationships between college employees and students. In the event that any such relationship is reported and confirmed the college employee is subject to employee disciplinary procedures up to and including termination in the case of administrators and staff members, or dismissal for cause in the case of faculty members.“
  • Employee Workplace Dating – by Gary Wikesland. “Before you ask the co-worker in the next cubicle out for a date, first check to see if your company has an employee dating policy … Develop an office relationship before you develop a romantic relationship. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the co-worker whom you are planning to date … These guidelines should help keep you from being accused of sexual harassment and make your employer feel more comfortable about employee dating.“
  • Regulating Work Place Romance – by Randy Sutton. «Sexual harassment laws prohibit “unwelcome” sexual advances. Therefore, the participants in a truly “consensual” relationship cannot prove sexual harassment. The difficulty for the employer is proving that the relationship was consensual … An employer who wishes to do something about consensual relationships between employees has a couple of options. The first is to implement a “no dating” policy … As an alternative, some employers require that employees enter a “consensual relationship agreement.”»

Posted in Society | 1 Comment »

Think Twice

Sunday, April 10th, 2005

Says Hobbes to Calvin 10 years ago today (9 April 1995) …

Calvin: Sometimes when I’m talking, my words can’t keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we can speak.
Hobbes: Probably so we can think twice.

… and I read it in the re-run of this syndicated comic in The Star, 9 April 2005. That is certainly as relevant and true today as it was 10 years ago. ;-)

Posted in Society | 5 Comments »

Another Weekend, Woo!

Saturday, April 9th, 2005

A weekend blogger is certainly what I’m becoming. Especially with my new assignment and my workplace change to an 8-to-5 five-day week. Woo, looks like I’m with good companies …

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