The Voice of Insanity

We want you!!!

2005-07-27T14:26:00.000+10:00

Freelancers wanted!

Are you a king / queens of web designs. Can you make websites so hot that they have a fan site of their own ?

Are you a superb .Net coder ? WinForms/WebForms applications. Are your coding talents begging to be discovered ?

Well we want you. If you are looking for some freelance work ? We have heaps. If you are good, we can continually supply you with the opportunity to express your interest.

Send your resumes to : azizi@anaxiz.com

Cheers.

Give me a fish…

2005-07-15T15:38:00.000+10:00

Give me a fish, I'll eat for a day,
Teach me how to fish, I'll eat for a lifetime.

That’s how I have always lived. That’s what my dad thought me. Nothing in life is free and things you get for free always comes with a price. Learning to do things yourself ensures that you have the knowledge to do it over and over again and teach it to other people.

Give me a fish!!! ( Say that with demand! ). That’s how some people live. You have too many fish. You must give me some. No I don’t want to learn, I expect all the fish to be shared equally among those who don’t have fish!

I definitely have problems with that. You don’t want to work for the fish, but you expect those who did to 'give it away' so that you don’t have to work. This reminds me of this begger we have right on George Street over here in Sydney. He is there day in and day out, rain or shine with his little box which he collects alms. Just another guy who expects fish to eat for a day.

Yet, there are so many people out there who are exactly like that guy on the street. These people passionately "hate" those people who have made it or in their eyes "rich", so they don’t like money. But yet, they expect this same people who they hate to help out to those who don’t have any.

I don’t mind helping, but I rather teach so that, whilst today you might not have any fish, tomorrow you can fish for yourself. But these guys don’t like that, they don’t want to learn to fish, they only want free fish.

But fish should be free !!! Its not the number of fish, but the choice of the fish and all sorts of bull. Lets face it, at the end of the day its not about anything but the fish. Why do you think people hate Microsoft so much, is it because its big and bad or because it has a lot of fish, in some peoples opinion, should be shared ? Afterall there are many other companies like IBM, Oracle and HP who are equally large and big.

Some people also think that learning how to fish is not important. So they run away into institutions which has theories on how to fish and these very people end up teaching young people who want to learn how to fish although those people themselves havent fished a day in their lives! How is that ? No wonder young people these days are more confused than ever!

Moral of the story : Learn how to fish, you'll eat for a lifetime, don’t be that guy on the street expecting handouts.

Small dog syndrome

2005-07-14T15:29:00.000+10:00

Recently I was directed to Marauderz side where I had become the topic of discussion. A few of these people who, to put it politely, don’t even have the nuts to put their real name made some very personal remarks on me, my divorce and my baby which died. I cannot even fathom how shallow some of these people would have to be to resort to such a level all because of OSS and Microsoft posts on MIND.

I was also told that these people were very upset over my "Mindless" post. So should they be. After all I recently pointed out that it only took two good people to leave MIND to bring it down. There is hardly and posts, hardly any responses. No one bothers with any of the anti-MS posts anymore ( because no one left to fight the good fight ). All those people who talked so much about their favourite "false gods" and cross dissected posts, don’t have anything to contribute. As I have maintained all along, they were full of hot air and not substance.

People of substance don’t watch and wait to criticise other people's efforts. They put in their own efforts to do what they believe in. In FireDancer's case its Paladin. Mine is Anaxiz. We don’t owe anyone any explanation or need to ask anyone's approval to do what we believe in.

So what's this got to do with the title ? Well my friend Em has these dogs. The youngest and the smallest dog is always the ones that seems to try to jump the highest or bark the loudest without disregard to the other big dogs who CAN actually jump higher or bark louder. Remember those dogs in the neighbourhood, it’s the quiet dogs you need to watch out for, not the little ones which you probably can step on anyway! So if you're a little dog… well you probably have the small dog syndrome. Try to learn from the big dogs or get out of their way. Constant yapping will only get you stepped on!

There are people we come across who don’t have better things to do in their lives, or perhaps because they don’t know how. Some of these people might fear getting a job so they might actually think they are contributing at the academia. But how can you teach, if you don’t learn or experience ? By running away from working in the industry, you have effectively proved you are not capable of accepting life's teaching. And then you are going to teach that to the young minds ?

There are also others who I would call "poor little rich boys". They have what others don’t have - money. But they lack what other have - ability to achieve things. They envy other peoples hard work and put them down all because they have never achieved not they have the nuts to achieve.

There are also people who simply hate others who dare to life differently as compared to their mediocre lives. They too envy those who dare to be different and go all out to show how "bad" these people are, as we have seen ( read ), will not resort to go as low as necessary to prove their point.

But all these group have shown is how pathetic they really are. I found their posts wanting and lacking imagination because all these things would actually require effort and experience. To put down someone citing divorce and dead baby doesn’t require much intelligence or moral values. Worse still, to do it under disguise pretty much puts these group in the same category as slime, scum, lawyers, insurance sales men…

One thing though, those posts and comments had great entertainment value. These people are unintentional master showmen. By showing how low they can go, they can make crap smell like an expensive perfume. At the least, I have to hand that to them.

Sadly with all these small dogs running around, MIND is dead. These small dogs proved one very important point : That the best intention in the world can and will be killed by the smallest mind.

Hell hath no fury as a pimp scorned...

Do we really know people ?

2005-06-17T08:20:00.000+10:00

When I was young I used to have a really bad temper. In a fit of rage, I could possibly hurt people without blinking and eyelid. Of course later I would regret what I had done or said. My dad used to advice me, that before I take any decision, I should consider about it and how it would affect myself and others.

Sometimes we say things we don’t mean. Sometimes what we say in jest might be taken very negatively. Especially among new friends, this would definitely put a strain on a relationship. Sometimes we can be the bigger person and console the other party for the sake of the friendship. But there are times we cannot.

Why ? Because it depends on how each parties values the friendship. To some people, a true friend is the most valuable treasure but to others it might be an act of convenience of having someone around for them to relate to. If the pair is mismatched sooner or later one of the parties ends up on the losing side.

No one in infallible. Everyone makes mistakes. But sometimes insensitiveness to anothers pain can be very detrimental to friendship, especially when the one of the friend knows the other is in pain.

How will this affect me ? I don’t know. If my friend thinks that the friendship is worth saving, they should acknowledge that everyone goes through a sensitive period. To me, it was the fact that I had very deep memories of my baby that day. Even though I was smiling and jesting on the outside, I was in deep hurt inside. I am only human, so there are days when I too, would not accept snide remarks or sarcasm from anybody. During that period, my tolerance for crap is absolute zero.

Do I assume to know my friends then ? No I don’t. They are all their own individuals. No matter how much I might share with them, I would never assume that I have them figured out. That just ain't me. People I have known for years constantly surprise me so it would be extremely foolish to figure out someone I hardly know. Friends can take years to understand each other, no matter how much they can relate to each other because we are dealing with individuals with their own mind.

If you are a true friend, don’t judge your friend. And never assume, that they would not be having a bad day no matter how cheerful they might seem. Hit the wrong nerve and its nothing but trouble.

Voices in my head

2005-06-12T21:19:00.000+10:00

I had the opportunity to speak to a few of my chat friends lately. It made me realise how much we lose in our regular chats. When we communicate through text in those little boxes we share only parts of ourselves. I believe this can often communicate false sense of belonging with virtual friends.

Voices on the other hand reflect our personalities. It carries more than what our counterparts infer ( or do not ) from what we type. Our voice carries authority, shyness and in a sense an infinite parts of ourselves that we reveal without even we meaning to.

I guess what i am trying to say here is that sometimes when people establish relationships on the net, well we dont really know people like we should. Is that good or bad ? I dont know.

Sometimes it may be our way out of this cruel world. Sometimes it allows us to be more than that we can be.

I guess we just have to remember, there are more to things that meets the eye.

Cheers.

Bugs!

2005-06-01T08:04:00.000+10:00

Nope not system bugs. I caught the flu. Been sneezing and coughing the past week. Much better now but still a lot of chest phlegm. Missed gym for the last few days as well. Not happy Jan!

Catching up...

2005-05-23T16:58:00.000+10:00

Had lunch with Emily and Tina who were my colleagues who were then working for Accenture at one of their projects. Both ladies currently work for the CommSee project. Unfortunately we all work on different buildings / floor. I had not met them for more than a year but it was nice to finally catch up.

Soon Boyd would be joining this project and probably this floor. I am not sure if this place is ready for the both of us…

Cheers.

A new home soon…

2005-05-23T10:27:00.000+10:00

The Voice of Insanity will be moving soon to a different blogspace. I have decided that BlogSpot doesn’t fully do what I want it to do, which is host blogs, forums and pics. I am looking at Community Server as a possibility and it would be hosted in its own domain.

One reason being, I need sub-sections in my blog. At the moment its all a mixture of personal and business stuff. Heck, if I want a place for recipes etc., well at the moment it would all get muddled up. Books ? Not at the moment thank you!

I originally started with BlogSpot because Serena ( FireDancer ) was using it and now that I blog more often, I definitely need the space to grow.

As a result, soon, this blog will be closed and you will have to visit me in my new place.

Fail to plan…plan to fail

2005-05-23T10:26:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was definitely a hectic day. It was the semi official AGM of Anaxiz International Group Pty. Ltd. You see, the end of financial year is coming soon (unlike other places, for Australia its set at the 30th June of every year ). So we decided that it was time to do some planning for the next financial year especially setting quarterly plans.

Planning is very important in any business. At the least one would need a basic cash flow projection especially for profit and loss. Without this we would not know where the business is heading. Not only that, we would not know when we need to spend money and what we would need to spend it on.

Business purist ( right about…now! ) would jump in and say one would need extensive business plans etc. I beg to differ. Business plans for usually done for shareholders and venture capitalists so you as the person who is running the business would be able to convince these people to invest in your business.

But if you run your own business, some basic planning would suffice for starters as a lot of things can change especially in the direction of the business for the first twelve months. Hence it would not be possible to keep writing a new business plan all the time.

However, having said that, proper business planning is important for the long term benefit of the business as it allows goals etc to be established and set down in black and white.

Anaxiz has been running for more than three years now and I wrote a rough business plan about a year ago. At that time I had to plans to establish Anaxiz as a multinational company. Today its not the case, Anaxiz is growing and its growing fast. So it was time to look at the plans and make strategic decisions for the future of the company.

We started by looking at the assets and the liablities of the company including what we might incur in the next financial year ( ie, company cars etc ). Then we made some plans on what we want to achieve for the succeeding quarters. There is a lot of work to be done for the next quarter. By the second quarter, Anaxiz Malaysia would most probably be hiring staff ( maybe MIND would be some use after all ;-) ). There is also the question of managing the company in Malaysia etc. Also Malaysian staff might even be brought to Australia for projects ( wouldn't you like to work for the Pimp now ? ).

Planning is a very mental and torturous process. Do not attempt it with an empty stomach. Remember, there is no such thing as a 100% planning. At the most we can identify opportunities and risk but we cannot eliminate risks totally. Cest la vie. There will always be something that we might have left out or not thought of.

Moral of the story : Remember to plan.

What Does It Take To Run A Company ?

2005-05-20T16:06:00.000+10:00

I asked myself this question a long time ago. Is it experience ? Is it the knowledge ? Can one run a company by reading a "Running a company - for Dummies" book ?

The truth is when I started Anaxiz International Group I didn't know. Opening a company was a long dream of mine. I knew it would be one of my biggest challenge.

Now I know.

To run a company, one must first be brave enough to do it. No, this is not my-nuts-is-bigger-than-yours thing. Its more like most people talk about it but few actually venture into it. Running a company is a risky business. You can end up a bankrupt if you're not careful. Most people seem to have enough problems with their permanent jobs so start a company is scary. And scared I was.

But I realised one thing. Nothing in life is risk free. The fact that you breathe is a risk that you might drop dead the next second. So I cannot understand people who take little or no risk. The thing with risk is you need to make a calculative risk not avoid it at all cost. Many people talk as if opening a company is easy, but you ask them to do it, they will give you a million reason not to do it.

You need to have an idea on what you want to achieve. What it is that you are offering that is worthwhile for customers to come to you ? For Anaxiz International Group, it was a chance to do things differently. Over the years we have seen so many consulting companies running projects into the ground because the lack the vision and capability to get the projects through. Clients often pay a lot of money for hypes of the project delivery. Many of these leading consulting organisations use client sites as training ground for their new consultants. Worse still, as I personally experienced yesterday, these companies take their clients for a ride when it comes to service or support, even if the client owns the code. ( If I EVER get like that, I hereby give you permission to shoot me !)

Basically, a lot of these leading consulting organisations have lost their values. It was Anaxiz's aim as not to go down this path. Its imperative that clients get value from the services they pay for.

Running a business is also about selling yourself, your company and what you can do for your clients. Its not about being a technical expert, its about a business person with technical knowledge. This is also another reason why you don't see techies as consultants but rather as employees. They have technical knowledge but not the business comprehension of that knowledge. The speak in languages that customers don't understand.

Consultants on the other hand have to understand the needs of the client intimately, then provide a solution that fits that requirements. This is where real consultants are differentiated. A real consultant does not impose his bias for operating systems, networks on his client ( unless of course the clients ask for his choice ). What this means is you don't go into an organisation that has invested heavily in Microsoft products and preach the benefits of Linux. That makes a consultant look like a shonky sales man. ( Sideline - This is the reason why, most Linux / Open Source zealots are still confined as techies, they are too provocative as business people and many of them don’t last that long. In any business, one needs to understand the needs of the customer. My current project is one of the largest .Net projects in the southern hemisphere. It’s a through and through Microsoft shop. A good sales person, can probably make a sale here, if they can contain the clients obvious preference for Microsoft products. How many Open Source advocates can do that ? Most of them foam at the mouth at the mere mention of the word : Microsoft )

Real consultants know that if the client has invested in Microsoft/ Sun / IBM products, chances are they are looking for a solution that makes use of their existing investment. Many organisations don't have problem in getting new licenses if necessary. Organisations allocate funds for it. Its part of their expenditure. Do you know why ? Because of the "kick arse factor". When something goes wrong, there is an arse to kick. When Open Source advocates flash their badges, its always appears to the organisation as "denying the kick arse factor". You get it free, there is no arse to kick. It makes companies worried. Sure there are all these consulting companies that sell services, but one of the first thing they make you sign when you use their Open Source products is a non-liability contract. That means, if organisations use Open Source software, the consultant is not liable for and issues arising from it, BUT the consultant will be supporting it for a fee. ( I.e., you don’t get to kick my arse, but you still get to pay me ). Caveat Emptor.

So what does this mean to us as a company. As a company, we will do whatever is right for our clients. We will not short change them and should clients ask about Open Source, we will tell the WHOLE truth and nothing but the truth, rather than peppering the client with fad words like "free" and then sending them the bill while they were not looking.

Don’t get me wrong. As an organisation, we see tremendous benefit in Open Source. There is definitely money to be made in it. But when you make money from a product, you realise there is no such thing as a free lunch. One way or another, you still end up paying. So as an organisation, we will not under any circumstances try to give clients the wrong information to get business.

When you run a business, you must understand that all business exist for one reason. To make money. Anaxiz's goal wasn't to become a global IPO selling virtual cycle chains by blind hamsters. No, our goal is to be a really good consulting company. A small company that gives value where bigger ones failed, and make money in the process. That’s it! Not too complicated is it ? Not easy either.

But the road to success is not easy. Success - is NOT the IMMEDIATE realisation of a worthwhile dream. Success, is the PROGRESSIVE realisation of a worthwhile dream.

When I initially started writing this article, Anaxiz was a smaller company. Today it’s a little bigger. It’s a multinational company. We have opened a branch in Malaysia and more projects are coming in by the day.

There are still questions running in my mind like "what if I fail ?". I just tell myself, success or failure, at least I did it my way. Why ? Because it’s a worthwhile dream.

MINDless

2005-05-20T10:58:00.000+10:00

After more than two years in MIND, I have decided to leave it. I have many queries since then the reasons for my departure which until now was considered to be a temporary one. I have decided to make it a permanent departure. And the decision is final.

I have the deepest respect to Daniel Tsen and other founders of MIND and the moderators who support it. But after all these years, I have found that despite the best efforts by a lot of people including myself, MIND has become mindless.

It has become a dumping ground for code, which you could pretty much find anywhere should anyone bothered to Google. Nothing is taught and nothing is learnt. While I would like to help people who are new to coding, the quality of the questions show severe lack of any thought and by answering it, one does nothing but fuel it.

A friend told me a while ago that MIND is a place with a high TCO content ( Talk Cock Only ). I definitely agree to this. While every site has some amount of general talk, but to make it the prime source of the existence of the site is just not right. No one writes articles, fewer contribute anything else, even links from IT news sites.

And then there is the bashings. A small number of exceptionally small minded people seemed to have the run of the place. Common sense does not seem to prevail in the place. No amount of advice is taken into consideration. Surely one would think that this small group of people would consist of industry experts whose years of experience are filtered down for your learning experience. If you thought that, you would be absolutely wrong. It is a circus run by some school kids and a poor little rich boy playing IT professional. The result, the quality just goes down the drain and there is never any meaningful contributions anymore.

So what happens in this circus ? Well, a whole lot of Microsoft bashing. Anything negative about Microsoft is in, while heaven forbid someone say anything wrong about Linux, Open Source and the likes. You will get burnt at the stake for that. Remember witch hunts and lynch mobs. They are alive and well in MIND. One cannot put it any other way.

It doesn’t matter how much experience that you might have on subjects they have only READ about, you will be portrayed in the worst possible manner, short of Jack the Ripper himself, just to prove that THEY not you have intimate knowledge on the subjects at hand. After all, Malaysia is a country full of arm chair experts who know everything about everything right. These small bunch of circus clowns, are experts in technology, legal and every other topic you could dream of. They know the best. And THEY decide for others what OTHERS SHOULD LEARN. It doesn’t matter if others like Bill Gates, THEY have decided that he is too rich and he should be burnt at the stake. It doesn’t matter that others might enjoy closed sourced products THEY have decided that open source is the best thing since sliced bread and that’s the end of it. No further arguments are necessary. They will not accept that some people actually ENJOY Microsoft's products and services. It is sad, but never underestimate the power and determination of fools.

Now, you would think that was the reason I chose to leave MIND. Actually its not. Fools are everywhere. Although I have not reached the stage of wisdom to suffer fools gladly, I accept that "stupidity likes company" and thus it is a norm in any place where people gather, in real life and on the net.

So why did I leave ? For one, being in the industry for a long time, and having dealt with a lot of fools, I had yet to encounter fools who went all out to discredit me. This surprised even me. Putting down my experience and my company ( including hacking attempts ) made me rethink what was my intention of being in MIND. After all my time in MIND is purely charity. My intention in MIND was to encourage young minds to learn from people who have experienced it. But if I cannot achieve that, well, it is an absolute waste of time. Time I could use to work on something which is more profitable.

Secondly, my time is DEFINITELY finite. With Anaxiz expanding and more business coming in I need to divert my attention on things that brings in income. Soon, we would need to hire people to work for us especially in Malaysia. Its inevitable. The next financial year, Anaxiz will turnover exceeding 300K ( nearly one million RM ) and that would require a lot of effort and time. To put it simply, arguing with fools who dissect my postings line by line does nothing but cost me money. On the other hand, diverting that time to something else, would bring me income.

Finally, the realisation that most people are not interested in learning. They are not interested in achieving. They cherish their mediocre existence but at the same time are envious of those who go out to achieve. They compensate their sad form of existence by putting down those who spend time to do noble things. But I am not a noble man. So I can choose not to be charitable. I can choose to use my time to do things which are meaningful to me. Arguing with a school kid who has never worked a day in his life, is not meaningful. Its demeaning. It does nothing but to bring me to their sad level of existence. I am much more than that. After all, the only thing these fools can do is to envy me for I can achieve anything I put my mind to, they on the other hand are stuck with whatever their demented little minds think that life is all about. But its sad, that they stop other people from learning.

Hell hath no fury as a pimp scorned.

The lost voice…

2005-05-19T16:23:00.000+10:00

It has been a while since I last blogged. A lot of things has happened since then in my life, some good and some bad. For a while now I have not been in the zone to do pretty much anything. The last good thing that happened was that Anaxiz Malaysia is now born. Yes, my baby is growing up fast. A lot of things to do and so little time.

Well that’s not the only thing that kept me away. For one I am now divorced. Well after seven years of being married, well I guess couple tend to look at different directions. Sometimes its better to separate than to be together. Please don’t ask me the reason why. It happened, time to move on.

I also have been looking at life from different perspective these days. I have always been a perspective person, but its time to do some changes. Life is not about all work. Its definitely not all the geeky stuff one can do on their computers. Those people will wake up one morning and realise that the world has gone past them and while they are stuck in a time wrap watching reruns of Star Trek - The Initial Generation… Well, to some people its not necessarily a bad thing. That just isnt me.

So I have changed some of the things that kept me overly occupied. I don’t get too stuck into work. I try to work our more often. Find and get into new passions. It keeps life interesting and healthy. Oh yeah, I try to read more as well. No, I don’t mean those books on IT. I have enough of them. I am talking about books that create passion in you. ( Yeah, some of you looking at me in a strange way thinking - my passion is coding!. Tell that thing to me 10 years from now… ). And last but not least, after all these years, I got out of MIND. I'll save the reason for another blog.

Just remember people, life is much more that lines of code. Its about building something far greater and cherishing it. If you don’t understand it right now, you may later…or you may not.

The Pimp is back…and hell hath no fury as a pimp scorned...

Microsoft won't dance with Samba

2005-01-31T13:45:00.000+11:00

Microsoft won't dance with Samba: ZDNet Australia: News: Software

This is brilliant! Now without going into too much merits of whats right and wrong, why shouldn't Microsoft charge open source users fee for accessing its file systems ?

After all, most server licenses come in per server or per seat. But somehow when accessed through Samba, these should not apply ? Definately the same licensing schemes that apply to Windows users should apply. If you want free, stick within open source operating system's own file systems!

Cheers.

M’sia must move or lose outsourcing opportunity

2005-01-27T14:34:00.000+11:00

M’sia must move or lose outsourcing opportunity

Comments :

I have been saying this for the last few years, ever since India started getting attention as being a leader in outsourcing.

Malaysia has one of the most advanced infrastructure in IT & T in developing countries especially in the Multimedia Super Corridor. And what do they do ? They sit on their fat arses doing absolutely nothing!

If we want to gain some attention in oursourcing we need to stop procrastinating and move in to capture some international markets.

It not we might as well sell the expensive infrastructure as scrap.

Cheers.

Site Test Complete

2005-01-25T10:51:00.000+11:00

Anaxiz corporate website site testing is now complete and the results were exteremely satisfying. We only picked up some minor issues with the sites. Not bad for a very quick server consolidation and rebuilding of the site to give it a much more professional look.

Simran and Katrina are handling their load pretty well. Then again the current loads have been sporatic. We expect it to increase over time as the spiders and clawlers bring more traffic to the site.

So what exactly the site is serving at the moment ?

Anaxiz.com
TaxAidAustralia.com .au ( We are hosting this temporarily for our client )
Boydlee.com ( Russel the Pirate's Blog )
PIMPtraNet.anaxiz.com ( Our extranet - funky huh ? )
PIMPS.anaxiz.com ( Anaxiz Project Initiation, Management and Prioritisation System )

Cheers.

Nothing Is Sacred Anymore...

2005-01-18T13:53:00.000+11:00

Early this morning something happened that concerned me gravely. Some cunt had posted an issue that we were already aware of on MIND.

The corporate site is still under testing. We are monitoring it and looking at issues that we need to fix on the site. I dont have problems with that. I expected some issues to arise.

But to put that link on MIND, just to get back at me is very lame and cowardice. As an organisation, we could consider it as defamatory and resort to subsequent legal action against the individual.

The thread was removed after I made an official request to MIND moderator.

This is one reason that we need to moderate forums. It seems that while posting legitimate links on provocative subjects are frowned upon, the disgusting and cowardice act of posting an organisation security issues on a public forum is OK.

Whoever you are ( and I know who you are because I log your IP address ), can get into serious trouble. As a Malaysian citizen, I even have the right to make a police report of this incident.

Should anyone find a problem with any website, its proper to let the domain administrator about it. No organisations would tolerate behaviour like this.

In any case, the thread has been deleted and I will be fixing the problem this evening. So all's fine.

Cheers.

Mail Server Down...

2005-01-18T11:32:00.000+11:00

The corporate mailserver is down since yesterday. We upgraded and consolidated the services running on the servers over the weekend. The mail server and the web server are now in a separate machines. I have left the database server on my Dell Poweredge 2300 ( Simran ) for the moment until I can pick out a new server or move all this servers out to external hosting. For the moment though, this is good enough.

The servers are protected by a fairly good firewall and for the moment I am not concerned as there are backups and the content is fairly static. All the service packs have been applied and I am just waiting for the SP1 for Windows 2003 server to be released.

I'll just have to wait until this evening to configure the exchange server...

--Update 18/01/05
Finally at 9pm last night I got the relaying working properly. Everything is fine at the moment. Need to get some new tape drives for backup.

Cheers

SAMSUNG NX30

2004-12-31T13:59:00.000+11:00

SAMSUNG's Digital World - Notebook PCs | NX30

Dec 10, 2004

I am getting this notebook anyday now. Will let you know how it is. Frankly, I think its a sexy beast. All that power in a small light machine. I have always looked for something like this for a while now.

---Update ! ( Dec 15, 2004 )

I ordered this laptop through Buyquick and it was all paid for by Rentsmart for corporate leasing. I wait for it for a week before I contact Buyquick and they tell me my laptop is on backorder! It will only arrive on the 23rd December and then it would be sent out to me by courier! I am so pissed off! I was hoping to get it before my birthday. I sent them a nasty email venting my frustration. The least they could have told me is that the laptop is on back order and they will be sending it out rather than making me wait and find out by myself.

---Update ! ( Dec 24, 2004 )

I finally received this laptop yesterday (23/12) and all my patience did not go to waste.

Let me tell you my first perceptions on this laptop. Its sexy - and light. I was very impresses as you can see. Most other machines in its class are way too bulky. I also got a pleasant surprise - it has Bluetooth built in, which wasn't mentioned in the specs! Brilliant!

Its about one inch thick and hardly weighs anything considering its a full widescreen laptop with an 80gb hard disk. Wireless automatically detected my network and it even detected another network which previously I wasnt aware was in my neighbourhood.

Comes with many CDs. Nero, PowerDVD and one funky Samsung auto update facility to update drivers and apps. Preinstalled with SP2. Of course I did the dutiful thing and blew the defaults away and partitioned the drives and installed my apps.

I will try to post pictures and more review of this wonderful machine. Its well worth the money, compared to all HP, IBM etc. Samsung has done a brilliant job.

---Update ! ( Dec 31, 2004 )

I have finished installing all my software and migrated all my data across to the new laptop. I have three partitions. 20GB for OS, 50GB for DATA, and 10GB for MISC. I use the MISC partition to dump all files I'll burn into CD/DVD. Currently I still have about 25GB on my DATA partition.

Battery life is fantastic. On its default, the battery life is about 4 hours. I think its standard for any Centrino laptop. Still so much better than those P4M processors. One slightly annoying thing is that on battery more ( power save mode ) the screen seems very dim. For me its ok, I prefer dimly lit screens because bright screens hurt my eyes, but some people might complain its too dim.

All in all, usability wise, this is a very good laptop with is a notch above Compaq, HP and IBM. Goes to show, you can come up with a perfectly beautiful laptop with all the features. Apple did it and now in the PC world, Samsung has shown how. So for those people carrying around, bulky, ugly, underfeatured corporate laptops - this is the future.

Cheers.

Why open source is bad for Australia: ZDNet Australia: Insight: Software

2004-12-10T09:56:00.000+11:00

Why open source is bad for Australia: ZDNet Australia: Insight: Software

My comments :

Open source activists nowadays stress that they love and support copyright.
What open source advocates support is the right to copy. It has always been this. Copyright does not go hand in hand with sharing. What you spend money and time to implement, I have an absolute right to copy and implement in the name of betterment and greater good. It also strips the creator to profit from the product the way he chooses - afterall freedom does include free enterprises doesn't it ?

Open source is actually an anti-industry, and protecting it is not in Australia's interests.
Absolutely! Why is it so ? Well, any Australian created products can easily be copied, stolen and implemented in other ways. Sure, sharing has is place in a pure academic world where everyone learns from every bit of code written. But how can this exist in a business environment ? Surely, a business can and should be allowed to create and benefit from its creation in its own pace without being exploited in the name of betterment ?

However the copyright battle is not really between nations, but between creators and freeloaders in all nations.
Yes, what would I stand to gain ( apart from warm fuzzy feeling inside ) if my blood, sweat and tears are just copied lock stock and two bloody smoking barrels by someone else who did not contribute at all in effort or cost ?

As an ISV, we write small applications all the time to best fit our clients. But with open source, its open to everyone to benefit from our effort all in the name of improvement! Why should this be so ?

There should be a push to open standards so applications work better with each other but not stealing other peoples ideas. The only reason Linux survived this long is because its based on an open standards of Unix. Anyone can come up with their version of Unix and they did like IBM ( AIX ), SCO, BSD, heck even Microsoft. If Linux was written from ground up like VAX or some other OS, how long would it have survived ? Again, its open standards not open source that countributes to the "cause".

Put slightly differently, without a system of intellectual property rights it is difficult to prevent free riding by those who did not contribute to the original investment.

Creators could therefore find it difficult to recoup the cost of their investment, let alone its economic value. Under these circumstances, economic incentives for intellectual property investment would likely be deficient, leading to under-investment in creative effort.

Yup absolutely. Any ISV would tell you this. You take your unique idea and you put in your effort and you want to be rewarded financially for this. You paid for programmers, architects, dbas etc out of your own pocket. You should be able to sell your creation anyway you choose and protect that idea from being stolen. Its your bread and butter.

Majority of open source projects are not funded. They run on the free will and spare time of bored developers needing to scratch an itch. How many people would be willing to work for you for free ? Yet people complain every project is not an open source project. Companies like IBM and Redhat can fund open source projects because their make their revenue elsewhere. But an ISV is not IBM. They dont have funds deep enough and cannot possibly be generous to give away free IP.

The fundamental point is this : Just as we have a right to share, we also have a right to protect.

The alleged need to circumvent protection devices to make programs inter-operable or to correct errors is generally overstated for ideological reasons

Open Source FUD engine always have this tactics to scare people. In reality, software solutions evolve and do take into account older versions of software. Microsoft Access still can read old and unused database formats. Same with Excel and Word. Open source zealots must understand that the software industry as a whole evolves and they must keep up with it. No one can expect continual support and service for an old Datsun 120Y, or expect leaded petrol to be around forever. Yet, aging software applications are expected to be supported forever. It becomes an excuse to install Linux then. When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Thats what happens when you are an open source zealot. Everything looks like an excuse to install open source, whether others want it or not.

Here is a simple thought. Has anyone wondered what all those banking systems work on ? Yes, aging databases and they are still working successfully with current systems.

For software, properly enforced copyright combined with protection of source code suffices to prevent theft and enable healthy competition. Note that open source does not have this simple protection available to it.

Yes, curious isnt it ? Why ? Because open source traditionally and still is a non business venture. Money making is not the agenda for open source, and as such the mentality that these simple mechanisms not being necessary.

The software industry generally means firms that develop software and charge for it.

Yes. If they are open source the software would be free anyway. Developing software and giving the client the source code is not open source. Its what ISVs do. Open souce companies ( sic ) develop the software and give it out for free and charge for its support and service. Now here is the really funky part. Unless your business as an open source business is making money elsewhere or laundering drug money, you would need to charge more for your support services than an ISV to provide similar services and make the same amount of profit. But why would any company pay 150 per hour when they can get away with paying 50 an hour for support for an ISV ?

But wait there is more ! Companies dont have to do that! They have the code, they can get some school kid to fix the code rather than hiring you...

I am loving this choice thing by the minute...

Open source uses copyright to strip the benefit from the creator, rejecting the original intent of copyright. It relies on the original drafters of copyright never imagining that beneficiaries of copyright would use it to deny benefits to themselves. This is particularly so with the notorious GPL.

Why do you think there are so many versions of open source licenses ?

Problems arise where government funded research is released under licences like the GPL. That work is available to everyone, but the best developers are barred from commercialising it. In this sense, licencing regimes such as the GPL hinder further innovation rather than advancing it.

This is because not everyone bothers looking at the code. I use NUnit and open souce unit testing tool. But do I go into it rather than doing what I need to do ? No. Secondly, if I am improving something, why shouldnt I commercialise it ?

Open souce developers exploited ? If they are free, I'll take two thanks!

Google is thus a good example of the merits of the commercial model for software, not open source. Google's guarding of its intellectual property is part of the reason the company is valued at AU$50 billion.

Any anyone having a good idea should not be stopped from commercialising it. Lets face it. Open source zealots are anti-Microsoft period. Why, because it makes lots of money and it should be stopped. Here is news. So does : Dell, Oracle, IBM - get in line and get a life !

Another point, would it change anything if Microsoft opens its source code ? Not a bit. These zealots with their FUD engine will not stop until they drive Microsoft to the ground.

Although political supporters of open source think they're attacking evil multinationals, open source is now part of a $1 billion operation by IBM and others who are using it to undermine Microsoft in lucrative government accounts. IBM's true motives are revealed in the fact that, while it promotes open source in Microsoft markets, it keeps its own expensive software products proprietary in other markets that it owns. These include its expensive WebSphere application server and AIX Unix operating system.

Thats the big picture. - if thats not a big fat FUD from IBM, I dont know what is.

Many of the contexts that open source activism cite as support for its cause are not really relevant. For example, scientists and academics share source code because it's not central to their jobs or work. That type of software is technical and rough. It's quite different from the highly engineered products that business and home users demand.

Technical users and server administrators install and use public software because sometimes it does the job well, as with the Apache server and, in other cases, it's easy for them to work around the limitations. Again, that is a different from the mass market for consumers and business users.

That is one important reason why people use Microsoft product. Its not because they arent the best, its because its easy to use. That is one thing open source or anyone else has managed to do properly. Open source application are bad because they are programs written for programmers not end users. Why do you think we still have to tinker around with files in Linux ?

Open source is good when its not handled by zealots. Software by nature improve over time. Businesses have to make money to survive and pay for developers so they can write free software instead of spending time with their families. Moral of the story : Dont fuck with your livelihood.

Cheers.

The best of open source and .NET development: ZDNet Australia: Insight: Software

2004-12-10T09:54:00.000+11:00

The best of open source and .NET development: ZDNet Australia: Insight: Software: "Q: During the past six months, we have seen an increasing interest
among TechRepublic and Builder members in open source applications. The
gist of the member discussion seems to revolve around the coming
together of two concepts: proprietary software is expensive, and open
source is a viable alternative. Your book seems to combine this idea
quite nicely. What are the overall benefits of open source development
using Microsoft .NET?"

My comments :

Open source is just great. You gain so much from it, if its not spoilt by extremists. Hey, I am all for open source, but somehow, a mindless persuit of global corporate downfall turns me off.

Open source in .Net is a good example how how a harmony can be reached. Microsoft is not perfect ( and anyone who thinks otherwise should have their head examined ), and thats the exact reason why open source can fill the spaces. It cannot replace it completely - just complement it.

Applications such as NAnt, NBuild etc are brilliant examples of softwares of great use. They arent going to take over the world, they dont disturb the corporate environment ( although a SME creating a proprietary tool might want to think twice - coz you cant beat free! ) and exists in harmony.

Isn't life just great ?

In Persuit of Education

2004-10-28T09:10:00.000+10:00

I have been slacking for the past few months. My supposedly fantastic contract at KPMG too up most of my time that I spend little time on anything else, including my education. Also after we lost our baby, i wasn't really in the mood for anything else. As a result I have not been spending time on my certification + masters.

Just found out last week that all is not lost. My certification program is flexible enough to extend the unit without losing the fee that I paid by just handing in $160. Fair game I say! So, from next week onwards I am going to concentrate back on my studies.

In case you are wondering what course I am doing, well its an Australian Computer Society certification program in Project Management. They have many other specialisations which can be viewed from their website. The basic certification is four units and can be used for the Masters in Information Technology Management with RMIT. I am also thinking of certifying in MSF ( Microsoft Solutions Framework ).

Cheers.

Efficient Issue Resolution

2004-10-10T19:26:00.000+10:00

Every development project has bugs. Issue management has become one of the most critical parts of software development today. As a matter of fact, issue resolution is a fine art attained by seasoned developers and experienced project managers.

But throw all that away, my current projects, the managers have come up with a better method.

1) Get client to prioritize all issues ( somehow they tend to list everything as critical - every time ! )
2) Pick the top 25 out of the specific area and get the developer to fix it.

3) When he is getting close to finish all 25, add more items but keep the deadline the same.

4) Always remember, developers are not human. They are a genetically engineered species which exists only to 'cut code'. They dont need breaks, sleep or time with family. ( Actually, i think sometimes developers themselves are to blame fore this. )

Anyway - if you follow these rules, you can always manage any software project efficiently!

Cheers.

Organisational Backward Engineering...

2004-10-09T10:27:00.000+10:00

While most organisations look for ways to move forward, there are as always some exceptions to the rule. I happened to be at the moment to be working for one.

Initially I was warned that I would be working with some pretty old fashioned people but little did I realise that how *old fashioned* can this organisation end up.

Here is the issue. This organisations corporate website is being revamped. In full .Net, due to the lack of time we are using an open source version of an portal and content management application. This application is one funky tool. It does a whole lot of things to make life a lot easier.

Of course, one would expect a certain level of customisation to happen. But what is happening is we are spending little time that we have to make the current application to work like the original asp based crappy version. If that is not going backwards, I dont know what is !

It is beyond me how an organisation which promotes itself being one of the top and 'current' organisations is the world can do something like this.

I mean, did what I have come to learn in change management is all wrong. Is the whole idea is to make things *look* new but stil not take what facilities offered to you ?

As a result, I am severly demoralised with this project. We are later, we are cutting corners and at the end of the day so we can have a portal application that does exactly what the old one does! Woohoo! We could have used the old one and save ourselves all this crap !

Why didnt that happen ? Because this organisation as a whole is looking into moving into .Net!
Go figure!

Cheers.

I sing the BSOD blues...

2004-09-15T10:59:00.000+10:00

I had a BSOD a couple of days ago...

I am sure you are thinking - now whats new ? Well, the thing is, I haven't seen one for a long time. Considering I use XP everyday, that is something new to report.

Linux zealots harp about how unstable Windows environment is all the time. Considering the number of Linux installations I have done - Linux is no better. Both operating systems are prone to crashes. But they are both getting better at it with every version.

Take for example my Win2k3 server. Its been chugging away without any problems for months without any problems. The only reason I had to reboot was I installed a service patch and I rebooted 'just to make sure'. Now thats impressive! I am wondering how long I can leave that machine without rebooting.

Now back to my BSOD. Why did it happen ? Well, for some reason it didn't like one of the USB drivers. XP BSODed and the whole thing rolled back to my previous configuration. How sweet! Both XP and Linux have problems with poorly written drivers. XP is getting better at handling it and so is Linux.

I for one think the next version of Windows - Longhorn, if it has at the least the same stability that Win2k3 shows, it should shut up a lot of Linux users. But I think its already happening. They used to crow about Window's stability, now the are complaining more about cost of ownership than stability.

The interesting point is - the professionals who actually use the OSes are not the one compaining. Its the wannabes. I mean, if you dont want to pay for an XP copy, don't ! Use Linux - its your choice! There are plenty of other people who like and use XP - they want more features in XP. They enjoy using it. Microsoft make their OS for these people. Not the ones who dont want to use it. Afterall its about freedom of choice right ?

Real professionals understand that. The wannabes however WANT XP but dont want to PAY FOR XP. Thats the FUNDAMENTAL problem that they have. Uncle Bill is rich enough, why should I pay for XP or OS should be free. Like I say, most people spend more money on crap stuff they can live without but they cannot pay for a copy of XP ?

Thats the attitude which is bad for Open Source. If I buy a copy of XP and I dont want Word, I can download and use any other word processors like AbiWord etc. Same thing for browsers, development tools. There are plenty of choices, with or without Linux.

As for me, I would like to see Open Source florish, just as Closed Source should. There is market for both. There is money to be made - and I am happy with an occational BSOD on any environment to remind me where it all used to be...

Cheers.

Some things dont change...

2004-09-14T08:23:00.000+10:00

Havent been blogging for a bit now. Been busy at work and moving. Hopefully once ADSL is up and running on my new place, things would be rocking. Anyway new place is nice. Huge garden at the front and back. Its also nice to move to a suburb where things look 'green' and fresh in the morning.

Anyway, have been working hard with this project at work. Its a global content managed corporate website and as with any projects its not without any dramas and issues.

I have been thinking, being in IT for more than ten years some things dont change...

1) We still do IT projects without properly analysing requirements.
2) Developers requirements come before customers' needs.
3) We try to make a later project on time by adding more developers later in the projects.
4) Developers still dont know how to communicate with clients or care for their needs. All they seem to care about is writing code. I call this 'coding into a wall or a closed'.
5) Developers think they are god's gift to earth.
6) Project managers dont have an idea what they are managing, or couldn't manage a mousetrap.
7)Managers who promise the world to the clients and raise the clients' expectations only to be dashed later when projects don't run on time.
8)Everyone thinks OS /CS can provide value. No one thinks of providing the value themselves. ( Dont tell this to the zealots, i'll get burned at the stake for this ;-) )
9)Every IT professional 'thinks' he will be Bill Gates one day, but no one admittedly wants to be associated with Microsoft.
10)Every project is about working overtime, no one thinks of working smart...

Cheers.

Mozilla Firefox as an alternate for IE ?

2004-08-18T12:33:00.000+10:00

I didnt have too much work today so I decided to install Mozilla Firefox at my work computer. Not that I mind IE actually. I have been using it for a long time and its on every computer I work on especially on client sites and does a pretty decent job.

In fact, I liked IE much better than Netscape from days of yore. But after 'raves' of reviews on Firefox, I decided to look at it, at least from an enterprise users perspective.

Installation was quick. 4 plus MB is nothing these days. Then again IE is installed as part of any Microsoft OS, so it doesnt really count does it ;-) It even, copied over all my favs and cookies. Nice touch.

Then the annoyances began...

1) Default page - you cant really stop it from loading. In IE, I just hit the stop button and type in my URL and go my way. Seems you cannot do it with Firefox.
2) Proxy settings - Firefox loads up all the proxy settings correctly, but still insists that you login again, and again - at least for a couple of times - for every new window ( tabs dont count ) . IE doesnt ask for this. Once you are authenticated, off you go. Apparently this isnt good enough for Firefox.
3) Testing intranet applications - you get prompted for login again! IE doesnt require this and its just normal intranet application, no security implemented at all. Hitting the cancel button, you get the following error message :

HTTP 401.2 - Unauthorized: Logon failed due to server configuration
Internet Information Services

4) Running intranet applications on it is slow. Slower than IE, for some reason. It could be a security issue or something else, I dont know.

UPDATE : 5) KPMG does not allow certain users to access certain sites. E.g., Hotmail. In my case, if I try to go to hotmail.com, i will get blocked. Somehow, with Firefox, no problem. I should be happy, but what was that thing about security again ?

6) Writing this blog, when I post, the HTML for the Firefox error message is not rendered properly, I get "tag not closed" error.

7) How's this for enterprise security. While testing this application, I checked out the web messenger site currently offered by Microsoft. Now, KPMG blocks this by default ( or rather blocks passport redirection ). Firefox, allowed me to authenticate passport and run web messenger successfully. I should be happy right ?

Still, Firefox is fast for the general user. But under enterprise usage, it could turn people off. Especially if they have to revert back to IE to run certain things. I think thats one of the reason for IE's popularity - its there and it works.

Something tells me that IE is going to come back with all guns blazing with Longhorn. Until then, we have to live with something less than perfect, because as I see it, IE's contenders are still far behind in usability.

Cheers.

Good comments

2004-08-13T16:17:00.000+10:00

I want to walk into one job where I find an nicely commented application to support. I mean is it too much to ask. Where do these people learn to program anyway ?

I cannot imagine writing programs without comments. I was not trained that way. Every single program from time immemorial has been perfectly commented. But its increasingly more difficult to find comments in programs.

More programmers are interested in code rather than comments. How the hell do you expect people to support you if you dont leave behind documentation of what you trying to acheive ?

If programmers think this is some sort of 'lock-in' to ensure their survival in the organisation, I think its a very lame excuse.

Mind you, it makes my life very difficult. One of the first things I often point out to the management is the coding standards or lack there of...

IT is such a different world today...

Cheers.

Outsourcing: Locals must get in on the act

2004-08-11T09:36:00.000+10:00

Outsourcing: Locals must get in on the act

Saw that article in The Star. You would have thought that our fellow Malaysians would have thought of this a long time ago and be giving Indians a run for their money.

No, in Bolehland nothing is as simple as that.

Forget you have world class infrastructure at your disposal while the Indians can't even guarantee a continuous power supply in they 'IT cities' like Bangalore.

Forget that English with the Malaysian accent, is usually more palatable to westerners.

Forget the fact that while Indians mainly concentrate on technical cabability, we have emassed great skills and abilities in manufacturing and other industries including technical.

No these things are never good enough. We Malaysians need to hear 'the directive' - the one great signal to allow us to go forth and prosper, from our minders. Without it we will not lift a finger even if opportunities present themselves.

Why else would we have the MSC in all its glory, so much superior to what India ever has and we sit on our little behinds and wait ?

If you have the answer, let me know...because I sure cannot understand it.

Cheers.

Bluetoothing with the XDA II...

2004-08-10T14:59:00.000+10:00

Got myself a bluetooth earphone today... After reading Rivalpine's post I was thinking I needed to get myself one of those Bluetooth earphones.

Checked out the local computer supplier and found this model from Epox.

Works like a dream. Once you got it linked up with the XDA, it even beeps when the phone rings which is brilliant.

You can even use it with your lappie if it is bluetooth enabled so you can use it as a earphone for MSN chats for example.

Cheers.

Are open source and innovation team players ?

2004-08-10T09:37:00.000+10:00

With the recent heavy discussions on Open Source, that is the question I asked myself. Putting aside what I like about open source and Linux - I asked myself this question and found myself not liking what I thought.

As much as purveyors of OSS would like to tell you its about choice, for most organisations, it all boils down to cost. One of the articles below even ask the all important question : How popular will Linux be if Unix closed source initiative didnt set the precedence are a rock solid product ?

I would have to agree, in fact for anyone who has worked with Digital Vax VMS operating system, would agree. Vax VMS is a much better rock solid OS. Why didnt it take off ?

Check out these articles :

Are open source and innovation compatible ?

Open Source Innovation Loses If Open Source Wins

They make pretty convincing reading on the ugly side of OSS which no one talks about.

Comments welcome.

Cheers.

What a weekend

2004-08-09T16:01:00.000+10:00

I finally decided to my winter cleaning on my laptop. I usually blow it away completely and do a full reformat every six months. It always amazes me how quickly my lappie runs with a fresh copy of XP.

Of course I backed up all my data. These days I am much more efficient in backing it up. All I have to do is to back up one folder. I got tired of tracking down all those places that XP stored everything from mailboxes to documents to development projects. Now I have one folder and everything goes underneath it.

For example Amisha/Projects, Amisha/Databases, Amisha/Mailbox, Amisha/Document/Corporate/Anaxiz...

Yeah, by now you would gave guess my laptop is called Amisha and everything is stored under a folder called Amisha. Pretty easy. Even when backing up data to CD/DVD burners is easy, just drag one folder to the burner and presto! Everything is done.

Of course, this one folder in my laptop is about 6GB in size ... ;-)

Oh yes, I partition my drive into C and D logical drives. 10GB for OS and 30 for Data.

Between installing all these stuff and getting ready to move it was a pretty weekend. I'll post a pic of my new house as soon as I figure out how to embed pics here. Anyone has any ideas ?

Cheers.

BSA says no to OSS procurement preference

2004-08-06T11:01:00.000+10:00

TechCentral: Story - BSA says no to OSS procurement preference

It was quite a surprise for me to read this article in The Star. Afterall some vicious battles were fought in MIND over this same concern.

Here's what I think - all the big boys are definately worried. Microsoft and IBM aside, a lot of industry leaders such as Adobe have vested a lot of money in their applications. Adobe wouldn't definately want undue competition from say Gimp which is free. Afterall, Adobe is the undisputed leader of desktop publishing and image manipulation software. And any industry professional will tell you not many software can come close to it.

Gimp is not necessarily bad. Its free unlike Photoshop, but offers limited support as open source applications often do. The question is, if Photoshop is a far superior product, why would you want to use Gimp ?

The Choice
If the choice was there to evaluate Photoshop ( which you can download a trial ) and Gimp, then make a decision which one you would choose, its ok. What BSA and a lot of other vendors are concerned is that, the 'preference' given to open source products such as Gimp.

This is a potential no-win situation to closed source software houses as they can bid for the contract but still they will be turn down as a open source alternative is available, especially when government contracts are big income for any companies.

The Support
When you buy a software, you purchase a licence to use it. You dont own the intellectual property on that software. Intellectual property is a very heavily debateable area as it is the heart of any information technology business. For example the recipe for KFC is the intellectual property of Kentucy Fried Chicken ( doesnt anyone use this name anymore ? ), and the estate of Colonel Sanders.

KFC is a multi billion dollar business and it hinges on one recipe for fried chicken. KFC's research and development perhaps spent hunderds of millions of dollars to get the chicken 'just right'. They sure aren't going to give this away.

Same thing in the information technology industry. Billions of dollars goes into finding ways to build better software or improve current ones. This creates hunderds of thousands of jobs across the world.

That is why you pay for software. The company recoups its investment and makes profits and keeps programmers employed.

What about free software. Free software are usually written by groups of individuals with spare time although some free software is written commercially. The commercial free software is given away free and the company makes its money from support.

This is basically how companies like Red Hat and SuSE make their money. In most occations, you need deep enough pockets to put up the initial developement and expect to have enough income from support to keep things profitable. Notice the word 'profitable'.

Afterall, free or not, a business is still a business and a company needs to pay its programmers.

One of the biggest arguements of OSS zealots is that how their software is developed in the 'free time' contributed by their members. But how much of this free time will actually be used if a programmer has to support his family. Perhaps at the moment, these programmers make a decent enough living by working for companies which they hate so much but when these companies stop making money where will these programmers end up or will they still program for the love of it ?

IP
Would companies spend time and money developing products only to have it copied and distributed for free over the Internet in the name of 'improvement'.

OSS zealots say its better to sell software as a service rather than per copy. But my arguement is, organisations should be allowed to sell software how they wish in true meaning of the word 'freedom'. Organisations should not be forced by OSS companies stealing ideas to pump out free software. Recent media articles say the Linux operating system has a multitude of patent infringements.

How comfortable will organisations be if ideas are stolen from under them after spending billions on R & D ? Larger organisations would have cash reserve if something like this would happen but their stock values will definately take a hit. What about smaller companies ? This would cause smaller companies to close down taking a lot of programmers with them.

Communism may be a good idea in principle but real world examples have evidenced its practicality. Widespread OSS may be a good idea in theory but in the real world, OSS is not the be all and end all of application development.

Our baby dies today...

2004-08-05T11:47:00.000+10:00

Today is the day our baby will die. I dont know whether our baby is a he or a she. I have named it Amin ( my friend Essam tells me it means 'trustworthy' ). I think its a nice name and it just came to me the day we found out the bad news about our baby.

Our baby has Anecephaly, which basically means the baby's skull is not formed properly. There is not surviving this condition. Its just a matter of time when it happens.

I took this news rather hard. Perhaps more than my wife. I have been waiting for six years to be a father. Six years is a long time in anyones books. I was so happy when I finally got my chance. When I saw the baby moving in my wife's womb during the 13th week ultrasound a couple of weeks ago somehow it just hit me. That my life will be changed forever. That way my child moving around in the womb. I could see hand, feet and the head...

Then the doctor broke the news to us. Before he could finish his sentence, there was tears in my eyes. It is still beyond me how anyone could bear such a news that their baby will not live. Just a matter of time he said. It will either die in the womb, as soon as its born or not long after that. How can I question the chances like that ? That our baby will not grow up like other children ?

We did not want to do the abortion here in Australia. God know, what they will do with my baby. At least in Malaysia we can give it a proper burial. People told me that my baby is going straight to Heaven. There our baby will wait until we can he or she can meet with us again. But that doesn't help us with the pain.

My wife took the news much better than I did, perhaps she always expect bad news, perhaps she was stunned as we were just planning on buying baby things after the following ultrasound scan.

Yesterday, she told me she felt the baby kick. I wish I was there to feel it. It is supposed to be one of those special mother - baby moments that you treasure for a lifetime... She said that she loves the baby.

We love our baby, but we have no choice to let it go. Afterall our baby is going to a better place. I may never see baby Amin in my lifetime but one day I will.

Until then, all we can offer is a silent prayer...

Moving house...

2004-08-04T20:07:00.000+10:00

We are moving house... Its about time too. We've been staying in this apartment ( unit as Aussies call it ) for more than 5 years. Seems like an eternity without the ability to get cable or adsl.

Anyway we've applied for this 3 bedroom + lounge + dining + study house near North Ryde. Looks good. Doesn't have builtin's but you cant have everything perfect. I checked out the house address with Optus and it is cabled. So I can get Foxtel and stuff. Finally, Discovery Channel!

I dont think I'll be getting internet though through cable. Optus doesn't give you static ip and explicitly prohibit servers. Not good for business. Somehow, I wonder how these businesses survive.

Well, we'll see how we go with this house... Watch this space and I gotta start packing...

It has begun...

2004-08-04T16:00:00.000+10:00

Ok, ok, I have ignored this long enough! Today I finally did it. I wanted to add a comment to my friend's blog (http://serena-yeoh.blogspot.com) so I had to register. Now I dont have any more excuses not to blog.

Here is my first post. Hello World !