As usual, before playing around with the registry, always back it up (guide here). But to be honest, this is just a minor edit, hence the risk factor is very low.

To quickly enable it, click start.

Click Run and paste the following command into the text field:

REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Click OK. That’s it! That should solve your problem!

1. You need to call Unifi (1300881222) to inform them you want to sign up. They’ll ask you which plan and all other details. They’ll then schedule a time for the Unifi guys to come to your house to set up
2. You need to close your Streamyx account. From a user point of view, this is plain stupid. A user simply doesn’t care if Unifi and Streamyx are 2 different business units in TM, because a user simply sees TM as 1 company.  Anyway, I had to go a nearby TM Point to fill in a form to close my account. Thank god the whole closing down experience was fast and smooth.
3. A few days later the Unifi guys came to my house. They arrived on-the-dot as promised at 9:30AM and they were very friendly. The agreed SLA from TM is that the installation would take less than 6 hours (my guess is that they’re playing it safe), but turns out the actual installation took about 2 hours+. The Unifi guys had to pull another cable from the TM post outside my house and wire it directly to where I want to set up the Unifi box.

The unifi package came with 4 devices (photo below)

The tall grey device on the left is the TV Set Up box. It gives you 21 IPTV channels and TV-On-Demand (TVOD).  The small white box with 2 antennas is the wireless router, and the white box on the right is the modem. A cordless phone (black) comes with the package too. All these 4 devices and the installation process were free-of-charge from TM. Awesome.

The Unifi guys did everything. The wireless network was set up with all the appropriate security settings. They even helped me perform a speed test which the results was more than pleasing:

Yup, that’s right, I signed up for the 5Mbps plan but my actual speed is 6.4Mbps! Now my internet at home is faster than what I have at work! Youtube videos loading the point the page loads, and I was able to download a 1GB file for around 1 hour! That’s how fast it is! TM definitely got it right this time around. Well done TM!

Lucky me that I did a full backup prior to that. I’m thinking of getting the new Bold 2, but before that happens, I’m currently on a temporary phone, the Nokia e71 (below).

I’ve been googling on how to sync your contacts in Google Sync (if you haven’t sync your mobile contacts to Google, you should, you never know when it’s gonna come in handy), and found out a few useful websites. In short:

On your e71, go to Menu –> Tools –> Sync  and follow the steps in the article below

http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=98230&cbid=-w48waez3uf7e&src=cb&lev=topic

It’s quite simple and it shouldn’t take more than 5 mins!

The firm has been emailing internally for a while and I guess I should make an attempt to help HR in their recruiting efforts. The long list of vancies for the KL Office is displayed below:

Services Workforce

1. Accounts Analyst
2. HR Analysts
3. SAP Applications Helpdesk Team Lead
4. Business Analyst
5. Digital Publishing Platform Support
6. Digital Advertising Analytics Support
7. HR Helpdesk Analyst
8. Billing Operation Analyst
9. Contract Management
10. Contract Specialist I — Service Centre

Solutions Workforce

1. Oracle BEA Weblogic Portal Consultants
2. Solution Architect – Telecommunications
3. Java Developers
4. Oracle Order & Service Management Developers
5. Oracle BEA Development Implementation and Configuration
6. SAP FICO Professionals
7. SAP MM Expert/Consultant
8. SAP PM Data Lead/ Consultant
9. TA Siebel Administrator
10. Oracle Applications Specialists

Consulting Workforce

1. SAP Functional Consultants (BI,CRM,SD,APO,MM)  
2. SAP Functional Consultants (BI/BW/PM/PS/SCM)  
3. SAP Functional Consultants – Human Resources (HR)  
4. SAP Functional Consultants – Materials Management (MM)
5. SAP Managers / Senior Manager  
6. IT Strategy & Transformation Professionals

If you’re interested and require more details, please email me at imran.jaafar@gmail.com

Apart from that, I received an express mail from TM the week before stating that my housing area (TTDI) is part of the 1st phase deployment for HSBB, hence, I’ll be eligble to test HSBB (free of charge) till mid-May. Good stuff. Although, they should have used normal post instead of using registered post where I had to go collect it at poslaju depot in PJ (I don’t recommend going there during lunch hour, killer jam at the wretched Rothmans roundabout)

Although I have yet to experience HSBB, my usual Streamyx experience has improved tremendously. Check out the screenshot below: (usually my test returns a 200kbps average, but now it’s 300+kbps!)

Anyway, I look forward to trying HSBB out. I went to their new HSBB website, http://www.unifi.my, and I believe I’ll be more than happy to sign up for the 5Mbps plan. Looks reasonble and I don’t see how I would be needing any bigger bandwidth than that.

However, earlier, I heard that TM was thinking of implementing a maximum download limit (at around ~60GB+ depending on package), but later the idea was scapped. Good thinking. We don’t want to spoil a wonderful project with petty limitations such as that. We should learn from the Australians (where their ISPs implements a download cap — only to receive hateful complaints from netizens in the country) and be better.

I’ll post again after trying out the new package.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is mulling to give a RM20 million project to McKinsey & Co to ensure its RM11 billion high-speed broadband (HSBB) is on time to meet the 50 per cent broadband penetration target this year.

The telecoms utility’s board is due to meet tomorrow to decide on the consultancy’s terms as it races to meet its deadline set recently by Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim. It is understood the current broadband penetration rate is now at 32 per cent.

“The board will meet tomorrow whether to award McKinsey the contract to make sure we meet this year’s target. It is a bit silly as we have the real targets to achieve,” a company source told The Malaysian Insider.

It is learnt that associates from McKinsey’s US headquarters have promised expertise from Telefonica, the Spanish multinational telecommunications giant, to help TM meet the targets, which now also include mobile broadband.

The source added that TM would have been better off to hire experts directly from Telefonica instead of going through McKinsey. “It will be cheaper to hire talent directly than just engage McKinsey,” he said.

Coincidentally, TM last May appointed former McKinsey partner Giorgio Migliarina as chief technology and innovation officer. Before joining the firm, he helped launch Infostrada, a 

fixed-line operator in Italy, and worked at Olivetti as a business development manager.

McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group have been consultants for a slew of projects for government-linked-companies held by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad. McKinsey was also involved in an earlier TM customer relations management project.

Another source said the TM tender board has asked the main board of directors to decide as they were concerned that the consultancy appointed to oversee the project would be paid in advance.

“It doesn’t matter if the HSBB meets targets or not, the consultancy is paid. The tender board wanted the directors to set real targets for the consultants,” he added.

The HSBB is a premium broadband service with speeds of 10Mbps (Megabits per seconds) to 100 Mbps for residential customers and up to 1Gbps (Gigabits per seconds) for businesses for high economic impact areas delivered via fibre optic infrastructure.

The infrastructure will be rolled out over 10 years with the federal government investing RM2.4 billion and TM RM8.9 billion to provide high-speed broadband access to over 1.3 million premises by 2012.

Phase 1 of the project will cover the inner Klang Valley, all key economic and industrial zones throughout the country, the Iskandar Malaysia region, all public universities and colleges throughout the nation and private tertiary institutions within the rollout areas.

“I feel that the 50 per cent achievement must be reached quickly and a part of it depends on permanent lines by Telekom and wireless lines including by Wi-Max and Wi-Fi,” Rais had said last October.

Under the HSBB initiative that began in 2008, TM will put last-mile access network to homes and businesses to facilitate HSBB services using three main technologies, i.e. fibre-to-the home (FTTH), Ethernet-to-the-home (ETTH) and Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL2).

In addition, TM will be rolling out its Next-Generation Network (NGN) core backbone network based on an all IP platform as well as grow the nation’s global capacities by building new international gateways for enhanced connectivity and network efficiency.

TM research had indicated that the positive impact of broadband services towards the annual GDP will be 1 per cent with an estimated 135,000 new jobs being created by 2010.

TM is Malaysia’s largest fixed line supplier and provides consumers and businesses throughout Southeast Asia with voice and data services.

From: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/48373-tm-eyes-mckinsey-to-meet-hsbb-target

P1's Potong Advert

Apparently a group of people are not happy with P1′s new “potong” advert and have lodge a complaint with the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF). Below is the news article from New Straits Times.

PUTRAJAYA: The popular potong advertisement by P1 Wimax may land the advertiser in trouble.
Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) said it was scrutinising the advertisement aired on television and radio.

“We are looking into it,” said CMCF executive director Mohd Mustaffa Fazil Mohd Abdan.

While refusing to reveal the number of complaints received, he said CMCF would act against such an advertisement, including action like “taking it down”.

“Under our Content Code, if there is a breach and the advertisement is found to be offensive, we can remove it,” he said.

CMCF is empowered to issue a written reprimand and impose a fine of not more than RM50,000 for offensive advertisements.

CMCF can also refer the offending party to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as the umbrella regulatory body for further action.

The P1 Wimax broadband advertisement created an uproar over its liberal use of the word potong (cut).

Although the advertisement could be a tongue-in-cheek suggestion for viewers and listeners to “cut the wires” and “cut the hidden charges”, members of parliament are calling for the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry to pull the plug on it.

Datuk Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) had previously said in Parliament that potong somehow brings a vulgar connotation for some people because it is a colloquial way of referring to circumcision.

Meanwhile, Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie said the advertisement had been reviewed by the National Censorship Board even before it was aired. She said it had passed the strict censorship code imposed by the board.

Tiger Woods

This came to me as no surprise. It’s the right thing to do. It was all over the news. Accenture staff even received an email notification to inform them of this. Speculation on online media has stated that his average loss in sponsorships could be as much as US$50million per scandal! Looking at the number of women that has come forward, that’s easily US$500 million down the drain! Below is an excerpt from MSN News:

A major sponsor of Tiger Woods announced Sunday it was ending its six-year ties with the golf star, saying he “is no longer the right representative” after a blistering sex scandal.

The billionaire athlete and married father of two, once a ubiquitous figure with priceless advertising value, has seen his squeaky clean image decimated by a string of affairs with a porn star, cocktail waitress and other women, raising concerns of sponsors pulling away from golf.

“For the past six years, Accenture and Tiger Woods have had a very successful sponsorship arrangement and his achievements on the golf course have been a powerful metaphor for business success in Accenture’s advertising,” the Dublin-based technology, management and outsourcing consultancy said in a statement.

“However, given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising. Accenture said that it wishes only the best for Tiger Woods and his family.”

The statement marked the end of a relationship with the 14-time major champion at the center of ad campaigns that once included slogans like “Go on. Be a Tiger,” or “We know what it takes to be a Tiger.”

The company’s website once read: “Famous not only for his success on the golf course, Tiger Woods is equally renowned for his work ethic, focus and commitment to continual improvement.”

Accenture, which had earlier removed an image of Woods from its website, said it would “immediately” transition to a new advertising campaign, with plans for a “major” effort to launch next year.

But it was only the latest in a series of companies to reevaluate their sponsorship of the world’s top golfer ever since Woods crashed his Cadillac Escalade SUV into a tree and fire hydrant just outside his home in bizarre circumstances on November 27, unleashing a media firestorm.

Razormaker Gillette announced Saturday it would phase him out of advertisements while he takes a break from golf, calling it a supportive move.

“As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs,” the company said, said without announcing a timetable for the resumption of use of the golfer’s image.

One major concern from the golf world is that with Tiger taking “indefinite” leave from golf to fix his problems, this would be a major blow to the golf industry. Viewership has plummet during the 6-ish months when he was on leave for his knee injury, and now with this scandal and him not playing for a few months, the popularity of golf might just drop to the point it being a “rich old man’s game”. Even though it might take a while for that to actually happen (months or years, in fact), unless Tiger picks up his club sooner, he might just sink the whole industry with him.

KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd has received a letter of award from the Government to implement the RM11.31bil high-speed broadband (HSBB) project.

TM said on Tuesday the project would be carried out in collaboration with the Government to deploy the access, domestic core and international networks to deliver an end-to-end HSBB infrastructure.

“The total cost of the HSBB investment for a period of 10 years is RM11.31bil whereby the Government will be investing RM2.4bil and the remaining RM8.91bil from TM,” it said.

TM said with the acceptance of the letter of award, the company and the Government would sign a formal agreement based on mutually agreed terms and conditions in due course.

It added that more details and relevant information would be announced when the HSBB agreement was signed.

On May 15, TM said it was pleased to learn the Government has approved the pertinent details and broad implementation strategies for the HSBB roll-out plan.

The plan was a key initiative in the effort to widen broadband penetration in the country. The HSBB coverage is expected to be available across 1.3 million premises.

News item from: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/2/business/20080902181752&sec=business

Despite the minimal increase in performance, it’s noticeable. I can feel the difference immediately when driving back home. Good stuff, at a fairly decent price. Eneos sold me the air filter for RM310, and all 4 spark plugs were priced at RM190.