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March 31, 2009

Double my DSL Speed Qtel!

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 03:40 PM

I’m sure you’ve read about the planned effort of Qtel to boost the Internet Service in Qatar. And I’m sure that a lot of people are doubtful if there would really be an “upgrade” of some sorts or would this just be an excuse by Qtel for the dismal speeds we’ve been having lately. In my case, my lag on the Xbox Live service seems worse than last year, after the undersea cable hoopla.
However, it might really be a big upgrade! I remember about 4 years ago that Qtel decided to double everyone’s Internet speed. Those who had 256kbps were upgraded to 512kbps, 512kbps to 1mb and 1 mb to 2mb. And the upgrade was free! Are we to see the same thing by the end of April? I do hope so.

I’ve actually heard of this a couple of months ago from an insider but as I’ve learned from life, you can’t count on stuff like these unless it’s already implemented. Would the upgrade possible for Mosaic subscribers? And would we still see caps on download speeds? If they would at least let me download at a speed of 120kbps on torrent, I’d be a happy camper. That means I also need to buy more space (currently have 1TB, 500GB, 250gb, 320gb, 40gb) since download time would be cut into half. Would this also take care of the lag while playing online? Oh, I’d be the Team Player in Call of Duty! And I can play NBA online! See how Qtel is making me happy…

If only this was true indeed.

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March 30, 2009

Major Internet Upgrade Planned for Qatar

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 08:58 PM

Qatar is set to benefit from an advanced upgrade to its national Internet network this year, as Qtel continues to implement its “Broadband Qatar” strategy.

Speed, reliability and penetration are all set to improve as a result of the upgrade, which will involve the deployment of a range of new technologies, as well as physical and technical improvements to the network of cables and hubs that support the Internet in Qatar, both domestically and internationally.

During the upgrade process – which will begin on April 1 – customers may experience limited disruption to their Internet experience. However, the upgrade process is only taking place during off-peak hours, and disruption will only last for 30 minutes at most, to minimize the issues for Qtel customers.

“Our customers will see the fulfillment of the next stage of Qtel’s Internet strategy, which aims to deliver one of the best networks in the world to the people of Qatar. All the elements in our strategy – from bandwidth enhancements through to speed upgrades – will see significant developments in the coming weeks and months, resulting in a transformed Internet experience for the people of Qatar,” said Adel Al Mutawa, Executive Director, Group Communications, Qtel.

“Although we anticipate short-term disruption in the first few weeks of April, our network engineers have developed a precise project plan which should significantly limit the extent to which our customers are inconvenienced,” he added.

The upgrade process should be completed within the month of April. Enhancements to specific Qtel products and services will be announced following the upgrade process.

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Planning for Vacation: Part 2

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 04:24 PM
As from my previous post, it was Bangkok, Malaysia or bust for us this year. Mavis really wanted to go to Bangkok as she heard from my Sister Tin that food was good and shopping for clothes and trinkets was great. My Sis went to Bangkok last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. So with that in mind, I started my research.

Now, if it’s just adults that you’re taking, you’d be fine in Bangkok especially if you’re really after food and clothes. But since we have 2 kids (Xiane and her Cousin Yiyi), I found out that there’s not much to do for kids except visit a couple of places. Bangkok is more about temples and… temples. Malaysia seems more of a kid-friendly place. There’s Sunway Lagoon and Genting Park along with other activities that they can do in Kuala Lumpur City itself. After several weeks of research, I was finally able to book our flights, all 9 of us (me, Mavis, Xiane, my mom, dad, 2 sisters and brother-in-law and nephew) thru AirAsia. I could have saved at least 3,000QR in fares if we have decided this earlier (thru the December Seat Sale). Which is why, it really pays off planning travels early.

Anyway, we leave from Clark, Philippines to Kuala Lumpur on July 8 and coming back on the 13th. I would have wanted to stay a day or 2 longer but the others have business, work and school commitments. We’d be staying in Genting for 2 nights (already booked in Theme Park Hotel) and 3 nights in Novatel Kuala Lumpur(booked on Accor’s 3 day Sale!). I’ve also looked into the transportation from the Airport to Genting and Genting to Kuala Lumpur. Basically, ¾ of the itinerary is done and already posted on Tripit! The 2 things not yet settled would be the van hire to Kuala Gandah elephant sanctuary and the trip to the airport at 3 in the morning of the 15th.

Overall, after weeks of research, planning, email inquiries, and budgeting, we are ready to go Malaysia!

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March 29, 2009

Vodafone: Would You be able to Consume your 700 Credit in 1 month?

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 04:31 PM
I've been trying to use Vodafone services for the past few days and beginning to doubt if I would be able to consume even the QR70 credit I paid much less the 700QR credit that I'm allowed to consume.

You see, as I'm sure others who are in the same boat as I am would agree, I've had about 30% success in making calls. I've had success in Villagio, Matar Qadeem, and Old Airport Road. And would test it out on other locations as well. However, the most important location for me is Ras Abu Aboud since I work there. And spend half of my day in the office for 5 days. Mostly, people call me and I make calls during that time.

I was excited to bring and brag about Vodafone number to work but there were never any connection inside our offices. My room isn't that far from the outside and our building was just a 2 story building. I've also tried it in Al Ghazal Club (outside) but only got connections after several tries and finding a suitable spot.

With this, I'm not even sure if I can consume 70QR for a month as I can't make calls where it is important  and where I usually place/make/receive calls! So what is the use of the 700QR Credit if I can't use it.

Still, I really am not complaining here but giving an assessment of the whole deal. Do you think you would be able to use half of the QR700 credit with the connections we are getting from Vodafone at the moment?

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March 27, 2009

Beware of Email coming from Doha Bank

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 09:04 PM

Beware of clicking any email supposedly coming from Doha Bank. The Login link it links to a phishing site to get your account numbers. Here's the sample that the email might contain.

Doha Bank
You have incorrectly entered your details too many times. to prevent unauthorised access to your accounts,we have suspended your use of this service,To regain access please Click log on below.

I'm not a client of Doha Bank so I was surprised to get an email from them. The curios thing about this is that it is actually coming from 2 emails.One is from secure.alert@dohabank.com.qa and the other is secure.sms@doha.com.qa.

Make sure you don't click on the Login!