This blog has been a bit quiet for a long time.. so here is something I found on our sales mailing list today which Abz sent to explain our entry level solutions..

We differ from most consumer oriented ISPs in that we specialize in custom specific solutions and the way our products and services are structured.

For instance, if you wanted to host a static website, domain, and 3 email addresses you could probably get a shared hosting package from one of the popular consumer ISPs for R20/m.

We can do all of the above, but we don’t offer shared hosting so we would either give you rack space in our data centre to host your own server(s) or offer you your own dedicated server with Apache, PHP, etc pre-installed, a mail server and domain hosting. Our quotation would look something like:

Xen Virtual Server (128MB Memory, 3GB Disk Space) @ R 250 + R 70/m

Mail Server @ R 600 + R 295/m

Domain Hosting @ R 30 + R 12/m

Internet (1GB, 20c/MB thereafter) @ R 370/m

Labour (1 hour @ R 550/h - Web/FTP setup) @ R 550

Total: R 1430 + R 747/m

As you can see a lot more expensive.

But now let’s say you want a firewall in front of your servers, you have an office which you want to connect to the Internet, some staff members that have ADSL at home, and you want to manage all of your services for you, we could add offer you an ADSL package which is uncapped, bandwidth shared among all your accounts for your staff members, an ADSL VPN / Wireless for your office with static ips, direct connectivity to your hosted services at our data centre, we’ll take over the ADSL lines from Telkom and manage them for you, offer you a managed firewall, etc.

As you can see, you don’t necessarily need to be a big company to deal with us, but it doesn’t really make a lot of business sense to say only host a website and domain with us. If we look at all your connectivity needs it may be a completely different story.

Fishbowl Sessions

This morning I attended a session on burnout. It was different to usual sessions in that the table has been removed from the room and the chairs were arranged in such a way that there is an inner circle and an outer circle. People who are more interested in the topic sit in the inner circle and people who are interested in keeping up to date or who might contribute more casually sit in the outer circle. This experiment is called fishbowl sessions, it’s happening with all the sessions in room 11 today.

Burn Out

We had a really good discussion about burn-out, what causes it, coping mechanisms and how to avoid it.

This is some of the things that were mentioned:

Burn-out sometimes tend to happen in cycles, and it can also easily be triggered by external factors, like burning out at work or even when your boss runs into burn-out. Negative influences seem to make burn-out worse, while spending quality time with people who share your views seem to  cool the burn-out somewhat. Many people used to do free software as a hobby and now doing it as a job as well. It’s important to get new hobbies, go work at the zoo. Having a girlfriend helps a lot in terms of grounding and having someone to talk to. Otherwise having a friend that knows you well and understands you can work just as well. Perhaps putting together a talk on burn-out that could be presented to loco teams would be of much value. Mike Basinger mentioned that he’s come accross members who have even been suicidal and that it helped a lot when they were refered to a professional. Can a whole team burn out? Some people have seen some situations where that has happened. A burn-out / health session on communities will probably be held at future UDS’s as well.

Taking on too much - Don’t kill yourself trying to be the next Colin Watson

In a project such as Ubuntu, there are lots of people we look up to and try to aspire to be like. It happens regularly that someone works really hard trying to catch up to someone elses skill level and they end up doing more damage to themselves than good. Many people actively take on too much, finding themselves to juggle too much and not doing enough leading up to more frustration. Jono mentioned that Canonical is an interesting company in the sense that managers actively have to tell their team members to stop working. It was also mentioned that it’s important to let people know that Ubuntu is like a big machine and there are lots of big and small coggs and that if a small one breaks, it can have massive implications for the bigger machine and that they are also important.

Mark Shuttleworth Shares Tips on Burn-Out

Mark often walks into sessions for a few minutes. I think he takes just enough time to gauge what the discussions are about and if it’s going into the right direction and tone. He said that what works well for him is to get to bed and get some decent sleep, and then get some good excercise when he wakes up. Other people in the session confirmed that excercise has indeed helped them in feeling good and being more productive.

So, there you have it. If you want to be a good developer or contributer and make Ubuntu as good as it could possibly be, then take care of yourself, stay healthy and as Jono said earlier this week… eat your vegetables

This week there’s been lots of interest in Moblin at the Ubuntu Developer Summit. It surely is very shiny and flashy, and I’m sure it will make a big impact on the mobile world when it is ready for mass consumption.

According to Engadget, Linpus Linux, which is distributed on Acer Aspire One netbooks, is working on a Moblin desktop for netbooks. I would actually expect Ubuntu do be the first distribution to do this, but from what I heard Moblin is really just not ready yet. Perhaps something to consider in the Karmic+1 release cycle?

The 10th of June, 2009, marks the first meeting of the Open Spectrum Alliance (OSA), a multi-disciplinary grouping of parties with a shared interest in working towards greater efficiency in the allocation, assignment and use of radio frequency spectrum in South Africa. The OSA workshop will include guest speaker Steve Song, from the Shuttleworth Foundation, [...]

Leading Cape Town based hotel group Daddy Long Legs has acquired Skyrove’s hassle free and fully supported Wi-Fi solution for its latest expansion, the Grand Daddy Hotel. Situated in Long Street, the Group’s venues comprise of The Art Hotel, Self Catering Apartments, The Grand Daddy and finally 7 vintage Airstreams on the roof of the Grand Daddy Hotel – each of these boasting its own contemporary, unconventional design.



Guests can now stay at any of the Daddy Long Legs hotels and enjoy Skyrove’s Wi-Fi Internet access. At the Grand Daddy all guests will receive a 20 Megabytes venue branded voucher upon checkin. Guests can buy additional vouchers or top up using their credit cards. Skyrove’s limited free hotspot option has already been widely adapted in the hospitality industry as it gives the venue full control over the free amount that they give away, is secure and protects the venue from abuse and is an opportunity to increase customer loyalty by handing guests a free branded voucher.



Sergio Dreyer, GM of Grand Daddy says: “It is a pleasure forming another partnership with South Africa’s leading Wi-Fi hotspot provider. We are thrilled to have found a partner for our group that has delivered such an outstanding level of service. The way Skyrove’s controlled free Internet solution works is the best possible solution for our new 4-star hotel.”



Join Africa’s largest and fastest growing Wi-Fi sharing network and get your own prepaid or limited free Wi-Fi Hotspot solution from Skyrove. Simply fill in the enquiry form for a managed solution and we will call you.



Find the Grand Daddy Hotel and 500+ other Skyrove hotspots on our hotspot map.

Skyrove launched its new Authorised Partner Training Programme on 20 April 2009 held at the Grand Daddy Hotel. The event was attracted interested SMME’s from across the country to participate in Sales, Marketing and Technical training followed by much welcomed FAQ’s.

Skyrove’s new Mesh technology was also introduced by Skyrove founder and Chief Technical Officer, Henk Kleynhans. The mesh routers make it simple to set up larger, multi-building, wireless networks due to its self-forming and self-healing ability. Skyrove is currently the only company in Africa that provides this innovative technology to venue owners and its partners.

Renier De Jager from Leapfrog Computers in Gauteng says: “This is truly a step forward for providing cheap internet access all over Africa combined with the opportunity to make money from it. Excellent technology combined with great management Team = Success.”

Do you also want to extend your business and earn income from installing and managing multiple WiFi hotspots? Then join our growing team of more than 60 Authorized Skyrove Partners. Click here to apply for your partner status online and to find out about all the benefits you will enjoy as an Authorized Skyrove Partner.

Click here for my 2009 NetProphet presentation in PDF. (Video to follow)



Also see the NetProphet Website and the very active Twitter Stream.

I was quoted in a MyBroadband article: Are you breaking the law with your Wi-Fi antenna?

Pretty good article.

“ICASA?

ICASA couldn’t regulate their way out of a paper bag if you gave them a pair of garden shears!”

– Garyvdh on the MyBB forum

WAPA is looking to employ or contract somebody who can help with technical and wireless operations management. This person must be neutral (not affiliated to a network operator) and independent. At the moment it’s a part-time position and focused on the Western Cape area. Position: Operations Manager, part-time Office location: Cape Town Reporting to: WAPA Exco Permanent / Contract: [...]

I've heard a couple of friends and family swear by Natura Rescue Remedy, "for Shock, Anxiety & Sleeplessness". So I thought I'd do a bit of research. Here's what I found:



Firstly, let's have a look at the ingredients listed on the Natura website. (The ingredients don't actually matter, but more about that later.)

• Ambra grisea D6
• Banisteropsis caapi Spag D60
• Clematis vitalba (Clematis) aqua inf.
• Helianthemum nummularium (Rock Rose) aqua inf.
• Impatiens glandulifera (Impatiens) aqua inf.
• Melissa officinalis Spag D3
• Moschus moschiferus D6
• Ornithogalum umbellatum (Star of Bethlehem) aqua inf.
• Prunus cerasifera (Cherry Plum) aqua inf.

Let's look at each of these in turn:



Ambra grisea.

Natura says: "supports the functioning of the nervous system to treat anxiety, fear, hypersensitivity, shyness and numbness of the body."

Wikipedia says: "biliary secretion of the intestines of the sperm whale ... was used as a fixative in perfumery"



Banisteriopsis caapi

Natura says: "helps calm extreme nervous hypersensitivity"

Wikipedia says: Hallucinogenic used by native American tribes and some religious sects. Entheogenic.



Clematis

Natura says: "is a flower essence indicated for inability to focus on reality and the present and is useful in the treatment of shock."

Wikipedia says: Essentially toxic. Causes internal bleeding of the digestive track. Despite its toxicity, it was used by Native Americans in small amounts to treat migraines.



Rock Rose

Natura says: "is the flower essence that relieves extreme fear and a feeling of panic"

Wikipedia says: "This is a good nectar source for bees"



Impatiens glandulifera

Natura says: "acts on the nervous system to relieve irritability, restlessness, hyperactivity and impatience"

Wikipedia says: When crushed has a strong musky odour.



Melissa Officinalis

Natura says: "has a carminative and sedative action to help induce restful sleep, prevent insomnia, soothe irritability and help cope with stress and tension."

Wikipedia actually notes one study that did find it may relieve stress, though even the authors of this study state that further research is needed to confirm it.

I say: Don't expect much from this as Natura dilutes this ingredient 1000 times before adding it in with the mix of other ingredients.



Moschus moschiferus

Natura says:  "acts on the central nervous system to relieve fainting, shock, anxiety and fear."

Wikipedia says: Siberian Musk Deer. Hunted for its musk gland (believed to have aphrodisiac qualities). Classified as a threatened species by CITES.

I say:  Now Natura is helping to kill endanged animals!



Star of Bethlehem

Natura says: "is the principle flower essence specifically indicated for shock"

Wikipedia says: "The plant is toxic."



Cherry Plum

Natura says: "is a flower essence that acts on the nervous system to treat anxiety and fear"

Wikipedia says: "excellent for jam making"



Hopefully by now you've figured out that Natura is trying to fool people and relieve them of their money, rather than their anxiety. Firstly, not a single one of the ingredients has been proven to have any of the effects Natura proclaims. Furthermore, the ingredients are so dilute that they wouldn't have any effect in any case.



If you thought that you'd at least get a little bit high from Banisteriopsis caapi as the Native Americans did, think again. It is diluted 1x10^60 times before it's added. This means that there is 1 part of this in every 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 parts of water. That's a pretty big number. Let me try put this another way: It will take 2 billion doses, per second, to 6 billion people, for 4 billion years, to deliver a single molecule to any one patient.



I.e. you haven't a snowball's chance in midsummer to get any effect from Banisteriopsis Caapi.



And that ain't the end of it! Hold on to your chair for this one:



According to homeopathy principles, the more dilute the solution, the stronger the effects! I kid you not.



Now, I know some of you reading this are saying: "But I've tried homeopathy and it works for me!". And this may well be true, because of the Placebo Effect, and of it has indeed been scientifically proven that Placebos do help with symptomatic relief.



The question is: How much are you willing to pay for a Placebo?



---



References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_remedy



Please share this article with your friends and family. Even if Rescue might have no effects on your body, the long-term effect on the environment from manufacturing and distribution of these remedies is highly destructive.

I was quoted in an ITWeb article: Small telcos in limbo

Not the best article, imho.

I few comments..

As usual, I can’t remember saying the wireless access providers are generally in a state of limo.. they are still deploying networks using licence-exempt spectrum. In the context of their new licences.. I did say I think many of them are still in a state of awe and disbelief after actually getting their new (ECNS) licences. It was an interesting battle.

Most of the independent wireless operators which WAPA represents now have the same licences as Telkom and Neotel.. the only snag is that they don’t have access to licenced frequency spectrum and most of them don’t have the kind of money needed to build big fibre networks (yet).

I’d say this is a time of strategy and planning. They don’t have the option to “go for” shared or dedicated spectrum at this point, not yet. If anybody has created a state of limbo (around spectrum) it’s ICASA.

There will be a strong focus on spectrum in 2009 as licenced or lite-licenced spectrum would allow operators to deploy improved wireless networks under their new licences.. and would be a logical next step without the massive capital expenses related to building fibre networks.

The revenue numbers may very well be accurate.. but 60%+ of this income relates to consumer business income which has been under pressure from competing services like ADSL.

Joe created a brief intro document about SchoolWAN for a tuXlabs and school connectivity workshop (2009-02-25).

Please note that we have updated our ISPA Code of Conduct Compliance details. You’ll find our Content Take Down Policy and Acceptable Use Policy here.

SchoolWAN is now an associate member of WAPA, the Wireless Access Providers’ Association of South Africa.