Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas everyone.. Here's how things were going on @ Binjai Methodist Church


Look at these cute little Santas ^_^


And the dearest teacher with the tambourine girls. ^_^


Have a very merry Christmas.. May the blessing of God be upon u all. ^_^

Licensing the Republic of Indonesia

Have u all heard of the government have signed an MoU with Microsoft regarding licensing legal software in (all) government institution?

This means the government will be paying Microsoft lots of money just for the license. In conjunction, Microsoft will also give away 35,496 MS Windows 177,480 MS Office license worth 676 billion Rupiah (US$ 1=Rp 9,065)

However the lisences are valid ONLY if the software is installed in a Intel Pentium III class processors. That means if they upgrade the hardware, the lisence is not valid anymore. At present time, how long would u think a P3 computer can last? Running Windows XP?

And still the gift from Microsoft will not cover all PCs in the government. It is estimated that the government will spend another Rp 400 billion for the lisence of the rest of the PCs for the next 2 years.

I personally find this ridiculous...
If I am allowed to ask the question "What are the primary functions of computer in (most) government agencies?" I would say office use.. And I bet that almost all users have no idea how to make use most of the great features of MS Office or Windows for all it matters.

They are just typing reports, making calculations in word processor and spreadsheet; some (and little if I may say) use it for presentations (in a bad design). In which all of it can be found in OpenOffice.org. I'm not against Microsoft as I say they make good products, but considering that the people (who work their asses to live AND pay tax) are still suffering in this country. That tons of money can be diverted to other aspects. It makes more sense buying a nuclear warhead to protect this country than spending on lisence... (It's just a joke.. haha..)

Almost all (or should I say "all") features in MS Office that the government officials are using are in OpenOffice.org. They don't know macro or .NET integration for all that matter; they're just using it to type letters.

Get half of the lisencing fund to train all the users is enough I suppose. Or perhaps throw a US$ 3 million dollars to a professional developers to make a much better Linux operating system in Indonesian?

Can it be that even Microsoft has learned how to bribe in this country? That it has been in the blood of the government to be bribed to get something? Who knows.. ^_^

1-week remote site trip

1 week of remote sites trip.. This time, we're going to 3 units: Blok Songo, Duri, and Dumai.

Took train to Rantau Prapat, got picked up until Blok Songo; 2 days there and continued to Duri by company car.

On 11.44 AM December 13, 2006 I was officially in the Riau province (I've never been this province)

Had a lunch stop at Arowana, a malay food restaurant (damn good)

Took pictures on top of the oil tank at Dumai..


With the IT manager...

Discussions with Erdy...


One whole weekend not being in Medan office.. Yay... ^_^
Happy weekend...

Online remotely

I feel like I'm in Medan office despite of the hundreds of kilometers from Medan. The network is up here. I can remotely use my PC at office using my laptop. And the best part is.. getting connected to the internet at high speed even in a remote place where I didn't even imagine of doing it at the first time I came here.

Going to another 2 remote sites for the next half week. Don't know if I can get online there or not. I should though.

As long as I have music

I was surprised when some of the old choir friends asked for a gathering, and ended up deciding we're going to sing the favorite song during the choir: As long as I have music

So we had 3 sessions of practice and we're up to the show on the 10th Dec for one of the Christmas service.

When the world seems far beyond me
And I have no place to go
When my life seems cold and empty
And I feel I'm all alone

Then a song that I remember
Helps to ease my troubled mind
And I find the strength within me
To reach out just one more time

For as long as I have music
As long as there's a song for me to sing
I can find my way, I can see a brighter day
The music in my life will set my spirit free

When the road is dark and lonely
And I feel I want to cry
When the dreams I keep inside me
Seem to fade and almost die

Then I call upon my music
And it helps to dry my tears
And I know that I can make it
I'll go on despite my fears

This song does calm my heart when shit happens. ^_^
Plus, it has a good old memories in it.

The opening of Bro Computer

First day of business... The launching...

Don't forget the foods... ^_^