Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

Author: ttcsadmin

  • TSTT announces Single National Rate for local fixed line calls

    TSTT has published a advisory notice announcing a single national rate of 23 cents TT to any fixed line in Trinidad and Tobago from September 7th, 2007.

    Here is the text of the TSTT press release :
    http://www.tstt.co.tt/about/news_article.cfm?id=330

    SIMPLE CALLING RATE STRUCTURE FOR FIXED LINE CALLS
    INTRODUCTION OF A SINGLE NATIONAL RATE

    TSTT wishes to advise customers of the introduction of a new and simple calling rate for billing fixed line calls across Trinidad and Tobago. The existing complex rate structure will be replaced with a Single National Rate.

    The Single National Rate will eliminate the elements that currently determine the cost of a local call such as: distance; whether calls are made within or outside of your exchange area and time of day. All fixed line calls will now be billed using one simple per minute rate (The following exceptions apply: calls to mobile, international, 976, 800 or other premium services; independent ISP numbers and calls from Payphones will remain unchanged. Smart Choice customers will not be affected.)
    A NEW SIMPLER RATE

    The existing rates range from $0.23 to $0.69 per minute. The new simplified rate will be $0.23 per minute for all calls to any location within Trinidad and Tobago with effect from September 7, 2007.

    Customers will now be able to call family and friends in any part of Trinidad and Tobago, at one simple calling rate. The Single National Rate is in direct response to customer feedback and conforms to international trends for local call billing.

    Customers will receive more details in the near future and may feel free to contact TSTT’s offices for further information on the Single National Rate.

  • OSnews.com : Apple Releases New iMac, iLife ’08, iWork ’08

    Via OSNews.com, is news of Apple’s announcements at a press event today :

  • Flow’s broadband pricing

    Flow’s broadband pricing

    Update edit : 30th Oct 2007 : new Flow pricing

    Update Edit : 3rd Sept 2007 : Flow announces new speeds for its u-click unlimited 2 package

    Update Edit (4:11pm) : clarified that pricing is monthly and added information and link to Flow’s service charges section.

    Saw on the TTCS discussion mailing list, that Flow, (the cable company in Trinidad and Tobago) has released its pricing for broadband on its website and it is better than what the initial brochures had :

    Broadband Internet packages from Flow :

    All prices in TT dollars per month and are VAT inclusive

    • u-click 20
      • 20 hours per month, 1 email address ;
      • 1Mbps download, 256Kbps upload
      • $91.99
    • u-click 50
      • 50 hours per month, 1 email address ;
      • 1Mbps download, 256Kbps upload
      • $164.44
    • u-click Unlimited 1
      • unlimited hours, 3 email addresses
      • 2Mbps download, 512Kbps upload
      • $390.99
    • u-click Unlimited 2
      • unlimited hours, 5 email addresses
      • 4Mbps download, 2Mbps upload 6Mbps download, 2Mbps upload as of September 1st, 2007
      • $689.99
    • Flow Service charges (applies to all packages ; appears to be one time service charges with one exeception )
      • Existing Flow Customer Installation Fee : $114.99
      • Internet Only Customer Installation Fee : $158.70
      • Existing Flow Customer Modem Fee : $459.99
      • Internet Only Customer Modem Fee : $689.99
      • Modem Insurance ( Optional Charge) : $11.50 (think this is a monthly charge)
      • Stolen Modem (insured modem) : free
      • Stolen Modem (not insured) : full price of modem

    Wow. Very impressive pricing. It is available for areas that Flow has converted to digital service. Wonder how TSTT and other ISPs are going to respond to this.

    Related links :

  • Sumatra PDF – open source PDF viewer for Windows

    Sumatra PDF is a free, open-source PDF viewer for Windows. The program is a single EXE file (about 803 KB) so it is portable. Opens PDFs very quickly (much faster than Adobe Acrobat reader) and so far have had no problems opening and viewing PDFs created with OpenOffice.org, PDFCreator or Paperport. Already added to the TTCS OSSWIN CD for v1.78 and to http://del.icio.us/ttcs

    Sumatra PDF home page : http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/

    screenshot of Sumatra PDF viewer

  • 3rd Caribbean Internet Governance Forum – 15 – 17 August 2007 in Curacao

    The Caribbean Telecommunications Union is organising the third Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) which will be held on 15th to 17th August 2007 in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. With the theme of “Building a Regional Internet Governance Framework“, the objectives of the CIGF are :

    • To review priority areas and continue the development of Internet governance policy framework appropriate to the Caribbean.
    • To review and progress the work and recommendations coming forward from the 2006 CIGF (which was jointly staged with the 4th Caribbean Internet Forum in Grenada in November 2006) and the Ministerial Briefing Seminar on Internet Governance held in Anguilla in April 2007
    • To consider the state of and make recommendations for the further development of the physical and logical elements of regional Internet infrastructure and exchange points.
    • To discuss the implications of the imminent exhaust of IPv4 address space and commence the development of a transition plan for IPv6 deployment.
    • To develop mechanisms for strengthening ccTLD management in the Caribbean
    • To identify prioritized actions, primeships and indicative schedules for accelerating development of the information society in the Caribbean.

    A representative from the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) will be attending this forum.

    Useful CIGF related links :

  • WHOIS Working Group draft document v1.5

    WHOIS Working Group draft document v1.5

    Version 1.5 of the draft document from the WHOIS working group dated July 19th, 2007 can be found at http://forum.icann.org/lists/gnso-whois-wg/msg00507.html

    See the TTCS Wiki page on WHOIS

  • Commonwealth computer recycling project in Trinidad and Tobago supports community development

    Commonwealth computer recycling project in Trinidad and Tobago supports community development

    From Caribbean Press Releases is this information about a ICT project in Trinidad and Tobago that has to date not been mentioned on the Ministry of Public Administration and Information website or publicised locally in Trinidad and Tobago. What hardware will be used? What software will be used on these recycled computers? :

    Commonwealth — July 25, 2007 — Trinidad and Tobago will benefit from a Commonwealth Connects programme to fund a computer refurbishment project that will benefit schools and communities, particularly those in need.

    The $100,000 project known as Computers for Communities will be managed by the Ministry of Public Administration and Information. It involves the collection of used computers donated by Caribbean governments and the private sector for re-use in Trinidad and Tobago through upgrading and repair. This exercise addresses the environmental concerns involving the disposal of computer equipment by refurbishing used computers instead of discarding them. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago will provide supplementary funding for the completion of this project.

    The Computers for Communities project involves cleaning, assembly, software installation and configuration, quality assurance testing, distribution and installation of refurbished computers. This will help expand the pool of trained information and communication technology (ICT) technicians besides creating employment in the ICT sector and encouraging good corporate citizenship.

    This project will promote the use of ICT in Trinidad and Tobago. It is in line with one of the focus areas of the Commonwealth Connects programme of promoting local access and connectivity within the Commonwealth. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is estimated that 10 per cent of the country’s population of over a million have internet access. This computer refurbishment project will enhance internet usage in the Caribbean country.

    Another related article and a Google Search for more articles about this

  • OSSWIN Poster 2 (draft)

    OSSWIN Poster 2 (draft)

    Similar to first poster, but portrait instead of landscape, and smaller in size. Also contains an open dare to pirate it (which of course is impossible).

  • OSSWIN Marketing Poster 1 (draft)

    OSSWIN Marketing Poster 1 (draft)

    Proposed osswin marketing poster – also contains an anti-piracy message.

    OSSWIN Poster 1 draft

  • TTCS pizza lime on Wednesday August 8th, 2007

    TTCS pizza lime on Wednesday August 8th, 2007

    The next TTCS pizza lime will be held on Wednesday August 8th, 2007 at Pizza Hut, Valsayn from 7 to 9pm. One of the topics will be the 3rd Caribbean Internet Governance Forum which will held in Curacao, Netherland Antilles from the 16-17th August 2007.