This article is about ADSL service offered by TSTT in Trinidad and Tobago.

ADSL is an acronym for: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. It provides faster Internet/data transfer speeds (as compared to speeds from 56K dial-up modems) over existing telephone lines. The local service is “asymmetric” because download speeds are faster than upload speeds.

ADSL can provide reliable speeds as high as 256 kbits/s, but is limited by distance and the quality of available phone lines (good quality = high speed, bad quality e.g. “noise” on the line = slow speed, closer to the DSLAM-enabled telephone exchange = higher speeds, further away from the DSLAM-enabled telephone exchange = slower speeds).

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Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) was released on August 6th 2004 and it is the largest update to Windows XP since the original release of Windows XP. SP2 is not immediately available (at this time: August 2004) for download from www.windowsupdate.com therefore users will have to download and install the “full” (also called the “Network Install”) of Windows XP Service Pack 2.

It is available from Microsoft at this URL:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/5/165b076b-aaa9-443d-84f0-73cf11fdcdf8/WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

This link is for the English version. The file size is approximately 266 MB.

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Slipstreaming is the term used to describe the integration of a service pack with the installation files from the original installation media. In this example, Windows XP Service Pack 2 will be integrated with the original files from Windows XP Home Edition.

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Introduction

Updated : January 12th, 2005

Windows XP Service Pack 2 installs a brand new “Security Center” for users to protect their computers against a variety of security risks.

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Tech Specs for Trinidad and Tobago

Created : July 7th, 2004

Introduction

This page provides information about some of the basic technical specifications and standards in use in Trinidad and Tobago. Will you be visiting Trinidad and Tobago in the near future? Will you be bringing your electronic devices (e.g. digital camera, cellphone, PDA, laptop computer, MP3 player, etc) with you? This page is for you.

Electricity

In Trinidad and Tobago, electricity is distributed by the Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC). Their official website is located at: http://www.ttec.co.tt/. According to their website, electricity is supplied:

• at a frequency of 60 Hertz (60Hz).
• the typical residential supply is AC, 115/230 Volt, single phase, 3 wire.

For most purposes, the electrical outlets available to the typical visitor (at hotels, guest houses, homes of relatives/friends, etc) will supply 115V/60Hz electricity.

Notes:

• The electrical voltage can vary in the range 110V to 120V depending on time of day, load conditions, demand, etc.
• Your electrical device should be able to operate in the 110V to 120V range.

Types of electrical plugs:

• Flat blade attachment plug
• Flat blades with round grounding pin

Telephones (land lines)

Land line service in Trinidad and Tobago is provided by Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT). Their webiste is located at: http://www.tstt.co.tt. TSTT uses standards similar to those of North America:

• Telephone outlets use the RJ-11 socket.
• Phones, fax machines, answering machines, modems, etc. are connected to the outlet via a RJ-11 modular plug.

Cellular telephones

The local phone company, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago, (TSTT) offers both TDMA and GSM cellular service. Reminder: Check with your cellular service provider for information about roaming rates, compatibility, etc.) before bringing your cellular phone to Trinidad and Tobago.

Further information about the GSM service can be found on our GSM in TnT page.

Television/video standards

Trinidad and Tobago uses the North American standard for television broadcasting.

• Television/video standard: NTSC.
• Number of lines: 525.
• Frequency: 60Hz.

NTSC to PAL and PAL to NTSC conversions are available from local video production companies (check the local telephone directory for contact information) but can be expensive for the average visitor.

Internet Access

Dial-up access is still the most common with “broadband” available in limited areas. For general information check this page: Internet Access Options in TnT

As a visitor, you have several options by which you can access the Internet:

Hotels

The major hotels offer access in one form or the other:

• The access can be directly from your room via a Ethernet cable or WiFi.
• It may also be from a specially designated “computer room” where the hotel already has computers set and ready to access the Internet
• It may also be from a specially designated “computer room” where you can plug your portable computer into a telephone jack or ethernet port.

Cybercafes

There are many cybercafes locate throughout the country, check the local telephone directory for contact information. Quality of service, speed and available equipment/applications varies from cafe to cafe.

Dial-up access

One local ISP, Opus Networx offers a “visitor account” for the duration of your stay. Check the website: http://www.opusnetworx.co.tt for further details.

619-EASY

The local phone company (TSTT) offers Internet access service without the need to sign-up for an account. Simply configure your computer to dial 619-easy (3279) and use the username EASY (use all capital letters because it is case-sensitive). There is no password. The call will cost TT 75 cents per minute (VAT inclusive) and will be billed to the phone number from which the call was made. e.g. if you make the call from telephone number 611-0001 and spend 10 minutes online, then the charge of (0.75 x 10) TT$7.50 for Internet access time will be added to the bill for phone number 611-0001. Please do not abuse the facility and leave your relatives or friends with large phone bills for Internet access time.

Freenets

There are no “freenet”-style 80211.b, 80211.g or other such public access wireless (“WiFi”) networks currently in operation (July 2004).

Computer Hardware

Hardware for PC desktop systems e.g. RAM modules, motherboards, keyboards, mice, network cards, hard drives, floppy drives, video cards, cases, cables, etc are available “off-the-shelf” from local retailers.

Hardware for Macs is not so common. However, modern desktop Macs do use some components that are common to both Macs and PCs so, to a certain, limited extent, hardware is available.

Internal hardware for laptops (PCs and Macs) is rare. These machines use proprietary form factor parts which will not be available “off-the-shelf”.

Reminder: If you are traveling with your various electronic devices (e.g. laptop computer, PDA, digital camera, MP3 player, etc) bring: your AC adapter, spare batteries and your battery charger if possible/where applicable.

Measurement Systems

Trinidad and Tobago uses the Metric system for measurement:

• Length: millimetres, centimetres, metres, kilometres.
• Liquids: litres.
• Weight: grams, kilograms.
• Speed: kilometres per hour (Km/h).

However, as a former british colony, it is not uncommon for citizens to refer to these measurements in their imperial formats, e.g. “pounds”, “miles”, “feet”, “inches”, etc. Note: the Metric system should be used for all business transactions.

Batteries

• Carbon and alkaline batteries are commonly available in the following formats: AAA, AA, C, D.
• “Button” batteries, such as those used in watches and calculators are available.
• Rechargable batteries and those with exotic contents e.g. lithium are less common.

If your electronic equipment (e.g. laptop, digital camera, MP3 player, PDA) uses a battery with a proprietary form factor, it is unlikely you will be able to purchase a replacement “off-the-shelf”.

Reminder: travel with spare batteries and your battery charger if possible/where applicable.

Recordable Media

Recordable Media is available in the following formats:

• VHS standard video tape: 120 and 160 minutes (as measured in SP recording mode). (As of 2013, this is no longer considered a common medium)
• Compact cassettes (As of 2013, this is no longer considered a common medium).
• CD-R(ecordable): 650MB and 700MB are common.
• CD-R specifically for audio is also available (but more expensive than “data” CD-Rs).
• CR-RW (CD-rewritable) is available.
• Recordable 4.7GB DVDs are available. Formats include: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW.

Local Radio Stations

Local radio stations use the North American standard for frequency allocation:

• The AM band uses 540 Khz to 1600Khz.
• The FM band uses 88Mhz to 108Mhz.

There are two AM stations: 610 (state owned/operated) and 730 (privately owned/operated).

There are fifteen FM stations: 90.1, 92, 93, 94.1, 95.1, 96.1,
97, 98.1, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106.

Programming content includes: news, community announcements, local music, caribbean music, east-indian music, foreign pop music, hip-hop, talk radio, religious music and talk, easy listening and “golden-oldies”.

Local Television Stations

The 4 local television stations use the North American standard for frequency allocation:

• Trinidad and Tobago Televsion (TTT): state owned/operated. VHF Channel 2 (in Trinidad) and VHF channel 13 (some parts of northern Trinindad and all of Tobago)
• The Information Channel (TIC): state owned/operated. VFH Channel 4 (in Trinidad) and VHF channel 16 (some parts of northern Trinidad and all of Tobago)
• CCN-TV6: privately owned/operated. VHF Channel 6 (in Trinidad), UHF channel 18 (some parts of northern Trinindad and all of Tobago), UHF channel 19 (only in Tobago).
• Gayelle TV: privately owned/operated. UHF Channel 23. This is a “community” channel located in north western Trinidad. Other parts of the Trinidad and and all of Tobago may not receive this broadcast signal.

These stations operate “over the air” on standard VHF and UHF broadcast frequencies. They are also available (unscrambled) on the local cable television system (CCTT) in Trinidad: TTT can be found on channel 3, TIC can be found on channel 4, TV6 can be found on channel 5, Gayelle on channel 7.

Contact the creator of this page

Before you send that email, remember:

We can only answer questions involving Trinidad and Tobago. Do not email us with questions about other countries. We may not be able to answer your question(s).

Information on this page is subject to change without further notice. We may not reply if your question has already been answered by material provided on this page. This page is for information purposes only. It is not an endorsement of the services provided by any entity linked to or mentioned on this page. You are solely responsible for any and all: financial loss, damage to your equipment or loss of data that may result directly or indirectly from the use of information contained on this page.

If you have questions (that have not already been answered on this page), comments, more information to add to this page, etc, please contact us

Last updated : 05/july/2004

DISCLAIMER

The creator(s) of this page and the TTCS are not affiliated with any entity linked to or mentioned on this page. This page has not been endorsed in any way by these entities. Information on this page is subject to change without further notice. If you use any information from this page, you do so at your own discretion and risk and you are solely responsible for any and all: financial loss, damage to your equipment or loss of data that may result directly or indirectly from such use. In other words, if you screw-up, or your equipment or data gets screwed up, it is 100% YOUR fault! Don’t blame anyone else

The IEEE 1394 Standard was originally created as a replacement for the SCSI interface. Three versions of the IEEE 1394 Standard have been approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE):

• 1394-1995:The original concept for a high-speed serial interface was conceived by Apple and the final Standard, 1394-1995, is based on Apple developed technology. The interface has the following capabilities:
  • Data transfer rates of up to 400 Mbps.
  • Bi-directional transfers.
  • High speed data transfer.
  • “Hot plug” connectivity (equipment using the interface can be connected and disconnected while the computer is powered on).
  • Digital interface.
  • A maximum cable length of 4.5 metres.
• 1394a:Was finalised/adopted in 2000. It provided specifications for enhanced performance and power management on the FireWire bus.
• 1394b:Was finalised/adopted in 2002. It supports a theoretical maximum speed of up to 3.2 Gbps at distances of up to 100 metres. It allows new types of media to be used for FireWire connections (e.g. fibre optic cabling).

IEEE 1394a supports the following speeds:

• 100 Mbps (S100)
• 200 Mbps (S200)
• 400 Mbps (S400)

IEEE 1394b supports a maximum speed of 800 megabits per second and is backward compatible with 1394a.

A maximum of 63 devices can be connected to one IEEE 1394 bus. The maximum number of bus-powered devices depends on the amount of power required by each device and the amount of power that can be provided by the computer.

Most IEEE 1394 equipment and interface ports support IEEE 1394a. At this time, IEEE 1394b is most commonly found on products from Apple.

IEEE 1394a is also known by the brand names “Firewire 400” and (to a lesser extent) “i.LINK”. IEEE 1394b is also known by the brand name “FireWire 800”.

Cables and interface

IEEE 1394 enables one cable to simultaneously carry digital video signals, digital audio signals, computer data and control signals. Cables are available in a variety of lengths. There are three types of connectors/ports:

• 6-pin (Firewire 400. Can act as a power source for peripheral devices).
• 4-pin (Firewire 400. Does not provide power to peripheral devices).
• 9-pin (Firewire 800. Can act as a power source for peripheral devices).

Cables can have different combinations of connectors:

• 6-pin to 6-pin.
• 6-pin to 4-pin.
• 4-pin to 4-pin.
• 9-pin to 9-pin.
• 9-pin to 6-pin.
• 9-pin to 4-pin.

• Adapters are available to “downsize” a 6-pin connector to a 4-pin connector.
• FireWire 400 devices/ports use either a 6-pin or 4-pin connector.
• FireWire 800 uses the 9-pin connector and 9-pin port.
• FireWire 400 products require an adapter cable in order to be used on a FireWire 800 port.
• A FireWire 400 device can be plugged into either type of port (400 or 800) once it uses the appropriate connector.
• FireWire 800 speeds can only be achieved if the FireWire 800 device is connected to a FireWire 800 port.

Bus power:

IEEE 1394 has been designed to allow devices to be powered through the IEEE 1394 cable (e.g. FireWire 800 can provide up to 45 watts, with a maximum of 1.5 amps and 30 volts). Devices receive power only when they actually need it. One of the best examples of such a device is the Apple iPod digital music player: “FireWire” is the sole data and power connection. The iPod recharges its built-in battery while downloading music from the computer.

4-pin IEEE 1394 connectors/ports do not carry power therefore devices (which have those ports/are connected to such ports) will not receive power from the IEEE 1394 bus. They must be powered separately.

Applications

The most popular application of IEEE 1394 is as a data transfer interface for audio/visual (A/V) equipment and desktop and portable computers. Examples of that interface include connecting:

• A/V devices to prosumer/professional editing equipment.
• high resolution scanners to desktop and portable computers.
• high speed optical drives (CD/DVD “burners”, DVD players) to desktop and portable computers.
• external hard drives to desktop and portable computers.
• consumer-level video cameras to desktop and portable computers.

Firewire and i.LINK

The IEEE 1394 Standard is sometimes refered to as “Firewire” and (to a lesser extent) “i.LINK” but this misleading because these terms (“Firewire” and “i.LINK”) are actually brand/marketing names and trademarks, not the actual Standard.

“Firewire” is Apple’s brand/marketing name for IEEE 1394 and related technologies. “i.LINK” is Sony’s brand/marketing name for IEEE 1394 and related technologies. Vendors and manufacturers who wish to use these names and logos to promote their own products must enter into a licensing agreement with either company. Strictly speaking, hardware and software should be advertised as IEEE 1394 (a or b) compliant/compatible rather than “Firewire” or “i.LINK” compliant/compatible.

According to Apple’s website:

The FireWire Logo is an Apple trademark and must be licensed for use by third-parties. There is currently no licensing fee. The agreement is a 5-page Adobe Acrobat file, and contains all the information and guidelines third-party developers need to license the FireWire Logo for use on product packaging, advertising, and other product marketing materials.

For the non-technical consumer: IEEE 1394, “Firewire” and “i.LINK” are compliant/compatible with one another because they are the same Standard. That is, an “i.LINK” device would work if plugged into a “Firewire” port and vice-versa.

When purchasing IEEE 1394 equipment be aware of the following:

• IEEE 1394, “Firewire” and “i.LINK” are the same Standard.
• You may have to pay more if there is a (“Firewire” and “i.LINK”) brand name.
• “Mac” devices can be used with a “PC” and vice-versa. However, be alert for device-driver issues.
• Cables can be used interchangebly with Macs and PCs as long as they have the appropriate connectors.
• Manufacturers may not explicitly state their device is “Firewire” or “i.LINK” compatible in order to avoid licensing agreements with Apple and Sony. If it is IEEE 1394 compliant/compatible, it should work.

Trivia: Most people refer to IEEE 1394 as “Firewire” for many reasons:

• IEEE 1394 sounds “too technical”.
• “Firewire” is more “user-friendly” (sounds “better” than either “IEEE 1394” and “i.LINK).
• End users find it easier to remember the term “Firewire”.
• Apple has been better at marketing the “Firewire” brand name than Sony has with “i.LINK”.

Disclaimer

Information on this page is subject to change without further notice. If you use any information from this page, you do so at your own discretion and risk and you are solely responsible for any and all: financial loss, damage to your equipment or loss of data that may result directly or indirectly from such use. In other words, if you screw-up, or your equipment or data gets screwed up, it is 100 percent YOUR fault! Don’t blame anyone else.