A new & improved Windows?
Greetings from Zanzibar. Well, a good pal I used to work with in Silicon Valley North (Ottawa, Canada) told me that Windows Vista is the real deal. He should know since he’s an IT pro who’s done some amazing things in the tech support arena managing expensive corporate servers.
Stress: The silent IT killer
Boy did that ever stress the crap out of him to the point that I seriously worry about his health in the FUTURE. Although he was making good coin doing high-end support, he walked away from it for something LESS stressfull. I definitely will LEARN from his mistakes. My health is too important to let a bunch of silicon chips rule my world. Just make sure there’s some Dark Progressive Tribal House music playing somewhere near by and I’m a happy camper. 
New kid on the block
Well, this article caught my attention because the general review of the FREE Windows Vista Beta 2 was NEGATIVE. However, my pal tells me that he’s installed it on his 64-bit PC at home and it’s rock solid. I’ll have to take his word because he’s got a pal who works for Microsoft, so he’s definitely in the know.
Oh well, it looks like I’ll have to see for myself. Right??
Anyhow, I just thought I’d share this news with you. So, if you’re fed up with Windoze 98/ME/XP (I actually like 2000 Pro), and you have NEW hardware that’s capable of running the next generation of Windows, by all means take it for a spin. Actually, I’m told that Micro$oft (hey, these guys have a license to print money!) is putting a sh!tload of effort into making this baby SECURE and virus-free.
We shall see in due time. However, I do wish them all the best though. Besides, this means more money in my pockets since most people will need modern computer hardware in order to fully take advantage of Vista’s capabilities. Ultimately this means that PROBLEMS will arise due to some crazy upgrade plans that will take place by some seriously NAIVE corporate users.
Oh well, time for me to catch some more sites of beautiful Zanzibar Island!
Greetings from Arusha & Zanzibar,Tanzania
Well, I’ve now taken a break from the Kenya scene and dropped into Arusha and Zanzibar for what I’d like to call “IT Tourism.” You see, a business acquaintance in Nairobi owns a hotel or 2 in Zanzibar, and my assistance was needed to set up and install an email server for this location since Internet access speeds there sucks too. Therefore it’s much better having a dedicated PC stay on 24/7 and download everyone’s email to take advantage of the hotel’s 100 Mbps LAN access speeds.
(Pic1: Mount Kilimanjaro)
An important lesson
Because electricity supply can be sporadic at times here in Tanzania (Kenya too!), this hotel has a generator. However, it’s vital that all PCs have a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) whenever the changeover takes place. I was in an empty office setting up the email server, and the blimey system would reboot whenever the generator needed a brief moment to get into gear.
Now, what if I was running an important batch accounting operation? Or what if, hypothetically, I was in the middle of transferring a million Euro dollars (US dollars are sooooo passe) to my offshore bank account in Seychelles so that I could lay low from Lord Vader and his evil empire? You do know how bad this dude is, right?
My point? Always have a UPS connected to your PC if your work is IMPORTANT. I don’t know about you, but I’d be pissed if my bank transfer didn’t go through just as Lord Vader was about to invade this part of the planet.
Detour Dept.: Tanzania, how I love thee
So, how much do I love Tanzania?
Well, take a peek at the email I sent to my colleagues and friends not too long ago. This country has tons of potential with the resources (especially Tourism) to make a lot of noise if its leaders play their cards correctly.
Why Arusha?
So, what brought me to Arusha? I thought you’d never ask. Well, the hotel takes part in the Karibu Travel & Tourism Fair which is a huge 3 day convention showcasing who’s who in anything and everything to do with Tourism in Africa. According to this
link,
“Over 200 companies, tour operators, hoteliers, air operators, caterers and government institutions from the EAC partners states are expected to feature in the show.“
I met some amazingly kool people. All the booths were lavishly decorated, and the wine at the Sopa Lodges tent went down goooooood. Now I realise just how much money’s involved in this industry. I met expats from as far away as China who’ve made East Africa their home. Again, I urge my Canadian counterparts to take another look at Africa. There are truly tons of business opportunities here. It absolutely boggles the mind. Oh,
Mount Meru is considered Kilimanjaro’s little sister.
Happy comupting!
I’ll report back to you SOON.
A new & improved Windows? 
