Beware...

Grumpy bastard roaming free! 
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June 26, 2009

Mobistar & de iPhone - de reservaties

Op een gegeven moment - na de langverwachte, officiële aankondiging van Mobistar - de iPhone reserveren bij één van de 7 Mobistar winkels in België. Na succesvolle registratie kon je je iPhone dan gaan afhalen op 26 juni tussen 7h30 en 8h 's morgens, vergezeld van een bescheiden ontbijt (croissant en drankje) op kosten van Mobistar.


De mail die diende als bewijs van de registratie, zit echter vol eigenaardigheden. Ofwel hebben de ontwikkelaars bij Mobistar een vreemd gevoel voor humor, ofwel hebben ze een heel aantal steken laten vallen.

Het begint al allemaal met een joekel van een schrijffout in de naam van de afzender: "Mobistar IPone launch".

iPone

Tweede eigenaardigheid: Gmail laadt standaard de foto's in mails niet. Hierdoor kreeg je het onderstaande te zien. Wat is in hemelsnaam "camping De Onbegrensde Zomer"? Edit: blijkbaar is dit een actie van Mobistar. Meer informatie vind je op http://www.onbegrensdezomer.be/nl/.

camping De Onbegrensde Zomer

In bovenstaande screenshot zie je trouwens nog een aantal kemels:
  • iPhone is met een kleine "i", niet met hoofdletter
  • In Antwerpen is er voor zover ik weet geen straat die Keyzerlei heet, wel ééntje met de naam Keyserlei.
Klikken we bovenaan op de link webversie, dan komen we op onderstaande url terecht. Toch wel een beetje vreemd niet? Vooral als het userid gewoon deel uitmaakt van de url?


Misschien nog een privacy probleempje: de userid parameter kan je zelf manipuleren om zo te weten te komen wie er allemaal een iPhone gereserveerd heeft. Mooi staaltje van privacy inbreuk, niet? Gelukkig is enkel de naam te zien, geen andere gegevens.

Al bij al lijkt het erop of Mobistar allesbehalve klaar was voor de lancering van de iPhone in België: een persconferentie slechts 2 dagen voor de lancering, winkels die op eigen houtje pre-order lijsten begonnen aan te leggen om nadien teruggefloten te worden door het hoofdkantoor, flaters in de reservatie e-mails... Een echt succesvolle operatie kan je dat toch niet noemen. Misschien moet Apple toch nog maar eens met Proximus gaan praten?

Filed under  //   Belgium   fail   iphone  

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June 21, 2009

TW Classic 2009

I was at TW Classic this year, the 2009 edition. My first festival ever, and here's what I noticed:

  • Motor (apparently it's a band) sucked. I don't know what these guys were on, but all I could here were the sounds of various electronic devices going haywire. Please never do that again, ever! Get a regular job or something.
  • Why the hell is everyone running as soon as they open the doors? Oh, to get access to the Pit? I walked over there, while ridiculing all of you running lard-asses, and still made it in time to get a green wristband. Oh and that guy that lost all his food while doing something that resembles the act of running: thank you for making me laugh so hard.
  • Toilets at concerts are like real-estate - well, before the crisis hit at least. For some reason these toilets do not have an indication whether or not they're occupied, which had me trying each door to find a vacant toilet. This left me with the picture of a half-naked lady, squatting on the toilet, who obviously forget to lock the door. Splendid, just what I always wanted: a startled, half naked woman grasping for the door handle.
  • You really need earplugs at these things. I had a headache after Motor's so-called performance. There's really no need to play music *that* loud. And to the parents walking around with their children, who's ears were completely unprotected: don't be surprised if they ditch you in a home when you're old.
  • This might be a hard concept to grasp, but if I put a towel or two on the grass, it means that it's my spot. I claimed it and you are to walk around it. That's not so hard, is it?
  • If you're going to get beer, or any other liquid as far as I'm concerned, try not to spill all of it before you arrive back at your spot. Is it such a challenge to hold a plastic cup in your hand and walk several feet with it? Really?
  • Sbarro sucks. Pizza is supposed to be warm, you morons. Also, it's supposed to taste like something, other than utter crap.
  • What's with food- and beverage stamps? I can understand that it helps to speed things up, but why do you need to split them up?
  • Put more trash cans dammit. People are just loitering like they're in the middle ages. Finished a drink? Just throw it on the ground. Done with the French fries? Chuck it somewhere. Savages.
I don't get what people find so special about festivals, at least not from what I've seen. Performances were not jaw-dropping in any way: I always had the feeling that I could just as well have popped a cd in. Perhaps the Basement Jaxx were different, but by that time, I couldn't be bothered anymore and just went home. The only two that made an effort, were Moby and Tom Helsen.

I think we can conclude that I'm not festival material.

Filed under  //   Belgium   concert  

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May 31, 2009

It's a fucked up world after all


This is the story of how I became a prisoner in Qatar. Consider it my Twitter SOS.

Philippe Bogaert, previously active as Broadcast Manager at Dialogic, has been held captive in Qatar since October 2008. What happened? Both his company and his sponsor have betrayed him, making him a victim of Qatar's deeply rooted corruption.

The paragraphs below are taken from the press release :

“I am being held hostage in Qatar with a ransom of QAR16 million on my head,” says Bogaert. “I could never have imagined, when I signed on to help organize a marine festival, that I would find myself captive to a medieval system in which a corrupt young man could hold me prisoner on a whim.  This is a cautionary tale for westerners who come to work in the Gulf. You have no rights.”

Left with no salary or accommodation, Bogaert has taken shelter at the Belgian Ambassador’s residence since early December.

The Belgian company, Dialogic SA, which ceased supporting Bogaert financially after he resigned, cut off all communication with him in March 2009 and no longer answers his calls.

The latest we've heard is that Philippe's court case has been delayed and the next hearing has been scheduled for November, 1st 2009.

Help out where you can: retweet Philippe's tweets, read up on Philippe's blog , join the Facebook group and make as much people aware of Philippe's situation as you can! You can find all the information you need using the links below:

Filed under  //   Belgium  

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