papillon

Hilly/Pete are you going to have a raid array of hard disks? Four 500 GB drives is about as sweet as it gets for a domestic setup but it will hurt bigtime if one of the drives fail and you lose 500 GB of data. It has happened to me a few times, two occasions were only after a couple of months when the hard disks died on me. It's not so much the cost of replacing the hard disk, more so the loss of files! Especially when you can't remember what you've lost. You might spend months filling up one of the drives and then it goes kaput in a second Well worth the extra expense if you're going to do it properly. I can't imagine Hilly religiously backing up all his downloads onto DVDR, lol. Not in a place like Pattaya when time is better spent doing other things

They're building a 27 storey tower block that close to the beach? Fuck me, they can't even lay a pavement on Beach Road properly. I hope it doesnt topple into the sea

If you find anything can you PM me please? I'd like to knock something up in the Philippines (home not girl). Have a look at this.... http://www.coolthaihouse.com/ The link was posted on here a while back by another BM (thanks whoever you are). Haven't read it for a long time but I found it an interesting read, might be of some use to you.

From what you say, it seems like your ATA is for Skype only? What's the make and model number? I'd like to take a look at that. I use my ATA with..... http://www.voipcheap.co.uk/en/splash_skype.html or http://www.voipcheap.com/en/splash_skype.html Barry, I would like to be able to do as you do, unfortunately there are no landlines where my girl lives, only cellular. Her island just got wired to the National Grid last November, lol.

Mine wasn't locked, nor are the ones available in retail outlets. Mine has a DHCP client built in. Took me about 10 mins to set up. Enter the username, password and server address provided to you by whatever service provider you choose and that's it, done!

I don't like headsets, that's why I use a USB handset. What do you use?

I see that torrenova has checked in and made a post here. Looking at my watch, it's @ 8 oclock in the morning in Thailand when he posted. Has he been on the piss all night or has he just woken up refreshed (sort of) when he posted? I don't know but I'd guess the first option? Either way, I have been reading the messages on this forum for a few years now and I would have to put torrenova in the 'Top Five' of blokes who know what they're talking about. He has consistantly (sp?) given the best fact based info over the years and also has a valid opinion on most things that I am always eager to listen to (although I don't always agree). I will be in to spend a few quid on my next visit although I will probably not mention that I'm a BM. Arse licking session is now over. Get back to work you Northern Monkey

My thoughts exactly! Same same the 'option' of the lease automatically renewing for a further 30 years after the initial 30 years has expired How much is the renewed lease gonna cost you with the probable increase in the value of the land? If they do allow foreigners to buy land at some point in the future how much is the land you leased gonna be worth then? Too many questions and nobody able to give an answer. That's why I regard a lease as a longterm rental. Look at it as money that you kiss goodbye to.

I talk to my girl in the Philippines twice a day. I only use Skype as a backup service. For me, over the past @ 30 days the quality of calls on Skype has been abysmal. No exaggeration, it's been terrible. I have good quality broadband connection available to me and I know that's not the issue. The cost of Skype calls has been steadily increasing also. Whilst still cheap, it is by no means the cheapest anymore. Skype to Skype is free but the vast majority of my calls are 'Skype Out' calls, ie my Skype handset to my Girl's cell phone. About 6 months ago I bought an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter) made by Zoom. I plug my regular home telephone into this to make and receive calls. The quality of the call is exceptional. Full Duplex (Two way conversations without having to wait for one person to stop talking before the other starts talking, basically). The people I buy credit from are called Voipcheap.com. Calls are very cheap. I can take the ATA with me on my travels and use it anywhere with a hardwired internet connection. Skype have gotten too big too fast imho and their service is lacking as a result.

Is that the Soi with Mistys and Classroom? If so, I wouldn't touch the place.

Yes, I realise that. Fat lot of good it's going to be when your 30 year lease expires and they decide not to renew the lease. Unless you plan on dismantling it brick by brick and rebuild it somewhere else? Although you own the house, you have to look at it as a long term rental. I know most people will die before the lease is up and couldn't give a shit but it's not much use if you want to will it to somebody. How easy is it to transfer the lease, etc? Are you even allowed to transfer the lease?

That's my favourite from my first trip http://rapidshare.com/files/17890078/06-Ca...ry_Ann.mp3.html Enjoy Edit: Here's the rest of that CD - 72 MB http://rapidshare.com/files/17905762/Best_...ance_2.rar.html

Hmmmmmmmm. LCD or Plasma? Tough decision.

Personally, I'd lease the land for 30 years and stick a luxury caravan on it. Is Pattaya ready for a Caravan site yet?

Fuck yes. Where do I sign?

How are you buying a house if you lease it? You sure you know what you're talking about?

Welcome to the board. How about doing a Trip Report? Would love to hear more about Nam

Pete, the reason I say to make sure that the Plasma/LCD has a VGA input is because it is more versatile. A lot of people will want to connect their Laptop or PC with cheap graphics card. I've no doubt that you have configured your hardware optimally. Broadband is/can be pretty good in the Philippines. The area of Samar where I'm thinking about building a small home has no internet. The nearest internet cafe is @ 1 hour on a boat to Catbalogan. They only just got Electricity last November, lol. How long ago did you have Ipstar service, if you don't mind me asking? How bad was it and do you think it may have improved since you had it? It will be key as to whether I relocate to a remote (cheap) island or local town (more pricey). Chok dee

Check out the download speeds.... 1.03 MBps (Megabyte per Second) 1.15 MBps (Megabyte per Second) 6.9 Mbps (Megabits per Second) I Megabyte = 8 Megabits As you can see, it doesn't take long to accumulate a few Terabytes here and there, lol. It's gonna be a real tough decision when the girlfriend gives me the ultimatum 'It's Me or the Porn Collection'

I haven't yet achieved the perfect 'Home Cinema' setup as yet. Mine's more of a 'Work In Progress' scenario. It can get a bit treacherous underfoot sometimes! There's a 'Wireless' Router in there somewhere, lol. When I have the time, I download the Cover Artwork, print it off and put it in a DVD case. Each DVD box that you see here on the shelves is actually a DVDR containing 6 @ 90 minute movies and not an actual DVD. Most of the stuff that I've downloaded is backed up on single layer DVDR. I have over a thousand Discs, mostly with either 3 or 6 DivX movies on each one. All my music, Porn, Computer software, etc is in there also. I spend so much of my time locating, downloading, burning my media that I have little time to actually watch or listen to it, LOL Now you might understand why I want to leave London and fuck off to a little Tropical Island in Samar. I will probably spend a couple of years trying to organise it all into some kind of a database and then spend the next 10 years enjoying it all witha cute Filipina giving me a blowjob, a San Miguel in one hand and the remote control in the other hand

It's been a few years since I finished digitising all my music but back then an MP3 with Variable Bitrate (VBR) @ 256 using the Lame encoder and ripped from the CD with EAC (A programme called Exact Audio Copy) was about as good as it got. I GUARANTEE you that you would not tell the difference between the MP3 and the CD from which it was ripped. I don't care what equipment you used to listen to the MP3 either. Only a dog would hear the difference ps. Forget about 128 Bitrate MP3s. They are a joke.

What are you suggesting? I hope it's not what I think it is?

Get the money from your Gambia account in USD and put it in a suitcase and I will courier it for you to that little bank at the top of Soi 6 (for a small fee) no fees to worry about.

Can we sign on the Dole now in LOS? That's good news

Great Thread. It's a hobby that I have been into since Napster first started up. MP3s no good? Nonsense. I could play you an MP3 and the CD it was ripped from on ANY system and you could never tell the difference. It would be like flipping a coin. Pure guesswork as to which one was which. If you're building a system and starting from scratch make sure the LCD/Plasma has a VGA iinput so that you can plug your Computer into it. I have 10 MB Download. My internet is FREE because I chip (Hack) cable modems. I have 3 modems at work in my apartment. I download my Media from Newsgroups which is also FREE. My Internet access is also totally Anonymous. The accounts I use are cloned from other subscribers. I can change IP address at will and in less than 30 seconds. My telephone calls are all free and anonymous as well. I could get up to all sorts of shit if I wanted to. I have done amazing things in the past from which I've made myself and moreso others considerable amounts of money. I have been to many different countries and used the freely available technology to fund an 'interesting' lifestyle. I have never been caught. The Irish Government nearly caught me once and that episode 'put me on the radar.' I've behaved myself for @ 15 years now but still like to keep my hand in with the latest stuff. Pete, your setup sounds impressive. I do everything you do but at zero cost. I'm not a Cheap Charlie and can afford a similar hardware spec. but prefer to do it for nothing. That's where the attraction lies for me. The ONLY thing I will get is a large screen TV, similar to what you have. I could order one online and get it delivered for ZERO cost but like I said, I've left that lifestyle behind me now and will buy one when I relocate to S.E.A. I'm presently selling up where I am in London. This time next year, I hope to be living on a little island in the Samar province of the Philippines. Have you seen the women there? Wow! All I need is a couple of Solar panels and Satellite Broadband feed and I will start building my 'Place in the Sun.' I saw a post by BM Gary the other day who is resident in LOS. He mentioned the Ipstar Satelite, the Footprint of which covers Samar. That put a spring in my step! God I love this board