Thought that I’d summarize the week since a lot of things have happened and I have not had time to write. I am still reeling and quite tired. Top of the list is the launch of the Our Telekom website. This has been long overdue and I finally feel quite relieved to have this off my plate. Right now I am catching up with the work programme.
Our Telekom website
Coupled with the news that the telecommunications industry has been deregulated, we launched our new corporate website replacing an outdated, static website that had outlived its usefulness. I will remember 3:25AM, Thursday 27th August 2009 as the exact moment when the site went live to the public. Mixture of feelings but mostly satisfaction. This is a “soft launch” as a lot of the features are still disabled until the formal launch next week. I am pleasantly surprised that Google Analytics recorded more than 130 hits in only two days since the website became live. The best thing about these statistics is hits from the Solomon Islands is highest and rising. I have been challenged to generate some local traffic, it looks encouraging that I might just be on my way to fulfilling that.
Lifhaus died for a moment
Wednesday, Lifhaus went temporarily offline, much to my displeasure. Spam was the reason, it seemed like someone was keen and out to get me. I had initially thought it had been just a minor problem but I could not get onto the site. Had to get through to the database to manually disable the SPAM module which was denying me access. Saw more than 270000 current sessions – does that sound like a DDoS attack? Well at least on Lifhaus. Emptied all sessions and then I was able to go through. My final solution was to register on Mollom and install the Mollom plugin on Lifhaus. Mollom immediately went to work and I have only had 1 reported instance of an “Unsure” spam. Smooth running so far on Lifhaus which is great news.
Telecommunications deregulated in SI
So the monopoly is counting down to its end. After the bill was passed in parliament we can only look back and rue any mistakes. But this is perhaps the best way forward if we must improve service delivery. The basic principles of competition will spur changes; either good or bad and thus the role of an independent regulator becomes ever more important.
Something sweet and is a lullaby
Hits on this blog hit an all time high when I posted “Uncovering lost treasures| Revisiting Sweet Lullaby”. Many of commented off the record that it had been my most enjoyable read. I did more digging around and the story becomes more intriguing as the plot thickened but I suppose I can only find other times to write about it properly.
Redhat Linux/Apache Servers coming to Honiara
The hardware is already here. The software is already here. I have already installed it and soon enough we will deploy a whole new web hosting environment boasting Red Hat Linux Enterprise 5.1/Apache 2 on a HP DL380. This will be great news for the customers who have always wanted a linux web hosting environment. The best thing is; I have free reigns to configure and deploy!
Finally NCE Updates
The UN hasn’t exactly come calling yet but I received a survey today and a note of special interest was that the UN “hoped to have everyone placed by the end of the year”. Very ambitious but if it were true I am going to be very happy. Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Island’s very first successful NCE candidate also initiated contact and we have been in regular contact on the email. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from his story and experience. Hopefully, I can get that story on Lifhaus and this blog sometimes during the weekend.