Strangely, I have been receiving quite a few mails/comments concerning this topic lately.

To tell you the truth, the postal / zip code thing still remains a mystery for me but you can easily fool the system by fooling around a bit while entering your address in eBay, Amazon, Paypal or any other web sites.

To prove you what I just said, here are screenshots of my account/shipping details from my different accounts :

Ebay :

PayPal :

Amazon :

And what about 742CU001

Many people (including some sites) advise people to use 742CU001. While you might sometimes be lucky on some web sites, it might not work on others. As far as I remember, I had to fool around the ebay/paypal registration process to be able to create my account. This 742 thing did not work there.

As you noticed in my screenshots above, I have used the following different zip codes :

• 230 with state set to <blank>
• <blank> zip code and state
• 00000 with State set to “default”
• 00230 as zip code and NA as state.

You might say that I am wrong but unfortunately things do not always work the same way in all web sites. Many have implemented different types of validation for the shipping address.

FYI, Mauritius has no states. This field is rather used in the United States. And technically, Mauritius has no zip codes too. The ones used are just to fool the system. and 230 is rather our international telephone prefix number. Hope that this post will help you while shopping online! Don’t forget to read The Ultimate Guide about eBay/Amazon purchases from Mauritius.

If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate. Post them here

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Good morning dear readers.

Most of you might already have heard about twitter but you are still hesitating to jump into the world of tweets and tweeps. To help you build your network, this post might help you to find Mauritian tweeps and leave your username so that others can follow you.

Without any doubt, the #awesome #mauritian #blogger @yashvin should be the first one in your list, isn’t it?

While I agree that creating or mentioning a list might be the simplest, I will use a totally different approach to give the possibility to Mauritian tweeps to be different.

Anyone who wants to get followers are the most welcomed to drop down a few words along with their twitter username.

Abuse of Twitter might be bad for health, take care!

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Ce n’est pas le titre d’une nouvelle série télévisée mais plutôt le titre du reportage que la chaine M6 a réalisé sur notre ile.

N’ayant pas pu le voir personnellement (pas encore du moins), je compte sur ceux qui ont pu le visionner pour partager leurs points de vue sur cette reportage. Les opinions divergent. Alors que certains affirment que les journalistes étaient impartiales, d’autres affirment le contraire. La question que beaucoup se pose : Est-ce-que cette nouvelle vidéo va avoir un effet néfaste pour le tourisme sur l’ile?

Dernier point avant de vous laisser la parole : Un des personnages (Pablo Escobar) a été tabassé dans la soirée de lundi après la diffusion sur M6. Ce dernier est actuellement aux soins intensifs.

La vidéo est dispo sur Youtube. A vous!

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If you landed on Wikipedia on the 18th January 2012, you most probably though that something was wrong. Wikipedia was all black with only 1 paragraph of text on it. Perhaps you did not even bother to read about it, you just said “Damn it, it is not working today!”.

The objective of this post is to briefly explain the blackout of the web on the 18th January 2012 and also, why everyone kept talking about SOPA and PIPA. If you feel that you already know what we are talking about, you should try to read some other articles as what will follow here will be pretty straight forward, just for the sake of explaining what is happening on the web.

What happened exactly?

There was a huge protest going on during the last days.  Everything was happening online, right on the web. Different web sites, organisations as well as individuals (like you and me) were publicly showing that they were against SOPA. Web sites talked heavily about this SOPA/PIPA for days and on the 18th January, many among them have put a halt to their activities by just displaying a Black page with some text, explaining their position on this matter.

What is SOPA/PIPA?

SOPA : Stop Online Piracy Act

PIPA : Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act)

Both of them are aimed at stopping online piracy of copyrighted items, though they are a bit different but we will not go into deeper details. However, the way that SOPA/PIPA handle copyright issues is highly unacceptable and controversial.

If SOPA becomes a reality, it will give the power to the US government to block the access to whole web sites that are accused to violate this bill with just a court order. SOPA will also allow internet service providers to monitor your traffic usage and block any web sites suspected of copyright infringement.

For example, if YOU, as a user, upload a video featuring a copyrighted music to youtube, the US government can ban the entire YouTube and no Americans will be able to view any youtube page. Copyright owners can then sue Youtube for hosting such copyrighted materials.

In short, the accused web site will just be killed.

Who are supporting SOPA?

Basically all web sites/organisations who create, produce and commercialise copyrighted materials, in the form of movie, music, photography, designs etc.

Right at the start, godaddy.com showed its interest in the SOPA. A huge boycott campaign was immediately launched and web site owners started to move their web sites and domains from godaddy to some other domain/hosting company which are against SOPA. After a few days, godaddy.com reviewed its position and changed sides. It is now against SOPA.

How does it affect web site owners and you?

Censorship. The internet will become a place where everything will be censored. There won’t be any freedom of speech. Sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia, or any sites that allow user generated content CANNOT exist under these laws.

Megaupload. You have surely heard what happened. No?

Well, on the January 2012, the US government together with New Zealand’s authorities have arrested the people behind this huge file sharing web sites after copyright infringement complaints on behalf of copyright holders. The web site was immediately closed down and if you visit it right now, that’s what you will find :

This is not a joke. This is the kind of things that will happen to every web site and the owners if the actual SOPA/PIPA comes a reality.

And for people outside US?

While the SOPA/PIPA is only applicable to the US, the whole world will be directly affected since a big majority of web sites are hosted and these organisations are based in within the United States. You should not forget that mostly everything happens there, and if anything bad happens there, you are the ones to be affected, in all cases.

That means no web sites offering music/video among others will exist and managed from there.

What’s next?

After the historical protest of the 18th January, S. Smith, the US Representative who proposed SOPA/PIPA, decided to postpone the voting of the bill until there is a wider agreement on a solution to handle copyright issues. Lawmakers are now trying to find better alternatives to fight online piracy.

Despite I really wanted to make this blog go “black” on the 18th January too, I did not do so at the expense of the high traffic on the blog on that special day, especially on the BMW on the Mont Choisy beach post.

Hope that you have a better overview of what took place during the last days and why you could not access some of the web sites you regularly visit. If ever some of the material I have written above is misleading or wrong, please correct me by writing a comment below. Again, I have simplified things a lot just for the sake of simplicity.

Leave you here,

Take care!

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Nice capture by Reuben.

They were perhaps attending some urgent request and blabla. No comments.

If you have similar pictures, don’t hesitate to mail them to me (yashvin[at]awootar[dot]com).

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Below is an article submitted by one of my readers. Well, it seems that this problem has not been widely published/broadcast in the media. Was there any attempt of cover up?

On Thursday 22 December 2011, there was an EOY (End of Year party) celebrated at a prestigious university in Mauritius. Several caterers were present to distribute food after receiving the tender from the Administration.

The next day, several students received their Christmas gift, even though Santa didn’t delivered that particular gift; FOOD POISONING. A large group of students found themselves in hospitals after having terrible belly pain, diarrhea, stomach ache and puking.

Facebook groups concerning that particular University started getting flooded with wallposts about students complaining about their misadventure.

Whilst some close allies to the Student Union started discouraging students to go forward with the matter, a few courageous ones didn’t give up and continued with their fights.

What is more shorting is that some people are making as if food poisoning isn’t such a big issue. Perhaps, they will only react if one of the students dies!

And of course, we shouldn’t punish the caterer! Let other people take the services of those particular catering and be ill or in the worst case scenario, let some die! We should be selfish! (Note the level of sarcasm.)

And finally, “pas moisa, li sa”

We want the truth and not some cover-up. We want the responsible to be held accountable and prosecuted in a court of law. Food poisoning is a very serious issue and shouldn’t be “a la legere”

A bon entendeur, salut!

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Since a few weeks, SBM has introduced a new card in its game. The SBM Smile Prepaid Card.

As you perhaps guessed, the card works a bit like your prepaid sim card. You can for buy pre-loaded cards (Up to Rs20,000) and non-loaded cards (Rs30-150,000) and use it anywhere, just like a debit card and also, use it for online purchases.

The similarities/differences as compared to a debit card or a credit card :

• Limit of Rs10,000 per day for the MUR card and up to Rs20,000 for the foreign card.
• Similarly as the debit card, the money is yours. So no interests charged like the credit card.
• You have a PIN code to protect unauthorized access to the money onto your card.
• The card is valid only 6months
• Any money unused after the 6months can be transferred back to your main account.
• The prepaid card is VISA branded.
• Whenever needed, recharge your prepaid card by transferring money to it (through banks)
• Card activated on the same day of application made.
• For those travelling, there exists 6 different currencies for the foreign card and unlike the MUR card, this one can be recharged through internet banking.

What can make me get hold of a smile prepaid card?

Below are some desirable features to make the prepaid MUR card more widely accepted :

• Very important : Allow recharging through Internet Banking or ATMs to remove the hassle of going to a bank for recharging the card.
  For example, it does not really make sense for a parent to lose precious time going to the bank monthly when he needs to top up his kid’s pocket money onto the card.
• Remove (or Increase) the Rs10,000 daily limit (The card holder needs to understand the risks)
• 6months validity is a too short period. Increase it.

Without the above mentioned, the card is not too different from the debit card I use daily, while doing my purchases in the supermarket or to withdraw money from an ATM. The limit is still Rs10,000, there is still an application fee each time I need a new card and if am not mistaken, there is no interest accumulated for the money on the prepaid card, unlike for the money which is accessible through my debit card.

More or less similar to the debit card, except that it normally allows internet purchases. No more credit card needed. I am much tempted to get one of the cards to verify if it really works for online purchases through Paypal/eBay.

Anyone wants to try it and let us know? Please share your suggestions/critiques about this new card.

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MyT users should stop reading right now because they will be somewhat angry, especially when they will read what Mauritius Telecom said regarding the myT service.

As you read in the title, the price is going down as follows, as from 1st Dec 2011 :

ADSL Home

• 256 Kb/s : From Rs399 to Rs 349.
• 512 Kb/s : From Rs759 to Rs 699
• 1 Mb/s : From 899 to Rs 799

Small and Medium Enterprises will get a decrease of %50 while Call Centers(BPO) from -10 to -40% and ADSL Business gets a discount of -50%.

btw, @Defimedia : you got your figures wrong! Double check next time!

Coming back to myT subscribers, I quote from l’express.mu :

S’agissant de My.T, ce service de Mauritius Telecom permettant à la fois de téléphoner, de visionner les films et de surfer sur Internet, il n’y aura aucune réduction des tarifs.

Price update for myT (Announced on 28 Nov 2011) :

In my opinion, if you don’t mass download like most of your friends, or you don’t use your myT to watch TNT or do international calls, the best thing to do is to buy a wifi router, connect it to a 256K ADSL line, that’s it. You can enjoy wifi as well as a much lower price.

However, be careful, you might need a permit from ICTA in case you are shopping online!

btw, always keep in mind : price might decrease but the speed will still s*ck, as well as some of their technicians and their customer care hotline!

With these words, I wish you a happy weekend ahead!

Have a nice time!

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Welcome back

I have pulled 2 more pictures for you to play a bit around. The first one has been online since some weeks on my flickr and photoblog too. No one has been able to guess it yet, so let’s see if we have at least one good answer here. As for the second one, I am pretty sure loads of you will answer correctly.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Answers will be published on Saturday 19th November 2011. Till then, please follow the few rules I have set for this monthly game :

• Do not post answers on Facebook/Twitter/Google+
• Answers whether good or wrong WILL NOT be published and will be viewable only when results will be proclaimed.
• If you have any other comments/questions, do post them in a separate comment (without any answers).

Good luck!
.

Update (19th November 2011) :

Quite dissapointing performance this time. No winners  for both pictures. Without losing any time, let’s discover where the pictures have been shot :

Picture 1 :

The long posted picture has been shot at the Terre Rouge Bird Sanctuary (found just besides the port area, Roches Bois).  Not at Pailles as most of you answered. Google Map Link

Picture 2

The second one was shot in the South, at Pointe d’Esny. Just a few hundred meters away from Ile Aux Aigrettes. I though that this one was easier but many said Mahebourg. Wrong. Google Map Link

List of winners :

Both Pictures : NONE!
Picture 1 :

• Priya (Answered on Photoblog some time back)
  Only winner here. Congrats Priya!

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Ce n’est pas une blague ni une légende.

Il existe bel et bien une tortue qui nage dans les environs de la plage publique de Pereybere. Je l’ai aperçu ce matin quand j’y étais pour profiter de la plage en compagnie d’un ami après notre jogging dominical à Mont Choisy.

Elle était à environ 30-50metres de la plage et la tortue est restée là pendant au moins 30minutes. Juste après qu’elle sorte sa tête hors de l’eau pour prendre une bouffée d’air frais, elle plonge de nouveau pour quelques minutes avant de refaire surface.

Mon ami K.B l’a déjà vu nager près des bouées jaunes alors qu’un des habitués de la plage nous a raconté qu’il a déjà nagé à ses cotés et il a même déjà joué avec la tortue au bord de la plage. Il semble bien que cette tortue aime bien cette superbe partie de notre ile, tout comme moi, car Pereybere est une des plages que je préfère.

Avez-vous déjà entendu parler ou même aperçu cette tortue? N’hésitez pas à nous raconter

Je compte sur vous pour partager cet article et aussi, cliquez sur le bouton “Recommend“. Qui sait, peut être qu’un de vos amis pourra nous donner plus de détails.

A très bientôt à tous et à toutes…

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