We have made some improvements to our Forum and it is now ready to be used. Register and use the forum to discuss Curacao's Tech services (internet, tv, mobile), discuss hardware, software and operating issues and also post wanted ads. So, if you have some hardware/software/gadget that you are looking to sell (or buy), feel free to place it in our "wanted" section. Guests have read only access so please register if you want regular access to the forums.

Besides our Forum, we are also adding a job posting section. If your company has openings in the IT department, you can place your openings here free of charge. Just e-mail me the specifics and it will be added to site.

* The Curacao Connected Forum - Join now.

If you have a something you want to share about a certain service, product or tech related issue, especially if it's related to Curacao, remember that you can sign up for an account and request author status and submit your story/review/question/complaint. 

Registering only takes a minute but you're still not going to be able to submit an article. If you want to submit articles, just send me an e-mail and request "author" status and you'll be able to submit an article to be posted on the site. We will then take a look at your article and post it on the site.

Remember, increased contribution adds value to our community...

SatTv Margarita, a company that has been active for 15 years now on the island of Margarita offers an Internet Tv Service with packages that include Dutch, Belgian and German television channels. And now that we have become their selling partner here on Curacao, we can hook you up with this service as well.

How It Works

If you are living here in Curacao and want to watch the full range of Dutch or German tv channels, you are basically out of luck. But that's where SatTv comes in. You pay an initial set-up fee of 595,- Euro which covers the installation of a satellite receiver (which runs on Linux) and a box in Europe. There's also a monthly fee for the subscription and connection costs. The Dutch/Belgian package has a monthly fee of 50,- Euro while the German package has a monthly fee of 45,- Euro.

On your pc or laptop you will get a video player called the Slingplayer which will be configured for you so that you can view the channels. You can take one or both packages and just like that you can watch all these European channels right on your pc, using nothing more than your internet connection and the Slingplayer.

With all the talk of Windows 7, another Microsoft announcement has been flying somewhat under the radar. The next version of Microsftt Office (Office 14), will not be limited to your pc and you will be able to run it from a standard web browser.

In an interview, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop said that the browser-based editing capabilities are being developed in conjunction with the next version of Office, known as Office 14. Microsoft won't say when that version will arrive, but Elop said that a technology preview of the browser-based products will come later this year and that a beta version will be released in 2009.

 

Microsoft will offer browser-based Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in two ways. For consumers, they will be offered via Microsoft's Office Live Web site, while businesses will be able to offer browser-based Office capabilities through Microsoft's SharePoint Server product.

 

But if you're afraid that you're still going to be bound by Windows and I.E., you need not worry. It's been announced now that the Office Web Apps will also run on Linux and the iPhone...

We love free Wi-Fi. As a matter of fact, who doesn't? That's why we've set up a page where you can check out the free wi-fi hotspots here on Curacao. Have a look at our free Wi-Fi page here and should you know more locations, leave them in the comments section or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it so that we can add more.

Now that we have reviewed both the UTS 3G Usb modem and the MIO 3G Usb modem, we can finally put them head to head and see which one comes out on top. We've mentioned the disclaimer in the MIO review already that we've only had the modem for one week, but it was a week where it was used thoroughly.

We'll be looking at speed, connection reliability, network coverage, modem size, ease of installation, price, contract flexibility and throttling issues. Keep in mind also that our comparison will be based on right now. UTS had great speeds back in June/July and MIO will be introducing a sleeker modem in the future, but the comparison will be based on how the issues stack up right now.

If you have been paying attention to the recent developments in Internet and Telephony you will have noticed that the term "3G" is being tossed around a lot. 3G internet, 3G enabled mobile phones, 3G networks etc. etc. are all terms that are being thrown around frequently these days.

For those wanting to know a bit more about 3G and 3G on Curacao, you can start out by checking out our page here. And if you are a regular reader of this site, you will have probably come across our UTS 3G review and now we can add our take on MIO's 3G Mobile internet as well.

We tested this modem for about 6 days now and we have been very impressed so far. The modem connects to your USB port and is smaller than the Pcmia modem we are used to from MIO, but it's still bigger than the one from UTS. But we do have to add a disclaimer saying that this current modem will soon be replaced with a smaller version (memory stick size) that also has pre-installed drivers.

Installation was pretty simple. We installed the drivers from a cd and had the modem connected within 5 minutes. After installing the drivers, you get the application on your desktop, and all you do is click "Connect" when the modem is in your USB port. It takes just a few seconds to connect and you are online. (remember though that the next model will have pre-installed drivers).

If you are one of the millions of users worldwide who use the AVG Virus Scanner, you might have run into some problems a few days ago. Security and the Net explains..

An update for the AVG virus scanner released yesterday contained an incorrect virus signature, which led it to think user32.dll contained the Trojan Horses PSW.Banker4.APSA or Generic9TBN. AVG then recommended deleting this file; this causes the affected systems to either stop booting or go into a continuous reboot cycle. So far, the problem only appears to affect Windows XP, but there is no guarantee that other versions of Windows don’t have the same issue.

The issue affected both AVG 7.5 and 8.0 versions but seems to have been fixed via an update. But if you had scanned your pc and removed the user32.dll file, you would have had to boot into your pc using a Windows disc and doing the "Repair" option or use some other boot cd and restore the file from C:\Windows\System32\dllcache.

I haven't scanned my pc's during the past week so I did not run into this problem nor do I know anyone that has. Understandably, users were very annoyed by this but others quickly mentioned AVG's stellar track record and have put the issue behind them.

Either way, make sure that your software is updated and should you run into this problem, try the methods mentioned above. Should you not be comfortable trying them, or are not able to, please let us know This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or comments and we will help.