Well, I'm not very happy with my Internet connection at the moment, primarily because every once in a while you really need the stupid thing to be working somewhat consistently ON instead of consistently NOT ON.

It seems from the failings that Tonfon's Internet caching thing-a-magic-cee is currently Internet caching thing-a-not-cee.

Argggghhh. And to think I was hoping a shift to TCC (the other ISP) just to be told by one of their customers of similar horror stories.

I love the new Tonfon website http://www.tonfon.to and it's real flashy and all, but you can quickly run out of interesting websites on the Tonfon network. I wonder if Tonfon actually pays someone to maintain their system ? Because that caching thing is sure giving me heart pain.

Of course, since I'm having problems with normal web traffic (http) as well as other Internet traffic such as FTP, and ssh (given up on doing POP3, SMTP to the outside world years ago) we can only surmise that there is a serious problem somewhere in the caves of the Tonfon NOC.

I sure hope Tonfon's new management intends to bring in management support personnel that can help in all fields or poor Internet users will be 2nd class citizens again.

Shoreline Communications Ltd, better known for their Tonfon brand, is on the hunt again for some good men or women with the technical skills to help handle two important posts:

• Security and Database Administrator
• Core Network Switching Engineer

The posts are quite technical, but if you think you have the skills please contact Shoreline's GSM Manager Mark Schmid ?  mschmid@tonfon.to (I think that's the Boss' name)

Strangely enough, I think I forwarded the resume for the perfect candidate for their Security and Database Administrator, but unfortunately they offered him the post of Core Network Switching Engineer. He took up a database job at the other telco (read: TCC)

As mentioned elsewhere, we need good people locally and especially in the companies that will help drive our economies forward (yes we even need good people in the church if you must ask, although I'm not sure how helpful they are with the economy [humour 8-) people ..])

The Shoreline IT house is quite eclectic (?) so for the above posts they have requirements for knowledge of different physical systems within their fields of interest. The IT House is heavily Microsoft centric but still employs a number of Unix boxes and non-Microsoft databases.

9:10 am and we can't connect to get email again. This time, the webmail fails and so does using POP (i.e. using your normal email client like Outlook Express)

9:15 am I've tried a number of different things to ascertain, make sure that it is a problem with connecting to TCC's email server and not something else on my machine.

9:17 am We call TCC and get a good receptionist who gets me through to a human in their Internet Service (and that's a tough job since I've been in that office and have heard the phone ringing like it was going to break off)

TCC Rep: "Va'a Internet"

<<note no name mentioned, ownership of the customer or any other generally held good customer service answering technique>>

Me: Hi, I can't seem to connect to your email service either through my email client or through your website. Can you tell me if there is a problem?

TCC Rep: Wait. "Tali mai"

<<pause>>

TCC Rep: Try back in 10 minutes.

Me: Thank you.

Visit bTonga

OK,

Can't go putting the blame on TCC / Tonfon for this one.

What you can see in the picture is the end result of letting a wanna be geek near a machete / Hele-pelu.

What happened ?

We have this bush, actually a few of them, in the yard, and one of them had some creapers crawling all over them from an overhanging bread-fruit branch. Ha, that looks like an easy thing to resolve, so getting out mum's 1/2 size blade machete, dad walks over confidently to the bush to give it a bit of a trim.

Maybe I can put the blame on this to the feet of TCC/Shoreline? Anyhow, during the last major winds the telephone pole leaned over and is currently being held up by fence. The end result of that incidence that we and our neighbor now have telephone and electrical lines that droop lower than previously, and in this case we had a telephone line that was now drooping in two bushes and with this one the creapers were all over the bush and telephone line.

Manager IT Services

Looks like the net's really opening up, and all those wanna-bes who think they can manage a wanna-be Tech shop need not apply with Shoreline Communications who are now in the hunt for a Manager for their IT Services to replace Mr. Piveni Piukala who resigned under strained circumstances recently.

As mentioned previously, Mr. Hekisou Fifita has been approached, another Tech I've been waiting on to fix some problems customers are having with his services has recently been interviewed as well.

So, if you think you can help turn-around any whoes at Shoreline/Tonfon, please do not hesitate to contact their main offices at Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu or by email by referring to there web presence at http://www.tonfon.to and http://www.shoreline.to Remember the going rate, according to the Kele'a is TOP$100,000 for a very well qualifed individual and they may just negotiate on a team for you.

I guess everyone's had their breadfruit of the allegations between Shoreline Group of Companies. and former IT Manager Piveni Piukala. Likewise we have the saga's of the lawsuit and the planned people's protest march.

If you want to know the goss' then you'll have to head over to The Kele'a (http://www.kelea.to) and the Taimi 'o Tonga (http://www.taimiotonga.com) The TongaStar might have some news from the People's Democratic Party's perspective (http://www.tongastar.com) Unfortunately the Kele'a is still working on their 'online' version but it wouldn't hurt the Kele'a for you to buy a print copy ?

The Billing System.

Well, all that aside, we do know (or feel) that something's gone screwey with Shoreline's billing system. We haven't recieved our Electric bill, and for the 1st time we didn't get our Internet bill from work. Strangely, Shoreline used to Bill us after we paid. So, either they've fixed up their Internet billing so they actually know which customers have already paid (don't bill them again?) or something more serious has gone wrong with their Billing System.

Of course, the issue of plain incompetence at head-office isn't being addressed here.