Some JUG Politics or "Why doesn't a community grow under farcism"

A group with no/poor leadership is like a ship without a rudder.

I have been trying to reboot MyJUG (at a tangible level, a site and some blogs) for years with no avail, to take lead but got beaten down (continue reading), and when I wanted to talk about some MNCC stuff to the group just now, I found out that I was banned.

MyJUG is established since 1999, founded by Loke KS, owned by Loke, bossed by Loke. Once in a short while, some new faces come and new motivation generated to create new discussions and some ambitious to live up the group and technical talks. Most recently, before 2011, we were told by Loke that he's working something out with Oracle (and now, being the mid of 2011, the group still haven't yet organized a single activity) and looking for volunteers to help out (I have no idea why we have never formed a board or committee to have some balance of power and management, I raised it), and I did,

On Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 2:34 AM, Yuen-Chi Lian wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I created two polls in Doodle, just click, no hassle registration:
>
> Vote for new platform
> Vote for next talk
>
> I wrote a blog post too, let's make some change to the group for 2011.

On Sun, Dec 12, 2010 at 8:54 AM, Loke KS wrote:
>
> Yuen, why don't you take the lead in organising some talks?

Very good, I got a tap on the shoulder to go for it.

And I moved fast again, including finding a right place to document the activities of the group, to vote for topics, etc. (so I also started a Google Sites, as the earlier work I did is hosted in my ex-company server). Most importantly, I kept things transparent in the mailing list and opened them for better suggestions.

Then?

On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 9:43 AM, Loke KS wrote:
> Can you discuss with me first before you take any action on any matter?

Come on, what the fuck?

On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 9:55 AM, Yuen-Chi Lian wrote:
> I was acting based on the votes. I didn't know there was a concern,
> enlighten me.

On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 9:59 AM, Loke KS wrote:
>
> If you want to work as a team, then we work as a team else we work
> individually, separately. What does working in a team means? What if I have
> other plans that I am working with other people?

On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 11:24 AM, Yuen-Chi Lian wrote:
>
> Then always share with us.
>
> Secret agenda is no longer a weapon but stumbling block of a community.
> Being open and transparent is the initial driving force to start or change a
> community in this era. You can learn from some successful stories, GitHub is
> one, how Apache/Hudson/MySQL/OpenOffice left Oracle is another.
>
> There's just too much legacy to drag us from moving forward. When we
> sacrifice more individualistic controls over things back to community decision,
> you will see how things can be different.
>
> I'm sure you get my point. Oracle doesn't.
>
> It's not about working as a team, but working with the community.

Things went quiet again, until Bernie (great Android developer) started similar topic, but Loke, this time, never looked into the problem nor contributed anything practical to realize the members' desire.

About a week plus ago, I was told that Chee Aun is working on Connections.my, and thus I brought it up in MyJUG (although I misunderstood what the site is actually for in the beginning, but that's not important) and also mentioned about having a breakaway JUG, as, at that point of time, I was frustrated that Loke still hasn't yet done any real deal with the great Oracle. When emotion goes wrong, bad things can happen - I'm banned:

You have been banned from this group by the group moderator (Yahoo! ID banned: yuenchi.lian). You may not join the group myjug.

I'm not sure if I'm the first one to be banned, but I am seriously tired of dealing with one's fascism (there's only one owner and moderator to maintain the Yahoo! group) but nothing else every time I wanted to realize something.

So, here's an idea, is anyone up for a breakaway, to start clean, with no boss but the people?

At the same time, while the old Facebook page is deprecating, I have spawned a new one here, please join.

MNCC 23rd AGM

It has been quite a while since last blogging, been using Twitter and Weibo to deliver my ideas but not this time.

I joined the MNCC since almost a year ago, suggested by one of its then-member of council Ditesh. I have a strong belief that there's something I can contribute to the country through this platform, although nothing real has been done yet.

The annual meeting was held at Armada Hotel, with its annual report available here. And, I remember that we talked about the lack of funds, the low turn-outs to organized conferences and seminars, and most important, the lack of youngsters. I suppose 3 or less fingers can count those who're at or below the age of 30 out of ~40 attendances tonight.

I do have some opinions but I do not want to provide any analysis on MNCC at this stage to make myself judgmental and critical. Instead, I need to lend some helping hands.

Take a look at its website, very 90's, very unattractive. But I was shocked to find out that it has been maintained by Syed, someone who could be double of your age, knows enough of HTML to get the content up.

So here comes the purpose of this blog post, I am looking for a volunteer to set up a CMS and administrate the site (hosted at Exabytes according to Syed, but this is not important), the best person who can do this job better than me.

Anyone?

Yes, Riding on Linux

I received a free WiMAX USB dongle (called the Yes Go) last Tuesday, given how busy week days usually are, I only managed to really get it working on my Ubuntu now. In this blog, I am not going write about the Yes site usability, how interesting the speed can go (by the way, if you think 10Mb/s is impressive enough, that's the speed HSDPA can give. WiMAX can run up to 40Mb/s.); Instead, I speak about what I went through getting it to work on my Linux machine.

Yes Go doesn't have (publicly) a Linux driver (and its source), just like the Clearwire USB dongle and many others. Yes Go is manufactured by Infomark, IMW-U300, which uses GCT chip (GDM7205 most likely, with uClinux. It can push >30Mbps of download and 6Mbps of upload):

(Note: I'm not a Linux hacker, so all I could do is usb_modeswitch and some simple digging. I'm happy to learn how to grab the image and boot into it when I have the time.)

$ screen /dev/ttyUSB0

Model name: IMW-U300   
 Manufacturere: INFOMARK
%WIMAX MAC: ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
/dev/usb0
3Parameter block: version 2 in NVRAM EEPROM

$ lsusb | grep 1076
Bus 001 Device 039: ID 1076:7f00 GCT Semiconductor, Inc.

Given that (and I-ANAL - I Am Not A Lawyer), GCT could have violated the GPL (see also this Taiwanese post).

After hours of research, I contacted @YesCare for the driver, the case has been escalated and am still pending for solution at the time I'm writing this blog. This left me with one ugly workaround to use Yes Go -- bridging from a virtual machine (I use Sun's/Oracle's VirtualBox) running Windows.

The basic steps (more discussions in this VirtualBox's forum thread):

• Create an ad-hoc wireless network in NetworkManager.
• Add a bridge adapter in VirtualBox, select your wireless LAN (e.g. wlan0).
• Turn off usb_modeswitch before plugging in the USB dongle. See /etc/usb_modeswitch.conf.
• Start VirtualBox with root (or configure fstab to allow current user to read/write the USB device nodes).
• Setup Yes Go, once connected, bridge it with your adapter added earlier.

That ends a chapter.

Meanwhile, for preregistered users, today is the last day to activate your account in order to retain your reserved phone number.

To make myself to really know what I'm going to pay for, I wrote a JS-based calculator last night using mvc.js (before Yes updated their site with the new calculator this afternoon). Feel free to fork it with jsfiddle or github.

The Malaysian Java User Group can be more than just a mailing list

Is simply just a mailing list for years. Continue reading.

Recently, I received an email (with a few in the loop, not through the mailing list) from Loke to discuss about some aspects of MyJUG. I found it hard to respond to most posted questions (such as "Best Practices" and "Strengths and Opportunities" of this group), simply because - the cruelest fact - there's nothing much to describe.

I join the mailing list about 4 to 5 years ago, when I innocently thought getting to know more people there could get some new hires for my former employer. It doesn't work that way (or at least at the moment), so if you happen to have the same intention, you may want to readjust or quit.

Every now and then, I whine and whine to some people about the lack of substantive committee to move forward the group, the lack of activities, etc. Then, every now and then, we voted for topics and things go silent. Then, recur.

StackOverflowError not yet.

To run a successful technical/user group seems really hard in Malaysia. FOSS-SM used to have consistent monthly meetup when Aizat was active. Chee Seng runs the Flex UG (MyFlex) but the number of participants is really low (also given the fact that Flex is barely a killer). Umm, the PHP UG seems pretty successful though. Why?

I don't know.

The community can change it.

• Vote for next topics
• Vote for new platform

Yes?

YTL Communications, a subsidary of YTL Power (YTLPOWR), will be launching their WiMAX service on the 19th of this month.

I attended its pre-launch event just now and here're some stuff to highlight to fellow Linux users or Android lovers.

• No, there's no official Linux software or drivers and I don't see why they shall release one. But things shall really work OOTB.
• No, HTC lovers, you can't run Evo 4G on it, as Evo works only with 2.5GHz-2.7GHz WiMAX. In Malaysia, WiMAX is currently deployed with 2.3GHz spectrum; although MCMC recently has granted the 2.6GHz spectrum - we still gotta wait.
• Yes, you have to buy the phones from YTL and given that WiMAX requires no SIM, I am not sure whether that'll encourage vendor locked down and monopoly. My question on this wasn't really answered.
• They are Samsung lovers and the available handset now is Samsung Epic 4G. I don't use and never like a QWERTY phone.
• I suppose they have customized their phones with their own software, but custom ROM shall work just fine with all the necessary apk.
• Yes, Android is the only platform for now. iPhone 4 is not a 4G network phone, yet.

IMO, within the next two to three years, we won't see 2.6GHz band and LTE being deployed. That also means, we don't get real 4G 'til that happens. What shall happen in between, it's too hard to tell now.

Wee, Prove It

“I didn't jump ship. I am on my own and now I have more time to concentrate on my constituents.

“My constituents will see whether what I did was right. I am certain I will be forgiven by history and the next generation,” he added.

It's too early still for me to say that you had done practically nothing for my district, yes, my freaking district.

I still remember on a Wednesday rainy night, me, a very a young guy at that time attended your cerama in celebration of your move to PKR. Then, a meet-up once speaking about a portal for Wangsa Maju.

I remember you claimed that in 30 days Wangsa Maju/Setapak will see a change. I saw a small protest on removal of protected trees due to road expansion. I saw you hitting on Yew for the Platinum condominium and land matters. Other than that, I am still awaiting the change.

Prove it.

Let's complain about the local taxi service!

In a yumcha session last week, my friends told me that the taxi service in our country has recently been rated as the worst in the region. This morning, one of my friends shared this article in Facebook, which is on the same topic.

The past 2 months, I have been driving frequently than I ever had before. I hate (hated, hate still) driving because it adds one more car to the already-busy traffic, it pollutes the environment, it causes fuel depletion too. For these reasons, I always took taxi last time (for years), because I didn't travel much.. I didn't feel the pain although I ranted about it sometimes.

What're the problems? Two problems:

1. The taxi drivers never use the meter if you're traveling from one town to another. Say, Setapak to Mid Valley, Chow Kit to One Utama, KLCC to anywhere, etc.
2. Most Malaysians do not queue (esp. couples), I usually shout to stop them from taking my taxi.
   

I drive because I travel far these days and I got enough of being ripped off by the taxi drivers. But that doesn't solve the problem I faced and other people are facing. So, inspired by OpenMalaysia's Yoon Kit, I decided to lodge a complain to the ministry of domestic trade and consumer affairs.

Please join me:

The local taxi service has gotten out of control to the extent that we are now rated as the worst country in taxi service provision in the region. We're also featured in the MSN Singapore News<http://news.sg.msn.com/lifestyle/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1682889> too.

I am a residence of Kuala Lumpur and the situation has become worse to me these days as I have to travel frequently than I ever had to, to/from Mid Valley, 1 Utama, KLCC, etc.

The taxi drivers never follow the meter, every time I travel to/from these places, I have to bargain for a good price in order to get into the cab. At the first place, it is so wrong for them to break the rules, secondly, it has made me to look like a an idiot for so many times by walking from one taxi to another. There was once in Mid Valley that I had to try seven taxis.

Another issue is that, most general passengers do not use the queue and taxi drivers just stop their car before the station when someone waves their hand at another end.

Can someone do something about it? It's not just hurting the local consumers, it's also tarnishing the image of our country because tourists don't really love it too.

Act now!

From @yoonkit: @yclian you may need to name specific taxi companies and events, otherwise they won't know how to react.

- yc

Invitation to Bloggers Buff 2008

A blogging forum/workshop for Malaysians is back this year. Read more about it at its website.

- yc

An Era Where People Express

I did not study the history of civilization and democracy in detail, all I have is from the high school. But I am certainly sure that the result of the 12th general election yesterday has certainly marked a watershed in the history of Malaysia after half a century.

One factor contributed to the setback of the ruling coalition is how the government stumbled badly on the issues of bloggers, Internet media and street demonstration. They made a wrong move -- they tried to control, suppress, and ignore our voice.

Web 2.0 should be called World 2.0 instead, as it redefines not just the Internet but the world in terms of learning, communication, collaboration, and business. People are more open, open to discussion, open privacy boundary, open source, open API, ... They express.

When you go online, you see the mood and state of mind of your friend from his MSN personal message or Facebook status. You read about his life, work and vision from his blog. You can see his social activities from his Flickr and Facebook photo tags. You are also invited to events to get into a closer touch with the people. Then, you learned that you are one of us, we want changes, we want our voice heard, and we dislike how authority controls and manipulates.

Among our generations, there are still people who remain behind the times and you could be one of them. How are you repositioning yourself?

In the city that I am living, a lot of people carry an MP3 player like I do in the train, but not many move with the music like I do. Let's move.

- yc, expresses

The Day We Decide

If you are a Malaysian, you are supposed to know about this; if you are older than 21 y/o, you are one of us who can decide; if you are not a Malaysian, basically, today is the day of general election.

I want a effective, fair and clean government, for the people.


- yc

Are you overworked, IT guys?

I have come across so many friends who are overworked by their employers, especially those from the IT field, the issue of underpaid sounds serious in Malaysia. I could be wrong, so feel free to drop a comment if you have other opinions.

In Malaysia, our salary has been stagnant for years, and I believe that's part of the reason why it attracts foreign investors. When it comes to the argument of employees being overworked, there are two factors that we can look into:

1. Employees are not being efficient.
2. Management is being unreasonable, in terms of deadline and human resource.

Most of the time, both are valid. For an old-school manager who is not willing to adopt to new methodologies, his interest is to squeeze the most out from the project and his employees for a high ROI. Driven by this, he is likely to commit to an unreasonable deadline and cut down the cost by hiring just-sufficient (usually turned out to be not, due to inefficiency) human resources.

Sounds familiar to you? I am happy that I am not working for this kind of company.

In the end, the development team faces huge pressure, as the deadline comes closer it turns worse, and they stay late to work even on the weekends. Driven by this, the employees are no longer efficient and neither they are happy and motivated -- They will choose to leave.

What will happen when they leave? The company has to hire and train new guys again, that's a terrible investment and due to their management style the company will forever be haunted by high turnover rates. And generally (yes, I say generally, not all, based on my experience) since most Asian companies share the same management style, the employees will end up in the same type of company and they will.. be forever unhappy until they are retired.


I have created a Jyte claim: You are overworked and your employer is not hiring sufficient human resources. When I'm writing this, one of my friends is making the decision to leave her company. Why? The project has to be delivered on April, but she has been working 7 days per week since late-January. On Friday, she was talking with me on MSN when she was still in the office, the time was 1am morning.


- yc, what do you feel?

Where the Malaysian Java User Group is heading to?

Not just the website, there are more things that you can do for the group, really. I am a believer of "community for the people, by the people". The group will never work without a group of good leaders, active members and industry support. So here are a few suggestions:

• Spread the words
• Be the committee
• Be the sponsor
• Keep an eye on us

...

I have just blogged about the direction of our JUG in the website: what we have been doing, what we can do, and what we will be doing. The blog can be found at:

http://www.my-jug.org/2008/02/19/Where+the+JUG+is+heading

- yc

FOSS-SM February 2008 Meet-Up

I'm just back from the FOSS-SM (Free/Open Source Software Society of Malaysia) meeting. Thanks Kenneth Wong (of Exoweb) for giving us the presentation.

Had some talks with the Jayway folks, Niclas Hedhman and Edward Yakop, at the mamak after the meeting. Niclas mentioned a lot of names, and yes, I did not know who's Rickard Oberg (the creator of XDoclet and Webwork, the brain behind JBoss). Then I heard some stories about Joost too.

Next month, we might hear something from Rickard, on Qi4J.

- yc

Bring Down the Government

"You look so tired-unhappy, bring down the government, they don't.. they don't speak for us." - No Surprises by Radiohead

No matter how peaceful a demonstration is, the government considers it illegal and people are arrested. Aren't they there to speak for us?

How can our voice be heard?

- yc, with his final bellyache

RE: Rethinking Software Development

My colleague David wrote a thoughtful blog about maximizing quality by increasing software development time, do take a look at it here.

Test-Driven development (TDD) and continuous integration (CI) are not new terms but they could be in Malaysia (generalizing based on the number of software engineers that I have met), or people (managers and developers) could just think they are something impractical in terms of meeting the project's deadline and such.

They should find out about the "Broken Iron Triangle" too.

- yc

AMBP (All Malaysian Bloggers Project) Gathering

The AMBP folks organized a bloggers' gathering this afternoon at the Starbucks of The Gardens, Mid Valley. I'm glad to meet Shaz again and other (old) XFresh fellas, and oh yea.. my cousin David.

Anyway, couldn't really spot technical and political bloggers, but a number of teens, $ bloggers, cam-whores, camera geeks.

You can read more about this event from these blogs.

- yc

Flash Mob?

It just so happened that I was there, coincidently or not. Click here for my picture.

Read more from:

• Arif's blog
• Med's blog
• The official site
• Guang Ming
• China Review News
• Lak Sou Magazine

Or Google.

- yc

Malaysia is not much open-source penetrated

Wandering around in Google, I found this list which I actually took a look a few months back:

• List of Open Source Software / Solutions

MAMPU, the Malaysian Administration Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, is appointed to implement the OSS initiative in the Malaysia public sector.

Of course, I am happy to see such move taken by our government, but I feel like there are still a lot of works to do.

I give my support to the folks at Open Malaysia too.

- yc

I thought I was Recharged

For a moment, I thought I was recharged after a cool holiday with some church kids in the past 4 days.. but now, being back to the real world, I feel so tired again.

One exciting news to share about is that I won a place (not the top-3 though, I heard) in the eGenting programming competition. And I'm on my way to attend the presentation night in an hour time.

Updated: I got a merit, not too bad. I believe it's the rich use of Java APIs (Pattern, Comparable, Collections) on the merge-sort question that made me one of the winners.

But there are more bullshit than good news, all thanks to GPRS (little Jen doesn't support 3G). See:

• Jeff Ooi - ISA Shopping
  
• Li Tsin - ISA

We have just set up a series of polls in our company (internal wiki) for the "Best of 2007". Now I wonder, what're the "Best of 2007" in Malaysia and how're you going to end yours.

- yc

Human Rights Day

"When lawyers and the rakyat fail to march just because the police prefer to arrest people rather than protect them - the nation loses big time...

This is our right to march peacefully on the street. We can’t let them take it away from us."

10th of December is the Human Rights Day, the Malaysian government, however, hasn't been respecting it much and arresting the people happened to peacefully walk today.

The quote above is taken from Li Tsin's recent entry, do check it out. More stories in Jeff Ooi's blog.

- yc