Tue, Oct 19th - 4:43PM

Well I've been away for a while and I have a few things to share with you. I just folded and packed away some of my clothes which my mammy brought up from the wash and I've worked up a sweat so here goes!

A few weeks ago I gave my mammy some money when she went out so that after conducting her business she would pass by a software reseller I heard about on the television. I wrote on paper the items which I wanted with my contact mobile 'phone number and I specifically stated that I wanted genuine, original software. I received a call later that day when she was there; it was the owner of the business. I talked with him and clarified what I wanted. I made sure to verify the prices and also that the software were the genuine products. He said that they were and that he had what I wanted.

When my mammy came home later that day, she gave me the items in a black plastic bag and it also contained a bill for the purchase. As soon as I saw them I realized that they were pirated copies. I told my mammy and she said that he had told her that they were the original versions. I didn't blame her as this was the first time I had asked her to buy software for me and she didn't know what to expect. He had given her a card so I immediately called his mobile 'phone but he didn't pick up. I tried calling from another telephone and he still didn't answer. I then went to a computer and sent him an e-mail. Besides giving my mammy pirated software, he had given her "Norton Systemworks 2009" when I had asked for and written down "Norton Utilities" on the list. He had read the list so it was obvious that he took advantage of my mammy when she trusted him.

He replied to my e-mail four days afterward and apologized for responding late and he wrote that I could return the items on a day he had specified for either a full refund or an exchange for the genuine products after paying the difference in cost (which I had asked for). When I went to the booth in the mall on the day he specified, I immediately saw that he had cases full of pirated material. He said that he would get the genuine products in a shipment which would come in on the day after so if I could wait for it he would keep them for when I returned. We talked a little and he asked me why I wanted original software as "everyone uses the copies". I gave him my reasons and he countered them stating that the companies don't retaliate but I have had experiences with malicious workers at companies and I've witnessed software being used to disable functions on people's personal computers when they try to pirate material. He also said that he didn't stock the originals because people would break in and steal them. Only if companies wanted them then he would place orders for them. I wanted the products so I said that I'd wait.

I sent another message to him a few days afterward and he replied and stated that he had the software and I could come anytime to make the exchange. When I went back about a week afterwards, he said that the item I wanted was damaged in the shipping process. He had opened it to "check on it" and he said that the disc was cracked so he would return it but he was getting another one in a shipment arriving the day after. He said that he would deliver it to my home as a favour on the evening after he closed the booth. We talked a bit again and he told me about his education and asked about mine. When he asked whether I knew a certain individual I knew something was up. You see, it was one of the people I wrote about in my website (http://vijay.verwalten.ch/) and I knew if he talked to that person he would get nothing but lies and stories. He also saw my father and told him of out conversation, asked the same questions and said that he would do me the favour out of goodwill. He had also lent me a disc with instructional software on how to build a desktop computer; he said that I could check it out and tell him what I thought about it when he came on the 'morrow.

Needless to say, he didn't show up. He never replied to my e-mail in which I supplied descriptive directions to my house. Today my mammy paid a visit to his store as she was in the vicinity, and he told her that he really doesn't order or deal with original products. He gave her back the money and took back the pirated material. What I want to say is that even now he seems to be still dishonest as the first time I visited he had shown me a genuine copy of Microsoft Windows Vista and said that no one wanted it because of the price ($1300.00 TT). Also, if he never got the original software, why did he give me this runaround? In the little talks we had he had said that he did programming work for large companies and even they used the pirated versions of software as he had supplied them. What I knew is that the software he supplied to buyers could have been altered with code designed to steal data and so forth, and who knows? Maybe he did that or not, but that's the last I'll have to do with him and his "business".

WHen I went out on those days I had gone to another store too. I picked up a new USB flash drive, some male to female USB cables, a bluetooth adapter and a self-powered USB hub/ card reader. I saw a voltage regulator too and a 500Gb external hard drive. I might get those sometime in the future after my wardrobe and night table are built and moved in. Also I finally got a proper analog TV antenna for my TV stick; it has a standing base and everything. I tried it out but I cannot get a good position in my room yet for a good signal so only one or two television stations give a good picture with sound.

I spent some money on toiletries too.The doctor said that I should use "Dove" soap so I got some "Dove for Men" products and non-flouride toothpaste among other things. I got my prescriptions recently too and I have to do some tests before my next clinic date. When I went to the hospital for the clinic recently, I saw a beautiful ackee tree with the colourful fruit in abundance on the branches. It would have made a gorgeous photograph but I was not allowed to take any shots once I was on the compound. I visited the bookstore there too and picked up some CD-R's and DVD-R's. There was a medical dictionary for $300.00 TT ($50 USD) but it was too big to walk around with.

My younger sister came back from her trip and she brought me some clothing and a black ink cartridge for the printer. She also brought back chocolate! I could have got the Rurouni Kenshin DVD collection but I decided to wait for a few months more.

I've done little things with my sites; I'll upload some more photographs around the end of the month or so. Remember to sign my guestbooks if you do visit my sites (pretty please?). -Vijay.