BMTH live in Jakarta 2024

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This time around Ravel gets it right and BMTH (Bring Me The Horizon) are headlining the Nexfest festival in Jakarta which also features Babymetal. In this format there is no seating - which makes for a much more intimate experience - although you do have to arrive really early if you want to pick a spot right up close to the stage.  We arrived about six hours before BMTH were scheduled to start their performance and bought plenty of drinks to stay hydrated in the tropical afternoon heat (mind you, some of those were Iceland vodka mix!) This was a gig I had long been looking forward to - especially after the debacle last year. Not everyone likes BMTH of course. For deathcore fans the band sold out. For metal heads the band is not purist enough. And for the wider mainstream audience, the band is too heavy. You can't please everyone of course but there are few bands in the rock world which can match the sheer emotional velocity of BMTH. To bring metal and even aspects of metalcore t...

Microsoft Indonesia

What did Bill Gates’ wife say to him on their wedding night? 

Now I know why you called your company Microsoft!
 
Hahaha! A bit limp perhaps but he ain’t stupid. Remember all that antitrust fuss a few years’ back? Well that went away a bit too easily didn’t it? 

For a time the regulators were saying that his company would have to be broken up because of its monopolistic characteristics (Windows is installed on at least 90% of all PCs). And then NOTHING. What the heck happened there? 

All very mysterious indeed. 

 And here in Indonesia, Bill Gates has even, according to some people (not my opinion), “bought” the Indonesian government: they have supposedly agreed to buy Microsoft products for all government offices in exchange for a contribution to some sort of “slush fund”. 

Bill Gates has even blown his gasket on the issue of copyright violations. 

 Now what gets me is that Microsoft claims that the total losses due to piracy of DVDs, music CDs and computer software should be based on the retail value of the products pirated. They come up with some ridiculously humongous figure that I can’t remember except that it’s in the billions of dollars. 

 But any fool would know that it isn’t like that. Sure an average Indonesian may be willing to buy a pirated DVD for US$0.50 at places like Glodok

But if it were sold at say US$20 would they still buy it? Of course not! They’d watch the stuff broadcast by the TV stations instead. So it isn’t really a potential loss. The DVD sale simply wouldn’t have been made. 

 And why should the Americans be so upset anyway? In fact, I reckon they should be pleased that Indonesians are watching pirated Hollywood DVDs and listening to illegally downloaded MP3s. 

After all, from a strategic viewpoint, doesn’t this mean that the people of the world’s largest Muslim nation are being exposed to the ideals and values of the world’s no 1 espouser of capitalism? 

 In short, pirated DVDs are basically a great way of bringing American culture - Pamela Anderson included - into the homes of the downtrodden masses in third world countries. 

And I reckon it’s a strategy that’s working really well. Cos it’s truly remarkable how Americanized the people living in Indonesia’s main cities really are – a far cry from the machete wielding radicals who are wreaking havoc in the Sulawesi town of Poso. 

 And heck, shouldn’t the Americans be paying the Indonesians to watch some of this Hollywood stuff? Cos let’s face it, some of it really is not very good, is it? 

 As for Microsoft, they produce some of the most cumbersome and monstrous computer software ever written. No elegance whatsoever. And if you’re still using IE to read this blog, do yourself a favor: switch to Firefox. 

 It’s much more compact, faster and easier to use. Sorry Bill. But never mind mate. You can always try this stuff:

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