Comments on: Astana / Kazakhstan Has Internet Access Once More http://chrismerriman.com/astana-kazakhstan-has-internet-access-once-more/ Something To Do... Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:05:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Chris Merriman http://chrismerriman.com/astana-kazakhstan-has-internet-access-once-more/comment-page-1/#comment-103 Chris Merriman Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:21:36 +0000 http://chrismerriman.com/?p=288#comment-103 Forgot to ask... >>Narcogen, are you likely to be adding posts to your site anytime soon? I made a comment or two, but I think they\'re still be held in moderation? >>Ben, if you don\'t mind me asking, how did you find my site - Google? A different search engine? Or a link from another KZ blog? [edit] Narcogen, I went and checked back on your site and found all my comments approved, sorry for not noticing before. Forgot to ask…
>>Narcogen, are you likely to be adding posts to your site anytime soon? I made a comment or two, but I think they\’re still be held in moderation?
>>Ben, if you don\’t mind me asking, how did you find my site - Google? A different search engine? Or a link from another KZ blog?

[edit] Narcogen, I went and checked back on your site and found all my comments approved, sorry for not noticing before.

]]> By: Chris Merriman http://chrismerriman.com/astana-kazakhstan-has-internet-access-once-more/comment-page-1/#comment-102 Chris Merriman Thu, 30 Nov 2006 06:11:14 +0000 http://chrismerriman.com/?p=288#comment-102 >>Narcogen - wow, thanks for that information. To be honest, I ended up phoning a friend in the UK to check if there was any breaking news re. Kazakhstan, to try and find out if perhaps the lack of internet access wasn't an accident. Didn't mention it in the post as my English friend laughed at me and thought I was being way too paranoid. I'll now gladly point him in the direction of your comment :> >>Ben - We often get brownouts here - ie dips in the voltage being supplied. If you can afford it, you NEED a UPS for your PC whilst over here, certainly (Uninterruptible Power Supply). However, I don't remember the power actually disappearing for more than a few seconds recently; it could just be where I live wasn't affected. Hopefully Some other Astana dwellers will be able to comment here and confirm/deny recent blackouts... Mind you, paperwork delays aren't unusual over here, so if they bothered to actually give you a reason, maybe they're not BSing you? Good luck with the admin. >>Narcogen - wow, thanks for that information. To be honest, I ended up phoning a friend in the UK to check if there was any breaking news re. Kazakhstan, to try and find out if perhaps the lack of internet access wasn’t an accident. Didn’t mention it in the post as my English friend laughed at me and thought I was being way too paranoid. I’ll now gladly point him in the direction of your comment :>

>>Ben - We often get brownouts here - ie dips in the voltage being supplied. If you can afford it, you NEED a UPS for your PC whilst over here, certainly (Uninterruptible Power Supply). However, I don’t remember the power actually disappearing for more than a few seconds recently; it could just be where I live wasn’t affected. Hopefully Some other Astana dwellers will be able to comment here and confirm/deny recent blackouts… Mind you, paperwork delays aren’t unusual over here, so if they bothered to actually give you a reason, maybe they’re not BSing you? Good luck with the admin.

]]> By: Ben http://chrismerriman.com/astana-kazakhstan-has-internet-access-once-more/comment-page-1/#comment-101 Ben Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:48:27 +0000 http://chrismerriman.com/?p=288#comment-101 Was there a power outage in large areas of Kazakhstan - Astana, Aktobe - last week (10/20 - 10/24)? We're set to travel to Kaz, but were told that inclement weather has delayed the processing of some of our visa-associated paperwork (long story). Was there a power outage in large areas of Kazakhstan - Astana, Aktobe - last week (10/20 - 10/24)? We’re set to travel to Kaz, but were told that inclement weather has delayed the processing of some of our visa-associated paperwork (long story).

]]> By: Narcogen http://chrismerriman.com/astana-kazakhstan-has-internet-access-once-more/comment-page-1/#comment-100 Narcogen Thu, 30 Nov 2006 01:38:22 +0000 http://chrismerriman.com/?p=288#comment-100 Well, Kazakhtelecom does own 49% of K-Cell (GSM Kazakhstan). In addition, every ISP's DNS servers are slaved to Kazakhtelecom's root servers, and requests to external DNS servers are blocked on most, if not all, ISPs. Try using one of the alternative root servers, for instance, to get access to some of the unofficial TLDs: it won't work now, where 5 years ago it did. This allows for a certain degree of control: to block certain sites or to substitute replacement sites, even for those without a .kz suffix or that are hosted outside the territory. Well, Kazakhtelecom does own 49% of K-Cell (GSM Kazakhstan). In addition, every ISP’s DNS servers are slaved to Kazakhtelecom’s root servers, and requests to external DNS servers are blocked on most, if not all, ISPs.

Try using one of the alternative root servers, for instance, to get access to some of the unofficial TLDs: it won’t work now, where 5 years ago it did.

This allows for a certain degree of control: to block certain sites or to substitute replacement sites, even for those without a .kz suffix or that are hosted outside the territory.

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