How to get modem in T60 working?

Steps:
- install driver using program provided at:
http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/downloads-installer.php
or look at section "Identifying your modem"
- run "sudo sh cnxtinstall.run"
- follow instructions
- reboot
- run "sudo hsfconfig --country" to set the country
- run "sudo hsfconfig --license" to set the license. Choose FREE here.

When I start minicom, the program can initialize the modem. I have to admit I did not try if the modem really works.

DB2 and string functions

If you have ever worked with DB2 and Unicode database, you must have stumbled across this problem:
If you are using characters that are not in ascii table, but nation specific ones, like đšžćč in my case, then function like LENGTH, SUBSTR, ... are not working right. Especially with JCC DB2 driver.
Example:
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT SUBSTR(NAME, 1, 10) AS NAME FROM TABLE1")
and then the tenth character is one of đšžćč(for example) then calling
rs.getstring("NAME") will give you an Exception.
There are three solutions:
- use APP/NET driver, so you at least don't get the exception
- do a substring in Java code
- use VARGRAPHIC like SELECT SUBSTR(VARGRAPHIC(NAME), 1, 10) AS NAME FROM TABLE1

At least I hope DB2 developers will fix this soon. Sometimes it really gets on my nerves.

Specs

On Monday I got back from my R&R and started doing some work with a device that is connected to RS-232. I was following the specs for the protocol that it supports. But the device returned something that was not in the specs. Strange. Luckily I had a contact person at the company that provided the device. We figured out that the software on the device is not the right one, the one that supports the specs I got. Then we updated the software. And did it the second time, since the first was not the right version. The device still didn't function as written in the specs. Then we figured out that is was not set up correctly. Now after couple of days I have a working device as per spec. So the company says. :)
Then I found out that the specs are not right. They say something and the device says something else. Now who to believe? After three days I'm still not 100% sure if the spec and the device are on the same level.
Don't you just hate when this happens? And then your manager asks you why it took so long to send two lousy packets to the device. They are both 60 bytes long! Arrrgggg

R&R

Last 14 days I've been on R&R. :))
The first of there magnitude this year. I really needed it. I've been involved in couple of large project this year (introduction of Euro currency in my country, introduction of Selfcheckout tills, ....).
During my R&R I've kinda started some work on Neural networks. We'll some where it takes us.