All posts in Serbia

I’m sure each of you can relate to the similar story that I’m about to tell.

In November last year, I got myself another computer at home. Since LG 1730 monitor I had did have both VGA and DVI jacks, I wanted to connect both comps to it, and use the built switcher to work with both. I connected my main comp to DVI and my new one to VGA. But DVI just refused to work. It detects when the cable is on or off – when it is off, it would display check signal cable. But when I start the comp, it will immediately go to Power saving mode and nothing I did could get it out of it. I changed cables, graphic cards, all in vain.

Thus the monitor went to service, at the first days of December. Few days after it, my dad was injured and then passed away, thus I forgot about it for days. I finally checked the status over the Internet and on the 16^th I saw “completed, ready for pick up” status. I could not do that until 24^th, when they surprised me with the information that it is not serviced, but that I have received a replacement invoice instead (they certainly need to debug that part of status application).

Trouble is – there was not a single monitor to be found in those days. Starting from January 1^st, Serbia has the pleasure of the introduction of Value Added Tax (18%). Considering the fact that before that, almost all computer equipment was tax-free, computer sales in December sky-rocketed. Everyone were buying stuff, like it was free. I took the replacement note to my salesman, but he said sorry, but there is nothing I can do now. I sold more in the last month than in the previous 11 months combined..

Nothing surprising really, so I settled for the long wait.

Then came the New Year, then orthodox Christmas (Jan 7^th) – the companies started working on Jan 10^th, but because of VAT introduction and all the new paperwork, most started working on Jan 17^th. As it happens to be the case, monitors were not in the first shipments that arrived, so I got my replacement on Jan 31^st.

Whole two months! I used my old Belinea CRT until Jan 20^th (when it went to my sister) and afterwards I used company laptops.

A series of unfortunate circumstances, something I hope never to experience again. I hold no grudge towards the companies (both the store where I bought and the importer). The man called me as soon as the monitor got in – I got it directly from the importer’s warehouse – and it is a nice thing to look at (brighter silver colour of the front panel). It seems that I got the newer series of TFT panels too, as they seem to be better made. Or so the guy from the warehouse told me, who checked the monitor closely – probably looking to buy one for him (he checked it using Doom 3 and looking for ghosts and blurs).

DVI is working now. The problem with the first one was the defective digital board. Everything worked in the old one, apart from the DVI logic. Strange problem, but it happens sometime.

Serbs are being sought and killed on sight in the Kosovo, in these very moments. Over 10 serbian temples have been burned to the ground, whole village of Lipljan is burned, and Albanians are attacking the international KFOR soldiers.

What needs to happen’ for CNN or SkyNews to report the truth?

For the latest coverage checkout Radio B92′s news page, although it’s a bit behind the serbian version.

This is not a very good day. It starts the second year without Zoran Đinđić. It may sound strange why I give so much tribute to a politician. He was our John F. Kennedy.

I grew up in 90′s, when Serbia was ruled by a communist dictator disguised as nationalist. It was a very unfortunate time. All moral values deteriorated. My country was not in war, but people was being lead away by MPs in the middle of the night to fight somewhere. I watched my school friends abandoning school and associating with criminals. I watched criminals owning the police, whole cities. I watched young girls with just one wish: to be picked up by the richest bald-headed criminal with the shiny new Mercedes or BMW.

The dictator allowed all that. He let anyone with a gun and no brain do what they want, while they kept him in power.

On September 24^th, year 2000, my 26^th birthday, people of Serbia finally got out of their asses and voted against him. He refused to acknowledge that, as usual. This time, he was not able to buy anyone from opposition. On October 5, over 1 million people was on the streets on Belgrade. In that one day, everything collapsed. He was no long. We were free.

Among many, one man stood highest. He was the key leader behind all of it. He became first democratic Prime Minister, he was the leader on the good road.

First time in my life, I felt hope. Hope for a good life, in my own country. Few hundreds thousands young and bright guys and gals left the country before this spark of hope was kindled.

I still live on the remains of that spark.

Rest in peace Zoran. You will always be remembered.

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