Hi guys, Recently i came across a very funny/strange incident, i thought it would be nice to share with you. As you all know, i develop GPL'd drivers for the Linux kernel. In this regards, vendors do send me their free samples of their hardware, to get the drivers under Linux going. These devices can be sometimes be beta hardware etc, or sometimes hardware that which doesn't even work etc, depending upon the hardware development stage with the vendor. These devices are clearly marked as development only as they are not packaged the same way etc and there are no Software CD's etc along with them etc. Basically it looks packaged entirely different. Well, it looks fine since it is not for any commercial purposes.
Recently, one of the vendors send me a few cards through the UAE post office. Normally they send via DHL or UPS. This time somehow they sent it via EMS and hence the Post Office. There was an Invoice attached to the parcel, which said card type each at 0.65 USD totally 4 PCI cards altogether, which tallied to USD 2.60. Well i thought i would get an intimation in my Post Box or get a call on my mobile or at least they would deliver at the office or so. After a week i thought why the parcel had not yet reached me, though the vendor said they sent me a package. I wondered maybe they lied to me on the same. The very next day i received a mail from the vendor on the tracking number asking whether i received the same (It has been over a week now). So after a google search, i finally landed up at the EMS packaging tracking website. Lo, it had been in UAE for more than a week, it took just one day and a half to come down to UAE. Indeed that was fast. Now i thought then better go enquire at the Post Office. Reaching the Post Office, i gave them the tracking number, one guy asked me whether it were some "books". I replied back *not* books, electronic items, computer cards. the guy went inside searched for a while and asked me in Arabic, what i did understand was that he meant whether it is a parcel, i said, *yes* parcel. So he directed me to another table. So i went to that table and showed the guy the tracking number. The guy went round in a circle and went to the very first guy and got the package from him. He also asked me the same what it is, gave him the very same reply. He took a look at the package turning it around and took out the invoice and tried to read it out. Then he thought maybe better open it up and see. He openend the same and took all the cards and was looking at it. He then took all of them to some other guys who were sitting next to him, before he got up to pick the package. they discused for around some 10 - 15 minutes on the same, didn't understand head or tail of what they were discussing though. This guy then took up the calculator and typed 50 into the calculator and said, "Fi customs duty". Then i thought *WTF*, All these years i never had to pay any customs duty for development stuff as it always said "Sample for evaluation. No commercial value, Value only for customs purpose only". So i took the invoice from that guy to check whether the vendor forgot to put that, since i did not want to pay for the Customs duty at all, since it was not going to do me any good. But looking at the Invoice the very same remarks were there. On asking the guy *WTF*, he took all of this to another guy who discussed along with him earlier. He told me that i have a commercial reason for the same and these were for sales in the market. I was a bit perplexed on the same as to what to tell this guy, I told him it is for OSS driver development etc. He looked at me in a strange way and asked me Software ???? , there was another guy who was looking quite quizzically. So i took the invoice and showed it to the guy about the remarks. The guy then shouted at the other two guys on what the nonsense is all about. the other guy went on as to state that i was doing commercial activities with the goods. A terrible argument ensued. In the end, the the last guy who came into the argument told me, "take it" and showed me the thumbs up gesture. The other two guys didn't like this at all and retorted back, "only this time". I proceeded to the hallway to walk out of the Post Office with the parcel quite cheerfully, even though got tired of arguing with them. Well one more of those numerous strange incidents while being here, i added to my collection. Manu ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/TISQkA/hOaOAA/yQLSAA/0XFolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dubailug/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
