A Cheap Way to Get Connected

I didn't realize Globe Tattoo is so matipid to use. I was waiting in line at the doctor this afternoon and decided to while away the time by Facebook-ing. I have used my Tattoo before but only once and for 4 minutes only. Besides, I didn't check how much that 4 minutes cost me. I mainly use the Globe dongle to text because texting on a computer is way easier than on a cellphone.

That's my cheap but powerful Lenovo S10-2, the main computer I use for blogging.


Anyway, so I checked my balance before I connected to the service and it said Php 220.

The connection was kinda fast I was actually able to tweet and check/update my 2 Facebook accounts all in 11 minutes.


And after 11 minutes of surfing, I checked my balance again and it said Php 215.

5 pesos was all I needed to get connected! Nice, no?

"What's Bing?"

Microsoft sponsored New Moon's movie premier. Ryan Seacrest, in a booth just outside the theater broadcasting live on the radio, was giving out Bing bags to the guests as token. It's just bad that Robert Pattinson didn't even know what Bing was. "What's Bing?" he queried when he received the small package. I hope someone told him beforehand that Bing was Microsoft's search engine.

But of course the real issue in the video is how Robert's rep cut the interview as soon as Ryan Seacrest began asking the Twilight star about his co-star, Kristen Stewart. The rep said they're talking about the movie (and not Kristen). Uhh... isn't Kristen part of it, too?

I'm so showbiz. Let's cut it here.

xoxo

Journalism Content Isn't Free

Since the dawn of internet, those who have access to it need not buy newspaper anymore. News is free - online. Blogs even make the news bigger.

But some newspaper publishers aren't happy with it. Next thing we know, we might already be required to pay for news articles we read on Google.

New call for Google to pay for content as it hints at payment aid for publishers in the Guardian, 11 September 2009.

iPod Nano Shoots Video

So iPod now shoots videos!

Video recording with effects
The new video camera in iPod nano lets you shoot video—even with video effects—wherever you are. Yet the new iPod nano is still the same ultraportable size. Learn more

Genius Mixes
Genius acts as your personal DJ, searching your iTunes library to find songs that go great together, then organizing them into mixes you'll love. All automatically. Learn more

FM radio with Live Pause
The new built-in FM tuner has two amazing features—Live Pause and iTunes Tagging*—that make listening to the radio nothing like listening to the radio. Learn more

Pedometer and Nike + iPod
Count every step you take with the new built-in Pedometer feature. Or add a Nike + iPod Sport Kit so your iPod can track your fitness progress. Learn more

Net Problem Part 2

I didn’t know PLDT technicians work on weekends and holidays. I filed another ticket on the technical hotline last Saturday due to a very high latency and very low upload speed. Imagine getting a ping of 353 ms in their very own server and 20 kbps upload rate! My download rate was at a normal speed of 2.2 mbps, but with a high ping and low upload speed, a fast download speed is useless.



Since it’s a public holiday today, I wasn’t expecting a tech to visit me. But come 10:30-ish, the kindest of technicians, Mr. Mandy Moore, arrived. He told me he wanted to change all the phone cables from the box outside the house, up to the dsl splitter. He said the problem might have been due to the wires which was installed some 17 years ago. I agreed to the suggestion and he started to work immediately. It took him no more than thirty minutes to finish the job. He’s really so kind he was even telling jokes while working. He didn’t even utter a word of complaint on the hot weather despite his evident sweating.

My connection’s better now. Although my normally below 20 latency has become 39-40-ish. Okay lang. Bearable naman. At least my life’s now back to normal. Thanks Mandy.

Abutin ang Mundo!

I can't wait for Globe Wimax to be available in our area. I'm so sick and tired of PLDT being my only internet option (unless I go prepaid, which I don't like).

My internet connection always gets disconnected every morning between 9:30 to 10:00. I don't know why. Calling 171 proves to be futile.

Miraculously, my internet connection wasn't disconnected this morning, nor the whole day through up to now. I hope it continues to behave until I get myself a Globe.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset Fined For Using KaZaA

Jammie Thomas-Rasset is a 32-year-old married mother of four. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing from St. Cloud State University. She is accused of illegally downloading and distributing 24 songs via KaZaA. Thomas-Rasset denies it.

Now she must pay fines totaling $1.92 million to the RIAA, as a penalty for violating the copyrights on 24 songs

Good grief. If there was a clear law here regarding the use of KaZaA, Limewire, torrent, and the likes, I think 80% of Metro Manila's population would be charged.

But then again, I guess they should go to the root of the problem. Why not imprison whoever made KaZaA?

This is like punishing those who use illegal drugs but letting the drug suppliers run free.

Photo via geek.com

No Net

I need some more sleep. I went home from Laguna yesterday morning pa but I wasn't able to sleep cuz it's my niece's birthday yesterday. She had a double celebration with my sister who had her birthday last 26th. We had a "full house" yesterday and it's quite impossible for me to rest. Speaking of birthdays, I wanna greet my friend Bans Balleras a belated happy birthday. It was her birthday last 25th.

Anyway, I woke up this morning to no internet. I picked up the phone to call PLDT 173 when I realized there was a line noise - screechy, static, annoying noise. I checked the plugs but they're properly connected. Then at the corner of my eyes, I saw some activity outside the window, at the Meralco post on the other side of the street.

Gawd, the pagecom.com.ph people were at it again. I talked to them and they ended up replacing our phone box which was 16 years old already. And they said naman they'd be on our street only until today, or tomorrow at the most. Buti naman.


This was taken before I yelled. No, I didn't show them I was angry cuz they might sabotage my connection more. LOL! I just shouted: "Kuya wala akong connection!" Then they politely answered: "Sandali na lang 'to sir." Pero I overheard him talking on the phone up there. He was talking to his wife. How did I know it was his wife? Cuz he was asking the other end if the kids had already left for school. LOL! Internet connection resumed the minute he went down his ladder.

Something You Might Need To Know

I found this video about resetting the chipset memory of ink cartridges. Anyway I've just taken a look at my HP cartridge. It doesn't have that small hole that's described in the video.

Anyway here's the video. Hope this will help those who have small holes on their cartridges. LOL!

Old Handset Makes a Comeback

The things that caught my eyes at the 2009 CES:

Yubz Talk Handset

Yubz Talk/9linesmag

A stylized retro headset handset that you can plug into your cell phone. If you’re attention-whore much, this is a perfect gadget. It looks so fun I wonder when it’ll hit the local market. Hmm…

The Palm Pre

Palm Pre/zdnet

New OS, full browser, touch screen, and wireless charging! And I read it costs less.

How about plugging in a Yubz Talk handset in a Palm Pre?

Vaio P Series Lifestyle PC

Sony Vaio Netbook/geeksugar

This 8-inch beauty is the world’s lightest at only 1.4 lbs. It has WiFi, Bluetooth, webcam, and a LED-backlit LCD.

Mind Control

Princess in Doll Dress

Flash Drive as an Extra Windows XP Memory

So we can now use flash drives as extra virtual memory? For XP?

I haven't done this yet cuz I don't have a flash drive. I haven't bought one ever since. I haven't had a need for it (yet). But this video sounds cool. Perhaps I can buy one and try it.

Morro

Microsoft is set to release a FREE virus protection software in the second half of 2009. It's their response to the growing need for PC security and they call it "Morro." This new antivirus will gradually replace Windows Live OneCare subscription service, of which retail sale will be stopped by June 30, 2009.

Morro is reported to use "fewer computer resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs." Hello third-world computing!

Honestly, the first thing that entered my mind upon hearing Morro were the Muslims. The Philippine Moro, though, has a single R so it might not be it. But come to think of it, it's such an appropriate name for an antivirus if they based it upon the Moro of the Philippines. Moros are fighters; fearless ones. And who better fight the Trojan horse! The virus, btw, was derived from The Aenid, an epic poem by Virgil. In the poem, the Trojan horse was used by the Greeks to deceive the Trojans themselves, and that exactly is what the Trojan horse virus do - it appears to do a desirable function but is in fact destroying your computer. So what's the better way to destroy the Trojans? Bring in the Moro, or in MS's case, the "Morro."

And since Trojan is derived from literature, Moro is also part of the Philippine literature. Moro-moro is a play popular during the Spanish colonial period, and is about the battle between the Christians and Muslims of Spain.

Meanwhile, Morro (with two Rs) mean something else in other countries (mostly Spanish speaking ones). It can mean a snout, a hill, and even lack of shame.

Shame.

Photo via the movie Troy

I'm a PC

Just because I have never tried Mac, because it's too expensive for me.... I'm a PC!

PSP 3000

I'm not a PlayStation person anymore. When online games became a fad, I shifted, leaving my consoles untouched. But PSP is different cuz of its mobility, not to mention its music and movies storage capacity. But just when I was thinking of buying a PSP, the news of a new model breaks the gaming world. The silver PSP 3000 will hit the market October 14, 2008 for $199. It has the same specs as the old PSP 2000 except that it has a improved (brighter) LCD with anti-reflection technology, plus it has a built-in microphone. You can play the same games as that of your old PSP but now in a more vibrant screen in a wider range of colors.

The black 4GB PSP 3000 will be out November of this year and another black one in the basic core pack ($169) will be available later this year.

Cool, eh? Anyway $199 is around Php10,000.

Lemme Dream

I went hunting for a Ripcurl yesterday. Didn't find any. I went home with this instead:


amfefe

Microsoft's Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates Commercial

From YouTube:

I Want a G9

I asked Angel to go to SM Bicutan this afternoon to take pics of the PDA2 scholars (hehe) for my other blog but she couldn't. Sayang. It should have been a very good update but heck, Angel was scheduled pala to go to this neighbor's eighteenth birthday party. I hope she takes care of my camera. It's antiquity is notable but it still does its job. Although I find it hard to use on dim places.

If only I could spend on some Cannon without the afterward guilt of spending so much on something not (very) essential. But if I could, I'd like a Canon G9. Haha. Ambisyoso.

But really this is cool. 12.1 megapixels. Makes me drool.

iPhone 3G

Globe is bringing iphone 3g to the country. I wonder when it will be out. Been reading a lot about it lately. But it's so expensive I'm not sure if it's worth the price (and the wait). I want first the people (from here) to have it and be able to comment about it before I decide to buy one. But just the same, I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Engadget has the most intensive review of the iphone 3g. Here's a part of their "other new and noteworthy features" list. You can check their full review by clicking here.

* As mentioned, Google Maps now shows a pinging blue locator that can track your movement. As of right now there's no way to convert this to KML or anything usable for geocaching.
* The camera will also now ask you permission to use GPS to geotag photos with your current location. Once you grant that permission, it will add the necessary standard EXIF data to your photos. Trés useful, but you can't refer back to those geotags to bring up a location in Google Maps.
* Side note: there's now an option to reset location notifications, if you accidentally granted permission to an app you don't want knowing where you are.
* The iPhone can now read PowerPoint, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents. It's still incapable of editing or creating new documents, however, and outside of sending yourself these files via email, there's no accessible file storage.
* You can now save images from the web to your camera roll by tapping and holding.
* The calculator goes into scientific mode when the device is tilted sideways.
* Entering passwords is a little easier -- the last character you entered is temporarily shown at the end of the string. Keeps things safe but makes sure you know if you mistyped.
* One of the very first things we ever requested the iPhone see fixed is finally fixed: calendar colors are now supported, meaning you can finally visually tell your appointments apart based on calendar.
* You can now control email, contact, and calendar fetching from system settings, giving you granular control over push and pull data on your various accounts.