If you’re like me, absolutely obsessive-compulsive with your applications, I’m sure you haven’t left your browser alone, either. I’m sure you have your very own favorite browser, and if it supports extensions, I’m sure you’ve configured it to the max. Like I have. Hee hee. [Read more…]
From Dream to Vision to Reality: The OLPC Project
You would know an Apple Fangurl when she you see a girl watching this video and she cringes, and covers her eyes (but with matching peek-a-boo fingers) every time she sees the iPhone being dropped to the carpet, kitchen floor, and even the pavement.
That aside, we now go on to the scheduled programming.
The buzz today on the tech “airwaves” is the OLPC project. The OLPC project has got to be the most ambitious humanitarian/tech effort on the planet in recent times. And yet, it’s really coming to fruition. The OLPC has come a long way: from the first concrete steps of laying down the design and vision at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland made in January 2005 by Nicholas Negroponte, down to the t-minus for November 12, 2007, when the OLPC will be officially released to the world. [Read more…]
Using YouTube to Solicit Terrorist Funds
I interrupted my “early morning” reverie with one of the biggest shockers of my recent existence.
I was peacefully having breakfast, a rare event in my existence, when I came across this Philippine Star article that I just had to blog about.
Well, most of us are painfully aware of the recent developments with Al-Qaeda, Iraq, and the South East Asian threats Jemaah Islamiyah and even the Abu Sayyaf. I was already unaware of the recent developments in the Philippines when I just absentmindedly bought my first national daily in eons. I thought there was little purpose to my buying the thing, just mere frivolity, when a headline caught my eye. It is relevant for me for two reasons: this is a perfect example of how technology can be abused, and events like these have another, more personal significance to me. [Read more…]
Facebook. Finally.
I had been reading all this buzz about Facebook for quite a while now, yet nothing, not even the buzz in international tech circles, convinced me to even at least check out their homepage. Even though I keep getting URL’s leading to Facebook profiles from Twitter updates from my Twitter “followees,” nothing convinced me to sign up until I saw Yuga’s article on how so many Google bigwigs have jumped ship in favor of the social networking upstart.
Laptop Scary Stories, Etc.
Before I go on and start today’s ramble, let me make a disclaimer. One is that this article was sparked when I learned Ia’s Risk’s keyboard is on the fritz again. When I learned that Ia’s Risk was feeling under the weather, I was saddened. But never smug. Just saddened. Because that has happened to a lot of my friends before. Two, I do not endorse any of the products that I mentioned. I just know from tekkies I know that the brands Lenovo (at least the IBM Thinkpad line) and Toshiba are the most durable in the market. So read on for my reasons why I really don’t recommend going for certain laptop brands, and those laptop brands whose mettle have yet to be proven.
My first scare with laptops happened when I wrecked my father’s IBM Thinkpad 365 which ran Windows 95. While I had done that through force (I took out the entire LCD and couldn’t figure out how to put it back there. Oops.), I must say that the laptop itself was actually pretty durable. My dad had it since I was in late Grade School, I think, and I broke it in.. My first year of college. We had since 1996 or’ 97, and I wrecked it in 2001. Good enough a lifespan for a laptop, right?
Moving on, my second scare was when my friend’s ECS laptop’s keyboard got stuck after only having the thing for a few months. Next was when another friend’s second-hand Dell broke down because *literal* bugs killed the hardware (apparently, a cockroach egg hatched inside the laptop). And the last straw in my laptop scare was when my AB Psychology classmate’s laptop needed an external keyboard, because, you guessed it, keyboard got stuck again.
It was because of my friends’ stories that when I realized I needed a laptop, I decided to go for a Mac, a Toshiba or a Lenovo, no matter what. When I read Ia’s story, I was really saddened that she took a Risk.
So, the moral of the story is that, when it comes to buying new laptops, I would definitely make it a policy to go for a brand I could trust, even if it would be factory surplus stock.
I’d be wary with the pre-owned and refurbished types, but if I have a need, like right now, I would actually consider buying a pre-owned lappie. My guidelines for myself are: stable chassis, good enough battery, health of internals. As long as it boots up, can run Windows XP/Ubuntu Linux, and it still opens and closes properly: hinges and latches stable, can run the programs I need to test and Yahoo Messenger for Photosharing and a little notepad for my note-taking needs, I’m good. 🙂
Update: Ia’s Risk got fixed last September 25, 2007:
Congrats, Ia. 🙂
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Marubishi “Air Circulator”
When it comes to electronics, never, ever, ever, buy anything that’s not an industry name. Especially if it’s an electric fan or a laptop computer.
I just deeply regretted buying a Marubishi electric fan. Apparently, it’s Asian. It sounds Japanese, right? When I checked the box, there was no “made in wherever” label. I looked for anything that resembled printed material. In my search, I found the warranty card. The only address there was a Philippine company. Hmm. Fishy, fishy. I then realized that the Filipinos acknowledge that when an electronic device is made in Japan, it’s bound to be of high quality. Ooh. Figured.
But the reason I’m blogging about is to warn my countrymen from buying Marubishi. Though it was on sale, from Php 745 ($16.65)*, I only paid Php 705 ($15.75), I think it would have been worth an extra Php 700 ($15.64) to get a decent National electric fan. It was pretty noisy at some angles, despite having a relatively weak wind output strength.
Yet despite the fact that I have two major reasons why I do not like the electric fan, it redeemed itself in my perception when I saw a usage suggestion in the box: turn the fan 180° and you have an “air circulator”. Funny, I just realized the box said “air circulator” instead of “electric fan”. How is an “air circulator” different from an electric fan anyway? Is it supposed to be a special appliance after all?
I also just realized another thing. If you turn the thing at the said angle, you can actually put one of them cloth dancing things they always have in open-air concerts and shows.. Hmm. This thing has potential after all!
So despite my earlier complaint of this “air circulator” being so not worth my money, since I saw its potential, I guess I can live with it after all!
The bit on why you shouldn’t buy a not-so-well-known laptop brand would be on the next post. Toodles!
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*These are based on October 5, 2007 conversion rates.
Blogging in a Train and Other Geekiness!
Guess where I’m working: right here, right now? [Read more…]
The Tech Agnostic Apple Fangurl :p
Remember when I was so rabid against Windows? Well, there was a point I became a Tech Agnostic of sorts, until I learned of how Microsoft now imposes updates despite the update option turned off. Unless your box is offline, probably. But I digress.
Back to my story. I became a Tech Agnostic like most of the Gadzooki people here because I had to work on a Windows box for quite a while, and I realized that I missed the interface, after all. Also, some of my work needed me to review e-books encoded in .exe format. For that job, I also had to try Windows software to review. Then I searched for and found a free prototype version of the game I really lurved before, “Spooky Castle: The Adventures of Kid Mystic.” Because of that, and because my work needed Windows, I realized it wasn’t so bad after all. [Read more…]
Scariness: Windows Updates Sans Users’ Permission
If there’s anything Windows users need to fear right now, it would be that Windows is actually updating itself without the user’s permission, and even if the user has opted not to have Windows updates.
In case it hasn’t sunk in, I’m telling you again, Windows, whether Vista or XP, is imposing updates onto your system without your permission. [Read more…]
Macbooks + Animals: Not too cute. :p
Long time no post, guys. 🙂
As I was cleaning up my Gmail, I had spotted Google’s link to the official video for Gmail. So I posted it up at my tech blog, which is basically a collection of my rants and tech-related videos that I’ve bumped into along the way.
Eventually I found out that I had to actually update some links to videos that have been taken down or were private. In my scanning of my posts, I came across this adorable video:
Click the pics to get to the original article. 🙂
You know, we actually do the craziest things with our machines. Good thing I neither have a cat or a dog anymore.
But still. We should take better care of our babies machines!
Though the kitty cat is only too cute, right? 😀
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