Apple iPad

So this is the revolutionary new thingamajig from Apple? It's a glorified iPod! It's a huge iPod that can't even do multitasking. It's a nice design and concept, heck, but it's not a new concept. HP was able to upped them on this earlier, but since it's Apple that we're talking about, then people would buy it just because...

Anyways, this thing, though not so feature-packed will definitely change handheld computing. I was planning to get one to replace my ageing iBook G4 (I didn't get any of the newer MacBooks or MB Pros because they're all huge!), but this sorts of disappoints me. Nonetheless, if knowing Apple, they will use this device to test the waters and for sure, in a few months time, they will come up with a newer variation that will have the feature I want...a way for it to he hooked up to a projector so I could use it for presentations.

Also, it should have a solution for physical input other than the onscreen keyboard (or at least improve it), the keyboard accessory is not impressive as well.

End point, it's a nice concept, bigger screen, but it's really just an iPod. It needs more...multitasking, connects to peripherals, better input management.

Let's see on the next versions...

Colleine's Gift

Colleine made a big come back this 2nd and 3rd quarter, she said earlier that she will make sure she gets back either at 2nd honor or 1st to the very least hehehe, I can never say those things even up to now. 

I always wanted to show no bias between Sean and Colleine, but sometimes, Sean being the youngest, turns out to be a baby and other people loves him for that, and with it comes gifts, specifically, cool toys. 

With Colleine, they think she's all grown up and everything, but she will always be a baby, forced to act maturely because of trishia and sean. Now I think she needs a great gift for this achievement and I'm thinking of getting her a Nintendo DS which she has been wishing for already for sometime.

I don't like to give them game consoles because it might affect their study habits. But I've seen how Colleine works, when she got her mom's cellphone, she never brought it to school. So I guess, this will test her discipline once more. 

Initially, I was thinking of getting her a cellphone for Christmas, but the cheaper ones have crappy screens, and the one that she has right now has a lot better screen resolution albeit a hand-me-down from her mom. Then I thought, perhaps, now is a good time to get her a phone, but then again, I'm thinking of giving her mom a phone for her birthday...so perhaps, the phone will just come in on Colleine's birthday this coming March.

Now I've looked around and thought of a Nintendo DS, but the dilemma right now is, whether to get her a DS lite or a DSi. The DSi is of course more expensive than the DS lite (which is a lot more prettier), hmmmm thinking, but the DSi is the newest and has much more features.....  

My BlackBerry Curve 8520

Just two more weeks and it's already been a month since I got my very
first BlackBerry, and so far, I'm enjoying it. So much that I've
"influenced" a couple of my workmates to get one for themselves and by
the looks of it, more of them to follow suit.

Though I'm not too excited about the keypad, especially since I get to
discover my old SE M600i whom for that matter, for me, has must better
keypads than my Palm Centro and this BlackBerry.

The OS is wonderful, it's really more of a communication device thru
data and voice. Though proprietary and a bit expensive, the BIS is one
hell of a system. All messaging information are lumped into one
application, be it from an SMS, Email, Facebook, Yahoo! Messenger and
BB Messenger, I don't have to dig into all these applications, all I
have to do is to open one app on the desktop and it's already there
waiting for me. But I guess the downside is, there's so much data
traffice that if I don't get an unlimited plan for the BB, I would
perhaps be paying a lot for the data alone.

Another problem I have is the case, there's no store that I know of
that sells BlackBerry accessories locally for the Curve 8520. Although
Digital Walker has expressed suit that they will be bringing in more
accessories for the models that are locally distributed.

Oh and I've yet to get a new Bluetooth headset. Enjoy the pics

My New Blackberry Curve 8520

Finally took the dive and got myself a Blackberry, I got a Curve 8520, though Carrier-locked to Globe, but at that price who could resist. Got it for a little less than P15T, and this price was funny because I was told that they've increased the price of the prepaid kit to P15800.00 from P14995.00 but the new price includes a one month use of Super Surf, their version of unlimited data usage. But when I got the charge slip, I was only charged P14995, cool!

Anyways, I am clueless as how the Blackberry works, though I have friends that use Blackberrys I don't "interrogate" them as to how the thing works. Well, a Blackberry is just like any other phone, only, it's more focused to messaging of all sorts. Blackberry's before were intended for corporate clients, and it's just recently that the consumer market started adopting them. 

I was so excited to get the phone, it's because my aging Palm Centro is becoming boring everyday. I was planning to get this phone since I heard of the "affordable" price from Globe. Then I started to look around and snoop for information about the usage and all. Then finally, I decided to get into the BB bandwagon. Went to Globe SM Mall of Asia and was told that they have one unit left, thinking that it's the Christmas season and I may not be the only one that thinks that they're offering a very good deal, I took the unit.

The box was minimalistic black, and the phone is shiny hehehe. Couldn't resist it so I inserted the SIM that came with the kit, plugged it in the car charger and started playing with the phone. Good thing about the one month free data use, I was able to do the startup settings including email set ups and some apps download right at that moment. 

Questions that came to me were, how to use the BB messenger (well, my friends told me I have to get their PINs), it's not that different as any IM app, but it's proprietary to RIM. If the one month free data usage is up, and I have to insert my postpaid SIM, will I have to re-enroll the phone again? Then there's the automatic switching from EDGE to GPRS to WiFi. 

I was easily able to connect to my home wireless network, but the signal was choppy and the phone kept on switching from WiFi to GPRS/EDGE. Then I started to appreciate the integration of contacts and messaging on the phone. It integrated my SMS, email, Facebook, BB Messenger and Yahoo! messenger into one application and notifications come in as one. My next dilemma is whether to subscribe to a BB plan after a month and to which plan. 

The whole phone was beautiful, although I have some problem with the hard-to-press QWERTY keypad, though I'm hoping I'll get the hang of it in the future. The kit came with a 2GB microSD card, so when I installed the Blackberry Desktop Software, I was able to sync songs into the phone thru iTunes, hmm that's very convenient for me. Another thing that gave me more convenience was the synchronization of my contacts and calendar details from Google. 

Will be coming back in the next days to update on the use of this new toy of mine....

Reviving Old CPUs

During my 2 years in Residency, I was able to revive an old PC gathering dust in the female resident's quarters...I installed Ubuntu in it and from then on, we've been using it to surf the net and some occasional document creation. Just last week, I bought a new Keyboard and an optical mouse for this Ubuntu box, and with Karmic Koala installed, it feels snappier. I also replaced the monitor with a bigger one which came from another old CPU.

Speaking of this another old CPU, well, it so happen that it already go Windows XP installed...just tonight I bought another set of Keyboard and Mouse and will probably dress up that PC so it could be use for document creation and web surfing....

Prepaid Mobile Internet

I think the Filipinos are lucky when it comes to mobile broadband. It's cheap...compared to the US and the neighboring countries. I am very proud of it...well even the prepaid service gives one the best buck for the money. 

One good example is SUN Broadband Wireless...I'm an avid fan. Even if the coverage is Metro Manila-wide only, well, it gives the best result and speed compared with Globe's Tattoo and Smart Bro.

Now, in response to the more expensive plans of both Globe and Smart, SUN has given their subscribers better value for their money. Just by loading Sun's special mobile broadband prepaid card, the P50 worth prepaid card can now give one a day's full of unlimited internet...now don't you think that's a very good deal? Well I do!

Gizmo5 now owned by Google

Gizmo5 has been acquired by Google and will be integrated to Google Voice in the future. Gizmo5 engineers have now transferred to Google. Current users can still use the service but new sign-ups has been suspended.

Let's go wait and see...

Globe's SuperDuo and SuperSurf

Today, Globe launched a new service...the SuperSurf...for P2000 on
top of one's Monthly Service Fee...the subscriber gets unlimited
surfing power on their phones...though I don't know yet if it can
also be used when the phone is tethered to a laptop/notebook.

Globe's SuperDuo is a spin-off or a evolution of their Duo service
but this time is not limited to Landline alone, this time, the
SuperDuo subscriber can call with no time limit any Globe subscriber
where ever he/she is in the country. I have subscribed to this and so
far, it's not a 100% good service, but it's ok...perhaps I'm just an
understanding subscriber.... since I subscribed, I've experienced a
lot of difficult instances where I can't dial out of my phone or the
caller can't right away call me. But it has more advantages than
disadvantages.

With the SupeSurf...at P2000 I don't think I'll be getting one. I
already have both Globe's Tattoo prepaid mobile broadband (and so
far, has not used it for a while) and SUN's Wireless Broadband, also
prepaid (which I use most of the time if I don't have access to a
free wifi access point). But most of the time, with the places I
frequently go to, I get access to the internet, at home, the hospital
and coffee shops.

Most of the malls today offer free wifi access, so what's the point
(well, that's my opinion). But at least, now, telcos are making these
services available to the public.