Yahoo! Go

Yahoo! a couple of weeks ago launched Yahoo! Go, it's a service where a Yahoo! user could have "everything" he needs where ever he goes as long as he has access to the internet. Basically, this is like Google's personal homepage where one could personalize the contents of the page and Google's Desktop, an applet where you could add more applets to your convenience. Let's see which one works better. Both though can be accessed thru a web enabled mobile phone.

The CES

HAPPY NEW YEAR to Everyone! Happy indeed, since the year is started with a landslide of products both old (enhanced) and new products. Lots of new ultraportable notebooks which, aside from either the processor, the monitor or the design, but still no too much oohs and ahhs on this side of the fence. Then there were the HDTVs, oh man there are lots of them, aside from getting bigger and bigger, they get better screen resolutions and functionalities, oh they're getting cheaper every year.

HD-DVD and Blue Ray Players are coming out, not so interesting here since it's evolution. Bill Gate's Key Note is not that much of entertainment. Dell's shift to the high-end market is gaining. XM portable players are interesting, but not too interesting since, again, it's US-centric. Not much on gaming and wireless networking. Oh and speaking of wireless networking, the much anticipated Palm Treo 700w from Verizon is out, selling for $400, that's a lot! But early reviews are saying that it won't beat the Treo 650 when it comes to functionality. Then again, Palm programmers has shown their best capabilities shown by how much they've improved the Windows Mobile 5.0, in favor of the Treo 700w. Some say it's going to be the best Windows Mobile 5.0 device but it's still can't match the Treo 650.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May we all celebrate Christmas with it's true meaning, the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ!

Go Meebo

I just found about this today. Meebo.com, it's a website that serves as an Instant Messaging repository all that the same time. More like e-messenger.net, but Meebo has more soft and fluid interface. It can connect to AIM, YM, MSN, JABBER & GTalk. It runs on AJAX and is pretty good integrating all these IM in one website. No need to wait for long loading times for each client. Unfortunately, it's still in the early stages so, it's basically all IM and very minimal features. But the developers promise to come up with more exciting capabilities. Another all-in-one IM client is Trillian. Enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Real Fashionista Phone - Dolce & Gabbana RAZR V3i

The Dolce & Gabbana Motorola RAZR V3i. Only 1000 will be made and plays iTunes. Can be bought from D&G botiques and is really SEXy. Very nice packaging too!

The Sony Ericsson K600i -- Uber SEXy

I've got a NEW TOY! After my SE K700i showed signs of impending retirement, I decided to scout for a potential replacement. I was thinking of the O2 Xphone, the very SEXy Motorola RAZR V3, the very capable SE K750i and then the SE K600i. As I've posted before, it was really a dilemma on what phone to get. Then last week, when I can't sleep and my SE K700i kept on trying my patience, I decided to do a last minute round check on the available phones on the market. Still the RAZR, the Xphone, the K600i and the K750 was in mind, but I added the SE Z520i. But when the time came, I decided to go with the 3G phone, the very slim and very capable and of course the ver elegant, SE K600i. Up 'til now, I can't stop staring at it and touching it, oooooh that feels good hehehehe.

Anyways, although it's features are somewhat desiring when compared with the K750, I decided to take the K600i because of it 's looks and because I am assuming that the local networks will be beta testing their 3G servers very soon as Globe started with a teaser in one of the big malls a couple of weeks ago. Investing on a 3G handset is a wise idea since this is where everybody is heading.

I am used to the SE UI and I might say, it's very easy. My only gripe is the keypad. It's so flushed into the body that I have trouble pressing them. But then again, it's the price I have to pay for such a wonderful and uber sexy phone.

The Battle of the Widgets

As Yahoo! upgraded their new baby, Yahoo! widgets from Konfabulator. It's only a matter of time before the two other companies who are also offering widget-like applications to do the same. Microsoft has it's own Gadgets which can be used in conjuction with it's Live.com website. The only problem with Gadgets is that, you can only use it online. Then there's Google's Desktop. It's an applet that has some other applets run within it. Yeah it can run offline and it indexes your hard drive's content but it's so simple looking and hugs some noticeable resources (although not that much). The reason why I'm more bent to like Yahoo! widgets is that, it's very pleasing to the eye and makes my desktop look cool. It also can work offline. Did I say it's cool? Anyways, to each his own and why not just try it all, they're all FREE anyway!

Yahoo! Widgets

"Central...Konfabulator is changing Call Sign...Konfabulator is now Yahoo! Widgets!" That's right folks, Konfabulator 2.1.1 is now a fully-owned Yahoo! software and is now known as Yahoo! Widgets 3.0

As was reported here previously, Konfabulator or should I say Yahoo! Widgets is the same technology that has been used to design the very eye-candy Dashboard of Mac OS but now thry Yahoo! widgets can be experienced by Windows users. The widgets, which is the center attraction, uses very little resource of the CPU and comes in a wide variety of sorts. Check them out!

Windows Remote Desktop

Remember I posted here (or maybe in my Yahoo! 360 account, anyways), about me trying to "revive" some old CPU's, mostly running AMD K-6 550MHz. Well, there is one unit from Dell, but this time it's faster at 730MHz. I've installed WinXP SP2 and very minimal applications so as not to slow it down. I've also upped the RAM to 256MB since most of the other CPU's I have here have a max RAM of 128MB (since most of these junks only has 64MB in their GUTS). Anyhow, I've decided to dedicated the "Dell" as my torrent client and it's sole purpose is to download TV shows. I never realized that these shows were that clear. Yeah, I've heard that they were HD but man was it clear. So, I placed the Dell near my main CPU and hooked it up in the network, and since I don't have (yet) a KVM switch, I have to manually, and painstakingly, reach to the back of my CPU to remove the monitor cable and plug it into the Dell. The I remember that thing called Windows Remote Desktop, and here it is. I can now see what's happening to my Dell Bittorrent machine. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Kubuntu - the Linux Disaster

I am a very optimistic guy, I always leave an open mind with regards to everything, you know, always give the benefit of the doubt. When I heard about the open source community a few years back, I told myself that I would give it a try, after all, they are all promising a lot of things against the friendlyness of Windows. But after a few years of monitoring the open-source community, I realized how technical one has to be to use Linux. Yeah it's stable and whatnot, but then again, how about those who wanted ease of use from their PC's. Just recently, I asked a friend to give me a copy of one of those Linux releases, the KUBUNTU (where do they get these names?!). Anyways, since I've got a lot of unused and old hardware, I decided to install KUBUNTU into one of these systems since I've heard that even with minimal hardware, with Linux, one can still appreciate the functionalities of the latest computer models.

INSTALLATION: from the forums I've read, it says that installation is not as long as installing Windows, but then again, I proved them wrong. My KUBUNTU installation took me a little more than 2 hours (heck I have to postpone my dinner party just because I don't want to leave the installation process). When I finally got it installed, I was hoping that it would be fast, but then again, it was too slow for me, giving in the factor that my system was old, it was still slow. Then came the part that I have to install some programs, the first thing I wanted was to surf the net. You know, try it out in the real world. I liked the interface, very eye-candy and cute. The web-browser that came with it, KONQUEROR, was just like Firefox (both uses the same Mozilla kernel), tabbed borwsing and all, but it lacks some plug-ins, like Macromedia's Flash Player. So I downloaded the plug-in and when I tried to double-click it to install, it doesn't budge. Here started my woes. Little that I know, that in Linux, one has to know how to use the CLI or the command prompt. SHIT! When I played with it for say, around 2 hours, I finally knew some commands and tried to install the plug-in again, but this time, it tells me that something in there is having a conflict with one of the components of the plug-in, and when I tried to just cut and paste the files to the supposed directory, DAMN, I couldn't find where the file system is.

As you can see, I've given Linux a chance and my verdict is...I DON'T LIKE IT! Until, perhaps, these Linux people made using Linux more simple, then perhaps, I would give it another chance. But until then, I would probably stick it out with WINDOWS.

The Flock part 2

I'm testing if this post will get thru. If it does, then, as I've said before, it's easier to post blogs from just one application without the hassles of logging-in and waiting for the page to load up (although I've got broadband, my system needs cleansing). Hope this works though.

Konfabulator 2.0

I just heard this today. Konfabulator 2.0 a product of Yahoo! Now &..Dashboard&.. capabilities will NOT be limited to Mac users. And what&,s wonderful about this product is that it&,s FREE. Unlike similar products from other software developers like Stardock which is a resource hugger and pricey at that.
Konfabulator 2.0 uses widgets, again similar to Mac&,s Dashboard. There are a lot widgets available at www.widgetgallery.com for download. Right now I&,m using the calendar, memory and system widgets which from my view is doing fine when it comes to using my PC&,s limited resources.

SKYPE 2.0 Beta

Skype has released a beta version of 2.0 now it comes with Videoconferencing. Personally, I love Skype, since the voice quality is good. There maybe some quirks but then again, I attribute these bugs to my broadband connection. The bandwidth that our local telcos is offering is not much as with their counterparts from the Americas. Nonetheless I can use it and I can't wait to test the Video conferencing feature. Enjoy!

Firefox 1.5 is OUT!

The latest & "safer" version of Firefox has been officially released. It boasts of faster browsing, live bookmarks, improved pop-up blocking, integrated search & improved security as some of the improvements done to it added to the ever-famous tabbed-browsing.

The Philippine Podcasts

Just recently, the Philippines launched a group of podcasts made locally, most of it, podcast versions of magazines and tv shows. I downloaded a couple of them, the m-pH podcast and the T3 Philippines Podcast.

It's a start, but if the m-pH peeps continue with that kind of format, well, it's LAME. It goes the same with the T3 magazine podcast. I mean, you flaunt that these are Philippine podcasts for Filipinos and yet you discuss things that Filipinos CANNOT get. Yes we the 5th Gen iPod is already available locally, but to discuss about iTunes and the contents of iTunes is, well, not Filipino. Ok, maybe they could mention it but not totally make it your topic for the whole podcast. Heck, we can't even purchase from iTunes Music Store. Then they talked about the SONY rootkit fiasco, hehehe how many filipinos do you think has purchased these CDs and how many CDs do you think are for sale in the country? Oh and how many Filipinos do they think has a PC? I would agree that the PC penetration base is starting to grow, but it's not enough.

And the discussion is NOT DYNAMIC. Guys, use your ingeniuity! There are lots of topic to discuss which I think is worth talking about like the increasing shift from dial-up to broadband connection. The increasing trend in wireless networking at home and it's wide deployment in the urban centers. These things are local news and that's what you're supposed to be, local podcasts with local content.

A Fragmented User's Group

I know I could be labeled as biased in writing this assessment since I am an active member of another users group, but then again, I don't see any conflict of interest between my group and their as we cater to a different genre which can actually compliment one another.

Anyhow, my friends keep telling me how fragmented this group is for quite some time now, but I never believed them until about a month ago when I stumbled upon a thread in their group and I was shocked. I never realized that they have two "official" websites claiming they are the legitimate one and now a third one came out just a couple of weeks ago, but this 3rd one is more of a Blog than anything else, focused in exposing the bad sides of one of the "legit" sites.

I know some people in these groups, since some of them are members of my group too. They are infact some of the influential members in my group. I too have some "encounters" with these people but we are civil with each other. I am saddened by the fact that these people has lost control of their groups and that it has come to a point where name calling has become a norm.

The Advent of Office Suite Alternatives

Is the end near for Microsoft's Office suite? I think so! Microsoft's own .Net initiative failed years ago because they were too early in the game. Well, some would rake in when they're early but with Bill Gates' situation, it's the other way around. What's .Net? Well, Microsoft planned it as the alternative to installing softwares in every PC but instead having to access these applications in a central server. But when they launched it, PC penetration in the market was too small, so as internet penetration. Now, Microsoft has re-launched .Net initiative into Live.com and OfficeLive.com (not yet operational). Well, Live.com is at the moment just like MyGoogle, it's bland and simple.

Speaking of Google, they are one of the reasons why Bill Gates is up in arms getting Live.com up and running ASAP. Google has recently teamed up with Sun Microsystems and the talk in the air is that they are in the planning stages of creating an online office alternative that will run on Google's servers. Then there are these two little domains which other than OpenOffice, is threatening Microsoft with their Live.com and OfficeLive.com, they are Writely and Numsum.

Writely is an online Word Document processor, it's simple and it let users share the documents, same with NumSum but is the Spreadsheet counterpart. One can even post the Writely document as a Blog!

The time is right for these on-line initiatives to start because more and more people are using broadband. With it, they will free more space in their hard drives and would create more space in their pockets because all these are FREE.

Portable AIDS testing Device

A team from Harvard Medical School has invented a small device capable of testing for the CD4 count of a patient. To test a sample, you drop some blood onto the chip and then place it into a reader which then tests for the blood CD4 count. Not completely portable—yet—but definitely a step in the right direction.

Drive + Play from Harman-Kardon

Ever since I got my iPod Nano, I've been interested in how to integrate it with my daily life. And part of my daily routing is driving. So it only follows that I get interested in news about how I could integrate my iPod Nano into my car. Presently I am using a casette deck adapter to play my songs from my iPod into the car stereo system. I have been checking the local Pod Users Group when I stumbled upon this.
The Harman-Kardon Drive+Play system. The Drive + Play consists of three components: A backlit LCD pivoting display, which is designed to be mounted where the driver can easily see the screen while keeping their eyes on the road; a five-button navigation control unit – the navigation wheel is similar to BMW’s iDrive wheel, but mimics the iPods controls; and the “Brain” – the unit that connects everything together. The brain of the system features a wireless FM modulator with five factory frequencies and one definable by the user. It also has a 3.5mm auxiliary output so you can connect it to any vehicle that has an auxiliary input jack. An auxiliary input allows the user to route other audio signals like satellite radio through the Drive + Play to the vehicle’s audio system.
The Drive + Play charges the iPod when connected and shuts off when the car turns off. The unit returns to the place in the song where you left off when the vehicle is turned on again. Well, I just hope this will see Philippine shores soon!

"Bionic" Eyes

Hope this is not a hoax, but then again, we can always dream right. Well, Isreal-based VisionCare has said they have invented an implantable device that might help people with Age-related Macualr Degeneration. The Implantable Miniature Telescope, which just finished its Phase II/III clinical trials, consists of two wide-angle glass microlenses that refocus incoming images away from the damaged macula and over to healthier parts of the eye. The IMT is surgically implanted into one cornea of an AMD sufferer in an outpatient procedure, and provides a 2.2x or 3x magnification to the affected eye, while the other eye is left to monitor peripheral vision. Nice one!