iPod Shuffle Cannot Sync Because Drive cannot be found

After a fews of not being able to sync an iPod Shuffle (2nd Gen), when I tried it today, my computer sees it, then drops it. Now, iTunes won't sync. I tried some "fixes" from some forums in the net, until I downloaded the Shuffle reseter program and then that was it.

Now my Shuffle is working and is syncing.

Palm Centro

Better and clearer picture of the "rumored" Palm Centro, details still sketchy, will definitely have a touchscreen, obviously with a QWERTY thumboard and most likely still running Palm OS Garnet.

Forum Attitude? Respect? Rude?

I am a member of at least 4 major tech forums in the country. I have been a part of the tech community even before the they all switched to the "forum" mode from the ever reliable Yahoo! Groups.

Although there seems to be progress in moving from an email list to a "forum-specific" website, there's seems to be less progress in the attitude of most posters.

There are "moderated" forums, and there are public forums, and there are moderated-public forums. Yeah I know, it's confusing. Try going into some of these forums and you'll see what I mean. An innocent post can become an insulting discussion which can span several pages which can equate to several hours to days to months of unending exchange of righteousness.

What puzzles me, just like the "conversation" in this thread from a local user's group, some posters would "virtually" insult (but most of them will just tell you that they're just being "frank" and "straightforward") the initial poster. I would say, rather than calling it "straightforward", more like, RUDE!

Claiming they want "quality" postings, why then can't they reply or answer politely. But with AIRHEADS who think they know everything just because he/she has some "authority" in the forum, I guess that's too difficult to do.

What do you think?

LOCKED POWER POINT DOCUMENTS

I borrowed a set of powerpoint documents from a friend and stored it in my iBook. I was surprised to see a lock icon at the lower right corner of the main icon. At first I thought it was harmless and that it merely makes the document read-only.

Then I tried deleting the file, I got an error message saying that the document cannot be deleted because it's locked. Whatever I do, drag the icon in the trash bin, or right click it, the same error message appears. Then I tried hiding it, I dragged it into another folder, only to find out that it will instead, make a new file making the files double.

This frustrated me knowing at I have redundant files in my notebook and the obsessive compulsive in me just can't get over it. So I played around with the settings, finally I went into the "get info" component, one by one, I opened it, until I unchecked a "lock" tick box.

That is when I was able to delete the file.

LG's KU990

This is the LG KU990, with the following specs: 5.1 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, image stabilization (likely digital), auto focus, 120fps video, and ISO 800 sensitivity. Sure, the camera is nice and all, but this pup is packing a 3-inch, 240 x 400 touchscreen riding on 3G HSDPA data.

This toy will be very much at home with the Philippines with HSDPA dominating our network market. Though it doesn't have the ooohh and ahhhh of the iPhone, this baby still has something on it.

Michael Bay Doesn't Want to make Transformers 2 --YEHEY!

When Paramount abandoned Blue-Ray (High Definition DVD format) for HD-DVD, Michael Bay threatened not to make Transformers 2.

In a forum post titled "Paramount pisses me off!", he states, "I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!" -- Engadget

Well, that's good news to my ears. I never liked how he did the movie in the first place.

Pownce

If you are the type who wants to blog something but there's really not much to say about it, then you can try mini-blogging. Yup, it's much like Twitter and Jaiku, but now, there's a new mini-blogging app and it's Pownce.

Created by Digg founder Kevin Rose, Pownce is a way to send messages, files, links, and events to your friends. You'll create a network of the people you know  and then you can share stuff with all of them, just a few of them, or even just one other person really fast.

So what are you waiting for, come on and let's Pownce! Visit me at my own Pownce here.

Chikka 2.0

There's a new web 2.0 app and it's not from an American software company, it's local. Chikka the pioneer in internet to SMS communication has released a new version of their SMS application in Web 2.0 style. Before, one either has to download their application or use their Java applet to be able to use their service. Problems? Well, the application is for Windows only, and if you're using a Mac you're left with using their Java applet which takes time to load and respond. Now, anyone, with an internet connection can use their service with ease.

The web 2.0 app is still in alpha stage (meaning it's super buggy). Much like Meebo, it's now an all-in-one messaging application, where users can log on, not only with their chikka accounts but also with Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, Google Talk and ICQ.

Nokia Recalls Battery from Panasonic

It's the first time I've heard of a recall coming to the shores of our little Islands of the Philippines. Nokia is in full blast to recall BL-5C batteries. But take note, it's not going to be easy. One has to go to their website and input the serial numbers of the battery for confirmation if indeed the battery is part of the recall. It does not end their, after which, if proven valid, he/she will be forwarded to another website and will be asked to fill out an electronic form. Talk about paranoia, well, I guess we can't blame Nokia for being such, considering mobile phone batteries are "abundant" in our part of the world, and it all comes cheap!

I wonder though, it's a new battery if proven genuine, but how about those who does not know how to get into the interweb or have no money to call the Nokia hotlines? Well, by the looks of the options left, he/she is force to go to the nearest Nokia Business Center. Works for me!

Newspaper Fingerprints

I like reading the news. It keeps me updated with current events. Every morning, while having milk and before breakfast and doing anything at all, I fire up my computer and read all the local Net versions of the major broadsheets. It's the same reason why I don't subscribe to newspapers anymore. What for? I'm getting the same news articles and the added bonus of the Breaking news from the monthly bill that I get from my ISP. But whenever I have the chance, even though I already know 80% of the contents, I still read the physical broadsheets. My reason is simple, there are stuff on the physical newspaper that is not on the digital version, and those are the ads! Hahahaha I know, shallow reason, but still it's a reason.

Now, I get all too fussed up whenever I get to read these newspapers then use my notebook afterwards, I get fingerprints all over the thing. You see, I have an iBook, and it comes only in white.

Undeniably Slow or Lazy?

When ever I am challenged by something or someone, I would make sure that I won't make the mistake the 2nd time. I don't know if it's the present generation or me, but there's this class of mine who seem not too interested in passing the subject. I gave them a practical exam today and their scores were uhm, undesireable. Take note, these are a series of tests, only a few minutes apart. They consistently getting the same score, very few improvements. I wish them lots of luck though, because by the looks of it, most of them aren't going to make it.

FINALLY! Gmail on my phone

It's been months since I got my phone but since then I haven't had the fortune to figure out how to make Gmail work with the phone's email client. Tonight, while surfing, saw this blogsite that gave another twist in the settings that I have been trying before. Lo and behold, IT WORKED!

Now, the next thing that I'm going to worry is, how much will this cost me in data rates. Perhaps I would experiment on the always on PUSH EMAIL (technically it's pull email), if it's going to burn a hole in my pocket then maybe I'll just use it for important matters such as blogging! nyahahahaha

WiFi Hotspot in a school

Technology is imminent thus, what ever we do, it will come and will force itself to us. Why not just embrace it right? Well, I consider myself as an early adapter. I love technology. I am also a "pasaway"! Put one beside another and you have WONDERFUL CHAOS!

Well, anyways, I have a Linksys Compact Wireless Router lying at home (I only use it, when I go for long trips and make my own wireless hotspot in my destination), I decided to install it in one of the schools that I teach (well, this same router was installed in the other school before, the faculty was enjoying it, but it seems that they were relying on me for it, and decided not to get one for themselves, which prompted me to pull it out), anyways, here I am at the library, wirelessly connected to the interweb.

Of course there's a password, so not everyone can enjoy it, besides, I said earlier that this is made possible by a "pasaway" faculty hehehehe, it purely means that the higher ups doesn't know about it.

Now I don't have to stay at the back most of the library to get that open signal from one of the buildings close to ours. Although I'm thankful for him/her for keeping his network open for me to use. He/she need not worry, I'm not going to hijack his/her signal, I am just "sharing" their wireless network.

Enjoy!

TRANSFORMERS The Movie -- Disappointing

DISAPPOINTING! Yup, that's what I felt when I saw the movie, I don't care if it was directed by Michael Bay, well, he didn't give the movie much effort, if you're going to ask me.

I love the TRANSFORMERS! I love how they transform and of course, I love hearing that iconic transformation sound. Unfortunately, in the movie, that sound was not often heard of.

But not all was disappointing. Having to see my favorite robots interact with real human is a blast, and of course to hear OPTIMUS PRIME'S voice after missing it all these years is definitely EXCITING to the EXTREME!

Speaking of OPTIMUS PRIME, why the hell did they put lips on him?! That RESONATING voice is there because of the FACE PLATE! It's just not OPTIMUS PRIME with his lips moving!

And the transformation? Heck I can't figure out how the hell these robots transform! The kids then (that includes me), were so amazed at the cartoon series then because they (us) were able to figure out how the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS transform into robots and vice versa. Now, I can't even follow how BUMBLEBEE and OPTIMUS PRIME transform, considering they're two of the easiest way to figure out. Jazz (the original Porsche) together with RATCHET and IRONHIDE are a bit tricky even in the original series.

And what's with the PROTOFORM? Heck, if they can just choose what form they want when they get to earth, then why do they have to stick with one form? I don't get it!

Oh and the names, why not just stick to the original names and their original forms? If they have to make up a new character, why not give it a new name instead of using older names that is not match with the original ones. I'm talking about, DEVASTATOR, hey, that's the CONSTRUCTICONS merged together, he's NOT A TANK! FRENZY I would understand because he's originally a robot tape of SOUNDWAVE (who I read somewhere will be in the next movie).

MEGATRON is ok, since he really has been changing shape in different generations. And how about BUMBLEBEE, he's a VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE for crying out load, that's him. According to Michael Bay, he would be compared to HERBIE, NOT! Nothing can be compared to HERBIE! But BUMBLEBEE is a robot that transforms into a BEETLE! That's it!

Oh and where is the "...AUTOBOTS, TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!"

Whew, what a disappointment! Although, I will surely get a DVD copy, why? Well, just for the sake of having the live action TRANSFORMERS movie!

Safari Browser for Windows

Apple's Safari Browser is now on Windows (now, that's another browser for me). Although I might say that I am not a Safari fan on the Mac OS (I frequently use the Camino Browser from the Mozilla Foundation). Anyways, there's no harm in trying it out, I would like the check out what Steve Jobs is boasting in the WWDC 07 held a couple of days ago and that is the speed. 

I did not run any sophisticated benchmarking software, but by comparing it with Firefox on my WinBox, I can definitely say that Safari is indeed faster. And the speed is noticeable too! Check it out yourselves.

There goes my Digital Camera

I love my digital camera, it's a SONY Cybershot that pumps out 5.1 megapixel images. It has been with me for I think more than 4 years. I also love my mobile phones, I'm a SonyEricsson fan and has a handful of mobile phones in the closet, still functional and still in prestine conditions. When the Cybershot phones came out, I refused to be pulled into the foray, for I have not seen a perfect convergent device, that is perhaps until now.

SonyEricsson released a set of new mobiles and one of them is the K850i, it's the latest iteration of their Cybershot phones, what's good about it is, well, it's got a 5MP camera at the back. Damn! I was eyeing the P1 for my next phone, but this thing is irresistable. It's got a Xenon flash to boot, not those LED faux-flash on other phones, this one really works.

Well, I'll be checking out the other sites to check for early reviews, and perhaps, I will be one of those who can get my hands on the first versions of the phone in the country. Well, I did it with the K700 and the K610 so why not with the K850i.

The fuss with the Foleo

Since Palm announced it's new product line, the Foleo, a big fuss around the tech community of it's purpose? What for? What is it?

Looks like those people who are skeptic of this device are starting to have 2nd thoughts. Why would I want one when I already have a notebook PC that is more powerful than that? Then again, my notebook maybe powerful but is too big and bulky and heavy at that.

Ok then let's try to compare a laptop with the Foleo, in the real world. This means that average notebook PC users are those that use it mostly for Email, Document editing, Presentation and surfing the web (which includes watching videos in YouTube).

Email: Foleo - yes; notebook PC - yes
Document Editing: Foleo - yes; notebook PC - yes
Presentation (Powerpoint): Foleo - yes; notebook PC - yes
Internet: Foleo - yes; notebook PC - yes

By the looks of it, it's a tie! Maybe, but let's see, a typical notebook PC (windows) will have an approximately 10-20 secs to boot up after a hibernate (most windows notebook users out there doesn't even know that their laptops are capable of hibernating, they would just turn their machine on and off per session), but the Foleo has in instant on and off feature, that means, no waiting time. Apple users will argue that most macs are instant on as well, well, yeah, ok. Then there's the seamless synchronization with your smartphone, no one notebook at the present time can do this.

Whatever the argument would be, I think Palm is not trying to push the notebook computer out of the scene. This is the same reason they gave before with the Palm Pilot device, people thought that it's the laptop replacement, and eventually it made it to the top in it's category for some time. I think the Foleo is being groomed as another device (not even an accessory), that's why they called it as another "product-line".

People have been very disappointed with this device, but still it made more people think twice. Do we need to bring the notebook when we will not be using most of it's power, so why not bring the Foleo?

Perhaps it's still difficult to gauge what the device's impact until it is released to the market. We also for that matter don't know what Palm is trying to prove at this moment. But I have this feeling that there's still more to this device than meets the eye.

Foleo -- the Next Palm Pilot

We may all be fussing over the fact that the name comes with a tag line, "Smartphone companion". Yes, as the name implies, it's a device that will complement a smartphone's productivity, but it can also function as a standalone device.

If I understand the device's details clearly, then it is being positioned for mobile workers. In my profession for example, not all needs the full weight of a notebook computer, in fact majority of physicians, both young and old, uses their notebooks only for a few tasks, such as: Presentations, Word document creation/editing, some Spreadsheet work and of course checking emails and surfing the net. Heck most of us does not even use an email client, but instead uses only the available famous web-based emails ( i.e. Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail).

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but all these can be done by the Foleo. Many of you might say, the notebook computer can do that and much more! That's my point, the "much more" is seldom utilized. I always make myself as an example. Considering that I'm more technology savy than other physicians. I have a yearold iBook, at first yeah, it was exciting to use a mac, but after a while, the hype fades out and is left only with some aesthetic reasons. Some of the reasons I like about the iBook is that it turns on almost instantly (although it's more of putting itself to sleep), now this feature I like very much, I don't have to wait for the thing to boot up, if I want to show someone something from within the notebook, we don't have to have coffee first before veiwing the document. Take note, one of the features offered by the Foleo. Then I use my iBook to lecture (of course, I get a lot of ooohs and ahhhs on my Keynote presentations, but all those begins after I bring out my iBook from the bag) but then again, I can always do that in Powerpoint right? And once in a while edit word and excel files, and browse the web and that's it.

How about the "much more" in my notebook? Well, I seldom (and it really means SELDOM) use it. iTunes? nope! I have iTunes on my Windows desktop PC (this is where I do most of the work), and I listen to my music when I'm out of the house on my iPod. Hmmm what else, movie editing -- desktop! Then there's the size and weight, every mobile professional knows that size and weight counts a lot. Plus the fact that one has to bring the power brick almost always. I guess that's about it.

So, if I'm someone who will not be using most of the "much more" on the notebook computers, then I would, by all means, get myself a Foleo, smartphone or not. Besides, with our country's "wireless broadband" speed yet to be desireable, I would rather look for a WiFi hotspot and do my computing there. And don't mention the charges. Paying 2T on my DSL at home then another 2T for mobile internet? Now that's another story hehehe

Increased Gmail Attachment Size

If you're the type of person who loves sending large files as attachments to your emails, and feels restricted by the usual 5MB limit, then fret no more, Gmail, Google's email service, has increased it's attachment size to, guess what, yes, 20MB!

I'm thinking that is one way Gmail is getting a step ahead of Yahoo! who is planning to go unlimited on it's email storage quota. Which is a way is upping up from what Google has at the moment which is an increasing storage capacity everyday (presently at around 2.8GB).

So what are you waiting for, sign up now! Gmail previously is only available on invitation only, but has since modified the sign-up process and anyone can now get their own Gmail account just by visiting Gmail.com

FREE WIFI AT ROBINSONS ERMITA...NOT!!!

It was one of those days that I get to go to Ermita these days, some of the few reasons are the traffic, no interesting place to go to and I'm not a Robinsons guy.

Anyways, I'm here because I don't have to go to and I still don't want to go home (come on, it's a friday!). I told myself that this will be the best time to try out the FREE Wireless Internet connection (WiFi) that Robinsons Malls are trying to use to entice shoppers.

I went to the TASTE BUDS, Robinsons version of the Food court. This is where the "FREE" WiFi is. I'm so excited, I can't wait to get online. I ordered a Strawberry shake and a clubhouse sandwich from San Francisco Coffee and fired up my notebook.

The first access point that was detected was that of AIRBORNE ACCESS, I'm pretty sure this wasn't it, so I asked the BARISTA and he pointed me to those things on the table that they use to advertise their products, a small paper is stuck to it with instructions on how to log on the "free" WiFi. Of course, I followed the instructions but I kept on getting rejected (I hate that feeling! Well, who does in the first place?).

I sent an SMS to the hotline on the paper, but up until I had finished typing this article, I am just getting the AIRBORNE ACCESS SSID. Goodluck to me :(