Reinterating why I like the Mac

Why i like my iBook or perhaps all Macs, maybe because of OS X, focuses only on one reason, the immediate boot up. It's not techinically booting up since is just waking up from sleep. But it helps a lot. If I want to do something right away, I don't have to wait for a minute or two for my laptop to wake up. Windows notebooks have the same feature, it's called Hibernate, but it's not as fast the Mac OS does. This is the main reason I stay with Mac but other factors considered, I wouldn't turn my back completely on Windows.

Unboxing: HP iPAQ 512 Voice Messenger

I have a new toy, and it's in the form of the HP iPAQ 512 Voice Messenger. It's a Smartphone. Powered by Windows Mobile 6 with some HP additives.

I usually change phones in one or two year's time. I am also a solid Sony Ericsson fan (my very first Ericsson phone was an A1018). So why get a non-SE phone?

My current, er, "previous" phone sa a Sony Ericsson M600i, has UIQ for it's platform, white (goes with my iBook) and slim with of course the rocker thumboard. I had it for 6 months and I might say, I am well contented with it. Problem is, it doesn't have two functions that I want, a camera and WLAN (WiFi).

Then came the Sony Ericsson P1i. Of course, there's also the Nokia E61i, but I am not really a fan of Nokias (for the same reason that I don't like Windows Mobile, they're both SLOW and BUGGY!). Anyways, the P1i is still too expensive for my taste. I still have to convince myself to buy a phone worth more than a generic desktop PC or half a Flat Panel LCD 32" TV. Plus the fact that I'm looking for an OS (smartphone) that will accommodate my profession's applications (at the moment, only Palm has fulfilled that need).

Some will say, why not get a Treo or the latest Centro. Well, I've entertained both, then again, Palm handhelds still lack wireless (wifi) capabilities. I will grab a Palm phone right away (even if the OS is aging) once they have included WiFi capabilities on any of their products.

Now, why the iPaq line? Well, what really caught me was the price point. It's mid-range, with a very nice feature-set (I'm the type who wants to get the most out of a gadget). I also like how it looks like. The built (for having it for three days already) is solid. Although I'm afraid the paint will eventually erode as use becomes more frequent, especially the logos at the backside. The keys have good tactile feel, but coming from a thumboard, I had a difficult time re-adjusting to the one hand texting. Also, even if I don't have quite a big set of fingers, I often mis-press the adjacent keys.

The OS. Ok it's Windows Mobile 6. It looks good...on the Home Screen. But when you dig deep into the OS, it's a boring flat, no eye candy what so ever. Responsiveness? Nada! It's down there. Once I started to use multiple applications, the response is crawling. That's even after I closed all of the applications from the Task Manager. Also, multitasking, although available (since it's Windows Mobile), will definitely screw everything up. If for example, an application is open and a text message comes in, the processes will stop to almost to a hanging state. Heck this is the cause of most hangs with this phone.

The manual is not very helpful. It's more of a generalized user guide than a detailed one.

Let's go to the WiFi connectivity. It's supposed to be easy, but for some reason, I have a hard time connecting it to my network. It takes some time for it to get it's IP address. I also got a couple of errors with regards to DHCP. But once connected, everything is doing good. I have yet to try VOIP services on this phone. I used GIZMO settings.

Bluetooth? It has it, no problem with pairing with my Jabra headset. Though I experienced some problems with transferring contacts from my SE M600i in bulk to this phone. It did not accept it. Still on the process of test if file transfers (i.e. pictures, music, etc) from the iPaq 512 to another device.

Camera is so, so. Being it only a 1.5 MP shooter. It's mediocre. But it will do. I now am having a hard time looking for a FREE blogging client that will let me post the pictures I've taken to my blogger account.

The screen is ok, but not impressive. There will be some pixelations, but overall, it's ok.

So far, I have not experienced any problems with ActiveSync. It works! That's the surprising fact.

It did not come with a real charger, but instead, it has an USB adapter which is plugged into an electric socket and a USB cable is used to attach and charge the phone.

Voice Messenger:
This phone is being touted as a Voice Messenger. Meaning, a lot of functions can be started/used just by using voice. And what's nice about it is, it does not need any training. If I want to call Rob in my contacts, all I have to do is say "CALL Rob at MOBILE" then it will ask you to confirm. Pretty neat! I can also read back text messages (but with how Filipinos text, a simple message can take a long time to read out).

UPDATE: email set-up is a breeze in this phone. Email is integrated with the messaging client, together with the text messaging. Setting up an email through the built-in wizard was so easy that I was getting emails from my Gmail, Hotmail and believe it or not, Yahoo! Mail in less than a minute of entering the required data.

I have a rough time configuring my email client on my SE M600i a while back. Though I got it to work on the Sony Ericsson phone, configuration is not as easy as this one. Also, what's so surprising is that, I am now able to get Yahoo! Mail on this phone, even if my Yahoo! account does not have POP3 access.

The first thing I did was to enter my email address, then the second part was the wizard auto-checking for available configurations for the email, then it asked for, of course the log in details and the frequency of pulling email from the servers. And that's it! Email on the go.

Overall: I think I will still use the phone, but majority of the reason relies on the presence of Wireless access. But I don't think this will last me a year before I get a new phone. Oh and did I tell you that this is my very first WINDOWS MOBILE device. Yes it is.

Safari on Windows Faster than Firefox but...

Safari on Windows is really fast in loading wedpages than Firefox but, initial load of websites (right after opening Safari) is longer, way too longer than Firefox. After everything has loaded up and I go to other pages, it's a snap.

New Yahoo Mail Out of Beta, now with Text Messaging

Yahoo! has brought the new mail interface out of beta and it now includes the capability to send SMS (text) messages to mobile phones. At present, only four countries are included to have text messaging included in their Yahoo! mail, Philippines, US, India (I think) and Canada (or is it Australia). Will update if I have my facts straight already hehehe.

Globelines Down

Yesterday, when I got home, I wasn't able to connect to the internet. When I checked my modem (PROLINK Hurricane 9300G) the internet light was not on. So I did the routing on-off cycle to no avail. Then I decided to call Globelines. The guy told me that the modem is syncing with their servers, and that the problem is on my end, meaning the modem. He said he will send someone to look at the problem today. While awake I desperately tried to do the cycle but that LED internet light did not light up. So I accepted the fact that they might replace the modem.

This morning, it's more of a withdrawal symptom than anything else, I turned on the modem hoping the internet LED would light up, lo and behold, it did!

I'm wondering, perhaps the problem was not on my side, but there really was a problem with the Globelines network and the guy that I talked to did know it yet. Perhaps I'm one of the lucky ones that get good service from the company, although I think there are more dissatisfied customers with PLDT.

Nonetheless, I did not report that my internet is ok now, it's better for their people to check on the devices.

What's the use of PIM applications on the Desktop?

There are instances that one will need a PIM (Personal Information Manager) application in his/her lifetime and there are lots of them out there. In fact, there's one in every phone that comes out today, and perhaps there's one in your desktop or notebook installed.

Outlook is one of the most commonly used, especially in the enterprise arena. But there are people that use it even at home to help them organize schedules and events.

Nonetheless, with the advent of broadband connections and the widening coverage. The penetration to homes has increased, and the point is, it is the time to look at web-based applications, this time web-based PIMs. One advantage is that, it does not occupy a big space in the hard drive, and being on a remote server, it does not need that much processing power, meaning, the processing power can now be used for some other work.

Instead of opening multiple applications at the same time (e.g. web browser and PIM application), one has to do is to open only one, the browser. And with the popularity of tabbed-browsing it is not hard to shuffle thru different websites.

Try for example what Google has to offer. It has Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Photos. All under one account.

A Doctor and a Technician in one

I love technology! I am a self-proclaimed techie, well, yeah! Anyways, though I can think mostly of advantages, there are some disadvantages in being the only one that knows the "know-hows".

I "coerced" my fellow faculty in one of the schools that I'm teaching at to get their own wireless router for the faculty room. Before, I lent my Linksys WRT54GC compact wireless router, to give them the feel of the comfort of having one. Then, just when they were raring to get on to the wireless bandwagon, I pulled the unit out and installed it in the other school that I'm teaching as well.

Anyways, this was part of the plan, now, I convinced those who have notebook pc's to get their own router. And true to form, we pitched-in and I got them a NETGEAR wireless router. And the number of users shot up! And today, I helped around 4 faculty member setting their computers up. Well, I guess, I will still be doing this stuff as "gratis" for still quite some time. I don't mind, I love being an evangelist of technology.

Microsoft Announces Office for Mac 2008

Microsoft just announced their upgrade to the Office suite. It's been almost a year before Microsoft committed to a launch date of their product. And Mac users will surely be happy for this. Apple's own version of Office, iWork is pretty but lacks most of the functionalities of the Microsoft counterpart (with the exception to Keynote, Apple's presentation software, where it overtakes PowerPoint in different areas).

There will be three packages for Office 2008 when it's finally released: Office 2008 for Mac, Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition, and Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition. As expected, the core package of Office will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage sporting both support for Automator and "full" Exchange support. This package will go for $399.95, the same price as the current Office suite ($239.95 for an upgrade license).

Special Media Edition will come with all of the above, plus Microsoft Expression Media—a digital asset management suite that will help media-crazed users import, annotate, organize, archive, search, and distribute their media files. Special Media Edition will retail for $499.95 ($299.95 upgrade), which the Mac BU says reflects a $200 savings compared to if you were to buy the parts separately.

Finally, Home and Student Edition is the same as the full version of Office 2008, except minus the Exchange and Automator support that comes with the regular version of Entourage (if you're truly using it at home, then you probably don't need that Exchange support anyway). It allows for three licenses for non-commercial use, and will retail for $149.95. 

Yahoo! Mail on my Phone

I was able to configure my Sony Ericsson M600i to get and send emails from my Yahoo! Mail account. This may sound a big deal because it is. I am not subscribed to Yahoo's Premium service where POP3 access is possible.

I used the IMAP configuration with the following settings:
incoming server: imap.mail.yahoo.com
outgoing server: smtp.mail.yahoo.com

MIME encoding is on and using TSL encryption with logon authentication checked.

I lost my iTunes songs!

Three iPods sync with the main PC at home. All my music files are on an external drive to keep it from being worn much like the internal hard drive of the PC. That means I made iTunes to get the files from that drive. No problem really except that, perhaps, one of the iPod users made a booboo or perhaps it's just the Windows "environment" (although I'm not sure if this could happen on a Mac), but after I plugged my iPod, I got the "not recognized, Your iPod is synced with another device, warning" and it took around 5 seconds before I realized that the iTunes is not showing any songs.

SHIT! There's really no problem because, as I have said, I store my songs in a separate drive for safe keeping. But what's really frustrating is the thought that I have to re-sync all my iPods (considering that some have playlists specifically for the device). Oh well, nothing else to do but to "comply"! Hehehehe

Opening uTorrent Port in Prolink 9300G

I have been using uTorrent from my torrent "needs", but ever since, I have never gotten over to really open up the ports for it. I always get the "exclamation point" sign at the bottom of the application. I tried Port Forwarding to no avail. I still get that exclamation point icon. then I stumbled upon a solution.

All I have to do is to enable UPnP in my router (PROLINK 9300G) and use the port specified and whala! The red icon is now green and I'm getting the speeds I'm supposed to get. Happy me!

Instructions:
1.) type 192.168.1.254 (original settings) on any web browser
2.) click CONFIGURATIONS
3.) click ADVANCE
4.) click UPnP and check ENABLE
5.) copy the port specified
6.) open uTorrent preferences
7.) CONNECTIONS and enter the port from the router
EXIT and ENJOY!

What "toys" can be bought with...

What can I buy with...

Php15,000

1.) add Php2000, a 1.5 hp split-type airconditioning unit
2.) an 8GB iPod touch
3.) add Php1000, an HP iPaq phone
4.) add Php2000, a SE K810
5.) PSP for Php9000
6.) add Php7000, an iPhone


Php50,000
1.) a 32" LCD TV
2.) a MacBook

Deceptive Button Labels

Today I was supposed to get an iPod integration for my car's stock radio. It's a Fujitsu Ten radio (stock) on a Toyota Revo 2000 GL model. All the while, I thought that there is a port at the back that I can use to attach to a Disc changer or for this matter, an iPod integration unit.

All the while, I was using the tape deck solution to get the music from my iPods to the stereo of the car. A crude solution yet, gives a much better sound reproduction that the famous FM radio transmitter option. Then from one of the local forums for iPod users, I read that there's now a "cheaper" and better way to get my music to my radio without the wires/cables hanging and potentially hazardous obstacles of driving.

So I went to the dealer/installer, MAXX-Energie so they could check if my stock radio is compatible with their solutions. After checking my headunit, the guy I talked to told me that it might be possible, considering that the radio has a CD button, which we presumed is CD changer capable.

Unfortunately, after dismantling the dashboard, and unscrewing the screws, we all found out that there's not available port to attach their solution to the radio.

Well, that's life. Now my options, either I change my headunit to something that will have an iPod integration or, just be satisfied with the tape deck solution. Decisions, decisions!

No Freeze Panes in iWork 08 Numbers

I use Excel for computing grades and the Freeze Pane feature has helped me a lot. Having more than 40 students in one class, more than 5 quizzes, three long quizzes, the major exams, two sets of grades (lecture and lab) and three grading period (prelims, midterms and finals), it's not easy scrolling left to right and vice versa so with scrolling up and down a spreadsheet.

When I saw Numbers in iWorks, I was very excited for it (Apple having know to release cool versions of boring applications), but when I tried it, I didn't find this important (for me) feature. Well, back to excel for me.

iPod touch, iPod classic and the "new" iPod Nano

This is the new iPhone! Actually, it's part of the new set of iPods. Featuring the iPod Touch. It's more like the iPhone than the iPod. It's got both, except for the phone part. Well, sort of.

You see, it's a brand new music and video player with a twist. It's got WiFi, meaning, you can surf the interweb (that is, if there is a WiFi signal around), and listen to your albums at the same time (now I wonder what will be the toll on the battery life, I don't usually believe the claims of the manufacturer when it comes to these deets). I like this part. I've been looking for a portable internet device. Lots of choices but have not found the right one for me. I guess, I'll check this out.

Am I going to get one? Let me see, well, I have a 2nd Gen iPod Shuffle, a 1st Gen iPod Nano and a 5th Gen iPod Video. I guess, I have one of each, hmmmm, maybe I will get one, but not this 1st Gen, I think it's a bit low on the storage side. 16GB flash is not big enough if I'm going to put videos on it (my iPod video is not much fun to watch at, considering the size of the screen, but it serves it's purpose).

I love watching video podcasts (DL.TV and Diggnation specifically) while driving alone. Keeps me awake. And the iPod Video fits snugly on my Dashboard meter cluster (not your ideal driving tips), I don't know with this iPod Touch, but I guess I can always make something up to accommodate the new "toy", but then again, it's still months away from the purchase.

Here are some details about this new gadget:

Multi-touch interface

Gorgeous 3.5-inch widescreen display.

Touch your music in Cover Flow and watch video on a stunning, widescreen display

Wi-Fi web browsing.

Browse the web with Safari and watch YouTube videos on the first-ever Wi-Fi iPod

Music downloads from iTunes.

Search, preview, and buy songs from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store on iPod touch

Capacity

• 8GB or 16GB flash drive¹
• Holds up to 1,750 or 3,500 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format²
• Holds up to 10,000 or 20,000 iPod-viewable photos³
• Holds up to 10 hours or 20 hours of video⁴
• Stores data via USB flash drive

And the "new" iPod Nano!
Well, I don't think it's nice, not too pretty for me, I don't know for other people either.

With the following specifications:

Size and weight

• Height: 2.75 inches (69.8 mm)
• Width: 2.06 inches (52.3 mm)
• Depth: 0.26 inch (6.5 mm)
• Weight: 1.74 ounces (49.2 grams)

Display

• 2-inch (diagonal) liquid crystal display with blue-white LED backlight
• 320-by-240-pixel resolution at 204 pixels per inch

I don't think I will be very keen in watching videos in such a minute screen. But it sure is cute.

And of course there is the new iPod classic, having almost the same design as the typical iPod video, except that this time, the whole body is made of metal. No more white iPods too!

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.