Happy Birthday Geekay!

Dear Geekayness,

Happy birthday to you my blog, you are one year old. Your first year was exciting. I nourished you with close to 50 posts and a few more will come before the year is over. Those who visited you over the last 12 months, though few and redundant by Google's standards, were happy they did. You also produced affiliate blogs on food, pets and travel that are equally fun to do.

There have been many ups and one major down along the way but the road ahead remains bright. Brace yourself for a busier new year. The best is yet to come!!

Wanted: Assistant Wire Manager

I need a professional assistant wire manager. The job is simple: manage wires well. The candidates for this job must possess a great ability to rein in wires around the residential and office areas. A pleasing appearance is an advantage.

Anyone who has taken interest to read my previous posts here would know that I hate wires. That want-ad I typed above is for real. But I'm not looking for a real person to do it. I'm looking for an object to tidy up the wires that circumnavigate my digital spaces.


Yesterday, I finally "hired" someone, or should I say something, to do the job. It's a little plastic wire manager the size of a short book marker. Once it has neatly coiled and clipped the wires, its tip goes to a slit opening that creates an effect of a cat sticking out its tongue. It's cute and does the job in its own small way. This little helper costs P99 only and is available in other animal characters such as puppies, cow, moose and pig. :)

Cat speaker

Last night as I hurried back home, I chanced upon a store called DigiBabe at SM Cyberzone. Being a true geek-in-pink at heart I instantly decided to quickly browse the store.

The store is a tech lifestyle one catering to the female crowd.



There are hardly any hardware (pun intended) around because they fill their shelves with cute peripherals like this speaker cat. I love it. It goes by the brand name Cooler, a sound blasting MP3/computer speaker that only costs P395. It charges by USB. Ain't it cute? It sounds pretty good, too, for a speaker smaller than a new born kitten. :)

There are other models available. They have mummy, cyclops, Batman, skully, Friday the 13th, etc. I think they make perfect Christmas gifts or give-aways.

On my watch list!

What's the time? It's time for a new watch!! He he he.

Most women are shoes and bags addicts. Cosmetics and perfumeries, too. I'm not. It's watches that I like. It's my dream to one day attend any of the two most important watch fairs in the world, the Baselworld and The Salon International de la Haute Horlegerie in Switzerland, the bastion of timepieces.

My three-year old Philip Stein kept me satisfied enough not to want another one until I flipped through an old catalog and found this:

Ain't it pretty? :)

This Georg Jensen Vivianna large open bangle steel watch is making me drool at the moment. Aside from it's sheer elegance and sexiness, it makes me drool because my jaw dropped when I saw the price online. It costs Euro1180.00 (exclusive of VAT).

The face of the watch is a mirror and features sapphire crystals. Is that why it's so expensive? It was designed in 1969. Is timeless design expensive? Watches priced like this really makes you realize that time is precious. As in Georg Jensen precious.

HP unveils world's smallest color laser printer

HP today announced here in Singapore many printing firsts, one of which is the world's smallest color laser printer, the CP1025nw. It's also one of the world's most energy-efficient color laser printers that is ePrint enabled.

I'll post more details after our conference.

What I want for Christmas...

Today is October 7, still quite early to make a Christmas wish list but not a bad idea to get started now. Anyway, I can always use the edit button to change or add what's on my list which will have the following:

1. A simple smartphone if ever there is one. I don't care for smartphones that are overloaded with stuff I don't need or promise to do a lot of things except feed my cats.

2. An online security camera that is small and easy to maintain. I still wish I could have the BrickHouse Security 017-CAM4-USB.


3. An electronic scooter that will do the balancing and driving for me :)

4. A calf massager. This is a necessity.

5. A DSLR that doesn't intimidate.

6. New good DS and Wii game titles like Just Dance 2 because the old ones are less fun to play now.

7. A mechanical ball thrower for my dog. The one in photo is the GoDogGo automatic tennis ball launcher and fetch machine that costs $119.99. My dog could use this on days when I'm not available to play with her.



8. A toy aquarium for my cats because they need entertainment, too.

9. A huge 3D LED TV, why not?!!!

10. A really fast and no downtime broadband service.

11. An intelligent car that can help me park, can detect the status of my tires, etc. without me having to look because I usually don't know what I should be looking for.

Okay, I think I can't go on any further because it gets unrealistic as I add more items. If only money grows on Christmas trees, then I can have all these even before the holidays roll around.

Google Adsense Account Disabled

I hit a speed bump in my blogging because Google disabled my Adsense account. Although it's not the main reason why I am blogging, I won't deny that I love seeing some ads in my site as it make the page appear busier and active. I was religiously blogging and happily watching "My Stats" that told me I was being read in many parts of the world already. But that was true only until the day Google decided I was a cheat and therefore they should confiscate my meager $25 earnings.

I was so disheartened and appealed my case but Google said: "After reviewing our records, we've determined that your AdSense account poses a risk of generating invalid activity. Because we have a responsibility to protect our AdWords advertisers from inflated costs due to invalid activity, we've found it necessary to disable your AdSense account. Your outstanding balance and Google's share of the revenue will both be fully refunded back to the affected advertisers."

That really sucks and I really felt like I was being crushed by a giant. But no amount of despairing would help and I miss blogging, so, with some reluctance I type this piece to hopefully get me back in the saddle, even without Adsense around.

Mouse pad or Cat pad?

Here's my small collection of mouse pads with cat prints. The Hello Kitty is the oldest, bought from a store in the so-called IT alley in Taipei. The other two were gifts that probably came from abroad, too. I hardly use a mouse pad now, but I keep these fine proofs that show how cats invaded the mouse's pad. :)

Epson EB-450Wi projector

The first time I had to use a projector was in college, and the last time was during one of my graduate classes. Projectors, for me, are one of those appliances I didn't personally want to own because they were pretty much one-trick pony. They project images, that's it...but that was before.

Today, projectors are projecting a better image in more ways than one. Aside from shedding off some pounds by not being too heavy and clunky, projectors are also trying to get into the multimedia, high-definition and even 3D space.

I'm very skeptical when it comes to media events that showcase projectors. I really drag my feet to these events thinking the technology I'll see will be downright flat (read: boring). Epson, however, recently put something in front of me that made me interested. The company's EB-450Wi is an innovative projector that turns any standard whiteboard or smooth, flat surface into an interactive presentation area.

The EB-450Wi comes with its own mechanism so it can be installed overhead and from there beam images onto the flat wall. Presentors will appreciate that having a projector overhead eliminates the nuisance of getting them blinded by the projector's light. The EB-450Wi comes with a digital infrared pen so users can electronically write over their presentations and manipulate on-screen objects as if they are using a chalk or a computer mouse. The changes in the presentations as a result of that digital pen doodling could even be saved as jpeg files onto the computer where it's connected to. Of course, this projector could also be very well used for projecting movies and computer games.

Okay, I don't think these new features are so revolutionary but I'm happy that projectors get to dust off their old image somehow. So, bravo projector, you are no longer just a simple source of light. Yeah, that's how lowly I used to regard projectors. But Epson proved there's more to projectors now to justify its continued use in classrooms and boardrooms, at least for now.

Acer Liquid E Ferrari Smartphone

Want a thoroughbred with a standby power of up to 400 hours or a running power good for five hours?

I’m not talking about an actual purebred horse but a smartphone that distinctively sports on the back the famous Scuderia Ferrari Shield with the Prancing Horse logo. Acer’s partnership with Ferrari again bore another fruit: the Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition smartphone.

First unveiled at the last Computex 2010 in Taiwan, the Acer Liquid E Ferrari smartphone is hard to miss with Ferrari’s corporate glossy red color. It’s Acer’s first Android-based smartphone that supports 3G HSDPA and features full capacitive 3.5-inch touchscreen with high pixel count.

The Acer Liquid E Ferrari smartphone runs on the powerful Snapdragon mobile processor and Android 2.1 operating system. It offers a 512MB internal memory that can be expanded to 32GB with an optional microSD. It has a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, geo-tagging and accelerometer so photos can automatically rotate how the screen is positioned.

As to be expected, it covers all the bases for connectivity with WiFi, Bluetooth and A-GPS support. It also comes with a Ferrari-branded Bluetooth headset to boot.

Being a special edition, Acer and Ferrari filled it with Formula 1 themed content from ringtones, screensavers, wallpapers, and other widgets.

At 115mm x 64mm x 12.75mm (HxWxD), the unit weighs 135g. And it’s very red so it can’t be mistaken it’s by the famous Italian brand.

Geekay explained

I should have done it when I started this blog, explain what "Geekay" means. For some reason, I was just thinking of local readers who I assumed would immediately pick up how I was playing with two words: one English (geek), the other colloquial Tagalog (Kikay) which describes a lady who is fond of all things nice, especially fashion and beauty.

If you search online you'd see that the term Geekay is not unique to me. There are people and companies that answer to the name Geekay in Australia, Bahrain, India, Austria, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and even in the United States. I don't know the inspiration behind their use of the term geekay, but mine is simply the fact that there's a "kikay" in me for things geek. But because there are already geekay, gee-kay, gee kay and other variations of the name in the blogosphere, I could only get a green light for "geekayness". Do I like it? For all intents and purposes I prefer the short and succinct term, but the suffix somehow adds a little drama like "(her) highness", so I ran with it.

So, that's how Geekay or Geekayness came to be based on my own definition. Sorry, for the late introduction, but now you know why I call myself Geekay ;)

Zunic

Slimming and body sculpting. If you're on the heavy side, those words might carry a lot of weight (pun unintended). These words, in a nutshell, is what Zunic is all about. This slimming center has eight non-invasive machine-based treatments to help its customers get into shape. No surgery, pills, injections. They also claim that there's no need to diet or exercise. But they do encourage their clients to keep a meal plan/diary to keep an eye on what they eat (good or bad) and to increase their metabolism by being more active.

I've been to Zunic and have seen the machines they use. For one of their popular treatments called Contourage, they use this blue machine that emits radio frequency waves to reduce cellulite in the body. If you look at the picture, there are two objects that look like hair-dryers. Those are what friendly Zunic female staff use to massage a customer's problem area for at least 45-minutes. If it's your tummy that you want sculpted, they would measure first your upper, mid and lower abdomen area before the treatment and compare the numbers afterwards. Results vary as body types are different, but an average of 2cm reduction is common after treatment. Definitely a painless way to get rid of love handles unlike liposuction.

If I'm not mistaken, Zunic also uses this machine for its other treatment, the Ultralift. The client for this treatment are people with chubby cheeks and double chins. You know, like Shrek and Fiona (kidding). The treatment applies heat pulses to melt the underlying fat and stimulate collagen production, Zunic says.

Another popular Zunic treatment called CelluAvant uses laser technology. By combining deep laser stimulation of a problem area, say tummy or thighs, with localized cooling and rhytmic massage, Zunic says they are able to promote better lymphatic drainage, thus relieving clients from feeling bloated as excess fluid and toxins get flushed out. For CelluAvant they use this oval-faced machine with a shower-head looking device that is not only cold to the skin but also gives a feeling that your flesh is being sucked or pinched though not in a painful way. They also ask patients and the attending nurse to wear special eyeglasses to protect their eyes from laser lights.

I also saw the Metabolique machine at Zunic which uses photon lights to increase a person's metabolism without exercise. It looks like an MRI machine but with disco lights! Lots of them, too, so that one is advised to close his/her eyes during the procedure. And that's the reason why I don't have a photo of it. :)

I also have this photo of a red machine at Zunic, which I can't remember what it's for. I thought it looks like an ATM machine. Ha ha. Might as well be, because to avail of Zunic's treatments you really have to hit the bank big time!

The staff at Zunic are very friendly and professional. Like their treatments, the staff are not invasive. I just shared the photos and little information on the treatments though. If you want more, Zunic has consultants who would walk you through what programs would be best for you. The rest is up to you.

Samsung 3D HDTV -- I see 3D, people

Life is indeed full of surprises. Like if you told me 10 years ago that home TV viewing will become three-dimensional, I'd be surprised. So, imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to realize that 3D TV for the home is now possible. As I have probably said in this blog earlier, I don't fawn over every new technology or gizmo I see, but a 3D HDTV immediately landed straight on top of my list of crave technologies the moment I tested one.

It was about a decade ago when I first stepped inside an iMAX theater in Sydney, Australia -- which was along the Darling Harbour to be exact -- to watch a 3D documentary about elephants. The 3D glasses and my close proximity to the screen were overwhelming, but it was an experience worthy of a repeat as I paid iMAX several more visits abroad, until iMAX finally opened in Manila. Now more local cinemas are offering 3D screening which is cool, except for the exorbitant fees.

But wouldn't it be better if we don't have to step out of the house to watch something in 3D?

Just this month, three of the biggest TV giants -- Samsung, LG and Sony -- respectively paraded their 3D TV offerings. The first two already gave me a 3D sneak peek of their offerings. Samsung lent me their 40-inch LED HDTV and threw in three pairs of 3D glasses and some 3D movies for several weeks. Samsung actually sent over a 3D starter kit that contained two 3D glasses and Dreamworks' cute movie called Monsters Vs. Aliens. After the first try, I was hooked. I'm not a couch potato, but Samsung's LED C7000 HDTV turned me into one after the first movie.

It should be noted that this is just the beginning of 3D HDTV for the home and the technology would improve a lot more. Still, I'm already thrilled by this progress.

One thing I also appreciate about the Samsung C7000 is its ability to tweak regular TV programming from 2D to 3D with just a touch of a remote button and, of course, with the use of the 3D glasses. It was a cool effect and though it's not perfect, the images get an acceptable depth of field that make them look 3D. It just takes getting used to wearing the 3D glasses which use wristwatch-type of batteries or USB charger.


It's a pleasant surprise, really, that 3D TV for the home is now a reality. Did I say I now crave for it? But at P169,900 for the 40-inch model (the 46-inch costs P199,900) it would be short of a miracle if I get one soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out appliance showrooms and look for this product and that of the other brands, too, just to familiarize yourself on what, I expect, will become part of all our living rooms in the not so distant future.

Sharp Plasmacluster Ion air purifier for cars

I love a room that is not only clean but also smells good. I easily catch colds, you see, so I'm quite fastidious when it comes to this. We all want to have healthy air to breathe, but city-living does not exactly give us that.

Like when was the last time you braved turning off your car aircon and rolling down the window as you drive down the highway? I almost never do that, unless the aircon conked out. But even inside a closed air-conditioned car the air quality I'm sure is not pure. Dust from our shoes and stuff collect on the floor, mats, dashboard and seats. There's lint that we can see and not see. I imagine there are other organisms that co-exist with me inside my car, but even a clean-nut like me won't know how to get rid of them.

Then one day, I was happy to receive a give-away present from Sharp Philippines. It was an air purifier the size of a tall coffee jug that is specially designed for cars and made to fit in a car's cupholder. It was a new product that I'm thankful to have because it promises to remove viruses, bacteria, allergens, molds and bad odors in the car!

The Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Generator releases high-density plasmacluster ions that follow the car's interior airflow. The ions disinfect and purify the air as they are released at a 20-degree angle upwards and are carried along the ceiling of the car to every part of the interior.

It uses the car's power source. Just plug it, turn it on and it'll do the air purifying quietly. The plasmacluster ion generating unit mounted in this product must be replaced periodically. What is periodically? Sharp says after every 17,500 hours which is roughly equivalent to 6 years when operated 8 hours a day. Cool, huh? I'm definitely using this product, but not until I've swept my car clean first. You know, just to give this little workhorse some help. Is that silly? Well, only if you're the type who sprays perfume without taking a shower. Haha!

HP Scitex large-format printers -- huge in possibilities

They cost a fortune but the printing possibilities they offer are endless. I'm talking about the HP Scitex and Designjet large-format printers that could change everything you thought you knew about printers.

A local company, 11 FTC Enterprises, Inc., has several of these mammoth printers from HP that can directly print on wood, doors, tiles and other flat surfaces; lighted signs; tarpaulin streamers and billboards; cars, trucks and even on the body of the LRT/MRT trains; stores and retail booths signages; fabric and plastic...the list could go on and on.

A visit at 11 FTC's plant in Novaliches, Q.C. gave me a preview of the services they offer using the HP large-format printers which are quite awesome, especially for many of us whose concept of printers and printing are somewhat limited to laserjets or inkjets that churn out prints in A4, legal-size paper. The first photo below shows the new HP Scitex FB7500 at 11 FTC's facilities, and under it is a file photo of how the machine actually looks. The FB7500 (FB means flatbed) is a UV flatbed printer designed for industrial printing of high-quality exhibition graphics, backlit displays and posters, and many others.



A service bureau that works with 11 FTC called AGG Advertising Supplies can actually wrap your entire vehicle with customized designs stickers printed on HP Designjet LS25500 for about P8,000 minimum. HP uses its own Latex inks for jobs like this. HP Latex Inks produce prints that are eco-friendly as they are odorless, non-flammable, water-based and contain no hazardous air pollutants. Photos of their sample works below.



I'm familiar with the term "latex" but only because there was a huge paint job in our house recently and we had to buy large pails of latex paint. How I wish instead of those material we had this:



The above photos (poor quality courtesy of my old camera) show a wall of printed tiles (first pic) while the other one is covered by wall paper (second pic). Instead of using smelly ordinary latex paints that produce flat colors, HP large-format printers produced these sceneries to cover what otherwise would be plain walls. Now, isn't this something you'd want to have in your own home, room or place of work?

LG Optimus

LG Optimus, the latest smartphone offering from LG Electronics will be in stores starting next week. It's really raining smartphones lately with almost all leading consumer electronics makers having their own offerings that give us consumers a much wider selection to choose from.

The LG Optimus is LG's first Android device featuring a full 3-inch HVGA touchscreen, a 3 megapixel camera, advanced media player that supports DivX and Xvid video formats, a social networking application manager, cool games and a lot of other cool apps from the Android Market.

For P12,900, the LG Optimus can well claim to be the most affordable Android-powered smartphone for the entry- and mid-level market where many users are wanting to try and own their first Android smartphone without having to rob a bank.

To further increase LG Optimus' mass appeal, LG also tapped Korean celebrity Lee Min Ho of "Boys Over Flower" fame to endorse the GT540, which is the robot name of this product. Speaking of robot, I thought Transformers' Optimus Prime would also make a good ambassador for this phone, but that's just me who happens to have a 7-year old nephew who worships Optimus Prime.

Anyway, the LG Optimus is available in black, silver, pink and white colors so, take your pick.

Samsung N150 Plus in Corby Yellow

The pink was nice, but I love the yellow more. Thus, I had my Samsung N150 Plus Corby Pink changed to Corby Yellow which is a happier color.

The Samsung N150 Plus Corby Yellow is small enough that I can use this yellow Ikea kiddie stool for a desk where it appears like the chair's back rest!

What I really love about it though is its long-lasting-eleven-hours of unplugged use when its battery has been fully charged. I also find it easy to type on this one unlike on other netbooks I used before. And I love the 250GB room for saving files and its LED screen. The smudge-free yellow cover is also a major plus for me. :)

What's in the box?

This box can fit a 10-inch pizza. But it's not for pizza. What's inside is better than pizza :)



This box is the tiny packaging for the latest Samsung N150 Plus netbook.



The Samsung N150 Plus netbook has a 10.1-inch anti-reflective LED display with a scratch resistant lid casing. It's an energy-efficient display that contributes to longer battery life for the unit. This model boasts of 11 hours of battery, which is a LOT. The Samsung N150 Plus runs on Intel Atom N450 processor and Windows 7 Starter, with a 250 GB hard disk space and 1 GB memory, plus an Intel integrated graphic processor. It also features a webcam and a slew of I/O (input/output) ports and connectivity options to serve mobile users better.

The Samsung N150 Plus will be available for P21,900 and it comes in black, red, pink, and yellow. This one here is the Corby Pink model. Ain't it cute? It looks like Hello Kitty's netbook. My cat thinks so, too. :)

Xperia Mini Pro

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro today makes it local debut in stores nationwide. The world's smallest Android-based smartphone, the Xperia Mini Pro features a full QWERTY keyboard although the actual unit is just the size of a regular credit card.

Except for the slider keypad, the Xperia Mini Pro offers the same features as the X10 Mini such as a 2.55-inch scratch resistant TFT touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera for taking stills and videos, Wifi support, and embedded popular Web and social networking apps like Facebook and Twitter, complemented by Sony Ericsson's own apps -- Timescape and Mediascape that help organize content stored in the phone.

The Xperia X10 Mini (s.r.p P16,000) is available in black, pearl, white, lime and silver colors while the X10 mini Pro (s.r.p. P17,500) comes in red and black only.

There are other better deals to be had if you visit the Sony Ericsson
Expo 2010 that runs till Sunday at the Megatrade Hall 1 in SM Megamall Bldg. B. There Sony Ericsson is showcasing its collection of other smartphones and handsets that include the flagship Xperia X10, the HD video phones Sony Ericsson Vivaz and Vivaz pro, and the new Sony Ericsson Spiro and Zylo Walkman phones.














But let's go back to the X10 Mini Pro which is currently in my drool-worthy list of gadgets...Sony Ericsson even partnered with the clothes shop Oxygen for a little black shirt specially made for the X10 Mini and Mini Pro. The little black shirt comes free when you purchase either the X10 Mini or the X10 Mini Pro. The phone in the photo that's peeking out from an Oxygen shirt's mini pocket is not a Mini Pro though, but my Sony Ericsson C510 (a.k.a. the Sarah G. phone ;p)

The Oxygen mini tee has a tiny breast pocket sewn a bit sideways so one can easily keep in and retrieve from there an X10 Mini or a Mini Pro. This reminded me of the Levis PDA pants which had a secret PDA pocket near the side of the leg to hold what was then the hottest device.

It was a good expo, a first for Sony Ericsson, and I'm glad I dropped by. Not only did I see the company's new phones, I also overheard a queer comment by someone who qualifies as a germphobe who declared that she wouldn't buy a slider like the X10 Mini Pro because sliders trap moisture that cause germ build-up. Usually people say they shy away from sliders because of the moving parts that could eventually break down and cause problems. But Ms. Germphobe obviously has health issues in mind. :)

Samsung Galaxy S

There was a time when I could truly say that I know what's the latest in mobile phones, and I mean really the latest. But when the market got too hyped and crowded, my interest in this ubiquitous gadget went on auto-pilot -- meaning I tuned out and would only glance with curbed enthusiasm at models that seem okay although not necessarily premium.

Last week, I came across something that's more than okay and is definitely a premium. Samsung launched in Singapore its Galaxy S Android smartphone which once again stirred my enthusiasm in mobile phones. The Galaxy S is truly a gorgeous, apps-rich device that elevates the term smartphone to a new level.

Look at it -- it got a four-inch AMOLED screen that's really bright without hurting the eyes. It runs on a 1GHz processor, uses the TouchWiz 3.0 user interface, has HD video capability, and a galaxy of applications from both Google and Samsung. I particularly love the e-reader app called Aldiko. Thanks to the Galaxy S' superb screen, e-book is something I can now really consider reading on a phone!

Samsung executives, in a meeting with Asia Pacific journalists, said the Galaxy S embraces Google's Android platform because they believe it's the only one that can compete well against a company whose name starts with the first letter of the alphabet. Hmmm, no need to Google that.

The Galaxy S runs on the Android 2.1 OS, but we were told Samsung is already doing their codes for Android 2.2 for scheduled launch in two months. Upgrade will be offered free, they added. As for the unit price, the Samsung Galaxy S will cost about P32,000 under Globe Telecom plan. So, will you shell out that much cash to have the Galaxy in your hands?

Well, from this photo I took and created, it seems like even Mr. Monopoly Man would trade something for a Galaxy S. :)

Delightful Dell Inspiron 14z

My favorite colors are brown and yellow but I got a lot of geeky stuff now in red.

My latest cherry red item is a Dell Inspiron 14z. I like it... a lot. It's a 14-inch laptop that packs all the necessary features I require. Let me enumerate these features: a widescreen HD WVGA display, a DVD+R dual-layer optical drive, a long-lasting battery, a 1.3 megapixel integrated Web camera, dual microphones, HDMI and VGA outputs, 802.11 a/b/g/draft-N wireless LAN and Gigabit Ethernet LAN connections, Bluetooth 2.0, three USB 2.0 ports (although I can sure use more), and a 7-in-1 media card reader.


This Dell replaces my two other notebooks with detachable optical drives. Because I always want my notebook to be light and slim, I went for models without the built-in DVD-R drives. I now realize it's not the most convenient design and the slim-fit proposition erodes when I have to lug the detachable optical drive in my bag anyway. Plus it needs an extra cable to connect to the notebook PC, and I hate cables so much!

The Dell Inspiron 14z solves that problem without being bulky. Sure the optical drive added a bit of weight, but not by much as the entire unit weighs 4.4lbs.

Under its hood is a 1.30 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor with a 3GB of memory, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM (supports up to 6 GB), a 320 GB 7200 RPM hard drive, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD with 512MB of video RAM, and Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit OS. I'm iffy about the OS so I will likely move it up to Windows 7.

Now for the cons: the cherry red plastic cover is a fingerprint magnet and it also got what some geeks call "crotch speakers". Although stereo, the sound quality suffers somehow when the speakers are hidden that way. The keyboard is nice but I wish its backlit as I do a lot of typing at night under low light conditions.

True the Dell Inspiron 14z doesn't have all the bells and whistles present in more superior and super geek notebook PCs, but its looks and acceptable performance can make me whistle. However at P51,499, I also saw red of a different kind. :)

Rewind No. 2: Palm and Globe Handyphone for mobile e-mail

This print ad came out in February 2000 in a local IDG publication announcing the marriage between a mobile phone service and the hottest gadget back then: the Palm personal digital assistant.

In a bid to make e-mail mobile, Globe partnered with Palm and ran this ad that said:

"E-mail solutions in the palm of your hands! Now you can retrieve e-mail anytime, anywhere using the best value in personal organization: the Palm Handheld Electronic Organizer. Now, you can carry and access all the information you need -- calendar, addresses, to-do lists, memos, expenses, and other applications all at the touch of a button.By simply subscribing to the Globe Handyphone Mobile Office (HMO) and G-Net, and installing the Global Pulse in your Palm Connected Organizer, you can send and receive e-mail anytime, anywhere! Now you've got the Internet right in your pocket!"

Ten years later and we could only smile at this vintage ad that pimped the idea of mobile e-mail using two devices. The two men shown in the ad were made to look very pleased with this tech wizardry from Globe and Palm as one of them accessed his e-mail, calendar and contacts in this format inside the movie house! What a decade could do. Now we only need one mobile device -- a smartphone that not only could access anything on the Web, it could also play movies!

The ad also quoted a promo price for the Palm IIIx and Global Pulse bundle for P17,580; cost of cellular phone not included. Not only has technology improved by leaps and bounds since this ad came out, the price for this kind of connectivity has also gone down. But that's only true as long as we don't fall for the most-hyped smartphone brands around. ;)

Philippines' First Automated Election

Like many Filipinos, I lined up today under the sweltering heat of the sun to cast my vote. It's the Philippines' first automated national elections making it a historical event in more ways than one.

I went to my polling place with my 76-year old mother and my 6-year old nephew. My mom, being a senior citizen, didn't have to queue and she finished voting in no time. I lined up at 11:25 a.m and I thought it was a short line because I was not that far from the class room door of my precinct. Little did I know my line was leading to a "waiting room" where voters like me would have to sit it out until we could be accommodated next door where the actual voting was taking place.

A man next to me grumbled that the system was "pangit" (ugly). I just gave him a weak smile because aside from a jug of cold water I also brought with me a lot of patience. It was 1:00 p.m. when I was finally asked to move to the next classroom to vote.

I have my digital camera with me because I really want to document the process. To be safe, I also brought my press ID but I didn't wear it because it might call some unnecessary attention to me.

After the teacher gave me my ballot and a folder to cover it, I tried to take a chair near the PCOS machine. However, another voter beat me to it so I had to settle to one that's near the door. I still managed to take few pictures though before I finally focused on the task at hand which was to vote.

I didn't even cover my ballot. I didn't care who saw who I voted for. I only voted for a president, vice president, 7 senators, one Party List and a mayor. Then I walked over to the polling clerk manning the PCOS machine. That was when I managed to take this short video where a voter had her ballot fed to the machine with no problem, followed by her getting a drop of indelible ink on her index finger. I wanted to take a close-up picture of the machine, but I was stopped and had to turn off my camera. It's okay because I already have at least one good shot and this video.



All in all, it was a relatively painless experience for me. I was glad my precinct didn't have the technical problems with the PCOS machine unlike in other places around the country. Except for the long wait that makes me wish I'm already a senior citizen just for today, I was glad I didn't skip this election.

When I got back to my car, I turned on the radio for some news and there were a lot of talk about election hotspots. I thought, in this heat, all areas are election "hot spots". No wonder people were fainting and one man even died from heart attack brought about by the debilitating heat.

Automated election fever

I'm quite excited to go to my voting precinct on Monday when we elect our 15th president and other executive, legislative and local officials. It will be our first automated election and I want to get my hands on one of those Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines. It's been a long, long journey for the Philippines to computerize its elections. When I started my IT journalism career in 1990 there was already efforts to junk the manual counting of votes and canvassing of election returns. I still vividly remember one headline we ran: "YORAC SAYS NO TO ARINC SYSTEM". The late Haydee Yorac was then Commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and ARINC, if I remember it correctly, joined the bidding to automate the election, but it obviously didn't materialize.

In 2003, a consortium called Mega Pacific also made a bid to computerize the elections. But alleged flaws or irregularities in the bidding process led several groups, including those from the IT sector, to ask the Comelec to nullify the P1.2 billion contract it awarded to Mega Pacific.

Now, we have Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) as the technology provider for the country’s first ever nationwide automated elections that will cost the country about P11 billion. A great digital divide will be crossed on Monday, when all Filipinos who will vote -- young and old, rich and poor -- get to use the same technology to make their voices heard. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this first automated election will be relatively successful.

My two cents worth

I started this blog December 2009 and, so far, it's the longest one that I've kept alive! I probably have two other blogs gathering web in the...err..web :)

I like this blog now and for the first time, too, I thought I should also try earning something out of it. I've heard and read a lot about how people earn a good living writing blogs. I don't think it's the route I'll take to very early retirement, yet imagine how tickled I was when my Adsense account got activated and soon enough I earned my first two cents!! Yipee!! Maybe it's a give-away amount from Google, I don't know. But whoever clicked today to give me my milestone two cents, thank you so much!!


Cheers!

My tech bubble

I have had harrowing weeks lately, the kind that I have not experienced in a long time. A project I undertook was wasting MY OWN money and people who shouldn't be involved torpedoed it until I backed down just to get them off my case. At a point when it was so torturesome, I went online and worked quietly on my PC. Instantly, I felt calm. It's just me and my PC and we can go anywhere on the Web like it's an open field where nuisances from the real world can't follow. It's interesting how many times I feel technology is giving me hell, but when I was really having a bad time, it provided solitude and an artificial bubble where I could be left alone even for awhile.

Fun tech accessories

Technology can be fraught with problems at times that it's good to have a source of amusement close at hand no matter how light it may be. I've been having some stressful mouse and keypad problems with my notebook PC yesterday when I noticed four objects lying around the table that made me smile. I have almost forgotten about these tech accessories that managed to insert fun and humor in technology which, today, is stressing me out.






First is this "Any Key" keyboard key.




Remember how programs would often ask us to "hit any key"? Somebody somewhere thought why not have a dedicated key to play that "any key" role? The result was this yellow Any Key which can be snapped on any key in a standard keyboard. I forgot exactly where I got this, but it must be from a science and tech store in San Jose or San Francisco.



Second is this rubberized 2.5-inch tall Kung Fu Panda that is actually a USB drive.

HP gave away this cute USB item during one of its regional press briefings and it's been wearing that smirk on its face as it stands in that pose on my table probably for over two years now.




Then I have this USB hub shaped like a man.

This smiling little guy with arms and legs that double as USB connectors is particularly useful when I'm using a relatively old machine with limited slots for USBs.




Last but not the least is this crunching dog.


I got this from a store in Akihabara, Tokyo. I thought it's a real USB and was disappointed to learn after buying it that it's really nothing but a toy. The dog automatically does fast crunching when attached to a USB slot. It came in a box that was all in Japanese and the store clerk only speaks Japanese, so there's really no way for me to tell then if it offers some storage or not.

Comic relief that is what they are. Little reminders that everything has a light side, even technology which can get hairy at times.