Thanks to the long weekend, was able to finish Scott Kelby’s “The Digital Photography – Book 1″. It was a great weekend of taking pictures trying to learn the craft. If Canon put a limit to the “Delete” function in their cameras, I’d have been in big trouble. Some keepers from this weekend’s experiments below.
I never was a shutterbug. In fact, I could not recall the last time I had a real camera (yes, the ones on your cellphones don’t count). I was only reacquainted with the art of taking pictures when my wife and I went on our honeymoon. Obviously, someone had to take pictures of the newly married gal while she was basking at the Dos Palmas sun. It would have been really funny if you saw me taking pictures as I had to deal with a hot pink Sony point and shoot cam. Being the geek that I am, I started fiddling with the manual settings in the camera and realized that there could be nothing more fulfilling than getting the right settings to have the camera capture what you composed in your head. Needless to say, from that point on, I was hooked.
My curiosity with DSLRs heightened further when my wife and I together with another couple went on a vacation to Bantayan, Cebu. They were carrying with them the Canon 450D which is relatively one of Canon’s newer model entry level DSLRs. After taking a few shots with it, I was convinced, I want one of ‘em. I started looking around for these cameras and started my price hunting. Luckily, my wife and I had booked in advance a flight to Hongkong taking advantage of Cebu Pacific’s low fare promos. After some research, I was able to make it to HK’s DSLR Mecca. Amazingly, in HK, they do what they call parallel importing which basically allows local traders there to source their goods from regions offering the same products at lower prices. I originally allocated a budget to buy a Canon 450D as in Manila, this was the model within my range of Php30K to Php40K. Fortunately, imports from Japan for the higher model and feature packed Kiss X3 (500D) was selling for roughly Php36K and this was already the kit package that included an IS 18-55 lens, a 4GB card and a camera bag. Was I thrilled to have bought this piece of digital marvel. Shooting with it so far has been phenomenal. I have yet to understand all that it has to offer and yet I’ve managed to take some really good photos with it.
More of my adventures with my new toy in the next post. Meanwhile, enjoy the snaps taken with the cam
News is that Globe and Smart is/has released the HTC Magic, aka Anroid G2. It’s a touch screen smartphone based on Google’s opensource mobile platform Android. This device in the US is touted as Sprint’s response to AT&T’s iPhone. Word is that it’s much better than its predecessor, the G1. Unfortunately, the price for the device is prohibitive. It’s probably gonna be positioned to be as expensive if not more expensive than the iPhone. It’s a great week for phone enthusiasts as Palm has also released the Palm Pre in the US, this time it’s Verizon taking exclusive rights to distributing the phone.
Time for me to find a good reason to “upgrade” my phone.
Ever since Microsoft publicly released the public beta of its latest OS, I’ve taken advantage of using the free software. When the public beta was released, I was looking for the perfect OS to use in my MSI Wind netbook. I’ve been using it as a Hackintosh (read as non Mac machine running OS X) quite succesfully. Everything was running, the desktop looked interesting (note that interesting is the best I could describe Mac’s interface), it wasn’t slow and frankly it did make for a good conversation piece. But much like my amusement with the iPhone, that did not last long. Again, the techie in me wanted to do more with my PC than Apple’s OS would allow. It’s quite funny ‘cuz the most interesting application I installed in the Mac OS was a program called Parallels, a virtual machine engine where I could run Windows in the Mac. Funny that I’d take all the effort to hack a Windows machine to run the Mac OS only to have it virtualize Windows. If that is not ironic, I don’t know what is.
Back to my main point though, after installing the beta in my netbook, what I first noticed was how fast the machine booted. I’ve installed XP and Vista in the same machine and I’ve never had it boot up that quick. The next thing I notice is how everything is already setup. No extra drivers needed. That was definitely a plus. Finding drivers just drives me nuts. What I love most about Windows 7 though is its speed. The OS ran very smoothly, much smoother than XP would with the same amount of RAM and the same CPU and surprisingly, Aero worked flawlessly in all its glory. I am so convinced with my experience with the beta that when the release candidate came out, I downloaded it the first chance I got and installed it in my home theater PC. I’ve been running both my machines now, Netbook and HTPC, with Windows 7 and so far so good. These releases I would say are arguably better than the RTM versions of XP and Vista. I think Microsoft’s really got it right this time. I just hope they don’t drastically change the thing come RTM.
PS,
My netbook btw is equipped with 2 GB of RAM, a 1.6 Ghz Atom processor and 160 GB of hard disk space just in case you were curious as to how I was able to cram the OS into a netbook.
I just love the pace at which technology is evolving. Not long ago, your only choice for an internet connection in Manila are those dial up companies. Back then, a 56K modem was the fastest device to connect you to the world wide web. Fast forward 1o – 12 years and now you have a hodge podge of options for your internet connection. You’ve got cable, DSL, HSDPA, satellite and unfortunately for some, the ever reliable dial up modem. The good thing about all this development though is the way internet connection prices have plummeted. Back in the golden days of dial up, an unlimited connection costs between Php 3,500 (approximately US$70) to Php 5,000 (US$100). Now, a DSL connection that is atleast 4x faster than dial up would only cost Php1,000 (US$20) bundled with your landline service. Amazing!!! Sadly though, not everything is perfect with the current service providers and here is where my rant starts.
A couple of weeks ago, I moved in to a new place of residence where Sky Cable is available. Given that by default I would use their cable TV service, condos usually just tie up with one provider, I thought it was a great idea to bundle it with the broadband service they have. Surprisingly, their prices are competitive. For an additional Php999, they give me a 1.5 Mbps unlimited connection plus a 15% discount on my cable TV subscription. Awesome!!! After a week of waiting for the connection to get setup, I was hooked to the web on my blistering fast connection. I have to admit, when the thing works, it rocks! Though the maximum burst speed is rated at 1.5Mbps, on the average, my connection was running at 1Mbps. Not too bad, I said. My downloads finished quickly, torrents where hitting 100Kbps downloads, Youtube buffered faster than it played, I was in internet heaven.
I had nothing but praises for Sky Cable during the first few weeks. I’m sure you’ve seen this coming though. It sounds all too perfect. What’s the catch? True enough, nothing lasts forever. One weekend, the connection went down. I originally thought it was my router so I did what was expected, rebooted the router, even went as far as rebooting the cable modem. After the restarts, nothing. So I call tech support and this nice gentleman tells me that he’ll setup a service call as there were no system issues at the time. He’s pretty sure, the problem’s from my end, must be a busted modem. Being the only person living in the house, I had no choice but to wait for the service team. I specifically asked the phone rep to tell the onsite team to arrive early as I had to rush for work after. I am a senior manager in a call center and my time is gold. So there I was, at 9AM waiting for the repair team. 3 hours went by and unfortunately, not that I’m surprised as I have little to no faith with any onsite service team, noone arrived. So there I was pissed that these guys were late so I decided to call the service hotline. What the guy on the line said infuriated me. Apparently, they found out that there were lines that were undergoing repair in my area meaning my modem was fine and the onsite service wasn’t necessary. The service request had been cancelled. I went “WTF??? When did you plan to tell me this?” At that time, I could only recall Adam Sandler’s line in “The Wedding Singer” when his fiancee broke up with him on the day of their wedding. ”That piece of information should have been brought to my attention yesterday!!!”. The sad part of this whole ordeal is that these guys screwed up big time and they don’t even show any sign of sympathy or remorse, ahh the advantage of monopolies. I work for a call center and I know screw ups like these are unforgiveable but complaining will most of the time get you nowhere. So I hang up furious and head for work. What’s worse though is that after the terrible customer service experience, this then was followed by horrible customer relations. The connection did not go back up until like 9 days after and no attempt from Sky was made to keep me updated on their repair status. From the day the connection went down, I keep following up on when the issue will be fixed and the d&@m company keeps saying it should be fixed the next day. I’m the type of person whose life revolves around my internet connection, my entertainment, my work, banking, you name something online I have it. It’s like telling a smoker to go cold turkey for more than a week. We all know how that goes. So I decided, these guys broke my heart far too many times in a week so I said to myself “Screw it!”, I’ll just switch providers.
I weighed my options and was thinking that though wired connections have the advantage of providing consistent speeds, usually, when line problems happen, the problem usually takes days to get fixed as there is a physical connection that they need to deal with. My best bet then for a better uptime is to go wireless. I was able to try Sun Wireless Broadband as I had the pleasure of knowing someone who works for Sun. When I was using it, wherever I went, this thing was hitting speeds near the advertised maximum 2Mbps. It worked great! Best of all, it’s even cheaper than my Sky Broadband at Php650 a month for a 2Mbps unlimited connection. Excellent!
So needless to say, I quickly went to the nearest Sun shop and got myself one of those USB dongle modems, inserted it in my netbook and checked the speed using Speedtest. True enough, this thing worked well. The test results showed speeds between 500Kbps to 1.8Mbps. I was a happy camper. But then reality struck, yet again. Apparently, unlike the demo unit, the actual product has this blurry FUP (fair use policy) where some parts of the internet are purposedly choked. Yes, you guessed it, torrents crawled! Despite the megabit connections using HTTP downloads, torrents were a different story. I was lucky to have any download go 10kbps. Despite all the optimizations and trying out various torrent clients, it was all the same. Unfortunately, fair use meant that you only use your connection to browse the web and read blogs, no major downloading. Major bummer! Well, I guess in this world, more often than not, you get what you pay for.
In the end, I decided, I can’t live without my internet. The best way then is to have a backup. To make a long story short, I decided to keep both connections. My Sky broadband as my primary connection and for non critical, high volume downloads and my Sun Wireless broadband for a backup and connection while I’m on the go. Now I’m paying double and yes I do get what I pay for.
Sadly for most of you who might stumble upon this article, it may be too much to maintain 2 connections. You’ve read what I’ve been through and you probably know where I stand with regards to both of my providers. In the end, it all boils down to what is important to you based on your internet usage habits, consistent speed (Sky) or guaranteed uptime, Sun. Whatever it is you choose, you’ve read my story so best of luck.
Netbooks, those small underpowered things that look like laptops, have become quite a strong selling consumer electronic product. With the common netbook being underpowered for serious computing needs, these devices have been delegated as secondary PC’s. As such, what can one do with these nifty gadgets? Here are some suggestions;
1. A bedside e-book
2. Morning newspaper, perfect while having your daily dose of java.
3. A recipe book. Imagine this, a ton of recipes from all over the world right in your kitchen.
4. A portable jukebox; with newer models sporting hard drives as big as 160 GB, you can fit all your music in it and bring it wherever you go.
5. A backup drive
6. A picture viewer. Bring it along when you visit your friends and family. Beats any cheap digital photo frame.
7. A car movie system. Hook it up to car stereos with auxilliary inputs and voila! A home theater in your car.
8. If you are techie enough, you can turn it into a small and cheap Mac.
These are just some of the things I use my netbook for. Despite being underpowered for typical PC functions, the device’s convenient form factor lends it to non traditional PC uses. The only limit is your imagination.
So what are you waiting for? Jump in and join the netbook bandwagon!
PS.
This blog entry was written using an MSI Wind Netbook.
Being a tech enthusiast myself, I’ve for sometime now been waiting for it to happen, that an amazing smartphone comes out and take Apple’s throne. Needless to say, all who have tried have in one way or another failed. This led me to ask then why it is almost impossible for this to happen. Believe it or not, I was an early adopter of this genre of phones. I bought the first gen Iphone, jailbroke it, installed my apps, fiddled with the Ipod feature and all that stuff. After a month’s romance with the thing, I grew tired of the phone’s inadequacies and replaced it with the more capable Nokia N95. Don’t get me wrong, the Iphone is great at things it bragged about, the touchscreen and intuitive controls, the user interface and it’s tight integration with iTunes. However, outsided those features, I personally think it’s the crappiest phone I’ve ever used. If you ask me, Apple should’ve called it the Ipod Touch Plus ’cause really, it is nothing but the Ipod touch with a GSM radio. A true “Iphone” would have been a kick ass phone with iTunes built in. Back to the question then, why is it that noone has come up with an Iphone killer? From my perspective, the reason why this is so is because of the type of people who buy the Iphone. Let’s admit it, Apple has quite succesfully made a cult following for its products. Apple carries with it the “cool” factor in such a way that people who buy their products are not just customers but are more like fans. How else can we justify the vast number of people who buy Macs despite its heart attack inducing price tag? A decade ago, there would have been reason for this, the Mac hardware being electronically different from PCs. However, with Macs now using Intel hardware that is exactly the same as any other PC, this reasoning has effectively gone out the window. With that said, in general, buying an Apple product is more of an emotional rather than rational decision. People who buy Apple products are in love with their devices, and we all know, people who are in love are pretty much blinded by it. Unless another brand develops this kind of relationship to the same customer base, any and every other attempt to outdo the Iphone will be in vain. No amount of technical superiority and design will ever defeat the Iphone as getting an Iphone really is not a rational decision.
Will there ever be a device that will take the Iphone’s crown? Yes. Sadly, it’s more likely to be another Apple.
