tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69710073002151429312011-08-03T01:06:45.650+08:00Romnoreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-84699203226786220922011-01-22T10:44:00.000+08:002011-01-22T10:44:13.181+08:00

Photo courtesy of Richard Masoner (on Flickr) Local telecommunications companies want to cap the amount of data that subscribers use to accommodate more subscribers and avoid investing more in their infrastructure. More subscribers is always better, until the subscribers notice how crappy the service becomes. So, instead of investing, they want to add more limits!  I find it really funny that

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-58992978069316255912010-10-18T17:32:00.000+08:002010-10-18T17:32:01.351+08:00

This afternoon, I was in a meeting when my Nexus One, running Froyo+ (2.2.1), suddenly rang. I swiped to answer and placed the phone near my ear. I said 'Hello' several times, until I figured out that the other party couldn't hear me - and yes I could hear her. I checked the display and there it was - the phone application crashed! Of all the applications that need to be stable on a mobile phone,

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-27509473510460782952010-05-06T07:38:00.003+08:002010-05-06T08:04:37.278+08:00

First, this is just a theory, so take it with a grain of salt. Nothing is verified as true. However, I can imagine, right? :D So here goes... what if...1. The opposition knows that the May 10 election will be rigged primarily because of how Comelec was handling the Automated Election System project -- from procurement to purchase, and later to deployment and use.2. Knowing #1 above, the

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-50733954148983735002010-05-02T07:49:00.002+08:002010-05-02T08:16:46.998+08:00

A week to go until the Philippines decides who will lead it for the next 6 years. I think I have been vocal enough not to support one particular candidate - a candidate who never aspired to be a president until a younger sister, in a style that can only be seen in showbiz, took advantage of the media coverage, which was meant as a tribute and last respect for their much-loved and revered mother,

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-16364303184560667032010-03-28T06:08:00.002+08:002010-03-28T06:22:06.421+08:00

IN the recent Global Informtation Technology Report 2009-2010, World Economic Forum's measure of readiness of IT infrastructure in 133 countries all over the world, the Philippines ranked 85th! And who is to blame?Personally, I blame this entirely on the government - for failing to institute policies that will enable IT for development in the country. The infrastructure, as provided by commercial

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-5611533005937117802010-02-05T06:39:00.002+08:002010-02-05T06:52:02.185+08:00

A few days ago, I decided to delete all the location-based applications on my iPhone. I figured that I was giving too much info -- enough for a potential criminal to track me. However, I did not delete my accounts on Gowalla, FourSquare and BrightKite.After several days of thinking, I decided to enable it again. However, I am now making sure that only a select friends can view my location.

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-85469933719483874832010-01-20T20:07:00.005+08:002010-01-20T20:24:13.331+08:00

Here's a comparison of the Javascript performance of the iPhone 3GS browser and the Google Nexus One browser. The Nexus One is 1.15X faster than the iPhone 3GS. This is not that significant considering that the Nexus One has a 1.67X faster processor and twice the amount of RAM, at 512MB. As a benchmark, here's the Javascript performance of Safari 4.0.4.

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-73253641932104386062010-01-07T19:47:00.003+08:002010-01-07T19:57:02.471+08:00

Over a span of two weeks, several government agencies' websites were hacked. This is a major cause of alarm, specially with the first fully automated election to be held this May. The Commission on Election has been assuring the public that their system is secure. Unfortunately, with the lack of technical people in Comelec, I have huge doubts that they can fully secure the system. Frankly, they

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-79469024241741692482009-11-30T06:44:00.003+08:002009-11-30T07:14:53.705+08:00

Politics in the Philippines is so frustrating! You see politicians shifting allegiances not because of issues but because of personalities (and money). One can take a step back and analyze what these current crop of politicians are fighting for and you will be surprised to see nothing concrete. They are really good at making and delivering speeches, in duping the masses to believe that they will

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-72586555392008951692009-11-15T15:41:00.000+08:002009-11-15T15:46:41.782+08:00

I wonder when the local networks will realize that showing a delayed telecast of the boxing match with 20+ commercials between rounds is no longer attractive to people - with Internet video stream, Smart 3G feeds and PPV screened in cinemas, gyms and local auditoriums. C'mon! By the time they air the bout, everyone knows the results! Note: image linked to ESPN without permission. [blogged from

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-83070777163514844992009-10-14T20:45:00.000+08:002009-10-14T20:48:09.154+08:00

Testing blogpress and found this "Lables" bug. Can't wait for the update. :)- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-76747381205438025192009-09-21T09:34:00.006+08:002009-09-21T09:41:20.509+08:00

One of the things that I detest in having a mobile phone is the SMS spam that one gets. I don't know if the NTC is the one who is supposed to block these numbers or if the telcos should disable the numbers. If you have any other ways of getting these spammers off of your phone, please let me know. Am really hoping for a whitelist service from the telcos!Take for instance these spams:1. Received

Romnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-17212344916911950452009-09-09T08:14:00.003+08:002009-09-09T08:36:36.804+08:00

Today marks the 40th-day of President Corazon Aquino's death. Today also marks the day that Sen. Noynoy Aquino officially declared that candidacy for the highest post in the land. People are thinking that this is a great move - that he is the only one who can bring change to the nation. Frankly, I do not *yet* believe that this is true.Sen. Noynoy Aquino has been a senator for quite awhile and I

Romnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-44324527572761481532009-08-09T07:33:00.004+08:002009-08-09T07:54:33.092+08:00

I purchased Boxcar, a Twitter App Notification service for the iPhone, and installed it on my iPhone 3G. It was working with no problems. However, when I tried to transfer it to my iPhone 3GS, I needed to revoke Boxcar access from Twitter's Connections Settings and re-link it to the new Boxcar instance on the 3GS. Sounds easy, right?Unfortunately, it does not work - getting the error that I have

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-31340124828734714272009-07-12T11:51:00.006+08:002009-07-12T12:40:19.378+08:00

I am one of 'em, the geeks who will someday rule the earth - or what is left after global warming and all the disasters do their thing. Just like any other geeks, I tend to check out the latest technologies available out there and if within budget, I try to get one - if not, I ask my TechNews editor if I can review one. :)Anyway, a friend of mine posted a brilliant article on netbooks and I

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-22098936259016469722009-07-12T07:57:00.003+08:002009-07-12T08:28:27.013+08:00

Google announced their upcoming ChromeOS to target netbooks. All the whilst, I thought that Android was being prepped for this but I was wrong - Google has more in mind. ChromeOS will be released 2010 and will be based on Linux. This will definitely be a boost to the operating system BUT one cannot help but wonder - how will Google solve the issues that plague the OS. And oh, where will Ubuntu be

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-68104902410607223472009-05-23T07:58:00.003+08:002009-05-23T08:11:33.877+08:00

JavaOne 2009 is the last event that Sun Microsystems, Inc., will hold before Oracle takes over this summer (in the US). This is one event that one must not miss - after all, it is the largest developer event in the planet!What to expect? Well, Jonathan Schwartz already blogged about Project Vector, aka Java App Store, already.I cannot wait to find out more about this. Will it cater to Desktop and

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-34824909082560107932009-05-19T16:17:00.002+08:002009-05-19T16:42:17.253+08:00

The nation is gearing up for the chance to elect a new president come May 2010. With all the brouhaha on the Comelec's automated election system (AES) bidding (which, incidentally, is the wrong way of moving forward) and the politicians pumping radio and TV with their campaign propaganda even if they refuse to admit it, one can only wonder if there is still hope for the country. What do you think

Romnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-30979079264155297202009-04-08T17:17:00.002+08:002009-04-08T17:28:02.481+08:00

This is what Senior Supt. Gilbert C. Sosa, chief of the Anti-Transnational Crime Division of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said when asked about Philippine government websites getting hacked:“Further, these top hackers have targeted the national and local websites of the PIDS, DOST, DOLE, Napolcom, Supreme Court and Department of Education which are

Romnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-12702177020762902072009-04-01T07:16:00.003+08:002009-04-01T07:16:03.679+08:00

Last week, a couple of students of mine asked me if I ever used any of the Microsoft operating systems at all -- since I mostly use Linux and Mac OS X today. I answered that I used to have Windows XP running on an Athlon-based PC for my software development and gaming. This question, however, made me re-think my decision to stay away from Microsoft software.After careful consideration, I am now

Romnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-77096808883629861262009-03-20T16:04:00.002+08:002009-03-20T16:29:46.445+08:00

A blog entry, "Mac OS is more vulnerable to exploits than Windows", highlights the incident of a hacker being able to get into the Mac via a Safari exploit within a short span of time. What was missed (although there is a link on the entry) is the fact that the exploit required someone on the computer to click on a link for the exploit to be initiated. The hacker was not able to do something

Romnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-59750240105656218882009-03-16T07:57:00.001+08:002009-03-16T07:57:27.096+08:00

Less than 15 minutes ago, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Earth to the International Space Station. My entire family was viewing it, both on CNN and on Ustream.tv. Today's science topic is on ISS and Space Shuttle.

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-83624101579665126162009-03-16T07:09:00.000+08:002009-03-16T07:10:31.503+08:00

After two episodes, I finally was able to join the crew at Pinoy Tech Podcast. Check us out! We are also on iTunes and Twitter.Mobile Blogging from here.[Blogged from my iPhone]

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-59312997805957427852009-03-08T08:28:00.000+08:002009-03-08T08:28:37.456+08:00

I heard about Blogo on one of the podcasts that I regularly download and listen to. I thought that it is a nice tool for bloggers like me. At US$25, you can't go wrong with this software since it practically supports all blog engines available out there.I am typing on it now -- after configuring it for this blog. However, I could not get it to work on my other blog, a Wordpress-hosted free site

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-37733876175607711022009-03-01T07:57:00.004+08:002009-03-01T08:32:04.398+08:00

For two nights last week, I spent them at the Dakak Park and Beach Resort, somewhere in southern Philippines. To get there, you fly to Dipolog domestic airport and take one of their resort shuttles for a 40-45 minute drive, on rough and bumpy road (they're fixing the roads).We got there around 6PM and I immediately noticed the restaurant and the beach, whilst we were checking in. The beach staff

Romnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-68928853014455719262009-03-01T07:40:00.004+08:002009-03-01T07:55:11.188+08:00

I just got back from a national convention of IT Educators and whilst I enjoyed every minute of the trip (not exactly the convention), I had a difficult time connecting to the internet. For an IT convention, I expected the full presence of IT. Unfortunately, it was not the case.First, the registration used dead-trees! Participants were asked to fill-up a piece of paper to register. I'd understand

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-75079527425752687932009-02-01T18:25:00.002+08:002009-02-01T18:30:48.621+08:00

The moment Apple announced the iLife 09 application suite, I pre-ordered it straight from the Apple online store, along with iWork 09. iWork 09 shipped immediately, whilst iLife 09 got delayed.iLife 09 was made available last week and it ships in 24 hours from the store. However, my pre-order did not ship immediately. When it did, it slept for more than a day in Hong Kong! The next update was

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-65979565469855893592008-12-27T07:24:00.003+08:002008-12-27T07:50:50.200+08:00

There are thousands of applications available on the iTunes App Store and it is quite difficult to select just a handful as your top applications. However, for purposes of this blog entry, I have selected my top 5 apps for 2008.1. Tweetie (US$2.99) - this Twitter client is one of the simplest, but powerful available out there. One feature that stands out is support for multiple accounts - no need

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-74063969465694959002008-12-27T07:02:00.004+08:002008-12-27T07:20:57.099+08:00

SO I did install Mac OS X on the MSI Wind as an academic exercise but I have yet to push it to its limits. One way is to run another OS on it as a guest OS using a virtualization software such as VirtualBox.I installed Ubuntu 8.10 on VirtualBox and it practically went without a hitch. Upgraded the system and installed GCompris. However, I could not get the sound to work. I also need to make

Romnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-51358156474548169092008-12-13T12:25:00.002+08:002008-12-13T12:34:35.963+08:00

According to M$NBC, owning a Macbook Air or using Linux makes you look like a jerk. These gadgets join the ranks of the Blackberry, iPod accessories, Tivo, bluetooth headsets and Segway. Yeah, even if they did say otherwise, the M$ in M$NBC speaks for itself. :PAnyway, to me, owning a Zune is even worse than any of the gadgets above, except, of course, the bluetooth headset (automatically makes

Romnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-3342939775425400932008-11-23T21:06:00.003+08:002008-11-23T21:16:26.579+08:00

This morning, at 9AM (UTC+8), I configured my Mac to stream audio from Safari to the speakers outside of my room, via AirFoil. I then tuned in to YouTube Live's launch concert in San Francisco.Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!With an estimated concurrent viewers of 700,000, this new feature from YouTube made it an even stronger contender in toppling the media conglomerate with user-generated content!

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-42673801378397822402008-11-17T05:37:00.004+08:002008-11-17T06:19:32.612+08:00

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!Last week, I had the urge to go green - retire an old PC that runs a 300-350watt PSU and replace it with the Asus Eee Box that runs on an average of 20watts. Now, it may not seem that much but I am hoping that my electricity bill will be lowered a bit considering that the PC is often used as a file/media server (transferring stuff from the internet and within the

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-5623046982356599692008-10-21T07:37:00.002+08:002008-10-21T07:53:17.387+08:00

Today, information overload is not uncommon - specially with the way information has been streaming, both in text, audio and video, from practically anywhere. Processing all of these takes a lot of effort - organizing, comprehending, sharing, explaining, you name it. So, I have *finally* decided to simplify everything. (no, i have not reached the point of doing everything even whilst in the loo!)

Romnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-28023159831111859412008-10-19T08:37:00.007+08:002008-10-19T19:38:58.932+08:00

I read a blog post, "Switch to Ubuntu Linux not Apple Mac OS", where the author cited several issues that justify his stand. Switchers, mostly from Windows, are often left with two choices, either the more expensive Mac OS X or the free Unix variants, e.g., Linux, Solaris, BSD. However, it is not always easy to switch. One has to consider a lot of things and whilst the author of the blog post

Romnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-81907971638243794912008-10-19T07:06:00.003+08:002008-10-19T07:37:29.117+08:00

The new all-aluminum Macbooks made it a bit difficult for me to justify getting and using a Macbook Pro. Whilst the Macbook is definitely targeted for the consumers and the Macbook Pro for the professionals, obviously, the added punch is simply a bit too much for me. Some points to consider:1. Processor. The speed is not as significant - 2.4GHz vs 2.53GHz. The cache is definitely a killer but hey

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-32488190975557087072008-10-15T03:55:00.002+08:002008-10-15T04:00:27.351+08:00

Yes, if you allow me to be bold - I say that EDUCATION is the key to solving the world's poverty problem. Unfortunately, most governments, the Philippines included, do not see it this way and would rather be reactive to the problems that currently plague the country AND invest on other things instead of education.In the Philippines, education takes a very little slice of the annual national

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-5751980365776050382008-10-06T20:13:00.002+08:002008-10-06T20:16:59.835+08:00

The UP Diliman Interactive Learning Center (UP DILC) celebrates its 5th anniversary today. Hear Dr. Celia T. Adriano, DILC Director, open the celebration. Happy Birthday, DILC!PS. Apologies for the video quality and the shakiness. :) Video taken using iPhone 2G.

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-44832818795635415082008-10-01T17:23:00.000+08:002008-10-01T17:33:24.798+08:00

There is another attempt in the Senate to add tax on SMS. The plan is to use part of the money collected for education. Whilst the intention is great, I don't think that the means is acceptable. First of all, SMS is the primary means of communication of the masses because of its affordability. When you tax the telcos for every SMS that passes through their network, this added cost will be passed

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-24226675577826628962008-09-29T12:23:00.001+08:002008-09-29T16:31:01.056+08:00

This morning, I called up one of the telcos to ask about their business DSL plans. One thing that I particularly needed to know was the CIR that they offer per subscription package and the answer I got was -"Sorry Sir. I'm new here and not well-known. What is CIR?"Hmmm. Not a good sign. I asked for his supervisor and was informed that they do not provide CIR on any of their DSL packages. Tsk tsk.

Romnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-57052116463565738692008-09-29T07:47:00.000+08:002008-09-29T07:53:11.735+08:00

For a little less than two months now, Bayantel still provides me with crappy service! I pay for 2.5Mbps at USD55/mo and I can only get that bandwidth from 2am to 6am every weekday and I'm lucky if I can get close to it during weekends. Yeah, it is pathetic indeed but not a lot of people are complaining. Maybe if we all complain about it, somebody will hear us. What do you think? Blog about it

Romnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6971007300215142931.post-11718256105572132482008-09-24T08:09:00.002+08:002008-09-29T16:32:11.134+08:00

Well, I figured that maybe it is time to check out Blogger again -- after having all of my blogs hosted by Wordpress. Whilst I have had several versions of my personal blog, I decided to start a new one - one that covers everything under the sun.What's with the title? Wakopaki is a play with the Filipino phrase "Wala ako pakialam", or in English, "I don't care!". Now I leave this to you to find

Romnoreply@blogger.com0