On an instance, here is Xhiarylle’s prayer before she eats:

“Ama, salamat po sa food. Sana po bigyan mo po kami ng maraming pagkain….

….ng chocolates, candy, cake, nips…

AMEN”

Haha! Funny kid.

A few months ago, I told you that I purchased a phone – Sony Ericsson C901. Now, after so many things that I’ve considered, I decided to upgrade and sell my C901.

I will be selling the phone at Php 10,000.

The phone includes the following:

• Original Sony Ericsson headphones
• Original Sony Ericsson Mobile Speaker
• Original Sony Ericsson Leather Belt Case
• Charger
• USB Data Cable
• Sony Memory Stick Mini (8 GB)
• Original Box

If you’re interested, hit the comments or send me an e-mail to wyrloalbert (at) gmail.com

A few weeks ago, our company acquired Digitel’s services to install us DSL connection as part of our “Follow The Sun” model we are following to support fabs globally.

Digitel, after some misunderstandings in the installation date, installed the phone and DSL at our home without me (at the house) since I was at the office. Buti na lang may tao sa bahay. Anyway, they weren’t able to test the DSL connection as there is no power during that time.

After a few days or so, I am still waiting for digitel to go back to our house and set up the DSL. “It is taking them long to install”, I said to myself. So I went ahead and had set it up by myself. Besides, I have a little background in doing so since I worked for PLDT as an intern installing the same services.

However, after so many tinkering, I came to a point where I can no longer do it as it requires some digitel passwords and settings of some sort to setup my DSL. So I called digitel’s 24/7 hotline – 1200. And, oh, trust me did I waste my time. Here’s our discussion with the agent:

CC Agent: “Hello, how may I help you?”
Me: “Hmm…gusto ko sana i-report about my DSL connection? Kaiinstall lang kasi itong phone at sinusubukan ko ang Internet pero wala eh.”

The agent asked me basic information such as my name, family name, and the device number which luckily written at the phone’s box. So, the agent continued to ask me more questions:

CC Agent: “Sir, marunong po ba kayong mag-computer?”
Me: “Ha??!”
CC Agent: “Ahh…alam niyo po your way around sa computer?”
Me: “O…oo?”

(Ahh baka di niya alam na hindi ako nag-cocomputer at first time ko gumamit nun! Timpi.)

CC Agent: “Ah sir, nakailaw po ba yung sa may DSL router niyo?”
Me: “Oo.”
CC Agent: “Eh ilan po naka-ilaw?”
Me: “Tatlo.”
CC Agent: “Ah tatlo. Naka-ilaw po lahat maliban sa Internet?”
Me: “Oo.”

(Sa puntong ito medyo naiirita na ako pero sige kalma pa rin.)

CC Agent: “Ah sir, paki-click yung ‘Start’”
Me: “Ok”
CC Agent: “Tapos Control Panel”

(At this point alam ko na kung san niya ako papupuntahin at nagawa ko na ‘yun pero dahil sa pakikipag-kapwa tao sige tuloy pa rin.)

Me: “O…”
CC Agent: “Tapos right click niyo connection”
Me: “O..”
CC Agent: “Disable”
Me: “O, tapos?”
CC Agent: “Enable po.”
Me: “O..”
CC Agent: “Try po ninyo ulit kung may internet na.”

(Dahil masunurin ako kahit alam ko ng wala talaga chineck ko pa rin dahil baka may himala pero)

Me: “Wala pa rin eh.”
CC Agent: “Ah, ok, sir. Click niyo po ulit start.”
Me: “O tapos?”
CC Agent: “Tapos Run”
Me: “O..”
CC Agent: “Then type niyo cmd.”
Me: “Ok.”
CC Agent: “Tapos type niyo ‘ping‘”
Me: “O..”
CC Agent: “Tapos space.”
Me: “O..”
CC Agent: “Tapos type niyo 192..”

(Pagkasabi niya 192 alam ko na ano gusto niya ipagawa. Pero walang kadala-dala sige tuloy pa rin.)

Me: “O..”
CC Agent: “Dot”
Me: “Tapos?”
CC Agent: “..168..”

(At this point, di na ako nakapag-pigil. Masyado ng matagal kaya…)

Me: “Actually, nagawa ko na yang sasabihin mo. Nakakapasok ako sa router mismo pero wala pa ring interent.”
CC Agent (Nagulat): “Ah ganun ba?”
CC Agent: “Sige irerefer ko nlng po kayo sa technical agent namin!”

(Ngek! Akala ko siya na yung tech agent! Naiirita na talaga ako.)

CC Agent: “Kunin ko na lang po iba pang information niyo.”
CC Agent: “Ano pong address niyo?”

(Sinabi ko naman ang address ng bahay namin.)

CC Agent: “Ah, —-. San po malapit sa inyo?”
Me: “Sa tapat lang ng —–.”

(Silence with typing sa background)

CC Agent: “May email po ba kayo sir?”
Me: “Oo.”
CC Agent: “Ano po yun?”

(Binigay ko email address ko)

CC Agent: “Eh phone, meron po ba?”
Me: “O..oo? Heto nga gamit ko, kausap ka.”
CC Agent: “A..a..oo nga pala. Eh ano number pala sir?”

(Sinabi ko number ko habang pinipigilang tumawa)

CC Agent: “Eh celphone mumber sir?”

(Sinabi ko rin number ko)

CC Agent: “Is there anything else that I can help you with sir?”
Me: “Ha? So paano ba yung kalakaran nito? Tatawag kayo? Mag-e-email?”
CC Agent: “Ah sir tatawagan na lang po namin kayo o mag eemail after icheck ng technical namin kung ano problema. Checheck nila dito tapos baka po pupunta sila dyan sa inyo.”

(Sa puntong ito suko na ako kaya hindi na ako nagtanong pa o kaya dinagdagan ang mga sinabi ko)

Me: “Ah, ok sige.”
CC Agent: “Is there anything else?”
Me: “Wala na.”
CC Agent: “Sige, sir.”

(Binaba ko na agad ang telepono.)

Hhhaaaaayyyyy!!

Photo by fusionbposervice.blogetery.com

If you’re using Microsoft Office Outlook as your main e-mail client and is getting the “Cannot Start Microsoft Office Outlook…” error, don’t lose hope which made “re-install outlook” as your first option. Here’s a way for you to fix this.

Step(s) Procedure(s)

1. Click your Start button, then click Run…
2. Type the following command: Outlook.exe /resetnavpane

Now you should be able to see a dialog window informing you that your outlook wasn’t closed properly from your last session of outlook. It will now try to fix your outlook.

Hope this helped!

Facebook has been the favorite social platform of many. It connects people from different parts of the world. Heck, I found my elementary classmates in facebook. I even found someone back then whom I always have a crush on my kindergarten days whom I want to know what or where she is already or how is doing.

But these could go end cause there could be someone who will get into the social media game – Google. Yep, according to some news, Google has plans to compete with Facebook and they will call it Google Me.

Kevin Rose, of Digg fame, got the speculation rolling Sunday with a tweet that Google was working on a social service called Google Me that would compete with Facebook, perhaps Google’s biggest rival for attention on the Internet. On Tuesday, former Facebook executive and Quora founder Adam D’Angelo took things a little further by declaring on Quora that “this is not a rumor. This is a real project. There are a large number of people working on it. I am completely confident about this.” [CNet]

Now, I am psyched! I have to check this out when it will be online. I’ve been looking for other great place after Facebook disappointed me on their new image quality format (which looks really crap). I just hope Google Me will deliver this great. Besides, the photos they have in picasaweb is great. And maybe they will link Google Me and PicasaWeb. Now that’s spectacular!

So, are you still staying with Facebook after Google launches Me?

P.S. It looks like Google Me has a movie too which probably could give you an idea how Google plans to do or something like an idea where Google is going with this social media war. But…isn’t facebook has a movie too?

Competition is everywhere. Whether in sports, entertainment, or work, laging may kasamang competition. Hindi siguro natin maiiwasan ang magkaroon ng ganyan. Lalo na kung ang isa ay hayok sa ganyang scenario. Where that individual acts that there’s no tomorrow and everything he [or she] does must be on his [or her] advantage. Dahil siguro parang mamatay na siya kung lilipas ang isang araw na hindi niya maramdaman sa sarili niya na nangunguna siya sa lahat ng bagay.

Is competition good or bad? Well, I say both. That’s the two edge of the blade.

The first edge brings fruitful results. This brings to what you can call a win-win situation. Where each individual gains. Where each party felt good in the end. Neither felt down nor felt minuscule on their abilities or skills. This should be the ideal edge an individual should aim. Unless that individual is too damn proud and despicably self-centered and opted the other side of the blade.

The other edge breeds crap, individualism, egoistic kind of individual. A kind of individual where everyone should listen to what he [or she] says. Where everything that comes out from him [or her] is gold. Where he [or she] feels the need to get to the top in any way possible – even it means to put someone else down to being a piece of crap.

Wala naman talaga masama makipag-compete eh. Just make sure na isinasaalang-alang mo din ang tingin o nararamdaman ng iba. Na alam mong hindi sa lahat ng panahon tama ka. Na hindi lahat ng ginagawa mo ay ang nararapat gawin. Na hindi lang ikaw ang tao sa mundo. Na hindi ka Presidente na lahat ng sasabihin mo ay tama at naayon na dapat sundin ng nakararami. Na may ibang tao din na may opinion. Na hindi sa lahat ng larangan magaling ka. Na hindi lahat ng ideya ay nadiskubre mo at lahat ng ginawa o ginagawa mo ay galing sa sarili mong kukote.

Each and everyone is different. Yes, I know. But does that mean that we have to compete with each and everyone just to have a place in this freakin’ society? Do we need to let everyone know na saksakan ka ng galing? Na sukdulan ka ng kaalaman? Is it hard for you not to compete? Is it hard to accept that there are some things that you don’t know and you need others to help you? Is it impossible to accept that someone else’s idea is much better that what you have taught? Is it that hard to give or share ideas [or what you know] to someone else and don’t think of your advantage for a while?

I am not saying I am exempted to everything I am saying here. I am very open din naman kung sasabihin mo sa akin kung isa sa mga iyan ay ginawa o ginagawa ko o kaya naman hindi ko nagagawa. That I am willing to look back my actions and correct it if necessary. Wala naman kasi akong pakialam sa pakikipagpataasan eh. The important thing is, I am doing what I am suppose to do and be good at it with or without the approval of someone else. I am willing and not afraid to share what I know and be blunt to tell you what I don’t know.

Why don’t we get along and just have the good edge of the blade? Why don’t we set aside how we look good in the eyes of someone else and rather concentrate how can we be excellent in what we do. Why don’t we compete in a way that we all benefit from it? Besides, we are in the same environment and want the same goal are we not?

There are two kinds of people: Those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group because there is less competition there. -Indira Gandhi

Now, another has joined the party – Texas Instruments (TI).

Yep, TI will be going to release a tablet named Blaze. Now, with that name we expect it to be fast and packed with cool and amazing features. And looking at the below list of features made my jaw dropped and burned my geek and techie desire inside me.

I want one!

Core Logic
OMAP4430 1GHz application and multimedia processor IC
TWL6030 Phoenix power management IC
TWL6040 Phoenix audio IC
CDC3S04 clock driver IC

Memory
1 GB lpDDR2
32 GB eMMC v4.41

Display
10.4” XGA (1024 x 768) LCD
One (1) standard v1.1a DisplayPort connector
External pico DLP Projector Support
HDMI

User Interface
Projected Capacitance Touch (PCT) sensor
Multi-touch capable touch screen controller
Three (3) tri-color status LEDs used as backlight for “OS” buttons
Two (2) unbalanced mass vibration motors

Buttons and Switches
One (1) recessed, externally operable reset button
One (1) power on/off button
Three (3) front screen “OS” buttons
One (1) “lock” switch
One (1) battery mode switch

Serial Interfaces
One (1) HS USB OTG
Two (2) HS USB host ports

Removable Media
One (1) full size 8-bit SD/MMC external connector
One (1) full size SD/MMC internal connector
One (1) SIM card for modem support

Audio
One (1) 3.5 mm stereo headset jack for audio output and MIC input
Two (2) 1W RMS speakers
Four (4) digital microphones

Expansion
One (1) COM connector for connectivity modules
One (1) full miniPCIe connector for modem modules

Connectivity
WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) via WL1283 COM7 module
BT via WL1283 COM7 module
GPS via WL1283 COM7 module
FM TX/RX via WL1283 COM7 module
Modem (Wide Area Network) Support
LTE modem support via standard miniPCIe module
3G modem support via standard miniPCIe module
To clarify, only one modem can be used at any given moment

Sensors
3-axis accelerometer
3-axis gyro
Temperature sensor
Ambient light sensor
Proximity sensor
Pressure (barometric) sensor
Digital compass

External Camera modules (optional)
5MP AF camera modules mounted externally on tablet frame
The camera module(s) will be connected to the Blaze via standard HDMI cables
Each OMAP4430 CSI-2 camera interface will have a dedicated HDMI-style connector

Mechanical
The mechanical envelope, is 10.48″ (266.094 mm) x 8.28″ (210.294 mm) x 1.14″ (29 mm)
The frame of Blaze Tablet is aluminum
The frame of the Blaze Tablet will be grooved to allow for external camera module and pico DLP projector attachment
The attachment system will provide flexibility to the pointing angles of the external camera modules and pico DLP projector

Power
Support for USB power
One (1) standard 5V input for wall power
4100 mAHr single-cell LiON Battery

Debug
One (1) 802.3 (wired) Ethernet port (RJ-45 connector)
One (1) MIPI Test and Debug connector
One (1) USB connector which has serial (UART) data
Optional debug LEDs

WOW! Now, that’s a high-end techie device! (The pico projector got me). Blaze will be released this August. Oh, and by the way, this is for developers only. So, to all developers out there, this device is for you so start breaking a lot of piggy banks you’ve been hiding.

What do you think of this device? Hit the comments.

(Hmmm…I wonder how many will I break?)

[SlashGear]

In fact, the encryption is so amazing that even FBI – yep, FBI of the United States – can’t break the encryption even they took years to do so.

The FBI has admitted defeat in attempts to break the open source encryption used to secure hard drives seized by Brazilian police during a 2008 investigation.

The Bureau had been called in by the Brazilian authorities after the country’s own National Institute of Criminology (INC) had been unable to crack the passphrases used to secure the drives by suspect banker, Daniel Dantas.

Brazilian reports state that two programs were used to encrypt the drives, one of which was the popular and widely-used free open source program TrueCrypt. Experts in both countries apparently spent months trying to discover the passphrases using a dictionary attack, a technique that involves trying out large numbers of possible character combinations until the correct sequence is found.

Now, I’m definitely keep using TrueCrypt!

More of the story in Techworld.com – FBI hackers fail to crack TrueCrypt.

Well, for some time I am using the lastpass extension from lastpass.com and for quite some time, I am loving it. The first thing I wanted to know is how secure is it? How safe my passwords to them? Well, I did some checking and a bit of research, as well as reading some user reviews and some forum discussions. Then I came to a decision to go and try it.

Here are some of the major things I found and love which I look for on a password manager:

Cross-platform

Lastpass is cross-platform. Meaning you can use it on different browsers. Whether you are using IE, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari, etc, they have it for you. Heck, they even have some mobile apps for the iPhone and blackberry.

Ease of Use

Lastpass is very easy to use. You just need to fill out the necessary username/password of your account and it automatically fill in or login to the page. They even have some sort of auto fill in for forms like what Roboform does.

They also have a portable app called Lastpass pocket, where just like keepass, you can download your encrypted password database and view your passwords even though you don’t have any internet.

You can also import from a wide variety of password manager which some of them are firefox password manager, keepass, one password, and many more.

Moreover, they also have password generator, too. Cool!

Security

This is the feature I am very sensitive of. Well, you’re talking about your passwords. Your key to all your gates through your online life. So this is very crucial.

I spent many times reading some topics in forums regarding lastpass and from what I found is that it looks like lastpass doesn’t keep your passwords or any information about your sensitive data. What they do is that when you enter your desired master password they will hash it along with your username with an AES-256 encryption and they do it locally. They don’t do it in their end. So, what they only get is gibberish random characters so even lastpass developers don’t know what is your username and password is. Now that, I think, is secure.

So, that’s it. My quick review about lastpass. And from some time that I am using it, it looks like I will be staying with this one (sorry keepass).

How about you? What’s your password manager? Why don’t you try this one? This, I recommend.

Update:

The great security guru – Steve Gibson – from grc.com, did a full review on lastpass. And from his review, it seems he trusts lastpass. Now knowing how Steve is with security, I guess I am really staying with lastpass and if I have some money I’ll get the $1/month premium ‘coz I think is very reasonable.

Here’s the transcript from Steve’s website about his review.

The new version of the well know browser, for its high quality both in security and customization, looks cool and even more snappier from previous versions. Below are some of my first impression on the new version.

Looks thinner and added new UI features

I am fond of minimalist designs so as soon as I saw the new UI firefox 4, I was amazed with how it looked. Although it still has the same components – menu bar, tabs, navigation buttons, address bar, and the search bar, the new look is stunning. I like how they made it thinner to get more screen space.

And on to that note of getting more screen space, it looks like the firefox team puts a new way of displaying the menu. After you get the menu bar removed, you will see a new Firefox bar at the left most part of the tab bar and there you can access the menu. Also, aside from this, you will get a bookmark button right beside the search bar which I think is cool. And the pie looking thing beside the web page name is new as well.

Another thing I noticed on the new UI, is that you can now re-size any textbox to your desired size just by dragging while holding your left mouse button. This I believe is new compared to previous versions of firefox. Well, I am not surprised with this feat since I first saw this used in Chrome but this is new to firefox.

Speed

Well I didn’t ran any speed test with this new version of firefox but it just feels faster. Loading of web pages loads much faster which I am only seeing in Chrome. But, hey, I am not saying it is faster than chrome. Unless someone runs a speed test and shows me that this new version of firefox is faster than Chrome, I am still putting my money on Chrome when we are talking about speed.

Well, that’s my first impression about firefox 4 and it looks promising. Probably, I will get back to firefox but not now I guess. I still like the speed and minimalist look of Chrome.

Issues

Issues I found so far is sudden  loss of my cursor and some buttons un-clickable. I have to refresh the page or close the whole browser to get it back. Aside from this, so far so good.

So, what do you think about the new Firefox 4?