Acer Aspire 5315-2142 Laptop

Mar 4, 2008JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

Specifications:

Acer Aspire features a 15.4 WXGA Acer Crystalbrite LCD wide screen laptop monitor. With this size, you can enjoy watching movies in widescreen format and enhance your gameplay and internet surfing. It has an Intel Celeron processor 540 with speeds of up to 1.86 Ghz, 533 Mhz front side bus and a 1MB L2 cache. A 1 GB DDR2 of memory is available right out of the box which can boost those memory intensive applications. The laptop's video card harbors up to 252 MB of memory Mobile Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X3100, enough for the some of the latest mid-sized games in the market today. 120GB of hard drive space which you can use to store lots of data like music files, movies and pictures which you can then later burn on it's DVD-Super Multi DL optical drive. When it comes to connectivity, Acer Aspire 5315-2142 has a built in Wifi which is capable of connecting to other devices and on the internet wirelessly. Windows Vista Home Premium Edition is the OS installed in the laptop.

Pictures after the jump. Note: This is not a sponsored post!

Technorati Tags: Acer Aspire 5315-2142, Wee Laptop

Labels: Personal, Reviews, Technology

Smart's myTV experiences technical problems

Nov 5, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

Last Friday, November 2, 2007, we went back to Smart Wireless Center in Festival Mall Alabang to report the problem "again" about the error in the mobile device (N92) regarding their myTV service. It happened before (October 28) and the customer representative at that time provided solutions in which he did by re-setting/re-format the mobile device. We don't have any ideas as to what was the cause of the device error. The rep. didn't provide any extra details about the possibilities on how did the error occurred on the first place.

The error was all about the "program guide" under N92's mobile TV application. These program guides are being loaded whenever the application was started for the first time or if there's a need to after the phone was out of the broadcast range for some time.

"Mobile TV uses a large amount of device memory to store the program guide. The device attempts to update the program guide periodically even if Mobile TV is not on."

excerpted from Nokia N92 User's Guide page 12

MTV Philippines is the only one viewable channel on myTV without activating the subscription. Among the package are these 9 premium cable channels which requires activation by subscribing on to myTV. Smart myTV is a per month subscription which costs a flat rate of P488/month.

The problem we encountered with our N92 was that the premium channels are no longer viewable anymore. We can still watch MTV but the rest pops-out a message "End of Preview" every time we select these premium channels. You need to select "Preview" from the phone's "Options" menu in which the device retrieves the activation rights through 3G or GPRS connection... but to no avail. "Can't connect SmartBundle1 to server. Program guides are not up-to-date" is the only message returned every time. Under Mobile TV settings, the subscriptions indicate that the phone is still subscribed to SmartBundle1. I don't get it. What is causing the error? When the phone experienced the problem the 2nd time around, I thought the device itself was the culprit. The next thing that went in to my mind was to replace the unit. We acquired the handset from them (Smart Wireless) through a plan. It's possible since it was still weeks old and we have the official receipt on hand. We only found the answer when we went back to the wireless center.

Since I am the techie guy in the family, my mom let me do the talking and explained the details about the unit's problem. The help desk lady there said that...

"We need to re-set the unit sir."

That was quick. I never expected a straightforward answer. Before I ask her again, my mind tells me that the lady knows about this already or she encountered the same problem as ours from previous customers. I then asked her as to what is causing the error. Is it the phone? She replied then.

"Sir myTV service is experiencing technical/system problems at the moment. There's no notice yet on when the issue will be resolved. The only solution at this time is to re-set/re-format your device to bring back it's default software and hardware configurations. You must backup your contacts to your memory card as this will wipe them off."

I said...

"So you mean we have to go here (Smart Wireless) and let the helpdesk re-format our device whenever the problem occurs again?" That's a hassle.

"That's the only option sir."

I asked her to teach me instead on how to perform the soft reset and the hard reset. So that the next time the error occurred again, I will be the one who will reformat the device. No hassle on going to them again. The procedures only requires you to enter some code on the phone to do the re-setting. The lady gladly noted the steps on a piece of paper. Within 3 minutes, she already finished the re-setting and we were able to watch the premium channels again.

Aside from N92, N77 and P were also affected by the problem. Since the program guides are updated periodically by the phone itself, there's nothing at the moment that can prevent the error from happening. How's that for a newly launched first of its kind service in the country? Will this be the same with the Smart Wifi issue in which it was re-branded to Smart Bro because of numerous complaints? Will Smart re-brand myTV if ever the early implementations of this service don't click? Not to mention the protest the service is facing from PCTA. As of this writing, the Smart myTV service subscription is still FREE (contrary to their "until August 31 free-view period") until further notice. That means I have to enjoy free live cable channels on the phone... up to sawa!

Subscriber's who own Mobile TV capable handset's (specifically N92 and N77) may inquire about the methods on how to re-set the device. Just email me (located on my Contacts). I'll provide you the methods for soft reset and the code for hard reset. This procedure may only work on N-series devices.

UPDATE 11/24/07: Smart already has details about the soft reset procedure. However in my case, it is not enough. One should do both, the soft and hard reset to fully reset the phone.


Technorati Tags: Smart My TV, DVB-H, DVB_H

Labels: Mobile Services, Philippines, Reactions, Reviews, Technology

Random Post: Traffic Surge and Smart's MyTV

Oct 25, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

There's a lot of things keeping me from acting normally for the past weeks. ^_^. However, these won't hinder me from blogging and at least visit some blogs and able to comment on some posts. I do have several draft posts since the start of my "so called" vacation status. Aside from these, we are still processing our SmartBRO SME application on one of Smart's Wireless Centers. We're hoping for an immediate approval.

This is my random post which includes 2 different topics related to my "kinaaabalahan" from the past weeks. Traffic surge to my blog due to my previous music album review posts and the Smart MyTV tests.

Traffic surge

My recent post about APO's newest addition to their tribute album entitled Kami nAPO Muna Ulit Album gained an increase in my blog's overall traffic for the past few weeks. Traffic that now comes from "search engines" replacing my "referral traffic" to second place again based from Google Analytics. With the help of Google Webmaster tools, most of the search returns for these particular keywords (Kami napo Muna ulit track list) made my post land on the first page. Sometimes among the top 5 to 10 search results. Same thing happened to my last week's post about Nina's newest Special Edition CD. Posting about new music album releases is effective if you ask me. Especially when you are among the very few who posted something about it immediately. It took just under 12 hours to notice that the keywords "Nina Barry Manilow" appeared through my web stats. I am grateful that Google spiders indexed my blog that fast.

MyTV

This past week, I'm testing Smart's newest service named "MyTV" that let's you watch digital video broadcast on selected mobile phones. Smart does have this subscription package that includes channels like what your local cable providers provide in your television sets. CNN, Jack TV, Cartoon Network... to name a few (I believe there are 10) are included in the myTV subscription package. The subscription rate is a per month basis which usually costs P488 for both prepaid and postpaid. Currently supported handsets are N92 and the newly released N77 of the Nokia N-Series. These handsets are able to receive DVB-H or Digital Video Broadcast signal in which the included channels under myTV are able to broadcast.

"Digital Video Broadcast - Hand held (DVB-H) is the technology driving mobile TV. A combination of conventional digital video and IP, DVB-H scales for smaller devices a technology that's already in place in millions of TV sets worldwide."

N92 is bulky and much heavier than the rest of Nokia's N-Series. N77 is just released recently which features sleek design and much lighter than N92. It also offers DVB-H reception.

Setting up Smart's myTV on N92 requires patience and an adequate signal from your mobile carrier. Since Smart broadcast this new signal transmission aside from 3G, HSDPA, GPRS, SMS, MMS and voice calls, many cable providers in the country protested against it.

"Officials of the Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) petitioned for the issuance of a cease and desist order against the myTV services being offered by leading telecommunications giant Smart Corp. But why? The reason? Visit this link"

We have a low penetration of Smart signal inside our house due to a factory meters behind our subdivision. We must find an exact spot where the signal is consistent just to stream digital TV broadcast. Mobile TV application on N92 requires scanning for "program guides" to know the available channels in your mobile carrier. The subscription that was already settled and agree to had not been activated on the phone*. It requires connection to the web to download subscription user rights to watch that particular channel. Nevertheless, I'm able to watch MTV Philippines since it was one of the local channels here in the country that broadcast through DVB-H. And it is free!

"I read that ABSCBN 2 will also go digital. Will this mean that the network will go for digital streaming through DVB-H to hand held devices? "

The video stream is clear and pix elations normally happen when the signal drops or interferences in the signal occurred.

*UPDATE: I just created a new subscription and able to receive activation rights from SmartBundle. What I found was that the subscription rate was 1 peso per month contrary to the P488 per month. I don't know but that is what I saw before the channels are unlocked. So far all channels are now accessible.

Images below: N92 with Smart's myTV in action.














UPDATE 10/30/2007: The subscription from SmartBundle1 suddenly ended for no apparent reason. I'm receiving "Preview Ended" message on the mobile phone whenever I watch unlocked cable channels. Now that is locked again, I try to re-activate it but haven't succeeded. I'm still seeing SmartBundle1 continuous indicated under subscriptions. But why? MTV Philippines which is the default accessible channel unlocked was the only one viewable at the moment.

UPDATE 10/31/2007: We went to Smart Wireless Center in Festival Mall Alabang to inquire about the problem. We find out that the phone need to be reformatted due to a memory device error. How did it get an error? No idea actually. The next thing happened, the customer representative were able to access the channels again. Back home, I did a recap of the phone's manual. Based on the manual, "program guides" are automatically downloaded onto the device memory whenever the Mobile TV is launched for the first time or there's a need to in case the phone has been out of range from the DVB-H signal. This program guide eats huge amount of disk space on the device and this contains the actual updated program schedules every hour of everyday of every channel. What I know is that the phone's program guide was corrupted somehow and that the phone can't update the program guides in it. Without some visual notice on the phone regarding the true problem, the device only pops-out a message "Preview Ended" whenever I watch channels aside from MTV. Whenever I request for a license to view the channels, the phone returns an error "Can't connect to SmartBundle1 server. Program guides are not up-to-date!". See what I mean? So the best way to fix this is to reformat if somehow the phone experiences these problems again. The question is, why and how did the phone's memory become corrupted?

UPDATE 11/02/07: The phone experienced the problem again this morning before we went to Divisoria in Binondo. We decided to go back again to Smart Wireless Center to reformat it somehow and inquire if the phone is defective. I asked this lady on the customer service area and ask her about the phone's problem. We find out what caused the error and the help desk representative provided me with the solution if ever the error appeared again. I'll post more about this on the 5th of November 2007.


Technorati Tags: Smart MyTV, DVB-H, N92

Labels: Mobile Services, Music, Philippines, Reviews, Technology

1Mbps DSL Speed Experience

Sep 19, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

I'm thrilled to see my DSL modem speed indicators shows that our Internet connection now streams data of up to a megabyte downstream and 512 kbps upstream. It was an unexpected event although earlier we planned to upgrade our land line as soon as possible. I never thought that the upgrade will include the increase in DSL speeds until I found out later on during the course of the negotiations.


It was more than two years ago since we took the offer of some house to house salesmen of having a DSL connection at home. They're good in sales talk and been able to convince my parents to acquire one. The plan includes a telephone line which uses a prepaid card to make outgoing calls and a DSL connection with speeds of up to 128kbps downstream and 6kbps upstream. We took the offer and after 3 weeks, we have a new land line and a DSL. The speed was at that time considered fast for me compared to the dial up speeds which reaches speeds of up to 6kbps only. Month's later they upgraded our downstream and upstream speeds to 128/96 kbps at no extra cost. The connection stayed for a year and a half until this September. My mom grew tired of dialing numerous numbers and pin codes just to make an outgoing call. We decided then to request an upgrade from our telephone provider.

My mom requested that our land line be upgraded from using a phone card to a direct dial. A plan was negotiated between her and the tel co officer. It was then agreed that the line will be fully upgraded within a couple of days based on the contract of agreement. The DSL speed therefore will be upgraded to a higher speed as well. The cost of the upgrade plus the new monthly bill will not be disclosed as of this writing. One day, tada!... we have a new land line number and a new DSL speed upgrade.



As some of you may know, the speed 1Mbps indicated by perhaps all companies that offer broadband is not consistent. This explains that plans of 1Mbps download speed or more is not necessarily mean that you can experience that speed consistently all day long. The broadband providers clearly states that your DSL connection speed will reach only up to a maximum dedicated speed indicated on your plan. In my experiences for the past week, I'm able to see download speeds of up to 800-850kbps downstream during peak hours and 900-1Mbps download speed during off peak hours. Based on my observations, as the number of subscribers using the Internet declines (during off peak hours and depends on the area), the chances for others (who are online at that time) to experience their maximum download speed increases, and vice versa. Then again, it depends on which area are you located. These are only my observations and these may contain inaccuracies. Please let me know. :D

Going back to my 1Mbps experience, having this connection 4 times faster than the previous speed is I think too much for me. Compared to my everyday living, I only use the PC mostly for Internet surfing. I only use the Internet to surf, do blogging, download music and files and watching some YouTube videos. That's it. Having this speed is like using a rented PC in a computer shop in Glorietta which costs P150 per hour. But how fast the current Internet connection speed will be?

In the Philippines nowadays, 2Mbps is now offered to residential communities both wired and wireless broadband with a fixed monthly plan. It doesn't end there as the penetration of DSL and wireless broadband and their speed as well increases. Based on Speedtest.net global stats, the country which has the fastest Internet download speeds was Japan with 10.443 Mbps (Huwaw!). Followed by Singapore and HongKong. For more of the Internet data speed statistics, head on to Speedtest Global Stats.

Having a 1Mbps or more download speed let's you do more than your usual common broadband speeds.

1. Watch lots and lots of Video clips from YouTube and P*rnTube ^_^
2. Download pirated movies and large files at the least amount of time
3. Upload music and movies
4. Watch live streaming TV in high resolution on your PC
5. Setup your own Internet radio station
6. Host your own live show on the web using your webcam. Lol!
7. Use it to make outgoing and incoming calls via VOIP
8. Watch Hi-resolution movie trailers on Apple's website
9. Play online games
10. and many more (I ran out of ideas already).

For now, I'm still figuring out the best way to utilize the fast broadband speed. I'm watching podcasts now instead of streaming them on audio. I'm thinking of hosting my own radio station which I want to do a few months ago. Hmm... What do you think?

Technorati Tags: DSL, Broadband, Digitel

Labels: Internet, Personal, Philippines, Technology

Yahoo! Go for Mobile

Aug 8, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

Yahoo! Go is optimized for the “small screen” of a mobile phone, making it easy and fun to access the Internet. Everything about the Yahoo! Go interface is designed to be both visually stunning and give you what you want with the fewest clicks possible.

At its core is the carousel, used to navigate intuitively among the various Yahoo! Go widgets: your own personal channels for email, local info & maps, news, sports, finance, entertainment, weather, Flickr™ photos and search. Simply use the carousel to scroll over to the widget you want. Since Yahoo! Go uses advanced caching and background loading technology, your widget content is automatically and continuously “pushed” to your phone, so it’s always right there when you want it. You don’t need to endure lengthy downloads or navigate loads of links to get to what you want.

The Widgets:

Search: Yahoo Go has an integrated search that outputs comprehensive results right on your mobile. It also includes your Yahoo Calendar and Address book.
Local: Put a map on your mobile. Use it to navigate and locate shops, restaurants, and many more.
Mail: Check your mail using your Yahoo mail user name and password. Acts just like a browser based email. Now you can take your mail wherever you go. Compose, make a reply, delete messages...just like the ordinary. Yahoo Go email let's you synchronize with your actual Yahoo Mail account so you have total control of your mail.
Flickr: Do have a flickr account? Yahoo Go seamlessly integrates your flickr account with Yahoo Go. Now you can view your flickr photos right on your mobile phone. You can also upload your picture from your mobile phone onto your flickr account so your friends can see and share them on the web.
News: Know what's going on the world today. Get up-to-the minute reports and events that is making headlines straight to your Yahoo Go account.
Sports: Be in the know with Yahoo Go sports.
Finance: Know the exact foreign exchange rates and market news that is making headlines around the world using Yahoo Finance.
Entertainment: Information about entertainment and showbiz news both local and international.
Weather: Yahoo Go brings you weather information in the palm of your hands. Know your weekly forecasts on your area.

Downloading Yahoo Go on your mobile requires you to browse the website, choose your carrier (if you're in the US) or Yahoo Go's supported phones and mobile devices.

Phone's currently supported are: Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Palm and HTC.

By selecting your specific phone, you need to choose your country on the drop down list and input your mobile number. Click on Submit button and Yahoo will send you an SMS message containing the link to download the application. Note, you need an active internet connection via your phone's mode of transfer via GPRS or 3G to proceed with the download. There is a step by step guide on how to use the application when you first run Yahoo Go.

Installing Yahoo Go on my Nokia N70 phone is easier than I thought. The duration of the download and installation depends on the network connection and the phone itself. At first when I successfully installed Yahoo Go on my phone, I encountered an error when I tried to launch it. I remembered that the storage location I did for the installation files was set to phone memory. This is maybe the culprit so I uninstall ed Yahoo Go and did a re-install once more. This time I set the storage location of the installation files on my memory card. Tada! it worked and I'm able to scroll the try the services Yahoo Go has to offer.

So far, I've tried all of it's features represented in a small widget icon that you can just flip using your phones left and right keys. The only thing that's missing is the Yahoo Messenger for mobile, To avail of Yahoo Messenger for mobile you need to use a mobile browser. Web messenger for mobile is currently the medium for Yahoo's instant messaging service. Overall the GUI is nice and very intuitive and comparing to Gmail's mobile application, Yahoo Go won this time. But hey, there are a lot of brilliant minds working in Google. Sooner or later they will unveil a mobile application that could stand-out from the others. Let's wait and see.

You can try the demo, click the image below:

Technorati Tags: Yahoo Go

Labels: Internet, Mobile Services, Reviews, Technology

Surface Computing from Microsoft

Jun 1, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

Have you ever imagined the technology existed on science fiction movies, one that is so advanced you couldn't think it would be possible to make one? Well at least on this decade alone? You probably want some of those scientific gizmos and gadgets in a sci-fi movie and wish that engineers and scientists had made a way to bring that technology a bit earlier from the expected future.

Sci-fi movies never fails to impress me. I'm an avid fan of every finest sci-fi movies Hollywood has ever produced. One of my favorites was Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report". The technology there is so advanced particular is the ability to use your hands as an input device to control elements on screen. It may seem too far fetched in our current age of technology but the guys at Microsoft actually made an exemption.

The new computer that sits in a coffee table that promises a lot of new revolutionary features including multi-touch technology and inter-connectivity of wireless devices.

It's awesome, right?! Who would think that this kind of computer could exist today. So revolutionary and so high-tech. This is clearly a head turner.


Technorati Tags: Surface, Multi-touch Technology, Surface Computing

Labels: Computers, Technology

Sight-seeing tayo with Google Earth

May 28, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

Oh men. I was suppose to post a meme tag from Adianka. However, I lost my interest already. Sorry for that. Now, to keep my posting frequency at least once a week, I decided to create a new post from scratch. I remember my reliable software application "Google Earth" and it's been there in my PC for month's, unused. I use Google Earth for directions and for sight-seeing. It gives you a birds eye view of a country, city, or the very location where you are now. So why not make this a post for this week? And so I did. I decided to share some of the places I've been to with details about my experiences and blah-blah's happened on that location. It includes images taken from Google Earth.

Random places I've been to.
Below are links to the image which contains details of a particular location

1. My Crib - bahay ko.
2. Amazing Grace School - My secondary school located at San Pedro Laguna
3. San Lorenzo School - Been here from Grade 1 and 2 only.
4. AMA Makati - Where I graduated with a course of BSIT
5. Araneta Coliseum
6. Alabang Town Center
7. Batangas Seaport - been here more than 20 times (estimate)
8. Centennial Airport
9. Enchanted Kingdom
10. Festival Mall Alabang
11. Makati Malls (Greenbelt, Landmark, Glorietta and SM Makati)
12. SM Southmall Las Pinas
13. Splash Island Binan Laguna
14. SM Megamall
15. Mt. Guiting-guiting (Added: 29 May 07)

Places I want to go
1. 19 East Sucat
2. Amanpulo Resort
3. Dubai
4. Hong Kong Disneyland
5. Petronas Twin Towers Malaysia
6. White House - Crib ni Bush
7. Carabao and Boracay Island (Added: 29 May 07)
8. Puerto Galera (Added: 29 May 07)

I'll add additional places tomorrow. I'm busy these days looking for a job online as well as being a walk-in applicant.

For now, I wanna try this "new thing"... pauso ni Jhed, originally from Carl. It is a method of increasing your Alexa Rankings. Read below for instructions.
P.S. : add nio blog ko. wee!

~Start Copying Here~

Alexa Redirect Train by Carl Ocab.

Rules:

Put anything you like above this list – Chit Chat, talkies, introduce what this is. Something like that.

Start copying on the “~Start Copying Here~” and copy all the things listed without removing the links. (Of course, the train would be no use without those links.)

Move all the sites labeled “Newcomers” to the list labeled “Oldies.”

Add 5 sites that you want to include in the train and make their link like this: http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?www.example.com then invite them to join the train.

Visit all the listed sites! (That’s not much work! Remember, if you plant good seeds they will also grow good) and look at your high Alexa ranking next week!

Newcomers:

Lalon| The Thumbsucker
Hethler | Naruto Shipuuden
Nash | Behind Wonderland
Carl | Padre Salvi
Yatot | Yatot Chronicles

Oldies:
Ako si Eagleman
Utakgago
Christian | ASTEEG.NET
Darwin
Fruity
Vinci | The Green Grin
ES2PIDO|Estudyanteng Pinoy Dormitorian
Billycoy’s Blasted Brain Blogs
The Dork Factor
YNA
Juice
Prudence and Madness
Unsent: Notes To and From My Former Self
L.A.’s Artworks
The Journal of the Jester-In-Exile
Atheista
Shari
Will
Ade
Liz
Helga
Female Gamer
Garry Conn
Pinoy Seminars
Sasha@Akoni
Bookmarks
Cafe Romanza
Blog About Money Online
Manila Mom
ScottPot
How to earn money online?
Quasi Fictional
Make Money Blogging!
Make Money Online 2.0
Nate Whitehill
Jozzua
Grow your Writing Business
CultureShiok
Gary Lee
Smart Wealthy Rich
TechZi
Make Money Online with a 13-year Old
Erik Karey: Internet Entrepreneur
Tjantunen.com
Hate The Grind
Earn Money Blogging
Sasha
Ate Ghee
Mousey Ju
Cai
Karen/Malaya
Wendy
Jenny
Fhaye
Karmi
Manilenya
KeysiNunez

~End Copying Here~

Technorati Tags: Google Earth

Labels: Internet, My Life, Others, Philippines, Technology

$500M Fiber Optic Cable Under Construction

May 1, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

A new fiber optic cable is being constructed to connect directly the US and Asia above the Pacific sea floor. For those of you who doesn't know, there are numerous undersea cables that are interconnected to different countries to provide cheap telecommunication services and Internet access. That is why we can connect to other countries via voice communication, data transmissions and the like. This new connection they claim is relatively safe from earthquake damage. This is in reaction to the recent event happened last December 2006 when an undersea cable linking Taiwan and the the rest of the Asian countries snapped due to an earthquake. This brought a massive slowdown on the communications and data services around that region. It took days before partial restoration has been acquired.

I remember that PLDT suffered largely from what had happened. Mostly, their data services which includes PLDT MyDSL suffered a slowdown and subscribers had been complaining about it. After they heard the news, most waited for the services to be restored. Also, some other Telco's in the country have problems due to the event. I am a Digitel subscriber and I haven't experienced any problems prior to that event.

So, 17 firms including our very own Eastern Communications Philippines has signed a pact to this deal to avoid the repeat of the situation last December 2006. Telekom Malaysia leads this pact and by December 2008, they claim it will be operational.

The fiber optic cable, dubbed the Asia-America Gateway, will connect the U.S. West Coast with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii, as well as offer "seamless interconnection" for those locations with Europe, Africa and Australia, Telekom said in a statement.

It will "provide an alternative and a more secure link for traffic from the region to the U.S.A.," Telekom said. "This low-risk route was designed to avoid the volatile and hazardous Pacific Ring, thus mitigating the effects from natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis."

So, the benefit of this new undersea cable will be outstanding. There will be an increase in speed on voice and data communications within the two continents. More faster and reliable service will be experienced by both users in the US and Asia. Is this new cable make surfing the internet and downloading mp3 files from Limewire a lot faster than before?

Technorati Tags: Undersea Cables, Taiwan Earthquake 2007

Labels: Internet, Philippines, Reviews, Technology

Freon-less aircon at Padi's Point

Mar 5, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

What's the occasion and why I ended up in Padi's Point? What's with the freon-less aircon? Well, I just want to share to you something about my trip recently last Saturday, March 3, 2007.

We took off around 3 o' clock pm together with my mom and dad to go to Cubao. We will visit my auntie there and also for my father to have a place to stay for six hours. My mom have this two tickets to the coronation night of the Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant to be held at the Araneta Coliseum. It was my father who supposed to accompany my mom. But then, since my father hates sitting and watching for hours, it was decided that I take his place. First, I feel that I mustn't go but then my father convince me too. Also, I should wear semi-formal attire. Wait, I don't want to wear formal attire since I am not used to it. Still, the convincing power of my parents make me say yes literally and whine about it. I took my shirt, pants and black shoes and dress and decided to wear it at my aunties house.

We arrived at my aunties place and took my dress. I put on my pants, shoes and long sleeved shirt and took off to Araneta Center. We look first a place that we could eat on. We saw Padi's Point near Klownz. While eating, I saw this aircon unit. Its' not the typical aircon you see everyday as it only show this large fan blowing cool air around the establishment. I saw some notes below the unit, indicating that it doesn't use freon or even a compressor to chill the air. Normally, most air conditioners rely its same technology to the fridge where it needs freon and a compressor. This one is different. According to what I read on the internet the next day is that it only consumes electricity like that of a light bulb and uses liters of water.

In very dry climates, evaporative coolers are popular for improving comfort during hot weather. The evaporative cooler is a machine that draws or forces outside air through a wet pad. Some of the sensible heat of the entering air (as measured by a dry bulb thermometer) is converted to latent heat by the evaporation of water in the wet cooler pads. The total heat (sensible heat plus latent heat) of the entering air is unchanged. If the entering air is dry enough, the resulting supply air can be quite comfortable. These coolers cost less than other air conditioners and are mechanically simple to understand and maintain.

This is a great for keeping your house cool for hours without spending so much on the electric bill. My father even took note of the telephone numbers written on the unit. I think he will inquire about this unique cooler or maybe suggest it to his company so that they could save electricity bills. For me, I wanna own one since summer is fast approaching and the start of spending much through electricity bills because my parents turn on the air conditioner at night to relieve the days heat. After eating, my mom and proceeded inside the coliseum

Technorati Tags: Evaporative Coolers, Personal

Labels: Others, Technology

Using Google Earth to measure distances

Feb 26, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

I've been fascinated by the way Google Earth provides near accurate measurement of distances of two locations plotted on the application. I said near accurate because of the way hi-resolution images is overlayed here in the Philippines. The case may be different well in the US where almost 90% of it's maps and high resolution images are accurate. If you happen to hover around some of the available hi-resolution images here in the Philippines, you may find some images that are mis-aligned. Particular locations I found was the area were Splash Island in Binan, Laguna is located. As you can see below, the road is shifted and the continuation of it is located meters above the original.



Same as the other locations I've found were images that are put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. I also found out two images, one taken on daylight and the other during the late afternoon (I think around 6 pm) merged and combined into one.

That left me wondering if those anomalies can affect the measurement of distances of 2 or more locations. What do you think?

I happen to plot today the total distance in kilometers from our house to Batangas seaport. Well as requested by my dad who goes there 3 to 4 times a month due to our deliveries. It took me 10 minutes to minutely plot every curves and straight lines that resembles the road we usually take to go there. There are many path locations to choose and plot from. But since we are already accustomed to our normally taken route, I plot a path from our house all the way to the port. I found out the total distance in kilometers, the result is 80.19 kilometers. I suppose it is an estimate because I went through clouds that covered the road while plotting the path. Anyways, this distance can help my dad plan on his gasoline expenses when the time comes for another delivery.



Technorati Tags: Batangas Seaport, Google, Google Earth

Labels: My Life, Reviews, Technology

A Closer Look At The iPhone

Jan 17, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

I wanna own one!

Technorati Tags: iPhone, iPod, You Tube

Labels: Technology, Videos

Latest Version of Google Earth (Release 4)

Jan 15, 2007JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

I'm always been a fan of GoogleEarth since it was first released. The functions and features of this application is superb. However, if you want to see the full capabilities this application has to offer, you must go to any of the US cities because you can see 3D buildings, complete road maps, dining locations and many more other places can't have. For example, I live in the Philippines and only high resolution images of the key and popular cities here in the country are available. Some of the information presented on the map are inaccurately. Well, I hope someday someone will provide a 3D image of the buildings in Makati, that'll be cool.

Download Google Earth 4

Features of GoogleEarth Release 4 (Jan.08.07)
Explore Rich 3D Content

Seeing 3D terrain and buildings is one of the coolest features of Google Earth. We’ve added higher-quality terrain data for many mountainous regions, as well as support for "textured" 3D buildings–meaning bricks look like real bricks, glass looks like real glass, and overall, the world looks more like the real world. It's just one more step on the path of creating a life-like 3D model of the whole planet.

Create and Share Geographic Information

Millions of Google Earth users add and share geographic information every day using .KML, the Google Earth file format. In Google Earth 4 we’ve expanded that capability. Now you can view travel photos, hiking trails uploaded from your GPS, overlays of your own imagery, or large geographic data sets. You can even time-stamp the data to create animations of how the world changes over time. Explore Google Earth Showcase for some popular examples.

Less Is More - A New UI

The most obvious change is a new, simpler user interface.

We've reorganized the data layers to make them easier to find and to toggle on and off. The navigation compass is now located in the upper right corner of the screen (this gives you more screen space). And the measure, print, email, and drawing tools are in the new toolbar along the top.

Annotate, modify and share

You can easily sketch figures on the imagery for richer annotations and share these overlays as KML or KMZ files using the path and polygon drawing tools. These screenshots are examples of annotations created using the drawing tools in Google Earth.

Link: GoogleEarth

Technorati Tags: Google Earth, Philippines, Google

Labels: Internet, Reviews, Technology

My PC is ready for Vista!

Nov 24, 2006JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Want to see if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista? Just download, install, and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.

This small software tool will scan your computer and create an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device, and program compatibility issues, and recommend ways to resolve them. Upgrade Advisor can also help you choose the edition of Windows Vista that best fits the way you want to use your computer.

My results are below and shown in images



Technorati Tags: Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, Vista, Microsoft

Labels: Computers, Technology

Google Earth Release 4 Beta

Nov 7, 2006JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

I had a glimpse of a news link article on Digg about the newly released Beta 4 version of Google Earth. Here's the details.

Google Earth (Release 4 - BETA)

Welcome to the newest beta of Google Earth (release 4). Since our last release (on September 13th, 2006), we have made many improvements. We have improved icon management by creating a new icon palette, added line and polygon drawing tools to our free product, added the ability to print search results and placemarks, made it easier to select icons that are overlapping, and much more. For Google Earth Pro subscribers, the premium modules are now free (up to a $600 value) and included in the basic annual subscription price.

New features (as of November 1st, 2006))

Drawing Tools: The path and polygon drawing tools are now available in the free product. You can easily sketch figures on the imagery for richer annotations and can share these overlays as KML or KMZ files. These features can be accessed from the toolbar.

These screenshots are examples of 3D buildings created using the drawing tools.

It's fairly the same as the previous releases but I'm amazed that they included the polygon tool and the path tool into the free version. I hope that high resolution images on other parts of the Philippines will be added soon. I'm a Google Earth addict and would spend hours just by searching and roaming places I've been and never been too. Making fun with it by locating my friend's houses and email the images to them.

Technorati Tags: Google Earth, Map, Google

Labels: Internet, Reviews, Technology

The celebrity in me: Using face recognition

Sep 14, 2006JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

I'm blog hopping recently when I stumble upon this interesting blog. (I forgot the address of the blog). Anyways, I saw this one post about MyHeritage.com face recognition capabilities. It let's you upload your picture and then able to see who's your celebrity look alike.


I signed up for a free account and upload my photos. I created 3 trials with 3 different photos of me to differentiate the accurateness of the face recognition application. The uploading of images takes awhile depending on the size of the image you're uploading. It then uses flash to process my photo by gathering my image data, to find faces and to recognize my face. I was amazed on how the web application identifies and crops my face on my photo. That was cool!

How face recognitions work?

Recognizing faces is done by algorithms that compare the faces in your photo, with all faces previously known to MyHeritage Face Recognition, through photos and meta-data contributed by yourself and other users. So the more photos added to the system, the more powerful it becomes. If people in your photos are not recognized well, it is likely that MyHeritage.com has never encountered them before. By adding these photos to MyHeritage.com and annotating the people in the photo manually, MyHeritage.com will "learn" these faces and will be able to recognize them in future photos, even in different ages of the same person's life.
read more... link

Below are my celebrity look-alikes. Click them to see a larger view.

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Technorati Tags: Face Recognition, Web Application, Heritage

Labels: Internet, Reviews, Technology

What the... SmartBro Computer Station?

Aug 8, 2006JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

Smart Corporate - Latest Offers - Computer Station

Technorati Tags: SmartBro, Smart, Wireless, Broadband

Labels: Internet, Mobile Services, Reactions, Technology

Google Earth Images - Philippines

Aug 5, 2006JP aka Elmo
Eagleman Blog
Blogger

This post was taken from my previous blog Elmo's Blogblogan
Try again if these image links doesn't show.

1. Image001 - Splash Island
2. Image002 - Makati Central Business District
3.