Mind you, this isn't a pro - Linux or pro - anything rant. I don't own a Vista PC to begin with, and like I said in a previous post, I don't find anything wrong with it either. I'm using Vista Home right now on Jill's PC, and I'm doing just fine. Some isues here and there, but mostly, it is, albeit superficially (primarily because most of it's 'improvements' are cosmetic) can be considered a step up above XP.

Having said that, one might assume though that there was something wrong with XP to begin with, or at least missing a feature that'd necessitate an upgrade.

By now however, after Vista's been around for a while, the answer to that is no, N-O, there is no truly compelling issue to 'upgrade' to Vista. You might be compelled, just because you wanna see your computer do this:

Above is a screenshot of me doing a 'Windows key + Tab' maneuver, which lets me switch to another application in a very fancy way. Or you may be interested in doing this:

A screenshot of Vista's Parental Controls.

But I'd be lying to you if I said that the Compiz isn't as impressive, screenshot here (and more jaw dropping effects here):

or that Norton can't do Parental Controls better or at least similar to Vista.

The point of this post is moot. People who have already bought Vista have bought it, period. It's money spent, money you can't get back.

But if you were happily using XP before Vista came along, that announcement is basically saying that it's money you shouldn't have spent in the first place, or at least until 2014.

I've never wished I could buy stock at no better time than now, with VMWare going public. Not necessarily because its done as well as it had - I was sure it'd do well but certainly not this well - but also because of the clear message this sends to bad ol' Microsoft.

VMWare simply put is software that gives the ability to run services on a computer regardless of operating system by allowing several operating systems to run alongside one another in one machine. In effect it brings sanity in a world where choices aren't necessarily made in favor of the best.

I don't really wanna get in the intricacies of what virtualization is about right here. I was about to start a paragraph explaining it a bit, but I realized I was quickly getting much too techie and was losing focus on what I was trying to say.

The point is this: Virtualization allows a Mac to run Windows and a Mac OS at the same time, or on a larger scale, a large server to run both Windows and Linux and Mac and whatever, again all at the same time.

For me, that ability is a direct blow to Microsoft's constant nagging to make you use theirs and only their brand if you choose to use any at all. By blurrying the distinction between which OS does what the user makes the choice to use whichever he feels best allows him to get the job done.

Microsoft is of course, frothing at the mouth and responded by entering the field themselves plus some legal maneuverings (what else is new) to try and get customer base to agree to terms clearly counter - virtualization (as summarized here).

However, the volley has been launched and VMWare's public offering success is a virtual, if you may, sign signifying the public's acceptance of the technology and rosy outlook of it's use. A sign of confidence that the technology is no flash in the pan and that here is a truly important and revolutionary situation that's not only potentially, but actually going to change the server playing field - an area in IT that's hungry for a radical change imho. The new technology has required some rethinking and possibly new processor designs, plus the fact that this allows for energy conservation - an issue hardly discussed in the server room, as lesser physical machines or even one machine can do the job of several.

I realize that the reason I am excited about this isn't necessarily a techie one. Sure I was always interested in the technology, but what really turns me on is the idea that big ol bad MS plans falling to counter it falling by the wayside, and the user, via technology, is getting a choice. Tech has always been a favorite topic of mine primarily because it has the ability to make the truth come out. Because tech is so pervasive, it forces us to use it because we really need to. However there will always be certain parties who think that we should use it their way, and in a manner that fits their plans, and there is no such prevailing entity demonstrative of this fact than big ol MS.

Mind you I don't necessarily feel they shouldn't do what they do, being as they are, in the business of making money. Obviously however, this does not necessarily connive with furthering technology for the user's sake. Just the fact that you have to make agreements with users to make them use the software they buy in specific ways is contradictory to what technology is supposed to be about. Technology is supposed to be pioneering, always changing, metamorphosizing into the new and the better, to better fit into a person's life at every step - how is that going to happen when you discover a way to make it better but are constrained by User Agreements?

My belief in technology is confirmed by this. But I suppose it doesn't need any further confirmation. That's just the way Tech is.

At any rate, I had been invited by Hingemedia super head chief editor gadget head in, err, chief Adel to contri to P.W.I.T., (Philippine Week in Technology), the resulting acronym possibly recognizant of how he feels about it, but more likely because he thinks it sounds fun. A fun and intelligent man, Adel is. And surprisingly athletic! When we were in Tagaytay we caught MS Windows PM Chay Saputil smiling and enjoying an m|ph issue and I swear I'd never seen a man run, flip open his Canon 400d, get down on his knees and take a magazine worthy snap in, oh, that must have been .5 seconds! Amazing.

So anyway, let me take you to his post in PWIT, where he describes in light detail how affected they are at the office. Here he says:

In my office in Makati, chaos reigns. We can’t get or send critical business email, can’t FTP feeds from abroad, can’t access reference sites. We are suddenly forced to hand-deliver multi-gig magazine layout files to our printer in Laguna instead of just zapping them over.

Let's channel my inner accountant and try to put a value to that:

1. can't send critical emails - Solution: send via cds. Price of CD: p10.00. Price of courier within metro Manila: p50.00. Total: P60.00
2. can't FTP feeds from abroad - Solution: send via dvds. Price of DVD: p30.00. Price of courier from US to Manila: p1,000.00. Total: P1,030.00
3. hand deliver multi - gig mag layouts to printer in laguna - Solution: send via dvds. Price of DVD: p30.00. Price of courier from US to Manila: p50.00. Total: P80.00

Total: Php 1,070.00

This does not include the extra man hours and possible overtime to burn files and prepare them for transit, possible extra overhead from all this activity, the transit itself, a margin added for errors (returned because of damaged / list disks, incompatible cd / dvd players, broken or lost, etc.) and so on.

If you do above activities daily, you multiply that with the number of workdays (22), then you get Php 23,450.00 / month. P23,450.00 you have to make up for because you have unreliable internet access. So you might say, "oh no, sometimes a large email or FTP passes through!". For the sake of easy accounting, it either can or cannot, so you assume nothing gets through and you have to rely on messengers for the business period of January. That's my inner accountant speaking, and he's almost hardly ever heard, so you better listen up when he does.

So what's the point in all this channeling? Well, to everything there is some cost, whether exact or (reasonably) assumed. And all this slowness is costing us, so why not let's find out just exactly how much? Again, for what purpose? Well, maybe you have an inner accountant too, and would like to try it yourself. And also maybe, just maybe, it may come in handy if we decide to, oh you know, sue.

LAS VEGAS--The most vexing weakness in computer security is not in the hardware or the software, it is in the people who use the machines, according to top hackers and cyber safety specialists.

"It really is more of a human problem than a technical problem," Dan Kaminisky of Dox Para Research said at the world's premier hacker conference, DefCon, which ended in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Some things come to mind here:

1. Knowing that people are the main risks, shouldn't technology then adapt itself to avoid such pitfalls?
2. What is technology's purpose anyway? A lot of people have forgotten the forest that the trees make up. The main purpose of technology is to help people, and if their security is jeopardized while using it, then technology is failing.
3. What it says is: People are the stupid parts in the security equation. I bet you could make that statement 50 years ago, and 50 years after, and it'd still be true. The term "They'll always invent a new kind of idiot" holds true forever, from the past, to today, to decades later when people forget to secure their sleeping pods using the DNA-key in the spaceships they live in.

I'd be the first one to rant how difficult it is to educate users. I've had clients who are just so frustratingly daft (sorry but that really is the word), and I've had to support users who resist the urge to learn new stuff. I'm serious when I say they resist. It'd actually be better if I see they'd reach their intellectual high-point, and could grasp no more, but I'm convinced that they just flat-out do not want to learn.

But it's happened so many times that I've realized, it can't possibly be their fault altogether. Many times the type of software has a lot to do with it, like a word processor or an OS, and although at that moment I couldn't pinpoint any particular fault it had, I could see that there are other software / hardware situations where the users just get it, understand it and start using it almost instantaneously.

THe point I'm getting at is this: blaming the users is a lazy thing to do, a quick blame-all scapegoat for whenever things go wrong. Who's to say that any given security failure would not have been avoided if better thought were put into its design? Given that the reason is equally to blame on tech and the user's inability to grasp it, tech should always be the first to blame because it's supposed to adapt to people, and not the other way around.

Technorati Tags: computer security, cyber security, security on the internet, internet security

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LONDON (AFP) - A company has defended its decision to sack one of its staff by text message, claiming it was keeping in touch with youth culture. Katy Tanner, a 21-year-old sales assistant, received the message while she was off work with a migraine, the South Wales Echo newspaper said Friday.

The text message said: "We will not require your services anymore...Thank you for your time with us."

"I don't think it's right to just text someone. At least they should have talked to me face to face," Tanner said.

From the looks of it, it's more likely she's peeved because she was fired, and not necessarily that she was fired via text. I mean, what if she was promoted instead? Would she have felt it was inappropriate then?

At any rate, the reason this caught my attention was the increasing number of SMS related incidents appearing on international news. SMS is finally catching up with the rest of the world. We over here are used to this sort of thing, and they're just starting to go through the stuff we do on a daily basis.

So in the next few months, look out for text-scams, text-romances, stories about how relationships are affected (positive and otherwise) via text, stories about old people or people you don't expect to learn text start to learn how, entrepreneural attempts, doing business via text, etc.

I don't know if we'd see stories related to 'free text' scams and such, since text is probably free over there, or at least far too cheap to be bothered about. There'll definitely be stories of spam text, however. Or at least bogus 'you are a winner!!' text.

Also, I wonder why there are no sex scandals yet, like stories of floating .3gp videos taken surreptitiously from some careless phone cam owner. Manila can produce so much of these just by itself. I can't imagine Britain and the US to be that far behind.

Technorati Tags: text scams, text relationships, text, sms, text business, free text, spam text, bogus text, text scandals

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At any rate, here're a few pics of their more famous products, plus you can download the press kit and prices after the jump.

Download the prices and pr here. For inquiries email here or call +632.637.0474.

Technorati Tags: belkin, microwarehouse, kvm switches, ipod accessories

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The reaction from PTB has been expectedly fierce, saying in effect that ICAP was out of its mind to choose that in lieu of Openoffice, and hinting at under the table arrangements.

However, I'd like to ask a few things first:

1. According to the Inq article, the ICAP (Internet Cafe Association of the Philippines) "teamed up with the local distributor of Ability Software to distribute a suite of applications similar to Microsoft Office but significantly cheaper." What exactly is a 'team-up'?
2. More to the point, does it make it compulsory to implement it amongst its members? Or maybe it's a distributorship agreement, where ICAP members are outlets where people can buy it from?
3. If it is to be implemented in member cafes, how did they go about the selection process?
4. The article mentions price as a major figure in determining their 'teaming up' with Ability software. Is this the only factor? And if it is so, how can you beat free?

This comes in the light of a recent personal experience, where I had been busy installing several brand new PCs with OpenOffice at a client of mine, to try and wean them away from, err, 'dubiously procured' MS Office 2000 installations.

Management was particularly looking forward to these new Celerons, which with 512mb. were capable of running OpenOffice. OpenOffice ran exceedingly slow on the previous PIII machines, hampering their adaptation. Now with the new PCs, all they had to purchase were Windows licenses, and thus, they thought, all their problems would end.

However, the opposite continues to be true, as the clerical staff to whom these were assigned to clamored for MS Excel and MS Word, without which, they claimed, they could not work productively. I reasoned to them the Management decision above, which was met with stares of indifference, some measure of hostility, and continued bewailing. Since they had become friends of mine, I was even offered bribes to install MS, winking that no one would ever know.

The situation continues to remain unresolved however, as I insisted that they please try them out first. This has left me with the obvious conclusion that if only OpenOffice was as widespread as MS Office, then we would not have had this problem.

Almost all of us have become quite the expert at MS Office, mainly because it was the default application available on the machines we first used. Since Internet Cafes are usually where the public first tries out PCs, and since these usually use MS Office, this continues to remain true. Many of the next generation of PC users will continue to use MS Office not mainly for its features, but because it is the one we've come to be familiar with.

Jose and Maria de la Cruz don't usually have time to search the Internet for applications when they're in a hurry to finish a report or spit out a presentation. They just need it done as quickly and effortlessly as possible, and today, MS Office is the de facto set of applications that will do that job.

It's therefore alarming that Internet Cafes will adopt a never-heard suite of applications inspite of the fact that there appears to be a more compelling choice out there. I imagine a new generation of PC users adapted to using OpenOffice, and I think what a wonderful thing that would be.

However, I still would like to give ICAP the benefit of the doubt, and assume they have good reasons. If it is not a distributorship and is in fact a compulsory widespread adaptation of Ability, I hope this decision came out of a fair selection process and with the good of their customers in mind.

This therefore requires more thorough research, and I hope Alex (whom I saw earlier today, although I didn't know he wrote that till tonight), will look deeper into it. Pending reason to believe otherwise, I think its best we avoid conclusions.

Technorati Tags: ability software, ms office, icap

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Beginning in August, Californians who have filed claims will receive vouchers that can be redeemed for cash during the next four years, said Richard Grossman, whose law firm represented plaintiffs in the class-action case..

Most California consumer claims total under $100, but many could exceed that amount depending on how much software was purchased, Grossman said. The claims for businesses typically range from tens of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars, he said.

Microsoft has settled similar lawsuits with about 16 states plus the District of Columbia which charged the company with using its Windows monopoly to thwart competition and overcharge customers for its software products.

The California agreement, which marked the biggest between the software maker and U.S. states, covers anyone in the state who bought certain Microsoft software between February 18, 1995 and December 15, 2001."

So I figure, if you buy MS software for say, $400.00 (a wild guess) in 2001, you proceed to get an ROI from it just from normal business or school use, you then get a minimum$100.00 back from them in five years, or more if you bought more MS products! That's a 25% return! While earning from it! And you get to keep it!

Forget my broker. Call my lawyer.

Technorati Tags: suing microsoft, microsoft, microsoft anti-trust

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from Technorati founder and CEO David Sifry's blog, made by Technorati PM Liz Dunn.

It explains their latest updates to technorati, as well as marks their 3rd year anniversary.

Technorati Tags: technorati, david sifry, liz dunn, bloggers, blogging services

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Anyway, important things to consider here off the top of my head:

1. Possible integration of the graphics chip, chipsets and processor will offer a whole new type of machine never seen before.
2. It will theoretically be faster. If it becomes much, much faster than a standard mobo/vidcard/chipset/processor/memory setup, then that means we've been suffering all along, and that the way it had been done for years, which is different components by different manufacturers put together, was actually a hindrance in performance. If on the other hand, it doesn't offer much of a performance boost, then the opposite would be true.
3. The idea of a 'PC on a chip' is in here. It mentions that AMD will have the ability to offer stability and reliability guarantees for corporate systems. This is great, as that segment of the market is stagnant.
4. As a matter of fact, the whole PC market is stagnant really, so this is a good movement to really shake things up. Last activity on the market were allegations of cartels and price-fixing, in particular for RAM and chipmakers. Those incidents were indications of stagnation, showing that the industry was desperately looking for ways to make more money as there was no innovation that would help them do it.
5. Integration is one of those classic arguments of modularity via individual pieces vs. an all in one device which can do everything, which is what AMD is going to offer. In my opinion I don't think either is really above the other, as you can make good arguments for either case. However, the good thing is it offers customers more choices. That by itself is good reason enough, regardless of whether AMD makes something of this or not.
6. Just how this pans out is going to be very interesting. Like I said, it's like a throwback to the big acquisitions back in the 90's. Lots of money is going to change hands, dealers and distributors are going to have to make choices as to which technologies to support. I dunno who's gonna come out better, but it's gonna be exciting.

Technorati Tags: amd, ati, intel, graphics chips, chipsets, processors, mergers, acquisitions

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Name: Bernard Davis | E-mail: MyInsider2006@HOTMAIL.COM | URI: http://Google.com | IP: 15.235.153.105 | Date: July 21, 2006

COO of Epixtar (Bradley A. Yeater) plead guilty to sexual assualt. Only got probabtion. See story at http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/14329498.htm

I really don't know what to make of these. The one who post these obviously has an axe to grind against Epixtar executives, but is too cowardly to put a name and contact info. However if you check the link it's legit, so it still has some value albeit purely fyi, as I do not have any interest in saving Epixtar's hide either.

Once again, I really don't care either way other than surface curiosity. If someone really has a prob with Epixtar why don't you just sue them? Or if you really wanna use the 'net, set up a blog yourself for that purpose.

Technorati Tags: epixtar, bradley yeater, wordpress spam, spam, spam comments

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His culprit: "80% of new laptops and 55% of new desktops contain integrated graphic cards that cannot run state-of-the-art PC games."

IMO Board manufacturers will hesitate putting high end cards onto their boards for any of the ff. reasons:

1. High-end video cards can only be appreciated by power users and gamers.
2. Gamers represent only a fraction (and Im guessing here - a small one), of the market for PCs.
3. If I want to buy a computer for clerical staff (yes PCs can be used for other things besides gaming), I should not have to be forced to buy one with a powerful 256mb. video card, obviously since there will be no use for it.
4. Even if the integrated card was powerful enough, a gamer usually skips it anyway, since it'd likely be obsolete 3 mos. after release, and besides they usually have their own preferences.
5. Mobo* manufacturers do sell units with powerful integrated video cards. They're usually very expensive, so gamers (usually mobo proficient), mix and match mobos and vidcards to get the most bang for the buck.
6. Not related: I dunno about that $900.00 PC vs. $299.00 console claim. I think I can make a $900.00 PC outperform a console.

Maybe he's justified for wanting to quit the PC market. Unfortunately, the PC market is where their games play best and are most appreciated, inspite of the fact that they 'lose' money from it.

Contradicting how Intel should make their motherboards - which is just like any tech product, controlled by market forces (except in some cases), is childish. He's probably frustrated how low their income is at the PC market compared to consoles.

If anything, he should be ranting against piracy, which takes a big chunk from their profits, rather than how mobos are made. More than anything, I think they should hire a good publicist, to handle outbursts like that.

* Mobo = motherboard.

Technorati Tags: mark reiner, intel motherboards, intel, epic, unreal tournament

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And now, there are new allegations of artificial pricing involving chipmakers, here. Excerpt:

The complaint, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, charges the companies with fixing DRAM chip prices, artificially restraining supply and rigging bids for contracts.

Those actions caused computer makers such as Apple Computer , Compaq Computer, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard Co. and International Business Machines Corp. to pay more for chips and then pass those costs on to consumers, said Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, another lead plaintiff in the case.

The largest four of the DRAM makers -- Samsung, Hynix, Micron and Infineon -- and their U.S. units control roughly 70 percent of the U.S. market, which in 2003 represented about $5 billion of the $17 billion in worldwide sales.

I remember reading a National Geographic article years ago about the computer chip, and how one day manufacturing costs would go so low so as to make the cost equivalent to that of a bottlecap.

That article stuck in my head through the years, and the concept of diminishing returns supports the idea. After so much input, there can only be so much output. So why was cost still so high?

It could've only been external factors, and these articles prove it. Its amazing when such things as market forces and economic principles make things fall into place.

Technorati Tags: lawsuit against chipmakers, chipmakers, dram, samsung, hynix, micron, infineon, Apple Computer , Compaq Computer, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard Co. and International Business Machines

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Finally read some news about it here.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Yahoo and Microsoft released software that built a bridge between their previously exclusive online instant messaging (IM) systems.

The move fulfilled a promise the US Internet titans made late last year and marked the first time rival global messaging service providers arranged to co-mingle members.

Incidentally, I am a great believer in Microsoft Exchange, having studied for that exam several years ago. MS Exchange is terrific, and I thought that it gave Lotus Notes a run for its money. Open source equivalents are only starting to catch up these past year or two imo. While I'm not up to date anymore, MS Exchange was pretty rocking back then, and likely still is. Active Directory is also a compelling study, along with Linux equivalent directory services, LDAP.

Technorati Tags: Yahoo messenger, live messenger, instant messenger, Microsoft Live Communication Server, LCS, LDAP, Active Directory

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SYDNEY--A group of female computer professionals in Australia has struck sexy poses for a calendar to try to shake off their geeky image and encourage women to take up technology studies.

"The IT Screen Goddesses Calendar features beautiful photos of real women working in the IT industry, in poses inspired by movie goddesses old and recent," the group says on its website.

Their goals on making the calendar:

• Smash through the perception of the geeky technologist
• Generate media sensation to put a spotlight in the industry and increase national interest and awareness
• Raise awareness of the diversity of Women in IT
• Raise money for non profit groups that run initiatives to encourage females to take up technology studies and to enter technology careers
• Promote organisations and companies involved in and supporting IT, through sponsorship/promotional opportunities on each page of the calendar.

Bravo.

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In an e-mail correspondence, Paul Bowers, a representative of the UK-based firm behind arcadegamescript.com, said a company called "wickedinnovations" was hired to do contract job to code and design the company's website. A deadline to complete the job was set for eight weeks, Bowers said. The company decided to pay 900 dollars as initial fee for the 1,800-dollar contract work.

Bowers said his company eventually found that the Philippine-based firm, which is located in Ortigas in Pasig, allegedly copied code from another website.

"Along the way they ripped gamesitescript.netdemosite (we have screen grabs of this). They have not delivered on the agreed content. We have nothing for our money apart from what they uploaded to our server here http://www.myqualityarcade.com. We do not even have a zip of the rubbish they created," Bowers added.

My thoughts:

1. I am a Filipino web developer.
2. I have been involved in many web development projects with foreigner clients, both as an individual and as part of a group, composed of other Filipinos, other nationalities, and Filipinos + other nationalities.
3. There are many other developers, Filipinos and other nationalities, all dealing with foreign clients on both large and small projects, relying on income from these on a reguar basis. It has come so that these foreign clients are unaware of, or just don't care, what the developer's nationality is. They just want the job done.
4. These operate on a basis of trust, built from many years of delivering honest quality service.
5. I believe that the above situation is an exception to the norm. If not, I at least believe that the focus should be on how the foreign client did not exercise due diligence, before making payment. A requisite for any business deal, whether online, offline, across shores or across the street.
6. Mr. Bowers will best be served if he approaches the police, and not the press. This is a police matter.

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The San Jose-based company said Jeff Jordan, president of its PayPal online payment business and considered a potential successor to Chief Executive Meg Whitman, would leave in the fall to spend more time with his family.

Now, obviously this is all very important news to Mr. Jordan, his family, Ms. Whitman, Ebay's employees and of course, their stockholders. But for us here in the Philippines, what we collectively (and I speak for everyone) would like to know is:

Will this in any way help bring Paypal to the Philippines?

To be completely honest, I think the issue is ridiculous and has gone way too long. Paypal's unavailability to Pinoys has slowed the growth of businesses, and have forced millions of Filipino expatriates and OFWs to have to jump through hoops to send money into our country. Money that we would gladly share a percentage of, if their option was available.

Enough already. If not Paypal, then someone, please, anyone step up.

Technorati Tags: paypal, ebay, Meg Whitman, jeff jordan, ofws, filipino expatriates, filipino expats, overseas filipino workers, online remittance, online payment

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Studios catching viral bug to promo new DVDs online
"LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Online video sites like YouTube are Hollywood's hottest new marketing tool."...."YouTube is a key component in our overall marketing and publicity strategy," said Greg Newman, executive vice president development for MPI Home Video and Dark Sky Films"..." Paramount Home Entertainment recently started posting "some content" to YouTube".

tsk tsk. Old news. Here're a few Cinemalaya 2006 Filmfest entries in the short film category:

Rotonda

Donsol

Labada

More details here. Schedules from Movie Exchange to follow.

Plugging: The latest review on Movie Ex is on United 93.

Technorati Tags: cinemalaya, movie exchange, youtube, filmfest, short films

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Vyew is a brower only visual collaboration tool that offers the following:

1. Instant meeting: No client to download
2. Annotate and share: PPT, DOC, XLS, JPG, SWF, etc
3. Real-time Desktop Sharing
4. Support up to 20 attendees
5. Upload/share photos from: Flickr! or Kodak Gallery
6. Create musical photo slideshows and publish them to any web site (ie. MySpace, FaceBook, etc)
7. Always Free

Complete features here. Try it out here.

Technorati Tags: General Electric, Vyew, online collaboration, whiteboard, online whiteboard, instant collaboration

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This was bound to happen. A 20 year old man in Washington, US was charged with "theft of services" after mooching off of a coffee shop's free internet access for three months without buying anything.

"He doesn't buy anything," Emily Pranger, the shop's manager, told KATU, a Portland, Ore. television station. "It's not right for him to come and use it."

Smith allegedly parked his truck in the parking lot to use Brewed Awakenings' wireless access.

County deputies charged Smith with theft of services after returning to the parking lot after they told him to stop. The crime, which covers such crimes as bypassing a utility meter, stealing cable, and leaving a restaurant without paying, has been used in the past to prosecute hackers who have accessed a computer or network without paying for it. "It's something that is borderline creepy," Pranger said to KATU.

Re above, you have to wonder though: Did they ask him to buy anything all those three months he was using it? Or at least politely tell him off? Maybe even block the signal? All better alternatives to having someone arrested imo, or is calling 911 the default thing to do over there?

Truth is, I don't put restrictions on my own home wifi. The way I figure it, I pay a flat rate for it anyway, so I don't pay any more or less if I get a moocher. However, it's very unlikely that I'd get a lot up here in the Cainta mountains, so that policy would change if I'd live, say, in a Makati condo.

If I did however, I'd likely adjust as needed, and shut off access only when I feel things are slowing down too much, or my security is at risk. And yes, also if someone's been mooching for three months without even a thank you, but I'd just block him first at any rate. Besides I wouldn't even know how to explain that to our police.

Technorati Tags: wifi, free wifi

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I blogged about Vistatorrent.com last week. You can read their official statement here, where they post the letter from a MS representative "Internet Investigator".

from the Inquirer article:

Chris and Jack thought that they were doing a good thing, especially after a spokesVole (referring to a post on the MS website) said, "Demand for Beta 2 has been huge - which was expected. But we are hitting ceilings on bandwidth. Right now we are serving out product keys 10x faster than we can serve the downloads. Already this is the biggest software download event in history. We are pumping out bits as fast as we can. If we pushed out bits any faster there would be a measureable impact for the Internet".

Unfortunately, a short while later, Chris and Jack received an email from an "Internet Investigator", working on behalf of the Vole, who demanded an immediate takedown of the tracker.

Chris and Jack write, "We were only trying to help Microsoft by doing this, assuming the costs and responsibilities associated with serving and seeding larger files. We did not alter, crack, hack, or patch any of Microsoft’s files".

Expect two things: a. Even more torrents of Vista will be available on the net via the traditional (read: pirated) means (effectively achieving the opposite), and b., DVD copies of future beta software from MS will now consider such action in their fine print, inclusive of course, of penalties.

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Second, I have a healthy 68% dependence on free applications (yay!), and a consistent 31% reliance on proprietary ones (boo!), albeit the latter, diminishing over the years (yay-boo!)

To wit, the installations I've installed so far:

Paid for:

1. Macromedia Homesite with Topstyle CSS Editor
2. Adobe Photoshop
3. MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook)
4. Norton Ghost
5. NBA Live 2k6

Free

1. Irfanview
2. Firefox
3. Nero
4. Thunderbird
5. PDF Creator
6. Yahoo Messenger
7. Adobe Reader
8. Google Talk
9. Filezilla
10. Clam AV
11. Putty

Ergo, 16 applications, 11/16 (68%) are free, and 5/16 (32%) paid. 'Paid' being a relative word, as many of those were purchased many years before. NBA Live was won in a contest, Homesite was a big discount from waay back, and I can't remember how I got Norton, but again, that's an ancient version, although there really hasn't been many innovations in backup industry so there's no updating problem there. I must have gotten it from when I was still peddling software for a distributor in a previous life.

My last observation: Photoshop is the only app left keeping me from completely moving on to Linux. Well, that, and NBA Live :P

update june 30, 2006: Forgot to add WinRAR, as the Windows installed file compressor does not support .tar, .gz and .tar.gz files, so that makes it 12/17 (70%) free and 5/17 (30%) paid.

Technorati Tags: linux migration, photoshop, freeware

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Here's how it goes:

• Print – The print icon lets you know that printing can be simpler by allowing you to wirelessly print directly from your computer, mobile phone, PDA or any other device displaying the print icon.
• Input – The input icon shows that you can control as well as input data wirelessly to a device. This makes for fewer cables on your desk and improved control over portable devices without using the tiny, built-in keyboards.
• Headset – The headset icon lets you know that you have the ability to talk on your phone “hands-free.” Getting rid of annoying cables means being able to move around freely while using your cell phone.
• Transfer – The transfer icon tells you that the device can wirelessly send and receive data, text, pictures, music or other files with other devices.
• Music – The music icon means these products allow you to listen to Hi-Fi stereo music wirelessly. You are able to send music from your mobile phone, computer or other device bearing this symbol and listen using compatible speakers, headphones, home stereos and many other devices.

The press release goes on:

The Experience Icon Program shows how Bluetooth connectivity encompasses a growing number of applications including printing, inputting data, using a wireless headset, transferring files and listening to music. There are plans to release other icons later this year, such as an icon for dial-up networking (DUN) and the automotive hands-free use case, and others will be developed as the Bluetooth technology experience expands to additional popular applications.

The Bluetooth SIG encourages all manufacturers of Bluetooth devices to immediately begin using the Experience Icons on product packaging. Additionally, the Bluetooth SIG will focus its marketing efforts on one icon per month, driving home the definition of each icon one at a time, along with efforts to raise awareness of the entire program. Bluetooth SIG members can find more information on Experience Icon program marketing efforts and the requirements of icon usage at www.Bluetooth.org/iconprogram/.

Truth is I've never really believed in Bluetooth, and I'm sure I've mentioned that both on this blog and in an article for any of the publications I write for.

Primarily because, from the first time I read its specs, it seemed "rushed". It didn't specialize in any particular type of communication spec, neither machine to machine or machine to human. It didn't rise out of a particular need, like say, LAN/WAN (networked cabling) or IR (short-range, line of sight, low data wireless transfer), or WIFI (medium range, tcp-ip based).

I know I'm not being very precise here (which is why this'll remain in my blog until more thought is put into it), but it just feels "hilaw", like it was designed by marketing people to add yet another cool sounding feature to gadgets. The fact it was debunked once as an unsecure medium added to my opinion. And now the guide above adds "confusing" to that as well.

Technorati Tags: bluetooth, bluetooth special interest group, bluetooth icon

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One particular vid's got me reeling though, and for some odd reason I watch it everyday since I found it last week.

It's the Beatles "Rain" from 1966. It was done in full-on MTV style, with the fab four on location, unlike the norm at the time where you'd just see a band performing on stage. I'm not sure if this really started MTV like George Harrison said at the beginning of the clip, but it's certainly unique esp. for that time.

And there's something about them, something about John Lennon in all his youth smiling, singing and looking like he's enjoying himself, as opposed to all the surliness and melancholy I grew up thinking he represented in the later years. There's Paul and George singing backup, and the unique Ringo Starr drum work.

I know their life stories as well as anyone by now. And as I watched them I couldn't help wondering how'd they have reacted to the way things would turn out. This is Paul years away from the Eagles. Ringgo and George just strumming away and goofing around, and the tall pre-Yoko Ono John, just singing and smiling and doing what obviously to him felt good. A true icon, a legend and musical genius, years away from tragedy.

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That's right malicious code delevopers! Why wait till December (the planned release date) to make viruses for it when you can start coding your attack now?!

Seriously, I really have no motive for getting it other than I could probably make an article out of it, but even then I've better ways of doing so. So the purpose of this post, other than FYIng everyone on this lurid development, is to merely ride on the blogosphere wave, and get some hits, which I've done if you've read up to this point. Incidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the purpose of the site's owners too.

Technorati Tags: microsoft vista, vista torrent

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Well, there're other reasons actually. And they're also the reason why I'm using a five year old+ phone. I'll try to list them down:

• It's sturdy as heck.
• It's small and easy to grasp.
• Texting and calling is easy - Everything is a one-hand only affair.

..and that's it. I should be able to twist it into my jeans pocket even while sitting or driving, where it wouldn't scratch, bump or hit on anything. I want to be able to pull it out anytime, and feel free to chuck it off to my bed, couch, (or any soft surface) like I usually do most plastic things. I should be able to read it easily, understand it completely (no unnecessary stuff or features used sparingly). I can get somewhat careless with these things (except of course to those lent to me), and I don't like putting any more extra effort in its care. Most especially, I should afford it, and preferably not pay any more than what I make in a month for it. Any more and it'll just take a hit on my wallet, and I don't like things that announce their presence via a bill every month.

To find a word for it, I want a 'cowboy' phone.

Mind you, those are my preferences, and not necessarily applicable to most people my age, gender or financial bracket.

See, the key to choosing a proper device, whether it be notebook, phone, pda, what have you, is that a. you know what kind of lifestyle you lead, and b. you trust that somewhere out there is a gadget built for that lifestyle (or at least approximates it).

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what in a nutshell all the websites, magazines, brochures, advertisements, etc. have been saying to you all along. This is why all these gadgets have been going to the lifestyle sections of the newspapers (lucky me), and which is why they've been ending up in my possession for testing.

It's not so much that I am more technically inclined or capable than any other writer out there, it's just that I am aware of those two main things. In this age, we all lead more or less the same type of lives, and our phones and other devices should complement (as opposed to overwhelm) it, and should help us lead better lives by doing so.

Not solely by itself, mind you, but whilst in the midst of our daily pursuits, when and if we need them, we pull them out, they do their job like they're supposed to, and voila we're happy. For the most part, most people will agree that's all we ask of them. Any more or less to that effect, and it fails us. I don't care if it's chockfull of features, if it can't provide what we ask of it, then it'll fail us.

Mind you, the purposes to which we buy these things are not limited to what kind of life they lead. Some people like to, in the midst of conversation with peers, pull out the latest and greatest and (inadvertently or otherwise), show it off. To the manufacturers, I suppose this is just as valid an opportunity to design and market phones, because admit it, the way these things cost, and the way they're marketed, it's made to appear that owning the cutting edge will make them look like they're somehow better in some way, than most folks.

However, whether as a result of having been privileged to have tested tens of different high tech gadgets over the years, or whether it's because I'm just plain old fashioned practical, I've reserved my best praises not for people who own the greatest and latest things. Rather, I've observed I am most excited, and have developed most respect for the people who use technology to complement their lives. Not overwhelm it. Not because they want to impress people. Not because they like to listen to bells and whistles. But because it serves the purpose for which they bought it for.

After which, they go about the rest of their business, with nary a thought to the contrary, trusting, content and happy in the fact their job is done. To these people, I take my hat off, because they bought themselves exactly the right gadget that they need. No more or less.

Likely they are not even aware of it, since it's my belief that successful technology should be in the background, as opposed to the fore like the manufacturer's ad dollars make it appear.

But heck, that's something I can do nothing about.

For the moment, my goal is to look for a phone that performs similarly to above checklist. After which my job should be done.

Using the French version done ostensibly, of course, to parlay the message that I am a smart person, incidentally one of the many, albeit hidden reason why this blog exists. Other than that of course, is the fact that I am a fan of stupid Charlie Sheen movies, one of which is Hot Shots! Part Deux, which for some reason I dreamt of last night.

At any rate, enough of Topper Harley (I think that's the reason I dreamt of it. Wouldn't it be cool to have a name like Topper Harley? I have a friend named Topper, he's pretty weird. He once went and took a job as a dishwasher in Binondo "just because he wanted to try it out". More likely because he was also a movie fanatic like myself, and wanted to emulate Bruce Lee's early life as glorified in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story). Now whenever I see him, I feel like asking: "So did you get education? Or check in motel with girlfriend, dishwashaaa?!"

So anyway, this post, believe it or not, is about notebooks. And before I discover more unrelated topics to talk about (right now I was just about to start on the Franco Prussian War of 1871, not that I know anything about it, but like I said, I just wanted to show that I'm smart. If you didn't know that already, read this whole post again as you are obviously not paying attention).

There's a computer store at the basement of Robinson's Galeria, one of which always has a crowd of mostly male onlookers standing around, as it shows over and over again "The worst fights in the NBA". Actually I just made that name up, but I'm sure it's named somewhat the same. Anyway they've been showing that same clip over and over again for probably more than a year now, and it never fails to get a crowd. Seriously, what a bunch of losers. I mean, can't these guys find anything else better to do with their time than watch stupid basketball fights over and over again?!?

So anyway, I was there uhhmm.. researching Stephen Jackson and wild boy Ron Artest display their love and affection to appreciative Detroit fans, when I glanced over to the next store, and there it was:

Topper Harley!!

Just kidding. Actually it was the Twinhead efio e12b-524

Specs are as follows:

Processor - Intel® Celeron® M 370 (1.5GHz / 1Mb cache / 400MHz)
O.S. - NO O.S.
Memory - 256Mb DDR SDRAM
Video - on board
Audio system - on board
Display - 12.1in. XGA TFT LCD (WOW !!!)
Harddrive - 40Gb Harddrive
Optical Drive - DVD+CDRW Combo Drive
Modem - 56Kb Modem
Mouse Device - Touch Pad
Weight - Extra Light Weight
Battery - Extended Life
Thermal - New 3D Thermal Dissipation
Wi-Fi - 802.11b Wireless LAN
Software - Nero V6.0 / PowerDVD

Notice if you will, that there's a "WOW!" beside the "Display - 12.1in. XGA TFT LCD" portion of the specs. I did not put that there, I just copied straight off of the PC Corner website. Notice as well, if you will, that nowhere is the Efio e12b-524 model anywhere to be found on the net other than Pccorner.com.ph and subsite laptopking.com.ph.

Yes, it's not on the Twinhead site itself.

Notice as well, that there is no claimed weight on the "Weight" portion, as it just says "Extra Light Weight". I think this is "Extremely Stupid", given the fact that one needs merely to "Read the brochure" for the appropriate measurement. Incidentally, the weight is on the horribly risographed brochure I got from the store, claimed at a feather like 1.6kg.

Notice finally however, if you will, the list price, at P39,900.00 - the main issue why I am paying attention to it. Not its piddling Celeron, not the "WOW" 12" XGA Display, and not the fact that it's white - which reminds me - i've always wondered why notebook manufacturers weren't offering colors to snazz up their lineups. And now that Macs made inroads, everyone's offering white books as well. How creative.

And finally, interviewing the saleslady resulted in other discoveries. It cannot handle more than 512mb. (it has 256mb. by default, and the upgrade costs around P2k), and one cannot make a deal with the features (I asked if I could trade the DVD reader for a normal one in exchange for more RAM or a discount, amongst other variations of trade offs, which was met with headshaking and slightly annoyed guffaws from said saleslady).

So now I've finally decided on a model - will I buy it? Well, I'll ask my client first again (hoping that she hadn't forgotten our conversation about it), and then we'll see.

Aaaand, that's it - that's what this whole post was about. To display the model I like, and my plans on acquiring it. Exciting yes?

Oh btw, I'm not gonna let this post finish without one final opportunity to show off my skills, this time in the useless information department.

Topper Harley is actually a Harley Davidson scooter model, circa 1959, ad here:

I found that out whilst googling the word. Smart smart smart. Til' later, dishwashaaa.

This has to do with my talk last April 8, Saturday, at the PLUG 2nd Quarterly Free Seminar Series. Incidentally, I learned of Arnold's migration from his post about it at Pinoytechblog, so here's some linklove in that direction.

Without further ado:

• Please tell me what you do, and a little bit about your company (how many employees, years in business, products and services, etc.).

Team Sparrow, Inc. is a web developing company. We both do outsoucing and application service providing activities. We've been into this business for 6 years. We have 18 employees.

• What were the conditions that made the company decide to look for an alternative to Windows?

Primarily, the BSA crackdown on pirated software. Admittedly, we're one company included in the 80%+ companies here in the Philippines that uses pirated software. We wanted to make everything legal and start clean. On the other hand, huge fees for per-seat software is too much for us to handle.

• Did the owners / management assign a team or an individual to perform the selection or was it informal?

There wasn't a team assigned to do this. Since I pretty much handle all the management of the company including the technical tools for the team, I am the only one who tested and decided on what to implement across the facilities.

• Was there a report made with details such as cost, time to implement, etc?

Nothing detailed. I simply tested my self, using the linux distro on my own, then apply it to each workstation one by one. After 3 months, we're done with the entire implementation.

• How did you go about your selection process?

I tested pretty much anything that I see good reviews on the internet. We were satisfied with Xandros when I came accross (K)Ubuntu and tested it on my machine. It turned out that Kubuntu is faster and stable.

• Is there anyone left who cannot avoid using Windows and why?

Ironically, I'm on a Mac OSX machine now. This is because we need a mac machine for cross browser, cross platform testing for our projects -- and I happen to be the one using it. Our designer is also using a Windows machine. Adobe Photoshop is more matured compared to GIMP, so we can't let go of that.

• How much in pesos do you estimate you have saved your company,right now and, say, 5 years from now.

Right now, I don't have a figure for you. But it can be computed as 16 machines x around 40k pesos of licences.

• Assuming your company has saved money, has this allowed you to use the extra funds for anything else?

Definitely. For instance, some added bonus for employees. The savings translated into motivation ;-)

• How much had you already spent on licenses previous to the migration?

Just the one machine with Windows/Adobe Photoshop. So that around P60k.

• What aspects of the migration were easiest? What aspects of the migration were the most difficult? Why?

The easiest part is the "testing part". I was like playing all month long when I was testing the distros. The hardest is when we start using it as a team. Somehow, Samba integration is hard to implement across the network. We encountered some file permission issues, among others. But with research and trial-and-error, we are able to pass through the hurdles.

• I assume your company, since it is involved in development, has mostly techie staff. How does this influence the migration?

Somehow, it made things a little easier. Most techies are excited about new things. Linux-based desktops are essentially new, so they were all excited to learn.

• Whom amongst your company staff is not a techie? Did this person have a difficult time? Was he or she hesitant? How long did the non-techies (if any) become productive?

The sales people. Surprisingly, they did not experience difficulties. There are some items that they had to learn too. But since most of the know the solution already, they simply teach those with problems.

• What kind of computers do you have? Which specs are slowest, which specs are fastest?

We have PCs from PII to P4. I think the slowest that we have is a sempron. But Kubuntu works good on it.

• Are there any surprises, inputs or new behaviour you have observed? For example, is productivity enhanced or the same? Is anybody doing anything different than before? Is it quieter in the office or noisier? Are there people who miss playing Solitaire / Textwist? :)

I have received reports of better desktop speed vs the MS Windows. It surprises me because all the while I thought Linux distros are bloated. There are some issues though on OpenOffice.org2 . Some said it loads slower than MS Office -- which I think is true. But after it is loaded, OpenOffice works "just like MS Office" in almost all aspect of productivity. Ano, no, nobody seems to have missed Solitare :D

• Since your company is into development, how do you assure that your applications work just as well using a Windows client?

We maintain at least one Windows desktop in the network -- and a Mac OS X -- for cross platform verification.

• What would you advise other companies who wish to do the same?

Get your feet wet by installing Kubuntu to a used PC. Try to use it the way you use your typical office workstation. That's the only way one can test Linux without disrupting the operation at the same time discovering whether Linux fits in their environment.

First of all, thanks a lot to Arnold for replying so promptly and candidly to my questions. There wasn't anything special about the methodology or anything, other than maybe it's important to note that I sent three emails instead of one long one, basically because nobody likes receiving a long list of questions (who likes answering questionnaires?), and also because I honestly really wouldn't know what I'd ask at any one time, so I'd rather ask questions pending answers of others. It also comes out looking more natural that way.

Also, I took a rather shotgun approach to all this, as the topic of a successful Linux Migration, being rare, raises a lot of questions and hence can be mined for many different types of articles. To name a few:

• A Technical HowTo Article - The obvious type - A step by step on how it was done, with a timeline, people involved, and to make it especially interesting, starting all the way from how the decision to migrate came about.
• A Business Article Detailing Costs - Costs saved from the migration. The cost of the migration itself. Any possible unforeseen costs down the road (it can't be all hunky dory, I'm sure there's some cost involved in Linux even if small), their operating cost compared to the same period as last year (given Arnold would agree a peek at his operating expenses, but even rough amounts could suffice), and so on.
• A Business Article Detailing Management Decisions To Go Open Source - Granted, Arnold is a Managing Director, and so what he says pretty much goes, but still worth pursuing. It would also be interesting to interview managers in other SMB companies to ask them what they think of how things went at Sparrow.
• A Lifestyle / Techie / Human Resources Article re How the moving to Linux has affected the workplace - Requires an interview of staff, and would be very interesting again, as a Human Interest type of story (as opposed to a purely technical point of view, which surely we've had enough of).

.. to name a few.

Re the Seminar itself, I have to be honest - it was getting late, I was really really tired and I'm sure the guests were too. I don't think I did as good a job as I should have. So I'll do what comes naturally - blame it on something else :) - j/k, but honestly, I kind of felt almost embarrassed that I was keeping people from going out already, given they've been sitting there longer than I have (I arrived late), and there had been no breaks. So I think I rushed it. :(

Either that, or I suspect, I probably would never really feel comfortable talking about writing. Writing, see, is something so deeply close and dear to me, that it's almost akin to talking about, say, someone who saved your life, without getting so wrapped up or all emo. I know that's melodramatic, and if you're starting to think that as you read this, then understand that that's what I mean.

However, you can get me to talk about something technical, like installing WordPress or Drupal on Cpanel, or setting up a consulting company, or cleaning a carburator, and I'd probably nail it. But talking about writing? It's like talking about my girlfriend to a roomfull of strangers. It was completely draining, I wasn't sure of myself (and anyone who knows me well enough knows what an cocky SOB I really am. Dang that part of me didn't come out. :) and afterwards I was so hungry I walked zombie like straight into Brother's Burger Magallanes and got myself one of their enormous meals, which happened to be delicious btw.

Ok that's enough self indulgence. I'll be writing some of the articles I mentioned above based on my interview of Arnold soon, and publish it here and on the PLUG site.

This I found out today, when I paid my host at a nearby Ortigas Avenue Extension, Cainta branch. The host's account happened to be in Quezon City.

Granted, sitting for an hour as I waited in line, watching VIP clients waltz through while employees avoid our stares and gossip with them and each other may have contributed to my demeanour, but there it is.

I hereby challenge anyone to prove that a deposit transaction from Cainta, costs, or physically incurs any more effort than, say, the same transaction done at Pasig, no more than 10 kilometers away. And also, should that increased cost had been a result of an oversight in planning their systems or some similar situation, then why are their customers made to pay.

That's all I've to say about that.

Naturally this sent me scurrying off to several local websites, battling fatigue late into the night trying to make sense of what was available out there. My priorities were simple. 1. Cheap As Possible., 2. Lightweight, 3. As much RAM as possible. 4. Sturdy, and 5. Cheap as possible.

Thusly guided, my observations:

• PC Corner sub site LaptopKing seems to be the most comprehensive, featuring 32 laptop brands.
• LaptopKing and PCCorner have this terrific dropdown type selection system which differentiates by brand, processor, ram, video adaptor, hard disk, screen size, optical drive, chassis type, "our choice" and my favorite, Price Range. I wish though, that they also included "weight", which is my 2nd most important consideration, along with "dimensions".
• Incidentally, weight and dimensions are not mentioned in many of the laptop's complete specification pages, along with a link to their home website if any. These are Major Oversights.
• Strangely enough, the complete specs page of local laptop brand Neo is the one I like best as it not only shows what the products have, but also says what it doesnt have. Click this link for an example, otherwise check this out:
  

  Can you see what's 'wrong' in that picture? Firewire, Infrared, S-Video and Bluetooth are marked as unavailable for this model, saving you a hell of a lot of time in traveling back and forth amongst the other product pages to figure out what you're missing, or on the other hand, what you're getting, in relation to other models.

  That's a huge help, and with the way shopping websites seem to be designed to befuddle and confuse you, a breath of honest fresh air right there.

• Trimming down price range to absolute cheapest (below 30k) results in ECS, Prestigio and Q-Note. Second cheapest (30k ~ 40k), adds Acer, Blue, Apex, Benq, Asus, and some 2nd hand Twinheads, Acers, IBMs and Compaqs.
• Built in web-cameras, situated to display the user's face whilst in chat mode I assume, seem to be a hot item with these things, for what purpose I can only guess. For whatever it's worth, I'm not surprised anymore why so many "private" images tend to be scattered all over local internet sites.
• In fact, why not let's go ahead and do away with a whole lot of other stuff I don't need as well? Fingerprint access? Out. External Floppy? Out. Firewire? Buhbye. PCMCIA slots? Out you go. In fact, I'm even willing to give up a modem and a serial and parallel port. Why not? In my experience, if you've got a desktop PC handy already, as long as you've got ethernet/wi-fi, you're good to go. The only things I think, one really needs, is USB and PS2, and a Video out. Even CD/DVD optical drives are iffy if your laptop's going to be a second machine to a full-on PC. Other than that, the only interesting option I'd consider are 4 in 1 card readers, and... I think that's it. If we could choose to remove these options, I bet we could chop off more than 10k from the list price.
• I was thinking of Bluetooth after that last note, but then I thought about it. I always thought Bluetooth doesn't really quite cut it. In fact, I'd go so far as to say Bluetooth is a waste of time - possibly developed only to add another feature to sell gadgets with - if you like conspiracy theories. See, most gadgets I've seen usually have Bluetooth and some other way more efficient method of networking, like wi-fi or LAN, negating it's need. The only time I've really found a need for it was when I tested a Bluetooth headset mated (wirelessly of course) to a Motorola phone. Boy was that cool, and it dealt away with wires too. But is it enough per se? I don't think so.
• By the way, it's no mistake some of those brands I mentioned don't have their own webpage links, basically because I couldn't find any to link them to. Considering how easy it is to get a website going these days, that's very lame.
• It would also be nice if the computer stores would mention if the brand they were selling was home-brewed, relieving us of uselessly Googling around for reviews or more info. There's nothing particularly wrong or misleading about branding a laptop they made themselves and marketing it along with the better known models. What is misleading I think, is not saying so.
• I was surprised to note that wi-fi isn't a standard in notebooks yet. I thought it would go the way of the 10/100 LAN port by now. Some of the cheaper notebooks offer this as a P4k add-on. This might be stretching it, but in my case I'd rather drop a 56k modem (a constant in all models) for wi-fi capability. I think you've a better chance finding a free wi-fi area to connect with than a pokey old POTS.
• Unrelated, but most of the sites, namely Rising Sun, PCX, TQM, and Villman use ASP, while PC Corner and it's sub-site Laptop King use Java. Why!?
• Also unrelated (hey sorry these things matter to me, okay?), Google searches for 'laptops' and 'computers' while using the 'pages from the philippines' option produce various results, none of which goes to any of these vendors, except maybe an accidental link here or there. These guys need to learn about Adwords, and considering that none of their competition is doing that, even a small investment would probably pay off.

So far, the closest I've liked is the X-Mobile M121, a home-brew from PCX, featuring:

Intel Celeron M Processor 350
1.30GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB
Intel 855GME + ACH4 Chipset
40 GB HDD, 256 MB DDR Memory (1GB Max.)
12.1 inch WXGA TFT (Glare) WIDE SCREEN (1280 x 800)
CNET Mini PCI Wireless LAN Module B/G
DVDRW Drive
2 x USB 2.0, 1 x Type II PCMCIA, 1 x Infrared Transfer port
1 x External CRT Monitor output
10/100 LAN, 56K modem w/ V.90/V.92 Compliant
Built in Web Camera, Headphone jack
Microphone jack, 8 cell Lithium-Ion battery
295(w) x 235(d) x 26(h) mm, 1.8KG
Laptop Bag

all for P44,295.00. It's very small and light, which like I said, are high on my priority list, at a price that wouldn't really hurt. Also since it's home-brewed, I'm wondering if I could arrange the removal of the DVD burner and webcam to trade it for more RAM instead. Caveats might be trying to make sense of viewing 1280x800 displays on a 12" screen, but I'll reserve an opinion on that until I see it. Finally, I've never really been big on processors, and I'm sure a Celeron will serve me well. More RAM always works. As far as I'm concerned, RAM is king.

At any rate, it's still early in the game and I've yet to conclude my search. If you think about it, that sort of relates to a failure of these websites to do their job, considering I'm fairly ok in the tech department, along with the fact that I pretty much have a good idea of what I want (which is more important).

What helped me most is not a website, but a PDF download, a simple Excel tables and rows affair, displaying what they have, how much it costs, how it compares with others, a disclaimer, and that's it. And yes it thoughtfully adds on weight and dimensions. Halelujah.