Last Friday, 12 Jun 2009 — the entire Philippines is celebrating the commemoration of its 111th Independence Day — the Sky Broadband servicing team finally made their way to install their cable modem at our place.

With Smart Bro, here’s what I get:

Now, with Sky Broadband (same monthly subscription fee with Smart Bro):

With the same MSF (Monthly Service Fee) as with Smart Bro, I will no longer be in contact with lousy customer service agents and no more long lines of queue at their business centers just for a simple request to be done. The Sky Broadband customer service is indeed very good — cannot be matched by Smart nor Globe.

Popularity: 4% [?]

We received an odd email from one of our clients saying that they hit a bug in Mailman:

Bug in Mailman version 2.1.11.cp3

We’re sorry, we hit a bug!

Please inform the webmaster for this site of this problem. Printing of traceback and other system information has been explicitly inhibited, but the webmaster can find this information in the Mailman error logs.

Upon checking, it seems that a recent cPanel upgrade changed the permissions of the Mailman folder, resulting to the error. A quick fix can be done using the command line (or via SSH to your Linux server):

chmod 02775 -R /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/mailman/

Popularity: 3% [?]

Sprint scheduled the release of the much-awaited Palm Pre — the first webOS device — come 6th of June 2009. Rumors are circulating that the Palm Pre has arrived locally, but is still due for type-testing by the NTC.

Here’s a demo of the Palm Pre:

Popularity: 3% [?]

I attended a tech session over at the Microsoft Philippines HQ tonight, and guess what was the topic: PHP Interoperability on Windows. The session was conducted via Microsoft Office Live Meeting by Chris Ismael, who is based in Microsoft Singapore. Among the attendees are some familiar faces in the PHP Users Group Philippines.

So, what’s in store for the Open Source crowd from Microsoft. For one, it is not (or no longer) a sin to speak the “Linux” thing inside the HQ — just kidding.

Did you know that Microsoft already launched their Web Platform Installer 1.0 and 2.0 (Beta)? So basically, what are those, you may ask? They’re like “LAMP” or “WAMP” being distributed by Microsoft.

Also, Abet Dela Cruz (Microsoft Philippines) mentioned about the soon-to-be launched local Interoperability site http://www.interop.ph

Popularity: 3% [?]

For the very first time, I had set foot on the City of Marikina! Why am I here? Supposedly, we’re to test the FREE WiFi access provided by SM City Marikina — the first SM Supermall to provide such freebie. The WiFi Stress Test started less than an hour ago, and I’m getting a fairly good signal:

Though SpeedTest.net is saying that I am currently located somewhere in UK(?).

We’re expecting some 300 bloggers and WiFi testers to show up at the SM City Marikina Cyberzone. Hope that all other SM Supermalls will provide Free WiFi access soon.

(photo courtesy of Melo Villareal)

Popularity: 11% [?]

A day after I blogged about my Smart mobile phone (a Sony Ericsson W760i Walkman unit) went semi-dead: can’t make / receive any phone call, nor do GPRS/3G/MMS browsing, a very interesting comment was left on my Facebook wall from a long time friend.

Tonio (a friend since high school and works for Smart Communications) advised me to key-in the following keywords on my mobile unit: ROAM OFF then send it to 333. Wait for a couple of hours (around 2 hours for me) and I was back to mobile web surfing via GPRS/3G and was able to send MMS already!

This was confirmed to me by an email from Smart (in response to my email to them) stating that there are times wherein the International Roaming service is accidentally turned on(?). Hmmm.

Hope this helps those who had experienced the same thing and same error voice prompt.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Less than a month ago, I “upgraded” my HP Mini 2133 from Microsoft Windows Vista Basic to Windows XP with Service Pack 3. The overall responsiveness of the netbook has improved, though it seems that the battery consumption is a little bit higher. I made another partition to accommodate Windows 7 Beta. Here are the results of my HP Mini 2133 battery stress test experiment:

Total Charging Time: 01 hour, 55 minutes, & 17.6 seconds

I fired up the anti-virus software to scan the hard drive while the netbook is unplugged from the power outlet.

Windows XP SP 3 Usage Time: 01 hour & 33 minutes (low battery prompt goes on at 01 hour & 19 minutes of usage)

Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) Usage Time: 01 hour & 33 minutes (low battery prompt goes on at 01 hour & 27 minutes of usage)

I remember having used the HP Mini 2133 for full two (02) hours when it was still using Windows Vista Basic. Wondering what’s draining the battery fast in Windows XP & Windows 7.

Popularity: 11% [?]

It was two months ago when I made a post on how to setup a home wireless network using the CD-R King LP-8186 Wireless Router. Since then, I had received  numerous email messages inquiring on how to go about the configuration. The answer is pretty much easy: I just followed what was instructed by CD-R King (found inside the box/package) — that’s it.

Now, for those who wants a clearer visual of my settings, here it goes:

REYESHOME

Popularity: 18% [?]

THE LAPTOP JUST RIGHT FOR YOUR GROWING BUSINESS.. And more!

Dell is leading the way in designing solutions to meet your needs at every stage of growth. Their latest Vostro model delivers affordable solutions to address basic computing tasks on any budget.

You can stay productive and focused on your business in the office, on the road, or at home. The Vostro A840 laptop delivers the technology you need to execute everyday business tasks no matter where you are. It’s compact and easy to take anywhere. Integrated Wi-Fi, modem, and Bluetooth options keep you connected and in sync for on-the-go collaboration. It is easy to deploy and manage for out-of-the-box productivity. And it is pre-configured with core office productivity applications and no annoying trialware.

Dell helps you avoid hardware failures with high quality industry-standard components and proven Intel technology. Designed for everyday mobile office computing, the Vostro A840 laptop is ready to take on the rigors of your business day and keep you looking professional. Dell will also provide you with services and support you need to help you remain on your business – not on your technology.

Dell Vostro A840 is just right for your growing businesses. It’s affordable, reliable and worry-free.

Through its Philippine subsidiary DELL Philippines, it is set to be accessible and be able to provide services to all Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). And at this start of the year, DELL Philippines brings in good news with Dell Vostro A840 Bundling Promo. For every purchase of Dell Vostro A840, customer is entitled to (1) unit LG KP105.

LG KP105 is a bar phone with a colored monitor, FM radio capable, dual band and has a mobile tracker. Its suggested retail price is 1,999.00 pesos, but LG KP105 can be yours free when you buy Dell Vostro A840.

See flyers and posters for details.

You might want to know how to avail..

Promo Mechanics / Claiming Directions:

This promo is open to all buyers of Dell Vostro A840 laptops from January 15 – February 15, 2009 nationwide.

For every purchase of Dell Vostro A840, customer is entitled to one (1) unit of LG KP105 mobile phone.

To claim your free LG KP105 mobile phone, fax or email the following documents to First Tier Branding Solutions Inc.

Sales Invoice and Official Receipt

Cut out of the laptop’s serial number sticker found in the box

Valid ID (SSS, PRC, Driver’s license, Passport, etc.) and Contact Information

First Tier Brands contact information are as follows:

Tel Nos: (02) 856.2375 / (02) 383.1651

Mobile Phone: (0922) 836.5191

Fax No: (02) 856.2375

Email Address: dell.a840@gmail.com

Address: Unit 1610 BSA Suites Carlos Palanca Street

Legaspi Village, Makati City

Note: A customer representative will contact the claimant/s on claiming instructions.

For Metro Manila customers, please claim your mobile phones at First Tier Brands office. For provincial claimants, First Tier Brands will send the item via courier service. Delivery charges will apply and will be shouldered by the claimant.

All claims must be received on or before April15, 2009. Redemption period is until May 15, 2009 only.

Unclaimed mobile phones will be forfeited in favor of Dell Asia Pacific – Philippine Representative Office SMB Group with prior approval from DTI.

In case of disputes, Dell Asia Pacific’s decision in concurrence with DTI shall be final and non-negotiable.

All employees of Dell Asia Pacific, participating dealers and other promo partners/third parties, including their relatives up to second degree of consanguinity or affinity, are automatically disqualified from joining the promo.

Per DTI-NCR Permit No. 0067 Series OF 2009

Popularity: 14% [?]

Good Great news for Palm fanatics like me: Palm Pre is here; watch out Apple iPhone.

At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas Thursday, Palm (the company formerly known as Palm Computing, which is formerly known as PalmOne, and was formerly known as Palm) unveiled the world’s first device to run on the Palm webOS™: the Palm Pre. The new mobile phone sports a 3.1″ touch screen, is 3G enabled, has 802.11b/g WiFi, built-in GPS, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, proximity sensor, Bluetooth, 8GB internal storage, and the thing that Apple people missed in the iPhone: a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

It will be released soon, and no pricing information yet as of the moment. The only down side, as of this writing, is that when released, it will be in CDMA only. Wonder when will the GSM version will come out? Can’t wait for this piece of technology to land on Philippine shores (perhaps, when that time comes, I will ready to retire my 5-year old PalmOne Treo 600).

Nonetheless, this is a very bold indicator that Palm (the company, the platform, the device, the company who started it all) is very much alive and is ready to reclaim it’s turf in the mobile and smart phone markets.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Having a Personal Area Network (PAN) with the help of a Bluetooth dongle is not enough for me. I need to have access access to the internet anywhere within the house.

Tonight, I paid CD-R King a visit and grabbed the cheapest Wireless Broadband Router they have. I was given with the LP-8186.

The LP-8186 is a wireless broadband router that support 802.11b/g, as well as WiFi a & n classifications. What made me bought the unit was the fact that it also supports up to 4 wired network connections, as a regular 4-port hub will do.

From the time I opened its box, attach the Smart Bro UTP cable to the router, turned on my PC, and launched the setup program, I just took me around 7 minutes. Fired up my desktop’s internet browser and it connects to the internet. Fired up the internet browser in my HP Mini 2133, which is around 10 feet away from the router, and bobreyes.com loads.

To ultimately test its capabilities, I went up to the second floor of our house, tried to surf, and it worked!

Here are some specs of the LP-8186 as printed in its box:

• Supports Gateway modes
• WEP, WPA Encryption – 64/128bit (WEP), WPA TKIP
• TCP/UDP/ICMP/ARP protocol stack
• Dynamic DNS
• DHCP Client and Server
• PPPoE PPTP
• UPnP

Tomorrow, I’ll test on how far can the AP reach — car port? sidewalk? sari-sari store?

Popularity: 24% [?]

Just acquired a secondhand Roland E-16 synthesizer last Saturday. The moment Robyn woke-up Sunday morning, and saw the keyboard, he immediately sampled the great sounds it prod

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Popularity: 21% [?]

An experiment if I can setup a home network for less than PHP500 proved to be a success. I just needed to shell out around PHP300 and some minutes falling in line, and wallah! I can surf the net wirelessly thru my HP Mini 2133 anywhere within the range of our Home Network.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Go to the nearest CDR King branch and buy a Bluetooth Dongle. I went to CDR King Park Square earlier today, and was able to get the smallest bluetooth dongle (the size of a USB stick cap) at PHP300.
2. Head back home, attach the USB Bluetooth Dongle to your Desktop PC (mine is running Windows XP) and install the drivers.
3. In your Desktop PC, open your Network Connections and open the Properties for your Internet Connection, or simply double-click on the Network icon from your Task Bar.
4. Click on the Advanced tab of your Local Area Connection Properties, and make sure that the Internet Connection Sharing checkboxes are ticked. Click on OK and close the Properties window.
5. Open a Command Prompt window (the shortcut is by Running the CMD command at the Start Menu). Check on what is the IP address of your bluetooth network by executing the IPCONFIG /ALL command. Take note of this IP address.
6. Now, fireup your bluetooth enabled device, say a laptop. Connect to your PC using the bluetooth connection. In my HP Mini, I simply right-click on the Bluetooth icon from the Task Bar of Windows Vista, and click onJoin a Personal Area Network. Now you are connected to your Desktop PC.
7. To verify that your are indeed connected to your Desktop PC, execute a PING of the IP address that you had seen earlier. If you will encounter a “Request time out” error, it simply means that your laptop is not able to connect to your desktop.
8. On your laptop, launch the Connection Properties and supply an IP address for your mobile machine. This IP address must be different to the one that we had seen from our desktop.
9. The IP address that you got from your desktop PC will be the Gateway in your mobile device or laptop’s Connection Properties.
10. Now, launch your favorite internet browser and you should be able to surf from your mobile device or laptop, utilizing the connection from your desktop PC.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Attended the briefing about Sky Cable’s Digibox this afternoon at the Hotel Intercontinental Makati. It was hosted by TJ Manotoc. The Sky Cable people, led by their VP made a demo of the Digibox — really kewl features like channel preview, a full week lineup with preview, lots of channels, and channel lock.

People from Sky Broadband was there, too. And as TJ describes it: insanely fast! How fast was it, 12Mbps for a residential broadband.

All bloggers went home with gift certificates from Sky Cable — free installation and rental of Digibox, plus a quarter subscription to Sky Cable Gold at zero cost. Kewl, isn’t it?

(Some pics grabbed from Az — thanks Az!)

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Popularity: 20% [?]

Though it does not run on Intel, still this toy is an HP. Clad in aluminum shell, packed with 120GB of harddisk space and 2GB of ample RAM, I was able to install Microsoft Office 2007, Visual Studio Express 2008, and Adobe CS3 Web Premium on top of Microsoft Windows Vista.

[View with PicLens]

Popularity: 17% [?]