Pinoy Blog Machine (Beta)

So in a few weeks, I’ll probably start using the first wired internet provider here since dial-up.

Since I don’t frequent SM Southmall that often, this place could easily qualify as one of my most frequently visited places here. Particularly when I’m loaded with internet hungry equipment. In spite of its offerings food-wise, it still is a coffee shop at heart. But I don’t mind. Free WiFi and being allowed to use the convenience outlet is definitely welcome.

Half due to the internet conking-out last night and half due to the fact that it’s lunchtime, I decided to re-visit this cafe. Sure, being at school allows me to catch up on my mail. But it does have a lot of site-restrictions. Not to mention the ever-present mosquito swarm and the cats that won’t let you eat at all in peace.

Lunch is not too bad. Given, I do end up spending a bit more here than in others. But 250 pesos for a full meal is definitely not bad. Soup, pasta, dessert and a strawberry flavored smoothie for that amount isn’t bad considering the smoothie alone would cost a hundred on its own.

The day I decided I wouldn't come early was the day I learned that not all Starbucks branches are stingy with their internet. True, most of them require you to pay to use their net via airborneaccess or globe biz, but not all of them (although some don't have it often too). Some actually allow you to use it for free.

The branch across Alabang Town Center (within Madrigal) lets you access the net for free. It also allows you to use their electric sockets as well. Internet speed is not too bad. Around 300+ kb/s. Not as fast as the one in Lifestyle Cafe but definitely better than something you pay for at around Php100 an hour. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try out the electric outlet. I'll probably charge it when I go to school later.

Honestly, I thought it was a fluke that I was able to surf here using my DS. Turns out, the fluke was when I couldn't access it using my phone. Gotta try that again next time. Hopefully I'll insert the picture of this browsing soon. Laziness got to me... *again*

Just this morning, the administrators of PinoyBlogosphere.com has announced that their widely successful Pinoy Blog ranking system found at Ranking.PinoyBlogosphere.com will be shutting down soon.

The administrators were forced to make the decision of shutting it down after receiving a letter from their webhost that Topsites (and any other similar softwares) are not allowed to be run on their servers because it causes huge amount of loads that stresses their servers.

This explains the sudden malfunction of the PinoyBlogosphere badges that shows the ranking of blogs. Yesterday, my badge showed a ranking of 80+ something. Now it only shows two cute little faces which normally signifies that your blog is ranked more than a 100.

A similar Pinoy blog topsite, PinoyTopBlogs.com, also made a decision of shutting down their topsite after experiencing continuous server crashes on their own servers almost everyday. The said topsite is now changing hands to accommodate the overwhelming number of Pinoy blogs that register each day.

I hope PinoyBlogosphere.com finds a way to fix this problem. They could look for a new webhost or something. Such a great thing should never go to waste.

For more up-to-date news about the Pinoy blogosphere, don’t forget to subscribe to PinoyBlogero.com’s Feeds!

In a world where a blogger’s social status is determined by the number of visitors, readers, and blog earnings, I am not so surprised to see that NXE’s Fifty Most Influential Bloggers had quickly become the talk of many blog posts throughout the whole blogosphere.

The said blog post features the top 50 bloggers along with descriptions on why and how they have influenced the blogosphere. I browsed through the whole list and found the list to be well thought out and researched (Though I dare say that I have a slight problem with the other spots, but it’s fine).

Some of my frequent reads have managed to get themselves into the list like Brian Clark of CopyBlogger, Jeremy Schoemaker of ShoeMoney, and Darren Rowse from Problogger.net. And thanks to the list, I have also found some great reads like Eli from BlueHatSEO, Guy Kawasaki of How to Change the World and Sven Lennartz with Vitaly Friedman from Smashing Magazine.

But after sifting through the whole list from Top 50 to the first spot, I can’t help but ask myself, “Where are the Pinoy Bloggers?”

Although, we already have the very famous Michelle Malkin (american born filipina), on the top 16th spot of the list. I wonder where are the other Pinoy bloggers? Why aren’t pinoy blogger celebrities Abe Olandres of Yugatech or Jayvee Fernandez of A Bugged Life on the list?

One of the main reasons why I made PinoyBlogero is because I saw great potential in the Pinoy blogosphere. I saw how Pinoys bloggers have applied their innate competitive nature on their blogs to compete against other blogs to show what Filipinos are made of.

Some of those lucky ones who have managed to cross the borders and gain worldwide recognition are Pinoy bloggers like the Brown Baron from BrownThoughts, Derek Punsalan of 5ThirtyOne, Bryan Veloso of Avalonstar, Carl Ocab of CarlOcab, and many more. However, it still seems that their influence are not enough to grace the top 50 list.

It seems that Pinoy bloggers still have a long way to go. We have great potential and ideas but we still need more effort to gain worldwide fame and recognition. Such a feat requires lots of guts, money, time, and effort for one to be considered influential in the whole blogosphere.

It’s a difficult task, but nobody said it was impossible. If ever a Pinoy blogger manages to get himself on top of that list, rest assured that I will be the first one who will be posting about it.

Hey, we could always list down the Top 50 Influential Pinoy Bloggers, right? Who want’s to do it?

Happy blogging!

For more interesting articles about the Pinoy Blogosphere, don’t forget to subscribe to my feeds! 

Darn Slickness
I got too caught up with my final exams in Mapua that I forgot to announce that I have been accepted to write as a co-blogger on Andrew Dela Serna’s technology blog, DarnSlick.com (If you want to know, Andrew is the creator of Ratified.org and Alleba.com). Yep, the PinoyBlogero is now writing about both geeky and cool stuffs and he is doing quite good!

So if you are craving for posts about technology, gadgets, living, and other cool stuffs, don’t forget to visit and subscribe to DarnSlick.com!

Unbearable Cuteness
I would also like to take this opportunity to say “HAPPY MONTHSARY!” to my girlfriend, Jan (You guessed it, She’s the girl with the bunny band on this blog’s header. Isn’t she cute?).

Bunny, thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for being the one who proofreads and criticizes my works before I post them here in Pinoy Blogero. Thank you for the patience every time I run late for a date because I had to post something before heading to the meeting place. Thank you for the love, the faith, the support, and your company.

Happy 18th Monthsary, Bunny! I LOVE YOU!

——————-

And to everyone else, happy blogging!

When starting out a new blog, part of a blogger’s concern is to set a posting frequency which determines the number of posts to be dished out by a blog in a specified amount of time. I bet some of you took the decision of choosing the posting frequency lightly, thinking that it is not that significant to waste time on. Little do you know that a fully optimized posting frequency is one of the greatest secrets of blogging that was never told (exaggerated, for effect) which can maximize a blog’s capability to earn readers.

Seriously, it’s true.

Look around the blogosphere, you will see that the more successful ones are those who provide content on a consistent basis. If readers like your blog, they would expect more of your posts from you. The decision on WHEN you will give them the content they are yearning for is the one that will greatly affect your blog’s readership.

Post post post!
So how can you choose the optimal posting frequency for your blog? Listed below are the factors that you might want to consider in choosing your posting frequency.

• Blogger’s Availability – Does your schedule allow you to have sufficient time to blog? Lay out your free time and see if you could flesh out a posting frequency that is perfect for your schedule. Remember to also give time to other blogging activities such as visiting other blogs, replying to comments, and such.

• Blogger’s Capabililty – Be familiar with your own writing capability. Are you a fast writer? Are you capable of finishing an article in a pre-defined amount of time? It would be hard to have a posting frequency of one post a day if you take 12 hours in composing one (like me), you would only stress yourself out.

• Blog’s Traffic – It would be a wise move to base your decision on your blog’s traffic behavior. The idea is to set a posting frequency that on the days that you have high traffic. If you get a lot of visitors during Saturday, you may want to put a post on or before the rush of traffic.

• Nature of the niche – Sometimes, a posting frequency of a blog is based on the nature of its niche. Keep in mind that different niches have an ideal posting frequency. For example, tech blogs are usually on a daily post basis because people want to be updated on the latest gadgets daily. Personal blogs, on the other hand, doesn’t really need to have a high posting frequency because it depends upon the mood of the blogger.

• Type of posts – If your blog features newsy type of posts, then it would be ideal and easier to have a more frequent posting frequency because they are easy to finish (all you need is the facts, your own words, and voila you have a news post). When compared to editorial-type of feature type of posts, a low posting frequency is much better because these types of posts usually require lots of time and thought for it to be finished.

Reader’s Feedback!
Here are some of the insights of my readers about Posting Frequencies [For the complete discussion, go here]

Jan (GF ni PinoyBlogero)
cguro its better na thrice a week na lang ang pagpopost para may enough time ka to think and to re-edit ur wok.. mas makakapagproduce ka pa ng magagandang articles..

Maki (No Need for Ink)
At least once a week and not so many posts in a week so that many readers will at least read all of your posts on your index…that’s just what I think for personal blogs..hehe. Personally, I like reading blogs updated 2-3 times a week. If more than that, sometimes I get lost in following the posts, but I guess it depends on the niche. I love blogs about technology so even if bloggers post 2/day, I read them.

JM (Blue Pencil Chronicles)
The goal is always to post at least once a day. But then again, that’s the goal. And I always make it a point to miss the goal. LOL. So my posting schedule is very much erratic. It really depends on the free time I have in my hands plus the topics I’m willing to discuss. So far I can make do with talking about the mundane things in life, so as of late I’ve been posting very frequently. But most of the time, my schedule dictates the frequency, not the other way around. LOL. =) But I really make it a point to at least try to post the ideal frequency. I try. LOL.

sylv3rblade (Atma Xplorer)
I think it depends on what articles you are posting and your blog age. If you’re going for informative and entertaining posts, by all means take your time with them. However, if it’s just updates, breaking news and the like, well you get the idea. As for blog age, I supposed if you’re new to the field, it’s much easier to gain readers via frequent posting. You can get on with your life after getting enough people to come back over again to your blog

P.I.N.O.Y.U.N.I.T.E.D (Pinoy United)
…If you do make it clear somewhere in your blog how frequent you’ll be blogging then you’re reader won’t rather expect more or less. But it does depend on what you’re blogging at. Perhaps, twice a week is a little too infrequent. Make it every other day. There you go, bargaining in action. Interaction is always the key. I’m not saying this as an experienced blogger but an experienced reader.

coy (Cokskiblue)
For video bloggers, once a week is already frequent enough. Not only because of the time we have to spend on shooting, recording and editing but also so that there is more time for more readers err, viewers to watch and comment on our post. The more exposure our vlog gets on our top page/index, the more people will get to watch and comment on it.

yatot (Yatot Chronicles)
ako naman… if i find a free time! wahehehehe… usually kapag hindi kami rush, i see to it na meron akong post 2-3 times a week sa english blog ko. dun naman sa taglish blog ko, dati meron akong posting na umabot yata ng 11 blog entries sa isang buwan… ngaun at most na ang 4 every month or once a week… puro kalokohan lang namn iyon e… hehehehe… ang hirap kasi ng work sa publication, walang definite schedules at iba-iba ang dates ng deadline!

To conclude this post, always keep in mind that if a blog has a higher posting frequency (14 posts a week?) it does not mean that it is already the best and suitable posting frequency. The decision of what posting frequency to choose still falls under the hands of the blogger. So just enjoy and keep those blog posts coming!

Happy blogging!

Are there other factors that should determine and be the basis of our posting frequencies? Do you think you already have the best possible posting frequency on your blog? Share your thoughts below!

For more blogging tips, don’t forget to subscribe to my feeds!

This week is one of the most tiring days of my student blogging life thanks to the impending arrival of finals week. It’s nice to know the Pinoy blogosphere is still having fun without me. Sniff.Here’s a recap of the latest news and interesting posts in the Pinoy blogosphere throughout the whole week:

• The recent verdict on the Joseph Estrada “Erap” trial has caused quite a stir on a number of political blogs in the Pinoy blogosphere. Here are some interesting reads on the said issue:
  The Erap Plunder Trial: A Recap of the Coverage by The Jester-in-Exile, Law Student Par Excellence (heh, he wishes)
  A Guilty Verdict For Erap Is Bad For All Corrupt Officials
  A trap of his own making
• Coy from Cokskiblue has uncovered yet another click fraud invitation that is less blatant than the one I exposed here in PinoyBlogero. Instead of asking for clicks through link-baiting, the said scam targets unsuspecting users of Friendster.  Check out the post here.
• Blogger.com has just recently released Blogger Play, which is a new feature that automatically collects pictures that are posted on blogpost blogs and shows it to others through a slideshow that is updated in real-time.
• Paolo Mendoza from PaoloMendoza.com shifts his blog’s focus and concentrated on talking about “making munnies online”. Yep, the Philosophical Bastard is now teaching everyone how they could earn money through their blogs. Expect a different approach on the world of money making.
• Yatot from RandomThoughtsofMe says that one of the popular things to do in the blogosphere today is to stir things up with a little controversy. What he did was he listed down ten Pinoy bloggers and ranted about the things he doesn’t like about them and attacked them one by one! LOL!
• An interesting piece of writing about the latest gaming fad, Defense of the Ancients (DotA) had been circulating the net lately. The said write-up claims that DotA is devil worship and playing it is like defying God. The author made some word association to make the game seem evil and even a true-to-life testimonial of a boy who was saved from the evils of it. Myk from Lee Flailmarch has stumbled upon the said article and shares his thoughts about it.
• Pinay Wordpress themes designer, Beng Hafner from the blog Kauderwelsch, was accused of stealing graphics that she used on one of her themes. I saw both their works and they are almost exactly similar to each other. Find out the difference by checking out their blogs.
• Users hosted under Philhosting.net are frustrated over the number of downtimes that their servers are experiencing over the past weeks. Allen from Silkenhut.com exclaims, “Their tagline, ‘Affordable Solutions for everyone’, true… but what about reliability?!” I had the same problem when I was still hosted under them just weeks ago, the downtimes were a threat to my blog, which is why I decided to look for a new webhost. Philhosting.net, what is happening to you?

For up-to-date news about the Pinoy blogosphere, don’t forget to subscribe to my feeds!

Blogger.com has just released their newest feature yesterday which they call “Blogger Play“. At first I thought it was a game of some sort but I checked out the link and I found something different yet interesting.

Blogger play is a page that features a real-time slide-show of pics automatically taken from blogspot blogs.

Blogger Play will show you a never-ending stream of images that were just uploaded to public Blogger blogs. You can click the image to be taken directly to the blog post it was uploaded to, or click “show info” to see an overlay with the post title, a snippet.

There is a slider at the bottom where you could change the speed of the transition of images. However, the max speed depends on the internet connection of the user because the images are downloaded simultaneously in real-time.

If you do not want your pictures to be broadcasted all over the net (Little shy, eh?) you could ask Blogger to remove your blog from their listings. It is also interesting to note that their engine automatically filters the pics with “adult content” before putting it into the slideshow.

Blogger play is a simple yet useful feature that is great as a screensaver or for those who are looking for new blogs to read. Check it out, who knows, you might see your own uploaded pics there!

For more information about Blogger play, visit their FAQs page.

For up-to-date news about blogging and the Pinoy blogosphere, don’t forget to subscribe to my feeds!

[Warning: This is a rant post, sorry]

Only one more week until our school’s term break and the already-familiar struggle of students against tons of schoolworks, projects, and exams has finally began. Yep, Hell Week is once again upon Mapuans and PinoyBlogero is now experiencing a hard time juggling both his schoolwork and blogging tasks as always.

I didn’t get the chance to sleep last night and my body motors have been running for over 24+ hours already. Depression had already settled-in after being rejected by our professor to defend our Protoype Project this morning. My overall morale is on an all-time low and it took me exactly 30 minutes just to compose this post from the first paragraph up to this line. Puro wrong grammar pa! Damn.

Doc Tess told me to take some rest for me to replenish both my body’s energy and my creative juices.

@pinoyblogero: Sometimes, an emotional high diminishes our blogging abilities. Just take your time. [Doc Tess through Twitter]

I wonder why I am not following her advice right now. I should be at my dorm right now hitting the sack, but no, i choose to stay at the internet shop to waste money and stress myself even further. To think that I need to get back to school at 12 noon today for a Practical Exam on another one of my laboratory subjects!

Tsk, tsk. Bad Karlo, Bad…

Hmm… Sige na nga, uwi na ako! humph!

I’ll try to upload a post tomorrow if I can. Happy blogging!

Blogging is a mode of expression where people are given the chance to express their thoughts and opinions easily to an online audience.

Indeed, blogging is a tool where we can express our thoughts freely without any limitations. We are not restricted with the rules in writing unless we choose to. We can have wrong grammars, wrong spellings, inconsistent idea flow, rants and even a post full of lists! We are free to do and talk about anything we want and no one has the right to dictate us and steer us away from our own original intentions.

This is why many people consider blogging as free writing… Is it?

I bet most of you may have already heard the news about BoyBastos.com, the website that had been ordered to be temporarily closed down by local authorities after being urged by Senator Loren Legarda that the said site contains materials of explicit content that may pose as a threat to the young internet users of today. [Sources: here and here]

Mark Verzo (the owner of BoyBastos.com) was then invited for questioning and was later released as the authorities decide what course of action to take against BoyBastos.

For a seemingly everyday and common post of Mark Verzo that aims to express and entertain his readers, things suddenly went out of control and everything turned out into a total disaster. It happened to him on his website, it could happen to us on our blogs.

What happened to BoyBastos is really unsettling. Aren’t we on the internet where liberated and radical ideas are common and widely accepted? Isn’t blogging a place where freedom of expression reigns? What happened to free writing?

I have stated earlier that blogging is a form of free writing where we could write about anything that we want without any boundaries whatsoever. Yes, freedom of expression still remains, however, such a concept is nothing more than just a mere illusion.

Why do I say so?

We all know that free writing really does strip off restrictions on writing, however, we are forgetting about one important factor in the world of blogging: Our readers.

Even if we say that we blog just to express ourselves, our readers will always be part of the equation. Once we have published our posts on our blogs, we have subjected ourselves under the judgment and understanding of those who read our works.

We must understand that there are certain consequences in everything that we write and say to our readers. We can’t just insult anyone openly and freely without expecting that someone would stand up against us and fight back. Unknown to many, a huge number of bloggers from all over the world are being sued and arrested because of carelessly expressing their ideas and opinions.

My advice to everyone is this, always be mindful of what you say and do on your blogs. We must be responsible in what we would write about. Be wary of your actions and with every word that you use. Reread your article and make sure that you could defend your own ideas extensively. For even if blogging is considered as a form of free writing, we must not forget that there must also be a sense of responsibility on the part of the writer.

Just another one of my thoughts, happy blogging!

What are your thoughts on this? Can blogging still be considered free writing? Do we really need to be responsible for our actions? For more rants about the Pinoy blogosphere don’t forget to subscribe to my feeds!

Related articles from all over the blogosphere:

BoyBastos: The First Philippine Problogger to be arrested

Boy Bastos Under the Scrutiny of Philippine Authorities

Freedom of Expression and BoyBastos.com

Does Mark Verzo Stand A Chance?

BoyBastos.com: Everything is Political and It All Begins with Sex

Second Thoughts on Boy Bastos (Why Government Needs People Like Us)

[Edited the title. Google might think that I am the one who is asking for clicks. Thanks to Benj for pointing it out]

“Bilang handog pasasalamat sa paglink sainyong blog, manyari lamang na pakiclick ng patalastas (ads) sa itaas. Walang mawawala sainyo. God Bless you.”

Ops, wait lang, I’m not telling you to click on MY ads. The message above was from a post on a seemingly new blog called PinoyRecords. What the blogger did was he linked up to over 500 blogs and asked them to click on his Adsense advertisement in return for the free link. Talk about being desperate. [Check the post here]

I give free links almost everyday here in PinoyBlogero to blogs that I think are worth linking to. I sometimes put links within posts that are related to the topic that I am talking about and I also do a weekly recap of the blogosphere every week that are full of links to other blogs and blog posts.

When I link to other blogs, I don’t ask anything in return. I don’t ask them to link back nor do I ask them to click my ads as a sign of thanks.

The case with PinoyRecords is obviously another way of fooling people so that one could earn easy money out of Adsense. Such an act falls under the activity of click fraud which is defined as:

“…a type of internet crime that occurs in pay per click online advertising when a person, automated script, or computer program imitates a legitimate user of a web browser clicking on an ad, for the purpose of generating a charge per click without having actual interest in the target of the ad’s link.” [source: Wikipedia]

Upon careful research on the Google Adsense Program Policy, we would find out that encouraging clicks on Adsense Ads is not allowed and would lead to being banned from the service.

Publishers participating in the AdSense program… may not encourage users to click the Google ads by using phrases such as “click the ads,” “support us,” “visit these links,” or other similar language.

As you can see, the blogger behind the blog has clearly violated the terms of agreement by resorting to getting easy money through Adsense. I bet the blog had already fooled a number of bloggers into clicking it especially from those newbie bloggers who are not aware that such an activity is not allowed.

This is a call to all bloggers out there that click frauds are unfair and must not be used to earn money the quick and easy way. It is unfair on the part of other bloggers who are trying to earn money legally through Adsense, especially on the part of the advertisers who are spending a lot of money just to promote their products.

Be vigilant and help stop click fraud! Happy blogging!

Don’t forget to subscribe to my feeds!

No need for a long introduction, you know what I post on Sundays here on PinoyBlogero. Here’s another batch of the Pinoy blogosphere weekend recap for the second Sunday of this month.

• Senator Loren Legarda has urged law enforcement agencies to shut down a certain Philippine-based adult website called BoyBastos.com. For news sources: Go here and here.
• Yuga from Yugatech.com reports that the NBI had been issued a clearance to search Mike Verzo’s house (Owner of BoyBastos). He then shares some tips on how bloggers could avoid getting the BoyBastos treatment from those people from up high.
• Want more on BoyBastos? Here are some articles about it from other blogs in the Pinoy blogosphere:
  • BoyBastos: The First Philippine Problogger to be arrested
  • Boy Bastos Under the Scrutiny of Philippine Authorities
  • Freedome of Expression and BoyBastos.com
  • Does Mark Verzo Stand A Chance?
• The people over at Blogger’s Kapihan held their very first Kapihan event, “Blogging Beyond the Basics” talk last September 8, 2007 at the Advanced Sciences and Technology Building AVR of Philippine Science High School. Speakers of the event were Abe Oladres, Victor Villanueva, and Manuel Quezon III.
• Pinoy bloggers voice out their concern on the horrible fate of Chris Mendez and frat violence inside school communities.
  • Apathy: The Most Cold-Hearted Murderer of Them All
  • Cris Mendez, DEAD - Justice for the Boy, When?
  • Hazing, a culture issue
  • A Boy is Dead
  • Dying Young… in the hands of your “Brothers”
  • Aboloshing Fraternities: Why it wont work
• Pinoy Top Blogs, one of the most well-known blog ranking site here in the Philippines, is now under the watch of Enthropia Philippines after an agreement with its previous owner, Abe Olandres, that they will be handling the operations of the said ranking site.

• The Winners of PinoyBlogosphere.com’s Wika2007 has already been announced. Congratulations to all the winners:

Grand Prize: Tungo sa pagbabanyuhay by Ding Fuellos

Second Prize: Naykupu! by Ynon

Third Prize: Ang Obra by Feddie Marc S. Perez

Misteryosa Awards: 1. ‘THE’ Filipino Language: WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS MEAN??? by Frances Paola G. Doplon 2. A Language We All Need to Learn by Ayel

Participants’ Choice Award: Pista ng Wikang Filipino/The Spectacle of the Filipino Language by Marocharim

Consolation Prizes: 1. Ang paradigm shift at ang mga erehe ng KWF by Willy Prilles, Jr. 2. Wika at Musika by Garry Victor Urbi

• On the other side of the blogosphere, Paolo from PaoloMendoza.com has also announced the winners of his very own blog awards which he calls “The Pinoy Evil Blog Awards”

Top 10 Emerging Influential Blog by Reflective Thinking most controversial blog

Marco, the site guy and Mike Villar, sidekick evil blog of the year

Harsh Poetic Chaos philosophical bastard award for machiavellian theories

Happyslip coolest pinoy video blogger

Helga hot hot hot as jalapeno pinoy blogger award

Jessica Zafra most kick ass writer of the year

Sagot! Sagot! Supot! best blog rant of the year

Saging Lang Ang May Puso crackhead video award

Batang Yagit boy bastos writing award

Erase-Her.net poop award

See you guys next week! Happy Blogging!

The second chapter in the Malu Fernandez controversy continues to ensue as Malu Fernandez resumes her post as a columnist on Manila Standard Today last September 3 of this year.

As expected, the people who were angered by her comments about OFWs and who called for her resignation were alarmed of Manila Standard’s decision of keeping Fernandez as a sign of following their protocols. One of those who were agitated was Nick of Tingog.com.

Last September 4, Nick has announced a renewed call to boycott Manila Standard as a sign of saying that Filipinos will fight for the image of the OFWs and they would not accept bigotry and discrimination not only in this country but also in all parts of the world.

“Do not go to their website, do not buy their paper, and anything that they write. Unless it is a declaration of firing Malu Fernandez, it will fall on deaf ears.” -Nick of Tingog.com

If we could recall, Nick was one of the few who were very vocal in expressing his opinions on the issue when the issue first came out.

To those who want to join their cause, go and visit this page, leave a comment, and place the pre-made badge on your blog/site to show your stand against Manila Standard Today and Malu Fernandez.

(Badge created by Karlo.PinoyBlogero for Tingog.com)

Note: I would like to make it clear that I have a different stand on this issue. I really don’t support the call for boycott, nor am I against it. ^_^

Regularly visit this blog for more news about the Pinoy blogosphere or you could subscribe to my feeds.

It's not that I rarely see these things nowadays. Heck, a lot of street corners have them. Gadget knockoffs which seemingly look like a different (notably more popular) product to sell more items. I guess it helps a bit. But enough of that, lets get down to business.

In one of my midday walks down the gadget-aisles in a mall, what have I stumbled upon? It has a similar font to the Sony version. But it definitely doesn't look anything like a Sony product I know.

Enter then, the PGP. At first glance, it looks like. Well, a handheld gaming device.
Well, it sort of does. The button layout seems to dictate it so. But then again, the label says its a
Portable MP4 MP3 Game Player. So it should do more right? Oh. And did anyone notice the way PGP looks like at the bottom of the device?


The number of people prevented me from having a look at this device. Although from past experiences, here is what I assume (so far):

expandable memory
ROM games (most likely NES games)
so-so music capabilities

I'll try to update this if I get any more news. Till then, I'll leave this at that.

It seems that laptops or "notebooks" are not the only devices being plagued by battery recalls. Mobile phone giant Nokia is also recalling several (around 46 million) batteries produced by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan. Reasons are more or less the same as with the laptop battery recall, chances of dislodge, exploding during charging, and the like. As if laptops were bad enough, mobile phones are commonly placed in the pocket. Before images of burnt legs and scorched pockets rocket into your mind, find out how to determine if your battery is recalled on the rest of this post.


Not all Nokia branded batteries are to be recalled. Only the BL-5C model which is pretty commonplace because of the sheer number of mobiles its compatible with. From as low-end as the 1100 to several of the N-series such as the N70 and N72, the BL-5C has pretty much left a pretty big footprint.

You can determine if the battery you have can be replaced at Nokia by checking out the Nokia battery replacement site and entering the data asked for.

After painstakingly dealing with books, handouts and xerox copies, who would have known that I would be able to find a really nice WiFi Hotspot just a bit south of the Metro.

Right in the middle of Gateway Center in Magallanes, at Dencio's to be specific, is a fairly decent access point. I would not wonder however, that there is one here. Most eating establishments already do. Other places I have seen which have the WiFi access point logo are at Starbucks, and Coffee Bean as well as several branches of Perk's.

But the judge of whether a Hotspot is indeed "hot" is how well it performs. It does unbelievably well. Considering that I would only have around an hour to test this, download speeds cap out at around 100kB/s while upload was a meager 24kB/s. Not that I mind though. Surfing even the media intensive sites I know takes only a few seconds. That is by far, good enough for something that is technically free.

For those of you who have read my blog entry about the Nintendo DS browser, thanks. For those who haven't yet, well, you'll understand this tidbit a bit better after reading it here.

Whichever the case, I am currently using my DS to check out the WiFi hotspots I come across. Not the best of equipment I agree, but it is portable as portable is concerned. I have been able to browse successfully at a few Globe BIZ hotspots. Including my first for the DS which was in Alabang. I thought I would try it with some other providers, fortunately, another was available since the Petron SLEX branch of Starbucks is equipped with Airborne Access.

Alas, the good news stopped there. Airborne Access it seems, is a bit picky on who accesses its network. Although, in all true fairness to the provider, it is very much possible that Starbucks itself has blocked the DS. I don't know how (yet). That I admit. Its just that its a different thing with what I have in school. The network just won't give me an IP address so I can browse. Maybe its a bug? Maybe. I am more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

There are a lot of shops that give free WiFi. Unfortunately, some of the more popular stops like Starbucks and Coffee Bean require the use of prepaid cards. Again, I have refrained from bringing my laptop to test these hotspots for a while. At least until my back recovers. But it seems like the HotSpot Quest is far from over.


A few of the posts I have in mind:

Storage devices: Sayonara microSD
Photography: 'tis the photographer that makes the shots
Software: Recovering from a "flashy" disaster

I recently got the Nintendo DS Browser from Data Blitz and I finally got to test how it works. Based on the package, you really just need to read the manual(s) to get started. But if you happen to be anyone like me, you wouldn’t bother. For reference though, here’s what the package comes with.

There really were a lot of manuals in the pack, not that a lot of people would actually read it right? Besides that, the RAM included in the package and the Opera browser in the Slot-1 cart, all you need is the DS to use it with. Or in my case, a DS Lite.

There are quite a few ways to access the net using the browser. First is through one of Nintendo’s Access Points which aren’t available here to date, another is to use the USB-WiFi adapter to connect through a computer with an internet connection. The third which was the one I used, was to simply find a WiFi hotspot. In this case, I tested it at Starbucks across from Alabang Town Center (you know, the place with Security Bank). It was fine really. Not too fast, though not too slow either. I was able to check my Gmail, look at my blog, and other similar stuff. Of course, being the DS equivalent of a mobile browser, its not likely to have support for that many media features. You can browse webpages fine as long as they don’t have flash, and similar media, background music will not play and you don’t have the luxury of saving webpages due to the DS browser’s lack of storage. Then again, Opera has released several versions of the mobile browser so it wouldn’t be impossible for an update.

Surely though, I found the interface easier to use than that on the PSP (Yes, I have toyed with the Sony PSP enough to surf the net on it but joystick-based text input is too much of a hassle for me to bother). You are offered two modes of entry in the browser for the DS. The first is an on-screen keyboard on the touchscreen so you can simply tap your entries (not shown in the images), and the other is a handwriting recognition form which uses per-character recognition. You are given two boxes to write on, one letter at a time, in an alternating fashion (shown below).

White. Arguably the most common color on the web. Taking a look at some of the popular sites out there, Google and Yahoo for instance, are predominantly white. But white is one the most energy inefficient color to produce, as it uses up the most power.

For those who are concerned about the environment (and if you're not, its probably better if you start to), there are methods of minimizing the power consumed even when you depend on predominantly white pages. Of course, there's the usual decrease the brightness blah-blah but there are better ways.

For the search engines, you can opt to use Blackle. Sort of like the Black Google (hence the name), Blackle aims to lessen energy consumption through one simple method. Change the background color of the search engine. If you would take notice of its name, you would already know. The page color is predominantly black.




Black is more energy efficient compared to other colors. And well, in my case, its more pleasing to my eye. And its still powered by Google! As a note, it also keeps the number of watt hours saved listed at the bottom.

Being made using Google's customized search engines, it's bound to have a few differences between the traditional Google.com and Blackle.com. But the differences aren't too great. Just to show you how different the results are, here is a sample from Google.com (on top) and Blackle.com (at the bottom) when I searched for "gadgetspotter".




Not too different eh? BTW, I was a bit surprised that this blog ranked number 2 on the list when I made this entry. But back to the topic, Blackle would make a nice alternative for energy conservation wouldn't it?

It really wasn't something I normally try out. I dislike testing new browsers because well, I'm happy with what I have. The trio of Firefox, IE, Opera and Safari would suffice. But having a weird name, it really roused up my curiosity. SpaceTime is a new generation browser that I recently found. It fosters 3D browsing which isn't really that common in our browsers to date.

But what is 3D browsing anyway? Based on what I've seen from the browser so far, it means good-bye tabs. But that doesn't mean we go back to single window viewing. The tabs are replaced by windows. Yep, windows. Each page you want to view will appear as one window, cascaded in a manner similar to Vista's Flip 3D.



For the most part, SpaceTime is a great proof of concept. Why brand it as a proof of concept then? From the user's POV, this browser is incomplete. Proxies have to be set using Internet Explorer instead of having an option on its own. Customization is limited mostly to the 3D interface.

No.B. You need to have a pretty good system for this to run seamlessly. But don't fret. Even my under-average laptop can handle so there isn't really any reason not to try it out. In case though you do try it on a low-spec computer, be prepared to see this (or similar) dialog.



don't say I didn't warn you...

Well, not exactly bewildering for the most part, but yes, it is extremely addicting. A lot of my friends started playing this game. And I do mean quite a bit. But what is elite beat agents anyway?

First of all, EBA is not a game recommended for the rhythm challenged since the game revolves around you tapping, sliding and swirling onto the beat. Kind of like the Dance Dance Revolution series for the playstation and the PC.

EBA revolves around "Agents" that go around helping people by dancing well, eventually encouraging the people to do well in their plight. Its funny really. Since most of the cases deal with humorous situations like saving a kid from a golem, celebrities standed on a desert island, and the like. But there is a song that is more dramatic in its story. About a girl losing her father while you tap around to the tune of "You're the Inspiration".

This game isn't the first of its kind however, there is also a similar game in Japan which was released earlier called Moero Nekketsu Rhythm Damashi Osu Tatakae Ouendan as well as its second installment (just add a 2). Same principle, different songs. And since you aren't more likely to understand the songs unless you are Japanese, I won't ask if you'd rather stick to EBA.

As of date, there have been rumors of an EBA2 in the mix. Who knows? There might be. DS and DS Lite users, I leave only one word of advice. This is not a game to be taken lightly as it is very easy to scratch your DS while playing this game. Invest in a good screen protector. For the Philippine market, there are a lot of protectors out there, ranging from as low as 80 pesos to as much as 400 pesos. If you want details on where to buy them (if you really really need it), feel free to contact me at my e-mail address listed below. But most likely, you already know where to find it. Hehe...

By the way, the reason why I recommend the protector is because without it, gadgetspotter would be a very sad DS player. Yep, the protector is already scratched. But better that than the screen right?

Harry Potter. For the span of how many years has this been the talk of the town. During book launchings, movie screenings, and even game releases. Although naturally, the game releases probably feel least populated by fans.

Today, at 7:01am in the Philippines, the final installment of the seven-book series has been released. I for one, was part of one of the long lines pondering bookstores all over. Fortunately, I was part of the first 50. I'll try to post some images of the line though I think it doesn't need any emphasis.



I have yet to read the book. A book which inspired a series of movies and games as well. I have watched all the movies, some more than once. But as for the games, I really did not have a thing for them.

You might be wondering, why post about something like this in a techie blog?

Well, worry no more, for the people who actually visit my blog. It is not part of the hype alone. This is one of the few series (few?) that evolved much over time. Particularly for the movies and games. In fact, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire happens to be one of the first games I got on DVD.

Game quality is something that varies according to time. If you would remember the first Harry Potter game based on the Sorceror's Stone (the Philosopher's Stone for those in Europe), compared to the games now, based on the Order of the Phoenix, well, its far from the first ones for sure. Has gameplay really improved? I suppose. You have more control, more things to manipulate and other stuff like that. But it has yet to give me enough motivation to finish.

I suppose, the reason I wrote this is because of the 7th book and the 5th movie. I have watched the movie and am yet to rate it. Probably, I'll do that after I see the IMAX version (I hope I still get to).

To J.K. Rowling, nice work on creating the series. I have yet to finish the book, hope it is as great a read as those before it.

While behind on my postings, this bit of news can’t wait. Well, not really. It can. I just don’t want to forget about this right now.

I saw an iPhone today. Yep. In the Philippines, and definitely NOT a clone. I have seen many clones and this definitely is not one of them.

Location, Park Square 1. It really wasn’t that obvious (hence the lack of photographic evidence) since I was just strolling. It took some time for me to notice the particular phone that the two people were talking about. I heard the words “fast user interface” and thought I could sneak a peek and yes, I managed to do so without being suspicious/weird about it.

What made me feel sure it was an iPhone? Well, with all the iPhone talk on the internet, the main screen has been, in a way, burned into my mind. The distinct colors,the size, the material used, the glassy screen was distinctly iPhone-ish.

The thing that makes me wonder is, why here? Now? The iPhone has just been released in the States. And that was under a contract with AT&T. So the presence of an iPhone here would mean either one of quite a few possibilities. But regardless of what those possibilities are (one of them reads Gray Market), I wonder if it can already be used in the Philippine network system. It’s no big news that there are a lot of hackers there for the iPhone. Its only a matter of time before they figure out how.

But in mind of these thoughts, the thing still ringing in my mind is:

I saw a real live iPhone! Hehehehe

It's actually a thing I've only seen in Cellphone Network ads recently. But with the defective devices I've been testing recently (which will NOT be mentioned in any more detail), I had to try a sort of different kind of customer care. In the wee ungodly hours of the night, who you gonna call? Definitely not the ghostbusters. You can't even expect to call any sort of support technician for that matter. Is there any hope for the desperate? Well, for HP users, there is at least. HP Real-time Chat Support. Yep. CHAT.

What started out as a hit with teenagers with conversing with their peers is now one of the customer care services provided by HP. No, its not based in the Philippines. It's based in the U.S. but if your product is listed in their database for the US market, then feel free to try. No harm in asking right? Anyway, this service goes for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Perfect for those late night experiments you've screwed up. I've been able to use this service for quite a few times now and by far, it beats those phone conversations you have with call center reps. Faster, none of those annoying hold-tones, and they actually send you a transcript when your done. Great service really in my opinion. Just hope they keep it up. Great job on this one HP. Really.

Sometimes, one isn't enough. In the Philippine context, that applies to many things. Cellphones, where here, it is not uncommon to see people with several networks in a pocket. As well as several e-mail addresses, internet social circles and the like. But what of search engines? Are they immune to the concept of polygamy? Not really. As was recently introduced to me, welcome to the first "threesome" between user and search engine. Literally. Lets take a peek at a concept child of search-engine-polygamy, GahooYoogle.


Its actually quite interesting. Since Yahoo is no longer powered by Google (the powered by Google logo is gone now), it boasts that at least 70% of the first 100 results are different. Isn't that good for speeding up searches? Maybe (see image below)

Its really a different way of searching from what one is normally used to (see first photo) considering the split-view, even when you browse the results (not shown).

Don't worry though, its not a threat to your internet security (as of my tests) so go ahead and feel free to use it.

Other alternatives I like though are the iGoogle personalized search page (review coming soon!) and Google Scholar.

I know. It has been a fairly long time since my last post. I guess I've been busy with my new hobby. To those who frequent my blog, apologies for that. Anyway, on with the show. After several bad attempts at looking for some decent cells to work with, I finally got my hands on some decent rechargeables. Both of them are from SANYO and one of them is a very rare type the last time I checked.

After an exam (not too hard hopefully), I began searching for tools to make my computer lifestyle a bit more colorful. No, I am not looking for the Vista look anymore. There are far too many blogs noting that. I am looking for functionality. Google has been known for providing useful applications (if you don't believe me, take a look at GMail). Another 'googlicious' app I found is Google Desktop.