After reading my cousin's copy of Twisted 5 and 6, finding both to be good reads, though a bit outdated, since it pertains to blog entries [or possibly column material] from five or six years ago. I got myself a copy of "The 500 People You Meet In Hell" thinking that it would take me awhile to read the whole book. But alas, it took me an hour and a half to finish the book. I felt a bit ripped off, since I expect actual reading material [and not much illustrations], especially from a book that Jessica Zafra has written. It was definitely full of irony, which she specializes, so it wasn't a complete loss.
I got Twisted 7 a week ago, and I figure to read it over the week during times of idle time. I'll post another entry once I'm finished going through it. Right now, I am just wondering as to why I bought a book which is in essence a collection of blog entries from years past? I got duped, methinks. But then again, there's not too many places where you can read irony and seeming cynicism and get to enjoy it as well.
She happens to have an online home, which I found at Wikipedia. You can go to www.jessicarulestheuniverse.com for regular updates on tennis, movies, and cats. And of course herself. Can't have a blog without talking about oneself every now and then.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tech: IBM makes free alternative to Microsoft Office
IBM is set to make a new line of software to compete with Microsoft's stranglehold in the Office productivity field. Tentatively titled the IBM Lotus Symphony, it is set to be announced at a company event.
The link has now been made available for download at www.ibm.com/software/lotus/symphony. You would need a valid email address to register and download the program. I will download this later today and check in again with a review on this Office Suite and how it compares to Microsoft Office [ Office 2k3, since that is what I have with me].
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Tech: Another Office Alternative you might like
Need to update your documents on the go but don't have Office in your current computer? Considering the price of a licensed copy of Microsoft Office, it can be understandable if you don't have it on all the computers that you use. There are definitely some alternatives that are free for download like the open source OpenOffice.org, or Suite602's line of office applications, but downloading them can be a bit tedious if your internet access isn't the fastest in the world. What do you do, then?
Google has created its' own line of applications that you can use for editing documents, spreadsheets and applications called Google Docs. Just like OpenOffice and Suite602, it is completely free. It allows you to do what you normally do with MS Office: create documents, edit them, add tables, and whatnot. Surely not all the features of Microsoft Office would be there, but it would suffice your needs.
An advantage that Google Docs has is that you can share it with others who you might be working with. You can allow them to make changes on the same document you are working with you real-time. Just as much, you can opt who would be able to view your documents. You have the option to keep a copy of the file you created/edited online. If you have a blog, Google Apps allows you to post it directly to it.
You just need to have a Google account to get started with it. Features are constantly being improved regularly. It never hurts to try! ^_^ V ... you can proceed to http://docs.google.com
Google has created its' own line of applications that you can use for editing documents, spreadsheets and applications called Google Docs. Just like OpenOffice and Suite602, it is completely free. It allows you to do what you normally do with MS Office: create documents, edit them, add tables, and whatnot. Surely not all the features of Microsoft Office would be there, but it would suffice your needs.
An advantage that Google Docs has is that you can share it with others who you might be working with. You can allow them to make changes on the same document you are working with you real-time. Just as much, you can opt who would be able to view your documents. You have the option to keep a copy of the file you created/edited online. If you have a blog, Google Apps allows you to post it directly to it.
You just need to have a Google account to get started with it. Features are constantly being improved regularly. It never hurts to try! ^_^ V ... you can proceed to http://docs.google.com
Monday, September 17, 2007
Phoenix Mercury shocks Detroit to win WNBA title
A quick 20-9 run midway during the first quarter powered the Phoenix Mercury to their first ever WNBA title over the Detroit Shock.
It was a contrast of styles that dictated the series as Phoenix, the league's top offensive team, faced off against the defending champions Detroit Shock, the top defensive team in the league. The series was tight as the two teams split the first four games of the five-game playoff, with each team winning on the other's homecourt.
Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter scored 26 points and was named the MVP of the Finals series.
I personally would be the first to admit that my prediction for this series was off. I wrote about my playoff predictions in length here. I fully expected the Shock to be able to contain the Mercury's two top guns Taurasi and Pondexter, but they were quickly deflated by the fast start by Phoenix and never recovered in the clincher.
It was a contrast of styles that dictated the series as Phoenix, the league's top offensive team, faced off against the defending champions Detroit Shock, the top defensive team in the league. The series was tight as the two teams split the first four games of the five-game playoff, with each team winning on the other's homecourt.
Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter scored 26 points and was named the MVP of the Finals series.
I personally would be the first to admit that my prediction for this series was off. I wrote about my playoff predictions in length here. I fully expected the Shock to be able to contain the Mercury's two top guns Taurasi and Pondexter, but they were quickly deflated by the fast start by Phoenix and never recovered in the clincher.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Record baseball sold for over $700,000
Matt Murphy, the 21-year-old who caught Barry Bonds' record breaking 756th career home run ball has sold it at an auction Saturday night.
The ball was sold for $752,467, a record for Barry Bonds-related memorabilia but was far short from the record price for a baseball. The record price paid for a baseball was the one that collector Todd McFarlane paid for a cool $3 million: Mark McGwire's 70th home run during the 1998 season.
credit goes to this news item.
The ball was sold for $752,467, a record for Barry Bonds-related memorabilia but was far short from the record price for a baseball. The record price paid for a baseball was the one that collector Todd McFarlane paid for a cool $3 million: Mark McGwire's 70th home run during the 1998 season.
credit goes to this news item.
Friday, September 14, 2007
A-Rod: Future Home Run King in the making?
Barry Bonds is the new home run king. After more than three decades of Hank Aaron holding the “holy grail” of all baseball records, Bonds, amid steroid scandals and all, passed Hammerin’ Hank when he hit his 756th career home run a month ago. He is currently padding his career total and has said that next season will be his last in the Major Leagues. With his current pace, Bonds might just hit somewhere close to 800 home runs before he retires.
Slowly but surely, creating havoc among Major League pitchers with his home runs, Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player in league history to reach 500 career home runs at 32 years old. At this time of writing, A-Rod currently has 52 home runs (HR) for the season and 516 for his career. Outside of his first two years in the majors (where he only played a total of 65 games), he has been hitting around .300 and has averaged roughly 40-50 home runs per year. He is poised to eventually set a record or two with his hitting. Would the home run record be within his sights before he hangs it all up?
Given that A-Rod started quite early, playing in the majors at the age of 19, if he plays for the next 10 years, he would retire having played for 23 seasons. Though it can be taken that he would not be as productive now as he would be at around age 38 onwards, he should still be able to produce decent numbers to help him reach the home run record [which from an estimate would be close to 800 homers].
Let’s see if I can show a computation of what CAN happen with A-Rod’s home run total:
Let us assume that A-Rod does not hit a home run for the rest of the 2007 season: He’ll finish the season with 52 HR with 516 for his running total.
For the next 5 seasons (until Rodriguez becomes 37): He could hit around 40-50 HRs per year, so lets estimate 45 HR/year -> 225 HRs total
After 5 more seasons (age 38-43): He would be hitting slightly lower HR totals, around 30 per year -> 150 HRs total.
All in all, I am estimating that he could hit around 375 HRs for the next 10 years, and with his 516 HRs already hit:
516 + 375 = 891 HRs.
My equation might be flawed, and I do admit, this is just a rough sketch of what MAY happen as long as Alex Rodriguez remains healthy, and he keeps on hitting home runs at the pace that he’s in right now.
Even Barry Bonds himself said in an interview that he is just “babysitting” the record until A-Rod catches up. I feel the same way.
Slowly but surely, creating havoc among Major League pitchers with his home runs, Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player in league history to reach 500 career home runs at 32 years old. At this time of writing, A-Rod currently has 52 home runs (HR) for the season and 516 for his career. Outside of his first two years in the majors (where he only played a total of 65 games), he has been hitting around .300 and has averaged roughly 40-50 home runs per year. He is poised to eventually set a record or two with his hitting. Would the home run record be within his sights before he hangs it all up?
Given that A-Rod started quite early, playing in the majors at the age of 19, if he plays for the next 10 years, he would retire having played for 23 seasons. Though it can be taken that he would not be as productive now as he would be at around age 38 onwards, he should still be able to produce decent numbers to help him reach the home run record [which from an estimate would be close to 800 homers].
Let’s see if I can show a computation of what CAN happen with A-Rod’s home run total:
Let us assume that A-Rod does not hit a home run for the rest of the 2007 season: He’ll finish the season with 52 HR with 516 for his running total.
For the next 5 seasons (until Rodriguez becomes 37): He could hit around 40-50 HRs per year, so lets estimate 45 HR/year -> 225 HRs total
After 5 more seasons (age 38-43): He would be hitting slightly lower HR totals, around 30 per year -> 150 HRs total.
All in all, I am estimating that he could hit around 375 HRs for the next 10 years, and with his 516 HRs already hit:
516 + 375 = 891 HRs.
My equation might be flawed, and I do admit, this is just a rough sketch of what MAY happen as long as Alex Rodriguez remains healthy, and he keeps on hitting home runs at the pace that he’s in right now.
Even Barry Bonds himself said in an interview that he is just “babysitting” the record until A-Rod catches up. I feel the same way.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Apple iPod Touch
Now, I know that this has been seen about a week already, along with the news that the iPhone's price would be going down by $200 (which apparently angered the people who fell in line when it was first released).
I personally just wanted the look of the iPhone and the non-phone features that it had when I first got wind of it. Now that the iPod Touch would be released, I'd be going to take this one instead of the iPhone, and save myself the hassle of having to unlock the iPhone [or be ripped off by people who do phone unlock services].
Hopefully it doesn't get overpriced when it reaches the shores of the Philippines.
Nokia announces battery recall
Nokia has announced a battery recall program regarding a specific battery model used in their mobile phones. The company has said that in very rare cases, the batteries might experience overheating by a short circuit while the phone is charging.
Around 46 million batteries are affected. These batteries were manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. Around 100 incidents of overheating has been reported around the globe.
The BL-5C batteries have been used with the following Nokia models:
Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60
and to the following accessories:
Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-1W, Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-3W
Nokia is encouraging everyone to check on their batteries online to see if the battery is part of the recall. The website provides instructions on how to check if the battery is part of the recall. Here's the link: Battery Recall
Around 46 million batteries are affected. These batteries were manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. Around 100 incidents of overheating has been reported around the globe.
The BL-5C batteries have been used with the following Nokia models:
Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60
and to the following accessories:
Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-1W, Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-3W
Nokia is encouraging everyone to check on their batteries online to see if the battery is part of the recall. The website provides instructions on how to check if the battery is part of the recall. Here's the link: Battery Recall
Review: Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505
Working for a call center which deals with Dell computers has a few perks of its' own. You get to learn the inside workings of the systems and you'd be afforded the opportunity to use the desktops and portable systems on a regular basis. One such system that I've been fortunate enough to use on a regular basis is the Inspiron 6400, or the E1505 as marketed in other US segments.
For this review, let me provide you with an overview of the specifications of the I6400 that I am using at work:
Dimensions: 356 x 266 x 39mm (WDH)
Weight: 2.85kg
Processor: 2Ghz Intel Core 2™ Duo T5250 processor
Memory: 2GB DDR2 RAM [2 1GB memory sticks]
Video Card: Intel Graphics Media [integrated video]
Display: 15.4 SXGA+ LCD display
Audio: integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Connectivity options: Dell Wireless Card [802.11 a/b/g], 56K dial-up modem, 10/100 integrated NIC, Bluetooth
Storage: 80GB 5400RPM SATA HDD, SD/MMC/MS/PRO/xD media card reader
Battery: 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery [6 cells]
Optical Drive: 16X DVD +/- RW Drive
Expansion slot: Express Card
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
First off, let me note that if you are looking for a computer that you could take places, then this might be a bit heavy for carrying around. Though, on second thought, with the features this system packs, it might be well worth it.
A part of the 80GB hard drive is allocated for Dell's idea of making OS Reinstallations easier: PC Restore. It consumed about 10GB of space for it alone. All in all, the system I have started out at around 60GB of space. I've received a handful of calls from customers complaining about this lack of notification from Dell, but I just inform them that in case the system needs to be reinstalled completely, it is much more convenient, compared to doing it using the CDs [PC Restore takes 10-15 minutes to restore the system to original configuration, compared to 1-2 hours performing the conventional reinstallation].
Everything seems to load up pretty quickly when needed. Startup takes about a minute to finish. It is pretty good for normal tasks, like opening documents, playing DVD movies, and music. It doesn't show signs of slowing down even when doing multiple tasks.
The display is good, but not great. Some sections of the screen seem to have a low backlight compared to others. It is hardly noticeable though, unless you watch movies on it regularly.
Another consideration is the battery life of the system. I'm using a 6-cell battery which provides roughly around 2-3 hours of regular use.
The keyboard feels fine, though it takes a bit of adjustment to get used to typing with it for prolonged periods of time. The touchpad is very responsive, and a nifty scrolling feature is added on the lower right corner of the pad. The only issue I encountered with it is that the touchpad buttons feel a bit unresponsive at times.
For all it's worth, I'd give the Inspiron 6400 an 8 out of 10. And with a new line of systems released late last month by Dell, the price on this system would be lower from what the market is currently pricing this one for.
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