How to get a TIN (Taxpayer's Identification Number) ID

These days, a valid ID is essential in transacting with banks, and other offices. A school ID just doesn't suffice anymore, and since our company changed IDs, that too, is no longer enough. Looking around, I ventured out to get myself some valid identification.

I've been working for eight years but for the most part have gotten by using my company ID for identification. Due to security purposes, though, our company changed to a format without signatures on and much info on the ID card, which made it necessary for me to go through with the process of getting proper identification. Necessity = mother of invention, or in my case, mother of action.

Here's how I got my TIN ID:

Since I got my TIN from my employer, I was advised to proceed to our Regional District Office [RDO 050], which is in Makati [5th floor, Atrium Building, Makati Avenue]. I went there early, I was there before 8AM, since I expected it to be a long and drawn out process [as with most, if not all government requests, hah!].

My number was called [I was number two], and was asked to fill-up a small form, with the basics, you would need to know your TIN as they would check if it is a valid number beforehand. Once done, you would be asked to wait for your name to be called.

It is fortunate for me that the BIR in Makati had a fairly spacious office, with airconditioning, so waiting was not a big inconvenience. Coming in early was a big plus, I'm guessing as I did not have to contend with a lot of people in line. I had my name called roughly 45 minutes later. I had my ID and confirmed my details before leaving.

It was a basic card where you need to put your own picture, and laminate. Pretty good, it only took me an hour for a valid ID, with no cost incurred outside of the fare to travel to the BIR office. Awesome, if you ask me, and it includes address, and one's date of birth on the ID itself.

Disney Reveals New Cars 3, Incredibles 2, and additional Star Wars episode 7 details

Robert Iger confirmed during Walt Disney Co.'s annual shareholders meeting that the two sequels from Pixar Animation Studios are in the works and will be released sometime after 2015.

Mr. Iger also revealed a few more details regarding the company's highly anticipated seventh "Star Wars" movie, scheduled to come out late 2015. It was said that it will take place 30 years after Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, and will feature "some very familiar faces along wtih a trio of new young lead". No cast members have been confirmed yet, but the movie is scheduled to start shooting in May.

Source: Disney Reveals Incredibles 2 and Cars 3
　

How to Turn off In-App Purchases in Android Devices

1.)    Open the Google Play Store app.

2.)    Select “Menu” and then “Settings”.

3.)    Look under “User Controls” and select the option to “Set or Change PIN”.

4.)    Enter your preferred code twice and make sure to check the box next to “Use PIN for Purchases”. This would ensure that no one would accidentally spend money inside apps without knowing the passcode.

How to Speed up Data Transfer to/from a USB flash drive

You might have noticed slow copy speeds with some USB flash drives. There is a tweak which helps in increasing the speed or giving a speed boost to USB-based storage.

By enabling this tweak, the write caching option in windows will be enabled.

• Plug in your USB Drive.
• Then Open My Computer> right-click on your USB Drive >click Properties.
• Select your USB drive Under Hardwares and choose Properties.
• You will see a dialog box saying ” Optimize for quick removal”.This option is selected by default.
• Select “Optimize for Performance”option.
• Now, remove USB drive and plug it again.
• Copy some files from the drive to your system or vice-versa. You should be able to notice a slight improvement in data transfer

Word of Warning: If you decide to enable this option in Windows, make sure you use the safely remove hardware option in windows each time you remove the flash drive from Windows. If not, you might encounter errors with the drive. This tweak is not designed to give exceptional speed improvements, it will come in handy while copying a large chunk of files.

How to View Up to Four Apps At Once in Windows 8.1′s Modern UI

 

One of the best new features of Windows 8.1 is the ability to split your Modern UI screen between up to four apps, and with the Windows 8.1 update, you can now open and snap apps side by side for efficient multitasking. The function is still limited by your screen resolution — you get a window for each 500px horizontally on your machine. This means that if your device’s native resolution is 1920 x 1080, you can only have 3 side-by-side apps [3 x 500=1500 pixels]. For those with 1366 x 768, you're still stuck with 2 apps at the same time.

But even then, default display settings can prevent you from using more than two windows concurrently. If your screen resolution is at least 1500 pixels-wide, here’s how to make sure you are using the right settings to open up to four apps at once.

1. Type “Display” anywhere on your live tile home page. This brings up a search for “Display”.
2. Tap “Display Settings” from the results on the right.
3. Hit the dropdown arrow under More Options.
4. Select Smaller if you see that option. If your only other option is Larger, your device is already set to its widest resolution.

You should see your content decrease in size, and have more tiles on the Start screen at once. Now you’re ready to snap as many apps side by side as your device will allow.

TWC Provides Free Phone Calls to Philippines

Time Warner Cable announced on November 12 that all calls placed by its' Home Phone and Business Service customers to landline and mobile numbers in the Philippines will be free through November 30, and is retroactive for all calls placed since November 8. This service will help our customers in the Filipino-American community keep in touch with family and friends impacted by Typhoon Yolanda, international name, Haiyan.

TWC Phone customers who make calls to the Philippines during the eligible time period do not need to make any changes to their accounts. Customers who were charged on or after November 8 will automatically be credited.

In addition, Time Warner Cable has made The Filipino Channel available at no additional cost to digital TV subscribers through November 15, 2013 to help customers better connect to news and information about Typhoon Yolanda recovery efforts.

New Facebook Game has people going with different statuses

The past two days has been a bit crazy in Facebook with seemingly a lot of people having something to confess or getting married or something seemingly innocent. So, you comment, or like the status only to find out that you've been baited into a game. You receive a private message with the instructions, and just like chain messages an era ago, the message spreads as more and more friends join in. Well, it has been a full two days and it seems like everyone's wondering as to what's up. Note though that I have no idea as to who originated the game and as to who was Victim 0 in this setting:

Here's the message I received after I posted a seemingly innocent observation on one such comment:

It's a game. At dahil nag like/comment ka kasali ka na eto yung rules: The person who likes/comments has to choose one of the following to post on his/her timeline. 1. I've been in 42 relationships 2. I think I like someone, what should I do? 3. My mom arranged me for a blind date 4. Someone invited me to be a prostitute, what should I do? 5. I forgot to wear my underwear today 6. I am going to confess something, support me 7. I still love my ex. 8. We are getting married in a few days. Note: you should not explain anything, just post and leave it for at least a day.

My own post garnered 180+ likes, which I found to be crazy. Am I really getting that old that people are so happy that I'm finally settling down? Hehee.

Free XBox Games on Windows 8

Still on the fence as to what to actually do with Windows 8? As Microsoft starts to expand the XBox brand to go beyond just the console itself and its games and more into other infrastructures [XBox Video, XBox Music, and Xbox Games for Windows at the moment] to better cope with the changing preferences of the computing public. People may still not like the whole Metro/Modern UI, but for casual users, the various apps available in the Windows 8 store would definitely get to suit a lot of people's needs.

As with The Gunstringer being made free for a limited time last January, the Windows 8 app store is providing a few more XBox games for free. Previously included as paid apps, it is time to grab these free goodies while they're free. One might think that these are piss poor apps, but these are Miniclip-made games, and Miniclip has done a great job of porting their games from the browser to the various mobile platforms. In particular, I've been playing Gravity Guy when it was earlier released for Android and the transition to this new platform has been seemless.

Since these games are included as XBox Games for Windows, these also include the standard 200 gamerscore for achievements, so that's an extra incentive for players to boost their gamerscore-slash-bragging rights a bit.

Included below is the screenshot for reference. One can access these games through the Store app, and/or the Games app on your Windows 8 Start Screen.

The Gunstringer free for Windows 8 until January 28 PST

Using Windows 8 but has not found too many games to play with [at least, for free]? It has been reported that Temple Run would soon be ported to Windows 8, but while waiting for the smash hit from Imangi Studios, there's another game that deserves some attention. 

The Gunstringer is currently available for Windows 8 users and for free until January 28 PST. Go back to the Wild West as you go off on a dead run to complete the story mode, or when you're more up to it, the endless run mode. 

Also, it should be noted that Windows Live/XBox users can get additional gamerscore [although its quite low compared to regular XBox titles] by getting achievements in-game.

For more information, here's the game description from the publisher themselves:

Hit the trail at a dead run as you race through three sprawling Wild West locations and 15 levels as the Gunstringer, the legendary skeleton cowboy marionette bent on vengeance. But as the ol’ saying goes—if you climb in the saddle, be ready for the ride! Avoid deadly obstacles, take aim in fast-action shootin’ challenges, collect tasty loot, and battle outlaws—all while being pursued by the hands of Hell!

Complete the level-driven Story mode, and then challenge friends for braggin’ rights and loot payouts in three Endless Run levels. Exchange hard-earned loot for new customization options such as weapons, power-ups, and more to aid in the Gunstringer’s quest for the evil bandit!

I gave it a go yesterday in one of our work crashboxes and I was hooked. Time flew by and it is not just about running, since it adds a slight wrinkle to the genre, where you need to properly time your shots at certain parts of the game. 

In-game currency is either gold coins or the premium diamonds [which you can buy in-game]. You can unlock the various powerups and customizations without having to fork over real dough, which is always a welcome plus. 

So if you're on Windows 8, this is a must-grab especially while it's free.

Weekend Adventure - Shaw to Cubao

It was the end of a work week and I was walking out of the office building to make my way home. It was 5AM on a dark, cool, Saturday morning and I had nothing in the books for the day, so I decided to do something I haven't done in awhile. In fact, the last time I did it was back when I was still in Eastwood, during the first quarter of 2012. I had my earphones on hand, so it was on.

I walked home from Shaw Boulevard to our house in Cubao.

I checked my phone and it showed 5:27AM. I plugged in my earphones and fired up the music player and I was on my way. Since it was an unplanned trip, I didn't know which way to go aside from go straight. Little did I know that there were detours I needed to go through [I jaywalked once (while crossing Ortigas Avenue), and was on the side of the road instead of the sidewalk on the road from Megamall to Robinson's Galleria]. I took some photos on the way, more like checkpoints as I go. It helps that one of my photo apps have the option to add timestamps.

 Taken as I was approaching Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas

I've made it to EDSA Shrine. A group of people was gathered to say the rosary and i slipped and fell while trying to find a restroom. Nonetheless, on to the journey at hand.

 

Corinthian Gardens. Shortly after passing Ortigas Avenue, this is the first landmark I saw so I took a moment and snapped this picture.

 

 The EDSA People Power monument, roughly a kilometer from the EDSA shrine found in EDSA corner White Plains Avenue, Quezon City.

It was a little past 6 AM while I was making my way to the Santolan MRT station. Good deal, two stations down, one more to go.

Not having eaten for the past 6+ hours and having forgotten to take along a drink, I decided to stop by Minute Burger for a quick bite. Man, these places are few and far between. I used to remember eating at either Minute Burger or Burger Machine during high school. Angel's Burger is just meh compared to the heyday of Burger Machine [they even had commercials with the Eraserheads song in it].

 The last picture I took around EDSA before I took a detour at Main Avenue and made my way towards SM Cubao and on to our house near Aurora Boulevard.

Just a little past 7AM and the Araneta Center and SM Cubao is within reach.

I reached home at around 7:15AM, clocking in at roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes including the burger break I took when I was near home stretch. I'll try mapping my route a bit better next time since I definitely don't want to jaywalk, and I'd like to keep myself more on the sidewalks with all the buses zipping by. 

Random thoughts - September 26

Am I progressing along the path I choose to, or is it because it is the path of least resistance? Sometimes I wonder if I make choices for myself regarding this so-called career or am I just drifting along? Am I challenging myself to be better? Am I doing my best to improve?

MyPhone A878 Dual Core Smartphone revealed

After a few weeks of hype, local smartphone manufacturer MyPhone has finally revealed their latest Smartphone offering, a dual-core entry called the MyPhone A878. This seems to be a different model from what Chuckie Dreyfus had posted about on his blog All Chucked Up! [He mentioned it being a myPhone A898].

  

The company is performing the formal launch at Metrowalk, in Ortigas with the promo price of only P5,388, if you are a MyPhone Facebook fan. Instructions are included in their FB fan page for more details.

The specs include:

OS: Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

Processor: 1Ghz Dual Core

LCD: 4.3" IPS Capacitive Touchscreen

Camera: 5MP with Flash and Auto-focus

Dual SIM
Wifi
Bluetooth
FM Radio
MP3/MP4/Sound Recorder
Sensor
GPS
TV-Out

 

One sore missing point would be the seeming lack of 3G/HSPA/LTE from the list of features, so if you plan on using mobile internet, that might need further clarification. I personally have not found an answer regarding that from their FB admins. 

Though, if you're like me, who's not as reliant on 3G/HSPA and could browse with relative ease or have constant access to Wi-Fi, this could be a good cheap phone to look into. Certainly cheaper than most entry level phones from Samsung and other Android OS manufacturers.

Paalam Dolphy

Dolphy's Walk of Fame star in Eastwood City, Libis

It has been a fairly surreal past few days with the seemingly sudden passing of comedy king Rodolfo "Dolphy" Quizon. After a week or two of improving diagnosis while still in the ICU, it came off as a curveball out of nowhere that his body betrayed him. Six decades of comedy gold, before age inevitably caught up with him. He barely missed his 84th birthday by 14 days.


I started watching Home Along Da Riles when I was younger. That's a decade's dose of weekly comedy growing up. It was an event, not only for me, but for the family, and my cousins. All these years and only yesterday that I thought as to how they could be neighbors with Nova Villa [who plays a rich woman], when they're supposedly living in the slums? Then again, the comedy more than made up for the loopholes in the storyline.

Thank you, sir. I would not prolong this by saying I watched all your movies [I didn't], and/or having a monologue of your accomplishments [everyone can look that up]. This is my corner in cyberspace, and on this short notice, I just want to say thanks for the memories.

MyPhone A818 Duo

I haven't written much about gadgets for awhile, and I've been toying within the Android-sphere lately. I have my Dell Streak and Kindle Fire to thank for that. I've fooled with rooting, installing custom roms and what-not to tweak and customize my gadgets even more, mainly because I want to maximize what I paid for these gadgets, e.g. getting bang for your buck. But what if, you are running on a very limited budget but want in on the Android experience? First thing that came to my mind was the Samsung Galaxy Y, but I'm not into shelling out cash for a gadget just for testing purposes. Alas, I no longer have an agent who has one that I can play with.

I took notice of this offer from myPhone, but as I earlier said, I wasn't going to shell out for something I would not use for the long term. It just so happened that one of my agents managed to purchase this during its introduction period, when it was priced at P3,999 [SRP is at 5,499]. So I borrowed it and played with it a bit.

Hardware

This is an entry level phone, if you haven't noticed. No, this would not rival your Galaxy S3, or your HTC One X, and its not meant for that. It does not hold any pretenses that it's meant to compete in that market unlike other local phones that claim to do the same.

Processor:  650Mhz single core
Memory: 256 MB
Screen: 3.5 inch Capacity screen [2 point touch] [320x480 screen resolution]
OS: Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread
Wireless: Wireless B/G
Bluetooth: yes
3G Option: none
Storage: MicroSD [expandable to 16GB]
Camera: VGA [front facing], 3.2MP [rear facing/no flash]


It is a serviceable phone, comparable to the aforementioned Galaxy Y [albeit a bit slower in terms of processing speed]. The external is made of plastic, no gorilla glass here, of course. and you get the complimentary map of the Philippines at the back which is the trademark of every myPhone device.

The screen feels responsive to my touch, and has very little lag, at least from my experience. Considering that the phone is unmodified/unrooted, this is a pleasant surprise.

The camera on the otherhand disappoints. It has no flash, and has no autofocus. This has been the downside of entry level phones, and this continues the trend. Colors from the pictures taken lack sharpness, and does not capture a lot of details on a picture. That's with fair light. Outdoors, this worked okay, since good ambient light aids in covering the camera's shortcomings. Don't dare take photos on low-light though. I feel that this is where myPhone needs to improve on, considering that I've also used another myPhone before.

The speakers are pretty loud, but tend to garble a bit when the volume is maximized. The speakers are located at the back of the unit [see picture above], so the sound tends to get muted if you lay it on the table. 

Battery life is farely decent for this phone. It comes with a 1300mAH battery that according to my agent lasts around 2 days on light to moderate use.


Software

It has mostly stock applications, but has the typical MyPhone Pinoy apps and prayers stored in it. I installed some games to test it out. Angry Birds was smooth, as is Fruit Ninja. What surprised me the most was when I installed Cogs, a fairly intensive 3D game, that ran smoothly on this phone. I feel that this is mostly helped by the choice of Gingerbread OS on this phone, compared to others using Eclair or Froyo.

But can it run Temple Run? Alas, it does not show when I search it in the Market. Trying to install it via APK did not work either. I was not able to make a video at this time of the games being played real time, but I'll work on that and update this post.

Another strange observation is that this phone does not have Google Play. It has the original Android Market but it does not automatically update itself to Google Play. I read in a forum that Google Play does not support some devices and this might be included in that list.

Verdict

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised that this phone more than held up. It has drawbacks, but then again, you have to consider it's price point and it mostly delivers in that regard.

Temple Run is now out for Android!

Albeit a bit delayed, Temple Run is now available for free for Android-toting smartphone owners. As of this writing, it has been two hours since Imangi Studios officially posted the announcement on their Facebook page, and almost 5,000 people have liked and downloaded the app.

  

I've taken the liberty of copy-pasting the link for posterity's sake since a quick search from my phone did not return with the legit app.

http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imangi.templerun

Happy running!

Photobomb no more. Get it Removed~!

There's a new worthwhile photography application for the Android OS. It's called Remove by Scalado. The Scalado team designed the Remove app to remove virtually any stranger that comes in to your photo. Where is it useful? In public places, in tourist spots. Taking pictures there are virtually difficult because of the many people around, and sometimes, some even want to 'photobomb' and ruin the moment. With Remove, you can take them out of your final photo.

How does it work, you might ask? Well, the app takes multiple pictures and allows you to specifically take out the moving elements [people, or other objects]. The only tricky thing here is that it requires you to be steady with the camera and to hold it a bit longer than you normally would. It's a good, if not great proof of concept when perfected.

Scalado would be introducing this app to the Mobile World Congress this upcoming February 27, 2012. I personally can't wait to see this app in the Market.

There's a video in Yahoo for it, which demonstrates how it works.

Source link: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/this-could-be-big-abc-news/combat-photobombers-everywhere-173623034.html

Parting... part n

Another one of the people I've grown close to spent their final day at the office today. This was a complete shocker to me as I didn't know about it until a few hours until her logout. I don't know, maybe I'm just a bit sentimental, but in what seemed like a blur, it was done. Another person moving on with her life, and me heartbroken. 

No, it's not that way. It never was. It's just that during my entire stay at work, I've grown so much and been so close to the past five and a half years and it always is difficult for me to see people go. That's the heartbreak part. From teammates, to close friends, it always stings when someone goes. 

For what would seem to be the last time, I walked with them, sharing thoughts and stories, and seeing her take her ride. It felt so normal for her... maybe, just another day. But there I was, pondering as to why it seemed normal for everyone but me.

Tomorrow, another longtime friend would be ending her tenure. She's been there longer than me, and she's made her choice to move on with her life and take her talents closer to home. I'll be at home during her last goodbyes. Such a pity I couldn't be there. I wish I could've been there at least, but that's how it goes, I guess.

If it's time for me to go, I wonder if someone would think of me the same way I think about my closest friends. Would someone miss me, look for me, try to keep in touch with me if I'm the one leaving?

Fields and fields of opinion

Sometimes I wonder if I'm being just confident or if I am bordering on arrogance. At times, I'm just shy and quiet, but I see that part of the change instilled in me by being part of support is that I have to get along with a lot of other people and in turn, has turned me into someone a bit outgoing. I ponder if I rub people the wrong way, which is inevitable I guess, but makes me think about it nonetheless.

the SOPA and PIPA double entendre

One of the biggest things that I've taken for granted [and I'm sure a lot of people have] is how easily information is made available to us. One click through Google, and a lot of information is within our fingertips, all at the expense of a good internet connection.

However, just today, Google and Wikipedia have, in their own way, showed their hand with regards to two pending U.S. bills being proposed. The Stop Online Piracy Act, and the Protect Intelectual Property Act, are being pushed by the U.S. Senate with noble intents, to put things kindly, but would negatively impact the ease of access to information enjoyed by millions, if not billions around the world.

What are these two bills, anyway? Let's go one by one.

The Stop Online Piracy Act:

The Protect Intellectual Property Act:

It has the noblest of aims, which is to protect US Intellectual property from being stolen and being used for interests that would negatively impact the U.S. However, it encompasses more than that. Inevitably, these bills would heavily restrict the information made available to consumers [regular people]. If it aims for free speech and innovation, then it definitely is conflicted. You can read about the potential repercussions of the bills here.

This reminds me of how the Chinese government moderates the internet traffic, sites and usage of their users. Is Big Brother far behind? 

Do take note that while these are United States bills, it would affect everyone, even those not on US soil, as the regulation pertains to the Internet itself. So, it would be best to be educated as early as now. 

See Google and the Wikimedia foundation's response to these pieces of legislation:

 

I miss writing.

It has been months upon months since I last wrote anything not work related and/or stress induced. It seems that my work has swallowed every bit of free time that I have for the past year or so. I've gone week after week of handling agents either as an L2 or a Team Manager. It's the first time I've contemplated about where all the time has gone to, where everyone else has gone to, and why I'm still here in the same job I've had for the past 5 and a half years.

This may jump from one topic to another for no reason or so, but please bear with it. These are things that come at a moment's notice in my head, and I just want to get them off and have them written down before they fade once again to obscurity. 

What was 2011 to me? At work, it was what it was for a call center environment. It was a mix of heartbreak and triumph, stories of so many crammed into one. The pressure to perform at the highest of levels on a regular basis and to be expected of greatness, even at times when one is broken, or is unprepared. I don't know. It only occured to me during my Christmas post that I've gone through ten different teams, and three different roles during this year alone, which to some may be more than their entire stay at a company. I've of course handled agents as an L2, my calling card for the past 2 and a half years or so, mixed in by a couple of months handling a team as a Team Manager, and last but not the least, a week as a trainer sometime last October. I feel like I've been the utility guy being called in to plug holes wherever needed. I could not complain, though, as it has been a growing experience for me to go through the various roles that I've been called upon. It's just that I'm filled with heartbreak every time I have to move, just as I am on the verge of settling in, getting comfortable, and feeling at home. I've been here for 5+ years but this year has been tougher for me than most in terms of dealing with changes. 

Personally, I'm okay. I have a good relationship with my dad. I still live in a messy house where shoes, slippers, clothes and the like are everywhere and only me and my dad know how to decipher the mess. I've been incident free in the sense that I've not been involved in a crime, or have not been witness to any. I haven't been robbed, mugged, kidnapped, side swiped, snatched upon, or any of that for this year. I'm thankful that, despite the seeming prevalence of these incidents, I've been safe for the entire year. 

On a friend level, it sure seems like I've lost a lot while gaining/re-establishing ties with new people. I am sorry for not keeping in touch with everyone, and I hope that no one feels left out because of me. I have just been consumed with everything else, and the neverending deadlines that seemingly have been imposed on what needs to be done. I've built great friendships only to lose traction once they are out of my immediate vicinity. This is one of the things I am sorry for, not only because I've lost track of everyone but because I feel like I've let everyone down. I hope to resolve it and make the time for the best of friends who've been with me for a long time. I have a lot of making up to do, but the year is still early. 

As far as relationships go, it's been two years and 7 months that I've had a girlfriend. It has been a lot of fun, though its not all rainbows and green lights. There has been a lot of challenges, with time, with understanding each other and a lot of other things, but as with anything, adjustments are necessary to make things work. My family absolutely loves her, and almost everyone has given their nod of approval towards her. It was the first time I've travelled with her to her hometown during her week-long vacation last May. It was eventful, and I'm glad to finally meet her family. It was, for me, something that I can take away from the entire year of experiences. 

What's in store for 2012? I don't know really, but I resolve to return two of my previous hobbies: reading and writing. I intend to read more again, something that brought me to various cities while sitting down, and opened me to more possibilities. I intend to write more in my blog again. I'm not sure why I've gone away from these stress/tension relieving activities that I used to love so much. Other than that, I'll just have to fly along and go where my feet take me and make the most of whatever's in front of me.