Globe Comeback

After months of bragging and a mouthful of bullshit follow-ups, Globe finally allocated some manpower to our DSL line which was devastated by Ondoy.  By the time the technicians started sprouting I never took my eyes off them and even gave them snacks and cigarettes to speed-up the repair.  It seems that the problem with our line is that it was connected to a prepaid slot in their telephone box located near the main road close to our house.  It might be a result of a mixed-up sloppy job made by their fellow contractors who gave way to new subscribers instead of dealing first with the typhoon victims like us.  Anyway, I'm glad that we are back on-line and our mini internet shop was finally back.  Thanks to the "DVJ" guys who went to save our shop from eternal doom.  I just hope that our old customers will come back and enjoy our 3Mbps Globelines connection.

Oh, by the way, I just found out from one of the technicians that PLDT have a different system compared to Globe.  They have a back-up system of somekind where in the event that the telephone boxes are damaged the subscribers are directed to the main server found in their main office.  I wonder if Globe already have this type of system.  Well, I hope they learned from this unfortunate event and that they can have a Plan B instead of relying solely on their no-backup system.

Another Window to be opened?

Microsoft just announced last Monday that they will be launching their new Windows Mobile operating system somewhere in 2010 and they are calling it Windows Phone 7.  Reviews from PC World and other tech websites are saying that the OS is quite similar to Microsoft Zune's interface.  I haven't used a Zune before but by the looks of it it's quite attractive.  Many liked the Zune aside from the iPod but majority of users still prefer the iPod or iPhone.  I just hope that this new Microsoft OS is not only for the tech savvy but also for the ordinary mediocre users who hates being technical.  If they are able to do this than they may have an edge in the Mobile business like their PC Windows platform.  Apple's iPhone OS is still the best thing when it comes to usability, while Google's Android OS is best when it comes to the technicalities.  I hope that Microsoft can bridge that gap and give the masses a unique user experience.  To me it still depends on the user's preferences and not the makers.

As they pronounced it -- "iPad"

I was never a fan of Apple products but I do appreciate their innovative ways both in technical and marketing.  Recently Steve introduced to us the new iPad as they call it (In Filipino it still sounds like an iPod).  I have reviewed their specifications and what amazed me is the battery life that they claim can last up to 10 hours of continuous use.  For me that is a breakthrough in mobile computing.  Although other companies claimed to have a battery life this long, like Dell, but despite the fact that it's a hybrid between a computer and a multimedia device you wouldn't expect something like this coming.  Most companies are souping up their devices with almost all the features that their devices can provide but the common problem is the same and that is the battery life.  I do not see much of a development in this area of Engineering but what I think that Steve did was that he removed some features that are major battery drainers like the Flash capability which he claims that is a very efficient battery drainer.  Although flash is widely used in the internet most especially video sites like Youtube and also game sites like Y8.com, I'm not sure what can we expect from this device. 

But I think that simplicity is King and I guess this is another general niche that Apple has entered and I have the feeling that they will dominate.  The way they design their devices is that they thought of it thoroughly that everybody, and I mean anybody who would get hold of it don't need to be a rocket scientist to operate it and perform what it's intended to do.

My Globe, My Worst!

Even before the wrath of Ondoy, Globe has been giving us problems with our internet connection which affected our Internet Business.  And after Globe’s network was devastated by the storm it became even worse.  It’s almost four  months already and still there is no internet connection, I think this is already out of the line.  Until now Globe is still unresponsive with almost a hundred complaints that we deposited in their Customer Service Hotline.  Every time we call 171 the same bunch of questions is being bombarded to us.  It seems that they have no record or something of what is happening with their subscribers.  I hate to say this but it gets to the point of being pissed-off rather than sympathy to the only ISP that we have.  They gave us a letter promising us that everything will be restored on or before November 30, but still even a hint of activity cannot be seen from Globe.   If only that we have other choices like PLDT or Sky Internet in our area then probably Globe will no longer be in our vocabulary.  Business is Business, but I think Globe is really minding their own Business this time and continuously ignoring their subscriber’s businesses.


Another thing that makes us angry is sooner finding out that there are new subscribers in our area which got their landlines in a zip while we, the old subscribers, are trying to survive with a piece of landline that seems to be useless.  They even have the guts to distribute catalogues and pamphlets offering DSL services in our area.  What a big insult to old subscribers.  If I would score Globe from one to ten, then probably I will give them a negative 100.  I hope they read this article and do something about their scrappy service.

My Netbook OS Search

My EeePC is my personal miniature PC that resembles much closest to my 14" notebook.  Although it's keyboard is tiny I can still manage to touch type.  I resorted to Linux as my OS since this is virus free and is as fast as Windows XP during operation.  I installed Easy Peasy from the Ubuntu for netbooks project.  It works just fine before until I got my Sun Wireless Broadband.  I have difficulty having the Huawei E1550 to work in Linux.  That is why I opted for other stable but light Operating Systems built for netbooks.  First I upgraded the Easy Peasy to the latest version thinking that the upgraded version has fixed the compatibility problems with new devices such as the Huawei E1550.  Although the modem worked sometimes, it really is quite a dissapointment sometimes when the OS couldn't recognize it properly.  So I decided to go back to Windows.  I looked for a lite version of Windows XP on the internet and downloaded a copy just to see how it would work on my device.  But it seems that the installer was so stripped down that it cannot install the Huawei modem sucessfully.  That was the point that i decided to try Windows 7 on my netbook.

The installation took overnight (because I have fallen asleep during installation) and by the morning the set-up was done.  My first impression is that it is kinda slow, but to think that this is a netbook then that would justify it's slowness and besides I installed the Ultimate edition.  The OS automatically disabled the aero thing to catch up with the processor speed and that kinda gave me the idea of disabling them all.  I optimized the performance by disabling effects and used the old traditional Windows theme.  There was a significant improvement in the performance and I am seeing improvements as time progressed.  But there is one more thing that needed to be tested before the OS would satisfy my standards, that is to play Youtube videos without skipping.  At first I connected to a nearby Wifi hotspot and typed the Youtube URL in the built-in Internet Explorer.  There were a bit of skipping on the beginning scenes but the movie went smoothly as soon it got loaded.  It's kinda fair already and it seems that it is the OS that I need, not until I tried my Sun Broadband Wireless USB modem.  It seems that Internet Explorer and Firefox kinda have noticable lags upon launch and the Youtube videos were no longer playing the same way when I was connected to a Wifi hotspot.  That made me decide to switch again to another OS, but now I decided that it would be Windows XP since this is the most stable OS that Microsoft built since Windows 95.  Besides, only XP drivers are available in the ASUS support website.  After a gruesome ground zero installation, finally I got the OS that I want for my netbook.  I had no problems with the internet connection since Wifi and SBW works fine in this old Microsoft OS.  And for unwanted viruses and malwares, I installed Deep Freeze so when my system is penetrated I just restart and everything goes back to the first installation.  So I think I'm going to settle myself with this OS and begin my work and leisure in complete harmony.  No more lagging Youtube videos, and hardware incompatibility.