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A FREE PS3 for Xmas
2007-12-15 11:21:00
That title is no joke. One of the few blogs in “Most Read” tabe in Netvibes is having giving away a FREE PS3 unit. Sounds too good to be true? Nah. it’s real. So what’s the run down? To qualify, you need to subscribe via email to Internet Babel’s feeds, spread the word. Easy right? For more detailed instructions and guidelines (so you won’t disqualify yourself) head over to the contest page. To those who haven’t heard of Internet Babel, it’s one of the better blogs about making money online, blogging, web design, SEO and general Internet chat or? babel. Good luck to everyone who wishes to join in.
More About: Free , The Net , The Web , Xmas

A new host and a new look
2007-12-14 09:40:00
I noticed that Atma Xplorer’s loading time in the past was a bit long (using fasterfox on Firefox Portable on several different PCs and locations). It was mainly due to the PNG images that my theme used as several unnecessary scripts (sql queries mainly) in the background. As you can see, I decided to go minimalist (yes, I know many people hate dark themes) to ease up on bandwidth (which I’m unlikely to go out of anytime soon unless I get digg-raped AGAIN) as well as to provide more focus on the articles rather than the look of the blog. There’s still a few tweaks I need to put up and I can’t do them yet since I’m posting this from the office (uh oh!) but rest assured that the posts will continue to come. ^^ If you’re interested, the theme I’m using is Hemingway Reloaded, the original didn’t support widgets so I chose the next best thing. New Host Thanks to kuya Dexter (kuya naman di ba?) for reminding me that our mutual friend super...
More About: Blogging , The Net , New Look

Cleaning up for the season
2007-12-12 00:00:00
I’m currently working on transferring to another host, Dreamhost has given me one too many downtimes.  If you can recommend a good host with 99% uptime (preferably one a Pinoy-owned one ) in the week, please inform post post it in the comments are, otherwise I’ll stick to the host my friend recommended. After seeing PinoyBlogero’s new theme, I decided to work on mine as well so I’ll be out customizing for awhile with a few posts.   Expect it to be up sometime this weekend.
More About: Cleaning , Season

Cleaning up for the season
2007-12-10 04:51:00
I’m currently working on transferring to another host, Dreamhost has given me one too many downtimes. If you can recommend a good host with 99% uptime (preferably one a Pinoy-owned one) in the week, please inform post post it in the comments are, otherwise I’ll stick to the host my friend recommended. After seeing PinoyBlogero’s new theme, I decided to work on mine as well so I’ll be out customizing for awhile with a few posts. Expect it to be up sometime this weekend.
More About: Cleaning , Blogging , The Net , Season

Guide to Programming Series: Week 2
2007-12-09 01:49:00
To those following the series, sorry for being late. It was the last week of the term (AKA Hell week) and I had tons of to-do on my list that I didn’t remember to post Part II of the programming series. Also, I tried to apply a box model under the <code> tag using CSS but sorely failed. If anyone can show me how to do it right, it’d be greatly appreciated. Again apologies. For Week One, we’ve established that programming is nothing more than issuing step-by-step instructions that tells a computer waht to do. Computers are stupid, they need exact instructions to function making programming so time consuming. How do you tell a computer what to do? Computers donâ??t understand words, which is why people must write instructions for a computer by using a special or programming language. A collection of instructions that tell the computer what to do is known as a program. The instructions, written in a specific programming language, is known as the source code. Wh...
More About: Programming , Series , Guide

Guide to Programming Series: Week 2
2007-12-09 00:00:00
To those following the series, sorry for being late. It was the last week of the term (AKA Hell week) and I had tons of to-do on my list that I didn’t remember to post Part II of the programming series. Also, I tried to apply a box model under the <code> tag using CSS but sorely failed. If anyone can show me how to do it right, it’d be greatly appreciated. Again apologies. For Week One, we’ve established that programming is nothing more than issuing step-by-step instructions that tells a computer waht to do. Computers are stupid, they need exact instructions to function making programming so time consuming. How do you tell a computer what to do? Computers don?t understand words, which is why people must write instructions for a computer by using a special or programming language. A collection of instructions that tell the computer what to do is known as a program. The instructions, written in a specific programming language, is known as the source code. What...
More About: Programming , Series , Guide

FlatPress; a wordpress alternative?
2007-12-08 00:00:00
To host a blog, you need a domain name, a host and a SQL database. Usually, your host servers and your SQL server are hosted on different machines, accidents do happen and without access to both machines, your blog goes down. A viable solution is to eliminate the need for your database and just stick with your host. Enter FlatPress. FlatPress aims to have the same functionalities as WordPress, along with some of the look and feel and because FlatPress does not require MySQL to work, it’s a feature that benefits people who do not want to spend a lot of money for a hosted site with a MySQL database. FlatPress also adheres to xhtml 1,1, Smarty for graphical template management, and the ability to from SimplePHPBlog. What I need to know? As of the moment, themes are configurable to a point but they come close to WordPress themes because of the Smarty template engine. There are however, few ports of popular themes for FlatPress. There are some plugins from WordPress, if you c...
More About: Wordpress , Alternative , Alterna

FlatPress; a wordpress alternative?
2007-12-07 04:16:00
To host a blog, you need a domain name, a host and a SQL database. Usually, your host servers and your SQL server are hosted on different machines, accidents do happen and without access to both machines, your blog goes down. A viable solution is to eliminate the need for your database and just stick with your host. Enter FlatPress. FlatPress aims to have the same functionalities as WordPress, along with some of the look and feel and because FlatPress does not require MySQL to work, it’s a feature that benefits people who do not want to spend a lot of money for a hosted site with a MySQL database. FlatPress also adheres to xhtml 1,1, Smarty for graphical template management, and the ability to from SimplePHPBlog. What I need to know? As of the moment, themes are configurable to a point but they come close to WordPress themes because of the Smarty template engine. There are however, few ports of popular themes for FlatPress. There are some plugins from WordPress, if you c...
More About: Wordpress , Alternative , Blogging , The Net , Alterna

Protect yourself from malware
2007-12-05 03:47:00
Malware vulnerability is on of the few reasons I stay away from my Windows PC when surfing the net. While some of these can be just common annoyances like tracking cookies or keyloggers, some are very malicious and can wreak havoc on your system and your important files. What is Malware? Malware is a type of software designed to take over and/or damage your OS in one way or another. Once installed, it can be difficult to remove but that depends on the severity of the malware program as well as the degree of damage it brings which can range from being annoying to rendering your PC inoperable. The most common types of malware include: Virus - A program written intentionally to enter a computer without the users permission or knowledge which then attaches to files or boot sectors and replicates and spreads. Other viruses can cause serious damage to your files and system. Worms - they are stand-alone software that modify their host operating system, and are likely to be started as par...
More About: Security , Malware , The Net , The Web

Protect yourself from malware
2007-12-05 00:00:00
Malware vulnerability is on of the few reasons I stay away from my Windows PC when surfing the net. While some of these can be just common annoyances like tracking cookies or keyloggers, some are very malicious and can wreak havoc on your system and your important files. What is Malware? Malware is a type of software designed to take over and/or damage your OS in one way or another. Once installed, it can be difficult to remove but that depends on the severity of the malware program as well as the degree of damage it brings which can range from being annoying to rendering your PC inoperable. The most common types of malware include: Virus - A program written intentionally to enter a computer without the users permission or knowledge which then attaches to files or boot sectors and replicates and spreads. Other viruses can cause serious damage to your files and system. Worms - they are stand-alone software that modify their host operating system, and are likely to be started as par...
More About: Malware

syl goes to H3 2k7
2007-12-04 00:00:00
I was able to go to the second day of the con. Luckily I didn’t dare go to day one because of the huge number of people. 200+ Individual cosplayers battled it out for the 25K prize. Luckily, SM X was large enough to handle all the attendees, it’s huge, a whole lot bigger than the World Trade Center where past Hero events were held.  There were lot’s of people, old and new to the cosplay world, and I hope everyone enjoyed as much as I did. Anyway here’s a partial list of winners: LEAGUE OF HEROES CATEGORY OVER-ALL WINNER: Arjay Navarro (Hitsugaya Toushiro/Bleach) BEST FEMALE: Maine Esperanza (Belldandy/Ah! My Goddess) BEST MALE: Jacob Gil (Yojimbo/Final Fantasy X) CRAFTSMANSHIP AWARD: Robert Ong (BMAU/RF Online) PERFORMANCE MACHINE: Gilbert Sagun (GekiRed/Juuken Sentai Gekiranger) AUDIENCE CHOICE: Patrick Joseph Perlas (Hard Gay) OHAYO CATEGORY OVER-ALL WINNER: Alexa Mei Alegria (Sakura Kinomoto/Card Captor Sakura) BEST FEMALE: Daryl Tapang (Magical Pr...

Programming Tools
2007-12-04 00:00:00
As additional resource to the programming I have started, can be made easier if you have the right tools.  I’ve categorized each according to use. PDF Reader: Foxit PDF Reader - This is an ultra light alternative to Adobe Reader. It opens instantly and has a very small footprint. I dropped it after installing the latest version though since it now uses an installer while the old one uses compressed, stand alone executable much like utorrent. Sumatra - is a similar program to Foxit. It also has a portable version which makes it perfect for people like me who are always on the go but can’t leave their fave apps behind. Coding: kompoZer - is a lightweight alternative to the bigger, pricey web development suites like Microsoft Expression Web (the replacement for Frontpage) and Macromedia Dreamweaver (Now Adobe) which stemmed from the now defunct project NVU. It’s perfect for HTML and CSS beginners since the WYSIWYG editor does away with much of the coding. If you ...
More About: Programming , Tools

syl goes to H3 2k7
2007-12-03 17:39:00
I was able to go to the second day of the con. Luckily I didn’t dare go to day one because of the huge number of people. 200+ Individual cosplayers battled it out for the 25K prize. Luckily, SM X was large enough to handle all the attendees, it’s huge, a whole lot bigger than the World Trade Center where past Hero events were held. There were lot’s of people, old and new to the cosplay world, and I hope everyone enjoyed as much as I did. Anyway here’s a partial list of winners: LEAGUE OF HEROES CATEGORY OVER-ALL WINNER: Arjay Navarro (Hitsugaya Toushiro/Bleach) BEST FEMALE: Maine Esperanza (Belldandy/Ah! My Goddess) BEST MALE: Jacob Gil (Yojimbo/Final Fantasy X) CRAFTSMANSHIP AWARD: Robert Ong (BMAU/RF Online) PERFORMANCE MACHINE: Gilbert Sagun (GekiRed/Juuken Sentai Gekiranger) AUDIENCE CHOICE: Patrick Joseph Perlas (Hard Gay) OHAYO CATEGORY OVER-ALL WINNER: Alexa Mei Alegria (Sakura Kinomoto/Card Captor Sakura) BEST FEMALE: Daryl Tapang (Magical Pr...
More About: Conventions

Programming Tools
2007-12-03 10:02:00
As additional resource to the programming I have started, can be made easier if you have the right tools. I’ve categorized each according to use. PDF Reader: Not all students have books.  Sometimes, a free ebook helps to guide you when coding is a bore. Foxit PDF Reader - This is an ultra light alternative to Adobe Reader. It opens instantly and has a very small footprint. I dropped it after installing the latest version though since it now uses an installer while the old one uses compressed, stand alone executable much like utorrent. Sumatra - is a similar program to Foxit. It also has a portable version which makes it perfect for people like me who are always on the go but can’t leave their fave apps behind. Coding: kompoZer - is a lightweight alternative to the bigger, pricey web development suites like Microsoft Expression Web (the replacement for Frontpage) and Macromedia Dreamweaver (Now Adobe) which stemmed from the now defunct project NVU. It’s perfec...
More About: Programming , Tools

Guide to Programming Series: Week 1
2007-12-01 00:00:00
After taking my refresher course on Java (which was basically getting down and dirty with coding), I decided to make a Programming Series that aims to help beginners with cope with the basics of programming and eventually Java (hopefully VB.NET, then PHP in the long run) and to replace the currently defunct Software Review Series. Keep in mind that most of the information I?ll be posting will have been derived mainly from books and/or popular knowledge that I?ve encountered.  I’m not an expert but I know what works and I feel I’m competent enough to share my knowledge.  Comments, suggestions and even violent reactions are welcome. I’ll focus on the pure basics of programming for now so if you feel you’re competent on the field, subscribe to my feeds and come back a bit later in time for the more advanced lessons or check out some of my past posts on software development. I?m still deciding on the schedule of the series but it?ll likely be just weekly so I can...
More About: Guide , Week

Guide to Programming Series: Week 1
2007-11-30 12:35:00
After taking my refresher course on Java (which was basically getting down and dirty with coding), I decided to make a Programming Series that aims to help beginners with cope with the basics of programming and eventually Java (hopefully VB.NET, then PHP in the long run) and to replace the currently defunct Software Review Series. Keep in mind that most of the information Iâ??ll be posting will have been derived mainly from books and/or popular knowledge that Iâ??ve encountered.  I’m not an expert but I know what works and I feel I’m competent enough to share my knowledge.  Comments, suggestions and even violent reactions are welcome. I’ll focus on the pure basics of programming for now so if you feel you’re competent on the field, subscribe to my feeds and come back a bit later in time for the more advanced lessons or check out some of my past posts on software development. Iâ??m still deciding on the schedule of the series but itâ??ll likely be just weekl...
More About: Guide , Week

Firefox 3 Beta
2007-11-29 00:00:00
I decided to install Firefox Beta 3 (currently at 3.0b1) to see how much improvement the Mozilla team has packed into Gran Paradiso. Firefox 3 beta is available for download from Mozilla’s servers and from the official statement alone, it’s quite obvious that this release offers some hot new features for users and web developers. Firefox 3 is built on top of Gecko 1.9, the latest version of the Firefox Core HTML engine which features some major overhauls both in handling and under the hood like support for full-page zoom (a feature already embedded in Opera). Cairo now performs much of the underlying rendering, giving the advantage of hardware accelerated rendering. I’ll enumerate some of the interesting changes I found with 3.0b1 Right off the bat is the smaller memory footprint: Note that memory usage is an objective factor since plugins, themes and modifications ultimately contribute to how large actual resource consumption will be. However, it’s still...

Extreme PC Cooling
2007-11-29 00:00:00
Are you THAT paranoid of your PC’s operating temperature?  Current games (like Crysis) are processor intensive so you’re bound to heat your silicons whether you like it or not.  Why not create a custom case to combat heat? If it doesn’t work to cool your PC at least it serves as an interesting mosquito repellant. XD [Via 2day blog]
More About: Extreme , Cooling

6 Reasons to Switch to Linux
2007-11-29 00:00:00
1. Linux is Stable as a Rock As no doubt many in the industry will tell you, Linux is proven to be a reliable operating system (parts of your system may crash but not everything). While it may not be able to replace your desktop (especially if your a Windows or Mac poweruser), most Linux-based systems are rock-solid thus are being used in servers and embedded systems. As an experienced Linux user, one of the better aspects of the OS is that you can run your system for months (even years) without needing a single reboot. Even if you haven’t seen a Linux desktop in action, you’ve surely encountered one or another on mobile devices, dedicated firewall and router systems. 2. Virtually Hardware-Independent As with Java, Linux was designed and written to be hardware independent. Be it mobile or desktop computing, pop Linux on your device and it’ll run. For individual peripherals though (like webcams, wireless cards) it’s still a hit or miss but that’s bec...
More About: Switch , Reasons , Witch

Visual Studio 2008
2007-11-29 00:00:00
I just finished downloading my copy of Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 via the Microsoft Developer Network. What’s weird about it is I was able to download the Professional Edition, which still has the coming soon prompt. Not sure how it happened but maybe it’s a perk of being part of the MSDN network. Anyway, here’s the usual salutation email that MS sends out everytime you download an evaluation copy of Visual Studio. Thank you for signing up for the Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 Professional Edition Evaluation Experience. Visual Studio 2008 enables developers and development teams to create great connected applications on the latest platforms, including the Web, Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008. This e-mail message includes key resources that can help you get the most out of Visual Studio 2008 Professional Beta 2. We will continue to provide you with relevant and comprehensive content via the MSDN Flash, customized for you...

PSP Battery Kit
2007-11-29 00:00:00
Sony is set to release The PSP Extended Life Battery Kit which will extend the operating time of your PSP units (both Phat and Slim or PSP-1000 and -2000). This new battery, at 2200mAh will offer 20% more juice for PSP-1000s and 80% on PSP-2000s (wow!). In comparison, PSP-1000s use 1800mAh batteries while PSP-2000s use 1200mAh. Note that since the new battery is noticeably larger than the originals, it will bulge so you will need to install new battery covers will be included AND users with crystal/hard/aluminum casings will have to forgo them since their units will never fit after installation. MSRP is at $44.99 and release is expected by mid-December. [Via PSP Fanboy]

Myself Yourself - Initial Review
2007-11-29 00:00:00
I stumbled on Myself; Yourself while downloading m.3.3.w’s other subbed series, Ninomiya-kun by accident. I misread the XDCC list for one on their bots and downloaded episode one of the said series by mistake. After watching it, I saw that it has several good points for an interesting start even with such a cliched anime genre - harem and ultimately romance.The basic plot of Myself; Yourself is basically about a small group of high schoolers and their relationship overtime. There’s very little mystery as to who Sana Hidaka, the lead male shows interest in but judging from his first meeting with Nanaka Yatsushiro after several years, their love story is bound to be sidetracked. Although the anime feels, looks and goes on like a cliched harem, it has an air of mystery around it that keeps you glued to the series. What is it with the bloodied knife and his wrist? No wait that’s quite obvious, the real question is why. Dark and emo Harems seem to be the current trend t...
More About: Review

What?s on your Christmas Wish list?
2007-11-29 00:00:00
Since YugaTech, Dexter and Mcbilly have been posted their wish lists for the upcoming Christmas season so I decided to compile mine. A year before, everything on that list would’ve been bulky pieces of equipment, but having to travel to and from work at a regular basis makes it a chore so I’ve opted for mobility or killer specs out of convenience rather than personal preference. On my list are: Asus EEE PC (mine will be coming this year yay!) Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC A Bravia HDTV bundled with a PS3 or XBOX 360 Nintendo Wii (will my dad give us his wii? =’c) iPod Touch A full-spec’d PC from Dell XPS line and hopefully XPS One An Nvidia 8800GT for my aging rig A Nikon D80 A Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse A RAZR 2 What’s yours?
More About: List

PSP Battery Kit
2007-11-28 10:24:00
Sony is set to release The PSP Extended Life Battery Kit which will extend the operating time of your PSP units (both Phat and Slim or PSP-1000 and -2000). This new battery, at 2200mAh will offer 20% more juice for PSP-1000s and 80% on PSP-2000s (wow!). In comparison, PSP-1000s use 1800mAh batteries while PSP-2000s use 1200mAh. Note that since the new battery is noticeably larger than the originals, it will bulge so you will need to install new battery covers will be included AND users with crystal/hard/aluminum casings will have to forgo them since their units will never fit after installation. MSRP is at $44.99 and release is expected by mid-December. [Via PSP Fanboy]

Visual Studio 2008
2007-11-28 10:05:00
I just finished downloading my copy of Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 via the Microsoft Developer Network. What’s weird about it is I was able to download the Professional Edition, which still has the coming soon prompt. Not sure how it happened but maybe it’s a perk of being part of the MSDN network. Anyway, here’s the usual salutation email that MS sends out everytime you download an evaluation copy of Visual Studio. Thank you for signing up for the Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 Professional Edition Evaluation Experience. Visual Studio 2008 enables developers and development teams to create great connected applications on the latest platforms, including the Web, Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008. This e-mail message includes key resources that can help you get the most out of Visual Studio 2008 Professional Beta 2. We will continue to provide you with relevant and comprehensive content via the MSDN Flash, customized for you to...

6 Reasons to Switch to Linux
2007-11-28 09:11:00
1. Linux is Stable as a Rock As no doubt many in the industry will tell you, Linux is proven to be a reliable operating system (parts of your system may crash but not everything). While it may not be able to replace your desktop (especially if your a Windows or Mac poweruser), most Linux-based systems are rock-solid thus are being used in servers and embedded systems. As an experienced Linux user, one of the better aspects of the OS is that you can run your system for months (even years) without needing a single reboot. Even if you haven’t seen a Linux desktop in action, you’ve surely encountered one or another on mobile devices, dedicated firewall and router systems. 2. Virtually Hardware-Independent As with Java, Linux was designed and written to be hardware independent. Be it mobile or desktop computing, pop Linux on your device and it’ll run. For individual peripherals though (like webcams, wireless cards) it’s still a hit or miss but that’s becau...
More About: Open Source , Switch , Reasons , Witch

What?s on your Christmas Wish list?
2007-11-27 21:26:00
Since YugaTech , Dexter and Mcbilly have been posted their wish lists for the upcoming Christmas season so I decided to compile mine. A year before, everything on that list would’ve been bulky pieces of equipment, but having to travel to and from work at a regular basis makes it a chore so I’ve opted for mobility or killer specs out of convenience rather than personal preference. On my list are: Asus EEE PC (mine will be coming this year yay!) Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC A Bravia HDTV bundled with a PS3 or XBOX 360 Nintendo Wii (will my dad give us his wii? =’c) iPod Touch A full-spec’d PC from Dell XPS line and hopefully XPS One An Nvidia 8800GT for my aging rig A Nikon D80 A Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse A RAZR 2 What’s yours?
More About: Info , List

Myself Yourself - Initial Review
2007-11-26 03:37:00
I stumbled on Myself; Yourself while downloading m.3.3.w’s other subbed series, Ninomiya-kun by accident. I misread the XDCC list for one on their bots and downloaded episode one of the said series by mistake. After watching it, I saw that it has several good points for an interesting start even with such a cliched anime genre - harem and ultimately romance.The basic plot of Myself; Yourself is basically about a small group of high schoolers and their relationship overtime. There’s very little mystery as to who Sana Hidaka, the lead male shows interest in but judging from his first meeting with Nanaka Yatsushiro after several years, their love story is bound to be sidetracked. Although the anime feels, looks and goes on like a cliched harem, it has an air of mystery around it that keeps you glued to the series. What is it with the bloodied knife and his wrist? No wait that’s quite obvious, the real question is why. Dark and emo Harems seem to be the current trend t...
More About: Anime , Review

Firefox 3 Beta
2007-11-25 17:15:00
I decided to install Firefox Beta 3 (currently at 3.0b1) to see how much improvement the Mozilla team has packed into Gran Paradiso. Firefox 3 beta is available for download from Mozilla’s servers and from the official statement alone, it’s quite obvious that this release offers some hot new features for users and web developers. Firefox 3 is built on top of Gecko 1.9, the latest version of the Firefox Core HTML engine which features some major overhauls both in handling and under the hood like support for full-page zoom (a feature already embedded in Opera). Cairo now performs much of the underlying rendering, giving the advantage of hardware accelerated rendering. I’ll enumerate some of the interesting changes I found with 3.0b1 Right off the bat is the smaller memory footprint: Note that memory usage is an objective factor since plugins, themes and modifications ultimately contribute to how large actual resource consumption will be. However, it’s still...
More About: The Net

Extreme PC Cooling
2007-11-25 08:26:00
Are you THAT paranoid of your PC’s operating temperature?  Current games (like Crysis) are processor intensive so you’re bound to heat your silicons whether you like it or not.  Why not create a custom case to combat heat? If it doesn’t work to cool your PC at least it serves as an interesting mosquito repellant. XD [Via 2day blog]
More About: Tech , Extreme , Info , Cooling