Well, here it goes! I just nominated my blog to The Philippine Blog Awards 2009, and I’m very nervous. This is the first time I’m doing this, and looking at the blogs that won last year’s awards, I still don’t think my blog has what it takes to even be nominated (getting cold feet here…). Due to the work I have, my schedule doesn’t allow me to always update my blog. Most of the time, I tend to back date some blog posts because the things I am posting should have been posted last week or even last month! I am sure I am going to learn a lot from this experience, there are a lot of things I still don’t know about blogging that I want to learn through the blogging community and I hope this awards will pave the way for that.

I nominated my blog in the “Personal” category and in the special award category “Filipino Abroad” (since I work here in Dubai). I don’t know if it is possible to nominate one blog in two categories, I used two email addresses to do so (you can only use one email address per nomination, if I did it wrong I hope someone can enlighten me about this). So guys, wish me luck!

For those out there who has a blog and wants to join or if you want to recommend someone else’s blog, fill up the Nomination Form.

But yes, Facebook has some good traits. I particularly love its minimalistic design which doesn’t allow you to change your profile’s or pages’ design and its ability to tag photos. The thing is you just lack privacy. I hate it when everybody can comment on your photos just because they can and there’s no way to control it!

Friendster, on the otherhand, can boast of its testimonials functionality. In the good old days of Friendster, you would find heartwarming and touching testimonials. Although good testimonials are hard to find nowadays, having them is still better than those wall posts I’ll ever receive in Facebook.

The heartwarming and touching testimonials from your close friends or kind words of appreciation from new friends you invited or from people whom I rarely (if ever since I’m abroad) get to see again. I would never have gotten in touch with them if not for Friendster and its “jolog-ness”.

I just miss the good old days of Friendster. It’s just no good now because almost everyone I now has already migrated to Facebook (and is now busy harvesting the crops they have planted in Farmville), but whatever everybody say, Friendster would always have a special place in my heart (ang jologs…).

By the way, if you have read this far, penge naman ng testi!

The new iPhone 3G S was announced by Apple last June 8, 2009 boasting of improved performance, a 3.0 megapixel camera with video capability and voice control. It was officially released today in the US and Canada. The iPhone 3.0 OS software update was also announced last March 17, 2009 and was released for download last June 17, 2009. So, new iPhone, should we upgrade our handsets to the new 3G S?

Hardware speaking, the 3G S is almost identical with the 3G. No changes were made in the phone’s design. Majority of the changes were made in the inside. The 3.0 iPhone OS software update is said to have great features such as cut, copy and paste function in text, MMS, landscape keyboard, spotlight search, voice memos, internet tethering, and many more. But some features that are in the 3G S is not in the 3.0 update. The 3G S has video capability, voice controls, compass, and Nike + iPod support.

But personally, the said 3G S features not available in the 3.0 update for the previous iPhone models are not those to die for. I have a 3G and I don’t think I would give it up that easily for the 3G S. Some of the 3G S functions can be replaced by other apps now available for the 2G and 3G iPhones. For example video capability can be replaced by Cycorder, an app available for download in Cydia (if you have a jailbroken iPhone, you’ll have Cydia for sure); Nike + iPod support can be replaced by Runkeeper (which most reviews say is much better than Nike + iPod). Compass and Voice Control, I think I can live without.

The iPhone 3G S is an upgrade necessary for the most celebrated smartphone ever made, but it is not one to get for now, maybe in the next iPhone upgrade more features would be added, not only in the software, but more in its hardware (like a new design and a camera in front), maybe that’s time to upgrade. But for now, I think I would settle with my 3G and take in the 3.0 software update.

As part of our transfer to the Rosetta Phase 2 website project, me and my teammate Filsan underwent training for the new back end and front end interface of our GNAds4U.com website. Suraj Pant, a senior developer for HCL, visited us and provided the necessary training.

I don’t know but training really bore me to death. Although I know what would be shown to us on the said training will provide us the essential knowledge for the proper maintenance of the website, still not even an ounce of interest is bursting out of me that would make me listen to what the trainer is teaching us. Luckily, they have provided us a manual that explained everything what Suraj was discussing to us earlier or else I would not have any information on how to go about the website’s new features.

The only advantage I can see with this account is that I can use the emerging technology called Cloud Computing. It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided as a service, allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet (“in the cloud”) without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. Aside from MobileME, another example of this service is Google Apps, which provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.

Now, let’s go back to MobileME. For everybody’s information, it is a service that helps keep all of your information in an online server, or “cloud.” So no matter where you go or what device you use, everything is in sync. And you can manage it all from anywhere using web applications at me.com. MobileMe stores all your email, contacts, and calendars in the cloud and sends updates instantly to your iPhone or iPod touch. New mail arrives right away on your iPhone. Changes you make to contacts and calendars at Me.com are updated on your device in seconds, and vice versa. So you’ll always have the latest information in your pocket and on the web. Since MobileMe syncs everything over the air, there’s no dock required. MobileMe works with the native applications you already use on your iPhone and iPod touch (Mail, Contacts, and Calendar), on your Mac (Mail, Address Book, and iCal), and on your PC (Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Contacts). MobileMe automatically syncs your Mac and PC applications with Me.com every 15 minutes. Or you can sync on demand with a click.

The account also allows you to have access at Me.com. At Me.com, you can check your email, change your calendar, and edit your contacts. You can also share photos and documents. Accessible anywhere, me.com is an ad-free suite of web applications — Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Gallery, and iDisk that are elegant and easy to use. You can drag and drop, click and drag, use keyboard shortcuts, and even switch between applications with a single click. Me.com is such a great web experience, it seems as though you’re using desktop software.

As good as the technology may sounded, it’s already a bit redundant actually. I already have 3 hosting packages for the 3 domain names that I own and I also have a Pro account at Flickr.com. The only nice thing about MobileME is the syncing of all the information that I always need. I already have an iPhone and a Macbook, and now syncing is now a breeze. I’ll play around it for awhile and I’ll try to write something about my experiences as I go about it.

Now, iTunes have come up with a “genius” solution to this problem. Literally, Genius is one of the newest features of the latest release of iTunes. It creates the perfect playlist from your song selection. All you have to do is select a song and click the Genius button. From that, iTunes generates a playlist from your library that sounds great with the song that you chose. And it works really great. Here is a sample playlist that I generated using Genius. In this case, I selected “Ang Huling El Bimbo” by The Eraserheads:

• Ang Huling El Bimbo – The Eraserheads
• Harana -Parokya ni Edgar
• Nakapagtataka – Sponge Cola
• Kailan – MYMP
• Before I Let You Go – Freestyle
• So Slow – Freestyle
• Kahit Kailan – South Border
• Pare Ko – The Eraserheads
• Especially For You – MYMP
• Buloy – Parokya ni Edgar
• Through The Fire – Nina
• Hinahanap Hanap Kita – Rivermaya
• Much Has Been Said – Bamboo
• Fruitcake – The Eraserheads
• Princesa – 6 Cycle Mind
• Batang Bata Ka Pa – Sugar Free
• Tell Me Where It Hurts – MYMP
• Tuwing Umuulan At Kapiling Ka – The Eraserheads
• High – The Speaks
• Ang Aking Awitin – Side A
• Oo – Up Dharma Down
• The Day You said Good Night – Hale
• Kisapmata – Rivermaya
• Overdrive – The Eraserheads
• Sayang – Parokya Ni Edgar

If you will notice, I chose an OPM song to test Genius and look at the result. The playlist incuded all OPM songs. And when I played all the songs simultaneously, surprisingly it really sounded great together. For me, it is really just fitting to call the feature Genius. Kudos to Steve and all the folks at Cupertino for another job well done.

I saw this video about the Transformers in YouTube, cool.

Finally was able to go to GITEX Shopper at the Dubai Airport Expo. It is the largest annual technology retail event here in Dubai. It offers the best in technology products in the market. When I arrived there I felt like I have to restrain myself in order not to buy so much. I missed last year’s GITEX due to my schedule at work that’s why I tried my best to make it this year. There was so much to buy that I was left drooling at all the gadgets all around me. I was just thankful that I have already done my electronics shopping before my vacation last year that I only went there to buy one gadget. I left my Sony Cybershot DSC T200 digicam in the Philippines so I was just left with my Canon EOS 400D SLR camera. Although it captures beautiful pictures it is still so big to carry around everyday. So I thought I needed another quick snapper. I decided to buy a Canon Digital Ixus 80 IS. Relying on my experience in using my Canon SLR, I opted to get another Canon, and I was not disappointed. Although the Ixus I got was not the top of the line of the Canon digicams, I could still say it produces high quality pics that would make other cameras running behind it.

See here for some of my pics taken at GITEX using my Canon snapper.

Just visited Apple’s site and found out that they have recently released their new line of MacBooks.

Gone is the 17-inch version, the new line now features a 13-inch MacBook and a 15-inch MacBook Pro. The easily noticeable change is the LED-backlit display which now has a glossy, black border. I think they got this inspiration from the iMac. Also,  new are the black buttons of the keyboard first introduced and seen in the MacBook Air. The Macbook is now also in an aluminum casing (goodbye to the Black and White versions!) just like the Pro but both got a little rounder at the bottom. Another upgrade is the NVIDIA GeForce graphics card which is now 5x faster than the previous version and the new smooth glass multi-touch trackpad that is bigger and is now also clickable (there’s no more button, it IS the button!).

These eye-dropping, drooling machines are now full packed with features but they are also heavy on the wallet. The MacBook starts at $1299 and MacBook Pro starts at $1999. Wow…

My MacBook Pro is not even a year old, and now this. Curse you Steve…

Apple has finally decided to sell unlocked iPhone 3Gs, in Hong Kong. This has given consumers there the freedom to choose whatever carrier they would like to use.

The decision was totally in contrast to the exclusivity policy practiced by Apple in many countries. We all know that unlocked iPhones are openly sold in every part of the world. But surprisingly, the Cupertino-based company didn’t even make a move to even stop it.

Being unlocked comes with a price, a hefty price that is. The 8GB version is available for about $695 (5,400 Hong Kong dollars), while the 16GB iPhone costs about $798 (6,200 HK dollars), according to Apple’s site.

The “iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier,” the site states. “Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation.”

I wish the same scenario happens here in the UAE. Since the government here and Etisalat, the national carrier, are against to so called anti-competitive practices (as if Etisalat has a competition here. Du, which is supposed to be a “competition”, turns out to be majority owned by Etisalat…) and does not agree to Apple’s one carrier policy.