Season's Greetings...

This year, we have been through many things, but He never faltered in giving us blessings, and families friends to be with us all the way. While talking to a very good friend, i mentioned that Christmas has become less and less important to me, and to be honest, i'm still waiting for that Christmas when I would feel the true, and purest meaning of Christmas. Beyond the lights, beyond the music, beyond the cool breeze, beyond everthing and anything this world has to offer. I am longing for that Christmas day when even if everthing around me is screwed up, i can stop for a minute, close my eyes and say. "This is Christmas..."

Here's hoping the best and most meaningful Christmas for you and your families....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Yahoo acquires del.icio.us

FAKINA!

That's it, i'm officially giving Yahoo the Social web champion trophy. They're such a friggin' slick company buyers that I think they're going to rule the social web revolution should it take off really well (beyond the gates of geekdom).

They just bought del.icio.us! Honestly, my google-fan heart is really broken coz this would be the second kick-ass web 2.0 app that I really wanted for Google to buy. Flickr, of course being the first one. I don't care if social search (yahoo's bet) will rule over insanely-smart, purely algorithm-based search (google's) or not. I love del.icio.us (and flickr) and now my geek dream of seeing them integrated with Google's services just crumbled before my eyes.

And please, o please, no "you're such a geek" comments. Tell me something i don't know. And if my ranting over "some crappy website with a very hard-to-type URL being bought by Yahoo" gives you the impression that I need to seek help, then "Hello there! Welcome to my world. " :P Now if you'll excuse me while i lick my wounds...

Looking at the bigger picture, i don't see del.icio.us fitting in the Google grand scheme of things anyway....(cough! bitter cough!).

Gmail updates

• You can now see RSS Clips right in your inbox (technically, right at the top). this feature has been selectively launched before.


• Word, OpenOffice(!) and PDF attachements can now be viewed directly as HTML,


• Shortcuts for addresses and tracking numbers,


• and the previously launched Virus scanning feature (which is soo transparent some people might not even notice it)

on the other side of the fence, for those who got in to the New Yahoo Mail beta (the two of you) a full-pledged integrated RSS Reader feature has just been added to the beta service.

now back to work...

Google: Ten Golden Rules

Written by Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Hal Varian - the 10 Golden rules that Google follow in handling knowledge workers....

on the Don't evil section:

...nobody throws chairs at Google, unlike management practices used at some other well-known technology companies. We foster to create an atmosphere of tolerance and respect, not a company full of yes men.

Heh.

Angel was reading the article in front of my boss (at work) and at the end of the article, my boss quipped, albeit jokingly: "Para pala tayong Google eh". haha. I just laughed, the Google fan that I am. And i responded, with angel: "actually oo nga sir." Truth be told, my boss has no experience in managing knowledge workers in the field of IT. He has been a true-blue engineer all his career life. Chose to remain as an engineer working as an engineer, and refused to go up the corporate ladder. Somehow though, he gets the part about catering to knowledge workers' needs, and it's no surprise that he does, he's a very kind and rational man. Angel and I really enjoy everything in our work. Free meals, Free swimming sessions twice a week, super flexi time, we can work at home if we have to and a lot of other little stuff that i probably missed out.

Instant Apply in Firefox Options

One of the things that I really like about how the Mac user interface is designed is that in its preferences windows, changes are applied on the fly. Of course, Firefox 1.5, being the good platform (whichever one) app-citizen that it is, has implemented this instant-apply feature in its mac and linux versions. But in the Windows world, where the mighty (and ambiguous) OK/APPLY button rules, things are still the same...(yawn) But i really like the transparency of the instant-apply feature. It's a good thing the firefox guys gave us the option enable this in the Windows version of Firefox as well.

to do this, take a trip to your bestfriend about:config page and set browser.preferences.instantApply to true

look ma, no OK button!

I've been testing the pre-release builds for weeks now (even installed it on my stinky officemate's machine without her permission), and finally, it's here!

A few of the new things in the front-end:

• blazingly fast BACK and FORWARD buttons..
  
• draggable tabs
• Clear Private Data (CTRL-SHIFT-DEL) is your friend. ;)
• prettier options dialog
• a very robust and modern update mechanism (full reinstall is a thing of the past now)
  
• prettier Error pages (die! error dialogs die!)

Here's the comprehensive What's New page.

Gtalkr

update: added the link.


Next to flickr, this by far is one of the niftiest flash-based web app that i can remember. Heck, i like it so much that i gave my gmail password away even if it's a third party app, and not affiliated with Google... for now hehe.

Gtalkr is a web-based implementation of Google Talk, plus a few additional quirks, like a view of your Gmail inbox, extensions.... definitely worth checking out. No voice yet, though.

-picked up from Pinoy Tech Blog, thru the Pinoy Tech Scence planet. Still with me?

Excuses Excuses

Our small blog commnunity has been pretty quiet for a while now..

Seriously, what's your excuse for not blogging?

Task management

Angel's cork board. Priorities, priorities... 

The UI affairs

I have been wanting to change the layout of this blog... like him, but back when i had the time, i didn't have the motivation to do so, now that i don't have time anymore, i'm still um, unmotivated. heh.

So what sucks in this layout? I will try to enumerate all the things that have accumulated in my must-change-this list....
In no particular order...

• You have to click in order to see my blogroll.
• You have to click to see my previous post. It's okay in the main page, but i think the previous posts list should be very accesible in my post page
• My blogroll sucks. I don't link that often. (don't be fooled by the lenght of my list, i ripped that off). Bad blogger bad...
  
• The color scheme is umm... I don't have one. I tried, but i don't remember ever finishing it.
• As I just learned just recently, the layout out goes berserk in IE. (Though you really should be using firefox)
• Despite the mods that I made, it still inherits the UI problems of the default blogger template which are:
• Date being the anchor text to the permalink
• Comments are shown without a date stamp.
• more to come...

So what sucks in my blog's layout?

Ubuntu pressed cds

got my 100 ubuntu x86 cds yesterday, 20 for x86-64 and 5 for the mac.

I promised 50 cds to the just started internet cafe association in LB but ended up giving only 20. Left another 11 to the shop accross Oi Pinoi, A set (1 for each of the 3 plaftorms i mentioned) went to my former thesis adviser, 2 to ate pearl for her officemate and 1 for Mang Greg, one of our technicians in Physci.

that leaves me around 65 more x86 ubuntu cds. Want some? come and get it. It's yours already...

Scooby Doo

While trying to clean the shop looking for important stuff that I might leave behind, i saw a still plastic-wrapped kidde mug (with a spirally straw that comes with its cover). It was the scooby-doo mug which nikki and I got with the KFC bucket meal.

I remember I got it for Sam thinking of giving it to him when he's a little older...

Firefox 1.5 RC3 testing day

This would be my first FF testing day. Want to join the fun?

Friday
Start time: Starting 7 AM PDT - 5 PM PDT
IRC server: irc.mozilla.org
Please join #testday

Read the the Testing Day blog post for more details

The Google Internet

Google has been buying dark fiber (unused fiberoptic) and this has led many to believe that Google has plans to enter the ISP biz.

Cringely thinks otherwise. And he has a very convincing theory on where Google is heading -- with all those fiber in their hands. Interesting read.

Angel just finished posting (instead of actually doing work) our workplace pics.

Pay respect to our server. :)

Red Button

For the sake of your productivity, please, don't press the red button. I warned you.

All your base are belong to us

Need to share something online? Recipe? Map to your place? Schedule? Picture ng crush mo?
All of the above? Then check out Google Base. :)

Mobile blogging

So far most of the things that we've talked about in our blogs (me and hannah) are about sam. Things are not that all bleak, though. Even with our own expectations, we are doing really good in taking things . We feel so blessed that God has given us the strength and the support from people like you guys. Our family, our batchmates, our good friends. Maraming salamat. We are just starting the battle against SMA, and as full as we are of your moral support and prayers, we know that we would be needing more of those in the coming months. And as I have always said here, Hannah and I are also praying for you guys.

To update on the other things happening in our life, i recently started a contract work as a software dev with angel. It's truly a blessing, and I'd like to thank angel for pulling me along. I'm enjoying the work, the great work environment and the boss with a big heart. The financial benefit is also so timely, specially now that we're on the brink of selling the shop. Mommy hannah is going full time with Sam and I can't manage the shop as I did before.

Also, the laptop's so slick. :) and yeah, that's what blog was supposed to be about. Mobile blogging. We'll, actually not realy mobile, since i'm stil tethered to the phone line. But it's as mobile as I could get for the mean time. hehe.

Sam, meet hand

A few days ago sam discovered his left hand. Now he can't stop staring at it. Cute.

[Listening to: Talking about a revolution by Tracy Chapman]

Sam

The picture was taken less than a month ago, at the University Health Service (UPLB), Sam's first victory against pneumonia (which will return not more than two weeks later).

Blog Pimpin'

Pointing you to...
the backpacker.

i plan to welcome every new blogger i discover. Sige na nga. Friendster is your friend. hehe.

Gameplan

a modified repost from Hannah's blog

Work hard and take care of Sam.
Make Sam's life as happy as possible.
Focus on the joys not the sorrow.
Pray, pray and pray that he doesn't suffer much.
Pray, pray and pray for a miracle ( if only he'll survive to sit in a wheelchair ).
Prepare for our goodbye.
When we do say goodbye remember that someday I'll see him again and get to kiss and hug him.

Still hardest thing to do is to let go...

Lovely

Couple... Congrats Pat and Chico. Wish we were there with you on that very special occasion. :) Our best Wishes and Hope for the Manasan family.

On parenthood

If you know me then you know how comic i could be. I can make fun of almost anything, even of the things about Sam - you know, about me not being his real father and all (i mean, look at the looks!) and it's funny. When he got pneumonia last time, no matter how worried i really got, when i see Sam i feel good and optimistic, and i can still make funny jokes. Partly because he's such a really cute baby (sorry fo being too proud, but for those who haven't seen him, you're missing something. :p ), but mostly because i sort of made a pact with myself to be always like child-like. Be funny. be funny, and be funny. And it has really helped me in a big, albeit subtle way.

Then it happens. I don't know what gave. Maybe it's the forever increasing total amount of time that i've been a father, maybe it's the tiring sight of our son in the hospital bed. I don't know. It just happened. This morning when Sam got into my mind i felt pain. and sadness. Suddenly i can't be funny anymore, even if i try to. Suddenly the "sana ako na lang" phrase speaks for the deepest sentiments of my heart. Suddenly i ask why he's there and not at home, playing, sleeping sound and enjoying a helluva time of his babyhood. Suddenly i felt like crying cried.

I pray that Sam gets well, soon. I pray that he suffers no more. I pray that I would soon see him playing happily with his "funny" papa, and I pray that through all these times God carries him and heals him. And this time I pray for everyone, specially for you guys who have prayed, and have been praying for us. I feel really touched and blessed for the support, i want to give back the favor. Whatever it is that's holding you down at this moment, whatever fears, whatever doubts, whatever pain that you're feeling, I pray that God holds you and give you strength and see you through it. He would.

Sam

Hi guys. we need your prayers. This morning sam was having a difficult time breathing. He's in PGH now, and hopefull ok. We were really scheduled for bronchoscopy tomorrow but it turns out his pneumonia is back...

Yun lang po. Thanks and Good day to all.

Which one?

It's no secret that i admire google, and that hannah loves neopets.

was doing this post more than an hour ago before hannah called about Sam's condition. Posting it anyway just to keep things light. :)

Backlinks

They are called trackbacks outside the Google Blogger world. Almost all blogging tools that i know has this feature already, and now, after 10 years (pinoy idiom alert!), Blogger finally has it too. And they call it tadaan... backlinks. :)

Until blogger makes a decent and kick-ass comment management system for the whole Blogger network, back links will handle blog conversations just fine. Got something to say about what someone posted (say, instant messengers, hehe) that's more than the usual "great post!", "cool!", " astig"? Ah... screw that comment box! stand more firmly about your opinion. Blog it, then reference to the original blog post by linking to it.

Backlinks can be turned on and set up automatically at the comments section of your settings, but if you have a customised template and the auto-update fails you (and lamely uses your customized page as an excuse for its failure) , then this help page can help you (genius! kaya nga help page eh.) set it up.

Got that? Make the web work! link! ...signing off

Instant Messengers

You've probably heard the big news roaming around blogs and news sites these past few days. Microsoft and Yahoo are cooperating to make their IM networks interoperable. Nice. Users win again. But I'm not too excited about it. Not only because i only have a few contacts on MSN (nikki, jae, hannah and her sister ate noemi), but also because i'm too much of a skeptic to believe that this is about the users, or interoperability. I think this about forming an alliance first, interop is just the means. Okay, so shoot me, and I would really glad to be wrong. MSN and Yahoo are rallying up to stand firmly and united against the IM market share giant - AOL (in the US, not here in the Philippines - we're a Yahoo country). And at the same time, this is a preemptive move against Google. Maybe they're both sick of getting kicked in their butts, they decided to join their butts together. heh.

Seriously. Google called for interoperability when it started Google talk. They freakin' used jabber protocol (xmpp) so that other clients (iChat, Gaim, Trillian, etc) can login to Google talk 's network without using the Google-developed client. Server-to-server interop was missing in the current version of Talk but their developers have stated that it is in the works so that later on, Google talk users can interact with the users of other jabber-based Networks. If you know about jabber, then you'd know that using its protocol is the way towards interoparibility. That is what's jabber is all about. For the voice part, Google has also been making headways to make it work with other clients. A month ago they hired Gaim's lead developer and this is what he said, from the Gaim news page:

I (Sean) have been hired by Google, moved to Seattle, and have been working on the Google Talk team for about a month and a half. The goal of Google Talk is to make real-time communication as open as possible, and in that regard, I've been working to offer all of Google Talk's features into other clients. Currently, I'm working on making it as easy as possible for other clients to use Google Talk's voice features. You can expect Gaim and other clients to be interoperable with Google Talk's voice features in the near future.

emphasis mine.

So here's the thing. When Yahoo and MSN joined the IM space (which was dominated by AOL/AIM then), they also called for interop with the giant, but AOL refused. So now fast forward into the present, Yahoo and MSN have both amassed their own millions of users. Do they heed their own calls for IM interoperability (and openness?) heck no. They blindly assume that Yahoo and MSN is the whole IM world and that by making their networks interoperable, they are being open. I think there's a big difference between forming an alliance and being really open.

To end, why push for an open and interoperable Instant Messenger world? Simple. So that everyone can take compatibility and lock in issues out the table and focus instead on innovating and adding features. So you don't have to use Yahoo for the reason that your friends are on the network, but because you see features on its client that are not found on other networks. Competition...: and the users win.

Trying to do something what no blogger has ever done before

post in the middle of your midnight shower. hehe. (towel + shampoo + soap all over). I'm not kidding. hahaha.

a minute later....
%$@#$ 20mg/g nizoral got into my eyes. I tried my best to hit the publish button but hit save to draft instead. gack. that was painful...

Celsus

Choose whatever fits you.

() Pray for him
() Wish him luck

Go! go! go! cel.

thanks nik, for the reminder.

What? Me? Excited?

Gad. I peed on my pants. seriously (joking).

iPod. with Video.
iTunes 6
new iMac. with Built-in iSight and included remote plus a new app called FrontRow that's similar to the "media center' shell in Windows XP Media Center edition, but the UI simpler. predictable. heh.

and the best expected gift of my day:
Ubuntu Breezy.

Now allow me to shriek like a girl.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Post NOT Secret

I'm a freakin' procrastinator.

And the kick-ass work that I do loses it's kick-assness because of that.
There. Step one. :)

(This is what I'm saying... I almost stopped from writing this because I god distracted.)


But still. the journey starts here. From where I am.

Yahoo Podcasts, Google Bookmarks

Yahoo enters the Podcasting mania (Steve Jobs, Yahoo is freakin' serious...) and adds blog content to its News search. So far the general reviews are not that good. It doesn't hold a candle against dedicated blog search engines such as Google, Technorati, Icerocket, Bloglines and others. Well, it's beta and following after Google Reader beta, beta services finally feels like real beta services again (read:incomplete, clunky, blah blah)

Google upgrades its Search History feature. now you can mark websites in you search history as bookmarks. They use the same "star" metaphor just like they do in their other services. And yep, labels tags are now supported. Label auto-suggest is really useful, though not something new. TIP: labeling pages with homepage adds those pages to your Personalized Home Page's Bookmarks section. You can also add notes.

TIP: Get Album Art from iTunes Music Store

You need iTunes for the Itunes Music Store URL, Internet connection, and this link.

Enjoy.

Also availabe: iTunes Music Store Videos and Trailers (host-the-code yourself).

If you're reading this more than a month from the date I posted this, then I can't promise you that the links are still working.

more on the Google Reader

I was planning to do a comprehensive review of the Google Reader, but for now I'll just point you to Google Blogoscoped for an excellent piece. (though i might do my own take on it later).

I have this feeling that this time the Google magic didn't work on me well, Yes, the service is uber-cool because of AJAX wizardry and all, but I feel that there's something wrong with the UI. Maybe it's the lack of proper context to differentiate between a blog and a blog entry, i'm not sure. I need more testing...

Google Reader

Yep, I use an RSS aggregator, bloglines, but I have been waiting for a major upgrade to the service, because its abuse of the submit button makes the UI feel so web 1.0-ish. Blame it on Gmail and Flickr (and a lot of other AJAX apps), for upping the ante in web UI. Then later on a newer service promised to deliver what blogines lack, but it was an invite-only beta service and its name got buried in my 891-mb gmail archive.

Now my wait is freakin over. And as usual (this trend is getting boring you know), Google saves the day.



Google Reader.
All your subscriptions are belong to you*.

It's a beta service, and requires a google account. But it's from Google, so it must be good, right? hehe. Now, unlike most things google that are in beta state, so far the service feels a little clunky. Your mileage may vary though, since i have not fully tested the service. But so far, it's Goodbye bloglines for me. awww. I'll miss the bloglines plumber.

*not the real slogan. :P

FCKGW

My search for a windows xp serial number led me to this...

FCKGW at wikipedia

just to be clear, im no installing them back sa shop. it's for someone else's pc. :p

Hey....

Congratulations and Welcome, Pat and Chico ;)

(kahit na nahuli ako sa balita)

Google and Sun: the world will change this week

I'm hearing a web office based on OpenOffice. If this is true, then this is BIG.
Microsoft: the shit hath hit the fan.

The title, by the way, came from a recent post on Jonathan Schwartz's weblog.

TIP

You can go directly to a page by typing a URL in the Search field of the Google Toolbar (firefox version; I don't know for the other version)

Warner Execs are Greedy. So Says Steve Jobs. I agree.

After apple saved their asses from the onslaught of P2P, here's what they do in return.

Music Industry Threatens to Pull Plug on Apple

Idiots.

via slashdot

shipit good!

nananananan, you must shipit.... (to the tune of I freakin' forgot the title, but its an 80's disco song...)

ping nikki. ping nap. ping mars. ping han. ping angel. ping migs. ping everyone! shipit now accepting orders for ubuntu breezy! w00t!

openoffice.org2-ubuntu

EDITED
while preparing to uninstall OpenOffice1.1 from an ubuntu installation (2 beta rocks), i just noticed the official ubuntu packages for the OpenOffice 2 repositories. Thinking that ubuntu-OpenOffice integration is always nice, tried installing it. Was so excited and giddy about giving it a first whirl when this abomination greeted me:



i almost puked.
apt-get remove....NOW!

I'm happy with my unofficial builds. Btw, good news. OpenOffice has RC builds (Release Candidates) now. I can smell the good times comin'... Screw borg-ware! heh.

Home at last...

Now I can rest my thoughts that Sam is back at home, at last.

The past two weeks has been so difficult for the young Gamis family, Sam having to stay at the hospital for two weeks because of pneumonia. I commend his "kabaitan" during the whole two weeks ordeal (umm, perhaps that's too heavy a word though) of nebulization, sipon-sucking, (cute, but painful to hear) little coughs, and two grueling times of dextrose needle reinsertion, which, for some reason, i both missed. (Mommy han cried with sam on the second time it happened). All this happened during the BSA raid fiasco, (God sometimes works in ways that we cannot comprehend). So the shop was closed for almost two weeks two! Gaah. Well, basta alam ko, what's more tiring than migrating to Linux is doing it while your mind is somewhere else.

So now, Baby sam is out, and tomorrow, i claim that the shop will be open at last (hey, pun, strongly intended. here that, Billy G?).Exciting times ahead.

Remote, err, Nintendo Revolution Controllers

UPDATED, at the request of my editor.

You'd have to give Nintendo the hand for being creative, bold and innovative enough to market something as out of the box as that.

Here's the 2-page review at IGN, and of course, the gallery

And here's a link to the video page (courtesy of the new Google Video Search, and the one who uploaded this video)

Someone said: "i don't like it, it's not for gamers, it's for active people." Good point.

Die Pirates Die! ....or Should They?

The Business Software Alliance - an organization with Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Adobe, etc., as its members, have launched a full-blown Piracy crackdown here in the Philippines. Internet Shop Cafe owners, one of the many business types targeted by the campaign, are in chaos right now (ako konti lang, i have ubuntu at my side). Acquiring license for even a 10-pc internet shop can cost the small players (that includes us) a significant chunk of money to comply with licensing demands. I have a lot of things to say about this issue, but i can't get them sorted out for now.

 

But there are things brewing in my mind - this could be the day that Linux takes a center stage in the Philippine tech scene. If only the oppurtunity is taken wisely.A call to open source supporters, evangelists and hackers -- let's do every thing that we can to take this window of oppurtunity and spread Linux and other OpenSource Projects.

 

For non-gaming cafe's (like what we have here), user-oriented linux distros are ripe for the taking. People just need to try and see it. Yes, thing will feel weird at first, but this is how we felt the first time we used Windows right? If you have friends that are worrying about the crackdown right now, encourage them to evaluate Linux. Ubuntus is the best distro that I could recommend. Really, how can you justify paying for the full price of Windows when Ubuntu can do the job as well? I'm just seeing a few hiccups here - Chikka. and the other apps that needs Windows that I suddenly forgot. heh.

 

Excuse me for now, but I have some hard drives to reformat.

 

I Powered By Qumana

Yahoo! Search - Instant Search

Yahoo! Search - Instant Search:

Why feel lucky when you can be right?

Technorati tags: Yahoo Search

Office 12

update: included the screenshots(that comes after 2003, if you don't know Microsoft math). heh.

New User Interface! Not just a new widget style, but an entirely a new UI! nice... I can't believe i'm drooling for something Microsoft. heheh.

Click on the thumbnails for larger versions

 

Now this is how you (try to) save an Operating System from going irrelevant in a world of web apps. Make a kick-ass desktop app with a kick-ass user interface.

On the other hand, the open-source, OpenOffice loving part of me is crying like sh*t. How do you keep up with this? This must be a hard time for the openoffice guys. I hope they don't get discouraged. I'm thinking... if not for them--for posing as a danger to Microsoft Office dominance (along with a lot of other dangers) , I bet all that Microsoft would be showing for Office 12 is a new color scheme, and uhm, 5 new features.

Technorati Tags : Microsoft, Office12, UI

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Google Blog Search

google.com/blogsearch AND search.blogger.com

Where self-googling is a lot more fulfilling. :D

Which also means that

Also, have you noticed the blogger home page? Real time updates. Nice... showmanship. hehe.

Technorati Tags : Google, Blog, Search

Dr Quack Quack.  

After the (free!) Pizza dinner, watching nikki play the geek version of Dr quack quack 

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Thanks Armi! (also to Nik and his palm card, coz we lost ours) 

Microsoft tries to recruit Eric S. Raymond

You're a borg Microsoft recruiter, and you try your luck (out of optimism or just sheer ignorance) and try to recruit a well known Open Source Evangelist. What do you get? A handful. Don't dare miss reading his reply.
Maybe they thought: "You can't blame us for trying, we got the Geento guy remember?"

My favorite part in ESR's reply:

If you had bothered to do five seconds of background checking, you might have discovered that I am the guy who responded to Craig Mundie’s “Who are you?” with “I’m your worst nightmare”, and that I’ve in fact been something pretty close to your company’s worst nightmare since about 1997.

...in Tagalog

I don't even remember knowing that Burador meant Draft. Now i know.
A couple of other cool translations:

nagkakarga... (loading)
ako...(Me)
Sariwain...(Refresh)
May-bituin...(Starred)
Gumawa ng pansala... (Create Filter)
Mga Tatak...(Labels)
Etiketa... (Labels) also?
Sarhan ang paglalagay ng highlight... (Turn off highlighting)

gets? get it.

iPod Nano

The iPod mini is no more. Meet the iPod Nano.

new iTunes

Yes, you can click on that to make it bigger...

Hey converts! heehee. The new iTunes is here (among other Apple news).
What's new?

1. It feels snappier.
2. New sleek look!
3. Playlist folders - hoorah! (but i thought folders are dead?)
   
4. New sleek look!
5. (not shown) A handy search bar that shows when you start typing in the search field.
6. Variable bit rate encoding when using the AAC encoder. hmm. bite-size mp3s!
7. Parental Controls. next please
8. New sleek look!
9. Smart shuffle daw (di ko pa nattry to)
   
10. blah blah blah
    

Just download it, and see for yourself. Note to would-be converts: the beast requires Windows XP (awww), and a litle love for something apple. hehe. Which reminds me - Winamp 5.1 has just been released recently...if that's your thing.

Congratulations Armi!

Armi and her friend barged in the shop screaming... Maaaaaaaaaaark! Inquirer!

What the heck!? The results of the Chemist Licensure is out! woooh (nakakahawa excitement ni Armi)

PDF of the Results is here.

Btw, the BIG NEWS: Armi is no 9. w00t!

Sabi na namin kagabi advanced libre na eh.

Quickie Firefox hint

Here's for the OCs out there:

Do you want to rid your firefox's address autocomplete list of unwanted (wink wink) entries and want to keep the rest? Here's the key: Select (but dont click, if you're using the mouse) the unwanted entry, then press SHIFT-DELETE. Voila! Work safe again...

;)

ok, back to what you're doing again...

I love to do this

I wait for Sam to reach the point where he's almost awake, but not totally conscious -- sort of still in the alpha state. At that point, he can barely see my face but i think good enough to see when i'm smiling. Then i try my best to start smiling starting with a simple hehehe.. up to the point where I'm "laughing." Then while i'm doing that i adjust my laugh to make it more sound natural, and watch his face slowly smile. If I'm able to make my "laugh" believable enough, rewards are great - he'd start laughing as I laugh, showing his complete set of toothless gums. Then we'd have a smile/laugh feast, with mommy hannah reluctantly (too much laugh = kabag) laughing with us, until mommy hannah covers my mouth to make sam stop laughing too. hehehe. :D...

I love that baby.

New Orleans

Katrina aftermath... in Satellite imagery

Grabe...

My New Favorite post

verge: "angulo ko"

Sobrang profound, muntik ko nang di maintindihan. Tsk tsk.

Hi verge. It's nice to see na nagkakalat ka na din ng lagim sa inter-web.

9 Days until Firefox 1.5 Beta!

From Mozilla Developer News: “The lockdown for “Firefox 1.5 Beta 1″ will occur at 11:59pm on Tuesday, Sept 6 in preparation for release on Thursday, Sept 8.”

read more

Technorati tags: Mozilla Firefox

Meet the grandparent.

My mom arrived from Bicol the other day and visited Samuel last night (heart melts). Before we went to Jubileeville for a family dinner, I called my brother who is currently in Japan. heh. She was so happy and amazed at the fact that he's talking to my brother through the internet (the voice quality rocks). So imagine her holding baby sam - headphones on and talking to my brother through Google Talk. The whole time she keeps on cracking her "baka mahal na babayaran mo jan" joke. heh. Hannah and I were so happy that Sam's mama lola finally got to see her handsome apo. A scene where your son's two lolas are cooing him in his crib surely gives every parent that certain kind of high.

Dear Google Talk...

The program manager for the MSN Messenger team wrote this very amusing "letter to Google Talk..."
I particularly liked this part:

Maybe you will build up a robust feature set and I will improve my usability. Maybe your straightforward interface will bring new people into the IM market who have been intimidated out of it by the more complex clients.

Which is really a good thing to hear. Knowing that they understand very well the importance of simplicity and usability. She didn't rant about the "lack" of features of the Google talk, but rather put it in a very constructive way (and thus didn't hurt my fanboy heart, heh).

(opened up MSN Messenger, which after a few seconds turned my RANT knob to 11)

For the sake of future MSN Messenger users, I seriously hope that they do something about MSNMessenger's usability. For instance content tabs, akin to what YM has at the bottom part of their software - where you usually access launchcast. MSN messenger has HUGE tabs, now this is not really bad, (Fitt's law no. 1) but if you use only ONE of those tabs, I hope you have the option to remove the rest. Yan, tuloy bad trip na ulit ako sa MSN messenger, naalala ko kasi kun gano kawalang kwenta yung part na yun...oh well, so much for a fair and unbiased post about Instant Messengers....(sigh)

Google is a Windows Shop

I have read the phrase somewhere, so the idea is not original.

But it occured to me that this is irritatingly true for the products of the Company. Google Toolbar took a lot of time to be ported to Firefox (and hence usable in other Platforms), Picasa, the kick-ass Photo-organizer that they acquired (along with their first! IM - hello). Google Desktop Search has been a Windows-only app from day one, and now that it has the nifty sidebar thingie, my linux user heart is bleeding even more. To be fair, there are two linux projects (beagle and dashboard) that does similar things. Sigh. At least Google Talk supports other IM clients.

Now this is definitely not a blasphemy Google-bashing post. Sometimes it just sucks how you would miss Microsoft-only apps in the Linux world. Sigh.

Links:
Google Toolbar (firefox, ie)
Google talk
picassa
Hello
Google Desktop Search
Beagle
Dashboard

Edubuntu

Okay, pupils, say it with me -- Edubuntu!

Edubuntu is a version of the [WWW] Ubuntu operating system suitable for classroom use. As an educator you'll be able to set up a computer lab, or establish an online learning environment, in an hour or less -- then administer that environment without having to become a fully-fledged Linux geek.

will post a logo later on (coz they look nice). :D

Custom From: address in Gmail

If you're using gmail but also maintains other email accounts (work email, personal email, etc.), Gmail now allows multiple sending profiles. If you have set your account settings properly (instructions here), You can choose the from: address that your message will use in the compose page. Neat. And yes, the reply-to: address is set to the corresponding from: address, although you can also change it if you want.



Need gmail invites? I still have some.

Something about Google

talk.google.com
desktop.google.com

i can't contain myself right now. I almost peed on my geeky pants.

hey, add me! emelgeek at gmail
later.

Baby hedgehogs

Aren't they cute?

Top this.

Can You?

(pic found here)

No Day but Today

Got the news from cherry, (who made my life a tiny bit harder by NOT linking to the site... hehe.). Well anyway, RENT has been made into a movie -- that rock musical that i stupidly missed (i mean c'mon, i was hanging out with this friend when RENT was here, -- he watched it at least 3 times.) and ended up making up for it by listening to the cds until my ears burned. I think I memorized all the songs in one cd (don't know which one), and if my memory serves me right, it's one of the tactics that I used to start a conversation with han after those loooong months that we weren't talking. (she didn't fall for it. heh)

Which reminds me, still have the RENT shirt that I "borrowed" from Kuya Robert. ;)

I wouldn't want to miss this movie. (hey, that sounds like what I say to every good trailer that see, and the final movie of which I usually end up missing. pfft). Basta. I don't want to miss one.

Here's a secret – The Light My Candle Song is one of our (han and I) favorite songs. Cute. Romantic. Sweet. Sad. Funny. Hopeful.

“would you be light my candle…”

Of course.

Blogger heart Word

This post was made using Microsoft Word. Using of course the spankin’ new Blogger Word Plugin. Now you get all the MS Word goodness (spelling and grammar checker, formatting, you name it…) when you’re posting to your blogger blog.

But wait there’s more. You can also do all the other post-related actions that blogger has to offer – Save as Draft and Edit Previous Posts. Nice…
(image placeholder)

Now all I really need is a plug-in that magically turns my lame post into more interesting ones.

The bad: (which I just discovered after my first attempt of publishing this) Tables and images are not yet supported. Bleh!

Microsoft says iPod to face more competition

[disclaimer: I am (mostly) an apple fan]
Microsoft says iPod to face more competition: "Microsoft says iPod to face more competition"
Wow. Almost 3 years after iPod swept the whole industry by storm (and quashed Microsoft's dream of WMA world domination), this is how Microsoft deals with the iPod: F.U.D.. Gee...

Windows Vista Guided Tour

Microsoft's upcoming (in 2006 daw) windows version is called Windows Vista. For a low down on what to expect from Vista, informationweek has created this Guided Tour. Not that I am rooting for it (i'm not) or something. heh.

Praying Mantis Eats Hummingbird (Bird Watcher's Digest)

Praying Mantis Eats Hummingbird (Bird Watcher's Digest)

haha. this is cool.

...

http://photos23.flickr.com/27339587_ec548387ef.jpg

A Desktop Share!
without the messy icons, syempre. hehe.

Yahoo! Widgets

Nik, remember Konfabulator? Yahoo bought them. and now... Yahoo! Widgets!

Google finally unlocks the moon mystery

Google is honoring the first landing on the moon, and they've added satellite imagery of the moon to Google Maps.

Cool, isn't it? Zoom all the way down for a spectacular view of the moon's surface....(hint hint)

Thank You All

Thank you.

For the support and prayers.
When we started to take this path together.
When mommy Hannah was having a difficult time.
When we feared for Baby Sam's health.
When we first saw a glimpse of his (gamis) face.
When he struggled his way out to this world. (and changed our lives forever)

We share our happiness with everyone,
For this little big miracle of life

Samuel Mark T. Gamis

more...

(thanks to jaemark)

TEST EMAIL POST

email post to blogger. test test test.

--
Mark L. Gamis

Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur - "That which is said in Latin sounds profound."

Baby Post

Yeah, tomorrow is the big Day. Smile smile. The full wave of excitement is not yet kicking in. Perhaps I'll start to feel it hours before the actual delivery. The typical Mark -- always a crammer. ;p

Should Baby Sam decide to put off his birthday, on Friday Morning we will be going to the Hospital for induction. Need more of those prayers, guys -- that Mommy Hannah won't have a hard time delivering Sam. So that's it, My son's birthday would either be June 30 or July 1. Just two weeks before our original anniversary. Hah! :D

Okay, list of people to text/call: everyone I can remember. :D I'm thinking of setting up this blog for a minute by minute update on things, starting from the very first occurence of labor. hehe. That's a good idea. let's see..

Wow. Three paragraphs later and now I feel excited (i'm understating that)... Okay. Till later people. Yes che, I won't forget to call/text you. :D Keep that anticipation level high, ok?

Aissa, brings back memories ba? hehe. Pero sana naman malampasan ni 4cm record mo. :p But still, 36 hours? Wow.

The Webmail Competition Redux

Yahoo is almost done integrating the technologies from oddpost into the Yahoo Mail interface (or vice versa). According to CNET, some lucky bastards sorry, beta testers have aready seen a glimpse of things to come in the webmail part ot the Yahoo!verse. I'm hearing drag and drop support (wow), an outlook-like mail preview (which doubles as a giat banner ad when you're not previewing any message - bleh), keyboard shortcuts, address autocomplete, and they say the most important of all: local email caching for a faster response. Now that sounds really familiar. Well anyway, If that doesn't earn Yahoo lots of your love, I don't know what would.

One more thing. A few weeks ago, Yahoo already launched a neat addition to Yahoo Mail - Yahoo Photo Mail. It just sucks that it only works for IE* (booo!) . It's a really neat piece of addition to Yahoo Mail, which makes the fact that it's IE-specific even suck more. But if you're using IE (don't know what version they require) head on to their site and install the necessary stuff that they tell you install (it's easy) and enjoy using it. I did.

*I'm just looking at it as a little consolation for ye IE users out there - for all the hardships that you endure in dealing with all those pop-ups and spyware crap. hehe. :D

Google Earth is Here

It's what you should try when you can't get enough of Google Maps. Amazing piece of sotware (it's Keyhole with the makeover), But not a bit as amazing as the things you'll see with it.

Google Maps gets Closer

Los Baños!
(You can see the lower part of Laguna de Bay. The little body of water is the Crocodile lake that Jonas was always talking about back when he was still here in LB)

Mayon Volcano
(Even when under the clouds, you can see the symetry in all the slopes surrounding it)

I'd try to get more views when I get the time later, but if you want (and I bet you would; for those with broadband at least,) you can do your own visit-the-Philippines tour too... the Google Maps way. Here's a good place to start

(Not so) Hot off the press Linux post...

Fedora Core 4 is out! w00t.

As I continue to read more on this news, aparrently mirrors were already populated with the iso's long before the official announcement.. Hmm..Slashdot = slow... :p

Links:
The official torrent tracker page
Release Notes

Tags: Linux

Time management

Recommended web-app for the day:

ClockWork

... is a time management solution that allows you to easily track what you do during your day. ClockWork is ideal for anyone who works with clients on an hourly basis, or needs a solution to track productivity for any task or project.

Tags: GTD

Why it's been quiet here lately

1. I've been in Manila for a few days (I just returned on the 8th)
   
2. I'm in a planning stage - trying to start a GTD-based lifestyle without reading the book! (of course, I can always appreciate a loan or even a free one! hint hint..)
   
3. The aircon's motor died down last Friday, so the shop was closed until Wednesday.
   
4. I was busy reading about this
   
5. I was busy watching this. (QuickTime 7 is awesome)
   
6. So basically because of the aircon mishap and the need for me to go to Manila (fixed my aunt's and cousin's PC's), my shop routine was disrupted, so I'm taking my time to re-adjust.
   
7. It's JUNE, classes will start next week and I'm (sort of) pre-occupied thinking about a kind of back-to-school promotion for the internet shop (any ideas?)
   and lastly, but defini.. ahh, you know how the cliche goes.
   
8. Baby Samuel is coming out soon. Prayers. Prayers. Prayers.

On Tuesday Evening

The unthinkable can happen. According to Cnet News, Apple is dumping IBM in favor of Intel. I don't know how true this is, but Cnet is not your typical apple rumor site, so there might be a hint of truth to this. I don't know about you, but on Tuesday night, i'll be watching this space, and hope to be one of the first to hear of how Apple plans to miserably dump or amazingly revolutionize its Macintosh Department. I can also be one of the many who were fooled by Cnet. Either way, I will be one ;)

Did i hear anybody say "(unofficial) MacOS X clone for your intel PC in one year?"

This is so tragic...

Picked up from lifehacker blog: Murdered blogger's post leads to killer.

News Article.
The post.

The Cringe Factor

43 Folders enlightens us why some items remain in our to-do list (way) longer than others.

Ouch.

Tags: GTD

Bittorrent Search going live

What's the next Big thing for Bram Cohen's bittorent? Well, the same as everyone else's next big thing: Search. Wired got a sneak peak of the company's soon to be launched search service. It will follow the footsteps of Google in two ways: simplicity and a business model built around sponsored links, to be provided by Ask Jeeves (yay Ask!). And it will go way beyond your "search string" filetype:torrent search query...From the article on Wired:

... unlike a general web search, the BitTorrent web crawler interacts with each torrent behind the scenes to determine the number of nodes downloading and uploading through it. That lets the search engine order its results by the throughput of each torrent.

It will go live on bittorent.com, so watch that space. I hope this pulls through.

Gmail and a Yahoo Guy

(Yes, the Firefox post is still coming, it's in the pipeline, just so you know)

Jeremy Zawodny (of Yahoo) likes Gmail (understatement). And this is not the first time that he objectively praised a competitor's product. He also likes GDS over YDS.

I am not trying to make a point about him. I just thought that it would cool to share this. And if you're looking for stuff to read, his blog is a good one.

Google Fusion

google.com/ig

'nuff said. Here's the FAQ if you want to dig more.

I'll be playing with this later on. First impression? I don't like it. But then that could change; Google is an acquired taste. (And I'm such a fanboy.) :p

Did I hear anyone say PORTAL? hehehe. just kidding.

Tags: Google

Next Generation Consoles. Skin deep.

To continue with the theme of console gaming in this blog, let me point to Wired's article on the three next-gen consoles from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. It's a one-page article so it's consumable in less than 5 minutes. It lacks the juicy details of each console's promised specs though, so don't expect much.

And if you still have time, come back here and cast your vote on who's leading in the looks department. I'm biased towards PS3, if it's not already obvious. I feel that miniaturization is on the priority list of Nintendo. Three-DVD-case thick? Wow.

Playstation 3

Yes, Xbox 360 is really sleek. And to be honest, i never thought that Sony or Nintendo could top its excellent design. ...Until today. The upcoming Playstation 3:


Words fail me.

more pics

Technorati tags: Playstation3 Sony Console Gaming

Cleaned up my sidebar - the return of the fox

Some neat DHTML tricks from here made my sidebar look a lot cleaner. I also changed its color to yellow coz i find the lack of clear distinction between the side bar and the main content very hard for the reading eyes. I hope you find the change as an improvement too. And yes, i added the long-overdue firefox banner, which I promptly put up after my last post.

The beta version of the new IE 7 is looming in the horizon, and knowing Microsoft, they will make a lot of noise about that. So I think it's just necessary for each of us (firefox fans) to throttle up our individual firefox campaigns again. The Browser Wars Redux... Exciting times ahead.

So Here's my question for those still using Internet Explorer: what's keeping you from using firefox? I'd like to know, if you don't mind.

***
(I know Hannah would be so mad at me for this... My 30 minute extension turned into a 4 hour blog-fest! I know, I really have a serious discipline problem. Sorry Han.)

Microsoft "Innovation" is the best form of Flattery

From BBC news:

Bill Gates is one of the people with Firefox on his computer, so I asked him for his opinion.

"I played around with it a bit, but it's just another browser, and IE [Microsoft's Internet Explorer] is better," Mr Gates told me, and challenged my assertion that Firefox's 'market share' is growing rapidly.

"So much software gets downloaded all the time, but do people actually use it?"

Blake Ross has a very firm answer to Bill Gates's last comment: YES, people are actually using Firefox

And let me just repeat that first part: IE is better than Firefox.

On a totally unrelated news, the IE 7 team says that the next version of IE will have tabs.

ABS vs GMA

My thoughts on Jam's post

I think the major thing that GMA has over ABS-CBN is that GMA seems to have a more cohesive strategy with its shows, specially in promoting them. (cross-show plugging, themes that are consistent with their respective sponsors, etc.)When I watch GMA, i feel that everything seems to fit into something that has been planned well. For ABS, i don't know. I don't see the same synergy in their shows.

I remember what Korina said about ABS-CBN's fall from grace: when it happened, it happened all across the grid. I agree, and if they're planning to take the crown back, they can't just pull it off with a one-time flick (specially if most of those flicks are foreignovelas). You'd have to bring everything across the board. I know, i know, that's easier said than done, and I barely know what's really happening inside ABS-CBN's war room, or whatever strategy they're brewing in there. (I sure hope that there is one)

Anyway, I once read someone say:

In the end of course the users[viewers] win either way. Like two farmhands vying for the love of a girl, no matter which one emerges victorious the lady's got a lot of flowers.

..And we get to choose between Ann Curtis and Angel Locsin.

Thanks for the Prayers

Praise God and thank you people for the prayers. Our baby turned out to be in perfectly good health. Yup, mommy Hannah has still more-than-the-average amount of amniotic fluid in her tummy, but our baby is fine.

And as if telling us how perfectly fine he is, our baby showed us the clearest view of his face for the first time. Amazing.
Okay, Han said it's the second time already. I missed the first time (I was running up to the infirmary from the UP lib).

Firefox 1.04 Security Update

Firefox 1.04 has been released. The update fixes a critical vulnerability found in Firefox 1.0 - 1.03 that could allow a malicious code to run on a user's computer. Specially vulnerable are those who have added additional sites to Firefox's software installation whitelist. Although no real world exploit has taken advantage of this vulnerability (yet) , I still highly recommend that you guys DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE UPDATE NOW.

Tags: Firefox

Secret

Stumbled upon (through stumbleupon ;p ) this great site: postsecret -

an ongoing community art project where people mail-in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

Great read. (someone cried while we were reading this. hehe )

My favorite secret? Maybe this one:

Wow. It's ugly here...

Planning a redesign. So i decided to use the simplest template that I could get as a placeholder. Im almost sure that my redesign would be uglier, but as Jaemark said before (im already too sleepy to link back) at least it's (well) mine.

A couple of notes though...

• See that white band on the upper right part of my page? I put it there for a reason, so click away. And while you're there, get one for your blog.
  
• My blog roll is a rip-off from Pisay 98 blog, of course. (i see that more and more people are blogging now) hehe. So again, click away.

That's it. Got to sleep.

It Just Works

Microsoft is touting a new slogan : It just works (gulay, pati ba naman slogan di na pinalampas?)

Anyway, reading the comments on Slashdot, I found this gem:

*raises hand*

Gates: "Yes. You there with your hand up."

Me: "Mr. Ballmer? Mr. Gates? What about spyware and virii on the Longhorn platform?"

Bill: "As our slogan says, 'It just works!'"

Me: "Oh."

(original comment)

hehe.

Hehe...

gad... i hate to ruin this beautiful pic but the temptation is just too strong to resist...



anyway, i really like the original photo a lot. Peace leks.

Original pic belongs to Raven and Storcrow. Edited without permission (and hoping that it's ok)

Thes Splash Thing - My version

We'll definitely be there next time. The three of us ;)

Google Search History

First step towards a Personalized Google experience and the Integration of Google's services.

More on that Adobe - Macromedia Merger

As jem said, the magic word is 3.4B.

Also, Jason Kottke posted a very good roundup of reactions to the deal. A good starting point if you're interested to dig a little bit deeper.

News of the Month

Adobe to buy Macromedia. wow!
This is a graphics/web designer's wet dream.

3 x 5 index cards as your ultimate PIM tool.

I heard (read) the idea first from a post in the plug-misc mailing list as a reply to one user's post asking about the PIM tools that others were using. The idea is so simple and yet well reasoned that I quickly bought the idea (quite naturally, the cred of the poster gave the idea a hell of a backing). I didn't actually follow the advise right away and sure enough, forgot it a few days later (Mark the procrastinator 1, Mark the OC, 0)

Fast forward one week. I stumbled upon (thru del.icio.us, hehe) this very cool hack: "The Hipster PDA". Great Men Think Alike, huh?

I'll definitely be making my own Hipster PDA. Now.

Geek (boring) News

Ouch. That's a really effective way of rubbing it: Announcing on your team blog that you just pirated a key Engineer (one with a PhD)from one of your key competitors (and posting links to his page still hosted on that competitor's own site). Anyway, I think that MS surely hit gold (and spent some) in hiring Dr Gary Flake of Yahoo (Overture). Let's wait and see what key Yahoo people have to say about this...

3 x 5 index cards as your ultimate PIM tool.

I heard (read) the idea first from a post in the plug-misc mailing list as a reply to one user's post asking about the PIM tools that others were using. The idea is so simple and yet well reasoned that I quickly bought the idea (quite naturally, the cred of the poster gave the idea a hell of a backing). I didn't actually followed the advise right away and sure enough, forgot it a few days later (MARK the procrastinator 1, Mark the OC, 0)

Fast forward one week. I stumbled upon (thru del.icio.us, hehe) this very cool hack: "The Hipster PDA". Great Men Think Alike, huh?

I'll definitely be making my own Hipster PDA. Now.

Tiger did it.

For those who missed the great shot (that includes me)

Got this from Jaffe Juice's blog:

Tiger did it a.k.a. the next Nike Commercial

view 60-second version (wmv)
view 30-second version (wmv)

What's on my iTunes Party Shuffle

SmartPlaylist - Artist is Eraserheads

It's the ultimate background music for walking down the memory lane. Ever.

Why bother seeing the world for Real?

Suddenly maps are cool now.

Google Sightseeing

Reminiscing.... the ROTC days.

wow... only three more signatures and I'm officially done with my college (sa wakas). Then there's still the clearance, but I don't really care about it right now. Manuscript muna.

Pero may lumabas pala na added na deficiency sa records ko nung last ko syang tiningnan early this week. 5 PA DIN AKO SA MS21 (VIP-CWS). Some Alfredo Gamis got the change of grade that I rightfully earned way back 2001. Of course there's no Alfredo Gamis in UP, which made things easier for me, but I still had to go back to the mighty (and full or memories) DMST building. Shucks. ganun pa din. Syempre Sir Lantican is still there (sa mga nakakalimot, sya yung isa sa mga nagdidistribute ng baril pag drill time na nakikikupal din), but I think sya na head ng CWS.

It took them almost an hour to patch up the mess with my record so I had to wait there for a while, and gave me enough time to try to remember memories of my (our) ROTC years (actually i didn't have to try). Fabros definitely came to mind. And Sweet Corn. Tapos si Yancy, and of course si Tentoy... and his waffles. The best pomelo juice in the world, yung mga lumpya and turon - hmmm, nakakagutom pero at the same time nakakapagod. hehe. Syempre nothing beats the experiences sa field. Naalala nyo pa ba yung wakwak na fatigues ni Mads? Eh yung pink na type B uniform ni Jonas (dapat kasi hinihiwalay sa white shirts ang red underwears eh)? Eto the best: yung hand-drawn ROTC shirt ni Ruben (di ko nga lang maalala kung may gumamit nga nun). Ewan ko lang ha, pero looking back, im really happy na required pa Miltary Training sa batch natin dati... ansarap din kasi i-reminisce. hehe.

I could have started this post with something like this: "Pagmulat mo ng mata, sarap ng pakiramdam, weekend - walang klase. wohooo! tapos bigla mong maaalala sabado pala. ROTC!!! ....wala na... parang gusto mo na mamatay."

pahabol. alam nyong naging si Yancy at sweet corn, di ba?

sigh. sobrang late, pero ggraduate na nga ako...

GreaseMonkey rules | Firefox pop-up blocker

What I have now:

1. Persistent Search in Gmail
2. Ad-free Yahoo mail (free version) (don't follow this link unless you have greasemonkey already installed)
3. Autocomplete in my Post to Del.icio.us bookmarklet


all thanks to Greasemonkey. The uber firefox extension. Definitely worth installing (even only for no. 1 above, but there's a lot more...)

...

Firefox has a sort of unofficial update to its pop-up blocker engine (as of now packaged as a POP-UPS MUST DIE! extension). Problem is that it catches even gmail's valid pop ups (and a few other non-evil pop-ups I guess), so you must add gmail.google.com to the allowed sites. The most apparent effect for us is the removal of friendster's pop ups (which nikki correctly identified as flash-generated pop ups).
update: they have an updated, "less draconian" extension (hopefully it now plays nicely with Gmail). Get it here

...

Greasemonkey is one of the hundreds of extensions (stuff that adds extra functions that your firefox browser can do) that you can add to Firefox, the best web browser I have ever used. If you still haven't downloaded firefox, please, help yourself. Get it now.

...

last: just saw this on spreadfirefox

Google Maps has Satellite view!

Google has finally integrated Keyhole into Google Maps (as if the current implementation doesn't kick competitors' butts hard enough...)
So now the AJAX - powered Google maps has satellite imagery to boot! 'cha... magkakaroon din kaya tayo nito?.

Hulaan nyo kung kaninog address to? Clue - the destination leads to Jona's place. (i'm not suggesting anything here, just to be clear). Address lang kasi ni ****** at ni Jona ang meron ako eh..

Map



Satellite View

Googles and Yahoos

Gmail just turned 1! Now we have 2GB of mail storage (woopeedee!). I wonder how Yahoo Mail Plus subscribers feel right now.
And of course, Gmail has rich text editing now, so prepare for the onslaught! of annoying HTML emails.

And in case you missed the Birthday bash, see it here....

....

Oh, one more thing. I managed to get a Yahoo 360 invite, so, yun. Of course it's still in Beta so glitches are present, but overall I think this is going to be a great thing. Something that is really for the users, not just tech heads... If you're interested you can always buy an invite from me, hehe... kidding. I'll be inviting most people on my Messenger friends list, but just in case I miss your name or if you just want to join 360, just drop me an email... Just make sure I can recognize you though.

I hope I can manage to post a good review of the product...(and hopefully soon)

link:
My Yahoo 360

Damn!

My Firefox bookmarks just vanished when i woke up this morning... I have no idea what happened.My extensions are intact, History is intact,themes are intact (though when i opened it now it's no longer using the custom theme that i set last night). The toolbar has also been reset to the default config. tsk tsk.

Why usability matters (a lot)

I miss this place...

picked up thru flickr tag searching... the picture belongs to zedric00's photostream

Yh bys filckr!

Yahoo + flickr 1
Google 0
MSN 0

It was just a month ago when nikki and I were daydreaming of Google buying flickr (we always root for the home team!). Well, only the buy part came true. Yahoo was faster. :D

At least it was not Microsoft. heh.

The bad part of this is that the picasa - flickr integration that I was wishing for would never happen now.

Yahoo, prepare to be flickrized!. And by the way, just in case you still haven't heard of it, Yahoo is also on the brink of launching a blog+socialnetworking+photos kind of service, dubbed Yahoo 360!. Imagine the possibilities...

Lastly... Thesis defense in less than an hour. (argh!) Prayers please...

Blog about blogger...

Just saw this from blogger's dashboard.

Blogger Buzz (where the March 17th post says something about improving blogger's performance).

In the spirit of being fair, I won't believe it till I actually experience it. For the mean time. w.bloggar is saving me a lot of time...

And if you're having problems with blogger, did you know that there's a Blogger Status blog?. Hosted (of course) outside of Blogger so that we can still access it should blogger becomes inaccessible...

geek post...

Okay. Please believe me when i say that i really really really tried not to post this. Obviously I failed...

A post that I saw in slashdot. At this point i'd like to give emphasis on that part of their slogan which says:...stuff that matters...

you have been warned. The post is here

Welcome Back DJ!

I was preparing my sage list (exclusively for pisay98. woot!) when i got distracted after trying to find an RSS feed on DJ's blog and i came across his Pics gallery (from his website actually, not from the blog).... At first dapat i-email ko si DJ (if you're reading this, hi DJ!) pero naisip ko na since we're (almost) all mature people na din naman this could pass as a safe joke.. hehe

Okay Exhbit A. 5th pic on his pisay noventa y ocho gallery. Focus on the caption... hmm.

Tingin ko lang tol may nakalimutan ka.. hehehe

(let's see if DJ can update the caption before she notices it...Go DJ go!!)

Consider this as my "WELCOME BACK " message... peace man!

Google X

I linked to it yesterday, but there is a big chance that it was missed. Anyway, google put up an alternative version of the their home page, and it was really slick (and even more slick if you know its lineage). But as of this writing, it's no longer accessible (barely a day after going live). Luckily some people were able to mirror it, so again. I present to you:

      Google X (mirror)

("Roses are red. Violets are blue. OS X rocks. Homage to you.")

I'd make it my homepage (and oi pinoi's) in a heartbeat should it go up again.

(there are theories that there are patent infringement issues, that's why it was pulled down. Whether or not Apple Legal had a hand on this, nobody could say for sure as of now)

It's like this...

you stumble upon a cool thing while surfing the web, so you've decided to blog about it. So punta ka blogger. Login, hintay na lumabas yung dashboard, pili ng blog tapos hintaaaaaay ulit ng create new post... Tapos pag ready na blogger para sa blog mo, saka ka mawawalan na ng gana kakahintay. How familiar, specially when you're not too comfortable writing (baka mali grammar eh..). Tingin ko sobrang dami akong draft posts na ginawa. dapat babalikan ko pero nakalimutan na...dang!

ngayon di na. may w.bloggar na eh (oo na ang kulit ko... wala eh. bumabawi siguro from hiatus)

dami kong utang na blogs... di ko alam kung saan magsisimula. (kung sa cubao o sa congo grill or sa physci) basta... pero nakakatuwa din maglurk, palaki na ng palaki circle natin... okay yan. kakatamad nga lang maglink ngayon. pero yun...welcome sa mga bagong bloggers! :D

Gmail goes out of Beta! (udated)

okay, thanks niks for pointing it out...

so public it isn't. (dam slashdot.. joke! i should have RTFA)

sorry sorry.

so it's still beta. and the google link is not universal. It appears randomly on Google's site.. from a cache of the signup page:

Cool. So can I get an account?
Absolutely. As we make room for more Gmail users, we want to first extend invitations to Google users. We're still working to make Gmail better, so for now, we're just inviting a small number at random. Looks like that's you! We're really excited to share Gmail with you and we hope you like it.

grabe, kuryente... sya, puntahan nyo na lang to para maaliw kayo. and Google is slowly showing the signs of becoming a portal: have you visited the >> page lately?

ibig sabihin...mas lalo nang walang kwenta yung 50 invites na hindi rin naman maubos-ubos... sigh.

Ngayon magkakasubukan na ng servers.. heheh.

Pero di pa nauupdate servers natin eh. di ko pa makita yung gmail link galing sa google.com.. Siguro kinakabahan na sila.

Bloggar!!

Okay.. now i unofficially come back from my unofficial hiatus. heh.

im blogging thru w.bloggar now. a windows app for blogging. no more sloooow "create post" waiting. Maybe i'll talk about it more later after i've played with it... For now I still can't get my hands off Trillian 3.1. Now thats how you make an app...really.

Friendster RSS

RSS in friendster. Nice.

Happy Birthday