iPhone in the Philippines?

Last week, while watching Pinoy Big Brother (I know, but since this is for the Filipino masses blog, I have to watch that show too), I noticed something that made me giggle. To my surprise, Toni's cellphone is none other than the iPhone. Wow, I said to myself, iPhone is now available in the country. But then I remembered, Apple said that iPhone will not be available in Asia until next year, so the question is how did she 'acquired' that phone?

Strolling down the mall, I noticed that some cellphone shops actually sells iPhone. I asked for the price, PHP 29,000 for the 8GB iPhone, hmmm expensive I cringed. I asked if they have those phased out 4GB, unfortunately they don't have those in stocks. Finally I asked them if this was open lined already and they answered me with a big YES. But then I wondered, how the hell did they unlocked it with such a breeze and yet those in the USA or even Europe are having a hard time unlocking those things?

After the initial amazement of iPhone - I asked myself even though they assured me that the warranty is up to a year - how can I be personally assured that this thing will not be bricked if iPhone firmware updates? What if I installed 3rd party apps e.g. jailbraking the iPhone, will I still be covered with their warranty? After that, the realization sets in, it is not worthy right now to buy this gadget at this current state of uncertainty. PHP 29K is no joke and I don't want to brick it nor give them to snatchers. Have to wait for the official release here in the Philippines, who knows it might be open line.

Do we need a National Broadband?

I don't have a TV. I admit I am poor. I get all my local news from Inquirer.net, GMANews.tv, and SunStar.com.ph. So recently I have been baffled by this current news in our country that talks about the NBN-ZTE Deal. For the uneducated (like me) NBN stands for National Broadband Network and it is a project by the Philippine government to create a private? network among all its government offices throughout the country (correct me if I'm wrong). And the beneficiary of such deal is ZTE Corporation of China. With a staggering budget of more than $300 million, this is the most talked about issue nowadays in Philippine tv airwaves. It even has its own Senate hearing.

As for me, I don't believe in this whole NBN thing. I prefer the private sector fund this kind of project. They have the money, they already have the expertise, and they can monetize this kind of undertaking. What benefit is it for the Philippine government to undertake this one? Just let us take a look at the US, the ones funding citywide "wification" are the private firms such as Google. And why do we need a private network? Is the internet not enough? If the problem is geophysical can't we ask the local telecommunications firms to serve that area? Or do we still have zero signal areas in our country? Anyway this is an interesting issue that will get interesting in the upcoming days. I will be reading more articles regarding this tv drama and giving some of my unimportant inputs.

Seven Wonders of the IT World

CIO.com has compiled a rather interesting list of the Seven Wonders of the IT World. Some are very interesting while others are not.

The first one is the computer closest to the North Pole, and that title belongs to Webcam #1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory takes care of this floating eye at the top of the world.



The second one is the computer farthest from Earth, and that title belongs to NASA's voyager satellite. It is three times farther away from Pluto.




The third one is the world's most intriguing data center, and that title belongs to Googles' The Dalles, Oregon data center. It has a hydroelectric dam for power, two four-story cooling towers.






The fourth one is the world's largest scientific grid computing project, and that title goes to the E-sciencE II (EGEE-II) project. It is a large-scale scientific research projects in fields from geology to chemistry.




The fifth one is the world's fastest supercomputer, the IBM BlueGene/L (BGL). It helps researchers answer physics questions about stockpiled nuclear weapons and materials like Plutonium.




The sixth one is the world's smallest PC to run Windows Vista, the QOQ Model 2. Such a small and stylish device that runs the latest OS from Microsoft.




And lastly, the seventh one is the biggest paradigm change in enterprise software, that title belongs to the Linux kernel. One of the biggest name in free and open source software revolution.





Disclaimer: All images from CIO.com. Please click here to view the entire article.

Foleo has been cancelled!

A look at this article reveals Palm is canceling the Foleo. It has been awhile since I blog about Palm's intention to create a mobile companion device, the Foleo. But it seems Palm succumb to outside pressure about the relevance of their much hyped device. Engadget for their part has filed an appeal to Palm to reconsider axing the said project. Click here to read the very nice article engadget bloggers (don't know they could come up with originals, but it was good) throw at Palm.

With millions and millions of R&D money already spent in conceptualizing Foleo, I don't think Palm will just throw in the towel. I bet they will regroup and essentially (hopefully) create the Foleo as a real contender or if they don't Eee will eat their lunch.

Video of the Week: Unknown Zune Commercial

Nice ending.

Apple iPhone TV Ads - anything special?

Well, THE Apple iPhone will be available in the USA in June 29, 2007. I cannot wait for the technical and unbiased review of possibly the most hyped thing for the past years. Will they exceed our expectations or will be crushed under its hyped weight? Two things are clear, many people are anticipating this product and many people wants to have this product. But before anything else let us watch and dissect without overanalyzing the iPhone TV Ads.

Never Been an iPod

It basically tells us that the iPhone is an iPod, a widescreen iPod video, an iPod photoviewer and on top of it a phone. Well from the looks of it Apple pretty much demonstrated what the iPhone is all about but it didn't feature exactly how many space it will hold, but hell yeah, the common masa doesn't want to get that intricate about hard disk spaces or if it's a hard disk or a flash drive as long as it can store movies and music. And from their point of view, well if it's an iPod then it must have large capacity!

How To

Basically it demonstrates the other functionalities of the iPhone and ending it up that iPhone is really a phone. Which is what the iPhone is all about.

Calamari

Now this commercial shows us the beautiful integration of iPhone's features. Just amazing. From watching movies, to locating places with the Google map, to THE touch typing, and to calling the desired restaurant mapped by Google. And can we expect that cohesiveness here in our country? I think not, Google map can't yet provide much in-depth view of places here in the Philippines how much more locating food establishments, it's a long shot but Google can partner with a local firm to provide those functionalities.

Watered Down

Now this is what I am excited about. Have you tried surfing the net using a PDA? It sucks! With this it will bring the PC web experience on the palm of our hands. Very nice implementation.

Well, I hope iPhone will be successful and will be priced competitively here in our country. Asia-Pacific will have its iPhone by next year, so start saving your precious money. Here's hoping that Apple will reignite people's interest in smartphone, because even though I don't own one it will be the future of mobile devices.

Is Palm fooling us?

Palm just announced their new product, the Palm Foleo, a mobile companion. Looking by the specs of this thing, well it's a bit underpowered compared with the other subnotebooks out there in the market. Many tech sites already dissed Foleo, saying that Palm is out of ideas, that this will be the death nail of Palm's coffin, others are saying that everyone now has a laptop and with that what will Foleo significantly offer that a notebook cannot? Well, to be honest all of these criticism are true to some degree. It maybe true to Americans and possibly to Europeans but will the same apply to us Filipinos? In a way yes.

Now, you can shop for a PHP 20K - 30K 2nd hand desktop replacement laptop around TipidPC.com which is the same price of Palm Foleo - $500. And also this is marketed as a mobile companion, but don't be fooled this machine packs a lot of functionality like access to emails, office files, and browse the web and only around 10" display. If you're an office worker or a student that doesn't need a high-end notebook then maybe you should take a look at this machine. Additionally it runs Linux which means that this thing will be hacked to death and possibly offers more and more added functionality in the future and at its current size this is really an ultraportable. 10" displays, 2nd hand or not, are priced around PHP 40K - 50K. Also there is an active Palm group in the country, the Mapalad.org which promotes Palm usage.

We will have to wait what will happen to Palm Foleo but even though I was a bit surprised that a mobile firm will release a notebook it is a welcome addition. I'm a Palm customer, having owned a Palm TX, I was relieved when they announced that they are going with Linux with this one. Hoping for the best with that company.

Microsoft's Surface is hot!

Microsoft just unveiled its Surface, a ground-breaking technology and a new user-interface evolution. It's a touch-based screen that lets users use hand gestures, touch, and/or physical object to interact with the surface computer. Sounds too good to be true right? And coming from Microsoft? All I can say is wow! Great times for technology indeed. Now Apple has the multi-touch digital phone and Microsoft has the surface computer, whats next? Well the next level should be, how we can all benefit from this technology.

What does it bring to the table, no pun intended, for Filipinos especially local programmers? The answer is - it will bring tremendous opportunity for all of us! One of my friends reaction when he first saw the video is "thanks Microsoft! invent more technologies so that programmers like us have future jobs". Well its a bit stretch, but he did raised a good point. And Philippines, being one of the countries where technology is being applied in a rapid pace, from cellphones to televisions to computers, it will just be a matter of time before touch-based devices will flood the market. I say, good times indeed.

Ubuntu on Dell: will you buy one?

I think hell just freezes over, who would have thought of all PC makers out there it will be Dell that will pre-install Ubuntu Linux on some of its products, I was clearly surprised. After the dust has settled the real question is, will you buy one? Let's be realistic for awhile, Dell caters mostly to the American market, but if given a chance will Filipino flock computer shops in search for Dellbuntu? My answer, no.

Although there have been an increase in buying branded pcs in the last years, Filipinos still tend to buy those el-cheapo pcs - e.g. custom-made and brandless - why? because it cost cheaper, a lot cheaper, and how about support? they don't need it, a call from one of their friends and voila their computers are as good as new. If we can't even buy Chinese PC brands, how much more the Dell brand. And to make matters worst, piracy is so rampant here in the Philippines that no average Filipino will never ever try Linux. Don't get me wrong, I have tried different Linux flavors, but when you have Microsoft Windows for PHP 100 (roughly $2) it is a very tough battle. Hopefully those local Linux user groups will advocate more on Linux usage, especially Ubuntu which is geared towards the average juan.

Sidenote: If you have been using Linux, kindly share your experience with it. Thanks.