Quicktime!

jazz
Originally uploaded by prof_x.

A screenshot of the UP College of Music Jazz concert.

Live Feed

We just tried webcasting a Jazz concert from the College of Music and
it worked great. Would have been better if we had better encoder.
Anyway, generally speaking, it went great. 😀

Surgery Update

Impette survived the first biopsy. The diagnosis, she needs a hinge donor. Yes, Apple Singapore will be flying in the hinge assembly or something. Unfortunately, it takes a week for it to get here. Fortunately, I can still use Impette. [heck, using it now to type this entry]

Impette is now paired with my SE K700i and running the PhoneAgent application. This is a really nifty application that allows you to manage your mobile phone. Send/receive SMS, create/edit MMS, manage your addressbook even create/edit themes for the phone. It is well worth your US$30! 🙂

Surgery

My impette is currently undergoing surgery. Hope that everything goes well.

Mobile Linux

Mandrakesoft just released a new USB mobile hard drive that contains Mandrake Linux 10. The drive called Globetrotter is a nifty USB device that allows you to boot up any PC to Linux!

A very interesting device but unfortunately the old desktop PC that I have here does not allow booting directly from USB! Good thing that this one comes with a bootable miniCD.

Coolness! I think I will buy one of these for the university. 😀

Fattening treats

Had lunch with the wife at Superbowl today. We decided to buy some
treats for the kids back home – so we went to this donut shop. Mango
Bango anyone?

Genius?

I took a mock Mensa test to see if I can pass the Mensa exam and be a member of the elite organization for geniuses. Well, I got 26 out of 30, which is an excellent score and gives me a very strong chance of passing the Mensa test and joining Mensa, according to the site, of course.

Not bad, I must say. 😛

The Resurrection

It’s alive! It’s alive! My mouse is back on its feet. Yes, I figured that I might as well dissect it and see if I can repair it. Wonder of wonders! It was just a broken connection that needed a simple soldering. Coolness! $75 saved! Whew! As Wallace and Gromit would say “’twas a close shave!”. 😀

The problem now is – it is so darn dirty! How on earth do I clean this thing? Tried the staedler solution (eraser) and it did not work. I might just visit the hardware store and see what I can pick up to clean it.

Impette, my powerbook, requires some adjustment. The hinge connecting the LCD to the body is squeaking. It is a minor cosmetic thing but requires expert tinkering. I will be bringing it to the technicians this Monday. Hope they can fix it asap. Can’t afford to be without my Impette for a few hours. Ha!

Bye-bye mickey!

Well, I have this cool and minute bluetooth mouse

that goes with me and my Impette (my powerbook) everywhere I go. It is such a great thing to be unwired – wifi network, bluetooth mouse, bluetooth mobile phone and bluetooth headset.

The glowing light of an optical mouse may attract tiny insects but it can also attract little kids! Yes, my two year old son, Oz, has a habit of moving my optical mouse everytime he gets a chance. This time, however, he went a tad too far. Yes, he took the bluetooth mouse and did something to it. Now, it won’t turn on! It does not work! WAAAHHH! It is dead!

I am now back to using a wired mouse. Argh! Am contemplating on getting a similar mouse but it’s size is something that makes it not too comfortable for me (plus it sucks battery power like there is no tomorrow!). I am considering the Microsoft BT mouse, the Logitech BT mouse and the Kensington Mouse plus the Apple BT mouse, of course. So far, here’re my findings

• Microsoft BT mouse – multiple, programmable buttons, scroll wheel, AA batteries, no on-off switch
• Logitech BT mouse – multiple, programmable buttons, scroll wheel, rechargeable proprietary battery
• Kensington BT mouse – multiple buttons, scroll wheel
• Apple Wireless Pro mouse – one button, AA batteries, on-off switch

I don’t like taking out the batteries everytime I put the mouse in the bag so the Microsoft BT mouse is out. I don’t like proprietary batteries either, bye Logitech. The Kensington looks like it will be the one (it is cheaper, too) but no reviews yet so I don’t have any idea how good it is – besides, I am not sure if it uses AA batteries as well. The Apple BT mouse is looking more and more appealing to me inspite of its one button wonder. Can I live without the scroll wheel? Let’s see – I have the entire weekend to test a wired Apple Pro mouse. If I like it, I’ll get the Apple!

I’m glad I did it!

Well, I was kinda surprised about this article that I found written about the Apple Macs on a Linux site! You might not know it but I am one of the co-founders of the Philippine Linux Users Group (PLUG) back in the mid-1990’s. [hey! I am not THAT old, ok? hehe] Obviously Linux has a very special place in my heart – next to my Powerbook, of course.

Anyway, the article simply states that Macs are no longer expensive compared to its Intel-based/AMD-based counterparts. Yes, I refuse to say PC because the desktop Macs are also PCs – Personal Computers. I used to think that the Mac is a very expensive piece of hardware that only graphic designers and video professionals can use. However, thanks to Mac OS X, which is BSD UNIX-based, and the numerous adverts on the Communications of the ACM and IEEE Spectrum about computer scientists and rocket scientists switching to the Mac, I figured that they cannot be all wrong! hehehe… made the switch and never looked back! [hey! I still advocate Open Source over Proprietary software – see UP’s Open Source Portal]

Going back to the article, this is a very effective article to convince those who are Microsoft Windows obsessed folks to switch to a more robust and reliable platform. Hey! If you have an investment on Intel/AMD-based PCs, use Linux – it will save you money, time and also give you peace of mind (no more viruses!). But if you are looking for a new rig, get a Mac, you will not regret it!