Apple iPad's Highlights and Lowlights

Allow me to start this entry by showing you a bluff photo of the iPad. Obviously, the pretty girl  shown in the background drew an Apple logo onto her pads to create a literal iPad. I must say the logo looks almost perfect if without the smudges of the marker she used. But hey, she makes sense -- maybe brought by the disappointment that Steve Jobs named it as iPad instead of a better name like iTablet or Apple Tablet.

Now let's move on to the real deal. Introduced in the Apple Media Event held on January 27, 2010, I present to you the Apple iPad with its highlights and lowlights, as compiled from various websites.

Highlights:

• View pictures, sites, and videos at a bigger and clearer scale with its 9.7-inch IPS display screen with 1024x768 pixels;
• Get a better browsing and gaming experience at www.casino.com/sv/ with the use of Apple's own A4 1GHz chip, which gives  more processing power to the gadget;
• Feel no heaviness because it's just 0.5-inch thin and 1.5 pounds heavy. It's thinner and lighter than any netbook;

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Aung Zaw Oo: Parkour plus many more

If you know Charice Pempengco, Arnel Pineda, and the inmates of CPDRC, you'd probably know that they were able to reach international stardom through Youtube.

Just as I was going through different uploads in the site, I came across a video creation of an animator named Aung Zaw Oo. Nicknamed as AZO, he features himself in a personally edited video where you can see parkour, skateboarding, juggling, and some stunts while wearing clothes.

Parkour, as defined in Wikipedia, is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment. You'll see many of this in the video reel below.

Amazing, isn't it?

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Cebu Inmates dance Michael Jackson's "This is it"

Three months ago, we featured the renowned inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in this site when they danced to Wonder Girls' Nobody.

This time, they were visited by Michael Jackson's long-time choreographer Travis Payne together with dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid to personally teach them the steps from "THIS IS IT"! Inspired by their new shirts, pants, and sneakers, they were able to finish the choreography in about two days. Recorded in high-definition, let's all watch the video filmed by Sony Pictures.

...And if you wanna learn the dance steps on your own, you might wanna try learning them on your own by watching the video below.

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Philippine 2010 National Election Candidates

Are you voting this coming May 2010 National Elections? If yes, remember that you need to vote for ONE President, ONE Vice President, TWELVE Senators, and ONE Party List among others. Below is the official list of candidates for the positions of President, Vice President, Senators, and Party List. Get to know them one-by-one through research and media, and make sure you vote for the person and political party list you think can make a huge impact to our country.

Update (as of 01/14/2010): Two more candidates were added to the list of those vying for the position as President, while four more were added to the Senatorial list. Presidential candidates has a total of 10 candidates, Vice President has 8, and total of 62 for Senators.

Presidential Candidates

Listed from left to right, top to bottom are the following:

1. Councilor JC De Los Reyes (Ang Kapatiran)
2. Senator Manny Villar (Nacionalista Party)
3. Former President Joseph Ejercito "Erap" Estrada (UNO-PMP)
4. Brother Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas)
5. Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III (Liberal Party)
6. Senator Richard "Dick" Gordon (Bagumbayan)
7. Defense Secretary Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro (Lakas-Kampi-CMD)
8. Senator Jamby Madrigal (Independent)
9. Nicanor Perlas - recently added; not in picture
10. Vetallano Acosta Jesus - recently added; not in picture

Vice President Candidates

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Microsoft holds Blogger's Tech Party

Microsoft Philippines is cooking up a Blogger's Night on January 28, 2010, 6:00PM-9:00PM in their office located at 16/F, 6750 Ayala Office Tower, Makati. With this exclusive New Year Tech Party for bloggers aged 18 and above, you will get to know more about MS Office 14, Online Security, and a lot more! Need I mention that there will be freebies and booze for FREE?

Yes, it's for FREE! Take note that there will only be 100 invites to be given away, so if you're free and would like to add some new friends to your network, register now by emailing your Name, Blog URL, Contact Number to [email protected]. Before joining, check if you have an active blog running for at least a year with 20 posts or more.

Too bad I won't be able to attend, since I have work at night. Nevertheless, I'm encouraging you to attend and be part of Microsoft VIP Mix for January 2010!

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Kris Allen with Jabbawockeez, Boyce Avenue invades Taguig

Joining the bandwagon of the many international artists coming to Manila this 2010 are the American Idol Season 8 winner, the Youtube band sensation, and the all-male hip-hop dance crew from California! Do you know who they are?

Get ready to listen to the soothing voices of Kris Allen plus Boyce Avenue, and dance to the heart-thumping performances of Jabbawockeez, as they come together for the MUSICFEST 2010. It's all happening this February 6, 2010 (Saturday), 8:00PM at McKinley Hill Open Grounds in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

Musicfest 2010 is brought to you by the METRO Card Club, FEARLESS Productions, Inc. and Channel [V] Philippines.

Seat location and ticket prices are as follows:

• VIP (Reserved Seating) - Php8428.80
• Gold (Reserved Seating) - Php5268.00
• Silver (Reserved Seating) - Php3160.80
• Bronze (Standing) - Php1580.40
• Gen. Admission (Standing) - Php526.80

Tickets now available from Ticketworld.  Seatmap and event poster can be downloaded through here and here, respectively.

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Win an extravagant Boracay Package!

Haven't visited Boracay or are you just itching to get out of your daily location and hop into the wonderful shores and sands of Boracay? Get a chance to win a FREE Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency!

WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating its 5th year in the business this coming July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package:

• 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel
• Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
• Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila Domestic Airport
• Three (3) Meals each day - Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
• Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
• PLUS 5,000 peso Spending Cash

To know more about this wonderful vacation that's awaiting you, read more information in their website: http://www.boracay-packages.com or click here.

Hurry! This might be your chance to experience a great vacation for free!

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Backstreet Boys Live in Manila 2010

The guys (well, minus one) who made the hit songs As Long As You Love Me, Quit Playing Games, and Anywhere for You among others are back in Manila this 2010. Backstreet Boys will hit Araneta Coliseum on February 27, 2010, 8:00PM.

Seat Location and Ticket Prices are as follows:

• Patron VIP (Reserved Seating) - Php4760
• Patron (Reserved Seating) - Php4280
• Lower Box (Reserved Seating) - Php3810
• Upper Box A (Reserved Seating) - Php2860
• Upper Box B - Php960
• Gen. Admission - Php480

Tickets now available from Ticketnet. Question is, will they still be a hit to Filipinos? We'll see.

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How to get E-Passport in 45 minutes or less

Even though speculated rumors of Green passports not to be honored in some countries starting April 2010 have been opposed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), I still decided to renew my Green passport into E-Passsport. The E-Passport is newer than the Machine-Readable Passport, and has various security features including a hidden encoded image; an ultra-thin, holographic laminate; and a tamper-proof electronic microchip. It costs Php950 for normal processing time of 14 days, while Php1,200 for rush processing of 7 days.

I am not sure if E-Passports are already being offered to New Passport Applicants. As far as I know, it's only available for people who would like to renew.

I'd like to share with you my experience of having to process my E-Passport Renewal in less than 45 minutes. Some tips included as well.

For E-Passport Renewal, you only need to follow four (4) very simple steps:

1. Get an appointment using the DFA website. You just need to fill it up by providing your details. Upon clicking submit, you will get a notification e-mail. Make sure your e-mail address is accurate. After a few days, you will receive another e-mail indicating the date and time of your appointment.

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Vanity: Now easier with Samsung Dual LCD

Starting 2010 with a bang! Thanks to Art Samaniego who gave me an opportunity to review the Samsung 2View ST550. An impossible dream has came true. The photo below is the scanned copy of my very first article/review that got published in one of the Philippines' top national dailies, Manila Bulletin. Click the photo for a larger view, or visit this link.

"Admit it or not, many people purchase cameras to take self-portraits other than just use it to capture memories of their loved ones. The Samsung 2View ST550 precisely makes it easier for consumers to do this by introducing the world’s first digital camera with dual LCDs – a 1.5-inch display in front and a 3.5-inch touchscreen on the rear.

Unboxing the ST550 saw the basic inclusions a digital camera is usually packaged with. Aside from of course the camera is the battery and its charger; USB cable used to relinquish the battery’s life and transfer photos from the camera to the computer or printer; audio and video cables; a strap; multi-lingual quick start guide and user manual guide contained in a CD. Perhaps due to the camera having an internal memory of approximately 55MB, Samsung chose not to include a microSD card.

At first glance, the ST550’s design looks classy and simple, with its mostly-black surface and colored side trimmings (orange, gold or purple). The front side featuring the self-portrait LCD has a glossy texture that easily attracts fingerprints and thumb marks. Meanwhile, due to the matte-finished rear side being occupied mostly by the touchscreen LCD, it leaves the camera with noticeably very few buttons.

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There will always be a First Time

Throughout the whole year of 2009, I have listed the many firsts that happened in my life. This includes the first time I stepped into a place or any other first times I experienced something. Forgive me if you think some are too shallow to even be included in the list.

January

• Met a new person by the name of Art Samaniego, who gave me a Wireless Access Point/Router
• Attended Voice-Acting Workshop c/o CreatiVoices led by Pocholo Gonzales

February

• Tried our Dubbing in ABS-CBN studio
• Rode a bus to Baguio alone to meet my friends, only to stay there overnight
• EMEA Shift (3pm-12am) at work
• Trip to Shanghai with Tsai

March

• NA Shift (8pm-5am) at work
• Created an Internal Documentation for work
• Danced in public during the site's Coffee Talk
• Went to Makati Sports Club and hosted the Coffee Talk
• Did Voice-Over for Amway's event at Intercontinental Hotel
• Joined a Fun Run called "Pinay in Action" organized by my org in HP

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