Spring Cleaning...

I'm finding less and less use for my shoutbox. It used to be the only way to get things posted over here. But with the advent of spammers, who've practically spread their grimy claws over to message boards, shoutboxes and IMs, I'm thinking my shoutbox has outlived its usefulness. Besides, I've got Blogger comments now which I've set to be moderated. So, If I find a certain message to be inappropriate (like spam) I just keep it ignored. Blogger comments also has this nifty feature called word verification that prevents post spamming. You have to enter the letters on the picture it displays before it submits the comments.

Anyhow, I'll be removing some stuff from my sidebar. I might add something from Frappr.com, though. Be sure to watch out for that one. I'll be taking it for a spin to see if that will make a difference in my blog or not.

Diving into Linux, Podcasts, et.al.

Here's an article for people who are interested in trying Linux:
Linux Basics: Diving into Linux. I found it while browsing through PCMag.com, looking for tech podcasts.

Speaking of podcasts, I sampled a few episodes of Diggnation. Decided it was OK, a lot of people like it, but I personally never really liked Kevin Rose's hosting that much. So I nixed getting new episodes. But if you're a Kevin Rose fan, listening to it will be a great experience. You'll get to hear him rant a lot while he's getting a beer buzz - LOL.

I'm going subscribe instead to ExtremeTech's podcast. Like TWiT, it tackles a lot of current tech issues but its a lot more about the technical side than it is about the trend side of things (which is what TWiT tackles most of the time). I'm also waiting for Cranky Geeks to become a show I could regularly listen to. Right now, Cranky Geeks has a pilot show available for download. Great concept for a show, I tell ya. And besides, a little sarcasm never hurt anyone - LOL.

Addicted...

I have a new thing. For podcasts! It started yesterday. I decided to try out some podcasts because most of my favorite ex-TechTV stars (I discovered) had their own shows on podcasts and videocasts. Leo Laporte still hosts and guests in a few shows at G4TechTV but most of the other guys decided to stay in San Francisco after G4 moved all TechTV operations to its base in Los Angeles. See, G4 bought TechTV. I happen to think that they were better off when they were still just TechTV.

Anyway, I subscribed to This Week in Tech first. I liked the little-less-than-an-hour shows so much that I looked for a Patrick Norton podcast. I found one in DL.TV, Patrick's new baby. I even signed up for the fan map thingie. Then after browsing around TWiT.tv and DL.tv a bit more, I found out they also have videocasts. Apt timing, don't you think? They launched the video capable 5th-generation iPods during the 3rd quarter of 2005. According to rumors, Apple will launch "the" real video iPod sometime in the next few months as well.

Why am I blogging about this? I think I'm hooked to podcasts. And ... Uhm... Well, I'm getting frustrated with my phone (Moto E398). It takes 45 minutes to an hour to transfer 2 podcasts. It takes that long. And two podcasts aren't really that long, really. Plus when I have new ones, I have to erase the old ones. I have to do that everytime I have new stuff in. I was just thinking (wishful thinking!) that if I had an iPod that wouldn't be a prob. Transfers would be fast, capacity would be more than enough. I could even use the thing to store other files in transit, say files i dowload from an internet cafe or important documents i need to get to another PC. And with these new ones, I could play even video podcasts!

Oh, well. ..::: sigh :::.. My wishful thinking is just in time for my upcoming birthday. LOL :-]

Where do we turn to then?

My wife found this article at INQ7.net: When Filipino tech consumer complaints fall on deaf ears. If the Telecom industry is deregulated then where do consumers turn to when they are being abused?

I have personally seen how bad customer service gets at Smart. I've been a long-time Smart and PLDT subscriber. I've had no major complaints before Smart WiFi, except for a small billing error in my PLDT bill a few years back. Overall, I'd say the level of customer service was acceptable. That is until i got Smart WiFi.

I had mine installed September 30. That was quick, considering I applied for it a week earlier. Good times wouldn't last though. The next day, my connection unexplicably died. I sent an SMS to the service contractor. He went back and replaced the antenna and POE. That solved the problem in the meantime. October 13 to December 1, I could not connect. My connection was live,but I was unable to load any webpages. After several calls, I got a schedule for a field visit by tech support. The person who came by took one look at my monitor and immediately deduced that my computer was the problem. He only asked one question. He asked if I was using an OS other than Windows. I showed him what I was currently running -- Ubuntu. Then that was it. He left.

Took me another 4 weeks and 2 very irate calls to supervisors and several threats to cancel before I got another schedule. The new field support guys came by and replaced the damned equipment (antenna, cable, POE). The connection worked. That was December 1. From time to time I still get low speeds and typical whole day outages.

My threats to cancel were met with staements that I had to pay for the rest of the year if I cancelled. That made me feel bad. I was being shortchanged and I had to suffer more for it??? I'm really just trying to finish the year and then I'm cancelling my subscription. Overall, Smart's WiFi has a bad experience. Six weeks and I did not even get an apology. I got a rebate but that was limited to the number of days without a connection. No free time for the inconvenience, no apology email, no nothing. I was even threatened with pre-termination charges when I called to cancel. I mean where do we go when where being threatened with large pre-termination charges to scare you into submission? I mean aren't breachs of contract a two-way thing? If consumers have pay for pre-termination, then telecoms should pay for lapses in their services. Consumers like me are only asking for fair treatment and way to have our issues addressed. So here goes my question again. Where do consumers go when they're being abused?

Kanotix

Since I started Linux, I've wanted to try as many distros as I can. So that ice cream analogy really applies to me. However, since there are 400 of them, I usually limit myself to the top 20 and a few other specialty distributions. I'm currently downloading Kanotix a live cd just as famous as Knoppix when it comes to hardware compatibility. Its still Debian so it won't be that alien to me. If I like it that much, I might even install it. Wish me luck :-]

Cramped with XP?

I was reading this article in PC World about working through the workspace limitations in Windows (PCWorld.com - Windows Tips: Break Through Windows' Workspace Limitations). The article suggested a lot of useful tips, like minimizing or removing the taskbar and toolbars, using F11 to maximize IE without toolbars, using smaller-sized system fonts and using skinning apps. For the desperately cramped users the article suggests using a second monitor, which invariably requires a video card that can handle two displays at the same time.

Now see, here's a situation where Linux could be a simple free solution. Linux users can use up to 8 (count them XPers) virtual desktops. No hardware upgrades required. Right now, I'm using 4 desktops, with 7 apps working simultaneously to handle my browsing, downloading, music, file-sharing, IM/Chat and system monitoring. All of them are launched in full windows, not minimized. Now, running with a window manager like Xfce, my current setup only uses 247 MB in memory. The bulk of that is taken up by my file-sharing app (50MB). Try that with Windows and you'll feel cramped for space and feel a bit of latency with 256MB in memory.



So try Linux and set your desktop free!