ONE of my favorite shops  is Cd-r King, mainly because it’s interesting to check out which cheap and cool gadgets will be available there next.

“Designer” tech brands are all well and good, but you have to admit there’s also a thrill in finding a bargain — cheap gadgets like the P80 card reader I got from Cd-r King. I’m actually mulling getting one of those MP4 players (not really sure why, though,  ‘coz I can always watch movies on my phone)  and DV cameras. If someone’s tried them out, maybe you could give feedback on these products.

In a world that’s increasingly becoming homogenized and dominated by malls (I call it the Ayala-fication of the Philippines, personally, heh), it’s actually comforting to go to places like smaller computer stores or Raon. Hey, no matter how seedy it was, I miss the old Virra Mall — in fact, the seediness was part of its cyberpunkish charm, now lost in the antiseptic V-Mall (though of course pirated stuff is still for sale there; why did they bother displacing the old tenants at all?).