January 2005 Archives

In this age of Wi-Fi and broadband, the idea of dialing up via a 56Kbps modem may already seem a touch archaic, particularly to a mobile crowd. And yet there is a reason why practically all notebook PCs still house an internal modem: it’s still a highly reliable means for emergency online connectivity, especially if you find yourself in some alien hotel room in the middle of nowhere. Of course, in order to actually use your modem, you will need a standard RJ-11 wire to link your notebook to the phone jack. Enter the nameless retractable RJ-11 extension wire that I stumbled upon at Federal Hardware. It has no brand to speak of, but it’s three full meters of emergency RJ-11 phone line. And of course what makes it really cool is that, like those fancy retractable Brando connectors, it can be spun back into its shell and become a really compact kit the size of a Minidisc. The clincher: It’s just PhP 120.00. Federal Hardware Builder’s Center is a slowly growing chain of hardware centers. As one clerk puts it, they can offer cheaper prices “because they’re not aircon’ed.

In line with the title of our magazine ... we're giving away shoes - a great pair of GBX shoes goes to the most talented snap photographer of the month! if you haven't checked it out yet, then sign up for the mobile snaps competition. You can also check out the forums for details as well as view our previous winners.

I never thought it could be done .. by sheer hardware architecture it is impossible to run the Mac OS X in Windows. Except if you emulate it! This is Windows' answer to the Mac OS Virtual PC. It could work both ways -- a potential switcher decides not to switch because he already has Mac OSX on his Windows machine ... or he becomes very impressed and decides to buy Apple's deal breaker -- the Mac Mini (and its portable too, if you think this ain't mobile technology), and plug in all his peripherals into that 6.5 square inch beauty - in his car. It would be hilarious to come into a coffee shop and see a guy emulating Mac OS X on his Dell or Toshiba portable. it would also be hilarious to see him use Microsoft Office for Mac rather than MS Office forr Windows XP. I'm not a "switcher" as the term suggests. I'm no die hard Mac fanatic either. My PC is like my mother and my iBook is like my girlfriend. You love em both but you can't compare. But still, it would be utterly hilarious. Diba?

Just as I predicted, 2005 is indeed the year when digicams get even cheaper!

UPDATE: The site forums has just gone live. You can register and vote for your favorite magazine cover here! Hello guys! We've changed the lay-out a bit to make browsing a lot easier. Check out the new banner links above. Hmmm .. are you a huge fan of m|ph? Why not check out these great covers of the biggest tech magazine ever made! Show them off as a wallpaper at your office!

The iPod Shuffle is Apple's latest addition to the iPod family. At first, the concept of the new music player may appear rather presumptous - that all people would like their music collection to be randomized. But let's see... The iPod Shuffle is Apple's first flash based player available in 512MB ($99) or 1GB ($149). Unlike its more expensive brothers, the Shuffle does not sport a viewable LCD. "So how how can I choose what to listen to?" The answer is that you can't -- since the flash player randomizes your playlist (of course, there is an option to un-randomize ... but why!??!). You see, this is why I love Apple - the concept behind the iPod Shuffle is that it is "music on the go" ... to go! If your Mac or PC makes use of iTunes to buy and listen to music, the iPod will serve as your "iTunes on the go." But not every Bill, Steve, or Jayvee will want to listen to his 10,000 songs on the go. He'll want to have a precious set of songs (like the best of Kenny Loggins) which he can listen to when he's jogging, driving relatively short distances, or waiting in a restaurant with his pockets too full to carry an iPod (even an iPod mini). The solution: a lighter, even easier to use Mp3 player that won't scare its owner by getting a hard drive scratch while jogging. This means that even current iPod owners will still find a use for an iPod Shuffle. Since all the songs that you will sync are your favorites (you can set the sync option to fill the player with random songs, or to fill it with set playlists), then the shuffle option will work to your advantage. You can now say "Oh my! It's my favorite song!" ... all the time. For more details, check out the full review of the iPod Shuffle in our next issue of m|ph. UPDATE: PhilMUG's Elbert Cuenca has posted an initial review of the iPod shuffle. Check it out here.

This was a pleasant surprise: Apparently, the now-pervasive yellow cd-r king stalls, those prolific purveyors of CD and DVD blanks for the pirating -oops, I mean archiving- public, also offer quite a few other surprises as well. Aside from their low-priced (and cryptically pedigreed) USB flash drives, CD-R King also offers an optical mouse that sells for the amazingly low price of just Php 250.00! And what's even more surprising, it's actually a pretty good mouse! The "cd-r king" USB optical mouse (yes, the mouse sports the house brand) has a small form factor that makes it an excellent choice as a notebook mouse for daily mobile use. I promptly plugged it into my notebook and was quite happy with its sensitivity and performance. What's more, this modest mouse actually looks good, with its creamy colors, chrome trim and a scroll wheel that glows blue. So long as you don't mind brandishing a mouse that boldly declares itself as a "cd-r king," then you should be perfectly happy with this optical accessory. And if you are still using a "rolling ball" mouse for your notebook (or even your PC -- although this may be a bit too small for desktoppers' tastes), then do yourself a favor and upgrade to an optical -- you'll get smoother movements, pointing accuracy, near-perfect reliability plus the geeky satisfaction of seeing a glowing gadget on your desk. Verdict: At just two hundred and fifty bucks, the cd-r king optical mouse is one rodent of a bargain!

A Happy New Year to everyone! And with the holidays over and done with, we ask yet again... Have you gotten your copy of m|ph yet? The Yearender/New Year issue of m|ph, with its cool sky-blue cover and featuring the stylishly delightful Karel, comes packed with a lot of New Year cheer! This issue features the Device Hits of 2004 (as well as some near misses), Predictions for 2005, and a Holiday Gift Guide! There's also a feature on the Tech Bargains of Hidalgo Street, people who have used the granddaddy of all PDAs - the Apple Newton, and the second part of our list of the Best Freeware Apps available. And -- get this -- the issue even features a Shootout of the Different Tech Magazines in the market today! And of course, this would not be m|ph without device reviews! Get to know the bottom line on the iPAQ rx3715, the iPAQ h63635, and the O2 XDA IIs. There's also the Nokia 6630 and the Samsung X120 phones and the Jabra FS258 BlueTooth headset. Not to mention the Sony DSC-M1 cam, the Creative Nomad Muvo2 player, and the Creative TravelSound 200 speakers. So if you haven't seen this issue yet, go and get your copy today!