Google Joins Browser Wars With Chrome
This post seems to be a few days late. But it’s better late than never. So Google has done it. Google has come out with its own browser - Chrome. It is available for download here, but for XP and Vista users only. Too bad I can’t test it on my Mac, yet. We were having some network problems at the office so download took a while, even though it’s less than half of a megabyte. I never liked those little installer files that download the actual installer online when you run but what the hell, I had to try this new browser.
As much as I wanna make a review of this beta release, I can’t. But of course, I did manage to compare it to my favorite browser, Firefox. I gotta say I’m liking what I see in my task manager. I opened 15 tabs on both browsers (same set of sites, mind you) and tool a peek at their memory usage. Firefox is notoriously known for being a resource hog and it still is (shown on the screenshot). To my surprise, Chrome is not. At least not yet. So if your rig is RAM challenged, Chrome is a good alternative. So, go on and try Chrome. I would love to hear what you think of it. But please, don’t even try to bring up IE. Thanks! 
First IPower Payout
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I just got a $100 commission from IPower’s affiliate program. This wouldn’t be possible if not for Joliber, who was generous enough to share with me this money making opportunity brought to us by IPower. |
Smart 3G On A Mac
Wifi hotspot hunting proved expensive. And the free wifi at home is intermittent. What’s the last resort? Smart 3G, of course. So what did I need to get this done? Here they are:
- Macbook
- Nokia 3120 classic
- Smart 3G
- Bluetooth connection between the Mac and the 3120
Setting up was easy I can’t even remember I got it right the first time around. I’ll try to recall next time and make a post about it. At least I can now surf without the need for Smart Bro Prepaid. Warning: Bluetooth max bandwidth won’t even reach 200kbps. I could be wrong. But this is the speed that I got:
Best And Worst Wi-Fi Hotspots I’ve Been To…So Far…
Ever since I got my Mac, I have been in the hunt for the best wifi hotspots in malls and coffee shops. My mac is not even a week old yet, so please don’t expect a long list of wifi hotspots. But here’s what I had experienced so far…
THE GOOD ONES
- Krispy Kreme, JAKA, Makati - Pros: Free Wifi, just ask for the password of the day. Cons: Closes early (no more wifi starting at 10pm. Store closes supposedly at 10pm also)
- San Francisco Cafe, Robinsons Place Manila - Pros: Free Wifi, just ask for the password of the day. Cons: You’re in the mall. That means early closing, of course. Less seats for non-smokers. Too far away from work and home.
- Gloria Jean’s Coffe, Araneta Center, Cubao, QC - Pros: 3hrs of Wifi access and laptop charging for a minimum of P30 purchase. You don’t have to buy the expensive coffee. Cons: Too far away from work and home
THE BAD ONES
- FREE WiFi @ Robinsons Place Ermita - was inaccessible when I was there. very few seats and very expensive food. So much for the “Free Wifi”
- Gateway Foodcourt, Gateway Mall, QC - was inaccessible when I was there. Too crowded. Fortunately, they don’t advertise the free wifi access. But don’t you just hate it when you can’t connect?
After a few days of hotspot hunting, I noticed that I was spending too much on expensive food or coffee just to get “free” wifi access. This has made me contemplate on getting a Smart Bro Prepaid account or an unlimited Sun Broadband Wireless account. Unlimited will always be better than limited, especially when you’re talking about internet access, but knowing Sun’s track record in service coverage, I might not get what I’m gonna be paying for. As for Smart Bro Prepaid, it’s P20 per hour, and you also get the occassional bad signal/intermittent connection. So, should I still hunt for a hotspot, or get a wireless broadband instead? Tell me what you think, please drop a comment. Thanks!
Switched To Mac…And Lovin’ It
Yes! My Macbook has finally arrived. I’m thinking of giving it a name. Well, not really. Today is Day 1 of my Macbook. I haven’t been able to explore it much yet. But I’m lovin’ it. I can’t give a review yet. I don’t have to. Many people have done reviews of it already anyway. I’ll probably post my experiences with my newest gadget.
Getting this Macbook is costly. Especially if you don’t have the cash. But thanks to Charlie of Digital Hub, he gave me a discount even though I bought it via 0% credit card installment. Let’s just say I sacrificed around P8500 so that I could get my Mac now instead of waiting until I saved enough cash. Hopefully, I could recover that “sacrifice” through my earnings in adsense, matched, and in my online stock trading. My Zen Vision M 60GB is definitely for sale already since it can’t sync with the Mac. I might throw in my phat PSP as well just to have additional cash.
That’s it for now. Still got lots of learning to do…
The Geek Is Back
After eight days of silence, this geek is back. Yes, I am finally able to blog again. Apologies to you my dear readers, I have not been able to update my blog since August 15. There are several reasons behind this. Or maybe you could call them excuses. But heck, I think they are valid excuses anyway. Let me enumerate:
- I did get a surprise bonus this month. And I needed a well deserved vacation from work. So off we (my better half and I) went up to Baguio to enjoy the cold climate and to visit my little brother. Perfect timing.
- Because of the vacation, the work load got a little heavy when I got back to the office (was in the office, with internet access, but can’t blog because of my work load)
- I am on training. My employer pays a lot of money for our training on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Funny how I am longing to get a Mac but I work with Microsoft c***ware
- My Mac has not arrived yet. My old laptop already belongs to my sister, whom I don’t live with. This means I still don’t have a computer at home.
Fortunately, I’m with my sister this weekend. That means I’ll have a computer that I can use for blogging. But surprise surprise, the laptop has a virus. So, instead of blogging, I am now forced to waste precious blogging time to download an antivirus and to google ways to permanently remove the virus. How I wish she knows how to use Ubuntu…
Anyway, if you’re looking for news, results, and medal tally updates on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, click here. Tomorrow is the last day and I hope Kobe and the rest of the Redeem Team reach the finish line of their road to redemption with a gold medal.
That’s it for now. I still gotta hunt for a good free antivirus for windoze…
Beijing Olympics 2008 Medal Tally Update - Weightlifting
After 9 of 15 Events / As of Aug 13 2008
| Rank | NOC Name | Total | Rank by Total | |||
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |||
| 1 | CHN - China | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2 | KOR - Korea | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 3 | PRK - DPR Korea | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 4 | THA - Thailand | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5 | RUS - Russian Fed. | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 6 | COL - Colombia | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6 | FRA - France | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6 | KAZ - Kazakhstan | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6 | TUR - Turkey | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6 | VIE - Vietnam | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 11 | ARM - Armenia | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 11 | INA - Indonesia | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 11 | TPE - Chinese Taipei | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 14 | BLR - Belarus | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 14 | UKR - Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Total: | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Click here for the Complete Beijing Summer Olympics 2008 Results and Medal Tally Count Update
Beijing Olympics 2008 Medal Tally Count - Swimming
After 24 of 34 Events / As of Aug 15 2008
| Rank | NOC Name | Total | Rank by Total | |||
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |||
| 1 | USA - United States | 10 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 1 |
| 2 | AUS - Australia | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 2 |
| 3 | JPN - Japan | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| 4 | CHN - China | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | FRA - France | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | KOR - Korea | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 7 | GBR - Great Britain | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 8 | GER - Germany | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 8 | ITA - Italy | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 8 | NED - Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 11 | HUN - Hungary | 3 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 11 | ZIM - Zimbabwe | 3 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 13 | RUS - Russian Fed. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| 14 | NOR - Norway | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 15 | SLO - Slovenia |