remoteworld

for those experienced apple gadget owners, you know the sequence.... Introduction of new product that has so less features left to be desired> bring on the tempting apps> gradually add small hardware upgrades to keep applefans burning their hard earned money buying another upgraded device> as step by step improvements keep going on, you'll see the hype slowly turn into must-have> Stevie will once again laugh his way to the banks>>

 

Its almost the same path iphone walked thru.

i agree 100%, although i love apple so much i used to have 2 apple ii's (amazingly one is still working - i use it only to play taipan and wizardry, dunno i never got tired playing them over and over), 1 early mac (black and white monitor running pagemaker, hehehe), the earliest ipod nano (got it months earlier before it was launched in the philippines), and the earliest i-touch (i gave it to a cousin for a gift, sob, which i regretted soon after)

the sequence you described is called the life cycle of a product -- introducing small improvements to sustain interest. since i do a lot of drawing, i'm waiting for the day i-pad to act like a portable wacom cintiq tablet

okay sana ito kung may GPS

the latest i-pad has a-gps. you may use openstreetmap to use the gps feature locally. pls check openstreetmap.org (its philippine map is being managed by a friend, maning sambale)

I cannot be outdated because as an owner of Apple stock I get the shareholder notices on my email a few hours before an announcement is made. Greenhills is not an official Apple distribution point. Any you don't know if what you see on display is the real thing or a China knock-off. There was a spate of knock-off releases following the iPad announcement. Even HP jumped on the bandwagon.

 

Advance orders are different from getting product. They can get the orders, but they can't even place them until a certain time. So, misleading. You can buy an iPad in Makati at Park Square for about P40k for the 16gb model, no 3G. But that's only for the fashionistas who are willing to pay a premium for being seen as an early adopter. These are the guys that the PAL staff like to take advantage of. Perhaps its time to get them searched and x-rayed more thoroughly again?

you are right about knock-offs, especially with movies. knock-offs of dvd's come out months ahead of actual release dates in movies.

there were iphone clones that were sold before the official launch date, alongside with original iphones! i believe the same is true with i-pad, the one i tweaked with didn't came from china. it wasn't a fiction of imagination at all. i'd been anticipating to try i-pad's touch-sensitive screen because i'd been a wacom tablet user for 10 years. it was a big letdown discovering it won't work like a cintiq tablet

it's a hard fact that somehow somewhere there's always a gray market in any hot commodity (like i-pad) that tries to beat the launch date to make a killing. my neighbor, for example, bought the first toyota fj 4 months before it will be released officially (even the lto was confused whether to issue him a carplate since fj is not yet in their list). the dual-screen samsung st550 cameras, another case in point, were being sold by sulit.com sellers before the malls did

Sorry to burst your bubble but not only do you misinform, you also dish out a generous helping of bovine excrement because no one, not even the owner of PAL himself could have got his hands on an Apple iPad to buy and then re-sell. Because:

1. As telecommunications devices, the iPad has not yet been approved for sale by the US Federal Communications Commission. Both types have radios devices (wifi, bluetooth and 3G in the other model) and these require certification.
   
2. The lack of certification is why Apple announced a March ship date for the wifi+bluetooth model and April for the 3G model. This is clear in the Apple web site (www.apple.com) and I attach a screen dump of the relevant page (underscoring is mine).
   
3. The shipping schedules were also announced by Steve Jobs during the announcement keynote last January 27. If you wish you can also watch the video at the Apple site.
   
4. Perhaps you saw the last Grammy Awards show and thought that because Steven Colbert pulled an iPad out of his jacket, it was already on sale and therefore you might be able to pull off a fabrication about geting some 'firsthand tweaking' time with it. It is not. Anyone with an iPad in his possession now can only get one if Apple gave him one because it is still illegal to sell them until approved by the US FCC.
   

So, unless your last name is something like Jobs, Wozniak, Schiller, or Ive it is impossible for you to have had a "first hand tweaking" of the darn thing. You could have been one of the journalists invited during the Apple keynote for a post presentation hands on for your "first hand tweaking" but then you would not have had required the intervention of a friend from Philippine Air Lines.

 

There are other more elegant ways to put down a product you don't understand to elevate one that you think you do. I suggest you look into the ones that don't make you look foolish. A good place to start would be one that espouses a bit more research, a lot less fiction.

 

I think there is a topic on fiction and fairy tales in the Literature thread. You might find some respectability there.

it's only now i've read this forum again. the info that you quoted for its release sked is for wifi-enabled. this means the news you'd been reading is really outdated. it's been out much earlier than expected. actually, greenhills tiangge had ipads on display since early weeks of february. ask them!

the pal guys had been getting advance orders as early as january, fyi

it's been months and i couldn't hold my breath any longer so i made a little trip to ying ying (in chinatown) and ordered their 'famous' frogs legs. true to the fr's the legs are crunchy and flavorful, dipped in sauce or not. my drinking buddies became converts immediately!

ongpin estero

delicious restaurant

ongpin maniosa

diao eng chai

xin tong yong

cosway

salazar bakery

mandarin villa restaurant

sincerity chicken

country chicken

terry's chicken

mxt

presidents

masuki

wan chai

wan kee bakery

eng bee tin

tasty dumplings

savory chicken

ling nam

eng ho bakery

golden fortune restaurant

yung turo-turo type na chuan kee, ok din ah!

If you happen to visit Pampanga, look for Fisherman's Grill, you will definetly love the pulutans there

please give exact address of this place, as well as some menu items you've tried yourself that went well with drinks. pampanga is a rich source delicious filipino dishes, i'm sure the die-hards won't mind if we call some of those 'ulam' as 'pulutan'

i was in bicol (camarines norte, camarines sur and albay) last holy week for a big reunion. and guess what? it was also a reunion with bicol 'pulutans'.

kinunot tops the list of my bicol favorites. it's shredded flesh of hammerhead sharks or stingrays (both are endangered and thus, there's a law that forbids catching these species but the bicolanos still cook them non-stop. after all, once shredded, how can you distinguish them from other fish? hehehe). the stingray flesh is not as white as the sharks' and the latter tastes a level better. both were spiked with sili and some 'gata' and both hard are to describe until you eat them. you need cold beer to douse the hotness

dinuguan is the same as dinuguan in Pancit Malabon (near National Bookstore, Scout Borromeo) except the bicolano variant has 'gata'. best eaten when HOT. goes well with hard drinks or beer

at the other end of price range, viliv s70 and viliv s7 have great reviews. nakakabilib!

i've been to cosmotech (viliv's official distributor) yesterday to take a quick glance at their x70. a day before i requested them to install photoshop as part of their demo and it was a delight toying its stylus, sketching on top of sample photos. at 6.6 pounds (5.5 hours battery time, lighter weight for 3 hours battery), this umpc (ultra mobile pc) is a bit heavy for the left hand to hold for more than 30 minutes. i like its gps, sirf star is really unbeatable. the thing i dislike is that the center bottom heats up my left hand's fingers. also, it's running in windows xp. i have no gripes against xp 'cause it's a very stable os. but why not the latest os? the demo lady is unsure if there'll be software problems if it runs in win7. its small size (7" screen) is impressive to flaunt around except for its weight. texts can be read without squinting. typing is done by summoning the onscreen keyboard with a button. two-thumb typing is ok, as least for my thumbs. but it's easier to peck with stylus because i found it hard to type while the stylus is pinched between my thumb and forefinger. screen brightness is adjustable and the screen is still readable even at steep angles (contradicting reviews in the net). however, the price set me back, 46,000 less 10% if paid in cash. my practical conscience told me to stay on the safe side of this universe: i was raised to equate smallness with lower price. so i held back and told jenah (the demo girl) that i'll think about it for a week before making a decision. while leaving the parking lot i already made my decision: it'll be one hell of a toy all right, but it's too damn expensive for a toy!

ups: small size (hey, it's a umpc), buttons at the right places

downs: heat is above normal compared to netbooks, almost as heavy as notebooks, price must be improved

Conchings

Along Quezon Avenue, fronting Club PEGASUS or just besides Club OBSSESSION. (but there are rumors that they will be transferring)

 

 

I will have to thank Sir REMOTEWORLD for introducing me to the fine taste of their Grilled Native Chicken. Slightly tough to chew but the taste is far better than most commercial chickens. I remember the first time I tasted it ..... I practically ate the entire chicken myself. hehehehehehe

Then there is my IDOL DUVINO to thank for letting me try the Grilled Pork Liempo...... Since then, I have been regularly buying those to bring to my favorite ktv hangout.

 

I also usually buy their grilled chicken gizzard.

ah, pulutan na naman! this time i will need the magic of conching's for sd's bignight tonight. i wonder if crab omelettes go well with beer

do you use a dual-sim phone? which one would you recommend?

I'd take Fred Lim over Lito Atienza anytime.

it seems the erection of expensive lightposts will never end. it's one thing atienza started and lim is happily continuing. this extravagant 'lightposts erection' fever has spread to naga and other provincial capitals

Ano ba ang pinakamurang branded na mini laptop?

at the other end of price range, viliv s70 and viliv s7 have great reviews. nakakabilib!

has anyone tried lenovo tablet? (price about 29k)

sometimes a car trouble will force you to an immergency parking at unusual places. last week we pushed our van to this 'hidden' resto in valencia hills tower (near n. domingo, san juan). the place is mañosa, a typical chinese cuisine with air conditioning set at middle setting. pork asado, stuffed shrimps and pots adorn their glass panels but i ordered for a quick snack. i ordered siopao and kiampong. they cook maki the old way but i was in an adventurous mood to try siomai to go with kiampong.

everything looks normal except for the 'healthy' helping of peanuts. this is a good example of 'overkill', had the cook put one more peanut this fr would be better posted in 'pulutan restos, bistro, etc' forum. house tea is unli and

the salted pasty rice tasted good imho and the bola-bola siopao is how i like it: the ingredients were not grounded to an unrecognizable lump. the siomai tasted just right and went well with the kiampong although the latter barely contain mushroom and pork strips.

on the way out i looked left and right to see if there's any dental clinic nearby, and if there is, if that is owned by mañosa too. those peanuts are really brain food, they make you think of possible connections ...

hmmmmmm I smell an upcoming food trip here....... care to join us and Sir TEMPEST ?????

hey guys, shouldn't you be inviting me to join in?

actually, i missed lingnam's beef noodles already. ah, every time i slurped the soup of this noodle, i feel like i'm a college boy again ... wait a minute, i'm still young, don't anybody get the wrong idea! hehehe

You only get warts if you are infected, with regards to frogs legs, in general, provided it is cooked adequately and correctly, you can't quite catch warts from eating frogs legs.

this old wives' tale of getting warts from frogs legs go back to shakespearean times. scientifically, toads are without warts. they have circular protrusions in their skin though. but it doesn't mean eaters would be getting wart-like protrusions if they eat the frogs legs. so much for that issue. as far as i know, i gotta have frogs legs for my next inuman. hehehehe

okay ba yung feedback sa clone ng BLACKBERRY 9000?

the real blackberry costs around 27,000

yung clone ng china it costs only 3,800

is it worth it?

feedbacks gm thanks

how about looking at blackberry bold look-alike chery mobile q7?

costs 5860 but it has 1 year warranty, tv, gprs, bluetooth, radio, etc

CEBU TRIP, part 1: CNT Restaurant (near SM)

this place is one of best lechon restaurants in Cebu. remember what Anthony Bourdain (of NO RESERVATIONS) shouted when he tasted Cebu lechon? this is the best pork he ever tasted in his life! we went to this place that sells nothing else but lechon. it was Saturday 6:15pm and was told all lechon were sold out. tsk tsk tsk. what a way to run a business! here was also a long line of customers. at one corner is a sign saying customers should pick up a number. there's no number to pick up 'cause they ran out of lechon.

so we went back sunday noon (12:30pm) and was told the same thing: all sold out! so we did the next best thing: pay for 2 kilos of lechon we could pick up that noon. shouldn't they be slaughtering more pigs if business is that good?

came 5pm and we went back to fetch for our order. here goes ...

the lechon was tasty alright, and the succulent flesh is indeed tender and aromatic. but it's a little bit salty for our taste, but still highly recommendable.

imho, my physician friend's lechon taste is 2 levels better! crunchier skin and less salty.

(once again, pictures and more details later ...)

looking at the nicely-taken pics of DemonA in Food FR's forum, i agree the frog's legs are indeed great pulutan companion. i wonder if vinegar (enlivened with siling labuyo) is good enough to complement it. given the chance, i'll visit this Ying Ying in Binondo and order frog's legs for a night out.

looking at the other picture in that fr, the 'eel with tausi' looks appetizing for pulutan too. if that plate contains only 1 eel, then it must be one looooonnng eel. since i'm a tausi fan myself (I LOVE FIBER), i supposed i shouldn't leave that place without ordering it too. since eel is foreign to some angels, maybe it will take something like this to convert them. now, i wonder if YingYing serves other exotic dishes ...

Is this area a clean place to eat? Good for tourists?

these stalls have been serving good food for about 20 years. more or less i've eaten here 4 times. i'm sure the stall owners are picky about cleanliness, being beside pasig river and all that. the faucets they use are connected to nawasa, and the water coming out from those faucets are not the murky black water of pasig, fyi

Star Cafe, Session Road, Baguio:

i've read and heard about the good reviews of this place for so long but it's only now i had the chance to be one of their guests. pulling my kids in tow, we braved yesterday's panagbenga crowds of session road as well as loren legarda's entourage inside the star cafe - loren was about to be whisked to her car when we arrived so luckily we took up her table she emptied. it's tempting to order what she had but with a tight sked to follow i simply called out easy-to-cook meals in their menu.

(photos will be attached later, as well as more details)

the place looks like a well-kept 50's or 60's chinese restaurant in binondo - you know the works: large ceiling fans, giant mirrors, old chinese cashier, and of course, chinese foods. each food order costs no higher than 200 pesos, most of them fell in 150 to 165 category. so we ordered patatim, camaron rebosado and sharksfin with crabmeat soup. the last item was served in a big bowl with several small bowls with chinese soup spoon. i first got assurance from my waiter (he's sixtyish or seventyish, the youngest of the waiters is probably in his 40's) that the patatim shouldn't take long.

first to arrive is the camaron rebosado with sweet and sour sauce in a separate plate. the taste reminded me of camaron in some old restos in binondo: big shrimps without the hard tails and tender flour. somehow each bite brings back memories.

then came the soup (unlike in western restaurants, a chinese soup is served in no particular preferred order). the crabmeat made the soup tasty and more filling. my kids say they don't like to try it but they finished their cups just as well.

last came the patatim which was just cooked right the way i like it. the saucy lettuce on the side was even welcomed by the young tastebuds.

next time i'll book at prime hotel (old name, pines hotel) which is just across it. i felt so at home in this resto

Actually it's globe that's charging you if you turn on the "go online" option. If you turn that off and turn off the assisted GPS the phone will only use the built in GPS receiver for mapping and you wont get any data charges.

 

And I do agree with Sir Remoteworld's assessment of Ovi Maps 3, it's ok for the city but for going out of town, Garmin XT pa rin. :thumbsupsmiley:

i used my eten x800's garmint xt map in my trip to baguio (and back). finding the well-known hotels, restaurants and landmarks was a cinch. then i turned on my 5800's ovi maps while in kennon road. the new nokia firmware really made a difference in satellite fix, but the ovi map was disappointing. the baguio map is ok, but some streets are still missing in the map but overall it's forgivable

on the way back to manila i noticed the detours we make (to avoid the traffic caused by convoys of legarda, erap and gordon groups) are not in the ovi map too

sir, are u sure its free? from what i know, ovimap charges you per kb

yes it's free. the asian map includes big cities in asia as well. meaning, maps for shanghai, singapore, beijing, hk, kuala lumpur, etc. are all free when you download the 3gig asian map. so make sure your memory card for your nokia is 4gig or more

by the way, i have thoroughly checked the philippine map of ovimap 3.0 and it has all the major highways plus 3 cities (metro manila, metro cebu and baguio). the rest are *&^%$. so for out-of-the-city driving, rpmap using garmin xt pa rin ang number 1

(for the third time) "burglars can't be choosers" by lawrence block. i got the whole collection of the rhodenbarr series, even the short stories

no need, all you gotta do is download the garmin and the phil. map, ITS FREE btw

a word of warning, in the 'gps positioning' settings, pls uncheck everything except the 'internal antenna' option. you'll be charged if you use the 'assisted gps' option