Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

I feel bad when I leave my hubby at home whenever I travel. Not that he doesn’t want to travel with me, it is just work sometimes prevent him from being with me. Well, no excuse this time because my next adventure is just around the corner. It feels like an out-of-town trip considering the one hour travel time.

He worries “what if there is a typhoon?” recalling the time Sofitel Hotel got flooded during Typhoon Pedring. I worry too but I have learned to let go, and let God.

So what were we up to?

I normally review gadgets (which I return after a period of a week or two) at my home. This time Samsung thought of inviting us to check in a hotel to review their latest offering: Samsung Smart TV (UA60D8000) and the latest blu ray player (BDD5500). Considering the size of the TV, I think this is a good idea to have the review done in a hotel. I get to focus on the review and have fun at the same time.

While I am enjoying this ultra-slim Smart TV, my husband is mesmerized by the aquarium walls that surround our room .

Our Aqua supreme room at the Hotel H20 in Ocean Park was simply amazing. Our room had no windows except these aquarium walls. Watch this video:

I let him be as I work a bit on my own. We own some Samsung products (we bought all of them in case you are curious…) like kitchen appliances, PC monitors and an LED TV set and I am quite happy with the quality and performance. I knew I will not be disappointed.

It was a bit intimidating at first getting to understand all the controls at the remote. With a bit of knowledge from our own Samsung TV remote, I managed to get the Smart hub. I recalled Jayvee telling me that I can use my iPhone as Samsung remote pad.

For this flat TV segment, connectivity is key. Apart from being able to connect to the Internet and do your standard browsing, you can also use your Android device or iPhone as a remote controller via Bluetooth. If you don’t own any of these, you can also buy a QWERTY remote controller that connects via Bluetooth. That means you can have a QWERTY / smartphone side by side your IrDA remote control.

I will soon find out how to do this.

I have not tested everything yet. I am just getting a feel and if it is easy to set up. My husband wants to nap first before doing anything else. Let me give you just a preview .

I did some tests using Skype calls, “Social TV” updating my Twitter, and Facebook, web browsing and getting awed with the preview of videos at the Blu Ray DVD.

I called my sister to do a quick skype chat and show off our aquarium themed walls.

Ooops…Time to go (my husband wants to cuddle in bed) …

Butch ended having a nap while I wrote this entry.

A few minutes later, we strolled around the hotel to look for our dinner.

An array of DVD titles were provided but we picked up Resident Evil to try out Samsung’s featherweight 3D glasses converts pictures to 3D in real-time!. For some reason, the 3D image didn’t work so we ended up removing the 3D capability.

I found out there was a switch to turn on right there on the top of the glasses.

Shrek (4th episode) was just so sweet and romantic. I was quite amused at some of the lines uttered by Shrek. It quite reminded me of Butch.

I was about to test more of the Smart hub but the breaking news of Gadhafi’s death was all over the news. Images of a dead or injured Gaddafi seemed larger than life in this 60 inch TV.

There is more to explore in Samsung’s Smart TV like the online interactive media as well as on-demand streaming media. For the kind of online work that I do, a Smart TV makes multi-tasking so much faster. Definitely the TV of the future with the rise of emerging media.

Do you imagine a Smart TV inside your living room?

Read more of my review of the Smart TV in my tech blog , The Samsung Smart TV is beauty and brains indeed.——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.“When you look outward you dream, and when you look inward you awaken” Brian Quebengco, founder of and “chief inoventor” at Inovent Inc.

“Mom, let me look at the third eye at the back of your head”, one of my daughters used to dig into my hair whenever I berated her. See, I use to joke around with them that a third eye rests at the back of my head where it is possible for me to see everything they do behind my back. Of course, moms are just good at multitasking which is no secret at all. I even have this strange habit of lounging on the couch with my macbook, turning on the TV and working. Productivity hits me the highest when I am in this TV/laptop mode.

You can just imagine the excitement I felt as I watched the unveiling of the beta prototype of the Ilumina LCD iTV today, on Independence Day. This is something I want to own. More than the discovery of an innovative TV, I felt proud to be a Filipino as I talked to Brian Quebengco, the founder of and “chief inoventor” at Inovent Inc., creators of the Ilumina LCD Interactive Television (iTV).

This interactive TV is exciting because it is invented (innovated) by Filipinos and is the world’s first fully integrated TV. Think of the possibility of the modern Filipino family whose loved one is an OFW who will be able to talk to her/his family right there in the living room. Talk about connecting families. That’s pretty much exciting, don’t you think? I won’t bore you with the technical details but if you care, I wrote about it in my Tech Gadgets blog over here.

What actually touched me is Brian Quebengco’s inspiring journey as he survived through spates of depression and found the life he loves. He shared his story on TV and magazine interviews. I’ve often talked of suicide and mental illness myths in the Philippines. Depression is not mere sadness, dear folks. Prayers alone cannot totally eliminate depression because it’s a chemical imbalance in the brain. The sad thing is mental illness is still considered taboo in our country but Brian wants to help others through his story.

In this interview, Brian says

Surprisingly, I was a depressed kid. I was alone and my empathy was “skies the roof”. I was very sensitive. My parents are loving parents. They were like any other parent. But when they scold me, like any normal parent, I get so emotional about it. So I grew up being very depressed out of that, not their fault, to the point that I attempted suicide when I was 18. I attempted suicide again when I was 24, which made me end up in the basement of Makati Med. I spent my whole years trying to fight my depression, and I realized one day that I should stop fixing my weaknesses but rather just focus on my strengths, which has always been there. That changed my life. At 29, that was the tipping point in my life. I started focusing on my strengths. I voraciously read, even to this day. I am 33 now. I have read around 400 books, just to master and know myself and know a lot more about…

He transformed his depression into something creative and innovative, like this Ilumina LCD iTV. Brian found his passion. He was not afraid to leave his comfort zone. His voluntary work as a strengths coach uses strengths psychology. As a strengths coach, he focuses on what’s best in people. He focuses on their talents, or recurring patterns of thought, feeling and behavior that they can apply productively. There is a part of him that does it on the corporate side, but he also does it on a volunteering side to just share with regular people.

Brian believes everyone is meant to do something special in this world. “I mean there’s greatness in being the best janitor, there’s greatness in being the best waitress or accountant. For me, I just found that this is my calling. This is where I am best at. I just spend a lot of time understanding myself. I always say this to people, “You first have to look inward before you move forward.” And for any entrepreneur, although we have to constantly move forward, we should never stop looking inward. ”

My purpose in life are two things–to bring out the best in people and to champion Philippine ideas. That would be my two personal purpose.

You are not just looking at the world’s first fully integrated TV invented by a team of Filipino young Filipino engineers, industrial designers and programming experts. I see proud Filipinos who want to champion Philippine ideas and promote it on the world stage. Brian’s passion is to share the best of the Philippines to everybody.

Brian focused on his strength to bring out the best in him and in the process learned to be happy with his life. You now see the product of that focus— the Ilumina LCD iTV.

The prospect of the Ilumima LCD iTV is indeed very exciting, especially since I’m very fond of multitasking. My typical evenings will surely change as I seat in front of the TV, catching up with local news, world news, or celebrity gossip while I write blog entries and update my social networking sites on the Macbook on my lap.

Now, that won’t stop my “third eye” from checking the activities in my household.

Today’s Unveiling of the Ilumina LCD iTV

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.Post moved to my new blog, Tech Gadgets.——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

It’s been a year and 2 months since I subscribed to three (3) Philippine Internet Service Provider (ISP) namely, Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles, Smart Bro and PLDT MyDSL. At the time of installation, I believed it was not yet time to make a review. Give it a year, I said to myself. What do you know? I survived to tell you about these 3 ISP’s. As a netrepreneur, my business relies on fast and reliable internet connection. I am sure other parents out there will be interested to know my experiences with these ISPs.

Let me add a fourth ISP, the Smart 3g which I use specifically for my macbook.

Take note, I am a paying subscriber located in Pasig City near the Quezon City area. I added speed test results (using speedtest.net) to show how most of our ISPs never deliver the promised speeds. I start being a “reklamador’ and then call support if speed falls below 50% after all it is my right to get the services I paid for.

Anyway, here goes:

1. Smart Bro- 999 pesos for a 256 kpbs connection- installed March 2, 2007

This internet connection is located at Lauren’s computer. Installation was pretty fast with only 1 day waiting period. During the first four months, there were barely any connection problems. Slow speed started to occur sometime June 2007. Calling the Smart Support (6727277) is agonizing. It’s best you have a speaker phone when you dial their number.It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour before you can get to talk to someone. They make you do all that PING, bandwidth testing on your PC before they call in the tech support to go to your place. I keep telling them that they have congested their cell sites. They replace the antenna thinking it’s defective. I complain it is a congestion problem. After a replacement of the antenna, the slow connection continued on especially starting at 6:00 PM .

SMART BRO’s dismal performance turned me into a “nasty” person and sometime August, I threatened to report them to the National Telecommunications Commission for non-existence of an internet connection. This was after waiting again on the phone for an hour. Fortunately, the nice technicians came. They are amazed that I am given support a day after my phone call. I kept thinking the SMART BRO tech people must have googled my name and found out I was a blogger. Maybe? They changed my base station to a less congested base. I was optimistic this would work but no….slow connection still happened. I was more emphatic this time “If you can’t give me a stable internet connection, then just release me from the locked-in period”. In fairness to the tech guys, they did a great job the third time around. Since August 2007, SMART Bro connection has been very stable.

Speed Test

Upload: 305 kbps
Download: 235 kbps
Promised speed: 256kbps reaches 100% (They might have also upgraded to 512 kbps)

Rating- 5/10 only because calling SMART BRO Support is torture and they tend to congest their base station. Though Support takes time to answer your calls, they give feedback in your cellphone regarding the progress of your report.

2. Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles - 2 MBPS with landline. (now at 1,995 pesos only)

The Globe Broadband connection is attached to Marielle’s desktop. The thing I like most about Globe Broadband is that their modem comes with a wi-fi router. At its peak usage, 3 laptops and a desktop connect to this wi-fi connection. During the first few months, calling Globelines Support at 9198888 took at least 45 minutes. For the past 7 months now, I didn’t have to wait too long for tech support to pick up my queue. I have encountered 4 connection problems with them so far. The first one lasted for one day with no internet connection. My succeeding problems with them was dropped wi-fi connection. I experience dropped wi-fi connection problems every 30 minutes but I can live with it since it goes back up in a 5 seconds or less.

Speed test (using wi-fi in two separate tests)

Upload: 1788 kbps
Download: 242 kbps

(edit- June 4, 2008)
Upload: 2144 kbps
Download: 494 kbps
Promised speed: 2 MBPs at almost 90% speed and surpassing the promised speed of over 100%

Rating 7/10 because their connection has been quite reliable with minimal downtime. It could be better if wi-fi connection is more stable with less frequent dropped wi-fi connection.

3. PLDT MyDSL 1MBps and landline bundle at 999 pesos a month

At the time of installation, my plan was 768 kbps speed. Currently, the plan is a 1000 MBps.

Of all the 3 ISP’s, PLDT was the last to install. From April 2007 to March 2008, PLDT has dropped connections every 15 minutes or so. I called their Tech Support (171) and it took them a week to get a technician to our house. It was the landline tech personnel who made sure that there were no problems in the landline connection. After they assured me that all the lines were working well, I thought my DSL connection would be smooth. I was wrong. The dropped connections continue till March 2008. Upon calling PLDT support, they keep saying that they are working on it. I gave up calling on them. Maybe because I have another reliable ISP to run to when their connection is not working.

On April 2008, I wanted to terminate their services but they said I can’t because of the 2 year lock in period. I got exasperated. I said I wasn’t willing to pay services since I don’t have a stable internet connection. I threatened to report them to NTC. What do you know? A technician came three days after.

The problem? A defective modem. Oh dear, to think I suffered a year of dropped connection because the first few technicians didn’t think to check on the modem.

So far, I am receiving decent connection from PLDT Mydsl. Decent=not frequent dropped connection.

Speed Test

Upload: 436 kbps
Download:300 kbps
Promised speed:768 kbps reaches only 56% (speed that time was less than 1 MBps)

Upload: 532 kbps
Download:238 kbps
Promised speed:1000 kbps reaches only 50%

(edit- June 4, 2008)
Upload: 1066 kbps
Download:293kbps
Promised speed: 1066 kbps reaches over 100%

Rating 4/10 because of the lousy PLDT myDSL connection I suffered for a year. Support is not “supportive”. They keep saying they are working on the problem without giving feedback.

4. Smart 3G connecting to my Nokia e51 at 10 pesos per 30 minutes of use.

I only use Smart 3g with my macbook whenever I am out of the house. I am quite happy with smart 3g. It often delivers. Sometimes it gives me a message that I am out of credits but all I do is restart the phone modem. Speed depends on location. It can go as high as 1200 kbps or as slow as 100 kbps.

Upload: 723 kbps
Download: 107 kbps
Promised speed: No data

Upload: 434 kbps
Download: 288 kbps
Promised speed: No data

Rating 7/10 because it often gives me the internet connection. However, not all places in the Philippines are covered with the fast 3g speeds. One can get a gprs speed which is sufficient to open emails only.

My suggestions to the Philippine Internet Service Providers:

1. Don’t assume that we don’t know anything about computers. Don’t say we have a virus when you don’t even know if I am using a mac or a PC. Just because I am a woman doesn’t mean I am clueless about computers. Don’t assume we are ignorant.

2. If you are going to have long queues in your Tech Support lines, consider using the SMS system that Destiny Cable (my old provider) uses. When there is a tech issue, I would just send a text message with my landline to their support. When they are free, they return my call. Works like a charm.

3. Stop using the byline line faster than dial-up when you promote your broadband ads . You can’t fool someone like me who has been using cable internet for 9 years now. Yes, you can fool the dialup users but how long can you fool them?

4. Stop congesting or overcrowding your servers. There is huge potential and an untapped market for internet users . You can still earn profitably as demand rises.

To all those who have asked me which is the better internet service provider among my 4 ISPs, I can say it is Globelines Broadband because of the more or less stable internet connectivity and prompt customer support. But remember, not all ISP’s reliability are the same in any locality. I heard Globe Broaband is really bad in Cavite and Makati City.

My ISP recommendation is based on my location which is Pasig City.

Rating my 4 ISPs
In conclusion, here is my score card of my 4 ISPs based on stable internet connection and customer service reliablity:

1. Globelines Broadband could be better
2. Smart 3g (ties with Globe Broadband)
3. Smart Bro
4. PLDT MyDSL (Worst)

How would you rate your internet service provider?

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.The great thing about blogger meet-ups is the fact that I am usually the oldest in the group.

Mingling with young bloggers means that I get to babble endlessly about techie topics which I can never really discuss with my husband or non-blogger friends. Oh I talk with my daughters but I seem to know more about computer gadgets and other tech topics than they do. Last night, Shai Coggins, co-founder of B5 Media took time off from her vacation to the Philippines for a meet and greet in Kape Isla at Serendra. Shai was one of the first bloggers that I often visited when I launched this blog. In fact, I lovingly stole her Tell Me About You idea which paved the way for me to explore other blog topics other than grief education. Meeting Shai and other blogger friends in the cozy cafe covered a lot of activities like ranting about Google’s Page Rank Penalty, the Trillanes Revolt , the curfew, Monetizing Blogs, raving over the B5 media Schwags, Shai’s personalized prints and Sasha’s fashion loot. But aside from the company of Shai Coggins and the bloggers, the other limelight of the party was this cute little thing…

called the Asus Eee Pc owned by one of the bloggers. I thought I could buy this cute gadget in Singapore but it wasn’t available then. Yesterday, we dabbled with the new affordable ultraportable notebook that’s on many consumers’ Christmas wish lists this year. Just weighing under 2 pounds, the Xandros Linux-powered “ultra-mobile PC” is almost half the size of my macbook. At a starting price of only 16,999 pesos or US $395.00, it cost so much less than those high-end mobile phones. Quite affordable, right? The Eee PC 701 4G in ASUS’ words is “Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play” is really true. We had fun playing with the webcam as you can see below.

The small seven-inch, 800 x 480-pixel display is quite pretty easy on the eyes and doesn’t seem too small. Well, despite the fact that the width is just as wide as our 100 peso bill, it showed a clear resolution. The guy bloggers though had large hands so it took getting used to the keyboard of this mini-laptop. Sometimes I regret buying the macbook because this nifty Asus Eee PC can fit snugly in my handbag. I bet this ultraportable laptop will appeal to a lot of grandparents and young kids or even those who could never afford to buy a laptop. Keep in mind that this is not a full-blown laptop. If you want an inexpensive, light-weight system that can handle all the home, work, and Internet basics, the Eee PC 4G may be all you need. (read more on Asus Eee Pc?)

I am digressing so much but that’s what most of us did last night aside from indulging in Chocolate Fondue, sipping coffee, binging on cocktails and chatting with Annalyn, Rico, Jayvee, Juned, Ely, Eugene, Sonny, Marc, Sharm, Jonas, Sasha, Toni, Azrael, Mike Abundo, Karla, Carlos Castellon and Renzie Baluyut.

I realized it was almost midnight before I called it a night. Good thing Butch didn’t SMS me to go home as he often does whenever I am out without him. He tolerated my late-ness since I cancelled a lot of my appointments the past night just so I could join this Blogger’s Meet-up. The meet-up served as an avenue to share ideas, insights, entertaining tidbits with my fellow bloggers, and finally meeting b5media’s Shai Coggins.

I look forward to more meet-ups this holiday season. Anyone?

View photos I took of …

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.Normally, I just let my dollar earnings sit in the bank because I am lazy to visit the bank and have them converted to pesos. Banks also have silly rules on dollar withdrawals. Anyway, the good side on all this is I am able to save for a rainy day. However, the strong peso got me thinking. I started to convert my dollars on “what could have been” at the old exchange rate and the current rates. I refuse to think of “what could have beens” because I should be grateful that I am still liquid. After reading Abe Olandres’ Weakening Dollar hurts Probloggers, I started to think that maybe I need to spend a little more.

That’s a net loss of Php13.13 for every dollar that I have in the bank. That loss closely amounts to a brand new car or a down payment for a house and lot.

Ugh, I did lose a lot on the conversion.

So what did I do? Oh yeah, I went on a mad shopping spree for Christmas presents.

I followed Ely’s advice on What To Do With Your Dollars When The Foreign Exchange Rate Is Hurting You.

Ely says DO buy dollar-based items – those you couldn’t get before because you thought they were too expensive.

Yes, I went gadget shopping which I would never do in the Philippines.

(I hope I don’t appear to be bragging here but I just want to illustrate the bright side of spending in devalued dollars.)

I bought a Black Macbook for myself (giving my white mac to Lauren), an Acer Aspire 4710Z for my mother-in-law so she can blog, an HP 520 for Murielle and a new Nokia E51 for myself. Originally, I wanted an Asus EEE PC for Marielle which was priced at $300 to $400 but it was not yet available in Singapore. Take note, the HP 520 and the Acer 4710Z are the most affordable laptops priced at only 30,000 thousand pesos each. Think about it, if I bought all of these gadgets in the Philippines, I would have missed a vacation with my husband. The savings alone in buying the macbook is 18,000 pesos. The plane fare, travel taxes for both of us amounted to 25,000 pesos ($581.00).

My favorite purchase of all is the Nokia E51, a business smartphone. Why? It’s simple, slim, sleek, and ideal for a user like me wishing to leverage broadband connections to access mobile Internet telephony from homes and hotspots. One of the best feature of all is the SMS Spam Manager which came pre-installed. I had been besieged by spam SMS in the past and I had no way to control it. Fine, Globe said I can report the spammer at the National Telecommunications and Communications (NTC) but nothing came out of my complaint. Am I so glad that I finally have an anti-spam application!

Look, I placed this person’s cellphone number in the backlist rule.

This person has been spamming me with senseless messages containing nothing else but “gma gmd gm…” as if he suffered a muscle tic on his/her fingers. Ugh after my cellphone was flashed at Salamat Doc , a particular stalker caller texts me more than 25 times in a day and or calls 4 times a day. These text messages are either blank or contain garbage words. Mind you, that show was last December 24, 2006. If we can control some spam messages in our email programs why not in cellphones? There are more applications that works out for me such as checking emails, twittering or using the VoIP phone application. (See more photos here). And guess how much? With the GST refund, I got this uber-cool phone for 14,000 pesos or US $325. I bet this would cost 20,000 pesos or more when the Nokia E51 arrives in the Philippines. When I went to SMART Telecom to buy a similar WLAN enabled phone, the cheapest they could offer was an old model worth 25,000 pesos.

Did I go overboard with the shopping? I believe it was a wise move for some of my sleeping, devalued dollars to purchase affordable gadgets that we need not merely “want or like gadgets”. The Nokia E51 will serve as a modem when I need to go online ( I haven’t figured that out yet). Marielle has no laptop and with her exceptional grades, she deserves to own one now. Lauren likes the mac features that enable her to do guitar recordings and podcast. My mother-in-law will definitely find blogging or chatting via webcam very entertaining. The savings alone are worth it.

The best thing of all was I had a great weekend with my dear hubby, dragging him to the Funan Digital Mall, learning a thing or two about computers and indulging in a gastronomic feast after a tiring day of shopping. Now, he yearns to own a macbook to replace his 5 year old durable Thinkpad. Uh-oh.——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.Stay-at-home-moms (SAHM) are so lucky these days. Online job and income opportunities such as a virtual assistant, researcher , problogger or web content writer now transforms them to work-at-home moms (WAHM). Moms get to balance family time, work and personal satisfaction. Now what is the main resource that online users need? A reliable, fast broadband connection, right? Slow connection means low productivity. High productivity means one is able to balance work load and mommy work. Mom’s work gets done fast. No connection at all might even cost loss of opportunities or risk getting replaced. I know of a web content writer working on rush job but missed a deadline because the internet connection died on her. That cost her to lose an income opportunity and reliability as a web content writer. That’s how bad our internet connection is in the Philippines.

Over six months ago, I wrote about my three new Broadband internet providers (Globelines Broadband, Smart Bro and PLDT Mydsl) for which I pay around 4,000 pesos (or $95.00) a month. Am I happy with my three internet providers? I wrote a brief review about these providers a month ago. The ratings I gave those three providers are as follows:

1. Globe Broadband (best)
2. Smart Bro
3. PLDT MyDSL (Worst)

I’m about to file a complaint at the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for PLDT’s mydsl intermittent connection every 10 minutes or so. Come on, can you do better than that? I pay 1,520 pesos a month and I deserve a seamless connection at least 99% of the time. But what do they give me? Dropped connections every 10 minutes?

Smart Bro has really been so good to me ever since I threatened to report them to NTC for non-existent connection for 2 months. Since then, connection has been excellent for over two months now. (knock on wood)

Even if I rated Globelines Broadband as the best among the three, I am not quite happy with their up to 1 mbps connection speed since half the time, it’s 60% of 1mbps. I feel cheated that these three providers con us into :

1. believing that “up to” is substantial. “Up to” is the maximum possible bandwidth promised.
Why can’t you just say that your connection is 600kbps? You want us to believe that we can attain 1Mbps most of the time when in fact, it’s 20% of the time.

2. Their connection is faster than dial up.
Really now? Are we supposed to believe that we should continue to live in the dark ages of dial up? Stop using the byline line faster than dial-up when you promote your broadband ads . You can’t fool someone like me who has been using cable internet for 8 years now. Yes, you can fool the dialup users but how long can you fool them?

So let’s see, when a new internet provider will dispel all the above marketing gimmicks of our current internet service providers, what will happen now? These unhappy internet users will definitely move to the new reliable internet provider who will make them happy broadband users.

Who is this possible internet provider?

Happy Communications will offer consumer broadband in the first quarter of 2008. Right now, their services mainly cater to corporate users. Naturally, they want to know more of their potential users before their public launch. I happened to have a one-on-one discussion with John Marvin T. Cruz , Chief Marketing Officer of Happy Communications. I was eager to meet Marvin because I am always in the lookout for alternative broadband services. I must say their Happy Wireless Broadband is very promising. All I have to see and experience is if it promises to deliver.

What do they offer?

1. Happy is the first to offer 4G technology in the country- fully wireless Internet Protocol-based applications at speeds of 50 Mbps to 1 Gbpz.

2. Happy operates in a truly wireless platform, running on a next generation network that relays real-time information to literally any point within the metro-true connectivity without the need for wires or even fiber optics. The 4G framework allows for the delivery of Triple Play services- cost-friendly, mobile and simultaneous communication of data, voice and video with just one connection.

3. Happy provides dedicated bandwidth for each and every user. This means no more connection sharing with other users in the area.

Now if you didn’t understand that, that’s okay because the one thing I understood was that they provide flexible bandwidth options starting at 2mbps connectivity (and not the UP TO that most of our providers say). I will actually get the bandwidth I am paying for. Wireless signal fidelity and connectivity speed problems are things of the past, so they claim.

I was quite excited at the prospect that I can have wireless connection (similar to Globe Visibility) at least for Metro Manila. No need to buy those Airborne Access or Globequest wi-fi cards in coffee shops. Imagine working on your laptop while waiting for your kid’s dismissal from school? Nothing is definite yet but initial plans may start at 995 pesos.

I stressed the need for prompt and reliable customer support. There is nothing more infuriating than waiting for customer support to answer your call. Secondly, having dumb customer service reps who can’t answer your questions is just as irritating.

Indeed, I told Marvin that there is a large market for the mommies who have online jobs or business. If their promise to give speedy and reliable connectivity is true, expect happy internet users.

For more techie stuff, read Jayvee’s entry, Happy Internet to launch WiMax service in 2008——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.This entry has now been turned into a blog. Please read Techie Gadgets——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.When there was only one computer in the house , shared by all of the family members, the computer virus eluded us. That’s because I am such an obsessive compulsive over any files invading my computer. The last time I encountered a computer virus was in 1993 (1994) due to my husband’s files from the law office. The kids know that a virus can crash the PC so at an early age, they learned to be careful. A crashed computer means no computer.

Now I don’t know why M of all people brought in a virus from the UP Psych lab. She’s quite fastidious when it comes to her computer. At first, she complained that the wifi in her dad’s laptop kept shutting down. Then when she brought her PC from the dorm , the black box exhibited the same symptons as the IBM thinkpad,

*ding ding* my mind raced. “It’s a virus”

“Mom can you fix it?”

Downloading the latest AVG proved futile. The explorer crashes as you click it. Even using online virus check crashes the browser. Any word with AVG or virus causes the computer to crash. Strange virus indeed. She can’t even view her blog entry on that weird virus.

M is not alone with her problem. All her classmates’ laptop suffered the similar fate. I surfed around the internet and exhausted every means to find the solution. To M’s utter disappointment, I could not fix it. My solution was “reformat and reinstall windows”. Maybe she thought I could wave a wand and fix it just like that. She was resigned to my solution two days after she thought about it.

Now she or I could easily reformat and reinstall it but she preferred that I send it over to PC Express Katipunan, where she purchased it. I didn’t want to do it for her because I’d end up installing every software for her. Fortunately, the reinstallation went smoothly. I will just wait for M to get back from Baguio so she can reactivate her Windows.

Next in line was Butch’ laptop. It was a breeze but I stupidly threw the drivers CD of the wireless card so I had to search for it online.

Everyone is happy now! Butch has his laptop by his nightstand table whenever he needs it while my macbook is no longer wedged between us as we share it to check email or the web.

Next time a virus infects their PCs, I’ll let them do the dirty work.

Anyway while waiting at the PC Express, I requested for a quote on a new desktop fitted with a Core 2 Duo processor, the latest Windows Vista Home Edition, fax-printer and huge 300+ GB hard drive. My old desktop decided to retire at the age of 6 years old so it was about time to buy a new PC or an iMAC. The iMAC ‘s white color would blend really well in my white themed workstation but it’s so expensive Nice but not a must-have. Anyway, I got my quote and it reached 60,000 pesos or $1,250.00. The Windows Vista Home (Full version) cost 11,750 pesos alone or $245.00. I might get the OEM version which is just 4,000 pesos something.

This new desktop is like the bottom of my expense list . My new home is still bare of furnishings and yet Lauren is having a small housewarming party later in the afternoom. That’s because her room is almost furnished. Lucky for her.

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Follow me in twitter @momblogger.(Read my Review of Globe Broadband, PLDT Mydsl, Smart Bro and Smart 3g)

The house is clean and sanitized, the air smells of paint, the pocket garden looks refreshing as I am sitting here beside my antique writing table, trying to catch up with my backlog in work . Thanks to the [tag]Philippines Cable Internet Providers[/tag], installation was fast . I always imagined that installation would take months. I remember moving in to Pasig in 1980 and I got my landline in 1984. But take a look at this. If you move to a new home (well at least in Pasig City where I am moving), you can have an internet connection the following day after payment. This is my experience.

1. Smart Bro- I paid 999 pesos for a 384 kpbs connection on March 2. An hour later, they called me to schedule the installation the following day. That’s pretty quick, huh? Smart Bro has this ongoing promotion where you get free installation for new applications if you apply within the month of March. It didn’t make sense to continue with my existing contract because I would have to pay 1600 pesos for the transfer. Might as well get locked in for a one year period. Besides, my cousins in my new neighborhood swear that Smart Bro connection is pretty reliable.

2. Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles – I called Globelines to send me an application form to my house. Since I wasn’t there yet, she dropped it with the caretaker. After I signed the form , the agent came back and processed my application form. A week later, I got my phone line and my 1 MBPS internet connection which came with a prolink modem and wi-fi bundle. So here I am enjoying a 1 MBPS wifi connection goodness. This budget bundle costs only 1450 pesos a month. I don’t know how long the free landline use lasts.

3. PLDT MyDSL- Knowing PLDT was going to take longer, I applied for a telephone line and DSL on February 19. Three weeks later, I got a call that I needed to pay something at the PLDT office . Take note: Globelines and Smart Bro were already in place at my new home. I have yet to go to the PLDT office and have my application processed but I already got my new landline number. I applied for their 784 kbps bundle. The only promo they have is 100 pesos off the landline and DSL monthly fee or a savings of 200 pesos. I will end up paying 1520 pesos a month, I think?

So there, I have three internet service providers . Why three?

I need redundancy in my internet connection for my business. I will miss my 8 year old ISP, Destiny Cable. I remember I was one of the first Makati City residents to enjoy 1.6 Mbps cable broadband in 1999 for 1,988.00 pesos (it went down to 1,688 three years ago) which included a TV cable connection. Unfortunately, they do not provide internet cable facilities in my area. I hope these newer internet cable providers can emulate the same service I received from Destiny Cable. Take for example, Globelines Broadband … they had some server problems. I know problems can never be avoided. Three days later, I still couldn’t reach their main trunkline 9198888. I was able to reach them yesterday after waiting on the phone patiently for 30 minutes.

They could have some text support like Destiny Cable so their staff can call back when their lines are free. I remember SMART Bro’s service when it was still new and crappy. They have improved a lot since then after getting so much flak from irate SMART Bro subscribers.

Oh well…I ‘m just happy everything is in place now as I move in tomorrow.

May 24, 2008 – updated review

September 30, 2007- Added a Review of Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles, Smart Bro and PLDT MyDSL

December 13, 2007- added a Speed test of Globe Broadband, Smart 3g, Smart Bro and PLDT My dsl——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets. Or Follow me in twitter @momblogger.

How about visiting my Beauty over 50 blog?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado