I've been using Smartbro for more than 3 years already and I haven't had any serious problems until now. I had this problem before the typhoon Pedring and I troubleshot my gadgets, isolated that it's the connection that's the problem. I opened up a ticket with Smartbro last week, Thursday. They advised me to "monitor" the connection because the base station is down. Next day, same problem. Opened another ticket and I was promised a tech dispatch anytime soon. I waited for a WEEK. So the week that I was waiting, the connection was very VERY VERY slow. Worst than dial-up. Imagine that. Gmail sign-in page would come up but once I log-in, it'll take some time and then display a "Try re-loading again". Is that what I paid for? Then came the Php999 bill. Do you think I would have the mood to pay for it?

I called Smartbro tech line again yesterday because AGAIN, the connection is DOWN. I would get a valid IP address from the bass station but the page would just not load. They gave me a ticket again promising that they'd forward this to the technical team for a possible dispatch. WTF. So meaning, I was promised a dispatch last week but the agent did not actually endorsed it. Worst part is that line kept on DISCONNECTING. I had to call them again three times.

On my third call, I've disconnected the router and went straight to the modem from the laptop. Same shit. Valid IP but no Internet. We assigned a static IP and rebooted the laptop. Guess what? Same shit. NO INTERNET CONNECTION. Guess what they'd told me.... "Monitor the connection while we endorse this to the technical department." Wow. What a script. So I would 'monitor' until I get a connection? That's bullshit. How will I monitor the connection when they assign an static IP on my computer when their connection is running on DHCP. Now I have 4 tickets opened and 2 pending dispatch. Nice.

Before this shit happened, I called SUN two days ago and inquired about the pocket-wifi. They got back to me that same day and told me that my application for the SUN broadband was approved. I just need to pass some xerox copy docs and the unit will be delivered to my doorstep on Monday. No cash out. Bills will be reflect on the next statement.

Difference with the SUN pocket wifi is that I can't use my router anymore, but I can connect 5 users to it, PLUS I can bring it anywhere. I don't think I have 5 laptops with me so it seems fair. PLUS PLUS, it's cheaper. Php649 a month. I can't wait til Monday so I can have a decent connection. Hope this new service will do me good.

Worst part is almost over. Later I will go to Smart Wireless Center and have the Smart bro disconnected permanently. They might have me pay for the remaining bill that I did NOT use. I hope they don't, or else.... I would probably burst my frustration to the sales rep and make a scene. Of course, I don't want that to happen. Wah poise eh.

Epic fail for Smartbro.

Damn Internet is so slow at home. I already cleaned up the laptop and it's still crawling. I know for sure it's the connection because I'm getting the same slowness on the iTouch too. I've been thinking on changing our provider to SUN broadband so we can bring it anywhere but the wireless router will be useless.

So here's what I did:
1) Connect the laptop directly to the modem.
--Tried this already but the laptop is not responsive. Yeah, it's so damn slow.
2) Rebooted/Power cycled.
--Tried several times already!
3) Brought the laptop to another wireless network.
--I actually tried the laptop at my sister's workplace (WET CENTRUM) and it's working fine.
--And the iTouch too. Dang! So there...

And here's what I need to:
1) Call the smartbro people and have the connection checked.
--Maybe they need to adjust antenna to a different direction or something.
2) Reload the OS on the laptop.
--The laptop's already what--2 years old? and Vista it's just plain crap.
--A co-worker was so nice to lend me his Windows 7 installer but there's two more borrowers ahead of me. Perfect!
3) Change ISP.
--Switching to another ISP means a bond fee of 12 months with the new service.
--This is the last option (I think).

Did I miss anything?

I know I need to do something right away because sneaking post at work is not healthy. Besides, I can't do my usual Internet browsing and the hubby's complaining big time. Now what?

It's the holidays again and I'm thinking what I really want to have this Christmas. A new TV? or maybe new pair of shoes but the question is-- Do I really need them? So I thought and realized that I badly need a new cellphone. I've been relying on hand me down cellphone for years now and maybe this time, I deserve a high tech one. And so the Nokia C7 caught my attention.

I love the super sleek and curved design with stainless and glass covering. Plus, it's touch screen for easy navigation and browsing facebook (yes!) and twitter. Wow, I haven't had a touch screen cellphone before...

What I love most on the Nokia C7 is the high-quality photos and HD video using the 8 megapixel camera! I travel most of the time during gigs and bringing a digicam is sometimes a hassel! Well, honestly, I always forget to bring my camera hahaha! But NOT my cellphone so I thought it would be swell if I have a "quality" phone that I can use during gigs, because my old nokia phone now does not seem to take good pictures anymore. The Nokia C7 will surely rock during gig night!

And what's really a plus for the Nokia C7 is I can play music out loud on the powerful Nokia Mini Speaker MD-9! I can really use this during rehearsals and live gigs, and not to mention during jam nights. I can easily record and document draft songs and compositions so I won't forget them. So there's more reason for us to ROCK! Cool!

Wow! This is truly an artists' bestfriend. I'm already in love with the new Nokia C7 and hopefully my wish will come true this Christmas! What more can I ask for? a Nokia C7 of course!

At last! I have a new cam and we bought it last Sunday after watching Transformers 2. I was suppose to get the Sony but they don't have the model I want anymore. The reason why I want a specific model from Sony is because I'll be getting the marine pack as well. Argh! So I went back to Olympus. So meet our latest member of the family... Bumble Bee!

This cam is better than my old one because of some added features like the tap control to which I'm super aliw... it's already 10 mega pixel... and I super super love the panorama option. From my old cam, you can't use the panorama feature if you're not using the original Olympus XD memory card with panorama option. Then I have to manually take random shots and need to upload it on the computer and use their software to stitch the images. But now, it's easier because there's an indicator when shooting random images and when finished, the cam will stitch is for you right then and there! Okay, here's a test image below... neat huh!

~ Panorama bedroom shot ~

I felt so sad when I received text message from the service center the other day. Yes it's busted! Why? Okay here's the story. My youngest sister borrowed this when they went to Bora last month. I had doubts on her because she's known as the gadget buster. Don't get mad sister G, we all know it's true hehe. Being the not-selfish sister that I am (naks!), I let her use it. My digicam arrived in one piece and working at that time. And so I was thankful. My 5th sister borrowed it also for her Bora trip but 3 days after I received a call from her and informed me that the camera it's acting up weird. I knew then that it's busted.

I brought it to the service center near my work place and waited almost two weeks for the initial quotation. Mainboard is for replacement and that alone costs Php 7,114.xx plus the labor fee of Php 2,000, total of Php 9,114.xx! Not to mention the 1-2 months wait for the parts. I was speechless. I've been camera-less, ever since my sister's bora trip last month.

I've been good to this camera and it really served it's purpose. It always capture good and excellent underwater pictures and even videos too! Here's some of my memorable trips I had with this digicam.

Those of you clamoring for an Apple tablet may finally get what you've been waiting for. According to a MacDailyNews source who leaked wireless iTunes a week before its official announcement, we can expect a sort of "MacBook touch" in October. And the source wasn't light on the details, either:

Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured multi-touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion's haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS. Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will. This is some sick shit. App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest. Read here.

This is so cool!

I was invited to join a mountaineering club from my previous work, a few years back. Then I was able to join a fun climb in Laguna. And last year we celebrated the club's anniversary and went island hopping in Anawangin Zambales. It's the month of July , and it's the club's anniversary again. I'm so excited to know where are we going this time. And to prepare for that trip, we bought this TREK 50 liters bag last week. But before that, I was asking my friends on what to buy. We were suppose to buy HABAGAT, but it's so pricey now. Their 50 liters bag now cost 4k plus and same with SANDUGO. Then another friend recommended TREK which we can find along Quirino station (LRT). This product offers a lifetime warranty from the date of purchase against defects. We can simply bring this to their shop for repair even without receipt. And the price? It's only Php 1,400. Yey! Now this bag will surely witness our out of town adventures. Can't wait!

Yes, I am now enjoying wireless connection at home. I bought this D-link DIR-300 wireless router last Saturday because staying at one place here is so not convenient for me. When the little angel asks me to go the bed room to watch dvd, I have no choice but to leave my work in the living room. I remembered Malen guessed that I would be getting the Linksys router hehehe because we worked together in the same company supporting Linksys devices. After working there for 3 years in that company, I understood the capability of the device which pushed me to NOT purchase one. Sorry. Hehehe.

I liked the color of the packaging because it's the same color as my blog hahaha. Now I opened the box and checked the contents. 1. wireless router; 2. Antenna; 3. Power adapter; 4. set-up CD; 5. Cross-over cable; and 6, Manual.

I followed the instructions stated on the wizard. The set-up CD was helpful--yes but for some.. it's not. Example, I get the window were the wizard was checking my Internet connection, then it suddenly told me that I am not connected to the Internet when I was chatting with someone online at that time. And then I get to the part of connecting all the cables and stuff, and last part was the wizard was checking again my connection, which of course it failed. So it's a dead end.

So I configured the router manually instead. Accessed the web-based utility, checked WAN status and release/renewed the wan IP and then I'm online. I never did use the cross-over cable because it was already connected wireless-ly to the router. I'm sure my friends can relate to this hahaha.

The hubby thought I was having a hard time installing it, when I showed him that I'm online with no cables already. He laughed. Then we brought the lappy to bedroom and walla! Still getting strong signal and fast connection.

Ever since I saw my sister's lappy vacuum cleaner, I thought I would buy my lappy one too. So few days ago, I went to cdr-king here in SM Marilao to purchase the said vacuum. They would only allow to test the item after paying, which I think is unfair. Anyway, so I paid for it and when I saw the item in operation, I was disappointed. The technician said, it's designed to only suck light dust that's why it's not that powerful. He suggested that I would take it home and try it.

I also bought this keyboard protector. I got the flat one because I do not see the model # of my lappy in their keyboard protector options. This one is much cheaper compared with the model # and it'll do for the mean time.

So there I did tried the vacuum at home but to my dismay... it did not work like I expected. So I wrapped it up and decided to take it back and exchange it with another item.

So I went back to cdr king the next day and had the item exchange for the different one.

But when the iPhone came out, I thought it was just the same as the touch-thing but I was totally wrong. Now I'm dreaming to have this ever since I had the chance to try it when my sister got one. OMG, it's so easy to navigate and the application is so neat! Too bad it's pricey. This is wishing well for me....

I can't remember who told me that there's a new iPhone that's coming out--it's the iPhone 3G. I haven't compared the specs yet because they all looked that same, right? hahaha. And this baby is half the price compared to the iPhone. Yeah I can't believe it myself too. According to the site, the price starts at $199 so thats less then 10K?! Mura db? Do anybody here knows where I can get this iPhone 3G?? Waahh... I like to have one. Bili na tayo!