JPMonje.net http://jpmonje.net Personal stuffs and reviews. Eagleman to the next level. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:00:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en hourly 1 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gifSome Rights ReservedJpmonjenethttp://feedburner.google.com I’m back. Maybe. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/zmM4vmSWQvs/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/08/im-back-maybe/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:00:12 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1086 I went on hiatus again for more than a month now. I was so busy since I arrived here again in Romblon last June 2009. So much happened these past few months both personal and major events that impacted me. It will take multiple posts just to detail them one by one. Watch out for some upcoming posts these coming days.

Just a brief post of what’s new:

1. My PC on my store is now on dual display (LCD).
2. The motorcycle (owned by my mom) used by our previous secretary on one of our branches is now in my possession. I already got the plate number and some registration certificates.
3. I skidded twice using that motorcycle and it made a bruise on my right kneel.
4. The glass wafer above the LCD on my mobile phone cracked. I’m still able to use the phone but without the touch screen capability.

Until my next post!

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/08/im-back-maybe/feed/ 3 http://jpmonje.net/2009/08/im-back-maybe/ Smartalk: Unlimited Calls from Smart http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/Eb09vnHuis0/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/07/smartalk-unlimited-calls-from-smart/#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:31:38 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1078 smartalk
Last June 26, Smart launched their newest service that will cater its subscribers and revolutionized the way Filipinos experience the power of unlimited calls. Tagged as “Smartalk: Smart’s Ultimate Unlimited Calls”, this service lets you do unlimited calls for P100 in five (5) days and P500 for thirty (30) days.

This service doesn’t need a new sim to be purchased. Any kind of Smart active simcard will just do.

To avail of this service, just load up p100 pesos to your prepaid account and send an SMS with a message “TALK100″ for unlimited calls for 5 days or “TALK500″ for 30 days and send to “6400″. Retail outlets around the country can also register you automatically from their Smartload menu. Just ask them to load you with the “Special Load” (on the retailers Smartload menu) either P100 or P500 and instantly you are enrolled to the service.

Please note that you must maintain a P1 balance to enjoy the service. Calls must be made within the Smart network. Calling someone on roaming is not included in the service. According to Smart, this promo is from June 26 to July 30, 2009.

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/07/smartalk-unlimited-calls-from-smart/feed/ 1 http://jpmonje.net/2009/07/smartalk-unlimited-calls-from-smart/ This day, 25 years ago… I was born. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/0tpm-LMS-Sg/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/this-day-25-years-ago-i-was-born/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:43:32 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1075 Wee! I thank God for giving me another year to celebrate my birthday for the second time here in Romblon. To those who greeted me especially the one at exactly 12 am, thank you very much for the messages and greetings.

I’m supposed to post this birthday post a bit earlier but at least I’ve posted something here just for this special day. Well, nothing much to say. :D

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/this-day-25-years-ago-i-was-born/feed/ 7 http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/this-day-25-years-ago-i-was-born/ Back Again! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/A1Kf2Do8-O0/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/back-again/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:33:17 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1069 I’m back again to marble capital of the Philippines! Hehe.

Last week I arrived here in Odiongan, Romblon from a two month vacation. Schools are expected to open especially the state college near our shop so I left Friday. The next day I arrived and started fixing and preparing things. Including changing the layout of the shop since last May we had constructed a mini-mezzanine to cater our product inventories and other stuffs. This made the shop less cluttered. Sunday, I learned that CHED issued a postponement of all college classes on Monday and instead resume on June 15, 2009 due to A(H1N1) outbreak. The biggest college here is the only one who participated to the suspension. Seriously, it was a unnecessary decision of the school officials.

I started to return to my usual routine in the shop. Maintaining the photocopiers and desktop PC’s which I’ve always do for the past year. I brought my Windows 7 RC installer, reformatted and installed the new OS on my PC. It worked well and the installation lasts for just 30 minutes. Almost all of the programs I use are compatible with Windows 7. However, when I installed Adobe CS3, it installed this service called “Bonjour” that starts automatically when Windows starts. That screwed up my internet connection. Every time I boot my PC, I can’t connect to the internet. The problem was that I have a multiple connection problem. It took me two days to figure out the Bonjour service and how to properly disable and remove it.

I also tried and tested my Globe Tattoo Broadband here in Odiongan using my desktop PC I frequently use. To my dismay, it only registered GPRS at first but later began registering to WCDMA and HSDPA. I’m delighted to see and learned that Odiongan, Romblon has HSDPA or what they call 3.5G. However, I only had the chance to surf for minutes then I get disconnected either by the network or the device itself. My PC has this USB port problem before; having insufficient power to run large devices like my external Maxtor HDD 160GB drive. I guess the Huawei USB dongle Tattoo Stick draws a lot of power from the port and disconnects because my PC had this problem supplying the device with enough power. I don’t know how to fix this and thought I should buy a self-powered USB hub. On the other less superior PC (HP Compaq dc5100 business desktop PC), the USB ports are running normally. The USB dongle works perfectly on the HP Compaq and Globe Tattoo’s speed reached 2Mbps+ with HSDPA signal. I planned to use only Globe Tattoo to download large files from the internet since it will cost me P20/hour compared to my local DSL which is unlimited but crawling speed.

I only hope that Globe will implement their WiMax plan here. I learned Occidental Mindoro and Palawan is included in the area service locator from Globe’s website. Mindoro is just 3 hours away by ferry and from that distance I think there’s no excuse why they’ll bypass Romblon in the future. Hehe. If ever that happens, I can have unlimited internet at speeds up to 512kbps.

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/back-again/feed/ 3 http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/back-again/ Careless Whisper http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/wteW0DsBpis/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/careless-whisper/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:27:01 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1061 Last week, I never had the chance to get the latest album of Kris Lawrence in Odyssey stores in Festival, SM Muntinlupa and Starmall Alabang. The resulting delay maybe linked to the issue regarding the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili scandal which plagued the news around the country until now. Some of you already knew that Katrina Halili was the ex-girlfriend of Kris Lawrence. Coincidentally, Kris’ carrier single in his newest album entitled “Careless Whisper” which in the first released video scandal this song was played in the background while Katrina and Hayden is dancing. Yikes! My reason for buying the album has nothing to do with the current issue. Scandal or no scandal, I already planned to buy one since the line-up of the album is what interests me the most.

Okay, enough of this scandal. Yesterday, I went to Odyssey Music Store in SM Muntinlupa and looked for the album. I can’t seem to find it. I asked the counter if they had the copy of Kris Lawrence’s Moments of Love. She said “Yung Careless Whisper?, yung kay Katrina Halili?”. It didn’t surprise me that they would ask me that question. Although, it stopped me for a moment and my mind started to have this flashback of the scandal video. I said, “Yeah, I think it is”. She showed me where to look for. The people there started to open up discussions regarding the scandal and blah blah blah’s. I bought the album and then took off.

Kris Lawrence released his latest album “Moments of Love” under MCA Music featuring his carrier single “Careless Whisper”. There are 11 tracks in this album with a bonus single “Moments of Love” which brings us to 12 total tracks in his latest album. Jay-R appeared on the song “Right Here Waiting” which I think is the best song in this album. I simply like their duet especially the part where they are singing the chorus on the last part of the song. Such a great collaboration there is. “I Will Take You Forever” is another song featuring Denise Laurel. I never thought that Denise can sing until I heard their duet. “All My Life” together with Billy Crawford is another great song to listen to.

The only drawback in this album is that it lacks original song IMO. I mean all of the tracks in the album are just re-makes. I simply like to hear at least one original song from Kris Lawrence in his latest album. Nevertheless, his singing abilities plus his voice plus guest appearances from famous singers created his own version of the songs which this album is worth to buy.

Tracklist:

1. Careless Whisper
2. Suddenly
3. Right Here Waiting – Kris Lawrence featuring Jay R
4. Just Tell Me You Love Me
5. Honesty
6. All My Life – Kris Lawrence (Duet With Denise Laurel)
7. Your Song
8. Now And Forever
9. I Will Take You Forever – Kris Lawrence (Duet With Denise Laurel)
10. Without You
11. We Fall In Love Sometimes
12. Moments Of Love (Bonus Track)

Images of the album:

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/careless-whisper/feed/ 0 http://jpmonje.net/2009/06/careless-whisper/ Testing: Globe Tattoo Wireless Broadband Prepaid http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/5yOwftqv2F8/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/testing-globe-tattoo-wireless-broadband-prepaid/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 16:00:52 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1019 This is my first time to test and experience Globe Tattoo Wireless Broadband Prepaid which I bought last Sunday from Globe Business Center in SM Muntinlupa. I want to try this if it really works, surfing with faster download speeds indicated by Globe. I’m going back to Romblon this weekend and I’ll be carrying this Globe USB dongle with me. I do have wired unlimited monthly internet subscription in Romblon on our shop. However, the connection was slow especially during peak hours. The local internet provider there is powered by Smart, solely relying on its wireless signal to provide internet for local subscribers. P1500/month on 128kbps is expensive. I’ll be using this Globe Tattoo in Romblon and hopefully this could acquire HSDPA signal. According to Globe Tattoo website, the province of Romblon is covered by HSDPA. I’ll soon find out.

Before we get to my first hands on experience of this wireless internet device, I’ll give a little introduction to Globe Broadband Tattoo for those of you who never heard or seen it.

tattoo
Globe Broadband Tattoo, formerly known as Globe Visibility, uses a USB stick that works as a modem. Users simply plug the stick into their PCs or laptops to surf the Web anytime, anywhere. 3G and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology enables high-speed connectivity and fast downloads. With Globe Broadband Tattoo, users can experience speeds of up to 2 Mbps. That makes activities like social networking, chatting, blogging, emailing and even streaming music and movies much more enjoyable yet still affordable.

Note: This post is divided into four (4) pages. Click the pages below to see the next page.

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/testing-globe-tattoo-wireless-broadband-prepaid/feed/ 28 http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/testing-globe-tattoo-wireless-broadband-prepaid/ Get Your Groove On With Billy Crawford’s “Groove” Album http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/bDiSfBfRwTo/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/get-your-groove-on-with-billy-crawfords-groove-album/#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 10:54:19 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1018 I heard Billy Crawford’s new single “Steal Away” from MYX Music Channel as they showcase celebrity birthdays for the day. I also heard it on the website of Titik Pilipino under OPM News Tidbits. It sounds good and the beat is catchy like NeYo-Chris Brown music that was produced internationally. Later, I found out that his carrier single is just a remake originally popularized by Robbie Dupuis.

I never intended to buy this album yesterday when I went to SM Muntinlupa to inquire about Globe’s Tattoo Wireless Broadband Prepaid. I’m aiming for the newly released album of Kris Lawrence’s “Moments of Love” with his carrier single “Careless Whisper”. Unfortunately when I checked Odyssey in SM, they don’t have the copy of the album. I decided to go to their other branch in Festival Mall in the hopes of getting the album. Still, they don’t have the copy yet.

I saw Billy Crawford’s album on the “Newly Released” albums rack. At first I was hesitant, look around and pick some CD’s and then I was back again to Billy’s album. There are lots of people inside due to the mall-wide sale that time that I was never aware of. I give it a go and grab the copy and bought it.

Want to hear Billy Crawford’s latest single? Just listen for the clipped version of Billy Crawford’s “Steal Away” below:

Billy Crawford’s Groove Tracklist:

1. Steal Away (originally popularized by Robbie Dupuis)
2. Sexy Eyes (originally popularized by Dr. Hook)
3. Rock With You (originally popularized by Michael Jackson)
4. Let’s Groove (originally popularized by Earth, Wind & Fire)
5. Could It Be I’m Fallin’ In Love (originally popularized by The Spinners)
6. Lovely Day (originally popularized by Bill Withers)
7. You’ve Got a Friend feat. Nikki Gil (originally popularized by James Taylor)
8. How Sweet It Is (originally popularized by James Taylor)
9. Never Let Her Slip Away (originally popularized by Andrew Gold)
10. Human Nature (originally popularized by Michael Jackson)
11. One Last Cry (originally popularized by Brian McKnight)
12. Someone (originally popularized by El Debarge)
13. Mercy, Mercy Me (originally popularized by Marvin Gaye)
14. Human Nature (Acoustic Version)
15. You’ve Got a Friend feat. Nikki Gil (Acoustic Version)
16. Steal Away (Silverfilter Remix)

Here are the photos of the album cover and CD:

billy

The whole package was unique which has this hollow plastic covering I dunno how to describe it (look at the images above). I thought it was expensive by the way it looks. Hidden underneath is the CD itself on its own plastic CD cover. You can also buy his album with just the standard CD and cover. For just P300 you can have Billy Crawford’s Groove original album.

I was surprised to see that Billy and Nikki Gil had this duet for the song “You’ve Got A Friend” original song and the acoustic one. It was a splendid bonus for listeners of this album. Their remake was a nice one. Other songs may take you back to the early 60’s and 70’s and lets you groove to the tracks and reminisce those soulful music.

Final thoughts: I hope that there will be at least few originals from Billy Crawford’s album that will make it one of a kind not just remakes. Despite that, the efforts done to this album is worth buying for (worth dying for? kidding aside). I encourage those who want to have a copy to BUY ORIGINAL, please!

If you happen to have an original copy, please share to us what you think of the album.

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/get-your-groove-on-with-billy-crawfords-groove-album/feed/ 2 http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/get-your-groove-on-with-billy-crawfords-groove-album/ Charice Pempengco’s “Note To God” Performance on Oprah http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/wbIV-Rct8c8/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/charice-pempengcos-note-to-god-performance-on-oprah/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 05:41:02 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=1007 “Wow”, this is the word that came out from Oprah Winfrey after Charice performed her first US single on Oprah. She has this energy and nice powerful voice that let audiences stand up from their seats as they applaud her rendition of Dianne Warren’s “A Note To God”. Warren is also present in the show when Charice sang one of her original compositions. She described it as “amazing” and “beautiful”.

Watch two video below.

My take?

She took it to the next level. I’m completely amazed by the power of her voice. Speechless I am! :D I read from one on the video’s comments that her new single “A Note to God” already making waves in iTunes downloads. In fact, it ranked #4 based for the number of downloads. I’m looking forward to more of Charice’s upcoming singles. For Charice, Wow! Heehee.

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/charice-pempengcos-note-to-god-performance-on-oprah/feed/ 1 http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/charice-pempengcos-note-to-god-performance-on-oprah/ Personal Review of Windows 7 Release Candidate Part 2 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/UZLbMUV2Nic/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/personal-review-of-windows-7-release-candidate-part-2/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 04:10:30 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=999 This is the second part of my personal review of Windows 7 release candidate. Here, I share my first hands on experience with this upcoming OS from Microsoft. This week I learned that Windows 7 is confirmed to be available before the holiday season. Yep, Redmond guys already confirmed this official launch to be final unless something happens along the way that will postpone it. Don’t worry, this is only a typical Microsoft OS launching you should get used to. Let’s hope not. Heehee.

So, we left off from my experience installing Windows 7 RC on my laptop which work smoothly without a single glitch. Now let me share to you the noticing improvements on Windows 7 RC compared to Windows Vista on my own personal review.

Windows 7’s Newest Task bar

I love the new task bar Microsoft created onto this new OS. Not only does it do transparency, the nifty thing about this new task bar is the omission of the the text of the running application. Instead, an icon of the running application is displayed which was pretty neat. If you happen to open multiple windows of an application like Windows Explorer, those open windows will stack onto that single icon. Hovering your mouse over will open up mini preview windows that you can select which windows to focus or close. Picture below:

Nice isn’t it. Also, default applications are already pinned to the task bar when you first install this OS. This is very convenient especially if you want to access your most used application right at your task bar. You can re-arrange them in any order or un-pin them if you want. An opaque background on the icon indicates that pinned program is currently running. Another feature of this new task bar is what they called a jump list. Picture below:

Jump lists are shortcuts to recently accessed files or website depending on a particular application. For example, Internet Explorer 8. If you run IE8 and right click the icon, you will see a menu of recently visited sites. Same for Windows 7’s default applications like Windows Media Player and Paint which previews recently worked on files. Microsoft Office supports this. However, Firefox browser doesn’t support this yet so better wait for the upcoming update if they will integrate this function into their browser.

Aside from the task bar icons, Windows 7 improved the notification icons in the notification area. The date now appears below the clock. There is a new icon for the connections. Instead of a two monitor icon with a mini globe indication of a web access, the connection icon displays whether your connected via LAN cable or wireless connection. Microsoft limits the intrusiveness of notifications whether a new update or system notifications in is effect. A flag represented from the new Action Center which users can inquire of certain issues regarding automatic updates and system maintenance. Maintenance includes backup and other problems the system encountered. There are options for you to check solutions to the problems by connecting to the Microsoft website. Informs you if an update is necessary and suggests actions you would like to take. Included in the Actions Center is the Security section. Informs you if certain security protocols are turned on like firewall and windows updates. Notifies you if your anti-virus is updated and running.

Program compatibilities

General rule: If applications run smoothly in Windows Vista, then those will work just fine in Windows 7. I installed applications I normally use and all of them performed well.
There are applications on my laptop that are working fine in Windows 7. They are:

  • Firefox
  • Yahoo Messenger
  • Avast Anti-Virus
  • Microsoft Office 2007
  • FLV Player
  • Adobe CS3
  • VLC Player
  • Quicktime + iTunes
  • Limewire
  • Picasa 3
  • Winamp
  • Win RAR Archiver
  • Tuneup Utilities 2009
  • uTorrent

When it comes to games, I only tried Left4Dead. The game run much faster than on Windows Vista. Noticeable improvements are increased frame rate and reduced choppiness. On Windows Vista, I can hardly play this and the graphics usually is not good. Note: This observations were based from the laptop I’m currently using in testing Windows 7. The hardware specifications of the specific laptop is the basis for the performance of the game. For my laptop specs, read my first part review of Windows 7.

As of this writing, nothing went haywire running these applications on Windows 7. I think this OS is ready to hit the store shelves this coming holiday season.

Some galleries of Windows 7 that I screen capture using Snipping Tool:

You can also watch my video below. I took it using my camera while performing the functions of Windows 7’s new taskbar as well as other features.

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]]> http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/personal-review-of-windows-7-release-candidate-part-2/feed/ 1 http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/personal-review-of-windows-7-release-candidate-part-2/ The Making Of: Sabrina’s Upcoming Video – Superman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Jpmonjenet/~3/_WLxUCkir5s/ http://jpmonje.net/2009/05/the-making-of-sabrinas-upcoming-video-superman/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 02:20:19 +0000 Elmo http://jpmonje.net/?p=993 MCA Music Philippine’s newest singing sensation Sabrina is brewing up a new video from one of her songs in the album “I Love Acoustic“. The new single to debut soon on music channels and radio stations is a favorite hit among Filipinos. Superman (It’s Not Easy) is a contemporary rock song popularized by Five For Fighting from their album America Town which was released in year 2000.

UPDATE! MCA released the final video of Sabrina’s newest single “Superman”. Please see below “The Making Of” YouTube video.

The song comes from the superhero Superman’s point of view, although his name is never mentioned lyrically. He is portrayed as misunderstood and not as powerful as people see him, relating to ordinary people’s struggles to fit in, live up to expectations and fulfill their responsibilities. link

Here in the Philippines, the song “Superman” was included in the top ten charts both in radio airplay and requests as well as in music channels. We all are accustomed to the male voice when we encounter the title of the song. Wait ’till you hear Sabrina’s own rendition of the song. There’s no revival or remake of this song that was done by a female singer. This will be interesting to both new and previous listeners to this album.

Watch the making of the video “Superman” by Sabrina:

Watch the original finalized video of “Superman” by Sabrina:

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