Not Quite Techie

LAN Party Xtreme 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:39:00 +0000

Another component of the Davao Cyber Expo 2008 this year is the LAN Party Xtreme, also organized by DC Warez. 27 participants, some coming from as far as Iligan and Marawi hauled their souped up, ultra pimped hardware to the NCCC Mall of Davao.Some of the stuff there cost PhP100,000 - P300,000. EXTREME INDEED!

The LAN Party-goers also enjoyed some games such as the speed contest, and they got to compare notes with other hardware enthusiasts and even suppliers and industry people.

I'm not much of a techie (NOT QUITE, right?) but I was amazed at the sleek monitors, keyboards, ultra fast mice, giant mousepads, and pimped CPUs.

Til the next LAN Party. ;)

Photos taken using the N95.

N95

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:37:00 +0000

I have never had a hi-tech phone. I have three phones (all Nokia) but none of them have a camera or any such things. For quite some time I have been eyeing a PDA phone because I badly need one to juggle everything I do. Testing an N95 8GB is the next best thing to owning my own PDA phone.

The N95 is a combination of the following:

an MP3 player
a handy video/multimedia player
a PDA (that's Personal Digital Assistant)
a cellphone
a digital camera
a portable web browser
a super flash drive with 8gb memory

It's so nice. Bigger than I'm used too but the features more than compensate for it's bulkiness.

Here are some features I wish it had:

number screening
insert number for SMS messaging

The inbox also has a tendency to re-arrange the order of messages even if I sort and re-sort it by date the order of messages is still weird. And it doesn't have pre-installed games, not even Snake. :( And no pre-installed themes.

But what the heck, I love the phone because it is very useful for many things and it can do multiple tasks at the same time. It fits my multi-tasking lifestyle. :)

Upcoming: N95 8GB Trial

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:11:00 +0000

See that beauty up there? That's an N95 8gb phone. In a few weeks, a unit will arrive at my doorstep.

Unfortunately, I won't get to keep it for long. WOM World is sending it to me to try out for a couple of weeks only. But I'm excited already.

Here are some of the reasons why:

It's a "multimedia computer"
As the name suggests, it has 8 gb of INTERNAL MEMORY!
It has integrated GPS and Nokia maps
It has a web browser
The user can surf the net in portrait or landscape view
The user can connect via bluetooth, a USB 2.0 port, or wireless LAN (WiFi!)
It has a music player and an FM radio (but I don't really listen to FM, BAH!)
It has a 5 megapixel camera (CAMWHORING TIME!)
It can shoot DVD quality videos for my new video blogging hobby
It supports RSS feeds

MY OH MY! I will be busy those weeks it will be with me! :D

My üMobile

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:54:00 +0000

After weeks of hearing about the Manila launching, and after missing the Cebu launch, my üMobile SIM is now here. YEY! I was invited to the Cebu launch but uhmmm... couldn't afford the fare, LOL! So I thought I wouldn't get a SIM anymore.

But last week, I got a call from üMobile's courier asking me when and where they could deliver my SIM. I got couple of confirmation SMS and calls yesterday, asking if I would be able to receive my SIM today. They reminded me to prepare a photocopy of my valid ID.

A few minutes before 3 pm today, they delivered my SIM. YEY!

And contrary to prior reports, the SIM works on a non-3G phone. I have tried sending an SMS to both Smart and Globe. Smart received the message right away. Globe... uhmmm, it has been more than 10 minutes, and it hasn't received my SMS yet. But I'm not yet counting it as a üMobile problem since I just received a Globe to Globe SMS, 1 hour late. LOL!

I'm thinking of maybe junking my SUN SIM for my üMobile since 4 phones would be too much already. (YUP, I have 3 now. :P)

PS ü = Alt+129 Reference Link

A Guide to Creating an i.ph Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:08:00 +0000

So you want to have your own blog, but don't really know how to make one?

Here's a tip for all you aspiring Pinoy bloggers out there, sign up with i.ph. i.ph is the perfect blog host for bloggers who want to have a personalized domain but don't have the moolah for it.

Here's a little step-by-step guide on how you can sign up for i.ph...

Step 1: Go to i.ph... type http://www.i.ph on your browser's address bar or simply click on this link. Then, click on the Sign up now button!

Step 2: Fill up the online registration form.

After filling it up, you will see this...

Step 3: Log in to your email, and check your inbox.

(If the activation email is not in your inbox, check your bulk or spam folder.)

Open the actvitation email, and click on the activation link.

i.ph will then activate your account and blog.

Step 4: TADAAA...

You now have an i.ph account and blog!!! CONGRATULATIONS!

Now some tips and notes for maintaining your i.ph blog...

Your Menu

Your Dashboard

The Pop-out Writing Box where you compose your entries
(Take note of the visual editing buttons for formatting. ;))

This is how it looks like when you "Turn Edit ON"

And this is how my i.ph blog looked like after some minor editing and after I published my first post!!!

Want your own i.ph blog? Sign up na... NOW NA at i.ph!

Privacy Policy Statement

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:56:00 +0000

Privacy Policy Statement
This is the web site of Maria A. Jose.
Our postal address is
CVA Building, CM Recto Street
Davao City 8000

We can be reached via e-mail at riajose@gmail.com or you can reach us by telephone at 6382-2278131.

For each visitor to our Web page, our Web server automatically recognizes IP Address.

We collect the e-mail addresses of those who post messages to our bulletin board, aggregate information on what pages consumers access or visit.

The information we collect is used for internal review and is then discarded, used to improve the content of our Web page.

With respect to cookies: We use cookies to store visitors preferences, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, alert visitors to new areas that we think might be of interest to them when they return to our site, record past activity at a site in order to provide better service when visitors return to our site , ensure that visitors are not repeatedly sent the same banner ads.

If you do not want to receive e-mail from us in the future, please let us know by sending us e-mail at the above address.

From time to time, we make the e-mail addresses of those who access our site available to other reputable organizations whose products or services we think you might find interesting. If you do not want us to share your e-mail address with other companies or organizations, please let us know by calling us at the number provided above.

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From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future we will post the policy changes to our Web site to notify you of these changes and we will use for these new purposes only data collected from the time of the policy change forward. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our Web site periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to no information that we have collected and that we maintain about them.

Upon request we offer visitors no ability to have factual inaccuracies corrected in information that we maintain about them.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact The DMA's Committee on Ethical Business Practices at mgoldberger@the-dma.org.

Google Page Rank

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Sun, 25 May 2008 13:21:00 +0000

About once a month, bloggers go into a frenzy because of Google Page Rank (PR) updates. Some are happy that they have increased PR, while others complain that they have decreased.

I, myself, have experienced the highs and lows of following my blogs PRs. But while I understand (A BIT) what it is, a lot still don't quite get what it is and what it means.

Enter Blogie Robillo...

It's quite a simple view and explanation of what Google PR is. We do not mean to misinterpret or misrepresent Google or Google Page Rank. This is how we see it and how we interpret it. I hope we clarified things for people (like me) who never really understood what PR is.

Animoto: Creating Slideshows for You

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:20:00 +0000

You want to make an exciting slideshow of photos you want to embed on Friendster, Multiply, or your blog but don't know how to?

Head to Animoto, sign up for an account and it simplifies slideshow making for you. You just upload your photos, upload your music (or choose from their audio library), and they make the slideshow, and the do the rendering for you. NEAT, HUH?

Here's my first Animoto slideshow...

It's not as I want it to be, but the process of making it was fuss-free.

So I chose my photos carefully the next time I tried it out...

Wooo... a better video! :)

ANIMOTO AMAZING!

Thanks to Jeric for the tip!
Photos by Me, Kuya Andrew, and Ms. Jojie Alcantara.

Microsoft Excel: Percentages and Absolute Reference Cells

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:23:00 +0000

Without further ado, here's my first entry...

The video aims to provide a tutorial for Microsoft Excel users on how to:

Format a Column to display percentage values
Encode formulas to contain Absolute Reference Cells

I will explain more later.

Was it clear? Vague? Confusing? Please don't hesitate to give your comments and suggestions.

Not So Techie???

noreply@blogger.com (Ria Jose) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:52:00 +0000

Sooo, you're wondering why a Not So Techie Girl like me has decided to start a blog giving techie tips and advice? Why? Because I want to share what little techie skills and knowledge I have to encourage non-techies that they too can survive in the techie world.

In this blog, I will share some practical tips on

Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and Access
Windows Movie Maker
ULead Video Studio
Snag It
Google Mail, You Tube, and other Google Apps
Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger
Basic SEO for non-SEO professionals
WordPress and Blogger
Picasa, Photobucket, Flickr
Canon Ixus 70 (that's my cam)
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Image Ready
Nokia phones
Mozilla Firefox

And other such programs, applications, and software.

Expect that my demos, tutorials, and advice will be using layman's terms and not-so-technical jargon that may or may not be easily understood by everybody. Please be patient. :)

Comment, suggestions, and violent reactions are very much welcome. :)

Love lots,

Your Not Quite Techie Girl Ria Jose :)