It’s been a while since I last posted. Let us bring things up and running by this review post of the PowerBase C518 Charger.

I recently bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy S2 that had battery capacity of 1650mAh. I was not able to find a battery for the S2 which had more capacity so I opted to resort to portable chargers for my energy needs. That’s when I saw the PowerBase portable charger at Electronics Boutique. I had other PowerBase chargers and they work fine. That is the reason why I had no qualms in buying this C518 charger.

The PowerBase C518 Portable Charger has a capacity of 2000mAh. Do the math and you will see that its capacity is a bit higher than that of my S2 battery which could act as my backup battery on the go. I assumed that since the portable charger was 2000mAh in capacity and my battery is 1650mAh, if I used the charger to charge my empty S2 battery, I would more or less have 350mAh left in the charger while charging the S2 battery to the max. But lo and behold! I did just that but my battery was charged only up to 75% of its capacity! That is a far cry from 2000mAh specifications of the charger as stated in the manual.

I am not sure if this is a factory defect or the charger is already old or whatever. This charger has failed to live up to its expectations and is not something I would recommend to others looking for a portable charger.

If you are a fan of playing Scrabble but prefer to play games that use technology, then the new game Words With Friends should be right up your street. In this game, players are encouraged to improve their vocabularies while having fun and solving a challenge.

Words With Friends can be played in many different ways. You can play it if you have a smartphone or tablet. If you have been playing PartyPoker on your computer and a friend asks you if you want to play Words with Friends, you can play it on this device as well, via Facebook.

Therefore this game also allows players to chat with each other during play and socialise in a fun and educational environment. If you want to be adventurous, you can even play this game with strangers in a challenge that you can take part in online. It seems that Words With Friends appeals to people of all different generation, with grandparents, office workers, college and high-school students all expressing an interest in playing.

It has also become popular among celebrities, players including singer John Mayer, actor Alec Baldwin, actress Eliza Deshku and football player Terrell Owens. The convenience of this game is that it can be played across many different mobile devices, ensuring that wherever you are, there is usually some way in which you can begin playing.

For those who are really into this game, it is even possible to play Words With Friends tournaments. These can be organised via e-mail or Twitter, by reaching out to fans from various different fan sites that are spread out all over the world. A very high-profile competition like this was started by D magazine in Dallas. Players included the Bettner brothers from Texas, creators of the company Newtoy, an opera singer and a professional football player. Co-president of the National Scrabble Players Association Chris Cree, from Dallas, won the game.

So what are you waiting for? Play Words with Friends now!

I want a free PageRank shirt from Jehzlau Concepts! Jehz is giving out free PR shirts and I want one. I hope I am in time of posting this post as only 20 entries are allowed… I believe this promotion is sponsored by bloggershirts.com, an online store selling customized tshirts by Fitz (I think…).

image credit: http://www.jehzlau-concepts.com/2011/08/pagerank-t-shirt-giveaway.html?wpc=2#comments

Once again, I am selling one of my gadgets or should I say two (plus the home theater). The reason for this is I seldom use it. It is not connected to an antenna or a cable tv subscription. I only use it for movie showing or sometimes I use it to connect my laptop to for larger viewing. It has been in my possession for more than a year but is still in mint condition. Here are the specs of the items I am selling:

LCD TV
Brand: Samsung
Date bought: December 2009
Model: LA32B350
Screen Size : 32″
Resolution : 1,366 x 768
Dynamic Contrast Ratio : High

Home Theater
Brand: Samsung
Date bought: December 2009
Model: HTZ120
Total Power: 330W
Number of Channel: 5.1

Here are the items’ images as seen in my room:

Yup that’s my reflection

As you probably noticed, I didn’t install the home theater like how it’s supposed to be installed which is at the 4 corners of the room. I’m really just content with a larger sound and not into 3d and surround sound. But of course, if you buy this, that is what you should do. You should follow the setup below as outlined by Samsung itself for maximum theater enjoyment:

32″ LCD TV side view.

The home theater comes with a DVD player which can play DVDs (obviously) and CDs. MP3s and certain movie files such as movie files in the AVI format can be played via USB. It has radio streaming and 2 mic inputs.

I’m not really an expert or a geek when it comes to tvs and home theaters but if you have any questions about the items, then feel free to ask me via the comment section below.

…and I don’t want July to pass by without me posting something on this blog so here it is! Anything will do and any thoughts will pass as a post for today

Right now it is raining hard outside. It is nice to have a short nap but I am currently printing something with my old but trusted HP 915 printer. I am printing fliers for my e-loading business.

I have also just fixed the problem that is causing one of my Keyword Research tools to stop working, my Facebook message to not appear and my Foursquare to not be able to accept new friends. Apparently, the latest Java update, Java 6 Update 26, is the culprit. I removed it by reverting back to the previous restore point and everything is back to normal. Come to think of it, this post could be a short tutorial on how to fix the said problem above.

How to fix “Facebook not showing messages” and “Foursquare not able to accept friends” problem?

^^ There! I hope this post ranks for the keywords set above.

Text Message Scam in the Philippines Using “Winnings” to Lure Victims. A few seconds ago as of this writing, I received a text message on my cellphone saying:

“Congratulations!U have won 300k Pesos+Starex Van, ur Sim# as a homepartner last April.30,2011 for info:Call ds#:09427641440Dir: marcel Tan of Phil:Com.Center”

That was the text verbatim with the cases and spaces intact. I don’t judge a book by its cover so I gave the promo the benefit of the doubt and called the number mentioned.

Mr. Tan answered the phone and asked who I was. I said that I received his text about winning money and a vehicle. He asked for my name but since I was skeptical I requested that he introduce himself first. Without any hesitation he said,

“Gago ka!”

… and dropped the call.

From the onset, the text message was screaming scam. Truth be told, the guy who sent the message was a lousy scammer. Here is a list of what gave him away:

• Lousy English. Yes it is a text message but if you want to scam someone, make it look and sound professional to be more convincing.
• No DTI Promo Permit Number. Any promo or winnings in the Philippines should have this and the text message did not have one. A dead giveaway.

This is not a quick lesson on scamming but I simply want to point out how a scam text looks like. If you have received such a text message, there is a government agency to handle that. Simply log your complaint online via the DTI complaint page or call them at (02)7513330.

If you have similar experiences, please share them below via a comment so we can act on this together. You could post the message they sent you and the number they used to send you the message so that vigilant users can see this page and hopefully be protected from these scams.

You might have had this experience. You wanted to buy a gadget. You looked for it. You found it. You opted to pay for it via credit card and then pay it in full later so you get bonus points (or whatever feature/benefit the credit card has…). You found out that it was more expensive to pay for it via cc than to pay for it via cash. The seller said it was their “promo” but are they telling the truth?

Most of the time no. There is no such thing as a discounted price when using cash as a means to pay. Actually, it is illegal to have 2 different price tags for the same product or service according to Article 81 of Republic Act 7394. If you encounter a merchant practicing this, then you can report it to DTI via their hotline number 7513330.

Now, I’ve encountered this malpractice firsthand. I went to Lim Dental & Orthodontic Clinic in Pacita to get my teeth checked. To cut the story short, I’ve acquired their services for a root canal on one of my teeth and their price for that is P3,500. When I was about to pay, I said that I’ll use my credit card and instantly they said that I would have to pay a surcharge of 6% of the total amount. That would be 3500 * 1.06 = 3710, an extra P210! I knew about Article 81 and mentioned it to them and asked what the 6% was for. They said that the bank was charging them for every credit card swipe and thus they would have to increase their price. That could be true but the point is they are breaking the law. They should shoulder that 6% as part of their business expenses and not burden their customers.

Having said that, this post is not meant to discourage you to avail of their service. No, on the contrary they do have good dentists and they have been in the business for quite sometime now. I won’t even report them to DTI as I’ve been availing of their services for half a decade now. This post is simply meant to inform you and anyone reading (is there anyone reading? lolz) this post and is thinking of going there for a dental appointment to simply use cash to pay. If you use your credit card, then you would be paying more than you should. I use my credit card because I collect points (Mabuhay Miles) or simply to avail of cash rebates (1%) and then pay it off in full. If you are using your credit card for credit which is the worst way to use a credit card, then stop there. Don’t do it as you might fall into the debt trap.

Going back to the topic, having different price tags for cash and credit is illegal. If you want to report such a violation, you can call DTI at 7513330. For more information on this, check out the links below:

http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/cash-credit-card-prices/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/10/17/10/credit-card-surcharges-are-unlawful-says-dti

This post is a bit late but like they say better late than never!

I’d like to welcome the latest member of our family, Jaten Caezar G. Ramos! He first saw the light of day last March 16 2011 at around 9:45AM. He was born in MCM, Medical Center Muntinlupa, and incurred a bill of 42k++ PHP, lolz. But all that money was money well spent. He is the flag-bearer of the Ramos clan and the savior of our bloodline. And he means the world to me and my wife

As of this writing, he is now sleeping soundly in his bed. But he will wake up anytime now to demand for his food! He drinks/eats around 3oz of milk and defecates 3 times a day. In other words, he is a healthy baby boy. He is also on his way to speaking his first words as he now rambles a lot.

He can now turn sideways meaning we have to put pillows on his two sides so as not to let him fall off the bed. Or better yet, we’ll put him in the crib. This also means there is little time left before he starts crawling! But I don’t expect him to walk until 6 months.

So basically that’s it with Jaten. I’m thinking of creating a website under his name but that is still in the back-burner so to speak.

Shakey’s If It’s Late It’s Free – A Scam? Is this a scam? Probably, probably not. But what I am sure of is that Shakey’s uses various “dirty” tactics so they won’t have to honor their statement. There are others who have been duped as well.

Here’s one who had his shakey’s pizza delivered late but was not able to get the pizza free. He argued with the delivery boy but to no avail. He did not get the pizza free and was not called back upon. Talk about bad customer service.

Then there’s this other incident involving another blogger. She ordered a Shakey’s pizza and as usual the delivery was late. At first, she and the delivery guy argued. The delivery guy said he was on time but according to the blogger’s timing, he was late. Eventually, they brought in the delivery guy’s supervisor and Shakey’s gave in. The pizza was free but not after a long argument.

In my case, I’ve ordered a couple of times from Shakey’s and they always come late. Before, I didn’t mind. But now I’m a bit pissed off. This is because I ordered 2 party-size pizzas just now. And together with my Supercard, that would mean 2 extra party-size pizzas. To cut the story short, the order-taker got my order and we synchronized our watches. She said that the delivery would arrive after 45 minutes. I was still happy then.

However, after roughly 10 minutes, the order-taker (or someone from Shakey’s), called me back and said that the delivery time would need to be adjusted. She said that the pizzas I ordered would be delivered after 1 hour and 15 minutes!!! It would have been fine if they did not have that “If It’s Late It’s Free” slogan/tagline (whatever you call it…). But adjusting the time, for me, is cheating given that they have issued a “challenge” to their consumers. Add all those up and I would get my pizza after 1 hour and 30 minutes since I first called 77777 (1hr15mins new time + 10mins lag time between first order time and time when order-taker called back + 5mins discussion between me and order-taker).

Right now I am still waiting for the pizzas to arrive. Roughly 30 minutes have passed since I’ve put down the phone. If they arrive late, I will insist that I get my pizzas free. If not, then Shakey’s has still made a bad name for itself. I can’t help but compare how Pizza Hut always delivers their pizzas on time.

To recap, here is the list of Shakey’s dirty tactics so that they do not have to honor their “If It’s Late It’s Free” slogan:

• Delivery guy adjusts their watch so they can say that they delivered on time
• Delivery guy gets help from supervisor to back him up and say that you are the one at fault with the wrong timing
• Delivery guy says that he/they will call back and settle the issue but does/do not
• Order-taker “cheats” by adjusting delivery time so as to not break their “If It’s Late It’s Free” slogan

How to Make Your Laptop Faster. When we buy a new laptop, we get to enjoy it in the first few months. But after 3-4 months, the laptop seems slower. Another few more months and it is as if you are running a Pentium 486. What happened? One factor could be your laptop’s cleanliness. Yes, how clean your laptop is can have a bearing on your laptop’s performance, but what we are talking about here is its internal cleanliness.

As you might or not be aware of, dust is the number 1 enemy of electronics. If you have a dusty motherboard and dirty CPU fan, then chances are your laptop is running slow. Not because you have faulty electronics but simply because they are dirty. This also causes laptop overheating. Hence, one way to make your laptop run faster is to clean it from the inside. There are various tools for doing so and since you’ll be cleaning your laptop’s electronic components, you might as well clean the whole laptop!

Here are the tools I use to clean my laptop inside and out and ultimately make my laptop run faster:

The image above shows my laptop and the various cleaning tools I use. From the top left (below the laptop) going clockwise, the items are as follows:

• Sprayway Clean Jet 100 – This is the most important tool of all. It blows off dust at a high pressure for maximum cleaning.
• WD-40 – To help unscrew tight bolts.
• Cyber Clean – A gel-like substance to clean hard to get places like the cavities of your keyboard. A complete review can be found here.
• Cotton buds – To clean off sticky dust.
• Brush – Use this to brush off anything from electronic parts.
• Soft cloth – Used to clean the laptop’s screen.
• Screw driver – Make sure this fits the screw heads of the laptop.

I won’t be explaining how to clean your laptop step by step but the tools I mentioned above should suffice. As I already said, the Sprayway Clean Jet 100 is the most important one of all. If you feel like not opening your laptop but simply want to clean your CPU fan then this is the tool to do it. A few sprays from it can clear off the dust blocking the exhaust pathway and clean the fan itself.

Based from my personal experience, cleaning my laptop caused my laptop to run much faster. It went from going blue screen after 20-30 minutes of intense gaming to uninterrupted gaming experience. Or if you are like me, I can leave my software running overnight without me worrying about the laptop suddenly shutting down because it is too hot.