A while back, their modem used to be PPPOE (where you need a username password and dial to go online) and now has moved to a DHCP (always online and no username password required) connection. With the PPPOE (Dynamic IP), our DVR setup was pretty easy, the modem was on bridge mode, our router handled everything with DDNS to Dyndns.org and everything streamed fine.

However, with the recent change to BayanDSL’s new router modem, the modem was not allowed to go bridge mode (you can set it, but it will lose connection) to which BayanDSL have confirmed via tech support.

Bayandsl’s new Modem-Router can’t stream DVR online (2 routers)

The Setup: (2 Routers)

Modem Router -> Router -> DVR

I’ve tried many different setups like:

• 1st Router to bridge mode (connection dropped)
• Port forwarding from 1st router to 2nd router and to the DVR (Couldn’t connect, port not open)
• 2nd Router to bridge mode and NAT and DHCP handled by 1st Router (Couldn’t connect online, but port is open)

The Solution: Change BayanDSL’s modem, new DHCP modem only

**Update: Unfortunately, BayanDSL has delivered the other DHCP modem only and it still is a router (just without a WIFI)! It will still have the same problem. The Solution is listed at the update below!

As I have spent endless hours checking online and calling tech support (They were clueless to this stuff and was upselling their static IP which was way slower and more expensive), I’ve just started to give up and thought of another way. Downgrade my modem-router to just a modem, which hopefully will allow bridge mode that would allow me to connect to DVR with ease. I’ve learned a lot from playing around and trying to make it work, DVRs may look complicated but it is really a very simple machine.

Has anyone been able to make their DVR stream over 2 or more routers?

**Update: I was able to make it work! it was via these settings:

Modem Router -> Router (bridge mode) -> DVR

Modem Router Port forwards port 50 and 9000 to DVR’s IP address

Also, Bayandsl doesn’t allow you to connect to your own IP, but when tested from another internet connection, it works!

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How to fix no service problem of iPhone iOS 5

1. Get a Case – it might just be a case of the Death Grip problem of iPhone, so buy yourself one.
2. Reset Network Settings – Just go to Settings>General>Reset and then chose Reset Network Settings. **Note: if you do this, all the passwords of the wifi you have input will be gone.
3. Turn on 3G and Cellular Data – Go to Settings>General>Network and then turn on 3G and Cellular Data. **Note: The disadvantage of doing this is that you might be charged for data usage and less battery life, be aware.
4. Reset All Settings – Just go to Settings>General>Reset and then choose Reset All Settings. **Note: All your settings will be reset to default, I don’t recommend doing this and do this as the LAST RESORT. Also, some have reported to have the same problem after this, your iPhone might need to be downgraded or replaced.
5. Downgrade your iPhone – I haven’t experienced or researched much about this but if your iPhone was working before upgrading to iOS5 then this might be the solution you could do.

I found that solution 3 helped me fix no service problem of iPhone iOS 5, I recently upgraded to the unlimited surfing (Unlisurf from Globe) and haven’t encountered the problem ever since. So do check it out if it works out for you.

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Now here’s a really cool iPhone app that us, Filipinos, would appreciate communicating with others internationally. Imagine being able to chat with other nationality and language without changing your own or theirs… The new Transfire, the instant messaging with translation services…

Transfire iPhone App

Let’s say for instance, you have a cousin in United States who only speaks English. You are located in Philippines and only speak Filipino. With Transfire, you can now send and receive chat messages translated in real-time. “Maligayang Kaarawan!” you write and “Happy Birthday!” appears in your cousin’s phone. “Thank you,” he responds and you receive a message saying, “Salamat sa inyo.”

Transfire XP brings the first chat and instant-messaging app with real-time, translated text.  The application features a user-friendly interface, fast message delivery, and supports over 50 languages.  There are many options to connect with your friends and contacts.  Transfire XP finds contacts on your local phone or device, and supports contacts from gchat and Yahoo Messenger. Support for more chat platforms will soon be added, including Facebook, ICQ, Baidu and many more.

The incredibly fast and accurate translation is made possible by integrating Google Translate with Transfire’s own custom instant and chat-messaging service enabled with push notifications.  Eliminate the language barrier from your social network and stay connected with friends and family across the world.

 
Transfire users come from a wide-range of places for a variety of uses. The app is enjoyed by social chatters, travelers, international businesspeople, language students, and more. “The use of chat applications continues to grow as a replacement for text messaging. Transfire is on it’s way to becoming the gold-standard in instant messaging and translation for your iPhone.
 
So those who’d like to try it out, try to go to appstore and check Transfire XP.

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There are a whole lot of top video games (in 2012) that have been confirmed and whether you are a working person in an office or still in your first few years of life, there is something for everyone on the way. Here is my pick of the top video games in 2012.

Top Video Games 2012 – GTA V

Although hardly anything has been revealed about the brand new Grand Theft Auto game (2012 release hasn’t even been confirmed as of yet) it is safe to say that if this game is coming out this year, it will be one that stands a fantastic chance at becoming game of the year and selling the most.

The only thing that has been confirmed so far is the setting as well as the fact that it looks like planes are back and the return of the big map seen in San Andreas (although reports are suggesting it won’t be empty land like a lot of it was). An official release from Rockstar stated “it’s Los Santos and the surrounding countryside – and a very big map”.

Top Video Games 2012 – Halo 4

Once again not much has been revealed about Halo 4 and will no doubt not be revealed until E3 this year. The trailer of course features Master Chief and Cortana and as of yet these are the only two characters confirmed for the game (who cares about anyone else anyway??).  Players can expect more supreme storytelling and multiplayer action than ever before when the game is released fall 2012.

Remember that this is the first full game (excluding Halo Anniversary) that 343 Industries have worked on within the Halo franchise so they are really going to go for it for the first game in the confirmed new trilogy.

Top Video Games 2012 – The Last Of Us

There seems to be a common theme with these titles but once again very little has been revealed on The Last Of Us other than it is a survival horror game and that the graphics look incredible. You might be thinking that we have more survival horrors than we actually need on consoles at the moment but when developers Naughty Dog (Uncharted series) come into play, you should now be interested!

This game is shaping up to be a fantastic Playstation 3 exclusive.

Top Video Games 2012 – Hitman: Absolution

The Hitman series has been gone for six years now and was long overdue another game. One of the best parts of the Hitman games is that you can choose how to complete your mission in a number of different ways. For instance, if you want to kill the milkman, dress in his clothes to get into the house to take out your target then you can do. On the other hand, you can also just go in guns blazing and take everyone out as quick as possible, the choice is yours!

Another game can only boost the popularity of the series and it would be good to see how Agent 47’s world comes to life once more in 2012.

Top Video Games 2012 – Far Cry 3

In all honesty, I am still struggling to complete Far Cry  2 due to the fact you seem to be constantly under attack from everyone in the game. On the other hand, that isn’t do say I don’t dislike the second game and it is a fantastic game with awesome fire effects and a real sense of tension. The third title looks to take ideas from both the first and second game and combine them into a game that no one has ever seen before.

These are just some of the fantastic titles that are on the way this year and is by no means a complete list. Others include Mass Effect 3, BioShock Infinite, Max Payne 3, Luigi’s Mansion 2, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and on top of all of this we have two confirmed hardware launches in the Playstation Vita and Wii U.

2012 is a big year for gaming and it doesn’t matter if you work in office space or are in retirement, there will be a game for you!

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Recently, my iPhone just went pass 1 year and do you know what that means? Well my iPhone‘s warranty is over, I’m on my own. With that, I’ve started to think more boldly about getting my device jailbreaked, and so I did. One of the coolest thing I found was how to get in-app purchases for free!

Disclaimer: You need a jailbroken iOS device to get Free in-app purchase to work.

First of all, I’d like to apologize to developers for this, but I really have to share it as I really did find it very cool.

Here’s how to get Free in-app purchase to iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the app called “Cydia”
2. Go to the “Search” Tab
3. Search for “iap cracker“
4. You should see it in the search results (via modmyi.com)
5. Install the app in Cydia and restart your phone (it’ll request to restart your spring board)
6. Go to any app or game and tap any item that they have in their in app purchase
7. You’ll notice that in most apps, it’ll give you a success message on your purchase.

• **Important note: if the free in-app purchase asks for your iTunes Id and password then it is not supported, so do not proceed to purchase unless you’re really willing to pay for it =).

I’m still exploring my newly jailbroken iOS 5.01. A lot of cool features and free apps to explore.

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A Sony 3d TV coupled with a PS3 means NBA 2k12 for me, just when I thought that was perfect, well NBA 2k12 came with a 3d support. I was extremely happy about it so I bought a copy and here’s what I experienced when I tried it.

The effects were really cool, the crowd were in 3d and as the game started the players were also in 3d. Playing the first 5 minutes, it felt really darn cool to have. But somewhere in the 2nd Quarter (I play 5 minutes per quarter), I just feel really dizzy and couldn’t keep up with the movements of the players.

I realized that 3d effects are cool, but probably not for NBA. I played Granturismo 5 in 3d without getting dizzy but NBA 2k12 just pushed me not to use it. I guess 3d really isn’t for every game, playing it in HD in a 55 inch is still very cool (I used to play in a 40 inch with a PC connection with medium settings as my PC slows down).

What I’m going to try next is to play it in a 120 inch HD projector I have installed, this will surely be a crazy and fun experience lol.

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I was just married recently, and it was the most hectic few months of my life (I’ll skip thru this part, it isn’t tech related lol). Anyways, I was really blessed to have received a Sony 3d TV as a present and it has been one of my shiny new toy at home (I’ll tell the rest later). I always thought that 3d on tv sucked badly and some electronic shop owners also agreed with me, but once you have one sitting in front of you, your views will start to change.

It was very difficult transitioning from a Samsung series 5 TV to a Sony 3d TV, the whole interface was completely different and all the buttons (especially the names) were not that straight forward. I missed my Samsung TV’s capability to play movies directly from my external hard drive and how easy it was to use. But as I start to explore the world of Sony, here’s what I found so far:

Sony 3d TV came with a Home theater sound system (5.1), Playstation 3, 2 x 3d glasses, 1 PS3 game (Granturismo 5) and 1 Blueray 3d film (Green Hornet). The Playstation 3 part kind of got me more into it, I was thinking NBA 2k12!

3d glasses were really cool, it’s just like watching 3d in the cinema but at the comfort of your own place. The effects were more appreciated and HD felt like a thing of the past (LOL). However, 3d movies are pretty expensive to buy and the worse part is that it’s not easy to download one either (the titles that I like are 10GB above).

Media player sucks though, it only reads Fat32 format which only allows files at 4.5GB largest. So watching downloaded 3d movies have to be cut into several videos of 4.5GB each to watch on your ps3. Or just buy yourself a new Popcorn media player that has 3d capabilities (that’s what I’m about to buy later on…).

The “Home” button. Samsung never had one (with the series 5 I had), but the Home button is pretty cool. It’s somehow like a browser of whatever can be done to your tv in your screen, from the skype to browsing thru Youtube or changing channels or sources.

I’m still exploring Sony 3d TV right now, it’s not the easiest to navigate into but I’m certainly learning more each day about it. I’ve also just bought a few new games for ps3, so I’ll update again later soon.

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The first key to making intuitive websites consists of understanding  the true goals of your enterprise. If the website’s purpose is to represent a business, think about how your online presence will truly help. Will traffic drive sales or awareness? Will you cause ripples in trending content or be a hub linking to it? There are three major goals business websites can accomplish: to brand the business, generate leads, and make direct sales online. Decide which of these approaches is most suitable considering your resources. Then, look at other websites that are similar to your ideal website. This doesn’t mean they have to be the same type of business. What is most important is whether the website is accomplishing the same goals. Now analyze how their website’s design meets those goals. Of course, you shouldn’t copy specific elements of these websites; rather, you should try to grasp the principles underlying their design decisions.

Most of these websites you find successful will have a number of traits in common. These include simplicity of navigation, consistency of navigation, and fast performance.

Website navigation should be visually simple; this is extremely crucial to making the website feel intuitive. If users feel they have to go digging around or strain their eyes to find things, they will quickly become annoyed with the site. The website should communicate in some way exactly where on the site the user is at all times. Changing the page title is a common way of doing this. On more complex sites, breadcrumb navigation can help the user find specific subdirectories easily. Too many colors in the navigation can make it difficult for one’s eyes to follow. Navigation should be consistent from page to page.

Finally, as Google’s tests have shown, web surfers respond well to performance. Fast, reliable web service helps make websites feel more intuitive. This is especially important if your website contains elements that dynamically update; if this process takes too long, the user might start to think something went wrong and become confused. Excellent web hosts that can provide that service can be found at thetop10bestwebhosting.com. This site is also a good example of the intuitive web design practices mentioned above.

Through the history of the World Wide Web, more intuitive websites have consistently won out over less intuitive websites that had similar goals. Intuitiveness is a crucial attribute of any website. Employing simple, consistent navigation, focus, and fast performance can make it happen.

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 One of the coolest things I found out was about Cashsense, I was invited to their prelaunch event (a while back). And now they’re back with bigger and better plans which I believe is really beneficial to people who send remittances to the Philippines. So here’s all about Cashsense Remittances Philippines…

I personally receive funds from abroad, the biggest challenge sometimes is to physically go to the bank or remittance center, endure the long queues and be charged high up fees (and not to mention my losses on exchange rates). Before in the UK, I was used to paying and receiving everything online and it took me quite a while to adjust to paper and pen when I got back home. So Cashsense, for me, was really cool.

Our Remittances from OFW towards the Philippines currently faces these challenges:

• Credit Card is required to complete an immediate remittance transaction
• You have to Physically go to the remittance center to send money
• Expensive Fees
• Time delay on Remittances Philippines
• Security on carrying the physical cash (talk about the number of holdups in the news!)

Here’s where I found Cashsense to be different:

• Users who register an account with them automatically receives a free VISA ATM card.
• Be able to pay to more than 20,000 bank branches in 18 countries (adding more monthly) and Domestic Transfer (All done online, in your homes!)
• Pay received in minutes! Can be withdrawn in any 10,000 ATMs nationwide (via the Free VISA ATM card), transferred to bank accounts, door to door or pick up.
• 1 Flat Fee! (like Western Union) and great exchange rates (check their website for more info)

Aside from the Remittances in the Philippines, what I really find cool about Cashsense is their free VISA ATM card which promotes E-Commerce in the Philippines. Most of us here are afraid of transacting online, afraid that we might get hacked and all our money will be gone thus stopping online buyers from buying. Here’s something like a prepaid credit card, move all your funds somewhere and use it to buy stuff online. This way you can limit risks and get the stuff you want delivered to your doorstep!

I like what Cashsense is doing, not only are they helping our fellow OFWs abroad in sending their hard earned money to their families. But also helping local businesses into more advanced way of shopping for our people and promotes more online purchases.

By the way, for those who are looking for an affiliate program for the Philippines. Cashsense is offering an Affiliate Program where you earn money for the remittances you send to them. Check it out.

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E-Commerce in the developed countries are a really big business, but here in the Philippines, it has only in the beginning stages. Many people here still don’t believe that shopping online is secure, and when it comes to buying from online merchants, you probably can say at least one incident that you’ve heard that the merchant was bogus. However, I believe all of that could change, thanks to Shopinas.com Online Shopping Portal in the Philippines!

When you say shop online, one thing that pops into the minds of Filipinos is Multiply. But there are a lot of concerns which are:

• Anyone can open an account and post pictures, not all sellers are credible
• Credibility is measured via ratings, therefore there’s a slim chance that a new comer could gain trust easily (High barriers to entry)
• Shops all look the same (changing templates is difficult to some)
• Payment is done via meetup, bank deposit, paypal, etc. (Slow and potentially unsecure, inefficient use of your time)
• What happens when they send or give you the wrong product or cons you?

I share these concerns with many Filipino Shoppers and find it very difficult to simply trust whoever sells what. But Shopinas.com has got an answer for those concerns. Shopinas is a portal where “Sellers” can open up Shops to sell their products to “buyers”.  Here’s the difference:

• Not everyone can open a shop, people need to submit I.D.’s to Shopinas office to open one
• Credibility is not an issue, as Shopinas acts as somehow a guarantor to the merchant’s credibility. Therefore new shops have a lot of opportunity to sell.
• They have cool new templates that look 2.0-ish and looks pretty modern than what I’ve seen so far locally.
• Payment is done via credit card, thru their secure system. (No more bank deposits etc.). Prepaid credits are also available, so those who are hesitant to use their cards can use this!
• There are no Transaction Fees! (They earn from logistics from Air21).
• Since shops are legit, there’s really small chance of being conned by bogus sellers.
• Being part of Air 21, this ensures that Shopinas is able to deliver your products at a good cost and with faster times.

It’s really cool that a Filipino Company has finally ventured into E-Commerce and has done great improvements to encourage purchasing items online. I have browsed thru the shops and have been quite amazed by the number of local brands that have joined them ever since they started. The website is only about 1 1/2 year old but it seems to be gaining good traction.

I’m really really excited to see this company grow and become the premier online shopping portal in the Philippines, I can see only big things for them. They are also heavily promoting their website by having a team in the PBA called Shopinas Clickers (LOL, love the name!). I was also honored to have met Shiela Lina, CEO of Shopinas, via our Blogapalooza Event as one of the sponsors. Expect more improvements from Shopinas, they’re listening to your feedback…

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