Laboratory Sandbox

Less Used Facebook Privacy Settings

2013-05-20T06:10:01-07:00

Facebook privacy is a hot issue but let’s face it, this social-network service has become a very important part of our networking lives. Our family relatives, friends, acquaintances, and even business contacts are using Facebook. But so are the unwanted, the annoying, the trolls, and those people who loves to piss us off yet we do not want to be harsh against them.

Blocking and reporting them aside, are there other ways to keep them off our timeline and status updates without totally alienating them, or worst, let them know about it?

There is or are. We are going to combine the different not-so-obvious features of Facebook to enable us to control who gets to see our status updates, our shares, and even who gets to comment and tag people.

Get a coffee or tea because this is going to take a few minutes. Ready?

Obviously, before you follow the instructions below, be sure you have logged-in to your Facebook account. Done?

Option I: Facebook Privacy Settings

Click on the wheel icon in the upper-right corner of your Facebook screen, then click on “Privacy Settings” (see Figure 1.1)

Figure 1.1
Once you are in the “Privacy Settings and Tools” page, you have to change the following settings (see Figure 1.2)

Figure 1.2
1. Who can see my stuff?
  - Who can see your future posts? – Set this to “Friends”.
    
    Figure 1.3
    
    The setting above is overridden if you change your post privacy when making a new post or re-share (see Figure 1.3)
  - Limit the audience for posts you’ve shared with friends of friends or Public? – This is optional but strongly suggested. What this option does is set all your past status updates to: “Friends”, including your apps (more on this later).
2. Who can look me up?
  - Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided? – Set this to “Friends” to reduce the number of people finding you on Facebook.
    For example, I am trying to find out who owns a particular phone number. All I have to do is to enter it in Facebook search and it will show the accounts with that number. If you set this to “Friends”, then only your existing Facebook friends will receive a successful search result.

Option II: Timeline and Tagging

Figure 2.1

Now click on “Timeline and Tagging” on the left side menu of Facebook (it is just under the “Privacy” tab)
Once there, just set the following to my suggested settings (see Figure 2.1), of course you can set it differently, but for now set it based on my suggestions.
1. Who can add things to my timeline?
  - Who can post on your timeline? – Set to “Friends”
  - Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your timeline? – Set to “On”
2. Who can see things on my timeline?
  - Who can see posts you’ve been tagged in on your timeline? – Set to “Friends”
  - Who can see what others post on your timeline? – Set to “Friends”
3. How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?
  - Review tags people add to your own posts before the tags appear on Facebook? – Set to “On”
  - When you’re tagged in a post, who do you want to add to the audience if they aren’t already in it? – Set to “Friends”.
    This means that your other friends who weren’t tagged in the same post you were tagged in, can also see the post. But being able to comment on that tagged post depends on the settings of the original post-owner.
  - Who sees tag suggestions when photos that look like you are uploaded? – Set this to “Friends”. Useful to avoid photo-tag spammers.

Option III: Blocking

Figure 3.1

Again, on the left side menu, click on “Blocking” (just below “Timeline and Tagging”)
There are many useful blocking features in this tab, but for now we are only concerned on “Restricted List” (see Figure 3.1)
This is a very useful feature that is more appropriate to be placed in the “Privacy” tab. Any connected friends you put in the “Restricted List” will only see posts you made “Public” or where they were tagged. Put those connected friends to this list, typically people you do not want to know or read anything about you unless you explicitly want them to know. No, they will never know you placed them in your “Restricted List”.

Option IV: Followers

Figure 4.1

Next, click on the “Followers” section in the left side menu of Facebook (see Figure 4.1)
Turn On Follow – check the checkbox to activate it
Follower Comments – you can set it to “Everybody”, “Friends of Friends”, and “Friends”

What is “Follow” feature?

What is this feature anyway? This feature is useful if, like me, you do not want to approve all friend requests but you do not want to alienate them from reading your Public status updates. Or the other way, it is also useful to those people who does not want to add you as a “friend” but likes to follow your status updates.

You can leave it disabled but it does not mean no one can read your Public posts. The difference is that, non-friend users will have to visit your profile manually to see your Public updates.

What is “Follower Comments”?

If you turned-on the Follow feature, then you have the option to set it if your “Followers” can comment on your, again, Public posts.

Extra: Apps

Figure 5.1

Let’s talk about apps. Recall that earlier I mentioned about it when you “Limit the audience for posts you’ve shared with friends of friends or Public?” When you do that, it affects all your apps as well, which is correct in my opinion.

To go through each of your apps and set the privacy to your own preference simply, plus two equally important settings:

Click the “Apps” section on the left side menu of Facebook
Then click the “Edit” link, per app, and change it to “Public”, “Friends of Friends”, “Friends”, or “Only Me”
Apps others use
Most Facebook apps use the information entered by “friends” to work. A good example is one of the “birthday” apps available. This setting “Apps others use” allows you to control which of your filled-up information can be used by these apps.

Let’s say you disabled the sharing of your birthday. You friend who started using a birthday app will not be able to see your birthday in that app. But your friend can still see your birthdate when s/he visits your profile manually.

There are plenty of options to turn-off so you should take time to check it out.
Old versions of Facebook for mobile – set this to “Friends of Friends” or better yet “Friends”
There are still some apps (fewer today) that doesn’t use or weren’t coded yet to the latest guidelines and requirements of Facebook App/Developer. As Facebook said in their description, apps such as outdated version of Facebook for Blackberry, which usually are fixed or locked-up to a certain version.

By setting this feature to “Friends of Friends” or “Friends” or “Only Me”, you are making all such apps to follow that particular privacy setting. You will never be able to set it on a per app basis, unless Facebook adds that feature. Even though there are fewer of such apps, it is best practice to still set it to your choice of privacy.

Tip: When Posting / Re-Sharing

After all these changes, there is one very important tip I’d like to share. If you want to keep (total) privacy, you will have to change your habit when posting status updates, uploading photos, adding a new app (or playing games), or re-sharing. These are:

As was shown in Figure 1.3 earlier, you now have to make sure that when posting an update or re-sharing your friend’s greatest post ev’r, make sure that it is set to “Friends” or “Friends of Friends” or “Custom” (you get to choose which of your friend list will see it; or choose individually) or “Friends, except Acquaintances”. If you post it in Public, everyone will see it, like it, and depending on your setting, even comment on it.
When your latest photos, always go to your Facebook Photos section/tab and check the privacy/permission setting of (a) each album; and (b) each photo. The privacy/permission setting of your uploaded photos depends on the per photo setting or the album setting.
You also have to remember that all posts where a person liked your post, was tagged, or commented on, will not be affected by the privacy settings you did earlier – even if you unfriend them, put them into your “Restricted List”, or set all your posts to “Friends” only. Untagging and deleting their comments will work but there is no way to make them unlike your old posts.

Basically, change your habit. Even after all the Privacy features and measures you did or will do, if you do not change your habit all of it will be for nothing. In Facebook’s case, stop posting in “Public” mode, stop approving friend requests, and start filtering your friends into friend lists.

I hope it helped you as much as it helped me.

Hat tip to JF for the idea to write this how-to.

The post Less Used Facebook Privacy Settings by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Trend Micro Antivirus on Cherry Mobile Omega

2013-04-26T00:24:28-07:00

Cherry Mobile Omega with Trend Micro Mobile Security & Antivirus (via http://laptapos.com/)

(Laptapos.com) – Cherry Mobile Omega is an Android smartphone powered by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, 1GHz Dual Core processor, 512 of RAM, 4GB of internal memory and an expandable memory card slot. For more information, you may visit blog.cherrymobile.com.ph. You can protect this…

The post Trend Micro Antivirus on Cherry Mobile Omega by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

How-To Root & Unroot Your Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360

2012-01-11T05:07:14-08:00

Rooting your Android smartphone has its benefits, otherwise there’s no point in rooting. Rooting is simply similar to JailBreaking in iPhone and related products. The terminology comes from the fact that Android was based on GNU/Linux where the root “user” is the be-all, end-all powerful user that will allow you access to the whole operating system.

Which means, it is dangerous if you do not know what you are doing. So for this tutorial, if you are not comfortable with doing these simple and short steps, then don’t do it. Let somebody else do it for you.

Lastly, make a decision. Do you really want to root your Android phone? You can read this article for the pros and cons of doing so: Why You Should (Not) Root Your Android Phone.

Before we begin, back up your phone first if you already migrated your phonebook and messages, and whatever other information that is important to you. But if you are using Google Contacts as your phonebook, then there’s no need to do backup in that part. Just check your SMS section if there are any that you want to keep. Cool?

If you did not read Why You Should (Not) Root Your Android Phone, then as a reminder Rooting may void your warranty, are we clear?

Let’s begin…

Download one or both of these files:
- Root: root.zip
- Unroot: unroot.zip
Copy the file(s) to the root folder of your SD card (i.e. don’t put in any folders)
Shutdown your phone and wait for 30 to 60 seconds to make sure it is turned-off
Press Volume Up+Home button+Power On buttons simultaneously until it turns-on
By using your volume keys, choose: Apply Update from SD card. Choose the file you downloaded earlier: root.zip if you want to root your phone; unroot.zip if you want to unroot it
After it finishes, choose reboot
Go to your app drawer (i.e. “Program Files” if you are a Windows user) and check if you have the app Superuser
If you have it, go to Android Market and search for: Busybox. Download and install it.

Congratulations! You did it! Your phone is now rooted (if you chose root.zip) or unrooted (if you chose unroot.zip). Simple? I hope that your heart did not pound, eh?

Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360-Pink

If you unrooted your phone, then you should be aware that apps that requires root access will no longer work correctly. Unrooting is useful if you want to do a factory reset, so you can pass it on, sell it, or use your warranty for whatever reason.

If you rooted your phone instead, welcome to a whole new world! You will now be able to use applications that needs root access, which are plenty and which are dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. So be sure to read guides and tutorials like this one if you want to use a particular app with root access required. The last thing you want to do is mess up your phone to the point of you have to take it back to the store, which they’ll probably tell you that your warranty is void because you rooted your phone.

The most important reminder of all: If you want to do a factory reset of your phone, be sure to: [1] Re-install/Unfroze the system apps you uninstalled/frozen; and [2] unroot your phone. If you fail to do so, it may mess up your factory reset, especially if you uninstalled/frozen system apps.

All good? Great!

Go back to: myAndroid Hub

The post How-To Root & Unroot Your Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360 by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Why You Should (Not) Root Your Android Phone

2012-01-11T02:59:58-08:00

You bought your new Android smartphone. You played with it. Explored the features. Read forum posts that you can find online. And your friends kept on telling you to root your Android.

So what does it mean to root your Android smartphone? Should you even do it? What are the advantages and disadvantages of rooting your new phone?

In this short (hopefully) post, I’m going to list down the advantages and disadvantages of rooting your Android, to help you decide if you should even bother with it.

So what is rooting anyway? It simply means to gain access to the be-all, end-all user account on your Android which is ‘root’. Android is based on GNU/Linux which have a ‘root’ user that has all the access to the operating system. If you are familiar jailbraking, then that’s very similar if not exactly the same.

When you buy a new Android phone, you do not have any root access. Thus there are limited things you can do with your new smartphone. Which is fine and intentional. It is by-design, and has been the case with Linux. The reason is simple: security.

Security from unauthorize applications accessing your OS. Security from accidental changes. Security from viruses, trojans, malwares, that changes files and settings on your machine without you knowing it. This is the OS that Android grew out of. That’s your smartphone now.

So when you root your Android phone, you are opening yourself to a whole new world. You will gain access to the operating system. Make changes. Do things the manufacturer, and Android itself, did not design for you – ordinary user – to do.

The Disadvantages of Not Rooting Your Android

Here are the disadvantages of not rooting your android:

Limited to what you can do
You can not install apps that you probably want or need
You’ll more likely reach the point of having not enough memory
No way to optimize your phone
You can not install custom mods which usually are better than the default/stock rom that your phone comes with

The Advantages of Not Rooting Your Android

If there is a disadvantage, there is an advantage right?

You are safe from doing changes that you should not do
You are safe from installing apps that are questionable or does more than advertised
Your warranty stays intact (depending on where you are and where you bought your unit, most of time your warranty is void once you root your phone)

The Disadvantages of Rooting Your Android

Now let’s see the disadvantages of rooting your android.

Your warranty is void in most countries and stores
You need to be careful of what you download, and make sure you only provide root/superuser access to trusted applications
You may change something that on your next boot will make your phone buggy or unusable

And I hope I did not scare you.

The Advantages of Rooting Your Android

Plenty! I’ll only mention a few, most important, and convincing reasons.

You can do whatever you want! Yeah!
You can install apps that can help you optimize your phone – which mostly requires root/superuser access
You can download apps that will help you manage your phone’s RAM
You can use applications that will allow you to move apps, cache files, and libraries from your phone’s internal memory to your SD card – avoiding seeing that dreaded “not enough memory” warning
You can install aftermarket firmware like CyanogenMod and MIUI (pronunced as Me-You-I), which usually provides a better Android experience
Backup your downloaded apps, so you don’t have to search and redownload again
Use themes
Change boot images. You know, that manufacturer logo that comes up everytime you (re)start your phone.
Uninstall/Freeze useless stock applications that the manufacturer as well as your mobile operator adds.
Restore your phone! Since you can backup your whole phone, you can also restore it. Saving you from starting all over again.

That’s just the beginning. Of course, “with great power comes great responsibility”. Giving yourself root/superuser access is again dangerous if you are not careful and you have no idea what you are doing or installing. You are basically on your own. If you bricked it, don’t expect much of returning it to its working condition. More likely than not, it’s a goner.

Have you decided? It is up to you if you want to root or not. Don’t let anyone, not even your closest and most trusted of friends and relatives to decide for you. It is your phone. It was your hard earned money that bought that phone. You should be the one deciding if you will jump the bandwagon and join us, or stay and be left behind.

Think about it. Read. Ask around. Decide for yourself.

Go back to: myAndroid Hub

The post Why You Should (Not) Root Your Android Phone by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

How-To Follow A Google Plus Activated PicasaWeb User

2012-01-04T09:17:53-08:00

If you are a PicasaWeb user, you probably noticed that you can not follow any PicasaWeb user whose accounts are Google+ activated. The reason simply is that viewing the public gallery of a Google Plus activated account redirects you to the new “Google+ Photos” web viewer.

Playing around with it, I found a very simple work-around…

By simply adding:

?noredirect=1

after the user’s URL, you will be able to view the user’s Picasa albums via PicasaWeb’s viewer. Example, my Google Plus user number is: 107219430233856542092 taken from my Google+ URL: https://plus.google.com/107219430233856542092

Change the URL to this: https://picasaweb.google.com/107219430233856542092?noredirect=1 and you will be able to view my photos using the full-featured PicasaWeb viewer. You can also start following me and see my photo uploads the next time you open your PicasaWeb, the PicasaWeb way.

The only thing that you will probably miss is email notifications which stops working once a PicasaWeb account is converted to Google Plus. Also, the ability for non-Google+ users to comment on your photos also disappeared… unless I missed some setting somewhere.

The post How-To Follow A Google Plus Activated PicasaWeb User by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Calibrate Your Samsung Galaxy Y (S5360) Compass Correctly

2011-12-28T23:51:12-08:00

Since I got my first ever smartphone, Samsung Galaxy Y (S5360), (and Android too) I was having some problems with calibrating phone’s compass. The compass applications I found in the Android Market instructs users to do a figure-8 wave. I did all kinds of figure-8 wave and well, nothing.

Until I found this video showing the one figure-8 method I haven’t tried – wrist movement. It is as simple as that, all I can do is laugh at myself for doing all the silly figure-8 movements I can think of.

Watch the video:

It works for all other phones with compass features like iPhone and Symbian based phones.

Go back to: myAndroid Hub

The post Calibrate Your Samsung Galaxy Y (S5360) Compass Correctly by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Google+ for Google Apps Is Not XMPP Friendly

2011-10-27T23:47:48-07:00

If you are a Google Apps user or administrator, you can now turn-on the Google+ service on your domain. This feature was launched today and it has been one of the awaited service of GApps users.

However, Google+ for GApps is NOT XMPP/Jabber friendly. G+ for GApps requires that you turn-on Google XMPP Chat for your domain. So if like me and my clients, you either run your own XMPP network or is using another service like Hosted.im, you are out-of-luck.

Check these images and save yourself the trouble…

I discovered this when I turned-on my domain’s Google XMPP Chat service in the hopes of finding a workaround on this bug: Google Apps XMPP Chat Bug. This time I tried turning the service “off” first before deleting it again.

Nothing happened of course, because it is a bug on Google’s side. But that’s when I discovered that Google+ for Google Apps is not XMPP friendly, a pop-up showed up as you can see in the screenshot below.

Google Plus is NOT XMPP Friendly-01

It says, herein quoting: Google Talk is required for the following service: Google+. If you turn off Google Talk, the dependent service is automatically turned off for all affected users. Please make sure you inform your users.

Google Plus is NOT XMPP Friendly-02

Apparently, Google XMPP Chat is a vital part of Google Plus. Since it will not work without the service, it is safe to assume that G+ is actually an XMPP social-network of the likes of BuddyCloud, Jappix, and OneSocialWeb — a social-network built on top of XMPP/Jabber, with a copied Diaspora interface.

Google Plus is NOT XMPP Friendly-03

Google+? Now I’m convinced it’s high time to aggressively push for DDFONs — Decentralized, Distributed, Federated, Open, Networks. Here are some that are federated already:

Another promising project is Appleseed, but I haven’t seen them federating to other DDFON yet. There is also Kune which can communicate with Apache Wave (f. Google Wave) and the XMPP network. And the most ambitious of all: Lorea which I can not even explain, just visit their website, read it, and be amazed.

Finally, for the sake of Google Apps users who have their own XMPP network, let’s hope Google realizes requiring, no, forcing us to use their own XMPP network just to enable Google Plus is a huge mistake.

Update 2011-12-05: After a few weeks of testing since it was first reported that the bug has been fixed, I can finally say with confidence that it is indeed fixed. Special thanks goes to ProcessOne (the ejabberd guys) for getting the attention of Google through their blog post: Migrating from Google Apps to hosted.IM.

The post Google+ for Google Apps Is Not XMPP Friendly by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Google Apps XMPP Chat Bug

2011-10-27T20:26:34-07:00

Getting support from some Google services like Google Apps and Google XMPP is close to impossibility. There are lot of reasons why a company like Google won’t be able to address your issues and as such I’ve given them time to do so. Weeks… weeks… of waiting but nothing.

So it is time to create a blog post about it and hopefully they will take notice and start addressing this “serious” bug with their Google Apps XMPP Chat. What is it? Even if you turn-off the GApps Chat feature, their server still retains your domain in their XMPP Chat network, because of it the server prevents you from connecting to the Google XMPP network.

Initially, I attached my domain name to an existing Google Apps account as “another domain” (read: not as alias). Turned-off the GApps Chat XMPP service and waited two weeks. Nothing.

Earlier this week, I detached my domain name from that old account and created a seperate, independent new account. First thing I did, I turned-off the GApps Chat XMPP service, hoping their servers will not have created it yet before it detects approval of my domain.

Unfortunately, nothing. Absolutely nothing changed. Clearly the problem lies with Google and not on my end, here’s a checklist:

Turned-off the Google Apps Chat XMPP service
Created an independent account for my domain
Waited for more than 72 hours for DNS propagation
Waited for more than 72 hours to give Google’s servers a chance to update itself
Posted help at their Forum system
Search for their “contact form” which is nowhere to be found
Contacted @googleapps via Twitter but to no avail
Contacted my XMPP host @hosted_im for help and they replied (see below)

Hosted.im’s Quick Reply to My Problem

Before anything, I want to thank and commend ProcessOne for their always quick reply to their customers, even for those like me who are using their Hosted.im service for free. With that said this is their explanation of what is happening.

We had the same problem you described with other customers. The causes were always the same: both Google Apps and hosted.IM have a local and remote routing. If a user from GApps sends packets to another on GApps, the route is located without asking any DNS on the Internet, because it is found locally.

The same happens with hosted.IM: it first looks if the domain is hosted locally, if not, it issues a query to the Internet to define the packet route. Of course, there is no “google.com” domain hosted by hosted.IM and your DNS records are correctly defined, so the only option is that Google is keeping your old domain on its “local routes”.

(note: my emphasis)

There you go. Straight from the people who have been in the XMPP/Jabber business far longer than Google, ProcessOne, the developers of the XMPP eJabberd server.

Why not use Google’s Chat XMPP?

Simple reason: They do not offer XMPP transports and I doubt they ever will. Yes there are public transports available but these are not as reliable as the transports offered by your host itself.

Secondly, ProcessOne, as I mentioned, the creator behind the highly popular and widely used XMPP eJabberd server, is an experienced and knowledgeable company in the XMPP business. I used to run eJabberd when I had my own server a few years back and it was very stable, always updated and implementing the latest in technology, I trust them that much.

ProcessOne’s hosted.im and talkr.im transports themselves are the first I always see that is updated. For example, when Windows Live Messenger [WLM] (f. Microsoft Network Messenger [MSN]) introduced multi-sign-on feature on their network, ProcessOne’s own WLM/MSN transport was the first to have it updated to support multi-sign-on. It was only earlier this year that I started seeing other transports that started supporting such feature.

That is a huge difference for me, as I need to be signed-on in WLM so when I leave my desk at work to eat lunch for example, I can still receive messages on my mobile phone. So I’m staying with hosted.im / talkr.im.

Now if only Google will fix the bug in their servers, then everything will work as expected. I am wondering if this is the kind of service Google Apps give to their “free” account holders? Then I commend more ProcessOne for not being bias between their “free” and “paid” customers.

The post Google Apps XMPP Chat Bug by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Diaspora Copied Google Plus! Not!!

2011-09-22T07:55:32-07:00

Or so people say and will say. Now that Google+ is in open beta, there is an influx of users joining the Google Plus network. These millions of people are mostly non-techies, non-FLOSS (ie Free/Libre Open-Source Software) advocates, non-privacy centred individuals.

These new Google Plus users are your ordinary Interweb users who are content and happy that there are free-of-charge online services that they can use. So they can connect to their family, relatives, friends, colleagues, read news, and share everything about themselves. They’re the millions of people testing G+ today.

What’s next? They will start seeing other social-networks and µblogs (microblogs). That’s what’s next. And with that comes the typical and very familiar words “{Company/Product} copied {Company/Product}!”

But should you believe it? No, not one second. Why? Simple: no one copied whoever – not Google+ and definitely not Diaspora.

Before you join the copied-bandwagon and start ~~educating~~ spreading false ~~conclusions~~ assumptions, consider these things.

Diaspora first went public (with source code) back in 2010, November to be exact
Google+ went public in June of 2011
It is near impossible to develop a social-network of the scale of Diaspora and Google Plus in a period to allow one to copy the other
Diaspora can not have copied G+ because there was no source code or any other information about it before Google Plus went public
Diaspora can not have copied G+ because its layout and features have been in placed already when it first went public
These two projects have been under development for some time already, a year to three at most

I sound like I am defending Diaspora here. No, it’s just that there are more valid reasons and facts that can be confirmed to defend it than Google Plus. Some of it are:

Diaspora is a Free/Libre Open-Source Software – and as such anyone can freely run it privately, look at the code, play with it
Diaspora came out first, again back in 2010. Giving G+ enough months to change its UI (User Interface) and UX (User eXperience)

In other words there is a greater possibility that Google Plus got most of its features and design from Diaspora. But is it fair to say that? For me personally, no. We don’t even know what the project development length of Google for G+. Besides, whether Google+ copied D* or not, it still does not matter. What matters is that:

the users (that’s YOU and me) now have plenty of options to choose from
more competition, the better
these services federate together

Ah, now that’s I believe is the most important thing: Federation. That is the strength of Diaspora, Friendika, StatusNet, Appleseed, OneSocialWeb, buddycloud, OpenMicroblogger, and many more, which Google+, Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, Multiply, hi5, doesn’t have.

What is Federation? Simple: being able to communicate with the users of another software and/or platform freely and completely. Imagine not needing to create “yet another” social network account because your friend or customers are using something else.

Imagine your friends and family staying with Google Plus but you can still communicate with each other even though you are using Friendika. That is Federation and you can not deny that your mind is telling you right now: that is sooo awesome.

Go try it yourself, sign-up at Diasp.org or Friendica. Add/follow people from one software/platform and communicate with them all you want, then tell me it isn’t the future of the social-web.

The post Diaspora Copied Google Plus! Not!! by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

[How-To] Chat With Your Messenger Buddies via Google+ & Gmail

2011-08-21T03:59:45-07:00

Google Chat Plus

As you can see from these two screenshots, I have my Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger (f. MSN Messenger), and AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) messenger buddies added in my Google+ and Gmail chat (and Google Talk too). I also have my ICQ (I-Seek-You) and XMPP/Jabber contacts but not shown, in there as well.

Google Chat Plus

I am going to show you how to do just that. So stand up and go get a coffee or a snack as this is going to take a little bit longer than you are thinking of right now. (But it’s not hard at all…)

Get the tools that you need

Before you can do what I did, you first have to download a software. No worries, this is a well tested application, if you can read source code, it is a “Free/Libre Open-Source Software” or “FLOSS”, you can check how safe it is yourself.

Download Psi+ here: code.google.com/p/psi-dev/ and install it.
Once installed, run it and you should see this:

Account Creation

If not, go to: (Menu) -> Account Setup -> then click the Add button.
Add a name to your new Psi+ account, example: username@gmail.com. Leave the “Register new account” unchecked. Then click the Add button
On the Account Properties do the following:

Account Creation
- Put your Google (usually Gmail) account in the Jabber ID field
- Enter your password in the password field
- Ignore the checkboxes under the “Settings” section unless you plan on using Psi+ after the setup
Go to the “Connection” tab and do the following:

Account Creation
- Check the “Compress traffic (if possible)” checkbox
- Check the “Send “keep-alive” packets (to prevent timeouts)” checkbox
- Choose Always in the “Encrypt connection” drop-down box
- Uncheck the “Probe legacy SSL port” checkbox
- Choose Over encrypted connection in the “Allow plaintext authentication” drop-down box
Click the Save button
Go online

Adding Your Messenger Accounts

It’s time to get dirty…

In your client, you’ll see the Psi+ Account you added earlier. Right-click on it and click “Service Discovery”. Google does not provide its own XMPP/Jabber services so just ignore the error that pops-out.

Account Creation
On the Address field, enter: jabber.hot-chilli.net and then click the Browse button. A list of XMPP/Jabber services will show, wait for it to finish loading.

Transport Registration
Look for your Instant Messenger service (for example Yahoo Messenger), right-click it and choose Register.

Transport Registration
Enter your Messenger username and password; choose English as your language of choice; and enter “utf8″ in the Encoding field.
Click the Register button
Repeat Steps 3 to 6 to add your other Instant Messenger networks

By now you should see your messenger contacts appearing on your Psi+ client.

Now this is the tricky part – you have to approve all of your contacts one-by-one as they get added if the dialogue shows up while you are using Psi+. Then you have to login to your Gmail and/or Google+ and wait until you see another batch of “approve/authorize” requests. Again, just accept it all.

If nothing shows up, just keep on using your Gmail and/or Google+ as you normally would. Eventually the request approve/authorize will show up on Google’s services (not Psi+). If after so many log-outs and log-ins and still nothing, try to chat with your contacts and see if they can see you online and you can see them online (and you can communicate with them in the first place).

Facebook, can I add it too?

Yes you can. But I do not recommend adding your Facebook account on your Google/Gmail chat especially if you have hundreds of FB contacts. Don’t even try to do it unless you are prepared to spend time cleaning up your contact list if later you decide to detach your FB with your Google/Gmail chat.

The post [How-To] Chat With Your Messenger Buddies via Google+ & Gmail by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

[How-To] Get a Philippine IPv6 Address

2011-06-10T21:02:27-07:00

If you have read my previous How-To on how to connect to IPv6 Internet (if you are a Linux user), you may have realized by now that you are getting an address from the country the server is located.

There are pros and cons to having a different Geo-IP than your actual location, for example, when you want to bypass Geo-IP restrictions. But sometimes we want to use our own, especially in this case where IPv6 support from service providers is almost non-existent in countries like the Philippines.

Well, good news is, Globe Telecoms is now offering their own tunnel with a Philippines IPv6 address. Here’s how to connect…

For Linux users

Follow my [How-To] IPv6 Is Not Scary!! Connect to Next-Gen Internet Now! then follow the steps below:

Create a tunnel account at Globe’s IPv6 website
Open a terminal
Type:
```
gksu gedit /etc/gogoc/gogoc.conf
```

Enter your Globe IPv6 tunnel account at the:

userid=YOUR_GLOBE_IPv6_USER_ID

and:

passwd=YOUR_GLOBE_IPv6_PASSWORD

fields

Look for:

server=anonymous.freenet6.net

server=authenticated.freenet6.net

and comment it out by adding a # sign prefix

After that same line, add:
```
server=tunnel.ipv6.globe.com.ph
```
Look for:
```
auth_method=anonymous
```
and comment it out by adding a # sign prefix
Uncomment (remove the prefix # sign) from
```
# auth_method=any
```
Save the file and close it
Back at the terminal, type:
```
sudo /etc/init.d/gogoc restart
```
Done!

For Windows users.

Create a tunnel account at Globe’s IPv6 website
Follow the steps found here
Done!

Test if it works!

Simply visit the following sites:

You should see something like mine:

The post [How-To] Get a Philippine IPv6 Address by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

[How-To] IPv6 Is Not Scary!! Connect to Next-Gen Internet Now!

2011-06-10T19:36:41-07:00

Are you connected to the Next Generation Internet already?

IPv6 or Internet Protocol version 6 is the answer to our IPv4 problem. What problem? By 2011 or 2012 (according to estimates), there will be no more IPv4 addresses left. This means that, anyone with a need to have a static IP address will not be able to get any for their project or service.

When this day comes, someone must start finding IP address owners who does not really need a static address and give it to someone who needs it seriously. We may even see owners starting to sell their extra IPs at a price far more expensive that what it is worth today.

When are you going to act? Today! Not tomorrow!!

But that will not happen, because two decades ago, the powers-that-be already started experimenting with IPv6 which will give us 2¹²⁸ addresses. That is equivalent to 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 IPv6 Addresses, according to my Einstein brain calculation :p Or simply: 340 with 36 zeroes (I admit, I used a calculator).

Compare that to IPv4 which only have 2³² or 4,294,967,296 IP addresses. It is a huge difference! IPv6 which use 128-bit addresses and IPv4 which is only 32-bit. Each computer in the world can now have its own IP Address and we are only scratching the surface of IPv6. In fact, if we subtract the number of IPv4 addresses we have, then we still have 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,427,473,244,160 IPv6 addresses available.

I know you have plenty of questions but time is not on our side. What I am going to answer for you today is how you can start connecting to the IPv6 Internet without waiting for your ISP to start implementing it.

For this tutorial or How-To Guide, I am going to show you how I setup my ~~Ubuntu Linux 9.10 “Karmic Koala”~~ Linux Mint 11 “Katya” 64-bit (based on Ubuntu 11.04 “Natty Narwhal”). So let’s begin!

Go to Synaptic (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager)
Search for: miredo; gogoc; and radvd and install all three.
Open a terminal (Accessories -> Terminal)
Type
```
sudo /etc/init.d/radvd stop
```
Type
```
gksu gedit /etc/gogoc/gogoc.conf
```
If your main connection is not: eth0 then change: if_prefix= accordingly
If you are setting this up on a workstation computer, then change: host_type=router to: host_type=host
Type
```
sudo /etc/init.d/gogoc restart
```

Update 2010-03-29: Additional step from Ubuntu 10.04 “Lucid Lynx” and up.

Still on your terminal, type:
```
gksu gedit /etc/default/gogoc
```
Look for: # CHECK_KEYFILE=”yes” and change it to: CHECK_KEYFILE=”no”

Update 2009-12-23: An update from Jeremy Duncan on setting up your Linux box as a router.

Make sure IPV6FORWARDING is set to yes in /etc/sysconfig/network like so: IPV6FORWARDING=yes.

You are done! To test if your IPv6 is working do or visit the following:

In your terminal, type

ping6 ipv6.google.com

, it should show something like this:

user@pca:~$ ping6 ipv6.google.com
PING ipv6.google.com(fx-in-x68.1e100.net) 56 data bytes
64 bytes from fx-in-x68.1e100.net: icmp_seq=1 ttl=50 time=496 ms

Open up your favorite browser and visit test-ipv6.com
and/or ipv6-test.com
and/or ip6.me

Why use a Tunnel Broker if we have Miredo/Teredo?

For one, Miredo/Teredo was developed only as a temporary gateway to the IPv6 Internet. In fact, it was set as the last access point when you have other IPv6 implementation like a tunnel broker.

Another reason is to have a static IPv6 address (even if your ISP gives you a dynamic IPv4 address). For this to work, you have to register an account over at Gogo6.com’s Freenet6 service (register here).

Then you have to edit your gogoc.conf, follow the instructions below:

Open a Terminal again
Type
```
sudo /etc/init.d/radvd stop
```
Type
```
gksu gedit /etc/gogoc/gogoc.conf
```

Adjust your existing gogoc.conf with this one:

userid=ENTER_YOUR_FREENET6_USERNAME_HERE
passwd=ENTER_YOUR_FREENET6_PASSWORD_HERE
server=authenticated.freenet6.net
auth_method=any

Type
```
sudo /etc/init.d/gogoc restart
```

You’re done! From now on, you will have the same IPv6 address everytime you connect to Freenet6′s network. However, do note that you still get a different static IP depending on which Freenet6 server you are connected. If you really want to connect to the exact same server simply change this configuration in your gogoc.conf –

always_use_same_server=no

always_use_same_server=yes

But before you do that, please connect to Freenet6 at least once, so your gogoc daemon will have a list of servers to connect to and be able to choose the “best” one for you. Then set it up as instructed, and you’ll be connecting to that same “best” server everytime the gogoc daemon is (re)-started. Easy?

Welcome to the next generation of the Internet – the IPv6 world.

Good reads especially for Businesses and ISPs:
IPv6 Act Now
A Beginner’s Look into IPv6

Sources:
Go-go dancing on the Internet: IPv6 anyway
gogoCLIENT Configuration File

The post [How-To] IPv6 Is Not Scary!! Connect to Next-Gen Internet Now! by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Globe Telecom Implements 1GB / day Internet Cap

2011-04-05T06:47:53-07:00

Globe Telecom (PSEi: GLO) adopts Internet ‘fair use’ policy. That is the first thing I saw after turning on my computer tonight. Thanks to Lia Amanda Espina for the GBuzz update, I should start scouting for a new ISP.

Seriously? 1GB per day cap?

The report came from Inquirer.net. The article said, herein quoted:

The usage cap, it said, would affect only users who download data in excess of 1 gigabyte a day, or the equivalent of about 250 MP3 songs.

* my emphasis

Source: Globe adopts Internet ‘fair use’ policy

Let me repeat that: download data. Obviously, that includes the following:

Game patches – like World of Warcraft patches and game installers (let’s not count the high bandwidth usage of MMOGs)
Free Culture content – music and videos that uses a Free Culture license (examples are: Creative Commons licensed songs and shows)
Free/Libre Open-Source Software (FLOSS) downloads – us who helps in the distribution of FLOSS products like Ubuntu and other GNU/Linux distros will also get affected

And that’s just the beginning. Can they guarantee that these legal downloads and uploads will not be capped by their system? Do they have the tools or the technology to effectively and accurately filter the connections on their network? I highly doubt it. I don’t even think it is possible, and if it is, are they willing to go through and check thousands of connections and determine which are illegal and legal?

The BitTorrent protocol, which many groups and “learned” people are frequently attacking, will surely be the number one target for this crazy and silly capping. Can they filter the legal torrent connections from the illegal ones?

So what now? Simple: time to search for a better ISP. An ISP that aims to expand their bandwidth and improve their network so we can be at par with our neigboring countries. And not an ISP that will limit their customers to avoid investing in better technologies, connection, and service.

No to Internet Capping!!

Support A better draft memorandum order on Minimum Speed of Broadband Connections (v2)!

The post Globe Telecom Implements 1GB / day Internet Cap by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Cherry Mobile Festival 2011 Pricelist

2011-03-20T03:53:55-07:00

They Cherry Mobile Festival 2011 is here again! From the 21^st of March up to the 22^nd of May 2011, expect special sizzling promos, Buy 1 Take 1, phone sale of up to 50% off, hot new phones, and overloaded freebies!!

Not convinced? How about getting a dual SIM / dual standby Android 2.2 (Froyo) smartphone for only ₱12,999? Or get your first Android 2.2 (Froyo) smartphone for only ₱6,899?

Come on in and see the list of phones for this year’s Cherry Mobile Festival.

D12 (₱999) [original price: ₱1,299]

Dual SIM / Dual Standby
MP3 Player
FM Radio
Flashlight
EMS / MMS / WAP / GPRS
Calendar / Alarm
microSD up to 2GB
FREE: Cherry LED Keychain

F16 (₱1,599) NEW

Loudspeaker
Dedicated Music Keys
1.3 MP Camera
Dual SIM / Dual Standby
Multimedia Player
Wireless FM Radio
MMS / WAP / GPRS
Calendar / Multi-alarm
Calculator
Bluetooth
microSD up to 8GB
FREE: Cherry Folding Fan

D20i (₱1,999)

Interchangeable covers
1.3 MP Camera
Dual SIM / Dual Standby
Multimedia Player
FM Radio with Recording
Flashlight
MMS / WAP / GPRS
Calendar / Multi-alarm
Calculator
Bluetooth
microSD up to 8GB
FREE: Cherry Folding Fan

M15 (₱1,999)

Mobile TV with Recording
Schedule Alarm TV
1.3 MP Camera
Dual SIM / Dual Standby
Multimedia Player
FM Radio
Data Security
Email / MMS / WAP / GPRS
Java / Built-in Games
Bluetooth / Flashlight
microSD up to 8GB
FREE: Cherry Folding Fan

Z11 (₱2,299) [original price: ₱2,999]

2.0 MP Camera with Flash
Slim Form Factor
Dual SIM / Dual Standby
Multimedia Player
FM Radio with Recording
Data Security
Java / Built-in Games
MMS / WAP / GPRS
Bluetooth
microSD up to 4GB
FREE: Cherry Torch Carabiner

Q6i (₱2,499) [original price: ₱4,999]

Mobile TV with Recording
QWERTY Keypad
Dual Camera with 2.0 MP Main
Dual SIM / Dual Standby
Slim Form Factor
Multimedia Player
3.5mm Headset Compatible
Wireless FM Radio with Recording
MMS / WAP / GPRS
Java / Built-in Games
Bluetooth
microSD card 8GB
FREE: Cherry Pouch

The post Cherry Mobile Festival 2011 Pricelist by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Cherry Mobile D12 Super Sale!

2011-03-20T02:19:32-07:00

Tomorrow, 21^st of March 2011, Cherry Mobile will slash ₱600 off the regular price of D12 model selling it only for ₱699!! That’s almost 50% off the regular price ₱1,299.

But how to avail of this one day promo?

It’s simple really, create a group of 9 people and line-up in any of the 10 participating Cherry Mobile Kiosks and Stores from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Easy right? If you can’t get 9 people, just grab someone who have no idea that s/he must be in a group to avail of the ₱699 promo.

Here are the list of participating Cherry Mobile branches:

Robinsons Place Manila
SM City North
SM Megamall
Market! Market!
SM City South Mall
PureGold Cubao
SM City Fairview
Ever Gotesco Grand
Starmall Alabang
Graphic All In Stores

Be there and grab a D12!

Dual Sim / Dual Standby
MP3 Player
FM Radio
Flashlight
EMS / MMS / WAP / GPRS
Calendar / Alarm
microSD up to 2GB

If you miss this one day sale, the D12 model will be selling for ₱999 during the Cherry Mobile Festival 2011, from March 21 to May 22, 2011.

Cherry Mobile official website: cherrymobile.com.ph.

The post Cherry Mobile D12 Super Sale! by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

my|phone 2011 Pricelist

2011-03-20T01:45:51-07:00

I went to a my|phone branch in SM Mall of Asia earlier today and asked for their latest price list. Here are the phones, with the specs, and the corresponding prices.

T23 Duo
- SRP: ₱3,399
- Touchscreen
- Dual SIM
- Tri-band EDGE
- 2.0 MP Camera
- 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Yamaha Music Chipset
- FM/MP3/Video Player
- JAVA/Bluetooth/WAP 2.0/USB
- microSD up to 8GB
- Facebook/Twitter/YM
- Pinoy Phone 2 ready
Q19i Duo
- SRP: ₱1,888
- Qwerty with Camera
- Dual SIM
- Dual-band
- Camera (CIF)
- FM/MP3 Player
- Sound Recorder
- 4GB microSD slot
- Facebook/Twitter/YM
- Pinoy Phone 2 ready
QV27 Duo
- SRP: ₱4,999
- S Phone
- Dual SIM
- Tri-band EDGE
- 2.0 MP Camera
- 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Yamaha Music Chipset
- FM/MP3/Video Player
- microSD up to 8GB
- JAVA/Bluetooth/USB/WAP 2.0
- Facebook/Twitter/YM
- Pinoy Phone 1 & 2 ready
QTV0 Duo
- SRP: ₱2,990
- Qwerty TV
- Dula SIM
- Tri-band
- Camera (VGA)
- FM/MP3/Video Player
- Bluetooth
- WAP 2.0
- 4GB microSD slot
- Facebook/Twitter/YM
- Pinoy Phone 2 ready
B12 Duo
- SRP: ₱1,199
- Dual SIM with Flashlight
- Dual SIM
- Big Screen 1.8″
- Dual-band
- FM Radio / MP3 Player
- 2GB microSD slot
- WAP 2.0
- Facebook/Twitter/YM
- Flashlight
- Pinoy Phone 2 ready
QW28 Duo
- SRP: ₱4,999
- Wi-Fi Phone
- Dual SIM
- Tri-band EDGE
- 3.2 MP Camera
- 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Yamaha Music Chipset
- FM/MP3/video Player
- JAVA/Bluetooth/USB/WAP 2.0
- microSD up to 8GB
- Facebook/Twitter/YM
- Pinoy Phone 1 & 2 ready
QP29 Duo
- SRP: ₱3,399
- Qwerty Touchpad Music Phone
- Dual SIM
- Tri-band
- 2.0 MP Camera
- Touchpad Navigation
- FM/MP3/Video Player
- SRS WOW HD (Enhanced Music)
- JAVA/Bluetooth/USB/WAP 2.0
- microSD up to 8GB
- Facebook/Twitter/YM
- 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Pinoy Phone 2 ready
QP30 Duo
- SRP: ₱2,399
- Qwerty Touchpad with Breathing Light Feature
- Dual SIM
- Dual-band
- Camera (CIF)
- MP3 Player
- FM Radio with recording
- Bluetooth/WAP 2.0
- microSD up to 2GB
- Pinoy Phone 2 ready

PinoyPhone: 100+ Pray-Along Audio Prayers (rosary, novenas, religious songs). Complete Bible, Pinoy Trivia, Philippine History, Pinoy Recipes, etc.

my|phone official website: myphone.com.ph.

The post my|phone 2011 Pricelist by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Torrent Terminologies and Acronyms Part 1

2011-01-23T23:01:33-08:00

Here are some terminologies and acronyms you will find and probably have encountered already when searching for a new torrent show to download.

Pre-Release
- WP (Workprint) – a copy that is not yet finished. It can be missing music, scenes, and the quality ranges from poor to excellent.
- SCR (Screener) – promotional pre-VHS tape usually sent to rental stores.
- TC (Telecine) – film-to-tape or film-to-digital. The quality is generally comparable to a DVD copy.
- R5 – DVD Region 5. Often lack image post-processing and special features common to a traditional/normal scheduled DVD releases.
- R5line – an R5 release but whose audio is a direct English copy (usually direct line from a theatre audio system).
- DVDscr (DVD-Screener) – a copy sent to film critics, awards voters, producers, distributors, and any other important groups or people prior to the official DVD/Theatrical release date. Often has no post-processing.
In-cinema
- CAM (camera) – recording of a film by the use of a camera and a tripod inside theatres.
- TS (Telesync) – the same as a camera release except that it uses an external audio source like an audio jack in the chair.
Home Video Ripping
- VHSrip
- TVrip
- PDTV (Pure Digital Television)
- HDTVrip
- DVDrip
- BRrip – a Blu-ray release whose source is a BDrip
- BDrip (Blu-ray Disc Rip) – a direct Blu-ray Disc copy

“BDrip” and “BRrip” are usually interchanged in releases without subtitles (and hard to detect if it’s a direct rip or a re-rip of a BDrip). However, when a release includes an embedded subtitle then it is no doubt a BRrip. Meaning, the source was from a BDrip file re-encoded with the subtitles.

“BDrip” and “BRrip” are the best rips you can find online, provided the ripper and/or encoder knows the best settings.

The post Torrent Terminologies and Acronyms Part 1 by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

How-To Embed Baybayin On Your Website or Blog

2010-11-28T19:23:26-08:00

These past few months, there was a surge in awareness of the Baybayin (not Alibata) writing script among the Filipinos. As Baybayin enthusiasts learn how to read it, the need to type it directly from our keyboard grew. The Baybayin Keyboard Layout was released as part of the Ubuntu Philippines‘ Philippines National Keyboard Layout project (which is available in both GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows).

The PNKL project allowed many Filipinos to type Baybayin without using any “online typepad” like the ~~Snoworld Baybayin Typepad 01~~ (no longer available). But other than this, there is also a need to embed Baybayin on websites and blogs, and I’ve been asked about it a lot of times. In response, here is a detailed how-to guide on how you can display Baybayin correctly on your websites.

So go get a cup of coffee, tea, or chocolate. Prepare yourself, your mind. Get ready to learn a lot of new stuff.

Getting your font(s) ready

We want to display Baybayin and so we need the proper font(s) for web display. Go get your favorite Baybayin font and put it somewhere easily accessible for you. After that follow these steps:

Go to FontSquirrel’s @font-face generator
Click the “Add Fonts” button and upload your font(s)
Choose the “Expert…” radio button
On the “Font Formats:” row, check all checkboxes
On the “Subsetting:” row, choose “Custom Subsetting…” radio button
New rows will show up, scroll down until you see “Unicode Ranges:”

FontSquirrel @font-face generator
Choose the correct range below, if your font is Tagbanwa then copy the Baybayin Tagbanwa Unicode range below and paste it in the “Unicode Ranges:” field as shown in the image above.
- Baybayin Tagalog script: 1700-1714,1735-1736
- Baybayin Hanunoo script: 1720-1734,1735-1736
- Baybayin Buhid script: 1740-1754,1735-1736
- Baybayin Tagbanwa script: 1760-1774,1735-1736
Then on the “Agreement:” row, check the checkbox if your font is legally eligible for web embedding, otherwise acquire a written permission from the original author.
Click the “Download Your Kit” button to get your web embed compatible font
Upload the content of your downloaded font kit to your webserver

Time to embed your font(s)

Next step, embedding your font kit to your website.

Open your stylesheet file (*.css)
Extract your font kit (you created above) and open the “stylesheet.css” file
Copy the @font-face code snippet to your website’s stylesheet file

Change the URL/location of the files to point to where you uploaded your font(s), my stylesheet looks like this:

@font-face {
    font-family: 'BaybayinModernBrush1';
    src: url('../fonts/baybayin_br1-webfont.eot');
    src: local('☺'), url('../fonts/baybayin_br1-webfont.woff') format('woff'),
        url('../fonts/baybayin_br1-webfont.ttf') format('truetype'),
        url('../fonts/baybayin_br1-webfont.svgz#webfontJRppkSIE') format('svg'),
        url('../fonts/baybayin_br1-webfont.svg#webfontJRppkSIE') format('svg');
    unicode-range: U+1700-1714, U+1735-1736;
}

If your font-family is called “BaybayinModernBrush1″ (see example above) then add it as the first font in all instance of “font-family:” in your css file like so:
```
font-family: BaybayinModernBrush1 Arial serif;
```
Similar to the previous step, this time search for “font:” If there are other font declarations, then add your font name as the first. Example:
```
font: BaybayinModernBrush1 Arial serif;
```
Save and upload

Displaying the font on your website

You’re done. But how to properly display Baybayin on your website? You have a couple of choices:

Enter the corresponding hex codes like so: &#xNNNN (N = number), you’ll have plenty of
```
&#x1234;&#x1234;&#x1234;
```
Use an online ~~Snoworld Baybayin Typepad 01~~ (no longer available) and copy-paste to your website
Download the Philippines National Keyboard Layout and type Baybayin directly

Obviously, option #1 is the hardest, longest, and more error prone way. While option #3 is the easiest, fastest, and less error prone way (provided you know the rules of Baybayin, you’ll be typing correctly in no time).

That’s it!

The post How-To Embed Baybayin On Your Website or Blog by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

Philippines National Keyboard Layout for Windows is Out!

2010-10-24T20:24:31-07:00

I finished the port of the Philippines National Keyboard Layout for Linux to Windows much earlier than I hoped! Rejoice Microsoft® Windows users!

Get it now and start typing all the Filipino characters!

The process is simple:

Download the file PNKL-Windows (available in 7-zip, exe, and zip formats) here
Extract the file anywhere and go to the “PNKL-Windows” folder
Install the Baybayin (Alibata) font so your system can display the characters
Open the “kbdph” folder
Install one or all of the Latin keyboard layouts:
- QWERTY (Latin): kbdph01l_setup.exe
- Capewell-Dvorak (Latin): kbdph02l_setup.exe
- Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Latin): kbdph03l_setup.exe
- Colemak (Latin): kbdph04l_setup.exe
- Dvorak (Latin): kbdph05l_setup.exe
Install one or all of the Baybayin keyboard layouts:
- QWERTY (Baybayin): kbdph01b_setup.exe
- Capewell-Dvorak (Baybayin): kbdph02b_setup.exe
- Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Baybayin): kbdph03b_setup.exe
- Colemak (Baybayin): kbdph04b_setup.exe
- Dvorak (Baybayin): kbdph05b_setup.exe
Windows automatically activates your newly installed keyboard layout. Simply press (Left) Alt+Shift to switch between layouts. You type the ₱eso sign by pressing (RightAlt)/AltGr+p. ñ by (RightAlt)/AltGr+n; Ñ by (RightAlt)/AltGr+N and so on.

You’re done!

The font included in the zip file is a Unicode-only and Website-embed compatible version of Nordenx‘s Baybayin brush font.

*** The Philippines National Keyboard Layout is a project of Ubuntu Philippines LoCo Team. Project contact: JC John Sese Cuneta; XMPP/Jabber jcjohn.sesecuneta@talkr.im.***

See the keyboard layout images here.

The post Philippines National Keyboard Layout for Windows is Out! by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

The Philippines National Keyboard Layout for Linux Is Now Out!

2010-10-23T04:40:53-07:00

Today, 23^rd of October 2010, Filipino Linux users around the world can now download and use the first release of the Philippines National Keyboard Layout, officially launched at the Philippines Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Release Party!

What is this all about? Simple: being able to type the characters that Filipinos use, especially the ₱eso sign and ᜊᜌ᜔ᜊᜌᜒᜈ᜔ (Baybayin) glyphs that has been available for use since Unicode 3.2 (March 2002). Other characters are: Ññ, ©, ®, ™, ¢, ¥, ¶, Pahilís (acute diacritic), Paiwà (grave diacritic), Pakupyâ (circumflex diacritic), Ng̃ (the shortened form of nan͠g), and many more.

How about Windows users? ~~You will have to wait more or less 2 weeks, it will be usable for Windows 7, Vista, and XP; both 64-bit and 32-bit installations.~~ It is now available for download here. Windows is too complicated as compared to Linux (seriously).

Without further ado, here are the steps to get you started with using our very own National Keyboard Layout.

Download the PNKL-Linux file (available in 7-zip and zip format) here
Extract the content of the archive file you just downloaded
Install the font included so your system can display Baybayin (Alibata) glyphs
Then copy the file “ph” to the correct folder by typing in the terminal (be sure to adjust ~/Downloads/ to where the file is on your end)
```
sudo cp ~/Downloads/ph /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols
```

Open these two files by typing:

gksu gedit /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.lst

gksu gedit /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst

Search for:
```
! layout
```
After it add:
```
ph              Philippines
```
Search for:
```
! variant
```

After it add:

qwerty-bay            ph: QWERTY (Baybayin)
capewell-dvorak       ph: Capewell-Dvorak (Latin)
capewell-dvorak-bay   ph: Capewell-Dvorak (Baybayin)
capewell-qwerf2k6     ph: Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Latin)
capewell-qwerf2k6-bay ph: Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Baybayin)
colemak               ph: Colemak (Latin)
colemak-bay           ph: Colemak (Baybayin)
dvorak                ph: Dvorak (Latin)
dvorak-bay            ph: Dvorak (Baybayin)

Open these two files by typing:

gksu gedit /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.xml

gksu gedit /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.xml

Search for:
```
<layoutlist>
```

After it add:

<layout>
  <configItem>
    <name>ph</name>
    <shortDescription>Phi</shortDescription>
    <description>Philippines</description>
    <languageList><iso639Id>eng</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>bik</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>ceb</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>fil</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>hil</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>ilo</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>pam</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>pag</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>phi</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>tgl</iso639Id>
                  <iso639Id>war</iso639Id></languageList>
  </configItem>
  <variantList>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>qwerty-bay</name>
        <description>QWERTY (Baybayin)</description>
        <languageList><iso639Id>bik</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ceb</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>fil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>hil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ilo</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pam</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pag</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>phi</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>tgl</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>war</iso639Id></languageList>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>capewell-dvorak</name>
        <description>Capewell-Dvorak (Latin)</description>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>capewell-dvorak-bay</name>
        <description>Capewell-Dvorak (Baybayin)</description>
        <languageList><iso639Id>bik</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ceb</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>fil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>hil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ilo</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pam</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pag</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>phi</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>tgl</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>war</iso639Id></languageList>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>capewell-qwerf2k6</name>
        <description>Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Latin)</description>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>capewell-qwerf2k6-bay</name>
        <description>Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Baybayin)</description>
        <languageList><iso639Id>bik</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ceb</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>fil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>hil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ilo</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pam</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pag</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>phi</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>tgl</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>war</iso639Id></languageList>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>colemak</name>
        <description>Colemak (Latin)</description>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>colemak-bay</name>
        <description>Colemak (Baybayin)</description>
        <languageList><iso639Id>bik</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ceb</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>fil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>hil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ilo</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pam</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pag</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>phi</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>tgl</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>war</iso639Id></languageList>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>dvorak</name>
        <description>Dvorak (Latin)</description>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
    <variant>
      <configItem>
        <name>dvorak-bay</name>
        <description>Dvorak (Baybayin)</description>
        <languageList><iso639Id>bik</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ceb</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>fil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>hil</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>ilo</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pam</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>pag</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>phi</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>tgl</iso639Id>
                      <iso639Id>war</iso639Id></languageList>
      </configItem>
    </variant>
  </variantList>
</layout>

You’re done! Sort of. You need to activate it to actually use it, follow the next few steps to do so.

Go to: Preferences > Keyboard > Layouts
Click the “Add…” button
Search for the new keyboard you installed either “By country” (Philippines) or “By language” (English; Filipino; Cebuano; Philippine Languages; etc.)
There are different variants that you can choose from:
1. Philippines (default; QWERTY – Latin)
2. Philippines – QWERTY (Baybayin)
3. Philippines – Capewell-Dvorak (Latin)
4. Philippines – Capewell-Dvorak (Baybayin)
5. Philippines – Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Latin)
6. Philippines – Capewell-QWERF 2006 (Baybayin)
7. Philippines – Colemak (Latin)
8. Philippines – Colemak (Baybayin)
9. Philippines – Dvorak (Latin)
10. Philippines – Dvorak (Baybayin)
Click the “Add” button
Select the new layout that you added then click the “Move Up” button and place it on top

Philippines National Keyboard Layout.png

Let’s not forget to add the first Baybayin (ᜊᜌ᜔ᜊᜌᜒᜈ᜔) keyboard layout, it is QWERTY-based. Simply repeat the process above but place it as second in your Layouts list. Then if you want to switch between Philippines Latin and Philippines Baybayin scripts, simply press Shift+CAPS_Lock. It is the default shortcut in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.

The font included in the zip file is a Unicode-only and Website-embed compatible version of Nordenx‘s Baybayin brush font.

See the keyboard layout images here.

*** The Philippines National Keyboard Layout is a project of Ubuntu Philippines LoCo Team. Project contact: JC John Sese Cuneta; XMPP/Jabber jcjohn.sesecuneta@talkr.im. ***

The post The Philippines National Keyboard Layout for Linux Is Now Out! by JC John Sese Cuneta, was originally posted on Laboratory Sandbox.

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