When was the last time you were in CDR King in SM City? How much of your time was wasted waiting for your turn? The last time I was in that branch is precisely that—the last time. I spent close to an hour waiting for my turn that I ultimately gave up. Yes, their products are cheaper, but you waste an hour of your time just to save a few pesos? I’ll reserve masochism for bulk purchases.

Waiting in line has got to be the blight of modern man’s existence. In the offices of Pag-ibig, SSS, LTO, NSO, you see people waiting in line for so long you’d worry about the national productivity. In medical clinics, healthy people get sick—and murderous—by the time doctors finally attend to them.

I do not have proof, only strong suspicion, but I think your blood pressure is directly proportional to the amount of time you spend in line. Take a BP monitor the next time you transact with a government agency and find out for yourself.

A better queuing system would do wonders to our health, sanity and national productivity. Wouldn’t it be great to get a priority number for a transaction and be notified when it’s your turn?

STUDENT PROJECT. Ateneo de Zamboanga University mentor Eugene Kanindot (left) explains the TimeFree system to Atty. Jane Paredes, senior manager of Smart public affairs Vis-Min. (SUN.STAR FOTO/MAX LIMPAG)

Continue reading ‘Why CDR King should talk to this Smart SWEEP team’

One of the things I did just as 2009 ended was to get a new phone. But months before the actual purchase, I had already decided on a brand and line—the Nokia E series.

After years of using Sony Ericsson phones—starting with the lethal-looking Ericsson R320—I decided early last year to switch to Nokia.

The decision to leave Sony Ericsson was spurred by two things: 1.) I felt that SonyEricsson abandoned its users of the UIQ platform (the system that ran in the P800/P900 and P1) and 2.) the company insists on using proprietary connectors for such things as headphones instead of using standard interfaces like 3.5 mm audio jacks.

I also came to love Nokia units after testing a few of its units. I particularly liked the Nokia E71 and had decided by April to buy the latest unit in the E series line in December.

NOKIA E63. For just P11,000, you get a phone that excels in messaging—SMS, e-mail, IM and Web connectivity.

Then, I got hooked on running.

My priorities shifted and I found myself choosing to spend more on running-related gear—shoes, apparel, GPS watches—and running books than on a phone.

I wanted the best phone I could get for the lowest price possible.

The E63 is that phone.

Continue reading ‘Reformed Sony Ericsson fan boy starts the year right with a Nokia’

(Here’s my closing remarks at the Online Campus Journalism Seminar and Workshop held by Smart for campus journalists in Cebu.)

Twelve years ago, a group of journalists, writers and artists in Cebu decided to form a cooperative and publish a different type of community newspaper. The Independent Post was a paper that was to be owned by its readers, who were to have a big influence on how the paper was run.

We set on in that quixotic enterprise with a couple of millions, big dreams and a lot of hard work.

But, it was the height of the Asian economic crisis. We burned through whatever funding we had but still tried to hold on to that grand dream of blazing a journalism trail, working hard for little or no pay.

In two years, the paper folded. Big dreams, instant noodles and hard, hard, hard work were not enough.

Continue reading ‘The sky isn’t falling’

(This is my column for Sun.Star Cebu for tomorrow, Oct. 27)

Two days before I was to run in the Smart Subic International Marathon (SIM) 2009, I finally learned how to properly tie my shoes. It’s hilarious if it isn’t excruciating to have to bend to retie shoelaces that come undone after running several kilometers.

All my life, I have been apparently tying my shoelaces using a Granny Knot, which easily comes undone. I wouldn’t have known any better had I not started running. In longer runs, my shoelaces always come undone and I’d cringe in pain every time I had to bend and retie it.

It turned out that there’s a better way to tie your shoelaces to make sure that these do not come undone. The trick is to use a Reef Knot and a Runner’s World video shows you just how to do that.

TYING MY SHOE. Learning how to correctly tie my shoes using a Reef Knot, which doesn’t come undone, using a Runner’s World instructional video viewed through a Smart Bro USB modem connection.

Continue reading ‘On the road but still “in the cloud”’

GLOBE Broadband Tattoo has unveiled three new designs for its USB skin—Black Dragon, Purple Brushstrokes, and White Techie.

Globe is “the first to offer funky broadband-equipped USBs in the Philippines,” the company said in a press statement.

BLACK DRAGON USB skin for Globe Broadband Tattoo.

Continue reading ‘Globe unveils new Globe Broadband Tattoo USB skins’

CEBU has the potential to be the next Silicon Valley but it must deal with the movement of its talented workers to Manila and abroad and improve its marketing as a technology hub, an information technology entrepreneur said Friday.

Winston Damarillo, one of the founders of G2iX and its chief executive officer, said that because of its geography, weather and quality of life, Cebu has the makings of a technology center.

Damarillo also said local companies are cooperative with industry undertakings and there is a good partnership with the academe through such initiatives as the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for IT (Cedfit).

Continue reading ‘Cebu needs to work to keep IT talents: Damarillo’