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Synchronize Files from Office and Home Machines using Dropbox

deuts — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:29:49 +0000

Oftentimes, you find yourself needing to keep, access and update files from workstations at the office as well as from a computer back home. These files can be work related, a password keeper, or maybe media files like photos you want to share with officemates or friends.

One solution is to bring with you a portable device like a usb flash drive to dump the files into for further access and edit. However, bringing a flash drive around can prove to be a hassle with the inconvenience of plugging and safely removing the device from the computer. Unless you hang this thing around your neck all the time (i.e., if you find it a good fashion accessory), you’ll oftentimes find yourself looking around for it and racking your brains trying to remember where you last left it, in your pocket, in your bag, in your cabinet, or maybe the trash can.

Thankfully, now there’s dropbox.

About Dropbox

Dropbox is an online service that enables you to synchronize files from different computers, even in different platforms. It supports Windows (XP/Vista), Mac, and Linux (big plus!). Once you have registered for an acount, you can download an installer applicable to your current platform. During installation, it will create a folder (in Windows it’s under ‘My Documents’ in XP and ‘Documents’ in Vista) called ‘My Dropbox’ where you can dump your files ready for sync.

Your files are encrypted (according to the FAQ, but you can always encrypt your files first before moving to the dropbox folder, if you have doubts) and stored in an external server. The same files are saved and magically synchronized to the next computer you install dropbox into and associate with your account. Your files are also accessible (using your username and password, of course) through a web interface, in case you don’t have any of your own computers with you or when you’re using a public computer or when you’re just temporarily using another computer.

The service is currently in beta stage and available to free users for up to 2GB of disk space. There’s an upgrade plan, but for my own use, I don’t think I’ll reach the limit anytime soon. Even the bandwidth mentioned in the FAQ I think is more than enough for my personal use.

There are more great features this service has to offer, like photo albums and public folders for sharing with other people. Visit the homepage and take a quick tour to learn more. A video is available also as a presentation as to how this service works.

My Own Experience

I have tried the service for more than two months now and let this post be a testament that it just works, and it really worked wonders. One thing I was worried about when I first installed it was the speed of synchronization.

The service doesn’t require java running in the background that oftentimes holds up the system. Synchronization is fast and done only to files that were recently updated. Think of it this way, in a standard broadband connection of 512 kbps, a 400kb excel file (which can already be considered quite a large file for an excel spreadsheet and should already contain a large amount of data) can be finished synchronizing in 10 to 15 seconds. A 4Mb mp3 audio file can be done synchronizing in around a minute. That’s how fast it is.

Conclusion

Enjoy the convenience of having your files synchronized between the different computers you work on using Dropbox. The service is free so register for an account now.

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NBA 2K9 for PC; NBA Live 09 is Not

deuts — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:41:22 +0000

NBA 2K9 is now available for PC. EA’s NBA Live 09 isn’t anymore.

I’m not sure about the marketing strategies of these two competing NBA video game products.

But I’m quite surprised with the move of the NBA Live Series, the game that I’ve learned to love, and I’ve learned to hate as well.

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Gmail Chat Now Have Voice and Video Chat

deuts — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:11:46 +0000

Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat.

Gtalk, which is a desktop application for chatting and voice chat (as differentiated to Gmail chat, which is a built in chat function within Gmail), already used to offer voice chat.

This time, Gmail chat offers voice chat plus the VIDEO CHAT.

Now, Gmail chat surely is a great (and maybe even better) alternative to YM.

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For Sale: Nikon D70 DSLR, Two Lenses and a Flash

deuts — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:51:18 +0000

For those who might be interested, the following, second hand all in mint condition, are for sale:

Nikon D70
AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G
AF Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6 D Nikon ED
Nikon Speedlight SB-600 Flash

Images follow:

Also included are two batteries, 1GB CF Card, Battery Charger, Lowepro bag (just enough to fit these in).

These items are already out of warranty. Reason for selling: upgrading and switching to Canon. Should be all in, no piecemeal. Asking price is at PhP40,000. Available in the Philippines only, preferably within Metro Manila.

(Note: the pictures above were taken using the same camera and lenses, except for the camera body itself-which was taken using a camera phone.)

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Rekindling My Love for Photography

deuts — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:32:37 +0000

I bought two photography magazines today, hoping to rekindle my lost (I hope really not) love for photography.

I have not been shooting for quite some time already. And I thought buying the latest issues of Digital Photographer Philippines (DPP) and I-Mag Photography, both from local publishers, would help me go out and shoot.

Looking forward to more photo opportunities in my trip to Baguio sometime next week.

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Leave It On The Line

deuts — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:57:37 +0000

Just like as seasons come and go, as summer turns to autumn, we must persevere to strive no matter the place and the shadows around.

Photo: Dennis
Words: Bodeck

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Bowler Dies After a Perfect Game

deuts — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:36:19 +0000

Bowler Dies After Rolling Perfect Game.

A 62-year old Michigan bowler achieved his lifelong dream of rolling a perfect 300 game, then collapsed and died. Apparently, he suffered a heart attack, and his teammates believed the pressure of bowling 12 straight strikes was just too much for his heart.

Poor guy. Talk about he’d just reached his peak.

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Desktop Application for Remember the Milk

deuts — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:44:56 +0000

I once posted about the web application, Remember the Milk (RTM), which enables users to organize their tasks better.

I have to admit, I used the application but oftentimes than not, I hit the “Postpone” button.

Anyway, I have been searching and always on the watch out for any desktop application for RTM that would make access and edit of my tasks more speedy and convenient. There are various RTM services that can integrate into various applications and services, such as but not limited to, Gmail, Google Calendar, IM’s, Blackberry, Mobile access, iGoogle, Twitter, etc. There have also been hacks for a desktop application, some using Adobe Air, but most of the time they have compatability issues with XP or Vista and other operating systems, or simply limited in functionality (i.e., the functions you can actually utilize while in actual RTM homepage, just like adding due dates, list, tags, url, etc.). Some applications are just being so slow.

My Idea of a Good Desktop Application

Let me list down the qualities of a great desktop application:

Cross-platform compatible - Windows XP/Vista, Mac, Linux;
Lightweight - comsume less resources, to allocate more resources in other critical applications;
Fast - in terms of internet connectivity and application response time;
Can be hidden from the taskbar - so as not to interfere with your current tasks and minimize the windows that are open;
Quickly accessible from the system tray;

These qualities are oftentimes found in open source desktop applications like Pidgin, Firefox, Thunderbird, FileZilla, Winamp, etc.

How I Created my RTM Desktop Application

For this purpose you’ll need:

An RTM account;
Firefox or Flock - if Firefox is not your default browser, you can do it with Firefox, otherwise, use Flock;
Minimize to Tray Firefox Plugin.

Step 1: I would like to assume that you already have an RTM account. Simply install Firefox or Flock, if you haven’t done yet. Then, install the “Minimize To Tray” Firefox Plugin (Note: almost all Firefox Plugins can be installed in Flock as well.) in your browser of choice.

Note: The “Minimize To Tray” Firefox Plugin available at the Mozilla Addons site is compatible only with Firefox 2 and Flock 1. This plugin can actually work with Firefox 3 and Flock 2 just as well, only that you need to do some hacking into the xpi file. I already did the hacking side, and you can simply download the plugin from here.

After installing the “Minimize To Tray” plugin, go to its options menu and enable minimizing to system tray on minimize or even on exit if you want.

Step 2: Login into http://m.rememberthemilk.com and enter your username and password. Yep, that’s the RTM interface for mobile, less of its ajaxy-feel, but it offers almost the same functionality as that of the desktop web interface.

Step 3: Hide the toolbars that you wouldn’t really need to save space, such as the navigation and bookmarks toolbars.

Step 4: Organize your tasks.

Screenshots

Some working examples (click on the image to enlarge):

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Forbes: Forty Richest Filipinos 2008

deuts — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:21:12 +0000

No, it’s not the NBA Fantasy League, that teams/people are sliding back and forth

I once posted about the earlier list of the Philippines’ Top 40 Richest people. Forbes released once again an updated list for 2008:

Rank	Name	Net Worth ($mil)	Age
1	Henry Sy & family	3,100	83
2	Lucio Tan & family	1,500	74
3	Jaime Zobel de Ayala & family	1,200	74
4	Andrew Tan	700	57
5	Tony Tan Caktiong & family	690	58
6	John Gokongwei Jr. & family	680	81
7	Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.	610	73
8	Enrique Razon Jr.	525	48
9	George Ty & family	435	75
10	Inigo & Mercedes Zobel	430	NA
11	Manuel Villar	425	58
12	Emilio Yap & family	420	82
13	Vivian Que Azcona & family	360	NA
14	Beatrice Campos & family	325	NA
15	Luis Virata	270	54
16	Oscar Lopez & family	240	78
17	Andrew Gotianun	235	80
18	Alfonso Yuchengco & family	200	85
19	Mariano Tan & family	195	NA
20	Manuel Zamora	130	69

CONTINUED

Rank	Name	Net Worth ($mil)	Age
21	Menardo Jimenez & family	129	76
22	Gilberto Duavit & family	127	73
23	Alfredo Ramos	126	64
24	Jon Ramon Aboitiz & family	125	59
25	Felipe Gozon & family	110	68
26	David Consunji & family	105	87
27	Rolando & Rosalinda Hortaleza	90	49/51
28	Eugenio Lopez III & family	85	56
29	Betty Ang	80	NA
30	Tomas Alcantara & family	75	62
31	Lourdes Montinola & family	68	80
32	Salvador Zamora	67	62
33	Philip Ang	63	67
34	Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Sr. & family	55	81
35	Enrique Aboitiz & family	50	86
36	Frederick Dy	49	53
37	Bienvenido R. Tantoco Sr. & family	45	87
38	Jesus Tambunting	40	71
39	Manuel Pangilinan	39	62
40	Marixi Rufino-Prieto & family	30	68

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Anand is Still King - World Chess Championship 2008

deuts — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:42:10 +0000

In Germany, with Viswanathan Anand leading the match already at 6-to-3 after Game 9, the match was expected to be decided in his favor with three more games to play and needing only a draw in the next game. But Vladimir Kramnik still managed to draw blood at Game 10. Yet in Game 11, Kramnik settled for a draw, letting go of his reach for the crown.

Anand the King

And Anand the King was crowned the world champion.

It was a game of almost unbearable tension. Anand switched to 1.e4, Vladimir Kramnik went for do-or-die complications, Anand obliged, and for a couple of hours nobody knew what would happen. In the end, Vishy Anand prevailed, got a slightly better position and Vladimir Kramnik offered a draw. Anand remains World Champion.

WCC R11: Fighting draw, Anand wins World Championship by 6.5:4.5.

Download all the games of the match.

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