racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

It’s been a busy week, or rather a very busy two weeks. So if you’re wondering why I haven’t been posting here lately, it’s because I’m either posting elsewhere (like the Blog Herald, JOAB and my other network blogs), building up a blog empire (soft-launched, but not yet officially launched), or taking care of some offline things. So for now, I’ll post in the good ol’ bullet points, like the usual when I’m busy.

My mother bought a MacBook. She almost bought another brand laptop (HP, which is not bad, but hey it’s not an Apple). But I told her for that price, she could already get a MacBook. PhP 62K for a Core 2 Duo Presario V2000 with a DVD-RW vs PhP 64k for a Core 2 Duo MacBook with Combo drive Not as high spec’d, when it comes to the add-ons/peripherals like the optical drive and the card readers but the Mac is still a better buy, in my opinion.

We checked out stores at SM Cyberzone, but ended up at “Ynzal”:http://ynzal.com instead because of the really big discount their Business Dev Manager, Mr. Jojo Magallanes, gave us. We got it for PhP 60K plus some freebies.

“Here’s her story.”:http://dine.racoma.com.ph/blogging/sexy-mom-is-back-me-and-my-sexy-macbook/

Lesson learned: mothers, listen to your sons!

WeRoam saves the day. When I first tested PLDT’s WeRoam service in 2005 when I was still with dotPH I thought the speed was really crappy. We were at the Ortigas area then, and we couldn’t get an EDGE signal. So that means regular GPRS speeds, at 30 something kbps (sucks, I know). These days though, I think they have faster, 3G speeds. And you could always go for Globe Visibility HSDPA. You could theoretically get 1.8 Mbps (and 400 to 800 Kbps in real world applications).

But I’m a penny pincher at times, especially these days that I foresee big expenses upcoming.

So I bought myself a used Sierra AirCard 775 from a fellow “BNC”:http://bncxe.org member so I could surf while mobile. I do have an unlimited “Airborne Access”:http://www.airborneaccess.net account, but there are places I visit that don’t have hotspots of any kind. And since I foresee the need for untethered Internet access, I thought of this option instead.

It doesn’t come with a subscription. I just plug in a prepaid Smart SIM card, and I can enjoy surfing for PhP 10 per 30 minutes (PLDT WeRoam uses the Smart network). It’s really slow, but when you need to get things done, these things are a life saver. (And yes, I was able to configure my PowerBook to use the AirCard. The PC laptop was easy enough.)

Thing is, I usually only get a GPRS signal, and not EDGE. So it’s 30+ Kbps instead of the marketed 200 Kbps of EDGE. I guess I could have opted for a 3G phone instead, or a faster AirCard (or other brands), since Smart also offers the same rate for 3G access. But that would be loads more expensive in terms of equipment cost.

I initially wanted to buy a used WiFi-enabled PDA so I could surf at the malls without having to bring my laptop (or even at home–in the bathroom, perhaps?). But then I thought I would have more utility from being able to surf practically anywhere than having a more portable device for surfing at hotspots.

Last January, Max Limpag was also thankful for WeRoam saving his day. So I guess it goes the same for me. WeRoam is my last resort–I’ll use it when there are no other connectivity options. It’s for those emergency days. It’s like a backup parachute. Or a side-arm (when my primary weapon runs out of ammo, so to speak).

But if there’s anyone out there with an old WiFi-enabled PDA for sale (or loan, or donation, heheh), give me a good deal, and I’ll see if I’ll bite.

Bayantel DSL is Slow. Bayantel DSL is slow these days. I’ve been getting very bad speedtest.net results, like 500+ ms ping times, and 100kbps speeds. And I’m using a 384kbps connection (which goes up to 768 because I use a really nifty trick to increase my speed).

Car expenses. I got my AdSense check in the mail a couple of weeks ago, but I ended up spending most of it in car repairs and maintenance. Who knew that a new battery + alternator replacement would cost so much. They’re not from the _casa_ or OEM Toyota, but they’re still expensive.

Oh, and I had an oil change, to boot. The mechanic at the Caltex service station corner of Kalayaan and Kamias was good–he pointed out to me the stuff I had to replace with my suspension (whereas some other shops wanted to change it all, which would cost me a whopping PhP 15k). I’m not really a Caltex guy (I prefer Petron Blaze), but this time I think I’ll come back to them come maintenance/repair/tune up time.

Community Blogs to Launch Soon. Three out of four of the community blogs I’m setting up are already up and running. Do check them out. I will make a formal announcement on the “Blog Herald”:http://www.blogherald.com when the fourth one is up. “Froodee”:http://www.froodee.com is for lifestyle, living, news and business. “Gadzooki”:http://www.gadzooki.com is for gadgets, software, technology, and cars. “Blog Tutorials”:http://www.blog-tutorials.com is for blog design, reviews, writing tips.

Abe Olandres has been teasing me about this for some time now. But I keep telling him I’m not a blog overlord. At least not yet. For those not aware what the heck a blog overlord is, I posted about problogging options a while back.

*As a “blog overlord”.* Quite a daunting title, but this is what one would usually call an owner of a blog network. I mentioned before that you would have to have a substantial amount of traffic to earn from contextual, pay-per-click advertising. And having many blogs is one good way to do that. Owners usually have too many blogs to write on
themselves, and usually opt to pay other people to write for them.

I won’t actually run my own network, but suffice to say that there is a network and that a certain writer is going to manage it. It’s more like inheriting it, actually.

I’ve actually done this already, to some extent, with some blogs I wrote for and/or managed. But this time it’s on a bigger scale. Of course, headaches will come too. But I’m of the opinion that some headaches are worth it if the price is right.

So I guess I’ll be on the lookout for writers again!

I’m looking for a person who can translate English to Mandarin. Online tools are cool, but they tend to spew out crappy translations. Human translations are still the best.

This is for the translation of several dozens of existing articles on a high-profile blog, and then a regular undertaking henceforth. Expected output is about 3 to 4 articles per day. We’ll have to discuss compensation privately.

I’ve already contacted people I know who can speak and write Mandarin, but while I await responses, perhaps some of you dear readers are interested in a full-time, work-from-home (or anywhere) position.

Do contact me if you’re interested.

I’ve had it. It’s time to throw in the towel. I’m through with being a problogger.

You may notice that I haven’t exactly been posting here very frequently. That’s because I’m increasingly busy with other blogs and projects. Most of these involve writing work, and if you blog, you’re probably aware that coming up with compelling and substantial blog posts takes time, energy and most of all focus. So usually after writing a couple of articles I feel really tired. I only get to post here when I have the free time, and when I have something I feel is noteworthy and interesting enough to blog about here.

In case you’re wondering, here’s what I’ve been up to lately. I’ve focused much of my attention on the Blog Herald and Splashpress Media‘s other blogs (particularly with some redesign). I’ve recently started guest-blogging for Jack of All Blogs and Gadzooki, which was actually one of the very first blogs I pro-blogged for back in my BlogMedia days. Here are links to some posts you might want to visit.

* On JOAB: Ask Permission. It’s the Decent Thing to Do!
* On Gadzooki: iPod Shuffle Now In Color (and why you’d want color, anyway).
* My BlogHerald author archive. You might want to check out why you should market your blog, and how courts of law are increasingly using Wikipedia for reference.

I’ll start guest-blogging on other sites, too, like Blog Network Watch and others. So watch out for that!

See you there.

Oh, I’ll probably be doing more blog roundups every now and then, linking to sites other than those I write for. Just to spread some linklove.