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

Apparently, Microsoft has realized that a lot are shying away from Windows Vista due to bad experiences, the steep hardware requirements, or simply because of bad reputation. HLWT and Ars Technica report that comedian Jerry Seinfeld has signed on to endorse Windows Vista in a $300 million ad campaign.

“If a book about failures doesn’t sell, is it a success?” Perhaps not, but Microsoft hopes that a new $300 million ad campaign about the flailing Windows Vista will somehow turn it into a success with the help of comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The campaign will be one of the largest in Microsoft’s history, and is expected to begin on September 4.

In fact, Seinfeld may not be the only celebrity involved in the new Windows Vista campaign. The ever-popular “people close to the situation” have informed the Wall Street Journal that Seinfeld is simply “one of the key celebrity pitchmen” that will appear alongside Bill Gates to discuss Vista’s merits. According to the WSJ’s sources, the company has also considered Will Ferrell and Chris Rock among a multitude of other personalities, although there was no indication as to whether they had also been hired as part of the campaign.

I guess this is similar to Apple’s Get a Mac ads, with Justin Long and John Hodgman. I know Justin and John’s celebrity status is nowhere near that of Jerry Seinfeld’s, but the Get a Mac ad series has gained cult status because of its in-your-face humor. Especially when bashing Windows Vista.

I’ve been a regular Vista user since I acquired my Presario B1256 but on my netbooks, I use Windows XP. Vista is just too power-hungry for those small critters.

For the longest time, Globe’s 3G and GPRS networks have blocked access to ports other than HTTP (port 80), but just recently to my surprise, IM networks like Yahoo IM and Google Talk are working again. I haven’t tried other ports and IM clients, though, like Skype and even server management ports like cPanel (2082), but this has several implications.

First, it might be possible to make free or cheap calls using VoIP via Google Talk or Skype. Perhaps I can even make these calls straight from my mobile phone, with Fring.

Secondly, given the first implication, the Globe network could potentially face some congestion issues.

At any rate, I would say this development is perhaps due to the fact that Globe now offers prepaid 3G USB dongle kits (Visibility). Since most of their target clientele probably use their service as their primary connection, Globe would stand to suffer bad press if people complain about inability to access IM.

I think this is a good move, with the proliferation of 3G enabled handsets and even the popularity of cheap netbooks.

WordCamp Philippines is coming up, and if you haven’t registered yet, I believe registration is already closed. But if you’re a registered participant, you’ll be able to watch me present Splashpress Media’s latest service – Performancing Ads.

I’ll explain the importance of button/brand advertising (as opposed to cost per click advertising), and also how bloggers can earn from both the advertising and the affiliate systems. Performancing’s motto is helping bloggers succeed, and with Perf Ads, we also aim to help advertisers succeed. That way, everybody wins.

Here’s a short update I wrote two weeks back.

Personally I really like the fact that you can book your own ads into your own sites. This means you can practically use Perf Ads as your ad server, or at least to fill in for those times when ad sales are slow.

Perf ads supports both image ads and text links, so you have the best of both worlds: image ads for brand marketing, and links for search optimization and to get a message across. Performancing also promises early, synchronized payout, and will pay out 60% of revenues. Perf Ads also has an affiliate program, where members can earn $10 credit from every successful referral, and 5% residual commissions from each sale by referrals.

You can check out Perf ads in action yourself, at www.performancingads.com. I suggest you start ad pricing on the low side before gradually increasing it, while your site becomes more popular in the marketplace.

Asus Philippines is running a raffle. Every purchase of an EeePC 701 gives you a chance to win a trip to HK Disneyland.

Get a chance to be one of eight (8) lucky families of four (4) vacationing in Hong Kong by simply purchasing an Eee PC 701 2g or 4g models between July 22 to August 15, 2008 and send the important details like name, address, signature, and contact information on a sheet of paper, along with a photocopy of the sales invoice, billing statement or delivery receipt and a cut out portion of the box where the serial number is indicated (Customers can only send in one entry per sales invoice, billing statement, or delivery receipt.100 models on one receipt, for example, is considered to be one entry). Place entries in an envelope and sending it to 14 United St., Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig City, 1603 before the draw date of August 20, 2008.

More details on MyAsusEee.

And so I’ve been checking out computer shops in the city for the Acer Aspire One. Guess what? They’re not as scarce as HP Mini Notes. So far, at TriNoMa Silicon Valley and Premium Logic carry blue and white Aspire One units. Perhaps there are more out there in other places.

These are priced at PhP 18,800 cash (probably more if you’re paying by card). That’s approximately $418 at current exchange rates.

Reportedly, the crawling WinXP running speed is caused by the lack of updated drivers needed for the new Atom chips. This might be resolved by installing an update from Intel.

I tried out one display unit (not a demo unit, though). LinPus seems to startup very fast—about 20 seconds from cold boot to the usable four-pane Linpus interface. The AspireOne is a bit larger than the Eee 900, though—it’s in between the Eee 900 and the HP Mini Note and the MSI Wind U100 in terms of size.