Surf Using Your TV

A few weeks ago Smart announced their newest product, SurfTV. I got curious about how it works and finally got some info from some people working for Smart.

The unit costs about PhP4,500 and includes the following: SurfTV box, Smart Bro dongle and SIM, keyboard, mouse and cables. You can use it on your TV or a VGA monitor. Just plug it all in and you can surf or watch TV and when you do you are charged PhP10 for every 30 minutes (for prepaid) or you can get the unlimited monthly plan.

Haven't tried it out though, but I'm quite curious whether this is something that would finally get my Dad online.

Protecting Your Wifi Connection from Being Leeched

I am writing this post to remind myself that I should monitor our wifi closely at home. We use different devices at home and have had difficulty getting every single one connect to wifi when it had a security password. The solution? Network Magic.

Network Magic is an app you will be prompted to install when you connect a new Linksys router. The app serves as an easy way to monitor who connects to your wifi. You will be alerted whenever somebody connects to your network and you can track this through a map. The feature though that allows you to block devices from connecting to your network works only in the paid edition.

It was either I put in a security password to keep other devices out or pay for the Network Magic feature I needed. If I chose to put in a password I would've not been able to use my other gadgets, so I paid $40 to activate the feature that would allow me to block intruders. It has so far worked for me especially since I moved to a new place and my nosy neighbors have been taking advantage of the open wifi connection. I just need to make sure that I check my network map once in awhile.

Anyway, also make sure that your router has a security password. Last week the hotel I stayed in at Cebu had problems with their wifi because a guest placed a password in their router. They could have prevented this if they had a router password. To put a password in your Linksys router just access it by going to http://192.168.1.1 using a browser. (And make sure your remember your username and password!).


Here's a great vid I found that will guide you on setting up a password for your Linksys router:

Nexus One, a Review

I'd like to say that this is a review of the Nexus One from a consumer's point of view, so don't expect any nosebleed tech terms in this post. I'm going to focus on how I've been using the phone.

Calling


One of my friends asked if the reception of the phone was good, "Can you hear well?" I don't have any problems calling and hearing the person at the other end of the line, in Manila and Davao. I noticed though that Globe's signal have been spotty the past few weeks. Calling "#" to get signal doesn't work (I learned that trick when I was working for a telco). Because I have small hands the phone prevents me from dialing while driving and I think that is a good thing.

Texting


I must admit it took me a couple of days to adjust to the QWERTY touch screen phone, but I eventually got the hang of it and I'm pretty pleased with my texting speed (thanks to my small fingers). I also like the fact that the messages are threaded, just like Gmail. Messages are also searchable! That function is quite useful for me since I usually refer back to messages especially when I need to check meeting details. I'm a smiley person so I've been enjoying the smileys (best used too when you're texting someone with a N1).

Internet


By wifi. I had a hard time connecting my Nexus One to my home router. My friend in Malaysia also had the same problem. I tried tweaking my router to no avail. Eventually one of my techie friends visited and reset the security settings of my router and that did the trick. Now there are days that I just go online using my phone.

By 3G. Unfortunately when I called Globe customer service they said the didn't have the settings yet for Nexus One. I figured it out so just visit this previous post on how to set it up. I find local data plans expensive so I just manually turn off 3G connection by tweaking the APN settings.

Mail. Checking mail on the Nexus One is definitely an enjoyable experience. I sync'd two accounts on the phone and easily switch from one account to the other depending on what I want to check. I was also pleasantly surprised that I could actually approve blog comments easily when I get email notification, a feat I couldn't do with my old phone. Writing emails is also not a pain especially since I also sync'd my email contacts on the phone (just needs some cleaning up though).

Watching Youtube. I was connected to mall wifi when I tried out watching Youtube videos and I was quite surprised that it streamed well and the audio volume was enough to watch the vid with two other people. The large screen didn't require me to squint to see what was ongoing in the vid. Of course, watching vids via 3G would require you to wait a bit, but it ain't that bad.

Browsing. In my old phone I was stuck to checking mail (when it worked) and checking Plurk. With the Nexus One I can easily visit links I find interesting on Twitter and I even do searches on Google for stuff I want to read about. The Facebook App has also spurred a number of photo uploads from me in real time (especially when I attend events or when I'm travelling). I need to find a solution though for posting on Blogger (haven't explored it yet).

Taking Photos and Videos


Took me awhile to get a hang of the camera. It took me awhile to figure out how to use it in camwhore mode (haha) and how to take videos. The 5MP resolution isn't so bad and lately I've been using it more than my camera. The audio for the video isn't so bad too, I'm quite particular about that since I make vlogs. I'll probably post some samples soon. Downloading the photos/vids is easy, I just usually use bluetooth to transfer it to my PC/laptop.

Battery Life


Since I use the phone often for browsing I use up the battery in the just 24 hours. I thought though that connecting to the internet was the culprit for the fast battery drain. It isn't since you can check battery usage when you go to Settings>About Phone>Battery Use. It's the display that drains most of your battery life, so if you're on your phone most of the day (online or offline) then expect your battery to drain out quickly.

Apps and Games


Been checking out the Android Market every few days for new apps I can download. I got a couple of games and absolutely love "Bubble Popper" (a no-brainer game). I'm still on the look-out for other apps I can use and would most certainly download stuff that would help my blogging hobby.

All in All


I was quite surprised that the Nexus One didn't have a manual! The only tutorial it has in the phone is how to scroll and click on stuff on the phone. Have no fear though since there's a lot of stuff online you can read about using your phone. The help forum is also filled with tips and tricks on how you can use it. I didn't expect to like the phone since I've been used to using Nokia phones for more than a decade now. It took me a couple of days though to adjust and read up stuff online to understand the phone better and now it's practically part of my hand (LOL). My most favorite feature though is... the alarm clock... the rooster really wakes me up!

*Second photo, Andrew uses his Nexus One to take a photo of Lachi's yummy apple pie. I took this photo using my Nexus One.

Setting Up Globe 3G on Your Nexus One

Finally found the time to make Globe 3G work on my Nexus One. This is what I did:

1. Go to Settings, choose Wireless & networks
2. Go to Mobile networks, choose Network operators. Let let search for available networks and choose Globe. It will then tell you that you are registered.
3. Go back to Mobile network settings, choose Access Point Names. Press on settings and then do this -

Name: MyGlobe INTERNET
APN: internet.globe.com.ph
Proxy: 203.177.042.214
Port: 8080
Username:
Password:
Server:
MMSC: MyGlobe MMS
MMS Proxy: 203.177.042.214
MMS Port: 8080
MCC: 515
MNC: 02
Authentication type: none
APN Type:

I haven't tried sending a MMS yet, but I was able to connect to the internet right after I saved the setting. Remember though that you'll always be connected to the internet when you do this. I couldn't find a way to disconnect, so I just made the APN complete (left it at "i"). I'll just change it back to internet.globe.com.ph when I need to go online.

Dealing with Spam

Don't you just hate spam? Not edible spam as featured in the photo, but spam... SPAM, those annoying stuff that show up in your inbox, out of topic comments in your blog, crazy IM message from people/bots you don't know (and they usually carry viruses!) and those people and bots who try to join your mailing lists just to wreak havoc in your small community with medicines, adult sites and what-have-you.

Bwisit noh?

This is how I have drastically reduced spam in my online stuff:

1. Mail - I just use Gmail/Google Accounts. I've completely abandoned using another mail service because of spam because I don't want to waste my time just cleaning up my inbox for unwanted mail.

2. Blog - I use Blogger.com for my blog and have activated comment moderation and request for identification. I know it discourages people from commenting sometimes, but I believe if you really want to leave a comment you really would even with these requirements.

3. Instant Messaging - I'm scared of getting viruses. So I mainly use Gtalk for IM-ing. I just log-on to Yahoo Messenger via web, but I rarely do anymore because of all the spammy messages I've been getting the past couple of years.

4. Groups/Mailing Lists - I manage a good number of mailing lists and I've seen an uprise in spam through groups. Because of this I now require people to answer a question before they are approved to join in a mailing list I own. I already got scolded by a nun when she opened a link that opened to an adult site. Hehehe.

Exporting Contacts from Nokia E71 to Your Nexus One

So it took me a couple of days to figure out how to copy my contacts from my Nokia E71 to my new Nexus One.

MAJOR NOSEBLEED!

I've been a Nokia user for about a decade now and because I've been so comfortable using Nokia phones I never bothered to get any other brand. Not even a free offer for an iPhone made me consider changing. Heh. The Nexus One though was something I couldn't resist nor turn down.

It took me a couple of tries to transfer all my contacts to the Nexus One. I just essential followed links from the following:

The Nexus One help forum
The Nexus One page on Contacts
Microsoft's import/export of contacts help page (found this page coz I couldn't find a good, easy to use .csv to .vcf converter)

This is how I successfully transferred all 1,191 contacts from my Nokia E71:

1. Backed up the contacts using Nokia PC Suite
2. On the Nokia PC Suite Contacts tab, I chose "File" and then "Send" then "Contact via Email". Doing this opens a Windows Outlook Express tab and you'll see all your contacts attached as VCF files.
*At this point make sure that your Nexus One is connected to your PC as storage (check this page on how to do this)
3. On the Windows Outlook Express tab, choose "File" then "Save attachments", save it in your Nexus One SD card (I saved it in the "bluetooth" folder because I didn't really know where to save it).
4. Safely unmount your Nexus One from the PC and then touch "Contacts" then touch "Menu" then "Import/Export". Import "all VCF files" (I did this coz I didn't really know how to navigate around).

It took awhile before all my contacts were imported. After it finished I proudly announced to my hubby that I had successfully imported all my contacts to my new phone. Yay!!!

You may also want to check out my post about "Unboxing a New Toy, the Nexus One".

Why Spam was Called Spam

According to Wikipedia the term "spam" was derived from the 1970 Monty Python skit "Spam". Everybody I know is annoyed with spam since it takes time to sift through one's mailbox just to take it out.

Watch the skit and find out how this term evolved -