New York Times, in 2008:
In a bold move to counter Google’s online pre-eminence, Microsoft said Friday that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for about $44.6 billion in a mix of cash and stock.
If consummated, the deal would redraw the competitive landscape in Internet consumer services, where both Microsoft and Yahoo have both struggled to compete with Google.
Then in 2016, Verizon acquires Yahoo! for $4.83 billion.
O how time flies, and how it drains billions along with it.
I thought I’ve seen this coming. Techcrunch reports:
After a months-long bidding process and many layoffs, Yahoo has finally found a buyer. Verizon (which owns AOL, which owns TechCrunch) is officially acquiring Yahoo’s core business for $4.83 billion in cash, which includes Yahoo’s advertising, content, search and mobile activities.
I just hope the new owner, Verizon, will be able to turn Yahoo! around. At the very least, I hope they can salvage what was left of it, especially those that were once great like Tumblr and Flickr, among others.
Evernote revealed a couple of weeks ago that they’re changing their pricing plans:
Beginning today, the prices for our Plus and Premium tiers will change for new subscriptions, and access from Evernote Basic accounts will be limited to two devices.
So, for Basic accounts like mine, I’m now limited to accessing my Evernote notes in up to 2 devices. Although Evernote‘s regional pricing plans for the Philippines offer a much lower price at PHP550 per year (roughly less than $12/yr.) for the Evernote Plus account, I’m not too keen on paying for something that I can actually get for free in other services. Continue reading Evernote’s New Pricing Plans
Ever since Pokemon Go was announced in March and eventually launched in July (initially in select countries), it has taken the world by storm. Social media friends have started posting their virtual Pokemon finds, along with their own punchlines, which in the process captured the curiosity of those who are uninitiated in the Pokemon Go world. Eventually, every one has to try it out! That, regardless of news about armed robbers using this same mobile game to find their victims.
Pokemon Go is a free mobile game for iOS and Android developed by Niantic. It is a GPS-based augmented reality game that allows players to capture, train and battle virtual Pokemon that appear throughout the real world. Although it is free, it supports in-app purchases for players who are maybe too lazy to go out and catch them outside their comfort zones and instead take some shortcuts.
This video trailer pretty much summarizes the game in less than 2 minutes: Continue reading The Mobile Gaming Phenomenon that is ‘Pokemon Go’
Banks should be at the forefront of technology, especially in this internet age, delivering real-time data about their customers and their accounts.
The Philippine banks may not be as nimble in adapting the latest technologies in rendering their services as that of banks from other countries, but at least we know that the effort is there in trying to catch up.
Disclaimer: I currently own Metrobank, BPI and Security Bank accounts, although I used to own PNB, BDO, EastWest and even Equitable-PCI (before their merger with BDO) bank accounts.
From my experience, the first to offer the most reliable (in terms of security, uptime, utility, and convenience) internet banking service was Metrobank. I have to admit, though, that BPI was able to catch up and in my own opinion (sans the downtimes that recently plagued their online banking) offer the best internet banking experience, especially when coupled with the convenience in managing your investment accounts via BPI Express Online.
Continue reading Philippine Banks Catching Up with Technology
Today marks the 10th year of existence of Deuts.NET. I registered this domain name on May 17, 2006 — check the whois.
I’m sure we’ve seen better days in blogging, when I used to post a lot more often, and daily traffic was much better. Perhaps, those were the glory days of blogging — before Facebook even came around. Continue reading Happy 10 Years!
It’s been like 3 years since I let go of my shared web hosting service in favor of WordPress.com and Tumblr for some of the domain names I own. Recently I wanted to pursue to develop my ChessHive project, which I knew WordPress.com won’t cut it because of so many limitations. In the case of Tumblr, though, I guess it’s because of too many spam Tumblr blogs that it no longer plays well along with Google Search.
Thus, the search for a cheap web hosting.
I thought, after 10 years of blogging and paying for web hosting (yes, this blog is celebrating 10 years of existence this month!), web hosting costs — specifically shared web hosting — must have gone down a lot. Oh crap, I was wrong! How? Check out why »
Marco Arment enumerates the reasons, “Why the 2012 non-Retina MacBook Pro still sells.”
As we’ve progressed toward thinner, lighter, more integrated Macs, we’ve paid dearly in upgradeability, versatility, and value. There are many Macs to choose from today, but in some ways, we have less choice than ever.
When Apple introduced the 3rd generation MacBook Pro (MBP) back in the middle of 2012, it then came with the Retina Display and solid-state drives (SSDs) in lieu of the hard-disk drives (HDDs), but dismissed the optical drive altogether. Moreover, you cannot upgrade the memory (RAM) by yourself, it has to be pre-packaged when you buy it.
I own an Early 2011 13-inch Macbook Pro, and I’ll probably hold back from upgrading to the latest MBP in the near future. Why? Here are my reasons: Check out my reasons after the jump »
Thrillist enumerates their reasons ‘Why You Should Ditch Google Maps for Apple Maps‘.
The points mentioned in the article may perhaps be valid if you’re living in U.S. But here in the Philippines, your best bet would be Waze. Why?
Nevertheless, I wish you could use Siri to search for locations via the Waze app.
I have a Smart (Freedom) postpaid plan. I used it merely for internet via a pocket wifi. Since Unlisurf is now gone (the plan is not eligible for SurfMax), I opted for the regular P5 per block of 15 minutes data instead.
Last week, I used it for less than 45 minutes. Going with Smart’s current rate, my unbilled usage should have only been P13.39 (net of VAT), but instead what reflected in My Smart Dashboard was P22.32 (net of VAT).
Last Monday, I used it for another 26 minutes (less than 30 minutes). My total unbilled usage for 75 minutes should have been P22.32 (net of VAT), and yet lo and behold, My Smart Dashboard indicate I have unbilled usage of P44.60 (net of VAT). Continue reading Smart’s regular internet, is it P10 per 15 minutes now?