Sky Broadband 10Mbps Advantage Plan

Was trying to log in to the Life At 5 Mbps website earlier, and I was greeted by this banner in the homepage:

By the way, the homepage I’m referring to is now redirected to consumable.skybroadband.com.ph.

It appears that Sky Broadband is now offering double the 5Mbps I’m currently subscribed to — at 10Mbps, but at a P300.00 premium, or a total of P1,299.00 per month. But check out the speeds I’m actually getting »

Rio Tuba Nickel Mining and Taganito Mining TV Ads

Advocates of anti-mining movements assert that host communities do not profit from mining activities in their area. That is not especially true in the case of Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. and Taganito Mining Corp. (both are subsidiaries of Nickel Asia Corporation), and other “responsible” mining companies in the country.

Below are the ads aired in various local TV stations in the country:

Taganito: Pamana ng Diyos, Pamana sa Bayan


Check out the Rio Tuba ads after the jump »

The Truth About Smart’s Freedom Plan

Smart Communications’ Freedom Plan is a postpaid plan but without the minimum monthly service fee (MSF). In other words, you only pay for what you actually used. For me, this is like a prepaid sim without load expiration, but without the worry of where to reload. This is perfect for my iPad (Wifi + 3G), especially that I have wifi both at home and in the office, and I only need to use 3G connectivity when I’m out.

Applying for the plan, according to the official webpage, is as easy as showing your face at any Smart Wireless Center and present a valid ID. But talk about false advertising. Here are additional important details you need to know that are absent from their website and/or ads: Check them out!»

Kindle Keyboard (3rd Gen) Stuck in USB Drive Mode

One day, my Kindle Keyboard came out of the bag with its screen showing that it’s in USB Drive Mode:

Kindle Keyboard Stuck in USB Drive Mode

Note that it’s not connected via USB to power socket or computer whatsoever. Connecting the device, however, to the computer, either in a Mac or PC, the computer cannot recognize the device. It’s not in the ‘My Computer’ nor in the Finder. Contune Reading »

ETF’s coming soon to the Philippine Market?

BusinessWorld reports ‘SEC completes draft measure for exchange-traded funds‘. SEC is then moving to solicit public comments before finalizing the measure.

I have always welcomed the idea of ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds) in the local bourse. Think about it, no more minimum holding periods nor sales load to worry about when buying and selling ETF stocks in the local stock exchange, except of course for the usual minimal fees and taxes.

In my opinion, this is a more liquid type of investment than regular mutual funds or UITF’s in a sense that you can sell your shares anytime without worrying about minimum holding periods and their corresponding charges. Besides, this is still a managed fund, thus you need not devote any more time in research for stocks to pick.

You might also want to read the 5 Things You Need to Know About Exchange Traded Funds.

Comparing Mutual Fund Returns

There are a lot of resources, particularly blogs, that compare returns from different types of Mutual Funds, and even UITF’s (Unit Investment Trust Funds), over different time periods. For example, try reading ‘The Best Performing Mutual Funds In The Last 3-5 Years‘.

Reviewing these numbers before investing to a new fund is a good exercise for it will give you better perspective at which fund you want to bet your money on. These return numbers are a “look back” at how the funds were managed, and thus performed, in the last 3 or 5 years. Continue reading Comparing Mutual Fund Returns

The Divoom Iris-02 Speaker System Review

I have been looking for an inexpensive (i.e., sub-Php1,000) portable speaker system for office use that could deliver soft audible music when played during office hours, but could also deliver loud-enough audio for everybody to enjoy tracks after office hours.

Then, I happened to bump into this Divoom Iris-02 at Switch in Park Square 1.

The speakers were small they can easily fit in your bag, and yet can deliver a level of sound loud enough they can startle everyone in the office if dialed to full volume. They are powered by USB, so they can deliver up to 10 times as loud the sound of normal built-in laptop speakers.

The speakers have no subwoofer, so they can’t really replicate the sound of a true stereo system. But then, you are not in a party, instead in an office trying to enjoy music while being ‘busy’ at work.

The official product page provides the complete features and specifications as follows: See the features and specifications after the break »

Market Talk on Stock Investing

Absolute Traders produced a video interview with Jay Peñaflor, PSE Head of Market Education, to discuss stock investing, comparing it to fixed income investments, the PSE Trade, and tips on stock investing. You may watch the videos below.

What I really find interesting is the second video focusing on the PSE Trade system, which has the capability to allow trading of other investment instruments in the future like derivative instruments and even commodities. But what really looks more promising to me is the possibility to buy and sell ETF’s or Exchange Traded Funds.

Watch more videos »

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather — The Fight is Finally On!

We know very well who will win in this epic but future (i.e., if it ever happens at all) battle between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. But the question is — how?

Well, just enjoy the video below:

This stop-motion video was produced by GRNMNGO, which took them 4 months and more than 2,500 still images to make. Wish they just used a clear white background instead or some other wallpapers.

This is how it feels like scrolling through a window in Android

For purposes of this illustration, I used a Samsung Galaxy S II (SGS2) running on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) and the official Twitter app for Android version 3.2.2.

When Samsung introduced the SGS2 last year, they promised amazing speeds with its 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. But then, obviously, this video is a testament at how hiccups happen brought about more likely by the ever-famous Android UI lag. Look at how the scrolling abruptly stops to open the details of a tweet when you mean it to continue scroll up.

Although I sampled only a single app for this demonstration, it is in fact fairly representative of the whole Android experience — that in Android, the system responds to presses that were never intended in the first place.