Android vs iOS: Dream Battle or Battle Only In Your Dreams?

Being both an iOS and Android user for only a year, I would say that I might have not experienced the best and worst (if there is any) of these two major mobile platforms. Mobile is actually a restricting adjective, as these to competing operating systems transcend beyond mobility. Both have taken portability and computing into a whole new level. So, instead of bragging my limited relationship with these to wondeful software creations of our time, let’s take a look at some ideas and reviews going around the World Wide Web. I decided to skip the things that both OS have (productivity, social media integration, etc.), I believe it’s more interesting to know which areas one seem superior to the other. Specialized Content Portals. If you’re too keen on going to a specialized store, iPhone has dedicated portal for games (Game Center) and media content (iTunes). Android prefers putting everything in one giant virtual market place. Customization. You can only do this for iOS after jailbreaking the device. Android has deeper customization capability. Voice Assistant. iOS has Siri (though honestly it failed to fascinate me aside from watching funny YouTube parodies about this virtual feminine butler). Flash Support. Some websites may not work for iOS, which make Android-based browsing experience better. Apps Quality. Some say that iOS apps have fewer tendencies to crash and average rating is higher than Android apps. This maybe true on a general observation, I think it is still very subjective on a per user level. Following the advise of ZDNet’s article, if you have the luxury and the necessity to own Android and iOS powered-devices, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just enjoy using them whenever you want. For more interesting facts and insights, I recommend you check out related articles from PC Advisor and TIME Tech websites.

Beat the Heat, Beachify!

Summer has officially started, and there may be no better way to enjoy the sunny season than to splash in the seas! There are lots of activities waiting for you to enjoy the beach, but before wearing your cute sunglasses and once-a-year-worn bikinis or trunks, make sure that all is fun from sunrise until sunset. Have you chosen the best beach to go to? Best means not just all the splendid scenery, the crystal seas and white sands. You should consider the value-for-your-money stuffs like beach facilities, accommodation, food and others. Is your mode of transport to and from your beach destination also worth your bucks? While traveling especially if the beach is quite far off, would it be a comfortable and safe trip? Do you have kids to bring? Are these little beachgoers well informed of the “first-things first” and “it’s-okay-to-say-no” rules while in the beach? Oops, too many questions? Come to think of it, it would be nicer that you spend most of your time in the sea and enjoying with your family and friends, instead of wasting precious moments in the hotel room doing budget computations, calling the desk officer and finding where to go to in the venue map. You go to the beach to relax and have fun, so better work on the things that should be well prepared beforehand. Take some time to read some reviews of beaches and other tourist destinations in your place. Seasoned beach bums and tourists have their own blogs or websites telling the experiences they had, both good and bad, in some popular beaches. They even offer some useful tips to ensure that readers will get the best out of their vacation. If you have already chosen your beach, look out for promotions and best deals going to your destination. There are online discount programs that come along with room and activity packages that will keep you busy in a fun way. Just bring what you have to use in the beach. I discourage bringing laptop as you may tend to stay away from the very purpose of going to the beach. Unless your work requires you to stay 24/7 online, do bring your gadget and spoil your summer vacation. Hope I have shared some thoughts to ponder that may somehow help you to have an exciting and happy beach experience. It may sound cliché, but planning ahead will help you get the most of your beach relaxation. Enjoy!

Taxpayer's Woes

It's unfortunate that unpleasant experiences had to happen just to remind me writing again in my blog. And I had to write all about it to release the "bwisit" feeling.

First, me and the rest of Meralco subscribers got the summer surprise of our lives after our electric bills this month shoot up like the volcanic ashes and clouds of current Europe skies. Everyone's complaining but no one's explaining. It's a Metro-wide phenomenon, blacking out every sense of rationality. Parang na-Flash Forward kami kaya lang ang future, kelangan mong magbayad ng bill at kung hindi, baklas ang metro mo.

Next, it happened just this morning while lining up for a ride sa MRT station. 5:30am sila nagbukas pero 6am pa lang, pumipila na ang sandamakmak na tao. Ang dahilan: Nandun lahat ng sekyu, nagi-inspect ng mga gamit sa pinakataas na platform malapit sa ticket booths. They did not (as always) anticipate the rush of people riding on a Monday morning. Kung sa baba pa lang, nagi-inspect na sila, wala sanang maiipon na tao. Nagbabayad ka ng tamang buwis tapos ito ang makukuha mong serbisyo at mapupunta lang sa sweldo ng mga taong walang common sense and practical decision making ability!

oYes!

This could be the start of something that is financially rewarding. =)

From King of the Road to Street Thugs

At least in most areas that I have been to, I can say with sadness that gone are the days when the Pinoy Jeepney is a symbol of Filipino hospitality and artistry. Jeepneys today no longer reflects the colorful, festive mood of Pinoys. They are now considered as utility in essence. No more, no less.

I recall them being tagged as the country's king of the road. But there was a time when I thought the title was taken by so-called FX's and other similar AUV's which started to crowd the metropolis during the 90's. They did survived, nonetheless.

But today, there are more unhappy experiences than good ones that I can tell. I do not blame the machines, but the men behind the wheels.

- Lots of units are poorly maintained, thus causing black smoke to engulf the streets.

- Jeepney drivers become younger and younger (some barely qualify for a driving license, if they even have it) and as we all know, youth can be equated to recklessness resulting to undesirable consequences.

- There are also oldies that really don't give a damn when getting passengers, no matter how they stop in the middle of the road, as long as they get everyone aboard.

- Just no proper education on safe driving (not to mention good grooming).

The last time I saw an authentic Filipino-inspired passenger jeep was when I opened a coffee table magazine (thanks Sarao, Lippad and others for the memories). It's just like reminiscing the old Manila through an FB account. How nostalgically sad.

My 10-10 in 2010

Last January, the inevitable happened: My age is officially beyond the Gregorian calendar month days. As a tribute to myself, here are top ten signs - in no particular older - that tell me that I'm increasing in value in terms of antiquity.

1. Almost 70% of my friends are married and 90% of which already have children aged 1 year and up

2. I started commenting on how teenagers type in their text messages (QuA AzaHn NhA Poh QaU? is nauseously translated as Kuya, nasaan na po kayo?)

3. Reads newspaper more often

4. Feels pain in various region of my body more often

5. More and more kids calling me Kuya or Tito

6. Our wedding album gets dusty

7. Drinks coffee more often

8. Mentions terms like pressure, stress, taxes, billing statements more often

9. Shoots adult jokes like drinking water

10. Starts to worry about my eating habits

This should not overshadow the fact that lots of blessings were and are being given to me, thus here are the top ten:

1. I have a loving wife;

2. I have a wonderful baby boy (girl to follow);

3. My family is healthy physically and spiritually;

4. Both my biological parents and parent in-laws are still here;

5. Families and close relatives from both sides are safe;

6. I have lots of friends;

7. I have my own house (car to follow);

8. I have a stable job (own business to follow);

9. My bills payments are up-to-date;

10. I can share my blessings and afford to help others in any way I can; instead of being on the receiving end.

Google Wave: Preview

Communication in its most advanced medium, I think. No wonder Google people get pampered while at work in the most literal sense of the word, they are so damn good!

Click here to know more about it and watch the loooongest YouTube video that I have ever seen.

Nice to have an account so request one now.

Top 10 movie flops of the decade (Reuters)

Source: Reuters Thu Nov 26, 2009, 8:01 pm EST


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Movie flops aren't just about losing money. Yes, big budgets that go bust are one consideration. But flops are also about lofty expectations dashed and high profiles brought low. They trigger embarrassing catcalls from the peanut gallery and a general whoever-thought-that-was-a-good-idea-in-the-first-place bewilderment.

Any judgments of flopitude are necessarily subjective, but here are 10 movies from the past decade that made those few moviegoers who saw them cringe. Disagree? Talk among yourselves.

10. THE SPIRIT

* Release date: December 25, 2008

* Estimated cost: $60 million

* Domestic gross: $19.8 million

Frank Miller, the man who created the comics "300" and "Sin City," and who redefined Batman and Daredevil for the modern age, directed this adaptation of Will Eisner's comic-strip hero. Starring Samuel L. Jackson and a bevy of beauties, it may have looked good on the page. But onscreen, the heavily stylized, nearly black-and-white results were disastrous. The expensive movie was killed by comic fans, who wanted Miller to go back to comics, and critics, who trashed the movie's over-the-top tones and aesthetics. Consequently, the partners at the company behind the production, Odd Lot Entertainment, parted ways after 23 years together. It even killed plans for a Miller-directed version of "Buck Rogers."

9. GRINDHOUSE

* Release date: April 6, 2007

* Estimated cost: $67 million

* Domestic gross: $25 million

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez managed to turn twice the filmmaking firepower into half the box office (and a third of the critical praise). With "Grindhouse," what began as an explicit exercise in joyous B-movie cinema homage -- a double bill of '70s-style schlock, one film from each director -- ended up aping its scuzzy genre ancestors a little too closely in the receipts department. After the three-hour-plus "Grindhouse" opened to a mere $11.6 million, Harvey Weinstein split the film's two parts -- "Death Proof" and "Planet Terror" -- and shuttled them to international markets individually. While that recouped a little of the Weinstein Co.'s money, it incurred the wrath of purists who were angry that the original film had been corrupted. Tarantino and Weinstein are famously loyal to each other, and while the writer-director eventually made good on the losses with the $120 million-grossing "Inglourious Basterds" this year, "Grindhouse" was one instance where loyalty nearly brought down the house.

8. ROLLERBALL

* Release date: February 8, 2002

* Estimated cost: $70 million

* Domestic gross: $19 million

Norman Jewison's 1975 comment on violence, corporatism and spectacle has its place in the paranoid '70s-era cult film pantheon. John McTiernan's remake, on the other hand, would be totally forgettable if it weren't so spectacularly misconceived in every way. The cast -- Jean Reno, Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos -- was a C-list mishmash closer to reality TV than big-budget studio moviemaking. McTiernan had long since dented his box-office bona fides with "Last Action Hero" and "The 13th Warrior." And the studio releasing it -- MGM -- was so aware of its bomb-worthiness that it pushed the release back four times, out of the summer 2001 field and into the barren wasteland of February. In a last act of desperation, the movie was also re-edited from an R to a PG-13 rating, sabotaging any last chance it had at an audience. Ultimately, it pretty much wrecked McTiernan's career (he has directed only one film since).

7. THE INVASION

* Release date: August 17, 2007

* Estimated cost: $80 million

* Domestic gross: $15.1 million

Nicole Kidman couldn't have started the decade any hotter, scoring with "Moulin Rouge," "The Others" and "The Hours." But after 2002, her career went cold in the U.S. ("Stepford Wives," "Bewitched," "Australia" and "The Golden Compass"); it's as if the actress was abducted by some sort of soul-draining body snatcher. But wait, isn't that what she's fighting in "The Invasion," Hollywood's latest remake of the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"? This time around, the eerie premise, based on a novel by Jack Finney, failed to catch fire. The Wachowski brothers' second unit director, James McTeigue, was called in to shoot additional scenes written by the "Matrix" whiz kids after original director Oliver Hirschbiegel was sent packing, having filmed the bulk of the movie. In an omen of things to come, Kidman suffered an on-set fender-bender during the reshoots. When the film arrived in theaters more than a year late, Kidman's regal bearing took another dent.

6. CATWOMAN

* Release date: July 23, 2004

* Estimated cost: $100 million

* Domestic gross: $40 million

It was inevitable after Michelle Pfeiffer stole scenes as Catwoman in "Batman Returns" that her black-latexed anti-heroine would get a spinoff of her own. But when the inevitable occurred in 2004, this time with Halle Berry playing the character, audiences tried hard to cover up the kitty litter. No one involved with the movie came out unscathed. Not Berry, who just two years earlier had won an Oscar for "Monster's Ball"; not Sharon Stone, who chewed up the scenery as the movie's villainess; and not Pitof, the French filmmaker making his American directorial debut. He went back to his native land and hasn't directed a theatrical feature since. The movie is another example cited by studios in their long-held contention that female superhero movies just don't work.

5. TOWN & COUNTRY

* Release date: April 27, 2001

* Estimated cost: $90 million

* Domestic gross: $6.7 million

Twenty-five years after he seduced audiences in "Shampoo," Warren Beatty decided the time was ripe for another sex comedy, albeit one with a somewhat older circle of friends. He somehow persuaded New Line, which usually concentrated on the youth market, to foot the bill. And what a bill it was: With the script still furiously going through rewrites, Peter Chelsom began shooting in June 1998; 10 months and take after take after take later, the film was still shooting. That's when co-stars like Diane Keaton and Gary Shandling had to leave to fulfill other commitments. A full year later, the whole cast regrouped to finish the shoot, which had escalated to more than twice its original $44 million price tag. The completed film was actually something of a tepid affair. Beatty dithers as a New York architect who cheats on his wife with several women; Shandling's his best pal trying to come out as gay. And then there's Charlton Heston, playing against type, as a gun nut.

4. GIGLI

* Release date: August 1, 2003

* Estimated cost: $54 million

* Domestic gross: $6.1 million

If the course of true love rarely runs smoothly, then "Gigli" is an object lesson in how rocky it can get. As the new century dawned, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez -- tabloid code name: Bennifer -- were the couple of the moment. With an Oscar for writing "Good Will Hunting" and starring roles in "Pearl Harbor" and "The Sum of All Fears," his movie career was in high gear; she could boast a solid-gold music resume and rom-com appeal in movies like "The Wedding Planner" and "Maid in Manhattan." Onscreen romantic sparks seemed made to order. So what went wrong? Start with that title, "Gigli," that no one was sure how to pronounce. Add lots of lovey-dovey media appearances that erased a bit of their mystique. And then there was Martin Brest's film itself: a low-rent-mobster-boy-meets-enforcer-chick tale complete with a kidnapping, severed thumbs and Al Pacino in high dudgeon. Bennifer split in 2004, just before sharing the bill in another film not too far away on the flop-o-meter, "Jersey Girl."

3. LAND OF THE LOST

* Release date: June 5, 2009

* Estimated cost: $100 million

* Domestic gross: $65 million

Producer/puppeteers Sid and Marty Kroft were masters of the weird and cheesy; their old Saturday morning TV show, "Land of the Lost," is remembered fondly by kids who grew up in the '70s. But the material experienced something of a time warp when director Brad Silbering tried to give it a hipster spin this summer with the help of Will Ferrell, playing a paleontologist who journeys to a parallel universe where he meets the Sleestaks. Normally, any movie with a rampaging Tyrannosaurus (see "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "Night at the Museum") can't miss, but "Lost" was, well, lost in translation. The movie's PG-13 rating wasn't a comfort to many families when word got around of its toilet humor. Older moviegoers weren't interested, and Kroft purists weren't amused. Over the years, Disney and Sony had both held remake rights, but ultimately this hot potato landed at Universal, where it was one of the factors that resulted in the ouster of the studio's two top executives in October.

2. BATTLEFIELD EARTH

* Release date: May 12, 2000

* Estimated cost: $75 million

* Domestic gross: $21 million

Blame it on the Thetans if you want, but John Travolta's space oddity "Battlefield Earth" virtually imploded on the launching pad. Travolta's career was enjoying a resurgence in the wake of "Pulp Fiction" when he wagered a big chunk of his newfound credibility, as well as some of his own coin, on this passion project. "Battlefield Earth" was based on a 1972 sci-fi novel by Scientology guru L. Ron Hubbard, which Travolta promised would be "like 'Star Wars,' only better." Studios shied away, but Travolta found financing from Franchise Pictures, which would later be sued by investors for overstating the movie's costs as $100 million. Originally, Travolta hoped to play the young hero who leads a rebellion against the alien race that enslaves Earth, but the film took so long to assemble he ultimately opted instead to don dreadlocks and platform shoes to play the villain, barking lines like "Execute all man-animals at will, and happy hunting!" A planned sequel, which would have covered the second half of the novel, never materialized. "Some movies run off the rails," observed Roger Ebert. "This one is like the train crash in 'The Fugitive.'"

1. THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH

* Release date: August 6, 2002

* Estimated cost: $100 million

* Domestic gross: $4.4 million

Eddie Murphy is some kind of miracle. Five of his recent films lost more than $250 million, and yet he not only still gets hired but also commands his salary quote. But on the flop-o-meter, one Murphy title towers above even "Meet Dave," "Showtime" and "I Spy": Trumpets, please, for "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," whose release was delayed for 14 months. It instantly became the "Cleopatra" of our age. A sci-fi gangster comedy, complete with robot sidekick, set on the moon, "Pluto" was neither fish nor fowl -- but mostly foul. But unlike most stars who are tarnished by a mega-flop, Murphy -- who did take time off from broad comedies to redeem himself with his Oscar-nominated turn in "Dreamgirls" -- just keeps going and going and going.

Count, share your blessings

We made some rounds yesterday in Marikina, Pasig and Rizal to check out and bring some assistance to our colleagues who are affected by floods brought by Ondoy.

The sight (and smell) was really depressing. Paano na kaya ang nararamdaman ng mismong mga residente dun? Nakakaawa talaga.

Who would have thought that the furniture you dusted, electric appliances you used and books you just read last Friday would turn to garbage the next day?

Maswerte ang karamihan sa atin na nakaligtas sa perwisyo at nasa kabilang side ng pangyayaring ito. Mas mabuti na ang makasama sa mga tumutulong kaysa sa isa ka sa mga nanghihingi nito. Dahil sabi nga ng isa kong ka-opisina, hindi lang sa ari-arian ikaw dapat makarekober, kundi pati rin sa trauma na naranasan.

Malakas na naman ang ulan sa labas.

Ingat na lang sa ating lahat.

Belated Happy 3 Years, Happyslip!