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    Now that the BB10 phones are out, let’s get cracking.

    Ren Alcantara
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    Now that the BB10 phones are out, let’s get cracking.

    The Z10, BlackBerry’s first BB10 devices, are out and available through local telcos. The next question is: “What can we do with them?” The BB10 ecosystem is awesome, but admittedly does not have the wealth of apps available to its other mainstream OS counterparts. Fortunately, the dudes over at crackberry.com have demonstrated that it is possible to sideload some some Android APKs onto the the BB10, and have them work. It’s pretty cool, and yet another reason for all of us to want a BB10 device, apart from the just being so very pretty. If you’re interested in finding out how to get this done, you’ll need a BB10 device, the necessary USB cable, a Windows PC and this link over HERE. Now, we aren’t responsible if your BB10 device dies, bricks or causes your kitten to explode. Just warning you. Get to it, and let us know how it goes!

    Want to take your business to the cloud? Here’s something for you

    Ren Alcantara
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    Want to take your business to the cloud? Here’s something for you

    Leading Internet Data Center operator and Cloud Services provider IP Converge Data Services Inc. will be holding a ThinkOutCloud seminar on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 8:30-11:30am at the Boardroom of the New World Hotel, Makati City. The session will highlight the benefits of using cloud applications for both automation of timekeeping and payroll operations, as well as how cloud computing can increase employee productivity and and efficiency. This seminar will be of great help to Human Resource heads and Payroll Managers.

    The ThinkOutCloud series is one of many such free seminars for business held by IP Converge over the past few years, the objective behind which is to educate and inform as many organizations of the increased usefulness of migrating to the cloud, over traditional systems. IP-Converge has been a prime proponent of cloud computing in the Philippines for over half a decade and continues to uphold this “cloudvocacy” under the trademark, ThinkOutCloud. The company is at the forefront of empowering Filipino businesses with its top class cloud solutions and services, and activities that enable businesses to be more competitive via the cloud, through per-use payment schemes.

    Said IP-Converge Marketing Director Niño Valmonte, “Our array of cloud offerings empower SMEs to expand their horizons and unleash their full business potential. IPC PayCheck, for instance, is a timekeeping and payroll management solution that helps organizations to streamline this critical facet of back-office operations.”

    IP-Converge has been in the business of enterprise cloud computing solutions even before the term “cloud” was popularized, and has been hosting private clouds for its customers since its inception in 2005. In 2007, the company became the first and only Philippine partner of NYSE listed cloud computing innovator Salesforce.com, and that of world leader in DDoS mitigation in the cloud, Prolexic Technologies.

    To learn more about this IP-Converge, head over to the IP-Converge event page HERE.

    D-Link Appoints New Marketing Director for SEA

    Ren Alcantara
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    D-Link Appoints New Marketing Director for SEA

    D-Link International Pte Ltd., one of the world’s biggest suppliers of netwroking products has just announced the appointment of a new Product Marketing Director for their South East Asia operations. Jonathan Quek, most recently Product Manager for the company, and former Technical Engineer and Pre-sales and Product Manager, has been tasked with overseeing  all marketing operations as well as supporting business development for Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Brunei.

    Mr. Quek will report directly to Peter Lim, Vice President, South East Asia, D-Link International. Lim says Quek, who has spent the last eight years in the company, understands the group’s business and culture, and is the perfect man to lead D-Link’s marketing efforts in the region.

    WWF-Philippines national ambassadors join top Asian celebrities in support of Earth Hour 2013

    Gadgets Team
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    WWF-Philippines national ambassadors join top Asian celebrities in support of Earth Hour 2013

    WWF-Philippines national ambassadors Nelson, Cojuangco-Jaworski, and Fernandez with WWF mascot Chi-Chi the Panda

    World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) national ambassadors Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez, and Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski will be joining the roster of Asian celebrities who will serve as global ambassadors for this year’s Earth Hour, which will take place on Saturday, 23 March, from 8:30PM to 9:30PM.

    Earth Hour CEO and Co-Founder Andy Ridley says, “Historically, international media has not fully acknowledged the power and influence of figures coming from Asia. This is fast changing. The fact that voices from celebrities across the region are so strong shows the power of their influence. After all, they represent more than four billion people—over half the world’s population.”

    Nelson, Fernandez and Cojuangco-Jaworski will represent Asia for Earth Hour 2013 alongside Asia’s Next Top Model host Nadya Hutagalung and Indonesian actress Pevita Pearce.

    This year, WWF-Philippines hopes to make the Philippines the number one participating country for the fifth year in a row. Since 2009, the Philippines has topped the ranking in terms of participants and has been touted as the Earth Hour Hero Country. In Earth Hour 2012, the Philippines broke its own record with 1,671 towns, cities and municipalities joining the hour-long switch-off.

    Apart from being avid supporters of Earth Hour, the Philippines also actively participates in the I Will If You Will social campaign led by WWF-Philippines. In this campaign, one pledges to do a certain thing and then challenges someone else, a certain group or a population of people on the Internet to do something in return.

    Hopping onboard the campaign is newly-appointed Earth Hour Philippines ambassador, equestrienne and actress Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, who has pledged to give 500 seedlings to WWF-Philippines’ agroforestry program in the Abuan Watershed of Isabela if 500 people promise to quit smoking for five days.

    She joins other WWF-Philippines national ambassadors, Rovilson Fernandez, who has pledged to conduct a free Cross-Fit class if 1000 people pledge to use reusable bags instead of plastic, and Marc Nelson, who pledged to kite-board from Boracay to Panay while wearing a Panda hat if 1000 people commit to use reusable water tumblers instead of disposable plastic bottles.

    For more information on Earth Hour 2013 and the I Will If You Will campaign, visit wwf.org.ph/earthhour or tune into updates at facebook.com/WWF.Philippines or twitter.com/WWF_Philippines.

    Vision Petron Collaterals Bag Highest Award from PRSP

    Press Release
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    Vision Petron Collaterals Bag Highest Award from PRSP

    Leading oil refiner Petron Corporation earned a Hall-of -Fame Award in the recently concluded 48th Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) for Everyone’s Vision Petron Collaterals.  Vision Petron Collaterals were bestowed with PRSP’s highest honor after bagging the Anvil Award of Excellence under the PR Tools-Publications category eight times since 2001. The Anvil is the symbol of excellence in public relations in the Philippines.

    Vision Petron Collaterals are printed materials that accompany every Vision Petron National Student Art Competition. Started over a decade ago as Art Petron, its first set of collaterals, which depicted indigenous Filipino games, changed Anvil Awards history when it earned the first-ever Bronze Award of Excellence in 2001. A year later, the competition was conferred with the Bronze Anvil Award by the Public Relations Society of America for excellence in creative tactics.

    “We have always believed in the talent of our youth and the value of their art in nation-building. For over a decade now, Vision Petron has provided an avenue for budding artists to promote love for the Filipino and Philippine culture through art,” Petron President Lubin B. Nepomuceno said.

    Vision Petron is a multi-awarded annual art competition for students enrolled in colleges and universities all over the country. It has a yearly theme that revolves around Philippine culture and art. Last year’s Collaterals, which carried the theme “Lakbay Alalay para sa Kalikasan,” once again gave the company an Award of Excellence in this year’s Anvil Awards. Vision Petron 12 gathered over 1,600 artworks and photographs from over a hundred art schools and all over the country, surpassing the previous year’s entries.

    “Through projects such as Vision Petron, we also hope to further inspire our young artists to become part of our advocacies on preserving the environment and nation-building,” Mr. Nepomuceno added.

    Apart from the Hall of Fame Award, Petron also bagged the following Anvil Awards:

    1. 25 Years of Lakbay Alalay: Journey’s Beyond the Road (Award of Excellence; PR program directed at specific stakeholders)

    2. Vision Petron FOLIO Magazine 2012 (Award of Excellence; culture Magazine for the youth)

    3. Tulong Aral ng Petron:  A Decade of Fueling Hope (Award of Excellence; PR program on a sustained basis education/literacy)

    4. Sustainability: Petron’s Way of Life (Award of Excellence; good governance, social responsibility, responsible citizenship)

    5. Boracay Beach Management Program (Award of Excellence; good governance, social responsibility, responsible citizenship)

    6. Right Moves: The 2011 Sustainability Report (Award of Merit; PR tools-Annual report)

    7. Managing our Environmental Footprint in Bataan  (Award of Merit; PR programs on sustained basis, consumer welfare)

    Globe mobile browsing on the rise, 55 percent increase in revenues

    Gadgets Team
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    Globe mobile browsing on the rise, 55 percent increase in revenues

    Globe Telecom is tapping its mobile browsing segment to bolster its growth and reinforce its position as a formidable challenger in the telecommunications industry. In 2012, Globe’s mobile browsing revenues totaled PHP 3.1 billion, growing 55 percent from 2011’s PHP 2 billion. The growth comes from increased smartphone penetration and more subscribers accessing the Internet from their mobile phones. Other mobile data revenues grew 67 percent from PHP 4.3 billion in 2011 to PHP 7.2 billion in 2012.

    “We are happy to see how our mobile browsing segment has grown in 2012 driven by the strong take-up of our offers that allow subscribers to maximize use of their smartphones beyond call and text,” said Jenny Granada-Echevarria, Head of Mobile Data Services in Globe.

    Globe also unveiled several new mobile internet bundles that provide Globe Prepaid and TM subscribers a day of unlimited access to social networking sites such for only P20. SOCIAL20 gives users access to Facebook, Multiply, and Twitter; FUN20 gives users access to Facebook and YouTube; and MAIL20 gives users access to Facebook, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail.

    Another feature that helped Globe boost its mobile browsing is their partnership with Google, which made Globe the world’s first telecom operator to offer free data access to the Internet and select Google services via Free Zone powered by Google. Free Zone allows Globe Prepaid and TM subscribers to get easy and instant access to Google Search, Gmail and Google+ on their feature phones and smartphones without any cost. You can access these features by going to http://libre.ph.

    Globe’s roster of mobile apps also helped increase its revenues. GMESSAGE, GMOVIES, GSERVICES and GCASH all help enhance subscribers’ mobile experiences and are designed to suit the interests and lifestyles of today’s smartphone users.

    Globe also launched its PowerSurf plans, mobile browsing plans that use megabytes (MB) to measure the size of Internet-related transactions. Globe PowerSurf gave subscribers bulk MB of mobile data which is consumable by kilobyte (KB). This differs from the default charging, where subscribers are charged P5 for 15 minutes of online time. By using an MB plan in mobile surfing that does not look at the time spent online, but rather by activity or site visited, mobile browsing was made more affordable. Prepaid subscribers can choose from the following PowerSurf plans: 20 MB for P15 for one day, 50MB for P30 for one day, and 100 MB for P50 for three days. Subscribers who browse the web more frequently can also avail of 30-day plans: 50MB for P99, 300 MB for P299, and 1 GB for P499.

    For more information about Globe’s mobile Internet, you can visit http://surf.globe.com.ph, text SURF to 8888 or dial *143# for free on your mobile phone.

    U.S. ISP forces customers into insanely long contracts, sues customers when FCC intervenes

    Gadgets Team
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    U.S. ISP forces customers into insanely long contracts, sues customers when FCC intervenes

    You might have found a good deal that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is offering and then decided to give them your business. But later on, you might have found out that you don’t like the agreement you have with your ISP—you may have a one, two or three year contract at a certain speed, and you’re not getting the speeds that were advertised to you or your service might be intermittent, both for a various number of reasons, and you want out. To get out, you usually need to pay an early termination fee. A United States ISP from Virginia, OpenBand, decided to bring the contract to end all ISP contracts to the table—contracts ranging in length from 25 to 75 years to residents of Loudoun County, Virginia, and thus, no affordable early termination fee.

    OpenBand convinced many communities to sign contracts with them to provide TV and broadband Internet services at USD$150 (Php 6,089) a month. Although residents were free to sign up for other TV and/or broadband Internet services, people from these communities still had to pay the USD$150 fee to OpenBand, essentially creating a monopoly over TV and broadband Internet services for their area. OpenBand now had no competition as a result of being a monopoly, and customers complained that OpenBand made no effort to improve their service. Some residents bought services from other ISPs, and were willing to put up with paying both the fee from their preferred ISP and OpenBand’s fee as well.

    Customer complaints reached the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates ISPs and other forms of communications in the United States. When the FCC made changes to make ridiculously long contracts illegal (thus freeing customers from the firm grip of OpenBand), many customers (obviously) chose not to renew. OpenBand, in response, decided to sue everybody that subscribed to their services—from individuals to homeowner associations to the county’s Board of Supervisors and two individual supervisors themselves, for USD$50 million. In response, at least two homeowners’ associations have filed lawsuits against OpenBand.

    The case is currently in court, and OpenBand shows no sign of letting go. It has claimed that the FCC has no jurisdiction over the arrangements they made with the homeowners, and has also gone as far as to redefine the terms (contracts vs. easements). One of the judges hearing the case, J. Harvie Wilkinson III, said, “The FCC ruling, it seems so clearly directed at prohibiting exactly what is taking place here, and I am beginning to get the idea that these standing questions, these ripeness questions, a lot of them are just a fog that’s being thrown up [by OpenBand attorneys] to provide protection for a shell game that’s going on here with all these different companies and different agreements.” Wilkinson also said, “OpenBand appeared to be seeking to evade the FCC exclusivity order by calling the contractual agreements…easements. It is one thing after another. The whole thing is a subterfuge.”

    Financially, OpenBand seems to be in it for the long haul—it has already spent USD$4 million to reclaim its monopoly, which may rise as more people locked into OpenBand’s “lifetime” contracts bring their cases against the company/monopoly.

    Source: TechDirt

    Samsung Galaxy S4 features explained

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung Galaxy S4 features explained

    Although the tech specs of the Samsung Galaxy S4 make it no less of a heavyweight in the smartphone market, what really makes the device interesting (and less of a mere update to the SIII) is the array of features built into it.

    One of them is the Dual Camera function, which allows users to use both the rear and front-facing camera simultaneously. This allows the person taking the photo to be part of the frame. The function works when using the camera to take either photos or videos, and can also operate during a video call. The S4 also has a mode called Sound & Shot, where users can capture nine seconds of voice recording after hitting the shutter button and taking the photo. The Drama Shot feature lets you take more than a 100 shots in 4 seconds, and combines them to make a dramatic collage. The native camera app also lets you erase certain elements in the frame—the ultimate anti-photo bomb tool.

    You can compile photos using the Story Album app, which also enables you to upload albums to Facebook in one go, tag friends, and type in captions.

    The device features what Samsung calls Air Gesture, a technology built into the S4 which allows users to operate the device without actually touching the screen. Air View enables you to preview the content of an email, your S Planner, gallery or video without having to open it, simply by hovering your fingers over the icons. Smart Scroll lets you to scroll through a page on the Internet either by hovering your hand in a scrolling motion over the screen or by slightly tilting the device forward or backward. Currently, Smart Scroll can only be used in the native browser of the Galaxy S4. You can also change the music track by waving your hand over the screen.

    Smart Pause is a feature built into the Galaxy S4’s video player that detects whether or not you’re looking at the screen. When you turn your head to the side, the video you’re watching will automatically pause, and when you turn your head back to the screen, it will then continue to play the video.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LHv1FPd1Ec&feature=youtube_gdata_player

    The Galaxy S4 also hosts voice control features. S Voice Drive makes it easy for you to operate the phone while your hands are on the wheel. This Siri-like feature will pretty much do everything for you, like answer or drop a call upon your command. When you connect it with a car Bluetooth, the device automatically switches to “driving mode,” and converts text to speech so that you will be able to check your notifications and messages without taking your eyes off the road. S Translator is one feature that will come in handy if you’re backpacking in a foreign country. This feature will translate a statement into any of the supported languages. You can type the statement into the device or make a recording of your voice. The S Translator will then process the statement, and it will translate it in the output language you selected. The output will either be displayed onscreen or played in the form of a sound byte. It can even translate written words, such as those found in menus and street signs.

    Playing music from multiple Galaxy S4s is made possible by the device’s Group Play function, which allows several devices to share content such as pictures, music, and documents with each other via wireless network or the S Beam. You can choose which of the connected devices blasts the left channel and which airs the right channel. Group Play also allows for easier multiplayer gaming.

    Samsung Knox is a security feature that enables you to “divide” the operation of the Galaxy S4 into two separate “spaces”: a work space and a personal space.

    Staying true to the “life companion” tag, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is pre-loaded with S Health—an app that lets you keep a record of your health stats, such as calorie count, and features a food diary, an exercise diary, and a sleep monitor.

    Other features include compatibility with Samsung’s Home Sync device, Adapt Display, and Adapt Sound.

     

    Smart nominated for several Telecom Asia Awards

    Gadgets Team
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    Smart nominated for several Telecom Asia Awards

    Smart is not only a well known telecom company in the Philippines, but it’s also a well known telecom company throughout Asia, hence why it is being nominated for several Telecom Asia Awards, which award telecom companies and their executives throughout Asia for their performance and innovation.

    In 2012, Smart won Best Emerging Market Carrier, Telecom CEO of the Year for Smart president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno, and Best Community Telecom Project for the m-health program Secured Health Information and Network Exchange (SHINE). This was also a first for the awards, as Smart became the first telecom company to get three awards in a single night.

    Smart is looking to retain its title of Best Emerging Market Carrier for 2013, and was nominated along with Malaysia’s Axiata and Indonesia’s XL Axiata and 3 Indonesia. It is also looking to retain its Best Community Telecom Project award for Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) Mobile, which is an Android application of the Department of Science and Technology’s website for disaster prevention and mitigation.

    A panel of industry experts will judge the finalists on the basis of innovation, financial performance, technology, market leadership, and corporate governance. The awards will be presented on April 17 in Malaysia.

    THE REAL DEAL: Samsung unpacks Galaxy S4

    Gadgets Team
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    THE REAL DEAL: Samsung unpacks Galaxy S4

    You’ve seen the hoaxes; now here’s the real deal.

    Samsung finally unveiled its newest flagship device—the Galaxy S4, flaunting a 5.0-inch Full HD AMOLED screen with a pixel density of 441 ppi, 4G LTE capability, a 2600 mAh battery, a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It hosts 2GB LPDDR3 RAM and comes with either 16, 32, or 64GB of internal memory that’s expandable via microSD. The Samsung Galaxy S4 runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

    Although it was never announced during the event, several reports claim that the Galaxy S4 will come in two variants with two different types of processors. One wields a quad-core Snapdragon processor, and the other features an Exynos 5 octa-core chip. Engadget reports that the availability of the octa-core variant will depend on the region.

    The device has support for both HSPA＋42 Mbps, 4G LTE, as well as LTE roaming.

    The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available in either black or white, and will be released alongside a wide variety of accessories, including cases. Samsung says that the S4 will be available globally in Q2, so we might be able to get our hands on the device before the summer ends.

    Click HERE for the lowdown on the features of the Samsung Galaxy S4!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LHv1FPd1Ec&feature=youtube_gdata_player

    Twitter app for Windows 8 and Windows RT released

    Gadgets Team
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    Twitter app for Windows 8 and Windows RT released

    Good news for Windows 8 users! The official Twitter app for Windows 8 is now available on Windows Store.

    It generally has the same functions as the official app for other platforms—the Home, Connect, Discover and Me tabs—but it also has new features that complement the Windows 8 UI, like Snap view, the Share and Search charms and support for Live Tiles.

    Snap view lets users adjust the size of the Twitter app and drag it to the side of the screen so that you can use other apps alongside it. The Share and Search charms enable users to tweet or search from any other running application, such as Internet Explorer. The app also features support for Live Tiles, which means that you’ll be able to see updates from the app directly on your home screen.

    Twitter claims that users can scroll horizontally under the Discover tab.

    The official Twitter app for Windows 8 is available in a wide variety of languages, namely: English (United States), Chinese (China), German, Spanish, Japanese, French, Russian, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Chinese (Taiwan), Thai, Turkish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, and Norwegian.

    Sources: Engadget, The Next Web

    Google is removing ad blockers from the Play Store

    Gadgets Team
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    Google is removing ad blockers from the Play Store

    Many people find ads annoying—that’s why we install ad block extensions on our Internet browsers. Every Internet browser has an extension that can block apps. AdBlock Plus is one of the most popular ones, and there are even filter lists that you can subscribe to so you don’t see ads, period—from the ones that load when you’re trying to watch your favorite music video to the banners on your favorite websites. Mobile devices also have the ability to block ads from apps and websites, but Google is removing these ad blocking apps from the Play Store because it violates their developer agreement.

    ” You agree that you will not engage in any activity with the Market, including the development or distribution of Products, that interferes with, disrupts, damages, or accesses in an unauthorized manner the devices, servers, networks, or other properties or services of any third party including, but not limited to, Android users, Google or any mobile network operator. You may not use customer information obtained from the Market to sell or distribute Products outside of the Market,” the agreement says.

    There are still ways to put ad blockers on your phone, however—you can download ad blockers from outside sources and sideload them onto your Android devices. Of course, if you’re using apps that don’t require the Internet, you can always go into Airplane Mode.

    Source: LifeHacker

    Hong Kong moves quickly on gigabit broadband

    Gadgets Team
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    Hong Kong moves quickly on gigabit broadband

    The quest for higher Internet speeds is a never ending one. We all want more speed so we can watch YouTube videos without the buffering, talk to our friends and family on Skype without the dropped calls, hold office in a virtual workspace in real time, and to play games with people around the world without needing to blame our poor performance on lag and disconnections. The Hong Kong-based Hong Kong Broadband Network has moved quickly to roll out gigabit (1,000 Mbps) broadband speeds to its customers for a bargain basement price—USD$26 (Php 1,055) a month.

    By comparison, Google has taken steps to launch Google Fiber in the United States, but it is only available in the Kansas City area right now for USD$70 (Php 2,842) a month. Verizon, one of the biggest ISPs in the United States, offers up to 50 megabits download and 20 megabits upload for a rather expensive USD$144.99 (Php 5,886) a month. Currently, high-speed Internet is only available in the Philippines to those who are willing to shell out large amounts of money or enterprise customers who need the bandwidth, and as a result, we have the 115th fastest Internet in the world by average download speed (3.92 Mbps). Compared to developed nations, the United States is 34th (16.01 Mbps), the United Kingdom is 24th (19.39 Mbps), Japan is 7th (33.63 Mbps), and Hong Kong is leading the way in first place (45.41 Mbps).

    Despite its low prices, the Hong Kong Broadband Network is turning a profit after taking on a few years of being in the red. “This is an eminently replicable model,” said Benoit Felten, a co-founder of Diffraction Analysis, a Paris-based consulting business. “But not by someone who already owns a network—unless they’re willing to scrap the network.”

    “Most broadband markets in the United States today are dominated by one phone company and one cable company,” said Dane Jasper, the chief executive of Sonic.net, an Internet provider based in Santa Rosa, California. “Why doesn’t Verizon offer gigabit service? Because it doesn’t have to.” Verizon justified their top offering, only 150 megabits at USD$195 (Php 7,916) a month by saying, “We offer speeds that exceed what customers can and do use.”

    Some United States ISPs are beginning to offer gigabit broadband, but for prices that far exceed the Hong Kong Broadband Network’s pricing. One provider has started offering gigabit service at USD$349.99 (Php 14,208) a month. However, Google has announced plans to partner with Sonic.net and start rolling out its gigabit service to 850 faculty and staff homes in a Stanford University subdivision. “We want to see what developers and users can do with ultra-high speeds, whether it’s creating new bandwidth-intensive ‘killer apps’ and services, or other uses we can’t yet imagine,” Google said on its company blog.

    With investors starting to increasingly set up shop in the Philippines, and with the many call centers in the country, will the Philippines start taking affordable gigabit broadband seriously? Only time can tell.

    Source: New York Times

    Xi3 is taking preorders for the Piston, a $1,000 PC-in-a-console

    Gadgets Team
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    Xi3 is taking preorders for the Piston, a $1,000 PC-in-a-console

    Valve CEO Gabe Newell and the Steam Box look like they are about to be beaten to the punch for living room supremacy by hardware maker Xi3. Xi3 is now taking preorders for the Piston, a $1,000 PC-in-a-console, and it is scheduled to hit shelves by the holiday season of 2013. The Piston was one of the many gadgets unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. Newell and Valve, despite their reputation in the gaming industry for being noncommittal with their release dates, said that the Steam Box should be ready for testing in three to four months.

    The Linux-based Piston isn’t going to replace a gaming rig with all the latest and greatest parts, though. The x86-based system will have an integrated AMD chip with a 3.2 GHz quad-core processing unit, and a 7000-series Radeon GPU sporting 384 programmable cores. The Piston will come with support for up to three monitors, including one HDMI output, along with whopping 12 I/O ports, eight of which are USB slots. For those preordering the console, you can select the size of the solid-state drive, but upgrading from the base 128 GB to a 512 GB will stack on USD$750 to the price. Users will also be able to install other operating systems on the Piston. “Piston will ship standard with Windows, though users are able to install other operating systems on the device, like any PC,” said David Politis, Xi3’s Chief Marketing Officer. That means those who prefer Linux can swap Windows for Linux, although only 81 Linux games are available for the Steam for Linux client, as opposed to the hundreds (if not thousands) of games for Windows.

    You won’t get the best performance from the Piston, not only because of its middling specs, but also because it will draw only 40 watts from an outlet. The USD$1,000 won’t be too appealing to console gamers either, namely because Sony’s PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox will have lower price points. One of the advantages to owning the Piston, however, is that you can apply upgrades easily, such as swapping RAM, the motherboard, and even the AMD accelerated processing unit (APU) itself. This will enable the Piston to stay one step ahead of its console counterparts as games become more and more complex.

    The Piston will make use of Steam’s Big Picture mode to bring PC gaming to TV screens. Those who preorder now can get USD$100 off.

    Source: CNET Asia

    We go out in the open with Hillarie Parungao in GADGETS Magazine’s Outdoor Issue!

    Gadgets Team
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    We go out in the open with Hillarie Parungao in GADGETS Magazine’s Outdoor Issue!

    Hillarie walked in on the set, all smiles and dead-set to work it. By the time we got outside, Hillarie immediately started hopping, dancing and playing around—you could tell how much she loved being outdoors and in the company of others.

    Hillarie is exactly what you would see in the outtakes—bold, confident, fun-loving. She finds joy in discovering things that are fun and novel, which is why she adores her job. To her, modeling is an adventure, and she sees herself as an adventurer. “Absolutely! I’d say yes to practically anything,” she exclaimed. “Even if I’m not sure if I can actually do it, I tell myself that I can. I like taking risks,” she said with excitement in her eyes.

    In the course of her professional modeling career so far, she was already able to meet loads of people and venture into unfamiliar turf—outdoor activities included. “Thanks to my modeling career, I learned how to scuba dive, hike and raft,” she eagerly told us. “All those extreme sports that I never imagined I would do, I was able to experience because of the modeling stints I got.”

    Despite being a model by profession and having tried a lot of outdoor activities, Hillarie sheepishly admits that she hardly works out (“Well, dancing is exercise, isn’t it?” she giggled). “A lot of people would think that I watch what I eat and constantly head to the gym since I’m into modeling, although that’s not the actual case,” she said guiltily. “But this year, I plan to change that and be more health-conscious.” Hillarie recognizes the importance of being fit and is determined to be more sensitive to her body’s condition this time around. “In the modeling world, you have to take care of your body. Lucky for me, even if I eat a lot and rarely exercise, I don’t bloat. But being fit isn’t just about the physical aspect. It’s firstly a health issue. You wouldn’t want to die early because you didn’t take care of your body, would you?”

    Read the full article and see Hillarie’s photos in Gadgets Magazine’s March 2013 release—the Outdoor Issue.

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