My Earth Hour Certificate

So Earth Hour awards a Certificate of Participation to all who registered before the day; and I got mine today. May this piece of graphic be a reminder to me and to you as well to indeed go beyond that one hour lights off. That event is merely to just create and instill awareness. We all know that we can contribute even with the simplest things - now it's time to do it.

Review: Samsung Smart TV (Preview in Dubai)

From 'idiot box' into a smart box - that's how Samsung sees the Smart TV will fit. In a special Dubai bloggers meetup held March 31 at Media One Hotel, Samsung exclusively unveiled their latest innovation and let us experience some of its features, well, some.

Basically, it is a TV that has access to the internet. Through its Smart Hub - the user menu interface, you can socialize, browse any websites, search for contents you want to watch - did I say in 3D? And like your smartphones, you can also install apps in it. So you can access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Talk or your mail, etc while watching. Imagine while you're watching football, you're seeing your Facebook wall and you can easily exchange rants and raves with your friends. Cool huh? Also, the Smart TV recommends contents related to your interests, primarily by your browsing history.

What we've spent a lot time on was its 3D feature. I must admit, it's really amazing. The picture quality is superb. I've also learned that it also has 3D sound system so it's definitely a shoo-in for a home theater.

Trying the LED 3D viewing 

Another cool feature of the Smart TV is converting 2D videos into 3D - any video - be it from YouTube, a DVD or even a mobile phone video.

File Transfer
Transferring photos, videos or music from your mobile device to the TV is so effortless. Thru AllShare, you can wirelessly transfer files from any compatible media such as Samsung Galaxy Tab or other Smartphones and hard drives.

Input Mode
The presenter used what appears like a typical remote control to navigate through during the presentation. Although they say, a remote control with a trackball on the front and a QWERTY keyboard at the back is coming out. There's also an Android app to download on your smartphone that you can use as remote control.

What apps does Samsung Smart TV support?
You can download Samsung Apps - which according to the presenter have around 300 apps to date. I know right! This is also what most of the bloggers cry about. But Samsung sees the number to grow byat least a  thousand by the end of the year. If you're an applications developer, you can contribute via their Samsung TV apps SDK.

The Expert Panel's Clamor
One of the most evident clamor from the bloggers is pointed to the lack of Bluetooth support. It's just an uncool idea to have a wireless smart device that doesn't support one of the basics and first in short-range connectivity.

While currently it doesn't have a built-in web cam, I hope it would support a 3rd-party webcam plugin too.

Nevertheless, I'm excited to pimp my living room with a Samsung Smart TV. It's like having a YouTube on a boob tube - and more than that. Did I say you can also play your favorite games, and you can convert them into 3D as well?

More photos from the Bloggers Meetup:

Dubai Comedy: Funny Customer Service

So I posted this video from Dubomedy about a skit portraying how Customer Service in Dubai could go funny... uhmm, punny at times.



One of my friends couldn't help but notice some specific content of the video. He commented,

sorry ion. don't find this funny though. filipinos may be crazy at times but not as stupid as this. there are some pinoys/nays who don't speak good english but they have excellent comprehension skills. i find this skit an insult to our capabilities whatever level in life you're on, whatever your educational background is, and whatever your english scale is too. i acknowledge that some have gender confusion, alternating "she and he" but not as bonkers as confusing "ma'am" and "sir".Cguro, these guys experienced customer service from a Filipino na "sobrang tanga" talaga pero this doesn't, in reality" represent the "in general" customer service that we or they, who work in dubai, provide. tsk.tsk.

Cheer up bro! That's why it's called Comedy - nothing to feel serious about. And besides, it's pun intended for Dubai and not for Filipinos. It just so happened that too many Filipinos work in service-oriented professions here. What the actors in this skit portray is actually the 'lack of proper and ethical customer service' AND NOT being a Filipino. This shit happens everywhere, even in our own country. Let's face it, stupidity is shared by all nationalities, race, color profession, etc. There's just no place here on earth that doesn't have equal share of stupids and the not-so stupids.

Are websites becoming irrelevant?

Now on paper bags, Facebook replaces the spot of then web address. No surprises though. Why wouldn't any brand come to where the people already is - and costs less, if not free.

What is home?

Home creates an environment where we, since childhood, are exposed to new thinking, first idealism and first beliefs. Everything that happens at home are most likely regarded as the right ones. By the time we go out to the real world, we discover a lot more, we realize further and we investigate. Home is always our first reference. Home is where our character and values are formed. It is where we get our identity - identity that we will bring wherever we may be.

Home is not the physical structure, not the house, but a state of mind where you are comfortable and relaxed to do whatever you want. At home, you are limitless.

We are always longing to be at home. During work or school or wherever, we feel that time moves sooo slowly. But when at home, we don't mind time. We can do whatever we want to do. We can live our dreams at home. We crank out loud with the stereo and have our own concerts. We dance like it's the last night gracefully. Home is where we interpret how we really wanted to be in the real world. In short, home sets our dreams.