TECH MARKET

@ ETON DIGTAL ZONE

E D S A c o r O R T I G A S AV E . , Q U E Z O N C I T Y

2011

Everyone is invited to TECHMARKET 2011 (extended up to January 15, 2012) at the ETON DIGITAL ZONE E-LIFE (Building 1), EDSA corner Ortigas Ave, Q.C.

Techmarket highlights daily trading and weekly TipidPC community activities such as, groupbuys, sub-group events, gaming/LAN party, product demonstration, raffle, distro inventory sale, testing center, repair services, mini and grand EB, exhibits, free seminars, and more. Simply put, think of Techmarket 2011 as the offline equivalent of our site. For sellers, few stalls left up for grabs! Call us for reservations at 4898115 / 8477819 / 0917-8474372 or email us at techmarket2011@tipidpc.com.
TechMarket2011 is brought to you by TipidPC.com Inc. and Eton Properties Philippines Inc. | Free Wi-Fi by PLDT DSL

Participating Stores

PCNetmiles | Open Pinoy | DynaQuest | Nerdherd | Cooltech PC | Gamersdotcom Hot Gadgets | Tomli | Softbox Solutions | True Rated PC | Max Computer Center | EasyPC XCS Computers | PC Generation | WOWGadgets | Ayos Computer

Intel AMD MSI Aerocool Silver Stone Antec Steel Series HEC Asrock Lite-on HannsG Sennheiser Palit PS3 Thermaltake EVGA Razer Chimei Western Digital NZXT Coolermaster Rocat Bitspower ekwb Sapphire Corsair Larkooler GSkill Samsung Nintendo DS Deep Cool FSP Logitech OCZ A4Tech x-Mini Noctua AOC XSPC Xtreamer Huawei Wii Astone QNAP Transcend Seagate ZTE Gigabyte Asus Inno3D Tenda Kingston HP Sandisk Tuniq Drobo Edimax BitDefender ...more brands to choose from

Contents
Message from the Tipidpc core Team
9 A Word from The Demigods of TipidPC

the Cover 10 Feature

12 16 20 34 A Newbies Guide in Buying and Assembling a PC Celebrating MSIs 25 Years of PC Innovation The Man behind PCNetmiles TipidPC Montage Training Photos 36 Basic PC Troubleshooting 38 Photography 40 Structured Network Cabling 42 Aimon PS 43 Olympus PEN E-PL2 46 AMD Fusion E350 The Affordable HTPC Platform 50 Online Transactions and the Law on Sales 54 The (Download) Times They Are A-Changin 56 64 67 70 What you do not know about DJ Mo Modz of Tantric RBA - Rig Builders Alliance Rig Noobies: Im a noob and proud of it!

Hardware Review

exclusive

spotlight

Do It YoURseLF

72 Android Powered DIY Home Control System 76 PC8 Cardboard Edition 79 81 84 86 89 Call of Duty: Black Ops CRYSIS 2 Portal 2 Fight Night Champion Rockin Out with Rockband 3 iPad Game Reviews 90 Angry Birds 91 NFL 2011 HD 91 Fishing Kings 92 94 95 96 Effective Communication 101 Health & Technology: Top 4 Hassles while surfing the Internet Practicing Safe Internet Habits TipidPC Community Survey

Game Central

Community Guide

tech Guide

98 How did my PC get Infected with Malware? 104 Diskless Workstations: A Promising Technology for Filipinos

EDITORIAL

cHristian ManingDing Editor-in-Chief Prince rivera Executive Editor Joey ablaza Associate Managing Editor / Copywriter roD bier DIY Section Editor JayDee DoMingo rJay gregorio Programming / Software Section Editor

pHOTOGRApHY

Prince rivera PePPer Manuel alvin telan Franco Deocaris Joey ablaza rain roDriguez Paul tan Prince rivera grace Martinez trisH Magno eDWarD Del Puso

cREATIVE & DESIGN

EDITORIAL & REASERcH SUppORT

cONTENT cONTRIBUTORS

Jonas Martinez Games Editor carlo Dinglasan, rod bier, Joey ablaza, nylmar garcia, andrew Del castillo, ariz cabias, Jason Migrio, Paul Henri santiago, Hermann calero, renier Delos santos, Paul tan, xteamobsidianx, emmanuel yumul, Jonas Martinez, Kevin Paolo evangelista, Michael angelo gonzales, erwin Kim, gabriel Quidilla, raymond Daquioag, Fai ernisle chan, rymarc gutierrez, sam Hong, stephen lee, brian rodriguez, ryane vergel Miciano, rainier cabotaje, sammy Kay Pua, ryan alano, rommel enriquez, ernest Panis Jr. tipidPc.com, inc. alexander House bldg. rm 502 #132 amorsolo street legaspi village Makati city tel. nos.: (632) 489-8115 telefax: (632) 847-7819 WEBSITE www.tipidpc.com PRINT ADS magazine@tipidpc.com WEB ADS marketing@tipidpc.com PuBLISHER alex.amadeo@tipidpc.com ARTICLE article@tipidpc.com

pUBLISHER

BUSINESS

BuSINESS DEVELOPMENT alex amadeo TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT Jesus Domingo rjay gregorio telle gregorio LEGAL STRATEGIST Jason Migrio

ADMINISTRATION rosel amadeo christian Maningding MARKETING Hermann thomas calero zes Martinez

cOpYRIGHT

all rights reserved by tipidPc.com, inc. tipidPc designs and layouts are copyright and registered Trademarks of TipidPC.com, Inc. Articles, opinions and views submitted by the authors and contributors do not reflect those of the editors and publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the Publisher is strictly prohibited. tipidPc Magazine is published quarterly and can also be downloaded at http://www.tipidpc.com

aka xhristian Director for Finance, TipidPC.com Inc. Chuck Norris Trained

CHRISTIAN MANINGDING

Chiseled Granite Hard Pecs

24 Diameter Phyton Size Biceps

GEEK sExy
IS THE NEW

8 Pack Washboard Abs

MESSAGE from the Tipidpc core Team

A word from the Demigods of tipidPC
From mere gamers to a formidable institution

ipidPc has its roots starting way back in 2001. Many of you 80,000 strong and dedicated members are already probably aware that tipidPc was conceptualized during one of the usual overnight get together sprees, alternately spent playing multi-player Playstation at the house of a very patient mother of a core members living room. Majority of the founders were then part of PinoyPc and were therefore Pc enthusiasts. Having been hooked in upgrading Pc parts once a new product was introduced into the market, which during those days occurs at least every 6 months, they whimsically thought of why not create a venue to dispose their old parts and perhaps help other Pc fanatics in the process by interacting with one another on how to trade in each own unwanted Pc peripherals and even get at least a few bucks from doing so. so we created a very simple site to cater to the needs of all Pc enthusiasts to gather together and find out the best option on how to dispose their second hand Pc parts. the site was really so simple that it looked like it was created using a plain Ms Word or excel software application. but just like everything else in our natural lives, change is bound to happen. as the old adage goes, the only thing constant is change. From Dos to Windows, from crt to leD screens, from analog mobile phones to Digital smartphones, from cable to wireless, from Kuya Pepe Pimentel to Willie revillame, among

Knowing how to operate a computer is now a necessity rather than being a luxury. In fact, a persons path to being cool now involves dealing with something technology related.
many others. We are all subject to time and change, and tPc is no exception. tPc began from a simple idea about a buy and sell site that blossomed to a large community of it enthusiasts, unbounded by race, religion or creed. and with the world wide web, space is no issue. Wherever you are, tPc is there to help. along with these changes, the perception of people using Pcs has changed as well. back then, it was viewed that the only people who use Pcs are those who are in the it industry. a person who sees the world in binary, people whose favorite type of sport was Pong. i cant even remember people back then who wanted to start their career in a computer-related job. Fast forward to the future, you would hardly know anyone these days who doesnt know how to operate a computer; almost all jobs now involve operating a computer one way or another. No office will function without the use of computers. so, if you ran out of reasons to take

a leave of absence, go pray for a loss of electricity and if ever that was answered, remain still for awhile and listen to the sound of people blurting out, oh, shoot, i wasnt able to save my file, Naku nawala si boss, ka chat ko pa naman. and the best line that would appear as music to your ears, ok people, you may resume first thing tomorrow morning. Knowing how to operate a computer is now a necessity rather than being a luxury. nowadays, a persons path to being cool now involves dealing with something technology related. thousands of famous people use Facebook or Twitter to keep in touch with their hordes of fans. stars are now being discovered via youtube with the likes of arnel Pineda, Justin bieber and charice, just to name a few. We even measure ones popularity with the number of friends they have in their social networking sites. to a certain degree we could say that we have lost our old identity of being mutually exclusive from the rest of the clusters. We have somehow deleted the exclusivity of being sole Pc enthusiasts. We have wandered off into a different sought after higher class. its not nerdy anymore to know something about computers; its even a plus right now in elevating your cool status in society. techrelated gizmos, such as your ipads, netbooks, androids and smartphones, are now basic components before one can be considered hot. We are not outcasts anymore; we have definitely made our own mark in society. We have baked our cake and ate it too but we havent forgotten our roots, which is to share large slices of our own piece of the pie with everything in it. trendy. Hip. cool but still l337. Geek is definitely the new sexy.

10

THE

cOVER

Experts in their own field, these are some of the people who have tirelessly supported the TipidPC community. Our hats off to these Hardware Junkies and to all who had unselfishly shared their knowledge to the advancement of the IT Industry.

Nylmar Garcia aka nrg500

Mike Samsin aka tantric

Fernando Reyes IV aka pando

Gil Gerard Navarro aka gzhil

Carlo Dinglasan aka fakuryu

Benjamin Medina Jr. aka camshow

Chris Tacang aka Tacs

Chester John Gonzalez

aka chezzowicked

Rod Bier aka cham_e_lyon

Daniel Nopueto aka frontosa06

Jhon Ryan Bondoc aka ryeken21

Renier Delos Santos aka

autoprimephilippines

Ronaldo Bejarin aka bartman1973

12

FEATURE
A newbies Guide in Buying and
Assembling a PC
by

toP stories, sPecial articles, & MaJor events

Carlo Dinglasan aka fakuryu

A good amount of RAM is always welcome and to be honest, a 2 GB sticks worth is plenty even for gaming and multi-tasking using a 64bit OS.
budget of PHP 20,000 and you want an intel i7 cPu built for home use, mainly for browsing on Facebook. at the current pricing and with that budget, its not possible to setpup an i7 and quite honestly, a total waste for such a powerful cPu for a simple task. When purchasing a Pc, its always best to know what it is for since this can save you a lot of money, time, and even headache in the long run. A home/office PC doesnt need to be necessarily powerful. even the current entry-level cPus in the market are powerful enough for such meager jobs. therefore, a good dual core cPu like an aMD athlon ii X2 is more up to the task; even a single core aMD sempron 140 can do the job without much sweat. a gaming Pc is where things get tricky. you must determine how much power and performance you want and how well deep your wallet is since youll pretty much be digging hard if you want the best components. this guide can help you pick out the right parts for later assembly. this is my ranking in terms of relevance and priority when pur-

so youre yearning to build your own computer? i had that urge too, the first time I bought and assembled my own rig. it wasnt the fastest then; just a 700 MHz aMD Duron with 256mb of generic raM and a 16mb gPu if i remember correctly. it took me hours to assemble everything by myself properly. but i was tinkering with my older Pentium 100 unit even before then. now im a happy owner of a semi-powerful, all around Pc and the average time i can assemble one from scratch is around 20 minutes tops. I hope that after reading this, I would have helped you in shopping and assembling a balanced rig. so where do we begin? What are the steps? the best piece of advice that i can probably give you now are to: Consider your budget Itemize what you need always consider your budget since building your own is not cheap! establishing the range of your budget will help you itemize and prioritize the important parts to purchase first and knowing what it is for will help you choose the right component for the job. lets say that you only have a

chasing a computer: The PSU. the heart of the system. Psu is the most important part of the build, ironically it is the most underrated and ignored not only does it provide clean electricity which is the lifeline of the system, but also protects your components from various issues such as overvoltage, dirty electricity and electrical fluctuations. So if you value your hard earned money, never settle for a generic Psu. When buying one, it is best to consider some headroom or allowance for future upgrades but say, 150w more. you can search for a good Psu calculator via google (ex: http://extreme.outervision.com/ psucalculatorlite.jsp) and pick the components that you need to buy. if it recommends a Psu with 350w, go buy a 500w Psu. The CPU. First time buyers tend to be blinded by the cPus role for power and speed and end up sacrificing other components that has equal role for the task. this would be the best time to ask yourself what your Pc will be used for. For a home/office build, a good dual core will do. and for gaming; a triple core cPu seems to be the sweet spot and a great starting point. but in my opinion, the safest bet would be a good quad core cPu. The motherboard What are the things to consider? solid capacitors are still the in thing now, yet old rigs with the ordinary electrolytic caps can last a long time as well. Mine lasted for 6 years before tapping out. if you are thinking of overclocking then you should look for solid capacitors; an 8 pin main board power connector to ensure that your cPu will have enough juice to run a stable oc and; the MosFet having heatsinks. However, if you are looking for just a good motherboard that has a full solid capacitor layout and

13
TIP: Before touching any electronic component, it is best that we remove our bodys static charge by using an antistatic wrist strap. Alternatively, you can just un-ground yourself by touching something metallic for a few seconds and for this example, the ATX case itself. By the way, its always a good idea to assemble your rig in non-carpeted areas. good ample space (from the cPu to the raM slot and from the gPu to the sata slot), each component will do regardless of the brand. The monitor not only will this be a little difficult to sell later on if you want to upgrade but, this will also dictate what gPu to buy in the future. a full HD monitor (1920x1080) with a gPu like an Nvidia 9400GT will be fine for browsing and movie viewing but it will have a hard time with games particularly in todays gaming environment. Purchasing a gPu like an ati HD6950 will play everything on a monitor of 1366x768 resolutions but will never reach its full gaming potential. The HDD (Hard Disk Drive) With regards to current HDD pricing, a 500 gb HDD costs only a few hundred pesos more than a 320 gb HDD. a lot of people tend to buy a lower capacity HDD to save money and fails to see the value of shelling out a few hundred pesos more could actually give them an additional free space of 180 gb. so now that you have these components, whats next? RAM (Random Access Memory) a good amount of raM or is always welcome. However, a 2 gb sticks worth is plenty even for gaming and multi-tasking using a 64bit os. i have 4 gb raM but i rarely exceed 2 gb of usage. if you have tons of multi-tasking, 4 gb is a safe buy; 8 GB or more definitely rocks if youll be a power user which means running virtual machines at the same time while rendering an HD video; have 20 browser tabs open; doing Ms excel calculations and; scanning for viruses. Do consider what the rig is for since some applications like Adobe After Effects CS5 are RAM hungry and 8 gb or more is needed. ODD (Optical Disc Drive) the

CD/DVD ROM is mostly used for installing programs or burning cDs. You are almost finished, just a few more and well go start assembling but first, these two are probably the top culprits when it comes to eating into the budget for more important components: The GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) so you want to play all the latest games at the highest setting and you purchased a suhweet gPu in the form of an nvidia gtX560ti yet you opted for a cheap Psu and a 19 monitor with a 1366x768 resolution. this is just so wrong as the gtX560ti will never reach its glorious gaming potential on a standard resolution monitor. since most cPus or motherboards have internal graphics processor, it is best to wait and save enough money for the gPu and buy a full HD monitor and a Psu that will support your gPu.

The Casing the house of your rig. its not bad to want and own a handsome atX casing but do shop around first. Currently, ATX cases from nzXt, aerocool and inWin started appearing in the market which gave us tons of alternatives from the usual and often times more expensive brands with features that could only be found with their hightier offerings such as cable management and good fan placements. Peripherals can also eat into your budget without you knowing it. the mouse, keyboard, audio system, the heatsink and fan. some sellers bundle the mouse, Kb and speakers. if its not included in the package, you can buy all three for less than PHP500. these four can always be bought or upgraded much later. Having a good heatsink and fan is always a safe bet especially in

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FEATURE

a tropical country like ours. nonetheless the stock HsF is always adequate. if you do need to buy one, please consider the tDP (thermal design power) of the cPu and the heatsink and fan since a 65w tDP cPu can be cooled by an inexpensive 95w tDP cooler which is almost as good as an expensive HsF for a 125w tDP cPu. Finally, now that you have your complete rig, we can start assembling! First, preparatory work needs to be done. you can do so by taking the items out of the box and placing them somewhere near and secure for easy reach. be careful when assembling your rig as some components or parts like the motherboard back plate are razor sharp. before mounting your motherboard (mobo), it is best that we put a washer on the mounts to ensure

bios. Before finishing up, there are things we can still do like the cable management. since the atX case used in this build have such cable management features, cabling will be a breeze. of course it does not necessarily mean that there will no longer be any room for improvement. can now mount the power supply unit, the processor with the heatsink and fan, the raM module, the hard disk drive and the optical disk drive. Tip: Where is my TIM (Thermal Interface Material)? The TIM is used to fill the microscopic gaps between the processor and the heatsink which improves cooling efficiency. Many newbies often ask if TIM was applied to their CPU since stock HSF already have pre-applied TIM. Always, make sure that TIM is applied before mounting it on your CPU.

Tip: Managing your cables inside your rig can help you improve airflow and reduce internal temperatures. It makes your PC look neater and cleaner. If your ATX case does not have any holes for cable management, imagination and some zip ties go a long way.

TIM, there it is. Sir Nerdherd, hand model.

Once we finished placing all components as well as connecting the proper wires, its now time to see if our system will boot and post to that we avoid grounding the mobo to the case itself. Tip: Using a washer maybe controversial but I learned this by watching technicians in Gilmore long before there was an IT center. Theres no harm in doing so plus it adds security and peace of mind that you arent screwing this up. If there are no washers, masking tape is the perfect alternative. After mounting the mobo, we
Zip ties = WIN

To finish things off, all you have to do now is install your operating system, and you can start using your rig. enjoy! Parts used for the build: aMD athlon ii X2 245 2.9ghz cPu, Msi 880gm-e43 motherboard;

BIOS, yey!

FEATURE

15

Consider what purpose your PC will be used for since this can help you itemize the components that you need to buy.
2gb DDr3 1333 Kingston raM; 500gb seagate barracuda HDD; lite-on DvDrW; antec vP450 Psu; Palit gt240 gPu and; nzXt gamma case. The finished product can now

Ask around, visit forum sites and read reviews. google is your friend. Location, location, location! its always important, when shopping around for the best deals to also keep in mind the distance in location of the shop and its convenience to your home especially if the price difference is very minimal. this can also help you save a lot of money, time

be considered as a fine example of a good all-around Pc. Just a few reminders before we wrap things up: Consider what purpose your Pc will be used for since this can help you itemize the components that you need to buy.

and headache if your item needs to be replaced or when claiming warranty. the French has a saying, bon marche est onereux which literally translates to cheap is costly. Do not throw away the boxes for items that can be replaced if still under a warranty, namely the gPu box, the raM carton and the Psu box. Maintenance is the key to pro-

longing your new computer. Dusting once in a while is a good start in maintaining your Pc. so thats it! i do hope you enjoyed reading my guide and may it help you with your purchase and assembly. Dedicated to the helpers and seekers of the Unified Help Me Build My Rig thread.

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FEATURE

Celebrating MsIs 25 Years of PC Innovation

by

Rod Bier aka cham_e_lyon

ipidPc.com joined Msi Philippines on Msis 25th year anniversary bash last May 20, 21 & 22 at the Fourth Floor of sM annex cyberzone. the event was hosted by gino of 93.1 and cosplay personality Alodia Gosiengfiao. Hundreds of Alodia Gosiengfiao fans flocked just to get a chance to see her. the event hightlights the Master overclocking arena (Pabilisan!), rig Display contest (Pagandahan!), FaceOff with the Fanatics (Pagalingan!), with lots of mini-games, product exhibits. For 3 consecutive days Msi has been handing out Msi merchandise to early birds. Winners simply took a printed screenshot of Msi Philip-

pines Facebook page with the status message and present it to the registration booth to claim their prize! The first 50 contestants to register qualified for the MSI premium item giveaways. Freebies included Msi Moa shirts, silicone Watch bracelet and usb thumbdrives. Msis latest products such as laptops, netbooks, gaming Pcs, latest Pc case and high-end peripherals were on display. the Msi 25th anniversary

celebrations is not just about overclocking, its for everyone who are into computing and technology. aside from the Master overclocking arena, a rig display contest was held showcasing the master builders of tPc community. almost half for the entries came from the rig noobies with the rest coming from the various modders. Prizes and bragging rights were at stake. and as Msis big day throttled on, everyone drooled to see the

FEATURE

17

best among the best rigs, got wowed by the gaming techniques of sen (sc2), KyocHi (call of Duty, and strenX (Quake live) and had fun cheering for their fav overclocker. the winner for the rig Display was anthony arceos with his b&W entry while the Peoples choice award went to Mhigz Medina for his asus vento setup. The pre-qualifiers for Master overclocking arena Philippines 2011 are gzhil, bartman1973, paulc,

Maxxx, djsub, tacs, 0erick0, kairi_ zer0blade, sid_brian_03 and hamzie. Master paulc bagged the first place, close second was master gzhil and master 0erick0 placed third. All of the top 10 finalists were given an antec Kuhler H20 620 Water cooling system and an exclusive Msi Moa 2011 edition jacket. the 3rd Placer got an Msi P67a-gD65 (b3) while the 2nd Placer received Msi n560gtX-ti Hawk. the grand champion was awarded with an

Msi P67a-gD65 (b3) and an Msi n560gtX-ti Hawk the top 2 winners represented team Philippines in the recently concluded asian Finals of the Master overclocking arena and placed 10th on the overall ranking.

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WIN AN AMD GAMING RIG PROMO

1st prize 1 Unit Gaming Rig 2nd prize 1 Unit AOC 32 LCD TV 3rd prize 1 Unit Logitech Z-5500 Speakers 4th prize 1 Unit Xtreamer Media Player 5th prize 1 Unit Glass Table with Executive Chair
Terms and Conditions: This promo is exclusive only for TipidPC members. Every TPC customer who buys from any PCNetmiles branches (Eton Digital Zone, Legarda, and Alabang) valued at PHP1,000.00 or more will be qualified to participate in the PCNetmiles Win a Gaming Rig Promo. Every PHP1,000.00 worth of purchase is entitled to one (1) raffle coupon. The winner will be drawn by a representative of TipidPC.com Inc and DTI Personnel at Eton Digital Zone on October 30, 2011. Winners will be notified within seven (7) days after the draw date. Winners will be required to confirm acceptance of their prizes within 60 days upon being notified. In the event that winners cannot be reached on contact details they have provided or fails to confirm acceptance of their corresponding prize, PCNetmiles reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant, drawn in accordance with same terms and conditions.
DTI-NCR Permit no, 6069 series of 2011

HURRY!

Buy at any PCNetmiles Stores and Win Prizes.

Legarda Branch Address: 2113 Legarda St. Quiapo, Manila 736-0368 / 734-9722 / 788-5280 YM: pcnetmiles@yahoo.com

Alabang Branch
Address: 94 National Road, Brgy. Putatan, Muntinlupa City 403-2586 / 0917-8866453 YM: pcnetmiles_alabang@yahoo.com

Eton Cyberpod Branch Address: Eton Cyberpod E-Life Building 1, EDSA Ortigas Ave. Q.C. 409-3753 / 586-1923 09175092227 YM: pcnetmiles@yahoo.com

WE DELIVER!

20

FEATURE

the Man Behind PCnetmiles

by

Joey Ablaza aka middlehurt

Things you always wanted to know but were afraid, I mean very afraid to ask about Jorel Caluag: Owner of PCNETMILES, one of the highly regarded and frequented computer shops in the country and around the world.

t was a weekday when a former fellow air soft buff and co-pioneer of ax magazine called me up and asked me to join him put up a new magazine. being a person who rarely lets an opportunity go by, i immediately obliged. My first assignment was an interview job. being in the public relations industry for quite some time and having interviewed just about any kind of person you can think of coming from all walks of life, i said sure, just tell me where and when. i was told the interview would take place in eton mall along ortigas cor. eDsa at around 4pm. With a tape recorder in hand and an nviDia promotional ball pen, i set off for the meeting place without asking who im supposed to be interviewing. Wrong move! Well at least thats how i felt upon arriving at the place and having a glimpse of familiar faces. Faces you would consider belonging to college fraternity grand masters out to initiate your ass- in this case, mine. After a brief exchange of musta na pare kos, and upon seeing one of em thugs wearing a rig builders alliance t-shirt, i knew these guys are some sort of geek warriors. and true enough, they were. and on top of the it food chain, to boot! behold the gandalf the geeks of tipidPc. Which includes the target of my grilling, Jorel caluag aka PcnetMiles. owner of the most sought after wholesaler, retailer, and creative trader, (heartbreaker) computer shop in the elite circle of techies here and abroad.

I learned at a young age about what it takes to be a successful businessman. My father taught me all about this and I consider him my greatest influence.
Nothing Wicked about the dude with a Shrewd Faade To be honest, when I first saw this dude, i kinda had a vivid HD imaginative scenario of excusing myself, for reasons of traumatic in origin, then carefully making a very quiet about face. thinking aloud, Hey, this homies gonna kick my ass, sooner or later. but i was stuck. the gangsta homeboys already saw me. Photographers were already on standby for the usual photo ops and the table was replete with snacks galore which i couldnt seem to even barely touch. it was just like one of those awkward moments when you find yourself left standing all alone while your friend talks to a friend you

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FEATURE

I always prioritize TPC members because if not for them, I wouldnt have had the connection or market which made PCNETMILES what it is today. Not to mention the instant camaraderie that it gives...
dont even know. in any case, like it or not youre gonna have to find out who this canny looking dude is. so here goes: From meat dealer to a net cafe partner, a vegas high roller to a simple happily married tipidPc member and computer shop owner, log on as we explore what goes on in the mind of this astute yet surprisingly unassuming entrepreneur. TIPIDPC: Tell me a little bit about your younger days. Oops, its not that youre like really old, pare. I mean whered you go to school, your family, how you got where you are now, stuff like that. Jorel Caluag: bro, hindi na a little bit yang question mo naman eh. Hahaha! Well anyway, i took up computer science at centro escolar university. our family was into the meat dealership business and thats how i learned at a young age about what it takes to be a successful businessman. My father taught me all about this and i consider him

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23

my greatest influence. In fact if you ask me anything about meat, from the purchasing and the slaughtering even my experiences with our truckloads of cows and pigs being robbed, id be glad to tell you. TPC: Uhm, thanks but no thanks. Im a vegetarian and besides I think wed rather stick to techie stuff than your butcher days. (laughter) I mean meat dealing days. (Gulp). Im sure you now have a family of your own. Jorel: oh yes, i wouldnt be where i am now without my supportive and lovely wife Michelle and my 3 kids namely; nicole whos the eldest at 12yrs old, followed by JM whos 8 and our youngest at 4 named Kyle. they are my pride and joyaside from my rig, of course. TPC: Speaking of rigs, having a computer shop should no doubt make you the owner of the coolest rig this side of East Asia. Tell us about it. Jorel: Well hindi naman ganun ka tindi ang setup ko. enumerate ko na lang para madali. 1) 3 24inch chi Mei multi-display HD leD monitors 2) 1 42inch aoc full HD tv leD 3) 4 intel core i7-2600K cPu 4) an asus P8z68-v Pro mother board 5) 2 ATI 6990 Crossfire Graphics card 6) nzXt Phantom reD super tower 7) g.skill 16gb DDr3 1600 memory card 8) 3 Western Digital 2 terabytes caviar black series Hard drives 9) silverstone st1500 strider 1500 watts Power Supply (Modular cabling system) 10) logitech z5500 TPC: So, hindi pala ganun katindi. Ganun kaastig lang pala. Wow, itll

probably take me a lifetimes savings to own that kind of setup. Jorel: actually ang total price nyan is around 100plus thousand. it sounds super expensive but its not impossible to own this kind of rig at PCNETMILES. Because we offer, a 24 month-installment plan at 6000 a month, with absolutely 0% interest. so if youre earning even 20k a month, kayang kaya. My deals are

always negotiable. basta fair for both; basta happy lahat, ok na. TPC: Wow, sige sign me up. I want onepronto. (laughter). Jorel: no, seriously, i always prioritize tPc members because if not for them, i wouldnt have had the connection or market which made PcnetMiles what it is today. not to mention the instant camarade-

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FEATURE

rie that it gives and the friendship because most of my best friends are tPc members. besides, its easier to deal with people if youre on the same page. i mean we all know what were talking about i.e. upgrade compatibilities, rig building queries, the latest bang for buck gadgets, etc. TPC: Since when did you become a TPC member? Jorel: i registered in 2005 using the handle Jorel123. During that time kasi, i had an internet caf and was looking for a replacement capacitor to repair my mobos. but since i did not find anybody selling one, I decided to look for the source and thought of marketing it for myself. indeed, when i found the source and posted them as items at tPc, grabe! ang daming bumili agad. TPC: So from buyer you became a seller? Jorel: yes. thats where the idea of opening a computer shop came in. since i knew i had a market already. so in 2008, i opened a shop in legarda. The hottest item then was the mouseyung trackball pa lang ha. then in 2009, the alabang branch was opened and now here in eton Digital zone. TPC: Whats your hottest item now since the ball type mouse days? Jorel: i would say the Palit nviDia gtX580 graphics card. TPC: From a mere 50 peso mouse to a whopping 20,000 peso worth of item. Wow, did you even imagine back then that youll achieve this kind of success? Jorel: not in my wildest dreams. i even recall being a big spender and a wild happy go lucky guy who had nothing else to do but go interstate, joy-riding from la to las vegas. i

even stayed at top hotels like MgM, Mandalay bay, just to name a few. i never dreamed i would someday be in the it industry even when i was taking up compsci at ceu. besides, being a butcher like you called it, i was already well off. TPC: What happened? I mean what made you decide enough is enough? Jorel: For one thing, i guess we all mellowed down, become mature and responsible. these traits were strengthened when i met my boss and lifetime partner. TPC: You mean a friend from TPC? Jorel: Hell no. i meant my wife Michelle. When i married her and made me the father of 3 adorable children, my views on life became clearer. i learned the value of selfdiscipline. TPC: What do you like most about TPC? Jorel: aside from the business it provides in terms of a readily available target market, it gave me a sense of belonging to very professional but fun loving friends. Product from low end to highend. name it, we have it. if wala we can order it. TPC: Who are your closest friends in TPC? Jorel: that would be Pepper Manuel, aka lennox , alex amadeo aka reb, Jason Migrino aka goimon and christian Maningding aka xhristian. TPC: Do you also have clients abroad? Jorel: oh yes, in fact someone from Papua new guinea is calling now. (excuse me lang, bro) *After a few minutes, Jorel hangs up his cellphone

TPC: Who was that, if you dont mind sharing? Jorel: not at all. Hes handle is zephyr090 and hes from Papua new guinea. He was ordering a bunch of stuff. In fact I get even orders from the states. and they all transact through tipidpc.com. TPC: Really? Jorel: With over 80,000 active members; 25 million views a month; 6 million items posted; 13.8 million successful negotiations made; would you be surprised if i even get clients, say from, bermuda? Meron tayo Delivery service hassle free straight from their door step , napakadaling umorder, napakabait at magagalang ang mga staff, dito sa pcnetmiles we will serve you with a smile TPC: I think more than 80,000 active members and still growing would even be inspired to become successful entrepreneurs just like you. Jorel: Wow, thats one of the things that I find priceless; friends and being able to inspire. TPC: Well thats about it. Thank you for your time, butcher. (laughter) Jorel: ah ganun? TPC: Joke lang, sir. Jorel: eto hindi joke. (looks toward the entrance) that is Jason aka goimon. Kaya hindi ka makakaalis. Kasi inuman na. TPC: (Thinking aloud; Patay kang bata ka)Call! PARTING SHOT: Maraming salamat sa mga kapatid ko sa TPC na walang sawang bumibili at sumusoporta at naniniwala sa aming serbisyo, Nang dahil sa inyo nandito kami ngayon :) naway mapagsilbihan pa namin kayo ng higit na maganda at maayos sa mga darating pang taon.

show me your rig

<?php function how_awesome_is($your_rig) { $chuck = for_great_justice(); $epeen = T_FAIL; if ($chuck->likes($your_rig) == true) { return T_IMMORTALIZED; } else { $chuck->roundhouse_kick($your_rig); $chuck->pushups(); } } return $epeen;

?>

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Brian Rodriguez
aka Buko buko has been a tipidPc member since october of 2010. He is currently working at a call center as a CSR. He finds PC building very interesting. His first build was just simple stock set-up which led him to decide to have the side panel modified. Having no idea on how to do it, he asked the experts in the community for help. Among his influences was renzDg of uMP and the guys over the Deepcool user thread, like kernel_panic, kirastrike, gecko21 and gav. He is currently part of team Deepcool Pilinas. Computer SpeCS: processor: aMD Phenom ii X4 840 3.2ghz motherboard: asus M4a78lt-M-le memory: 2x2 g.skill ripjaw X 1600 Videocard: Msi gtX 560 twin frozer ii

HDD: Western Digital 320gb cavier blue Cooler: antec Khuler H20 620. pSu: Hec cougar rs 550W accessories: Deepcool Fan, rockman fan controller, nzXt 140mm fan and digital thermal sensor exterior moDiFiCatioNS: customized window design for top and side panel using a smoke

black acrylic with a customized thermal sensor slot. Plastic cover on the front bezel was removed to improve ventilation. stock 140mm fan was replaced with nzXt 140mm fan. added blue led lights cable sleeved supplied by cham_e_lyon.

Ryane Vergel Miciano

aka p3chak Group Affiliation: Rig Builders Alliance

a tPc member since 2009, p3chak is a 4th year student taking up bs computer engineering. although being a senior comeng he confessed to having no any idea on how to assemble a rig. His stint at tipidPc finally made him decide to build one. Computer SpeCS: processor: aMD Phenom ii X3 720 be (unlocked X4) motherboard: biostar ta790gx a3+ memory: corsair vengeance 1x4gb 16mhz Videocard: inno3D gtX 460 reference HDD: Western Digital 640gb green edition pSu: Hec cougar 550w Casing: coolermaster usP 100 HSF: tuniq tower 120 extreme others: Deepcool rockman controller

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FEATURE

Rainier Cabotaje

aka rigel Group Affiliation: Rig Builders Alliance (RBA) this is is not your ordinary tower Pc. the Motherboard is positioned horizontally with custom lcs. complete with nesteq Fan controller to control all 13 fans plus 1 fan directly connected to the motherboard. each fan is grouped into zone so you can choose either performance or a moment of zen. rigel is currently based in singapore and has been a member of tPc since 2004. building a Pc has been his hobby and hes the type of person who wants something unique with functionality. He hates posers and know-it-all peoples. Computer SpeCS: Project b-orionis mother Board: gigabyte 890FXa-uD5 processor: aMD Phenom X4 (Deneb) @ 4.0ghz @ 1.5v cooled by Watercool Heatkiller rev. 3 Water block memory: 4gb g.skill ripjaw @ 7-7-7-20 Video Card: Powercolor 6970 @ Crossfire cooled by Watercool Heatkiller gPu-X3

Hard Drive: 500gb WD caviar blue power Supply: corsair HX850W Case: Mountain Mods u2-uFo monitor: 37 samsung leD series 5

Carlo Dinglasan

aka fakuryu Group Affiliation: Rig Builders Alliance fakuryu has been a tPc member since 2004. a Qas for a bPo company and is considered a guru in rig building. He has been building rigs more than half his life. He always believe that budget rigs does not mean low-end. Computer SpeCS: mother Board: asus M4a88tD-M processor: athlon ii X3 440 3ghz undervolted to 1.3v memory: 4gb 2x2 DDr3 1600 gskill eco cl7 Video Card: 1gb gts 450 evga FPb Hard Drive: 500gb WDC Blue/ 500gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 power Supply: antec vP550p Case: aerocool Qs-202 HSF: Deep cool beta200st

aux fans: 2x Deep cool ice blade fans 60cfm action Figure: Graham Aker/ Mr. Bushido Modifications Done: none

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ernest Panis Jr.

aka merthanon

merthanon never could have expected that one day he would be able to build a computer as what he has right now. He applied for work in south Korea and was among a few who passed and landed a job in the capital city seoul and the gangwon-Do province. it was there in 2007 where he learned more on the hobby and soon realized a long-time dream coming true. He bought his first beloved coolermaster cosmos s case in the biggest electronic mall in the world at yong-san, south Korea. this was the start of what is now his genovan Project. After 2 years, he decided to head back home and stay for good. He never knew about tipidPc until February of 2009 and recalled how he envied the people at ncr for having several Pc enthusiasts groups. together with some friends in baguio city, armed with inspiration from tPc, we formed our own brotherhood of enthusiasts - the baguio Modders, incorporated, which was established during the Panagbenga Festival in cooperation with the eca australian i.t. exhibit at the baguio convention center last February 2010. He is proud of this achievement and continues to support fellow enthusiasts in baguio city as well as in other parts of the country. a proud tPcer indeed. Computer SpeCS: coolermaster cosmos s genovan Project airbrushed Final Fantasy theme rog asus Maximus extreme intel core2 extreme Processor QX9770 - 3.2ghz 6gb corsair XMs3 with geilevo cyclone evga gtX280 with Danger Den Waterblock coolermaster real Power 1000w thermaltake bigwater 780e SwiftechWaterblock 2 single rad and 1 triple rad loop

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FEATURE

sammy Kay Pua

aka sammy_pua15 a 5th year college student from PuPsta. rosa taking up electronics and communication engineering, sammy_pua15 has a keen interest in Pc troubleshooting since as he puts it, one of his source of income. signing up at tipidPc.com exposed me to the world of modding. Now I do electronics modifications and have a lot of fun making circuits, particularly in making rig lighting which makes it more pleasant to eyes. i am a member of rig builders alliance and student rig owner, groups of Pc enthusiast that loves to share their knowledge to other enthusiasts. Computer SpeCS: processor: aMD athlon X2 5000 unlocked to quad motherboard: Msi 785gtm-e45

memory: 4 gb team elite ddr2 Pc800 dual channel HDD: 2 x 320 gb seagate sata pSu: Hec cougar 550w Case: Modified Coolermaster 690 HSF: Deepcool iceblade Pro Modification Done: interior and

exterior Powder coat; customized side Panel Window; Psu and oDD cover; led change, Programmable Blinker, Reset and Power Button Led change; Front Panel laser cut auto bots logo

Show us what you got!

Does your rig have all the right stuff?

send us a description and high res photo of you and your rig in jpeg format at articles@tipidpc.com

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Ryan Alano

aka coolio Group Affiliation: Rig Builders Alliance coolio has been an oFW at Doha-Qatar since 2006. a tPc Member since July 2007, he so love to join lan parties and stay-overs which made him decide to build a new gaming computer. small, light and fast enough for gaming that he can take whenever and wherever he wants it. Computer SpeCS: processor: Phenom ii 945 3.0ghz motherboard: J&W Minix785sp memory: 2x2gb Mushkins sodimm 800mhz Video Card: XFX gts250 core edition with accelero s1 cooler Hard Disk: g-skill Falcon FM-25s2s-60gb Cooler: coolit systems eco a.l.c. power Supply: FsP 300w Case: silverstone sg06

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FEATURE

Rommel enriquez

aka bongholio bongholio was born in bocaue, bulacan but grew up in laguna and zamboanga city. He studied in uP los baos and aMa bian and holds a degree in computer science. He is working as a Middleware administrator and is currently based in singapore. some of the companies he has worked for were Telus, Exist Software Labs, and Hewlett-Packard in the Philippines, and citibank and savvis in singapore. He is now working for sita which specializes in air transport communications and it solutions. He spends most of his free time benchmarking, tinkering with his rig, playing games, online shopping and trying to convince his wife that his latest purchase will be the last one. the rig was conceptualize over number of bottle of beers with fellow tPcers Paulc and Maxxx. back then, both of them each has an X5680 to let go and agreed to sell it at a reasonable price. that sparked the build phase of the rig and bongholio wasted no time in buying the Xeons and proceeded in ordering the rest of the components, mainly the evga sr-2 board and the 3 pieces of evga gtX580 blackops edition. Rig Name: Little Devils SR-2 Computer SpeCS: Cpu|mobo: EVGA Classified SR-2 + 2x intel Xeon X5680 memory: 12gb corsair Dominator gt 2000MHz cl7 2gx3 kit Case: LittleDevils PC-V8 gpu: 3x evga gtX580 black ops Storage: 2xocz vertex 2 120g raid0, 2xWD caviar black 1tb raid0, thecus n2200 nas plus 2x samsung F3 1tb raid0

Watercooling components: 2x eK HF nickel plus Koolance sr-2 Full cover block; black ice sr1 480, 4x Xigmatek 120mm led Fans, aerocool strike X Fan controller; PPc uber 655 plus eK 150 advance res; 3x eKFc580 gtX - acetal+nickel with eK backplate; black ice sr1 360, 3x scythe gentle typhoon 1850rpm, McP355, XsPc res Top; Bitspower matte black compression fittings, Tygon Clear tubings monitor: Dell u3011 30, samsung series 7 40 3D leD tv pSu: silverstone strider 1500W modular Psu optical Drive: lg cH08ls10 8x bluray combo audio: X-Fi titanium Fatality Pro, logitech z5500, razer Mako input Devices: logitech g19 Kb and RAT7/G9/SteelSeries Cataclysm Mouse gaming peripherals: Playseat alcantara black, logitech g27

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FEATURE

tRAInInG PHotos networking 101

Instructor Edgar Cezar aka Isys discussing the basics of networking.

The trainees getting their hands on network cables.

Waiting for the fruits of their labor.

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Sir, maayos ba buhok ko?

Yan ba yung bagong Sasha Grey?

Sir, times up na po... madami pang nakaabang

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FEATURE

tRAInInG PHotos PC troubleshooting

Let the training begin.

Trainees figuring out the PC parts.

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Hands on for everyone.

Its alive! Its alive!

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FEATURE

tRAInInG PHotos Photography

Instructor Raymond Daquioag aka aresdi explaining the dos and donts on photography.

Jaime Elizaga aka chaos wowing the audience with his knowledge.

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tRAInInG PHotos Fiber optics

Instructor Fredrik Dilodilo aka fdilodilo shows the students the correct way to splice fiber optic cables.

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FEATURE

tRAInInG PHotos structured network Cabling

Edgar Cezar showing how to properly crimp an RJ45 cable.

Trainees trying it out themselves.

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41

Time for a pop quiz.

Di ba ako makukuryente nito?

42

HARDwARE REVIEw
Aimon Ps
by

Nylmar Garcia aka nrg500

Hardware Genre: Gaming Mouse Platform: PlayStation 3 / PC Manufacturer: Tuact Homepage: www.tuact.com Price: PHP 3450

INTRODUCTION ive been a Pc gamer since my youth and I play a lot of first-person shooting games which makes heavy usage of a mouse and keyboard. Just last year, i bought a sony Ps3. there are lots of great games exclusively for this gaming console and i dont want to miss any of them. However, playing shooting games on the Ps3 is torture for me. aiming with analog sticks is difficult. I can finish the games but i tend to die a lot and i waste too much ammo. Frustrated, i decided to search the web and found this product called aimon Ps. it is a wireless mouse for Ps3 and Pc shooting games which allows you to aim more accurately. now, without further ado, lets get on with the review. PACkAGING AND SETTING UP

manual. the build of the mouse feels great and is of superior quality. the left mouse button is the R1 button and right mouse button is the R2 button. At the left side of the mouse, there are four buttons Square, Triangle, circle and X. there is also the F button which is used for calibrating the mouse. The Start button is located near the mouse wheel. to use the mouse, insert one aa 1.5volt battery. the wand contains an analog stick which is equivalent to the WasD on a keyboard. it also contains D-pad buttons, Select button, PS button, and the L1 and L2 buttons. as with the mouse, the wand needs one AA 1.5-volt battery. Power on the Ps3 and connect the usb wireless receiver on one of the usb ports of the Ps3. Press the button on the wireless receiver then press the power button on the wand and power button on the mouse. at XMb, the wand and mouse will function normally like a Dual shock 3 controller. its important to note that right out of the box, aimon Ps was not detected by my Ps3. i had to plug it into my PC and update the firmware. update instructions can be found at the tuact homepage (www.tuact. com). GAMING ExPERIENCE i tried the aimon Ps in coD black ops, crysis 2, Dead space 2,

the aimon Ps comes with one gaming mouse, a wand, a usb wireless receiver, and an instruction

as well as Killzone 2. i used the standard firmware v2.02. The mouse lagged and the pointer movement was slow. What i did was to tweak the in-game cursor sensitivity to maximum then i calibrated the mouse. there are two ways to calibrate: 1. Mouse speed: to adjust the mouse cursor speed, hold the F button and click the left mouse button (decrease speed) or click the right mouse button (increase speed). After doing this, the mouse cursor movement will still lag. according to the tuact homepage, you need to adjust the dead zone. 2. Mouse dead zone: the dead zone increases the mouse cursor movement but micro-movements of the cursor will not be detected, thus resulting in a lag of cursor movements. Decreasing the dead zone increases the responsiveness for micro-movements of the cursor. smoother mouse cursor movements will occur at the expense of slightly reduced mouse cursor speed. Each game requires different calibration for the mouse and even with proper calibration; i still detected minor lags when doing micro-movements of the cursor. For optimum performance, you will need to use game-specific firmware. However, doing this can be time consuming because you need to change the firmware every time you play and the thing is, not all games have a game-specific firmware.

43

Overall, I was satisfied with using only the latest standard firmware for the mouse. I can now aim better in shooting games. im not going to lie to you. there are minor lags when doing very small mouse movements but its passable for me. if you can live with the minor issues that ive mentioned, then this is the gaming device that will give you a Pc-like gaming experience on a sony Ps3. ive also tried the mouse for Pc games and it worked great. all you have to do is download/install the driver and plug the usb wireless receiver onto the usb port of your Pc and the mouse will function as a normal gaming mouse. the DPi setting can be adjusted on the fly by pressing and holding the F button then scroll the mouse wheel accordingly. the mouse supports up to 1600 DPi. Pros provides a PC-like gaming experience on the Ps3 improved accuracy build quality is good needs only two AA batteries wireless supports six axis controls cons instruction manual included in the box is useless micro-movements of the mouse pointer are not that smooth in Ps3 games needs a game-specific firmware for every game if you want optimum performance needs to connect to a PC for firmware updates firmware updates cannot be installed if your Pc is not connected to the internet no PC driver included in the box SUMMARY

olympus Pen e-PL2 Review

by

Andrew Del Castillo aka palmoutsounds

INTRODUCTION the compact system camera (csc) class has been around for quite some time now. Panasonic and olympus, the founders of the very successful Four-thirds system, released their first mirror less interchangeable lens camera on october 2008 in the form of the Panasonic g1. three years into the mix, other major camera brands like sony, samsung, and most recently, Pentax also announced their very own csc. so what is a micro Fourthirds system? Well, it basically utilizes the same Fourthirds sensor (2x FovcF) while omitting the mirror box and pentaprism (which is the optical viewfinder we use in standard DSLRs) to be able to lessen the flange focal distance. the M43s use a contrast detect auto focus system where the sensor constantly scans the image field via the attached lens (often used in video cameras and cameras without a reflex mirror) as opposed to the standard Dslr phase detect which is achieved by dividing the incoming light into pairs of images and comparing them. the illustration shows how

small the M43 sensor is compared to the aPs-c sensors of a standard Dslr as well as how big m43 sen-

sor is compared to most digital fixed lens cameras sensor *35mm being the full frame image sensor (i.e. 1Ds, 5D, D700, D3, a900, etc.) a lot has changed in the three years since the launch of the m43 system, as more competitors have shown up and three (3) PENs after (4 from Japan) olympus introduces an addition to their line, the Pen e-pl2. as the successor to their very famous e-pl1, the Pen e-p12 has a lot more to offer than the previous models and if i might add, it is as

44

HARDwARE REVIEw

handsome a camera as the e-p1/2. In all honesty, the camera resembles the e-p1/2 more with their round buttons as compared to the square ones on the e-pl1, a control dial, and looks like what a camera should as compared to the unattractive e-pl1. kEY FEATURES 12 megapixel Four-Thirds sized sensor In-body image stabilization Live Guide II interface works in still and movie capture modes 3 LCD screen (460,000 dots) Built-in flash Eye-detection AF Direct record movie button 720p 30fps HD video (AVI Motion JPeg format) the e-pl2 sits in the middle of the pack, on top of its predecessor the e-pl1 and, beneath the e-p2. being in the middle, the e-pl2 combines most of the features if not all from the e-pl1as well as some of the features that the e-p2 has. FEATURES control dial Built-in flash Penpal PP-1 bluetooth Direct record movie button stereo Mic vs Mono Mic orientation sensor lcD lo-iso Hi iso Power 720p HD video E-Pl1 E-Pl2 E-P2 none one two yes yes none no yes no yes yes no

COMFORT AND SAFETY thanks to the new hand grip with faux leather which gives a more secure, non-slip grasp, the e-pl2 is really great and comfortable to hold even for people like me who have large hands. the camera is lightweight so its perfect as a travelling companion compared to your standard Dslr which becomes heavy and burdensome hanging on your neck the whole day while you wait for the opportunity to take that perfect shot. compared to the boxy and rather unattractive e-pl1, it is much easier to use owing to the shape of the camera, HoWever, i really do get irritated with the d-ring for the neck strap. it gets in the way when i grab my Pen e-pl2 (which, by the way, i never experienced with my ep1/2) and put my index finger to the shutter release button. IN USE Much like the e-pl1, the e-pl2 targets the beginners level rather than the e-p2 which targets the more serious advanced users. ive used a lot of cameras; from film to digital, from compact point and shoots (P&s) to full frame canons and im know that noobs and pros alike will find that this camera will not disappoint and is one of the best cameras because it is light, easy to operate, and has good button placement. AF is quick, faster than high end P&s, quieter shutter sound than DSLRs which is great when taking that stolen shot.

PACkAGE the e-pl2 comes bundled with new and improved kit lens, 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 Msc (movie and still capable). it has a faster aF which is a tad sharper and a lot smaller than the previous model of the kit lens.

mono mono stereo no 2.7 100 3200 bls-1 yes no 3.0 200* 6400 bls-5 yes yes 3.0 100 6400 bls-1 yes

(can use bls-1)

*Olympus removed the setting ISO 10 (I think it was a good choice, as it was not able to utilize the sensors full dynamic range capabilities)

the e-pl2 also comes with a 2 lens bundle with 14-42mm msc and a 40-150mm 4-5.6 msc lens. thats 28300mm in 35mm Fov, a lot of range and has almost everything you need except the uWa and super-tele range. Priced at only *PHP30000 for a single lens and *PHP35000 for dual lens, its definitely a great deal!
*Olympus Philippines Distributor price

HARDwARE REVIEw

45

PERFORMANCE nb: i wont be writing about hi iso capabilities as there will be too many images to show proper results and image sharpness as it varies from different lenses. in my opinion, the cameras performance is quite phenomenal. its just as good as an entry level Dslr but when it comes to the point and shoot compact body, the e-pl2 which is just a little smaller than Canons G12, has five times larger sensor, lighter, and thinner too! JPEG QUAlITY the cameras JPegs come out well with very appealing colors and great depth which isnt surprising since olympus is known for their remarkable color rendition, and the e-pl2 is no exception. Paired with any of the two bundled lenses, it holds its ground against Panasonics gF2 and even entry level Dslrs. the e-pl2 uses the same sensor as the e-pl1 which produces a sharper imagery across the sensor compared to the older e-p1/2 sensor as the e-pl1/2 sensor uses weaker AA filter. AUTO FOCUS Much discussed and debated upon in different website forums, one of the main drawbacks of mirror less interchangeable cameras is its AF specifically the Olympus m43s. Although the e-p1/2 and e-pl1 both have a rather below par (on Dslr terms) aF system, the e-pl2 manages to up its AF speed significantly. During tests, most reviewers commented that the aF speed went up 30%. on paper, thats a huge increase and when in use with either of the two bundled kit lens, the aF speed is rather impressive. Having used the e-p1 and e-p2, this author has noted a considerable speed difference from the former to the newer

e-pl2. aside from the bundled lenses, the aF speed is virtually identical to the cscs best aF speed. SAMPlE SHOTS

*images 1 and 3 shot with camera art filter

CONClUSION nowadays when it comes to value for money and portability, i believe that cscs are the way to go. instead of investing a large amount of money for high end P&s and/or entry level DSLRs, the CSCs stand out. in terms of iQ, there is no doubt that cscs have a lot more to offer. Having said that, there are now more players in the csc market than ever before and the competition is much tougher. olympus has delivered a great and very competitive camera at a great price point. Having an option to change lenses to obtain superior image quality, faster aF, and portable camera gear that can replace your P&s or even an entry level Dslr just makes it even more desirable. the e-pl2 has given users

another great option being handy, light, and small, with the collapsible 14-42mm msc kit lens, it is very portable indeed. Mixed with a great iQ and good enough sensors to hold out and print JPeg quality images even at iso 1600, it is your next best friend. Will i recommend it over the previous PEN models? Definitely! Whether youre budding photographer or a veteran looking for a lighter load on your shoulder but do not want to compromise image quality, this then is definitely one of the best choices around. sure, theres always a downside to everything, but the cons arent that bad. granted it doesnt have a VF (viewfinder), olympus nonetheless has a vF-2 if you want to go in that direction although it might set you back an additional PHP10000 to PHP12000;

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HARDwARE REVIEw

it does have limits as far as iQ is concerned, but as long as youre okay with it then i dont see anything wrong because it really is an excellent camera. another advantage with the e-pl2 is that you can practically use any lens in the market owing to the short distance from the flange to the sensor via adapters (four-thirds lenses will autofocus using olympus mmf-2 adapter) albeit, manual focus only. i have used an array of legacy lenses on this baby and i love it paired with the vF-2. it is a perfect combination. Pros Great compact camera with an IQ equivalent to an entry level Dslr Light and small; you can practically wear it around your neck the whole day Superb IQ in base ISO and hi-ISO quality is on par with entry level Dslr Faster AF compared to older PEN models Art filters; fun color effects to images which is very useful Small and quiet lenses that are bundled (14-42mm msc, 40-150mm msc) Built in flash (compared to e-p1/2, that only uses external flashes) Upgraded screen size and resolution (3 460k dots) Has a control wheel which is very useful to advanced users cons D-rings to mount the neck strap Large and inefficient motion JPEG format for capturing videos No orientation sensor (you have to flip your images manually when you take them in portrait orientation) Fiddly control wheel around the d-pad Menu isnt user friendly (typical olympus im used to it though)

AMD Fusion e350 the Affordable HtPC Platform

by

Nylmar Garcia aka nrg500

INTRODUCTION When it comes to building an inexpensive but cost-effective PC, you might face difficult and confusing choices: go for the lowest budget possible or spend few more for a faster processor. add to that if you might also spend a few more for a faster graphics card. With zacate,
CPU Chipset Memory Type Memory capacity DIMM slots UEFI BIOS Display On-board Audio lAN PCI-E x16 2.0 PCI-E x1 PCI SATA 6.0 GB/s e- SATA USB 2.0 USB 3.0 P/S 2 Form Factor ASUS E35 M1-M PRO AMD E-350 AMD A50M DDR3 1066 8GB max 2 Yes HDMI, VGA, DVI ALC887-VD2 Realtek RTL8111E 1 (x4 mode) 1 2 5 1 4 (rear) / 8 (internal) 2 (rear) 1 Micro-ATX (24.4 cm x 18.3 cm)

aMD is giving you enough cPu power and enough graphics performance for light tasks and games at a very affordable price. For this review, we have four e-350 boards: asus e35M1-M Pro, asrock e350M1, gigabyte e350n-usb3, and Msi e350ia-e45. We werent able to acquire an intel atoM so we will just use an intel core i3 2100. of course, it will be downclocked to 1.6 gHz and Hyper threading disabled.
Gigabyte E350N-USB3 AMD E-350 AMD A50M DDR3 1333(OC) / 1066 8GB max 2 No HDMI, VGA, DVI Realtek ALC892 Realtek RTL8111E 1 (x4 mode) none none 4 none 4 (rear) / 4 (internal) 2 (rear) 1 Mini-ITX (17.0 cm x 17.0 cm) MSI E350IA-E45 AMD E-350 AMD A50M DDR3 1333(OC) / 1066 / 800 8GB max 2 No HDMI, VGA, DVI Realtek ALC887 Realtek RTL8111E 1 (x4 mode) none none 4 none 6 (rear) / 4 (internal) 2 (rear) 1 Mini-ITX (17.0 cm x 17.0 cm)

ASRock E350M1 AMD E-350 AMD A50M DDR3 1066 / 800 16GB max 2 Yes HDMI, VGA, DVI Realtek ALC892 Realtek RTL8111E 1 (x4 mode) none none 4 1 6 (rear) / 4 (internal) none 1 Mini-ITX (17.0 cm x 17.0 cm)

 TestSystem

HARDwARE REVIEw

47

TEST SYSTEM
Intel AMD CPU Core i3 2100 @ 1.6 GHz (HT off) E-350 1.6 GHz GPU Intel HD 200 Radeon HD 6310 Mainboard EMAXX IH61-iCafe (various boards) Memory EMAXX 4GBx1 DDR3 1333 EMAXX 4GBx1 DDR3 1333 @ 1066 Hard Drive Western Digital Green Power 1TB Western Digital Green Power 1TB Optical Drive Pioneer DVD drive Pioneer DVD drive PSU Silverstone Strider ST50F 500watts Silverstone Strider ST50F 500watts

SOFTWARES USED Handbrake 0.9.5 Winrar 4.0 64-bit call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Media Player classic Windows 7 Professional 64-bit TEST RESUlTS File Compression

because zacate is a low-power chip, small file sizes were used for file compression and video encoding to shorten the benchmark duration. Performance in these applications was fairly constant across all the boards except for the asus board that is slightly faster than the others in video encoding. Multi-tasking For this test, we would be playing in fullscreen an MKv 1080p video in the background while doing file compression and video encoding. While the video is playing in the background, we started encoding a 42-Mb WMv video to MP4 format. Right after the video encoding is started; we compressed a 30-Mb file archive using Best Compression method of Winrar.

Video encoding

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HARDwARE REVIEw

gaming

the graphs show the time both for single task and multi task. While it may seem that the intel core i3 2100 did fine here, take a look at the next chart below it is guaranteed that the time taken to complete the task would be longer on multi-tasking but we decided to measure the how much the performance dropped. it is a surprise that the intel core i3 2100 had a higher performance drop in file compression compared to the e-350. For video encoding, the performance drop was higher on the e-350. Due to limited time, we werent able to do further tests to identify what causes it. We will further investigate this matter in our review of AMD bulldozer. We will see if the same scenario will happen between bulldozer and core i7 2600K. also, we would like to note that while doing file compression and video encoding, the framerate of the 1080p video playback dropped to 14 fps on the e-350. We tried doing file compression only during 1080p video playback and the framerate was steady at 24 fps. We also tried video encoding only but the 1080 video playback remained steady at 24 fps. on the core i3 2100, there were no framerate drops even when there is file compression and video encoding. gaming We used call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the game benchmark. benchmark was done on the mission crew expendable. FraPs builtin timed benchmark was used to measure the minimum, average, and maximum framerates. benchmark duration is 60 seconds and it starts right after rappelling down from the helicopter. all the boards have almost the same gaming performance and it is

HARDwARE REVIEw

49

evident here that AMD has the better igP solution. you might wonder why we didnt do tests for gaming using a discrete graphics card like geForce gtX 460. First, the zacate is not aimed for hardcore gaming, this is a low-power platform. installing a fast graphics card is likely to increase the power consumption by a very large amount. second, we dont think there is a person in his right mind that will buy a mid-range graphics card and pair it with a relatively weak cPu. that would just result into an unbalanced gaming Pc. power Draw all the power measurements here represent the total system power and not the cPu only. For the asus board, we put an 80-mm fan above the cPu heatsink. the asus board doesnt come with a fan and we find it too hot without a fan blowing air thru it. the 80-mm fan draws more or less 2 watts. Voltcraft 3500 energy logger was used for all the power measurements idle power measurements were taken while the system is idle for more or less 5 minutes at the Windows 7 desktop. We can see here that the all of the e350 board draws almost the same power except that the Msi board draws the least amount of power. For heavy applications like video encoding and file compression, Msi takes the win again and gigabyte draws slightly more power compared to the other boards. unfortunately, the asrock board died during the MKv 1080p video playback that is why we werent able to measure its power. again, the Msi board draws the least power during the MKv 1080p video playback. lastly, we measured the power draw during gaming. We can see the same power draw pattern as with the

power Draw

other applications but the gigabyte board draws the most power in this test. FINAl WORDS all of the four e-350 boards showed solid performance in all of the tests. opening of windows during file compression and video encoding was smooth. Playback of 1080p videos was a great experience, too. Framerate was steady at 24 fps. though, it should be noted that playback of MKv 1080p requires Media Player classic with the appropriate codecs installed. We tried other players like vlc Player and goM Player but we had stuttering. For 720p videos, you can use any player you like. zacate is really a low-power platform even with linpack, power draw peaked at 40 Watts for most boards. at idle, power draw was around 33 Watts for the 3 boards while the MSI board draws 27 Watts only. this is a perfect platform for HTPCs, PCs for 24/7 downloading, and entry-level Pcs for light day-today tasks like document processing and web browsing. now, which board is the best of the four? if you are looking for

the cheapest, asrock e350M1 is the board for you. it can be had for as low as PHP 6250. it is slightly faster than the 3 boards in our multi-tasking test and it is second to the Msi board in terms of power draw. the only downside of the asrock board is that it has no usb 3.0 port. For PHP 6500, you can get the Msi e350ia-e45. it is the board that draws the least amount of power in all of the tests and you get support for DDr3 1333 and usb 3.0. Performance is not that far from the other 3 boards. the only downside is that the locking mechanism of the DiMM slot might be blocked or be hard to access if you will install a Pci-e graphics card. but we think most users that will buy a zacate board are likely to use the igP. The Gigabyte board also offers DDr3 1333 and usb 3.0 support but it is a bit more expensive compared to the Msi board. the asus board is the only one that has two Pci slots and one Pci-e x1 slot but it costs more or less PHP 7500.

50

EXcLUSIVE

cHoice toPics For tiPiDPc constituents

online transactions and the Law on sales

by

Jason Migrio aka goimon

nternet trading or e-commerce is something relatively new in the Philippines. as young as it may be, its growth is already at amazing speed that most people engage into it without realizing its legal implications specifically the application of our civil laws in every transaction. to some extent, obligations are created in tPc, obligations enforceable with our courts. since tipidPc.com house hundreds, if not thousands, of contracts of sale every day, we find it prudent

to discuss some salient points in our law on sales in connection to e-commerce law. in a contract of sale, one of the contracting parties obligates himself to transfer the ownership and to deliver a determinate thing, and the other to pay therefore, a certain price in money or its equivalent (article 1458 new civil code) in the tPc world, this is when the seller agrees to sell his item for the last price, in the negotiation. the last price which is usually

used in tPc is important since under the law, the price must be certain in money. When the last price offered by a prospective buyer is agreed to by the seller, the contract of sale is perfected. this perfecting of the negotiation would give rise to a contract of sale. rights and obligations are now available to the parties, which are enforceable with our courts i.e., if a transaction perfected in tPc went array? and one party would refuse to comply with his duty, the other party can drag said person to court to

51

compel compliance. To simplify, the buyer can file a case to ask the delivery of the item if, despite payment, the seller did not deliver the item. on the other hand, the seller can also file a collection suit if the buyer failed to pay. to illustrate, the tPc negotiation board would be: the last two entries, together

with the first post of the seller would evidence a perfected contract of sale. article 1475 of the new civil code would state: the contract of sale is perfected at the moment there is a meeting of the minds with regards to the thing which is the object of the contract and with regards to price. the object is the mouse being sold, the price, 450 pesos. When there is an agreement on both aspects, then that is now your contract, enforceable in our courts. on this scenario, where does tPc come in? under our civil laws, there is the concept of statute of Frauds. this means that before a contract could be enforceable in our courts, the same should be in some sort of document. consider this scenario: in the example mentioned if the price of the mouse is 1000 pesos (lets say it was once the mouse of the founder of

TPC), a written document is needed if the seller would later on refuse to sell said mouse. the buyer, who for some silly reason, would insist on buying the said mouse. the problem is that even after the agreement between the two of them, the seller refuses. Maybe he found out that the mouse could be sold for 1001 pesos. sayang din yung piso. How can the buyer get the seller

to sell him that mouse? remember, in this example, both parties are acting weird and it would be funny to mediate between the two of them. the buyers ultimate remedy is to file for specific performance before the proper court of justice. However before the buyer can do this he needs some sort of written document. This is due the already mentioned statute of Frauds to wit:

52

EXcLUSIVE

art. 1403. the following contracts are unenforceable, unless they are ratified: xxx (2) those that do not comply with the statute of Frauds as set forth in this number. in the following cases an agreement hereafter made shall be unenforceable by action, unless the same, or some note or memorandum, thereof, be in writing, and subscribed by the party charged, or by his agent; evidence, therefore, of the agreement cannot be received without the writing, or a secondary evidence of its contents: xxx (d) an agreement for the sale of goods, chattels or things in action, at a price not less than five hundred pesos, unless the buyer accepts and receives part of such goods and chattels, or the evidences, or some of them, of such things in action or pay at the time some part of the purchase money; but when a sale is made by auction and entry is made by the auctioneer in his sales book, at the time of the sale, of the amount and kind of property sold, terms of sale, price, names of the purchasers and person on whose account the sale is made, it is a sufficient memorandum; in the above quoted provision of the new civil code, sales in tipidPc.com should be in some writing document if: the price is not less than 500 pesos and there is no partial compliance. What does partial
1

compliance mean? it simply means that the item or a part of the time is still not delivered to the buyer. if this happens, the remedy is different and a written document is no longer necessary to enforce the contract. now back to our discussion on the statute of frauds. as far as tPc is concerned, this provision is important to those who already have a closed deal and the seller would back out at the last minute saying he wants a different buyer to get his item. if the adamant buyer of that darn old mouse would still insist that he deserves that product he can go to court. However without any written document, such desire would be futile. this is where transactions in tPc can come in. if the transaction was completed using the negotiation boards, copy of which can be used as basis for any suit. this is the advantage of dealing within the negotiation boards of tPc. the entries in the said negotiation board could be used as evidence. the negotiation board is considered as an electronic document, which is defined as: refers to information of the representation of information, data, figures, symbols or other modes of written expression, described or however represented, by which a right is established or an obligation extinguished, or by which a fact may be proved and affirmed, which is received, recorded, transmitted, stored, processed, retrieved or produced electronically (emphasis supplied)1 What is the implication that the negotiation board is considered an electronic document in relation to the sale of that very expensive mouse. (seriously, would a tPc member pay 1000 pesos for a mouse?)

the negotiation board of the said mouse is considered as a written document that can be used to comply with the statute of frauds requirement. in other words, pwede kana maghabla dahil mahal na mahal mo yung mouse. the basis of this would be the rules of electronic evidence promulgated by our own supreme court: electronic documents as functional equivalent of paper-based documents. Whenever a rule of evidence refers to the term of writing, document, record, instrument, memorandum or any other form of writing, such term shall be deemed to include an electronic document as defined in these Rules 2. this would mean that for all intents and purposes, an electronic document is as good as a written document. this would apply to all civil actions and proceedings, as well as quasi-judicial and administrative cases3 . notice that the rules did not include criminal proceedings. but thats another story. not to buhatin ang sarili naming bangko, but negotiation completed in the board within tPc would provide sufficient evidence to establish the fact of a completed transaction. this is very important since most people who complain about a negative feedback are those who transacted thru cellphones. Most people would simply call the owner of the item and transact thru the phone. as much as this would be convenient, the transaction would have zero documentary evidence. this is not a problem for smooth transactions. but once in a while, on rare occasions, transactions would not go as planned. And its better to have that electronic document just in case.
2 3

sec 5 (f) electronic commerce act

a.M. no. 01-7-01-sc sec. 1 rule 3 a.M. no. 01-7-01-sc sec. 2 rule 1

54

EXcLUSIVE

the (Download) times they Are A-Changin

Bandwidth Control and the Countrys Internet Woes

by

Paul Henri S.D. Santiago aka aboyslife

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) which is the Philippines telecom regulatory advisory group last January 2011 junked a memorandum circular provision allowing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to implement a bandwidth cap on its subscribers. The issue is far from over, however, with Globe Telecoms recent implementation of a bandwidth cap; the debate on whether or not ISPs should push through with capping rages on; in and out of cyberspace.

MAD MAx(IMUM) according to Wikipedia, bandwidth capping or fair usage policy or fair access policy or usage-based billing, limits the transfer of a specified amount of data over a period of time. that means, for example, a subscriber is only allowed to download 250 gigabytes (gb) of data a month. if he goes beyond that, he will be charged for excess data ergo, isPs are intended to use bandwidth capping as a means to curb bandwidth hogs, or subscribers that consumes more bandwidth than other users. there are network-aware devices available in the market that would allow isPs to apply bandwidth capping on their subscribers. these devices could also be used for bandwidth throttling, which limits the bandwidth that a device could consume. some isP vendors such as allot, anagran, bluecoat, Procera and sandvine among others might actually use these devices to monitor their subscribers and if needed, enforce bandwidth throttling through their fair usage policies. a good example of this would be a certain ISP limits peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic during peak hours and suspends the limit or raises the bandwidth limit during off-peak hours while monitoring its subscribers who are often grouped by area, and then by respective subscription plans for any offenders that might exceed their

download limit. once a subscriber exceeds his limit, his excess data is charged accordingly through the isPs billing and accounting system, or he could be redirected to an online portal where he could pay in order to download more data. still having a hard time understanding? Heres an analogy: imagine the various lanes of eDsa as being dedicated for particular applications such as P2P, streaming, gaming, etc. some of those lanes might move faster than others or have wider lanes depending on the ISPs fair usage policy and/ or service level agreements (slas) with customers. network-aware devices can create pipes that allow for particular applications to go faster while other, less-critical applications are forced to traverse smaller pipes, resulting in slower connections. HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER After scrapping the provision, the ntc suggested that isP vendors provide their subscribers with a Committed Information Rate (CIR) or a minimum speed. Mr. tonyo cruz, president of consumer-rights group tXtPower.org on the other hand called for better Internet services With the broadband cap already set aside, the ntc should use all its powers to address the mounting demands of Filipino [internet] users, big and small, for better [Internet]

and to curb the abuses of the telcoms, he said. the replies from isPs, however, were far from enthusiastic and agreeable. according to Philippine long Distance telephone company (PlDt), specifying a minimum speed of connection is like providing a dedicated/leased line for each subscriber and that it would, eventually translate to more expensive service rates for the customers. Wi-tribe for its part, stated that, to comply with such legal guarantee, service providers will necessarily have to limit the number of possible users on the assumption that said users will access the network all at the same time, on a 24/7 basis. While ISP vendors can use network-aware devices to guarantee cirs to its subscribers, the tight spot lies in just how many customers the isP can handle before their network becomes too congested despite bandwidth throttling. Although network-aware devices can distribute bandwidth dynamically based on the number of users on a particular pipe, it will have a hard time doing so once the network has reached its limit. according to buddecomm, a sydney-based independent telecoms research and consultancy company, the Philippines has 4.1 million fixedline subscribers in 2009, just 4.4% of the population for that year. on the other hand, internet World stats

EXcLUSIVE

55

pegs the number of internet users in 2010 at 29.7 million while buddecomms estimate for the same year was 7.5 million. the numbers may vary, but one thing holds true; while the number of internet users continue to rise, most of these users go online through internet cafs and; only three for every hundred people have access to broadband services in early 2010. Furthermore, the Philippines internet service still lags behind its neighbors in terms of speed and reliability. therefore, isP vendors in turn, should try to keep up with the growing needs of subscribers for better, more reliable connections. buddecomm ranked the Philippines as having only 12% broadband penetration in Households which is a far cry from singapore (165%), south Korea (85%) and Hong Kong (81%). SPEED lIMIT When asked for their rationale in implementing bandwidth caps, globe telecoms replied that it is to ensure that all subscribers get an equally share and enjoyable broadband experience. Furthermore, it was meant to protect those who might be affected by the few subscribers who use the service/promo for activities other than its intended use. in addition, globe also stated that their fair usage policy affects subscribers who are using bandwidth-intensive applications, e.g., P2P, heavy video/ media streaming, music and video downloads as well as other heavy downloads like file transfer protocol (FtP) sessions. they also advised that there will be an equally enjoyable broadband service if subscribers will avoid doing activities such as sharing software and downloading files in large format like videos and movies which contribute a high bandwidth use.

The NTC can subject the ISP vendors to a review of their network infrastructure which will determine the extent of their capability to provide satisfactory service.
capping is applied to subscribers who have reached the allowable usage volume. For Wimax users with 512 kbps subscription, the average download ranges from 16 gb to 20 gb while Wimax subscribers with 1 Mbps are allowed download ranges from 21 gb to 25 gb and super Surf/ Power Surf Prepaid promo is given 800 Mb. FAST AND FURIOUS in countries like the uK, china and thailand, isP vendors have started offering tiered Internet services using various network-aware devices. examples of services would include internet subscriptions depending on the applications a subscriber uses the most such as basic Web browsing, P2P/ heavy downloading, streaming music and videos. aside from bandwidth capping, some ISPs might also offer timebased subscriptions and increased bandwidth over a period of time. if a subscriber cannot choose from the default service plans, he may suggest a template he likes to the isP. Furthermore, those same devices could be used to send out reports to

subscribers of bandwidth usage for transparency. the aforementioned devices are supposed to guarantee slas and Quality of service (Qos) to customers, and to ensure that they get the bandwidth they are paying for. the use of such devices though has lead to the issue of network neutrality, but thats another story. this practice should be the subject of discussions since its not farfetched to assume it will happen in the Philippines since some vendors might actually be using networkaware devices and could, if given the appropriate tweaks, become an alternative to capped subscription plans but then again, some subscribers, if not most, would probably welcome being capped on a monthly basis if it means having a consistent minimum speed. DOWN(lOAD) AND OUT consumers should, as a collective, demand for better services and more transparent bandwidth reports and continue to attend public hearings alongside isPs to set forth policies that are acceptable for both parties. the ntc can subject the isP vendors to a review of their network infrastructure which will determine the extent of their capability to provide satisfactory service. ISPs, meanwhile, should kick off any necessary overhauls and upgrades in their networks. While internet services in the country is mediocre at best, recent developments surrounding bandwidth capping as well as the ongoing discussions being held on and off the Web should fuel healthy debates and varying, if not conflicting viewpoints. these, in turn, could help spark improvements in the way isP vendors provide access to subscribers, and how the latter, in turn, use it.

56

SpOTLIGHT
What you dont know about DJ Mo
his lucid dreams of politics and the reality of why this talker is a walker.
by

tHe center stage oF ProMinent Personalities

Hermann Calero aka taba

TIPIDPC: So, how did you become a DJ? DJ mo: Hmm, if i remember right, i was somewhere in a restaurant in greenhills blabbering away as usual with some friends about girls, whos hot and not, the latest gadgets, our careers, top new music artists and stuff. We were at a table next to, who i recognized as a bunch of DJs and i suppose they somehow overheard my desire to be a DJ. i guess they liked the way my blabbering resonated across the area. so they came up to me and said, Hi, we happen to be looking for a new/young DJ. (i was just 16 years old during that time.) i was kinda taken aback at that time especially when they invited me to drop by their radio station for an audition. i thought to myself, wow being a student dreaming of becoming a future senator, this should be a sign of important things to come. but then I figured, the media could actually be a stepping stone in realizing my dream of entering politics. so i said, sure why not? i knew its a long shot from having a seat in the senate because i was just a normal kid a nobody. and i was simply gonna be a DJ in a pop radio station. but hey, why not? ill take any chance i get. i might as well give it a shot and then from there i entered the world of television and even gained a little bit of political experience as one of

I feel confident about being where I am now. Since this is the one thing Ive come to realize that I do best whether it would be lucrative or not, I just follow my heart.
the hosts in a talk show that had a political theme. but along the way, i realized that i dont want be a senator anymore. ive decided ill just stay as an insignificant teenager with a voice that most people say makes bold sense. and i think i like it. TPC: Why is that? DJ mo: i really dont know for sure. call it fate or destiny, but im not trying to be mayabang or anything. Basta I feel confident about being where I am now. since this is the one thing ive come to realize that i do best whether it would be lucrative or not, i just follow my heart. i also wanna excel in everything i do and be numero uno coz im a very competitive person. especially against other shows and other stations, i always say like, if this whole game was a basketball game i wanna be the MvP and i wanna be the one to take the game winning shot in pressure time. i love pressure, competition, challenges and being the one who people admire as someone whos

brave enough to say whatever the truth is. TPC: Youre currently a TV celebrity. Tell us about the transformation from being a radio DJ? DJ mo: Well i was only in radio for about six months before i was exposed to the tv industry. i remember when gMa 7 had a new tv show called soP and they said they wanted a DJ sounding voice during commercials and stuff like that so that it would look like a radio show so they asked me to join in. because they were looking for someone new, thats how i ended up on tv with soP although the show was cancelled a year ago. After that I went to ABS-CBN where I had my first acting experience. back then there was only a few of us as DJs. like Joe, the

madmonnaire, but now you even see tv stars as being a DJs. TPC: How about Mos casa? DJ mo: yeah my home has 2 rooms, one room is for taking loads of calls wherein there are 6 rather intricate phone lines coming in which can be relayed to the second room. so its kinda cool, really. TPC: So you do your podcasting there? DJ mo: ah! yes great, im having a podcast i mean, i always had this thought of doing an online show because its uncensored and stuff like that. Podcast is so fun like i just hope that more people will warm-up to, not only my show but actually as a medium. i think podcast is way better than radio because you can

finally go through all of these international shows and stuff like that. It can cater to your audio entertainment with whatever you want -- if you are in a car and you like sports, say, jai-alai or whatever. theres a jaialai podcast that you can get in. you can never have that in radio. you can listen to comedy, you can listen to love talk shows, sex shows, career oriented shows, discovery channel... you can curtail your entertainment experience with whatever you want by downloading these things and even play it on anyones phone. i really do like podcasting and i want to make sure to be one of the first to appear the countrys main stream and be number one here and in singapore or be in the top 20 in the u.s. its huge, we have taken calls from africa, Kenya, singapore, u.s.,

58

SpOTLIGHT

canada, australia, and u.K. its amazing that you can have a show that is being broadcasted to the Filipinos as well all over the world and get to interact in real time...so thats cool. Podcasting is fun im really, really happy about it and i converted my house into a podcasting station. i know you saw the radio booth; all the equipment there, is now also in my house as well so in essence i do have a little radio station. TPC: Being in broadcasting, surely you must have a blog. DJ mo: i used to blog a lot but not as often as before. I cant imagine anybody preferring to blog away and see their relationships go away as a consequence. Doesnt make any sense to me whatsoever. blog-

ging is more like a hobby and i was getting 125,000 hits a day which is really kinda cool for a local blog. Like wow! suddenly this different blog which i didnt expect much of, started to become popular and liked. amazing what the internet can do as an alternative form of freedom of expression. but id been busy with other things, things id rather give my undivided attention yo. My blog is just really dedicated to giving information for the podcast so now it just gets 60 to 70 thousand hits a day. i used to make 130 thousand hits a day but now i rarely reach 125 thousand. People kasi like long streaming blogs to read at work coz it helps them kill time. i believe nowadays, the majority of people with white collar jobs works only 5 hours na lang

instead of 8. the rest of their 3 hours is spent either tweaking fantasy basketball teams or reading blogs. i have a hunch thats the reason why my blogs are blocked in many companies. (laughs) TPC: Do you dabble in photography? DJ mo: Oh yeah. I started off with a Nikon and then shifted to Canon because of the 5d video gain abilities of the Mark ii. its something that im really enjoying right now because of its high definition feature. I do have both brands, but im really pushing for canon right now. TPC: Do you consider yourself as a geek? DJ mo: i never thought of myself really as a techie dude because i never were into techie stuffs. So I dont call myself a tech savvy person. but i do like this tipidPc magazine which was handed to me earlier. at first I thought it was one of those neat expensive techie magazines but i was surprised it was being given out for free. I find that amazing and admirable. it made me like gadgets more. although if i could only start saving enough, I could afford to buy more amazing gadgets that keeps coming out of the woodworks almost everyday, but now that im an adult and have a fantastic job that i love, im so blessed being able to spend a lot more. im not saying im wealthy or anything, because most of my earnings were spent on gadgets. in fact i have tons of computers at home. I probably bought five Macs within a span of only a few months. i just got three the other day and three days ago i got a 17 Macbook Pro. Im pretty sure I have a Mac pro at home, so i guess i have thirteen to fifteen...even seventeen, I suppose. I also have an apple tv and an apple mini. i really just got crazy over

I dont drink, smoke, or alter my mind. What you see is what you get. Im actually too honest for my own good.

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SpOTLIGHT

these Apple stuff, but then again all my money just goes to all these gadgets and realize i have no savings na pala. if my parents knew how much i have saved, theyll probably kill me and say, anong ginagawa mo sa pera mo at binibili mo lang ng gadgets, lenses and macs? (laughs) TPC: When you mentioned getting info about reputable stuff, is it from friends? DJ mo: no. i just get them from the manufacturers website or something like that. Getting reliable information on review sites. TPC: On women and vices. DJ mo: People are entitled to their own opinions. like i can say that to others too, but hey, at least im not a typical womanizer which people perceive me to be. ive learned my lesson well. i dont drink, smoke, or alter my mind. What you see is what you get. im actually too honest for my own good. like you can ask me any question you like and i might have a healthy answer for it. there are times when i disagree, it becomes misconstrued until everything blows over. but thats not my problem anymore. those who get offended are often the ones who are

Im not into RC cars but prefer RC airplanes... I majored aviation science in college aside from political science as well. I really do love aviation very much.
guilty anyway. Hate me or love me. you cant do both. an addiction is defined as something that labels you as an anti-social good for nothing loser and im completely against that. TPC: What gadgets are you particularly in right now? Upgrade maybe? DJ mo: Yesterday I spent a little bit of time in a coffee shop trying to get back in some rc airplanes. so now im saving up to buy a small one so

i wont feel too bad if i destroy it. i have two helicopters and im thinking of getting RC boats. Im not into rc cars but prefer rc airplanes. a Mustang would be cool to fly, dont you think? i majored aviation science in college aside from political science as well. i really do love aviation very much. yesterday i was kinda thinking of getting back on RC airplanes. but for rc helicopters, never! i cant do it. its too expensive when it crashes, and it means throwing away ten thousand bucks just to fix it. Those things cost a hundred thousand and I cant afford it...compared to a Mac. TPC: Have you ever used your gadgets to your advantage? DJ mo: Well not really, it is just because of my podcast and the type of topics weve discussed. Well im not really good looking but you know, people say, hey wanna do some cybersex or something like that and not knowing that im dating someone. i used to clone cellphone lines from a non gsM once so you can call abroad. i havent done it in a while though.

SpOTLIGHT

61

TPC: What do you think about censorship in the internet? DJ mo: i mean one of it is profanities and stuff thats gonna push censorship because you choose what websites you wanna go to, its not like a radio that when you open it accidentally that you can hear stuff. Obviously the lifeless slander stuff should hold, you cant just call or you cant say to someone, oh i heard that Mo has testicular cancer, dont you know? that would be something that should be banned. censorship in terms of content and stuff. I guess what im wondering about the internet is, and let us keep it like that, is the unimpressive, rouge and stuff like that. censorship in terms of profanity, pornography, liability, and some other spiral aspects of censorship. i dont know about guarantees of jurisdiction and stuff like that, like if i said libelous statements on my blog but im registered in the us because thats where my post is, but i wrote it in the Philippines, i dont know what criminal court will handle this. i dont know any of these things, but it is very difficult talaga. I dont know who will define it either and which country gets the lead of these thing. like our laws in our country is so very different from

the other countries. TPC: Have you ever heard of TipidPC. com before? DJ mo: Well, no i didnt but now im very intrigued about it. i was looking in your magazine and its kinda cool. it features the gadgets and stuff that I personally like. Its all value and stuff. Though I dont sell second hand computer and cell phones because i think everything can be recovered even if you securely empty the trash, military grade, rewriting of your hard drives. if you go to my house and if you go to my closet, youll see stocks and stocks of computers and phones that ive had. i guess it is not an answer to your question, but i dont mean it badly but im really paranoid about people taking my stuff like something I used before, not because i think badly about it, no, but everybody have pores completely on their own butts and I dont want other people to see mine. you see im trying to get myself into making a tech Podcast, which a lot of people are asking about regarding my podcast. When it comes to podcasting any of this is much possible. i treated it as if like im nobody

you know and i need help from big companies to look at this all. i cant host a technical program by myself so im still looking for people who might be able to help me out. i know a lot of people who put up tech blogs on their own, its just, in the mainstream. i do a hundred thousand a day for my download apps from my podcast, it did quite well that im thinking if i can kind of expand that into a podcast about sports, or a tech podcast. it would be nice to have a really big mainstream network in the Philippines. Im definitely looking into that so if i could tie up with you guys in anyway i can. im just here. but right now, its more of whom i kinda need as a host experience at least with the style and the knowhow because my podcast and equipment will definitely be able to push a really good show. TPC: You are known to be someone mean on the radio is it something we can only see in TV? In real life are you a different person? DJ mo: i think so. you know in my mind, i wasnt mean on the radio. i dont want to call it misconception. there are two reasons why im mean on the radio. number 1 it is tough love, when it comes to

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EXcLUSIVE

people with questions, like a lot of questions that i get was Im cheating on my wife, im cheating on my husband. Kasi most people like oh masama yan. i dont cheat, i dont do that, im sensitive about it, so if i heard such rampage cheating going on a relationship, it pisses me off. so i am like listen asshole instead of saying your name or something, Ill just address you with insult. its because of something youre doing bad. youre not gonna call a program and say hi Mo, I just donated 10 thousand pesos to the Deaf Society of the Philippines and ill respond yeah dumb shit, its not that great. if im gonna call you a name or something its because you deserve it, because you are very stupid. Second thing Im pissed off as if youre making the show stall, like i wanna greet my friends then pass the phone. no! no passing the phone, no dont pass the phone. People like this are just moving along, they dont move the story and it is taking so long, up to the point where there is already nothing to do with the buildup. its just because i need to entertain. i dont do it for myself, i do it for everyone listening. nobody wants to hear this crap, lets just move, move, move you know. because of that im gonna be labeled as such, and i know that, but i wont be labeled i had patience with a stupid call. so i think in person, because its not a review show that were doing, its just real life. in real life, i dont yell at anyone, i dont get mad at anybody, i dont do that to anybody, i really dont. ive never been in a fist fight my life. Im not that officially bad. Its hard for me to be mean to people i had the chance to know and i just only do it on the show. i dont know you so you tell me about yourself. Im pretty gentle and im actually a disappointment to a lot of people. lot of people expect

I dont think that you can decipher or ascertain which people are techies based on their hardware, its merely a pasikat thing.
me to be upset or expect me to party go out to drink and something. i dont. i dont even like music, any music in my car its my own podcast. i listen to podcast for at least 5 years already. im listening to psychology podcast, i listen to google sports, I dont find it particularly funny and i dont think the show is really entertaining. i listen to a lot of psychology lecture, a lot!, i listen to drug addiction but i dont do drugs. i listen to a lot of relationship advice shows, tv shows ex. Dr. Drew Pinski, celebrity rehabs, love advice show called love line which i really been seeing since i was a child and adam carolla. ive listened to american radio shows, british radio shows, and australian radio shows, and all their podcast versions of the program. and that in years maybe more than five or maybe longer than that. before podcast on itunes was available, i was just downloading their mp3 versions from their website on my mp3 player. now its a lot more organized and you can subscribe and get it quicker. but no music or whatever. no never. its either quiet, theres nothing or just wala never. though its fun listening to podcasts

TPC: Having seen a lot of technology around, even the person that you can see in the streets is with a cellphone, can you really identify, in your own words, the difference from a techie to a non-techie user with their technology? From your definition. I think we are geeks. DJ mo: no, i dont think so. i think i could be wrong because im not a techie dude like i said and i dont even label myself as that at all. i think that i have a lot of gadgets that i underuse. a real gadget freak would remark something like oh my god, those people who can afford can do so much more with their stuff, but its such a waste, they just buy them because its trendy and it would seem to be such a good idea to do so, at that time. i feel a real techie gets irked when he sees that i bought a Mac Pro just to use it to surf the internet. its like buying a badass camera and just using it to point and shoot. it really all becomes better after a series of bad experimenting with its capabilities and different kind of settings or something like that to learn. its really not the camera who dictates the outcome but the person who takes the shot. i dont think that you can decipher or ascertain which people are techies based on their hardware, its merely a pasikat thing. its being able to answer troubleshooting questions on the spot, and things like that. if somebody can troubleshoot my computer without even having a computer in front of them. they twitch their head and then say click the firewall or something wherever it may be, they dont even have computers in front of them (and they were able to) just go through it in their minds thats impressive every time i see them. i tried doing that with girls because girls have more simple problems; Mo I need to screenshot this. and i go Whoa! That

EXcLUSIVE

63

TPC: Any parting words? DJ mo: i just wanna say that you give Podcasting a shot. im not telling you download to my podcast. lets make more podcasts. i need competition on my style. i made podcasts that have nothing to do with what ive been doing. Podcast for every walk of life, i just want the medium to do well. i want people to really get in to it, kasi all our phones are capable of it. you can make it to cater to what you want and stuff like that. it is a great venue to be entertained. you wont be stuck up with these radio shows that suck when you are in the car with no other choice. you listen to the same playlist on your iPod over and over that you have memorized it. so get in to Podcast, and make your own podcast, it is so easy to make them. tpC: thanks yor your time DJ mo: absolutely man, thanks as well and trust me the podcast thing, its gonna fly. I have so many sponsors online in my podcast now, it requires 5 to 6 minutes commercial breaks so its like a prime time access radio show. and everybody ask the same thing when are we gonna do in tech podcast? and i respond to them the same thing until i have really credible people like techie dudes like you guys who are so passionate. so lets give it a go.

is really complicated. Let me try to dig deep in my memory here, press shift f4 then you see a square. then they go Wow youre so smart. i never asked anyone else. but if a girl has a real problem like Mo since you know about computers can you help me?, ill go Okay wait, Im really busy right now, let me call you later. then ill get the answer in google, and then ill call back and ask what is your problem again I forgot? Yeah Yeah hmm let me see hmm hey Im pretty sure if you do this and do that its gonna work. then theyll say Hey your right! Youre so great! so the truth is im not a real technical person, im just a poser. so if youre a gadget geek that salivates about gadgets then god bless you. i consider myself as a geek of an-

other kind. im a geek about sports statistics, im a hardcore sports stats geek so i can relate to the gadget geeks on what they are feeling. aside from that i could also call myself a school geek, like i mean come on, i went to school take political science, legal management and aviation science. all of them have nothing to do with each other. its just that i enjoy school, some geeks about that stuff, some about other stuff, so were kind of a geek in our own relations and fantasies. thats fantastic, more power to you. its awesome to be an expert in something. id rather do that than not know a lot of about anything.

The interviewier Hermann Thomas Calero is part of the TipidPC Core Team. He weighs a whopping 320 lbs, thus his TPC monicker taba. Aside from ravaging buffet tables, Hermann is also heavily involved in show business. He has graced several unsucessful TV shows and you could see him this coming Christmas season in your favorite malls dressed up as Santa Claus.

i ri trtcc .AA. Tan .. Tan .KK . msim AA aamsim SS Mhhiee Mik k

Chances are you have already spotted him as as one Chances are you have already spotted him one of of the most wanted pc modders in town. His creative the most wanted pc modders in town. His creative work and humble attitude makes him more distinctive work and humble attitude makes him more distinctive among the crowd. among the crowd.

Interview andand photograph PaulTan Interview photograph by by PaulTan aka pault_tan

Tell us how you started with PC modding. Tell us how you started with PC modding. I started modding around 2002-2003, back when I started modding around 2002-2003, back when pc modding was not a a full blown hobby, compc modding was not full blown hobby, compared toto what it is today. pared what it is today.

Your PC modding business isis very Your PC modding business very successful since day one, what isis the key successful since day one, what the key to modding pc? to modding pc? I started pc modding as a a hobby. Back then had I started pc modding as hobby. Back then I I had no plans ofof making it a full time job. It was more no plans making it a full time job. It was more Back then, we didnt have the proper tools and Back then, we didnt have the proper tools and like just loving what I do. But inin the long run, I like just loving what I do. But the long run, I accessories so we had toto improvise and make do realized that, the best job is is if you can mix work accessories so we had improvise and make do realized that, the best job if you can mix work with whats available. Now, PC modding has gone and fun together. For me, this is is the mix, loving the with whats available. Now, PC modding has gone and fun together. For me, this the mix, loving the work and having fun atat the same time. work and having fun the same time. a a long way. Modders now have the right equiplong way. Modders now have the right equipment and parts, making the hobby more ment and parts, making the hobby more The key is is always try to think of something new, The key always try to think of something new, accessible toto all. accessible all. something different, as they say, think out ofof the something different, as they say, think out the One ofof my major influences in modding is the One my major influences in modding is the box. Somehow, I have always made it it a point to box. Somehow, I have always made a point to do something innovative toto tickle the fancy of my do something innovative tickle the fancy of my online website called virtual-hideout.net, I I online website called virtual-hideout.net, clients. clients. think they are one ofof the pioneers in PC think they are one the pioneers in PC modding. modding. >>

PROJ: FRACTAL PROJ: FRACTAL

OWNER: TANTRIC OWNER: TANTRIC

Modding several pcpc at the same time is Modding several at the same time is surely not an easy task, what does it it surely not an easy task, what does take to to make pcpc unique in every way? take make a a unique in every way? I make it a point to to talk with my clients first. I make it a point talk with my clients first. Getting to to know them personally, their likes and Getting know them personally, their likes and dislikes is key. From there, I trytry to come up with a dislikes is key. From there, I to come up with a concept that mymy clients will love. Once given the concept that clients will love. Once given the gogo signal, I start on the project. signal, I start on the project. What does it mean to to be one of the most What does it mean be one of the most sought after PC modder in in the Philippines? sought after PC modder the Philippines? Weh? Di Di nga? Weh? nga? Nine years and over 300 modded PC, Nine years and over 300 modded PC, side panels, etc. Whats next for the side panels, etc. Whats next for the master? master? Master? Im nono such thing. Hopefully more projects Master? Im such thing. Hopefully more projects to to come. Not only for me but also for my group, come. Not only for me but also for my group, Rignoobies. Rignoobies. You are currently a contestant in in the 2011 You are currently a contestant the 2011 CoolerMaster Mod Challenge, when will CoolerMaster Mod Challenge, when will you present the finished project? you present the finished project? Hopefully by by first week of May. Wish us luck. Hopefully first week of May. Wish us luck. Of all the PC that you modded, whats Of all the PC that you modded, whats the one dearest to to you? the one dearest you? That would bebe the yellow GIGABYTE 3D Aurora That would the yellow GIGABYTE 3D Aurora 570 & Silverstone raven II Nightraven. I con570 & Silverstone raven II Nightraven. I considered them dearest to to me because I was really sidered them dearest me because I was really challenged by by both builds. Took me almost two challenged both builds. Took me almost two months to to finish each, dedicated most of my time months finish each, dedicated most of my time and effort to to make a success. and effort make it it a success.

PROJ: NIGHTRAVEN PROJ: NIGHTRAVEN

OWNER: KNET370 OWNER: KNET370

PROJ: SPOON PROJ: SPOON

OWNER: DREWT OWNER: DREWT

PROJ: COSMOS VX VX PROJ: COSMOS

OWNER: VIN621 OWNER: VIN621

PROJ: TRIXIE PROJ: TRIXIE

OWNER: KNET370 OWNER: KNET370

PROJ: CARRERA GT-S PROJ: CARRERA GT-S

OWNER: EL_KARERA OWNER: EL_KARERA

PROJ: SHIVA PROJ: SHIVA

OWNER: PEEJ OWNER: PEEJ

PROJ: QUAD 580 SLI SLI PROJ: QUAD 580

OWNER: IBONBIRD OWNER: IBONBIRD

had to improvise had we make to improvise we make do with the and and do with the parts and tools available parts and tools available that time. that time.

PROJ: G7 FXX EVO PROJ: G7 FXX EVO

OWNER: ANTHONY8659 OWNER: ANTHONY8659

EXcLUSIVE

67

Rig Builders Alliance (RBA)

by

Renier Delos Santos aka Autoprimephilippines

hat is rba and how, where did it originate? it actually started from a silly joke among bros calling each other sisters and i kid you not! yours truly started the XFX Psu users info and tambayan thread and the exciting journey of how rba began goes something like thisso come on, hop on board with me! being a computer enthusiast got me browsing at the tipidpc.com website so often (read: all day long; ok exag) that it became a daily habit. i learned more about rigs there than at any other website. Then one fine day i decided to buy a new power supply. i was surprised to see that there was no thread about it, so i created one and the rest, as they say, is history. oops sabi ko history, wala akong sinabing the end so stay put, mga bros! At first, we were all just sharing our knowledge and experiences about our power supply product, nearly every day so it was only natural that we started to build some kind of friendship. We never knew it will grow into something special the way it is today. a couple of months after I created the thread; we had 40 members but as expected, not all were active. one of our members created a Facebook account for us and ill always be grateful to him for taking that initiative coz things got even better and we became a lot closer. We planned meetings; had tshirts made; went on road trips; you know fun stuff that the team would enjoy. then one day, the creator of

that Fb page had the opportunity to invite one of the best computer modders whom we all know and have heard about, Mr. chamelyon.

eitherstrict ang nanay ko ehjust kidding! the original group name, XFX Psu users info and tambayan

The first meeting for the group was March 11, 2011 and judging from the photos above, they all had a great time! yeah i wasnt able to make it that time. i was around the area but hey what can i say, i lost their contact numbers excuses, excuses... good thing the second meeting went well with six of our members present and Mr. chamelyon gracing the meeting with his presence at our friends pod.

The RBA is a simple group who share the same enthusiasm towards life and the commitment for the betterment of the group.

they had a great time as you can see right here. yeah i wasnt able to make it to the second meeting

thread was a tad too long. although we were unaware at the time the second meeting started, each

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EXcLUSIVE

member present were skilled at something like modifications, gaming, overclocking, networking, photography, graphic arts, and many more. so after much discussion and deliberation (naks kala mo talaga totoo ano!), we discovered the different skills and hence, decided to change the group name and after voting came up with rig builDers alliance. the third meeting was also the first time the group would meet me and it was also our first road trip. We were invited by one of our members to spend the weekend at his place in nagcarlan, laguna. We held our lan party at his computer shop and spent the weekend at his home up in the mountains. it was a great surprise to find out that the Fineupgrades group was with us. the road trip gave us an opportunity to get to know each other a little better; we had a great time and there was never a dull moment. We arrived in nagcarlan in time for lunch and our host provided us with the best meal (read: kelan kaya mauuulit sis? Hehehe). We then proceeded to his computer shop where we set up our rigs and did networking. We invited players to participate

We headed to the resort after we brought everything that we needed back, and once everyone was set, we started the meeting and came up with rules, regulations, board members, upcoming events, plans,

at the lan party. they had a great time and even won prizes like shirts and lanyards from roccat. the party was a success and i realized that making others happy is priceless.

etc. and things started shaping up for the group. the rba is a simple group made up of enthusiasts. Were not out to recruit new members nor demand

that all of us have top of the line rigs. but whoever wanted to join us should have the same enthusiasm towards life and the commitment that all of us have by being involved and active for the betterment of the group. After that fantastic third meeting, tPc gave us the opportunity to hold a seminar at the eton cyberpod in ortigas, Quezon city. it was a rainy day but nothing could stop us from supporting the free seminar for those who were interested to learn about rigs. We shared our knowledge about rig modding, rig building, and overclocking to all the participants. owing to the bad weather condition, I wasnt able to attend the first seminar coz of heavy rains and flood but I made it to the next one (nagmakaawa nako sa nanay ko eh). sir chamelyon did great with sharing the basics HoW tos on

EXcLUSIVE

69

modifications and of course, the tool of trades. We also had a Diy section for power supply wire sleeving. i brought my own motherboard, video card, hard disk, as well as rams for the intel overclocking part. i was lucky to have money for a new cooler and we used it for the rig building section. After a successful build accompanied by a great lecture and demonstration from one of our fellow members, we overclocked our sandy up to just 5.4ghz, although at home i could do 5.5ghz (i guess worrying is part and parcel of overclocking).

i wasnt able to explain how i did it during the last seminar so intel guys, if you want to get crazy juices out of your sandy bridge as well as more info on modifications, how to build your own rig, etc., do attend the next seminar. btW, my gratitude goes out to one of our members who shared aMD overclocking for the last portion of our seminar. He did a great job and we encouraged the attendees to participate in a mini overclocking competition. After a long day of hosting seminars, we would traditionally celebrate it with freezing cold beer, food, and laughter. Were always on the lookout for new events; new places; new members; new promotions; pretty much to grow this alliance that is open for everybody. our mission is to provide an alliance for information exchange among members, thereby promoting and improving our common interests and passions. as to our vision, we aspire to establish a community of computer enthusiasts who are committed to sharing their knowledge and best practices on computer hardware, software, games, and anything related to rigs. btW, im autoprimephilippines...and this, in a nutshell, is rba.

BIES d RIG NOO by PaulTan an Photograph

g Noobiess Riig Noobie R

commuteter co p pu r commosed d fof co p pose o a g grou isis a roup p s; fr fro the CCs; omm the rest towa ard P P teterest towrds s e e c co mo o inin the g grou is ththir ir ommmn n h h the roup p is asts s nited d y y ast u unite b b dinin. AAhoug g d g g. lt lthou d enththsisi en u u parts s nd d mo part a an mo p ph , ca a ad d rahy,ycarsrs n n areresoftwwrere, a , , soft a a , h hard ing g, pho gra stst ardww mmin, phototog aa te lalate l alway willilalways s ion towa ard g g ssssion towrds s R R No ob s s w e e igig Nobieie owwn foits s a a o n for r it p p also o n n als k k to me entio thth us s to mntion,n, tmospherere tmosphe s too n nu e erou ieies too ummro e famil il li lik a a er hobb b er ho ththe famy y ke e othth o stan o ou araderie.eIt It is araderi . is e stand d ut; t; a all ma ak themm n for r e e c cmm rerelly y mke e th wwn foththir ir a a be e no o b k kn didu ua thatat f divividalsls th e e a apa.. d ththy y part rt e ese grou of inin ththse group p o e , ti d dea do o d bb inin,etill ll eathth rered y y sh sh sha a sh e wh h h , comme rain ir , co e rain ir lie,, wicich e h ha o on lin n thick a an thinin mme as s ne e h h thick nd d th rou u ththrog g e wh ho the ththe wolele the b b g ger a as,s, e e igiger arerea detatas s to th de il il to th it.it. goes s throgh h goe throu ug

72

DO IT YOURSELF
Android Powered DIY Home Control system
by

Simplifieddiagramoftheproject
Device database

xteamobsidianx

Basic flow diagram

Android UI layer Lighting system 8bit uC Proprietary short message wireless protocol Security device 8bit uC Webserver + database processing

Android UI
HTTP POST Linux LAMP X86 hardware

HTTP POST data

Internet domain

Serial Interface

the objective of this project displays the possibility of constructing your own Do-it-yourself home control and automation system. in its simplest form, it includes a user interface layer provided by android running in your mobile phone, a home gateway (any x86 hardware capable of running linux) which acts as the backend of the system, an 8bit main microcontroller (arduino), wireless transceivers, and end devices. the application running in your android phone serves as the user interface where anyone with access to it can send basic serial command to your homes main controller via the web through the HttP protocol aka the internet. the home gateway acts pretty much like the brain of the system as it does most of the processing and storage plus it can communicate both to your android application and to the main controller. the gateway interfaces with the controller (arduino) via a serial connection. owing to the limited processing capability of an 8bit microcontroller, the gateway acts much like a proxy between the android application and the controller. the arduino controller provides the layer from which software can communicate directly with hardware. this is the part that takes textbased command from the gateway and turns it into a physical action such as turning on or oFF a light,

Version 1 *easy to implement *minimal programming *power inefficient (x86 hardware)

Arduino 8bit uC

Local domain Sensors 8bit uC

Text based serial data

Arduino processing

lED light system connected directly to the Arduino

Wireless transmission

LEDlightsystemconnecteddirectlytotheArduino
Led light controlled directly by the Arduino

Arduino controller

Serial Interface to home gateway

locking a gate, taking measurement duino but this method is not scalable from sensors, etc. the arduino sends in terms of number of devices you any command it receives from the can connect because it is limited by a gateway to other devices via wireless number of INPUT/OUTPUT pins in ThesetupabovedemonstratestheArduinodirectlycontrollingyourenddevices(inthiscase,the using a purposely built wireless pro- the arduino and the re-wiring that light). Any command designed this tocol. the project was received from the home gateway via the serial interface is processed by needs to be done to accommodate ArduinoandturnsitintoaphysicalactionbyturningtheLEDONorOFF.Duringtheearlyphraseof way so that you can have unlimited these devices. controllable devices without rethe setup above demonstrates wiring your home to accommodate the arduino directly controlling these devices. it is also possible to your end devices (in this case, the wire any device directly to the arleD light). any command received

user.Byutilizingthemysqldatabaseserver,althoughabitofanoverkillforitsstoragecapabilityand feature, it is very easy to provide structured storage for the controller settings and by storing informationinacentralserver,anynumberofconnectionsfromanyuserinterfacecanbemaintained withoutconflictbecauseallareservicedbythegateway.

73

SamplecodeutilizingPHPandmysql

Theadvantageofhavingacentralizedstora to the user. If one decides to use a simpl Androidapplication,it'saseasyascodingit andcreatesadynamicpagebasedonthedo

from the home gateway via the the arduino. the PHP and mysql ScreenshotoftheAndroidappUI TheAndroidUserInterface are used for storage and processing serial interface is processed by the arduino and turns it into a physiof HttP Post data. it was built this TheAndroidapplicationprovidesthelayerwheretheusercaninteractwithhardwareviaotherlayers. cal action by turning the leD on way so that any settings related to Initscurrentform,itconsistsofthreetabscontrollingeachdevicetype;Lightsystem,Securitydevices, or oFF. During the early phrase of the microcontroller and end devices and Sensors. system was used to such as adding devices, editing the project, this Most of the services are stored locally in the server and information, authentication, etc are test the connectivity between the that any ui layer (android, HtMl, done in this layer. The UI is built on runtime which means that it is dynamic and depends entirely on arduino and the gateway. because of ios) can be built to parse this data whatever information it gets from the databasethe user. by utiits simplicity, it was used early on to and present it to server. This way, devices can be added or deleted test the arduino, the home gateway, lizing the mysql database server, withouthavingtorecompiletheapplicationtoreflectchanges. the android app and the communialthough a bit of an overkill for its cation between these systems. like storage capability and feature, it is with any Diy project, starting with very easy to provide structured storthe basics to see and make things age for the controller settings and work is as important as having an by storing information in a central optimized solution to your Diy server, any number of connections problem. from any user interface can be maintained without conflict because all THE HOME GATEWAY are serviced by the gateway. the home gateway acts as the interface between your internet THE ANDROID USER INTERFACE connected android app and the the android application proarduino microcontroller. the project vides the layer where the user can used a basic x86 computer loaded interact with hardware via other built on runtime which means that with linux, PHP and mysql database layers. in its current form, it conit Version2 is dynamic and depends entirely server. since the android app can sists of three tabs controlling each on whatever information it gets from The project, in its final form, removes th be built to use HttP communicadevice type; light system, security the database server. this way, devicmicrocontrollerpowerful enough tion instead of a more advanced tcP devices, and sensors. Most of the es can be added or deleted without tohandle socket connection, the project began services such as adding devices, having 32bit ARM Cortex based platform wi on a to recompile the application its life with a simple HttP protocol editing information, authentication, to reflect changes. complete rewrite of the HTTP/POST and layer connecting the android ui to etc are done in this layer. the ui is the advantage of having a cen-

hardware.ThePHPPOSTdataformatandr tofacilitateconnectionbetweenthecontrol

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DO IT YOURSELF

tralized storage is that any ui can be built to provide an interactive layer to the user. if one decides to use a simple HtMl webpage instead of a more advance and prettier Android application, its as easy as coding it to parse data from the server via the HTTP/POST connection and creates a dynamic page based on the downloaded data. VERSION 2 The project, in its final form, removes the x86 server and arduino and replaces it with a single microcontroller powerful enough to handle HTTP/POST and pseudodatabase storage. it can now run on a 32bit arM cortex based platform with power consumption closer to 2 watts. This involves a complete rewrite of the HTTP/POST and database engine as PHP and mysql cannot run on this hardware. the PHP Post data format and response remains the same. the wireless layer is also added to facilitate connection between the controller and end devices. Wireless end device

Simplifieddiagram Simplified diagram

Setup Setup
Wireless Transceiver ARM Cortex 32bit Microprocessor RJ-45 Internet connection

Eeprom Database Storage

Wireless transceiver 2.4ghz layer 1 physical connection Power supply Debugging connection Serial peripheral interface uC communication protocol layer 1

Wireless end device

Home gateway

Test system

8bit microcontroller

Controllable Device LED light

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PC8 CARDBoARD eDItIon

by

Emmanuel R . Yumul aka eryumul

last Feb 20, i saw this post in tipidpc.com; inviting members to submit their Pc cases made of something different. So I decided to submit my

lian li Pc8 inspired case. Well, its made based on lian lis Pc8 casing but on a ghetto side type of mod. the said casing dimensions are very similar to the Pc8 but, materials used are a little bit more organic. its a cardboard, as required by the tPc as a challenge to us who wants to submit an entry.

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1. PC Specifications a. Mainboard: aMD a690g-M2 b. chipset: aMD rs690g c. Processor: aMD athlon 64 X2 4000+ @ 2100 MHz d. Physical Memory: 2048 Mb (2 x 1024 DDr2-sDraM ) e. video card: ati radeon X1200 Series (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) f. Hard Disk: Hitachi (500 gb) g. Hard Disk: st3400832as (400 gb)

h. DvD-rom Drive: Hl-Dt-st DvDraM gsa-H42l ata Device i. Monitor type: samsung saMsung - 40 inches j. network card: Mv88se614x Pcie to sata2 controller yukon 88e8056 Pcie gigabit ethernet controller 2. Materials used a. 1 pc 750x580x300mm box w/ angular side stands

b. kilo shelwood white glue c. reused acrylic plexiglass 18x18x1/8 for side panel 3. a cardboard casing referenced from supposedly a pattern for acrylic plexiglass modding for a lian li Pc8 casing. somehow temp reading was amazingly low! and it is fun to make too!

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Call of Duty: Black ops
Released November 9, 2010 PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS Retail / Digital Download thru Steam Treyarch Productions / Published by Activision Entertainment
by

Kevin Paulo Evangelista aka Drag_Drift

with a one-game-per-year schedule. treyarch was acquired by activision for this purpose; they went on to produce the less-than-stellar call of Duty 3, the moderately successful call of Duty: World at War, and now that Infinity Ward has dispersed, claim ownership of the title, with their latest action-packed shooter call of Duty: black ops. THE MOVIE-VIDEOGAME ExPERIENCE ever since call of Duty 4, the series was known for its high production standards, offering gamers with fresh new experiences on every title. Black Ops is no differentevery nook and cranny of this game has the workings of a certified hit. From every virtual bullet that whizzes past your head, to the insane plot twists thatll leave you surprised and baffled, one thing is always guaranteed by black ops. youre going to friggin love every minute of it. black ops starts out as a simple shooter, with you controlling alex Mason, a member of a team of marines sent out to assassinate Fidel Castro. Simple storyline at first, but as the game progresses, alex Mason gets tangled up in a world of deception and brutality, a war behind the

videogames. Movies.videogames. Movies. there used to be a thin line separating these two media giants. but until recently, both have been trying to conqueror more like replicate the other. videogames are being turned to movies, and movies are being turned to videogames. but every once in a while, a masterpiece finds a way to integrate the sentiments and entertainment of a movie on a personal level likened to videogames by delivering exactly what the audience wants at any part of the experience, or play through. Take for example Scott Pilgrim versus the World. it was a movie about a guy who lived in a videogame-like world. the movie demonstrated how a crossover of the two media giants could work and sell properly as a single, well-planned presentation. numerous franchises tried to achieve this, and few have succeeded. stealth-action blockbuster Metal gear solid series and the action-adventure Halo series, to name some. but nothing stands out in this pursuit of interactive cinematic impression like call of Duty does. HISTORICAl BACkGROUND call of Duty is the brainchild of Infinity Ward, a team that also fathered the WWii video game Medal

of Honor. the coD series, over the years, have garnered much praise from critics, and received millions of dollars through purchases of their blockbuster hits, call of Duty, call of Duty 2, call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and the more recent call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. although these masterpieces were made by the original Infinity Ward team, Activision, their publisher, hired another team to produce coD titles alternately with Infinity Ward to keep up

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eponymous battlefield, with covert missions to cover up the actions of the militarywhere seeing is not believing. black ops deliver this feel of being in a war movie multiple times, but instead of watching the hero fight the war hes caught up in, you get to be in the action. youll be shot at, youll be set on fire, youll be chased, youll be hunted, and you have to fight back. Just like the action star hero of the movie. WAR-TORN EYE CANDY It often goes unsaid that the Call of Duty series deliver killer graphics. its always tied to their name that they offer a killer storyline, a stellar multiplayer experience and action-packed gameplay. but never did its players find that the graphics to be extremely remarkable in call of Duty. Although after a few play through, itll become very apparent that the eye candy presented in Black Ops pretty much increases as the game progresses. guns look very detailed, with signs of aging and battle scarred encounters on the field. The levels are well-thought of and the character design is superb. lighting, most of the time, is spot on at delivering a cinematic experience,

Black Ops offers etched in your mind experiences through brilliant scripts and well crafted storytelling.
with the textures, reflections and shadows of the character offering near photo-realistic impressions. sure there are a few models that look un-detailed and bland, but then again, you arent supposed to look at them that wayits nitpicking, to say the most. RATINGS aspects of the game will be graded on a scale of 1-5 stars. one being the lowest and five being the highest. criteria would be gameplay, graphics, sound, replay value and overall rating. gampelay: Black Ops offers etched in your

mind experiences through brilliant scripts and well crafted storytelling. the levels are well-thought of, with enemies having the possibility of coming from all directions. guns and ammo are always abundant, and you can opt for a straight-out gunfight with Vietcong, British Commandos and spetsnaz, or you can take a Michael bay path and tear up the warzones with an assortment of rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, rifles with under-barrel grenade launchers up to an 8-round shotgun that fires incendiary rounds called dragons breathe. each game is nothing short of intense, and once you get tired of capping ai enemies in the single player levels, a Multiplayer fame option is always there to give you a few more well-deserved shots of gaming adrenaline. not to mention a zombie scrimmage where you play as the late us President John F. Kennedy, with the irish accent with witty quotes, all thrown in. graphics: Modern Warfare 2, the previous game in the call of Duty series, was graphically groundbreaking in the whole franchise. although with a few notches, black ops does not fail to impress. the guns look robust and war-torn, with detailed texture work and superb lighting. levels are no different, capturing the look and feel of a Hollywood blockbuster. a few graphical glitches here and there, and the occasional bland textures can ruin the experience a bit, but it never manages the spoil the fun. Sound: With authentic tracks straight out of nam, black ops makes you feel youre in the heart of the action anywhere you go. every thud of a nearby grenade sends waves through your hair, and every bloodcurdling scream from the vietcong

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you just killed will echo out, giving you the feeling that its right there in front of you. and to add as cherry on top of this bad ass war cocktail, the actual voices of gary oldman, ed Harris, ice cube, just to name a few, were used. Hooboy! replay Value: I had Black Ops from the first day it was released. since then, I have finished the campaign on recruit, regular and Hardened difficulty. Theres something about the way that the enemies you expect to come at you are never really there, and then surprise you at places you never thought they could attack. I couldnt even count the times when i was forced to retreat because the mass of enemies coming at me from that directiona mass of enemies i never prepared forwas gunning for me at full force. black ops will have you playing it repeatedly, because of the possibilities of different gaming experiences each time you play it. and yes, im also planning to finish it in Veteran difficulty. overall rating: black ops doesnt change the rules of the game, nor does it try to change the face of the series. and thank god it didnt, because this mouth-watering combination of action-packed gameplay and powerful, story-driven cinematics that the call of Duty franchise is known for should always stay the same. all we neededand all treyarch deliveredwas just a new war to fight in.

CRYsIs 2
by

Ariz Cabias aka incubus_boy08

crysis 2 is a newly released first person shooter game from electronic arts (ea) and there is no doubt that this is one of the most anticipated games of 2011. the game is a sequel to crysis and an expansion of crysis: Warhead that was launched in 2007. both developed by crytek, Crysis 2 is the first game of ea that shows the power of their new game engine cryengine 3 and promises to be superior in terms of graphics. However, when youre using lower system requirements it has to be able to support stereoscopic 3D. this is good news for most gamers since they can play crysis 2 without the need of upgrading or buying a high-performance Pc. the urban setting gives vertical extension to the game and at the same time opens up new strategies and approach to play it. this game also features a new antagonist in the name of alcatraz, the new nanosuit 2.0 and a new breed or should i say an evolution of the aliens which Prophet and his team encountered in lingshan island on the first game. the nanosuit warrior came back to fight the aliens who want to infest not just a jungle but an urban jungle. crysis is set in new york city in the year 2023(three years after the first game). A team of US Marine Force recon was sent to rescue a former crynet employee Dr.

nathan gould which has vital info in defeating the alien race. unfortunately their submarine was hit by the cephaloids and only alcatraz survived the attack. Delta force officer Prophet saved alcatraz and gave his nanosuit to him because Prophet was infected by a virus. reviving alcatraz was the last thing Prophet can do to save the human race. Prophet eventually committed suicide and alcatraz is now on his own to find Dr. Gould, face the aliens and also to escape from cell operatives who were ordered to kill him due to having been infected by the virus. NANOSUIT 2 THE HIGHlIGHT OF THE GAME every crysis game features an exoskeleton armor that is technologically advanced and powerful called the nanosuit. in the game, the nanosuit 2 is the second version of crynet

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One early review of Crysis 2 was published by Official Xbox Magazine, which gave the game a 9/10. According to the magazine, it was the multiplayer that tipped the balance. It describes the online experience as some of the most exciting, angry and satisfying action youll ever have.

systems nanosuit that replaced the older nanosuit 1 which was featured on crysis and crysis: Warhead. Although the first Nanosuit 1 users were Major Prophet barnes and his raptor team, there were hardly known users of nanosuit 2 except for Prophet and Alcatraz. The first Nanosuit still has its flaws like every first version product would have and also threatened to have a perfect copy by the north Koreans on the first Crysis game. Nanosuit 2 addressed the issues of the first model while also giving the user new features and improved performance. Here are some of the improvements from the first version: Increased energy efficiency and capacity by 20% 32% increase in strength and speed Able to generate up to 450 N of force and up to 10,000 gs of contractile acceleration Weighs 50% lighter than the first one Increases motor reflexes and reaction time Features SECOND (Semiautonomous enhanced combat ops: neuro-integration and Delivery ai) made possible by parasitic bloodglucose infusion and electrolytic microstack which in return improves battlefield data collection and strategy. Has two main modes namely armor mode and cloak mode Secondary modes include Tactical/Visor mode (battlefield info collection), nanovision (thermal vision) and Power mode (speed and strength combined). Ability to learn and cope with any condition dynamically and biologically. in the game, alcatraz can learn any ability once he absorbed enough nano catalysts from the aliens he killed.

GRAPHICS SUPERIORITY AND SOUND IS SECOND TO NONE. The first Crysis game became the gaming benchmark for all Pcs out there. it became a language that whenever you have a Pc and someone will ask if it can run crysis on enthusiast or the highest settings, then your Pc is one the best ones out there. crysis 2 uses cryengine 3 that optimizes your computers resources unlike the cryengine 2 game engine on the first game. In return, Crysis 2 will give you the best graphics even if you still use the machine you used to play crysis. you will get better textures and frame rates compared to the first one. I was also worried about upgrading my current rig since i got a feeling that it cant handle the game at my preferences but i was surprised that it still could. At first I thought that the new game engine was inferior to the last one but i was wrong. because of the tuning and optimization they have done on the last game engine, the game was one of the best-looking FPs shooter i have ever played. one thing though, the realism i felt lessened since the environment here

is not completely destructible unlike in the first game. Another thing is, the game does not support Direct X 11. its 2011 now and yet no DX 11? i dont have any news at the moment if crynet will release a patch that supports DX11. aside from that, the textures, lightings, models and environment looked great. The sound effects were acceptable based on quality although its not the best out there. However, the music tracks were very dramatic. i was expecting the audio scores to be a modern electronic one. instead, the game features superb orchestral music which impressively gives a larger-than-life depiction of the story. GAME PlAY IS VERY NICE WITH SOME MINOR ISSUES i like the fact that the nanosuit can provide you with strategy options like going stealth, flanking and more. the game does not have a linear approach like other FPs games do. However, it is not that type of a sandbox game that the first Crysis has been. the game has more height than the first one, which gives gamers

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who will play single campaign, always use the cloak Mode. even if you are wearing a nanosuit, never engage in a firefight as much as possible. You will have a hard time finishing this game when you play like rambo. your armor mode on your nanosuit can only endure a limited amount of damage so use the visor mode often to scan the battlefield and present you with options. MUlTIPlAYER A NEW STEP IN THE FPS SCENE Multiplayer mode is fun and challenging to play due to the fact that you have nanosuits with you. aside from the normal shooting skills that you have, you must also incorporate the advantages the nanosuit can give you. i like doing stealth kills because it really knifes your enemy rather than the melee action which is just hitting someone with the butt of your gun. Multiplayer mode offers six types, eight game modifiers and thirteen maps. While this might get you excited, some multiplayer ranked servers are having issues like progress or stat tracking and games not starting or stuck in the lobby. at the time of writing this, crynet is now aware of the issues being reported and will fix this as soon as possible. Well there you have it my game review for crysis 2. overall the game is very great despite the issues that it has encountered during its first week of release. I believe EA and crynet will not let this game down and attend to the issues as soon as possible. or else the game will be short-lived and worse we will not see a sequel coming. Presentation graphics sound gameplay overall 9.0 9.5 9.0 9.0 9.0

more option on what to do in it. you will encounter around 3 types of cephs here. the ceph assault (grunts), ceph Devastator (heavy) and ceph organisms (stalkers). there is also a ceph Pinger which is basically a ceph tripodal tank. the vehicles that you can drive on this game were also less than the first. I only drove a CELL tank and a humvee here. your guns and nanosuit present many custom options. you can

customize your gun to your liking. Attach a reflex sight or shotgun attachment to your scar depending on your preference. Whatever gun you have, it will affect your situation on the battlefield. Kill the Cephs to get their pores to convert it into nano catalyst so that your suit can open up options to beef you up. i played crysis 2 on its hardest difficulty (post-human warrior) and it took me around 10 hours to complete the game. one tip for those

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Based on sales data from Amazon.com, Portal 2 was the best-selling game in the united States in the first week of its release. It fell behind others, including Mortal Kombat, in its second week. According to NPD Group, Portal 2 was the second-best selling game in the u.S. in April 2011, at 637,000 copies, and the fourth-best selling in May. the game is really simple. it is a puzzle solving game set in the first perspective or FPs shooter game. to those who play those FPs games all the time, the gameplay is familiar to you. What you see is the entire world (or the test chamber) as may be seen when viewing through the screen or

Portal 2
by

Jonas Martinez aka redwing0001

i have, as a gamer, been playing Pc games for as long as i can remember. and up until this game came about, i do not exactly remember playing anything as unique as this. Just imagine you, the playable character, the area where you have to play in, a portal gun and your common sense. thats it. and it is by no means a walk in the park, either. not because you have no opponents to shoot at (and that is not possible because your portal gun only makes portals and only into walls) or turrets to avoid (okay, there are turrets that you do have to avoid but they sound cuuute) that the game itself can be completed in an hour. no sir, that is not possible. but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Portal 2 is the continuing saga of a well known test subject named chell and her tester or shall i say nemesis, glaDos and a host of other (weird?) characters inside the aperture science laboratories. What you do in the game is simply to go from point a to point b. simple? not in your lifetime. Remember that you are to find

a way to go to the succeeding test chambers without getting yourself killed. Well, you can get killed in the game and start from the last save you made but in real life, getting killed is not an option in a true-tolife test chamber). Portal 2 came after Portal (duh. Who would have guessed that?). at first you might say that Portal 2 is a sequel of the first game but I digress on that. When I first played Portal, you simply went from test chamber to test chamber and beyond, until you finished the game, right? If you have played the first game, you will notice that there is simply no background on who you are, what the hell aperture science laboratories is and who the hell (sarcastic laughter) glaDos is? that is answered in Portal 2 and in the process you must find a way to get your freedom from this (weird?) house. Without giving away too much of the games mechanics and story, Portal 2 attempts to introduce you to what really goes on inside aperture science labs, what happens and why.

a view finder of a video camera. in your possession is what is called a portal gun. it is the only weapon that you will ever need in Portal 2. unlike most other shooter games, Portal 2 makes you think. yes, thinking. you need to think to be able to get to the next test chamber. the portal gun allows you to quite literally make a portal that you can enter in one area and come out of another area. there are multitude of uses for the portal gun. it follows the laws of physics, gravity, and acceleration and just about all of the other laws that newton thought about. in laymans terms, the portal that you create allows you to jump across any chasm by falling into it if you created a portal at the base and another portal above you. When you fall into that portal at the base, the acceleration that you gain by falling will instantly translate into a forward momentum when you exit at the portal that you created above you. this will allow you to jump over gaps that you cannot normally cross over to. this is just one of the ways to use portals.

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Exceptional... the overall experience of this game is very positive. I really like the way they designed it, how you must think outside of the box to get to the next area, etc.
as you move forward deeper into the game you will find more ways to use portals. But, as much as I find the game to be excellently done, there were quite a bit of problems with how valve distributed the game and the way they made it. Dont take me wrong, the game was excellent, and it was comparable to the first game, it is just that when it was released, Portal 2 managed to crash at random times. you will never know when it will crash next until valve released an update to fix that crash and fix a few niggles here and there to make the game play even better. And boy it did. After applying the update, there were no more crashes. another thing that made me feel weird after playing the game was how they managed to tie the story with the background of aperture, who your were, how you got there, who your parents were, etc. Like I said, unlike the first game where I was ecstatic when I finished the game without cheats or hacks, in Portal 2 I felt kind of flat after completing the game the first time. It was like; they wanted to end the Por-

tal 2 franchise right then and there. Why? Well, err.. no spoilers. i will not tell much.. hehe.. i just really felt flat when I finished it but the ending scenes were fun to watch, kind of sad actually. i dunno. the voice acting of glaDos, her main antagonist and chief rival, Wheatley are spot on as well as the level design and well as the graphics and gameplay. When you play the game, there are scenes where the actual size of aperture is shown, and it is extremely huge. sometimes i wonder how on earth they made this place underground if it was that big. another new feature that Portal 2 was trying to drum up attention was the online multiplayer gameplay. this places you as one of two robot test subjects, P-body or atlas and with an online companion you attempt to get to point B together this time, vis--vis the single-player gameplay. you may ask why robots this time and not chell with another companion? Well, err.. spoiler it is part of the single-player story on why in multiplayer the two robots are used. you just have to play the game and finish it to find out why. Hehe. to round out my review, the last item to be reviewed is the controls of the game. Just like any FPs shooter, you can change any key assignment

and any game controller or game pad assignments (for the Pc) to your chosen or favorite key combo. Just like any valve game, the graphics options is good enough, although the eye candy that you can see and will notice is quite limited since you are underground trying to escape (spoiler alert!!!!!). you will not notice much eye candy during the time you play the game since you will be hard at work concentrating on how to finish this level. oh and by the way, Portal 2 also features easter eggs. in various parts of the different levels, you will find areas and writings from what appear to be another human being. Who he is and what he is doing remains a mystery and that is what you will need to find out while completing the current test chamber. sometimes there are clues that you will find in a particular level if there is a hidden area there. the keyword here is look around and see if there is something more than meets the eye in this room. Finally, my rating. i would give this game an exceptional. not just because it is different but the overall experience of this game is very positive. i really like the way they designed it, how you must think outside of the box to get to the next area, etc. this is a unique and a very different way to play an FPs game, and being a unique game, it stands alone in this kind of game design. all games have its bad side and this game was no exception. random game crashes when the game was released kind of removed some of the hype that was generated at the start but, after the first update the

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game crash-stopped. this is what i call a game fix! With that, accolades should be given to the Portal 2 team at valve for quickly making and releasing a game fix that actually fixed the game. now, this may sound like i am nitpicking but I did find most of the test chambers a tad too easy for me. take note this was the test chambers. outside the test chamber is another matter and you need some serious thinking on where to go. Just play the game so you know where these places are. When i was in the last boss battle, I did not expect the ending to be like what i saw. i will refuse to tell you but it still one unique ending. Just play the game and you will see. there is one more thing. in Portal 2 there is what is called gamer points. you unlock achievements by doing certain things and this will give you certain gamer points. you can use them to hop-up your robot when playing multiplayer and can be redeemed at steam. you will need to have an internet connection and steam running at the same time to redeem your points. one last, thing, though. is it just me or did I find the voice of GlaDOS very sexy? Extremely, last thing. I still find the voice of the turrets very cuuuute although they can be annoying when they see you. Final notes: the ending song was disappointing if you compare it with Portal 1s but the ending scene more than made it up for it. i refuse to divulge the contents of the Portal 2 ending song nor will i explain what the ending scene was because it relates directly with your game objective. Just finish the game and youll see what i mean. Happy playing!

Fight night Champion

by

Jonas Martinez aka redwing0001

electronic arts sports has long had a hold on the boxing game genre. this year, ea sports has released the latest installment to the Fight night series - Fight night champion. the game deviates from the norm and as with risks, comes rewards. the game wins in a lot of ways. as the game loads up, youll eventually realize a new world of virtual pain in the realm of boxing will unfold. you now are tied up to a story, a grim and dark one at that, which is reminiscent of the rocky series sans the over dramatic predictable storyline. You take control of a fictional boxer named Andre Bishop, fighting for dear life in prison. Flashback to a couple of years before, and youd see how your character turns (though not of his own fault) from Mr. red, White and blue to Mr. What-the-helljust-happened-here? the story line is superb. youd start of as the poster boy middleweight newcomer, a promising one at that, framed up and thrown in prison, then on the path of redemption. a few nuances here and there, but the game rounds up really well. the game uses the Full spectrum Punch control system, which is mapped out on the right control stick. You flick the RT button to

throw punches, which is way better than the total Punch control system of previous fight night games. A much better game mobility, as it does not alienate new players with cumbersome button combinations just to throw a simple straight jab. The Haymaker modifier has been upgraded to the Power modifier, which you need to press simultaneously with the rt to throw heavy knockout punches. We also have single buttons dedicated for blocking and dodging. overall, the controls are really great. Its not an issue of button mashing as you really need to map out a punching strategy. throwing a lot of punches depletes your stamina, but offer more points on your scorecard if they hit. throwing punches sporadically may work to your advantage, if you are the type to pick your shots. Mindless slugfest or the calculated strategy, your call,

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Champion mode made the game stand out ... As you progress, you see yourself needing to complete tasks while in the game.
as you live and die with it. the game graphics looks absolutely amazing. its really polished to a point where at times youll feel that you are watching a movie. the last fight in Champion mode looks stunning. there were a lot of times where isaac Frost looked and moved so real, i got sucker punched into a knockdown. even players wincing after a solid punch looked and felt so real. speaking of knockdowns, upon being stunned, the camera angles change and you hear a distinct whistling noise conveying the accuracy in capturing the brutality of the sport. you try as much to block punches or move away, lest you face the wrong side of the glove and end up on the mat. trying to get up is a bit tricky, but otherwise adds up to the realism of the game. youd now know how it must have felt for Hatton after that commanding solid left hook from Pacman. One minor glitch i encountered was during the replay mode, where i saw andres arm look disfigured after throwing a left hook. Another concern is the referee always getting in the way of the camera. With the exception of the two, there are no other concerns i have with how the game looks or feels. While the game is not a com-

plete different experience (it is still boxing), champion mode made the game stand out in the series. as you progress, you see yourself needing to complete tasks while in the game. there are times when you need to stay clear of throwing body punches to avoid being disqualified by a crooked referee, or when you need to use only your left hand to punch, or end up losing your right hand to a career ending injury. other situations see yourself asked to survive a couple of rounds, stay away from a damaging left hook, protect a cut or throw only specific punches. While it seems constricting to follow checkpoints in the game, it does not hamper the overall satisfaction you get when you win the round. cut scenes are there to remind you of the story, but not abound, to get you shouting at the screen. The characters are well defined. andre lives up to the role of the protagonist. Dl McQueen is your typical mean head honcho with a lot of unscrewed nuts in the head.

Don King seems like a nice old lady compared to this guy. gus carisi reminds me of rockys trainer, the old guy with lots of knowledge with the occasional F bombs. isaac Frost plays the bad-guy bit to a tee. seeing him hulking over andre is reminiscent of Drago vs. rocky. your brother raymond as the resident heel, who needs saving after he signs with DL McQueen (the punches thrown to your sibling will be worth it, trust me). and Meagan McQueen, the rebellious daughter, who seemed to have the hots for andre, which works good for your character, as she ends up being andres handler. The characters are fleshed out really well, making for a solid story line. again, nothing over the top, but you get a feel that you are starring a lead role in a rocky movie. and you have to admit, youd really want to star in your own boxing movie, right? thought so. the roster of boxers is one of the biggest in the game. From your legends to your current champion

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boxers, the game has about 40 to 50 boxers in seven weight divisions. nice to see that nonito the Filipino Flash Donaire is in the game. although there are no other players in the bantamweight division, it doesnt affect the game negatively. As with nonito wanting to move up, you can check if he has the talent to go head to head with the likes of billy Dib or even Manny Pacquiao. also, some of the great Mexican fighters were not included in the game. one concern i had was with unlockable characters. in order for you to unlock players, you need to go to Dr. Peppers website and key in the code in the cap of the beverage bottle you bought. two problems - one, there are no Dr. Peppers sold here in the Philippines. two, i have never tasted the drink. (its tastes like sarsi editor) seriously, the second problem was that i have no knowledge of how to unlock the characters outside of the redemption promo from Dr. Peppers. not a big concern really as again, you have 50 boxers to use. the characters alter egos included in the storyline are the unlockable ones, so feel free to send me an e-mail if you know how to get them. the venues for matches were staggering, but youd like to see more real boxing venues other than the MgM grand. i caught one venue called the Metro Manila coliseum, which felt flat. I guess it has something to do with licenses, but

wouldnt the Araneta clan benefit from sponsoring a game like this one? and dont get me started with ring entrances. as with previous games, they have yet to be defined per boxer. cmon, who wouldnt want to see Clottey jig it up on his way to the ring? they did it in smackdown versus raw, why not do it for Fight night? lest of course you really dont want to hear Mannys entrance song (Pilipino... Pilipino... Pilipino ang lahi ko!). even national anthems are scratched from the list. While most of us will skip the part, i feel that this could add up to the realism of the game. not that the game doesnt, but its those little things that matter. boxer share lets you create your boxers from scratch (or with a template, your call really). the mode is reminiscent of the MyPlayer mode on 2k, where you create your own player and make them either achieve great things, or make them fall flat on their faces. the legacy mode lets you either import or create and train a new boxer, or use anyone from the roster. you can go with the template, or edit the boxer to your style. tendencies are not measured in points, but more of will he or will he not. like in Mannys case, will he throw more left hooks or throw more rights? When you move into skills, you will then get to assign XPs to your boxers skills. You earn XP points by fight-

ing, much like the MyPlayer mode of 2k11. you can also import boxers from the roster, and these guys will be pitted against you as you go along. While the minigames are tedious at best, the satisfaction of getting your boxer up the ranks balances it out. Fight challenges within a game makes for an interesting time, again emulating 2k11s MyPlayer mode. you complete the tasks, get points and then spend on your player. training games let you concentrate on which actual skill you want to develop or get accustomed with to your liking. you get points for each accomplished minigame, though this does not translate to XP points. its safe to say that this is just for bragging rights, either locally or online. speaking of online, the game lets you challenge other players to matches which you or your opponents define (3 KO rule etc.), through XboX live. the Fight night store lets you purchase items like gloves, boxing shoes and the like. While online mode isnt something ive grown to like because of the occasional lag, playing against another actual person still has its perks. be wary of the options you pick when trying to get out of a lagging ranked match. overall this game is one of the better boxing games Ive encountered. characters, storyline, graphics, controls and roster are one of the best. Its a must for boxing aficionados who want to come close to the real thing, but are too afraid to lace up the gloves. While not a champion of 8 belts, Fight night champion is a champion in its current class. now you and me buddy - lets get ready to rumble. Console: gameplay: Storyline: graphics: Sounds: XboX 9.0 9.0 9.5 9.5

GAME cENTRAL

89

it may not seem as cool as the other instruments that are available within the game but it is a great addition to the lineup, and its tons of fun to play as well. there are a lot of keyboard-centric tracks here, and while the keyboard feels just as rewarding as the drums or guitar, certain sections of certain songs can be downright challenging. it may take a while for some players to get accustomed to the new peripheral but once you get the hang of it, enjoy to rock out even if youre only holding a plastic keyboard. THE PRO MODE the Pro Mode is a new mode in rockband 3. you might be wondering how this mode works. With this mode, the game lessens its focus about achieving high scores but concentrates more on hitting the actual and real music notes. rather than merely matching up the now expected colored boxes, Pro Mode tasks players with playing actual notes. Some casual players may find this new mode a little unfriendly but for others, it might be a new challenge for them that give them the feeling of playing the real thing. of course, the new Pro Mode comes at a price as it will require new instruments like the drum kit add-on and the new pro-mode guitar that features a whopping 102 buttons. this video game instrument has the ability to be used as a real guitar as well. For a guitar player like me, the Pro Mode definitely caught my attention and i am planning to get the new peripheral once its available in the Philippines. as for the songs that are present in the new installment, you have a pretty solid list that is divided into 5 eras. the wide array of artists that the game includes are from the likes of avenged sevenfold, Paramore,

Rock out with Rockband 3

by

Michael Angelo Gonzales aka mikel_popo

Face it. Music games are here to stay. Face it. there is a rockstar in every one of us. Whether you want to play the instruments or you just want to sing your heart out, being in a band is really awesome! the Rockband game series tends to fill in the musician in our hearts and with that, Harmonix is back with a third installment of the popular franchise for Ps3 and Xbox 360. With so many music games out there in the market today, how will rockband 3 compete with the rest? GAMEPlAY Just like the previous installments, you can play with different instruments in rockband 3. you may say that the franchise is just the same with other games out in the market today. but i dont think so. as an addition for keyboard enthusiasts out there who wants to rock out with their friends, the latest installment introduces the keyboard as the new instrument.

smash Mouth, rammstein, the Police, Queen all the way down to Jimi Hendrix. With rockband 3, its no doubt that gamers can experience the music from the different eras of rock and roll, making the game suitable for gamers of different age ranges. you can also import your tracks from the previous rockband games to rack up your song selection (i have greenday rockband game and fortunately enough, all 47 songs have been carried over in rockband 3) and if you guys have either rockband 1 or 2, you can also import it here (which of course for a small fee of $10) but hey, with a wide array of songs to choose from, you will never get tired of playing rockband 3. add up the weekly track packs available on the Psn or XboX live, you can add more songs to your list. Perfect for playing with your friends. or, you can also hook it up over the net and play with other musicians from the other parts of the globe. sweet. ROCk TIll YOU DROP in addition to the new modes, the tour mode from the previous versions have been replaced with road challenge and while both of them share a lot of similarities, they are quite different on their key aspects. in tour Mode alone, you can play by yourself or with friends. Whether it is online or offline and allows you to make progress however you see it, the objectives are still the same regardless. youll start on like a real musician who is at the bottom of rockstar stardom. you then use local transportation to get from one set to another, but as you progress youll eventually get your band a van, tour bus and even a plane until you make it to the top of the charts. you can still play road challenges

online or even offline. When playing online, each and everyone can still accomplish their own set of goals, but the primary player advances on their career. as for the goals that was mentioned before, they are essentially various challenges that you are tasked to accomplish. this comes to certain tasks as playing certain amount of songs on a certain difficulty level that it recommends or trying to hold overdrive for a set amount of time just to name a few. as you complete these goals, your character can earn new accessories and clothing options available for customization as well as achievements. Players can now drop in and drop out of gameplay as they wish, as well as being able to navigate menus for each player without disrupting the experience of others. OVERAll IMPRESSION rockband 3 has placed music simulation games up a notch. While some casual player might not find some of the songs in the list quite popular, it still caters the audience of different ages and Im pretty sure that each and everyone will find a song or two of their choice on the playlist. i had fun playing out Queens bohemian rhapsody and head-banged all the way to slipknots rock and roll. With over a thousand tracks waiting to be purchased and downloaded in the rock band network store, and the addition of the almost pro-instruments that you can use to play, Harmonix has indeed given a breath of fresh air on a genre that has a lot of competition out there. simply put, if you love music and playing video games is your kind of thing, rock band 3 is one game you dont have to miss.

iPad Game Reviews

by

Michael Angelo Gonzales aka mikel_popo

Angry Birds

if you havent heard about angry birds before, well give you a little information on it. the gameplay mechanics are simple. launch youre little and cute angry birds by using the slingshot and score points for each of the little pig you will kill on the level and advance to the next level. sounds simple right? building your trajectory is the key factor here, well, plus a little patience of course. as for the graphics and animation in the iPad version, expect theme both first class. Add it up with little soundtrack that gives the game another air of silliness, and combine it with the gameplay that is fast, easy and smooth and youll have lots of fun playing the game. in the next minute or two, you will find yourself launching the next bird almost before the previous one has landed. you can replay playing levels if you want to achieve the perfect 3 star ranking for every one of it though be prepared also to be frustrated as

well if you dont launch your projectiles properly. the developer chillingo ltd promises updates in the future releases for both the iPhone and iPad. the main advantage of the iPad version is that of course, youll have a bigger screen and the graphics in HD is just about as crisp as it gets. unfortunately, the previous updates that was given to the iPad version had crashes but dont worry folks by this time, they have already fixed the problem. there is another angry birds available right now (angry birds Halloween) and for the same price, you can get this one as well.

For Madden NFL 11 the fans were given the opportunity to vote for who would appear on the cover. The choices were Drew Brees, the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, Jared Allen, the defensive end of the Minnesota Vikings and Reggie Wayne, the wide receiver of the Indianapolis Colts. Drew Brees pulled in the most votes and became the cover athlete. appeal to any iPad owners out there. ahoy there! Do you guys like to fish but is afraid to go off shore or better yet cant afford to buy a yacht and all of the fishing equipments that you need? try out Fishing Kings HD on the iPad. the rules are simple, catch fishes, accomplish tasks and upgrade your fishing gear to catch more fish. There are a ton of species to fish spread out on several locations in the game given an underwater view together with their lure selected. as the player tries to catch a fish, the player might take time to study the environment as well as if hes getting the right fish or using the right lure to attract the fish. There are some cases that fishes would be popping out of nowhere and thus, makes the game a little bit weird. There were also times that fishes passes through each other, taking out the games realistic approach in fishing. gameplay is simple enough and is easy to pick up and play. touch the screen to select where you want to throw your cast, flick the device and reel by spinning the reel icon, tug to give the line a tug and then flick the iPad again to catch the fish. thats it Perhaps this is the core gameplay, easy to pickup but can get repetitive and boring as you play the game for quite some time. in return, Gameloft compensated this issue by throwing in other stuff to tinker with. the customization and patient casting has sometimes challenges and there are times that the player might find it challenging as well. there is a PDa that gives the player new missions and at some points, allows them to enter new tournaments. If you are a fishing fan, you can give this game a try. at to moment in terms of graphics and quality, it is the best fishing game available in the app store at the moment.

Fishing Kings

another year of Football season once again and this is Gamelofts second nFl title for the iPad. With an established competition from ea with the same game, how will Gamelofts strategy survive with a franchise that has been an institution in the Foot ball industry? lets see it. First up, nFl 2011 had improved from the previous version. the graphics are good, the grass fells like the real grass and of course, you can play as your favorite teams and compete with the cPu. there is no multiplayer here and for that, the game somewhat losses a point. still, NFL manages to offer a lot to make up for that shortcoming. the game uses just about every feature that can be found on the iPad. Whether its the touch screen to select the play you want to execute, start the move, control the run using the joystick control, up to picking the receiver and throwing or kicking the ball them, you have it all here. you can even use the tilt facility to shimmy and sidestep tacklers. though the loading times are quite long, as you start the game, everything is good and expect lots of football action right until the last second of the game. nFl 2011 is a great football title that will be sure to

nFL 2011 HD

on the iPad, the game looks great as compared to the previous iPhone release. the visual of the water, the scenery and the fishes were well done and looks almost realistic. The fishing characters maybe a little bit blocky to be completely passable, but they will be present as you cast the line and during measuring moments. there are sometimes problems on the graphics on the game (e.g. dodgy fish models) after the lure has been cast underwater, the players are

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cOMMUNITY GUIDE
effective Communication 101
by

aka redwing0001

Jonas Martinez

or most of us, speaking in fluent English is effortless and we hear a good number of our countrymen speak it often enough all over the archipelago. However, have you ever wondered why and how people who work in bPos, like call centers as well as service oriented jobs which require them to speak correctly and effectively, are able to communicate with foreigners without much difficulty? unless a person grows up in an environment where english is spoken as the first language, speaking it fluently and writing skillfully will take a concerted effort on ones part to master the language. so how does a person speak english correctly? What should one do to speak correct english in order to speak effectively? There is only one way to master the english language. you start by learning how to use grammar properly. the proper use of grammar in the english language contributes to your successful use of it. correct grammar lends credibility to written documents and dialogue; it demonstrates intelligence and eloquence. Moreover, grammar ensures your message is broadcast effectively and unambiguously. After all, if youve got something to say, you might as well say it clearly. Having said that, what is the one essential part of grammar that will help a person speak english correctly? in order to do that, one must first learn the uses of the verb, fol-

lowed by other parts of speech. the verb plays a very important role in a sentence. if you dont use the verb properly, you would be confusing the people you speak to. the wrong use of an article or a preposition or any other part of speech might not ruin the sentence but the wrong use of a verb will definitely spoil it. Ive actually heard someone say, Why, what did you said, what did you

did? instead of saying, Why, what did you say, what did you do? one thing that you want to avoid doing is subscribing to that fractured, broken english or worse, taglish that are spoken by our local celebrities and sadly the younger generation. the english language plays a significant role in our professional and personal life. speaking it correctly and effectively is a major

93
Reading helps us formulate our sentences in a better way due to the number of words and terms that our brain has picked up and stored. Knowledge is power, use it.
ness writing style. it will not help your work application if you do not write in a proper manner. Writing well and succinctly is very important when creating your curriculum vitae (cv) or resume. remember that the HR Officer whos in charge of going through tons of cvs every time there is a job vacancy will not waste her time of day in resumes that are how many pages long. its important to point out here that Hr people prefer to receive a one page CV or resume that pretty much tells them what kind of worker you are and if you fit the description of the ideal candidate that theyre looking for so believe me, never sell yourself short. if youre being considered for the job, Hr will call you for an interview. thats the time to give them a detailed account of your work experiences. 3. read. Without reading, how can one learn to be adept in speaking and writing in english? though we might not realize it, our brain is like a sponge. it is capable of absorbing so much information. When we read, we learn how to use different words that has the same meaning or we pick up beautiful and exciting words that we never knew how to use in a sentence before. reading

asset for any individual. Without an excellent grasp of english communication skills, a person cannot and should not expect to advance significantly in his/her career. in my opinion, the four important things that one can do to master english as a second language are: 1. listen. i cant stress that often enough. For me, one has to spend as much time listening to other people speak english and the best way is through television shows. Make sure you watch the english news channels such as bbc and cnn; national geographic; the Discovery channel; travel & living aside from your favourite tv programs. remember the more you listen, the more youll understand, the more you understand, the more your grasp of english will improve and the easier it will be to understand foreigners who speak english with an accent. 2. Write. it will do wonders, trust me. i remember my professor in High school would make us copy at least three pages worth of newspaper or magazine articles daily but that was before the advent of mobile phones. unfortunately the majority of the texting public tend to send messages by spelling the words in shortened versions. For example: Where are you? becomes Wru? good night becomes gud nyt. even when writing e-mail, people now have the tendency to write this way. it will not help your writing skills if you constantly write; type or; compose e-mail or text messages this way. i know it is quite hard to avoid text speak as we call it, especially in online forums, where text speak is not only frowned upon and is not allowed. you really have to spell and write the words properly. i call it the classical writing style or as they call in business schools, busi-

helps us formulate our sentences in a better way due to the number of words and terms that our brain has picked up and stored. Knowledge is power, use it. continue to read and learn no matter how old you are. 4. Speak. Practice makes perfect so speak english constantly, even if youre all alone in your room; just make sure your doors lock! learn to pronounce the new words that youve picked up from listening to others and from reading books, newspapers or magazine articles, etc. say them out loud, say the words slowly so that youll know how many syllables a word has and where the emphasis should be when pronouncing it. When you feel comfortable enough, start using the words youve learned in conversations with others. this is the only way for your communications skills to improve. During job interviews, the HR Officer will know how good your communication skills are. this means you have to listen carefully as well as answer the interviewer in a clear, concise business manner. if you do not listen to her questions well, you might answer in a lengthy manner when all she is asking for is just one small part of your reply. Wait for her to tell you to continue but usually when a person has mastered his communications skills, there is no need to go into lengthy details. speaking and writing are not inherited traits that you pass on from generation to generation. you learn it from an early age and acquire better and better skills as you progress from one level to another, just like in computer games so dont over think each word, just go with the flow because if you follow the tips that ive given you, speaking english correctly and effectively will become second nature to you.

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cOMMUNITY GUIDE

Health & technology: top 4 Pains while surfing the Internet

by

Erwin Kim aka SYSTEMS_MANAGER

s members of tPc, most of us should be frequent computer users. With the reign of the internet and modern technology making the world a one huge global village; playing, surfing and working on the computer for hours is very likely. However, everything has its own consequences and so the question is, can excessive usage of the computer be detrimental to our health? EYE DISEASE Prolonged computer use can lead to glaucoma, especially among those who are short-sighted. if untreated, this condition may cause total blindness. our eyes are very badly affected by how long we stare at the bright screen. unconsciously, we stop blinking and start staring that tends to make our eyes strain and dry out. Make sure you look away from the screen and close them for a few seconds every few minutes. Avoid washing your face after a long computer usage and when your eyes are really tired, its high time that you turn off your computer and get some rest. BAD POSTURE bad posture is your number one enemy. using the computer for hours also means that we are sitting for hours making us slack off and forget about the correct posture. check your posture now! you should be able to reach the keyboard and

mouse while bending your elbows at 90 degrees, with your shoulders relaxed. if you are stretching and youre uneasy, this could cause problems. your back should be straight and the top of the monitor should be just below eye level. if your monitor is to the left or right of your keyboard youll be straining your neck so be sure that your body and your head are aligned. After using your PC, stretch your muscles a little bit in order to relax those strained muscles. HURTING HANDS our hands are the only body parts that exert a lot of movements when using the computer. there are times that they ache and feel numb after working on the computer all day. research in recent years has found that things like typing can cause carpal tunnel. this situation may lead to severe pain and surgery. If you find yourself excessively using the computer, wear splints while you work to keep your wrists from bending too high or low. also try to adjust the level of your chair so that the keyboard and mouse are below your elbows and your wrists are on the right position. COMPUTER STRESS INJURIES there are a lot of people who suffer from physical and emotional stress by abusing their computer habits combined with bad posture when using it. there are chances that these kinds of people may have experienced a fair amount of computer stress from minor frustrations here and there to a virtual visit to computer hell. Make no mistake, high levels of stress can harm and even kill you! Highly stressed workers and gamers have a higher risk of developing heart diseases and even

Take frequent breaks. This is an important tip to prevent repetitive computer stress injuries.
cancer. if you want to live a longer, healthier life, make sure that you learn to manage stressful people as well as stressful situations. start doing things that will help reduce it and dont wait for your computer usage to become your archnemesis. take frequent breaks. this is an important tip to prevent repetitive computer stress injuries. everything that is abused is not good so its always best to moderate your computer usage. if certain rules of using computer are observed, the risk from any of these problems can be minimized. Dont let 21st century technology stop you from having an active lifestyle. sure, the being online on and surfing the net has made life a whole lot easier and every single thing is virtually available within ones reach. However, that doesnt mean that we invest threequarters of our time in the online world. give yourself a break. go outside and have some outdoor fun socializing with friends or your very own Jill over a pale of beer! you can even go tumbling after depending how you perceive it. Go back to work or play after you really feel reenergized. no need to hurry up unless youre using a prepaid dongle. Personally, i drink a tall glass of ice cold orange juice after taking a long refreshing cold shower. Feeling light in body and mind is the key to a productive work and badass gaming.

cOMMUNITY GUIDE

95

Practicing safe Internet Habits

by

Gabriel Quidilla aka ParticleX

with the TipidPC Virus and Spyware Removal Team

t the tipidPc virus and spyware removal thread , one of the most common questions asked by users when cleaning Malware is that how did i get infected?. there are a number of factors, but one of the common factors is that you are not practicing safe internet, you are running outdated security software, and that your security settings are too low.

PRACTICING SAFE INTERNET you practice safe internet when you educate yourself on how to properly use the internet through the use of security tools and good practice. Knowing how you can get infected and what types of files and sites to avoid will be the most crucial step in keeping your computer malware free. the reality is that the majority of people who are infected with malware are ones who click on things they shouldnt be clicking on. 1. DO NOT OPEN any attachment from someone you do not know. it is a common method for worms and viruses to infect your computer. 2. If you receive an attachment from someone you know, and it looks suspicious, then it probably is. the e-mail could be from someone you know infected with a malware that is trying to infect everyone in their address book. 3. ignore any popups saying that you are infected while browsing, some popups masquerade as a Windows alert. click X instead of the OK button 4. be cautious on clicking links

from instant Message programs and social networking sites. Message back to the person to ask if it is legitimate before clicking it. 5. stick to major downloading sites if you are downloading software. some sites disguise malware as legitimate software to trick you into installing them. 6. uPDate Windows regularly. ensure that you have the latest patches and updates installed. install any critical update immediately. http://www.windowsupdate.com/ 7. Update your Antivirus software at least once a week. it will be able to catch any of the new variants that may come out. 8. Use a firewall. A router de-

fends against outside attacks. But some types of malware - such as worms, trojan horses, and spyware - work from within. you need a Pcbased software firewall to stop them. 9. install an antispyware program. it will provide spyware and hijacker protection on your computer alongside your virus protection. 10. update all these programs regularly. Without regular updates, you Will not be protected when new malicious programs are released. Follow this list and your potential for being infected again will reduce dramatically.

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cOMMUNITY GUIDE

tipidPC Community survey

abuHey! Just wanted to let you guys know that we, in tipidpc.com spend a lot of our time and energy in making sure that we not only keep up, but stay ahead of the game so recently, we hosted a number of surveys from our members as to their preferred brands, manufacturers and makers of Pc and parts. it is a simple question of popularity among the community, some of which have results that represents the majority of our members. let the numbers show what many of us want on top of our computer table and the insides of our rig. With over 80,000 active members worldwide, we in tipidPc are convinced that you too will become firm believers in our members preferences. We hope the data provided below offers you some keen insights into the power and breadth of their choices. Preferred Graphics Card Maker
ATI

Preferred Motherboard Maker

Others MSI Gigabyte Foxconn Emaxx ECS Asus Asrock 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00%

conclusion: our surveys show the following: 1. graphics Card makers: Palit leads the pack at 21.46%! established in 1988, Palit Microsystems is a world-leading supplier in the design, manufacture, and distribution of Pc graphics accelerators.

asrock 9.35% 395 asus 41.53% 1755 ecs 4.59% 194 emaxx 6.34% 268 Foxconn 1.14% 48 gigabyte 19.36% 818 Msi 14.96% 632 others 2.74% 116 total votes 4,226 Preferred Video Card Chipmaker
Others

nVidia

2. motherboard Brand: Most preferred is asus at 41.53%. the asus P8P67 Pro seems to be the most viable choice for constructing gaming rigs.

Others XFX Sapphire PowerColor Palit MSI Inno3D Gigabyte Gi b t eVGA Asus 0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00%
Mac 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00%

ati 49.75% 1682 nvidia 48.95% 1655 others 1.30% 44 total votes 3,381 Favorite Rig

asus 10.78% 397 evga 8.69% 320 gigabyte 3.67% 135 inno3D 19.07% 702 Msi 9.07% 334 Palit 21.46% 790 Powercolor 7.52% 277 sapphire 11.57% 426 XFX 5.87% 216 others 2.31% 85 total votes 3,682

IntelSystem

AMDSystem

0.00%

10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%

aMD system 54.36% 1747 intel system 40.32% 1296 Mac 5.32% 171 total votes 3,214

3. Video Card Chip maker: topping the survey by a very slim margin at 49.75%, ati maintains research and development facilities in canada and the united states, manufacturing is done in taiwan as well as Canada, and sales offices are located throughout the americas, europe, and asia.

Alexander House Bldg. Rm. 502 #132 Amorsolo Street Legaspi Village, Makati City

Yes, sign me up today!

Issue #3 - TipidPC magazine ( December 2011 )

4. rig: survey shows that the aMD system is the top choice when it comes to favorite rigs at 54.36%. aMD systems ltd was formed in 1990 to provide high quality solutions for the transmission of video, audio and data signals over optical fibre. The Directors and R&D team provide a wealth of experience in the design and development of top quality, high reliability, opto-electronic systems. this expertise has been exploited to produce the most comprehensive and innovative range of video, audio and data transmission products available in the market today. this survey shows that brands, manufacturers and makers of Pc and parts can no longer afford to overlook opportunities such as the kind of valuable service that tipidPc.com has done for them. Data shows insights to the filipino consumer preference on Pcs, which we hope they use as reference to continually improve their products. For consumers, surveys such as this allow them to make better choices and get better value for their money. so what are you folks waiting for, get online and join the tipidPc community survey!

Please fill in your details NAME: TipidPC User Name: Address: City: Municipality: Country: Zip Code: Email:

DELIVERY OPTIONS: Courier service thru Air21 or LBC 1 to 2 days delivery (Php140) Regular Mail ( Snail Mail ) 2 weeks delivery (Php50) Messengerial service within M.M. only Express delivery (Php100)

Note: TipidPC Magazine is free, the payment is for the courier and delivery services only.

"

98

TEcH GUIDE
How Did My PC Get Infected With Malware?
by

Gabriel Quidilla aka ParticleX

n its many different forms, Malware poses one of the biggest threats and major source of excessive downtime to internet users nowadays. MALicious softWARE or simply Malware is a term coined for different unwanted and malicious software. Viruses, worms, Trojan horses, scareware, spyware are classifications of Malware. With just a single click of the mouse, an internet user can unknowingly get their Pcs infected. each time you plug a flash drive or connect to the internet, always bear in mind that tHere is ALWAYS A RISK involved of getting corrupted. even if youre running a complete suite of computer security solution, in 99 times out of 100, the users own behavior turns out to be the source of unwanted Malware software. Not running any security software is a bit like driving without a seatbelt. Oftentimes you can drive into the highways for miles without a problem, but there are uncertain factors that may cause an accident. the same holds true in the computing world itself. a combination of firewalls, antivirus, antispyware, and antispam solutions, coupled with a security-savvy user, will make the computer immune to most attacks but even then, a well-motivated hacker could still break into a system regardless of your defenses. Here are the reasons why most computers are infected: 1. rogue security programs are among the fastest growing types of malware. usually, pop-up a window

will warn you that your system is infected and you need to act now. Terrified, a not so savvy user will click into the popup and will opt to install the rogue software. The program guides the user to the steps for him to purchase the product, which in turn not only steals the users credit card account, but he also gets infected with a program that popups annoying windows and steals information at the same time.

Windows update window on a Windows 7 PC

3. Drive-by downloads on gambling, warez, porn, keygen and crack sites are one of the causes of infections. searches for serial numbers, cracks, and security products come in the form of executable or selfextracting files. When these files are opened, the system is infected. banners on these kinds of sites are also infected-laden.

An example of a rogue anti-spyware application

social engineering is used by these malware writers into tricking you to install their programs to your computer in order to gain unauthorized access to systems or information in order to commit fraud, network intrusion, industrial espionage, identity theft, or simply to disrupt the system or network. rogue software, phishing, and pharming, are examples of by-products of social engineering, which we will cover later. 2. Bugs and unpatched security holes are exploited by malware writers to infect a system. since it takes hours or even days for a company to discover and create a solution, you may already be infected by then. the exploits may also be used to install other malware. updating all software, therefore, is a must for every computer.

Key generators (keygens) are one of the common infectors

4. links to websites can exploit security holes in your web browser. With the boom of url shortening services, spammers and virus writers take advantage by tricking users to clicking links linking to dangerous websites. it is best not to click a shortened link. if you must, just open the links in a sandbox environment. 5. E-mail attachments ending with an .exe, .com, .bat, or .pif from unknown sources could be malicious and install trojan horses,

99

worms, and viruses that will use your address book to gather e-mail addresses and spread it to others. 6. Masked file extensions can fool a user into thinking that a file is safe. Malware writers simply name the file in such a way to make it appear as a harmless one. Windows installations do not show the true file extension by default.

It pays to know your file extensions

websites that masquerade and appear to be legitimate sites. it uses spoofed emails to trick respondents to enter sensitive, personal and financial information that can be used for identity theft. The user is redirected to a spoofed site that asks to update his information such as passwords, user names, e-mail, credit card and bank account numbers that

Two examples of spoofed DNS servers

7. Flash drives can also infect a system. according to a computerWorld article, one in every eight malware attack comes from a USB device. A Malware modifies a file called autorun.inf along with the malicious executable file. Once the removable media is inserted, the system is already infected. Windows 7 made an important change to autoplay so that removable devices would not automatically infect the system.

Fake page of a legitimate bank

An innocent-looking flash drive could wreck havoc to a system

8. phishing are fraudulent

the legitimate organization already has. you can spot a phishing e-mail with poor grammar, asking for an update to your account, and bogus link to the legitimate web site. 9. an evil clone of Phishing, Pharming is a redirection of a websites traffic to a bogus website. The

bogus site will likely look the same as the legitimate website. However, when users enter their account details, the information is captured by hackers. it is accomplished by Domain name system poisoning or DNS spoofing which directs the user to the fraudulent iP address of the hacker instead of the iP address that the user types in on his browser. For example, you type in tipidPc into your browser but instead of being directed to tipidPc server, you are sent to a fraudulent site that looks like tipidPc that is actually controlled by the hacker. instead of the tPc cube logo, the site displayed a video of rick astleys never gonna give you up. and even if risk astley is safe, i myself would immediately think of his music as a virus, 10. Finally, be careful when backing up infected files as it is a source for reinfection. back up documents, photos, videos, data files; to a CD/DVD drive (not a removable drive as they can be infected). a safe way to backup is to not include any executable and script files because they might be infected with malware. avoid backing up compressed files that have executables inside them as some types of malware can penetrate into compressed files and infect them.

Photographic Photographic Composition Composition

by Raymund Daquioag by Raymund Daquioag aka aresdi This the continuation to the Photographic This is is the continuation to the Photographic Composition series from the previous issue. The Composition series from the previous issue. The topics that follow are the different Principles in topics that follow are the different Principles in Photographic Composition.

Photographic Composition.

1. 1. CENTER OF INTEREST CENTER OF INTEREST

A picture should have a principal idea or interest A picture should have a principal idea elements to attract the viewers eyes. Supportingor interest in a topicture can balance the attention. attract the viewers eyes. Supporting elements in a

picture can balance the attention. Dont make it too puzzling to the viewer by putting Dont than it too puzzling to the viewer by putting in moremake one dominant center of interest, then in becomes confusing. Having one dominant point of more than one dominant center of interest, then becomes confusing. Having oneunderstood. interest, the picture is easily dominant point of interest, theidea or object to understood. must be A topic, picture is easily be portrayed settopic, idea or object to be portrayed must wander A as you prepare to take a picture. The eyes be throughout the to take a look for a particular subject. set as you preparescene and picture. The eyes wander It maybe single or and look for a particular to a throughoutathe scene multiple objects directed subject. definite single It maybe aarea. or multiple objects directed to a When the definite area. center of interest is a single object that fills most ofcenter of interest isone that object that When the the picture area or a single stands out boldly, attention is attracted immediately to it. fills most of the picture area or one that stands out Elements that can be used and arranged within the boldly, attention is attracted immediately to it. picture area to draw or direct attention to the primary Elements that can be used and arranged within the idea of the picture. Example are lines, shapes, human picture area to drawtexture. attention to the primary or direct figures, tone, and idea of the picture. Example are lines, shapes, human figures, tone, and texture.

2. SUBJECT PLACEMENT

In photographic composition there 2.guides for determining the best location for thegeneral SUBJECT PLACEMENT are two center

In photographic composition there are two general of interest. guides for determining the bestthirds. The other center The first is the principle of location for the is ofdynamic symmetry. In interest. the principle of thirds, of thirds. The other is The first is the principle the intersection of dynamic symmetry. In lines that divide the the principle of thirds, picture area into the intersection of thirds are marked by Os. lines that divide the These intersections picture area into thirds are good by Os. are marked locations for the Thesecenter of interest intersections in most photographs. are good locations for Have only one center the center of interest of interest to a picturein keep it simple. most photographs. Have only one center of interest to a picturekeep it simple.

The principle of dynamic symmetry is a similar idea. A good location for the center of interest is found by drawing or The principle of dynamic symmetry is a similar idea. A good imagining a diagonal location for the center of interest is found by drawing or line from one corner imagining a diagonal to an opposite line fromThen,corner corner. one to an opposite line draw a second corner. Then, to perpendicular drawfirst from a the a second line perpendicular The third corner. to the first from a intersections of the corner. the third lines are The location for of intersectionsthe center are the the linesof interest.

location for the center of interest.

3. SIMPLICITY
Simplicity is key in our pictures. The simpler and more direct

a SIMPLICITY 3. picture is, the clearer and stronger is the resulting image.

Instead of photographing an entire area that would confuse the Simplicity is key in our pictures. The simpler and more direct viewer, frame in on some important element within the area. a picture is, the clearer and stronger is the resulting image. Check to see there is nothing objectional in the foreground to Instead of photographing an entire area that would confuse the block the entrance of the human eye into the picture.

viewer, frame in on some important element within the area. Check to see there is nothing objectional in the foreground to block the entrance of the human eye into the picture.

The primary object is the reason the picture is being made in the first place; therefore, all other elements should merely support and emphasize the main object. Do not allow the scene to be cluttered with confusing elements and lines that detract from the primary point of the picture.

Low Viewpoint and Low Camera Angle

Low viewpoints and low camera angles can add emphasis and interest to many ordinary photographs. A low viewpoint can be used to distort scale or add strength to a picture or to emphasize certain elements within the picture. A low camera angle shots are done when the camera is located below the point of primary interest and pointed upward. This type of shot is very useful for separating the subject from the background, for eliminating unwanted foreground and background, and for creating the illusion of greater size.

4. VIEWPOINT AND CAMERA ANGLE

Repositioning your subject within the viewfinder frame and changing the camera viewpoint or camera angle are two simple ways of controlling composition. Photographing from a different viewpoint or camera angle can often add drama and excitement or even bring out an unusual aspect of a subject. The photographer should study the subject from different sides and angles. Walk around the subject and look at it from all viewpoints. See it from elevated and low positions as well as from eye level to find the best composition. This greatly assists in composing the subject for the best balance and helps to select a background that compliments, not distracts from the subject.

Eye-Level Shots
With the camera held horizontal, eye-level shots are usualIy made at a height of about 5 1/2 feet, the height from which the average adult sees, and with the camera horizontal. With the camera held at eye level but pointed up or down, the camera position changes and you have either a low or high camera angle, respectively.

High Viewpoint

High Viewpoint and High Camera Angle

High viewpoints and high camera angles help orient the viewer, because they show relationships among all elements within the picture area and produce a psychological effect by minimizing the apparent strength or size of the subject.

5. BALANCE
Balance in photographic composition is a matter of making pictures look harmonious. Each element in a picture has a certain amount of value in respect to all the other elements. Every tone, mass, shape, tree, rock figure, building, line, or shadow contributes a certain amount of weight that must be arranged correctly in the composition to give the impression of balance. The subject placement within the picture area is the factor that must be carefully considered.

Low Camera Angle

Formal balance
There are basically two types of balance in photography. The first is formal balance, also called symmetrical balance. It is when one or more identical or similar subjects are repeated symmetrical on each sides of a given point. The formal balance is most often recognized by subjects that are uniform in shape.

Informal balance
The second type, informal balance or so called asymmetrical balance is when one or more dissimilar elements are balancing on each side of a given point. Informal balance is less obvious because the subjects are not uniform. A well made image using informal balance is more appealing to the viewer compared to a symmetrical composed image. If you have a large object in the image it should be counter balanced with a smaller object or objects to make a good composition. Use of asymmetrical balance is more challenging and requires more artistic skill and training to do well compared to symmetrical composition.

Symmetrical balance

Shape
Shape is a two-dimensional element basic to picture composition and is usually the first means by which a viewer identifies an object within the picture. Form is the three-dimensional equivalent of shape. Even though shape is only two-dimensional, with the proper application of lighting and tonal range, you can bring out form and give your subjects a three-dimensional quality. Lighting can also subdue or even destroy form by causing dark shadows that may cause several shapes to merge into one. Shapes can be made more dominant by placing them against plain contrasting backgrounds. The greatest emphasis of shape is achieved when the shape is silhouetted, thus eliminating other qualities of the shape, such as texture and roundness, or the illusion of the third dimension.

Radial balance
There is also a third type of balance in photography radial balance. This is when all the elements of the design radiate from a center point in a circular fashion. Radial balance is a great way to lead the eye into the focal point in the center of the ad. Understanding the factors required to create pictorial balance is essential for you to produce good pictures. To gain this understanding, you can continually test your feelings for balance as you look through your camera viewfinder. Once you gain an understanding of the principles of pictorial balance, achieving balance in your photographs becomes an easy process.

Lines
Lines can be effective elements of composition, because they give structure to your photographs. Lines can unify composition by directing the viewers eyes and attention to the main point of the picture or lead the eyes from one part of the picture to another. They can lead the eyes to infinity, divide the picture, and create patterns. Lines that lead the eye or direct attention are referred to as leading lines. A good leading line is one that starts near the bottom corner of the scene and continues unbroken until it reaches the point of interest. Vertical, diagonal, horizontal, and curved lines create different moods. Vertical lines communicate a sense of strength, rigidity, power, and solidarity to the viewer. Horizontal lines represent peace, tranquillity, and quietness. Diagonal lines represent movement, action, and speed. A picture with diagonal lines conveys a feeling of dynamic action even when the subject is static. Curved lines present a sense of grace, smoothness, and dignity to a photograph. The most common curved line is the S curve. Lines are not only present in the shape of things but can be created by arranging several elements within the picture area so they form lines by their relationship with one another.
. . . to be continued on next issue >

6. SHAPES AND LINES

Shapes and lines are important elements in photographic composition and when properly used, it can create a desired effect. As a photographer, you usually have control over the way shapes and lines are used in your pictures.

Left image: sample of shapes Right image: sample of lines

Where the Filipino Mobile Phone Enthusiasts Converge

TRADING SWAPPING FORuM COMMuNITY

104

TEcH GUIDE

Diskless Workstations: A promising technology for Filipinos

by contributors:

Fai Ernisle Chan Irymarc Gutierrez, Sam Hong, Stephen Lee

~ Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much, to so many in so short a time. ~ Bill Gates he advent of technology has brought with it a lot of advantages in our daily lives. one of the most integral part of it is the computer. The benefits that we can derive from the computer are immense and it has become a part of our daily lives from home to school, work and even at play. today im going to introduce a technology that is coming here in our country to revolutionize client solutions in their different business environment. Diskless a.K.a. (diskless node or workstation) is a technology that has lots of benefits for network computers. DISklESS WORkSTATION OR HYBRID ClIENT Diskless workstation as the name implies, is a computer or a workstation that has no hard disk. it uses a network for booting the os and storage. all the data is centralized in a network file server or SAN (storage area network) storage. the technology is not really new because it was developed way back when in the mainframe era when large corporation utilized dumb terminal for thin-clients operations. However, it has evolved. Previous diskless workstations or dumb

terminal draws all the processing power from the mainframe or server, making it not feasible for applications which hunger for cPu resources and memory. the current generation of diskless computing draws all their processing power from their native hardware making it possible to run heavy duty application limited only by the capability of the workstations hardware. the speed of opening files or saving data to the storage is dependent on the centralized server hardware and the design of the local area network (lan). below is a summary of comparison:
THIN ClIENT SuMMARY

Maybe one day, all computers will not need hard disk anymore. It will be booted straight from the internet which Google is pioneering....
FAT ClIENT DISklESS

Needs connection on a
central server

Provides rick

Cheap Hardware Significant investment

needed for central server

functionality independent of a central server performance

Needs connection on a
central server centralized

All data storage is Same multimedia

performance as Fat Client No Yes

Better multimedia

Local hard disk usage Local General-Purpose Processing used

No No

Yes Yes

A comparison table of the clients

HOW DOES IT WORkS the operating system (os) for a diskless node is loaded from a server, using network booting. in some cases, removable storage may be used to initiate the bootstrap process, such as a USB flash drive, or other bootable media such as a floppy disk, CD or DVD. However, the BIOS firmware in many modern computers can be configured to use PXe boot and begin the boot up process automatically, without the need to insert bootable media. After the bootstrapping process, all the hard disk data operation are virtualized and translated to network protocol (iscsi) for communication between the client and server

making the clients os unaware that it is not running on hard disk. all the data that is required to be written to the hard disk in the client will first be written in a portion of the clients raM disk and sent back to the server as a write-cache or copy-on-Write (coW) method. the write-cache or coW has the functionality of being persistent or volatile. in persistent mode, all the data written will be permanent across reboot. in volatile mode, data or modification to the systems will not be intact across reboot of the client, making the client functioning as a kiosk. All the clients can be configured to boot different boot images and

TEcH GUIDE

105

software, you will only need to spend time on one computer and all the updates are replicated to all the clients. Resource Sharing - All available resources on your diskless network can be accessed and shared to all the users (cDroMs, HDDs, printers, etc), admin permitting. Cons Server dependent - If the server went down, the clients Pcs will be down as well. this is the most risky part for the diskless technology Consumes network bandwidth The entire clients data I/O are transferred through network, causing congestion on a poorly designed lan. REMEDIES FOR CONS redundancy Having a redundant server will help minimize downtime. gigabit network and network segmentation one of the workarounds for the bandwidth is to use gigabit network to minimize the network congestion. WHATS INTO THE FUTURE? there has already been work in progress to bring Diskless computing to the next step, integrating cluster computing technology into the diskless network, making it future proof for hardware upgrade requirements. Maybe one day, all computers will not need hard disk anymore. it will be booted straight from the internet which google is pioneering. now thats something to ponder upon. For more info: http://www.diskless.ph sales@diskless.ph 922-6754

maintain separate volatile or persistent mode profile, making management of computers easier for administrator. PROS AND CONS OF A DISklESS ClIENT Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages this technology could bring in a business environment. pros Reduce Costs on Hardware and electricity - Perhaps one of the most advantageous things it can do for your business environment is save the cost of investing and upgrading your hard disk over and over. it also saves power consump-

tion since you are not using any hard disk which reduces the overall temperature of the room requiring lesser air-conditioning. Reduce Cost on Anti-Virus Protection - the internet and third party software/malware are major sources of virus infections. you will only need to protect your server with a good antivirus. thus, you save money on buying license for all the clients. Centralized Data Storage and backup - this is certainly good news for all data administrators and technicians. in case of corruption or any such disaster occurring, back-ups are centralized and easily recovered. Simple Update- If ever there is a need to update or install new

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