Xagenda: Philippines portal to Anime and Technology

Announcing: Pinoy PC Perspective site

Solidad — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:50:28 +0000

As much as my detractors want me dead. My presence in the interwebz is deemed strong to be waved by such things. Now, that were entering July, I’m happy to introduce to you my new site. Unlike xagenda, I’m separating my Anime, and Tech coverage, and what I’m introducing to you is my new Tech Website. Its called Pinoy PC Perspective, and its headed by yours truly, and I have my co-author JD to do some work here and there.

Pinoy PC Perspective is a Independent PC site dedicated on bringing opinions, and news spanning the world of computers, and technology. So far, we did a remote covering of E3, and still churning whats left of the event. Then we are starting to pump up our hardware segment discussing gadgets, and its practicality, or perhaps price performance on the local market. I’m also looking for writers with deep passion for technology, specially for Open Source and Mac based technology (I’m neither an advocate, or much of a fan on those category). Also we are doing a weekly show featuring guest from the IT world. Our first episode discusses about E3, and our other shows will further on discuss various tech topics. Pinoy PC Perspective is going beyond normal blogging, to something of a hub for ideas regardless of the grammar, and punctuation misuse. If your not a grammar Nazi, then feel free to enjoy the ideas presented.

Also, as part of Pinoy PC Perspective is our voluntary assistance to people who are in need. We don’t donate organs, nor share our blood to red cross. What we are offering is our assistance to help our fellow reader on his/her PC woes. So, if you have any questions on what video card to buy, or having the trouble of choosing between two parts, or simply want to get a PC with the right performance on the right price, we will do our best to help you with that. We had setup a lot of ways to contact us, so feel free to choose the medium you’re most comfortable with, I’ll be glad to answer your questions to my best knowledge.

We’re moving out. Thanks for all the fish!

Solidad — Mon, 31 May 2010 14:15:42 +0000

Always close it with a smile

I just want the kind readers to know, that xagenda.net will now come to its closure. That is right. Xagenda, the seemingly one year run has finally come to closure. It was full of twist and turns, emotions, rage, and quite a lot of informative stuff packed with all dirt and smudge delivered to you by yours truly Solidad Romero. We also have to thanks the kind authors who some, will transition on to the next project (later) for their continuous support, and contribution to the site. Those are, JP Angeles (Jay), and JD.

Also to the guest and host of OI, HG, Errol, Khal, and the Cosplay Community; Anime Conversation, Enza-chan for her support; Game Conversation with Lester. And my flagship Tech podcast Tech Rant with JD, and JP who also contributed a chuck during its run.

However, when a door closes, a window opens. That window, marks the start of a whole new set of sites. Starting with our very own dedicated Tech oriented site, pinoypcper (Pinoy PC Perspective). A site streamlined for the tech enthusiast, by a set of tech enthusiast as well. JD and I, and perhaps some passionate writers out there shares their opinion on the latest news, and adds a personal insight, based on the collective knowledge sprung for the years of experience, and the callus obtained by typing question on google. Not only that its a opinionated tech site, we will also host, tutorial and buying guides for people wanting to find the best deal for their money. Provided, you won’t bog the lines on the store, which I’ll bite you to death.

But. What about anime? Well, the kind folks of deremoe, founded by Anton Dominique, who will soon to be a UPLB freshman with a Mac Book Pro has partnered with us, on delivering good anime insights as well as provide you a nice, yet educated show that deals about anime. Its the sequel to Enza-chan’s Anime Conversations. We’ll start when everything is setup. So stay tuned.

That’s about it. We’ll announce the site here when they’re setup. Until then, thanks for all the fish!

Tech Rant 33

Solidad — Sun, 30 May 2010 13:11:44 +0000

On this momentous occasion. We are able to invite our fellow podcaster down from world 3 (G to be specific) to discuss serious gaming. Yes that’s right. This episode is all about gaming, console gaming to be exact. We discuss briefly Red Dead Redemption, Square Enix, Project Natal, Sony’s “Move”, Alan Wake, FF XIII, World tree and more. So what are you waiting for, grab you portable player download this sucker, because this is an all out blast!

Download (49MB/70min)

Also, this will be the last episode of Tech Rant. It’s quite sudden, but hey, this doesn’t mean were gone for good. Xagenda, and its whole podcasting network will now start its transformation. As I had said previously, I’m planning on expanding this site to a more, centralized state. Expect a show similar to this on the first parts of July. I’m also brining back our Anime podcast during that time as well, so expect 2 shows coming back this July.

The intro is The Lab with Leo theme, and the outro is Ameendayo, Omera!! from Gintama OST

In real life: Author’s comments on the “not to buy” PS3 issue

Solidad — Wed, 26 May 2010 07:02:34 +0000

I had to bring this issue to clarity, as I notice in my mail that a few readers are sharing negative feedback on my old article, pertaining to the reasons why someone should not buy a PS3. Due to the miscommunication that has brought upon my article, branding me as a Pirate loving bastard, as well as a 360 fanboy; I had to write back and state my reasons on doing so. this way people will get a clearer picture of my intentions.

Among the branding of “stupid” article, and “retard comments”. One commenter posted an interesting argument that I think should be clarified. He goes to say.

read this article retard not all of us are like you, kaya tayo hindi sinosupportahan ng sony its because of people like you na lahat ng gamit nya pirated eh, think about this kung ikaw yung sony would you support a country full of piracy? you do know that piracy is technically stealing diba and its illegal ?

“But remember that the store is priced based on the local currency. This means that we have to find the correct card for the correct store.”

~ Are you that stupid na you dont know that a 20$ USD card will not work sa ibang psn stores ang laki laki ng “$”sign and it says “USD” sa card so malamang US yan if you see SGD it means singapore by posting such things pinagmumukha mo na bobo mga pinoy eh

“So why is this a bad thing? Mainly because, the PS3 is now more fragile that its predecessors. In order to multi task, you need a lot of power (both electrically and hardware wise). The hard drive has made the PS3 more vulnerable to data corruption (because it can go kaput without knowing), leaving your save data at the mercy of your units health. You can’t just push the restart button and play again.”

~ummm did you check on this little function sa ps3 mo called “backup utility”? maybe next time you should read the manual first before posting such things

No.2 reason “No HDTV = No PS3 for you”

~kaya nga may ps3 eh its because its the next step the switch from ps2 graphics to ps3 graphics from SD to HD and also did you know na the same goes for xbox ? you also need an HDTV to play all the new games like Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, Metro2033

Now that you read it. I’ll dissect some of the points in this article in an intellectually manner. If you can’t comprehend with the necessary level of intelligence, kindly take some Mentants. Those seems to help a lot (I’m currently playing Fallout 3).

read this article retard not all of us are like you

I’m sorry, but I would also argue, that all of us aren’t like you. A rich, condescending bastard who seems ignorant to the current socio economical situation in the country where he/she lives in. I would go on further. but I’ll save it for later, since the next set of arguments will boil to the same direction that I’m intending to go with.

kaya tayo hindi sinosupportahan ng sony its because of people like you na lahat ng gamit nya pirated eh, think about this kung ikaw yung sony would you support a country full of piracy? you do know that piracy is technically stealing diba and its illegal ?

By the way, the article he/she is referring to points to an article on bitmob, about a guy blessed with the moral light of purchasing Original titles. I am also blessed with that moral light, when I’m purchasing original games. Since I have work, and has the money to spare. Its a refreshing, and wonderful feeling of paying a game, that is surely going to publishers, then to the developers table. However.

NOT everybody can buy games. As the author mentioned, he used to buy pirated games. What is the reason? He, can’t afford it. As I was saying, the socio economic standings of this country rests on the hands of the mid to low consumers, who in turn are unable sustain long term commitment to vices such as these. These people, are only able to Purchase stuffs, like cellphone or consoles, because these are one time big time purchases; there is no need of such long time commitments. The very fabric that bolstered the gaming mindset of every Filipino youth from the playstation era is fueled by these bootlegged games. You, or the commentator who I assume grew in the playstation era, purchased a pirated game or two. If the commentator answered No, then it proves my first argument of being a rich, condescending bastard that he is. Thus points to my point; not every people are like you, or me. The main point here is, I can purchase games because I have work, and I can afford it. A Kid (who spends most their time in video games) has the time and effort to play games, but their parents careless about their hobby. If your that kid, and you’re brought to a situation that you only had 3000 pesos, which will you choose? purchase 1 game or purchase 100 pirated games? what is the most practical situation as a KID would you choose?

The reason why included piracy is due to the fact mentioned above. I’m simply looking at it as an practical consumer. Which most parents are these days, and simply workers who are also on a limited budget. So please, your simply barking on a wrong tree here. If people are moralist, I would think porn wouldn’t exist in this world.

“But remember that the store is priced based on the local currency. This means that we have to find the correct card for the correct store.”

~ Are you that stupid na you dont know that a 20$ USD card will not work sa ibang psn stores ang laki laki ng “$”sign and it says “USD” sa card so malamang US yan if you see SGD it means singapore by posting such things pinagmumukha mo na bobo mga pinoy eh

I’m being descriptive in my article good buddy. Did you read my title, “5 reason why you should not BUY a PS3″? I’m making the BUY as a emphasis here. I’m explaining some of the mechanics of the PSN store, to people who never saw or experience it. There are some logical reason why people might not think of it as you had. One of them is people might think, that PSN would accept all PSN cards since they can just convert the cards value to an appropriate ForEx rate. So, your $10 PSN card will get me 78hk$ in the HK store; People would not know, that these stores operate independently from one another, which may not be clear when you first register in PSN. So in short, I’m not criticizing the intellectual capacity of our brethren, I’m just educating them on the mechanics of the store, which many would know until the purchase a PS3. That’s why I favored the point system on the 360 since it removes the region issue with games, anybody, anywhere can get DLC and all of them has the same content.

“So why is this a bad thing? Mainly because, the PS3 is now more fragile that its predecessors. In order to multi task, you need a lot of power (both electrically and hardware wise). The hard drive has made the PS3 more vulnerable to data corruption (because it can go kaput without knowing), leaving your save data at the mercy of your units health. You can’t just push the restart button and play again.”

~ummm did you check on this little function sa ps3 mo called “backup utility”? maybe next time you should read the manual first before posting such things

Yes. I’m aware of this nifty feature, but the truth is, it can not save your entire data, since some games won’t allow you to copy your save files (anti cheating measure I suppose). Anyway, The main point here is, PS3 are more susceptible to break down than before. Our old systems are usually built to survive more abuse, and may survive a all out nuclear war. Most of the common folk never has this concept of backing-up. Heck, gamers usually has 1 memory card, and that was just 8MB! Today, we have music, movies, and DLCs on our consoles; backing up takes time, and people don’t have that luxury anymore. Its a lazy man’s excuse, but that’s reality for you. Now that there are more data on your PS3; increases the magnitude of its failure as an appliance. Our consoles are starting to become a half-stupid computer, but unlike a computer dragging and dropping files simply not the case point here. So, If durability and risk are your concerns, then PS3 might not be a good candidate for you (more over the 360).

No.2 reason “No HDTV = No PS3 for you”

~kaya nga may ps3 eh its because its the next step the switch from ps2 graphics to ps3 graphics from SD to HD and also did you know na the same goes for xbox ? you also need an HDTV to play all the new games like Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, Metro2033

I’m not a disgruntled fanboy who ridicules, or mention the 360 on a PS3 article. Why? I don’t beat on the other horse, when I’m talking about mine. I’m talking about the PS3 here, not the 360; I’m also not comparing the 360 towards the PS3. My understanding is, you are agreeing to the fact that PS3 is meant for HD. I agree on that. That is why, people considering buying the console, should also consider if they are getting the full set of feature it has. If they want to play games on the SDTV, then this one is not for them, get a Wii and perhaps it may help them in their health problems (if any). But seriously, investing a HDTV should be the first priority if you want to play PS3 games. I happened to have a 24″ computer monitor with HDMI input that can display 1080p resolution. If it weren’t for that, I won’t be getting a PS3 in the first place.

I would shrug these refutes, if it were an american (or anybody not living in the Philippines). Given I never mentioned that this centered for the pinoy audience. Anyway, this long ass article should shed some light, and perhaps enlighten my readers about the points of purchasing a PS3 in our country.

Again. Not everybody is a rich, condescending bastard. Now, If you excuse me, I’ll be going back to capital wasteland and kill some super mutants. Those green steroid overdose freaks won’t kill themselves you know.

5 reasons why you should not buy a PS3

2 Gaming Videocards that’s worth your money

Solidad — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:59:26 +0000

It's time for that upgrade.

When I was researching for a Video card for my machine (prepping for Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3) . I came across to multiple selection of video cards from the two mainstream manufactures, Nvidia, and AMD. During the research, I came across some video cards that are definitely worth the money, and certainly will give any hard working gamer, the right juice for his/her buck. All of the video cards mentioned here are from MSI. I’m not a sponsor of the said vendor, but using them, and having no issues gives me the assurance to recommend it here. So, here are the 2 cards that you should consider buying.

MSI Radeon 5770 Hawx

This may perhaps be the best bang for the buck in terms of performance yield. This baby is simply a beast waiting to be unleashed. MSI has been giving its best in delivering the product, that is aimed for enthusiasts, who want to put more on what they bought. In sense, they provided a good options for dealing with overclocking your card.

As seen on the reference photo. The video card host 2 huge heat sinks, which they called Twin Frozr II. They boasted on their site that their design is 13C less, than the reference design that came from AMD. The core clock is stocked at 850MHz, and has either a 1GB or 512GB DDR5 memory a huge advantage specially for games that requires huge speed transfers. This card, together with its fan design may potentially bring about a safe OC of about 1GHz of processing juice. It can boost more if you have a good air flow around your case. Also, MSI has been keen in delivering high quality components on their product line. According to the guys at PCper. MSI had a bad history, when it comes to its components, decades ago. Primarily, their Capacitors. Since then, MSI has been a advocate in delivering, what they call “Military” class components. They are now, and only putting high grade, solid capacitors to their products, boasting solid lifespan of sorts. I’m also using a MSI motherboard with the same set of components, and so far, all of the components remained strong, with no trace of problems, whatsoever. This further, strengthen my belief on their so-called high grade components.

Another plus side on this card, as well as most 5xxx series, is that capability of having more the 2 displays at your disposal. Thanks to Eyefinity, you don’t need specialized videocard, or in fact any at least 5xxx series would grant you the capability to do just that. Another plus side on this, is that you are benefited to run Direct X 11 games. Something that is in a rare side for now. So far, the only game that came to my mind is Metro 2033, which has the stress, equivalent to Crysis.

Since, I’m not the person to be able to do a objective review on this card. I’ll direct you on to pcpers review. You can get this card in V-Mall for Php8800. Enthusiast buyers who can’t afford the 58XX and above line, would not be disappointed on its performance. However, If you are a PC gamer with less than 22″ Monitor; then you can consider this as the best bet for your card.

MSI 4770 Cyclone

If Hawx is too powerful for you, or simply can’t shelve an additional 2400 for that card. Then you next big thing is this 4770 Cyclone from MSI. This one is specially designed for Enthusiast, wanting to squeeze all of the performance juice the card has to offer. It sports a unique metal heatsink, and a seemingly large fan to purposely drive the excess heat out of the card. It also sports the 40nm GPU, and has a core clock speed of 750MHz, and 800MHz for the memory throughput. In some reviews, this card has the capabilities to be as good as the 48XX line, if the right conditions are meant (i.e Ventilation, and Air flow in the case).

I bought this card at Gilmore, down at the MSI store (building besides I.T Gilmore center) for 6400. The components are also in high quality, as mentioned by their advertisement, so this is definitely something worth your money. To get an objective review of the 4770 unit, you can get it here. For the specific Cyclone review; tune in here, as I’m doing some test work on this baby.

Choosing which one is which

It kinda suck if you are stuck with two great cards, and you need to decide which one should you choose. To boil it down. Your decision will be based on your current hardware specification. This means, you need to check and see if your current hardware can fully utilize the capabilities of the card. In my instance, my entire rig is made from 2007. In those era, most Motherboard PCI-E slots are of Gen1 class. This only means that my transfer rate is half of the current, Gen2 of the PCI-E. In this sense, it is a safe bet to choose the 4770, as it is cheaper than the 5770, which may, or may not utilize the performance of the card. However, I personally don’t see much of a difference; since in real life testing, there isn’t much of a difference in performance between Gen1 and Gen2. I would consider getting the 5770, if you are deciding to upgrade on to a much latest machine. Yet, that would seem a waste, since your next upgrade may give way to much more powerful set of video cards to choose from. So, in the end, get a card that best fit your motherboards limits.

Aside from the motherboard. There are other issues, such as Power supply, air flow, and spacing on the case. These are needed, so you won’t get distressed when you bought your big ass card, and found out that you can’t fit it on your machine because its too big.

My next segment will be about building a PC from a ground up.

Weekend End Discussion : Suspending a Cylcone in a later OC

Solidad — Sun, 16 May 2010 12:43:24 +0000

There are a lot of opportunities wasted this week. It is sad, that my service provider is starting to get alarmed by my large collection of child porn hidden in my site -JOKE. Anyhoo, the suspension that happened during the weekdays, was due to the heavy load being distributed by my site, to the entire server. I don’t really have a clear answer, as to where did all the requested workload come from, but I was able to fix it by eliminating some of my plugins running. Right, now everything is running normal.

Now, about the happenings last week. There isn’t anything event wise that happened. However, I finally got to purchase my Gaming card; which is a MSI R4770HD Cyclone. Its a cute card, with serious business when it comes to cooling; specifically designed for pushing it, above the specified settings. I’m currently testing some of the settings, though I can’t give an objective review, I’ll do my best in giving it justice.

As for the podcast. Tech Rant will be delayed for a while. My co-host is acting like a primadona, and I can’t seem to find him … again. We will wrap up the election coverage on this episode, and proceed with the normal flow of discussion. We’ll have some new set of guest, and perhaps some celebrity in the small world of Filipino podcasting. So, stay tuned for it.

This week, We’ll cover the Gigabyte OC challenge, down at SM north this coming Friday. Expect some pictures, as well as some other things that you usually expect in a coverage. I really hope, there won’t be a cosplay event.

The Political wall

Solidad — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:10:01 +0000

I used tweet wall to gather all the tweets from the Twitter voters in the various precincts nationwide. They probably used the Globe, and Sun Unlisurf package. I can smell the congestion in the air. Anyway, here are the tweets. Enjoy.

You can get to it here.

Update:If you happened to visit here around 20:00 to 23:30 today, and notice that my site is suspended. It is due to the abnormal CPU process generated by the embedded tweet wall. Granted, the election is a very dirty business, in figurative, and literal sense. It is in the best interest of this site to remove the wall, to prevent any further damage, or harm to my home server. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Tech Rant 31 : Political Agenda

Solidad — Sun, 09 May 2010 04:00:02 +0000

On this special episode of Tech Rant. We jump to the political bandwagon and discuss the up-and-coming elections. We try to defend, and counter defend the presidential candidates to our most unbiased ways, only failing to Villiar.

Downlaod here (150min/108MB)

However, this episode won’t be left out, without a tech question. We talked about the Smartmatic screwup, and how, as IT guys, can mitigate the dire situation.

You can get some of the links here. The rest of the episode is composed of political stories, composing of Lacson’s death squad, Noynoy, Dick, and others.

The intro is The Lab with Leo theme, and the outro is Ameendayo, Omera!! from Gintama OST

Makati at sunset

Solidad — Sun, 09 May 2010 02:39:33 +0000

I took these photos when I attended the Lights Out event in Makati last April 24. Since I never got the opportunity to go to Makati to explore; I thought “What the heck, I got a camera let’s take pictures.” Most of the shot are taken from the event rooftop (The gathering was conducted on the penthouse), and from the triangle park, just outside the venue.

The photos were taken using a FujiFilm FinePix S5800 S800 v.1.

ZOH fights back, because their sources phailed them.

Company outing at Zambales

Solidad — Sun, 09 May 2010 02:25:47 +0000

These are the pictures I got when our company went to Zambales to do our yearly Team Building activity. I removed all the hints of my affiliation, and left some of my pictures and scenery in the collection.

The pictures were shot using the Cannon EOS 500D camera.