Kobe Bryant coming to Manila on July 21 2009

Hey guys, Kobe’s coming to town! Although this is really a tech blog, some of my readers have requested to post new things about basketball / Nike gear when they come my way. So here you go!

BEAVERTON, Ore. (3 July, 2009) – Nike announced today that it would host 2009 NBA Champion and Finals MVP Kobe Bryant on a six-city tour of Asia. Developed as an opportunity for Kobe to meet with kids throughout Asia to inspire, energize and improve their basketball skills, Kobe’s tour will make stops in Manila, Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chengdu, China, starting July 21, 2009.

From July 1st, Nike will launch the Nike Dream Season. Developed to meet the needs of outdoor basketball players in Asia, the Nike Dream Season was designed with insights from Kobe. The shoe will be a part of his signature collection and will be sold exclusively in Asia.

Kobe Bryant 2009 Asia Tour Schedule:
July 21: Manila
July 22: Singapore
July 23: Taipei
July 24: Hong Kong
July 25: Shanghai
July 26: Chengdu

Watch out for updates on the Kobe Bryant 2009 Asia Tour: Philippines on www.nike.com.ph or tune it to W.N.I.K.E. Radio on 89.9 DWTM Mondays from 10:00am to 10:30am.

Wii Night with the LG Scarlet

Having scheduled Wii Night, it just so happened that LG lent us their latest LCD TV, the Scarlet. We were supposed to play on my home TV but the delivery was more than welcome. Yay!

Eye popping as it is, the Scarlet boasts to be the thinnest LCD TV (so far!) accentuated by a very nice crimson color on the back. I guess if Samsung brought forth the wine glass design for their flat screens, LG goes in the direction of color. And it’s really nice. I guess this is the type of furniture you’d want to display in the middle of the room rather than pushed to a corner.
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Google Chrome for Mac OS X Developer Beta Download

Although several of its features are still not implemented (such as importation of passwords), Google Chrome for Mac OS X is hot.

Sony DSC T700 with Marine Pack Hands On in Anilao

Photo Credits: Juned Sonido, Benj Espina, myself

Went on a weekend dive at Dive and Trek in Anilao. A friend was taking her open water course so a bunch of us tagged along. It was also good to meet up (underwater!) with Wowie, Jerome and the rest of the guys from Intel. On the side of the Internet community, Juned was able to drag Benj along. Fun times!

The full review and more underwater shots after the jump.
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Why Did YouTube Ban Podline6?

A little bit of old news, but I still can’t get over the fact that YouTube had to remove podline6’s entire channel from their site. podline6 has been humbly covering old hits on piano and guitar for quite some time now, getting it spot on — and more — when he does covers by America and Bread. His version of “Hot Rod Hearts” on piano is even better than Robee Dupree’s. Above is my favorite America cover on guitar, “Are You There?”

Above: An emotional podline6 talks about copyright infringement

I’ve been a fan of Larry’s covers for more than a year but his account was suspended by YouTube for copyright infringement. Since when was it illegal to cover songs? It’s not like he was making any money out of it. Yeah, we know it isn’t YouTube’s fault, but record labels need to protect artists. Do artists really need all this protecting? If I were a musician and someone did a cover of my song, I’d be honored. But the record label won’t. And it’s not like he’s covering new songs … but that’s besides the point. In hindsight, why is it OK for other people to cover songs on YouTube and not be banned? And why was his entire channel banned?

So when I grab my guitar and cover songs by James Taylor, am I violating copyright law??

Larry has created a new account, under podline66 to continue to make people happy. He never did it for the money. Check his covers. He’s amazing.