Categories
Mostly Everything

Hands on with the Samsung Smart TV

Just came from Samsung’s office. Doing a really cool speaking / presenting gig for them across some locations in the country. Sitting inside their offices were several new Smart TV’s. If you don’t know what these are, they’re basically the love child between a television and a smartphone. And they’re elegant. And epic.

We did some tests with Skype calls, app downloads, “Social TV” updating (that’s your Twitter, Google Chat and Facebook right beside your picture), web browsing and of course a lot of Blu-ray watching.

For this flat TV segment, connectivity is key. Apart from being able to connect to the Internet and do your standard browsing, you can also use your Android device or iPhone as a remote controller via Bluetooth. If you don’t own any of these, you can also buy a QWERTY remote controller that connects via Bluetooth. That means you can have a QWERTY / smartphone side by side your IrDA remote control.

Just like a smartphone, you will be required to create a Smart TV account using an email address and password. Afterwards, you will be able to link up Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Picasa (pre-Google+ days heh), and Google Chat. OF course, since this TV is pretty much a computer, automatic updates will be released in the future. Whenever you turn off your TV you will automatically be logged out. New sessions will require you to login to access web features but of course, the TV will work even without Internet. 🙂

There are two current lines, the Series 7 and Series 8, differentiated mostly by the size of the screen and price. This is best in class. If you check retailers, they usually sell these about PHP 200,000.00. The one in the photo is a Series 8 60 inch Smart TV that retails for PHP 320K. Yes so it isn’t for everyone. Some would rather get a more affordable LED or Plasma and a computer.

The current promo includes a 3D Blu-ray player with a Blupass rental card, HD USB webcam for video calls and a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Categories
Mostly Everything

Paalam na, house (Tribute to AJ Matela 1982-2011)

AJ and WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg at the back seat of my car. This was straight from Wordcamp 2010 in Manila.

Ang Buhay ni Boy by jayveef

I was listening to an old podcast I helped record back in 2007. It stars several friends from the Internet, with AJ taking center stage playing the role of “Boy” for this short radio play. I remember we all came together to Juned’s place to record this right after I told them I got a new podcast microphone. To fully appreciate this listen, you have to realize that everything spoken here was impromptu and I kept on rewinding AJ’s final lines as he closed the episode.

Pero marami din ako natutunan sa bahay na ito, pero kailangan ko nang umalis. Natutunan ko na kahit anong kailangan natin, kung paano tayo magmahal .. basta taos puso ang pagmamahal natin … yun ang importante. Tsaka natuto ko rin na hindi lahat ng … hindi mo naman kailangan maging beauty queen, hindi mo kailangan maging designer … hindi naman ganun ang lahat. Kung bakla ka, o bading ka hindi naman kailangan na tawagan kang i-stereotype. Hindi naman ganun lahat.

(…)

Natutunan ko lang basta taos sa puso ang pagmamahal mo mabubuhay ka ng maligaya. Aalis na ako. paalam na, house. — AJ Matela (September 10 1982- September 9 2011)

——————

AJ’s family and friends need our help to raise funds for his hospital bills. Please head on over here for details.

Categories
Mostly Everything

Save paper; Get your SMART bills electronically

Just a friendly PSA for fellow SMART subscribers. Did you know that you could view your SMART bills online? That would mean not having to wait for the courier to deliver your bills AND you get to save paper! The service works for both prepaid and postpaid services and you can have multiple numbers and services linked up to one account. If you were using a service called Web Connect before, well, consider this the v 2.0 of the system. It works pretty well!

This is my mobile number linked up to the service. You will need to have your cell number and account number to register a number with the service. Send a text to your phone to confirm validity so you will also need to have your phone with you.

http://my.smart.com.ph

Categories
Mostly Everything

Best “Unboxing” I’ve ever seen

Neil deGrasse Tyson unboxes a replica of the Saturn V Rocket (1967-1973), the same rocket that propelled astronauts into outer space to reach the moon. That whole thing is a fuel depot and the astronauts were sitting on the teeny bit on top. This replica was given to him by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville as a token for his efforts for pushing that the Saturn V Rocket be included in the list of 7 Wonders of America.

Every generation has its roster of dreamers. After Carl Sagan (bless his trans-dimensional soul) and Michio Kaku (biggest lobbyist for the existence of the multiverse we read about in DC Comics) we have this guy who attempts to explain the most amazing concepts of the universe and simplifies it for everyone to understand.

To help you understand what I’m saying, here’s a video of him talking about his encounter with James Cameron and his reaction to the movie Titanic — because Mr. Cameron “got the sky wrong.”

Categories
Mostly Everything

What the new SMART Netphone commercial is really telling us

So the new TVC for SMART’s Netphone is out. Decent phone. Amazing SmartNet services for dirt cheap. But after seeing the TVC, now I know what the number 1 benefit of Netphone will be. The commercial is above. Below is what I think it’s really telling us.