Rising Sun Computers closes shop

One of the few respected computer shops in town, Rising Sun computers, have just closed up shop. Their website and Facebook account have also  mysteriously disappeared.

Reports have surfaced that because business was not doing good, they had to shut down to prevent further losses. A former technical speaker from Rising Sun have also suggested that the sudden closure of the business was because an announcement ahead of time would’ve panicked distributors and demand the return of their stocks.

Question now remains, how will warranties and RMA’s be handled by Rising Sun Computers now that they have closed? Some are afraid to go directly to distros for RMA fearing that their item would be confiscated in behalf of Rising Sun’s outstanding payables. (Which I think is not allowed by law)

I wish that Rising Sun could rise again and re-open. I had good business with them on my college years and they offer good price with good warranties and support.

The recent closing of the shop is still not very clear and may shed a bad light on Rising Sun’s reputation if it goes unaddressed so I hope everything pans out well for the owners, distributors and employees.

[via] TipidPC.com

Windows Phone 7 Mango: Expect the Unexpected

Microsoft just officially introduced 500 new features to the new Windows Phone 7 update codenamed Mango. So far, it is awesomely looking good! New partners such as Acer, ZTE and Fujitsu add to the roster of handset makers that will produce WP7 phones.

Nokia phones will ship with Mango and Nokia WP7 devices are now being tested. Expect the Mango update to come out this fall to all WP7 devices.

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Seagate unveils world’s first 3.5” drive w/ 1TB per platter

Seagate today unveiled the world’s first 3.5-inch hard drive featuring 1TB of storage capacity per disk platter, breaking the 1TB areal density barrier to help meet explosive worldwide demand for digital content storage in both the home and the office.

Seagate’s GoFlex Desk products are the first to feature the new hard drive, delivering storage capacities of up to 3TB and an areal density of 625 Gigabits per square inch, the industry’s highest.

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HTC Surround Windows Phone 7 has arrived

I’m not sure whether the HTC Surround is sold here in the Philippines by HTC but as far as I know they only have introduced HTC HD7 and HTC Mozart locally. With the awesome SRS Dolby Mobile slide-out speakers and large 3.8” screen, this could very well replace my Zune HD as a WP7-powered multimedia player. Review coming up soon!

Disclaimer: This unit was provided by a 3rd-party sponsor.

Microsoft To Acquire Skype for more than $8 Billion

UPDATE: It’s official. Microsoft acquires Skype for $8.5 billion. Read here

Kara Swisher of AllThingsD confirmed the acquisition is already a done deal and would be formally announced tomorrow morning.

The purchase is a bold move for the software giant and its biggest acquisition in more than three decades.

 

The big price will give Microsoft–which has struggled in its online efforts and has lost billions of dollars for its work–a big brand name on the Web.

 

With Skype, which has been aggressively expanding, Microsoft will continue to lose money in its Internet efforts. Skype lost $7 million on revenue of $860 million. Operating profits, which Skype highlighted, were $264 million.

 

But, sources said, the concept is bigger than just money, including getting access to Skype’s 663 million registered users.

Skype has had a big-company owner before–eBay Inc. paid $2.6 billion in cash and stock for it in 2005, as a way for the auction site’s buyers and sellers to communicate.

Is this a good investment by Microsoft? I think it is. They might be planning an integrating of Skype to their Live services and WP7 platform. Apple FaceTime and Google Voice now has a serious competitor with Microsoft leap-frogging everyone in the VoIP market.

[via] Wall Street Journal | BoomTown

HP Mini 110 Netbook Review

With HP releasing HP Mini 210 today, we look back at its predecessor - the HP Mini 110.

HP Mini 110-3547 specs:

• 10.1" diagonal matte LED display (1024 x 600 WSVGA)
• Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 (shared)
• 6-cell Li-Ion Battery Pack (5.5-hour battery life)
• 3 USB ports and 2-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader (SD/SDHC)
• 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth support
• 93% Full-Sized Island-Style Keyboard
• Weighs only 3.0 lbs.

The configuration of this specific model packs an Intel Atom N550 dual-core processor (1.50Ghz), 1GB of RAM, and 320GB of storage space

The HP Mini 110 is a solidly built netbook and appealing design. The keyboard is quite comfortable to type and there are ample ports all around. It also came with a matte screen which I liked. With that, I hope all manufacturer’s, including Apple, would allow a choice between glossy or matte configuration.

I just didn’t like that the LED hard drive indicator is located at the left side and not within plain sight. There is also QuickWeb, a linux-based quick boot OS that allows quick surfing without the long wait of booting up Windows. I find it too slow to use actually. Boot time is fast but using it and waiting for it to scan documents and photos do take some time. I wonder if this is upgradeable to WebOS as soon as HP launches it for the PC.

The HP Mini 110 retails at around 20,000 pesos. Comes in Black and Sonoma Red. Full netbook shot after the jump.

 

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Google Nexus S Review

The Google Nexus S is Google’s new flagship phone after the highly praised Nexus One. Is second times a charm for Google?

I bought the phone in the USA. Sold by T-mobile. All Nexus S are sold unlocked and comes with vanilla Android, meaning no third party skins, no waiting on carriers and manufacturers to update to a newer firmware. It is the first Gingerbread phone.

Samsung Philippines just launched the Nexus S in the country last March 2011. Although I haven’t seen any stores selling this yet, I’m sure that official support and service is already active locally. That is good news for all aspiring owners of the phone. 

This Nexus S is built by Samsung and not HTC which made the first Google Phone. Many speculate that this is because of Samsung’s highly successful Galaxy S series and maybe because Samsung’s 1Ghz Hummingbird processor is faster than HTC’s 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon’s.

Is this phone really worthy to be called the successor of the successful Nexus One? Is it worthy of the upgrade from previous Android phones? Read on for the review and more photos! (click to enlarge)

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Sqwishland.com - 100% Philippine-made online game

April 13, 2011, Makati City, PHILIPPINES - Over 400,000 kids across the US, Canada, and Australia  are crazy about the cute characters and fun games inside Sqwishland.com, a virtual world where they can create their own avatars, safely make friends, and earn points as they successfully take the challenges online.  
 
Unknown to  many,  this  safe virtual world for kids was created and continuously developed  in the Philippines  by Funguy Studio, a team of creative game designers  led by Project Designer and Entrepreneur Darwin Tardio. 

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