People had been asking me on whether they should get a Kindle or not. I can’t blame them. With a plethora of reading devices to choose from, it would be very hard to make the best decision.

Among the reading devices, the battle for supremacy has never been tougher between the Amazon Kindle versus Apple’s ipad. True, both devices are different in a lot of ways. Unlike the Kindle, the ipad is not just an ebook reader, but is classified as a full pledge PC. However since both devices are also utilized as ebook readers then the comparison is appropriate.

I’m not going to give you any pros and cons or any tables comparing the advantages of owning a Kindle over an ipad. While it is true that I would pick a Kindle over an ipad, I agree that the choice as to which device to own will largely depend upon the needs of the consumer. However with regards to reading ebooks, I would insist that Amazon’s Kindle is the better choice over Apple’s ipad.

The reason ? Well, the latest Amazon Kindle ad will speak for itself. (However don’t stay too long in the sun just like the people in this advertisement as you might get different  types of eczema)

For those the sake of the uninformed “Hotlinking” or “hotlink” works like this. Most blogs or websites often feature pictures and images. The picture or images can be addressed in your website or blog through a unique url address. For example in my case one of my image url address is at http://www.zdiaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Kindle-1.jpg

Now somebody comes along and finds this picture that I have uploaded. Instead of asking my permission to use my image, downloading it to their computer or netbooks and uploading it to their server, they just use the image link (The url above) in their site and viola ! My image is already featured in their site. This is called “hotlinking.”

Aside from the fact that they are using images that I personally took without permission when these people “hotlink” to my site they also steal bandwidth.

What do I mean when I say that “hotlinking” steals bandwidth ? If you have a blog or website on a paid hosting account your host assigns you a certain amount of bandwidth for a certain period of time. If you exceed your bandwidth limit your website or blog can’t be accessible anymore for a certain period because you have consumed your bandwidth limit in a given time, say for example on a monthly basis.

Bandwidth has been defined as that “used to describe the amount of data transferred to or from the website or server within a prescribed period of time.” (Wikipedia) A more accurate term is that it is the “maximum amount of data transfer each month or given period.” To put it more simply if your bandwidth limit is 300 GB every month and for the entire month your site gets a billion visits with people doing all sort of stuff on your site and you exceed that 300 GB limit, then your site shuts down unless you negotiate to pay for a higher bandwidth or you wait until next month wherein they renew your 300 GB consumable.

Hotlinking steals bandwidth because people who visit the site of the person who hot linked to your site uses your bandwidth when the view the image that has been hotlinked from you.

So how do you disable “hotlinking” ? Well there are three ways to do this. The advice given here is more geared towards the wordpress users.

1.) To manually disable hotlink visit this site: http://www.techrena.net/blogger-tips/stop-disable-hotlinking-bandhwidth-theft-using-htaccess-file/

2.)For a tutorial on how to disable hotlink through cPanel, visit this site: http://blog.arvixe.com/how-to-enable-hotlink-protection-for-your-website-using-cpanel/

3.) For a WordPress plugin to disable hotlinking visit this site: http://www.techmixer.com/wordpress-images-hotlink-protection-plugin-protect-blog-images-from-images-theft-hotlinking/

For the uninformed a more concise definition is given by Wikipedia which defines Teleportation as “the transfer of matter or energy from one point to another, at speeds faster than the speed of light.”

The realization of teleportation technology would certainly revolutionize the way we live, much like how computers has revolutionize the 20^th century. Imagine a world where there will be no more need for mail or cargo services, no more need even for cars, trains or even airplanes. No more dreaded time sitting in an outdoor furniture in airports, bus stops, boat and bus terminals. We will be able to go where we want to go near the speed of thought ! We will be able to literally have breakfast at Paris, Lunch in New York and Dinner in Beijing ! We will be with our loved ones when we want and wherever we want. The average man would literally have more than 24 hours a day as he becomes more productive considering the elimination of transportation time as time and space folds into one.

We do not know how many years from now before this technology will be realized Albert Einstein, the 20^th century’s leading thinkers in the field of quantum physics disbelieve the concept of teleportation and called it “spooky.” But believe it or not a beer company in Argentina has invented a device that will allow persons to transport into another location at the speed of light. Watch this youtube video for more details

P.S: You might find yourself laughing at the end of the video but believe it or not in December of 1997, Scientist in an Austrian laboratory destroyed bits of light in one place and made perfect replicas appear about 3 feet away. In 2004 Physicists carried out a successful teleportation with particles of light over a distance of 600 meters across the River Danube in Austria. And in 2006 Physicists demonstrate the first successful entanglement of the quantum states of photons (in a laser beam) with the quantum states of physical matter. Sure this is a long way from having breakfast in Paris, lunch in New York and Dinner in Beijing, but we are almost getting there.

For those of you who aren’t geeks or aren’t geeky enough, Java and .NET are developer tools. (Kind of like hammer and saws for carpenters) Some software (not sure about scanning software) do not run properly if you don’t have Java or .NET installed.

Just like the browser wars, the O.S wars and the computer wars, people from both camps (Java & .NET) are insisting in the superiority of their tool and are fighting over who should be the industry standard among other things. The battle has been so fierce that the two computing giants, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems have fought in court over this.

To spice up things, Java developers meeting this coming September 8 and 9, 2010 for their annual “JavaZone” conference in Scandanivia has released a 3+ minute trailer entitled “Java 4 Ever.” The trailer was intended to promote the conference.

Because I neither use Java or .NET, I cannot say whether Java is superior to .NET or vice versa but I would certainly say that Java developers have a talent for developing films. I guess if Java developers loose the war, then they might consider a career in film making. So for film making or viral internet marketing the Oscar’s should go to Java!

Now grab some popcorn and watch this interesting viral marketing clip !

I didn’t rush and got a Kindle 1 immediately. Being a “veteran” of electronic devices, I knew that this was 1^st generation device and that I am better off waiting for the newly improved “2^nd gen” device.

I was so excited about the Kindle that I constantly monitored its progress. I placed it in my Christmas wish list. Oftentimes, I find myself searching for it in the internet, reading reviews and staring at the picture of the Kindle. I am such a voracious reader and I was really attracted to the Kindle. Of course there are five main reasons why I was attracted to the prospect of having an electronic reading device, first it looks nice, “high-tech”: and sophisticated (Just like in Star Trek ! Sorry, I’m a trekkie and a sci-fi fan) secondly, I can get books much cheaper. Thirdly, I don’t have to carry a lot of books when I travel. Fourthly, I believe that reading electronic files instead of paper books will help save the environment. Lastly, I’m a gadget fanatic.

Amazon then came out with the Kindle 2. On March 2009, I wrote a post about entitled “Why the Amazon Kindle 2 sucks.” I told myself; finally, Amazon ironed out the kinks in the Kindle 1 and came out with a much more improved device. Again, I didn’t rush to get the Kindle 2. I figured out that for certain they will reduce the price after several months. (At that time it retailed for $359 U.S) Also, other devices competing with Amazon Kindle came up so I considered these devices as well.

I waited and waited for months like a tiger waiting patiently for its prey. I kept staring at the pictures and reading some more reviews. I compared other ebook devices but I concluded that the Kindle was the certainly the best for me.

One year after, sometime in March 2010, I was really itching to purchase the Kindle. This was because of several reasons. First, they came out with the “Global wireless edition.” Secondly, they decided to ship to the Philippines and I can purchase ebooks online without hassles. (Some people used a workaround when this was still not available in the Philippines) Thirdly, because the dropped the price to $259.00.

Then suddenly, Apple came up with the ipad. That time, the ipad was still not selling but was announced to be released sometime between April and May. I was torn between two lovers. Although the ipad was $300 more expensive, it was more than an ebook reader. It was a computer and a very cool one indeed.

I read some more reviews. I was close to deciding for the Kindle when Amazon announced that it has released an ipad app to let ipad users purchase and read Amazon books. This brought me back to my first dilemma of being torn between two lovers.

After some sleepless nights (Not really just a figure of speech hehehehe) , reading some reviews and weighing the pros and cons I figured out that the best device for me is the Kindle. My purpose is to read books and not play games, be connected to the internet or do some work with a computer. Besides, the Kindle is best for reading because of its use of black and white eInk technology. They say that reading with the ipad causes eye strain.

So finally on the third week of April 2010, I placed an order for the Amazon Kindle 2 global wireless edition. I also ordered some accessories like a light, screen protector and casing.

I was surprised that it just took 5 days for it to arrive. I tore the box like a 5 year old eagerly opening his Christmas presents. I then ordered my first ebook “How to Think like Benjamin Graham and Invest like Warren Buffett” and had it downloaded straight to my Kindle. I also experimented with purchasing an ebook via my computer and syncing it to my Kindle. It was such a breeze. I toyed around with the features. I was really happy and satisfied. Everything works just fine. The free 3G internet connection is kind of slow though. I am not at all surprised because of the current wireless 3G internet infrastructure we have in the Philippines. But it suits my purpose. Besides I don’t surf a lot using my Kindle. I just purchase books with it from time to time.

I bought my Kindle to Hong Kong on the third week of June. The free internet connection was a little faster there. So far I’ve read more than thousand pages of books and .pdf files on my Kindle.

You might be reading this post and must be scratching your head, where is the regret in my purchase of the Kindle 2. It seems that I am a very happy and satisfied customer.

Well, I just opened my computer today and found out that Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle to $189.00 (U.S) whahahahahahaahahhaahaaaa !!!! I should have waited for 2 months more; I could have saved more than $60.00. (I hate you Barnes and Noble people – makers of the Nook, another ebook reader. They are the ones who started the price slash prompting Amazon to slash the price of the Kindle)

Well, That’s life. Sometimes you win sometimes you loose. The most important thing is that you keep reading.   If you want to get a Kindle, please get it at my Amazon eStore so that I will be able to recover my $60++. If you don’t want to get a kindle perhaps you want to get some hydroponic systems.

And true enough, a new development came. Weeks ago Steve Jobs introduced the Apple iPad, a device that is not only an ebook reader but is one which also lets you do stuff that you could normally do in a laptop in a much cooler way ! The iPad is like an oversized version of an iphone except that you can’t make calls with it.

I’ve never owned any Apple products, although my wife owns an ipod (It was only given to her) Although I acknowledge the superiority of design and engineering of Apple products and the brilliance of Steve Jobs, I’ve never owned any Apple products because they are usually much more expensive compared to other devices that does the same thing.

However the Apple iPad seems to have changed that. Starting at $499 (U.S), it seems that this is probably Apple’s most affordable product considering the bells and whistles that it has to offer. I admit, I have been tempted to ditch my plan to buy a Kindle and get an Apple iPad instead.

But for now I won’t be buying and Apple iPad for the following reasons:

1.) The Apple ipad is a first generation device – I’ve tinkered with gadgets all my life. Experience has taught me never to buy a first generation device. The reason is because most if not all first generation device is fresh out of research and development. Because of this there are always kinks that will soon be discovered. No matter how good the quality control of the company is, there is always an “unseen” defect that is passed on to the buyers of first generation device. Usually it is the second and third generation devices that look much better and have much better features because they build upon the defects of the first generation device. (Remember how ugly the first kindle looked like?) If I am going to buy an ipad, I’ll probably buy the next model.

2.) Possibility of a reduction of price of the Apple ipad – Remember when the Apple iPhone first came out? Two months after that Apple lowered the price. Companies usually do this if the product launching fizzles. Reviews have been mixed so far with regards to the Apple iPad. Some think it is the most brilliant device Apple ever came up with. Others think it’s a total blunder. Others even think that the name sucks! There had been suggestions to slash the price further by $50 to $100. I don’t know if this is ever going happen to the Apple ipad, but it happened to the iPhone so the possibility is not remote.

3.) Availability of lots of books in Apple iPad remains to be seen– If I get an Apple ipad, my primary use for it will be as an ebook reader. If you think about it, it will be worth paying a little bit more for a device that functions more than an ebook reader. Add to this is the fact that it seems much more cool to flip pages in an ipad than a kindle. (See the video and it will make you drool!) Apple says it is working with several book publishers to make ebooks available in the ipad. However it will certainly take some time to have thousands of volumes available in ipad ebook store. Unlike the Amazon Kindle who has been selling ebooks for a long time already, Apple has yet to put up the necessary infrastructure to start selling ebooks. If I am going to buy an Apple ipad I’ve got to make sure a lot of books are already available for download.

4.) Apple iPad competitors could come up with something much better – I’m sure companies like Amazon, Lenovo, Sonny and of course both Microsoft and Google among others are thinking of unveiling a device that as more features and cost much less than the Apple ipad. If somebody comes up with something better, I’ll probably get that one. But if none will match the Apple ipad’s feature and price. I’ll probably get an Apple ipad.

5.) Apple iPad will probably be not available soon in our country – I don’t know how good the distribution channel of Apple is in the Philippines, but usually it will take some time before fresh new technology comes to us. It took a while before Amazon started shipping Kindle to the Philippines, it will probably take several months before the iPad will be made available to Apple iStores here.

So now you too have reasons on why you won’t be buying and Apple iPad, at least not for now. But if somebody gives me an Apple iPad ? Of course I won’t say no!

See the youtube video below to see the features of the Apple iPad:

Oleophobic Ole what ? The term Oleophobic must be quite new as my word processor does not even recognized it. heheheheh (Oleophobic x 100 say it a hundred times and it’s good tounge twister hehehe):-)

The term Oleophobic is defined by the dictionary  means “having or relating to a lack of strong affinity for oils” (Apple could have used a much simpler term, why not use “smudge resistant.” hehehehe) One of the iphone’s new feature is that the screen has a “fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating”

A “fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating” on screens was something that is missing in earlier iPhones. Since the iPhone is a touch screen device and that it has no external keyboard, most of the time the screen would look smudged since users would be using their finger more frequently to access features on the device. Add to this is the fact that when you make phone calls, the screen gets pressed to your cheeks. As a result natural skin oils from both cheek and fingers accumulate on the screen.

(Picture courtesy of CNET.com, Credit: Samsas Traum)

The fingerprint and oil marks are not very noticeable, but when you tilt the iphone 3GS at a certain position or if you look at it from a certain distance you can notice that it’s there.

Apple’s solution to all this ?  Oleophobic coating.

So what is the problem with the iphone 3GS oleophobic coating ?

I don’t know if this is true but some website has reported that the iphone 3GS’ oleophobic coating is wearing off prematurely.

How to avoid the oleophobic coating from wearing off prematurely?

Well to solve the oleophobic coating problem simply don’t buy an iphone hehehe just kidding.

Apple has said that in order to preserve the oleophobic coating of the iphone, you should not put your iphone 3GS in an environment (most especially in cars  and trucks parked outdoors not to mention truck accessories where it is subject to frequent temperature changes) where temperatures are in the 20C to 45C range.

How to clean the oleophobic coating of your iphone 3GS?

Apple has this really useful advice (and I love it !) on how to clean your oleophobic coating: “Simply wipe your iPhone’s screen with a soft, lint-free cloth to remove oil left by your hands and face.” (Now that seems very hard that it requires you to read the users manual and understand the very technical terms hehehehe)

Well I don’t have an iphone 3GS and I never intend to get one. I am more of a PALM user. (Had been for the past 10 years) I do wish however PALM devices has an Oleophobic screen. Anyway, I blogged about this because when I dropped by Google trends as I always do from time to time, I was quite surprised by the high number of searches on the term Oleophobic, in fact search for the term was so hot today that it was considered volcanic, so I decided to keyword ambush amubsh the term Oleophobic hehehe

So as Manny Pacquiao says Now you know ! (All about Oleophobic) heheheheh

I only use the Asus Eepc when I am out of town. When I am within the Cebu City, my wife is the one that usually uses it as she brings it to work. The other day she reported to me that she could no longer get into the desktop. I asked her what the problem was and she said it has something to do with it being “out of disk space.”

I expected the “out of disk space” problem with the Asus eepc 4G, considering that it has only 4 GB of disk space. But I did not expect that this would cause a problem in getting into the desktop.

Curious, I got the computer and checked the problem out. Upon entering the desktop the screen shows the following error:

“’The following installation problem was detected while trying to start KDE: $HOME directory (/home/user) is out of disk space. KDE is unable to start. [OK]‘
Clicking [OK] brings up a further message window saying: ‘Could not start kmserver. Check your installation.”

Out of the box, the Asus eepc runs on Xandros Linux. Although I had the option to install windows on it, I choose to stick it out with Linux. Besides I had always been an open source advocate. (I do not claim to be a Linux expert though and most of the times I hate all the technical mumbo jumbo that I have to go through before doing stuff in Linux)

I know that all operating system utilizes a portion of the hard disk as “virtual memory.” However unlike windows, Linux devotes a separate partition in the hard disk called as “Swap” for the virtual memory. That way whenever the partition that the user uses gets full, virtual memory is unaffected since the ordinary user never gets to use the swap. I was surprised that the lack of hard disk space caused an error in the running of the operating system. I still don’t know what is the cause of this is. Is this a “bug” in the programming of Xandros ? If you have an idea drop me a comment, I have yet to research on this.

Anyway, the error message is quite obvious. At least Xandros didn’t give me just a number as an error message. It told me exactly what was wrong and that was “KDE: $HOME directory (/home/user) is out of disk space. KDE is unable to start.” KDE was unable to start because it was out of disk space. KDE by the way is one of the GUIs (Graphical User interface) that Linux is using the other one is called GNOME.

When faced with a technical problem, I’ve always believed that the solution lies in the vast repository of knowledge right at the tip of my fingers. I hammered away in my keyboard and started browsing the world wide web for a solution. This is the advantage of having DSL connection. The solution is just right at your finger tips. By the way you might want to Discover great telecom deals and plans from Spectrotel. Find more information about Spectrotel company here.

Anyway, one of the most practical solutions I found was quite simple and that was to boot via a bootable USB flash drive or SD card, delete the files and then reboot the onboard operating system. That sounded simple enough. However the step by step solution presented was insufficient so I have other sources of information to “integrate” the solution. So this is the solution that I’ve come up with.

Before you proceed make sure you have the following:

1.) A USB flash drive or an SD card with 100 MB of free space or more.
2.) A small portable Linux OS. I personally used “BREEZY FOR EEE” but any small portable Linux OS will do such as DSL (Damn Small Linux)
3.) A program that can make a USB flash drive or an SD card “bootable” such as SYSLINUX 3.36.

Here are the steps on how to do it.

1.) Download the portable Linux OS zip file (65 MB)
2.) Unzip the files to your computer and copy all files to your flash drive
3.) Download syslinux-3.36.zip and unzip the files to your c:\
4.) From Windows click start > run > cmd
5.) From the command window, type cd \syslinux\win32
6.) To make the drive bootable type “syslinux.exe -ma X” without the quotes. (Replace X with your USB drive letter)
7.) Insert the SD (or USB) flash into its slot then press the power-on switch of your ASUS eepc.
8.) Press the Esc key while the eepc is booting and choose to boot via your USB or SD card.
9.) Once you get to the Breezy desktop click on “Drive”
10.) Click on “mount” for Ext2 (This is the one designated as “user” and is considered as the “user usable” part of your “hard disk” on your eepc
11.) You will see several folders in the “File manager” click on the “Home” folder
12.) Click on “User” folder
13.) You will then see several folders like “My documents”, “Trash”, “Desktop” and other folders.
14.) Delete files that you think are user files to free up space on your eepc.
15.) Restart your computer and viola ! You have solved the “KDE: $HOME directory (/home/user) is out of disk space. KDE is unable to start.” problem !

If you have other alternative solutions, drop me a comment.

The Amazon Kindle 2, is a huge improvement over the Amazon Kindle 1. It is much thinner at only 0.36 inches thick, about 25% thinner than an iPhone. The battery life is increased to 25 %. You can literally read for weeks without recharging. With over 16 shades of gray it has a much sharper display than Kindle 1’s 4. Although they ditched the SD card feature, the Kindle 2 has a much bigger memory. At 2 GB it can store up to 1,500 books at any given time.

Want to look up the meaning of a word? No problem. Kindle 2 has bigger vocabulary with a 250,000 word dictionary built in. Navigate easily, with its new 5-way joystick. Read with ease as it turns pages 20% faster than its predecessor. The Kindle 2 is also “less accident prone” because the page-turn buttons are smaller and harder to hit by mistake. In terms of wireless connectivity, Kindle 2 is “more wired” as it operates on the Whispersync technology. And the coolest new feature of Kindle 2 ? Its ability to read text aloud in a semi-robotic voice.

You might want to see it for yourself. To see the cool new Kindle 2, click on the Kindle 2 youtube video below:

With all of its cool new features and being a certified bibliophilia, why do I say that the Amazon Kindle 2 sucks ? Well it sucks because I don’t have one ! hehehehe

You see with all of its technological wonders, there two things I love most about the Kindle 2 which is in touch with my ideologies. First, it’s cheaper in the long run. Books purchased on the Kindle are cheap. Printed books cost somewhere from $20 to $30, while you can get it at the kindle for more than half the price (from $10 to $15) Secondly, reading books on the Kindle 2 is somehow reducing your “carbon footprint” as no paper is wasted. This feature, appeals to my “green” side.:-)

The problem is, you can’t buy a Kindle and you can’t buy books through the Kindle if you don’t have a U.S issued credit card. (Although there I’ve read somewhere that there are some “work arounds” on this)

Well I could easily ask my relatives in the U.S to purchase one for me, but at $359.00 (U.S) ? No way! The price is ok if you live in the U.S because you can take advantage of the “free wireless connectivity.“ But $ 359.00 seems pricey if I don’t get to use the “free wireless connectivity.“

Well, Amazon should expand their market overseas. They could either sell the Kindle 2 for more than half the price, probably $200.00 would be reasonable without the wireless connectivity feature or they could enter into a contract with our local Mobile phone companies (Globe or Smart) and offer it as a “post paid subscription” by bundling it with a phone. (Just like how they bundled the Asus Eeepc with a phone) However they should tweak the Kindle 2 to make it to be wirelessly connected with our networks.

They could also stretch the idea further and offer it to pre-paid subscribers. Pre-paid subscribers could purchase it for $250.00 and then in order to be wirelessly connected, they could purchase a pre-paid card. But in order to make it more attractive, the Kindle 2 should be able to do more than just read books. Users should be able to browse, check emails and chat. Playing games and other web application that requires advance features is of course out of the question.

Well, perhaps all of these will be possible when Amazon comes up with Kindle 3. In the meantime, Kindle 2 really sucks !

But if you really want to purchase the Kindle 2, why don’t you purchase it at my Guerrilla blogger eStore ? That way you can help me earn commission and perhaps when I have sold several Kindles I can finally purchase my own. Hehehehe Click here to get the Amazon Kindle 2 at my Guerilla Blogger estore.

That item in my Christmas wish list last year came true. So I am posting a Christmas wish list for this year again, I hope it will become true hehehehehe

For this year, I also have one item on my Christmas wish list. Perhaps my Christmas wish list might also give you an idea on what to give this Christmas to your loved one.

The only item on my Christmas wish list this year is an ebook reader.

People who know me quite well will not be surprised why this is the only item on my Christmas wish list. I am such a voracious reader. I could finish off 2 to 3 books a month aside from my regular daily reading in my work. An ebook reader would help me save on books since it is a lot cheaper to purchase then printed books for obvious reasons. Some say it is also environmentally friendly; others might however disagree with this point. An ebook reader lets me obtain the latest title immediately. It also allows me to bring several book titles conveniently. Two of the most popular ones are the Amazon Kindle and the Sony ebook reader.

Some people say that they would rather have a sub-notebook laptop since it is about the same price as an ebook reader. I would like to point that a laptop, no matter how small will never have the “printed-book-like” experience of an ebook reader. Besides who has ever heard of somebody trying to read an ebook on his laptop while lying in bed before going to sleep ?

There are several blogs out there that gives a comprehensive detail on the pros and cons of each device. This short but concise comparison from blog.wired.com might give you an idea:

You might have a used Kindle or a Sony ebook reader that you don’t want to use anymore or one that you might have never used. Perhaps you might consider giving it to me. Hehehehehe . . . I promise you that I will put it to good use.

You might want to buy me a new one or perhaps you may want to purchase one to give to a loved one. Why don’t you purchase an Amazon Kindle or a Sony ebook reader in my Guerilla Blogger estore.

For more on the Amazon Kindle watch this video:

For more on the Sony ebook reader watch this video:

Be my Santa today and tick off this item from my Christmas wish list! hohohohoho Merry Christmas !