Do we really need to plug in our laptops for 11 hours in its initial charge?  I googled endlessly, sifting through dumb Yahoo Answers responses, but was lucky enough to find the article below. I guess this is the most credible. I found it here (http://digital.tblog.com/post/1970077733) but they credited laptopmag.com at the end.  Hope this will end those 'urban legends'  on batteries for our gadgets.

It’s one of the most important and least understood parts of your notebook—and it provokes so many unanswered questions. Why do laptop batteries gradually lose their ability to hold a charge? Why does it takes longer for a charging notebook to go from 80 to 100 percent charge than it does to go from zero to 80 percent? What’s the difference between a three-cell and a six-cell battery? Rather than shrug our shoulders for another day, we demanded answers from two experts, Matt Kohut, worldwide competitive analyst at Lenovo; and John Wozniak, Ph.D. distinguished technologist at HP.

LAPTOP: At what point during the battery life cycle does a typical notebook battery last longest?

Kohut: The industry average is about 30 percent degradation per year. You’ll probably start to notice after about six months.

John Wozniak: Batteries tend to fade pretty quickly over the first 10 or 20 cycles, and then capacity levels off.


How long does a typical notebook battery last?
 
Kohut: Roughly, 350 charge cycles. A cycle is cumulative use that reaches 70 percent degradation, or seven times when 90 percent of the battery capacity was used.

What causes a battery to lose capacity over time?

Wozniak: Think of a battery as having pores, where the electrons flow back and forth between the cathode and the anode. When those pores get clogged, you can’t move the electrons as efficiently anymore. Then the lithium gets bound up on one side or the other, and it no longer contributes to the movement of electrons. It gets backed up.

Do you need to build up a battery memory, or condition it, to get the best performance?

Kohut: This was true in the lithium-metal hydride days, however, with a standard lithium-ion battery, you just need to make sure you charge it fully. Most batteries ship from the manufacturers with an 80 percent charge.

Conditioning, meaning draining the battery to zero and then charging battery fully while Windows monitors it, resets the curve. It doesn’t prolong the battery’s life, but it improves accuracy [of the battery monitor]. Over time, the accuracy drifts in the Windows program that measures battery life. That is why it can say that you suddenly went from 80 to 20 percent in five minutes.

How much can you trust the charge status that Windows gives you?

Kohut: If the battery reports full, Windows says it is full. Windows periodically checks the battery, but it is more of a thumbs-up/thumbs-down than a real assessment. Windows is crude; trust it if it’s full, trust it if it’s empty. But know that it doesn’t have the communication to know that the battery degrades over time. We recommend the Lenovo Power Manager, because it has a lot more smarts. It knows the status of each individual cell, whether it’s balanced, imbalanced, charging, not charging, etc.

John Wozniak: If the BIOS is written correctly, Windows is really accurate; within 1 to 2 percent. The problem is how often it updates.

When charging a notebook, why does the last 5 to 10 Percent take longer than the first 85 to 90 percent?

Kohut: If the battery is low, we will charge it at a faster rate. But when the battery fills up, we back off, because it’s the last bit of charging that causes the issues to form. Other vendors that do rapid charge still back off around the last 10 percent. Dell, for example, does fast charge, pedal to the metal, from zero to 80 percent. Then backs off and coasts into the finish line. Lenovo starts fast, but backs off more and more through the entire charge. This allows for a more even rate of charge. It takes longer overall, but it helps the battery’s longevity.

Some notebooks won’t start charging unless the battery is below a certain level, SAY, 95 percent. Why is that?

Kohut: Charging it to 100 percent every time adds cycles that cause the battery to wear out faster. In the typical office situation, you’re plugged in 100 percent all day. Then you take it home, and plug it in again, after losing maybe only 2 percent. If you charge to 100 percent again, you start adding cycles that wear out the battery because you’re initiating a full charge cycle. The thought behind our process is that unless the battery gets below a certain percentage, don’t put it through the stress of charging.

How important is the number of cells in determining battery capacity?

Kohut: The three-, six, nine-celled battery is shorthand for explaining how much laptop battery life a machine has, but watt-hours hours determine capacity. The average consumer has no clue that a nine-cell battery has around 84-watt-hours of power, they just know it’s a nine-cell. One of Lenovo’s competitor’s has two six-cell batteries—a 53-watt-hour and a 47-watt-hour. The second doesn’t deliver the same capacity. To really understand how much power a battery will hold, you need to look at the watt-hours.

Some vendors are advertising two- or three-cell batteries that claim a longer life than six-cell models. Is that possible?

Kohut: There is a fine line. Battery capacity has gone up in the past few years by making the cells more energy-dense. There used to be 2 amp hour (Ah) cells, but now cells go up to 2.9 amps. If you can control the higher concentration of energy in the smaller space, it’s not a problem. But sometimes this results in violent reactions such as overheating and over-charging. [If a vendor claims its battery lasts a long time with fewer cells,] you want to ask how many watt-hours the pack holds, and about the kind of cells (2.6, 2.9 Ah, etc.).

Should consumers trust third-party batteries?

Kohut: We’ll warranty our own batteries, but if you put a third-party battery in, you void the warranty. That’s because there are good battery manufacturers and there are bad ones. Some of the good ones are Panasonic, Sanyo, and Sony. A less reputable company will buy whatever is cheapest, and just drop it in there. The reason a lot of the battery incidents occur in this industry is because of quality control.

We always say that you are taking [the life of your notebook] into your own hands when you buy a third-party battery pack. Yes, you are saving some money up-front but you don’t have the backing of the company behind it.
 

The article is from : www.laptopmag.com

i: The Citizen

Aaron won a $100 voucher from Combi and his photo was published on Live Well Baby magazine (Dec/Jan 08 Vol 8 issue)

This is the photo we submitted

and this is the ad :)


ayus!

After a weekend in Manila...six days of freezing temperatures....

I went to Manila two weeks ago to attend Annette and Adrian's wedding.  I took a red-eye  Cebu Pacific flight and arrived at 4:00 AM. I went straight to a bus terminal in Pasay to catch a bus to Tagaytay. After an obligatory Jollibee breakfast (syemps!) at the rotonda, I then took a jeepney (budget traveler eh) to Taal Vista Hotel where I met up with the bride and groom. 

It was great to finally see Adrian and Annette tie the knot. I was around when it all started kaya naman months before the wedding ay nakabook na ang flight ko. I just have to be there. The 'hitching' went without a hitch, nobody banged the church's door demanding to stop the wedding. Reception followed at the Nurture Spa.


After the party, Swing (the bestman) and  I hitched a ride with Adrian's friend to Manila. We were dropped at the Shang strip where we decided to relax a bit with a few bottles. Herson, my kumpare, joined us and we  ended up staying till 2AM.  I then slept at Debbie and Herson's place at Boni Serrano (i think).

After my masarap na corned beef and egg na breafast, which Herson and Debs prepared before they left, nakipagmeet ako with my mom, siblings and cousin Vida's family at SM Makati. It was great to see them again. We had lunch at Superbowl of China and did a bit of shopping.

I then had dinner with Karen at Greenbelt. We exchanged stories about friends and the industry namin. At around 10:30 we parted and I went to my brother-in-law's place kung saan ako makikitulog. Pagdating ko Trisha, AJ and Jessa were still awake. They gave us gifts and I gave ours...salamat nga pala sa mga presents, Abby's not-so-promil-kid in her kicked in and opened the gifts the minute I got home :D

I left manong's place at 4:00 AM after sleeping for two hours. Bags in tow, I hailed a cab to the airport and caught my 6:00 flight to Singapore. I went straight to the office and stayed there till late.

bummer.

TTYL.  Binanatan ako ni wendy ng acronym na to nung kachat ko kangina....shet ....im so old and so out I had to google it.  

Just finished a briefing call with some US guys so I am just waiting for the caffeine to lose its power. To pass time, I decided to look at some old photos on my backup drive. I saw this photo of the QE2 when it visited Dubai.  The photo's exif info tells me that it was taken April 6, 2006.

Fortunately, I have access to the Dubai Cruise terminal at that time and was able to see it up close.  Abby and I later found out that QE2 will end its years of transatlantic travel and will be permanently anchored at the Dubai Palm...sadly, as a floating hotel

...so much for champagne wishes and caviar dreams :(

 

Wouldn't it be nice if similar food companies in the Philippines do the same thing and give unsold items to those who need it?

Wifey just posted this...

http://abszz.multiply.com/photos/album/63/Rule_of_thumb#

May mga tickets na ang mga tao sa Eheads concert... ako nasa Singapore pa rin!

Sent via email

Request for leave by English Language Learners.

The following is an excerpt from Og Mandino's book "The Greatest Secret in the World". I hope it will bring inspiration to you.


 

THE SCROLL MARKED IX My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action.

I will act now. Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even one inch of ground. Never has there been a parchment of law, however fair, which prevented one crime. Never has there been a scroll, even such as the one I hold, which earned so much as a penny or produced a single word of acclamation. Action, alone, is the tinder which ignites the map, the parchment, the scroll, my dreams, my plans, my goals, into living force. Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success.

I will act now.My procrastination which has held me back was born of fear and now I recognize the secret mind from the depths of all courageous hearts. Now I know that to conquer fear I must always act without hesitation and the flutters in my heart will vanish. Now I know that action reduces the lion of terror to an ant of equanimity.

I will act now.Henceforth, I will remember the lesson of the firefly who gives off its light only when it is on the wing, only when it is in action. I will become a firefly and even in the day my glow will be seen in spite of the sun. Let others be as butterflies who preen their wings yet depend on the charity of a flower for life. I will be as a firefly and my light will brighten the world.

I will act now.I will not avoid the tasks of today and charge them to tomorrow for I know that tomorrow never comes. Let me act now even though my actions may not bring happiness or success for it is better to act and fail than not to act and flounder. Happiness, in truth, may not be the fruit plucked by my action yet without action all fruit will die on the vine.

I will act now.

I will act now.

I will act now.

I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words again and again, each hour, each day, every day, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing and the actions which follow become as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every act necessary for my success. With these words I can condition my mind to meet every challenge which the failure avoids.

I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again. When I awake I will say them and leap from my cot while the failure sleeps yet another hour.

I will act now.When I enter the market place I will say them and immediately confront my first prospect while the failure ponders yet his possibility of rebuff.

I will act now. When I face a closed door I will say them and knock while the failure waits outside with fear and trepidation.

I will act now. When I face the temptation I will say them and immediately act to remove myself from evil.

I will act now. When I am tempted to quit and begin again tomorrow I will say them and immediately act to consummate another sale.

I will act now. Only action determines my value in the market place and to multiply my value I will multiply my actions. I will walk where the failure fears to walk. I will work when the failure seeks rest. I will talk when the failure remains silent. I will call on ten who can buy my goods while the failure makes grand plans to call on me. I will say it is done before the failure says it is too late.

I will act now.For now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the evil become good. I am not evil. Tomorrow is the day when the weak become strong. I am not weak. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure.

I will act now.When the lion is hungry he eats. When the eagle has thirst he drinks. Lest they act, both will perish. I hunger for success. I thirst for happiness and peace of mind. Lest I act I will perish in a life of failure, misery, and sleepless nights. I will command, and I will obey my own command.

I will act now.Success will not wait. If I delay she will become betrothed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the man.

I will act now.

(my e61 sitting next to my new e61i)

 

Christmas came too early for me this year.

 

The other day, my boss asked me if I want to use the spare E61i since I am already using E61.  Nobody wants it because the last person who tried it could not get the email working. I told her that I don't mind and I’d like to have a crack at the email issue. I was really happy to finally hold it in my hands (I was seriously trying hard not to show my excitement!).  It is slimmer than my E61 and has more buttons. The casing is metal (I think) and it has, to my delight, a camera.

 

The first thing I did was to upgrade the firmware. The process was a breeze since I’ve already done it in the past on my E61.  Next step for me was to look for a solution to the email problem. I saw in a forum that I should use mail exchange instead of the usual IMAP and POP3 configuration I used on my company issued Nokia classic something (can’t remember the exact model). I downloaded the mail exchange application from Nokia’s website, installed it, and in minutes I was already downloading my contacts, calendar and email from our server. Our IT guy in the UK sent me link on our server where I can download root certificates so I can also get rid of the annoying warnings that would pop out every time the phone connects to the mail server. With all the issues addressed, I am now getting my email push mail style!

 

This morning I installed a golf game, worldmate – a currency conversion and weather report utility, and morange –a chat app that would allow me to connect to my YM,MSN and Gtalk contacts. I also downloaded Reuters mobile app for my news feeds. 

 

Overall, I am quite pleased with this upgrade…so very very happy actually!

 

Since we are miles away from home, my family sent us this

http://arieldiaz.multiply.com/video/item/37/Familia_Diaz_2008

While staying here in the UK for my training, I came across a show on Channel 4 that I believe would never see light in Philippine television. The show is entitled “Autopsy: Life and Death” and as suggested in the title of the program they show, on live TV, an actual autopsy of a human cadaver to educate the viewers on medical subjects.  At first, I was appalled by the rawness of the approach.  Over dinner, which happened to be on a low table infront of the idiot box, I watched a guy hack his way into an old lady’s body.  He used shears and surgical knives to open the chest area of the ‘specimen’.  The topic for the night was cancer, and somewhere between the lady’s liver, lung and my sausage dinner, I understood how cancer cells does it damage to our body. It was gory, sure, but anybody with an eager-to-learn mind would definitely gain a lot of knowledge from this show. 

After the hosts dissected the old lady’s cadaver, another body was introduced to the studio audience. This time it was a 45 year old lady who died of breast cancer.  According to her medical records, which she allowed the doctors of the show to have a look, her main ‘mass’ was already removed.

A box was made to house the cadaver and substance that turned into foam (excuse the non-technical terminologies, I’m not ‘technically’ inclined) was poured around encasing the body into a foam block.  When the foam hardened, they brought in an  electric band saw and they cut a cross section of the woman’s body.  The result was a steak like cut where cancer masses can be seen on the cross section of her lungs, spleen and liver. It was really ‘gorily’ amazing.

To further illustrate, they also have 100% nude male and female models, with drawings on their bodies which made them look like they popped out of a medical textbook.  Before the show ended they were asked to demonstrate how to check for cancer tumors. The female model illustrated how to conduct a breast examination while the male model, unfortunately for him, looked for abnormal growth on his testicles.

Below is a link where you can watch clips of the show...just ignore the popup asking for a password. WORD OF WARNING: CLIPS ARE GRAPHIC IN NATURE...

 http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/A/autopsy/index.html

 

 

 

Everybody in the office flew out. One went to Canada, the other one is in the UK, and the other two are attending our conference in Barcelona.  Me? Well, I’m all alone. I have my hot cup of java and glass of luke warm water (you know, the type our grand

ma’s used to drink because anything colder , they’d catch a cold)  to keep me company.  I extended my desktop with the LCD as my main monitor and the laptop display to display my VOIP softclient and my MS Outlook. I have two databases to populate which really hurts my eye, making it heavy and sleepish.  hayyy I'm BORED!

Anyway, for those people working and studying, please share how your workspace looks like today. Snap a photo and label it. Here's mine.