Windows Phone: Zune Artist Background Image Issue

After a day of rigorous research on the internet, I finally came up with a solution regarding the background image of Zune on Windows Phone Mango. Just give you an idea on the issue, some of us, who are using Windows Phone got some issue regarding the awesomeness of Zune. There should be an artist background image on Zune while you are playing or browsing their songs just like what you can see on the image below.

So, the problem is the background image is not showing. Yes, the album art is showing but not the artist background image. So here are the steps I made to resolve this awesomeness problem.

The following step may or may not work for you but most likely if you will follow every steps you will get a great result.

First, you need:

1. a Windows Live ID with U.S. location - if you don't know if you're Windows Live ID location is in U.S. just log in to live.com then check your profile and go to Your Contact Info. Change it to U.S. if not.

or

2. You can make a Windows Live ID for Zune and set your location to U.S.

I think the problem here lies within the Marketplace. Not all your the album or artist information are available in some country.

Changing the location on your default Windows Live ID on your Windows Phone may take some time, mine takes 22 hours to reflect on my account. As you know you cannot change the Windows Live ID you are using on your Windows Phone unless you will reset it (Android phone user's knows about it). Also, make sure that your Window Phone default location is in set to United States (go to Settings>Region+Language).

After that, sign in on Zune on your PC using the same Windows Live ID you are using on your Windows Phone. I recommend doing it, after you successfully change your location on Windows Live ID and Phone. You should know that you successfully changed your location on your Windows Live ID once you get a notification on your ME hub on your phone under What's New (it should say "changed location to United States).

One more thing, if the artist background image are already present on your Zune on your PC you will be successful but if not, try manually update the album info or go to Settings>Software>Metadata and Ratings>Media Info and make sure to tick Automatically retrieve and update album art and metadata and replace all media information. You can let your Zune on your PC open for hours for it download the necessary information needed.

Sync your phone as normal. Now check if artist image background is showing up on your phone if not proceed to next step. If yes, good but well, some artist dont show up their background. This maybe depending on the information of the artist stored in the Marketplace.

If not:

1. On your Zune on your PC and while your phone is connected, go to Settings>Phone>Sync Options under Device Options click Erace all Content then after Forget this Phone. This will erase all your songs and videos media information on your phone.
2. Disconnect and reconnect your phone from your PC so you can start syncing up your songs and video as well as its media information.

Most likely, that should be it, that solves my problem so if you still getting the same problem, I think there is something you missed on the step or requirements to solve this issue. Just to point out, having a Windows Live ID that is U.S location is one of the key to solve this issue.

Update 1: Account Settings in Live

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iTunes 10.2.1 The iPhone cannot be synced. The device timed out.

Another problem arises on my iTunes when I'm trying to sync it with my iPhone. The error "The iPhone cannot be synced. The device timed out." shows up everytime the iTunes says Finishing Sync.

Workaround:

1. Connect your USB data cable to the USB ports at the back of your PC. (assuming you have a desktop PC)
2. If you are using a laptop, connect it directly to your machine (do not use any USB hub, unless its a powered USB hub)

I think this is something about the power part of your USB port and the USB data cable if you are using a USB hub, similarly much better if you used 2.0 cable or above.

This is the best workaround I get. It helped me sync my iPhone.

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Voluntary Resignation: The Philippine Law

Voluntary Resignation

Resignation is defined as the voluntary act of an employee who finds himself in a situation where he believes that personal reasons cannot be sacrificed in favor of the exigency of the service and he has no other choice but to disassociate himself from his employment. (Virgen Shipping Corp. vs. Barraquio, G.R. No. 178127, April 16, 2009 citing Valdez vs. NLRC.)

The key is that resignation must be a “voluntary act”, and that the employee must have knowingly and voluntarily dissociate himself from his employment for his own personal reasons. It does not cover cases where the employee is forced to resign with the use of threats, intimidation, coercion or manipulation, or where resignation is imposed as a penalty for an offense.

The common practice of allowing an employee to resign, instead of terminating him for just cause so as not to smear his employment record, also fall under the category of voluntary resignation. (See J Marketing Corp. vs. Taran, G.R. No. 163924, June 28, 2009).

Resignation Notice

The Labor Code requires the employee to give an advance notice to the employer of his intention to resign. The notice of resignation must be in writing and must be served to the employer at least one month prior to the effective date of his resignation.

Resignation notice usually takes the form of a letter (commonly called “resignation letter”) addressed to the employer, expressing the employee’s intention to terminate his employment. It must state the date when resignation is to take effect because of the 30-day notice requirement under the law. It may also contain the reason or justification of the employee for filing his resignation, although legally, this is not important. The employee may resign for whatever reason, or even for no reason at all. Thus, in legal parlance, voluntary resignation is also called “termination by employee without just cause.”

Resignation letter normally contains explicit words expressing employee’s intention to terminate his employment. However, lack of explicit words stating the employees intention to resign is deemed not crucial, as long as the employees intention to resign can be deduced from letter itself. In one case, the Supreme Court held that a memorandum written by the employee containing his deep resentment towards his superior juridically constituted a letter of resignation. Even if the employee did not expressly indicate his intention to resign (neither of the words “resign” or “resignation” was mentioned), the resentful and sarcastic tone of the memorandum was held to be sufficiently indicative of such intention.

Effect of Failure to Tender Resignation Notice

If the employee fails to give the employer one month advance notice of his intention to resign, he may be held liable for damages.

Instances when Notice of Resignation is Not Required

The employee may resign even without serving any notice on the employer for any of the following reasons:

1. Serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee;
2. Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his representative;
3. Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against the person of the employee or any of the immediate members of his family; and
4. Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.

Resignation under any of the instance enumerated above is also called “termination by employee with justcause.”

You may want read the whole article here and you might learn a lot from the Q&A part of the website.

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Adobe Reader/Acrobat: Arabic Transparent Bold font is missing

If you got a message saying "Arabic Transparent Bold font is missing" in Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat probably your system is missing those fonts.

You can get those fonts by clicking the download link. I can assure you that these are malware/virus-free but if you doubt it, you can still scan it using your anti-virus software. By the way, these fonts are for Windows OS.

Download Arabic Transparent Bold font here.

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Windows 7: Stuck on failure configuring windows updates reverting changes

I came across this issue yesterday after downloading and installing several updates to a laptop that had never got any updates since Windows 7 was setup. It was I think more that 130 important and optional updates. As soon as installed the updates, it automatically restarted the laptop and causes this looping issue of "failure configuring windows updates reverting changes". In a simple word, it was stuck on that screen.

I tried every possible steps from restarting the machine even it says "do not turn off your computer" to booting to Safemode. But here's what I did to solve this issue:

1. Restart your PC/laptop
2. Keep tapping F8 as soon as see the initialization screen
3. Choose Safemode
4. Once Safemode is fully loaded, hit Start>type cmd
5. Right click on cmd and chose Run as Administrator
6. On the Command Prompt screen type sfc /scannow
7. When its done, type chkdsk /f/r
8. Restart the PC/laptop and boot to Windows as normal

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Green coffee for weight loss

You have to be educated to help to make healthy choices once you understand sufficient with regards to your green coffee weight loss as well as health. You won’t manage to eat great green coffee weight loss weight loss in the event you don’t get what you are doing to help make the excellent selections. The knowledge with this particular part will help work with you towards generating wholesome selections.

Breakfast can be an indispensable portion of any kind of diet program. Breakfast is the most critical dinner because it huge amounts a person entire body with vitamins and minerals as well as begins your metabolic process after asleep until morning.

Steer clear of chilly cereals that are loaded with green coffee weight loss each day. These types of cereals contain chemical preservatives and other chemicals many actually include poor trans fats.

For just about any wholesome, rapid, scrumptious treat, try out pureeing several apricots, or apricots. Thus giving which you great special propagate could also be used being a soak. Attempt distinct fruits as well as combining all of them all around stay away from tiring from the treat.

You need to try to eat different green coffee weight loss weight loss per week. Choose lean beef products, hard working liver as well as hen without the skin. Ovum in addition consist of a wonderful source of green coffee weight loss weight loss infrequently. Reports say that will consuming a single egg cell day-to-day is not going to influence your overall health. Seek to proceed with out consuming dinner with out beef after once a week. Alternative beef with nut products, nut products, espresso beans, peas as well as other green coffee weight loss weight loss abundant food.

Make sure to pick whole milk options wisely. Even though milk products present many vitamins and minerals including calcium supplements, potassium, supplement D as well as green coffee weight loss weight loss, you must pick fat free or reduced extra fat products. Beverage low-fat or read over whole milk, from the time the particular nutritive worth remains the exact same whilst reducing the particular calorie consumption considerably. If you fail to break down lactose, you can look at lactose-free whole milk or soy whole milk.

Greek yogurt is surely an amazing and attractive form of day-to-day green coffee weight loss weight loss. Non-fat Greek yogurt is a great substitution with regard to sour ointments. It may also be used for almost any frothy whole milk compound. Greek yogurt has numerous green coffee weight loss weight loss and fewer extra fat compared to beef.

Any time arranging meals as well as snack foods, it is very important carry on the proper proportions of your respective primary green coffee weight loss groups. An effective tactic will be fifty percent sugars, twenty percent green coffee weight loss weight loss, as well as Thirty percent extra fat.

Will be not enough period your frantic timetable holding you back consuming nicely? Try and cook your food in your house. This will make certain you have a great dinner every single night time.

Low-fat food will have green coffee weight loss or sweetening to give back flavor decrease of body fat reduction. Always determine what continues to be placed into food consume.

Nut products can certainly produce a great eating habits green coffee weight loss weight loss. Numerous organic and natural peanuts tend to be an excellent source of fiber as well as salty treat.

Utilize food all around the world. You could weary by consuming the exact same food because it may flavor uninteresting therefore transform and look at enough time.

Ideally start building several wholesome behavior utilizing the sensible actions a person learned the following towards being far more green coffee weight loss. It is important with green coffee weight loss is basically that you must keep specialized in see outcomes. Consequently, utilize these ideas in your life.

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Best Investments 2013: Buy the Philippines Top-Performing Emerging Market of Q1

While the Standard & Poor's 500 Index 10% first-quarter gain was great, it wasn't the world's best.

One of the standout performances in 2013's first quarter was in a market that's off many investors' radar screens: the Philippines.

The Philippine stock market, valued at about $236 billion, rose by 17.8% in the first quarter.

Money Morning's Global Investing Strategist Martin Hutchinson told us to invest in the Philippines back in November. Hutchinson said the BRICs - Brazil, Russia, India and China - are no longer the best investments for overseas growth. Instead, it's time to focus on the true rising stars in the emerging world, like the Philippines.

As Hutchinson says, "With the right emerging markets, real growth is easier than you think."

Here's why the Philippines is expected to continue this growth in Q2.

The Best Emerging Market of Q1

The Philippines has been on the rise ever since the election of Benigno Aquino as President in 2010. Aquino's policies - to boost spending while cutting the fiscal deficit and attacking corruption - have led to a boom in both consumption and investment in the Philippines.

Last year alone, the Philippine economy grew at a robust 6.6%, up from just 3.9% in 2011. Among its Asian peers, this puts it behind only China and Thailand.

The World Bank forecasts the Philippine economy to stay strong. It predicts growth of 6.2% this year and 6.4% in 2014.

In March, the country won its first ever investment grade rating from Fitch. The ratings agency raised the rating on Philippine government debt from BB+ to BBB-. It cited the country's resilient growth, strong fiscal management by the government ("governance reforms") and solid policies by its central bank to control inflation.

And according to the Financial Times, Fitch also said that the country's external balance sheet was similar to countries with an A rating rather than those with BB or BBB ratings. No surprise then that the Philippine peso is Asia's best performing currency over the past year, rising 5% versus the U.S. dollar.

The Philippines may receive another ratings upgrade sometime in the first half of this year from Standard & Poor's. In December, S&P raised its outlook of Philippine government debt from stable to positive. It cited the stability of the Aquino administration and the country's economic growth.

Currently, S&P has the country rated one notch below investment grade.

When the upgrade happens, it will allow fund managers that can only buy investment grade bonds to buy Philippine government debt. In anticipation of this event, traders have already pushed the country's benchmark 10-year government bond yield down from 4.7% last October to 3.5% now.

Best Investments to Play Philippine Growth

Asian fund managers remain positive on the market. The head of equity capital markets at Religare Capital Markets, John Sturmey, told Bloomberg News, "We are very bullish on the Philippines for this year and the following years."

Sturmey forecasts gains of 20%-30% for 2013.

Paul Joseph Garcia, fund manager at BPI Asset Management - the Philippines second-biggest fund manager - is also bullish. He sees the economy expanding at near a 7% rate in 2013.

Garcia also believes the index may gain 29% this year to the 7,500 level. If so, the value of the stock market, for the first time ever, will exceed the size of the economy.

U.S. investors can easily track the performance of the Philippine stock market through an exchange-traded fund, the iShares MSCI Philippines Investable Market Index ETF (NYSEArca: EPHE). It's up about 18% so far this year.

One cautionary note: it is an expensive market, trading at about 18 times projected 12-month earnings. But the profit potential of EPHE is huge.

In his 2013 Emerging Markets Forecast, Martin Hutchinson delivered two other economies he ranks among the best investments to play emerging market growth. You can get those economies' names here. Forget About the BRICs Buy These Rising Stars Instead

Via Money Morning

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China – Philippines slamming Anew over Chinese devil tongue strayed in ASEAN Shores

China slams Philippine bid to "legalize" occupation of islands

(Reuters) - China accused the Philippines on last week (April 26, 2013) of trying to legalize its occupation of islands in Kalayaan in the disputed West Philippines Sea and South China Sea, repeating that Beijing would never agree to international arbitration.

Frustrated with the slow pace of regional diplomacy, the Philippines in January angered China by asking a U.N. tribunal to order a halt to Beijing's activities that it said violated Philippine sovereignty over the islands, surrounded by potentially energy-rich waters 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone granted by UNCLOS..

Claims by an increasingly powerful China over most of the West Philippines Sea and South China Sea have set it directly against U.S. allies Vietnam and the Philippines. Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also claim parts of the waters and China has a separate dispute with Japan in the East China Sea.

Manila said on Thursday that a U.N. arbitration court had set up the tribunal which would hear Manila's complaint, but China said this was an attempt to steal Chinese territory.

"The Philippine side is trying to use this to negate China's territorial sovereignty and attach a veneer of 'legality' to its illegal occupation of Chinese islands and reefs," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

The Philippines must immediately withdraw personnel and facilities from the islands, the ministry added, listing those which it said Manila was occupying.

Manila asked the tribunal of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to order a halt to China's activities.

But the convention did not apply in this case as what the Philippines was actually asking for was a decision on sovereignty, the Chinese ministry said.

"China's refusal to accept the Philippines' request for arbitration has full grounding in international law," it said.

China had always believed that the two countries should resolve their dispute through direct talks, the ministry added.

The worry of the Philippines is china's inability to honor its word for bilateral talks as proven anew when both agreed to de-escalate the stand-off in Scarborough Shoal.

China and the Philippines agreed to remove their ships in the island which is within 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines to end the standoff but after Philippine Ship removal, china did not leave the island and in fact block all the passage of the Philippines and ram with Filipino fishermen killing 1.

The Philippines lost its confidence and trust to china anew after the incidents. The Scarborough Shoal now is virtually controlled by China with thousand of kilometers from its closest shore and around 2 hundred Kilometers from Luzon Island' biggest island in the Philippines.

Southeast Asian nations stepped up efforts on Thursday to engage China in talks to resolve maritime tensions, agreeing to meet to try to reach common ground on disputed waters ahead of planned discussions in Beijing later this year.

Efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to craft a code of conduct to manage South China Sea tensions all but collapsed last year at a summit chaired by Cambodia, a close economic ally of China, when the group failed to issue a closing statement for the first time. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Philippine Navy chief slams Chinese maneuvers in disputed sea

Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano said Chinese naval maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and use of non-military maritime vessels way beyond its coastlines to advance sovereignty claims to most of the sea were both "aggressive and excessive."

Alano, who was appointed Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy last December, met with Admiral Jonathan Greenert, chief of US Naval Operations, at the Pentagon on Thursday to discuss the security situation in the South China Sea and navy-to-navy issues.

News reports from China said the PLA Navy dispatched a large contingent of ships to circumnavigate the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea last month, a maneuver likened to marking Chinese territory.

Beijing's claim to the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea is based on its so-called nine-dash map which shows a U-shaped area encompassing most of the sea, including territories claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan which other known as "Devil's tongue strayed in the ASEAN Shore)

Alano will travel on Friday to North Charleston, South Carolina to inspect the second of two Coast Guard cutters that the Philippines has acquired from the US.

The 378-foot Hamilton-class vessel Dallas, rechristened BRP Ramon Alcaraz, is in the final stages of refurbishing and refitting and will soon join the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the first US Coast Guard cutter acquired by Manila in 2011 for duty in the West Philippine Sea.

Alcaraz was officially handed over to the Philippines in May 2012 and should have been operating in Philippine waters by now.

But unexpected technical problems and upgrades on the ship have caused some delays and Alano said he expected the Alcaraz to set sail for the Philippines around the third week of June.

He said Alcaraz has been fitted with two new secondary guns – fully automated Mk 38 25mm bushmaster cannons – and a modern radar system. The Gregorio del Pilar will be fitted with similar new cannons.

A complement of 88 Filipino officers and crew under the command of Capt. Ernesto Baldovino have been living aboard the Alcaraz while it has been undergoing repairs to familiarize themselves with all the technical, mechanical and computerized aspects of the ship.

They will be joined by a six-member technical working group including training evaluation experts scheduled to arrive from Manila next month to give the vessel and crew the final go ahead to cross the Pacific to its new home in the Philippines.

In an interview with The STAR on his arrival in Washington on Wednesday, Alano said the prestige of the Philippine Navy was on the rise because of the acquisition of new firepower and the due recognition it was receiving from the government and the public.

Morale was high, more graduates of the Philippine Military Academy were opting for naval careers and the service was attracting more interest from recruits with technical and computer skills, he said.

The Philippines last year expressed an interest in acquiring a third Hamilton class Coast Guard ship but is not now actively pursuing it.

Alano said given the current exigencies to create a credible maritime defense force, interest has shifted to purchasing new vessels and helicopters to extend the range of these vessels.

He said the Philippines was looking at proposals from several countries for two new 2,000-ton frigates with full surface and anti-air and anti-submarine capabilities.

It was also interested in acquiring strategic sealift vessels to give the Navy the capability to transport heavy cargo and large numbers of troops.

The Philippines was also in negotiations for the acquisition of three AW109 lightweight helicopters built by the Anglo-Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland which can be used for medevac (medical evacuation), search-and-rescue and military roles.

"We should receive them by next year," Alano said.

Additionally, he said the Navy has received six Philippine-made multi-purpose attack craft and more are being programmed for acquisition.

With reports from Reuters and philSTAR

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13 Million Hectares Benham Rise belongs to the Philippines, UN Approved!

Effective year 2012, the Philippines have augmented its area into 43 Million hectares from 30 Million hectares.

The United Nations has approved the Philippines' territorial claim to Benham Rise, an undersea landmass in the Pacific Ocean potentially rich in mineral and natural gas deposits, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said.

"We own Benham Rise now," Paje said in a media interview. "This is for future Filipinos," he added, noting that the 13-million-hectare area off the coast of Aurora province has been shown to have rich mineral deposits.

Paje said the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) sent the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) a letter last week informing the agency that the landmass is part of the country's continental shelf and territory.

Benham Rise, a seismically active region facing Luzon's eastern seaboard, is rising slowly to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, Paje said. Perhaps, in a million years—a blink in the planet's geological time—it will be habitable, he said.

Larger than Luzon

The plateau is a massive formation of basalt, a common volcanic rock, and is within coordinates 119°30'E to 132°00'E and 12°10'N to 20°30'N latitude.

Paje said Benham Rise, named after an American surveyor, is larger in area than Luzon. It has been shown to have natural gas deposits and manganese nodules, vital in the production of steel, he added.

Despite Benham's proximity to the Philippines and its location within the country's exclusive economic zone, the government did not claim it until 2008. Then, the next year, the government submitted a formal claim to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Philippine submission noted that the country reserves the right to submit further claims in the area.

The Philippines is the sole claimant of Benham Rise. The country is currently embroiled in territorial disputes over several islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

China and the Philippines are feuding over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, 220 kilometers (124 nautical miles) west of Zambales province.

The Philippines and some of its Southeast Asian neighbors are also disputing with China and Taiwan ownership of parts of Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.

The Spratlys are believed to be sitting on vast deposits of minerals and natural gas, in an area spanned by sea lanes vital to global trade.

IN THE KNOW

BENHAM RISE is a 13-million-hectare undersea region that lies east of Luzon and off the provinces of Isabela and Aurora.

Also known as Benham Plateau, it is a massive formation of basalt, a common volcanic rock, and is described in a study as a thickened portion of the Philippine sea plate's oceanic crust.

The formation lies within the continental shelf of the Philippines as defined by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), under which a coastal state's exclusive economic zone extends 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) from its continental shelf, while its extended continental shelf extends for another 278 km (150 nautical miles).

Benham Rise is not subject to any maritime boundary disputes and claims.

Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have indicated large deposits of methane in solid form in the area.

In August last year, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje announced that the Philippines will gain additional territory should the United Nations approve the country's claim to Benham, which the country submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in New York on April 8, 2009.

According to Paje, an American geologist, Andrew Benham, discovered the area, which was between 40 meters and 2,000 meters below the waterline, in 1933. Paje said gas deposits in the area would enable the country to achieve energy sufficiency.

Benham Rise was found off the coast of Aurora province, Northeastern part of Luzon Island and is part of the Philippine continental shelf and its 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone. With just the Pacific Ocean to the east, Hawaii is probably the next closest island.

Benham Rise, also known as Benham Plateau, is a 13-million hectare undersea region east of Luzon. It is enclosed by the coordinates 119°30'E to 132°00'E and 12°10'N to 20°30'N latitude.

The plateau is a massive formation of basalt, a common volcanic rock, and is described in a study as a thickened portion of the Philippine Sea plate's oceanic crust.

Another research notes the similarity of the shape of Benham Rise to the sharp bend of the Luzon coastline, which suggests the sea floor's resistance to subduction (the process by which one plate on the earth's crust is pushed downward beneath another plate because of collision) that may have affected the Philippine fault.

Paje said the undersea region, called Benham Rise, could turn the Philippines into a natural gas exporter because of the area's huge methane deposits.

Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the past five years indicate large deposits of methane in solid form, Paje said after a Senate budget hearing.

The government is only awaiting a formal declaration from the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Benham Rise is on the country's continental shelf and therefore part of its territory, Paje said.

Philippines Legal basis of Expansion

Since the UN approved that Benham Rise is part of the Philippines, "we would have legal basis to enter into exploration agreements with private companies to explore… (the area's) resources," said Sen. Franklin Drilon, chair of the chamber's finance committee.

After this favorable UNCLOSs declaration, the Philippines territory area augmented from 30 million hectares in 2011 into 43 million hectares effective year 2012 with the inclusion of Benham Rise.

Davide submission 2009

Hilario Davide, then Philippine ambassador to the United Nations, filed the country's partial submission with the commission.

The United Nations says the continental shelf is "the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea" up to 370 km (200 nautical miles) from the archipelagic baseline. An extended continental shelf goes farther than 370 km.

The Philippines claims that Benham Rise is an extension of its continental shelf.

Paje said Benham Rise was within the country's 370-km exclusive economic zone.

American geologist

The environment secretary said an American geologist surnamed Benham discovered the area that was between 40 and 2,000 meters below the waterline in 1933.

"But we are able to define categorically that it is attached to our continental shelf only recently. We have proven (to) UNCLOS that it is attached. So now the UN is considering it for decision sometime in 2012," Paje said.

He said gas deposits in the area would enable the country to achieve energy sufficiency.

"Benham Rise is very relevant because of its gas deposits (which has been) confirmed particularly by (the) National Mapping Resource Information Agency. It has given us the data that (the area) contains solid methane. We have not explored it but we have found nodules of methane in the surface and this is very important to us," he said.

Kalayaan, Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal)

The Kalayaan Island Group, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, both located in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) and claimed by the Philippines, are also believed to contain oil and natural gas.

Paje said there was the possibility that the country could export gas in the future.

The secretary added that there would be a demand for gas deposits in Benham Rise "because it's much cleaner than (other) fossil fuels."

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Why Extremely Poor in the Philippines keeps rising in spite of Fastest Economic Growth in Asia?

Analysts and even the Philippine government said "The effect of this Economic growth could not be experience by the poor" in an overnight which means maybe tomorrow everyone will enjoy a better life but could it be possible, when could it happen?

The Philippine government since the Arroyo administration introduced the easy "Band Aid" solution for the poor through a "direct cash transfer programme" which is known as "Pantawid Program". The same system is followed by the Aquino Administration but how effective is the Pantawid program?

There is a sayings "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

The pantawid program is good but it is not a long and lasting solution to end the poverty in the Philippines.

While other neighbors are enjoying thousands of dollars remittance from the "OFW" abroad, other neighbors on the other hand are continuously suffering hunger and living below the standards which we could consider as "extremely poor".

Do you think that it is right that Tax payers are paying their taxes to the government and would just be distributed to the poor families for their basic needs for one day then tomorrow the same problem again?

There seems to be a paradox in the present Philippine situation with a large number of Filipinos still mired in extreme poverty amidst an economic growth that is among the fastest in the region.

On Tuesday, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), a government agency, announced that the poverty incidence in the Philippines stood at 27.9 percent in the first semester of 2012, practically unchanged from the same period in 2009, which was 28.6 percent, and in 2006 which was 28.8 percent.

The NSCB data show that 10 percent of the country's population of about 97 million is still living below the poverty level.

In a briefing, NSCB Secretary General Jose Ramon Albert said that during the first semester of 2012, a Filipino family of five needed 5,458 Philippine pesos (136 U.S. dollars) monthly to meet basic food needs.

"Families earning that amount were considered to be living in extreme poverty," Albert said.

After the bad news, that was bannered by leading Manila newspapers, came the good news on Wednesday when Moody's Analytics described the Philippines as a "rising star" poised to record one of the fastest growth rates in the world.

Moody's Analytics said that the Philippines is likely to grow between 6.5 and 7 percent this year and within the same range next year, "outperforming not only the anemic advanced economies but also many robustly growing emerging markets."

It also said that if favorable economic trends continue, the growth rate for the Philippines could be close to 8 percent by 2016.

Earlier, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank also upped their growth forecast for the Philippines this year to 6 percent.

Moody's Analytics, a sister company of credit rating watchdog Moody's Investor Service, said the country's 6.6 percent growth in 2012 was achieved despite weak growth in the United States, a crisis in the eurozone and a slowdown in China.

On March 27, the Philippines also obtained its first-ever investment-grade rating from Fitch Ratings.

On a similar vein, international credit rating firm Standard & Poor's has raised its growth forecast for the Philippines for this year from 5.9 to 6.5 percent. At the same time, it said the economy was expected to post another robust growth of 6.3 percent in 2014.

"The ASEAN 5 - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - are more domestically driven and, therefore, continue to enjoy relatively high and stable growth rates. This is not the case elsewhere," S&P said.

The paradox of continuing poverty amidst strong growth has been explained by analysts here.

Norio Usui, ADB senior country economist, said that the government must solve the problem of jobless growth if it hoped to reduce poverty.

"I am not surprised at all. The benefits of strong economic growth have not spilled over to the people because they still cannot find a job," Usui was quoted as saying in a report.

In January 2013 jobless rate stood at 7.1 percent, with a further 20.9 percent underemployed or those working fewer than 40 hours a week. About 41.8 percent of the underemployed are in the farming sector.

Professor Benjamin Diokno of the University of the Philippines School of Economics said that the strong economic growth in 2010 and 2012 "were not enough to extricate a lot of people from the poverty trap."

Sen. Ralph Recto, chairman of the ways and means committee of the Philippine Senate, said that only the rich and the educated have benefited from the infrastructure projects of the government and not the poor and uneducated.

"This led to income inequality with the rich getting richer and the poor poorer," Recto said.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the challenge now is to spur growth in agriculture to create more jobs, increase production and ensure that the production translates to a greater income for farmers since the bulk of the population was still in the agricultural sector.

Lacierda noted that private investments had increased, and that public infrastructure spending in 2012 was around 250 billion pesos (6.25 billion U.S. dollars).

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it hoped to see improved results given new investments in infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing.

"Although this first semester result on poverty incidence is not the dramatic result we wanted, we remain hopeful that, with the timely measures we are now implementing, the next rounds of poverty statistics will give much better results," NEDA Director General and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said at a briefing.

With reports from Wall Street Journal, Inquirer, Malaya and philSTAR

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Wikileaks: US says Mindanao has $1 Trillion Dollar untapped mineral resources

Leaked diplomatic documents in Wikileaks showed the United States has a special interest in the natural resources in Mindanao and the ending of the armed conflict in the region, giving credence to a suspicion that the United States is prodding the Aquino administration’s peace efforts with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), including brokering the recent secret meeting between MILF spokesman Al Haj Murad and President Aquino.

Mindanao; The Land of Promise!

Wikileaks obtained documents dated February 2006 or prior to the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) on Aug. 5, 2008 showing extensive reference to the untapped rich mineral resources of Mindanao and tensions in the region which hinder the exploitation of these resources.

The leaked cable from the US embassy in Manila made particular reference to the so-called Liguasan Marsh in the Cotabato Basin spanning 288,000 hectares and is among areas controlled by the MILF.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has already identified natural gas and oil deposits in three areas of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago: the Cotabato Basin, the Davao-Agusan Basin; and an area straddling Tawi-Tawi and Sulu. The Cotabato Basin, notably, includes the 288,000 hectare Liguasan Marsh, straddling the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudurat, according to the cable.

It stated that this “swamp/marsh — which is an officially declared bird sanctuary and game refuge — remains an important MILF stronghold, home to an estimated 280,000 Muslims, and an area where members of the terrorist Jemaah Islamiya (JI) have historically conducted training and sought refuge.”

It detailed the several roadblocks the government faces in exploiting Liguasan Marsh particularly what it called as “competing land ownership claims.”

The cable recounted the clan of former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zacaria Candao staking a claim to 40 percent of the Liguasan Marsh, while other clans, including the Mangudadatus and Pendatuns, have claimed at least 50 per cent ownership.

It also stated that MILF vice-chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jafaar as referring to the Liguasan Marsh as a “legacy from our forefathers” adding that the Bangsamoro people would not part with their lands in the marsh.

“The MILF has created the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) to lead, manage, and determine developmental efforts, including in the Liguasan Marsh,” it added.

It said separately, the Maguindanao tribe, which is the predominant indigenous and largely Muslim ethnic group living in and around the Liguasan Marsh, considers the marsh as part of its own ancestral domain.

The cable added that the Maguindanao-based clan of the deceased Salipada Pendatun, the first Muslim to serve as a general in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has also claimed ownership over the entire Liguasan Marsh by virtue of an original land title.

“Though Pendatun’s daughter and legal heir, Bai Monera Pendatun, has said the Pendatun clan is open to sharing the marsh with others, she has opposed any amendment to the law that would allow titling of lands within the marsh,” it added.

It stated that the head of the Alamada clan, Rebecca Dilagalan Alamada Buan, has separately claimed 14,000 hectares in North Cotabato Province, near the borders of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur. “Meanwhile, the Ampatuan clan, led by Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan and ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, politically dominate the region, also including most of the mayors of the 11 municipalities of Maguindanao, eight municipalities of North Cotabato, and one municipality of Sultan Kudurat that encompass the Liguasan Marsh,” it added.

The intercepted cable was transmitted long before the Maguindanao massacre in 2009 where 51 people were slain over an election-related dispute and in which the Ampatuan clan is suspected of having carried out.

The cable said the Philippines National Oil Company (PNOC) began exploring for oil and natural gas in the Liguasan Marsh area in 1994 under Geophysical Survey and Exploration Contract (GSEC) 73, which covered all of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudurat, Sarangani, Davao, and Bukidnon provinces of Mindanao.

It added that Malaysia’s national oil company, Petronas, partnered with the PNOC for the exploration of the marshland.

“By the late 1990’s, they had located natural gas and/or oil in five sites, including Datu Piang (Dulawan) and Sultan Sa Barongis in Maguindanao and Lambayong in Sultan Kudurat.

According to the PNOC, the estimated natural gas deposits in Sultan Sa Barongis alone would be enough to fuel a 60-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant for 20 years.

“The PNOC had hoped to use this gas to support the power requirements of Mindanao as well as for industrial applications. However, the PNOC and Petronas suspended operations in the Liguasan Marsh area due to threats from the MILF and extortion by local mayors and political warlords,” it added.

It cited incomplete data and unconfirmed reports that the Philippines may have untapped mineral wealth worth between $840 billion and $1 trillion.

It said the US Geological Survey hopes soon to conduct a more comprehensive survey of minerals, with funding from the Philippine government.

A special advisor on the GRP-MILF Peace Process in the Office of the President recently described Mindanao in particular as “a treasure trove” of mineral resources, including gold, copper, nickel, manganese, chromites, silver, lead, zinc, and iron ore, it added.

It cited data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau that up to 70 per cent of the Philippines’ mineral resources may be in Mindanao.

“Interest has grown significantly since a December 2004 decision by the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Mining Act. Companies that are up to 100 per cent foreign owned may now pursue investments in large-scale exploration and development of minerals, oil, and gas. As of early 2006, there were 23 mining projects nationwide,” it added.

Multinational firms are already eyeing areas in Mindanao for possible projects, it said.

The cable stressed that despite official optimism over a final GRP-MILF peace agreement by the end of 2006, disputes over land and natural resources, clan conflicts (locally called “rido”), and tensions between Muslims and Christians will remain important undercurrents and challenges to peace and development in Mindanao.

“Diffusing such tensions will be a major challenge for the GRP-MILF peace process during the years ahead, requiring careful governance and significant amounts of foreign assistance,” it said.

Malacañang had repeatedly denied the participation of the United States government in the meeting between Aquino and Murad in Tokyo but it had refused to reveal details about the two-hour meeting.

Murad, meanwhile, expressed hopes that the government peace panel could submit its counter-proposal in the ongoing peace negotiations during the resumption of formal talks in Malaysia on Monday.

“We hope that the Philippine Peace Panel shall finally submit its draft of the political compact and so that we can start the discussion on substantial agenda,” said Murad.

Murad was upbeat over the resumption of the peace talks with the government of the Philippines (GPH) following the Aug. 4 “secret” meeting between him and President Aquino in Tokyo, Japan.

Formal talks between the MILF and GPH peace panels will resume in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 22 to 24.

“That meeting in Japan was a significant breakthrough, a landmark progress and development for the peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF,” Murad stressed.

The MILF chairman pointed out the government and MILF agreed to fast track the ongoing peace process and negotiation.

Murad said that it is important to note that MILF saw in President Aquino the commitment and determination to resolve the conflict within his administration.

“For us in the MILF leadership, we want to solve the problem during our time,” said Murad.

During the “secret” meeting, Murad personally brought up the MILF’s proposed Bangsamoro sub-state which would share power with the national government.

The MILF admitted that the proposed sub-state is just a “reframed” version of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2008.

The peace process between the government and MILF started in 1997 with the ultimate objective of solving the conflict in Mindanao and the Bangsamoro legitimate aspiration for identity, homeland, self-governance and right to self-determination.

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WikiLeaks: Libya used Sabah to arm Moro rebels in Southern Philippines

Sabah had played a big role in the rise of the Muslim secessionist movement in Mindanao in the 1970s when it was used as conduit in the smuggling of arms from Libya to southern Philippines, according to declassified cables published by WikiLeaks.

According to two cables, former Sabah chief minister Tun Mustapha facilitated the arms smuggling from Libya, then ruled by military dictator Muammar Gaddafi, to Mindanao to arm Moro rebels there in the hope that it will force the Philippines to abandon its claim to Sabah.

A cable dated April 17, 1976, quoted then-Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad as saying that it was “no secret” that his predecessor, Mustapha, supplied arms to Philippine guerrillas.

“He said it was no secret that his predecessor, former chief minister Tun Mustapha, had been running guns and money from Libya's Gaddafi to the Philippine guerrillas,” according to the secret cable written by an unnamed American Embassy official in Kuala Lumpur.

The official reported that “assistance has been provided to Filipino Muslim insurgents directly by Mustapha, by Libya and perhaps other Arab countries through Mustapha, and there is evidence of GOM (Government of Malaysia) agencies collaborating with Mustapha.”

The official added that Mustapha seemed to have resorted to arms smuggling following reports that then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was training Muslims to invade Sabah, a disputed territory. This project failed and eventually led to the killing of 68 to 200 young Moros on March 18, 1968, an event now known as the Jabidah Massacre.

“(Government of Malaysia's) involvement in the southern Philippines was triggered by evidence in 1968-89 that president Marcos was training Muslims for infiltration of Sabah (the Jabidah affair),” according to the cable.

The official also said the Sabah government would not stop arms smuggling unless Marcos gives up the Sabah claim.

“The mission feels that while present Kuala Lumpur government may be less inclined to condone direct assistance to Moro rebels, the government of Malaysia (Mustapha) will not give up possibility of extending such assistance until President Marcos publicly and categorically abandons Philippine claim to Sabah,” according to the cable.

Upon finding out about Marcos' plan to invade Sabah, Malaysia allegedly conspired with Moro secessionist groups to distract the Philippines from the Sabah claim, said Abraham Idjirani, spokesperson of the Jamalul Kiram III's sultanate whose forces are fighting against Malaysian authorities in their stake for the land.

Sabah then instigated an "arms shipping" from Libya to Sulu, Palawan and Mindanao to arm a group of young Moro soldiers which came to be known as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), he added.

After MNLF co-opted with the Philippine government, Sabah then veered their arms shipments to a breakaway group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Idjirani claimed. The MNLF signed a peace pact with the government in 1996. On the other hand, the MILF is now conducting exploratory talks on the peace process in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"The arm shipments were done to augment the power capacity of the MNLF in fighting against Philippine government. When they co-opted with the Philippine government, they now encouraged the MILF to fight against Philippine government," Idjirani said in a phone interview.

"It is Malaysia who created the Mindanao conflict so that the Philippine government could not focus their attention in pursuing their claim to Sabah," he added.

Reached for a reaction, MILF peace panel chairperson Mohagher Iqbal said he does not want to comment on a "very delicate issue."

As of posting time, GMA News Online was still awaiting for a response on our e-mailed query from the Malaysian Embassy in the Philippines.

Another cable detailing the meeting between former Indonesian ambassador Sjarif Thajeb in a meeting with US State Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Marshal Green mentioned reports that the Indonesian government invited Sabah's Mustapha “in order to persuade him to stop supporting Muslim insurgents in Southern Philippines.”

The Indonesian ambassador was then under the “view that problem would be resolved if GOP (Government of the Philippines) renounced its claim to Sabah, but observed that this view (is) 'not yet' communicated to GOP,” according to the cable dated March 10, 1973. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab/KBK/RSJ, GMA News

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Huawei Echolife BM622m MAC Changer

The Huawei Echolife BM622m 4G WiMAX CPE Broadband wireless modem router is the successor of BM622i a device from Shenzen, mainland of China a leading electronics manufacturing company that supplies to Telco's ISP like Globe Telecom.

Not to mention the previous disaster have been faced by the 4G Telecom ISP due to their suppliers vulnerable CPE (e.g. Huawei Echolife BM621, BM622, BM622i and BM625) and likewise the systems of lack system security who's prone to be spoof by their terminated legal subscribers that gain free internet access.

Seemingly, another 4G WiMAX CPE model BM622m have just released from Huawei Technologies for Globe Telecom ISP as supposed to be more secured than the previous one but failed as according to this video in action courtesy of YouTube the weaknesses revealed by the video uploader see the proof.

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Zhang Ziyi and Bo Xilai Paid Sex Scandal Video?

Zhang Ziyi, the beautiful actress from "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," is demanding an apology from the Apple and all the other "news" outlets that reported that she played a part in the sex scandal involving Chinese politician Bo Xilai.

Zhang reportedly had been paid for sex with Xilai 10 times between 2007 and 2011, and had earned more 700 million yuan ($110 million) by sleeping with other senior party officials.

However, the 32-year-old Chinese actress has denied allegations that she was paid to have sexual intercourse with the former Chinese politician in numerous occasions and planning to sue Hong Kong's Apple Daily News for bringing out these false report.

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5.5 Million Child Laborers in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has about 5.5 million child laborers (from five to 17 years old) with nearly three million of them doing hazardous tasks, a 2011 survey on children release by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed.

Globally, there are 215 million child laborers, with half of them doing hazardous work, according to the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO).

Hazardous child labor is defined as being likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals by its nature or circumstances. Children may be directly exposed to obvious work hazards such as sharp tools or poisonous chemicals.

Other hazards for child laborers may be less apparent, such as the risk of abuse or problems resulting from long hours of work. Hazardous work is considered as one of the worst forms of child labor.

According to the ILO World Report on Child Labor, the number of child laborers worldwide already fell by some 30 million.

The root of child labor is directly linked to poverty and lack of decent and productive work.

The ILO report estimates that more than five billion people, or around 75 percent of the global population, do not have effective access to comprehensive social protection.

“The figures largely contribute to the vast numbers of child laborers around the world, including the 115 million involved in the worst forms of child labor, such as debt bondage and prostitution, and 15.5 million involved in domestic work,” it said.

Meanwhile, the ILO study noted that cash transfer schemes are influencing the number of child labor or poverty incidences.

The extensive evidence of cash transfer schemes indicates that they lower child labor but that the magnitude of their impact varies substantially from on program and location to the next.

“In no instances, however, are they successful in eliminating child labor altogether, underscoring that cash transfers alone are not a complete policy response to child labor,” the study said.

Cash transfer schemes coupled with supply-side interventions, such as provision of health and education facilities and/or after-school education, seem to be have greater impact, it noted.

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Talkatone: Talk and Text for Free Review

There are many apps that claim to allow you to talk and text for free. After doing some heavy research, I have come to the conclusion that Talkatone is the best option available. Below is a comprehensive review of this app.

Developers description: Unlimited FREE calls, texts and picture sharing to [...] any phone number in US & Canada.

Setting up: You must have or obtain a Google number which is absolutely free. It doesn't take long and is very easy. Go to Google’s website and select more -> even more -> Voice to get your free number. Be sure to follow all rules so you don’t have any problems using the app. When it requests a phone number, use any number that you can answer and punch in their verification code. You also want to go to voice settings->phone and have calls forwarded to Google chat and under voicemail & text have texts forwarded to your email address. This must be done on a desktop computer.

Talkatone automatically brings your contacts over to their dialer which i found very convenient. The app uses your Google number to make VoIP (voice over internet protocol) calls. All calls I made went through with no problem. I was able to call others who had Talkatone and i was able to call mobile and landline phones. Only a select few VoIP apps allow you to make calls to regular phone numbers. Most of them only allow you to make and receive calls from other people who also have their app. That ends their chances of truly replacing a carrier’ but Talkatone gets it right!

What sets this app apart from other voip apps is the ability to receive phone calls on your Google number. It works by forwarding the call from your Google number to your cell phone. This app doesn't use any of your minutes. It makes and receives calls via your 3g/4g service or over a WiFi network.

Talkatone also allows you to text from your Google number. You can even send pics. It also uses your data or a WiFi service to send texts. When you send a pic in a text, it sends a link to the recipient, not the pic. Once you press the link, it takes you straight to the pic and you can view it and save it to your phone from there. The texts went out and came in with no problems. It doesn't use any of your text messages from your carrier’s plan.

When you receive a text you will also receive an email. This was very annoying but i figured out a workaround. Do not sign up with a Google acct that is attached to your phone. If you must, disable the notification or deal with receiving 2 notifications for 1 text.

TALKATONE TURNED MY IPAD INTO A PHONE!

Oh Yes: I TRULY turned my iPad into a phone. The developers’ description was accurate and you CAN make free calls & texts and receive free calls & texts from mobile, landline and voip apps. I have a voip subscription and a paid voip app that i no longer use because of Talkatone, which is free. All features work like a charm. You can even change the ringtones, “textones” and wallpapers.

Oh No: Call quality was below average. There was a noticeable light static. It wasnt so bad that i wouldnt use it but it definitely needs an improvement. They do have settings that you can adjust to help but it didnt work for me. There were no dropped calls to report.

This app is a winner and it is certified for Newbies. Whether you want to use it to in case you run out of your regular minutes/texts or you want to use that spare phone/tablet and turn it into a phone, do yourself a favor and download it.

Price: Free

Platform: Download now: iOS , Android and rumored to be coming to Blackberry soon.

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Truphone Snap Review

Truphone is a mobile VoIP service that allows users to make cheap local and international calls from their mobile phones. Calls between Truphone users are free. Truphone has cheap rates as strong point, but the service is also quite limited, mainly in terms of phone models it works on. Truphone service targets iPhone users, BlackBerry users and also those using high-end business phones or smart phones. Truphone is one of the first services to offer VoIP for the iPhone. It also brings VoIP to BlackBerry, which has somewhat been left apart by other VoIP services.

The rates are relatively low. Calls start for as low as 6 cents per minute, and prices hover around that for a set of common locations, known as the Tru Zone; but prices may go up to above a dollar for remote locations. For heavy international mobile callers, this can represent a save of around 80%. Truphone's rates are not the lowest on the mobile VoIP market - there are services that charge as low as 1 cent per minute, but these services have some rather consequent initial investments, such as a device or a monthly subscription. Truphone operates mainly on a pay-as-you-go basis - you top up and control your credit through their web site. This makes it therefore very competitive.

Truphone Anywhere allows you to use the service even outside a Wi-Fi hotspot, using your GSM network partly, the cost including the Truphone cost and that of the local GSM call. This small price addition gives perfect mobility anywhere.

The American TruSaver bundle gives 1000 minutes for calls to the US and Canada for $15. Anyone in the world can register for this bundle, but they can only make calls to the US and Canada with it. That's 1.5 cents a minute, but only if you use all of the 1000 minutes a month. Monthly leftovers are gone.

Guide Review

To get started with Truphone, visit their site, where you select your country and enter your phone number. You will be sent an SMS containing your download link, through which you will download the application on your compatible mobile itself and install it there. Once installed, you are already able to make a first free call with the free dollar credit you get. You can then carry on with your account for topping up credits. The installation process is really simple and easy. Using the application is also quite easy.

The Truphone application installed on your mobile phone integrates the phone well and works alongside the mobile user's GSM service. The application is kind of smartly versatile - in case you are out of Wi-Fi connection, you are asked whether to use your GSM service or that of Truphone for making calls and sending SMS.

If you are within a Wi-Fi hotspot, your phone uses the Internet connection to make and receive calls through the Truphone application. If you have no Internet connection, Truphone uses a mechanism called Truphone Anywhere, whereby your call is channelled partly through your GSM network until it reaches an Internet access point, from where it is routed to your callee over the Internet.

Truphone has been the first to develop an application and service for the iPhone, so most iPhone users who want to save money on phone calls have to consider it as a first option. Using VoIP over BlackBerry isn't very common as well, and as I am writing this, very few ways of doing so exist. Truphone service for BlackBerry comes to fill a large gap.

On the other hand, users of 'normal' (not to say low-end) mobile phones cannot use Truphone service as only very few models are supported. At the time I am writing this, only iPhone, BlackBerry and Nokia phones are supported. Would you believe they don't have an application for Sony Ericsson? Moreover, only a very small subset of phone models in each of these makes are listed in the service's list of supported devices. The supported phones are mostly business phones, like the Nokia E and N series. The Truphone web site says they are working hard on including other phone models into their list. So keep checking, specially if you have a high-end phone like a Sony Ericsson, HTC or Google phone.

In terms of connectivity, Truphone is limited to Wi-Fi. There is no support for 3G, GPRS or EDGE networks. But 3G support is coming soon.

The Cost

Calls through Wi-Fi between Truphone users are free and unlimited. Charges apply when you make calls to other landline and mobile phones.

Pros

• Cheap mobile international rates
• Usability everywhere, even where there is no Internet connection
• Easy to install and use
• Free calls between Truphone users, using Wi-Fi or 3G
• Works for iPhone and BlackBerry
• Possibility to make cheap calls even outside a Wi-Fi hotspot and without a data plan

Cons

• Service only supports a few high-end phones
• Does not on wireless networks other than Wi-Fi

Bottom Line

Given the fact that Truphone favors sophisticated phones like the iPhone, BlackBerry and Nokia N and E series phones, I am tempted to say it is a niche VoIP service. But it seems they realized that they are leaving out the great majority of mobile users to the competition. On ther other side, the so-far-deprived will surely find it too bad, thinking of the strong points of this service and specially its low rates. So watch out for considerable improvements in this good service. Via About.com Vendor Site

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Viber iOS Review

A few months back, I was introduced to an app on the iOS platform called Viber, developed by Viber Media Inc. It’s a free download from the Apple App Store, and not a lot people use it or even know about it. Which is a surprise really, since this app is a smart-phone owner’s dream: it lets you make free calls and send free text messages from your phone!

The app is a small download (at just under 13 MB), and is totally free on the App Store. It has multi-language support. Currently, Viber is only available on the iOS and Android platforms.

The best thing about the app is that it integrates with your OS perfectly. It supports multitasking as well, and we’ll get to those features in a bit.

Once installed, the app asks for your location and phone number. It then sends you an activation code via SMS (works worldwide, provided you entered a legit phone number) which you have to enter on the next page. After this, the app asks for permission to access your phonebook. Allow it to do so. Upon initialization, you’ll be taken straight to its contacts tab, where you’re in for a nice surprise.

Viber works in a way that’s different from all other such VoIP apps. With Viber, usernames and passwords are a thing of the past! Viber uses your phone number as your username, freeing you off making user IDs, remembering passwords and logging in every time you want to use the app. It’s such a wonderfully simple concept! And that’s just the beginning. Once Viber accesses your phonebook, it scans it for cellphone numbers and matches them with its own database to provide you with a list of people, from your very own phonebook, using Viber. I mean how neat is that!

What you end up with then, is a separate list of all your contacts using Viber. You can send them a text message for free, or call them up for free of course, using the app.

Like I mentioned before, the integration with your OS is seamless. The calling method and appearance on the iPhone is exactly the same as it is when you use the native iPhone ‘Phone’ app. The only difference being that Viber uses its purple theme for everything. Ditto for texting, the interface looks EXACTLY like a purple-version of the iPhone’s native Messaging app, uses the same display to show conversation and to write a new text, and even has the same conversation window. Each text message that you send out comes with a delivery status as well. There’s also the option to attach an image from the iPhone’s library with your text message.

The calling also works pretty much the same way, you tap on a contact from your ‘Viber’ list. From there you can make a free call to him or her using Viber, send a free text message, or even call them using GSM from here.

The app’s interface is brilliant, and uses the same tabular look that comes with almost all iPhone apps. The tab bar on the bottom has tabs for messages, recent calls, contact, the keypad and a button for accessing more options.

When you receive a call or a text, Viber alerts you in pretty much the exact same way that the iPhone Phone and Messages app alerts you. For messages, a window pops-up (or you get a notification in the notification bar if you’re on iOS5), and for a call, the phone rings and the purple background of the display lets you know that you’re being called over Viber. The app also has the ability to send you push notifications for when one of your contacts starts using Viber.

I’ve been using Viber since a while now, and I’ve got to say, the sound quality has always been top-notch, even though I get the worst speeds on EDGE, thanks to my service provider. It’s quite frankly, amazing how Viber is able to keep the quality good despite the slow speed.

Like mentioned above, it runs in the background on your multitasking-enabled phone, so it works as sort of an alternative to your actual phone, only it’s free! ‘Free’ however often means ads, you might be pleased to know that I couldn’t find a single ad of any kind in the app. The only downside is that there’s no video option with this app. And while it might not be always useful, it doesn’t hurt having the security of putting the iPhone 4’s front-facing camera to use and switching to video-chat mode. I do hope they add this feature in the upcoming iterations.

This has to be, hands-down, one of the ‘must-have’ apps out there. It’s all totally one-hundred percent free: the app itself costs nothing, calling costs nothing and text messaging costs nothing. It does however use your data, so keep a watch out if you’re using it on EDGE or 3G. Works all over the globe, with anyone from anywhere in the world! You can use Viber to keep in touch with friends, or make free international calls and/or text messages using this. Get it here for free, right now!

What do you like about Viber? Let me know in the comments below!

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Installing Virtual Hard Disk on Windows 7

Nowadays, with the virtual machine technology, quite few things have changed. Microsoft is a dedicated follower of this technology having products like Virtual server and Virtual PC. With the help of this technology, users can now install operating system. All they need is a Virtual Hard Disk. The only limitation of using virtual technology in this process is that it does not allow users to access all the hardware like wireless, graphics and USB.

Windows 7 users can install the complete OS on one VHD file, before booting the computer. This enables the OS to originally run on the external hardware, which allows developers and administrators to try out various kinds of system configurations.

This also ensure that the user’s computer is no way impacted, thus minimizing all kinds of risks. This also facilitates in working constructively on the virtual disk without degrading your performance.

Before you initiate this procedure, it is recommended that you take a backup for all your important data like photos, business documents and others. This is important, as once the data is lost, it is quite difficult to retrieve it and there are chances that you might not get it back. You could store the information in any external hard drive or on a USB. You’ll also need to make free space of about 6 GB on your system, in order to install more applications if required.

Installing Windows 7 by using a virtual hard disk process

1. First step involves booting of the system. The users can either use a DVD or USB pen drive. As soon as the external device is connected to the main computer, ‘Install Now’ option pops up. It is recommended that you do not click on it and go to the command prompt mode by pressing shift-F10.
2. Once the command window crops up, you type the command Diskpart and click on Enter. The next step is to make a fresh VHD file. This is done by typing the following command.
3. Make vdisk file in path”D:\ToVhd.vhd” and then type expandable maximum and maxsizeInMegabyte
4. The next step involves adding a new VHD file to the physical disk in use, which can be done by keying in the command ‘attach vdisk’. Once this process has been completed, the user can exit from the command prompt, in order to proceed with installing of Windows 7 OS normally.
5. After the installation is complete, reboot boot the system. Once the system restarts, you’ll notice two Windows 7 copies in your system’s boot loader. Each of the instances has a specific description, and in order to change them, you could access the prompt command as an Administrator.
6. In the prompt command, you’ll need to type bcdedit /v, which will instantly show the entries in the system’s boot manager. Go through each of the entries thoroughly enclosed in {}. In order to change the description, you can enter the following command:
7. bcdedit /set {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx} description “Windows 7 VHD”
8. After doing so, you need to restart your computer. On restarting, you’ll see the description of all the boot entries.

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