Er, I actually bought one already. After weighing the pros and cons of shifting to Mac, I was finally convinced. Apple is teh way to go baby, at least as far as my present requirements and resources are concerned. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. Relatively cheap. It took me weeks canvassing for better and cheaper alternatives. I found out that it’s a popular misconception that Macs are expensive because come to think of it, it may be a bit on the high-end, but actually, you’re getting a lot from your investment. Specs-wise, a basic MacBook’s counterpart from other brands (Acer, Vaio, Compaq) are priced on the same range.

2. Local Tech Support. I bought my Acer Travelmate from Amazon.com and asked a friend to hand-carry it back home because it was cheaper that way. Back then, I didn’t know where to go when I needed to troubleshoot my Acer. But now, since I got my Mac from a local dealer, with warranty and free software installations (I gave them a list of all the software I need), I got myself an all-day YM support too. Like I said, for what it’s worth, it’s relatively cheap.

3. Drag and Drop. Everything is drag and drop. I love how I can move everything around with just my finger, and the interface looks pretty neat too. All the softwares I need are on the dock, and I especially love the Dashboard and Expose preference. So. Cool.

4. Easy to Learn Function Keys. I said I’m a right-click person, and now I found out that there’s a way I can do right-click with Mac. I’m getting the hang of the Apple key already, too. Yay me. It’s easy to learn really. Scroll up and down and right-click with two fingers on the touchpad. Drag and drop. Expose. Replace CTRL with APPLE. Apple+Spacebar to search for a particular document or application. And. I. Am. Speaking. In. Jargons.

5. Globe Visibility Compatible. Vista isn’t. (Or wasn’t?) It took me five easy steps to setup Globe Visibility with Mac (and surprisingly, the connection is fast too!). I’ve had it with Vista before, I don’t even want to bother finding out if they already found a way to have GV work with Vista. I don’t EVER want to go back there again. Heh.

Her name is Sydney. ;)

6. Prettyful. White looks sooo chic on gadgets. I’d love a Pink Sony Vaio, but as it is only available in HK, and Vista never really worked for me, it’s easy to decide on getting a white MacBook which is equally eye-candy to this girlygeek over here.

Yep, you got it people. I’m officially a Mac convert. Yay ME.

I was just ranting about my sucky Globe Visibility connection about a few weeks ago. That time, however, I was still considering the possibility that maybe it was just me. Like, maybe our place in Caloocan just happened to have bad signal reception. Or maybe it’s just my laptop that’s got a problem. Lame stuff like that. After all, benefit of the doubt is often a rule in my game.

Until you reach a point when the noise is too loud already, and you know for sure that you’re not being given a fair play. Better than 3G, you say? :) No one’s paying 2K pesos (plus VAT!) a month for a measly GPRS connection. And what about that “promise” that a plugin that will allow Globe Visibility to work with Vista is underway? Until when are they going to make Vista users wait?

I recently said:

Really now. I can just imagine how many bloggers (and IT professionals) are subscribed to Globe Visibility. Aren’t they aware of what angry bloggers can do?

Angry bloggers -> bad reviews -> bad publicity -> indelible mark (in the form of pages and pages of cached information) to their company brand.

Something has to be done about this.

I know my voice was just too weak to reach the high heavens. But when big names like Bryanboy and Marc Macalua start saying something, and when forum threads start growing in protest of a bad service, be very warned. You better start strategizing your next move to salvage whatever’s left of your image online. Better yet, you better start improving your service and make your subscribers get what they’re worth. And the time is NOW.

So I’m joining these Globe Visibility lobbyists and making my voice count. I’ll update this post as often as I can. If you’re an unsatisfied Globe Visibility subscriber, speak up! Let’s dominate the Google SERPs with pleas for change and improvement. Maybe then, they’ll start noticing.

Www sightings on Globe Visibility:

• Globe Visibility Tipping Point (by Macalua.Com)
• Hold on Visibility (by Mobilityph)
• Invisible Globe Visibility (by Intsik Online)
• Globe Visibility: Customer Service, Third World Style (by Bryanboy)
• Globe Feedback Thread (Tsikot.Com)
• Globe Visibility Support Thread (Tipidpc.Com Forums)
• Why Globe Visibility is not Holding Up to its Promise (by Wifely Steps)
• Continuing Saga with Globe Visibility (by Intsik Online)

Last update: May 26, 2007.

So there. I’ll be clicking the publish button now. Let’s see how many seconds, minutes, before this one gets posted.

Last month, I subscribed to Globe’s Mobile Broadband service and was kinda impressed with it. Barely a month, however, my Globe Visibility’s been making some shutters here and there already.

At first, I just let them pass. But now, the connection problems are becoming more and more frequent, it’s starting to bother annoy me already. The promised 3G connection is not being met (I usually get GPRS/EDGE connection only), and sometimes I can’t even connect at all. The worst thing is, I’m still paying the same amount (plus VAT pfft) but not getting my money’s worth. Boo.

Just now, after about three hours of trying, and moving around the house to see where I can get a good signal, and a call to Globe’s 24 hour customer support (which didn’t really help at all), I finally got a (lousy) GPRS connection. I tried searching for HELP online and found myself back to Marc’s post about his own Globe Visibility subscription. This time, however, the thread’s grown longer, and I realized that I wasn’t alone after all.

Really now. I can just imagine how many bloggers (and IT professionals) are subscribed to Globe Visibility. Aren’t they aware of what angry bloggers can do?

Angry bloggers -> bad reviews -> bad publicity -> indelible mark (in the form of pages and pages of cached information) to their company brand.

Something has to be done about this. Globe? Help? (Francis? You there?)

I know the pictures are totally unnecessary but what the heck. :)

Taken at The Hub @ Podium

Anyway, this is ICE, my Acer TravelMate 14.1″ Notebook PC (Intel Celeron M Processor, 1G RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, with Vista Basic). I bought it from Amazon (with the help of my lovely lovely Tita Dits), after weeks of canvassing (online and offline), and battling with Buy.com over an order that didn’t push through. All things considered, I got the best deal with Ice (er, except for the Vista compatibility thingy). I’m no designer or programmer anyway, I don’t need the grandest of specs. I just needed something small and light, affordable, and something I can run reports (Webposition and Wordtracker) with.

If you’re considering to buy a laptop yourself, I’d say it’s still best to buy in the US if you know someone who will gladly handcarry the package to your doorstep. I got this Acer Travelmate just for $600 (you can check it out here, although, this one’s 80MB RAM lang)–that’s roughly 30K PHP only! In Greenhills and SM Cyberzones, the counterpart will cost you around 40-50K (yay that’s 10K more shopping money for you if you buy from Amazon!). The only advantage buying it locally is, you can get it through installment packages using credit card. However, that will even cost you more in the long run. Amazon doesn’t accept credit cards with billing addresses outside the US.

I was even excited that this Acer Travelmate runs Windows Vista. But like I said, the only roadblock I encountered (and a big one at that) was that Globe Visibility ain’t compatible with it. Oh well, you really can’t have it all.

Continue reading →

I didn’t have to think twice about Globe Visibility. Taking Marc’s word for it, I subscribed for Globe’s Mobile Broadband service as soon as my laptop (a dainty 14″ Acer Travelmate) was shipped to me almost three weeks ago (March 24). I even went to the same Globe service center Marc recommended (The Hub @ Podium), and looked for Francis, who was, true enough, very accommodating and ehem, cute too (I didn’t see any wedding ring yet girls, by the way. Harhar.)

I didn’t anticipate, however, a few important things. My Acer Travelmate is operating on Windows Vista, and apparently, Globe has yet to create a plugin that will make Visibility work with it. (Grrr.) While MAC users can already download a plugin that will make Visibility work here, Francis told me the sad news that the plugin for Vista is still under petition and has not yet been developed. Gah.

I already signed up for a 24-month contract, and paid for the initial payment of P4,000 (2K for the Huawei E220 HSDPA USB modem setup, and 2K for the first month’s subscription) when I found out about this annoying Vista roadblock. Hence, postponing my subscription is not anymore an option.

So right now, I’m (still) using Dellilah (a Dell Inspiron 6000 Core Duo) until such time I’ve decided what to do with Ice (the Acer laptop). So far, Globe Visibility’s 3G connection has proven very consistent — I’ve tested its connection in Ortigas, Shaw Blvd, Caloocan, Manila (University Belt), EDSA, South Express Way, Cubao, and Tanauan Batangas — and aside from (very) few shutters here and there, I’m satisfied. Overall, Globe Visibility ROCKS, and Windows Vista SUCKS. :)

I wish there’s a way I can make Visibility work with Ice. Suggestions, anyone? I’m seriously considering to downgrade to XP, after all, I’m not very impressed with Windows Vista naman. It still has a lot of bugs, and even though the interface is sleek and posh (and very MAC-ish, hehe), I’m never after the “looks” anyway.