GlobalPandora: Pandora for Non-US Residents
Remember Pandora? A friend of mind recommended it to me and I got to listen to some songs before it was restricted to US residents only. Pandora radio is the personalized internet radio service that helps you find new music based on your old and current favorites under the Music Genome Project.
Well, here’s the good alternative to all non-US residents. The box is open! You can now listen to your favorite songs through GlobalPandora.
Check my post about it.
Laser printers pose health risk
A study found out that emissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke. Smoking ban in some country are already taking its effects but it seems that people has new reason to worry.
The average printer releases toner particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular trouble, according to Morawska’s team, part of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, and specialists in atmospheric particles. CNET news
The researchers tested 62 laser printer models and found that 17 of them were “high emitters” of toner particles. Although these particles have not had examined for chemical contents but these were considered carcinogens [agents causing cancer].
Good news: Student loans may soon be granted
The Commission on Higher Education will be increasing its funding for student loans to P4 billion from P215 million, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports. Due to this, student loans may soon be available from the government of as much as P30,000 per year to finance their education. This will serve as financial aid to less fortunate students and they can pay it later.
The funds could be availed of as early as the second semester of the current school year which begins in November. The student loan program’s bank is the Land Bank of the Philippines which has committed itself to providing some P1 billion in funding.
Further, the qualification standards will not be that strict so everyone can avail to it. The program will be available by the second semester this year and will be fully implemented by 2008.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Braille Edition
The National Braille Press had a special exclusive agreement with Scholastic Press, the publisher of Harry Potter book series (in the US), released a special braille edition of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Wallows, the last of the series. It is 1000 pages long in 10 volumes, weighing about 12 pounds, and standing more than a foot tall when stacked up. It costs $63 to publish one book with an expected higher price than the regular print edition but with NBP partnering with Yahoo! blind children and need not to spend more for a copy of the book than sighted people.
Philippine SEC site has a badware?
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that the website of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission has been tagged by google search and StopBadware.org as a ‘harmful’ site. When you try to go to this government’s agency website, you will be redirected to a warning page.
It is odd how an agency which is responsible for securities laws could be accused of containing “unsecured” files. The SEC already wrote a letter to Google seeking explanation on how their website was tagged harmful.
People can still visit their website through directly typing their URL (http://www.sec.gov.ph/) to the address bar or through links from other website. The warning page only appears when the traffic come from Google search, that is if you click the SEC website using the search results.
The new ‘plastic’ blood
Scientists continue to find ways to deliver better health care to patients; one new innovation is the availability of artificial blood, so called because it is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like hemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body. This new discovery could help to substitute for blood, which is not always readily available in cases of emergencies, especially pointed out was its huge advantage in war zones.
Besides its storage advantage; it is light to carry, does not need to be kept cool, it can be sterilized, and can be kept for longer, the new artificial blood has its advantages over human blood as pointed out in this WikiPedia article.
Yahoo! Mail to offer unlimited storage capacity
As celebration for their 10-year anniversary, Yahoo! Mail will offer unlimited mail storage capacity starting on May 2007 as announced on Tuesday.
The free version of Yahoo! Mail (basic), which is used by majority of users, offers only 1GB of storage and limited features such as the limited 10MB attachments. You need to upgrade to Yahoo! Mail plus to get more features you want including a “virtually unlimited†2GB mail storage capacity and larger attachments.
Yahoo! Mail used to be the “giant†in mail industry but when Google started Gmail, millions have converted to it as their primary e-mail provider. This was due to the larger storage capacity – 2GB – and several other great features.
What could be causing your slow internet connection?
For the past weeks, I had a very slow connection (again). Since I’m on a SmartBro connection, this case is not new. Instead of wasting my time calling their costumer service, and waiting for their worst after sales support. No, I made a few attempts to call them actually, but it seemed that I could not “catch” any representative because only a voice prompt answers my calls.
So, I tried to resort to other means that I thought could speed up my PC. I downloaded some internet booster software, which didn’t work. I also tried to run several browsers, thinking that Mozilla Firefox no more works for faster browsing on my PC. I even tried to install the latest version of Fasterfox, a Firefox extensions which tweaks some of the browser’s configuration for faster browsing. I cleaned up my hard disk, deleting all the unused files, including some of my mp3 collections. I’ve deleted almost 1000 mp3 files, which I regretted after. I patiently downloaded some of them when I was still on a dial-up connection. None of these things worked.
Scam Alert: You won $500! Yahoo!® Mail congratulates you!
You won $500! Yahoo!® Mail congratulates you!, the subject of an e-mail I have received yesterday said. Attractive subject, isn’t it? Curious about it, I hurriedly open the e-mail, of course with excitement to see the price I have “won”. It’s $500 for God’s sake! Although, I was already suspecting that it was fraud.
The e-mail said that I was one of those “randomly” selected members who won $500. I was one of the 12 top winners accounts who will get cash prizes from them, it says.
10 safety tips you should know about
1 . Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!
2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans: If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse,
DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you. Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.) DON’T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.
Additional tips here.
