Moving out to wordpress or not

I have been contemplating on moving out to a new blog platform this last few weeks. I already asked Jehz and a couple of bloggers if I should or should not move to a new platform. My desires of leaving blogger for a newer platform increases everyday. I find a lot of needs which my existing platform can not provide.

I'm eyeing on migrating my BatangYagit.com to wordpress. Most of my non-blogger blogs are using Wordpress. I find wordpress more robust as compared to Blogger. Back-end design is also easier using wordpress, so as front-end design and blog aesthetics.

The cons of moving to wordpress are the following:

• It needs more maintenance. I have to make sure that my blog uses the most up-to-date version of wordpress. And sometimes, upgrading is a pain in the neck specially on a major version change.
• High risk of losing traffic. Since I'll be moving out to a new platform, there is a risk of losing traffic since the URL of my posts will be changed. A large number of my previous posts are optimized for search engine traffic.
• Paid bandwidth. Since it is self hosted, I'd be spending money for my bandwidth. My blog will have limited amount of resources. There is no assurance that my blog will be up forever.
• Need for a hosting provider. I have an existing web host but I don't think it can manage to have another load of traffic. My idea is to get a new hosting account from Gossimer.com. I've been looking into their services and find them ok. They have a few selection of hosting plans I can choose from. I'm deciding if I'd go for their Starter Plan or go big time with their Business Plan.
  

Up 'til now, I haven't decided yet. I'm still on the process of thinking whether my advantages outweighs the cons that I have mentioned.

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Tips Before You Buy Online

Last December, I bought a few items from e-Bay, a touch screen replacement for a Sony Ericsson P910 Phone and a screen protector for my iPod Video. The items I bought were from a merchant in Hong Kong. Luckily, the transaction was not fraudulent and the items were sent to my house while I was in Manila.

The item was shipped through an ordinary HK Courier service. The merchant did not have a tracking number to track the parcel.

After I got my PayPal and done this online shopping thing, I though it would be a good idea to give tips before you shop online.


Tip 1: Consider buying as an option, not as a mere end.

Think first before you buy then ask your self, "Do I really need to buy this item?". Consider your reasons. If it's indeed a need, then go and get yourself that item. Buy if it's for the sake of "I-want-that-item-because-its-sooo-cute", then save yourself from spending electronic bucks.


Tip 2: Look for a trusted e-commerce site.

So far, I only tried eBay because I know it's high reputation and reliability when it comes to online shopping. You can also try other shops like Amazon, Dixons and PC World. Find or ask reviews from other users who have done online shopping from your desired shop.

Tip 3: Check the merchant's reputation.

For sites like eBay, consumers are given the option to rate the reputation and reliability of the merchant where they bought the item. This ensures the consumers a guarantee of the merchant's reliability.


Tip 4: Know the transaction and payment method..

Learn if the payment and transaction method being used is secured. A lot of phishing sites are out in the internet which tricks users when doing online transactions. So far, I only get to use PayPal and my Visa Electron card and I have not yet encountered any attempts of phishing or other illegal transactions.


Tip 5: Check and compare prices.

It's not enough to know where you can buy your item. You should also learn which seller offers the best price for a certain product. I encountered this website in the internet which is very helpful in locating the best buys in the internet. Save Bucks has this price compare feature wherein you can get the different prices from the different online shops when you do a single product search. It's pretty helpful when you are in need to compare prices of your desired product. I used this as a reference in buying products online since I get to know the product's price in the market.


Tip 6: Patience.

Be patient. Usually, the delivery of your parcel takes a few weeks before it arrives. The items I bought took three weeks before I received it. Just follow the tips I have suggested above and be assured that your product will arrive. If not, you can always verify it from your merchant or seller.

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The Evil Blog Award Founder is indeed Evil

My friend, Kuya Paolo Mendoza has brewed another project at khoops.com. After doing a successful campaign for Pinoy Evil Blog Awards, converting his Philosophical Bastard into an Evil Money Making Machine, he has now turned his new site to an online community.

Khoops.com is yet another social networking site. If you have an existing Ning ID, you don't need to register in order to join.

KHOOPS.com is a social network for young, cool, fun-loving individuals. It's like Mac; we got more features and no spam. Sign up and check it out. I guarantee you'll like it here.

Now bloggers have their own social networking site.

My friends, Ate Ria and Jehz, already joined Khoops. Join now!



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Wohoo! I now have my SmartBroken internet connection restored

After getting through a lot of hassles in restoring my internet connection, SmartBro finally fixed it.

My internet connection got disconnected sometime last week. I had to pay a few thousand to get my internet connection restored. (Just an advice, don't skip your payments cause it would get you into trouble). I missed a couple of internet bills which later accumulated and made Smart cut my subscription. The missed internet bills were during my Manila trip last May and my school retreat last September.

Last week, I went to SMART Wireless Center in Gaisano Mall to pay my subscription fees. I got pissed on how the people in SMART treated me. First, the "Arrogant Guard" didn't give the queue number immediately. Since their queuing system is broken, the "Arrogant Guard" had to manually assign a priority number. The "Arrogant Guard" is supposed to answer queries and inquiries before the client proceeds to customer care or cashier, but the "Arrogant Guard" was not able to this because the "Arrogant Guard" has to attend the "Stupid Assistant" first. The "Stupid Assistant", who is supposed to assist the "Arrogant Guard" in serving the clients, was having trouble in operating the payment kiosk of SMART. So I waited for a while for the "Arrogant Guard" to finish helping the "Stupid Assistant" before I got my priority number.

I was advised to queue for the customer care because I need my account to be verified before I can proceed to the cashier. But before I can pay to the cashier, I had to ask for another queue number from the "Arrogant Guard". The "Arrogant Guard" insisted that I should pay my money to their payment kiosk. I was hesitant after I saw what happened a while ago. So I told the "Arrogant Guard" that I need to pay the money directly to the cashier so it can be posted immediately. So the "Arrogant Guard" gave me a new queue number for the cashier.

I was standing near the "Arrogant Guard"'s position because all of the seats were already occupied. I waited for a couple of minutes when the "Arrogant Guard" suddenly talked to me. He told me to go straight to the cashier since it's already my turn. So I deliberately obliged to what he instructed me. When I reached the money and queue number to the cashier, the cashier told me, "Sir, mamaya pa po yung number nyo.".

Grrr...I can feel my blood boiling in anger. Damn that "Arrogant Guard". Damn him. I had to back off to let the other person, who happened to be ahead of me, to pay.

After paying, I didn't even dare to look at the "Arrogant Guard's" direction. Damn him.

o O o

After I made the payment, I immediately went home to check if the payment was indeed posted in SMART's system. I was disappointed to see that my LAN Card won't detect any connection. I checked the power adapter for my Canopy Adapter, checked the LAN Connections, yet, nothing worked. The message "A network cable is unplugged" still flashes at the bottom right side of my screen. I immediately called SMART Hotline to fix the problem. Their conclusion, damaged LAN Cable. They told me they'd call the next day to schedule a contractor to visit my home and fix the problem.

I waited, yet no one called. I called SMART again and told them that I will wait until evening so they could make a schedule before Monday. I waited, still no one came.

Yesterday, while I was enjoying my meal at McDonalds in SM, I received an SMS from an unknown person. It says, "Hi sir/maam. Saan po banda ang bahay nyo? SmartBRO po ito".

I asked them if they were coming because I waited for their call. The next message I received, they were already in front of my house. I had to rush back home to catch them but they sent another SMS saying they are leaving for Toril to serve another client and they'll come back later in the afternoon.

They did not show up yesterday because it rained. They said they'd come back the next day.

o O o

They had my internet fixed this morning. I had to pay an extra 200 pesos for the replacement of the iron tube where the antenna is attached. They said they can't get enough signal so they had to extend the height of the antenna. My internet connection is fixed now. Got to blog some more. I missed a lot from the few days of absence.








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An Open Letter to Yahoo! Mail

Dear Yahoo! Mail,

I've been been a registered user of Yahoo since I was in first year high school. I was still an internet newbie back then. I was so amazed how e-mails work and how I could possible send a message to the other part of the world in seconds.

I was also fascinated on how you broke the old ways of sending messages. From hand written letters to plain electronic texts, you introduced multimedia in e-mails. I was one of those Yahoo Greetings fanatics. Everytime I go online, for no particular reason that I can remember, I usually check Yahoo Greetings for new electronic greeting cards. And whenever I find something new, I immediately send it to my few friends who has a Yahoo Email account.

E-mail in those days, as I remember, is usually associated with you. All of my friends use Yahoo mail in e-mails. The storage capacity was not even a problem back then. I was contented with the 6MB e-mail inbox capacity you have provided me. I even thought it was too much. I usually occupy less than 50% of my inbox during those days.

But my attention was driven to Google when GMail was still on its early stage. I was one of those people who were privileged to get an invitation to try GMail. During this time, I already understand how email systems work. I was fascinated with GMail to the point of forgetting you. The features that GMail offer is incomparable to what you already have. The storage was not even 10% of what GMail gives to their users.

I did not leave you yet. I still use you is receiving e-mails. You were my first love. I did not even bother asking other people to forward their emails on my Gmail account. But as time passed by, my fascination for you faded away. You were nothing compared to my Gmail account. But you tried to cope up. You provided us with more storage. You even tried to compete the AJAX powered interface of Gmail.

I am writing this letter to you because I am so disappointed with you. I hate the way you manage SPAM E-mails. A friend once sent me a Gmail invitation and you treated it as a spam because you were mad with gmail. Another friend, who is one of those Sacramento plastic surgeons, sent me a personal e-mail containing his business promotion, you considered it a spam. I have to digg my Bulk folder just to find that business promotion which I asked from them. Up to date, most of the e-mail I receive in your inbox are spam. I got tired of checking you everyday.

Your 'Mark as Spam' feature must be broken because I still receive these annoying spam messages. Ninety percent of my inbox are spam messages. Even if I have marked it as spam, it always keep coming back on my inbox. As of the time I wrote this line, two spam mails have already popped out of my screen.

I can never rely on you again like the way I did few years ago. In fact, you S*CK. Yes Yahoo Mail, you S*CK. Everytime I open your page, what I see is the Yahoo! Mail Loser logo. You are almost out of the scene.

Goodbye my old friend.










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