Sa Wakas! May Dual SIM Phones na si Nokia

Kamakailan lang ay nagbigay ng teaser ang Nokia ukol sa bago na namang serye ng mga telepono sa na ilalabas nila sa merkado sa quarter ng taong ito. At, ang anunsyong ito ay sa inaabangan ko mula sa pinakaunang brand ng cellular phones na nakilala ko. Sa pagkakataong ito, may Dual SIM Phone series si Nokia.

Nagtungo ako sa pinakamalapit na technologies and gadget shop upang makita ko kung nailabas na nila ang bagong seryeng ito. At ayun, inilatag na nila sa merkado ang unang Dual SIM series ng Nokia, ang Nokia C2-00.

Eto ang mga ispesipikasyon ng natural mobile phone:

• Network: 2G, GSM 900/1800 para sa 2 sim
• Sukat: 108 x 45 x 14.7 mm, at may bigat na 74g
• Display: TFT, 65k
• Tunog: MP3, WAV, Vibration Enabled, may headset jack at loudspeaker
• Memory: kaya hanggang 32GB gamit ang microSD
• Phonebook: hanggang 500 entries
• Data: GPRS enabled, at microUSB enabled
• Camera: VGA, 640 x 480 pixels
• Features: SMS, MMS, WAP, FM radio enabled, Dual SIM
• Battery: Li-Ion BL5C na may talk time na hanggang 4h

Para sa karagdagang mga impormasyon at mga rebyu, maari rin kumunsulta sa mga sumusunod na link:

• http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_c2_00-3367.php
• http://www.matudnila.com/2011/06/nokia-c2-00-dual-sim-specs-review-and.html
• http://www.techpinas.com/2011/05/nokia-c2-00-philippines-dual-sim-dual.html
• http://www.nokia.com.ph/find-products/products/nokia-c2-00/specifications
• http://www.pricephilippines.com/2011/06/nokia-c2-00-dual-sim-cellphone-price.html

Natututo Rin Naman

Mahigit isang taon ang lumipas, bakas pa rin sa alaala ng mga tao ang trahedyang hatid ng bagyong Ondoy. Kaya naman nang nagsimulang magsaboy ng tubig-ulan ang bagyong Falcon sa Kalakhang Maynila mula noong Huwebes ng gabi, nabuhay sa karamihan ang bagabag na hatid ng ganitong klaseng pag-uulan na naganap noong ika-26 ng Setyembre 2009.

Sa tantya ng mga istatistika at sa sarili na ring pagtataya, mas maraming ulan ang hatid ng bagyong Falcon, bagaman ayon sa PAGASA, hindi ito lumapag sa mga kalupaang sakop ng Pilipinas. Ngunit, ang hatid nitong ulan ay talaga namang nakakarimarim - lalo na kung masasaksihan mo na unti-unting tumataas ang mga tubig sa mga ilog sa Kalakhang Maynila.

Subalit, kahit na labis ang ulan na magdudulot ng pagbaha sa karamihan ng mga malalaking kalsada at abenida sa Kamaynilaan na magdudulot ng malawakang trapik, makikita sa mga tao na natuto na sila sa kanilang karanasan. Marami ang umiwas sa bahaing lugar, ang mga tao ay nagpalipas muna ng sama ng panahon sa mga silong at lugar na hindi abot ng tubig baha bago lumakad sa kani-kanilang mga destinasyon, at ang ilan ay hindi na gumala at nanatili na lang sa kani-kanilang mga tahanan sa kasagsagan ng sama ng panahon. Sa mga lugar na malapit sa umaapaw na ilog at creek, hindi pa mataas ang lebel ng tubig ay nagsilikas na sila sa mga evacuation centers. Ang iba naman ay naghanda na rin ng mga gagamitin sa oras ng pagbaha - mga noodles, mga gamot, mga flashlights sa oras ng brownout, at mga bote ng malinis tubig sa oras na sobrang umapaw ang mga ilog.

Ang mga kawani naman ng lokal na pamahalaan ay masigasig rin sa pagresponde sa mga lugar na posible at madalas datnan ng pagbaha at sila ang nanguna sa paglikas ng mga residente ng kanilang nasasakupan. Nanguna rin sila sa paghahatid ng mga pangangailangan ng mga evacuees. Ayon sa ilang mga opisyal, prevention is better than cure, ika nga.

Sa kabuuan, kahit papaano'y natuto na ang tao sa kanyang karanasan. Magtuluy-tuloy nawa ang pagkatuto ng mga tao nang mabawasan ang mga casualty na hatid ng mga ganitong klaseng mga kalamidad. At, huwag sanang ang mga natutunan sa leksyong itong hatid ng ating Inang Kalikasan ay hindi natin kalimutan sa mga susunod pang mga araw.

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Ang Aking Sariling Pagkukuro Hinggil sa Fairy Tail (My Own Insights Regarding Fairy Tail)

[Paunang salita: Ang mga sumusunod na mga ideya rito ay isinulat ko sa wikang Ingles para na rin mabasa ng iba. At tsaka ang paksa natin ay isang tungkol sa gawa ng isang banyaga kaya minarapat ko na isa-Ingles ang mga susunod na mga talata.]

I am a long time fan of Japanese manga and any other types of graphic literature made by different authors of different cultures and nationalities. It relaxes me from my stressful work during my college years and even as a worker in a semiconductor firm. And one of the mangas (or should I say anime, since there is an anime version of it) that entertains me the most of the time is Fairy Tail which is created by Hiro Mashima, the author also of Rave Master.

The following are the qualities that makes Fairy Tail appeals to me:

1. The story revolves around magic or any variants of magic itself. Many stories have touched the concept of magic but no one has the approach like Fairy Tail has - origins (though the story still building it up), uses and combats , and of course, side effects. The third reason made me hooked with this manga. Many has conceived magic to be a tool of the Gods, or a weapon of the powerful, or ability of a chosen one. Fairy Tail explains that nature of magic, its uses to the beholders, and its probable side effect if one has to overuse it. This manga also explains that magic can be essential to people if used properly but can also be wicked if used otherwise.
2. Fairy Tail is not like other shonen manga that has long fighting battles. Most of the fights in this manga are considerably short in comparison to Dragon Ball or any similar pieces. Long fights can make the story draggy and less entertaining, and can sometimes, lead to boredom.
3. The names are unique (of course, it should be) and somewhat connected to their personality or origins. For instance, the name Natsu Dragneel refers to somewhat thing or idea of the dragons plus Natsu is fire in Japanese (if I am not mistaken), the name Lucy Heartfilia denotes somewhat a wealthy personality, and so on. By this naming convention used in Fairy Tail, no need to explain what are their power since it is already being hinted by their names! ^_^
4. The girls are super cute and sexy. In some shonen mangas, most of the women there are drawn like scribbles (except for One Piece). Since the shonen manga is mostly intended for males, the author or creator must also have excellent drawing on his female characters as well.
5. Every latest chapter makes you crave for the next chapter. If you haven't read Fairy Tail and don't understand this fifth quality I had stated, just give it a try and read chapter 1. By that way, you can understand what I mean.
6. There is no random killing of main and supporting characters. A good story plot doesn't always need killing a person in order for the protagonists to gain strength. Every character placed plays a significant role in a plot development and that is what Fairy Tail is doing right now.
7. It has some comedic or comical relief in some of the plots. The use of it is to somewhat lessen tenses that has been built-up due to confrontations with stronger and smarter villains, and also make the reader out of the boredom borderline.

Though Fairy Tail has some good qualities, it has some flaws also and these are the following:

1. Natsu Dragneel is always powered-up every time he faces with stronger and badass villains. These character development hole (my own term only) on Natsu makes his opponents look weaker than him although some of the match-ups (example with Zancrow) looked very one-sided (of course, I am expecting Zancrow to win). In addition, Natsu currently experiences nearly zero serious defeats. I think this would help Natsu character to grow a lot. (Note: Natsu is designed as a person that doesn't know how to surrender or to take defeat, so if that is the case, then that's it ^_^ )
2. Some of overpowered magical skills are not explained substantially, so some of the readers keeps on guessing what the exact meaning of those overrated skills.
3. The concept of having nakama armor plot is little lame for me. There are some ways to power up your character. Of course, it is up to the author.
4. Some of character wounds and attacks are illogical. For example, when Hades attacked Makarov, he inflicted a damage on Makarov and it cause hole on his torso, but after the attack, he is still at 20% HP. I think it's logical if Makarov is in critical condition. Another illogical attack is Azuma's bomb on Mirajane. The bomb bursts only in front of Mirajane, leaving Lisanna mostly unharmed (if I recall correctly). When I read that, a big question mark appears on my head. Anyway, the story is still on-going so maybe it is explained in one of the chapters in the future.
5. It seems that some of the art work becomes less creative than the others and it seems that some of them are recycled. I understand that part since releasing a manga weekly has a lot of pressure on mangaka's part. And, I use that copy-paste method too in some of my works (if there's any ^_^ )

Ergo! You had witnessed my insights regarding this manga. It is only based on my own preference and my experience on reading some shonen mangas before. But to summarize, I recommend Fairy Tail to manga fanatics. It is a good pick.