Davao Cyber Expo 2009

Hey techy and gamer savvy of Davao, you are invited for the 3rd Davao Cyber Expo (DCE) 2009 to be held on July 24, 25, and 26, 2009 at the Event Center SM City Davao. What can you expect on the event? Hot PC rigs, tournament and hot women(Ok men too if you're a girl).

What is Davao Cyber Expo (DCE)?

Considered as one of Davao’s PRIDE for being a truly unique, well organized, and massively attended event, the word about the annual DCE has reached the far corners of the Philippines, and has been the hot topics in numerous online communities.

Here’s a quick rundown on this year’s event’s main portions and important info you should know:

1) Davao Cyber Games (DCG) Competition – PC Gaming event between the different clans of gamers in Davao. Cyber games: DoTA, Call of Duty

2) LAN Party Extreme (LPX) – 3 day gathering of the best computers in Davao, set at the center of the event. The event will host the usual PC Modding, Performance, and High-end Gaming Competition. It’s aimed also to educate the public, wow them w/ realization and better
understanding of what QUALITY PC COMPONENTS are all about.

3) TECH XTREME – a unique tech exhibit where people come to see new High-End PC
Components and accessories, learn about them, and get purchasing information.

4) Online Games – big competition by top online gaming companies (Major sponsors of the DCE) My Game, and E-Games (a big supporter since the 1st DCE).

5) PhotoOps (NEW!) – an amateur photography contest. Recognizing the rapidly growing
community of Photography hobbyist, and realizing similarities with the culture of the DCE.

6) Possible/Others – like the previous DCE’s there will be lots more for everyone. Live Bands, COSPLAY, on spot contests, challenges, sms activities, raffles, and so much more!

WHEN/WHERE: July 24, 25, and 26, 2009 @ the Event Center SM City Davao.

MARKET: PC Gamers, Internet Café Players, High-end Gaming and PC Enthusiasts, IT Professionals, Photography Hobbyists, fans of DCE participants, as well as hundreds of fans, well wishers, and curious audiences.

ORGANIZERS: The DCE is born out of team effort. Primarily organized by eSquared Events (e2) partnering with various companies such as BLINQUE TECH and SM Cyberzone.

TECH XTREME: Or “TX” as we commonly refer to, is a dedicated area in the event venue for
displaying the newest and best computer products in the Philippines. We have a vision for the TX to become a very popular and trusted brand for exhibiting these types of products. To protect its reputation, only exhibitors with products that we feel coincides with our TX theme (high tech and unique) and has good following, reputation as well as approval of the PC Enthusiast community are allowed.

Visit the Official Site: www.e2-events.com
Source: Lester(DCWired/DCE Participant) for DavaoExchange.com

Kadayawan Festival 2009 in Davao

July is just a few days away, I know it's a bit early to mention anything about the Kadayawan Festival 2009 in Davao or the events and schedule but believe me this year will be a blast! If you are a Filipino, then you already are familiar with these festivals which happens in the Philippines where most cities have its unique presentation every year.

If you're not familiar with the word Kadayawaan, it means that the Dabawenyos are thankful for the blessings and bountiful harvest.

The Kadayawan Festival 2009 in Davao is not yet finalized except for its date which will be on August 17-23, 2009. Though not yet finalized, 2 known activities which are always present are the Indak Indak sa Kadalanan(Kadayawan Streetdance) and the Pamulak sa Kadalanan (Kadayawan floral float parade).

We invite you to join us here when the Kadayawan Festival 2009 in Davao will take place.

Du-aw Dabaw!

ISP in Davao City

When we talk about the BEST ISP here in Davao City, each of us has it's own opinion. Some say Bayantel or PLDT MyDSL are the best. Some might disagree and say they are wrong and SmartBro or Globelines are better.

I've been loyal to Sky Cable's Zpdee as my ISP for two years and it was my first connection to replace the ever painful dial up. Geez... I remembered the days of how annoying dial up was. A 10 mb file to be downloaded for 1 hour? Don't imagine. Luckily, these ISP became affordable with great speeds to offer.

The question now is how stable and reliable they can be?

I only tried 2 ISP in Davao so I'll give a short feedback.

Sky Cable's Zpdee - Sky Cable(not Sun Cable) is mandatory if you want to avail their connection. Their 512 kbps is 900 php + 650 php for Sky Cable. That's quite expensive BUT their connection is REALLY stable. Almost 0% interuption and you get what you paid for.

PROS: stable, no disconnection(unless some theft stole their cable wires), good download, good surfing
CONS: expensive, bad for uploading, for 900 - 1000 php, 512 kbps is not enough since some ISP offers up to 1 mbps, 1 PC only(I'm serious, you can't use this to other PC/laptops)

Globelines - This was my second ISP, most of my friends warned me about this ISP but 512 kbps is not enough for me and Zpdee is way too expensive. My mom never watch cable channels and I never watch TV so yes Sky Cable was useless for us! Freshly installed 2 weeks ago, it was fast. 995 php for up to 1 mbps, it was a good offer. Problem is, once it disconnects it really mean it! You'll have no internet for day/s which is annoying as hell!

PROS: 995 php for up to 1 mbps it was a good offer unlike the 512 kbps, fast download, quick response from customer service
CONS: not so fast on surfing(Tip: Use OpenDNS for improvement), unstable!

In my opinion, ISP here in Davao really varries upon your location. Some find this ISP good, others don't. Just a small tip, if you are satisfied with your ISP stick with it!

If you want to share your ISP experiences from SmartBro, PLDT MyDSL, Bayantel or other services please let others know and comment.

Xbox 360's Project Natal Demo at E3 09

I just downloaded the E3 09 Microsoft's Spotlight video. Aside from the upcoming hot games, Microsoft's finale was the demo of Project Natal and honestly... It's a wow!

Xbox 360's Project Natal is a no controller, no strings attached video game console which uses YOU as a controller. It uses sensor device which recognize your motion and syncronize it with the game in real time! It also has a voice recognition and you can use your personal item(eg. a Skateboard as seen on the demo) to be scanned and use it on the game itself.

Microsoft is really aware about Nintendo Wii's popularity on console sales. Now they used a similar scheme Wii uses but much better.

I'm looking forward to this future of gaming console, see the demo for yourself here.

Left 4 Dead 2 Debut Teaser at E3 09

I've been checking E3 2009 and what I'm excited about the games line up for this year is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Now I never saw this one coming, Left 4 Dead 2 this coming November 17! Nice one Valve!

Featuring new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original with more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch.

I hope the Survivors from the first game will collide with the new survivors for team work. Check the teaser below.

Goodbye May

Summer is officially over here in the Philippines. I'm sure most of you enjoyed it. Now here comes the month of June, students are back to school and well... workers still work.

But before I say goodbye to the month of May and move on, I have to say this year's summer was one of the toughest summer I ever had. It was one hell of a ride, a twist of fate. Well, I don't really want to elaborate the problem I was facing that time.

As June started, I am aiming for a new and much better start in my life. Now I am sure and willing to finally MOVE ON and never dwell on the past. There is no guarantee that I won't feel the same situation again or get hurt. The fact is nothing's certain in life. We will always be facing challenge in this world. What matters most is once you are down, get up and learn from it.

Goodbye May... Hello to a new and much better life.

Liquors Pleasure

Last night me and my ever loyal High School bestfriends went out to bond at Pescados(Torres Compound). Well we were not there to drink milk so we ordered pitchers of cocktail drinks. Due to fun and excitement, we emptied 5 pitchers and ordered 2 buckets of beers as the finale. I think those were too much for 5 persons that's why we all end up too drunk. Two of my friends slipped away with good "alibis" while I was asleep on the table for about an hour. I'm just thankful to my own feet that they took me home.

Damn liquors. I hate the aftermath but I don't know why I still drink. Well I just drink occasionally and I don't think it is that bad. Just don't drink beyond your limit like what I did.