13
Apr

Technology and the MRT

My philosophy regarding technology is simple: technology should help us solve problems. If that technology is applied to a non-problem, then that is a waste of resources that should have been instead directed on real issues.

The MRT has three modes of entry-exit payment mechanisms. The first one, used since it started operating, uses magnetic cards/tickets. You can buy a single-journey ticket, or if you take the MRT regularly, you can get the stored-value ticket at one hundred pesos. During rush hours, the queue for purchase of tickets can get long. Also, these cards are technically not reloadable, and the maximum amount for the stored-value is one hundred pesos. Because of these issues, the MRT opened the possibility of using third-party payment mechanisms.

The second one, which is a third-party provided service, is the so-called Globe G-Pass, an implementation of RFID technology. You are given a chip enclosed in a circular case, and you tap the chip into a sensor attached to a turnstile (see how it works here). You can reload value via the reloading booths at MRT stations, or via Globe’s G-Cash mobile money solution.

There are inherent issues with this solution. First, not all turnstiles in all MRT stations have G-Pass sensors installed. On a rush hour, you need to know first what turnstile to queue up – it should have a sensor installed. You should know this beforehand. Second, the sensor must be online. Usually when it is offline, MRT personnel just tapes a sign to the sensor stating that it is offline. On a rush hour, you queue up to a turnstile with a G-Pass sensor, and it will be too late before you find out that the sensor is offline – you might have wasted around a minute or two on that. What if all sensors for that station are offline? Third, this solution would be more efficient if you are a Globe subscriber. While you can check your balance and reload at reloading stations, that would mean lining up (if there’s a line); it would be faster if you check your balance via text message, or reload via G-Cash. So if you are not a Globe subscriber – tough luck. Also, they should have instead employed the technology that the Japanese use – tap the phone! If you are careless, you might lose the chip.

The third solution (still experimental at the moment) employs m-codes (or 2-D barcodes). The service is called Juan Card, another prepaid solution. Here, you are sent an m-code, and to enter, you must point the m-code in your mobile phone screen to a sensor attached to the turnstile. As the use of this technology is not yet widespread, I cannot evaluate this solution completely, but some of the problems with G-Pass apply to Juan Card as well – limited sensor installs, long queues during rush hours, and unnecessarily complex loading solution per trip.

(There is another, low-tech solution called the Flash Pass, but I suggest you click on the link and read. It is relatively simple, low-tech, and prone to falsification, so there’s no need to discuss it.)

Again, technology should help us solve problems. In this case, what have we solved? It seems all the solutions are defeated by the fact that the wrong problem is addressed. The problem is that the MRT can no longer efficiently and sufficiently serve the volume of passengers during rush hours, and RFIDs and m-codes will not solve that. Unless they can improve on that area, these technologies are basically useless.

Do you like math? If so, let me give you a problem.

Here are some data to use:
* Car/Train capacity
* Train availability requirement – how many trainsets operate at given time
* Ridership data – most recent is for last year

Do the math. Like how much people are they packing for each train set, etc.

27
Mar

Technology and the MRT

My philosophy regarding technology is simple: technology should help us solve problems. If that technology is applied to a non-problem, then that is a waste of resources that should have been instead directed on real issues.

The MRT has three modes of entry-exit payment mechanisms. The first one, used since it started operating, uses magnetic cards/tickets. You can buy a single-journey ticket, or if you take the MRT regularly, you can get the stored-value ticket at one hundred pesos. During rush hours, the queue for purchase of tickets can get long. Also, these cards are technically not reloadable, and the maximum amount for the stored-value is one hundred pesos. Because of these issues, the MRT opened the possibility of using third-party payment mechanisms.

The second one, which is a third-party provided service, is the so-called Globe G-Pass, an implementation of RFID technology. You are given a chip enclosed in a circular case, and you tap the chip into a sensor attached to a turnstile (see how it works here). You can reload value via the reloading booths at MRT stations, or via Globe’s G-Cash mobile money solution.

There are inherent issues with this solution. First, not all turnstiles in all MRT stations have G-Pass sensors installed. On a rush hour, you need to know first what turnstile to queue up – it should have a sensor installed. You should know this beforehand. Second, the sensor must be online. Usually when it is offline, MRT personnel just tapes a sign to the sensor stating that it is offline. On a rush hour, you queue up to a turnstile with a G-Pass sensor, and it will be too late before you find out that the sensor is offline – you might have wasted around a minute or two on that. What if all sensors for that station are offline? Third, this solution would be more efficient if you are a Globe subscriber. While you can check your balance and reload at reloading stations, that would mean lining up (if there’s a line); it would be faster if you check your balance via text message, or reload via G-Cash. So if you are not a Globe subscriber – tough luck. Also, they should have instead employed the technology that the Japanese use – tap the phone! If you are careless, you might lose the chip.

The third solution (still experimental at the moment) employs m-codes (or 2-D barcodes). The service is called Juan Card, another prepaid solution. Here, you are sent an m-code, and to enter, you must point the m-code in your mobile phone screen to a sensor attached to the turnstile. As the use of this technology is not yet widespread, I cannot evaluate this solution completely, but some of the problems with G-Pass apply to Juan Card as well – limited sensor installs, long queues during rush hours, and unnecessarily complex loading solution per trip.

(There is another, low-tech solution called the Flash Pass, but I suggest you click on the link and read. It is relatively simple, low-tech, and prone to falsification, so there’s no need to discuss it.)

Again, technology should help us solve problems. In this case, what have we solved? It seems all the solutions are defeated by the fact that the wrong problem is addressed. The problem is that the MRT can no longer efficiently and sufficiently serve the volume of passengers during rush hours, and RFIDs and m-codes will not solve that. Unless they can improve on that area, these technologies are basically useless.

Do you like math? If so, let me give you a problem.

Here are some data to use:
* Car/Train capacity
* Train availability requirement – how many trainsets operate at given time
* Ridership data – most recent is for last year

Do the math. Like how much people are they packing for each train set, etc.

8
Apr

HP’s eee competitor HP 2133 Mini-Note now out

HP has released today its competing product to Asus eee PC. Called the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, it weighs 5.3 pounds, screen size of 8.9 inch, full QWERTY keyboard, touch pad with unusual mouse button layout (left and right of the touchpad), and in a casing and style that looks better than eee, I think. I just don’t like the price.

Amazon lists the following specs:

* Procesor: VIA C7-M, 1.2GHz
* Memory: 1024 MB (1GB) 667MHZ DDR2
* Video: VIA Chrome 9 UMA
* Hard disk: 1205 GB 5400 RPM
* WiFi: Broadcom 802.11 a/b/g
* Ethernet LAN
* SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

A 4GB flash drive-version is also listed at Amazon.

HP Press release here.

(Image from PC Magazine.)

25
Mar

Shopping for a laptop, 4

If you are shopping for a cheap laptop but does not like the Asus eee PC’s form factor, now is about the right time.

Strolling around Cyberzone at SM Megamall, I noticed that prices of Celeron-powered laptops have dropped considerably. So I looked at the Web sites of PC Corner, PC Express, and Asianic, and saw the following:

* Neo Q-Note Endura 320SU, priced at Php 19999 (contrary to the image shown at the page)
* Neo Q-Note Endura 540SL2c, priced at Php 19999 (not yet shown on Web site, but can be found on the downloadable price list of PC Corner and PC Express)

Both machines are Celeron-powered. Note that both units are available while supply lasts. Most prices have dropped due to the coming of second quarter, and Intel will release dual-core Celerons soon.

You might also want to check out the following:

* Acer Aspire 4715Z-1A0508MI, a Pentium Dual Core at Php 28,999 (PC Corner)
* MSI MegaBook VR330, an AMD Athlon 64 X2 at Php 24999 (PC Corner)

And with the 2nd-generation Asus eee PC priced at estimated Php 30,+++ at PC Corner, I suggest you wait for the eee competiting products from Acer, ECS, and MSI.

Previously:

Shopping for a laptop, 3 (or how getting one can screw you up)
Shopping for a laptop, 2
Shopping for a laptop

13
Mar

Acer unveils Gemstone Blue

Acer has just announced its Gemstone Blue, an upgrade to its Gemstone laptop series. It got the appelation blue due to the the distinctive shade of the shell, and the fact that it sports Blu-Ray drives.

The display comes in 16″ and 18″, full 16:9 widescreen, and maximum resolution of 1920×1080, with video delivered by INVIDIA GeForce GS processor. It also carries 5 integrated speakers for true 5.1 sound delivered by Dolby Home Theater, Tuba CineBass booster and True5.1 CineSurround.

At the core of the series is the processor, of course. These machines are driven by Intel Centrino processors, Penryn, of course, with up to maximum of 4GB RAM.

The CineDash is the Star Trek-like interface found at the left side of the keyboard. CineDash is just a specialized interface for controlling media apps. Unfortunately, there is no right-side version.

Two models have been announced: Aspire 6920G and 8920G, and both are due next month. Not sure about a Philippine release date. Of course, they won’t come in cheap. The cheapest is priced around US$900 (that’s Php 36900 at US$1=Php41 conversion rate).

Prices of Gemstone laptops should drop by the time these Aspires hit retailers’ shelves.

Technical specifications below:

Aspire 6920G Aspire 8920G
Processor and Chipset Intel Centrino
Intel Core2 Duo
Mobile Intel PM965 Express Chipset
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
Memory DDR2 667 MHz, up to 4GB using 2 soDIMM modules (dual channel)
Hard disk 1 or 2 HDD, up to 320GB each
Optical drive 1X Blu-Ray Disc Super Multi double layer or 8x DVD Super Multi double layer 2X Blu-Ray Disc Super Multi double layer or 8x DVD Super Multi double layer
Video NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GS, up to 12808 MB Turbo Cache (512MB dedicated, up to768MB shared) NVIDIA GeForce 9650 GS or NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GS, up to 12808 MB Turbo Cache (512MB dedicated, up to768MB shared)
Display 16″ Full HD 1920×1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
16″ 1366×768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
18.4″ Full HD 1920×1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
Sound Dolby Home Theater, Acer CineSurround with 5 integrated speakers, Tuba CineBass
Ports ExpressCard, 4 USB ports, HDMI, infrared, VGA, RF-in, headphone/speaker/line-out with S/PDIF, mic-in, line-in
Connectivity WiFi A/B/G/N
1GB LAN
56K modem
Weight 3.5KG with 8-cell battery 4.1KG with 8-cell battery
Operating System Windows Vista Ultimate or Home Premium
11
Mar

gOS/Ubuntu laptops heat up considerably?

One major observation that I can share about gOS/Ubuntu over MSI VR320 K2 is that the laptop generates more heat as compared over the same machine running Windows XP. Sure, under WinXP, it heats up, too, but for laidback use like Web browsing and music, the heat is minimal. It only heats up that much when playing WarCraft III.

However, whenever I use gOS/Ubuntu for Web browsing and music, the heat is more considerable. I am using gOS’ Enlightenment desktop as a matter of preference, so it should not be using the advanced graphics effects of Ubuntu (though I am not sure).

Has anyone experienced the same on Ubuntu-powered portables?

19
Feb

RIP, HD-DVD (2006-2008)

What was rumours a week ago is now official: HD-DVD is dead.

Toshiba announces that it is ending production of HD-DVD players and recorders. Blu-ray wins the format war, and at what cost? This is the Betamax vs. VHS of this decade. Gizmodo liked the HD DVD format more than Blu-ray.

It is rather ironic that the pull out of Warner Brothers – one of the proponents of the HD-DVD – from HD-DVD triggered HD-DVD’s death. Yeah, Toshiba could almost have said “You traitor.”

(Note: While HD-DVD was first conceptualized in 2003, the very first player was released 2006, hence the year in the title of this post.)

22
Jan

Shopping for a laptop, 3 (or how getting one can screw you up)

There are several cheap Celeron-powered laptops in the market today. Most of them arrived at the Php 29,999 price point (back in 2007), but now that is about to drop due to the following reasons:

1. Some manufacturers are releasing cheap Pentium Dual Core laptops, like MSI’s VR320 P2, with SRP of Php 29,999 (lower at several shops). It has the following specs:

* Intel® Pentium® Duo Mobile Technology
* Intel Pentium® Dual Core T2130 1.86GHz 533MHz 1MB L2 Cache Processor
* ATI RC410ME Chipset
* ATI Mobility Radeon X200 Graphics 256MB Shared
* MSI Wireless 802.11G
* 1GB DDR2 Memory (Max: 2GB)
* 60GB Hard Disk Drive
* Super-Multi DVD+/-RW/Ram Dual Layer Drive
* Superb Glare 13.3″ Widescreen Display (1280×768)
* Card Reader 4-in-1 MMC/SD/MS/MSPro
* Firewire Port /10/100Lan / 56K Modem
* 3 x USB2.0, Express Card Slot
* Weight : 2.1kg; Battery life: 3Hours (6-Cell)

With cheap Pentium Dual Core laptops in the market, Celeron laptops appear to be on the way out.

2. Intel is releasing dual-core Celerons soon. While the early Celeron Dual Cores will be desktop-based, it is only a matter of time before Celeron Dual Core powered laptops appear in the market.

Stores will now be hardpressed to dispose their Celeron laptop inventories. Expect these to breach the Php 25,000 barrier (unless distributors pull them out).

I suggest you skip Celeron laptops, notwithstanding the cheap price right now. At the same price, get that MSI VR320 P2.

Or maybe not. I got an MSI VR320 K2 laptop last month for Php 39,999 at 12 months, 0% interest installment term. Net Essentials, MSI’s distributor in the Philippines, in its Web site (linked above) listed an MSI VR320 K2 Plus. It shares the same specs as that of K2, but with an upgraded memory (2GB) and a LOWER price, Php 34,999 (though I think the 0% installment is on a 6 months term only). And yes, I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THAT YOU GET AN MSI LAPTOP, not now that they release new models with better specs and lower prices at such (very) short gaps.

That’s the problem with technology. Get one now, and tomorrow it is already obsolete.

10
Jan

CES 08 Notables, 2

CES LogoListed below are the notables in this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and why:

* Skype on PSP – A gaming phone is near. Just you wait.

* Cloudbook/Nanobook v. eee and Cloudbook’s coming – Should Asus be threatened? At the same price, Cloudbook/Nanobook appears to be better than eee, spec-wise (except for the weight). We’ll see. Everex better put gOS Rocket on Cloudbook.

* Curved displays – What’s next? a 306-degree-view display? Half Life addicts must be salivating at the potential.

* MSI venturing into mobile phones – First, they have to be aggressive first (they have nice notebooks spec-wise per price point). Second, have a better logo; why can’t MSI use its star logo instead of the logotype MSI?

* eee on Splashtop – It seems that Asus’ miniwonder knows no bounds. What’s next? eee pc server edition?

* USB 3.0 – At least we have an idea on how the connector would look like. Hopefully it is not vaporware.

* Point-here-and-there – Military generals would want this. Congress better look out.

8
Jan

CES 08 Notables, 1

CES LogoListed below are the notables in this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and why:

* Panasonic’s humongous TV screen – If that ain’t big, you must be Goliath. 150-inch plasma? You must have a net worth like Bill Gates’ to get one – if it becomes available. And soon. (Via Engadget)

* Pioneer’s extreme contrast concept plasma – Good thing I was not there, or I might have sensory overload.

* Bill Gates’ final CES keynote – Aside from the fact that it was the last time for Bill (ha ha ha, yeah right, first name basis) to keynote CES, the intro video was LOL.

* Asus’ eee pc with WiMax – It seems that Asus can’t go wrong with its eee line. I wonder how much it will cost. And with GSMA going for LTE, do not expect this unit to ship here (unless one telco offers WiMax here, ehem Bayantel). And those early adopters in the US must be puking now.

* Driver-less cars by 2018 – Finally, an incentive for me to get a car – if I have the funds by that time. But, nah. Unless GM ditches manual override, Filipino drivers will override the auto when they find the car slow. Filipinos are after all, more daring versions of Michael Schumacher. Either that, or these automated cars get attitudes due to horrendous traffic and undisciplined Filipinos.