The Beanster Blog

On Thursday, Jan26th it was revealed that Ministry of Sound had acquired the record label Hed Kandi along with the Enterprise Records division of Smooth FM (formerly Jazz FM ) from Guardian Media Group Radio Holdings for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition includes all associated labels of the GMG Radio Records division including One Two Records. -- According to MoS execs they will keep the core values of 'Kandi' [which is good news] and of course MoS is a bigger company so hopefully Kandi will improve and grow as a sub-label under them. -- Full Article HERE

Wow it's already the 31st of January! We're already one month into the year 2006. Hmmm time seems to fly so fast when you're busy. Well I hope I can cope with all the things I have to accomplish, both for work and our little side business [with friends].

I was born under the year of the Sheep... so I decided to check out what this year holds for me. Here is the full excerpt for this year 2006 Year of the Fire Dog. -- General Situation This year you'll benefit from excellent astral influxes. You'll know how to profit by life and by all the events it brings about. You'll achieve most of your dearest projects. However, you'll sometimes have to cope with questions that may perhaps be brutal and painful but that will bring about a definite improvement of your attitude and of your heart. Submit yourself graciously to such astral influences, do not shirk them. You might pretty often happen to be too idealistic, to the point of losing your sense of reality and consequently exposing yourself to deceptions you'll find hard to endure. Try to have better balanced views of people and things. In order to protect yourself against sorrow and discouragement provoked by other people's demeanor that you will deem deplorable, remin...

Happy Birthday: -- Mona Giovanna Ang Katrina Ong -- May the Force Be With You...

Last Friday [January 27, 2006] BIGFISH flew in the World's Number 1 DJ and my personal fave Mr. Paul van Dyk [PvD] it was a mind blowing event and the German trancer proved to Trance loving Pinoys that he deserves to be on top. I was able to bring my camera but I had a lot of trouble getting nice pics [I wasn't sure which settings to use was also able to get some vids but the sound is really bad] I'm posting them anyway. -- Venue/Parking: World Trade Center Metro Manila in Pasay. IMO one of the better venues available it definitely beats Phil Trade. First it is bigger. Much better maintaned also it's well lighted has a big parking lot with security guards too. Good job BIGFISH on getting a bigger and better venue. PvD deserves no less. Hehehe Ticket Price/Entrance Procedure: PhP 800.00 for regular tickets. VIP is at PhP 12,000. We got regular tickets cause we couldn't find six more people... Anyway 800 seems a fair price and I'm sure it also inadvertently fil...

Happy Chinese New Year to one and all! -- May the Force Be With You...

Went to Tiu's Birthday Bash over at PGA cars. Lot's of drinks and food, and baloons! There was also a small game of poker going on :). Over all it was a fun night. Pity I wasn't able to take a lot of pics... my camera's battery gave out; must've been cause of the people watching my PvD vids on it well speaking of PvD I'll probably work on my Party Report tomorrow. So watch out for that :) -- [Click on Image for Some Pics]

Happy Birthday -- Jill Buñag -- May the Force Be With You...

Happy Birthday: -- Francesca 'Kaka' Yao -- May the Force Be With You...

Tonight's the night my kiddies! In case you've been living in a cave or under a rock some place... PvD is coming to Manila tonight! One night only... the World's No. 1 DJ is here to rock your socks off! Wow I am so excited! I can hardly concentrate here at work! Damn! PvD PvD PvD! :P

I've installed the Low CPU version for PocketPC on my 838. I was able to connect to our office WiFi network, connect to my Bluetooth headset and make calls. Though it is a novel way to communicate the call quality on my end is very bad... on the other end the people I talked to said my voice was clear and understandable. It may be because of my PocketPC's relatively underpowered processor [the 838 has a 195mhz TI OMAP processor]. I would use it on my notebook but I don't have a headset for my notebook. I might keep SKYPE around on my PPC for a bit for some more testing but so far it seems unuseable on my 838. --

The year is 1999 the world is under attack from an unknown Alien force. You are the Earth's last line of defense! -- This is a fantastic port of the hit strategy game UFO [aka X-COM: Enemy Unknown], I'm happy to report it is compatible with WM5.0 [v1.24] I have it installed on my miniSD and it plays great! Warning this is one hell of an addictive game! :P -- To get PocketUFO on your device head over to SMK's Website . --

I've gone widget crazy on my notebook :P Widgets are like mini applications that reside on your desktop. They are alot of fun and are quite useful too [it doesn't hurt that they look good on your desktop as well] -- As of now,I have Day Planner, Calendar, Analog Clock, Text Clock, WiFi, Battery, Volume, IP Address, HDD, Weather, Currency,Notes, CPU, Darth Vader, LOST, Waste Basket -- Download: YAHOO! WIDGET ENGINE and WIDGETS [with widgets] [without widgets]

Happy Birthday: -- Alf Go Candice Caren Tiu John Clarence Tiu Marcus Ong Renee Unson -- May the Force Be With You...

When Paul van Dyk came for his Reflections Tour in 2004 I made a theme for Nokia 7610, since I've switched to a PocketPC Phone this time around I decided to make a Today Theme. It's available at my deviantART page . I also made content for other mobiles so that everyone can have a little bit of PvD on their mobiles... :D -- Download Today Theme here -- 174 x 132 px ~ Nokia N6600/N7610 [and similar] Download 174 x 132 Wallpapers here -- 176 x 220 px ~ Sony Ericsson k750i/w800i [and similar] or Motorola MPx 220/v3/v600 [and similar] Download 176 x 220 Wallpapers here -- 128 x 128 px Nokia N3100/N3200 [and similar] Download 128 x 128 Wallpapers here -- Also available are four mp3 tones from the Politics of Dancing 2 album which I made [these are 30secs. each 96kbps stereo mp3]. Kuffdam and Plant - Summerdream Solange - Messages Paul van Dyk - The Other Side CJ Stone - Shine Download Tones here -- If your mobile is not supported or you need help sending these f...

Took a few pics of last night's surprise for GK -- [Click Image for the Online Album]

Happy Birthday: -- Gervin Kaw Jenalyn Joy Po Jimmy Li -- May the Force Be With You...

Manny 'The Pac Man' Pacquiao Chomps on Erik 'El Terrible' Morales... -- I was watching the match on the telly yesterday. I was excited about it... I didn't mind the commercials as I knew this would be an adverting gem as millions of Pinoys would be watching... it's a given! As I said I was excited up until my friend sent me the results via Yahoo Messenger that is... it's all good though I still watched the match till Pac Man ended it 2 mins and 33 secs into the 10th round. I think the Pac Man won because of superior conditioning... Morales looked terrible [minus the El] towards the latter part of the match, not taking away from the Mexican though as he is a great fighter, maybe it's just Manny's time. I always thought that their first meeting should've never happened. Pacquiao had just moved up a weight class and his first fight was with Morales now call me cuckoo but I think Pacquiao should have atleast 1 or 2 matches more before meeting Morales...

Just heard some sad news: Ernie Baron aka The Walking Encyclopedia passed away this morning. -- Taken from ABS-CBN website: -- ABS-CBN correspondent Ernie Baron, known for his moniker "the walking encyclopedia," passed away Monday morning at the age of 65, ANC reported. His attending physician Cesar Berroya said Baron was declared dead on arrival at 9:30 a.m. at Medical Center Muntinlupa. He said Baron may have died of silent myocardial infection or of diabetes complications. Baron's daughter, Shirley, said his father did not answer when called for breakfast on Monday morning. She said she immediately barged into the room and rushed his unconscious father to the hospital. Baron hosted the program Knowledge Power over radio DZMM and was the weather reporter for ABS-CBN's primetime news program TV Patrol. -- News Story

-- Wow! My fave DJ is coming to Manila this weekend. Woot woot woot! The good news is that the venue is now at World Trade Center IMO this is a much safer and nicer venue compared to PhilTrade. Still not sure who I'm going with... But come hell or high water I'll be there, even if I have to go alone >:P -- Artist info: Paul van Dyk More info: bigfish

Went to Jek's daughter's christening over at Santuario at GHE yesterday afternoon. We had some snacks after, saw a few of my high school buddies had a few laughs hehe. After the christening, someone [I think it was Per] suggested we play CS, so we proceeded to PowerPlay to play a few maps. I'm a bit rusty but still had a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday: -- Albert Yap -- May the Force Be With You...

Happy Birthday: -- Rexlon Gatchalian -- May the Force Be With You...

Category: Music Genre: Dance & DJ Artists: Various Artists It's expected from labels like MOS to put out compilations such as Clubbers Guide. This compilation is no different from 'Big Tunes' or their 'The Annual' compilations and it's filled with hits! Sometimes the songs from these 3 seem to repeat with just the mixes and/or track list slightly different... Don't get me wrong I still get the albums despite of this. I actually have a lot of duplicate songs because of this. In retrospect this is actually ok since when I like a track I try to get a hold of other mixes. This is basically a Dance and House compilation, and if you're a fan of those genres have a listen to MOS' take on current/upcoming hits. Trash your copy of Everafter and gear up with these tunes. Pay attention to Phat Beach which is an ode to that hit show [come on everybody was watching it!] BAYWATCH... I was laughing whilst listening to it, I do feel though that it is a well pro...

Category: Music Genre: Dance & DJ Artist: Various Artists This is Kandi's take on the hits for 2006, let me re-phrase that. This is Kandi's take on the 'House' hits for 2006. This compilation is brimming with very nice tracks and if your a fan of House music I'm sure you'll appreciate this release. I got this compilation towards the end of 2005, and only listened to it now. I especially like Disc 1 and 2 :D Disc 1 - Disco Heaven Disc 2 - Twisted Disco Disc 3 - Back 2 Love [bonus] For more info and tracklist: hedkandi

Category: Movies Genre: Fantasy/Drama Fantasy/Drama This is actually a pretty nice movie. Amazing effects. The story line is a bit tragic. Now they say that this movie topped Stephen Chow's Kungfu Hustle at the box office. I mean with the effects they did here I'm a bit suprised... IMO Hustle's was a bit more realistic but then again this is a fantasy flick. [SPOILER WARNING!!!] Ok so here's the deal. Amidst a the end of a great battle a little girl steals bread from the dead. A little boy captures her and teases her, she promises to be his slave but tricks him getting both the bread and her freedom. While escaping she drops the bread into the river... as she is crying a Godess appears before her and makes her promise, that in exchange for a good life any man she loves would die. She makes the promise. Fast forward 20 years. A slave is taken in by a great general, the duke is holding the king hostage, the general is wounded by an assasin, the slave pretends to be the ge...

Category: Documentary DVD Genre: Pro-Wrestling Bret Hart DVD Just finished watching this on my notebook. This is a must see for any wrestling fan. It tells the story of one of my all time favorite wrestlers. Also known as the 'Excellence of Execution' or 'The Hitman', Bret Hart was really awesome in the ring. He's a wonderful technical wrestler and was massively popular back when the WWE was still WWF. I really admire Bret's dedication and professionalism. This documentary shows Bret's humble beginnings in Canada to his success in the WWF, to the end of his Pro-wrestling career. As a wrestling fan we all know how Bret got screwed by Vince. Bret and Vince both speak about the incident and it really is quite interesting. Also fun to watch is Bret vs Austin and the Canada vs America angle. Hopefully more wrestlers will be like Bret who has given a lot to pro-wrestling and even more to fans like me. Trivia: Did you know that in the 20 years of The Hitman’s caree...

Everytime I go to China I come across funny things that go wrong with tranlation [CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]: -- China seems to have everything... everything except the letter 'R' that is. " FILE HYDLANT " -- "THE ROOM OF ELECTRIC EDUCATION" is actually the Computer Room -- "SLIP DEFENDING MATS" are there to assure you of a safe shower -- A pack of " COMDOMS " notice how the brand is made to resemble durex's logo :P -- :D

Jsut got back from China... what else is there to do... but go out for a gimmick! Hahaha! I've a couple of reviews in the making and will probably be posting them tomorrow... :P

Category: Music Genre: Dance & DJ Artist: Various Artists Ministry of Sound the Annual is something that MOS releases towards the start of the year [or end of one year] as a benchmark for the upcoming hits and tunes for the year. Sadly sometimes it becomes the tracklist of choice for their other compilations... still the Annual is a worthwhile ablum to listen to as it will definitely have massive tracks in there. Case in point is with this 2006 release which have some awesome tunes in there! Just get it and listen to it and you'll see!

January 17, 2006 2:00pm Airport Chatter... We didn't get to the airport early (was traveling with my dad who has a penchant for being late) and so we got seats in the middle of the plane. As it was still 45 minutes till boarding I decided to have a few cigarettes and go online so I bought an airborne access pre-paid WiFi card at the smoking lounge (unlike NAIA 1 the smoking lounge in terminal 2 had WiFi) so I was about to go online when the person I was sharing the table with (a heavy set Arab man) started to talk with me. Now I really like talking to fellow smokers waiting for flights so I decided to turn off my dopod and chat with this guy for awhile. Boy is it sad, so sad... He's been doing business in Asia for about 20 years and he's telling me that the Philippines is being left behind by our neighbors (undeniable truth) anyway he was telling me horror stories about some of his friends' experiences in the Philippines, these people are potential investors that have t...

This is a test post :-P

I'm off to China will be back on Friday...

Happy Birthday: -- Carlo Lhaora -- May the Force Be With You...

Added a new album under MY GALLERIES it's for my dopod 838. Maybe I'll add an album for Burger as well when I have more pics of him. I also changed MY FEATURED VIDEO ~ you can now enjoy Rise Again from the movie It's All Gone Pete Tong .

Was playing with our dog Burger this morning. Such a silly little puppy! Here he is trying to be cute... -- -- -- -- -- Anyway took him out for a walk and guess what he took a dump in front of the neighbor's house hahaha anyway I had to ask the maid to get the poop [I ain't pickin' up no poop!] Such a silly dog! hahaha -- :D Hehehehe

I've posted before about a ' Tech Road Map ' a sort of informal tech guide to what gadgets I would like to acquire. Now it's time to see just how far I've gotten on my little map. -- January 2006 Where am I now??? In August 2005, I wanted a notebook and a dedicated audio device. I was able to get myself a notebook and even if there were a few bumps and hiccups here I am using my own notebook! Whee! this is actually the first computer that I solely own, yep no Guests accounts on my notebook! As for the dedicated audio device I have held off on buying one. I'm thinking that audio just wouldn't cut it anymore maybe a PMP [portable media player] so it can handle videos as well :D I've seen the Cowon A2 and the Archos upfront and damn do they have gorgeous screens! The initial infatuation with iPODs have really sputtered to nothing hehehe. So far I'm content with my PPC and a 1GB miniSD for my music and some videos. If you frequent my blog you would know...

Right my friend just got herself a Moto V3 in PINK and she's selling it! -- All of you know what a Motorola v3 is right!? Anyway it's a sexy ass phone, and if you're into PINK get it! -- Remember this baby is brand new and it's open line [you can use an operator of your choice] so it's PhP 14,000.00 -- If you're interested go on over to my friend's blog >>CLICK HERE -- [Moto v3 in PINK!!!]

With the release of WM5.0 and Activesync 4, Microsoft removed the WiFi sync capabilities for security reasons. USB sync and Bluetooth Sync are still working though. I never really used WiFi sync as I didn't want to bother with too many settings. I usually sync via USB but also sync over Bluetooth just because I can :D. I am still using the same old MSI Bluetooth dongle that I've been using since 2001. It's still Bluetooth 1, I'm holding off purchases on Bluetooth gadgets until my 838 catches up with the release of Microsoft's AKU2 for WM5.0. I wrote dopod yesterday to inquire about when they would release a upgrade for the 838 and sadly I got the usual reply thanking me for purchasing a dopod, telling me that they are testing it before releasing it and instructing me to check their website for updates. Well atleast they replied. -- [My dopod838 connected via Bluetooth to my Notebook's Activesync]

Went to Greenhills this morning to sell my i-mate and Moto. I admit I didn't get a price that I was hoping for but as I've said before this is Nokia country and well other mobiles like PocketPC Phones and Windows Smartphones have yet to gain any strong foot hold and does doesn't command a high resale price. Anyway I'm glad I've disposed of my other devices now all my efforts and finances can be focused on my 838. Hehehe :D

Ok I went and updated my 838 to different ROMs last night, actually spilled over to the morning swapping ROMs slept at around 4am. Anyway every operation went smoothly using tools and instructions from http://forum.xda-developers.com/ the first ROM I tried was the T-Mobile UK release 1.6.xx anyway it was very heavily customized with a lot of T-Mobile stuff! I then flashed my OS only with a Qtek 9100 1.6.7 WWE OS. This OS was very basic. Anyway I fell asleep and when I woke up I decided to revert back to my original ROM because the newer ROMs removed some functionality with Bluetooth Streaming [mono only]. So I was doing the update and suddenly my PPC got disconnected! Holy Shit I was sweating bullets! The screen got stuck on the T-Mobile Splash Screen! It wasn't responding and a hard reset did not help! I tried connecting it to my notebook but it wasn't being recognize. I was thinking the worse that my new device would become a 41 thousand peso paperweight. Fortunately some fo...

I love music. And one of the reasons I got a 1GB miniSD card was to be able to bring some music with me. -- I got myself a pair of JVC HA-E200 retractable earphones. I also got a white 2.5mm to 3.5mm converter. -- The good thing about using a converter versus the default wired headset is that you can now use most earphones. The downside is if a call comes you would have to unplug and take the call. -- I haven't tried the bundled wired headsets yet [they are still in the box] -- I still have my boxwave miniBuds around the house somewhere these doesn't have the best quality but have the best portability as they are also retractable [it's about time I look for them]. What I really want is Bluetooth streaming to a Stereo Headset! That way I don't have to mess with wires. The hardware can definitely support it [the 838 has Bluetooth Class 2] it's Microsoft's Bluetooth Stack that has let me down. I really hope dopod comes out with AKU2 already! That way I can get myse...

This is my 10th Day with my dopod383 [aka bean838] yeah I name my gadgets :) they are like pets you see! This device has times when it acts very sluggish, must be because of the underpowered TI OMAP processor. The battery life is amazing though. Haven't really installed a lot of applications trying to keep apps at a minimum cause I don't want to overwork the PPC. Still waiting for dopod to release a new ROM with Microsoft's AKU2 which would support Bluetooth A2DP [Advanced Audio Distribution Profile], I do hope I made the right choice buying the dopod instead of getting the WIZA200 [i-mate k-JAM or Qtek9100]. I'm loving the UI improvements, navigation is definitely improved. Still need some time to get used to soft keys though and I find myself doing a tap and hold when I can just press the soft key. I've been a subscriber of Globe Telecom since 1997 and well their service hasn't really improved that much. GPRS is still slow as a snail and it is a pain to surf u...

Happy Birthday: -- Joe Bailey Guerrero -- May the Force Be With You...

As with all my gadgets I'm always looking for ways to customize it... to set it apart from the rest of the devices out there. Well since this is a Pocket PC Phone my various Today Themes work with it. I am currently using my BeansterBlog today theme. Designed as you may have guessed to match this blog. I made it for WM2003SE but it stil works with WM5.0 although the internal colors of the today theme are not followed [tap n hold circles, etc] I think something was changed with the Today themes on WM5.0, For my today plugins I am using only 3. Date [built in], PocketBreeze, Device Lock [built in]. PocketBreeze is skinnable and I am using chefz's Red Redux skin which I converted for QVGA use. The Red and Black is very Sith like IMO hehehe. Come to the Dark Side! I'm also using the Black silicone case that I bought this keeps my device safe from scratches and minor bumps. As I said before, the case does not allow for use of the slide out QWERTY. I also attached two phone char...

I won't be using my SUN Mobile anymore. I'v given the SIM card to Yap. Please be guided accordingly. You may still reach me via my Globe Mobile Number. Thanks :D

THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD Hardware: i-mate JAM (aka HTC Magician) Form Factor: PDA Platform: Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Pocket PC Phone Edition Dimensions: Approx. 58 (W) x 108 (H) x 18.1 (T) mm Weight with battery: 150g Processor: Intel PXA 272 CPU Clock speed: 416MHz Communications: Tri-band GSM/GPRS Bluetooth® 1.2 Wireless Technology Infrared Wireless Technology (115 kbps) mini USB Data Input: Touchscreen with Stylus Data Output: 2.8" 320 x 240 (QVGA) 65K Colour TFT Screen (Touch Sensitive) Main Speaker Mic 2.5mm Stereo Jack Memory and Expansion: Flash ROM: 64MB RAM: 64MB SDIO ready slot x 1 Battery Removable rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery, 1,200mAh Operating time: Standby 180 hours Talk time 4 - 5 hours **Battery life may vary depending on RF conditions and actual usage Extras: 1.3MP CMOS Camera -- ROM version: 1.12.00 WWE [World Wide English] Radio: 1.12.10 Protocol: 1337.42 ExtROM version: 1.12.128 WWE [World Wide English] -- The ROM is very stable. The image...

THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD Hardware: Motorola MPx 220 Platform: Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Smartphone Form Factor: Clamshell Dimensions: Approx. 48 (W) x 100 (H) x 24 (T) mm Weight with battery: 110g Processor: Texas Instruments OMAP 1611 Dual Core Processor Clock speed: 204MHz Communications: Quad-band GSM/GPRS Bluetooth® 1.0 Wireless Technology Infrared Wireless Technology (115 kbps) prorietary Motorola connector Data Input: Keypad Data Output: 2.2" in 176 x 220 65K Colur TFT Screen (non-touch screen) 1" in 96 x 64 4096K Colour TFT (non-touch screen) Main Speaker Mic 2.5mm Stereo Jack Memory and Expansion: Flash ROM: 64MB RAM: 32MB miniSD slot x 1 Battery Removable rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery, 1,000 mAh Li-Ion Operating time: Standby 110 hours Talk time 4.5 hours **Battery life may vary depending on RF conditions and actual usage Extras: 1.3MP CMOS Camera + Flash (Photo Assist Light) -- ROM version: Operator: 0.590.4001.0 Manufacturer: 1.490.0.0 Microsoft:...

Category: Notebooks, Accessories Type: Work Space Enhancement Price: HKD 329.00 [PhP 2286.55][it's listed at HKD 269 on Targus' HK Website - FUCK!] -- This is one of those spur of the moment purchases that I don't regret too much. Mainly because I really need it unlike other stuff I buy that I don't really need hehe. I just got it for a lot more than what is listed at Targus' website... as expected the Duty Free Shop at Kai Tak Int'l Airport in Hong Kong is not really the best place to buy stuff... Anyway I happened by this not by accident my bro pointed it out. -- As the name suggests this is a LapDesk meaning it will help you carry your notebook and mouse on your lap. It also works as a mount for your notebook when you are working on your desk, by tilting your notebook it accomplishes the following: 1 it makes it easier to type, and 2 it promotes ventilation of your notebook. -- Tilt Stand mode: I'll be primarily be using this on my desk at work and at ho...