Check Out: The Verge Back to School Buying Guide

From The Verge

Although school started in the Philippines two months ago, it will start in September for places with temperate climate (a kind of climate which has four seasons) especially in the US. This is why technology sites like The Verge post back-to-school buying guides so that students and parents have an idea on what to get for this school year.

This one's special though since this is one of the most sophisticated and beautifully designed web pages I have ever seen. I'm gonna make this short though since this post is merely just to promote this amazing piece of web design. Of course, it has great choices for what to get for students.

Click the link below:

THE VERGE BACK TO SCHOOL BUYING GUIDE

The Verge @ CES 2013

theverge.com/ces-2013

The 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is still ongoing in the Las Vegas Convention Center (when it's open) and out of all the coverage I've seen, it's The Verge that has an INSANE amount of content during the event. They have a giant compound outside the venue in order to bring you news, interviews, and hands-on videos of the gadgets and companies in CES. They even put a video panel JUST BECAUSE of their insane video content.

To find out more about their coverage, go to theverge.com/ces! Thanks for the coverage!

Check them out on:
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On The Verge of Reading: My Fave Tech Site

TheVerge.com: More than just tech. 

(Sorry for not posting about WWDC and the Windows Phone Summit. Don't worry though, I will come back with those thoughts plus Google I/O for comparisons.)

I love technology. It inspired me to where I am right now, studying for a degree in Computer Science. It also gave way to another side of me: the geeky side. The side of me that always pays attention to all the new gadgets that are coming out, even though they're not available in our part of the world. I also owe it to technology, which brought innovations like the Internet that actually enables me to get this information on technology ever so quickly.


Despite the vast number of sites out there dedicated to technology, whether vague or specific, I like how The Verge covers it. The site may seem to look like a normal tech news site, but it's actually more than that. There are certain stories made here that goes out of the normal news-centric theme and goes to the point where it tells you how that certain technology (or lack of it) can change our lives.


Of course it wouldn't be a meaningful tech site without podcasts. The Verge has two. First is The Vergecast where they discuss the week with pretty much anything that The Verge stands for. Even the humor and quirkiness of the podcast makes this a unique experience to listen and to watch. It is usually hosted by their Editor-in-Chief, Joshua Topolsky, and two other hosts, usually would be Nilay Patel and Paul Miller but it could be anyone else from their team.


Then they have The Verge Mobile Show which was formerly known as The Verge Mobile Podcast, since they made the leap to video. This one's hosted by Dieter Bohn, Vlad Savov and Chris Ziegler. They usually talk about the week in mobile technology, since the drive in consumer technology is dependent on how the players in the mobile space. I've been following this faithfully since mobile is what I'm deeply interested in and I hope that competition will continue to thrive.


They also do a monthly web show, called On The Verge where they have guests from the big players in technology, tech culture, and everything else that affects it. An episode's usually an hour long, and usually contains interviews and featurettes that are usually funny and informative.


What I can say is, the people behind this amazing site are amazing and I hope they continue on the promise of a good insight of technology and how it can influence our lives. :)


Will catch up with the month of tech that is June.

Epilogue: Moving On

(This is the final post on the "Final Days of Summer" series. See what I just did there? Haha. Anyway, click HERE for the rest of the posts of this no-common-theme series. Also, I did an update to the 5000-view post, so vote now because I moved the deadline to the 30th of June. Click HERE to vote now!)


You may be wondering why there's an epilogue. I just want some closure for maybe my last summer vacation in my entire life. Honestly, I seriously hope I can go on more vacations because I may need it after this hell of a semester I'm about to face. 


Change is inevitable. The only thing that's permanent in this world is change. Some people embrace it, others resist it as hard as they can. In the end, it's either you "ADAPT or DIE". I got that from a recent podcast episode of the Vergecast where Joshua Topolsky explained how the entertainment industry, particularly in movies and television, has to change their model or else they will be consumed by the advancements of technology.


The only thing I can say about change is that I will embrace it with open arms and whatever happens to me will happen. I hope my dream for the future will stay intact because I intend to do that dream.


Well, time to get serious. School's in.

What's on My Homescreen?: Most Used Apps

I decided to start off how I use my iPhone by showing you guys what my homescreen looks like, which is right up there. Before I made this post, I used to have more folders but then I realized how tiring it is to make a few more taps just to get to my favorite apps. What I did is to put it back the way I wanted it to be, with minor changes. This will be spread throughout several posts that I will be doing this week before school arrives to haunt me again. YAY. (sarcasm) After which, I will be reading several of my favorite sites for Apple's main event in June which is the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC for short). 


Without further ado, let's start with my most used apps.


The "Spotlight" Bar: Music, Phone, Messages, and App Store


I specifically put these in the bar for good reasons: it's an iPhone so of course it has a Phone, I receive text messages from time to time, I listen to music a lot, and I frequently check on updates for apps I own. Simple enough.


The Facebook Folder

I know, I know. You're wondering why I download these Facebook apps. It's either because my connections are very much alive within Facebook or I simply download them to test their sturdiness as apps. Of all of them though, my favorite is still Facebook Messenger. Although, their Camera app is already showing promise despite the fact they bought Instagram. Still, Facebook's main app is SUPER SLOW. Loading it makes me wait like FOREVER. They better improve it because the transition to mobile feels like inevitable to me.


Twitter - I never would have gotten more addicted to Twitter if it weren't for iOS, since I started my Twitter addiction through my iPod touch.

Apple Apps: Safari, Reminders, Camera, Photos, Videos and Calculator


Honestly, I use these more than the rest of the apps after this. Safari for web browsing, Reminders keeps me updated with things-to-do (helps me a lot), Camera, Photos, and Videos for pictures and video, and Calculator for easy computations with some stuff.


Instagram - I used this before, but it seemed kinda boring. Then, the news that Android's gonna get it blew my mind. So I decided to try this again last April. I use it regularly since then. Good thing I have used it before exclusivity was lost. Whew! (No offense, Android people. I enjoy your company now!)

Flashlight - Because you never know when brownout strikes at home. 'Nuff said.


Homescreen Websites: The Verge and TechnoBuffalo


These sites have been my first source for tech news whenever I get home from OJT. This is where I find out whether the Galaxy S III actually sucks or if the new iPhone really gets a 4" screen. There are more sites I go to for more tech, but these are the first.


Flipboard - I used to read articles by using the Reader functionality in Safari, then I watched an episode of App Judgment of Revision3 and found Flipboard, a way to read articles like a newspaper. There are dedicated sections for News, Technology, even for the social networking sites I'm on, if connected to the app.

Pocket - I was reading in Flipboard for some time now, when I saw a random article about Read It Later being reworked from the ground up. It is now known as Pocket, an app that saves things that you want to read or watch later on your iPhone. This actually saves time in my part because I want to read things without any disturbance of ads and all. It's good that this exists. ^^


BatteryDoctor - I sometimes worry that the battery drains too much, so I downloaded this app and so far it has given me an accurate summary of the battery's performance.


Speedtest - This is my main speed tester to see how fast Globe's signal can be. It's effective at most cases. I will rant about Globe's speed in a separate video.


That's it for the most used apps for my iPhone. Stay tuned as I swipe the screen for more of "What's on My Homescreen?"