racoma.netI love to write. I write to live. I live to love.

Seven this morning, my kids woke me up, asking for their usual morning breakfast cereal. I groggily obliged, only protesting a bit how early it was. You see, it’s a Saturday morning and one usually wants to sleep in during weekends! Don’t wake me up yet, please. But, alas, with two kids pulling here and [...]

Of all the notebook computers, netbooks and LCD screens I’ve ever had, only two had glossy screens. Most of the others have those dull, matte screens. Now most laptop and netbook marketing materials would want you to believe that glossy screens are the best. Well, to some extent they are good. They give crisper colors, [...]

My first netbook was an Asus Eee PC 701. And as with most netbooks that vintage, it came preloaded with Linux, particularly Xandros. While it wasn’t the best Linux distribution, it worked out of the box with the Eee PC. It was good enough for me, that is until I wanted more functionality out of [...]

In 2005, MIT Media Labs’ Nick Negroponte touted the idea of a cheap, sturdy portable computer meant for educational use, and the OLPC project was born amid much buzz. One Laptop Per Child–a very interesting concept! They wanted to produce a small laptop that had long battery life, an easy to understand user interface, and [...]

Writers are a spoiled bunch. We have all sorts of habits–some strange, some mundane. Just like most creative individuals, a lot of writers need to be in the zone in order to be productive. That means we cannot be forced to just work. We need space. We need a great environment. Otherwise, the world will [...]

In this day and age of lightning-fast email communication and instant messaging, you would expect companies to be able to provide fast customer service, too. Take for instance your telephone company, or your electricity distributor, or your cable TV company. Most of these utilities usually have a 24-hour helpdesk. This means I can call them [...]

Social Media has changed how people produce and consume information, both offline and online. Business people and marketing mavens have recognized the power of social media, and even PR firms are getting into viral and social marketing campaigns online. Some of them are getting it right. Some others are entirely missing the point. Unfortunately, the [...]

Since we both started working from home, my wife and I developed a habit of watching movies on TV or DVD during evenings when we didn’t have much workload. Lately, every Thursday evening, we enjoy catching the latest episode of Harper’s Island, which is a grisly suspense series not for the squeamish. The premise is [...]

The hot news recently about Twitter is how “uncomfortable” it is becoming with third parties using the word “tweet” in their user interfaces. TechCrunch cites a snippet of a email conversation between Twitter and a third-party developer, and how Twitter is trying to protect its intellectual property. Twitter, Inc is uncomfortable with the use of [...]

New media has changed the way we consume and spread information. Social media mavens might want you to believe that blogs, tweets and social networks are all it takes to spread news. And fast. That sort of takes traditional media out of the picture. It’s dying after all, right? Or is it? I learned of [...]