How to choose the right laptop

When purchasing a new laptop, you should not base it on the price alone. You should also take into consideration what type of user you are, what applications or program will you be using, how much screen size and resolution do you need and the physical ports that you need.


Like for example, if you are the type of user who multitasks a lot like opening multiple tabs on your browser while opening more than 2 or 3 applications, you will need a larger ram to handle workload that you will be using. A laptop with 4GB or larger RAM would be able to handle the workload while a laptop with only 2GB of RAM will be having a hard time coping up with the task. Know if your laptop is the latter that only has 2GB or RAM, you will get frustrated with it since it will freeze a lot and might even crash at times. But if your laptop has 4GB or more, your laptop will be able to handle the workload and multitasking won't cause the laptop to freeze.

Now if you are the type of user who uses processor intensive programs like Adobe Photoshop, a laptop that has a powerful processor like lets say a Intel Core i3 or above processor with equivalent or faster performance, the application or program will be able to run smoothly. But if you have a laptop with a Intel Celeron or similar processor, the processor will be having a hard time handling the process and your laptop might freeze occasionally.

And for users who are more into gaming or who uses programs that might gain performance benefits from a more powerful graphic processing unit, a laptop with a dedicated graphic processing unit like an Nvidia or AMD Radion chip inside will be much more preferred. Since laptops with a dedicated processing unit has a much more powerful graphic performance and it also has it's own RAM unlike the onboard graphic processing unit like the Intel HD which uses the RAM installed in your computer. Although laptops with dedicated processing unit are more expensive, the performance benefit will normally outweigh the price especially if the laptop is used for gaming. A laptop with higher resolution will also be visually more appealing specially when used for gaming.

And lastly, users who are on the go needs a laptop with a larger battery for mobility. Make a rough estimate as to how many hours you will need to use your laptop with the battery powering it. Like for example, if you will need to use your laptop for 4 hours on battery, it would be better if the laptop that you will purchase can last for 5 or 6 hours on battery.


If you got any questions or you need help in deciding which laptop to purchase, feel free to leave a comment below. I'll reply as soon as I can.

ASUS RT-N12+ Review

Hello readers! This is a review of the ASUS RT-N12+ Wireless Router
which I've been using for a week now. My WiFi Modem which I got from my ISP (PLDT) had been going crazy for months now and my ISP refuse to admit that something is wrong from the WiFi Modem. The WiFi keeps on dropping for no particular reason and sometimes the internet would no longer work on devices connected in it even though the signal is full. Anyways, let's get back to the router.




You can see on the right the specifications that are shown on the box as well as the package content. One thing to note is that this does not come with a Ethernet cable so make sure you have one so you can connect this router to your modem or existing router. On the technical side, this router has 28mb ram which you can see on the Web UI below and the CPU as per checking the System Log is clocked at 575MHz

The features that I really liked about this router are the Guest Access and 300Mbps maximum WiFi speed. The Guest Access is a really handy feature since I'm using this router for both personal and business use. A lot of our customers uses the WiFi and the last time I checked there are around 50 users in the DHCP pool and about 20 are connected to the device. I'm actually impressed with this router since even though that many are already connected to the network the connection did not drop and clients are not experiencing any difficulties in connecting to the WiFi. The WiFi modem which I got from my ISP would go crazy whenever this happens and it would start to heat up a lot. But this router stays so cool that it sometimes made me wonder if it is really is on or not.

Another thing that I liked about this is that it comes with a very wonderful web UI and settings for the geeks can be accessed so if you know how to mess around with the router, you can change some advance settings. You can also see the RAM usage as well as the CPU usage of the router so you can tell when the router is starting to overload. The CPU usage normally stays at 1 or 2 percent and the highest that I've see is around 20 percent. The RAM usage is normally at 88-89% with 90% as the highest I've seen. Below is the screenshot of the web UI. The guest access is already disabled and there are only around 4 clients connected as you can see

Another handy feature that this router has is that you can set it up using Asus Router App which you can download at the Playstore or App Store to configure the device wirelessly. The app can connect to the router either by LAN when the device you are using is connected to the Router's WiFi or by using DDNS which is basically connecting to the device with the internet. This is really handy if you want total control of your network even when you are currently away.

As for the looks, this router is a stylish one. You don't have to worry about hiding it it in fact, you can proudly showcase it on your desk or hang it on your wall. Below are some pictures of the router.

If your looking for a budget friendly wireless router I suggest you give this a shot. The performance is really good and the signal is also stable. I bought this for 1,300 pesos and it's definitely worth the price. If you got any question feel free to leave a comment below. 

Windows 8 vs Windows 7

Before I started using Windows 8.1 I use Windows XP and Windows 7. After I bought my new laptop, I immediately installed a fresh copy of Windows 7. But after installation the Wi-Fi and LAN is not working. So I immediately went to the manufacturer site to download the drivers. But to my surprise, the driver they provided is only for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. And so I was forced to upgrade and use Windows 8.1. To tell you frankly I use to think that Windows 8 is horrible and it's slow. I read in many forums that Windows 8 is like Windows Vista (full of bugs and slow). But after using Windows 8.1 for some months now I proved them wrong. That is why I made this blog since I know many people got mislead by those Pro Windows 7 making all kinds of rumors about Windows 8 so you'll stick to Windows 7. Just to clarify things, I'm writing this purely based on my experience and not to advertise Windows 8.1. I'm primarily using Windows 8.1 and so all these stuff I'm writing are based on my experience alone.
Here's the specs of the laptop I'm using:
Intel Celeron 1007u @ 1.5GHz
2 GB or RAM
500 GB RAM
Model Number: Asus x451ca

Ease of Use 
One of the primary reason I prefer Windows 7 over Windows 8 is that I find Windows 8 hard to use. When I tried using my friend's laptop before, which is Windows 8, I got a hard time looking for the shutdown command. I got used to just going to the start menu and click on the shutdown. But on Windows 8 the start menu does not exist. When you press the Windows Key on the keyboard you go to the tile interface instead. And so after using it the first time I really find it hard to use. But after installing Windows 8.1 and using it for a couple of months, I'm getting comfortable with it and I'm no longer having a hard time. I say you just need to adapt and you'll find it easy to use in a couple of weeks. Although I still find Windows 7 easier to use, but I'm starting to get the hook and I'm getting comfortable with Windows 8. You can set it to automatically go to the desktop after log-in Windows 8.1 instead of the usual tile interface (I'm not sure if this is the correct term).
Conclusion: Windows 7 is still easier to use but you can easily get use to Windows 8 after a couple of weeks.

Performance 
Some say that Windows 8 is buggy and slow. In my case I'm using the updated version which is Windows 8.1, so I'm not sure if this is still the same case as Windows 8. But in my case I find Windows 8.1 smoother to use and more responsive as compared to Windows 7. The animation is smooth, it rarely lags, and I noticed that the performance is also faster as compared to Windows 7. Some of you might debate regarding this but in my case Windows 8.1 is really faster and more responsive as compared to Windows 7.
Conclusion: Windows 8 is faster and more responsive as compared to Windows 7.

Boot Time
This is the major improvement of Windows 8 over the previews version of Windows. Windows 8 has what it calls Hybrid Shutdown which speeds up the booting process. In my case I can cold boot and get to the log in in just around 5-10 seconds. Before I bloated mine with programs it boots in just 3 seconds but after installing several programs it took longer and move to 5-15 seconds. But it's still pretty fast as compared to earlier version of Windows. I tried disabling this Hybrid Shutdown just to test it and after doing a cold boot it took me 20-40 seconds to boot. And so after a while I turned Hybrid Shutdown back on. It might take some time to reboot though since Windows needs to refresh itself in reboot while in Hybrid Shutdown it just hibernate and resume itself.
Conclusion: Windows 8 boots faster as compared to Windows 7.

Sleep
Some of use (specially laptop users) prefer to put our computer in sleep mode instead of shutting it down since it resume to its last state quicker. In my case it resumes in just 2 seconds which really impressed me. This might not be the case for some users but if your hardware is designed for Windows 8 then it should have this 2 seconds resume feature as well.
Conclusion: Windows 8 resumes faster.

Security
Windows 8 has a built in antivirus software and firewall. Microsoft Security Essential (MSE) is now combine in Windows Defender and it comes preinstalled. Once Windows detects that you have no third party antivirus installed, Windows Defender would automatically activate and the real-time protection would turn on. This makes Windows 8 more secure against virus/malware. Windows Defender automatically disable itself once you install a third party antivirus and re-enable itself once Windows detects that no third party antivirus is turned on. If you're a regular user who just use your computer browsing secure sites like Facebook or twitter, you can simply stick to Windows Defender and you won't need to hassle yourself to look for antivirus.
Conclusion: Windows 8 comes with a preinstalled antivirus so you won't need to download a third party.

Conclusion
Overall, my experience with Windows 8.1 is good and right now I would recommend Windows 8.1 over Windows 7 since Windows 8 has a better performance and smoother experience. It might be confusing at first, but after sometime you'll get used to it. The only downside I find with Windows 8.1 is that it consumes more ram. I suggest you use a total of at least 4 GB of ram since the ram it consumes is really big. In my case with all the programs and apps closed I get 0.9GB – 1GB or ram used. And once I start opening programs my 2GB ram easily gets consumed. So if you're planning on using Windows 8.1, I suggest you make sure you have at least 4GB of ram so you can multitask and open multiple tabs on your browser. If your hardware supports Windows 8 then I suggest you give Windows 8 a try.

 
Some of you might notice that sometimes I mention Windows 8.1. This is because what I'm using is Windows 8.1 and not Windows 8. Windows 8.1 is the upgraded version of Windows 8. Windows 8.1 has some features like going directly to desktop after log-in and some other more changes. If you installed Windows 8 on your system, you can upgrade to Windows 8.1 for free.

Asus X451ca Review

This is a simple review about the Asus X451ca. I currently own this laptop so feel free to ask some questions :D

DISPLAY
The screen display is pretty good. The screen produce good colors and has wide viewing angle. I can max the screen brightness when I'm outdoor to and lower it during the night. I sometimes use it for watching anime and it can play 1080p without any problem.

SOUND
The audio is clear and loud. Just make sure to enable the Loudness Equalization to boost it. One thing that interest me about this laptop is the hidden speaker. There is no visible speaker in this laptop which makes me kind of curious. The speaker of this laptop is an Asus Sonic Master. The speaker produce a clear sound (just make sure to turn on Loudness Equalization to boost its volume).

PROCESSOR
Mine is powered by an Intel Celeron 1007u clock at 1.5GHz. Although this is a celeron laptop, it can handle some casual games and photoshop. I basically use mine for programming and it can handle Visual Studio 2013 Professional. I also use some Photoshop for graphic editing and it can handle what I throw at it. It comes with Asus Super Hybrid Engine 2 (SHE2) which automatically set your computer to performance mode when plug in and set it to battery saving mode when on battery mode. SHE2 also enable the 2 second resume which basically makes your laptop wake when you open the screen in just 2 seconds.

KEYBOARD
The keyboard of this laptop is very comfortable to use and is not that noisy as compared to other laptop. It has that premium feel which you can rarely see in laptop in this price point. It has keyboard shortcut for sleep, airplane mode, audio level adjustments, screen brightness, projector (when connecting a secondary display), touch pad enable/disable and stop, play/pause, prev or next. These shortcuts are quite handy when at times.

TOUCH PAD
The touch pad of this laptop is flat unlike in other laptop. It might take time to get used to it but once you'll get used you'll find it quite nice. It has rich gesture controls thanks to the driver made by ASUS. The gestures really makes the navigation very easy and makes your experience better. The 2 buttons below are flat unlike in those common touch pads. I just find the touch pad sensitivity bad sometimes but it rarely happens.

DESIGN
Although this is a entry level laptop, ASUS made it feel like a premium expensive laptop. It has very nice design and it is quite durable too. I accidentally dropped mine but not even a scratch was made. I always bring this to school and I leave it on during the night to do some downloads. What can I say, in terms of design, it's hard to find a laptop like this. 

CONCLUSION
Asus did a good job in this laptop. It comes with many features and it's easy to use. It looks and feels premium too. Mine comes with a 2GB ram but it can be upgraded to 4GB. It comes with 500GB HDD and can also be upgraded to 1TB. The battery life of this laptop is also good. It can last me 3-4 hours of use with thanks to Super Hybrid Engine 2 managing the battery. It gets fully charged in just 2 hours while using.

Broken Friendship

Hello readers (If there are any)!! I'm writing this blog simply to express myself. You’ll notice that there are lots of errors in this since I’m really not in the mood right now. Critics are welcome to read and comment though.


Having a friend who you can talk to is a blessing. Especially if that friend of yours is someone who you knew for more than a year, someone who you can trust, someone you can depend on, someone who you can call as your BEST FRIEND.
But sometimes you just need to say Good Bye. Not because he/she did something wrong to you. But because he/she is changing and you just feel that your friend is already a different person. I choose my friends not by their social status, looks, or anything like that. But I choose them based on their attitude. I make sure that I can get along with my friends and that they don't have any vices. I’m basically the type who pick quality over quantity.

Let's get back to the topic.
I have 2 friends since 1st Year and I consider them as my best friends. But lately they started to act differently. They use to act more formal but now they are more like a delinquent. I tried telling them that about it but they tend to ignore me. And one day they told me they are going to a birthday party (they made the same excuse last week) and they told me that there were no liquors served. But later I talked to one of the person who attended and I found out that they were drinking and got very drunk. When I heard that it made me decide to end our relationship and get back to being strangers. I mean why would they even lie to me about it? They even got so drunk that they lied on the street! Are they not ashamed of what they’ve done? They even made birthday party as an excuse to meet up with the clan members they organize to drink up. And this is not the first time. Last week they also did the same with the same excuse and before that they also made the same excuse making this the 3^rd time they’ve done this.

And so 2 days after they went to my house I didn’t talk to them and just ignore them. I already told my Mom about it a day before so she was the one who explained it to them. Although it really hurt to ignore them and end our friendship. But I already set my mind to it. I already told them before that I don’t want to be accompanied by people who has vices, people who drinks a lot. But knowing that they still drink to their hearts content and even lied to me when I asked them.

I just can’t pretend like nothing happened after they lied to me and after they start to get addicted to alcohol. I know that they drink liquors long before but not to that extend that they drink weekly and do shameful stuff. They even made a clan wherein they would organize a place to meet up and drink. I just can’t pretend anymore after all this series of events. They knew that one of my personal philosophy is to evade people who brings bad influence and I already told them that once I start to ignore someone that already means that I dislike that person. I already warned them before that once I stop talking and starts ignoring you that means that I’m considering our friendship. I told them this a long time ago and I rarely talk to them for the past week but they still didn’t seem to care. I gave them lots of signs but either they didn’t notice at all or they just don’t care.

After they talked with my Mom they told her that they would say sorry to me but depending on their explanation and whether they would change back or not, it would either end our friendship completely or I would forgive them and make peace.

Well, I'm basically a loner up until I met them.
It’s their life they can do what they want.

Thanks for reading and I’m sorry for the poor way this is written. I’m just not in the mood to blog but I figured I really need to express myself even by writing.

Panda Cloud Antivirus Free

Panda Cloud Antivirus is the most known cloud based antivirus. The advantage of a cloud based antivirus like Panda is that the Antivirus is very light and it is always up to date.

Who would not like the idea of having a very light antivirus and at the same time a antivirus that is always up to date.

When one of my RAM died, I needed to free up some RAM since 1GB is barely enough. So I tried it and here’s my review on it.

The computer I’m using is a Pentium 4 with 1GB RAM (sadly one of my RAM died so I’m stuck with only 1GB until I can replace the other RAM) running on Windows 7 Ultimate.

The Antivirus is truly very light. It also doesn’t affect your internet speed even when it is synchronizing with the server. It consumes the least amount of RAM among all Antivirus I tried (AVG, Avast, Nod32).

But sadly, my computer got infected with a virus and it can’t even detect it. All the flash drives I inserted ended up infected by the virus hiding all the files in it replacing it with a shortcut. I tried to do a scan and it really can’t detect the virus. I installed their dedicated cloud based scanner to scan my computer and it did detect a virus. I needed to restart my computer 3x during the scan and it even allowed me to clean the temporary files. It deleted it’s detected virus but it seems what it deleted was only part of the virus and not the whole virus. Now it seems to get worst causing the memory card I inserted to get corrupted and losing all the files on the memory card.

Now I’m going back to Avast after having this kind of experience with their product. Yes it is light, but it doesn’t seem to actually work. My computer is always connected to the internet so it should be able to connect to the server and it is also doing a real time scan. But still, I got infected with a virus and it can’t even detect it. The dedicated scanner they made detected the virus was not able to really delete it.

Conclusion: Panda is light; but it doesn’t work