Windows 10 Creators Update

Five days before the new Windows 10 officially rolls out to end-users, I managed to install it using Microsoft’s Windows 10 Update Assistant. The result is a neat version after about 2 gigabytes of download and four restarts.

Right after installation, this welcome screen on the updated Edge browser will greet you.

There is no easily recognizable change between the previous Anniversary Update (version 1607) and the Creators Update (version 1703). Interestingly, the Windows Settings app has been expanded from 9 menus to 11.

It now includes dedicated menus for managing installed apps and for gaming. 

Borrowing from Android, users are now given a choice whether to allow installation of apps from “trusted” sources (i.e. Windows Store) or from somewhere else. 

Windows now also features Storage Sense intended to automatically perform file cleanup. This is particularly helpful to users who don’t normally deal with temporary files and the Recycle Bin.

To help f.lux go to eternal sleep, the Creators Update brings Night Light to Windows.

To top it all, our IT friends can take more rest with the comprehensive self-help tools for troubleshooting. 

Learning its lessons well, Microsoft has made Windows become appealing once again.

Up next… 3D smileys created from the new Microsoft Paint app 😉

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Browsing On-the-Go and On the Cheap

As the cost of internet service gets cheaper year after year, it is now unwise to bind ourselves to a long lock-in period with any telecom provider. Take for instance the cost of mobile internet. Our postpaid plans used to come bundled with measly one-tenth of a gigabyte’s worth of internet allocation. With the consumers’ demand leaning toward higher utilization of data than of basic SMS and voice services, telcos now provide tons of choices to customize both postpaid plans and prepaid buckets.

Looking at Globe’s SIM-only plan offering, your Php799.00 can get you 11GB of mobile internet. But if you don’t mind the hassle of repeatedly registering for GoSURF50 every three days, your Php500.00 can already provide you with roughly 13GB of mobile internet for 30 days. That would suffice for an average consumer doing daily browsing, social media updates and a reasonable amount of video streaming.

The same is true if you are on the other side of the fence. Smart’s GigaSurf 50 has the same 13GB of prepaid data for the same price as Globe. Compare that with Smart’s postpaid SIM-only plans which offer lower data allocations.

So if you are dead set at maximizing your load allowance, your best option is to actually get two lines:

• Postpaid plan for your voice & SMS needs (so that you won’t need to worry about not having prepaid load during emergencies)
• Prepaid SIM for mobile data

For instance, if you frequently send text messages to friends on different networks, make a few minutes of calls a day and need to access the internet a few hours daily, you will just need to shell out Php750.00 per month for Smart (Postpaid Plan 250 plus continuous registration to GigaSurf 50 on a separate prepaid SIM).

SMS scheduler in Textra app for Android

TIP: If you tend to forget when to re-register for prepaid promos, automate it by using an SMS scheduler. Just key in the registration keyword, set the date and send it. Of course, make sure you have sufficient prepaid load during those scheduled registrations.

Of Votes and Speeches

Exactly six years ago, it was Noynoy Aquino’s inauguration as the new President of the Republic. I had goosebumps then when Charice sang the national anthem. And I was teary-eyed as the Madrigal Singers sang Bayan Ko especially when I saw the crowd in their symbolic “L” hand gestures.

Six years down the road, another inauguration, another fresh start for the nation. While most of the people are now looking forward to the realization of President Duterte’s idealistic yet encouraging promises, very few are looking back at the Aquino administration’s achievements.

Political analysts and the common people were all amazed by President Duterte’s inaugural speech. But can anyone still recall right on top of their head at least three key things that PNoy promised back in 2010? Not easy, right? So, at the end of the President’s term, it is not really the specific promises in the inaugural speech that we tend to use to measure his/her achievements. Rather, it is the transformations that bring the country one step forward or backward that remain in our thoughts.

Asking if PNoy did well as a President equates to asking ourselves if we voted wisely in 2010. After all, it was the majority among us who believed in his capabilities to transform the country.

We now satiate ourselves at the rate that illegal drug eradication seems to be happening, recognizing President Duterte’s influence even before he officially reigns. But do we still remember how thankful we were when PNoy eliminated the “wang-wang” (VIPs being given priority lanes on any road) from our streets right on his first day of office? It may not seem very relevant these days, but imagine yourself caught in stand-still traffic and one luxury car being escorted by police motorcycles would go counter-flow and leave you in disgust and frustration.

Many will always remember PNoy for his failures in SAF44, road congestion, unreliable mass transportation, and lack of major infrastructure projects. Hopefully, there will also be many who will remember how PNoy moved our economy to become the second strongest in Asia, increased our dollar reserves, recovered more than 75 billion pesos from the Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth, modernized the Armed Forces, and as a result, earned very promising economic outlook among global financial institutions and analysts. Indeed, Asia’s sleeping tiger has awakened!

 
All inn all, I guess PNoy’s biggest accomplishment was winning back the trust of the people in the government.

There is no perfect government. And there is no perfect administration. Nonetheless, the past six years have been much better than the previous 12 years before it. I guess the Filipino people have learned how to vote wisely.