Apparently, when you order something in Amazon, you have two shipping options,(A) the normal air mail delivery (15 days more or less) or (B) the express (7 days or less, freight). The later will cost around 20usd more.
So, which would you choose? I say choose option A and just order way ahead of time. Most probably, the worst thing that could happen is that it is going to be delayed OR you will have to pick up the item at your local post office and pay Php 36.00 for the 'storage fee'.
If you choose option B, aside from paying $20 more for the perceived 'convenience' it may bring, you will have to pay around Php 1,700.00 more to get your item. Why so? Because of the customs charges, wherein aside from the usual percentage of the item, there would be a fixed $55.00 freight charge on top of the item cost (instead of using the actual cost of shipping you paid for).
After getting a percentage of the item cost and the $55.00 freight charge set by Philippine Customs, there will be other fees to be paid:
CUSTOMS DOCUMENTARY STAMPS - 265.00
IMPORT PROCESSING FEE - 250.00
DUTY HANDLING FEE - 280
INFORMAL ENTRY DECLARATION - 298.60
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Back from the Dead
About a month ago, I showed you pics of Nifty Fifty dead, lying on my hand, with its guts showing...
Searching for the next affordable but durable prime lens was the next logical thing to do...however, it will cost me around 20k. (sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM or canon 28mm f/1.8 USM)
Then tonight I decided to bring out Nifty Fifty from its casket, with the precision screw drivers at hand, and start to look at the damage carefully...I saw some locking mechanism on the inner metal ring, which I suppose locks the lens to the body. I was figuring out on how to do it since the focusing ring is on top of it. I decided to use the precision flat head to snap it and it did the job.
Nifty Fifty is now a zombie.
Searching for the next affordable but durable prime lens was the next logical thing to do...however, it will cost me around 20k. (sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM or canon 28mm f/1.8 USM)
Then tonight I decided to bring out Nifty Fifty from its casket, with the precision screw drivers at hand, and start to look at the damage carefully...I saw some locking mechanism on the inner metal ring, which I suppose locks the lens to the body. I was figuring out on how to do it since the focusing ring is on top of it. I decided to use the precision flat head to snap it and it did the job.
Nifty Fifty is now a zombie.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
40D Oversaturation Problem
Just recently, I have noticed several oversaturated shots when using the Canon EOS 40D. I tried out different picture styles to subdue the saturation level, and I thought it did the trick. But upon uploading the photos to my computer, I notice that my oversaturated shots were not really oversaturated...
Then I thought, it might be the LCD...wherein the only parameter that you can adjust for the 3" LCD is the brightness. I set the brightness down to 50% and...viola, the oversaturation does not manifest anymore.
Try it out and just comment if it works for you.
Then I thought, it might be the LCD...wherein the only parameter that you can adjust for the 3" LCD is the brightness. I set the brightness down to 50% and...viola, the oversaturation does not manifest anymore.
Try it out and just comment if it works for you.
Missing Keyboard Keys on Macbook/Pro
You just found out that there is no Print Screen button on your Mac, what will you do? Take a photo of your screen using your digital camera? How are you going to send the proof of your Mac problem to tech support?
There are two ways actually:
Capture the entire screen area: Command + Shift + 3
Capture a piece of the screen: Command + Shift + 4 (then drag the box as necessary)
What's more, you also don't know how to get fancy characters out of the keyboard since there is no numpad on the Macbook/Pro.
Hit option+N then the desired letter (you can add a Shift if you want it capitalized)
There are two ways actually:
Capture the entire screen area: Command + Shift + 3
Capture a piece of the screen: Command + Shift + 4 (then drag the box as necessary)
What's more, you also don't know how to get fancy characters out of the keyboard since there is no numpad on the Macbook/Pro.
Hit option+N then the desired letter (you can add a Shift if you want it capitalized)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
What to do when a PC keeps on rebooting
When a PC suddenly reboots--without warning or without any indication that it is shutting down to restart--it is most of the time caused by a hardware failure.
The first suspect is the memory/RAM. One can try to change the DIMM slot of the memory module and hope that it fixes the problem. Putting in a different memory module will also help in isolating the problem.
I recommend using an MS-DOS program that will test your memory module if it is defective. memtest86 is a reliable tool. You can create a bootable floopy or CD to use this. Windows Memory Diagnostic is an alternative product.
If your memory module passed the test, then most likely it is being caused by other components of your PC. It can be an overheating processor (however, in most cases, it will only make your PC hang). It can be a defective motherboard (unlikely). And lastly, it can be a defective Power Supply.
I recently encountered this issue and the resolution was replacing the PSU that can handle more watts. The PC probably restarted endlessly because it failed to supply enough power to the memory modules.
The first suspect is the memory/RAM. One can try to change the DIMM slot of the memory module and hope that it fixes the problem. Putting in a different memory module will also help in isolating the problem.
I recommend using an MS-DOS program that will test your memory module if it is defective. memtest86 is a reliable tool. You can create a bootable floopy or CD to use this. Windows Memory Diagnostic is an alternative product.
If your memory module passed the test, then most likely it is being caused by other components of your PC. It can be an overheating processor (however, in most cases, it will only make your PC hang). It can be a defective motherboard (unlikely). And lastly, it can be a defective Power Supply.
I recently encountered this issue and the resolution was replacing the PSU that can handle more watts. The PC probably restarted endlessly because it failed to supply enough power to the memory modules.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
F5 BigIP LTM Review
The F5 BigIP LTM is one of the popular load balancer appliance available. Boasting a very flexible and powerful TMOS architecture, it provides efficient TCP traffic controls with the capability to add custom functions via iRules.
It's GUI is very intuitive and will give you statistics/trending of the number of TCP connections, throughput, SSL and HTTP connects, and CPU utilization. The operating system under the hood is Linux so any cron jobs that you would like to employ can be set appropriately.
One tip that I can give in using this device is to make the BigIP as the nodes/servers' default gateway. In this way, you will have total control on how you want your virtual servers will behave. With this setup, SNAT must be set to none since it is not necessary. However, if you would like to control the TCP connections coming from the node going to an external host, you have the option to use an SNAT pool & translation so that all outgoing traffic from any node will reflect a single IP (usually the IP of the Virtual Server) as the source IP.
Another advantage of this setup is being able to see the source IP of the client if ever your application will require it.
Custom monitors is also encouraged in order to monitor if the http service is having a slow response. In this way, slow nodes will automatically be removed from the load balancing algorithm.
Here's the step-by-step implementation guide for setting up a Virtual Server. This is assuming that all of the Self-IP's/Floating IP's and VLAN tagging are all set.
It's GUI is very intuitive and will give you statistics/trending of the number of TCP connections, throughput, SSL and HTTP connects, and CPU utilization. The operating system under the hood is Linux so any cron jobs that you would like to employ can be set appropriately.
One tip that I can give in using this device is to make the BigIP as the nodes/servers' default gateway. In this way, you will have total control on how you want your virtual servers will behave. With this setup, SNAT must be set to none since it is not necessary. However, if you would like to control the TCP connections coming from the node going to an external host, you have the option to use an SNAT pool & translation so that all outgoing traffic from any node will reflect a single IP (usually the IP of the Virtual Server) as the source IP.
Another advantage of this setup is being able to see the source IP of the client if ever your application will require it.
Custom monitors is also encouraged in order to monitor if the http service is having a slow response. In this way, slow nodes will automatically be removed from the load balancing algorithm.
Here's the step-by-step implementation guide for setting up a Virtual Server. This is assuming that all of the Self-IP's/Floating IP's and VLAN tagging are all set.
- Add the Node. Use Node Specific ICMP as the monitor.
- Add a Pool then add the nodes + port. Use tcp as the monitor.
- Add a Virtual Server then select the Pool you created. Use SNAT Auto Map if the server's default gateway is NOT the BigIP LTM. In this way, the return traffic of client requests will still go through the BigIP LTM. Use oneconnect profile if multiple sessions are coming from a single IP source (e.g. NAT translation of Extranet clients).
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News. Reviews. Tips. Hints. Tech Links. Regularly updated blog about everything tech. Content will be random ranging from digital cameras, mobile phones, operating systems, routers, switches, data center technologies, video games, audio devices, etc.
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