General Info

[GoodEnough]

We have had a discussion on power and the rather futile attempt to justify the power shortage plus FRs on how the government wanted to respond. As GE and others have pointed out, the issue has been long standing and not much has been done to resolve except blame the previous lot of officials.

This from PhilStar I found an interesting read today and it does cover more than the power but is still an interesting article I think for those who follow this stuff.

http://www.philstar.com/freeman-opin...-among-corrupt

Look, this is, in almost all respects, a failed state. The US and its allies needs a reliable vassal in the area, so the many flaws that would, in other circumstances, consign it to the scrap heap of other beggar nations, are papered over. So it's able to limp along. The current president is a moron, but so what? The power crisis has been looming for decades, and it will loom long after he's gone. This is a country populated by decent people and morally bankrupt politicians and its goinng to stay like this for generations.

GE.

[Lonely566]

No one's fault but your own bro, however it sounds like something I'd forget to do as well. At least they called and not just rejected it and returned it. I presume the consualte will hold the rest of your paper work and you can simply print out another app, fill it out, get it notarized and send it without having to re-start the process?

When it's completed, please report back as to the total time it took start to finish (minus your boo-boo, lol)

I got a new application notarized and on it's way today. I'm an idiot. Its like John Wayne said. "Life is tough, it's a lot tougher if your stupid" fits me like an old "T" shirt.

[Wicked Roger]

We all know pinays are very brand aware and want oly the latest model mobile despite having one already that does the job ie text, call, surf etc (my mobile is 5 years old).

Already some pinays have 'hinted' they would love the new IPhone despite having Samsung S5 or IPhone5 or something equally as tasty. My response is always "why as your mobile is great and does the trick", "look at mine is 5 years old and does what your can do so why do you want to swap again after a year".

Now I also know they want this for their Facebook pages so they can brag and boast to those who can't afford. Even seen one girl selling her IPhone 5 for PHP 23 k recently on Facebook in anticipation of IPhone 6.

But. . . . see this article on prices and the comparisons with the USA Ridiculous and crazy so use this if you must to say no if the pinay persists or tell the price on the Philippines and ask her how will she save cash to buy it herself.

https://ph.news.yahoo.com/apple-ipho...131957488.html

Personally I think the IPhone is a load of rubbish. Friends in the telecomm industry tell me that the HTC Touch One M8 (and Samsung) are the best but I have no real idea and don't care either LOL.

[Wicked Roger]

We have had a discussion on power and the rather futile attempt to justify the power shortage plus FRs on how the government wanted to respond. As GE and others have pointed out, the issue has been long standing and not much has been done to resolve except blame the previous lot of officials.

This from PhilStar I found an interesting read today and it does cover more than the power but is still an interesting article I think for those who follow this stuff.

http://www.philstar.com/freeman-opin...-among-corrupt

[Pip Jaeger]

Make sure that you have your application notarized! I sent mine in a few days ago, to the Philippine counsulate in San Francisco and forgot to do that. They just called me and told me to send in a new app. Notarized. Aw gezzzzzzzzz. I"m hapless.

No one's fault but your own bro, however it sounds like something I'd forget to do as well. At least they called and not just rejected it and returned it. I presume the consualte will hold the rest of your paper work and you can simply print out another app, fill it out, get it notarized and send it without having to re-start the process?

When it's completed, please report back as to the total time it took start to finish (minus your boo-boo, lol)

[Lonely566]

If you want to avoid leaving / coming back and want to stay for 89 days straight then you will need two 59 day visa's, there is no "30 day local extension".

You shouldn't have any problems with the airline if you don't have the visa in advance. The only thing the airline checks for is that you have an outbound ticket, the date on it is irrelevant, as it's your responsibility to get (or have) the proper visa or visa extensions. You don't need to have an extended visa (s) in advance.

Of course you can go to the embassy and get it in advance, I think they will issue up to three 59 day visa's in advance which must be used within a year of your first entry date. If time allows, you can do it by mail / FedEx too and save the trip, but check with your local embassy first to make sure it's ok and how much time is needed; here in the USA they usually say it takes about 4 weeks. Even by mail it still can be a bit of a hassle if you don't follow their un-clear instructions (West Coast wrote about it some time back and gave very good step by step instructions).

Make sure that you have your application notarized! I sent mine in a few days ago, to the Philippine counsulate in San Francisco and forgot to do that. They just called me and told me to send in a new app. Notarized. Aw gezzzzzzzzz. I"m hapless.

[Pip Jaeger]

I was thinking of doing this rather than going to PP embassy in London (cheaper there but more hassle). But I am planning to go with a return flight of about 89 days (59 + a 30 local extension or go out and come back), in this case though I think the airline might stop me at check-in if I don't have a 59 days visa already. !? While with a visa in passport from London it probably be safer, no!?

If you want to avoid leaving / coming back and want to stay for 89 days straight then you will need two 59 day visa's, there is no "30 day local extension".

You shouldn't have any problems with the airline if you don't have the visa in advance. The only thing the airline checks for is that you have an outbound ticket, the date on it is irrelevant, as it's your responsibility to get (or have) the proper visa or visa extensions. You don't need to have an extended visa (s) in advance.

Of course you can go to the embassy and get it in advance, I think they will issue up to three 59 day visa's in advance which must be used within a year of your first entry date. If time allows, you can do it by mail / FedEx too and save the trip, but check with your local embassy first to make sure it's ok and how much time is needed; here in the USA they usually say it takes about 4 weeks. Even by mail it still can be a bit of a hassle if you don't follow their un-clear instructions (West Coast wrote about it some time back and gave very good step by step instructions).

[Econo Tech]

I would say more as they were private. Now. I will retire from this exchange.

You must be a real joy to work for, no, I am not rich or so connected.

I know a few rich guys who have asked others to do their leg work that insist on subservience in an anonymous forum.

I may not have met your likes then.

[Amavida]

for folks depending on video calls / conferencing in the phils, considering qos of the isp is only part of the story. problems can arise in your own router, your isp's edge routers, your isp's core routing & peering links etc etc.

the other part of the problem to consider is also what video software which you are running. i would hesitate to recommend skype frankly. their qos has been declining for some time.

business alternatives i would suggest looking at would be vsee or webex. you could see major improvements on the same 'iffy' connection compared to skype.

av.

[Uzinuzin]

The formal application like you use for a renewal is not needed when getting the visa at the airport (MNL or CEB). Simply present with your passport, the form they give you on the plane (completed of course), your itinerary or return ticket showing that will be departing (which they may not even ask for) and the respective amount in pesos (should be about p2,750). Once in MNL another guy didn't have pesos so they escorted him out to a money changer in the terminal; note that this was in the wee hours and it was not busy so I don't know if that was an usual practice for the BOI to do that.

I was thinking of doing this rather than going to PP embassy in London (cheaper there but more hassle). But I am planning to go with a return flight of about 89 days (59 + a 30 local extension or go out and come back), in this case though I think the airline might stop me at check-in if I don't have a 59 days visa already. !? While with a visa in passport from London it probably be safer, no!?

[PirateMorgan]

Your response to my inquirey.

I was not looking for anyone's opinion on anything. Just information. I went and read your other posts. I am still trying to figure out if you know anything about anything.

Then why ask?

I've given you my best advice based on your extremely vague question. I see you are active on the central American forums. Maybe its too far / too expensive to come here to the Phil's to do a recce? Honestly, if you are rich you can have anything you want in PI. You can get fast cable internet if you want to pay for it.

I stand by my advice, come here & get the lay of the land if you are considering a move here.

Cheers mate,

AV.

Then it's a good thing I am rich. Your comments are idiotic.

I now give up on the quest. Just wanted simple info. Not opinions. I have been using Skype for years and have always wanted to be on the cutting edge of 'presentation'. Making the experience as much like 'being there' for them. My students, including the Chief economist at the Central Bank of Costa Rica and the Presidents of five banks in see. Are. Have enjoyed their experience on-line with me. If I knew everything I would not have asked here on the board for information. A few of you had some good stuff to contribute and I appreciate that. The some total of my private exchanges is provided for your viewing pleasure. A couple of you wrote some comment to me about him they referred to him as a 'troll'. I would say more as they were private. Now. I will retire from this exchange.

[X Man]

LMAO. I would think that "restraint" wouldn't include suggesting that someone is a schmuck. As for titting and tatting, it seems that AVs public comments were in response to an earlier pm from the Pirate. A rude pm should stay in the pm territory, although I know it is sometimes difficult to exercise such restraint. Sorry if I've misread the thread in any way.

Just curious about what others think, is a pm really private and should you expect it to be private? Would you take a private message and make it public? Oh, the Internet, so many conundrums. X Man.

You need business grade ISP services to support your online teaching then I stand behind my advice to get over here in the Phils where I reside & check out the top tier ISP's for QoS & pricing of business grade services for your enterprise. Myself & others have shared anecdotal stories of varying QoS with residential grade services.

With air travel so cheap these day's any schmuck can afford a quick trip to the PI's.

You sent me an insulting PM calling me names & bragging of your wealth. No idea why you started behaving like this or need to behave like this but I'm sure nobody on the open forum wants to read tit for tat nonsense so I'll demonstrate some restraint & manners in the hope that we get back to discussing our hobby.

By the way if you do come here, please let me know so I can buy you a beverage & share a few stories.

Cheers mate,

AV.

[Wicked Roger]

pm,


i also use skype a lot and yes there are issues but you need to accept as is can be hard to get faster and you don't need the speed you have to be ok on skype as i have never got 4 mb and i still see the girl. or chat on ym as easier...

well i stand corrected but i am also amazed as since this thread has been discussing the speed i now test mine at different times of the day and guess what? it reached 6 mb download and a good 2+mb upload. the photo.

but i have pldt, residential fiber optic and this was very late in the evening so please factor that into the equation as similar to ge's comment below, i have also had 0. 3/1. 1 etc. mostly the philippine web site have issues as i face the same with cebu pac, inquirer, phil star and many for nationally based websites.

and ge you could have said malaysia, indonesia, thailand in fact just about anywhere lol.

[Amavida]

yes skype does not need 4 mb download speed. i just want that for general use. skype suffers below. 5 mb upload speed. the person on the other end will see a degraded picture. i met two females on philippine cupid last night and we communicated on skype. with video. not conclusive buy hopeful anyway. the connections were fine. one was 4 mb service. (by the way. i do not need 4 mb upload) i know it is hard to hit the nail on this one.

you need business grade isp services to support your online teaching then i stand behind my advice to get over here in the phils where i reside & check out the top tier isp's for qos & pricing of business grade services for your enterprise. myself & others have shared anecdotal stories of varying qos with residential grade services.

with air travel so cheap these day's any schmuck can afford a quick trip to the pi's.

something called amavida has been making comments since i started this conversation (which others seem to have an interest in). why his comments about my having or not having money were made. or commenting on what people can and cannot discuss here. or his use of the subject pronoun 'we' instead of i. is puzzling to me. reminds me of the kid in school whose pants were always full of skid marks and no one wanted to talk or listen to him. this guys skid marks are at least a week old. better he just listen and absorb. and change his pants.

you sent me an insulting pm calling me names & bragging of your wealth. no idea why you started behaving like this or need to behave like this but i'm sure nobody on the open forum wants to read tit for tat nonsense so i'll demonstrate some restraint & manners in the hope that we get back to discussing our hobby.

by the way if you do come here, please let me know so i can buy you a beverage & share a few stories.

cheers mate,

av.

[GoodEnough]

this afternoon i was at greenbelt, and while having lunch, signed onto the "free" wifi to hit the cebu pacific site in order to buy a ticket back to davao for tomorrow. i would estimate that the first page took 30-45 seconds to load. i signed off, and just for the hell of it measured the upload speed, at. 2 mbps; barely there at all. no wonder this country's such a dynamic, envied, economic regional powerhouse. oh wait, i forgot, that's singapore.