Ignorant? Damn. I am kinda ignorant. Thanks for the reminder.
And thanks to anyone who responded in detail.
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Ignorant? Damn. I am kinda ignorant. Thanks for the reminder.
And thanks to anyone who responded in detail.
[QUOTE=Random99;1708201]Hutsori,
I've been frequenting various coffee shops and using my laptop tethered to my mobile phone. I was shocked when I ran Ookla speedtest and the download speeds hit 20 Mbps and upload speeds of 10 Mbps (Bo's coffee at Glorietta 5). I think it was in the later evening. So less people were around as well.
The Seattle Coffee in Salcedo Village is much slower at around 6 Mbps, but still pretty good.[/QUOTE]Many things will affect data throughput. In my previous Makati condo, a building that was almost fully occupied, severe latency came at night when people were at home from work. For instance, from 7 pm to midnight it was impossible to watch a video on youtube uninterrupted. My current place is much better; it's also much less occupied and a very recent build. The OP was quite concerned about Internet QOS because he earns his livelihood using skype or other video chat apps. In Sept 2014 Akamai Technologies' [i]State of the Internet Report[/i] assessed the Philippines' average speed at 2.5 mbps; the world average then was 3.9 mbps. If you look over the conversation (beginning in Aug or Sept 2014) you'll see that pretty much everyone was telling the guy that he'd have to come to the Philippines to determine whether or not Internet speed was sufficiently fast and reliable enough for him to conduct business.
[QUOTE=Random99;1708201]Hutsori,
I've been frequenting various coffee shops and using my laptop tethered to my mobile phone. I was shocked when I ran Ookla speedtest and the download speeds hit 20 Mbps and upload speeds of 10 Mbps (Bo's coffee at Glorietta 5). I think it was in the later evening. So less people were around as well.
The Seattle Coffee in Salcedo Village is much slower at around 6 Mbps, but still pretty good.[/QUOTE]A month or so ago, in the middle of the day, I clocked a download speed of more than 30 at the Fairmont. Later in the day it was less than 10. I get similar, though less dramatic fluctuations in speed whether at home in Davao, or in my office in Ortigas. I get the same thing with 4 g speeds or even 4 g access. My guess is that there's not enough of a paid subscription base here to warrant the investment necessary for Smart or Globe to achieve greater consistency.
GE.
[URL]http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/461490/scitech/technology/phl-internet-still-among-slowest-in-apac-despite-speed-increase[/URL]
I've now been in country for about a year without leaving, and knew that I would have to get an "Exit Clearance" prior to going to Thailand in two weeks. Since I'd never had to go through this process before, I was somewhat curious how long it would take, but the whole thing was surprisingly efficient and I was in and out of the Immigration office in Davao within an hour, with clearance in hand, thumb prints and photo firmly affixed thereto.
I noticed, while there, that the country now offers six. Month Tourist Visas that are evidently there for the asking. I had thought that the longest possible renewal was three months, so whether this is something new or whether it has been available for sometime, I don't know. It's also clear that under current rules, anyone staying without leaving for more than six months is subject to the Exit Clearance requirement.
GE.
I rarely have used my credit card in the Philippines. I might have used it 2-3 times other than paying for hotels in my past visits.
Since I'll be staying here a while, I decide to use my card when I got something to eat. I glanced at my receipt and notice that they print the card number on the receipt with the expiration date! Luckily, this is a burner card for me with a low limit, but I guess I'll need to check daily.
Anyone ever had fraudulent credit card charges when using their card in PI?
[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1709850]
It's also clear that under current rules, anyone staying without leaving for more than six months is subject to the Exit Clearance requirement. [/QUOTE]Unless you have an SRRV or a Spouse Visa (13 (a)).
These are exempted from the ECC.
[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1709850]
It's also clear that under current rules, anyone staying without leaving for more than six months is subject to the Exit Clearance requirement. [/QUOTE]Unless you have an SRRV or a Spouse Visa (13 (a)).
These are exempted from the ECC.
[QUOTE=Random99;1709897]I rarely have used my credit card in the Philippines. I might have used it 2-3 times other than paying for hotels in my past visits.
Since I'll be staying here a while, I decide to use my card when I got something to eat. I glanced at my receipt and notice that they print the card number on the receipt with the expiration date! Luckily, this is a burner card for me with a low limit, but I guess I'll need to check daily.
Anyone ever had fraudulent credit card charges when using their card in PI?[/QUOTE]All of my CC transactions recently in both Manila and the province (about 11-2 transactions) showed 'XXXX' in place of the number. I don't recall the expiration date on the receipt. There were hotels, restaurants, stores in malls.
Others?
Regarding money exchange, I exchanged 7 times and got a low of 44.2 (Padre Faura), and a high of 44.45 (province), on the USD.
Here is a question for the experts on the frum. The little Sis of an Ex GF has just graduated from college and was the valedictorian. Studies hard and will begin in San Jose Recoleta in Cebu this June. However she is completely ignorant regarding what course to study. She wanted to study HRM but when she went to register some teachers (probably from the Psych department) told her she should study Psychology so she changed majors. I told her that maybe she should talk to someone who knows about career possibilities and which major would be most worthwhile for her. She has absolutely no idea, and it seems there is no such thing as career counselors available to her. So what majors would you guys recommend in order for possibly having a decent future in the Philippines?
[QUOTE=David_33;1713595] So what majors would you guys recommend in order for possibly having a decent future in the Philippines?[/QUOTE]Forget about any future in the Philippines. I would recommend a class in Spousal Visa 101. Best way to further her financial goals at the expense of a nave elderly foreigner. Good luck.
[QUOTE=David_33;1713595]Here is a question for the experts on the frum. The little Sis of an Ex GF has just graduated from college and was the valedictorian. Studies hard and will begin in San Jose Recoleta in Cebu this June. However she is completely ignorant regarding what course to study. She wanted to study HRM but when she went to register some teachers (probably from the Psych department) told her she should study Psychology so she changed majors. I told her that maybe she should talk to someone who knows about career possibilities and which major would be most worthwhile for her. She has absolutely no idea, and it seems there is no such thing as career counselors available to her. So what majors would you guys recommend in order for possibly having a decent future in the Philippines?[/QUOTE]David, you indicate she's already graduated from college but I assume you meant high school since she's looking for a major subject.
HRM is the Major du Jour here, and seems to have supplanted Nursing as the most popular course. According to a former acquaintance who was the GM of one of the larger hotels in Davao, it's a fairLy useless major during which kids spend an inordinate amount of time learning to make beds, and insufficient time learning anything about actual management. Regardless of whether or not this is hyperbole, I think that HRM grads are, or soon will be a glut on the market. Having said that however, it's tough to spot any hot employment trends since this economy creates so few professional jobs relative to the number of young people entering the labor force each year.
Call center operations continue to generate thousands of some of the better paying jobs, but reasonable capabilities in spoken English appears to be the sole qualification needed, and even so, more than 90% of initial applicants for such work fail the proficiency exams. With the expansion of education here by another 2 years, Education may now be a viable career option, and I think that the salary levels of teachers has been raised recently, though Red Kilt would know far more about this than I. Civil and Software Engineering also seem like areas with some reasonable hopes of placement for graduates but this is an inference based on impressions rather than hard data.
GE.
[QUOTE=ScreamingBeaver;1713726]Forget about any future in the Philippines. I would recommend a class in Spousal Visa 101. Best way to further her financial goals at the expense of a nave elderly foreigner. Good luck.[/QUOTE]The normal SB reply lacking in information, knowledge, or use. As in useless. We salute you SB. You seem to have cornered the market in this type of reply.
[QUOTE=FreebieFan;1713794] We salute you SB. [/QUOTE]You're welcome Freebie. It's been a while since you posted about banging six girls in one day. I hope your penile implant is still functional.
[QUOTE=David_33;1713595]Here is a question for the experts on the frum. The little Sis of an Ex GF has just graduated from college and was the valedictorian. Studies hard and will begin in San Jose Recoleta in Cebu this June. However she is completely ignorant regarding what course to study. She wanted to study HRM but when she went to register some teachers (probably from the Psych department) told her she should study Psychology so she changed majors. I told her that maybe she should talk to someone who knows about career possibilities and which major would be most worthwhile for her. She has absolutely no idea, and it seems there is no such thing as career counselors available to her. So what majors would you guys recommend in order for possibly having a decent future in the Philippines?[/QUOTE]Girls I know having in-demand careers locally with higher-than-call-centre salaries are those with STEM degrees (except nursing) such as programmers and accountants.