Dropbox vs. SugarSync

Cloud storage has been around for a while, but it's only now that I've personally seen a need. Before, I used to make do with using USB sticks to move files from PC to PC. Or I would use Gmail as my file storage - send an email to yourself with the attachment you need, and access it from any Internet-enabled PC. These tricks work, but sometimes you wish there's something better.

That's where Dropbox (and SugarSync) comes in. The basic plan comes with 2BG free. If you need more, just upgrade to their paid plans. SugarSync has the cheapest plans, but I don't intend to pay for the service anyway. For every successful referral, you (and your friend) gets an extra 250MB - up to a max of 8GB. With Dropbox, you get a designated folder which is synced to the cloud. SugarSync doesn't have this limitation. That said, Dropbox supports more platforms, not that I user Linux. Dropbox is also simpler to use - no desktop client to mess around with. I was told Dropbox uses less memory.

So far, I've uploaded a bunch of portable apps and my data files to Dropbox. Now, regardless whether I'm using my main T61 or my secondary X31, I have all my contacts, passwords, appointments, notes, to-do lists, etc. Dump in some HMTL files, and I'm using Dropbox to host my Radioblog, my personal Twiddly and mGSD wikis, and my photo gallery.

Interested? Sign up here. Remember, if you use my referral link, we both get an extra 250MB.

Movie 2010.08.13 - For the First Time

I rarely watch Filipino movies, and this is a prime example why.

For the First Time is a 15th anniversary offering from Star Cinema starring KC Concepcion and Richard Guitierrez. Incidentally, tihs is also KC's first movie, and it shows. I hope this is also her last. She's definitely no Vilma Santos, or Sharon Cuneta, for that matter.

Here's the plot. Seth, who is a known playboy, courts then breaks up with Pia, who later gatecrashes his family party and makes an impassioned, grovelling speech about still loving him and not giving up on him, while her father looks on approvingly.

So how did that one-line plot fill up a whole movie? Beats me. That's Pinoy movie for you.

Movie 2010.08.08 - Sherlock Holmes

This story most likely picks up after A Scandal in Bohemia. There's a new bad guy in town called Lord Blackwood. Unlike other antagonists, this one has supernatural powers. No matter, Holmes and Watson catches him and sends him to the gallows. This is a grittier Holmes, and I like it.

Meanwhile, Watson is moving his medical practice elsewhere. Holmes is still flirting with Irene Adler. Watson is getting engaged to Mary Morstan. Then, it was reported that Lord Blackwood has risen from the grave. He apparently broke through his mausoleum doors and walked away. The open up his coffin, and the body inside is not his. Turns out Blackwood is the son of the leader of the secret society The Temple of Four. Blackwood killed off his dad in the bathtub, and through black magic, intimidated the members of the order to elect him as leader. Their next target? The House of Parliament.

Good thing Holmes, Watson, and Irene were around to foil Lord Blackwood's plot. A sorcerer he is not, just good with scientific tricks. Expect a sequel though. At the end of the movie, Irene cautions Holmes about Professor Moriarty.

Movie 2010.08.07 - Killers

I can tell you, this is no Knight and Day. Not saying that Knight and Day is an awesome movie, but Killers is even worse. There's just no chemistry between the two lead actors. Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) starts off cool and suave and efficient, but after meeting Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl), he starts to lose the plot. Heck, he can't even detect that his FIL is an agent.

After three years of marital bliss, people left, right, and center are hell-bent on killing Spencer. In the middle of this, the couple still managed to find time to argue about their s3x life, the in-laws, and pop down to Kmart to get some pregnancy test kits. Bah!

Book 2010.08.07 - Lullaby

If you're a Chuck Palahniuk fan, this book won't disappoint.

A reporter was asked to do a series on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). During his investigation, he discovered a common denominator - a poem on page 27 of Poems and Rhymes around the World. Turns out its a culling song - an African chant to send of the dying and the infirm. Someone got wind of it and put it in a children's book, causing all these deaths. By reading or thinking of the culling song, anyone could kill anyone.

So, Carl Streator, together with Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent for haunted houses, goes on a cross-country trip visiting libraries and homes to destroy all copies of this culling song. With them are Mona and Oyster, who later discovers that Helen's datebook is actually a grimoire - a book of spells from which the culling song came from. Helen didn't know this because all the spells were written in invisible ink (and in different languages). Once Helen has finished translating all the spells, Mona swipes the grimoire from her and kills her off and her frozen child Patrick. Fortunately, Helen was able to use an occupation spell and take over the mind and body of a police sergeant. Together with Carl, they go on a witch hunt for Mona and Oyster, who are using the grimoire and its spell to perform strange and weird miracles around the country.

The Making of a DVD

It's MIL's 60th birthday, and the kids thought of making a presentation. Being the techie guy and currently working from home, I was volunteered to produce it. Have no idea how to edit videos, but one gotta start somewhere. After doing a bit of research and evaluating some video converters, mergers and splitters, I decided on Windows Movie Maker. This freebie from Microsoft can take in photos, mp3s, and videos. You can insert start titles and end credits. There's transition effects for the text, video, and photos. You can even insert text into videos. Videos can be trimmed at the start and at the end. As the only supported video formats are wmv and mpg, I did all my conversion via Zamzar.

With the final wmv video, I used DVD Shrink for DVD authoring. Stalls on the PS2, but loads properly on a standard DVD player. For some reason, it always stops at 1:30, but continues fine when I fast-forward it a little bit. Hmm, might just use the wmv file during the big day.

Movie 2010.08.05 - The Vicious Kind

Drama about a dysfunctional family with a painful past. During the long Thanksgiving weekend, big brother Caleb (Adam Scott) fetches little brother Peter (Alex Frost) and his new hot girlfriend Emma (Brittany Snow) and drives them to the family house. Caleb had a recent nasty breakup, so he was having these mood swings throughout the trip. Caleb chances upon Emma in the supermarket and assaults her - calling her a wh0re and threatening to kill her if she breaks Peter's heart. But guess what? Girls really go for that stuff. One night, Caleb sneaks into the family house and haves passionate s3x with Emma. Peter, in the other room, sleeps through it and later wants to try "it" again with Emma, as he's trying to lose his virginity. At the train station, Dad (J.K. Simmons) finds his conscience and admits to some past wrongs, i.e. lying about their mom's alleged affair till she died of cancer. Caleb risks being shot and visits Dad one morning, and all is forgiven.

Movie 2010.08.03 - Bolt

Nice animation, but short on plot. Dog puppy Bolt (John Travolta) ends up in the real world believing he's a super dog. Doesn't take long for him to come crashing back to reality. With the help of a feisty cat and a hamster in a plastic ball, they travel cross-country to find his owner Penny (Miley Cyrus). On the day they arrive at the studios, the set burns down, trapping Penny inside. Bolt rushes into the inferno and drags Penny to a vent, but Penny is too weak to continue. Using his "super-bark", Bolt alerts rescuers to their location. Bolt saves the day.

Movie 2010.08.01 - Clerks II

The Clerks are back. This time, they're working at burger joint Mooby's, after Randall (Jeff Anderson) left the coffee maker on and burned down the Quick Stop convenience store. As with the first movie, the whole movie happens in one day. Today is Dante's (Brian O'Hollaran) last day because he's leaving town with his fiancee Emma to start a new better life in Florida. His father-in-law is giving him a house and a car-cleaning business to boot. As a farewell gift, Randall arranges for an in-store after-hours show featuring Kinky Kelly and the Sexy Stud. Meanwhile, Dante is on the rooftop practising his first dance with lady boss Becky. In the heat of the moment, he tells her he loves her, and she tells him she's pregnant (with his baby). We have just lost cabin pressure.

While waiting for Dante to come back, Randall gets the adult show going and the fog machine blowing. First thing Dante did when he saw the smoke was to call the fire department. When the smoke cleared a bit, you have a bald burly guy (the Sexy Stud) getting it on with Kinky Kelly (a *male* donkey). Then Emma dropped in with a cake to celebrate, only to find out that Dante is going to be a Dad. Then the whole fire department filed it to see the climax of the show.

After a long philosophical argument in the slammer, the boys decided to borrow money from Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) and re-open Quick Stop and the RST video store.