Google Search features the 2013 winner of Doodle 4 Google

Google's Search page has posted the 2013 winner of its Doodle 4 Google contest. Based from its Doodle 4 Google page, 

"Doodle 4 Google is an annual program that invites K-12 students in the United States to use their artistic talents to think big and redesign our homepage logo for millions to see. 

This year, we asked students to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, “My Best Day Ever…” One talented student artist will see their artwork appear on the Google homepage, receive a $30,000 college scholarship, and a $50,000 technology grant for their school!"

This years winner is an entry from Sabrina Brady of Wisconsin. If I am to interpret this, it's the day the child saw her father again after being deployed from war, hugging each other afterwards. It's very touching. Here are some snapshots from the search page and Doodle 4 Google's site.

Source: Doodle 4 Google

Fixing my Mac (Part 3)

On my last post, I already left my Macbook Pro in Digital Hub. I made a follow up to the store and this was the message I got from them earlier today. The problem with getting stuck on the Apple logo might be fixed as well because of the Airport card replacement. I haven't verified though if there will still be warranty for the replaced part because my Apple Care will already expire next month, that is also the third year of my Macbook Pro.

It will be a long wait for my Macbook Pro to get fixed and I hope its worth it. The Airport card replacement is not available here and it has to be ordered in Singapore. I will just settle temporarily on our desktop PC or the old Macbook together with my iPad mini and iPhone.

(To be continued)

Fixing my Mac (Part 2)

Yesterday, I posted my experience on troubleshooting my Mac. I was out of ideas already and finally concluded that it could be a hardware problem on the wifi card. So I went to the store where I bought my Macbook -- Digital Hub. I can actually send my Macbook to any official Apple reseller here but I have a great experience on customer service with Digital Hub. It is going to be the first time my Mac will be checked for a problem. 

When I went to the store, I quickly asked if I can have my Macbook checked. I was directed by the salesperson to a section in the store where Apple devices are being serviced. There's no official Apple store here in the Philippines (only resellers) but I was greeted with courtesy by these people. I am courteous as well because I really want to have my Macbook repaired. I talked to the person in charge of repair and he was already aware of the error I got on my wifi. I then explained what happened the other day and he listened closely to what I was saying. He then made some paperwork and examined the Macbook for scratches and dents and marked them on a piece of paper. This is necessary so that I don't wrongfully claim that they scratched my Macbook during repair. I think this is standard procedure as well to other Apple stores globally. Because the issue on my Mac snowballed from the wifi card, booting problem and getting stucked on the Apple logo, my Macbook will stay with them for a couple of days. If there are some parts to be replaced, it might take weeks to be returned. This is because the Apple parts will be coming from Singapore. Everything is fine with me as long as my Macbook gets fixed. I am also fine if they format my HD because I have a backup copy of my files thanks to Time Machine. I just ensured though that the Admin, my user account as well as my Windows account (in Bootcamp) are password protected. If in case they hack my user account, I will be alerted on my iPhone because of this application. I guess safety nets are in place.

I'm already missing my Macbook Pro. It's so deeply involved in my personal workflow and I'm adjusting a little going back to our desktop PC. I'll just settle on an old Macbook for the meantime. I really hope it gets fixed, it's a plus if it happens sooner.

Job Order for the repair of my Macbook Pro

(To be continued)

Fixing my Mac (Part 1)

My mid-2010 13-in Macbook Pro

This happened yesterday, Saturday, May 18. It was my usual weekend and its been a few days since I used my Macbook. My Macbook Pro is 13-in and a 2010 model. I purchased Keynote on the Mac App Store yesterday in preparation for a speaking engagement. I downloaded some application updates as well on iTunes. These things are nothing different from my usual routine. 

Its past noon already and I launched Starcraft 2. My brother is planning to play the game but its quite slow to launch so I told him to just quit the game and play NBA 2k13 instead via Bootcamp. Again, there is nothing unusual in this since I let my brother play on my Macbook in the past. Then it happened and it is unexpected...

I finished some stuffs when my brother told me that the Macbook won't turn on. I was not alarmed at first but I noticed that its taking some time for the Mac to turn on. Only the LED indicator has power and its like the Mac is on a lifeline. 

I did not panic and stayed calm so that I can think of a solution. I turned to my other Apple devices to check a solution online. Here are the items I tried on my Macbook.

1. To have my Macbook turn on again, I reset the System Management Controller (SMC) by typing the key combination (left side) Shift + Control + Option + Power button at the same time. Here's the direct link on Apple support about what it does (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964). I had to try several times before my Macbook turn on again.

2. After turning on my Macbook, it got stuck on the Apple logo. Now this is making me worry a lot because its becoming a chain reaction of unfortunate events. To go over this problem I made the key combination Command + Option + P + R to reset the NVRAM. Here's the direct link on Apple support about what it does (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379). 

3. I was able to pass thru the Apple logo and get to the login screen. But when I was supposed to celebrate, I encountered another problem and this is the nastiest -- my Wifi cannot be recognized. It has got to be my unlucky day yesterday. Now this Wifi problem seemed to be an issue when Lion was released so there was a lot of articles about it online. I tried the different solutions hoping it will work on Mountain Lion, the OS installed on my Macbook. These articles are very informative and helpful. 

Tackling the no wi-fi hardware installed error in OS X (Source: CNET)
Why does my wifi card show 'No Hardware Installed' (Source: iFixIt)
Fixed 10.8 refusing to see the atheros ar9280 (Source: Macmanus.NL)

4. Unfortunately though, none of the articles were able to fix the issue and I'm losing hope already. So as a last resort, I backed up my Macbook on Time Machine and restored a recent backup when my wifi was still working. It was the first time I restored from Time Machine and I am really amazed with this application. It was an easy restore from my external hard drive and it took 1.5 hours to complete. 

My wifi still not worked and I'm concluding already that it's a hardware problem since a restored backup did not fix it. Another problem that I noticed on my Mac is that it gets stuck to the Apple logo already when its started from shutdown. To go about this problem, I have to reset the NVRAM (item #2 above). 

As mentioned, my 13-in Macbook Pro is a mid-2010 model bought in June. It is working normally for 2 years and 11 months and running the latest OS from Apple -- Mountain Lion (ver. 10.8.3). It has been a workhorse for me as it served my media hub for photos, music and games. It will turn three years old next month and good thing the problem occurred before my Apple Care expires. Good thing as well that I bought Apple Care in 2010 that extended the warranty of my Mac to two additional years. I'll be bringing my Mac to an Apple reseller to have it checked.

(To be continued)

Google Search features election day in the Philippines

Election day is already finished here in the Philippines and ballots are being tallied for the national and local elections. Google Search Philippines has a cool doodle with today's important activity in the country. Hope you casted your vote and exercised your right to do it.

Google Search features Saul Bass

Google Search has a cool video on its page today to celebrate the 93rd birthday of Saul Bass. Bass was an American graphic designer and Oscar winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences, film posters and corporate logos (Source: Wikipedia). Check out these snapshots from Google's Search page and be sure to click on that play button to watch the short clip.

Corvette ZR1 -- new car in Real Racing 3

Last Wednesday, I posted an article about a new car being teased in Real Racing 3. It was finally revealed today! The new car was just downloaded when I launched the game, no need for a software update. The new car added to the game is the Corvette ZR1 from Chevrolet. The car is quite expensive though at 50 gold coins and it can only be raced in one event, the RWD Open Revolution. I'll just skip this for now since I'm still upgrading my other cars to their full level.

Iron Man comics on sale at Comixology

A couple of Iron Man comics are currently on sale right now at Comixology. The sale is very timely for the opening week of Iron Man 3 in the US. The sale is until Sunday so you have this weekend to collect some Iron Man series. Here's the link to Comixology so download your issues now!

Download the 50 billionth application from the App Store and you could win $10,000 worth of gift card from Apple

Here we go again, the App Store could be a few downloads away from hitting another milestone, the 50,000,000,000 mark. Just last Sunday, iTunes had celebrated its 10th year and here's another thing to watch out for in the coming days. Apple has been very busy the past few days after their earnings call last April 23. That week, Apple also announced WWDC 2013 in June.

Who could be the lucky winner of $10,000 worth of gift card? Download your applications now from the App Store!

 

New car coming soon on Real Racing 3

Real Racing 3 has a teaser of a new car coming soon to the game. The car being teased is from Chevrolet. The first update to the game released last April introduced new cars already from Chevrolet -- Chevrolet Cobalt SS and Camaro ZL1. I still have a day to find out what this mystery car from Chevrolet is. It could probably be released as a software update. It's very timely as Thursday is when new games or updates are usually released on the App Store.

Real Racing 3 is a free game, but offers in-app purchases, which you can download from the App Store.

Happy Street updated to add new content and improvements to the game

Happy Street has been updated to version 1.7 today adding new content, usability improvements, balance adjustment and fixes to the game. The continuous support to the game has made this one of my favorite on my iPhone. Here's the list of what's new on Happy Street. Happy Street is a free game (offers in-app purchases) which you can download on the AppStore.

New Content
     - 13 new buildings added after level 35
     - Alchemist lab in the Cave
     - New house with 5 floors accessible if connected to Facebook
     - New quests
     - Added Darthy to the Cave with crafting shop in the cave
     - A 2nd Workshop, Kitchen and Studio can be purchased with Flooz
     - New in-app purchase Castle of Flooz

Usability improvements
     - Added fastscroll in menu shop when clicking on far left or far right
     - Added population and income summary when visiting a friend

Balance adjustment
     - Num Museum visits needed for a Museum fiesta resets after 24h with the next visit instead of the next museum fiesta
     - Upgrading the Hotel, Museum and Modern House require Helping Hands from your Facebook friends
     - Slightly changed pricing of high level expands in coins

Fixes
     - Fixed crash when opening the shop
     - Fixed log camp, digging camp and semaphore sometimes giving the resource for level 1, 2 and 3 at the same time instead of level 3 only.

Source: AppStore

Labor Day Celebration on Google Search

I'm not sure if its Labor Day to other countries as well but May 1 is Labor Day here in the Philippines. To all the workers here in the country, including me, good job! Let's have the well deserved break today. 

You've Got Zinio Bucks (Part 4)

I guess this will be a good year for me for Zinio. I got another Zinio bucks to spend today. I'm having a difficult time to choose and what to buy given the vast collection of digital magazines the site offers. I wish to receive a $10 voucher from them in the future, if that's only possible. Here's the magazine I bought this time with the voucher. The cover of the magazine is just gorgeous.

Google Search features Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald is featured now in Google Search. Today is Fitzgerald's 96th birthday.Ella, an American jazz vocalist, was also known as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz and Lady Ella (Source: Wikipedia). Ella's name was familiar and I remember her being connected to Steve Jobs. I just confirmed that she was a guest at Steve Jobs 30th birthday and she sang Happy Birthday to him (Source: Cult of Mac). Check out these snapshots I've taken from Google.