Wow - Never This Easy Again!

I found something today that totally amazed me. We've recently purchased a bunch of LCD monitors for our office. One of the monitors I used was developing some "stuck" pixels. You can tell you have stuck pixels if you see small dots of a particular color remain on your screen. Usually they are apparent when you have a black screen saver.

Anyway, I had a few red and blue stuck pixels crop up. I did a quick search on the 'net and came up with this fix. I was totally amazed. It worked! Try it yourself...

Eric Marlow
aka "Snacko"

Shocking - Technology in PH

As I am responsible for setting up the office here in Manila, I was shocked as to the state of technology here. It's not that decent technology can't be found - eventually it can be. It's just more difficult to find. Gone are the days of just running into the local Best Buy and finding exactly what you need for a good price. Gone are the days of Internet shopping from New Egg or other online retailer - fast delivery, cheap prices. hehe - a thing of the past for me.

Now I'm relegated to not only paying a HUGE incremental for both hardware and software, but there is a tremendous lead time to receive the goods you wish to get. Sure, you can buy technology same-day, but it may be a lesser brand or not the specification you want. If you are looking for a specific model of HP printer, or a high-end Nvidia graphic card - good luck. You may have to wait 30-45 days until it can arrive from overseas distribution points.

The problem as I see it is that foreign tech companies are not serving the Philippines directly. I guess there isn't a big enough market here. I know that Dell doesn't go direct here, and neither does HP. It all comes from Singapore.

Of course this is a big problem for running a business here. The costs, lead times, and availability of technology are a huge disincentives for productivity. And the large incremental on pricing only contributed to piracy. In the US I could get a copy of Autodesk 3D Studio Max for $2800 USD, but here it' s more like $5000. Same holds true for Microsoft software, Adobe, and other software makers. What incentive do they have here to get the legitimate stuff? Very little. I imagine this is a similar issue in other emerging markets as well.

Eric Marlow
aka "Snacko"

First Post

Hello - my name is Eric Marlow. I'm the General Manager and Head of Studio for Matahari Studios in Manila, Philippines. This site contains some thoughts, idea, conversations, and miscellaneous ramblings of my life and work - computer games, technology, and life abroad - all are topics of interest to me.

I have never written a blog before, but I have contributed to magazines and online websites, so I think I have something to say. Please visit often and contribute your own thoughts and ideas. I'd love to hear from you.

Eric Marlow
aka "Snacko"