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Google is pulling the plug on Google Answers, a service that allows people to submit questions over the Internet that researchers answer for a fee. The search giant didn’t say why it was closing the service, which launched about four years ago and was one of Google’s first non-search projects. Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of SearchEngineWatch.com, said the service never achieved the popularity of Yahoo’s rival offering, Yahoo Answers.

Google will stop accepting new questions for the service later this week, it said in its official blog late Tuesday. It will accept new answers to questions until the end of the year, and it will maintain the archive of questions and answers online for browsing. “Google is a company fueled by innovation, which to us means trying lots of new things all the time — and sometimes it means reconsidering our goals for a product,” the company said.

Yes. You are reading it correctly and no you are not dreaming

Microsoft embarked on this campaign to show that Windows Vista and Microsoft Office are great on their own, but with each other, it’s the Power of Together.

And this campaign aims to teach how to tap that power. All you have to do is complete three Webcasts in the Windows Vista series and receive: a free, fully-licensed copy of Windows Vista Business Edition or you could complete three webcasts or Virtual Labs in the Office 2007 series and be eligible to receive a free, fully-licensed Micorosoft Office Professional 2007.

Sounds good huh?

Well there is a catch though.

The Power Together Campaign consists of two (2) offers, the Windows Vista Business Offer and the Microsoft Office Professional 2007 Offer, and is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) 18 years of age or older. You are not eligible to receive these offers if you or your employer is a participant in the Microsoft Partner Program or the Microsoft Developer Network. To be eligible to receive Windows Vista Business, you must register at www.powertogether.com and participate in at least three (3) qualifying web casts and/or virtual lab sessions within 30 days of registration. To be eligible to receive Microsoft Office Professional 2007, you must register at www.powertogether.com and participate in at least three (3) qualifying web casts and/or virtual lab sessions within 30 days of registration. In order to register at www.powertogether.com, you may be asked to provide personal information including name, telephone, and address. All personal information gathered during registration will be subject to Microsoft’s privacy policy. Limit one gift per person per Offer. These offers are non-transferable. These offers expire on February 28, 2007, or while supplies last, and are not redeemable for cash. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient. If you are eligible for and register to receive both gifts, you must complete a W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) form prior to receipt of the second gift. Any gift returned as non-deliverable will not be re-sent. Please allow 6 - 8 weeks for shipment of your gift(s).

Other than that… this offer is really sweet!

Do check it out. Microsoft’s The Power Together

Well… Are you?

Ready for a new day is one of Microsoft’s newly launched websites.

The unveiling of the website coincides with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s Business Value launch keynote in NASDAQ.

Watch the keynote live from NASDAQ headquarters in New York. 7:30 a.m. Pacific/10:30 a.m. Eastern on November 30, 2006! The keynote will also be available for playback aproximately one hour after the end of the keynote and press conference.

The DigitalFilipino.com Club is offering to all its SME and Corporate members a hands-on tutorial session on Google AdSense and Google AdWords this December 9, 2006, Saturday, from 9 am to 12 noon. This will be held at Alfox Internet Cafe (beside Chowking), Kamuning Road, corner Edsa, Quezon City.

Topics include:

1. Generating online income through Google AdSense
2. Adding Google AdSense in your blog and website
3. Improving Google AdSense revenue performance
4. Marketing your website through Google AdWords
5. Setting up a Google AdWords account
6. Creating a Google AdWords advertising campaign
7. Monitoring and calibrating your Google AdWords advertising campaign

SME members can send 2 representatives while Corporate members can send 3 representatives. Please confirm for food count purposes and for the preparation of a US$50 Google AdWords voucher for use in the training.

Interested non-members and individual members are requested to sign up as a SME or Corporate member prior to December 9 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.
http://digitalfilipinoclub.blogspot.com/2006/11/december-9-google-adsense-and-adwords.html

Microsoft Philippines’ TechFest 2006 is devoted to the two flagship products about to be launched early next year. Take another look at key features of the upcoming Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System and have a glimpse of the new Exchange Server 2007, Office Sharepoint Portal Server 2007, Office Groove 2007, and a sneak peek at the upcoming Windows Server codename “Longhorn”.

The event will also tackle infrastructure security and explore the world of Windows Mobile and how it efficiently collaborates with Exchange Server, 2007 Office, and Windows Vista.

WHEN: December 5, 2006
TIME: 8:30am - 5:00pm
VENUE: Rizal Ballroom, The Makati Shangri-La

To register, please log into our Events Registration System, MS EVENTS at:
http://msevents.ph/Event.aspx?EventID=8C8D780823E1B6E
If you do not have an MS EVENTS account, you can easily create one on the site itself.

More details about the event:

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This post is long overdue. I was planning to post this around three months ago but I was too lazy to have the card scanned and post online. As the saying goes… better late than never

Various gas stations of Shell in Makati City were offering Shell Makati Fuel Savers Club cards. I learned about this went I gassed up at the Shell gas station along Rufino Street in Makati. I chose this particular gas station since I wanted to try out Shell’s new E-10 gasoline. E-10 is 10% Ethanol thus giving your car cleaner emissions and it costs way cheaper than the high octane gas and slightly cheaper than the regular unleaded gas.

There were only two gas stations in Makati back then where E-10 was available; the first one was in Shell EDSA-Buendia and the second one was in Shell Rufino.

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Whether you are a fresh graduate on his first job or a seasoned manager, you are faced with the challenges on how to manage your salary and how to save for your future needs.
Budgeting, saving, and allotting funds for specific funding are not as easy as they seem, but careful planning can save you from getting into debt while empowering you to plan for your future.

Here are some tips on effective money management brought to you by Citibank Credit Card.

Plan for the future.
Identify your needs from your wants, what you have to pay now, and what you want to save up for.  Then see if your present resources, i.e. salary, are enough to help you meet your goal.  If not, determine how much you still need and how to obtain other sources of income to fill that need.

Prioritize all your payables.
Have a checklist of the things you pay regularly and prioritize what is most important.  Place the least important at the bottom where you can always slash them out.

Have an idea of your spending habits.
Track your expenses to see which group they fall into: loans, luxuries, or necessities. For example, 50% of a P20,000 monthly salary goes to utilities, rent and food; 30% goes to gimmick and entertainment money; 20% goes to transportation, and only 10% is saved.

Open a savings account.
Get into the habit of saving.  A bank account speaks of security.

Keep accessible cash for crisis situations.
During emergency situations, a few thousand bucks in your deposit account will come in handy.

Invest.
Consult a financial planner who can help you make a plan on how to double your income and savings through investment funds, stocks, and pension plans.

Blog Box has been online for quite sometime already without being monetized. I’m not really sure why but probably I was just lazy to implement and configure it on this site.

I’ve been running Google’s Adsense on Shutter Box PHilippines but haven’t had the time to optimize it. I’ve likewise tried signing up with TextLinkAds but unfortunately they told me that Blog Box does not meet their requirements. I also signed up for PayPerPost

A few days ago, I got word about a new monetization program from Abe Olandres of Yugatech. He tried out ReviewMe, from the makers of TextLink Ads, and it got me interested to try it out as well.

So how does it work?
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I Saw some flyers of Citibank about their latest offering for their loyal credit card clients.

They are giving away FREE Movie Tickets with Citibank Paylite.

So how does it work? Everytime you avail of PayLite at any establishment from October 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006, you get free movie tickets from Ayala Cinemas or Robinsons Movieworld (I’d personally pick Ayala Cinemas over Robinsons Movieworld though).

You can get:

2 FREE Movie Tickets for P 5,000 — P 39,999.99 PayLite Purchase

4 FREE Movie Tickets for P 40,000 & above PayLite Purchase

The following PayLite transactions are eligible for the Free Movie Ticket Promo:

• 0% PayLite
• Regular PayLite
• PayLite-By-Phone
• PayLite-By-Check

How to redeem you free movie tickets?

Simply present you Citibank Credit Card, together with a valid original sale slip at the Citibank booth in:

Ayala Cinemas - Glorietta 4, Alabang Town Center, Ayala Cebu

Robinsons Movieworld - Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Place Ermita, Robinsons Starmills, Pampanga

Booths are open from October 1 to December 31, 2006.

Don’t forget to check out Ituloy AngSulong! Philippine SEO Contest 2.0