Author: Jay Lagare

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Oven-Roasted Pork

lechonsahurnoJeanne likes the crunchy skin of lechon (roasted pig). Who doesn’t, right? But it’s rather impractical to roast your own pig so I decided on a more manageable piece of the pig and made oven-roasted pork (lechon sa hurno).

1 kg pork belly with ribs
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to around 200°C.

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the pork.

Wrap the pork tightly in aluminum foil except for the skin. Poke holes at the bottom for the oil to drain out.

Line a pan with aluminum foil and put pork on it

Roast for 1½ to 2 hours.

Increase heat to around 240°C and roast for another 20-30 minutes or until skin is crispy.

Chop and serve!

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The New iPads vs The Old

The Apple event is over. As expected, there were the Mac and Mavericks announcements. But there was no new Apple TV. And the iPad announcement was a bit of a mixed bag. Between the iPad Air and the iPad 4, the changes are the form factor (smaller and lighter) and the A7 processor. Between the iPad mini Retina and the iPad mini, the changes are the Retina display and the A7 processor. Which is not to say they weren’t impressive technical feats. On the contrary. Slimming down the iPad and significantly improving processing power while retaining the top-notch battery life was pretty good. Fitting into the iPad mini a Retina display and significantly improving processing power while retaining the form-factor and top-notch battery life was even better. However they do come at increased prices. It appears Apple doesn’t want to squeeze its margins. That, along with a supply squeeze, may also be the reason why they decided not to throw in Touch ID. Now that was disappointing.

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OS X Mavericks

I only recently upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion and I was planning to upgrade to OS X Mavericks when it is released. I was thinking what’s $20 for an OS upgrade, right? And then came Apple’s announcement that Mavericks is going to be FREE. So yes, I’m definitely getting my second OS X upgrade in a year, make that half a year. Right away! As usual upgrading was easier than easy (don’t you just love the Mac?). It’s an incremental update to be sure but it does promise better battery life and improved memory, among others. I even regained around 5GBs of disk space (I regained around 5GB when I upgraded to Mountain Lion). Not bad for FREE ;)

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Apple Still Has A Lot To Cover

westillhavealottocover

Tomorrow is Apple’s much anticipated October 22 event. They said they still have a lot to cover. So what am I expecting tomorrow?

First, new MacBook Pros will be unveiled along with OS X Mavericks. It’s probably just going to be a Haswell update. Then probably an availability date for the previously-announced Mac Pro. Nothing much to see here. So let’s move on.

Second, new new iPad and iPad mini will be unveiled. We’re looking at unifying the look-and-feel of the tablets, not just in the casing but also in the Retina display. Some are saying since leaked new iPad mini casings are thinner it means there won’t be a Retina display. To support this theory, they go back to when the iPad Retina display was launched which needed a thicker casing. But technology has moved on and I think there should be no need to having a thicker casing this time around. I’m also hoping for Touch ID in both devices.

Finally, some are saying there could be a huge Apple TV announcement. And I think that’s quite possible.

A while back, I told telling my friend Leslie about how Sony flubbed its chance at a whole entertainment ecosystem. It had Smart TVs, Smartphones, tablets, the PlayStation system, and of course music and movies from Sony Music and Sony Pictures. But they don’t co-exist or even work together that well. Maybe they can still catch up. The latest crop of Xperia phones and the launch of the PS Vita and the PS Vita TV are steps in the right direction.

But Apple potentially can do what Sony wasn’t able to do. They have the best-selling (and best IMO) smartphones, best-selling tablets, and a closed and well-protected iTunes content source. What’s still lacking is in the living room. Yes, the Apple TV has done something but it could do a lot more. Currently, it can consume music and movies from iTunes. If it can consume apps and games, it can potentially be a lightweight home computer and game console (and iOS 7 supports game controllers!).

That’s a lot to cover. Is that what we’re going to see tomorrow? Just a day to go to find out!

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iPhone 5c: C is for Cheaper

I believe the iPhone 5s is a good phone. The iPhone 5c? Ummm let’s just say the iPhone 5s provides the better value and that’s where Apple’s emphasis is on. The mid-tier and low/free-tier phones are there only to provide coverage. But here are the numbers as to why I think Apple came out with the iPhone 5c.

Below is the pricing before the iPhone 5s arrived,  the pricing if Apple had’t released the iPhone 5c, and the current pricing.

  Subsidized Selling Price Unsubsidized Selling Price iSuppli Est. Cost Gross Margin Gross Margin % Gross Margin % Change
IPhone 5 64GB 399 849 238 611 71.97%
IPhone 5 32GB 299 749 217 532 71.03%
IPhone 5 16GB 199 649 207 442 68.10%
iPhone 4S 16GB 99 549 196 353 64.30%
IPhone 4 8GB FREE
iPhone 5S 64GB 399 849 218.3 630.7 74.29% 2.32%
IPhone 5S 32GB 299 749 208.1 540.9 72.22% 1.19%
IPhone 5S 16GB 199 649 198.7 450.3 69.38% 1.28%
IPhone 5 16GB 99 549 207 342 62.30% -2.00%
iPhone 4S 8GB FREE
iPhone 5S 64GB 399 849 218.3 630.7 74.29% 2.32%
IPhone 5S 32GB 299 749 208.1 540.9 72.22% 1.19%
IPhone 5S 16GB 199 649 198.7 450.3 69.38% 1.28%
iPhone 5C 32GB 199 649 182.85 466.15 71.83%
iPhone 5C 16GB 99 549 173.45 375.55 68.41% 4.11%
iPhone 4S 8GB FREE

If Apple hadn’t released the iPhone 5c, they would have taken a 2% reduction in the gross margin of their mid-tier phone. But instead with the 16GB iPhone 5c they were able to pull off a 4.11% increase. Or 6.11% if compared against the alternate scenario. I don’t know about you, but I think 4% is pretty good! Notice that they were also able get modest increases in their top-tier phone gross margins.

This increase is mainly due to savings in the casing. That’s why the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 are practically the same except for the casing. Apple bumped down their previous top-tier phone as they normally do but this time changed the casing. Plus, given the similarities between the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 casings, there are production line benefits for the top-tier phone.

People were disappointed by the price of the iPhone 5c. It certainly wasn’t cheaper for them (or me). But it certainly was cheaper for Apple. To manufacture.