This is going to be a different kind of post. It has honestly been a long time since I did these kinds of posts as I really wanted to focus on the news and reviews. I felt that I needed to post this for two reasons: 1) to share some updates going on with me and the blog, and (2) to share how I ended up getting an M3 MacBook Air knowing that there’s a new one next year. Here we go.
So I Won the Best Cebu Technology Blogger Award. Again.
I recently posted about my 5th nomination for Best Cebu Technology Blogger as part of Best Cebu Blogs Awards 2024. My mood going into this year’s BCBA regardless of the result is accepting that I should let the next generation of tech bloggers and content creators claim this award. I somehow managed to win yet again despite fully accepting
I really enjoyed the whole awarding ceremony that was held at Oakridge Horizons Café last November 28, 2024! I’ve actually been to this venue on many different occasions, but it was my second time to be there in November. The ambience and food were particular standouts to me and I always recommend Oakridge Horizons to family and friends who want a change of scenery.
I’m really grateful to the organizers behind BCBA and the sponsors that continue to support this endeavor. It’s amazing how an initiative started by founder Mark Monta became a much-awaited yearly tradition for bloggers and content creators. While winning my fifth Best Cebu Tech Blogger award is quite an achievement, I feel like this has been icing on the cake since the second win.
To be honest, I’ve been thinking about excluding my name from consideration in future Best Cebu Tech Blogger nominations. It’s not that I don’t find winning the award exciting, but because it’s time for the next generation of tech bloggers and content creators in Cebu to shine.
If you’re thinking about starting a website or a blog and talk about tech, there’s no better time to start than NOW! There is a lot to talk about in tech that even I can’t conceivably cover myself. My lines are open to those who need help in starting their own tech blog or making tech content in general.
An Update on My Broken M1 Air.
I honestly never expected to talk about getting a new MacBook so soon, but here we are.
A few months back, my trusted M1 MacBook Air stopped working properly after I could not charge it at all. After having it checked at an authorized Apple service provider, a simple USB-C port issue turned into a logic board not working issue. If I wanted to have the laptop repaired, I needed to pay around P30,000 for a replacement logic board. Since I felt that the replacement wasn’t worth it, I decided to just get the broken laptop back. I then sold it for parts. It’s a good thing I did that since someone I knew bought it and had it repaired back to life!
I Got to Live with Windows…
While all of that happened, our friends over at ASUS sent over a Zenbook 14X OLED for me to use while waiting to buy a new laptop! (I really appreciate this gesture, so I’ll be talking about my Windows experience in a separate post.) Some of the standout features include its OLED display and its AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor.
I’ll share more about my overall experience in another blog post. (This includes how much I really don’t like Windows 11.) Even with that good gesture, I knew I had to get a new laptop soon.
FINALLY Back to the Mac!
Little did I know, I would be getting a new MacBook this soon.
I rarely talk about the collaborations with brands for the blog, let alone the compensation I get (unless asked). The times I do disclose are when I review the products are sponsored. This is an exception as I am truly grateful for the collaboration with Power Mac Center during the iPhone 16 launch. I got compensation in the form of Power Mac Center gift certificates, perfect for what my plans were.
My main purpose for getting PMC gift certificates instead of cash was to save them towards a new MacBook Air. One day, I went to the Ayala Malls Central Bloc branch of The Loop to check for available stock of the latest MacBook Air. (As of this time, I knew that the base model MacBook Air starts with 16GB of unified memory.) After I found out that an M3 MacBook Air with 16GB of unified memory and 512GB storage was available, the gift certificates arrived! The laptop was even in my preferred colorway: Midnight! Everything fell into place, and there was only one thing left to do.
I BOUGHT IT!
Here’s the configuration of the M3 MacBook Air that I bought:
- M3 chip with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU
- 16GB of unified memory
- 512GB of SSD storage
- Midnight colorway
I’m honestly grateful that everything lined up for me to purchase this new laptop for my content creation work. While I’m unsure whether I’ll do a proper review for the M3 Air (previous attempts weren’t successful), I’ll share my impressions of this laptop as soon as I can.
That’s it for my end of 2024 update. I’ll probably catch up on some backlogs for the remainder of this year. 2025 is shaping up to be an even busier year for me, but I’m not complaining.