You can watch the Tech Conclave video or read the article here.

The video entry I submitted is included in the HP contest in YouTube’s Week #6 as an eligible entry. Watch my video here.

Unfortunately, the chances of winning for the major prizes are getting slimmer each day since September 1 because I have not received any notifications yet that my video is included in the Semi Finals. However, there’s still a way for you to help me bag a prize and you can do this by voting for my entry for the Community Award. Please vote for me and my video… It takes only 3 minutes of your time.

Here are the steps to do it:

1. Visit HP’s official channel in YouTube through this link: http://www.youtube.com/hp
2. In the main navigation menu, click “VIEW + VOTE” and on the page that loads click “COMMUNITY AWARD.”
   
3. On the dynamic page that loads, type in the Search field these exact words “Me My Computer” and press Enter. Only my video entry should come up as a result.
4. Click my video entry’s thumbnail and allow the video to play.
   You should be able to see a thumbs up and thumbs down on the right side.
5. Click Thumbs up to vote for my video entry.
   You can cast a vote for my video entry once a day from July 24, 2009 up to September 13, 2009. So please help me and thank you very much for doing so.

On or about September 21, 2009, HP will announce the Community Award Winners. The prizes for Community Award are the following:

• 1st place: $15,000 USD
• 2nd place: $7,500 USD
• 3rd place: $2,500 USD
• Top 100 entries will receive an HP Artist Edition laptop

Again, thank you so much for your support. This contest can definitely improve my life here. I also need a faster computer for my video show, Tech Conclave, and this HP contest offers that very opportunity.

XOPJbQhPBwY

Hi I’m John Raul and I’m a geek from the Philippines.
People say life is tougher here and they were right.

Back in my childhood, I experienced selling fruits in the streets
and even massaged people’s feet to convince them to buy.

My parents told me if you want something you gotta work using your mind and heart. And so I did, I focused hard on my education until it brought me somewhere.

Last year I acquired my first room and my first bed after sleeping on the floor since 21 years of my life.

Thanks to my HP Compaq laptop, I was able to work at home,
express my thoughts through my blog, and innovate with my computer skills through coding, web designing, videos, and writing. I even formed a tech news video podcast featuring all of my online friends. I’d like to meet them and see the world someday and my hard work and computer would enable me just that.

I gotta be consistent in doing my best. I’m sure I’ll get there.

For now, I gotta enjoy my life here with the ducks, birds, roosters, the trees, and of course, my computer.

I’m John Raul, your friendly geek from the beautiful islands of the Philippines.

Please vote for me by leaving comments, rating 5-star and favoriting the my video in YouTube. Thanks a lot!

Here’s the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOPJbQhPBwY

My birthday is coming on May 25th and Tech Conclave, my tech news show is doing great. In line with that, I decided to run a contest on Episode 5 which will be formally announced and commenced on May 15th and I will be giving away free Speedy web hosting and a domain name to five (5) lucky winners valid for 12 months! The prizes are sponsored by the nice folks at Top Hosting Center who gladly accepted my invitation.

What’s a web hosting and domain name and why do you want them?
A web hosting is what you need when you want to start a blog, a website, or anything Web-related. A web hosting must be partnered with a domain name. A domain name is the web address you want (for example, www.yourblogaddress.com, or anything)

How To Enter

So you might ask: how to enter the contest? Well, the steps are quite simple. The phrases I wrote in bold letters below means the important steps you must follow.

1. Register to Tech Conclave Community Forum if you are not a member.

2. Tell the forum community who you are, what you do, and why do you like technology at Introduce Yourself category in the forum.

3. Follow Tech Conclave’s official Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/techconclave – if you don’t have a Twitter account, create one at www.twitter.com. Also, subscribe to Tech Conclave’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/techconclave

After completing the steps above, you will have one (1) valid entry and you now have a chance to win the prizes. There are five winners so chances are high since as I write this, there are not much entries / members yet on the forum: so don’t miss it. The winners will be drawn randomly and will be announced on Episode 6 which is slated for release on May 30, this month. For more information about the official rules and regulations of the contest, please follow this link.

Before I end this post, I have one little favor to ask you: could you follow me on Twitter as well and greet me on May 25th as I turn 22? That would make me the happiest person on that day. Thanks a lot!

My Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/anmjoven

Please spread the word about this contest and participate in my tech community! Everyone is welcome – geek or not!

Recently, I entered HP Magic Giveaway Contest for simple reasons: it gives me opportunity to change my life and share the magic to others. Here’s my entry and video:

I am John Raul Joven II, 21 years old, and I am web developer trying-to-be-geek here in the southernmost city of the Philippines called Davao (do a Google Map search). Actually, I lived in the outskirts of the city so it’s more like I’m a geek living in the middle of the jungle than surrounded by buildings. Here many people don’t know how to use computers and most things are still done manually.

I participated the HP Magic Giveaway because some of the prizes can change my life and the lives of the people who need the prestigious computer resources.

Computer and technology have been bound to me since I was little. My interest with computers started when I was younger and watching Super Mario in my neighbors place. I grew up in a poor family and we used to live in slums. I really wanted to play the game but I couldn’t put my hands on it because my parents cannot afford to do so. Regardless of that fact, as a young person I thought of ways.
Out of desperation, I climbed a tree in our backyard and sold fruits in the villages under the mid-day sun to earn money – I was six years old. There were days that I was successful but then the tree’s fruits are gone, I always ended up crying because I couldn’t put my hands playing my favorite Super Mario. That game wasn’t just a game for me, I learned logics. However, it made me frustrated because my family can’t afford to buy it during my young age.

In my high school, I was lucky because computers were one of our subjects. I always loved Tuesdays because we go inside out computer laboratory and I got my first time hands-on. It was during that time I learned how to program in QBasic and Foxplus. I’ve always wished to have a computer myself and whenever a friend invites me to come into their house, I would never hesitate to go especially if one has computer – because it was only my few means to get my hands on it.

Using other person’s computers, I learned how to use desktop application software, designed logos and wrote stories. I went to my neighbors houses and fix their computers (yet I didn’t own one for myself) and I helped a lot of classmates and friends when it comes to computer stuffs.
One day, my parents spared me a little money and they bought me an Intel Pentium II 350 MHz computer. I was jumping to the roof that day and started with Windows ME (Millennium Edition). It took me 7-10 minutes before I enter my desktop and it made me wonder why in Internet cafes computers are so fast.

During this time, the fastest CPU speed was 2 GHz Pentium 4, and I was running at 350 MHz. Despite that, it was my gateway to learn Flash 5, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and other software, which sucked because I had to run one application at a time. After 2 years, I completed a Pentium 4 computer which ran at better speeds, yet the technology I had was 3 years behind the latest ones. I’ve always wished to do extensive video editing, to innovate on the web with my skills, but my system prevents me to do it.

My web knowledge in computers until 2003 was summed up on the greatest accomplishment I had on Geocities that is still live until now:
Profile – ANMJOVEN.COM Final – John Raul R. Joven II’s Official Website Version 3!

And a few videos with effects limited by my system:
YouTube – Kadayawan – Technographix VI Entry by John Raul Joven II
YouTube – John Raul Dot Com

I had many classmates in college who had computers but they didn’t use them well. I’ve always wished to have a better system so that I can explore more my talents and hone them as I really want to be productive like making tutorials, editing sound through Audition, learning Flash and ActionScript, 3Ds Max, Vegas and a lot more. With my current system I cannot run the software I want to learn and it frustrates me a lot because I have so much motivation to learn, and ideas to put in action to make a difference.

When I graduated two years ago and started working at home for an employer who provided me an entry-level laptop to use for work, I was able to do the things I dreamed to do way back when I was younger. However, still the limitations are so low — it’s like I’m being choked everyday, I can’t play games, I can’t do video editing especially HD video editing using Premiere or other video software, Photoshop crashes, and there are many software I couldn’t run once or at the same time because the laptop lacks CPU speed and dedicated graphics card. My desktop experience hinders my overall productivity so much.

It’s noteworthy, however, that despite these limitations, a laptop slowly changed my life.

6 Months of Work:
My Workplace In The Corner Of The World | John Raul dot Com

9 Months of Work:
My Workplace After Nine Months Of Home Work | John Raul dot Com

Last December:
YouTube – Season Greetings! Christmas 2007

1 Year to Present:
After 21 Years On The Floor, Finally I Will Have My Own Room! | John Raul dot Com
My Geek Room Is Now Occupied, But Still Incomplete | John Raul dot Com

My greatest fear is to lose ownership of this laptop since my employer might ask me to return it back – I am afraid to lose a life and career, and my support to my family. I cannot afford to buy a laptop or computer of my own yet. I want to do more, I want to produce and I want to continue helping people — losing my laptop will take all these motivations from me.

I pray a lot that I would win the prize at least the HDX and the HP Multimedia Laptop. It would not only make a history but it would let me multiply the magic given to me and share it to other people through my assistance and support to their day to day lives. I can’t let them down just because my system doesnt allow me so.

Thanks so much and this is what I can share with you. I love you Geekzone and HP, and others for this wonderful opportunity. Merry Christmas!