One thing I love best about the Internet is how it gives us access to music from other countries, regions, and peoples. After decades of growing up listening to, and being force fed with American Top 40 music and their Xerox copies masquerading as OPM, it is liberating and rather enlightening to finally listen to artists from Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

Right now, as I’m doing this piece, I am listening to a Zimbabwean singing about his farm and his daily struggles. Although, I cannot understand a single word of what he is singing, I can feel what he is telling me through his music.

I am sure the millions of other Internet users out there in the real world have their own favorite Internet radio stations. Most of these online radio broadcasters feature their own specialty music genre or ethnic traditions.

When it is world music I am looking for, I normally visit accuradio.com’s World Music channels.

Digital Alley

Last week, IT enthusiasts working or living in Makati had another reason to be thankful. Digital Alley, a collection of computer and telecommunication stores — a shopping mall within a shopping mall, virtually — opened at the Greenbelt 3 shopping mall.

Several computer vendors and their partners have opened their respective stores and outlets at the IT shopping center. Watching IT was fortunate enough to be invited to witness the Digital Alley’s opening.

And together with other IT journalists covering the event, we saw most of the leading brands were well represented at the shopping section. Toshiba, Dell, Samsung, Nokia, Acer, and HP among others, they each have an outlet showcasing their latest computers, notebooks, netbooks, mobile phones, and accessories.

Aliens

While going around the newly opened IT shopping destination, this corner had a chance to get personal and up close with the Alienware M11x notebook on display at the Dell store. I promptly played around with the notebook and tried to use and abuse it to the extent that the attending sales staff would let me.

The Intel Core i5-powered Alienware is designed to satisfy hardcore gamers’ desire for gaming-capable mobile platforms. With its Nvidia GeForce GT 335M graphics card and up to 8GB of RAM, the M11x is not likely to disappoint.

Mini Me

I also had a nice tete a tete with the Mini 10 netbook. Nothing much new to show, the netbook from Dell, however, has an enhanced HD widescreen display option, and an optional digital TV tuner. But what I like best about the new Mini 10 is its purported ability to last more than 9 hours between charges.

Now, if only I could last that long.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.