Not in a household where my sister needs to communicate with her OFW husband in the Middle East. Not in a household where my nephew and niece, now teenagers, need to constantly update their Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr or whatever social networking site is currently on vogue. Not in a household where I need to write and yes, email my articles on a daily basis.
It doesn’t even matter that we have a desktop PC, a netbook and even the latest touchscreen smartphones at our disposal. When we all need to go online at the same time, one single wired broadband connection is simply not enough for all of us to share.
And that is why I for one am very glad that there’s the new PLDT Wi-Fi Modem that can now settle our longtime dispute of who needs to go online first and what time? Now all of us can and anytime we want to.
As an acknowledged leader in the telecommunication industry, PLDT has time and again came up with innovative products that has never ceased to amaze a lot of people. As innovations go, the new PLDT Wi-Fi Modem from PLDTmyDSL goes beyond broadband with its triple play service.
The modem’s 4-port hub switch can accommodate up to four wired and multiple wireless connections, allowing for wireless connection within the range of 25 meters anywhere at home. With its 4-port hub switch that can accommodate up to four wired and multiple wireless connections, subscribers can enjoy simultaneous connection. The entire family can now go online using desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices simultaneously. Immediate access to news and entertainment, online shops, social networks, and any information we need to look up has never been this immediate.
“The digital lifestyle isn’t an option,” PLDT AVP and head of PLDT myDSL Gary Dujali says. “It is what life has become. So it’s important for everyone to have unrestricted access to the web at home whenever they want, wherever they want.” Availability of connection in one’s area or barangay can be checked with PLDT myDSL. Applying online means fewer fields to fill in and also guarantees customer feedback on status of application within 48 hours.
It gets better. PLDT is launching its PLDT Wi-Fi Modem in a big way. Those who would like to avail of it when they visit SM Megamall on December 3 to 5 will be treated to an exclusive offer at the Ultra Broadband Blowout, PLDT myDSL’s biggest and most exclusive broadband sale of the year.
Here, the new PLDT Wi-FI modem itself is up for grabs at P1200 only and not its regular P2,200 for Bundled Plans 990 and 1299. Those who will upgrade the PLDT myDSL Plan 990 can get it for free as well those who are already subscribing to myDSL high speed plans of 999,1995 and 3000 that compares favorably well to its P1000 regular price.
On December 4, all roads lead to the Republiq as more than 1,000 of the city’s best known movers and shakers will party the night away as Natural Born Klubbers or NBK presents its NBK Greenhouse Effect 2, the annual Christmas party of party promoters. The event will also coincide with PLDT Wi-Fi Miodem’s official public launch. With the expected unique and exciting performances by DJ’s, dancers and musicians, yes, there is a lot to celebrate as wireless internet access in our own homes is something that we no longer have to merely imagine.
“We at PLDT recognize the importance of evolving our products to provide our subscribers with services that conform to their needs,” Dujali says. “It’s all about making life current, convenient, and comfortable for everyone in the family.”
And convenient and comfortable it is. Commercial Wi-Fi zones are known as hotspots. Well, with the new PLDT Wi-Fi modem, I personally thought it was both comforting and exciting to see my entire home turned into a hotspot itself.
Because one shared connection was simply not enough. Now one will never be enough.
AS if concept stores like the ones opened by HTC and Logitech aren’t enough, another tech vendor is following the lead of Apple and opened its own concept store at the Ateneo De Manila University campus.
Here’s my news story about it as published in the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin last year.
ACER OPENS OWN IN-CAMPUS STORE IN ATENEO
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
ONLY a few months after an authorized reseller of Apple launched its iCampus store at the Ateneo De Manila University, popular PC vendor Acer Philippines recently opened its own “Digital Campus Store” right beside it at the Loyola School Bookstore inside the Manuel V. Pangilinan building of the campus.
With its new in-campus store inside one of the country’s top educational institutions, the already affordable and popular Acer desktop PC’s, laptops and LCD monitors are available at specially discounted prices exclusively for students and faculty members of Ateneo.
“The Acer Digital Campus Store aims to empower the youth even further in harnessing the endless benefits of information technology by making affordable yet world-class quality information technology products within their reach,” says Acer Philippines General Manager Manuel Wong.
William Mallari, Director of Ateneo’s Loyola School Bookstore said that “in-campus options like the Acer Digital Campus Store and iCampus are also reflective of the school’s efforts in addressing the computing needs of its students as well as the increasing clamor for accessible stores like this.” Mallari, who graced the official opening of the store along with other Ateneo officials admitted that Acer’s presence in Ateneo will give students more computing options in accordance with their available budgets.
Awarded by the I.T. Journalists Association of the Philippines as I.T. Company of the Year during its recently conclude Cyberpress ICT Awards, the Taiwan-based tech firm is now the number one personal computer brand in the country number two worldwide according to industry research specialist Gartner.
“We’re happy that with the long hours spent by the Acer sales and marketing team to come up with exciting ways to generate more awareness about Acer products among our target markets, we were able to give customers here the perfect alternative to the usual PC fare,” Wong earlier said. “The steady growth in the number of Acer users proves that we are on the right track.”
XSite Solutions, a sales partner of Acer Philippines will manage the store’s day-to-day operations.
WE’VE seen this before. Graduating high school seniors who did very well in their academic subjects confident of making it to one of the top three universities in the country only to get the shock of their lives by discovering that passing the entrance exams alone is not the piece of cake that they, their parents and even favorite teachers thought it would be.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“A student’s performance in his high school is not an adequate gauge on whether he will breeze through his college entrance exams,” points out Regina Jaojoco, Area Manager for AHEAD Tutorial and Review Center. “High schools concentrate on providing secondary education; they do not fully equip their students with the proper training with regards to taking college entrance exams. Universities and colleges focus on different subjects, so the content of their exams vary.”
The bottom line is this: of the 100,000 or so who apply to UP, Ateneo, and La Salle each year, only 10 percent actually pass the entrance exams. The remaining 90,000 who will not qualify for the Top 3 universities will join the 400,000 other students who will take the entrance exams of other good schools. But even these institutions will not be able to take them all in.
So yes, preparation is key to passing this all-important obstacle known as the College Entrance Exam. While UP is focused on its above average general intelligence test in its UPCAT, there is also a strong advanced math component in Ateneo’s ACET. The one given by La Salle on its DLSUCET is a totally different animal as it is distinguished by its unique style of questioning and tough essay-writing components.
As Ms. Jaojoco emphatically points out, a review center can make all the difference between passing and failing. And as review centers go, AHEAD as its name implies, has proven itself to be very much ahead of the pack. “We maintain the highest passing rate of 85 percent in the industry,” Ms. Jaojoco declares. “A big reason for this is that AHEAD’s college entrance review classes are packaged accordingly where different classes are offered for specific entrance exams particularly the UPCAT, ACET and DLSUCET. Yes, our test-based program are designed specifically after the actual tests.”
With the test-based method, only the topics that will be taken up in the actual exams are reviewed, thereby saving a lot of time and effort on the part of the student. Without the benefit and proper guidance of a very effective review center like AHEAD, many students are left in the dark as to what items will be actually covered in the entrance exam of the college of their choice. Hence, the tendency is to review everything, which not only puts more stress and pressure to pass but also wastes a lot of energy on items that will not turn out to be part of the actual tests.
Recognizing that not all college entrance exams are created alike is just one of the many things that makes AHEAD a lot different from other review centers. For starters, its highly effective diagnostic test lets its incoming review students know where they stand at the start of the review and what they need to do to improve this standing.
The review students are also introduced to two important learning tools: speed reading and mind mapping. With the high-pressured time limits of admission exams, speed reading is certainly a skill that would very much come in handy. AHEAD’s speed reading sessions helps increase students’ reading rates and comprehension levels, allowing them to not just “beat the time” but understand the test items more clearly and solve problems more easily.
Mind mapping is another learning tool proven to improve memory and enhance creativity and critical thinking as it also tempers the human brain’s infinite capacity to process information. With this ability, students will not feel like they have their hands full or have too much on their plate when the big exam day finally comes.
Both tools are crucial in not just passing the college entrance exam but also in hurdling the many other academic obstacles that students will further encounter in the course of their collegiate studies.
Of course, there is still no substitute to learning by doing and that’s exactly what’s developed by AHEAD’s review program which is also in line with Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience Theory: “Research shows that people retain 20 percent of what they hear, 10 percent of what they read, 30 percent of what they see, and 90 percent of what they do.”
To underscore the very importance of learning by doing, all summer students undergo a 16-hour refresher course weeks before the actual college entrance tests. AHEAD’s refresher course not only “refreshes” their minds or helps them recall the topics taken up in their review classes, it also boosts their confidence and gives them added inspiration.
In addition to these techniques, Ms. Jaojoco says that review students are also getting “the best of the best” with AHEAD. “AHEAD is also committed to rigorous standards of screening and hiring teachers, which involves a qualifying examination, an initial interview, demonstration teaching, and final interview,” she declares. “Aside from the fact that our tutors and lecturers all come from the top three universities and belong to the top one percent of their respective batches, they can credibly answer questions about their respective schools and give survival tips better than anyone.”
The same goes with AHEAD’s Review Assistants. In addition to tutors and lecturers, AHEAD is also the only review center that employs assistants who are mostly “former AHEAD review students and UP alums who understand the pressure and difficulty of reviewing for college entrance tests.”
These Review Assistants have after all, gone through the same drill that AHEAD enrollees are only about to undergo and their experience are just as crucial in providing a favorable test outcome as the expertise of the tutors and lecturers. “Like our tutors and lecturers, our Review Assistants also provide motivation and help instill discipline among our students,” says Ms. Jaojoco. “Since they are also young and dynamic, they also relate really well with our students, eliminating the communication gap that most students encounter with their teachers.”
AHEAD also recognizes the important role of parents in their success equation. Ms. Jaojoco says that by holding special seminars for its students and their parents, such orientation activities provide for greater understanding of the importance of college entrance exams and in addition to tips before, during, and after the review, deeper insights on the top universities (their core values, principles, culture and overall environment) are also presented. For students in particular, this is akin to attending their official college freshman orientation and getting acclimatized to their second home for the next four or so years.
“Not only are AHEAD students prepared for their actual test-taking, they are also introduced to college life through the experiences of their lecturers and review assistants,” Ms. Jaojoco notes.
But even as times change and the same entrance exams evolve to include newer items based on constantly revised curriculums, AHEAD continues to get ahead of its story with methods and techniques as it takes an approach that is both evolutionary and revolutionary. Tutors, lecturers and staff members undergo constant and rigorous training by AHEAD’s professional training division, the AHEAD Professional Network—the same network that has also trained first-rate school managers all over the country with the Philippine Business for Social Progress.
Constant research and development make AHEAD’s materials the best reference for students preparing to get into top institutions of learning. In response to the growing demand from students in different parts of and even outside the country, review courses are now available through an internet-based virtual learning system that is also used by hundreds of schools in Singapore. Students can now see, hear, chat, and exchange resources with their teachers and peers online.
With top-notch people, top-notch support and yes, the highest passing average in the industry, there are many reasons why AHEAD is the review center that has helped countless young students get a top-notch collegiate education en route to a brighter future ahead of them.
For more information, visit www.ahead.ph. Photos taken from AHEAD Review's Facebook page.
RECENTLY, I got the chance to catch Bamboo’s outstanding performance at Encore during the second leg of the Rock N’ Rogue concert series. With a repertoire of greatest hits and their usual and surprising takes on Rivermaya classics (including an acoustic reading of “Ulan” and a rare performance of “Awit Ng Kabataan”) that Bamboo Mañalac himself originally sang lead on, the band brought the house down as expected and sounded even better (look up “spatialized”) with the high tech equipment provided by organizer JB Music.
Two years ago, I wrote a feature profile on Bamboo for the Manila Bulletin. Revisiting that piece, much of what I wrote about the band remains eerily spot-on. Excerpts:
There’s a reason why the band Bamboo stands head and shoulders above everyone else. Whether we’re just listening to their own soulful brand of groove-oriented rock in our iPods or are actually witnessing their mesmerizing intensity onstage, we know there’s simply no other combo quite like this quartet.
And several years after they first unleashed their now signature song, “Noypi” to an unsuspecting public and gave a then already comatose band scene a much needed jolt of consciousness, Bamboo has yet to get old, literally and figuratively. What keeps Bamboo Mañalac, Nathan Azarcon, Ira Cruz and Vic Mercado fresh, unpredictable and very much at the top of their game is their penchant to constantly reinvent themselves with every release, from the glorious riffs of “Hallelujah” to the rest of the refreshing fusion of rock, rap, jazz and yes, gospel in “Mr. Clay” and the rest of As The Music Plays.
They even managed to put their own stamp in the better-than-interesting cover versions (including an electrifying reading of Buklod's protest anthem, “Tatsulok” and a faithful-to-the-original rendering of Anak Bayan’s “Ang Probinsyana”) in an eclectic selection of big hits and cult classics in their latest offering, We All Stand Together.
Bamboo says the band's kinetic performances, constantly recognized with a regular inclusion in the NU Rock Awards’ Best Live Act category, is no accident. The charismatic frontman in fact admits that this is something that he at least, has wisely invested in. Yes, there is a conscious effort on the band’s part to put on a good show. “Our interaction with our crowd is something that we do care about,” he notes. “We know it's a long race.”
Although Nathan stresses that music, above all else, is still what Bamboo is all about. “It’s something that we’re very serious about,” he declares. “We’re trying many things out and we’ll see where this is going.
With influences as diverse as The Beatles for Ira, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest for Nathan, Frank Sinatra for Vic and everything in between for Bamboo, expecting the unexpected is more the rule rather than the exception for this band.
And not doing as the Romans do is probably why this band is always a step ahead of the competition and yes, continues to stand head and shoulders above everybody else.
Here’s my good friend and fellow Mac user TJ Manotoc geeking out as he talks about everything Apple in a 2009 feature that I wrote for MAXIM magazine. Imagine what he’ll say if the iPad was already around then.
Photos taken from TJ's Facebook page.
BIG MAC
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
HERE’S big news, Studio 23’s News Central anchorman TJ Manotoc is making headlines himself as a veteran Mac user.
When and how did you become a Mac user?
If I am not mistaken, it was either 2000 or 2001 when I first got a Mac. And who are to blame? My Mac ninongs, Elbert Cuenca and Teddy Manotoc, who else? Elbert convinced me Mac was the way to go, how much easier it was. Then what tipped me over the edge was my cousin of Teddy Manotoc. For one he wanted to buy a new desktop set-up for himself, and second he urged me to finally bite the bullet. He even lent me money so we could avail of bigger group cash discount.
How many Macs and Apple products have you owned or still own since then?
I had that iBook for quite sometime. In fact, regrettably, I didn't really get to use it well enough for the first few years maybe due to the lack of wifi then. Then I scored a second hand 15-inch Powerbook during a trade-in at a sale. Boy was that heaven! Moving from a 12-inch iBook to a 15-inch powerbook was an even more amazing experience since it also had built in wifi. After the Powerbook, I got a Macbook Pro 1.8GHz then got another second hand 2.4GHz Macbook Pro which is currently what I’m using. I also bought another second hand Mac Mini for use at home and for my kids. I just paired it with some basic keyboard an mouse and a simple LCD monitor.
In 2003, I finally bought an iPod and have been constantly upgrading it from a white 40gb to a black 80gb iPod Video then to that a 16gb iPod Touch. I also got my wife an iPod shuffle and my son had a long slim nano, then eventually the “fatty” nano.
As for other Apple products, I do have an apple wireless keyboard and wireless might mouse that I use at home on my desk when I put up my MacBook Pro on a riser to see the screen at eye level. Then I added an Apple Airport Extreme base station to be my wifi router. And I also have an Apple TV since they launched its 2.0 software. It’s been a joy renting HD movies (even cheaper than taking the wife out to the mall for a movie), watching free podcasts, and viewing photo slide shows on our wide screen.
Then just last year I bit the bullet again after a long wait, I got the official release of the iPhone from Globe.
What is it about the Mac that fascinated you? Why not use a Windows-based PC instead?
Initially, it is the cool factor that gets you into the Mac, the gorgeous design and sleek look. Other than that, Macs are simply much easier to use, never crashes, never gets trojans or spyware, terrific built-in software like iTunes, iPhoto, Safari, iCal, Address Book and more. I used to have a PC as a desktop at home and it was a constant nightmare of hanging, slowing down and more than its fair share of virus here and there.
I'm one of those guys now who would really prefer to use a Mac if given a choice of what PC to use, even if it is on gorgeous piece of hardware like, say, the Sony Vaio line. But then again, to be fair, Windows 7 looks great. and I wouldn't mind using it if I need to.
What are your favorite Mac applications? What do they do?
There’s iTunes and iPhoto that offer simple and seamless ease of use with an iPod, or iPhone, the iTunes store, and with any camera. They’re just so idiot proof and fun to use. I also can’t wait for iLife '09 where I can tag faces on photos and arrange them by name.
For browsing I enjoy using both Safari and Firefox, very stable, has had tab browsing even before IE figured that out. Firefox also has a convenient “reopen all windows and tabs from last session” feature so I can shut down the browser to boost ram and not worry about the gazillion tabs I had open.
Third parties, there’s Simplify Media, Appzap, Whatsize and Visual Hub.
What other Mac or Apple products are you still lusting for? Do you also have a wish list of products you want Apple to make in the near future?
I am lusting for an HD Cinema display and a one terrabyte Time Capsule.
Of course I am hoping for Apple to continue to improve on the iPhone. I hope (but I know eventually they'll do this) they put in a nice pair of stereo speakers like what Motorola did years ago, have at least a 5 MP camera with flash, a front VGA cam for video calls, cut and paste and SMS forwarding.
I'd love to see a 15 inch Macbook Air with more juice and storage capacity with a smaller price tag, and to have a twisting screen tablet function. And I also want a new Apple TV that can also serve as an HD cable box where I can record live TV too and have rentals that don’t expire in 24 hours once you start watching. For me, 36 hours would be fair.
WHO doesn’t love success stories especially if it’s preceded by some kind of a major setback? Some people say things happen for a reason. When a door closes, a window opens.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to a veterinarian on his way to supposedly greener pastures in the land of opportunity except in his case, the opportunity knocked right where he already is.
Here’s one of the more inspiring news items that I wrote for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin last year. And yes, nice guys don’t always finish last.
LIVESTOCK FARM WINS US$30,000 IBM BUSINESS REALITY CHALLENGE
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
MORE than 20 years ago, veterinarian Dr. Robert Lo was all set to migrate to the US. For reasons he could not understand to this day, the consul denied his visa application. “I was not even asked a single question,” he recalls. “And I thought I had all the necessary papers.”
It turns out that denial was a blessing in disguise. Dr. Lo went on to successfully head his own commercial livestock venture that is now one of the most successful in Central Luzon. And after more than 20 years of operation, Red Dragon Farms (RDF) has emerged as the winner of the Philippines edition of the ASEAN-wide IBM Business Reality Challenge as it bested over 100 small and medium-sized business ventures or SMB’s all over the country, including a formidable microfinancing company in the final round.
With 12 poultry grower farms across the region and a 2,000-sow level swine farm with their own respective feed mills plus a meat shop called Fresh Options that has over 58 stores all over Luzon including Metro Manila, RDF has done very well for itself despite being weak in the area of IT.
“Although we’ve been around for 20 years, we are still stuck with the same manual systems that ended up fragmenting our processes,” explained Dr. Robert Lo, founder, president and general manager, RDF. “Even as it has not adversely affected our success, our disparate ERP system often results in delays in the processing of documents. Sometimes, even check payments are delayed.”
The lack of networking and automation capabilities, among other IT challenges, is actually what tipped the balance in favor of RDF as far as IBM is concerned. As explained by Natalie Pia Azarcon, IBM Philippines Country Manager for ibm.dotcom, the whole point of the Business Reality Challenge is “to assist small and medium-sized businesses in improving productivity and profitability while reducing operation costs through the efficient use of information technology.”
Moreover, Azarcon said that compared to the other companies that participated in the challenge, it is RDF that best met IBM’s selection criteria as it also stands to benefit the most from the top prize that consists of IBM’s suite of free hardware, software and consulting services worth US$30,000 or about P1.47 million.
“Even with their phenomenal growth over the years, the IT side wasn’t emphasized,” Azarcon points out. “Imagine how much better they would have been if they had IT capabilities from the start. Now with the best IT company behind their back, RDF’s first enterprise-level should enable them to work faster and smarter than their competition, allowing them to get quick and accurate reports to improve management decision and have better systems management and controls for overall operational efficiency.”
For his part, a beaming Dr. Lo hopes that IBM can help them create a system that will not just only integrate the financial, administrative and people aspects of their overall operations but also help in the area of what he calls “business intelligence.” “We hope to be able to forecast good locations, popular products and deal with volatile prices in the market if we can set up good business intelligence for our company.” he says.
When asked if he still has plans of migrating to the US after his company had just won the IBM Business Reality Challenge, Dr. Lo can only sheepishly smile and shake his head. It looks like Red Dragon Farms will be around for at least another 20 years.
HERE is a sidebar to an article I wrote about a recent Asian Poker Tour tournament that I covered for Billionaire magazine, published by the same group that publishes the automotive trade publication, C! magazine.
Since a lot of people seem to be into poker these days, I thought this sidebar itself can stand on its own merits. I am not much of a poker person myself but let's just say that after this assignment, I did learn a thing or two about the game.
And yes, I have been practicing. Read on.
WHY PLAY POKER ONLINE?
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
IT’S not just a virtual game.
Yes, the rules are pretty much the same but playing poker online, whether only for fun in Facebook or for real money in online sites like Pokerstars.com is a different kind of experience altogether.
Since you’re not actually playing in a casino or a specialized venue like the Metro Card Club in Metrowalk, Pasig, there are no poker faces and body language to observe. Among other disadvantages, there is no way of knowing if you are even playing a human opponent or the same human players logging in under different account names in the same table.
But many of the estimated two million players playing online poker daily on over 300 websites (according to Poker-Tomorrow.com) swear that the advantages far outweighs its disadvantages, the most obvious of which is that it will make you a sharper poker player, whether you’re playing online or off.
Janice Jade Triste admits to regularly playing poker online from her own home. Her stunning runner-up finish in the recently concluded FPT Anniversary Tour is obvious proof that well, practice makes perfect. A few more reasons why.
Online poker is safe and fair. Most online poker sites are regarded as safe for the simple reason that by ensuring fair games, they stand to benefit and earn more from the rake that allows for bigger bankrolls and higher limits. Sites that do develop a reputation from cheating incidents are not likely to further attract more players and yes, online traffic from thereon.
Play more hands. Because cards needed to be collected, shuffled, and dealt after every hand, the average rate of play in a table is only around thirty hands per hour in traditional poker. Online, dealing and shuffling are instantaneous and thanks to what is called as “auto action” online poker tables average between ninety to one hundred hands per hour.
Play more tables. You can’t be at two places at the same time in the real world. In the virtual world of online poker, you can play in as rooms as you can. Depending on the site and the player's ability to make speedy decisions, a player can play several tables at the same time, viewing them each in a separate window on the computer display. If you’re playing for money, that can also translate to more winnings than real world poker.
Take a break anytime. Enter and leave a table as you please, cut your losses and take a deep breath and try to catch your second wind, something you can’t do in real world poker. Online, you don’t just live to fight for another day, you also save on the usually expensive food and beverage that you’ll consume in casinos and yes, you don’t need to tip or give balato to the dealer and other employees on a winning day.
Players have similar habits. While you can’t see the eyes of your opponents or how he or she reacts to his starting hand and subsequent flop, you can still observe their hand selection tendencies as well as betting and raising patterns. For example, a player who raises instantly may not necessarily have a strong hand but may be only trying to bluff you while one who takes time to call your bet is likely to have a strong hand.
Get to know fellow players. Most online poker sites include forums and virtual communities where both novices and expert players alike can share their playing experiences as well as those all-important tips on how to become better players. Even when not playing, anyone who’s serious about the game stands to benefit from simply hanging out at these virtual communities.
WITH only six days to go before Election Day, candidates for both national and local positions are now stepping up their efforts to campaign for those all-important votes. All kinds of issues are now being raised so it is important to separate the chaff from the grain.
PoliticalArena.com, the country’s first socio-political networking site, recognizes the importance of being constantly updated and has recently introduced PoliticalArena Mobile, an application that delivers optimized election content to mobile phone screens. Based on the Cynamon platform, PoliticalArena Mobile is capable of delivering just about any type of content to the mobile screen, be it text, audio, photos and even short videos.
As an official information website of the Commission on Elections, PoliticalArena.com provides candidates and voters with a venue to communicate with each other using social networking tools such as blog, chat, forum, and multimedia portals.
The new mobile application extends the capabilities of the site as it offers candidate information, breaking news, announcements and other related election-information that can be accessed and viewed using a mobile phone.
“PoliticalArena Mobile is designed to make information about the 2010 national elections more accessible. Members who sign up for the service will receive updates about the candidates they support, as well as news about the national elections,” says PoliticalArena.com General Manager Racquel Cagurangan. “The application utilizes mobile devices to disseminate information and promote awareness by providing content that goes beyond the capabilities of SMS and MMS. At the same time, it also promotes interactivity because users can send feedback and comments through their mobile devices.”
PoliticalArena Mobile can be downloaded for free. Standard data charges of service providers apply each time the application is launched and used. To register, users must log on to the application page here
EXTENDED remix of a news item I wrote for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin.
LEVEL UP! GOES TURBO-CHARGED WITH NEW ONLINE RACING GAME
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
WITH no less than celebrated race car champion Gaby Dela Merced as its brand ambassador, Level Up! games recently launched the full commercial version of the latest evolution of what company executives now say is their “most played online game.”
Crazy Kart 2: Race Battle Online or simply CK2RBO picks up where the very popular Crazy Kart left off, this time with a slightly more serious racing look-and-feel that recalls gaming franchises like the Need For Speed series. Previously available in closed and open beta versions, the commercial version of CK2RBO features improved graphics, increased levels of difficulty and more action-packed gameplay, among other new features.
“With this full version, players can navigate across 5,000 kilometers of varying tracks with hair-raising twists and turns and more challenging maps,” says Jeff Paulino, Level-Up brand manager for Crazy Kart and CK2RBO. “There’s a boss chase battle, race-team formation and quest systems and a driver evolution systems.”
Paulino says the game’s launch also coincides with the introduction of a new Cyber Racing League scheduled for eight legs in eight SM CyberZone branches all over the country. “This tournament is open to all players from Baguio to Davao City where the best players from each SM CyberZone branch will get the chance to vie for a slot in Level Up! Live 2010, the prestigious online gaming event where they can also win cash prizes and the honor of being named the first ever CK2RBO Cyber Racing Champion,” he enthuses.
The brand manager added that Level Up! has also been promoting both CK2RBO and the original Crazy Kart in corporate offices via team-based tournaments. “Many office workers find the game to be a terrific stress-reliever and a wonderful way of improving office camaraderie,” Paulino points out. “For us, it’s another wonderful way of promoting the games.”
For her part, Dela Merced, who also became a household name after a memorable stint as a housemate in Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition, admitted she was initially invited by Level Up! in casual gaming get togethers says accepting the company’s offer to be the game’s brand ambassador is a no-brainer.
“I have been playing motor sports video games since I was a kid for different gaming machines like the NES or the Family Computer, the Super NES and the PC Engine,” she fondly recalls. “Actually, you could say that racing games are my first driving lessons, at least that’s how I fell in love with cars and motor sports in general.”
Dela Merced says being part of CK2RBO is her “own personal way of encouraging Filipino gamers to live their dreams.”
WHETHER we like it or not, the World Wide Web has changed the way we watch our favorite TV shows, thanks to sites like YouTube and Hulu.com, among others.
Back here at home, there have been quite a few attempts to make online entertainment more accessible to more people, especially the more mobile amongst us such as SmartTV (what happened to that?) and more recently, PLDT myDSL Watchpad, which has continued to improve since I wrote about its launch for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin last year.
Recently, PLDT myDSL Watchpad in partnership with Channel [V] brought us Musicfest 2010, a music festival featuring American Idol winner Kris Allen, Jabbawockeez and Boyce Avenue. Subscribers who could not make it to the shows in Manila and Cebu were able to watch it on live streaming video.
Just how much PLDT myDSL Watchpad has progressed since its launch? So far it seems to be chugging along pretty well. One big acid test that awaits it is how well will it cover the coming elections. In any case, here is an updated version of that October, 2009 news item that I wrote about it.
PLDT EXPECTS NEW WATCHPAD SERVICE TO REVOLUTIONIZE ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT
BY EDWIN P. SALLAN
MULTITASKING online suddenly got a lot more entertaining.
At least for subscribers of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Company’s myDSL broadband internet service, there is now one more reason to go online. With its recently launched Watchpad, users can now watch their favorite TV shows in streaming video for free even as they surf the web, check their emails, update their social networking status, write their blogs, chat in real time and play online games.
With Cignal HD as content provider, Watchpad is a revolutionary service that combines broadband connection with rich multimedia content. Initially available right off the bat are popular free TV and cable channels National Geographic, Cartoon Network, MTV, Pinoy Box Office, CNN, Animax Mobile, CNBC and GMA while newly-added networks now include MTV, PLDT, Living Asia, Bio, History, Crime Investigation, Tin Word, Go E! Entertainment and most recently, Channel [V]. myDSL subscribers only need to register at PLDT myDSL Watchpad's official site to get a username and password in order to access them for free.
“While it’s true that you can access streaming videos of your favorite shows in the internet from various sources online, what we did here at Watchpad is bring them all together under one online roof,” says PLDT Retail Business Group Head Dan Ibarra. “So our users can spend more time watching, surfing, chatting and blogging instead of searching the web for these show.”
And that’s not all. Watchpad is also introducing myFlicks, its own one-stop, commercial-free movie central channel which will show the acclaimed films of 2009 Cannes International Film Festival Best Director Brilliante Mendoza starting this month. Mendoza, who has so far directed a total of eight films, is the first Filipino to get this prestigious recognition at the annual film festival held in France.
During the press conference launching his inclusion in Watchpad’s initial entertainment line-up, Mendoza said he’s very pleased to see his films such as Serbis, Twilight Dancers, Masahista, Mamoro, Foster Child and soon, Kaleido and the award-winning but controversial Kinatay exposed to a wider online audience. The filmmaker pointed out, however, that since myFlicks is still subject to MTRCB regulations, only the MTRCB-approved cuts of his films will be shown in Watchpad.
For PLDT’s part, Ibarra and AVP Gary Dujali announced that aside from those by Mendoza, more acclaimed films from the country’s best directors are coming soon at Watchpad. Another exclusive Watchpad channel, myView, will feature special shows from popular celebrities like Isabel Oli who will discuss her fashion tips and Rhian Ramos who will dwell on her own celebrity status in myLife. Also in myView are the latest showbiz gossip from fashion designer slash musician Kate Torralba and respected industry scribes like Shirley Pizarro, Isah Red, Dolly Anne Carvajal and Ricky Lo, now known as myFoursome.
Dujali pointed out that the Watchpad service is not just limited to films and television but also the latest online games from LevelUp! Games. Initially available for Watchpad are CrazyKart and Hello Kitty Online Philippines.
With regards to the speed and quality of the streaming videos and overall quality of the service as a whole, Dujali and Ibarra are one in saying that while Watchpad is available to all PLDT myDSL subscribers, “the service is best experienced for those who are subscribed to Plan 1299 and higher.” Plan 1299 is also the minimum requirement for those who want to enjoy the streaming videos of available Watchpad entertainment in High Quality (HQ) resolution.
According to Ibarra, PLDT has a total subscriber base of over 1.5 million for both its wired and wireless broadband service. He said he expects this number to significantly increase with the introduction of Watchpad.
Dujali also reveals that there are plans to acquire 25 to 30 more channels to augment the service as it continues to be a hit with PLDT myDSL subscribers. He hinted, however, that just like cable TV providers, PLDT may also require subscribers to pay a premium for certain channels as well as special shows like the recently concluded Pacquiao-Cotto match available only on pay-per-view.
Here's the first TV commercial for PLDT myDSL Watchpad:
EXTENDED remix of a recent news item I wrote for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin.
POLITICALARENA.COM RE-LAUNCHES NEW LOOK, ISSUES-BASED WEBSITE
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
WITH a totally new look to include all official candidates for not just the presidency but also the vice-presidency and those seeking Senate seats, PoliticalArena.com recently relaunched its so-called Version 2.0 or the second phase of its ongoing evolution.
Dubbed as “the country’s first socio-political networking site and a one-stop shop to access all candidates in one arena that allows voters to make informed decisions,” PoliticalArena.com is an initiative of JobsDB.com in partnership with the Commision On Elections (Comelec), the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
WHEN it was first launched in June of last year, PoliticalArena.com, there were no official candidates for any position at the time so the site included all information it could gather on 22 perceived presidentiables. Now with 10 official candidates in place (Nicanor Perlas not included in photo above and Vetallano Acosta not in both pics at all), the site has introduced major changes and new features.
“By including the presidential candidates’ respective running mates and senatorial slates, our users are given access to majority of the candidates running for national seats,” says PoliticalArena.com General Manager Racquel Caguirangan.
Caguirangan added that the site’s home page now includes a new Issues section that features the presidential candidates’ answers to the country’s top issues. “With this feature, users are allowed to know the views of the presidentiables on important issues and compare their responses,” she points out.
The old Issues section that housed over 500 questions posted by site members is now called the Question and Answer section. Here, users can still pose other questions they still consider relevant that may range from anything like national security to the environment to tourism to the youth to even the much-talked about Reproductive Health Bill issue.
“While the new PoliticalArena.com has a lot of new features to better cater to our users’ needs, we have also retained many of our popular features,” Caguirangan notes. “These include the News, Announcements and Calendar sections that all relay important information on current events and the candiates’ campaign activities and events as well as our very popular Forum where we encourage healthy discussions on everything related to politics and the Philippines.”
As a social networking tool, Caguirangan says PoliticalArena.com now allows users to build their own networks and connect with “like-minded” individuals (read: those who support the same candidates) with the new “add a friend” button. There’s also a freedom wall for micro-blogging postings as well as the ability to write a full blog that may be featured on the site’s home page.
Since the start of the year, the site has garnered a total of 484,515 hits with page views of 1,358,501 as of January 14. Absolute unique visitors is 396,746 with a daily traffic of 2,319.69. Accessed in more than 180 countries, China, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are among the top countries that regularly surf the site outside of the Philippines.
As a venue that provides free space to candidates to allow them to explain more about their platform and their stand on certain issues, Caguirangan admits that presidential candidates that take advantage of this privilege include JC Delos Reyes, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Senator Richard Gordon and former president Joseph Estrada, who all provided their own welcome messages during her presentation.
Asked if PoliticalArena.com will also include information on those running for local positions, Caguirangan says they would like to do so but are still trying to figure out how to go about it at this time.
For his part, Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez says that the growing response of the public to sites like PoliticalArena.com as well as independent initiatives like Blogwatch.ph underscores the importance of this coming elections to the general public.
“We welcome anything that will help us disseminate election-related information, even sites that have been critical of the Comelec,” he says. “This is an important event in our history and we’d like to get everyone involved as much as possible.”
EXTENDED “remix” of a recent news item I wrote for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin.
E-GAMES ANNOUNCES NEW ONLINE GAMES FOR 2010
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
EVEN as it maintains its dominance in the field of online gaming in 2009, IP E-Game Ventures, Inc. or simply IP E-Games, the number one-ranked online gaming publisher in the country announced the launching of more new titles for 2010.
During its recently concluded Road To Dominance IV event, E-Games Chief Operating Officer Gil Edeza announced these new online titles namely Dragonica, a side-scrolling adventure game, Bandmaster, a music band game and OP7, its newest massively multiplayer online first person shooter or MMOFS will be available by the first quarter of next year.
Edeza says Dragonica boasts of RPG elements and an eight-way side-scrolling system in full 3D that provides fun and intuitive gameplay even for first time players. “Dragonica has the potential for bringing all kinds of gamers together in one game,” he points out. “Its easy-to-use interface and gameplay system will appeal to casual gamers and first-time MMOG players, while the game’s RPG elements, combo system and PvP battles will also attract veteran players.”
Heidi Mendita-Garayblas, Vice President for e-Games, adds that the game’s appeal widespread appeal is rooted in its uniqueness. “Dragonica, though side-scrolling, is the first to use 3D graphics to enable more freedom of movement. With its humor and use of pop-culture references, it’s easy to have fun while playing this game.”
Another new title, Bandmaster is actually a game to be published locally by X-Play Online Games, the joint venture company of IP e-Games and GMA New Media Inc, the digital media arm of GMA Network.
Developed by Dyson (Piper Games), Bandmaster is easily patterned after popular console franchises, Rock Band and Guitar Player as it allows each player to choose between six different instruments and battle with other players in a concert-like atmosphere where each participant will match the beats of their chosen instruments in rendering an outstanding musical performance.
“With the advent of technology, the music industry has evolved to a point where the artist can present their music directly to the public. Bandmaster takes this one step further, offering the opportunity to display artistic talent to their peers within a virtual setting,” beams George Royeca Chief Operating Officer of X-Play.
And then there’s OP7, which already began its closed beta and open beta testings during the last quarter of this year. The commercial version, set to debut next year will have better gameplay dynamics and will also feature new maps, the best of which is the Dust Map which is closely based on De Dust, the most popular map of FPS game, Counterstrike, as well as a Clan System that promises to bring players to work more cohesively as a unit.
“These new improvements and adjustments will make OP7 run better and provide an even more improved and balanced gameplay,” says Sonny Carlos, Product Manager for OP7.
In addition to these new games, E-Games also announced the closed beta testing period of Runes Of Magic, a game that started its Alpha testing last October. Developed by Taiwan-based Runewaker Entertainment, Runes of Magic is a new fantasy MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game), using a popular Western-style high-fantasy backdrop complete with heroic quests, crafting, incredible creatures and monsters to defeat.
“Runes of Magic aims to break online gaming conventions,” Edeza enthuses. “With a big, immersive world, veteran and beginning players are in for a surprise. And just like all other E-Games titles, it is free-to-play.”
IP E-Games is a subsidiary of IPVG, a company recently nominated as IT Company of the Year by the I.T. Journalists Association of the Philippines in its recently concluded 2009 Cyberpress Awards.
RECENT news item I wrote for the Manila Bulletin, as online awareness on the coming elections further improves:
BLOGGERS LAUNCH 2010 ELECTIONS PORTAL
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
AS if taking their cue from an earlier Comelec pronouncement acknowledging the internet as “the most efficient way of disseminating information,” a group of bloggers recently launched a news web portal called Blogwatch.ph.
Hosted by the Philippine Online Chronicles (www.thepoc.net), a news and features website under the Vibal Foundation, Blogwatch.ph is described in its Facebook page as “a new media initiative where bloggers join forces to cover the 2010 elections and help raise public awareness by tapping the burgeoning blogosphere in the Philippines to provide different perspectives on the elections apart from that of traditional media.”
Led by its project editor, Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, other bloggers involved in Blogwatch.ph include Philippine Blog Awards president Juned Sonido, Dine Racoma, Carlo Ople, Vince Golangco, Jane Uymatiao, Pierre Galla, Angel Abella, Brian Ong and Fritz Tentativa, among others.
During its launch, Lardizabal-Dado said the Blogwatch.ph portal “will harness the power of new media to present a multiperspective, multimedia coverage of next year’s elections, the events leading up to it, and relevant topics such as election automation, campaign finance, and the personal and political backgrounds of candidates.”
“The decision to blog about presidentiables started as far back as last year,” recalls Lardizabal-Dado in one of her recent posts in her own blog site, aboutmyrecovery.com. “As luck would have it, an invitation from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism for a training seminar on “Covering Elections in the Era of Internet and Automation” provided me with a framework to cover the Elections 2010 with more focus. Then in one of my meetings with Vibal Foundation’s Philippine Online Chronicles, Tin Mandigma of Vibal thought of a citizen’s journalism portal for their site. And just like that, Vibal Foundation provided us with the support and logistics for this bloggers’ own 2010 Election Coverage Project.”
Even as the site covers election-related stories in various formats normally used by bloggers such as podcasts, articles, and videos, Blogwatch.ph will also utilize social networking tools such as sites like Plurk, Twitter, Ustream, Facebook, YouTube, and Qik to spread information and connect with users.
Another thing that will distinguish the portal is its use of social networking media to spread information and connect with its readers. Already, the site has Plurk, Twitter, Ustream, Facebook, YouTube, and Qik accounts so that BlogWatch.ph can be made accessible to everyone online.
Blogwatch.ph is independent of the Commission On Elections’ own online initiatives. Launched a little earlier, Bagong Botante (bagongbotante.ph), I.B.A. Na Ngayon (ibanangayon.ph) and Political Arena (ph.politicalarena.com) also present different ways where the general public can familiarize themselves not only with the new automated electoral process as a whole but also with the general platforms of the candidates running for national positions.
YOU’VE seen this German composer’s name on the credits of countless films, many of them box office hits like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight that’s currently on heavy rotation on HBO and opening this week, Guy Ritchie’s big screen adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Hans Zimmer’s body of work pretty much speaks for his musical genius. And in 2005, I was fortunate enough to be granted a 15-minute telephone interview with him as part of the promotional efforts for Batman Begins, then a newly-rebooted comics franchise.
Since my piece came out in the i Section of the Manila Bulletin, Zimmer has done more memorable scores for films like Frost/Nixon, the Pirates of the Carribean and the Madagascar franchises and The Da Vinci Code and its sequel, Angels & Demons, either by himself or in collaboration with equally noted film composers like James Newton Howard, shown in the photo with him above.
In that 15-minute interview, Zimmer also talked about his desire to write score for videogames as well, which actually became a reality last year when he became involved in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a first-person shooter game for PC’s and gaming consoles.
Here’s a slightly-tweaked version of that 2005 article:
THE COMPOSER OF THE EVOCATIVE
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
HIS majestic brand of film music gave life and character to soldiers, gladiators, undercover agents, samurais and knights in shining armor, among other action heroes. Now Academy-award winning musical scorer Hans Zimmer brings new life to a different kind of knight, a brooding, dark vigilante who prowls the night and protects his city from underworld figures and criminally insane elements.
In a big way, Batman Begins is not just a prequel to a successful film franchise that presented the popular DC Comics superhero in a stylishly Gothic reinvention from the extremely fertile imagination of the prodigous Tim Burton. It is also thankfully not the disappointments that the last two installments were, which were helmed by the far less imaginative Joel Schumacher.
What the new film is is an equally fresh take on the origins of the Dark Knight with no less than Christopher Nolan, the director of the now cult classic, Memento handling the reins. Nolan is probably one of the few new filmmakers that can match and perhaps someday surpass the imagination and creative juices of his peer Burton.
And it shows in the choice of musical scorer. With an already impressive credentials that include such memorable scores for Gladiator, Crimson Tide, Black Hawk Down, The Last Samurai, Mission Impossible 2, King Arthur and The Lion King, where he won his only Oscar so far, Hans Zimmer is obviously a no-brainer for the job. Zimmer's oft-evocative film music deftly swings from gritty to melancholy to ethereal to frenzied and provides just the right kind of atmosphere for any given situation.
He is also a pioneer when it comes to fusing both electronic and orchestral elements as well as the Westernized with the indigenous. In his canvas, East meets West means a compelling clash of musical cultures that works well for his film projects.
For Batman Begins, the usually intense nature of Zimmer's music is tempered by the rather laid-back style of James Newton Howard (My Best Friend's Wedding, Runaway Bride, Pretty Woman), whom he personally asked to work with him for this project.
“I love James Newton Howard,” he candidly admits during a 15-minute exclusive telephone chat with this writer. “I’m a big fan of movies and I’m particularly a big fan of his work. I thought it would be really great to do this with a friend. When we began our work, we were simply good friends. Now we’re great friends. That’s how much I enjoyed working with him on this film.”
Working with a fellow artist on a certain film project is nothing new to Zimmer, who actually prefers to work in “a collaborative way.” In an interview with Stephanie Jorgl of Apple.com, he once said: “I’m not very ego-driven about being The Composer. Whoever brings in great ideas should be welcomed.” Besides, it “gets really lonely in the studio when you’re working on your own,” he admitted to us.
He has in fact worked with artists of diverse musical background. He was an assistant to fellow film composer Stanley Myers (The Deer Hunter) in his first film project, the Daniel Day Lewis-headlined indie classic, My Beautiful Laundrette. In Gladiator, which eventually spawned not one but two million-selling soundtracks, Zimmer played beautiful music with the eclectic Lisa Gerrard, she of the avant garde outfit Dead Can Dance.
His own Media Ventures music studio has also housed such composers and occasional collaborators like Mark Mancina, Trevor Jones, Steve Jablonsky, Geoff Zanelli, Trevor Horn and Klaus Badelt, among many others.
For Batman Begins, he actually invited Danny Elfman, who scored the Batman film series and a fixture of Tim Burton films. “When I started doing work on this project, Danny was in another building near my studio laying down tracks for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I told him, why don’t you come over and help me out with this. And he said, ‘I’ve done that, it’s your turn now’.”
Zimmer and Elfman are actually contemporaries, both having started as pop musicians for new wave bands back in the 80's. Elfman was actually the frontman of Oingo Boingo, a band best known for the dance hit, “Stay” and the theme song of John Hughes’ teen comedy, Weird Science. Zimmer, along with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, was a member of The Buggles, a one-hit wonder whose only hit was the chart-topping “Video Killed The Radio Star,” a song whose video earns the distinction of being the very first to be aired by MTV on its maiden broadcast.
So how does Zimmer compare his work in Batman Begins to that of Elfman’s, I asked. “I don’t,” he replied. “My job is to create and invent, not to do what he has done or revise or modify someone else’s work. What we did is Chris Nolan’s Batman, a totally new movie with a totally new approach.”
If he sounds annoyed with being compared to a fellow composer, well, he’s not. That last remark should not be taken the wrong way because the very genial Zimmer is far from disrespectful of another film composer’s work. He did say he is a big fan of movies and among his fellow musical scores, he cites Ennio Morricone, John Barry and John Williams as just a few of his favorites. “The music to Close Encounters of the Third Kind is one of the most amazing things I've ever heard,” he enthuses, “The CD soundtrack is something that I play all the time.”
And just as Danny Elfman is in his best element when he’s working with Tim Burton and James Newton Howard excels in films by Garry Marshall and M. Night Shyamalan, Zimmer’s finest work are those that he collaborated with directors like Ridley Scott, a frequent collaborator for films like Gladiator, Hannibal, Thelma and Louise, and Black Hawk Down; and James L. Brooks (Terms Of Endearment, The Simpsons) where his rather understated work in As Good As It Gets remains one of his all-time favorites. “With Ridley and James, I get to re-invent myself just like they do with every new project.”
Of course, there are also filmmakers that he prefers to not work with, given a choice. One of them ironically is a director he greatly admires, Steven Spielberg.
“Why would I ever want to work with Steven when that would mean that I won’t get to hear the beautiful music of John Williams complimenting his work?,” he argues. “In the same vein, what would be a film by Sergio Leone without music by Ennio Morricone?”
So how does a relatively new filmmaker like Christopher Nolan manage to get him to do Batman Begins? The Batman franchise is certainly the least bit that attracted him to the project. “The last thing I want to do is a Batman film,” he admits. “I don't have any particular preference as to what type of films I want to do music for. But Chris and I had a very interesting conversation about the project and the next thing I knew, I was already on board."
Asked if he is happy with his work on Batman Begins, Zimmer replied: “You know, I’m German and for us, happy is a very big word. We don’t use that word. The truth is, I always find some fault in my work and that inspires me to constantly improve and do better.”
When I told him that his work in Batman Begins pretty much approaches the grandeur and intensity of his award-winning work for The Lion King, Zimmer quips, “I guess I’m just very good with children whose parents die in their films.”
As for future endeavors, Zimmer is also a big technology buff and actually uses his own formidable arsenal of Apple-branded hardware including a PowerMac G4, a Powerbook, an iPod and Mac OS X for creating film music. I asked him if the emerging videogames medium is something where his work can be further appreciated, he said he’ll be thrilled to be a part of it in whatever way he can contribute. “But not because it’s a billion-dollar industry,” he qualifies. “I love technology so I’d like to be a big part of its exciting progress although I still don’t know how.”
Watch Hans Zimmer talk about his work on Sherlock Holmes:
REPOSTING a tech news story I wrote last year for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin.
NEW IN-CAMPUS APPLE STORE IN ATENEO ENHANCES STUDENTS’ DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
By EDWIN P. SALLAN
LIKE the proud father that he is, noted film and TV commercial director Jeric Soriano was quite emphatic in telling the story of how his son, a 19-year old student at the Ateneo De Manila University learned now to edit film and video using Final Cut Pro, Apple Computer’s professional editing software. “My son told me, ‘Dad, I just clicked some buttons and it just worked. It’s so easy. It’s not threatening. It’s a tool that just works with you,’ he said. And I thought that was just amazing.”
Soriano was saying this at the tailend of an inspired presentation on Apple Education or the advantage of using Apple products as digital learning tools during the recent launch of iCampus, the first in-campus Apple store of Senco Link Technologies at Ateneo. The store, which had its soft opening three months ago has been a hit with the strong Mac user population of the Loyola Heights-based university.
Together with Rodolfo Ang, Dean of the university’s John Gokongwei School of Management and William Mallari, Director of Loyola School Bookstore where the Apple Store is physically integrated, Senco Link Managing Director Patrick Yeung discussed and conceptualized what would later become as iCampus.
“There has been a clamor to make a store like this accessible to our students,” says Mallari who also admitted that sales have been very good since the store opened. “During our talks with Patrick Yeung, we emphasized the importance of giving discounted prices for students, in aid of their education so we negotiated for that.” So while Apple does in fact give education discounts in general, Mallari and later Ang both said that iCampus prices are exclusive to Ateneo students, faculty and employees.
In justifying the partnership with Senco Link to build an Apple store in-campus, Ang said that Apple stands for “excellence, innovation and service” which are also the same core values of Ateneo. “If people are known by the company they keep, then we’re glad to be in the company of Apple.”
Yeung, for his part, admitted that iCampus is in fact the second in-campus Authorized Campus Reseller store of Senco Link, who also operates the iStudio chain of Apple stores in Metro Manila. “Our first in-campus store is located in Hong Kong University and it continues to do well. We’re also in talks with International School, Assumption College and Xavier School for other possible Apple stores in the near future. This is very much in line with Apple Education’s mission in providing a more digital learning environment for students.”
But it is Soriano’s spirited talk that remained the highlight of the iCampus launch. Soriano, who is also an Advisor to the Digital Media Department of the New Life Christian Center evangelized on the significance of Apple products what he describes as an ongoing Digital Revolution. “People don’t think in words, people think in pictures,” he enthuses. “People are by nature, visual. The words that we see in a computer screen produce a picture in our head. We inform, influence and inspire by thinking in pictures.”
He recalled how he used a manual typewriter to get his work done when he was just starting out when a friend later suggested that he get a computer that “works like a point and shoot camera.” That computer was an Apple computer and since then, he has yet to use anything else. He now likens his MacBook Pro notebook and its integrated iLife and iWork software to a “portable studio that can be used to create anything, anywhere and anytime.”
“So why is Apple creating such tools?,” he asked. “Because it believes in educating the next generation. As it is, Apple products are already allowing us to tell our stories our own way.”
And with stores like iCampus, future storytellers at least from within the Ateneo campus community can now tell their own stories with digital learning tools from Apple purchased at special student prices.
The i-Campus-Ateneo is located at the Loyola School Bookstore located at the ground floor of the Manuel V. Pangilinan Student Leadership Center at the Ateneo De Manila University Loyola Heights Campus.
We don't have a video of iCampus but to have a clear idea of what an in-campus Apple Store is like, here's one in Monterrey, Mexico:
Availability of connection in one’s area or barangay can be checked with PLDT myDSL. Applying online means fewer fields to fill in and also guarantees customer feedback on status of application within 48 hours. 
