Focus Weekly: Innovation

Showing posts with label Innovation. Show all posts

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Japan firm showcases 'touchable' 3D technology

Technology that generates touchable 3D imagery was unveiled in Japan Monday, with its developers saying users could pull and push objects that are not really there.

Know-how that could improve a gaming experience, or allow someone to physically shape objects that exist only on a computer, will soon be available to buy, said Miraisens, a high-tech firm based outside Tokyo.

Japan's high-tech venture Miraisens CEO Natsuo Koda demonstrates the new device using 3D-haptics technology

"Touching is an important part of human communication but virtual reality has until now been lacking it," its chief executive Natsuo Koda told a press conference.

"This technology will give you a sense that you can touch objects in the 3D world," said Koda, a former Sony researcher on virtual reality.

It works by fooling the brain, blending the images the eye is seeing with different patterns of vibration created by a small device on the fingertip, said Norio Nakamura, the inventor of "3D-Haptics Technology" and chief technical officer at the firm.

In one demonstration of a prototype head-mounted display, the company showed how the user can feel resistance from virtual buttons that he or she is pushing.

Miraisens is a spin-off of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology based in the city of Tsukuba east of Tokyo.

Billing the technology as a world first, the company says it wants to commercialise it through applications in electronics and the services industry.

The system can be built into devices in the shape of coins, sticks or pens, amongst others.

Company officials said they could foresee a number of ways of using the technology.

For example, if built into a game controller, it could be used to give a sense of resistance in response to certain actions within the game, they said.

It could also be used to make up complicated data that could be fed into a 3D printer, allowing a child to make a virtual dinosaur model and then watch it come into existence.

Other applications could include help for doctors carrying out surgery remotely, or navigation assistance in canes used by visually impaired people. (Yahoo Philippines)

Google smart contact lenses move closer to reality

Google's Smart Contact Lens is like your contact lens, except it's a whole lot smarter.

Google’s plan to bring smart contact lenses to diabetes sufferers inched closer to reality as the company secured two patents last week for the cutting edge, biometric sensor technology.

Known among scientists as “Ophthalmic Electrochemical Sensors,” these contact lenses will feature flexible electronics that include sensors and an antenna. The sensors are designed to read chemicals in the tear fluid of the wearer’s eye and alert her, possibly through a little embedded LED light, when her blood sugar falls to dangerous levels.

According to the patent:

“Human tear fluid contains a variety of inorganic electrolytes (e.g., Ca.sup.2+, Mg.sup.2+, Cl.sup.-), organic solutes (e.g., glucose, lactate, etc.), proteins, and lipids. A contact lens with one or more sensors that can measure one or more of these components provides a convenient, non-invasive platform to diagnose or monitor health related problems. An example is a glucose sensing contact lens that can potentially be used for diabetic patients to monitor and control their blood glucose level.

Google’s project is one of a number of in-eye wearable sensor technologies currently under development at universities and research facilities around the country. However, with two patents in hand Google’s project may have a leg up on the competition.

This side view of the smart lens show the polymeric material and the embedded substrate.

The patents also offer a rare opportunity to see how Google and its research partners envision the Smart Contact lens fitting on the human eye.

For example, Google intends to both communicate and power the electronics-embedded contact lens with a pair of antennas, though the patent notes that these two functions could be embedded within one antenna.

As for how the eye can see past the thinner-than-a-strand-of-hair electronics, the patent notes that the substrate is too close to the eye to be in focus and it’s positioned away from the center of the eye and, thereby, away from where light is transmitted to the retina. It also notes that the substrate can be made of transparent (read: “see-through”) materials.

Google still has to get FDA approval before anyone starts wearing smart contact lenses. Still, it’s clear that glucose level detection is merely scratching the surface of the potential for these lenses. If Google can effectively build free-standing, communication-ready electronics in a transparent device roughly the size of a standard contact lens, there’s no telling what other kinds of smarts the lens will eventually be able to support.

Could Google Glass Contact Lenses be far behind? (Source: Mashable.com)

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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

TECHNOLOGY

Filipino startup says salt and water can bring light possible

Professor Aisa Mijeno and her brother Raph have a dream for their 16 million Filipino fellowmen who live without electricity.

In the Philippines, where a large percentage of the rural poor do not have electrical access, the Mijeno siblings have taken on the challenge to bring light to families using a very simple concept that Professor Aisa thinks has long been taken for granted.

“The planet is three-fourth ocean water,” the spritely, petite teacher muses, “What is the best way to solve our energy shortage other than using the abundant natural resource that we have? The science behind this has been existing for a hundred years; I’m not really sure why people deviated from developing this principle.”

It sounds nothing short of miraculous, if not even revolutionary: the Mijenos are going to make sublime light from mere water and salt.

And then there was light Professor Aisa is a part-time faculty member of the College of Engineering at De la Salle University-Lipa, teaching technical subjects such as Embedded System, Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis, and CCNA Exploration.

Before that, she also taught a class on Environmental Engineering, with the course covering Sustainable Energy.

Her technical background proved useful when she visited a small tribe in Kalinga, a mountainous region north of the country. There, she learned how people had to walk 12 hours to the neighboring town 50 kilometers away, just so they can buy kerosene for their lamps.

“That hit me in the heart, so I started linking my past knowledge and experiences to come up with a sustainable solution,” Professor Aisa shares.

This realization set her on the path towards starting salt, which she and her brother proudly brand as a social movement that aims to distribute their sustainable, cost-effective, and ecologically-designed lamp powered by tap water and table salt.

It wasn’t hard to believe that it was her destiny all along. Her life of soul-searching seemed to have been readying her for this epiphany: “After I graduated from college, I had the chance to work for an industry for a couple of years. I resigned my job and spent one whole year volunteering for various NGOs. I call that now, a year of enlightenment — where I traveled across the Philippines and Southeast Asia, and did work for free,” she reminisces. “I got to be part of Greenpeace Philippines as a DDC (Direct Dialogue Campaigner) in the middle of that same year.”

As campaigner, she received a scanty PHP 4,000 a month, which eventually took a toll on her finances. With a heavy heart, she resigned from her job.

Little did she know back then that she would eventually have a groundbreaking idea which will get the attention of business incubator IdeaSpace Foundation, and win for them a slot in the organization’s recent tech startup competition, along with nine other companies?

The duo plan to adopt TOM’s One for One model by ensuring that communities from depressed areas in the country get a free lamp for every product purchased.

“Our first beneficiaries will be the Hanunuo Mangyan tribe of Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro that we were able to visit last August,” Professor Aisa reveals. “Our main target communities are those families that are living off the grid, not by choice but by circumstances. The Philippines is an archipelago and the logistics of providing energy to all of these islands are fairly limited. So we have to reach out to these communities and help the government somehow,” she added.

Aside from this, they also plan to expand beyond the Philippines, and impact other places that will benefit from their innovation. “Lack of electricity access does not only exist here,” she observes. “This problem also persists for 63 million people in Indonesia, 26 million people in Myanmar, 10 million in Cambodia, eight million in Thailand, two million in Vietnam, 2.2 million in Laos, and 200,000 in Malaysia.”

When asked why people should support their project, the Professor humbly answered: “What we do is a simple way of helping, of trying to give back in the way we know how to. The places that need this technology and the people that live in these places are amazing, but sadly they are not being given enough attention. Hopefully, what we bring to the table will get people with amazing ideas to follow suit.”

Freelancer.com believes in passionate individuals making a difference in the world. That is why, together with the Young Entrepreneurs Society of the Philippines (YES), it has appointed SALt to represent the Philippines for the Startup Nations Summit competition this November 24-25 in Seoul, Korea. Help SALt win by voting for them by scanning the provided QR code. (Source: e27.co)

No need for law on anti-theft app, say mobile phone makers

Installing a kill-switch on all mobile phones is easier than believed, and with all the recent developments in the market, congressional action may not be needed.

Many phone manufacturers have developed kill-switches—all that’s left to do is make them available across all cell phone models.

In the House of Representatives, Ang Mata’y Alagaan party-list Rep. Lorna Velasco is seeking approval of a bill requiring mobile service providers to install kill-switch software in all cellular phones they provide to their subscribers.

“The enactment of this bill into law will effectively weaken, if not eliminate completely, the black market in stolen cell phones, which in turn will lead to a reduction in crimes related to mobile phones,” Velasco said in her explanatory note to the bill.

But since 2013, Filipino smartphone maker MyPhone has been installing a technology called Theft Apprehension and Asset Recovery Application (Tara) “on some models of its products.”

MyPhone said it is aimed at helping curb massive phone theft, which in 2012 numbered some 6,600 reported incidents nationwide.

Tara is similar to Apple’s kill-switch “Find My iPhone” in that it erases the contents of a stolen phone. But unlike the Apple app, it does not give the owner an idea of where the phone is.

Jun Lozada, who developed the MyPhone app, had said in a previous interview with the Inquirer that while Tara could not guarantee the stolen unit would be returned to its owner, it would at least prevent the thieves from selling it.

Besides, the stolen phone, even when turned off, would regularly set off an alarm and an automated voice would let people nearby know it is not in the hands of its rightful owner.

While anti-theft apps made by manufacturers like MyPhone and Apple are available, others have yet to follow suit.

Software developers have said they are already on it.

Google and Microsoft said they were developing similar applications to be embedded in the mobile operating systems they had developed.

Google, which developed Android, said it had developed a kill-switch that zeroes in on malicious apps and privacy violations only. The company said it had yet to transform it into a full anti-theft app.

But Android users have only to explore the Internet to find an anti-theft application.

One app touted to be a kill-switch has been available on Google Play since 2012.

Called “Find My Phone,” the app was developed by Glenn Beach, the same developer who came out with “Bake My Day,” and is available for free download.

In June, Microsoft, which has been struggling to keep its operating system on mobile devices amid the Android explosion, said the kill-switch it has been developing could also be remotely activated by the owner of a stolen device.

Microsoft did not elaborate but hinted its kill-switch might be incorporated into an existing app designed to help owners find their phones. (Source: besttopics.net)

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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

What about Instagram?

Hey, you know what’s not actually a new thing, and that people can all stop going crazy about? It’s having camera on your phone. I mean, getting excited about it is a bit like getting excited about ordering spaghetti with meatballs, or playing a song off your laptop which factually is one of its many functions.

It ain’t a thing.

Still, half the advertisements I see on the television are for cameras and phones. There’s where we’re usually told that life is passing us by and that if we don’t take pictures of every banal moment in our lives, these moments will be lost to us forever. It’s like we’re being told not to trust our own memories.

Also, we’re not just being encouraged to be the official club photographers of our own existences; either we’re being told that we should be documenting every meal as if we were preparing for a retrospective. This idea finds its epitome and is perpetuated most fervently by something called Instagram. You might have heard of it – or have used it.

I don’t know what it was about the turn of the century. Maybe, we all got carried away and thought we were the “chosen ones” because our lives spanned two different millennia. Maybe, it’s just a way of trying to get a grip on a world that’s passing us by…that capturing those seemingly mundane moments, when assembled, begin to make some kind of sense from our existence.

Or maybe Instagram does have some kind of worth.

I think the problem is that there’s dishonesty at its core. All photography of worth captures some kind of truth, something that you wouldn’t have picked up on with the naked eye. At the very least, it presents an interestingly distorted view of reality. (Louie dela Vega/FOCUS)

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Monday, October 27, 2014

5 reasons to start a company in the Philippines

The Southeast Asia is a key player when it comes to startups. It’s a market of 600 million people, a third of which in one country alone, with 17000 islands. But the Philippines is a stand out.

It’s a fast-growing middle-class region, with 24% of the Philippine population in this category as of 2013. Dubbed as the social media and selfie capital of the world by Times, Philippines has the fastest smartphone penetration.

You’re not alone to find it difficult to position this land on a map, as it is still quite unexplored by many. The opportunity to launch a business in the country is huge. Here are 5 good reasons to start up a business in the country:

It’s more fun in the Philippines!

This official campaign of the tourism board of the Philippines says quite a lot. The entrepreneurial spirit of Asians is truly infectious.

The Philippines is an amazing melting-pot of an Asian-Pacific set of islands, which has been conquered by the Spanish, freed from the Japanese later on by the Americans, and with a huge diaspora across the world.

The result is a very social and friendly culture, where karaoke, laughter and time for friends are omnipresent. As innovation often comes from diversity, you could not dream of a country with more different faces and cultures and acquiescence to new changes.

Growth is firm in the Philippines!

With the second best performing economy of Asia behind China, the Philippines is doing well. Their GDP recorded 6.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to 7.7% for China (IBT)

The exports of the country are also amazing, with the top chunk held by Electronic products, far beyond the bananas people think too often of.

The stock market also increased its main index by 61% over the last two years.

It’s archeologically empire-building in the Philippines!

If the history of the Silicon Valley or Israel is better known than the one of the Philippines, you can still find a lot of examples testifying their entrepreneurial spirit:

The country opened its Asia’s first University back in 1611. The University of Santo Tomas was set up by the Catholic, and it is still boasting some 42000 students as of 2013.

It carved the first rice terraces some 2000 years ago with an advanced irrigation system to drive water from the rainforests.

It resisted the Spanish invasion, with Lapu-Lapu, the omni-present soldier statue you can see in Cebu Island, being then recognized as “the first Filipino”, back in the 16th century.

It survived wars and typhoons, and has rebuilt the country after each catastrophe.

It is preparing a Startup Bill which many compares to a move as bold as the one made by Chile a few years ago (with Startup Chile being now a world famous program for foreign entrepreneurs).

It’s innovative in the Philippines!

The local startup scene in the Philippines is recognized to be leading innovation in two important fields:

Bitcoin and crypto-currencies, as the regulations are light when it comes to these new virtual currencies, and as their huge diaspora need a better way to send money back home. A few American startup-ers came intently to know how the Philippines bitcoin community was faring.

Social enterprise, as 62% of the population lives with less than three dollar per day. This population, called “the bottom of the pyramid”, is often referred to as a market as people there still have ways to consume goods and services. A social enterprise such as Rags to Riches in Manila, offers an e-commerce platform for craft made by remote populations.

These two fields are key innovation drivers where the Philippines can lead the way.

The startup network is vigorous in the Philippines!

The Philippines has its own main tech event and international hackathons and competition such as Seedstars World or AngelHack, training and mentoring centers. The Digital ICT Congress in Pangasinan is now on its 4th year tapping huge universities and institution in the entire province.

It’s definitely vivifying to visit the tech scenes of the Philippines, both in Cebu, and Pangasinan, an island better known for its nature spots.

With a unique positioning between Asia, the Pacific, and the United States, this is a big 100 million people country not to forget about. (Louie dela Vega/FOCUS)

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Monitoring your child thru smart parental control apps

Being a parent is a tough job and assuring a better future for their children is a priority. But in today’s world where everything is accessible thru the use of modern technology, parenting becomes tougher given that the Internet can now be easily accessed on smartphones and tablets; the possibility of reaching offensive contents heightens. Gone are the days when the only medium to explore the web is thru desktops and laptops where parents can easily monitor their kid’s activities.

In addition, smartphones which are now the most popular gadget in town, also, have applications in them that may influence your kids. Addicting games, sexually explicit apps, and unmonitored use of social media are some of the many frightening possibilities on using smartphones

But parents shouldn’t worry anymore as technology, which created these devices, also has a solution to this problem. Listed are the apps and gadgets that parents must use to monitor their kid’s activities on the Internet and their smartphone devices and even offline activities by using GPS trackers that trace your kid’s location.

Phone control. This app allows you to monitor every activity of your child’s phone. It will forward outgoing and incoming SMS messages, photo taken, contacts, phone calls and location of the device. And you can do this without even noticing by your child because it doesn’t have an icon seen on the phone.

Norton online family. Allows you to monitor which sites your child has visited and automatically sends you an email when your child attempts to visit blocked sites. Also, it shows the apps downloaded on the phone and choose which apps they can use. Hone habits.

The app also has a 90-day history of your child’s phone activity allowing you to double-check your child’s

Kids place. If you want to select what app your children can exactly use, this app is the best for you. Kids Place lets you customized the home screen feature of their phone that will feature child-friendly apps like puzzles and quizzes. This app also has a healthy feature because of its capability to disable the wireless networks that will avoid your child in radiation exposure.

Canary. This is for parents who want to track their child’s phone activity while driving. Canary alerts parents with the details on calls, messages driving speeds and locations. It also sets a maximum driving speed and creates a perimeter map and alerts you when your child exceeded on the maximum speed or your child is outside the perimeter during curfew hours.

Canary is a Free app that can be downloaded on Appstore and Google Play; $14.99 for a lifetime subscription.

Footprints. By using this app, parents can monitor their child’s whereabouts in real time, anytime. Using GPS, this app helps parents to automatically locate their child’s location. If they’re travelling, you can confirm if they already arrived at a specific location.

This app will surely help parents to monitor their kids while using their gadgets and internet, also, their activities thru this GPS tracking apps. Source: www.mashable.com, www.androidpit.com, www.footprints.net , www.thecanaryproject.com. (Reginald Agsalon)/Focus)

Internet of Things (IoT) in the North

Photo courtesy of www.control4.com

In the Tech scene, only Baguio is the city that is on the radar for IT. It has a good track record for business process outsourcing (BPO), manufacturing hardware parts, and providing web services for various industries.

In the southern part of the Philippines, Davao and Cebu are tech superstars. Of course, tech companies abound, tech industry is at its most promising stage — who could ask for more?

But the North seems more laid back, it has this watch and see attitude, and even though the national government is pushing the envelope in the provinces it seems that a lot of things need to be done first before we finally embrace technology and modernisation.

Why is this?

Most of the local officials are not open and exposed enough to technology. I know of a few influential officials that squirm at the word. They say that they were born and raised without and that their constituents do not need it or are not aware of it. Such people deserve a perfect slap on their faces to wake them up to reality.

Whoever said that technology is not necessary yet and their community can live without it must be living in a rainforest or is a caveman, Mayor.

****

Today, we are entering the era of interconnected devices. The Internet of Things (IoT). Google acquired Nest Labs - a company which manufactures and sells intelligent devices running on Big Data or cloud technology that connects other devices to it.

Google will soon launch Android One, an Android phone that will also communicate with other devices at home like the television, the door, your zircon or coffeemaker and your ref. It can also talk to your car, the Android Car.

With all these up and coming, the people in the North can just not afford to watch things as they happen. We have to be in. We have to join the bandwagon and create things that will make our future a better place to live in.

The 4th DICT Congress in Pangasinan on October 9-11, is themed “ The Internet of Things- Star the future now”. The congress aims to open up and involve the Pangasinenses to the future of technology which is the IoT. It wants to encourage citizens to build their own IoT contribution and specialise because there is no place in the Philippines that is niching on it.

Pangasinan is full of talents and its labor force is huge. A big portion of the urban workers come from Pangasinan. And we are trying to create our own opportunities here.

By introducing IoT and what the future holds to our students, we envision our digital natives to go and create software or devices hacked from ordinary things we see around and convert it to more useful devices that the entire community can benefit of.

Learn more about the Internet of Things and DICT 4 on my next column. The congress is scheduled October 9-11 in Lingayen and Dagupan City Pangasinan respectively.

Tweet me @vanjpadilla for more stories and conversation.

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Team PH preps for the 16th Int’l Robotics Olympiad

The Philippine Robotics team is gearing up in the preparation for the 16th Int’l Robotics Olympiad to be held this November 5-9 2014 in Beijing, China.

On the Press and Bloggers Conference held last Aug. 15, 2014 at Oakwood Premier, different teams of Young Robot Athletes from different schools in the country was introduced to represent our country to the said event. Leading the team is the Grace Christian College (GCC) Team, the over-all champion of the 2014 National Robotics Competition held last January 2014 at Phil. Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

Other teams composing the PH delegate are the young robotics athletes from Colegio De San Juan De Letran College-Calamba, St. Theodore School in Taguig City, Pasig Community, Holy Child Catholic, and Philippine YuhChiau School. Other schools are still on process of being part pf the delegation. For the schools who wants to be part of delegation, DSTC still accepts application, just visit their website http://genetic.edu.ph/ for more information.

The Int’l Robotics Olympiad is a yearly science and technology event where participants/ teams from different parts of the globe showcases their skills and abilities by designing and creating robots.

This year participants will compete with different game categories (Sumobot,Line Tracing, Mission Challenge, Robo Soccer, and Humanoid Challenge) with the theme: “Robots: Stop Global Warming. Reginald Agsalon/ FOCUS Source: DSTC

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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Photography: reinvented or disgraced?

A woman stares from her black and white location as she rests on a motorcycle. She is garbed with a pair of dungarees and a collared blouse. Her hair, carefully fixed to highlight her soft curls, greyed from light exposure and time passed. An old lady gazes from the black and white portrait: sophisticated and classy.

This was a Kodak moment; a moment of meaning which meant to be captured and preserved. Photography, in the past, held prominence and significance. It mirrored conscientious creation. It is a cherished degree endured in a collective flicking of a camera through the family photo album. This old-fashioned family tradition expired with the service and commercialism of the effortlessly swiping through photos on a digital screen. Photography has evolved from the atypical and rare moment and instance of capturing a momentous event to a daily mania we create and produce in mass.

The Kodak moment, planned with a meticulous setting of the tripod, lost and defeated to the ‘Instagram moment’. Photography in the Instagram generation does not anymore require an occasion. In its place, day-to-day, minute-to-minute activities are considered and assessed based on their ‘Insta’ potential.

Selfie [noun, un-gendered]: a photograph in which the photographer is likewise the subject of the frame; such photos often used mirrors, or introduce the extended, stretched arm of the subject in the corner of the frame; such photographs are taken with the main purpose of posting them on at least one form of social media. Selfies are generally taken with varying technology from true photography, utilizing digital smartphones, or computer webcams.

A veteran of the selfie, a friend sits across from me, slumped on the couch and holding her phone parallel to her face. She contorts her face–piercing her eyes, scrunching her nose, making a surprised and coy expression with her lips. When I ask about her actions, she scoffs at my naivety.

“Uhm, I’m Camera 360-ing.”

As she continues, a message made up only of a photo—usually one of self-involved subject matter, my evident stupidity hits me in the face. She is a ‘Selfie Connoisseur’. Her online identity is expressed by various multitudes of selfies, where in each photo, she would portray one of the following expressions: sassy, sexy, happy, posh, or “prosti”. This new subject matter of the self now comprises a message with no text necessary; “You only need to see my face,” reads as the underlying script that comes with exchanging ‘snaps’.

Our desire to record our appearance and exhibit it for others emanates from our yet dormant narcissism. This is not a novel advancement in the human personality. Look to Caravaggio’s Narcissus, from the Renaissance period. In Greek mythology, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.

Narcissism exemplifies the self-satisfaction of our own physical characteristics. Such narcissistic tendencies and manifestations envelop us, both on the screens of our addicting social interfaces, and the people next to us on the jeep. We take photos of ourselves out of appreciation with the notion that the photos fascinate our friends, or ‘followers’. Not different from Narcissus’ admiration of himself in the puddle, and trusting that if he loved himself to such level and magnitude, others would as well.

That portrait of the old lady I mentioned earlier could prove rare in today’s compeers of self-fanatical, self-declared photographers. Such a photo took skill, practice, lighting, and education. Why go to the efforts of hiring a photographer when we can crane our arm out, and ‘say cheese’ for our cell phone? The once revered ‘sacred Kodak moment’ now shattered, with it the sacristy of its photographers, replaced by the Industrial Revolution of the photograph and all-to-common, ‘Instagram moment’.

The art of photography engulfed with works of humdrum, unremarkable and nondescript events, assumed identical to the professional and classy works of RomyVitug, Ansel Adams, Cecil Beaton or Annie Leibovitz. This propagated and popularized social media platform almost means it is already unnecessary to marvel at the works of such experienced photographers because we have become the photographers; filters need only be applied.

As I walk the grounds of Capitol, Lingayen, I must excuse a group of adolescent girls stationed in the middle of the sidewalk with their necks craned up towards the monumental Aguido. Above their heads, they each hold their smartphones, holding still while they capture the unchanging structure. Without budging from their positions, I see their fingers swiping, no doubt testing each Instagram filter; this group of girls represented ‘Filter Artists’. Possibly Valencia?Sierra?Sutro? Each photo they Instagram surely differs only slightly–capturing in manifold neither an occasion nor celebration, nor do they reflect the custom of the photographical.

We take photos with the goal to impress, in contrary to documenting our momentous, treasured moments. Photography or ‘selfie’ portraits no longer need the excuse of a memorable moment. Got your daily cup of milktea this morning? Instagram it.Walked down an empty street that resembles an utterly idyllic and utopian state? Slap a filter over it to give the photo a sepia hue, and call yourself a photographer. Those moments…you know.

The rare and cherished Kodak moment was practiced with class by our parents. Portraits like these were taken as our parents came of age and developed. What can we say about the photographs we take today? I am unwilling to call it photography in refinement, for fear of advocating the Instagram and Selfie movements.

Imagine if our grandchildren see our over-documented photographs of ‘selfies’, would they see elegance and dignity and composure? Upright men they call grandpa or grandma? More likely theirInstagram oldies in our wealth, range, and assortment, that shows the evolution and latitude of our vainglory, our self-obsession, and our thirsting need for approval and validation.

This is photography reinvented…or disgraced?Hashtag me (#louieask), and tell me what you think. You decide.

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Pangasinan ICT Council co- organizes DICT Congress 4

The annual Digital ICT Congress is now in its 4th year, and this time, the newly-reorganized Pangasinan ICT Council (PICTC) is co-organizing it.

Sonny Ramirez of 1Digitech Philippines told FOCUS that the 4th staging of DICT Congress to be held in Lingayen and Dagupan subsequently on October 9 to 11, 2014 will be in partnership with Pangasinan ICT Council.

Pangasinan ICT Council Media Affairs Officer Davett Santiago said that the council decided to support DICT 4 because the Council wanted to see what Pangasinan students are capable of doing and what area in technology can we specialize on.

“Since Pangasinan is late bloomer in terms of IT, and seeing that a lot of other provinces in the Philippines have already made it to the global tech scene, we wanted Pangasinan to and thrive in the industry, too”, says Santiago.

DICT4 will be open to all college students in Pangasinan as well as 3rd year and senior high school students. Various competitions relative to the theme are also up.

Digital ICT Congress Year 3

Santiago added that the Pangasinan ICT Council welcomes the gesture, and calls the partnership a “perfect union”. He said that while it is true that the DICT has been partnering with big brands for the past three years, the entry of PICTC will make it more beneficial to the students.

This year’s theme, “The Internet of Things, Start tomorrow now!”,DICT4 is eyed to keep improving every year. Previously, the event encouraged Pangasinenses to be awesome, and not settle on average things, average careers, and average lives.

Now that the world is gearing towards interconnected devices, and cloud technology, it is better for Pangasinan students to specialize on creating apps and devices that will lead to the internet of things.

According to Vanj Padilla, topics during the seminar-workshop include the house of the future: how your household appliances connect and communicate with each other and talk to your phone; the healthcare of the future; how your devices and wearables warn and tell you about your health conditions and the things you need to do to maintain your well-being; the car of the futurewhich connects it to your phone, gets data from the road you take, and tells you the information you need to know; and all other things that the future holds.

“We wanted Pangasinan to be known as major player and maker in The Internet of Things technology so that our entry to the global tech industry is more futuristic where not only the developed countries or the Silicon Valley locals can say that we just watched and never played. Maybe not now, but in the few years to come, but somehow we have to start from somewhere and the perfect venue for this is the DICT 4. It sure is an ambitious project but at least we are going to get there”, hopeful Padilla said.

DICT is an event by 1Digitech Philippines that gathers thousands of students for a seminar and competition. Last year, it invited speakers from other Asian countries like Malaysia and Thailand and this year, new sets of international speakers will once again visit Pangasinan to share valuable insights and knowledge about “The Internet of Things (IoT)”

Companies who are interested to be part of this tech event, and for more information on how you can participate, you can directly contact the organizers thru mobile at 09235931677 or email at isiptikwak@gmail.com.

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Canva opens shop in Manila

Canva, a budding online graphic design platform from Australia, has expanded by opening an office in the Philippines just 11 months from its debut.

An idea in the works since 2007, founders Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams created a way to simplify graphic design with a drag-and-drop tool paired with a library of more than 1 million photographs, graphics and fonts.

By boiling down the design process to its simplest components, users from any experience level can now create professional looking projects like those done in Photoshop of InDesign – a particular interest to marketers especially in the digital and social media space who need to quickly create content like a picture or a header.

“Canva can be used to create almost anything for Web and print, including presentations, blog graphics, Facebook covers and invitations. Our biggest users are marketers, bloggers and small business using Canva to create their own marketing materials,” Perkins, Canvas CEO, shared with Marketing via e-mail

Since its launch, the company has amassed over 650,000 users and has piqued investor appetite. Just this July, Canva raised an aditional $3.6 million in funding from Shasta Ventures, Founders Fund, Matrix Partners, Blackbird Ventures and Square Peg Capital.

Canva Manila, formally launched last 8 August, will be the startup’s first shop outside its home country, which will be manned by eight people to work initially on marketing, customer service and graphic design. The office will be headed by Kei San Pablo as Manila Office Manager.

"We've just opened our Manila office this week and we're very excited about the potential in the Philippines," said Zach Kitschke, head of communications.

In photo (L-R): Cliff Obrecht, COO, Kei San Pablo of Canva Manila, Melanie Perkins, CEO, Zach Kitschke, head of communications, and Tin Atanacio of Canva Manila

Perkins confirmed that they are currently recruiting marketers, graphic designers and customer service professionals sourced from the local talent pool.

Without citing hard numbers, she confirmed that the Philippines is one of the company’s top 10 markets, owed to the Filipinos’ strong design aesthetic and being fast adopters of new technology. So far, over four million designs have now been created using the Canva platform.

Supporting the company’s overall strategy is Guy Kawasaki, which joined Canva last April as Chief Evangelist, a former role he had with Apple in the 1980’s. He is also an advisor to Google, co-founder of venture capital firm Garage Technology Venture and behind the online magazine rack, Alltop.

To add to Canva’s creative muscle, Peg Fitzpatrick has also joined Canva as Head of Social Strategy. Prior to this, she worked with Kawasaki as his social media architect, and she was the co-founder of the 12 Most website.

Canva has also announced a series of partnerships with companies including GoDaddy, Tailwind, Agora Pulse, Post Planner, and TabSite. Users of these websites will be able to create Canva graphics without leaving their page via the newly released Canva Button.

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Philippines wrestles with slow internet as mobile grows

The Philippines has one of the lowest smartphone penetration figures for a country with one of the highest mobile penetration figures overall.

On Device Research has tallied the country’s mobile penetration at 101% while only 15% of Filipino users have smartphones (For comparison, smartphone penetration in the Philippines is also the lowest of all the countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia at 80%, Thailand at 49%, and Indonesia at 23%). Various contributing factors such as the traditionally high prices of smartphones and the notoriously poor internet speeds in the country have hindered the growth of smartphone use. But recent research predicts that a boom in the Philippines’ smartphone market will occur over the next year.

On Device Research cites predictions from the Oxford Business Group which estimates that the penetration of smartphones will greatly increase over the next year and reach 50% in 2015—over a tripling of the current figure — despite the unavoidable problem of lagging internet speeds.

This prediction, if true, opens the door for a ton of foreign interest in selling smartphones in the Philippines. On Device Research shows that Samsung is currently the leader, holding 43% of the market. Google’s Android is the likely winner when considering which types of phones will become more popular, mostly because of Android-based phones’ lower prices than Apple’s.

But the country is going to continue to wrestle with slow internet, especially once more mobile web users are on board. The Philippines has the slowest average speed in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to Net Index rankings by broadband testing company Ookla. Mobile does fare a bit better, but still sits at the fifth spot in the region, with Smart Communications and Globe Telecom as the two dominating mobile internet providers. They combine to make a total of 83% of the market share with Sun Cellular in third place.

Speed isn’t the only obstacle for internet in the Philippines; in February, the Philippines Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of an internet libel law that allows the government to pursue authors of content deemed “defamatory” to the government. Many see this ruling more along the lines of censorship than anything else. Restricting content published on the internet is not a good way to venture into the burgeoning internet market, and certainly does not encourage entrepreneurship in the field. But the Philippines is going to have to figure out how to improve web speeds and manage content laws as the internet-connected device market surges over the next year. (Source: Juliana Kenny/blouinnews.com)

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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Photography: reinvented or disgraced?

Our desire to record our appearance and exhibit it for others emanates from our yet dormant narcissism. This is not a novel advancement in the human personality. Look to Caravaggio’s Narcissus, from the Renaissance period. In Greek mythology, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Narcissism exemplifies the self-satisfaction of our own physical characteristics. Such narcissistic tendencies and manifestations envelop us, both on the screens of our addicting social interfaces, and the people next to us on the jeep. We take photos of ourselves out of appreciation with the notion that the photos fascinate our friends, or ‘followers’. Not different from Narcissus’ admiration of himself in the puddle, and trusting that if he loved himself to such level and magnitude, others would as well.

This is photography reinvented…or disgraced?Hashtag me (#louieask), and tell me what you think. You decide.

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TECH EXPO: Six industries in one mega event.

Systems Integration Philippines (SIP) is the country’s ultimate business and electronics technology, products and services sourcing destination. From IT & telecommunications, to corporate gifts & promotional products, to consumer electronics & gadgets, to educational & training, to pro-audio, video, lighting & staging, to signage & out-of-home media, and business products & services, SIP is the most comprehensive office and workplace solutions expo in the country with over 400 top brands participating.

SIP is more than just a trade show. For three whole days, visitors can discover the latest technologies and trends, get up to 50 percent discount on premium selections, attend technical seminars, and workshops and join fun activities.

Entrance is free. Doors open from 10am to 6:30pm. To get your all access pass, visit www.gesi.com.ph or contact Global-Link at Tel: (632) 750-8588, or email: info@gesi.com.ph for more information. (Source: www.gesi.com.ph)

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Thursday, June 5, 2014

Introducing Classroom for Google Apps for Education

Google has gone far-off with innovations that break into the market and society. They meet new rations and provide market needs that will aid individuals work in order. It has not only penetrated over the field of business, tourism, and government but also positioned to take over classrooms. And here comes “Google Classroom” – a fresh, open classroom friendly toolprovide lectures on Google Docs, Drive, and Gmail.

Google classroom is intended to upkeep educators and abridge their workloads. It helps educators and students to work in congruence and at ease. It works hand in hand with teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and mend communication with students. And it lets students organize their work, complete, and communicate directly with their teachers and peers.

This affordable and secure application gives such benefits for educators and students for it is easy to set up, saves time, improves organization, and enhances communication.

Educators can apply for the preview of Google Classroom and based on the request that Google received, they will be inviting limited number of educators to try it.

By September, Google Classroom is expected to be accessible to any school using Google Apps for education. And if in any case,your school does not have Google Apps for education yet, your IT administrator can sign up www.google.com/edu/apps. (Christian Paul Terrado) FOCUS

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GoPro Hero3+: Your All-Adventure Camera

Known to be the smallest and lightest camera, GoPro has been one of the most popular cameras today. With its capability to withstand extreme conditions, its great wide angle lens (unconditionally genius anytime) and other features geared for versatility and convenience, GoPro is a must bring device for travelers and adventure seekers like I am.

This year,GoPro has released their latest action camera –The Hero3+ which offers a better image and HD video quality, on smaller, sleeker, and lighter.

The GoPro Hero3+ has three editions–the white, silver, and black which comes with more accessories included in the package. These include a waterproofed housing that withstands 40m submergence, a 3-Way pivot arm, adhesive mounts useful on course activities, and a whole lot more.

GoPro Hero3+ has also a number of upgrades over its cheaper siblings. One brilliant addition is the WIFI remote control which lets you operate the camera in distances without touching its buttons. It allows you to control 50 cameras simultaneously within a range of 600 feet. Plus, with the GoPro app installed, you can even set it to various modes. With a built-in WiFi hotspot or access point, you can connect your camera to an Android or iOS device. Sweet!

On top of that handy feature, the latest version of GoPro is screaming with an improved image quality. It has higher resolution of 12MP, a little higher thanthe Silver edition’s 11MP and White edition’s 5MP. When taking pictures on a fast moving setting, the Burst rate feature comes in very useful. The Black edition’s maximum burst rate is three times higher than that of the Silver edition’s 10fps which gives you a maximum of 30 consecutive frames per second. For those who don’t require quite so much speed, the Black Edition has 3fps, 5fps and 10fps continuous shooting rates.

Sound quality is as important as image quality. The Hero3+ Black edition features upgraded audio performance, capturing even the most delicate of sounds—whether you’re documenting voices, music or the splash of water on a spirited dive in the sea.

Another feature of GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition is the time-lapse mode, where the camera can be set to shoot at 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, and 60-second intervals. It all adds up to plenty of scope and flexibility.

Of course, the majority of people looking to purchase a Hero3 will probably be much more interested in its video capabilities than its still image prowess, and here again, the Black Edition enjoys a distinct advantage over its two supporting models. While the Silver and White editions support a maximum resolution of 1080p at 25fps, the Black Edition can capture 1080p Full HD video at 50, 48, or 25fps in PAL mode and 60, 48, and 30fps for NTSC capture. Furthermore, 720p recording can be captured at 100 to 50fps PAL or 120 - 60fps NTSC, which enables smooth slow-motion playback of high-def. movies.

So if you’re a person who travelsa lot and loves adventure, the GoPro Hero3+ must always be on your backpack. GoPro has already improved its battery life to last 30% longer.It will be your partner in capturing your meaningful experiences. Whether it’s surfing, sky diving, bungee jumping, biking, or racing, the GoPro has got you covered. You can bring it to places and occasions you’d normally think your usual cameras would not survive. (Reginald Agsalon) FOCUS

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Japan firm showcases 'touchable' 3D technology

What about Instagram?

5 reasons to start a company in the Philippines

Monitoring your child thru smart parental control apps

Internet of Things (IoT) in the North

Team PH preps for the 16th Int’l Robotics Olympiad

Photography: reinvented or disgraced?

Pangasinan ICT Council co- organizes DICT Congress 4

Canva opens shop in Manila

Philippines wrestles with slow internet as mobile grows

Photography: reinvented or disgraced?

TECH EXPO: Six industries in one mega event.

Introducing Classroom for Google Apps for Education

GoPro Hero3+: Your All-Adventure Camera