Adieu 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

With the closing of the year, I would also be somehow refocusing my post on a new blog.  So don’t be surprised if there would be a sudden drop of posted entry here. I will still post some entries here, albeit rarely from hereon.

Please do visit Digital Manila instead. It is a new online magazine that caters to a wide array of happenings in and about the metro. From Manila hip events to whatever is new and fascinating. Events, reviews, the hottest news, technology talks, movie features, and anything about digitized urban lifestyle

New Book for the New Year! - "Internet User’s Guide to E-Commerce Policies"

 As the new year approaches, it would truly be great to have a new book. And for online citizens like us, being abreast with e-commerce policy is increasingly becoming a necessity specially if we want to do business online. I am referring to the “Internet User’s Guide to E-Commerce Policies” - a new upcoming book by Ms. Janette Toral of DigitalFilipino.com.

This is the first book as part of the E-Commerce for Entrepreneurs series that’s on the pipeline. Each chapter will have a mind map and page guide to explain the policy’s details. Target release date is February 2009.

Below is the outline of this book:

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Becoming an I.T. Policy Advocate & Lobbyist
• The E-Commerce Law
  • Chapter 3: E-Commerce Law
  • Chapter 4: E-Commerce Law IRR
  • Chapter 5: Rules on Electronic Evidence
• SME Policies
  • Chapter 6: Financing for Information Technology Build-Up (SME-FIT)
  • Chapter 7: Government Procurement Policy Board Resolution No. 07-2006
• Consumer Protection
  • Chapter 8: Data Log Retention of Telecommunications Traffic (NTC)
  • Chapter 9: DTI Administrative Order #8: Prescribing Guidelines for the Protection of Personal Data in Information and Communication Systems in the Private Sector
  • Chapter 10: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 542: Consumer Protection for Electronic Banking
  • Chapter 11: Consumer Protection Guidelines (NTC)
  • Chapter 12: Advertising Standards Code
  • Chapter 13: Internet and Mobile Advertising Code of Ethics
• E-Government
  • Chapter 14: DTI-DOF Joint Administrative Order #2: Guidelines Implementing R.A. 8792 on Electronic Payment and Collection System (EPCS) in Government
• Chapter 15: Copyright
• Chapter 16: Cybercrime
• Chapter 17: E-Commerce Policy Implementation Challenges
• Chapter 18: Moving Forward

 

More good news! You could actually get this book for free! Check out this link for details. And by the way, happy new year! =)

Red Letter Night: Benefit Concert for the Philippine National Red Cross

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

4 days to go and you can catch the Philippines’ formidable talents as they gather in a one-night event “RED LETTER NIGHT“. They will serenade you  and give breathtaking performances for the good of PNRC and its beneficiaries. It will be held on January 4, Sunday night at Fiamma along Jupiter St. in Makati.

It features Awit Award winner R&B singer Thor, 2008 Awit Award-winner Soul Child Julianne, Awit-nominated band 3rd Avenue, rocker Miguel Escueta, The Out of Body Special, and surprise celebrity guests.  Tickets are only at P350 each. For ticket orders, you can e-mail musicrator<at>gmail.com

The event is presented by 7107 Islands Cruise and Mossimo, in cooperation with First Gourmet Academy, Well of Health, Sanctuario Spa, UCPI, Raintree Restaurants, Gerry’s Grill, Cupcakes by Sonja, Cardinal Printing Press and your online music information source, Musicrator.com!

NEW YEAR. NEW TRIPS. TRAVEL FACTOR 2009

This 2009, Travel Factor will be bigger and better. Join us as we celebrate the new year and we kick off our new trips and events for 2009!

Come dressed in your best beach threads and party the night away as we give out cool freebies and prizes.

Have a glimpse of the Travel Factor lifestyle!

Tickets are available for P250 (w/ 3 free drinks).
Club Industry, Tomas Morato (same building as Ratsky and CBTL)
January 3, 2009 8PM onwards.


—-
Be the first one to get hold of these tickets, text the ff persons (below) or email travel.factor@gmail.com

Tickets are for sale from the following people:

Please contact them first before claiming your tickets. TFPARTY - ___tix < #ofticketsreserved > - < personwhoreserved >

Leia Nagal

+63917-8475341
Available for meet ups within Manila area and during TF trips

Tikoy Tan

+63917-8864480
Available for meet ups within Ortigas area and during TF trips

Reg Mamaril (available for meet ups within Makati area)

+63917-8576770
RCG IT 39th Floor, Philamlife Tower, Ayala Avenue corner Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

Cedric Valera c/o Ayla Sumaylo (for pickup Monday – Friday 8am to 5pm only)

+6328441941 / +6328438556
AVA Rejoice Ads, Inc 24th Floor, RCBC Plaza Tower 1, Ayala Avenue corner Buendia, Makati City

Jay-r Trinidad (for pickup Tuesday – Saturday 1pm to 7pm only)

+63917-5321540
SVI SCC, 5th Floor JMT Corporate Condo, 27 ADB Avenue, Ortigas (infront of The Podium)

Mike Pedreno (for pick-up Monday-Friday 9am to 6pm only)

+63906-3267293 ; landline 702-9100 local 15012
Accenture, 7th floor, Robinsons Cybergate 1 Pioneer St. Mandaluyong City

Special Notes:
•    Official Trip details for First Quarter of 2009 will be posted on the website on January 3, 2009. For inquiries, please email travel.factor@gmail.com with the correct email subject:  Destination - Date
•    To join the mailing list, send a blank email to thetravelfactor-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Auction.ph Year End Shopping Galore

Sunday, December 28, 2008

 

 Online shopping portal Auction.ph ends 2008 with a year-ender shopping blast. Cyber-shoppers this holiday season have a variety of option to shop from hip apparels to cool gadgets.

If you are not yet a registered member, join now and start shopping through auction or outright purchase. You can get as much as 10% off in their Coupon Mania promo. Other current promos include the Super Saver Store, and P10 auctions.

Just a few months ago, Mr. Gil Nam An was inaugurated as Auction.ph’s new Chairman of the Board of Directors in a ceremony held in Holiday Inn, Clarkfield, Pampanga. The ceremony was highlghted with the awarding of a plaque by Mr. Hyuk Oh, Auction.ph President and CEO. The event was hosted by Mr. Angelo Hernandez and Mr.Man Heum Park.

 

Moreover, e-commerce site Auction.ph received  a USD10M investment from Mr. An which is considered as the larget investment made by an “angel” investor this year. Auction.ph intends to use the fund for research & development, marketing campaigns, improving online service features and exciting online promos. Auction.ph intends to be the leader in online shopping in terms of member and transaction quantity.

 

 

"Dayo" Premiere Night

Sunday, December 21, 2008

  

It was one of the few movie premiere nights I ever went to, and it was a good one.

Dayo Sa Mundo ng Elementia is the Philippine’s first all-digital full-length animated film and an official entry in the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival that opens on Christmas day together with other Filipino movies. It’s about an 11 year old kid who met a friend from the world of the mythical creatures and seeks help to rescue his grandparents after being abducted and sent in to the world of “Elementalia”, a world were Filipino mythological creatures live outside the real world of the humans. 

Eventhough I am not part of the production team nor do I have any stake at the success of this movie, I guess being a Filipino made something within me want this movie to be a success as well. And after watching the full movie, I know it will.

In terms of animation and visual effects, I found the first part (”real world”) somewhat lacking in terms of visual appeal, I am referring to the school scene where “Bubuy’s“ character is still being developed. However, I think that this might have been done intentionally to highlight the difference with the Elementalia scenes.

You will be left in awe starting on the scene when “Anna“, the manananggal, leads Buboy to Elementalia. From this part on, you will experience how to become dayo (wanderer) yourselves in the world of Elementalia. You would also meet the mystical creatures named Nano, Vicky, Jo, and the hilariously-voiced Toti who sounds quite familiar. Not to be forgotten, and extremely infectious is Narsi’s self-occupied persona.

  

Directed by Robert Quilao and with a great storyline, the characters are brought to a runabout of adventure-quest and twists. There were also two instances in the movie where a hint for a sequel was given. The musical score also deserves great credit due to the talented Jessie Lasaten.

A great fantasy-animation-adventure movie for the children and the whole family. Kudos to Filipino talent, kudos to “Dayo.”

Related Posts:

“Dayo Sa Mundo ng Elementalia,” Another Pinoy First

‘Dayo’ gets Grade A from Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB)

A Day at the Sony Expo 2008

At last, the day for the much awaited Sony Expo came. I woke up early that morning since I would be coming from north Quezon City near Caloocan and would have to commute all the way to SMX Convention Center beside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay where the Sony Expo was held. And of course, I brought along “Sago,” my travel buddy mascot which I include in my adventure photos for my blogs.

When I came past 12 noon, I was not disappointed. The  convention center was already brimming with cool Sony gadgets and lots of expectators. As a VIP Nuffnanger, I was seated near the stage and the buffet was filling. There were lots of great food! Indeed, Sony knows how to throw a fantastic expo. 

I was glad I did not miss the beautiful celebrity KC Concepcion. I got there just in time, a few minutes before she came out on stage to award the best “Sony Experience” entry.  KC also led a tour of the expo and showed the audience around to Sony’s different gadgets such as the world’s slimmest camera - the Sony Cybershot T77 with optical image stabilizers and the Sony Walkman NWZ-S730 noise-canceling portable music player.

After which, some games were held. KC also demonstrated the use of Sony TG1 Handycam - the world’s smallest, lightest, and slimmest full HD camcorder. It’s very light and the compact size fits nicely in one hand it could pass as a cellphone! It looks so sleek as well with its titanium coating earning a post in my Christmas wish list this holiday season.  =)

Check out my video of KC Concepsion trying out the Sony TG1 Handycam:

However, My favorite part of the Sony Expo 2008 was 2 of the 8 “World Breakthroughs” gadget - the Sony Vaio T Series and the Sony Noise Canceling Headphones MDR-NC500D. 

It was the first time for me to see the noise-canceling headphones. It may look just like one of the regular big headphones in the market. But don’t let the looks fool you. The sales person manning the headphones expo section recommended for me to try it out to experience the difference.

And to my surprise, indeed the noise in my surroundings were almost completely eliminated. And that’s not an easy feat inside an expo venue filled with people and with stage performances at that!

The next section which caught my awe was the Vaio area where all the Vaio models including the T Series were displayed and in all its array of colors. I love the jet black and hopes to have one some day. Its elegant look matched the specs which shout superb computing performance, not to mention its commanding authoritative presence.

Not only that, they also had models which can incorporate the noise-canceling headphones I mentioned earlier through the models with its very own noise-canceling circuit. What more can you ask for!

Check out the video I created below for the rest of the “World Breakthroughs” presented by Sony including the new Bravia Z450 - the world’s first 240Hz LCD TV, the Bravia X450 - the world’s first RGB LED backlight LCD TV, and the Sony Alpha-900 DLSR touted as the world’s first 24.6 mega pixel full frame DSLR with Body Integrated image stabilizers.

And to cap this awesome experience, here are more photos and more Sony products I experienced at the event, plus KC’s farewell speech at the end.

 

"Dayo Sa Mundo ng Elementalia," Another Pinoy First

Thursday, December 11, 2008

7 days to go and the Philippine’s first all-digital full-length animated film - “Dayo Sa Mundo ng Elementalia“- will be shown in theaters.

It opens on Christmas day together with other Filipino movies in the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival that would run for two weeks. The movie revolves around the story of an 11-yr old boy named ‘Bubuy’ and his not-so-human flying friend ‘Anna’ as they traverse a wide array of adventure and misadventures in the world of Elementalia filled with mythical creatures based on local Philippine folklore.

We were given the opportunity to have a peek on how the outstanding animation film was crafted by Cutting-Edge Productions a few months ago. We witnessed how the artists created and processed the drawings and images in their production and animation studio using Mac Pro and Wacom computer tools.

Here is a short video from their studio:

The movie is starred by the voice of versatile child actor Nash Agaus who took the lead role of  Buboy and Katrina Legaspi in the role of 14-yr old Anna, the manananggal (winged creature). Other celebrity voices include Michael V., Nova villa and Pokwang.

Aside from showcasing the creative team’s awesome animation skills, this film fest entry promises great potential as it is the only movie in the group that caters directly to children fittingly well for the holiday season movie-goers.

The film’s executive producer and musical scorer is no other than the renowned Jessie Lasaten and directed by Robert Quilao.

See you at the theaters soon! For the trailer, click here.

Below is a short interview with Mr. Jessie Lasatin.

Wanna Kick It? Click It!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

  

Every kick in a soccer game counts. In the internet world, the click does it.

And this time, each of your clicks brings a child a step closer to better literacy. “Every Click Counts” is an initiative led by dietary supplements company Nutrilite to support children’s literacy in the Philippines.

(more…)

My First Sony Experience Is With My Sony Walkman

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Growing up as a teenager in the early 90’s was not that easy. Internet was only available to the elite few and computers were in black screen with a blinking white cursor.

The “in” thing closest to portable music players during that time was the Sony Walkman cassette. Much less compared to digital music players and noise-canceling headphones we have today, but it was the best during that era. And as a teenager who wanted to be hip and “in” with the crowd, I wanted one.

Coming from a middle-class family whose budget were primarily allocated for food and education, gadgets can only be wished upon during special occasions like birthdays and Christmas (which basically happens just once a year). Or one could save up for it with a matching piggy-bank smashing.

But the dream of having my own Sony Walkman came true in 1992 when an uncle gave me one as a birthday gift! I was 14 then, and just like any hip kid on the block, I’d always carry it around, even to school. I used to hide it in my pocket during classes while concealing the earphone wires so the teacher wouldn’t see. The wires would run on my back inside the uniform, to the back of my neck and behind the right ear. I’d also make sure to angle my head where the teacher wouldn’t see.  =)

And what do you know, 17 years forward, I’m writing this article about my first Sony experience with my Walkman; reminiscing the younger days. My Sony Walkman truly played a big role in those growing up years and quenched my thirst for music everywhere I go. It definitely gave significance in my life just like the Sony’s World’s First Smallest, Lightest and Slimmest Full HD Camcorder - the TG1 Handycam, which really comes in handy, for more than music, I now have a knack for taking videos as well.