MVP Announces FREE INTERNET for Smart, Sun Cellular and Talk ‘N Text Prepaid!

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The much awaited announcement by Manny V. Pangilinan made at the Makati Shangrila Hotel, September 26, 2014. It wasn’t about running for public office but the announcement is for an advocacy and promo they want to give more to people - Smart, Sun Cellular and Talk ‘N Text Prepaid subscribers.

In an unprecedented move, wireless services leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) together with Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular today announced that they will start providing free Internet access to its prepaid subscriber base via their mobile phones.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, (MVP) chairman of Smart and its parent company PLDT has announced that all subscribers of Smart Prepaid, Sun Prepaid and Talk ‘N Text will be able to use mobile internet for free. He said that these subscribers can post status on Facebook, upload photos on Instagram, listen to streaming music on Spinnr, shopping on Lazada or Zalora, and of course browse your favorite websites.

"We are launching this initiative to provide a much larger number of Filipinos the opportunity to try out and experience the Internet, enjoy its benefits and, as we at Smart like to say, live more," MVP said.

“This special offer is specifically designed to assist our prepaid subscribers who make up the bulk of our population. Many of them have the mobile devices capable of accessing the Internet but have yet to use them to go online,” said MVP.

Through this special offer, all of the 66 million Smart Prepaid, Talk ‘N Text, and Sun Cellular Prepaid subscribers can use their data-enabled cellphones to browse through and post on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, visit their favorites websites, search on Google and Wikipedia, use navigation tools like Waze and Google Maps, book a cab or limo service via Easy Taxi and Uber, or use traffic info sites such as the MMDA's and InterAksyon's.

They can also send and receive emails, read their favorite blogs or update their own blogs, listen to songs via Smart’s Spinnr music service, shop via online stores like Zalora, Lazada, book their travel details through sites like Skyscanner and Expedia, among other things – all without incurring data charges.

Orlando B. Vea, Smart's chief wireless advisor said, "This special offer is in line with our advocacy of 'Internet for All'."

"It complements the affordable mobile Internet packages that Smart has been introducing over the past year. Among the latest of such innovations are PowerApp and PisoNet service which provides 10 minutes of mobile Internet access for one peso."

They’re encouraging prepaid subscribers to go online and experience mobile internet life without having to pay and subscribe for special prepaid data promos.

To avail of this promo, subscribers must:

**  have an available airtime balance of at least PhP 1 or is subscribed to any load bucket or promo

** register each day by sending "FREE" to "9999" (registration is free)

An SMS confirmation will be received upon successful registration.

Once registered, subscribers can enjoy free data of up to 30MB per day. However, data charges apply to peer-to-peer uploads and download, VOIP, and messaging.

Smart, Sun and Talk ‘N Text prepaid subscribers can start using their free mobile data starting today with at least 1 peso in their prepaid balance. Though The Big Boss of PLDT, MVP mentioned and encouraged that mobile browsing and app usage that requires internet connectivity can be used with their free mobile data, accessing streaming videos like YouTube and torrent downloading are not allowed. A paywall would appear and will advise the user to top-up their credits to access those features. “Free” here means no data charges, not unlimited bandwidth.

Smart, Sun Cellular, or Talk ‘n Text prepaid SIM on a data-enabled mobile device, you can enjoy up to 30mb of FREE mobile Internet per day for two months. Subscribers can access the internet either through data-capable feature phones or smartphones running on Android, iOS and Windows operating systems. 

The promo is good up to November 30, 2014.

This move complements Smart’s other affordable Internet access innovations, such as PisoNet, which gives users 10 minutes of mobile Internet access for one peso.

Unrivaled network

Smart’s free mobile Internet offer follows the telco leader’s recent announcement that it has stepped up the deployment of its mobile internet network, to meet the growing demand for mobile data services.

Smart recently reported a 73% hike in mobile data traffic, as smartphone prices continue to fall and innovative services like SmartNet and PisoNet allow more and more Filipinos to gain access to the Internet via their mobile phones.

“The strength and resiliency of our mobile data infrastructure enable us to make this special free internet offer available to our prepaid subscribers. Moreover, we continue to expand the reach of our network so that we can bring the internet to more communities all over the country,” said Napoleon L. Nazareno, president and CEO of Smart and PLDT.

The PLDT Group has thus far rolled out about 90,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables all over the country which provides the transmission facilities needed to support internet services. It has also the most extensive international cable systems needed to connect the Philippines to the rest of the world.

Philips commemorates breast cancer awareness month

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With the use of medical expertise and innovative technology to offer information, education and free testing to women, helping them manage their health and well-being. That can change the world when it comes to early diagnoses, treatment and prevention.

Every year, approximately 1.4 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer. The cure lies in innovation.

In terms of breast cancer incidence, the Philippines ranks the highest in Asia. According to research, one in every 13 Filipino women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. 

For its part, Philips has always been committed to improving the healthcare landscape of the country—including providing solutions to help women care for themselves better.

In line with this, Philips Avent and Philips Healthcare are set to cap breast cancer awareness month with an event geared to raise awareness about this deadly disease.

Last September 24, 2014, Philips held a tour of the mammography facility at Capitol Medical Center, Quezon City.

Luckily, I am one of the media people invited to join a event to see the reseach and innovation as part of the campaign to raise awareness. I had my mammography and thankfully for what result it would be. 

Breast cancer continues to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the United States, regardless of race or ethnicity. Nearly all breast cancers can be treated successfully if found early. When breast cancer is found in its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is 98 percent.

In 2013 we continue to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month through a global, multi-year campaign. As part of the campaign we raise awareness through eye-catching pink illuminations of landmarks, we help fund international research, and we offer women free testing and education in various locations around the world.

For years Philips have been supporting Breast Cancer Awarenss by using our innovative colored LEDs to illuminate global landmarks and literally putting a pink spotlight on the importance of early breast cancer detection.

In 2013 we go a step further: rolling out a global relay of eye-catching pink illuminations, travelling around the world throughout the month of October.

Every year, approximately 1.4 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer. The cure lies in innovation. Ground-breaking research and technological development can change the world when it comes to early diagnoses, treatment and prevention.

That is why as part of the campaign; Philips and Philips employees donate money to renowned research institutes in North America, Europe and Asia.

We also use our medical expertise and innovative technology to offer information, education and free testing to women, helping them manage their health and well-being.

“At Philips, we believe that innovation should be personal, relevant and impactful. This is why our solutions are focused on the needs and expectations of our customers around the world, many of whom are women,” says Frans van Houten, Philips Chief Executive Officer, “Through our support of Breast Cancer Awareness, we want to emphasize the importance of early detection. We also strongly believe that research and innovation can change the world when it comes to early diagnosis, treatment and prevention.”

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – As a technology company that cares about people, Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is pleased to continue its support of Breast Cancer Awareness on a global scale. As part of its commitment, Philips aims to offer 10,000 women free mammography testing and highlight the importance of early detection by illuminating an estimated 100 landmarks around the world pink throughout the month of October.

2013 marks the second year of the company’s multi-year global Breast Cancer Awareness program. Philips hopes to add meaningful value to the cause in the fight against breast cancer by building on the technology, expertise and passion across its three sectors.

“At Philips, we believe that innovation should be personal, relevant and impactful. This is why our solutions are focused on the needs and expectations of our customers around the world, many of whom are women,” says Frans van Houten, Philips Chief Executive Officer, “Through our support of Breast Cancer Awareness, we want to emphasize the importance of early detection. We also strongly believe that research and innovation can change the world when it comes to early diagnosis, treatment and prevention.”

Philips will build on its expertise in Healthcare to educate men and women within and outside the organization on the importance of early detection and ways of (self) examination. Philips also aspires to galvanize its employee base of 115,000 employees to raise funds for ground-breaking innovation, by supporting international research in three renowned institutes based across Europe, Asia and North America*.

More information on the Philips’ Breast Cancer Awareness program

Photos : Here .

DepEd supports preparedness efforts of Albay LGU, ensures continued delivery of educ needs in affected schools

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In its mission to ensure the safety of students and school personnel, the Department of Education (DepEd)—in close coordination with the local government unit (LGU) of Albay—has implemented preventive measures such as organizing a skeletal force and safeguarding records and equipment in schools within the permanent danger zone (PDZ) and extended danger zone (EDZ), and preparing evacuation centers ahead of actual evacuation in areas affected by the Mayon volcano disturbance.

Of the 724 schools in the province, 76 have been identified as affected. These affected schools are those within the PDZ and EDZ. Of these, 28 have already resumed classes as of September 23. To date, 676 out of 724 schools have regular classes in the province despite Alert Level 3.

DepEd has implemented interventions to foster a sense of normalcy among learners. The Department has worked together with the local government of Albay and UNICEF for the deployment of 155 tents for the 38 schools used as evacuation centers in five towns and two cities in the province. These evacuation centers are closely monitored and co-managed by DepEd school personnel.

These 38 schools used as evacuation centers are also accommodating the student enrolment of displaced schools to ensure the continued delivery of education needs. For instance, San Jose Elementary School in Malilipot, Albay has taken in Calbayog ES pupils. On September 23, some 1,200 students are expected to report, to be accounted for, while 18 tents are being set up to provide for their needs. School personnel are likewise tasked to do daily tracking of all students by grade level.

Together with the Albay provincial government, DepEd continues to work toward class resumption in affected schools in Albay, Legaspi, Tabaco, and Ligao.

ATAT Motorcycle Club turns 12! 1st official long ride of ATAT on September 26-28

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Highly passionate individuals who loves to ride motorcycles on the street and on the race track and aims on promoting Philippine Motorsports through racing and having organized riding events throughout the country - ATAT, Any Time All The Time.

ATAT Motorcycle Club (ATAT, as formally registered in the SEC, stands for Any Time All the Time) will have its 1st official long ride for 2014 to Baguio as it commemorates the new set of officers for the year 2014-2015 with President Charlie Carlos Ride.

The 1st official long ride of ATAT (2014-2015) to Baguio, will be on this weekend, September 26-28, 2014.

ATAT was founded on friendship in 2002 when three long-time friends Kiko Bernardo, Teddy Lim and Elton Ong decided to get together after realizing their passion for motorbikes. From there, the group of three started to grow and had many impromptu rides —at any given time, at a moment’s notice, with a “drop what you are doing and let’s ride!” kind of attitude.

Together with another long time friend Alberto Matias the group decided to name the group ATAT — which, in the vernacular, describes someone all too eager and impatient to do something. Together with Benjie Ladra, Myke Torres, Kevin Chua, and Jimmy Chan pioneers in ATAT, the group started to grow in numbers. Reaching a high of 45 members at its peak. 

Now on to its 12th year, ATAT Motorcycle Club has established itself as one of the premier motorcycle clubs in the country. At present, the club has 24 members and despite their busy schedules, their friendship has evolved into a deep sense of camaraderie and a brotherhood of passionate riders.

The members consists of : Elton Ong, Benjie Ladra, Abet Matias, Marc de Joya, Charlie Carlos, Raymond Hallare, Vince Mercado, Felix Luakian, Mervin Pullon,Francis Varela, Paolo Vialu, Rei Lagamia, Mayie Capinpin , Oliver Jimeno, JC Villanueva, AJ Maralit, Aaron Macalinao, Jevis Aguila Marketing Manager at Granstar Motors, the local distributor of Aprilia and Lawrence Macalinao “We have been riding for a long time, and unlike other sport-bike riders, ATAT members really push and ride hard. We have made it our advocacy to ride hard on the track, not on the streets, to promote safe riding,” said Marc de Joya, General Manager at Ducati Phils.

Follow their ride schedule and adventures by liking https://www.facebook.com/groups/atatmc/?ref=ts&fref=ts on Facebook as ATAT Racing Team heads on to Clark International Speedway this October 4 & 5 and witness the much awaited 4th leg of the Ducati Cup 2014 and Any Time All the Time Motorcycle Club (ATAT MC).

WD introduces Cold-DATA-storage HDDs , Optimized for the modern datacenter

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Progressive-Capacity, Energy-Efficient WD Ae Drives Enable Archive Tier of Storage Optimized for Web-scale, Cold-data Infrastructures

WD®, a Western Digital company and world leader in storage deployed for modern datacenters, today announced its innovative WD Ae™ line of hard drives designed for the unique operating characteristics of the emerging archive tier within web-scale datacenters. Built on a platform to achieve optimal total cost of ownership (TCO), WD Ae hard drives utilize the lowest possible power consumption and a Progressive Capacity™ model to enable a new tier of storage for large-scale cloud infrastructures. 

“Modern datacenter customers came to us with a need for an HDD solution designed specifically for ever-expanding cold-data repositories,” said Matt Rutledge, senior vice president and general manager, storage technology, WD. “Now in our third generation with over 700 petabytes deployed, WD is bringing the WD Ae drive to the broader market, representing another vital component of WD’s capacity storage portfolio, which delivers features and product attributes optimized for the rapidly evolving storage market.”

The expanding scale of data creation and the corresponding need to retain, preserve and extract value from that data creates a new and unique challenge for large-scale datacenter entities. Reliable, long-term data management for massive-scale data storage is becoming ever more critical. The conventional tools and technologies for cost-effective storage are not effective in massive-scale datacenters, so entirely new approaches to storage architectures and associated component technology are emerging. 

“Cloud service providers have rapidly growing volumes of generally inactive data to store and manage, while at the same providing customers with access to the data at almost any time,” according to John Rydning, IDC’s vice president for hard disk drive research.

“WD’s new WD Ae line of HDDs is aimed directly at these storage use cases, and is helping to define a new, active archive enterprise storage sub-segment, thus opening new HDD storage opportunities for the HDD industry.”

Focusing on the unique attributes of cold data, WD has led the cold/archive market with multiple generations of archive storage, actively evolving a product formula to deliver the optimal combination of cost-effectiveness, power efficiency, storage density and application intensity. WD Ae drives are purpose-built archive HDDs with extreme areal density on a high volume mechanical platform that offers increased power efficiency and a Progressive Capacity model.

Part of the unique attributes of the WD Ae hard drive family includes: a dense five-platter platform, which renders an optimal mix of power, performance, capacity and cost; capacities greater than 6 TB; SATA 6 Gb/s interface; and a workload and reliability rating of 60 TB/yr workload and 500 Khrs Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF). 

WD Ae Progressive Capacity

As technology and manufacturing processes mature over time, incremental capacity increases are realized. WD’s innovative Progressive Capacity model allows distribution of these incrementally higher capacity models to take advantage of their fullest available capacity: 6.1 TB, 6.2 TB, or 6.3 TB, for instance. These more granular capacity increments result in far greater capacity attainment through the life of a product platform. At the massive scale of modern applications, the availability of incremental capacity each quarter renders exceptional value to datacenters who can realize improvements in capacity-per-drive, capacity-per-volumetric space and reduced infrastructure overhead. 

Hot vs. Cold Data Storage - the Data Storage Temperature Continuum

While approximately 20-30 percent of data on most networks is active, commonly referred to as “hot,” the majority of data, 70-80 percent is inactive or “cold,” meaning it is unchanging and infrequently accessed. Given the challenges of storing petabyte- or exabyte-scale data, public cloud and private cloud ecosystems are focused on creating entirely new tiers of storage to deal with the varying degrees of “data temperature.” The cold data tier is emerging in a manner very similar to the way the “Tier 0” emerged over the past decade to deal with critical performance requirements. Now the industry is adding a new tier on the opposite end of the data temperature spectrum, often referred to as “Tier 3” storage.

Cold storage is the practice of creating a new tier of important information not frequently accessed for long periods of time, and can include structured, unstructured, or semi-structured data that has timeless value, and of which the exact schedule of retrieval is uncertain. As a result, data retrieval times can be relaxed, compared to the speed at which hot data needs be retrieved. 

Ultimately, with purpose-built and cost-optimized cold data storage infrastructure and devices, IT departments can deliver vastly improved time-to-archive and time-to-retrieve cold/archive data that outstrips capabilities of monolithic tape libraries, while utilizing standard hard-drive based storage solutions that are abundantly used and understood to realize optimal application value and significant storage cost savings.

Availability

WD Ae hard drives will be sold in box quantities of 20 and available to select distributors, integrators and distributed by Ubertech Technologies Inc and Iontech Techologies Inc. in the Philippines starting late 2014. WD Ae drives are covered by a three-year limited warranty.

More information about WD’s Ae datacenter hard drives can be found on the company website at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1340.

Smart's Talk 'N Text "PisoNet", subscribers to access the Internet on their mobile phones for as low as P1

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Smart recently announced that it will soon enable its subscribers to access the Internet on their mobile phones for as low as P1, dubbed “PisoNet,” Smart’s new mobile Internet offer will be initially available to Talk ’N Text (TNT) subscribers and shall allow access to all apps and websites for only P1 per 10 minutes and effectively puts the hourly rate at just P6, with the exception of video streaming sites and file-sharing activities.

Innovative platform enables telco to offer most affordable mobile data service for just P1.

A breakthrough mobile data platform developed by Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), the undisputed leader in mobile, will soon enable its subscribers to access the Internet on their mobile phones for as low as P1, the most affordable mobile Internet service to date.

Set to be rolled out this month, the service is much more affordable than the standard P5 per 15-minute charging rate for mobile Internet.

“Now, one peso is all you need to access the Internet. PisoNet thus brings the many benefits of the Internet to more Filipinos nationwide, especially those who are accessing the Internet for the first time using their phones,” said Charles A. Lim, EVP and Head of the Wireless Consumer Division at Smart.

“With this upcoming service, the user is not limited to specific sites or apps. They can thus access the mobile apps and sites that are most relevant to them at a more affordable price,” Lim added.

PisoNet is thus expected to surpass Smart’s growth momentum in mobile data, which has been growing at a 73% rate from last year’s figures, as more Filipinos gain access to the Internet via their mobile phones.

Pioneering platform

PisoNet will be delivered through a pioneering mobile internet platform which enables Smart’s mobile phone data network to efficiently manage and shape the flow of Internet data traffic. As a result, network resources are used more efficiently to deliver the internet services that people want.

“This platform unmatched by any other country in the world is a technical breakthrough that enables us to offer very affordable Internet ‘sachets’ sustainably,” Lim explained. “This means we can keep offering best-value mobile Internet products for as low as ‘piso’.”

This enables Smart to offer data services in “sachets” without sacrificing consumer experience, allowing subscribers to pay only for the Internet services that they need on an “always on” basis. 

The same platform also powers PowerApp, the telco’s suite of mobile Internet packages that allows subscribers to access Internet bundles—such as Social, Photo, Email, Chat, and individual apps—for as low as P5 per day.

‘Holy Grail’

“This is the Holy Grail for Internet advocates who want to bridge the digital divide while sustaining quality of service. And we’ve taken one big stab at it, using this groundbreaking platform targeted at one of the largest prepaid markets in the world,” explained Dennis Mendiola, co-founder of Smart subsidiary Chikka, which developed the platform.

Globally, telecommunications companies face the challenge of connecting “the next 5 billion users” who are largely prepaid mobile phone users with limited budgets for mobile internet usage.

“Telcos around the world until now just offer data packages akin to ‘eat-all-you-can’ buffets at a premium price with little regard for efficient use of data resources. Our platform allows Smart to offer data at much higher level of efficiency, thus making it possible for us to offer much more affordable prices,” added Mendiola.

PisoNet will soon be initially available to TNT subscribers, who only need to simply text PISONET to 5555 to enjoy the offer. 

PowerApp, meanwhile, offers various packages that can be availed of by Smart and TNT prepaid and postpaid subscribers. 

To know more, visit smart.com.ph/powerapp.

National Geographic Channel celebrates the glory of '90s with new documentary series

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Here's an exciting ride through nostalgia as we look back on a memorable decade. The ‘90s: The Decade That Connected Us will hit television screens!

From the channel that brought viewers the landmark series The ‘80s: The Decade That Made Us comes another amazing television event that will remind us of a golden decade of technological, political and entertainment milestones. 

This September 18, The ‘90s: The Decade That Connected Us will run exclusively on National Geographic Channel (NGC) to feature the biggest newsmakers of the 1990s that shocked, wowed or changed the world and helped make it what it is today. 

The 1990s saw a plethora of social and cultural events that rocked the world, including the popularity of grunge music, the advent of Viagra, a salacious White House scandal, innovations in personal computers, and various episodes of political upheaval around the globe. 

The ‘90s: The Decade That Connected Us looks back on these developments in history to show how the world reacted to the fledgling reality of globalization, as we slowly learned how connected human beings were becoming despite geographical and cultural differences.

The series uses memorable video footage from the ‘90s to recall the spirit of the decade along with 120 original interviews with the unsung heroes behind riveting events as well as well-known personalities from the fields of technology, politics and entertainment. Among the famous interviewees to be encountered in the show are Courtney Love, Arsenio Hall, Vanilla Ice, Jerry Springer, Tony Blair, Colin Powell, Connie Chung, and Dan Rather—celebrities whose voices will narrate the remarkable affairs that weave the story of this extraordinary decade.

This decade between the Cold War and the War On Terror saw numerous highs and lows as technology advanced the world into the digital age: Bill Clinton’s promise of change as he came into office in the US, the violent LA Riots, Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and rise as leader of South Africa, and the horrific civil war in Rwanda. Meanwhile, the ‘90s gave us cultural benchmarks such as the TV show Friends and the Macarena, along with the first successful reality TV shows of The Real World and Jerry Springer, which paved the way for reality TV in the succeeding years. The ‘90s: The Decade That Connected Us will guide us as we navigate this historical rollercoaster ride so we may better understand ourselves, our politics and our global culture in its current state.

Get ready for memorable decade. The ‘90s: The Decade That Connected Us will hit television screens every Thursday at 9PM, beginning Sept 18 only on the National Geographic Channel!

WD celebrates 10th Anniversary of My Passport with new design and limited edition

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Western Digital company, is introducing a sleek new design of the world’s most popular and award-winning line of My Passport® portable hard drives to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its My Passport line of portable hard drives.

The My Passport Ultra™ - Metal Edition™ and My Passport Ultra - Anniversary Edition™ represent the culmination of a decade of refinement for WD’s enduring portable drive line.

 

From their beautiful, spin finish exteriors to advancements in capacities, security and size reduction, My Passport Ultra™ - Metal Edition™ and My Passport Ultra - Anniversary Edition dawn a new generation of reliable and portable WD storage solutions.

Spin Finish Enclosures, Cool Colors, Large Capacities and Advanced Security for Safe, Back-up and Anywhere Access to All Digital Content

My Passport Ultra – Metal Edition and Anniversary Edition incorporates a unique and innovative radial spin-design aluminum enclosure to withstand the everyday knocks experienced by today’s mobile consumer. In addition, the drive offers hardware encryption and password protection to prevent unauthorized use of the drive in the event it is lost or stolen. For added content protection and remote sharing, My Passport Ultra - Metal Edition includes WD SmartWare™ Pro software with Dropbox integration allowing users to backup content from the drive to the cloud and retrieve content from their Dropbox account to the My Passport drive. These features make the My Passport an ideal choice for back-up, protecting, storing, and enjoying digital content on the go.

“Ten years is a milestone by any technology standard, but having the ability to consistently reinvent a product line like My Passport to suit the changing needs of consumers and creative professionals is something we are especially proud of,” said Tony Tate, general manager and vice president of WD’s content solutions group. “We thank all of our customers for their ongoing feedback over the years to help make My Passport one of the most popular hard drives ever. This feedback helped incorporate the latest beautiful industrial design with features, capacities, and security that truly meet the needs of today’s mobile consumer.”

Pricing and Availability

My Passport Ultra - Metal Edition and My Passport Ultra - Anniversary Edition hard drives offers a regional 3-year limited warranty and is available at select retailers and distributed by EA Global Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. and Iontech, Inc. in the Philippines. My Passport Ultra - Anniversary Edition is available at Silicon Valley. Manufacturer’s Suggest Retail Price (MSRP) on the 1 TB drive will be Php 4,590 and MSRP on the 2 TB will be Php 7,490. 

Introducing: G.I. Jane Collection by BUM

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BUM Equipment unveils its launching of G.I. (Girl It’s) Jane collection named after one of its youth brand ambassador Jane Oineza, who is fresh from her successful third finish in a recently concluded Pinoy Big Brother All In Edition, a hit reality show of ABS-CBN Channel 2.

BUM’s move to provide Oineza with a collection named after her does not just spotlight the young star’s crowd-drawing potentials, but as an inspiration to the youth of today to be uniquely strong and brave amidst any criticism.

There are two categories for this particular collection —The Statement Shirts and the Skater Tops with Skirts.

Jane Oineza’s Statement Shirts

Once there was this quote that perfectly describes Jane, “It’s hard to be yourself in a world that wants you to be like them.” But when she was just one of the housemates, she was brave enough to hold onto what she strongly believed in. Thus, the statement shirts were born.

The statement shirts texts will read: ‘I am Misunderstood’, ‘I’m Real’, and ‘I am Stronger’, respectively and are all printed on black shirts. These speaks of Oineza’s transformation for the past months, which truly defines ‘who’ she is as an individual, as a young talented celebrity.

Oineza, being a youth brand ambassador is a reflection of a young woman who is brave enough to face all the critics and stay true to herself, no matter what.

This collection will be the first one to come out in the market on the said mentioned date and can be purchased at all BUM boutiques nationwide.

Jane’s Skater Tops and Skirts

Being a young lady, apart from being a celebri-TEEN, she prefers the preppy look. Jane is the ideal image who projects that aura of a ‘privileged’ lifestyle. She stays simple and fresh-looking with her choice of clothing combining it with the accessories without overpowering her real personality, that’s what she is.

As young lady who just blossomed after celebrating her 18th birthday inside the PBB House, Jane Oineza along with BUM, a thriving brand apparel is launching three variants of skater tops and skirts under the G.I. Jane collection as well.

Though black in theme, the Skater Skirts comes in three designs; black skull print, white skull print and diamond pattern print. While G.I. Jane skater tops are spandex long sleeves with accentuations to differ one tops from the other. These items can be bought in pairs or can be bought separately.

The said girly-themed collection will soon be available in November this year. Also, these will be exclusively available in all SM department stores.

Jane Thoughts on these Collections.

“I am excited with the collection. And it truly is me. It spells out who I am on and off camera,” Jane shares.

The collections are something that any young lady would grab and own several pieces because of its message and the design. The G.I. Jane collections do not just reflect Jane’s personality but can be identifiable by any female growing up in the world of ‘peer pressures’ and stay committed to her ideals and do not conform to the standards dictated of the ‘world’ around her.

“I do hope that even with the line of clothing via BUM, I can be a living testimony to girls out there to standout and not just be one of the many girls corrupted by any sort of ideals.”

To know more about BUM latest collection – G.I. Jane, visit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram via @officialbumph or visit its official website www.bumequipment.com.ph.

Philippines hosts Chef de Mission meeting for 2014 ASEAN Schools Games

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The Department of Education (DepEd) and the City Government of Marikina met with the delegation heads of participating countries to ensure the readiness and safety of playing facilities for the 2014 ASEAN Schools Games (ASG), which will be held from November 29 to December 7, 2014 in Marikina City.

The “Chef de Mission” meeting is intended to finalize billeting arrangements and to allow the countries’ representatives to inspect the playing facilities.

“This meeting allows us to settle all issues months before the conduct of the games,” says DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali, adding that it is important for all delegations to be on the same page.

Umali emphasized that ensuring the readiness and safety of the facilities is integral in safeguarding the welfare of the ASG delegates. He said that guaranteeing such environment for the athletes would provide a venue for creating champions. He added, “We want to create a community of champions—not just in the Asian Games or the Olympics, but champions in discipline, teamwork, and leadership.”

“We are excited to see how our young athletes are growing to be our ASEAN champions,” Jolly Gomez of the Philippine Sports Commission said.

This is the 6th ASEAN Schools Games and the first time for the Philippines to host although last year the country already hosted the golf tournament of the 2013 games, which were held in Vietnam.

Participating countries are Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The events in the ASG are athletics, swimming, badminton, golf, tennis, sepak takraw, gymnastics, table tennis, basketball, volleyball and wushu. The Philippine delegation will be composed of student-athletes from both public and private schools, as selected by a separate selection committee.

Internet stars band together to better online searching with #GoogleMoLang

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Ryan Morales, Google Philippines Country Marketing Manager, talks about the online game “Google Mo Lang,” where users can learn Google Search tips and tricks with the help of local Internet stars.

#GoogleMoLang, a movement that calls on Filipinos to maximize the full potential of online search. The creators are early Internet adopters who have utilized the web to advance their talents and have proven there’s a wide range of other useful things to be explored online.

Internet content creators like comedic talent Mikey Bustos, Marco Ho or Bogart the Explorer and his manager Jako de Leon, and restaurateur Erwan Heusaff heavily depend on online search in acquiring information and developing shareable content for their audience. But based on experience, limited know-hows in online search are often frustrating when people can't make sense of the results or can’t seem to find what they’re looking for. 

Seeing how online search impacts their work and practically every person’s life, the creators banded with OPM band Sponge Cola and heartthrob group Chicser to form #GoogleMoLang.

“The net has become a home for Internet content creators like Bogart, and we feel the responsibility to make information more accessible for everyone. #GoogleMoLang is a reminder that at every step of people’s search online, Google Search is there to assist them on their quest,” as Marco describes the movement as getting people to see ways in which Google Search can be used in everyday life. 

As part of the movement, the Internet stars, together with Google, devised an online game “Google Mo Lang” (http://www.google.com.ph/campaigns/googlemolang/) where netizens take a virtual adventure to create the perfect night. The interactive game simulates real-life setting by prompting users to use the search engine—through a host of tips and tricks—as they make decisions on how they'd like their night to continue. 

“#GoogleMoLang aims to deepen Filipinos’ knowledge and use of Search. It is the surest shortcut to most items that concern or interest people, so why not maximize it?” Mikey said. 

Erwan, who manages the The Fat Kid Inside blog where he shares ways and recipes on healthy eating habits, said Search helps a lot in developing new recipes and in bringing the advocacy closer to the reach of many Filipinos. “I use it everyday, both for my blog and to my day-to-day work. I use it to research emerging trends on food recipes as well as key items people are looking for, what people are hungry for. Being able to find them and pull them together in one simple step makes my work so much easier,” said Erwan. 

For the young boy band members of Chicser, Google Search has become an aide. “It has a strong impact on us because through it, we can do and know things fast, from homework to new ideas for our videos," said Biboy Cabingon, Chicser member. 

Sponge Cola’s lead guitarist Erwin Armovit turns to Google Search to find the music materials he needs. “When learning new songs, Search comes in handy in finding the chords and lyrics. When scouting for the latest playing equipment, guitars, amps, and pedals for new techniques when recording, Search is our gateway for quick access to information.”

According to the band’s lead vocalist Yael Yuzon, Search plays an important role in leaving people no more in the dark. “Information is everywhere. It's just a matter of how people can get access to it. Google Search bridges you from being uninformed to informed. Having the right information that you need is already half a battle won.”

Internet stars collaborate for #GoogleMoLang movement. Clockwise from left: Erwin Armovit (Sponge Cola), Tricky Ikki, Jako de Leon (Bogart the Explorer manager), Erwan Heussaff, Chicser members Cav Villafuerte, Owy Posadas, Oliver Posadas, Ranz Kyle, Ully Basa, and Biboy Cabingon, Ted Mark Cruz (Sponge Cola), Mikey Bustos, Gosh Dilay (Sponge Cola).

“Google Search ‘listens’ to what people exactly mean by their queries and give people back what they truly need. It shapes our lifestyle by helping us make the right decisions from the best available information,” said Ryan Morales, Google Philippines Country Marketing Manager. 

About Google Inc.

Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top Internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world.

Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Google Search

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful— Google Search is at the core of this mission, allowing users to easily find the information they need amongst the Web’s wealth of information. There are many ways you can use Google Search for life’s little shortcuts, including checking the weather forecase2et, searching for the current time in different geographic locations, calculator, unit conversion, and public data searches, among others.

• Knowledge Graph: The Knowledge Graph allows you to instantly get detailed information about the things, people or places that Google knows about—landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more.
• Voice search: You can now search Google by saying your search term, instead of typing it. This is a convenient way to search if you speak faster than you type or if you're not sure how to spell your search term. This works on the Google Search App for iOS, Android and Chrome browsers for laptops and desktops.

Google Trends

Are searches for your brand increasing over time? Are consumers searching for you or your competitor? Learn about your brand (or anything you may be interested in!) with the Google Trends tool. Explore by search term and see the related top searches and rising searches for a particular time period, location, category, and type of search (whether web, image, news, product, or YouTube search).

• Top searches: This refers to search terms with the most significant level of interest. These terms are related to the term you've entered; if you didn't enter in a search term, the top searches will be related to the category or country/territory you've chosen.
• Rising searches: These highlight searches that have experienced significant growth in a given time period, with respect to the preceding time period. So if you're comparing data for a search term during 2006, the time period serving as the basis of comparison is 2005.

Google Search Tips

Get facts for your research fast

Researching can sometimes be frustrating especially if you can’t seem to find what you’re looking for. Fortunately, with Google’s enhanced search functionalities, you can find answers immediately with the right know-how. Here are some tips to get facts fast:

• Get facts in one place with Knowledge graph. When looking for information about a place or a person, Google Search provides answers through a graph of facts and connections to help you understand and explore the topic better. Try searching for “Pyramids of Giza” or even Bohol’s “Chocolate Hills” and Albay’s active volcano, “Mayon Volcano” and get facts on the right side of the Search page.

• Access public data right on your fingertips. It’s now easy to get public data from World Bank by just typing in keywords on Google Search. Try searching ‘Philippine population’ or ‘GDP Philippines’ and get statistics on top of search results.

• Word definitions made easy. There’s no need to open the dictionary when looking for definitions. Type in “define:” and the word you need the definition for. The result will appear on top of the page.

• Calculate anything on Search. You can calculate anything right on Google Search, saving you precious time and giving you the right answers fast. Calculate simple formula or even try complicated ones like 5*9+(sqrt 10)^3.

• All the news you need in one page. Need to be updated on current affairs? Google News helps you see all the headlines and summary of articles you need. Customize what category you want to see—whether technology, local news, business, or even fashion—for a more precise news search.

Search with surgical precision

Aside from typing in keywords, you can be more specific in your search to get the right results on Google Search. Here are some useful search operators to use:

• Search within a specific website. When looking for information in a specific website, use the “site:” operator when searching. For example, when searching for Presidential Decrees, search “Presidential Decrees site:gov.ph.” The results will provide all searches related to it within the government site.

• Trim down results by file type. Scouring web results for a specific file is frustrating, especially if you forgot the exact title of the filename. Use the search operator “filetype:” followed by the file extension. For example, when searching for population data in Excel format, search “population Philippines filetype:xls” and all search results in Excel format will appear.

• Utilize +, -, and quotations when searching. Add and exclude words, as well as search for the exact phrase using search operators +, -, and “”, respectively. For example, if you want to search for previous Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits but not the 2015 summit in Albay, search for “APEC "summit" -Philippines.” The results will contain the term APEC summit but not with the term “Philippines.”

Discover facts from other countries

Having knowledge about different countries will definitely be useful for school as much as it is useful for traveling. Here are some tips in getting facts about other countries:

• Know other countries’ currency. Type in “What is the currency of x country?” and get the answer immediately. You can even go further by finding out the current exchange rate for that currency. For example, type in “convert 100 MYR to Philippine peso” and get the converted amount without using a calculator.

• Find out the time in other countries. Knowing the current time in other countries is easy as typing in “time” and the city or country. The result will be displayed on top of the search results, complete with the current time and date.

• Check out the weather abroad. Check out how cold the weather is in the South Pole or how hot it is in UAE by typing in “weather” and the location. Get the temperature, precipitation, and even wind predictions for hours during the day.

Voice Search

You can use Voice Actions with Google Search to get directions, send messages, and perform a number of other common tasks on your Android device. Simply touch the Microphone icon in a search box, or by saying "Google" when the Google Now screen is open. Voice Actions are available in French, Italian, German, Spanish, English, and Japanese; this sheet lists out the currently available commands in English only.

Tasks on your phone (Android* only)

Say	Followed by	Examples
"Open..."	App name	"Open Gmail"
"Go to..."	Search string or URL	"Go to Google.com"
“Call...”	Contact name	“Call Mom”
“Text...” or “Send Text...”	Contact name, then content of text	“Text Marty I’ll be five minutes late”
“Email...” or “Send Email...”	Contact name, then content of email One or more of: "To" & contact names, "Cc" & contact names, "Bcc" & contact names, "Subject" & subject text "Message" & message text (speak punctuation)	"Send email to Juan Santos, subject, new shoes, message, I can’t wait to show you my new shoes, period."
“Create a calendar event...” or “Schedule an appointment for...”	"Event description" & "day/date" & "time"	"Create a calendar event: Dinner in Makati, Saturday at 7:00PM"
"Set alarm for..." or “Set timer for...”	as "10:45 a.m." or "20 minutes from now,"; "Label" & name of alarm	"Set alarm for 5:45 p.m., label, cook dinner" “Set timer for 10 minutes.”
"Note to self..." “Remind me to...”	Message; will send yourself an email	"Note to self: remember the milk" “Remind me to pay the bills”
“Remind me to ...at...(time) or (place)”	Sets a geo-tagged or time-tagged reminder; next time you’re in that location a notification will pop up.	“Remind me to water the plants at home.” “Remind me to call Mom at 7 o’clock.”
"Scan a barcode"	Scan a barcode or QR code to learn more about a product.	"Scan a barcode" and hold barcode in front of the device's camera.
"Post to Google+..."	What you want posted to Google+	"Post to Google+ I'm going out of town."

Finding out quick information

Say	Followed by	Examples
Your search query		"bike shoes"
“When is...”	Event name, any named day	“When is Easter this year?” “When is Chinese New Year next year?” “When is the Superbowl?”
“What is...”	Term you want defined	“What is YOLO?”
“What’s the phone number of...”	Name of business, city	“What’s the phone number of Fully Booked in BGC?”
“What’s the weather...”	Ask in all the ways you would ask about the weather. Without saying a specific city it searches based on your current location. You can also find out for a different city.	“What’s the weather like tomorrow?” “What will the weather be like in Manila?” “Am I going to need a jacket in Antipolo?” “Do I need an umbrella tomorrow?”
“What’s the stock price of...” or “What did ... close at today?”	Name of company	“What’s the stock price of Coca-Cola?”
Calculations “What is...divided by...?” or “What’s...plus...%?”	Numbers you want to calculate	“What is 236 divided by 3?" “What’s 56 plus 9%?”
“Who is...?”	Name of person, or fact about the person	“Who was Copernicus?” “Who is David Beckham’s wife?”
“How do I...?”	Query involving “how to” e.g. recipes, DIY	“How do I make adobo?”
“How tall is...?”		“How tall is Mount Everest?”
“Show me...” or “What does the ... look like?”	Name of picture or object	“Show me a picture of the Mona Lisa” “What does the Eiffel Tower look like?”

Navigation

Say	Followed by	Examples
"Map of"	Address, name, business name, type of business, or other location	"Map of Rizal Park, Manila."
“Where is...”	Address, name, business name, type of business, or other location	“Where is Intramuros?”
"Directions to" or "Navigate to"	Address, name, business name, type of business, or other destination	"Directions to España Blvd., Quezon Drive, Manila."
“How do I get to ... by ...”	Destination name; public transit mode	“How do I get to the airport by bus?”
“How far is”	Address, city, or other location	“How far is Quirino Grandstand?”
“Where is the nearest” or “Nearby...”	Business, utility etc. such as gas station, ATM, bank, restaurants	“Where is the nearest Starbucks?

Entertainment

Say	Followed by	Examples
Name of sports team or athlete “Who are the ... playing?” “Did the ... win?”		“Gilas Pilipinas” “Federer” “Who are the Giants playing?”
“Show me the trailer for...” or “Play me a video of...”	Name of movie, video, scene	“Show me the trailer for Skyfall” “Play me a video of someone playing a banjo”
"What's this song?"	Make sure song is audible near phone	When you hear a song, ask "What's this song?"
"Listen to..."	Words to search YouTube for, such as the name of a song, artist, or album.	"Listen to: Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Travel

Say	Followed by	Examples
“Translate...to...”	Phrase you want translated into a different language	“Translate where is the nearest bus stop to German"
“What time is it in...”	City name, location	“What time is it in Paris?”
Currency conversion “How much is...in...?”	Value into target currency	"How much is 167 Euros in dollars?"
Flight times “When does flight ... take off?” or “When does flight...arrive?”	Flight number	“When does United flight 901 take off?”

*Some voice actions’ availability will depend on the version of Android your device is running. For best results, use devices installed with Android 4.1+

**To check your regional setting for voice searches, within the Google search app go to Settings > Voice > Language > English > (choose your language dialect)