DepEd celebrates teachers as living heroes, culminates World Teachers’ Day

Tweet

Recognizing the vital contribution of Filipino teachers in institutionalizing educational reforms in the country, the Department of Education (DepEd) and its partners celebrated this year’s World Teachers’ Day (WTD) at Araullo University in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija on October 5. 

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC emphasized the great responsibility of every teacher in preparing the Filipino youth to be better equipped for the world. He said, “If all the teachers in the country start to move as one, we will start the biggest revolution in education.”

“The revolution in education is a revolution that will change the country and bring about all of the dreams and hopes of our young people... If you want to transform our country, we need living heroes,” he added.

Themed as “My Teacher, My Hero,” this year’s celebration highlighted the integral role of educators as prime movers and catalysts to extend the last mile efforts of DepEd and the K to 12 education reform for the delivery of quality education.

The event which gathered around 4,000 public school teachers from Regions I, II, III, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) culminated the month-long celebration to express the education agency’s sincere gratitude for teachers’ important role in institutionalizing the reform efforts of the Department.

President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared September 5 to October 5 every year as National Teachers’ Month (NTM) through Presidential Proclamation 242 signed in 2011.

Christmas comes early with Cohen

Tweet

Christmas comes early for enrollees at the Cohen’s Lifestyle Centre (CLC). 

For choosing the right way to eat, they will be rewarded with a healthy body – and cash from the CLC. That’s money they can spend on Christmas gifts for their loved ones, or all the new outfits they will need for the holiday parties. 

Cohen’s Lifestyle Centre, the name behind the Cohen’s Lifestyle Program, presents the CLC Pounds for Cash Promo. Under the promo, first time enrollees who sign up for the Cohen’s Lifestyle Program from September 15 to October 15, 2015 will be rewarded for making progress towards their weight-loss goals. CLC will offer a Php5,000 cashback for a minimum of 10 lbs. lost per weigh-in, which will be redeemable from December 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.

The Cohen’s Lifestyle Program is a rapid weight-loss and wellness solution developed by Dr. Rami Cohen, an international specialist renowned for his research on hormones involved in obesity and weight loss. In the Philippines, it is exclusively available at the Cohen’s Lifestyle Centre (CLC). 

Based on every person’s unique blood profile, the Cohen’s Lifestyle Program features a personalized eating plan that will correct the hormonal imbalance causing obesity. It uses food to trigger the body’s natural fat burning mechanism by correcting serum insulin, Human Growth Hormone and serotonin levels. Without requiring exercise, injection, or intake of pills, Cohen clients average a loss of up to 8 to 10 lbs a month.

Losing weight has never been more rewarding with this cash-back promo. Just in time to start the New Year right, enrollees will not only lose weight through Cohen’s Lifestyle Program’s rapid and effective weight loss solution, they will also get their cash back for a minimum of 10 lbs. lost per weigh-in!

For more on the CLC Pounds for Cash promo, get in touch with any of the CLC Philippines branches in Manila, Cebu and Davao. The Manila branch is located at Suite 808 The Infinity, 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, with tel. no. (+632) 828-8251. In Cebu, it is at Suite 421, 4th Floor, Robinsons Cybergate Cebu, Don Gil Garcia and J. Llorente Streets, Capitol Site, Cebu City, with tel. no. (+6332) 236-2334. And in Davao, CLC is based at Suite S302 Metro Davao and Medical Research Center Health and Wellness Center, JP Laurel, Bajada, Davao City, with tel. no. (+6382) 324-4611.

Interested parties may also visit http://www.cohenlifestyle.com.ph.

WD makes Cloud Storage more personal (and private)

Tweet

New My Cloud OS 3 Puts Control of Content into the Hands of Consumers with Greater Photo Sharing, Backup and Synchronization

MANILA, Philippines – Western Digital company, and a worldwide leader in storage solutions, today introduced significant enhancements to WD’s family of My Cloud personal storage devices, including a new, redesigned My Cloud OS 3 operating system, Software Developer Kit (SDK) enabling enhanced app integration and a dual-drive My Cloud Mirror personal cloud storage offering increased memory and faster processing performance than previous generations.

WD’s My Cloud OS 3 features an intuitive user interface delivering a rich content-sharing experience, and back-up and sync capabilities that elevate the personal cloud NAS offering while retaining the privacy and control unique to personal cloud devices physically located in the home or office.

“We know our personal cloud customers place the highest value on their personal content and enjoy the peace of mind from backing up PCs, smart phones and tablets to and centralizing content on their My Cloud systems,” said Jim Welsh, executive vice president and general manager of Content Solutions business at WD. “They tell us they are confident in the privacy, control and anywhere access we provide them with the My Cloud OS. Now, with My Cloud OS 3, we’ve made users’ management of their digital lives easier than ever before.”

My Cloud OS 3 features new photo and video capabilities. MyCloud.com provides users global access to their My Cloud via an intuitive web browser-based user interface and enables file collaboration, comprehensive access management and a photos and videos gallery view.

My Cloud OS 3’s new WD Sync™ feature syncs data across multiple PCs and notebooks, ensuring that important files are up to date and available to users from almost any device. The new OS also allows users to set up automatic camera-roll backup of photos from smartphones and tablets and offers a new transfer tool that enables users to easily and quickly move their files to My Cloud devices. The OS also includes Chromebook and Chromecast support.

As part of the My Cloud OS 3 launch, WD has introduced My Cloud Device SDK and My Cloud API enabling developers to build new extensions, features and capabilities within the My Cloud ecosystem of personal cloud storage devices. The My Cloud Device SDK, based on the Docker™ open platform technology, ensures developers can easily access and collaborate to create customized experiences. Partners already developing extensions and new features based on the new SDK include Plex and Milestone.

In addition to new software upgrades, WD has also introduced a new version of My Cloud Mirror personal cloud storage devices, featuring two hard drives set to Mirror Mode (RAID 1), ensuring content is stored on one drive and automatically duplicated to a second drive. My Cloud Mirror personal cloud storage includes the new features announced for My Cloud OS 3 and an improved processor and 512 MB RAM for faster file transfers and application support.

Pricing and Availability

WD My Cloud OS 3 will be available at the end of the month as a free download on current My Cloud personal cloud storage devices. My Cloud devices supporting the new OS 3 include: My Cloud, My Cloud Mirror, My Cloud Expert Series EX2/EX4, My Cloud Expert Series EX2100/EX4100 and My Cloud Business Series DL2100/DL4100. Customers can also download the new WD My Cloud mobile apps, which are now available on the iTunes and Google Play stores. All WD My Cloud devices are available today at select retailers and distributors. Access to My Cloud Device SDK and My Cloud API will be available to interested developers late October.

My Cloud Mirror will have a Manufactured Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of 4 TB Php 15,990, 6 TB Php 20,990, 8 TB Php 25,990 and will be available at select retailers and distributors later in October.

EPSON: Ready for BIR ban on thermal paper with dominant DOT Matrix technology

Tweet

Last September 21, The Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) instructed all business establishments and individual taxpayers not to use thermal paper in issuing receipts.

The regulation stated that all taxpayers (individuals or businesses) are required to preserve their books of accounts, including subsidiary books and other accounting records, for a period of ten (10) years – an impossibility with receipts printed on thermal paper. As such, new business registrants must use non-thermal paper while existing registered taxpayers (who are currently using thermal receipts), have a three-year transition period to conform to the regulation.

Epson Philippines, the six-year No.1 brand in Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, is ready to help customers using thermal POS printers with regard to this new government regulation by offering its other reliable Epson printer technology that can be used for POS systems: dot matrix technology. In the dot matrix printer category, Epson has been the brand of choice in the Philippines for the past 17 years, holding an outstanding 96% market share. The print outs from the dot matrix printers do not fade, and are therefore perfect for financial record-keeping purposes. 

Thea Austria, Product Manager of Epson Philippines’ POS systems, said, “We are equipped to provide even more trusted solutions to our customers by aiding them to comply with the new government regulation banning the use of thermal paper for receipts. There’s a reason why Epson’s dot matrix printers dominate the category – new users would be delighted in the uncompromising reliability and efficacy of our printers.”

Epson offers a wide range of advanced technology solutions found in millions of POS systems around the world. This includes Epson’s flagship model and industry-standard TM-U220 series, the robust, best-selling impact receipt printer, which is exceptionally easy to use. It features unparalleled reliability which Epson is known for, fast print speeds and two-color printing.

On the other hand, Epson’s TM-U950 multifunction POS printer is a high performance 2.5 station printer that is a perfect choice for large POS systems used by mass merchandisers and other large retailers. Aside from receipts, it also handles a variety of printing formats including journals and slips. Other models include: TM-U295, TM-U590, and TM-U675.

“Epson’s easy-to-use dot matrix POS printers offer superior printing speeds, impressive consistency, and cost efficiency that satisfies the most demanding customer. No matter the scale or the requirement, Epson’s pre-sales support for end-user tests, porting, and integration with various POS applications, coupled with our nationwide after-sales support ensure that we are the best choice as a printing partner of enterprises,” added Austria.

Epson has extensive driver support for various platforms -- ESC/POS, OPOS, Windows, JavaPOS, and Linux. 

For more information about Epson’s dot matrix POS printers, visit: www.epson.com.ph/pos

Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) bags Best Marketing and Relationship Effort 2015 award

Tweet

The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), bagged the Best Marketing and Relationship Effort during the 26th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2015. This prestigious award is given to the organization that demonstrates outstanding, exemplary and inspirational marketing and relationship-building efforts in the travel trade industryin the Asia-Pacific region.

Organized by the Travel Trade Gazette (TTG) Asia, the TTG Travel Awards is the most prestigious annual travel industry awards in Asia-Pacific. It recognizes the best organisations and individuals for their achievements and contributions in four categories: Travel Supplier, Travel Agency, Outstanding Achievement, and Travel Hall of Fame. This year, all winners were honored at the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner in Bangkok, Thailand last October 1, 2015.

“It is a great honor to receive the Best Marketing and Relationship Effort Award from TTG Travel Awards. This recognition will definitely inspire us to work harder in promoting the country’s international profile for years to come. We would not be able to achieve this without the support of various stakeholders in the travel trade industry. This award is also for everyone who makes the Philippines one of the best tourist spots and vacation destinations in the world,” says TPB COO Domingo Ramon Enerio III.

TPB spearheads Visit the Philippines Year (VPY) 2015, a year-long campaign that highlights exciting and major events in the country that attract international tourists from all over the world, from music, arts and entertainment shows; lifestyle, sports, adventure and ecotourism activities; and business, historical and cultural showcases.

Since the launch of VPY 2015, the country has registered a total of 3.11 million international visitors from January to July 2015 alone. The country has also earned 130.2billion pesos in tourism earnings for the same period.

While continuing to forefront and support international events that attract foreign visitors this year, TPB is also gearing up for more fun and exciting tourism campaigns next year with the recent launching of its newest campaign, “Visit the Philippines Again 2016.” 

Offering more fun that keeps foreign travellers coming back for more, VPA 2016 will treat returning tourists to new rip-roaring and top-notch attractions, spectacular travel destinations and world-class events that will make their stay in the country worthwhile and productive. The line-up includes the Asean Tourism Forum 2016, Routes Asia 2016, Madrid Fusión Manila 2016, Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship 2016, and the MTV Music Evolution 2016. Returning visitors will also be given exclusive travel deals and special incentives discounts on flights, hotel accommodations and tour packages after simply presenting proof of previous visits.

“We are committed to promoting and upholding the boom in the inbound tourism industry by constantly making effective campaigns. Our upcoming promotions will not only make foreigners choose to visit the Philippines over other destinations in the world but will also make them want to come back to the country over and over again,” says Enerio.