Alleba Blog » Tech News

IBM Peace Corps Coming to Mindanao, Philippines

Andrew — Sun, 04 May 2008 05:56:24 +0000

Last March 26, 2008, IBM launched a Corporate Service Corps program to help third world countries in various IT-related and socio-economic projects. Over a period of 3 years, the company will be sending about 600 of its employees to do volunteer work. Whether they will be working on a paid leave is unclear. For 2008, 100 volunteers composed of 12 teams will be sent to countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Ghana, Romania and Tanzania. Those assigned in the Philippines will be developing a system to track loan and grant beneficiaries of the Philippine Development Assistance Program. They will not be based in Manila, but in the less stressful areas of Davao City (yey) and Cagayan de Oro.

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Chikka features a new web-based version of the original Chikka Messenger — the Chikka Text Messenger for the Web.

Globe, Smart or Sun?

Andrew — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:36:12 +0000

Ok, did you know that in 2007 around 1.39 billion text messages were sent in the Philippines alone? Because of that, our country once again (yeah we won last year) gets bragging rights as the world’s text messaging capital. The number of mobile subscribers grew a nice 30% to 55 million, or 14 million more than the previous year. Realistically speaking though, there might actually be only 25-30 million of us connected to a network. Because, if you haven’t noticed, many of us own two or three cellphones or SIM cards.

I’m currently doing a study on the mobile industry and I want to get some feedback from my fellow bloggers about their ‘mobile’ habits. You can participate by leaving a comment below containing your answers to the following:

1. How many mobile phones do you own?
2. Which networks are you on?
3. Prepaid or Postpaid?
4. If on prepaid, which plan are you on? (e.g. Alltext, Unlitext, Lahatext, Sulitext etc.)
5. Rank how you use your phone: Call, text, email, browse (Internet), photo, video, music, games
6. Which add-ons/services are important to you? (e.g. 3G, Wifi, MMS, GPRS, Bluetooth, Email)

Thanks for your cooperation!

Paypal Now in the Philippines (For Real)

Andrew — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:45:56 +0000

Migs twittered that Filipinos can now receive payments through Paypal. That led me to this blog post on PinoyMoneyTalk. Indeed, after checking it out myself, it’s now possible!

Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Yesterday, Google allowed Filipino Adsense publishers to receive their earnings with Western Union Quick Cash. It was greeted with cheers and a few faint jeers. But overall, these developments prove that Filipinos are now a major force to be reckoned with, at least online. With Paypal enabled, there’s a ton of opportunities for Pinoys to do business online. Before, the best option around was Xoom, but its exorbitant fees are a major turnoff. Furthermore, Yehey’s Kaban or YES Payments just aren’t feasible for small sellers. How will our local merchant service providers (and Xoom) hold up against Paypal?

To sign up for an account, you’ll need a major credit card (Mastercard or Visa) and it may take a few weeks before you can begin to send money.

Visit Paypal

The Fastest Internet

Andrew — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 16:48:01 +0000

I wish I can say the same thing for my crappy MyDSL. This lucky 75-year-old lady in Sweden boasts a 40-gigabits-per-second fiber-optic connection, so far the fastest residential Internet speed recorded. Sigbritt Lothberg, hardly the web cybergeek, has her son Peter, a networking expert, and his friend Hafsteinn Jonsson to thank. Peter simply wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to achieve such blazing fast speeds.

At 40gbps, I can download a whole MP3 album at a blink of an eye. To download a DVD-quality movie, it will take at most 2 seconds. Now, doesn’t that take the ‘wait’ out of the World Wide Wait? I’m not an avid downloader though, but I do upload scripts a lot which can be painfully slow. What I’ll give to bask in Sigbritt’s glory.

Read the full (old) story here.

NCLEX Now in the Philippines

Andrew — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:29:11 +0000

Great news for Filipino would-be nurses! I read that Pearson VUE, a computer-based testing provider for certification and licensure exams, will be opening up a testing center in Manila. This means that nursing graduates who aspire to work in the USA need not go to Hongkong for the Nclex examinations.

From the website:

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN®) authorized Pearson VUE to expand testing availability for the NCLEX examination to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Exam delivery begins at the Pearson VUE-owned and -operated Pearson Professional Center in Manila on August 23, 2007 and exam scheduling opens Friday, July 13, 2007.

I think this is the most logical thing to do, since the US is experiencing a severe shortage of nurses and young Filipinos are out to fill that gap by the thousands per year. The money they save from not having to go to Hongkong can be well spent on their travel expenses leaving for the United States. Makes sense, eh?

You may reach the new test center at:

Pearson Professional Centers
27th Floor, Trident Tower
312 Senator Gil Puyat Avenue,
Makati City,
Manila
Telephone Number: +63 2 887 2198

Directions:

From Buendia LRT Station take a Guadalupe-bound jeepney. Trident Tower is located immediately after the old Shell Maya station, just off the Ayala-Buendia stoplight. Examinees coming from EDSA (Buendia MRT or Guadalupe Tulay) should take an LRT-Taft-bound jeepney and alight just before the Ayala Avenue – Malugay intersection. Those coming in from Ayala Avenue should walk towards Buendia via Geronimo Street (RCBC Plaza and Metrobank GT Towers)

Applicants in the Asia Pacific (Philippines included) who wish to schedule an exam should call +612 9478 5400 (EXT. 3) 8:30 am-6 pm. By dialing this number, you are making a long distance call to Australia. There is no local number available yet. You must also have a credit card ready to pay the scheduling fee.

The first batch of examinees will take the NCLEX on August 23, 2007. I gather that there are still many slots available, but some scheduled their dates in September or later.

For those who are set to take the exams in Hongkong on or after August 23, you may call the number above and have them transfer your venue to the Philippines free of charge.

For examinees coming in from the provinces, there are some hotels in the vicinity you might want to consider:

Makati Palace Hotel (currently 50% off room rates)
5011 P. Burgos corner Caceres Streets
Makati City
Tel: (02) 899-0344

Century Citadel Inn
5007 P. Burgos St. and Kalayaan St.
Bel-Air
Makati City
Tel: (02) 897-2370, (02) 897-2666

Salcedo Suites ($33/night)
LPL Manor Building, 116 L.P. Leviste Street,
Salcedo Village, Makati City
Tel: (02) 893-2654 / (02) 813-6331

Regine’s
339 Gil J Puyat Ave.
Makati City
Tel: (02) 899-9594

El Cielito (kinda far, but not really)
804 Arnaiz Avenue (formerly Pasay Road)
Makati City, Philippines
Tel. No.: (02) 815-8951 to 54

It’s recommended to check in at least a night before and not on the day of exam itself. The NCLEX isn’t easy, you’ll need all the rest you can get! To save on lodging fees, share with someone else who’s taking the test on the same day as you. Good luck!

PRC Nursing Board Exam Results

Google Adsense Homepage Makeover

Andrew — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 06:40:07 +0000

Anyone else seeing a change in the Adsense homepage?

This is a BIG improvement from the old one:

BTW, there are reports that Google is now offering some Philippine publishers to receive payments via Western Union. That’s a welcome development since this can save me $24 in shipping costs and definitely help avert Adsense checks theft in the future.

Apple iPhone Demo

Andrew — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 04:05:05 +0000

I think I just had a tech orgasm.

Touted as “a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet communications device”, the Apple iPhone uses a touchscreen navigation and comes with the Safari browser, integrated Google search and maps, free Yahoo push IMAP email (a la BlackBerry), runs OSX and widgets. The big let-down is that Apple struck an exclusive deal with Cingular Wireless, which will start selling the phone in June 2007 with a binding 2-year contract. Worse, it won’t reach Asian markets till 2008! But I’m sure the black market will somehow get its hands on it soon enough, IMO. iPhone will set you back $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for 8GB. For sure, this is the phone that’ll replace my Sony Ericsson W800i.

Quick video demo after the jump.

Bryanboy, Tsk tsk tsk.

Andrew — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:24:29 +0000

I’m not a practicing Catholic. I don’t go to church except when I’m forced to or when it’s Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. So really, there’s no place for me to give a righteous reaction to the current media/Internet circus surrounding Bryanboy. He’s getting exactly what he craves for: attention. And boy did he get it, albeit unexpectedly.

Honestly, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Bryanboy gave his opinion when he decided to post those controversial pictures of his European friend posing beside a statue of Jesus Christ, whom he considers “his fucking homeboy”. Some name-calling ensued, touting him the next Anti-Christ, one starting an online petition that, unsurprisingly, didn’t flourish. If you ask me, I couldn’t care less. I didn’t find anything offensive about those pictures, which take note, Bryanboy isn’t in. He did say he loved Jesus, right? “Fucking homeboy”, although quite crass, was vaguely well-intended. If you browse his site long enough, this guy isn’t supposed to be taken seriously. He’s a miles away from even a fraction of newsworthiness. It’s simple. If you don’t like him, stop going to his site! By the way, how and why did Kenneth Ocampo end up there in the first place?

The uproar and animosity towards Bryanboy is misplaced. There are too many problems hounding the world right now and this should be the least of them. Jesus Christ has been made fun of far worse than this. Have you been following the news at all? Can you say “disgusting priests and evangelists who prey on hapless altar boys”? How about making separate petitions against each of them? If you are to draw the line between what’s moral and immoral, or decent and indecent, take a long, hard look around you. There’s a good chance you missed something.

I read it first here. Read more about it here and here.

Google Philippines

Andrew — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 08:07:48 +0000

Marc Macalua recently wrote about Google Setting Up Shop in the Philippines. Like everyone else, I’m excited! This is major. I actually know about this already, thanks to Marc and a certain telling post at the SEO Philippines discussion group (hehe).

The lady Googler he’s been corresponding with is the Google Country Consultant for the Philippines. Not much was mentioned on what else they talked about, except that there are job openings that we might be interested in.

Now, what kind of ‘shop’ Google’s planning hasn’t been divulged yet, but hopefully it involves the plex suffix.

Paypal Now Includes the Philippines

Andrew — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:42:38 +0000

It’s limited, but hey, it’s a start.

Looks like J. Angelo’s PayPal for the Philippines movement is seeing fruition. Filipinos can now purchase wares on the Internet via PayPal but is limited to only $100 unless a credit card is verified. However, receiving funds is still impossible which most of us are really after. But I don’t see that happening until the appropriate legislation is passed that will get us off the list of money laundering countries.

But still, I’m happy of this development. Will start shopping tomorrow and see how it goes. Good job, Angelo!