THIS blog post by Ruben Nepales about an actor who only checks his e-mail once a month got me thinking.

Honestly, I don’t think I could do that. I get antsy if I can’t even check my e-mail at least once a day.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve been completely offline — I mean, even when my broadband was on the blink there was always my 3G phone, or the office, or a cybercafe. Heck, I was updating my blog using my mobile phone while our reporters were breaking the news using their BlackBerries while we were in the middle of the sea on our way to Puerto Galera.

Not that I don’t appreciate the need to disconnect from the virtual world every now and then. But as in all things, it’s better to have a choice. In fact, that’s why those of us who have been fortunate to be among the digital haves need to do our share in helping the digital have-nots also enjoy access to technology.

How about you, how long could you survive without e-mail?

WHY just create an audio podcast when you could also offer a vidcast?

That’s just what we did with this vidcast version of The Newsmaker Podcast, INQUIRER.net’s news and current affairs podcast.

Check it out.

You may also download an iPod-ready M4V video file from here.

For more videos from INQUIRER.net and our partners, visit iVDO.

WE’VE just launched our latest podcast, The Newsmaker Podcast. Newsmaker is the news and public affairs podcast of INQUIRER.net.

In our first episode, INQUIRER.net executive editor Leo Magno (left) interviews University of the Philippines-Diliman sociology professor and Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Michael Tan discusses why students join fraternities and shares his opinion on whether fraternities should be abolished.

Be warned that the audio quality is somewhat poor, because it was one big room where you could hear the sound of the vehicles outside.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

BANGKOK, Thailand–Since we introduced the Running Account, the brainchild of INQUIRER.net executive editor Leo Magno, during the Estrada impeachment trial in 2000, this blow-by-blow account has been the ace up our sleeve (well, it’s not exactly up our sleeve anymore, hehe) whenever fast-developing events unfold, like, oh coups, mutinies and such. I did most of the Running Account coverage for the Estrada impeachment trial and People Power II, and over the years it’s been a running joke to call me or Leo the Running Man. Most recently, we did it for the Eleksyon 2007 coverage.

For the Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera rematch, which Pacman won by unanimous decision, I’m happy to report another victory for convergence among the different members of the Inquirer Group of Publications. Philippine Daily Inquirer assistant sports editor Francis Ochoa did one heck of a job doing the Pacquiao-Barrera II Running Account, bringing in not only speed but also his expertise as a sportswriter. Kudos to Francis for a job well done. You scored a KO for convergence

Apart from the convergence that’s seeing the different members of our growing Inquirer family cooperating and complementing each other’s strengths, this year has also seen INQUIRER.net forging partnerships with other companies. The video clips of the Pacquiao-Barrera fight were provided by our partner Solar Entertainment via Solar Sports, and uploaded to iVDO, our online video service which is a co-branded site in partnership with Yahoo!

And this is just a taste of things to come. Watch out for more exciting stuff from INQUIRER.net and our partners.

THE NETVISION webcast was unfortunately cancelled, but you can get your steady fix of all news articles about the People’s Champion by visiting The Pacquiao Files.

The Pacquiao Files is one of the many INQUIRER.net Special Sites. It’s online all the time, constantly updated with every story on Pacquiao all year round.

Of course, the site gets tweaked whenever Manny has a fight, and our Tech people have done a great job of really jazzing it up for Pacman’s rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera on Sunday, October 7. Catch it on Solar Sports (yeah, like we Filipinos really need to be told to go watch Manny fight, heh; it’s like a national holiday whenever he has a bout).