WATCH this video interview with Miriam Quiambao done by online videographer Janie Octia. Quiambao shares her thoughts about blogging, Facebook, YouTube, and how she’s using technology in her life. Quiambao was 1999 Ms. Universe first runner up. She also recently posed for Playboy Philippines.
Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
PASAY CITY, Philippines – The province of Albay is using short messaging system (SMS) to monitor natural disasters and provide early warning issuances to constituents.
The provincial government has partnered with service provider Smart, providing SIM (subscriber identification module) cards to some 15,000 local government officials.
“If something is happening say a creek in a barangay is overflowing, authorities will be able to respond immediately,” said Albay governor Joey Salceda who spoke at the Energy, Climate and Food Security summit held at the Sofitel in Pasay City.
Salceda presented Albay as a case study on local government preparedness and response to climate change. Albay is also tapping into natural resources building a geothermal plant and wind farms, Salceda added.
Salceda said all 720 barangays in the province will also undergo technology training by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) on earthquake and disaster-readiness software.
According to Salceda, all of these are part of “climate proofing” initiatives aimed at increasing readiness among municipalities and villages when disaster occurs.
“LGUs [local government units] are the leading agent for action when it comes to climate change mitigation and adaptation because they have more funds to allocate than the national government,” Salceda noted.
“We need to think global but act local,” he said.
Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The website of Ticketworld suffered a temporary hiccup Wednesday morning due to “too many concurrent users.”
While this was not directly attributed to traffic coming from queries for the much-anticipated August 30 Eraserheads reunion concert, the ticket seller said it is getting ready to sell concert tickets for the Eraserheads Reunion concert within the day.
Ticketworld Systems Administrator Brenda Abela said there has been a huge volume of traffic in the past few days but she would not attribute it to online queries for the Eraserheads.
“It may be small factor. We’ve been busy selling tickets for other shows,” Abela said in an interview.
She added that they have already received around 600 Eraserheads concert ticket requests from individuals who also leave their telephone numbers.
She said the company will be calling them up one by one regarding the tickets’ availability.
Abela did not confirm prices of the tickets yet. But information culled from local mailing lists and Facebook indicate that the prices are P2,060 for VIP and P1,030 for back area.
Rumors of the cancellation of the Eraserheads Reunion concert circulated for the past days until former drummer Raimund Marasigan announced that it was pushing through after major changes in how tickets will be sold and who will sponsor it.
For the past days, fans have been ranting about the lack of details about the tickets following the changes. Originally, a cigarette company was reportedly behind the organization of the concert. But after lobbying from anti-smoking advocates and pressures from the Department of Health, modifications were made.
The concert would be held at the Fort Bonifacio open field in Global City in Taguig.
Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Marcus Adorno and Buddy Zabala formed the Eraserheads in the late 80s but gained prominence in the early 90s. They are considered as the most successful Filipino rock band of the 90s, encouraging many similar alternative rock bands.
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Despite tightening budgets, Filipino buyers are becoming more selective when buying electronic appliances. They want both a mix of function and design rolled into their equipment and some are willing to pay some extra.
This was the principle behind Korean appliance maker LG’s rebranding strategy in the Philippines. The company launched its new set of “lifestyle appliances” aimed at choosy buyers.
LG Electronics Philippines Head of Brand Marketing Raymond Hernandez said the company has studied the Philippines market for electronics and noted a growing market of younger generation of users who want a balance of aesthetics and performance.
“These are the ‘premium seekers’. They are a new market that we’re expecting to generate more income from for the company,” Hernandez said.
Nevertheless, Hernandez said the company is still sticking to their bread and butter business, which is the mass market, commodity segment that is also cost conscious.
In the Philippines, the most popular gadgets for all market segments are LCD TVs, mobile phones, refrigerators and air conditioning units, he added.
“We’re not alienating the commodity segment because they are our biggest market. But we’re seeing a shift from commodity to the new premium seekers in terms of revenues and this will happen starting this year,” Hernandez said.
LG manufactures over a dozen product types from LCD TVs, home theater equipment, to vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, washing machines, microwaves, and refrigerators.
The Korean firm has a division that makes mobile phones.
By Agence France-Presse
BEIJING, China — Apple said Friday they were investigating why access to iTunes appeared to be blocked for users in China after a pro-Tibet album became a hit on the online music store.
The iTunes download site has been unavailable for many users within China in the past week, but Apple’s Beijing-based spokeswoman Huang Yuna said she did not know why music fans were unable to log on.
“We’ve noticed the problem. It’s true that users may fail to log in to iTunes store right now,” she told AFP.
“We are still investigating,” she said, but would not confirm if the company was in contact with Chinese authorities.
The restrictions come after “Songs for Tibet”, a pro-Tibet album featuring songs by artists such as Sting, was released on iTunes just before the Olympic Games started on August 8.
[Read the rest of this entry »]
