By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net

SONY Ericsson definitely made some improvements in the design of its latest Walkman phone but what caught me outright was its sort of rugged styling. Or maybe because the review unit they gave us was army green in color, which deviates a bit from the candy-color of previous Walkman phones.

The quad-band W902 is a bit bigger than previous Walkman phones (the W880, for example). It has a slightly bigger 2.2-inch screen but is definitely thicker. At around 100 grams, it weighs good enough for a steadier grip than the W880.

Music and camera controls are conveniently located in the right side of the phone, and since the W902 is thicker, it feels more stable to fiddle around the buttons with your thumb.

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By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police Makati Unit has launched the mechanical anti-terrorist concept (MAC) robot that looks like a magnified version of a robotic toy weighing about 80 kilos.

It is a good sign the government defense unit is looking at technology to better their operations. However, a look at the robot also signals how the technology is really in its infancy — well, it’s a prototype.

A good point about the MAC is that it uses locally sourced parts but it also posed problems for developers.

According to Engineer John Judillo of the Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), they had difficulty in making the parts fit the configuration of the other thus it took them about nine months to come up with MAC — seven months for conceptualization and two months for development.

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GLOBE and Smart are set to (finally) launch the Blackberry Bold this week. And while it really is a tad too late (the Bold was first announced in May), it should bear repeating, or ruminating, whether the Bold can really compete directly against THAT Apple device.

Here’s a quick video showing the added features of the Blackberry Bold:

Of course, the iPhone carries better brand recall. I don’t expect to hear the words “Blackberry Bold” in any conversation among already iPod-toting college students. And based from personal experience, I’ve already seen a few iPhone-toting college students.

So where does that leave the Bold?

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By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

IF a picture paints a thousand words, how about a series of still images combined with sound?

During a forum with a group of Filipino photographers, international photojournalist DJ Clark says today’s photojournalists deliver stories using not one but a series of still photos combined with short video clips and sound to form a seamless narrative – almost like a movie.

This method, dubbed “streaming media,” changes how photographers tell stories.

By creating a series of still images and blending them with other content, such as audio and interviews, telling stories have become more interesting, he adds.

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By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

YOU may be too trusting as you go and click on the link that you see on your friend’s site only to find out that the link was a malware.

During the Cybersecurity: Protecting the Business forum, Vu Huy Nguyen, field research consultant of McAfee Avert Labs said that social networking sites are now becoming more vulnerable to attacks since the users within the networks are trusted.

“Be suspicious. Be wary. It’s more of protecting yourself. Users should be aware and beware. When they let the guard down, that’s when attack happens,” Nguyen said.

According to Nguyen, Asia faces these unique threats because users are often naïve.

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