Web-based apps draw users to go online

With a vast number of new web-based applications featured impressive functions that practically match the most used PC software, recent developments in online apps have provided users with a new landscape on locally installed programs on the PC. As online access become faster and easier, users are now turning away from the usual local PC applications to the Internet to do their computing tasks right on the web browser.

Adobe unleashes CS3 in Manila

Enhancing world-class Filipino creativity
Adobe Systems' country manager for South East Asia Raymond Lee explains how Filipino creative and design professionals, who are among the most creative in the region, can benefit from the newly-released Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium and Master Collection at a roadshow in Manila last October 2. The industry's most comprehensive collection of integrated cross-platform post-production software tools would help video professionals deliver stunning results for film, broadcast, DVD, Web and mobile devices. Adobe Production Premium integrates time-saving workflow technologies with the milestone releases of Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional, Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, Adobe Encore CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Adobe Illustrator CS3, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional and Adobe Soundbooth CS3, which can also be purchased as stand-alone applications.

Innovista, Netgear announce partnership

Innovista Technologies Inc. recently announced its partnership with NetGear in a media briefing in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. NetGear is a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking products since 1996 with a goal of becoming be the preferred customer-driven provider of innovative networking solutions for small businesses and homes.

Innovista is a Philippine distributor of major PC systems, peripherals, and networking brands including the NetGear line of products.

Adopt individual, not collective, takeback scheme, IT firms told

This article was originally posted on the Cyberpress web site the organization's Greent I.T. forum in November 2007. Cyberpress, also known as the I.T. Journalists Association of the Philippines is an organization of I.T. reporters in the country established in 1996.

Precisely because they know what substance they put into their own products, local subsidiaries of IT companies were urged by an environmental group to assume the responsibility of getting their junk products individually and not rely on the government’s effort to gather them on a collective basis.

At the recent CyberPress Forum held at the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati City, Greenpeace Philippines said tech firms such as PC and mobile phone makers have the moral, if not legal, obligation to recover and recycle their electrical and electronic wastes.

Representatives of IT companies who took part in the conference did not make an issue with the proposal, with top executives of computer producers Lenovo and IBM saying they would suggest to their headquarters to implement an individual takeback scheme in the country.

For its part, Board of Investment director Domingo Bagaporo said the government recognizes the merits of the suggestion and will thus consider it as the trade department winds up its cellphone waste collection and recycling program. The pilot project, which has Glorietta, Greenhills, and SM Megamall as collection points, will run up to December 31.

Beau Baconguis, toxic tech waste campaigner of Greenpeace Philippines, said a “takeback" policy is one of the crucial criteria that the group uses in rating the environmental-friendliness of a technology company.

In the recent quarterly issue of the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, game consoles came out as the least environment-friendly electronic gadgets because of its lack of takeback policy. The report, first launched in August 2006 and rates PC and mobile phone manufacturers on their environmental practices, was expanded to include gaming consoles and television sets.

Video game market leader Nintendo lands at the bottom of the ranking guide with a score of zero out of a possible 10 points, followed by TV manufacturer Philips (2.0), and Microsoft (2.7). The global games consoles sector is the fastest growing sector of the electronics industry and is dominated by only three companies, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.

The new edition of the quarterly guide also shows important changes at the top of the ranking. Sony Ericsson has now taken the top spot, followed by Samsung, and Sony. Nokia, which has held the top spot since June 2007, has slid down to number nine, and, along with Motorola has been given penalty points.

During the forum, it appeared that the Philippines does not have a definitive law or clear-cut policy governing e-waste and recycling of electronic products.

IT stalwart Gus Lagman commented that the country does not even have a junkyard where harmful components of technology products can be processed safely.

The head of Sun Microsystems Philippines, another tech vendor, noted that although the government has embarked on some initiatives in addressing e-waste, a lot more needs to be done in terms of keeping the pressure on electronic companies to observe proper waste disposal and recycling.

Sun, along with EMC Philippines, revealed that they have the studied these environmental issues early on and have implemented energy-saving features that can maximize power resources.

First 1GB on board graphics card launched by Palit

Taiwan-based Palit Microsystems recently introduced what is touted as “the world’s first on board 1GB memory graphics processor.” I was invited in a media briefing on December 3 at MyCinema Greenblet 3, Makati City where the NVIDIA-chipset based Palit GeForce 8500GT Super+1GB was launched to the Philippine market.

According to nVidia executives from Taiwan who was also present during the product launch, the new 8500GT is packed with actually 1024MB king size memory which can boost heavy graphics computing performance and save bandwidth on the memory capacity bottleneck.

The 8500GT is based on PCI Express platform with 128-bit memory interface and a rated 400MHz RAMDACs. RAMDACs (Random Access Memory Digital-to-Analog Converters) is a display adapter’s memory that stores the color palettes to enhance color displays. So the more color a RAMDAC can process, the better.

CyberPress elects new set of officers for 2007-2008

The Information Technology Journalists Association of the Philipppines Inc. (CyberPress) has recently named its new officers in a general assembly held at Clark, Pampanga.

Elected to the 2007-2008 board of officers were: Melvin Calimag of Manila Bulletin (re-elected president), Jing Garcia of Manila Times (vice president for internal affairs), Red Samar of Manila Bulletin (vice president for external affairs), Jenalyn Rubio of Computerworld Philippines (secretary), Rory Visco of Business Mirror (finance committee head), Lawrence Casiraya of Inquirer.net (membership committee head ) and Marlon Magtira of PC Buyer's Guide (election and constitutional amendments officer).

The following sectoral representatives were also appointed by the board: Tom Noda of Computerworld Philippines (trade publication), Edwin Sallan of Manila Bulletin (print) and Erwin Oliva of Inquirer.net (online).

The new board of officers, under the leadership of its president, looks forward to a fruitful year, with several initiatives already lined-up for the first quarter of its new term.

Established in 1996, CyberPress is the pioneering organization of IT writers in the country working together to achieve common goals of promoting responsible journalism in the IT beat, educating the public about technological developments and industry issues, and fostering better appreciation for technology while cultivating a harmonious IT ecosystem in the country.

Edimax brings new wireless solutions to RP

Edimax, in cooperation with its Philippine partner, PC Trends Inc. launched its new line of nMax wireless solutions for the Philippine market in a two-part event held last October 11 dubbed “Get Connected”, which included a press briefing at the Tropezz Bar in Greenbelt, Makati City and a dealers’ night party at the Teatrino Bar in Greenhills, San Juan.

The new wireless solutions from Edimax bring in three new wireless routers and two new print servers in the nMax Wireless series with the following features: Next generation of standard 11n; IEEE802.11n Drat 2.0 (2.4GHz); Up to 300Mbps transfer rate, six times faster than standard g; Faster than wired LAN Connection; Average throughput over 100Mbps, 70Mbpas for fast Ethernet; Backward compatibility with b/g; and advanced MIMO technology 2Tx3R to cover corner dead spots and improve wireless coverage.

The new nMax wireless routers from Edimax include BR-6504n with detachable antenna, BR-6315Sg fro P2p download, and EW-7318USg with 4dBi detachable antenna, while the new print servers in the series include PS-1206MF All-in-One and PS-1216U GDI. The new nMax line is designed for a user-friendly hassle-free usage with improved user interface and quick setting wizard.

Robert Wong, PC Trends Marketing Manager said that “it’s a monumental event for all of us because this is the first time that Edimax will be launching a different series of products. When information is immediately available at a press of a key as it transcends geographical boundaries and crosses time zones, the question is how do we embrace new information and Edimax practically has all the answers for that.”

With the new nMax Wirless series, Wong said that “Edimax is living up to its mission – Networking People Together. Edimax is committed to bringing the advantages of the latest networking technologies to end users by offering the best prices, including performance products and solutions.”

Hunter Chen, Sales Director of Taiwan-based Edimax, manufacturer of a broad range of networking products including solutions for wireless connectivity, print servers, xDSL routers, etehernet switches, PoE, network access controllers, load balancer, IP camera, VoIP and media converters, said that “Edimax is a market leading brand that provides quality goods and services that are reliable but with lower acquiring cost than other top brands for those who require faster wireless connectivity in home, internet cafes and hot spot shops.”

AXIGEN enters Philippine market with IPSystems Inc.

AXIGEN, a major mail server vendor recently announced its bid to enter the Philippines in agreement with IPSYSTEMS Inc. as distributor.

IPSYSTEMS Inc. provides services in engineering and designing, installing, commissioning, and repairing of computer systems for the past ten years. The company also offers custom-made Linux packages based on individual client’s requirements.

In a recent press statement, AXIGEN CEO Oana Bornaz said, "We are pleased to have made our way to the Philippines. Given our partner's extensive knowledge of the local market, we are confident we will increase AXIGEN Mail Server awareness within the Philippine business environment. Local organizations will thus have better access to a state-of-the-art range of technologies developed by AXIGEN. The AXIGEN Mail Server has recently won the ServerWatch 2007 Product Excellence Award for the Communications Server category, after having competed with four other messaging solutions, Zimbra, CommuniGate, Merak and Lotus."

Patricia B. Celis, Vice President of IPSYSTEMS Inc. said, "Our new and valuable partnership agreement with AXIGEN is an affirmation of our corporate mission, which is to continuously provide the Linux advantage to corporate organizations in the Philippines. We are confident and highly appreciative that this partnership will result in a continuous satisfaction for our clients, due to the secure and innovative solutions provided by AXIGEN."

Based on a multiplatform architecture, the AXIGEN Mail Server (version 4.0), runs on several Linux and BSD distributions, on Solaris and PowerPC and signed technology partnerships with Sun Microsystems, RedHat, IBM and Avira. Currently, AXIGEN products are distributed by a network of 90 partners worldwide, as the distribution network has been increased by 60 percent in the first five months of 2007.

Established in 2003 in Bucharest, Romania, AXIGEN technology research and software security company developed AXIGEN Mail Server, an internet security messaging solution. AXIGEN integrates SMTP/POP/IMAP and WebMail and offers a unique configuration and security that allow system administrators to have full control of the email traffic.

The first commercial version of AXIGEN for Linux distribution was unveiled at LinuxWorld Expo, in London, in September 2005. One year after the official launch, AXIGEN has concluded business agreements with more than 90 domestic and international partners from over 50 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands and Romania and manages e-mail traffic for approximately 500,000 mailboxes worldwide.

Established in 1998 in the Philippines, IPSYSTEMS Inc. is a Linux solutions provider specializing in Open Source technologies for server requirements of companies in the country, including integration, development and maintenance.

Yahoo! Launches a New Mobile Service in RP

Yahoo! Inc. unveiled a new feature designed for users who want to take Internet content and services on their mobile phones. Dubbed "Yahoo! Go for Mobile", the new service is the mobile version of Yahoo! Go, a suite of free products and services with personal information manager (PIM) functionality including E-mail, search engine, calendar, messaging, photo album, and address book.

This new Yahoo! feature was formally launched for Philippine users last April 25 at the Be Connect Internet cafe, Greenbelt 4, Makati City with Reza Behnam and Larry Jordan, Yahoo! Southeast Asia Managing Director and Product Management Director, respectively.

Jordan said that "Yahoo! Go for Mobile is a step towards connecting Internet users in the Philippines to Yahoo! services on their mobile phones."

Yahoo! Go for Mobile allows users to upload pictures taken from their mobile phone to Yahoo! Photos, and also sign up for a new account and check their E-mail from the mobile device.

The new service is initially available for selected Nokia handsets, including the N70, 6680, 6681, 6630, 7610, 6670 and the 6600, which will get Yahoo! Go for Mobile preinstalled.

Behnam said, "The Philippines is important to Yahoo," and "the company aims to make the Internet more relevant to the local users."

Yahoo! has recently clinched a partnership with Smart and Globe mobile service providers to offer new mobile content and services including SMS alerts and WAP services to Yahoo users in the Philippines.

With more localized content relevant to Filipino web surfers, a new facelift of the Yahoo! Philippines homepage ( www.yahoo.com.ph ) was also unveiled during the launch. Geared for local net aficionados, the Yahoo! Philippines portal further integrates local versions of Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mail, News, Entertainment, and Sports.

Multi-Core shift

Here comes a new advent of multi-core processors. Many devices are now running applications that require a level of performance that has exceeded the capability of single-core processors. Built with two or more processors that have been integrated into one package for an enhanced computing performance with less power consumption, multi-core technology is the latest in the new generation of top of the line PCs and gaming systems.

Computer chip manufacturers including Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are set to shape the current PC and server landscape with dual and new quad core CPUs (central processing units). Sony and Microsoft have also integrated multi-core technologies with the latest gaming consoles. Squeezing in more brainpowers in a single slot, this will promise faster processing of information for current applications that demand high computing power especially for the business and gaming segment.

The latest gaming consoles are geared for displaying more advanced and crispier real-life like graphics. Sony Play Station 3 clutches eight SPUs (synergistic processor units) and Microsoft Xbox 360 is built with three-core processing units.

A recently released statement from Intel points out that “in addition to new levels of performance,” multi-core processors will provide users “multitasking capabilities that enhance the way they create, experience and enjoy digital entertainment.” Intel Core 2 Quad processors are specifically designed to multitask in playing high-definition videos while running graphics intensive software applications.

Similarly, new AMD multi-core processors promise to improve “system efficiency and application performance for computers running multiple applications at the same time.”

AMD affirms that multi-core processors are essential in the current “demands of complex 3D simulations, streaming media files, added levels of security, more sophisticated user interfaces, larger databases, and more on-line users.” Dual-core AMD 64 and quad-core Opteron new-generation processors are designed to provide “sufficient resources to handle most compute intensive tasks in parallel.”

As the developments in digital data processing and online information access expand, multi-core processors represent a giant leap in computing technology. Businesses and home users will continue to require higher performance and productivity beyond single-core processing.