by magnolia_eic | Feb 12, 2010 | Business, Features, Tech Talk
Google Apps (http://www.google.com/apps) is a free email and collaboration service provided by Google for small organizations. The email system is based on Gmail, a lightweight and dynamic web application. The collaboration platform includes shared documents, chat, calendar and other useful software. Google Apps has been around for a few years and was a free service for all domains until early 2009. Now, it is free only for domains with 50 or less accounts. If the domain owner needs more users, he has to subscribe to the Premium service. Educational institutions, however, can still get Google Apps for free for an unlimited number of students.
Google is able to give this service for free because it is able to earn revenues from the ads that it displays along with the email application. The good thing is that the ads shown are not obtrusive and will not distract the user. Also, the free edition is subsidized by the premium edition which includes more power features as well as a 25GB storage space for emails.
SMEs in Bohol should take advantage of Google Apps because it allows them to have their very own email name on their own domain name. For marketing and communicating with vendors and customers, an email address like info@mycompany.com looks more prestigious and professional than info_mycompany@yahoo.com or info_mycompany@msn.com. And why not? It is free and configuration is included in Auza.Net’s website development and hosting service.
Email Auza.Net at info@auza.net or call our sales office at 038-501-8459.
by magnolia_eic | Feb 12, 2010 | Election 2010, Features, Opinion, Tech Talk
The May 2010 elections is the first time that counting of ballots will be automated by the COMELEC. The system is now practical with the availability of cellular service throughout most of the country. It has many advantages over the manual process but many are concerned if it will really eliminate cheating.
The Automated Elections main advantage is that it eliminates many steps taken in the past where where manipulation can happen resulting to “dagdag-bawas”.
By automating the counting, the system eliminates the tedious and very error-prone manual counting process. The public school teachers should really be happy that they don’t have to deal with it after everyone has voted because at the end of the voting period, the counting is also done because the votes are recorded as soon as the machine accepts the ballot from the voter. All voters should feed their ballots to the machine directly and not through someone else, to ensure that your ballot will not be replaced.
By automating the submission of the results to a central location, the system eliminates another error-prone and easy to manipulate procedure. In the past, the ballot count is submitted by the precincts to the municipal or city hall and then aggregated. Then the provincial results are aggregated up to the national level. It takes quite some time before the ballot count is eventually consolidated on the national level, and this gives the manipulators a lot of time to do their magic tricks. Now, the individual counting machines can submit their results to the national level on a near real-time basis thus preventing any count manipulation or errors in between the precinct and the aggregation center.
The automated system also includes audit trails which allow the authorized persons to trace any suspicious changes on the system and identify the culprit. In the manual procedure, there is limited audit trail capability, if any.
Electronic jamming systems would be impractical to setup on a scale that can significantly affect the results and may be futile because the system uses cellular service which has its own interference mitigation capability. To be effective at jamming the transmission, you would need to have a jamming system per precinct that is always on all the time. Anytime you turn it off and the automated counting machine can have a chance to send its data and it only takes a few seconds to send all the data in the machine’s memory. The best it could do is probably delay the transmission but not totally prevent it.
The technology that will be used in the May 2010 elections would certainly make it very difficult to manipulate results unless you are able to access the system directly with the proper user privileges. But even that would not be straightforward because the data storage technology used in systems like this store data in multiple copies and have multiple backups taken at regular periods stored in multiple locations. And COMELEC for sure would be wise enough to have a few of these locations undisclosed just in case the known locations are compromised.
Cheating would be very difficult to orchestrate with the automated counting system implemented. But there are still many ways to manipulate votes like vote-buying and coercion. So each Filipino should value his vote and consider it a sacred right guaranteed by the constitution of the Philippines in order to prevent or minimize this kind of manipulation. — J. Auza
by magnolia_eic | Jan 20, 2010 | Entertainment, Features
AVATAR -- another top grossing film by Director James Cameron
Los Angeles — Science-fiction epic “Avatar” boomed way past the $500-million mark at the North American box office this weekend, pushing its way towards an all-time record.
Box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said James Cameron’s groundbreaking 3-D spectacular added to its haul over the four-day Martin Luther King Holiday weekend with another $54.4 million.
In North Amerca, the movie has earned 504.9 million dollars in only 32 days, and is now 3rd to 2008 Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” ($533.3 million) and “Titanic” ($600.8 million).
“The records are starting to look inevitable now – Cameron will end up sinking his own ship,” quipped Exhibitor Relations chief analyst Jeff Bock in reference to “Avatar’s” pursuit of “Titanic.”
The box office numbers have moved beyond the usual demographics. People who would never normally go to see a science fiction film or a film in 3-D are going to see ‘Avatar’ because they want to be part of the conversation.
“And it is also attracting repeat business — people going to see it two, three, four or five times. That is extremely unusual for a film released outside the summer season.”
This weekend’s stellar performance came as “Avatar” celebrated its best drama and best director accolades at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, confirming the film’s status as an Oscars front-runner.
Click here for full article
by magnolia_eic | Jan 18, 2010 | Features, Major Events
Every year a pageant is held to crown the best festival queen among the competing groups for the Sinulog grand parade. Unlike beauty pageants, the sinulog festival queen is not only a test of talent and beauty, but also skills in carrying the holy image of the Santo Nino. They should know how to properly hold it, just like an infant, but at the same time, still has the grace and poise in dancing to the Sinulog beat. Since they are the lead dancer, they also have to posses some leadership skills in maintaining order in their contingent during the parade.
This year’s winners are:
Festival Queen – Kim Villacampa (San Carlos City)
1st runner up – Rata Mae Joy Verano (Abellana National Highschool)
2nd runner up – Shiela Paulino (Placer, Masbate)
3rd runner up – Lota Correos (Lanao del Norte)
4th runner up – Lourdes Mae Santillan (Tribu Banilad Night Highschool)
Click here for full article
by magnolia_eic | Jan 15, 2010 | Features, National News
FAT wallets may get slimmer this year and the economic crunch may not be exactly the reason.
Wallets fattened by an assortment of identifications cards may be in for a major trim when the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and Home Development Mutual Fund (PagIbig) signs a memorandum of agreement salted in March to come up with an all-access card.
The unified identification system, which at least four government agencies are implementing would constitute the national identification (ID) system, revealed SSS administrator Romulo Neri.
Neri, who is spearheading the national ID system, made the announcement during the signing of Republic Act 9903, condoning penalties on un-remitted SSS premium contributions by employers, in reports carried by national papers.
“By March, we will be printing two million IDs,” said Neri. “We expect to print 12 million IDs in five years,” said Neri, as quoted by national media.
Initially, the unified ID system was also proposed for the poll automation of the Commission on Election (Comelec).
“Since Comelec has not completely finished its registration and other concerns, then we strongly doubt we can push through with it. Besides, we do not want to make it appear that we are doing this for the election,” Neri accordingly said.
The national ID system was revived by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in January 2007 during a command conference with President Arroyo at Camp Aguinaldo.
In September 2008, the SSS spearheaded the project with a common reference number to be issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) based on its database. (PIA)
PRESS RELEASE
REY ANTHONY CHIU
Philippine Information Agency
Tagbilaran City Information Center
411 2292 / 0920 954 5482 / 501 8554 email: piabohol171@yahoo.com
by magnolia_eic | Jan 15, 2010 | Features, National News
by: Rey Anthony Chiu
SMALL and medium enterprises who may have been delinquent in premium remittances can heave in relief when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed Republic Act 9903.
Despite losing possible billions of pesos in accumulated penalties for the government, the President who has been determined to help perk up the pension fund of private employees has enacted the law that condones penalties on delinquent remittances of premium contributions to the Social Security System (SSS).
Government sources revealed that un-remitted premium contributions all over the country runs at a staggering P109 billion.
This has also accumulated double in penalties, now estimated P280 billion.
The President said waiving the penalties will be a big help to small companies, especially those struggling to survive the global financial crisis, reports bared.
By propping up the small delinquent in premium companies, the government also hopes to goad them to resume their remittances.
Giving the employees their rightful benefits under the law would be a logical consequence of the government offer.
“For 2009 alone, the penalties amounted to P68 billion, which we did not expect to collect anyway since a lot of companies were so hard up, and this was our way of helping them survive,” said SSS president and Boholano, Romulo Neri in reports.
“But they must pay their share of the premiums so that their employees can avail themselves of the benefits under the system,” he added.
Under the law, the premium payment schedules would be in such a way that the company pays a downpayment of five percent of total contribution delinquency.
The balance is paid in equal monthly installments within 48 months from the time the proposal is approved by the SSS.
The installments carry a three percent annual interest, the new law also provides.
If the company regresses again, the penalty condoned by the law will, however, be re-imposed.
This happens in case the employer fails to remit in full the required delinquent contributions or he defaults in the payment of any installment under the approved proposal within the avail-ment period. (PIA)
PRESS RELEASE
REY ANTHONY CHIU
Philippine Information Agency
Tagbilaran City Information Center
411 2292 / 0920 954 5482 / 501 8554 email: piabohol171@yahoo.com
