by admin | Oct 18, 2014 | Tech Talk
By: Jerome Auza
A year after that fateful day on October 15, 2013, we commemorated our resilience, thanked again everyone who helped, and remembered those who perished. The solemn pealing of the bells and sounding of sirens on at 8:12AM on October 15, 2014, brought many people to tears. I missed it by a few minutes unfortunately, so I had to content myself with the videos posted on Facebook and Youtube. Nevertheless, goosebumps were felt and I reminded myself how lucky my family was because we were all safe and our 33 year old house stood up against its greatest challenge.
I vividly remember the first day my wife and I joined some relatives to do our first relief mission to Maribojoc. Plaza Marcela had just opened so we bought some bread, canned goods, water and toiletries then headed out to Abatan bridge. I also brought along a few solar panel kits that I manged to purchase in Tagbilaran. We crossed the river on one of the Bohol Dragon Boat rafts since Abatan bridge was badly damaged. The dragon boat teams of Bohol volunteered to paddle back and forth the river for free.
On one of the boat trips made to bring the donated goods to Maribojoc.
As we got up the makeshift wharf on the other side, we were met by our relatives who helped us get the goods to the pickup truck. Unfortunately, the roads were severely damaged also and there was only one route available towards our relative’s house and while passable, the driver had to navigate through the cracked areas. To make matters worse, a heavy downpour started. It dawned on me how bad the situation was.
After dropping the goods and having bread and sardines for lunch (from our own relief goods of course), we went around the center of Maribojoc, met the mayor, witnessed first hand the controversial Red Cross relief operations, felt a good number of aftershocks, surveyed the now-leveled San Vicente Parish and listed to the stories of our friends and relatives. I setup the solar panel kits which provided light to the house where the mayor stayed (his own house was damaged). The kits also charged cell phones at the command center.
As we headed home, my wife and I decided we should help, not only our relatives, but as many people as we can.
We started a campaign on Facebook for donations, texted our friends and relatives and organized a way of delivering relief goods efficiently to Maribojoc. Fortunately, the LGU of Maribojoc had a very organized team handling the relief goods distribution. It still had a functioning wharf in spite of the damage on many sections so we decided to bring the goods via Tagbilaran seaport to Maribojoc wharf.
In the next few weeks, we made several trips across Tagbilaran Straight and delivered several pallets of drinking water, a few tons of rice, hundreds of canned goods, several boxes of medicines, three more solar panel kits and many more.
It’s hard to imagine what if we didn’t have the technology we use to communicate today. How long would have donations arrived? How much more effort would we exert in order to organize trips to deliver the goods? Would the response be as massive as it was?
Because there were many other groups doing relief efforts, there were times we shared vehicles, all communicated through Facebook and text. We could feel everyone’s resolve to help fellow Boholanos in hard to reach areas, especially before the government and foreign aid could arrive.
One year after the earthquake, we should also be thankful that our progress in technology has allowed us to communicate in spite of calamities. We should think of ways that we can ensure in the future that we can keep our communications devices powered up in order to ensure continued communication when disaster strikes.
The damaged Abatan Bridge which has become a symbol of the urgency for many people to bring relief goods to isolated places.
by admin | Oct 18, 2014 | Tech Talk
After weeks of speculation of what the “L” Android 5.0 L means, the secret is finally out. “L” means Lollipop. The latest iteration of the popular operating system for mobile devices features a bold, colorful, and responsive UI design for consistent, intuitive experiences across devices.
It also includes new ways to control when and how messages are received and more ways to monitor battery status as well as optimizations to extend battery life. A faster, smoother and more powerful computing experience brought about by a new ART (Android run time) improves application performance and responsiveness.
The new version of Android is expected to be featured in upcoming device models. Just recently, Apple also released the new version of their iOS operating system.
by admin | Oct 11, 2014 | Tech Talk
SAN FRANCISCO – Sept 30, 2014 – Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its next Windows operating system, Windows 10, and gave a first look at an early technical preview for the PC available Oct. 1. The announcement highlighted advancements designed for business, including an updated user experience and enhanced security and management capabilities.
“Windows 10 represents the first step of a whole new generation of Windows, unlocking new experiences to give customers new ways to work, play and connect,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Operating Systems group at Microsoft. “This will be our most comprehensive operating system and the best release Microsoft has ever done for our business customers, and we look forward to working together with our broader Windows community to bring Windows 10 to life in the months ahead.”
Windows 10 adapts to the devices customers are using — from Xbox to PCs and phones to tablets and tiny gadgets — and what they’re doing with a consistent, familiar and compatible experience, enabling even greater productivity. Windows 10 will run across the broadest range of devices ever from the Internet of Things to enterprise datacenters worldwide. Microsoft is also delivering a converged application platform for developers on all devices with a unified app store. Developers will be able to write an application once and deploy it easily across multiple device types, making discovery, purchase and updating easier than ever for customers.
Windows 10 builds nearly everything that businesses need right into the core of the product — including enterprise-grade security, identity and information protection features — in ways that can reduce complexities and provide better experiences than other solutions. One area of advancement is in the work Microsoft has done with user identities to improve resistance to breach, theft or phishing. Windows 10 will also help advance data loss prevention by using containers and data separation at the application and file level, enabling protection that follows the data as it goes from a tablet or PC to a USB drive, email or the cloud.
Management and deployment have been simplified to help lower costs, including in-place upgrades from Windows 7 or Windows 8 that are focused on making device wipe-and-reload scenarios obsolete. Businesses will also have the flexibility to choose how quickly they adopt the latest innovations and influence continued improvements. In addition, organizations will be able to customize an app store specific to their needs and environment. The intent is an app store that will allow for volume app licensing, flexible distribution, and the ability for organizations to reclaim or reuse licenses when necessary.
The early technical preview of Windows 10 demonstrates new levels of flexibility, navigation and familiarity through the Windows experience.
Source: http://news.microsoft.com/2014/09/30/microsoft-unveils-the-future-of-windows/
by admin | Oct 4, 2014 | Headlines, Tech Talk
Techtalks.PH Tagbilaran hosted the 1st Ideaspace Technopreneur Bootcamp in Bohol help on September 29, 2014 at the JJ’s Seafood Village. The bootcamp was funded and facilitated by Ideaspace. It was participated by close to a hundred participants representing local universities and colleges, employees of tech companies in Bohol, free lancers and young professionals.
Ideaspace is a non-profit organization that runs an incubator program to support science and technology entrepreneurs. Techtalks.ph – Tagbilaran is a group of technology enthusiasts in Tagbilaran City who are passionate about startup events in Bohol.
Roy Bayonas, owner of Printbit, a local technology firm that provides printing services, talked about his journey as an entrepreneur and the lesson of never giving up.
Goldy Yancha, community development associate of Ideaspace Foundation talked about the opportunities available for startups with viable ideas. Ideaspace holds competitions among startups and provides financial as well as technical and business support to help startups succeed with their ideas.
Chino Atillano, founder of Timefree Innovations, talked about his startup journey and the lessons he learned along the way.
Dr. Rene Catan, foundeer of Arthrologic, talked about his startup process and proved that startups are not only limited to tech.
Participants of the 1st Ideaspace Technopreneur Bootcamp held at the JJ’s Seafood Village on September 29, 2014
Dave del Rosario, community development associate of Ideaspace Foundation discussed the flow of the activities in the afternoon during which there were 41 idea submissions and 30 teams were formed.
The teams worked on the presentations about their ideas and were mentored by Mr. Atillano, Dr. Catan, Joshua de la Llana, the founder of Tactiles and Aisa Mijeno, founder of SALt.
According to Dave del Rosario, “This was the most successful Ideaspace bootcamp this year so far.”
by admin | Sep 27, 2014 | Tech Talk
Preparations by Techtalks.PH Tagbilaran for the IdeaSpace Bootcamp are complete, ready for the event at 8am this Monday 29th at JJ’s Seafood Village. This is the first visit of the MVP Group investors to Bohol, led by Goldy Yancha, Community Development Consultant.
Ideaspace is a non-profit organization that runs an incubator program to support science and technology entrepreneurs. Techtalks.ph – Tagbilaran is a group of technology enthusiasts in Tagbilaran City who are passionate about startup events in Bohol.
The Event is fully booked, around 100 competitors are expected to attend. Earlier this week at the University of Bohol 40 interested individuals were briefed at an orientation session. Competition is expected to be fierce. Business ideas will be pitched and only the strongest will survive. IdeaSpace and the local TechTalks organizers are hoping to see Bohol put on the Nation’s entrepreneurial map.
For further information, please contact: Ashley Uy (09436207115), Ben Skelton (09192636682) or Jay Paul Aying (09985532897)
by admin | Sep 20, 2014 | Tech Talk
The Samsung NX1 is designed for the expert photographers with a stunning image quality and fast AF system
Cologne, Germany – September 15, 2014 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, announced today the launch of the NX1, the remarkably fast and accurate interchangeable lens camera. Samsung has created a camera designed to be the go-to choice for expert photographers, investing in best-in-class technology to deliver the premium levels of performance that advanced photographers have long been waiting for. This premium model invites serious photographers to challenge their pre-conceptions and create images which captivate and inspire.
”The NX1 represents the pinnacle of Samsung’s advanced photographic expertise and heralds a new era of intuitive, premium quality photography for all photographers,” said Myoung Sup Han, Executive Vice President and Head of Imaging Business Team, IT & Mobile Communications business at Samsung Electronics. “With the launch of the NX1, Samsung is re-defining what is possible with a compact system camera, allowing photographers everywhere to achieve previously unimaginable levels of quality in each and every image they capture.”
The next generation of photography
When Samsung set out to create the NX1, its goal was not to simply improve existing cameras with more advanced features, but to create a completely new type of elite CSC. Unlike any other CSC presently on the market, the NX1 challenges the notion that DSLRs are the only option for those who value the very best imaging. Designed completely from scratch, from the imaging engine to the sensor to the auto focus system, the NX1 is packed with state-of-the-art technology, to create an industry leading product.
Advanced photographers are increasingly moving towards more lightweight and portable CSC models, a trend which has led Samsung to make the strategic decision to exclusively focus on the CSC market. Targeting semi-professional and professional photographers, the NX1 is for those already at the top of their game who expect the technology they use to keep up with their high level of expertise. Challenging existing expectations around the technology behind professional imagery, the NX1 marks a turning point in premium photography.
Unparalleled speed and accuracy in all conditions
Powerful and fast, the NX1’s brand new DRIMe V Image Processor guarantees the superior imaging speed and quality that serious photographers need, while its super-fast Auto Focus (AF) System III ensures even fleeting moments are captured in rich detail, without the need to re-compose a shot. Users can simply focus and shoot immediately in complete confidence that they will get the result they desire
The NX1 excels in scenes involving fast moving subjects, making it perfect for sports and wildlife photography. The Wide Phase Detection allows the camera to instinctively track subjects almost anywhere in the frame, regardless of their exact location, while its 1/8000 sec shutter speed and industry leading 15FPS continuous shooting means it can shoot the most action packed scenes in perfect quality.
Further enhancing the NX1’s action credentials is the intelligent new Samsung Auto Shot (SAS) feature. Even with a fast shutter speed and high speed drive, it can still be difficult to capture action (like the moment a baseball player strikes the ball). SAS removes this concern by accurately predicting the right time to capture the shot, resulting in perfect capture in every decisive moment.
The NX1 also includes a newly developed 28MP APS-C Sensor incorporating Back Side Illumination (BSI). This innovative feature exposes the camera’s sensor to more light than conventional camera models for outstanding images in low light settings. With an ability to take shots at a much Higher ISO, the NX1 minimizes noise in dark environments for sharp and natural images.
The ideal choice for those in search of a high calibre video, the NX1 supports both 4K and Ultra HD (UHD) video with HEVC Codec, providing flexibility and choice when it comes to movie capture. UHD is four times higher resolution than Full HD, readily apparent in the smooth and impressive quality of footage shot on the NX1.
Classic design and extreme usability
From conception, to design, to engineering, to build, each step of the NX1’s journey has been expertly and carefully crafted with the experienced photographer in mind. The highly durable magnesium alloy body of the NX1 offers the solid and rugged feel that high end photographers are accustomed to. Carefully crafted, the ergonomic design of the NX1 is comfortable to hold, with a specially shaped grip which allows users to maintain a tight hold while shooting.
This sturdy build is strengthened by the NX1’s dust and splash resistance, including rubber seals and seams to protect dials and buttons. These durable features allow NX1 photographers to seize every opportunity to capture awe inspiring scenes, regardless of any outdoor shooting environments.
Introducing a versatile new NX lens
Expanding the NX lens range is the new 50-150mm S ED OIS lens, a high end and professional telephoto lens perfectly matched with the NX1. With its ultra-fast F2.8 maximum aperture and 35mm equivalent 77-231mm focal range, this multipurpose S-series lens is ideally suited to a wide range of scenarios including sport, wildlife and portrait photography. The lens expertly renders details, colors and contrast to deliver high-resolution clarity. Precision engineering, quality control and the latest technological advances coalesce into a series of durable high-performance lenses. Our enduringly valuable lenses allow photographers to bring their visions to life like never before.
Full details and product images are available at www.samsungmobilepress.com
The official product video can be viewed at www.youtube.com/samsungcamera
