by magnolia_eic | Feb 14, 2011 | Tech Talk
Once upon a time, there was Valentines Day, a day filled with mushy letters and red hearts and flowers; then came computers, Facebook, Skype and Twitter. The “older” generation would often say that communicating thoughts and feelings aren’t given as much value as they did before, and one of their reasons is because almost everything nowadays are done automatically and with very little effort. Love letters have turned into emails or text messages, and valentine gifts have morphed into gadgets and gizmos. Yes, Valentine traditions have already been altered. But on the idea that communicating feelings are given much value, we, the techies, beg to differ. In fact, during these times, the emphasis on communication has grown even stronger.
Technology has made us capable of checking on our loved ones abroad, and even to kids who are just in school or at the mall. It has made us capable of communicating feelings that we find difficult to personally say.
Thanks to computers, smart phones and the internet, we are able to talk to our loved ones even if they are a thousand miles away from us. Take Skype for example, providing us with free video talking, what more could we ask for? Then we have the ever popular Facebook, I bet everyone who has used it would at one time or another say,”Hey, I found my highschool bestfriend again!” And for Valentines, what could be more romantic for a couple being separated by a vast ocean than an online date? As long as we stick to safety and proper use of technology, there is nothing daunting about it.
So we techies don’t really find technology a disruption of the genuine romantic atmosphere of Valentines Day. Let us keep in mind that technology is merely a tool to express ourselves. The romanticism and sincerity will always come from within the person and how he decides to express it. Although it still remains to be seen if technology can really replace real red roses and cheesy Valentine’s cards.
Happy Valentines Day everyone!
by magnolia_eic | Feb 6, 2011 | Tech Talk
Egyptian authorities have restored the country’s Internet connection after about 5 days of being shutdown starting January 28, 2011. Mobile phone service was also shutdown shortly after the Internet service providers pulled the plug.
Protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his government has been going on for several days and the disconnection was viewed as a way to disrupt communications among protest organizers. The protesters stood their ground, but thousands of Mubarak supporters clashed with them in Cairo. Hundreds of people have been killed in the violence while thousands more are injured.
Connectivity was restored on February 2 at 11:34AM local time in Egypt.
The Internet has now become a very powerful tool to communicate with a vast amount of people and has become the media of choice to instantly send and receive messages through various social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The ability of the Egyptian government to shut it down in a time of civil unrest is a wake up call to all democratic nations. The Internet should be protected as a media for freedom of expression, much like TV, radio and print media. Not to mention that for most of the foreigners caught between Egypt’s civil unrest, the internet and their mobile phones may be the only way they could communicate with their family back home.
Let us hope that the Philiippine government will not allow the Internet to be shutdown in our country, no matter how bad the situation may become. All freedom loving people should protect it.
by magnolia_eic | Aug 28, 2010 | Tech Talk
The grim outcome of last week’s hostage drama was made worse with embarrassing execution of maneuvers by the SWAT team that seem to put a doubt on the quality of training the police recruits get. Because of the detailed and live coverage of the situation, the suspect probably had a very good source of information on the situation outside the bus because it had a TV set — while the police probably didn’t have a clue on what was going on inside.
The SWAT team approached the bus and the event was broadcast live by the various TV stations. The suspect only had to look at the TV set to know the positions of the assault teams. His brother joined in the drama and was arrested by the police. Because he resisted arrest, he got a fair amount of “rough handling”, again on live telecast much to the anger of the suspect and after this, the situation became out of control.
In future situations like this, should media exercise prudence and choose not to broadcast live events like the arrest and rough handling of the suspect’s brother? Should they not broadcast live the positions taken by the police and assault teams?
At the end of the day, the police would still be responsible for the outcome of crisis situations and perhaps on their end, they should have put control on how much the media and the suspect can see. Or at least display activity to divert the suspect and media from the real action that is about to happen.
Unfortunately for the PNP and the Philippines in general, videos and photos have already circulated around the Internet depicting the poor execution of tactics and the numerous bloopers by the SWAT teams. And even after the sad conclusion of the hostage drama, police officers were seen posing for souvenir photos, adding insult to the injury.
With today’s technology, photos and videos can easily be published online anonymously and can spread throughout the Internet in a matter of hours. Posing for souvenir photos of a crime scene should be an administrative offense for law enforcement personnel. Better yet, the authorities should update standard operating procedures and training that would suit the possible conditions and circumstances that could arise during these times, due to the rapid advent of technology and the rising participation of the people in government affairs.
