No sooner does Paris Hilton get her Sidekick hacked, revealing juicy pics, does she pitch to endorse Creative's Zen Micro.
Imagine the private recordings she'll make...
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Podcast Sex Scandals?
No sooner does Paris Hilton get her Sidekick hacked, revealing juicy pics, does she pitch to endorse Creative's Zen Micro.
Imagine the private recordings she'll make...
Missing Person
I read this announcement of a missing person on the blog of tech journalist Joey Alarilla, who reprints an email from his fellow tech journalist Selwyn Alojipan.
I pray for Mary Crystal's safe return.
________________
Announcement of Missing Person: Mary Crystal F. Alojipan
My daughter, Mary Crystal Frias Alojipan, age 14 (born 31-Aug-1990), left our house alone at 8-C Maginoo Street, Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City on 12:30pm, Maundy Thursday, 24 March 2005, to go to her sister's house in Pacita Complex, San Pedro, Laguna. She was supposed to take a bus from EDSA Kamias and should have arrived sometime at about 2pm. She didn't arrive and we all got worried and called up her friends and classmates.
At 11:20 am, Good Friday, 25 March 2005, Crystal called up our home phone crying. She said her bus had been held up and she didn't know where she was. We asked her questions but she was crying and very distraught. She said she was safe and with a few of the other passengers who had been given shelter by a certain "Helen Arcilla," owner of a sari-sari store on "#45 Claro Street, Magallanes," (no mention of barangay, city, or province). When we asked to talk to the lady, Crystal said they were having lunch and that we should call again at "02-892-0105" to talk to them.
Other details: Crystal said she wanted to go home but didn't have money so the people in the store wanted her to exchange her watch for some cash. I was worried that she might encounter another incident on the way so my wife and I said we'd go to fetch her if she can wait. In the meantime, I told her to remember and write down as much of the details of her robbery for later analysis. All the while she was crying but seemed unable to give any details without having to ask someone beside her. We never heard anyone else talk on the phone. We have received no other phone calls from her or about her current condition and location.
We prepared to leave for Magallanes and tried to call the number but there was no answer. On arrival at Magallanes EDSA Interchange, we went to the PNP detachment under the Interchange and discovered there was no "#45 Claro Street" anywhere in Makati and that the number "02-8920105" belonged to "Don Bosco Technical Institute." Like wise no "892-0105" number could be dialled at area codes 46 (Cavite) or 44 (Laguna). So far, there are also no reports of any bus robberies or holdups that took place on that date. This leads to the conclusion that most or all of the other info provided to us by Crystal in her conversation was coerced on her or made bogus by the person/s having custody of her.
I called up my brother Glenn who was staying temporarily in Ternate, Cavite, and he tried to go to Magallanes town near Maragondon, Cavite, but couldn't locate the address or the "Helen Arcilla." I sent the word out to PNP 117, filed a police blotter at QCPD Station 10, and at the Women's and Children's Desk of the PNP CIDG in Camp Crame. Likewise, the information is now on the Malacañang War Room hotline flashed to all PNP units.
Attached is her photo and other personal details. Height = 5'1"; Weight = about 90-100 pounds (40 kg); chinky-eyed, round face, shoulder-length curly hair; loose (fractured) upper inner right incisor. Last seen wearing blue jeans, striped multi-colored blouse, black step-in sandals, and carrying a black backpack. She didn't have a cellphone with her. You may get other details about Crystal at her Friendster accounts: mca_virgo and mca_berks.
She's finishing third year high school at Don Quintin Paredes High School (Anonas St., Project 2, QC).
If you see her or learn her current status, please call PNP 117 c/o Agent Code 0044 (or anybody) and give the full details. You may also email me at alojipan@mozcom.com ; or call +63-2-435-2783 and +63-918-9259290. We need your assistance as well as prayer at the soonest possible time so we can recover our daughter.
Later I will be giving the full details to various TV, radio, and print media outlets for public assistance.
==================================================
Selwyn Clyde M. Alojipan Quezon City, Philippines
________________
I pray for Mary Crystal's safe return.
________________
Announcement of Missing Person: Mary Crystal F. Alojipan
My daughter, Mary Crystal Frias Alojipan, age 14 (born 31-Aug-1990), left our house alone at 8-C Maginoo Street, Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City on 12:30pm, Maundy Thursday, 24 March 2005, to go to her sister's house in Pacita Complex, San Pedro, Laguna. She was supposed to take a bus from EDSA Kamias and should have arrived sometime at about 2pm. She didn't arrive and we all got worried and called up her friends and classmates.
At 11:20 am, Good Friday, 25 March 2005, Crystal called up our home phone crying. She said her bus had been held up and she didn't know where she was. We asked her questions but she was crying and very distraught. She said she was safe and with a few of the other passengers who had been given shelter by a certain "Helen Arcilla," owner of a sari-sari store on "#45 Claro Street, Magallanes," (no mention of barangay, city, or province). When we asked to talk to the lady, Crystal said they were having lunch and that we should call again at "02-892-0105" to talk to them.
Other details: Crystal said she wanted to go home but didn't have money so the people in the store wanted her to exchange her watch for some cash. I was worried that she might encounter another incident on the way so my wife and I said we'd go to fetch her if she can wait. In the meantime, I told her to remember and write down as much of the details of her robbery for later analysis. All the while she was crying but seemed unable to give any details without having to ask someone beside her. We never heard anyone else talk on the phone. We have received no other phone calls from her or about her current condition and location.
We prepared to leave for Magallanes and tried to call the number but there was no answer. On arrival at Magallanes EDSA Interchange, we went to the PNP detachment under the Interchange and discovered there was no "#45 Claro Street" anywhere in Makati and that the number "02-8920105" belonged to "Don Bosco Technical Institute." Like wise no "892-0105" number could be dialled at area codes 46 (Cavite) or 44 (Laguna). So far, there are also no reports of any bus robberies or holdups that took place on that date. This leads to the conclusion that most or all of the other info provided to us by Crystal in her conversation was coerced on her or made bogus by the person/s having custody of her.
I called up my brother Glenn who was staying temporarily in Ternate, Cavite, and he tried to go to Magallanes town near Maragondon, Cavite, but couldn't locate the address or the "Helen Arcilla." I sent the word out to PNP 117, filed a police blotter at QCPD Station 10, and at the Women's and Children's Desk of the PNP CIDG in Camp Crame. Likewise, the information is now on the Malacañang War Room hotline flashed to all PNP units.
Attached is her photo and other personal details. Height = 5'1"; Weight = about 90-100 pounds (40 kg); chinky-eyed, round face, shoulder-length curly hair; loose (fractured) upper inner right incisor. Last seen wearing blue jeans, striped multi-colored blouse, black step-in sandals, and carrying a black backpack. She didn't have a cellphone with her. You may get other details about Crystal at her Friendster accounts: mca_virgo and mca_berks.
She's finishing third year high school at Don Quintin Paredes High School (Anonas St., Project 2, QC).
If you see her or learn her current status, please call PNP 117 c/o Agent Code 0044 (or anybody) and give the full details. You may also email me at alojipan@mozcom.com ; or call +63-2-435-2783 and +63-918-9259290. We need your assistance as well as prayer at the soonest possible time so we can recover our daughter.
Later I will be giving the full details to various TV, radio, and print media outlets for public assistance.
==================================================
Selwyn Clyde M. Alojipan Quezon City, Philippines
________________
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Moore's Law & Gaming
Nathan Combs at the gaming blog Terra Nova posts an interesting essay that discusses how gaming pushes personal computing technology forward.
Just yesterday, Philippine game publishing company Level Up! announced negotiations with Argosy Partners to finance local 'Net café upgrades in preparation for their upcoming full-3D online game.
It is intriguing to think of gaming as an exponent of technological advancement -- especially in a country full of creative people with the ingenuity to maximize such advancement.
Just yesterday, Philippine game publishing company Level Up! announced negotiations with Argosy Partners to finance local 'Net café upgrades in preparation for their upcoming full-3D online game.
It is intriguing to think of gaming as an exponent of technological advancement -- especially in a country full of creative people with the ingenuity to maximize such advancement.
The Octopus Effect
Filipino Friendster users have known about this for a while now, but it'll be official come Monday.
I checked out the site myself; it's actually very much attunded to Filipino idiosyncracies. It uses such colorful expressions as "hay naku! I forgot my password" ("oh my children! I forgot my password") and "post it na!" ("post it already!"). Think globally, act locally -- that's the way to go.
FYI, pusit is Filipino for "squid". Social networking is stretching its tentacles.
________________
Friendster invests in RP firm for online classified service
Posted 00:36am (Mla time) Mar 24, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net
THE SOCIAL networking website Friendster has disclosed its partnership with a Filipino company in a new online classified service for the local Filipino community, a Friendster official told INQ7.net on Wednesday.
Joe Hurd, Friendster director for international business development, said in a telephone interview that the partnership is with a company called Pusit, which has been running an online classified service since last year.
_______________
Read on here.
I checked out the site myself; it's actually very much attunded to Filipino idiosyncracies. It uses such colorful expressions as "hay naku! I forgot my password" ("oh my children! I forgot my password") and "post it na!" ("post it already!"). Think globally, act locally -- that's the way to go.
FYI, pusit is Filipino for "squid". Social networking is stretching its tentacles.
________________
Friendster invests in RP firm for online classified service
Posted 00:36am (Mla time) Mar 24, 2005
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net
THE SOCIAL networking website Friendster has disclosed its partnership with a Filipino company in a new online classified service for the local Filipino community, a Friendster official told INQ7.net on Wednesday.
Joe Hurd, Friendster director for international business development, said in a telephone interview that the partnership is with a company called Pusit, which has been running an online classified service since last year.
_______________
Read on here.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
The Quest for Upgrades
Philippine online game publisher Level Up! recently negotiated with Argosy Partners to offer financing for local 'Net café hardware upgrades. This move could be partly motivated by Level-Up's upcoming offering of the full-3D MMORPG R.O.S.E. Online.
Furthermore, Level-Up is also planning to tie up with local ISPs to offer lower broadband rates, and resell DSL.
Good to see online gaming driving the growth of 'Net cafés and broadband in the Philippines. Koreans are not only some the world's best gamers; through their 30,000 'Net cafés with 1.2 million seats, and one broadband line for every four people, they're also one of the world's most connected populations.
Perhaps gaming will bring us closer to replicating Korea's broadband revolution.
Furthermore, Level-Up is also planning to tie up with local ISPs to offer lower broadband rates, and resell DSL.
Good to see online gaming driving the growth of 'Net cafés and broadband in the Philippines. Koreans are not only some the world's best gamers; through their 30,000 'Net cafés with 1.2 million seats, and one broadband line for every four people, they're also one of the world's most connected populations.
Perhaps gaming will bring us closer to replicating Korea's broadband revolution.
Snap-Happy
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Leap of Faith
Bon voyage to Faith, who'll be going abroad for six months.
All your friends here in the Philippines will keep the faith. ;)
Good Girls Go to Heaven...
...bad girls go everywhere.
Inq7's Hackenslash interviews Claire Chan, the model who plays the assassin-bride Willow of Philippine Ragnarok Online’s latest game episode, Amatsu and Kunlun: A Tale of Two Cities.
Through players' SMS votes, Willow won a romantic rivalry against Princess Li Yang Fei. Here's what Claire has to say about the results:
"It’s always been the-princess-always-gets-the-prince-and-lives-happily-ever-after thing, that it’s become a cliché. Look who’s not sticking to the conventions of society anymore... I think having the assassin, instead of the princess, marry the prince spices up the storyline. It’s more like 'OK, what happens now?' instead of 'and they lived happily ever after.'"
Cutting Edge Grassroots
My friend Marjo just sent me an SMS bragging about her 550 profile views this month on Friendster. She even challenged me get 800 on my profile before she does.
About half of all Friendster users are Filipino. The Philippines serves as the testbed for Friendster Mobile. When it comes to the Internet's first social networking technology, the Filipino consumer leads the way. ;)
About half of all Friendster users are Filipino. The Philippines serves as the testbed for Friendster Mobile. When it comes to the Internet's first social networking technology, the Filipino consumer leads the way. ;)
Shiny Happy Execs
Ever noticed how often execs use the phrase "We are pleased..." in press releases?
PR blogging pioneer Phil Gomes has, and he's created The Gomes Index Of Executive Happiness (GIEH) based on the average number of times executives use "We are pleased..." in press releases.
Last week the index stood at at 105.09, just beating the all-time high. Phil blames this on the exuberance surrounding last week's CTIA conference.
The red line is the GIEH average. The faint yellow line is a logarithmic trendline.
We are pleased.
PR blogging pioneer Phil Gomes has, and he's created The Gomes Index Of Executive Happiness (GIEH) based on the average number of times executives use "We are pleased..." in press releases.
Last week the index stood at at 105.09, just beating the all-time high. Phil blames this on the exuberance surrounding last week's CTIA conference.
The red line is the GIEH average. The faint yellow line is a logarithmic trendline.
We are pleased.
Fixer-Upper Butler
Google may well have started a search engine gold rush. Barry Diller's in for a real fixer-upper with Jeeves, though.
________________
IAC in $1.85 Bln Deal for Ask Jeeves
Mar 21, 2005 — PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorpon Monday said it would buy Web search engine Ask Jeeves Inc. for $1.85 billion to capitalize on growth in the Internet advertising and search markets.
The purchase will pit IAC more squarely against Web search giants Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. at a time when Internet media companies are again selling at steep valuations.
________________
Read on here.
________________
IAC in $1.85 Bln Deal for Ask Jeeves
Mar 21, 2005 — PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp
The purchase will pit IAC more squarely against Web search giants Google Inc.
________________
Read on here.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Huh?
It's nice to see our universe still holds mysteries waiting to be solved.
New Scientist points out 13 things that do not make sense.
New Scientist points out 13 things that do not make sense.
Meanwhile, Somewhere in the Matrix...
You know you've got cultural convergence when movie characters make significant live appearances in MMOG betas.
In the Philippines, we haven't quite reached this level of gaming as e-showbusiness -- but we're getting there. Not too long ago, I remember Filipina stars Maui Taylor and Katya Santos making live appearances in Oz World.
________________
The End of Beta Event
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was an AMAZING day in The Matrix Online Beta. The Beta came to a stunning conclusion as a war broke out between The Machines and the people of Zion. The Exiles, lead by The Merovingian, picked up and left the Matrix in order to wait for the resolution of the battle.
The Matrix Online showed for the first time the power of the story – MAJOR characters made LIVE appearances. Morpheus, Niobe, Seraph, and the Merovingian all made appearances in the game giving speeches to players and rallying them to their side. Niobe was even spotted going into battle against many Agents.
The Machines turned the sky red and filled it with all-seeing eyes. They then proceeded to hunt down INDIVIDUAL players, calling them out by name and chasing them down for deletion. Other players would rally around the named and try to defend them from the Agents.
Later in the day, Agents began spreading a Fire Virus fire that would infect all players.
Finally, the Machines succeeded in rebooting the Matrix after crumpling all players like aluminum cans in a final blow to Zion.
The entire event was reported on LIVE by Radio Free Zion. They had their DJs spread through the Matrix and would report on Agent movements, player uprisings, Morpheus sightings, and Fire Virus infestations.
You can see and hear a sample of the very end of the beta here:
http://homepage.mac.com/unshra/.Movies/UnshraDead.wmv
________________
In the Philippines, we haven't quite reached this level of gaming as e-showbusiness -- but we're getting there. Not too long ago, I remember Filipina stars Maui Taylor and Katya Santos making live appearances in Oz World.
________________
The End of Beta Event
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was an AMAZING day in The Matrix Online Beta. The Beta came to a stunning conclusion as a war broke out between The Machines and the people of Zion. The Exiles, lead by The Merovingian, picked up and left the Matrix in order to wait for the resolution of the battle.
The Matrix Online showed for the first time the power of the story – MAJOR characters made LIVE appearances. Morpheus, Niobe, Seraph, and the Merovingian all made appearances in the game giving speeches to players and rallying them to their side. Niobe was even spotted going into battle against many Agents.
The Machines turned the sky red and filled it with all-seeing eyes. They then proceeded to hunt down INDIVIDUAL players, calling them out by name and chasing them down for deletion. Other players would rally around the named and try to defend them from the Agents.
Later in the day, Agents began spreading a Fire Virus fire that would infect all players.
Finally, the Machines succeeded in rebooting the Matrix after crumpling all players like aluminum cans in a final blow to Zion.
The entire event was reported on LIVE by Radio Free Zion. They had their DJs spread through the Matrix and would report on Agent movements, player uprisings, Morpheus sightings, and Fire Virus infestations.
You can see and hear a sample of the very end of the beta here:
http://homepage.mac.com/unshra/.Movies/UnshraDead.wmv
________________
A Penny for Your Fun
Good to see an industry heavyweight like Microsoft recognizing the commercial value of in-game items. Interestingly enough, in the Philippines, prepaid micropayments for in-game items have long been available in Oz World, and more recently in Gunbound.
________________
A Little Moolah Goes a Long Way
Reuters
09:15 AM Mar. 20, 2005 PT
LOS ANGELES -- New car: $1. New helmet: 5 cents. Flashy new warrior's sword: 50 cents. Bigger baseball bat: three for $2. Magic spell to help defeat that tricky warlord on level five: 10 cents per use.
Welcome to the online store of the future -- the one embedded in your favorite video game. When Microsoft releases the new version of its video game console -- presumably this year -- it plans to include a storefront that will offer "microtransactions."
________________
Read on here.
________________
A Little Moolah Goes a Long Way
Reuters
09:15 AM Mar. 20, 2005 PT
LOS ANGELES -- New car: $1. New helmet: 5 cents. Flashy new warrior's sword: 50 cents. Bigger baseball bat: three for $2. Magic spell to help defeat that tricky warlord on level five: 10 cents per use.
Welcome to the online store of the future -- the one embedded in your favorite video game. When Microsoft releases the new version of its video game console -- presumably this year -- it plans to include a storefront that will offer "microtransactions."
________________
Read on here.
The Vanguard's Curse
Microsoft's famous blogger Robert Scoble points out that Microsoft has more that 1,500 bloggers to humanize the corporate monolith.
However, when Maan Tolentino placed a call to Microsoft Philippines to inquire about inviting Scoble to a conference, they asked... "Scoble who?"
Too many Philippine IT professionals are often so burdened with the inertia of local markets and the banality of assigned tasks that they sometimes miss out on global developments. CICT Commissioner Dondi Mapa recommends market education to relieve the former, but what can be done about the latter?
However, when Maan Tolentino placed a call to Microsoft Philippines to inquire about inviting Scoble to a conference, they asked... "Scoble who?"
Too many Philippine IT professionals are often so burdened with the inertia of local markets and the banality of assigned tasks that they sometimes miss out on global developments. CICT Commissioner Dondi Mapa recommends market education to relieve the former, but what can be done about the latter?
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Leveraging Filipino Creativity
One of the reasons Google keeps coming up with killer apps is because they have their developers devote 20% of their time to personal projects. Google's Tony Chang points out an interesting discussion on Slashdot about how to implement such a policy.
Perhaps Filipino software firms can implement similar policies to leverage Filipino creativity. After all, the Filipino student who developed the powerful Love Bug didn't exactly have that project on his curriculum.
Imagine if such independent individual initiatives were channeled towards developing innovative applications no one has dreamed of yet. Who knows what potentially earthshaking ideas are rattling around in the brains of Filipino developers? ;)
Perhaps Filipino software firms can implement similar policies to leverage Filipino creativity. After all, the Filipino student who developed the powerful Love Bug didn't exactly have that project on his curriculum.
Imagine if such independent individual initiatives were channeled towards developing innovative applications no one has dreamed of yet. Who knows what potentially earthshaking ideas are rattling around in the brains of Filipino developers? ;)
