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‘It’s Showtime’ hosts nagpaalam muna sa madlang people: ‘We’ll be right back!’
PANSAMANTALA nang namaalam ang mga host ng noontime show na “It’s Showtime.” Ito ay bago nilang tuparin ang 12-days suspension na iniutos ng Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) na magsisimula na ngayong October 14 hanggang October 27. Pagkatapos ng segment na “Tawag ng Tanghalan” nitong October 13, nagsama-sama sa stage sina Vhong Navarro, Anne Curtis, Jhong Hilario, Karylle, Ogie Alcasid, Ion Perez, Amy Perez, Ryan Bang, Teddy Corpuz, Jugs Jugueta at Cianne Dominguez upang magbigay ng mensahe sa kanilang madlang pipol. Kapansin-pansin naman na nawala si Vice Ganda sa closing spiel ng mga host, pero naroon siya sa ilang segment ng show. Baka Bet Mo: Vice Ganda: ‘Bagay si Barbie sa It’s Showtime, I love her vibe!’ “Abangan niyo po bukas ang ‘It’s Your Lucky Day,’” sey ni Vhong matapos pasalamatan ang viewers. Dagdag pa niya, “Kami naman po, sa aming pagbabalik sa Oct. 28, magsama-sama tayong muli para sa ‘Mini Ms. U’ the cutest finale.” “Madlang people, we’ll be right back! Mami-miss namin kayo pero mabilis lang ‘yan,” patuloy ni Vhong. Aniya pa, “Kaya magkikita-kita tayo ulit.” Pagkatapos niyan ay biglang nagsayawan ang mga host sa kanta ni Ogie na “Dito sa Puso Ko,” habang ang iba ay nagsasabi ng, “We love you, madlang people! We’ll miss you! See you in two weeks!” Matatandaang una nang nagpataw ang MTRCB ng 12-day suspension sa “It’s Showtime” matapos makatanggap ng ahensya ng mga reklamo ukol sa noontime show, partikular na ang naging kontrobersyal na pagkain nina Vice Ganda at Ion Perez ng icing na diumano’y sa pamamagitan ng malaswang pamamaraan sa harap ng mga batang kasama sa segment na “Isip Bata.” Naghain ng Motion for Reconsideration ang Kapamilya noontime program ngunit hindi ito pinagbigyan ng MTRCB. Habang suspendido ang show, ang papalitan diyan ay ang game variety show na “It’s Your Lucky Day” na hosted by Luis Manzano at ang mga makakasama niya riyan ay sina Robi Domingo, Melai Cantiveros, Jennica Garcia, Andrea Brillantes, Kyle Echarri, Francine Diaz at Seth Fedelin. Related Chika: Michelle Madrigal iwas muna sa social media, focus muna sa sarili at maayos na mental health Kuya Kim, Joross, Kakai kumampi kay Michael V sa isyu ng content creator: ‘Amen brother! It’s not about views, it’s about value’.....»»
MSMEs’ digital shift needs collaboration
The global Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the micro, small and medium enterprises, or MSMEs, with the economic shocks reverberating worldwide. However, the pandemic also saw an unprecedented focus on the struggling sector. Despite being diminutive in size, MSMEs make up for the shortcoming with their sheer volume, making them a source of significant contributions to the local economy. The latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed MSMEs comprised 99.52 percent of total businesses in the country, or over 998,342 Filipino enterprises delivering goods and services daily. “In the fast-paced business landscape, MSMEs are facing increased pressure to apply digital technology on their operations to remain competitive and even upscale,” Dino Velasco, the senior vice president and institutional segment marketing head at Union Bank of the Philippines, said in an interview with the Daily Tribune’s digital show Business Sense. “The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, with businesses across the globe, regardless of size, rapidly adopting digitalization to survive and thrive in the so-called new normal,” he added. UnionBank ceded it could not take the whole task by itself. It needed to partner with stakeholders to address the enormity of the challenge. Foremost in the task is the geography of the Philippines with 7,641 islands which are broadly categorized in three main geographical divisions from north to south. Some of these islands are off-grid, which requires powering up first before they can be connected digitally and served by traditional financing facilities, like UnionBank. “We also do understand and accept the fact that we cannot do it alone. For us at UnionBank, it’s very important to work with partners and we do have partners both in the technology space and in the brick-and-mortar space that allow us to expand or reach even further. Going beyond the 80 percent of the population that are connected and reach the other 20 percent off-grid,” Velasco added. Looking at the Philippine financial landscape, the fintech space has evolved, with telcos, power providers and distributors, money business services, logistics, and others, who are present in off-grid communities as part of the whole-of-nation approach to achieving financial inclusion. Velasco went on, “We continue to partner with these vital stakeholders so that we can provide and extend our financial services to the markets in those areas.” GlobalLinker The greatest hurdles to the successful adoption of digital technology among MSME is overcoming the lack of expertise and good practices, and the associated costs. For a broader uptake of digital tools for these sectors, there needs to be more widely available standardized and even ready templates that the MSMEs can use like a plug-and-play setup. These ready templates would help avoid the appearance of costly and complicated tools and potentially enhance the opportunities for MSMEs to achieve sustainability. “That has always been the challenge for technology, not just for banking, but a lot of industries. How do we educate the more senior segment of the population,” Velasco replied when queried on how to educate MSMEs to embrace digital tools to advance sustainability. Velasco added: “What works is to educate the influencers for that more senior population of the segment. A lot of the small businesses today have in the past, involved other members of the family in running their businesses and they become part of educating those who are trying to use technology for the first time. We noticed that we can adapt that strategy by involving these family members who influence the other members, especially those who are already digitally savvy.” In addition, UnionBank has launched the Global Linker, an online platform designed for e-Commerce that allows users or MSMEs to create their website, while also offering them the opportunity to manage their inventories and link up with other merchants, suppliers, and even resellers. The UnionBank GlobalLinker is a digital SME online platform that aims to digitize SMEs in the country. To create trade fairs and online marketplaces for Filipinos all over the country, we are dedicated to the digital education of all Filipino SMEs. Velasco explained that after creating their website through GlobalLinker, the merchants are now accessible to potential clients “wherever there may be, here or outside the Philippines.” “Imagine if you are an exporter from the Philippines and you have a potential client from India. Because of GlobalLinker, you can communicate with each other and ensure that the goods and services can be ordered and delivered to your client overseas. More importantly, this e-Commerce site is equipped with the necessary tools in ways by which customers can settle or pay digitally,” he said. Velasco continued, “And if you are using our MSME Business Banking app, you can transact overseas and pay someone using Swift (code). Basically, the GlobalLinker is business networking for MSMEs and startups.” Mobile app introduced In the age of a growing demand for digital presence, Velasco said it goes unsaid that UnionBank sees the need for digital technology as a critical tool for MSMEs that want to grow or expand. “What we’re focusing on is to feature our MSME Mobile Business Banking App that we developed to answer the needs of our customers from beginning to end,” Velasco said. “Meaning end-to-end from the time a small business owner needs to apply for an account to the time when they need to manage their businesses. Using the app right solely instead of going to other channels where they need to get out of their offices and go to the branch.” The UnionBank mobile app aims to educate its users to allow the app to let “everything happen while they’re using the app or the platform.” The app also aims to create solutions for the users, like the QR code feature to allow merchants to accept payments from their customers. “It is really an end-to-end feature from account opening to transferring funds, to paying suppliers to accept payments from their customers and up to even applying for a loan facility,” Velasco added. The mobile app is something UnionBank wants to make available in the hands of its customers by simply accessing the mobile banking app for MSMEs. Necessary journey It is no longer a choice for MSMEs. Digitalization is now a necessary journey that all MSMEs must embrace to survive and succeed. Using digital technology may save significant costs for the MSMEs, while at the same time enhancing their operations, sales, marketing, and presence. A digitized MSME may also see increased productivity and efficiency, and improved customer service. But digitalization also comes with several challenges, including technological know-how, funding, and even data security. UnionBank of the Philippines is offering several platforms to solve these challenges. All you have to do is click and download their digital platform offerings. UnionBank is committed to helping MSMEs achieve their digital transformation goals, with their expertise and cost-effective solutions. The post MSMEs’ digital shift needs collaboration appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Rewards, innovations, sustainability
Globe, the mobile leader and top digital solutions provider in the Philippines, is redefining customer appreciation with its annual G Day celebration, which brings together life-enabling tools and rewards in line with its mission to uplift the lives of Filipinos. Stretching beyond the date of 17 September (09/17) or 0917, which represents Globe’s mobile number prefix, this month-long celebration offers Globe customers digital innovations and next-gen tech experiences. Globe is also committed to using the G Day platform to reiterate its message of environmental sustainability. Throughout its G Day events and activities, Globe is championing sustainability by encouraging customers to observe eco-friendly and socially-conscious practices through small acts, from proper waste disposal and avoidance of single-use plastics to using sustainable transport through the use of Globe’s electric vehicle shuttles to and from event venues, or via carpooling. Customers are also encouraged to support advocacies such as the Hapag Movement, the Globe-led initia-tive that aims to address involuntary hunger through supplemental feeding and livelihood training. G Chance The Raffle. Globe customers can use their Rewards points to redeem raffle entries via the GlobeOne App. G Chance The Raffle can also kick-start online businesses and equip aspiring vloggers, giving them a chance to learn the ropes from industry leaders such as YouTube, Meta and TikTok. Winners will get access to premium subscriptions such as the RUSH Spark Lite e-Store Platform and Canva Pro, along with the tools they would need in their creator or business owner journey. Techies can win the latest intelligent gadgets, and for shopaholics, Globe is giving away a shopping spree at Puregold, plus GCash prizes and more. Customers can redeem entries until 30 September 2023. G Music Fest. G Music Fest, now on its fourth year, is making an even bigger comeback as a music and creator Festival. With a focus on celebrating local talent, this year will feature an all-Pinoy lineup: Urbandub, December Avenue, Lola Amour, Dilaw, PLAYERTWO, Paul Pablo, Sugarcane, The Itchyworms, Mayonnaise, Ace Ban-zuelo, Nobita, Munimuni and Syd Hartha at Circuit Grounds in Makati on 16 September. Beyond inspiration through music, the festival’s Creator Hub will encourage self-expression, learning and creativity through various art and community building activities such as live murals and painting with Drip Splash and Paint It Fun. G Creator Con. On 17 September, G Creator Con aims to unlock the creative potential of each Filipino in the music, content design and technology space. The event, to be held simultaneously at The Globe Tower, BGC Amphitheater and Globe Creator House, transforms BGC into an art and tech city powered by Globe and serves as a springboard for Globe’s Creator Culture, a long-term program combining thought-leadership, creative tech experiences and rewarding opportunities through creator project grants. Creator Talks will feature speakers from Meta, YouTube, DTI Design Center, Myx, Social Media Marketing PH, Bitskwela, and creative thought-leaders Nadine Lustre, Mela Habijan, Pat Tinguy, Eva Le Queen, Pio Dumayas of Lola Amour as panelists. G Fair. To be held on 23 to 24 September the following weekend also at the BGC Amphitheater, the art and tech pop-up market G Fair will showcase Filipino entrepreneurs and artists. With curated micro, small and medium-size enterprises and artists from MoCAF (Modern and Contemporary Art Festival), the bazaar will offer a blend of homegrown businesses and art. G Battle Zone: G Legends Cup and REV Major. Gaming enthusiasts can participate in an online nationwide Mobile Legends tournament, the G Legends Cup, on 23 to 30 September. Winners will receive cash prizes and a chance to meet, greet and even scrim with Globe’s main gaming ambassador Blacklist International. Gamers may also join the Philippines’ largest fighting game tournament, REV Major 2023, to be held at the SMX Convention Center on 30 September and 1 October. Here, the best of Pinoy gamers will play against international fighting game esports athletes. Attendees will also enjoy exclusive giveaways from Globe’s partners such as GrabCar, Move It and Foodpanda. For more information on the G Day events, download and explore the GlobeOne app or visit glbe.co/GDayEveryday. The post Rewards, innovations, sustainability appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Maduro seals ‘fly me to the Moon’ pact with Xi
The first Venezuelan Moon walker is in the making as its president, Nicolas Maduro has sealed a scientific cooperation deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing. Maduro announced during his meeting with Xi on Wednesday that the two countries had agreed to train young Venezuelan astronauts in China, with plans to eventually send them to the Moon. On Thursday, he hailed the agreement. In a video posted Thursday on social media, Maduro said: “Where we’re heading is for the Moon, to a splendid era for China and Venezuela.” A special task team “on scientific, technological, industrial and aerospace cooperation will sooner rather than later (send) the first Venezuelan man and woman to the moon in a Chinese spacecraft,” the Venezuelan leader said. “Very soon, Venezuelan youth will come here to prepare as astronauts in Chinese schools,” he added. China is pursuing plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and build a base there. The world’s second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space program in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia. China maintains close relations with the internationally isolated Maduro government and is one of Venezuela’s main creditors. Speaking at a press conference Thursday as he wrapped up his China trip, Maduro showed off two gifts from Xi, including a Huawei folding mobile phone. “It is the most secure phone, impossible to break into,” he said. The post Maduro seals ‘fly me to the Moon’ pact with Xi appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
A Chinaman’s chance
(Lest anyone take quick offense, let me say at the outset that I am not a racist. My use of the term is simply for purposes of this column and for context.) Before people became overly sensitive about perceived racist remarks, we used to say — when someone had only a remote chance of succeeding at something — “he doesn’t have a Chinaman’s chance.” I was reminded of that phrase recently when Huawei, one of China’s biggest phone companies, released two weeks ago the Mate 60 Pro, its latest flagship phone, without much fanfare. And never had such a quiet launch made so much noise around the globe. For a bit of context, during the Trump administration, an oppressive trade sanction was put in place by the United States against the selling of advanced microprocessors to Chinese companies, in order to prevent the Chinese from catching up with the US in 5G technology. Not only was the ban imposed on American manufacturers, but pressure was also brought to bear on chip makers in other countries allied with the US. The first to dutifully comply was Korean electronics giant Samsung, which must have regretted its decision, seeing as how it lost 60 percent of its sales almost overnight. For a while, Huawei was in a panic, as it halted the production of 5G phones when stockpiles of the banned chips ran out; for a while, it was reduced to selling mobile phones with obsolescent technology. But the Americans and their cronies did not count on the resilience of the Chinese people, a relentlessness that has helped its civilization survive after more than 2,000 years of foreign intervention. Forced to do without imported chips, Huawei focused all its efforts on developing a substitute. In a couple of years, its team of hundreds of technology experts, mathematicians, engineers, and metallurgists did the seemingly impossible: They created a 5G chip without any help from anyone. One could, therefore, not fault Huawei for releasing its 5G phone at the very same time that US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was in Beijing on an official visit — as if to say, “In your face, America!” This Chinese triumph is but one of many instances where US attempts to undermine Chinese trade backfired big time on America. In 2011, China was banned by the US Congress from joining the Space Station program of NASA. China promptly built its own space station, the Tiangong, 10 years later. Sometime after, when America was developing the Global Positioning System, it also shut out China, which then launched its own satellites to power its own positioning system. The West also demonized China for being the “world’s biggest carbon polluter,” so its factories started working on lithium-ion batteries (90 percent of whose raw materials are mined in China) and now it dominates the electric car market worldwide. Using the status of the dollar as a world currency, the West imposed other trade sanctions on China, thus impelling it to put up its own version of the World Bank and organizing the BRICS countries that will no longer use the dollar as a medium of exchange. A total of 721 big Chinese companies were blacklisted from trading with US corporations; the Chinese started trading with most of the emerging economies and became the second largest economy in the world. It would appear that it still hasn’t sunk in with the American leaders that their days of global hegemony are long over. There is a new challenger on the scene whose government is more committed to making it stronger economically, militarily, and diplomatically. As the new generation of Americans struggles with questions of pronouns, transitioning, decriminalizing robbery and drug use, and legalizing abortion, the young people of China are concentrating on mastering math and technology, becoming part of a disciplined army, building their GDP, and making their society orderly and crime-free. If this keeps up, it will be America that will, ironically, not have a Chinaman’s chance to prevail. The post A Chinaman’s chance appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Crackdown vs text blasters up
The Department of Information and Communications Technology, or DICT, is cracking down on fraudsters who use cheap, China-made text-blasting machines to boost the electoral campaigns of their clients. DICT Undersecretary Alex Ramos said they will clamp down on the proliferation of scam and spam messages plaguing users despite the SIM Registration Act being in place. It will also be timely as the barangay and youth elections are near, he added. Ramos recalled that government authorities had previously confiscated text blast machines used to send messages en masse to multiple mobile numbers. “Those text machines were very popular during campaign periods and they are now very cheap. We [have] seized a lot of these machines,” he said. Despite having a SIM law, fraudsters are still able to find new ways to hack into phones and computers, this time using over-the-top or OTT media services such as chat apps, which are outside the scope of telco filters. The DICT official urged consumers to be more proactive and not fall for various online ruses by malevolent players capitalizing on the increasing shift by people to a digital lifestyle. Cybercriminals use the target’s full name and pretend to be messaging them about a missed connection or make various offers. They create a sense of familiarity and trust in an attempt to start a conversation. The SIM Registration Act was envisioned to address escalating cybercrime in the country, including the proliferation of smishing and other forms of scam and spam messaging. The law mandated all mobile phone and prepaid broadband users to register their SIMs by 25 July or face SIM deactivation. A deactivated SIM card can potentially affect several aspects of a person’s life. For instance, it will cut their access to online banking, e-commerce, transportation, healthcare, education, and entertainment, among other things. The post Crackdown vs text blasters up appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Globe brushes off SIM listing impact
Ayala-backed Globe Telecom Inc. hurdled the mandated subscriber identity module, or SIM, registration unscathed as its mobile business revenues remained robust. The company’s mobile business slightly grew in the first half with P54.8 billion in revenues, a one percent increase from the P54 billion a year ago. “We see that SIM registration has no material impact on revenues. We’ve observed our top-ups remain unaffected and acquisitions in the last five weeks are still at least 50 percent higher than pre-deadline run rates,” Darius Delgado, head of Globe Consumer Mobile Business, said. He added: “It’s evident that we have already covered 99 percent of our revenue base.” 30M churned Delgado explained that the 30 million unregistered SIMs Globe deactivated after the SIM registration deadline are predominantly inactive. They were the result of push-selling activities in the past, which were discontinued in the latter part of 2022. Globe’s 53.7 million registered SIMs account for over 99 percent of its revenue-generating subscriber base, consistent with company guidance that the SIM registration exercise will not have any impact on its top-line results for the year. The SIM Registration Act mandated all mobile phone and prepaid broadband users to register their existing SIMs by 25 July, or face SIM deactivation. It was implemented to curb the spread of scams and spam messages. Meanwhile, Issa Guevarra-Cabreira, chief commercial officer of Globe, reiterated the company’s focus on customer quality over quantity. “As we’ve always emphasized, we do not focus on subscriber count but rather on the quality of customers. And we have seen that our ARPUs are improving quarter on quarter as mobility increases,” she said. “This is despite the headwinds that we’re anticipating in the back half, perhaps driven also by the back-to-school and the economic activity that has returned to the country,” she added. The post Globe brushes off SIM listing impact appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tech’s carbon footprint: can AI revolutionize responsibly?
Across the globe, data servers are humming, consuming both megawatts and precious natural resources to bring life to our digital world. The planet's 8,000 or so data centers are the foundation of our online existence and will grow ever further with the advent of artificial intelligence -- so much so that research estimates that by 2025, the IT industry could use 20 percent of all electricity produced, and emit up to 5.5 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. This poses a real -- and to some, increasingly urgent -- question about the industry's carbon footprint as startups and companies fall behind Silicon Valley's latest forward march. "Pandora's box is open," said Arun Iyengar, CEO of Untether AI, a highly specialized chip-making company that strives to make AI more energy efficient. "We can utilize AI in ways that enhance the climate requirements or we can ignore the climate requirements and find ourselves facing the consequences in a decade or so in terms of the impact." The transformation of the world's data servers to AI readiness is already well underway, in what one Google executive called a "once-in-a-generation inflection point in computing." But the scope of the mission is huge. The creation of generative AI tools such as GPT-4, which powers ChatGPT, or Google's Palm2, behind the bot Bard, can be broken into two key stages, the actual "training" and then the execution (or "inference"). In 2019, University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers trained several large language models and found that training a single AI model can emit the CO2 emission equivalent of five cars over their lifetimes. A more recent study by Google and the University of California, Berkeley, reported that training GPT-3 resulted in 552 metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to driving a passenger vehicle 1.24 million miles (2 million kilometers). OpenAI's latest generation model, GPT-4, is trained on around 570 times more parameters -- or inputs -- than GPT-3, and the scale of these systems will only grow as AI becomes more powerful and ubiquitous. Nvidia, AI's chip giant, provides the processors that are indispensable for training, known as GPUs. And while they are more energy efficient than typical chips, they remain formidable consumers of power. The ChatGPT 'problem' The other side of generative AI is deployment, or inference: when the trained model is applied to identify objects, respond to text prompts or whatever the use case may be. Deployment doesn't necessarily need the computing heft of an Nvidia chip but taken cumulatively, the endless interactions in the real world far outweigh training in terms of workload. "Inference is going to be even more of a problem now with ChatGPT, which can be used by anyone and integrated into daily life through apps and web searches," said Lynn Kaack, assistant professor of computer science at the Hertie School in Berlin. The biggest cloud companies insist that they are committed to being as energy-efficient as possible. Amazon Web Services pledges to be carbon-neutral by 2040 while Microsoft has pledged to be carbon-negative by 2030. The latest evidence that the companies are serious about energy efficiency is reassuring. Between 2010 and 2018, global data center energy use rose by only 6 percent, despite a 550 percent increase in workloads and computing instances, according to the International Energy Agency. 'Backwards' thinking Silicon Valley's AI tycoons believe discussions of AI's current carbon footprint are beside the point, and underplay its revolutionary potential. The naysayers have it "backwards," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told reporters on a recent visit to his company's headquarters in California. The mass deployment of AI and faster computing will in the end diminish the need to go to the world's data clouds, he argued. AI's superpowers will turn your laptop, car, or device in your pocket into an energy-efficient supercomputer without the need to "retrieve" data from the cloud. "In the future, there'll be a little tiny model that sits on your phone and 90 percent of the pixels will be generated, 10 percent will be retrieved, instead of 100 percent retrieved -- and so you're going to save (energy)," he said. OpenAI's Sam Altman meanwhile believes that AI will soon enough be able to build humanity a completely new future. "I think once we have a really powerful super intelligence, addressing climate change will not be particularly difficult," Altman said recently. "This illustrates how big we should dream... Think about a system where you can say, 'Tell me how to make a lot of clean energy cheaply, tell me how to efficiently capture carbon, and tell me how to build a factory to do this at planetary scale.'" But some experts worry that the mad dash for AI has elbowed out fears about the planet, at least for now. "Large corporations are spending a lot of money right now deploying AI. I don't think they are thinking about the environmental impact yet," said Untether AI's Iyengar. But, he added: "I think that is coming." The post Tech’s carbon footprint: can AI revolutionize responsibly? appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ejercito’s son fell victim to SMS scammers
The son of Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito became one of the latest victims of scammers who prey on their innocent victims through mobile text messaging or SMS. In a virtual interview, Ejercito narrated how his son, Emilio, was scammed by an unidentified phone caller despite the imposition of the mandatory SIM card registration law last month. “It happened, I think, around last month only. We already reported it to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) Cybercrime Division,” he told reporters on Friday. “What is worrisome here is it looks like an inside job,” he added. He noted that his son received several calls asking for his information after he received a credit card from his bank. “What puzzles us is that they knew his information; hence, I said it is an inside job. They know his background and everything about him,” he said. “So maybe, the kid, being naïve, thought it was legitimate because they knew his information his address, birthday, parents, and school. He gave the OTP,” he added. The OTP or one-time password is one of the most common authentication methods utilized by banks which they send to their clients through text messages. “To cut a long story short, the savings which I’ve been giving him for several years were cleaned up,” Ejercito said. “This kid is very frugal, he doesn’t spend a lot. Every time I gave him money during Christmas or birthdays, he really saved it up,” he added. The lawmaker said that the amount scammers took from his son ranged from P100,000 to P120,000. “That is why I am really saddened by this because he really saved it through the years,” he said. Due to the incident, Ejercito said he would support the inclusion of P300 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds in the 2024 proposed budget for the Department of Information and Communications Technology. “That is why if the DICT would really use it for anti-fraud or cyber [security] then I would support it,” he said. In a statement, Budget Assistant Secretary Mary Anne de la Vega said the additional P300 million in DICT’s CIF will cover the agency’s cyber security programs. The post Ejercito’s son fell victim to SMS scammers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biggest-ever airliner order marks first day of Paris Air Show
European aircraft maker Airbus got the Paris Air Show off to a soaring start on Monday with the announcement of the biggest-ever order for civil aircraft, as the French president joined a big crowd for the event's return after a four-year Covid hiatus. The 500-plane deal with low-cost Indian carrier IndiGo kicked off what organizers have billed as the "recovery airshow" after the coronavirus ravaged the sector and the biennial trade fair was canceled in 2021. Fighter jets and civilian aircraft streaked across the sky while suited and uniformed delegations, including Ukrainian military officials and President Emmanuel Macron, toured the stands. This year's airshow has a new focus on defence following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the industry's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, with French President Emmanuel Macron arriving in a helicopter partly using sustainable aviation fuel. Macron called for "restraint" to protect the environment but said measures for aviation should be "reasonable" rather than "punitive", adding that the world shouldn't "give up on growth". Huge traffic jams around Le Bourget airport outside Paris were a testament to the interest in this year's show, as aircraft makers field hundreds of orders and airlines brace for a near-record number of passengers this year. The Ukraine conflict has also prompted countries to boost military spending, which could benefit aerospace defense firms. While Russia has been excluded from the event, Ukrainian military officials toured the huge exhibition space at Paris-Le Bourget airport, some taking photos of missiles on display. Passion for air hasn't disappeared Macron announced that Belgium is to be admitted as an observer to the French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System program, which is seeking to develop the next generation of air combat technology. Macron, closing a ministerial conference on European air defense, called it a " major development". The FCAS is due to come into service by 2040 but has already suffered numerous delays. Also on the military front, Macron said that France, Estonia, Hungary, Belgium, and Cyprus are to jointly purchase Mistral short-range surface-to-air missiles. "This is a very fine example of sovereign cooperation between Europeans on a range that is entirely relevant and that was not sufficiently covered", the French leader said. There was star turns for the Rafale fighter made by France's Dassault and the American F-35 jet, with hundreds of visitors turning their phone cameras skyward and some plugging their ears against the deafening flypasts. Le Bourget offers a forum to announce deals with some 2,500 firms lining up to show off their latest planes, drones, helicopters and prototypes such as flying taxis. With 125,000 square meters (1,350,000 square feet) of exhibition space -- the equivalent of nearly 18 football pitches -- around 320,000 visitors are expected during the week-long event. "Passion for the air hasn't disappeared, that's good news," said Bertrand Godinot, easyJet's Netherlands and France director. Big deals Along with the Farnborough airshow in England, which takes place in even-numbered years, Le Bourget is a key sales event for the civil and defence industries. Airbus and rival Boeing compete fiercely in announcing orders for aircraft running into the billions of dollars. Monday's IndiGo-Airbus deal covers A320 family planes at a list price of $55 billion. Although closely held actual sale prices are usually lower, it marks the largest ever civil aviation order by volume, hailed by Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury as "an enormous milestone". Airbus and Boeing are also battling to solidify supply chains as they increase production to meet growing demand. The United States has a strong presence with 425 exhibitors, while firms from 46 other nations are present. China, which lifted Covid restrictions only at the beginning of this year, is also represented. However, Beijing is not displaying its first homegrown medium-haul passenger jet, the C919, built to compete with the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX. Flying taxis The airshow also hopes to open a window into the future as projects for flying taxis and other vertical take-off aircraft abound. Several prototypes will be on display as part of a "Paris Air Mobility" exhibition to showcase the latest innovations that developers hope will change how people travel. Macron arrived aboard Airbus' latest helicopter, the H160, in a flight fuelled with 30 percent sustainable aviation fuel before visiting the European group's stand where it laid out its net-zero-by-2050 plan. Macron had on Friday announced $2.2 billion to help develop technologies to reduce aircraft emissions. Air travel accounts for nearly three percent of global CO2 emissions but serves only a small minority of the world's population. With the industry targeting net zero emissions by mid-century, firms are turbocharging efforts to achieve it. The initial focus is on SAF, made from sources such as municipal waste and agricultural waste. But companies are also working to develop battery- and hydrogen-powered aircraft. The post Biggest-ever airliner order marks first day of Paris Air Show appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
SB19 massive fanbase come their defense regarding creative rights
The hashtag #RespectLocalArtists trended on twitter all day today 11 June. This is in reference to fans of Ppop idol group SB19, referred to as A’tin, defending the group from insinuations that they were being less than generous in not allowing their massive hit Gento to be played without compensation in local programs. Noontime show “It’s Showtime” has been playing excerpts of their hit Gento on their Isip Bata segment as the children love dancing to it. A twitter user excerpted a conversation between hosts Vice Ganda and Anne Curtis saying they were no longer allowed to play the song because they needed to pay for the right to play it. A’tin fans took to social media to say artists deserve to be properly compensated for their work, and other co-artists, such as the hosts of the show, more than anyone should understand that creative output is not given away for free. Gento debuted at number 8 on the Billboard charts and millions have already performed their versions of the choreography on Tiktok. The post SB19 massive fanbase come their defense regarding creative rights appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Leveled up smartphone’s midrange game
When it comes to phones, we want something that can provide flawless performance and a "premium feel," yet they usually come at a high price. Thankfully, the new Samsung Galaxy A54 5G eliminates the need for compromise by providing the best of both worlds. Here are some ways that the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G delivers an awesome flagship-like experience at its mid-range price: High-End Aesthetic Feels One of the first things we consider for a phone is the captivating design, something that matches our #aesthetic and something we can be proud to whip out any time when we are with friends—this is what the Galaxy A54 5G delivers; a premium look that is chic and classy at the same time. Taking its design cues from the ultra-elegant Samsung Galaxy S23 series, the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is also flaunting a revamped design similar to the flagship line; with Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and back for a premium look, a plastic frame that’s slightly rounded at the side to give you a more comfortable grip and a more high-end in-hand feel of the phone. When it comes to colors, the A54 5G comes in vibrant shades sure to appeal to Gen Z vibes; the funky Awesome Lime, and the classic Awesome Graphite, with the modern-looking Awesome Violet as an online-only offer, giving a nice contrast from the classic shades of the Galaxy S23 series. It also has a refreshed camera module design, getting rid of the camera bump from the latter version, which complements the high-end look of the phone. And like the Galaxy S23 series, this phone also boasts an IP67 water and dust resistance rating, so you are in the clear from both the occasional splash and taking it on the road this summer. Awesome camera In terms of photography, the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G delivers outstanding performance with its triple back camera setup, which lets you capture awesome moments from various perspectives. The new 50MP f/1.8 main camera has a larger sensor with a 1.0µm pixel size that can capture brighter shots than the 64MP f/1.8 primary lens on the Galaxy A53, which has a 0.8µm pixel size. At the back, there is also a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens and a 5MP f/2.4 macro lens. Endless selfies can be taken with a 32MP f/2.2 front-facing camera. The camera’s night mode will let you capture amazing memories in low-light conditions with ease. When it comes to display, this phone packs a brilliant 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel—which falls in between the Galaxy S23’s 6.1-inch panel and the Galaxy S23+’s 6.6-inch display—with a 120Hz refresh rate and crisp Full HD+ resolution for a watching experience like no other. You can even have an immersive viewing experience even in harsh lighting conditions, thanks to its brightness that comes up to 1000 nits. Impeccable performance Inside the premium-looking casing of this phone, you’ll find the in-house Exynos 1380 which keeps the Always-On display. It’s backed by 8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of expandable storage and ultra-fast 5G connectivity, giving you fast performance and more time for work or play, and wide storage for keeping files or awesome memories captured with your phone. Like the Galaxy S23 series, the Galaxy A54 5G also has a 5,000mAh battery that provides up to two days of battery life on a single charge, with video playing lasting up to 21 hours*, so you can be uninterrupted as you watch your favorite shows, play mobile games, or just scroll through social media. Free-handed personalization The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G also runs on Android 13 with Samsung's One UI 5.1, which allows you to personalize your phone’s display. You can also enhance pictures with features such as the Object Eraser, which removes unwanted objects in pictures, and the Remaster Mode, which optimizes photos by boosting their color and clarity. The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G also offers the best-in-class OS and security updates that you won’t get with any other Android brands in the market. For a worry-free ownership experience, this phone provides up to five years of security upgrades, with features that let you protect your personal information and precious memories. It also offers four generations of Android OS updates that will make sure that your phone keeps up with the latest advancements in the Android system. So what are you waiting for? Get your own Samsung Galaxy A54 5G and get freebies worth up to PHP9,900! You can get a free 25W travel adapter for the whole month of May 1. You can also get a free clear phone case from May 12 to May 31 and if you’re waiting for the payday weekend, you can bring home the Galaxy A54 5G with a free Buds Live2, the perfect accessory partner for the Galaxy A series. The Galaxy A54 5G retails for only PHP 26,990 for the 256GB variant and PHP 24,990 for the 128GB variant and comes in three trendy colors: Awesome Graphite, Awesome Lime, and the online-exclusive Awesome Violet—a friendly price for a phone that gives you the high-end vibes and functionality! Secure your own Galaxy A54 5G with awesome deals, such as Home Credit's flexible payment options and 0% Credit Card installment plans. If you wish to trade in your old gadget, you can save up to PHP 10,150. Bundle discounts with other Samsung devices are also available: get 50% off the Galaxy Buds2 Pro and Galaxy Buds2, and 30% off the Galaxy Watch5 Series. You will also continue to receive a Free Travel Adapter with your phone. The post Leveled up smartphone’s midrange game appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
beep powers QR payment in LRT1, enhancing commuting experience
AF Payments, Inc., the operator of the beep card, is pleased to announce the successful launch of Maya’s and Light Rail Manila Corporation’s (LRMC) QR payment system in LRT1. This new and convenient payment option—which is enabled by beep’s technology—was warmly received by train commuters, who can now effortlessly purchase QR codes through their smartphones. “The overwhelming adoption of QR since the service’s launch demonstrates commuters’ willingness to embrace more diverse payment options that facilitate faster and more convenient commutes. Alongside the tap-in and tap-out functionality of beep cards, QR offers an excellent alternative to Single Journey Ticket users, allowing them to skip the lines and enjoy faster travel times. The core mission of AF Payments, Inc. is to provide commuters with convenient, fast, and secure payment solutions, transforming daily commuting into a more efficient, productive, and pleasant experience for everyone,” says JJ Moreno, the president & CEO of AF Payments, Inc. Making payments via QR is made incredibly simple by following these steps: 1. Open your Maya app and navigate to the Services section. 2. Select the LRT-1 tile under the Lifestyle category. 3. Choose your desired route (Northbound or Southbound) and set both the origin and destination. 4. Click on Pay Now. Your QR ticket will be instantly generated. 5. Scan your QR ticket using the turnstile QR scanners at LRT1 stations. LRT1 QR tickets, which will be valid for 24 hours, may be conveniently purchased through the Maya and LRMC’s ikotMNL apps, and eventually through the beep app. The LRT1 trains cater to passengers from Monumento to Baclaran. “Fast lane” turnstiles with QR readers are located in all LRT1 stops, including Balintawak and Roosevelt stations along EDSA. “AF Payments remains committed to providing innovative enabling technologies to projects that enhance the commuting experience of Filipinos. We strongly believe that Filipino commuters deserve nothing less than the best and latest micropayment solutions that cater to their evolving needs,” Mr. Moreno added. The recently launched QR ticketing setup at LRT1 was based primarily on the QR Code Application for Transport (QCAT) format, an open-source set of specifications and documents published by AFPI that defines a QR code-based ticketing system applied to different modes of transportation. QCAT defines the structure and format of the QR Code payload of a ticket. The QR ticket is generated and issued through a mobile-based application and is then scanned and validated as trip fare media or ticket. A backend repository captures these QR ticket transactions and are processed, cleared, and settled based on agreed business rules between the QR ticket issuer, acceptor, and transport operator. Before its introduction in the rail sector, QCAT was successfully applied in both bus transport (with the BGC Bus network in Taguig) and inter-island ferry terminals (with Topline Express Ferry in Cebu). These two transport use cases replaced the manually validated paper ticketing process to ensure quicker validation and a hassle-free commuting experience. With QR ticketing based on the QCAT format, passengers are given another cashless option for a fast, seamless, hassle-free, and convenient commuting experience. The post beep powers QR payment in LRT1, enhancing commuting experience appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Korea hosts biggest international garden expo
Looking for a place abroad where you can communicate with nature? Voila! Korea is hosting this year’s biggest International Garden Expo, allowing everyone to access green space and experience beautiful landscape gardens with refreshing air in the area. With the theme “Life Inside Gardens,” the ongoing 2023 Suncheoman International Garden Expo will run until 31 October. It targets to attract up to eight million visitors, including 320,000 foreigners from different countries all over the world. This initiative aims to promote green infrastructures, gain international participation in climate change response, foster a garden industry as well as revitalize ecology and the garden-based tourism industry. It features National Garden that provides tourists a place to rest and contemplate the relaxing views of urban gardening. [caption id="attachment_134410" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Landscape garden. The surrounding farmland from the city center to the Suncheon Bay wetland features large-scale landscape gardening.[/caption] The program was originated by the civic groups that initiated the Suncheon Bay conservation seeking the permanent preservation of the city wetland. The Garden Expo 2023, located in Suncheon City, southeast of Jeollanam-do province, is officially recognized by the Korean government and the International Association of Horticultural Producers. Korea previously hosted the first-ever International Suncheon Bay Garden Expo serving more than 4.4 million tourists in the same period in 2013. This year’s expo covers an area of 1.93 million square meters — the size of 234 soccer fields and twice as large as the last edition’s a decade ago. An estimated 2.5 million flowers of 120 types and 828,700 trees of 446 types were planted for the occasion. It also features the Suncheonman Wetland, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage area, and the Downtown Suncheon area. Inside the area, the Garden Dream Boats transport visitors to Dongcheon Stream that crosses the city›s old downtown to reach Suncheonman Bay. The four vessels can each accommodate a maximum of 12 passengers and one up to 20 from Suncheon Station ferry dock to the Suncheon Lake Garden inside Suncheonman Bay National Garden. The 1.03 km-long road near the exhibition that starts from Dongcheon Reservoir to the south gate was transformed into a Green Island -- by filling it with soil and laying grass. The expo forms part of the Korean government’s tourism campaign #KoreaNaTayo for Filipinos, inviting us to also visit their countryside. The Korea Tourism Organization is urging tourists to visit the expo before it ends in October. Application for the expo tickets can be done by a group of 20 locals and 10 foreign visitors via online through the mobile apps or websites of Interpark Tickets and Yanolja. The post Korea hosts biggest international garden expo appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Upskilling Filipinos helps bridge jobs gap
Filipinos should develop tech skills to secure future jobs. India’s Tata Consulting Services said Filipinos must expand skills from English proficiency to technology skills to secure jobs of the future. Shiju K. Varghese, country head for Tata Consultancy Services Inc. in the Philippines, said Filipinos speak more like native English speakers, unlike other races with mother tongue influence or obviously different pronunciation of English words. “When we started expanding, obviously, we wanted to leverage the talent pool that is available in the local market, which is language,” he said Tuesday on the Daily Tribune’s show Straight Talk. English useful for BPO Filipinos’ English skills have been useful in the firm’s voice operations for contact services or business process outsourcing. “But that was the story back in 2008 to 2010. We are less into contact centers now and we have more end-to-end solutions,” Varghese said. Tata has expanded to providing information technology or IT services to businesses, such as cloud, cybersecurity and data analytics. Varghese said these are used in manufacturing, infrastructure, telecommunications and banking industries. “The industry is moving from voice-centric industry to technology-centric industry. The Philippines is gearing up for that but there is a bit of a gap in terms of the pool availability for some of the skills,” he said. To address this problem, Varghese said Tata is working with the Department of Education to heighten interest of Filipino students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math or STEM. He said the Philippines has a big population of energetic workers and students to be tapped to help technology firms serve customers. “By promoting STEM education, we’re trying to bridge the gap between the pool which is available to be employed by the IT industry versus what’s really out in the market.” Half of the Philippine population are aged 25 and below, according to government data. For comparison, half of Japan are people 45 years and below. Applying STEM Varghese said Tata has approached at least 400 schools to teach students to apply STEM to various, actual problems. “We help them identify a problem within their community and find a solution for that problem. And we help them build applications, mobile apps and tools which can address those challenges.” Varghese observed many Filipinos are educated but somehow slow in turning knowledge to problem solutions. “I think the Philippines is the second largest producer of certified public accountants, but when they come to employer space and they will have to be hired, you’ll see their applicability of what they learn is low or not able to apply their theoretical knowledge into the practical world.” Still, Varghese is optimistic Filipinos can acquire IT skills as Tata helps build the proper training programs and conducive environments for the IT industry. “They can always be trained for something new and given a new opportunity, new environment for them to succeed. It’s never people who fail by themselves but because we have not probably given them the right opportunity.” The post Upskilling Filipinos helps bridge jobs gap appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Europe’s JUICE mission to launch for Jupiter’s icy moons
The European Space Agency's JUICE spacecraft is to blast off Thursday on an eight-year journey through the Solar System to discover whether Jupiter's icy moons are capable of hosting extraterrestrial life in their vast, hidden oceans. The JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE) has received the green light for its scheduled launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 1215 GMT. "The weather conditions are good," Guiana Space Centre director Marie-Anne Clair said on Wednesday in the control room, where Belgium's King Philippe was among those in attendance. The six-tonne spacecraft, which is roughly four square meters, will separate from the rocket at an altitude of 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) a little under half an hour after blast-off. Then begins JUICE's long and winding path towards Jupiter, which is 628 million kilometers from Earth. Because the spacecraft lacks the power to fly straight toward Jupiter, it will have to slingshot around other planets to get a gravitational boost. First, it will do a fly-by of Earth and the Moon, then slingshot around Venus in 2025 before swinging past Earth again in 2029. Then it will finally take off on its challenging journey toward the Solar System's largest planet. 'Are we alone in the universe?' The spacecraft is wrapped in 500 layered thermal insulation blankets to protect itself against temperatures expected to soar above 250 degrees Celsius (480 degrees Fahrenheit) as it flies past Venus, then plummet below minus 230C near Jupiter. It has a record 85 square meters of solar panels, which stretch out to the size of a basketball court, to collect as much energy as possible near Jupiter, where sunlight is 25 times weaker than on Earth. Once the probe arrives at Jupiter in 2031 -- now with two billion kilometers on the odometer -- it will need to very carefully hit the brakes to enter the orbit of the gas giant. From there, JUICE will focus on Jupiter's system, including the gas giant and its three icy moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Its 10 scientific instruments -- including an optical camera, ice-penetrating radar, spectrometer and magnetometer -- will inspect and analyze the moons' weather, magnetic field, gravitational pull and other elements. Carole Mundell, the ESA's science director, said the Jovian system had all the ingredients of a mini-solar system. Studying the system will allow scientists to investigate how our Solar System formed -- and ultimately attempt to answer the age-old question "are we alone in the universe?" she said. The mission will not be able to directly detect the existence of alien life, but instead aims to establish whether the moons have the right conditions to harbor life. Liquid water First discovered by astronomer Galileo Galilei more than 400 years ago, Jupiter's icy moons were long ignored as potential candidates for hosting life. But previous space probes have suggested that deep below their icy shells, there are huge oceans of liquid water -- the main ingredient for life as we know it. That has made Ganymede and Europa prime candidates in the search for life in our celestial backyard. Europa will be investigated by NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which is scheduled to launch in October 2024. JUICE, meanwhile, has set its sights on Ganymede, the Solar System's largest moon and the only one that has its own magnetic field, which protects it from radiation. In 2034, JUICE will slide into Ganymede's orbit, the first time a spacecraft has done so around a moon other than our own. ESA director-general Josef Aschbacher said the 1.6 billion-euro ($1.7 billion) JUICE is one of the "most complex" spacecraft ever sent into the outer Solar System beyond Mars. The launch comes as Europe is struggling to find ways to blast its missions into space following Russia's withdrawal of its Soyuz rockets in response to sanctions over the war in Ukraine -- as well as repeated delays to the Ariane 6 launcher and the failure of Vega-C's first commercial flight. Thursday will mark the penultimate launch for Ariane 5 before it is replaced by the next-generation Ariane 6. The post Europe’s JUICE mission to launch for Jupiter’s icy moons appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Don’t do it for any reason – teach me about science
Categories of apps that you should never install on your mobile phone. The application catalog can include up to millions of such applications, of which.....»»
Do you have apps on your mobile phone that are not working well? The latest news from Google for you
From now on, the Google Play Store will make sure you have the latest version of the apps when they fail. that Android is an.....»»
Globe upgrades digital apps
Globe Telecom has upgraded its digital apps to make it easier for its mobile and broadband customers to do self-service, allowing live agents to focus on more complex concerns......»»
In Focus: How Anne Curtis Pulled Off Her First Post-Maternity Photo Shoot
ABS-CBN Lifestyle had a quick chat with the actress on what it was like to produce the shoot by herself in Australia and pose as a subject!.....»»