Event Geek

Your Cebu Events Guide! Certified Event Geek!

CBSi General Assembly and Election of Officers 2011

8:13 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

STEP INTO POH’S KItCHEN FOR A DELIGHTFUL TAKE ON RECIPES NEW AND OLD

9:17 PM

Vernon Joseph Go

Be Updated with Royal Wedding Online

8:41 PM

Vernon Joseph Go

Incubus Band Live in Manila

8:29 PM

Vernon Joseph Go

SM Pacquiao vs Mosley Fight Live this May 2011

8:22 PM

Vernon Joseph Go

World Bloggers’ Day in Cebu 2011

7:40 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

OLYMPUS RESORT TOUR INTRODUCES NEW WATERPROOF CAMERAS

8:37 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

Globe, SingTel build a home for underprivileged residents of Bantayan Island

8:27 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

Perk up the summer lull with these kid-friendly apps from Nokia Ovi Store!

8:40 PM

Vernon Joseph Go

Summer is definitely a kid’s most favorite season with the fun and exciting activities lined up to make their vacation a memorable and action-packed one. What to do when the lull kicks in? With a Nokia phone packed with these kid-friendly apps from Ovi Store (www.store.ovi.com), they don’t have to endure boredom during those dog days! What’s more, today’s game-loving youth will discover fun and exciting new ways to learn and be creative through their mobile phones. The best part is, these apps can be downloaded for free!

Hangman Kids – Like the classic game of Hangman, the idea is to solve the pre-determined word by filling in the missing letters, although this version has done away with the “hanging man” and replaced it with a rabbit, which is more suitable for kids. This game is easier than the original too, as there are images displayed on the screen to help the little one link the word to the item shown. This app also has a child-lock feature to keep your child from messing around with the phone’s menus.
Loop – A fun and creative way for children to make music from the sounds around them. Loop can turn the sound of your washing machine, the doorbell or even the cat purring into a musical masterpiece with little effort. Everything is controlled by just pressing the circle in the center of the screen. This app is indeed a great way to encourage children to express their musical abilities.
MathsBrain – This one is for the slightly older kids, and has less visual aids or references. This app helps children improve their calculation speeds in solving arithmetic problems. If your child is competitive, he/she can compete with people across the world to achieve a high rank. But if your child is not quite ready for that, he/she can adjust the function to set the difficulty rating according to his/her age.
Touch Baable – Take a photo, add some clip-art, a speech bubble followed by some facial warping and your kid now has a fun way of capturing the world. With simple to use on-screen buttons, this app allows a child to easily turn anything into something funny and interesting.
Jigsaw Puzzle – A classic game for many, many years, Jigsaw Puzzles continue to be an all-time favorite among the game-loving lot. There’s something addictive about piecing back together an image that has been deconstructed into little small parts. This one is designed with children in mind, with nine pieces as a starter puzzle to 25 pieces for the master level. Again, there’s no need to worry about handing over your phone with its child-lock feature.
Kiddo – Aimed at younger children, Kiddo teaches the alphabet and numbers in a fun and interactive way using images, music and voice. Images appear on the screen and it’s the task of the child to determine how many of that item he/she sees or what letter of the alphabet the item begins with. This app also has a child-lock feature, so you can hand your phone over without fear of long-distance phone calls or any unknown downloads from the Internet.

Download these apps now on your Nokia Symbian phones so your child will have new games to sink their teeth into this summer!

About Nokia

At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

Two public SPED centers receive special software, PCs, internet connection from Globe Telecom and Autism Society Philippines

8:35 PM

Vernon Joseph Go

Two of the biggest public Special Education (SPED) Centers in Metro Manila have been awarded desktop computers with special software and free one-year internet connection by Autism Society of the Philippines and Globe Telecom, respectively, to aid children with special learning and communication needs.

P. Gomez Elementary School in Sta. Cruz, Manila and P. Villanueva Elementary School in Pasay City were chosen to pilot-test the VizZle visual learning software which will be implemented beginning the incoming school year. An initial batch of 12 teachers, seven from P. Gomez and five from P. Villanueva, already started undergoing training.

P. Gomez SPED Center has 28 teachers taking care of over 400 pupils, about 25 of which have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Prior to the entry of Globe and ASP, the school has no computer laboratory. On the other hand, P. Villanueva has 24 SPED teachers handling less than 300 pupils. Its eight PCs were also donated by ASP.

The turnover ceremonies were held as a contribution of Globe and ASP to the fourth annual World Autism Awareness Day which encourages activities that will help increase and develop people’s knowledge of autism and impart information on the importance of its early diagnosis and early intervention.

“I think the next frontier for Globe is providing connectivity for social inclusion. We can begin with special children and later on, maybe also persons with disabilities. The challenge is in finding a way for internet connectivity to be more relevant to special children. That’s why we are glad to work with ASP. We believe that the key to utilizing technology in the school set-up is getting help in delivering the use of technology. Without a systematic or organized way of using the Internet in social institutions like schools, we may not be as successful,” said Jeffrey O. Tarayao, Head of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.

There are currently only 231 public SPED centers in the country with an alarming 25:1 student-teacher ratio. The figure leaves no room for dedicated attention for the unique needs of students which have a mixed host of disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, hearing/speech/visual/physical impairment, among others. Moreover, most of them have outdated, non-functioning computers and non-existent internet connection.

Cristina Estampador, ASP Program Director and Board of Trustees member, said that while VizZle is primarily designed for children with ASD, it can also be customized to fit those with mental and physical disabilities. Through VizZle, she said learning can be made easier and fun since the software delivers the visuals, the auditory and the kinesthetic experience to the students.

ASP, being a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of persons with ASD, was able to acquire a technical grant of two full licenses of VizZle, a multi-awarded visual learning software that has the capability to add video and audio and share lessons across a web-based library. It was created through collaborations with the Monarch Center for Autism and Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School.

RAFI, Ateneo Art Gallery to hold free art forum, open exhibit

1:15 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) and the Ateneo Art Gallery, in cooperation with the Cebu Provincial Government and Museo Sugbo, will hold the "Cebu and the Arts" Forum on April 28 at 2 p.m. at the Museo Sugbo Art Gallery.

The forum will engage a dialogue among the different art sectors in Cebu about their thoughts on the state of the arts in Cebu. There will be an open forum among the different panelists who will share their insights on the state of the arts in Cebu, the directions they hope the city will take, and the roles of Cebuano artists in the community.

Open to all visual artists, interior designers, cultural workers, and fine arts students, the Cebu and the Arts Forum is an opportunity to share the various initiatives and projects of art groups in Cebu and from artists who won in the Ateneo Art Gallery 2009 competition. No registration fee is required.

The forum is one of the series of activities organized through the partnership between RAFI and Ateneo Art Gallery.

An exhibit, entitled “Next Wave”, will also open on April 28, 5pm at the Contemporary Gallery of the Casa Gorordo Museum. This exhibit will feature the artworks of the 2009 Ateneo Art Awards winners Kiri Dalena and Leeroy New.

The Next Wave art exhibit will run from April 28 to July 30.

The initiative of bringing contemporary artists, winners of one of the most prestigious art competitions in the country, is a way of providing an opportunity for local young aspiring artists to learn from the works and a means of encouraging viewers to open their minds to other media of artistic expression.

The Ateneo Art Awards was first presented in 2004 in memory of its founding patron Fernando Zobel de Ayala. It is given to three outstanding Filipino artists aged 35 and below who have made a significant mark on contemporary Philippine art. By honoring innovative, enlightened, and committed visionaries who, through their exemplary practice of the visual arts today, symbolize the hope and promise of a nation.

For inquiries on the forum and the exhibit, please contact Karl Damayo at 4187234 loc. 703.

Globe, Digitel, Bayantel now 100% interconnected nationwide

2:07 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

The networks of Globe Telecom, Bayan Telecommunications (BayanTel) and Digitel Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) are now 100% interconnected in all areas of common presence and operations nationwide, following the commercial activation of the local linkage between the networks of Globe and Digitel in Lucena City and the rest of Quezon province.

The achievement of full interconnection between Globe, Digitel and Bayantel in all areas of common operations is a mandate from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), in compliance with Republic Act 7925, or The Public Telecommunications Policy Act of 1995. The law aims to create a universally accessible and fully integrated nationwide telecommunications network to encourage more infrastructure investments from the private sector that benefit consumers.

Interconnected telecommunication network means that in areas where Globe, Digitel or Bayantel are present, customers of the competing telcos within a province or city can call each other locally via 7-digit local dialing without having to pay long distance rates. In the past, subscribers of rival telcos, regardless of whether or not they live in the same town, had to pay long-distance rates to call each other via landline.

“This is another milestone not only for Globe, Bayantel and Digitel, but more importantly for the public who will benefit from the interconnection,” said Melvin Santos, Head for National Carrier Relations of Globe Telecom, “Competition should not get in the way of serving the public interest and we have proven that even rival telcos can work together for the greater good.”

Globe and Digitel have established interconnection in common operation areas in the National Capital Region and in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Bataan, Lucena, Sorsogon, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Vizcaya, and Zambales. On the other hand, Globe and Bayantel are both present in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Iloilo, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Negros Occidental, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Norte, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon.

Meanwhile, PLDT has yet to fulfill full interconnection with its competitors. To date, both PLDT and Globe are locally interconnected only in Davao City, Batangas, Cavite, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Cotabato City. The two companies’ networks are not yet interconnected in at least 20 more provinces where both have commercial operations, including the provinces of Pampanga, La Union and Benguet.

Earlier, the NTC and the provincial board of Pampanga announced that PLDT and Globe will implement the interconnection of its networks in the province on April 15, 2011.

“We’ve always been ready and waiting to interconnect our network with all our competitors,” said Atty. Froilan Castelo, Head of the Corporate and Legal Services Group of Globe, “We at Globe are fully supportive of the thrust towards developing the country’s Information and Communication Technology infrastructure, which will spur more growth, especially for the Business Process Outsourcing industry, and interconnection of landline facilities is a must if we want economic development to spread beyond urban areas.”

After completing its nationwide interconnection with Digitel and BayanTel, Globe is hopeful that interconnection agreements with PLDT will be hastened for the benefit of the consumers as part of efforts to develop the country’s telecommunications infrastructure and provide consumers with a more cost-efficient way of communications.