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New Xperia S - the first Sony Smartphone launches in Cebu

1:44 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

Microsoft Office Mobile arrives on Symbian smartphones

1:00 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

Nokia announced that Office Mobile apps from Microsoft -- Word mobile, PowerPoint mobile and Excel mobile, are made available via Software Update* for the Nokia 701, Nokia 700, Nokia E7, Nokia X7, Nokia C7 and Nokia C6-01**.

Office Mobile completes the suite of Microsoft productivity applications for Symbian smartphones with Nokia Belle, including OneNote mobile, which allows you to capture, create, read, and edit rich text and image notes from your camera or picture gallery; Document Connection, that lets you save, search and view your office documents stored in your mobile or attachments to your email; Lync 2010 mobile, which allows you to conduct virtual conferences with audio, video and instant messaging; and PowerPoint Broadcast that enhances your virtual meetings with presentations easily viewed and shared on your mobile.

“Office Mobile apps and the productivity suite from Microsoft bring Symbian smartphones to a whole new level that both business users and IT managers will appreciate. With more people using their own devices in office environments, the need for secure connectivity is growing. Business decision makers and users also expect the best mobile experience for corporate communication through email and instant messaging, and collaboration through team tools,” said Dharmesh Goshalia, general manager and head of sales of Nokia Philippines. “Moving beyond the business arena, the rich functionalities of Office Mobile will also be appreciated by anyone who uses Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.”

Business users using Symbian smartphones with Nokia Belle can also enjoy the latest Nokia applications like Nokia Drive and Nokia Maps that feature free turn-by-turn voice guided walk and drive navigation in more than 100 countries, maps for more than 190 countries; Nokia Public Transport with routing in more than 400 cities around the world; and access more than 100,000 apps in the Nokia Store, which is experiencing more than 13 million download requests per day.

More information on Mobile Office apps or the full suite of Microsoft productivity applications can be found from the Nokia for Business site.

*Office Mobile apps will be available from Nokia Store in early May 2012.

**The full suite of Microsoft productivity applications for Nokia N8, Nokia E6 and Nokia 500 will be available at a later date.

SPATIALinfo to provide geo-spatial solution for Globe Telecom’s Fiber Management System (FMS) Project

9:00 PM

Vernon Joseph Go

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--SPATIALinfo with its spatialSUITE products, will provide Globe Telecom a geo-spatial FMS that will improve quality of their physical network data records, resulting in improved operational efficiencies, reduced MTTR through integration with service assurance processes, and reduced service outages as a result of integration with their existing OSS platforms. spatialSUITE is quickly becoming the industry leading choice for managing the physical assets of service providers, more than fifty (50) companies worldwide are now using SPATIALinfo solutions to more efficiently and effectively deploy and manage their fiber, copper, and HFC networks.

“Globe’s selection of SPATIALinfo as its supplier of a physical network asset management solution is further proof that our spatialSUITE of products is quickly becoming the leading platform in this space,” said Don Wadas, SPATIALinfo’s Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We are honored to have Globe as a customer as we rapidly expand our global service provider footprint.”

According to Robert Tan, Chief Technical Advisor of Globe Telecom, “The project is a strategic fit in Globe Telecom’s OSS blueprint that will enable us to further streamline our operations and leverage geo-spatial information. The FMS will allow us to capture, design, and implement fiber network expansions more cost effectively by transforming our current engineering processes to a highly automated solution, which will ultimately benefit our customers.”

SPATIALinfo will be working with partners; Ark One and Apex CoVantage, to deliver the project.

About SPATIALinfo

SPATIALinfo builds software solutions that help communications service providers plan, design, construct, and maintain their physical network infrastructure. The fully integrated spatialSUITE portfolio makes it easy for professionals to map, model and manage complex fiber, copper and coaxial cable networks and provides enterprise-wide access to timely, accurate network asset information. With a growing customer base and strong commercial partnerships, SPATIALinfo has become an international leader in providing off-the-shelf solutions that offer a proven return on investment.

About Globe Telecom

Globe Telecom is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines, serving the needs of consumers and businesses across an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connections, internet and managed services. Its principals are Ayala Corporation and Singapore Telecom who are acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region. For more information, visit www.globe.com.ph. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/talk2Globeand Facebook: http://facebook.com/GlobePH.

Globe Telecom promotes fair trade with environment friendly My Fair Share Eco Bags

4:15 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

Reinforcing its commitment to preserving the environment and supporting fair trade, Globe Telecom is giving away free My Fair Share (MFS) eco bags to all new postpaid mobile accounts opened on Earth Day, April 22.

Made from recycled and bio-degradable materials, the eco bags are part of the telecom company’s initiative to move beyond their environmental sustainability commitment which includes reducing energy, water, and solid waste footprints and harnessing and integrating “green” solutions in its operations. In 2012, Globe will lead a value-chain analysis study to assess greenhouse gas reduction opportunities and increased recyclability.

Globe is working with Gifts and Graces Fair Trade Foundation, Inc., a social enterprise which partners with non-government organizations (NGOs) to support marginalized groups and underserved communities to produce the eco bags for Globe Telecom subscribers.

According to Rob I. Nazal, head of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility, “Globe is committed to synergize efforts to encourage the reduced use of plastic and promote environment conservation. The company also supports fair trade practices and is working with partner organizations such as Gifts and Graces Inc. which share our advocacy for supporting communities and helping them become sustainable social enterprises. Through the My Fair Share eco bags, we hope to empower underserved communities, one bag at a time.”

Globe recently strengthened its environment preservation efforts by donating P1 million to the Philippine Fund for Nature (PFN), an initiative of the WWF Philippines, designed to ensure the long term growth of the organization’s wide range of projects for preserving the country’s natural resources. Other environment conservation initiatives by the telecom company include the upcoming Globe Cordillera Challenge 3, a biking challenge slated for May 5 which aims to support the establishment of seedling nurseries for the reforestation of the Cordillera mountains.

The My Fair Share eco bags are also available to all Globe Telecom subscribers for only P99 each from April 23 onwards at all Globe Business Centers. Proceeds from the sale of the bags help support the Kaibhan Women’s Association, one of the beneficiary groups of Gifts and Graces Inc., which works to prevent maternal deaths and disability among the urban poor women in Valenzuela City. The group utilizes the sewing and embroidery skills of unemployed women for their various livelihood projects.

DANCE XCHANGE 2012: The International Dance Workshop and Festival

2:43 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

Casa Gorordo holds Semana Santa house tradition

3:53 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

The Casa Gorordo Museum of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) will hold its Semana Santa house tradition on April 3 and 6, which are Holy Tuesday and Good Friday, respectively.

This house tradition features the use of Casa Gorordo’s carrozas and life-size image of the Nazarene and Veronica in the Holy Tuesday and Good Friday processions of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

It begins with the installation of pasos (tableaus of life-size images depicting scenes of Christ’s passion and death) and decoration of the carrozas (carriages) on which they are set up in the morning. These pasos will be included in the processions of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral in Cebu City’s downtown district. The procession on Holy Tuesday started at 5:00 pm; and on Good Friday at 4:30 pm.

According to Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, executive director of Culture and Heritage of RAFI, this had been a religious observance of the Gorordo family, former owners of the Casa Gorordo, which was adopted by the museum as part of RAFI’s advocacy to conserve intangible heritage traditions of the family.

Casa Gorordo Museum’s curator, Florencio A. Moreño II, said that one can see in the Semana Santa house tradition a remarkable dynamism between the family, later, the museum, and the larger community that it belongs to. He added that by engaging the public through this long-held tradition, Casa Gorordo Museum makes itself a living museum.

An exhibit entitled “Semana Santa: A Casa Gorordo Tradition,” located at the museum’s chapel, was launched last March 22 to anticipate the holding of the house tradition and to explain it to the public. It also highlights the Passus tradition in Bantayan town which has become a prominent tourist attraction.

The exhibit will run until April 15.

Semana Santa is one of the four house traditions of the Casa Gorordo Museum. The other three are Sinug sa Casa Gorordo in January; Pista ni San Juan in June; and the displaying of the Gorordo Belen in December.

Culture & Heritage is a focus area of RAFI, believing that a confident community begins with a strong sense of identity. Its other focus areas are Integrated Development, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Citizenship, and Education.

For more information on the house tradition and the Semana Santa exhibit, please contact 418-7234 loc. 703 and look for Florencio A. Moreño II, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph.

Commitment, passion needed in community development work

3:53 AM

Vernon Joseph Go

After completing a degree in computer science, Jenny Tan is equipped to work in the area of information technology where the pay and career growth are promising.

However, Tan went a different way; she decided to build her niche in community development far from operating systems of computers. She works for a foundation as a program coordinator.

"After graduation, I was discerning where my heart is, where I will be happy. I know community development is where I belong. I decided to apply as a program assistant at Dilaab Foundation,” Tan said in Cebuano. Dilaab Foundation is a volunteer-driven, Church-based movement for a transformed Filipino nation through heroic Christian citizenship.

She is one of the guests at Pagtuki, the official radio program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), last Saturday. Pagtuki is aired every Saturday at dyLA 909 KHz, 10-11 a.m.

Tan cited her passion in community building as the reason she has been involved in social development for the past three years already.

“My friends asked me why I am still at Dilaab Foundation. It is because I feel the sense of belongingness in a way that I belong to a community I am able to help. Each time I witness the impact of our projects, I feel a sense of fulfilment that I could not explain. This is the thing I would like to do for the rest of my life,” she said.

Mileesa Lumanog, recruitment in-charge of human resource team of RAFI, said that the interest and passion to serve are very important factors in working in community development.

Aside from skills and competencies, she pointed out that they would also consider the character and attitude of an applicant.

“If all he or she has are skills but the commitment is not there, he or she will not be able to last in the work that involves serving various communities,” she said.

Lumanog added that social development is also a good venue for personal and professional growth because of in-depth exposure in community work.