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Manpower & skills survey
2007-04-09 17:37:00
Aside from the two well-publicized contact centers in Davao — Gcom and Link2Support — there apparently are a few more now operating in the city. A friend recently brought to my attention one of these low-key BPO operators; he works there and he said there were only 10 of them in active duty. I was ...
More About: Power , Survey , Skill , Skills , Npower

What?s the fuss over my name?
2007-04-04 17:15:00
It appears there’s something brewing in the Pinoy blogosphere. Abe Olandres reported over at Yugatech that a new issue has seemingly arisen from the recently-concluded Philippine Blog Awards: whether blogging is a right or a privilege. My take on that post and the accompanying comments: before saying anything, people should try to look up the ...
More About: What , Hat , Name , Over , Fuss

New media advertising
2007-03-20 06:18:00
Yesterday Aileen Apolo, country consultant of Google Philippines met up with SEO professionals in Davao. (This was her second meet-up with them, the first being in November last year.) Aileen’s talk focused on Google AdWords. Simply put, it is an online service by which advertisers can promote and market their products / services via Google’s ...
More About: Media , Advertising , Sing , New Media , Advert

DigitalFilipino eyeball
2007-03-18 09:36:00
Right before the Davao Bloggers Party #1, Janette Toral, ever a huge supporter of Davao I.T., came back to Davao for another Digi tal Filipino Club eyeball. There are currently only 6 members in Davao — but hopefully more will join us. This club is the country’s only e-commerce and technopreneurship private organization.
More About: Eyeball , Ball

Politics in IT
2007-03-12 07:28:00
No, I’m not talking about trapos here. There is much politicking within the IT industry, especially involving two camps: the pro-Open Source and the rest. Curiously, "the rest" don’t seem to give a hoot. Ok, let’s name them, shall we? "The rest" are the supposedly pro-Microsoft people. When I talked to some of them, they ...
More About: Politics , Poli , Politic

FOSS does not mean freedom
2007-03-09 18:38:01
I am just like most IT professionals in the Philippines today: I make use of both Open Source and proprietary software. I have Windows XP running on my desktop, and I make use of MS Office applications. At the same time, I deploy Web applications built with PHP onto Apache-run servers. I love the productivity that Microsoft programs afford me; and at the same time I bask in the power of open-source when I delve into PHP and MySQL. The freedom (and responsibility!) that I have when coding for open-source platforms is exhilarating. But I categorically do not support the current form of the FOSS bill, otherwise known as the Free / Open Source Software Act. (more…)
More About: Freedom , Edom , Reed

Microsoft training & certification
2007-03-09 18:38:01
iThink Technologies, an IT training facility in Davao, launched its Microsoft training and certification program today at The Venue. Together with iThink was Microsoft Philippines and edupro inc., a Manila-based training institute and Microsoft-Certified Partner for Learing Solutions. (more…)
More About: Cat , Training , Rain , Train

Davao bloggers? party and then some
2007-03-09 18:38:01
I haven’t written about the upcoming blog party in this blog because the goings-on have mostly been more related to my Davao blog. But, aside from the first-ever blog party in town, there will be other activities around 17 March. Foremost, the event is a bloggers party. Non-IT for the most part. But the other activities do have a bearing on the local IT industry. (more…)
More About: Party , Blogger , Blog , Bloggers

ICT Davao Inc.
2007-03-02 18:32:01
Yesterday, after a curiously lengthy hiatus, the ICT Davao Inc. organization was formally established with the election of its first set of officers. Bong Tee, representing the Association of Computer Businesses in Mindanao (ACBM), was naturally elected president. The formation of this umbrella organization is his re-entry project after his educational stint in Australia c/o the PAHRDF. He carried it through, and now it’s a reality. It was a hopeful sign that all 10 IT industry associations who were invited made an appearance. Hopefully, with the new officers in place, and with more interested members coming out of the woodworks, Davao’s IT will finally have a representative body that can speak for the entire industry. It’s been tried once before, but it ultimately did not succeed due to various factors. One of which was the lack of focus. This time, it must be plain enough to see that there has to be not only direction, but also a focusing on which part of the IT ...

Nihongo proficiency among IT pros
2007-02-26 06:28:02
Recently I passed the Japanese Language Prof iciency Test Level 2. Without going into the specifics of this very difficult exam, let me just say that I almost jumped up and hugged the next person beside me when I found out. But I was in Compostela Valley that time, and I didn’t want to create a spectacle. In short, possessing a Level 2 certification in Nihongo is not a small matter. (more…)
More About: Hong

Safeguarding memories
2007-02-22 18:25:09
Is it due to age that I’m talking about “memory” in two consecutive blog posts? No, it’s my long experience in Internet-delivered virus infections, hard disk crashes, what have you…. I’m sure everyone who’s been online long enough can relate to this. In an effort to protect my data from harm, I’ve gone through several solutions: from freeware to shareware to expensive software, all in an effort to prevent malware. Now, just how do you evaluate anti-virus software? (more…)
More About: Mori , Memories , Guard , Memo , Safe

Techno Kapehan
2007-02-22 18:25:09
Yesterday was the 2nd Tech no Kapehan session (I wasn’t there for the first, but I’m sure to be there for the succeeding ones), sponsored by the Department of Trade & Industry - Region XI. Patterned after the media’s long-standing tradition of powwows, at the IT industry’s, the "bigwigs" — as host Arriel Nengasca termed it — get together to discuss the current events, issues and plans. Media people were there, as well. If I’m not mistaken, from Sunshine TV. (more…)

Down read-only memory lane
2007-02-22 18:25:09
It seems that the older you get, the fonder you grow towards reminiscing them good ol’ days. Last Friday, with my good friends Rodney and Christian, we welcomed back an old friend, Roel Hernandez. Although, he was in town for only a short while. We spent virtually the whole night recalling past events in Davao’s colorful IT history. (more…)
More About: Memory , Read , Lane , Down , Only

Industry clustering
2007-02-22 18:25:09
Last Saturday, I gave a talk on the Davao Region ICT Cluster to a group of MBA students at the University of Mindanao. The event was a symposium on industry clustering, and government representatives from the Department of Trade & Industry - Region XI gave separate presentations on regional development strategies and creating competitive advantage. (more…)
More About: Ring , Lust , Teri

Blogginglish
2007-02-22 18:25:09
SMS communication — or "texting" — has reportedly laid waste to our English spelling abilities. E-mail is said to have bastardized traditional letter-writing formats. And now, blogging? No, there’s nothing that blogging has done to our communication skills. But, I saw this article on the Web that’s dishing out how-to’s on blog-writing. Most of it was OK, but there was one piece of advice there that I just couldn’t stomach: that one should write using bullet points! (more…)
More About: Blogging , Blog , Blogg

New MT org in Davao
2007-02-22 18:25:09
After years of being the only medical transcription company in Davao , SSP Transcriptions is now joined by a handful of other MT outfits operating in the city. In another type of business, this might be viewed as the entry of competition; but not for the MT sector. The more, the merrier! SSP is a member of the Association of Solution Integrators in Davao (ASID). This association, however, is focused mainly on software development, so I remember many times when SSP seemed out of place during meetings and events, despite the fact that this member was one of the most active. (more…)

Medtrans for high school grads
2007-02-22 18:25:09
Today MTC Academy - Davao, which was inaugurated only last 18 August 2006, launched its Basic Medical Tran s cription Course for high school students, starting with batch 2007. This program will offer training in MT for 18 months, which is equivalent to 3 semesters. The beauty of this is that, should the trainee decide to pursue a college degree, his units from the MTC will be credited, according to Wit Holganza, MTC Academy - Davao’s president and school administrator. An excerpt from the press release reads as follows: (more…)
More About: School , High School , High

IT?s marketable
2007-02-22 18:25:09
Marketing. Not a very well-developed or well-appreciated service here in the Deep South. Especially among IT companies. Which is an irony, because the geeks possess the most powerful marketing tool in the world. (Oops! I hope I haven’t offended anybody’s sensibilities — see, a friend once told me that being called a geek is actually not derogatory…but this should be in another post!) (more…)
More About: Market , Tabl , Mark

Of standards and certifications
2007-02-22 18:25:09
During last Tuesday’s Techno Kapehan at DTI-XI, we had guests over from the Philippine National IT Standard s Foundation (PhilNITS) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), and they brought with them some very encouraging news. I shall write in more detail about the program that they’re putting together with DTI, but in a nutshell, the PhilNITS IT engineers’ exams is coming back to Davao! (more…)
More About: Cat , Anda , Certification

Taking a breather
2007-02-22 18:25:09
The best thing about Davao is that, when the pressures of work get too much to handle, it’s so easy to find a spot for a breather. Or sometimes a bit more than just that…. Last night I went out with a few good friends and colleagues, to a newly-opened coffee shop in one of the city’s busiest haunts. The place is called Bruegger’s Café, which branch opened only last month. (more…)
More About: King , Breath , Breathe , Taking , Brea