WD HD.

I purchased an external hard disk last year. It was a great deal, a spanking red high capacity hard disk with a 2-year warranty. After a few days from the purchase, I lost the receipt. Or maybe someone threw it out the window, I don't know. I was really disappointed because one of the reasons I got this specific brand was its warranty. And now I might not be able to take advantage of such benefit if ever the need arises.

A friend from London told me that the receipt might not be necessary for me to avail of the warranty given by such brand company. All I have to do is make sure that my product is registered online. If the time comes that I need a disk replacement, then I just have to contact the company, send them the disk and comply with other admin procedures. I'm not sure of the accuracy of what he said but according to him, he has personal experience of asking for a disk replacement and no receipt or other purchase document was asked from him.

There wouldn't be much issue as to ownership anyway since the serial number of the item is needed when registering the product online. (Wait, unless my serial number is indicated on the receipt and someone got hold of it, and someone who is crazy enough to register it in his/her name? Ooookay.) So I just have to make sure that no one else gets the serial number? I didn't realize the importance of serial numbers up until now.

But still, there is no absolute certainty that absent the official purchase receipt, I will be able to avail of the disk replacement warranty that came with the product. And more so when the product registration online asks for the specific date that I bought the HD which, of course, escapes me.

Nasty Musings

A month ago, controversy arose over the Internet because of some teenage girl who ranted about her immersion activity with the Aetas required by her prominent university. She was complaining about how the children were so “kadiri” and that she did not bathe for one week there as there was no proper plumbing (Believe me, it sounds better when you read her version). Her biggest mistake? She posted this in her Facebook account. Even if she did limit her privacy settings to “friends only”, it was only a matter of time till one of her Facebook friends would expose her outbursts and forward it to the mailing groups. While I did react violently over the things that she wrote (they were horrible actually), to a certain extent, she is just human. One time or another, all of us may have harbored terrible thoughts to ourselves or put it in our own personal journal. But I guess at this day and age, that simply isn’t enough. Some people just want their thoughts to be heard by others and in turn, react to what they wrote. So next time you feel like placing socially unacceptable remarks/rants in your Facebook/Friendster/online blog, maybe it’s best to get a pen and a journal and let it all loose.

Convenience?

My uncle told me once that without the Lex Libris program, his practice of law would not have succeeded. I started wondering on how dependent the legal profession was on this form of software technology. In my own experience in OLA, I usually relied on Lex Libris to conduct research for my pleadings. And it’s actually easier than using the archaic SQUID.

People have questioned the reliability and accuracy of the said programs without realizing that the legal profession itself has acquiesced to the use of SCRA for citations. Its accuracy is not 100% since the publication is not the official record released by the Supreme Court. Hence, one must still check the official record of cases in order to be fully secure that the quotation from the SCRA is correct.

The same problem arises with using Lex Libris and other similar programs. One must still refer to the original text issued by the Court in order to be absolutely sure. Ultimately, a responsible lawyer must still verify the accuracy of any citation derived from said programs. It must be emphasized that the use of such programs are merely to alleviate the rigorous efforts exerted in legal research.

Single Ladies

He met her online - in an L2 forum to be exact. He left a post about his recent breakup and how he was looking to meet single ladies with whom he can be friends. Girl J replied to his post and the rest was history. They got into text messaging each other and pretty soon he texted his ex girlfriend that he was in love with Girl J from a place which is a plane and a five-hour bus ride away from him. The ex was infuriated and so she went to look where any ex in her right mind would - Friendster. She saw Girl J's photo in the profile and thought "good angle lang 'yan." The ex girlfriend told her friend about it, who, in an attempt to make her feel better, theorized that Girl J might actually be Boy J. After all, its pretty easy to get a photo from wherever and post it online. Fake Friendster accounts are so easy to make anyway. Friend commisserated with ex girlfriend saying "Yuck, she (Girl/Boy J) is not on Facebook." Ex boyfriend has stopped texting Girl J. She sends him the occassional "mis-text" - an attempt to fan the flames of what they used to have - and regular Gud Mawnin' poh's. Ex boyfriend posted a song dedicated to ex girlfriend in his blog. Ex girlfriend sends Ex boyfriend a link to Beyonce's music video in youtube. Her Facebook status reads: "If you like it then you should've put a ring on it."

Doubting Thomas and the E-Commerce Act

As the most cautious of us would say, “always put everything in writing.” This is sound advice for anyone who is going into business with a friend, lending money, or even someone discussing details with wedding suppliers. To illustrate, my cousin’s wife told me she had the shock of her life when after painstakingly describing her dream wedding cake in a dark metallic shade with swirls, intricate patterns and silver balls, she ended up having a plain black fondant cake. Horror of horrors, none of their agreements were in writing. The good faith explanation would be that her cake-maker may have had amnesia or simply didn’t understand what they were talking about that whole afternoon they spent discussing it. But more probably, she knew that oral agreements are rather difficult to prove. That is the beauty of having a signed conforme, receipt or agreement. It gives you peace of mind and provides a remedy when people ever-so-conveniently forget their commitments.

In the age of Blackberrys and all other digital devices, I still prefer the trusty pen and paper. While transactions through text messages, and e-mail correspondence may be viewed with some skepticism, handwritten letters and hard copies of signed documents seem to have the feel of legitimacy despite the fact that these, too, can be forged. Although the Electronic Commerce Act (Republic Act 8792) already tells us that electronic documents shall have the same legal status as that of written documents, the skeptic in most of us would really much rather hang onto our bulky files. Save for e-mail, I have not seen much application of this law where I used to work and even in the government agency where I used to be an intern in. I really don’t know if it’s a fear of change, a general distrust in our law or simply the public's lack of knowledge or understanding of it that keeps us from adopting the E-Commerce act for all its worth. It makes me wonder then, what was this law created for when it seems that all of us still want to accumulate piles upon piles of files in our basements?

Rocky 2009

Nope, I’m not talking about Stalone. Rocky 2009 actually refers to forecasts made by analysts regarding the state of the economy as the full brunt of the global financial crisis is expected to be felt in 2009. However, some top executives are using Information technology to ensure that their companies remain competitive despite the financial crunch. As Greg Navarro, managing director of Punongbayan and Araullo, CPAs narrated to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “we are focusing on more capacity… extensively using IT to save on costs.”

As a former auditor working for the aforementioned firm a couple of years back, the utilization of IT to minimize costs and ensure productivity is a good tool to ensure competitiveness. As early as 2004, all associates use laptops and can connect to the network even from home, thus saving man hours (and overtime pay) that would have been spent going to and from the office. Aside from that, systems designed by an in-house IT group ensure that costly maintenance costs are avoided. Indeed, having a system that would ensure stability despite the changing economic weather is good investment to have. With the unknown rainfall that the future might bring, God knows we need every help we can get.

Toothless

As I opened my e-mail during Christmas break, a forwarded message was placed through the UPLAW groups regarding an alleged incident regarding Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman Sr.’s and Mayor Nasser Jr.’s mauling of a certain Delfin Dela Paz and his son Bino Lorenzo, 14 yrs. old. As the issues between the two camps went on, public opinion has boiled over, with the Philippine Daily Inquirer even opining that “despite the public anger over the incident, [it] hasn’t led to more than pro forma apologies from Secretary Pangandaman.” Worse, the PDI also opines that the calls for resignation would only lead to “the present administration to drag cases in court until the Dela Pazes are bankrupted or, when public attention wanes, intimidate them into settling the case.”

Hearing and reading about the case aside, and taking into account the opinion column of the PDI, the present state that we are in, is in essence, our fault. Passive constituents beget a passive government. Unfortunately, the Filipinos have the habit of forgiving and forgetting, thus, the tactic of ignoring clamor and braving opinion has been a tried and tested path that Pangandaman, if ever he is indeed guilty, would/could resort to. Heck, if Marcos or Erap is forgiven, then why not Pangandaman? I am betting a good chunk of my allowance that months from now, the incident would be forgotten as long as new news pour to the public. Heh, only in the Philippines.