Glad to be of service

There I was, sitting in the hotel. I've had only about four hours of sleep in 48 hours and I didn't feel too pleased. No, I didn't feel bad about not getting sleep, I felt bad about having to be stuck in a hotel (to watch over a room full of bags) with only two companions... that while everybody else would be cheering the day away over at Taft.

But they did not get to cheer the day away, and I did not get to nonchalantly watch over bags.

First came a mother's frantic call to one of my companions, checking on him for a supposed bombing. We turned the TV on and the only indication of a bombing we saw was one that happened in Pakistan. Nothing unusual we thought. Then came a call from the LSG Secretary to my phone, a distraught voice broke the silence and an act of terrorism that just happened a couple of blocks away became apparent. She asked me to compose a message, frantically asking me to cramp a great deal of information in as brief a message as possible and send them out to all of my batchmates; after all, there was really no pre-registration for the Salubong, we didn't quite have an inventory of who was there, no basis to determine if anyone was missing.

Hardly had I finished composing the first message when another message came: "Tell everyone the UP contingent is in McDonalds". Then came another: "WinLaw is in 7-11". And another: "WinLaw and Portia now in Starbucks". Then a turn for the tragic: "UP undergrad hit by shrapnel, frat rumble ongoing, do not leave the area unless with your orgs / with the UP contingent".

A drained battery and maxed out unlitxting later and I had (I'd like to think) successfully played the role of reporter-cum-animator. Nothing spectacular of course, and nothing to brag about, especially in an afternoon of jubilation made dire by an act of pure evil; after all, it was just text messages and a not too sophisticated phone. But, true to the spirit of bar operations, I was glad to be of service.

LUIS JOSE F. GERONIMO
Entry No. 15

How To Stop Porn Piracy? Sue or Shame!

Chasing down and filing lawsuits against individuals for illegal file sharing has become one of the current strategies of pro-copyright companies in order to curtail piracy. However, this method is not that easy because in order to acquire personally identifying information, antipiracy companies need a judge to issue a subpoena that compels the ISP to hand over the info they needed.

Certain Porn Companies however had a different approach. For an instance, the website of Adult Copyright Company, a West Virginia-based company, tracks down those who illegally share porn films online. Identities of thousands of people were posted to the Internet this weekend alongside the names of the pornographic films they are accused of downloading (source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20017945-261.html).

Many people would not admit, but the reality is a lot of people really do watch porn. It would be very embarrassing to be identified as a porn downloader because first, you are illegally downloading a copyrighted material; and second because its porn! Not too many people would have an at least neutral reaction when it comes to the issue of porn. Worse, people might think you are a nymphomaniac, an exhibitionist or other negative sexual attributions.

Hence, I personally think that the “SHAME” approach was an effective and practical way of decreasing porn downloads. I say “decreasing” only and not completely eradicating it because some people might just not mind if they are revealed as having downloaded porn. However, I don’t think this method would work in non-porn downloads because nowadays, I don’t think people would mind if their names are broadcasted as having illegally shared files. Such file sharing is very rampant and seem normal to a majority of internet users. Hence, pro-copyright firms might just really have to think of other creative and more practical ways of going after unauthorized downloaders.

---Gen S. (12)

Managing Internet Identity

Whenever I get bored with facebook, get tired of watching videos in youtube and seem to run out of things to do with the internet, I “Google” people’s names. However, I only thought of trying to Google myself last July. I expected most of the entries which appeared: Facebook of course, LAE results, student lists of the schools I attended and the likes. However, to my surprise, blog entries I wrote decades ago which I thought were not publicly posted, were among the search results..

Most blog entries were just fine, just the typical diary-like entries which were not that confidential and were safe to be viewed by the public. There were however some which were slightly incriminating, owing to some unpleasant languages which I can’t believe I really wrote way back then. I realized that there was one period in my life when I was so enthusiastic to blog – and I recalled that it was when I had the lowest point in my life. I blogged when I badly needed to rant about something, I blogged when I was super depressed and down. I also wrote a blog saying I was super happy, but when I try to remember that very day at present, I don’t think I was really that happy. And so those entries were so emotional and personal, I didn’t even care if it might be offensive to others, or if it might create a bad impression about me.

And so just to keep my internet “image” not really pristine but as neutral as it could be, I deleted some blogs and just saved a few in my computer for my personal viewing when I feel like reminiscing. For some which were not incriminating, I just edited the settings (way back then I didn’t know how to, because what I did was just to type anything then post. And perhaps because I didn’t have so much time to surf the internet back then because DSL connection was rare and expensive.)

Nowadays, the importance of managing one’s identity in the internet is important because internet use is so widespread that a considerable number of people will most likely see what has been posted in the net. Before, I don’t seem to care about posting anything on the internet thinking that other people would not bother to read it or even look at it. At present, the situation is very different. Post something on the net, especially on facebook, rest assured people will know about it. Unless posted anonymously or using a bogus account, what you post will be attributed to you. Bad thing is, on the internet, you are what you post. Hence, posts should be more sensitive and well thought of. Otherwise, you ruin yourself on the net, which is close to making a mess on a live television broadcast.

---Gen S. (11)

Weighing the Benefits and Adverse Effects of Technology on the Environment

One of the advantages of technology is that it allows communication without (or at east with minimal reliance on) paper to carry our ideas. A 'paperless world' is often advocated by the use of computers and the Internet to relay information, on the premise that instead of using paper on which to write something and facilitate the exchange, a computer may be used at more efficient and speedy results. Yahoo for the trees saved!

However, while the exchange occurs on some intangible plane, we still utilize objects such as computers, microchips, monitors, and of course, energy. These things STILL affect the environment adversely in two ways. First, we need resources and minerals to manufacture these objects. Second, waste is produced during the manufacturing process AND as soon as the technology becomes obsolete. It's not really surprising that at the rate technology is growing, more and more waste is being produced.

Pakistan has been the dumping ground of 'e-waste' for quite some time now, with electronics from the US, Europe, Japan and Singapore making their way to the said country. It may be receiving compensation for accommodating the waste, but it's possible and very likely that it's being shortchanged in the deal. Just like any other form of trash, e-waste contains toxic and hazardous materials, which if not handled properly, would deal damage to the surrounding areas. Think about how we're instructed to dispose of batteries properly; multiply that by a factor of continents, and you'll see the grave danger Pakistan is right now.

Cybersquatting

The Internet has captured a large audience the world over. Internet usage is on a steady rise, what with social networking sites, live streaming, online shopping, web games, and good old surfing. Increased Internet traffic has opened up opportunities for new a new money-making venture – online advertisements. One of the fastest ways to earn these days, therefore, is to put up websites that would generate a respectable amount of traffic to encourage advertisers to market goods and services through their pages. Some take this venture a little further, purchasing domain names consisting of actual brands and famous personalities, either for the purpose of offering related products and services or reserving such domain for its eventual sale to the legitimate owner of the brand. In the world wide web, this practice is known as cybersquatting.

DotPH, the official domain registry of the Philippines, does not know or verify if the person who registers the domain names is the actual owner of the trade name. It is stressed that as a registry, DotPH is not in a position to say who has the rights to a domain name, which is the way it is with majority of domain registries; anyone can register any domain.[1] Measures geared towards the prevention of cybersquatting are thus lacking. The situation is such that the legitimate owner of the brand or name is left with the option of either purchasing the site from the domain owner at a presumably high price or submitting the matter to dispute resolution providers which are usually based abroad and thus payable in foreign exchange.

In the United States, the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) authorizes a trademark owner to sue an alleged cybersquatter in federal court and obtain a court order transferring the domain name back to the trademark owner. In some cases, the cybersquatter must pay money damages. Perhaps iit’s time that a similar legislation be passed in our jurisdiction.

---

[1] http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/features/09/11/08/cybersquatting-cases-rp-rising

If Ignorance is Bliss, Why Do We Seek Knowledge?

I was recently asked this question and was dumbfounded. Of course, I could have resorted to Socrates' "the unexamined life is not worth living," but then I realized that ignorance IS bliss. Applying this to technology, our blind consumption of innovations and inventions is largely due to two things. Firstly, is the complexity and the constant changes in the technology. More often than not, the ordinary consumer is not learned enough to understand the composition and the process of products utilized in everyday life. I personally do not know anyone who can explain how a sim card can connect a caller to a person on the other side of the world. Secondly, our lack of knowledge of technology may be attributed to plain laziness. Of course, we can argue that we are not to blame because there are far more important matters to attend to than understanding why cell phones operate the way they do. As long as they do their job, we are happy and we can get on with our lives. I remember in college Philosophy, we discussed how we are a society of detachment. That we operate without thought and we are only concerned with the end product. The danger in this is two-fold as well. First, we lack the appreciation for these inventions and the processes on which they operate. Second, our huge reliance (as it is now a necessity) on technology has a flimsy foundation. When our computers bug down, we seldom know what to do. Even car trouble becomes a nightmare. Perhaps this is the reason why the Y2K scare became a huge issue. We are unprepared because we are dependent yet ignorant. I offer no solution. :-)


PREVIOUS POSTS:

15 - Disembodiment
14 - Technology Goes Green
13 - Uniqueness
12 - How IPL is Ruining Your Life
11 - How iPhone Changed My Life
10 - I Want!
9 - Televisions as Non-lethal Weapons
8 - Globe Postpaid Hell
7 - Meat.org
6 - Your Brain v. The Internet
5 - Maggots and Coffee: Internet for the Non-confrontational
4 - Searching the Internet Increases Brain Function
3 - Beware of Internet Transactions
2 - But Mom, Everybody Else is Doing It
1 - Eowh Powhz!

Salubong 2010 ended with a big bang.

Who would have thought that such a festive occasion could have ended on such a tragic note? One would think that in this day and age people of the legal profession (or at least aspiring to be part of the legal profession) would be educated enough to see past the barbarities of terrorism and act as civilized human beings should.

What happened last Sunday was a failure and a disappointment on so many grounds. I am especially saddened by the thought that among the throng of people celebrating, there could be a mind so inhuman as to think of causing harm to any other person in the crowd. I find it disgusting that some people are incapable of looking past minor differences and instead choosing to see such a happy gathering as the perfect opportunity to strike, without regard for the innocent.

I've always felt that nothing like the Salubong could ever bring out such intense school spirit and pride. But if people like this are left free to mingle amongst those who are there to truly live in the joy of the moment, then I am afraid that the purpose of Salubong will always be defeated. If there are those who take advantage of the cover of the crowd to get away with their schemes, then the chance to celebrate would only pose too great a risk.

I've heard it said that gatherings such as these make up a recipe for disaster. I guess I always hoped for the best in people, that for at least just this once everyone would see the bigger picture and be happy for everyone else. And I'm learning every day that I have to lessen that hope.

We were all victimized by the mind that meant to harm, however thankful we may be that no actual physical harm came to us.