Punk'D

First, there was the dubious news article regarding the attempt of now infamous legislator Winston Castelo to pass a bill seeking to limit the quantity of merchandise based on the Angry Birds franchise. Then, there was the much-lamented and oft-talked about DPWH fiasco depicting three public officers photoshopped to look as if they were standing on rocky ground “apparently looking for a lost cat that strayed from its owner during the devastation of typhoon Pedring.” It seems the internet world is never bereft of pranksters out to “punk” the rest of the netizens Ashton Kutcher-style.

But of course, the netizens certainly weren’t laughing when the news first came out. When word got out that Castelo (well-known for the Anti-Planking Bill) allegedly passed a bill aiming to monitor the quantity, quality and diversity of items bearing the angry birds likeness, people were outraged. In fact, the alleged bill even became a twitter trending sensation! Good thing for us though, that it was all just one big fat joke.

What is more distressing however, is the photoshopped DPWH picture showing three stooges standing right in the middle of the scene pretending to be seriously assessing the situation. Unfortunately, this one was indeed photoshopped as reported. According to the DPWH, an over-eager employee, in his misguided attempt to please his boss, took it upon himself to photoshop 3 DPWH officials on the picture and posted the same without any official clearance. Said over-eager employee is now fired for his “initiative.” While the picture may have originally been intended to fool the public, ultimately the prank fell flat on DPWH’s face. In the end, the joke was on DPWH who became a laughingstock not only of the Philippines, but of the entire world.

All these news articles can be found in the satirical news website “So, What’s News?” Perhaps a fan of “Yes Men,” the people behind the abovementioned fictitious news website must have gleaned inspiration from the producers of the film documentary showcasing the adventures of 2 well-meaning environment crusaders trekking all over the world disguised as spokespersons of big bad corporations.

In the spirit of fun and bursting with idealism, “So, What’s News” is reminiscent of the New York Times future edition published by the Yes Men reporting only the seemingly improbable and too-good-to-be-true news articles. The only difference between the Yes Men’s newspaper and “So, What’s News” however, is that the latter publishes news articles that are so completely stupid, it just had to be true! And to make things worse, people actually believe it!

What does that speak of the Filipino people? More importantly, what does that speak of our public officials and government authorities? There’s an old saying that goes: “there is a kernel of truth behind every joke.” I guess at this point, the question we should be asking ourselves is, “who’s laughing now?”

Entry #16

Older Entries: #15, #14, #13, #12, #11, #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1

Aakash, the world's cheapest tablet!

India has always been known for it’s amazing connectivity, beating out other giants such as China and Brazil. To complement this strength, they Indians will be pioneering the record cheapest tablet computer to date, costing an incredible $35. The AAKASH tablet computer will be making the most of the strong connectivity provided with India since it will also be featuring wi-fi technology. It will be launched by DataWind, a British company, with a 100,000 initial copies for students, with many more units to be released in the next few months. Before the AAKASH, the other serious competition was the Amazon’s KindleFIre which costs $199 as compared to Apple’s iPad.

This project is part of their nations new policy of bridging the public’s connectivity with technology with devices such as mobile phones and the internet. From 2000-2010, the number of connected individuals has increased 15 fold. However as of this date that number is only 8% of the population, as opposed to the 40% of China. The concentration of purchasers only belong to the wealthier sector, which is why even if India is the fastest growing market with 19 million subscribers every month, they are only concentrated on the upper section of the economic pyramid. The AAKASH will be using the Google Android functionality. Despite the promise of providing affordable technology over wider markets, critics are pessimistic claiming that the product will have a very mediocre touch screen and will be very slow. For $35 however, how can anyone complain?

check in and get hooked up

One of the hottest trends to hit the Internet right now would have to be location-based social apps. These apps aim to build connections out of people who share not only common interests but also common or at least proximate locations. Convenience being the main attraction, this new wave of services is sure to take online dating to a whole new level.

I heard about this app called Grindr in a fairly recent convo/chismisan session with some friends. They said it's a location-based dating application particularly made for gay men to help them locate others nearby. Users only need to create a profile with a photo and a brief description of themselves, then select their interests from a long list of options. It also has a "check-in" feature similar to that of Facebook so that users can broadcast their location to others. This app was a big hit that it spawned another one called Blendr, which has similar features except that it caters only to straight men and women.

These location-based apps may have their "social" benefits but security must always be on the top of our minds. I personally think that these hook-up apps are risky and have the potential of creating new avenues for crimes. You can never be sure if the person you're about to meet really does have good intentions. Moreover, there's the possibility of being stalked, harassed, raped or robbed by sharing your current location.

Privacy is a very serious concern when it comes to the use of these new services. Application developers should come up with improved privacy controls capable of accurately filtering information shared and contacts who can have access to such information. At the end of the day though, regardless of privacy controls, everything would still be left to the users to decide. I guess people just have to be extra smart and careful these days.

Entry #16

The Ministry Of Truth Lives! And It Stinks!

The Web can be a cruel place. No other medium can be used to spread negative publicity with greater speed and facility. Whether you're a student caught in a car set afloat by a raging storm, or a reporter stammering through his report, trying his best to make a thoroughly boring report sound interesting, the moment your blunder is memorialized online it is permanent with no hope of retraction.

The latest victims of this phenomenon are the three now infamous DPWH engineers who had their images Photoshopped onto an image of the broken Roxas Boulevard sea wall, popularized in the so-called "DPWHERE?" meme (my fellow blogger Tonton Mina explains the meme in his own post so it's wise to also read his entry on the subject). I feel no sadness for the DPWH--they should have known better than to act like an Orwellian Ministry of Truth by trying to make it appear they were "on the scene" at Roxas Boulevard when they were not. The people I feel sorry for are the three engineers who have been immortalized in the internet as the omnipresent symbols of a DPWH who would want us to believe it is so "on the scene" with every contingency that they have even sent their men on the moon. These three men have become symbolic of a lie, whether they like it or not.

Sadly, that's how the Internet works. There's no point in trying to stem the tide of the ever growing and evolving meme. There is likewise no point in demanding that each and every person who's made a "DPWHERE?" picture recant on pain of sanction since it won't undo the damage anyway. Ultimately, to me, the fault lies with the DPWH for even considering the perpetration of this Big Brother-like maneuver. It's their fault they even considered trying to manipulate the truth--albeit sloppily. As a matter of policy, it's better to regulate government agencies' propensity to lie than the general public's propensity to criticize.

As for the poor engineers who now have to face the possible humiliation of being associated with this meme, what's done is done. It's been said that all publicity is good publicity depending on how one deals with it. If a beauty queen can gain a writing and showbiz career by mangling English in a "major major" way, then I'm sure they can likewise find some way to make this notoriety work for them. After all, it wasn't their fault their pictures became so infamous, and they'd be wise to play up this simple fact: they were victims too.

Miguel Tensuan

Entry 16

iPhone 5 unveiled! Wait... iPhone 4S? Bummer.

First off, I am a Blackberry user. Some say its boring. Maybe it is. But I love how it gets me connected to everything without hassle. Plus, I'm not a fan of touchscreen phones. Since I use my phone primarily for messaging (SMS, email, Blackberry Messenger, Twitter, Facebook), I prefer the tactile feel of a physical QWERTY keypad. And right now I can still very well say that the Blackberry is perfect for me.

However, whenever I see my friends using their iPhones, I must admit that I get (a little) jealous. Why? It's the number of things that they can do with their iPhone, primarily with all the applications available. Well, Android OS phones have more available applications, but I've always been an Apple fanboy. So if ever I'm getting a touchscreen phone, it will definitely be the iPhone.

For the past few months, everyone is anticipating the release of the new iPhone, and everyone has been expecting it to be a big jump from the iPhone 4 in terms of its physical design (looks), and its contents (guts). People have been expecting the upcoming iPhone as the iPhone 5. As with all Apple releases, there had been a lot of rumors circulating. There were rumors that the iPhone 5 will have spanking new design, a 4-inch screen and an edge-to-edge display so that it can rival with its competitors, like Samsung with its Galaxy S II, which has a bigger screen powered with Android OS. There was also a rumor that the iPhone 5 will feature a physical keyboard. While I welcomed the thought, I don't think the iPhone will ever have a physical keyboard, and given Apple's commitment to simplicity and seamless design, this will be out of the question. The most absurd rumor I read is that the iPhone 5 will have a holographic screen. Well I love the creativity, and the Star Wars-like imagination. But we're just not there yet folks. Seriously.

When I woke up this morning, everyone was talking about the release of the new iPhone. And to the surprise (or horror) of many, it is not the iPhone 5, but the iPhone 4S. Essentially, what this means is that the new iPhone 4S will retain the previous design of the iPhone 4, and the only change will be its upgraded innards. This is not the first time that Apple did this. They previously released the iPhone 3, then an iPhone 3G, and an Iphone 3GS. Many people I know are disappointed after hearing this news. Actually, if we take a look at the specs of the iPhone 4S, it's really not that bad. 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video, dual-core A5 chip (currently used by the iPad 2, making it 7 times faster than the iPhone 4), better battery life (8 hours of talktime instead of 7), among others. It also has a new feature called "Siri" - a voice-controlled virtual assistant that'll respond to natural language questions with relatively sophisticated semantic know-how. Whoa.

The disappointment comes mainly from people who were expecting a physical design makeover. So who is to blame for the absent iPhone 5? Not Apple. They never really said they were coming up with the iPhone 5. It is the online rumor mill that trussed the new iPhone with the number "5". Well if there is one thing that we learn from this is that rumors are just that - rumors. Nothing is certain until they are officially released. So don't keep your hopes up for that holographic screen. Not just yet. But personally speaking, if I'm buying an iPhone, I want a redesigned one. Not that the iPhone 4 needs one. Its just that I want something new in all respects - from the looks to the guts. So I guess, I 'll be sticking with my trusty Blackberry. For now.

Who knows, they might get ahead of Apple for that holographic screen. No. Not really.

Entry # 16

Mark Garrido

P.S. This will be my last ICT post *tear*. I had a blast. Thank you.

When ICT Meets Disaster Science

In these trying times, no one is safe from nature’s wrath. In case anyone forgets this fact, week after week of typhoon and other natural calamities plague our archipelago. A joint study by Columbia University and the World Bank entitled ‘Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis’, which identifies countries which are at high risk for six major natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, drought, and cyclones, has the Philippines pegged as one of riskiest countries in the world. But in spite of being a disaster hotspot, our level of preparedness falls way below laughable.

Just like the rest of government policies in general, the disaster risk management in this country is responsive at best. The National Disaster and Risk Management Council can deny it all day but affected citizens know better. The focus is usually on the typhoon’s aftermath notably without any concrete and more sustainable national plan. But as we all know, relief efforts can only do so much on a rainy day. No matter how resilient Filipinos are, we can only take so much Ondoy and Pedring in a lifetime.

Yes, typhoons and disasters and stuffs are all bleak news. It’s a good thing though that some ICT efforts in both private and public agencies help mitigate the tragedies of living in this disaster-infested nation of ours. In light of the recent string of typhoons which battered the country, we can rely on Technology (with a capital T) to give us ‘good practices’ in disaster science:

ICT-led research capacity and online information drive

PAG-ASA’s 5-day weather outlook is a significant development in disaster science because of two points: (1) it shows that PAG-ASA has upgraded and has now the capacity to forecast like a real weather forecasting station (finally!) and (2) it identifies the weather in the top five tourist spots in the country in order to ward off unknowing (certainly unplugged) tourists to wander in these areas during times of calamity. While the tourism angle is not really disaster science related, the fact that it spawned a more comprehensive approach to weather forecasting is a welcome improvement any time of the day. Then of course there are the ever spamming social networking accounts of agencies like the NDRRMC and DOST-PAGASA to teach you what a storm surge is in 140 characters or less. As to research development, the Congress is slowly recognizing the importance of the role of ICT in disaster science. The Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) recently paired up with the Manila Observatory in planning and developing the Disaster Science Management Center (DSMC) which demands for an ICT-led disaster science in the Philippines.

ICT in Calamity Response

We all have heard of the GSIS Wireless Automated Process System (G-WAPS) which hastened the processing of calamity loan applications. Having waded waist high flood water in order to get a calamity loan for rebuilding lost hopes and dreams, it is definitely easier to negotiate with a computer station in the nearest city hall than to a disgruntled government employee. Just recently, there is also the E-Donation Management System (DSWD) which partnered with telecommunication companies in order to implement a donation system via short messaging service. The online call for relief operation volunteers also yield an unusually higher turnout compared to when it was traditionally done over the tri-media. Surprisingly, the ordinary netizen finds it harder to turn a blind eye to DSWD’s tweetspams in the timelines. These aside from the efforts coming from the private sector which utilize ICT in order to encourage donations and coordinate relief operations among its volunteers. Gotta love ICT!

ICT in calamity analysis

The license to operate the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology was recently handed over to the NDRRMC through a A$6.5-million (P260-million) grant from the Australian Agency for International Development. The technology would produce 3D maps and data that can analyze the possible effects of natural disasters such as earthquake, flood and severe wind to help LGUs most affected by the disasters to invest on necessary infrastructure and prepare for natural disasters in the future.

In sum, ICT plays a huge role in every aspect of disaster science: from research capacity building and development of early warning systems down to disaster relief and mitigation.

ICT has responded to the call. The remaining challenge is left to the government to consolidate and institutionalize these efforts in order to provide a more streamlined calamity response system. The bad news is that the Philippines is a disaster-infested rut. The good news is that ICT exists in our islands. As to what the Government will do to harness it, let’s all hope that it will come before another September Super Typhoon.

So long Law and ICT class! /enter nostalgia here/

Regine Tenorio. 16^th entry.

Other entries throughout the semester: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Public Office and Photoshop

The first thing we learn about public office is that it is also a public trust; that it must be discharged by the incumbent not for his own personal aggrandizement but for the benefit of the public for whom it is held by him in trust. But like the many other things we learn this does not necessarily translate as true in real life. Last week’s typhoon aftermath just paved an occasion to disprove our legal definition of public office: Three DPWH officials found themselves edited in a picture that depicted clean up and inspection.

I knew for a fact, even as a child, that public officials ought to be omnipresent from beauty contests and fiestas to places of disaster. The need to be omnipresent eventually found its way in countless tarpaulins with either greetings or projects. Then came last week’s picture that sparked controversy and commotion. Feelings of anger transformed into a need for ridicule. The three officials are now everywhere! Pinoy netizens came up with an unofficial contest of best photo manipulation. The three can now be found in Michael Angelo’s Last Supper, Angry Birds, Abbey Road, MacArthur’s landing and other famous photos.

DPWH released an apology saying that the photo was issued without authority and the reason for its release was not known. The truthfulness of such claim can never be verified. Sadly, the damage is done and the public cannot reasonably expect such close inspection from the government. One click, with or without authority, with or without close supervision, is all it takes to publish online.

Whether or not the humiliation caused to DPWH was justified can be the topic of an endless debate. What we know is that the technology, which allowed the manipulation, is the same technology that allowed us to see what was wrong. And no matter the technological changes, our ideals and aspirations for our public office remain the same.

James Anthony Mina #16