Can you believe that this statement came from Miriam Santiago? A senator who always debunk statements of witnesses to allege corruption of government officials in the senate investigation as hearsays and thus, has no merit as evidence to prove a criminal act. Read More….

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Ang pag-ibig, parang tong-its.

Ok na makinood ka lang. Mamburaot ng talo, makitawa, mag-enjoy. Pero dahil nga masaya, exciting manood. Kaya maku-curious ka. O, paano yun? Bat ansaya nila? Tapos maiinggit. Sana ako rin! Sila hapi, ikaw, feeling hapi lang. Kaya ikaw, join naman.

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Do you remember this recent post? Why O__o? Well, one of my winnar friends, Mishi (the girl I was with at the iblog afterparty) made a really crack collage that would totally make Korean fangirls hate me.

LOL. I just sit and wait until this reaches the Korean netizens. Who knows, I might start getting comments like “sHUt uP U d0NT luK Lyk TEUKIE OppA 1 BiT, U wHor3!!!111one!” or even end up getting poisoned by one of them! I won’t mind meeting Gackt this Lee Teuk kid someday though. I mean, I look like a Korean male celebrity- it’s supposed to be a good thing, right?

In another note (which is related to the title), I’ve finally accepted that most guys have bigger boobs than me. Serious. Even my mother would laugh at my chest when she sees me in tight tops. I mean, I’m so flat, I look like this topless.

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The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. Largely comprising the ICT and ICT-enabled businesses, the outsourcing and offshoring (O&O) industry alone piped in US$4.8 billion to the Philippine economy based on the Business Processing Association Philippines data. This is both owing to the country’s modern telecom infrastructure as well as the abundance of world-class Filipino talent.

Indeed, one major factor in the growth of the sector is what industry insiders call “peopleware” – or the human component of the industry. More than hardware and software, peopleware completes the equation, which spells the success of ICT and ICT-enabled enterprises in the country.

The Philippines has continuously attracted global investors in the industry attributed to a large extent to the competency of Filipino ICT professionals. According to Jayjay Viray, general manager of JobsDB.com, an online Human Resources firm, “We have the skills needed by the ICT sector plus the good-natured attitude towards work.” She explained that Filipinos know how to multi-task and do other jobs related to their work.

The country continues to produce the brainpower needed by the sector. About 10 percent of the 350, 000 college graduates in the Philippines per annum have degrees that are related to the ICT sector, according to the Philippine Strategic Roadmap for the ICT Sector.

However, a study made by the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC) revealed that there is a “lack of well-trained and competent trainers and educators in ICT and ICT-related subjects has contributed to the declining quality of education and of the country’s ICT and knowledge workers.”

Viray shared the same sentiment. “We have an oversupply of IT graduates, but we have an undersupply of quality IT graduates,” she said. “You’re not an IT if you only know how to encode,” she adds. While Viray laments that some IT graduates have no in-depth knowledge of basic principles of programming, for example, she is happy that some IT companies have partnered with IT schools to provide training and education.

One sector of the ICT industry that Viray hopes to see more Filipinos going into is software development. While there are many local (software) developers, their exposure to developing software is only bits and pieces of programs. “They’re in a box,” Viray says. “How I wish we could develop something of bigger impact like Linux or Red Hat,” she added.

Peopleware will be one of the topics that will be discussed in the forthcoming 12th ICT Professionals’ Congress, which is being organized by the Philippine Computer Society (PCS) and sponsored by JobsDB.com, Microsoft, Globe, Oracle, IBM and e-PLDT. The PCS, founded in 1967, is the premiere organization of 700 ICT practitioners in the country. It strives to continuously promote, protect and enhance the members of the ICT profession through its local and international activities.

Viray shares, “I’m an avid supporter of the ICT Congress and its efforts and goals. I like the objectives of this congress. This year, it will cover the sectors that I believe are very important – education, business, and economy. And one does not even have to be an ICT professional to be a part of it. Everyone stands to learn something from the good lineup of topics in the two-day conference.”

For more information on peopleware and other topics, register now for the Philippine Computer Society’s 12th ICT Professionals’ Congress on May 14 and 15, 2008, to be held at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Makati City.

For more details, please visit www.pcs-it.org or call 840-0985 to 86 or e-mail secretariat@pcs-it.org.

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SME customers typically operate in lean environments with limited resources and IT personnel.

Notwithstanding, business and technology issues confronting SMEs can even be more challenging than those faced by big corporations. At the very least, they are often dealing with similar business complexities and demands as large enterprises.

Thus, SMEs in the Asia Pacific continue to invest for the future by selecting applications solutions from providers which can address their needs. SMEs are making critical investments that will enable them to thrive and become more agile in the face of global economic growth and competition.

According to IDC, global SME “IT spend” has reached its highest level in the past decade, growing by 8.3% in 2007. The next phase of growth will be driven by greater industry verticalization.
The benefits of ICT to SMEs will be one of the major topics at the forthcoming 12th ICT Professionals’ Congress on May 14 and 15, 2008, to be held at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Makati City. Being organized by the Philippine Computer Society (PCS), the event is being sponsored by Microsoft, JobsDB.com, Globe, Oracle, IBM and e-PLDT. For more details, please visit www.pcs-it.org or call 840-0985 to 86 or e-mail secretariat@pcs-it.org.

When asked about the kinds of technologies that are in high demand to SMEs, Microsoft Philippines SMSP Director Louie Castañeda reported that their company has several offerings that SMEs are taking advantage of.

Castañeda shares, “There is Microsoft Dynamics – a line of integrated and adaptable business management solutions which automate and streamline financial, customer relationship, and supply chain processes in a way that helps drive business success.”

Affordability & Flexibility

One thing that will make technology providers click to SMEs are their capability to reduce complexity and total cost of technology ownership – value applications and technology solutions which are affordable, and will enable faster returns on investments (ROI) and reduced risk.

SMEs intend to build flexible, adaptable IT infrastructures and adopt modern technologies such as service-oriented architecture (SOA), which are critical to enabling them to respond quickly to new business opportunities, customer demands and changes in operating conditions.

To be of utmost assistance to SMEs, Castañeda says that, “Microsoft Dynamics software and services are designed to be customizable in order to respond to unique requirements and allow users to easily manage workplaces for maximum productivity. SMEs can also take advantage of the secure Web functionality of Microsoft Dynamics for employees, customers, and other partners.”

He further adds, “To make our technology offerings more affordable to SMEs, we have financing programs to aid them as they invest in the technology that will empower their business. These programs cover the acquisition and implementation of business software, hardware, and services. Moreover, SMEs can manage their finances more effectively as the program allows them to extend the costs over time.”

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Information and communication technologies (ICT) can be used in a multitude of ways to improve Philippine education, business and economy. But with so many products and services being offered out there, how and which technologies should we maximize to our full advantage? How do we keep up with all the technological advances?       

Answers to these and other key information can be obtained at this year’s ICT Professionals’ Congress (ICTPC) being organized by leading industry organization, the Philippine Computer Society (PCS). The ICTPC will focus on how ICT can “Enable the Education,” “Empower the Business,” and “Enrich the Economy,” and will serve as a venue for exploring new technologies, establishing new contacts, and reviewing trends and issues related to the effective integration of ICT covering the Soft Skills, Applications and Infrastructure.  

Slated on May 14-15, 2008 at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Makati City, with guest speakers Commission on Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, Ayala Foundation EVP Guillermo “Bill” Luz and Commission on Higher Education Commissioner Nona Ricafort, the conference will comprise plenary sessions and regular sessions on Education, Business and Economy. The conference will likewise feature corporate and product exhibits from event sponsors.     

The ICT forum is attended yearly by government officials, businessmen and ICT professionals from the academe and industry. 

According to PCS President Peter D. Que, Jr., “For this year’s conference, PCS has given equal emphasis on the hardware, software as well as the peopleware aspects of technology. We will be discussing how to build a high performance group, raise ICT competencies to that of international levels, and choose career paths within the ICT profession to avoid being redundant. This is in recognition of the importance of human resources in enabling optimum results from the new as well as old technologies.” 

Que added, “We have also incorporated topics aimed at helping companies, especially the SMEs, in choosing the right technology to invest in, and how to manage the ICT budget. And, also, we will help participants be updated on latest trends on wireless technology and online security, among others.”  

Some of the industry partners for this year’s event are JobsDB.com, ePLDT, Globe, and Microsoft.

The Philippine Computer Society is a premiere organization of over 700 ICT  professionals nationwide. Since its founding in 1967, PCS has spearheaded local and international activities which strive to continuously promote, protect and enhance the members of the ICT profession.

PCS is a founding member of the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines (ITFP) as well as the South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) whose other members include national computer societies from Australia, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

For more information on the event, please visit www.pcs-it.org.

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This is my 800^th article for sunstar since I started writing for it 14 years ago.  People always ask me where I get so many things to write about.  Actually, its simple – the more you read, and the more you think about what you read, the more ideas you will have to share.  I still make it part of my routine to read and scan through thousands of articles and as many books I can get every month.

The technology news is full of reports about the fact that Microsoft has decided not to pursue its bid to buy Yahoo.  After three months of negotiation, Microsoft apparently decided that the price they were asking for was too high – Microsoft offered more than 70% premium over the public stock price of Yahoo, but apparently Yahoo felt that their price was nearer almost double what it was before Microsoft started to court it.
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Before you continue reading, you should know that clicking on any of the links in this particular post may lead to difficulties finishing whatever you need to do. I should know, I got hooked on a few series, and just couldn’t stop until I had seen all the episodes from the very beginning. More…

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