CyberPress joins Consumer Electronics Live Manila 2009

The I.T. Journalists Association of the Philippines (CyberPress) joins Consumer Electronics Live Manila 2009 dubbed "the country’s biggest gadget show and thePhilippines' version of CES," on November 13 to 15, 2009 at the 9,000 square meter floor space World Trade Center Halls A-C.

A key acivity of CyberPress will include an industry survey in line with the 2nd CyberPress IT Choice Awards next December.

According to Gerard de Guzman, General Manager of Summit Live, organizers of CEL Manila 2009, "what makes CEL Manila special is the gathering of large and small brands not just to exhibit their products but to sell them as well. I think there is nothing worse for a techie than seeing and salivating over a device on display but then you can’t buy it right there and then. With CEL Manila exhibitors putting together special promos just for the 3 day event, techies are sure to find devices at terrific values."

On its second year, CEL Manila 2009 "will have a greater focus on not just showcasing the latest and greatest gadgets, but on buying them as well," de Guzman said.

For more information about CEL Manila 2009, visit http://celmanila.com.

UP wins int’l collegiate programming tilt

CHAMPION, ACM ICPC Asia Manila 2009, Team 'Mga SOGO ni E.T.', University of the Philippines-Diliman, and First Place, 3rd Philippine National Programming Competition.

MANILA, Philippines – A team from the University of the Philippines-Diliman won first place in the 2009 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) Asia-Manila Regional Competition held at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City recently. Team "Mga SOGO ni E.T." – Kevin Charles Atienza, 3 BS Computer Science; John Eddie Ayson, 3 BS Computer Engineering; and Marte Raphael Soliza, 5 BS Computer Science – solved 10 out of 10 problems to emerge champion. The team’s coach is Eric Tambasacan. Ho Chi Minh City University of Science’s Team “Passion” - Pham Tuan Vu, Trinh Tran Dang Khoa, and Le Do Hoan Nam – coached by Dang Nguyen Tien, took first runner-up honors, while second runner-up was Team 'NUSSOC1' of the National University of Singapore, composed of Victor Loh Bo Huai, Adhiraj Somani, and Doon Hanh Hung, and coached by Steven Halim.

The following teams received special awards:

* 'Passion', Ho Chi minh University of Science, Vietnam, Best Foreign Team
* 'Mga SOGO ni E.T.', U.P. Diliman, Best Team from the Philippines
* 'SOGOng long ong moy poso', U.P. Diliman, 2nd Best Team from the Philippines
* 'LCD ver. 2', Ateneo de Manila University, 3rd Best Team from the Philippines
* 'Mga SOGO ni E.T.', U.P. Diliman, Best Team from Metro Manila
* 'Lemorcichein', U.P. Los Banos, Best Team from Luzon (Outside Metro Manila)
* 'Jaguars', University of San Jose-Recoletos, Best Team from the Visayas
* 'You I See (Ark)', University of Immaculate Conception-Davao, Best Team from Mindanao ACM stands for Association for Computing Machineries, one of the most prestigious I.T. organizations in the world. Each year, ACM holds the ICPC, which is participated in by thousands of teams from hundreds of universities worldwide. From selected regional sites on six continents, winning teams advance to the World Finals.

The ACM ICPC World Finals will be held February 1-6, 2010 in Harbin, China. The Philippine leg of the competition was sponsored by IBM. The competition involves teams of three college students and a coach who are given a set of programming tasks (from eight to 10 problems) to be solved in 5 hours using a standard computer and programming languages such as C, C++, and Java.

Fifty-five teams from four countries and 23 schools participated in the ACM ICPC Asia Manila Regional held October 22-23.

This is the first time a Philippines team has won an ACM ICPC Asia regional competition and the third time the Philippine Team advanced to the ACM ICPC World Finals.

This was also the third time Ateneo de Manila University hosted the ACM Asia Regional Competition.

This year's Asia Manila contest director was Dr. Rafael Saldaña of Ateneo de Manila University. The judges, from the Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP), were:
* Dr. Henry Adorna (University of the Philippines - Diliman)
* Dr. Caslon Chua (De La Salle University - Manila)
* Dr. Pablo Manalastas (Ateneo de Manila University) (Chief Judge)
* Dr. Nelson Marcos (De La Salle University - Manila)
* Dr. Felix Muga II (Ateneo de Manila University)
* Dr. Rafael Saldaña (Ateneo de Manila University)
* Dr. Allan Sioson (Ateneo de Naga University)
* Dr. Kardi Teknomo (Ateneo de Manila University)
* John Michael Yap (University of the Philippines-Diliman)

Following are the Top 10 Schools in the 2009 ACM ICPC Asia Manila Competition:

1. University of the Philippines - Diliman (PHILIPPINES)
2. Ho Chi Minh City University of Science (VIETNAM)
3. National University of Singapore (SINGAPORE)
4. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HONG KONG)
5. University of Hong Kong (HONG KONG)
6. Ateneo de Manila University (PHILIPPINES)
7. De La Salle University - Manila (PHILIPPINES)
8. University of the Philippines - Los Banos (PHILIPPINES)
9. Ateneo de Naga University (PHILIPPINES)
10. University of Immaculate Conception - Davao (PHILIPPINES) The ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) traces its roots to a competition held at Texas A&M in 1970 hosted by the Alpha Chapter of the UPE Computer Science Honor Society. The idea quickly gained popularity within the United States and Canada as an innovative initiative to assist in the development of top students in the emerging field of computer science.

The contest evolved into a multi-tier competition with the first Finals held at the ACM Computer Science Conference in 1977. Headquartered at Baylor University since the 1980s, the contest has expanded into a global network of universities hosting regional competitions that advance teams to the World Finals.

Since IBM became a sponsor in 1997, the contest has increased by a - Hide quoted text - several factors. Participation has grown to involve several tens of thousands of the finest students and faculty in computing disciplines at over 1,600 universities from more than 70 countries on six continents.

The contest fosters creativity, teamwork, and innovation in building new software programs, and enables students to test their ability to perform under pressure. It is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious programming contest in the world.

For more information, visit the contest website: http://www.math.admu.edu.ph/acm.

PFV Journalism Awards selects CyberPress member as nominee

The Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) has selected Jason Domantay’s Studio 23 feature, Improving Child Survival through Vaccination in Cambodia, under the Broadcast - TV category.

The first PFV Journalism Awards will be held on November 12, 2009 in Manila.

The Philippine Foundation for Vaccination is a non-profit organization which promotes vaccination for disease prevention, especially among infants and children. The foundation aims to reduce morbidity and mortality through objective ethical and scientifically accurate communication of the benefits of disease prevention through vaccination.

Domantay currently sits on the Board of Officers of the Information Technology Journalists Association of the Philippines, also known as CyberPress, as Sectoral Representative for Broadcast Media.

Established in 1997 CyberPress (http://cyberpress.org.ph/) is the pioneering organization of IT writers in the country.

Internet cafés unite to improve services

There is strength in numbers, a concept leveraged by almost 100 internet café owners and operators who have recently decided to organize themselves into a single national federation to improve their quality of service and harmonize their role in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry during a summit hosted by the Commission on ICT (CICT) last week at its office in Diliman, Quezon City.

According to CICT Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua, “Internet cafés are reaching more and more Filipinos and allowing them to access to the information superhighway. Their popularity shows the eagerness of Filipinos to use the Internet, and the CICT joins I-Café Pilipinas in looking for new ways to bridge the digital divide.”

The CICT gathered the officials and members of nine Internet café associations from all over the country in the first such summit to define their role as part of the ICT industry and develop action plans for improving the services provided by these small and medium enterprises.

For his part, CICT Commissioner Monchito Ibrahim said he hopes that, “ at the end of this summit, we will find ourselves on the road to creating a single umbrella association for all Internet café operators and allied businesses nationwide,” a statement that foreshadowed the action plan adopted at the end of the summit, a joint effort of national social advocacy network I-Café Pilipinas and the country's Internet café operators and associations.

Carrying the theme “Towards a Better Internet Café Industry in the Next Decade,” the summit's goal was to bring together the newborn Internet café sector, allied industries and concerned government agencies to discuss relevant issues affecting Internet café businesses and develop a unified program to integrate the sector an important part of the ICT industry.

The conference was divided into four themes, which informed participants about numerous government programs available to them and linked them up with related ICT businesses, like online gaming providers and IT hardware and software vendors. These themes were: 1) The Internet Café as Community Digital Business Centers; 2) The Internet Café as Centers of Entertainment and Communication; 3) The Internet Café as Centers for Education and Collaboration; and 4) The Internet Café Owners Quest for Continuous Knowledge.

The Internet café associations that participated in the summit were the Valenzuela Internet Café Association, Internet Café Association of Manila, Los Banos Computer Owners and Operators League, Internet Café Association of Tagum, Internet Café Association of Imus, San Juan Internet Café Association, Internet Café Association of Zambales, Internet Café Association of Dasmarinas and members of the Unified Lanshop Owners of the Philippines.

The event was supported by key partners such as Intel Technology Philippines, Bayan Business, Smart Communications and Cubenet Interactive. (Dateline Philippines)

CICT urges voters to beat registration deadline for 2010 polls

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) is urging Filipinos of voting age to register for the 2010 elections.

“Going out to vote is the best opportunity to let your voice be heard, and you will not be able to vote unless you register,” CICT Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III said in a statement Wednesday.

The agency has allowed its personnel to register during office hours, if necessary.

“We at the CICT are especially excited to be part of next year’s elections, since it marks the first time that the country is having fully automated nationwide elections,” Chua said.

The CICT chairs the Advisory Council to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

All new or deactivated voters have until October 31 to register as the Comelec has announced it will not extend the deadline.

Deactivated voters are those who did not vote in the last two elections in 2004 and 2007.

To accommodate the expected rush of voters, the Comelec has extended registration hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday in all its field offices. On October 31, Comelec offices will be open until midnight.

Filipino citizens 18-years old and above, with at least one year residence in the Philippines and at least six months residence in the district where you wish to vote, are qualified to register.

Steps on how to register are posted on the Comelec website.

Voters may also look up Wikipedia to see which district they belong to. (DateLine Philippines)

Cyberpress meets new Microsoft Managing Director

Members of the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines, also known as CyberPress, were introduced to John Bessey, to the new Managing Director of Microsoft Philippines during the organization's General Assembly last October 20 at the Microsoft Philippines headquarters in Makati City.

Bearing a striking resemblance to actor Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver fame, John Bessey was thrown in rubber boots on his third day in-country when he participated in a clean-up and assistance project that Microsoft undertook for victims of the storm "Ondoy."

"It was messy, and probably the dirtiest thing I ever did in my entire life. But, it felt good to pitch in," Bessey said.

Bessy also said that it was a toss-up for him if either he got posted to the Philippines or another country.

"I visited both countries to see which one my family would be more comfortable with. My kids sort of helped in the decision once they saw the pool in the condo," Bessey said.

We are expecting to hear more from John Bessey of his plans for Microsoft Philippines.

Mabuhay at maligayang pagdating!

CyberPress elects new officers for 2010

2010 CyberPress Officers. (From left) Red Samar, Acie Estavillo, Jing Garcia, Marlon Magtira, Verns Joven, Alora Guerrero, Tom Noda, Alma Anonas-Carpio, Mevin Calimag, and Jayson Domantay.

During the organization's General Assembly last October 20 at the Microsoft Philippines headquarters in Makati City, the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines, also known as CyberPress, elected its new Board of Officers for 2010.

The new set of elected CyberPress officers for 2010 are the following:

President - Jing Garcia of Manila Times (2nd term)

Vice President Internal - Melvin Calimag of Manila Bulletin (2nd term)

Vice President External - Red Samar of Manila Bulletin (2nd term)

Finance Officer - Verns Joven of Philippin Star Online (2nd Term)

Constitutional Amendments Officer - Marlon Magtira of Business Mirror Online (2nd term)

Secretary - Alma Anonas of Philippines Graphic (2nd Term)

Membership Officer - Alora Guerrero of Techie.com.ph

The following were appointed by the elected officers as sectoral representatives:

Print - Tom Noda of Computerworld

Broadcast - Jayson Domantay of ABS CBN

Online - Arcie Estavillo of Business World Online

The new officers will be inducted at the Cyberpress Christmas Thanksgiving Gathering on December 18.

SEAIR brings relief goods to Batanes

Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) brings relief goods and basic commodities to Batanes in response to the food shortage in the province. Food supplies declined at an alarming rate when Typhoon “Pepeng” stopped cargo planes and ships from delivering provisions to the island.

“SEAIR, in cooperation with the provincial governor of Batanes and the Ateneo Professional Schools , is launching special cargo flights to transport much-needed supplies to our northernmost province,” said Avelino Zapanta, SEAIR president. The added flights are also carrying relief packs containing rice, canned goods, powdered milk, sugar, noodles and biscuits.

The airline also announced that it will continue accepting donations for Typhoon Ondoy flood victims as well as aid for the Batanes food shortage until October 16. Zapanta said contributions in kind or in cash will be accepted and duly acknowledged by SEAIR from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Mondays to Saturdays.

The following venues receiving donations are: SEAIR ticketing office, Room 202 Lao' Center Building, 1000 Arnaiz Avenue (formerly Pasay Road) corner Makati Avenue, Makati City; SEAIR Domestic Airport office, Terminal 1, NAIA, Pasay City; SEAIR Cebu office, Door # 3 YMCA Building Jones Avenue,
Cebu City; SEAIR SM Clark, Unit 166 SM City CSEZ, Clarkfield, Pampanga; and SEAIR Caticlan, Caticlan Airport. For more information on how you can help, please contact SEAIR Call Center at 849-0100.

Some 1,772 families in Batanes were affected by Typhoon Pepeng and the food shortage. This is composed of 311 families from Uyugan, 214 from Itbud, 122 from Imnajbu, 149 from Ivana, 64 from Mahatao, 162 from Basco, 320 from Sabtang and 430 from Itbayat.

SEAIR is also participating in a food distribution program to provide thousands of flood victims in Marikina and Tanay, Rizal with fresh hot meals.