Mary Jane Veloso Granted Reprieve, Execution Delayed

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Filipinos are rejoicing after hearing the news that Mary Jane Veloso, drug trafficking mule, was spared from the execution. Below are some thoughts taken from the Internet from Filipinos and media publications all over.

What a great news to see in the morning!!! I literally cried and intensely prayed for a miracle until 12:40am last night before I fell asleep. Also hanging on with her family. Indeed, God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

It feels so relieving that Mary Jane Veloso was spared and given the chance to prove her innocence. As the recruiter surrendered herself let the case prosper. I just hope truth will come out so that no innocent life would be waste.

Mary Jane Veloso’s life has been saved—for now. According to Indonesian officials, Veloso was spared from the firing squad, citing the surrender of the woman who recruited and allegedly tricking her into.

Let me remind everyone that she has not been absolutely pardoned just yet, but was only spared of execution. A lot still has to be done.

Making Computer Use More Child-Friendly

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Calling all computer savvy parents! This week, a BETA version of KidslockWindows.com is being released in the Windows store. An App that provides a security system for parents to oversee their children’s activity on the computer has never before been offered for the Windows platform.

The idea for this App was created by a parent of two young children with multiple Windows-based computers in their home. He struggled himself to monitor his children’s computer activities, and imagined creating a platform that would allow him to decide which programs and activities his children could access on their home computers. With over 200 million copies of Windows 8 sold, the software is now a central part of more than 1.5 billion people around the word. Unfortunately, the Windows platform is missing a critical safety measure for percentage of its customers.
Ryan Saville, founder of KidsLockWindows.com wanted to solve the issue: “We need a simple solution that will protect our children when using tools like the Windows Store. I enjoy my kids playing on the computer, I just want to have better control on what they see and do.”

Thus KidslockWindows.com was born, both out of necessity but also out of need. KidsLockWindows.com will be the first software of its kind focused on providing a ‘Kiddie Lock’ lock for parents. Saville states: “Imagine a clean white interface, showing large icons with a simple timer that counts down and locks after a certain time period, giving peace of mind back to parents but still allowing our little ones to still grow their necessary computer skills.” In the future the company expects the software to be subscription similar to an antivirus.

First Rule of Virtual Reality: Don’t Break the Presence!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Below is a bylined article by ​Sasa Marinkovic, head of software marketing for the computing and graphics group at AMD, as he explains further the importance of keeping technology unnoticeable and undetectable in achieving and maintaining the 'reality' of the virtual reality presence.

I’m standing on the roof of a tall building, looking down at the street hundreds of feet below as I catch my breath. The flag on the roof of the building next door is snapping in the strong wind, and I pull my toes away from the edge, before I lose my balance and fall to the street. I can hear my pursuers pounding up the stairwell to the roof, but a quick look around reveals no place to hide. The only option is to jump — to the rooftop next door. I quickly turn back to have one final look, and… pixel-lag artifacts smudge my world. The magic is gone.

Virtual Reality — VR — one of the most hyped technologies over the past year, is poised to fundamentally transform personal entertainment as we know it, potentially delivering a long-term impact that may exceed today’s most “disruptive” new technologies. Strapping on a VR headset will catapult the user into a new realm of lifelike entertainment experiences that will seem believable — and very real, within seconds of putting them on. 

Traditional movie entertainment turns the viewer into an observer of the story, but today’s gaming technology make users active participants. VR technology takes everything a giant step further, creating the sense of the virtual world being just as real as the physical. But to achieve this, technology must become invisible, unnoticeable and undetectable. The moment that technology reveals itself by way of a difficult interface or unrealistic experience, the magic spell is broken — and the unconscious world of VR “presence” dissolves.