Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Saturday, February 20, 2016

History’s Hit Drama Series ‘Vikings’ Returns For Season Four

Wazzup Pilipinas!

HISTORY’s hit drama series “Vikings” is back for a gripping fourth season led by Travis Fimmel, star of the upcoming film Warcraft. It premiered last week and can be seen every Friday, at 9:00pm (same day telecast as the U.S.) on History Channel. The network has added four episodes to its initial 16 episode order. Since its premiere, a new episode will air every Friday for ten weeks with the remaining episodes to air later in the year.

Season three culminated with the extraordinary battle in Paris, where Ragnar (Fimmel) seized victory from the jaws of defeat – but still returns to Kattegat dangerously ill. Thoughts of his death galvanize the forces who seek to succeed him as king, including his wife Queen Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) and his oldest son, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig). Meanwhile, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) continues power struggles with her calculating, former second in command, Kalf (Ben Robson); Rollo (Clive Standen) betrays his Vikings heritage by remaining in Frankia and Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) is seized for his brutal actions to the Christian priest Athelstan.

Joining the stellar cast this season is Peter Franzén (The Gunman) as “King Harold Finehair,” a complex character who seeks to be King of Norway and a potential threat to Ragnar; Jasper Pääkkönen (Jet Trash) as “Halfdan The Black,” King Harold’s violent younger brother; and Dianne Doan (“Descendants”) as “Yidu,” a completely different character within the world of the Vikings who fascinates Ragnar.

“Vikings” is the critically acclaimed series from creator and sole writer Michael Hirst (Academy Award® winning film Elizabeth and the Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominated series “The Tudors”) and is a family saga that tells the remarkable tales of the lives and epic adventures of the raiders and explorers of the Dark Ages.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is another step closer to completing the first new train set to be added to the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) system, as the assembly of the second and third new light rail vehicles (LRVs) begins tonight at the Taft Avenue Station in Pasay City.

The two (2) LRVs arrived in Manila on February 17, and are part of the 48 new coaches procured under the DOTC-MRT3 capacity expansion project, which will increase the railway's capacity to over 800,000 daily passengers.

Once testing of the coaches is completed, the new train set will begin running for public use before April 2016.

Traffic Advisory

The public and motorists are advised to expect heavier traffic in the vicinity of the MRT-3 Taft Avenue station from 5 PM today until 12 NN tomorrow, as one lane — the innermost lane on the EDSA southbound side — will be closed to ensure the safety of motorists near the site.

Assembly works will principally take place during the MRT-3's non-operating hours, so as to cause the least possible disturbance to train riders, commuters, and motorists from tonight until tomorrow morning.

Michelin Announced as Title Sponsor of Australian GP

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Having become the official FIM MotoGP™ World Championship tyre supplier in 2016, Michelin extend their involvement in the MotoGP™ category as they become the title sponsor of the Australian GP.

The Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix will take place on the 23rd of October and is always a fan favourite. The Phillip Island circuit was first part of the Grand Prix calendar in 1989 and has produced some of the most incredible races in recent decades. 2015 produced a particularly unforgettable battle as four riders swapped positions for the win.

Bibendum, the Michelin Man, will of course be in attendance at the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix with further signage throughout the circuit. This agreement further emphasises the dedication of Michelin to the MotoGP™ championship, the Australian GP one of the most popular races amongst fans and riders.

The Phillip Island circuit will push the new Michelin tyres to their limits as MotoGP™ riders race down the Gardner Straight and into Doohan Corner with speeds reaching almost 350 km/h down the straight. With extensive testing having already been performed there is little doubt the French built tyres will once again help to producing jaw dropping action.

Globe Art Gallery Features Comrades in Clay as First Exhibit for 2016

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The photo above shows Globe Chief Human Resource Officer Renato Jiao (left) leads ribbon cutting for the launching Comrades in Clay, feature the works of clay masters Jon & Tessy Pettyjohns and their potter friends. With Jiao is Jon Pettyjohn.

As its first exhibit for 2016, the Globe Art Gallery is featuring Comrades in Clay, which highlights the ceramics creation of husband and wife Jon and Tessy Pettyjohn, along with their potter friends.

Jon and Tessy Pettyjohn have been teaching pottery since the late 70s. Through their commitment they have converted many pottery enthusiasts into serious potters, long after their pottery school closed. Their workshop continues to welcome those interested in working with clay.

In recent years, many Pettyjohns’s students meet at least once a month in Pansol to get their “clay fix”. During these “pot sessions”, they get high from kneading, slabbing, throwing and trimming the clay, as well as in glazing their bisque pots. Each month, they come back with eager anticipation almost akin to parent-to-be’s anxieties on how their glazed pots will finally come out of the kiln. Every Christmas season, they try to get together for Raku firing and “exchange pots”.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Last January 14, 2016, President Benigno Aquino III released a veto message in response to House Bill No. 5842 which proposed a Php2,000 across-the-board increase on the SSS pension. Around two million Filipino pensioners would have benefitted from the approval of this bill.

However, a Php 2,000 increase will cut the fund life of the SSS by 13 years, according to SSS officers Marissu Bugante and George Ongkeko Jr. This means that those who will be retiring after 2029 could have faced the risk of receiving no pension at all.

The highest monthly pension an employee can receive is around Php 13,000; the lowest being Php 1,200. The Php 2,000 hike will be beneficial to pensioners but even the highest monthly pension won’t serve as a sustainable retirement fund if you take into consideration the inflation rate in the country.

SSS pension serves as extended financial assistance. It is not meant to be a person’s entire retirement fund. As early as now, it is best for Filipinos to look for multiple streams to fund their retirement. Here are 3 income supplements to SSS pensions:

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Twitter launched its #TwitterCity PH in the Philippines, the first in the Asia Pacific region, at the Mind Museum located at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig to thank its local community of users, partners and advertisers for their support. The Philippines was one of Twitter’s fastest growing markets in 2015 with millions of Filipinos using Twitter as an essential part of their national, cultural and everyday moments."

Mabuhay to @ralfonsi, @alizaknox, @rsjaitly and @mainedcm who officially opened the very first in Asia #TwitterCityPH, The #BuhayTwitter hashtag was trending during the press conference especially after the many photo ops, selfies, and groupfies that we made at the TwitterCityPH. pic.twitter.com/RHsb4J5kZY

I asked almost everyone to shout the iconic Wazzup Pilipinas shout-out on video so I can later create a compilation of my many videos and photos taken at the presscon. Everyone was willing and accommodating because most Filipinos are really basically socially expressive in nature. This is probably the reason how we amazed the world with the AlDub phenomenon that rocked Twitter with a 41 million plus tweets.

Twitter Philippines (@TwitterPH) is the official account of Twitter in the Philippines. They don't have a local office yet in the country but I believe it will be soon the next move of the Twitter team as all of the Twitter peeps namely Aliza Knox, VP Online Sales for APAC and LATAM, Rishi Jaitly, Vice President of Media for Asia Pacific & Middle East and Richard Alfonsi, VP for Global Online Sales, and was joined by a life-sized standee of Maine Mendoza of the global phenomenon AlDub.

New Western Digital Prosumer NAS Storage Gives Creative Pros the Power to Multi-Task and Easily Share Files

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Western Digital Corporation, a world leader in connected storage solutions, today updated its prosumer solutions with My Cloud EX2 Ultra, a high-performance, two-bay network attached storage (NAS) system. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS is designed from the ground up for creative professionals and prosumers that need to automatically sync content across computers, easily share files and folders and enjoy multiple backup options so they can create their own personalized digital library with ease.

“We know our My Cloud users, especially creative professionals, need comprehensive solutions as digital storage needs continue to soar as well as the need for ongoing streaming capability,” said Jim Welsh, executive vice president, WD Branded Products. “With the My Cloud EX2 Ultra, creative professionals are able to combine high performance with multi-tasking optimization and data protection to create a NAS system that simplifies their workflow and provides peace-of-mind.”

My Cloud EX2 Ultra has been upgraded with a powerful 1.3 GHz dual-core processor enabling users to get ultra-fast transfer rates for high performance and smooth video streaming. Users also have access to 1 GB of DDR3 memory, allowing them to multitask with ease and leverage applications for HD media streaming, surveillance and much more. Several data management and security features allow users to select a preferred method for managing and protecting their movies, photos, music and digital files. Drive management options include RAID 0, RAID 1; JBOD and spanning modes, while data protection options include NAS to NAS, USB, cloud or LAN/WAN backup. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS comes preconfigured in RAID 1 mode to help protect data right from the start and is easily configurable into other data protection modes.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Home Credit Philippines, a global consumer finance company, brings an exciting new offer for those seeking to buy OPPO’s latest smartphone, the OPPO F1. Through installments provided by Home Credit, customers may purchase an OPPO F1 at 0% interest rate and even without a credit card starting from February 19, 2016, until March 31, 2016.

The OPPO F1, which retails at P11,990, was recently launched by global electronics and technology service provider OPPO with the support of Home Credit Philippines and OPPO’s first local ambassador, Sarah Geronimo.

In partnership with OPPO, Home Credit makes shopping for the OPPO F1 affordable and convenient. To apply for a loan, a customer needs to present at least two IDs and an initial cash payment. The loan is approved in less than 30 minutes, and the customer may leave the shop with the purchased good in less than an hour. The payment term is 6 months, with a monthly payment of as low as ₱1,299, based on 35 percent initial cash payment.

The OPPO F1 features a premium metal body with velvety metallic feel; a 5-inch 2.5D-arc-edge screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4; and a 13-megapixel camera. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage, which you can extend up to 128GB. But an even more important advantage of the phone is its 8-megapixel front camera, which allows for taking amazing beautified selfies.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Aquabest the country's premier water station franchise is reaching out to its local community by opening a soup kitchen for indigent people.

Every Friday afternoon the company operates a soup kitchen dispensing hot meals to the poor at its head office along Quezon Avenue. Since it started operating this February, the soup kitchen regularly serves dozens of underprivileged people.

The soup kitchen is part of the company's efforts to give back to society and is a reflection of the Christian values that underpin the company's operations. "As a company we have to strive to make a positive influence in our community. And our efforts here however small can help our underprivileged brethren that other people still care about them" says Carson Tan the company's President and CEO.

PH Fastest-Growing Market in Asia for Use of Mobile Forms in Enterprises, SMEs - Canvas CEO James Quigley

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As the first and exclusive distributor of Canvas in the country, Globe Telecom sees rapid digital shift among enterprises, SMEs with paperless forms for increased productivity

The Philippines is the fastest-growing market in Asia for the use of Canvas, the revolutionary cloud-based software service that empowers enterprises to collect, share and integrate information using mobile devices, according to its CEO James Quigley, who recently came to Manila for a visit.

Globe Telecom, through its IT-Enabled Services Group (IG), launched Canvas as its first and exclusive distributor in the Philippines in late 2014. As a result of the partnership, enterprise and small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers of Globe were able to discover the potential of mobile devices by shifting key business processes from paper forms to dynamic mobile apps with functionalities.

“Philippine enterprises are now finding ways to achieve operational efficiency for sustainable business results through information and communications technology (ICT), and we at Globe are pleased to enable their goals with our roster of innovative solutions, and one of which is Canvas,” shares Globe Senior Advisor for Enterprise and IT-Enabled Services Group Mike Frausing. “As the shift to a more digital enterprise landscape grows, we at Globe, through our partnerships with global companies like Canvas, are more than equipped to offer our enterprise clientele solutions that transform and scale up their business for the future.”

Wazzup Pilipinas!

A few days ago, Oracle announced on their blog that they plan to kill the Java browser plugin in their next major version of JDK, scheduled for release in Q1 2017.

What does this mean? Should we worry about our browsing experience?

This really just means that it won’t be possible to run Java applets in the browser anymore. The infamous “applet” is a technology that was developed by Sun Microsystems in the 90’s and went on to be acquired by Oracle.

This technology was still popular in many exploit kits over the last two years but in the last year alone we saw a sudden shift where kits removed Java support in favor of embedding more Adobe Flash exploits and direct browser exploits.

So, for an average user, the impact of this sudden passing will be pretty minimal. Most average users might not realize that the majority of web browsers have already done away with support for the API needed to run the Java plugin.

For business users that still need to run Java in the browser, Oracle is advising that you move to a plugin-free technology like java Web Start. Note, the existing applets will not only need to be switched but it will require new porting.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DOTC) push to modernize the country’s public utility bus (PUB) system reaches another milestone today with the launch of new buses for the Point-to-Point (P2P) Bus Service featuring a technology-enabled and Persons with Disability (PWD)-friendly design.

“PWDs, senior citizens, and pregnant women will begin enjoying the convenience and comfort of this new class of city buses, which improve accessibility with low floors and foldable ramps. We are ridding our streets of dilapidated, poorly-maintained, and unsuitable buses. Eventually, this will push all PUBs to modernize,” said DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya.

These high-quality, high-capacity buses will boast of the following features:

Low floor height
Hydraulic kneeling function to allow tilting towards the pavement
Retractable or foldable boarding and alighting ramp
Tap-and-go card payment system
Global positioning system (GPS) devices
On-board close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras
Free wifi

Telcos View: San Miguel’s Control of 700 MHz Spectrum Seen as ‘Anti-competitive’

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Local telecommunications companies have described as ‘anti-competition’ San Miguel Corporation’s hold over the entire 700 MHz band, reiterating calls for the frequency to be equitably distributed in a transparent manner among existing operators and new entrants.

Both PLDT and Globe Telecom have, since 2008 and 2005 respectively, repeatedly requested for an allocation of the 700 MHz frequency from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which to date has not acted on these applications. The two companies stressed the need to distribute the unused frequency to help bridge the gap in Internet speeds between the Philippines and other countries in the region.

“What is anti-competitive is the present situation where San Miguel controls the entire 700 MHz band, as well as substantial unutilized chunks of radio spectrum in other frequency bands through various corporations,” said PLDT and Smart Communications Head of Public Affairs Ramon Isberto in a letter to the Manila Times.

“Our position on this matter has been consistent. Since 2008, we have asked that the 700-MHz radio frequency band be reassigned from broadcast TV to mobile telephony and the said frequency be equitably distributed in a transparent manner among existing operators and new entrants,” reiterates Isberto in the said letter published last week.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Craving for a posh yet value for money smartphone that perfectly fits in your hand? Look no further because Flash—one of Asia’s up and coming lifestyle and smart device developer makes the Mica White version of the bestselling Flash 2 available in select stores in nationwide.

The Flash 2 smartphone, which was launched Q4 of 2015, is one of the hottest t-selling product in Southeast Asia because of its powerful camera features and superior performance. In fact, the first batch of the Flash 2 was sold out in just ten minutes after its launch.

The Flash 2 smartphone is ergonomically designed to give you access to all useful applications using just one hand. It’s curved back and contoured sides give balance to the phone, preventing unwanted slips when in use.

Furthermore, the Flash 2 is equipped with an LED flash autofocus front camera that makes it your professional selfie tool when going outdoors or when staying at home. With its 25 percent larger sensor size and 27 percent bigger pixel size, the phone is ready for all kinds of lighting conditions—all set for your selfie-worthy moments.

Aside from its enhanced selfie-taking features, the new Flash 2 has an even powerful main back camera that gives you the advantage of capturing your own view of the world. Capture the images just the way you see and experience them, or tweak them according to your own demands by using its enhanced photography creative tools. You can test your mobigraphy skills in manual settings, shoot time lapse videos and capture panoramic scenes using the front camera.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As part of its commitment to help build a digital nation, Globe Telecom is expanding the reach of its nationwide digital solutions caravan for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through its SME arm Globe myBusiness as it holds the 3rd Globe myBusiness Day in Batangas City.

Globe myBusiness has been working relentlessly with local government units (LGUs) nationwide to bring one of the country’s much-awaited ground fairs for existing and aspiring SMEs to help them learn the ropes of entrepreneurship in the digital age.

Now on its 3rd installment in Batangas with previous roll-outs in Cauayan, Isabela and Davao City, the Globe myBusiness Day caravan is a one-stop exhibit for entrepreneurs, allowing SMEs to explore new business opportunities, find new ways to increase their revenues, discover new solutions to stay competitive in the digital age, meet and be inspired by successful entrepreneurs and get great deals from suppliers to save on costs through showcase of the latest digital solutions, insightful speaker discussions, and interactive display of booths from participating SMEs.

Aside from showcasing its portfolio of offerings, Globe myBusiness is also bringing RJ Ledesma, co-founder of Mercato Centrale Food Market and Anthony Pangilinan, Chairman of Chief Disturber of Businessworks, Inc. to share tips and tricks to help make businesses better.