Archive for the ‘technology’ Category
Filed under blogging, events, technology
A couple of months ago, a lady in Germany sent me an e-mail and introduced me to the Girl Geek Dinner movement. She was coming to Cebu and needed help in setting up the first Girl Geek Dinner in Asia (in Asia!). She was scouting for girls in Cebu who were into technology and who could form the core of the group, and she chanced upon my ailing blog.
I must have been hibernating that much, because I hadn’t heard of it before. A quick search on the web told me that it is an international movement (or organization) of international fame where girl geeks meet and discuss developments in technology and new media. It was started in London and sprang from the umbrella group Geek Dinners, which included males. Geek groups are usually dominated by males, so a smart girl decided to form a group exclusive to girls. Now, there is usually a group in major cities, such as the Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinners, London Girl Geek Dinners, and the Seattle Girl Geek Dinners.
Cebu has come up with one, too! They had their first Cebu Girl Geek Dinner last night at Asiatown IT Park. It was proudly sponsored by Exist Global. I don’t really know who were there and I don’t have pictures to show, because… I wasn’t there. 
I was already set to watch Twilight with friends, and it was already on my calendar since last month. I committed to helping promote Cebu Girl Geek Dinners, though. I see that no one has written about it yet, so I’m hoping that this will be my share.
Hopefully, that was just a start. I’ll surely be there on the second Cebu Girl Geek Dinner.
Filed under rants, technology, work
So I take a break from writing about cables and signals and transmissions to see if my blog is still up and decided to vent. Okay, I know what PSTN is. That’s not really what this post is about.
I was just overwhelmed these past few weeks about how much I needed to take in, especially when I was in Lexington. And the more I learn, the more I realize how way behind my third-world country is in terms of technology. I consider myself more technically advanced than the average Filipino, but when these lay American people talk, you’d think they have offices in their homes. I could only think, we don’t have that in our mountain.
It was tempting to butt in and say, excuse me, but we only have three telecommunications companies in my third-world country and they don’t offer that service, so can you please bother explaining what you are talking about?
That should have told them how far behind we are, and to be more, uh, considerate of me.
Don’t believe me? Go inside Circuit City, and go inside a Filipino IT store (uh, what do we have, by the way? CDR-King?). The difference screams in your face.
Hear ye, Americans, how blessed you are. I wish you would realize that.
Filed under people, technology
So I just wrote about how amazed I was that Matt Mullenweg, WordPress founder, is only 24. Well, I found out today that the founder of Facebook is as young. He is Mark Zuckerberg, dropout from Harvard, and the world’s youngest billionaire today.
Wasn’t Bill Gates also a dropout? I see a trend here.
Tells us all how wit and initiative can get us farther than old school education, of which I was never a fan.
Filed under blogging, events, technology
.. thanks to my boss who allowed me to cut my training short so I could go back to the Philippines in time for it. I had to make up for the lost days, such as having marathon meetings everyday, but it was worth the sweat. After all, I was only going to the first WordCamp in Southeast Asia, and I got to be a part of history. I also got to meet The Matt Mullenweg, the founding developer of WordPress himself.
I got in on the first flight to Manila (4:30 a.m., and that’s right after going through a 44-hour international trip), so I was supposed to be the earliest there. It was stupid of me, though, to not go to the conference hall immediately and check if there were people there already. The organizers gave prizes to the first five who arrived. I was the sixth, I think, because I had stayed at an Internet cafe near the venue to pass the time.
It was okay, though, because later in the afternoon I got another prize: a WordCamp mug for being the second to register online. I love the mug! I had no idea that I was one of the first to register. I was busy plurking at the back of the hall when my name was called. I should have known, because my camper badge number was 002.
The highlight of the event, of course, was the appearance of the most eligible Matt in the world. He was an instant celebrity. The campers flocked to him, and everyone listened intently when he talked. Most of the time people were plurking rather than listening to the talks. But when it was Matt’s turn, everyone stopped. Or at least the girls did. By the way, he is only 24! And I am 23! So we are good together! LOL. (Roanne’s going to kill me for saying this.)
I was so amazed at how young and humble he was. He started Wordpress when he was only 17! What was I doing at that age? What were you doing at that age? And he didn’t look or sound like a nerd at all, nor did he look like someone famous. He came to the event in jeans, and he was very friendly. He was game enough to have his pictures taken with all those who wanted to have pictures with him, to think that the queue was very loooooooong.
I fell in line, of course. Here’s my picture with him:
Noticed my big, big smile?
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Filed under religion, technology
I was very sleepy and was about to doze off when a nerdy friend, in his excitement, PMed me just to say that the Large Hadron Collider was switched on for the first time in many years.
Now, I am also a nerd. When he mentioned “physics research” and said yes, he was referring to that elite research center in Switzerland, I got excited, too!
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which made the Large Hadron Collider, has been trying for years to recreate the Big Bang in its quest to uncover the origins of the universe. The institute does this by producing small amounts of antimatter, the most powerful substance in the world, through high-energy machines called particle accelerators. The Large Hadron Collider is the largest and most powerful of these.
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Filed under events, technology
I am drooling. Digital Hub is hosting an exhibit of the Apple iLife this weekend at Robinsons Ermita. There will be demos, tutorials, photo sessions, and Q&A sessions on iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, GarageBand, and the OS version Leopard for two days.
Filmmakers Dante Nico Garcia, director of “Ploning,” and Joaquin Pedro Valdes, director of “Bulong,” will be there.
Never mind that attendees will be styled by artists from Shu Uemura and shot afterwards by professional photographers. I am not into make-up, and I am not that vain yet. I just hate it that I’d be missing the tutorial on the iPhoto. I am more of a learn-on-the-job person, but it wouldn’t hurt to learn techniques from those who have been using iPhoto professionally.
This is one of the reasons why I hate being away from where the action is. I am missing a lot.
Filed under blogging, events, technology
Yay! WordCamp is coming to town! 
I didn’t think it would ever come to the Philippines. It would be the first WordCamp in Southeast Asia, thanks to the folks at Mindanao Bloggers who organized this event.
WordCamp, by the way, is a conference where Wordpress users and developers discuss codes, tips, and updates.
I’m obviously a Wordpress fan. I’ve used several other platforms, but Wordpress is a class all its own. I switched to Wordpress in 2006 because I thought its themes looked more professional. I have since discovered a thousand other reasons why it is the best. I like that I have more elbow room to customize my blog. I like that it is much easier to optimize. Heck, my blog in Blogdrive used to have a page rank of five, but it rarely showed up in the SERPs.
So, Wordpress fans, let’s see each other on September 6 at the College of St. Benilde, Taft Avenue, Manila.
Actually, my current schedule doesn’t allow me to be there, but I am praying that I could twist somebody’s arm so she’d give her consent. I will be there!
Special thanks to the sponsors:
Filed under blogging, events, technology
Update: There’s an archived presentation here.
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The curious cat in me signed up as soon as I heard that there would be a webinar on Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, and Google Website Optimizer. I was already familiar with Webmaster Tools and Analytics, but I hadn’t tried Web Optimizer. Besides, I was looking forward to helpful tips from the experts.
I had to stay up late, but it was worth it. The teams behind the three tools introduced their products, highlighted useful features, and gave some tips. Michael Wyszomierski discussed Webmaster Tools, Jeff Gillis discussed Analytics, and Tom Leung talked about Website Optimizer.
Why trifecta? I was curious about this so I looked it up. I learned that, in horse racing, trifecta is a way of betting in which one predicts what horses would come first, second, and third. (I think I’ve done this. I once won a nickel at a horse park in Kentucky.)
The speakers explained that the tools were intended to play parts in a three-step process. Webmaster Tools is for driving traffic, Analytics is for analyzing traffic, and Website Optimizer is for keeping the traffic in the site.
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Filed under technology, work
Less than a year after releasing Leopard, Apple announces Snow Leopard at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
It will be the newest Mac OS X version in a span of seven years, after Cheetah (10.0), Puma (10.1), Jaguar (10.2), Panther (10.3), Tiger (10.4), and Leopard (10.5).
Earlier this year we were told that the 10.6 version would be called Thundercat. I wonder how the old man Steve Jobs gets inspiration for the names of their cats?
(Isn’t she adorable? )
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