Standard Chartered works!

We all have heard stories of how some of our friends have lost their credit cards to thieves and within hours, have their credit limit maxed out.

My friend once had her credit card stolen by conniving staff of a famous karaoke bar in Greenbelt. Fortunately, she had reported the card stolen and the police and mall security caught up with the thieves at a Lacoste store. The thieves were caught red-handed with several bags of expensive Lacoste shirts.

Someone we also know had her credit card stolen from her bag, inside her office. The thieves went on a shopping spree.

Last weekend, Chief and I went on a mini-shopping spree at Rustan's Makati. Partially, in preparation for the wedding on Celine and Rocky next Saturday. We had bought a dress for Chief using my Standard Chartered credit card. We have their “picture-type” credit card! Our picture shows Chief and I at a Taco Bell restaurant in New York, during our first trip to the States last December 2003. With a picture, there was no way a thief could use our credit card.

Then, we went to the concierge to apply for the new Rustan’s FSP. As I was filling up the form, Chief went to jewelry section looking at the bracelet she had long been wishing for.

But without second though as she pulled me over to look at it again, I said, “Sige, kunin mo na!” She was surprised with my quick approval. My credit card was swiped and credit approved.

A few minutes later, another surprise came!


My iPhone rung. It was an unlisted number. An overseas call as the lady had a Chinese accent. She introduced herself as Lei-ping of Standard Chartered and asked one question, “Sir, are you using your card now?” I said, “Yes.”

The conversation, or rather the credit check was quick and short. No small talk or pleasantries.

This is another example of how technology works.

Standard Chartered surely would have a “mechanism” in place that sends out a red flag when a client’s spending pattern goes beyond normal. And that Sunday my pattern was “abnormal.”

Thanks to Standard Chartered for their credit check! It is very assuring that you guys are on your toes and quick to react!

Twitting from Tehran

With the government media censorship and crackdown on Iranian protestors and Internet sites, Iranian are finding ways and means to get news and images out to the world. Photo by AFP/Mehdi Fedouach.

The government has blocked many sites. Facebook and YouTube are being monitored. Service is reportedly much slower than normal. Even mobile phone service has been affected. Slower service provides the opportunity for security forces and the police increased ability to filter data. Note Iran's telecommunications industry is a monopoly.

Remote proxy servers have been set up so Iranians can access blocked websites from inside their country. Other Internet companies and individuals around the world have stepped in and maximizing technology to help Iranians communicate and organize.

Twitter users are using an application that allows users to tint their profile pictures green. Not the La Salle color but the trademark color of the opposition. This application was developed by a man from Israel. In fact, Twitter re-scheduled maintenance shutdown so that users could continue to access the microblogging site.


Other Twitter users outside Iran have also shown support by changing their listed locations and time zones to Tehran. This is meant to make it more difficult to see just how many people were tweeting from Iran. Photo was uploaded on Twitter last June 21, 2009.

Mousavi’s Facebook account now has 66,000 supporters who have organized protests through his public page.

Google's video sharing site, YouTube, has seen an increase of video that relates to the Tehran crisis. Try searching for "Iran election protest" video and see how many results you will get. CNN’s iReport gets news video from Iranians on the streets.

Both Google and Facebook have responded to the need for Iranians to be able to to communicate in their own language. They have launched Farsi services. There are more Farsi speakers working on translations on Facebook. Farsi also refers to the Persian language. It refers to the language spoken in Iran.

I remember back in February 1986, on my when Filipinos marched and protested in EDSA against the rule of the late Ferdinand Marcos. News spread fast through radio and pagers. Now, Blackberries and Twitter help spread the message and news. Definitely, more proof that technology works for people, specially, for Iranians, who are calling for change.

Project Natal

I really couldn’t believe it when I saw it on TV. And further searched it on the Internet. Yup, am talking about the Project Natal.


“Project Natal" is Microsoft's no-controller 3D motion and voice recognition technology for Xbox 360. Photo by David Sprague shows Kudo Tsunoda, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, demonstrating the new motion-sensing technology for controlling games called Project Natal. Sources say that Natal will be sold as a “stand alone” peripheral. This means you can use it with your existing Xbox 360.

According to a Microsoft story, the user is the “controller.” What does this mean? No cables. No joysticks. Only your body and your voice. The new Xbox 360 has a motion-sensing device that follows or mimics your movements and actions. It’s camera and sound sensors can detect a players movements as well as voice commands.

"We want Xbox to be the next-generation social and entertainment network," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of strategy and business development for interactive entertainment. This new technology was unveiled this month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Los Angeles


One of my favorite directors, Steven Spielberg, who also attended the E3 Event said, "This is a pivotal moment that will carry with it a wave of change, the ripples of which will reach far beyond video games." Photo by David Sprague shows Don Matrick, senior vice president of entertainment and devices, with Steven Spielberg.

Coming from Spielberg, then, must admit, this new technology would get most kids and gamers like me excited.

This is proof that technology works as it definitely takes games to a totally new level of experience.

Here's a video courtesy of YouTube:



Until this technology comes out in 2010, the gun controllers for my Sony PlayStation's Time Crisis will continue to be a part of my gaming experience Soon, they would be jurassic.

Making technology work for the Pope

It was only a matter of time before the Pope would make his presence felt on Facebook. But you definitely, won’t “poke” at him. Can you imagine how many “fans” the Pope would have? Count me in that list! Last I checked, nearly 50,000 fans!


There is one photo album, labeled as “Holy See Press Office.” It has 7 images of official vestments and insignias. Maybe, they should have photos from the foreign trips of the Pope, like his recent visit to the Middle East and Israel.

In discussions, “fans” talk about many issues like papal infallibility, Immaculate Concepcion and Purgatory. This thread alone has 36 posts, from 23 persons.

Events? None where listed. How can that be, when he was recently in the Middle East? There was however an update posted Friday, May 15, 2009 at 3:28am about the Pope’s visit to the Basilica of the Nativity and children’s hospital

Am sure there are many more things the Pope’s communication team can do with this Facebook portal.

Recently, a new Vatican website, was launched. This was part of the Vatican's World Communications Day celebration last Sunday which was devoted to communicating the gospel with new technologies.

"We recognize that a church that does not communicate ceases to be a church," said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican's Social Communications department.

Monsignor Tighe further says that many young people today are not turning to traditional media like newspapers and magazines any more for information and entertainment. "They are looking to a different media culture, and this is our effort to ensure that the Church is present in that communications culture."

According to a Reuters story by Philip Pullella, the new site contains “virtual postcards” which has images and words from the Pope. These postcards carry messages aimed for the youth (that excludes me). Just like Blue Mountain virtual postcards, users can send these postcards to their friends. I should try it. You should try it too!

Guess, these postcards can inspire the youth to consider being “fishers of men?” The Catholic Church has recognized a decline in the entry of men and women for religious vocations. It has been said that Europe has some of the most beautiful and biggest churches, but many of them are half-empty. Here, that is the opposite. Churches are full that some people have accepted the practice of staying outside the Church.

The 82-year-old Pope has encouraged young Catholics to use the internet responsibly but also has warned against the potential use of new media to spread violent messages and pornography.

The Vatican’s foray into technology also includes YouTube. You can visit this link, www.youtube.com/vaticanit

Latest DVD Technology

The moment I read this news, I quickly shared it with Chief and now, scribbling it online.

Yes, according to an AFP story filed from Paris last May 21, scientists have discovered technology that will allow consumers to have only one…. yup, only one DVD for 2,000 movies.

Yup, one DVD = 2,000 movies.

The story further says that this new DVD technology stores data in five dimensions. The researchers from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, used nanotechnology to increase the storage potential of DVDs.

DVDs were first introduced in 1997 as a replacement for several formats including CDs, VHS and laserdisc. Do you remember those laserdiscs? Yup, I remember, going to those shops in Greenhills which sold and rented laserdiscs!

The story further quotes Min Gu, who led the team. "We were able to show how nanostructured material can be incorporated onto a disc in order to increase data capacity, without increasing the physical size of the disc."

What does the five dimension means? Currently, disks have
three spatial dimensions. The researchers were add two dimensions, one based on the color spectrum, and the other on polarization, by using gold nanorods.

Maybe, an anology I can use is these new DVDs have 5 alternate reality (to borrow a term from the latest Star Trek film). Simple, means five realities of storage space. But all this space is in the same physical location, unlike the alternate reality in Star Trek, which happens in different locations.

But this technology is still work in progress and researchers says that commercial production is at least five years away, with possible partnership with Samsung.

Two thousand movies? If each movie run for 120 minutes, that means 240,000 minutes of viewing time. Or roughly, 166 days of viewing time?

Now, am asking myself if I have seen two thousand movies since I first saw Gene Wilder’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” in 1971 at Diamond Theatre. And up last Saturday night at the Cinema 2 of Greenbelt Cinema, when Chief and I last saw J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek.”

By the way, I have seen Star Trek four times. Maybe, for the fifth time, I will look at it from the techy point of view!

Just a click away

Am sure many of us, specially, those in marketing and digital media would find banner ads interesting.

Others, simply ignore these ads. Some, find them annoying or distracting. Some companies have questioned their effectiveness.

But these ads still does illicit response from many web users. According to a study from iProspect, there is indeed some benefits from of online ads. The study says that when Internet users were asked to find out what actions they took when viewing a display ad on an ad-supported Website, results showed that nearly one-third said “they clicked on the ad.”

Other results showed that 38% visited the advertiser’s site through search results, 11% searched but did not click on any of the results, and 14% searched, visited the site and purchased the product advertised.

“In essence, search is an alternative mechanism for Internet users to respond to online display,” said Robert Murray of iProspect.

He adds,” If marketers are going to invest in display then they should leverage search marketing to help them capture the demand that display advertising creates.”

Online advertising is still a growing medium, specially here in the Philippines. You can see many pages around the web with advertising, whether it be a local flower shop or a multinational brand from P & G or Unilever. I see more growth for online advertising, specially, during these times of recession where marketers are looking for more measurable and cost-efficient results.

Plus there will definitely be a lot of buzz about online advertising during the next advertising congress to be held in Baguio City in November.

Chart from www.emarketer.com

Twitter works for a Queen

Twitter? Have received a few invitations to join Twitter. But still have resisted. Maybe, I refuse to be over connected. With Facebook, Yahoo! Mail and Messenger and Friendster, do I still another way to get connected with family and friends?

Photo shows Jordan's Queen Rania, wife of King Abdullah II, greets Pope Benedict XVI (R) upon his arrival at the Queen Alia International airport in Amman.

More recently, a queen used Twitter. Yup, according to WiredPR News, Queen Rania of Jordan sent out tweets to her followers about Pope Benedict XVI's first ever visit to an Arab country last Friday.

Here is a sample of her tweets:

"Just listened to Pope's speech. Our region so needs a message of Peace."

"Special day here in Amman; not everyday pope drop s by 4 a visit."

Photo of Pope Benedict XVI from by Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images.

The Queen’s office had announced earlier that the queen decided to register on the Internet social network Twitter on the site http://twitter.com/QueenRania The office said that this done to mark Pope Benedict VI’s first-ever visit to the Middle East.

Who started Twitter? Jack Dorsey. He is an American software architect who started Twitter back in 2006.

Today, according a Nielsen.com blog (Michelle McGiboney: "Twitter's Tweet Smell of Success" March 2009), Twitter is ranked as the fastest-growing site in the Member Communities category for February 2009, followed by Zimbio and Facebook. But it’s retention rate is very high. An article “Many Twitters are quick quitters: study" published April 29, 2009 says many users drop the service after a month. And Twitter has experienced a few outages. Well, Twitter ain’t perfect technology yet.

What are tweets? Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. This can be displayed on the user's profile page and sent to other users who have subscribed to them.

Will I go on Twitter? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe, before Pope Benedict visit the Philippines?