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Ultra-thin Huawei Ascend P6 leaks online
A new Huawei smartphone has leaked online, sporting beefy hardware in a sleek and very thin body, the Ascend P6. The handset has set its eyes on the title of world’s slimmest smartphone.
The photo was provided by @evleaks, and as seen in the image, the Ascend P6 looks like a converged design between the Xperia Z and the iPhone 5. Reports are pointing to a 4.7-inch 720p display, an 8 megapixel camera, 2 megapixel front-facing, and 32GB of internal storage. Running inside is a Hisilicon K3V2 quad-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB of RAM, and Android 4.1.2 with Emotion UI. All of that in a metallic body that is just 6.18mm thin.
The Huawei Ascend P1 will come in black, white, and pink. No information yet on pricing but it is expected to be announced in London on June 18.
The post Ultra-thin Huawei Ascend P6 leaks online appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
Miami HEAT Harlem Shake
LeBron James and the crew of Miami HEAT do the Harlem Shake. 
Temple Run OZ: Download for Android and iOS
I saw this Temple Run OZ trailer from a friend’s page
The Temple Run OZ is the newest Temple Run offering from Disney and Imangi Studios.
Description (from iTunes)
THE MOST THRILLING RUNNING EXPERIENCE NOW COMES TO THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD!Disney and Imangi Studios present Temple Run: Oz ??? a brand-new endless runner inspired by Temple Run 2 and the film Oz the Great and Powerful. Play as Oz and outrun the shrieking flying baboons as you turn, jump and slide your way across the land. Begin your exhilarating adventure now and see how far you can run!
The trailer included a link on where to download the Temple Run Oz in iTunes and Google Play although the link for the Android version is broken.
I tried searching manually but was unable to find the Temple Run Oz in Google Play.
Video: Meteor Hits Russia
This is all over the social network sites. A meteor just hit Russia.
YouTube user??kinomanfilms captured this video as it happened , although it didn’t show the meteor hitting the ground. The video shows trails of white smoke in the sky at first and then suddenly a loud bang. You can also hear building windows shattering. Scary!
Here’s a link from about the Russian meteor crash from reuters
ASUS MeMO Pad ME172v Now Available in Metro Manila
ASUS MeMO Pad ME172v, Asus’ 7-inch budget tablet is now available in Metro Manila
Running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, the ASUS MeMo Pad is powered by a VIA WM8950 CPU with an 8GB internal storage and up to 32GB MicroSD support. The ASUS MeMo Pad also sports 10-point multi-touch display and a ??1MP front camera.
The ASUS MeMo Pad has a SRP of Php 6,995 and is available in ??Cherry Pink, Titanium Gray and Sugar White. Now, this is better than getting a cheap china tablet.
Check out ASUS Philippines’ website and Facebook page for more??
What Most Schools Don’t Teach – Code.Org Video
Code.Org video featuring??Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, Tony Hsieh, Drew Houston, Gabe Newell, Ruchi Sanghvi, Elena Silenok, Vanessa Hurst, and Hadi Partovi.
“It doesn’t take a genius to code.”
Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
~Mario Andretti
JDV’s global rainbow coalition
JDV at Makassar conference
He is still into forming rainbow coalitions. This time, on the global stage.
JDV and a group of statesmen from Asia, Latin America and South Africa formed the Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI) which is designed, in his own words, “to primarily bridge the classical gap between orthodox political parties and civil society groups working for peace, reform and development in Asia’s emerging democracies.”
CAPDI, he said in a speech during the 2nd General Assembly in the port city of Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, “is perhaps the only organization in the Asia Pacific which brings together political parties and civil society under one roof in a common house.”
CAPDI traces its beginnings to the alliance with Christian Democrats International. In 1992, then presidential aspirant Fidel Ramos and De Venecia, then Pangasinan representative formed Lakas ng Tao political party. It formed a merger with National Union of Christian Democrats headed by former senator and Foreign Affairs Secretary Raul Manglapus. LAKAS-TAO-NUCD became Ramos’ vehicle to the presidency.
The party underwent several transformations as it tried to include other groups including the Union of Muslim Democrats of the Philippines and Gloria Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino.
When JDV fell out of Gloria Arroyo’s grace , he left the group. It is now Lakas-CMD headed by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Sen. Ramon “ Bong” Revilla. Former President Ramos is also out of the party that he helped found.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, former Indonesia Vice President Kalla, former President Fidel V. Ramos
Only Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was the sitting leader who made it to the assembly. Vice President Jejomar Binay was represented by former Sen. Francisco “Kit” Tatad.
Aside from Ramos, other former heads of government who attended the conference were former Prime Minister of Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal, former President of Seychelles James Mancham, former vice president of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla.
JDV urged CAPDI members who come from different parts the world (Asia, Latin America, Africa) and from different sectors including business, academe, and think-tanks to consider the East Timor-Indonesian and Cambodian models of peace and reconciliation.
“In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen, our CPDI Chairman Emeritus, skillfully and courageously achieved the impossible: with the support from the late legendary King Norodum Sihanouk, Prime Minister Hun Sen integrated Cambodia’s four warring armies in the now united Cambodian Armed Forces , including the integration of the Khmer Rouge which was responsible for the genocide killings of more than two million Cambodians,” JDV said.
He continued: “Hun Sen also brought together opposing political parties in a Cambodian government of national unity, while Cambodia continues to prosecute those responsible for war crimes in partnership with the U.N. Tribunal.”
“Yes, peace and reconciliation with justice!,” he declared.
JDV brought up the issue of amnesty as a most effective tool in peace-making. “Amnesty – a wide ranging official pardon, which exterminates the offense, approved by the legislature, for the peoples who have been charged with or convicted of political offenses, except for genocide and other horrendous crimes in any peace process, and is most effective tool in peace making, with generally lasting results.”
There were some CAPDI delegate, those who are in decmocratically -developed countries who were not so sold on the idea of amnesty saying that it could just encourage more coup d’etats.
De Venecia said amnesty is an important tool for newly restored democracies in transition to “heal society’s wounds and lay the basis for political, economic and social reforms that will endure.”
JDV knows whereof he speaks because he played a major role in the granting by President Ramos of amnesty to military officers who staged several coups against the President Cory Aquino. One of those included in the amnesty was Sen. Gregorio Honasan.
President Benigno Aquino III also granted amnesty to military officers who rebelled against Gloria Arroyo, the most prominent among them is the newly re-elected senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
JDVB said CAPDI is recommending amnesty for peace and reconciliation in Thailand.
Globe to release BlackBerry Q10 in June on Plan 1799
Just got a tip from a source inside Globe that the BlackBerry Q10 is ready to be served to customers next month and it will probably come free with Plan 1799 just like the BB Z10.
Last March, the BlackBerry Z10 was released in the Philippines with all 3 telcos offering the handset at various postpaid plans. However, only Globe offered the Z10 with LTE connectivity. It looks like it’s going to be the same with the BlackBerry Q10.
Globe will also have an early head-start — almost 1 month ahead of other telcos, according to our source. As for the suggested retail price, we’re also looking at Php29,990 just like the Z10.
We’ll just have to wait this June and see if how accurate this leak is.
The post Globe to release BlackBerry Q10 in June on Plan 1799 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
Never forget: The Ampatuan massacre
text and photos by
Cong B. Corrales
JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA WORKERS held a photo exhibit, ecumenical prayer and candle-lighting ceremony on Thursday (May 23) in New Manila, Quezon City to remember the victims of the grisly Ampatuan Massacre that shocked the world 42 months ago, and remind the nation of the continuing reign of the culture of impunity in the country.
The travelling exhibit dubbed “Never Forget: The Ampatuan Massacre” opened in the morning at the National Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John, 277 E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Quezon City. This travelling exhibit includes photographs of Jes Aznar, Nonoy Espina, and Veejay Villafranca, Vincent Go, among others. The exhibit shows how the nation moves forward from the gruesome murder that exposes how impunity works at its worst. Never Forget has been displayed in schools, churches, and government institutions such as the Congress and Senate.
Media groups led by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), as well as journalists from different media outfits, capped off the whole-day memorial with an ecumenical prayer, a short program and a candle-lighting for the victims of impunity.
In her speech during the program, Rowena Paraan, NUJP national chairperson said that while the media community continues to remember the the victims of the massacre, journalists and media workers across the nation should also fight against the continued culture of impunity under the Aquino administration.
“Why must PNoy wait for 2016? He must do what he can to stop this culture of impunity now,” said Paraan.
For her part, Edith Tiamzon—wife of Ampatuan Massacre victim Daniel, a UNTV cameraman—expressed her gratitude for the media community’s continued support.
“Kahit na parang hindi umuusad ang kaso, nagpapasalamat ako sa suporta ninyo. Nagbibigay ito ng lakas ng loob magpatuloy hanggang makamit natin ang hustiya,” Tiamzon told journalists and media workers.
Forty-two months ago, police and militiamen supposedly led by Andal Ampatuan Jr. waylaid a convoy that was supposed to file the candidacy papers of Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu. The incident on November 23, 2009 led to the death of 58 people, including 32 journalists, and has since been known as the worst case of election-related violence in recent years. The massacre has also been known as the single most brazen attack against journalists and media workers.
The Ampatuan massacre has earned the country the dubious role of being the international poster cover of impunity. The International Freedom of Expression Exchange Network (IFEX)—a federation of 90 independent organizations worldwide—has declared every 23rd of November, as the International Day to End Impunity.
Forty-two months since the massacre, 99 of the 196 accused are still at large. Exacerbating this is the snail-paced trials brought about by 750 pleadings (motions, manifestations, petitions, comments) filed; 540 of which are filed by the defense panel. There are still 103 of the 307 motions filed by both the defense and prosecution have yet to be resolved by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221. One of the witnesses have been killed and another one allegedly committed suicide.
In its latest special report on Impunity Index, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has ranked the Philippines third worst in the world. Worse, the country ranked third for the fourth consecutive year. War-torn Iraq and Somalia ranked first and second, respectively.
The country’s impunity index rating this year is “0.580 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants.” Last year, CPJ also ranked the Philippines third worst in the world with a rating of 0.589.
“Despite President Benigno Aquino III’s vow to reverse impunity in journalist murders, the Philippines ranked third worst worldwide for the fourth consecutive year. Fifty-five journalist murders have gone unsolved in the past decade,” the May 2, 2013 special report of CPJ entitled “Getting away with murder,” reads in part. The CPJ—founded in 1981—is an independent, non-profit organization that advocates for “press freedom worldwide by defending the rights of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.”
Published yearly, CPJ’s Impunity Index special report monitors “countries where journalists are killed regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes.” The 2013 Impunity Index report covers media killings which have remained unsolved from January 1, 2003 to December 31 last year. CPJ’s report this year lists 12 countries since they listed only countries with five or more unsolved cases. The group considers a case unsolved “when no convictions have been won.”
The CPJ report has identified the government’s inability to secure the witnesses of media killings as its foremost obstacle in ending the culture of impunity in the country.
“The insecurity of witnesses is a key problem in addressing impunity. Authorities in the Philippines, ranked third worst on CPJ’s index, have yet to make headway in the prosecution of dozens of suspects in a politically motivated massacre in Maguindanao province that claimed the lives of more than 50 people, including 32 journalists and media workers, in 2009. Three witnesses in the Maguindanao case have themselves been murdered, one of them dismembered and mutilated,” the report reads.
OS 10.1 update for BB Z10 in the PH now available
The OS 10.1 update for the BlackBerry Z10 has finally arrived here in the Philippines, bringing with it the much awaited new features and enhancements for the device.
BlackBerry started seeding the OS 10.1 update after the BlackBerry Live 2013 keynote in Orlando, Florida more than a week ago. Z10 users in the Philippines have been waiting for the update since then. The update has finally arrived in the country bearing the version number 10.1.0.273 (Globe unit. Version number may vary depending on carrier.) and is worth 341MB in size.
Here are some of the new BlackBerry 10.1 features:
- BlackBerry Hub: The BlackBerry Hub lets you access all your messages and notifications in one place. With BlackBerry 10.1 support for PIN to PIN messages for direct communication between BlackBerry smartphones has been added to the BlackBerry Hub. Plus, improved attachment support in the BlackBerry Hub makes it easier to view emails which have been sent as attachments to other messages.
- Notifications: With BlackBerry 10.1 you can personalize the notifications for your accounts and contacts so you always know what is happening around you. Customize ringtones, vibration and the LED light by contact or by account for more personalized notifications.
- Fine Cursor Control: BlackBerry 10.1 makes it easier and more accurate to pinpoint exactly where you want to type. Tap once to bring up the cursor. Grab the blue circle and drag it around to place it exactly where you need it. Tap either side of the circle to move left or right by just one character. It’s easy to move around with speed and precision.
- Camera: BlackBerry 10 lets you create the perfect shot by moving parts of your picture backwards and forwards in time with Time Shift mode. BlackBerry 10.1 adds an HDR shooting mode for beautiful images in tricky lighting conditions. A standard image takes a picture at one exposure level. Where you have high contrast between light and dark areas of the photo, fine details can be lost. High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode takes multiple pictures at different exposure levels and layers them automatically to produce a single photo that combines the best of the dark and light areas.
- Lots more to discover: You’ll find lots of new improvements across the BlackBerry 10 OS like landscape support for the calendar, easier international dialing, improved red eye reduction in the picture editor and much more. The first step to discovering these new features is to update your BlackBerry 10 software.
For more information on how to update your BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, visit www.BlackBerry.com/update.
If you’re one of those who received the update on your BlackBerry Z10, feel free to share the new features you’ve discovered by hitting the comments below.
Thanks @iamWALP for the heads up.
The post OS 10.1 update for BB Z10 in the PH now available appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
HTC Desire 600 makes its official debut
If the HTC One is a little over your budget, then you might be interested in the Taiwanese firm’s latest mid-range smartphone – the HTC Desire 600.
This handset sports a 4.5-inch qHD display which will play host to the Sense 5 UI that’s laid on top of Android Jelly bean. It runs on four Cortex-A5 processors chipset which clocks at 1.2GHz and that’s backed by 1GB of RAM and an Adreno 203 GPU.
It’s outfitted with a pair of snappers; 8MP at the back and 1.6MP at the front. Speaking of stills and clips, the Desire 600 is equipped with Video Highlight feature that was first seen on the HTC One. What it does is that it stitches stored photos/videos on your phone to create a 30-second clip that you can share through HTC Share.
Apart from Video Highlight and Sense 5 UI, the Desire 600 shares other features with its high-end counterpart like the BlinkFeed and BoomSound speaker setup that’s backed by Beats Audio software.
It seems that everything is going well for this dual-SIM handset until we got to the storage part. As if having an 8GB internal storage wasn’t bad enough, the handset also lacked a micro-SD slot that would’ve at least offset the drawback of having a rather fiddly storage capacity.
The HTC Desire 600 will initially be made available in select countries including Ukraine, Russia and some parts of the Middle East and Asia. The roll-out is said to kick off next month, but the pricing is yet to be disclosed.
HTC Desire 600 specs:
4.5-inch qHD S-LCD2 display, 245ppi
1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor
Adreno 203
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
3G/HSPA+
Dual-SIM, dual-standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
8MP rear autofocus camera, LED flash
720p video recording
1.6MP front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS support, GLONASS
Li-Ion 1,800mAh battery
Android 4.2.1 Jellybean
Dimension: 134.8 x 67 x 9.3mm
Weight: 130g
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What feature would you trade for longer battery life?
It’s incredible how cellular phones have evolved into something beyond just a communication device. However, as smartphones become more powerful, it tends to suck more juice out of your battery pack. This now begs the question: if given the chance, what smartphone feature are you willing to give up for an extra half a day’s worth of mileage?
To help you decide, we’ve enlisted a few smartphone features that we think, if adjusted, could possibly lead to a device with longer battery life. So let’s start off with design.
Design
Now I know some of you are already thinking; why won’t manufacturers just slap a big-ass battery pack inside their smartphone and be done with it? I mean, can’t all the smartphone be like the CloudFone Thrill 430X which boasts a 4100mAh battery?
Well, we feel that it has something to do with the design and the aforementioned smartphone is a testament to that. Fitting a huge battery inside a rather small device like a smartphone, oftentimes result to a bulkier handset, as is the case for the 430X which has a thickness of 14.2mm.
Having said this, would you sacrifice a few millimeters of thickness for better mileage?
Display
As most of you may’ve noticed already, most flagship handsets that were released in recent times sports a 1080p displayed. Now, apart from being an overkill (as discussed on this post) in terms of pixel density, another thing to note about Full-HD screens on a smartphone is that it actually requires more power to drive.
Don’t believe my claim? Let’s take iPad 2 and iPad 3 as an example. Now, I don’t know if you can still remember it, but the two major differences between the two tablet is increase in screen resolution on the latter model, as well as the 70% difference in battery rating (iPad 2 – 6,944mAh vs iPad 3 11,560mAh) which resulted to a slight increase in thickness and heft (0.36 millimeters and 39 grams respectively).
Now, based on countless reviews and comparison between the two generations, you probably noticed that the iPad 3 didn’t fare any better than its predecessor in terms of mileage. This leads us to a conclusion that Apple only outfitted the iPad 3 with a bigger battery for the sole purpose of counteracting the effect of the increase in resolution.
So, would you settle for a smartphone with a display that has a lower pixel count in exchange for longer battery life?
Processor
Now this one’s a little tricky to judge. Moreover, there’s also the question of whether multicore processors consume more power than single core chipsets. And depending on who are you talking to about this matter, you’re gonna get a different response.
Let’s start with the skeptics’ take on multicore processors. According to them, processor cores are similar to cylinders in a car engine; the more cylinders it has, the more powerful it gets. However, in exchange for the performance boost, the engine consumes more gas.
Chip manufacturers, on the other hand, have a different take on this. They too used the car engine analogy, but explained that unlike car engines, multicore processors have the ability to switch off other cores if it deems it unnecessary then switch it back on if the user requires more torque.
In addition to this, chip makers have taken the necessary steps to ensure that their processors/SOCs power consumption is always in check. In fact, NVidia has added a 5th “battery-saving” core on the Tegra 3 that ensures that the chip only consumes energy based on the current need.
Both parties present a convincing argument on the difference in power consumption between single core and multicore setups. Thus, it’s really hard to tell which side is right. So instead of identifying which setup will provide more mileage, the question we should be asking is if we can live with a slightly slower chipset that consumes less power.
Data Connection
We all know that leaving data connection on, will drastically decrease the amount of up time of our device, not to mention if your connection is LTE. However, by turning it off we’ll be missing out on real-time feeds/updates on our email and social media.
You can make a few adjustments to your device such as controlling the frequency of synchronization, when to turn on mobile data and such, but the power consumption is still relatively higher compared to when you just turn off the mobile data.
In actuality, most people do turn off their phone’s data connection to extend its battery life. However, the question is how much time are you willing to spend offline for the sake of stretching you device’s juice?
Summary
Mobile phones have indeed gotten more capable over the years, but it seems that with every addition of new features to it, the amount of time we spend being hooked in to a wall outlet, charging our devices, has also increased.
This is exactly the reason why we got curious as to what smartphone features consumers are willing to give up in exchange for longer period of mobility. We hope you can share your thoughts about this.
The post What feature would you trade for longer battery life? appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
With poll automation, ARMM fraud shifts from the count to the vote
IN ONE POLLING PRECINCT in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, poll watchers looked on in horror as a local leader locked himself in the precinct and proceeded to shade ballots meant for other voters.
The local official was able to shade a stack of ballots up to four inches thick, possibly amounting to more than a hundred ballots. When the official was finished, the members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) helpfully and dutifully fed the pre-shaded ballots into the precinct count optical scan machines.
In other precincts across the ARMM, vote buying was reportedly rampant. Ballot secrecy was virtually non-existent all over the ARMM, as some voters were being coached by as many as four people at a time on which name to shade on his ballot.
The automation of the elections may have helped solve some of the persistent problems in elections in the ARMM. For decades, polls in the region were perceived to be a joke, as both local and national officials try to manipulate the counting of the votes on the local and national levels.
But with the counting now automated, poll fraud in the ARMM is shifting from the counting to the voting.
The Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reform (CCARE), a local poll watchdog based in the ARMM, revealed this new shift in poll fraud as local candidates try to find ways to adjust to the modernization of the elections.
“Nagupgrade nga ang botohan, nag uupgrade rin naman ang dayaan,” said CCARE secretary general Jumda Saba-ani. (We may have upgraded the voting process, but now they are also upgrading the cheating.)
Saba-ani said that while poll automation has made it more difficult for local and national candidates to cheat in the counting (at least for now), the results of the elections are still vulnerable because the candidates are going to the very core of the elections: the voter.
Whereas before, the voter was dismissed by some local candidates as unnecessary because they can cheat in the counting anyway, now, voters are being manipulated, harassed, bought off, or simply misrepresented.
In Sulu, for example, Saba-ani said their volunteers could only watch in horror as a local candidate’s father, himself a former local leader, locked himself in the precinct along with the BEIs at nine in the morning on election day, or just two hours after the polls opened. The elder then proceeded to shade all the ballots that he could find, while the BEIs looked on cooperatively, and while the poll watchers who were locked outside peered through the windows. Afterwards, the BEIs then fed the tampered ballots into the PCOS machine, where the ballots were properly counted in favor of his son.
Needless to say, the son won in the election.
Saba-ani however refused to name the officials involved because of fears for the safety of their volunteers.
In other cases, Saba-ani noted how ballot secrecy was violated “in almost all the precincts” in the ARMM. Voters are supposed to be able to vote in secret so that they are not intimidated by the candidates. However, in almost all the ARMM areas, this principle was violated. In some cases, Saba-ani said that voters were being coached by up to four people.
“Ang vote-buying, talamak rin, even inside the precinct,” Saba-ani said. (Vote buying was also rampant, even inside the precinct.)
Other persistent problems include the intimidation of voters and watchdog groups by politicians and their private armed men, and the hauling of voters to the polling precincts.
While these incidents have always been present in past elections, Saba-ani said these violations were more prevalent now because of the need by local candidates to offset their inability to manipulate the count. CCARE says that while there were complaints of PCOS machines bogging down and of some machines failing to transmit their results because of the lack of a cellphone signal, the count was an improvement over the 2010 and 2007 elections.
Taguntong says that while CCARE sees the need for more improvements in the 2016 elections, the watchdog group was happy in that elections were “relatively” peaceful and orderly in the ARMM. In fact, Taguntong says proudly, there was only one case where a town declared a total failure of elections. In previous elections, failure of elections was a fairly common event.
In addition, Taguntong said that violent incidents were reduced significantly, although there were still many incidents that would shock those unfamiliar with ARMM elections. There were reports of intimidation and harassment of both voters, teachers, poll watchers, and watchdog groups, with candidates smashing cellphones of poll watchers who try to take pictures of poll fraud. Yet Taguntong says, by their records, poll violence may have gone down by as much as 70 percent compared to previous elections.
“Before, may armed confrontations and continuous shooting incidents ng mga private armies,” Taguntong said. “Now there is less of that.”
One interesting trend, Taguntong relates, is what may be called the “democratization” of vote buying. Before, only the local ward leaders earn during elections by collecting money from candidates, hauling in voters, and manipulating the counting. But in the 2013 elections, candidates were forced to fork money over to actual voters to make sure that they vote for the candidates. If only for this reason, Taguntong says, money that otherwise would have gone to local officials was spread more evenly to the voting public.
Foursquare brings AR feature to WP8 Lumia handsets
In addition to releasing the latest iteration of its Windows Phone 8 app, Foursquare, together with Microsoft and Nokia, has announced that WP8 Lumia user will also get an added Augmented Reality feature if they update/install the new and improved app on their handset.
The AR feature of the new Foursquare for WP8 is only limited to some Lumia handsets like the 920, 820 and the 720. It works similarly to Nokia Here City Lens where in the app uses the device’s camera in order to display information about the nearby venues around the user.
Apart from providing details such as the distance of a given venue from the user’s current location, the app also displays some info about the place which can aid users to decide which place best suit their need. The app also makes check-ins easier by taking advantage of the handset’s NFC and voice recognition feature.
You can find out more information about the new Foursquare for Windows Phone 8 by heading over to the source link below. But if you want to skip through that part, you can download the app here.
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DATA A DAY: Political pioneers or ‘balimbings?’
WHO DOES NOT KNOW the balimbing, that many-sided Philippine fruit that has come to represent the worst of turncoatism in Philippine politics.
But the balimbing syndrome in Philippine politics has its roots from way back, although it was only popularized after the EDSA revolt when politicians found it so convenient to switch sides depending on whoever is in power in Malacanang.
For today’s Data a Day question:
Who among the country’s presidents had switched or formed their own parties to get elected?
The answer, of course, can be found in the PCIJ’s MoneyPolitics website. But before you give in t0 the temptation to peek, please do try to answer the question with a bit of research. Good luck!
Oh, the answer can be found here.
Who among the country’s presidents had switched or formed their own parties to get elected?
HTC One: Sample Photos and Video
HTC Philippines formally launched the HTC One last May 21 at the Hyve in The Fort. The release of the handsets are scheduled for today, May 24, in all HTC Concept Stores in Metro Manila. We managed to borrow a review unit just in time to get some sample photos and videos.
The 4MP ultrapixel camera of the HTC One is probably one of the most controversial technology that HTC introduced in their flagship phone. It potentially has that same game-changing effect as Nokia’s 41MP PureView technology.
So what we did was to take it to the streets and test it. Here are some sample photos we got:
Here’s a compilation of videos taken using the camera.
Just in case you are wondering how the HTC Sense UI 5.0 behaves, here’s a quick run-through:
The HTC One is now available ins tores today for a suggested retail price of Php32,990 for the 32GB model.
The post HTC One: Sample Photos and Video appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
Microsoft Surface Pro Giveaway Winner
Finally found some time to pick and announce our winner of the Microsoft Surface Pro. This is the single biggest prize we’ve awarded here so I’m sure everyone is excited. Check out if you’re that lucky person below.
Congratulations to:
Please email me your complete name, address and contact number for verification. We’ll then schedule the awarding of the prize.
Up next, another Alcatel One Touch Idol smartphone contest here.
The post Microsoft Surface Pro Giveaway Winner appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.
KL gov’t seizes opposition papers; cops poise ban on protest vigils
THE HOME MINISTER of Malaysia has confiscated copies of two major opposition publications Harakah and Suara Keadilan, in various states, the independent online newspaper Malaysiakini reported.
?Malaysiakini, quoting Harakah’s online news site, HarakahDaily, said copies of the party newspaper of PAS (Pan Malaysia Islamic Party) were said to have been seized in Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, and Perak.
A Twitter post, Malaysiakini said, also revealed that copies of newspaper of the PKR or People’s Justice Party of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim were also confiscated in four states on Thursday, May 23.
At the same time, Malaysiakini said a ban on the conduct of candle-light vigils is emerging.
“Politically-motivated candlelight vigils have reached a level where the police could no longer tolerate, Malaysiakini reported, adding that CPO Mohmad Salleh had urged people to “voice their grievances through legal channels instead.”
The marketing manager of Haraka Daily, Ahmad Faisal Tawang, had said he received calls from vendors in the morning, informing him that not only were ministry representatives seizing copies of the paper, were also raiding the vendors’ premises,” the Malaysiakini story said.
Tawang was also quoted as saying that copies of the paper’s Friday edition dated May 24-26, which featured the frontpage headline ‘GST hadiah BN untuk rakyat (GST is BN’s gift to the rakyat)’ were seized.
Malaysiakini said about 500 copies of the paper’s edition were allegdly seized in Malacca, and more than 1,000 were taken in Alor Setar, and Kedah.
KL crackdown: 2 opposition leaders arrested, sedition vs student activist
TWO opposition leaders in Malaysia were arrested separately today, May 23, for alleged sedition, over their role in protest actions over the ruling party’s supposed resort to fake ballots and other irregularities in the May 5, 2013 elections there, according to independent online newspaper Malaysiakini.
Those arrested were Tian Chua, an officer of the People’s Justice Party of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim; and Haris Ibrahim, leader of a rights activists group ABU or Anything But Umno.
Malaysiakini said the day-time arrest of Chua and Ibrahim were “believed to be in relation to a recent anti-electoral fraud forum in Kuala Lumpur.”
The arrest of Chua and Ibrahim came hours after prosecutors charged student leader Adam Adli, 24, with sedition for “seditious statements that included calling for people to ‘go down to the streets to seize back our power’ while addressing a political forum,” according to the Asian Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper said Adam had pleaded innocent at a Kuala Lumpur district court, was released on bail, and told to attend a hearing on July 2. If convicted, he faces a three-year jail term and a fine.
The Asian Wall Street Journal also reported that Chua managed to post on Twitter that “police detained him at an airport and told him he was being held for sedition.”
On the other hand, the newspaper said, “Mr. Haris was held separately, but it was not immediately clear what he was being investigated for.”
“After his arrest, Mr. Chua tweeted that Malaysians should not allow themselves to be ‘overtaken by fear (but should) continue to assemble peacefully and have faith,’” the newspaper added.
Last May 5, Malaysia held general elections that saw Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Barisan National Party, in power since 1957, winning by a slim majority. The party bagged 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats up for grabs.
In contrast, the three-party opposition coalition of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim won only 89 seats, despite an 80-percent voter turnout.
Anwar, a personal friend of ousted Philippine president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, had called the poll results the worst in Malaysia’s history.
His coalition had frowned upon plans of followers to hold protest rallies but Anwar had been quoted in the news media as saying, “we must be allowed to express ourselves properly in stadiums or in the vicinity of a public space.”
Malaysia’s Sedition Act is a 1948 law that was enacted first by the colonial regime of British Malaya. It bans speech with “seditious tendency”, or which would “bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against” the government or engender “feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races”.
Nobex is a great BlackBerry 10 podcast app
There aren’t many BlackBerry 10 apps that compare well with those for Android and iOS. While using some BB10 apps, you get a foreboding feeling of something about to crash it tingles. Take the Sports Tracker for BlackBerry, an app that tracks your run or bike ride using GPS. Midway into your run, it hangs and at times closes and you lose your mileage log.
But not the Nobex Radio and Podcast app.
The podcatcher app for the Z10 and Q10 is not only among the best made-for-BlackBerry 10 apps in the BlackBerry World, it is also at par with some of the best apps in other platforms.
In fact, I now prefer using Nobex on the BlackBerry 10 over Stitcher Radio on the iPhone or Android to listen to podcasts. It does the podcast playing task as well as the apps in other platforms and more.
Nobex offers granular control over episode downloads – allowing you to manually choose and queue episodes to download. It also makes it easier for you to browse show archives and download these to your device.
Nobex is also integrated with the BlackBerry Hub and you get an alert whenever any of the shows you subscribe to has published a new episode.
The Nobex Radio and Podcast app for BlackBerry 10 offers granular control over downloading of podcast episodes.
What I don’t like about the app, however, is that it does not have a system that allows you to put up a playlist of episodes (albeit a minor annoyance). Playing stops after each podcast episode and you have to manually select another show.
The post Nobex is a great BlackBerry 10 podcast app appeared first on Leon Kilat : The Tech Experiments.