The National Broadband Program Of The Philippine Government

The establishment of a National Government Portal and a National Broadband Plan in the Philippines was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte during the 13th cabinet meeting on March 6, 2017. Duterte's approval came after a thorough presentation by Rodolfo Salalima, Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The program aims to deliver fast internet connections in the country including far-flung regions. Duterte's approval of the initiative was first announced by Emmanuel (Manny) Pinol, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

During a hearing at the Senate in 2016, Secretary Salalima said that creating a broadband plan for the entire country would cost between 77 billion to 199 billion pesos. Under the program, the government would build broadband infrastructure in regions that are either unserved or underserved by the country's biggest telecom companies. Telecom providers will also be allowed to use the infrastructure but they have to pay fees to the government.

The project can be completed within three years from the time Duterte issues an executive order.

Duterte's Promise During His SONA
President Duterte promised during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July of 2016 that a national broadband plan must be developed and that free Wi-Fi access must be available around the country. "Wi-Fi access shall be provided at no charge in selected public places including parks, plazas, public libraries, schools, government hospitals, train stations, airports, and sea ports," Duterte said during his address. In the same address, Duterte ordered the DICT to develop a national broadband plan.

How To Disable Automated Twitter Posts On Your Facebook Profile

There are apps that enable you to connect your Twitter account with your Facebook account. When you make use of these apps, the tweets you publish on Twitter will automatically get re-published on your Facebook newsfeed. Or posts you publish on Facebook gets an automatic tweet on Twitter. The biggest advantage of these apps is that it will save you a lot of time. With just a single post, the message, video or image you want to share gets to be published in two social media platforms.

However, this automated setup has its disadvantages as well, foremost of which is the fact that it can become overwhelming. If every tweet you make gets posted on your Facebook newsfeed, it can be a huge turn-off for your friends and people who follow you on Facebook. People don’t want their newsfeeds being flooded by posts from the same people. People can get tired of your numerous posts and might eventually unfriend or unfollow you.

If you no longer want your tweets appearing automatically on your Facebook account, all you have to do is disable the app that you used in connecting the two social networks. This is very easy to do and it can take just a minute of your time. To disable the app, you are going to use your Facebook account. Follow the steps provided below.

1) In the Menu page of your Facebook account, go to the Settings link and click on it. The Settings tab is sandwiched between the News Feed Preferences and Log Out tabs.

2) On the left corner of the General Account Settings page, find the Apps tab and click on it. You will be directed to a list of apps associated with your Facebook account.

3) On the Twitter app, click on the "x" button that says Remove. Check the box that says "Delete all your Twitter activities including posts, photos, and videos on Facebook. This may take a few minutes." Then hit on the Remove tab. And you're done. Posts that you publish on Twitter will no longer automatically appear in your Facebook profile.

You can always connect your Twitter and Facebook profiles again if you want to. Just follow the procedure that you used in connecting the accounts.

Connecting your Twitter and Facebook accounts through an app can be advantageous if you don’t make several tweets a day. Let’s say you tweet five times a day. All of these will make their way to your Facebook profile. Needless to say, you will be flooding the newsfeeds of your friends and followers. They won’t like it. But if you only post a single tweet a day or just a few times a week, it’s probably best that you keep the two accounts connected.

Initiative To Provide Free Internet Access In The Philippines Launched By Facebook Founder

By Daniel Feliciano - Millions of Filipinos have a reason to be happy and enthusiastic today, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and founder of the social networking site Facebook. The tech titan just announced on his official Facebook page the launching of the Internet.org initiative in the Philippines. Internet.org is a campaign started and led by Facebook, the main goal of which is to bring internet connectivity to as many parts of the globe as possible.

Statistics show that only one out of three people in the world has access to internet services. This basically means two-thirds of the world's population are not in the loop. The project's website cites several reasons why this is the case - expensive devices, expensive connection plans, limited mobile networks, unavailability of content in local languages, doubts about the value of the internet, limited power sources, and inability of networks to support immense data traffic.

In his announcement (which was accompanied by a photo of a tricycle), Zuckerberg wrote, "We're one step closer to connecting the world as we launched Internet.org in the Philippines today. Now everyone in the country can have free access to internet services for health, education, jobs and communication on the Smart network."

To be able to avail of the free online access being offered by the project, you need to be a subscriber of either Smart, Talk N' Text, or Sun Cellular. These telcos are the official local partners of the Internet.org project.

There are two ways on how you can avail of the free services. One: using your mobile phone browser, text INTERNET to 9999. Two: download the Internet.org application from the Google Play app store.

Of course, as the case always with free web services, there are limitations to the Internet.org project. First of all, don't expect fast connectivity. But it's free so you have nothing to lose.

And here's the greatest drawback of the project - the websites you can use are very limited. Here in the Philippines, some of the more well-known sites you can gain access to are Facebook (of course), Jobstreet, Wikipedia, Bing, Inquirer and Rappler. The other available sites are ones that most Filipinos don't use. Yes, the initiative doesn't carry Google (the most valuable website in the universe). Bummer. But this is understandable given the fact that Facebook (the leader of the initiative) always had Bing as its search engine partner.

But free is free. It's better than nothing. So thanks a million, Mr. Zuckerberg. To learn more about the Internet.org initiative, visit their website here. Other countries who are recipients of the free services are Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Colombia, Ghana, and India.

A Magnetic Levitation Device That Actually Works

The term levitation is something we most often find in futuristic science fiction novels and movies. This is why so many people still think that levitation is still a thing in the future. Nothing is farther from the truth. There are already products that have emerged which use high technology to levitate things. Like this product developed by Crealev, a levitation design company based in the Netherlands.

Crealev calls the magnetic levitation device CLM 2. It's composed of two main parts: the base module and the carrier which floats in the air. The device is powered by electricity and it can carry loads that weigh up to 10 kilograms.

Hugh Herr Gives Talk On The Next Generation Of Bionic Limbs And Robotic Prosthetics

Hugh Herr, a biophysicist, engineer, and rock climber gave a talk at TED about the next generation of bionic limbs and robotic prosthetics that he and his team are building. Mr. Herr heads the MIT Media Lab's Biomechatronics group. He is also an associate professor in MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences and in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Mr. Herr lost both of his legs in 1982 due to tissue damage from frost bite incurred during a mountain climbing accident.

Brillante Mendoza Pitches 'The Embroiderer' and 'The Gay Messiah' In Upcoming Film Financing Forum

It's been a while since movie fans were last treated to a film by multi-awarded director Brillante Mendoza. His last project was Thy Womb, a drama that was released in 2012. It was a critically-acclaimed motion picture but like most Mendoza films, it never really made any money.

Most critics and those people who have seen it agree that it was a well-made film. But as it goes, it's not the kind of film that Filipino audiences go to. Besides, the film wasn't treated with a nationwide release. It was only shown in select theaters. Nevertheless, it's a great example of great filmmaking and a lot of people say it stands as Mendoza's best output so far.

Fans of the director have every reason to rejoice with the news that he has two projects (if things go according to plan) that will start production this year. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Mendoza has not one but two projects that he will pitch in the upcoming Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). One is a feature film (The Embroiderer) and one is a documentary (The Gay Messiah). These two films are among the 29 projects that were announced by the HAF.

The event which will be held from March 24 to 26 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will have directors pitch their projects to investors, co-producers, and distributors. Supported by Fushan Features (a film production company), the event also introduced a new Fushan Documentary Award which is worth HK$100,000. That's about US$12,900.

Mendoza's The Embroiderer will be about the power of undying love while the documentary The Gay Messiah will tackle issues on religious beliefs.

Captive, one of director Mendoza's most recent films.

Another Filipino filmmaker, Jun Robles Lana will also be pitching a film in the forum. His project is called Our Father. Lana is no stranger to the forum as he bagged the HAF Award for a non-Hong Kong project in 2013 for his work Barber's Tales.

Brillante Mendoza and Jun Robles Lana will represent the Philippines in the upcoming forum.

The other projects in the lineup are 30 Days of Ginger (Singapore), Angel Whispers (Hong Kong), Dance of Death (Japan), Dead End (India), Devil and Dust (China), Dust (China), Five Star Billionaire (Malaysia/China), Follow You (China), Forgive Me (China), Game (Hong Kong), Hip Hop Kabul (Afghanistan), The Honeygiver Among the Dogs (Bhutan), I Miss You When I See You (Hong Kong), Instant Love (China), Lucy and I (Singapore), Malegaon: Tales from the Terror Trail (India), A Nail Clipper Romance (Hong Kong), Private Eyes (Taiwan), The Sea (Hong Kong), So Be It (Thailand), The Trial (China), The Wedding Terminator (Malaysia/China/Hong Kong), Game of Suspects (Hong Kong), Love Is Speaking (China), Sisters Snake (Singapore/USA), and The Solitary Pier (Taiwan).