Now in its second year, AIA Philam Life Hackers 2020 will be held in its online platform www.lifehackers.ph from November 27-December 2, 2020. The competition is open to all
college students nationwide, 18-years-old and above, with five members per team.

“We are very excited to hear from the Gen Zs, the innovative ideas and tech solutions they will propose, to help us address the protection gap situation in the Philippines at a faster rate,” shared Kelvin Ang, AIA Philam Life Chief Executive Officer.

Distinguished experts in various fields will also share their knowledge to help the students hack the problem statement, with Grace David, Marketing & Partnership Leader of Edukasyon.ph, Joan Magno, Product Expert of Canva, Martin Gonzales, Organizational Development and Start Up Leader of Google, and Senior Leaders from AIA Philam Life joining the lineup.

Winners get to bring home cash prizes over PHP200,000, together with internship opportunities at AIA Philam Life, and the chance to bring their projects to life.

Join AIA Philam Life Hackers 2020 by visiting www.lifeshackers.ph, https://www.facebook.com/PhilamLifeAIA/, emailing contact@lifehackers.ph or calling 09167250353. Registration is open until November 20 so sign up now!

Held via Zoom and Facebook Live, these webinars were made possible with the cooperation of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Visayas, Start-up Island Philippines, various Chambers in Region VII and the Rotary.

The first webinar which was entitled “Understanding Smart Contact Tracing: For Safer Communities and for Faster Business Recovery” was held last September 11 to promote a deeper understanding and appreciation of the importance of contact tracing in the fight against Covid-19 as well as disseminate awareness of available low cost but effective digital solutions.

In anticipation of an increase in business activities and easing of restrictions in Central Visayas, the DTI-7 enjoined the business sector to adopt safe technology solutions in the area of contact tracing.

The webinar included a number of notable speakers such as Symph Founder, Albert Padin who talked about Contact Tracing Technologies; Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong who talked about the Baguio City Contact Tracing Model; DOST Expert Vaccine Panel on Clinical Trials Chair Dr. Nina Gloriani who talked about The Science of Contact Tracing; and Atty. Amor Venenoso of the National Privacy Commission who talked about Protecting Data Privacy in Contact Tracing.

For those who want to watch the first webinar, they may visit this link: https://bit.ly/2GXufXH

The second webinar, an online Pitch Party of 10 curated contact tracing apps, was held last September 25. These apps included CLEARPASS, Coscan, Open Gov, QR City, among others. The panelists were the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines’s Co-Founder Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue; DICT’s Regional Director Frederick Amores; Philippine Retailer Association Cebu Chapter’s President Chester Lim; Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry R7’s Regional Governor Edward Du; and Office Services Colliers International’s General Manager Gerard Thomas Padriga.

For those who want to watch the second webinar, they may visit this link: https://bit.ly/3n1Fw9W

The third webinar in the R2R series was Pitch Party 2: Curated Contact Tracing Applications held on October 9 this year. Due to public demand, DTI-7 decided to organize a part 2 of the Pitch Party which ended with a DIY workshop on QR-based contact tracing system application. The goal of this session was to further the knowledge of the business sector on smart contact tracing and to showcase how they can create their own QR-based contact tracing system.

For those who want to watch the third webinar, they may visit this link: https://bit.ly/33ND5QK

For updates on DTI 7’s upcoming webinars, those interested may visit the department’s official Facebook page DTI.Region7 or its Youtube channel DTI 7 Digital.

One of the most sought after technology that is being introduced to homeowners today is home automation. This technology enables home owners to control their electronics and appliances devices using a single device, whenever, wherever they are.

Home automation sounds really cool, but what are its benefits to one’s lifestyle?

Security and Safety
One of the greatest benefits of home automation is security and safety. Through automated doors, you can lock/unlock your doors in a single tap of your fingers from your device wherever you are. Smart home owners can also convert their conventional locks to a more secure biometrics locks.

Home automation system also enables home owners remotely monitor their homes through their security cameras, giving them increased safety and peace of mind.

Cost Effective
Home automation will help you save lots of money by minimizing energy usage. The home automation system will let you configure your lights and electronic devices to automatically switch off when not in use. By using less energy, you will be able to reduce your monthly electric costs.

Convenience
With the benefits of remotely accessing your home’s electronic devices and appliances, home automation adds convenience to one’s lifestyle. For example, on your way home, you can already turn on your air-conditioning system to pre-cool your unit.

Peace of Mind
With all the combined benefits mentioned above, home automation leads to its biggest benefits, peace of mind. Now you don’t have to worry if you forgot to lock your door or turn-off the lights and electronic devices, because now you can do everything remotely with a simple tap on your device.

Converting a home to a smart home can cost a lot of money because of the required home automation system, installation and configuration. Why not invest in a home that is home automation ready instead?

The Median is the first and only condominium property in Cebu offering basic home automation-ready units without an extra cost. Stay on top of your life by investing in a home automation ready condominium unit so that you can do more and be more.

Visit The Median showroom located beside The Link building in Cebu IT Park to experience
home automation first hand. It is open from 9am to 6pm daily. Follow The Median on Facebook
and Instagram for more updates.

Best Buy Bundles enables customers to easily mix and match PLDT Home Fibr, Cignal premium pay tv, and Smart mobile plans with the convenience of unified bill. Customers also enjoy as much as Php11,300 worth of savings in a year, up to 10% off with two services, and up to 15% off when they mix and match three services.

Customers who sign-up during the Fibr Digital Fair were able to take advantage of PLDT’s on-site provisioning, real-time credit screening, installation within 24 hours, free modem, and discounted installation fee. Those who upgraded to Roku-Powered Tvolution, Telpad and Advanced Fam Cam also got a free one-month subscription.

One of the highlights during Fibr Digital Fair was the appearance of PLDT barkada Billy Crawford, Dimples Romana, Ella Cruz and Yassi Pressman last June 9. The afternoon was filled with entertainment, fun games and lots of picture taking.

“Cebu has always been an important market for PLDT. We want to ensure that our Cebuano customers can conveniently enjoy the best of what we offer- wether it’s a broadband, mobile or home entertainment- whenever and wherever they want it.” said Oscar A. Reyes, Jr., SVP and Head of Consumer Business Market Development for PLDT and Smart.

Visit the PLDT store nearest you to start creating your own bundles. You may also visit https://pldthome.com/buildyourownbundle to apply online.

One of the activities that we really enjoy doing right now is browsing the internet. According to Hootsuite, the Philippines alone now has 67 million internet users. Internet has helped us stay connected with our loved ones, get information that we need easily, earn extra income from the comfort of our homes, and get things done easily like bills payment, remittance, and shopping.

As we become more dependent to the internet, we also become susceptible targets for criminals committing online scams.

What is Online Scam?

According to computerhope.com, “a scam is a term used to describe any fraudulent business or scheme that takes money or other goods from an unsuspecting person. With the world becoming more connected thanks to the Internet, online scams have increased, and it’s often up to you to help stay cautious with people on the Internet.”

Since more and more people uses the internet, different online scams have emerged – phishing emails, donation scam, lottery scam, credit card scam, identity theft scam, fake antivirus software, and others.

Globe Telecom, being a purveyor of digital lifestyle, came out with the #makeITsafePH cybersecurity and cyberwellness campaign to educate consumers about online threats and what they can do to avoid becoming a victim. The campaign also teaches the public proper online etiquette so that they would not become a source of such deplorable behavior.

I was asked to write an article about online scam, and I thought of giving you tips on how you can spot one. I’m not a professional when it comes to this topic, but these are the things that I do when I find something suspicious online to avoid being scammed.

How to Spot an Online Scam

Double check the URL (domain name)
When we get phishing emails, scammers usually ask us to click links to other websites. These websites usually look exactly the same as the original website. Make sure that you double check the URL (domain name) because additional words and letters can really be tricky.

Asking for personal information
When a website is asking for personal information such as birthday, email, and password, it could be an online scam. Remember that legit companies will never ask for your passwords online.

Money is involved
This is common with lottery scam. People usually receives email claiming they won a lottery and for them to claim their prize, they need to settle an amount first. Never send money to malicious websites or transactions.

The power or research
When in doubt, there’s always the internet that can help you verify if it’s legit. Most of these online scams are being reported online or discussed in forums. You can also talk to your friends about it.

It sounds too good to be true
When you receive an offer and it involves easy return of investments or money, it could be an online scam. As the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”

Do you have other tips in identifying online scams? Please write it on the comment below. You can also share this article on your social media accounts with the hashtag #makeITsafePH to spread awareness about online scam.

When I was still in school, I just dreamed of working in an office, have my own desk, and work on computer related stuff, and that’s where I am right now. I am the type of person who just wanted simple things in life, but as we grow old, we realized that we need to dream big for us to discover the things that we thought we cannot do. When we dream big, we tend to push ourselves to our limits and work really hard to achieve those dreams.

Today, I have a new set of goals I wanted to achieve, and I know I’m on the right track of achieving them. Let me write this quote I read in the internet, “think big, dream big, believe big, and the results will be big”.

I went to Manila last year for the Vivo V5 launch wearing this outfit. We stayed at the beautiful Nobu Hotel in City of Dreams. This place reminds me so much of Japan because of the modern zen like architectures and interior designs.

Vivo V5 is the world’s first smartphone featuring a 20MP Front Camera. It is the perfect smartphone for selfie lovers out there.

Vivo V5 Specifications

• 1.5GHz MediaTek 6750 Octa-core CPU
• Mali T860 Graphics Processor
• 4GB RAM
• 5.5-Inch HD IPS Display; 1280×720 Resolution
• 32GB of expandable storage
• 13-megapixel rear camera, LED Flash
• 20-megapixel front camera f/2.0 aperture with LED Flash
• Dual SIM (Hybrid tray)
• 3G, LTE (No 700MHz support)
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, Fingerprint Scanner
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow, FunTouch UI
• 3000mAh Non-Removable Battery
• Released: Novermber 2016 at Php 12,990 SRP

Visit Vivo Philippines website for more details

Zookal, a mobile app entrance exam reviewer aims to make learning more affordable and accessible to Filipinos. The app intends to provide Filipino students review materials that can be easily accessed using their mobile phones to help them pass their entrance examinations to universities like UPCAT, National Achievement Test, professional licensure exams and even civil service exams for those who want to work with the government. It contains over 30,000 practice multiple choice questions designed for various exams.

The app had an overwhelming downloads during its first month of launching. It has been downloaded 50,000 times and it has become one of the most downloaded app in Google Play Store.

“We’re very happy with the results after less than a month since we launched. We realized how valuable education is to Filipinos and how they strive hard to be better at what they do. Our app usage is just magnanimous. We will be adding more questions and more features soon in order to cater to the growing demand of the free practice exam service our app offers,” said Jon Tse, Co-Founder, Zookal.

Zookal features multiple-choice questions similar to the multiple-choice tests on exams. It allows users to swipe through questions and complete quizzes. Users earn bonus study tips compiled by the students of University of the Philippines and teachers from Teach for the Philippines. These tips are aimed at instilling effecting and healthy study habits to Filipino students so they can improve their study outcomes and enhanced their learning experience.

The app can be downloaded for free at the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Zookal is giving away Php150 load to lucky 5 app installers. Please visit my Facebook page for the mechanics.

Regine was recently became the ambassador of PLDT Home, the country’s leading provider of broadband and digital services. The Regine Series Mall Tour is part of the brand’s campaign to promote their Regine Series limited edition landline units. The available landline models are Modern, Hip, Classic and Chic, for only Php75 or Php99 per month on top of your monthly landline bill, you can avail any of these Regine Series landline units.

During her concert in Cebu, the Asia’s Song Bird flawlessly sang her rendition of “Usahay”, a Visayan song originally performed by Pelita Corales. He was also joined by Christian Bautista and her husband Ogie Alcasid on stage. One of the highlight of the concert is probably when Regine called Donna Cruz, who is now based in Cebu, on stage to sing the theme song of their hit movie, DoReMi, I Can. Their performance was so nostalgic and it felt like they never aged. Regine really delivered an unforgettable performance leaving the Cebuano audience in awe.

After the concert, an exclusive media dinner and press conference was held at Radisson Blu Hotel. Guests were also able to experience first-hand Smart HOME devices like home monitoring system Fam Cam; the powerful PC in a stick TVolution Stick which now comes with a free keyboard and mouse; and the Smart Watch—all best used with HOME Telpad and powered by the most powerful broadband connection of PLDT HOME Fibr. This marks HOME Fibr’s biggest footprint in the Queen City of the South.

“PLDT HOME has always been at the forefront of digital innovations and multimedia content offerings, and we want Cebu to be the first to experience the smart HOME,” PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali said. “This is our way of thanking them for their invaluable trust and for making us their number one choice for their broadband, digital and multimedia needs.”

For more information about their digital suite of products and services, visit http://pldthome.com

Smart Bro, the country’s leading mobile broadbrand provider has recently unveiled their very affordable iPad Mini 2 broadband package. For as low as Php599 per month and a one-time cash-out of Php2500, you get 1.7GB monthly data, free 1.1GB data for iflix, Spinnr, Youtube and more for 3 months, Smart LTE Sim and a 16GB iPad Mini 2. Lock-in period is 36 months.

iPad Mini 2 is iPad Mini’s 2nd generation model featuring more powerful specs compared to its predecessor It features Apple A7 processor, 1.3Ghz CPU, Quad-core GPU and 1024MB RAM. It also boast a 2048×1536 Retina Display for sharper and crisper images.

Last July 30, Smart unveiled their latest offering to Cebuano media and bloggers at Bayfront Hotel Cebu. Smart Brokada’s MJ Lastimosa and Christian Bautista also attended the event to introduce the iPad Mini 2 broadband package.

The iPad Mini 2 broad package coincides with the ongoing Brokada road trip across the country that brings Smart Bro 4G Pocket WiFi device to more Filipinos for only Php888. Smart Brokada is led by Smart Bro’s ambassadors including beauty queens Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 2014 MJ Lastimosa and Ms. International 2013 Bea Santiago, celebrities Gretchen Ho, Michelle and Mark Gumabao, and hit singers Michael Pangilinan and Christian Bautista. The Smart Brokada road trip has visited Manila, Baguio, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao and Ilocos, and it is set to visit more major cities nationwide.

“Now is the perfect time to get an iPad Mini 2 now made more powerful with the best broadband package from Smart Bro,” said Gary Dujali, Smart marketing head for consumer broadband and PLDT Home VP and marketing director.

For other iPad broadband packages of Smart Bro, visit http://smart.com.ph/Bro/plans-and-devices/appleipad. Visit any Smart Store near you to subscribe.