Over 1,000 Public Libraries to Expand Services Via Tech4ED Project

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Science and Technology–Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICT Office) and the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) forged a partnership to implement the Tech4ED project in over 1,000 public libraries towards community empowerment.

Led by the DOST-ICT Office, the Technology for Economic Development (Tech4ED) project establishes centers in rural and underserved areas to expand access to ICT services, learning resources, and opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment.

The photo above shows the Department of Science and Technology–Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICT Office) and the National Library of the Philippines signing of the Memorandum of Agreement led by Blesila Velasco, Chief of the Public Libraries Division, NLP and Bettina Quimson, Deputy Executive Director for eSociety, DOST-ICT Office. Joining them were (standing from left): Jilven Amar, Librarian III, NLP; Clarissa Navarro, Tech4ED Project Manager; Irma Saligumba, Molave Development Foundation, Inc., and Program Manager, Beyond Access Phillipines; and Michael Pinto and Roilingel Calilung, Vice President and President of the Association of Librarians in Public Sector (ALPS), respectively.

The establishment of Tech4ED Centers in over 1,000 public libraries affiliated with the NLP will be a breakthrough in addressing digital inclusion. “We aim to make our public libraries more relevant to the community and further increase their utilization. With Tech4ED in our libraries, we can bring the benefits of ICT to more Filipinos,” said Jilven Amar, Librarian III of the NLP.

“Tech4ED is about creating equal opportunities for everybody,” said Bettina Quimson, Deputy Executive Director for eSociety, DOST-ICT Office. “Librarians are very essential in enabling a person to be trained on special skill sets toward employment and entrepreneurship,” Quimson said. “If the public library has at least three computers and Internet connectivity, we will work with them immediately to set up the Tech4ED platform.”

SikatPinoy National Food Fair 2016: A Taste of Every Kitchen Corner in the Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As many as our islands, there are so many flavors, textures, and ingredients that make up our Filipino dishes that were reinvented in so many variations. It is not totally surprising as these same islands have paved the way for our ancestors to be more creative in concocting unique recipes depending on the availability of ingredients within their areas.

When the roads, bridges and modern forms of transportation were developed and built, it expanded the recipes with so many twists and turns making our dishes a lot more interesting. When Pinoys began traveling around the Philippines and even outside the country, they also brought back home new methods and discoveries that further enhanced the flavors and appearance of Filipino delicacies brought to a new level.

The accessibility of different flavorings, seasonings and spices, the availability of quality food processing equipment, and the elevation of the culinary basics into a higher art form brought about the interest of so many to become chefs of varied specialties. Chefs are now also considered as celebrities that can easily flaunt their mouth-watering and gastronomically delightful masterpieces through any form of media may it be print, online or on television.

The Department of Trade and Industry - Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion (DTI-BDTP) recently held the SikatPinoy National Food Fair 2016, a part of a series of national trade fairs to help promising small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with a theme of Piliping-Piling Pagkaing Pilipino and aimed at helping our modest entrepreneurs to gain a better foothold as an emerging market among the numerous and highly competitive businesses in existence. It also prepares them towards the global export market so they could tap even foreign buyers that would be interested to purchase or even invest on their product ventures.

Sophos Email Appliances Adds Next-Generation Sandboxing Technology to Reduce Risk of Phishing, Targeted Scams and Sophisticated Threats

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sophos, a global leader in network and endpoint security, today announced that its Sophos Email Appliance now includes Sophos Sandstorm, an advanced, next-generation sandboxing technology that quickly and accurately detects, blocks and responds to sophisticated, constantly-changing cyber threats.

Sophos Sandstorm is an advanced persistent threat (APT) and zero day malware security technology. To combat elusive threats that target email accounts on multiple platforms and mobile devices, companies need signatureless protection in addition to traditional malware protection. Threats are now engineered to be “low and slow” to stay under the radar, using polymorphic and stealth techniques to avoid and delay detection. 

Today’s cybercriminals are also proactively taking steps to target, research and crack an organisation’s specific security measures by sending bespoke malware attached to seemingly-benign email messages. Sophos Sandstorm uses powerful cloud-based technology to isolate and address these types of threats before they enter a business network. Information technology managers are provided with detailed reports of threat behavior and analysis for further investigation and action, if required.

“Sophos Sandstorm combines prevention, detection and investigation in one solution to protect against cybercriminals who now use social-engineering tactics with new, not-previously-known malware to invade company networks,” said Bryan Barney, senior vice president and general manager, Sophos Network Security Group. “Keeping threats away from the network is a critical first line of defense. Sophos Sandstorm automatically isolates files to determine if they’re safe, providing an instant additional layer of detection and protection. Advanced technologies are often too expensive and require additional security expertise to implement and monitor them. Sophos is changing this by providing all businesses access to advanced protection that’s affordable and simple to deploy.”