by: Engr. Cesar Noel S. Quiñon | Web Developer for Agents of Value.com
The outsourcing business is one of the emerging industries in the Philippines. The call center industry, legal and medical transcription, and Web and Software Development are the major services that constitutes the outsourcing business.
The Call center sector is one of the top outsourcing industries. A call center is a centralized office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. It is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, and debt collection are also made. In addition to a call centre, collective handling of letters, faxes, and e-mails at one location is known as a contact centre. Most the notable agencies that handle this kind of service are PeopleSupport, Link2Support, G-Com Ltd., and IBM Daksh.
Companies that are into Legal and Medical Transcription sector are those companies who do mostly medical reports, discharge summaries, operative reports, therapy/rehabilitation notes, chart notes, and hospital and clinic reports using state-of-the-art software and equipment from the
U.S. Paramedix, which is one of the leading Medical Transcription (MT) service providers in the Philippines. They offer unique solutions to medical transcription (MT) services needed in the US and UK
On the other hand, companies that handle cyber services are those companies who cater online services like website development and maintenance, content writing, graphic designing, animation and virtual assistance. Agents of Value (AOV) Philippines is one of the leading companies which renders these kind of services with branches in Makati, Cavite, Iloilo and Davao.
Microsoft has pushed back by five months the cutoff date for selling Windows XP. All versions will be available at retail and through major computer makers through June 30 rather than being discontinued on Jan. 30, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
by: Mike Elgan
Don’t look now, but the role of the industry’s biggest bully is increasingly played by Apple, not Microsoft.
Ten years ago, Microsoft was the company everyone loved to hate.
The most vociferous Microsoft haters slammed the company for being a greedy industry bully that used its monopolistic, clunky, copycat operating system to force software on users and coerce partners into unfair licensing deals.
Don’t look now, but the role of the industry’s biggest bully is increasingly played by Apple, not Microsoft. Here’s a look at how Apple has shoved Microsoft aside as the company with the worst reputation as a monopolist, copycat and a bully.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Three-year-old Filipino firm TechFactors Inc. has developed “edutainment” software to make technology education interactive and fun for children.
Citing the lack of homegrown courseware, a group of academic experts and game developers from the University of the Philippines came together to form the company.
About 90,000 Filipino kids from 170 to 180 private schools nationwide use the company’s courseware, Jimmy Caro, chief academic officer of TechFactors Inc., told INQUIRER.net in a telephone interview.
The company’s edutainment software combines video games, laboratory simulation and other interactive exercises to make ICT education “fun and engaging,” he said.
The company has developed courseware modules for pre-schoolers, elementary, and high school students.
“There’s a need for schools to help kids prepare for college,” he said, adding that the interactive courses also derive topics from mathematics, science, and English as examples to help kids learn technology, Caro added.
Every student is provided two books and a CD that contains a year’s worth of ICT courseware. Teachers are also trained in the use of the courseware.
Asked how much the courseware package costs, Caro said, “It is cheaper than going to a popular fastfood [restaurant] in a month.”
Local schools that have bought the homegrown courseware include the Philippine Cultural High School in Binondo, Ateneo de Davao, University of San Carlos, Don Bosco in Pampanga, and the National College of Business and Arts.
“We hope what were doing will have an impact on ICT education among the Filipino children,” he said.
The Filipino software company is actively looking for venture capital to help them expand capacity and reach in the market.
“There’s still room for growth because of the big demand from schools,” Caro said.
By Peter Galli
from: PCMAG.com
SAN FRANCISCO—Windows Vista has probably created the single biggest opportunity for the Linux desktop to take market share, Cole Crawford, an IT strategist at Dell, said in an address titled, “The Linux Desktop—Fact, FUD or Fantasy?” at the annual LinuxWorld Conference & Expo here.
For example, a number of companies have moved back to Windows XP after deploying Vista, Crawford said, before quoting Scott Granneman, an author, entrepreneur and adjunct professor at Washington University in St. Louis, as saying, “To mess up a Linux box, you need to work at it; to mess up your Windows box, you just have to work on it.”
Microsoft has also owned the desktop for more than 15 years, Crawford said, “and so the only way for them to go is down. But Linux can only go up, and its growth potential is enormous. While Linux only has 1 percent of share on the desktop versus Microsoft’s more than 90 percent, that is changing, and the Linux desktop is expected to gain some share over the next two years,” he said.
The number of developers targeting Windows decreased by 12 percent in the last year, while their targeting of Linux has increased by 34 percent over the same period, recently released information from Evans Data shows, Crawford said.
The interoperability agreements that Microsoft has signed with Linux vendors, from Novell to Xandros and Linspire, have also had largely positive results so far, he said, adding that another plus was the fact that Linux development has shifted to a model in which a significant portion of the kernel is being developed by corporate entities.
On the downside, Crawford said, was the fact that no one actually owns the kernel and this makes SLAs (service-level agreements) more challenging.
Read the rest of this eWEEK story: Vista Aiding Linux Desktop, Strategist Says
Article from: CNET.com Quick Guide DVD is, by some measurements, the greatest success in consumer electronics history. Following its 1997 debut, it took the format just a few years to completely conquer the home-video market previously ruled by VHS tapes. Before it even reaches its 10th birthday, however, the electronics industry and the Hollywood studios are already putting DVD out to pasture. Two rival next-generation formats–Blu-ray and HD-DVD–are already vying to become the successor to DVD’s throne. Both display movies in full high-definition resolution, addressing one shortfall of the current DVD format, which is only standard-def. But to get that improved visual fidelity, you have to decide to buy either a Blu-ray player or an HD-DVD player–and be willing to live with a list of caveats a mile long. As a result, CNET recommends that you refrain from buying a Blu-ray or an HD-DVD player in the short term. To explain why we’re so cautious, we’ll take a look at both formats, examine how they compare to one another, and highlight the advantages–and disadvantages–they offer compared to the current generation of DVD. HD-DVD In Depth Blu Ray DVD In Depth Blu-ray, HD-DVD, and DVD formats compared CNET’s Recommendations: “With both HD-DVD and Blu-ray becoming available this spring, the question becomes: which is the horse to bet on? At this point, from the perspective of the editors at CNET, the answer is: neither. As much as we’re looking forward to the availability of HD movies, we think the industry’s failure to offer a single DVD successor makes it impossible to recommend either of the two rival contenders. As such, CNET is recommending that you refrain from buying any Blu-ray or HD-DVD player–or movies–in the immediate future. We’ll revisit this opinion as soon as events warrant.” For more info iCNSQ’s Reaction: I would agree on CNET’s recommendation to wait until there’s a possible resolution between the two formats.
The TopTenReview website has released their latest report on which is best of the latest antivirus software available in the market today. Grabbing the top three spots are BitDefender, Kaspersky and ESET Nod32 in that order. Here are the summary report of the respective softwares. 
SOFTWIN’S BitDefender 10: Bit Defender is easy to use, simple to install, has a great feature set and at $24.95, it won’t break your bank account. Anyone who spends time on the Internet knows the importance of anti–virus software; BitDefender will keep your computer virus–free and running smoothly. Final rating 4/4 
Kaspersky 6: Kaspersky is an easy-to-use program for the average person with plenty of customizable options for an advanced user. Just install and set up this software and you’ll never have to worry about a virus or worm infecting your computer. Final rating 4/4. 
ESET NOD 32:Nod32 is a first-rate antivirus program that offers several levels of superior protection. However, the product is somewhat hard to understand because of the technical jargon and wouldn’t be our first choice for the average home user. Final Rating 3.5 /4
