Internet & Mobile Phones Played Big Roles In Last Weekend's Typhoon

In the midst of the weekend storm, mobile communications and the internet played big roles in keeping people informed - and they proved vital in saving lives. In Saturday's flooding, SMS messages were sent by people either to cry out for help or send information on where to conduct rescue,retrieval and evacuation operations. Social networking sites Facebook and Twitter were also used. Such was the case for some celebrities who either sent SMS or uploaded their pictures and videos to inform people of their plight. Others staying safe in their homes used Google Maps to mark areas severely affected by floods and in need of rescue operations or evacuation. YouTube and other media sites also had video uploads to show how much destruction was unleashed in such a short time. Technology and tech-savvy individuals indeed played big this time and if not for them, the situation we have now would most probably be far worse.

Stressed-Out September

Again after weeks of inactivity , I was finally able to get back and write an entry in my blog. Balancing job with graduate school studies ain't no easy task after all. 1st Semester's over and I just need to pass some other pending requirements then I'll be enrolling for another sem. (What did I get myself into??!! Joke!)

Another stress factor was the fact that typhoon "Ondoy" (international name "Ketsana") hit the Philippine Metro last weekend sending massive flash floods in low lying areas, devastating anything in its path. Add to that the fact that some dams released water to avoid damage to the structure. The really heavy downpour made water levels rise quickly and caught everyone by surprise. In just about 6 hours of non-stop raining, people are already sending out rescue messages as they had to be taken from their rooftops to avoid getting swept by the strong currents.

I myself was stranded in the office due to heavy rains, massive traffic jams and chest-deep flooded streets. My office buds also spent the night there due to the danger posed by the typhoon. Good thing we had internet ,we were able to get breaking news & monitor the situation. Soon , pictures and videos were circulating emails and websites. The picture above is just a glimpse of what happened.(Thanks and credit goes to the owner of the pic) For video clips and updates, go to www.abs-cbnnews.com or www.gmanews.tv . You can also get details on how to pledge donations for victims on those sites or www.redcross.org.ph .

Intel's Upcoming Braidwood NAND Flash Memory Module

I found this article a while ago about Intel's upcoming Braidwood NAND flash memory module, which is aimed at giving users faster boot-ups and application launches. Currently we have SSD's , popularly used for netbooks but these new chips from Intel could kill the solid-state disk (SSD) demand, according to a recent report on the new technology as Braidwood's flash memory is less expensive to install because it resides directly on the motherboard and will offer all the same benefits of an SSD at a lower cost.

Basically, a NAND flash memory module serves as cache for all reads and writes, speeding up the performance of a system. Consumer-grade SSDs use relatively inexpensive multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory, which is about one-eighth the price of DRAM memory typically used for cache in a computer.

This is good news for people like me who always look for more affordable alternatives without sacrificing output. When this technology will arrive on Philippine soil, I not sure but its promise of affordability and performance keeps me optimistic.

Alive Again After 2 Weeks of Inactivity

Being away for 2 weeks from my starter blog kinda left me out of sync from my habit of checking out and learning new and upcoming technology . Well, I had a valid excuse (I think)which was of course, catching up on office work (I have a day job too, you know...) and other assignments for my graduate school program. Well, gotta keep myself informed thru the internet. Browsing and reading will take a while though. Hope I can post relevant stuff soon. =)