South East Asian Games 2019 Logo - An Issue That's Should be a Non-Issue?

Photo Courtesy of  2019 SEA Games official Facebook page

Yup, there's never a boring day when it comes to Philippine politics. Even with a simple logo, hilarity ensues. While there's no denying that the logo presented recently is an abomination (yes, it is ugly and shouldn't be the final one our country uses next year), I would like to at least see more into the issue of local sports and hosting these events specifically, more than the logo debacle, shouldn't we be more disgusted on how our athletes are being treated and in turn honored?

 Outside of Men's Basketball, there's clearly a lack of any funding to make such stints even worthwhile. How are the training facilities and the housing? What about allowances? How many of our athletes train on their own expenses or even do double or triple work just to make ends meet? World-class athletes spend their time honing their skills and talents at most hours of a day and yet the most likely reality is that Filipino athletes probably spend more than half of the time thinking about life's problems instead of improving.

 It's understandable why the logo is a huge debacle at the moment but at the end of the day, it's just a logo. I would rather we spend all of our grievances in making sure our athletes are treated better and in turn provide better results in the long run. Would you rather have the most beautiful logo ever made or an Olympic gold medal for one of our countrymen? The glory of winning is something that we could all cherish for years and decades to come - something we could tangibly be proud of - and one that our country has yet to attain in more than a century and at the rate that we are going, it could probably take forever.

My Thoughts on Ice Cream Sandwich

Finally, the day has arrived and Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest iteration of the Android OS, has been officially unveiled to the world. In my years as an Android user, this is probably the most important update yet. Ice Cream Sandwich will not only change the phone-tablet divide but is also changing how Android functions and looks on the mobile phone front. After watching the live stream a few hours ago, I feel a little bit underwhelmed. Yes, Ice Cream Sandwich looks polished (I feel this is the best Android release yet) but most features are little enhancements, not game-changers.

I think one reason why I feel disappointed is having a Honeycomb tablet. Most widgets and functions are already built-in in Honeycomb (the software buttons, the multi-tasking pane, the re-sizable widgets, etc.) While they have been enhanced with added functionalities, for a Honeycomb user, I don't think there were big improvements to be too excited about. The only thing that really excited me was the camera and Android Beam. But how many phones have NFC functionality that can use Android Beam? As for the camera, the zero-lag shutter seems to be a Samsung innovation rather than an Ice Cream Sandwich feature.

Overall, Android 4.0 still lacks the one thing that iOS and Apple has over the competition - user-friendliness. While Android 4.0 did improve it's UI a lot it still lacks that spit-and-polish that iOS has.

K+12 Is Not The Answer Mr. President

I remember when Noynoy Aquino ran for president last year, one of his staunch advocacies was to improve our educational system by implementing his K+12 program. He believed that adding more years to our school system will be the answer to our country's lacking educational program. In a presidency that tends to do more "studying and assessing" than actually doing something, it seems ironic that the K+12 was and still is an idea that is devoid of any thoughtful thinking or common sense. Let me elaborate further.

It doesn't take a scholar to know what the biggest problems are in our educational system. The budget is the first thing most would say and that's true - there's no denying that all problems are rooted in money. In my honest opinion though, the K+12 program does not address the more direct problem - having enough resources used for education. What I mean is the lack of classrooms, teachers and even chalk. Adding more years would mean students stay longer in school. Schools and classrooms which are already full to the brim. Another thing is the cost of education. More years mean more costs for parents in the long run. I'm definitely seeing a scenario where more students drop-out because they cannot afford the additional 2 years rather than there actual academic performance.

What's completely wrong about the K+12 program is that the fatal assumption that if other countries are gaining better graduates due to additional schooling years, we would yield the same results. The K+12 program is not the answer because it does not solve the underlying problems our educational system has. In fact, it's going to amplify the problems further in the long run.

Siri: A Revolution or a Novelty for Now?

While it seems for many that the iPhone 4S isn't that big of a thing, I beg to differ. And there's only one thing that caught my attention (and the attention of everyone else). It's not the dual-core processor or the 8-megapixel camera (all of those have been featured in other phones for a long, long time already) or even iOS5 but it's simply Siri. Yes, the application that has just made talking to computers a reality. Take that M.C.P.!

As much as I hate Apple and its cult, I am still astounded at how they deliver their tech. They may not be the first salvos but they have been the releases that really bring technology into the mainstream. May it be the iPod, the iPhone or the iPad and Ultrabooks (with the MacBook Air), Apple has shaped our tech and gadget usage more than anyone else. With Siri, you technically won't even need a GUI. Siri sounds and even looks more amazing when you see it live in action. No doubt that Siri is the future but is it really revolutionary at this point?

My opinion on this matter is it really depends on where you are living. This is not connected with Siri having limitations for some countries. It's more on Siri's design. Siri looks and feels great because it uses the cloud for its processing power. At first glance, people will think that they need the 4S because Siri needs a lot of processing power but this is a huge lie. Siri in fact uses the processing power of Apple's data center. What this means is first, it can actually work with any iPhone as long as it has an internet connection but second and most importantly, you need to have a constant, reliable internet connection for it to function. This is the biggest flaw for Siri and the one thing that will hold it back. Would you pay for extra unlimited data plan just so you can talk to your phone? I know I won't and don't give me the reason that WiFi is always an option. Here in Manila, it's really hard to find WiFi hotspots that are free, what more in the provinces. Siri is indeed revolutionary in terms of showing us that conversing naturally to a computer is possibility for consumers. But when you factor in practicality, it's more of a side note really. When Siri or any similar applications are independent of the cloud then that will be revolutionary. It just means that you have a super powerful phone at the tip of your hand.

AMD Bulldozer - AMD Needs to Rethink Their Strategy or Else

If you are into PC gaming then you probably heard about AMD's much awaited Bulldozer platform. A platform years in the making which touted to be the one chip, the one platform that can outmatch Intel's dominance in the chip market. I was excited too and why not? I'm an avid supporter of AMD since the Athlon XP days and simply put, the chip market is on a stand-still and the market seriously needs a huge shake-up. Intel for example hasn't changed their platform in around 2 years and yet, they have the fastest chips around. If Bulldozer is a success then Intel would need to hasten Ivy Bridge. In my opinion, stagnancy is in part destroying PC gaming. Whereas a decade ago, PC gaming was always bleeding-edge in terms of graphics performance, it is at a point right now where games haven't evolved as fast as before. Better for my wallet but bad for our gaming pleasure.

Just this past week, the AMD FX-8150 was officially announced, released and reviewed by various PC enthusiasts sites. On paper, the thing is a beast. It's the world's first octa-core chip (yes, 8-cores in a single die!) But its performance real-world was a huge disappointment. The Bulldozer platform was supposed to "bulldoze" Intel's line-up into oblivion but that expectation was far from reality. The flagship model was performing on-par with Intel's midrange offering with a price tag a little bit higher.

Now it's pretty obvious what AMD's strategy is. If you cannot compete pound-per-pound then at least give more value to the consumer. An 8-core chip for $250? That's value right? But do regular consumers know what an 8-core chip is? I know a lot of people who don't even know what a multi-core CPU is or is capable off doing. For the regular consumers out there, a computer is just a box, not really composed of separate parts that need careful thinking when buying. As long as the PC works as expect then they won't mind what's inside. AMD should realize that regular consumers are not swayed by tech specs alone. Marketing is king and I bet my money that Intel is way ahead of them in terms of brand recognition and all. They really need to ramp up their brand identity soon.

Second, on the enthusiasts side, an 8-core chip is damn exciting but if you give enthusiasts a chip way below expectations then they would shut their doors in an instant. Worse, pricing it a little bit higher for the mere fact that it has more cores won't justify the slight difference. Performance matters over money for enthusiasts and I'm sure AMD knows that. For the previous generations, they did give processors that perform lower what Intel is offering but at least if you can "up-the-ante" by overclocking then things do get even somewhat. In the first place, few games or applications utilize more than 4-cores. AMD should concentrate on performance for now - not the number of cores they can insert in single silicon die.

What is Beyond Droid?

Technology makes a big chunk of my life. One of the first things I do when I wake up is look at tech sites ogling at the latest gadget releases and announcements around the world (though it doesn't mean that I have the means to buy any of them). But, technology and gadgets are not the only things that influence my life. Politics, business, sports, games - you name it, I usually have something to say about those topics as well.

So why "Beyond Droid" you may ask again? The story is quite simple. I bought an Android phone almost two years ago - a Motorola Milestone or better known as the Droid in the US. Simply put, the Droid has changed the way I perceive and use cellphones - the same as most people see the iPhone as a game changer. I want to make that same impact as my phone did not only as a techie per se but as a normal, living, breathing, human being. My goal is to spread out my opinions on the latest topics affecting my country and the world in the hopes that someone, somewhere may start thinking about their lives. It's that simple. This is Beyond Droid, signing out for now.