Week 4: Radio Style

Slug: Morning news 12-11-06/Erwin Oliva

(Focus: Intel helps hook up poor communities to the Net to narrow the proverbial digital divide)

One hundred fifty residents of General Trias in Cavite can now surf Internet, thanks to Intel.

Leighton Phillips, Intel World Ahead program manager, says Intel is investing one billion dollars in five years to train and connect more people living in remote areas to the Internet.

Phillips says this global project also intends to develop content relevant to rural communities because many people still have difficulty understanding the Internet.

He says Intel and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation are now working closely to help poorer communities become Internet literate.

In the Philippines, Intel is working with the Commission on Information and Technology, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization National Commission of the Philippines, and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication.

Florangel Rosario Braid, UNESCO National Commission chairperson for communication in the Philippines, says Intel is helping fulfill the organization’s plans to create relevant digital content for rural communities.

Week 4: News Story # 2

Intel helps ‘marginalized’ sectors get on the Internet

By Erwin Oliva

In today’s digital society, the number of people without access to the Internet is still surprising.

Intel hopes to change that in five years.

Committing 1 billion dollars to push initiatives geared for “marginalized” communities in the world, the chipmaker has initiated various projects worldwide, including in the Philippines that intend to connect people to the Internet, educate them about information technology, and develop more relevant community-based information accessible via the Web and other digital means.

Intel’s program, dubbed Intel World Ahead, has started connecting Philippine communities to the Internet using a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax) technology, a new technology that provides wireless Internet access at great distances.

Intel worked with local telecommunications firm Innove to wirelessly connect 150 local residents in Gen. Trias, Cavite and Alabang, Muntinlupa, Intel World Ahead program manager for Asia Pacific Leighton Phillips said.

Intel’s Wimax deployment is part of the Asian Broadband Campaign Wimax trials conducted in select countries like the Philippines, the Intel executives said.

Meanwhile, representatives from Intel met with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) in Manila recently to discuss projects, and best practices, Phillips said. The Asean members and Intel discussed how they could use public domain to develop web content for marginalized and rural communities.

The Intel executive said that content on the Internet remains irrelevant to most marginalized societies, while cost of access remains expensive.

Intel was committing US$ 250,000 in an Asean project to produce more relevant content, and was offering an e-learning software called SKOOOL.

The Intel World Ahead program intends to push various programs to developing regions in the form of accessibility, connectivity, education, and development of applications and content.

The US$1-billion commitment for five years intends to fund efforts to connect the "world's next billion users, while training 10 million more teachers and 1 billion students," Intel said.

Intel is now working with the Philippine Commission on Information and Technology (CICT), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization National Commission of the Philippines, and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication for the Intel World Ahead project.

Florangel Rosario Braid, chairperson for communication of UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, said Intel’s project is consistent with its plans to develop relevant digital content for marginalized communities.

Week 4: News Story # 1

Apple at the bottom of ‘green’ product list: Greenpeace

By Erwin Oliva

In the PC industry, Apple computers represent style and innovation.

But among environmentalists, the computer company occupies the bottom of a list of manufacturers racing to make their products “greener.”

Environmental group Greenpeace’s second edition “Guide to Greener Electronics” showed Apple Computer at the bottom of the list of top 14 manufacturers, while Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia remained on top.

Greenpeace ranks these manufacturers of PCs and mobile phones in the guide. Companies earn points if they have eliminated the use of the most hazardous chemicals, and have implemented recycling policies such as financing take-back, reuse or recycling of end-of-life products.

"Despite being the world leader in innovation and design, Apple is losing the race by failing to keep up with the other companies," Greenpeace International toxics campaigner Iza Kruszewska said in a statement.

Apple currently occupies the bottom position because it made “absolutely no improvements to its policies or practices since the ranking was first released three months ago, although most of its competitors have improved environmental policies," Kruszewska added.

In the Greenpeace guide’s first edition, Apple was third from the bottom of the list.

Meanwhile, new policies on use of chemicals and the proper disposal of electronic waste kept Nokia at the top. The Finnish company, however, has yet to state clear timelines for phasing out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in all its products. PVC is a plastic material that is deemed harmful to the environment.

Kruszewska said top-ranked brands are taking precautionary chemical policies. They have committed to eliminate the use of the most hazardous chemicals in their products, while acknowledging individual responsibility for financing the take-back and reuse or recycling of their own-brand discarded products.

Greenpeace said PC makers Acer and Lenovo have indicated plans to eliminate the use of the most hazardous chemicals from products. Lenovo's strong policy commitments elevated the company's ranking from the bottom spot to 8th place. Acer also made progress, as it moved to seventh from 12th position.

Motorola has also made improvements, moving up to the fourth position, next to Fujitsu-Siemens. It was ranked second worst in the first version of the guide, according to the Greenpeace guide.

Korean manufacturers LGE and Samsung and Japanese firm Sony's rankings have gone down because they support regulation in the US that places the responsibility for product recycling on consumers instead of the producers.

WEEK 2: Convergence is inevitable

Convergence in journalism involves the marriage of old and new mediums. "Mass media" is no longer enough to describe today's new media. The audience is growing because it is spreading virally through blogs and other social networking services such as YouTube or Flickr. Instead of the old paradigm of "one to many," the convergent media is now a medium of "many to many."

It also has gone "multimedia."

Blogs have allowed anyone to become a "journalist." Mainstream media is now embracing technologies, such as blogs, to deliver news. According to this paper from the University of Essex, titled "Blogging: personal participation in public knowledge building on the web,"

Blogs have emerged from a humble beginning to become a highly networked mass of online knowledge and communication. All kinds of research, from searching for the best price of the latest mobile phone, to more rigorous forms, are conducted through the blog medium.

Blogs or blogging have become "cheaper" and efficient means to publish information on the Internet and deliver news to a bigger audience. This is just example on how convergence has spread so quickly worldwide. Anyone with an Internet connection, a decent computer, and a good command of English can become a journalist. Thus we've seen the rise of citizen journalism, which is now gradually being embraced by MSM.

Convergence is happening in the Philippines. With a growing population of Internet users, a close to 40 million mobile phone users, it is evident that Filipinos want news pushed to them via new mediums. The company I worked with, INQ7.net, now sends breaking news to 20,000 mobile phone subscribers. Everyday, the local news website gets more than one million unique visitors -- that's about three times more than the current readership of our sister firm running the print medium.