HONG KONG — AsiaPay, a world-class provider of Internet and mobile payment services and technologies in Asia, launches “PayDollar Debit” Payment Service, the most comprehensive debit payment option for the Asia Pacific region.

“As we reach a new milestone of AsiaPay’s strong alliance with leading payment and bank partners in Asia and China, we are pleased to launch PayDollar Debit Payment Service as an alternative payment option to non-credit consumers for businesses in Asia. Consumers can now enjoy greater payment convenience in making online purchases in Asia while merchants can further maximize their online sales by catering to non-credit consumers,” said Joseph Chan, CEO of the AsiaPay Group.

PayDollar Debit Payment Service enables merchants to accept and collect online real-time debit payments from consumers in China, Australia, New Zealand, and other Asian countries via bank accounts, debit cards, e-wallets, and prepaid products. AsiaPay’s comprehensive partnerships will allow merchants to serve over one billion customer base all throughout the Asia Pacific region. Currently, it can process payments from China UnionPay, AliPay, 99Bill, PPS, MyClear, BancNet, Globe GCash, Smart Money, POLi, Bangkok Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, TMB Bank, United Overseas Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, and Krung Thai Bank accountholders. And, payment is real-time and securely authenticated.

“The continued increase of online debit-ready consumers along with the comfort levels of consumers in making online purchases has created a new market for online businesses. And, we strive to offer our merchants the most integrated and comprehensive payment services possible by providing credit and debit payments in Asia, together with integrated multi-lingual account and consolidated transaction reporting, and single settlement even if the merchant has multiple debit payment options in different countries via our PayDollar platform,” adds Joseph Chan.

Article source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/347878/asiapay-launches-paydollar-debit-payment-apac-region

MANILA, Philippines — The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) will host the first JFC investor conference streamed live at the first Arangkada Philippines anniversary Forum with the theme Moving Twice as Fast on January 26, 2012 at the Grand Ballroom, Marriott Hotel. Audiences will be able to watch the Forum in real time through the Arangkada Philippines website, www.arangkadaphilippines.com, participate by sending their questions via Facebeook, Twitter, and email to be answered live or afterwards.

To open the Forum, DTI Secretary Gregory L. Domingo will deliver the opening remarks on “The Role of Foreign Investment in Philippine Economic Growth.” DTI in partnership with BOI will co-sponsor the event with other Philippine business groups. Key speakers and panels of experts will identify priority policies and programs on how to best actualize the Philippine potential to be Asia’s newest high-growth economy through increased levels of competitiveness, investment, and job creation.

More than 50 private sector experts have collaborated to assess the status of the 471 recommendations in Arangkada one year after its release. The updated assessments and select charts and figures will be published in an Arangkada assessment report, distributed at the Forum, and posted at www.arangkadaphilippines.com.

Sponsored by the JFC, Arangkada Philippines 2010 is a private sector advocacy paper prepared by domestic and foreign investors about building a more competitive economy for the Philippines in partnership with the public sector.

For more information on the Arangkada Philippines Forum, please call Isabel Hernando or Tanya Hotchkiss at 751-1495 or email hernandomariaisabel@gmail.com or arangkadaph@gmail.com. For media, please call Bea Vergara at 818-7911 loc. 213 or email bea@amchamphilippines.com

Send in your questions via Facebook at facebook.com/arangkadaphilippines, Twitter at @ArangkadaPH, or email at info@arangkadphilippines.com.

Article source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/347879/arangkada-philippines-forum-moving-twice-fast

MANILA, Philippines — It has always been a risk that creative types have to live with.

In a field that values creativity and originality, something presented as new might turn out to be too similar to something created or done in the past. A song might include some elements that sound like those of an older tune, or a poem might have some verses that rhyme too closely with those of an epic written a century earlier, or a movie might have the same plotline as an obscure play.

The Department of Tourism’s latest slogan, “It more fun in the Philippines,” might be one such case. And some online critics promptly pounced on this, accusing the DOT and its marketing agency of lacking in originality. Some even alleged plagiarism. This might just be a case of “great minds think alike.” Or the DOT copywriter was perhaps not aware of Switzerland’s 60-year-old marketing slogan.

Microsoft Flies

Microsoft’s Flight Simulator is perhaps the world’s longest-running computer game series. Older even than the software giant’s main cash cow, the Windows OS, the flight simulator game practically defined its market segment.

It therefore made not a few market observers to scratch their heads and wondered why Microsoft shut down ACES Game Studio, the developer of the game series, in January 2009.

First developed in 1977, the flight simulation game has been satisfying gamers’ lust for flying albeit virtually for more than 25 years now.

Last week, however, Microsoft announced the resurrection of the Flight Simulator franchise, which has been rebranded as the Microsoft Flight. Retaining most of the game’s realistic flying experience, Flight has become a free-to-play game and will be released in spring 2012.

Microsoft hopes to remind fans of the original game about their love for virtual flying. At the same time, the company wishes to attract today’s gamers, both those who wage virtual wars and those who tend to their virtual vegetables or blast digital zombies away.

Render Unto Pirates

Sweden’s government has exempted a file-sharing group from the country’s anti-piracy laws. The reason? The Swedish authorities concurred that the group is a religious organization, and that the files that the group’s more than 3,000 members share are sacred.

Also, the government agrees that the group’s act of file sharing is a sacrament.

The moral of the story: If you want to do some hassle-free digital piracy, do it with a touch of the sacred.

Unfriend This Virus

If you’re a Facebook user and happened to be living in France or the United Kingdom, you better check your FB account’s security settings. According to some media reports, a malware called Ramnit has stolen some 45,000 users’ login details (usernames and passwords).

IT security research group Securlet has disclosed that the worm can infect Windows executables, Microsoft Office, and HTML files.

I guess it’s time for safer social networking.

Article source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/347683/microsoft-reboots-flight-simulation-game

MANILA, Philippines — It’s 2012.  In retrospect, there were many breakthroughs especially in the field of technology.  Certain gadgets made a killing in the market but that’s another story. For this time I’d rather concentrate on the “women and technology.”

The world has seen women fast becoming on equal footing with their male counterparts; in business, sports, politics, the academe- you name it!  Which is why I’d like to share and introduce to you some of the interesting women I met in 2011. All of who have incorporated technology into their home, business and working lives.

Nikki Tang, Managing Director, Admark Multisales, Inc – When one thinks of Manufacturing Engineering as a major, we’d be quick to assume that the one taking the course is of the male gender.  Well, such was not the case for this pretty, young, lass.

Over ten years ago, Nikki Tang took up Manufacturing Engineering Management at De La Salle University.  At the time, there were mostly males in the class, less than 5% were females. Nikki didn’t mind.

It was a challenging course.  She went with it not so much because of the technical aspect but more so because of the discipline she hoped to learn and imbibe that went with studying an engineering course.

“I wanted to learn the basic thing about studying engineering and back then, that was one of the popular courses like Industrial engineering.  I felt that it would allow one to be in a position to take the challenges of business management.  It can develop your way of thinking, like how to make your approach, strategies, and do logical thinking.

“ After college, Ms. Tang was fortunate to have immediate work opportunities. There was always the option to work in the existing family business that was in the hardware, construction and fashion industry.  But Nikki seemed marked for better things and her mom’s entrepreneurial skills seemed to have rubbed off on her.

They were also into accessories/fine jewelry business. “I got lured into the beauty business because of my mom.  She traveled a lot and has a very entrepreneurial mind.  She’s a global person with a keen eye for good products.  Her travels allowed her to find products outside of the Philippines that showed great potential.”

Nikki got into the beauty business when her mom grabbed the opportunity presented to her by one of her dermatologist friends in Singapore and brought the product to the Philippines.

That was 13 years ago when Nikki started a new division of the family business — the beauty/skin care line.  And the first product was– Neostrata.   “At the time, dermocosmetic products were just beginning to emerge in the world and in the Philippines such products were hard to come by.  You were left to buy skin care products with your derma’s own labels and blends because branded names like Neostrata was expensive.

Our company broke those barriers and made it possible for the doctors to dispense, recommend and carry our products. I can speak with pride and say that our company only distributes products that are backed with research and studies.  They are all scientifically proven and FDA- approved whether it’s from the U.S. Europe or wherever.

Nikki Tang the Manufacturing Engineer knows how important technology is in her business of beauty.

(To be continued)

Article source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/347684/profile-a-techie-woman

MANILA, Philippines — Tablet or laptop?

It’s a fair question to ask, given today’s technological trends. But if you’re in the market for only one device, make it the Iconia Tab W500: Acer’s stunning new tablet and laptop.

(It’s not either; it’s both.)

As yet another demonstration of the company’s commitment to break the barrier between people and technology, the Acer Iconia Tab W500 is a revolutionary device with a beautiful hybrid design that combines the multi-touch experience and portability of tablet computers with the efficiency and reliability of laptops and PCs.

As a tablet, the 10.1-inch Iconia Tab W500 boasts of an incredible LED-backlit 1280 x 800 resolution screen, smooth and speedy multi-touchscreen technology, and HD multimedia playback capabilities, all made possible by a hardcore hardware set that includes an AMD C-Series dual-core processor, an AMD A50M Fusion Controller Hub chipset, 2 GB of DDR3 memory, 32 GB solid-state drive capacity, and AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics.

As a laptop computer, the Acer Iconia Tab W500 connects to a dockable full-sized chicklet keyboard, and runs on a touch-optimized version of Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, complete with the Microsoft Office 2010 suite, Adobe Flash Player and Reader, Microsoft Silverlight, and the intuitive touch control interface called Acer Ring.

Indeed, with the Acer Iconia Tab W500, you get the best of both worlds—using a sleek, wafer-thin, smaller-than-a-magazine device that you can slip easily into a briefcase or purse, then pull out and set in motion with a finger swipe.

‘Motion’ sounds about right, too: as the ultimate mobile professional tool, the Acer Iconia Tab W500 responds to your demands, wherever you go.

Connect to the Internet, manage your E-mails, and keep up-to-date with both professional and social networks with the Acer Iconia Tab W500’s built-in Acer InviLink Nplify Wi-Fi connectivity. Launch applications, tools, and utilities with a screen grab using Acer Ring, and manage all your online content with the cloud-computing-based My Journal Web clipboard. Impress colleagues and friends with presentations on the tablet’s high-brightness TFT LCD display, or with music and movies optimized by integrated ambient light sensors, Acer CrystalBrite anti-reflective LCD screen technology, Microsoft DirectX 11 support, and the Dolby Advanced Audio V2 audio enhancement suite.

All these make the Acer Iconia Tab W500 a device that is at once ahead of its class and incredibly easy to use. Other apps and software products built into the familiar Windows environment of the tablet include Skype, TouchBrowser for Windows, Social Jogger (a visual Facebook/ Flickr/ YouTube content aggregator), Norton Online Backup, and Acer clear.fi, the acclaimed cross-platform solution for wirelessly storing, sharing, and syncing content across a network of devices.

Meanwhile, if the situation calls for an instant efficiency boost, you can turn the Acer Iconia Tab W500 into a compact clamshell laptop simply by connecting the dockable keyboard. Its chiclet keys and gently curved edges are designed to enhance the tactile experience of typing. To provide greater stability, Acer also furnished the 0.43-inch dock with quick-linking magnets and an Acer FineTrack pointing device, making it easier to breeze through reports, presentations, spreadsheets, to-do lists, and other urgent documents.

The dockable keyboard, however, is more than just for typing. It also serves as a multipurpose peripheral device with two handy USB 2.0 ports and a Fast Ethernet LAN port.

The Acer Iconia Tab W500 has a couple of USB 2.0 ports of its own, as well as a 2-in-1 card reader and a headphone and speaker jack. It also includes the Acer Crystal Eye: a set of two high-resolution cameras (one in front, one at the back) that work together to provide stunning snapshots, high-quality audio and video recordings, crisp and clear video calls, and fun self-portraits.

To the question of tablet or laptop, Acer compellingly delivers an answer: both. There is no need to make the choice between one or the other: with the beautiful hybrid design and revolutionary technology featured in the Iconia Tab W500, you’re set to get the best of both worlds. (Carl Rogel Inocentes)

Article source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/347471/tablet-laptop-acer-iconia-tab-best-both-worlds