adidas Football Launches Third Kits Created By Fans for 2017/18 Season

Press release

- FC Bayern, Real Madrid CF, Manchester United, Juventus, AC Milan and Flamengo reveal third kits designed by fans -

- Third kits created and produced as part of adidas Football Creator Studio, a digital platform giving fans the chance to design the shirts of these iconic clubs -

- Third kits will be worn during the 17/18 season -

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – adidas on July 21 revealed the third kits for FC Bayern Munich, Real Madrid CF, Manchester United, Juventus, AC Milan & Flamengo for the 2017/18 season, all designed by fans. The new designs were designed and produced using the adidas Football Creator Studio platform, channelling and celebrating the creativity of football fans all over the world.

The Creator Studio platform allowed fans the opportunity to design the third kits for the above six clubs – the ultimate expression of fan creativity. All submitted kits were voted on by fans in a ‘battlemode’ that saw the most popular kits shortlisted to a top 100. The winners for each club were then chosen by an expert panel of some of the clubs most iconic players. The selected kits – which will be worn on-pitch during the 2017/18 season – are:

FC Bayern

The kit represents a modern inversion on classic elements of FC Bayern kit design. The white jersey features thin red stripes down the front of the shirt, fading out as they reach the bottom. Pure white sleeves give it a clean and totally unique look for a FC Bayern shirt, while still channelling classic colours and design from the club’s history.

Real Madrid CF

The new third kit brings a truly unique and creative look to this iconic team. The winning design features a predominantly teal shirt with black stripes on the shoulder and white branding. The design takes inspiration from modern digital design, with a square graphic pattern in two corners breaking up the front of the shirt and representing the disruptive nature of the reigning European Champions.

Manchester United

The United third kit represents the powerful bond between the team and its fans. The light grey shirt is designed with a graphic showing the silhouette of the famous ‘Holy Trinity’ statue outside of the club’s Old Trafford stadium. The statue of club icons Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law represents a golden era in the club’s history and it is this unique history that was the inspiration for the new third kit.

Juventus

The Juventus kit combines the past and the future in a way perfectly suited to an iconic club that is constantly re-inventing itself on and off the pitch. The shirt channels the past thanks to a military green colour and the inclusion of the famous Juventus black and white stripes across the chest. The shirt brings the club right up to date though, thanks to the inclusion of the club’s sleek new logo – part of its new ‘Black and White and More’ brand identity.

The Manchester United third kit will be available at Bootcamp, adidas Trinoma, and adidas Greenbelt on the 28^th of July. It will retail at P3495.

For further information please visit adidas.com/football or follow @adidasfootball on instagram or twitter to join the conversation.

Hitachi Named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Solid-State Arrays

Hitachi Moves from Challengers Quadrant to Leaders Quadrant; Evaluation Based On Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision

Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), today announced it has been positioned in the Leaders Quadrant of the July 2017 Magic Quadrant for Solid-State Arrays by Gartner, Inc., a leading global research firm. Hitachi believes its significant growth and enhancements to its all-flash Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) F Series product line resulted in the company improving its position, moving it from the Challengers Quadrant to the Leaders Quadrant.

According to Gartner: “Vendors in the Leaders Quadrant have the highest scores for their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. A vendor in the Leaders Quadrant has the market share, credibility, and marketing and sales capabilities needed to drive the acceptance of new technologies. These vendors demonstrate a clear understanding of market needs; they are innovators and thought leaders; and they have well-articulated plans that customers and prospects can use when designing their storage infrastructures and strategies. In addition, they have a presence in all four major geographical regions, consistent financial performance and broad platform support.”

Hitachi’s continued investments in the development of its flash software and hardware technologies have resulted in the delivery of a superior enterprise storage offering for its customers, backed by the most flash-related patents in the industry. Hitachi VSP F1500, which first debuted in October 2016, was purpose-built for businesses with large-scale data management requirements—including mainframe. It provides seamless cloud tiering, integrated analytics software and a unique 100-percent data availability guarantee. All VSP F series models are enhanced with flat service pricing, ongoing media replacement, and quality of service (QoS) controls to provide consistent performance over time. For customers in highly regulated industries or where data security is mission critical, the VSP F series conforms with secure data eradication services and meets the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) data security control standards.

“Hitachi takes pride in bringing continuous breakthroughs to market that help our customers to be as competitive as possible in the digital age,” said Ryuichi Otsuki, CEO of Hitachi Data Systems. “We are pleased to be recognized as a leader in the solid-state array industry and we will continue to challenge industry standards, while positioning our customers to succeed.”

To download a complimentary copy of the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Solid State Arrays report, visit:https://www.hds.com/ext/magic-quadrant-for-solid-state-arrays.html

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Watch Out For These Exciting Events at the Power Mac Center Spotlight

Press release

Don’t let the rainy season put a damper on your spirits. Summer may be over, but August marks the start of exciting events and experiences that you can look forward to at the Power Mac Center Spotlight. 

“Circuit Makati will be hosting a variety of events at the Power Mac Center Spotilght – a 300-seater black box theater located on top of Circuit Lane. It is the perfect venue for musicals, theatre performances and even wrestling competitions. Do not miss these diverse collection of events in the coming months,” said Cathy Bengzon, Ayala Land Head of Marketing.

AUGUST 2017

1. Guest Experience (August 6)

August ushers in a celebration of world class musical talent performance by acclaimed Filipino composer Nilo Alcala. He debuts original compositions for the Manila Symphony Orcherstra on August 6 at Power Mac Center Spotlight.

Simultaneously, Spanish composer, Edouard Lalo’s ‘Symphonie Espagnole’ (1874), will be performed by German-Indonesian guest violin soloist, Iskandar Widjaja. Joining this stellar pair of performers is bohemian composer Antonin Dvorak's 'Symphony No.8,' who will be under the baton of Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang. 

This officially marks the beginning of the 2017 to 2018 season of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. Tickets range from PHP1400, 1000, 900, 550, 350; available at all Ticketworld outlets

2. The Glitter Trap (August 19 & 20)

Art truly lives and breathes within the city of Makati as this year, Repertory Philippines (REP) has partnered with Ayala Land Inc.’s Circuit Makati to bring art closer to its various communities.

REP will be staging a re-run of The Glitter Trap for select students and PWD children from the barangays of Makati on August 19.

While its ticketed show on August 20 will help raise funds for the free showing of the children’s musical for the kids of Makati.

For inquiries, call REP at 843.3570, and Ticketworld at 891.999 or log on to www.ticketworld.com.ph. For updates and show schedules, log on to www.repertoryphilippines.ph, like and follow repertoryphilippines on Facebook and Instagram, and follow @repphils on Twitter.

SEPTEMBER 2017

3. Philippine Wrestling Revolution (September 3)

Things pick up in September with the arrival of the Philippine Wrestling Revolution (PWR) in Circuit Makati on September 3. 

The premier professional wrestling promotion in the country today is on its third year and draws sports-entertainment fans around the nation for this event. This also happens to be first Philippine pro wrestling event that the infamous WWE recognizes. Tickets are now available for pre-selling. Email pwr.tickets@gmail.com or send a message to their official Facebook page: PHWrestlingRevo. 

4. Capcom Pro Tour: Manila Cup (September 8-10)

Keeping the adrenaline up at Circuit Makati, for the Manila Cup happening on September 8 to 10. The event will be trailed by a part of the Capcom Pro Tour—a 3-day event that brings together local and international fighting-game enthusiasts for a series of exciting game tournaments. The two day event is expected to draw local and international competitors beginning September 8. 

Find out more at https://capcomprotour.com/capcom-pro-tour-2017-details/. 

SEPTEMBER to OCTOBER 2017

5. Short + Sweet Festival (September 15-17, 22-24, 30 and October 1)

September ends on a sweeter, better and bigger note with the Short + Sweet Theatre Festival Manila. 

Catch the fourth season of the World’s Biggest Little Play Festival on September 15-17, 22-24, 30 and October 1. The creative global phenomenon will showcase 10-minute plays throughout the first and second weekends. And the best little plays shall be selected to perform on October 1. 

Anyone looking to indulge in art and culture should come and watch the individuals and independent theatre groups from across the Philippines and beyond to witness the carnival of little plays.

“Circuit Makati has grown to become recognized as the city’s leading arts, culture and entertainment district. And we strive to continue to deliver unique events that highlight the diversity of options available within the district that everyone in the family can enjoy,” enthuses Bengzon. 

Mark your calendars so you don’t miss any of these exciting events. For more information about the city that makes it happen, visit www.makeitmakati.com/district/circuit-makati or like and follow Circuit Makati on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

For inquiries in leasing the Power Mac Center Spotlight, email Bernabe.mia@circuitmakati.com 

Filipinos Notable Twitter Reactions for this Year’s SONA

Press release

Over 337,000 Tweets for #SONA2017

25 July 2017, PHILIPPINES - Twitter is the place to #seeeveryside of a story happening real time. This includes the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President of the Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Filipinos flocked to Twitter to voice out their thoughts and opinions about the two hour long report of the President. This year’s #SONA2017 generated more than 337,000 Tweets.

As expected, there were mixed reactions regarding the President’s speech. Here are some of the top Tweets related to #SONA2017.

And below are the Top 10 hashtags related to #SONA2017.

From discussing about this administration’s achievements for the past year to sharing opinions of the attendees’ fashion, people went to Twitter to be part of the real-time conversation. Filipinos’ wit and sense of humor went all out on Twitter as they made funny remarks about the politicians’ sense of fashion.

A Twitter user even created his own SONA 2017 BINGO CARD to predict what possible topics that Pres. Duterte would present on his speech. Throughout the Live Television coverage, he updated his card through a Twitter thread (click the Tweet link to view the whole thread).

The country’s President is widely known for being straightforward and vocal person. With that,  a Twitter user spent time counting how many times he used invectives in his SONA and in fact, was one of the top Tweets related to #SONA2017.

Supporters of Pres. Duterte also appreciated his honesty and expressed their appreciation to him through Twitter.

To know the latest updates about the government’s latest projects, follow the Presidential Communication official Twitter account: @PresidentialCom.

RIP Soxie Topacio

The entertainment industry especially in screen and theater is lost one of their own as director Socrates “Soxie” Topacio passed on last week. I got to meet him because he was one of Mom’s closest friends since high school.  Among their batch 1969 of Araullo High School, Soxie was one of Mom’s close circle of friends that continues on to this day.

 

Soxie Topacio during the recent Gawad Buhay

In one of their gatherings, the children of this circle of friends composed of seven were also included. I got to congratulate Soxie for the success of Himala the musical which he directed. He told Mom that my cousin, Marjorie Lorico was very talented. She was also one of the casts when she was still under contract at Tanghalang Pilipino.

During the recent Gawad Buhay, a tribute was made to Soxie when a stage actor impersonated Soxie followed by a singing of his favorite inspirational song. It was kind of eerie because I just realize when he started reading his life story; he was like saying goodbye to the public eye for the last time.

PETA was continuing to raise funds as well as the Araullo Batch ’69. There was even a time when I was doing an errand for Mom to make a deposit on his account. It was only days before he died when PETA organized a dance event for to raise funds for him.

Today, his family, friends, colleagues in the entertainment industry paid their last respects as he was buried earlier. To Direk Soxie, we all thank you for the work you showed us that kept us entertained.

WORLD-CLASS FILIPINO TALENT TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT AT BALLET PHILIPPINES’ “A GALA CELEBRATION” ON AUGUST 18-20

Press release

Catch the country’s preeminent ballet and contemporary dance company this August in “A Gala Celebration”. Ballet Philippines revives choreographic gems in a gala featuring Filipino stars from various international dance companies. Among the guest artists are Candice Adea (formerly of BalletMet and Hong Kong Ballet), Marcelino Libao (Hamburg Ballet), Kris-Belle Paclibar (formerly of Cirque du Soleil), Ronelson Yadao (formerly of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre), Paul Ocampo & Chien-Ying Wang (OcampoWang Dance), and Jean Marc Cordero & Rita Angela Winder (Ballett Kiel).

This production marks the return of Alice Reyes, National Artist for Dance, as the company’s Artistic Director. Handpicked to showcase the excellence at the company’s core, the featured works include Agnes Locsin’s “Salome”, Bam Damian’s “Minamahal, Sinasamba”, Edna Vida’s “Vision of Fire”, Norman Walker’s “Summer’s End”, and an excerpt from the classical ballet “Raymonda”. 

“This is quite an exciting time for all of us at Ballet Philippines, especially as we move towards our 50th anniversary in two years,” remarks Reyes. “The energy in our studios is electric! It is wonderful to see all of these artists coming together to perform these signature works from the company’s repertoire. Truly a cause for celebration!”

“A Gala Celebration” runs at the CCP Main Theater from August 18 to 20. This is the first production of the 48th Season, entitled “Quintessence”. The season’s lineup also includes “The Exemplars: The Best of Ballet Philippines (1970-1980) on October 20-22, Edna Vida’s “The Nutcracker” on December 1-10, and “Don Quixote” on February 9-18, 2018. Catch us!

Connect to Ballet Philippines online through the following social media networks:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/balletphilippines

Twitter: @balletph

Instagram: @balletphilippines

YouTube: balletph

For tickets, call Ballet Philippines at (+632) 551-1003, the CCP Box Office at (+632) 832-3704, or Ticketworld at (+632) 891-9999.

Twitter Safety Work Results Update

Press release

21 July 2017, PHILIPPINES - Twitter’s commitment to move faster to make the platform safer started in January. First, the company conducted research to understand the issues at a deeper level, then we made a range of product updates. Then they convened the Trust and Safety Council to gather feedback and help guide them as we they forward.

While there is still much work to be done, people are experiencing significantly less abuse on Twitter today than they were six months ago. What follows is some new data on the progress that they’ve made, what they’ve learned, and their plans to continue improving.

Increasing Action on Abusive Accounts

Twitter is now taking action on 10x the number of abusive accounts every day compared to the same time last year. The platform also now limits account functionality or place suspensions on thousands more abusive accounts each day. There are repeat offenders who create new accounts after being suspended for violations. The new systems, in the last four months alone, have removed twice the number of these types of accounts. Beyond the technology, Twitter teams are continuing to review content daily and improving how we enforce our policies.

Driving Change in Behavior

Communication about problematic Tweets, especially to the people who send them, is key. Accounts that demonstrate abusive behavior are now limited for a time, and told why. Accounts that are put into this period of limited functionality generate 25% fewer abuse reports, and approximately 65% of these accounts are in this state just once.

Providing Personalized Controls

Twitter has introduced new ways to customize people’s experience, including notification filters and muting keywords. The Quality Filter feature has led to fewer unwanted interactions: blocks after @mentions from people that they don’t follow is down 40%. These numbers will vary, but the approach is having a positive impact. Twitter has consistent harassment definitions and policies that apply to everyone. However, people define abuse differently, so using these new tools, every person has control of what they see and experience on Twitter.

What Happens Next

More improvement, transparency, and speed. Online safety is an issue best solved in partnership with others, so Twitter will continue to collaborate with the Trust & Safety Council, industry experts, and academics to solicit ongoing feedback. We are committed to making Twitter a safe place for free expression.

Smart gathers great minds, connects ideas at 5th AngelHack tilt

Press release

[20 July 2017] From July 1-2, the whole fifth floor of A-SPACE in Makati City was abuzz with excitement and energy as the country’s up and coming tech rock stars brought to life 19 original, feasible and sustainable pitches that aimed to solve a problem, want, or need in the Philippine market.

It is AngelHack’s fifth year in the Philippines, made possible by Smart Development Network (Smart DevNet), Smart Communications’ developer community program. AngelHack is the world’s largest and most diverse global hacker community, helping to drive innovation of tech products, platforms, and brands, with extraordinary smarts, scale, and speed.

Known as pioneers of global hackathons for more than four years, AngelHack’s over 97,000 developers, designers, and entrepreneurs compete to build, test, and launch new solutions over the course of a weekend.

 

Team PocketMarket is this year’s winner for “Mined,” a platform making use of AI for enterprise customer service. The team is made up of Constant Wakayo (second from left) and Mark Panizales. They are joined by Outsource Accelerate founder Derick Gallimore (left) and Smart chief developer and AngelHack ambassador Paul Pajo (right).

Among the 19 teams emerged three winners and one Voyager Innovation API Special Prize Winner.

The first prize went to Team PocketMarket who came up with “Mined,” a platform that makes use of artificial intelligence components such as a chat bot, voice recognition, and document authentication to speed up the customer service aspect of an enterprise.

The team was made up of Constant Wakayo, a freelance business developer specializing on startups, and Mark Panizales, a software engineer. Interestingly, the two contestants came solo, and ended up working with each other.

“We came here as a solo participant, and then we just met, and we formulated everything ... and we didn’t expect to have this win,” said Panizales.

“It is my very first time to join a hackathon,” Wakayo said. “We decided to focus on the current IT trend in the market, like more on artificial intelligence.”

Second prize went to Team Coco Marteam (Jeno Panganiban, Juan Simeon, Kevin Motas, and John Raphael Aquino) for “Oboseen,” an incentivized voluntary road surveillance reporting system; and the third prize went to Team Konzole (Lionette Baclagon, Clarissa Tamayo, Willy David, Jr., and Mark Sayson) for “Konzole,” a recruitment accelerator platform.

Team CodeBuddy, meanwhile, won the Voyager Special Prize for EVA, a virtual parking assistant.

Paul Pajo, Smart senior manager for digital platforms and product development and SmartDevNet developer evangelist, expressed confidence on the developer community in the Philippines. “We believe that Filipinos have the capability and technology to become world-class developers or startups,” Pajo shared on Day 1 of the event. “This is our way of opening the door for everyone who thinks they have an innovation that might benefit a lot of Filipino people.”

The winning team brings home an exclusive invite to HACKcelerator, a 12-week curriculum to help them turn their hackathon idea into a startup reality. They will also have the chance to fly to Silicon Valley for Annual Demo Day and participate in a week of extensive training. This is on top of access to a diverse network of both local and global mentors.

AngelHack was also made possible by IMB, Amazon Web Services, Code for a Cause, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Gortech Alliance, Voyager Innovations and PayMaya.#

 

AlDub Nation Celebrates #ALDUB2ndAnniversary on Twitter

Press release

Back to basics, thank you for the reminder. Happy 2nd Maine. 😊 pic.twitter.com/3aQAGCOi2P

— Alden Richards (@aldenrichards02) July 15, 2017

17 July 2017, PHILIPPINES - Millions of Filipinos from different parts of the world got together on Twitter to celebrate the much awaited #ALDUB2ndAnniversary (Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza) one of the most popular showbiz power couples. The couple has once again created a big buzz on Twitter.

Here are some of the top Tweets related to #ALDUB2ndAnniversary:

Embeddable Tweets: https://twitter.com/maichrd/status/886278810613686272

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/menggalurks/status/886389905688936452

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/aldubvines/status/886080854975324160

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/jfkbydbay/status/886235083727806466

As fans celebrate another year of the tandem, Twitter looks back on their best, sweetest moments as well as the outstanding efforts of their fans to make them one of the most sought after showbiz personalities in Philippines.

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/TwitterPH/status/886470336484487170

AlDub’s love story began and flourished in Eat Bulaga (@EatBulaga), when the camera accidentally caught Mendoza gushing over Richards during “Juan for All, All for Juan,” a  popular segment of the show. Since then, AlDub nation diligently Tweeted every day to show their love and appreciation for the couple. On October 24, 2015, they made history. 55,000 fans hit the Philippine Arena and made #AlDubEBTamangPanahon identified by the Guinness Book of World Record, as the most used hashtag in 24 hours with more than 40 million Tweets.

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/GWR/status/880876593337344000

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/aldenrichards02/status/658046446038421504

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/EatBulaga/status/836419450228232192

AlDub’s popularity grew rapidly because of social media, especially on Twitter. Fans have always used the platform to express their ‘kilig’, contributing to thousands upon thousands of Tweets from other fans and users across the globe. However, having an impressive and maintained social media attention isn’t new for Maine Mendoza. She initially gained an audience from her entertaining Dubsmash videos. She was then recognized by TAPE Inc. and eventually invited to audition for a part in the ‘Juan for All, All for Juan’ of Eat Bulaga. AlDub is a portmanteau of Alden and Yaya Dub (Maine’s character in the segment).

In the recent Tweets of @TwitterPH in celebration of #AlDuBersary, members of the AlDub Nation from different countries, joined the conversation and sent thousands of Tweets sharing their messages to Mendoza and Richards’ second year anniversary as an on-screen couple.

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/AngMamabearNyo/status/884725169586978816

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/Arwen_Ering/status/884719717696454656

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/adxmc16/status/885135223670816768

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/haifaalfarabi/status/885650291416121344

Embeddable Tweet: https://twitter.com/jenasis818/status/884708900301266945

The social media buzz their fans generated made AlDub the phenomenal love team they are today. From record-breaking Guinness Award to one of the most followed Twitter accounts in 2016 and now Mendoza as the top brand ambassador in the Philippines. AlDub proved that Filipinos are some of the most connected people today and they have managed to break sorts of Twitter records.

To know the latest happenings about AlDub and the fans upcoming plans to support them, follow these AlDub fan accounts:

●      @MaineAlden16

●      @MAICHARDNation

●      @officialaldub16

●      @aldubmaiden

●      @ALDENatics

●      @MaiDenHeavenOFC

●      @ALDUBARKADS

●      @YayaDubPosts

●      @AlDub_PH

●      @aldubvines