"Ibong Adarna" soars to new heights as the Philippines' first interactive e-book

Experience anew and share with our children the Filipino classicIbong Adarna, released as the country’s first interactive e-book. Relive the enchanting adventure of the brothers Don Juan, Don Pedro and Don Diego as they search for the mystical bird whose song alone can heal their ailing father Haring Fernando.

Crafted using cutting-edge technology, this historical e-book produced by Vibal Foundation’s Vee Press boasts a “read-to-me” feature that makes it play like an audiobook, and full-color illustrations and animations especially created with Filipino motifs.

The book is also an auspicious start for Vibal Foundation’s bigger project of publishing a line of children’s books for all ages in print and digital media.

Vee Press books are available in multiple electronic formats and can be read on popular e-reading devices like the Amazon Kindle, Sony E-Reader, Nook, BlackBerry, iPhones, Macs, PCs and all tablet computers including the Apple iPad.

Vee Press’ interactive Filipino edition of Ibong Adarna, which will be available on January 25, 2011 at Apple iBookstore, is a veritable cultural treat for children four to eight years old and for all lovers of Philippine art and literature.

Watch the sneak preview of 'Ibong Adarna' on YouTube: Ibong Adarna Book Trailer

Autodesk Introduces Free Sustainability Resources for Engineering Students, Educators

New Autodesk Sustainability Workshop Teaches Students How to Apply Sustainability Strategies to Real-World Design

Philippines, 14 December 2010 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software, has unveiled Autodesk Sustainability Workshop, an online portal of educational content providing mechanical engineering students and teachers with the resources they need to practice sustainable design. The Workshop features lessons that illustrate the principles and practice of sustainable design, such as Whole Systems Design and Lightweighting.  The tools and resources on the Workshop are free* of charge and available to anyone interested in learning about sustainable design. 

“Sustainable design is a profound and business-altering factor in today’s global economy, crosscutting almost every industry that today’s students are graduating into,” said Joe Astroth, Ph.D., Autodesk chief education officer. “Our challenge is to train new engineers to think differently, and more broadly, about their special responsibility as drivers of sustainable behavior.  As a result, our engineering schools are training grounds enabling future engineers to learn the practice of Digital Prototyping and make better-informed decisions about the environmental performance of their designs, radically influencing the future of our world.”

Featuring online videos, presentations, tips, tools and tutorials, the Workshop applies the principles of sustainability to real-world design and engineering challenges, such as optimizing a design for more efficient use of energy, water and materials. In addition, educators and students can download free* Digital Prototyping software from the Autodesk Education Community, to explore and test the concepts and lessons learned through the Workshop.

The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is part of the company’s ongoing effort to help millions of architects, designers and engineers worldwide radically transform the built world by making sustainability easy and accessible. Equipping mechanical engineering students with the knowledge, principles and practice of sustainability helps them to create a better world through better design and engineering.

“The development of the Autodesk Sustainability Workshop has been exciting on many levels. Thinking back five years ago, or even one year ago, mechanical engineering students didn’t have good resources available to think about sustainable design practices,” said Jeremy Faludi, a lecturer for the Joint Program in Design at Stanford University and collaborator on the Workshop.  “This Workshop provides students with inspiration, technical depth on implementation, and innovative sustainable design strategies. I’m looking forward to collaborating further with Autodesk, as well as students, to continue developing new sustainable design tools and resources as this industry focus continues to grow.”

Since its launch in 2006, the Autodesk Education Community has grown to more than 1.3 million members in 145 countries. Autodesk continues to collaborate with faculty and education organizations to provide curricula, tools and resources to better prepare students for careers in architecture, engineering and digital arts. This unique perspective helps to drive change in the fields of design and engineering education, encouraging student engagement and creating a better learning experience in the classroom.

“The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is about applying existing design tools and techniques to enable sustainable design and covering a gap left by most engineering curriculum,” said Paul Burgeson, a student in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, and an early adopter of the Autodesk Sustainability Workshop.  “Examples of real applications, tutorials on the techniques used in those applications and new ways of thinking for designing sustainability are presented to give students the tools they need to design the next generation of products.”

About Autodesk Education Initiatives

Autodesk supports students and educators by providing design software, innovative programs and other resources designed to inspire the next generation of professionals. By supporting educators to advance design education and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, Autodesk is helping prepare students for future academic and career success. Autodesk supports schools and institutions of higher learning worldwide through substantial discounts, subscriptions, grant programs, training, curriculum development and community resources. For more information about Autodesk education programs and solutions, visit http://www.autodesk.com/education.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries ¾ including the last 15 Academy Award™ winners for Best Visual Effects ¾ use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

*Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies download of the software. The software is for personal use for education purposes and is not intended for classroom or lab use.

Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experience the fun way of saving with Premiere Young Savers

Teach your children the importance of saving in an exciting way with Premiere Bank’s Young Savers. Specially designed for children and teens from 7 to 17 years old, it allows them to choose from either a passbook or ATM account with a free personalized ATM card. Your children’s photo or memorable moment can be placed on the card or select from any of the available attractive designs that will surely amuse them. Premiere Young Savers offers low opening and maintaining balance yet high interest earnings compared to regular savings account. Plus, parents with savings or current account can use Premiere Young Savers as an allowance card to transfer funds to their child’s account.

Secure your child’s money now and encourage discipline and healthy savings habit. For more information about Premiere Young Savers, contact the Branch Banking Group at 853-0394 to 96, 854-0526 or email mccd@premierebank.com.ph.

Autodesk University 2010 Showcases Impact of Great Design

Nearly 30,000 Experience Power of the Possible Through Industry Keynote Presentations, Customer Exhibits, Hands-on Classes, Labs and Networking

Philippines, 22 December 2010 — In its 18th year, Autodesk University, the annual user conference for Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, brought together a record number of attendees, with nearly 30,000 designers, engineers, architects and digital artists, as well as members of the news media, industry analyst and investment communities, from more than 72 countries gathering at the live conferences in Las Vegas, Tokyo, Beijing and through AU Virtual.

During the three-day Las Vegas conference, attendees were exposed to innovations in 3D design technologies and witnessed the positive impact of design and technology through industry keynotes, customer exhibits and presentations.

“Great design has always had an impact, but today, the need for that impact is greater than ever. We are facing urgent and complex global challenges that demand our most creative work and innovative solutions,” said Carl Bass, CEO and president of Autodesk, during the opening Autodesk University keynote.

Also during the opening keynote, Autodesk chief technology officer Jeff Kowalski talked about how a change in toolset—due to a transformative technology—can inspire a change in mindset. Today’s transformative technology is Infinite Computing which uses the virtually unlimited computing power available through the cloud.  Kowalski challenged attendees to change the way they are thinking about technology and to adopt a new paradigm to solve their greatest design problems.

“Infinite computing is changing the nature and potential impact of design in important ways,” said Kowalski. “Now, we can create amazingly robust design explorations, brilliant visualizations and precise simulations more efficiently and easily than ever before.”

The Impact of Great Design

Autodesk invited a broad range of speakers who inspired attendees with examples of design’s impact on a range of industries and communities.

• Scott Summit, CTO of Bespoke Innovations, demonstrated how his company used 3D design technology to create customized and affordable prosthetics that reflect each person’s morphology and personal style.

• Franz von Holzhausen, chief designer at Tesla Motors, drove a prototype of the all-electric Tesla Model S sedan onto the AU stage before showing how he and his design team were able to create multiple prototypes of the vehicle using Autodesk software.

• Bart Nye, public information officer for CalTrans, revealed how CalTrans used visualization technology to more effectively communicate major transportation construction projects to the public, enabling them to minimize traffic and optimize efficiency.

“Using visualization technology to influence public behavior around transportation projects has been a game-changer for us,” said Nye. “We can do things at CalTrans now that we’ve never been able to do before. We can use these robust visualizations to not only affect, but improve, motorist behavior.”

Other highlights from the show included the Design Matters Customer Showcase + Autodesk Labs, exhibits from Autodesk Clean Tech partners Tesla Motors and Pi Mobility and a Mobile Art Gallery, auctioning pieces for charity.

Autodesk University Goes Global, Goes Viral

Autodesk users from around the world came together to network with peers as well as industry and product experts. Attendees had access to 450 classes, 90 hands-on-labs ¾ including 10 Mac-specific labs ¾ and 520 speakers and instructors. Students and educators, as well as participants in the Autodesk Assistance Program, were given free registration and access to AU Virtual, while all attendees at AU in Las Vegas were offered the opportunity to become certified for free on multiple Autodesk software products. More than 2,900 attendees completed certification exams and assessment tests.

From December 6 through February 11, nearly 100 Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) partners in 20 countries will host more than 400 local AU Extension events, which bring the Autodesk University experience and value to thousands more customers and design enthusiasts across the globe.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries ¾ including the last 15 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects ¾ use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD and ATC are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Destination:Camarines Norte Part 2-The First Rizal Monument

Bagasbas Lighthouse Hotel Resort

It is my first time to go anywhere in the Bicol Region. Upon our arrival in Bagasbas one early morning, I realize that we were near a beach judging by the winds. We got settled after long travel to catch up with the remaining hours of sleep. When we woke up by daylight, I realized that we were already along the beach line. After having our hearty breakfast, we prepped up for the town center.

Bagasbas beach

On our way, we passed by a nearby park. I was oriented that stood here was a replica of a monument dedicated to Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero. Not the monument of Rizal in Luneta. I was oriented two years after Rizal’s death in 1896, the first monument in his honor was first constructed here in Daet, the capital of Camarines Norte. 

Replica of the first Rizal monument

We proceeded to the actual location of the first monument. The three-sided stone pylon stands 15 feet. Unlike the monument in Manila, it has no statue of Rizal. Written on its square podium are Rizal’s novels, Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, and Morga, tribute to Antonio De Morga, author of Sucesos de las islas Filipinas, an important book about the history of early Spanish colonization. On the top most triangle is an eight-rayed sun, a 5 pointed star, and a phrase, “A Jose Rizal” (To Jose Rizal). This is the source of national pride for the Bicolanos. The next part will be about our tour on the Museo Bulawan.

The First Rizal Monument

18th Travel Tour Expo

It is my first time to go in to a travel expo and I just found out that it was already running on its 18th year. I decided to experience this for the first time since I already blog my travels. I was overwhelmed by what I saw at the expo. There were many booths that as colorful and scenic that many visitors are always having their picture taken with these booths.

Thailand booth

But these booths are not just display. They also provide what you came for. Travel. There are booths of travel agencies, airlines, hotels, resorts, recreation centers, embassies, major tourist attractions whether local or foreign, etc. Everything you need for travel, it's all there in just one place. Besides these, there were also food booths, booths selling travel bags, and newspaper publications, the media partners for the event.

Guam booth

I also discover that the busiest booths were the airlines and travel agencies. People flocked these booths because of the promo rates and promo packages that are cheaper than their regular rates. Since mobile communication and technology is now an advantage, their booths can also be set up as the extension of their offices and they can now accept bookings at the expo directly.

Not only that the booths were attractively presentable, the booths also have gimmicks to draw the attention of the crowd. Guam booth has scheduled dance performances. Japan Embassy invited cosplayers and a Doraemon mascot. Kenya has the safari theme good for photo ops. There are also some booths equipped with photobooths that directly prints their shots instantly. There are also gimmicks that took place in the activity area and more.

Hawaii booth

What's great about this expo is the variety of choices to travel. This expo shows you just a tip of the iceberg. The next step would be where to go because there's a whole world to discover.

Taj Majal at the India booth