One Touch Away

When the industry of cellular phones and personal computers started in the market several years ago, things are quite different.

Most cellphones and computers before are literally humongous in sizes, functions are basically limited, prices are much cheaper but the prestige of having one of those is priceless.

Before (and still today), every gadget has buttons that you can rely on. But as time passes by and technology advances through time,  then ‘touchscreen’ phones and devices began, which took the industry by storm.

Touchscreen is an electronic visual display which does not require any button to function. With the use of a finger or a hand, your phone or computer device is just one touch away. 

One example of device in which touchscreen displays are being used are tablet computers or simply tablets.

A tablet computer is a computer in tablet form which was started in 2001. But despite its smaller in size, it still has the features of a bulky personal computer. 

When we were told by our professor, Sir Art, regarding our upcoming first-hand experience with tablets,  everyone was delighted and thrilled. 

But if I were to pick what tablet computer to use and why (Miss Universe Q&A eh?) , I would probably prefer HP Touch Pad.

Yes, ‘probably’. It’s simply because almost every brand of tablets has the same features (e.g camera, applications,  input/output etc.) though with different prices and I really wanted them all!

Still, I have to go for HP for it has the become one of the most respected brands in the market and for sure it has something different among other tablets. Different? Here is one. 

As I browse the web to look for my chosen tablet's specs, I found out it has a unique operating system (WebOS) which differs from the usual android OS of most tablet computers. Therefore I find it interesting to explore, but it would require a lot of patience and time before I get familiarized with the OS.

Similar to other tablets, 'my' HP Touchpad is featured with mail attachment support, which would be really helpful when I write, send and tweet news to all the people I know, particularly my soon-to-be editors.

It also has a storage of capacity of 16GB and could be expanded to a 32GB. It is also wireless supported that it it can detect any Wi-fi signal along the area. These features will surely suit my taste of being a download addict.

As I wrap up this piece, I would like to tell our dearest professor/mentor Sir Art to please reserve the HP Touchpad for me.LOL. Have a safe trip Sir Art. Godbless!

Experience @ The Bulletin

Last Friday was another awe-inspiring moment for us, senior journalism students of Letran.  We had this out-of –classroom activity, particularly an exposure visit at the Manila Bulletin.

 Together with my journ buddies, John and Jonathan, we went to the Manila Bulletin to meet the early comers and our mentor and Bulletin’s Technews Editor, Sir Art Samaniego.

There we witnessed how stressful it was working in either tabloid or broadsheet.  In order to function well, people inside the newsroom must work in a system.

And when we entered the doors of the newsroom, we saw how that system worked.

Obviously, the field reporters were nowhere to be found because most of them are assigned in their respective beats.  

The layout artists, who I considered the shock absorbers of the editors, play a vital role in the system because they are tasked to do the layout stuff and editing. Therefore, a layout artist possesses significance and has a great responsibility on his shoulders. 

  

Also, the editors, who are in charge of revising and editing articles sent by the reporters, were among the busiest – and most quiet people in the office.   They were also the most accomplished   (in terms of age and working experience) inside the newsroom.

And of course, there was Ma’am Fil Sionil, the managing editor of the Manila Bulletin. Stunned by her presence, we were left speechless.  But unlike those typical editors who had this intimidating presence, Ma’am Fil was a lot different. She was very soft-spoken and seemed to be approachable. She even advised us to double our efforts in reading and writing to improve our craft, which would be helpful in our chosen profession.

After all, it was another great learning yet humbling experience for me.

Great because I was able to travel around the Bulletin and more importantly, it provided me a forecast of what to expect in the future. Humbling because I admit I still have a lot of things to work on before pursuing a career in the print industry.

This exposure visit was exactly an experience that I wanted to have in my collegiate years. It was a lecture that will never be learned inside a classroom. I just hope there will be more of this to come.

How did technology help you as a student?

TECHNOLOGY THROUGH TIME

In this generation where technology is predominantly emerging, it is quite inevitable that this has become a necessity rather than a desire.

Technology has been my aid ever since I started my education – even up to this point. I even spend most of my time with technology, thanks to my Asus K42JK laptop.

Through the years, I was able to cope with the trend and comply with school’s requirement with technology at my side.

As far as my memory serves me right, I was in the third grade when we started using manual projectors and acetates during our oral presentations in class. Since I had a terrible penmanship during that time (even today) I had to seek help from my dad, who had exceptional handwriting skill.

Also, I still recall our computer class (yes, computer class) when we still have this bulky, command-first-type, MS-DOS computers during our elem days.  Our professor, Mrs. Marites Balde had to fill our whiteboard with all those commands before letting us proceed to our preferred program. And since I would take us an hour to complete the commands written, then we will have less time playing “Busy Town”.

Before computer, there was also typewriter.

The last time I tried using a typewriter was during my freshman year in high school. Yes, I still used my great grandmother’s typewriter even with the existence of Pentium 4 computers at that time.

It was fun remembering such old-school, yet cool memories filled with innocence and ignorance during my elementary and high school days but still, with the aid of technology, I was able to learn and adapt from these changes.

Through technology, I was able to fulfill my duties and responsibilities as a student regardless of challenges that come my way. From doing research works, ,writing articles, computations, presentation, uploading reviewers and lessons, to sharing my sentiments and grievances, technology has been always there for me.

Indeed, technology has made my life easier not just as a student but also as an individual seeking boundless knowledge.