Fake Raiders

The Business Software Alliance warns schools, internet cafes and other computer-related establishments to be on guard against “unscrupulous persons pretending to be members of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team conducting raids on companies using unlicensed computer software for extortion purposes.”

These people are playing on people’s fears of being caught with pirated software as a large percentage of software use in the Philippines is illegal.

In recent weeks the Anti-Piracy Task Force has been conducting raids on those businesses selling pirated softwares but they are now shifting their focus onto business that use pirated software.

Growing Influence of Blogs in the Philippines

The Sun Star Cebu has a good article on blogging in the Philippines and it’s growing influence

While there are those who say the influence of Pinoy bloggers will be tempered by the low Internet penetration in the country, Veneracion says this is with the “presumption that what are published in blogs are not discussed beyond the sector that has Internet access.�

“We do not know this for sure. While blog readers are limited to those with Internet access, each one of these readers has family, neighbors, colleagues, friends and acquaintances, and we do not really know whether they discuss with these people what they read in blogs,� she says.

If we’re talking about the Garci-tapes/Gloriagate scandal of June, Yuga’s blog really helped in getting the tapes out there for the consuming public to listen and and discuss.

A lot of what I see on the news these days is not the whole truth; some tv stations have a particular slant when they report the news so it’s not like we’re given the facts. Blogs help to provide other points of view, discussion points. This is the only way a healthy, democratic society can develop.

Via BlogHerald

Pinoy Movies in the Blogosphere

If I’m not mistaken, Sigaw came out last year and is currently doing the festival circuit with a premiere at the LA Scream Fest on October 19.

One of my blog crushes, The Movie Blog has done a review of the DVD of Sigaw

Laranas knows the tricks of the trade when it comes to horror, the scares, screams and tension building is done very well …The scenes in the cinema and the toilet cubicle are superbly filmed. There’s great use of the camera throughout, and the understanding that less actually more and subtlety is a wonderful trait.

My Blog Crush(es)

I’ll save celebrity crushes for another day (hint: the lead in CSI) but today it’s all about blog crushes.

I have three blog crushes. These are blogs I check out regularly, mostly daily, sometimes twice, even three times a day.

The Movie Blog has a great articles on movies that are out, movies that are in the works and movies that will soon hit theatres. There are also podcasts and video editions which are fun and informative.

Blog Herald is the place to go if you want to be kept up-to-date on the latest blogging news. Plus Duncan’s analysis of blogging trends are spot on.

ProBlogger is another daily read. Darren has a TON of fantastic articles for the beginning blogger, the jaded blogger and all types of bloggers in between. With his unique perspective on blogging this blog is a great read.

These three blogs are at the top of my “To-Read” lists because they’re informative and the personality of each author shines through.