MANTECH PAPER 05- My I.T. Issue: Evolution of PLaying - Online Gaming

I remember back when I was in Grade School, when you have a gameboy -- you are cool! Your classmates will try and borrow your gameboy. After a few years, Nintendo released the gameboy slim, then the gameboy color™, gameboy advanced and finally the nintendo ds. Other companies also released their game consoles such as the psp, playstations, gamecube, xbox etc.

It's like the companies release the same game consoles over and over again, plus, most of the game play is still the same. You kill the boss, and finish the game. These companies earn money by selling their game consoles. After a few years, there were these interactive pc games such as Counterstrike, Starcraft etc. A few months came by, I remember, I was in high school then, Level Up games™ introduced the concept of "Level up".
Level Up! is the first online game publisher for the Philippines. Their mission is to bring online computer gaming and its communities to greater heights, through the introduction of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs).


These games will allow individuals from all over the country, and different walks of life, to interact in dynamic, virtual communities.
Level Up! is proud to be the distributor of the country's first ever localized MMOGs: Oz World from Oz Intermedia, Ragnarok Online by Gravity Corp, Freestyle from JCEntertainment, RF Online from CCR of Korea, Pangya from HanbitSoft, Flyff from Aeonsoft, Khan from Mirinae and Perfect World, created by Beijing Perfect World Technology, China. The Philippine versions of these games hope to give users a uniquely Filipino experience.

These are some of the offers of Level up games. The first few months of "Ragnarok" (the first mmorpg of Level-up) was free. It was for promotional reasons and to attract gamers. The concept of Level up is a great strategy, it simply means to kill monsters, level up, collect awesome items, dominate other players etc. Ragnarok seems to represent human nature which is endless desire for power, fame and domination. So after people became familiar with ragnarok, Level Up™ release game cards in which gamers can purchase if they want to play ragnarok.

Mmorpg then became so famous that other games and online communities started to emerge. Many people became hooked up and are still attracting new gamers. These gamers spend money and take time just to improve their characters. Online gaming is a big I.T. Issue taking the world by storm. The success of MMORPG is not just because of a good game play, awesome graphics but I think it is because the interaction of gamers with other gamers, tt revolutionized the way people play.



References: http://levelupgames.ph/games.php

Mantech Blog 15 - BASIC NEEDS: Food, Water, Clothing, Shelter and Prepaid Credits?!

Technology evolved and advancements are continuing to pursue itself in the name of competition amongst businesses, compete for the top spot in the market, make a name for itself and gain the trust of the people. I will narrow down my example to the communication business. Communication is important among people wether its personal or for business purposes. Advancements in communication started when the invention of cellphones revolutionized "wireless" communication.


Another few years and SMS or the Short Message Service came to be. It enables you to communicate by using short messages and is affordable by anyone. Invention of multimedia phones came and soon MMS arrived. It enables you to send Multimedia Content to another multimedia enabled phone. It made people happy and soon more cellphone subscribers are growing exponentially. Cellphone companies saw this coming and invented new ways to gobble up a subscriber's load.


Example: They trick people in leaking out their cellphone credits thru "free" subscription. They send a message telling people that they are giving away "free" ringing tone, ringback tone, mms, celebrity textmate etc but at the end of the message, you get to subscription with them for either a P30/week deduction of your prepaid credits. Then, they made the "share-a-load/pasa load" and "Unlimited Texting". It seemed nice but the service is terrible.


There were several times when I tried to share my load but Globe send me that there was something wrong in the system and so I have to try again next time but guess what? They deducted credits even though my transaction wasn't succesful. Another incident in Unlimited texting, Globe failed to text me that my Unlimited texting was over. I have no much problem in Globe's delayed msgs but I can't use Unlimited texting unless they send me a service message telling me that my Unlimited texting was over.


Globe, Smart, Sun, Talk and Text, and Touch Mobile saw the importance of communication, especially in our country. I learned that we're the texting capital of the world and these companies will stop at nothing until we are dry. They invent useless technology but it's up to us to be responsible and choose the right enhancement suited for our everyday lives.

MANTECH BLOG 14 - BUSINESSES PROCESSES AND THE LEGACY SYSTEMS

I learned in my Database subject about this topic. Legacy systems are considered to be potentially problematic by many software engineers for several reasons. Legacy systems often run on obsolete (and usually slow) hardware, and sometimes spare parts for such computers become increasingly difficult to obtain.

These systems are often hard to maintain, improve, and expand because there is a general lack of understanding of the system. The designers of the system may have left the organization, leaving no one left to explain how it works. Such a lack of understanding can be seen by documentation or manuals getting lost over the years. Integration with newer systems may also be difficult because new software may use completely different technologies and may not be compatible.

Despite these problems, business organizations can have good reasons for keeping a legacy system, such as:

>The costs of redesigning the system are prohibitive because it is large, and/or complex.

>The system requires close to 100% availability, so it cannot be taken out of service, and the cost of designing a new system with a similar availability level is high.

>The way the system works is not well understood. A situation like this can occur when the designers of the system have left the organization, and the system has either not been fully documented or such documentation has been lost.

Last reason is: the current system works satisfactorily, and the owner sees no reason for changing it; or in other words, re-learning a new system would have a high cost in lost time and money.

MANTECH BOG 13: Cellphones: The EVOLUTION

Not so long time ago, cellphones are use to make calls and keep time. I remember they added an extra feature, the SMS or Short Message Service which killed the pocketbell industry. I remember when I had my first cellphone. It was a Nokia 5110, it has many extra added features like customize ringing tone, games and the changing of cellphone covers.

After a few months, Nokia released the Nokia 3210 which lets you compose a ringing tone then it didn't take long before the colored cellphones were invented, then camera phones, mp3 phones and finally the 3G phones. I noticed that most people prefer cellphones instead of buying mp3 players. But what makes evolution of cellphones so succesful that it attracts many people to change their cellphone unit almost every month?

For me, I think that cellphones are now rapidly evolving to become a PDA to becoming a Computer because of so many extra added features like wi-fi acces, memory card, camera, etc. Cellphones are also handy and compact that people can bring it anywhere and use its function. Lastly, cellphones are beautifully design to match different people and their lifestyle. Nokia and the other companies are rapidly evolving their products to outwit one another. This is clearly an example of a technology that succesfuly evolved but it killed other inferior technology.

Mantech Proj 05 - My I.T. Issue: Evolution of PLaying - Online Gaming

I remember back when I was in Grade School, when you have a gameboy -- you are cool! Your classmates will try and borrow your gameboy. After a few years, Nintendo released the gameboy slim, then the gameboy color™, gameboy advanced and finally the nintendo ds. Other companies also released their game consoles such as the psp, playstations, gamecube, xbox etc.

It's like the companies release the same game consoles over and over again, plus, most of the game play is still the same. You kill the boss, and finish the game. These companies earn money by selling their game consoles. After a few years, there were these interactive pc games such as Counterstrike, Starcraft etc. A few months came by, I remember, I was in high school then, Level Up games™ introduced the concept of "Level up".

Level Up! is the first online game publisher for the Philippines. Their mission is to bring online computer gaming and its communities to greater heights, through the introduction of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs).

These games will allow individuals from all over the country, and different walks of life, to interact in dynamic, virtual communities.

Level Up! is proud to be the distributor of the country's first ever localized MMOGs: Oz World from Oz Intermedia, Ragnarok Online by Gravity Corp, Freestyle from JCEntertainment, RF Online from CCR of Korea, Pangya from HanbitSoft, Flyff from Aeonsoft, Khan from Mirinae and Perfect World, created by Beijing Perfect World Technology, China. The Philippine versions of these games hope to give users a uniquely Filipino experience.

These are some of the offers of Level up games. The first few months of "Ragnarok" (the first mmorpg of Level-up) was free. It was for promotional reasons and to attract gamers. The concept of Level up is a great strategy, it simply means to kill monsters, level up, collect awesome items, dominate other players etc. Ragnarok seems to represent human nature which is endless desire for power, fame and domination. So after people became familiar with ragnarok, Level Up™ release game cards in which gamers can purchase if they want to play ragnarok.

Mmorpg then became so famous that other games and online communities started to emerge. Many people became hooked up and are still attracting new gamers. These gamers spend money and take time just to improve their characters. Online gaming is a big I.T. Issue taking the world by storm. The success of MMORPG is not just because of a good game play, awesome graphics but I think it is because the interaction of gamers with other gamers, tt revolutionized the way people play.

References: http://levelupgames.ph/games.php

Mantech Proj 4 - PSP and NDS

For my 2 Technological Products, I choose PSP and NDS. These 2 products are often compared because it’s a favorite among the gamers and consumers alike.The balance of power in the handheld game market experienced a significant upset two years ago when Sony used their press conference at E3 2003 to announce the development of the Playstation Portable.

At the time, Nintendo held utter dominance of the portable game market with over 90% market share thanks to the Gameboy, and now, the Nintendo DS. Just by the very announcement, though, Sony kicked the gaming media into overdrive. In the hallway outside of Sony’s studios, where the press conference was held, you could hear comments like, “It’s going to be great,” and, “Way better than the DS,” from the gathered journalists. This was before anyone had seen pictures of the unit, product designs, or even a suggested retail price; the game industry was ready to buy it on Sony’s say-so alone.
Now that the Nintendo DS has released in the U.S., the PSP in Japan, and a with a late March 2005 PSP launch date for those of us over here in the States, a lot more is known about both systems than was known then. While it’s still difficult to do a full-blown comparison prior to having an English version of the PSP in hand, there is enough info to make some pretty solid early comparisons between the two. Gone are the days when you could mention Nintendo and assume you’d covered the significant players in the handheld market; now it’s Sony and Nintendo, and you can’t consider buying either system without knowing both.

The PSP (short for PlayStation Portable) is a handheld game console released and currently manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. Its development was first announced during E3 2003, and it was officially unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, the United States and Canada on March 24, 2005 and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005. It is considered the first handheld video game system to use an optical disc format (Universal Media Disc).

A new slimmer and lighter version of the PSP, appropriately titled Slim and Lite, was announced on July 11, 2007, during Sony's press conference at E3 2007. It was made available in the US, Europe and Japan in September 2007 with various colours and a very different box packaging to the original PSP. Among these versions three were physically shown at E3 2007: a white version with a Star Wars imprint, a piano black version and an ice silver version.

The Nintendo DS (sometimes abbreviated NDS or DS) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in 2004 in Canada, U.S., and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside - one of which is a touchscreen. The Nintendo DS also features a built-in microphone and supports wireless IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) standards, allowing players to interact with each other within short range (10–30 m, depending on conditions) or online with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. This was the first Nintendo game console to be released in North America prior to Japan.

The system's code name was Nitro.The console's name officially refers to "Dual Screen", the system's most obvious feature, and "Developers' System", in reference to the new game design the system was meant to inspire.

On March 2, 2006, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS Lite, a redesign of the Nintendo DS, in Japan. It was later released in North America, Europe, and Australia in June 2006. The DS Lite is a slimmer and lighter version of the Nintendo DS and has brighter screens. Nintendo of America refers to the older model as the "original style" Nintendo DS
A Brief Overview of the Two Systems:
Nintendo DS: Known as the Nintendo Dual-Screen, the DS is a handheld game device with two screens, a stylus pen, and the ability to play both Nintendo DS and Gameboy Advance games. Equipped with wireless technology, a touch sensitive screen, and a microphone, the DS has many characteristics similar to a specialized PDA, but with awesome gaming ability. It was released in the U.S. in November of 2004.
Sony Playstation Portable (PSP): The Playstation Portable is Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s handheld market dominance. With a large wide-screen display, more powerful innards than the DS, and a media type capable of storing 1.8 gigabytes of data, the PSP is well positioned to change how we think of portable gaming.
Prices:
Nintendo DS: $150.00
Check current Prices
Sony Playstation Portable: $200 – 250
Check current Prices
Detailed breakdown:

Technically, the PSP dominates the DS in terms of horsepower. With far superior hardware under the hood, the PSP is capable of pushing out graphics that fall somewhere between the PS and the PS2. This means that the PSP has about the same graphical advantages over the DS that the Playstation 2 has over the Nintendo 64 (sorta). However, other hardware differences make this a different story than that of the doomed N64. Whereas the PSP is basically a portable version of the current PS2 home console, the Nintendo DS includes a number of features that have never been seen in a handheld gaming unit. The PSP’s strength lies in its graphic ability, and the DS’s strength lies in its additional features and creativity. Let’s compare the two units point by point.
Screens:
PSP: The PSP has a 4.3-inch screen, which is gigantic in terms of handheld systems. The screen uses a letterbox resolution of 480 x 272, and has 24-bit color, meaning that it’s capable of displaying millions of colors with a quality that is unparalleled in terms of portable game units.
DS: The DS has two separate screens that run simultaneously depending on the game you’re playing. While both screens are smaller than the PSP’s single display, they can be used in tandem to provide varying information, such as a map on one and your playable character on the other. Additionally, the bottom screen on the DS is touch-sensitive, so in addition to being a display device, it can be an interface. The included stylus pen allows for a great deal of variety in approach to game design and control.

The screens on the DS and the PSP are equally cool, in my opinion. The PSP is certainly going to have more wow power with its wide-screen gaming, but the DS is going to be capable of more in the long run. This is a good example of the difference between Nintendo and Sony’s approach to the market; Sony offers the current home console experience on the go, while Nintendo offers a different approach all together.
Connectivity:
DS: The Nintendo DS comes wirelessly enabled, meaning that DS games with a multiplayer feature are capable of linking together without cables for some co-operative or competitive fun. Many DS titles allow multiple DS systems to play together with only one physical copy of the game. The disadvantage of the DS wireless is that while it is technically able to connect to an 802.11b network, there isn’t any software available that allows you to do it. While the DS will be able to connect to wireless hotspots somewhere down the road, it doesn’t do it out of the box, making any future over-the-internet style gaming an accessory or game dependent option.
PSP: The PSP uses Wi-Fi 802.11b communication protocol to enable wireless gaming for it as well.
This serves the same function as the wireless in the DS. The PSP is also capable of connecting to existing Wi-Fi hotspots, and may be able to download firmware upgrades over the Internet when they're released sometime in the future. While the Japanese units are not capable of surfing the Internet at the moment, there is a possibility such features will be included with updates or additional software that comes down the road.

Online gaming for the DS and PSP are both equally possible, and just a matter of time. How they are implemented is pure speculation until it happens. What is concrete is that the DS is built to allow at least some wireless gaming with a single cartridge; you don’t need four friends with the same game in order to enjoy the experience, just four friends with one DS each. The DS’s touch pad and stylus also allow users to send text and graphic messages back and forth wirelessly, which the PSP can’t do for lack of an easy way to input messages. Based on what the systems are capable of doing at this moment, the DS is better designed to let the user do more with the system’s capabilities.
Controls:

The only significant difference between the controls, besides the DS’s ability to use the touch screen, which opens all sorts of possibilities, is that the PSP has an analog stick as well as a traditional directional pad. Since most games on the home consoles use analog sticks for control now days, it’s a good bet the PSP’s will see a great deal of use. However, it’s a specially designed analog control that doesn’t extend far from the front of the unit, and it may or may not be really useful. We’ll see when the PSP launches how this feature works.
Game Media:

The PSP and DS utilize different types of media for storing games. Games for the PSP come on what’s called Universal Media Discs, basically miniature DVDs created with a certain type of laser, and can store up to 1.8 gigabytes worth of data. This is substantially more than the Nintendo DS, which clocks in at a maximum of about 128 megabytes per card. In short, the media capacity for the PSP is an order of magnitude greater than the DS. To give you a comparative idea of how much memory 1.8 gigs is, keep in mind that the Xbox version of Morrowind IV: Elder Scrolls, one of the most complex games ever made, is roughly only 900 megabytes (less than one gigabyte), less than the 1.8 gigabytes of the UMD. In fact, so is Beyond Good and Evil, GTAIII, GTA: VC, Soul Calibur 2, Time Splitters 2, The Sims: Bustin’ Out, and The Urbz. At that size, the PSP discs are fully capable of holding pretty much anything the PSP is capable of playing.
Battery Life:

The disadvantages of having a DVD-style media device is that accessing it is more power consuming than the card-based media of the DS. As a consequence, the battery life of the DS is substantially greater than that of the PSP. According to reports on the actual Japanese version of the PSP, the system runs for roughly 3.5 hours per charge, depending on what you’re doing with the system. The DS, on the other hand, lays claim to between 6 to 8 hours worth of gaming life on a single charge.
Games:

The PSP and the Nintendo DS will both have great games, each with their fair share of exclusive titles. The DS will have Zelda, already has Mario, and the PSP will tout Sony exclusives. Though I’m cheering for the touch screen capacity of the DS (see below), only time will tell which system wins out in the software war. There is, however, a huge advantage that goes to the Nintendo DS: backwards compatibility. With the PS2 and the GameCube, the home consoles, Sony’s system has hundreds of more titles than the GameCube when you include both PS and PS2 games. In the handheld market, though, Nintendo has the situation reversed. The Nintendo DS is capable of playing Gameboy Advance games, which are about as good in terms of graphics as the old Super Nintendo game system

At this moment, two months after launch, this gives the DS around 800 announced titles, 63 of them designed from the ground up for the DS, compared to the PSP’s 75. These titles include classic games that are amazingly addictive, with games like Zelda: A Link to the Past, Four Swords, and Minish Cap. Not only is Mario 64 available for the DS, but you can also play versions of Super Mario World, Mario Brothers 2, and Mario Brothers 3. There are tons of good games that can be picked up for cheap, and they’re all available right now, off the shelves, for the Nintendo DS. It’s an advantage that simply can’t be ignored.

For me, PSP is still better than NDS because its much flexible in terms that it can do more than just regular gaming.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS

Mantech Proj 02 - SOFTWARE PIRACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Nowadays, Software Piracy is a common problem in the Philippines.
The original software costs a bundle than the pirated one, that's why the "masa" prefers pirated software even though it's illegal. For me: "Why would I buy an original software that will cost me Php15,000 when I can buy a pirated version of that for P100?! in 'tiangges' ". There's not much difference in terms of quality.

There are times that the pirated software contains malicious programs that may cause damage on your computer i.e. Virus, spyware, malware, adware, trojans, worms etc,or, the cd itself is corrupted.

I did a mini interview of random people, asking them what would they prefer to buy:

A.) An original software or B.) Pirated Version. 90% chose A. Our government has a law on software piracy. Here's the law:

Republic of the Philippines
MALACAÑANG
MANILA

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 60

CREATING THE INTER - AGENCY COMMITTEE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

I think, there are some conspiracies on catching people who sell pirated software. I

also notice that these authorities get into action when they are being televised on such

shows like XxX in ABS-CBN or Imbestigador in GMA-7. I dont know what they are doing when the camera isn't on them because software piracy is still a widespread problem. I think, the government needs to do something like ask the companies to lower their software prices or give suitable bonuses when purchasing original softwares.



References: http://www.pctc.gov.ph/laws/s93EO060.htm

ManTech Proj 01 - How were PC's Mass Marketed?

GUIDE QUESTION: What did IBM do so that the pc became a common household appliance?
"August 12, 1981 marks the birth of the IBM PC, the computer that single-handedly turned personal computing to the business market. IBM's success forced Apple and others to change their focus, and most personal computer companies from the pre-IBM era have become historical footnotes. By 2006, even Apple Computer had followed IBM's lead and adopted Intel CPUs and built Macs that can boot Microsoft Windows."

Back then, a Personal Computer commonly known as the PC was much expensive to be a common household but was in demand for businesses. William Lowe of IBM, wrote a detailed market analysis outlining the possibility of an IBM microcomputer aimed towards small businesses and even consumers. He has two proposals: The first was to buy a microcomputer company outright (he mentioned Atari by name); the other was to create a brand new microcomputer.

Microsoft, the market leader in programming languages, suppported IBM. In order to hide its true intentions from the outside world, a code name was adopted for the IBU, Project Chess, and the computer was named Acorn. Unlike any other IBM project, Chess adopted outside software. Besides the BIOS chips, almost every other component and piece of software was from an outside company.
Project Chess worked with Personal Software to bundle VisiCalc and John Draper and to include EasyWriter with Acorn. VisiCalc would be ready in the summer of 1981, though EasyWriter was not.
The version of EasyWriter that shipped with the IBM PC was still very buggy. IBM eventually distributed a free upgrade for the software.The final IBM PC was released on August 12, 1981, and it changed the world. Computers with the power of mainframes of the 1960s were now available to small businesses and consumers.
The marketers predicted they would sell 250,000 units over five years, a huge success by IBM standards. By the end of 1983, IBM had sold 750,000 units, and by 1984 Chess had swollen to over 9,000 employees. After that, the incident with Bill Gates and the other guy made Microsoft and many applications such as games, mp3s etc are born and the demand for PC's grew exponentially up to now.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PC

MANTECH 12 - Blogging, and the Competition on Web Traffic

People blog to reflect on their thoughts and feelings and share them with other people. Blogger and Multiply are some of the popular blog websites. Blogger for me is an excellent choice when all you really want to do is blog because it is more flexible than multiply. Multiply is more like a social networking site for rather than blogging . Just recently, popular websites like Friendster and MySpace offer the option of blogging so they can capitalize their web features and will not transfer to other said websites.

Then, when the online community are growing exponentially, some website developers offer people to advertise on their blogs. People are now being paid to blog when many people visit their blog site. Blogger has this option -- "Adsense". In Adsense, Web developers study a person's blog to see if many people really visit their site and if it's interesting and comply to their expectations. Another gig is the online survey. Some websites offer people to do an online survey and they get paid after doing it. The procedure is, you register, configure your paypal account and start the survey. While exploring in MySpace, I found this person's profile which is a "proof" that people really make money on the web such as blogging and doing an online survey.



Her profile was deleted by Myspace though.. I dont know why. This person lives in the U.S. so I dont know if we can really make money by doing what they do. I guess this can be a gig to attract more people on visiting the "websites that offer money by blogging or online survey", thus, generating more web traffic, more clicks and more ads and most certainly more money.

MANTECH 11 - A RESPONSE TO PIRACY

I was watching the news in ABS-CBN when I saw this interesting report about piracy. This report is about a girl who was arrested in an airport for an attempt to bring pirated materials abroad. It so happen that there are laws now in airports against the bringing of pirated materials such as dvd's, vcd's, xeroxed copyrighted materials (Yes, its considered piracy), fake gadgets such as polystations(from playstation) etc abroad. These airports are very strict in implementing these rules and whoever caught in this crime will be fined, jailed and even stripped off their visa.

I think that the government are taking small steps in fighting piracy here in the Philippines but who knows, people will still find ways to push thru. This is a good response to promote the government's anti piracy campaign. If they can be successful, I.T. proffesionals, Filmakers and our industry will have the rightful revenue that deserves their work.

ManTech 10 - Business and Piracy

Piracy, what is it all about? Some would say "plagiarizing software" or stealing content from an original product and others would term it as "fake". Sir Alain is right because pirated products isn't fake. According to thefreedictionary.com, to pirate is someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own so pirated is that product of stealing content or idea. In other words, it is acquiring copy of published materials.

Piracy is clearly another case of abusing technology for one's own good but he/she doesn't consider the impact of this action towards others. Legal businesses are slowly going down because of this illegal actions. For me, the problem lies in the government. Our country is still a poor country and it just keeps getting poorer because of graft and corruption. People dont have money to purchase original items so they consider these pirated materials.

The government should work hand in hand with these businesses if they still want more businesses to invest in our country and improve I.T. and fight piracy.

ManTech 09 - Misuse and Abuse

The access of people over the internet poses new threats and sometimes, some people can utilize this technology to fool others. There is this one time that a friend of mine is asking if there is a way to recover your password in Yahoo because she forgot her secret answer. I really don't know if there is such a thing because some people claim that they can do it for only $50 but I found a few links that "teaches" how to recover your yahoo password. It's a hoax though, this is what I found.

HOW TO RECOVER YOUR YAHOO PASSWORD:

STEP 1- Log in to your own yahoo account. Note: Your account must be at least 2 weeks old

for this trick to work.

STEP 2- Once you have logged into your own account, compose/write an e-mail to:

Retr_pass04@yahoo.com This is the mailing address to the automated server that sends out

passwords to users who have forgotten them. What you are going to do is trick the server

into thinking that it is sending your password to you but it will send you the pass for the

account you are trying to hack instead.

STEP 3- In the subject line type exactly: password retrieve

STEP 4- On the first line of your mail write the email address of the person you are

hacking.

STEP 5- On the second line type in the e-mail address you are using.

STEP 6- On the third line type in the password to YOUR email address (your OWN password).

The computer needs your password so it can send a __JavaScript from your account in the

Yahoo Server to extract the other email addresses password. This works because you are

sending your password to a machine not a person. The process will be done automatically by

the user administration server.

STEP 7- The final step before sending the mail is, type on the fourth line the following

code exactly: cgi-bin/$et76453as&pwrsa

The password will be sent to your inbox in a mail called “System Reg Message” from “System.

Usually within 1 day. When my ex showed me how to do this I thought it was too good a trick

to keep to myself! Just try and enjoy!


This is one example on some people abusing the innocence of other people. Whatever the reason may be, we should be careful when releasing sensitive information in the internet because some people might use it against us.

MANTECH BLOG 8: IDENTITY AS TOOLS OF WAR

Nowadays, many people, especially in the Philippines are "in" to social networking. People from the ages of 14 and above register in Friendster, MySpace, Multiply, Hi5, Perfspot, TheOosh, Oyaye, Mailfriends and many others. However, this social networking sites have a minimum age which are never met because kids can just fake their birthdays and start using these social networking sites. People fill in the se details which are use to "socialize" or mingle with others. For me, It's not really bad. I think, social networking sites are a "better" email in the sense of user profile. People can extend their "friendship" network and befriend others.


In the U.S. I think that they have this AOL or American OnLine. For me, I think it's their online private biography. With that knowledge in mind, I think that many of these people's identities are at stake. Hackers can utilize these information against other people. Especially in the so called "friend making" sites because hackers can hack into their "friendship network". For me, its up to us to be responsible on the sensitive information that we put in the internet like Phone numbers, Addresses, etc.

ManTech 07 - Hijacking for Improvement

Hijacking websites, is it entirely wrong? If you'll ask me, it depends on the person doing it and what is his/her purpose in doing so. For me, this is like our discussion in class about computer viruses. I heard that some software engineers who are working on an Anti-Virus Company are developing Viruses to penetrate their current Anti-Virus Application. Why are they doing that? Their purpose is to further improve their Software. It's better for them themselves to study, break the limits of their software and improve their system than other the computer viruses itself.

For me, that's a good thing. In Hacking or Hijacking websites, I think it can too be applied. A web developer tries to secure a website and he has an acquaintance trying to hack into his security features and gain control of the entire contents of the website. Again, better his acquaintance rather than a hacker. There is really no way that a computer software or a site can be 100% totally secured. One way or the other, computer viruses and people will overcome your security features. So it's best to be updated to anticipate any security threats and atatcks. People involved in web security need to be flexible to safegurad their system in the best way they can.

ManTech Blog 6 - I.T. and Internet Fraud

Advancements of Technology is considered to be the "haven" for I.T. Professionals. These requires their specialty and the demand for them seemingly endless. Many work are becoming automated and more products are having their own websites. Some people are taking advantage though. This leads to "Internet Fraud". This was one of the discussions last meeting at ManTech. Up to now, I am still experiencing that 419 Scam. I am receiving hundreds of email telling me that:

1.) I've won the U.K or British Lottery.
>Heck, I dont participate in a lottery? How likely is it that my email address won a lottery? This scheme works mostly in the way that you would have to pay an agent or represantative some sort of fees until your prize could be released. It works like a classic advance fee fraud.

2.) Late dictator / Dead foreigner / Next of kin
>A large sum of money is held in a bank account or security company that is ready to be transfered out of the country. In most cases the victim only needs to provide a bank account where the money (that simply doesn't exist) could be transfered. For that the victim is normaly offered an amount around 10%-20% of the whole sum for his 'compensation

3.) Fake charities / Helping someone out with medicine
>Those impersonaters and might even present you a faked website where you can do donations. In example for the victims of the large tsunami in Indonesia, hurricane Kartina, children or another cause that most people would give their money for. The request to help for medical treatment of a (often rich) person has also been seen many times.

4.) Black money aka "Wash Wash"
>A victim can participate on the money if he helps purchasing a 'cleaning fluid' used to clean up the bills to their original state. There is of course no money at all, the victim might get a demonstration with some prepared bills (or while the demonstration the black paper is exchanged against real money). All you would get your hands on is a large bunch of black paper and some bottles of acetone for just some thousand bucks

5.) Company Representative/ Check fraud / Money laudring
>Scammers would want to use your bank account to transfer money and you'll get something like 5% of the money transfered as Checks. The problem with the checks is that they will first clear, so you would indeed get some money into your account that you can forward to the scammer. But after some weeks the check would bounce and most likely you can expect a visit from the police. Also you should be aware that even if you get real money into your hands, what you would do is simply laundring money, nothing else

So beware. If you happen to receive
emails like these. It's best you don't reply to these emails because we don't know what they will do. I started receiving this emails because I forgot to uncheck the "receive stuff" from http://www.mailfriends.com/

References: http://www.urgentmessage.org/

ManTech Blog 5 - Pricing, Selling and Buying

How does one company occupy a major portion of the market? For me, here are some pointers to consider:
1.) The product must REALLY work
2.) It must be well known
3.) Ill get to that.

For so some cases, #2 is really the one they put their concentration to. For example, the products Liver Aide, Pau and other herbs.. They let Wowowee advertise them and declare they have no therapeutical claim. So we really don't know if their products really work, they only have advertisement of opinions of people who claims that it works.

Another example is the CLEAR Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. When it was introduced, Gard, Head & Shoulders and others were already occupying a major portion of the Anti-Dandruff market. How did they manage to get at least a little portion and manage to slowly climb to compete? BY using advertisements. Clear has so many advertisements in the tv, and radio. There was a time in "Pilipinas, Game KNB?" where the show had 2 or 3 Saturdays just for Clear.

It seems that the primary concentration on penetrating the market is thru advertisements. Even open source programs gain more revenue by using ads. So that's one way of determining the price of a product but for me, a product should not rely on advertisements alone but making their product work better than others to gain a huge portion on the market. Its not very pleasant for consumers to repeatedly hear a product over and over again. It's a different kind of advertisement when you hear a product really work thru "word of mouth" though.

High Prices and High Quality

Our discussions last meeting for ManTech is about pricing of materials. Nowadays, people usually go for high prices because they believe that high cost of materials means that it's of very good quality. Maybe, that common belief is established because of the immitations sold in various places like greenhills and other "tiangges".

When you go to places like "tiangges", you can see a big difference in the prices of the "original" from the "immitation". I know somebody who bought a perfume, and it costed him only P800 compared from the P3500 original perfume. When he used it, the scent of the perfume only lasted about 15-20 minutes. Maybe, they just poured 1/8 original perfume and filled the rest with water.

There was another incident involving with shoes. A friend of mine bought Fake Nike shoes. He was checking how long it will last. After 3 days, the "check" seal on the Nike shoes fell off. It turned out that the "check seal" was only glued to the shoes. High Prices of products doesn't always mean that its of high quality.


Sometimes, it depends on the products sold itself and its use for us. Example, when you have a laptop and you want to download something in the internet via Wi-Fi in a coffee shop like Starbucks because its transfer rate is really fast but it costs P100/ hour. Why not just rent in a computer shop that costs P20/hour and bring a Flash Disk and store that application in your laptop.

Another example is choosing the right music media device for you, and your options are either buying an ordinary mp3 player which has a capacity of 1gb and costs Php1,800 or an Apple iPod™ which has a capacity of 20gb and has a price tag of Php15,000. Apple iPod™ says that they can store more than a thousand songs. But can somebody really listen to all those songs? They say that you can store data in an Apple iPod™ but there is such a device like an external hard drive which can store 60gb of memory and only costs Php3000.


Apple iPod™ is a very expensive device compared to an ordinary mp3 player. Apple dictates its price to be expensive but its not that durable and its quality is for those who want to experience luxury when it comes to listening music. Companies often dictate high prices to create an image for their product that they are superior than others. It's up to us to use our judgement for purchasing products according to our preferences and needs.


ManTech Blog 4 for September 24

ManTech Blog 3 - Advancements in Technology

Not so long time ago, Computers and its components cannot be afforded by many people. Separate Components such as processors is very costly and can only be seen on businesses. Thanks to IBM and its supporters, slowly, computers are slowly becoming a common household item. Few advancements, such as windows are invented. Useful softwares are developed and computer games are born. Computer Entertainment is now becoming popular and is attracting many people and Businesses are investing on it.

Advancements in Technology lead to prices of old merchandise going down. For example, back then, a USB Flash Disk that is 128mb costs Php1,500 but now, its only Php300~Php500. The same goes for processors, hard drives etc. Basically, as time passes and new technology is developed, its price is most likely to go down.

MANTECH BLOG 2

Technology, for me, its how one utilizes a tool to solve one's task with ease and convenience. Technology aims to make our life easy, and our works done faster. We discussed in class evolutions and phasing out of some technology.

A classic example is the evolution of cellphones. In the old days, cellphones are as big as a bar of detergent soaps! Today, its sizes are reduced to fit in one's pocket. Not only that, the features are incomparable compared to the old days. Nowadays, cellphones can do more than call but it can send SMS (text messages), MMS (Send multimedia files), access WAP, television, 3G capable, and so much more. Unfortunately, for some technology like the pocketbell, it was phased out. The pocketbell is a device use to send messages by contacting someone on a telephone and then forwards the message to the owner of the pocketbell.

People find it difficult and inconvenient to use the pocketbell and so they adapted the use of sms that's why the pocketbell was phased out. For me, sometimes, advancements or upgrades is not very advisable to adapt to immediately. Example is the upgrade of Windows Xp™ to Windows Vista™.Back then, Windows Xp™ kept upgrading but is released as a "beta". So why would we, the customers buy something that is a "beta". Anyway, Windows™ solved that by releasing "updates" such as the Service Pack 1™(SP 1) and Service Pack 2™(SP 2). Another example is the cellphones with the 3G technology. It's an impressive technology but do we really need it? From what I heard, it can connect your computer to the internet via 3G capable phones and it costs Php30/hour but I'm not sure of how fast is the connection rate.


3G cellphones are very costly and I'm not paying Php30/hour just to surf the net and so I dont need 3G Phones. I can just rent in a computer shop which has a dsl connection and has rates of Php10.00 - Php20.00 per hour. I know of some people who are rich and can easily afford 3G Phones but they prefer the old Nokia Phone Models like the 1100 who has a built in flash light. Technology nowadays are being developed and are rapidly evolving. You buy a new gadget and maybe the next month or so, your "new" gadget is no longer new. New Technologies come and go, it's up to us how we handle new technology and upgrades to suit our personal needs and make our lives better.

Management of Technology

Management of Technology, my first impression is how one
manages technology. For example, when do people switch to one
technology to the other. Some of my classmates cited new
technology that is not often advisable to adapt to because of
some issues like practicality. My example to that is the media
used in viewing movies. Not so long time ago, we use betamax,
then it evolved to vhs then laser discs, vcd's, and finally
dvd's.


Now, Sony introduced a new addition to the formats -- Blu
Ray. "Blu-ray Disc (also called BD) is a high-density optical
disc format for the storage of digital media, including
high-definition video".





Media type: High-density optical disc Encoding: MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), and VC-1 Capacity: 25 GB (single layer), 50 GB (dual layer) Read mechanism: 1x@36 Mbit/s & 2x@72 Mbit/s Developed by: Blu-ray Disc Association Usage: Data storage, High-definition video and PlayStation 3
Games


For me, its not practical to use Blu Ray discs for storage
of files even though its features are impressive. Its quiite
expensive and it synchronizes with High Definition Devices which
are very costly. When storage of data is concern, Flash
disks are more practical because its compatible with almost all
computers, compact and much more affordable. While in
media formats, dvd9 is still better because its compatible and
more affordable. Maybe when the time comes, we can adapt to Blu
Ray technology when its more practical for us.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc