Share this
Twitter
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Yahoo
Googlize this
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Of course we now know that President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III trended in Twitter and the moment he became president, the Twitter trend topic changed from "Noynoy Aquino" to "President Noynoy Aquino." But covering twitter trends in Lintech would be very boring (at least for me), so here are some of the tech highlights of the recently-concluded Presidential Inauguration.
The B-Jeep and the dramatic entrance
News shows from different networks covered the story about the electric jeepney that would carry Vice President Jejomar Binay from the Manila Hotel to Quirino Grandstand at around eleven in the morning. The electric vehicle, known as the B-Jeep (they made this cute excuse that the “B” stands for “Battery”... we all know what that “B” stands for, right?) symbolizes how VP Jojo Binay sees the upcoming administration: tech-forward, artistic, and environment-friendly.
The multicab electric jeepneys (or eJeepney for short) are currently operational in some parts of Makati. According to this article:
The Makati City government, in partnership with the Stichting Doen Foundation, launched last November the Makati Green Route project, where the iCSC deployed 10 new Philippine-made eJeepneys that offered free eJeepney rides in Salcedo Village and Legaspi Village, starting and ending in Landmark.
From its Sarao to its air-conditioned days, the Philippine Jeepney didn't really evolve much, that's why having the B-Jeep showcased during the inauguration was a welcome treat. Unfortunately, the way it was shown on national television was hilarious, because at that time, Binay was “late” (does this really need debating?), and Noynoy Aquino was already making ex-President Arroyo (I still need to get used to calling her ex-President) bid the strong men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines goodbye. The B-Jeep was parked in an awkward place (solo on the grandstand's track), at a very awkward time.
If I had the chance to ask for new features for the B-Jeep weeks before the inaugural, I'd ask for extra communication devices (a radio device, perhaps). That way, Binay won't have to be late and the “protocol” won't have to be broken. Also, no “wang-wang” (escort sirens).
GMA News captured inaugural in 3D
The day before the inaugural, GMA News announced that they would be capturing President Noynoy Aquino's swearing-in and speech in full 3D. Jessica Soho, GMA's vice president for news, related, “This will be the first inauguration of any head of state anywhere in the world to be shot in 3D,” another first technological election-related milestone for the Philippines since May's first-shot, country-wide automated elections. GMA positioned their Panasonic 3D cameras in a prime spot that will capture all the event's highlights.
Unfortunately, the news team decided that the shot be sent straight to their archives first rather than broadcasting it live. There are plans to show the inauguration rites in 3D theaters where viewers could experience all the inaugural love. It can be recalled that two Sundays ago, GMA's noontime variety show Party Pilipinas experimented with broadcasting the show in 3D but was slammed by experts because they thought the use of anachrome 3D (3D material that needs red-blue glasses to be viewed) is a bit archaic and insulting to our TV records. The attempt also failed to woo viewers, as shown by that day's ratings.
For me, I waited in vain yesterday with my 3D-fied glasses (I have my own eyeglasses, and I attached the red-blue cellophane... thank you very much GMA for making me look stupid, haha) in hopes I could experience the hair-raising, history-in-the-making event that was Noynoy's inaugural. Maybe I just have to go to the nearest IMAX theater once GMA finally decides to screen its 3D footage.
ABS-CBN adorns news shows with cutting-edge technology
ABS-CBN reformatted their shows to highlight their newest tech toy: Augmented Reality and Touch-screen Displays. I personally saw these high-tech tools at work from ABS-CBN's recent coverage of the elections, and I was practically in awe, especially when Karen Davila presented the stats and the provinces with the biggest shares of votes. I have to admit, those flashy presentations do work (the swirling dots are distracting, though).
Yesterday, I watched these programs show off their Augmented Reality tech and was still amazed by how much stuff they could do with it. My favorite “Kuya” Kim Atienza even used the technology to present the next day's weather the way Ernie Baron did during the '90s (he points at the map and things just show up while the camera zooms in and out of the map).
On the same day, ABS-CBN's flagship newscast TV Patrol launched its own website, its own “Twirrer” account (@ABSCBN_TVPatrol), and its own Facebook fan page.
The islands had it streamed
Another milestone in Philippine technology, as far as presidential inauguration coverages are concerned, is the availability of live-streaming video not only from one, but from almost all the media networks we have today. ABS-CBN streamed their coverage via ANC's CoverItLive account, while GMA had their own live-streaming page. TV5, having been acquired by telco mogul Manny Pangilinan, had their content streamed by FutureGen, in partnership with Yahoo Southeast Asia and MediaQuest.
--
Image courtesy of LakbayPilipinas.com, used under fair use
YouTube video courtesy of user ejeepney, used under fair use
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
