COMDDAP DAVAO EXPO 2009
Where the highest mountain in the land rises over the vast rich plains of Davao, where the king of Philippine birds soar over his domain, the giant of all Philippine I.T. shows once more unfolds its latest event. It’s COMDDAP Davao 2009 – the biggest I.T. expo held regularly in the South.
What?
COMDDAP (Computer Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Association of the Philippines) Exhibit
When?
Held last July 2-4, 2009
Where?
At the Apo View Hotel Davao
Before I explain things during the said exhibit, let me explain first what is COMDDAP is and there objectives.
COMDDAP is an association of the country's top information technology businesses, sees the need to push our current technology more aggressively for the country’s business and government operations and other concerned sectors to be attuned with IT’s fast-phase development.
The association’s objectives are:
• Promote the use of information technology and elevate its standards in the Philippines;
• Make computers affordable and available to the masses;
• Provide and create opportunities for users to develop themselves to their fullest potentials;
• Supply the market with quality products at reasonable prices with good after-sales support;
• To work closely with the government, the private sector, and international entities in promoting the use of information technology;
• Provide a forum of discussion on matters relating to the computer industry; and
• Foster and cultivate harmony, cordiality and camaraderie among the members so that they can work together as one for the benefit of the industry.
To start, when I arrived at the location, I was all alone when I visited the event. I was kind of nervous because I arrived at 4pm in the afternoon, second I don’t see any classmate around, and lastly I’m late for the seminar which is the main reason why we should visit the said event for we must create a reflection on the said event. Fortunately, I saw one of my classmates and then the rest followed. So after that I already started touring the exhibits. Looking at new gadgets, new technology that are new in the market. I was amazed at one exhibit because of his CPU, with his 3 sockets of video card, and 2 video card attach that is worth P40,000 when he first bought the product so all in all P80,000 just for the video card. It’s the most powerful video card on the market today. With the Dual/Quad Core the latest processor available in the market. His CPU is really just for gaming. Then after some more touring at the exhibits, asking question about each exhibitors about their product, participating on their events that gives freebies and etc., as we all know that I was very late for the seminar I made up my mind to visit the seminar the next day instead.
The next day,
When it’s the second day of the exhibit I arrived earlier than the first day I visited the event. Of course I had attended the seminar about HP thin clients & Windows Server 2008.
First, I will discuss the first presenter in the seminar which is about HP thin client.
What is an HP thin client?
The HP Compaq t5720 Thin Client is perfect for businesses that need compact yet powerful user-interface solutions. The t5720 delivers desktop-like features and support for local applications in an attractively small chassis that can be set either vertically or horizontally, making the t5720 fit perfectly on a desktop or mounted conveniently on a wall or under a desk.
Despite its slim size, the t5720 Thin Client is full of features: it’s powered by the AMD Geode NX 1500 processor with 512 MB of Flash memory and a standard complement of either 256 MB or 512 MB of DDR RAM. An optional PCI slot allows a broad range of expansion options, from additional memory to video cards. The t5720 also ships pre-installed with Genuine Windows XP Embedded SP2 and Sygate Security Agent, for dependable reliability and protection straight out of the box.
“The HP Compaq t5720 Thin Client with Microsoft Windows XP Embedded is an ideal interface solution for businesses with minimal work areas or other space concerns. It delivers powerfully versatile features in a compact footprint at an affordable price,” said Bernadette Nacario, PSG Country General Manager, HP Philippines.
What are the Key Features of an HP thin client?
• Reliability: Solid-state design means no moving parts, which results in higher reliability, lower ownership costs, and extended product life.
• Design security: HP makes it easy to lock down user settings and parameters on the client, or add a Smartcard reader for user authentication. Additionally, all critical user data and applications reside on your secure, centralized server. HP Sygate Security Agent is pre-installed on all t5720 Thin Clients.
• Improved manageability: HP’s alliance with Altiris brings a leading management solution to the thin client market. Altiris Deployment Solution’s standards-based, advanced thin client management solution helps reduce the costs of deploying, updating, and maintaining your thin clients. Free with each HP client!
• Open operating system: The HP Compaq t5720 Thin Client offers Genuine Windows XP Embedded operating system with Citrix ICA, Microsoft’s latest RDP client, Internet Explorer 6.0, Windows Media Player 9.0, and terminal emulations.
• Processing power: The processing power your workers need for a great server-based computing experience, whether running general office applications or your specific line of business software on a terminal server.
• Smart graphics: Support for HP’s latest monitors with superior resolution, outstanding color, and high refresh rates.
• Invisible client: HP’s unique thermal design allows the t5720 to be mounted in many orientations. Recapture desktop space by utilizing HP Quick Release mounting solution. Chassis can be set either vertically or horizontally for positioning on a desktop or mounting on a wall, under a desk, or even on the back of a compliant monitor.
• Connectivity: Advanced connectivity features include a wide range of ports and support for options including smart card readers, modems, and other common options.
The second presenter was about Windows Server 2008. To be honest, I really didn’t understand the Windows Server 2008 as the presenter told us in advanced that it is a very technical topic. But I will still try to explain what are new features added on the new Windows Server 2008. I will just break it down so it will be understandable.
1. Network Access Protection (NAP) platform to see to it that all computers trying to connect to a network meet administrator-defined requirements for system health. IT administrators can have the control and flexibility in laying out security policy in accessing an organization’s resources.
2. Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC) is a new type of domain controller that hosts a read-only replica of the Active Directory database. This is a big improvement that not only reduces downtime but makes your domain controllers easier to manage, which is a big plus when they are located at a remote site
3. Server Core Installation Option that has a significantly smaller attack surface because all non-essential components and functionalities have been removed, thus yielding better performance; and the Terminal Services Gateway/Remote Programs that let remote users securely punch through perimeter firewall and access terminal servers running on a corpnet.
4. Virtualization, on the other hand, allows IT administrators to consolidate multiple server roles as separate virtual machines running on a single physical machine. This approach reduces “server sprawl” and maximizes the utilization of current hardware, and each role can run in its own isolated virtual environment for greater security and easier management. The process of migrating server roles from separate physical boxes onto virtual machines is known as server consolidation and this is probably the number one driver behind the growing popularity of virtualization in enterprise environments.
5. The Network Load Balancing (NLB) in Windows Server 2008 is a network driver that balances the load for networked client/server applications by distributing client connections across a set of servers.
These are just the new features that the Windows Server 2008 has to offer. For me Windows Server 2008 is good product for those businessmen who travel all the time. That can still monitor their business when they are outside their business walls.
So all in all, the EXPO was the best opportunity for us to experience the IT world. Plus showcasing the new trends in technology in the market which we can use in the future when we become part of the IT society.
References:
http://www.comddap.org/events7.htm
http://www.nexustech.com.ph/letters.php?newsletter_id=29
http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/si/si002454.htm
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Poll Automation
My thoughts about the automated elections with reference to the current situation.
First, let me explain what is an automated election is all about. An automated election is a system using appropriate technology for voting and electronic devices to count votes and canvass/consolidate results. So, in short making the counting procedure automated, as before which is manually tallied.
In December 22, 1997 former President Ramos signs the Republic Act 8436, otherwise known as “AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY 11, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”.
Its component include: 1) Implementation of Comelec’s VRIS project, 2) National Precinct Mapping and the 3) Certified Voters’ List Verification where the Comelec’s project of Automated Counting and Consolidation of Results System (Accors) will be implemented. Accors is Comelec’s supposed solution for clean voters’ list.
For the people who are behind the project, the Smartmatic-TIM agreed and formalizes their joint venture, which won the P7.2 billion poll automation contract with the comelec despite the differences between the two companies.
As for the current situation, all eyes are in the issue about automated elections, some people say that is a bad thing to do because they have other agenda; some other says that it will be better if they pursue automated elections for faster results. As we all know the 2010 automated elections are going to pursue. And it will be the country’s first nationwide automated elections.
Is the Philippines ready for automated election? Are we ready for something new? First, let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages that will emerge if our country engages with an automated election.
Smartmatic (also referred as Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International) is a multinational corporation founded in 2000 that specializes in the design and deployment of complex purpose-specific technology solutions. It is organized around three business areas: Electronic voting systems, integrated security systems, and biometric systems for people registration and authentication for government applications. Smartmatic offers the Smartmatic Automated Election System (SAES), a unified voting, scrutiny, tabulation, allocation and result broadcast solution -suitable for any type of election- which was officially released in 2003. In addition to the many benefits of the SAES system, its most outstanding advantage lies in the guarantee of total transparency in any given electoral or referendum process. SAES offers the possibility to verify and audit results through different means, guaranteeing zero numerical inconsistencies between all stages covered by every single vote, from actual casting to final scrutiny. Smartmatic provides us other benefits and advantages if we will deal with automation of election.
Let me site what benefits that we can get from this “automated election”?
• Financial Savings
Though automated elections deals with acquiring computer, hence will cost a large amount of money, it can still cut cost in other expenses, i.e. labor cost. Since the computer would do the counting. That means fewer laborers are needed. Normally, automation requires a large up-front investment in hardware and software, as well as expensive training of electoral workers and running educational campaigns for voters. Automated elections guarantees short- and long-term returns that can greatly compensate for the initial investment.
• Increased speed and efficiency of electoral tasks and faster electoral result
The computer to be used has internal tools that can increase speed and efficiency for some important works during the election. Also, using computers would make the election itself faster. Voting manually would consume time for the voters to write name of the candidates, etc. Also, with vast advancement of technology, the machine/ computer has a tool that can count the votes faster and more accurate. Using computers/machines, they would be the one to tally and transmit the votes to the electoral board without human intervention. The automated electoral system mechanisms significantly reduce the chances of errors, because vote counting is based on an internal machine count rather than on individual ballots, which can be tampered with.
• Improved capacity to identify and prevent frauds
With the system using ultra-safe encryption algorithms to store and transmit each vote from the SAES voting machine to the tabulation centers, tampering of votes will be prevented and the integrity of the elections would be higher.
On the other hand, one of the disadvantages of using computers/ machine in election is the broad knowledge of man in terms of technology. Though computers may have high securities, there are many computer “geeks” that can bombard the computers and the system as a whole. They have many ways to hack those computers to be used in the elections. Hackers are the number one enemy of this system. Hackers are known to infiltrate and manipulate even the most sophisticated computer programs in the world. Also, technology, though seems to be perfect, may still have errors in its components. We all know that no computer system is 100% tamper-proof, or foolproof. We are not sure that it, the automated election, may give us the best results of the elections. Also, can this system eliminate other election-related problems like vote buying?
Disadvantages of this “automated elections”?
• Is it Feasible?
If one out of ten Filipinos have no ability to read and write at the same time, is it possible for the Philippines to have automated elections? Let us remember that for the past decades, Filipinos have successfully voted even though some do not know how to read and write. Clearly, the Philippines will be pushing through with the automated elections by the year 2010. An automated election will be feasible in the Philippines with the right and proper technology or system to be used. There are certain problems that it might encounter. Electricity in the rural areas of the Philippines is not always available; if it is available it is not that reliable. If the Commission on Elections will use Direct Recording Equipment Process there would be a problem in deploying the hundreds of thousands of units to different locations all through out the Philippines. A number of technical personnel are needed to install the system. The government already provided a budget for the transmission of the machines as well as payments needed for the technical personnel. All the voters must be trained to use the DRE system. According to Senator Gordon, Filipinos are smart enough to participate in an automated election. He also suggested that an automated election is going to be more feasible if there would be a national ID system based on biometrics.
Presented with the advantages and disadvantages, another question may arise, will the people of the Philippines be able to adapt to the new system?
In the present generation, people became more literate, especially with the use of computer. Having had computer lessons during elementary and secondary education, even in public schools, people know the basics on the use of computer. One survey conducted was that about 25 million Filipinos are using computers and the internet, mostly in developed cities. Though some are underprivileged, they still have access on computers through internet cafes. However, that is in the urban area. How about in the rural and the isolated area? We all know that the Philippines is a developing country, and many areas here do not permit people to have a technology-integrated lives. Especially in the province, many indigenous ethnic groups do not know how to use computer, nor, do they know how to read and write. So, how can these people adapt to the new system? They need time to learn. Also, some areas here in the Philippines do not have electricity. In those areas, for sure, they would conduct manual voting. It is not consistent that some areas will have automated election, while some have manual elections. Actually, last August 2008, the ARMM conducted their elections. They used a new system of automation. Hence, the COMELEC said that the election was a success. COMELEC said that they were “very, very satisfied” with the conduct of the elections in the ARMM, dubbed the “cheating capital” of the Philippines. And less than 24 hours, more than half of the poll results were in with the COMELEC. As what we discussed earlier, automated election would increase speed and efficiency, like what the ARMM election has experienced. Actually, this automated election in ARMM is an experiment for the 2010 National election. If the ARMM election is a success, would be the National Election on 2010 be a success with the use of computer? We’ll find out since the President signed the law that passed Republic Act No. 9525 appropriating 11.3-billion supplemental budgets for the full automation of the elections, a first in Philippine history. Hence, that is next year, we will see if the Philippines will be capable of having an automated election.
For me, Filipinos, next elections. It provided a background on the basics of online/automated elections, the components needed to make it possible, the methods that would be employed to guarantee the integrity safety of the votes, a discussion on the general feasibility as grounded to the advantages and disadvantages of the technology, and everything was then contextualized to fit the circumstances of the Philippines. It can then be concluded that online/automated/computerized elections can be possible in the Philippines if sufficient training and preparations are employed in spearheading it. The long-term benefits of the said platform for voting greatly exceed the initial technological and training costs that it would entail making it a feasible investment in the future for our country. But even if this new voting platform is grounded on technology and is streamlined by modernity, it is still not foolproof. Many problems were discussed regarding the possibility of hacking and the crashing of the system but it can still be considered safer than the manual voting system that we have been implementing for so long now. The problem of digital divide was also alluded to the discussion. The Philippines, as a developing country, has regions and groups of people that are deprived of technology and proper training and education. This might lead to an accidental and virtual exclusion of these people and towns from the up and coming online elections, which might possibly make lessen the voters’ turnout and the whole democracy of our elections. It can also be deduced that the implementation of the online elections will not only strengthen the integrity of our votes but in the process close the digital divide that we are experiencing right now. By training our people to use ICT, we are making them ready to use it for more things to come-not just for mere electoral usage. To end, our country might be a long way to go from being industrialized and fully prepared to reap the benefits of ICT in every major part of our everyday lives, but the conduct of the 2010 online/automated elections is a still a big step forward towards the achievement of a truly democratic and honest elections and the closure of the digital divide as a whole. Our infrastructures might not be at par to other countries and our people might not be fully informed and trained yet, but these shortcomings can be greatly remedied if we are equipped with the willingness to learn and adapt to our ever-changing world.
References:
http://www.gmanews.tv/index.html
http://inquirer.net
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090306-192592/All-go-for-automated-elections-in-2010
First, let me explain what is an automated election is all about. An automated election is a system using appropriate technology for voting and electronic devices to count votes and canvass/consolidate results. So, in short making the counting procedure automated, as before which is manually tallied.
In December 22, 1997 former President Ramos signs the Republic Act 8436, otherwise known as “AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY 11, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”.
Its component include: 1) Implementation of Comelec’s VRIS project, 2) National Precinct Mapping and the 3) Certified Voters’ List Verification where the Comelec’s project of Automated Counting and Consolidation of Results System (Accors) will be implemented. Accors is Comelec’s supposed solution for clean voters’ list.
For the people who are behind the project, the Smartmatic-TIM agreed and formalizes their joint venture, which won the P7.2 billion poll automation contract with the comelec despite the differences between the two companies.
As for the current situation, all eyes are in the issue about automated elections, some people say that is a bad thing to do because they have other agenda; some other says that it will be better if they pursue automated elections for faster results. As we all know the 2010 automated elections are going to pursue. And it will be the country’s first nationwide automated elections.
Is the Philippines ready for automated election? Are we ready for something new? First, let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages that will emerge if our country engages with an automated election.
Smartmatic (also referred as Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International) is a multinational corporation founded in 2000 that specializes in the design and deployment of complex purpose-specific technology solutions. It is organized around three business areas: Electronic voting systems, integrated security systems, and biometric systems for people registration and authentication for government applications. Smartmatic offers the Smartmatic Automated Election System (SAES), a unified voting, scrutiny, tabulation, allocation and result broadcast solution -suitable for any type of election- which was officially released in 2003. In addition to the many benefits of the SAES system, its most outstanding advantage lies in the guarantee of total transparency in any given electoral or referendum process. SAES offers the possibility to verify and audit results through different means, guaranteeing zero numerical inconsistencies between all stages covered by every single vote, from actual casting to final scrutiny. Smartmatic provides us other benefits and advantages if we will deal with automation of election.
Let me site what benefits that we can get from this “automated election”?
• Financial Savings
Though automated elections deals with acquiring computer, hence will cost a large amount of money, it can still cut cost in other expenses, i.e. labor cost. Since the computer would do the counting. That means fewer laborers are needed. Normally, automation requires a large up-front investment in hardware and software, as well as expensive training of electoral workers and running educational campaigns for voters. Automated elections guarantees short- and long-term returns that can greatly compensate for the initial investment.
• Increased speed and efficiency of electoral tasks and faster electoral result
The computer to be used has internal tools that can increase speed and efficiency for some important works during the election. Also, using computers would make the election itself faster. Voting manually would consume time for the voters to write name of the candidates, etc. Also, with vast advancement of technology, the machine/ computer has a tool that can count the votes faster and more accurate. Using computers/machines, they would be the one to tally and transmit the votes to the electoral board without human intervention. The automated electoral system mechanisms significantly reduce the chances of errors, because vote counting is based on an internal machine count rather than on individual ballots, which can be tampered with.
• Improved capacity to identify and prevent frauds
With the system using ultra-safe encryption algorithms to store and transmit each vote from the SAES voting machine to the tabulation centers, tampering of votes will be prevented and the integrity of the elections would be higher.
On the other hand, one of the disadvantages of using computers/ machine in election is the broad knowledge of man in terms of technology. Though computers may have high securities, there are many computer “geeks” that can bombard the computers and the system as a whole. They have many ways to hack those computers to be used in the elections. Hackers are the number one enemy of this system. Hackers are known to infiltrate and manipulate even the most sophisticated computer programs in the world. Also, technology, though seems to be perfect, may still have errors in its components. We all know that no computer system is 100% tamper-proof, or foolproof. We are not sure that it, the automated election, may give us the best results of the elections. Also, can this system eliminate other election-related problems like vote buying?
Disadvantages of this “automated elections”?
• Is it Feasible?
If one out of ten Filipinos have no ability to read and write at the same time, is it possible for the Philippines to have automated elections? Let us remember that for the past decades, Filipinos have successfully voted even though some do not know how to read and write. Clearly, the Philippines will be pushing through with the automated elections by the year 2010. An automated election will be feasible in the Philippines with the right and proper technology or system to be used. There are certain problems that it might encounter. Electricity in the rural areas of the Philippines is not always available; if it is available it is not that reliable. If the Commission on Elections will use Direct Recording Equipment Process there would be a problem in deploying the hundreds of thousands of units to different locations all through out the Philippines. A number of technical personnel are needed to install the system. The government already provided a budget for the transmission of the machines as well as payments needed for the technical personnel. All the voters must be trained to use the DRE system. According to Senator Gordon, Filipinos are smart enough to participate in an automated election. He also suggested that an automated election is going to be more feasible if there would be a national ID system based on biometrics.
Presented with the advantages and disadvantages, another question may arise, will the people of the Philippines be able to adapt to the new system?
In the present generation, people became more literate, especially with the use of computer. Having had computer lessons during elementary and secondary education, even in public schools, people know the basics on the use of computer. One survey conducted was that about 25 million Filipinos are using computers and the internet, mostly in developed cities. Though some are underprivileged, they still have access on computers through internet cafes. However, that is in the urban area. How about in the rural and the isolated area? We all know that the Philippines is a developing country, and many areas here do not permit people to have a technology-integrated lives. Especially in the province, many indigenous ethnic groups do not know how to use computer, nor, do they know how to read and write. So, how can these people adapt to the new system? They need time to learn. Also, some areas here in the Philippines do not have electricity. In those areas, for sure, they would conduct manual voting. It is not consistent that some areas will have automated election, while some have manual elections. Actually, last August 2008, the ARMM conducted their elections. They used a new system of automation. Hence, the COMELEC said that the election was a success. COMELEC said that they were “very, very satisfied” with the conduct of the elections in the ARMM, dubbed the “cheating capital” of the Philippines. And less than 24 hours, more than half of the poll results were in with the COMELEC. As what we discussed earlier, automated election would increase speed and efficiency, like what the ARMM election has experienced. Actually, this automated election in ARMM is an experiment for the 2010 National election. If the ARMM election is a success, would be the National Election on 2010 be a success with the use of computer? We’ll find out since the President signed the law that passed Republic Act No. 9525 appropriating 11.3-billion supplemental budgets for the full automation of the elections, a first in Philippine history. Hence, that is next year, we will see if the Philippines will be capable of having an automated election.
For me, Filipinos, next elections. It provided a background on the basics of online/automated elections, the components needed to make it possible, the methods that would be employed to guarantee the integrity safety of the votes, a discussion on the general feasibility as grounded to the advantages and disadvantages of the technology, and everything was then contextualized to fit the circumstances of the Philippines. It can then be concluded that online/automated/computerized elections can be possible in the Philippines if sufficient training and preparations are employed in spearheading it. The long-term benefits of the said platform for voting greatly exceed the initial technological and training costs that it would entail making it a feasible investment in the future for our country. But even if this new voting platform is grounded on technology and is streamlined by modernity, it is still not foolproof. Many problems were discussed regarding the possibility of hacking and the crashing of the system but it can still be considered safer than the manual voting system that we have been implementing for so long now. The problem of digital divide was also alluded to the discussion. The Philippines, as a developing country, has regions and groups of people that are deprived of technology and proper training and education. This might lead to an accidental and virtual exclusion of these people and towns from the up and coming online elections, which might possibly make lessen the voters’ turnout and the whole democracy of our elections. It can also be deduced that the implementation of the online elections will not only strengthen the integrity of our votes but in the process close the digital divide that we are experiencing right now. By training our people to use ICT, we are making them ready to use it for more things to come-not just for mere electoral usage. To end, our country might be a long way to go from being industrialized and fully prepared to reap the benefits of ICT in every major part of our everyday lives, but the conduct of the 2010 online/automated elections is a still a big step forward towards the achievement of a truly democratic and honest elections and the closure of the digital divide as a whole. Our infrastructures might not be at par to other countries and our people might not be fully informed and trained yet, but these shortcomings can be greatly remedied if we are equipped with the willingness to learn and adapt to our ever-changing world.
References:
http://www.gmanews.tv/index.html
http://inquirer.net
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090306-192592/All-go-for-automated-elections-in-2010
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