K. Does it mean we are about to see Filipino schoolchildren cornering prizes in international spelling bees? I sincerely hope they would.

Otherwise, I cannot see any reason or justification for what some government agencies, social commentators and some local government units have done – all their harpings, all their grandstanding – while calling for the pullout of a freight company’s television commercials depicting children spelling the word “remittance” as L-B-C.

A city council or two have issued a resolution condemning the television advertisements, declaring them as likely to create confusion among Filipino children. Education officials, government officials, even the TV advertising industry’s watchdog organization chimed in, concurring that those TV spots were way out of line.

My first reaction was disbelief.

These guys cannot be serious about what they were saying. What nerve they had to say that our children cannot tell what is right spelling from wrong. I could not believe their temerity to say that our children cannot comprehend, and get the joke.

These people really know how to get the most mileage from almost any scandals and other issues. Trouble is, they imagine issues where and when there are none.

How I wish they would be equally vigilant when it comes to real issues, such as graft and corruption, overpriced noodles for public schools, and unsolved murders.

What would they ride on next?
 
Windows everywhere

A couple or two of years ago, LG or some other electronics vendor proposed the idea of linking up ordinary home appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines, with the Internet. Not a few analysts and consumers scoffed at the notion.

Today, however, the consumer electronics manufacturer might have the last laugh, judging from the increasing number of ordinary, everyday gadgets and devices for whom connecting to the online world comes as a second nature.

While some IT observers believe that Google’s Android is most likely to become the operating system for such devices, Microsoft is not ready to surrender yet. The software giant recently introduced the newest version of Windows Embedded CE, the company’s OS for gadgets.

There are about a million of these embedded processor-equipped devices, which are neither computer nor cellphones. Many of these devices, such as industrial robots, medical equipment, and yes, washing machines, run versions of Windows CE, and are increasingly connected to the Internet.
It seems like the intense competition between Google and Microsoft will soon come to the emergency room, as well as into our favorite laundry shops.
 
Pre cool

An AP technology writer has written a glowing review of the Palm Pre smartphone. While Peter Svensson was not too sold on the Pre handset, he fell in love with webOS, the phone’s operating system. In fact, Svensson said that the platform is more powerful, elegant and user-friendly than the iPhone.

So, there might be some truth to some quarters’ assertion that the Palm Pre is the first real challenger to the iPhone’s rule in the smartphone kingdom. Let us wait until Apple updates the iPhone some few weeks from now.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT. That is, I…T.