Just when you thought it’s safe to emerge from whatever hole you’ve been hiding in for the past few weeks to escape the swine flu, along come news of the virus’ resurgence. Seems that the virus has shifted its focus from the metropolis to the country’s provinces.

Last week, my hometown, the city of Calapan, declared itself under a state of calamity after hundreds of grade pupils and high school students were found with flu-like symptoms. Flu attacks were also reported in provinces in Central Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

It is somewhat reassuring that health officials have been saying that the flu virus is of a mild strain. If we had a more virulent kind, nobody could imagine the pandemonium and public panic that would ensue.

Still, we cannot put our guard down. The virus might someday mutate or pave the way for another kind of virus – one that may not be as moderate as the one we presently have.

3D Digicam

Japan-based Fujifilm introduced a compact digital camera that can shoot three-dimensional photos and movies. These pictures and movies then can be viewed without using those dorky 3D glasses. The FinePix Real 3D W1 camera uses a two-lens system that merges images it records into a single 3D photo or movie.

Fujifilm also plans to offer a 3D photo printing service.

This is cool. Now, people can bore to death their friends with 3D photos and movies of their last summer break.

Wristwatch Phone

Now, gadget lovers can out-Dick Tracy their other nerd friends. Samsung recently announced a 0.48-inch wristwatch mobile phone. The touchscreen-equipped mobile phone, aside from telling the time, can be used to check e-mails and play MP3 songs. It also includes Bluetooth and voice recognition technologies.

3D digicams and wristwatch mobile phones may seem cool at present. But I cannot help but wonder, a decade or two later when our children would be looking at pictures of ours showing us using these gadgets, would they think of us as dorks the way we now do of people using those computers and mobile phones from the 1980s?

Video Game Market Falls

What many observers thought was a market immune to the effects of the recession proved to be no match against the economic malaise. The video game industry suffered declining sales and shipments, with both software and hardware vendors reporting anemic sales and revenues.

In the United States, the largest video game market, sales performance of the leading game console makers and their partner game developers have been causing innumerable sleepless nights for market executives.

I guess, on hindsight, it should have been plain to see that in times of financial uncertainty, burning your hard-earned money on game platforms and other products will never be among your list of priorities.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.