I have nothing against computer games. I think these virtual forms of entertainment, which comes in varying degrees of gruesomeness and violence, are one of the tech industry's growth drivers. You know, the way pornography has been driving growth and popularity of several technologies.
Remember Betamax, VHS, VCD, and DVD? All these media formats have porn to thank for their eventual market success.
Anyway, back to computer games. Yes, they either come as sweet as a sugar-induced coma or as violent and sex-filled as a local action movie from the late 1980s and early 1990s. But some of them have been out-earning Hollywood's best (or worst) productions at the box office.
A cursory visit to one of the thousands of Internet cafes in the country, however, would give one an idea of how much time children, young people, and even those who are supposed to be old enough to know spend on playing computer games. They spend hours killing their virtual enemies with make-believe rifles, knives, swords, or spells, depending on which gaming platform they are currently on.
Now, the last thing I want to do is pontificate. So, I am not telling anybody computer gaming is bad. Nor am I saying it is good. My point is, instead of spending all those hours shooting imaginary terrorists into involuntary nirvana, why not try learning how to write codes or try one's hand in computer programming?
And maybe later on, one can join any of the code-writing competitions sponsored by the Game Developers Association of the Philippines. Instead of being a game consumer, why not try becoming a game developer?
By the way, some observers estimate the local game development industry must have breached the $70-million mark way back in late 2011 or early 2012.
Brothers Promote Coding
Hadi and Ali Partovi are twin brothers. They are Iranian-Americans whose family immigrated to America in 1984. And like most immigrants, their family started with virtually nothing.
Through hard work and their parents' emphasis on making sure they would finish college, the Partovi brothers realized the American dream. Today, they are among Silicon Valley's elites.
And along the way, they have made some really important friends, including Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Early interest in computers and a college degree in computer programming helped pave the way for the Partovi brothers. And today, they are paying it forward by promoting computer programming education for high school students and other young people in the United States.
Nokia Spreads
Nokia last week announced the Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Designed for the middle market, the Lumia 720 is a midrange handset, while the Lumia 520 is aimed at the lower end of the smartphone segment.
While these smartphones might have fewer blockbuster features compared with the flagship model, the Lumia 920, there is nothing cheap about these new phones from Nokia.
But Nokia's product announcements were not all about the glamorous world of smartphones. The Finnish mobile phone maker also came up with something aimed at the features phone market.
After all, not everybody is going gaga over these complicated gadgets. Some estimates have 2.7 billion as the number people worldwide who are yet to buy their first mobile handset due to lack of financial resources, mostly.
Hence, the Nokia 105 — with retail price of $20 (roughly, 800 pesos), the phone comes with the most basic features, calls and messaging. But unlike the other affordable basic phones that preceded it, the Nokia 105 comes with a color display, FM radio, and a flashlight, among others.
Most importantly, it comes with that Nokia quality.
That's all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.