Accenture has been recognized as the Philippines’ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Company of the Year at the International Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Awards Philippines 2012. Accenture is the only company to earn the distinction twice, having received the award in 2007.

On its 6th year, the International ICT Awards recognizes individuals and organizations for their contributions in making the Philippines among the world’s business and knowledge process outsourcing destinations of choice.

Nominees in the BPO Company of the Year category were judged on size and growth of revenue as well as employment, size, quality and diversity of international clients, depth and breadth of competencies as demonstrated through industry recognition and relevant certifications, investment in the development of its people, processes and technology, and testimonials from clients, employees and other stakeholders. The International ICT Awards committee also looked at the companies’ management capabilities, corporate social responsibility programs, and support for the Philippine ICT industry.

Lito Tayag, Accenture country managing director, said “Accenture has made great strides in growing the business, our capabilities and our people in the past 27 years. We are doubly honored by this second-time recognition by the International ICT Awards.”

Photo Caption:
Photo shows Lito Tayag, country managing director of Accenture in the Philippines, as he received from Jovy Hernandez, head of PLDT Corporate Business, the trophy for BPO Company of the Year during the awarding ceremony of the International ICT Awards Philippines 2012. Accenture has won the award twice.

ViewSonic Corporation is a global provider of technology products. ViewSonic develops, markets and supports a broad range of innovative products, including media and PC tablets, LCD monitors, PCs, projectors, digital signage displays, digital photo frames and other technology solutions. For more information, visit ap.viewsonic.com.

MSI-ECS presents another business opportunity for its resellers following its appointment as Asus distributor. The partnership was celebrated through a dinner party held last March 27, 2012 in Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ortigas. Known for its innovative, stylish and high-performing products, Asus reinforced its innovativeness when Irene Cheng, Asus Philippines’ Product Manager for Notebooks, presented its current line of notebooks such as the Eee Pc which combines affordability and performance, K series that features IceCool technology for better heat dissipation, N series designed for multimedia and graphic intensive applications, U series with enhanced battery life, and G series which revolutionizes gaming experience through a 3d function.“Once again, we are providing our partners with additional opportunities to enrich and improve their respective businesses. Needless to say, as we embark on this new alliance, we are giving our partner the value of choices and prove that MSI-ECS is poised to make a difference in the “sea of sameness”.“ said Princess Chua, MSI-ECS’ Senior Vice President – Sales and Marketing for Consumer Group, in her opening remarks.

As MSI-ECS continues to beef up its already impressive portfolio, now more than ever, it is poised to address diverse business needs of its resellers.

For detailed information, pricing, support, and availability, contact the MSI-ECS’ marketing department at marketing@msi-ecs.com.ph or (02) 688-3181.

Taking a page from Etta James, Opera Mini 7 is “a thrill to press your cheek to” for Android users. Today, Opera Software launched the Opera Mini 7 web browser in a final version for the Android platform.

This must-have app is your web surfing soulmate. 160 million monthly users of Opera Mini already know that this must-have app makes web browsing on your phone faster and can help save costs. If you’re watching your mobile data diet, now’s the time to go download the Opera Mini 7 app from the Android Market.

What’s new, Stu?

Glad you asked, Max! Opera Mini 7 for Android makes browsing faster and panning around sites smoother, thanks to improved hardware acceleration.

Feeling boxed in by only nine favorite Speed Dial sites on the Home Screen? With Opera Mini 7, you get as many Speed Dial buttons as you’ll ever want. Add all the sites you want to see right from the moment you start up your browser. No more messing around with fiddly mobile keyboards or bookmarks.

Perfect travel companion

Ever needed to look something up online when you’re away from your home mobile network? Using the web while traveling can turn into an expensive adventure … unless you’re an Opera Mini user on Android. Opera Mini 7 compresses, squeezes and jams webpages from the network into your phone.

Up to 90% of the original data gets cut out, so not only do you use less data, but you also get where you want to go on the web even faster. You’ll also save time on slow networks. It’s the must-have web-travel companion!

Download Opera Mini 7 from Android Market or m.opera.com.

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the web should be a universal right. 250 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the internet. Our vision of one web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. ‘Opera’, ‘Opera Software’, ‘Opera Mini’ and the ‘O’ logo are trademarks of Opera Software ASA. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple has released iTunes 10.6.1, an update that addresses several problems introduced in iTunes 10.6.
According to Apple, the update offers fixes for glitches that may cause iTunes to unexpectedly quit when playing videos, changing artwork size in Grid view, and syncing photos to devices. It also corrects an issue in which some iTunes interface elements are incorrectly described by VoiceOver and WindowEyes, and it fixes a bug that caused iTunes to become unresponsive when syncing the iPod nano or iPod shuffle.

For me, however, the most welcome news is that the update resolves a problem that cropped up when browsing TV episodes from your iTunes library on the Apple TV. Starting with iTunes 10.6, programs appeared in unexpected order when you sorted them by show, making it hard to find what you wanted to watch in large TV show libraries such as mine.

iTunes 10.6.1 is available now via Software Update or from Apple’s iTunes download page.

SAN FRANCISCO – What good is a retail shop without proper signage? Google Play, the digital store previously known as Android Market, should gain plenty of new shoppers–even if they’re just passersby doing a little window-shopping–thanks to new and improved visibility.
Google Play now has a coveted spot on Google’s own navigation bar, which appears atop the search giant’s home page. The Play link is hard to miss–just look to the left of the word “NEW” in eye-grabbing red caps.

Click the link and you’re transported to Google Play, a not-so-new digital shop for music, books, movies, and Android apps. The rebranded site debuted three weeks ago, with Google trumpeting the store’s online-oriented design.
“Google Play is entirely cloud-based so all your music, movies, books and apps are stored online, always available to you, and you never have to worry about losing them or moving them again,” wrote Jamie Rosenberg, Google’s director of digital content, in a March 6 blog post.

With cloud services–most notably Apple’s iCloud and Microsoft’s SkyDrive–emerging in the consumer space, Google is making a play (pardon the pun) for that market as well.

Will Google integrate its mixed bag of cloud-based services, including Google Docs, Gmail, Google Music, and Google Play under a single, iCloud-like umbrella? And don’t forget about the long-rumored Google Drive, or GDrive, while may arrive as early as next month, according to recent rumors.
In fact, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if “GDrive” is the next addition to Google navigation bar.

SYDNEY – German security company Avira has released free antivirus software for Apple Macs, joining a host of security software providers offering protection for OS X.

Avira said Apple’s market share for computers has increased, which has been followed by an increase in malicious software programs. The company said the product will not contain advertising or marketing pop-up ads.

Many of the top security software companies offer security software for Macs, with some for free. Kaspersky Lab, Intego, PC Tools, Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro all offer paid security software, while Sophos offers its Mac product for free.

Apple has marketed itself as inherently more secure than Windows. Security experts have said its platform is just as prone to software vulnerabilities as other operating systems, but Windows is targeted more due to its high market share. In a sign of the increasing prevalence of Mac malware, Apple rolled out an antimalware tool called XProtect in 2009, which is periodically updated to detect new malware.

Avira also released an application for Android phones that can remotely lock or locate a device as well as erase its data. Using a web-based interface, the phone’s owner can display a “call owner” message on the device with a number.

A missing Android device can be plotted on Google Maps. It can also be commanded to make a loud sound for 20 seconds, Avira said. Up to five phones can be managed remotely. The application is free and works with Android 2.2, known as Froyo, and 2.3, nicknamed Gingerbread.

FRAMINGHAM – Microsoft will launch the “release candidate” of Windows 8 in late May or early June, according to a Saturday report by a Dutch blog.

That launch window for the Windows 8 Release Candidate, or RC — a label for nearly-finished software issued one final time for bug review — fits with earlier reports claiming the new operating system will go on sale this October.

On Saturday, the WinUnleaked.tk website asserted that, “We know the Release Candidate of Windows 8 will be shared with the public between the end of May [and] the beginning of June.” It did not cite any sources for those dates, however.

A week ago, Bloomberg said that computer and tablet makers will have Windows 8-powered PCs and devices ready to sell in October 2012 .

The late May-early June talk of Windows 8 RC availability fits the expectations of analyst Michael Cherry of Directions on Microsoft, who last week said Microsoft appeared to be using a schedule that will deliver a release candidate three months after the February 29, 2012, Consumer Preview, with the RTM, or “release to manufacturing,” milestone three months after that.

If Cherry is right, that would put Windows 8 RC’s debut at the end of May and RTM at the end of August.

While both RC and RTM are important development yardsticks, the latter is more significant because it notes the point at which code is offered to device manufacturers for prepping new PCs, to third-party developers for final testing of new and existing applications, and to peripheral vendors priming hardware designed for the OS.

A late May-early June launch of Windows 8 RC would also largely align with the timetable Microsoft used three years ago for Windows 7. That edition entered public beta — analogous to this year’s Consumer Preview — in early January 2009, hit RTM in early May and made RTM in late July.

Because Windows 8 is on a trajectory several weeks later than was Windows 7, it’s possible that the ship date for the former could be that much later than the latter. Windows 7 launched Oct. 22, 2009.

But if Microsoft accelerates the tempo of Windows 8 and unveils the new operating system the same week and day it used three years ago for Windows 7, it would host a launch event on Oct. 25, 2012.

Earlier this month, Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s top Windows executives, said Windows 8′s development cycle would mimic its predecessor’s , and include a public Release Candidate and an RTM milestone.

Microsoft has not disclosed the on-sale date for Windows 8. Last week a spokeswoman again declined to comment on the operating system’s timing.