Technology For Restaurants, Huh?

While browsing the company website of the GPS manufacturer in my last post I found a pretty neat product of theirs: a flashing sign board. Which you can write and re-write on.

This probably doesn't count as an "awesome, technology!" moment, but that looks pretty damn neat. What's funny is that their market seems to be restaurants and even carinderias (small street canteens). The video they have on their site doesn't have very good quality, so either the flashing colors are only caused by the lights at the bottom of the transparent board, or those pen lines are actually changing colors with the lights... Guess someone'll have to buy one to see.

I wonder how much it costs?

Sarcasm, But Well Meant

Now despite bashing my own country (or countrymen) for various reasons on a regular basis, I do genuinely feel proud when Filipinos do something right. And that's why I started this blog, to inform people of awesome things Filipinos do in a field I'm more or less informed in: technology. So despite the sarcasm in my blog's title, I do find it cool that my backwards country is finally moving along.

Hope you don't mind the exaggeration and sarcasm. It's just my sense of humor. :)

The Local GPS System Is Not a Myth

Now for a lot of people GPS systems are those things in private cars that tell you where to go, or the cool but generally useless feature in new cellphones (how often do you even use that feature?)--both are available in the Philippines, thanks to foreign companies. Believe it or not, however, GPS is used in business too. They're used to track delivery, sales vehicles or whatnot. Gives the owners a feeling of safety, you know? In fact, GPS helped save a cellphone company a million pesos by helping cops track a stolen delivery truck. Neat, huh?

Another fun fact is that there are a dozen companies now that provide GPS tracking. Most of them import the GPS devices from overseas (a reasonable choice). One company actually makes them.

That's right. Filipinos manufacturing GPS devices. In a cave. With a box of scraps.

(Just kidding, folks, Iron Man reference there)

And to think loads of people instead import GPS trackers from China or Taiwan instead. Granted, there's probably a difference in quality, but still! It's Filipino made.

Do I hear a whut-whut for the Filipinos?