Author: Maricor Ballaret

“Maiwan ko na ang lahat, huwag lang ang phone ko.”

Sometimes, we find it difficult to part ways with our mobile phones even just for a day. But, why? This is because of the different mobile applications that we enjoy and use in our daily routine. Six years after I received my first ever mobile phone, I could say that I have grown dependent on it because of the different useful applications that I use and enjoy.

Let’s talk about the different mobile applications on streaming audio or video, gaming, and lifestyle that I love to use.

SPOTIFY

Spotify is one of the most popular streaming applications that allows users to access millions of songs, podcasts, and videos. Even though Spotify is most known with its audio streaming feature, it actually also allows users to stream video and podcasts. Spotify is also user-friendly as it could be access through the use of iOs, Android smartphones and tablets, and even desktop computers.

Spotify has a lot of unique features that makes it more attractive to different users across the globe. But for me, I love using Spotify because of these features that I think are the best ones.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

First, Spotify allows users not only to stream music, video, and podcasts, but also to enjoy other additional features. You can view the lyrics and learn behind the scenes information on selected music. If you also subscribe to Spotify Premium, you’ll also be able to access your favorite music even if you’re on offline mode.

PLAY LOCAL FILES

Second, you can play your local files on Spotify and you don’t need to open or use another music player again. You can even enjoy listening to both music files as Spotify allows users to create playlists with combinations of both local files and tracks from Spotify.

Install on Multiple Devices

Lastly, you can install Spotify on multiple devices. Even though you can’t play Spotify simultaneously on different devices, you can stream music on one device and listen to offline music at the same time. My cousin and I share the same Spotify account and she recently move to Canada. And even though she stream the music online, I could still listen up to 3, 333 songs offline.

PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES

Plants vs. Zombies is a game application created by PopCap Games on May 5, 2009. It is an enjoyable, exciting, and easy mobile game application in which the player’s aim is to protect his/her house by fighting the undead (zombies) with the weirdest kind of weapon – the plants. You plant these plants in your garden in order to fend off the zombies who try to invade your house and eat your brains.

I could still remember how I envied my cousin back in 2009 because he was able to play the game. I was still a Grade 3 pupil back then, and we don’t own a laptop or a computer at that time. Moreover, the application was originally published for Windows and OS X so I wasn’t able to really play the game when it was launched. Years may have passed from the first launch but still Plants vs. Zombies continue to entertain and challenge the players. I also really love playing this game because of the following features:

DIFFERENT MODES

There are different modes in which you could let yourself be challenged. The adventure mode is the original mode where you will defend your house and your brain from being invaded and eaten by the zombies. You’ll be able to protect yourself by growing the plants in your garden. This mode includes 50 levels through day, night and fog, in a swimming pool and on the rooftop. In the Zen Garden Mode, you get to take care of your plants and at the end you can get awards from your gardening skills. The last type of mode is the Survival Mode where the test will be on how long will you last from protecting yourself from an endless horde of zombies.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS

Throughout the years, PopCap Games has developed and published different versions of the game. The latest version of the game series is entitled with, “Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville.” This only shows that the company also try to adjust and adapt to the changing desires of its customers with regards to game applications.

Even though many years have passed after its first launch, I still love playing Plants vs. Zombies because it is exciting, challenging, and addictive.

READERA

As an Introvert and a book lover, I usually find myself spending my free time reading novels. I love reading books that are hard copy, but sometimes there are certain novels that I could not borrow or buy. So, I stick with my next option which is to read them for free offline. The ReadEra mobile application is my solution for this problem.

ReadEra is a book reader that allows users to read books for free and offline. Reading novels online is too costly especially because you need to have a mobile data or Wifi connection in order to connect to the Internet. However, with the use of ReadEra, I just download the novel I want to read online and read it using the app. I prefer using this app because other than the standard features of any ebook readers, ReadEra has additional unique and necessary features. The features I love the most about this app are:

READ BOOKS OF ALL FORMATS

Documents and ebooks have different formats, and one of the major issues I encounter when I try to read an ebook is that it is not compatible with the ebook reader. However, with ReadEra, I could read all novels even if they have different formats such as PDF, EPUB, MOBI, etc. This saves me the time and effort in downloading different applications in order to read different file formats.

NO REGISTER and SUBSCRIPTION

Almost all applications today compel users to register and subscribe to their application in order to avail the services they will provide. However, in ReadEra, you don’t need to register or subscribe in order enjoy the features of the app. You don’t have to pay anything because it’s totally free.

NO ADVERTISEMENTS

Nowadays, a lot of applications include advertisements that pops out almost every 3 minutes. I really get annoyed with these ads when I’m being interrupted with my reading time. However, reading novels without being interrupted is possible through ReadEra.

CONCLUSION

I love to use these three applications. However, I would gladly try out other applications. I don’t want to limit myself from the possibility of gaining new experiences with the use of other mobile applications.Technology is not constant. People will always try to find ways to change, improve, and innovate technology, including different mobile applications. And I believe that we should not confine ourselves from the things that are already part of our daily routine. Rather, we should let ourselves explore the possibilities and potentials that other mobile applications.

As far as anything goes, I’m a power user of my phone. I simply cannot stand by and use my phone sparingly while it can do all sorts of things for me to be completely entertained. Ever since the world has come into the digital age, smartphones have become a necessity, never mind how cheap or how expensive those things can be, almost everyone now carries one. The only downside is, the more you use your phone, the faster it drains itself of its battery. The inconvenience of carrying a charger, let alone find an outlet to shamelessly plug your phone in, has become a nuisance. No matter how big your phone battery could be, it probably won’t last the whole day either. Thus, the USB outlet presents itself as the answer to all your problems, or is it?

USB outlets have become more and more prevalent in public spaces, especially in places where there’s a lot of waiting involved; e.g. airports, bus stops, convenience stores, and public kiosks. It provides a significantly convenient way of charging your phone without worrying about wires and adapters. That, and it is just there, sitting in plain sight, ready to be used. But beware, these convenient and free charging stations come with threats that may destroy not only your phones, but may also steal your private information.

Well, there’s the problem of Juice Jacking, or if the term isn’t familiar, it simply is the process of data stealing done through plugging your phone on these USB outlets. Hackers, with malicious intent, could very well install their own USB outlets in any of these public places without being conspicuous. The problem escalates itself as many people aren’t aware of such a threat.

Data is the single handedly most important part of our lives, from social media accounts, pictures, videos, bank accounts and even cached passwords are part of the broad spectrum stored within out phones. Evidently, there’s not much in the way that prevents these hackers from taking ahold of these vital information except through USB outlets and/or public Wi-fis. They can do this by installing malware in the outlets themselves, and they can also have the power to access the data remotely from their Wi-fi. The process itself takes no longer than a minute or even seconds from plugging your phone in within these USB outlets. Once infected, your phone can continuously provide more data through Wi-fi. The only possible solution by then, is to completely format your phone or to restore it to its factory settings.

The threat can be seen as a minor problem, but can be devastating to anyone who becomes a victim of it. Most public USB outlets are indeed safe, but you can never be sure of how dangerous plugging in could be. Warning signs should be posted by these public charging stations in order to spread awareness about the cons of using these stations. You need to choose wisely whether or not to charge your mobile phones. Luckily for us, there are ways of preventing the threat.

First, turning off your phone or locking it when charginng. This requires the user to disallow the outlet from grabbing ahold of your data as it blatantly asks if you’re allowing your data to be transferred. Second, carry your own ‘power only’ charging cable that only allows power to run through the jwire and not your precious data. As charging cables usually are of two kinds; the ‘power only’ and the ‘power and data’ cables. Thirdly, carry your own powerbank. This is simply foolproof, as charging your power bank will not render your phone vulnerable to Juice Jacking when you do plug it into your power bank. Fourth, carry your own travel charger and charge through an actual outlet. Lastly, only use these USB outlets for emergency reasons. Surely, you can last waiting a couple more hours without having to plug into an outlet or even when you actually do, just make sure you take the necessary precautions to secure your data and be wary of the place you’ll be plugging into. In the end, we all just want to live through our day without fear of the unknown getting into our private lives.

Significant problems arise in our society within the confines between the orality or literacy. Orality has its roots in the culture and values of people, which are integrated, in their way of life but ensues a threat of alienation brought by modernity and globalization. This emphasizes communal life opposed to the ideology of individualism as characterized by western literacy, and the importance of orality is to establish identities within cultures. On one hand, literacy is a fundamental social practice of systematically learning the basics of being literate in this modern world like literacy in reading and writing. It is a form of functional literacy for social use.

Orality and Literacy must therefore be embedded into our system of curriculum and pedagogy in our view of nationalism. Firstly, it must start inside the classroom where culture and values must be integrated in all-teaching strategies. This is a way forward to understand our future and promote our sense of nationalism for our country. Secondly, we need to be aware of and take into cognizance of the relevant issues of our society to enforce pragmatic and proactive education through a standard of morality, ethics, and sociality, which can protect and promote our cultural identity. Lastly, it must encompass richness of respect, value, openness and strong human relations.

Today, we live at the helm of modernity and globalization. Everything seems to reach its full potential of providing a better way of living. It truly revolutionized our worldview, value system and ways. We need to go back to the origins of our past to emphasize our culture and identity and the literacy we need for this modern age that can best provide that opportunity for the development of pedagogical models that centers into the inculcation of nationalism in our younger generations as they progress through the formal school system

Published By:

Maricor Ballaret and Alliyah Omalza

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.