"Instant Messenging"

Gadu-Gadu


(Polish for "chit-chat"; commonly known as GG or gg) is a Polish instant messaging client using its own protocol. Gadu-Gadu is the most popular IM service in Poland, with over 7.8 million registered accounts and approximately 6.5 million users online daily.
Gadu-Gadu uses its own proprietary protocol. As with ICQ, users are identified by unique serial numbers. Protocol's features include status messages, file sharing, and VoIP. Users may format and embed images in messages. Since client version 6.0, an experimental secure connection[vague] mode can be used.


Skype

(IPA: [skaɪp]) is software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service and to free-of-charge numbers are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.
The system was created by entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis, and a team of software developers based in Tallinn, Estonia. The Skype Group has its headquarters in Luxembourg, with offices in London, Tallinn, Tartu, Stockholm, Prague, and San Jose.
Skype has experienced rapid growth in popular usage since the launch of its services. The company was acquired by eBay in September 2005 for $2.6 billion.
The word 'Skypecasting' is a portmanteau of 'Skype' and 'podcasting'. Its original usage referred to recording Skype voice over IP voice calls and teleconferences. The recordings would be used as podcasts, which allow audio or video content to be syndicated over the Internet. Skype launched a "Skypecasts Beta" service in 2006 where it remained in beta until its end in September 2008. Skypecasts hosted public conference calls, up to 100 people at a time. Unlike ordinary Skype p2p conference calls, Skypecasts support moderation features suitable for panel discussions, lectures, and town hall forums. Skype operated a directory of public Skypecasts. On August 26, 2008, Skype announced that Skypecasts would be discontinued beginning September 1, 2008. 1 September 2008 at 12:00 GMT, Skypecasts were shutdown without any concrete explanation.

Xfire

(pronounced "X-fire") is a freeware instant messaging service targeted at gamers, that also serves as a game server browser and has various other features. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows. Xfire was originally developed by Ultimate Arena based in Menlo Park, California.
In 2003, at a company formerly called Ultimate Arena gaming, Xfire was originally developed by Garrett Blythe and Chris Kirmse. Many employees have contributed to its development since then, including the former CEO Mike Cassidy (former CEO of Direct Hit), COO David Lawee and Dennis "Thresh" Fong (former U.S. Champion of Quake).
On April 25, 2006, Xfire was acquired by Viacom in a $102-million deal.
In September 2006, Sony was misinterpreted to have announced that Xfire would be used for the PlayStation 3. Instead, what they actually meant was that only one PS3 game, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom was to use some of the features, with more game support planned for the future.
On May 7, 2007, Xfire announced they have over 7 million registered users.
On June 13, 2007, Mike Cassidy, CEO and co-founder, departed the company to work for venture capital firm, Benchmark Capital. Adam Boyden, VP Business Development & Marketing was assigned to take his place and manage the company for a temporary period.

Government Websites

http://www.angelfire.com/trek/nevcal/mainpage.html



The Philippine Military Academy traces its roots to the old Santa Lucia Barracks in Intramuros, Manila where it started as an Officer's School for the Police Force of the Philippines on February 17, 1905. The students then underwent a nine-month training period to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to make them effective leaders of the Police Force.
Three years later, on September 1, 1908, the school was transferred to Baguio City, first at Camp Henry T. Allen and later at Teacher's Camp. The school was renamed as the Philippine Constabulary Academy in September 8, 1926 and it's course of study was lengthened from nine months to three years.

On December 21, 1936, Manuel L. Quezon, president of the Philippine Commonwealth, signed into law the National Defense Act. This law provided for the formal organization of the Philippine Military Academy which was heretofore authorized to confer a Bachelor of Science degree on its graduates after they successfully complete the four-year course.
The operation of the Academy was temporarily stopped with the outbreak of World War II in December 1941. The graduating classes of 1942 and 1943 were allowed to graduate earlier than scheduled and were given assignments in combat units in Bataan and other parts of the country. Many of them sacrificed their lives in the altar of duty. The Academy then reopened on May 5, 1947 at Camp Henry T Allen in Baguio City.
In 1950, the Academy was transferred to the sprawling 373-hectare compound ten kilometers south of downtown Baguio City. Here, it found its permanent home in a camp named after the young hero of the battle of Tirad Pass, Gen. Gregorio Del Pilar. The PMA site, which is now referred to as Fort Del Pilar, was developed into an ideal military training institution with facilities and infrastructures required by a growing military academy. Its curriculum, which was initially technically oriented (having been patterned after that of the U.S. Military Academy at West point) remained unchanged for a number of years.

http://www.cwd.com.ph/

It was September 4, 1976, when the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) awarded the Conditional Certificate of Conformance No.29 to the Calamba Water District (CWD). This certificate of conformance entitled CWD the rights and privileges authorized under PD 198. Occupying a small space in the Treasury Office of the Municipal Hall with only 15 employees, an old desk, 2 chairs, an old typewriter and a filing cabinet donated by the municipal government, this was how Calamba Water District started its operations. In the early years of CWD, the Municipality of Calamba granted the monthly subsidy for CWD, which helped in the maintenance and operation of the system until such time that the District could support itself.
Because of the growing number of concessionaires and employees, the Management decided to have a place they could call their own in 1977. Just a couple of meters away from Municipal Hall, CWD rented a small place in Del Pilar St., previously called The 1001 Disco Pub now known as Delmart Building.

http://www.gsis.gov.ph

The GSIS, created by Commonwealth Act No. 186 passed on November 14, 1936 is mandated to provide and administer the following social security benefits for government employees: compulsory life insurance, optional life insurance, retirement benefits, disability benefits for work-related contingencies and death benefits.
In addition, the GSIS is entrusted with the administration of the General Insurance Fund by virtue of R.A. 656 of the Property Insurance Law. It provides insurance coverage to assets and properties which have government insurable interests.
The GSIS covers all government workers irrespective of their employment status, except employees who have separate retirement schemes under special laws, to wit:
• Members of the Judiciary and Constitutional Commissions
• Contractual employees who have no employee-employer relationship with their agencies
Uniformed members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, including the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire Protection
The principal benefit package of the GSIS consists of compulsory and optional life insurance, retirement, separation and employee's compensation benefits.
Active GSIS members are entitled to the following loan privileges: salary, policy, emergency and housing loans.
The governing and policy-making body of the GSIS is the Board of Trustees, the members of which are appointed by the President of the Philippines.
The GSIS workforce consists of 3,104 employees, 52% of whom are in the Head Office while the remaining 48% are in the Branches. To date, there are 40 branches and 78 satellite offices nationwide. It is envisioned that the System's service network will continue to increase as the institution is committed to provide branch offices in every province where there exists a minimum of 15,000 active members. .

Social Networking Websites

A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.
Social networking has created new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people, and it now seems that social networking will be an enduring part of everyday life. The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust.

MySpace.Com

MySpace is a social networking website with an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos for teenagers and adults internationally. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California, USA, where it shares an office building with its immediate owner, Fox Interactive Media; which is owned by News Corporation, which has its headquarters in New York City. In June 2006, MySpace was the most popular social networking site in the United States. According to comScore, MySpace was overtaken internationally by main competitor Facebook in April 2008, based on monthly unique visitors. The company employs 300 staff and does not disclose revenues or profits separately from News Corporation. The 100 millionth account was created on August 6, 2006 in the Netherlands and the site counted approximately 106 million accounts on September 8, 2006,.

Bebo.com

Bebo is a social networking website, founded in January 2005. It can be used in many countries including Ireland, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. A Polish version was launched recently, which uses a different user database. There are plans for French German and other versions. Founded by husband and wife Michael and Xochi Birch, Bebo had a major relaunch in July 2005.
Bebo is similar to other social networking sites. Each profile must include two specific modules, a comment section where other users can leave a message, and a list of the user's friends. Users can select from many more modules to add. By default, when an account is created the profile is private, which limits access to friends specifically added. The user may select the "Public Profile" option so as the profile will still be visible to any other members of a school they may have joined. Profiles may be personalized by a design template that is the background of the user's profile, known as a skin.
Profiles may include quizzes which offer multiple choice, polls for their friends to vote in and comment on, photo albums which allows the user to upload an unlimited number of images with a maximum limit of 48 per album, blogs with a comments section, a list of bands of which the user is a fan, a list of groups that the user is a member of. A 'Video Box' may be added, either hot-linked from YouTube, uploaded directly to Bebo's servers via VideoEgg or copied from a Bebo Media Content Provider's page.
Members can view the recent changes friends have made to their homepage from the 'Home' menu. These changes can include uploaded photos, updated flashboxes and newly added videos and friends. A map feature enables members to see who has being viewing their profile. However, the viewer must be logged in while viewing and have their profile set to public in the map section, in order for this to be possible.

Orkut.com

Orkut is a social networking service which is run by Google and named after its creator, an employee of Google - Orkut Büyükkökten. The service states that it was designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships. Orkut is similar to other networking sites. Since October 2006, Orkut has permitted users to create accounts without an invitation.
Orkut is the most visited website in Brazil and second most visited site in India. A large percentage of users in India are high school and college students. The initial target market for Orkut was the United States, but the majority of its users are in Brazil and India. In fact, as of May 2008, 53.86% of Orkut's users are from Brazil, followed by India with 16.97% and 23.4% of the traffic comes from Brazil, followed by India with 18.0%. In 2008, more than 23 million of Brazilians had an account on orkut.
Originally hosted in California, in August 2008 Google announced that Orkut will be fully managed and operated in Brazil, by Google Brazil, in the city of Belo Horizonte. This was decided due to the large Brazilian user base and growth of legal issues.