Category Archives: Business

Business, International, Technology

TWITTER USERS NOW LIMITED TO 139 CHARACTERS PER TWEET

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Twitter's San Francisco Headquarters
Twitter’s San Francisco Headquarters

San Francisco, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – With almost 700 Million users worldwide, Twitter is fast  approaching maximum capacity and has just announced new rules for its popular instant messaging network.

Twitter users will now be limited to 139 charcters per tweet, down from 140 characters, according to CEO Dick Costolo. “We understand this may upset our loyal account holders, but we are left with no choice but to try to explore all avenues to prevent our network from an overload,” he told reporters at a press conference held at the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.

Costolo explained that reducing the chatacter limit will save the company 700 million characters per tweet, enough to prevent what could be a devastating network computer crash.

Twitter account holders will soon receive an email announcing the change, along with some suggestions on how to best deal with the new character reduction policy. Suggestions include using single instead of double exclamation points (!!) and question marks (??) in tweets, or eliminating the period (.) from the words Mr and Mrs

Costolo is confident that it will not take long before account holders will get used to the new character limit. “As soon as we complete expansion work on our network capacity, we will restore the 140 chatacter limit,” he said.

Business, Human Interest, International, Science and Environment, Travel

METRO MANILA : THE VENICE OF ASIA?

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imagePasig City, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The Philippines’ Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) seems to have found the perfect solution to the metropolis’ daily traffic nightmare, and it has its unintended positive consequences.

MMDA has just reopened the ferry service along the Pasig River, enabling commuters to cut travel time between the cities of Manila , Makati and Pasig by almost two hours. MMDA says that the two ferries it has launched this week will greatly reduce the number (in the millions) of commuters that rely daily on bus and jeepney transportation to get to and from work or school.

Little did MMDA know that the ferry boats – dilapidated buses placed atop flat barges – is putting Metro Manila on the world map and has sent nervous chills to the Italian city of Venice, known for its gondolas. Metro Manila is on its way to being recognized as the Venice of Asia, thanks to the Pasig River ferry boats.

However, the new service is not necessarily getting all positive reviews from commuters.

Riders were exposed to trash floating in the river—plastic wrappers, broken chairs, Styrofoam—on top of the foul smell emanating from its murky waters. “It smells like rotting things, like a canal’s stinky water. I had to cover my nose all the time,” Jovy Cabilitasan, a 37-year-old Makati resident, said. Her aunt Paneng Loreto, 68, fainted, apparently from the boat ride and the river’s assaulting smell. Passengers also noticed illegal settlers who had turned Guadalupe Bridge into their shelter.

But the MMDA has dismissed these complaints, saying that eventually, riders will get used to it and the ferries will become a prime tourist attraction.

Business, International, Politics, Travel

PHILIPPINE DEPARTMENT STORE GIANT SM TO CONVERT INTO PX GOODS CENTERS

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imageManila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – SM,  the Philippines’ leader in the retail industry, announced today that it was converting some of its department stores into PX Goods Centers. PX stands for Post Exchange which is basically the military department store. It sold goods that the average local store didn’t have. Servicemen would bring their native girlfriends or wives shopping on base. PX goods were extremely popular during the tenure of U.S. Military bases in the Philippines.

Now, as the Philippines and the United States prepare to sign a new 10-year agreement allowing renewed American military presence in this Southeast Asian country, SM said it would start converting some of its major stores into PX centers, starting with cities in which there are (or have been) military bases.  These include the former Clark Airforce Base in Angeles City, Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City and John Hay Airforce Base in Baguio City.  SM said it will also convert some of its department stores in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Filipino Americans hailed the SM announcement saying that this will eliminate the need to include such American goods like SPAM, Libby’s Corned Beef, Taster’s Choice Instant Coffee and Dove soap in balikbayan boxes they regularly ship to loved ones in the Philippines.