Metamorphosis

A girl once thought that butterflies where always beautiful. She longed to be one. She always regarded herself as someone who’s somewhat unattractive. She has brown hair and brown eyes and a face with ordinary features; nothing striking. She was always shy and distant; keeping only to herself and her books. She loves to draw the little creatures. She’s got her bedroom walls covered with doodles and paintings of pretty colorful butterflies. It is where she escapes when she’s sad or self-conscious.

One day she saw a cocoon. She’s never seen one before. It was brown and dried up. It got her interest because it was moving. She looked at it closer this time. And then out came the prettiest butterfly she’s ever seen; blue and pink and orange and red. She stared at it in awe. Her eyes were full of wonder; full of hope. She smiled. She went home and drew it. Placed her perfect drawing above her bed and stared at it for a while. Still smiling, she went to her closet and picked out her lilac dress. Her mom bought it for her but she was too embarrassed to wear it. She puts it on, combs her hair and puts a ribbon of the same shade. “I’m coming out now” she said to herself in the mirror. “I’m coming out”.  

Philpost - - Determined to claim heritage amidst Modernization

The Philippine Postal System (Philpost), the oldest postal services in Asia recently celebrated its 227^th Anniversary. With its heritage dating back to the 1700’s, Philpost is proud and determined to rise above the ashes of extinction. “We are trying to modernize the mailing system in the Philippines. We have started lining up projects and created partnerships with various private organizations and other government agencies as well”, Chairman of the Board Fred Gabot said in an interview.  He also mentioned about e-bill, e-cards, online shopping, e-signatures and e-postage services are some of the big projects Philpost is set to pursue in the next seven years.  

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), an agency of the government created primarily to promote, develop and regulate integrated ICT systems recognizes the challenges Philpost is currently facing with the advent of modern communications and technology. CICT Chairman

Ivan John Enrile Uy cited a number of projects for Philpost that will boost not only its revenues but also claim its place in the electronic world. He proposed to develop and convert into modern post offices the almost three-hectare Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) in the Airport Zone, the 1.4-hectare Quezon City Post Office in the Government Center and the Baguio Post Office. The said properties will also serve as e-community education and business centers.

 “A new top level domain name, .post, recently assigned by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), in sponsorship with the Universal Postal Union (UPU), will enable the postal sector to establish a solid base in cyberspace for developing secure and trusted e-postal service” the Chairman also added.

During the time when stamps and envelops were the main tools for sending letters and other communication, statistics show that Philpost was processing more than 800 million to about one billion letters per year. Now, it dropped to only 30 million letters per year gravely affecting the revenues being generated by the Philpost.

“To address some of the most immediate problems Philpost is currently facing, we have already launched the e-center which will give the Filipinos online information about our postal system and other products and services available to our fellow Filipinos which before were only being offered by banks and other private remittance companies” Post-Master General Atty. Antonio de Guzman said. He also noted that for hundreds of years Filipinos trusted the integrity of the Philippine Postal System. The transformation and innovation projects will not only maintain that trust but also establish the reliability of their services for individuals and businesses alike.

Adobe Photoshop Classes: Time to Learn

Since its introduction in the world of graphics and desktop publishing, Adobe Photoshop has been the “best friend” of graphic artists, photographers and designers. Its contemporary software, Corel is also used widely but because it is more on vectors, the easy to use tools and techniques of Adobe Photoshop is the preferred many.

It’s the time for Learning      

A lot of people have proven that knowledge and expertise in the usage of not only of Adobe Photoshop but some or all of the software in the Adobe Family can be very rewarding. A person can start his or her own business at home. It is actually a promising career today.

·         Web Design

·         Poster making

·         Online Banner

·         Adding Graphic designs to videos

·         Digital photo editing

·         Desktop publication (Business cards, flyers, etc.)

The list is actually endless. Because of the visual enhancement requirements in a lot of the industries today, Adobe Photoshop is worth learning.

How to study Photoshop?

Recognizing the global need to service the thousands of Adobe Photoshop users, adobe.com offers online trainings and seminars to suit the needs of professionals and first time users. They are offering an online classroom atmosphere without leaving the comforts of your own desk. They also have online exams to gauge the user’s level of expertise and its score certification is recognized in over 75 countries.

Aside from virtual classes, Adobe professionals are also conducting corporate classes or onsite classes upon request of companies for their adobe users. For those who want to learn Adobe Photoshop and packages, there are also classes, trainings and seminars being conducted, free of charge, in communities and Universities. Books are also available for reference and self-study.

Aside from adobe.com, professionals are also offering their expertise to teach Adobe Package. A Singaporean company in particular, Informatics, offer a one to two-month training course for first time user, refresher course for those who have already used Adobe Photoshop but would want to upgrade and Adobe Level Testing for those who’d want to officially know their level of expertise.

What are the choices?    

There is now what is called Photoshop Family; an array of software to choose from depending on a person’s preference or expertise.

·         Photoshop CS5 – after the success of CS3 and CS4, CS5 gives the user a more refined, accurate and detailed image enhancing and editing

·         Photoshop CS5 Extended – basically the same advanced digital imaging, editing and compositing as CS5 but with the capabilities of creating and editing 3D and motion based content

·         Photoshop Lightroom 3 – is for photographers and photo editors; helps in managing portfolio of hundreds of photos and also helps in creating elegant print lay-outs for presentations and slide shows.

·         Photoshop Elements 9 – is specially designed for consumer based photo and digital imaging.

Whatever needs an individual may have, Adobe Photoshop Family offers ultimate digital graphic and design experience. Trainings and seminars are available online and onsite, whichever type of classroom one prefers. The important thing today is to be equipped with the necessary tools that would bring additional marketable value to a person’s skills and expertise.