DAY 4 (October 7, 2010)

Today, I went on a company visit to
What I learned?
What I liked ?
What I didn’t like?

Day 4
Today, I went on a company visit to PLDT or Philippines Long Distance Company located at Mandaluyong City. The first speaker tackled the history of PLDT. On our tour on the PLDT Lab most of the topics that were discussed were all about networking since PLDT is a telecommunication company. They tackled the Open System Interconnection model (OSI) that is the primary model for network connection. With the use of the OSI model, they explained how information travels around the network, the role and importance of each layer, and also they mentioned that as the distance of connection from one place to another increases, the size of the wire it uses also increases. PLDT is using a fiber optic cable since it is a networking medium capable of conducting modulated light transmission. PLDT has also engaged in wireless communication by inventing a wireless phone which uses wireless signals from electromagnetic waves that can pass through to vacuum of outer space and through air.
PLDT also uses biometric since as what I have observed, they just showed their ID on a small sensor beside the door, and when it identifies the ID, the door automatically opened. On their discussion they’ve discussed the different business model they used. They brought us to their board room and on the side of it was the laboratory or room for managing and determining the connections that were under the PLDT landlines. After that seminar, we had a take-out lunch (“KFC”, Finger Licking Good) and after few minutes, we departed from PLDT and we are heading next to Tagaytay City for sightseeing. We went to People’s Park in Tagaytay City, we took pictures from the over-looking sceneries and shopped some souvenirs for our beloved ones. There are so many things to buy but the budget can’t quite fit for it. After our sightseeing in Tagaytay, we went to Enchanted Kingdom. We tried the Space Shuttle even though that the time is almost over, we forced to finish the line in order to take a ride from it. And YES, after the ride, we were so exhausted and dizzy. After that we headed back to Tutuban Center Mall for another Shopping for those who aren’t contented with their shopping here yesterday. They just gave us a meal allowance for our dinner this evening and after that, we head back to the hotel for us to rest because tomorrow’s going to be our last day here in Manila.


What I learned?
I’ve learned many things like networking since PLDT is a telecommunication company. They tackled the Open System Interconnection model (OSI) that is the primary model for network connection. With the use of the OSI model, they explained how information travels around the network, the role and importance of each layer, and also they mentioned that as the distance of connection from one place to another increases, the size of the wire it uses also increases. PLDT is using a fiber optic cable since it is a networking medium capable of conducting modulated light transmission. PLDT has also engaged in wireless communication by inventing a wireless phone which uses wireless signals from electromagnetic waves that can pass through to vacuum of outer space and through air.
PLDT also uses biometric since as what I have observed, they just showed their ID on a small sensor beside the door, and when it identifies the ID, the door automatically opened.

What I liked?
What I really like and that is so unforgettable is the ride in Enchanted Kingdom, it was a heck of fun but I swear to myself that I will never ever ride that Space Shuttle ride again !

What I didn’t like?
Actually, I loved this day, there’s so much to remember and to reminisce with this day. I had so much fun with this day.

DAY 4

Today, I went on a company visit to

PLDT, Mandaluyong City

What I learned?

I had learned that PLDT was the oldest telecommunication company from the Philippines I figured out that PLDT is used during World War II and as what they had show the history from us PLDT is running higher and higher level that makes and but when the time they made the automated system they been running low because of they also deducted the employees that they had because they already the machines which is they don’t need more employees. They have there own satellite to get signal to use for communication. I also find out they are using the CISCO networking.



What I liked ?

I like there facility there companies and also there speakers that guide us they are intelligent they had shared the history of PLDT they had shared there systems. And also they are hiring especially IT professionals and they are willing to take OJT from us.


What I didn’t like?

It is the bad time because were already hungry and it is already lunch time. And my stomach really asking for food already but unfortunately they dismissed us so late no more strength to listen to them and also we cannot catch up already what is he telling about already.

DAY 4
Today I went to a company visit to
Hitachi GST, Binan, Laguna. When I read the schedule for the day I was happy to finally visit Laguna and see how beautiful it is and the thought that there will be only one company to be visited but I never thought it is so far I already fell asleep while traveling. But the mere fact that I? Maria Edna? Is about to enter the Hitachi company one of the biggest company in the country. I was so amazed to see how big it is. “Entrance pa lang bongga na…”
What I learned?
I learned that they are the once who makes the hard disk drives. They make each and every detail of the hard disk and I so learned that hey only hire woman as their factory workers for woman has a soft touch and a light hand.

They have this slider that reads and writes data into your disk and by 2011 they will be able to introduce the new slider and they also have a centralized data server. 3.5 drives are used for laptops which are equivalent to 26 terabits, 2.5 for laptop and net books even for car navigations, 1.8 DVD for cameras and 1 inch for cell phone and iPods which is equivalent to 16 GB. Each cut has a different number for every wafer; there is a daily report on how many got a of problems. Data’s can be corrupted when recording the data and when it flips and one over laps without that causes corruption and when mishandled can cause memory loss. This company is globally certified.
They don’t indiscriminately dispose their trash; the trash collector should be certified. In manufacturing line they need gentle hands because girls have long patience and gentle hands that’s why they hire girls.
They are the first electrical motor, train, bullet train comp system.
What I liked?
I like this company for being careful from throwing their trash they are conscious of their surroundings because some factories just don’t care of whatever and wherever they want to throw it all. I also like that it has much ideas on what they are doing. They jut don’t hire engineers and computer science but they hire experts on those specified fields. I like their architecture in placing each and every step of the process into a step by step room. You won’t be lost by looking around the company. I so like their facilities that are really perfect in doing the hard disk drives.
What I didn’t like?
Hitachi Company, this company that we visited is not the Hitachi that is making all those backhoe. They are the Hitachi that is assigned in making all those hard drives, she once said “our hard drives are so expensive that you can’t even afford it that is why we don’t sell it here”. It sounds very insulting yet so true…

Day 4

Today, I went on a company visit to Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Philippines Corporation, formerly known as Hitachi Computer Products Asia Corporation (HICAP).

What I learned?

I have learned that the company employs highly motivated professionals whose engineering and mass production capabilities have contributed to the quality and reliability of Hitachi hard disk drives, head gimbal assemblies and sliders. It also offers USB storage drives and notebook PC upgrade kits. Its drives are used in mobile, desktop, enterprise, consumer electronics, automotive, and industrial applications. The company distributes its products through online retailers, authorized distributors, and partner suppliers. It serves consumers, small businesses, and original equipment manufacturers.
We were also informed by the videos we saw that they are the ones who made the world's first hard drive with a total capacity of 1 terabyte (1 TB): the Deskstar 7K1000. Not only is it the first product to store up to 1,000 gigabytes on a single hard drive - beating Seagate to the market - but it also comes with a number of innovations. In addition to its Serial ATA II interface, it is the first hard drive that carries as much as 32 MB of cache memory, and it is Hitachi's first 3.5" drive to implement perpendicular magnetic recording technology (PMR). The company had deployed PMR in its Travelstar 5K160 family, but not into desktop drives. Hitachi's data sheet also lists various features that help to increase reliability and reduce power consumption.
Of course the video showed us how they made sliders, the one who reads the data from the disks inside the hard disk drives.
What I liked?
I liked the jingle we saw on their videos about the tera song. It is like dumping the common gigabytes and embracing the era of terabytes hard disk drives. It is really fun watching those videos. I also enjoyed the tour inside while watching the employees in the labs wearing their protective get ups. Every lab is a stage where they does different procedure for making a slider and it is so nice watching how from wafers they become sliders.

What I didn’t like?
I slightly didn’t like the one who entertained us first. She answered my classmate’s question in some kind of sarcastic manner. I didn’t know why but that was how I feel that time especially when she urged that their products are only for big companies who can afford it. I guess it really is true.

Day4 (October 7, 2010)

Today I went to company visit to Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT).


On the fourth day of our fieldtrip in Manila, we visited the (PLDT) Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company which was located in Mandaluyong City, Manila. PLDT is the largest telecommunication company here in the Philippines.

What I learned?

I learned that the PLDT is the largest telecommunications company here in the Philippines and it offers a lot of services and products which are prepaid and postpaid services, Smartload distributorship and reseller and many more.

What I liked?

I liked the way they welcome us to visit in their company most especially the lady who tours us in their offices. She showed to us the Product Development of the PLDT and its history. It is fun to see their rooms and their workplaces and see unusual things.

What I don’t like?

During the discussion of the one of the employee of PLDT, I feel frustrating because of the one thing that I was not sure what it is and that time I fell sluggish and my mind was mentally not present.

DAY 4 (October 7, 2010)

Today, I went on a company visit to Global Exist at Pasig City.

GLOBAL EXIST
Ortigas Center, Pasig City

On the fourth day of our trip we headed directly to Ortigas Center at Pasig City to have our company visit at Global Exist – Software Servicing Provider Company. I was amaze with the place of Ortigas Center that was the only place in Manila where we stop in which is clean and very industrial. An old imagination of tall building takes in action, realism and pragmatism. A door to door industrial business buildings resides in, it very fascinating to see buildings that only exist and saw in television.

The Global Exist Company performs even better with partners who can help them use what they currently have and in creating values. Exist have been a software innovation factory for business partners for a couple of years. In a span of 9 years in business, Exist deployed small agile teams of software engineers to help companies meet the demands of the current economy and achieve their goals. The company believes that the success of ours is also their success.

What I learned?
I have known and learned that EXIST company proffers and provides software engineering services and demonstrates Open Source Value Creation. They created new products and/or applications with the use of their practice teams that have an expertise in various fields which includes in the fields of open source, java, .NET and other more. I learned also that the company focuses in the field of using the programming language of JAVA.

The company also provides services in terms of Application Development, Technology Consulting and Software Quality Assurance. Listed below are the current services that the Global Exit has.

Application Development Services:
>Custom Open Source Solutions
>Software Product Development
>System Integration / Enterprise Application Integration

Technology Consulting Services:
>Architecture & Design
>Exploratory Prototyping
>Software Re-engineering

What I liked?
In terms of introducing their products and services, I like it much especially when girl power resides in room. I like the speakers who entertain us in the company visit at Exist. I like it even more when they give souvenirs for those who throw questions and the uplifting words gave by them like when one of the speakers confesses that she is really not into technology-based courses but rather her great interest and perseverance to reach what she have right now. Even so when one of them said that she is very proud to see us – ALL GIRLS, as she stated that it’s the very first time she saw great numbers of female students in Information Technology and Computer Science and their unending inspiring support to reach what we dream.

What I don’t like?
It seems that all in Exist works perfectly aside from one thing they miss to have – the tour portion. It feels sad when we don’t have time have a short tour to their company and a chance to see other workers of Exist actually doing their jobs. Aside from that, all is great and entertaining.

Today, I went on a company visit to HITACHI GST.
What I learned?

There is 3 type of hard disk drive categorized by sizes which are the 3.5, the 2.5 and the 1.8.
3.5 are usually used in our desktops while the 2.5 and 1.8 are usually the data storage used for mobile gadgets.
For 3.5 hard disks their largest data storage capacity reaches over 20 terabyte. Over 300Gigabyte memory storage for 2.5 type of hard disk drives. And about 80Gigabyte for 1.8 type of hard disk drives.
They also showed us the process of producing data writers.

What I liked?

It was very interesting. Especially because we are IT students and we use computer that has a hard disk drive inside. It was just good to know how they are being made. How data is being stored inside the hard disk. And how they managed to expand the storage capability of the hard disks they have developed.
They made us wear their uniform jacket. It made me feel more welcomed.

What I didn’t like?

It was so boring how they made us wait in a room for our turn for the facility tour. They made us watch a video that was played twice in a row.

Today, I went on a company visit to

We went to Sta. Rosa Laguna to visit Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Philippines Corp. and the best part is we went to Tagaytay City and Enchanted Kingdom!

What I learned?

Hitachi is a diversified company and one of the subsidiaries is the Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Philippines Corp. They produce Hard disk drive and HDD component parts such as head gimbals assembly or magnetic heads, slider and head stack assembly. I have observed that most of their employees were females; this is because women have soft touch. And it is a very delicate job since a one whole wafer costs a million pesos. Each wafer is cut into thirty six thousand pieces just about the size of a period or even smaller than that, and each has an embedded Hitachi name and a control no, amazing isn’t it? And the memory capacity of their hard disk is terabytes! Fact: a terabyte is equals to 1, 000, 000, 000, 000 bytes or one thousand gigabytes (I’ve said to myself that time “mamatay man sad kog save ana dli gihapon mahuror ang memory, hahaha”) at present they were able to come up with a memory size of 36 thousand terabytes! I was really stunned, how the hell on earth did they do that? The best part was the facility tour. We were able to see the machines that they are using and the different levels of making a hard disk. After the plant tour they finally allowed us to take pictures at the lobby. After Hitachi we preceded to the most anticipated activity of the day the trip to Tagaytay City. We had our lunch at Max’s Restaurant in Tagaytay and oh the view was really breathtakingly beautiful! Finally I was able to see with my naked eye the beauty of the volcano which I only see on pictures before. After eating our lunch we went to the PALACE in the SKY or also known as the PEOPLE’S PARK in the SKY which is 2500 ft. above sea level. Again the view was breathtakingly beautiful, and we were able to see the Tagaytay highlands, the home of the rich and famous. After taking pictures and buying souvenirs, everyone’s excited for the next destination; finally we are heading to Enchanted Kingdom. But I was disappointed because we only have two and a half hours to enjoy the unlimited rides. When we arrived it took us several minutes just strolling around the park, and finally we decided to line up for our first ride, I don’t know the name of that ride, it’s like a flying chair? Well I’m not sure, after that I really felt dizzy. After few minutes we decided to look for the most exciting ride, which is the “Space Shuttle” ride and it was a one hell of a ride.


What I liked?
I liked every detail of our visit in Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Philippines Corp. For me this was the most exciting day.


What I didn’t like?
Nothing, I’m very much satisfied.

Fourth Day-October 7, 2010
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Today, I went on a company visit to
PLDT Mandaluyong City. PLDT stands for Philippine Long Distance Telecommunication. They are glad to us visiting their company. They are hospitable though they are busy in obvious at that moment.

What I learned?
We learned there three principal groups of their company. It is the Fix line, wireless and data. They also shared the meaning of Innolab it means Innovation Laboratory and Telecommunication. They tour us to their History Hall Way. However they tour us in their small data center. The elements of telecommunication link are sender, transmission medium and receiver. Under the sender or receiver, voice equipment and data equipment are the other variety. Did you know that telephone starts due to communication crisis? Another trivia is that the first commercial telephone in January 28, 1878 was exchange designed by George W. Coy. There are so many things the speaker shares into us.

What I liked?
The speaker engaged us to finish our studies and pursue our journey. In spite of competitions of skills, we the IC students will make wise in using our knowledge and learning for future consumption.

What I didn’t like?
In connection to the company which is PLDT I haven’t remember what those things I didn’t like. There are just several discussions which we are not able to coop up due to higher technological term uses. But I guess sooner we will be able to be aware and acquainted those matters.

Day 4

October 7, the most awaited day. It was the best day for me because we were able to go to places where the others didn’t. We had our breakfast at the hotel.

Today, I went on a company visit to Hitachi GST located in Laguna Technopark at Binan, Laguna. It was an hour and a half travel from Quezon City, but it was worth it. We only had one company visit for this day because went to Tagaytay afterwards.

What I learned?

I have learned that Hitachi GST provides storage devices and systems. They have shown to us different sizes of hard drives. They have external and internal drives and even solid state drives. They just showed how the drives are being processed. When we got there, it was like we were on a different place, not in the Philippines. It was kind of strict when we got inside; we have to wear shoe covers before entering the building. Before we had the proper showcasing of the company, they have discussed with us about what they offer to the market.

Off topic, I have learned that Mt. Gonzales, formerly known as Mt. Sungay is the tallest mountain in Tagaytay where the People’s Park in the Sky is located.

What I liked?

Well, it’s pretty obvious that the trip to Tagaytay was the most unforgettable thing ever. I loved the lunch at Max’s Restaurant at Tagaytay City; where the great view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano can be seen. It was breath-taking. I never thought that I would be able to see such place because I only see them on TV. It was almost a hand-reach. We were lucky because our bus was the only batch that was able to have a stop there. And we were really happy. After the great lunch, we went directly to the People’s Park in the Sky, located at Mt. Gonzales, Tagaytay City. It was really a beautiful place to unwind. The view is very beautiful.

After Tagaytay, we went to the most exciting place, Enchanted Kingdom! We had a ride-all-you-can ticket but unfortunately we were only able to do two rides. We went to the most popular ride there, the Space Shuttle. It was really exciting. And queue was quite long. We waited over one hour before we were able to get on it. Together with Maam Maui and Sir Jappeht, we had the best night ever. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. The park was about to close, so we have to go back to the hotel as well. It’s going to be a long travel back.

What I didn’t like?

Again, it was the time issue I hated the most. We had a ride-all-you-can ticket but we were only had two rides at Enchanted Kingdom. We really wanted to make the most of our time there but it was closing time so we have to go out.

One more thing, when we decided to go back to the hotel, we have to take bus 2, and the bad thing was, it has cockroaches and stuff. It was gross.

End of Day 4.

Day 4 – October 7, 2010


Today, I went on a company visit to…


Exist Global


The first and last company that we visited that day was Exist Global, located at Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The place was also nice and cozy, a perfect ambience for office.

As usual, we had a quick seminar.

Exist Global offers software development, and is focused on Java development. They also offer interactive web and mobile solutions. Some of the sub-services that they offer are: software product and services, iPhone application, games, websites. They usually build custom-softwares, meaning they build it code per code.

Assets of their company includes: They use Mac and Linux Machines, the Production and Marketing department, they market in a global-scale but is focused on a certain region, participates in wide-scale trading, offers Open-sourcing.

Some programs that they have are: Google Summer of Code, where anyone who knows how to make programs can join to avail prices, and Java Industry Segmentation.

In their company, they believe that a programmer must be equipped with the general skills, like: knowledge on programming paradigm, procedural, OOP, Design and Analysis, experience in unit testing, and documentation.


What I learned?

I learned in this company visit that it is up to a programmer as to what path he or she is going to take in the field of IT: C or java. I think these two are the building blocks of codes that are vital in the industry, and one must be an expert in order to excel in this fields.

I have also learned that concepts of SAD and Programming are very vital in the business.


What I liked?

What I liked the most about this company is the Girl Power! Wow. Almost all their higher-ups are women. I have realized that it is not only men who excel in this complicated field, but also women.

I also like the nature of their business, especially the outsourcing one. They build codes for projects and have the post on public for reference and future use of other programmers. It is indeed a very great help for others who are interested in this field.

And thanks for the free caps and flash disks!


What I didn’t like?

I really have nothing to say against them. Kudos to the femme power!


After the company visit, we had a very long journey towards Tagaytay. The view of the Taal volcano was breath-taking! We had a quick visit at the People’s Park, and had our lunch inside the bus again. We bought some souvenirs for our loved-ones. Afterwards, we went to Enchanted Kingdom! It felt like 3 hours was just 30 minutes inside it. It was truly enchanted in some way. Afterwards we were given an option to go to Tutuban again or call it a day and head straight to the hotel. As for me who is broke, I opted to go to the hotel and rest.

We had our breakfast at the hotel and went off to Hitachi GST in Laguna. It was a long drive.



Today we went to Hitachi.

At the company we were required to wear jackets and foot masks. Though the company was a bit strict, the visit was all worth it. Hitachi Asia’s Business Solution Integration (BSI) division is a leading regional systems integrator in providing solutions based on proven business applications such as SSA Baan ERP, our very own web–based Supplier Chain Management solution, Devo, and Business Intelligence Tools.



What I learned...

Hitachi is a diversified company and one of the subsidiaries is the Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Philippines Corp. They produce Hard disk drive and HDD component parts such as head gimbals assembly or magnetic heads, slider and head stack assembly. I have observed that most of their employees were females; this is because women have soft touch. And it is a very delicate job since a one whole wafer costs a million pesos. Each wafer is cut into thirty six thousand pieces just about the size of a period or even smaller than that, and each has an embedded Hitachi name and a control no, amazing isn’t it? And the memory capacity of their hard disk is terabytes! Fact: a terabyte is equals to 1, 000, 000, 000, 000 bytes or one thousand gigabytes.



What I liked is that this is what I call a real company visit. It was the best tour I've had so far.

What I didn't like is that we weren't allowed to take pictures.

Tagaytay

Tagaytay was simply amazing. We had lunch at Max’s and proceeded to People’s Park in the Sky. I finally saw what the Taal Lake really looked like.

Enchanted Kingdom

I decided not to ride the Space Shuttle--that simple. And then I took a good look around.

• DAY 4
As expected, I only had four hours of sleep bridging our 3rd night and 4th day in our stay Manila but then I have to stay alive for me to have good experience in our trip. We had our breakfast at the Garden Plaza Hotel Restaurant. The food was not that great but still I’m thankful that somehow we had eaten our breakfast. Oh wait, I am supposed to be excited for this day because we will go to Tagaytay and Enchanted Kingdom for our pleasure trip and of course a company visit to Hitachi in Laguna, where our group will be the only one who will visit the said company. After our breakfast, we then braced ourselves for a long trip going to Laguna. At the early part of our trip I enjoyed watching the view from the bus window but later on I got bored and I decided to go to sleep so that I will have enough energy later on that day. Today, I went on a company visit to Hitachi found in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. What I learned about the company is that they provide solutions catering to diverse needs of its customers in Philippines. They market a wide range of products and services for various industry sectors like power generation systems, transmission and distribution systems, heavy industrial equipment, industrial components and equipment as well as elevators and escalators. One of the best products that they are manufacturing is the magnetic heads and the HDD. They shared to us their timeline on how they make evolutions on the HDD they are making. What I liked about the company is their place and how they emphasize to us on what they are really doing. The place was so clean and tidy that we even have to use a shoe cover so that we can enter the establishment. We also have to wear a polo jacket during our tour in their factory maybe because for formality, safety and identity purposes. What I didn’t like about the company is that they made us wait for so long before the orientation and the company tour started. But I’m glad we didn’t run out of patience because we really have to do the company tour. After our lone company tour today in Hitachi, we then depart going to Tagaytay specifically in what they called the People’s Park in the Sky for our pleasure trip. I don’t know what to expect when we arrived in that place because I don’t know, I’m just clueless. I can feel it by the time that we arrive in Tagaytay because of cool breeze. And after a long trip again, we finally set our foot in the People’s Park in the Sky. Lots of vendors can be found around the place, selling different delicacies and souvenirs for tourist. The view from above was amazing; I feel like a giant who own the place. Of course I won’t let it happen that I will have nothing to bring from this place. I’ve spent almost Php500.00 buying souvenirs just like t-shirts and key chains. After our first pleasure trip to Tagaytay, off to our second pleasure trip to the largest theme park in the country, Enchanted Kingdom. I don’t know what to say when I saw a lot of buses parked outside the park. Many people, young or old really crave to go to EK. When I enter the park, there are really a lot people falling in line in different rides. I, together with my two classmates chose to find rides with shorter line and rides that I think is for children only. *laughs* but then we still have fun. A fantastic and exhausting day for me, I had so much fun and I hope that someday, I will have the chance to come back in the places that we visited.

Day 4
(October 7, 2010)

The only company that we had visited was Hitachi. Yesterday, we were already instructed by our tour guides to wear closed shoes for this day because it is part of the protocol of Hitachi.
Reaching the parameter of Hitachi, we were instructed by the security guard of Hitachi not to take any picture. As we enter their building, the information desk instructed us to wear shoe cover and a visitor’s ID. A human resource discussed to us what Hitachi GST was producing. Hitachi GST is the only producer of sliders world wide. A head slider reads and writes data to the hard disks.

What I have learned?
I have learned that Hitachi GST prefers female workers than male workers because women has a softer touch than men. I have also learned that the main material of a magnetic slider is a wafer. I have also learned that Hitachi is the only producer of sliders. Though sliders are very small, they still have a unique seven digit combination for each sides of the slider.

What I liked?
What I liked with visiting Hitachi was the tour around the manufacturing area. And the video animation that they had shown us to explain how the magnetic slider works.

What I didn’t like?
I have nothing to complain in our visit to Hitachi GST.

Day 4
October 7, 2010, AM

We took our breakfast at the Garden Plaza hotel and after breakfast we were on the road to Laguna to visit Hitachi GST, the only company we visited this day. After an hour of travel, we arrived at Hitachi GST. We didn’t immediately entered their building, the guards instructed us to wait a couple of minutes and wait for further instructions. Then, they instructed us to not to take pictures inside the building. As we entered their building, their lady employees behind the desk gave us the shoe cover and an ID and told us to wear it while we were inside their building. We waited for a while then their HR representative came and shared her knowledge that regards to their company to us. She also mentioned that, their company manufactures “wafers” this wafers were made of gold. Also the wafers were cut into smaller pieces known as “sliders” and these sliders were responsible for reading and writing data into the harddisk. After a short discussion with her, we end up to their conference room I think. Then a group of company employee presented us a short clip that explained the technology behind having a bigger hdd storage capacity. After watching the short clip (approx. 20 minutes), then they instructed us to group us into 3 and wear their company jackets (their bosses were so strict in their uniform, even if were just visitors, we have to wear them). Then our turn came to tour around their production area. Im amazed with the machineries and technologies that they used. I also noticed that most of their employees were women. The tour lasted just a couple of minutes, but the memories will remain longer. I also managed to get a piece of slider as a souvenir. Then we left for Tagaytay to unwind and relax for a bit and to visit People’s Park in the Sky.

What I Learned?

In this tour, we only visited Hitachi GST. I learned that with the use of a certain technology, they managed to further increase the storage capacity of their HDD products. Also I learned that Hitachi GST targeted the middle and high end markets.

What I liked?

I liked Hitachi GST’s accommodation to us. They even provided each one of us with shoe covers, visitor ID’s and jackets. I also liked their production area because it was neat, clean and in order. Their employee also had complete paraphernalia’s needed for their work.

What I didn’t like?

I don’t have any negative comments to Hitachi GST for now.

Day 4

Today, I went on a company visit to PLDT – Philippines Long Distance Telecommunications Company at Mandaluyong city.
The first speaker who accommodated us was a girl who was the some kind of community relations officer. He gave us a preview about PLDT and the INNOLAB which stands for Innovation Laboratory and Telecommunication Education Center. She had a conversation to us students and told us the PLDT is very much welcoming with students who want on the job training with them, especially with IT related courses because we are so relevant to their business. We had a tour in one of their hallway which was made to like a museum wherein it showed points in their history of the PLDT business. From the time they started, what really astounds me is that in their early stages, operators where used to connect a call to a landline, thus they had enormous man power at that time, but now they technology comes in, their number of employees depreciated very much. We also saw some of the oldest telephone used in the history and learned how PLDT cope up with problems such as the time of the Marcos regime.

After that, she took us to the next speaker, a man of electrical engineering graduate of De La Sale University. He was very good at his profession. He tours us to the different solution of PLDT. One of which was the banking solution. PLDT provides extreme communication and security solution for banking, especially with the Automated teller Machines. They also have the manufacturing area where IP phones were produced and he showed us some of it just lying there. Then after that, we had a quite symposium in one of their convention room. The same engineering speaker discussed about PLDT and how their communication works, one my classmates even related to one of his topic, though I forget what it was, but it was my classmates report in his class. I think it was about clouding or something. Anyway, again, the speaker was very informative and so is his slide presentation. Then they gave us soda with anything to eat.

What I like about this day is that PLDT is a premiere company and they accommodated us very well.

What I hate about this day is at the PLDT, no batching happened, which means we were squeezing in just to hear the speaker or see his demonstration, which most of us haven’t because to place was to skinny. Well, we haven’t really thought of that because we were to excited to go to Tagaytay, especially to Enchanted Kingdom that afternoon!!

Fourth Day

Today, I went on a company visit to:
Exist Global, Penthouse1, Prestige Tower, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Metro Manila

Company Background:



• Exist Global
Founded in 2001, Exist is a software engineering innovation leader that enables businesses with world-class software development infrastructure, talent, and delivery platform. They specialize in developing enterprise software, interactive web applications, and technology software solutions for US, Asia Pacific, and Australia headquartered organizations. Historically, they have designed, developed, and delivered new products and applications and enhanced existing solutions, using practice teams with areas of expertise including Open Source, Internet and Web 2.0 technologies, Java, and Ruby on Rails. Their customer-focused approach to strategic software development has earned Exist numerous awards, including ZDNet Asia's Top 10 Techno Visionaries Award, Red Herring's 100 Most Promising Companies in Asia, and eServices' Most Progressive Homegrown Company. Headquartered in the Philippines, Exist has offices at the IT centers in Ortigas City and Cebu City. We also have offices in Los Angeles, California, and Australia.


What I like:

I would say that our visit at Exist is one of the most unforgettable experiences we had during the trip. I was indeed amazed on the company since for all we know is a very young company. Though this company was a vernal, I could hold my two thumbs up for them. I was just amazed on the crew who welcomed us inside the building –they were all females! I like their environment because it was so hip and new. I could see their employees on their shirts and jeans and flip flops only. It means that they really don’t require everyone to be formal. We really felt at home with their accommodation. One thing I just like about them is that they give much faith on girl power since for I know, in our industry, men are more trusted since they are more known to be good in this technical stuff.

What I didn’t like:

I guess the thing that somewhat disappoints me is that they never took us on a tour around their place. We were only situated at one place during the whole company visit.

What I learned:

Our visit at Exist is one of my favorite. Why? It is because all of the speakers we had were all females. Not only have we learned about the basic trends in java programming, we were also moved with their sharings. We were inspired by each story they share with us. One of them speaks about her journey with Exist. She would never expect those things to happen to her since she was not as intellect, outgoing and as confident as her co workers are. She told us that we really need to have great perseverance and passion in order for us to succeed in our chosen field. We must all take a closer look at everything that we do because everything we do for our company is reflected back to us. Another speaker shares her life with us. She was a graduate of Economics at UP Diliman. She entered Exist with an empty hand without knowing what a RAM is. But now, she’s a senior programmer at Exist. Her tool? Great perseverance and passion towards work. She said, it was actually very hard for her when she began her journey. Later on, she found out that programming is her cup of coffee and she loves it. We learned that in order for us to be triumphant in our field, we must first know how to fail and perhaps, learn from those failures.

After the company visit at Exist, we headed directly for a long travel going to Tagaytay for some sightseeing trip. We had taken pictures of the Taal and People’s Park. We bought souvenir items for our families and afterward hurriedly took lunch at the bus. After Tagaytay, we headed to Enchanted Kingdom at Sta. Rosa, Laguna for some fun and relaxation. It was definitely an enchanted experience for everyone. Though it’s quite short, the whole experience was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Day 4:

Company visited:

Hitachi

What I learned:

This day we went to a company visit on Hitachi in Laguna. It was an hour or two from our hotel. When we got there the place was really strict. They let us wear this weird shoe cover thingys. At first we went on a short conversation with one of the company worker which taught us about how the company.
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world's most valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, Hitachi GST provides high-value storage for a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Personal Storage. Hitachi GST was established in 2003 with its U.S. headquarters located in San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Santa Clara County.
The Hitachi GST facility in Laguna plays a key role in converting high density silicon wafers into magnetic recording heads that are used to read and write data stored on a hard drive. Magnetic head technology advancements allow hard drive suppliers to continue making improvements in the areas of power consumption, shock tolerance and overall storage capacity.

What I liked:

The thing I like most was when we went on a tour inside the company itself because we get to watch how they made this high density silicon wafers into magnetic recording heads that are used to read and write data stored on a hard drive and see different rooms.

What I did not like:

We waited in the conference room or some sort of like it and watched the same video trice because the tour was of batches.



Company visited:

Enchanted Kingdom

What I like:

The privilege to be there and the amazing SPACE SHUTTLE.

What I did not like:

The huge crowd which causes us to line up for hours.

Day 4 | HITACHI GTS | AM
The Hitachi GST facility in Laguna plays a key role in converting high density silicon wafers into magnetic recording heads that are used to read and write data stored on a hard drive. Magnetic head technology advancements allow hard drive suppliers to continue making improvements in the areas of power consumption, shock tolerance and overall storage capacity.

What I liked:
The thing I like most was when we went on a tour inside the company itself because we get to watch how they made this high density silicon wafers into magnetic recording heads that are used to read and write data stored on a hard drive and see different rooms.

What I did not like:
We waited in the conference room or some sort of like it and watched the same video trice because the tour was of batches.
 
Day 4 | Enchanted Kingdom and Peoples Park in the Sky (Tagaytay) | PM

What I Liked:

TAGAYTAY
“I love the temperature and the park”

Enchanted Kingdom
“I love the rides and everything…nice experience...”


What I didn’t Liked:

“nothing… I liked it all..”

Day 4
Company Visit/s:
Exist Global
Today, I went to…
“It feels like we are outside the country”. This was our first impression the moment we arrive at Ortigas to visit Exist Global. Why? It is because we were surrounded by a so beautiful and big building that Davao doesn’t have. Its elevation and exquisiteness captures us. It makes me wish to let Davao have this kind of industry.
Now going back to Exist Global, it is not my first time to hear about the company nor its specifications since one of their personnel had already visited our institution (USeP) for the last years Icean Congress. From there, we were able to know its basics specifically their Exist Code Camp. From this company tour, I had learned personally that this group has something that has already gone wild to the IT industry. It is only from this company that we feel that we too have our own room in this field. Inspired by our speakers and sharers, they let us know some tips and facts about what we are engaging to and that they let us feel that we can however stain such a thing if we would just let ourselves too. Just don’t stop on believing and pursue everything. Of course, on the other side of the story, which is also one of the most important is my personal learning’s and knowledge as we ended up our educational tour in this company.
What I learned…
Let start it off in software development. Exist Global focuses on java development on interactive web and mobile solutions. Using the java PL, they are able to produce products and services such as iPhone Application, games, websites and usually the build software. For me, as a personal testimony I find java’s environment more friendly than any other programming languages. It can be used straight forward and is trouble free since it is already object oriented. From what this company had been producing compared to others, I had barely observed that they differ not just only in products but as well as to the kind of implementation that they had been practicing.
As our speaker continues, she answered one of the questions of our team that they uses half mac and half linux machine which is very far different to what a normal student or people used. I personally used Windows 2007 (and it is just a crack!). I just do love it that they market globally meaning that they too had been competitive to a foreigner which is something that could be proud off. But although they do this, they make sure that they only focused on a certain region. Aside from that the company also offers open sourcing and google summer of code.
By just having a short discussion, our lecturer let us know the segmentation of java Industry and it includes mobile, web, desktop and others. During our second year days, we were already taught about the java PL. In out programming III, we applied it in web through the java server pages while others had it in mobile. AS I reminisce all of this I did see the connection of the things that we are studying. Indeed it is never a trash! I appreciated it more when she site some difficult positions to fill according to networkworld.com as of July 2010. These positions include Java/J2EE, security, software developer, database administration and others. At least I know that we are heading to something. But the question is, do we claim these positions?

What I liked…

Java. It is because of this programming language that I earned hope after all of these years for all of the things that we are doing. Candidly, I like java a lot and I’m well pleased to know more about it. I just so like it the moment I knew that one of the most marvelous company that exist today is using this language competitively.

What I didn’t like…

Oh , at first I was really excited to have a tour of the entire building. It’s just that they had not let us had a tour and I honestly don’t understand why. From among of all the companies that we had, it is only during their time that we don’t have a tour. It got most of us disappointed. However, it we were able to handle our emotions since we have nothing to do about it. But anyway, its definitely good and satisfy our awareness.