
IN partnership with Globe Labs and TomasinoWeb, Wikimedia Philippines and the Mozilla Firefox-Philippines Chapter held “Open Web Day” on September 29 at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium.
The half-day seminar aims to spread awareness about open web and orient students about the basics and latest projects of Wikipedia and Mozilla Firefox.
Joseph “Jojit” Ballesteros and Robert “Bob” Reyes of Wikimedia Philippines and Mozilla Firefox- Philippines Chapter, respectively, were the speakers. Ballesteros discussed the basics of Wikipedia: its background, popularity, and edge compared to other websites and search engines. Serving as the largest encyclopedia in existence, students were told that the vision of Wikipedia is “a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.”
Wikipedia does not have an editor in chief or a staff of editors, just contributors willing to spend time editing and confirming content. Articles are continuously monitored and improved, giving everyone—even anonymous people—the opportunity to contribute one.
Wikimedia Commons was also introduced. It is a project of Wikimedia where files like pictures and videos can be shared.
Reyes reintroduced Mozilla Firefox along with its history and features. He discouraged fights between Mozilla Firefox and other browsers, saying that they inspired the creation of Opera, Safari, and Chrome to compete with Internet Explorer.
Mozilla Firefox features were also introduced to the students. Thimble, for example, allows practicing programmers to test out their codes and see its potential result at the same time. Popcorn allows users to view videos and edit them online. Persona, on the other hand, acts like an Open ID account that doesn’t need a password, yet ensures safety. Responsive View also allows users to see if websites respond to various screen shapes, a Debugging add-on helps programmers debug their programs without new software, and the Tilt3D allows users to view websites in 3D, not only for visual entertainment but to see the flow and structure of codes.
Before the seminar ended, the newly-created Firefox OS installed in new phones to be released by Telefonica in Brazil next year was introduced. Reyes said these phones will not only be more user-friendly, but will also cost only a tenth of the original price of an iPhone.
They have also introduced Mozilla Representatives and Mozilla Student Representatives to help spread awareness of Mozilla Firefox and its commitment to others.
Freebies like shirts, pens, notebooks, and lanyards were given away to the students by the end of the program.
By Rhenn Anthony S. Taguiam
Photo taken by Kenneth Adrian S. Castillo