Microsoft Teams switch to Paid Versions, Team Essentials

Microsoft Teams will retire the old free version and will move to a paid version starting  April 12, 2023. To continue using your Microsoft Teams account and maintain your data, review pricing and upgrade to Teams Essentials or another paid version of Teams by April 12, 2023.

But there will be a new free version of Teams according to Microsoft.

According to Microsoft, on April 12, 2023, Microsoft Teams Free (classic) will be retired. To sign in and access your chats, files, scheduled meetings, and other data after that date, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid version of Teams.

If you prefer to continue using a free version of Teams, you may sign up for the new free Teams option. None of your data will transfer, but you’ll be able to view and save the files that are in your current account to another location through April 12, 2023.

If you prefer to continue accessing your data in your account, there are several paid options to choose from. We recommend Microsoft Teams Essentials because it most closely matches the functionality you currently use. Your data will transfer automatically, and you’ll keep access to capabilities such as:

• Unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours.
• Up to 300 participants per meeting.
• 10 GB of cloud storage per user.

How to Apply for TESDA Online Program

I wanted to learn about Agriculture and check the TESDA Program if they offer such courses. I wanted to learn more about Fruit Grower since we have ample space in our backyard.

TESDA Online Program (TOP) is a web-based platform that offers free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for the technical education and skills development of Filipino workers.

Through the use of information and communication technologies, the TOP provides an effective and efficient way to deliver technical-vocational education and training in the learner’s own space and time.

The e-Learning for Agriculture and Fisheries is a major component of the Philippine Department of Agriculture's e-Extension Program, with the Agricultural Training Institute as the lead implementing agency, in collaboration with other government agencies, state universities and colleges, and non-government organizations.

Good enough they offered the following Agriculture courses. To apply to TESDA courses go to their Official Website.

Agro-Entrepreneurship NC II

Aquaponic Food Production

Organic Agriculture Production NC II

Agricultural Crops Production NC II

Fruit Growing 

I have just enrolled in the Fruit Grower course under Agriculture and will update our reader once I have completed the course.

Team Japeth vs Team Scottie- Who will win?

 If there is Team LeBron vs Team Durant in NBA All-Star games, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has its own version, with Team Japeth and Team Scottie, who are both players of Barangay Ginebra Team. Japeth Aguilar will not be able to participate with Gilas Pilipinas FIBA World Cup Final Window from February 24 to 27 at the Philippine Arena due to ACL injury but will be fine enough just before the PBA All-Star Game.

Teammates Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson will be at the opposing sides of the PBA All-Star Games as they serve as captains of the two teams that will take the centerstage in the main event of the PBA All-Star Weekend in Passi City, Iloilo on Mar. 12.

Drafting of players for the All-Star will be held today, 

According to Manila Bulletin report, among the choices for the two captains are June Mar Fajardo and fellow Ginebra players Jamie Malonzo and Christian Standhardinger who finished within Top 5. Fajardo, after leading the poll in the initial returns, landed at the third spot with 1,207,592 votes while Malonzo and Standhardinger ended up with 1,196,423 and 1,191,379, respectively.

Ginebra head coach Tim Cone tops the coaches’ poll with 1,291,785 votes followed by Rain or Shine mentor Yeng Guiao with 1,231,538.

Vote now on who will win the PBA All-Star Games 2023, Team Japeth or Team Scottie.

What is your Travel Goal Destinations for 2023

It's always cool and refreshing to travel abroad whether for a leisure or business trip. Sometimes watching vlogs gives us an idea of our next travel goal. When I watched Ms. Bea Alonzo's European tour, I have fallen in love with Madrid Spain and Switzerland and dreamt of travel there one day.

I have been to Dubai, E.A.U., Doha Qatar and Riyadh Saudi Arabia but all were work-related travel. During Holidays in the Philippines, I always notice that more local celebrities preferer to spend their Holidays in Japan, Korea, the U.S.A. and in European Countries. On December 2018 we traveled to Hongkong for 3 days tour of Disneyland and other tourist sites via San Roque Travel and Tour. However, I believed the travel agency is already closed maybe due to the effect of the pandemic.

If you were to choose your dream destination for vacation, where will you go and why? If it happens that your choice is not on the list, kindly input it on "other".

Philippines Strong Group Bowed out of 32nd Dubai International Basketball Championship

The Defending Champion, the Philippines will not be able to defend its title as they fall short in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Dubai International Basketball Championship. The Philippines Strong Group Team was Coached by Charles Tiu who is also the Head Coach of De La Salle College of Saint Benilde. 

All The games of the Philippines were jampacked by Filipino spectators in Dubai, U.A.E. Most of the team are composed of NCAA and UAAP players with some Naturalized Filipino ballers. According to the report from Spin.ph, the Philippine representative erased an early 14-point deficit but allowed the Lebanese powerhouse team to make a late run on the way to advancing to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, the Philippines will have a complete set of players this coming Final Window of the World Cup Qualifiers which will be held in the Philippine Arena from February 24 to 27 and will be bannered by Kai Sotto who announced signing with Japan B-League earlier. The Philippines will take on Jordan and Lebanon on the Final Window. 

Why StrawPoll is the Best Free Poll Apps

StrawPoll Making it easy to create instant, real-time polls and surveys for free. Before I am using PollDaddy and they almost have the same easy navigation feature. PollDaddy is now Crowdsignal and even before I tried Corwdsignal, I search first for another online poll app and found this StrawPoll. 

StrawPoll, with five hundred thousand users and more than six million poll already created offers its users a free platform where they can create different types of polls. The most popular type is Straw Poll, which can be used to easily find the majority in a group with different opinions. A simple question with a selection of predefined answer options can be shared with the group in no time. Already in the days of Usenet (since 1979) the name "Straw Poll" was coined as a synonym for this kind of voting. We do our best to live up to this and at the same time fight any kind of manipulation in voting with different methods (more on this below). However, we cannot guarantee that we will fully succeed in doing so.

Below are some of the Polls I have made with StrawPoll. The tool is very user-friendly. you don't need to be tech-savvy to create one.

The most important part of a successful poll-app is the reliability of the results. After we already had bots and scripts under control, the next big task was to prevent manipulation by multiple votes using changing IP addresses via VPN or proxies. StrawPoll implemented a VPN detection system in their backend to block (almost) all unauthorized votes. However, it is important to make sure that the correct duplication check setting is selected when creating a poll.

The entire StrawPoll offer is available free of charge. Currently, they are financed exclusively by advertising revenue, which they display to the participants of votes to a reasonable extent.

All polls on StrawPoll are private and only accessible through the link you share with your participants. Also, only surveys that you have either created or participated in will show up in the search function.

Niana, Andrea and Sanya are the Most Followed Filipino Celebrities in TikTok

Here are the Leading TikTok influencers in the Philippines for 2023.

As of February 2023, Niana Guerrero was the most followed TikTok account holder in the Philippines, with 29.1 million followers. Niana Guerrero is a dancer and social media personality known for her dance covers. Other popular TikTok account holders were "Kapamilya" actress Andrea Brillantes with 15.4 million followers and "Kapuso" actress Sanya Lopez.

Sanya Lopez with 11.8 million followers,  has just concluded her hit GMA series "Fist Lady" opposite Gabby Concepcion will have a new Fantasy Series on GMA via "Mga Lihim ni Urduja", which will be aired this February on Kapuso Network.

credit:statista.com

Filipino Vote for Maharlika Fund- Yes or No

Vote now if you are in favor of the "Maharlika Fund". A House Bill establishing the MWF was filed on November 28, 2022 by Representatives Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Manuel Jose Dalipe, Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, Stella Luz Quimbo, Yedda Marie Romualdez, and Jude Acidre. This kinds of fund I believed needs a forensic examination with the governing body, the Philippine Senate.

The MWF aims to ensure economic growth by generating consistent and stable investment returns with appropriate risk limits to preserve and enhance long-term value of the fund; obtaining the best absolute return and achievable financial gains on its investments; and satisfying the requirements of liquidity, safety/security, and yield in order to ensure profitability of the GFIs’ respective funds.

Maharlika Fund is a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), also known as a social wealth fund, is the surplus money that a country accrues over time. The government-backed pool of funds is mostly funded from a country's foreign exchange reserves. Other sources of funds for an SWF account include: Bank reserves.

Vote now if you are in favor of Maharlika Fund:

As explained in Department of Budget and Management website:
The country’s Economic Team underscored the benefits of institutionalizing the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) during the 183rd Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting held on December 5, 2022 at the DOF Press Conference Room.
The meeting was led by Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, with Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, Bangko Sentral Monetary Board Member V. Bruce Tolentino, and GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso.

On behalf of the Economic Team, Budget Secretary Pangandaman shared her optimism that the MWF will help the administration achieve its Agenda for Prosperity.

Meanwhile, Finance Chief Diokno noted that the country should have had the Sovereign Wealth Fund a long time ago to set aside funds for the future generations.

Panel of Judges (Coaches) for The Voice Generation Philippines on GMA

Who do you think will comprise the panel of judges for The Voice: Generations Philippines which will be aired on GMA Network.

Some of the notable musicians, "Kapuso and former Kapamilya" singers who are being considered by the Netizens to sit as judges of the most anticipated singing competition in 2023 such as Rachelle Ann Go, who played Gigi in the 25th Anniversary revival of Miss Saion London, Mark Bautista, a broadway artist also and one of the countries premiere balladeer, Asia's singing sweetheart Julie Anne San Jose, R & B Peincess, Kyla, nineties hitmaker, Donna Cruz and Jessa Zaragoza, Jaya, Jonalyn Viray, Pop Princess, Sarah Geronimo, Pops Fernandez, Kuh Ledesma, Vic Sotto, Janno Gibbs, Ryan Cayabyab and Lea Salonga to name a few.

Kapamilya turned Kapuso actor Xian Lim is said to be one of the host of the show but denied the rumor although he is very much willing to do the hosting for the show.

If you were to choose who do you think should be the judge of the most prestigious singing competition in the country.