Honoring My Heroes in Philippine Technology

It is the start of November when we usually go to the Memorial Parks to visit our loved ones who have left our physical world.

- Reg Ramos

As a tech journalist for two decades, it is about time I give tribute to three key figures who helped shape Philippine tech journalism.

JIM AYSON

I first met Jim in the year 2000 through the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel #rx931—the official chatroom of Monster Radio RX 93.1. We did not chat that much, but I learned through the other chatters that he founded PhilMusic.com, the haven for all Filipino musicians since the mid-90s. We met for the first time a year later in an informal EB (eyeball) in Katipunan where we discussed technology and music. I thought this fella was so cool!

I eventually learned that he was one of those responsible for the Philippines' very first connection to the internet in 1994. His narration of this momentous event is forever etched in the Philippines' tech history.

In 2003, he was one of the editors of a new tech magazine called m|ph. My girlfriend bought the magazine, but I ended up owning it because its content made me interested in mobile devices. I loved reading his reviews on smartphones which gave me a better understanding of other mobile Operating Systems like Symbian and its UIQ version. His feature on 3GSM (the predecessor of the Mobile World Congress) opened my eyes even further to the world of mobile devices. His column, SIM in the City, was not only easy to read, but it also educated me on what was happening in the telecommunications industry. He left the magazine after a year, and we sporadically chatted through Yahoo! Messenger.