As well as being a hardware editor and lover of all things tech, I also read a lot of science fiction, mostly from the author Peter Hamilton (highly recommended). From this dual influence, I get a unique perspective for technology as I am holding it in the present and technology as it may look in the (not so near) future – depending on the sci-fi book that I’m reading at the moment.

                                             Science fiction at its best.

China is a country of big numbers: one of the biggest land-areas in the world, the largest population, one of the biggest economies, and a lot of people joke half-seriously – the biggest source of knock-offs in the world.

                                          A map of China. and there's Manila at the lower right.

Abit holds a special place in the minds of many hardware enthusiasts. Or perhaps another way to put it is that Abit is very conspicuous in the way it keeps popping in and out of the technology scene here in the Philippines. Even before the year 2000, with the “Y2K” mania going on in the background, Abit motherboards were already in the scene, even coming out with their own Y2K-ready boards for general consumption.

                                                The Abit logo as it appeared years ago
 

Being a geek is nothing to be ashamed of these days. In fact, it can be described as an “in” thing, with big names in Hollywood  hyping up characters playing as such and the general trend towards gadgetry and the people with the mojo to fully use them. Exploring in the direction of the geek’s rise to prominence, we discover many traits that are parallel or is a direct influence to a person being a geek. Primary among these “traits” in my opinion would be shyness.