Friday, December 12, 2008

EUAsiaGrid All-Hands Meeting, Day 1. December 12, 2008 (Taipei, Taiwan)

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Mr. Dao Van Tuyet of VAST-HCM (Vietnam) reports on dissemination activities related to the EUAsiaGrid Project in Vietnam.

Dr. Rafael P. Saldaña, Project Leader for Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU, Philippines) reports on dissemination activities and plans related to the EUAsiaGrid Project in the Philippines.


EUAsiaGrid All-Hands Meeting
12 – 13 December 2008
Activity Center, Academia Sinica
Taipei, Taiwan


PROGRAMME

Day 1. Friday, 12 December

09:00 – 10:30 WP2 – I (Dr. Alexander Voss, NCeSS)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30 WP2 – II (Dr. Alexander Voss, NCeSS)

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:30 WP4 (Ms. Vicky Huang, ASGC)

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee Break

16:00 – 17:30 WP5 (Dott. Diego Scardaci, INFN)

18:30 – 20:30 Welcome Dinner (Venue: Peng's Agora Garden)

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

EUAsiaGrid Meeting, Taipei, Taiwan (December 12-13, 2008)

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Getting to Academia Sinica by Local Transport

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Click on link below to get instructions on how to arrive in Academia Sinica using local public transport:

http://www.phys.sinica.edu.tw/TIGP-NANO/GettingToAS.htm


Excerpt:

Getting to Academia Sinica from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport:

By Taxi:
Taxis queue outside the Arrival Halls of both Terminal Ι and Terminal II of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Airport taxis charge according to the meter plus a 50% surcharge (highway tolls not included). Typical fare to Taipei downtown is around NT$1,100. From the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, you may take a taxi directly to Academia Sinica for around NT$ 1,700.

By Bus:
Where to buy tickets/board the bus:Ticket counters are located in the Arrival Passenger Reception Areas of both Terminals.Terminal I Bus Platform: On the southwest side of the Arrival Passenger Reception Area. Terminal II Bus Platform: On the northeast side of the Arrival Passenger Reception Area on the first floor of the terminal.

Adult single fares vary from NT$ 110 to $140.

The journey time is about 1 hour in moderate traffic.

Four bus companies now provide frequent services between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and downtown Taipei: Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
Taiwan Bus Corp. (Kuogong Line): to Taipei Railway Station and Taipei Sung Shan Airport. You may get off at either stop and then take a taxi to Academia Sinica for approximately NT$300.

Evergreen: to ZhongXiao-FuXing MRT Station. If you only have light packages, this is a good way to save money. You can get off at ZhongXiao-FuXing MRT Station, take MRT “Blue Line” and get off at the terminal stop “Kunyang”. Walk out the station and take a taxi to Academia Sinica for about NT$120.

Toward You Air Bus: to ZhongXiao-FuXing MRT Station, Hyatt Hotel & Far Eastern Hotel. Get off at one of the above stops and take a taxi from there to Academia Sinica for around NT$220.

Fe Go Express: to Taipei Sung Shan Airport. Take a taxi from Sung Shan Airport to Academia Sinica for around NT$300.

Getting to Academia Sinica from Taipei City:

By City Bus:
205, 212, 212-Straight Line, 270, 270 (Shuttle), 276, 306, 306 (Shuttle), 620, 645, 645(Extended), S1, S12, S12 (Shuttle), S5, BL25 , get off at Academia Sinica stop.

By MRT:
Take Blue Line (Banqiao-Nangang Line) to Kunyang Station; get out from Exit No 4, cross the street for bus 212-Straight Line, 270, 270 (Shuttle), BL25, get off at Academia Sinica Stop.

By Train:
Take train to Nankang train station, front door exit and take bus ,306 (Shuttle) , 205, 212-Straight Line, 276; back door exit and take bus 212, 270, BL25 , get off at Academia Sinica Stop

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PCSC 2009: Updated Call for Papers and Participation

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PCSC 2009: Updated Call for Papers and Participation

PCSC 2009
9th Philippine Computing Science Congress
March 2 - 3, 2009
Silliman University
Dumaguete City, Philippines

Conference Website: http://ccs.su.edu.ph/pcsc2009/theconference.html

Call for Papers and Participation

The Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP) invites you to participate in the 9th Philippine Computing Science Congress (PCSC 2009).

The CSP organizes this conference to enable local and neighboring computing educators, researchers, and ICT professionals and students to interact and to share their work in computing, computer science, computer engineering, computational science, and information and communications technology (ICT).

The conference features special lectures by prominent researchers and educators in the field of information and communications technology (including computing, computer science, computer engineering, computational science, and related disciplines).

It also features contributed research papers on computing and ICT.

DATES and VENUE:

PCSC 2009 will be held on March 2-3, 2009 at Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines.

CONFERENCE TOPICS (but not limited to the following):

Cellular Automata
Genetic Algorithms
Computational Science
Computational Modeling and Simulation
Computer Architecture
Computer Applications
Computer Engineering
Computer Science Education
Computer Simulation
Database and Information Systems
E-CommerceE-Learning
E-Based Communities
High Performance Computing
Mathematical Modeling
NetworkingNeural Networks
Software Engineering
Theoretical Computer Science

Other relevant topics in computer science, computational science, and ICTPaper

Submission and Proceedings

Contributed papers for PCSC 2009 should follow the formatting guidelines based on the ACM Word Template (http://www.math.admu.edu.ph/~raf/pcsc07/cspformat.doc).

These papers will be peer-reviewed, and if accepted, they will be published in the Electronic Proceedings of the 9th Philippine Computing Science Congress (PCSC 2009). Qualified papers will be considered for publication in the Philippine Computing Journal (PCJ), the official journal of the Computing Society of the Philippines.

GUIDELINES FOR PAPER SUBMISSION:

Visit the Philippine Computing Journal (PCJ) website:http://www.philjol.info/index.php/PCJRead the information for authors/contributors:http://www.philjol.info/index.php/PCJ/information/authorsAuthors need to register with the journal prior to submitting:http://www.philjol.info/index.php/PCJ/user/registerIf authors are already registered they can proceed with paper submission:http://www.philjol.info/index.php/index/user

Important Dates:

Submissions of Full Paper: January 10, 2009
Notice of Acceptance: February 10, 2009
Submission of Revised Papers: February 24, 2009
Submission of Slides for Presentation: February 27, 2009
Deadline of Submission of Pre-Registration Forms: February 24, 2009
Conference: March 2-3, 2009

Registration Fees

PhP 2,500 (regular, non-student, walk-in)
PhP 2,000 (regular, non-student, pre-registered)
PhP 1,500 (non-student author of accepted paper)
PhP 1,500 (non-author currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, walk-in)
PhP 1,250 (non-author currently enrolled students, pre-registered)
PhP 1,000 (student author, currently enrolled)

Notes:

The registration fee includes free membership to CSP for the year 2009.
It does not include transportation and accommodation expenses.
It includes a conference kit, PCSC 2009 CD Proceedings, snacks, lunch, conference welcome drinks, and a certificate of participation.

MODE OF PAYMENT

If paying via cheque, make cheque payable to:

COMPUTING SOCIETY OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.

Registration payments may be made through the CSP's bank account in BANCO DE ORO.

Below are the details:Name: COMPUTING SOCIETY OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.

Bank: BANCO DE ORO

Branch: Loyola Heights - Katipunan, Quezon City

Savings Account Number: 003578001070

Notes: Any bank charges should be charged to the payor and not to CSP.

Keep a copy of your bank transaction as proof of payment.

Notify Engr. Chuchi Montenegro (Email: chuchi.montenegro@gmail.com,
Fax: (035) 422-6033) about the details of your payment (total amount, for how many persons, date and time payment was deposited, and name of Banco de Oro branch).
CC to computingsoc@gmail.com.

PCSC 2009 Executive Committee

Jaime Caro, Ph.D.
CSP President
University of the Philippines-Dilliman
Tel./Fax.: (02) 920-2636
Email: jdlcaro@gmail.com

Caslon Chua, Ph.D.
CSP Vice President
Overall Chair, PCSC 2009
De La Salle University
Tel./Fax.: (02) 536-0276
Email: chuacl@dlsu.edu.ph

Henry N. Adorna, Ph.D.
Chair, Scientific Program Committee
Department of Computer Science
University of the Philippines
Email: ha@dcs.upd.edu.ph

Rafael Saldaña, Ph.D.
Co-Chair, Scientific Program Committee
Ateneo de Manila University
Tel./Fax.: (02) 709-0907
E-mail: raffysaldana@gmail.com

Gregg Victor Gabison, Ph.D.
Local Organizing Committee
University of San Jose Recoletos - Cebu City
Tel./Fax.: (02) 536-0276
Cherry Lyn Sta. Romana, MSCS
President, CSP-Visayas
Cebu Institute of Technology
Email: cstaromana@gmail.com

Dave E. Marcial, MSCS
Vice President, CSP-Visayas
Secretariat, PSCS 2009
Silliman University
Tel./Fax.: (035) 422-6033
Email: demarcial@su.edu.ph
demarcial02@yahoo.com
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Free Wireless Internet Access at the Taroko National Park (Taiwan)

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Yehey!

There is free wireless Internet access at the Taroko National Park in Taiwan.

Too bad, I did not bring my laptop charger :=(


Contact Details:

TAROKO NATIONAL PARK
291 Fushin Village, Sioulin Township
Hualien County 97253
Taiwan
Tel. (03) 862-1100 to 6
Fax. (03) 862-1263
Wesite: http://www.taroko.gov.tw
E-mail: taroko@taroko.gov.tw

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A Visit to the Taroko National Park, Taiwan

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Note:
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Losing my digital camera in Hualien City did not deter me from visiting the famous Taroko National Park. Luckily, I still have my cellphone camera and my EEE PC webcam which I used in documenting my visit to the Taroko National Park.
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The Taroko National Park is one of Taiwan's national parks.
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Here is an excerpt from a guide book on Taroko:
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"Visiting the Taroko National Park is like is like stepping into ancient scrolls of natural beauty depicted in calligraphic paintings. Lofty mountains, flowing rivers and lush forests conjure up majestic pictures. Be it misty forest grounds, breathtaking cliffs or magnificent waterfalls. Taroko National Park offers the visitor a variety of unforgettable experience."
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Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A Double Whammy!

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Today I lost my digital camera ...

Then the CD ROM drive of my Toshiba laptop broke down ...

I wonder what's next ???
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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Meeting With My Niece Rona in Taichung, Taiwan

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Last Saturday, 6 December 2008, I met my niece Rona at the train station in Taichung, Taiwan. Rona works in Taichung. Last time I met Rona was in November 2007 in Taipei, Taiwan.
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To view more photos, please click on the following link:
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Suggestion: Choose 'Slideshow' option.
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Related Links:
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Friday, December 5, 2008

Travel Notes: The Thao People of Sun Moon Lake, Nantou County, Taiwan

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Photo Caption: Some of the Thao people in Sun Moon Lake, Nantaou, Central Taiwan performing a traditional dance. Photos taken by Raffy Saldaña( http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com ) on 5 December 208. All rights reserved.


Today (5 December 2008) our host in Taichung, Taiwan -- the National Center for High Performance Computing (NCHC) -- brought us on a cultural tour of the Nantou County in Central Taiwan where many of Taiwan's Aboriginal groups are located.

One of the Aboriginal groups is the Thao tribe.

Here's an information about the Thao people (from wikipedia.org):

Excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thao_people :

"
The Thao/Ngan (Chinese: 邵族) are a small group of Taiwanese aborigines who have lived near Sun Moon Lake (Lake Candidius) in central Taiwan for at least a century, and probably since the time of the Qing dynasty. In the year 2000 the Thao/Ngan tribe numbered only 281, making them the smallest of all of the recognized aboriginal tribes in Taiwan (a number of aboriginal tribes, both smaller and larger than the Thao in population remain unrecognized by the Taiwanese governing authorities).

They are the smallest of the Taiwanese aborigine group in terms of population and the smallest ethnic group in Taiwan. Despite their small group size, the Thao/Ngan have retained their customs, beliefs and traditional culture and language up until now, though they have been assimilated into mainstream Chinese culture as well. Most of the members of this ethnic group work today as menial workers, cooks and vendors in the tourism industry at Sun Moon Lake. The Chi-Chi earthquake of 1999 damaged or destroyed 80% of the houses of the Thao/ngan tribe and made many of them lose employment.
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Thursday, December 4, 2008

Closing Ceremony: SEAIP '08 and 4th PRAGMA Institute, Taichung, Taiwan

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Click on the following link to view more photos:

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/211/Day_4_SEAIP_and_PRAGMA_Institute_NCHC_Taichung_Taiwan

Suggestion: Choose 'Slideshow' Option
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Photos, Day 4: Workshop on Cluster Management / SEAIP '08 and PRAGMA, Taichung, Taiwan/ Workshop on Cluster Management Using DRBL

. Lecturer: Dr. Steven Shiau of the National Center for High Performance Computing (NCHC), Taichung, Taiwan
I got a freebie: USB flashdrive

Dr. Steven Shiau of NCHC, Taichung, Taiwan
Note: I received plenty of DUXes (DRBL Tux)


Workshop on Cluster Management
SEAIP 2008/ 4th PRAGMA Institute
National Center for High Performance Computing (NCHC)
Science Park, Taichung, Taiwan


Lecture Notes:

Workshop on Cluster Management
DRBL/ Clonezilla

Steven Shiau, Jass Wang, Ceasar Sun, THomas Tsai
NCH, Taiwan
Q4, 2008


Free Software Lab

Goal: Create a Free Software Smart Classroom (FSSC) based on our HPC experience

DRBL, Clonezilla, DRBL-WinRoll, Tux2Live, PartCloane
Multicast VNC
Acces Grid, eLearning
Cluster Computing
Grid Computing


DRBL

Clonezilla

Why DRBL?

DRBL Special Features:

Clonezilla Server Edition (SE)
AoE

"Bare Metal" Bacup and Restore

cp, tar, rsync

Bare metal = a technique in the field of data recovery and restorationon where the backed up data is available

Clonezilla Features

Free (GPL) software
File systems suported Ext 2/3. ReisersFs, Reiser4, XFS jfs HFS
Linux Logical Volume Manage 2

Partclone

http://www.partclone.org

Developed by Thomas Tsai

Cloezilla Types


Whats New since SEAIP 2007?


DRBL

supports newer GNU/Linux versions incluidng Ubuntu 8.04/8.10, Fedora 9, Mandriva 2008.1, and OpenSuSe 11.0

Provides AoE booting mechanism in support of diskless MS Windows XP

Clonezilla Live

Easier to create a recovery ISO/zip
Clonezilla Live

Demo 1

http://drbl.name

Based on gPXE

Running WIndows XP for DRBL Server on Acer Aspire One

Edubuntu


Clonezilla Live

1.2.1-21

http://www.clonezill.org/clonezilla-live

Scenario:

A working MS Windos Xp
Save 1st partition as an image on 2nd partition using Clonezilla Live

Restore the image on 2nd partition to 1st partition


Penguin: "My name is Dux (DRBL Tux)"


Related Links:


http://drbl.nchc.org.tw/en
http://www.clonezilla.org/


Note: I received the following freebies during the workshop: DRBL "penguins" and USB flash drive.

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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Photos, Day 2: SEAIP 2008 and 4th PRAGMA Institute, Taiwan

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Southeast Asia '08
International Joint Research and Training Program in High-Performance Computing Applications and Networking Technology
4th PRAGMA Institute
Pacific Rim Applications and PRAGMA Institute
December 1-5, 2008
NCHC, Taichung, Taiwan






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Note: I ran out of batteries for my digital camera again, so I used the webcam of my EEE PC to take photos during the 2nd day of the SEAIP '08 and PRAGMA Institute being held in Taiwan. Our session today (December 2, 2008) was held at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. From Taichung it takes two and a half hours travel by bus (one way) to Taipei.

Click on the link below to view more photos:
Suggestion: Choose the 'Slideshow' option.
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Monday, December 1, 2008

More Photos (Day 1): SEAIP '08 and PRAGMA Institute, NCHC, Taichung, Taiwan

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Southeast Asia '08
International Joint Research and Training Program in High-Performance Computing Applications and Networking Technology
4th PRAGMA Institute
Pacific Rim Applications and PRAGMA Institute
December 1-5, 2008
NCHC, Taichung, Taiwan
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Click on the link below to view more photos:

http://multiply.com/gi/booleanlogic:photos:207

Suggestion: Choose 'Slideshow' Option.
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Photos: SEAIP '08 and 4th PRAGMA Institute, Taichung, Taiwan

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Southeast Asia '08
International Joint Research and Training Program in High-Performance Computing Applications and Networking Technology
4th PRAGMA Institute
Pacific Rim Applications and PRAGMA Institute
December 1-5, 2008 NCHC, Taiwan




To view more photos, click on the link below:

http://booleanlogic.multiply.com/photos/album/206

Suggestion: Choose the 'Slideshow' Option


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