Please DO NOT WATCH the movie "Hero"! It is basically propaganda disguised with martial art packaging. Just look at how much the Chinese government has endorsed the movie and you know what I'm talking about. This movie praises the brutal totalitarian Emperor Qin. I'd expect this comes from the Communist Party but really disappointed that it comes from Zhang Yimou's movie.
Zhang Yimou, the director, is selling out, IMO. It's hard to remember this is the guy who used to make movies that criticize the backwardness of Chinese villages and injustice done to the people. In fact, the Chinese government used to censor his movie for exposing the dark side of the country to outside.
Maybe the crave for power has changed Zhang. Now the government rewards his "conversion" by putting him in charge of 2008 Beijing Olympic ceremonies, a big step forward for a showbiz guy. I gotta admit this is hard to resist.
Here is another reason to boycott this movie. Quoting from Joseph Kahn "Film on Ruthless Dynasty Delights China's Leaders" The New York Times January 2, 2003:
"In an interview with B International, a Hong Kong- based magazine, [Tony] Leung said he applauded the message of 'peace and human kindness' in Hero, then reflected on the Beijing government's suppression of the democracy movement 13 years ago. 'During the June 4 incident, I didn't join any demonstrations, because what the Chinese government did was right to maintain stability, which was good for everybody,' he was quoted as saying. Mr. Leung later said that his comments had been taken out of context and that he was speaking from the perspective of his character in the film. 'My interest is in making movies, not politics,' he said."
Other reviews:
Fighting for Peace (and Art Films), Zhang Yimou on "Hero" (incl. interview)
Hidden dragon
Zhang Yimou's Hero The Temptations of Fascism
Martial Arts Worldwide Network's review
A true hero will never condone oppression.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
When in doubt, don't sing
This is quoted from Camp Site Director Leslie Shanders. Why? See The birds may sing, but campers can't unless they pay up.
Let's blame it on capitalism (or maybe it's just greed?) Scouts can't sing "God Bless America" in camp any more unless they pay ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers). That's sad sad sad... (BTW, we were wrong when we camped and sang "Happy Birthday" at Yosemite. That's copyrighted too.)
Hey, maybe ASCAP did a good thing by encouraging everyone to write their own songs! More motivations for creativity!
[Update]It turns out the story was from 1996 and there was a followup: ASCAP Changes Its Tune; Never Intended to Collect Fees for Scouts' Campfire Songs, Group Says. Please read the 2nd part of the above link.
I wonder that was a truly sincere intention or merely a reaction when ASCAP saw the outrage against them.
Let's blame it on capitalism (or maybe it's just greed?) Scouts can't sing "God Bless America" in camp any more unless they pay ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers). That's sad sad sad... (BTW, we were wrong when we camped and sang "Happy Birthday" at Yosemite. That's copyrighted too.)
Hey, maybe ASCAP did a good thing by encouraging everyone to write their own songs! More motivations for creativity!
[Update]It turns out the story was from 1996 and there was a followup: ASCAP Changes Its Tune; Never Intended to Collect Fees for Scouts' Campfire Songs, Group Says. Please read the 2nd part of the above link.
I wonder that was a truly sincere intention or merely a reaction when ASCAP saw the outrage against them.
Canadian inventions
In the spirit of rooting for the "underdogs", I would like to recommend this page about Canadian inventions
This is how I found out basketball was actually invented by a Canadian (while he was in US)
This is how I found out basketball was actually invented by a Canadian (while he was in US)
It's not fair! (take II)
This happened at Olympic Marathon: Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima was attacked by one Irish "priest" Cornelius Horan, three miles from the finish line. At that time he was the leader but at the end he could only take bronze. The attack had certainly disrupted his rhythm.
Too bad the security wasn't able to prevent idiots like Horan from damaging the race.
Too bad the security wasn't able to prevent idiots like Horan from damaging the race.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Olympic Gymnastic Controversy
Let me ask you a question. Which one would you wanna be remembered as:
a) the guy who is not supposed to win the gold medal but got it because of scoring error
b) the guy who gives back the gold medal he should not have won
Which guy has genuine sportsmanship?
The choice is pretty obvious to me. Of course Paul Hamm thinks otherwise.
[Update] Please check out the comments, which presents a different point of view. I gotta admit he knows the story/background much deeper than I do. One thing we both agree though: FIG, the sports governing body who messed up the scoring, is the real "bad guy."
a) the guy who is not supposed to win the gold medal but got it because of scoring error
b) the guy who gives back the gold medal he should not have won
Which guy has genuine sportsmanship?
The choice is pretty obvious to me. Of course Paul Hamm thinks otherwise.
[Update] Please check out the comments, which presents a different point of view. I gotta admit he knows the story/background much deeper than I do. One thing we both agree though: FIG, the sports governing body who messed up the scoring, is the real "bad guy."
Flashmob Opera
Gotta admit promoting music using the flashmob concept is a smart idea. See Music to the masses: BBC plans opera by stealth
When are we going to have flashmob Tai Chi?
When are we going to have flashmob Tai Chi?
Fallacy of the day
Quoting from Movie Industry Sues More DVD Chip Makers on Piracy:
"The CSS license pact has aided the success of DVDs because it has provided protection against illegal copying to copyright owners of movies, television shows and other content sold on DVD."
Gimme a break! DVD became successful because:
- easy to navigate
- higher quality
- marketing, marketing and marketing (Movies on VHS were never displayed as prominently as DVD Movies today in record stores and electronics stores)
It has absolutely nothing to do with copy protection, which has been available on VHS long time ago! Anyone interested in "illegally copying" DVD enough would have found out how to break the so-called protection anyway.
[Update] Let's face it: copy-protection is made to be broken. Here is another example: How to Un-DRM your Un-DRM'd iTunes 4.6 Songs
"The CSS license pact has aided the success of DVDs because it has provided protection against illegal copying to copyright owners of movies, television shows and other content sold on DVD."
Gimme a break! DVD became successful because:
- easy to navigate
- higher quality
- marketing, marketing and marketing (Movies on VHS were never displayed as prominently as DVD Movies today in record stores and electronics stores)
It has absolutely nothing to do with copy protection, which has been available on VHS long time ago! Anyone interested in "illegally copying" DVD enough would have found out how to break the so-called protection anyway.
[Update] Let's face it: copy-protection is made to be broken. Here is another example: How to Un-DRM your Un-DRM'd iTunes 4.6 Songs
Monday, August 16, 2004
Outsourcing CEO: take 2
Carly may not be too happy when she read this article: Jobs and the Resurgent Economy Outsourcing CEOs, especially after her company announced bad results.
Well, what goes around comes around. Carly: remember you said, "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore..." (see Outsourcing can build a safer world, Fiorina says BTW, this was the 2nd time I heard such ridiculous argument from CEO )
Well, what goes around comes around. Carly: remember you said, "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore..." (see Outsourcing can build a safer world, Fiorina says BTW, this was the 2nd time I heard such ridiculous argument from CEO )
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Ultimate Sports Junkie Sunday
I'm flipping between the following programs now:
- olympic soccer
- olympic boxing
- olympic basketball
- PGA championship
- A's baseball
- NFL Preseason
What a great day! Gotta love living in US :D Now I wish I have 6 TV...
- olympic soccer
- olympic boxing
- olympic basketball
- PGA championship
- A's baseball
- NFL Preseason
What a great day! Gotta love living in US :D Now I wish I have 6 TV...
Thursday, August 12, 2004
HOWTO: Get out of AT&T Wireless contract without paying Cancellation Fees
Here is the thread from FatWallet
Basically ATTWS is going to increase the fee for 411. When the service agreement changes, customers are entitled to cancelled the contract without penalty.
I almost feel sorry for ATTWS when I see the level of enthusiasm and the number of responses to this thread. But then, who could sympathize with a company that provides poor service? Worse yet, they are trying all sorts of B.S. to refuse honoring cancellation without penalty. Some posters were told 411 is an optional service. Some were told they called too late (later than the period after the mail is sent.) All sorts of excuses...
When a company relies on this to keep its customer, you know how bright the future it has.
Basically ATTWS is going to increase the fee for 411. When the service agreement changes, customers are entitled to cancelled the contract without penalty.
I almost feel sorry for ATTWS when I see the level of enthusiasm and the number of responses to this thread. But then, who could sympathize with a company that provides poor service? Worse yet, they are trying all sorts of B.S. to refuse honoring cancellation without penalty. Some posters were told 411 is an optional service. Some were told they called too late (later than the period after the mail is sent.) All sorts of excuses...
When a company relies on this to keep its customer, you know how bright the future it has.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Salute to Mr. Koo Ming-Kown
Reading all those scandals about celebrities in the entertainment, political or business world, some times I ask myself: Do people still care about doing good deeds anymore? Who should be my daughter's role model when she needs one?
Fortunately, once in a while, you still hear some heart-warming stories: Mr. Koo, CFO of Nam Tai Electronic (and a fellow Pui Ching Middle School alum), has donated funds to keep alive the John F. Kennedy Centre of HK Red Cross, which offers senior secondary education (equivalent to Grade 12 in US) to physically very fragile students who have intense difficulties in attending classes in a regular school setting.
Previously Mr. Koo has donated HK$100 million to Hong Kong Baptist University to meet its fund-raising goal such that the government will match its subsidy in the same amount. This is a big boost to colleges that are facing financial difficulties in Hong Kong.
Now I have an answer.
Fortunately, once in a while, you still hear some heart-warming stories: Mr. Koo, CFO of Nam Tai Electronic (and a fellow Pui Ching Middle School alum), has donated funds to keep alive the John F. Kennedy Centre of HK Red Cross, which offers senior secondary education (equivalent to Grade 12 in US) to physically very fragile students who have intense difficulties in attending classes in a regular school setting.
Previously Mr. Koo has donated HK$100 million to Hong Kong Baptist University to meet its fund-raising goal such that the government will match its subsidy in the same amount. This is a big boost to colleges that are facing financial difficulties in Hong Kong.
Now I have an answer.
You can rewrite books but you can't rewrite history
You can burn records but you can't burn memories.
Japanese government has deliberately taken out references of their invasion of China during WWII, including the Nanking massacre, from their history textbook, which is already a very shameful act. Now they request the Chinese government to do the same.
I certainly hope that the Chinese government would protest such a ridiculous demand (instead of being bullied like the old imperial China) I also hope Japan would acknowledge that painful part of history and apologized for the past sin. Then we could all move on. I condemn hatred, especially the unnecessary hatred between Chinese and Japanese simply because a few stubborn or manipulative government officials refused to recognize history. (The academics have once again shown their conscience. Read this article about how this is studied by some Japanese scholars)
Japan could learn a lot from Germany on how they coped with WWII.
People will not forget but people will forgive.
Here I am quoting from Modern History Sourcebook:
The Nanking Massacre, 1937
The Japanese occupation of Nanking, the capital of the Republic of China, lead to one of the greatest horrors of the century . This eyewitness report was filed by a New York Times reporter.
Aboard the U.S.S. Oahu at Shanghai, Dec. 17 [1937].
Through wholesale atrocities and vandalism at Nanking the Japanese Army has thrown away a rare opportunity to gain the respect and confidence of the Chinese inhabitants and of foreign opinion there....
The killing of civilians was widespread. Foreigners who traveled widely through the city Wednesday found civilian dead on every street. Some of the victims were aged men, women and children.
Policemen and firemen were special objects of attack. Many victims were bayoneted and some of the wounds were barbarously cruel.
Any person who ran because of fear or excitement was likely to be killed on the spot as was any one caught by roving patrols in streets or alleys after dark. Many slayings were witnessed by foreigners.
The Japanese looting amounted almost to plundering of the entire city. Nearly every building was entered by Japanese soldiers, often under the eyes of their officers, and the men took whatever they wanted. The Japanese soldiers often impressed Chinese to carry their loot....
The mass executions of war prisoners added to the horrors the Japanese brought to Nanking. After killing the Chinese soldiers who threw down their arms and surrendered, the Japanese combed the city for men in civilian garb who were suspected of being former soldiers.
In one building in the refugee zone 400 men were seized. They were marched off, tied in batches of fifty, between lines of riflemen and machine gunners, to the execution ground.
Just before boarding the ship for Shanghai the writer watched the execution of 200 men on the Bund [dike]. The killings took ten minutes. The men were lined against a wall and shot. Then a number of Japanese, armed with pistols, trod nonchalantly around the crumpled bodies, pumping bullets into any that were still kicking.
The army men performing the gruesome job had invited navy men from the warships anchored off the Bund to view the scene. A large group of military spectators apparently greatly enjoyed the spectacle.
When the first column of Japanese troops marched from the South Gate up Chungshan Road toward the city's Big Circle, small knots of Chinese civilians broke into scattering cheers, so great was their relief that the siege was over and so high were their hopes that the Japanese would restore peace and order. There are no cheers in Nanking now for the Japanese.
By despoiling the city and population the Japanese have driven deeper into the Chinese a repressed hatred that will smolder through tears as forms of the antiJapanism that Tokyo professes to be fighting to eradicate from China.
The capture of Nanking was the most overwhelming defeat suffered by the Chinese and one of the most tragic military debacles in the history of modern warfare. In attempting to defend Nanking the Chinese allowed themselves to be surrounded and then systematically slaughtered....
The flight of the many Chinese soldiers was possible by only a few exits. Instead of sticking by their men to hold the invaders at bay with a few strategically placed units while the others withdrew, many army leaders deserted, causing panic among the rank and file.
Those who failed to escape through the gate leading to Hsiakwan and from there across the Yangtze were caught and executed....
When theJapanese captured Hsiakwan gate they cut off all exit from the city while at least a third of the Chinese Army still was within the walls.
Because of the disorganization of the Chinese a number of units continued fighting Tuesday noon, many of these not realizing the Japanese had surrounded them and that their cause was hopeless. Japanese tank patrols systematically eliminated these.
Tuesday morning, while attempting to motor to Hsiakwan, I encountered a desperate group of about twentyfive Chinese soldiers who were still holding the Ningpo Guild Building on Chungahan Road. They later surrendered.
Thousands of prisoners were executed by the Japanese. Most of the Chinese soldiers who had been interned in the safety zone were shot in masses. The city was combed in a systematic housetohouse search for men having knapsack marks on their shoulders or other signs of having been soldiers. They were herded together and executed.
Many were killed where they were found, including men innocent of any army connection and many wounded soldiers and civilians. I witnessed three mass executions of prisoners within a few hours Wednesday. In one slaughter a tank gun was turned on a group of more than 100 soldiers at a bomb shelter near the Ministry of Communications.
A favorite method of execution was to herd groups of a dozen men at entrances of dugout and to shoot them so the bodies toppled inside. Dirt then was shoveled in and the men buried.
Since the beginning of the Japanese assault on Nanking the city presented a frightful appearance. The Chinese facilities for the care of army wounded were tragically inadequate, so as early as a week ago injured men were seen often on the streets, some hobbling, others crawling along seeking treatment.
Civilian casualties also were heavy, amounting to thousands. The only hospital open was the American managed University Hospital and its facilities were inadequate for even a fraction of those hurt.
Nanking's streets were littered with dead. Sometimes bodies had to be moved before automobiles could pass.
The capture of Hsiakwan Gate by the Japanese was accompanied by the mass killing of the defenders, who were piled up among the sandbags, forming a mound six feet high. Late Wednesday the Japanese had not removed the dead, and two days of heavy military traffic had been passing through, grinding over the remains of men, dogs and horses.
The Japanese appear to want the horrors to remain as long as possible, to impress on the Chinese the terrible results of resisting Japan.
Chungahan Road was a long avenue of filth and discarded uniforms, rifles, pistols, machine guns, fieldpieces, knives and knapsacks. In some places the Japanese had to hitch tanks to debris to clear the road.
From F. Tillman, "All Captives Slain,'' The New York Times, December 18, 1937, pp. 1, 10.
This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.
Japanese government has deliberately taken out references of their invasion of China during WWII, including the Nanking massacre, from their history textbook, which is already a very shameful act. Now they request the Chinese government to do the same.
I certainly hope that the Chinese government would protest such a ridiculous demand (instead of being bullied like the old imperial China) I also hope Japan would acknowledge that painful part of history and apologized for the past sin. Then we could all move on. I condemn hatred, especially the unnecessary hatred between Chinese and Japanese simply because a few stubborn or manipulative government officials refused to recognize history. (The academics have once again shown their conscience. Read this article about how this is studied by some Japanese scholars)
Japan could learn a lot from Germany on how they coped with WWII.
People will not forget but people will forgive.
Here I am quoting from Modern History Sourcebook:
The Nanking Massacre, 1937
The Japanese occupation of Nanking, the capital of the Republic of China, lead to one of the greatest horrors of the century . This eyewitness report was filed by a New York Times reporter.
Aboard the U.S.S. Oahu at Shanghai, Dec. 17 [1937].
Through wholesale atrocities and vandalism at Nanking the Japanese Army has thrown away a rare opportunity to gain the respect and confidence of the Chinese inhabitants and of foreign opinion there....
The killing of civilians was widespread. Foreigners who traveled widely through the city Wednesday found civilian dead on every street. Some of the victims were aged men, women and children.
Policemen and firemen were special objects of attack. Many victims were bayoneted and some of the wounds were barbarously cruel.
Any person who ran because of fear or excitement was likely to be killed on the spot as was any one caught by roving patrols in streets or alleys after dark. Many slayings were witnessed by foreigners.
The Japanese looting amounted almost to plundering of the entire city. Nearly every building was entered by Japanese soldiers, often under the eyes of their officers, and the men took whatever they wanted. The Japanese soldiers often impressed Chinese to carry their loot....
The mass executions of war prisoners added to the horrors the Japanese brought to Nanking. After killing the Chinese soldiers who threw down their arms and surrendered, the Japanese combed the city for men in civilian garb who were suspected of being former soldiers.
In one building in the refugee zone 400 men were seized. They were marched off, tied in batches of fifty, between lines of riflemen and machine gunners, to the execution ground.
Just before boarding the ship for Shanghai the writer watched the execution of 200 men on the Bund [dike]. The killings took ten minutes. The men were lined against a wall and shot. Then a number of Japanese, armed with pistols, trod nonchalantly around the crumpled bodies, pumping bullets into any that were still kicking.
The army men performing the gruesome job had invited navy men from the warships anchored off the Bund to view the scene. A large group of military spectators apparently greatly enjoyed the spectacle.
When the first column of Japanese troops marched from the South Gate up Chungshan Road toward the city's Big Circle, small knots of Chinese civilians broke into scattering cheers, so great was their relief that the siege was over and so high were their hopes that the Japanese would restore peace and order. There are no cheers in Nanking now for the Japanese.
By despoiling the city and population the Japanese have driven deeper into the Chinese a repressed hatred that will smolder through tears as forms of the antiJapanism that Tokyo professes to be fighting to eradicate from China.
The capture of Nanking was the most overwhelming defeat suffered by the Chinese and one of the most tragic military debacles in the history of modern warfare. In attempting to defend Nanking the Chinese allowed themselves to be surrounded and then systematically slaughtered....
The flight of the many Chinese soldiers was possible by only a few exits. Instead of sticking by their men to hold the invaders at bay with a few strategically placed units while the others withdrew, many army leaders deserted, causing panic among the rank and file.
Those who failed to escape through the gate leading to Hsiakwan and from there across the Yangtze were caught and executed....
When theJapanese captured Hsiakwan gate they cut off all exit from the city while at least a third of the Chinese Army still was within the walls.
Because of the disorganization of the Chinese a number of units continued fighting Tuesday noon, many of these not realizing the Japanese had surrounded them and that their cause was hopeless. Japanese tank patrols systematically eliminated these.
Tuesday morning, while attempting to motor to Hsiakwan, I encountered a desperate group of about twentyfive Chinese soldiers who were still holding the Ningpo Guild Building on Chungahan Road. They later surrendered.
Thousands of prisoners were executed by the Japanese. Most of the Chinese soldiers who had been interned in the safety zone were shot in masses. The city was combed in a systematic housetohouse search for men having knapsack marks on their shoulders or other signs of having been soldiers. They were herded together and executed.
Many were killed where they were found, including men innocent of any army connection and many wounded soldiers and civilians. I witnessed three mass executions of prisoners within a few hours Wednesday. In one slaughter a tank gun was turned on a group of more than 100 soldiers at a bomb shelter near the Ministry of Communications.
A favorite method of execution was to herd groups of a dozen men at entrances of dugout and to shoot them so the bodies toppled inside. Dirt then was shoveled in and the men buried.
Since the beginning of the Japanese assault on Nanking the city presented a frightful appearance. The Chinese facilities for the care of army wounded were tragically inadequate, so as early as a week ago injured men were seen often on the streets, some hobbling, others crawling along seeking treatment.
Civilian casualties also were heavy, amounting to thousands. The only hospital open was the American managed University Hospital and its facilities were inadequate for even a fraction of those hurt.
Nanking's streets were littered with dead. Sometimes bodies had to be moved before automobiles could pass.
The capture of Hsiakwan Gate by the Japanese was accompanied by the mass killing of the defenders, who were piled up among the sandbags, forming a mound six feet high. Late Wednesday the Japanese had not removed the dead, and two days of heavy military traffic had been passing through, grinding over the remains of men, dogs and horses.
The Japanese appear to want the horrors to remain as long as possible, to impress on the Chinese the terrible results of resisting Japan.
Chungahan Road was a long avenue of filth and discarded uniforms, rifles, pistols, machine guns, fieldpieces, knives and knapsacks. In some places the Japanese had to hitch tanks to debris to clear the road.
From F. Tillman, "All Captives Slain,'' The New York Times, December 18, 1937, pp. 1, 10.
This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.
Monday, August 09, 2004
To be Goggled or not?
Just read an interesting article: while most of us try to boost our website's ranking in search engines/directories, some people actually are trying to do the opposite (BTW, "search engine optimizer" What a cool title! Sounds like my dream job :D )
Inspired by this, I've also learned something new today: the use of robots.txt to guide popular search engines.
Inspired by this, I've also learned something new today: the use of robots.txt to guide popular search engines.
Too dumb to dump (your date)
No one could be too dumb to dump his/her date anymore. Thanks to this new service that will make up excuses to get out of dates.
Man, whoever comes up with this idea is a genius, who got ditched too many times :P (Hmm... sounds like it could be one of my friends >:) Not bad turning his sour experiences into money!
Man, whoever comes up with this idea is a genius, who got ditched too many times :P (Hmm... sounds like it could be one of my friends >:) Not bad turning his sour experiences into money!
Saturday, August 07, 2004
It's a PDA? a laptop? No! It's TUG (THE ultimate gadget)
PDA, checked.
Cell phone, checked.
Laptop, checked.
Digital Camera, checked.
DV, checked.
MP3 player, checked.
That's what any typical gadget freak would do before (s)he goes on a trip. (That's what an Xtreme-freak would do when going to grocery shopping :P)
Wouldn't it be great when some day we could have an ALL-in-one device that combined the functionalities of all of the above? That's what I'd call the Universal Gadget (TUG), or THE ultimate gadget :D.
THE industry calls this convergence. Right now we have seen:
- PDA x Cell phone x Camera x MP3, e.g. Treo 600
- Laptop x Camera x MP3, e.g. Sony VAIO TR-series
- DC x DV, e.g. a lot of DV could take megapixel+ (up to 3.3) still these day
- DC x DV x MP3, e.g. Panasonic D-Snap SV-AV50S
etc.
Unfortunately, you need to sacrifice a lot of quality/performance on some (or ALL) functions in any multi-fuctional units. Not to mention a lot of money too!
I believe a TUG, with reasonable quality/performance in ALL areas, will appear in the next few years. Here is my minimum requirement/spec:
- 3 Megapixel camera
- 10x optical zoom
- Over megapixel CCD sensor for video
- record directly to HD in DV format (not mpeg2! don't want inter-frame dependency!)
- 80 Gb HD (enough for a couple hours of DV, music, still photo, movies for entertainment, games, combined. Oh yeah, the OS and PIM app too)
- 7" tablet-type screen. (No integrated keyboard)
- Running the same version of OS as my desktop with instant-on capability
- Integrated messenger application that combines voice mail/email/SMS/MMS/voice call/IM/video call in a seemless fashion.
- ability to connect to 3G phone network
- WIFI and auto-switch to 3G phone network when WIFI is unavailable.
- 6 full hour of battery life (per battery) with WIFI and bluetooth on.
- less than 3 lbs.
Periphreal for the UG would include:
- Blu-ray optical read-write drive with 13+ Gb capacity on single disk (in case I fill up the 80Gb during my trip)
- Bluetooth stereo (or multi-channel :P) headphone + mic
It would look like this (but less thick and bigger screen):
(Yeah, it's a Sharp ViewCam)
Alright, enough day dreaming!
Cell phone, checked.
Laptop, checked.
Digital Camera, checked.
DV, checked.
MP3 player, checked.
That's what any typical gadget freak would do before (s)he goes on a trip. (That's what an Xtreme-freak would do when going to grocery shopping :P)
Wouldn't it be great when some day we could have an ALL-in-one device that combined the functionalities of all of the above? That's what I'd call the Universal Gadget (TUG), or THE ultimate gadget :D.
THE industry calls this convergence. Right now we have seen:
- PDA x Cell phone x Camera x MP3, e.g. Treo 600
- Laptop x Camera x MP3, e.g. Sony VAIO TR-series
- DC x DV, e.g. a lot of DV could take megapixel+ (up to 3.3) still these day
- DC x DV x MP3, e.g. Panasonic D-Snap SV-AV50S
etc.
Unfortunately, you need to sacrifice a lot of quality/performance on some (or ALL) functions in any multi-fuctional units. Not to mention a lot of money too!
I believe a TUG, with reasonable quality/performance in ALL areas, will appear in the next few years. Here is my minimum requirement/spec:
- 3 Megapixel camera
- 10x optical zoom
- Over megapixel CCD sensor for video
- record directly to HD in DV format (not mpeg2! don't want inter-frame dependency!)
- 80 Gb HD (enough for a couple hours of DV, music, still photo, movies for entertainment, games, combined. Oh yeah, the OS and PIM app too)
- 7" tablet-type screen. (No integrated keyboard)
- Running the same version of OS as my desktop with instant-on capability
- Integrated messenger application that combines voice mail/email/SMS/MMS/voice call/IM/video call in a seemless fashion.
- ability to connect to 3G phone network
- WIFI and auto-switch to 3G phone network when WIFI is unavailable.
- 6 full hour of battery life (per battery) with WIFI and bluetooth on.
- less than 3 lbs.
Periphreal for the UG would include:
- Blu-ray optical read-write drive with 13+ Gb capacity on single disk (in case I fill up the 80Gb during my trip)
- Bluetooth stereo (or multi-channel :P) headphone + mic
It would look like this (but less thick and bigger screen):
(Yeah, it's a Sharp ViewCam)
Alright, enough day dreaming!
Friday, August 06, 2004
Japan vs. China
[Asian Cup] Even if you don't follow sports, you've probably heard about the upcoming football match between Japan vs. China, the final of this year's Asian Cup, from "regular" news.
You've probably also heard about anti-Japanese emotion is running high around this game in China. A lot of Chinese fans' behaviors as a result of this have been criticized. The critics, including Mr. Tao Kit, an Apple Daily columnist that I have a lot of respect, say: sports is sports, politics is politics. Do not mingle them. On one hand, I agree boo-ing during Japanese national anthem is a poor display of manner. On the other hand, I think it is naive to expect too much rationality since sports fans are emotional by nature (hey, the emotional vs. rational debate again! Miss Yu: what's your comment?) Mr. Tao used France vs. Germany as an example to illustrate fans from those countries won't bring up wounds of WWII. I think that's a bad analogy though. How about Israel vs. Egypt, Jordan or Syria? I'm pretty sure the issue of the occupation of Gaza and West Bank will be brought up. Can you even imagine what will happen at an Israel vs. Germany game if the German hadn't apologize for holocaust?
In fact, sports and politics had a long history of mingling together. Remember the table tennis diplomacy between US and China? Remember the West boycotting Moscow Olympic?
Enough of politics, back to this game: my heart is certainly with the Chinese team. I hope they could play the best they can (Think Greek!) However, let's not set our expectation too high though. Their current success is most certainly a result of "inflation of ability" due to home field advantage (Think Portuguese!) Look at how many Japanese players are playing in Europe professionally (even though mostly as backups) and you know there is a gap between us and them.
Go China!
You've probably also heard about anti-Japanese emotion is running high around this game in China. A lot of Chinese fans' behaviors as a result of this have been criticized. The critics, including Mr. Tao Kit, an Apple Daily columnist that I have a lot of respect, say: sports is sports, politics is politics. Do not mingle them. On one hand, I agree boo-ing during Japanese national anthem is a poor display of manner. On the other hand, I think it is naive to expect too much rationality since sports fans are emotional by nature (hey, the emotional vs. rational debate again! Miss Yu: what's your comment?) Mr. Tao used France vs. Germany as an example to illustrate fans from those countries won't bring up wounds of WWII. I think that's a bad analogy though. How about Israel vs. Egypt, Jordan or Syria? I'm pretty sure the issue of the occupation of Gaza and West Bank will be brought up. Can you even imagine what will happen at an Israel vs. Germany game if the German hadn't apologize for holocaust?
In fact, sports and politics had a long history of mingling together. Remember the table tennis diplomacy between US and China? Remember the West boycotting Moscow Olympic?
Enough of politics, back to this game: my heart is certainly with the Chinese team. I hope they could play the best they can (Think Greek!) However, let's not set our expectation too high though. Their current success is most certainly a result of "inflation of ability" due to home field advantage (Think Portuguese!) Look at how many Japanese players are playing in Europe professionally (even though mostly as backups) and you know there is a gap between us and them.
Go China!
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Charlie Haden
You learn something new everyday, man! (According to the book "Like Young", ending a sentence like this is the great Jazz bassist Charlie Haden's mannerism :P BTW, since my Palm was broken, I went back to reading "hard copy" books during commute. This is one interesting book on jazz. The author, Francis Davis, provided a lot of his insights.) I wrote this after his concert in HK. And I was so puzzled by his use of a big clear plastic "wall" separating himself from the rest of the band. Now I finally realized it's because he has hyperacousis (extreme sensitivity to loud sound)
Also new and interesting to me is that he's anti-Republican, a so-called leftist. Now it's clear to me what the name of his band, Liberation Music Orchestra, stands for. In fact, this band only releases new music during a Republican administration! He wrote a song called "Song for Che." Go figure! Even more surprising is that my idol on piano, Bill Evans "The Introspective", actually opposed to Haden's political views. Evans once told Haden he thought US troops should go to Vietnam.
Also new and interesting to me is that he's anti-Republican, a so-called leftist. Now it's clear to me what the name of his band, Liberation Music Orchestra, stands for. In fact, this band only releases new music during a Republican administration! He wrote a song called "Song for Che." Go figure! Even more surprising is that my idol on piano, Bill Evans "The Introspective", actually opposed to Haden's political views. Evans once told Haden he thought US troops should go to Vietnam.
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