Bing, as in the crazy Chinese gold farmer, not the search engine. Apparently it pays well to be a cotton factory worker AND run your own private server. Competition is stiff over in China with the growing number of underground gaming servers and often leads to dirty tactics. The ringleader, surname Bing, took exception to his competitors tactics and proceed to rent a botnet to retaliate. Only problem was, Bing was a moron, and configured his botnet wrong. It then went on the rampage to not only perform DDOS attacks on his competitor but as well the whole Internet. A total of 4 people were arrested.
Hmm, was it worth the $41,000? Tell it to your next prison buddy.
En las regiones del mundo donde se producen las cuatro estaciones, la época primaveral es, quizá, la más esperada por todos, porque si bien cada estación tiene su encanto particular, la primavera es renacer, comienzo y despertar de vida en la naturaleza y en el corazón de las gentes, quienes, al liberarse de sus ropas de invierno para sentir del sol los rayos, también liberan su espíritu, ante la promesa de renovación que encierra la llegada de la primavera.
Beijing no es la excepción. A finales de febrero, principios de marzo recibe la ansiada visita de la estación floral. Y, aunque en la próspera capital china los edificios también crecen como flores silvestres, el sentido de armonía y la creatividad intrínsicos del pueblo chino se conjugan para adornar la ciudad de belleza primaveral; se decoran todos los espacios urbanos disponibles, y Beijing se convierte en mosaico gigante de plantas y flores multicolores, para disfrute terreno y espiritual de los beijineses y los visitantes.
Pero, no sólo las calles, las plazas y los parques capitalinos exhiben encanto primaveral; el cielo de Beijing también se llena de primavera, con centenares de coloridos cometas chinos. Gracias a la inventiva característica de la milenaria cultura china, se consiguen cometas en todas las formas imaginables. Los más populares y realistas – por su condición aérea – son las aves (este año predominará la golondrina, por ser una de las 5 mascotas de las Olimpiadas de Beijing 2008), los aviones y los cohetes espaciales chinos “Gran Marcha”. Pero, aquí en China no sólo vuelan animales y objetos alados, también vuelan dragones y leones chinos, y cualquier cosa que permita la imaginación, convirtiendo al cielo beijinés en un circo de magia y color.
Aunque volar cometas puede considerarse una actividad lúdica colectiva, es más bien una experiencia íntima entre el hombre y ese objeto volador que representa su deseo físico de volar como las aves, y sus sueños de trascendencia. Por ello, no es sólo el viento, sino la ilusión y la fe de su dueño lo que permite al cometa elevarse y mantenerse en el cielo. Yo, como espectador, comparto esa sensación, y cuando veo un cometa remontando las nubes, muy alto en el cielo, quisiera acompañarlo en su vuelo libre y sereno.
Comunidad voladora de cometas
En la primavera de 2004, fui invitado por la Universidad de Beijing a asistir – en representación de los estudiantes extranjeros – a una competición de vuelo de cometas en un municipio en las afueras de la ciudad. Me sorprendieron gratamente la excelente organización del evento y la nutrida participación de competidores y espectadores de dicha comunidad. Inesperadamente, las autoridades locales me pidieron que dijera unas palabras (con traducción de la estudiante china que me acompañó). Acepté, honrado, pero sin saber qué podía yo a decir a aquellos expertos voladores de cometas. Mientras me entregaban el micrófono, vino a mi mente la letra de una canción tradicional infantil venezolana que habla, justamente, sobre cometas (“papagayos”, en mi país), y por ahí comencé… Al final, más confiado, les expliqué que en mi opinión esos eventos sirven para preservar y fomentar las tradiciones, y para promover las actividades de sano esparcimiento familiar en la comunidad.
Al término de aquella pintoresca y animada competición, me regalaron un bonito cometa chino y me hicieron volarlo. Y, aunque volé papagayos cuando niño, disto mucho de tener la pericia de los chinos (y, para ser justos, había muy poco viento), así que el público debió conformarse con el vuelo muy breve y rasante de mi cometa, mientras yo corría como loco tratando de elevarlo. ¡Al menos, se rieron bastante!
Antes de despedirme, tuve oportunidad de compartir con personas de todas las edades (siempre con mi amiga traduciendo). En un momento, me vi rodeado por curiosos niños de entre 7 y 9 años de edad, ¡que hablaban inglés¡ Ante mi sorpresa, me explicaron que estaban aprendiéndolo para ayudar en las Olimpiadas de Beijing. Les manifesté mi sincera admiración y los felicité. Además, los exhorté a que en el futuro siguieran volando cometas y mejorando su inglés, para que China siga siendo un gran país y organice unas fantásticas olimpiadas.
Cuando me despedía de aquellos encantadores niños chinos, se me acercó una pequeñita, y en un gesto que nunca olvidaré se quitó un bonito collar para obsequiármelo como recuerdo de aquel emotivo encuentro. Inicialmente me rehusé a aceptarlo, así que buscó a su mamá para que me convenciera. Mis ojos se llenaron de lágrimas, y los niños me preguntaron por qué lloraba. La estudiante china les tradujo mis palabras: “Mis lágrimas son de pura alegría. Esta linda niña, y todos ustedes con su generosidad y ternura me hacen muy feliz”.
Siempre pensé que los cometas requerían espacios abiertos y extensos para poder volar. Pero, en Beijing, los voladores de cometas desafían toda lógica, y con increíble pericia logran elevarlos desde lugares imposibles: en medio de altos edificios, en plena avenida o entre los árboles. En Beijing, es común ver cometas solitarios volando entre edificios enormes, creando un contraste interesante entre la espesa selva de concreto y el bonito juguete volador que anuncia la primavera, y brinda sosiego a esta agitada metrópolis. Por esta época, desde las oficinas de traducción en el piso 8 del edificio de CCTV, ya diviso cometas en el horizonte, que también traen sosiego y alegría a mi espíritu en primavera.
Vuelo cultural del cometa chino
A la edad de 10 años, conocí el Barrio Chino de la ciudad de Los Ángeles, Estados Unidos. Entonces, la cultura china ya ejercía cierta fascinación en mí. Allí me antojé de un espectacular cometa en forma de dragón, con 10 metros de cola, y convencí a mis padres de que lo compraran. Recuerdo como si fuera ayer la gran sensación que causó aquel dragón volador en Venezuela, y los momentos felices que pasé junto a mi padre viéndolo elevarse majestuoso en el cielo.
Hoy, 30 años después, mis sueños de aventura, mi interés por la cultura china y el destino me trajeron a esta hermosa tierra, y deseo a sus habitantes que la prosperidad que ambicionan llegue tan alto como sus cometas en los cielos de China.
Mi madre, quien vino a China en verano de 2004 a pasarse un mes conmigo por mi graduación, quedó fascinada con vitalidad de la cultura china y con la vigencia de sus ancestrales y hermosas costumbres. Ella se autodenomina “ciudadana del mundo”, y atribuye gran valor a la diversidad cultural de la humanidad. Así que me pidió que si escribía sobre los cometas, dijera que llevé a Venezuela el que me obsequiara aquella gentil y entusiasta comunidad beijinesa, para volarlo en los cielos venezolanos. Además de la dicha experimentada por mis amados sobrinos, Venezuela y China se unieron en un abrazo cultural, ya que con cada pirueta aquel cometa llenaba el cielo de mi país con la historia y la belleza creativa de esa milenaria tradición china.
En esta estación de flores y canto de aves, también quiero ver la primavera en el cielo de Beijing, constelación de cometas multicolores contra el azul infinito, expresión de los sueños bonitos de esplendor y felicidad que alberga el noble pueblo chino.
Kevin Hall at Dvice writes a small but good article talking about China Unicom and Apple having signed a partnership in order to sell Iphones in China. What Kevin states is that China Unicom will buy the headsets as wholesales and will have the right to decide the content being shown (full article at http://dvice.com/archives/2009/08/does-china-real.php).
I think that Apple move, on an economic point of view only, is a smart move, because of the big market is entering.
On the fact of having a less rich Iphone, I remain on my position that those who will have the IPhone for benefiting of all functions will be far less than those buying it “because is glamour”.
What doesn’t surprise me but seems incoherent is that Apple rejects Google Voice app because changes user experience, but when China Unicom cuts some content is accepted.
1.2 Billion potential users are a new frontier that cannot be ignored, also if some exceptions have to be made.
This post as a comment at http://dvice.com/archives/2009/08/does-china-real.php
Popular Korean idol group SS501 held their fan meeting at Beijing Chaoyang Gymnasium on 29-Aug. This is their group’s first performance at Beijing, TS (SS501’s fans) are especially enthusiastic, waiting outside the fan meeting venue early to wait for their idol to appear. Fan meeting started at 7pm sharp, and the crowd went ecstatic as soon as it started.
This is the first time SS501 came to Beijing for performance, and Kim HyunJoong is the most popular member.
As a popular Korean idol group, a lot of fans chased after SS501 even though it is their first visit to Beijing. The most popular member in the group is leader Kim HyunJoong. Being the second lead actor playing the role of Yoon JiHoo in popular Korean drama ‘Boys Over Flowers’, his gentle and polite personality won him very high popularity in Korea and even throughout Asia. The theme song ‘Because I am Stupid’ sung by 3 other members also gained much popularity, winning supports from more fans for this group.
Members put their best in their performance, reveals secrets through games section.
SS501 performed ‘Unlock’ and ‘U R Man’, these songs which the fans are familiar with pushed the atmosphere to its climax very quickly. In the games section, the members happily revealed the shortcomings of other members when the MC asked questions to them, making the fans shriek once and again. In one ranking game, YoungSaeng imitated JungMin getting drunk, HyunJoong imitated HyungJoon dancing, etc, pushing the atmosphere into the climax.
In the midst of their Asia Tour, new album to be released in September.
At the end of their performance, SS501 expressed that they are very thankful for the support of fans in Beijing, China, now that they are in the midst of their Asia Tour, they hope to hold their concert in China too. In addition, members revealed that their 2nd official Korean album will be released in September, they hope that the fans would like their new songs and continue to suppor them. The performance would have ended but under the chants of ‘encore’ by the fans, SS501 appeared for another great performance of one song and finally bid farewell to their fans, ending their Beijing fan meeting.
It’s tempting to multiply China’s 700 million mobile phone users by a percentage pulled out of a hat, and now that China Unicom has announced its deal with Apple (AAPL), everybody seems to be doing it.
Result: Published estimates of how many iPhones Apple will sell in China next year that range from a low of 1 million to a high of 14 million. Here are the numbers we’ve seen:
UBS analyst Maynard Um: 1 million in fiscal 2010
Sanford Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi: 2.9 million by end of 2011
Standard & Poor’s Clyde Montevirgen: 4 million in calendar 2010
Susquehana Financial’s Jeffrey Fidicaro: 2 million to 5 million
Broadpoint AmTech’s Brian Marshall: 5 million to 7 million in 2010
iPhonAsia’s Dan Butterfield: 14 million in the first year of sales
Everybody’s guessing, of course, since China Unicom hasn’t even announced its pricing or its terms. Meanwhile, Susquehana’s Fidicaro offers investors this handy formula: For every additional 1 million phones Apple sells next year, you can add 18 to 20 cents to the company’s earnings per share.
The Street currently expects Apple to earn $5.84 a share in fiscal 2009 and $6.79 a share in 2010, according to Thomson Financial.
I have earlier penned about the possibility of a “Geothermal induced quake in Beijing” (Mar 2008). Since then, there had been other quakes and now ongoing drought threatening millions of lives in China. The dilemma of trying to balance the need for cheap energy and water resources is a difficult line to tread. For Geothermal energy, the present argument for those in this business (of making money) is that it sort of provide outlet for the buildup of volcanic pressure to prevent a giant earthquake. But how true is this. You see, the problem is that most Geothermal project require huge amount of underground water tables or reservoirs. These underground water tables or reservoirs also serve as a buffer to cushion the tectonic plate movement in minor quakes. Now these minor quakes will magnify thousands of times in these dried up crevices or fractured plates. Ground will collapse easily in the vicinity of such projects. Ironically, the water tables are also the source of water for the people for both drinking, farming and importantly, the sustainability of land.
So we should at least be mindful where our buildings or projects should be sited too. So the short-term gain in energy will inadvertently see the long-term desertification of land and another destroyed habitat. This is comparable to the landslide in Leyte, Philippines, near the Geothermal project that had apparently “puzzled” scientists. I am puzzled why the scientist are puzzled. Aren’t they scientists or quack scientist working for the business ventures with vested interest?
Anyway, against the incessant blackmail via a global recession, people are doing lots and lots of stupid things for their survival or to look successful. That is because we fail to use our heart and rely on whatever brain we have (or have not developed over the years). Study and working smart may make you seemed like a smart person. But you know that you aren’t.
HKGFM.net whose tagline is “YOUR Musical Universe” and has 50,000 listeners a day is teaming up to provide world wide coverage on the China Battle! Mr. Blaze Hackman, Music Director of HKGFM.net said “We are delighted to be involved with the authentic live music scene in China which has been one of our biggest listening markets since 2008. For many people HKGFM.net is the top choice for music lovers in China and with listeners from over 150 countries around the globe we will bring China’s Rock “n” Roll to the world.” said Hackman, “All the bands who sign up for the competition will be able to send their music to HKGFM.net and as part of the competition we will have special shows to help feature their music.”
“This is a live music event in front of a live crowd who get to pick their favorite band at each of the heats as the bands battle through the competition. The audience gets to choose their favorite band on the night and their selection helps decide the winners at each of the heats. We know the bands have fans from all over the country who may not be able to make it to the live shows so we want those fans to be able to join in the fun too. So we have teamed up with HKGFM.net to allow fans to choose who they think is the best.” said Chris B, National Director of GBOB China. “We will announce details of how fans can join in online by the end of August.”
Global Battle of the Bands China this year will take place in five cities: Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Each city will select one winning band based on judges and audience votes. Judges comprising of established musicians, respected music journalists, music editors and people involved in the music industry. Judges confirmed so far include: Jun Kung (drummer, producer), Soler (band), Silvester See Wai Yin (veteran musician, Acehero Films), Vincent Lee (Warner Music Hong Kong) and Christine Samson (Singer & Vocal Coach to top artists in HK such as Joey Yung, G.E.M., Fong Lik Sun).
Top notch live music venues from each city will be used: Yugongyishan (Beijing), Yuyingtang (Shanghai), The Cavern (Hong Kong), Jin Bar (Shenzhen) and Live Music Association (Macau).
Each of the five cities winners will battle out in Hong Kong in November 2009 to see who will represent China in the World Final of Global Battle of the Bands in London, England and the chance to win the grand prize of US$100,000 in band development.
Chris B, National Director of GBOB China, “More and more focus is on China to produce the next big band that is un-manufactured and playing real music, this competition will expose those potential bands to the world.”
Over 36 countries are taking part in 2009. The World Final will be held in La Scala, London, England on 13 December 2009. The 2008 World Final GBOB judges; comprised Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols bassist/songwriter), Jim Lowe (producer: Stereophonics, Charlatans etc) and Ben Adams (ex-member of A1 and now producer) and they all agreed that China would be the country to watch at 2009 finals. “Clearly Killer Soap have put the world on notice that Chinese bands are ready to take the world stage in rock music.” said Matt Walker, organiser of the Global Battle of the bands competition.
To register:
http://www.gbob.com/challenge/2009/cn/index.php
It’s strange to hear of “insourcing”–the transfer of manufacturing jobs into the United States instead of out–but that’s exactly what’s happening with Denmark’s wind giant Vestas, according to a New York Times article yesterday.
According to the report, a combination of global recession and domestic stimulus spending on clean energy is adding up to a boon for the American clean energy manufacturing industry.
In Europe, Vestas has seen several nations slow down their rates of added wind capacity, and flagging government support combined with financial difficulties has impeded the construction of new projects. By contrast, the United States built 8,500 megawatts of wind capacity in 2008 to Britain’s 500, and demand for turbine technology is high. So for opportunities in a more robust wind market, Vestas has begun to look across the Atlantic.
The New York Times reports:
“Vestas is rapidly expanding its production base in the United States, where it says it has created more than 1,200 skilled jobs. The company expects that number to climb to more than 4,000 by the end of 2010, if President Obama’s Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is carried out. Vestas believes that the Obama-led push to more renewables will stimulate demand and re-establish the United States as the world’s largest market for wind turbines. It hopes Congress will pass a national renewable energy standard that will stabilize the U.S. market in the long run.”
That’s a key point. The US wind market has been historically unstable, due to a periodically lapsing production tax credit and other forms of inconsistent government backing. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) this year created a market boom by delivering $65 billion for clean energy, efficiency retrofits and similar investments, including $2.3 billion in tax credits for clean energy manufacturers and a three-year extension of the production tax credit for wind power.
However, the clean energy investments begun in ARRA are temporary. Clean energy manufacturing incentives are short-term and even the production tax credit, finally extended for more than one year at a time, will expire in 2012. If the US doesn’t build on ARRA’s clean energy down payment with a substantial, sustained policy of government support for the wind industry and other emerging clean technologies, demand for renewable energy is likely to collapse–and foreign firms like Vestas will quickly stop opening doors within US borders.
In the NYT report, a Vestas representative was quite clear that nations must have strong and continued support for clean energy industries in order to attract the company’s investment.
“A key prerequisite is having long-term, stable national schemes that provide the industry with the necessary opportunities to plan and invest in employees, technology and production facilities,” he said.
So far, the United States is in danger of lacking such a long-term strategy to grow clean energy industries after the stimulus investments expire in 2012. The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) would invest just about $10 billion a year in clean energy, defined broadly–less than a third of the annual level established by Obama’s stimulus plan. The good news is that manufacturing-friendly measures like Senator Sherrod Brown’s proposed IMPACT bill–which would establish a $30 billion loan fund for clean energy manufacturers–look likely to make up a part of the climate bill currently before Congress. But the US must take a similarly strategic approach to nurturing all sectors of the clean energy industry in order to continue earning foreign investment and gaining manufacturing jobs.
Meanwhile, major wind manufacturers like Vestas and Germany’s Siemens have also taken notice of the promising wind market in China.
“In China, Vestas has five factories in Tianjin, a sales office in Beijing, a new factory in Hohhot and a procurement office in Shanghai and is currently building additional facilities in Xuzhou. It wants the turbines it sells in China to be 100 percent Chinese-made. Siemens is also expanding in China, building a new $85 million plant that will open next year in Shanghai with 400 workers.
‘China could soon become the largest wind energy market in the world. We are rigorously advancing the internationalization of our manufacturing network for wind turbines to optimally meet the needs of our customers,’ said Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Siemens Energy Sector, in a statement.”
Unlike the United States, China is poised to provide foreign wind companies with strong assurance of continued growth in the wind market, in the form of a $440-660 billion clean energy investment package set to be released this year. That could spell trouble if the United States fails to make similar investments in its clean energy industries–inevitably, manufacturers seeking the best market conditions will close facilities and shift valuable jobs from American to Chinese shores.
For now, Vestas has signaled confidence in the US wind market. According to the report,
“With the Obama administration promising big investments in green energy, wind turbine producers see the United States as the key to the industry’s future.”
Indeed, Obama’s substantial stimulus funding has laid the foundation for booming American markets in wind and other clean energy sectors, and foreign technology producers are taking notice. The challenge is to ensure that the U.S. remains on top of the wind market, and also opens other domestic clean energy markets to capitalize on the inflow of money and jobs from abroad. The United States can do this by enacting a stable, long-term national strategy that invests at least $30 billion per year in the development and deployment of clean energy technologies, and by passing measures like Brown’s IMPACT bill to support American clean energy manufacturing.
Without this strategy, we risk losing the forward momentum of ARRA investments, and we forfeit the chance to secure the prosperous clean energy economy so recently set in motion.
