Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics worldwide and companies like Apple and Dell contract them to build/assemble their products at huge factories in places like Shenzhen. They employee over 800,000 people in mainland china alone and a spate of recent suicides have brought into question their employment practices.
It just so happens that my parents neighbour is a pilot and by coincidence it turned out that he was flying the first leg of the flight I was taking back to China (Norwich -> Amsterdam). He very kindly invited me to sit with him and the co-pilot in the cockpit on the “jump seat“ for the journey – I felt like a boy who had been allowed to ride in a fire engine – absolutely awesome! The aircraft we were flying in was Fokker 70 which is relatively small with only 70 seats and made in the Netherlands. They’re used by KLM for their short-haul cityhopper service. As we were flying at night it was a bit dark to take any good photos (and I…
Ok, so you probably don’t read too many blog posts about toilets but stick with me! Last weekend I was lucky enough to stay in the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel (free on someones reward points again) and while everything was amazing, one thing stood out in particular: the toilet. As long as it’s western style I’m not to fussy about loos but what I found in my bathroom went beyond anything imaginable. First of all the toilet lid automatically raised itself when you entered (see video below), had a heated seat and automatic flush but way beyond this was the remote control which was hung on the wall (see photo above). Yes you heard me right – the toilet had a remote control. For…
As a testbed for companies like Samsung and LG Seoul is one of the best places to get a glimpse of things which haven’t made their way westward yet. Combined with unparalleled network infrastructure and massive government investment you have a recipe for some pretty cool innovation. During my most recent trip there I paid a visit to Gangnam to check out an interesting project called “U-Street” (ubiquitous street) which consists of a series of 12 meter-tall “Media Poles” (미디어폴) with touch screens allowing people to search maps, read news, check transport information, take photos and play games. They also act as free wi-fi hotspots. Arriving early evening they already looked pretty cool lit up like enormous monoliths with large LCD displays showing various art works and advertisements on the…
The Lift Asia 09 conference wrapped up last Friday afternoon on Jeju Island, South Korea and I’m glad to report that it was great. If you ever wanted two days of intense inspiration then this was the place to go. There was a plethora of fascinating talks from people spanning a wide range of disciplines in an ideal location overlooking the sea. Photo by Jinho Jung I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on the talks and experiences that stood out for me: Best Talks Hojun Song (Open Source Satellite Initiative) Photo by Jinho Jung This guy is on a serious mission to build and launch his own open-source satellite for no other reason than to make a personal fantasy come true. He aims to launch the…
By the looks of this picture sent to me today randomwire.com continues to increase in popularity and gain new audiences Over the past 6 years the site has transitioned from my daily musings about university and foreign films (circa 2004) to life in London and technology (2005 – 2007) to coverage of my adventures in China and East Asia. With more focus has come a larger audience which has motivated me to continue at a frequency of about 2 posts per week (time permitting). It’s something I enjoy a lot and although I have never attempted to make any money out of it (nor do I have any plans to) I have been thinking about what people enjoy the most and whether I should…
If you like cool technology that looks like it could have come from the future then this is for you. Augmented Reality (AR) uses the combination of real-world and computer-generated data to blend computer graphic objects into real-time footage. The best way to understand this is to take a look at a few examples: New York Nearest Subway The acrossair iPhone app overlays directions to the nearest subway station on live video using GPS and compass data to guide you. Forget boring 2D tube maps but just be careful you don’t trip down the escalator while using this! There’s also a version availiable for the London Underground. AR Business Card This ingenious concept shows how a business card has been designed with a symbol…
In China the English language is a fickle thing where the normal rules of grammar, punctuation and general comprehensible sentence structure do not seem to apply. So prolific is this phenomenon that they even have a name for it: Chinglish. Today’s post is a homage to this most wonderful of Frankenstein languages which keeps foreigners chuckling all day long and undoubtedly has sign makers busy when hapless proprietors realise their English faux pas (or not as the case is usually). The following collection of shop sign shots were taken around the Haiya area of Nanshan District, Shenzhen nearby where I live: No Right Just Suitable – a clothes shop where you’ll never find exactly what you’re looking for but it’ll be suitable nevertheless. Hot…
Today I bring you something a little frivolous… A few weeks ago I was having dinner in a massive Japanese restaurant (Japan Fusion – 中森名菜) where we ordered a desert which was basically a big volcano shaped mound of crushed ice covered in a thin layer of mango. It came in a massive bowl which was more than enough for four or more people and I speculated as to whether one person could eat it whole. This turned out to be a mistake when the 11 year old nephew of a friend challenged me to an ice eating competition the following Saturday where we would see who could eat the same desert in the fastest time! I wasn’t sure if eating so much ice…
Whilst wandering around Shanghai Old Town last month I came across this curious market selling all manor of creepy crawlies and other things you’d probably not want to get too close to! In fact the market sells a variety of flowers, birds, fish and insect’s as well as all the paraphernalia needed for keeping them (although don’t expect animal rights to be very high up on anyone’s agenda here). Baby turtles by the dozen. They go nicely sautéed with birds nest soup I hear… Looking at these bird cages I was reminded of Chinese apartment blocks. If you can put up with their incessant chirping apparently crickets make very good low-maintenance pets – all they need is a few fresh grubs each day! In…