http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-16/yuan-ipos-are-beijing-s-next-export-for-hong-kong-exchange-ceo-charles-li.html
Yuan IPOs Are Beijing's Next Export for Hong Kong Exchange CEO Charles Li
By Hanny Wan and Nick Gentle -
Charles Li, who helped lead China’s first international bond sale in New York 16 years ago, now plans to bring the initial offerings of yuan-denominated shares to investors outside the world’s second-biggest economy.
Li, the chief executive officer of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., has proposed allowing Chinese companies to sell yuan-priced stock in Hong Kong, where investors are free from the quotas imposed by Beijing on foreign ownership of mainland equities. No shares in the currency, also known as the renminbi, trade outside the country.
For the former oil-rig worker and editor of the government- run China Daily newspaper, the initiative would bring more listings to his exchange from a country where 422 billion yuan ($64 billion) has been raised in initial public offerings this year, three times as much as in the U.S., data compiled by Bloomberg show. Li, a 49-year-old Chinese citizen, would make Hong Kong a more important gateway as the Beijing government takes steps to open its markets to international investors.
“Charles is pushing for the interests of both Hong Kong and Beijing,” said Frank Song, director of the Centre for China Financial Research at the University of Hong Kong. “China isn’t ready to fully open its financial system. It is taking a structured, limited approach and Hong Kong can play a very important role in that.”
Exchange Renminbi
The world’s most populous country prohibits citizens from sending yuan outside China, limiting funds available for an offshore IPO to money already in circulation. Li has suggested asking the Beijing government and People’s Bank of China to allow financial institutions to exchange renminbi for investing in a new class of yuan-denominated offerings in Hong Kong, he wrote in a Sept. 21 article on the exchange’s website. Li declined to comment.
Li has made a career modernizing China’s financial system. After graduating from Columbia University in New York, he worked with Manhattan law firm Brown & Wood representing China’s Ministry of Finance on a $1 billion global bond sale in 1994.
The lead underwriter, Merrill Lynch & Co., hired Li in 1994 and appointed him China president in 1999 to oversee Hong Kong listings. Li joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2003, and was Beijing-based China chairman before moving to Hong Kong Exchanges in January. He spent his first day as CEO in Beijing, according to Henry Law, an exchange spokesman.
“Having Charles Li in this position isn’t a coincidence,” said Kenny Tang, executive director at Redford Asset Management Ltd. in Hong Kong. “That Hong Kong Exchanges’ board appointed a person who has such a combination of background and experience exemplifies its goal, which is to align itself with China.”
Hong Kong Stocks
The largest publicly traded exchange operator in the world by market value is home to Hong Kong stocks such as HSBC Holdings Plc, the third-biggest bank, international clothier Esprit Holdings Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., the telecommunications and energy company controlled by Li Ka-Shing. Mainland stocks accounted for 46 percent of the HK$20.64 trillion ($2.66 trillion) capitalization of Hong Kong’s Main Board at the end of October, exchange data shows, up from 16 percent in 1997, when the U.K. returned Hong Kong to China.
Under one of Li’s proposals for allowing yuan stock sales, investors holding renminbi could buy and sell shares directly in Hong Kong. Those coming to the market with another currency could trade through local brokers, who would convert the value of the shares back into foreign currency when the investor sold. This way, the market would retain enough yuan for shares to trade, Li wrote in the September article.
Yuan Deposits
Li’s proposal is part of a process that began in February 2004, when yuan deposits were first allowed in Hong Kong. They have more than doubled to $22 billion in the last six months, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Oct. 29.
The People’s Bank of China and Hong Kong’s central bank reached an agreement on July 19 removing limits on transfers of yuan among banks in the city. Regulators agreed Hong Kong would have no restrictions on yuan deposit holders using renminbi to buy wealth management products, an action aimed at developing a market for the currency in Hong Kong, HKMA Chief Executive Norman Chan said.
Chinese companies now issue renminbi-denominated bonds in Hong Kong. The value of all transactions settled in the currency rose 160 percent during the third quarter, the PBOC said on Nov. 2. Espoo, Finland-based mobile-phone maker Nokia Oyj, retailer Metro AG in Duesseldorf, Germany, and McDonald’s Corp. in Oak Brook, Illinois, the biggest restaurant chain, were among companies that settled $19 billion in yuan during the period.
Dollar Reliance
China is promoting greater use of the yuan to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar after Premier Wen Jiabao said in March he is concerned about holding too many assets in the American currency. The country had $2.65 trillion in foreign reserves, almost 34 percent of the world’s total, at the end of September. The yuan accounted for 0.3 percent of global foreign exchange transactions in April, according to the Bank for International Settlements.
China has allowed the yuan to trade in a band set daily against the dollar and other major currencies since July 19. It rose to 6.6239 per dollar on Nov. 12, the highest level since an official peg to the U.S. currency ended in 2005.
Liberalization of yuan settlement through Hong Kong could cause up to 50 percent of China’s trade with emerging nations to be carried out in renminbi within five years, HSBC analysts led by Hongbin Qu, the chief China economist, said in a note Nov. 9. That would result in $2 trillion of yuan trade annually, making renminbi among the world’s three most-used currencies for buying and selling goods and services, the analysts said.
‘Proportional Say’
“As the world’s second-largest economy, China does not have proportional say and influence in international economics and finance,” Li wrote in the September article. “This is the result of a currency that lacks international standing. Every move towards making the renminbi an international reserve currency results in a greater say for China in the geopolitical arena.”
Concern that investments from outside the country will inflate asset bubbles spurred China to mandate boosting minimum holdings of foreign currency among banks and toughening their audits of overseas fundraising, the central bank said Nov. 10.
Convincing authorities in Beijing to approve the IPO plan may not be possible, said David Webb, a former director of the Hong Kong exchange, in an interview from the city.
“Li is the driving force behind the proposal,” said Webb, who said investors won’t risk money in a program that might be suspended by China’s government. “It’s premature to be trying so hard to push this water uphill,” he said. “You have to ask him why he’s so keen on it.”
Investor Interest
Mark Konyn, who helps manage more than $12 billion as chief executive officer of RCM Asia Pacific in Hong Kong, said the plan may be crippled if too few investors take part.
“The worry is that there isn’t enough flow,” Konyn said. “If things don’t happen in the right sequence, there could potentially be a shortage of currency.”
Hong Kong’s central bank may strike a deal with the PBOC to guarantee a supply of funds, said Francis Cheung, who oversees China strategy at CLSA Ltd. That could be achieved by borrowing yuan and using Hong Kong dollars as collateral. The authority has been granted a license to invest in yuan stocks and bonds, China’s Securities Regulatory Commission said on its website.
Money Flows
“The whole idea is to get renminbi circulating, not just sitting there doing nothing,” Cheung said in an interview from Hong Kong. “Yuan IPOs are something that has to get done. The reason is that yuan deposits in Hong Kong have been piling up very rapidly. If they don’t create yuan products, then money is going to start going to other places, such as the property market.”
Li’s career has run parallel to China’s opening. After spending his childhood in the northwest Gansu province, he left home at 16, crossing the country to work on an oil rig in Bohai Gulf and learning English in a company program.
He worked as a reporter and editor for the government-run China Daily newspaper for two years starting in 1984 before getting a journalism scholarship at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Later he received a law degree from Columbia.
Li was the primary lawyer for Beijing’s Finance Ministry during the China government’s $1 billion debt sale in February 1994. While Chinese officials and Merrill Lynch called the offering a success, the 6 1/2 percent notes, priced at $994.06 per $1,000, cost about $850 by year-end and yielded 116 basis points, or 1.16 percentage points, more than Treasuries, from 85 when sold.
QDII Program
The sale represented a step in China opening up to global investors, a program that continues today. The government is increasing the number of fund managers, brokerages and banks allowed to invest money offshore under the qualified domestic institutional investor, or QDII, program.
Regulators had approved a combined $66.9 billion in QDII funds as of Sept. 30, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. That compares with $19 billion approved under the qualified foreign institutional investor, or QFII, program that gives non-Chinese firms access to the country’s securities markets.
Hong Kong Exchanges has hosted a record HK$373.4 billion in initial public offerings of stock this year, including its first listings by Russian and French firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. About 44 percent of money raised was from IPOs of Chinese companies, according to the exchange.
The bourse reported third-quarter net income declined 0.5 percent to HK$1.22 billion on Nov. 10 as trading volume fell. Profit for the nine months through Sept. 30 rose 2 percent. Li says allowing companies to raise funds in yuan on his exchange will help maintain the flow of business from China.
“Connecting with the mainland isn’t easy,” said Danny Yan, Hong Kong-based money manager at Taifook Asset Management in Hong Kong, which oversees about $400 million. “Charles is a mainlander who’s got international experience and very good relations with Beijing. The exchange needs such a person.”
To contact the reporters for this story: Hanny Wan in Hong Kong at hwan3@bloomberg.net; Nick Gentle in Hong Kong at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Nagi at chrisnagi@bloomberg.net.
2011年1月20日星期四
Ivory Coast Bondholders Must `Recognize' Gbagbo for Payment
What a joke!!
Ivory Coast Bondholders Must 'Recognize' Gbagbo for Payment
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast's $2.3 billion of Eurobonds fell to a record low as a spokesman for Laurent Gbagbo said the country will make a missed interest payment only if creditors recognize him as victor of the disputed presidential November elections.
The debt of the world's biggest cocoa producer declined 0.3 percent to 37.625 cents on the dollar as of 5:40 p.m. in Abidjan, the commercial capital, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That drove the yield on the 2.5 percent debt due 2032 up 5 basis points to 16.893 percent.
"We did our part of the job and pledged to pay," Ahoua Don Mello, Gbagbo's spokesman, said by phone today from Abidjan. "It is now the turn of the lenders to do theirs." Ivory Coast's government under Gbagbo will invite creditors to the nation to discuss the terms of the coupon payment, he said.
"It's a joke, right?" said Phillip Blackwood, head of emerging markets at Sydbank A/S, Denmark's fourth-largest bank and holder of Ivory Coast debt. Sydbank hasn't received any of the missed payment, he said in a phone interview.
The West African nation missed an interest payment Dec. 31 on its bonds amid a political standoff over the results of the Nov. 28 election between incumbent Gbagbo, who refuses to step down, and internationally backed winner Alassane Ouattara. Payment terms carry a 30-day grace period. The Central Bank of West African States supported Ouattara at a Dec. 23 meeting of finance ministers of seven member nations, excluding Ivory Coast, giving him control over state reserves previously governed by Gbagbo.
Central Bank
"The expiry of the 30-day grace period is on everyone's radar screens and the lack of progress on the political front is not good news for the prospects of that coupon payment," Graham Stock, chief strategist at London-based Insparo Asset Management, said by phone.
Gbagbo, 65, who has ruled for a decade, cites a ruling by the Constitutional Council that annulled votes in parts of Ivory Coast's north on fraud allegations and gave him victory. Gbagbo has retained the loyalty of the army, while the United Nations, the African Union, the U.S. and France, the former colonial ruler, recognize Ouattara, 69, a former deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund.
The incumbent is withdrawing money from the Senegal-based regional central bank, Don Mello said today. The bank said only people appointed by Ouattara would be able to withdraw funds. Marie-Laure Digbe, spokeswoman for the bank, was not immediately available to comment, according to a person who answered the phone at her office and declined to give her name.
'Untenable'
"Gbagbo's position is untenable," Standard Bank Plc analysts, including London-based Stephen Bailey-Smith, wrote in a report today. "Without international support and control" over all of the economy, "it is difficult to see Gbagbo's regime being able to finance a functioning state," they wrote.
Standard Bank sees "significant upside potential" if a resolution to the dispute can be found, which may make the country's debt sub-Saharan Africa's best-performing international sovereign notes this year.
Ivory Coast's main opposition group called for a nationwide strike tomorrow to force incumbent Gbagbo to stand down.
"Things are deteriorating," Blackwood said. "The likelihood points to non-payment."
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, appointed by the African Union to help broker an end to Ivory Coast's election dispute, will hold further talks with Gbagbo and Ouattara this evening, according to a statement from his office in Nairobi.
The Ivory Coast international bond jumped 7.7 percent Jan. 11 after Finance and Economy Minister Desire Dallo sent a letter to bondholders dated the previous day saying the country would honor the obligation within the 30-day grace period.
To contact the reporter on this story: Olivier Monnier in Abidjan via Accra at ebowers1@bloomberg.net Chris Kay in London at ckay5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net
New research suggests some single-celled creatures can grow their own food, just like humans.
睇咗呢篇報導後覺得好興奮
估唔到slim mould原來都咁得意，有啲咁嘅行為
世界上一定仲有好多我哋未知嘅事情
我感覺到以今天世界嘅複雜程度
達爾文喺《物種起源》入面提出嘅天擇理論是否還能解釋得到……
We're Not So Different, Slime Molds and Us
New research suggests some single-celled creatures can grow their own food, just like humans. By Scott Solomon
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011, at 4:30 PM ET
Based on its name alone, the slime mold is a contender for the world's grossest organism. But don't let its grubby name fool you—slime molds have accomplished a feat that only a handful of other organisms on earth can claim—they have developed agriculture.
Slime molds—or "social amoebae," as researchers prefer to dignify them—are relatively simple creatures that spend most of their lives as single-celled individuals living in the soil, feasting on bacteria as they travel. Fascinatingly, these solitary cells have the ability to coalesce into what amounts to a superorganism that acts as a single unit despite consisting of separate individuals.
But new research, announced today in the journal Nature by my Rice University colleagues Joan Strassmann and David Queller, suggests that some social amoebae have taken this partnership to the next level. (I was not involved in the study.) Instead of slurping up every last bacterial cell they encounter as they ooze their way through the soil, certain genetic strains of Dictyostelium discoideum—aka "Dicty"—have evolved the ability to store bacteria and carry it with them in what amounts to a microscopic grain silo. Should they happen to find themselves in an area lacking in suitable bacteria, they just plant a new crop using their stored reserves.
It's not the first known case of nonhuman agriculture, but it is the first by an organism outside the animal kingdom. Several types of insects, including certain species of ants and termites as well as some beetles, cultivate fungi that they use for food. In these cases—especially the fungus-growing ants that I study—some of the cultivated fungi have become truly domesticated, having evolved to become better food for their hosts while losing the ability to survive on their own.
As is so often the case in science, the discovery that some strains of Dicty are farmers happened by accident. As a beginning graduate student in Strassmann and Queller's lab, Debra Brock, the lead author on the new study, was interested in studying competition between Dicty strains. As she examined spores with a high-magnification microscope, she noticed that several Dicty clones had something unusual in their sori, a globular mass elevated off the ground by a long, thin stalk that together looks like a tiny mushroom. All Dicty use this structure, called a fruiting body, to elevate cells producing spores for reproduction. But Brock also thought she saw something else in the sorus. To figure out what it was, she tried to cultivate it.
It turned out to be bacteria—the same type Dicty normally eat. Brock even tried "curing" the Dicty of their bacteria by treating them with antibiotics, thinking that they might have some sort of disease. It worked—the clones that housed bacteria lost the contents of their picnic baskets after the treatment. But as soon as she exposed the antibiotic-treated Dicty to a fresh plate of bacteria, the Dicty clones that contained bacteria prior to antibiotic treatment—which Brock dubbed "farmers"—readily took up the bacteria and stored them away. Genetically similar clones that had not previously housed bacteria did not. In other words, certain Dicty clones can farm and others simply cannot. Further stacking the odds in favor of the agriculturists, Brock's farmers produced more spores than nonfarmers when grown in an environment lacking bacteria, suggesting that when food is scare, those able to farm can produce more offspring.
Humans underwent nearly the same transition nearly 10,000 years ago, shifting from a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one in which a reliable food source is stored for later consumption. Planting crops caused people to settle in one place, and a steady food supply allowed populations to grow and people to specialize in tasks other than finding food. The result was civilization as we know it.
Are slime molds in the process of forming advanced civilizations? Probably not. Dicty lack the sophisticated brains of humans and even ants—or anything resembling a nervous system. Although previous research has shown that simple microbes are capable of performing many seemingly complex tasks, including communication, recognizing relatives, even navigating mazes.
Despite our obvious differences, there is something we farmers have in common: We're social. We live in groups that typically consist of close relatives, which may be important for developing agriculture. This isn't necessarily obvious. If growing your own food is such an advantage, why don't solitary organisms cultivate fungi or bacteria the way we grow corn and raise cattle? Is it simply too much work for any one animal—or amoeba—to handle?
Not necessarily. It may be that farming has benefits that extend beyond the lives of the individual by providing a reliable food source for future generations. If planting crops will benefit your children and grandchildren as well—think of an apple orchard—then farming becomes a good strategy for propagating your genes. That only works when groups are made up of family units—as is the case for slime molds, fungus-growing ants, termites, and us.
There are downsides to being a farmer. Being loaded down with bacteria makes Dicty farmers travel more slowly. Although farmers thrive when bacteria are absent, nonfarmers produce more spores than farmers when food is readily available. In fact, social amoebae may seem an unlikely candidate for agriculturists precisely because they eat bacteria, which, as far as food sources go, are a pretty reliable one. Even a population of slime molds that numbered in the trillions could theoretically be hard-pressed ever to go hungry. So why bother storing any for later?
It may be a matter of taste. Brock collected soil from a Houston park, which was teeming with bacteria but apparently inferior to what the Dicty farmers had already stashed away. Farmers were more successful than nonfarmers when grown on the park soil, presumably because they had access to better grub.
Admittedly, agriculture as performed by Dicty is still pretty basic, at least as far is currently known. It's still premature to say whether Dicty meet the complete definition of farmers. It remains to be seen, for example, whether the bacteria Dicty carry are dependent on their farmers for propagation as our crops depend on us. But perhaps we are glimpsing the first step in a major evolutionary transition. After all, the first human to plant a seed instead of munching on it could not have foreseen the implications of his or her actions.
And if not—if what we are observing today is the most sophisticated behavior that Dicty ever develop—it's still not bad for a blob.
估唔到slim mould原來都咁得意，有啲咁嘅行為
世界上一定仲有好多我哋未知嘅事情
我感覺到以今天世界嘅複雜程度
達爾文喺《物種起源》入面提出嘅天擇理論是否還能解釋得到……
We're Not So Different, Slime Molds and Us
New research suggests some single-celled creatures can grow their own food, just like humans. By Scott Solomon
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011, at 4:30 PM ET
Based on its name alone, the slime mold is a contender for the world's grossest organism. But don't let its grubby name fool you—slime molds have accomplished a feat that only a handful of other organisms on earth can claim—they have developed agriculture.
Slime molds—or "social amoebae," as researchers prefer to dignify them—are relatively simple creatures that spend most of their lives as single-celled individuals living in the soil, feasting on bacteria as they travel. Fascinatingly, these solitary cells have the ability to coalesce into what amounts to a superorganism that acts as a single unit despite consisting of separate individuals.
But new research, announced today in the journal Nature by my Rice University colleagues Joan Strassmann and David Queller, suggests that some social amoebae have taken this partnership to the next level. (I was not involved in the study.) Instead of slurping up every last bacterial cell they encounter as they ooze their way through the soil, certain genetic strains of Dictyostelium discoideum—aka "Dicty"—have evolved the ability to store bacteria and carry it with them in what amounts to a microscopic grain silo. Should they happen to find themselves in an area lacking in suitable bacteria, they just plant a new crop using their stored reserves.
It's not the first known case of nonhuman agriculture, but it is the first by an organism outside the animal kingdom. Several types of insects, including certain species of ants and termites as well as some beetles, cultivate fungi that they use for food. In these cases—especially the fungus-growing ants that I study—some of the cultivated fungi have become truly domesticated, having evolved to become better food for their hosts while losing the ability to survive on their own.
As is so often the case in science, the discovery that some strains of Dicty are farmers happened by accident. As a beginning graduate student in Strassmann and Queller's lab, Debra Brock, the lead author on the new study, was interested in studying competition between Dicty strains. As she examined spores with a high-magnification microscope, she noticed that several Dicty clones had something unusual in their sori, a globular mass elevated off the ground by a long, thin stalk that together looks like a tiny mushroom. All Dicty use this structure, called a fruiting body, to elevate cells producing spores for reproduction. But Brock also thought she saw something else in the sorus. To figure out what it was, she tried to cultivate it.
It turned out to be bacteria—the same type Dicty normally eat. Brock even tried "curing" the Dicty of their bacteria by treating them with antibiotics, thinking that they might have some sort of disease. It worked—the clones that housed bacteria lost the contents of their picnic baskets after the treatment. But as soon as she exposed the antibiotic-treated Dicty to a fresh plate of bacteria, the Dicty clones that contained bacteria prior to antibiotic treatment—which Brock dubbed "farmers"—readily took up the bacteria and stored them away. Genetically similar clones that had not previously housed bacteria did not. In other words, certain Dicty clones can farm and others simply cannot. Further stacking the odds in favor of the agriculturists, Brock's farmers produced more spores than nonfarmers when grown in an environment lacking bacteria, suggesting that when food is scare, those able to farm can produce more offspring.
Humans underwent nearly the same transition nearly 10,000 years ago, shifting from a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one in which a reliable food source is stored for later consumption. Planting crops caused people to settle in one place, and a steady food supply allowed populations to grow and people to specialize in tasks other than finding food. The result was civilization as we know it.
Are slime molds in the process of forming advanced civilizations? Probably not. Dicty lack the sophisticated brains of humans and even ants—or anything resembling a nervous system. Although previous research has shown that simple microbes are capable of performing many seemingly complex tasks, including communication, recognizing relatives, even navigating mazes.
Despite our obvious differences, there is something we farmers have in common: We're social. We live in groups that typically consist of close relatives, which may be important for developing agriculture. This isn't necessarily obvious. If growing your own food is such an advantage, why don't solitary organisms cultivate fungi or bacteria the way we grow corn and raise cattle? Is it simply too much work for any one animal—or amoeba—to handle?
Not necessarily. It may be that farming has benefits that extend beyond the lives of the individual by providing a reliable food source for future generations. If planting crops will benefit your children and grandchildren as well—think of an apple orchard—then farming becomes a good strategy for propagating your genes. That only works when groups are made up of family units—as is the case for slime molds, fungus-growing ants, termites, and us.
There are downsides to being a farmer. Being loaded down with bacteria makes Dicty farmers travel more slowly. Although farmers thrive when bacteria are absent, nonfarmers produce more spores than farmers when food is readily available. In fact, social amoebae may seem an unlikely candidate for agriculturists precisely because they eat bacteria, which, as far as food sources go, are a pretty reliable one. Even a population of slime molds that numbered in the trillions could theoretically be hard-pressed ever to go hungry. So why bother storing any for later?
It may be a matter of taste. Brock collected soil from a Houston park, which was teeming with bacteria but apparently inferior to what the Dicty farmers had already stashed away. Farmers were more successful than nonfarmers when grown on the park soil, presumably because they had access to better grub.
Admittedly, agriculture as performed by Dicty is still pretty basic, at least as far is currently known. It's still premature to say whether Dicty meet the complete definition of farmers. It remains to be seen, for example, whether the bacteria Dicty carry are dependent on their farmers for propagation as our crops depend on us. But perhaps we are glimpsing the first step in a major evolutionary transition. After all, the first human to plant a seed instead of munching on it could not have foreseen the implications of his or her actions.
And if not—if what we are observing today is the most sophisticated behavior that Dicty ever develop—it's still not bad for a blob.
2011年1月18日星期二
Top 10 Rumors About iPad 2
這已經是舊聞了
不過姑且一貼吧……
Top 10 Rumors About iPad 2
Apple iPad 2 rumors are like the last X-Files movie: we know there's no basis for them, but sometimes..."I Want To Believe."
Apparently, even industry analysts aren't immune to fantasies, with many predicting that the iPad's unborn child will ship roughly 40 million units next year, far more than the first iPad's estimated 12.9 million for 2010, according to iSuppli.
Here are the most prevalent rumors about iPad 2 that have been circulating the Web, along with our take on whether you can believe what you read:
1. There Will Be Three Versions: Wi-Fi, CDMA, and GSM The first-generation iPad comes in two versions: Wi-Fi-only and GSM (3G), with local carriage limited to AT&T. But upstream component makers apparently told DigiTimes today to expect three versions of the iPad 2, supporting at least or one of: Wi-Fi, GSM, and CDMA. It even found shipment ratios of 3:4:3, respectively, and claims Apple will begin shipping them in January, which, based on this year's iPad supply-chain schedule, would land the iPad 2 in stores by April 2011.
CDMA technology is carried by Verizon, Sprint, MetroPCS, US Cellular and Cricket, though local carriage would probably be limited to just one of them (barring hacking). With an iPad on Verizon's network, it would have even more appeal, and that 40-million-units number is starting to look a bit more realistic.
Our take: Hard to say. Volume was never Apple's greatest concern, but perhaps it has learned a thing or two from locking its U.S. iPhones with AT&T for so long.
2. It Will Borrow Heavily from iPhone 4: Gyroscope, Two Cameras, Retina Display
Various reports have cited the likelihood of the iPad 2 bearing two cameras: a front-facing VGA cam and a back-facing 5-megapixel one. Heck, even Reuters is reporting this.
Reuters' (two) sources also claim that Apple has ordered supplies from Taiwanese camera component makers Genius Electronic Optical and Largan Precision, without specifying for which device.
DigiTimes reports inclusion of the iPhone 4's three-axle gyroscope, a set of spinning wheels that detects the orientation of tilts and spins (useful for gamers).
The report also mentions iPhone 4-like "Retina Display" technology, which on an iPad form factor, would translate to over 2,000 pixels.
Our take: Likely. Apple's category-defining 2011 mobile device can't be be even more backwards than its 2010 smartphone. Plus, Apple's obsession with FaceTime makes two cameras almost a sure bet. 3. It'll Be the First Apple Mobile Device with a USB Port
This would be a major bonus for unconverted iPad users, and for Apple as it attempts to make the iPad a bridge device between the phone and the computer. DigiTimes reports that the iPad 2 will have a micro USB port, which opens up connectivity to many more devices than the USB port-less first version.
Or it could be a mere stretch of the imagination given reports that the European Commission will require "all smartphones and simper data-enabled phones to adopt a standard micro-USB charging connector as of January 2011." But as far as we know, Apple counts iPads as computers, not phones.
Our take: Unlikely. Apple has defied universal pleasantries like USB ports for so long that we don't see it volunteering to add them to the iPad 2.
4. There Will Be a Smaller, 7-Inch Version
Citing an anonymous Chinese source, Japanese-language Kanteidan Blog "found" exact dimensions: the iPad 2 will be 239 mm (9.41 inches) by 186 mm (7.32 inches), making it just a tad smaller than the current iPad, which is 9.56 inches by 7.47 inches.
In August, sources told Taiwan's DigiTimes that the iPad 2's screen would be 7 inches, but in October Steve Jobs shared his philosophy on the 7-inch form factor: "The 7-inch tablets are tweeners," too big to compete with phones and too small to compete with 10-inch tablets.
Our take: Unlikely. Our Chinese sources never sent us the memo, but given Jobs' earlier comments it's extremely unlikely Apple would go for a tablet smaller than the current version.
5. Apple Has Ordered 65 Million Units
Another DigiTimes-originated rumor that's making the rounds today is that Apple has ordered 65 million screens from Asian suppliers for next year.
"Market players noted that the 65 million unit shipment goal indicates that Apple is very optimistic about the tablet PC market in 2011, and it may also mean that Apple is overbooking panel capacity."
Our take: Our bet's with the number crunchers over at Fortune, who convinced us that this is pure fantasy.
6. It'll Have an Anti-Smudge, Anti-Reflective Screen
Jobs is probably pretty ticked off (or fired up) over Kindle's golden boy status right now. So much so, that DigiTimes' latest report also claims that Apple is, "also working on strengthening the iPad 2's anti-smudge and anti-reflective treatments in order to compete against Kindle and attract more consumers" doesn't sound so far-fetched.
Our take: Unlikely. Despite comparisons, the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad play in two different leagues. Furthermore, anti-reflection would go against the glass aesthetic on virtually all Apple's devices now; anti-smudge, however, is certainly something Jobs should be trying to implement.
7. The Backside Will Sport Wide-Range Speakers
Oh, those crazy Japanese. Japan's May-The-Force-Be-With-You blogger Mac Otakara cites leaked photos from a Chinese source that show "a hole in the lower right of the rear panel is neither a USB connector nor a SD card slot. It is a large, wide-ranged speaker unit covered with metal mesh."
Our take: Unlikely. Our alarms flashed while reading the Mac Otakara story, which only published a concept drawing rather than the alleged photo leaks. While a speaker on iPad 2 could certainly happen, this just looks like bad Photoshop.
8. It Will Have an SD Card Slot...
Ashok Kumar, an analyst at New York-based Rodman and Renshaw, got this scoop: "Apple is on track to refresh the iPad by March and iPhone by late summer," he reportedly said. "A key component upgrade across these platforms will be a dual-core processor featuring a pair of 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores."
Some publications also speculate that the rear slot on early iPad 2 cases (see rumor #10) were made for SD cards. It would make sense given Apple already sells an SD card plug-in, the Camera Connection Kit, to allow for easy synching between camera and device.
Our take: Still it seems unlikely. Why would it have an SD slot before a badly-needed USB port, which already seems unlikely?
9. ...and a Dual-Core Processor
As Kumar noted above, the iPad 2 will have a dual-core processor made up of 1GYz ARM Cortex A9 cores.
A dual-core processor might silence Apple haters, specifically those awaiting the dual-core RIM PlayBook and teased Motorola Android tablet.
Our take: This is probably wishful thinking. True, LG opened the playing field when it unleashed the world's first dual-core smartphone, the LG Optimus 2X, but since when did Apple try to outdo Android or RIM on processing speed? A dual-core processor would be much faster but it would also eat up more battery, and we all know that is Apple's Achilles' heel as far as its devotees are concerned. Furthermore, yesterday an analyst from Kaufman Brothers told his clients that RIM needed to improve the dual-core PlayBook's four-hour battery life to boost sales volume against the iPad, Bloomberg reports.
10. Cases Already Exist For all we know the iPad 2 is another white iPhone, but iPad 2 cases and leather bags have already sprung up on Alibaba.com, a Chinese B2B e-merchant, shedding questionable insight into what the next Apple tablet will look like.
A popular silicon case supplied by Guangzhou Xinting Phone Accessories, for instance, has a horizontal slit cut-out on the top of the backside, presumably for the rumored rear-end camera and speaker.
Our take: Likely, but don't bust open your e-wallet just yet. None of the product descriptions for these iPad 2 accessories bear hard specs, like dimensions. But it will protect against "dings" and "dust," as one manufacturer wrote in its product description.
Additional reporting by lead analyst Tim Gideon, who recently gave a reality check to rampant iPad 2 fantasies.
Apple iPad 2 rumors are like the last X-Files movie: we know there's no basis for them, but sometimes..."I Want To Believe."
Apparently, even industry analysts aren't immune to fantasies, with many predicting that the iPad's unborn child will ship roughly 40 million units next year, far more than the first iPad's estimated 12.9 million for 2010, according to iSuppli.
Here are the most prevalent rumors about iPad 2 that have been circulating the Web, along with our take on whether you can believe what you read:
1. There Will Be Three Versions: Wi-Fi, CDMA, and GSM The first-generation iPad comes in two versions: Wi-Fi-only and GSM (3G), with local carriage limited to AT&T. But upstream component makers apparently told DigiTimes today to expect three versions of the iPad 2, supporting at least or one of: Wi-Fi, GSM, and CDMA. It even found shipment ratios of 3:4:3, respectively, and claims Apple will begin shipping them in January, which, based on this year's iPad supply-chain schedule, would land the iPad 2 in stores by April 2011.
CDMA technology is carried by Verizon, Sprint, MetroPCS, US Cellular and Cricket, though local carriage would probably be limited to just one of them (barring hacking). With an iPad on Verizon's network, it would have even more appeal, and that 40-million-units number is starting to look a bit more realistic.
Our take: Hard to say. Volume was never Apple's greatest concern, but perhaps it has learned a thing or two from locking its U.S. iPhones with AT&T for so long.
2. It Will Borrow Heavily from iPhone 4: Gyroscope, Two Cameras, Retina Display
Various reports have cited the likelihood of the iPad 2 bearing two cameras: a front-facing VGA cam and a back-facing 5-megapixel one. Heck, even Reuters is reporting this.
Reuters' (two) sources also claim that Apple has ordered supplies from Taiwanese camera component makers Genius Electronic Optical and Largan Precision, without specifying for which device.
DigiTimes reports inclusion of the iPhone 4's three-axle gyroscope, a set of spinning wheels that detects the orientation of tilts and spins (useful for gamers).
The report also mentions iPhone 4-like "Retina Display" technology, which on an iPad form factor, would translate to over 2,000 pixels.
Our take: Likely. Apple's category-defining 2011 mobile device can't be be even more backwards than its 2010 smartphone. Plus, Apple's obsession with FaceTime makes two cameras almost a sure bet. 3. It'll Be the First Apple Mobile Device with a USB Port
This would be a major bonus for unconverted iPad users, and for Apple as it attempts to make the iPad a bridge device between the phone and the computer. DigiTimes reports that the iPad 2 will have a micro USB port, which opens up connectivity to many more devices than the USB port-less first version.
Or it could be a mere stretch of the imagination given reports that the European Commission will require "all smartphones and simper data-enabled phones to adopt a standard micro-USB charging connector as of January 2011." But as far as we know, Apple counts iPads as computers, not phones.
Our take: Unlikely. Apple has defied universal pleasantries like USB ports for so long that we don't see it volunteering to add them to the iPad 2.
4. There Will Be a Smaller, 7-Inch Version
Citing an anonymous Chinese source, Japanese-language Kanteidan Blog "found" exact dimensions: the iPad 2 will be 239 mm (9.41 inches) by 186 mm (7.32 inches), making it just a tad smaller than the current iPad, which is 9.56 inches by 7.47 inches.
In August, sources told Taiwan's DigiTimes that the iPad 2's screen would be 7 inches, but in October Steve Jobs shared his philosophy on the 7-inch form factor: "The 7-inch tablets are tweeners," too big to compete with phones and too small to compete with 10-inch tablets.
Our take: Unlikely. Our Chinese sources never sent us the memo, but given Jobs' earlier comments it's extremely unlikely Apple would go for a tablet smaller than the current version.
5. Apple Has Ordered 65 Million Units
Another DigiTimes-originated rumor that's making the rounds today is that Apple has ordered 65 million screens from Asian suppliers for next year.
"Market players noted that the 65 million unit shipment goal indicates that Apple is very optimistic about the tablet PC market in 2011, and it may also mean that Apple is overbooking panel capacity."
Our take: Our bet's with the number crunchers over at Fortune, who convinced us that this is pure fantasy.
6. It'll Have an Anti-Smudge, Anti-Reflective Screen
Jobs is probably pretty ticked off (or fired up) over Kindle's golden boy status right now. So much so, that DigiTimes' latest report also claims that Apple is, "also working on strengthening the iPad 2's anti-smudge and anti-reflective treatments in order to compete against Kindle and attract more consumers" doesn't sound so far-fetched.
Our take: Unlikely. Despite comparisons, the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad play in two different leagues. Furthermore, anti-reflection would go against the glass aesthetic on virtually all Apple's devices now; anti-smudge, however, is certainly something Jobs should be trying to implement.
7. The Backside Will Sport Wide-Range Speakers
Oh, those crazy Japanese. Japan's May-The-Force-Be-With-You blogger Mac Otakara cites leaked photos from a Chinese source that show "a hole in the lower right of the rear panel is neither a USB connector nor a SD card slot. It is a large, wide-ranged speaker unit covered with metal mesh."
Our take: Unlikely. Our alarms flashed while reading the Mac Otakara story, which only published a concept drawing rather than the alleged photo leaks. While a speaker on iPad 2 could certainly happen, this just looks like bad Photoshop.
8. It Will Have an SD Card Slot...
Ashok Kumar, an analyst at New York-based Rodman and Renshaw, got this scoop: "Apple is on track to refresh the iPad by March and iPhone by late summer," he reportedly said. "A key component upgrade across these platforms will be a dual-core processor featuring a pair of 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores."
Some publications also speculate that the rear slot on early iPad 2 cases (see rumor #10) were made for SD cards. It would make sense given Apple already sells an SD card plug-in, the Camera Connection Kit, to allow for easy synching between camera and device.
Our take: Still it seems unlikely. Why would it have an SD slot before a badly-needed USB port, which already seems unlikely?
9. ...and a Dual-Core Processor
As Kumar noted above, the iPad 2 will have a dual-core processor made up of 1GYz ARM Cortex A9 cores.
A dual-core processor might silence Apple haters, specifically those awaiting the dual-core RIM PlayBook and teased Motorola Android tablet.
Our take: This is probably wishful thinking. True, LG opened the playing field when it unleashed the world's first dual-core smartphone, the LG Optimus 2X, but since when did Apple try to outdo Android or RIM on processing speed? A dual-core processor would be much faster but it would also eat up more battery, and we all know that is Apple's Achilles' heel as far as its devotees are concerned. Furthermore, yesterday an analyst from Kaufman Brothers told his clients that RIM needed to improve the dual-core PlayBook's four-hour battery life to boost sales volume against the iPad, Bloomberg reports.
10. Cases Already Exist For all we know the iPad 2 is another white iPhone, but iPad 2 cases and leather bags have already sprung up on Alibaba.com, a Chinese B2B e-merchant, shedding questionable insight into what the next Apple tablet will look like.
A popular silicon case supplied by Guangzhou Xinting Phone Accessories, for instance, has a horizontal slit cut-out on the top of the backside, presumably for the rumored rear-end camera and speaker.
Our take: Likely, but don't bust open your e-wallet just yet. None of the product descriptions for these iPad 2 accessories bear hard specs, like dimensions. But it will protect against "dings" and "dust," as one manufacturer wrote in its product description.
Additional reporting by lead analyst Tim Gideon, who recently gave a reality check to rampant iPad 2 fantasies.
RIP Kodachrome Film
RIP Kodachrome Film
It's the end of the line for Kodachrome, the first commercially successful color film, created by Kodak in 1935. The iconic film will no longer be processed, as Thursday marked the last time Dwayne's Photo — a lab in Parsons, Kansas — was willing to accept Kodachrome rolls that needed developing.
Kodachrome's demise was first announced in June 2009. Kodak cited a decline in sales as photographers had traded their old film for digital memory cards — or, in some cases, newer films. This meant that the company also stopped producing the chemicals needed to develop the film.
As The New York Times reported Wednesday, there was a time when there were about 25 labs in the world that could process Kodachrome film. But the number of labs began to decline a few years ago when the last Kodak-run facility in the U.S. closed, followed by another closure in Japan and another in Switzerland. Dwayne's Photo was the last place still developing Kodachrome, but last week, the lab opened the last of the chemicals used to process the film.
Even though Kodachrome saw diminishing sales toward its end, this is the end of an era for a number of photographers and photography buffs. The film — currently trending at number seven on Google() in the U.S. — was noted for capturing rich color and light in a way that many say cannot be replicated by digital cameras or apps like Hipstamatic and Instagram(). As Paul Simon noted in his 1973 song — titled, "Kodachrome," of course — "You give us those nice bright colors/ You give us the greens of summers/ Makes you think all the world's a sunny day."
The film was used to take some world-famous photographs, including Steve McCurry's National Geographic 1985 cover image of a young Afghan girl. Incidentally, Kodak gave McCurry the last roll of Kodachrome last year. The photographer, who hand-delivered the final roll to Parsons after he finished shooting, has posted some of the last 36 frames on his blog().
Meanwhile, as the Times noted, the last roll to be processed at Dwayne's Photo belongs to owner Dwayne Steinle. The final frame will feature all his employees standing in front of the business wearing shirts that commemorate the film's official retirement.
It's the end of the line for Kodachrome, the first commercially successful color film, created by Kodak in 1935. The iconic film will no longer be processed, as Thursday marked the last time Dwayne's Photo — a lab in Parsons, Kansas — was willing to accept Kodachrome rolls that needed developing.
Kodachrome's demise was first announced in June 2009. Kodak cited a decline in sales as photographers had traded their old film for digital memory cards — or, in some cases, newer films. This meant that the company also stopped producing the chemicals needed to develop the film.
As The New York Times reported Wednesday, there was a time when there were about 25 labs in the world that could process Kodachrome film. But the number of labs began to decline a few years ago when the last Kodak-run facility in the U.S. closed, followed by another closure in Japan and another in Switzerland. Dwayne's Photo was the last place still developing Kodachrome, but last week, the lab opened the last of the chemicals used to process the film.
Even though Kodachrome saw diminishing sales toward its end, this is the end of an era for a number of photographers and photography buffs. The film — currently trending at number seven on Google() in the U.S. — was noted for capturing rich color and light in a way that many say cannot be replicated by digital cameras or apps like Hipstamatic and Instagram(). As Paul Simon noted in his 1973 song — titled, "Kodachrome," of course — "You give us those nice bright colors/ You give us the greens of summers/ Makes you think all the world's a sunny day."
The film was used to take some world-famous photographs, including Steve McCurry's National Geographic 1985 cover image of a young Afghan girl. Incidentally, Kodak gave McCurry the last roll of Kodachrome last year. The photographer, who hand-delivered the final roll to Parsons after he finished shooting, has posted some of the last 36 frames on his blog().
Meanwhile, as the Times noted, the last roll to be processed at Dwayne's Photo belongs to owner Dwayne Steinle. The final frame will feature all his employees standing in front of the business wearing shirts that commemorate the film's official retirement.
10 strange iPhone crimes of 2010
千奇百怪
無奇不有
想尋開心可以一讀
http://www.macworld.com/article/156781/2010/12/iphone_crimes_2010.html?lsrc=rss_news
10 strange iPhone crimes of 2010
Posted on Dec 31, 2010 7:16 am by Ian Paul, PC World
The iPhone in 2010 wasn’t just topping headlines for color defects and faulty phone connections. Apple’s smartphone also had a seedy underbelly over the past 12 months, filled with robberies, muggings, murder, and assault. Numerous criminals tried to get away with iPhone-related schemes this year, but were often foiled thanks to the handset’s capabilities, such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and video capture.
A run-in with the iPhone may also have led one man to violence, and almost put a news editor in jail. Police busted up an organized crime ring in 2010 that had a certain fondness for Apple’s iDevice, and two people were identified as criminals via their iPhone.
Here’s a look at the 10 strangest iPhone-related crimes from 2010.
Youth smackdown A senior citizen allegedly punched a teenager in the arm during a Southwest Airlines flight headed for Las Vegas on Tuesday. Russell Miller, a 68-year-old resident of Boise, Idaho apparently became enraged that his 15-year-old seat companion refused to shut off his iPhone in preparation for the plane’s landing, according to KBOI2 News. Miller has been charged with misdemeanor battery.
iSwat team The cops in Australia won’t hesitate to bring in the big guns to take down smartphone felons who run off with someone’s iPhone. In mid-December, a 16-year-old thief stole a woman’s iPhone from a Melbourne area hospital and fled the scene on a bicycle, according to the Australian daily The Age. Unfortunately for the young iPhone nabber, the police had a helicopter nearby. The cops used the iPhone’s GPS coordinates to follow the thief as he made his getaway. Police on the ground arrested the young iBandit shortly thereafter.
Caught on Webcam
A Denver resident spotted a thief ransacking her apartment on Tuesday while remotely viewing a Webcam video feed through her iPhone, according to 9News. Claire, whose last name has not been released, had intended to check in on her dog using an app called iCam that lets you remotely access Webcams in your home. Imagine Claire’s surprise when, instead of seeing her faithful companion, she saw a man going through her stuff. The thief escaped with several hundred dollars worth of electronics, but the burglar was arrested on Wednesday after his face appeared on 9News’ evening newscast.
iPhone knife fight Jerome Taylor, 20, tried to rob a New London, Connecticut restaurant with an iPhone last Thursday. The cooks at the restaurant sprung into action grabbing their kitchen knives to confront the would-be robber mistaking the iPhone for a gun, according to MSNBC. Taylor soon backed off and left the scene before the police arrived. He was later arrested.
Foiled by military-grade GPS A thief in San Francisco stole an iPhone in July by snatching it out of a woman’s hands while riding by on a bicycle, according to ABC News. Unfortunately for the would-be thief, the woman was using the phone to demonstrate a GPS application created by Covia Labs—a software company specializing in solutions for police, emergency responders and the military. The company was able to guide the police to the thief’s location in real-time in under 9 minutes. Horatio Toure, the alleged thief, was later charged with theft and possession of stolen property, according to the Telegraph.
Phone drop If you’re going to rob a house, it’s typically a bad idea to leave your phone behind at the scene of the crime. That’s what Tyler Blake Garrison allegedly did during a home invasion in Russellville, Alabama in September, according to Franklin County newspaper TimesDaily. Police were able to trace the forgotten phone back to Garrison. “It always helps when you’ve got stupid criminals; it makes it a lot easier to solve the case,” Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing told TimesDaily.
iPhone date In April, Tommy Reed allegedly murdered 54-year-old Phoenix resident Mark G. Woodland in the victim’s home after arranging a date via an iPhone app. The pair used a social networking application that lets you see people near you interested in a late-night tryst. Police were able to find Reed by identifying his iPhone. The assailant is now facing murder charges.
iPhone knockout In September, Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. was arrested after allegedly beating his ex-girlfriend in front of their three children and stealing her iPhone, according to ESPN. The boxer’s lawyer said that Mayweather didn’t steal the phone, and that his ex, Josie Harris, simply lost her iPhone. Mayweather is due in court January 24 for a preliminary hearing into the case, according to the Clark County Court calendar.
Organiz’dPhone crime In August, police in the UK busted up an organized crime ring that was using iPhones SIM cards to rack up enormous charges in calls to premium phone lines. The criminals owned the premium phone lines, which charged as much as $15 per minute, according to The Telegraph. Premium phone lines are often used to sell services such as dating, party chat lines, phone sex, and gambling tips. The cost of the service is then added to a user’s phone bill.
To make the pricey phone calls, thieves would send the SIMs overseas where they would be plugged into devices that would dial the premium numbers around the clock. The ring stole about 1000 iPhones to carry out their scheme.
iPhone 4 This wasn’t exactly a crime, but you can’t talk about the iPhone and the law in 2010 without mentioning the lost iPhone caper. In April, police raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s home in search of evidence on how the gadget blog obtained an unreleased iPhone that had been lost in a Redwood City bar. The materials seized were later returned to Chen and no charges were laid against Gizmodo or Chen. It was later revealed that Brian Hogan was the man who allegedly sold the iPhone 4 to the gadget blog for $5000.
HSBC's exit would leave a ghost town
這對我來說是一篇有趣的報導
這已經是我看過的第二篇有關報導
當然這也因為我的背景關係
雖然如此
但一間企業的存廢竟然對一個已發展的城市有著如此深厚的影響
以致水牛城的市長也要開腔「哀求」匯豐留在水牛城
究竟大企會否關注這種問題
還是會趁火打劫呢？
這些我都不會知道
另一方面，運用政治壓力去逼使大企作出讓步又是否正確呢？
假如大企搬去其他城市，其實也幫助了其他人
要大企留在水牛城也只是一種既自私又一廂情願的想法吧
妥協果然是一門藝術呢……
HSBC's exit would leave a ghost town
HSBC's exit would leave a ghost town
Business First - by Gary Burns
Date: Monday, January 10, 2011, 12:02pm EST - Last Modified: Monday, January 10, 2011, 2:43pm EST
Flash forward for a moment to 2013. Picture HSBC Tower as it looms over downtown Buffalo. It juts skyward like a gigantic tombstone, marking the city’s former majesty, while the empty streets and deserted buildings below echo with the ghosts of yesterday.
That bleak scenario, or one like it, could unfold. Yes, Buffalo boosters, that image is not a fantasy from Never-Never Land. It is instead an honest description of what might lie ahead as the clock runs down on HSBC bank’s lease on the tower, which expires in 2013.
The Phillips Lytle law firm’s future in the signature downtown structure is similarly in doubt.
Thousands of downtown jobs are at stake, should HSBC absent itself from its present home. If it goes, vast, empty swathes of Class A office space would be created. And that would surely siphon off many business tenants from elsewhere, who until now have accommodated themselves in Buffalo’s many older buildings, some of which are historic.
Down the line, the chain reaction of relocations and vacancies would create a wasteland of empty, old buildings.
That’s just what we need, right? More empty old buildings. Picture the Statler Hotel scenario times 100. What then?
There are other possibilities, of course. And some of them are nowhere near as dark. There is, for instance, the talk of HSBC integrating with the Canal Side development.
We’ll see.
Meanwhile, in the here and now, Mayor Byron Brown says he is concerned. He has asked the Buffalo Niagara Partnership to come up with a strategy for the downtown commercial core.
Somehow, I’m not reassured.
Other voices, like those of developer Rocco Termini and, to a lesser extent, Carl Paladino, have also expressed their deep concerns. Termini, especially, has been forthright in his willingness to tell it like it is (or would be), if commercial tenants flee their present digs to relocate in the HSBC Tower.
One thing is certain: If Buffalo’s preservationists are worried about an abundance of vacant old buildings now, well, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Flash forward for a moment to 2013. Picture HSBC Tower as it looms over downtown Buffalo. It juts skyward like a gigantic tombstone, marking the city’s former majesty, while the empty streets and deserted buildings below echo with the ghosts of yesterday.
That bleak scenario, or one like it, could unfold. Yes, Buffalo boosters, that image is not a fantasy from Never-Never Land. It is instead an honest description of what might lie ahead as the clock runs down on HSBC bank’s lease on the tower, which expires in 2013.
The Phillips Lytle law firm’s future in the signature downtown structure is similarly in doubt.
Thousands of downtown jobs are at stake, should HSBC absent itself from its present home. If it goes, vast, empty swathes of Class A office space would be created. And that would surely siphon off many business tenants from elsewhere, who until now have accommodated themselves in Buffalo’s many older buildings, some of which are historic.
Down the line, the chain reaction of relocations and vacancies would create a wasteland of empty, old buildings.
That’s just what we need, right? More empty old buildings. Picture the Statler Hotel scenario times 100. What then?
There are other possibilities, of course. And some of them are nowhere near as dark. There is, for instance, the talk of HSBC integrating with the Canal Side development.
We’ll see.
Meanwhile, in the here and now, Mayor Byron Brown says he is concerned. He has asked the Buffalo Niagara Partnership to come up with a strategy for the downtown commercial core.
Somehow, I’m not reassured.
Other voices, like those of developer Rocco Termini and, to a lesser extent, Carl Paladino, have also expressed their deep concerns. Termini, especially, has been forthright in his willingness to tell it like it is (or would be), if commercial tenants flee their present digs to relocate in the HSBC Tower.
One thing is certain: If Buffalo’s preservationists are worried about an abundance of vacant old buildings now, well, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Apple's Solar Power Patent: Sun Powered Mac, iPods, iPhones in the Future
不敢肯定這會否出現在不久的將來
讓我感到慶幸的是
大企業中也有願意為環境而盡一分力的人
越有影響力的企業其實真的更應該站到更前線的……
Apple's Solar Power Patent: Sun Powered Mac, iPods, iPhones in the Future
BY Kit EatonToday
Apple's winning more patents all the time, but the latest one is fascinating: It's the first patent for solar powered portable devices that's been awarded to the company. Added to the company's other solar patents, it looks like sunny future for Steve Jobs' company.
Apple's patent is very specific--as you may imagine the field of solar charging and portable devices is heavily patented already, and portions of the technology have been IP protected for years. But what Apple's trying to do is work out a way to reliably and stably charge the rechargeable batteries in a mobile device like an iPhone, iPad or MacBook.
The subtlety here is that batteries in these devices are pretty fickle beasts. They like to be charged and discharged in a particular way, across a certain voltage and with particular power drain (or charge) parameters--this is how they perform best, and last longest. But charging a sensitive high-tech lithium cell from solar-powered sources doesn't necessarily meet up with these needs--the sun is an unreliable friend, delivering variable power from minute to minute even under near-ideal solar charging situations.
Hence Apple's invention, which inserts a power control circuit between the source of power (solar cell) and the destination (the battery). Essentially the controller is smart enough to monitor the "dirty" electrical power dribbling from the solar cell, and polish it so it's cleaner, smoother and better for charging the rechargeable cell. And the patent's not just limited to this behavior--Apple recognizes that of course mobile devices will get charging power from other sources, and has worked out how to combine this smart solar charging with other power needs.
If you're scratching your head at this point, and pondering that this sounds kinda obvious, let me point out a Douglas Adams quote: Comparing the discovery of gravity and the invention of the (seemingly obvious) catflap, it's important to note that as far as gravity is concerned "they even keep it on at weekends. Someone was bound to notice sooner or later. But the catflap...ah, there is a very different matter. Invention, pure creative invention." It takes an invention like this to make something new happen. And remember that Apple is one of the world's largest vendors of portable electronic devices--if it takes a smart step in a green direction, like this patent, then it has important ecological implications. And where Apple treads, others follow.
BY Kit EatonToday
Apple's winning more patents all the time, but the latest one is fascinating: It's the first patent for solar powered portable devices that's been awarded to the company. Added to the company's other solar patents, it looks like sunny future for Steve Jobs' company.
Apple's patent is very specific--as you may imagine the field of solar charging and portable devices is heavily patented already, and portions of the technology have been IP protected for years. But what Apple's trying to do is work out a way to reliably and stably charge the rechargeable batteries in a mobile device like an iPhone, iPad or MacBook.
The subtlety here is that batteries in these devices are pretty fickle beasts. They like to be charged and discharged in a particular way, across a certain voltage and with particular power drain (or charge) parameters--this is how they perform best, and last longest. But charging a sensitive high-tech lithium cell from solar-powered sources doesn't necessarily meet up with these needs--the sun is an unreliable friend, delivering variable power from minute to minute even under near-ideal solar charging situations.
Hence Apple's invention, which inserts a power control circuit between the source of power (solar cell) and the destination (the battery). Essentially the controller is smart enough to monitor the "dirty" electrical power dribbling from the solar cell, and polish it so it's cleaner, smoother and better for charging the rechargeable cell. And the patent's not just limited to this behavior--Apple recognizes that of course mobile devices will get charging power from other sources, and has worked out how to combine this smart solar charging with other power needs.
If you're scratching your head at this point, and pondering that this sounds kinda obvious, let me point out a Douglas Adams quote: Comparing the discovery of gravity and the invention of the (seemingly obvious) catflap, it's important to note that as far as gravity is concerned "they even keep it on at weekends. Someone was bound to notice sooner or later. But the catflap...ah, there is a very different matter. Invention, pure creative invention." It takes an invention like this to make something new happen. And remember that Apple is one of the world's largest vendors of portable electronic devices--if it takes a smart step in a green direction, like this patent, then it has important ecological implications. And where Apple treads, others follow.
新聞剪報
每天上班也好、放假也好，通常我做的第一件事便是閱讀新聞。不說閱報的原因是，因為新聞的來源不一定是報章或報章的網頁，而是各種不同類別的網站。
以往在xanga的年代，我也會把有趣、有意義的新聞貼在blog上，有幾個用意。一方面，我可以表達自己的風格和興趣，我關心什麼事情和我對什麼事情感到有趣；一方面，我也可以表達對各樣事情的觀感和意見；而且，我也可以協助保存一些流傳在網路上的訊息：一般來說，那些網站不會把報導保存一段很長的時間，如果我也在自己的blog貼上了有關報導，即使最後報導被存檔了，我和網路上的其他人還是可以在我的blog上找到它們。
這陣子我鬆懈了。我沒有再閱讀新聞嗎？不是，我也有看到一些很想分享的報導，只有沒有再貼上blog上吧。
這幾天有些衝動，就是把它們都貼回去吧。那是有用的。就算讀者只有我一個人，十年後的我對於我自己肯定還是很感興趣的。
所以，接下來，應該會有超過十篇的文章被一次過貼上吧……
以往在xanga的年代，我也會把有趣、有意義的新聞貼在blog上，有幾個用意。一方面，我可以表達自己的風格和興趣，我關心什麼事情和我對什麼事情感到有趣；一方面，我也可以表達對各樣事情的觀感和意見；而且，我也可以協助保存一些流傳在網路上的訊息：一般來說，那些網站不會把報導保存一段很長的時間，如果我也在自己的blog貼上了有關報導，即使最後報導被存檔了，我和網路上的其他人還是可以在我的blog上找到它們。
這陣子我鬆懈了。我沒有再閱讀新聞嗎？不是，我也有看到一些很想分享的報導，只有沒有再貼上blog上吧。
這幾天有些衝動，就是把它們都貼回去吧。那是有用的。就算讀者只有我一個人，十年後的我對於我自己肯定還是很感興趣的。
所以，接下來，應該會有超過十篇的文章被一次過貼上吧……
2011年1月12日星期三
Google Launches Global Online Science Fair
Would be great if I were below 18...
http://www.fastcompany.com/1716335/google-launches-global-online-science-fair
Google Launches Global Online Science Fair
BY CHUCK SALTERTue Jan 11, 2011
For years, employees at Google have suggested a project near and dear to their nerd hearts: a Google-led science fair. "It's come up over and over and over again," says Cristin Frodella, a senior product marketing manager in education at Google. After all, many a Googler has fond childhood memories of explaining the genius of his or her biology experiment to passersby in a school gym. (Frodella and her best friend trained hamsters to ask for food by ringing a bell.)
Today those Googlers and budding scientists worldwide should be ecstatic. The company launched Google Science Fair, the first global online science competition. It's open to full-time students ages 13 to 18, who are encouraged to use the panoply of Google products to record and share their work. "We want to let kids use our online tools so they can participate from anywhere in world," Frodella tells Fast Company. "They may be home schooled or live in a remote place or not have a physical science fair in their area." They do, however, need an Internet connection.
This is a far cry from your typical local science fair. Google's competition kicked off this morning at its New York offices with some showy science courtesy of Syyn Labs, the company behind the Rube Goldberg machine for last year's OK Go viral hit "This Too Shall Pass." Syyn's machine for Google fired a laser, activating a rover that lifted a red curtain draped over the fair's logo. Then Google brought a riveting cast of scientists on stage to inspire the 100 or so local students in attendance.
Google's partners include National Geographic, CERN, Scientific American, and Lego. Consequently, the judges are not your eighth-grade biology teacher and the football coach who took a freshman chemistry course. They include Vint Cerf, its chief Internet evangelist and one of the fathers of the Web, and National Geographic's explorer-in-residence, the geneticist Spencer Wells.
Cerf gave a brief history of the Internet, telling students that breakthroughs of that magnitude don't "just happen." They require scientists asking questions, forming hypothesis, failing, and then asking more questions. If it seems to students as if all the good stuff has already been discovered, Cerf said, remember that "95% of the universe is unknown to us. It's all Tabula rasa."
William Kamkwamba, a self-taught scientist from Malawi, Africa, talked about the direct impact that science can have, not just on society at large, but on an individual community. From reading a library book, Kamkwamba, the son of a farmer and one of seven kids, learned how to build a wind mill, which powers his family's house and pumps water in an impoverished area. He taught his neighbors how to build wind mills, too, which have transformed schools and improved conditions in the village.
If his poignant story wasn't enough to spur the young scientists in the room and those watching the live stream of the event online, then that of Tesca Fitzgerald, a 15-year-old dynamo from Portland, Oregon, most likely did. She began programming computers at age 5, enrolled in community college at 12, and last year was recognized for her skills by the National Center for Women and Information Technology. One of Fitzgerald's experiments, using artificial intelligence to route robots and assist nurses in a local V.A. hospital, serves as the model project on the Google Science Fair site.
The goal of the Google Science Fair isn't just to give great prizes, including a trip to the Galapagos Islands and $120,000 in scholarships. It's to foster more interest in science worldwide and to come up with much-needed solutions to local and global problems--if not now, then eventually.
"We want kids to make a difference in the world," says Frodella. "They can be agents of change."
The deadline for submissions is April 4. In July, 15 finalists will attend the awards ceremony at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Visit Google Science Fair to learn more.
http://www.fastcompany.com/1716335/google-launches-global-online-science-fair
Google Launches Global Online Science Fair
BY CHUCK SALTERTue Jan 11, 2011
For years, employees at Google have suggested a project near and dear to their nerd hearts: a Google-led science fair. "It's come up over and over and over again," says Cristin Frodella, a senior product marketing manager in education at Google. After all, many a Googler has fond childhood memories of explaining the genius of his or her biology experiment to passersby in a school gym. (Frodella and her best friend trained hamsters to ask for food by ringing a bell.)
Today those Googlers and budding scientists worldwide should be ecstatic. The company launched Google Science Fair, the first global online science competition. It's open to full-time students ages 13 to 18, who are encouraged to use the panoply of Google products to record and share their work. "We want to let kids use our online tools so they can participate from anywhere in world," Frodella tells Fast Company. "They may be home schooled or live in a remote place or not have a physical science fair in their area." They do, however, need an Internet connection.
This is a far cry from your typical local science fair. Google's competition kicked off this morning at its New York offices with some showy science courtesy of Syyn Labs, the company behind the Rube Goldberg machine for last year's OK Go viral hit "This Too Shall Pass." Syyn's machine for Google fired a laser, activating a rover that lifted a red curtain draped over the fair's logo. Then Google brought a riveting cast of scientists on stage to inspire the 100 or so local students in attendance.
Google's partners include National Geographic, CERN, Scientific American, and Lego. Consequently, the judges are not your eighth-grade biology teacher and the football coach who took a freshman chemistry course. They include Vint Cerf, its chief Internet evangelist and one of the fathers of the Web, and National Geographic's explorer-in-residence, the geneticist Spencer Wells.
Cerf gave a brief history of the Internet, telling students that breakthroughs of that magnitude don't "just happen." They require scientists asking questions, forming hypothesis, failing, and then asking more questions. If it seems to students as if all the good stuff has already been discovered, Cerf said, remember that "95% of the universe is unknown to us. It's all Tabula rasa."
William Kamkwamba, a self-taught scientist from Malawi, Africa, talked about the direct impact that science can have, not just on society at large, but on an individual community. From reading a library book, Kamkwamba, the son of a farmer and one of seven kids, learned how to build a wind mill, which powers his family's house and pumps water in an impoverished area. He taught his neighbors how to build wind mills, too, which have transformed schools and improved conditions in the village.
If his poignant story wasn't enough to spur the young scientists in the room and those watching the live stream of the event online, then that of Tesca Fitzgerald, a 15-year-old dynamo from Portland, Oregon, most likely did. She began programming computers at age 5, enrolled in community college at 12, and last year was recognized for her skills by the National Center for Women and Information Technology. One of Fitzgerald's experiments, using artificial intelligence to route robots and assist nurses in a local V.A. hospital, serves as the model project on the Google Science Fair site.
The goal of the Google Science Fair isn't just to give great prizes, including a trip to the Galapagos Islands and $120,000 in scholarships. It's to foster more interest in science worldwide and to come up with much-needed solutions to local and global problems--if not now, then eventually.
"We want kids to make a difference in the world," says Frodella. "They can be agents of change."
The deadline for submissions is April 4. In July, 15 finalists will attend the awards ceremony at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Visit Google Science Fair to learn more.
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