Comment Respect? (Score 3, Insightful) 283
Where was Hollywood respect when they were talking about dwarf tossing?
Hollywood only cares about making money so they can throw some ewoks into a movie to sell some extra toys to kids they will.
Where was Hollywood respect when they were talking about dwarf tossing?
Hollywood only cares about making money so they can throw some ewoks into a movie to sell some extra toys to kids they will.
He must be from Beijing. I found the price (of many things, DVDs included) increased with proximity to Beijing. Shenzhen/Guangzhou was cheaper on the south end, then more expensive north. Even Shanghai was cheaper then Beijing for the illegal DVDs. And in Beijing, I didn't see any street vendors with them. They'd stand on the street with signs and show you to the shop in an unmarked store. I think that they do enforce the rules slightly in Beijing, or maybe it was just because the olympics were less than a year away and they were getting ready for the expected crackdown.
Nope I live in Beijing. They're all over the place here for 5RMB a piece. If you go into stores they're a lot more expensive.
MAYBE, but in your country you walk a block to the local DVD store and choose from a selection of thousands of pirated DVDs, each selling for the equivalent of 1.25 USD per disc? That's what it's like living in any city in China. It's probably impossible to buy a NON-pirated DVD in China (I for one have never seen one!). Technically these shops are breaking the law, but the relevant laws are not enforced.
Wha? $1.25USD? You're getting screwed! Seriously, learn to bargin. They should be 5RMB ($0.73) a piece!
No, Baidu will be the default search engine. Oh, but wait it already is!
It's not as if Google didn't try to dominate the market in China, but the government interfering in their products and the locals just plain liking Baidu better they couldn't. You're also confusing google.cn with other products like Gmail and google apps. Google.cn is what's being shut down because it's the only legal business google has here. The Chinese government has no control over what happens on google.com and can't censor any search results because they come from the US.
If Google shuts down google.cn then the Chinese government will probably retaliate and block google.com, but they are two completely different things.
I really don't see this catching on in the US.
Here in Beijing lots of people (me included) ride electric bikes because it's too expensive to have a car and traffic jams are so bad it takes me 15 minutes to ride to the bank whereas it would take me about 1 hour to get there by car during rush hour traffic. Motorcycles aren't allowed in the center of the city so an electric bike is really convenient for getting around.
Then there's the question of money. I bought my bike for 2,100RMB (about $300USD). This is a little under half a month's salary for the average Beijinger so these things are very affordable especially compared to cars and motorcycles. I supect this is one of the reasons electric bikes are getting popular in places with a lot of poverty like India.
Then there's lifestyle. Here there's no Costco so I'm not hauling bags and bags of groceries at one time. Also I live in the neighborhood where I work so my commute is only about 10 minutes. That's the perfect range for one of these bikes. If you had an hour commute like many people in the US, you'd never be able to take the bike since the average charge seems to get me through about 45ish minutes before I really need to recharge. That's with peddling to help out the battery.
Look at labor markets in developing nations without unions, and notice how those people work 6+ days for 12hours+ per day for starvation wages.
Sure starvation wages in the US, but in the local economy they're making pretty decent money. Yeah they work hard, but they save money to send to their families and put their kids through school so the family can move up the social ladder in the next generation.
"A computer with the power of a human brain is not yet near. But this week researchers from IBM Corp. are reporting that they've simulated a cat's cerebral cortex, the thinking part of the brain, using a massive supercomputer."
So it basically puts itself in sleep mode 20 hours a day and the other 4 hours it spends ignoring the user?
I'm not sure the max, but they can and do regularly detain people for 23 days, holding them without being allowed to contact anyone (note, demand to contact your embassy they are required to do this if you ask) with or without being charged.
I have no idea about European countries
"May your future be limited only by your dreams." -- Christa McAuliffe
