Fredster comments

“Quad core is useful when it comes to mobile gaming, but in reality it is just hype, because the bottleneck at the moment is data usage,” said Loo Wee Teck...

Additionally, manufacturers are going to have to consider the "usable" battery power available on-board if they start touting a switch to quad core processors while suggesting that your new Smartphone be used as a mobile gaming platform - notwithstanding data transfer limitations and the cost of total data usage limitations / concerns...

If such handsets come out, it would be nice to see some practical standards for battery consumption in a standardized "real world" format that the end user can understand...

I can just see all the disgruntled new owners wondering why their battery is flat after just 2 hours of constant use playing some FPS... That and the fact that you might need to wear an oven-mit to hold the thing without burning your hand after playing for an hour.... *-)

Sorry, proof reading brainfart...

In the end the Sapporo Snow Festival is all about promoting the uniqueness of both Sapporo & Hokkaido - that that end it is one of the BEST and historically significant ways we can accomplish this...

Should read...

In the end the Sapporo Snow Festival is all about promoting the uniqueness of both Sapporo & Hokkaido... To that end, the SnoFest has proven to be one of the BEST tools and most historically significant ways we can accomplish that IMO...

grammefriday wrote

the snow festival has lost a lot of its charm compared to 10 - 15 years...

The Sapporo Snow Festival - like so many other festivals and cultural events here in Japan, have HAD to change in order to survive and attract both participants and attendees...

I don't really know how to quantify how much "charm" it has lost - but I suppose I can understand what you are trying to say - - being said however the SnoFest has never been quant or charming to me because it is such a large and well attended event... This is a Big, Bustling and Vibrant event that was too にぎあか to be charming to me...

You speak as though you live here, so I assume that you know that the general Japanese populous grows more tired of such events year on year ( citing that "it's just the same thing year after year" ) and so in order to have the economic boost from events such as this the festival organizers have had to make certain commercial sponsorship trade offs and pander to visiting foreigners from Taiwan, China, Korea etc.., in order to facilitate the very survival of these culturally significant events.

Your post makes these things seem negative - au contraire - they are in fact just a normal side effect of a increasingly westernized population in Japan as well as the harsh reality of what it takes to finance these cultural events without unnecessarily burdening the local taxpayers...

In the end the Sapporo Snow Festival is all about promoting the uniqueness of both Sapporo & Hokkaido - that that end it is one of the BEST and historically significant ways we can accomplish this...

Cheers,

Kakaku are fools to think that they will ever stop creative thinkers from "gaming" the system...

It's a huge problem stateside and in EU at numerous famous ratings sites and those sites employ VERY smart people who are paid solely to spot and circumnavigate those people seeking to profit from these activities...

Threatening prosecution has NEVER worked so they have to figure out a way to stop /interrupt them pre-infraction not punish them post-infraction...

It's all in the grand plan this year... Let the eco-nutters chase around 1 harpoon ship ( decoy ship ) while the rest of the fleet gets on about their business...

Well played and all just fine with the SSS as their prime concern is generating sound bites and footage that gets them funded again and again - so long as they have enough controversy to fuel the anti-whaler sentiment they could care less about how many whales are harvested... This is why this is a Jgov press release - give the nutters the sound bites they need to keep them happy and they will feel fulfilled...

Watson is a nutjob - I met him 25 years ago when he was chasing the "controversy du jour" culling of overpopulated wolves in Canada... He was a narcissistic nut-job then and certainly has done nothing but gotten worse - he is one of those guys that we look back on in history and say "Wow, I guess we were wrong to encourage him"...

Don't forget to double check the consultancy fees....

Wow - way to feed the Amazon propaganda advertising machine....

A million a week during December sounds soooo impressive until you see that Apple activated 4.2 million IOS devices on Christmas day ALONE...

If Kindle Fire is on fire them what words exactly should we use to describe Apple and Android device sales during the same period ???

This whole article is just one big press release from Amazon...

Wish the disinformation would simply cease...

Additional funding for the PROTECTION of the PEOPLE / Japanese Citizens manning the boats in the the whaling fleet is coming from the Secondary (?) budget allocation ( "**most but not all" of which is earmarked for PD reconstruction )...

IT IS NOT being funneled from DONATIONS for relief...

Why do people keep spouting this drivel... agenda perhaps ? ?

Aside from a few token faces that door was never open in the first place.

You are correct in that the door has not been WIDE open by any means - BUT it was open if only just an inch or two - - Woodford himself was evidence of that...

but he did what was right...

Semantics... 20 years from now we can look back at this and decide / debate the balance of cause and effect - but for now there is no way to tell...

FWIW - I believe that HE felt what he did was right - but I am not yet convinced that there may have been better ways for him to have gone about it...

History is full of decisions made in the heat / haste of battle that - at the time - were felt to have been in the best interest or common good that turned out to have horrific consequences for many - - in this case the vulnerable would appear to still be shareholders, banks / creditors, employees and perhaps a foreign led work force that Japan needs so badly with it's aging baby-boomer population...

History is written by the Victors - so I guess this will all come down to who comes out on top.....

I am amused at all of the Woodford cheerleaders here...

It would seem that few of you have a realistic understanding of the way things work here or fail to see the trouble that all of this is going to cause for DECADES to come in the Japanese business community and how they act / react to foreign involvement or management styles...

You can forget about ANY major Japanese corporation appointing a foreigner to their board - let alone an executive position - for years and years to come because Woodford will go down as "representative" of the kind of trust one can have for such people...

Insubordination - inappropriate demands - disregard & disrespect for rank - threats in the media - whistle blowing - hostile take-overs., are all the western business character traits that are going to be associated with this guy and anyone to come after him for a long time...

This sort of thing plays right into the hands of the right-wing business leaders and the corporations / boards that those people control... "We simply can't trust them - remember what Woodford did ?"

Woodford "may" well be absolutely correct in his conclusions about who did what, why, when and where BUT shareholders will not be so easy to forget that - even with 20 years of debt cover-ups - their shares and investments in Olympus were doing just fine until he decided to blow the whole thing wide apart - - perhaps one day we will hear the REAL story behind his motivation but for now the "I wanted to protect the shareholder's interests" ( his primary duty as CEO btw ) just doesn't wash with me = It all seems just so self-serving IMO...

Me thinks I can still hear the reverberations of a very large door being slammed shut to anyone non-japanese who had any ambitions of corporate career success in Japan...

Time will tell.......

badmigrane

Not direct from Netflix....

You sure can using a VPN account... works for me... perhaps google AceVPN....

Why!?

Because... Some people are more concerned with having fun and enjoying life in their own distinct way than sitting around wondering WHY other people are doing stuff that has absolutely zero effect on their own lives ?? 8-)

Only a non-domestic manufacturer without a solid grasp on how business is done here would come out and publicize the fact that they see a tremendous opportunity to increase their market share and profile in Japan as a result of a competitor's misfortune resulting from such an unprecedented disaster...

It's one thing to ramp up promotion and production to try to fill the gap and "absorb" some share of the market not being fulfilled by manufacturers hit by this disaster - it's another to celebrate and promote it as a good opportunity to take advantage...

This will win them no long term solutions to their domestic market woes... especially at 5m yen for product that is already available for near 1/2 the price...

noticed no bodyguards either...

I see 3 NPA bodyguards in Frame and possibly 1 IHA staffer...

I believe she has been in a serious relationship for some time with Nakai-san from Smap !!!

Wow - takes less than a week to...

convene a "Crimes against Humanity tribunal"...

revoke the diplomatic status of Gadhafi and his entire family / entourage...

Freeze all his assets in foreign countries ( USA first and foremost )...

meet and determine UN Security council resolutions against this oppression...

BUT they still can't get together and do anything productive in regard to DPRK - even after the shell their neighbors ( killing civilians ) and torpedo a naval vessels ??????????

DON'T be telling me it's Not about the OIL...

I have no disillusions about Gadhafi being a Madman and that he must go but is this the same Obama who won the Nobel Peace Prize - All these threats and Sabre rattling seems to be just another page out Bush's playbook on Iraq...

IMO any concerted efforts on the part of the UN to try to strong-arm Gadhafi or use force will only result in HORRENDOUS civilian casualties - because when backed into a corner with NO WAY OUT this kook is capable of ANYTHING........ ANYTHING......

That being said, why all this unrest now? It's not like his leadership style has recently taken a change for the worse....

There is no more reason for it now then there would have been 6 months or 6 years ago... It's a convenient time for somebody... Who ? who really knows... religious opposition ? political opposition ? democratic movement ? foreign interest ( governmental and non-governmental ) in Libya's resources ? political revenge ?

MK has always exibited that he has absolutely no "compassion against killing" so who are the idiots fanning the flames that are getting civilians / pawns / cannon fodder killed... And even more of interest is "What is their Endgame / Goal"....

OIL....

That is what life & death is about in these nations - tale the oil away and it's just another under-reported civil insurrection / genocides like in 25% of the rest of Africa...

A shame really but WHY do people think that they can approach a rabid insane dog and get rid of it by poking it with a stick ???

Holy "Career Suicide" Batman....

Not that being a Barista is a life long ambition for many but something like this is gonna stick to you like glue - especially in Japan...

Most of the problems with Japan's 20'somethings can be attributed to SOED - "Severe Over-Entitlement Disorder"

*If we're going to split hairs about Butyric Acid JUST being rotten butter then we will have to concede that those water pistols they are shooting are far from CANNONS...

I've had more dangerous showers...

Sorry folks = I did not mean to infuriate anyone with my comments over what I now realize is a very emotional issue for some and I have indeed read most of it and watched quite a bit of the reportage...

Personally I find it hard to believe that 100% of the violence is being done by Government goons and secret police.... & If that is the case then all the good civilized protesters - who would appear to be in the majority - need to do is go home or start coming to the aid of those being assailed...

I think perhaps that people don't seem to know know when they have won the day - they have a concession from the Mubarak camp that he will step down and indeed most Leaders around the world are insisting that he go and do it soon - so there is no lack of International Support for the peaceful protesters and a subsequent change of government...

I seems that - to the people on the ground in Egypt - it's JUST NOT ENOUGH, almost as if they feel that if they don't run Mubarak out of the country TODAY ( ala Tunisia ) that they have failed - - and that just isn't the case...

The longer this "unrest" goes on the easier it will be for those Goons to carry on and wreck everything that has ALREADY been accomplished...

Go home, hug your kinds, feed the dog & do some laundry - - you've already won the day...

Sorry but I lost a lot of respect for the people involved in the "uprising" ( don't really know what else to call it ) in Egypt when they started ATTACKING News, Photo & Video crews in Cairo...

It's typical Mob mentality - as soon as they saw that the collective efforts were actually making some headway they broke into different factions, each intent on gaining there own "power, and started turning on their own neighbors and brothers... DESPICABLE & just a good way to waste all the advances they have already made...

The concept that individual neighborhoods have to form their own militias and patrol the streets to protect themselves shows that those doing the protesting aren't reading to take over and lead anything - especially a country that is a CORNERSTONE of the Middle-Easy & Arab worlds...

Freudian Slip...

Hokkaido Nippon HAM Fighters - not JAM... that's just too funny 8-)

About a month ago "Hokkaido Nippon Jam Fighters" ( the REAL / FULL name of the Club ) started a presale of the 2011 season new uniforms that wouldn't be revealed until 3 weeks later..

As a fan club member & season ticket holder I logged into their website on that particular morning about 2 hours after the sale started and was amazed to find that the #18 Saitoh ( the way it's spelled on the uniform as opposed to above's "Saito" ) was sold out already - in two hours !!!!!!!!! none of the other established players except #11 Darvish were close ( his showed a triangle to represent low stock )...

So... above all else the young Mr. Saitoh represents a tremendous goods and marketing opportunity for the team - that in it'self fans the flames & flames the fans...

On top of everything he is definitely a talented pitcher and a very well mannered and intelligent speaking sportsman when he is being interviewed - a trait sometimes laking in sportsmen who sound brash, arrogant and uneducated ( meaning he comes across as both humble and intelligent ) - here's hoping the transition to the Japanese Majors goes well for him and doesn't change his character too much......

Last January, a Sea Shepherd boat was sunk after its bow was sheared off in a collision with a whaling vessel.......

For the sake of clarity let's get the story straight OK - certainly some facts are in the conjecture of "he said" - "she said" but 1 remaining fact is clear...

The Andy Gil did not SINK - it was in fact SCUTTLED and that is a BIG DIFFERENCE...

but Having to get rid of the smell for the next customers can take a while...

The problem with a room at a hotel that has been "cleaned" of smoke or "deodorized" as opposed to a purely Non-Smoking Room is that the cleaned/deod room has ben subjected to an Ozone generation machine for about 1 hour...

Ozone generation in an enclosed space has been done for generations for deodorization of everything from drapes & dry cleaning to offensive restaurant food odors & crime scene clean-ups....

The problem is that Ozone - when used by a untrained professional can be quite dangerous - although seldom lethal can make you quite sick... Generally it's fine as long as the ozone is properly evacuated after application but in the case of the Japanese Hotel industry hey do not and probably can not do this effectively... Hence the strong Ozone odor sometimes when you enter a hotel room after asking for N/S or complaining of the cigarette smell...

The business model for the general BANNING of smoking in public facilities does and has worked in most Western Cultures where it has been implemented - - the problem is that in Japanese Culture EVERYONE feels ENTITLED so they can not and perhaps will not conform to the concept that they need to do this for the health of others - if not for themselves....

...and the Students with the 3 highest grades on the assignment get a certificate and their work published in a special feature article on the Al-Jazeera News Online Edition...

The driver is only playing by the rules set out for him by JR....

The conductor is responsible for opening doors and boarding of passengers...

If the driver waits for the "late" / "sleeping" conductor to show up and do his assigned job then the train will be VERY late and the driver disciplined...

The driver did his job and got the train to it's destination on time - the conductor didn't do his job so neither he or the 16 passengers were on board when the train let the station....

JR doesn't reward drivers for doing anything else but their own job - if he was late to Ueno he would have been admonished by the higher ups...

I can just see the 29 year old driver in his compartment going... "WTF - where is that w@nker - if he doesn't get here on time and open those doors I'm leaving without him and the passengers - no way I am getting canned for his sloppy job "...

Frankly, I don't blame him either...

Dear Trenton...

You appear to be suffering from one of the most insidious diseases know to man that has proliferated the youth of the West for generations and has now a firm foothold here in the Japanese culture as well - "ENTITLEMENT"...

People afflicted by this disease never seem to accept advice - even though it's usually their constant whining about "how bad they have it" that is responsible for people with "wisdom" actually proffering it to them.

To tell the truth, you sound a lot like my eldest Son when he was 24 - luckily he eventually grew up and now can openly joke about just what an ass he was when he was suffering from that same affliction...

Here's hoping the same for you...

BTW - if you "live" here now - you are not a guest like Brad or Angelina so a different set of rules applies to you - this isn't student exchange or a business junket - so best you drop the arrogance before you look in the mirror one day and find yourself a "family man with the obligatory Japanese wife and mixed-race child"... Truth be told - I would rather be that, than would you would appear to be...

here are many more issues than this one issue.. what else does she have to say...

True enough... but at least she IS saying something about 1 issue as opposed to all the other talking heads in this election that are saying a lot of nothing about everything... 8-)