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I am running it and I don't like how it's hogging all my resources. Please let me know how I can disable and tweak Vista.
the answer is by Computer Wizard :to uninstall a program go Start, type in Programs, choose Default programs, and on the bottom left corner choose programs and Features and change or [...]
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The Chinese government’s watchdog for equities, the CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission) has issued an edict to local fund managers that they are not to issue any pessimistic reports about equities during the Olympics in Beijing.
My question is “Why bother?”
The Shanghai market has been down 50% in the first half of the year, and what started out as a subprime mortgage problem in the US has now morphed into a banking problem with more US banks at risk.
In the meantime, Pony Ma, CEO of Tencent has joined in the chorus with Alibaba’s Jack Ma to talk about hard times ahead. The Chinese government has signaled that the rise of the yuan against the dollar will slow down, with a very public discussion in the People’s Daily. The signs of economic deceleration are everywhere.
When there is so much public discussion about upcoming economic challenges in the Chinese and western media, what good could possibly come from telling local fund managers not to say anything bad which might upset the Chinese equities markets? While many western observers of China see this as a sign of an authoritarian regime, for many Chinese, it looks more like desperation. Instead of allaying fears, it makes those who are still in the market fear the worst, and think that the government is trying to suppress even worse news, which in turn will fuel the rumor mill and make the market even more volatile.
In short, this looks more like a desperation move than a well-thought policy move. Instead of helping the market, it’s likely to make things worse.
This is what happens when politics interfere in the markets.
Technorati Tags: alibaba, American, authoritarian, banking, banks, Beijing, China, Chinese, csrc, dollar, economics, funds, market, mortgage, olympics, politics, shanghai, subprime, tencent, yuan
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why?/ xp is good but why do they love vista??
the answer is by Shailendra V :Microsoft is soon going to stop the service for Xp.
So use Vista.
Why do so many people hate Vista???
I understand that it is not free, but why do they hate it???
Well, most of the people here do hate Vista.
OK, I have heard a thousand times that Vista sucks. I always wondered why. I quadboot my computer W2k, Xp, Vista and Ubuntu Linux. My computer [...]
The biannual China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) report covering the first half of 2008 has been released (in Chinese) and is now available. The Ogilvy China Digital Watch website has provided an excellent job of capturing the main points in English. The most salient point of the report is that China now has 253 million Internet users, pushing China into first place worldwide, surpassing the US.
The CNNIC is the main official source of information for the state of the Internet in China, and is the most frequently quoted report on China Internet statistics. For more detailed information, especially ecommerce numbers, etc., there are a number of market research firms in China which provide services, including custom reports for paying clients.
I would like see some changes and improvement to the CNNIC report. Here are some of them:
Technorati Tags: China, Chinese, cnnic, data, digital, government, information, internet, marketing, ogilvy, queries, query, report, research, service, user, warehouse
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Over the past year, the tone of coverage of many China-related topics in the US has improved. For the most part, writers covering China have tried to look past the generally-accepted stereotypes, and have tried to get a deeper understanding of what is going on in China.
But occasionally something finds its way through the cracks.
This article is really exemplary; it seems like the writer has taken all the stereotypes about Apple and China, and thrown them all together in one basket. Judging from the tone of the article, and what he professes to be truth, it seems like he has never set foot in China. Otherwise, how could be believe some of the things he writes?
Let’s take a look at some of the choice statements:
Apple has less than 8 percent market share in China for media players, and far less than 1 percent of either PC or cell phone market share.
Yes, so? I wonder if the writer has walked into any cafe in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, and looked around? Or has he taken any of the subways in any of those three cities and looked around for the signature white earbuds? The question should not be the percentage market share. It should be the trend, and whether it is tracking up or down.
Apple’s second biggest hit in China, the iPhone, isn’t authorized. One Chinese analyst estimates that some 1 million Apple iPhones are currently operating on just one Chinese carrier — China Mobile — with a smaller number on other carriers. Most Apple “Authorized Resellers” in China sell black-market iPhones, and many even offer illegal cracking services — a process that reportedly takes less time than activating an iPhone 3G in California.
Apple makes money off of every iPhone sold, whether it is through authorized or unauthorized channels. Sure, Apple would like to have a carrier agreement in China, but having a group of fans, even though it is relatively small percentage-wise, which is very enthusiastic about Apple products, is a good thing. Besides, there are a lot of people in China who pay even more for more expensive feature-packed mobile phones in China. In fact, the iPhone is not the most expensive phone in the market. Ask Nokia.
Apple succeeds because customers love the products and the brand. But in China, brands mean little to most potential customers, and hardware even less. Chinese consumers prize value above all.
This quote is a true gem and qualifies as one of the most ignorant sweeping statements about China for 2008, even though we are only halfway through the year. Obviously the writer has not been to China and walked in the downtown of any major city. Here is an article about the runup to the recent opening of the Sanlitun store in Beijing and another story about Chinese youth camping out in front of the Beijing Apple store, where they were behaving just like American Apple fans.
I guess that’s why there are no Mercedes Benzes, BMWs, and Chinese women don’t care about the labels they wear? Maybe he thinks that they still wear Mao suits?
The rest of the world’s love of the Apple brand has enabled Apple to get favorable terms with carriers around the world. But this hasn’t helped much in China. Apple initially demanded a big two-digit percentage of carriers’ wireless revenue as a condition for granting its coveted exclusivity deal, according to reports (one company says Apple demanded 30%). The Chinese carriers were apparently unimpressed by the value of Apple’s brand compared with the value to Apple of access to Chinese consumers. They appear to have forced Apple to drop its demand for any share of wireless revenues.
The reason Apple has not been able to get an agreement with China Mobile is because they are both big companies with very big egos who want to control everything. I would say that Apple and the carriers have trouble reaching an agreement because they are so much alike, and don’t believe in compromise.
One-party rule in China actually affects product quality. One example is that Apple will probably be required to disable the iPhone’s Wi-Fi feature in order to comply with the Communist Party’s strict Internet control and censorship rules.
The relationship between one-party rule and product quality is an arguable point. But if it is that simple, then why are ALL of Apple’s products made in China? As for the disabling of Wi-Fi on phones sold in China, that is a China Mobile requirement, not a State Council requirement. (If you think that the rulers of China don’t have better things to worry about than whether mobile phones in China have Wi-Fi functionality, you don’t know anything about the country and how it’s ruled.) Besides, with the recent re-arrangement of the Chinese telcos, it’s not as if China Mobile is able to control Wi-Fi as much as it would like.
China is number one in intellectual property theft
Apple’s whole business model is based on creating value through exquisite design, superior branding and the sale of creative intellectual property (IP) — then defending its rights against the IP thieves, pirates and counterfeiters.
How will this formula succeed if China doesn’t enforce intellectual property laws?
The music piracy rate in China is between 90 and 99 percent, depending on whom you ask. China is the global epicenter of intellectual property theft in general, and of Apple IP theft in particular — especially iPhones and iPods.
Fake iPhones, and phones that steal Apple branding; illegal iPhone unlocking services; trade in illegal movie and music files; all appear to be tolerated and even government-protected activities in China.
Oh yes, how can we talk about China without IP violations? Seriously though, this is an issue. The best way to fight IP though, is for a country to get more prosperous. As people become wealthier, they are more willing to spend money on software, music, etc. In China, it is also very important to explain the importance of IP to various government ministries, and even be flexible about how much you charge Chinese consumers. Many Chinese think that they should not have to pay as much for music as US consumers because they have a lower income and standard of living. Does that fit into any American companies’ equations? Up until four years ago, Microsoft had a very high level of illegally installed Windows licenses in China, and constantly lobbied with the US Congress to “punish” China. When Microsoft China changed tactics and chose to engage Chinese ministries, educate them, and lower the license fees (as China’s standard of living increased), first the ministries, then the schools, then the people started buying original software from Microsoft. Now Microsoft gets more revenue from China, and the relationship with the government is much less confrontational. Piracy of Microsoft software still exists, but again it’s about the trend, which is improving.
Steve Jobs is an exemplary business and marketing genius. But when it comes to learning about other markets, he is lazy. He would like nothing better than to set prices for all media products sold through iTunes himself, and he would like it to be the same all over the world. China is a major kink in his vision.
How many times has Bill Gates been to China? How many times has Steve Jobs been to China?
I rest my case.
Technorati Tags: American, americans, Apple, Beijing, billgates, brand, brands, business, cafe, China, Chinese, congress, consumers, design, globalization, internet, iPhone, iPod, itunes, microsoft, Nokia, shanghai, Shenzhen, stevejobs, telcos, trends, windows
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I have it, and it is definitely better. The only thing I don't like is how protective everything is, it asks you about a lot of websites, and anything that could have a virus. But I shut all that crap off, and it runs beautifully, and the layout definitely looks cooler than XP.
the answer is [...]
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After a month hiatus, SourceForge, the world’s largest development and download repository of Open Source code and applications, is again accessible from China on the eve of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Chinese authorities has never admitted to blocking access to SourceForge, the only way for people in China to reach the site was by using [...]
On July 23, Jack Ma, founder and chairman of the Alibaba Group, a leading Chinese ecommerce company, published an internal email to Alibaba employees. This email found its way to Sina (h/t to Bill Bishop) and I have translated it here.
The company is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under the 1688 symbol. In typical Chinese fashion, the numbers are propitious for making money and sound like 一路发发 The original email includes exclamation marks at the end of almost every sentence. In an attempt to be faithful to the original text, I have also kept the original exclamation marks. I have added some extra hyperlinks where I think it would be helpful to understanding.
Fellow Alibaba employees:
When it comes to the recent share price of Alibaba, I’m sure that you’re feelings are complicated! Today, I want to share with you my views on the current business and economic environment, I hope that they are helpful.
I’m sure that you remember in the February all-employees conference I said that winter was coming, and that we all needed to prepare for winter! When our company listed in Hong Kong, and our share price tripled in price, dark clouds were forming and the thunder was coming closer. When a share price goes up this quickly, the retreat will be just as surprising and quick! I don’t want you to have any misunderstandings about how the market behaves. When we listed, I said that we would continue doing business as we have before, and that our mission would not change because of our listing. In the future, I hope that you forget about our share price, a remember our long-term commitments to our customers, our society and our fellow partners, our shareholders and our families. When we meet our commitments, our share price will reflect the value the value of your commitments.
The world economy is now facing major structural problems, and it is very likely that in the coming years it will go through a period of major challenges. My view is that the world economy will go through a very challenging period, and the challenges will be much bigger than anyone has thought possible! This winter will be longer, colder and more complicated than any have predicted! We need to prepare for this winter!
So what do we need to do?
First, we need to be prepared and have confidence!
Winter is not frightening; not being prepared is frightening! Not knowing how long it will be, and how cold it will be is frightening! Opportunities come equally to everyone and tragedies come equally to everyone! The ones who prepare for the winter are the survivors! The guarantors of survival are a strong desire to survive, psychological preparation and storage of materials. Having gone through the first Internet bubble and the SARS crisis, we know what it takes to survive multiple crises. By going public last year, we were able to raise US$2 billion to prepare for the upcoming winter. At the beginning of this year, our group “dug deep holes, stored grain and prepared reserves while avoiding major projects”, and this thinking has been pushed out to all member companies of the group. For this terrible winter, all Alibaba employees think “If not now, when? If not me, who?” In 2001, we said “Be the last man standing!” Even if we were on our knees we would be the very last to keel over! With our resources today maybe we will not keel over, but today we have an even greater responsibility to our customers. Not only must we not fall over, but we have a responsibility to protect them, the tens of thousands of small and medium sized businesses all over the world who count on our services! We need to protect them so that they will prosper and not keel over! In the upcoming business environment, these companies will face major challenges to their survival; it is our mission to help them to survive - to make it easier for anyone to do business anywhere. Remember, if our customers fail, then we will not survive to see another day!
Second, do what you should do for winter preparation!
Great companies survive not because they can take advantage of multiple opportunities, but because they can survive challenges which wipe out other companies. In 2002-2003, during the first Internet winter, we focused on building our Alibaba culture, our company structure, and developing talent. Today, aside from being grateful for the opportunity we got by going public last year, we need to be able to show our gratitude for the opportunity globalization and the world economy has given us. Alibaba has grown from 18 people to more than 10,000 employees today. Our culture, organization and talent have grown and we have faced challenges. We have had opportunities in the past five years, including founding Taobao.com, starting Alipay, buying Yahoo! China, starting Alisoft, the Alimama ad network, all the way to going public. We need to time to rest and recuperate, and are grateful for this opportunity.
We have thought about this deeply, and based on our principles of “customer first, employees second and shareholders third” our goals now are:
In order to achieve these goals we must grasp the opportunities this harsh winter presents us! Let us now return to our ecommerce roots and our founding principles of treating our customers first and to grasp the opportunities which come to us! The power of a great army is not shown when it is advancing; it shows when it is in an organized retreat. The power of a great company is shown when it can survive in a harsh environment, and have a positive attitude and can continue to learn and grow.
In this new globalized world, the Chinese economy will play an ever greater role. We are pleased to see that world leaders are learning to communicate and coordinate their activities better on major issues like the Asian tsunami, earthquakes, fighting diseases, and fighting global warming. These are all good signs of a brighter future for humanity. This will change the world from one which is solely reliant on the US dollar to something more multilateral! The Internet powered by ecommerce will play a revolutionary role in this change! “Push consumer spending and creating jobs” will be our major missions in the next stage of Internet development! The future of ecommerce is bright, and will help our small and medium sized customers to survive this crisis, and when we emerge in ten years, it will be a whole new world!
Fellow Alibaba partners, we will be messengers and witnesses to this whole new world!
Jack Ma
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From the new marketing materials we have received, Baidu has raised the initial advertising budget for new accounts from RMB3,000 to RMB5,000. The “consulting” fee remains the same, RMB600. New advertisers therefore are required to pay RMB5,600 (about USD824) upfront to set up a new pay-per-click account.
As a comparison Google account opening fee stands at [...]
