NetHappenings
[EC] NetHappenings  News and Resources


1)
Oldest American Dies at 112
http://www.physorg.com/news149837674.html
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-12/30/content_7354649.htm

2)
Even Bigger Nightmare On Tech Street
<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gigaomnetwork/~3/aVPZefG9hYE/>
The technology sector, already rocked by the credit crunch and slowing 
global economies, is facing a bleak 2009, the impact of which is going 
to be felt across the entire ecosystem. From PC makers to chipmakers 
to chip equipment makers, almost everyone is bracing for a stomach- churning ride.
Now here is a man who should know the actual extent of the troubles. 
His company’s customers include Apple, Nintendo and Hewlett Packard. 
Its subsidiary, Foxconn, makes handsets for Motorola and Nokia. Any 
slowdown in orders from his end customers affects his business. Closer 
to home in Silicon Valley, companies like Cisco Systems, Hewlett- Packard
and Adobeare shutting down for the holidays to save money.


3)


Two visitors taste Laba porridge at Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai yesterday. Eating Laba porridge is a tradition that dates back more than 900 years in China. The porridge, made of glutinous rice, nuts and dried fruits, is always served on Laba, or the eighth day of the last month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It also marks the beginning of preparations for celebrating the Chinese New Year which starts on January 26 this year.


4) Gmap pedometer
Joggers log on to online mapping services
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200812/20081230/article_386345.htm


5)
AMERICAN teacher David Deems has won respect from the Chinese for his selfless
devotion to education at poverty-stricken villages in northwestern China over the past 14 years.
Last week, Deems, whose Chinese name is Ding Dawei was honored at a special awards ceremony
hosted by a weekly Shanghai television news program.
The annual awards, based on an online voting poll, bring many of the country's unsung heroes into the spotlight.
The other nine winners this year were all ordinary Chinese people who have done extraordinary things.
They included a girl who saved a stranger's life by donating one of her kidneys and a 13-year-old child
who shouldered the heavy responsibility of caring for his sick, blind grandmother.
Deems was the only foreign nominee. In many eyes, this American volunteer teacher who has been
working humbly and quietly to educate poor Chinese children for years is a modern day
"foreign Lei Feng" (a selfless soldier from the 1960s).


5)

China Mobile cuts Internet fees to tap smartphone use
By Zhu Shenshen  |   2009-1-3  |
CHINA Mobile has slashed the mobile Internet traffic fee by up to 70 percent in many areas,
including Shanghai and Beijing, since Thursday.
The latest move will attract more of the more than 600 million Chinese handset users to access
the Internet, and boost the demand of smartphones and lift sales of mobile service providers, industry insiders said.
Under the new general packet radio service, or GPRS, policy in Shanghai, China Mobile now
charges users 5 yuan (73 US cents) for 30 megabytes of data traffic monthly, an increase of
10MB last year. The package also includes 20 yuan for 150MB and 200 yuan for 5 gigabyte.
The additional data traffic, excluding the package, costs 0.01 yuan for each kilobyte now,
against 0.03 yuan previously. On average, China Mobile charges users 0.16 yuan for each
megabyte of data traffic on the cellular network from Thursday, compared with 0.50 yuan previously.
Analysts see China Mobile's price cut as a fight back to the expansion of China Telecom,
which acquired the mobile business through the recent industry reorganization. China Telecom
launched its new mobile brand eSurfing two weeks ago, which integrates fixed-line and Wi-Fi features.
China Mobile's new data traffic policy has taken effect in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin as well as Jiangsu and Hubei provinces.