Ordinary Gweilo

It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writing (mainly) about Hong Kong

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Month: Jul 2008

  • Time to buy

    I am amused to see that the SCMP has turned on Lee Shau-kee after previously reporting his mad predictions about the Hang Seng Index as if he were some kind of genius (Lee losing Midas touch as trust falls 25pc in value – subscription required):  Lee Shau-kee, who was last year touted as Asia’s Warren…

  • Catch up TV

    In the UK, the BBC’s iPlayer has been a huge success – if you miss a TV show, you can watch it again on your PC.  Rather unexpectedly, TVB has just announced a similar service, though it will only cover a few shows (from ABC), starting with Dirty Sexy Money, which will be available on…

  • The Apprentice – Week 9 – Spurs

    This week we are at Tottenham Hotspur FC – biggest single shareholder (and former chairman) Sir Alan Sugar – and the teams have to sell subscriptions to a text messaging service (Spurs On).  Saira is in charge of First Forte, and Paul is the project leader for Impact. The two teams are brainstorming.  Paul thinks…

  • Apparently the Internet isn’t the future anymore

    One of the things you have to admire about George Adams is that he is always willing to admit that he was wrong.  He used to complain that blogs were trivial and inconsequential, and then he started putting photographs of his girlfriend (and all sorts of other trivia) on to his own website – though…

  • iHype

    There’s an excellent editorial in today’s Sunday Morning Post (Burning iPhone envy? Don’t believe the hype): Undeniably, since its inception in the 1970s, Apple has revolutionised the way we use personal computers and listen to music. iPod’s impact today has been as great as the Sony Walkman, if not greater. Its worldwide popularity forces music…

  • Quality?

    I recently found myself in a taxi driven by one of the winners of the Transport Department’s ‘Quality Taxi Driver’ scheme.  I knew this because the information was inscribed on the identity card in the cab, albeit somewhat faded. As, unfortunately, was the quality of the driving.  In fact, it was one of the least…

  • BBC website is upgraded to make it worse

    The BBC recently upgraded its website.  This is “upgraded” in the sense of making it flashier and brighter and generally less useful. It also has adverts, which I suppose we can’t complain about because the funding comes from people in the UK who pay for a TV licence (i.e. almost everyone), and those of us…

  • The Apprentice – Week 8 – Pumpkin soup

    It’s week 8, and we see the teams saying nice things about Sir Alan.  Thanks, BBC producers.  This week’s task is to make some food to sell at a farmer’s market.  We see Raj frying an egg (for breakfast, one might assume), and then they get a phone call from Frances, telling them to be…

  • Over-priced PVR

    Since digital TV was launched in Hong Kong I have been waiting for a personal video recorder (PVR) that uses the electronic programme guide (EPG). They are now available. I came across a curious device in one shop from Picazzo, which claims to “support digital TV recording”, but it lacks a hard disk and reviews suggest…

  • Spot the difference

    Unless I am very much mistaken, this is the same letter printed twice in the SCMP – once in Talkback on June 25, and then about 10 days later in the Education Mailbag.  Though, to be fair, they have edited it slightly differently each time: