Ordinary Gweilo

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

recent posts

about

  • Worse than London and New York?

    Another one of those surveys that seem to work wonders in getting free publicity.

    It was in Friday’s Independent London’s public transport is world’s best (no, really) and Sunday’s SCMP London ranked above HK in transport poll as well.

    A survey that voted London as having the best public transport system in the world has been greeted with disbelief in Hong Kong – which ranked fifth.

    A survey carried out by Web travel site T********** of more than 2,000 travellers around the world found that people outside Britain believed London had the best taxis and the best public transport system in the world, despite the fact that the London Underground had two days of strikes earlier this summer and suffers regular delays.

    New York came in at second place, followed by Paris, Washington and Hong Kong. Los Angeles was voted as having the worst public transport.

    Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said he was shocked Hong Kong had “only ranked fifth”.

    I can’t find any explanation as to how the results were calculated (and 2,000 people is not a very large sample size).  Was it simply that more people voted for London or New York than for Hong Kong, or is this based on a comparison of scores given by people who had visited combinations of cities?   I might think that New York has a better public transport system than Athens, but actually I’m not qualified to judge.

    Even for two cities I know well (London and Hong Kong) there is no objective way to measure which is best.  London certainly has a more extensive network of underground and overground railways, but in HK the population is more concentrated in certain areas, most of which have very good MTR or KCR services. 

    Ten years ago there were several of the “new towns” with no rail connection, but since then we have had the Tung Chung line (Tung Chung & Tsing Yi), West Rail (Tuen Mun & Yuen Long), the Tsuen Kwan O line and Ma On Shan Rail.  Oh, and the Airport Express.  Oh, and the Disney Resort Line.  Oh, and the KCR East Rail extensions (to Tsim Sha Tsui & Lok Ma Chau) Yes there are a few places left, such as the west/south side of HK Island, parts of Kowloon around Kai Tak, and (I suppose) Sai Kung, but not that many (at least in population terms).

    In the same period of time, London has had the Jubilee Line Extension, the Heathrow Express and Tramlink.  Did I miss anything?  OK, let’s be fair – two long delayed projects do now seem to be planned – Gordon Brown finally gave the go-ahead for Crossrail last week (so it might be finished by 2018) and Thameslink 2000 has also recently been approved (a bit late, as the project name tells you). 

    Which is marvellous, of course, but most of the rail system in London is still old and overcrowded, and I don’t think that anyone would seriously argue that services on the London Underground are better than the MTR or that the overground rail services in London are better than the KCR.  

    Also, London was judged to be the most expensive, and there’s no doubt that Hong Kong has a huge advantage there (though an off-peak Travelcard in London is pretty good value for money).

  • End of the geek affair? I think not

    Apple have come in for a lot of criticism recently over the iPhone.  First for reducing the price so soon after launching it, and then for issuing firmware updates that have done bad things to phones if people did naughty things that Apple didn’t like.

    Jack Schofield in The Guardian wonders if the iPhone could mark the end of the geek affair with Apple:

    The teaser ads posted in New York showed an open lock and a headline: either "The best devices have no limits" or "Phones should be open to anything". They must have mystified a few people, but Apple fans had no doubt what they were about: Nokia was exploiting the furore over last week’s iPhone firmware update. This not only plugged a bunch of security holes, it wiped out users’ unapproved applications, and "bricked" some phones hacked to unlock them from AT&T.

    How galling to see Nokia promoting its N Series phones with lines like: "Open to applications. Open to widgets. Open to anything. So go ahead and load it up. What it does is up to you."

    But there was no deceit on Apple’s part. Right from the beginning, its chief executive Steve Jobs had told Newsweek: "You don’t want your phone to be an open platform," and that AT&T "doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up". (Except that AT&T encourages people to run apps on its other smart phones.)

    It seems remarkable that so many people could either fail to get the message, or could somehow convince themselves that Apple didn’t really mean it. The answer, I think, is that Apple has been a personal computer company for 30 years, and everybody knows you can run whatever applications you want on your own computer. The iPhone was launched at a computer event (MacWorld), it runs a computer operating system (OS X) and it does computer things like web browsing. How could it not be a computer?

    Yes, but what is a computer?  A PSP has a web browser built-in, so is that a computer?  Many phones use operating systems of one type or another.  Of course you can look inside and say that it has the potential to do this or that – but at your own risk.      

    Yet people do try to hack almost every device imaginable – particularly games consoles, which are also clearly marketed as "closed" devices on which you can only run specific games.  Indeed, the business model for games consoles is that the hardware is sold at a loss and the software is highly profitable.  The iPhone business model is similar – you have to subscribe to a plan from a specific carrier (AT&T in the States, O2 in the UK) and Apple get a share of that money.  So of course Apple will try to prevent people "unlocking" the phone.      

    I’d have thought that the hackers will be back before long with another way of unlocking the iPhone, and Apple will release another firmware upgrade (and so on).  Doesn’t the same thing happen with the PSP?  Has it become less attractive as a result?

    […] Apple [..] has already dropped the Computer from its name, and is becoming a consumer electronics company. Yes, it still sells Mac Pro tower systems that can be expanded at will, but the bulk of Apple’s computer sales are of relatively closed portables and the iMac, which is basically a large portable with the keyboard detached. The Mac mini and Apple TV designs, all the iPods and the iPhone show a company increasingly in love with sealed boxes designed for consumers, not for geeks.

    Of course, this was always Steve Jobs’s way. The original 1984 Mac – which succeeded Steve Wozniak’s "open" Apple II design – was a sealed box with no expansion slots. It was intended to be an appliance, like a Maytag washing machine or drier. "And have you ever heard of a Maytag users group?" quipped Jobs (tinyurl.com/yu5x8l).

    There’s nothing wrong with this idea, of course: the number of ordinary consumers is very much bigger than the number of people who want to tinker with their systems. But Jobs may just have gone a bit too far in locking down the iPhone. This could mark the beginning of the end of the geek love affair with Apple.

    Now I’m getting confused.  If Apple have been making well-designed "sealed box" products for 20+ years, why would anyone be surprised by what they’ve done with the iPhone?  It’s a consumer product that is sold with an airtime contract, and if you don’t like that then don’t buy one.  People are buying them, and some of those customers will be "geeks" (whatever that means) who will know exactly what they are getting.

  • Free Parking

    If you move from the UK to Hong Kong, many things about driving can seem very familiar (driving on the left, road signs and markings, etc.).  This can be deceptive.

    One obvious difference is that in the UK (and many other countries), on-street parking is allowed everywhere except where there are restrictions (normally indicated by yellow or red lines).  In Hong Kong, it is prohibited (on all roads with street lighting) except where it is specifically allowed.  Yellow lines are used to indicate whether you are allowed to stop, rather than (as in the UK) when you can park.

    This seems to catch out expats, who whinge about not being allowed to pay at place X (where X is usually a school, the beach, or in the countryside) where there are no yellow lines.  In fact, you may get away with it if the location is fairly remote, but that only makes people more annoyed when they do finally get a parking ticket.  There were recently a couple of letters to Talkback in the SCMP on this subject. 

    I can’t find this information on the Transport Department website, but it is clearly stated in the ‘Road Users’ Code’ that is given out when you collect your Hong Kong Driving licence.

    Conversely, as far as I am aware it is legal to "feed" parking meters in Hong Kong, whereas it is illegal in the UK.  In fact, the Transport Department has a long explanation of what happens when you pay for more time.   

  • Hapless?

    More top quality sub-editing from the SCMP (a couple of weeks ago).  Was ‘hapless’ really an appropriate adjective to choose?

    Bath time turns deadly for hapless couple hapless

    A clerical worker was killed yesterday trying to help his girlfriend, who had fallen unconscious after an electric shock while taking a bath. Wong Wing-tung, 22, was in the living room of the flat in Cheung Sha Wan when his girlfriend screamed. She later regained consciousness and called emergency services. Wong was taken to Caritas Medical Centre and declared dead at 2.23am. The Mechanical Services Department said there were problems with the electrical installations in the flat. Clifford Lo

  • HD ready

    Still shooting those fish, I’m afraid.

    The TV preview section in this week’s Post Magazine makes a rather rash assumption.  NHK & BBC make programmes in High Definition (HD).  TVB broadcast these programmes.  Person in Hong Kong buys HD TV.  Person in Hong Kong is able to watch these programmes in HD.

    Well, no they can’t.  TVB and Pearl hope to start HD transmissions later this year, and only in selected areas.  Until then, you’ll be out of luck.

    Your television fortune this week says: be unconventional, even visionary. In other words, don’t wait until Christmas to shell out for that 6O·inch widescreen High Definition (HD) television you’ve been ogling all year. The time is now.

    HD visual technology was first developed by Nippon Hoso Kyokai [NHK] and was unveiled in 1969. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that it gained a foothold in the mainstream. Now 30 per cent of American homes have at least one HDTV.

    What about Hong Kong? Judging by the increase in HD programming on terrestrial TV, perhaps we can expect a substantial TV-hardware overhaul in the near future.

    NHK also produces smart, edgy programmes to match its technological innovations. And Coolest Hideouts in Tokyo (TVB Pearl, Friday at 8.30pm) is a great introduction. Positing as both an English language learning tool for Japanese and edgy city guide for gaijin, the show sends a motley trio around town "against terrifying odds … to bring us the best in intercultural communication and entertainment".

    The time is not now.  Unless I’m missing something, the sensible thing to do is to wait and buy a TV that is equipped to receive HD signals using the Mainland standard that is being adopted in Hong Kong

  • But not as we know it

    In the Barrels, Shooting & Fish department, we have this latest "sponsored feature" in the Sunday Post, demonstrating that it’s not necessary to write adverts in English:

    Suzuki

    In a breakthrough innovation for the concept of Suzuki cars successful integration into innovative thinking, pioneering global strategy of the model range, the orientation of successful launch since 2005 Grand Vitara, Swift and SX4 to be more clearly revealed.  All car enthusiasts welcomed by the lead Suzuki promoted to the three major brands, significant sales growth plus received numerous awards.

    Or to put it another way – we sold more vehicles than those losers at Mazda and Nissan, but we couldn’t be bothered to hire a copywriter who knew English.

  • Oasis

    I have to admit that I’m still intrigued by Oasis.  Here’s an interesting quote (in The Australian):

    Stephen Miller, chief executive of Oasis, said: “Where are traditional carriers most vulnerable? They are vulnerable at the front (of the aircraft).”

    I think that’s correct (and I’ve been arguing that for a long time).  This summer, Cathay and Virgin were offering discounted business class fares in July and August, and that must partially be a response to Oasis.

    I have flown Oasis, and I have to say that their Business Class cabin is very good indeed (certainly for the price I paid), with masses of legroom and excellent service.  The food is OK for the prices they charge, but not as good as Cathy or Virgin.

    Less positively, the in-flight entertainment is quite poor (though you could buy a portable DVD player and a stack of DVDs with the money you save compared to flying Business Class with Virgin, Cathay or BA), and the lounge they use at Gatwick gets very crowded and has very little food available.  The CNAC lounge in Hong Kong is better – basic, but with hot food and certainly not crowded.

    Those are small drawbacks, and for the price it really does provide an attractive alternative to the traditional carriers. 

    They must be doing well, because they are now adding an extra flight to London 3 days a week. It’s an afternoon departure, arriving at Gatwick in the early evening.  They say that the timing is in response to popular demand, but I have my doubts about that – it seems more likely that was the only slot they could get (or that if fits better with their flight schedule).  Long haul daytime flights are not something I have ever enjoyed.

    Another sign that Oasis are on the up is that they are making their special offers less attractive.  The ‘buy one, get one free’ offer in Business Class now only applies if you buy a more expensive ticket (HK$13,800 one way), and they have got to be, er, kidding with the ‘kids go free’ offer, which requires the purchase of a return ticket at HK$29,000 (in business class) or HK$5,180 (economy).  On top of that you need to pay taxes and surcharges on both the paid and free tickets.  Not terribly attractive, I feel.    

    Meanwhile, Virgin’s phantom 2nd daily flight to London seems to have completely disappeared from their website, though I suppose it might happen one day,  presumably if they ever start flying to Melbourne as well as Sydney.

  • Mutually assured destruction

    Jose Mourinho’s sudden departure from Chelsea last week "by mutual consent" seemed rather shocking when the news first broke, but of course it wasn’t really a surprise at all (apart from the timing).

    Last season there was a lot of speculation that he would be on his way, after apparently falling out with Roman Abramovich (the owner of the club), but then they apparently kissed and made up and all was well again.  Or not, as it turned out.

    Abramovich was clearly not satisfied with Chelsea’s record under Mourinho.  Yes, that would be an average of 2.33 points per game, two Premier League titles in three years, and an unbeaten home record in the Premier League over the same period.  Not good enough – Abramovich wanted to win the Champions League, and he wanted entertaining football.  Oh, and he wanted to interfere:   

    …despite Mourinho’s success in claiming a second successive Premiership, the manager had lost control of transfers. In the 2006 summer window, Mourinho asked the board to buy Samuel Eto’o; they spent a UK record £30m on Shevchenko. Chelsea sold William Gallas to Arsenal against Mourinho’s wishes, and forced the £7m Khalid Boulahrouz upon him, while Arnesen compounded the error of allowing Chelsea’s most effective defender to leave the club by pulling the plug on the £5m purchase of Micah Richards. Inside a season Richards was a full England international, while Boulahrouz was stinking out the reserves until Chelsea paid Sevilla to take him off their hands.

    That’s from an article in The Observer (‘Tears, hugs and two icy handshakes’) that attempts to explain what happened.  Of course, there are usually two sides to each story, and Mourinho has clearly been fairly stubborn himself, but he has also been very successful so he’s probably earned that privilege.

    I am always intrigued when a manager is described as leaving "by mutual consent".  What is it supposed to mean?  In the wider context it’s probably true that Mourinho and Abramovich couldn’t work together, but with regard to what happened this week it seems to be (as so often) a euphemism for ‘being sacked’.

    On Wednesday afternoon the board asked Mourinho to resign, citing his handling of Shevchenko, his attitude to authority and, crucially, his relationship with Terry as reasons why he should go. Mourinho refused to walk, and fought only to maximise his pay-off as Chelsea apparently threatened to call club employees to testify against him at any employment tribunal.

    A £10.5m pay-off was agreed and the following morning Mourinho made a final trip to the training centre at Cobham to pick up his possessions and say goodbye to his squad. There was a message in each farewell. For most there was a Latin embrace and warm words of thanks. For Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard the emotions were so strong that both men were reduced to tears, Lampard retreating to the shower room in an attempt to hide his. For Shevchenko and Terry there was nothing but a handshake that, in the words of one observer, could have ‘frozen a mug of tea’. No one was in any doubt about who he considered the true captains of his team.

    And now Chelsea have Avram Grant as their manager.  Weird…

  • Not free and not good

    I see that the New York Times is the latest newspaper to abandon the ‘pay wall’ and make all their content freely available (links).  How long can the SCMP hold out against this worldwide trend?

    Actually, whilst we’re on this subject (and I know I’m sounding like a broken record here), how can the SCMP website still be quite so appalling?

    Surely it must be the only newspaper website anywhere in the world that doesn’t have a page showing all today’s stories (or all recent stories) in each section (e.g. Hong Kong news, China news, International, Business, etc.). 

    Instead, if you select ‘Hong Kong’ there is a lead item with a picture, and 5 stories with short summaries, plus about 20 more with headlines only.  You have to click on ‘next’ to get a few more stories in the sub-categories of  ‘City’ or ‘Politics & Policy’.  Oh, and the text is tiny.

    Then there’s lots of white space at the bottom of the page.    

    I don’t know about you, but my PC has a mouse, complete with a little wheel thingy (and my keyboard has arrow keys).  I’ve found that these can be quite useful, because (unlike newspapers, where pages have a fixed size), web pages can be as long as you like.  If you scroll down you can see more.  It works really well (see The Guardian, The Times, etc., etc.).

  • Pork Pies

    It’s that time of year again.

    Every Chinese restaurant has piles of Moon Cakes everywhere you look.  Worse still, fridges across Hong Kong seem to be full of the wretched things, with hardly any space available for actual food or drink.

    I’ve never quite seen the attraction of these lard and sugar-filled delights.  And who’d have guessed that they might be unhealthy?