Monthly Archives: December 2008

A group of expats practices Capoeira Regional at Zhong Shan Park, Shanghai…

ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das takes a tour of Autodesk’s new design gallery in San Francisco, where exhibits ranging from church models to chair designs illustrate how its customers are reducing their carbon footprint. Das also talks to John Kennedy, senior manager at the Green Building Studio, who demonstrates how architects are able to measure solar, thermal, and airflow effects on building performance early in the design process…

In a combination of cheap labor and inexpensive electronic appliances, we see in the picture a high-tech version of ‘sandwich-man‘: in the middle of XuJiaHui, one of the busiest commercial areas in downtown Shanghai, we commonly see a few people carrying a backpack (probably with a notebook inside), rigged to a 17 in LCD monitor, displaying interactive advertising campaigns, as well as some traditional TV ads.

China’s luxury market maintains a growth rate of 20%-30% annually, ranking first in the world. World Luxury Association said that China’s luxury consumption in 2007 (jewelry, dress, leather goods, perfume, excluding private plane and yacht) reached US$8 billion, taking up 18% of the global total. In the luxury market, dress takes up 32% of the total value, perfume and cosmetics 23%, watch and jewelry 20%, ornaments and accessories 19%, home 3% and dinning table decorations 3%…

A recent survey by ECA International, a London-based human resources consultant, ranked Beijing as the 31st most expensive city for expatriates in the world, surpassing Hong Kong to become the most expensive city in China [...]

Gas-guzzling imported luxury cars with heavy emissions are to face a possible car consumption tax rise in China, industry insiders predict. The Chinese State Council — China’s Cabinet — held an executive meeting earlier this year noting the significance of energy savings and made a special call on the country’s auto industry to cut back on gas consumption [...]

From the halls of a university research lab to the desks of hundreds of millions of computer users, the computer mouse has come a long way. Douglas Engelbart created the first prototypes of the now-familiar device in 1963 at Stanford Research Institute, but he first displayed his creation to the public in 1968 forty years ago earlier this month. During that unveiling, Engelbart presented what some have called “the mother of all demos,” outlining concepts that would presage the next 40 years of computing, including the use of a three-button palm-sized contraption called a “mouse.”

About a third of Shanghai’s population with local residency would be aged 60 or above in 2020, while families in the city were getting smaller and with fewer children, the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission said recently. Shanghai is China’s most populous city, with 18.58 million residents in 2007. There were 6.6 million migrants in the city, including the 4.99 million staying in the city for more than six months…

In his talk at IxDA | Interaction ‘08 Conference, Doug Bolin briefly introduces a new conceptual framework for designing and delivering dynamic, personalized support interactions: how to integrate personalized support thinking throughout the design process, why and how to design personalized support interactions that facilitate just-in-time learning, the technology and interfaces required, and how users can customize their support experience in real time to meet their precise needs….