The Gadgets Of Tomorrow

Val writes: "I attended the Business Show 2001 in Tokyo to see the new devices. But before I even could report home, I found the Visual Showcase of Japanese Keitai Culture just updated with all the new 3G phones, prototypes and other gadgets I just saw at the exhibition. And the best, they even show the typical usage of i-mode and other phones on the street. " Check out this page and start speculating: oddball handhelds, phones with real screens ... crazy. (Last reminder, I'm in Tokyo all next week for LinuxWorld, so if you're in Tokyo, maybe I'll see ya there.)

Comments

-1, Troll

[Xanni]

This whole post is a blatantly offensive troll, but this paragraph is particularly stupid:

We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA - we do not desire to spread our values everywhere and forge an Empire, so why should they be allowed to?

Oh REALLY. Ever asked anyone outside the US? I think you'll find a lot of people who think the US does indeed desire to spread their values everywhere (Capitalism) and forge an "Intellectual Property" Empire!

And why are moderators wasting moderation points marking replies complaining about this post as "Offtopic" without moderating the parent post down first?

Re:The Japanese, a mysterious race.

[Lumpy Claus]

This sounds suspiciously like anti-foreign fear and misunderstanding. Understand the things you say in the context of an outsider's view of America:

"Unfortunately the japanese have not really changed since the Meiji period."

If we are to believe the Conservative view of what America should be, then it should not have changed since the 1950s, when the nuclear family ruled, Daddy worked, Mommy kept the house in order, "everyone" had a house and two cars with some money in the bank, "nobody" was gay (or at least nobody talked about it), minorities "knew their place," and keeping up with the Jones' was the national pasttime.

"We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA"

Sorry to burst your bubble again, but America is hardly civilized. In a country with the greatest degree of wealth, it's got an astonishing number of people dying of starvation and malnutrition (no, it's not just the anorexic supermodels). Many people can barely afford to feed and clothe their children (why do they continue to have children? Because the conservative movement doesn't like anyone to educate kids about sex, make birth control readily available or allow easy access to safe abortions.). Combine this institutionalized maltreatment of the poor with the institutionalized abuses of minorities, women and homosexuals, and you've got a country that is "uncaring and selfish .. with astonishing racism."

Finally, take a look at the way America treats the environment. Fuel costs are at an all-time high, but fuel economies are at the lowest level in 20 years. The solution -- let's destroy the environment for more fuel. Nobody's willing to stop driving their SUV to even do a little bit for the world. In rejecting the Kyoto protocol, the US negotiator said, "The American way of life is non-negotiable."

Your description of Japan sounds an awful lot like America to me.

I do not claim to know anything substantial about Japan or it's political and social problems, but your post smacks of a crack addict trying to lead an AA meeting. Before America tries to fix the rest of the world, maybe it should concentrate on itself.