How much do you know about the latest e-readers?  There's Amazon's Kindle, of course, and the Apple iPad has gotten a lot of people excited about its potential to revolutionize the book publishing industry. Meanwhile, there's several other e-readers on the market that offer very similar features for a lower price. 

Rolleiflex Minidigi Af5.0
For nostalgia nuts

MiniDigi AF5.0 is a miniature replica of the legendary twin-lens Rolleiflex. It’s compact (one-sixth the size of the original), but it packs enough digital technology to snap 5MP images. Although the MiniDigi doesn’t use film, a turn of the side crank gets the camera ready for the next shot, just like the original Rolleiflex.

What time is it? It’s technology time. That polyester suit you’re wearing wasn’t fashioned from the hide of an animal. Nor those brightly colored Crocs on your feet. If you really want to get the tech look down pat, though, you need to accessorize. Check your Casio calculator-watch. Yeah, that’s what time it is.

I’m not what you’d call an environmental role model. I have no idea how big my carbon footprint is, but I doubt I’ve shed the wasteful habits learned in 30 years of life in America, so we’re probably talking Sasquatch proportions. Air conditioning, beef consumption, incandescent lighting – my sins against Gaia are numerous.

The following is a web-only version of the Cover Feature from our December issue,
for those who want to read more about the technologies mentioned in the article.
The original version can be found here.

Look around you. Nearly every object you see is an amalgam of human ingenuity and engineering – a technological marvel that once elicited sharp intakes of breath and low whistles. Once upon a time, each one was cutting-edge.

Most summer fun involves water: diving into it, paddling in it, getting splashed by it. Is it possible to immortalize these moments without having to worry about getting your camera wet?

Choosing a portable computer can be a dilemma. Conventional notebooks with medium-sized screens are fine to work with, but carrying them around involves some planning. The practically palm-sized UMPCs (“ultra-mobile PCs”) are ultraportable, but reading on their tiny screens can be hard on the eyes after a while.

Gadgeteers wondered: Would any notebook ever be able to strike the perfect balance between portability and ease of use? In late May, Sony launched its VAIO P Lifestyle PC series – and the geeks trembled.

As part of a global anti-piracy initiative, Microsoft announced that it would launch an updated version of the anti-piracy systems Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and, for the first time in China, also introduce the Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) which is aimed at targeting pirate versions of Microsoft Office including Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2007. The company made the announcement last week and the new system came into effect at midnight on Monday.

A wave of consternation swept through Internet chat rooms after the announcement, with netizens worried that the constant appearance of a “black screen” would interrupt their ability to use their PC. Forum and BBS users came up with satirical black screen-themed desktop backgrounds to display their opposition to the new anti-piracy measures and various online polls registered strong opposition to the move.

Experts estimate that there are a million iPhones in China. Based on my last trip to Ghost Street, that’s about right. It seemed like every third Da Ge and Xiao Mei had a silver and black thing placed precariously close to some sesame sauce. I myself live in an apartment where 75% of roommates own an iPhone, putting us in the running for the most obnoxious apartment in Beijing. But, living with two other iPhone users has been great for troubleshooting this sometimes-tricky device.

Mine was bought in the States and brought back for me. I had it cracked by the friend of a Bai Nao Hui stall owner for RMB 200 back when you needed to attach a tape-like chip to your SIM card to use your local number. Now, it’s easy to crack the phone using a wireless connection and free online software. Installing Chinese language ability is also quite easy. The best input software I’ve seen is called WeFit and can be downloaded by the Installer program from the source http://www.iphone.org.hk.

image Steven Schwankert

Two weeks after the opening of the world's largest Adidas store at the Village in Sanlitun, China's first official Apple store is set to open in the same development. The store, which is split over two floors, will officially open at 10am this coming Saturday, July 19. According to Steven Schwankert, who took a look around the store earlier this week and reports on what he found over at PC World, although no iPhones will be available, Beijing consumers will be able to get their hands on the complete range of Apple computers and iPods, including the iPod Touch.