the Beijinger

Apple’s iPhone 4S arrives in China next week. Before you head down to join the feverish masses, think about whether this latest smartphone version is worth the inevitable pain and suffering. Given the chaos and catastrophes that have befallen previous Apple releases, I’d stay clear of Sanlitun on Friday the 13th. (But Apple has a special shopping deal of some sort available today only, both in-store and online. Wonder what that's all about?)

A few weeks ago we posted about yet another Groupon China (a.k.a. Gaopeng) scandal involving a bogus McDonald’s meal deal and pointed out how the company’s problems reflect the deteriorating condition of China’s flailing group buying (tuangou) industry as a whole.

Read more about the fate of group buying on Agendabeijing.com.

Google is steadily losing its grasp on China. Last year it was the search engine and this summer Google Maps may be moving out as well.

Following in the footsteps of Louis Vuitton and Bulgari – which launched retrospective exhibitions at Beijing's National Museum of China in June and September, respectively – Chanel is hosting "Culture Chanel" at the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) from November 5 to December 13.

For China’s growing nouveau-riche population, the House of Chanel hits the mark in many ways. It’s French (read: highbrow), longstanding (read: reliable) and bears an iconic (read: easily recognizable) logo. No wonder it is currently ranked as the second most-desired brand in China after Louis Vuitton, according to research firm Bain & Co.

From Chinatechnews.com China's Ministry of Culture to Clear Illegal Music Websites

For those who love using Baidu, Sogou and other websites for free music downloads, act fast. China's Ministry of Culture has published a notice stating that it will further clear the Chinese online music market and shut down irregular and illegal music websites. In the notice, 237 irregular music websites in China were listed and one-third of these websites have already been suspended.

Just in case you haven’t heard yet, Burberry is hosting a mega-party next Wednesday, April 13, 2011. Digital media and fashion blogs alike have been exploding with anticipation. According to their press release, this will be the biggest event that Burberry – and any other label, for that matter – has ever thrown in the world in terms of scale of production and technology used.

Just a few months ago in December 2010, the esteemed British fashion house opened its “most technologically advanced flagship store” at Sparkle Roll Plaza in Beijing. The 12,500-square-foot space was designed by Burberry’s chief creative director Christopher Bailey himself. Now, they want to finally celebrate the store launch and put its 9x5 flatscreen LED video walls to good use.

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.

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. 

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.