china

I’ve been using Firefox 3 (beta5) pre-release lately, because it’s faster than Firefox 2.

• FF3 doesn’t seem work on China’s biggest portal. If the desktop browser can’t grok this, what chance does Firefox Mobile (think developing markets)?
• Autocompletion with “AwesomeBar” (I think it’s called) sucks for me. How do I turn it off or make it act like it did in FF2?
• Image zoom caught me off guard. [View -> Zoom -> Zoom Text Only] to disable. I look to a future of scalable images.
• The bookmarks stuff seems like a disaster. I want it all removed. I prefer simple bookmarklets and del.icio.us.
• I need to update my extension for Webconverger
• No OGG video support

Generally I don’t like their “session management” (browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash false). It would be good if I could simply ‘lock’ certain tabs like Gmail, which really must be my first tab. I also want it locked so I can’t accidentally navigate away from it which I have done far too many times now.

I am most impressed by the improved “feel” or responsiveness of FF3. I really hope Mozilla can concentrate on re-factoring their code to squeeze it into their ‘fennec’ mobile browser. Update: Blassey kindley informs me Fennec and FF3 are the same rendering engine.

Mozilla’s mobile codename ‘Fennec’ is outperforming microb significantly already. That’s great though after reading a first look I am little bit disappointed to see talk of XUL. I’ve created extensions and I think XUL is crap. I much prefer working within the Web paradigms of JavaScript and CSS. Addon support is fantastic though then again, my experience of extensions/addons/whatever-they-are-now-called is that they can make Firefox slow. Which is bad bad bad.

Actually, when I think about it, an addon could be called a widget.

I wanted to spill the discussion of fonts from Mark’s blog and share what little I know on the topic and learn from the lazyweb.

So I am localising Webconverger (Web Operating System) and learning as I go.

On my unstable system, I somehow have 179 fonts installed.

monty$ fc-list | wc -l
179

50 of them are Truetype fonts fonts. Truetype fonts are what get used by your Web browsers rendering engine. I am going to ignore bitmap fonts et al for some simplicity and sanity. I am also not going to talk about hinting and anti-aliasing, though I do have opinions.

50 True Type fonts is not helpful considering that these “free fonts” do not really replace the Microsoft Core Fonts (msttcorefont), that everyone uses on the Web.

There are no Microsoft CJK fonts available in Debian or Ubuntu. And ‘free software’ compatibility with proprietary CJK font faces is poor. So free software software platforms in CJK markets suck because of their font legibility.

The leading free fonts like Bitstream Vera Sans and DejaVu Sans look the same to me (actually they are the same, thanks Panthera!) and are seriously boring. I guess they’re comparable to msttcorefont’s Verdana. Great… one down. Update: Mike Day informs me this is what Red Hat are doing, developing a set of fonts that are metrically equivalent to the key Microsoft fonts.

DejaVu Sans (our best hope of Freedom so far) has really good i18n coverage, though unfortunately i18n coverage especially with China/Japan/Korea (CJK) markets is complicated.

There are free (as in freedom) CJK fonts though many of these glyphs are really bad quality. Some are OK quality, though they aren’t comparable to the proprietary fonts and hence too often the Web page renders poorly, as it was designed with some other proprietary font in mind. Ouch! Web designers please use ‘em’ units and this problem such as over lapping text could be avoided.

Then some people in China prefer some font over another so this problem gets quite complex. Add Korea and Japan to the mix who also use Chinese characters in their own “special way”.

I’ve been testing out sina.com.cn and taking screenshots.

So I have a Chinese friend and asked him to try a special Chinese specific Debian live build of Webconverger. He says all the Ubuntu geeks use VeraSansYuanTi. However that’s non-free theft, sigh…. My friend also writes:

sorry for Chinese there is no best font.. because China government never try hard for this; all kinds of fonts is some company create; and u know China had so log history so many great beautiful font style .. but not become computer free fonts...

I think the opensource evolution model doesn’t work very well with fonts. They need to be super high quality from the outset. Throwing a bunch of fonts at the problem gets us in our current confused situation. Update: Henri Sivonen wisely points out that “in the case of DejaVu, adding glyphs to Vera as an open source project seems to work”.

I think it would be great if governments could settle on some cultural core fonts for their locality instead of being dictated to by Microsoft, or by whatever proprietary font gains acceptance in other markets.

Spring Seoul is looking much better than earlier. I am happy to be back from my travels in Beijing. The air is so much cleaner here in Seoul!

I’ve just corrected some spelling mistakes and added some links to some appropriate pictures to my blog posts of my 10 days in Beijing, China.

I’ve had my post-travel disaster, by washing a 2USD towel I had to buy because it’s cheaper to buy a new towel in China than actually wash it, with the rest of my clothes! AARRGGGHHHH!

I’m not sure how to fix this. I am just washing the clothes again and taking up prayer. Argh, it hasn’t helped.

Since my last post I discovered Beef Noodles! They are so incredibly delicious. I had them in a pleasant artsy area just south of Tienanmen square by bike of course.

Last Tuesday I visited the Sina offices and gave a impromptu webpy presentation for the Beijing Python User Group. It went well and they asked me also to talk about Debian, as they were unfamiliar with it (to my surprise). Nice bunch of guys. Afterwards we went out for Taiwanese cuisine where you cook fresh food in a hot broth. Very good. They were all impressed I could drink three large bottles of beer in such a short space of time. I’ve been practicing and my throat was so dry from the air pollution in Beijing.

I’ve also uploaded some videos of China I took with my sister’s camera. This is my favourite video with me riding along the top of Tiananmen.

Ok, sorry for the missing update yesterday.

I rented a bike again and went out to the “Temple of Heaven Park”. The park is gigantic and there isn’t that many flowers, so it was quite exhausting. Later I went to a nearby market.

The market was rubbish really. You had to bargain and the goods are all counterfeit. I had a good look at the wares and the copies were terrible. Really disappointing. So I didn’t buy anything. Downstairs there is a bit of fish market. Since my stint as a fishmonger in Helsinki, I’m always curious about fish markets. They had some strange oxtongue sized shell fish I’ve never seen before. Also quite a few turtles. I felt a little sorry for the turtles, though perhaps I’ll change my mind after a turtle soup.

Then I got crazy lost. It turned out I was on the opposite side of the map I thought I was. The locals had to tell me several times where I was on the map, because I didn’t believe it at first. After an hour I managed to find the Tienanmen square landmark and make my way back to the hostel.

My throat then and still does feel like it has a hairball tickling it. The pollution is now reaching critical mass inside my body. For the first time I was missing Seoul. Though Seoul isn’t the cleanest place on the planet, at least my apartment can be.

I joined a group of Hostel dwellers for dinner. A German guy who speaks Chinese took us to a really good restaurant. I sampled several delicious dishes, drank several beers and the bill was 20juan per person! The problem I had with Chinese meals before is that I was eating alone. You need at least 3 people to seriously enjoy Chinese dining.

Then I went out for a foot massage at a strange parlour complex. There were a millions employees there. I said “Nee How” thousands of times. A shocking thing were all the girls were very well presented. I got a serious foot massage. I was whining whilst other patrons were fast asleep. I became a little conversational and then I received complaints that I was distracting the masseurs! Scandalous.

I had a couple of thoughts yesterday. Firstly most goods are copies in China. They’re famous for making copies of garments and DVDs etcetera. Perhaps I am extra sensitive to this stuff, but when I pick up a paper, I can’t help but notice articles detailing efforts to enforce “Intellectual property”. I really don’t see this happening. I am hoping the Chinese government has the sense to work around it, despite the obvious free trade investments.

Another thought of mine are the foreigners here. Different class. You’re no joke if you’re representing your country out here in Beijing as a diplomat. And if you’re a businessman, in all likeliness you are probably making big deals here.

Today is “Workers Day”. Loads of Chinese Red Flags are flying and it’s quite a nice day for Beijing. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be any organised marches or tanks or aircraft flybys. Goddamn! Many stores are still open surprisingly. I thought I should hoard beer for today. In a few minutes, I’ll head down to Tienanmen square and see if there is anything going on.

Damn I am tired.

That wall is serious.

Last night I went out for tea, expensive tea. You put these little bulbs in and they bloom into a flower in hot water. Very elegant.

Then I went out for dinner and a walk around Tienanmen square at night. It’s really hard to hail a taxi over there and I caught the subway home. It takes ages to get down there. Ages to wait for one. And the thing takes ages to get to its destination. I took the wrong exit and was very disorientated. A taxi finally took me back to my hutong hostel.

So early this morning (7am) I went on the “Great wall” tour. I am the kind of guy that would have appreciated a helicopter tour, or perhaps a cable car. Not a 8 hour hike along the fricken ruins of the wall. I shat myself when I saw two snakes perched on the wall. In the later half of the day we did finally hit the renovated parts thank god.

Went out for crayfish tonight. I’m a lucky laddie. Now I need to slip into a coma.

Sidenote: I am drunk

Last night was great. I found a massage parlour and had a Chinese style massage for 80RMB for 50 minutes (quite expensive IMO). This blind (really she was blind) girl was chatting to me in English and she has such a cute oriental accent that sounded like honey to my ears (or what’s that expression)? The massage itself wasn’t too amazing. I kind of rate a massage by how much pain you put me in. I prefer Thai style, not so much for the pain, but by how the body is leveraged.

Then I quickly got ready for the “Freedom celebrations” to discover my 100% cotton shirt to be horribly creased. Eventually I found a laundry shop that ironed it really well for 2 Juan.

Traffic to the function at the “China World Hotel” was horrendous. At times my taxi didn’t move for 5 minutes. Some of the bus stops I saw on the way were quite amazing. A sea of people. At last I’m seeing examples of a large population.

The function was huge. Much bigger than I was expecting. Usual crap with a completely generic “Freedom day” speech from the charmless ambassador. There were some south African dancers who put on a raw performance. Comparing the sophisticated Beijing Opera and our lively African dancers gyrating their bits. Different worlds.

I couldn’t help feel a little misrepresented as a white south African. I did try talk to several people who I thought looked a little South African. One turned out to be Bangladeshi and another Armenian. I’m losing my touch. But they and Chinese in general were surprised I (white guy) am from South African.

Another somewhat interesting thing is that South Africa isn’t the only embassy to have a military attache. I saw glorious military uniforms from several countries on display. Sadly I didn’t find the South African military official to abuse.

There is this strange “name card” game being played here in Beijing, especially by young ambitious girls. I heard the most corniest lines in my life. “Haven’t we met before?” “I’ve heard your voice somewhere…”, then the please may I have your name card! Of course, I didn’t say no.

I did manage to track down some of my kindred, who turned out to be language teachers in Beijing. There were really just 5 of us. 10 if you count the older business people. The wine flowed, though the food wasn’t that great, so I guess I drunk too much.

We ended up going to another bar in Sanlitun (new embassy area) and I won’t put you through the details. I eventually got out of bed at 12 to organise a trip to the Great wall. Tomorrow is the start of the Chinese holidays so it is going to be a real arse fight I reckon.

So what have I done today? Nothing. I did mean to fly a kite or visit a park. But the kite that I could have flown looked really crap compared to some others I’ve seen. For lunch I ordered sweet and sour chicken and end up getting these grease balls of an unidentifiable substance covered in a very heavy generic sweet and sour sauce. Last couple of Chinese meals have really sucked!

Beer is quite alright and stupidly cheap here. I’ve probably mentioned this umpteen times already. 3Juan (0.30 EUR) for 630ml of ice cold beer from the Hostel bar. That’s a worthwhile reason for visiting this country alone!

I’ve arranged to meet some Chinese geeks on Tuesday. I’ve been asked/forced to give a presentation about the webpy Web application anti-framework. Since I don’t have a computer and I have not written anything substantial with the library it’s going to be a little tricky. They also suggested I compare it to other Web application frameworks. I just hope there isn’t a sea of people there. Otherwise this will be very embarrassing.

Yesterday didn’t end in a drunken orgy as I first imagined. I meant to go see a “Kung Fu” display, but I ended up missing it. Instead in true backpacker style I went out for dinner with my room mate and talked and talked… travel.

Today is “Freedom Day” for South Africans. Usually the South African embassy throws a little celebration for South African expats and “special guests” (every ambassador in town). I’ve attended such events in Finland and Japan, though could I get an invite in China? I called up the embassy this morning and secured the required information. So I am looking forward to drinking some South African wine and bad mouthing the corrupt South African military attache.

I rented a bike today and cycled around the “Forbidden city” (the lonely planet route) basically. It was actually one of the best biking experiences I have ever had. Beijing had roads, entire subways devoted to bicycle traffic. It is amazing. Cars are also very much aware of cyclists, so I felt quite safe. I also cycled the “Hutongs”, the little alleyways in the city. That was really fun too. I saw some sights today.

I visited a Chinese mosque. It was really strange to see such strong cultures, Arab and Chinese mix. I used to think that the Chinese authorities gave the Muslims a hard time. The mosque was looking really good. Recently renovated I guess. There are quite a few places in town where you can get Muslim type food.

I cycled around Tienanmen square with the old diplomatic quarter was. Some familiar European style buildings there. Kinda wish I had an apartment in one of them. Spring is here and there are these floating white fluffs from the trees everywhere. Very pleasant.

I am quite tired now. I think I will take a nap. I accidentally ordered two mains for lunch. I wish I could figure out how to get a massage. Instead I’m medicating my aching ass with cheap beer.

Yesterday after a good lunch I attempted to exchange some Korean Won to Chinese Yuan. That turned out to be a four hour mission. There is only one place, “Bank of China” Beijing branch where you can do it. I somehow expected Korean currency to have some sort of significance here. Apparently not.

I had several annoying experiences with Taxi drivers who would just take me to any “Bank of China” branch and not the right one. The main branch is actually hidden away in a Russian area. It’s lucky I am a little familiar with Russians, otherwise I would have been quite nervous. Every Russian either looks like a porn star or a hardy pimp. There were many stores catering just for Russians. For example, stores selling fur for the ladies. Only Russians buy that stuff.

That evening I met a friend-of-a-friend and enjoyed Peking Duck in that famous restaurant out the Lonely Planet. Though I felt at times I was in a scripted tourist trap, the whole experience wasn’t too bad and it wasn’t too expensive either. The way you eat Peking duck is quite sophisticated. Several little ingredients go inside with the duck meat in a delicate pancake. With chopsticks, this was quite a feat.

So yesterday wasn’t such a bad day, especially after such a feast. My sleep was interrupted by a “sleep talker” on the next bunk in my dormitory. Yes, I’ve moved out the hotel to join my backpacker kindred. In the morning I talked to him and he turned out to be my backpacker nightmare character. An old fellow who has stayed in the hostel for months. Additionally a Christian. I dared to ask if he believed in Evolution. Oh damn, a rambling non-debate ensued. I don’t want to move hostels, so I’ll just have to cope with this guy.

Today’s mission was to visit the “Forbidden city”. Christ almighty. That was certainly a mission. Once again I felt like a complete tourist walking a well trodden path. The trouble is the complex is stupidly large. I was soon exhausted and not really enjoying viewing throne after throne after “heavenly” courtyard. There are quite a few scams running, such as the “art students”, “rickshaws” and “tour guides” nagging you. Not nearly as bad as India, but really, when you are tired you really don’t want that.

The weather since the first day has got worse. A dusty fog permanently shrouds this city, giving everything quite a dull dark appearance. Since visiting the palaces and gardens, I’ve returned to the hostel and now I’m starting to enjoy the cheap beer (3 Juan!). I have not quite determined yet what spirit will really make this day special.

Yesterday I did the metro and tiananmen square. I can’t help but compare China to Russia. I asked a Chinese person did Chinese copy Russia or is it the other way around? She replied, “China copied Russia”.

The metro is quite disappointing. The trains are quite small and infrequent. I actually dared to go in quite peak times and it didn’t feel crowded at all. The carriages themselves are small and I had to duck to get into it. I think most people travel on the road by buses and push bikes. It does take a bit of time to go underground and queue up for a stupid piece of paper which you hand to someone as you walk down to the platform. The murals compared to Moscow or Saint Petersburg are also disappointing. I visited a few stations and it was bland, but I guess it was better than seeing hundreds of flashy ads. So it was quite peaceful. You could read a book down there.

Tiananmen square. I can’t help but compare this again to the Red Square in Moscow. It’s big, but not as big as I expected it to be somehow. It is also has a little moussaliam for Mao like Lenin. Ok, I admit it is much better than anything in Russia. Funny enough there wasn’t just Chinese flags on display, but Finnish ones too. WTF? Finland is haunting me. I asked why the hell are there so many Finnish flags and I was told there must be an official state visit from Finland. Of course.

Incidentally I attended Mobile Monday Beijing last night. Loads of people. Well organised. Once again a whole bunch of Finns. Nokia seem to do alright in China. Trouble is with these sorts of mobile meetings is that there is no point for a technical person like myself to talk to a mobile games salesman. Really. No point. Waste of everyones time. So everyone was there but it was difficult to ascertain who you should speak to, to push your agenda.

The talk theme was about mobile marketing which is a bit of a sick joke. First speaker wanted Flash which boiled my blood. Second speaker talked about the millions of people they successfully spam. Last speaker talked about SMS campaigns. He gave an example for people to text to and funnily people exclaimed it didn’t work! You see a lot of people there had CDMA phones which is 2.5G whatever, which weren’t compatible with the GSM networks. Oh super great!

The whole mobile industry is so frustrating for me. I couldn’t help but blurt out how much a Email client or rather good Web browsers would be for everyone. Funnily some people agreed with me, but I think just as a gesture to calm me down.

My first impressions are good. Though I am feeling like a moron relying too much on the lonely planet.

The Beijing lonely planet sucks as it doesn’t print place names in Chinese characters. Chinese people simply can’t read Latin characters. So I’ve been walking around semi-lost today. The distances are pretty big.

My favourite websites are blocked! BBC News and Wikipedia, with Gmail being pig slow. Oh well, I figured away around it with the help of Antoine.

The metro seems kind of small compared to Russia, so that was a little disappointing. A lot of people simply ride around on push bikes. I need to get one.

I visited the main train station. Impressive and clean, though there are quite a few people who looked like they’ve just rocked up to the big bad city from the country. Bamboo poles, big sacks and a bewildered expression. I felt sorry for those people.

I tried to figure out how much is a ticket to Moscow. After queuing for 20 minutes and getting nowhere, I gave up.

The weather is wonderful. I can see the sun. The air is OK, though it often has this “concrete newly-constructed” dust smell to it. The smell inside of buildings reminds me a lot of Russia. On second thought this smell is probably used toilet paper, as it can’t be flushed with soviet style toilets! Though damn, I miss Russia!

I see a lot more European foreigners than in Seoul.

I am going for lunch. I can only order dumplings right now. Though I want something more deep fried, crispy and new.