The Neon Rush
Commenting on the bright lights radiating from Taipei and elsewhere on the interweb.
by Spencer Pangborn, Taiwan
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The iPhone is losing market share
Feb 3, 2010 13:38
If you're out with your friends and someone whips out their iPhone to show you the newest dancing monkey app they downloaded, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Envy? Jealousy? Slight annoyance?
Well, it looks like folks are starting to snub the iPhone and it has reached "peak cool". PC World reports that Apple's bread-winner is slipping in market share:
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E-textbooks: Sink or swim?
Jan 27, 2010 08:00
(E-book in Mandarin, Credit: Central News Agency, Taiwan)
I've mentioned before that Taiwan is making a big push to jump into the e-reader market. I'm usually more interested in the hardware, but let's shift gears and see what's happening on the publishing side.
After all, what's the point of an e-reader if you've nothing to read?
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Taiwan Tech in 2010: E-readers vs. smartbooks?
Jan 14, 2010 16:55
What's on the horizon for 2010 in Taiwan? (Credit: fjny on Flickr)
One of the more interesting stories to come out at the end of last year was that the Taiwanese Government had earmarked US$66 million (NT$2 billion) to promote the development of the e-publishing industry. It's no coincidence that this announcement came after last year's media barrage surrounding the e-reader whiz kid, the Amazon Kindle.
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Just wait, "smartbooks" are about to get much cheaper
Jan 7, 2010 16:27
The other day, while reading the newspaper on the subway, a thought popped into my head: What's the best device for consuming media on-the-go?
If only there was a truly efficient way to scan my RSS feeds, follow the latest tweets on Twitter, check out my friends photos on Facebook, and, of course, see what's new with all the peeps here on CNET Asia.
Then I read Jeseda's insightful post 2010--year of the tablet?, and I'll go out on a limb and say yes, the tablet is going to make big waves this year.
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Drupal thrives in Taiwan
Dec 29, 2009 00:22
I started building websites in 2005, which isn't very long ago. As every n00b starts out, I went through the beginner lessons of creating a static page with basic HTML and then discovered how much easier it is to get a fully functional site up and running with the popular open-source blogging software WordPress.
But at some point I realized that I wanted to do a little more. So my friend Google and I set out on a mission to find a new open-source Content Management System, CMS for short. Joomla and Drupal were the big names that came up in my search so I downloaded and installed both for a trial run.
After reading and testing, I ended up going with Drupal. People often say that Drupal's learning curve is a little steep, and I'd have to agree. But once you figure out how the plumbing works (nodes, blocks, modules, views, panels, etc.) then you've got all the tools at your fingertips to put up more than just a website; you can build fully-functional web applications.
So about a year into my Drupal journey there were victories and, of course, personal struggles. With open-source software there isn't a dedicated tech support guy to answer your ticket in 24 hours or your money back. That's okay with me and thankfully Drupal has an ace in the hole.
The Drupal Community
The big selling point for me was the Drupal community. If you're stuck on a problem and need help, there always seems to be someone ready to lend a hand. As long as you've read the documentation and don't post as a help vampire, the fellow posters are patient with rookies like myself.
After a while I discovered that there was even a Drupal Taiwan Web site. So I got in touch with the site admin and head organizer, Charles Chuang, and he let me know there would be a meetup in late December. The gathering would be at a local cafe in central Taipei and the topic would be new features, discuss strategy, and socialize to make new friends with like-minded souls.
So last weekend I visited my first Drupal meetup here in Taipei, and it was great!
Taiwanese Drupal user explains how to install Drupal on a local machine
Event organizer Charles Chuang introduces the next speaker to the audience
Drupal veteran John Wilkins gives the group a rundown of the new features in Drupal 7 in 7 minutes
Jenny Wilkins gives a great rundown of which modules to use for good Search Engine Optimization
It was a great afternoon and I'm happy to be part of Taiwan's growing Drupal community. Definitely looking forward to the next event. If you're interested in learning how to build rich, dynamic, and scalable websites then I highly recommend jumping right in to learn more over at the Drupal site.
About Spencer Pangborn
Spencer Pangborn first moved to Asia to become a popstar but failed, miserably. He is now a marketing specialist and freelance writer based in Taipei, Taiwan. Originally from the Great Lake State, he misses driving in the snow but doesn't miss shoveling the sidewalk. Spencer is co-founder of the Taipei Tech Club, where he socializes with friends to discuss the latest tech news and views around town. Twitter: @spangaroo
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