PLC (Power Line Communication) Ethernet networking has been a real godsend for the people who live or work in a rented place. Especially when the edifice is owned by a tyrannical landlord who still lives in the Middle Ages.

"What, you wanna bore a huge hole through the wall of my dear apartment? For a cable? No, no way. Over my dead body you can!"

Of course, wireless 802.11a/b/g/n would be easier and relatively trouble-free. But when your computer and access point are separated by three concrete walls with lots of ironworks inside, things would start getting nasty. External antennae, boosters, relaying repeater stations, and so on. And wireless connection is rather sluggish, too.

ZyXEL's PLC Ethernet adapter PLA-400. This tiny box makes your LAN life very easy.

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Who are the most hapless mobile phone users in the world? Without the slightest doubt, K-tai customers in Japan apply to this ignominious title. Yes, they have been the most exploited people in the human history since the neolithic era.

Since the beginning, K-tai Denwa (mobile phone) operators have been offering a ridiculously overquality, overqualified, overfunctioned and overpriced terminals to their customers. Phone users could not buy those toy-like almost-disposable Nokia or Korean cheapos. Because operators maintained Japanese communication standard is totally incompatible with the rest of the world.

A typical independent K-tai shop in Tokyo. NTT DoCoMo has the lion's share of precious space.

The price of K-tai terminals, therefore, skyrocketed, and was so expensive that very few subscribers could practically afford them. This was no good for the operators at all.
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If you want to play music yourself, please try the newest craze: Air guitar.

Oh, you don't need to practice this musical instrument at all. No vicious calluses on your fingers. No more going to music class twice a week and repeating silly practice tunes on and on. You can't memorize even a sigle chord? No problem.

Takara Tomy's Air Guitar PRO Elecki-Guitar. This truncated instrument has more intelligence than a real guitar.

With your air guitar in your arms (?), you can be an instant maestro. You are Jimi Hendrix at will. You are Django Reinhardt on the spot.
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Wow, you are addicted to "shoot-'em-all" games? In that case, you'll definitely love this one.

But, before going into it, let me explain why this kinky game came to your neighborhood. For quite a few centuries, the toilets attached to Japanese railway stations have been a total shame. Especially urinals.

Rush-hour commuters were simply too sloppy, or maybe they were equipped with a crooked instrument. Anyway, tons of ammoniac liquid spilled out of proper receptacles daily, and no diligent cleaning lady could cover up this constant leakage in time.

Resulting malodorous wet floor formed a part of Japanese everyday life. People fatalistically resigned themselves.

Bull's-eye sticker with golden fly in the center. Don't miss, or cleaning lady will smite you with her mop.

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March of Nintendo Wii seems unstoppable. Even the combined forces of Xbox and PS3 pale before this cheap game machine with a 3D motion-sensor remote controller. Only enemy standing before it would be its peculiar bodily troubles affecting the addicted user, like Wii wrist, Wii shoulder, Wii ankle or Wii tendonitis.

The serious contender of Wii does not come from a bunch of game machines, but from K-tai terminals. NTT DoCoMo's newest 3G-FOMA K-tais are equipped with motion-detection function. Well, at least, three of them.

P904i (manufactured by Panasonic/Matsushita) and SH904i (by Sharp) detect the terminal position and movement by analyzing optical data from their sub-camera (EyeMobile technology, developed by Gesturetek of Sunnyvale, California). D904i (manufactured by Mitsubishi) sports a tiny 3D acceleration sensor embedded in its shell, just like Wii's remote controller does.

DoCoMo's Natsuno-san (chief of Multimedia Services Division) playing a Chokkan game. I'm afraid this silly posture will be a common sight in Japan, soon.

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