South Korea is not a Mac-friendly country. Most people who know anything about this country will tell you that. 99% of the country uses Microsoft Windows, and 99% of those people use Internet Explorer. I already knew that when I came here, so I wasn't surprised to find that almost everything computer-related for sale in Seoul is designed for PCs.
Therefore, it is with great irony that earlier today, I bought a new MacBook here in Seoul.
Why get a new computer? Well, there were a few reasons why. My HP Pavilion laptop has had its share of problems in the past, and it has been showing signs of wiring problems since September. For example, the monitor would blink and you would hear a high pitched noise every time it did. The batteries and adapter were both dying -- it wouldn't charge more than 25% to 35%, and even before this started happening, the batteries had a tendency to consume a lot of power sometimes and little power at other times; in other words, battery consumption was unpredictable.
And yesterday, the monitor blacked out. Yet, it wasn't completely black -- I could still see the windows on the screen and everything, but it was just blacked out. And every time it happened, I would smell something similar to burning, and the smell would be coming from the fan. That was quite scary. Fixing all of these problems would likely cost more than the laptop itself.
Coming home from work today, I was surprised to find that my usual view of Namsan from my shortcut was obscured by a HUGE fire. It was a clear day, but the smoke covered the whole view of Namsan. A firefighting helicopter had to come in to drop fire retardant on the area, like in a forest fighter. The fire probably destroyed at least 3 or 4 buildings. After the burning smell from my laptop, seeing the fire freaked me out a little, and convinced me that it might be a good time to get a new laptop. I already said that my next laptop would be a Mac, so it was a no-brainer.
I saw a good price at a Seoul electronics market called TechnoMart the other day. The price was identical to Future Shop back in Canada. However, TechnoMart was cheaper because of the incoming HST sales tax in British Columbia this summer -- or, as I like to call it, the "rape tax," because it feels like the government is raping us for money. And it appears like the tax rate is increasing even more very soon. Partially thanks to the rape tax, I was convinced to buy a Mac in South Korea -- one of the most Mac-unfriendly places in the world.
With the rape tax in mind, it was already cheaper. But Seoul's electronics dealers usually give you a deal if you say that you want to pay in cash, so I got it reduced by another 100,000 KRW ($100 Canadian) -- and it was already cheaper than Canada!
This was surprising because it seems that Apple products tend to be more expensive in South Korea, generally speaking. It's rare to see a Mac in use over here, but there is an increasing number of Apple specialty dealers. The dealer I bought my MacBook from basically said that South Korean technology is changing quickly in favor of Apple products (especially after the iPhone's debut this past winter), and a lot of Apple dealers are trying to get ahead of the competition.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
South Korea: the land of technological shortfalls?
It's no secret that South Korea is known as one of the premier technology hubs in the world. Its high-speed internet network is the envy of the world, and the country is also among the front-runners of robotics and genetic research. However, beneath this rosy image is a major contradiction of what one would normally expect -- specifically in terms of internet technology.
South Korea is known as the world's most wired country, with over 90% of the country equipped with broadband connections. However, while the hardware and speed are incredible, the software has a lot of catching up to do. When I say that this country's software usage is decades old, I mean it almost literally.
An article in the Korea Times today outlined the shortcomings of this country's technology. While the internet speeds here are tops in the world, 99% of the population still uses Internet Explorer as their web browser of choice. Not only that, but they're not using the current version (IE version 8) -- they are still using IE version 6, which was released around 2001. Yes, 2001. That's 8 years ago.
Why are they still using this outdated technology? It's because of ActiveX, a component that came in IE 6. As with the case so often with Internet Explorer, it turned out that ActiveX had some major security vulnerabilities. Despite this, many South Korean websites, such as banking websites, not only decided to continue to base their websites on ActiveX controls, but actually increased its usage over the years. The security problems got so bad that even Microsoft is trying to abandon ActiveX; when the mother of a software wants to abandon it so soon, you know that there are major problems with it.
There is also a dependency on Windows operating systems due to this issue -- the websites based on ActiveX also depend on Windows. That means those buying Apple products are at a serious disadvantage, which leads to Apple's failure to hold any significant market share in South Korea (along with high import fees, which are likely in this country -- just look at the automotive market). In addition, Windows Vista reduced support for ActiveX, leading many people in South Korea to continue using Windows XP.When I first arrived in this country and saw the technology, I was so surprised to see that most people were still using Windows XP. As much as I have an issue with Windows Vista, it was a shock to me that a country this technologically advanced is still using ancient software.
Above: An abandoned computer monitor back home at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, with the prophetic message next to it, reading, "Evolve for the future, today."
ActiveX is so overused that it's preventing users from upgrading their browsers and operating systems. As a Mozilla Firefox user and fan of Apple products, I really hope the South Korean companies wake up and realize that if they want to catch up to the current online technology (such as CSS), they need to ditch ActiveX and allow for more browser and operating system diversity.
This reminds me of a situation at my school. I was having some connectivity issues with my computer, and a Korean teacher was looking at my computer trying to figure out if there was a program messing up something. He almost uninstalled Mozilla Firefox because he thought it was a virus! He was so surprised when I informed him that it was an internet browser, because he was not aware of another way to go on the internet besides Internet Explorer.
Another situation involves the computer in the English classroom. The computer was attacked by some nasty spyware and worms lately, and it appears to have originated from a security vulnerability caused by Internet Explorer usage. Yet, what happened when the computer was finally fixed? Yep, they continued to insist on relying on Internet Explorer and refusing to use Mozilla Firefox or other browsers. They don't seem to learn from their mistakes. The good news is that I've convinced the head English teacher to try to get school funding to get a Mac computer in the future for that classroom (primarily due to multimedia purposes).
Until the situation changes, I'll probably be one of the 10 Firefox-using people in South Korea within a 1-mile radius.
South Korea is known as the world's most wired country, with over 90% of the country equipped with broadband connections. However, while the hardware and speed are incredible, the software has a lot of catching up to do. When I say that this country's software usage is decades old, I mean it almost literally.
An article in the Korea Times today outlined the shortcomings of this country's technology. While the internet speeds here are tops in the world, 99% of the population still uses Internet Explorer as their web browser of choice. Not only that, but they're not using the current version (IE version 8) -- they are still using IE version 6, which was released around 2001. Yes, 2001. That's 8 years ago.
Why are they still using this outdated technology? It's because of ActiveX, a component that came in IE 6. As with the case so often with Internet Explorer, it turned out that ActiveX had some major security vulnerabilities. Despite this, many South Korean websites, such as banking websites, not only decided to continue to base their websites on ActiveX controls, but actually increased its usage over the years. The security problems got so bad that even Microsoft is trying to abandon ActiveX; when the mother of a software wants to abandon it so soon, you know that there are major problems with it.
There is also a dependency on Windows operating systems due to this issue -- the websites based on ActiveX also depend on Windows. That means those buying Apple products are at a serious disadvantage, which leads to Apple's failure to hold any significant market share in South Korea (along with high import fees, which are likely in this country -- just look at the automotive market). In addition, Windows Vista reduced support for ActiveX, leading many people in South Korea to continue using Windows XP.When I first arrived in this country and saw the technology, I was so surprised to see that most people were still using Windows XP. As much as I have an issue with Windows Vista, it was a shock to me that a country this technologically advanced is still using ancient software.
Above: An abandoned computer monitor back home at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, with the prophetic message next to it, reading, "Evolve for the future, today."ActiveX is so overused that it's preventing users from upgrading their browsers and operating systems. As a Mozilla Firefox user and fan of Apple products, I really hope the South Korean companies wake up and realize that if they want to catch up to the current online technology (such as CSS), they need to ditch ActiveX and allow for more browser and operating system diversity.
This reminds me of a situation at my school. I was having some connectivity issues with my computer, and a Korean teacher was looking at my computer trying to figure out if there was a program messing up something. He almost uninstalled Mozilla Firefox because he thought it was a virus! He was so surprised when I informed him that it was an internet browser, because he was not aware of another way to go on the internet besides Internet Explorer.
Another situation involves the computer in the English classroom. The computer was attacked by some nasty spyware and worms lately, and it appears to have originated from a security vulnerability caused by Internet Explorer usage. Yet, what happened when the computer was finally fixed? Yep, they continued to insist on relying on Internet Explorer and refusing to use Mozilla Firefox or other browsers. They don't seem to learn from their mistakes. The good news is that I've convinced the head English teacher to try to get school funding to get a Mac computer in the future for that classroom (primarily due to multimedia purposes).
Until the situation changes, I'll probably be one of the 10 Firefox-using people in South Korea within a 1-mile radius.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
I'm wired again
It sounds so weird, but I was without internet for about 4 days.
Yes. No internet. In South Korea. Holy crappola! Arrest that man -- he has no internet in the most wired country in the world!
But now I'm back with my new (non-free) internet connection, which gives me speeds of about 20 MB per second for about $17 per month. Well, technically it's $30 but they have a weird rebate system over here. Instead of rebating money, they give you money when you sign a contract with them. Once you factor that in and subtract that from the actual monthly fee, it's closer to $17 per month. Bless you, South Korea!
I also got a wifi router so that I can finally use my iPod Touch at home again, and also for use when/if someone (like family members) visit. That way, they won't have to share my computer to get online and have to dig through all my crap just to launch Firefox. But the damned wifi router's instructions and setup program are in Korean. Like, 99% is in Korean, except for random abbreviations like "ADSL" and stuff. So I'd like to password-protect my wifi but can't figure it out because, well, I don't understand Korean besides basic place names and "hello" and "thank you."
In a weird twist, my old internet connection got cut on the same night that I finally got a phone number. It was like sacrificing one form of communication for another. The best thing about South Korean cellphone service compared to Canadian service is that incoming calls are free. That suits me perfectly, because I tend to have a lot more incoming calls that outgoing calls. The only bad part is that my cellphone gets really hot when I use it for more than 15 minutes. Hopefully I won't have a big burn on my face after talking for a long time.
When the new internet was installed, the installation guy had to come into the apartment and poke his head out the window to check for something. I never had reason to do so, so I had no idea what it looked like outside. So after he went back to his truck to get something, I did the same thing... and apparently the network wire that connects into my apartment through a drilled hole near the windowsill leads directly to a power line. I was like, "Holy shit." I mean, it's not unusual to see a huge mess/tangle of wires above the side streets of Seoul, but now I realize that a huge fraction of those lines leads directly into apartments through windows and stuff. This city would be so screwed if it was in an earthquake zone, because the wires would come tumbling down together and the whole city would be electrocuted. Man.
Work is going a lot smoother now... I'm starting to figure out what works and what doesn't, and the students are getting more accustomed to me. At first they were a bit terrified. They still are terrified but at least they feel more comfortable with me now. There's a funny story with that, involving street food and the students, which I'll post later this week.
Oh, and I've fallen in love with Ellie Nash again. More on that later.
Yes. No internet. In South Korea. Holy crappola! Arrest that man -- he has no internet in the most wired country in the world!
But now I'm back with my new (non-free) internet connection, which gives me speeds of about 20 MB per second for about $17 per month. Well, technically it's $30 but they have a weird rebate system over here. Instead of rebating money, they give you money when you sign a contract with them. Once you factor that in and subtract that from the actual monthly fee, it's closer to $17 per month. Bless you, South Korea!
I also got a wifi router so that I can finally use my iPod Touch at home again, and also for use when/if someone (like family members) visit. That way, they won't have to share my computer to get online and have to dig through all my crap just to launch Firefox. But the damned wifi router's instructions and setup program are in Korean. Like, 99% is in Korean, except for random abbreviations like "ADSL" and stuff. So I'd like to password-protect my wifi but can't figure it out because, well, I don't understand Korean besides basic place names and "hello" and "thank you."
In a weird twist, my old internet connection got cut on the same night that I finally got a phone number. It was like sacrificing one form of communication for another. The best thing about South Korean cellphone service compared to Canadian service is that incoming calls are free. That suits me perfectly, because I tend to have a lot more incoming calls that outgoing calls. The only bad part is that my cellphone gets really hot when I use it for more than 15 minutes. Hopefully I won't have a big burn on my face after talking for a long time.
When the new internet was installed, the installation guy had to come into the apartment and poke his head out the window to check for something. I never had reason to do so, so I had no idea what it looked like outside. So after he went back to his truck to get something, I did the same thing... and apparently the network wire that connects into my apartment through a drilled hole near the windowsill leads directly to a power line. I was like, "Holy shit." I mean, it's not unusual to see a huge mess/tangle of wires above the side streets of Seoul, but now I realize that a huge fraction of those lines leads directly into apartments through windows and stuff. This city would be so screwed if it was in an earthquake zone, because the wires would come tumbling down together and the whole city would be electrocuted. Man.
Work is going a lot smoother now... I'm starting to figure out what works and what doesn't, and the students are getting more accustomed to me. At first they were a bit terrified. They still are terrified but at least they feel more comfortable with me now. There's a funny story with that, involving street food and the students, which I'll post later this week.
Oh, and I've fallen in love with Ellie Nash again. More on that later.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
South Korea Sights: Yongsan Electronics Market
South Korea has a reputation for being a tech geek's paradise. The Yongsan Electronics Market is a pretty good metaphor for that. The name suggests something small, but the YEM is nothing small at all. It consists of several large malls where they sell almost nothing but electronics -- camera gear, video games, computers, TVs, etc.
What makes it cooler is that a large portion of the storeowners there also speak English, so it's great for tourists as well. Some prices are a bit higher than elsewhere, but there are also incredible bargains here and there, such as desktop computers for $200.
There are also some stands on the streets that sell pirated DVDs, so if you're not worried about legality, there's a possibility there.
For people like me, it's like dying and going to heaven, only to find out that heaven is in central Seoul and accessible from Yongsan Station on the subway.
What makes it cooler is that a large portion of the storeowners there also speak English, so it's great for tourists as well. Some prices are a bit higher than elsewhere, but there are also incredible bargains here and there, such as desktop computers for $200.
There are also some stands on the streets that sell pirated DVDs, so if you're not worried about legality, there's a possibility there.
For people like me, it's like dying and going to heaven, only to find out that heaven is in central Seoul and accessible from Yongsan Station on the subway.
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