It was meant to be the next wave of technology, the first step on the path to computer chips in the brain: the ultra-mobile personal computer. Too bad the reality was nowhere near the hype. The first-generation was an absolute failure – substandard hardware and superficial software in a size that did nothing to make up for the lack of performance, power and battery life (three hours at most). The mutant word “Palmtop” cropped up in nearly every critic’s review –- anyone remember it? I didn’t think so.

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If you’re in the market for an LCD TV, don’t wait. Prices are at rock bottom – but they’ll be rising soon. A recent report by market researchers iSuppli announced that LCD prices are rising by 5-10 percent. Sources say the display component’s increase in cost and a sudden growth in consumer demand are the two major factors. As is the case with most electronics, prices are initially set lower than production costs to increase consumer interest.

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Nokia N95
Dimensions: 99 X 53 X 20 mm
Display: 2.6"; 16 million colors
Weight: 120g
Network: Quad-band
3G? Yes
Memory: Up to 160MB internal with microSD slot
Camera: 5.0MP, 20x digital zoom for images, and 8x digital zoom for videos.
Battery: 160 mins of talk time
Connectivity: HSDPA, WLAN, USB 2.0, TV out, Bluetooth, IrDA.

YouTube launched in 2005 and a mere two years later, dozens of video-hosting sites have popped up and the web is rife with home-spun shorts of everything from Bus Uncle to covers of the Backstreet Boys. Here are some of Hong Kong’s best.

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HK Magazine: When did you start Wikipedia-ing?
Stewart Cheung: I started in November of 2005. I was the 40,545th user to register on the Chinese version of Wikipedia, and since then, I’ve been crazy about it.
HK: How often do you log on to Wikipedia?
SC: Every day. I'm not sure how many hours, but I type on Wiki while having dinner. For an information maniac, there is so much to discover in this world! I search through Wisenews [a news database] and add clippings to Wiki every day. I want to contribute!

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Hong Kong likes things fast. Express orders, rush jobs, fast tracks and even speed dating are the clichés of busy city life. And the pace doesn’t slacken at mealtimes: Our food is flash fried, nuked, and gobbled on the run. Six out of ten of us will eat fast food today – the highest percentage in the world.

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We are what we eat, and there’s no better forum for celebrating and expressing our foodie selves than food blogs. The seemingly endless catalogues of food blogs create a common forum for just about every taste out there.
From the delectable to questionable, amateur to expert, fat to skinny, and East to West, there’s guaranteed to be at least one food blog that will catch your attention. Here are some that caught ours.

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1. The Fashion Addict

Phone: LG KE 850 Prada phone
The low-down: iPhone look-a-like touch screen phone
Price: Approx. $6,000 (out in April) from major phone retailers

Linksys CIT200

$1,546, Foresoon Engineering Co. Ltd

The Good:
Voice encryption to protect data privacy.
 Solid range of Skype functions

The Bad:
Compared to other phones on the market with a similar price tag, it’s really quite basic.

HK Magazine: When do you start your working day?
Cleanbot Mark XIV: Well, being a cyborg, I don’t really experience the need for sleep. My cyber-brain is constantly soothed and balmed by legions of tiny nanobots, and without the need for cellular regeneration I’ve completely lost the desire to rest. However, that doesn’t stop me from taking the occasional cigarette break. I like to pretend that the nicotine isn’t obviated by my air purifying system.

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