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Money matters: The China Syndrome
A five-dimension analytical model for deciding when (and when not) to purchase from the East (Part
2)
Graham Macdonald
MBMG International Ltd.
Five Dimensions
The five-dimension analytical model readily leads procurement
executives to a set of significant matters they need to consider when making
sourcing decisions.
1. Manufacturing Cost. China can provide Western parts
and materials buyers significant benefits in overhead and raw material costs.
Total overhead rates in China vary significantly by supplier, but can be less
than half of Western levels.
Chinese labour rates also are extremely attractive relative
to those of other countries. Including hourly wage rates and benefits, Chinese
wages are about 10 percent of salaries in the U.S. and Western Europe and 50
percent of the average wage in Mexico. There is still a large supply of low cost
labour throughout the country, and manufacturers in major cities (Shanghai, for
example) are supported by government efforts to keep wages low by bringing
additional workers to urban areas.
Nevertheless, as more and more companies purchase supplies
from China, there has been wage inflation in some large cities. As a result,
labour-intensive supplier relationships, such as some automotive OEM programs,
are moving inland, where wages remain lower. Honda, for example, is establishing
its manufacturing centre, automotive assembly, and supporting component
operations in Dongfeng, in central China. Moving inland, though, makes shipment
scheduling more difficult and often more costly, because of poor roads and the
lack of developed logistics infrastructures.
These trends show how executives should evaluate
manufacturing cost when making procurement decisions:
• The total labour content (direct and indirect) of a
product is the primary driver for China procurement savings. For a product
with a large labour component (i.e., 25 percent or more of the product cost
structure), low Chinese wages represent a meaningful benefit. In these cases,
the labour savings - applied labour hours multiplied by the difference in the
labour rate - can be significant. But for some products, such as shoot-and-ship
injection-moulded plastics, for which one operator manages several high-speed
machines, the labour requirements are too low for China sourcing to be the best
option.
• Real overhead savings can be realized in China.
Local labour rates are embedded in the price of many of the goods and services
that are critical components of overhead costs. And many suppliers use local
machinery, which can also cost as little as half the price of imported
equipment.
• Savings on raw materials in China are possible when
these materials are locally sourced from competitive suppliers. Electronic
components and some lower-end steel grades are areas where local competition can
lead to raw-material savings. However, when Chinese suppliers have to import
materials - such as high-quality steel alloys - there can be a significant cost
penalty in a procurement agreement.
• To gain the highest potential returns from a Chinese
procurement effort, the amount of labour should be maximized. It often pays
to think beyond the purchase of the part, and to include machining and assembly
activities in the sourcing contract. For example, when an automotive company
attempted to purchase raw aluminium castings from China, the Chinese supplier
offered savings of only 1 percent over the bid of a U.S. supplier. By redoing
the bid to include finished machining of the parts and the incremental labour,
handling, and overhead, the automotive company realized a 15 percent total cost
savings from the same supplier.
2. Transportation Efficiency. Procurement from China
naturally increases transportation cost over more local sourcing arrangements.
In China, a product must go from the factory to the port, onto a ship, and then
to the U.S. or another major market, where it is unloaded and trucked to its
destination. The cost of ocean transport alone from China to the U.S. is $2,500
to $3,000 per container. For a $12 casting, the total incremental transportation
cost is $1.10, compared with $0.30 for a typical Mexican supplier shipping to
the U.S.
Financial assessment of China sourcing should be made on the
total landed cost of a product, which includes the manufacturing cost
differential as well as the full logistics cost - hence two major considerations
when assessing transportation costs:
• Measure the ratio of transport cost to total product
cost. Since ocean transportation costs are essentially a fixed cost per
volume shipped, economics favour China when smaller, higher-value items are
involved. For instance, thousands of small electric motors can be packed in one
container, spreading the fixed costs over numerous units. Conversely, plastics
and stamping assemblies for auto interiors require protective packaging that
results in low packing density and fewer parts to share the burden.
• If airfreight is required - for instance, to meet lead
time requirements shorter than ocean freight allows - the savings generated by
lower-wage-rate manufacturing in China are usually eliminated. Airfreight
costs about $1.51 per pound; ocean transport, $0.06 per pound. Only products
with very high packing density and high value per unit (for example, printed
circuit boards) can support the costs associated with airfreight.
Next week: 3 rd, 4th
and 5th dimensions…
The above data and research was compiled from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its officers can
accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the above article nor
bear any responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any actions
taken or not taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For more
information please contact Graham Macdonald on [email protected]
Snap Shots: How to shoot competition winners
by Harry Flashman
There are many photographic competitions that you
should enter. Even some of the local organizations will run photo comps,
and with the advent of digital images and the internet, it is quite simple
for you to enter competitions overseas as well as in Thailand.
One ‘amazing’ fact I have found over the years is
that many people have shot award winners, but are actually too shy to
enter these competitions. But for those of you who think you haven’t got
a winner, let me help you a little.
 Imagine
a competition called “Amazing Thailand”, and although the words get
done to death, Thailand is still an amazing place. There are just so many
aspects of life and the scenery here which will fit the theme. Take these
for example - when did you ever see five people on a motor cycle in
Montana? Or nineteen workers in the back of a pick up truck in Pittsburgh?
A motorized hang glider with pontoons in Paris? Or a Songkran soaking in
Saskatchewan?
We have all become too used to the funny little
vagaries of life here, which really do say “Amazing Thailand”. Have a
look in that photo drawer again and see if you have a nice shot of some of
the things you found “amazing” when you came here first!
Of course, if you haven’t got a nice shot, load the
camera with film and go and get it. But do so with a few concepts in mind
first. Here are a few.
Sock it to ‘em with colour!
Now I do know what judges look for in a photograph,
having been one many times. In amateur photography competitions they will
be drawn by bright colours, believe me. Really sock it to ‘em with
bright colours which jump out of the photo, if you can. Look for bright,
bright contrasting colours - reds against yellow sand, whites with blue
skies, light purples against black. Anything which draws their attention
to your photograph is a plus in your direction. So do not forget colour
contrasts, or the polarizing filter that enhances these.
Pull on their heart strings!
Judges are merely human and have just the same emotions
as everyone else. The things in life which make you laugh or cry will make
the judges laugh and cry too. Pull at their heart strings, make them
laugh, get that handkerchief out of their pockets, make them remember when
they last played that game or jumped that rope. As soon as a judge relates
to the subject of your photograph, you have that judge hooked!
One of the easiest ways to see which of your
photographs is a winner is to show them to friends and listen to their
responses. An “Oh, isn’t that nice!” reaction is enough to tell you
that the photo has an immediate appeal. An appeal which could win you some
prizes if it grabs one of the judges the same way!
Don’t be afraid of tourist destinations.
We’ve all been to the tourist attractions so many
times with friends, who come here for vacations, that we forget just how
“amazing” some of these are. Just because you pass the place every day
on the way to the shops doesn’t mean that it’s not worth a photograph
or two. These attractions are set up for tourist photography - so you may
as well get that advantage too.
Don’t be too critical of your own work.
Generally, the greatest critic of our own work is not
your family and friends, but yourself! Because you personally took the
picture you become very personally involved with it. You remember why you
took it, what you were trying to show and you will judge it as a
successful picture if it recreates those feelings for you. However, even
if it doesn’t “say” everything you had in mind at the time, it does
not mean it is a “bad” or “failed” photograph. It is probably a
brilliant shot that creates different feelings for different people.
I suggest some of the schools should try a photography competition, and
you be the first to enter!
Modern Medicine: What a wonderful
world we live in
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
It is not often that I get depressed, but
reading some statistics from UNICEF about the plight of children in our world is
certainly depressing reading.
According to UNICEF, and as reported in the British Medical
Journal, more than half of the children in the world live in extreme deprivation
due to poverty, war, and HIV/AIDS. Read that again, “more than half of the
children in the world”! UNICEF also argues that these problems are impeding
the development of the countries affected.
Whilst I am sure that these problems do impede the
development of the countries, what about the development of the individual
children?
Again according to the BMJ, children experience poverty
differently from adults, and the standard measures of income or consumption fail
to capture the impact of poverty on children, the report argues. To gain a
clearer picture, the report’s authors, from UNICEF, the London School of
Economics, and the University of Bristol, analyzed access to seven services and
goods they considered essential to children.
They found that an estimated 1 billion children from the
total of 2.2 billion in the world were living in poverty. One in three (640
million) children did not have adequate shelter, 500 million had no access to
sanitation, and 400 million did not have access to safe water. Additionally, 90
million children were severely deprived of food and 270 million had no access to
healthcare services.
The statistics also showed that poverty was not exclusive to
developing countries. The proportion of children living in low income households
had increased over the past decade in 11 of the 15 developed countries for which
comparable data were available. The UK Child Poverty Index for example shows
that in Britain, around 30 percent of children live in poverty! In 1991, 21.8
percent of American children - some 14.3 million in all - lived in families in
which total income failed to exceed even the Spartan thresholds used to define
poverty by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Extreme poverty was considered one of the central causes of
conflict, along with poor governance. The report found that 55 of 59 armed
conflicts that took place between 1990 and 2003 occurred within, rather than
between, countries. Children accounted for nearly half of the 3.6 million people
killed in these conflicts. Conflict also had a catastrophic impact on overall
health. In a typical five year war, the mortality of children under the age of
five years increased by 13%.
The impact of HIV/AIDS on children was seen most dramatically
in the number of orphans to AIDS - now totalling 15 million worldwide.
Researchers in America also examined the links between
economic deprivation and children’s development, using data from the Infant
Health and Development Program, a separate sample of nearly 900 low-birthweight
children followed from birth to age five. They sorted the effects of income from
the effects of family structure and other factors generally considered together
as “socioeconomic status.”
Their conclusions included, “Family income is a far more
powerful correlate of a child’s IQ at age 5 than maternal education, ethnicity
and growing up in a single-parent family. And the effects of persistent poverty
are roughly twice as large as the effects of transient poverty on children’s
intelligence. The effects poverty has on children’s behaviour were also
significant. Children whose families were poor the entire four years of the
study were considerably more likely than those whose families were poor only
part of that time to be fearful, anxious, unhappy, or depressed, or to destroy
their own things or have temper tantrums.”
(Childhood Under Threat is available at www.unicef.org.)
Learn to Live to Learn: Same, Same But Different
Part 2
with Andrew Watson
Three weeks ago, I was invited to meet a group
of sixteen special students from The Regents School who engaged in a pretty
extraordinary undertaking.
Charlie, Astrid, Neli, Liisa, Joe, Sara, Petch,
Alex, Nics, Girish, Natasha, Kyn Bak, Eline, Shruti, Thomas and Ishita organised
a conference for 136 students from 13 ‘Round Square’ schools across the Asia
Pacific Region, which started on Friday April 8 and ran via Koh Chang until
Thursday April 14. That’s some organisation.
AW: What are some of the problems you have
experienced and solutions found, in organising a conference like this?
Students: Time! (in unison)
AW: What do you do when a deadline passes?
Students: We panic and then we start working hard. There’s
no other way.
AW: What else?
Students: It’s been hard to choose between which ideas are
better than others, with lots of new ideas coming in.
AW: How do you decide which ideas to keep and which to
discard?
Students: Democracy!
AW: Give me an example.
Students: We couldn’t decide on a logo. None of the ideas
we had in the beginning worked so we had a competition, then voted.
AW: There must have been terrific competition to become a
delegate. How did you become one?
Students: There was a competition. We had to write CVs and
offer an idea of the theme and explain how we would explore it.
AW: What’s the point in having a conference? Is it just a
holiday?
Students: Certainly not! To learn more about Round Square and
the theme of the conference, “Same Same But Different”.
AW: Why this title? (Girish’s idea)
Students: I think a lot of problems in the world are caused
by people not understanding or accepting their differences, like differences in
culture. The theme is a way of allowing the delegates to explore differences in
each other.
AW: How did you devise the conference programme?
Students: We looked at past conferences in Boston and Cape
Town (lucky students!) and adapted their programmes and gave it a Thai emphasis.
AW: Such as?
Students: Thai culture, dancing, cooking. Giving the
delegates something to take back.
AW: Water throwing at Songkran?
Students: No. There’s a water shortage.
AW: How do you think being involved with Round Square now,
will help you when you are older?
Students: It will make us better people. It’s a way of
thinking. It’s not just activities, it really has an impact on your perception
of others and things that go on. It makes your personality better – each of
the ideals.
AW: Do you think you are going to be in a position to change
the world for the better or are you going to sit back and let other people do
it? Does Round Square give you the strength you need?
Students: It does, because it teaches you how to be a leader!
One person can make a difference. By giving examples from their own lives,
delegates show that it’s not just about school, it’s about our past, our
present and our future. This week, it’s a big responsibility to keep 136
delegates entertained and by learning how to organise this one week, maybe later
in life, when there’s something else around, we can take the initiative.
I, for one, am thoroughly looking forward to hearing more
about this conference, which seems to me to encapsulate everything that
education in general and international schools in particular should be about.
Hats off to the Regents Round Square delegates and the very best of luck!
Next week: Meet the Parents!
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
My friend lost his wife three years ago, he had no child. He was so happy when
he fell in love with a Thai lady who was the mother of a very nice little girl
of six. He cherish both and look after everything for the mother was always
sick (emotion and women’s problems) or jammed with unbelieved family
problems, going to her place every week.
He gave them everything he could in a reasonable way for the
beginning (I know it was a lot) and he followed all the advices every men, who
live with a Thai lady he met in the street, knows. The little girl loved him
and of course called him Papa. He was so proud of her. Would you believe the
mother asked her daughter to watch and memorise his ATM PIN number. When he
went for withdrawals she used to stand back and say “Go with papa, I wait
here.”
One morning at 6 a.m. the mother went out to send her
daughter to school taking with her his ATM card who was back to bed after
giving the breakfast to his step-daughter. She went to the Bangkok Bank
thinking the camera was disconnected and she took 150,000 baht out of his
account. But he found out, and when the mother saw that he was going to the
Police Station, she said she needed water and told him she would be back. She
rushed to their hotel, took all her and daughter belongings and go away.
Now, would you believe, she want to come back. Everybody
know the old song: Me love you... me sick... too much debt... me sorry... baby
want you so mutt...always cry for you, calling papa, papa.
How sad! This man was handsome, clean, not asking too much
for sex as she was always sick, he was caring in her sickness and he was
willing to give them all he had making them his beloved family. This woman and
her little girl would never have any money problem for all their life. Now the
three of them are miserable.
His friend
Dear Friend,
What a sad tale it is when people take advantage of genuinely nice people, and
use their own children as agents in the deception. There can be no excusing
this woman, who will always have a life of problems until she starts to do the
‘right thing’ by everyone, and especially by her daughter. Unfortunately,
however, there is a tendency to tar all Thai women with the same brush. Ask
many of the expat men why they are in Thailand, and you will find that the
reason is that they were taken down in their own countries, by their own
countrywomen. There are also many women in all the countries of the world, who
have been taken advantage of by men from all the countries of the world. This
is a universal problem, Petal, not just a female or Thai problem.
I know it is an ‘old-fashioned’ concept these days,
but long courtships gave both parties the time to really assess the other.
Those just in it for material gain get tired very quickly and move on to more
unsuspecting partners.
The answer is always to take time to get to know the
other person, no matter how breathtakingly beautiful or attentive. Trust is
something that takes time to build up, and has to be something that both people
work on. It is not something that happens overnight, or over one night! Most of
the problems I read come from those who cannot understand the difference
between love and infatuation.
Time will heal your friend’s heart.
Dear Hillary,
I have come over here from the UK to handle my elderly father affairs (72 years
old) who has been living here for two years. When I spoke to him from England I
got the impression that he was still pining for my late mother who died two
years ago, but when I got here that seems to be nothing like the reality of it.
He is going to go-go bars at night and I have seen these women, one quarter of
his age fondling him in a most indiscreet manner. How can he let himself be
handled in this way? I find it disgusting and would like your advice on how I
get him to stop this sort of thing, as I am sure you will be just as disgusted
by someone who used to be a loving husband and father. Is it a medical problem,
or just due to his age?
Agnes
Dear Agnes,
No my Petal, it is not a medical problem, it is a daughter problem. I
understand that you came over to handle his problems, but now you see that he
is being more than adequately handled by others! You should be pleased that
your 72 year old father is still showing signs of life and share in his
enjoyment of it. Life is for living, no matter what age you are. Time for you
to lighten up, Petal. If you want to do something for your father in a
constructive way get him a medical check up and a packet of Vitamin V if he is
fit enough.
Psychological Perspectives: Aspects of religious philosophies that might promote mental health
by Michael Catalanello,
Ph.D.
With the recent death of Pope John Paul
II, the world’s attention is drawn to events within the Roman Catholic
Church, the selection of a papal successor, and various issues related to
religion and spirituality. Taking a psychological perspective of these
events, we might ask, in what ways religious teachings could serve to
enhance the mental health of the believer.
Undoubtedly, there are certain aspects of religious
practices that reflect poorly upon the practitioner’s mental health.
Practices such as stoning sinners to death, the concept of religious wars,
suicides and homicides motivated by religious zeal, for example, seem quite
barbaric and incompatible with modern notions of psychological health. For
now, however, I shall focus on the psychologically healthy aspects of
religious philosophies.
Notable religious leaders such as Pope John Paul II,
Mahatma Gandhi, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and
Mother Theresa, seem to personify psychologically healthy values and
behaviors. The lives of these remarkable people suggest that their
religious philosophies may have served to complement and enhance their
respective mental health status. What religious beliefs might have such an
effect?
Religionists often express a belief that humans are
inclined by nature to commit sin, acts that are contrary to the will of
God. Nevertheless, God is usually portrayed as a loving and merciful being
who accepts us in spite of our sinful acts.
Similarly, psychological theorists such as Albert Ellis
and Aaron Beck identified certain disturbed emotions, irrational beliefs,
and deviant behaviors as being unhealthy and self-defeating. The humanistic
psychotherapist Carl Rogers recommended that therapists assume an attitude
of unconditional positive regard toward therapy patients, believing this to
facilitate their personal growth. This notion was taken a step further by
Ellis, who encourages his clients to adopt an attitude of “unconditional
self acceptance” (USA).
Religious philosophies teach that God allows people free
will to choose to do good or evil. According to such teachings we can, with
God’s help, avoid activities that are harmful to ourselves and others.
Clinical psychological theory recognizes the human propensity to pursue
short-term need gratification that can be harmful to our long-range
self-interests. We can, however, learn new habits of thought, emotion, and
behavior that will foster greater tolerance of the discomfort that results
from deferring short-term pleasures in the interest of gratifying our
long-range goals and desires.
Religious philosophies also encourage us to show love
and compassion for those who do wrong. We are taught to pray for them, and
help them turn away from wrongdoing. We are not to judge others, because we
too are sinners.
Psychological theory, particularly Rational Emotive
Behavior Therapy (REBT) points out the uselessness of damning others for
their misbehavior. While we might not like or approve of their behavior,
demanding that they behave otherwise serves only to create emotional
disturbance for ourselves. It is considered healthier to accept the fact
that people can and do behave quite despicably at times. Ellis and other
cognitive theorists teach “unconditional other acceptance” (UOA).
Accordingly, although we consider their acts as wrong, we can realistically
learn to view them as imperfect humans who are capable of both good and
evil deeds.
Eastern mystical philosophies such as Buddhism promote
an attitude of acceptance of suffering and difficulties which are an
inevitable part of life. Other religionists accept adversities as a
mysterious part of God’s plan. God is trustworthy, and out of
tribulations we can receive blessings. A similar idea is reflected in
Ellis’s teachings concerning unconditional life acceptance (ULA).
Adversity is an unavoidable part of the lives of all of us. When we view
these events as awful and catastrophic, we make them worse and harder to
manage. It is considered more constructive work to increase our tolerance
of frustrating life events.
It seems likely that these, and many other religious teachings are
helpful and compatible with healthy and effective mental and emotional
health, although religious belief is not a necessary component of mental
health.
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Dr. Catalanello is a licensed psychologist in his home State of Louisiana, USA, and a member of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Asian University,
Chonburi. You may address questions and comments to him at [email protected], or post on his weblog at
http://asianupsych.blogspot.com
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Sound and Vision
By Justin
Trousers
Movie
Hitch
It appears that women in Manhattan do not walk up to you and
say “where you from, I love you long time, my buffalo has died – give me
money”. Consequently, men in Manhattan have to work a little harder to win
the heart of a girl than they do in the bars of Pattaya. Enter Will Smith as a
matchmaker who coaches men through their first few dates to help them win the
girl of their dreams.
 This
is Smith’s first romantic comedy, and his easy charm is well suited to the
genre. But, in my view, he is upstaged by Kevin James who plays Albert, one of
his clients. Albert is over-weight, clumsy, incapable of holding a coherent
conversation; and is in love with a beautiful, rich heiress. It is a credit to
the script and to Kevin James that it appears credible that his character can
take on such a challenge and we can believe how his dream girl could fall for
him. While pursuing his love, James’s mannerisms and facial expressions
guarantee a laugh every time.
Naturally, Will Smith’s character has to have a
relationship to develop, screw up and then rescue for the inevitable happy
ending. His love interest is played by Eva Mendes who is a feisty foil for
Smith.
The movie is formulaic Hollywood output; but it is well made
with a sharp script and fine performances from Smith, James and Mendes. Much
better than Miss Congeniality 2 that I reviewed last week.
DVD
The DVD reviews this week have something in common, they are
all based on true stories; unlike Star Wars which, contrary to the belief of
some, is a total fiction (apart from Princess Leia, she is real and she will be
mine).
Shattered Glass
Stephen Glass was a journalist working for a highly
respectable USA-based magazine called “The New Republic”. Popular with his
co-workers and admired for the terrific stories he uncovered, Stephen was
heading for a glittering career in journalism. The magazine prided itself on
publishing totally factual articles. Rather foolishly however, it often relied
upon the notes made by the journalist as a basis for checking those facts
before publication. This, of course, assumed that the notes were themselves
entirely factual. Unfortunately, the notes prepared Stephen Glass were, more
often than not, entirely fabricated bollocks.
 This
movie shows a young man (played by Hayden Christensen), insecure and eager for
acceptance, desperately trying to lie his way out of an increasingly impossible
situation of his own creation. It’s a small story of one life and the
implications of deceit; but most of us have met people like Stephen Glass and
there is much to ponder when you relate his approach to the current ethics (or
lack of) in much of the tabloid journalism of today. Once it gets going, the
movie plays as an engrossing thriller and is available at a budget price.
Recommended.
Sherry Ann (Thai)
Sherry Ann Duncan was murdered in 1986 near Chonburi. A
student at a Bangkok school, she was the girlfriend of businessman Winai
Chaiphanit. Four employees of Winai were arrested, tried and sent to prison for
her murder. Years later the case was re-opened, those originally charged were
declared innocent and two other men went to jail for the murder. The Thai
police force were found guilty of a miscarriage of justice and ordered to pay
26 million baht to those originally charged.
 Directed
by Charoon Wattanasin, the movie does passable job at telling the story of the
murder and subsequent investigation, making the accusation that someone paid to
have Sherry murdered, and then paid the police to fabricate charges against
Winai and his employees. There is an unnecessary and probably invented love
interest between the police officer who investigated the original case and
found it to be fabricated, and the lady lawyer fighting to release those first
charged. Apart from this diversion, the movie sticks to the plot and maintains
the interest. Soundtrack is Thai with English sub-titles. The latter are so bad
they are amusing; but you can usually work out the meaning. For 69 baht, this
is an interesting slice of Thai life and an indication that the police force
were not always the paragons of virtue that they are nowadays…..
Capturing the Friedmans
 The
Friedmans were an average USA family, parents and three sons, with a passion
for making home videos. Nothing exceptional then; except that when father and
one of the sons were charged with the sexual assault of minors, they kept their
cameras rolling. The result is a voyeurishly fascinating record of a family in
crisis falling apart. In addition to the home videos, first time director
Andrew Jarecki interviewed family members and others involved to put together a
thoroughly absorbing story. This is a documentary, but there is no documentary
narrative; the story is told by those interviewed, interspersed with extracts
from the home videos. The movie won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at
the Sundance Festival in 2003.
Of the three movies reviewed, this one is the most
“real” (there are no actors or script), and yet it is the one which leaves
you wondering as to the real truth behind the story. Several times during the
movie you will feel that the truth is clear, only to have your perception
altered as more is revealed. Miss Julie and I were still debating the movie the
day after watching it.
Available at around 200 baht from Scorpion (Mangpong), who
are to be congratulated for bringing this unusual and fascinating movie into
the Kingdom.
Music
Until quite recently, the only way to get your hands on
music was to buy CDs, cassettes or vinyl. These are still options (although
there is not that much vinyl around any more), but downloading music from the
internet is becoming increasingly popular. The sources for music on the web are
almost limitless and include professional download sites, file sharing
utilities and music blogs. In addition you can take your existing CD music
collection and convert it to digital files.
Having filled your hard disk with music, how do you listen
to it? You can play direct from your computer. You can rip CD compilation
albums to suit your tastes and mood, for example: “Sixteen essential hangover
anthems”. You can inadvertently format your hard drive and lose all your
music and then jump up and down screaming expletives. Best of all you can copy
your music to a portable MP3 player and take it everywhere.
MP3 players have been around for while, but the release of
the Apple iPod moved portable digital music into the mainstream. More than six
million iPods have now been sold and, although rival products from Sony,
Creative and other companies are available, the iPod remains the coolest and
most desirable player.
On a recent trip to Bangkok, Miss Julie made the mistake of
leaving me alone with my credit card in The Emporium shopping centre for 45
minutes. My gadget seeking homing device took me to the electronics section
where I found and fell in love with the latest iPod variant, the iPod Shuffle.
The main attractions of the Shuffle are the price and the
size. At $99 (in the USA) for the 512Mb version, this is the cheapest iPod by
far, and cheaper than the competition for similar storage. With no display and
minimal controls, the Shuffle is the size and weight of a pack of chewing gum.
Of course, with no display, you cannot select what is played. But as the name
suggests, the way you use the Shuffle is to load 120 of your favourite tracks
and then let them play at random.
 Remove
the cap at the bottom of the player to find a USB port. Plug it in to your
computer to charge the battery and transfer songs. Simple to use and the
battery life is around 12 hours. Oh, and it sounds great too! Reviews have
highlighted that the Shuffle is the best sounding of all the iPod range, and
ahead of the competition. You can improve the sound still further by using
alternative earphones.
Taking a normal sized iPod onto Pattaya beach is not
convenient, unless you stick it down the front of your beach shorts; but that
can lead to (presumably unwanted) attention from a variety of beach-based
predators. But the Shuffle is so small, it is easy to slip into your pocket
(there is also lanyard to hang it round your neck if you like unusual
medallions).
The Shuffle is available at Tuk Com on Pattaya Tai, check around for the
best price but expect to pay less than six thousand baht for the 512Mb version.
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