Showing 11 - 20 of 25
Dealing With A Covid-19 Side Effect
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 22/01/2021
» One side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic that you may have overlooked (besides amassing a vast collection of hand sanitisers and exposing govt inefficiency -- kapow!) is more waste, especially plastic. Inevitably, it is exacerbated by our appetite for food delivery while we're WFH during this quasi-lockdown. The first wave saw an increase of plastic waste by 60% in Bangkok due to the higher demand for food delivery as estimated by Thailand Environment Institute in May last year. Thailand Research Development Insitute also claimed that one such order can contain up to seven pieces of plastic waste (so opt-out of utensils when you order please).
Mastering the 'now normal'
Asia focus, Published on 07/09/2020
» The career path that Jonathan Heit took to the public relations industry is unlike that of most people. With an undergraduate degree in sciences and a pre-medical background at Cornell University, Mr Heit, now 48, says he was "on the path to becoming a doctor".
Iran cases surge, new Malaysia, Singapore infections: Virus update
Published on 01/03/2020
» Four new infections were reported in Malaysia and Singapore after Thailand, the United States and Australia recorded their first deaths caused by the coronavirus and cases in Iran and South Korea jumped by 376 but the number of new deaths fell in the epicentre of Hubei, China.
Letter to Santa for Thais
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 20/12/2019
» Your year-end schedule is probably pretty hectic, trying to get everything done so you can have a worry-free break during Christmas and New Year. You may be so busy that you may forget to write the annual letter to Santa Claus (indulge me, readers). To make it easy for you, I have created a template that you can fill in to secure your gift at the last minute, despite having being naughty or nice. Don't forget to send it to SantaClaus@NorthPoleMail.com when you're done. Merry Xmas, everyone!
Connected communicator
Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 16/12/2019
» Anyone meeting Baxter Jolly for the first time might be surprised to learn that he used to be an equities trader. A people person full of smiles, he doesn't seem like the type who would be sitting in front of five computer screens all day. But the experience in the high-pressure world of the stock market, he says, served him well when he switched gears and entered public relations.
Don't call AI bigoted
Life, James Hein, Published on 06/11/2019
» Despite what some claim, Artificial Intelligence is not racist. Google built a system to detect hate speech or speech that exhibited questionable content. Following the rules given, it picked out a range of people with what some try to claim was a bias toward black people. Wrong. The AI simply followed the rules and a larger number of black people and some other minorities, as defined in the US, were found to be breaking those rules. It didn't matter to the machines that when one group says it, it isn't defined as hate speech by some; it simply followed the rules. People can ignore or pretend not to see rules, but machines don't work that way. What the exercise actually found was that speech by some groups is ignored while the same thing said by others isn't. As the saying goes, don't ask the question if you're not prepared to hear the answer.
Time for a Seoul-Tokyo peace pact
Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 12/08/2019
» I love kimchi and I love ramen. I love the bushido way of life and Japanese humility, and I love South Koreans' resilience and devotion to education that helped them lift their country from poverty after World War II to become an Asian economic powerhouse. And in my opinion, both South Koreans and Japanese are among the nicest people in the world.
Human override here to stay
Life, James Hein, Published on 10/04/2019
» Computers are useful tools and they will emotionlessly churn through thousands of operations in the blink of an eye to produce whatever results they were programmed to do. Most of the time the results are welcomed. When it comes to malware the results generate a different reaction, and then there are those spaces in the middle. The situation surrounding the Boeing 737 Max MCAS aircraft and the recent crash is an excellent example. The latest analysis would seem to indicate that the computer engineers made some choices that have had unintended consequences. In this case overriding the wishes of the pilots by assuming the plane was crashing, when it wasn't, and not allowing the human pilots to correct the computer's decisions.
Will fold-out phones start a new revolution?
Life, James Hein, Published on 27/02/2019
» Lower cost Google phones will be arriving this year. There will be mid-range offerings somewhere in the 4,700-22,000 baht range and another below that as a low-range product. The target is emerging markets that are fairly well saturated with other brands, both Korean and Chinese. The Google Pixel is the high-end product and is supposed to have the best camera, for now, but they are not cheap. The new range will round out the lower end of the market.
Beyond digital payment
Asia focus, Published on 04/02/2019
» The way we pay for things has evolved rapidly in recent years. Even carrying a physical wallet containing cash and cards is no longer essential when a smartphone or biometric recognition can be used to complete a transaction.