Showing 81 - 90 of 188
Damming our way into trouble
Asia focus, Tanyatorn Tongwaranan, Published on 06/08/2018
» Over the past two weeks, volunteers and rescuers have been battling thick mud and floods in Attapeu province of Laos to find survivors of a deadly dam collapse.
Dam calamity a wake-up call for Mekong hazards
News, Apichai Sunchindah, Published on 31/07/2018
» The recent case of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy dam collapse in Laos is a timely reminder that there are potential hazardous factors associated with the failure of storage dams. These include large mass movements into a reservoir close to the dam such as a sudden influx of water and/or huge falling rocks, design errors, poor construction, faulty operation of reservoirs, sabotage, terrorism, acts of war and seismic risks.
Dam disaster a damning indictment
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/07/2018
» The spirit of volunteerism is running high among Thais as was recently demonstrated during the mission to rescue the 12 "Wild Boars" and their coach in the flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai earlier this month.
Slow down dam building
News, Editorial, Published on 26/07/2018
» With 46 hydropower plants currently, Laos plans to have a total of 100 dams by 2020 to serve the energy-starved Mekong region. That could help the one party-ruled country achieve its ambition of becoming "the battery of Southeast Asia". But the dam collapse in Attapeu in southeastern Laos on Monday shows how easily catastrophes can happen.
Get e-waste under control
News, Editorial, Published on 25/06/2018
» The fast-emerging scandal of the dumping of electronic waste illustrates just how far behind, and how out of touch authorities are in battling corruption. Of course the e-waste story involves flaunting of the law. But it shows just how simple it is to ignore laws, bypass regulations and fool government. The days of furtive corruption involving suitcases full of cash are gone. Some call the new-style corruption more sophisticated but it is actually more thuggish.
Dammed if you do
Editorial, Published on 21/06/2018
» Laos’ latest announcement of a decision to go ahead with its fourth 770-megawatt Pak Lay dam project has sent an alarming sign that the tide of hydropower development on the mainstream Mekong River is not just unstoppable, but accelerating.
A down vote for MS Skype
Life, James Hein, Published on 20/06/2018
» It has been a while since I've used Skype, and I had no idea just how much Microsoft has stuffed it up. Skype for the multi-device user is all but useless. I tried to find a way to allow someone to call into my PC's Skype but to no avail. I shut down Skype on my phone and was able to call out but not receive anything. This removed the possibility of using a good sound card and microphone for the mix, and all I could use in the end was my phone. BM -- or Before Microsoft -- Skype was usable and useful. PM -- Post-Microsoft -- you should look for any other alternative. Line seems to be most popular with those I know. This is not the first time Microsoft has taken over a product, and its usage has dropped dramatically. Of course that could have been the plan all along.
The democracy dividend: Faster economic growth
News, Published on 19/06/2018
» Democracy's faults have been easy to spot throughout the ages. Plato equated democracy with anarchy, instability or even mob rule, and argued that it is the second worst form of government after tyranny. Aristotle was a little more charitable, but still suspicious of democratic processes, writing "it is not safe to trust them [the people] with the first offices in the state". Many modern Western philosophers, including Montesquieu, Rousseau and Nietzsche, were similarly critical of democracy.
Cloud tech is no castle in the sky
Life, James Hein, Published on 06/06/2018
» So, who has the best cloud? Gartner has been looking into that for you and the results are in. Amazon's Web Services and Microsoft Azure are the top two with a combination of maturity, ability to execute and a completeness of vision. As cloud technologies have evolved people are no longer looking for simply some rented space for data storage but are demanding more functionality. They also want stable availability, good security along with great performance. Of the eight vendors examined, IBM and Oracle finished at the bottom showing that just having a long history doesn't necessarily keep you near the top.
Words don't come easy to millennials
Life, James Hein, Published on 23/05/2018
» Next time you're in a restaurant or where people gather in small groups, sit and watch for a while. Note how many of the groups are silent, all doing something on their phones. When you find such a group, note how long they go without saying a word to each other. There is an interesting behavioural shift occurring in the phone-enabled world where casual conversation skills are being replaced by surfing, messaging and instant posting. It won't be too long before the best way to find out what the person next to you is thinking is to live feed their Facebook, send them an SMS or Line message, or heaven forbid a tweet.