The Nanfang / Blog

Mobile Phones and In-Flight WiFi Coming to Chinese Flights in 2016

Posted: 10/1/2014 3:05 pm

Airline passengers could be allowed to use their mobile phones throughout the entire flight when travelling on Chinese airlines, Beijing Times reported on September 29. The new functionality is expected to be rolled out in 2016.

The report came on heels of a decision by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to lift a ban that prohibits passengers from using mobile phones during flights.

Passengers travelling with Chinese airlines are currently required to keep their mobile phones off for the entire flight to stop the devices from emitting radio signals that could, at least theoretically, interfere with the aircraft’s navigation system. This means even airplane mode is not allowed, although many countries in Europe and the Americas permit their travellers to put devices in airplane mode during flights.

The new rule, if passed would allow travellers to use their phones in airplane mode when flying at or above 3,000 meters. Zhou Hong, an aviation expert, said the new bill will likely pass.

The loosening on phone use during flights could also pave the way for onboard WiFi services in the country, the report said. Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines are testing inflight WiFi systems and phone calls. The country’s telecommunication companies are also working with Chinese airlines to study the possibility of making phone calls during flights, said He Guili, director of Tai’er Lab under the Ministry of Information and Industry Technology.

Photos: College Humor 

 

Haohao

Man Turns Off Internet to Building Because WiFi is “Radioactive”

Posted: 04/18/2014 5:31 pm

internet wifi radiation pregnancyThe internet is bad for you. Admit it. The internet is a endless morass of filth and libel, one cat at a time. *

So when a Fuzhou grandfather-to-be heard his daughter-in-law was pregnant with the miracle of life, he wanted to take all the correct measures to ensure the complete safety of the unborn baby. To ensure the corruptive influence of the internet would not have any impact upon the fetus, the man turned off the internet connection to his entire apartment complex.

The unnamed man that lived on the first floor of a Fuqi Road apartment in the Jin’an District of Fuzhou made numerous requests to his neighbors: don’t speak in public places, not to walk loudly, and to turn off the lights and go to bed at 9pm in order to preserve the silence that all growing babies need.

Mr Zhu, a neighbor that lives on the second floor, had tried to accommodate these requests. But when the main hub for internet connectivity on the first floor was repeatedly turned off for the entire building, Zhu confronted the man.

Mr Zhu explained the man’s motives:

The reason why he did it is because he heard someone say that WiFi is a source of radiation. Since the main internet switchboard is located by his apartment, this contains radiation, and so he needs to have this turned off.

Another case reported recently involved a man knocking on neighbors doors to request them to turn off their WiFi routers so as not to harm his unborn baby. Furthermore, the man wanted to gain entry to his neighbors’ homes so that he can visually confirm that they’ve turned off their blinking lights of doom.

What’s up with all this talk of radiation? Even if WiFi is harmful, what’s the concern over babies?

As any astute watcher of Chinese soap operas will know, pregnant Chinese women are extremely susceptible to miscarriages. Whether it is falling into a lake, off a chair, or on a bar of soap that O’Brian left behind, just about any known phenomenon is liable to cause a Chinese woman to miscarry.

With this in mind, one of the greatest dangers to public health at present in China is radiation. The Fukushima meltdown prompted Chinese consumers to panic purchase salt in droves in the belief it can counteract the effects of radiation. Cacti are commonly placed near computers in China in order to absorb radiation given off from the monitor.

Due to the omnipresent threat of radiation, this is the reason you will often see Chinese women walking around with an apron-like garment (like this one); it isn’t to make them look more domestically-docile, but rather to better protect the fetus from all the deadly radiation that is modern world.

Therefore, the people in these stories are only acting out of the best interests of their unborn babies with the purest of intentions. So just think: every time you go online, you’re hurting someone.

One. Click. At. A. Time.

* Even though the Nanfang is published on the internet, we still recommend the optimal media for reading our blogs to be on leather-bound editions of chiaroscuro.

Photo: Baike

 

Haohao

Shenzhen to roll out free wi-fi in hundreds of buses by summer

Posted: 01/23/2014 4:52 pm

Shenzhen is cementing its role as China’s most technologically-advanced cities by rolling out free wi-fi on more than 300 public bus routes later this year.

The city already offers free wi-fi on the metro, while Uber provides it when it sends a swanky car to pick you up.

The Shenzhen government announced the program, saying 14 bus routes will be selected as the pilot by March, with a full roll out to all 327 bus routes by the end of June.

Now if only wi-fi could be introduced on airplanes.

(h/t @mstandaert)

Haohao

Check out these photos of Shenzhen’s futuristic new airport terminal

Posted: 11/1/2013 11:00 am

The new terminal C at Shenzhen Bao’an Airport will open on November 28. Shenzhen Daily says 83,000 passengers are expected on the first day.

The airport will close at 10 p.m. on November 27 as final preparations are made for the opening of the new terminal which will be more than twice the size of terminals A and B combined.

Metro Line 11, the future airport express line, couldn’t be finished in time for the opening of the new terminal.

Metro riders who take the Luobao Line to the airport will need to take free shuttle buses to the terminal’s General Transportation Center after they get off the Metro at Airport East Station. The shuttle trip takes about 30 minutes, airport authorities said.

The new terminal’s Wi-Fi system will be able to handle simultaneous use by up to 3,000 people.

Here are some images of the new terminal, courtesy of Gizmodo:

The interior of the terminal, which was designed by Italian company Fuksas

The gateway is designed to look like a manta ray and stretches for almost 1.5 km.

Natural light pierces through the honeycomb design on the roof

The supporting columns of the interior are designed to give the place the feel of a cathedral

Haohao

Guangzhou subway trains to have free Wi-Fi this year that’s 20x faster than 4G

Posted: 07/17/2013 7:00 am

Passengers on the Guangzhou subway will be able to enjoy free Wi-Fi that is 20 times faster than 4G, meaning they won’t have to wait for videos to stream, by the end of this year. This was a claim made by 30 year-old scientist and dean of Shenzhen KPS Higher Polytechnic Institute Liu Ruopeng, Guangzhou Daily reports.

Liu Ruopeng, courtesy of Guangzhou Daily

Liu did his PhD at Duke University and has co-authored a book on meta-materials, the technology that is expected to be key to making this happen. Guangzhou Metro has said it is in the early stages of applying Liu’s knowledge to introduce free Wi-Fi and will try to make it available as soon as possible. The metro company was decidedly less bullish in tone than Liu himself.

Liu’s institute was visited by Xi Jinping on his southern tour last year. His report, ‘The Creation and Development of Industrial Grade Meta-material Technology,’ claims that meta-materials can be used to introduce free Wi-Fi. But even if free Wi-Fi is successfully brought to Guangzhou’s subway passengers, it would be far from the most exciting thing Liu has ever worked on.

According to this 2009 report, Liu has been at the forefront of the race to create the world’s first invisibility cloak. This technology would have obvious military applications, and it is something that even Hogwarts would struggle to match.

Haohao

Shenzhen metro to introduce in-train Wi-fi in June

Posted: 04/4/2013 1:00 pm

The Shenzhen Metro will soon be offering high-speed internet to passengers via wi-fi installed in stations and trains. The system will be rolled out in June, according to the Kuang Chi Institute of Advanced Technology, Bendibao reports.

The speed of the network will be two to four times faster than traditional networks, which will still be exceedingly slow compared with global standards.

The specific date of the introduction of the technology, which is currently being developed by Southern Galaxy Valley Co., will be announced soon.  Li Chunlin, deputy head of the Shenzhen Kuang Chi Institute of Advanced Technology, said this will also solve the problem that was encountered last autumn when several trains were halted due to the interference with the subway’s wifi system.

Haohao
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