Gadgets of the Decade

watch the damn things here
http://www.fastcompany.com/pics/gadgets-decade

5 reasons behind the rise of China

There are five distinguishing features of this rise of China.

First, the pursuit of capitalism with a communist political system. Chinese authorities have defended this combination as "seeking truth from facts". According to the 2009 annual Hurun Report, there were 130 known dollar-billionaires in China compared to 24 in India.

Way back in 2000, according to the Economist, socialist China had the world's brashest capitalist economy. Starting from 1978, Deng Xiaoping liberalised the economy without changing the political system. While Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev simultaneously launched Perestroika and Glasnost in the late 1980s, China's handling of Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989 spoke loud and clear about how it intended to control the politics of the country.

Second, China, like the East Asian Tigers, pursued a policy of state-sponsored capitalism in the Japanese style, albeit in a much more accentuated form. There was a pronounced reliance on state-owned enterprises.

Third, China invested heavily in physical infrastructure. The pace of accelerated investment in physical infrastructure is illustrated by how, relative to India, China ramped up its rail network. With only 55,000 km of railways in 1985, China had a smaller rail network than India (62,000 km). By 2006, with 75,000 km of railways, China had overtaken India which had 64,000 km. In 2006, as a proportion of GDP, Chinese annual investment of 14.4 per cent in infrastructure such as power, transport, drinking water, irrigation and telecom was almost three times that of India.

Fourth, in sharp contrast to Japan, China became the factory of the world, relying mostly on FDI. After the US, China is the second-largest FDI recipient in the world. While FDI inflows into China from 1979 to 1999 amounted to $306 billion, annual average non-financial FDI in China was about $60 billion during 1999-2008. Much of Chinese exports are by foreign-owned firms. In 2007, only four of China's top 25 exporters were Chinese companies.

Fifth, for most of the post-reform period, China followed an exchange rate policy designed to promote competitiveness. The renminbi which had been rapidly devalued from RMB 1.50 per US dollar in 1980 to RMB 8.62 per US dollar by 1994, was maintained at RMB 8.27 per US dollar from 1997 to 2005.

It moved to a managed float in July 2005, the renminbi gradually appreciated to RMB 6.82 in May 2009, and remained more or less unchanged thereafter. China has had to intervene heavily to prevent the renminbi from appreciating, and in the process, has accumulated over $2.2 trillion.

In a way, China's rise could be described more as redemption of its historic role. After all, the country gave the world gunpowder, the magnetic compass and printing technology. Right up to 1820, China accounted for almost a third of the world output.

The Top Ten Meeting Personalities

BY Jackie YeaneyWed Nov 18, 2009 at 1:29 PM

At Premiere Global Services, we conduct A LOT of meetings each day. 82,000 to be exact. Whether online, over the phone, or in person, keeping people engaged and productive during a meeting is always the goal. To that end, we've drafted a top 10 list of meeting "unique" personalities and tips for improving your interactions during meetings.

1. The Multitasker: All of us are guilty of multitasking during a meeting. Some of us are better at it than others. When asked a question, the Multitasker frequently responds with, "Sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat that?" The Multitasker can be harder to engage online or over the phone than in person. It's important to keep this personality engaged and call on them often. Keeping them on their toes may decrease the amount of time they spend multitasking.
2. The Mobile Meeter: The Mobile Meeter thinks nothing of conducting or attending meetings in the airport lounge or in the carpool line. Two keys to a successful Mobile Meeter: 1) having conference details handy in an Outlook Calendar so they can quick-dial into a meeting and 2) having a clear understanding of how to self-mute background noise. Beware of the overzealous Mobile Meeter who does not mute in the bathroom. Ick! Germs!
3. The Disrupter: Changing the topic or taking people down a side street, the Disrupter can sometimes uncover new thinking or creative ideas. But the Disrupter can also blow up an agenda and make other meeting participants irritable and cranky. You'll know the Disrupter as they often end a sentence with " ... but I digress."
4. The Overbooked: Doesn't know how to say no to a meeting invite so they attend them all. And are late to them all! The Overbooked generally greets team gatherings with "Sorry, I had a meeting that ran late ... "
5. The Interrupter: When a good idea comes to mind, the Interrupter can't wait to present it to the group. And does ... right at that moment! This personality is not inherently bad because hey, it is a GOOD idea. But have caution: combining the Interrupter with distant relatives the Disrupter(#3) and the Long-Winded can create meeting anarchy.
6. The Socializer: Always prompt, always interested in where you live, how many children you have and what the weather is like in your town. This individual is a great asset most of the time, because the Socializer establishes rapport among participants and is willing to connect and collaborate. But beware: you may have to politely decline an invitation to view pics from the Socializer's Halloween party.
7. The Maestro: Consummate professional, never starts a meeting without establishing a clear agenda and proper perspective. At the end of a meeting clearly recaps the discussion, outlines next steps and identifies action items. Even when the Maestro isn't running a meeting, their organizational command shines through. The Maestro's smooth skills can often help manage the Disrupter (see #3).
8. The Timekeeper: No matter what is happening in a meeting, the Timekeeper is aware that someone "has a hard stop" and tries to motivate the team to complete the meeting at the predicted close. The Timekeeper doesn't always blend well with habitual late-comers like the Overbooked.
9. The Snacker: Can you hear the Snacker crunching over the phone? Kudos to the person who will work through lunch, but mind your table manners, please! And for those noisy phone eaters, learning about mute features is a requirement.
10. The Social Networker: (not to be confused with the Socializer, #6 above)--The days of meeting notes are changing. Many professionals are Tweeting or Facebooking live from a meeting. Note to self: bad form to tell your social network that a meeting sucks, especially if you have befriended the meeting host!

In Japan, Even the Barcodes Are Well Designed

BY Cliff Kuang

D-barcode specializes in turning barcodes into something fun and memorable.

Barcodes grace almost every product for sale. Given how much package real estate they command, why shouldn't they look cool?

Since 2005, D-Barcode has been creating custom barcodes for a mostly Japanese clientele. They've even begun selling their wares to anyone who wants to license them, starting at $1,500 for the design, and $200 a year for licensing. A custom or exclusive use code will run upwards of $4,000--but given that companies spend millions on designing a single package, why don't we see more detailed thinking like this? Middle managers spend weeks arguing about kerning--it'd be better if they spent more time rethinking every inch of such highly prized real estate.

5 Ways to Thrive in Today's Economy

These strategies can help position your organization to thrive:

• Save now to invest for the future.
• Empower employees to collaborate and innovate.
• Get closer to your customers to better serve them.
• Outpace your competition with collaboration.
• Work better globally with a borderless enterprise.

100 Most Creative People in Business

http://www.fastcompany.com/100/mcp.html

The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/innovative_companies/?chan=magazine+channel_special+report