China Earthquake -The Search for Survivors continue

Rescuers continue to race against time to find survivors after the strongest quake to hit China in 32 years jolted southwestern Sichuan province, demolishing buildings and trapping tens of thousands beneath the rubble.

The rescue teams had finally arrived at the epicentre of China’s devastating earthquake last night and began searching for survivors in the ruins of buildings under which thousands of people are feared to have been buried.

Xinhua earlier reported that the death toll had risen to 14,866. An unofficial tally of deaths in individual communities as reported by the news agency over several days put the toll at 19,565.
Nearly 26,000 people were still buried under debris and another 14,000 missing. More than 64,000 people sustained injuries.

Al Jazeera correspondent Melissa Chan reports from Sichuan on the rescue efforts following China’s deadly earthquake:

For those who are looking to contribute to current aid efforts underway, you can now donate money to the Red Cross Society of China which has formed a disaster relief working group to be dispatched to the earthquake-stricken Wenchuan County in Sichuan.

They have also published an emergency relief hotline, along with bank account information to receive donations to assist their cause:

Account name: Red Cross Society of China
开户单位：中国红十字会总会

For those who want to donate in RMB: you can send money to the RMB account at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch below:
人民币开户行: 中国工商银行 北京分行东四南支行
人民币账号: 0200001009014413252

For those who want to donate in foreign currency, you can send money to the foreign currency account at the CITIC Bank branch below:
外币开户行：中信银行酒仙桥支行
外币账号: 7112111482600000209

Hotline: (8610) 65139999
Online donations: Red Cross Society of China website: www.redcross.org.cn
Click the tab for online donations

You can visit ESWN as they have put up a compilation of pictures from the Earthquake.

China Earthquake - Below and After

Below are shots taken before and after the earthquake. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake had totally wiped out the whole city. The road leading road to Wen-chuan has been paralyzed. The number of casualties are on a rising as many more are still not accountable. The latest casualty figure stands at over 12,300 at 2am this morning.

They are others who are still experiencing some after shock in areas of Chengdu and Chongqing according to some of my friends who were living in those areas but situation has remained calm and many had chosed to stay outdoor for fear of another earthquake. In Shanghai, business as usual as Shanghai is located way too far from the epicenter and lets pray and hope for the best for the all the victims and please head over to my earlier blog at MOBIZ to make donations to the earthquake's victims.

The beautiful Bei-Chuan before the earthquake

Bei-Chuan after the earthquake, totally devastated...

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Earthquake death toll nearly 10,000 in Sichuan, China - HOW CAN YOU HELP

As more news of destruction caused by yesterday's earthquake emerges, Xinhua says the death toll has reached nearly 10,000. The quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, was felt throughout China and in neighbouring countries, including Vietnam and Thailand.

The figure may climb as more remote parts of the affected areas are reached by rescue teams. President Hu Jintao has declared emergency relief of affected areas a national priority, the People's Liberation Army is being mobilized, and Premier Wen Jiabao is on the scene again rallying the citizens.

Xinhua has a special page updated with earthquake news here.

Shanghaiist just posted on how you can help the victims of China's recent earthquake. Here's the info, straight from Shanghaiist:

For those who are looking to contribute to current aid efforts underway, you can now donate money to the Red Cross Society of China which has formed a disaster relief working group to be dispatched to the earthquake-stricken Wenchuan County in Sichuan.

They have also published an emergency relief hotline, along with bank account information to receive donations to assist their cause:

Account name: Red Cross Society of China开户单位：中国红十字会总会

For those who want to donate in RMB: you can send money to the RMB account at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch below: 人民币开户行: 中国工商银行 北京分行东四南支行人民币账号: 0200001009014413252

For those who want to donate in foreign currency, you can send money to the foreign currency account at the CITIC Bank branch below:外币开户行：中信银行酒仙桥支行外币账号: 7112111482600000209

Hotline: (8610) 65139999Online donations: Red Cross Society of China website: http://www.redcross.org.cn/ Click the tab for online donations.

At the time when the earthquake took place, I was in Shanghai but felt nothing though many of my friends who were in higher floors felt the building were shaking. Most buildings in Shanghai were evacuated and later did they come to realise of the seriousness of the event that had taken place close to Chengdu.

"Out of Stock" iPhone fuels the imminent launch of 3G version

The iPhone is out of stock "companywide," according to Apple Inc. sales representatives. The outage has fueled rumors that the next-generation 3G model will be released shortly.

On Saturday, Apple-specific Web sites and blogs reported on the sold-out notices posted on Apple's U.S. and U.K. online stores. With all the buzz surrounding the 3G model, the international rollout and the SDK, this is just one more sign that the release of a new device is right around the corner.

Most analysts and pundits have pegged June 9, the opening day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) as the likely introduction date for the 3G iPhone. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to open the conference with his usual keynote address and could unveil a new iPhone then. The iPhone's first sales anniversary, June 29, has been touted by others as a possible on-sale date for the 3G model.

So for those of you are heading to buy an iPhone now, i would advise you to hang on to June. Its just few weeks away.

Apple has also recently signed deals with four mobile phone networks in the Asia-Pacific region, and the firms will offer the iPhone in their respective markets.

SingTel will sell the gadget in Singapore, while Bharti Airtel will introduce it in India.
Globe Telecom has the rights to the iPhone in the Philippines, and Optus will offer it in Australia.

Earlier this year Apple and China Mobile called off talks to launch the handset to Chinese consumers amid speculation that the two firms failed to agree on a revenue sharing deal. But there are rumors that they had started talking again.

But it does look as is Apple has had to rethink its business model for certain markets. Along with the deal struck with Vodafone and TIM earlier this month, multiple carriers will now be selling the device in Australia and India as well as Italy. This is presumably because these markets also have such a high proportion of prepaid mobile users that selling the device on a subscription only basis and through one carrier would be unviable.

Beijing Terminal 3 is World's Largest Building

Beijing looks ready to host the Summer 2008 Olympic Games. They’ve got the Beijing Capital International Airport ready to receive athletes, media and visitors from about the world. In fact, the new Terminal 3 building alone is reportedly capable of facilitating flights for 50 million passengers a year.

"Beijing airport’s new Terminal 3 — twice the size of the Pentagon — is the largest building in the world,” the NY Times says adding it is also the world’s most advanced.

The building was designed and constructed in four years to reflect traditional and modern China, surrounded by red and colours that reflect Imperial China and featuring ceilings that resemble dragon scales. As is only appropriate, the whole thing was designed under the guidance of a Feng Shui master.

The magnificent $3.8 billion terminal can be seen on video embedded below.

Global Mobile Phone Sales Continue to Rise in the 1st Quarter

Global mobile phone sales continued to surge in the first quarter, when shipments reached 282 million despite an economic downturn, research firm Strategy Analytics said Friday.
Nokia kept its top position, slightly increasing market share to 41 percent in the three months ended March 31. Samsung Electronics in South Korea remained at No. 2 boosting its market share to 16 percent while U.S. handset maker Motorola fell below 10 percent but stayed in third place.

Demand remained strong in emerging markets, particularly in Africa and Asia. Korean vendors LG and Samsung were the star performers, growing two to four times faster than the industry average.

Motorola slumped and is in real danger of being overtaken by LG, whose market share rose to 8.6 percent from 7.2 percent at the end of last year, according to the report.

The research firm predicted that 290 million handsets will be sold worldwide in the second quarter, an increase of 12 percent over the same period in 2007 but a decrease of 14 percent compared with the previous three months.

This is the REAL Bill Gates Retirement Video

And just when i thought i had seen the last of Bill Gates retirement video, i stumbled onto a really hilarious clip at Gizmodo. Its a short clip that says it all about Microsoft.