八八吧 · 88 Bar – Page 110 – A group blog about Chinese tech, media and design

everything under the sun

March 9, 2006 by Lyn Jeffery

The purpose of the Virtual China blog is to explore the burgeoning Chinese online world, which we define broadly as "virtual experiences and environments in and about China." We like the broad definition since "China" is found in many forms online, in multiple languages, and experienced by Chinese and non-Chinese people around the world. However, we also try to focus on those aspects of virtual…

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Virtual China

KRING top download: marrying a rich person

March 9, 2006 by Jason Li

KRing is a site featuring Flash animations and MP3 clips amongst other things. It’s top download, besting the irony-laced FuRong JieJie MTV (blogged here) is a an MP3 clip entitled 嫁个有钱人 (都市版) [Marrying A Rich Person (City Version)].

0309_kring_2
The clip is a short comedic piece detailing a person’s requirements for a rich spouse. In this…

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Virtual China

The Staged Demise of Fringe Blogs?

March 8, 2006 by Jason Li

Yesterday, Danwei reported that three of China’s popular fringe blogs (Massage Milk, Milk Pig & Pro State in Flames) had mysteriously disappeared bearing mysterious messages such as:

Due to unavoidable reasons with which everyone is familiar, this blog is temporarily closed.

Yet today,…

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Virtual China

One Internet

March 8, 2006 by Jason Li

From China Tech News:

In response to foreign media reports that China might
create its own top-level domain names to create its own intranet, a
spokesperson from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
clarifies that China will not create its own root servers.

The representative says the misunderstanding was caused by…

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Virtual China

virtually quitting the Party

March 7, 2006 by Lyn Jeffery

The Epoch Times, the controversial and strongly anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) paper linked with Falun Gong, claims to have registered over 8 million public withdrawals from the CCP, the Communist Youth League, and the Communist Young Pioneers via its “Quitting the CCP” website. The number is unverifiable and the withdrawals are not considered official in China.

The…

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Virtual China

You Think I Have It Easy?

March 6, 2006 by Jason Li

PostShow recommended the following Flash MTV (a very popular application of Flash in China), for a song called 你说我容易吗 (You Think I Have It Easy?). It documents the struggles of the working life through the lens of a multitude of jobs:

tracy commented: These flashes reflected the real thinking of chinese youth, especially
boys,…

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Virtual China

Bloggers’ group photo… of sorts

March 6, 2006 by Jason Li

A mug shots gallery, to promote the face of Chinese bloggers and blogging:

Note: gender breakdown – many male, few female.

Source: PostShow

Virtual China

Today’s BBS photos: remembering Nixon in China

March 6, 2006 by Lyn Jeffery

Talk about a different perspective, a different time, a different world. The way history shows up in virtual Chinese conversations is something to watch.

Here you see Nixon sitting next to Mao Zedong’s wife, Jiang Qing, who
was later to be put in prison for life for her role in the Cultural
Revolution.…

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Virtual China

Pirate servers profitable

March 6, 2006 by Lyn Jeffery

Two Chinese computer science university students made a pot of money–over US $150,000–operating 43 pirate servers of Shanda’s (Nasdaq: SNDA) online game
Legend of Mir 2. They were arrested in February.

If legal game operators are not delivering a reliable experience (see post below), there may be even less incentive for players to use official servers.

link

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Virtual China

Almost storming ‘The Gate of Ahn’Qiraj’

March 6, 2006 by Lyn Jeffery

wow2_1

Imagine you and 500 members of your alliance have just spent 4 and a half hours organizing yourselves, going on the long journey to the Gate of Ahn’Qiraj in World of Warcraft (WoW), and undertaking a quest. Just before you kill the final boss and get the loot, you’re all disconnected from the server.

Frustrated? If you’re Chinese, you send…

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