SKYLINE Technologies -- News Update ( 2 November 2004 )

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1. Yuen Long area infested with encephalitis mosquitoes
MARY ANN BENITEZ , SCMP 2 November 2004

Areas around the Yuen Long village home of a five-year-old boy in hospital with Japanese encephalitis are heavily infested with mosquitoes carrying the virus.

The boy, who was in stable condition last night, developed a fever, runny nose, sore throat, vomiting and diarrhoea on October 16 and was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital three days later. Infection with Japanese encephalitis was confirmed yesterday, said Centre for Health Protection consultant Thomas Tsang Ho-fai.

It is the fourth case of the disease this year. One person died and two became critically ill. Dr Tsang said he could not rule out more cases in the next few weeks.

Pest control officers completed a mosquito survey and found the particular species to be rampant at Sha Kong Tsuen and surrounding areas where the boy lives.

"We have collected some 200 adult mosquitoes of the [carrier] Culex tritaeniorhynchus," said the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's pest control officer-in-charge, Yuen Ming-chi.

This compared with three mosquitoes found in Kau Wa Keng San Tsuen in Kwai Chung, where a 29-year-old Indonesian domestic helper died in June.

Mr Yuen deflected questions about whether adequate mosquito controls were put in place when the earlier cases occurred.

"The pest control staff of our department has been carrying out weekly mosquito control work around pig farms in the territory, including the Lau Fau Shan area, since 2002," he said.

"The breeding places of the mosquito Culex are water-logged, abandoned fields, irrigation ditches and pools.

"These habitats are quite common in the rural areas of Hong Kong, so it is not unexpected to find this mosquito."

Dr Tsang said no one else in the vicinity seemed to have been infected but the centre has set up a hotline, 2575 1848, for villagers to call if they have inquiries. People were advised to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants when going out, especially between dusk and dawn, as the mosquitoes tended to feed outdoors during this time, Dr Tang said.

Ten cases of Japanese encephalitis have been reported in Hong Kong since 1992, comprising one local case in 1996, an imported one in 1997, an imported case in 2001, two imported cases in 2002, one local case last year and the four local cases so far this year.

2. Much ado about DVDs and regional zoning
DANYLL WILLS , SCMP 2 November 2004

I have a question about the regional coding of DVD players. Why is it that home DVD players on sale in Hong Kong are universally capable of playing DVDs from any region while notebook computers are not? This forces the owners to choose one region and stick to it.

If makers of home players are exempt from the restrictions designed to protect cinematic release dates, why aren't PC makers? If the likes of LG (which made my home player) can get around the regional code issue, then why can't Apple (which made my notebook)?

By the way, it is not just Hong Kong where region-free home players are the norm. Last week I heard the BBC's resident film critic, Dr Mark Kermode, say "Does anyone in the UK still have a player that can't play DVDs from all regions?"

As far as I can see, the whole "release date protection story" is pretty thin anyway. I have the Beatles' Yellow Submarine cartoon first released in 1968 and the disc is region-coded. Why?

Few things have caused as much fuss in the home entertainment industry as DVD zoning.

A few years ago, you had to ask if the DVD player was multi-zone, and often the shop would "fix" it with a wink.

Today, they seem to come right off the assembly line ready to play anything, as indeed the BBC film critic pointed out.

The whole idea of "zoning" is said to have come from the idea that Hollywood films are released around the world at different times. A summer blockbuster in the United States may not show up in Asia until Christmas. Consequently, the Christmas DVD that goes on sale in the United States could potentially hurt sales of the same in Asia. That, at least, is the logic behind the technology.

It is patently obvious, however, to all in the world who are not Hollywood producers that this is silly. Not only do people buy DVDs from Amazon, eBay and other online shops, they also travel.

We go all over the world and pick up DVDs and want to play them when we get home. These have been bought legitimately, and most of us feel we should be able to play them. Also, some things are only available in one region, so what are we supposed to do if we want to view them?

It is not the policy of Tech Talk to show people how to hack into a computer and, no matter how silly the policies of computer companies, we cannot point to a website with software that will change the settings on your computer's DVD player.

Suffice it to say, however, that it does not take a genius to work out how to do this.

I spoke to both Apple and Dell and they have shown me websites with legal pronouncements. Apple said it did not think there was software available that could crack its DVD player, but it also admitted that so far nobody in Hong Kong has had a warranty revoked because of fooling with it. (Readers should be reminded that such a statement could mean that Apple has ignored it or that it was incapable of knowing what had happened. There is a difference.)

Find a good article on the whole subject at http://hometheater.about.com/cs/dvdlaserdisc/a/aaregioncodesa.htm.

Questions to Tech Talk will not be answered personally. E-mail Danyll Wills at tech.talk@scmp.com.

3. Jail developer 'must consult the public'
CHLOE LAI , SCMP 2 November 2004

The developer who wins the Central Police Station project should be required to set up a consultation committee to involve green groups, historians, architects and district politicians, a senior government official said yesterday.

Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan said he was considering attaching this clause to the bidding document to maximise public participation.

Speaking on Commercial Radio, the minister said there could be an open day to give the public access to the historic complex.

"If the public can tour the complex, they will have an idea why some of the buildings will be preserved and some will not," he said.

Mr Ip also pledged that the public should be able to enjoy the historic facilitates without paying expensive entrance fees.

The government wants to tender the Central Police Station, the Victoria Prison and the former Central Magistracy for tourism development. Seventeen of the 27 buildings and structures in the complex will be preserved, after being assessed by the Antiquities Advisory Board.

Four police station buildings built in 1860 would be fully preserved. The exteriors of 13 buildings built early in the last century will also be preserved.

The buildings which might be torn down were built in the post-war period and mostly do not match the architectural style of the earlier structures.

A group of prominent families, led by the Hotung clan, wants to develop a $500 million arts complex on the site, and has urged the government to favour non-profit organisations. But they only offered a symbolic $1 to secure the site.