Project CodeRepos – All Our Code Are Belong To Us

CodeRepos is a software repository space where many top-level Japanese web programmers contribute and share their source code. Kazuhiro OOSAWA, aka Yappo, is known well by his privately running Japanese search engine iYappo for more than decade, a famous hacker among Japanese Perl community, also called “Shogun” by some geeks. On his blog on August… Continue reading Project CodeRepos – All Our Code Are Belong To Us

TV Asahi Quiz Show cooks up Fake Blogs for Clues

Tokyo-headquartered private TV broadcaster TV-Asahi used fake blog sites on its quiz show, fabricated by the program’s production staff as a real news source for the show’s questions, and as a result, the broadcaster is being heavily criticized by audiences and TV watchdogs. The show was broadcast nationwide in Japan during last weekend’s prime time, and… Continue reading TV Asahi Quiz Show cooks up Fake Blogs for Clues

Surprise Automatic Withdrawal Angers Japanese ISP Kai’s Customers

Tokyo-based ISP and web-hosting provider, Kai Creates Inc. (its services website is called “Linkclub“), recently changed its service rates without notifying its customers. A large number of customer complaints have been reported to several consumer authorities, some sources report. Kai is famous as a time-honored Internet venture, it started business in 1990 before the dawn… Continue reading Surprise Automatic Withdrawal Angers Japanese ISP Kai’s Customers

“Is that a VAIO in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

I just got back from Sony’s “VAIO type P” blogger event in Ginza, Tokyo. The type P is a pretty compact machine but it still has impressive features for a notebook PC. (I’m trying to stop myself from clicking the “Buy Now” button.) Sony’s “It fits in your back pocket” promotion prompted some net users… Continue reading “Is that a VAIO in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Cyber Agent Investments Organizes Business Plan Competition

Investment arm of a Tokyo-based Internet venture Cyber Agent Group, Cyber Agent Investment LTD.[J] announced to organize a business plan competition called “START”, for the purpose of discovering innovative and potential tech start-up, in cooperation with  Cyber Agent, Mixi[J], Yahoo Japan[J], EC Navi[J], CA Mobile, netprice.com, DeNA and Microsoft Bizspark. Award winning plan may get funding… Continue reading Cyber Agent Investments Organizes Business Plan Competition

E-mail-only friend delivery springs up in Japan

Mixi Nengajou (new year greeting card) is not the only emerging service tries to turn online friendship into real items delivery. This is too much of a coincidence that Mixi, Softbank (owns 40% of Yahoo! Japan) and au(KDDI)-DeNA(runs Mobage Town) launched virtual to real shipping services in last 2 months. Softbank Puchi Gift November 4th,… Continue reading E-mail-only friend delivery springs up in Japan

2D Barcode(QR Code) on Ancient Style Chinese Art

Seal Cutting(篆刻) is a Chinese traditional art. You cut a stone block to make a stamp with, usually, Chinese letters like name, poet, etc. Blogger Masayuki GT tried to combine this Song Dynasty originated stone art with the latest technology, QR Code, Japanese 2D barcode now widely used with cellphone camera to guide mobile website… Continue reading 2D Barcode(QR Code) on Ancient Style Chinese Art

iPhone TV (finally) comes to Japan

As we reported on October, Softbank, No.3 cellphone carrier sells iPhone in Japan, start selling a specially designed iPhone peripheral for Japanese customers who think cellphone must have TV tuner. This tuner and external battery combo is sold at 7 Softbank shops since the end of 2008. It will be officially available nationwide on January… Continue reading iPhone TV (finally) comes to Japan

Mixi Intoduces New Features of “MyMixi of MyMixi” and “Footprint of My Own”

  Japan’s most popular SNS “Mixi” introduced new two feature deployments today, especially on so-called “footprint” feature. You may have your own site on Mixi, and Mixi’s footprint feature allows to show you on the list when and which other Mixi users have visited your site.   With today’s system renewal, new icons are prepared for “My Mixi of My Mixi” etc., that… Continue reading Mixi Intoduces New Features of “MyMixi of MyMixi” and “Footprint of My Own”

Winny trial goes High Court

Winny is the most popular P2P file-sharing software in Japan. Isamu Kaneko [JP], the developer of Winny, was prosecuted by Kyoto Prosecutors Office. Kaneko was found guilty and fined 1.5 million yen ($15,000). Kaneko and the prosecuter both appealed to Osaka High Court. 4th January, 2009, Toshimitsu Dan [JP], a lawyer of the defendant, and… Continue reading Winny trial goes High Court