Category: Japan

RubyKaigi2009 Conference CFP Closes Soon

RubyKaigi2009 now calls for presentations. Deadline is March 15th. RubyKaigi2009 is the Japan’s annual Ruby conference. Previously, Dave Thomas and David Heinemeier Hansson gave key notes at the conference. Ofcourse Ruby’s father Matz talks every year. This year, the conference will be held from July 17th to 19th in Tokyo. Don’t miss the opportunity to… Continue reading RubyKaigi2009 Conference CFP Closes Soon

No Weather Update In Japan On Monday

Due to the technical fault that occurred Monday at the weather data distribution center of  Japan’s meteorological agency, most of weather updates have been suspended nationwide throughout the day. The center has its primary system as well as the stand-by to avoid the service interruption, but the configuration file referred by both systems was corrupted accidentally, which… Continue reading No Weather Update In Japan On Monday

Bijin Tokei: Japanese company offers Hot-girl-clock gadget

Finally a Google and Windows Vista gadget that makes sense. Tokyo-based PHIRIA DESIGN has developed the Bijin Tokei (hot girl clock) gadget, which shows random Japanese girls holding up a sign that displays the current time (see the pictures below for examples). So every time you look at the gadget, you will  know what time… Continue reading Bijin Tokei: Japanese company offers Hot-girl-clock gadget

Will Mobile Medical Services Save Japan From The Global Economic Downturn?

Economists point out that expanding domestic demand and encouraging consumption are the highest priorities in getting us out of this economic downturn. IT Strategic Headquarters, the arm of Japan’s Cabinet which oversees which IT platforms will most benefit the country in the future, has suggested a three-year stimulus package including further deployment of broadband applications… Continue reading Will Mobile Medical Services Save Japan From The Global Economic Downturn?

NTT DoCoMo Halted Brand-New BlackBerry Sales, While Sankei Keeps Distributing Its 1st Newspaper App For The Phone

Japan’s largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo started selling the brand-new smartphone BlackBerry Bold (BBB) from Research In Motion(RIM) recently, but the operator halted[J] sales after only a week since its introduction, because the handset has reportedly overheated while the battery is being recharged. By the way, we covered a couple of  stories about newspaper apps… Continue reading NTT DoCoMo Halted Brand-New BlackBerry Sales, While Sankei Keeps Distributing Its 1st Newspaper App For The Phone

Run Virtually In Tokyo If You Lost The Draw To Attend The Real Marathon

This year’s Tokyo Marathon is scheduled to be held on March 22nd and marks its 3rd anniversary. The expected number of participating runners continues to increase every year. More than 250,000 people entered this year, but only 35,000 were lucky enough to win the draw to run. That means almost 85% of all the applicants will… Continue reading Run Virtually In Tokyo If You Lost The Draw To Attend The Real Marathon

Yahoo Japan Diggs Deeper Underground, While Google Covers More Narrow Streets Nationwide

Yahoo Japan[J] is planning to release its new underground mapping service on Thursday, which shows the details of underground shopping malls in 49 locations nationwide. Yahoo Japan’s map service[J] gets approximately 700 million page-views a month, and the new feature is expected to further increase that number. Similar to Google Maps Street View, by clicking… Continue reading Yahoo Japan Diggs Deeper Underground, While Google Covers More Narrow Streets Nationwide

Engineers Salary and Life in Japan – from PHP Study Meeting

Hello Asiajin readers, I, Yusuke ANDO (aka yandod), was asked by Asiajin to write about my presentation on PHP developers’ and other software engineers’ salaries and communities at the 40th Monthly PHP Study Meeting Kanto (Tokyo and surrounding area) this month. 20090214 Phpstudy View more presentations from yandod. (tags: japan php) I referred to some… Continue reading Engineers Salary and Life in Japan – from PHP Study Meeting

Two Osaka Start-ups Bring Crime Prevention Apps To iPhone And Android Handsets

On Wednesday, Osaka-based start-up and iPhone developer Feedtailor[J] introduced a new iPhone app (clicking this link will launch iTunes), which allows you to see a map of street crimes in Osaka for the purpose of raising people’s attention and preventing further possible crimes. Feedtailor’s partner and Osaka-based tech start-up C-LIS[J] also released on Monday its… Continue reading Two Osaka Start-ups Bring Crime Prevention Apps To iPhone And Android Handsets