TECHNOLO GY
Travelling?
Takeapic...
Rendezvous
THERE is no question that the FCC membership is an itinerant buncli. So on your travels, ifyou happen to
in California laptop computers are becoming smaller and cheaper. And it can't be long before a variety of functions like fær, printers, scanners and voice mail fit into one pocket-size device. APTOP computers may not provide all the answers for a roaming reporter but there is plenty of new technology on the way.
Club members who have wit-
of me tottering round the main bar in the small nessed the spectacle
hours may find it hard to believe that some mornings I start work at about
dawn. But it's true, I swear. What allows me to do that is my Toshiba T-1000 portable computer which, for all its other faults, tolerates my presence in the study, dragon breath, stubble and all, at dawn. For that I can put up with its screen, which is barely visible in some lights, and the fact that it has to be plugged into the main electricity supply with an adapter if it is to be used for more than an hour or two. It is not particularly light and it has only one disk drive which keeps me
using an old version of Wordstar for word processing which sends a shiver down the spine of most newspaper sys-
tems unless I run my copy through
another program. It cost me close to HK$10,000 two years ago and now sells
for
HK$5,000, indicating that there are plenty of better portables on the market. Who cares? It does the job of a glorified typewriter which can be carried between my home and office. When I go abroad, I take a tacky A4sized Cambridge Z-88 computer with me to write drafts these days or simply use a hotel typewriter and fax.
If I
wanted something lighter,
more powerful and
with a
clearer
I might shell out the HK$18,000 needed for a Poquet PC. The Poquet is not much larger than a note book, weighs about a Pound and is IBM compatible. Its small screen has the same resolution or clarity as a laptop computer's but because it is denser it is easier to read. It runs on screen,
torch batteries for longer than it
would take to eat all the items on an FCC menu and its keyboard is big
22
enough to type on. Because of its cost, its makers saY
the main market for the Poquet
will
PC
be among business people who
need access to computer files at meetings away from their offices. A similar claim is made for Hutchison Mobile Data's Connection Box, a device about the size and weight of a brick which has been put on the Hong Kong market only recentþ The Connection Box is atlached to a
standard laptop computer to provide radio frequency links to the telephone
network and on
to other
comPuters
worldwide. But because it makes use of the cellular radio network in Hong Kong it cannot be used worldwide Yet. - file-copyFor real'state the of art',
anywhere-in-the-world capabilities you need a device using the Interna-
tional Maritime Satellite Organisation's System C which extends the idea of global mobile communications beyond shipping into personal communications. STC International, has moved earlY into this market with its Mascot Nomad which packs a satellite
based in London,
antenna, telex and data transceiver, laptop computer and A4-sized printer into a suitcase. Personally, I'm inclined to wait for
prices to drop and better technology to come my way. Silicon chip maker National Semiconductor expects a large
market in the mid-1990s for office systems which combine fax, printers, scanners and voice mail into a single device.
new generation of pocket-sized cordless telephones, that will eventually be used worldwide, is being read-
A
ied and compact disk systems capable of storing vast amounts of video, voice or data are already being sold.
It
cannot be long before all these
capabilities are built into something the size of the Poquet. If I'm '¡/rong, and that's all tosh, then I'11 still stick to myToshiba.
ry¿s, coRRESPoNDENT AUGUST leeo
I
Francis Pearce
cross paths with another FCC member, active (it doesn't matter if he or she is your lunchtime dice partner in
the Club three days a week) or
AGROUP of active and absentFCC members crossed paths in Pasadena in July while attending Cathay Pacific Airways' inaugural bash celebrating the establishment of the airline's new Hong Kong-Ins Angeles non-stop service. More than 400 formally attired gqests gathered on the 200-acre grouÀds of the Huntingdon Library and Botanical Gardens to toast Hong Kong's premier airline. Taking advantage of the occasion, a dozen FCCers held a mini reunion of their own.
absentee, take a pic (a colour print will do but slides are better), write a few words and send everything to The Coresþondent.
. . . ând we want t0 hear from absentee members t00. HAVE you any "you news"? There are hundreds of former FCC members around thé world and we'd like
to hear from you. For example, when you meet another FCC absentee member, or an active member on the road, record the occasion (on film and in print) and share it with
**'* FCC doyenne Claire Hollingworth
took Beverþ Hills by storm during the trip.'When Baroness Dunn decided to join the VIP bus on the trip from the aþort to the elegant Regent of Beverþ Hills Hotel, Claire took'the Baroness'place in the waiting limousine. Accompanied by absent member Sarah Monks, the pair drove in luxurious comfort to the hotel where the Sunday Telegraþh's correspondent was formaþ greeted by the pipers of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.
Writers gain
The Corresþondent. at the mini FCC summit in California. Back row (from lefr): Ken Ball, Saul l-ockhart, Cathay Pacifc's public relations executive, Claudia Swain, (wife of club member Jon), host David Bell, the Swire Group's and Cathay Pacific's public relations supremo, Kevin Sinclair and Jack Spaclmran who now lives in San Francisco. Front rowz CLaire Hollingworth, Sarah Monks (in from the HKIDC office in NewYorþ, Ray Cranbourne and Ken Barrett Missingfrom the photo: Ian Howard (of the Hong Kong governmenfs Economic & Trade Office in New Yorþ and Dave DeVoss. (Íhe ex-Time correspondent in Hong Kong and Bangkok has joined ex-FCCers Jim Pringle (ex-Newsweek) and Rob Kiener (ex-Reailet¿s Digesf) in starting the East-West News Service.) Many thanks to South China Morning Post photographer, Martin Chan, for snapping the pix with Cranbourne's camera.
Ifs all smiles
outyou.
f
Saul Lockhart
COMING EVE}NS
Professional Ilncheon September 6, 1990:
Speaker: DerekNimmo
*
Ocûober 5, 1990:
Speaker: Derek Davies
from an editor's win at golf TÌIE Philippine Sports W'riters assocation received
Help us improve The Corresþon, denf s coverage. We can't do it with-
former FCC president a¡rd former editor-inchief of the Far Easttn Econonic Reoiew
*
a com-
puter this month from the world-famous beer producer, Carlsberg, thanks to sports editor lito Tacujan's skill at golf Tacujan, who is sports editor at the Manila-based daily
Philiþþine Súør, was the winner of this yeafs Carlsberg Media Golf Classic held at Canlubang on the outskirts of Manila in April. Twenty-eight FCC members had taken part in the challenge among others from the Philippines andThailand.
The annual event is open to membels of the Foreign Correspondents' Club and media people in the region. The sponsor ofthe event, Carlsberg, donates $10,000 towa¡ds the first prize a¡rd the winner has the option as to how that money is to be spent as well as name arì organisation to which the prize may be donaùed. Tacujan chose the Philip pine Sports Wriùers Association as the recipienl Lú:^t\e general manager of Cadsberg Brewery Hong
Kong, Flemming With-Seidelin, (second from right) is wn shaking hands with Tacujan atthepnze presentation cere mony in Manila. Seen with them are: Carlsbergis director of promotions in the Philippines, Finn Pedersen (far lefr) and direct^r of special events, EmyArcillo.
November2, 1990: Speaken Dr F W Christians,
,
Chairman of the supervisory Board, Deutsche BankAG
Seminars Ocûober 11, 1990:
Changes in Europe
and its implications
forAsia. Sponsored by
CommerzbankAG
*
December4, 1990:
Asia's energs/ markets with specific emphasis on India The seminar is sponsored by Indosuez Asia and is by invitation.
THE CORRFSPONDENT AUGUST I99O
23