Behind the Olympics: Anyone else desperately trying to buy tickets?

by Jerry Guo on

So I’m some two years behind the curve when it comes to buying Beijing Olympic tickets. There’s been several phases of ticket sales, and suffice to say, finding one now is about as easy as finding a good surf spot in the Sahara.

I’ve already come across eBay auctions of closing ceremony tickets for $20,000, granted the poster was nice enough to offer a “buy one get one free” sale.

If you’re still keen on catching an event or two before the end of the Games this Sunday, here’s a cheat sheet on, well, not getting cheated.
First, a disclaimer. If you’re thinking about buying tickets at this stage, be prepared to see your money disappear. There’s just so many scams out there that getting a ticket now has turned more into a lottery. For instance, just this past weekend, some 100 scalpers were rounded up for selling tickets at inflated prices in Beijing. And a month or so ago, one notorious website was shut down for selling fake tickets.

But there are still some ways to find ticket. Your options are:

  • Official ticket vendor. For Americans and some other Westerners, the official ticket vendor is CoSport. Although they don’t advertise it too much, you can still land tickets to some of the less popular events the day before the event.
  • Craigslist. For those who want to see some of the more popular events–closing ceremony, 10 m diving, basketball gold final–Craigslist‘s Beijing page is your best bet. Go to tickets, where you’ll find plenty of people buying and selling tickets. Be careful though, lots of scammers here who will be happy to take your MoneyGram and Western Union transfers and run.
  • Bird’s nest. If you want the cheapest tickets, the best deals can often be found outside the venues. Just look for scalpers, many of whom are bold enough to drape huge signs over themselves advertising their prices. Probably the safest bet since you’ll be able to see the tickets. Just make sure to bring plenty of cash.
  • Third-party vendors. There’s a handful of companies that will gladly sell you Olympics tickets for a profit. One of the more popular ones, with plenty of popular events still available, is here.
  • BOCOG. Word on the street is the Beijing organizing committee keep 2% of seats for last-minute emergencies. So if you beg and cry loud enough, who knows?

See you in Beijing!

Olympic Fever in Hong Kong?

by Josh Lew on

Though it has been officially part of China for 11 years now, Hong Kong’s athletes marched into the Games under their own flag. Beijing’s goodwill gesture of holding the equestrian events in Hong Kong was welcomed, but Olympic fever has seemed slightly muted in the former British colony.

Yes, Hong Kongers aren’t as excited about the Olympics and the success of team China as mainlanders are, but that doesn’t mean they are not following the Games closely. And, with no athletes expected to earn worldwide attention, Hong Kong has adopted some PRC stars as their own. Billboards featuring (now injured) Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang and hoops star Yao Ming are quite visible. Large screen TVs are broadcasting events in public spaces and crowds are stopping to watch.

But what does Hong Kong really think of Beijing’s coming out party? The mainland is already swallowing up Hong Kong’s once great film industry, and Mandarin is being heard in Kowloon and Central more and more every day. And now Beijing has grabbed the spotlight and captured the imagination of the world.

But Hong Kong has seemed to embrace the Games nonetheless.

They can start thinking about their future with Beijing after the Olympics have closed.

First commercially available fuel cell charger appears online

by Scott Carmichael on

Our buddies over at Engadget are reporting on the availability of a portable fuel cell designed to recharge your gadgets. The Medis 24-7 Power Pack was first announced back in 2005, but it has taken them some time to get the technology to a stage where it is reliable enough to sell commercially.

The 24-7 power pack contains a fuel cell using “a direct liquid borohydride technology”. I have no idea what that means, but it delivers enough power to keep your iPod playing for up to three and a half days, and that is really all I need to know.

The 24-7 Power Pack is currently available online for $39.95 which includes the Power Pack itself, a variety of charger cords and a user manual. The Power Pack is not rechargeable (or reusable), so once it is empty, you’ll need to spend $22.95 for the replacement pack. The Power Pack is scheduled to appear in Best Buy stores soon.

The manufacturer does not mention whether the fuel cell is approved for taking on a commercial flight, and knowing the TSA, I’m not sure they know either. I asked Medis about taking their Power Pack on a commerical flight, and they got back to me right away letting me know that it is fully approved by the DOT, each package even contains the DOT permit number and is clearly marked “approved for carriage in aircraft”

I have to say I’m quite happy to see this technology finally appear in a commercial product, companies have been showing off their fuel cell products for years, but until now, none of them were actually made available for us mere consumers. I’m sure that the price will scare some people away, but being able to carry a 6.5 ounce backup power pack with the capacity to keep my iPod playing for 3 days is worth $23 to me. As the technology matures, I’m convinced that prices will drop.

Where to plan your next environmentally vacation: 15 green cities

by Anna Brones on

The good folks at Grist put together their own list of 15 green cities. Although their thought was probably to showcase the green efforts made by local governments and locals to make the cities more environmentally friendly, in reading it I realized it was a great list of places to chose your next eco-vacation.

If you’re looking to take public transportation, play in parks and learn more about sustainability as part of your next vacation, here are the 15 cities that made the list:

  1. Reykjavik, Iceland
  2. Portland, OR, U.S.
  3. Curitiba, Brazil
  4. Malmö, Sweden
  5. Vancouver, Canada
  6. Copenhagen, Denmark
  7. London, England
  8. San Francisco, CA, USA
  9. Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador
  10. Sydney, Australia
  11. Barcelona, Spain
  12. Bogotá, Colombia
  13. Bangkok, Thailand
  14. Kampala, Uganda
  15. Austin, TX, USA

Some of the selections surprised me; Bangkok for example, but apparently it’s all about the city’s strategy to make things greener. Check out the full list with accompanying explanations here.

What green cities have you visited?

TSA outlines new procedures for ‘checkpoint-friendly’ laptop bags

by Jeffrey White on

For some time now, Gadling has been following Transportation Security Administration plans to begin allowing laptops to be screened while remaining in special so-called “checkpoint-friendly” laptop bags.

This past Saturday, TSA began allowing certain bags to go through screenings with laptops still in them. The TSA has a helpful information manual up on its Web site right now, cautioning that this apparent relaxation in security procedures does not cover every laptop bag on the market.

In other words, not all laptop bags are checkpoint-friendly.

Only “butterfly-,” “trifold-” and “sleeve-style” laptop carriers are acceptable.

What the TSA is after is a clear view of your laptop. Since security officers are looking for evidence that electronics have been tampered with, they need a clear line of sight to note any irregularities in your laptop.

The TSA is quick to emphasize that just because you have an ostensibly checkpoint-friendly laptop bag, TSOs may still ask you to remove your computer if they cannot see it clear enough through the bag.

The TSA also has these useful tips:

  • Your laptop bag has a designated laptop-only section that you can lay flat on the X-ray belt. There are no metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on-top of the laptop-only section
  • There are no pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section
  • There is nothing in the laptop compartment other than the laptop
  • You have completely unfolded your bag so that there is nothing above or below the laptop-only section, allowing the bag to lie flat on the X-ray belt

Check out Scott’s post of one TSA-endorsed line of laptop bags currently on the market.