Crystal Ball Gazing - Techno Travel

March 21, 2008 · Filed Under Holidays · 10 Comments

Recently I’ve been contacted by two emerging new travel sites - Volette.com and So Much World. Both are very interesting, but quite different in their takes on travel.

Volette is perhaps more aimed at the business traveller, but not only, whereas So Much World is more like an on-line version of my favourite Lonely Planet guides. I know that both sites are still in a development phase, especially Volette.com. Indeed, the brain behind Volette.com, one Joe Tangredi, has several ideas as to the direction he wants to take his internet venture, although I don’t know what they are just yet. Read more

Tags: a list, book, bookmark, computer, eat, future, hotel, idea, Information, interest, interesting, internet, Italy, local knowledge, lovely, meeting, mobile, People, phone, pocket pc, read, rented car, Rome, sea, service, sicily, site, tour, travel, Useful, visit, weather, web, wifi

Evolution - Paolo Sarpi - Milan’s Chinese Quarter

February 7, 2008 · Filed Under Milan - My Zone · Comment

Back in May 2005, I wrote this post about the silent invasion by Chinese businesses of the area of Milan which is on my doorstep. Well, I have to say that things have changed, or rather evolved, quite considerably since I last wrote about this subject.

There are still quite a number of shops selling cheap clothes to those who run markets, but there are now quite a few other types of shop, and many of them are starting to take on the appearance of typical Italian shops.

For example, there are now at least four shops selling computer hardware and electronic goods such as Mp3 players and the like. And, in addition to odd Chinese brands, many of the products stocked in these shops are familiar names such as Acer, Sony, and LG, amongst others.

Next, we have the mobile phone stores, again, offhand I can think of at least four of them, including one newly opened shop.

However, the most interesting thing is the transformation which is starting to take place of the formerly cheap wholesale clothing outlets into smarter, more up market boutique type shops. OK, I can only think of one or two at the moment, but I’m pretty sure that this trend will continue.

Along with the clothing stores, there are now a number of reasonably good quality Chinese run jewellers selling well known brands. Yes, they could be copies, but I’m not so sure. Indeed, there is no reason why they should be really, seeing as it is probable that some of the more well known brands most probably sub-contract their production to Chinese producers.

There is also a perfume shop, which looks very Italian in style.

And the ever industrious Chinese are not doing too badly as a result of the evolutionary expansion, as I see plenty of youngish Chinese cruising around in very expensive cars.

There is a bustling Chinese community here, and it looks as though it will become stronger and stronger.

I was half expecting this transformation to take place, so it is very interesting to see it happening before my eyes.

Oh, and it is not just Chinese faces you see in these recently transformed shops, you may like to know.

It will be interesting indeed to see how things differ in another three years time, and if I’m still running this blog, and I plan to be, I’ll write another little update.

Tags: Acer, brands, Business, cars, change, chinese, computer, evolution, evolve, good quality, interest, interesting, Italia, Italian, Italy, LG, market, Milan, mobile, mobile phone, Paolo Sarpi, phone, product, shop, Sony, strong

Sarkozy likes the BBC, possibly!

January 13, 2008 · Filed Under Italian news · Comment

UPDATE: 14.01.08 - Having now read more of the articles in Il Sole, I can now understand why the paper used the headline saying that ‘State TV without advertising would not work’. The article basically argues that just about all TV and Internet, is only possible due to advertising. Whilst this is partially true, I would still point out that the BBC does very well without ads, although the BBC does, cleverly, use other ways to generate finance - and, ads are shown on BBC world - although they seem to be very targeted and very slick.

One final thing is that thanks to the recent intervention of one Gentiloni, who introduced a law designed to cut down conflicts of interest (read Berlusconi and Mediaset), a Sarkozy approach to the funding of State TV cannot work in Italy. But, laws can be changed…and often are here. End of update.

Well, he appears to like the fact that the BBC, the UK’s state TV service, is advertising free. I read about this in Il Sole 24 Ore, although the front page leader’s headline had me rather confused - it read ‘Una tv pubblica senza spot alla fine dinventerà inutile’, which translated reads: ‘State TV without advertising will turn out to be useless’. Although the article under the headline did not actually reinforce this view. And nor did the main articles oddly enough, although I shall read them all again to see if I’ve missed something.

What have Sarkozy, and the BBC got to do with Italy, aside from the fact that both were reported in an Italian newspaper? Quite a lot, actually. You see, Italian TV has been under attack recently for its patent lack of decent quality programming. Which is, incidentally, something I go on about on this blog. Finally, it appears, the message is getting though. Not that my ravings will have had any influence I imagine. What the heck, at least I know I am not at all alone in my view that Italian TV is pretty appalling.

It would appear that the complaints of others here in Italy have finally started to stir a few into something close to action, hence the interest in Sarkozy’s ideas. If the French president gets his way, and ads disappear from French state TV, then Italy may even consider doing the same. ‘What about cash?’, you may be asking. Sarkozy has got this covered too, and his ideas are quite innovative. The guy is obviously rather more tech-savvy than Italy’s bunch of pensioner politicians.

What the spritely French young (ish) whipper-snapper of a politician is proposing is that TV funding is gleaned from a tax on mobile phones, Internet, and private TV stations. This tax will be infinitesimal according to him. Not a bad idea, if you ask me. I think I would happy pay another 50 Eurocents per minute of mobile conversation in return for ad free TV here. This innovative funding method would also appeal to the Italian government and their TV channels, because Italians are not the worlds most willing TV licence fee payers.

So, no ads, and plenty of cash, potentially. Next on the agenda is sorting out the quality, and Italian TV may even turn out to be a more worthy competitor to the World Wide Web. OK, this is very wishful thinking.

More waiting and seeing.

Tags: ads, advertising, Appalling, bbc, government, Il Sole 24 Ore, interest, internet, Italia, Italian, Italian news, Italians, Italy, Me, mobile, mobile phone, news, odd, phone, tax, TV, UK, web