Twitter: “Taiwan, Province of China”

Despite all the talk, all the late night sweats in Beijing, and all the curses from VPN-lagging China-based twitterers; it turns out Twitter and the PRC see more eye-to-eye than either side would have you believe.

The following is a screen capture by Nick (@riceagain), a Kiwi splitting his time between Taiwan and the Mainland, who noticed a peculiar phrasing when attempting to set the Twitter tweet location to "Ta…

The China-Wide-Web

As I write this, I am listening to Radio Free Asia, a podcast which I subscribed to on iTunes with no hassle. After I finish writing this, I plan, just for shits and grins, to run a Google search on Liu Xiaobo and proclaim my love for a free Tibet on Twitter.

When I first came to China, all the hysteria I'd heard about going to live under a Communist regime turned out to be unfounded. Chief among them: the interne…

How-to: Setup an HTPC for better TV in China (Part III – Media Sources)

In my previous two posts I outlined how to get your computer connected to your TV and where to get some good media centre software, as well as the setup I'm using. I continue in this part with where to find things to watch on your newly setup HTPC (or how to justify the purchase of a new 2TB hard drive).

All of this setup was for naught if you don't have decent stuff on your computer to watch. Here are a few s…

How-to: Setup an HTPC for better TV in China (Part II – My Gear)

In my last post I explained how to get your computer connected to your TV and where to get some good media centre software. Before I share a few resources for getting content for your newly configured media centre, I thought I would talk a bit about my home setup and some of the more "advanced" tweaks you can make to get even more functionality and convenience from your HTPC (or HTMB, if you will).

First thoug…

HTPC How-to

How-to: Setup an HTPC for better TV in China (Part I – Getting Setup)

If you're like me you probably long-ago did away with the bland programming of CCTV9, the endless carousel of period dramas, and ever-more-annoying variety shows that China's cable providers offer up. For some that means getting outside and getting a life. For people like me, that means finding better ways to get the entertainment I want when I want it.

This is part one of a three-part series I've wanted to put to…

Review: Invisible Browsing VPN (ibVPN)

A little down recently about my regular VPN's lackluster speed, I started testing out a new service called ibVPN (Invisible Browsing VPN) and am decently happy with the results/ease of use.

The service is strictly PPTP and not SSL, which I suppose is both a pro and a con. From my experience PPTP is faster and easier to setup as services go, but is easier to get blocked.

And blocked I think is exactly what happe…

Trouble getting on Shanghai Expat?

Our friends over at Shanghai Expat asked for our help getting the news out about some access problems their visitors might be experiencing. Always happy to help out our friends in the 'sphere, here's more information from them:

If you’ve been having problems accessing our homepage, and being redirected to some random Chinese search engine called 114 then I’m afraid we can only humbly apologise. Due to the unique…

The ‘State Network Information Center’ wants to spy on you. Here’s how to stop them…

This is a bit sinister: the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has been dropping digital certificates into the computers of everyone in China, which could potentially allow them to snoop on your normally secure 'https' web-surfing, such as your online banking and email.

CNNIC's digital certificate, which is probably in your computer right now, has not been proved to be maliciously spying, but it's…

Fact or Fiction II: Electric Googaloo!

Welcome back to Fact or Fiction.  In case you missed it last time, it is an (ir)regular feature here on Lost Laowai.  Every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day.  Every answer will have a "Fact" or a "Fiction" and some justification to go along with it.

Today, like much of the blogosphere we will be talking about the Google vs. GFW debate.   Which makes my gue…

Google threatens to pull plug on Google.cn

Google has announced that it might soon pull the plug on its operations in China, citing grave concerns over some recent, bizarre hack attacks, and lack of freedom of speech.

The official notice on the main Google blog reveals that a concerted hacking attack, which originated in China, has been using phishing and malware to access the accounts of human rights activists.

In the statement, the Chief Legal Off…