There’s a popular Japanese website called Kotonoha OX Social, a simple Yes/No survey site, where O (maru) means Yes and X (batsu) means No. The concept is simple and fun, so I thought I’d tie it in with my usual ramblings and ask you to give OX answers to the following topics which have been on my mind lately.
1. Jason is onto a winner with The Carbon Blog – O or X?
Here’s a quote from Jason’s new project, The Carbon Blog:
There are scammers all over the world trying to cash in on our concern for the environment, so it’s my duty to sift through the crap and show the world the best and the worst ways to combat global climate change.
Providing Jason can get the word out and come up with enough material, which shouldn’t be a problem with the current push for an eco-friendly world, The Carbon Blog has great potential.
Nick’s verdict: O
2. EMobile will shake up Japan’s cell phone industry – O or X?
A new phone carrier called EMobile has jumped into the Japanese cell phone market, offering handsets with no subscription fee! You just pay when you use the phone.
Planning to disrupt what it believes is a static phone industry, startup carrier EMobile today announced its first service plans for its home country of Japan. Instead of requiring a monthly fee or having customers buy prepaid blocks of time, the new service will operate largely on a metered system. [Source]
My wife and I are at home all the time, so we rarely use our phones. If anyone could benefit from a subscription-fee-free service, it’s people like us.
Nick’s verdict: O
3. The desktop computer is an endangered species – O or X?
Apparently I’m on Sony’s spam mailing list and today they sent me an article titled “Twilight of the Desktop Computer?” by EQ Magazine editor, Craig Anderton. He says:
Laptops always used to be like the little brother who was eager to help with the chores, but couldn’t actually do all that much. While fine for running spreadsheets and word processors, or filing sales reports from the road, no one considered a laptop as viable for music production or video editing.
He then goes on to say “it’s clear that today’s high-end laptops can do what all but the best desktop computers can do.” So is this the end for the desktop computer? I spent a pretty penny on my desktop and can’t imagine getting the same performance for the same price from a laptop… just yet.
Nick’s verdict: X
4. Osama Bin Ladin is dead – O or X?
Some people think he’s alive, others believe he was killed years ago, but I only recently saw the video of Pakistan’s assassinated Benazir Bhutto tell the BBC’s David Frost that the “world’s most wanted man” had been murdered. The interview was aired in full on Al Jazeera, but when it was shown on the BBC, the bit about the murder had been edited out. It was quite bizarre, and I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. You can see the full interview here.
Nick’s verdict: O
5. Anpanman is dead – O or X?
Continuing the morbid topic of death, Deas has reported that one of the most popular cartoon characters in Japan, Anpanman, has been found at the foot of a cliff on the shore of Hakata island. The man with a head made of bread is known for one of his more unusual super powers:
When Anpanman comes across a starving creature or person, he lets the unfortunate creature or person eat part of his head. [Source]
But can it be true? Is Anpanman really dead? I think not… unfortunately.
Nick’s verdict: X
That wraps up my first Maru Batsu survey, let me see your thoughts, Os and Xs in the comments!
While I was browsing the news section of 
Our third visit from Mr. Life Planner was by far the most interesting. Mr. Life Planner works for Sony Life Insurance and part of the sales pitch includes a detailed “Life Simulation”, which is really intended to prove the need for their life insurance. Previously we had given him details of our monthly expenses, earnings and expected future purchases, and he came back with a variety of graphs, charts and tables mapping out our lives under various situations.
