Crave

It's a common thing in the U.S. when you look up driving directions on Google (or Yahoo) maps, print them out prior to a trip. Personally, I use the Google Map app on my iPhone very frequently. However, finding the way around in other cities around the world, especially in the less developed regions, is a different story.

Google Map of Hanoi on the iPhone: For now, there's not much else you can do other than watching the blue dot moving around with you.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

I was in Hanoi (Vietnam) about a month ago and could hardly rely on Google Maps. It provides no driving (or even walking at some locations) direction there as the map was not updated fast enough with the creation of new streets. I didn't find any alternatives there, either. The iMapsPro-Hanoi iPhone application I bought was completely useless, as its map was actually even pathetically outdated.

For this reason, I was excited to learn about OpenStreetMap recently at just about time it starts its first Mapping Party in Hanoi, on July 18.

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free editable map of the whole world, much like Wikipedia for mapping. The free service allows everyone to view, edit, and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.

First created in 2004, OSM is now offering maps of cities around the world with varying levels of details and services by region, depending on the participation of the locals, which the organization tries to grab via mapping parties.

In Hanoi, the mapping party is a free educational event that teaches the attendees how to use GPS devices to collect and contribute mapping data of the city to OSM.

The detailed OpenStreetMap of Hanoi (as well as of other cities of Vietnam) is available online. The organizers of the event hope to further increase the details of the map and add more features, including driving directions.

While in places like the U.S., the existence of OSM seems rather insignificant due to the intensive coverage of online mapping services from Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, I believe OSM is a very important alternative for other parts of the world like Vietnam.

With the fast pace of development, it's probably the only way to keep maps of the city updated--of course, with sufficient participation of local people. Hopefully next year when I get back, I won't get lost again in the city that once was my hometown.

Yep, I had this poster on my wall as a kid, so eff the haters.

(Credit: Sony Music Entertainment)

First up, Dong and I share of memories of the King of Pop. If you've had enough MJ for the last few weeks, then I suggest skipping 20 minutes into the episode as we don't really hold back on our unabashed adulation of the man.

Afterward, it gets all racial up in this piece as we discuss Dong's current obsession with black jokes and why everyone hates them. Also, since he's been in Vietnam for three weeks, he catches us up a bit on the goings on there.

BTW, yes I did say "teef," not teeth.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the podcast link on the right. Don't forget to leave us voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Jasper, my tour guide du jour, and a tracking device from his company, Skeye.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Editor's note: CNET editor and Crave contributor Dong Ngo is spending several weeks in his homeland of Vietnam and will file occasional dispatches chronicling his adventures. To read stories from Dong's last visit, in December, click here.

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam--Last December, I visited Ho Chi Minh City and discovered that while Wi-Fi was ubiquitous and the Internet was fast, it was incredibly hard to get across town.

Seven months later, the traffic here is still terrible. This time, however, I found that if you are in the right place, dealing with traffic isn't necessary at all.

The right place is District 1. Other than being the center of tourism with lots of hotels, famous landmarks, restaurants, and bars, D1 is also the site where you can get pretty much anything you need, especially when it comes to technology and digital entertainment. And it's all within a short walking distance.

I actually heard about this area during my last trip here. Jasper Waale, owner of Skeye, a GPS- and GSM-based tracking company operating in Vietnam and Laos--and an avid listener of the Inside CNET Labs podcast--insisted I check it out. I took a rain check till now.

Hung checks out my D80. (Just another example of how good I am with the iPhone camera.)

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

We met at Cafe Centro, a trendy yet casual coffeehouse located in the middle of D1's most bustling section. According to Jasper, this is a popular place for ex-pats to hang out for both fun and business. It offers reasonably priced refreshments and, of course, free Wi-Fi.

(By the way, there are lots of cafes in Ho Chi Minh City, and pretty much all of them offer free Wi-Fi. My other favorite is Cafe Da on Alexandre De Rhodes Street. Also in D1: the best ice milk coffee and smoothies I've ever had. If you go there, make sure you try the "Dong Tim" fruit shake. It's so good, it has my name on it!)

"You'll find me at Centro at least a couple of times a week," Jasper said. Then, in a slightly show-offy manner, he pulled out his brand-new-looking Nikon D300 camera.

"I just got a good deal on this one. I traded in my D80 and got about 80 percent of new value to put toward this new one. You'll have to come see this place," he said.

I was intrigued, partially because next to his D300, my 4-year-old D80 looked somewhat pathetic. I've considered upgrading my camera for a while, but anticipating the whole hassle of selling my D80 on eBay or Craigslist has stopped me.

He then took me to Thuong Xa Tax, a mini shopping mall that's just a five-minute walk from the cafe. "Mini" here, by the way, is according to American standards; this is actually one of the bigger trading centers here in Vietnam, and it is indeed very large.

As in most shopping malls here, you can find pretty much everything, but we walked straight to the Vinh Hung Camera shop. The owner, Hung, a friendly 40-something man, greeted Jasper like an old friend. He then took a quick look at my D80 and said, "I'll give you $600 for this one, body and lens." ... Read more

Brian Mcgee himself.

(Credit: Fox)

Since Dong is still away in Vietnam, we discuss just how hot he must be right now, and I mean literally temperature hot. We all know figuratively hawt, right ladies? All four of you?

Anyway, I tell a story involving GameStop, a Wii, and bad customer service. Also, why Palm Pre testing is dumb and time consuming.

Dong shows us that he's still the best at putting our audience to sleep as he talks about the Verizon Mifi 2200 Mobile hot spot.

This is our final prerecorded week! Next week, we return live! If by "live" I mean recorded at least a day before you actually get to hear it.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the podcast link on the right. Don't forget to leave us voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Ngaycuame.com's Web site offers suggestions for digitally celebrating Mother's Day, such as getting and sending e-cards.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Editor's note: CNET editor and Crave contributor Dong Ngo is spending several weeks in his homeland of Vietnam and will file occasional dispatches chronicling his adventures. To read stories from Dong's last visit, in December, click here.

HANOI, Vietnam--I'm not a big fan of holidays. I don't mean the time off, of course, but the mass consumption that generally accompanies them.

For this reason, I've been sort of secretly happy that my parents live in Vietnam. This means that for years I haven't had to pay attention to Mother's Day or Father's Day. The Vietnamese, one would think, have no reason to even be aware of these American days. And for a long time, they weren't.

Thus, it was a revelation to me the other day, during a casual conversation at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, when a trendy-looking and friendly Vietnamese girl asked me if I had done anything for Father's Day.

Learning where I stand on the issue, the girl, Lan, expressed surprise. "I bought my dad a Gillette shaving set," she shared, "and he was very happy. You should have done something! I bought my mom a nice bouquet for Mother's Day a month ago, too."

Original American movies and TV programming with subtitles are popular in Vietnam.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

I was speechless. I live in America and my American friends have hardly ever asked me the same question. As it turned out, over the years I was away in America, American pop culture, via TV and the Internet, has sneaked into my home country in a big way.

Apparently, a month ago, for the first time, Mother's Day was a big event in Vietnam. Newspapers talked about it, TV talked about it, teenagers blogged and made YouTube videos about it, and people went out to buy flowers and presents for moms.

The day was hyped so much some people even felt guilty because they hadn't known about it in previous years. Yet at the same time, most didn't know the origin of it. "I had never heard of it and all of a sudden everywhere people started talking about it," Lan told me honestly. "But I think it's meaningful to honor your parents. Don't you think?"

Though it might have seemed "all of a sudden," the introduction of Mother's Day marked a very deliberate attempt by businesses here to sell products. ... Read more

On summer nights in Hanoi, people escape to air-conditioned ATM kiosks for relief from the oppressive heat.

(Credit: Viet Dung)

HANOI, Vietnam--A word of advice for travelers: turn off your laptop when you leave the room.

This isn't the first time I've been back to Vietnam, but it's the first time since I left the country some 10 years ago that I've come back during summer. It's really hot in Hanoi during the day, often 100 degrees or more. And as it has always been the case with me when traveling, stuff happens.

After about 48 hours of traveling and coming to terms with the jetlag, I turned my laptop on for the first time. There were so many things to download: new episodes of podcasts, RSS feeds of different news sources, videos--and of course the 3.0 firmware for the iPhone.

As the Wi-Fi I got hooked up to was running at just around 60Kbps, these essential updates of my digital life (though most of them I can't find time to enjoy) would require hours to download. Like usual, I had a huge urge to download all of the data right away and decided to leave the computer running and go out for a jog. After all, it was almost midday and sunny outside.

Here is part of my gum supply for the trip. I may never chew gum during summer again.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

I started the downloads, opened a pack of Orbit gum, took a piece, and left the rest on my new loaded Dell XPS M1530 (for this trip, I upgraded from the smaller XPS M1330, mostly because my eyes are worse now). Before leaving the room, being a good citizen of the world, I turned off the air conditioning.

The moment I opened the door of the room, a wave of stifling heat engulfed me. Outside, the sky was high and pure, and it was so sunny I felt I could hear how bright it was. Or maybe it was the sound of my sweat starting to ooze out.

Unlike the dry and lovely San Francisco Bay Area or somewhat humid New York City, it's so humid in Hanoi that once outside there's no way you can escape the heat during hot days. It's hot when it's calm, and it's hot when it's windy, and fans won't do anything. The breeze actually helps the heat traverse to every corner. Once in a while a quick and so-heavy-that-you-can't-see-anything downpour comes, only to accentuate the heat when the sky is clear again.

For a lot of local people, there's no way to stay away from the heat, as air conditioners are still considered a luxurious commodity that most can't afford. (Plus, they have survived many years without one.) The water in outdoor swimming pools gets so hot that by midday you can't swim in them. During some extremely hot days, you'll even find people staying inside air-conditioned ATM booths to enjoy some free cooling.

After just about a few minutes of jogging, my glasses started to get blurred by steam and sweat and I had to take them off. Four miles later, I looked and felt like I had never worked out so hard before: my T-shirt and baseball cap were completely soaked with sweat and my forehead was dripping.

As I slowly walked back, I stopped by a familiar beer stand to enjoy a few well-deserved glasses of "Bia Hoi," under a common makeshift cooling system: a net of copper pipes that spray water mist in the air. Bia Hoi is a kind of light draft beer that the Hanoi Brewery never produces enough of during summertime. It made all of my sweating and sun-hating activities worthwhile.

A couple of hours later, I returned to my room imagining a cool shower and getting my stuff synced to my iPhone. Instead, I was greeted with a sight of horror: the computer displayed a Blue Screen of Death and I heard the CPU fan roaring to life. The worst of all, the sweet mint chewing gum had melted into some mushy and sticky substance that spilled all over part of the keyboard and completely covered the biometric reader. Some even dripped onto the bedsheet. The laptop was so hot that I couldn't touch it for more than a few seconds.

Like Amazo, we cannot be stopped.

(Credit: Warner Bros.)

OK, that was kind of a longer break than we expected. Sorry about the whole no warning thing. We're back on at least a weekly schedule now, and because we've been away so long we're giving you over an hour of content even your mom would enjoy. If your mom's cool, that is.

First up, we have a little semi-impromptu discussion about one of our favorite shows Firefly. The nerds know what we're talking about. All of you who believe you're not nerds, first of all, wake up, then, get on board while the gettin's good.

Of course we cover our experiences at CES and why it completely exhausted us. It had nothing to do with parties, but everything to do with dumb meetings.

Also, Mr. Ngo Goes to Vietnam and experiences technology, KFC, and breakdancing. Yep, breakdancing in the VN.

Finally, we bore at least one listener with a discussion of our current status in WoW.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the link on the right. Don't forget to leave us a voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.

If you've followed Crave in the last several weeks, you've probably come across CNET editor Dong Ngo's stories from Vietnam. Dong returned to his homeland for a visit, and he wrote a number of pieces chronicling his impressions of how technology has permeated the culture there.

Dong landed back in San Francisco Wednesday night and he checked in with his CNET colleagues at the office Thursday morning. Watch the video (right) to see a very jet-lagged Dong tell CNET News' Charles Cooper what he observed during his trip.

And be sure to catch up on Dong's series, which covers topics including widespread software piracy, solar water heaters in Ho Chi Minh City, and the young generation's common social practice of hanging out in groups but focusing more on laptops, cell phones, and game consoles than each other. It's good stuff.

Technicians reassemble my broken Dell Inspiron 530s' parts into a new case with a working power supply.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)

HANOI, Vietnam--Prior to my trip to Vietnam, I bought a Dell Inspiron 530s desktop computer as a special American gift for my 11-year-old niece in Hanoi.

Despite the relatively light weight and small form factor of the PC, at San Francisco International Airport, I ended up having to pay a $60 overweight fee. This was mostly because the airline significantly lowered the allowed weight for checked-in luggage, and I wasn't aware of that.

Upon arriving in Hanoi, I personally delivered the gift and set it up for the little girl. Everybody gathered around with excitement as they waited for the moment of truth. As I plugged the power cord into the wall socket, we heard a "pop" sound and smoke came out of the tower. I was dumbfounded. "So much for American-standard quality!" I thought to myself.

But it was not America's fault, it was me. As it turned out, Vietnam uses a 220-voltage power standard, while America uses a 110-voltage one. Out of excitement and ignorance, I plugged the computer in without switching the power supply unit (PSU) of the computer to support 220 volts and, of course, it burned! It was pure physics.

What was hard to quantify was my niece's level of frustration and my own disappointment. I personally picked the specs and rebuilt the machine to run Windows XP (from its manufacturer-installed Windows Vista). Just one moment of negligence, and everything seemed ruined.