Links: PRC uses PR tricks on online forums; Using the 'Net to read Chinese; the decline of the CD shop

• China hires 'Net squad to sway public opinion
  Via the UCLA website, which is in turn via The Times of India, which itself picked up a story from a Chinese newspaper (nanfang ribao, I believe): A few crafty cadres have learned a few Internet PR tricks to shape discussions and debate, such as seeding online message boards with pro-government posts.


• On Chinese website design, and using the 'Net to read Chinese ...
  William Moss, via CNet Asia, delves into the challenges of reading Chinese websites, and describes tools the Chinese-impaired can use to get through challenging texts. He recommends an excellent site, Adsotrans, which "will take a hunk of Chinese text and annotate it with pinyin and translation that you can see by rolling over words and phrases."


• Dinosaur du jour: CD retailers
  What's missing from CD shops these days? Young people, reports the NY Times. Interesting -- and sad -- observations about the socio-cultural aspects of buying records/CDs in person, something which we may not be able to do 10 years down the road.