Aces high

A lone Cerasus serrulata, or what the Taiwanese call a "Mountain Sakura" (Shān​yīng​huā​ 山櫻花), seen on Trail 7 in the Dà​kēng​ 大坑 area:

Fence railing with a bamboo shoot motif:

From today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ, an article on the success local PC maker Acer 宏碁​ is enjoying in the Japanese market ("Acer antes up in Japanese market"). Below are a few excerpts:

"Ever since it began seriously competing in Japan a few years ago, Tái​wān 台灣​-based computer maker Acer has been expanding its presence in a market long dominated by domestic brands...In 2008, the Japanese computer market saw the rise of such Taiwanese makers as Acer and AsusTek Computer Inc. 華碩​, which penetrated the market with a small portable PC called a netbook. While it has been somewhat difficult for overseas makers to win the hearts of Japanese customers, who tend to value top-performing products customized to their tastes, Acer is growing and wants to crack the top five in Japanese market share by the end of this year. It wasn't so long ago that Acer was practically invisible. According to Tōkyō 東京-based MM Research Institute, Acer only shipped 100,000 units in 2007, keeping it out of the top 10. Yet by the following year it was eighth, with 455,000 shipments, thanks in large part to the netbook. With 786,000 units shipped, the company kept its eight-place ranking in 2010, chasing the top five of NEC 日本電気, Fujitsū 富士通, Tōshiba 東芝, Dell and HP. In the segment for PCs for individuals, however, Acer managed to grab fifth place. But the company is still struggling to penetrate the corporate market, which accounts for about half of Japan's overall computer market. To crack the top five in overall market share, the company must strengthen its corporate presence...Acer's strategy is to provide global models at global standard prices to consumers who have become accustomed to the Japanese standard...the company recently released a 3-D-ready 15.6-inch notebook PC for under ¥100,000 ($1190/NT35,000) and a 11.6-inch model priced roughly ¥20,000 ($240/NT7000) less than similar notebooks offered by Tōshiba at some online stores...Japanese makers have been able to succeed by focusing only on the domestic market, but this is becoming increasingly difficult to do because the Japanese market is shrinking as other markets, like China, grow...Acer's Japan branch was established in 1988, and until 2000 was mainly manufacturing computer parts for other makers. The company shifted from a manufacturer to a brand company in 2000...the Japanese market was a low priority until around 2007 or 2008, as the company first went after the markets in the U.S., Europe and emerging countries."