Tag Archives: iPhone

What’s in my bag?

Posted on by
Reply

In the tech blogs I frequently visit one question keep resurfacing: what’s in your bag? I believe this question is a derivative of “what’s in your iPod” when the iPod was still at large (or the other way round). What’s in one’s iPod to a certain extent tells who one is, and what’s in one’s bag definitely tells more. So, what’s in my bag?

iPhone X
Well iPhone X isn’t technically in my bag; it’s in my pocket, for good reasons. A smartphone is the single most important device we carry with us. It holds the entire
Internet in our pockets. It’s worthwhile to spend on the best phone money can buy. So even a $10000 phone is a worthy purchase.

Before I laid my hands on iPhone X I had so many doubts about it. But once I started using it those doubts faded away. The notch was OK as long as you don’t use your phone in landscape mode; iPhone X’s even thicker than iPhone 5 but that’s ok. The OLED screen isn’t like those oversaturated Android screens at all. Overall it’s a really beautiful phone.

MacBook 12”
I’m kinda done with the iPad. Yes, Steve Jobs used to say the post PC era has come. But with Steve no longer leading the revolution, the iPad still feels less capable than their PC counterparts. The latest iPad Pro may beat the MacBook in benchmark tests, but the Mac still excels in real world multitasking performance. And I can testify MacBook runs Lighrtoom just fine; it even edits 4K video in FCP with not-too-shabby performance. I’m about to install Bootcamp and try running GTA V.

That doesn’t mean I’m content with the performance of the MacBook, which runs on an Intel i5 (rebranded from m5 but still being a m5) processor. I still keep my retina MacBook Pro (late 2013) which still runs exceptionally ably.

Shure SE535
It’s simply a pair of earphones with great sound quality. Shure released a separate bluetooth cable to attach the earbugs on and it works. I didn’t buy it because it doesn’t sound as good as a plug-in cable. But I’m definitely considering buying a lightning cable because it gives better sound than Apple’s lightning-to-3.5mm connector.

Accessories contained in a pouch
Carrying devices with you means carrying loads of adapters and chargers too. Such accessories should be contained in a pouch to 1) keep things tidy, 2) make it easier to switch bags, 3) prevent metal objects from making scratches on other devices.

Stain remover pen
This pen magically removes (or at least fades) stains on shirts. Don’t buy the Tide one though, it stinks.

Shoehorn
This adorable shoehorn from Muji is made of stainless steel. Really handy for those who hate to untie and tie shoelaces.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
If a car mechanic would carry a wrench with him, a dentist would definitely bring PPE with him. The most basic PPE a dentist should have are latex gloves, masks and alcohol gel. Gloves are useful for instance when you try to remove bird poo on your car and when eating crabs. Masks are necessary when you see contagious people on those inevitable train rides. Alcohol gel is for cleaning hands after laying my hands on products in Apple Store.

I also carry a flat plastic barrier in case I need to give emergency mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Olympus EM5 with 14/17/45mm lenses
When I have to bring a camera I bring my only camera, the Olympus EM5. If the event is single purpose I tend to bring only prime lenses for portability. The M43 system excels in having loads of good prime lenses of small sizes.

Billingham Hadley Pro
For the bag itself, I now usually carry a Billingham. It’s a camera bag, meaning it’s reasonably water-proof. The important point to note is that you should pick the FibreNyte material instead of canvas, so that the black colour stays black instead of fading into dark green like canvas does.

Intimacy

Posted on by
Reply

So, I eventually got an iPhone 7 after much struggle. Holding one in hand [iPhone 7 Plus in jet black :) ] eliminates all previous doubts. When Phil Schiller first announced it, I thought it’s either the new finish or the dual camera system that would appeal to me. But at the end it’s the waterproofing and the solid state home button that’s the most satisfactory. The solid state home button with a natural tactile feedback make me feel that this is the way the home button should be at the very beginning. And all modern electronics should be made waterproof, because they are made so intimate, so integrated to all parts of our lives, that they shouldn’t be excluded from wet conditions.

Yes, the iPhone is in no doubt the most intimate object in our lives. I bet for most people the first and last object they touch in a day is the iPhone. It’s part of our living, not merely an assistant for it. I became more certain about this theory every time I go on a trip. How many of you can travel without your phone?

What else are intimate?

A camera must be one when travelling. Some says “the best camera is the one you have with you” and they may be satisfied with their phone’s camera. But when you also have a proper camera with you then it becomes the best camera with you, a better camera than your phone.

My car is actually equally important. A few weeks ago the windshield broke and I couldn’t drive for two weeks. It was the most annoying period for the past few years. I just hated the feeling of wasting time on commuting. Life’s too short for traffic jam, slow computers, waiting for a table, you name it.

So, this is it. This basically sums up what I’ve experienced in September. I wish I could talk a bit more about my trip in September. Let’s see.

What’s on your iPhone

Posted on by
Reply

It’s December, end of the year. However I’m not going to review what happened this year, not yet. I just wish to share some thoughts on how we manage our digital lives in 2015.

I don’t know about you, but I regularly review what apps are on my iPhone, delete the ones I don’t need, while rearranging my home screen to make them neat and tidy. I have a few rules. 1) My home screen has to be functional, meaning I won’t blindly keep it minimal (down to a few icons or keep everything in folders). I display what are frequently used, and keep the useful ones in folders. 2) It still has to be tidy. I just won’t keep the useless ones on P.1.

And here it is.

IMG_1042

There are a few points to highlight. 1) The Phone app isn’t in the dock anymore. I once considered putting it in the Social folder altogether. (Some kids even ask “how do I delete the Phone app?”) 2) “Calendar 5” by Readdle has officially replaced “Week Calendar” as my favourite calendar app. Apps by Readdle are always excellent, the other great app by Readdle being “PDF Expert 5”. 3) I don’t always turn to third party apps. Some made by Apple, though lacking features, are just handy enough. “Weather”, “Reminders”, “Safari” and “Mail” are fine examples. Yes, I’m using “Outlook” primary for push notification, but “Mail” remains my favourite app reading and sending emails.

Back in a few years ago, when the App Store first started, asking others “what apps are on your iPhone” became a social phenomenon. This coincided with the “what’s on your iPod” phenomenon in the early 2000s. It tells a story about who you are. When you keep your home screen neat and tidy, your life shouldn’t be in a huge mess either. On the contrary if you keep the “Game Centre” or even the “iOS tips” apps on the first page, I doubt you pay much care to your work.

Anyway perhaps that’s enough of self obsession. What I do isn’t always the best. What Apple does isn’t either. And that’s sad.

Tiniest things that upset me

Posted on by
Reply

It is often said that we should let go of the trivial matters that cause sorrow and focus on the delightful moments in life. I’ve tried and gained some degree of success, but there are at least a few seemingly trivial things that upset me at this moment.

1. Apple products innovate less these days.
This wasn’t so obvious at first, but reading about Microsoft’s latest hardware event made me realize, reluctantly, that the tech company that innovates nowadays is Microsoft, not Apple.

For the past few years iPhone has been upgraded with boring new features: fingerprint sensors, better and better camera, 3D touch, fitness tracking, etc.. (Who fuxking care about their health?) They’re handy, but they’re not innovative. As for iPad, since its debut in 2010 it has dominated tablet sales, remaining to be the only real tablet that matters. But given the release of Windows 10 (which fixes the mess Microsoft created in the past few years, under Steve Ballmer), I can see that the future of computing is not towards the post-PC concept introduced by SJ, but the modern hybrid PC best demonstrated by Surface Pro.

This worries me: Apple is no longer the driving force of computing innovation. True I’m very impressed by the latest super thin MacBook — elimination of all but one port and fanless design, but that innovation is too little, too late.

2. Kai leaving DRTV
What is DRTV? It’s my fav YouTube channel on photography. It’s not known for being informative or accurate in its product reviews, nor the photography knowledges it introduces. It’s really just Kai’s showmanship that entertains. He has now left HK for England, doing some occasional reviews there. But given that Digitalrev is posting online recruitment for a new presenter, Kai’s leaving is all but confirmed. This again upsets me. It’s like ER/Desperate Housewives’ ending all over again.

3. Work sucks. No this isn’t tiny.

Thoughts on iPhone

Posted on by
Reply

There hasn’t been anything important in life lately. Lots of things sucked, though, but I’ve learnt to let go of those adversities, or at least not mention them, lest they affect other’s mood. But in just a few hours one of the most exciting events will take place: Apple’s “Wish we could say more” keynote. It’s been rumoured that the latest iPhone as well as an iWatch will be unveiled, so perhaps I should express some of my thoughts here.

First, it’s been said, and even confirmed, that the new iPhones will be bigger — 4.7” and 5.5” to be exact. A lot of Apple fanboys will be so disappointed because Steve Jobs used to say that a phone must be fit for single-hand use. Enlarging the iPhone screen is like hell freezes over.

Well, in Apple’s history there were quite a number of moments when hell froze over: switching to Intel processors, iPods played videos, iTunes worked on Windows, etc.. So it’s not entirely surprising that there would be a larger screen iPhone. I’ve always said when a large screen is coupled with software that is fit for single-hand use, we can have a larger iPhone. And that’s exactly what Apple needs to address in the coming keynote.

Second, it’s about the design, and the design leaks. In the old days Apple was absolutely secretive about their unannounced products. It was quite a big shock when the iPhone 4 got into hands of a Gizmodo editor and got published. Pushing time further back, we see that an old rumour site Think Secret was forced to shut down after publishing rumours about “a new Mac” (which was later identified as the Mac mini). They didn’t even have the pictures of the actual product! People used to joke that those who leak Apple rumours would be executed by Steve Jobs. Well, this is apparently no longer the case. We see Apple product parts on the web a few months before product launch. These days we even see working products (on the contrary back when iPhone 4 was leaked the device couldn’t be switched on, and no one knew about the stunning retina display until Steve announced it). Why does this happen? And on the other side why have we never seen parts of the iWatch? In short, most probably the iWatch isn’t made in China. Yes, the Chinese is the culprit of all the modern day evil.

Aren’t you a Chinese, Kevin? No, I’m not. I’m a global citizen who believes in democracy, equality, freedom and civic responsibility, who happens to live in Hong Kong.

OK, back to talk about Apple. A third thought on the upcoming event is whether the iWatch, or smartwatches, will become a new necessity, a global phenomenon, like the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad? What I mean is that before the iPod/iPhone/iPad, music players, mobile phones and tablets existed, but it was Apple that reinvented them into something no one could have imagined. Watches have existed for a long long time; smartwatches nowadays basically are useless. Will Apple be able to make smartwatches a new necessity?

This question poses a dilemma. Many think only Steve Jobs, the modern day Thomas Edison, could have done that. If the new Apple can do that too, Steve Job’s legacy would be diminished. But on the other hand, I sure want to see something groundbreaking. After all, if money can buy happiness, why not?