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I just picked up my new 12" iBook G4 from New Vision in Tsim Sha Tsui. I had to special order mine because all the ones in stock are without built-in Bluetooth. I could have bought one of those and added an external USB Bluetooth, as suggested by the shop manager, but that would make it not very 2004-like, or even '03 or '02. Instead, I opted to wait for a built-in Bluetooth, Airport Extreme and 640MB iBook G4, which is now in my hands.

This is my very first iBook, although I've owned many PowerBooks in the past. I felt the 12" iBook is a good choice, because compared to a similarly equipped 12" PowerBook, I am saving around US$400-US$500. Besides, I already own a 17" PowerBook, so this justifies my yearning for a truly portable notebook without being overly extravagant (my friends will tell me differently, of course).

I will be taking this iBook to work, so the PowerBook can stay at home for good, as it has been ever since I took it back from the states, except for several occasions. The 17" is too bulky for me to lug around, while the iBook is more economical in size and weight. Overall, this PowerBook/iBook combination should work for me.

[Update: January 31, 2004; 11:40 PM] I registered my iBook online, then checked to see that it qualifies for an iLife '04 Up-To-Date for HK$160, or about US$20. Shipping is free from the Apple online store, arriving in 1 to 2 days. Nice.

Posted by kingsley at 10:58 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

See the rest of the fireworks and laser show pictures.

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I really ought to kick myself in the butt right about now. I purposely stay in tonight to capture the fireworks and laser show from outside my window. Then I fall asleep. Who falls asleep 7 at night? By the time I wake up, it is 8:12 pm, which means I just missed the first show. I quickly get up to take the battery from the recharger and insert it into my Optio S4. While I am doing it, the second show comes on. Great, I am missing the beginning part again, just like yesterday, but at least I am capturing the heart of it.

When the show is over, it is only 8:19 pm. I forgot whether another one is supposed to come on at 8:30 pm, but I don't want to take any chances. Besides, this time I want to capture it on video. So I open iMovie 4 and choose iSight as the video source. Joy, they work together in version 4. I untie the FireWire cable so I can hang iSight outside the window. But there is no place to put it on the outside. Oh, well, then I have to hang my left hand out, too, and hold it steady.

Tonight is cold; in fact, the coldest so far this winter, only 9.4C. My left hand is freezing hanging outside, but from the iMovie video window, at least I am not shaking. It is 9:45 pm and no show has come back on. I am taking my poor hand and iSight back in. There is always tomorrow.

The best part of tonight is that my iSight actually captured a shot of the fireworks--however dark--while I was fiddling with my S4. You can see it on my iSight Hong Kong webcam. The colorful spots you see are actual fireworks blasting off into the air. I swear.

Posted by kingsley at 10:30 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

What a great way to test my brand new Pentax Optio S4. I am backing up my PowerBook, when a sudden burst of lights flash before me. I look out the window to see a fireworks display and laser show shooting off the top of buildings from across the harbor.

The fireworks go off synchronously from atop a row of buildings, while beams shoot off in every direction far into the sky. The sky is brightly lid and the view, magnificent.

I quickly but clumsily take out my S4 to capture the moment. Here is my chance to test how well it shoots night scenes, as they are most problematic to capture with digital cameras. By the time I turn my camera on and push the window open, the fireworks is already dwindling down, but the laser show is still crisscrossing the sky.

I snap a shot but it is too far. Then I zoom-in to shoot several more. When even the beams are gone, I take the camera back inside to check the results. The lighting is terrific when it is set in "Night-Scene Mode," but the images are blurry, in part due to my hands, having to zoom-in, and the extra sensitivity of the night mode.

While I am transferring the pictures to my PowerBook and regretting the little time I had to take them, The sky lights up again. I immediately abort the transfer and slip the SD card back into the camera. My motions are faster this time, so I am able to capture several more images of the glorious display from afar.

This time the pictures are better but still somewhat blurry. I know the 3rd time's a charm, so I have my camera strapped to my wrist and ready to shoot when the show comes back, but it never did.

I call my neighbor to tell her, and she tells me this is a celebration that will go on every night throughout Chinese New Year. That means I will have more than 3 tries to do it right. I will be ready with my S4 tomorrow night.

Posted by kingsley at 6:05 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Being surrounded by high-tech toys and talks, it's refreshing to read about the beauty of nature and the honor of tradition, from no other than my niece. I ought to be ashamed:

There's also the fish. The temple has a huge pond/tiny lake surrounding it, and in it are these fishes called Koi. They look like the average carp, but they live up to a hundred years old and are worth a thousand dollars. Sensei said that thieves go to the temple at night to steal them, but the thief will have bad luck.

You can read her full essay here.

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After hearing complaints of the Sony DSC T-1 from my peers, I decided to forego it and shop for another digital camera tonight.

Long before the DSC T-1 came on the scene, I was already impressed with another DC, the Pentax Optio S. It's small yet packs a 3X optical zoom. For some reason I never got around to buy it. By the time I was in the market for a camera again, the T-1 had already set the marketplace abuzz. Then I knew my next camera would be that one. But now my friends who bought the T-1 have convinced me not to buy it. So, instead, I bought the Pentax Optio S4.

The S4 is basically the S with 4 megapixel. All the features for its size is amazing. The LCD is relatively tiny compared to the T-1, but my friend said the S4's screen is brighter. Also, because of its LCD size, the battery should last longer.

The S4 came with a free 64MB SD card, a store promo. I asked the clerk whether I could trade it in for higher capacity. He quoted me HK$100 for 128MB or HK$350 for 256MB. I opted for the 256MB SanDisk SD card, a bargain considering it's selling for HK$650 in the shop.

In retrospect, I made the right choice in choosing the Optio S4 over the DSC T-1. The main reason is that the S4 uses SD card for storage, which is the same as my Tungsten T-3. If I want to see a bigger picture right after it is taken, I can slide out the SD card from the S4 and insert it into my T-3 for 320X480 viewing pleasure, something even the T-1 can't match or do. The other reason is had I bought the T-1, it would cause major confusion when I blog about it and and my T-3 in the same entry. Not to mention I still have my Tungsten T-1 on my desk. See what I mean?

Now I am glad the shops were out of the Sony T-1 when I was looking for it, otherwise, I might end up selling it, as my friend did to his. And that won't make me very happy.

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Yesterday, I finally got around to upgrade my 17" PowerBook to 1GB of RAM. Do I need the extra 512MB? Probably not. Do I notice a speed increase after? I don't think I use enough RAM-intensive programs to know the difference.

On the other hand, I also took my friend's Blueberry iBook (circa 1999) for a RAM upgrade. A store employee walked up to look at the toilet-seat wonder, and mentioned what excellent condition it is in. I told him the owner hardly ever used it after she bought it, and that's why the battery is dead. Then another employee said that the fact it can still be turned on is a miracle, though it took forever to boot up in Panther.

I chose the 256MB module for the iBook, so the store assistant slid out one of the two 64MB cards from a RAM slot to replace it with the 256MB, for a total of 320MB. I noticed a speed increase immediately upon restart. Mac OS X 10.3 booted up much faster. Moving around the Finder is snappier, too. The real difference, though, is when I opened iPhoto. Whoa, I could actually navigate through rows of pictures in near real-time, something it took forever to do before the upgrade.

Even though this iBook is limited by a 300MHz G3 and 4MB of VRAM, increasing the RAM surely is the best thing you can do it if you plan to run Panther on it. I'm impressed.

Posted by kingsley at 10:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Sometimes the simplest resolutions may be the hardest ones to keep. One of mine this year is to stop buying English magazines at retail. I figure if I can stop myself from this impulsive habit each time I pass by a newstand or bookshop, I can save quite a bit of money that way.

For example, a week ago I went to apply for my new HK Smart ID card in Tsim Sha Tsui; next to it is a Bookazine shop. After I finished with my ID, and with an hour free before work, I naturally went inside Bookazine to browse. There I picked out Handheld Computing for HK$79 (US$10), Pen Computing for HK$78 (US$10), Technology Review for HK$80 (US$10), and of course a copy of Betty & Veronica Double Digest for HK$40 (US$5). In total, I paid HK$278 (US$36) for 3 magazines and a comic. That's outrageously expensive if you ask me. And to think I didn't even pick a magazine with a bundle CD, which costs well over HK$100 (US$13.00).

If I could just stop myself from buying magazines at retail, I can save a whole lot of money in a year. With that money, I can subscribe to all these magazines and get 12 issues each. It is really the smarter thing to do.

I am already doing it with MacAddict magazine. It costs HK$120 (US$15.50) to buy it at newstands here, but a one year foreign subscription costs just HK$357 (US$46). That means for every 3 issues I pay retail, I can get 12 issues deliver to my mailbox. What a bargain. I say it proudly now, but it took me years of paying inflated prices before I finally took action.

I know I can do it again.

Posted by kingsley at 11:40 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I thought I was getting the Sony DSC T-1 for Christmas, but every shop I looked, it was out of stock. I could have bought the non-HK authorized dealer version and paid US$100 less, but I would be without any warranty if it breaks. I decided to wait. But a few of my friends and customers didn't wait and went to get the non-HK version. They all came back to tell me I should hold off buying or pass on it altogether. They said the zoom on the T-1 sucks; it takes horrible pictures when it is on. One of my customers explained to me in details of why the non-protruding zoom lense does not work as well as traditional zoom lenses, but I am too dense to understand. Since he is the camera pro, I believe him. My other friend said he would e-mail me pictures taken from his T-1 with zoom on, but I am still waiting. He said he is going to try it for a few more days, then pack it up and sell it fast. Now I wonder the reason it is out-of-stock everywhere is whether it is a hot-seller in stores or a cold-lemon being recalled. I am going to be patient this time and wait it out.

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Here in Hong Kong, watching different region code DVDs are common. Even at the local Blockbuster, there are separate sections for Region 3 (Hong Kong and China) and Region 1 (U.S.) DVDs. But renters don't have to give it much thought, as DVD players sold here are almost all region-free, meaning they come already with all region codes unlocked, so you can watch DVDs from any country.

The same is with my old Titanium PowerBook and the Lombard PowerBook before that. Although these built-in DVD drives didn't ship with regions unlocked, readily available DIY firmware updates will set them free. Thus, for years I never had to think twice as to where the DVD I am watching comes from.

Not so with my new 17" PowerBook. No 3rd-party firmware is yet available for my SuperDrive, so I am stuck with a restricted DVD player. I am given only five chances to choose a region, after which I have to stick to it forever. I am down to four chances, and now each time I slide in a DVD, it adds a little more anxiety to my DVD watching experience. It shouldn't be like that.

My closest savior is the folks here, who have made available a firmware update for the SuperDrive, but only for the first generation 17" PowerBooks. I happen to have the second generation one; so close, yet so far. I shall keep a close watch on this site, and pray they will come out with a solution for my PowerBook before the countdown is up. Time is of the essence.

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After about a month-and-a-half of continuous work--except on Christmas Day--I pretty much paid my dues and am now on my first day of an early Chinese New Year break. I plan to go to Seoul, but ticket prices are more than double, as everyone is traveling during this time of year. It just doesn't make economic sense for me to go when everyone is going, and get slapped with a super-inflated bill, especially when I am free to fly any other time of the year. The problem is that my friend in Seoul only has this time off from his practice, as Koreans observe the Chinese calendar as well. If I go then, we will have time to spend together and play catch up; it has been 8 years. I should go to Wing On Travel to look up some rates, then go buy myself a down jacket, so I don't freeze my ass off in Seoul.

Posted by kingsley at 3:45 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

it's 1 in the morning in Hong Kong and I'm watching Steve Job's keynote at Macworld San Francisco. What a great incentive to start my blog for 2004!

Here's a trivia: Did you know that Microsoft Word came out first on the Macintosh 20 years ago, even before it was available on Windows?

The 2004 version of Microsoft Office for the Mac has a Notes feature, which looks frightening identical to AquaMinds NoteTaker 2003 and Circus Ponies NoteBook. For that matter, so does Microsoft OneNote for Windows.

iLife '04 integrates iPhoto 4 (yah, but where's 3?), iMovie 4 (iSight import), iDVD 4, iTunes 4 and GarageBand (cool name, but no "i"?). The GarageBand live demonstration makes me want to learn an instrument, or two.

The iPod mini, the size of a business card, with 4GB that holds 1,000 songs for US$249. And it comes in 5 colors. I much prefer a color video iPod instead.

It's now 3 in the morning and I need to sleep.

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