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Dictation on the iPhone

2010-01-11T05:23:25Z

I am writing this blog post not by typing but by talking. I am using Dragon's Dictation software on my iPhone. The accuracy is phenomenal, nearly 100% if I speak clearly and slowly, oh, and a quiet background should help, too. The actual transcribing is done not on the iPhone but transferred over the air, yet you hardly notice it, because the speed is almost instantaneous. So a 3G or a wi-fi connection is required for the app to work. While dictation software costs hundreds of dollars on the PC or Mac, this iPhone app is actually free, supposedly for a limited time. It still has work to do in terms of usability, but for its core function, turning an iPhone into a portable dictation device, it has done an admirable feat. After transcribing, I only needed to do minor manual editing before copying this text over to iBlogger to post to my blog right from the iPhone. Now that's something I wasn't expecting to be able to do in 2010.

Movable Type 5 and themes

2010-01-10T18:42:13Z

Upgrading to Movable Type 5 was no trouble, as usual, but afterwards, I tried to switch to a new theme, and now I'm running into all kinds of trouble: inconsistencies, previous leftovers, missing elements, just general weirdness. It's probably caused by the previous theme I used. Yikes! If I can't figure out how to fix it, I might have to pay someone to do it for me.

[Update, 11 January 2010] Choosing the community style theme Tristan Blue (MT 5.0) seems to have solved the incompatibility issues. I'm guessing the upgrade from MT4 to MT5 is major enough that new themes will have to be created to support the added features and changes. I will be searching for other new MT5 themes.

Note: I normally like to use 2-column layouts, but if you want this theme to be readable on the iPhone, choose 3-column instead. The 2-column text is too small even when rotated to landscape in Mobile Safari.

[Update 2, 11 January 2010] Rebuilding the site seems to bring back legacy elements from the previous theme, so I guess the the Tristan Blue (MT 5.0) didn't solve the problem. Now I tried the Community Blog 1.0 theme, and so far it's working. It's a 2-column layout but readable.

No printer. No problem.

2009-12-29T11:40:39Z

I don't own a printer. I haven't for over 10 years. Even back then, I believed the way to a paperless office is to not print out, well, paper. Let me clarify, I don't have a printer, but I have one at work. But even at work I seldom print. The few times a year I need to print at home, I print it at my neighbor's (we're good friends), or I e-mail the file to my friend's office, and pick it up when we meet after work. It's effective and keeps me from having to buy a printer.

Today, I received documents that urgently need printed and signed. My neighbor's on trip and I don't have an office anymore. Out of desperation, I called my building's management office for help, and I was relieved to learn that it provided printing to residents at HK$1 per page. Problem solved. In fact, I won't have to bother my neighbor or friends anymore, and continue my pledge to a paperless office (home).

Tags: paperless

My first Kindle book

2009-12-29T09:49:38Z

Amazon announced that for the first time ever, it sold more Kindle books than physical books in one day, on Christmas. Wow, that is not something we were expecting to hear so soon. After all, the Kindle reader has only been released for a little over two years, and physical books have been around, like, forever. Although we can see why it happened on Christmas day, and why it probably won't happen again till next Christmas, it indicates that we are embracing digital text rapidly. Heck, even I bought my first Kindle book for my iPhone last week, and I have no plans on buying a Kindle reader.

For me, it was a no brainer. I wanted to buy The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated by Tim Ferriss, but I can't find it at a local bookstore here in Hong Kong right away, but I can download the Kindle version immediately for only US$9.99, much quicker and cheaper than buying a physical book here. (Note: A US Amazon account is required to buy the Kindle version of this book.)

I already have the first edition of this book, so I thought a digital version complements each other. Besides, I have shelves and shelves of books, but I am about to be moving frequently, living here and there, for weeks and months at a time. I plan on packing light, so bringing along a bunch of books will not fit the bill or my luggage (As you can see, I am a fan of Tim Ferriss's lifestyle design). So I am ready to replace physical books with digital ones from now on. It will take time adjusting to reading on a screen and not on a page, but in time, it will be more convenient.

HairMax LaserComb

2009-12-20T08:07:01Z

I am buying the HairMax LaserComb for my brother's balding head for Christmas. He's used every hair-growth product under the sun. Here's hoping for a miracle!

Compass in iPhone 3G S

2009-08-17T12:18:26Z

I went to Sheung Wan today to buy refills for my Fisher Space Pen. Traversing to this part of the Hong Kong island is unchartered territory for a guy who spend 99.9% of the time on the Kowloon side. But since I have the address of this particular shop, and with my trusty iPhone 3G in hand, I should have no trouble finding it. It's almost true, since GPS and Maps on my iPhone gives an accurate proximity as to where I am and where I want to go. However, if you're clueless as to directions as I am, even finding a shop that is supposedly 3 minutes by foot from the MTR station can turn into almost a half hour walk. I kept walking to a different direction from where the map was pointing. I had to walk all 4 directions to see which one was the right path, and that's a lot of wasted energy. The built-in compass on the iPhone 3G S will not only show the proximity, but where I am standing and which direction I am facing. That's sorely missed in my iPhone 3G. I think this feature alone is worth upgrading to 3G S for me.

iPhone 3.0 software update

2009-06-25T12:42:21Z

Incidentally, the strongest added functions to the 3.0 software are not yet supported by AT&T in the U.S., MMS and Internet Tethering, both of which were available here in Hong Kong as soon as we updated our iPhone. Photos appear in the Messages app along with text messages. Click on the photo to see it full screen. If the same person sent more than one photo, you can swipe to see the other pics. Internet Tethering connects to my MacBook Air effortlessly, either with the USB cable or wirelessly via Bluetooth. And the speed is surprisingly fast, even on Bluetooth. So imagine when iPhone 3G S comes to Hong Kong next month, the 7.2Mbps bump will make surfing the web on-the-go almost indistinguishable from using Wi-Fi.

Movable Type Pro 4.261

2009-06-24T07:06:28Z

Movable Type is easy, trouble-free, albeit time-consuming to update.

Facebook username URL

2009-06-13T02:50:06Z

Wow, in less than an hour, Facebook will open up registration for a permanent username URL at http://www.facebook.com/username/. It's on a first-come, first-serve basis, so everyone's fair game. I don't use Facebook much, yet, except to play poker, but I can see the value for millions of users who depend on it to stay connected. I'm wondering whether Facebook will be able to handle the loads and loads of registrations that will sure to hit at launch time. I'm already there waiting for the countdown. May the fastest fingers get the best names!

Movable Type Pro 4.26

2009-06-12T05:31:12Z

Just updated to Movable Type Pro 4.26. Posting an entry to make sure it works with my current theme.

iPhone 3G S: To upgrade or not upgrade

2009-06-09T18:27:07Z

The new iPhone 3G S looks identical to the previous one. The changes appear beneath. Bigger drive, faster graphics, higher camera resolution and video recording. The other improvements--cut/copy/paste, search, MMS and tethering--will be available for all iPhones via 3.0 software update.

I'm split in the middle as to whether I need or want to upgrade from my iPhone 3G. The changes in 3G S isn't radical enough to make it a must-have for me. Final decision will probably depend on how affordable the upgrade path offered by my current carrier, 3 Hong Kong. But knowing me, I will end up buying no matter what the cost.

Britannica Mobile iPhone Edition

2009-04-08T18:01:51Z

While I am on the subject of iPhone web apps, Britannica MiE <http://i.eb.com/> is probably my favorite one of all. Although Wikipedia is ubiquitous, Britannica is authoritative. Plus, it never hurts to look up more than one source on a topic. So why a web app and not an iPhone app? Because for something like a large reference that is perpetually updated, a web app doesn't take up space on your iPhone, and the content is always recent.

With Merriam-Webster's dictionary and thesaurus <http://i.word.com/>, and Britannica's encyclopedia web apps, I have the whole reference shelf right on my iPhone.

Dictionary.com iPhone app

2009-04-08T17:35:53Z

I use Merriam-Webster's iPhone optimized web app <http://i.word.com/> for definitions, but if you want to look up words offline, Dictionary.com has released an iPhone app based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary. The app is a 35MB download, and it's free.

Pay Lauren to buy a PC? But she really wants a Mac!

2009-03-27T04:18:43Z

Wow, I don't know about you, but watching this ad by Microsoft just made my Mac ego shot through the roof:

MacHeist 3 bundle

2009-03-25T11:52:03Z

Another year, another bundle. Macheist probably offers the most affordable Mac software bundle out there. This time with 12 apps for US$39, or 13 if you're one for the first 25,000 people to place an order. It's US$10 cheaper than last year's bundle; recession-friendly prices, perhaps.

Even if you're not interested, just visiting the site will reward you with EventBox. Here are the rest of the bunch: iSale, Picturesque, SousChef, World of Goo, PhoneView, LittleSnapper, Acorn, Kinemac, WireTap Studio, BoinxTV, The Hit List, Espresso and Big Bang Board Games.

The best thing about software bundles is that even if you already own some of the software in the bundle, or that you're not interested in most of the them, just finding one or two that you do want will already pay for itself, and you can consider the rest as bonuses, to explore further. Who know? You might like them, too.