Icey Cake's Fei Hua Blog

One More Thing...

2009-02-05T01:07:00.001-08:00

My blog site is officially moved to its final home: http://www.iceycake.com If you have subscribe my feed, please come to my new blog and re-subscribe again. Thanks.

Goodbye

2009-02-03T16:00:00.001-08:00

I have been using Blogger/Blogspot for the past few years since Google bought Blogger. However, after so many years, it seems there is nothing innovated happening here. Themes are still suck. Very limited functionality.

Now, I officially announce this blog is permanently moved to WordPress. I will not post any new entry into blogger anymore. Please visit me in my new blog. Thanks.

Tutorial: Acer Aspire One + Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000)

2009-02-02T12:29:00.001-08:00

I have installed Ubuntu 8.10 on my Acer Aspire one since the day I bought it last year. It works great but I'm getting bored of using it. Yesterday, I reinstalled the small machine with Windows 7 Beta. Windows 7 really has a big improvement on battery usage and performance. Startup time is very fast and everything works fine except my wireless adaptor doesn't work very well and missing the touchpad driver.

Luckily, I fixed the problem by download the latest Synaptics Driver and Atheros Driver.

Also, I installed Windows 7 Beta by using a 8GB USB drive. I made the USB drive bootable by using the following steps:

Run diskpart on a Windows Vista machine as Administrator
Type list disk to find out what is the disk number of my USB drive. In my case, it's disk 5
Type select disk 5
Type clean
Type create partition primary
Type select partition 1
Type active
Type format fs=fat32 quick
Type quit to exit
If you have Daemon Tools Lite installed, you can use it to mount the Windows 7 Beta ISO image and copy all the files into the USB drive. I don't have Daemon Tools installed on my parents Windows Vista, so I use my Mac to mount the ISO image.

Lazy Cake

2009-01-31T18:43:00.000-08:00

I found out I'm very lazy for the past months so I almost stop blogging in this blog anymore. In the meanwhile, I am setting up a new blog in Wordpress and I do a lot of small blogging on Twitter.

Twitter? RSS Feed? Blog? Oh my....

2009-01-31T18:38:00.001-08:00

I use Google Reader to update myself every day because it's impossible to visit hundreds of web sites to gather information. Although it's impossible to finish reading thousands of articles in Google Reader, I still manage to clean up a couple hundred articles a day.

I have heard about Twitter for awhile but it was very unstable about half year ago. The site is always down and nothing get published (well, it's not designed as a message system in the first place).

Now, I have one of the Twitter clients running on all my computers/notebooks/iPhones and I found out I am following a lot of web sites also in my Google Reader. In other words, I need to skim through the same material twice right now.

I have to make a decision. I should get the information from Twitter or Google Reader. Help!!!

Vortex Creations

2009-01-31T18:36:00.001-08:00

It's so amazing the name "Vortex Creations" still around the net after all these years if search in Google. I tried Yahoo and it doesn't return that much of results back.

Most Expensive iPhone Application

2008-08-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

To date, 08/05/2008, this is the most expensive iPhone application. For US$999.99, it does NOTHING!!!!

iPhone 2.0.1

2008-08-04T23:08:00.000-07:00

Apple just released the 2.0.1 update for the iPhone today. As usual, Apple does not mention what has been fixed/changed in this update. According to the readers in MacRumors.com,

Contact List can scroll a lot faster
Mobile Safari is a lot faster
Screen rotation from portrait mode to landscape mode is faster
SMS keyboard lagging is no more
3G signal is stronger (could be cheating by displaying more bars)
WiFi speed is faster
Backup is faster (AWESOME!!!)
Speaker is louder

~~I'm updating my iPhone 3G. I will confirm the above observation myself once my update is done.~~ I have updated my iPhone 3G. Here is what I observed,

Contact List scrolls faster than before.
I cannot tell if Mobile Safari is faster but it does not crash that much comparing to previous version.
Screen rotation is obviously faster.
SMS keyboard lagging is better but still slower than 1.1.x
3G signal is strange. I used to have 1 bar at home. After update, I still have 1 bar at home but sometimes it will jump to 5 bars and down back to 1 bar.
WiFi speed is pretty much the same
Backup is pretty much the same (SLLLLLOW)
Speaker is about the same

According to the iPhone Dev Team (PwnageTool), the new 2.0.1 firmware may make the 3G iPhone harder to be unlocked. In other words, 2.0.1 probably contains a new baseband that makes the 3G reception "better".

Tutorial: How to Disable iPhone Backup?

2008-07-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Since the iPhone 2.0 firmware, iTunes can backup your iPhone for up to 2 hours (I had experience that took me more than 3 hours). One of the reasons is iTunes tries to copy every single files from the iPhone to the hard drive. I have about 40 applications are installed and the backup folder (/Users//Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup) shows I have more than 5000 files in the backup archieve. According to my observation, it takes about 1-2 seconds to copy 2 files from the iPhone to my computer (PowerMac Dual G5 2.0GHz with 4GB RAM).

Seriously, have Apple heard of rsync? Why they want to copy every single files from my phone back to the computer? I can restore the application via the AppStore, right? I think iTunes just need to save the application's SQLite database files only if they have been modified. That will definetely speed up the backup process. (Yeah, again, rsync Apple!!!!)

Before Apple fixes this problem, I guess we have to live with the slow backup process. I used to sync my iPhone 1.x with my computer mutliple times a day. Now, I may only sync my iPhone if I have calendar update (yes, MobileMe does not support subscribed calendars yet) or updating the music/podcasts.

If you are brave enough, you can hit the "x" button to skip the backup and force iTunes just to sync your other files instead. However, that always create corrupted backup archives. If you see multiple backup folders within /Users//Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup, highly possible your backup is corrupted. To fix it, just simple delete /Users//Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup and restart iTunes again. It will force iTunes to create a brand new backup archieve.

The other way to skip the backup process is modifying iTunes configuration. No, you cannot find it in the iTunes Preference. You have to manually modifying the system settings by typing

defaults write com.apple.iTunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool true

in the Terminal application on the Mac and restart iTunes. If you want to perform the backup again, issue the same command but replacing "true" to "false" (I highly recommend to do the backup at least 1 time a week). For Windows users, sorry, may be the similar settings are hidden in the registry and I have no idea where to find it yet.

Me: The Curse of Technology

2008-07-25T15:43:00.001-07:00

About 8 years ago, we have Windows Me. It is a re-skined Windows 95 and everyone hates it. It is soon replaced by Windows 2000. Today, we have Mobile Me, which is a upgraded version of the old .Mac service. Will it be the other flop as well?

Blackberry - No Additional Application Designed for Your Device were Found

2008-07-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

I have received a lot of emails and comments related to my tutorial on installing Chinese font files on the T-Mobile Blackberry Pearl (8100). As I mentioned in the blog, the font files are mainly for 8100 and I really unable to help on the other different models because I dont' have all the Blackberry hardware to test.

The pattern is very inconsistent. Some of the newer models work but some of the newer models do not work. Some of the readers do post their experience in the comments and I think they are very helpful. Let me summarize them here in case you do not want to scroll through all the comments.

First of all, when you are downloading the 4 files from me, make sure there are 2 ALX files and 2 COD files. If you see ZIP or TXT extension, please rename them correctly.

rivviepop points out you can convert the ALX files into JAD files and install them.
Someone found a multi-lingual version of the Blackberry OS from here.
The other user hack the chinese font files from the Hong Kong version OS. He/She loads the CJK.alx along with my font files.

I also did some researches on the error message "no additional application designed for your device were found" on Google. It seems this error message does not really mean it cannot find the binary files. Highly possible you have an outdated version of Desktop Manager. You can find more detail explanation here.

Again, I really unable to help if you are unable to install the font files into the Blackberry other than 8100. If anyone has any luck on 8130, please post the method here. The 8130 users will be very appreciate.

Why Steve Jobs is getting thinner?

2008-07-24T11:25:00.001-07:00

Here is why....

Finally...

2008-07-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Microsoft: Let the war begins....
Apple: I'm ready....

Steve Ballmer: In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving. Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience. Today, we’re changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We’ll do the same with phones—providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences.

Read more here.

Review: Evernote (iPhone)

2008-07-24T01:53:00.001-07:00

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. This application is available in multiple platforms: Windows, Mac OS X Leopard, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Web, etc.

The desktop version of Evernote allows you to capture virtually anything on your computer screen. Once you save it in Evernote, it will be sync to the Evernote storage server and will be sync to the other machine or phone that has Evernote installed.

The iPhone version of Evernote allows you to access whatever you have saved in the Evernote storage server plus you can create text note, voice note, and image note. I find out the voice note is a very good tool for voice recorder (far better than any other voice recording software for the iPhone since the records are synced back to the server).

So how it works?

You capture the things you want to remember using what you already use—your Windows or Mac computer, the web, and your mobile phone.
Evernote runs everything through its recognition technology and then make it all available across all the devices. You can then organize and tag the notes, if you want.
When you want to remember something, just search for it and there it is just like you remember it.

(Price: Free)

Mac OS X iSerial Reader and Serial Box Files

2008-07-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you sent me email and asked me why his/her iSerial Reader cannot read in the new serial box files anymore. One of the reasons is because the iSerial Reader contains a security key and it was expired a couple months ago. You can download the latest version of iSerial Reader and the serial box files right here.

iPhone PwnageTool 2.0.1 (iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock)

2008-07-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

iPhone PwnageTool 2.0 was released yesterday. Within 24 hours, iPhone PwnageTool 2.0.1 has been released to fix some bugs. You can download it from here or here. You can also download the bootloader from here.

iPhone 3G Sightings (iPhone Availability)

2008-07-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2008 (Launch Day):
AT&T Store near Puente Hills Malls @ 1:30pm - All Sold Out (Even the display unit is gone)
Apple Store in Brea Mall @ 2:00pm - Almost 200 people are in line.

July 12, 2008:
Apple Store in Pasadena @ 2:00pm - Almost 70+ people are in line.

July 13, 2008:
Apple Store in 3rd Street Santa Monica @ 3:00pm - About 40 people are in line.

July 14, 2008:
Apple Store in 3rd Street Santa Monica @ 12:30pm - About 40 people are in line. Talked with an orange t-shirt Indian lady in the store and she told us the wait for iPhone 3G will be probably 2-3 hours and the phone activation time will be 4-6 hours.

July 15, 2008:
Apple Store in Brea Mall @ 11:00am - Still insanely lots of people in line for the iPhone 3G. Don't people have anything to do other than spending hours inline for a freaking phone?

I just check the Apple iPhone 3G Availability page and found out most of the Apple stores are running out of the iPhone.

July 16, 2008:
My co-worker went to the Apple store on the 3rd Street in Santa Monica around 1:00pm. There were about 30 people ahead of him and about 20 people behind him after he arrived there for 15 minutes. He waited for about 2 hours for the phone and the other 5 minutes to activate the phone. He also told me the store has a new shipment in the morning and most of the 16GB Black are selling out (how dare he is!!! He should grab me to go with him!!!).

July 17, 2008:
My friend went to the Costa Mesa store today and the line was about 45 minutes.

July 18, 2008:
I called the Brea and Costa Mesa store today and both of the stores are out of stock of any iPhone 3G. It seems there will be no iPhone 3G through the coming weekend.

July 23, 2008:
The iPhone 3G was out of stock in most of the stores in the Southern California for the past few days. The Apple iPhone 3G availability page showed the Santa Monica, Century City, and Beverley Hills stores have all 3 models of iPhone 3G. Brea Mall only has the white 16GB model. I just called Santa Monica store (10:30am) and the sales told me the line is about 3-4 hours waiting.

July 26, 2008:
The Apple availability page shows most of the stores in the CA has iPhone 3G in stock for the weekend. Plus, all the stores will be opened @ 8am instead of 10am except Sunday. Apple also increases the headcount in the stores to assist the customers to get the iPhone 3G. Awesome!!!

Someone has figured out how to obtain the availability status every 15 minutes from an Apple's feed. You can come to here to check it. Again, always call the store before your commute to the store.

OK, finally, I am inline at the Brea mall today @ 7:45am (since the web site mentioned the store opens @ 8:00am). In real, the store is not opening @ 8:00am but there are Apple store orange t-shirts outside of the store and explaining the situation. They hand out a card that represents what model you are getting (it's pretty cool so you can leave early if the model of the iPhone you are getting is out of stock).

Then, there is the other orange t-shirt verify your AT&T account if you are existing customer. I ran into a problem about my AT&T account that the foundation account # is not matched with my phone number (I'm Pacbell Wireless customer since 1996 and I never change wireless carrier. May be that's why.) The orange t-shirt is very helpful and he called AT&T to resolve my issue. Once I got into the store (around 10:30am), the blue t-shirt helped me to pick the phone plan and activate the iPhone. I asked him a couple questions and he seems no clue at all:

1. I bought some applications for my old iPhone. Can they transfer to my new iPhone?
His answer: NO
Real answer: The actual answer is yes as long as your Mac ID matched the old phone. The applications are go by DRM bounds with your Mac ID instead of the Phone.

2. Will my old iPhone backup restored to the new iPhone?
His answer: All your phone number and songs will sync back to the phone via iTunes.
Real answer: It's not about the sync but restoring the backup. It seems he has no clue what I'm asking at all.

After asking these 2 questions, I feel like I'm buying gadgets in the Best Buy where the Best Buy dudes have no clue at all. What's going on, Apple?!?!? Where is the training?

Anyway, I'm restoring the backup and syncing the songs back to my new 16GB White iPhone.

iPhone 2.0 Quick Tips

2008-07-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

By pushing the Home and Lock button at the same time. You can take a screenshot of the current screen. The saved image will be stored in the camera roll.
The camera is now location based. The saved image can contain GPS coordination. Webapp like Flickr can take advantage of the location and display the image on a map.
Calendar supports multiple calendars now.
Address book supports quick search. You will greatly appreciate that if you have lots of contacts just like me. However, I find address book is a little bit slower on my upgraded iPhone 2.0. I am wondering if iPhone 3G may have a faster CPU. Anyway, I use Google Mobile App most of the time if I want to search something. It really works like QuickSilver on the iPhone.
Calculator finally has scientific calculator in landscape mode. However, it doesn't have based conversion!!! I bought PCalc to replace the build-in one anyway.
International input!!! Goto Preference | International | Keyboard and you can add international input to your phone. For example, Chinese handwriting!!! Now, finally, I can easily search YouTube or web in Chinese using this official app (without jailbreak my phone).

iPhone 2.0

2008-07-14T00:36:00.000-07:00

Everyone talks about iPhone. I finally talk about iPhone too. Yes, I have an iPhone and just upgraded to iPhone 2.0. No, I don't have iPhone 3G... yet. I will get one eventually, but not now, at least, not in the following 1-2 weeks.

Upgrade to iPhone 2.0 is pretty smooth for me. I did it twice. I did the first time on the night before the offical firmware released. People claimed the version I put on my old iPhone is mainly for iPhone 3G so I did the "upgrade" again on Friday night @ 8:00pm PST. Everything is fine except the re-activation part. Very lucky, I tried 2 times and I have my iPhone re-activated again.

Once I have iPhone 2.0 upgraded, I immediately downloaded tons of software from the app store (in iTunes or on the phone). It works great and I feel I have a Palm Pilot on my hand again except everything I need is almost built-in: Hand-writing Chinese input and Located based softwares. The only complain I have just MobileMe is pretty much handicap. I cannot have subscribe calendar in MobileMe (I have many other calendars in Google Calendar and I don't want to use 3rd party software like Spinning Sync).

I will keep experiementing new software on my "new" iPhone. Yes, I'm very excited and No, I'm not very pleased with the experience with MobileMe and my Macs.

P.S.: Thanks for everyone visiting my tutorial on installing chinese fonts into the BlackBerry. As I mentioned before, I have fully switched to iPhone (personal) and Windows Mobile (work). I'm really unable to help you on how to install the font files into the newly released Blackberries. I'm so sorry about that.

Tutorial: 2009 Acura TSX and Apple iPhone

2008-07-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Acura TSX's technology package includes the navigation system (with XM traffic and weather), premium sound, USB port (iPod integration), aux audio port, and cellular phone integration (by bluetooth). According to Acura's handsfreelink site, TSX only supports a very limited features with the Apple iPhone. One of the most important features, phonebook import, is not supported according to the site.

However, it seems my TSX can import my 400+ contacts from my iPhone to the navigation system without any major problems (the import stops once it reaches to the contacts that use non-English characters). Since the Apple iPhone doesn't support contact transfer using bluetooth, I cannot send selected contacts to my TSX. Also, once you have imported the contacts from the iPhone contacts into the TSX cellular phonebook, you cannot modify/edit/delete individual contacts with the car phonebook. It is very inconvienent.

Setup the iPhone with the TSX is easy. Here is how you do it:

Have your car key in position I or II.
Push the phone call button on the steering wheel and say "Phone Setup"
Push the phone call button and say "Pairing"
Have your iPhone ready
Make sure the bluetooth is on and in discovery mode (Settings | General | Bluetooth)
Push the phone call button and say a 4 digit as the pairing code you need to enter to your iPhone
A dialog will display on your iPhone. Enter the 4 digit code you just said to the car
Done

The TSX has 2 phonebooks in real, one in the navigation system and one in the car. You can assign voice tag with the phone numbers that are stored in the car. In order to enter phone number into the car phonebook, you can use bluetooth contact transfer (not support by iPhone), voice, or import from the navigation phonebook.

Personally, I don't suggest you using voice to input the phone number. The voice recognition system (built by IBM) has no problem to recognize the numbers I said to it but it has difficulty to recognize the single word "ENTER" (you have to say it at the end of the phone number so the system can save it into memory). If you have other phone that support bluetooth contact transfer, you can use it to "beam" the phone number into the car phonebook.

Push the call button on the steering whell and say "Phonebook"
Push the call button and say "Transfer a contact"
"Beam" the phone number using a non-iPhone phone via bluetooth
The car will ask you to give a voice tag
Push the call button and say the voice tag
Push the call button and say "Yes" if the system accepts your voice tag. Sometimes, the system will reject your voice tag if it sounds too close to some other words.
Done

You can also transfer the phone number from the navigation system's phonebook after you import the contacts from your iPhone.

Push the Info button on the dashboard
Use the dial to select Cellular Phonebook
Use the dial to select Import Phonebook
Make sure your iPhone has enough battery if you have a huge contact list (like mine). I have 400+ contacts and it takes about 10-15 minutes to finish the import
After the contacts are import into the system. You can use the dial to select Search Phonebook
Pick the phonebook you just import or any other phonebook you have import previously. Totally, you can import 6 phonebooks
Use the dial and virtual keyboard (or voice) to locate your contact and phone number
Push the dial to right so you can import the selected number into the car's phonebook
Push the call button on the steering wheel and give the selected number a voice tag
Push the call button and say "Yes" if the system accepts your voice tag
Repeat #7 if needed
Done

(07/22/2008 Update: Importing the contact list into the navigation system doesn't work anymore after I upgraded my iPhone to 2.0. I suspect it will be the same for the iPhone 3G as well.)

(07/25/2008 Update: I tried to use my Mac to send vcard via OBEX to the car. It seems not working at all. Acura is not implementing the correct OBEX for vcard transfer or the OBEX in Acura is old version. The make the problem even interesting, my car discovered my iPhone 2.0 after I played with it for 30 minutes and it downloaded the phonebook from my phone. OK, I am totally lost about how the whole thing connect together.)

HP 2133 Mini-Note MID

2008-04-08T17:38:00.001-07:00

呢部野好靚仔係咪? US$499, 我真係想買部來係旅行用, 15" MBP 真係太重了 (FYI, 公司比左部 17" MBP 用... 好大好重.....)

Nikon 還是 Canon? (Part 1)

2007-12-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

又有朋友要購買 DSLR 了!!! 又是同一堆問題, 我在這裡解答好了!!! (註: 本人是在使用 Canon EOS 1D Mark III, 可能對 Canon 有某程度的 bias)

Q: Canon EOS XTi (400D) 好還是 Nikon 40x 好?
Canon EOS XTi (400D) 比較好, 主要原因是 XTi 可以便用 Canon EF 及 EF-S 鏡頭 (即所有 Canon mount 的鏡頭都可以使用)。Nikon 40x 沒有內置 motor, 所以只可口使用新的 digital 鏡頭 (舊的鏡頭可以用, 但只可以 manual focus)。雖然 XTi 有些功能不及 40x, 但相對 40x 也缺少了一些功能。如果你真的想要 Nikon 的入門機, 我會 suggest 你購買 Nikon D80。

Q: Canon EOS 40D 好還是 Nikon D200/D300 好?
要看個人喜好, 論相機功能, Nikon D200/D300 真的非常物超所值, 操控功能一流。Canon 鏡頭選擇性多, 機身設計電腦化。我是 Canon 用家, 但如果這是我第一部 DSLR, 我會購買 Nikon D300。

Q: 我要買甚麼鏡頭?
先用 kit lens, 了解 focal distance 及鏡頭的 limitation, 再依個人喜好再作決定。但先警告 kit lens 的 quality 真的十分差, 如果真的有多餘 budget, 我會 suggest 只買機身, 再花錢買一支 28-70mm f/2.8 的鏡頭。

Q: 我要買外置閃光燈嗎?
先不要花錢在閃光燈上, 先學會有燈光下如何拍照才花錢再加設備。

再續...

戒煙說

2007-12-31T09:44:00.000-08:00

新的一年快到, 又是誓神劈願要戒煙的時間。每一個新年, 身邊朋友及我 (沒錯, 身邊 90% 的朋友都是煙鏟, 每年進供 Phillips Morris 不少) 都說來年要成功戒煙, 但是每一次都因為其中一個失敗, 每一個人又開始吸煙, 真他媽的失敗。

戒煙方法, 都是那幾種:

1. 戒購買不戒吸食 (成功難度: ***)
最不能戒煙, 但可成功減少吸食次數。

2. 吸食半支煙 (成功難度: ****)
浪費金錢, 每每因為吸食份量太少而最後引班吸食更加多次數。

3. 用戒煙糖或貼 (成功難度: **)
有效代替吸煙, 但會由吸煙上引變成對戒煙糖或貼的依賴。

4. 一刀切 (成功難度: *****)
已故林振強 (強伯) 極力讚成的戒煙法, 成功例子不少, 但精神力十分重要。

如果你有其他方法, 歡迎留言。

BTW, 祝大家新年快樂!!!

攝影

2007-12-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

朋友 M 笑說若果我能拍出同事三分親入邊那種 style 的相片, 就給我做 model。哈! 其實看過照片, 不是很難。都是 indoor studio 加燈光效果吧了。

不過這一集很有趣, 都是講攝影的。Kawaii 為了保護手中貴重的相機而受傷, 很像我們這班拍友啊!!! 哈~~~

零七無聊事回顧

2007-12-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

一轉眼, 2007 就快完結, 在 Facebook 跟中學同學笑說, 很快我們也 40 歲了!!! Anyway, 就看看我怎樣浪費了這一年......

第十位
來了米國十幾年, 又一次嘗試了沒有車一個星期的滋味!!! 在此多謝 Iris 的幫忙。

第九位
第一次在 Las Vegas 輸了一千大洋, 他媽的!

第八位
睡房影音大變身。終於把 N 年某 ex 送給我的電視機送了別人, 換了 1080p 的 32" LCD TV + XBox 360 + Wii。

第七位
玩 Facebook, 忘記了名字的小學同學也跑了出來, 很好很好。

第六位
S 公司 Architect 放了大假, 公司主 database 掛掉了, inventory 系統大亂, 給我一弄, 更加大獲!!! 最後通宵了數晚, 把系統搞定, 也賺到了權利, 在 org chart 上邊上了位。

第五位
竟然因為攝影, 跑了去 Yosemite 行山, 竟然 come back in a piece!!!

第四位
跟第 x 任女友又分手了, 不知何時才有完結, 很累。

第三位
在 S 公司, 越做越奇怪, 職位是 Architect, 但是要做 management training。G 公司第 N 次聯絡我來挖角, 第次又看看會如何。

第二位
攝影成狂, 2007 年花了近萬元美金購買器材 (包括 Canon EOS 1D Mark III)。Efania Photography 成立 (還有 efania.net & efania.org)。

第一位
學人家寫回顧, 想出 10 件特別事是很困難的事!!! 朋友 T 笑說十樣野六樣都是年尾發生的, 我在米國生活冇聊嘛!!!

夢劇院

2007-12-26T20:28:00.000-08:00

記得我中四五時, 我不多聽香港音樂, 頂多聽電台廣播, 甚少買中文 CD/Cassette (回想起, 一大損失!)。夢劇院是我的一個例外, 我很喜歡那種校園清新的音樂 (從 Come Back to Love 那邊得知, 這種意樂叫做 Passa Nova)。

當年得喜歡劉文娟, 覺得她很漂亮, 現看舊的 MTV, 得難想像為什麼我會覺得她漂亮!! O_O''

狐狸先生的尾巴
做型很嚇人, 台風一樣嚇人!!!

飄去夏天
劉文娟塊臉好"包"... 還有衣著, 好像大了一個 size...

天生一對
本人就是因為這首歌才開始喜歡夢劇院!!! Again, 我不知道為何當年我會覺得劉文娟漂亮!!!

懷舊 - 冇有線電台

2007-12-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

狂野的蕃茄

朋友兩個

林楚麒 - 這就是愛

2007-12-26T14:52:00.000-08:00

呢幾日, 冇意咁搵到一個叫 Come Back to Love 的 blog, 論盡 80 年代香港歌曲, 值得一看。小弟以前身在香港時不大聽香港歌曲, 不知道原來林楚麒係咁唱得!!!

中文還是英文? (Chinese or English Blog!?!?!)

2007-12-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

有留意我的 Blog 的朋友, 有沒有法現我很久沒有更新內容, 怎麼都只是放放 MTV, 連三兩句都懶得寫進去? 因為小弟在這半年, 生活極度沉悶枯燥, 除了花了錢買玩具 (XBox 360, Canon 580 EX II) 跟照相之外, 沒有什麼有趣或勞氣事情可以分享 (米國生活是這樣的吧?)

哪麼為什麼在 12 月, 又再開始寫!?!? 如果你有留意, 我近幾次寫都是中文 Blog, 都很小寫英文, 原因很簡單, Tech Blog 周圍都是, 各朋友都有看 Engadget 跟 Gizmodo, 我都不需要再 repeat 人家寫的東西, 不如用這個 Blog 寫自己的東西算吧!!! 還有, 自從上了 Facebook 之後, 跟很多中小學同學有聯絡, 突然很想念香港, 不時都到 YouTube 找 Video 來看, 因為內容都是中文, 還是用中文寫算吧!!!

梁靜茹 - 親親

2007-12-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

早前跟朋友到 K 唱歌 (LA 的 Karaoke 都執得七七八八), 友人 S 點了這首歌唱, 很喜歡這 MTV 的拍攝手法, 可以把一個 3x 歲的女子變成 1x 歲的學生妹, 好野!!!

懷舊

2007-12-07T15:29:00.001-08:00

近這數個月, 心情一直很低落, 特別在看了兩套冇聊港片後 (十分愛 + 獨家試愛), 又在 Facebook 跟中小學同學有聯絡, 再有朋友問我借草蜢 CD, 突然發狂地在 YouTube 找尋很多 80 年代的 MTV 來看。以前是我近期 "心水":

地球大合唱

還記得這個 MTV 嘛? 當年全港最強的歌手都在裡面 (陳慧嫻很可愛啊!)

可有記得愛

陳慧嫻跟原唱版, 超正!!!

小女心曲

經典到爆! 林志美 + 林珊珊 + 陳慧嫻.....

E? 點解個個 MTV 都有陳慧嫻???

梁靜茹 - 勇氣

2007-12-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

由光良的第一次 MTV 起, 很喜愛這女主角 (蕭淑慎)。Too bad, in real world, she is very corrupted.

35 Years = 10 Seconds

2007-09-08T12:01:00.001-07:00

張敬軒 - 酷愛

2007-09-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Microsoft ZunePhone

2007-08-24T12:13:00.001-07:00

Unlock Apple iPhone

2007-08-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

My friends have messaged me to tell me Hong Kong has the unlocked Apple iPhone for sale (HK$16,000 = almost US$2,000).

Well, I have read an article on how to unlock the Apple iPhone. I never tried it because I do not have any problem with AT&T. However, it sounds very reasonable and promising. What you need is a Intel based Mac, a Turbo Sim, and an original Apple iPhone. Why spend 2,000 bucks on a freaking phone???

緣份

2007-08-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

A lot of people even at my age forget this Cantonese song. I love this song very much when I was still in college. I have searched it for awhile and finally I can find it in YouTube!!!

Can you identify who sing this song?

Taco Town

2007-08-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

Man... this is really cranked me up.

Finally, it is HERE!!!

2007-07-26T15:01:00.001-07:00

Finally, it is HERE!!!
Originally uploaded by Icey Cake

After searching for it for almost 2 months, finally I get it. My new primary camera body, Canon EOS 1D Mark III.

Tutorial: Computer to Internet Using iPhone ATT Edge

2007-07-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

Blackberry "Ads"

2007-07-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Awesome Vista Voice Regconition

2007-07-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Canon EOS 5D Mark II !?!?!?!

2007-07-02T11:19:00.001-07:00

2007 Anime Expo

2007-07-02T11:07:00.001-07:00

Guyver (加爾巴/卡巴)
Originally uploaded by Icey Cake

I just went to the 2007 Anime Expo at the Long Beach Convention Center the past weekend. I managed to take some photos. Check them out if you are interested!!!

Canon EOS 1D Mark III?!?!?!

2007-06-19T18:05:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am debating I should get the Canon EOS 1D Mark III instead of waiting for Canon EOS 5D Mark II or 40D.

Why? First of all, for those who don't know, I bought a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L lens about 2 weeks ago (sorry for not keep updating my blog... again). Including a 77mm B+W UV filter and a 77mm B+W circular polarizer, Samy's charged me a 4-digit number on my credit card.

I am so happy about this lens because it is the cheapest L lens you can get from Canon's lens lineup. Plus, I was sick of my EF-S 18-55mm kit lens after the Yosemite trip. However, it still cannot solve my current big problem, which is, the lens is not wide enough. Comparing to my friends' Tokina 12-24mm f/4 lens on a 1.6x body, my 17-40mm is really a joke. Should I get the Tokina 12-24mm as well? No way!!! I am not going to spend the other 600 bucks on the other wide angle lens.

What is my solution for taking ultra wide angle shots? I refuse to go for the 1st option which is buying the Tokina 12-24mm lens. Besides the extra 600 bucks, this lens cannot be use on a full frame or 1.3x body. I have tried this lens on a Canon EOS 5D at the Samy's store (thanks to Barry's kindly assistance!!!). The Tokina lens just doesn't work on a FF or 1.3x body until hitting the 17mm mark. Since I plan to move away from the 1.6x body (yes, I'm not going to get the 40D unless it is not 1.6x), I really don't want to waste money on this lens.

The second option is getting the Canon EOS 5D or Canon EOS 5D Mark II. First of all, no one knows if Canon is going to release 5D Mark II. If it does, no one knows when this camera will be released. Second, I'm not going to spend money on a 18 months old 5D body although the current package is very attractive (5D + 28-105mm L with 300 bucks Samy's gift card). Third, even Canon is releasing the 5D Mark II this year, I still have to spend money to get the battery grip (which probably will be the other 300 bucks).

The third option is getting the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, which is the latest model Canon just released in February and just start shipping now (It is very hard to find this body since it is out of stock everywhere. It is even harder to find than the Nintendo Wii). The current price is US$4495, which is 500 bucks cheap than 4 months ago. As I recall, this camera MSRP is US$3999. In other words, the vendors put 500 bucks markup on this baby. If I can wait for the other 6 months, for sure I can get the US$3999 deal.

Anyway, seems I will not buy anything after 6 months, let's see what Canon is offering in the October trade show.

(07/26/2007 Update: I just received my Mark III yesterday. It is an awesome machine!!!! Check out my Flickr page for testing shots.)

Funny but Cruel

2007-06-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

Serial Box for Mac OS X (June 2007)

2007-06-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

The June 2007 version of Serial Box for Mac OS X has been released. The package comes with the latest version of iSerial Reader as well. You can download it from here.

Nissan Dualis

2007-05-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

The powered suit is designed by anime creator/mecha designer Shoji Kawamori, who designed the anime series Macross.

Gmail 20MB Attachment

2007-05-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

I just found out Gmail now is supporting maximum 20MB for attachments. This is really a big news. Although Gmail does not have the "unlimited" storage as what Yahoo! does, the 20MB attachment size is very attractive!!! Good job, Google!!!

Mainland China Web Censorship

2007-05-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! I can't believe my blog has been blocked in the mainland China. I guess probably the whole www.blogspot.com domain has been blocked. Anyway, I used a free online tool called Great Firewall of China to check if the URL has been blocked by mainland China's firewall or not.

Nintendo Wii

2007-05-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

Finally, I decided to join the club of owning a Nintendo Wii. It is still a very hard to find item. Yes, there are tons on eBay and the bidding price is between US$290 to US$350 plus shipping. I cannot say I like to shop at eBay. Let's put in this way. Will you spend US$300 to buy something that may be used by somebody? Will you spend US$300 on something that it will be very trouble to return and exchange if you find out it has problem?

Although I found a several "big" merchant on eBay that sells Wii in a very "reasonable" price, I still feel it's a major ripped off. First of all, Nintendo Wii is only US$249.99 MSRP. Second, it comes with just ONE game that contains 5 mini-sport games inside there. 99.99% ebay merchants posted the Wii as "Nintendo Wii with FIVE games" and selling it for US$290+. I agree to pay the extra 50 bucks premium for this rare item, but please do not trick the buyer by saying it comes with FIVE games!!!

After searching for the Wii for weeks, finally there are signs the stocks are coming in for the normal big merchants. Walmart has the customizable bundle for what? US$649.99? Isn't it a typo or not? Because of the high price, this bundle last for more than a week and still in stock. I check again today and it drops to US$448.92. However, I don't like bundles. Why forcing me to buy 3 games with the console together?

Circuity City has the Wii bundle in stock for US$409.96 when I checked it this morning. It comes with 2 games and it became out of stock when I checked again for the URL so I can post in this blog.

Finally, I found Toys "R" Us has the Wii in stock as well. I bought the Nintendo DS Light from Toys "R" Us when it was a rare item as well. Toys "R" Us has the best price I have ever seen. The Nintendo Wii is selling for US$249.99. Yes, it is US$249.99 plus sales tax and shipping. I ordered it immediately and it is closed to US$290 after adding the sales tax and shipping. However, it is still cheaper than buying from eBay and I feel safe to buy something from a big merchant.

By the way, if you are still searching for the Wii, you can try to visit TechBargins.com's Buy Wii page. For some reason, I woke up very early today (at 5:00am) so I get the the Wii for the "reasonable" price. I really have no idea when the Toys "R" US US$249.99 deal sold out.

(Update: I checked Toys "R" Us web site again after I ordered it (about 30 minutes after). The Wii is out of stock again. Woo!!!)

中大報與聖經

2007-05-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

中大校報那幾條情色人獸交問題弄得香港滿城風雨，錯在有人低智無聊，把小問題送交淫審處，小題大做。現有人借題提意把聖經也送交淫審處，香港這地方也真光怪陸離。

陶傑在其專欄中，曾這樣說

《中大學生報》的情色事件，本來是小事。殖民地時代，這一切不會成為新聞。只在「港人治港」的十年，太多沒有資格擁有權力的前殖民地土人掌了權，他們的知識不夠，眼界狹窄，加上人人有自己的「私人目的」（ Private Agenda ），中國人辦事，什麼都一窩蜂政治化，小事化大，大事化為危機，人人都想趕搭一程，這個想見報，那個想打擊對手，中大情色事件，最後誰也沒有亂倫，反倒是幾個「編委」，讓許多不相干的閒人堆爬上去，瘋狂「抽水」、「碌卡」，像輪姦一樣，幹了一票羅漢的政治順風車。
為甚麼總把簡單的事，搞得很複雜？例如明明是一封提交給大會的意見書，講的是真心話，變為「反黨」的集團。中大情色事件，大學生的問卷，本來只是「很」（ Silly ），其他人的反應，卻很蠢（ Stupid ），像指聖經為「歷史」的盲光社。也許這等淫盲人員的爸爸，是跟一條大青蛇搞完之後生下他們的，像《白蛇傳》淒美浪漫的傳說。覺得人獸不雅？

另外，友人 T 電郵一網站給我, 說世上原來有人也跟他一樣的忍受不了教會人 (教友)。長話不便多說，自己朋友中也有教友，我小時也是讀教會學校，HKCEE 也考過聖經，也曾到過教會崇拜上主日學，所以我也明白這網站所提及的問題。

以下網站，言詞其實十分幼稚，但是當中有不少故事很臉熟，相信很多朋友也遇過，也明白為什麼這些人不喜歡教會。

令人戰慄的聖經
反基督帝國
離教者之家

Motorola's New Phones

2007-05-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

News.com has posted some photos for the new Motorola new phones. Which one is the so-called iPhone killer? Check the photos out here.

Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac

2007-05-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit just released the beta version of the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac. This little standalone application can convert the DOCX file format into RTF so it can be imported into the older version of Microsoft Office or other document editors. Why RTF? I have no idea but it seems it is the only option to deal with Office 2007 documents before Office 2008 for Mac released.

Top Gear: Nissan Sunny

2007-05-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

In this episode, Jeremy is trying to destroy the Nissan Sunny (after they destroyed a Toyota pickup truck).

By the way, doesn't the car look like those crashing cars in Hong Kong TVB TV episodes???

Windows Live Folder

2007-05-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

According to Inside Microsoft, a new web application Windows Live Folder is in beta now. Wait a minute, what so new about Windows Live Folder? Yahoo does that for almost 10 years already and there are tons of similar online storages in the Internet. What's so new about it actually? I don't get it.

Oh, by the way, we are all still waiting for the real GDisk but not gDisk!!!

Who is Reading Your LinkedIn Profile?

2007-05-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

LinkedIn just released a new features in beta. You can see who has been viewed your personal profile for the last 2 weeks. I'm using their free account so I can only view a limited amount of people in the list. Recently, I have been contacted by a lot of recruiters in LinkedIn. Yes, Google contacted me again but too bad that their open position is in the Mountain View headquarter.

Motorola is Releasing an iPhone Killer?

2007-05-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

According to TechCrunch, Motorola is going to release an Apple iPhone killer in Europe very soon. The new phone will be focus on media. It contains a 30 frames/s video player, supports SD for movies, and 3G. Motorola CEO Ed Zander claims the new phone will directly compete with Apple's iPhone.

“I think it’s [the iPohne is] going to, in some cases, reinforce what we have been trying to do and are doing with the mobile internet. Applications such as multimedia and video and photos and music are going to be done on these devices”

Oh, come on, Motorola. Please fix all the software bugs in your V3 or later first. Plus, the first priority is solving the stupid address book and user interface issues. No way you can beat Apple's user interface design. By the way, please at least using a Linux based OS for the new phone instead of Microsoft Windows Mobile Edition crap.

Microsoft Visual Studio Island

2007-05-09T18:08:00.001-07:00

Video: Visual Studio Island

Adium 1.0.3

2007-05-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Adium team just released version 1.0.3 this morning. They fixed a couple serious memory leaking issues and replacing the internal library libgaim with libpurple (due to legal issue, the GAIM team has been renamed).

Microsoft Live Mail Commercial

2007-05-09T13:06:00.001-07:00

Video: Live Hotmail - Date

The Other Photoshop Alternative

2007-05-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

We all love Photoshop. The product name "Photoshop" even becomes a verb nowadays. "Did you photoshop your photo?" However, Photoshop is a very expensive product. That's why there are so many products try to do the same as Photoshop. Many years ago when I was still using Windows, I used Paint Shop Pro (now owned by Corel). Later, after I switched over to Linux, I use GIMP. Now, I'm using Mac and I finally pick Photoshop back as my primary photo editing software.

I came across a blogsite and found out this "gem". It's called Photo .NET. It's written by a Microsoft employee as freeware. Yeah, FREEware. The author claims it does pretty much what Photoshop can do. I don't have any Windows machine on hand to try this out. May be you can download and try it. Oh, please let us know how do you like it!!!

Microsoft's Rumor Zune Phone!?!?!

2007-05-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

I guess it is Microsoft's response to Apple's iPhone, the oFone.

O... WOW... Is it a joke or something!?!?!

SiteMeter New Version

2007-05-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Not only Google Analysis gets a new update, the "ugly" web analytics tool SiteMeter is also getting a new face and update as well. I use both SiteMeter and Google Analysis together. SiteMeter has some reports that Google Analysis does not have. For example, the referral report contains the actual URL from the users browser.

Same as Google Analysis, SiteMeter just announced the latest changes but my account still uses the old and ugly interface. Hope I will get my account soon.

Google Analysis New Version

2007-05-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

I have read blogs regarding the new version Google Analysis yesterday. Last night, I have received emails from Google about Google Analysis upgrade. I was so excited and went to my account to check out the new features. Unfortunately, my account has not been upgraded yet (If you register Google Analysis now, you will access the latest version so no need to wait).

Anyway, I just copy and paste the email I got from Google as following:

Hello from Google Analytics,

We are happy to announce the release of a new version of the Google Analytics reporting interface. Since you are an existing user, you will automatically be upgraded - there is no action required on your part. To access this new version click the "View Reports" link next to any profile in your account by logging in at http://www.google.com/analytics.

For a smooth transition, we've listed some helpful resources and notes below. Also, you will still be able to access your old reporting interface for at least a month by clicking "Previous Interface" below the "View Reports" link for any profile in your account. Other than a few improvements detailed in the version notes below, your data and configuration settings remain unaffected by your choice of interface and your data continues to be tracked in the same way as it was prior to this redesign.

What is new?
In the new version, your reports have been redesigned for clarity, greater visibility of important metrics, and ease of use. Here are just a few of the features you'll notice:

Email and export reports: Schedule or send ad-hoc personalized report emails and export reports in PDF format.
Custom Dashboard: No more digging through reports. Put all the information you need on a custom dashboard that you can email to others.
Trend and Over-time Graph: Compare time periods and select date ranges without losing sight of long term trends.
Contextual help tips: Context sensitive Help and Conversion University tips are available from every report.

The following resources are available to help you get the most from the new Google Analytics interface:

Report Finder Tool: will help you see where data from the previous interface is located within the new version (it is also linked to from within your reports on the left navigation menu): http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/bin/static.py?page=v1v2map.cs
Product tour: http://services.google.com/analytics/tour/index_en-US.html
FAQs for more details about the new version: http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/bin/static.py?page=FAQ.cs
Help Center: includes articles related to the new version: http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/
Support: if you encounter any issues with the new version that you can't resolve with the help center, you can contact our support team through the Contact Us link at the bottom of the help center web page, or receive higher-touch support through a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant. Find one here: http://www.google.com/analytics/support_partner_provided.html
Analytics Help Forum: If you would like to discuss the new version or get tips from experienced users, please visit the Analytics Help Forum in English within Google Groups at: http://groups.google.com/group/analytics-help

A few notes about the new version:

The new version works best with Flash 7 or higher. Most browsers have this installed already, if yours does not, please download it at Adobe.com.
Google Analytics now uses the same geo-data source as AdWords, therefore, map and geo-location report results may vary slightly between the previous interface and the new interface. For those of you with filters designed for geo-data, you may want to verify the results and edit if necessary.
Limiting the Available Reports for a profile by specifying which Report Dashboards and Report Categories are available has been removed from the product in favor of the new customizable Google Analytics dashboard. If you would like to limit the availability of data within a certain profile for certain users, we recommend removing those users from the profile and instead scheduling an email to deliver data to them.

We hope you find the new version even more useful and thank you for using Google Analytics!

Google Reader for Wii

2007-05-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

I'm sure Google's 25% policy is an excellent idea. It allows its engineers to create lots of awesome and wonderful products. During my visit in Google campus last year, I heard Google Calendar was a 25% Google project and later promote into real product.

Check this out. Google Reader for Wii. It's not a joke. Wii comes with a Opera based browser and Google Reader utilizes all the Wii buttons as short cuts. Again, it proofs the Wii Opera browser is a truly Internet browser.

Browsing Mode
* up/down: scroll up/down
* right/left: next/previous item
* 1 button: show subscriptions
* 2 button: show links

Subscription Mode
* up/down: previous/next subscription
* right: select current subscription
* left: close
* -/+: collapse/expand folder

Now, turn on your TV and Wii and goto Google Reader for Wii.

AAPL vs MSFT (Part 2)

2007-05-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

The US stock market is doing real good (especially the technology section). Everyday is up, up, up, and up. Check the following charts out:

US$106/share vs US$30/share. Do you think Vista win? or Windows mobile win? By the way, really don't know what GOOG is doing. They are making big money but the stock price is dropping everyday.

Sony Ericsson Latest Smartphone P1

2007-05-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson P1 is still based on Symbian UIQ but it is 25% smaller than the current model P990i. Highlight features are GSM tri-band (900/1800/1900), 3.2 Megapixel Camera, 2.6 inch LCD screen, and push email (Activesync or Blackberry). It will be available in Q3 but no word about when it will be available in North American (usually 1-2 quarters delay).

陳柏宇 - 固執 (一公升眼淚主題曲中文版)

2007-05-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Mable has posted the Japanese lyric for Only ~~Herman~~ Human. She also has the English translation of the song. I join the club and post the Cantonese version as well.

陳柏宇 - 固執 (一公升眼淚主題曲中文版)

Ａ１懷念有多壞自己不想了解
從沒有長大被撇下還依賴…

情陷有多壞像箍緊的領帶
承認太失敗被放逐和出賣
無論你多壞亦束手給你拐
以後我太掛念你彷如負債

Ｂ１迷戀你也是容忍你
誰可以共你比
難倒我我亦無顧忌
可揀過都想再遇見你

Ｃ１全心催毀我也未曾離坐
無窮盡苦楚封殺不果
捱過痛過太多情願受難別扶住我
擔心我的好友別勸我

Ａ２盲目有多壞後果不想去猜
如若要抵賴賴我未曾長大
名字有多壞亦想牽手上街
我恨我惦記著你反而愉快

Ｂ２迷戀你也是容忍你
無人可以共你比
如果說我自尋傷悲
悲不過一眨眼便放棄

Ｃ２全心催毀我也未曾離坐
無窮盡苦楚封殺不果
捱挫折太多行絕路直行直過
關心我的好友別理我
可惜你總不會認領我

Domain for Sale!?!?!?! (Part 2)

2007-05-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

I did whois later today on efania.com. Here is what I got:

Domain Name: EFANIA.COM
Registrar: OCTOPUSDOMAINS.NET LLC
Whois Server: whois.octopusdomains.net
Referral URL: http://www.octopusdomains.net
Name Server: DNS1.OREGONNAMES.COM
Name Server: DNS2.OREGONNAMES.COM
Status: ok
Updated Date: 08-may-2007
Creation Date: 08-may-2007
Expiration Date: 08-may-2008

Fine!!! The domain is transferred to someone else. Again, 200 bucks is too much for me and I won't give up on my efania.org and efania.net.

I really so piss off about how people making money using this way.

Domain for Sale!??!!

2007-05-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

After I registered the domain Efania.org and Efania.net for my projects for over a year (I was unable to get Efania.com because it was "owned" by a Korean guy and now owned by a "company"), finally I receive the following email.

Limited Time Offer...!!!

The domain name efania.com is for sale exclusively by webnamesolution.com. Hurry and take advantage of this limited time special offer $199.95 USD.

Domain Name: efania.com

Price: $199.95 USD

To purchase this domain and take advantage of this Special Offer click on the link below:

WWW.WEBNAMESOLUTION.COM/PURCHASE

Thank you for your interest.

info@webnamesolution.com

US$199.95 for a domain? Are you kidding me? I may consider to buy it if I'm running a profitable business but I am not!!! I may think about it if US$19.95 but not US$199.95!!! Screw you!!!

In fact, I ran a quick whois on efania.com. I got the following result:

Domain Name: EFANIA.COM
Registrar: COMMUNIGAL COMMUNICATIONS LTD
Whois Server: whois.communigal.net
Referral URL: http://www.galcomm.com
Name Server: EXPIRED-DOMAIN2.DNSTOOL.NET
Name Server: EXPIRED1.COMMUNIGAL.NET
Name Server: EXPIRED2.COMMUNIGAL.NET
Name Server: NS1.SOFTDNS.BIZ
Status: pendingDelete
Updated Date: 02-may-2007
Creation Date: 21-feb-2004
Expiration Date: 21-feb-2007

Huh? It is expiring? Huh? And you are asking for US$199.95 from me? Are you kidding me?

Interesting Short Quiz

2007-05-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

I copied these directly from Jeremy Zawodny's Blog:

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional. The questions are NOT that difficult.

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

Yahoo! Auction is Retiring...

2007-05-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

After Yahoo! Photo, Yahoo! Auction joins the club of closing down. Effectively in June 3, 2007, Yahoo! Auction will not accept new posting anymore. All the auctions will stop re-submit for the June 3, 2007 posting as well. However, the Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan Yahoo! Auction sites will remain operation.

I think it's is a totally logical move for Yahoo. Yahoo! is still a very popular brand in the Asian countries. People like to use Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Auction, Yahoo! Question, and Yahoo Messenger. Due to the censorship, Google has a hard time to get more popular in Asia especially in mainland China.

On the other hand, people in the US in favorite of Google a lot more than Yahoo in the recent years. In my opinion, Yahoo's marketing has a big problem. Have you heard of Yahoo 360? Have you heard of Yahoo Pipes? Do you know del.icio.us belongs to Yahoo? I think most of the people never heard of 360 (Yahoo's "MySpace") although it carries some very cool patients. Average people will not use Pipes since it is more a programming tools. I'm sure there are a lot of people are using del.icio.us but usually people cannot link del.icio.us with Yahoo (and Yahoo bookmark service).

Yahoo does not know what it is doing recently. There are so many services but totally disconnected (Google has the same problems as well). Since Yahoo targets itself as a "media" company instead of a search engine/advertising business, it needs to focus on it's media business since as photo, video, and music.

JavaFX: Sun's Responses to Flash & Silverlight?

2007-05-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

During Sun's JavaOne developer conference, the executive vice president of software introduced a scripting language, JavaFX. JavaFX supposes simpler and be able to run on any Java equipped desktop or mobile device. It will be truly "write once, run anywhere". News.com has a more detail report on JavaFX.

New US Version Apple Ads

2007-05-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! After UK and Japanese version of new Apple Ads, we got some new Ads in our homeland. 3 brand new ads are online (Party is Over, Genius, Choose a Vista). Rumor there is one more already on TV but it's not in the Apple web site yet.

Knocking

A New Japanese Version Apple Ad

2007-05-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

10 Things We Hate About Apple...

2007-05-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

I really like today's "The Joy of Tech Comic". Check it out!!!

12GB Compact Flash Less Than US$100 !?!?!?

2007-05-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

Compact flash is getting cheap. We all know that. However, do you believe you can buy SanDisk 12GB Extreme III compact flash for less than 100 bucks (after $80 rebate)?

I'm sure the 12GB version of extreme III must slow like hell. However, who cares!?!?! Get it here.

Bull Shit Friday

2007-05-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Two BIG news in the morning today. The first one is reported by New York Post early this morning. Microsoft (MSFT) is discussing with Yahoo (YHOO) regarding a friendly buyout deal.

"Reports that Microsoft Corp. has started talks aimed at acquiring Yahoo Inc. gave a lift to the tech sector and sent Yahoo shares soaring as much as 16% in early trading. The New York Post first reported that Microsoft was interested in acquiring Yahoo in a deal that could be worth as much as $50 billion. Any such merger would be aimed at thwarting the rise of Google Inc. as the preeminent online powerhouse. See full story. Yahoo shares remained up by $4.50, at $32.68, while Microsoft fell 56 cents a share, or almost 2%, to $30.40. With Yahoo and Microsoft leading the sector's action, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose almost 7 points to 2,572. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index also advanced."

$50 billion??? No kidding. In fact, Yahoo is losing ground with Google in the past few quarter. While Google reports it makes a big amount of money this quarter, Yahoo is falling by the rate of 11% per quarter. However, Yahoo presents a symbol of the first dot com wave in the late 90's. If the deal can go through, there is really not much dot com 1.0 company left in the market (although there is really not much left already).

The second big news is about Yahoo again. Yahoo is dropping it's photo sharing site Yahoo Photo. Reported by TechCrunch, Yahoo is switching to it's other flagship photo sharing site Flickr. I think it's really a logical move. However, Yahoo wasted a lot of money to rebuild it's Yahoo Photo into AJAX about a year ago by copying some of the Flickr features. Yahoo is really screwing up in the recent years and they really don't know what they are doing (the other "they really don't know what they are doing company is Sony).

Oh well... what a Friday in tech industry.

Review: Google Apps

2007-05-04T01:31:00.000-07:00

Google has released its own application suite, Google Apps, almost for a month. The application suite is basically a bundle of all the current Google offerings (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Web Page Builder, Google Daskboard/iGoogle), Google Talk in a single package which is bounded with a domain name. I'm sure

There are 3 different versions of Google Apps: Standard, Premier, and Education. Besides the Premier version, the other 2 versions are totally free of charges. Premier provides more reliability, larger storage space, more security and supports. However, for average small business/organization/family, Standard and Education version are far more than enough.

Setup is very easy. You can goto the sign up page to pick which version you want to use. Personally, I only tried the Standard version.

If you already have your own domain registered, make sure you have access to your domain's DNS entry. Either you have your own public DNS in your company/organization or using some public services. However, if you do not have a domain registered yet, Google helps you to pick and register one for a pretty standard price.

Once you have the domain name setup, Google Apps will ask you some very simple questions. For example, how many people are going to use this service? At the end of the registration, Google will help you to setup the first user account. This account will be the first administrator account for your domain's Google Apps as well.

At the end, you will be ended up in the administrator dashboard. In order to activate Google Apps, you need to proof you are the one who really owns the domain. Google Apps provides you 2 methods: Create a HTML file in your web server that contains specific text or Adding a CNAME in your DNS entry. The first method is the most simple way but only if you have a web server already. If you don't have a web server running for your domain (like me), modifying the DNS is the only method. Google provides very detail information about how to do it. However, if you still have no clue how to modify the DNS, you better ask someone who has network administration knowledge to help you.

Google claims it will take at most 48 hours to activate Google Apps for your domain after you have verified that. It took me about 5 minutes though. The next step is activating all the Google applications. The default URL for each application is not using your domain yet. You have to click on each application and change the URL settings. For example, start.yourdomain.com or mail.yourdomain.com or docs.yourdomain.com. Google provides extremely detail explanation on how to modify your DNS CNAME entries. It is very straight forward if you have very simple DNS knowledge. However, mail server is the most tricky one since you have to modify the DNS's MX (mail exchange) record. Again, Google estimates the activation time for each application will be at most 48 hours. However, besides Gmail (after 12 hours and still not done yet), all the applications' activation only took me at most 10 minutes.

For more information, you can visit Google Apps Help pages.

Shopzilla TV Commercial

2007-05-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Shopzilla has made some TV commercial in the past but just very simple one. Finally, it has it's very 1st "real" TV commercial.

In addition, the new Shopzilla.com page will be launched tomorrow. Trust me, the design is a lot better than the current one and even the competitors' ones.

iSerial Reader for Macintosh

2007-05-03T02:28:00.000-07:00

The old version of iSerial Reader (version 1.2.4) has been expired. The good news is iSerial Reader 2.0 has been released along with the 05/2007 Serial Box. You can download it from serialz's web site.

I'm not going to provide the link to the download location. I think you should be smart enough to get the URL from this article. ;)

BTW, for those who doesn't know what iSerial Reader and Serial Box is, according to Serialz,

"iSerialReader is the tool for reading the SerialBox and now works in OS X, OS 9 and Windows. It is a small application that contains serial numbers for most popular Mac applications. It is updated monthly and can be downloaded here."

Again, who said Mac doesn't have software? ;)

1 Litre of Tears (Only Human, K)

2007-05-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Mable had posted the MTV of K's Only Human the other day. Seriously, that's the first time I heard that song in Karaoke. I love this song and I think I will try to borrow 1 Litre of Tears (一公升眼淚) to watch.

I searched YouTube and found the other versions of the MTV.

K - Only Human

陳柏宇 - 固執

Silent Hill Origin for PSP

2007-05-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

I bought my PSP for more than 3 years. It's very hard to find good game on this platform. In other words, my PSP basically is a brick covering with dust on my desk.

If you have the same experience with me, you should check out this video:

Man... I can't wait to get this game on my hand...

Review: Desktop Tower Defense

2007-04-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

Many people had learnt this game from Jeremy Zawodny's blog. Similar to the Jeremy, I hardly play video games anymore (although I have XBox, PS2, PSP, NDS). Not I don't like play video games, but I just really don't have any time to play video games at all. I am just a causal gamer but not a hardcore gamer.

Desktop Tower Defense (DTD) proves a simple and causal game can be highly addicted and very popular. I ran into multiple blogs and people are "complaining" that they are addicted into the game and they cannot get anythings done!!!

Besides the game playing, I like the author of this game keeps updating the game. He constantly adding new rules and weapons into the game and make it very interesting.

Readers. You should try this game if you haven't. Trust me, you will be addicted immediately.

Google Map & Simpson

2007-04-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

It would be cool if the current Google Map can do real time satellite view.

AAPL vs MSFT

2007-04-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

AAPL breaks US$100/share today after the quarter financial report has been released. According to AppleInsider,

"For the fiscal second quarter ended March 31, 2007, Apple earned a net profit of $770 million, or $.87 per diluted share, on sales of $5.26 billion. Those results compare to a net quarterly profit of $410 million, or $.47 per diluted share, on sales of $4.36 billion in the year-ago quarter. During the quarter, Apple shipped 1,517,000 Macintosh computers and 10,549,000 iPods, representing 36 percent growth in Macs and 24 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter."

The quarterly profit of this quarter is almost doubled of the quarterly profit of the same quarter last year. It's insane.

Let's compare the share price between AAPL and MSFT.

What's going on with MSFT? Vista is really their diaster. I think Baller should step down very soon.

Now, go go go AAPL!!!

Review: Newsgator NetNewsWire 2.1 vs Google Reader

2007-04-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

I have been using Newsgator's NetNewsWire 2.1 for almost 2 years. I was very happy about it because I'm reading blogs on different machines everyday and NetNewsWire can sync the RSS feeds and my progress with multiple machines. In addition, the license includes a mobile web site and a mobile Java application (Newsgator Go!) so I can read RSS feeds on the go with my mobile phone while I don't have access to any computer.

Most of my friends are using Google Reader since the first version. They are very happy with that and always ask me to try. Although I work in IT industry, I am very conservative (I still don't trust online banking). I love thick desktop client more than Web 2.0 applications. I still feel thick client performs faster than any Web 2.0 applications. Plus, I prefer using keyboard shortcuts to do my RSS feeds reading (Yes, I still use VIM instead of BBEdit).

My believe starts breaking down since 2 weeks ago. I trusted NetNewsWire failed to sync between my Powerbook G4, PowerMac Dual G5, and Macbook Pro. I have no idea what happen and I'm too lazy to try to waste time to fix it. I start reading RSS feeds using Newsgator's web application. However, the user experience is not very good when I have over 2000+ articles need to browse through. The web application is very Web "1.5". It's fine when I am doing very light reading. However, for very heavy usage, it just does not work for me.

So I go back to try to fix NetNewsWire and I gave up. I have read Newsgator is developing the next version of NetNewsWire and it is in Alpha version. Seriously, I don't want to use any Alpha version software. I am really afraid it fails to save my reading progress. So I end up giving Google Reader a try.

I export my RSS feeds list to an OPML format file from NetNewsWire and import the file back to Google Reader. After 1 minute, all my RSS feeds are in Google Reader. It's the best migration experience I ever have (If I can migrate Apple Aperture to Adobe Lightroom that easy, I will switch to Lightroom immediately. Do you hear that, Adobe?) After reading the Help in Google Reader, I find out it supports keyboard shortcuts and the keys are very VIM like (OMG!!! That's awesome!!!). I can even share an article by clicking on the share button and it will be shared in my own RSS feed. As a result, I can share my interesting articles on the sidebar in my blog.

After using Google Reader for 2 weeks, I just love it. The only disadvantage of Google Reader is I cannot read it offline just like what I did with NetNewsWire. However, I believe Google will implement the offline feature when Firefox 3.0 released (It has an embedded database to sync with web application on/offline). Let's stay tune.

Where is my New TV!?!?

2007-04-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

My last post mentioned I just bought a new LCD HDTV from Fry's. The shipping carrier is USPS via DHL.

4 years ago I bought a TV stand from a very big online merchant in the east coast. The item is very heavy (over 100 lbs) so the merchant uses USPS via DHL to save shipping cost. 1 day before the delivery day, a non-DHL shipping company called me and told me they were contracted by DHL to deliver my TV stand. I have scheduled a time with them and I took a dayoff to wait at home for the package's arrival.

I waited at home for a whole day on the delivery day. Nothing arrived. I called the non-DHL shipping company about the shipment and they said they DO NOT have the package in their computer system (WTF!?!?!). I called DHL and they told me the shipment is handle by 3rd party delivery and I should call them instead (2nd WTF. USPS via DHL via 3rd Party!?!?!?!)

After more than 10 phone calls between the online merchant, DHL, and the 3rd Party shipping company, I have no choice but claim lost via shipping insurance. I get the full refund including shipping. However, I wasted a day at home and so many troubles on the phone.

Unfortunately, DHL is handling my expensive TV set again.

Based on DHL's tracking system, my TV should arrive yesterday (04/20/2007). It is signature required so I have someone waited at home for a whole day for that. While at work, I kept using DHL's tracking system to track my TV. Since DHL picked up the TV from Fry's, the tracking system just shows "Processed at DHL Location @ Wilmington, OH". And again, by the end of the day, no TV came.

I called DHL at night and I was welcome by an "automatic" (voice recognition) system to "assist" me. I just hate this kind of "automatic" system because I never have luck with voice recognition. After fighting the system for awhile, I got the answer "Your package is still in our facility".

I decided to talk with a real human being and immediately I was welcome by a very friendly human voice. Once she asked my name and my tracking number, she apologized immediately (awesome!). She even helped me contacting the final shipping center to put my shipment into 1st priority. She told me my TV will arrive my home today.

So I am waiting at home today...

I tracked the package again when I woke up this morning. It still says "Processed at DHL Location @ Wilmington, OH". It seems my TV is still on the truck somewhere in the country. I called DHL again and being welcomed by a friendly voice and apologize. She told me my TV will arrive on Monday.

Hmmm.... I have enough now....

(Update: My TV arrived Riverside County @ 7:00am on Monday and finally arrived in front my door @ 10:00am. I got a phone call from DHL to apologize about the delay and they delivery to me right away instead of the end of the day. I feel happy about their service this time except the delay part.)

Shop for New TV

2007-04-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Long story in short. I gave away my 10 years old 27" Sony CRT TV and shop for a new TV. Obviously, I am NOT going to buy the old 4:3 CRT TV again. It is for my bedroom so DLP is not an opinion (although it is really cheap!!!). Plasma is a good choice (price is in my acceptable range too) but I just afraid the burn-in and the short lifetime issues. So I decide to get a LCD TV.

First of all, Sony is not in my list at all. For the past 10 years, I had enough trouble with Sony's product. Except the TV I just gave away, none of the Sony products I owned can last more than 2 years. Sony's technical support is the worst in the industry. Yes, their products really look great but the quality is very bad inside. They really don't know what they are doing right now.

So, what is my requirement with the LCD TV? Here is my list:

27-32" in Size
High Contrast Ratio
2+ HDMI Inputs
2+ Component Inputs
720p is enough (I don't plan to watch HD-DVD/Blue-Ray in my bedroom)
Cheap (Around US$1000)

Now, who makes the cheapest LCD HDTV now? No doubt, all the mainland Chinese brands are cheap. You can even get a 27" LCD HDTV for US$499 @ Costco. However, after checking the technical specification, I understand why they can be so cheap.

Bad contrast ratio (max 2000:1)
Only 1 input for each connector (HDMI, Component, Composite)
Ugly outlooking (OK, it's not in my requirement)

So, I also kick those Chinese brands out of my consideration list.

My next question is... Who makes the best LCD TV now? On my list, they are Samsung, Philips, and Panasonic. Samsung is on the top of my list. This Korean brand makes awesome gadgets and appliances for the past 10 years. They have great design, good quality, and fair price. I know my 20" Dell LCD Monitor is using the Samsung panel (so does my 20" Apple Cinema Display).

After some researches, I locked @ Samsung LN-T3253H and Samsung LN-T3242H. Fry's is selling the LN-T3242H for US$1099 while LN-T3253H for US$1129 (just US$30 difference). You may ask, what are the difference? There are 2 major differences. T3253H's speakers are at the bottom instead on the side (save space) and LN-T3253H has USB input so you can plug in USB thumbdriver or hard drive for music and photo. Also, LN-T3253H can use the USB input for firmware upgrade!!!

I also find out Fry's has free shipping for LN-T3253H!!! So end up LN-T3253H is cheaper than it's lower model LN-T3242H. I placed the order immediately and the total price is US$1230.14 (including recycle tax and state tax).

After 4 hours, Fry's sent me email and told me the TV has been shipped. The carrier is US Postal Service via DHL. My heart sinked immediately.

(To be continue...)

Apple Aperture 1.5.3

2007-04-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Apple just released a new update for Aperture. Version 1.5.3 fixes the following issues:

- Generation of thumbnails for adjusted images
- Entering and exiting Full Screen mode
- Working with large sets of keywords in the Keywords HUD
- Restoring from a vault

Great!!! I hope it really fixes the thumbnail generation problem I have now.

Mozilla Thunderbird 2

2007-04-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

You may not notice... the best open source email client, Mozilla's Thunderbird 2, just released today.

New features including Advanced Folder Views, Message Tagging, Saved Searches, Stay Informed, more secure, and add-ons.

Click here for the full new features listing.

As usual, it is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Blogs

2007-04-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

I just find out all my friends surrounding me all have their own blogs. A little advertising here:

Joyce's Blog
Mable's Blog
Herman's Blog
Shirley's Blog
Bernard's Blog

Efania - Improve Your Photography

2007-04-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

It seems I haven't blogged for awhile until today. Yes, I was very busy for the past couple months. I was addicted with photography (and flickr). After some learning curves, my friends and I are able to manage some skills with digital photography and Photoshop.

One day, we sat down and start thinking how to share our learning experience with other people who are also very interesting into photography? From upgrading from point and shoot (P&S) digital camera/35mm film SLR to DSLR body, choosing new lenses, buying new tripod/monopod, learn how to use external flash, to basic skill of retouching digital photos with Photoshop. There are a lot of things to learn and research.

Yes, we can search for a lot of tutorials and discussions by using Google. However, information are separated and not very well organize. My friends and I really want to have 1 single place to collect tutorials and buying guide of photography matters.

That's how Efania was borned. Currently, we are hosting Efania as a Flickr group (why not? Flickr is the best online Photo social network). Each month, we pick the best photographer in our group and have him to help us to write a feature articles in our Efania blog. I'm in the process to write a lot of small open source (free) applications (Windows & Mac) for Flickr. There are a lot of things going on.

That's why I haven't blogged in my own blog for awhile. Please forgive me.

Efania: http://www.flickr.com/groups/efania
Efania Blog: http://efania.blogspot.com

Sony Ericsson W999i

2007-04-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged about phone for a very long time since Apple released it's iPhone. Hell yeah, Apple's phone is cool but I still love my current Blackberry 8100 Pearl. The Blackberry is the best phone I have ever owned so far. It is super thin and light plus a lot of powerful and crazy features.

Sony Ericsson is going to release this baby next year. This is the type of phone I like. Semi-QWERTY keyboard, 2MP auto focus camera, 2.4" 320x240 display, and HSDPA. No price has been announced yet.

Anyway, I still stick with my Blackberry 8100 until it dies (Did I mention the casing has been broken by itself?)

Apple Aperture Flickr Export Plugin

2007-04-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, there is only ONE Apple Aperture Flickr Export Plugin in the market right now which is ConnectedFlow's FlickrExport. It is a very simple plugin (and have some bugs) and the author charges us for £14 (about US$28). I think it's too expensive for a plugin like that.

Stop complaining, here is my version of Flickr export for Aperture. It is called Efania Faperturer. I'm still learning how to write Cocoa in Objective-C. The most difficult part is...there is not much documentations or discussions on the Internet about Cocoa or Aperture Plugin.

It is not fully functional right now so I don't decide to release any binaries for any public testing yet. Please stay tune....

By the way, since there is not much documents and/or discussions about programming Aperture plugin in Objective-C. I decide to blog the details about how I write this plugin.

Tutorial: How to make HDR?

2007-04-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

HDR stands for "High Dynamic Range". It is a special Photoshop technique to create art like photos. The basic idea is combining 3 or more photos with different explosure into 1 photo. The result photo usually is very stunning. Please visit Efania for detailed step-by-step instructions.

Tutorial: How to shot water crown?

2007-03-16T08:53:00.001-07:00

Water Crown
Originally uploaded by Icey Cake.

Finally, I found the secure ingredient to shot water crown in a high successful rate.

The following list is what you need to take water crown shot.

Camera: Prefer the latest model of DSLR. However, any camera with burst mode should work. Digital camera is the best because you can see the results immediately. Point & Shoot cameras are fine but they normally do not have high shoot speed so it will be harder to capture the water droplet.

Lighting: It's great if you have external lighting source such as flash or other lightings projects directly to the water surface.

Lens (Assuming using SLR/DSLR): If you are using flash, I prefer using a zoom lens (I used Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM L + 2x extender). If you have external lighting projects directly on the water surface, you can use close up/macro lens (macro ring flash is the best of course).

Materials: Any liquid will work. Milk is a great choice. If you are using water, I suggest to add a couple drops of food dye (red and blue work the best). Of course, you need a bowl to hold the liquid.

Other: You must have a tripod and a shutter release. Camera remote will work only if the remote all you to do burst shoot.

When you have all the materials ready, here is how I shot.

Mount the lens, flash, DSLR, and tripod together.
Change DSLR to shutter priority. You can try 1/500 or 1/1000 for shutter speed. Change ISO to match the lighting condition (ISO 100 or 200). Increase EV if necessary.
Pour some water into a bowl and put into a sink.
Add a couple drop of food dye.
Change the DSLR to manual focus. Focus the water surface as much as possible. Don't worry if you don't get it right at this time.
Drop some water droplets to the bowl of water. Figure out the water dropping point on the water surface. Focus that point as much as possible.
Take a couple shots while the water is dropping into the bowl.
Preview the shots (I prefer to load the photos into a computer and view it there).
If the dropping point is out of focus, adjust the focus ring based on the current focus in the current picture.
Repeat the focus procedure until you get the right focus.
Now, you can use boost shot to as many photo as possible. You should be able to pick a couple good one from them.

Please goto Flickr to more discussion about this topic.

Canon EOS 1D Mark III

2007-02-22T08:24:00.001-08:00

Canon EOS 1D Mark III - Front
Originally uploaded by Icey Cake.

Canon just announced this baby on Feb 21, 2007.

* 10.1 MP APS-H size CMOS sensor; 1.3x focal length conversion
* ISO range of 50 to 6400, with Canon calling the latter "highly usable"
* Live view on a 3.0" LCD display; image can be enlarged 5X or 10X, just like on Olympus and Panasonic's live view cameras
* Dual DIGIC III image processors allow for shooting at a whopping 10 frames/second, for up to 30 RAW or 110 JPEG images
* Ultrasonic dust removal system (just like on the Rebel XTi)
* Upgraded shutter can handle 300,000 cycles
* Full manual controls (obviously) and 57 custom functions
* 45-point autofocus system
* New sRAW format produces smaller files with less resolution; don't worry, regular RAW iss till there
* Camera can be controlled remotely from a Mac or PC using USB or Wi-Fi. Apparently the live view works too.
* CompactFlash and SD/SDHC memory card slots
* Improved software package includes Digital Photo Professional 3.0 and EOS Utility 2.0
* Optional Wi-Fi via WFT-E2A adapter
* Uses new lithium-ion battery; 2200 shots per charge
* Ships this spring for $3999 (body only)

Finally, Canon has accessory to allow GPS data saved into EXIF during photo shooting (by using the new WFT-E2A adapter). It also features DUAL DIGIC III processors!!!! It's the faster EOS DSLR Canon has ever released (10 fps, 110 JPEG/30 RAW buffer).

Man, I want this baby badly!!!

Herman's Car Magazine

2007-02-15T23:30:00.001-08:00

car magazine
Originally uploaded by hermanau.

This is the most funny photoshop spoof I even seen!! Good job Herman!!!