how excitement!

Google Nexus 7 with Apple Wireless Keyboard

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:26:04 +0800

This week I bought a Nexus 7 tablet, my first tablet. Whilst I don’t intend on doing great amounts of productive work on it, the idea of sporadically being productive on a tablet was intriguing. I saw this ZDNet article titled “Using Nexus 7 with keyboard: Not on your life” (http://www.zdnet.com/using-nexus-7-with-keyboard-not-on-your-life-7000001891/).

The author, James Kendrick, has a rather negative conclusion of typing on a Nexus 7. I really don’t think the conclusion needs to be quite that polarising. I believe there IS a middle ground to be found here.

Last night I connected an Apple Wireless Keyboard via bluetooth to my Nexus 7 (Jelly Bean 4.2). WHY? The keyboard is used with my Macbook at home. It’s a great keyboard with excellent feel and compact dimensions. I wondered if I could use it with the N7 and not have to buy another external keyboard, particularly as Mr Kendrick’s article strongly suggests that it’s not worth the effort.

This is what it looks like:

Yes, it looks rather amusing! I don’t have a stand for the N7 yet, so it’s being propped up against its box in this photo.

This blog post is to tell you that it works and in particular, WHAT works.

CONNECTIVITY

1. Turn on Bluetooth on the N7.
2. Turn on the keyboard.
3. Wait for the N7 to detect the keyboard.
After a few times cycling through the above steps, the connection was eventually made. Enter a numeric pass code on the keyboard and we’re all set.

TYPING

No surprises here, really. Typing works as you’d expect. Touch any text entry field within apps or websites and the N7 doesn’t show the on-screen keyboard but instead, defaults to the Apple. As it’s a very nice keyboard to type on, I quite enjoyed typing. For longer text entries - emails, blogs, documents - I’d happily use the Apple keyboard instead. Would I bring it with me if I was travelling? For a weekend getaway, no. For a 2 week vacation or more without my Macbook, probably!

NAVIGATING

It’s a bit odd using a physical keyboard without a trackpad or mouse to navigate with. There’s no option but to touch the screen occasionally, or even often. No question about it, productivity is not going to be on par with a laptop/desktop setup. But it’s OK, if you’re patient and don’t mind making the minor adjustments. You’re not going to want to do this all day though.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

I love keyboard shortcuts. I couldn’t find much info online about keyboard shortcuts that work with the N7/Apple combo. But, I’m pleased to report that there are a number of shortcuts that do work on Jelly Bean 4.2 and these are the ones I’ve found:

Apple key:

A - Launches Calculator
E - Launches Email
T - Launches Google Talk
Y - Launches Youtube
P - Launches Google Play Music
G - Launches Gmail
L - Launches Calendar
C - Launches Contacts
M - Launches Maps

Esc - Equivalent to the Android Back button

Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow - skip to the previous/next word

Ctrl + Up/Down Arrow - skip up or down a paragraph

Option(Alt) + Left/Right - Positions cursor at the Start/end of a row of text

F3 - brings up Recent apps floating window. Select the app with cursor keys and press Enter/Return to launch it.

Volume down/up keys work accordingly.

Within the Chrome browser, Alt-L selects the address bar, to quickly enter a website address.

CONCLUSION

I was pleasantly surprised at just how functional the Apple keyboard is with the N7. Yes, it’s cumbersome to work with a small screen and without a pointing device (mouse/trackpad), but the keyboard shortcuts make the whole experience far more user friendly.

Would I choose to regularly create content on this setup? No, because I have my Macbook :) BUT, let’s say the Macbook died and I absolutely had to resort to this setup, I think I would be quite OK with it. YMMV, of course!

Japanese Pensioners Volunteer to Tackle Nuclear Crisis

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:06:06 +0800

Japanese Pensioners Volunteer to Tackle Nuclear Crisis:

This is a real reminder to appreciate the generations that have gone before us, for better or for worse. I also continue to be amazed at the sense of community and civic duty that seems to be imbued into Japanese culture.

Fixya's Ultrabook Report

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 07:39:38 +0800

Fixya's Ultrabook Report:

Got an Ultrabook or Macbook Air? Thinking of buying one? This new Fixya report covers known hardware & software issues with 7 popular models.

I discovered this report after one of my 2011 Macbook Air 11” keyboard is playing up - the down cursor key is travelling too far into the chassis and does not register keystrokes at times. It’s a shame, considering the laptop warranty expired 3 weeks ago and I have treated it with the utmost care.

RIP Tiger Tiger 329 Murray St, Perth Tiger Tiger is was one of...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:52:14 +0800

RIP Tiger Tiger 329 Murray St, Perth

Tiger Tiger is was one of my preferred coffee and breakfast spots. They make consistent coffee and some incredible breakfast bagels and fruit/nut toast. I get a coffee from there at least once a week.

Today, I ordered a coffee and fruit/nut toast. The lady in the kitchen called out my toast order. It was in a takeaway bag, so I asked whether it was fruit/nut toast and she said yes. I walked off, opened it up and took a bite only to discover that it was plain bread with butter.

I went back. No apologies were made and Blondie Head Honcho Lady (Jenna?) scowled and gave me attitude, because clearly this was all my fault. I smiled at her and politely explained that I had actually asked if it was fruit/nut toast before taking the bag. Her angry response - “Yeah and she told you!” Obviously that wasn’t the case.

Here’s a tip lady. Perth has a competitive coffee scene. If you keep treating people rudely, they will go elsewhere. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten attitude from Tiger Tiger (others have also attested to the attitude issue), but it’s certainly the last. I hereby strike it from my recommended coffee bar list.

RIP Tiger Tiger, you are dead to me.

Red Bull Racing's American Vacation

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 22:53:43 +0800

Red Bull Racing's American Vacation:

Say what you will about birds singing & all that, but IMHO very few sounds are as glorious as an F1 car screaming through a tunnel. Oh my Lord, thank you for engineers!!

From flagship to entry level

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:18:08 +0800

A REVIEW OF THE SONY ERICSSON XPERIA U SMARTPHONE

Conclusion

I never expected to be this satisfied with an entry level smartphone. It does everything I need it to and has fantastic reception & call quality. It looks far more sleek & sophisticated than the purchase price suggests. It’s entirely a significant upgrade from my 2 year old Desire, which was the flagship when I bought it. AND, I have a different phone to most of the people around me - this is also a good thing :)

All up, well done Sony.

THE REVIEW

I bought a HTC Desire in May 2010 and used it until June 2012. Back then, it was the flagship Android phone, perhaps in a 2-way tie with the Samsung Galaxy S. Some months ago, I blogged about trying to eke out as much life as possible from the Desire, but alas the hardware buttons started to fail and it became more and more difficult to use.

A good friend took pity on me and donated her Galaxy Nexus S to my cause. It ran the latest Android OS - Jelly Bean - and it was quite the significant upgrade over the Desire, even for a 1.5 yr old phone.

Last week my frustrations with 3/Vodafone network coverage culminated in a decision to switch to Telstra. Only problem - the Galaxy Nexus S is not compatible with Telstra’s Next G network.

I decided to look at cheap prepaid phones because I didn’t want to sign up for a 2-year contract and I couldn’t justify spending $500-$700 on a new phone. This brought me to the Xperia U. It was $199 at JB Hifi and with some remaining gift voucher credit, ended up costing me a princely $143.

What do you get for a $199 prepaid phone in mid-2012? It turns out - quite a lot! Dual core processor, dedicated GPU, blah blah. Google the specs if you must, they really don’t concern me.

BLASPHEMY YOU SAY! Call yourself a nerd and ignore the spec sheet? This is my review and I’ll review what matters to me :) Here are the specs that mattered for me:

1. Form factor

The Galaxy Nexus S has a 4” screen. I have small hands. This was starting to necessitate two-handed use. Does anyone make a top-end smartphone with a sub-4” screen? Nope. Apple does, but that’s all about to change and I wasn’t going to drop $700 on an iPhone 4S. A new lens or guitar would be of much more value to me.

The Xperia U’s 3.5” screen is perfect. Decent pixel density of 252ppi (better than both Desire & Nexus S), sufficiently bright & usable even in sunlight, and I find fast, accurate typing on the keyboard in portrait mode to be perfectly achievable. (Using Swiftkey, which is BRILLIANT.)

The U is also compact & lightweight, with sufficient girth that I don’t feel like it’s going to slip from my grasp at any time. The back has a nice hard rubbery surface that EVERY phone manufacturer needs to implement.

It doesn’t feel rock solid and has a somewhat plasticky feel, but not so much so that anything creaks or flexes. It still feels well put together.

2. Battery life

After using this thing for a few days, I am impressed with the battery life. Smaller screens = less power consumption. Battery life is TOTALLY dependent on how much you use your phone, especially mobile broadband and wifi, background syncing - etc. Conservatively, I’d say I get 50% more battery life from the U than from the Desire and Nexus S.

3. Multimedia / AV

Sony knows a thing or two about cramming quality sound & video into small packages. Audio quality through headphones as well as built in speakers is an improvement over the Desire and the Nexus S. I don’t expect a $200 phone to perform this well in this department.

4. General speed & performance

It’s running Android 2.3.7. When there are a number of apps open, yes things can feel a tad sluggish at times but I honestly have no complaints. It’s no slower than the Desire or the Nexus S and if anything, it feels more responsive.

5. Storage space

Most would say that 4GB of user accessible space is limiting and far too small. It IS small, no denying that. There’s no expansion option, that IS a poor decision on Sony’s part. But at least there’s 4GB of ROM that the phone uses for the OS and apps. So far, I’ve installed all the apps I want on this phone and I haven’t run out of space. On the Desire, low storage space was constantly an issue. In comparison to the Desire, the storage available on the U is an improvement!

If you’re the type of person that must have your entire MP3 collection and a few videos on hand always, then sure - 4GB is paltry. For me, my daily commute is a 15-minute trip (one way) and having 5 or 6 albums on hand is sufficient. If I’m going on longer trips, I’ll bring my 160GB MP3 player and my laptop.

NEGATIVES

- lack of an expansion card slot

- older Android OS (Sony is promising an upgrade to ICS. Let’s see if it happens.)

- lower specifications compared to flagship phones, but this isn’t a flagship phone so that’s not really a negative in my book

- the camera is average and not very responsive. Does it matter? I regularly carry a Fuji X100 or Panasonic GX1, so the onboard camera is not critical to me. Even then, the Sony camera performs better than the Desire both in terms of image quality and responsiveness.

CONCLUSION

All up, well done Sony.

Maximising small spaces

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:16:00 +0800

Maximising small spaces:

It frustrates me that Aussie houses have only become incrementally smarter and more efficient in terms of space usage. We are WAY behind European countries and even the good ol US of A. Asian countries embarrass us with their small-space ingenuity. There’s a false perception that we need larger houses - perhaps to accommodate all the stuff we think we need to buy to improve our lives.

Our house has ~140sqm of living space and our block size is ~300sqm. By Aussie standards, that’s minuscule for a family home. By international standards, it’s very decent, particularly for a house within 5kms of the CBD in a city that is certainly coming of age. We even have a backyard with real grass! There are plenty of advantages to smaller spaces too - lower council rates, lower power bills, less cleaning and maintenance, cheaper insurance, etc.

There’s a real temptation to look for a bigger house because “it’d be nice”. That’s about it. There’s no actual necessity for it - not now, perhaps not even with 2 kids. I hear talk about dream homes, when in reality pretty much every friend I have is already living in a dream home. Yes, even my 50 year old house with all its flaws and poor design would most certainly be a dream home for millions (billions?) of people around the world. That’s no exaggeration and I need to remind myself of this fact.

So I’m now thinking of different ways to maximise the existing space we have and how it can be used smarter. Declutter, organise, think outside the box. SELL STUFF. I’m such a big fan of selling things we don’t need, or giving it away.

As such, I’m loving the Apartment Therapy website :) So many great ideas and many of them aren’t expensive.

Next step? Gut & redo the laundry so that it becomes an extension of our kitchen space. Yes it’ll cost a bit of money, but it’s a fraction of the cost of buying a newer/bigger house, not to mention the hassle involved with moving.

Living the dream! :)

iPhone 5 - the TRUTH!

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 07:31:42 +0800

iPhone 5 - the TRUTH!:

Quite the scathing indictment :) Funny though …

Responsible Tourism

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:12:11 +0800

Responsible Tourism:

We Australians (particular those of us in the West!) are a privileged bunch. In third world terms, we are as rich as kings and in first world terms, we are still doing pretty well. Local economy is flourishing and the Aussie dollar continues to stand strong. We love to travel and we’re in close proximity to nations where every Aussie dollar is far reaching.

But can we call ourselves responsible tourists? Do we care in the slightest how our actions impact the lives & culture of the citizens of the countries we visit? This article serves as a timely reminder and certainly provides food for thought for how we might even live in our home cities.

Now if only someone would do something about those ridiculous flight & airport taxes!

Aston Martin Airfix!

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:09:00 +0800

Aston Martin Airfix!:

Who wouldn’t want to own this? The dilemma would be whether to assemble it or not :)

"The 3-point line in Olympic basketball measures 22 feet, 2 inches. This line is significantly too..."

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:07:42 +0800

“The 3-point line in Olympic basketball measures 22 feet, 2 inches. This line is significantly too close to the hoop for Kevin Durant.”

- Scott Cacciola and Adam Thompson, Wall Street Journal

"Look, it is extraordinary."

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:07:51 +0800

“Look, it is extraordinary.”

- Ian Thorpe, with yet another deep & insightful comment after Michael Phelps’ 20th Olympic medal.

All around #KingsPark in #Perth there are these small signs in...

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:54:18 +0800

All around #KingsPark in #Perth there are these small signs in remembrance of the brave few who have represented Australia in war. I parked my car next to this one and I imagine that countless locals and tourists alike have never noticed that Lt Chas Pope gave his life in serving this country.

I am currently 34 years old, the same age as Lt Chas when he died, but I will most likely never have to serve my country as he did. Lt Chas, I thank you and salute you.

Cuteness OVERLOAD. concocted: Meet Vicke, the impossibly cute...

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 10:32:27 +0800

Cuteness OVERLOAD.

concocted:

Meet Vicke, the impossibly cute hedgehog.

Mr Parrot Coming up to 19 months, Rhys is talking lots and...

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:55:47 +0800

Mr Parrot

Coming up to 19 months, Rhys is talking lots and seemingly repeats every word we say. His word list is getting hard to track, but here’s what I can remember!

Oats, fruit, apple, pear, banana, cake, kiwi, toast, bib, car, walking, drink, toys, open, close, dropped, pick up, gone, clean, cream, kiss, keys, where, there, a-b-c, 1-2-3, grandma, grandpa, por por, kong kong, pen, doodle, sure, share, button, zip, blankie, Vicks, toilet, another one, Charlotte, Michael, Millie, Jeanne, spider, dancing, pray, sing, blow, hot, cold, warm, morning, on, off, done, enough, cooking, tree, stick, carry, funny, Zigby (zebra), Zekey, sleep, chair, table, what’s this, go, come, home, outside.

My favourites?

- “LOVE YOU”, which sounds like LAAAH FOO

- and “Awesome!”

We have too much space

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:38:00 +0800

We have too much space:

Just today I was thinking about our house and what to do in order to prepare for the inevitable day when our little family outgrows it. I was browsing some nice 4 bedroom homes online and weighing up all the options. Build. Extend. Move out. Move back?

And then I came across this link of an innovative modern house on a 50sqm block.

A WHAT? OK I know that land in Japan is unthinkably scarce, but really? 50sqm, including a single car garage? Wow. In recent years I’ve become a huge fan of all things Japanese and this only reinforces my sense of amazement for this magical land and it’s incredible people.

Our 300sqm block is massive. Could it be that we have too much space and don’t even realise it? Ahh, another FWIM.

Android 4.0 ICS has a built in photo editor!

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:24:00 +0800

Android 4.0 ICS has a built in photo editor!:

So it seems Android 4.0 ICS has a built in photo editor. The good people at Android Authority have this to say about it:

”High-level photo editing skills are no longer a must–you can get the same, professional look with just a tap of a button on an Android smartphone or Android tablet.”

If it’s on the Internet, it MUST be true. Long live editorial hyperbole!

Vagabonds

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:06:30 +0800

Vagabonds:

Fresh thoughts on worship songs … nice.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Hanuman

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:28:55 +0800

Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Hanuman:

About as TITE as 2 guitarists could ever hope to get. And how huge is that set/staging? Love it!

Exploring the concept of point in composition.

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:54:00 +0800

Exploring the concept of point in composition.