OS X Hidden Gems
Some of these may be well known to some of you, but I guess not all of them. And, the dictionary lookup shortcut Ctrl+Command+D is especially useful for me. (via minimalmac)
iPad is just a Bigger iPod Touch?
When I looked at the hardware, I really thought that the iPad is just a bigger iPod Touch and I was disappointed. I asked why I need to have one when I have my iPhone as the OS and apps running are the same.
Today I got some time to watch the Keynote, and I’m amazed how Apple paid much effort to polish up the software running inside the iPad, like Calendar, Contacts, iWork, iBooks and Video apps, etc. By just looking at the pictures, the iPad is beautiful but indeed is just a bigger iPod Touch. However, when you see how Steve demoed the iPad in the Keynote, you’ll see the experience of using and the software of iPad will make it totally different, much more than an iPod Touch and it can do something a netbook can’t.
I honestly really want the iPad can replace laptops as I think Macbook is not really portable because it’s heavy (except Macbook Air, but is still not as convenient as a tablet) and I’m too lazy carry it out. For the time being until the iPad is available for sale, I really need to think how I use the Mac and how often the things I do that the iPad can’t. If the iPad can do most of the things I normally do with the Mac, I’m going to own one.
flic.kr Bookmarklet
Powered by flic.kr base58 Converter, flic.kr Bookmarklet helps you get the short URL of any photos on flickr with just one click.
YouTube Testing HTML5 Video Player
You can now join the beta testing of HTML5 video player at YouTube and enjoy videos using h.264 codec and HTML5 instead of Adobe’s frustrating and CPU-hogging Flash. So far this works really great for me in Chrome. At the moment it also supports Safari and Internet Explorer with Chrome Frame installed.
First-Person Tetris
A different take on Tetris. When you rotate the puzzle, the whole world rotates. I find it hard to play in the beginning, but it’s really impressive.
Review all the rumors of the Apple Tablet floating around these days in one picture. No matter what rumors turn out to be true, I’m sure Apple won’t disappoint us. It seems that I need to start saving some money. (via poolga)
Why It's Better to Pretend You Don't Know Anything About Computers
That’s really really true. If you’re one of the “offenders”, always remember Google is your friend. If you have tried your best to find out the solutions but still no avail, I’m sure the ones who know computers are more willing to help. (via nawong)
Trip to East China
From 5 to 11 January, I’m going to have a trip to East China, the cities that we have planned to visit include Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Many places in these cities are very historic and praised by myriads of famous ancient scholars. I hope I can share more with you after this trip!
Pride & Prejudice
I just got the time to watch Pride & Prejudice. Actually I’ve always wanted to know what the story is about as the novel is so well-known. I tried to read the book before, but I only finished chapter 1. As I got so much time in this holiday and because of Keira Knightley (as she’s so charming), I decided to watch this movie.
To my surprise, the movie is not boring at all, and it’s actually quite interesting, and of course very romantic. As for the story, you can always refer to the summary plot at IMDb, and I picked up one below.
In Georgian England, Mrs. Bennet raises her five daughters - Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia with the purpose of getting married with a rich husband that can support the family. They are not from the upper class, and their house in Hartfordshire will be inherited by a distant cousin if Mr. Bennet dies, [the security of the family will then depend on the marriages of the daughters]. When the wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley and his best friend Mr. Darcy (even richer) arrive in town to spend the summer in a mansion nearby their property, the shy and beautiful Jane falls in love for Mr. Bingley, and Lizzie finds Mr. Darcy a snobbish and proud man, and she swears to loathe him forever. This is the beginning of their wonderful love story.
I really love the story between Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, it’s truly wonderful and romantic and makes me want to read the novel (again). I highly recommend this movie. If you haven’t watched it before, go watch it and see how the witty Lizzie and the proud but inarticulate Mr. Darcy fall in love with each other.
Mac OS X Tip with Command-Click
Usually I won’t post tips for using OS X, but I think this one is exceptionally useful and helpful. You can use command-click to move a window without bringing it to the foreground. That’s not all, every element of the background window will react with this trick, like close the window, refresh a page, select text, etc. You may set one of your mouse buttons to command-click also to select multiple items and open links in new tabs. (via petervidani)
Browser Pong
As implied by the name, Browser Pong, created by Stewdio, lets you play Pong in your browser. You can also play with your friends. Simply genius.
Droplr
Droplr finally reaches 1.0 and is open for public registration. For those who wonder, Droplr is a small menubar application for Mac which helps you share any files, including images, texts and even syntax-highlighted codes. It also serves as a URL shortener. I’ve been beta-testing the application and encourage you to give it a try. It’s simple, fast, flexible and convenient.
Eko (Ecological and economical traffic light concept) from Relogik.com is pretty genius. The concept of progress bar has been practically applied to the traffic light. It’s environmentally friendly because drivers can turn the car engine off while they’re waiting for the green light; also reduces stress and car accidents because drivers and pedestrians know exactly how long they need to wait or how much time left to cross the road. Some countries may have a device near the traffic light showing seconds counting down, serving the same purpose, but this implementation is really much awesome.
Ommwriter
Ommwriter is a simple text processor for Mac which helps you concentrate on writing by providing you with a distraction-free writing environment. It resembles WriteRoom, also a nice minimal writing application. However, what makes Ommwriter different is that it has some more options, like to turn on some relaxing music while writing and change the writing background. For me, it has implemented elegantly and makes writing a pleasure. If you enjoy writing, try it out! If you don’t, like me, you should also download a copy to have a look or watch the demo video available on its website.
Albatross Chicks Bellies-full of Plastic
These photographs of albatross chicks (may not be safe for work if you feel uncomfortable to see the cadaver of birds) were made by Chris Jordan a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific.
The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.
No plastics in these photographs were altered. They are the actual stomach contents of the baby birds. (via poolga)
