0 1 2 3 [2013] +4 5s

Gadgets!!! That's the gist of this post. Starting the year with new toys just like when I was little. I know it feels kinda shallow but I'm due some upgrades anyway and I had to jump in to the opportunity. I won't say YOLO because it's not that, I had this calculated.

For starters, I got myself some awesome running shoes last December. A pair of Nike Lunarglide+ 4. It's my first purchase of rubber shoes ever! I haven't bought any rubber shoes when I was little because I always had someone buy me a pair, and I'm not really that sporty to follow the trends on shoe design, so I never really have any idea what to look for.

I must say, it really made a difference to my morning runs since the shoes are designed for it. I was able to use it for 3 weeks before I had to set it aside for now because they are not meant for Insanity. Good thing with this pair is that the color and design can also be worn with casual clothes. Though I don't really wear rubber shoes on casual days, at least now I have the option. The sole design is also on Lunargrands, just heard of these shoes the other week, though I really don't find it appealing. But hey, that kind of design is a one up for perfect casual shoes that can double as a quick running shoe. One more thing, it's already Nike+ ready so for any i-Product owners there, especially the iPod nanos, these shoes are good to monitor distance, speed, etc.

Meet my playlist maker, the iPod Touch! After a year, I finally got hold of another dedicated music player. I was actually having a hard time deciding on what iPod to get, between the iPod Nano or another iPod Touch. I was considering the Nano since it's cheaper and smaller. But the storage size isn't ideal for me, 16GB is too little for my songs. So I got myself the iPod Touch instead (32GB). First load of songs, I already ate half of it, and we're just midway to January. But it really helped making my playlists, I'm no longer limited to listening only on my computer. Camera is that of the iPhone 4S so it's good and the whole device feels really really light. The case I bought for it made it more holdable and it's a clear case so that I can enjoy the looks of this new iPod.

Cool bonus too are the Coloud earphones I got from Vincent. It sounds OK and has a button and mic making my music listening experience easier since I don't need to unlock the iPod or press anything on it. I just double click the button to play the next track, triple click to move back to previous track and single click to pause/play. I set the playlist I want to play in the morning, and viola, I can browse through the songs without hassle. I just unlock the iPod if I want to rate the current song playing, as a way for me to tag which songs goes to my playlist. White? Because I haven't owned a white iOS device.

After nearly half a decade, I'm retiring my (still functioning) Nokia phone and got myself an iPhone 5, my first smart phone. Well, technically not my first smart phone, but I didn't use my old phone that way anyway. I'm enjoying the new experience with having an iPhone even though I'm familiar with the iOS environment, having the call and messaging features plus the mobile Internet on one device is just awesome. Battery life sucks though. 8 hours or less while on 3G (LTE still not implemented here) with normal browsing and SMS. I really wish the next technology to progress is battery technology.

Well, what can I say about the phone? It's light, sexy, very responsive interface and a breeze to use. Though I wish there are some more customizable options but were talking about Apple here so you get the idea.  Syncs with iCloud so yeah, less hassle updating contacts and calendar schedules. I wanted it to be naked but decided to have a back cover. I'm now updating my contacts and will send a lot of PMs, DMs, and IMs this weekend. Care to share some apps that you like? Productivity, photography, games, etc? because I only have a few. Not that I play on my phone that much anyway.

Another change that happened on the start of the year is us moving to another building. Looks like a warehouse right? I like it BUT it doesn't have any windows! The building is nice, lots of food stalls on the first floor, but the way to get there is another story. Our office is good to look at as the outside is as bad to walk through. Traffic, jeeps, crowd, fly over, pollution, noise. It's crazy irritating. Plus EDSA-Shaw is a big CR! It's seriously disgusting! I wish WCC is the building in Ortigas. Longer walks but it's a more pleasant experience than what I have to pass through now every morning. (Makati I miss you so much!)

On the health front, I'm on day 11 of Insanity and all I can say is it's a really hard workout. I'm sweating A LOT! Good thing I really prepared for it but I'm in no shape to actually follow the time frame for the exercises and the breaks in between. I actually have to take a break every exercise when I'm suppose to be continuing since it's interval training. Also, the middle part on the bottom of my feet can't take the jumping and it's one of my limitations, then of course my body not able to handle the craziness of the routines. I think I'm doing OK and I'll know if I did come Monday when I need to do the Fit Test again. DIG DEPPER! PUSH HARDER! (That's what she said!)

So yeah, 2013, yey!

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Computer Calm

Some of us spend a lot of time in front of our computer screens and up to some point, staring at it can affect us.

My photography teacher Jo Avila told us that it's better to set the desktop background to grey in order for our eyes to adjust to the color. I did that for the longest time, even at work. But then, I have to admit, it got boring, and cluttered at the same time with all the icons littering the screen. So I decided, time to put some images back on it! Before I knew it, it became a habit of mine to change desktop backgrounds every month depending on what I want my mood to be, or the season, or just because I saw another beautiful wallpaper. Most of the time I want it to calm me so I always choose minimalist photos of landscapes. With a simple swipe to the lower right corner, my windows give way revealing my wallpaper. I look at it for a couple of seconds then back to work.

Try it! Don't underestimate what your eyes see every time because it can act like a subliminal message. :)

ps: yeah yeah, I need to recalibrate.

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Quantifying the New iPad

This blog entry is also posted on Slide And Tap.

TheVerge.com

Do you remember the days when mobile computing came in 2 forms? They are mobile phones and laptops. Mobile phones became a necessity now a days since it's the main form of easy communication from long distances while on the move. The laptop didn't really catch up to mobile phones in the same way because of two reasons primarily, portability and price. On the other hand, mobile phones now are catching up to features and processing power that was once held by laptops hence our smart phones now. But now, there is a third player to mobile computing and that is tablets. It bridges the gap between mobile phones' portability and laptops' performance all in a sleek big screen (relatively to mobile phones). And when we talk about tablets, one can't help but mention the current consumer favorite, Apple's iPad.

If you haven't heard the news, for some reason I couldn't think of, Apple has updated their iPad line with the New iPad (Yes, it's not iPad 3) last March. If you want to be reminded of the features of the latest iPad, you can read Mikoy's previous entry summarizing just that. In paper, it sounds really good and it does look good when you actually hold the device, I know because it made me want one. The new iPad was just recently released in the Philippines this month, 4 months after its release in the US and the day after it's official release, I immediately went to the nearest Apple store to see what the fuzz was all about.

The new iPad was dubbed Resolutionary and true enough the display was marvelous for something so thin and beautiful and the fact that I can hold in my hands makes it even more enticing. That alone snapped me to wanting one! I want to read stuff from it, look at pictures, browse the web and even play games to see what this glowing screen I'm holding can do. I owned an iPod touch before so I know what it feels like to have the web in your hands, but this new iPad is really something. When I saw it, it was sitting next to a couple of iPad 2s. Too bad though that the iPad 2s don't have the same photos loaded to them like those in the new iPad because I really want to compare the difference between the two screens although looking at the icons alone shows the difference. I tried a couple of games and browsed through Flipboard as a way for me to test it but that is all I did before deciding to put back the new iPad on display because I'm really starting to see myself getting one right that moment.

I know I definitely want one right then and there but I managed to calm myself down before I start asking the sales personnel standing in front of me to give me one immediately. So I thought, why would I need this anyway? I have seen the original iPad and the Ipad 2 from my friends but I still feel reluctant to jump in the other side of the fence together with the tablet users. I won't be getting the LTE version and just opt for the wi-fi one meaning that I can't really connect to the Internet all the time. (I'm planning to get the iPhone 5 when it comes out and just share the internet connection with the iPad). Plus I don't play that many games on this platform anyway so why would I get one? Maybe the iPad will change my mind when I start playing games on it but still, not a good reason to get one. I really don't have any use for it. On the last photography workshop I attended, the speaker used an iPad to present some slides and I thought it was really convenient and it reminded me on how I felt on the day I saw the new iPad but it still didn't convinced me.

Just recently, it was pointed out that color management is absent on iOS devices. Yet another reason why I wouldn't want an iPad. As a photographer, I want to see photos with the correct colors. Yes, most of the images on the web are set to be viewed normally by the browser but some photos are set with embedded color profiles that tells the browser how to display the colors. Not having that on the iPad is such a downer since I was thinking of using it to showcase my photos as well as hold my favorites from 500px. True, I can just set my photos to default to overcome this little problem but still.

So in the end, I left the store that day praising the device but didn't really got any convincing reasons for me to buy one. It's a product that is good to have but that's it. You can say "Just get one, if you don't like it, sell it" but that doesn't work for me and only a handful of people can convince me. I may have no compelling reason to get the new iPad but I think I might still get a tablet in the future and that is in the form of Microsoft's Surface.

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Mac Setup, Paper and Summer

MacRumors forum

Since I don't have anything else to talk about, might as well just blabber about my Mac setup. I currently have the magic mouse and wireless keyboard (I'm using them now) and my uncle bought me a Rain mStand from the US. Now all that's left is a 27" screen, a good set of speakers and that elusive table. For the screen, I'm still deciding between an Apple 27" Thunderbolt display or a Dell Ultrasharp U2711. Sure the Apple TBD looks good but it's so glossy I feel like I'm in front of the mirror all the time while the Dell U2711 doesn't really match with a Macbook Pro as much as the TB, it has a mate screen and it is recommended for photo editing, which I'm not doing that much lately (Poor neglected camera). For speakers, I still have no idea though I want the Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones. Now for that damn table, I still want that trestle desk from before but an alternative is Ikea's Micke desk. I have to ask how much it is to ship from Singapore because I can't seem to find a table like it here. I guess you can say I'm almost done... with all the expensive "add-ons" still left to be procured. I can hear Jaidy say, "Priorities! Priorities!". (I just had a quick look at Jaidy's blog and looks liked I missed a couple of posts. Note to self, go over there and read after this).

And since I'm talking about Apple products, I was this close to getting an iPhone last week. Really really close as in I'll-pay-right-now close! I'm not sure if I'll be glad or not that my cable bill came back after paying it without the header part where the address is listed which is one of the requirements to get a line that meant I can't get one anytime soon. I asked my friends who use iPhones and they said that I should just wait for the iPhone 5 coming later this year. Technically it's just the middle of the product cycle and it's still safe to say that one's sanity will still be intact after the announcement of the iPhone 5 compared to those who just bought a month before it will be announced so I guess I'm still safe. I just want to update my iCal on the go because I want to use it as my main planner.

Not to sound like a fanboy (although I think I already do) but I feel like I want to get an iPad too. Not because I need it but because of simple app called Paper. iPad literally becomes a glowing piece of paper. I'll just have the video below show you what it can do but I guess the name just gives it away. (warning, you might get dizzy afterwards).


Paper by FiftyThree from FiftyThree on Vimeo.

But above all those TV shows that I'm watching and gadgets that I want to buy, even above my grown-up problem... is me missing the beach and just having a swim in clear tropic waters much like the photo below.

sugarock99.deviantart.com/

I don't know how may summers I've missed because I decided to just work in the office and just wait for my friends and cousins to cook something up and when they do, I would already have my head buried deep in work stuff that I couldn't get out off. I guess the summer winds were not that strong enough to pull me of my office chair. I do hope a good trip comes out this summer. Going to the beach by myself to have fun in the sand is such a bad idea, even I think it's stupid. Laughing with friends is always one of the best experience one can have anytime.

And to end this post, I have a track that's good for summer road trips. Summer playlists are my favorite!


@SOLEIL from Monet Mélodie on Vimeo.

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