Atelier Winsonli

I got myself a matte screen protector (anti glare screen protector) and love it. The screen is now smoother to touch while finger prints and grease won’t show. This is a must have for iPod Touch and iPhone.

Before and after pictures to demonstrates its anti-reflectiveness:

Before

After - with anti glare screen protector

The pictures won’t show its justice. All I can say is, the iPod Touch is now more fun to touch. You won’t be rubbing on the iPod Touch screen anymore, but gliding.

Apple has released the firmware 2.0 for iPod touch or some time already. The new firmware include the iTunes App Store which allows you to download applications for the iPod and iPod touch. I have pwned the 2.0 firmware with Pwnage Tool.

Pwning the iPod Touch allows you to download even more third party apps through Cydia (previously known as Installer). The reason I pwned mine is as I want to use custom themes.

Follow these steps to pwn your iPod Touch.

1. First you’ll need firmware 2.0, I bought it from the iTunes App Store. I believe there are other methods to obtain it though.
2. Download Pwnage Tool 2.0.1 (Windows user download WinPwn)
3. Use it to create a custom firmware
4. Enter DFU mode by following the on screen instructions
5. Open iTunes, go to the iPod Touch page
6. Alt + click Restore (shift + click for Windows user) then select the custom firmware

Wait for the custom firmware to be installed on your iPod Touch. All your notes, clocks, weather and other settings will be synced back to your iPod, so no worries.

I was using the mystique theme before. Now I want something more simple, just like a plain black background without the dock.

To remove the dock, follow these steps:

1. Open Cydia, install WinterBoard, MobileTerminal and Open SSH.
2. Tap on terminal, wait for the first line to appear.
3. You then need to gain admin rights by follow the instructions below. Skip to step 7 if you have done so already.
4. Change the password by typing “passwd”
5. If it asks for your old password, use “alpine”
6. Type in your new password, and confirm it
7. Login as root, type “su root”
8. Type in the password you just set
9. Navigate to the themes folder by typing “cd Library/SummerBoard/Themes” (case sensitive!)
10. Create a folder called Blank by typing “mkdir Blank”
11. Enter the folder by typing “cd Blank”
12. Create an empty Dock.png by typing “touch Dock.png”

Press the home button (the physical button below your screen) to quit, SummerBoard should restart. Unlock your iPod to see the changes.

I listed the steps from my memory. If you followed the steps and could not remove the dock, please let me know.

I exchanged my Mighty Mouse as my previous copy was unable to scroll right. Not only the problem persisted, it got worse. I was able to scroll to the right while applying pressure on the scroll ball. Scrolling left was normal just like scrolling vertically. With the replacement, I am able to scroll left or right only when applying mild pressure to the scroll ball.

I guess I would settle with this one, as I believe the whole batch of mice are suffering from the problem. Not something shocking with Apple products. Besides, having the same problem on both sides is better than having it on only one due to symmetry.

The mouse is, however, less laggy than the previous one. I am not sure if I got used to the mighty mouse or if this one is better, but that is the first impression I had.

To be honest, I lost confidence in Apple already. My first Apple product, the iPod nano had a misaligned click wheel and could not power off properly. I had it replaced for something which I believed was a “brand new unit” as told by an Apple representative. In another phone conversation, they told me it was a “refurbished unit”, having a new exterior and battery with used internal parts. I had it refunded after a six week battle with the supervisor Mr Eric who never called back.

My second purchase is the MacBook Pro, which arrived with a dead pixel and a squeaking space bar. I didn’t even bother taking it for service as I predicted the hassle ahead. I chose to live with it and the squeaky space bar brought me a lot of attention in the library.

The iPod Touch is my third purchase which came with glue all over the frame. I believe the glue adhering the frame to the body was not so well applied and got all over the place. I chose to live with it as I got a case to cover the mess.

My fourth and recent purchase, the mighty mouse, had a scroll ball which won’t scroll to the right. The replacement I had won’t scroll to the left or right without applying mild pressure.

Problems are expected with Apple products, especially new ones. Famous ones include color discolorations on MacBooks, Random Shutdown Syndrome on MacBooks and the cracking of the brand new iPhone 3G.

Who to blame? I think the quality problem is what “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China” translates to.

Heard so many good things about the Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse from Hayashi, decided to get one myself.

Usual Apple quality. Well designed by Apple in California, not so good assembled in Malaysia (or China). Apart from a cosmetic flaw at the bottom, my copy also can’t scroll to the right and I’ll get it exchanged tomorrow.

Anyway, some reservations on Apple’s usual “form over function” philosophy, especially on this mouse. Five points are advertised on the packaging. Would do a short review on this Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse.

1. Click. You can left click with it (otherwise known as secondary click) by having your index finger not touching the shell and clicking with the middle finger. In other words, lift up your index finger, click with the middle finger. Otherwise a left click would be recorded.

   The good: Looks. Clean design.
   The bad: Need to get used to. Unable to left click and right click at the same time.

2. Roll. The scroll ball could also be clicked. Think of this as the middle click. You could define the what it does in the preferences pane (Dashboard, Exposé, etc.) or let your Applications decide (set it as Button 3).

   The good: Looks. Clean design. Functional.
   The bad: None.

3. Squeeze. Squeeze the mouse to activate a function of your preference. I assigned it to launch Dashboard. The first squeeze required some force. However, subsequent ones became better. You won’t accidentally activate Dashboard, but you can’t easily activate it as well. You have to hold the mouse between your thumb and middle finger to squeeze it.

   The good:Functional. Hard to accidentally trigger.
   The bad: Hard to trigger.

4. Scroll. Vertical scrolling works fine. Would comment later when I exchange the current one for a working one.
5. Laser. I was brainwashed that an optical mouse which utilizes laser can operate on all surfaces, but it can’t. Not on glass nor acrylic that the salesman claimed it would. The tracking speed of the mouse is slow even when set to the maximum in preferences, leaving me no option but to download MouseZoom to push the limits further. MouseZoom is written by Ben which adds a pane in the system preferences to set tracking speeds higher than the OS X default.

   The good: Supposed to be precise, although not compared to regular optical mice.
   The bad: Won’t operate on all surfaces. At least not on the glass tabletop I tried.

Would like to comment on the Bluetooth connection as well. The mouse is a bit laggy, but is expected from a wireless mouse. As for stableness, I paired my mouse once, and I can use the mouse right away when Leopard boots or wakes from sleep.

If you want to get a wireless bluetooth mouse which is designed for Macs by Apple, the Mighty Mouse would be a good purchase. I am unable to comment on the scroll ball yet as it is defective on mine. Would post a follow up when I get it replaced.

Many thanks to my girlfriend for giving me this Lamy Safari pencil to compliment with my fountain pen. Decided to write a short review on both pens.

The Lamy Safari fountain pen is the most recommended entry level pen, selling for HKD 220 (~USD28). I’ve began my quest for the right fountain pen when I got my first Moleskine. I’ve googled for a few reviews and they all agreed that the Lamy Safari does not bleed nor feather on Moleskine paper.

The reports are indeed correct, no bleeding or feathering with Lamy ink cartridges. I’ve tried writing on Moleskines, Rhodias and even MUJI notebooks, all with good results.

However there is one thing I don’t like about the ink. It does not look as solid as my rollerball pens. I guess another brand of ink would have more solid blacks. Lamy also sells a converter which allows bottled inks to be used.

The converter did not come with any instructions. I’ve asked a sales representative and she taught me how to use it. Would post the instructions later.

I haven’t tried other fountain pens, but the Lamy Safari serves its purpose very well. It’s relatively cheap so you won’t worry about scratching it. The ABS construction is durable and won’t scratch as much as the aluminum variant, Al Star.

Whether you like the large clip is a matter of taste. I personally like. Considering the Safari is a design of the 1980s, it looks quite good.

The fountain pen is a reasonably priced pen, but is the pencil? Retailing for HKD150 (~USD19), the Lamy Safari is not just an overpriced pencil with good looks.

The grip is triangular shaped making it comfortable to hold. The large clip is functional. The weight is just about right. The pencil just feels different from ordinary pencils. It is smoother to write with. But don’t expect too much from the attached eraser.

When you think of the pencil as a German engineered pencil which is functional and matches its fountain pen counter part, it is not as expensive as you think.

Lamy Safari products are available in a lot of places in Hong Kong. Your local stationary store might carry a few. Also, Logon, Prints (Times Square and Harbor City) and Apita are selling it. The last time I checked, only the Harbor City Prints and Apita have extra fine nibs. The other retailers usually carry nibs ranged from fine to broad. Apita is doing a back to school promotion and there’ll be 10% off Lamy products.

It’s about time to stock up stationary. I’ve been using the Rhodia notepads and love the paper. Now CitySuper carried Rhodia Black notepads and they look wonderful.

Hayashi sent me some Moleskine notebooks and they are great. Minimal and functional. However my Parker Vector roller ball pen feathers and bleeds a lot on Moleskine paper. After a bit of research I got this Lamy Safari, voted by the Stylus Magazine as the 2007 best pen under USD100.

Industrial design. Form following function. The pen takes proprietary ink cartridges, available in every color found on a rainbow. A converter is available so you can use your own ink. I got the fine nib and light blue ink.

Haven’t used a fountain pen before so I don’t know how this one is performing. As a fountain pen novice, I find this one a pleasure to write with. Fountain pens have the wet feel just as roller balls, but they do not bleed or feather as much.

I’ve read that the Lamy nibs are a size bigger than that of other makes, with fine being what actually is medium and medium being what is broad. The fine nib I have writes lines of the width as ordinary ball pens on inkjet A4 paper. If you are writing on a Moleskine, I would recommend an extra fine nib. Not because they feather, but because Moleskines have narrow lines.

I got the Safari in hope of it not to bleed on Moleskine paper. I used Lamy ink cartridges and it does not bleed or feather at all.

The colored tags are from MUJI, they compliment so well with the black.

The Parker Vector roller ball is made of stainless steel and coated with matte black epoxy and is discontinued. Now Parker only makes these pen in plastic or stainless steel with a black plastic end. I’ve tried searching on eBay and other sites and this version is no where to be found. Theres a few at my local stationary store if you need it.