In this week's digest, I share what's happened over the past 2 weeks in my life, and what's going to happen over the next 2 weeks.
[Music] Condolence
Singapore came to a standstill last week with the passing of our Founding Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. The world mourns with us, as Mr. Lee's contribution to shaping the world in the better half of the 20th century is instrumental. As a tribute, I composed a simple piano piece and shared it on social media. It turned out to be my most viral post to date, garnering over 12000 views, 500 likes, and 270 traceable shares (users with private profiles are not visible). https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152929773554865&pnref=story
It's not a particularly interesting song, other than the fact that it expresses the sorrow I (and many) have on Mr. Lee's death. As a politician, Mr. Lee has his share of controversy, and like every other famous people, there are always 2 sides of a coin. People who benefited from him will like him, and people who suffered from his decisions will dislike him. Looking back at all the famous people that history documented, this has always been the case. So, to say that Mr. Lee indoctrinated Singapore is a little far-fetched, because many materials are available over the Internet. So, do your own research and decide for yourself.
At the end of the day, Lee Kuan Yew is the leader responsible for implementing the policies and making them happen. From here onwards, we should work towards maintaining the good qualities of his policies while improving on those that may not appear to work for future generations. And for the latter part, Lee Kuan Yew is no longer the person responsible. Let the leaders of today forge our future, but at the same breath, we the citizens of Singapore can play a part. Stand out and help in improving our lives.
[Photo] Panoramic fun with OPPO N3
OPPO N3 has made shooting panorama fun and convenient. No longer do I have to move my body and pan the camera, where based on my experience the output often does not justify the act of looking silly. The OPPO N3 not only makes panorama shots unobtrusive, the success rate is so much higher (apart from moving subjects).
Despite a not-so-popular brand, the OPPO is well-built and runs on a stable UI that matches the top manufacturers. It has a strong presence in Singapore, having a large flagship store and service centre at Suntec City. Tertiary students get S$50 off.
Sometimes I am amazed at how things happen coincidentally. At the same time when I was invited to be the Sony NWZ-A15 WALKMAN influencer, Philips provided me with the Fidelio X2 High-Resolution Headphones. The Sony A15 supports High-Definition audio - 24-bit 192kHz, and so does the Philips Fidelio X2. And that makes them an awesome pair-up. The Fidelio X2 review is already up - and I love it. The Sony A15 review write-up will be published this week.
[Tech] UB+ Eupho
UB+ is a new Singapore company and its first product is EUPHO, a portable Bluetooth speaker with accessories to enhance the sound. I went to their office to pick up a pair of speakers which supports Buddy Stereo, where you can daisy-chain the speakers for better stereo separation. More opinions will be shared in my proper review.
[Tech] Philips Fidelio NC1
After finishing the Fidelio X2 review, Philips passed me the Fidelio NC1, the first noise cancelling headphones. It's lightweight, foldable, and comes with a hard case for storage. I am pampered by the X2 headphones, so the NC1 did not meet my expectations when I first tried it. But I set it aside for a while and when I resumed my audition, I find it generally comfortable. Reviews out soon.
[Tech] Does Android Wear make me spend less time with my smartphone?
The short answer is no. I was very surprised with the outcome after wearing Android Wear watch for over 2 months. One primary reason for not spending less time is the manner of which the Android Wear presents the notification. You see, the Android Wear notification is so tightly-coupled with the Android phone that if I dismiss the watch notification, the phone notification disappears too. Yet, I want to keep the notifications so that I can visit them later instead of removing them completely. The problem is that as new notification comes in, the existing notification remains present, and the result is that I get more and more notifications stacked on the watch.
On the phone, because of the large screen, you may be able to handle multiple notifications from a single screen. But on the watch, you have to flip multiple notification cards to read them through. The frustrating part is that they continue to build up if you choose to keep them without dismissing them, yet if you dismiss them, they notification will disappear from your phone and you will forget about them the next time you check your phone.
The result? I am forced to turn on the phone to act on these notifications before I forget, else my watch notifications will get cluttered.
A simple solution is to be able to dismiss notifications only on the watch but keep it on the phone. That way, I will be able to remove those notifications I do not need on the watch but want to be kept on the phone for action the next time I touch the phone. I also hope to see more customised settings to improve the notification experience, like keeping the message preview longer.
