Comparing Hardware Specs and Cost - the new standard for men?

Category: Techtoday

It always confuses me when people exchange hardware specs in forums and boast about how much they spent for their setup, tablet, laptop, or smartphone. "I spent xxx dollars and my xxx processor and xxx RAM can smoke your rig any day of the week!" And then another guy will come out of nowhere and say, "It's in the OS d*mb*ass and nothing is better than an iMac with Mountain Lion! NOTHING!" They even fight over screen size, apps, and speed. It actually makes me wonder what they use their equipment for other than gaming (surfing for Aoi Sola or Tori Black movies?).


The primary reason why guys buy a Macbook with Retina screen.

Strangely enough, when you visit or read Esquire, FHM, ASKMEN, or sports/automobile sites, you don't read about how members boast about their chrome mags looking better than x or y or talk about gym equipment made up of really expensive material. Guys don't brag about their girlfriend's vital stats either.

What is it with tech guys and their PC hardware and electronics? Is this the new standard of manhood?



*Art from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #25 and Amazing Spider-Man #342.

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Booting into Linux on Windows 8 Secure Boot-equipped hardware

Category: Linux

When news about Secure Boot came out and fears of Linux users being kicked out as an alternate OS started, I wasn't apprehensive. I had full faith that the Linux community would quickly resolve the issue quickly and with panache. At any rate, if you've purchased hardware preinstalled with Windows 8 and can't seem to boot using your beloved LiveCD or LiveUSB, you can try a work around via the BIOS. You won't reap the purported benefits of Secure Boot, but you'll be running openSUSE and Knoppix in no time.

Disclaimer: The steps outlined here do not apply to all hardware. It really depends on how the hardware manufacturer implemented Secure Boot on the firmware. For more information about Secure Boot and its relationship with open-source operating systems, visit this article for a brief overview.




I tested the procedure below with an openSUSE 12.2 LiveCD and a Knoppix 6.5 LiveUSB. The two motherboards were running an American Megatrends non-GUI Aptio BIOS and the more common GUI UEFI BIOS.

1. Boot to the BIOS and click the Boot tab. Access the item Secure Boot.
2. In most cases, the BIOS will not provide an option to disable it. Look for an item related to OS Type.
3. The option for OS Type is normally on Windows 8 UEFI by default or Windows UEFI if the hardware came with Windows 8 or was designed for Windows.
4. Change OS Type to Other OS or Legacy OS.
5. Save the BIOS settings and reboot the system with the Linux LiveCD inserted or the LiveUSB connected.

If the process fails, the motherboard or system will bring up the BIOS on boot until you switch back to Windows UEFI or default to Windows if Windows is available. On the rare occasion Secure Boot was implemented poorly, the system won't boot to either the OS or the BIOS. The system will just freeze on the manufacturer's logo. In that case, clear the RTC of the motherboard using the recommended process from the manufacturer to reset your BIOS.




If you haven't purchased your new Windows 8 machine I recommend bringing along a Linux LiveUSB or LiveCD (preferably loaded with the most updated Linux kernel) when you go to the store. Check the BIOS and boot into Linux. Test your favorite Linux distribution on your selected machine even if you're not buying a desktop/laptop without a preinstalled operating system.

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Adventures in Xujiahui, Shanghai Part 2

Category: Techtoday

Metro Plaza: Gangnam Style, Secret, Girls Generation, and Linux

Metro Plaza has its own smaller electronics market but you visit the mall for the computer brand retail stores. The staff are more knowledgeable and not as pushy. Gaming devices like the Playstation 3 and XBOX360 are also more visible here. The same brands in Pacific Digital Plaza are there plus lesser known or upper-tier brands such as Bose, Hanvon, and Transcend. The displays are more organized and each sales area focuses on one brand only. Of course, you don't get to bargain and have to contend with the suggested retail price but you get nice glossy fliers, a branded shopping bag, and freebies if you buy direct from them.



I found myself trailing a family from New York so I could take a closer look at the new products. The staff was obviously more interested in them than me. But even then I couldn't examine any item closely. Why? Because all the monitors were playing music videos of Psy dancing with half-naked Korean girls. I could barely look at any of the new Android tablets because Girls Generation was smiling from a Samsung monitor across the corridor while the K-pop group Secret was singing their music video Poison while showing off their long legs. Who needs porn when you have sexy Korean music videos? Hsu Chi, Fan Bingbing, and Angelababy were all over the place in digital camera advertisements or posters. I was so distracted I forgot to take out my Knoppix LiveUSB to test the hardware specifications of an Alienware laptop. 


Uhm. . .yeah. . . what was I saying about Linux again?

I wouldn't be a Linux evangelist if I didn't give my favorite OS a nod. Some of the Chinese white boxes were running on a modified Linux kernel. Hanvon ereaders were obviously using some Linux code. I accessed the BIOS of one of the desktops and found Secure Boot already part of the options. I wanted to test if it would prevent a LiveUSB from booting, but like I said, I never got the chance. Blame attractive K-Pop stars and their titillating videos.

Thoughts on 360Buy and shopping

You don't have to worry about pickpockets when you're in Metro Plaza or Pacific Digital because the staff seems like their only purpose in life is to get you to buy an item. Money seemed secondary to them - hell, sales employees from my old company would have learned a lot from their verve and enthusiasm.

A Taiwanese friend of mine who has lived in Shanghai for eight years told me that the aggressive sales staff in electronic markets just takes a bit of getting used to. They will pull down the prices as long as you're persistent but courteous. A non-Shanghainese 22-year old Chinese told me that even locals get intimidated with the "uncivilized" way the sales reps assault you with their products. Personally, I really didn't mind though I did wish I was less shy about checking out the prices and their catalogs.

I had researched prices for portable external drives on 360Buy before heading to Xujahui. Although I didn't barter at the stalls during my brief visit, the prices at Metro City and Pacific Digital Plaza were around 50RMB higher than those quoted on 360Buy for the same model HDDs. Of course, you're actually expected to haggle in Pacific Digital Plaza so I'm pretty sure a good shopper can bargain for an equal or lesser price. You can use 360Buy as leverage if you know how to speak in Mandarin. The locals know about the online prices and shop there regularly themselves and would be more open to lowering the price if you mention a Chinese online store.

If Asian girls are your thing, I don't recommend visiting Pacific Digital or Metro Plaza. After all, how could you think of buying from 360Buy and saving cash if the cute saleslady who looks like Charlene Choi or Crystal Liu YiFei is already demonstrating the Windows 8 touchscreen for you? Worst, you might even trip in the escalator while watching a SISTAR video from a Panasonic monitor across the hall.


Yeah, some of them are that cute. Take my money already!

Am I going to come back one of these days for my fix of electronics window shopping? I sure will. After all,Xujahui is the capital of computers and electronics in Shanghai. Where else would I go?

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Adventures in Xujahui, Shanghai Part 1

Category: Techtoday

As a penniless fan of computers and electronics, I've spent countless hours just walking around in places like BestBuy and Future Shop (Canada). As nice as Newegg, Fry's, and Amazon are for browsing products online, there's nothing like touching and smelling the silicon, plastic, and metal parts of newly unpackaged products. You can't accuse me of "showrooming"  though since I buy online only twice a year (hey, that's why i said 'penniless'). I've also traversed flea market electronic malls such as Manila's Greenhills, Singapore's Sim Lim Square, and Bangkok's Petchaburi road. So, it was with utter confidence that I once again visited Shanghai's electronics and computer mecca, Xujiahui.

I've been to Xujahui's digital paradise a few times before but not solely to walk around and window shop. It was a Sunday and I wanted to relax amongst boxed digital devices. I came prepared for the inevitable assault of salespeople. I brought my iPod Touch so I had an excuse for not hearing their loud calls to visit their storefront and I dressed like I had no money (which is true enough anyway). Unfortunately, I had to wear my glasses to see their products better, which generally trigger "geek" alarms. I also wore a baseball cap to hide my utter surprise at the price and availability of products - probably a mistake since wearing a cap screams "foreigner" since no one wears a baseball cap in China (other than the occasional Shanghai hip hop fan).  

Entrance to the Lion's Den

Once you alight on to the Line 1 Xujiahui station platform, understand that you are already Indiana Jones at the entrance of a Peruvian temple - choose your exit carefully or you'll have a pack of Hovitos . . . ahem, salespeople on your tail the moment you get off the escalator.



You have two choices: enter through the building entrance or climb any escalator directly into either Metro City or Pacific Digital Plaza. If you want to enter the traditional way (from the front of the building), use any of the exits that lead you to any one of the three other malls. If you find yourself in a department store, just get to the door and make your way to the Metro City or Pacific Digital building (you really can't miss it because the first looks like the Death Star while the other has Lenovo or Nikon posters all over it). If you're ready to start your electronics adventure from the train station, take exit 10 and hang a left to an escalator.



Pacific Digital Plaza and Windows 8

I took the escalator to Pacific Digital Plaza and immediately came across dozens of stalls which should be familiar to anyone who has ever been to an Asian electronics market. The square glass displays, the young and/or bespectacled storekeeps, the mish-mash of parts and boxed electronics products and the loud signs screaming Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, Philips, Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, Apple and Sony are all there. If you've ever wondered where the majority of the Shanghai population are, it's here at Pacific Digital Plaza behind the counter or in front of their store.



I was already prepared to tell the overeager sales people a product I knew they wouldn't have just in case I needed them to get off my back: a Lacie 2big 2-Bay Raid NAS or a Synology Disk Station (which is actually available in 360Buy but was a backup option anyway). You can also quote most high-end HP or Dell products. Both companies surprisingly didn't have much presence in Xujiahui though there is an Alienware store in Metro City and the odd HP printer.

A young lady gave me a flier and immediately asked me what I wanted in Mandarin. In fact, when people start calling out to you, they're actually asking what you're looking for. I walked around, checking out portable hard drive prices and available Dr. Dre Beats headphones. I avoided the smartphone areas and tried not to look at the sleek new Thinkpads, ASUS Transformers, and hybrid Acer laptops. Soon, an old lady started plucking my sleeve to get me to enter her store and even a guy on lunch break asked me on the elevator what I wanted to buy (he was carrying his food but his store ID was hanging around his neck). I was soon flustered by the many shouts and prods and took out my iPod just to avoid eye contact (when in reality I was just switching from BBC podcasts to Louie Armstrong).

There is no argument that China loves Apple and despite the multitude of brands in Pacific Digital, you will see a second-hand iPad or iPod Touch propped on one side and boxes of Apple accessories on the other. Almost all of the stores also offer iTunes "services" for apps and mods. You can get great Apple accessories here and there are tons of options, too. Of course, I would still recommend the nice Apple Store in Pudong or Nanjing Road for purchasing an Apple product unless you're looking for something "unofficial."

After five floors of dizzying stalls and a scant 25 minutes, I headed to the ground floor where the OEM and brand stalls were located.

Windows 8 products were out in full force and I looked enviously at the new Lenovo and Samsung machines on display. The place was crowded with uniformed staff and curious buyers, so I couldn't get close enough to take a peek at the demonstrations. Moreover, touching any of the unattended devices meant a come on to any available staff - it was like flies on dung. I did get a peek though. The Lenovo Ideapad Yoga looked gorgeous and the Acer Aspire S7 looked fantastic. I had been working on Windows 8 for the last few months but seeing the OS on machines like the Acer Iconia W7, ASUS Zenbook, and Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook was enough to make me want to chuck out my 2-year old laptop and float a loan. I really didn't expect much fanfare for Windows 8 (it's still too early), but believe me when I tell you that if you see them on display, it's a totally different experience from running it on VirtualBox or on your old laptop.

Before I left using the building entrance, a tanned, bearded guy from California (you could tell) walked in with a hesitant look on his face. He made a sign language with his hands, imitating the motion of taking a picture with a camera. Instantly, the clueless tourist was inundated with half a dozen sales staff ready to rip his dollars from his Levi's. Mao would be so proud.

Adventures in Xujahui, Shanghai Part 2: Metro City and Kpop stars

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Lettering Comic Books using CorelDraw Part 2

Now that you have your callout or thought balloon, you can start positioning and adding the text.

1. Using the Pick Tool, move and resize your Callout shape to position it on on top of the comic book panel. If you used the Callout Shape Tool to create your balloon, use the Shape tool to adjust the node and point the callout to the speaker.



2. Before adding the text, choose your font carefully. Using standard computer fonts like Arial, Verdana, or Times New Roman make for an uninteresting visual, so use a font that looks natural. Traditional Marvel Comics were hand-lettered and European/manga books were lettered using a calligraphy brush. Adobe and Corel products provide plenty of fonts, but I prefer getting an original (and open source font) from Google Web Fonts . I recommend using fonts that have a "handwritten" look. Use Google Web fonts' filters to find the perfect font for your project.



For this example, I downloaded a font called Neucha, which fit the somewhat archaic feel of Corto Maltese's adventure. Don't forget to install the font before using them in CorelDraw X5.

4. Select the Text Tool from the Toolbox and move the cursor to the edge of the balloon until it becomes an insert icon with AB next to it. Click once and CorelDraw will create a Text area within the callout shape. Enter the text or translation. Adjust the paragraph and size properties of the text as needed.



5. If you aren't happy with how the text is arranged in the balloon even after formatting the text or reshaping the callout, you can edit the text as an object by selecting the text area and clicking Arrange then Break Paragraph Text Inside Apart.



6. To export the panel or comic book page, use the Pick Tool and select both the callout and the panel. Click File and then Export. Check Selected Only on the Export dialog box.



7. Here's the original panel and the final translation.

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Lettering Comic Books using CorelDraw Part 1

Category: Techtoday

In my article about translating comic books, I gave an overview on the steps to translate a foreign-language comic book. In this tutorial, we'll take a look at replacing the text on a comic book panel with your newly written translation. Although this can be done in any graphics editor, we'll be using a vector application instead, which creates more precise shapes and provides better text handing than bitmap applications like Adobe Photoshop. As in the previous article, we'll be working on a panel from the Italian comic book, Corto Maltese: Il Segreto di Tristan Bantam (Corto Maltese: The Secret of Tristan Bantam).

1. Preparing your scanned comic book/graphic novel page is a lengthy discussion involving file formats and resolution. This is discussed in many tutorials involving Adobe Photoshop and graphic editing. The important thing to remember is that the comic book will eventually be zipped as a .cbr or .cbz file for viewing on a tablet or portable device. It's for display and not printing so don't worry about 300dpi or color accuracy too much.

2. If you're adding a translation to a comic book page that is compressed in a .cbr or .cbz file, extract the JPGs or PNGs using 7-Zip FIle manager or any archiving utility that supports RAR and ZIP.

2. Open the comic book page in your graphics editor. Any commercial product like Adobe Photoshop Elements or Corel Paint Shop would do. There are also plenty of open source applications like Gimp that can do the job. If you're working with a black and white comic book, use the Levels feature to increase the brightness of the white areas. Using your application's Paintbrush tool, "erase" the text using the white color swatch. You also have the option to "white out" the balloons and thought bubbles depending on how organized the artwork layout is.



I recommend removing just the text for cluttered lettering like those found in manga or recent Marvel comic books.  For the purpose of this tutorial, I removed the speech bubble because the art is fairly clean though I really didn't need to. Save the image as .PNG or any lossless format.

3. Create a new document in CorelDRAW X5 using any reasonably sized paper dimension.

4. Import the comic book page or panel by clicking File then Import.  

3. If you're translating text (say Italian to English), it's almost always better to create your own thought balloon or callout because you can adjust the shape and size for the length of the text.

Although drawing your own vector thought bubbles and conversation balloons is easy and generally nicer to look at, if you're working on an extremely lengthy comic book (or a dialogue-intensive one), you would work faster using CorelDraw's Callout Shape Tool.

Click the Callout Shape tool and select your Perfect Shape from the list on the Property Bar. Click and drag to create a callout.



2. One of the disadvantages of using the Callout Shape tool instead of drawing the thought balloon is that that the resulting shape is lifeless. Comic books and graphic novels make use of naturally drawn and interesting shapes to hold text.


Panel from Spectacular Spider-Man #27. Art by Frank Miller.

To change the properties of the outline of the Callout, select the callout using the Pick Tool and click the Outline Pen from the Toolbox. On the Calligraphy settings, change the Stretch and Angle values to make the callout look more interesting for the reader.



Lettering Comic Books using CorelDraw Part 2: Finding fonts and adding the text

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QuickFix: Use your Sony Reader PRS as a card reader (Linux)

Category: Linux

The old Sony PRS-600 has a Sony Pro Memory Duo slot and works with an M2 adapter if needed. Although it was expensive at the time it was released, the Sony Reader also came with an SD card slot (which is now standard on the latest model, PRS2THBC). Using any Linux distribution, a user can quickly use their Sony Reader as a card reader for either media if they find themselves without an SD or Sony Memory card reader handy. Most laptops and desktops are equipped with a memory card slot and USB memory card readers are dirt cheap, but users can actually access both internal memory and card storage through a Linux file manager just by plugging the Sony Reader to a USB port.

The screenshots below show PCMANFM in Lubuntu accessing the contents of an M2 Duo and SD card. Unlike Windows, which would require an application like Calibre to access memory cards in a mass storage device, no software packages are necessary to browse either media.

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Unemployed? Try Technical Support (Wait! Hear me out!)

Category: Techtoday

The words "technical support" elicits the same response as the words Richard Nixon, recession, and Windows Vista. Criticisms against technical support, whether commercial or internal (within a company), is not often fair, but almost always true. Having spent a huge amount of time early in my career providing technical support for a variety of consumer electronics, computers, and operating systems (including Windows 98SE and Samsung's first line of Digimax cameras), I would rather go swimming in Siberia then make a phone call to tech support.

To be fair, however, I found my years manning the lines infinitely educational despite the psychological scars inflicted by calls from hippies who don't know how to use a touchpad and old ladies who believe their e-mail is being hacked because her neighbor knows the latest gossip on her. Without the experience supporting printers like Canon or Epson, Latitudes, Inspirons, Dimensions, early Windows XP drivers, and the infamous Blasterworm virus, I probably would've never migrated to Linux completely. It was torture talking to people especially since I'm generally introverted, but once you start summoning the courage to instruct a customer to flash the BIOS of their motherboard or wipe out their hard drive, you realize you do learn something from technical support.

It's not about the Training

It's easy to dismiss the "technical support representatives" from India, Manila, or down in Latin America. In most cases, you absolutely believe he's clueless ("I have a problem with my MAC address not my Apple MAC, you moron!") and he/she probably is. Training for hardware, software, and consumer electronics is never enough and companies will never invest millions just to get them to understand IPV6 or VPI/VCI settings. I'm sympathetic towards tech support guys. I do know that even if they don't know anything on their first call, they learn on the job just like they would in any other job or industry. Against their will, tech support people start learning about clicking hard drives and memory dumps. It's even easier today with everyone owning a computer and pirated software available everywhere. Believe me, twelve years ago people were not as technical as they are today - in 1999 or 1998, people would have never figured out iOS or Android updates, much less use touchscreens. People used to say "UBS port" back then. This increase in tech IQ is both a boon and a bane for would-be tech support reps. Boon because they are immediately equipped with a higher aptitude for techstuff as compared to a decade ago, bane because their customers are equally as adept in understanding things like Java, Flash, and runtime errors and are knowledgeable enough to scream to them about it.

As any developer would proudly tell you, they learn programming and markup on their own, not through long hours of lectures. It's the same when you start off as a tech support representative. It definitely helps if you're already knowledgeable but you're definitely going to encounter some new issue while talking to some guy in Wisconsin or Adelaide.

It's not about the race. There are good and bad reps anywhere you call. Screencap from "Mumbai Calling."

Epical Boasting

Read an article in PCworld.com, CNET, Arstechnica, or Wired and 90% of the time you're going to read a comment from a guy who proudly lauds his technical skills and explains how he resolved X and Y without batting an eyelash. He would recommend how to set up the greatest desktop in the world or optimize the most clunky server setup ever made which he had built with his bare hands and paperclips in his basement. Now, I wonder how he would do if he was sent to troubleshoot a non-functioning XBOX controller and Kinect sensor or even a basic headless server with a hysterical network administrator over the phone.

It's easy to boast about your technical skills until you try it with someone else's technical issues. Technical support is a tough job with half-crazed Luddites and adults with anger management issues threatening everything from lawsuits to tearing you a new one. To be honest, it's not even a career for many. I will tell you, however, that even 6 months of problem solving over the phone will reward you with additional appreciation for technology, real technical experience, and surprisingly useful traits like patience and mental alertness.

So for those who regularly toot their own horn online and find yourself unemployed, test yourself and find out just how good you are in a tech support job.

Safe and Stress-free technical support

Do you think you're too good to get paid for being technical support? Ready to go pro bono? There are many sites and communities where you can share your knowledge and receive gratitude from Mr. Anonymous. The good thing about a safe, online environment is that you can contribute to stuff you already know, rather than being forced a problem down your throat by a consumer/customer. I'm partial to Linux communities and help with desktop and hardware issues when I come across something I feel like I can solve. You can also visit manufacturer's websites or independent forums discussing Dell and Lenovo laptops, Google Nexus tablets, and Apple products.

If you want to get paid, you can apply at online freelance services like Odesk, Elance, or Freelancer.com. Again, you get to choose what you want to work on and get paid a bit while you're at it too. It doesn't shout "expert!" on your resume but you do get valuable work experience and apply what you've learned.

Tech support is like anything other job - it can be fun and frustrating. Screencap from "Outsourced."

Consumer Tech Boom = Tech support increase

Most products today are so easy to use that you don't need to RTFM (read the f*cking manual) and no one bothers anyway. The downside is that there are plenty of people out there that think they know a lot despite having zero knowledge at all. A guy in my department is considered the go-to person for every computer problem that comes up - the problem is all he really knows is XML and doesn't even know the difference between FTP and SAMBA. He hies off to each person, pretends he knows the answer, and then ducks to his desk to Google it, feeling like he's the God of Dance.

There will always be demand for technical support though I'm pretty sure it's going to get smaller in the near future and companies like Apple will put their "Geniuses" to pasture (where they hopefully will get shot). These days, companies still invest in personnel ready to receive some training (some training courses running up to three weeks) and somewhat reasonable pay. You can try applying for technical support for services and products like:

1. consumer desktops and laptops
2. broadband support
3. smartphone support
4. software (accounting, back-office, etc.)
5. sales

The nice thing about becoming technical support is you do get some training. The quality of training varies from product to product and the instructor can be the difference between learning a new skill and resigning after a week. In the end, you can still put the training session on your resume even if you stuck around for less than a year.

The Truth

Technical support is a necessary evil. It's not a glamorous job. But if you're stuck in a rut in this horribly merciless economy, go try your hand at technical support even if you believe you aren't "technical enough". The truth is (and tech graduates who paid thousands of dollars would gainsay this) everyone has adequate technical skills to be technical support. Mostly, you need character to survive the somewhat stressful work more than guru-level skills. I once sat down next to a tech support rep in Buffalo, New York for three hours, listening him swear furiously every few minutes during and after his call. He was very good at his job and was an angel to his customers, but was going bald and losing his teeth from grinding them all the time. When I run training for technical support, I tell my class that it's not for everyone, but if you stick around long enough, you might end up actually liking it.

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Access Blogger.com in China

Category: Techwriter

Besides looking for an affordable spoon and fork set, one of the more obvious difficulties with living in Shanghai is accessing Blogger.com. Without access to Blogger and my blog, Unsolicited But Offered, all my posts have been sent via e-mail the last few months.

Typing http://www.blogger.com and my blog url http://unsolicitedbutoffered.blogspot.com still triggers a "Connection reset by peer." Thankfully, however, I've been able to access my Blogger account in the last four days using a fairly basic redirection method that previously did not work. Now I can manage my account (and check my statistics) and view my blog.

To access your Blogger account in China:

1. Go to Google.com.hk. Typing www.google.com will default to the Hong Kong site.
2. Log in to your Google account by clicking on the Sign in link on the upper-right hand corner. Use the Google account that you use to manage your blogspot page.
3. Once you're logged in, click the More link on the Google banner. Click Blogger from the list.

You should now be able to manage your blog without worrying about the Great Firewall. You can edit and create posts, flag, and view comments like you normally would. You can't, however, view your posts by clicking on the View link under an entry since this triggers the blogspot domain which is filtered by China's security protocols.

If you want want to view what your home page looks like after x number of months of living in China, there's a quick and easy way of doing it from the Blogger home page.

To view your blog in China:

1. From the Blogger home account page, click the More options button and select Template.
2. On the Template page, click Customize.
3. The Blogger Template Designer will display your blog on the bottom panel. Scroll to view the current appearance of your home page. Click Back to Blogger once you're done.

As is often the case with the Great Firewall, accessing Blogger using this method may change. Steps recommended by other websites and bloggers failed when I first arrived in Shanghai, though I'm sure it worked for them during the period they wrote the procedures. Hopefully, continued access to Blogger.com using this method will remain successful. VPNs, after all, can get pretty expensive. Stay tuned.

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Attempting to draw with a Bamboo Wacom and Corel Painter 12 Part 3

Category: Techtoday

The Bamboo Wacom Experience

I'm still at Chapter 4 of Digital Painting Fundamentals, somewhat distracted by drawing that Ditko-style sketch of Spidey I started. As I worked on the web-spinner's webbing, I remembered just how much I appreciated the Wacom despite my inability to draw.


Spidey should always be drawn upside down. Sketch by author.

Revelations about the Bamboo Wacom

There are, however, a few things I wish I knew before I purchased a Bamboo Wacom a year ago. Moreover, there are some things I only found out while I was using the input device with Corel Painter. Here's a quick list:

1. Wacom products aren't cheap.  Unless you really plan to use it, don't buy one just because you suddenly woke up one day and decided you'll be working as a background artist for Pixar or becoming a regular penciller on Marvel's The Avengers. Try someone else's Wacom and find out if it's you're cup of tea. Even if you're an extremely talented drafter, painter, or artist, you might realize you're better off with a good Canon Scanner and inexpensive wireless mouse. Personally, my first few weeks with the Bamboo was terribly discouraging not only because I had no talent, but because my hand just couldn't move the pen very well. It's not for everyone.

2. The Bamboo pen is not the same as a drafting pen, technical pen, ballpen, brush, or ink no matter what digital artists or clever advertising will tell you. It's better and worst depending on your skill. Also, some digital art books would instruct you to use the Wacom and "rub" the pen on the tablet like normal art materials like pastel or crayons. These instructions don't apply to the Bamboo - they're for the more professional (and more expensive) Cintiq or Intuos series.

3. Drawing with a Bamboo Wacom is cheating (kinda).  Wacom's technology maps the drawing tablet so accurately and detects the pen movements so well that it also calculates and corrects any inconsistency in your stroke. In short, it actually makes your strokes smoother even if your application has a setting to reduce stroke adjustments. Don't believe me? Draw one pencil stroke on a piece of paper. Draw another on the Wacom. The paper and table affects the smoothness of your pencil stroke while the Wacom stroke is as smooth as the legs of a K-Pop singer.  Most digital artists admit that they could never recreate their artwork on traditional medium and this is due to the Wacom's amazing technology. That doesn't detract anything from the beauty of their artwork but you have to admit it's not the same as the old days with canvas and drawing paper.

4. Know what you'll use it for. Bamboo Wacom is advertised for use on the desktop and most applications. It doubles as a touchpad so ideally if you're using a laptop you can use it as a bigger input device. The truth is, it's somewhat awkward to use the Wacom to control the cursor on a Windows, Ubuntu, or openSUSE desktop. Although it's great for painting on Corel Painter, I struggle with using the Wacom on CorelDraw especially when working with technical designs. Some users can use the Bamboo Wacom while working in  Microsoft Word or anywhere else for that matter, but I'm resigned to the fact I'll use my Bamboo Wacom primarily for Painter and maybe Corel Paint Shop or Adobe Photoshop. Sometimes the mouse really does do a better job.

5. I don't recommend using the Bamboo Wacom with a laptop. I found it initially difficult to have my tablet to the far right of my Ideapad. If I was working on a huge Samsung display and an ATX chassis or an iMac, I could move everything to one side and it would just be me, the Bamboo, and the monitor. But I don't have a desktop so although you can reason out using a wireless mouse is similar, it really isn't. I find myself stretching a little bit more with my right hand to use the Wacom compared to using my dependable Microsoft Mouse.



6. Use the Bamboo as often as you can. Long-time digital artists would laugh their ass off, but I struggle with pressing the button on the side of the pen. Despite being shaped as a pen, it just doesn't feel right for a guy who has been using Mongol, Bics, Pandas, and markers ever since he was a kid. I feel more comfortable now holding the Wacom pen but only because I forced myself to practice (and reminded myself how expensive it was).

7. Use the Zoom tool. A lot. The beauty of working in digital art is the ability to zoom in and see all your mistakes and pathetic strokes. Using a Wacom tablet lets you make really large strokes and correct the overall curve. You can also draw tiny lines and details that you can erase using  Corel's or Adobe's Zoom controls. You can't do that as accurately even with a rubber eraser on a sketchpad.

8. Lower the opacity. A lot. When sketching, I felt better with a lower opacity because the faded lines felt less permanent and emulated the appearance of sketching on paper. When I initially started drawing at 100% opacity the sketch looked horribly permanent and discouraging. Sure, you can always create another layer on top when you're ready to draw but that's my insecurity in a nutshell.


Zooming lets you correct everything that's wrong. Sketch by author.

9. Use all the tricks available to digital artists and don't feel guilty about it. There are no layers, transparency controls, effects, sharpen, nodes, or color controls with traditional medium. A French curve and T-square was pretty much all we had in the old days and even then drawing a straight line was close to impossible. Digital art is the future and trees and chemical companies will thank you for the amount of paper and toxic materials you're saving.
   
10. It's damn fun when you get used to it. It's also terribly frustrating if you keep expecting each stroke to be 100% Da Vinci. Like traditional art, digital art takes time. Forget about all those smug artists in DeviantArt who boast about completing an artwork in one hour. Relax, you're not getting paid to draw like Jim Lee or Mike Mignola (not yet).

The most important lesson I learned while playing around with Corel Painter and the Wacom, however, is to draw something you like (and my favorite subject is pretty obvious).  After close to a year, I finally began to appreciate investing on a Bamboo Wacom. It took awhile, just like drawing Spidey's weblines.

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Buying an iPad 2 cover using 360Buy.com (China)

Category: Techtoday

I've been using the improvised iPad stand (which I wrote about in a previous entry) for the last few months, but then I realized I'd be traveling with my iPad 2 really soon and needed a way to protect its admittedly handsome chassis. Even with a screen protector, an iPad 2 is nowhere near as tough as the steel-covered Sony PRS-600 I had been using for years. So I shopped around on foot in some of the more popular tech places in Shanghai.

Prices, Quality, and Brand

I wanted complete protection for my iPad 2 and a case that didn't make me look like a geek with a man-purse (and still surreptitiously read Marvel Team-Up circa 1970s on the train). I visited a few Apple resellers and out of sheer curiosity checked out the prices over at the Apple Store in Pudong (I nearly coughed up a lung when I saw the price tag). In general, the price of a quality iPad 2 binder/stand costs around RMB232 to RMB400 (roughly $37-$65) at a respectable store such as those found in Xujahui or any of the decent shopping malls that dot the metropolis. Obviously, accessories for the Retina-display iPad 3 are more expensive. The iPad 2 cases in the retail stores are nowhere near as cheap as some of the selections at Amazon, where leather cases can go as low as $20.00. Keep in mind though that Shanghai is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

So now there's the question of brand and quality. There's probably more than two dozen Chinese brands producing iPad 2 accessories (I'd love to list them down but the company names often mix with my crippled Mandarin vocabulary). Chinese products get a lot of flak in the U.S. and in the West. Some of these comments are accurate; some are more political in nature. Most opinions are just plain narrow-minded. Personally, all I'm concerned about is getting protection for my iPad at a reasonable price.

So how do I know if TPOS, ESR, ESK, Moshi, SGP, or any of the unknown Chinese brands is a quality brand that produces a product that won't disintegrate in my hands in two months? Well, if you ride Line 1 or Line 2 in Shanghai, everyone's pretty much using a Chinese-brand case and they don't seem to be complaining. One of the English writers in the company I work in is using an ESK iPad case and she bought an additional three covers (red, blue, black) just to keep things interesting. Only the truly affluent are shelling out for a Belkin, Apple, or Logitech luxury case that's worth two weeks of lunch money.

360Buy.com and shopping online

Truth be told, I was ready to whip out RMB232 for the cheapest iPad 2 leather case over at the Minhang Centre Mall. But then my Chinese colleagues encouraged me to try 360Buy.com because they bought stuff there regularly. One of the technical editors explained online shopping in China quite succinctly to me:

Everyone in the big cities shop online. It's convenient and cheap. No local really buys personal items in the retail stores anymore unless you're from the smaller provinces or you don't have Internet. I think I wouldn't survive if I didn't buy online. You can buy anything from umbrellas to slippers and get it the next day.

I actually received a RMB100.00 360Buy.com gift card during Mid-Autumn Festival so I knew I wouldn't lose much by trying out the service. Plus, my cheapskate-senses weren't tingling when I visited 360Buy so I decided to just go for it. I selected a nice, brown leather portfolio iPad 2 case (Price: RMB119 = $19) from the Chinese web site and took down the URL. Being the paranoid stingy shopper that I am, I was still unsure about using my VISA, Mastercard, or even my Union Pay-powered Bank of Shanghai cash card to buy the item. So I actually asked my friendly Chinese colleague (who was a decade younger than me) to purchase it for me. And no, I didn't "lose face" or anything anachronistic like that - it's the year 2012, people.

My young friend sent me an email through QQ last Saturday telling me the item had sold out. She told me to select a different item. I selected a black leather one (Price:RMB99 = $16) and another brown leather case as a backup in case that one was out of stock, too. At exactly 9:15 am on Monday, she walked up to my workstation grinning and handed me a plastic bag with the logo 360Buy. I thanked her profusely and gleefully opened up the box. The leather case was there, ready to protect my iPad 2 from the dangers of travel and use. I was especially happy that I hadn't spent a single RMB.

Navigating 360Buy.com

Anyone who has purchased any item online won't have any problems navigating around 360Buy.com save for the little problem that the site is in Chinese. There has been recent news that an English version of 360Buy will be available soon, but my understanding is that it's for overseas customers and not expatriates living in China. Here are a few tips in browsing the site:

1. Use Google Chrome to surf the site. Chrome will automatically prompt to translate the page using the Google Translate service. The words used in foreign shopping sites are fairly simple so Google Translate really doesn't struggle with converting Chinese characters to English. If you're using Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 9, you can download a Microsoft Translator plug-in that allows you to translate a page by clicking on a bookmark. It only takes a brief moment for Google Translate or Microsoft Translator to convert the page to English and the translation (though not perfect) certainly helps a lot in the shopping experience.
2. Use simple search strings when searching for items. Typing well-known brands is especially useful. After my successful iPad 2 case purchase, I started shopping around for a portable hard drive. Typing Western Digital or Seagate pulled out better search results than typing hard drive.
3. It's not Amazon.com and it's not perfect. Although the CEO of 360Buy plans to expand the services overseas and admits that their goal is to achieve the success of Jeff Bezos' brilliant shopping company, it's not quite there yet in terms of the number of imported products and choices available. Moreover, you still have to be careful about purchasing obscure brands and items. Ask a local for advice if you're an adventurous shopper.
4. You will definitely find something you want to buy. I saw affordable NAS hardware and equipment on the web site that were either cheaper or not available in Newegg.com. As I browsed through the available items for networking, there were plenty of moments I wish I can buy one (or five items) I could bring home for my Linux network
5. It really is cheaper than buying retail. Buying an item from a site like 360Buy in China is sometimes 50% cheaper than buying from places like Nanjing Road especially when it comes to clothes. 360Buy is particularly well-known for selling affordable but quality electronic and computer parts.
6. Set aside any preconceived notions about Asia and shopping in China. Online shopping is the future in China. If the Chinese online shopping experience works for the millions of locals living in the Middle Kingdom, then it should work for you too (with a little practice). The locals buy dresses and shirts regularly from Chinese online stores because they're familiar with the size, fabric, brand, and quality of specific manufacturers that sell their wares online. They're comfortable purchasing items via their system in the same way Westerners flock to Amazon so there's little reason not to give it a try if you live in China and you're frugal.

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QuickFix Basics: Can my Linux distribution manage my iPad or iPod Touch?

Category: Techtoday

Linux distributions like Lubuntu and openSUSE can access the file system of an iPad or iPod Touch. You won't even need to install any additional package to directly access the file system although there are software packages in Linux for managing your iPad/iPod Touch media. Take note, however, that most Linux utilities are not on par with the functionality of iTunes in terms of accessing Apple's ecosystem.

Once you connect your Apple device into your USB port, Ubuntu or openSUSE will automatically run your file manager. The screenshot below displays my iPod Touch's file system using PCMANFM, Lubuntu's default file manager.



Your file manager will mount two storage locations. The first one is for your iPod's core file structure while the second storage is for your installed apps. Accessing Apple's underpinnings is no picnic and obviously, users are discouraged from fooling around with the core Apple filing structure. If you're just looking for the folder DCIM, however, where the camera's photos are stored (In this example, it's at afc://DCIM/100APPLE), it's pretty easy to find and moving photos is easy as in Windows Explorer with no admin/root requirements.



Users can also manage their apps using Linux. The second mounted storage location lists installed apps. Most of the apps installed on my iPod are dictionaries and maps, but I do have three apps that store data:

1. EZMP3 - for playing music
2. Bookman - for reading comic books and PDFs
3. FlexPlayer - for watching different types of video formats



Navigating the file structure is also fairly simple. To copy additional content into Bookman for example, just open the Bookman folder and access the Documents folder. The same process applies to EZMP3 and FlexPlayer. The screenshot below shows a music video being copied to FlexPlayer's Documents folder.



Users can also delete content from the Documents folder from these three apps. A confirmation window will pop up indicating they will be deleted immediately, meaning it won't be moved to the recycle bin of your Linux system.



Disclaimer: Each app has a different file structure and file management system so the process outlined above isn't applicable to all of them. If you find the app unusable after copying or deleting content using your Linux machine, just delete the app and install it again using iTunes.

After deleting or adding content to your iPod, unmount the two storage devices using your file manager. If your file manager doesn't allow you to unmount your iPod Touch despite clicking the unmount switch, just disconnect your iPod Touch - it's similar to Windows users disconnecting without having to click the System Tray.



Run your app, if the copied file doesn't display in your list of media, just switch off your iPod Touch and turn it back on. The newly added content should now be displayed.



As a footnote, iPods do charge when plugged into a Linux system.

The iPod Touch and iPad's file structure is easily accessible to Linux users and copying files to apps that have a predefined storage is fairly simple using a Linux file manager like PCMANFM or Nautilus.  The previous app examples FlexPlayer, Bookman, and EZMP3 all store their content in a Documents folder. However, what about the popular Apple iBooks app?  Unfortunately, although the Books folder is easy to find, iBooks is still best managed using iTunes due to the way iOS manages the books database. You can copy a PDF or EPUB to the folder, but there is no guarantee it will be displayed on your iPad after disconnecting from the Linux system.

Some iPad apps that I've tested and I use which are easily managed in Linux (in addition to those already mentioned above) are the following:

1. Adobe Reader for iOS - PDF viewer
2. CloudReaders - for reading documents, comic books, and PDFs
3. Sidebooks - for reading documents, comic books, and PDFs
4. OliveCHM - for displaying CHM
5. Solaris Viewer  - for displaying Office files

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Enter: Microsoft Surface Ads and Microsoft.com

Category: Techtoday

With recent news indicating Microsoft profits are down, it may seem like Microsoft is once again taking a beating ahead of its Windows 8 launch. However, I took a gander at Microsoft.com's revamped interface and watched the new advertisements for the Microsoft Surface tablet. Overall, I was impressed and stoked for Bill Gates' little company.

For one, the home page for Microsoft is clean and simple and getting to the Surface product specs is straightforward. For all the criticisms leveraged against the new Microsoft logo, I thought it looked all right when framed in a white background. Second, the advertisements for Microsoft's new product actually had the option for users to view it in .wmv, which is definitely a change of pace from being forced to install Microsoft Silverlight. This is especially relevant for devoted Linux users like me who use openSUSE or Ubuntu to browse web sites.

Microsoft Surface advertisements

Disclaimer: I'm not a designer and the closest I ever got to advertising is watching three straight episodes of Mad Men. I liked the old Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates commercials (which I preferred over the "I'm a PC" ads) and thought that although the PC vs. Mac Apple clips were awesome, they were excessive and occasionally cruel. I'm also an iPad 2 owner and a Linux evangelist.

"You call that an ad?"

I don't watch too much TV nor do I visit video sites very often, but I have to admit I actually liked the exuberant, colorful, and fun Microsoft Surface ad. I'm not sure if the magnetic keyboard can disconnect and reconnect to the tablet that easily but I sure hope it will (as shown by the happy users on the commercial). The segment didn't have any narration but used choreography and constant exposure of the product to elicit the mood and drive interest. Moreover, I never forgot for one second it was a Microsoft product. The clever use of executives, students, and professionals all toting the Microsoft Surface spoke volumes about how the product wasn't aimed at only one type of consumer. All in all, the quick video reminded me of the entertaining segment in "Enchanted" where Amy Adams breaks into a song ("That's how you know") in the park with a disgruntled Patrick Dempsey.

"How do you know if Surface is for you?"

Sold out

News reporting that pre-orders for the RT Surface did well isn't an indication of the product becoming successful, but I can't help but feel that as long as Surface works as advertised (durable, stable Windows 8 functionality, good keyboard), people will give it a try.

I don't really need another Windows laptop/netbook/ultraportable or tablet at the moment but I can certainly see how I would use the Surface Pro at work or at home especially since it has a pen(!) included. Surprisingly, the colorful ad illustrates how nice it would be to just plop down, instantly turn on a "computer" and start typing or scribbling without having to use a separate stand or hold the tablet with one hand. The Surface tablet makes a netbook positively bulky for on-the-go writing, coding, and blogging. Obviously, users won't be running Adobe Illustrator on the darn thing, but Windows users often take for granted the wealth of software (free and commercial) that is available for Windows. Even if Windows 8 doesn't come with much apps quite yet, I don't see why you can have a fully-functional system with 64GB of flash storage. With a full USB port available, you can easily connect an external optical drive for installation discs or access ISOs stored in a USB HDD.

To be honest, if I ever purchase a Microsoft Surface tablet, it will be the first Windows system I've ever had which I won't dual-boot with Linux.

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Pairing and Adding Bluetooth Devices in Windows 8 Part 2

Bluetooth Device Control and the Windows 8 Start Screen

Once you've paired a device successfully, the Bluetooth device is automatically added to your Windows 8 Start screen as a tile. In the screenshot below, my Brian iPod Touch and my Grey63 Nokia E63 were added to the Start screen. Obviously, you can remove them by right-clicking on the tile.

Each Bluetooth device added to Windows 8 has its own Bluetooth Device Control settings which is accessed by double-clicking on the tile. The Nokia E63 Device Control had more settings compared to the iPod Touch. Microsoft added some pretty good improvements to Bluetooth Device Control. The Phone Operations for my Nokia E63 pair allowed me to connect to the Internet, backup my contacts and calendar, and transfer files. There's also an option to play audio directly from the phone.

Through the iPod Touch's Bluetooth Device Control settings, I was quickly able to stream a BBC podcast on the Windows 8 machine. Options for a remote keyboard and mouse and setting up the file exchange folder are also on the same screen. I don't use Bluetooth devices very often, but I was impressed with the functionality of Bluetooth in Windows 8. Microsoft's improvements are probably due to the fact that Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT will include Bluetooth 4.0. For users who are accustomed to using the Run command, the Bluetooth command btchprops.cpl will now just open the Devices screen in PC Settings and won't actually open Bluetooth Device Control like it did when it was introduced in Windows XP Service Pack 2.

System Tray and Bluetooth Settings

Clicking Add a Bluetooth Device and Show Bluetooth Device from the System Tray will always bring you to the Change PC settings screen. To change Windows 8 Bluetooth preferences, you can do any of the following:

1. Open any Bluetooth Device Control via the Bluetooth device tile on the Windows 8 Start Screen and click Open Bluetooth settings
.

2. Click the Bluetooth icon on the System Tray and click Open Settings on the context menu.


3. In the Devices and Printers screen in the Control Panel, right-click on the Bluetooth dongle and click Bluetooth settings.


4. Click Windows+W and search for "bluetooth". Select Change Bluetooth settings.

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