Got an iPhone4S... after almost 2 years of its announcement

Over the years, I take pride of myself trying out various operating systems in smartphones: Android, BB, iOS, and Windows Mobile. This is also quite embarrassing as I have so many phones which I've been switching back and forth. And recently I got hold of an iPhone4S.

iPhone4S, running iOS7

The interesting thing is when I got this iPhone it was almost 2 years since its debut, and Apple has already made iPhone5 and iPhone5S available, essentially making this model obsolete (a 8GB version is still available from Apple but, come on, what can you do with just 8GB of internal memory these days?).

So the question is why do I got myself this particular model?

Well, to begin with, I'm cheap, or cautious about what I'm paying for. It's known that smartphones are being charged way more than their manufacturing costs, and usually are "justified" by costs of design and marketing. It has been said that this particular model costs no more than USD200 to make, yet a new one costs you double, or even triple. iPhone5 and 5S are so expensive that each is the price of a decent laptop, or about a month of my expense on meals. So, I took advantage of it being an older model and got myself a used one for 270.

It also turns out that this is the oldest model that supports the latest and greatest iOS7, which is actually quite refreshing to use. It is going towards a flat minimalistic design which is being popularized by the Windows Phone OS -- the operating system UI I like the most.

To me, Apple has spent a long time in improving both the hardware and software of iPhone, which is now one of its biggest revenue sources (who knew Apple *Computer* is now making and selling phones). Albeit not as versatile as Android, or informative as Windows Mobile, it's a robust operating system and has a decent visual appearance. The physical form of iPhone4S is also strikingly good with two simple black glossy plates and a steel side band.

A few hidden bonuses are that it takes in micro-sim instead of nano-sim, allowing me to keep using other phones; and its back is easy enough to open if I really want to replace a battery or do some mods with the back (e.g. glowing apple logo). There is also a huge variety of accessories now become out-dated because of the new connector port for iPhone5 and 5C/5S, and hence going really cheap.

My point is, smartphones, like many other electronics nowadays, are being made and renewed so quickly that even a very good design can be replaced in no time. iPhone4S is a very capable phone and is made in a very stylish form. It's a pity that many newer generations just come out for the sake of being new. I think customers are kind of spoiled by the crazily fast product cycle and forgot about the essentials of the product they are using.

So, as a statement, I'll be using iPhone4S for some time. 

In search for the minimalist watch

Since childhood I have been very fond of watches. I like collecting them and wearing them. Of course due to my limited budget I can only afford a few of the ones I like, but still I have a considerable collection of various kinds of watches, from analog to digital, from plastic to steel, from quartz to automatic. It is fascinating to see how the interpretation of time can be displayed in such a variety of ways.

But then I stopped purchasing when I got my dream watch, which I've been wearing almost everyday. I feel sorry for my collection of watches but for many reasons I keep wearing this single one.

However, during my recent German research exchange I had an idea of getting something to signify my stay, and after some digging I ended up looking at watches. I in particular admire the Bauhaus ideology of keeping design simple yet functional, and I ended up getting myself a watch by a German company called Botta Design:

Designed, made, and bought in Germany.

The interesting thing about this watch is it has only one hand. I really like the simplistic look of it and the color combination. However, the trade-off of having just one hand is you can only tell time up to the accuracy of 5-10 minutes. It's also not very practical if you are in motion as you really have to stand still to see where the hand is pointing at.

This also triggered my search for the most minimalist watch, but this time it has to be functional, and of course affordable. One brand that immediately comes to mind is Movado. It's very simple, but very expensive. But price aside, it's not practical as it has no markers for minutes -- you cannot tell what the time is accurately. After some search, I found a British company called Uniform Wares. It has some really nice designs and eventually I got myself a 103 series, which is the one I could afford:

Uniform Wares 103 series.

To my surprise this design is very rare and I haven't been able to find something similar. This is of course a good thing, but at the same time a bit surprising, as one would expect such a simple design should appear among many brands. In any cases, I'm very happy with my purchase.

Many people are now forgoing wearing a watch as their phones and computers have the time-telling function already, but to me it's a statement of style, and a constant reminder of the technical marvel we human can do in such a small scale.

Gear shift

It's been a bit over a month since I'm back to Canada. But only till now I get a chance to sit down, relax a bit, and blog what's been happening.

I arrived at Waterloo on a Wednesday night and went back to work the next day. Didn't really feel any jetlag but I felt kind of ready for anything. I was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming note Jim has prepared for me.

Means: Welcome back.

I had some project ideas started in the last month during my research internship, and was hoping to make it as a 4-page note for an upcoming conference. The submission deadline was 2 weeks ahead so I thought I'd have a short but enough time to make it happen. So there went my first 2 weeks in Waterloo, all working. But it ended up futile because of some logistic issues and some co-authors thought the content was not enough. I agreed in a certain extend and took the hit professionally, though I must admit I was upset about the outcome.

One of the things I missed Waterloo the most is the cafe I go every weekend. I really like the cozy feeling there and the owner was very nice. So on the first weekend I went there, as usual.

Not "officially back" until I have this chocolate cake and coffee combo.

Even after that 2-week futile mad rush I didn't have the chance to rest. There were two workshops I was planning to attend. For the first one I just had to participate, but that workshop started very early and ran for two full days, so not only did I miss my sleep, I had to focus for two whole days...

3 days later there came another workshop, and this time I had to help setting things up and gave a tutorial, everything was rushing as the venue wasn't in the university and we had to move a lot of equipment downtown (and move back, of course).

Both workshop was informative and useful, I learned a lot and had got some contacts. But the whole week was a blast and right after that I got sick.

All in all, I feel that ever since I'm back I have lots of ideas and things I want to achieve. I believe something must have kicked in within myself during my German research internship. I feel like I've just shifted into a higher gear. Let's hope it will last.

Great German Research Internship -- Highlights

This summer has been an epic summer for me -- as I spent the entirety of it in Germany, which I didn't even had the slightest clue on going there a year ago.

It all started when my supervisor had to take her maternity leave (congrats again) this summer, and figured that it would be a good idea for me to go for some sort of internship, instead of idling in the lab.  Coincidentally my lab is part of an exchange partnership program, and it was a natural outcome that I could benefit from this arrangement. So I began with arranging my flight, travelling documents, accommodation, finance -- all sorts of things, and was grateful that I had received enough help from the contact over Magdeburg.

So on 14 Mar 2012 I travelled all the way from Waterloo across the North Atlantic Ocean to Magdeburg.

It was my first time setting foot on Europe and the experience was really different from other places that I've been to. The train ride was really great as I could see a lot of crop fields (and even cows!) during the ride.

The people at U of Magdeburg were very friendly and decided to show me around the city from time to time (special thanks to Martin and Jens). One thing I was particularly grateful to was the fact that many locals there didn't speak English, so my friends often accompanied me to various offices for paper work.

The first highlight was my brother came to visit me during Easter. I was extremely glad that he came by and we met up in a foreign country. I'd say that was the best 2.5 days during my stay.

The second highlight was I met up with my colleague in Munich for another 2.5 days. It was my first time taking such a long train ride with 1 connection. I was quite nervous but was glad that I made it.

The third highlight was a good friend of mine came and visit me with her family for a day during their big Europe trip. This time I was well prepared and became the host to show them around.

The fourth highlight was a PhD student here had his defense done and showed me the Magdeburg way of celebrating it. It was very original.

Though not a fan of travelling, I did manage to get around Germany from time to time. It was quite an experience and I was constantly amazed by the reachability of the train system -- essentially you can get to any places, including neighboring countries by train.

Of course I didn't forget my main job here was to do research.

I've worked with a few people here and I have to say I've learned a lot. Not just from them but from the way things were being done. There were times when it was very dreadful and tension everywhere. But I did appreciate that people were very responsible for what they have promised.

Overall I'm glad that I did this internship. More things could have been done if the hosting professor wasn't moving and I was more agressive. But the conversation and interaction I made there definitely inspired me in many ways.

The little green man/woman that leads your way

In any city around the world with streets and roads, they will be there. They work non-stop day and night telling pedestrians when to walk and when to stop. I'm talking about the little persons that appears on the traffic lights for pedestrians.

For cars the traffic lights are just plain circles filled with red, yellow or green. But for pedestrians they are often little silhouettes of actual human beings. This by itself is pretty interesting. But more interestingly, this iconic shaping of a red person standing straight for stop and a green person in a walking pose for walk has been universal. No one really notices or asks why they are illustrated that way.

However, apart from those "generic" icons, here in Germany there is an entirely different set of pedestrian lights:

These little fellows are called Ampelmann (English: traffic light man) and are commonly found in east Germany. They are designed in Berlin and were quite sensational when they were first introduced. People treated it as a mascot and merchandises were made. Recently they even have a souvenir shop in Berlin dedicated to it.

But the most interesting this, at a certain point of time, someone designed a set of pedestrian lights which uses little girls as the icons, and called them, naturally, Ampelfrau (English: traffic light woman). Only a few of them are being used in Dresden, and one being used in Magdeburg (according to Wikipedia). So today I set off to locate this unique traffic light and I found it at the junction of Ernst-Reuter-Allee and Breiter Weg, and they look like this:

Essentially they are Ameplmann with dress and pony tails. I think they are pretty cute.

I don't know why no one has mentioned that but I think it's a very interesting point of interest for anyone who visits Germany, and in particular Magdeburg. A little gem I'd say.

Epic one day trip in Berlin

It was only a few weeks left of my research internship in Germany, and I wanted to do something cool before I returned to Canada. Over the years I've come across with the design term "Bauhaus" and have always wanted to know more about it. Turned out there was a Bauhaus museum in Berlin so I decided to go there and learn something about the exhibitions.

A few spots I stopped by in Berlin: Bauhaus-Archive Museum, and Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

During my stay I realized that taking a train is pretty fun and lay-back, as long as it doesn't get delayed. With a regular ticket you can get on any train of the same route and type throughout the day, and can drop off at any station the train stops at. This is what happened on my way to the Bauhaus museum.

Originally I planned to get off at the famous Berlin Hauptbahnhof. But it's not that close to the museum, and I had to take 2 subways to get there. Turned out that the train was going to stop at a zoo before it gets to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, which was much closer to the museum. And I decided to get off there instead. It was a good decision except that I almost got lost while trying to walk to the museum. Fortunately my Nokia Drive app saved me again.

The Bauhaus museum was actually a pretty small exhibition of various things designed with the Bauhaus concept, which focused on the nature of the object and used simple geometric shapes to create practical and economical things. The size of the showroom was no bigger than a football field. Even after listening to almost all the audio guide it took me only 2 hours to finish with all the exhibits.

After that I took the subway and headed towards the Berlin Hauptbahnhof. My friend Melissa and her family was there not so long ago and told me that it was great -- and they were absolutely correct. It's a complex infrastructure made of concrete, steel and lots of glasses. It also had a lower ground inside. It didn't seem to be the biggest main station I've seen in Germany but was the most modern one. I spent about 40mins just walking inside and marveled at the architectural design of it.

Just like any other main stations there was a souvenir shop. I was hoping to look for something very German but small so it won't occupy much space. I ended up buying myself a "Ampelmann" keychain. It's pretty nice except for the price: 4.95euro for a plastic keychain. I'm pretty sure the cost of making one of these might be less than 5cents, such a rip off. Nevertheless, it's a nice token of my Berlin trip (and Germany as well), so I'm happy with what I have.

If I am asked to use one word to describe Berlin, I'd say it's chaotic. The buildings felt like they were randomly placed, and some looked really under-maintained. Having old and new buildings side by side is not uncommon in Germany, and they usually are equally treated. But in Berlin, the old stuff is filled with an old and decaying vibe, which nobody cares.

And this concludes my awesome trips within Germany. It was fun and I enjoyed all of them, except perhaps the long train rides. 

Discovering Magdeburg

Some people like to hop from place to place to see as many places as possible. I on the other hand prefer staying in one place and explore within.

Having been staying in Magdeburg for a bit over 4 months, I'm getting used to the city. But apart from the last time Jens showing me along the River Elbe, I haven't done much exploration. Knowing that my friends are coming to visit me I decided to explore the city a bit and scout the place around.

It was a Sunday and the weather was gorgeous. My first stop was the town hall (Rathaus). It's at a plaza and was basically empty. Because of that I got a chance to take a really awesome panorama with my phone app: Photosynth.

Panorama taken in the plaza in front of the Rathaus (the building with statue in its front).

After that I walked towards the river and checked out a number of churches. It's amazing that there were quite a few churches just within a 500m radius.

St. John's Church, the oldest parish church in Magdeburg (first mentioned in 941).
Typical twin tower design with one used as a clock.

St. Petri Parish Church, built in around 1150, need to go north a bit and towards the river to find it.

The famous Magdeburg Cathedral, locals call it "the Dom".  Destroyed in a city fire in 1207,  reconstructed in 1209. Used to be a palatine and residence of the governor as well.

To conclude this wonderful little exploration, I went back to the plaza and ordered a coffee at a coffee house right next to it. It's a place I was planning to go for a long time. The coffee was great and relatively cheap for a place at the city centre (1.5 euro).

Not complete without a good cup of coffee at the cafe named after the town hall.

 I was very glad that I had this chance to discover the city a bit more. It's peaceful and enjoyable.