Mintype

I always have difficulties sleeping if I don’t stopped using the computer at least half an hour before bed time. It is especially apparent when I’m playing the occasional adrenaline-pumping game like Dungeon Defenders (great co-op game), and it usually keeps me up throughout the night.

These days, I make it a point to ward off activities that will trigger massive brain activities before midnight. In place of the never-ending net surfing, I read a physical book or magazine, write the day’s happening in Day One, and even lie on the bed lazing, dreaming about the future. 30 minutes of not turning to the digital blue light.

While I’m sure I wasn’t alone in the company of discomfort caused by late night usage of digital devices, this is the first article I came across that explain about why are we so disturbed by these gadgets. It talks about the impact on suppressing the production of melatonin. Melatonin gets us sleepy, and is an antioxidant that slows down the progression of cancer and other diseases.

So, the blue light is responsible, or partly responsible for this.

Looking at the iPhone screen in a relatively dimmed environment hurts my eyes. Likewise, I always find the brightness a little too much for my liking on my Mac. To alleviate this issue, I’m using f.lux on the MacBook. If only I can install f.lux on iOS without jailbreak. I recently got the Samsung Tab S and it’s over-saturated and bright screen is even more torturing during the night. Luckily, the presence of Twilight is a major relief.

I’m not sure how much reduction of blue light there is, but my eyes are much more comfortable without those bight, glaring light.

Leica. What comes to mind when this brand flashed across the screen? Precise construction. Quality engineering. Proud heritage. And, deadly expensive.

I‘m not a camera person, but I like reading up on brands with long history and an unwavering dedication in producing the best crafts. Andrew Kim‘s thoughts on Leica T, and generally why we perceived some brands as more than just products.

In many ways, the Sony RX1 reminds me of the Nissan GTR. A brilliant, precise tool designed to achieve its goal effortlessly. Despite being amazing products, both the RX1 and GTR lack a certain ability to stir your emotion. You’re most likely to feel a sense of respect for them, rather than fall in love. The 2014 GT-R reaches 60 from a standstill in just 2.9 seconds and costs under $100,000. It’s a number the Ferrari 458 can’t match while costing twice the price. But you’ve got to admit, life isn’t always about numbers and there’s something about that sexy red body.

To the people who care, these are important attributes: heritage, history, branding, culture, community and stories.

It‘s why we are so attached to certain brands. It‘s the reason why we are attracted to them. Brand loyalty is vital to repeated purchases. Get people to love your brand, and they will buy products and services by you.

There‘s so much to like about this response by Erik Spiek­er­mann, regarding the obsessive attention to detail in typography.

The biggest takeaway from his perspective resonates deeply with mine.

The users may not know why, but they always sense it.

Just enough is never enough when you care about your work. The little details are precisely the ones that bring delight to us.

Just like what Don Draper said, it‘s subtle, but potent.

It’s the quite brilliant iPhone 5S coming up against Fujifilm X-T1. While we all know the iPhone these days is capable of taking some breathtaking pictures, but how does it fare side-by-side against a formidable competitor in the form of a mirrorless camera?

In essence, the iPhone is more than enough to capture those fleeting moments when we don’t want to bring along a dedicated camera. Even against direct competition, the 5S is able to produce good pictures. However, once the light dimmed, that’s where the iPhone showed its limitation. Details are lost and nosies are prominent.

Each time the itch to buy a mirrorless camera arises, I ask myself if it’s worth the financial outlay and the investment in mastering the controls. After all, a tool can only has so much influence over the outcome. I’m a novice when it comes to photography, so I doubt even with a X-T1 in my hands, the pictures will instantly turn out to be more remarkable. 

Many a time, the iPhone is suffice for me. With the advance in technology and the emphasis on developing better camera in smartphones, we are going to get even better quality pictures in the near future.

We are under no delusion that newspaper is fading out. Whatever things to be done, it‘s feels pretty much as a last stand to prolong the inevitable. Majority of print papers rely on advertisers, and when advertisers leave, so does the main source of income.

Either reinvent and supplement the loss of revenue, or face the imminent closure.

It‘s not the quality of the news. It‘s purely market forces at work. The technology shift in the way news are consumed. Journalists and editors are no way directly responsible for this, but they are on the receiving end of this declining movement. Many of them are in this business for a long time and it‘s dreading to think what they are going to do next. Aspiring young journalists habouring dreams may have come on at the wrong time. Major papers are going to consolidate, combine readership and resources.

The biggest press in my area has already seen it coming, and the push is to asborb existing paper subscribers into digital ones or risk losing them altogether. People are always hungry for news, but the place we read them has changed. Independant publishing are leading the charge. Giving readers what they want, quality content, comfortable design, little to no ads. Even if there‘s ads, readers accept if it‘s relevant to them. These are what‘s happening to the magazine industry. Can we reapply this concept to the newspaper industry?

Good journalists will always find work. They will continue to produce articles that interest readers and break news that awe us. It‘s just that the print medium we are so used to is an ailing form now. I reckon it will stay relevant for a few more decades at least, until the future generations who grow up reading purely on digital platform finish it off.

In conjunction with the release of Jason Santa Maria‘s new book titled On Web Typography, he generously published the first chapter – How We Read.

I have always been interested in typography. Not the nitty gritty details, but in general how we can be influenced by subtle arrangement of words and fonts. As much as I want to understand the whys, science and art behind them, part of me unconsciously avoided it. It must be boring and dry, and I will never finish the book. Or even if I do, I may take away nothing worthwhile.

But this article is different. For a layman like me, it‘s as good as it gets. It‘s approachable, friendly and welcoming. It sucks me in and encourage me to explore the subject deeper. If I do find myself probing further and further, How We Read is the defining article that piques my curiosity once more.

How much can your $5 stretch? Well, Fiverr has got you covered. With that amount, you can get a song composed, get thousands of followers, or even get a website built.

How about creating a logo? That‘s possible as well. Remember we are looking at the outcome – logo in exchange for 5 bucks. The source can’t be truly verified and the quality, well, you don’t really expect much from a $5 job right?

Sacha Greif of Folyo set out to investigate if it‘s possible to create a logo from scratch from Fiverr. As a designer, he‘s probably knows the industry and the type of shabby works that comes from people that take on multiple low-cost assignments.

Still, it may be possible to unearth an inspiring upcoming designer doing it to gain exposure and build up the portfolio. I’m not dismissing the quality of the work from many of Fiverrs talented and hungry designers, but it’s a matter of throwing a coin in the field and hoping to hit a thoroughbred with it.

It’s part luck, part research and lots of fingers crossing.

Everyone likes to give advice, but nobody wants to take advice.

When people give advice, I reckon they’re giving it to themselves.

This is the new phone due to be released. Unmistakably, it’s a BlackBerry. Its name is called Passport. CrackBerry has an early review of this mouth-watering device.

Having said that, It’s hard to imagine giving up on iOS and OS X for anything else in the foreseeable future. I’m so locked into Apple’s ecosystem that other than a dramatic meltdown from them, or a truly game-changing platform from others, I shall be a happy and satisfied camper in the former category.

Though it’s been nearly two years since I last used a BB, I have always wanted them to succeed. But, the steps taken to rectified the once smartphone behemoth into the forefront of mobile war has been limp. It has been cautious and baby steps instead of the bold and giant leap it needed to catapult itself into the mind of the mass.

Imagine the thoughts going through my mind when I first read about BlackBerry Passport. First there was confusion, a form factor and keypad layout unlike all the previous versions of BlackBerry. Then the review highlighting the prowess of its lovely display. Then came the stronghold of BB – communication. In the review, the predictive messaging did a great job in finishing the message. The smaller keypad takes a while to get used to but it seems the change is for the better.

All these changes – big and small, signalled a radical departure from the dusty old platform. There may be some lingering effects of chasing the pack where it once held pole position, but at least they are making a real effort in retaining the market share of its remaining customers – the executives and the corporate customers.

This phone is not designed for everyone. It may not even interest the slightest for people growing up when BlackBerry is in decline over the years. But for people like me when BB was part of their life, it feels great to see a competent product finally rising from a stagnant company.

Tsundoku (積ん読): someone who buys books and leave them lying in a pile without reading them.

I have a strong tendency to buy a lot of books and magazines. Far too many than I can finish reading. Add them to the increasing articles in Instapaper, never-ending RSS and Twitter feed, it‘s hard to imagine I can‘t ever get to finish, let alone comprehend them in a single lifetime.

But abundance is a choice. I strive for minimal but ended up acting the opposite.

I take it that we have to experience the influx of overflowing information before we dissect what‘s essential. We have to taste hardship before understanding the simple little things in life. Just like sweets taste better after eating a bitter pill.

One day I may be so broke that I can‘t afford to buy anymore. One day I may have so much time on hand so I can‘t do anything but read. One day my apartment will be filled with so many books and magazines that I have to sleep elsewhere. One day my phone may be filled with so much articles and news feed that the memory is filled to the brim and it wouldn‘t be able to work.

Or someday, I may just wake up and see the mess. Look at myself and smile, for I am such a fool.

And I will stop the obsession.