POSTED May 02, 2013

Fatherhood Begins

I’m a dad!

Toby Claire Lee, born April 29, 2013 at 7:40pm.

She makes my heart melt…

=)

POSTED April 23, 2013

Did an Apple 2.0 story touch a nerve at Samsung HQ? - Apple 2.0 -Fortune Tech⚓

Coming out of the woodworks to comment on this!

And I would prefer not to link to this CNN blog but it’s too good to pass up. 

In the space of a few hours, more than a thousand votes were cast on the DISQUS feedback system, voting down any comment remotely anti-Samsung and voting up anything — no matter how inane, in-artful or wrong — that disparaged Apple, the thesis, or me.

I would not be surprised at all if Samsung required all it’s low level employees to perform some sort of anti-Apple smear campaign. It’s my understanding that many Korean news sites manipulate search results, so this is not a stretch by any imagination. 

In the end though, I think their efforts will prove to be pointless, with Samsung not being able to sustain the level of success it has now. There’s only so many “S-function” features you can come up with before everyone realizes how useless they are.

I firmly believe that design, build quality, and well thought out interfaces will prevail.

POSTED April 04, 2013

Pre-fatherhood update!

Like I mentioned last time, things have been picking up quite a bit for me at work these days, and though that leaves me less time for regurgitating tech news on here, I’m getting an opportunity to flex some right brain muscles. The company that I’m at is seeking funding from VCs in the US, so I’ve been putting together a deck in English. I can’t say it’s been too much fun, as the idea and business is not mine, but I am learning a lot and appreciate the opportunity to pretend like I’m a founder. If all goes well, I’ll have found an investor or two by the end of the summer.

Also happening, my wife and I are 2.5 weeks away from being parents! Where in the world has the time gone? The past three months or so flew by, but now each day seems to last forever. When will my not-so-little baby girl decide to come out??

POSTED March 16, 2013

"That sums up my first press event - confusing, disappointing, and absurd."⚓

Great firsthand account of the ridiculous Samsung Galaxy S4 launch event from Harry Marks:

Instead, we got a hackneyed script in three acts that perpetuated racial and gender stereotypes from early ’90s sitcoms. What transpired would’ve been mildly more acceptable had it been hosted by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who could’ve called “time out” at various points before calming Jesse down from her caffeine pill freakout. For more on the offensiveness of the evening’s performances, check outMolly Wood’s piece at CNet.

And: 

Where were the live demos of the camera and hover-touch feature? Where were the developers showing off their “tailored for Android” apps? Where were those HTC guys? I missed them.

And this:

As for the interface, well, it looks just like it did on the S III. How is it that iOS looks dated to people, but Samsung’s version of Android doesn’t? Also, the additional real estate and multiple screen modes makes using the device feel confusing and overwhelming. If Samsung is going to insist on building phones with larger screens, it needs to do a better job of tailoring the UI for them.

POSTED March 15, 2013

You Know It's Bad When...⚓

…somebody at CNET starts making sense:

In the middle of a red-hot conversation about women in technology, the resurgence of the equal-pay discussion, and Sheryl Sandberg reigniting the very concept of feminism in America, Samsung delivered a Galaxy S4 launch event that served up more ’50s-era stereotypes about women than I can count, and packaged them all as campy Broadway caricatures of the most, yes, offensive variety.

POSTED March 14, 2013

Thanks for a good chuckle this morning, Samsung!

I think Samsung was highly inspired by Qualcomm’s 2013 Keynote. What a joke! (and an underwhelming phone).

POSTED March 13, 2013

Busy!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything here and I’ve missed a lot opportunities to write about news or my thoughts. I’ve been pretty busy with work the past few weeks so I guess I’ll use that as my excuse. Or it’s because I’m getting prepared mentally for Toby. Either way, I hope to neglect this a lot less after our baby is born!

Why are they getting rid of Google Reader, by the way?!?

I’m expecting an awesome Instapaper/The Magazine-like RSS reader now.

POSTED February 25, 2013

Smart Move by Google, if true⚓

I’m a little late on all my news these past few days but thought I’d comment on this:

Google took a big step towards making its Google Glass specs available to the wider public after it expanded pre-orders for the technology, and showed off its potential in a new video. Now, an interesting report from the New York Times claims that the company is aiming to give the product the right look for the public through a tie-in with Warby Parker.

I’m a big fan of Warby Parker, having tried out their home try-on before moving to Seoul last May. I didn’t actually get a chance to purchase anything but I came away impressed nonetheless. I even told myself I’d buy a few frames when we decide to move back.

Anyway, I think it’s the right step for making Google Glass look less geeky and more chic-y. Yes, I just used the played out “geek to chic” reference.

POSTED February 19, 2013

HTC One⚓

Hm, I can’t say that I’m not intrigued. The hardware looks amazing and I like the idea of BlinkFeed—though it suspiciously looks like Microsoft’s Metro UI—and a camera suited for low-light photos. I am not a fan of the large HTC logo and beatsaudio logo in the back though.

For the sake of my disdain for Samsung, please, pretty please be a good phone.

POSTED February 18, 2013

Nest, the "Cool" Thermostat⚓

Good read on the makers of Nest, the beautifully designed, smartphone-controlled home thermostat:

Fadell, who soon left Apple at the age of 40, became convinced that his thermostat needed to be built like a smartphone and controlled from one. He wanted it to be smart enough to learn his routine and to program its own schedule accordingly, or to switch off automatically if he went out.

I’ve wanted one of these for awhile now but it’s not really an option for Korean apartments.