Category Archives: Technology

Technology plays a big roll in my life…

Social Network Syndication of my Blog Coming to an End

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Apparently the social networks of the world are of a similar mind that they don’t want blogs imported anymore to their users profiles. Facebook just informed me that…

You currently automatically import content from your website or blog into your Facebook notes. Starting November 22nd, this feature will no longer be available…”

I was also using Google Buzz to share my blog on Google+, but recently this annoying notification banner has been being displayed on top of my gmail account…

Google Buzz is going away, but your posts are yours to keep.

So, I guess my blog will be read even less because most of the peoples that do read it only do so through facebook. Well if you ever feel the urge drop on by my site: Ashesthandust.com

Korean’s don’t like Google

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At least my Korean friends seemingly can’t stand Google. This made me curious since I conversely can’t stand Daum or Naver the Korean equivalent. Well actually I can’t stand much about Korean Web Design. To much flash, horrible browser support (honestly does anyone but Mr. Camp like IE?), activeX on every site, and a totally painful attachment to a security protocol that doesn’t conform with the rest of the world.

So wondering about the Google thing I ran across this article on Reddit the other day, here is an excerpt about Google:

Koreans do not use Google. Though there is a Korean version of Google (which works just fine), almost all Koreans use Korean search engines, Naver or Daum. Interestingly enough, most Korean search portals do not crawl web pages automatically. Instead, the search databases are based on registration and payment from websites. Because of this, most Korean websites don’t seem to be too concerned with search engine optimization, much less Google at all.

So I guess, one reason they don’t dig Google is because, well, Google can’t find whatever it is they are searching for. Silly since almost all of the Korean phone manufactures are producing smart phones featuring Google Android; which obviously has native support for Google web solutions.

Reconnected

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My Mac is back in my possession! Last week, I was watching a movie on my Mac but I decided to take a break and go get some lunch. Well it seems that while I was out my Mac decided it was bored and to alleviate itself, it promptly self-destructed. I came back to a dead Mac. It wouldn’t turn on and not even the lights would blink. Thankfully I back my stuff up and so I wasn’t too worried about my data. Turns out my Mac decided to be a freak and fry it’s main board. Fortunately though, Macs have a 4 year warranty on the motherboard so all it cost was $40 in labor. And Eddie told me computers almost never just give out…my mac showed you! Happy to have you back Mac!

Photo Sharing

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I have noticed that I haven’t shared photos in a long, long time and I want to rectify that. The only issue is that my photos have gotten significantly bigger recently due to upgrades in equipment. I want to share galleries and not just single photos but that is difficult to do on my current blogging platform. So I was wondering if any of my intarweb friends happen to know of a good photo site. I’ve heard SmugSmug is the best but I have to pay for that service, so any other non-pay options? Second thing, I might want to post some videos and I don’t want to use Youtube or Facebook, could that be fitted in too?

Oh and on top of having a ton of photos that I need to share, I finally got a a Panasonic 20mm lens for my Lumix GH2 and it’s AWESOME! I was happy about the GH2 before, but now I’m ecstatic! I had the 14-140mm lens before but for me it’s now all about the 20mm. The 14-140mm lens was great when I was traveling India to get pictures of places like the Taj Mahal or the Himalayas, but for my style and wants the 20mm has it all. It’s compact, light, and super fast producing great pics with that shallow depth of field I have been craving.

Thanks for the help.

Panasonic GH2

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Awhile ago I posted about how I wanted to get a new camera (link to that post)…a really nice camera that could take great pics of all the amazing stuff I have been getting to see and will be going to see here in Asia. Well I finally got it! Well actually I got it a week ago, but I was busy at work last week and since I do all my blog updating at work, I didn’t have a chance to write about it.

I decided to get a Panasonic GH2 with the 14-140mm lens. In my original article I mentioned that I couldn’t get the 14-140 lens because of the significant difference in price, but it seems that the fates had an odd way of working that out for me. I originally ordered the camera with the 14-42mm kit lens from a Korean online retailer (one associated with 11st.co.kr). Usually, in Korea, delivery of goods and services happens at speeds that would make Hermes blow a HL, but not this time. I was at first told a week for delivery, then it became 2 weeks more, and I finally canceled the order when it became an additional 6 weeks. Turns out the seller was selling an item that he didn’t physically have in-stock yet…since the camera hasn’t hit the Korean market. This just adds to my list of reasons why I can’t stand online shopping in Korea…but I digress. So I forsook purchasing the camera in Korea and instead took my business to the Land of the Rising Sun.

GH Top View

GH2 Pop-up Flash

GH2 Pop-up Flash

Being a Japanese company, Panasonic, obviously released the GH2 very early in Japan with a lot of available stock (I hear the camera still isn’t released in Korea and the in the States it’s a bear to find). Through calling in a favor with one of YeYe’s Japanese residing friends, I was able to ship the camera to a local address in Japan. I had to do this because Amazon Japan was unable to ship to a Korean address. Although this all may seem like a hassle, it turns out it was a gift in disguise which saved me a lot of money. Essentially since Korea is an export driven economy, there is insanely high taxes added to any imports, especially in technology and vehicles. This means that the price I would have paid for the GH2 + 14-42mm kit lens in Korea was the same price as the GH2 + 14-140mm kit lens in Japan. Then I later realized that Korea would make me pay the Value Added Tax (VAT) on the camera, another stroke of fate got me around that too. Since, I will be leaving Korea in two months the Incheon Customs Department told me that the camera is being re-exported and no VAT needs to be applied. I was stoked! So I  prepared for answering a customs call asking me to pay taxes on this new camera, but alas they never called, and the camera was delivered without a hitch…even better!

Now that I have the camera I have to figure out how to use the damn thing before I hit the road for awhile. Anyone in 대한민국 want to help me learn or does anyone know any great websites with tutorials they have used? Also, what photo sharing websites are the best?

P.S. I’ll post some sample pics soon, but as I aforementioned, I blog at work and none of my pics are on my work computer to put up at the moment.

P.P.S pics are shamelessly stolen from http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_dmc_gh2_review/

Reason why online shopping in Korea pisses me off

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Shopping online in Korea is an absolute pain in the ASS! I remember before I moved to Korea I heard tales of it being the “most wired country in the world”. Which conjured up this electronics paradise in my head where I could find all the latest in techno gadgetry, cutting edge technology, and highly developed, imaginative uses of the Internet. Well I was disappointed in many of these areas, either because I had to much hype built up in my head or it was something that was possible back home that wasn’t available here. Something that I find particularly aggravating is online shopping in Korea.

  1. Browser Unsupported
    I’ve learned to work around this in most situations but browser support in Korea is absolutely atrocious. Korea and China seem to not be able to let go of legacy versions of Internet Explorer v.6 which makes me want to apologize to web designers around the world. This legacy browser isn’t even support by Microsoft anymore and they even say themselves that it should no longer be used because IE6 is too outdated. Anyways, to use Korean websites you usually have to use IE on your computer which as a Mac Book owner is a nightmare. I have to install a version of Windows just so I can use the damn websites. Although Google Chrome can manage most things (thank you Google).

  2. Items Unavailable
    So after you jump through the browser hoop you next have to locate your item. This can be super easy if it’s a Korean brand your looking for like Samsung, LG, etc… but if it’s not, best of luck. Right now I’m trying to buy a camera produced by Panasonic, a Japanese brand, and I’ve being met with extreme difficulty. It seems the whole country is sold out of this model with next shipment arriving in 4 weeks. So now I’m having to have it shipped to a friend’s address in Japan and having them ship it to me in Korea, because the camera is readily available there. Which means I will get the camera weeks earlier and to my pleasant surprise much cheaper; Korea is an export driven economy so they have huge tariffs on any imports, especially electronics and cars.

  3. Alien Registration ID Number Unrecognized
    If you manage to handle the technological oddities of Korean Internet services and find your item, you then have a new hurdle to jump as a foreigner, your Alien Registration ID number. So there you are your using Internet Explorer with your item in the shopping cart all that’s left is your info. Sweet! So you enter your name, address, ID, etc… but then what is this? My government issued ID number is not accepted? Why? I’m not sure. I hear rumors that you can go register your number so it will be more easily identified with the government. But it’s just easier to find a Korean friend you trust and have them do it for you.

I wish this stuff would be easier to do as an expat here, but this is all just part of the experience I guess…even if not a fun experience. So now excuse me while I go curse at my computer while trying to navigate 11st online shopping mall.

P.S. The flash animations on Korean websites are worse than banner ads that you would run into on a porn site. Check it out: Gmarket

P.P.S. Seoul Gyopo has posted their grievances on this issue today also.

Camera Fixation

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So recently I have been thinking about getting myself a really nice camera so I can finally take pictures of all the amazing things I see while on the road. The camera I have now is past it’s glory days and didn’t fair to well after my trip to Thailand in 2009 (none of the buttons work except, luckily, a few key ones like on and off and the shoot button).

Fortunately for me, I have a friend Eddie (aka Eddie the Greek) who among his many talents he is also a very knowledgeable shutterbug to which I have been taking great advantage of (mmm taking advantage of Eddie…, I’ve heard so many girls and men, *cough*David, want to do this too). So following in the path he has trail blazed I have been really interested in the Micro 4/3 cameras. Particularly the ones released by Panasonic. Eddie right now has a Lumix GH1 which, in my opinion takes absolutely amazing pictures and beautiful movies. So naturally in my version of nerdy idolization I would want to emulate that and go for the new generation of the camera the GH2. Although, as I age and become a more mature adult (and much to my annoyance) I’m becoming more responsible with money, which means I’m not so apt to blow a whole paycheck on getting a nice new toy (even if I’m loosing sleep struggling with not doing this).

Also another thing for me to consider is that I don’t have a firm rooting in photography. It would be one thing to invest in such a nice camera if I have been playing with nice cameras for a long time, but alas I have not. One issue is something I’ve discovered about myself over time, is that I have trouble sticking with the hobbies and habits I want to pick up (unless they are lazy and passive hobbies like reading or surfing the web). So I don’t want to throw money at a new hobby that is very expensive to not fully make use of the stuff I spent hard earned money on. I do like photography and I think it’s a great match for me. I love going to see things and photography would give me more interaction with the things I see than just looking at the stuff.

Anyways I digress… here are the cameras I have been looking at:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2

DPreview preview of the GH2

The problems just down to figuring out if I’m ok with the 14-42mm kit lens when I want the 14-140mm lens. The latter of the two jacks the price way up! And seeing if I can overcome my more financially responsible-self.