One of the first iPhone 6 Plus in Korea

Posted by Wesley on
The box of iPhone 6 series is lacking images

This display model is identically coloured to the iPhone 6 Plus I got

This is it. I picked up my pre-ordered iPhone 6 Plus from just across the Korean Strait and brought it back before the launch day (September 19) is over. This is one of the first iPhone 6 Plus to make it to Korea. I will be doing a review shortly.
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Korean-Chinese Lunar Calendar Difference

Posted by Wesley on
In the light of the upcoming Chinese lunar calendar support in iOS 8, I've cross-compared the Korean and Chinese lunar calendar data to see where exactly the two calendars differ. The chart below shows the result.

The difference mostly happens one lunar month at a time, during which the Korean lunar calendar trails the Chinese by one day. 2012 had a special case where the lunar month became different, as the Korean one had a leap third month while the Chinese one had a leap fourth month.

The chart covers all dates between 1901 and 2050 by the Gregorian (regular Western) calendar.

If you want to add this information to your calendar, use the following URL:
Lunar Calendar Difference ICS file

Download the ICS file and open up in your calendar app. If you're using Google Calendar, right-click and copy the URL first. Then on the "Other calendars" menu on the left side of the Google Calendar, click the drop-down button on the right and select "Add by URL". You can paste the URL there to add the calendar.

Gregorian Korean Leap Chinese Leap Gregorian Korean Leap Chinese Leap
1914-06-23 1914-05-30 X
 1914-05-01 O 1973-01-04 ~ 1973-02-02 1972-11-30 ~ 1972-12-29 X 1972-12-01 ~ 1972-12-30 X
1914-06-24 ~ 1914-07-22 1914-05-01 ~ 1914-05-29 O 1914-05-02 ~ 1914-05-30 O 1973-12-24 ~ 1974-01-22 1973-11-30 ~ 1973-12-29 X 1973-12-01 ~ 1973-12-30 X
1914-11-17 ~ 1914-12-16 1914-09-30 ~ 1914-10-29 X 1914-10-01 ~ 1914-10-30 X 1976-11-21 ~ 1976-12-20 1976-09-30 ~ 1976-10-29 X 1976-10-01 ~ 1976-10-30 X
1916-02-03 ~ 1916-03-03 1915-12-30 ~ 1916-01-29 X 1916-01-01 ~ 1916-01-30 X 1978-04-07 ~ 1978-05-06 1978-02-30 ~ 1978-03-29 X 1978-03-01 ~ 1978-03-30 X
1918-12-03 ~ 1919-01-01 1918-10-30 ~ 1918-11-29 X 1918-11-01 ~ 1918-11-30 X 1982-11-15 ~ 1982-12-14 1982-09-30 ~ 1982-10-29 X 1982-10-01 ~ 1982-10-30 X
1919-08-25 1919-07-30 X 1919-07-01 O 1987-05-27 ~ 1987-06-25 1987-04-30 ~ 1987-05-29 X 1987-05-01 ~ 1987-05-30 X
1919-08-26 ~ 1919-09-23 1919-07-01 ~ 1919-07-29 O 1919-07-02 ~ 1919-07-30 O 1989-10-29 ~ 1989-11-27 1989-09-30 ~ 1989-10-29 X 1989-10-01 ~ 1989-10-30 X
1919-11-22 ~ 1919-12-21 1919-09-30 ~ 1919-10-29 X 1919-10-01 ~ 1919-10-30 X 1990-10-18 ~ 1990-11-16 1990-08-30 ~ 1990-09-29 X 1990-09-01 ~ 1990-09-30 X
1920-11-10 ~ 1920-12-09 1920-09-30 ~ 1920-10-29 X 1920-10-01 ~ 1920-10-30 X 1995-07-27 ~ 1995-08-25 1995-06-30 ~ 1995-07-29 X 1995-07-01 ~ 1995-07-30 X
1923-11-08 ~ 1923-12-07 1923-09-30 ~ 1923-10-29 X 1923-10-01 ~ 1923-10-30 X 1995-11-22 ~ 1995-12-21 1995-09-30 ~ 1995-10-29 X 1995-10-01 ~ 1995-10-30 X
1924-03-05 ~ 1924-04-03 1924-01-30 ~ 1924-02-29 X 1924-02-01 ~ 1924-02-30 X 1997-02-07 ~ 1997-03-08 1996-12-30 ~ 1997-01-29 X 1997-01-01 ~ 1997-01-30 X
1925-05-22 1925-04-30 X 1925-04-01 O 1999-01-17 ~ 1999-02-15 1998-11-30 ~ 1998-12-29 X 1998-12-01 ~ 1998-12-30 X
1925-05-23 ~ 1925-06-20 1925-04-01 ~ 1925-04-29 O 1925-04-02 ~ 1925-04-30 O 2001-04-23 ~ 2001-05-22 2001-03-30 ~ 2001-04-29 X 2001-04-01 ~ 2001-04-30 X
1927-10-25 ~ 1927-11-23 1927-09-30 ~ 1927-10-29 X 1927-10-01 ~ 1927-10-30 X 2005-12-01 ~ 2005-12-30 2005-10-30 ~ 2005-11-29 X 2005-11-01 ~ 2005-11-30 X
1928-10-13 ~ 1928-11-11 1928-08-30 ~ 1928-09-29 X 1928-09-01 ~ 1928-09-30 X 2012-04-21 ~ 2012-05-20 2012-03-01 ~ 2012-03-30 O 2012-04-01 ~ 2012-04-30 X
1931-05-17 ~ 1931-06-15 1931-03-30 ~ 1931-04-29 X 1931-04-01 ~ 1931-04-30 X 2012-05-21 ~ 2012-06-18 2012-04-01 ~ 2012-04-29 X 2012-04-01 ~ 2012-04-29 O
1934-10-08 ~ 1934-11-06 1934-08-30 ~ 1934-09-29 X 1934-09-01 ~ 1934-09-30 X 2012-06-19 ~ 2012-07-18 2012-04-30 ~ 2012-05-29 X 2012-05-01 ~ 2012-05-30 X
1936-07-18 ~ 1936-08-16 1936-05-30 ~ 1936-06-29 X 1936-06-01 ~ 1936-06-30 X 2012-08-17 ~ 2012-09-15 2012-06-30 ~ 2012-07-29 X 2012-07-01 ~ 2012-07-30 X
1942-09-10 ~ 1942-10-09 1942-07-30 ~ 1942-08-29 X 1942-08-01 ~ 1942-08-30 X 2013-06-08 ~ 2013-07-07 2013-04-30 ~ 2013-05-29 X 2013-05-01 ~ 2013-05-30 X
1942-11-08 ~ 1942-12-07 1942-09-30 ~ 1942-10-29 X 1942-10-01 ~ 1942-10-30 X 2019-11-26 ~ 2019-12-25 2019-10-30 ~ 2019-11-29 X 2019-11-01 ~ 2019-11-30 X
1943-11-27 ~ 1943-12-26 1943-10-30 ~ 1943-11-29 X 1943-11-01 ~ 1943-11-30 X 2020-02-23 ~ 2020-03-23 2020-01-30 ~ 2020-02-29 X 2020-02-01 ~ 2020-02-30 X
1944-01-25 ~ 1944-02-23 1943-12-30 ~ 1944-01-29 X 1944-01-01 ~ 1944-01-30 X 2023-05-19 ~ 2023-06-17 2023-03-30 ~ 2023-04-29 X 2023-04-01 ~ 2023-04-30 X
1949-03-29 ~ 1949-04-27 1949-02-30 ~ 1949-03-29 X 1949-03-01 ~ 1949-03-30 X 2026-10-10 ~ 2026-11-08 2026-08-30 ~ 2026-09-29 X 2026-09-01 ~ 2026-09-30 X
1950-03-18 ~ 1950-04-16 1950-01-30 ~ 1950-02-29 X 1950-02-01 ~ 1950-02-30 X 2027-02-06 ~ 2027-03-07 2026-12-30 ~ 2027-01-29 X 2027-01-01 ~ 2027-01-30 X
1950-06-15 ~ 1950-07-14 1950-04-30 ~ 1950-05-29 X 1950-05-01 ~ 1950-05-30 X 2028-01-26 ~ 2028-02-24 2027-12-30 ~ 2028-01-29 X 2028-01-01 ~ 2028-01-30 X
1952-08-20 ~ 1952-09-18 1952-06-30 ~ 1952-07-29 X 1952-07-01 ~ 1952-07-30 X 2029-07-11 ~ 2029-08-09 2029-05-30 ~ 2029-06-29 X 2029-06-01 ~ 2029-06-30 X
1954-02-03 ~ 1954-03-04 1953-12-30 ~ 1954-01-29 X 1954-01-01 ~ 1954-01-30 X 2031-02-21 ~ 2031-03-22 2031-01-30 ~ 2031-02-29 X 2031-02-01 ~ 2031-02-30 X
1955-02-22 ~ 1955-03-23 1955-01-30 ~ 1955-02-29 X 1955-02-01 ~ 1955-02-30 X 2035-01-09 ~ 2035-02-07 2034-11-30 ~ 2034-12-29 X 2034-12-01 ~ 2034-12-30 X
1958-02-18 ~ 1958-03-19 1957-12-30 ~ 1958-01-29 X 1958-01-01 ~ 1958-01-30 X 2036-12-17 ~ 2037-01-15 2036-10-30 ~ 2036-11-29 X 2036-11-01 ~ 2036-11-30 X
1966-01-21 ~ 1966-02-19 1965-12-30 ~ 1966-01-29 X 1966-01-01 ~ 1966-01-30 X 2040-09-06 ~ 2040-10-05 2040-07-30 ~ 2040-08-29 X 2040-08-01 ~ 2040-08-30 X
1968-04-27 ~ 1968-05-26 1968-03-30 ~ 1968-04-29 X 1968-04-01 ~ 1968-04-30 X 2041-03-02 ~ 2041-03-31 2041-01-30 ~ 2041-02-29 X 2041-02-01 ~ 2041-02-30 X
1970-07-03 ~ 1970-08-01 1970-05-30 ~ 1970-06-29 X 1970-06-01 ~ 1970-06-30 X 2046-06-04 ~ 2046-07-03 2046-04-30 ~ 2046-05-29 X 2046-05-01 ~ 2046-05-30 X
2050-02-21 ~ 2050-03-22 2050-01-30 ~ 2050-02-29 X 2050-02-01 ~ 2050-02-30 X

Calendar data compared were from:
Korean: Korea Astronomy & Space Information
Chinese: Hong Kong Observatory
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iOS 8's (Chinese) Lunar Calendar Support

Posted by Wesley on
 
Lunar Calendar comes to iOS

As noted by Apple on the iOS8 announcement, using lunar calendar on the device will become easier. I'm sure a lot of the Koreans have been waiting for this. Until now, there hadn't been a system-wide support, so a user would have had to use an app that could display and manage this calendar on its own. This hassle should go away when the new iOS version arrives.

Sadly for the Koreans, this lunar calendar is being called "Chinese Calendar" on the system. Of course, if the user knows how to read basic Chinese glyphs, it isn't much of a practical issue. The dates mostly match, and the names of the year based on the sexagenary cycle are identical as well.

But the reason why this can't simply be generalized as "lunar calendar" is because it's based on measurements at Beijing, not Seoul. Because of the differences in latitude and longitude between the two capital cities, the phase measurements of the Moon slightly differ. In fact, the dates were off by a day for about five four months in 2012. Even with these downsides, Koreans end up benefitting from Apple's eager push into the Chinese market.

To use the lunar calendar, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Calendars and select "Chinese" from the Alternate Calendars. After that, the lunar date will show in Chinese on the Notification Center below the regular date.

Meanwhile, if someone in your contacts keeps the birthday in lunar date, you can select "add birthday" to designate one. After that, the Calendar app will show that person's "Chinese Birthday" on the lunar birthday. I expect that this will be of much use to many Koreans.
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SpaceRail Level 2

Posted by Wesley on
A box of SpaceRail Level 2

Balls running around elaborate loops of rails in museums are quite a sight to see. So why not bring it home? Hence the SpaceRail steel ball roller coaster kit, which is a knock-off of Spacewarp. I got the Level 2 one from a community-driven discount purchase at a price of about US$23. The box said this was a beginner-level kit that's supposed to take up to 2 hours to build. That was rather optimistic, as it turned out.

Read on for the photos of the build process.
Continue reading "SpaceRail Level 2"

Comparing free iOS image resizers

Posted by Wesley on
Resize Image, Resize Photo, SimpleResize, Crop-Size
Lots of free image resizers for iOS are available on App Store

Resizing an image seems to be a straightforward task. You tell the app how small or big the image should be, the app scales accordingly, and the result is saved. So when you want to do this on iOS, you might as well just pick any free image resizing app out on the App Store and be done, right? If quality is of your concern, it's not so simple.

"The Toon-Box" photographic web cartoon on this blog is generated on my iPhone 5S (currently on iOS 7.1b3) and resized to a specific dimension before being uploaded. In choosing the right app for the resizing task, I came across four apps that claimed to do the job:

- Resize Image 4.5 (2013-03-04)
- Resize Photo 1.0 (2011-03-24)
- SimpleResize 2.17 (2013-12-11)
- Crop-Size 1.0.0 (2013-11-21)

The version numbers and release dates are for the latest release as of this writing (2014-01-14), which were used for the testing. So how did they fare? What was the best free iOS image resizing app? Keep reading to find out.
Continue reading "Comparing free iOS image resizers"

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