Review: CantoNotes & Hanzi Lookup on iPhone

A pair of iPhone app from Omar Rabbolini, an Italian application developer currently resides in UK.

These pair of iPhone apps: CantoNotes and Hanzi Lookup, will help Cantonese speaking users not familiar with writing Chinese; like myself, learn to write Chinese characters.

CantoNotes will allow users to enter Chinese characters using the LSHK (Linguistic Society of Hong KongJyutPing standard phonemes input method and CantoNotes will respond with the corresponding Chinese character. Characters displayed can be copy and paste into the built in Hanzi Lookup screen. Rather than using the built in copy & paste feature of iPhone OS, the app use its own Copy and Paste buttons. Although the iPhone OS built in copy & paste feature also works. After pasting the desired Chinese characters into the Hanzi Lookup screen, it will display the Chinese character in a medium size font, along with the Cantonese pronunciation beneath it one character at a time.

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Review: Finger on the iPhone

Finger IconToday I was sent a review copy of the iPhone application called Finger, developed the Hong Kong company duo Headnix and BeansBox. From the name you will guessed that this application involves your finger, you will be correct.

Finger is an ingenious application that takes advantage of the iPhone’s input methods allowing the user to enter text anywhere on the computer that accepts text input.

There are two components to Finger, an iPhone paid application (@ USD7.99) and a free Desktop background application; for computers running either OS X or Windows (Windows XP or Windows Vista). Since I’m a Mac guy I did not test the Windows Desktop application. The Mac version is a native application so I presume the Windows version is also a native application.

[Update: March 30, 2009]
Headnix today announced a Lite version of Finger for Free. The only difference between the Lite and regular versions is the Lite version’s limit of only allowing input of 5 characters per start. This latest decision of Headnix is definitely a welcome move. It will allow more users to discover the usefulness of Finger before they commit to the USD7.99 price of the regular version. Now that there is a Lite version, I strongly recommend everyone who has a need for entering Japanese or Chinese characters to download Finger Lite on iTunes App Store to see for themselves what this little application can do.

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Chinese Standards in Hong Kong

Today my mother showed me this free Chinese New Year poster (Fai Chun, Spring Couplets) she saw in a local newspaper (Apple Daily, Jan. 23, 2009).

Even though my Chinese is not that good, I too notice the mistake in the poster, which had been distributed throughout Hong Kong.

Are the standards of our young generation that poor? The worst part, is that it demonstrates the lack of pride Editors of Hong Kong newspapers have for their jobs.

影評: 大搜查之女

Poster

My Rating: 3Stars

睇完套戲,有很多似曾相識的感覺…「Sex and the City」加「証人」混合版?我覺得「大」這套戲的題材同「証人」差不多,都係講綁架,可能睇咗「証人」無幾耐啦,同埋我實在睇咗好多次Sex and the City啦。「大」戲中4個女人的開場戲和戲中鄭秀文男友係藝術家醉心創作藝術品這部份實在勾起我腦海浮現Sex and the City部份類同的片段,所以有這樣的感覺…!
「大」戲故事雖然簡單,你我都會估到故事結局,但故事的轉折點係幾吸引,亦有意外的幽默情節,確實有它特別之處,都值得買飛入場睇。
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvkECYTt_MM

Rating Legend:
5Stars Not to be missed
4Stars Wait for the DVD
3Stars Buy from iTunes Store
2Stars Rent it on iTunes
1Stars Waste your time elsewhere

影評: 大搜查之女

Poster

My Rating: 3Stars

睇完套戲,有很多似曾相識的感覺…「Sex and the City」加「証人」混合版?我覺得「大」這套戲的題材同「証人」差不多,都係講綁架,可能睇咗「証人」無幾耐啦,同埋我實在睇咗好多次Sex and the City啦。「大」戲中4個女人的開場戲和戲中鄭秀文男友係藝術家醉心創作藝術品這部份實在勾起我腦海浮現Sex and the City部份類同的片段,所以有這樣的感覺…!
「大」戲故事雖然簡單,你我都會估到故事結局,但故事的轉折點係幾吸引,亦有意外的幽默情節,確實有它特別之處,都值得買飛入場睇。
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvkECYTt_MM

Rating Legend:
5Stars Not to be missed
4Stars Wait for the DVD
3Stars Buy from iTunes Store
2Stars Rent it on iTunes
1Stars Waste your time elsewhere

影評: 地球停轉日

Poster

My Rating: 3Stars

剛剛睇完《地球停轉日》, 故事內容非常簡單,但故事背後卻帶出深深的教訓,有警醒的作用,希望每個人睇完戲後除了讚賞其特技效果外,能夠自我反省。若愛我們的下一代,愛身邊的人,愛我們住緊的地球,請不要再自私!

Rating Legend:
5Stars Not to be missed
4Stars Wait for the DVD
3Stars Buy from iTunes Store
2Stars Rent it on iTunes
1Stars Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: 証人

Poster

My Rating: 5Stars

剛剛睇完《証人》,一散場就叫好…好久都未試過睇完港產片就叫好,上次叫好是睇完《無間道》。

"証人"情節拍得好細緻,好緊湊,前呼後應,睇得出拍得好有Heart,一些都無諗過當觀眾低能,特技效果”正”,每一個演員都是好戲之人,特別係謝霆鋒,張家輝,智叔。未睇套戲之前都聽說影評讚好才去睇,詁唔到真係咁好睇,超水準之作,港產片真是掂的。

Another late addition in Vinko’s Must See Movies list.

Rating Legend:
5Stars Not to be missed
4Stars Wait for the DVD
3Stars Buy from iTunes Store
2Stars Rent it on iTunes
1Stars Waste your time elsewhere