iPad:

ForScore - Indispensable app for musicians and music teachers. I’ve put MANY scores (in PDF) in this app (1.1GB now) but it rarely crashes. It has half-page turns which is really useful. It also allows you to annotate the score with musical signs and high-lighters. It also provides a way to mark DC, DS, repeats, and Coda so that you can jump to where you need to by one tap. US$4.99 well spent.
Noteshelf – Best note-taking app I’ve tried so far. I’ve bought TONS of note-taking apps (I’ve even written a detailed review on all these apps) but this is the app that I use most frequently. It takes hand-written notes and, with the latest update, typed notes as well. Images can be imported into the app for annotation. Notes can be exported as image or PDF. Export options include Email, Dropbox, and Evernote. BTW, the UI is really beautiful yet with no compromise whatsoever on functionality. US$4.99 well spent again.
Apps that I don’t use on daily basis but find really useful:
Apps that work on both iPhone and iPad
PlainText – A nice universal FREE app for simple note-taking. Integrated with DropBox. Clean UI made just right.
Pages – I take meeting minutes with Pages on iPad. I have QuickOffice too but I rarely use it. Pages is way more elegant. I usually just send minutes right from my iPad to my PC-user colleagues and they never complained. So… I think compatibility is not an issue. (Well, I do avoid using tables but lists are just fine.)
iBooks – I guess it’s because I never really bought books from Amazon so iBooks is the app I turn to when I read ebooks. And I do buy ebooks from iBookStore. I don’t read PDF on iBooks, though. I use GoodReader instead.
AppShopper – INDISPENSABLE app for all iDevice users. (Well, there’re many apps for the same purpose out there. They’re all good… just grab one you like!)
iPhone:
Japanese – A well-built Japanese dictionary, phrase book, and study tool app.
Dictionaries – Oxford Music Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary…etc. I usually buy dictionaries when they are free (Oxford Music Dictionary is probably the only one that I actually paid for). Besides, now we have built-in dictionary on iPhone and iPad (select word > define). I have a couple French and German dictionaries as well.
Cardmon – a nice little app for making cards to email or post on Facebook. (I got it when it’s free.)
Flava – a nice little journal app that takes photos, map clips, text notes etc. Integrated with Facebook, Evernote, Twitter etc. (Again, I got it when it’s free.)
Genius Scan – Best scan app I’ve tried so far. Excellent B/W rendering. Creates clean and crisp PDF / JPEG images.
iPad:
Skitch - Great Free app for quick annotation on pictures / maps / web clips.
(I began writing this entry on WordPress web version on Safari but it was PAINFULLY SLOW. Adding hyperlink to text is such a cumbersome work. Eventually, I opened up the long-forgotten MacJournal app and phew… so much easier. I begin to like MacJournal…finally.)

NOT working again.

Lion is too big a cat that our government can deal with.

1. error -50

2. Required disc not found

While rebooting device / Mac seem to solve part of the problem, it’s just not stable.

Solution: reinstall iTunes.

A couple things to remember:

1. Check “sync over wifi-connection” in iTunes > Device > Summary – option

2. After checking the box, sync once (with USB plugged).

3. After sync has completed, unplug (NOT eject) the iPhone. You’ll find iPhone still on Device list even when it’s unplugged. Wifi sync now works.

1. Google for: iTunes 10.5 beta 3, iOS 5 beta 3 for iPhone4 (make sure you get the right version for the right model) My experience is most direct download links don’t work. Try BT. 

2. Install iTunes 10.5 beta 3.

3. Backup your iPhone!

4. Connect iPhone 4 to iTunes, option+restore and open iOS 5 beta 3. (My first attempt was to option+”check for update” but it only lead to “error 3002″. Then I tried to “restore” to iOS 5 beta 3 in Xcode. Software extraction on iPhone went through but then it got stuck. Eventually I went back to iTunes and option+restore, then it worked! Phew~)

4. Let iTunes restore your phone. Once it’s done, you’ll see your phone running again and greet you with “slide to set up” screen. Follow on-screen instructions. When it asks you whether you want to backup from iCloud or backup from iTunes, choose iTunes (remember: you haven’t got anything up in iCloud yet!). Let it run.

5. Done!

* I use MobileMe to sync my contacts, calendars and mail (plus notes and bookmarks etc). It turns out that MobileMe setting was not restored in iPhone Settings. So I had to go into Setting > Mail, Contacts, Calendars and set up my MobileMe and Google accounts again. All other data e.g. game, SMS etc were restored perfectly.

**When setting up the “new” iPhone, it’ll ask you whether you want to enable iCloud sync. I chose to enable it with one of my Apple IDs. Once I’ve entered my Apple ID, it started syncing apps and music. Turns out I have 2xx apps and 1298 songs to sync, which has taken me an hour now and it’s still syncing…! But then since it’s syncing OTA, I can still use my phone to iMessage my friends (yay! iMessage! no more SMS) and play a few games!

***After “restoring” iOS 5 through Xcode, iTunes popped up a waning saying it detected a phone in DFU mode and required me to hit restore. After hitting restore (without pressing option), however, it soon popped up another warning: Error 1600. My phone was bricked, turned into an expensive paperweight. Tried a few more times…all failed. I finally realized that I should press option + restore. Lots of cells died during the process…!

（嘈吵音樂聲）

甲：喂，睇車呀～

乙：睇車呀～

（車輛警示聲）

旁白：呢d警示，佢全部聽唔到，因為佢掛住聽MP3….

（車輛煞車聲，緊接撞車聲）

電話內：喂…喂…喂…?

********************************************************

我有問題如下：

1. 誰在講電話？司機？聽MP3的路人？其他？

2. 根據”播音劇”內容，合理假設是撞車受傷的路人，問：他不是在聽MP3嗎？難道一邊聽MP3，一邊講電話？

3. 假設不是聽MP3的路人，而是司機，問：是否用了免提？

女：黃總，聽講你公司最近請左個同性戀者喎…

男：係呀…

女：唔怕有問題咩？

男：唔怕，其實……….（下略）

************************************************************************

我有問題如下：

1. 黃總公司如何得知最近聘請的員工的性傾向？

2. 別家公司的人如何得知該新員工的性傾向？

One day, this day will become a day of celebration; One day, those who have been crying may become joyful and smile.

That day has yet come. We are still counting: 8035 days since the day some died, some disappeared, some survived, and many others cried.

Today is the fourth of June. It has been 22 years. We still remember.

1. This is a formal letter: it is, not it’s
2. What are “the companies and their products/services”; Is “including MTR Mall, Property and Project” an exhaustive list?
3. Avoid using ” ‘s ” after non-living objects.  Use xxx of yyy instead i.e. “the staff and stake holders of the MTR Corporation”.
4. Do not HESITATE
5. “Please do not…on the date with booked insertion” should be followed by a period (.). “We shall….” should be a new sentence.
6. Midnight means 12 o’clock at night. “During” midnight is simply impossible. It should be “during midnight hours”.

“…The first project to be rolled out at the end of next month is overseas study tour subsidies, capped at HK$3,000 for each of some 80,000 primary and secondary students from low-income families.

Subsidized Primary Schools Council chairman Cheung Yung-bong welcomed the scheme and said it would not add much administrative work as most schools have already planned their summer study tours.Law Chi-kwong, chairman of the fund’s executive committee, said this scheme will help students who could not afford tour fees to broaden their horizons through overseas learning…” (The Standard, April 21, 2011)

What’s wrong with these projects? Isn’t it a good thing to let underprivileged kids to have a chance to go abroad?

I grew up in a low income family – definitely among the grass root ones. There’s absolutely no way my family could send me abroad for whatever reason and however short period of time. But I did get the chance to go abroad when I was 11. How? My school chose me (and two other kids) to “compete” for a place in an exchange program called the Asia Pacific Children Convention which takes place in Japan every year. All expenses are taken care of by the organizer. I remember I submitted a really thick pile of copies of various certificates I earned from all sorts of activities. I went through an interview. Then joined a training camp. Eventually got chosen (among with 39 other kids) from hundreds of kids all over Hong Kong.

The government is actually already paying for certain exchange / study programs. I was a member of HKYSO and during my 6-7 years there, I joined two tours: one to Singapore and another one to Beijing. All expenses were covered by the government. I had to first get into the orchestra (one or two rounds of audition… I don’t quite remember). Then we had to go through another audition several months before the tour. Not all orchestra members were chosen because… there’s budget. We practiced to earn our place.

I’m not trying to show off how great I did back in my school years. What I’m trying to say is:

You need to work for rewards.

So, what can the government do instead of giving out $3000 to all of those ~80,000 primary and secondary students from low-income families?

One word: SCHOLARSHIP

Extend existing scholarships. Set up new scholarships to REWARD more people. The government can even set up a scholarship just for these 80000 something students from low-income families.

The bottom line? You have to work for it! Giving out $3000 no matter how a kid does is simply sending the message that work is irrelevant. When a kid doesn’t even study, it doesn’t matter whether the classroom is in HK or Guangzhou or US or UK or anywhere. That kid just won’t study.

How about the kids with various kinds of learning disorders? Isn’t it unfair that they’ll probably never get a chance to get a scholarship?

These kids need long-term special study program. Not a 2-week study tour once a year.