After upgrading to Ubuntu 14.04.3 I ran into something weird.
First off, the “Users” section in “System Settings” wouldn’t open. Click it and it loops forever while CPU usage spikes.
My first instinct was to run unity-control-center from the terminal and see what it spat out.
The Nexus 6 should in theory be a device you can keep OTA-ing forever. I shouldn’t need to flash it manually.
But you know how it is, I rooted it, because without root you can’t comfortably enable Location Report. The quickest way to turn on Location Report, I recommend Location Report Enabler from Neo’s buddy (the cyclist big bro). Just root and install it. The principle is simple: it fakes your carrier. Incidentally, if you’re using a Nexus tablet rather than a phone, there’s no carrier problem to begin with, so you don’t need root to enable these features.
After rooting, OTA just gives you the little robot lying on its back, so manual flashing is the only option. And earlier, under the guidance of Neo (the cyclist big bro, now the boyfriend of the guy known as Meat Stick Fungus), I learned you can flash without losing data. The 5.1.1 build had been out for a while, but mine is the Google Play Edition, and all those TMobile and whatever packages that got released didn’t seem to work for me. So today the official 5.1.1 factory image finally dropped, and I figured I’d just flash it and be done.
So the goal is clear: get the Nexus 6 in hand up to the latest 5.1.1 while keeping data, and root it again on the way.
I’m talking about the Logitech K810. There’s also an Apple version of the same product called the K811.
First off, it’s discontinued. You’ll have to dig through eBay for leftover stock.
Second, this thing is so damn good.
Why has the price of the K314P earbuds climbed to 1000 yuan?
When I bought mine, all I heard was a somewhat bass-light, upper-mid-forward, airy little earbud. That said, I didn’t listen very carefully… I just figured:
An earbud at this price is basically just something to make noise…
Turns out the K314P made a name for itself with that noise. According to assorted audiophile mystics, the K314P’s treble can match or even surpass the K3003. You know the K3003? The big hybrid flagship!
And then it got discontinued… and nothing else can reach that treble height.
So the price went up.
At some point I started buying everything online.
My mom didn’t get it at first, especially when it came to food.
“The supermarket downstairs has it. Why the hell are you ordering it online?”
“It’s cheaper online!”
That was usually my answer, and I figured I had solid theory behind it. Look, opening a shop on Taobao is basically opening a shop nationwide. You’re up against competitors from all over the country. If you don’t sell cheap, someone else will sell cheaper. Competition that fierce has to drive margins down. And for most electronics, the online price really is lower than the official one.
So I assumed local brick-and-mortar stores, stuck with worse supply channels than both the official distributors and Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei, must be more expensive.
And then reality slapped me in the face, as it does.
When I was in elementary school, my family bought a VCD player.
I don’t even remember the brand anymore. It just came with a pile of pirated VCDs.
My dad bought it thinking “once we have this thing, we can watch blockbusters at home,” so the discs that came with it were all fancy blockbusters, stuff like Mission Impossible. Naturally, we immediately used our fancy new toy to watch Mission Impossible for ages.
Halfway through, neither my dad nor I could take it anymore. Not that the content was bad—it just felt… boring.
So for a long stretch the player sat there collecting dust, because there was nothing worth watching.
Ubuntu’s default terminal is Gnome-Terminal, and it always feels a bit off.
Recently I tried Terminator, and I was thoroughly won over. Now this is a good terminal.
But after using it, a problem came up: Ubuntu’s Unity has a bunch of shortcuts, and C+A+T launches Gnome-Terminal. Is there a way to replace them all with Terminator?
I know that at first you, like me, probably thought of editing the shortcuts. Actually, there’s no need at all.
Back when I’d just started college, I bought my first in-ear earphone. I think it was some Edifier model. Once I shoved them in, I discovered a whole new world.
Over time, in-ear seemed to become the unwritten rule for what “earphones” even means. After all, if a thing can’t manage basic isolation, it just sounds bad, and the low end and high end are hard to get right.
And yet people are just that fussy. Lately I’ve gotten kind of obsessed with earbuds again—the flat-head kind. The reason: I dug out an early Creative Air, and its surprisingly wide soundstage caught me off guard. That was when I realized earbuds can do things in-ears can’t.
Problem is, high-end earbuds are rare, and even when they exist, they’re hard to track down. Luckily Beyerdynamic happened to put out an entry-level pair, so I grabbed one to try—and it felt a bit like discovering a new world all over again. How to put it? A slightly wider soundstage, bass that isn’t cramped, and a full midrange—listening to that in the dead of night really gives you something different.
Of course, I said the dead of night, because the soft spot of earbuds is that the isolation is garbage.
Starting with Windows 8, there’s a feature called Windows To Go. Basically you install your entire Windows system onto a USB drive, find a computer, plug the drive in, and boot into your own system.
Pretty cool, right? It’s essentially the same idea as a Linux Live CD. Even so, it’s not exactly easy to pull off.
Microsoft gives you a wizard in the Control Panel, but it’s useless, because when you run it, it tells you “only Microsoft WTG-certified USB drives can be used to create Windows To Go.”
And those certified drives? Either you can’t buy them, or the only one you can get on JD.com starts at 699 yuan. Absolutely makes you want to scream.
So we just have to ignore that dumb wizard and do it ourselves.
The first time I learned about Rene Liu wasn’t actually because of her songs.
That was probably middle school. Star Chinese Channel was airing April Rhapsody, and she played the rather tragic lead. That role is what stuck with me.
I don’t know if I liked the frail woman she played or if I liked Rene Liu herself. Probably the former — at least I took one look at Red Pink Ladies later and ignored it.
Fortunately I heard her songs later on. Most of them are cover versions, but her distinctive voice still left that first impression: a frail woman quietly singing those slightly sorrowful stories.