How to Disable Android Smartphone Auto Focus--Solved!

Manual Focus for Android Smartphone!

My Samsung Note 3 is good enough that I use it to film my television program here in Fujian, China--but I was long frustrated with the video zooming in and out, even though the phone was on a tripod and I stood as if I was in a straitjacket. After 30+ takes to get only 10 usable shots (because of the video zooming in and out),  I was ready for a straightjacket. Fortunately, Android now has a way out of this problem!

1. Turn on the video camera.
2. Tap the screen on the area you want to manually fix the focus  (you may need to hold it a second or two, depending on the phone).
3. You'll see a small circle with a square inside, and  AF inside the square. This means the Auto-Focus is now manually fixed on the area of the screen you tapped. You can now move the phone about and it will stay focused on that one spot. Kudos to Google. It was long enough coming.

But how to do this when you're filming yourself, as I do for my TV program? My solution is cumbersome but it works. I place some large object about my height (cardboard cutout or something) in front of the camera, tap on that area, then take its place.

I hope this was helpful. Click Here if you'd like to read how I use an Android  smartphone (Galaxy Note ), Ravelli tripod, Ampridge smartphone directional boom mike and Kootek Android Smartphone Remote Control to film myself for the Fujian TV program (shown 5 days a week).

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

And learn more about Fujian and Xiamen Island from my eBooks below.

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

Bill Brown Xiamen University www
oymagic.com

Home of Chinese Hand Puppets & Marionettes!

Ahoy from Amoy! (now Xiamen).  A man emailed today asking, "Prof. Bill, Is glove puppet theater 布袋戲Poo-te-hi widespread in Amoy 廈門, Choanchiu 泉州, and Chiangchiu 漳州 today? Is it easy to view these performances let alone purchase glove puppets in these areas?"

Yes to both questions! Quanzhou, called Zayton (origin of our word "satin") by the Arabs and Marco Polo, was not only the greatest port of the ancient world, rivaling Alexandria, Egypt, but also home to China's amazing marionettes. Puppeteers manipulate up to 30 strings so well that they can actually bend over and with their little wooden fingers pick up pieces of paper from the floor!

And Zhangzhou, just 30 miles west of Xiamen, is home to hand puppets that can perform acrobatics (even somersaults, spin plates, juggle), serve tea, smoke pipes, fight tigers... They are absolutely amazing--nothing like the little hand puppets I made and played with as a child. They truly come to life.

Puppets are popular in South Fujian, and you can see shows of both hand puppets and marionettes in Xiamen, as well as in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Please refer to my Amazon eBooks "Discover Xiamen" (2.99) or "Fujian Adventure" (1.99) for photos and more information.

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Dr. Bill's Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

www.amoymagic.com

Stewardess Hall of Shame (Alaska Airlines)

The media has been all abuzz about the airline flight attendants' Passenger Hall of Shame--but I think the stewards and stewardesses' have a good point. Passenger behavior on airlines is absurd. It used to be the world's trolls hid behind the anonymity of the net, but now they're acting out in public--a lot of them with weapons!

Of course, airplane's crowded conditions don't help. Back in the days of Pan Am and Braniff (heavy sigh--that dates me!), travel was pleasurable, with real service, and real meals. Nowadays, more people fly, and in many ways it is cheaper than ever, but we're also squeezed in to seats that have about 10 inch between them (and they're considering "stand up seats" for some planes!).

Having said that, though, I'm also surprised by some flight attendants' behavior. Case in point--a recent flight on Alaska Airlines (but let me add that Alaska Airlines is still one of our favorite airlines--which made this incident all the more surprising).

A recent Alaska Airlines magazine said team members were wearing an "I am Alaska" pin to show their spirit. Most don't need the pin. You can see it in their service. But the stewardess in the photo (to the rear) needs to be stuck with that pin a few times.

The Seattle to Fresno Alaska Air Flight 3496, August 9, was delayed because, at the last minute, a pilot called in sick. But the pilot explained and apologized profusely, and passengers waited patiently. While waiting, I asked one of the two stewardesses about the Alaskan logo on the plane's tail. "I don't know," she said, "but I should! I'll ask and get back to you." To my surprise, about 20 minutes later she returned, having queried the airlines, and said, "Now we both know!" This lady was professional and attentive, to everyone, the entire flight.

Good Cop/Bad Cop? The other stewardess was the reverse! Kind of reminded me of Good Cop/Bad Cop (maybe it's a new airline strategy--Good Stewardess/Bad Stewardess to keep passengers in their place?). When she offered drinks, I asked if the orange juice had sugar added, as sugared drinks make me ill. She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and said loudly enough for several rows to hear, "How should I know? I don't make the stuff!"

I was shocked, and said nothing, passing on the drink, but she persisted, loudly, "Do you want to read the box and see what's in it?" So I did read it, and it said clearly on the box that no sugar was added. Before I could say anything, she said, "Do you want it or not?"

I'm sure attendants tire of passengers ridiculous queries, request and demands, but food allergies are serious stuff. If I drink sugar, I only get sick, and throw up everywhere. I'll live--though those around me may wish I had not. But some people die from allergies, so it wasn't a ridiculous question.

Though this young lady didn't seem to care about the passengers, she was very keen to be with the pilots. A few minutes later, a pilot left the cockpit, and while he stood outside, she went into the cockpit with the other pilot, where she stayed 10 or 15 minutes. Maybe helping to fly the plane?

Flight Attendant Hall of Shame  In fairness, maybe she was having a rough day. I can't imagine the stress they must go through, dealing with unruly passengers day in and day out. But if there is to be a Passenger Hall of Shame (and there should be!), why not a Stewardess Hall of Shame to remind us all to be a little more patient and tolerant when we're crammed into those flying sardine cans (much like Xiamen buses used to be!).


And in summary--Alaska Airlines is still one of our favorite airlines! (ties with Korean Air).

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Dr. Bill's Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

How to Disable Samsung My Magazine and Home Key

Good morning from Amoy!

I love my Samsung Note's hardware but hate Samsung's bloatware, which I can't remove. Especially annoying is that pressing the Home Key opens Samsung's "My Magazine," (Flipbook) which I do not want. Very frustration. I've got into Settings/My Applications/ and disabled My Magazine, cleared the cache and date. Still--press the Home Key and up it pops again! But I finally figured out how to keep the Home Key from opening My Magazine!

The reason it took me so long was every time My Magazine popped up, I refused to accept the conditions, and went into Settings and shut it down. This time, I accepted the conditions (though refused to let it use location services, which it did anyway), and then went in to My Magazines settings and it had 1 option (only 1 option, in fact): to disable Home Key so it doesn't open My Magazine!

Warning: once you disable Samsung's Home Key for My Magazine, you must exit the app completely with the "Active Apps" icon. Otherwise, Home Key will still open My Magazine even after you've disabled it. But now that I've exited and closed it, pressing of the home key just brings me "home", which makes sense. Press it twice and you get the voice feature (but I've never tapped it twice by accident, so it's no problem).

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill
 

Dr. Bill's Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

www.amoymagic.com

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Fastest VPN --for 2 devices! (and anonymous)

Greetings from Amoy!

Sorry--I've withdrawn the recommendation I made in the blog entry below! After a month of use, I found Proxy.sh too unstable for use, at least here, but our StrongVPN has also been excruciatingly slow. So now we're on AstrillVPN! It is amazing--2 devices for the price of 1 at StrongVPN, and I've compared them side by side. When StrongVPN is downloading at 30 or 40 kbs, Astrill VPN is at 300 or 400 kbs! And with Astrill, I've not yet had to manually change servers, and they have proprietary security tech no others have.

Better yet--Astrill VPN is confident enough to offer a free 7-day trial (I can see why StrongVPN, GoTrusted, SwissVPN and the others do not give the free trial!).
I hope you'll find Astrill VPN as useful as we have. Happy surfing!

Dr. Bill

Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99



Our son here just introduced us to a fairly Fast VPN--and every Proxy.sh\ package allows the use of up to 3 devices simultaneously (unlike Strongvpn and others, for which I had to have an account for each device). Still, I find Strongvpn to be more reliable and steady--and half the price, so I'm not sure it is worth it to pay more for Proxy.sh for 3 accounts. Still--it has at times been faster than the others I've tried, so you might want to try both.

Proxy.sh's east-to-use dashboard makes it easy to switch to the currently fasted server or country. Just click "Jump to Fastest!" (Compare with Strongvpn, where I had to do a tedious search for the fastest, and Strong only allows 15 changes per month).

StrongVPN is still a favorite--especially their incredible 24/7 live tech service (proxy.sh only has email replies to service tickets), but I like being able to connect 3 devices at the same time with Proxy.sh, and being able to change anytime to a faster server or country (we found Spain 1 and Florida 1 are some of the fastest).

A suggestion! If you have any difficulty connecting (though it is in fact extremely easy to install and connect), try a different port. We found that our internet service blocked port 110, but others worked well).

We hope you enjoy Proxy.sh as much as we have!

Enjoy Amoy!

Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

Bill Brown
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com

Texas Ebola Epidemic -- and a Cure from China!

Ahoy from Amoy!

The Texas Ebola Outbreak may be more serious than the media lets on for several reasons.

1. The man was sick when he went to the hospital, but was sent home, and only admitted 2 days later, so everyone he came in contact with (including children, it has been revealed) could have possible been infected. One wonders why the U.S. does not track or even quarantine people flying in from Africa (maybe too many people?).

2. The man threw up right outside his home, and someone must have cleaned it up. They're infected.

3. It is said Ebola is only spread through contact with bodily fluids. If that is the case, how did the 3 American doctors catch it? How did the nurse in Spain catch it? I can see how untrained medical personnel in Sierra Leone catch Ebola, but these were professionals, and extremely careful. If wearing what amounts to spacesuits and engaging in chemical baths isn't enough protection, who is to say that Ebola is only contagious through bodily fluids? It might be that some of those bodily fluids need only be droplets from a sneeze, or....

The media has recently said that the world can rest because Nigeria has conquered Ebola. If Nigeria has conquered Ebola, how did a man with Ebola leave the country and fly to Texas (and infected perhaps as many as 50 people).

But there is hope, because some Chinese claim to have a cure for Ebola!

Ebola in Hong Kong -- but Mainland China? (埃博拉在中国)
There has not been any English media reporting about Ebola in China, but a Chinese website revealed a case of Ebola in Hong Kong back in August 10, 2014. Given the crowded conditions there--and the fact that there are probably far more Chinese in Africa than Americans, given China's massive investments in Africa, it is very likely that Ebola is in China, even as it is in Texas. In fact, Ebola has been here before, it seems. The deadly pig-borne epidemic, which had a 72% to 82% death rate, was unrelated to the present epidemic, but it was supposedly a form of Ebola.

But Chinese media claim to this day that there are no cases of Ebola in China, and that China has contained Ebola successfully.  Who knows. Personally, I don't blame them for trying to keep people calm. Besides, China has many cures for Ebola (even as People Daily claimed in 1990 that they had Chinese herbal cures for AIDS , though I've not heard any verification of this since).

Chinese Cures for Ebola ?
Chinese netizens evidently are worried because they are promoting various cures for Ebola. One popular cure is coffee with garlic.  This actually makes sense. Coffee breath is bad enough, but garlic coffee breath? People will stay so far away from each other that Ebola will fizzle right out.

All jesting aside, though--Chinese medicines may well offer some hope, as they tend to emphasize strengthening the body's own immune system, allowing the body to naturally fight off disease (as opposed to Western medicines, which are often toxins designed to kill specific pathogens without regard to the fact that they often harm the body's natural immune system as well).

Some Chinese herbs that offer hope include red peony root, buffalo horn (to replace rhino horn, thankfully, though I think they're buffaloing us), rehmannia root, folium isatadis, Dr. Who's Tardis (just seeing if you're paying attention). After all, the current Ebola cures, with the exception of the serums from survivors blood, seem to be a cocktail of experimental drugs and careful treatment of the symptoms, trying to keep the survivors alive long enough for their bodies to fight off the disease.

Well--here's hoping there is not an Ebola epidemic in the United States--or an Ebola epidemic in China! (though rumors have it a Chinese village has been quarantined because of Ebola). But if Nigeria, which in July said they were at their wits end, can have coped with it, I think the Americans and Chinese will too. Hopefully!

Dr. Bill

Bill's Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99


Bill Brown
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com

China expands Trimeth Labs (legal drug Increases Persuasiveness 35%!)

I was shocked to learn that my adopted home of Xiamen is China's leading player in its proliferation of a nefarious drug that, though still legal in Western nations, has been proven to increase the masses' susceptibility to persuasion by up to 35%.  Xiamen is literally the epicenter of this Chinese narcotic epidemic, with more Chinese mind control Trimeth Labs per capita than any other Chinese city.

This powerful drug is called 1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthin, or Trimeth for short, and Xiamen has more Trimeth labs per capita than any other Chinese city in part because of our historical heritage as a 19th century International Settlement and center of the opium trade, which brought with it Western virtues and vices alike.


Research in the West has conclusively proven that Trimeth does increase one's persuasive ability (or one's susceptibility, should one naively imbibe prior to a war of wits. The good news is that a Trimeth trafficker can rely upon the drug's diabolic influence only if their argument is sound in the first place. Use of Trimeth on unwary victims is futile, in theory at least, when attacking with shaky or fallacious arguments.

By the way--you probably know 1, 3, 7 trimethylxanthin by its common, caffeine, which is trafficked with brazen openness in Xiamen Trimeth Labs under the cover of coffee shops with such innocuous names as McDonalds, Starbucks and KFC.

3 EZ Steps to Improve YOUR Persuasive Up To 35%? 
1st, make sure you have a sound argument.
2nd, administer a generous dose of 1, 3, 7 trimethylxanthin, aka caffeine, at least 45 minutes in advance (it takes this long to take effect upon the victim).
3rd, Go for it, because you've got the edge!

And how about 49 more ways to be more persuasive? My scoop on Xiamen's nefarious role in Trimeth Trafficking began while I was preparing for a Xiamen University School of Management class, and my review ng of the fascinating book, Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive, by Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini. Though less than 300 pages, 50 Ways is a great compilation of practical ways for anyone to increase their persuasive prowess. Amazon has both the paperback version of 50 Ways and a Kindle version, both for less than $10 (you don't need a Kindle device; just download the free Kindle software and view the books on your phone or computer, as I do).


And Enjoy Amoy! with Dr. Bill's Amazon eBooks!

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

www.amoymagic.com
Bill Brown
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com

StrongVPN no Longer so Strong--but have 1 10X faster!

Update!

 Sorry--I've withdrawn the recommendation I made in the blog entry below for StrongVPN.  StrongVPN has also been excruciatingly slow. So now we're on AstrillVPN! It is amazing--2 devices for the price of 1 at StrongVPN, and I've compared them side by side. When StrongVPN is downloading at 30 or 40 kbs, Astrill VPN is at 300 or 400 kbs! And with Astrill, I've not yet had to manually change servers, and they have proprietary security tech no others have.

Better yet--Astrill VPN is confident enough to offer a free 7-day trial (I can see why StrongVPN, GoTrusted, SwissVPN and the others do not give the free trial!).
I hope you'll find Astrill VPN as useful as we have. Happy surfing!

Dr. Bill

Original post:
Though I love living here, one frustration is accessing online material that I really need for my work.  I don't mind them blocking Facebook or Twitter. I don't use either one. But I really need my Gmail account and Google Docs, which are sometimes blocked and sometimes not.

Thanks to StrongVPN, I can access anything I need, and the new interface/console is easier than anything I've ever used (and I've used half a dozen or more). Best of all, the online service is excellent. On the rare occasion I've had an issue, the team of professionals has helped me work it out via online chats.

I regret that I must use a VPN, and I don't encourage using one for unethical purposes--but if, like me, you simply have to have a fast, uninterrupted connection for your daily work, StrongVPN is the way to go!

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

www.amoymagic.com

Mail postal letters / snailmail from your computer!

Hello from Amoy!

Mail is much better in China today than it was 20 years ago, when it would take a month or two to get a reply to a letter--if we ever did get the reply. Censors often ripped out the letter, then stuck it back in the envelope without sealing it, and the letter would fall out and we'd end up with an empty envelope (stamped in Chinese red, "Missent from Manila).

Or sometimes they'd seal it with rice glue, but probably use a house-painting brush to do it and the entire envelope would be so stuck to the letter that even an archaeologist could not open it.

Wooden Crate for Silk Tie? There were also endless rules. Anything but actual letters had to be mailed from China in either a wooden box, nailed shut after it was inspected (so you had to carry your own hammer and nails) or a cloth bag sewn shut after inspection. A friend mailed a silk tie back to the U.S and was forced to send it in a heavy wooden crate (to protect the silk tie, as the post office did not want to risk it being damaged, though I've no idea why, as they never took responsibility).

Today, mail from China is fast, efficient--and Chinese postal offices are open long hours, 7 days a week! They still have some strange rules, but overall, Chinese mail is much better, and reliable. But I've found something better: mailing letters through the U.S. postal service (USPS) right here from China!

After trial and much error, searching the internet for online mail services, I finally found www.mailaletter.com, which is a great online mail service based in Seattle.

I did test other services, always looking for better and cheaper, but always came back to www.mailaletter.com, as other services, even in my small test mailing, messed up the mailing addresses, or put the wrong letter in the wrong envelope. But www.mailaletter.com is rapid and reliable. I simply upload my letter (Word file, PDF, Text--about anything) to their site and within 24 hours they mail out from Seattle a high quality COLOR letter to anywhere in the world (for as low as 1.52 USD).

It is as cheap as sending it from China, once you factor in the cost of color printing here. More importantly, it's faster, reliable and secure--and I don't have to bother with printing the letter, sealing it in an envelope and affixing postage.

And in case you're wondering--No, I'm not a partner with them (or anything else I recommend, though this blog does make a small income from the Ads). I just appreciate the professional, quality service, and think you will too.

Enjoy Amoy!

 Dr Bill

Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

www.amoymagic.comBill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Solved: Active Directory is Unavailable Printer Problem

Hi from Amoy!

Have you tried to install (or use) a printer and got the message "Active Directory is Unavailable?"  My wife did, and searching online forums and even Microsoft's website was no help. I read a dozen forums, where dozens of people begged for help with the exact same issue, but in the end I did not see one good solution. But after much trial and error, I finally figured out a simple solution to this problem. I will first explain why the problem happened, and then how to fix it.

When I first connected the HP printer (one from China, as I live here in Xiamen) to a new laptop, Windows automatically searched for drivers and installed it--but it would not work. Although it did show up under Devices and Printers, I could not select it to be the default printer, and Word and Acrobat could not find the new printer.  On some forums, people suggested to uninstall and reinstall Word or Acrobat, but many tried that and it did not work. Some suggested printing a document with Notepad (saying it would find the printer, and after printing once, it would be fine with other programs; it didn't work for me).

I downloaded the printer drivers from Hewlett Packard to reinstall everything myself--but when I connected the printer cable and turned on the printer, the computer would not recognize it, so I could not click "Next," but got the message Active Directory is Unavailable."

Finally--I uninstalled the printer (assuming Windows had messed up the automatic install), and then ran the HP printer setup program--and it worked like a charm!

This may not work for you, but in the end, it seemed the only logical explanation--that the automatic printer installation somehow triggered the active directory is unavailable message. So give it a try:

1 Uninstall the problem printer.
2.Download the latest printer drivers and reinstall the printer.

I cannot emphasize enough that, if you face an issue, you search online for the latest device drivers!

Warning! Download printer drivers directly from the company that made the printer, not from the hundreds of sites that pop up in a search, giving you free device drivers. These sites invariably want you to sign up, or download a download program, and many even have corrupted or infected drivers. Unfortunately, if you search for a specific driver, these sites will show up long before HP or Epson or Canon!

So go to the company site--HP, Epson, Canon--and from their site, search for the driver. Every reputable printer company has downloadable printer drivers, and often entire software packages that include printer diagnostics and other useful programs.

 Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99



Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Yonanas! Frozen fruit into creamy ice cream--no sugar, dairy, eggs (EZ! 2 to 3 min.)

Going Bananas Over Yonanas!

When we first came to Xiamen in 1988, it was hard to believe that Chinese had invented ice cream. The only brand we had was "White Snow" ice cream (better than "Yellow Snow", I guess). It was not smooth and creamy but icy, almost gritty, only came in vanilla, and was only sold in the summer. Virtually every shop in Xiamen stopped selling it the same day in September, parroting the same explanation, as if they'd learned it from Mao's Little Red Ice Cream Book: "Can't eat ice cream in winter. Too cold."

Nonsense. When we got stuck for 3 weeks in Beijing for Chinese New Year (back then, you needed guanxi to get tickets), we found that Northern Chinese eat ice cream year round--even while ice skating on the frozen lakes! Nowadays, of course, we can get all kinds of ice creams year round (because of global warming, perhaps?)--but we just found the tastiest and healthiest alternative!

Sue spent $3 on a strange gadget, Yonanas, that Dole produced to grind frozen fruit straight into creamy, delicious "ice cream!" No dairy, sugar, eggs--nothing but frozen fruit! I was astonished when I first ate some of it. No wonder we went bananas over Yonanas. We've already bought two more (a new one for us, and one for our son and his wife, and am now ordering two for friends).

Yonanas is only about $50 on Amazon, with free shipping, or get the Yonanas Elite, which is double the power, so is easier to use and will probably last longer. If you, like us, are in China, you can buy them on Taobao, though I have not yet found the Yonanas Elite on Taobao. They are about 220 Yuan.

Nowadays, you never know what you're getting when you eat processed, store bought foods. Just days ago, it was reported that Taiwan companies were using recycled gutter oil--and exporting it to Hong Kong! So Hong Kong stores dumped their Taiwan made mooncakes for Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and are buying them from the Dutch! 

So try something that is for sure healthy and relatively safe (you never know about pesticides, I guess), by making Yonanas part of your daily diet. Just chop fruit into small pieces, freeze overnight, stick them in the Yonanas and in 2 or 3 minutes you have a treat that is so tasty it is hard to believe it is good for you!

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

www.amoymagic.com
Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Best Smartphone Unidirectional microphone (Shotgun mike for phone!)

Hi from Amoy! ( Xiamen, in China's Fujian Province. Today, we'll see

how to use a Smartphone with a 6$ bluetooth remote, GorillaPod and, importantly, a Smartphone unidirectional microphone (smartphone shotgun mike!) to record video good enough I use it for my weekly FJTV Xingfu Fujian 《幸福福建》 TV series.

Four years ago it took a truck for the gear and film crew. A crew for National Geographic I helped trimmed it down a bit. But today, I can fit everything I need for much of the filming in one hand! It doesn't give you Nat Geo quality, of course, but with planning, it is as good as a $2,000 video camera I used a few years ago. It took some trial-and-error with good and not-so-good products to get this down, so I hope it helps you bypass all that and get straight to recording.

For six months I've hosted the weekly Fujian TV station's "Xingfu Fujian" (幸福福建 -- means roughly Happy Fujian； 海峡卫视电视台), and is produced with cooperation of TV stations in 6 countries. It's all in Chinese, so it has been a great helping in improving my own Chinese.  I've been in China almost 30 years, but tackling Mandarin Chinese is a lifelong project.  And speaking rapid Chinese, even for native Chinese presenters, is a real challenge unless you prepare well.

Much of the content--about history, culture, cuisine, etc.--is from my own books and articles, but some is even new to me--especially the material from our partners in 5 other countries. But the biggest surprise to me was using iPads and phones to film TV!

The professional TV studio felt too sterile, so we opted to film outdoors at Xiamen University, where I've taught MBA since 1988.  The crew was only 2 people--using 2 iPads (one for recording, one as a makeshift teleprompter)! I was astonished at the quality, so when I traveled, I filmed myself for 6 of the episodes using just my android Smartphone (much better than the iPad) and the equipment I'll share below.

I wondered how to easily film myself--and then I saw on Amazon the Kootek Bluetooth Wireless Remote Control for both iOS and Android Smartphones. Only 5.99 with free shipping, it easily installed in seconds--but with default android software, only operated the still camera. But now I can remotely operate video recording as well thanks Video Cam Direct, a free program on Google Play (invented with the App Inventor program from MIT). Video Cam Direct only shows video, so there's no problem about choosing video or photos.


But how to hold the camera? Amazon again to the rescue (I usually resort to Amazon, even if I end up buying elsewhere, because it has the most comprehensive user reviews). After studying the reviews, tossing out those by people obviously selling something and those 1-star bits written by Amazonian trolls (Amazon has as many trolls as social media), I spent 21.69 (free shipping) on a Ravelli 3 pound 61 inch tripod. It is amazingly sturdy and easy to tote--but how to mount the Smartphone? Jobe to the rescue.
Gorilla Tripods are amazing. The 3 bendable legs cling to anything (post, tree branch, bed post), allowing stable filming from any angle. I bought the Joby JM3-01WW Griptight GorillaPod Stand (16.74, free shipping), and the special Smartphone tripod mount even cradles my rather large 5.7 inch phone (or phablet, or whatever the term is; I can't keep up with these phads).  But what about sound?
When Surround Sound is a pain. Smartphone microphones are great, but they are omnidirectional, so they pick up sound in all directions--even distant cars and dogs barking a block away. I tried various external Smartphone omnidirectional and cardioid Smartphone microphones, but they helped very little. And then I found a smartphone Shotgun mike! (unidirectional microphone) for both Apple and Android.

The Ampridge Mighty Mic s Microphone plugs right into your smartphone (see photo at the top) and you can plug your headphones into the microphone to monitor the sound. Point it right at you and much of the background noise disappears--enough that I can produce TV quality recordings on my phone!

And that's all you need, folks, to do TV quality video (well--good enough for some TV!) on your smartphone--and by yourself, using the smartphone bluetooth remote control.

I hope this has helped.And if you're curious about the programs I'm hosting, Click Here to view some of the episodes I have uploaded on YouTube. I think you'll agree that a Smartphone is a good TV Camera!

And learn more about Fujian and Xiamen Island from my eBooks below.

Bill Brown

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Cannot see text at bottom of screen -- FIXED

Hi from Amoy!

Here is an EZ Fast Fix for a common problem that I and many friends have had. Sometimes the text extends  below the bottom of the screen, so you can't click the Buttons. You try to drag the top up so you can click the bottom--but as soon as you let go, it snaps back down again (and the Taskbar covers the buttons) I was surprised to see how many people are searching online forums and querying Adobe and Microsoft support (and often getting nowhere).

Every computer is different, and there can be many causes, but 100% of the time I've faced this, it has been because I, or the person I helped, changed either the screen resolution or enlarged Window's text under Control Panel / Display / Change the Size of all items -- and chosen anything larger than 100%.

If you're my age and need reading glasses, there is good reason for making the text larger. Unfortunately, unlike "reflowing text" in Adobe PDF files (which can make the text larger without moving it off the screen), enlarging text in Windows (any Windows, from XP to Windows 8-Ball), runs the edges off the screen so you can't click buttons to exit, or select, or... No idea why, over the years, they've not developed a way to resolve this.

So if you can't see the bottom of your screen, or Word or Adobe document, change the text size back to 100% and use reading glasses like me--or use Windows "Magnifying" tool to temporarily enlarge parts of the screen, like a magnifying glass.

Here's the steps.

1. Open Control Panel (in Windows 8, go to start by hitting the Windows key (4 small squares, probably to the left of the space bar), or open the right Charm (not that charming) and tap the Windows Start icon (4 blue squares.

2. Open Display.

3. Beneath "Change the size of all items" (on the upper right), click on the circle to the left of "Smaller -- 100%".

4. Finish. Some computers may ask you to log out and back in, or even reboot, but the issue should then be fixed.

5. But experiment. Different computers have different tolerances. With my Asus, I can only use 100%, but my Lenovo allows 115%, which is good enough for me to work without reading glasses.

6. Individual text size? You may note on the Display window, bottom right side, you can "Change only the the text size" if you tick the box for "Let me choose one scaling level for all my displays." You can then choose different size texts for Title Bars, Menus, Message Boxes, Icons, Palette Titles and Tooltips--but this still sometimes causes the problem of text running beyond the borders of the display, or doesn't affect the text at all inside of applications such as Word or Acrobat.

Its an old problem that I hope Microsoft will eventually resolve. Rather like the one we used to have with the tiny print in SMS texts! Those old phones allowed us to choose large text, and then still forced us to use tiny texting fonts. Fortunately, Android now allows us to increase the size of SMS text message fonts.

I hope this has helped (it's certainly worked for me, and for many family and friends I've helped).

And if you have a chance, visit Amoy (historic name for Xiamen, Fujian Province, where I've lived since 1988)!

Au reservoir!

Bill Brown
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com

How to Disable Windows 8 Left Sweep--even on Asus!

I have slowly gotten used to Windows 8, and appreciate it's advantages--though I hate that it was forced upon me. I installed a program to emulate the Start button, but I eventually found I can do all I did with Windows 7 by just patiently rearranging Windows 8. But some things are still annoying.

I hate it when I brush I move from the left of the touchpad and it takes me into a previous screen! I disabled the left charm sweep, but it still did it because Asus touchpad drivers also do it. I think Asus is determined to make Assus of us all. I disabled Asus,and everything else. I've disabled so much that Starbucks gave me a Disabled PC pass.  And it worked, but then the left sweep started up again after a few weeks, though I've disabled everything possible and some things that are not possible.

But I've finally solved it. In the Asus program, I enable the left sweep, save it, and then again disable the left sweep--and it will work for a few days or weeks. But now that I know to do that, it is the work of a few seconds to resolve it.

Here are the steps to disable the left sweep, starting with windows.

Disable Left  Sweep in Windows 8
1. Open the Charms bar on the right (Sweep from right edge of screen or touchpad to the left and you will be, according to Microsoft, Charmed--though I don't find it charming at all).
2. Click on Settings on the bottom right

3. Click on Change PC Settings on the very bottom right

4. Click on PC and Devices on the upper left
5. Click on Corners and Edges (getting close now!)
6. On the right, under App Switching, turn OFF the line (3rd down) for "When I sweep in from the left edge..."

That should solve it--unless you have Asus...

Disable Left Sweep on Asus notebooks
1. Move cursor to Taskbar on lower right, double-click the gray square icon for Asus SmartGesture.
2.Tap the Edge Gesture tab on the top, second from the left.
3. Unclick whichever you don't want (I unclicked all of them, because Windows Charms still work on my touchscreen even with Asus non-so-SmartGesture disabled).
4. Click Apply at the bottom right.
5. Exit! Voila--left sweep is disabled--for a few days or weeks at least. But if it happens again, at least now you know it only takes a few seconds to fix it.

If it recurs--go back into Asus not-so-SmartGesture, enable the left sweep, click Apply, and then disable it and again click Apply. Yeah, I know. Weird--but it works (at least on mine).

I hope it works, and that Asus doesn't think of more ways to make Assus of us.

Enjoy Amoy!

Bill Brown 
Prof., Xiamen University MBA Center

P.S. Learn more about our adopted home of Amoy, China, from these 2 eBooks on Amazon:

"Discover Xiamen"(only 2.99)

"Fujian Adventure" (only 1.99)

Android cannot open Google Play

 Greetings from Amoy! (Xiamen, China),

Today I faced, for the umpteenth time, the error message when trying to access Google Play from Android,  Authentication is required. You need to sign into you Google Account. But I could not sign in, even though I was signed in to Google on Mozilla. The answer turned out to be part of another problem--both easily solved. So I simply copy below the other post. I've faced this same issue 6 times over the years--with Android, PC and iPhone, and the solution is so simple that I overlook it each time and waste hours. I've no idea how it happens in the first place, but hopefully in future both you and I will think of simply checking the date (including year).

 When connecting to the internet on Android, Mozilla Firefox said "This connection is untrusted." I knew there was no problem with the connection, so I clicked, "I understand the risks," and then "Add a permanent exception."  I was then able to go onto websites, but I had to keep adding exceptions--and Android Gmail absolutely refused to work, though I could check Gmail with Firefox.

Worse--I could not get into Google Play. It kept saying "No Connection" and "Unfortunately, Google Play Services Has Stopped." And als, Authentication is required. You need to sign into you Google Account.

I finally found that, somehow, my date had changed to the year 2019. No idea how, as I'd not changed any settings. I changed it back to 2014, rebooted--and everything works perfectly now.

There may be other reasons for your problem, but after having done this, I remembered I had faced the same issue twice before on Android and twice on my PC (and once on an iPhone). So when stuck, go the easy route first. In this case, clear the apps caches and reboot, but if that doesn't work, confirm you have the right date (including the right year!). If that doesn't work, remove and reinstall your Google account. And if that doesn't work....

Well...so far, I've not encountered a situation where none of those work, and I take care of, all total, about 11 devices.

Warm regards from Amoy, China!

Dr. Bill

P.S. Learn more about our adopted home of Amoy, China, from these 2 eBooks on Amazon:

"Discover Xiamen" 

"Fujian Adventure"

ill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Solved Android: This connection is untrusted

Greetings from Amoy! (Xiamen, China),

Today I faced an unusual problem, and after an hour of trying everything under the sun, I finally remembered I'd faced the same problem a couple years ago on Android, as well as my PC--and the solution (at least this time) was so simple. Of course, there are many possible causes, but should you find yourself with this message, on Android, iPhone or PC, try this simple fix (no idea how it gets messed up in the first place).

 When connecting to the internet on Android, Mozilla Firefox said "This connection is untrusted." I knew there was no problem with the connection, so I clicked, "I understand the risks," and then "Add a permanent exception."  I was then able to go onto websites, but I had to keep adding exceptions--and Android Gmail absolutely refused to work, though I could check Gmail with Firefox.

Worse--I could not get into Google Play. It kept saying "No Connection" and "Unfortunately, Google Play Services Has Stopped."

I finally found that, somehow, my date had changed to the year 2019. No idea how, as I'd not changed any settings. I changed it back to 2014, rebooted--and everything works perfectly now.

There may be other reasons for your problem, but after having done this, I remembered I had faced the same issue twice before on Android and twice on my PC (and once on an iPhone). So when stuck, go the easy route first. In this case, clear the apps caches and reboot, but if that doesn't work, confirm you have the right date (including the right year!). If that doesn't work, remove and reinstall your Google account. And if that doesn't work....

Well...so far, I've not encountered a situation where none of those work, and I take care of, all total, about 11 devices.

Warm regards from Amoy, China!

Dr. Bill

P.S. Learn more about our adopted home of Amoy, China, from these 2 eBooks on Amazon:

"Discover Xiamen" 

"Fujian Adventure"

Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

Wifi keeps disconnecting Solved! (at long last).

Hi from Amoy! (Xiamen, China)

After getting used to its quirky pad, I've come to love my Asus laptop, but for almost a year I've been frustrated because, unlike my other devices, the wifi keeps shutting off, sometimes every few minutes, for no reason. Turns out the problem was not the internet or router or even Asus, but Microsoft.

I'd have to disconnect and reconnect 3 or 4 times just to get an email out, and I first suspected it was the Great Wall of China playing games with me, but I ruled that out because our Toshiba and Lenovo laptops had no problem, nor did our phones and tablets. I finally found the problem was that Microsoft was every few minutes, by default, cutting power to the wireless adapter  to save power--even when I was actively surfing online!

Sounds like nice green thinking--but kind of ridiculous to shut off the wifi 4 or 5 times in 10 minutes when I'm actually online using the thing.  So here's how to fix it (and I've had no problems since doing these 6 very simple steps).

1. Open Device Manager. There are several ways:
    A. You can move the cursor to the very low left corner and when the Windows symbol appears, right click it, and then left click on Device Manager (6 from the top). 
   OR...
    B. You can hold down the Windows key and at the same time press "r", typedevmgmt.msc and left click on OK.
2. Left Click on Network Adapters
3. Right Click on Wireless Network Adapter.
4. Left Click on Properties (at the bottom).
5. Left Click on Power Management tab at the top (probably far right).
6. Uncheck the tiny square to the left of Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

Problem Solved!

Again--I'm all for saving power, but come on, Microsoft! Cutting off the wifi connector every 1 or 2 minutes when I'm actively on the internet? If anyone at Microsoft ever uses the internet, I hope they figure this out that this should, by default, be OFF, not ON.

I hope it works for you. Happy surfing from Amoy!

Dr. Bill
Want to learn more about our great little China island and province? Check out my 2 eBooks on Amazon:

"Discover Xiamen"  

"Fujian Adventure"
Xiamen University
www.amoymagic.com