NicoNicoDouga iPhone Application First Look!
Written by Jeshii on 2009.04.28 – 04:11 -
Finally, after all this time… the NicoDou iPhone/iPod Touch app has finally been released!
After using it, I can safely say it is better than I expected. I guess the wait was worth it after all.
I have a lot to say, but for those of you with limited blog reading time, here are the main points:
1. Views NicoDou videos
2. Shows comments
3. Publishes comments
2. Available on US iTunes Store
3. Runs over Edge, 3G, and WiFi
Remember, you need a NicoDou account to use this app. If you don’t have one, go get one here!
Full review and lots of screen shots after the jump!
Tags: app, app review, Apple, ニコニコ動画, Dwango, edge, gadgets, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone Apps, NicoDou, NicoNicoDouga, screenshots, ss, technology, wifi
Posted in Internet | 5 Comments »
Emoji on iPhone, for reals this time.
Written by Jeshii on 2008.11.24 – 18:14 -
Emoji are a go. Like I was saying, 絵文字 (emoji) are now available with the 2.2 update.
There is a catch however. You have to be a Softbank user sending things to other Softbank users.
And we cry…
UNLESS you are a l33t haxor. If you phone is jailbroken, you can tweak a file or just download the springboard update by searching for “emoji” in Cydia (what I did, cause I’m lazy). After that, you go into Settings ⇒ General ⇒ International ⇒ Keyboards ⇒ Japanese ⇒ Emoji (turn in ON). After that, when you hit the little globy thing, it will cycle to 絵文字 eventually. It even has a commonly used 絵文字 section!
And it works. I sent the mail shown in the image to my gmail and got this:
「えもじ」
If you see 絵文字 above, you are a mad haxor with 絵文字 fonts. Reveal your secrets! I see little squares (on PC, when browsing on my iPhone, the above showed up as their 絵文字 counterparts). However, on my iPhone, they arrived safe and sound, even when I sent those boxes copied and sent from gmail.
In anycase, if that isn’t reason to jailbreak your iPhone, I don’t know what is. (It’s a 絵文字, I swear.)
Tags: Apple, cell phones, cydia, 絵文字, email, emoji, firmware, hacking, iPhone, jailbreak, jailbreaking, Japanese language, pwnage, smilies, technology, texting
Posted in gadgets | 4 Comments »
Emoji in iPhone!
Written by Jeshii on 2008.10.06 – 21:13 -
[Update: Emoji are here!!!!]
It is about freaking time. They are adding 絵文字 (emoji) to the new iPhone firmware. Which means that all of us JP loving folks can put a little picture of a beer next to our 「今夜飲もうよ！」 emails.
I’m particularly excited about this because, as a pseudo-Japanese-expat, I love that I can send Japanese on my American iPhone. The addition of 絵文字 is just icing on the cake. And judging from the fact that Japanese people send more emails on their phones than SMS texts, that means they have to work in email too. That being the case, there is a good chance I will never write an email on a computer again.
So, they obviously are listening to the people about this… or at least the Wall Street Journal. Does this also mean a ニコニコ動画 (NicoNicoDouga) viewer app is on the way? Only time will tell…
[Via MacRumors]
Tags: Apple, cell phones, 絵文字, email, emoji, firmware, iPhone, Japanese language, smilies, technology, texting
Posted in gadgets | 6 Comments »
NicoNicoDouga on iPhone
Written by Jeshii on 2008.10.03 – 12:00 -
First off, you can’t do it. Well, there are round about ways to do it, but flash does not work on the mobile Safari that iPhones have.
I am willing to be that this is the exact reason why the iPhone didn’t take off in Japan. Or, at least, if they had added a ニコニコ動画 (NicoNicoDouga) player, they would have had one rabid fan base right off the bat.
Well, TUAW is announcing that Adobe really wants to bring flash to the iPhone. I am all for it. Of course, right now, when I visit the ニコニコ動画 site on Safari, it crashes… so who knows, maybe I’ll never get to have the joy of commenting “wwwwwwwwwwwww” in front of my favorite videos while on the bus.
Tags: Adobe, Apple, ニコニコ動画, cell phones, flash, iPhone, NicoNicoDouga, Safari, technology, video, web
Posted in Internet, gadgets | 3 Comments »
Shokotan and Norton Fighter!
Written by Jeshii on 2008.09.29 – 21:50 -
The Norton Fighter!
Oh man… Japanese marketing at its best.
しょこたん (Shokotan, Realname 中川翔子, Nakagawa Shoko) is known throughout the JP world as the most prolific blogger ever. Apparently, that’s how she rose to fame in the Akiba crowd, posting numerous times throughout the day.
Anyway, Norton Antivirus now has her and Norton Fighter (some sort of ultraman/power ranger-like hero) as their image characters. It’s so obviously targeted at the otaku crowd, it’s not even funny. On the website, there is even a “live” video from her room. It’s actually really, really weird videos of her and the Norton Fighter interacting… very strange.
And some obligatory videos:
In this one, she is listening to some disembodied voice talk about the benefits of new norton:
And then this one is like an interview about here computer experiences:
I admit it. She’s cute and her casual speaking is all too appealing, but I’m still not installing Norton! ><;
Tags: Akiba, Akihabara, anti-virus, アキバ, blogs, 秋葉原, girls, hero, Japanese girls, models, norton, otaku, technology, video
Posted in Internet, technology | No Comments »
Hatsune Miku: Virtual Idol
Written by Jeshii on 2008.09.04 – 22:30 -
The title may read like a bad anime series title, but 初音ミク (Hatsune Miku) is not fictional. Well, she doesn’t really exist, except for in ニコニコ動画, but she is the closest thing to a real virtual idol that I can think of.
Let me give you some background. Yamaha came out with a singing virtual vocalization program. It was released in Japan as Vocaloid. People started to make videos of it singing things, associating it with a cute anime girl character, and now all of this is exploding on ニコ動.
Imagine all those people who do karaoke on YouTube, but with a sense of shame. Why not have a virtual proxy sing songs for you. It’s so meta.
I’m still amazed that they can even get a computer voice to sing. And the fact that this idol is a community created thing and not some corporation’s mind control world domination plan (yet…) is something that makes me feel good about the world. The future really is here!
Here are a few of my favorite 初音ミク songs:
1. ワールドイズマイン / World Is Mine (an original song)
2. みくみくにしてあげる♪ / MikuMiku ni shite ageru♪ (an original song)
3. Ievan Polkka
4. ﾄｩﾙﾄｩﾙ☆ﾀﾞﾀﾞﾀﾞを初音ミクが歌って踊る / Hatsune Miku does Tunak
There are lots of covers and original songs, so go seek out your favorites!
Tags: anime, character, cute, music, nicovideo, technology, video, vocaloid
Posted in technology | 5 Comments »
Rikai-chan
Written by Jeshii on 2008.08.30 – 18:42 -
Are you using rikai-chan? This excellent firefox extension is made by the folk(s) over at polarcloud.com. I love this program. Basically, you install it, install a dictionary, and then toggle it in firefox. Then, when you mouse over some Japanese, the dictionary will do its best to find the reading and a translation of the word you are mousing over.
Seriously, this program is a life saver for 漢字 (kanji) impaired people like myself. Give it a shot and then go try and read the perfume blog! 
Tags: language, nihongo, software, technology
Posted in language, technology | 3 Comments »
