iPhone transfer experience

I transferred data from an iPhone SE 2020 to SE 2022 last week.

I read https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210216 and followed prompts on the new phone. The whole process took less than 30 minutes. The iOS version was 17.2. I enabled iCloud on the old phone.

What was transferred,

• All files, photos, videos, message, call history.
• Apple app's (e.g. voice memo, alarm clocks, notes) data and settings.
  
• System settings, e.g. screen time, privacy, keyboard, control center.
  
• Per app settings, e.g. notifications, permissions.
  
• Some third-party Apps' data, e.g. Garmin connect, mullvad vpn.
• Paired Airpods and apple watches.
• Find my devices.
  

What was not transferred,

• Login sessions of most third party apps. e.g. Venmo, Chase, Amtrak, Southwest, Signal.
• Paired third-party Bluetooth devices, e.g. cars, speakers.

Caveats,

• All apps were installed to the latest version on the new phone.
• Signal app has its own transfer tool. It worked well for me.
  
• Apple pay cards were transferred but required SMS verification.

2023 Mazda CX-30 review

Good,

• It has these nice features,
• Key-less entry and start.
• Rain sensing wiper.
  
• Powered rear gate.
• Adaptive cruise control.
• Automatic two zone HVAC.
• Brake hold.
• Sun-glass storage on roof.
• Powered and memory seats.
  
• Engine is powerful enough for daily commute.
• The interior feels luxurious.
  
• Backup camera has clear images and a wide angle.
• Infotainment screen is crispy and large.
• The knobs on the center console for infotainment control feel high quality.
  

Meh,

• A lot of black body cladding.
• The organ type accelerator pedal does not fit the upright seating position.
• Steering wheel has little feedback.
• Steering wheel is too large.
• Rear and side visibility is average.
• 6AT is jerky at times.
• Cornering handling is better than CR-V but worse than sedans.
• Infotainment screen does not support touch.
• The base 2.5L NA engine is powerless.
  

Bad,

• The steering wheel toggles look fancy but are harder to use than buttons.
• The seats are too warm for me.
• The car key is bulky but buttons are small.
• The interior room is not much more spacious than Mazda 3.

 My verdict: CX-30 has a luxurious interior and is fun to drive. But it is not as practical as competitors.

2023 Nissan Versa SV review

I drove a 2023 Nissan Versa SV for two days. Here is my impression,

Good,

• Interior is better than I expected. It has soft touch materials on the dashboard.
• It has rear parking sensors and automatic braking. 
• It has front auto emergency braking.
  
• Seats are comfortable.
• Driving dynamic is fine.
• The infotainment screen is bright, clear, and responsive.
• The steering wheel controls are easy to use.
• It has auto headlight and high-beam.
• Engine is quiet at idle.
• It has blind spot monitoring.
• It has a USB-C charging port for passengers in the second row.
  

Meh,

• Manual HVAC controls.
• Headlight is not LED.
• The shifter has a L gear at the bottom. 
• No wireless mobile phone projection.
• Fuel economy is not the best. 
• All seats are manual. 
• No lights on sun visor mirrors.
• No air vents for the second row.
  

Bad,

• No adaptive cruise control.
• No lane tracing.
• The cabin is very noisy on highway.
• Very slow acceleration.
• Engine becomes very noisy on hard accelerations. 
• No brake hold. 
• The backup camera produces too much noise at night.
• Low headroom for passengers in the rear.
  

 My verdict: It is an affordable and practical car for a single person or couple.

Lenovo IP Flex 5 14IAU7 Chromebook review

The good,

• Affordable. I bought a refurbished one for ~300 USD.
• 16:10 ratio 1920x1200 screen is good for office work and web browsing.
  
• It has a USB-A port.
• It has a USB-C on each side. Both supports video output and charging.
  
• The camera has a privacy shutter.
• The screen's hinge can rotate 360 degrees.
  

The bad,

• It is 2cm thick and weighs 1.5kg.
  
• Screen is glossy.
• Screen brightness is 300 nits.
• 8GB RAM can be a problem if too many tabs are open.
• The USB-C ports does not support Thunderbolt/USB4.
• No dedicated HDMI/DisplayPort.
  

Specs

• Intel Core i3-1215U CPU
• 8 GB LPD4X-4266 RAM
• 256 GB SSD

My conclusion: It is an affordable entry level laptop.

ThinkPad X1 carbon gen 10 review

I bought a refurbished ThinkPad X1 carbon gen 10 on Lenovo outlet. The model number is 21CB000HUS. It is as configured below,

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-1240P
Memory: 16 GB LPDDR5 5200MHz (Soldered)
Storage: 512 GB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Performance TLC Opal
Display: 14" WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS, Anti-Glare, Touch, 100% sRGB, 400 nits, 60Hz

the good,

• The 16:10 display allows more content than 16:9 ones.
• The display has a matte finish and is bright enough outdoors.
• 12th gen Intel CPU runs much faster than the 8th gen in my X1 carbon gen 7.
• Speakers are loud and clear.
• Good Linux support (ArchWiki).
  

the bad,

• The keyboard travel is shorter than X1 carbon gen 7.
• The keyboard cannot be replaceable independently.
• Windows 11 is garbage. I tried it for an evening and then replace it with Linux.
• The only two USB-C ports are both on the left side. I wish to have a third USB-C port on the right side like the M3 Macbook pro.

秦晖讲西方福利制度（2016年）笔记

讲座视频：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHAYFYhDjM0

国家有两个维度：权力和责任。有四种组合：

大权力大责任：现代福利国家属于这种情况

大权力小责任：例如秦国

小权力大责任：不可持续的福利国家。例如希腊。

小权力小责任：古典政府

国家福利的对立面是传统小政府，所谓的“自由放任”。我的引申：政府权力可以间接从税收占GDP比例得出。但是这个比例高的国家未必就是福利国家：）

福利国家政府提供福利是义务，是公民对政府的要求。公民获得了福利无需感恩政府。政府受公民的监督。政府没有提供服务要被追责。要民众感谢政府提供福利的不是福利国家。

再小的政府也要提供灾害救援。台湾和中国应对同一场台风的案例。台湾死了2人。但是官员因为睡午觉被追责。中国死了几十人，宣传部发指令要突出政府功绩。

福利国家的二次分配会降低基尼系数。秦晖将这种定义为“正福利”。现代西方国家福利有大有小，但是都是正福利。中国没有公布二次分配前后的基尼系数。

有些国家是“负福利”。二次分配反而提升不平等。比如中国古代王朝。中国现在官员可以免费享受高级医疗，有分配住房。城市户口可以享受比农村更好的医保。中国现在“负福利”在减少，但是还没进入“正福利”。

福利国家的政府有义务提供福利。公民有权利获得福利。这个关系不能搞反了。秦晖举例欧美流浪汉。政府不能把他们抓起来。但是他们可以自愿进入shelter。政府提供职业培训是义务。但是政府不能强制征召公民做“徭役”。

2023 Honda CR-V review

I rented a 2023 Honda CR-V EX AWD for three days.

The good,

• Driver's seat is fully powered with lumbar support.
• Heated front seats.
• Honda Sensing features are the same with upper trims.
• Spacious interior.
• Large side mirrors with blind spot indicators.
• Adaptive cruise control.
• Key-less entry and start.
• Remote start button on key fob.
  
• The brake hold function can persist across reboots.
  

The meh,

• No heated steering wheel.
  
• Passenger's seat is not powered.
• No wireless cellphone projection.
• All the above are available in higher trims.
  

The bad,

• Vehicle dynamics does not give me confidence when cornering.
• Infotainment UI is sluggish.
• Back up camera's image quality is below my expectation.
• The small moon roof is useless.
• The honeycomb strip around air vents are hard to clean.