Tablets are the new magazines, at least when it comes to the geeky bathroom reader. For all I know, some of you may be reading this very post on the “can”. Just don’t let your coworkers find out, okay?
-Krishna
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So why am I reviewing a razor on a site catered to tech reviews? Because, like many techies, I watched this promo ad for the Dollar Shave Club. It was everything a good commercial should be: it was clever, it was funny, and it promised to save me money. In short, it was a great ad that stuck with me.
I’ve been using Gillette razors for most of my adult life (settling on the Mach3 model for the past three years). The Mach3 is a solid razor, to be sure, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was being fleeced at the counter every time I had to purchase replacement cartridges. (As of this writing, it’s $20US for eight measly Gillette Mach3 cartridges.)
Fast forward to two weeks ago. I was in the market for new razor blades. I was at a shaving crossroads – do I take the red pill and stick with my expensive Gillette? Or do I swallow the blue pill and try something new?
If you’ve read this blog long enough, I think you know the answer…
With credit card in hand, I enrolled in the Dollar Shave Club. Signing up was very easy: just pick the razor that best fits your budget. I chose the the “4X” option ($6 per month for 4 blades) because it resembled my Mach3. My Dollar Shave Club welcome package arrived within a few days. Inside the small, environmentally friendly mailer were the following goodies:
- a razor handle (more on that in a bit)
- a sample packet of Shave Butter
- 4 razor blades
- a membership card
- a leave behind
Blade Runner
The blade handle has a nice, sturdy feel with a solid grip. They could have skimped here, and I’m glad they didn’t. The handle also has a flexible 90-degree pivot head, to follow the contours of the skin as you shave (and minimize knicks).
Insert Cartridge
The cartridges themselves come with a lubricating strip and 4 stainless steel blades. The back of the unit is open, to allow for quick rinsing and cleanup. Installing the new razor blade cartridges was straight-forward and simple.
To properly field test the unit, I grew some facial hair (not included).
The included Shave Butter trial pack is awesome. It lathers on your face, without the foam. Shaving was smooth and clean. I’ll let the results speak for themselves.
Are Shavings Worth It?
Absolutely. Dollar Shave Club delivers as advertised. I’m averaging $1.50 per cart with the Dollar Shave Club, versus $2.50 from a similarly branded Gillette Mach3. Billing occurs once a month, and the prices listed include shipping. You can cancel at any time, so there’s no pressure of commitment. You can also upgrade or downgrade your plan whenever you want to. This is the best thing to happen to my face (and wallet).
Dollar Shave Club gets a solid thumbs up and earns the coveted 5 Bob Weiner rating. Shave with confidence, boys.
Out of the box, the colors on the Yiynova MSP19U tablet monitor display run towards the cool side of the color spectrum. Using the XRite ColorMunki Display1 color calibrator, you can quickly dial in a more optimal setting. This blog post will show you how some tips and techniques on how to do that. For reference, you may want to read my earlier reviews on both the Yiynova MSP19U and the ColorMunki Display1.
1. Tilt your display at an angle (45 degrees or so). Doing so will allow the color calibrator to sit flush with the display and ensure more accurate results.
2. Activate the Yiynova’s on screen menu (it’s located on the lower side of the unit) and use the arrow buttons on the side to select the OSU option (pictured below). Next, adjust the horizontal and vertical position of the OSU so that the on screen menu is placed to one of the corners of your Yiynova display. This step is important, because the default on screen menu occupies the same area as the color calibrator. You’re moving the on screen menu off to the side so that you can make brightness / contrast adjustments from the Yiynova without falsely triggering the color calibrator.
3. Next, move to the Palette icon on the Yiynova on screen menu and make sure to choose “Warm” for the Color option.
4. Run through the ColorMunki software. Save the profile settings. After adjustment, my contrast and brightness settings were 53 and 23, respectively.
Because of the limiting viewing angle on the Yiynova, I recommend setting your Yiynova back to its most upright position when comparing its color values to a secondary display. Note that because of the Yiynova’s limited viewing angle, your eyes have to be parallel to the surface to get a clear sense of what the color looks like.
Also, since the Yiynova’s brightness and contrast adjustments are somewhat less precise when compared to a standard IPS display (the adjustments increment by units of 3 instead of 1), you might have to manually tweak the brightness settings again AFTER the calibration. It helps if you have another display to compare your results against (see below).
Hopefully that clears up some confusion on how to calibrate the Yiynova MSP19u device. After 5 months with the device, I’m still very happy with my Yiynova and continue to highly recommend it.
Got questions? Ask me in the comments below!
-Krishna
Today’s mailbag question comes from cartoonist Adan Zepeda. Adan writes:
I was wondering if you had any Photoshop brush tips for cartooning? I haven’t found much luck finding one.
Personally, I don’t use Photoshop for inking, BUT – if you MUST ink in Photoshop, you should definitely invest in Ray Frenden’s excellent Photoshop brush pack. The set retails for $5 and is a must buy if you ink or pencil in Photoshop. The brushes are responsive and provide a nice line variance that mimic traditional inking brushes.
A better choice for digital inking (at least for me, anyway) is Manga Studio 5. Manga Studio’s brushes feel much more responsive than Photoshop’s. Thankfully, Ray has several custom brushes available for that application as well. I use his freely available Lando Calbrusshian brush for all my digital inking and it’s superb.
Below is a quick comparison of sorts between PS and MS brushes. The Frenden PS brushes stack up pretty nicely against Manga Studio, I think.
Got a cartooning question for the PCW Mailbag? Write to me!
-Krishna
