Twitter Auto-Follow Fake-Out

Posted on July 13, 2012 by laura

Ever had the feeling that Twitter is auto-following new followers even when you have the auto-follow option turned off? Well, it seems a UI bug might be giving you that impression erroneously.

Here’s a screen snap I made while browsing followers from my profile page. I’ve blacked out the user name, because the account looked like a spammer. I was surprised to see that Twitter had marked “Following” for a new follower that I had never interacted with before. On closer inspection, when I clicked for a preview of their profile, the “Follow” button was white, as it is when I am not following someone.

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Lead User Innovation: TouchFire iPad Screen-Top Keyboard

Posted on July 13, 2012 by laura

When Apple released the iPad I couldn’t wait. A friend in the US who didn’t understand what all the fuss was about ordered one and sent it to me. I was sure it would be perfect for most of what I needed for everyday computing, and I thought I’d soon be doing everything on my iPad except processor-intensive tasks like photo and video editing. When my iPad arrived and I first started using it, I even found typing to be relatively easy; with my small hands and the powerful spellchecker, I didn’t think I’d have any trouble getting used to it.

Some time later, I realized I was still spending my evenings with my MacBook on my lap. In fact, I use the iPad only occasionally at home for browsing, mostly if I feel lazy or when using my laptop for something else.

Since my day job involves technology and innovation, I spent a good deal of time pondering this and wondering what was wrong. What did the iPad need to be able to replace my MacBook for casual computing activities?

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You Have To Feel The Music

Posted on July 3, 2012 by laura

This is the second or third year I’ve been blow away by a group I’d never heard of during the opening act for a headliner at Montreux Jazz.

Until the iPod and audio compression came along, and until I moved to Europe and lost touch with most of my musician friends, music was always a big part of my life. Now it seems live performance is the only music I can actually enjoy. I’ve heard criticism that Montreux Jazz is isn’t what it used to be, that it’s stale, a festival for people who want to see and be seen. I’m not interested in arguing about that; I like Montreux Jazz for the intimate venues. I’ve been to at least one or two concerts almost every year since I’ve lived nearby in Lausanne, and every year I hear something amazing.

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Filming A Wedding With A Tablet? Hell Yeah!

Posted on June 18, 2012 by laura

Yesterday I attended a wedding in Trélex, a village in Switzerland with just over 1,300 inhabitants.

What is this man doing with an iPad in front of the altar? Filming the bride and groom coming into the Church, of course!

He was also filming and taking pictures with it during the festivities later in the evening.

See also:
A Tablet As A Camera? Hell Yeah!

Posted in Technology | 1 Comment

Friday Evening In Lausanne

Posted on June 17, 2012 by laura

I was hoping to do a few posts this weekend. Things didn’t turn out as planned, but it was a lovely weekend here.

I took this photo with my iPhone on Friday evening. I seldom get the chance to see the city from this vantage point.

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Eco Traveler Backpack: Hands-On Test Of Personal Solar Power

Posted on June 12, 2012 by laura

Before my trip to Morocco back in March I decided to buy a solar charger backpack. I knew I was going to be making heavy use of several portable electronic devices (iPhone, camera, GPS) during my trip and would be in places where power would be hard to find. Much of the time I’d be on foot, so I wasn’t sure I could count on using the 24V charger in the truck, and since I didn’t know if I’d have access to a good power supply at the bivouac every evening, I didn’t think a battery pack would be the right choice. I needed something else. Sunlight seemed like the perfect solution, and it would give me a good excuse to test a new technology with the liberating promise of independent power.

The local outdoors store I shop at didn’t offer a solar charger backpack. Although they had solar base stations and stationary models for campsites, I thought a backpack would be more practical since I wouldn’t have to worry about remaining in a single place or having it stolen. Additionally, since I didn’t really know how mature this technology was, I figured if it didn’t work very well as a charger, at least it wouldn’t be a complete waste; it could still be useful as a plain old backpack.

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The Obscure Future Of The Digital Book

Posted on May 31, 2012 by laura

Recently I stumbled across something that made me think of my first real post here on The Well-Prepared Mind over two years ago: Are we overlooking the real digital book revolution? At the time I was wondering why the digital book had not generated any fundamental transformations in the medium.

Inspired by a discussion with Frédéric Kaplan of the EPFL and Etienne Mineur of Volumiques after the colloquium “Des Livres Aux Machines” (From Books To Machines) at the Centre Pompidou in Paris last February, Hubert Guillaud discussed some of the functionalities that future books might have and tried to explain the observation that authors haven’t been taking advantage of all the possibilities that digital books offer today: Le Numérique au défi des auteurs (Digital Poses A Challenge For Authors, article in French; Google Translate version here for the very brave).

He started with some examples of the ideas being explored by Volumiques, a French publishing house and research laboratory devoted to exploring the printed book and its relationship with new technologies. Finally, I thought, someone is really trying to see what might be possible! Read more of this post

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The Tuareg Rally Drone

Posted on May 15, 2012 by laura

The Tuareg Rally was a great way to see first-hand how technology is being used everywhere. The Rally’s press team was using an 8-propeller video drone, which was a big improvement over the autogyro used at the Breslau Rally last year. (Although the quality of the video may not have been as good).

This was the first time I’ve attended an event that was being filmed in this way. I made a short video of the drone as it filmed the assembly point at the Port of Alméria with its onboard GoPro camera. Read more of this post

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Personal Communication Trends: WhatsApp Builds An SMS Alternative With Mass Appeal

Posted on May 13, 2012 by laura

Facebook Is Killing Text Messaging, Report Says

That article from the Bits Blog at the New York Times caught my eye yesterday. It wasn’t much more than a plug for a recent Strand Consult report linking increased use of mobile Facebook chat to operators’ declining SMS revenues, but it jogged my memory about a few posts I’d planned to do following my trip to Morocco in March for the Tuareg Rallye. While I was tweeting and blogging the event, my non-techie friends (most of them Swiss) were instant messaging and sharing their photos and videos with their non-techie friends. Were they using Facebook? No. (I’m not even sure most of them have accounts on Facebook.) They were using a multi-platform mobile messaging app called WhatsApp. I’d never heard of it, but they all had it, and they told me that all their friends did too.

What is WhatsApp?

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Election Day in France: A Storm Is Coming?

Posted on May 6, 2012 by laura

News of the elections results is starting to be reported internationally and on the Internet, but official announcements in France won’t come until after the polls close in the major cities at 8pm WEST.

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