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Archive for October, 2011

Oct 23

My Affair With Siri and the iPhone 4S

I have to say it’s nice being able to speak to someone with a female voice and she doing everything I tell it to, or at least almost everything. And when she doesn’t do what I tell her to, it’s due to a misunderstanding, a common occurrence between me and the opposite sex.

After one week of playing with my new iPhone 4S, Siri has been the most intriguing feature of the phone. While it’s certainly not perfect, yet, as it’s officially in beta, it’s a very important useful tool in mobile phone technology.

I will continue to add tips here as I experience them.

Here are some of the experiences I’ve learned from this week.

What’s Cool:

Oct 22

Conan O'Brien Delivers Dartmouth's Commencement Address

Words to live by:

“It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It’s not easy. But if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention.”  -  Conan O’Brien

Oct 16

Daniel Swartz's Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-10-16

Oct 9

Daniel Swartz's Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-10-09

Oct 9

The Steve Jobs Post-It Memorial

Steve Jobs died a little over 4 days ago and the memorials just keep getting bigger, at least at the Palo Alto store on University Ave., just blocks away from where Jobs lived. I wonder if Apple saves all of this, as it appears they take down the post-its, photos, magazine covers and everything else at days end, only for the memorial to begin over again the following day.

 

Oct 4

Questions of Fairness in Silicon Valley

An interesting take on living the startup life in Silicon Valley. This happens to a lot more people than you’d think. Jason Culverhouse explains:

I see aspects of “self-dealing”, the conduct a corporate officer that consists of taking advantage of his position in a transaction and acting for his own interests rather than for the interests of the corporate shareholders, as a recent phenomenon in the Silicon Valley. It’s possible that this is exacerbated by the recent lack of IPO opportunities due to the current market conditions leading to more “creative” forms of achieving liquidity.

It essentially comes down to greediness, plain and simple. Read on.

Oct 4

Question Pictures You See In the News

It’s hard to know what to think nowadays when looking at images both in newspapers and on television. Every day we are shown images of war and conflict around the world, whether it’s in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia or even here in the United States. The rise of technology and the use of Photoshop is one thing one needs to consider when looking at images in the news. Photographers are competing for attention just like everyone else, and using technology to gain an advantageous position is more common than some might think.  On top of this, one should consider the context in which pictures are taken. Ruben Salvadori, and Italian photographer, shows how photographers and those being photographed often work in tandem to produce the most effective photos. Those being photographed can use photographers to effectively get their message sent around the world via the media, while photographers can produce images of drama and intrigue that papers might be more willing to pick up in their publications.

Photojournalism Behind the Scenes [ITA-ENG subs] from Ruben Salvadori on Vimeo.

Oct 3

Tunguska: The Largest Recent Impact Event

Courtesy of today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, a picture of the flattened Tunguska River from what many believe to have been a meteor landing in Siberia, Russia in 1908. And this picture is 20 years after impact.  These pictures remind me of the still many flattened areas surrounding Mount St. Helens more than 30 years after it exploded on May 18, 1980.

Tunguska: The Largest Recent Impact Event:

(Via Astronomy Picture of the Day RSS Feed)

Oct 2

Daniel Swartz's Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-10-02