Sam Smith Covers Fast Cars in the Live Lounge
Just some good tunes to keep me going this late night / early morning. http://youtu.be/qA4FtHUKVPE
Texting In-flight via T-Mobile & Gogo Air
Want to keep in touch while you fly—for free? You got it. Starting September 17, T-Mobile partners with Gogo® Air, making T-Mobile the only wireless company whose customers can text, picture message, even check T-Mobile Visual Voicemail at 30,000 feet. The sky is now unlimited.
Part of John Legere's Uncarrier 7 announcement today unveiled this awesome benefit for all his loyal fans and subscribers. You can bet that when November 15th comes, I'm taking my business over. I'm done with throttling.
Also as part of the announcement, coupled with Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch, T-Mobile will be offering everyone free Wi-Fi calling. They'll even give you a T-Mobile Personal CellSpot free of charge!
https://twitter.com/JohnLegere/status/509808691185340416
Avoiding Turbulence
Stronger computing power, improved satellite and radar technology and more sophisticated scientific models have all given airlines a more detailed understanding of flying conditions. This means they can better plan their operations before flights — for instance by canceling flights early and avoiding stranding passengers at airports. During flights, they can better navigate around storms and avoid turbulence.
Just so you know, we definitely try our best to analyze and determine the best flight path for our guests. You're welcome and thanks for flying with us.
Apple's Failed Live Event Stream was Their Own Fault
The bottom line with this event is that the encoding, translation, JavaScript code, the video player, the call to S3 single storage location and the millisecond refreshes all didn’t work properly together and was the root cause of Apple’s failed attempt to make the live stream work without any problems. - via Dan Rayburn - StreamingMediaBlog.com
Waiting for Apple's Live Stream was just in and of itself exciting. Watching it was a whole other story. From the Chinese overlay and the delays in video, Dan Rayburn explains the shortcomings of yesterday's failed video stream. In essence, Apple should have left the live blogging to the the professionals like The Verge.
'More Filipino Women are Employed Than Any Other Community'
Just some highlights from the latest data that the United States Department of Labor recently published on how different Asian - American groups are fairing economically. Here are some good bullet points from the recent NPR's Codeswitch:
"Overall, 53.4 percent of Asians over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree or higher — the highest percentage by far among the major race groups."
"More Filipino women are employed (57.1 percent) than any other community; Indians had the smallest share of employed women (36.8 percent.)"
That's not surprising being that many of the women I know who came from the Philippines in the 70s are nurses who still work to this day; my mother and mother-in-law included. A lot of the men who came over enlisted in the Navy or another military branch, continued their service till retirement then continued to work. Don't get me wrong, my heritage stems from the Philippines so this is only one nation in the many Asians and Pacific Islanders that immigrated here.
One bullet point that I have a little contention with is:
"The AAPI community has the second highest share of unemployed workers who are long-term unemployed (41.7 percent) ... Asian Americans who are unemployed, are without work for longer than whites and Hispanics."
They don't mention that it's because of how our network at home really is: from my personal observation within my network, we tend to take care of grand children more often thus electing to stay home. We also are a hot headed people who won't necessarily volunteer for a lesser paying job than the one that we might have gotten laid of from. Pride, especially in the Filipino community runs a little high sometimes leading to longer droughts without a job. Just my thoughts.
Experience the Invisible Highway!
Narrated by Harrison Ford, watch and appreciate the excitement of flight all over again! A lot of people take it for granted with all the maintenance delays, weather, abysmal airport experience but when you think about it, you're flying the sky higher than Mt. Everest at a speed of around 500 MPH!!! Sit back and ponder that thought for a moment in what the human race has been able to achieve in only century of flight. http://youtu.be/WYAjtoHr0nw
AVIATION: THE INVISIBLE HIGHWAY is a story about how the airplane has changed the world. Filmed in 18 countries across all 7 continents, it renews our appreciation for one of the most extraordinary and awe-inspiring aspects of the modern world. The documentary is produced and directed by Brian J. Terwilliger (“One Six Right"), narrated by Harrison Ford, and features an original score by Academy Award-winning composer James Horner. It’s scheduled for a 2015 release.
If you need a refresher for the miracle of flight, watch Louis C.K. on 'Miracle of Flight'. If you haven't watched “One Six Right", then you should definitely check it out now!
Sara Bareilles Sings 'Smile' Amazingly
Just loved her singing this awesome song for the In Memoriam segment of the Emmy's. Wish I was there to hear it live but this video will do. You can't go wrong with the original sung by Nat King Cole but Sara does it justice.
Fragmentation and Instagram's Hyperlapse
There's a reason for the sanity developers posses in releasing an app on iOS first. Take Instagram's latest.
Hyperlapse from Instagram features built-in stabilization technology that lets you create moving, handheld time lapses that result in a cinematic look, quality and feel—a feat that has previously only been possible with expensive equipment.
If a developer were to design an app for iOS, they have a choice of supporting only a few select devices. In this case, Hyperlapse was created to be compatible with a 2-year old device (iPhone 5) and up running iOS 7. Simple as that. You can bet that with the adoption rate that 90%, that users with at least an iPhone 5 will be downloading or have the ability to try out this fantastic app. Wired has even compared the app to a "$15,000 video setup in your hand."
From a developer standpoint, that's a huge audience! Think about it!
Now comes in Android. There isn't an app yet and here's why... in bold: FRAGMENTATION.
The article from Open Signal clearly highlights the flaws and the obstacles that developers have when creating apps for Android. From different flavors of Android, to various hardware and sensor kits, screen sizes and adoption rates / operating system update delays from manufacturers, it's not the ideal launch vehicle. Hell, it even took Instagram a two years before they released their Android app and only after more than 30 million people join via iOS.
If you've been following me, I've been an Android 4.4 user since my Samsung Galaxy S5 trial and am still not satisfied with the experience. I've even lost precious moments due to the camera locking up or phone not responding. It's just a mess especially with all of Samsung's included bloatware on top of AT&T's mesh of products. I can't wait until November 15 for when I can go back to iOS. Of course, when September 9, comes around, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm pre-ordering the iPhone 6 on T-Mobile.
For now, enjoy the sample video of Instagram's Hyperlapse or better yet, go out there and make your own! You can also follow me on Instagram: elijahnicolas
Play This: "Mountain" -- a Mountain Simulator
I'm dead serious. If you watched Her, you'll be familiar with the creator of Mountain. In his first official game, David O'Reilly sets the bar for something different -- a Mountain Simulator! Not quite a game, but more like a screensaver that's somewhat interactive, it's quite awesome. Available on iOS, Mac, Windows and Linux, it's either $0.99 on iOS or $1.00 depending on how much you want to donate. And yes, it's running in the background as I type this post. Featuring: - no controls - automatic save - audio on/off switch - time movies forward - things grow and things die - nature expresses itself - ~50 hours of gameplay - once generated, you cannot be regenerated
Dumb an Dumber To *Official Trailer*
I hope that they didn't spoil all the funny parts in this awesome trailer. Just great to see Jeff Daniels in this character after all the seriousness in Newsroom. http://youtu.be/lGXHVlEklgQ
How much would you pay for a day pass to swim at Piscine Molitor?
I don't think I can justify the price. Wait, hold. I can't justify the price especially when hot-spring day spas are cheaper for single day access. They have to have more to offer than just swimming, right? Maybe I'm thinking of this the wrong way. Why don't we build one right here in San Diego? Any investors? Looks like this one was refurbished for a mere $118 million.
But some politicians have raised concerns over the pool's pricey entrance fees, which they fear will create a more stilted, exclusive atmosphere. Molitor was never free to the public, and its renovation was financed entirely with private funds, but entry fees were never as high as they are now. Just one day of swimming there now costs up to €180 (about $245), with annual membership fees of €3,300 ($4,500).
Okay fine, I might go for a two for one special or something. When in Paris right?
via The Verge
A CerviScope for the Masses
An amazing doctor named David Walmer, set out to help a local OB-GYN in Haiti in detecting cervical cancer and came up with a clever and cheaper device for observing a female's cervix. This is what I believe every doctor should strive for and the doctor I envisioned becoming before my detour in aviation.
Thanks to early detection (and helped by the vaccine for HPV, or human papillomavirus), the mortality rate for cervical cancer in the U.S. is relatively low. Not so in developing countries, where it kills almost 250,000 women every year. Haiti has one of the highest rates of cervical cancer in the world. Walmer knew that a national screening program would save countless lives, but deploying colposcopes across the impoverished nation was not feasible. They’re expensive, they require reliable electricity and they’re too big to be easily carted around to the ramshackle clinics throughout the country. A battery-powered, portable and affordable alternative was needed.
“I was having more fun helping the Haitians than I was at my real job,” he recalls. “You could operate and save a woman’s life, and every time you came back to Haiti, she would come to the clinic and hug you and introduce you to her family members.”
Finally, at the beginning of September 2009, 13 years after Walmer put together his first makeshift gadget, 10 field-test models were ready. They weren’t much more than black metal tubes and lights and wiring, but Walmer says he didn’t stop smiling for a week. One scope was shipped to Malawi, another to Argentina and a third was earmarked for Kenya once doctors there were trained in colposcopy; it would go to a clinic for women in Masai villages, where polygamy increases the risk of cervical cancer. Others landed in Pakistan and, hand-delivered by Walmer, in Haiti.
via NYTimes
Disney's Big Hero 6 Movie Trailer is Pretty Cool!
Disney's Big Hero 6 is by far one of the more exciting movies that I'm looking forward to this fall! Can't wait! http://youtu.be/OvgyXKDXdZY