Archive for June, 2007
Youtube on AppleTV
Updated my AppleTV right after Apple announced the Youtube updated was finally aired… and it rocks ! Although search through the videos is still a pain (typing on a virtual keyboard is a bit tough) - It’s really fun to see this device opening up to new services. Next step : I want to be able to set up usual search patterns to watch “diving” videos or “VideoGames” videos ;).
Also I can’t wait for Vpod.tv to release an AppleTV plugin so that I can watch loic’s TV in an equally convenient way as on the full-screen Flash player.
N95 tested
Nokia was kind enough to let me test the N95. I’m sure you all read thoroughly about this new Nokia device, so I guess I won’t be bothering you with every details. I wanted actually to take a special attention to the only feature that is really innovative, that is the built-in GPS. First of all whatever it may take, adding a GPS is not an excuse to pumping up the price of this device to an gigantic 799 € - at that price and in spite of my love for that kind of toys, ther’s no way I’m going to buy that before it has a analogic zoom, a Nespresso coffee machine, a keyboard and can replace all my PC/PDA/life-saving-devices.
So that being said, I took some time toying with the GPS and the map application which is working pretty well and pretty fast. As you may know, I’m using a Garmin Forerunner GPS tracker on a regular basis, so I know that with a small antenna and in a urban context, it’s pretty tough to catch a clean GSP signal and point out an accurate position - from that regards the N95 is doing the job OK.
For me the real trick was about tagging the pictures I take with the GPS data to have them appear on my flickr map
To do the trick I installed shozu and used it to tag my pics with GPS data and upload them on my Flickr account. Good surprise : it worked (as you cna see on the pic). Bad news, the next day at the Paris town hall it stopped working 
- no idea why.
And I was pretty disappointed by the picture quality - on the left a pict from a N95 on the right a pict from a regular digital camera…
I guess it’s not only about ramping up with the run for the next MegaPixel …
As a conclusion I’d say that I’m convinced … by the automatic picture geotagging functionality but not by the device itself. Can’t way to have a GPS-enabled digital camera !
WaveStorm awarded for job creation
WaveStorm has been awarded yesterday by Bertrand Delanoë mayor of Paris along with Christian Sautter and Anne Hidalgo with the silver medal of the city for job creation and involvement for the economical development of the city. Thanks to all the WaveStorm team, our beloved angels, OSEO-ANVAR, Scientipole Initiative and Telecom Paris Incubator for supporting us since the beginning.
Yahoo! Go 2.0 & oneSearch
Yahoo! just made two major announcements :
Yahoo! GO 2.0 localized
Internet companies just noticed Europe and its many languages, good for us we get localized version of their products now! After Flickr last week, here comes an updated version of Yahoo Go!, Yahoo’s rich-media mobile portal application. This version will be tuned with up to 400 different versions to support US and European handsets and will also be pre-loaded on new devices from Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, RIM and HTC that begin rolling out later this year, which is really a major achievement when you know how much installing a mobile app can be a pain for the end-user.
Also some improvements have been announced (copy-pasted directly from the press release) - Yahoo! Go 2.0 will be available for download on friday - :
- Faster than ever before – Greatly increased speed, including substantially reduced loading time, makes it even more fun to use
- Even better e-mail – Ability to read more types of attachments, including PDF files and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents, and access to Yahoo! Mail folders
- More powerful maps – View both satellite and hybrid maps, current traffic conditions and optional GPS integration on select devices, including the Blackberry 8800
- Easier to stay connected – Search Yahoo! Address Book contacts to call or get driving directions with one-click and view Yahoo! Calendar, even search for specific entries
- Better mobile search results – Faster access to better results with just oneSearch
Yahoo! mobile oneSearch
Yahoo! announced a partnership with Globe Telecom (Philippines), Idea Cellular Limited (India), LG Telecom (Korea), Maxis Communications Berhad (Malaysia), PT Telekomunikasi Selular “Telkomsel” (Indonesia) and Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan) who are to use Yahoo! oneSearch as default mobile web search engine… this is also pretty awesome, operators are starting to give up being stubborn about their mobile portal and start opening up to the rest of the world ! Google made an agreement last year with a german operator for one handset which sowed the way, but Yahoo! has definitely taken the lead!
Second Life conquers mars
Technorati Tags: media, Second Life
Week-end reading
This week end reading … mostly about virtual worlds I guess ! I’ll try to create my home in SL, and get a better understanding on What business in SL means ;). For those interested, McKinsey did an awesome presentation of business in SL here.
Technorati Tags: books, Second Life
Google is scary
This is one of the scariest thing I’ve been experiencing on the Internet … the unknown and the unbelievable… What will happen for me when I get 5 more MB of emails ?
Technorati Tags: gmail
WiFind
For you Mac users around, Artur just reminded me of an app that I saw a while ago and forgot to install (still only 24hrs in a day), it’s called WiFind and decorates the usual Airport menu with that handy symbols that let you see whether a wireless network is open or not. Mac users would argue that normally Airport asks you if you want to connect when there’s an available open network around… but still i like to see it by myself 
Technorati Tags: WiFind
Fontenna arrived
Bluetooth SIG doing a major move
I covered previously the WiBree technology, a low-energy, low-speed wireless technology from Nokia, and Bluetooth SIG porting its profile stack to WiFi and use it as a physical layer. So what’s next ? Wibree for low power, WiFi for LAN, UWB for high bandwidth, easy pairing NFC, with all using bluetooth profiles ?
This sounds pretty exciting although I must confess I’m not buying the use of NFC for easy pairing … I don’t know a CE brand that’s going to pay for an NFC reader when a simple button does the trick! Anyway Mike Foley, Bluetooth SIG chairman, said that
“I would see the products coming relatively quickly after the specs are done”.
