Google Currents – enabled!

 Tech  No Responses »
May 092012
 

Move over, Flipboard! Google Currents is here to stay!

As of today, both http://evert.meulie.net/ & http://donateaday.net/ are also being published via/on Google Currents. Google Currents is a social magazine application for tablet computers released by Google in December 2011. It is currently available for Android and iOS devices. The application covers a variety of sources and offers a list of featured content that includes Forbes, CNET, ReadWriteWeb, and now the 2 above-mentioned sites! :wink:

I’m not quite the expert yet in Currents Producer, so bear with me…
(Currents Producer is a web-based self-publishing platform whereby publishers can customize the presentation of their content on Google Currents)

Want to subscribe?
http://evert.meulie.net/ –> http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAow49CfCA/evert_meulie
http://donateaday.net/ –> http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAowmeqfCA/donate_a_day
And if/when I ever get > 200 subscribers, I’ll end up in the Google Currents catalog :cool:

Siri for Android

 Tech  No Responses »
Feb 082012
 

A more proper title would probably be A program with similar/improved functionality to Siri for Android. Actually naming the Android program Siri would get you a wolf pack of Apple lawyers on your hiney so fast that you won’t even have time to ask your Siri-surrogate to locate you the nearest criminal defense lawyer…

What is Siri? Let’s see what our good friend the Wikipedia has on the subject…
Siri (pronounced /?s?ri/) is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services. Apple claims that the software adapts to the user’s individual preferences over time and personalizes results, as well as accomplishing tasks such as finding recommendations for nearby restaurants, or getting directions.

Sounds all pretty impressive, right? Well, what Siri & Apple can do, Android & Google can do better/as well/different! They’re currently working on Google Majel. For the Trekkies among you: Yes, this project is named after Majel Barrett, who supplied voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the Star Trek series. She also portrayed Nurse Christine Chapel in the original Star Trek series, and Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Fortunately we don’t have to wait until Majel gets released. There are plenty of alternatives already available in the Android Market. Here are some, in no particular order:

logo-app Skyvi (Siri for Android)
BlueTornado
Gratis   star-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-half-dark-img 		pulsante-google-play-store
pulsante-appbrain 		qrcode-app



logo-app iris.
Dexetra Software Solutions
Gratis   star-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-off-dark-img 		pulsante-google-play-store
pulsante-appbrain 		qrcode-app



logo-app Assistant
Speaktoit
Gratis   star-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-on-dark-imgstar-half-dark-img 		pulsante-google-play-store
pulsante-appbrain 		qrcode-app


So far I’ve only tried iris. myself, but I hope to test Skyvi & Speaktoit soon as well.

For those of you who want to see more about the capabilities of Siri I can recommend S05E14 of the Big Bang Theory. Here’s a bit of it:
(may not be 100% accurate…)

I love the new YouTube icon in Google+!

 Media & Entertainment  No Responses »
Nov 042011
 

Want some music while doing your thing in Google+? Easy!

Look over on the top right — you’ll see a new YouTube icon. Mouse over it and that’s when the fun starts. Try it. What do you think?

I simply love it! It’s like having Sp*t*fy build into Google+! Simply brilliant!
All you have to do is enter a name of a group and/or song, and there it is!

Give it a try, and let me/us know what you think of it.

Motorola Xoom coming to Norge

 Tech  2 Responses »
Feb 062011
 

Motorola XoomFinally a tablet PC with the right OS on its way! Rumours say it will hit the USA market on February 24th, but there’s no word whatsoever yet about when it comes to Europe/Norway. (To be honest, there’s no confirmation that it will even come to Europe, but Motorola would be making a big mistake if they weren’t going to release this tablet outside the USA…)

As you may know I have mixed feelings about the current ‘king of tablets’, the iPad. It’s a magnificent piece of hardware, but I do not agree with the Big Brother policies of its manufacturer. Therefor I turned down an offer to get a considerable discount on purchasing one, instead holding out for a worthy Android Tablet. (The Samsung Galaxy Tab is nice, but not quite it. A bit on the small side, among other things)

But it appears the wait is soon over. If the Xoom doesn’t hit the Norwegian market soon, I might just pick one up in the Netherlands the next time I’m there… :wink:

Refractive eye surgery – considering it…

 'Personal', daily life  No Responses »
Mar 102010
 

Yesterday I got a brochure in the snail mail from Memira. This company has a chain of clinics all over Scandinavia where they perform both refractive eye surgery and RLE by using methods like LASEK, LASIK & FemtoLASIK/FLIVC. They seem to be doing quite well, with 42 clinics in Scandinavia, and 230,000 treatments (unclear whether that is 230,000 eyes or 230,000 eye-pairs…) completed successfully(?).

I have been thinking about getting rid of my glasses off and on for quite a while. Every now and then I’d come across an ad or a web site about it, but so far they have not been able to convince me… until now perhaps?
After reading the brochure of Memira I checked out their site for additional info, and also emailed them some questions. And of course I used the research tool of the 21st century: Google! :wink:
I was unable to find anything negative about neither Memira nor the methods they use, so if I am satisfied by the answers on the questions I emailed them, I will sign up!

Their brochure does state that about 1 out of 5 people who knock on their doors gets turned down because they do not meet the criteria of Memira, or because Memira thinks a treatment will not have the expected result.
I hope/think I am part of the remaining 80%… :cool:

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