Ulysse Sabbagh

Interesting Siri wish list by Alex Layne over at GigaOM.

This made me remember that Siri is a beta product — meaning it’s not finalised yet. To make any product successful, you have to start small, simple and not overcrowd the first version with a lot of features. But when this new product is a defining feature of one of the most popular phones in the world, there is a problem. People will start screaming: why can’t it do that? or this? 

That’s Apple’s gamble. Siri will not be complex at first even though it will lack basic functions like answering questions about the iPhone. (You can’t ask Siri how much memory you have left.)

Hopefully time will help solve this problem quickly, because a company like Apple can’t have half-baked products for long. Ultimately, it will damage its reputation. 

Alex Layne’s Siri wishlist:

1. Show me more than just restaurants and movies.
2. Answer questions about my device.
3. Change my settings.
4. Remember what I said (history)
5. Learn other languages.  

Interesting Siri wish list by Alex Layne over at GigaOM.

This made me remember that Siri is a beta product — meaning it’s not finalised yet. To make any product successful, you have to start small, simple and not overcrowd the first version with a lot of features. But when this new product is a defining feature of one of the most popular phones in the world, there is a problem. People will start screaming: why can’t it do that? or this? 

That’s Apple’s gamble. Siri will not be complex at first even though it will lack basic functions like answering questions about the iPhone. (You can’t ask Siri how much memory you have left.)

Hopefully time will help solve this problem quickly, because a company like Apple can’t have half-baked products for long. Ultimately, it will damage its reputation. 

Alex Layne’s Siri wishlist:

1. Show me more than just restaurants and movies.
2. Answer questions about my device.
3. Change my settings.
4. Remember what I said (history)
5. Learn other languages.  

Excellent piece by Clare Foran for The Atlantic Cities. She took a job as an English teacher in Val-de-Reuil, a city in Normandy, northwest of Paris. 

As one of France’s New Towns, Val-de-Reuil was supposed to solve many problems and be the pinnacle of urban planning. 

The city instead looks dull and stark. But what went wrong? 

To start, the city’s concentration of low-income housing has created a weak tax base incapable of adequately supporting the local school system or funding much-needed infrastructure projects. Another problem is that many of the available jobs are not matched to the skill set of the local workforce. A number of big name pharmaceutical companies have laboratories in Val-de-Reuil, including Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi Pasteur. But most residents lack the education or technical training needed to qualify for the positions doled out by these employers. 

The whole article is a good read.  

Excellent piece by Clare Foran for The Atlantic Cities. She took a job as an English teacher in Val-de-Reuil, a city in Normandy, northwest of Paris. 

As one of France’s New Towns, Val-de-Reuil was supposed to solve many problems and be the pinnacle of urban planning. 

The city instead looks dull and stark. But what went wrong? 

To start, the city’s concentration of low-income housing has created a weak tax base incapable of adequately supporting the local school system or funding much-needed infrastructure projects. Another problem is that many of the available jobs are not matched to the skill set of the local workforce. A number of big name pharmaceutical companies have laboratories in Val-de-Reuil, including Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi Pasteur. But most residents lack the education or technical training needed to qualify for the positions doled out by these employers. 

The whole article is a good read.  

In this video, Reddit cofounders Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian tell the story of how it all began. 

It didn’t start to be Reddit; that’s for sure. 

The other day I posted about these people in a Greek island who were living longer than everyone else in the world. 

I recently read something slightly more amazing:

but researchers studying the jellyfish found that, instead of dying, it started “to age in reverse, growing younger and younger until it reached its earliest stage of development, at which point it began its life cycle anew.”

The other day I posted about these people in a Greek island who were living longer than everyone else in the world. 

I recently read something slightly more amazing:

but researchers studying the jellyfish found that, instead of dying, it started “to age in reverse, growing younger and younger until it reached its earliest stage of development, at which point it began its life cycle anew.”

Woody Allen answers 12 questions he never answered before. 

Woody Allen answers 12 questions he never answered before. 

explore-blog:

Minimalist but dramatic black-and-white science imagery by legendary photographer Berenice Abbott circa 1958-1960.

Ultra-realistic optical illusions. 

Ultra-realistic optical illusions. 

It’s all about taking your time. It’s been 8 years that Facebook is around. First our email addresses, then our pictures, then our political beliefs and interests. Only now Facebook seeks to gather more information, our credit card numbers and offline addresses. 

How? 

The nudge comes from a new Facebook service called Gifts. It allows Facebook users — only in the United States for now — to buy presents for their friends on the social network. On offer are items as varied as spices from Dean & DeLuca, pajamas from BabyGap and subscriptions to Hulu Plus, the video service. This week Facebook added iTunes gift cards.

The gift service is part of an aggressive moneymaking push aimed at pleasing Facebook’s investors after the company’s dismal stock market debut. Facebook has stepped up mobile advertising and is starting to customize the marketing messages it shows to users based on their Web browsing outside Facebook.

It’s all about taking your time. It’s been 8 years that Facebook is around. First our email addresses, then our pictures, then our political beliefs and interests. Only now Facebook seeks to gather more information, our credit card numbers and offline addresses. 

How? 

The nudge comes from a new Facebook service called Gifts. It allows Facebook users — only in the United States for now — to buy presents for their friends on the social network. On offer are items as varied as spices from Dean & DeLuca, pajamas from BabyGap and subscriptions to Hulu Plus, the video service. This week Facebook added iTunes gift cards.

The gift service is part of an aggressive moneymaking push aimed at pleasing Facebook’s investors after the company’s dismal stock market debut. Facebook has stepped up mobile advertising and is starting to customize the marketing messages it shows to users based on their Web browsing outside Facebook.

On another nature related post, check out the second part of the National Geographic 2012 photo contest, courtesy of In Focus. 

See cheetahs run in super slow-motion. It does look better than it sounds. 

See cheetahs run in super slow-motion. It does look better than it sounds.