Aquila pronounced AK-weh-lah, uh-KWILL-uh or even a-kee-laa, means eagle in Latin. Just like the eagle, this blog is my “bird’s eye view” on situations or topics that I happen to come across in my life.
// November 16th, 2011 // No Comments » // Funnies, Social media, Tech
When was the last time you came up to someone and asked if you could “poke” or “follow” them? So why do we do it “online”? A light-hearted and somewhat scary look at what happens when our “online” and “offline” activities meet.
// November 16th, 2011 // No Comments » // Food, Tech
Earlier this year, around September 2011, I attended the Compubrand Brand Summit in partnership with Microsoft.
One of the presentations by Microsoft’s Alexandre Michelin (Executive producer MSN EMEA) really grabbed my attention. He stated that, “Brands needs to reinvent themselves in this new digital world and find new ways to re-engage consumers in order to enhance brand loyalty, otherwise, consumers will desert them.” Which is particularly true and very challenging.
That aside, he played a video clip of Microsoft’s productivity future vision. A high-tech representation of how technology could transform the way we get things done at school, at work, and in the home over the next 5 to 10 years. That video was released back in 2009.
Productivity Future Vision (2009)
Fast forward to 2011 and Microsoft has just released the latest edition of this futuristic view, with a surprising addition. South Africa features with views of OR Tambo International airport, Johannesburg and melktert. Yes, you read correctly, melktert.
Melktert, for the uninitiated, is loosely translated as milk tart in Afrikaans, and is a traditional South African dessert. It is a sweet pastry crust containing a creamy filling made from milk, flour, sugar and eggs. The ratio of milk to egg is higher than in a traditional European custard tart or Chinese egg tart, resulting in a lighter texture and a stronger milk flavour.
Skip forward to time code 05:31 and behold high-tech melktert. Not exactly melktert made by small nanoprobes, but rather an interactive recipe with video and some cool infographics depicting the ingredients and method of cooking.
This is certainly not new. iPad apps such as Epicurious and Jamie’s recipes already offer some of these features. However, if we have this kind of technology at our disposal now, I get extremely excited about what the future may hold.
High-tech melktert Productivity future vision 2011
// March 28th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Interesting, Tech
This is a note to self…
(more…)
// November 22nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News, Tech
I’ve been a big fan of Garmin ever since I got my Nuvi back in 2006. That being said, I’d always hoped that Garmin would bring out a software suite that could run on mobile phones, without the need for any GPS attachments. Last week, I was notified that Garmap has done just that.
The official word:
Garmap, the official map data provider for Garmin navigation products in Africa, announced at the AfricaCom event in Cape Town recently that Garmap for Mobile Online, Garmap’s newest navigation software suite for mobile devices, will be available to purchase in retail blister packs at outlets and mobile phone stores around South Africa from mid-November.
Powered by Appello’s award-winning navigation platform, Garmap for Mobile Online delivers full-feature navigation throughout South Africa on nearly any GPS-enabled mobile phone, while only utilising a minimal amount of the phone memory.
“With this software, GPS-enabled mobile phones can be equipped with the same navigation capability utilising the latest mapping data that is available on bigger and more expensive GPS devices,” says Andrew McHenry, head of mobile for Garmap.
“When people purchase the new retail blister pack, they can enjoy the full version of Garmap for Mobile, which gives them access to voice turn-by-turn navigation, a full list of points of interest (POIs), weather updates and – for a small monthly fee – real time traffic, just to name a few of the features,” he adds.
Garmap for Mobile is designed to keep as small a presence as possible on a mobile phone and, as such, relies on a data connection (either GPRS, Edge or 3G/HSDPA) to download maps, POIs and other data that gives users the full GPS experience.
Because maps and POIs are downloaded in real-time via the phone’s data connection, users can be assured that they are always accessing the most up-to-date maps of Southern Africa that Garmap has to offer.
Garmap for Mobile is available for Symbian-based phones as well as BlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile phones.
Garmap for Mobile Online retails for a recommended R990.00, which includes a 24-month usage license and a live traffic subscription.
Screenshots
Comments
I’m delighted that this is out, but I have a few reservations. It’s still only available for Symbian, CrackBlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile, which unfortunately doesn’t help me with my iPhone. Secondly, the pricing model seems a bit steep, considering that Google Maps is free (and it works on practically any mobile device).
I’d like to think that Garmin offers a completely different experience with its extensive POI (Points of interest) database and Southern African coverage – the area that the Google maps lags behind in many ways. We’ll wait and see.
// September 12th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Tech
Well, I wonder how long the W-key on my Dell keyboard is going to last.
Copyright © 2012 Aquila Online
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 South Africa License.
