Pi Day

Today is Pi Day, July 22. Pi day is a tradition that started back in 1988 in San Francisco. It is a day to celebrate the number Pi that fascinates to so many people. There are several days accepted as Pi Day:

• March 14 at 1h59 am is the most popular one for being 3.14159
• July 22 is the second one as 22/7 = 3.142

What can I say, if people are willing to celebrate Saint Valentine, Pi Day sounds even more appealing to me.

Manhattanhenge

Known too as the Manhattan Solstice is a semi annual occurrence where the sun perfectly aligned with the streets of New York. The proliferation of glass buildings make the show breath taking with the sun rays reflecting in uncountable windows while following their path from east to west.

It happens twice a year usually in May 28th and July 13th (evenly spaced dates around the Summer Solstice).

iPhone 3G, the hype is back

On September 2007, I wrote this article talking about what was missing on the iPhone. There were three things: 3G vs. EDGE; capacity; GPS; and applications. Clearly I wasn't the only one complaining about it because those exactly are the elements that Apple has change in the second version of the phone. Let's see what is new:

• 3G connection provides 2 - 4x faster page downloads
• aGPS combines phone-tower information with GPS data to give your exact position
• 16 GB of capacity increases the usability of the phone as unique computing platform
• App Store gives the iPhone more than ~500 applications to download including categories that go from games to productivity

I don't like the new plastic back but improves signal reception. More than 4 antennas are included in the device (i.e., EDGE, 3G, GPS, WiFI) what makes having a metal cover hard to justify.

Other than that, the device is basically the same. Minor tweaks were implemented: improved battery, a must requirement for a 3G device; warmer screen (~ 7000 vs ~ 8000 kelvin on the 1st generation); flush headphones jack.

Overall, the iPhone has redefined the concept of mobile computing - maybe it has created the concept and brought it to the mass market. For once, you can have on your pocket a complete computer that does what is supposed to do. Last weekend, we found the closest theater to watch a movie in the middle of the street. It was quick, reliable, on the go.

This is just the beginning, but I'm expecting more things to come. With more than 6 million users around the world now and 4 million more expected before the end of the year, developers will be jumping on the iPhone wagon to get a piece of the cake. Soon we will get a full GPS application (e.g., Tom Tom), maybe a presentation tool, VoIP calls (e.g., Fring, Skype), ....

Post edit:
I've just read that the App Store has received more than 10 million application downloads in the first 3 days with the number of applications rising from 500 to 800 during the same period.

Manifiesto por el castellano

Esto merece el uso de mi lengua nativa. Desde aquí me gustaría pedir a todos que firmaseis el Manifiesto en defensa de nuestra lengua. Olvidemos temas políticos y pongamos todos un poco para defender esta lengua que ha dado al mundo un sinfín de obras únicas de la literatura. Obras que por mérito propio son reconocidas sin comparación a nivel internacional.

No dejemos que el barbarismo localista que asola España, y confunde cultura con política, siga desterrando esta lengua de escuelas, calles, bares, cafés, ...

Estamos en pleno siglo XXI y cada vez más regiones de España viven bajo sistemas políticos que cortan la libertad de expresión. Increible? No por ello menos cierto.

Enlace para adherirse al manifiesto.

Defining innovation

As most of you probably know, Innovation is my true passion. It's great to see what can be done when conventional wisdom is challenged.

The tailor of Singapore

When traveling to Asia, one of the first things I always do is to find a good tailor. Savile Row is still years away, so it's hard to resist the opportunity of getting hand-made, tailor-made suits.

My recent trip to Singapore was a great surprise on this topic. A former partner of my firm was kind enough to suggest some places where he used to get his suits made. Joe Tailoring was my choice and I wasn't disappointed at all.

For some, tailor-made is about getting a copy of a famous suit/dress/shirt/... In my case, it's all about personalization. I want a specific size of the pockets, a specific number of buttons (btw, the ones on the sleeve have to be functional), a particular size of the sleeves, extremely fitted for American standards, etc. The list goes on and on.

Singapore set a new bar in terms of quality and customer satisfaction. If you ever go there, remember to visit Joe Tailoring. They are not a cheap alternative, but the result will completely shock you.