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Mr. Gumbel in his senior years seems to have grown some Cultural orbs. This article is not a pro worker, pro AA article but it will bring you up to speed on the battle between the workers (Players) and the no talent folks who rip off most the money that smarts skill and talent generate.
Bryant Gumbel Calls NBA Commish "Plantation Overseer"
TV talker goes racial as pro basketball talks falter
Bryant Gumbel compared NBA Commissioner David Stern to a "plantation overseer."
Gumbel ended Tuesday's edition of HBO's "Real Sports" by taking aim at Stern, who he said is to blame for the lockout that threatens the entire season. He said Stern's "disdain for the players" is "pathetic."
"But his efforts were typical of a commissioner, who has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern plantation overseer treating NBA men as if they were his boys," Gumbel said. "It’s part of Stern’s M.O. Like his past self-serving edicts on dress code or the questioning of officials, his moves are intended to do little more than show how he’s the one keeping the hired hands in their place."
You may not be old enough to remember the Mainframe Wars but the players were known as IBM and the 7 dwarfs. Now in the cell phone wars we have the same thing all over again, with one big difference.
Back in the 60's I worked for one of the dwarfs and we all made an IBM Clone that was either, faster, had more memory or was cheaper. The Droid Iphone clones have the same game plan except we provided all software updates and our machines were always up to date.
I have an Iphone but I know people with Droids at the Gym who are always complaining, now I understand why. Most of these phones are not supported, they can be as much a 3 OS's behind. The graph shows that many Droid clones become simi-bricks as early as the first year. Wow, you got to see this graph.
I went back and found every Android phone shipped in the United States1 up through the middle of last year. I then tracked down every update that was released for each device - be it a major OS upgrade or a minor support patch - as well as prices and release & discontinuation dates. I compared these dates & versions to the currently shipping version of Android at the time. The resulting picture isn’t pretty - well, not for Android users:
Other than the original G1 and MyTouch, virtually all of the millions of phones represented by this chart are still under contract today. If you thought that entitled you to some support, think again:
7 of the 18 Android phones never ran a current version of the OS.
12 of 18 only ran a current version of the OS for a matter of weeks or less.
10 of 18 were at least two major versions behind well within their two year contract period.
11 of 18 stopped getting any support updates less than a year after release.
13 of 18 stopped getting any support updates before they even stopped selling the device or very shortly thereafter.
15 of 18 don’t run Gingerbread, which shipped in December 2010.
In a few weeks, when Ice Cream Sandwich comes out, every device on here will be another major version behind.
At least 16 of 18 will almost certainly never get Ice Cream Sandwich.
Also worth noting that each bar in the chart starts from the first day of release - so it only gets worse for people who bought their phone late in its sales period.
Siri, are you male or female? If you ask this question of the iPhone 4S voice assistant, it won't give you a clear answer, but most people assume that the distinctly feminine-sounding voice comes from a woman.
Many electronics, such as GPS devices or voicemail boxes, are female, and according to a CNN report, there is likely a psychological reason behind this. Siri sounds female in at least the U.S. and four other countries, although in France and the U.K., Siri sounds male.
A deep search alternative to Google is what we need in the new Job's era of Artificial Intelligence. I think Apple should immediately if they have not already make strong connection between Siri and WireDoo. I would also expect they are looking close at WireDoo for purchase.
As a Cultural Health note, it is also nice to see an AA on the business end of a potentially revolutionary technology in the big game.
MC Hammer, the Oakland rapper/dancer/preacher/spokesman, is looking to take on Google and Bing in one of the most competitive segments of the tech industry -- online search -- with a new start-up called WireDoo.
Hammer, whose real name is Stanley Kirk Burrell, announced WireDoo at O'Reilly Media's Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday. He described the project as a search engine that offers a level of "deep search" and related topics that Microsoft's Bing and Google don't offer.
Wow, by the holiday everyone will be talking to, or wanting to talk to their own personal assistant. (Video)
Lets Go to the Video Tape
Two things about this short Ad, it is amazing how much you can pack into 30 seconds. Second all of us with Iphones immediately went to play this commercial back to see if our phone could do that too. Sure enough, when I asked Siri who to time a bow tie if found a great video for me. And how about that little girl about my grandson's age, "fund me a picture of a Weasel" . I tried it, and yep, Siri found me a picture of a weasel.
Aside from the fact that this is the best holiday present since sliced bread there are a couple of things the public should get from this commercial. One 4S is not just simple Speech Recognition (SR) like non-intelligent Google voice or that type of technology that was in the Iphone 3GS and 4. This is a whole new level of Speech recognition combined with artificial intellegence (A.I.) to assist you.
So the new Iphone feature is the unique combination of SR and AI in a hand held device. The benefit you handled now does no longer just make phone calls but assist you find things and get things done. It strikes me that it will be a great help to the disabled, especially those that can not or have trouble typing or spelling.
Imagine that a phone that tries to figure out what you want, instead of you trying to figure out what it wants.
Google Just made their big 4.0 announcement, is it a game changer or just more Iphone cloning?
I like the face lock feature. Apple this is something you should clone from the other side. putting all the connections in contacts is also a good feature.
Droid is the Same As Iphone - You Can't Be Sirious (Poll)
I ran into a friend who had a droid. After I offered my condolences, he told me that the salesperson who sold it to him, did not sell the Iphone he asked for, but assured him the droid was a smart phone the "SAME" as the Iphone. With shock and dismay, like my tennis hero John Mcenroe, I said, you can't be Sirious!
That should read who's got the Iphone +[;-)
I then went on to explain to my locked in for two years unhappy Droid friend about Siri (Job's Personal Assistant That learns) and the general position of Apple and the Seven Droids (like IBM and the 7 Dwarfs). The good news is, now that Iphone is carried by more carriers, there will be less to of this bait and switch happening to the poor clueless customer.
My Iphone 4S is working great! This will be the Christmas Cell Phone gift of the century. It has the things I expected Fast, more memory and the best camera. It also has the blow out things no one expected Siri - a personal assistant the learns on its own (artificial intelligence) and AirPlay made my small screen into a big screen with no wires.
Apple IPhone 4S Sales Top 4 Million in Record Debut Weekend
Apple Inc. sold more than 4 million iPhone 4S devices in the first three days after it was introduced, setting a record as customers lined up at stores from Sydney to San Francisco to be first with the new touch- screen handset.
Demand for the new device extends Apple's lead as the top maker of smartphones as it fends off rivals including Samsung Electronics Co. and HTC Corp. that rely on Google Inc.'s Android software. U.S. wireless partners Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. reported high activation rates for the new iPhone, which has new voice-recognition software, a speedier processor and higher-quality camera.
Cultural Traitor Herman Cain Not African American vs Dr King Poll
Sunday is the last day of the week for me and it is remarkable that this week the two Big Cultural Health Stories are about Dr. King, a great African American, and Herman Cain who declares - Don't call me no stinkin AA - (my words) - Video.
I have to give it to Mr. Cain he does know how to make headlines by using dog whistle code to trash his former ethnic group. The good news is, that Mr. Cain seems to at least have some vague remembrance that he is Black. Here is a European American and an African American reacting to MR Cain's cultural treason. He does not seem to fool these two Americans. How About you?
What Al Sharpton had to say about Herman Cain (Video) Rev. Al makes the case for how must of us AA's feel about cain. Cain ain't Able and we leave him on the table.
When I was asked to travel to Malmo on business, I did not even know such a place existed on the globe. Is it in Denmark or Sweden ….. that was the question before me. I had never travelled to the Nordics before and hence my ignorance could be excused. I later found out that Malmo is a seaside town located at South West Sweden, just 20 miles from Copenhagen as the crow flies, but about 400 miles from Stockholm. Malmo is the third largest city in Sweden after Stockholm and Gothenburg with a population of just under 0.3million.
I entered Sweden through Copenhagen airport since it was the nearest International airport to Malmo. The train ride from Copenhagen airport to Malmo was really breathtaking. The 20 minutes ride consists of 15 minutes on the Öresund Bridge which links the 2 Nordic Nations. The Öresund Bridge was opened in the year 2000 and offers a new road and rail connection between Denmark and Sweden. It is considered to be one of the greatest structural achievements in Europe, across the Baltic Sea.
After checking in at the Hotel, I ventured out for a long bicycle ride which was offered free of charge by the Hotel. I was glad to see people use bicycles extensively on the roads. This way I could cover all the major landmarks at Malmo, pedalling across the city. The Turning Torso building caught my attention immediately. It is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic countries. Upon completion in 2005, it was the tallest residential building in the European Union. Its unique structure cannot be missed since it resembles twisted cubes. The strong chilly windy conditions aborted my journey after seeing this structure.
Next day I was told that I need to move out of Malmo and set up base at Helsingborg since the client I was visiting scheduled meetings there. Helsingborg is considered to be the fastest growing town in Sweden with a population of just under 0.2 million. This beautiful seaside town has a history dating more than 1,00 years and is today the eighth largest city in Sweden. I loved the open boulevards and vast greenery of this small town. The Hotel where I stayed offered spacious rooms with kitchen facility overlooking the Gardens. Since the timing of the visit was just right (mid August), I could keep the windows open for fresh and unpolluted oxygen. I the mornings, I often ventured out for brisk walk in the gardens and once I bumped into an old structure, which looked like an historic monument The building was a medieval fortress named Kärnan located right in the city centre. It seems this tower like building stood guard for over 600 years and witnessed the change from being a Danish controlled city to a modern city in Sweden. This beautiful town has history written all over the place what with majestic statues and castle like structures dotting the landscape.
One can easily sight the nearest sea side town located at Denmark from Helsingborg on a clear and sunny day. On a lazy Saturday afternoon I decided to make a day trip to Copenhagen, which is the nearest capital city from Helsingborg. One has to take a ferry from Helsingborg to Helsingor which is just 20 minutes ride and then a train journey to Copenhagen for another 45 minutes. The ferry ride by large passenger cum cargo ships is not ordinary. It has duty free shopping facility, casino, entertainment zones and large open decks to enjoy the ride. Copenhagen is a big change for those who come from the smaller Swedish towns due to more traffic, a crowded environment and more buzz. I had no time to visit the Palace and Tivoli, a world famous family amusement park in the heart of the city. I rather chose to take a canal boat ride to enjoy the great city. Copenhagen is in fact a city of canals, which links every nook and corner of the city. I was overawed to see old and modern buildings rubbing shoulders with each other and must say, this city is an Architect’s delight. The Black Diamond building, which houses the Royal Library is a beautiful structure that should not be missed. The older buildings dating back to 17th or 18th century still look grand and majestic. Copenhagen is the birthplace of Calsberg and one can visit the museum dedicated to this product. The City Hall square attracts lot of people, young and old, which plays host to freelancing musicians, dancers an. After a quick tour of Copenhagen I headed back to Helsingborg. The warm sunny weather which welcomed me to this city suddenly turned cold and gray. It was time for me to return to Helsingborg. Weather is very unpredictable in this part of the world. So make hay while the sun shines.
As an Indian used to living in cities that are overcrowded and overpopulated, the cities of Sweden are a stark contrast. You can see fewer people, very less traffic and hence less pollution. People are very warm and friendly and speak good English. There are few Indian restaurants run by Sri Lankans or Bangladeshis, but worth giving them a miss since you can hardly connect them to the cuisine we are used to back home. However the locals seem crazy about Indian food especially the Spices. Herring (fish) preparation is their National Food but Sweden by itself does not have a cuisine of its own. The public transport system is just extraordinary, be it the buses or trains. They are almost always on time and ofcourse less crowded. Since the traffic is less, I hardly encountered any jams or honking on the streets. Cycles are used extensively for commuting which is also encouraged. Sweden perhaps has the highest Income tax rate structure in the world but the Government makes generous allocation of the funds towards social welfare especially on housing and medical care. Fortunately I was visiting this country in August-September timeframe which is the best period to visit Nordic countries. At the same time, people in India were rallying behind anti corruption crusader, Anna Hazare…while I was visiting a country that is at the bottom of the corruption index. In fact I was surprised that people never bribed to get things done in this country and “corruption” is a word that must not be existing in their lexicon.
Sweden, a unique country with warm and friendly people may not offer much to foreign tourists but certainly a great place to visit if you are looking at “off the beaten track” locations.
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The author, Arvind Kamath is an avid traveller and a foodie. He writes his travel blogs on http://arvind-kamath.blogspot.com. Arvind is employed with a leading US based I.T. organization and has more than 20+ years of experience behind him. He has travelled a lot partly due to his work assignment and the rest with his family on holidays. He hopes to come out of his corporate lifestyle very soon and start a venture in travel and living. His wife Anita and son Anish also love travelling with him. He can be reached on arvindakamath@gmail.com
Date Visited: 29th August 2011 to 10th September 2011
