The future of Augmented-Reality Maps

OK, I love TED Talks, in fact I could spend my days watching their talks. In other words, I need an avatar to take care of the mundane things of life such as going to work while I can actually do interesting things! In the meantime, fresh from the TED2010 conference: here is an amazing talk by Blaise Aguera y Arcas, an architect at Microsoft Live Labs, in which he demonstrates how Photosynth software is transforming cartography into a user experience: first by stitching static photos together to create zoomable, navigatable spaces, then with superimposed video for a swear-you-are-there experience.

Why a Mac user will now feel like killing herself only a little bit when using a PC

So today I spent most of my day hooking up my mother with a new laptop and her first printer (yahooooo!). Yeah, I know, I am a good daughter (sometimes). But the point I wanted to share is that her new PC came with Windows 7 and I was curious to put my little hands on this new OS. And I have to bow my head down to Microsoft for such an upgrade from the usual Windows experience. Granted, it's just a first impression: I need to spend more time playing with it and I am sure that I'll give you updates. But then again, you only have one chance to make a first impression, especially to someone who is a die hard fan of your arch enemy. And Windows did it. I read everywhere that Microsoft admitted themselves having found inspiration in the Mac OS experience and they did a fair job at it.

Now the most ironic part of all this is that my mother, who had never used a Mac, was more confused than anything by the "Mac-like" features.

So my first thought is: with Windows 7, Mac users won't feel like traveling in another backwards dimension anymore, but Windows users will need some training like the ones provided by Apple to the Windows escapees!