Welcome iPad!

Yesterday, January 27th, Apple finally launched their iPad. I say finally, because rumors started already more than a year and a half ago. Around november 2009 it was clear that the iPad would be launched around January 2010, but no final information was available.

I must say that the size, design, performance and prize are amazing. Really thin, like a 10 inches iphone and starting at a price of $499, the same price as a modern Netbook but with full resolution screen.

The truth? I'm quite disappointed. Why? First of all, it's running a locked down system, same as the iPhone and iPod, which means you can only run applications purchased from the apple store. You don't have access to the base system.

Second, it doesn't have a built-in Webcam. It means no video conference.

On the other hand, having around an Internet Pad which can last over 10 hours of continuos use and over 30 days of standby, could be handy, when you don't want to go to your computer to check few web pages.

I think there is still a chance for other companies willing to launch their own Pad computer to be succesfull, but their product will need to at least match the iPad specification and design. It will not be an easy task because usually the Windows Operating is really slow and cannot give you a smooth feeling. Moreover Apple, for this device, developed their own Processor (CPU).

One last thing is worth mentioning. There will be some applications to prepare presentations (like powerpoint, but the apple version) that will make it really easy to work with, especially on the go. Unfortunately, the software - called iWorks - is only available for Apple Computers. So once prepared, cannot be transfered and run on a Windows PC.

As for myself, at this moment, i'm still happy with my iPod and Kindle device for my ebooks. I think I will pass on this one, but still worth trying :) but who knows..i might change my mind later ;)

Discover Gobo!

This is Gobo. I love it! Gobo is not some kind of Bamboo... is actually a Root. It grows underground. What do you do with Gobo? Actually...you eat it ;)

First, you clean it from the dirt...

then you slice it with a potato peeler...

Afterwards cooked with some sesame oil, soya and hot chili... and you get the final result...

It is really delicious and it taste a mid way between a potato and bamboo. It is also added to miso soup to make more tasty ... bon appetit! :)

Tech News: Apple Tablet

For January 27th (US time), Apple announced a big conference. It is expected that they will announce their secret tablet that they have been developing for the past 5 years.

I've been following rumors going around during the past 3 months and i will try to summarize a little bit what is going on and why I thought worth talking about it.

Please note, that even though i Think Apple had good ideas, i'm not an Apple Fanatic. I only appreciate good Design, Build quality and New technologies. Apparently fit seems only few companies still have an R&D (Research and Development) department. Most of the computer manufacturer out there, wait to see what comes on the market and copy successful ideas.

The Tablet concept is not new, and past attempts to sell tablet PCs by various vendors, so far, miserably failed. Just few units were sold.

What kind of things, from heard rumors, can we expect to come to life with the new Tablet? Apparently, what was rumored is that "You will be surprise on new ways to interact with the tablet", "the tablet will have facial recognition to recognize who is using it", Apple acquired a while back a company called "Fingerworks" that found new ways to use hands and fingers for gestures, recognizing not only fingers, but even your palm, and many other features.

What I found interesting is the name. People monitoring the internet, found out that Apple acquired a domain name under a third company name which was called "iSlate". After the rumor came out, amazingly, every other computer manufacturer like HP or Microsoft, started calling their tablet "Slate Tablets" during their presentations at the beginning of January. This might force Apple to change their product name...

You can read more about the upcoming tablet here.

What is sure, is that it will bring some new interesting features and we will see in 2010 many of this kind of tablets come on the market from different manufacturers.

So, stay tuned and while waiting for the 27th of january, I found a video (fake of course) but that shows how the tablet could look like and how you could interact with it...

Happy Me...

A question I get most of the time is "Are you happy in Japan?". Actually, yes, I'm happy. I'm happy as a student, I'm happy I can see new things and is a good experience. The next question I get is "Do you plan to live there when you finish your study?". This is another thing. It's not easy to live in japan and a lot of japanese manage to get "thru the day" which means they have just enough to live. And this "just enough" is because many of them have double work.

I still think that working and living condition in Switzerland is still better. Therefore, when my study will be complete (around the second half of 2010) I plan to go back...

The above picture was drawn on the white board by my Classmate Yaya. To answer the question if i'm happy in japan...well, from the drawing I got a pretty big smile...isn't ? ;)

Warm Patches...

That is cold in Japan and houses are not warm, you already know it. What I just discovered is that around "Cold Houses" there is a big business! At first I thought that not having a heater at home was just because of the installation cost. Now I found out that a lot of people live out of it.

How? Well, check the image above. It's a pouch you can fix on your hand. In the Pouch you can put a Warmer bag (like the one I've showed you few posts back, that stays warm for as long as 24 hours). In drug stores you find a lot of those. And surprisingly, prices are not high. For instance a pack of adesive warm patches (10 sheets) cost around 300 Yen ($3).

For the one above, in the following picture, they explain how to use it...

... they wrote "Work, during Study or in your room, wherever". Can you imagine yourself typing on your computer with warm patches sticking on your hands?... I still believe a nice heater is still the best ;)

Japanese Marriage Proposal

This is a nice video found on Youtube by some independent producers. It's the story of Fumiko that asks a guy she likes for a date.

The Guy say's he wants to concentrate on Baseball. At the end, She says "I will cook for you miso soup every morning!".

This sentence is used by a girl to say, that she would like him to marry her. In fact, preparing the Miso Soup every morning for him, means she will prepare breakfast for him every morning once married.

I found this video quite cute :) I hope you enjoy it, too!

Toilet seat Volume switch

This one is another picture to add to my collection of "Amazing toilets". After seing the "Volume" button I started to wonder what is that used for? some music perhaps?... then I've noticed that on the top it says "Flushing Sound"....

Well...guess what... I went ahead and pushed it... Amazing! The toilet seat started to make a .... Flushing Sound. Like when you pull the lever to flush it...but digital and with volume control.

I wondered for a while and finally I came up with the thought that it could be used to cover up your own "sound"...well, ...you know... if you don't want everyone to hear about your business....

Freezing!

This is a picture of one of my classmates miss "Kojo-san". The picture tells you everything. The class started again this tuesday and it's really cold these days. The problem is not outside, but inside the buildings.

Japanese houses do not have an heating system as I wrote some time ago and houses get really cold. In class usually we keep our jackets on. At home it takes few hours to get a warm temperature from the Air Conditioner (that is a heater during winter). Visiting some japanese friends, at home they even keep the scarf on and they use a heater under the table (as you know, people sit on the floor in japan) and on the table there is a blanket to keep the warm beneath.

As it was crazy cold yesterday, i went for something to warm me up...

..and for the occasion I've asked to make it one level extra hot to keep me warm. I'll try to survive this winter with hot food and warm clothes ;)...

Trying some Finnish Food...

On my flight to Japan thru Helsinki, I had a little time to do some Finnish Food Shopping. I bought some Salmon, Caviar and... Bear meat.

Yes, you read right...

... 100% Bear Meat. I'm not a big fan of Canned Meat, but I wanted to try it. Is kind of salty and sweet and even though I've just tried it the natural way, I think it would taste best if added to a salad. Since the flavor is quite strong, I could just eat a little bit of it...

To give you an idea, the consistence and taste are similar to the american canned "spam"...

Coming of Age Day!

When girls and boys become 20 years old, they have the "Coming of Age" Day ceremony. On that day girls wear kimono and guys wear either Kimono or Suit.

For the occasion, there was a big meeting at the Kobe Home Stadium where my friends of the Brass Porteno held a small Performance.

Inside the stadium was really cold...They have been playing with blankets, gloves and warm patches...

Luckily the above patch has an adesive strip, so that you can stick it on your shirt or jacket. I had two of them on me ;)...

This is a picture showing the Brass Band position (at the bottom of the picture). Boys and Girls were sitting on the opposite side...

The Coming of Age Monday is a National holiday in Japan and it usually happens on the second monday each January.

Time to fly back...

Time flies fast and is already time to go back to Japan. I've really enjoyed my trip to switzerland! I think the most thing i missed from Japan is the food. I couldn't wait to have a nice Maguro-Don (Raw Tuna on rice) and I actually went straight to the sushi shop ;)

The following is a shot of the Helsinki Airport... quite cold there ;)

Visiting Relatives in Italy

My Dad and me, took a 1 day trip to north Italy near Bormio to visit relatives. Here with temperature around -10°C during the night, the snow stays for a long time. You cannot see it from the picture, but the whole parking lot is a big chunk of ice.

Of course, time for some good italian food. This Pizza was amazing and really delicious!

This is fried cheese, called "Sciàtt" in the north italian dialect...

and Some Grilled Deer with Polenta and Porcini (mushrooms)

A picture with my Dad (on the right) and my uncle (on the left) and my uncle's Yellow Fiat 500. This car is over 30 years old but still working. Most of the repair and maintenance is done by my uncle himself who really loves his car ;)