The Geek, The Hedonist, The Absurdist & The Would-Be Visionary

Le Camion Qui Fume - Food Truck - Paris

2012-01-20T13:45:00.001+01:00

Making a close to perfect burger requires two major skills: humility and method. Kristin Frederick (pictured above), the chef behind "Le Camion Qui Fume" (The Smoking Truck), is gifted with both.

Humility is essential when it comes to burgers because no matter how talented a chef you are, you have to recognize that the best burger can only be a classic burger. It is thus essential to feature it in your menu no matter how fancy, smart or inventive you think you are.

I must say I was impressed to see that Kristin's Classic Burger does not stray away from this principle. Her classic Burger recipe may look simple to the untrained eye: tomato, onion, lettuce, pickles, meat, cheddar and mayo. Actually, though the ingredients and the recipe seem merely self-evident, they're not! Balancing everything inside a bun and making it juicy & hot but fresh is an act of pure devotion to the Burger cause which requires the utmost method.

My visit to Le Camion Qui Fume was simply great. I had a great classic burger for which my only comment would be that the bun was a bit too thick. I, for one, am totally for mayo in a classic burger as opposed to what Ketchup aficionados would tell you. So once again Kudos to Le Camion Qui Fume for making it possible for my taste buds to experience the deliciousness of Kristin's burgers!

Don't forget to follow this food truck on Twitter @LeCamionQuiFume or Facebook for updates regarding their location or check their website out here.

Be there early (30 mins before opening time), if you want to avoid a huge line and a very long wait!

Burger Score: 9/10

And remember this famous quote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that NOT all hamburgers are created equal".

La Cantoche de Paname - Paris

2012-01-20T13:43:00.001+01:00

As many scientific breakthroughs are the results of random acts, it only seems logical to conclude that the same rule must apply to the Art of Burger. In their almighty Cheddarness, it seems that the Burger Gods deemed me worthy of witnessing such an occurrence. Or maybe they wanted to balance the forces of Cheddarness for the better as my lunch at Blend Hamburger on the same day had been a bit disappointing.

La Cantoche de Paname is a restaurant that does not only to cater to the burger-savvy. They have a rather decent menu and from what I could see on the tables around in me, everything seemed both pleasing to the eye and the palate of the customers. As I spotted a burger section in their menu, I thought to myself "What the heck, let's have another Burger today!". And so I did. No regrets there! My double cheeseburger with bacon was both humongouslyburgerously tall & tasty. Their classic recipe was very good and certainly worth a visit if you're in he vicinity!!!!

Burger Scale score: 7.5/10

Blend Hamburger - Paris

2012-01-20T13:07:00.001+01:00

Blend Hamburger opened less than a month ago. If you believe the hype (and there are enough famous songs advising you not too), this burger joint is rumored to be The place to have a great hamburger in Paris. It hence won't come as a surprise that the wait to be seated is rather long.

The menu is relatively short with only one "classic" burger, 2 veggie variations and a few other options mostly featuring a French take on Burgers.

To me, the more American the Burger, the better. That is my Burger motto. Although I chose the most classic burger on the menu, I was disappointed by the overall result. Even though all ingredients are great, the final product lacks freshness (think freshly sliced tomato & ice cold iceberg lettuce) and tasty cheddar.

Make no mistake, their burgers are good but they are way too "French", in my opinion. I was also disappointed by the lack of mayonnaise on site. I wish I could have replaced their homemade red sauce which tastes like something in between ketchup & tomato sauce with Tabasco by mayonnaise.

All in all, I had a good meal but it certainly didn't qualify as a wonderful burger or the best I've ever had.

I would rate them a solid 7 out of 10 on my personal Burger scale.

If you go there, have their cheesecake for desser. It is good but doesn't qualify as a truly classic American cheesecake.

Morgans Hotel Group Global Card Review

2011-11-15T13:00:00.001+01:00

Here's a breakdown of the perks that Morgans Hotel Group Global Card holders are supposed to enjoy:

Dedicated concierge to assist you with all of your needs before and during your stay
· Complimentary night at all of our new hotel openings around the world
· $100 in US Hotels or £100 in UK hotels for a standard room if available after 10PM
· Upgrades to the best available hotel accommodations upon arrival which include specialty suites
· Invitations to exclusive Global Card events, openings and special events throughout the year

· Access to all of our pools and beaches
· 20% discount at our Agua Spas
· Complimentary In Room Internet
· Complimentary Local Phone/Fax
· Late Check out
· Early Check-in
· Priority Check-in
· Direct escort to room
· Express check out
· Pre arrival email for Special Requests
· Customized Room
· Arrival/Welcome Gift
· Morning Newspaper
· Complimentary Gym Access
· Online Profile Management
· Access to Redemption Partners
· Access to Exclusive Offers
· Reservation Guarantee
· Direct Access to CEO

As I was very happy to receive this card, I decided to give it a try during a weekend trip at the Sanderson Hotel in London. Unfortunately, the only perk I received was the complimentary In Room Internet. My request for a 3:30pm late checkout was denied although the room I was staying in was still available for the night on the hotel booking engine. Same for upgrade at checkin, I was told I couldn't be upgraded because the hotel was full when actually their booking engine showed a higher category room available for the duration of my stay.

All in all, it seems like this card is actually a lot of hype for nothing much!

But here are two pictures of the beautiful Sanderson Hotel in London:

Pierre Gagnaire's Sketch Restaurant In London

2011-11-15T11:51:00.001+01:00

Sketch is Famous French chef Pierre Gagnaire's signature restaurant in London. It actually consists for three different restaurants: Gallery, The Lecture Room and Parlour. Parlour is the more relaxed option while The Lecture Room features a tasting menu. I had the chance to eat at Gallery which is their "middle ground" option last weekend. Although the food didn't live up to my high expectations, I absolutely loved the experience. Above this text is a picture of my starters: the "Pollock". Below is a picture of my main course which was scallops with truffles. Both were good but not that original in my opinion.

"Le Citron" dessert was excellent:

And so was the Bollinger red wine selected by their high-skilled Sommelier:

All in all, it was a fantastic experience for the food was good but, most importantly, service was absolutely spectacular which is a rarity when the staff is mostly French. Sketch, indeed, seems to be the exception that proves the rule in that regard. In addition, the decor of this place is just worth going there just to check it out. Here is a picture of their restoom pods:

This should give you an idea of how original the setting is. So, trust me: if you have the chance, don't think twice before booking a table there.

Hakkasan Hanway Place London

2011-11-15T11:09:00.001+01:00

Last summer, I reviewed the Hakkasan restaurant located at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. I absolutely loved their food so it only seemed logical during my recent my week-end in London to have dinner at one of their London locations which, in my case, happened to be the Hanway Place one.

Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised with the fact that the restaurant was almost identical to its sister location in Miami for the setting there is absolutely stunning. I had their Dim-Sum platter which were tender and perfect:

The Dim-Sum platter tenderness was matched by their Wagyu beef which was a delicacy that I really enjoyed.

All in all, I had a very good dinner although I hated the fact that I felt we were being rushed out after the main course as our waiter told us that our table had to be cleared for their next customers and that since we had gotten there ten minutes late, they could not allow us to have dessert. I, then, argued that hadn't they had directed us to the bar and left us there for a good 25 minutes after our arrival, we wouldn't have had to order dessert so late. Finally, the restaurant manager "agreed" to let us order dessert which we did.

All in all, I had a great experience food wise but the aforementioned "dessert incident" is the kind of things that can absolutely spoil an otherwise perfect dinner. I understand that this restaurant seems to be always full but how can anyone in their right mind tell their customers they can't order dessert?

One last detail: as this restaurant is located beneath ground level, there is no cellular signal whatsoever anywhere inside.

Three Burgers In London

2011-11-14T12:16:00.001+01:00

As I was using a prepaid Three UK sim card during my trip to London, I thought I should review Three hamburger joints there!

The first place I tried was Ed's Easy Diner and the picture above features their Big Bubba's Bacon N'Cheese Burger which is a rather good burger. It just lacks a bit of sauce, iceberg lettuce and a better quality patty. But all in all, it is quite a good burger in a classic Diner setting. Staff was very courteous and service quite fast.

The second place I tried was Byron Hamburgers and I must say that their Byron Hamburger was my favorite in London. Bun was great, very good sauce, excellent cheddar cheese and the right balance in ingredients. Definitely a worthy burger:

Finally, I went to Bar Boulud which is supposed to be among the top places for Burgers in London. I, unfortunately can't concur with this as I thought their Yankee Burger, though made up of perfect ingredients, lacks taste and more importantly an adequate and original sauce. Make no mistake, this burger is good but it won't transcend you and lift you up all the way to Burger Xanadu. In essence, Boulud's interpretation of the classic American Hamburger borders way too much on the French side of Burger wisdom in my opinion. Behold the Yankee Burger below:

How To Officially Unlock Your iPhone

2011-11-14T09:54:00.001+01:00

If you're amongst the lucky ones that are able to have their carrier officially unlock their iPhones, here's a quick tip as to how to properly do it. As a matter of fact, some carriers will send you unclear instructions once your unlocking request has been approved.

There are two ways to use an unlocked iPhone: you can either re-activate it every time you insert a new sim card in it or unlock it for good so you won't have to go through the process of activation ever again.

Here's the breakdown:

1) Per SIM activation: once your unlocking request has been approved by your mobile carrier and verified by Apple, you will be able to use any sim card in your iPhone but you will need to re-activate it every time you change sims. If you're using iOS5, you can do this Over-The-Air but remember that you will need at least a wifi connection or to connect your iPhone to an internet connected computer. If you're traveling abroad and are planning to change sim cards in a plane, you might end up being stuck without any phone once you reach your destination as you will need to find a working wifi hotspot in order to re-activate your iPhone. This is why I recommend the following option:

2) Proper unlocking procedure: once your unlocking request has been approved, fully restore your iPhone using iTunes. This will take some time (1 to 2 hours) but it will unlock your iPhone for good so that you will never have to re-activate it again if you change sims!

Prepaid iPhone Plans In The UK

2011-11-14T09:38:00.001+01:00

As I'm still crusading against French mobile carriers outrageous data roaming plans, here comes the latest addition to my list of prepaid iPhone plans to use abroad. Three UK has amazing prepaid plans amongst which the "All In One 15" is a great option. For £15 you get 300 voice minutes to the UK, 3000 texts within the UK and unlimited data valid for 30 days.

Data configuration and APN are automatic which means you won't need to download any custom profile file and/OR manually set the APN. It will just work right out of the box. So if you're traveling to the UK, you know what to do (make sure your iPhone is unlocked beforehand). I have nothing more to add! For more details regarding their other prepaid plans click here.

11/11/11 11:11:11 Is Nigh! Don't You Dare Miss It!

2011-11-09T12:55:00.000+01:00

I have waited for this moment my entire life or more exactly ever since I received very first digital watch for my 7th birthday! In two days, this long awaited second when I am able to look at my digital watch and see nothing else but ones will come!

Let the world know about it and prepare for it! Put your digital watch on and set your alarm clock! And may those who live in a GMT+11 (Solomon Islands) or GMT-11 (Midway Islands, Samoa: Western Samoa & American Samoa) time zone be even more blessed than the rest of us!

For those interested in more digital watch absurdity, I highly recommend checking out Eadon's Old Site Of Random Bullshit!

Speed Burger Strasbourg Review

2011-11-06T19:51:00.001+01:00

Now that Speed Burger has a joint in Strasbourg, I had to try it out. I can't believe they opened shop two weeks ago and I didn't know! So, here comes my relatively late review.

First of all, you need to know that Speed Burger has many locations in France and specializes in home deliveries, an unexplained rarity in France and particularly in Strasbourg. Doesn't it feel great to know you can pick up the phone and just order a burger that will be delivered to your home in less than thirty minutes?

So, how was the service and food?

Speed Burger has a rather cumbersome website where getting around isn't intuitive and ordering is complicated. I wanted to place my order online but as I realized that ordering fries wasn't possible, I ended up giving them a call. Ordering was a bit slow but overall ok. I asked if they accepted American Express cards and, to my surprise, I was told that they did which unfortunately ended up not being true. I liked the fact that I received an email thirty seconds after my call with full details and confirmation of my order. I was, subsequently, sent a second email fifteen minutes later when the delivery guy left their store. I was delivered twenty minutes after my call which, I thought, was great! And the food was still hot when it arrived.

Now, what about the food?

I would say that their burgers are good, nothing extraordinary but a solid good. I don't like the fact that they don't use crispy bacon but their sauces are ok. Most importantly, their cheddar is good and their menu is quite extensive with simple, double & triple burgers, fish burgers, hash browns, fries, chicken nuggets, cheese nuggets etc. There is a "Big Mac" feel and taste to their burgers which I can't decide if it's a good or bad thing!

On the downside, I think they are very expensive as a custom built double burger with two beef patties, two slices of cheddar, lettuce, tomato, bacon, onion and mayonnaise cost me €11.8 without any fries or drinks. In addition, there was a mistake in the composition of my custom burger as I had ordered one slice of bacon and two of cheddar but it came with two slices of bacon and only one of cheddar.

All in all, I can say that I was not overwhelmed but will probably order again in the future. I would give them a rating of 6 out of 10. They definitely are the best burger home delivery option here in Strasbourg. Lylou's Cook is the only other option but I wouldn't recommend them. The best burger in Strasbourg is still to be had at 231 East St. but they, unfortunately, don't deliver.

BagelAvenue Review (Strasbourg, France)

2011-11-01T09:12:00.000+01:00

I tried this new Bagel joint in Strasbourg last night and must say that I was impressed with the quality of their bagels, the friendly service and their wide selection of products.

Bagel Avenue promises a great Bagel experience and delivers it! In addition to classic Bagels, they offer great hot Bagels as well as wraps. Their smartest move, in my opinion, is to serve Coffee in paper cups à la Starbucks Coffee in a city where such Hollywood-created mimetic craving is hard if not impossible to satisfy. I can't wait to try out some of their Frappuccinos to see for myself how they compare to my all time favorite Grande Caramel Frappucino with whipped cream at Starbucks Coffee!

Let me end this review by saying that they also feature great American desserts and sweets such as cheese cake, Donuts, Brownies, Whoopies, Cookies etc. On the soft drink side of things, they also have root beer and Dr. Pepper. And last but not least: HOME DELIVERY IS AN OPTION!

Their menu (in French) is here!

Hack Of The Day: The Best & Cheapest Dictation Setup

2011-11-01T08:49:00.000+01:00

So, you're still using microcassettes for dictation and you feel voice recognition isn't reliable enough to switch your entire dictation strategy to Dragon dictation? Problem is your microcassette player or recorder is dying and replacing or upgrading your whole dictation setup at work looks more expensive than buying Mac Pros for everyone. Digital dictation devices are, indeed, extremely expensive and impractical at best with the need to connect them via USB to a base station to send files.

The good news is that there is a much cheaper and much better alternative if you already own an iDevice: Combining Dictamus with Dropbox.

Dictamus is a dictation app that has the same functionality than any microcassette recorder with the ability to record, play, fast forward & rewind & erase recordings. The wonderful addition to this is that it gives you the possibility to upload your dictations to the cloud using email, FTP, WebDAV, MobileMe (while it still is available), box.net or Dropbox. IMHO, setting up Dropbox on the computer of the person who is going to transcript your recordings is probably the best and easiest solution to use in conjunction with Dictamus.

The beauty of this setup is to have the simplicity of being able to dictate from anywhere at anytime since you're always carrying your iDevice with you. It will then almost magically (via 3G or wifi) be transferred to the computer used for transcription without ever needing to connect your iDevice with a cable or having to be physically near the aforementioned computer.

There are many programs that will, then, enable you to play the sound files for transcription purposes. Express Scribe Transcription Solution is a good example of paid software to do that. You can even purchase a USB foot pedal to connect to your computer. All in all, this setup will cost less than $100 if you already own iDevices. Compare this to many four-digit proprietary solutions and this is a no brainer!

Mini Connected Review

2011-10-30T13:17:00.001+01:00

My previous post was all about BMW ConnectedDrive and BMW Apps. This one is about Mini Connected which is very similar to what is available on the BMW side of things.

One big difference with Mini Connected is that it does not come with a sim card so all "connected" functions use your iPhone data connection. In fact, what Mini calls "Mini Connected" is almost the same thing than what BMW calls "BMW Apps" (and not BMW Connected as you might have thought).

Mini Connected enables you to display your Facebook & Twitter feeds, use Google Send to Car and listen to webradios. The interface and functions are almost identical to what I described in my previous post about BMW Connected.

The same annoying bluetooth audio streaming deactivation happens when you plug your iPhone in the snapin but you can fix it in the same way that I previously described:

go to the Phone menu, select your phone, then options, then "configure phone" then activate bluetooth audio and then go back to CD/Multimedia and choose your iPhone as the audio source.

Another difference in the Mini is that you can either connect your iPhone in the snapin cradle or using a Y cable. Both options should provide the same functionality. In my case though, I haven't managed to play music using the "plugin" option in the Mini Connected menu when using the snapin. It does, however, work when my iPhone is connected using the Y cable. I don't know if this is due to a problem with my snapin or its model (there are unfortunately many different snapin models with support for different functions and nobody seems to know which snapin does what).

I also encountered the same limitation for bluetooth phone contacts syncing than with BMW: I have more than 3000 contacts and it seems that this exceeds the capacity of the car as I can't sync my entire contact database to the car. This sucks and shouldn't be the case nowadays.

One information you might be looking for and that I can confirm: the iPhone 4 snapin works with the iPhone 4S.

Besides the bugs described above, I must say I love Mini Connected and that it makes for a perfect in-car entertainment system. There are some other thoughtful features such as the ability to let the car control the music it plays depending on your driving pattern. All in all, it is well worth ordering it with your car!

BMW ConnectedDrive & BMW Apps Review

2011-10-30T12:51:00.000+01:00

I have been using BMW Connected Drive for two weeks and thought I would post here a full review of its functionalities as detailed information is hard to find even when you have a car equipped with it.

First of all, let me stress that BMW's current offering is quite confusing as the lines are kinda blurry between BMW Connected Drive and what they call BMW Apps. BMW Connected Drive is itself divided into different sections that are or aren't subject to a subscription fee.

So what can you do with this BMW ConnectedDrive?

1) Internet: You have access to Google and the Internet using an Edge Data connection (which is very slow by today's standards). Internet connectivity isn't available while roaming abroad but it is available for the entire lifetime of the vehicle at no additional charge in your home country.

2) BMW Online: access to local weather, RSS feeds, emails and customized applications: the good thing is that these features work while roaming abroad at no additional charge. Equipped vehicle come with 2 years of service that can be renewed on a year-to-year basis.

3) BMW Assist: Concierge service available 24/7 on the phone : they can help in case of an emergency, send you directions or book hotels for instance. This service is available from almost anywhere in Europe for free (no extra charge once you have paid the subscription fee). I repeat the calls are free even outside of your home country and use the built-in sim card in the car. Whenever you place a call to BMW Assist, your GPS location is transmitted. There is an SOS button in the car that looks like a nuclear missile launch button (you have to open a cap, to have access to it): pressing it will dispatch emergency services to your location and put you through to them on the phone. This system is activated automatically in case of an accident.

I've already placed two calls to the Concierge Service and must say that I was impressed by the service. Both persons I talked to were able to answer my technical questions about BMW Connected Drive and BMW Apps. They did know what they were talking about and were extremely nice. BMW Assist comes with the BMW Online subscription.

4) BMW Remote app available on the iPhone. It lets you locate your car, send an itinerary from the app and remote lock / unlock it. Depending on your car, you might also be able to turn the heating system on, blow the horn or flash the lights. Keep in mind not all features are available on all cars. Locating your car is supposedly limited to a 1.5 km radius for legal reasons. This feature is part of the BMW Online offering and is subject to the subscription fee.

5) Google send to car: this is is a cool feature. I had never realized before that Google Maps search lets you send results to your car (the "SEND" option is clearly visible). You just have to specify the make of your car and the name you gave it when you created your BMW Connected account.

What about BMW Apps?

BMW Apps lets you use your iPhone Data connection through the BMW Connected app that you need to launch when your iPhone is in its "snapin" cradle. Once the iPhone is installed in the "snapin", it will charge and once you launch the BMW Connected app, you will have access to the BMW Apps menu in your car.

From there, your will be able to display your Facebook & Twitter timelines (even while driving) and have the possibility to listen to webradios from all over the world. Though I thought that webradio support wouldn't be good, I must say that it seems to work very well. It uses my 3G iPhone connection not the BMW ConnectedDrive sim card. So keep in mind, it will be taken into account in your data usage and make sure you don't do this while roaming as data charges will apply and will probably make for a very expensive radio listening experience. I find it pretty "pimp" to listen to a live New York radio while driving in Europe!

The "Plugin" function lets you control whatever music app is used as default on your iPhone. If you use the default "Music" or "iPod" app, you will have access to your playlists and cover art. If you use a less supported app (such as Spotify), you will still be able to listen to your music but you will only be able to skip to the next song controlwise.

One annoying thing is that whenever you're using your iPhone to play music through the snapin, it will disable bluetooth audio streaming which is not very intuitive to re-activate once you disconnect your iPhone:

You will have to go to the Phone menu, select your phone, then options, then "configure phone" then activate bluetooth audio and then go back to CD/Multimedia and choose your iPhone as the audio source.

One wonderful feature about bluetooth audio streaming is that it is automatic: if you start listening to a podcast, it will stop when you leave the car and continue where you left off whenever you enter your car again. So, you can have your iPhone in your pocket without touching it or any settings in the car, and listen to your favorite podcasts.

More apps and functionalities are supposed to be added via software updates.

One limitation that sucks though: it seems there is a limit to the number of contacts you can sync via bluetooth to the car from your iPhone. I have more than 3000 contacts and they don't all sync to the car which I find frustrating and ridiculous by today's standard.

One last thing that I can confirm: the iPhone snapin works perfectly with the iPhone 4S.

The Most Detailed iCloud Review Ever

2011-10-30T11:25:00.000+01:00

As I have been using iCloud for two weeks, this post aims at addressing the most commonly asked questions with regard to this latest addition to Apple technology. Granted, most of Apple products don't require a detailed manual as they usually "just work". In iCloud case, I believe that, although it works beautifully, it requires a lot more explaining that what can be found at www.apple.com/icloud

First of all, the user has to keep in mind that "iCloud" refers to many different things:

1) An automated backup system for iOS devices: this is what enables users to "cut the cord". iOS devices are now autonomous and can be configured without a computer or iTunes. A simple wifi connection will let you restore an iOS device from a previous backup or configure and activate a brand new device. However, music and photos aren't synced and backed up to iCloud which still forces users to connect at a point or another their iDevices to a computer. Everything else besides music and photos is backed up to iCloud (apps, settings, folders etc.)

2) Push Technology that syncs all your contacts, calendars, notes, reminders & bookmarks among all your devices. It basically is what MobileMe was supposed to be, i.e. "Exchange for the rest of us". After two weeks of use, I must say that I find this feature reliable enough not to use MS Exchange anymore. As a matter of fact, I plan to cancel my hosted Exchange service within the next 10 days. Of course, push email is also part of this offering.

3) Push Technology that syncs your documents among your iOS devices. I am describing this in a separate point because I was a bit disappointed to realize that documents won't sync to your computers. They are only synced between iOS devices and iCloud.com (which is the website that lets you access your personal information saved on iCloud). Documents actually only refers to Pages, Numbers & Keynote files.

4) Photostream: push technology that syncs all recent photos between devices. There seems to be many bugs that need to be address here. For instance, some photos won't sync or it is impossible to delete photos from the Photostream shared among different computers and iOS devices. Most importantly, I wish Apple had implemented a way to create new iPhoto albums and automatically sync them across devices. It is not the case with Photostream. Although your recently taken pictures will show up on all your devices, if you want to organize them into albums, you will have to do it on every and each of your devices or connect them to your computer and sync them to iPhoto through iTunes.

5) Find My iPhone: although an old feature introduced with MobileMe, this is still a wonderful idea. In case you lose your iPhone, you can display a message, play a sound or simply remote wipe it.

6) iTunes in the cloud: this will let all your purchased music appear on all your devices. iTunes Match which will be available later this year enables you to match your non iTunes purchased music library with iTunes music for a $24.99 yearly subscription fee.

Ok, so now that we have an overview of what iCloud is about. Let's see how to make use of it and basically my idea, here, is to show how to set it up for a household with multiple users and multiple iDevices. Along the way, I will also point out the shortcomings of iCloud and other information not easily found online.

First of all: should you use multiple iCloud accounts or just one if you plan on using different devices among different users? My answer to this, after taking the time to weigh in the options, is that the easiest way to address this is to share a common "main iCloud account" for all users and create a secondary iCloud account for each user. Let me explain it:

1) Keep in mind that only one main iCloud account can be configured on iOS devices. That means that, although you can use multiple iCloud accounts, all subsequent accounts will only be available for Email, Contacts, Calendars, Notes, Reminders & Find My iPhone. On the Mac OS side of things: only one Photostream per user account is available. This means that if different users share a single computer with a single user account (probably the most common configuration in a household), they have to use the same main iCloud account on their iOS devices if they want Photostream to work.

2) Sharing the same iCloud account among different users has a drawback: you get to share the free 5GB that every iCloud account comes with. In my case, I use iCloud to backup 6 iOS devices and currently use a little over 8GB on my main iCloud account (which means that come June 2012, I will have to pay for the extended storage need. Paid MobileMe users are granted extra space until June 2012).

3) Can I backup multiple devices to one iCloud account? I believe I have addressed this question in the previous paragraph. The answer clearly is: YES. If you restore an iOS device, after setting up a wifi connection and entering your iCloud credentials, it will show you a list of the the devices that are backed up to iCloud and ask you which one you want to restore to the device you are holding. You will see the name you gave to the device, date of last backup and type of device: iPhone, iPad, iPhone Touch.

4) Why use multiple iCloud accounts with a primary account: there is obviously some information that is practical to share among users living in the same household but also some information that would be a pain to share. In my case, we all share the same contacts list (which saves us the trouble of constantly updating contact information). I don't care if I have contacts in my contacts database that I don't know. I do care about everyone having access to the same contacts list without having to ask each other for updated details. On the calendar side of things, we all have personal calendars on personal iCloud accounts but they are configured on all devices so that everyone knows when everyone else is available. Reminders though are only synced to one's individual iOS device but everyone's reminders are synced to the same computers so that we can update them from the comfort of a real keyboard. Same for Notes.

I understand that this whole setup might be confusing but it shows what you can or can't do with iCloud. In our case, sharing contacts between all of us makes things easier for everyone. Having constant access to always up to date calendar information for everyone is very convenient too.

Need I reming everyone that the geofencing functionality of reminders (the ability to set up a reminder to buy cheddar cheese whenever you get close to your favorite grocery store) is only available if your reminders are set up in an iCloud account. This feature is highly valuable and practical once you get to try it! I don't understand how I have managed to live without is thus far!

Other points and tips with respect to iCloud:

• Nowhere on Apple website is it stated that all iCloud information storage and transfer are encrypted. It obviously is but I don't understand why Apple didn't make it clear.

• This is iOS 5 related: it is now possible (in countries where it is available) to unlock your iPhone without iTunes. Ask your carrier to unlock your iPhone and when you receive confirmation that it has been configured on Apple servers, just insert a sim card from a different mobile carrier in your iPhone, it will connect to Apple activation servers through wifi and effectively unlock your iPhone (you won't need to do this again so you should be able to insert a foreign sim card in your iPhone without the need for a wifi connection once it has been done once).

• When I transferred my contacts from my Exchange account to iCloud, I noticed that contacts that had the same phone number for "Work" and "Work Fax" simply lost the "Work Fax" field. This is a bug and should have been fixed before official release.

• Contacts for which the country field is "USA" won't display the State in their address on iOS devices (though it will on a computer). If you edit the country from an iOS device and choose "United States", the State will appear (hopefully this information wasn't deleted as in the case of Work fax numbers).

• I wish searches for calendar information from an iOS device would extend to more than one year.

• When restoring my newly bought iPhone 4S from an iCloud backup of my iPhone 4 (fresh backup that was 30 mins old), half of my apps did not restore along with their app information. I did the same for another iPhone 4S and it worked flawlessly. I hope things will be more reliable with time because frankly, when it comes to backups, reliability has to be the number 1 feature.

• Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Notes & Reminders are accessible from iCloud.com but Notes can't be edited or created. I wish this were possible.

• Siri's preferences seem to be based on your primary iCloud account which is a problem when sharing a primary iCloud account with multiple users: The "my info"setting in Siri's preferences keeps switching from one user to another which leads to errors when setting reminders associated with location such as "remind me to do this when I get to work". Siri's preferences should be based on the user's phone number, particularly since it is only available on iPhones.

Why The iPhone 4S Is Great

2011-10-05T10:14:00.000+02:00

It seems many people were disappointed by yesterday's Apple event just because the new iPhone wasn't named the iPhone 5! I, however, believe that the iPhone 4S tech specs are in line with what was expected for the rumored iPhone 5 (dual core A5 processor, 8MP camera, 1080p video recording, SIRI assistant, faster graphics etc.). Surprisingly, the overall feedback on the Internet seems to be solely based on the fact that this new iPhone was not named with the number 5.

Of course, Apple could have named it iPhone 5 but that wouldn't have been in line with their practices. As the iPhone 4S sports the same form factor than the 4, they decided to keep the number 4 in its name (as for the iPhone 3 & 3GS). The press and most customers would have applauded if that same phone were named iPhone 5 instead of iPhone 4S as its specs are, for the most part, what were expected for an iPhone 5.

To me, the iPhone 4S looks like a wonderful phone that's going to be the fastest ever and on a daily use, that's what I want my iPhone to be good at: speed. I also wanted a better camera which looks like is what's coming. I don't care much about LTE speeds as I think that 14.4Mbps is enough on a cell phone. Let's be frank, most people in the world (even in the US) don't even have that kind of bandwidth for their home Internet connection. How can they expect their phone to be faster and most importantly what would they do with such a bump in speed, specially when their mobile Internet usage is capped?

The other great news about the iPhone 4S is that its form factor hasn't changed which means that all our current accessories will work fine with it. Isn't that great news? Why would you want that already thin phone to get any thinner? I don't think it would be comfortable and practical to hold it if it were the case. Instead of going for the slimmest competition, Apple decided to keep its current form factor and not impose on customers to buy a whole new range of accessories (cases, bumpers, docks, cables). Namely, I think this is great news for BMW & MINI Connected users who will be able to continue using their current car snapins.

So, all in all, I don't think yesterday's announcement could have been better and people dumping their Apple stocks just don't get it!

What are your thoughts?

Bitcasa & The Promise Of Infinite Cloud Storage

2011-09-19T13:06:00.002+02:00

Bitcasa looks like the Holy Grail of Cloud Computing. I think they totally dig what today's computing lacks in terms of ease of use & backup automation.

One thing that I hate is to install a new computer. It's something I usually try to avoid for as long as possible and probably the reason why I don't upgrade my hardware as often as I'd like to. Going through a whole day of data migration, settings troubleshooting etc. is just something that nobody, no matter how computer savvy they are, is looking forward to.

The promise of Bitcasa is to change today's paradigm by getting rid entirely of the local storage concept: EVERYTHING IS IN THE CLOUDS. You, therefore, needn't worry about downloading all your data from your online storage service (such as SugarSync or Dropbox), a task which can take days if not weeks when installing a new computer. You just access it in real time through the Internet.

Of course, there are challenges to this approach. Many will argue they don't want to be isolated from their data if they don't have Internet connectivity. To address this, Bitcasa will cache some of the most frequently accessed files on your local computer. I would also say that, in my case, I rarely use my computer when I don't have Internet connectivity as most of the things I do are online. I, thus, don't anticipate to be frustrated if I can't access my files when offline.

A second challenge lies in access time. If you want to access an online HD movie, how fast will it stream / download to your computer? Although, Bitcasa demonstration at TC disrupt was impressive when they simultaneously streamed two HD trailers, we don't know how fast their Internet connection was at the time.

If the two challenges described above are overcome, I believe Bitcasa has the potential of revolutionizing the way we use our computers and make our lives much easier. It might even help sell more computers as consumers might be less reluctant to go through the trouble of migrating their data to new ones.

Last but not least, Bitcasa said they would price their service at US$ 10 per month which I think is a no-brainer. Just think about how often you buy additional storage for your computer or the pain of manually backing up your data on a regular basis. Bitcasa will enable you to forget about all this for US$10 per month and you'll have the ease of mind of knowing that your data is safe with them.

In my opinion, Bitcasa qualifies as the perfect companion for MacBook Air users!

If anyone at Bicasa is reading me, please send me a beta invite!

Just Another Weekly Hamburger Picture

2011-09-19T11:53:00.001+02:00

Let The New Hamburger Season Begin

2011-09-11T18:51:00.001+02:00

Enough with the Club Sandwich madness, let the Sunday Burger Sunday Season begin !

Lylou's Cook Hamburger Delivery In Strasbourg (France) Review

2011-09-04T20:48:00.000+02:00

There finally is one option to have hamburgers delivered at home in Strasbourg thanks to Lylou's Cook. Yes their website is amateurish at best but they are the only option if you live in Strasbourg and feel too lazy to go out to buy a hamburger. Of course, I had to to taste their burgers so here is my review.

First of all, it took me one hour and thirty-five minutes to be delivered which is way too long on my opinion. I ordered 2 double cheeseburgers and one regular cheeseburger with fries and ended up with two regular cheeseburgers and only one double cheeseburger. The fries were good but the cheeseburgers only ok. I could taste neither the cheddar, nor the onions in my burger. The meat was good though and the bun warm. There is way too much Ketchup in their burgers to enjoy their ingredients but all in all I can say that my meal was ok. I would, hence, give them a score of 5/10. They have a menu for two which is a very good value as it is priced at €15.90 and comes with burgers, fries, drinks and desserts.

AT&T Has Affordable International Data Roaming Plans. Why Not Us?

2011-08-31T07:38:00.004+02:00

Yes! You are not dreaming! AT&T does offer reasonable and sensible data roaming plans whereas most other carriers in the world keep ripping their customers off. Of course the US$ 199.99 plan for 800Mb of data is expensive but compared to what most carriers charge in France, it simply is the best deal ever. Those same 800 Mb of data roaming would cost with a French carrier 800 times EUR13 which amounts to EUR10400 which translates into US$15000! Can you believe that? I call for all mobile carriers to come to their senses and stop preventing their customers from using mobile internet abroad by charging them a reasonable price.

If AT&T can do it, how come other carriers don't?

What To Make Of Near-Death Experiences?

2011-08-30T15:41:00.002+02:00

A recent spike in accounts of near-death experiences by some of my patients has led me to re-examine this fascinating phenomenon. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it is described as a process occurring when one is dying or already dead. It usually consists of a feeling of painlessness and happiness accompanied by seeing an intense white light at the end of a tunnel. Some people who have experienced it report meeting religious figures or long deceased loved ones before being called back on earth after being successfully resuscitated.

It is amazing to think that this phenomenon occurs in almost the same way across all cultures. Of course, this doesn't address the question of whether it is only a physiological process or a spiritual one. Wikipedia has a very interesting entry on this topic which I can only encourage you to read.

I was just recently struck by a very vivid experience related to me in which a person was in contact with their recently deceased daughter. Of course, it could all be attributed to their imagination but what if it were "real"?

Love And Death - Ebo Taylor

2011-08-23T15:29:00.001+02:00

Just a nice song that I recently discovered!

Cosmic Entanglement, Consciousness & Bodily Existence

2011-08-23T14:12:00.003+02:00

Witnessing the last moments of existence of a living being only reminds us that our existence, in this world that we call ours, is transient and fragile. Although we spend most of our days not thinking too much about it, we are bound to face this reality from time to time and ultimately at the time of our death. It is, in fact, both appalling and essential that we avoid such concerns on a daily basis for our existence would be otherwise flooded with angst and sorrow.

However, in these moments when we are faced with the vanishing of life, we sometimes, feel that we can grasp a short preview of what our existence and the universe are all made of. Of course, such realizations could arguably be described as vain attempts at dealing with grief. I like to think that, though pointless, these moments can only help our understanding of the universe or whatever that might have a purpose in it.

Does it seem so far-fetched (which religion or philosophy isn't?) to think that our bodily manifestation is nothing more than a mere puppet remotely controlled by our true self emanating from a different plane of existence through some sort of cosmic entanglement?

Death could be conceptualized as the simple action of severing this cosmic connection, disconnecting our true self from our "puppet". I have such a hard time believing that our material existence is the only reality. There has to be a more transcendent explanation than simply accepting our condition as it is.

How can we believe that either there is nothing else than the creation of our consciousness and its destruction at the end of our life? Or that something magical and/or religious is there to explain it all? Can't we theorize something in between? Why wouldn't there be something linking our physical universe to a spiritual one obeying our yet-to-come understanding of science?

Isn't there something transcendent in all creatures able to ask themselves such questions? And by that reasoning, can we reach some sort of partial conclusion that we, or part of us, can exist in so many different planes of existence that our true essence does not vanish but only evolves through multiple states and connections?