Living in America

Best new features of iPhone OS update to iOS 5

LivingInAmerica — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:58:08 +0000

While there is no iPhone 5 yet, the 4S is a pretty cool phone. Part of it also comes based on the new operating system, the iOS 5, which can be downloaded for the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS as well as for the iPads and some iPods. Not for the older 3G version though. You can find the direct download links here:

Here is a video from RedmondPie that sums up some of the new features:

iPhone5 in stores October 15th?

LivingInAmerica — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 06:11:42 +0000

The iPhone 5 rumor mill has been going strong the last few weeks, but it seems the expected dates around the new launch are taking shape. If have been following the guys over at Redmond Pie, and it seems by now that around early October there might be an Apple media event, on October 10th the new iOS 5 will be available in its final launch form, and on October 15th the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S will hit the shelves.

It also seems the new iPhone might be available on all 4 major carriers in the U.S., which would be quite nice as it might increase the competition around data plans and/or pricing overall.

Alive and Kicking ;-)

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:11:34 +0000

Just got inspired at the annual WordCamp San Francisco to write the blog again, thus this post. First things I had to do was to figure out why I could not even login any longer, turns out there is a PHP version problem going on when using 1and1 hosting that at some point broke the blog and produced some internal server errors (500). The good news is I found the solution and fixed it and then even the automatic upgrade worked. Wish upgrading your life was as easy as with WordPress… Guess the next few days will be spend on catching up on new themes and plugins and figure out what has changed in between.

Happy New Year & Break Announcement!

LivingInAmerica — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:12:01 +0000

Happy new year to all of you. As you might have noticed, I haven’t really posted anything in a while. Not that there is a lack of topics or interesting material, but I simply did not find the time to post. This is due to some family emergencies, travel, job changes, and some other personal projects that need to be finished first.

Thus, I decided to officially give myself some time off now, and to let you know about it so you don’t wonder if this site has been abandoned completely or not. No, it hasn’t. I will be back.

But don’t expect anything before April.

Best, Daniel

Maximize the Interest Rate (Yield) on Your Checking Account

LivingInAmerica — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:35:14 +0000

In tough times like this, it’s important that you assess where your money is going and where you are spending it. And while you might think your money is save at the bank, the banks are trying to nickel and dime you with record fees. But it’s also important to make sure to let whatever dime you have work for you as strong as possible.

While I do not want to advocate changing your checking account every month to keep up with the latest rate changes, I am still amazed at the number of customers regular retail banks have that offer nothing or so little in interest rates on their checking accounts. Bank customers must be a very loyal (or lazy?) bunch, otherwise most of the (especially larger) banks could not sustain offering such lame terms. What should as decent checking account offer in 2008? I believe at a minimum the following:

FDIC insurance
Free
ATM reimbursements
High interest rate yield (how about up to 6% right now?)
Online access and transactions exportable into money software (such as Quicken, Money etc.)
Free debit card

Some of these features are often linked to fulfilling certain conditions, such as a certain number of transactions, debit card purchases, regular incoming wire deposit (salary etc.). If you don’t have any of these features you might want to check out some of these sites:

I am currently banking with EverBank, and am fairly happy with it, but I am considering a change given they are offering only half of the highest rate available right now. I value though that there are no strings attached to the account (no minimum anything). The ATM reimbursement is a bit cumbersome though, as you need to send them the ATM slips in via their bank by mail envelopes (provided). Also, incoming wire transfers are free. Outgoing ones are $50 and thus a rip-off, but very fast. I sent money to Germany in the past and it arrived within 72h.

In any case, paying for checking should be a thing of the past, and you should at least get a somewhat decent interest rate on your checking account, otherwise, you might consider looking around for something better.

How to Subscribe to a Blog or Website

LivingInAmerica — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:14:08 +0000

In case you ever wondered about how to subscribe to a blog or a website, and got confused about what feeds are and RSS means, here is help. Commoncraft produces fairly interesting little videos explaining things “in plain English”, and they feature one publicly available about RSS. All you feed to know, check it out.

Stop and Reflect: A Perspective on the Election

LivingInAmerica — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:04:01 +0000

I think for those of us fairly young who have not seen the struggles of the past we tend to forget how recent many changes have occured. We just take the current environment for granted. Why would a woman or a person with a skin color other than white not have the right to vote? Makes no sense, right? While watching the election with some friends we discussed this and it turns out, not too long ago the women did not even drive themselves, it was more then men driving them around. Crazy world, and we forget how recent things were changed.

It’s a bit like imagining a world without iPod’s and iPhone’s and without the Internet (what were people doing all day?). Technological advantage is one thing though, while cultural change usually needs more time to really get beyond the “accepted” or “tolerated” stage into the truly “normal”. So, my personal judgement is we have not reached the normal stage here, indicated by a rate of only 41% of white voters who voted for Obama.

On the ride home the other day I listened to NPR’s Fresh Air program and PBS’s Bill Moyers commented on the election and the society today. I have to say, even with just 41%, we have come a long way. It’s time to reflect and enjoy this moment and not rush to fast into the daily business. Who knows if this would have been possible in Western Europe. While they are all cheering now that the Bush era is over, are they all ready to vote for “their own Obama” in their country?

Congratulations, Mr. President-Elect Barack Obama

LivingInAmerica — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:33:14 +0000

Wow, you might think about the U.S. one way or another, or you might consider yourself a democrat or a republican, but what truly amazes me is the never ending evolution within this country. People don’t take no for an answer, and always question the status quo. There is always a strive to advance and move forward. And yesterday, we could watch the results of this. Congratulations, Mr. President-Elect. See below Barack Obama’s speech in Chicago on the evening of Nov. 4th, 2008:

Congratulations, Mr. President-Elect Barack Obama!

You can also see John McCain’s concession speech, which was also very impressive:

Well said, it’s time for a new era now. I guess there are enough problems to be solved.

America’s Federal Deficit: $52,700,000,000,000

LivingInAmerica — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:56:31 +0000

With the current financial crisis many people blame Wall Street and the “greed” factor for the fact that the economy seems to be hitting the wall. However, that’s only part of the picture. America has been living on the financial edge for quite some time. The federal government has accumulated $52,700,000,000,000 Dollars of dept and committed financial obligations, roughly US$455,000 for every household. The average household income is about 1/10 of that.

Total Federal Burden
$52,700,000,000,000

Every American’s Share
$175,000

So it’s time to save some cash. It has gotten so bad that, that more and more people are trying to create more awareness and do something about it. There is even a movie about it, supported by people like investor Warren Buffett.

Download yourself the citizens guide to understand more about this.

Lightning calculation and other “Mathemagic”

LivingInAmerica — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:59:17 +0000

This is a website I wanted to feature for a long time. In case you have not checked out Ted.com yet, you should definitely do that.There are some awesome talks and ideas for you to watch.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Here is one on the more entertaining side, but very fascinating and simply amazing from a Math perspective. In “MatheMagic”, in a lively show, mathemagician Arthur Benjamin races a team of calculators to figure out 3-digit squares, solves another massive mental equation and guesses a few birthdays. How does he do it? He’ll tell you. Sit back and enjoy: