Archive for 'France'
How Worldeka Brings Together Charities & Brands Online #tg09
In the press and blogger lounge at LeWeb in Paris earlier this month, I interviewed Worldeka’s Sophie Cox who talks to us about how charities and communities can use their service to extend their conversations, their voice and their brand.
[youtube 61jS4tJRpU4]
Parrot’s Remote Controlled Helicopter Takes Augmented Reality to the Next Dimension
In December, I visited Parrot‘s development labs in Paris to check out the company’s newest project. While Parrot is mostly known for its Bluetooth headsets and speaker systems, the company’s newest project combines augmented reality with a remote-controlled helicopter. This helicopter – the AR.Drone – features four rotors that keep it stable and a front-mounted camera that is linked to an iPhone or iPod touch. The rig is controlled via an iPhone or iPod touch and the device’s screen can show an augmented view of what the helicopter’s camera sees. [Video and details…] (more…)
Backstage Pass- Tom Foremski
This is a Backstage Pass interview of Tom Foremski, from Traveling Geeks at LeWeb in Paris, December, 2009.
Tom writes at Silicon Valley Watcher. Tom is a veteran Traveling Geek and can reflect on past experiences as well as the Paris trip. He’s also an experienced and professional journalist.
[Photo at left is by JD Lasica, from the London 2009 trip.]
[youtube JCL-VkurcoI]
Backstage Pass- Amanda Coolong
This is the first of my Backstage Pass interviews from Traveling Geeks at LeWeb in Paris, December, 2009.
Amanda writes at TechZulu and is happy to strike up a yoga pose almost anywhere (not in this video, but in the Traveling Geeks Flickr photos).
[Photo at left is by Rodrigo Sepulveda-Schulz (CC)by-nc-sa.]
[youtube ZRQq5lvlRIQ]
Le Digital Photo Frame #tg09
Parrot’s designer digital photo frame – a closer look at it as demoed by Parrot’s CEO at their offices in Paris in December.
[youtube JR9FMW8875o]
Backstage Pass- Sky interviews the geeks
It’s time to pick up your backstage pass for the Traveling Geeks tour. As the “geeks’ geek” I have the enjoyable task of herding the last few animals into the barn before the tour actually takes place. This means (primarily) that I’m handed the web site a couple of weeks before we take off and I make a ton of last-minute additions and adjustments—and have to debug various processes, sometimes over and over. For the Paris trip there were some new and interesting twists because of changes taking place in the social media scene. So let’s go behind the scenes with my recollections and introduction:
[youtube V_MI5jH_Rxc]
Coworking in Paris: Meet La Cantine #tg09
Action Shots from Traveling Geeks Paris & LeWeb
Culture, Language and the Online World
In my teens, on two different occasions, I spent a few months living in each of two countries (outside my native US), learning the predominant language and picking up the culture. Every once in a while it smacks me in the face that this makes me significantly different from many people in the US.[1] And it often affects how I react in both business and personal situations.
In northern Mexico, as a teen, I learned first hand how teenage boys functioned in a society that was moving from poverty and religious conservatism to modern urban life. In Québec City (Canada) I studied at the largest French-speaking university outside of France, and learned the pride a community takes in its native language and culture.[2] And I became aware of some of the movements working to preserve the language.[3]
So when one of the Traveling Geeks became somewhat stuck to the tar baby of how the French are going about world brand-building all wrong[4], I um kinda felt it in my gut more from the point of view of the French than the American. Robert might be right about what has to be done to build a world-wide brand, but maybe these companies weren’t about building world-brands, at least at this moment. (more…)
Electronic Picture Frames are getting lots better
I’ve been playing with electronic picture frames for almost two years. I started with a Ceiva frame two years ago, because it was capable of placing a phone call (modem) to pick up photos, and this frame was for a relative who doesn’t have access to any Internet services at all. It seemed like it would be perfect. It functioned well, held about a hundred photos (I bounced against its capacity, but it wasn’t annoying at all), and the only problem for me was the yearly fee for the dial-up service. But it meant that I could upload photos and within 24 hours they’d appear in the frame on the other side of the US. (If you’re like me, you write a paper letter once a year, to that rare relative who hasn’t yet gotten an email address—so sending photos electronically is a breeze compared to printing out those photos and writing a letter.)
But the Parrot Grande Specchio (pictured at left) has advanced considerably, and I like that. Continue reading to see what has happened in the last two years… (more…)
