It's Friday, the sun is shinning, and even though I'm not back in Germany, I'm still feeling pretty good, so here's a feel good-feel video featuring Qbo, the cutest little robot that you ever did see!
Now Qbo isn't quite as versatile as Asimo below, who you can see dancing up a storm with a lovely young thing, but Qbo is nonetheless cute enough to bring out a chuckle from a old, stingy fart like myself, and as such, is a delight for children everywhere, including big kids like myself.
In conclusion, not only are we entering the age of robots, but as Qbo and Asimo demonstrate, we are also entering the age of cute and adorable ones to boot!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, but cold Friday, December 30, 2011
I'm not a gamer, but after watching the demo above I'm almost tempted to become one!
The video demo is of 60Beats new GamePad for iOS devices. It's a gaming joystick, or gaming controller, that simply attach's to the headphone jack of any iPod, iPhone and iPad, and thus giving iOS devices all of the abilities of regular game controllers, such as those found on the XBox, Sony PlayStation, or a Nintendo gaming device, etc.
Unfortunately, it only comes with two bloody games at the moment, but they are promising a lot more to come in the new year, and, hopefully, they will alos include many of the bigger gaming titles.
Another unfortunate aspect, of this otherwise cool accessory, is that it's rather pricey, like $50 pricey....... ouch!
In conclusion, this thing, to me anyway, looks positively neato and it appears to work just as neato. I don't know about you, but I can really see something like this catching on, and especially if they can drop the dang price a wee bit, and if they can quickly add more games.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, December 29, 2011
According to some Apple is not only about to enter the TV space, but it will do so by serving them up with its own specialized custom chips rather than with chips from others, such as Intel.
Apparently, Apple has already signed a foundry agreement with TSMC, and it will utilize its 28nm and 20nm process technologies. This would mostly be for its next-generation "A6" and "A7" processors for the iPhone and iPad, but it's also believed that Apple will be also utilizing the advanced chips for its smart televisions.
According to industry sources, it's also believed that any Apple television would be assembled by Foxconn Electronics. Foxconn already builds most of Apple's devices, including the iPhone and iPad, and as such, demand has been so huge that it is doubling the size of its factories in order to handle the demand for Apple products, and specifically for the iPhone.
It's also being reported that Apple will offering sets in 32 and 37 sizes, which many find somewhat puzzling, as I do myself. Apple is also believe to want to offer television owners, if it gets its way, an Internet-based content subscription service with customized channel lineups.
If Apple does indeed jump into the crowded waters of TV's, then it could conceivably shake things up in the same way and manor that it has already done in the passt with smartphones, music players and software delivery, etc.
In conclusion, it's also rumored that Apple may also include OLED panels from LG, which just recently announced that it would be selling a huge 55-inch OLED TV in the new year. Now, if true, combining Apple's formidable industrial design prowess with that of a large OLED screen would be killing combination indeed.
Despite what seems like never ending boasting from Frandroids that Android is activating some 770,000 new devices daily, it appears that Apple's iOS may have nonetheless just beaten it when it came to the recent Christmas holiday period.
As Philip De Elmer-DeWitt pointed out, it's all basically guess work at this point, so we'll just have to wait until Apple announces its next quarterly results to know for sure, but it could be a period that some think could also be the biggest corporate blow-out in history, so anything is possible!
Based on information from Flurry Analytics, Mr. DeWitt also noted that:
A week earlier, Rubin had tweeted that daily activations of Android devices now exceed 700,000.
If we assume at least 700,000 Android devices were activated on Christmas Eve, the number activated on Christmas Day could not exceed 3 million.
If we can trust Flurry's and Rubin's numbers, that suggests at least 3.8 million iOS devices were activated on Dec. 25.
Given that Android phones outsold iPhones by 2:1 worldwide in the second quarter of 2011 and more than 3:1 in the third quarter, it's likely that if Apple did beat Android in the Christmas bake-off by nearly 800,000 units, sales of the iPad and iPod touch probably accounted for the difference.
In other words, unless Apple blows it, it should have beaten Android soundly over the holiday period by almost one million units! That's a huge increase that should help to put a big dent in Android's seemingly unstoppable success. It won't kill it, of course, but it could mean that Android is going to have to fight, and fight a lot harder to keep iOS at bay in the near and long term.
If the above isn't bad enough news for Android, well it's even worse on patent war front which could find Android in even deeper water, and especially now that Apple was also just awarded another major multi-touch patent, which AppleInsider described this way:
"Apple won a core multitouch patent regarding oscillating signals that was alluded to when Steve Jobs first announced the original iPhone in 2007, and adds to the company's already formidable legal arsenal."
When it comes to the on going patent wars, Google's Eric Schmidt can cry foul, and how Apple limit's competition, all he wants, but as Fosspatent's Florian Mueller pointed out:
"If Mr. Schmidt wanted to imply that Apple restricts competition, he will soon get a 400-page statement of objections against Google's allegedly anticompetitive conduct from the European Commission's directorate-general for competition enforcement."
Florian Mueller has also stated that when it comes to Google:
"..... I have repeatedly criticized Google's attitude toward other companies' intellectual property (most recently in quotes I provided to the Christmas Eve edition of The Telegraph)...."
In conclusion, I don't know if Apple did indeed surpassed Google over the Christmas holiday period in activations or not, but, if it did 'smoke Android', then it could be a major turning point in the battle for the hearts and minds of customers looking for a future smartphone!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this dark, forbidding Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Ok, a few days ago I seen the above YouTube video, via Gizmodo, and I have to say that this is pretty neato! Yes, it's RollerMan, the human roller skater, seen here just rolling on down the highways of beautiful Europe.
The video begins with the words, in good old German: "Ich sehe was du nicht siehst!", or " I see what you don't!" Well, I know what I see, and it looks like damn fun that's what, even though I have to admit that it also looks downright freaking scary as hell!
Also, according to Gizmo, RollerMan is "...... is the alter-ego of Jean-Yves Blondeau," whom they describe as a 'crazy Frenchman', and who kind of reminds me of the crazy man, from Switzerland, better known as, 'JetMan', or whom I prefer to call, good-old 'RocketMan.'
In conclusion, these so-called crazy men from Europe are just the kind of men that I would love to be someday, just rolling on down the highways and byways, and flying through the air without a care, but hey, then again ...... I'm not that crazy!
And that's my 2 cents 4 the day 4 this Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Well, I don't know about you, but I sure in hell know what the little boy above got for Christmas ...... an iPad Touch, and thanks to his nonstop screaming and hollering, I'm pretty dang sure that the entire planet also knows!
WARNING: in conclusion, this is one video that you may want to first cover your ears, because this little kid has a big mouth and boy, oh boy, does this boy know how to use it!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, December 26, 2011
OMGPictures.com did an interesting comparison between iOS and Android users. It was a graphical look at the battle of the two top mobile OS’s, and the differences between their users and was quite interesting to say the least. For example, when it came to core demographics and personality they found that:
- Android users where 80% more likely to have a high school diploma; while iOS users, on the other hand, where 37% more likely to have a graduate degree
- Android users where more likely to have a annual household income between 50k to 100k; as compared to iOS users who where more than 67% more likely to have an annual household income over 200k
- Android users where 12% more likely to be introverted; with iOS users 14% more likely to extroverted
- Android users where 29% more likely to prefer saving their money; iOS users are 26% more likely to prefer actually spending theirs
However, when it comes to life experiences and technology in general the differences are:
- Android users where 71% more likely to have never traveled outside of their own countries; iOS users, however, where found to be 50% more likely to have actually visited at least 5 different countries
- Android users are 31% more likely to be earlier adopters; iOS users, on the other hand, are more than 50% more likely to be the same
- Android users are more than 57% more likely to prefer a full-featured, but ugly device; iOS users, in contrast, are more than a whopping 122% more likely to prefer a less featured, but a more beautiful device such as the iPhone or iPad
- Android users are more than 33% more likely to ever back up their computers; iOS users being more than 67% more than likely to back up theirs
When it comes to actually using their phones, well things are equally interesting with:
- Android users being 35% more likely to text while waiting in line; in contrast, iOS users are more than 54% more likely to view email while waiting in line
- Android users are more than 24% likely to use a song for a ring-tone rather than a beep, etc.; iOS users, however are more than 50% more likely to do what they shouldn’t do: text while driving
When it comes to food and dinning, Android users are somewhat different in their tastes as well, with:
- Android users being more likely to prefer steak, chicken and cheese steak; iOS users being more likely to prefer sushi, pad Thai and tapes. Clearly, when it comes to the food, then I’m definitely in the Android camp!
- When it comes to fruit, well Android users prefer mainly: oranges, pineapples and grapes; iOS users: strawberries, Clementine’s and raspberries
In conclusion, I’m not sure how accurate these statistics are, but they are fun and they do clearly show differences in the thinking and tastes of the respected users of the two major mobile OS’s. OMG Pictures have a lot more fun statistics too, not only in the above areas, but, as well in additional areas such as media, fashion, taste and aesthetics, so be sure to check em out as well.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, December 26, 2011
Apple has always had a thing for long lasting batteries, and now, if a new patent says anything, Apple may provide devices with enough juice to power future Apple devices for weeks on end!
Recently, one of the legends of tech, Steve Jobs, was further immortalized by the unveiling of a bronze statue of his likeness in the beautiful Hungarian capitol of Budapest.
The statue was commissioned by Graphisoft, a software company who claims that it has Apple roots going all the way back way to the ’80s after Steve Jobs accidentally stumbled across the company’s first version of ArchiCAD software at the 1984 CeBIT in good, old Germany, and as such, asRegHardwarepoints out,that the company decided to honor the world’s greatest marketing genius for its after it gave it:
“……… cash and computers at a time when Graphisoft was a small company with limited resources, working within the economic and political confines of what was, at the time, communist Hungary,” according to the company’s founder and chairman Gabor Bojar.”
However, Steve’s new Budapest statue isn’t the only honor that Apple’s recently deceased CEO, and co-founder, is to about receive, because as the above report mentions, as do many others, Mr. Jobs is also about to receive another posthumously award, this time in the form of a special life-time Grammy. As the Inquirer.net reports, the Grammy award is given out by the recording industry:
“…….. to people who offer an outstanding contribution to the industry in a non-performing role, but a number of the other recipients worked directly in the music industry as composers, producers and sound engineers, and many of them also recorded songs of their own.”
There can be no doubt, Steve Jobs and Apple have done a lot in helping the recording industry by its ground-breaking iTunes and iPod, which has also been recognized by many as saving the industry from illegal down loaders, and by making digital downloads not only legal, but profitable, as well, to the industry as a whole.
I can only hope that Steve is now looking down and smiling at these two honors, honors that many believe is long over due.
Price sensitivity across Europe has resulted in the iPhone's market share falling, according to this report.
However, the above report also notes that the recent introduction of the iPhone 4S has resulted in increased market share for the iPhone at least in the U.S., the U.K. and in Australia.
Regarding the above, AppleInsider pointed out that:
"Business and consumer confidence in Europe are particularly low, as the continent is in the midst of a financial crisis stemming from government debt. The report noted Europeans are "keeping a lid on their expenses," which is likely to have affected iPhone sales outside of the U.K."
Clearly then, it's the economy and not the lack of desire for the iPhone that is resulting in the current European iPhone Blues. However, that said, even though Apple's higher prices have lost it some control in Europe, it's not the case for Google where it continues to hold on to its 41 to 61 percent in all markets, mostly due, of course, to its lower prices.
In conclusion, tough economic times tend to give consumers a growing uneasiness to spend their hard earned money, thus hitting them where it hurts the them the most, in their pocket books, which is clearly indicated in the above report. Either Apple is going to have to come out with iPhones that can match Google's inferior phones and their cheaper prices, or the economy will have to improve before the iPhone blues can be dealt with, otherwise, I sadly don't see things improving for the iPhone's market share anytime soon, but my fingers are crossed.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this so, so Thursday, December 22, 2011
For all the hoop-la that Frandroids put out, they might just be a little put out over Distimo's January to November report on app sales, which clearly shows that Apple generates over an astounding six times the revenue than that for all Android apps combined.
In fact, Distimo looks at iPhone and iPad generated sales separately, rather than a whole, and that for the iPad, all and by its lonesome little self, now generates more than twice the sales for all Android phones and tablets combined!
Now that's what I think, shall we say, is shockingly.... shocking!
As you can plainly seen in the opening graph, via SlashGear, that when it comes to the big three app stores, the iPhone, the iPad and Android, the later doesn't look all that impressive in comparison, which is especially curious considering that Android now outsells iOS devices by a pretty significant margin.
Of particular interest, however, is the explosive growth for Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 platform which Distimo says has now grown by over some 400%. That growth has seen Microsoft's app sales over take those of Nokia's Ovi store and BlackBerry's App World, for games at least, and now makes it the fourth largest source of app sales and revenue.
You can read Distimo's report here, after first completing a free registration requirement.
In conclusion, as stated above, it's curious that in spite of Android's activations leveling off at the 550,000 per day point, Apple's iOS still nonetheless totally dwarfs both the sales and revenue for all Android devices combined. Android, for some, is nothing more than a cheap rip-off of iOS, and as such, apparently owners of those cheap phones are just too dang cheap to spend money on good quality apps, which is what Distimo's report seems to back up.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this cold and cloudy Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Google is bold, imaginative, brilliantly innovative and they simply offer a hell-of-a-lot of good products and services that help improve and enrich the lives of millions of people the globe over.
Unfortunately, like any other huge company, be it Apple, Microsoft, or you name em, Google also has its frustrating side, or bad side.
In that vain, sadly, I have to agree with RickWebb'sTublrMajig.com,who is growing increasingly frustrated with Google as he illustrates in his blog.
You see, as great as Google is, it has to make its money somewhere and it does so with advertising, and advertising that is increasingly becoming a pain in the butt, as with its increasing presence on YouTube for example. Yes, I know, like you and everyone else on the planet I love YouTube. Unfortunately, even though I don't mind Google making a buck by supporting it with ads, I don't like how these ads are increasingly interrupting the videos that I want to watch. The pop up on the bottom of the video, which is utterly frustrating and annoying, means trying to quickly click them off before they hide and interrupt too much of the video!
Ah... how damn frustrating!
However, when searching, as the above fellow blogger points out, Google simply dumps too much information at your finger tips..... way, way too much of it, and sadly, most of it being totally useless to the user. Google forces you to go through a pile of useless information in order to find exactly what your looking for, unlike, as also pointed out above, other simpler sites or platforms such as Wolfham which gives you straight-to-the-point information in a simple, yet effective way. No wonder Apple's own Siri uses it, as well as other similar platforms.
In conclusion, I like Google a lot and for many good reasons, I really, really do, but clearly Google, like every other big company, I guess, has got to get a grip on things, by making things simpler, easier and a lot less frustrating to use. It seems that the larger Google becomes, the more bloated it becomes and sadly, the more frustrating it becomes to use and get around! Like the above blogger, well I'm not looking to ween myself completely off of Google and its many great offerings, but I'm beginning to to look around.
And that's my 2 cents on Google-the-great 4 this Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Ok, I knew the iPhone was selling like those proverbial hot-cakes, but check out the report from CNN that states that Morgan Stanley is predicting that Apple may sell as many as 190,000,000 (yes, that’s millions!) iPhones next year!
Now that is a lot of iPhones no matter which way you wish to chop, slice or dice em!
Ok, even though some people, maybe even you, might think of the current holidays as being nothing but 'humbug', you'll at least have to admit that the video above is kind of cute. It's a Christmas choir comprised of some 64 iPhones singing their little hearts, or make that their integrated circuits, out.
And, as Gizmodosaid several days ago, they are not bad, not that bad at all! No, I don't think for one minute that any of them sound quite as good as Helene Fischer or Susan Boyle or anything, but these iPhones just happen to sport some of the cutest faces that you'll ever see on any phone and they have the ability to melt the coldest heart when singing 'Deck the Halls'.
Glassdoor has just come out with the results for this years list of best companies to work for, and among the top tech companies to work for are: Facebook, Google and Apple, which happens to join the top ten list for the first time.
Facebook is the top tech company, coming in at number three on the overall list. Google comes in at the second spot, or number five in the overall list, and the only other tech company to make the top ten, Apple comes in at number ten on the overall list, or number three among tech companies.
The top ten companies overall, including tech and non-tech companies are:
1 - Bain & Company 2 - McKinsey & Company 3 - FaceBook 4 - MITRE 5 - Google 6 - CareerBuilder 7 - Slalom Consulting 8 - REI 9 - Traders Joe 10 - Apple
This is the fourth annual list of the top ten companies to work for list, and it is comprised from comments made by some 250,000 employees working for the above companies, among others.
When it comes to the leadership of those companies, well Tim Cooke's approval rating from Apple's employees is extremely high, the highest of them all in fact. Tim garnered a whopping 97% approval rating, where FaceBook's Marke Zuckerberg garnered an approval rating of 93%, and recently installed CEO, Larry Page, of Google, managed a very respectable 92% approval rating.
In conclusion, Glassdoor ranked the top 50 companies in America which included companies in various fields and I'm rather surprised that only three tech companies made it to the top ten.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Thursday, December 15, 2011 Top Ten Logo borrowed from: iolo.com
Despite some people bashing Siri, it appears that the Big G is clearly worried about Siri and is rushing out a clone as fast as it can. After all, it has repeatedly copied just about everything else from iOS, so I guess why stop now?
According to this report, from Gizmodo, Google's rumored new Siri clone goes by the name of Gene Roddenberry's wife, Majel, who voiced many of the computers on the old Star Trek TV show.
Quoting from AndroidandMe, Gizmodo said that Majel could be out by the end of this year, even though it would initially be limited to doing only Google searches at first, but would eventually branch off to become more like the computers found in Star Trek, and according to AndroidandMe, Google is now working around the clock to bring it to market, and stated:
"Google’s Matias Duarte had previously given hints about the future of Android’s voice actions in an interview with Slashgear. Matias said, “Our approach is more like Star Trek, right, starship Enterprise; every piece of computing surface, everything is voice-aware. It’s not that there’s a personality, it doesn’t have a name, it’s just Computer.”
I had previously speculated that Google’s approach might actually include some kind of animated avatar, but it appears I was way off on that one. However, we still expect greatly enhanced computer voices that sound more human and fluid, thanks to Google’s acquisition of Phonetic Arts, which occurred at the tail end of 2010."
In conclusion,the above are all just rumors at this point, but they do make sense. After all, according to Google itself, Siri is a big threat to its search business and therefore also threatens its copy cat Android platform, a platform that Steve Jobs and others contend was stolen, lock-stock-and-barrel, off of iOS, so naturally ripping off Siri has got to be one of Google's top priorities right now. Whether they can pull it off, or not, remains to be seen.
And that's my 2 cents 4 this dreary Wednesday, December 14, 2011
"....... we now estimate, that if current trends continues, the Marketplace will reach the 50,000 app mark in the first week of January 2012. However, it is possible that this mark may be reached before the end of the year if submission rates accelerate. We'll report in more detail and provide some additional statistics when the 50,000 item mark is reached, as we did for the 40,000 item mark."
"WP7applist, a rival tracking site, is currently reporting 43,428 applications worldwide and explains 5,784 of them are inactive, 55% are available for free and the average price is $1.77 per paid application."
With almost 6,000 of those applications being inactive, I guess the real numbers would be more along the lines of 37,000 applications, which is still, of course, a lot of apps, but compared with Apple's App Store it's peanuts, as it is now being reported that it has achieved yet another milestone... an even more whopping 500,000 apps!
148Appsreported that not only has the 500,000 app threshold been passed, but PadGadget further points out that:
Upon the iTunes App Store launch on July 10, 2008, there were 500 total apps
500,000 apps were developed by 85,569 unique developers
37% of apps are available for free
The average price for paid apps is $3.64
Games represent 15% of the available apps, books are second most popular at 14% –a balance of power that continues to shift back and forth from month to month.
You would need 7.5 TB of storage to hold all of the apps from the App Store
It would cost you $891,982.24 to purchase all of the apps from the App Store
There has been over 10 billion total app downloads
The app to spend the most time in the #1 popularity spot is Angry Birds, for 275 days
Well, in conclusion, it's apparently a great time, a very great time indeed to be a smart phone developer these days. With over a half-a-million apps for iOS, and almost 50,000 for Windows Phone 7, and over some 350,000 for Android, maybe, just maybe I'm in the wrong business?
And that's my 2 cents 4 this gloriously sunny and warm Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Ok, now the above video is what I call pretty dang, freaking awesome..... working gears shaped in the form of a cube! It looks to be a totally impossible contraption, and one that could never, ever work in a million, billion, zillion years..... but it does! Not only that, according to this post, the parts were all simply made with a 3D printer!
Now, as totally awesome as that is, get a gander of the video below, a video of balls .... running uphill! Yuppers, it's just an illusion, but boy, oh boy, is it a dandy!
Ok, as cool as the two videos above are, they're not the only illusion that I've got for you, no sir, because, as you can see below, we have a video of some shaded squares. They might seem, at first glance, to be rather plain and boring, but, trust me, they are anything but. However, that said, I'll let you figure this one out for yourself, but don't worry, it's easy:
The illusion below is an old one, and is one that makes your mind insist that what your seeing isn't real, but it really is! I've seen this one before in books, but, however, this is the first time that I've actually seen it demonstrated in a video, so enjoy:
The last video might not really an illusion per say, like the others, but it's still nonetheless pretty cool. This video comes from Apple's recent Beatle promotion and it transforms iconic, but static, Beatle images, and ones familiar to millions of fans worldwide, into seemingly living, animated ones, and is nicely done:
Well, in conclusion, there you go, five cool, if not downright freakishly, awesome and mind-blowing videos, and ones that demonstrate that what may look real sometimes is anything but, and what seems totally unreal at times, actually is!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this glorious, but cold as hell, Monday, December 12, 2011
Just what us dummies, you know people like me, need…. a wireless cord that will remind you not to forget to leave your precious iDevice behind.
Yes sir, I’m always forgetting to remember things and ZOMM’s new wireless leash is a must have.
The Wireless Leash looks rather like a little hockey puck that you clip onto your key chain, and then just more-or-less forget about, until that is you get up and go without your precious iDevice in tow! If you do that, and I hope you don’t, but if you do ZOMM’s Wireless Leash will start bitching until you realize that your about to leave without your precious with you.
Microsoft's Kinect has been a huge success, something that the Redmond giant has seen precious little of lately. Well, now according to a report that I just read on AppleInsider, Apple itself is believed to be looking into adding its own type of Kinect like support for its future range of Mac computers.
Apple's concept, entitled, "Three-Dimensional Imaging and Display System.", describes an entirely new way for users to interact and control their Macs, by allowing users, with their hands, to perform gestures in a three-dimensional space.
As you can see in AppleInsider's opening drawing, the new system, can allow for the creation of virtual keyboards, knobs and dials, or as AppleInsider put it:
"Apple envisions a user interface that would allow a person to more naturally use their hands and fingertips to control a device. An accompanying display could show knobs, sliders and buttons that a user could virtually manipulate in a three-dimensional space. In one image accompanying the application, a user is shown using both of their hands to select inputs on an iMac. With their left hand, the user is twisting a virtual knob, while on the right hand, their index finger is being used to press a button. The system would aid the user with on-screen visual cues, allowing them to more easily manipulate objects on the screen. For example, Apple's system includes a virtual representation of the user's hand displayed on the screen of the iMac."
Considering the appeal of Microsoft's Kinect, which by the way was actually developed by an Israeli firm which first offered it to Apple, is something that I would love to see Apple do, but only if it doesn't infringe upon Microsoft's IP. If it can do it, and especially if it can do it by adding even more functionality to it, then all I will say is: bring it on!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy Thursday, December 08, 2011
I'm still in pain after having an operation and really can't post much on anything, so what to do? I will simply post the picture above as a photo-of-the-day, and its from one of my favorite places..... Deutschland Die Schon!
This photo of one of the world's most famous castles and it comes from manchot6150's Flickr page, and it's absolutely stunning! Of course, this castle is none other than Bavaria's Royal Neuschwanstein Castle, and this is the castle that inspired the also equally famous Walt Disney version. Normally, well I'm not much of a lover of snow, but in this case I'll make an exception as manchot's photo is as professionally well done as any I've seen of this lovely place. Neuschwanstein Castle isn't the only lovely Bavarian castle either, as this lovely part of Germany has many more to list.
According to Wikipedia:
"The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, Ludwig II, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.
Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer."
Well, in conclusion, that's it for today, but as you can also see from epape's Flickr page, the photo above and on the right is another major reason why I love Germany so much, and on why Germany has so much more beauty going for it besides its lovely, fairy tale like castles!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this dreary, rainy and miserable Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Today's post, or should I say non-post..... wont' be!
That's because for the next few days I won't be able to post much about anything.
The reason is qutie simple:
I'll be under going another operation due to a genetic liver condition and other health problems, so I'll need a day or so to recover, but in the meantime, I wish my dear readers, all two-or-three of you, the very best in the meantime and, hopefully, I'll be back in a day or so?
And tha't my 2 cents 4 this Monday, December 05, 2011
Apple’s next quarter is beginning to look like it will be more of the same….. record breaking!
In fact, not only does a recent report by Canalys suggest that Apple will surpass HP in 2012 to become the world’s largest computer seller, which was more-or-less confirmed by HP’s own CEO, Meg Whitman, J.P. Morgan is now also suggesting that Apple’s iPhone will break all records, selling as much as an estimated 28-million of the smartphones in the next quarter!
I absolutely love everything German, the land, the people, the cities, the language, you just name it. So, considering that I've also always loved and had a fascination with miniatures, you can just imagine my excitement over a place called MiniaturWunderland in the great port city of Hamburg?
Yuppers, I'm totally in love with this place, and as you can see from the video above, who wouldn't love this magical and wunderbar place, and especially if you also happen to be a lover miniatures!
MiniaturWunderland is the world's largest train set, and one that cost millions of dollars to design, build and operate, but in my mind it's worth every dam penny.
The details that those clever Germans put into this amazing world of miniatures is absolutely mind-blowing! The technology that enables the streets, the people, the trains and vehicles to look and move so life-like is just incredible, and now they've gone and added the world's largest miniature airport, complete with planes landing and taking off! Trust me, it's not as easy as it looks, because it took some six-years of planning and hard work to pull it off, and not too mention several extra million dollars!
In conclusion, I'm dying to get back to the land of beautiful, ever so beautiful Germany, including the land of the little people, the little people who reside in the little land of MiniaturWunderland, a wunderbarplatz for all of us kids, including this big kid, little old me!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, December 01 (already!), 2011
