Love the iOS Reader feature

One of my favourite features in iOS 5 has been the Reader. This feature strips the usual distractions on web pages (advertisements, widgets, badges, etc.) & provides the reading content in an easily readable format. The same distractions that fund the free content on the web. Another disruptive feature that will have an impact on online advertisers.

It has become my most used new feature on iDevices quickly. And nowadays, I have started missing a similar feature in desktop browsers as well. Got to check on one of those add-in or extensions.

Runner Extraordinaire

Most of the times, we give excuses (to ourselves, more than anything else) why not to do certain things. Bad knees, lack of stamina, no running track, too old to run, etc. – have all featured in my excuse list for not running. But, it is precisely the act of overcoming some of these debilitating voices inside our heads that takes us places.

Simon Wheatcroft – Ultra Runner With A Twist

Read more from this inspirational runner at his blog Adapting To Going Blind. 

Photo Feature – Geneva Old Town (Part 1)

This was my fourth business trip to Europe. I finally got a chance see more than the business hotels & offices that I am accustomed to from my previous visits. This series of posts covers my 5 hour walk of Geneva Old Town & its surroundings. I experienced all that I had imagined of Europe – cobbled streets, flower pots in window sills, inspiring architecture, al-fresco cafes, marquee brands, and more.

 >>   Part 2 | Part 3   >>

Jet d'Eau ..spewing water 140m into the airThe Jet d’Eau is a remarkable piece of engineering landmark that is symbolic of Geneva (much like the Petrona Towers for Kuala Lumpur or Opera House for Sydney). Seen from a wide area & even from the flying planes above, this fountain spews water 140m into the air. When operational, there is about 7000 litres of water in the air at any moment of time. I can only imagine how magnificent this would look against the bright blue sky .. which was missing during this part of my day.

 

IMG_7053I did the first half of my walk in dull cloudy weather. Most of the photos came out dull & grey – almost monochrome. The gold from the Rolex logo brings some life into this photo & signifies the co-existence of the old with the new (relatively). I bumped up the saturation levels quite a bit to bring out the golden colour here.

 

IMG_7057The fall brought in some colours into this photo. And the weather was just chilly enough to remind me where I was.

 

IMG_7065I was looking forward to the architecture in the city, and Geneva Old Town was the right place for this. I just had to look up to find something interesting all around the place. They are impressive photography subjects, the grey skies notwithstanding.

 IMG_7066The tram lines bordered by ageing buildings lend a charm to this part of the town. I had to crop this photo in size to bring about some balance into the final product.

 

IMG_7070Glass stands out on these buildings to lend a touch of modernity. While in the country side there is an effort to conceal the glass with wooden shutters (more to address climatic requirements than architectural or photogenic), urban landscape struts glass as a feature.

 

IMG_7071The tiles, sandstone, arches, shapes deployed – all go to make these structures photogenic. This one above is a monochrome version of a different perspective of the same building as above.

 

IMG_7075Cobbled streets are another signature feature of European cities. They never fail to remind me of scenes & sounds from the original Sherlock Holmes tele-serial (Granada Productions / Jeremy Brett in the lead role).

I still tend to go overboard with the DoF (depth of field) that the 50mm lens provides. This photo above is  one such example. I  have learnt recently that the sweet spot for lenses is usually a couple of stops higher than their maximum aperture. So, for my Canon 50mm f/1.8, I ought to be shooting more in the f/2.2 – f/2.8 range.

 >>   Part 2 | Part 3   >>

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Related Posts:
~ Photo Feature – Fall in Geneva
~ Photo Feature – Linger At Balur Estate
~ Pictures From Lunuganga

What do you make of EQ in the online world?

Over the last decade, email has become the cornerstone of business communication across industries & geographies. They are good at handling the transactional communication that most of our business roles involve. But they suck in communicating emotions or feelings. I routinely check myself against reading the emotions of the email sender and actively profess against it to anyone who cares to listen.

Over the same period, Emotional Quotient as a business competence has grown in stature & importance. Reading any content about EQ, you find out that that the ability to actively respond to others feelings & emotions in our interactions (business or otherwise) is a key requirement.

So if emails are bad in communicating emotions & EQ is critical to building positive relationships, where has the email era left us wrt positive relationships in business?

Taking this further, if email-like communication is taking over our personal lives too (via social networking sites), what is in store for personal relationships?

Thankfully, Facebook is already thinking on these lines & is taking steps to address such needs. Read more about this initiative here.

[Picture courtesy: flickr | aaipodpics]