June 4, 2009

TomTom GPS device goes girly

Filed under: Fashion,Gadgets by Orangemaster @ 10:12 am
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We’ve all heard men and women drive and read maps differently (both have their faults) and that despite all the business talent out there, gagdets are still mostly marketed to men. When electronic products are aimed at women, oblivious marketing people make the thing pink and call it a day.

Dutch GPS brand TomTom decided to jump on the marketing to women bandwagon and came up with the White Pearl, based on the TomTom ONE IQ Routes edition, but a bit different. It’s more luxurious and has ‘special content’ for women.

I’ve used a TomTom often because when I passed my Dutch driving licence this year, we had to use one as part of the exam. By the way, they axed that part of the exam, as we memorised the three routes and ignored the GPS. Basically, driving instructors all bought thousands of TomToms for nothing.

The White Pearl has a matching silk pouch that fits easily into a handbag. It has a ‘Help Me!’ menu and even tells you what lane to be in when things get hairy. The ‘special content’ includes categories that are in English in the Dutch version as well such as “Places to be seen”, “Shop ‘til you drop” and “Everyday fashion”.

The look appeals to me, no question. The content is clearly for “girly girls”, the kind that can’t even a change bike tire and wear high heels all the time. At least, that’s the very icky vibe I get from it. The special content I find insulting and useless, and I know my Dutch girlfriends will totally agree. And they’re the kind of women that drive big motorcycles, kick board of director ass and still look cocktail ready come happy hour.

Of course, the darn thing is more expensive than the regular model: 199 euro instead of about 120-150 euro, and will be available in mid-June. So I’m not sold at all, I find it insulting at first glance, but I would accept it as a gift.

And then the jokes:
– Does it feature a man’s voice that says, “Hey doll, fix your hair and let’s roll!”
– Turn right! NO THE OTHER RIGHT!

UPDATE: Marketing to women means finding out from women what they want, not guessing or letting men fill in the blanks. It remains a mystery why something so simple is so difficult to understand.

(Link and photo: rtl.nl, gadgetrider.eu)

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June 3, 2009

Mmmm protein! Eating maggots at school

Filed under: Nature,Weird by Orangemaster @ 1:43 pm
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A Dutch school in The Hague, Nutsschool Bezuidenhout, decided that teaching kids about eating maggots was worthwhile subject matter during a school outing, according to Dutch newspaper AD. Two brave kids ate some maggots on a dare from teachers. Lo and behold, the mother of one of the other children complained to the newspaper of this ‘game’ played by 11 and 12-year-old children who do not have the capacity of making their own choices. Apparently, the kids threw up as well. In true Dutch ‘everything is relative’ form, the school said none of the children threw up, but admitted that eating maggots was ‘a bit disgusting’.

The most digusting thing I have every had to eat was as a preschooler: green Jell-o, a glow-in-the-dark lime green dessert made of sugar and jelly. I ate half, got scolded for not eating it, got sick and my mother yelled at the teacher in front of the entire preschool class for at least 30 minutes for forcing me to ‘crap junk food’. Never had the stuff again.

(Link: vleesmagazine.nl)

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Australian troops in Afghanistan complain about Dutch food

Filed under: Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 10:19 am
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The Australian military fighting in the Afghan province of Uruzgan alongside the Dutch are complaining about the Dutch food they are being served. While Dutch sources say the Australians have called the Dutch food ‘tasteless’, English sources explain that Australians do not fancy European food in general and are used to fresher ingredients. The English source says the Dutch food is ‘generally nutritious’ and ‘has the right amount of calories’, but New Zealand sources say the lack of BBQs and typical Australian food is an issue. Australian sources say the Aussies are ‘fussy’ and ‘there was nothing wrong with the Dutch food, which had sustained Czech, Singaporean, Slovak and Dutch troops without complaint.’

So the Dutch sound offended and the Australians come off as whiners. But this bit in the Australian source trying to make their own troops sound bad is quite revealing: “Fresh yoghurt, cereals, cheese, fruit, and pickled herring is likely to be replaced by more fried eggs, bacon, sausages and “barbeques”, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said.”

So if that last bit is actually true, the healthy ‘Dutch’ food is being replaced by totally unhealthy, greasy pub food. Dutch food is by no means Europe’s favourite, but if the Aussie troops want junk food – because that’s what that is – don’t say ‘typical Australian food’. Last time I checked, fried eggs, bacon and sausages was typical food in the US, Canada, England, Ireland and surely a few more Commonwealth countries.

Any Australians in the room?

(Link: rtl.nl, alertnet.org, tvnz.co.nz, theaustralian)

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June 2, 2009

Wiki Loves Art started with a bang

Filed under: Online,Photography by Branko Collin @ 1:40 pm

The Wiki Loves Art photo competition kicked off with an event held at the Joods Historisch Museum (JHM, Jewish Historical Museum) in Amsterdam yesterday. Museum director Hetty Berg explained that they had become enthusiastic about the idea of a photo hunt for Wikipedia after hearing about the positive experiences had by the Jewish Museum in New York during the precursor of this event in the US and the UK, Wikipedia Loves Art. She went on to highlight some of the objects that could be photographed, pointing out what made these objects special, which I thought was really helpful in portraying these objects.

Three professional photographers roamed the museum to help out the 40 or so amateur ones, and I know this certainly helped me. That was an excellent idea from the organizers! One tip I found useful and would never have thought of myself is to use a timed release when using a tripod under low light conditions. This helps the camera stop wobbling after you press the release button.

The first photos of yesterday’s hunt are slowly appearing at http://www.flickr.com/groups/wikilovesart/. I posted my first batch there yesterday, but they still haven’t appeared, so who knows how many are still waiting in a queue. If you are in the Netherlands or planning to visit, the competition runs the entire month of June, during which you can show up with your camera (and sometimes with your tripod and flash—check the rules) at any of the 36 participating museums.

Update: the rules of several of the museums have been added to their pages at the Wiki Loves Art website—some of the museums will only be accessible during guided tours for which you have to register. Regardless of the motives for this restriction I think on the whole this is a good idea. It means the photographers get professional guidance, and the museums get to build confidence about events such as WLA.

(Photo of a lamp that used to adorn stairs in the Hirsch building in Amsterdam. The museum’s own photography gives little indication of the size of these things, so I put myself in the frame for comparison. I will be posting my photos for this comp at a Flickr account I created for it instead of at the 24 Oranges one.)

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June 1, 2009

Mail-a-dinner

Filed under: Food & Drink by Branko Collin @ 11:48 am

Bills, bills, leaflets, a postcard, mashed potatoes with endive and sausage … if it were up to Amsterdam start-up Mailfood, your mail would never look tastier. The company mails out TV dinners in packages that fit a mailbox, the big advantage being that you don’t have to be home for the delivery. Prices seem reasonable, at EUR 7,50 for the above mentioned dinner, although it doesn’t say whether that includes delivery. The big question is, what will your food look and taste like after it’s been dropped from a meter high and inspected by the cat?

(Link: Bright, Photo of an endive potato mash with meatless sausage by Jasja Dekker, some rights reserved)

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May 31, 2009

Tower of children’s books in Amsterdam public library

Filed under: Design,Literature by Branko Collin @ 6:31 pm

Speaking of towers of books, this one is in the recently built main branch of the Amsterdam public library, in the children’s books section. The top has pillows in it so that children can sit there and read.

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Men become stupid when talking to pretty women

Filed under: General,Science by Orangemaster @ 1:07 pm

After having recently realised the superpowers of the shimmery, shiny, hot gold bikini top on stage and men’s collective drooling response to it (shutting up in mid-sentence, staring, being turned on and slightly ashamed about it around women), this one is for all of you.

The Radboud University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands confirms what I saw recently in a room full of mostly heretosexual men: pretty women stop men in their tracks.

The study found that after speaking to a female, men become markedly less competent at tasks like maths or word games. And if that woman is someone the man finds attractive, they become even worse. Single or not (as if that would make a difference!), when speaking to women, men’s ability to carry out a task drops. But during the study, when they spoke to other men, their abilities remained unchanged. Women’s performance stayed the same throughout.

I bet you gay men also follow this pattern. Someone tell me, I want to know. And if I extrapolate, I suppose gay women totally keep their cool. I want to know, too!

And then, this song is just great, as is Hugh Laurie. Here we go with a golden oldie, The Sophisticated Song.

“…when you ask me what’s on my mind,
all I can think to answer is ‘fluh-uh’ ”

(Link: thelondonpaper.com)

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Tower of books for Spijkenisse signed MVRDV

Filed under: Architecture by Orangemaster @ 12:02 pm

book-mountain-by-mvrdv-6mvrdv_tp230_spijkenisse-bijpg

It’s time to write more about Dutch design firm MVRDV now that Rotterdam, as well as the nearby city of Spijkenisse, where this library is to be built, are getting architectural makeovers.

Completion of the building is scheduled for fall 2011. With a surface of 10,000 m2, this public libray will be an example of energy efficiency and advertise reading through its design of a book mountain. In addition to the book collection and reading areas, the library will accommodate commercial facilities, offices, an auditorium, conference rooms, and exhibition spaces.

Let me see:
– I have problems with the fact that direct sunlight is hitting books, although there is talk of solar protection. Probably a normal response.

– Call me politically correct, but all that climbing for the elderly and the likes got my attention. Again, I could be wrong, but that is more often than not a problem in the Netherlands.

– I do like the Dutch ‘obssession’ with showing the insides of buildings (the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ in Amsterdam came to mind). I once read that even showing the insides of canned foods worked well in the Netherlands.

– The whole Library of Alexandria meets Louvre Pyramid “in traditional Dutch barn yard style typology” needs some getting used to. Apparently, the shape and choice of materials is a reminder of the agricultural history of Spijkenisse, “now a suburban area of Rotterdam with statistically a low average of readers.” Politely put, it’s full of low income families who just don’t read (or can’t) and couldn’t care less what their ‘burb of Spijkenisse used to look like.

So yes, please build these folks a nice public library. Right on.

(Link and photo: dezeen.com)

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May 30, 2009

Supply the poor government with some much needed transparency

Filed under: General,Online by Branko Collin @ 7:15 pm

Brenno de Winter needs your money to force the government to become transparent. On June 11, he will organize a benefit in Amsterdam of which the proceeds will go to this war chest.

During his recent attempts to figure out how many local governments are using so-called Free and Open Software, several of these governments have been actively conspiring to thwart De Winter’s efforts. They ‘forgot’ to send some of the required documents, billed him for their time, and 22 municipalities and three provinces outright refused him the documents they are obliged to send, forcing him to start a separate law suit against each one of them.

De Winter expects costs to run up to EUR 7,000, an amount he is unable to cough up himself. If you can spare some cash, you can send some his way to bank account 4241287 c/o Stichting Vrijschrift in Workum. You can also visit the benefit event at the Pick-up Club at the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam, which starts at 5:30 pm on Thursday, June 11, and which features an introduction to WOBing by De Winter, and a debate about transparency between journalists, hackers and civil servants.

I am an adviser to the Stichting Vrijschrift (Scriptum Libre in English) and can tell you they are legit. Their only weakness is their unwillingness to toot their own horn, so let me list some of their feats:

  • Instrumental in defeating software patents in the EU
  • Acquired financing for GPS devices for the Dutch chapter of Open Street Map
  • Working to convince the government of the benefits of open educational materials, such as text books that any teacher can edit and improve.

(More info at Iusmentis (Dutch). About the picture, is it normal that spray bottles like this one have an extra grip for a sixth finger?)

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Optimize websites, lose lawsuits

Filed under: Automobiles,Online by Branko Collin @ 12:18 am

Remember that story about the website that lost a lawsuit due to how Google summarized its contents in search results? Well, the judge’s opinion came in yesterday, and it gets even crazier.

What went on before? Miljoenhuizen.nl had a web page on which the words “Zwartepoorte” and “failliet” (bankrupt) appeared together, although totally unrelated. According to Zwartepoorte the Google summary of that page caused people to conclude that the company had gone bankrupt, and so it asked Miljoenhuizen.nl to change the webpage to undo that impression. The latter refused and the former sued.

Miljoenhuizen.nl’s owner had—let me quote the court—“organized his website in such a manner that it scored “high” in Google, [so] the defendant has a responsibility in this matter.” In other words because the defendant ranked high in the search engine, he lost the case. He probably never helped himself by telling the judge how easy and trivial it is to change the page in a way that Google would no longer produce the damaging text.

Some good news for Miljoenhuizen.nl though is that it managed to net Solv (Dutch), the respectable internet law firm of amongst others Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm—he who once convinced a court that Kazaa was legal, although by then the filesharing company had fled to Australia only to be convicted there, perhaps because lesser legal minds roam the steppe of Southland.

(Full verdict here (Dutch, PDF). Link: Iusmentis. Joris van Hoboken, expert on the confluence of law and search engines, has an opinion in English.)

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