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There is something that I find irritating on the my M4 iPad Pro (and probably on all devices which includes support for HDR content): when browsing photos in Photos.app and tapping on one photo in HDR format, the iPad screen turns itself very bright so that it can display the photo in full HDRā¦ returning to the photos thumbnail view will turn off the HDR mode and photos turns in SDR modeā¦ this flashing is not smooth. Thatās the best Apple could do?
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Travel update #8: Kornati Islands, Croatia
Hereās todayās travel update. What a wonderful day we had, thanks to this day-cruise around the Kornati Islands, starting from Vodiceās port at 9 AM. We had lunch at around 11:30 AM, right before a 3-hour stop at one of the island (canāt remember the name!) where we could spend some time swimming at the beach or in a very salty small interior lake. I decided to go for the trail around the lake instead, a 2.2KM quick trekking. While the temperature at the village was expected to reach 33C during the day, weather on the sea was cooler and very nice, with very little wind, except in the trail where the temperature probably reached more than 30C with partially shaded trail sections, thanks to tall pine trees. A bit scary discovery: while walking the trail in the forest, I encountered many big spider nets at about fifteen feet high each with a gigantic spider standing right in the middle, waiting for the next prey. It was a bit scary and disgusting, not my favourite thing to see. Overall, it was a great day.
I took my telephoto lens with me this time around and it was a judicious decision. I started editing my travel photos and I must say that without Adobe Lightroomās built in catalog, itās a bit cumbersome. I often get this error in Photomator as seen below. Itās a bit frustrating. I think itās more of an iPadOS instabilities than a problem with Photomator.
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M. G. Siegler musing about possible next iteration of the Apple Vision:
The most compelling idea would be allowing/forcing the ‘Vision’ to tether to an iPhone or Mac to run the computing of the device. Frankly, I think they should do this. I know they view it as a stand-alone computing device, one that could potentially do it all one day, but that day is far, far away. You already have to use the ridiculous (and ridiculously inconvenient) external battery to power the device. They should either put a Mac SoC in that brick or use their software screen-casting smarts to offload much of the work to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Now that people know they have to live with an external battery pack in order to use the Vision Pro, putting a small Mac-in-that-box to offload some of the weight off the Vision Pro could be a game changer too. Apple is clever at iterating on things to make them better. The Apple Vision is not done yet, just be patient.
In other notes: the Vision Pro is coming to Canada this July and I canāt wait to book myself a 30-minute demonstration appointment.
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Travel update #7: Vodiceās Beaches, Croatia
We didnāt do much today: taking our time early in the morning when preparing and having breakfast and then spending time on the beach and relaxing. I did some writing too, from my iPhone while sitting on my sunbathing chair. Itās far from being ideal for writing longer posts but it is what it is. I had some thoughts to share about AI, generative AI more specifically (like this thought, this one and that one).
We came back to the apartment after having a drink at a beach club nearby. Then, again, we were quietly spending time online before getting ready to prepare the meal for dinner. Our plans for the rest of the day is to return in the villageās center to feel the villageās night life. Itās only a ten-minute walk from where we stay. Itās very convenient.
Thanks for reading.
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Pressure Might Be Mounting on Apple with Apple Intelligence in Unexpected Ways
Warning: Unsettled thoughts: I think many tech pundits are overestimating Apple Intelligence capabilities and influence potential. If Apple fails to deliver, even slightly, it might trigger a crash like the dot com crash. Some tech pundits are fast at expecting Apple to be the gateway to generative AI legitimacy. In this logic, if Apple fails, AI will fail too. I might be over simplifying things here.
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Could Generative AI Content Usage Be THE Biggest Problem?
Iām wondering if the way someone elects to use generated content from generative AI models is way more potentially problematic and subject to debate than anything related to models training using content from the open web.
Also: generative AI content used to train generative AI models is also source of concerns to me. I call that process āknowledge desinfectionā or āknowledge toxificationā or even better āknowledge asphyxiationā. Or should I replace āknowledgeā with āintelligenceā?
One more thing: the more I think about generative AI training, the less I think it should be considered plagiarism. More on that one soon.
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Maybe We Should Stop Crying Fool: Weāve Been Trained Ourselves!
Thinking out loud about generative models training.
In a way, weāve all been trained ourselves in our life by the books we read, the movies we saw, the music we listened. Some people have been trained on very specific knowledge bodies, in very specific fields. People use this accumulated ātrainingā also forming ācultureā to create new things and produce new content. Some people might be trained on a specific music style or dancing style. Weāve been trained by teachers. As ātrainedā creators, do we ask a permission when writing something new or writing music using our training data? Now because it happens at a large scale by large (and ānastyā?) corporations to create products, we cry foul?! Where is the line to be drawn here? I donāt know.
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Location check in šŗ ā Enjoying the beach. š¤
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Travel update #6: Zadar + Vodice, Croatia
Today we left for Zadar and Vodice where we will stay for five days in a small apartment. We arrived at noon in Zadar and had a nice picnic in a small park, under the shade of big trees. It was a quiet place and we wondered about how few tourists seem to be present since we arrived in Croatia. It might not be peak season just yet. We spent nearly three hours in Zadar, a great coastal city of Croatia, to walk in the cityās small streets behind the fortified perimeter. It felt a bit hot even for a coastal city, yet the weather was splendid. We saw (and heard) the sea organ and we were pleased by the sound of it.
We left Zadar for Vodice at 3PM, a one-hour drive on a coastal road. As we drove away from Zadar we saw the surroundings slowly change in appearance. Vodice is a small village where we can find great places to have dinner and visit the marina surrounded by typical summer houses and beach clubs. Tomorrow I should have more to say about this small village.
Thanks for reading my short travel updates!
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Location check in šŗ ā Five-day stop right here. Can wait to walk around and discover.
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Location check in šŗ ā What a great city! Zadar, Croatia!
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If democrats are really eager to govern the next five years, they will replace Biden. If Biden is a leader, he will step down. A lot of big ifs.
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Travel update #5: Rastoke, Croatia
Earlier this morning, the weather was better than yesterday, so we decided to revisit Plitvicka Jezera National Park. The improved lighting allowed us to better appreciate the lakeās renowned blue and green hues, and there were fewer tourists. However, we didnāt stay as long as our previous visit because we wanted to explore a small village called Rastoke. This village, known for its charming houses and numerous waterfalls, was highly recommended by our host. We enjoyed a picnic there before exploring, and we were not disappointed; the place was delightful.
On our way back, we stopped to see the riverās source near the road. To our surprise, we found several old, barely standing buildings, which made for great photography. However, a thunderstorm was forming nearby, forcing us to cut our visit short. After checking the local radar, we realized we had just enough time to escape and return to our car.
And we were back at our B&B at four fifty. Itās another great day in Croatia. Now loading up a new batch of photos into my iPad.
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Travel update #4: Plitvicka Jezera Nation Park, Croatia
We left Zagreb today to go visit the Plitvicka Jezera national park. it was a two hour drive from Zagreb. After a nice and smooth ride we arrived at around 11:15 AM in the park ready to tackle the 4-6 hour circuit. Boy this place is wonderful! It took us about four hours. We had a rain shower or two but each time we were lucky to be at the right place either on the boat or in the forest so we didnāt get wet! Lucky me because I wasnāt ready for rain with my unprotected photo equipment. Speaking of photography, I donāt know how many shots I did but Iām pretty sure there are a few quite impressive with such natural surroundings. I canāt wait to process those images.
Tonight, weāre going to have dinner at a house near our B&B in Grabovac, a very small village be close to the national park. They served grilled fish and meat. It supposed to be really good. Weāll see, but I trust the Croatians so far!
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Location check in šŗ ā First National Park in Croatia: Plitvicka Jezera!
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Travel update #3: Zagreb, Croatia
We went for another walking session in Zagreb after the rain finally went on pause in the second half of the afternoon. We visited another portion of the city before ending up near the restaurant where we planned to have dinner, a Sri Lanka restaurant called āCurry Bowlā which again was rated five stars. It was absolutely delicious. But just before going for the dinner we stopped at a little bar because the rain started again. It was āapĆ©ro timeā. All in all we enjoyed Zagreb: a nice, relativelyely quiet European city where we always felt in safe.
Tomorrow heading off to Plitvice Lakes National Park for two days. It will be quite a different environment.
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Travel update #2: Zagreb, Croatia
Iām currently writing this from our room as there are some heavy showers outside. We had a chance to walk a lot since morning in Zagreb and had a great lunch at the restaurant called āHeritageā which is close to our B&B. Itās a very small place where only maybe ten people can have lunch at the same timee (counting those 3 tables outside!). They make absolutely great sandwiches with Croatian ingredients (ham, truffle spread, local cheese, etc.). We also all a great walnuts salad and a drink. Eating is our great pleasure when visiting a place like Zagreb. This place has five stars and is not that expansive.
Back to our room, Iām writing this post after I imported my first batch of images (62 in all) and started to tag which one I would process. All this is done on my iPad, Files and Photomator. Works great so far. The only thing is that I forgot to change the time zone so my pictures got the wrong time stamp. Not that big of a deal. If the internet speed was better, I would have included an image to this post, but thatās not the case. Too bad.
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Travel update #1: Zagreb, Croatia
First full day in Croatia. It is the morning here in Zagreb. Yesterday, we arrived and spent the first few hours wandering in the city center where all the night life is happening. It was the time to spot the places that we were to revisit later (today). We were tired following our two flights by night.
There was a soccer match at 9PM and people were quite excited and were looking forward to it. It ended end up in a tie 1-1 Croatia against Italia. I donāt care too much about soccer but Croatian do quite a lot!
I didnāt take my camera with me as I felt my iPhone would be enough. It was a good call anyway because it was rather late in the evening. We had dinner at a restaurant and had goulash and beer. It was a typical plate for Croatian apparently. We came back to the B&B exhausted by our air travelling. I do feel the jet lag this morning but I expect thing to improve in the next two to three days.
This blog post was a writing exercise to practice my daily journaling while traveling abroad.
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Location check in šŗ ā And touch down. Zagreb, Croatia.
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Is it me, or Automattic is missing a big opportunity by not enabling users to publish their journal entries to a custom blog or website directly from Day One? I think they do.
