Category Archives: Random

Pottermore Revealed

JK Rowling has just revealed on Pottermore’s website what the thing is all about.

She said: “I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years. Pottermore is a way for the creativity to live on and a way for me to be creative on a platform that did not exist when I started writing the books.”

It is a free website that builds an online experience based on reading the Harry Potter books. People can register for the challenge starting today and one million users will be selected by July 31st (which happens to be both JK Rowling and Harry Potter’s birthday), after they successfully complete the challenge, for early testing of the website, with full public availability in October.

Registration is currently down on the Pottermore website, which you can access here, probably due to an overload of Potterheads trying to get their emails through.

The announcement came via JK Rowling’s youtube page, through a video, in which she said:

Thirteen years after the first Harry Potter book was published, I’m still astonished and delighted by the response the stories met. Even though the seventh book and the eighth movie have now been completed, I’m still receiving hundreds of letters every week and Harry’s fans remain as enthusiastic and inventive as ever. So I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, because no author could have asked for a more wonderful, diverse and loyal readership.

I’m thrilled to say that I’m now in a position to give you something unique. An online reading experience unlike any other: it’s called Pottermore. It’s the same story, with a few crucial additions. The most important one is you.

Just as the experience of reading requires that the imaginations of the author and reader work together to create the story, so Pottermore will be built, in part, by you, the reader. The digital generation will be able to enjoy a safe, unique, online reading experience built around the Harry Potter books. Pottermore will be the place where fans of any age can share, participate in and rediscover the stories. It will also be the exclusive place to purchase digital audiobooks and, for the first time, e-books of the Harry Potter stories.

I will be joining in too because I will be sharing additional information I’ve been hoarding for years about the world of Harry Potter. Pottermore is open to everyone from October but a lucky few can enter early and help shape the experience. Simply follow the owl. Good luck.

The project will allow readers to answer their own questions, get sorted in Hogwarts houses, play games, add comments, drawings, etc…

The project has also been carefully planned to be spoiler-free. For the time-being, the world of Pottermore will be restricted to the first book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the US version), with the story unveiled over a two-year course, for new readers. It will enable them to live each impact moment of the books.

The new material by JK Rowling is said to be around 18000 words so far. The e-books will be DRM free, meaning they can be viewed across platforms without the need to purchase them again, but they will be watermarked with the buyer’s info. While this doesn’t prevent copyright theft, the file can be retraced to the original buyer.

“This was about the give-back,” she said. “The technology now existed to do something outside the books and the films for existing fans.”

And the attempt to register starts… now!

Pottermore

Anything involving Harry Potter and JK Rowling has the power to take me back to when I was a giddy fifteen year old waiting on Harry Potter’s latest installment.

Well, it looks like our favorite author is back with something related to the epic series: Pottermore.

No one has any idea what it’s about. Everything is wrapped up in a thick shroud of secrecy, in pure Rowling fashion. But Pottermore has a website that you can visit. There’s basically nothing there but it’s still something, right?

There’s also a YouTube page which sets the countdown as of now to 6 days and 18 hours until the revelation of what Pottermore is.

Moreover, Pottermore’s twitter account revealed the following coordinates:  51.530377,-0.123259, which when plugged into this website: Secret Street View, take you to a clue regarding Pottermore. Hint: zoom into the street to find out what the clue is.

Are you excited Potterheads? I know I am. And most importantly, does anyone know what Pottermore might be?

I, for one, think it might be something related to the Harry Potter encyclopedia JK Rowling announced she wanted to write.

Alfa and MTC Announce New Prepaid Packages

Lebanese Mobile Carriers Alfa and MTC have announced new packages for prepaid lines and they feature decent cuts on pricing.

Alfa has revealed the new lineup via its website, and called the new line: Waffer (Lebanese for save-up). You’ll get the chance to buy a new Alfa line for $4.55 and apply the new plans to it, or apply the new plans to your existing line.

The plans are as follows:

Starter: $10 per month for 30 minutes of talk.

Medium package: $16 per month for 60 minutes of talk.

“Heavy” package: $30 per month for 120 minutes of talk.

There are also reductions on SMS pricings. Peak and off peak prices apply as well.

MTC’s packages are also of similar nature, after all our telecom sector is a monopoly.

The interesting thing to note is that these are packages, not new recharge cards. Meaning, they do not go hand in hand with the current packages we all use: you cannot add your existing credit to them, nor can you add up credit while using them. You cannot also transfer credit to a needy friend. Moreover, if you run out of credit, you cannot recharge your line. You need to wait until your 30 days are up. So seriously, what’s the point? Prices reduction but limiting service? Why couldn’t they simply reduce the price on current packages and not introduce new ones?

Apple Now Selling Unlocked iPhones in the U.S.

Rejoice iPhone lovers. Apple is now selling unlocked iPhones in the US, which makes buying them a whole lot cheaper and easier. How so? Most of us have family/know someone in the U.S. And most iPhones we use originate from there, previously requiring the user in other countries to “illegally” unlock their iPhone in order to use it. Well, those hurdles no longer exist. And I am very happy about that.

Just launched on the online Apple Store, the iPhone 4 is selling at $649, without taxes. Factor in a maximum of 10% in taxes and you get a device that costs $700, much less than the price Lebanese retailers charge or other countries around the world ask you to pay.

Although the price tag is a little higher that a contract-free US iPhone, it’s definitely worth it. I know where I’m buying the upcoming generation iPhone from.

Now the question that begs itself: will those who bought a contract-free iPhone be allowed to have their phones legally unlocked?

 

iOS 5 Rumor Roundup

With the WWDC set in less than 12 hours, I have decided to make a rumor round-up of what to expect in the upcoming update of iOS: iOS5

1) better notification system and widgets:

The iOS’ notification system has been the center of criticism since it was implemented. Many felt it was intrusive and not practical. Moreover, many feel the interface has gotten bland after 4 years of looking at pretty much the same home screen design. iOS 5 is expected to introduce a better notification system, as well as widgets, such as the weather app updating it’s icon (yes, I’m sick of seeing it sunny when it’s snowing outside).

2) Deep Twitter integration

With twitter launching its own photo-sharing service in the coming weeks, Apple is expected to integrate twitter in all sides of its upcoming iOS. It will allow users to share things directly from the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch to their twitter accounts.


3) Automatic App updates

A leak with iTunes wording has revealed that Apple is introducing an automatic update system for the apps on the iDevice, which you can turn off. What’s this option supposed to do? Well, as the name implies, it automatically updates your application so you don’t have to constantly check for updates via your iDevice or computer and with iOS being the unparalleled #1 platform when it comes to apps, this would definitely be handy.

4) iDevice Support

As with previous updates, iOS 5 is expected to have certain options not available for the iPhone 3GS and the third generation iPod touch. The iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2 should have all iOS options available to them, as well as the upcoming iDevice updates, set to come in September.

Apple will also introduce the final version of the new Mac OS: OSX Lion, along with its new service: iCloud, which will allow users to stream purchased music via 3G or wireless, without syncing them to their device.

Regardless of what actually comes true, for any Apple fan, the WWDC is a very exciting time because it shows what this ingenious company is up to. And it’s always great!