Tag Archives: Twitter

Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion – Overview and Observations

Apple is set to release its next update to the Mac operating system OS X tomorrow. However, I’ve been working with Mountain Lion for the past two weeks and here’s an overview of 10.8 as well as some observations.

The update is quite welcome. My Mac’s performance improved drastically over Lion which had caused my mid 09 Macbook Pro to experience some serious lagging. The most welcome update that I found myself is enjoying is actually Safari. I no longer need any other browser to get by and I haven’t bothered downloading any other the browsers I used to use on OS X Lion. And I’m especially fond of them integrating the google search function into the address bar (better late than never).

Another interesting feature in Safari, which is also present across the Mountain Lion, is some serious iCloud integration. Notice the cloud icon next to the address bar? Clicking on that will show you any tabs you left open on your iPhone or iPad so you can pick up your reading or work on your Mac.

Moreover, you can immediately add any page you want to your reading list and it will actually take some time to save the page for offline viewing. The page will then sync to your reading list on your iPhone or iPad as well.

The install process was quite smooth. I opted for a clean install so I simply turned a flash drive into a bootable drive and used it to erase my hard drive and install Mac OS X anew.

When the update is released via the Mac App Store tomorrow, you can simply opt to update without deleting any of your data. Having Time Machine backups is preferable though, although odds are nothing serious will happen. It’s a very streamlined process which only requires clicking a few buttons and waiting about 30 minutes and you’re set.

With the introduction of Notification Center and Notification Banners, you can opt out of having the dock showing all the time. Whenever you receive an email, a twitter notification or an iMessage, you will get a banner on the top right similar to the one below. It’s very neat.

 

 

Swiping left or simply clicking on the dashed button next to the search icon on the top right will show the notification center which aggregates all your notifications and they stay there until you clear them.

Of the new additions to OS X Mountain Lion, there’s Notes and Reminders, both of which also sync to your iDevices so your notes and reminders can be synchronized everywhere.

They have also added Game Center, which I think is useless.

 

One of the other cool features that were added, under the hood, is power nap whereby your mac goes to sleep but it stays up to date with your emails and notifications. They have also added dictation which you can activate by clicking the “fn” button twice. Yes, you will finally use that button.

 

 

iCloud integration:

As I mentioned previously, Apple is pushing you to use iCloud with everything they can in OS X Mountain Lion (and iOS 6 for your iDevices). In fact, the default saving option for your documents, modified pictures, etc… is, yes you guessed it, to iCloud.

I think the whole feature is seamless and streamlined. Anything you do on your mac gets synced to the cloud which sends it to your iPhone or iPad. It’s that simple and intuitive. It’s also nice to find something you had been typing out on the mac already on the iPad.

Twitter integration:

Facebook integration is coming later. But Twitter integration is already here. And the sharing button is everywhere. Mountain Lion even asks you if you want to allow other applications to use your twitter account the first time you set it up or even authorize an application to use your account online.

Sharing to twitter is also very simple and very similar to iOS 5.

 

Sharing:

In fact, it doesn’t stop at Twitter. Apple wants you to share things with Mountain Lion, be it to friends via airdrop or sharing your videos to Facebook or via email.

In fact Airdrop is now integrated, for example, into Quicktime itself to immediately share that file to your friends who are on the same network.

The show is The Walking Dead by the way.

And that’s a quick roundup of some of the main features that I, as a basic user, worked with on OS X Mountain Lion. Should you upgrade? I say definitely. It’s more than worth it and for a little more than $20, it’s very affordable.

An interesting tidbit though, the new wallpapers for OS X Mountain Lion don’t even have a picture of a Mountain Lion.

 

 

 

Myriam Klink vs Nemr Abou Nassar, Myriam Klink Is Everywhere… Enough is Enough, Lebanon!

Hello bundle of hotness…

I never thought that after posting about Myriam Klink yesterday morning that I’d come back home in the afternoon to find that post with hundreds upon hundreds of hits and Klink all over the place.

It was funny at first. Comedian Nemr Abou Nassar picked up on it and started picking on Myriam via twitter who didn’t let him down and actually replied.

The following are some of Nemr’s tweets:

And some of Myriam’s tweets:

Everyone else, including yours truly, is talking or has talked about Myriam Klink as well. Obviously, no one has anything nice to say. She’s officially a representation of everything going wrong in the country, everything that we need to burn down, everything that we need to hate.

The past month or so? A distant memory. No. The only thing wrong currently is Myriam Klink’s song.

Sure, it’s a horrible song. It’s something that shouldn’t even be put on airways. But that didn’t stop many “singers” before Myriam Klink from releasing songs and eventually not making it. The only artist that “made” it with a sultry attitude is Haifa Wehbe. And even she knows her show is less about her singing and giving art than about actually giving a show.

Nemr Abou Nassar will be using Myriam Klink as a much-needed source of jokes in his upcoming comedy shows. He even has one scheduled for tonight and, surprise surprise, it’ll be all about her. On the other hand, Myriam Klink’s video jumped from 1000 views on youtube yesterday morning to over 26K today. Her twitter followers have also doubled overnight to about 2000. I’m getting referrals to my blog from people googling her name.

She has officially made it.

And yet, people don’t seem to let go. I’ve never had a subject burn on me as fast as this. In the past 24 hours since Myriam Klink was first exposed, she exploded with such a magnitude that any Myriam Klink related tweet today is causing me nausea. People have nothing better to do?

So for all matters and purposes, leave Myriam Klink alone and she’ll get back to what she does best all by herself. As for everyone else, here’s how it should break down.

You like the song? Then listen to it with your earphones on as much as you want.

You hate the song? Then express your hate without calling Myriam Klink the stupidest person that has ever walked the Earth. She actually has a biology degree, if that proves anything.

You hate Myriam Klink? I don’t see why you should. But if you do, then fine. Just don’t let me know in every single waking moment that you consider her an abomination.

You like Myriam Klink? She sure is lovable. And you’re so rare that I’ll give you a free-pass for now. But if you’re gonna shove her down my throat…. Never mind, you can do that as much as you want.

The whole point is: when it comes to Myriam Klink, enough is enough.

Update: Nemr has had a radio show in which he had a 30 minute rant about Myriam Klink. Check it out here.

Saad Hariri and Twitter: A Story Filled With Mistakes

When Saad Hariri first went on Twitter, many were hoping he’d use the platform productively to enhance his political career, which has been sitting on the back burner for the past few months as he globe-trotted his away around everywhere except Lebanon.

But a series of mistakes, the last two of which are only a few of days apart, have gotten many – myself included – to wonder whether it was really wise for Mr. Hariri to join the social networking platform.

In January, Hariri said good morning to an Israeli government spokesperson. Either he didn’t know who that person is or he knew and still said good morning, which in both cases is worrying: the former because it shows a certain political ignorance; the latter because it would open a Pandora’s box that Lebanon is obviously not ready for.

On May 10th, Hariri got into a useless Twitter debacle with a brainwashed pro-FPM twitter user who has been constantly barraging him. The aim of the anti-Hariri person was clear: to provoke the former prime minister. Hariri caved in. However, instead of replying in a way that a former prime minster should, Hariri’s reply was straight out of a teenager’s handbook. Of course, Tayyar.org were more than happy to flaunt this around, useless as they may be as a news-website.

On May 13th, soon after the Tripoli events erupted, a Twitter user had the following conversation with Saad Hariri:

Not only is Mr. Hariri’s argument non-sensical, but it’s also offensive to every single Lebanese who has been killed or assassinated before his father and after him. I wrote on February 14th about how the memory of that day is being milked into nothingness. This only supports my idea.

Does Rafic Hariri’s murder have anything to do with the events taking place in Tripoli? Absolutely not. Is it honorable to bring in Rafic Hariri’s memory – regardless of what you thought of him – into this debate? Of course not. Does it make up a remotely acceptable argument or reply? Definitely not.

I know many people who are disappointed by the way Hariri is handling things on the ground and more tangibly on Twitter. This only serves to reinforce that. Some have even said they’ve lost their respect for the man. While I haven’t reached that extent yet, Saad Hariri is getting dangerously close. Whenever he pretends as if Rafic Hariri is the only person to be assassinated in Lebanon, I boil on the inside. I think about the many people who have died before him, starting with presidents to students, and the many journalists and politicians that died after him, leading up to the many that lost their lives in various Tripoli-related events, culminating in today’s turmoils. Then I ask myself: if a politician thinks the blood of his father is more precious than the collective of lives that have been lost in the same fight his father died for, how can I trust such a politician to run my country? How can I trust him to keep a level-head, even if it’s just a twitter conversation?

I believe Mr. Hariri’s stay outside the country has gotten very out of sync with Lebanon and it shows on Twitter not only through his replies but through his stances. Tripoli is a city where Hariri has many voters, most of whom he will need in a year to win, and he is supporting the people who are wrecking the city just to free up one man. By not condemning the salafists, the head of the moderate Sunni party in Lebanon is supporting them. If that’s not a recipe for disaster, I don’t know what is.

Perhaps Hariri should hire a PR team to run his social media presence. It would save both himself and his supporters some trouble by doing what other Lebanese politicians do. However, if he insits he wants to keep his interaction with the people going he needs to learn to double check any response he sends out on various levels: political correctness, appropriateness and most importantly whether it befits someone of his status.

Tayyar.org, Are You Seriously Proud Of This?

Tayyar.org thinks the discourse in the screenshot below is honorable and high-level enough for them to flaunt it on their website. As I said before, that website is to me akin to a tabloid. This only reinforces that. How is this reporting news? How is this reporting anything meaningful? How is this in any way useful?

This goes to the website that published it and both participants in the conversation. Did the so-called activist make a dent? Of course not. Does he think he’s more relevant now? Of course yes. Did Saad Hariri accomplish anything from this? Definitely not. Is he still bothered by it? Of course not.

How about we take all our “activism” regardless of political affiliation, pull it together in one nice basket, and cast it in a ballot 12 months from now?

It is here that I address Saad Hariri directly. You want to reply to snarky tweeps? How about you go all the way through? Some person is harassing you with his/her version of “facts” and commentary you can prove is unfounded? As BeirutSpring said – “let them have it.” On the other hand, you can be the better man and simply not reply. But please, if you choose to reply, draw a boundary where a person can’t call you a “retard” and end up becoming a hero for doing so.

For a country with a multitude of problems some people sure like to be amazed at what’s irrelevant.

There are other tweets as well that go along this way:

I find this too silly to be taken seriously. But I’m not running a political website for a political party gearing up for elections so what do I know?

Memorial Hermann, a Houston Hospital, Live-Tweeting Brain Surgery

The day has come where Twitter is used effectively as a learning tool in medecine. Memorial Hermann, an institution based in Houston, Texas is currently broadcasting updates and answering questions during a brain surgery that’s going underway right now. You can check out their Twitter account here.

As a sample of what they’ve been talking, I took the following screenshots:

They’ve also tweeted a few pictures live from the operating room, as well as a brief video of the brain while they operated on it.

I think this is great. While I am familiar with some of the terms they’re throwing around, I think this a great educational opportunity for medical students, current MDs, and knowledge enthusiasts. I hope they do this again some other time as well because it sure is interesting.