Affordable Data Roaming In Europe With Blau.de

As I mentioned it in a previous post, you probably know by now that whenever I travel abroad, I use local prepaid sim cards as not only the cost of data roaming with my main mobile carrier (Orange France) is outrageous but adding a data roaming option is just a nightmare.

The advent of the Internet and even more so the mobile Internet have changed the way we interact with the world and in particular the way we travel. I can't fathom being in a foreign country without having access to Google Maps on my iPhone. In fact, it is probably the situation where Google Maps is most useful. So, why aren't our mobile carriers allowing us to use our smart-phones this way when traveling abroad?

In my opinion, data roaming plans are nothing more than a joke. With Orange France, I have the option to activate a 7-day plan for €35 with 50Mb of data in Europe or 34Mb in the rest of the world. I'm sorry but 50 Mb is a joke nowadays. And Orange France makes it even harder to use this data roaming plan as you can't activate it in advance and when you do activate it, it can take between 1 mn to 48 hours to start working. And of course, you can't subscribe to such a plan for 2 weeks in a row: you have to renew it after the first 7 days have expired (and sometimes end up without a data roaming plan for 48 hours between two 7-day periods).

Of course, Orange France will tell you that roaming abroad costs them so much money that they have no other option than to charge such premiums to their loyal contract customers. So, can anyone explain how a small virtual mobile carrier such as Blau.de is able to offer the same roaming plan for €4.99 to their prepaid customers? Yes, you're not dreaming: 7 times cheaper for prepaid customers compared to the price charged by Orange France to customers on a 2-year contract.

Combined with Blau.de offering for voice roaming in Europe: 50 minutes for 7 days priced at  €4.99, you get something like €40 per month for 200 voice minutes and 200 Mb of data for roaming all over Europe. Compare this to the €45 my wife pays on a monthly contract with Orange France for 120 voice minutes in France only and 1Gb of data in France only (plus unlimited text messages though), and you can almost reach the conclusion that it is cheaper to use a German mobile carrier in roaming mode in France than a French carrier. Isn't this completely insane?

I sincerely hope that data roaming prices will drop in the near future, granting us Europeans what I would call a true "Freedom of Information Technologies."

Many thanks to Google Translate for allowing me to access Blau.de website in English!

Fine Dining: L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon Paris Etoile - Review

As I had never eaten at any of Joël Robuchon's restaurants, I decided to take advantage of my week-end stay in Paris to eat at the recently opened Atelier de Joël Robuchon Etoile located right on the famous Champs-Elysées Avenue in Paris. Even though this restaurant opened its doors only six months ago (December 2010), it has already earned two Michelin stars, hence achieving the same recognition than the original Atelier located rue de Montalembert.

Though the place is dark, its minimalist decoration give it an Asian touch and it's probably no coincidence that the chef is Japanese. The menu is not the same than at its sister location, though some dishes can be found in both establishments.

In addition, I must say that Robuchon's idea of eating at the bar in a more relaxed setting than what is usually experienced in top restaurants is great. Our waiter was very nice, knowledgeable and we interacted a lot more with him while sitting at the bar than at any other Michelin starred restaurant. I thought that added an even more positive note to the overall experience. As for the food, I must say this was one of the finest meals I have experienced and in my honorable opinion, it undoubtedly beats the meal I had at Auberge de L'Ill in Alsace last week. Not only were the preparation perfectly executed but they were also creative, original and sublime. My taste buds are still in awe two hours after leaving the table! Here are the dishes we got to try and I can only advise every single one of you to try them out on you own:

Amuse bouche: Lemon & Basil & Tapenade Jelly:

Sea Urchin on a spicy carrot jelly topped by a gold leaf:

Caviar with smoked salmon dices on a soft-boiled egg (the highlight of my meal):

Lobster with asparagus and morels:

Duck Foie Gras with almond stuffed cherries:

John Dory with coconut milk and coriander:

Quail with Robuchon's signature mashed potatoes:

Mango Mango dessert:

Red fruit sorbet with carambar cream:

Lunch at Auberge de L'Ill - Illhaeusern (Alsace, France)

Just a few pictures from a nice lunch at the renowned Auberge de L'Ill in Illhaeusern (France). This restaurant is the only 3 star Michelin restaurant in Alsace. Last time I ate there was at least  five years ago and I remember being a bit disappointed by the food at the time. Today, I was pleasantly surprised by the remodeling of the place and must say the setting is absolutely gorgeous whether inside or outside. We had a drink in the restaurant's garden before lunch and seeing wild storks walk on the grass and fly over our heads was breathtaking and at the same time so typical of Alsace.

As for the food, I must say it was very good but once again, I feel a bit frustrated as I don't think I tasted anything that would qualify as particularly creative or amazing. Service was friendly and maybe even a bit too informal at times. But enough talk, time to see the pictures:

Lobster salad with fennel, orange peel and chick peas:

John Dory Fillet with squid ink spaghettis and calamari broth:

Pigeon rib stuffed with cabbage, truffles and Foie Gras (this was the highlight of my meal):

Cheese selection:

Baked Panna Cotta with Amaretto, poached cherries & elderberry sorbet:

All in all, I had a very good time and so did my taste buds. I, particularly, recommend the pigeon rib stuffed with cabbage, truffles and Foie Gras.

One last Geeky thing: cell phone reception is very poor in the restaurant and the city. Extremely slow data connection speeds (no 3G, and very slow EDGE). No wifi.

Prepaid iPhone Plans in the USA (Update)

As a follow-up to my previous post on How To Avoid Outrageous Data Roaming Charges, I have to point out that AT&T is now offering a 500 Mb data plan that can be combined with their prepaid voice plans. It is not destined to be used with an iPhone but it is rather easy to set it up using a custom APN profile thanks to the APN changer website! Mr SimCard's advice is to connect to a wifi hotspot once you get to the USA in order to set the APN using this website. My advice is to email the APN profile to you before leaving your home country, it will then sit in your iPhone inbox and you'll be able to install it as soon as you turn your iPhone on in the US!

If you want to call your home country or any other country, use a Google Voice account and the Google Voice iPhone app with your AT&T Sim card! International calling rates are amazingly low. The Google Voice app dials a US number that is forwarded to your desired calling destination anywhere in the world, you are hence only charged for a call to the US by AT&T (and Google Voice will charge you for the international part of the call). No VoIP call quality issue there since it does not use VoIP.

One Failed Burger Attempt in Hawaii

On my recent trip to Hawaii, one of the most important things that I wanted to achieve was to eat at the Hukilau Cafe, a now world-famous Burger Joint thanks to the even more popular Man V. Food TV show. In addition, I thought I would get the Man V. Food Foursquare badge as I had read that checking in at a place featured in the show was the only condition to get the badge!

Well, after driving two hours to the north of Oahu island to reach the rather deserted city of Laie, I ended up in front of the Hukilau Cafe, only to realize that it was closed on Mondays. Gone my hopes to try their amazing burgers and to get this badge! On top of it, I ended up going to the two other places featured in the show: Helena's Hawaiian Food & MAC 24-7 at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio but I never got the badge!

What can I say? Foursquare & Man V. Food let me down on this one! But I will be back!

Hasta La Vista Baby!

34 Oz. Porterhouse T-Bone Steak at Hy's Steak House in Honolulu

Just for the beauty of it, you have to behold this 34 Oz. Porterhouse T-Bone Steak! For the metric system lover, it translates into 963 grams of meat heaven! If you're in Honolulu, don't miss it! Go to Hy's Steak House, you won't be disappointed!

Lobster Club Sandwich at Mariposa in Honolulu

This Lobster Club Sandwich deserved a special mention on my blog as it was delicious! I had it at Mariposa in Honolulu! Mariposa is a very nice restaurant located on the top flood of Neiman Marcus with a nice view of Ala Moana Beach Park!

One Crazy Burger Lover Idea: In N Out Burger Delivery at LAX

As I was flying to Hawaii with a two-hour layover in Los Angeles two weeks ago, I had this crazy idea: I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger in LA. In-N-Out Burgers make amazingly good burgers but are only present in a few states (and not in Hawaii) so my connection in LA was an opportunity I couldn't miss.

The problem was that I didn't think I would have enough time to go to the closest In-N-Out Burger location in between my two flights, so I came up with this idea: hire a courier service to bring the food to me! After multiple attempts and some outrageous price estimates (one service came up with a €400 price tag), I found one: ClockWork Express. For less than US$50, they went to In-N-Out Burger, purchased a Double Double with Animal Fries and delivered the whole thing to me at T5 in LAX in a timely manner!

I can only say one thing: it was well worth it! Thanks again ClockWork Express! You made my day!

New Burger Joint in Strasbourg (France): Le Pied de Mammouth (LPM) aka The Mammoth's Foot

I had to review this newly opened burger joint in Strasbourg. "Le Pied de Mammouth" is a somewhat rarity in this town as no other restaurant is dedicated to the holy grail of food: The Hamburger.  Even though it is a small place, it looks more like a restaurant than a fast food joint and the quality of the ingredients combined with the Hamburger knowledge of the staff are going to make it a popular place amongst Hamburger Fashionistas in town.

I tried their El Gringo and Batave Burgers and both were excellent. I, however, customized my El Gringo order, replacing grilled onions with fresh onions and adding bacon. I must say that their Cheddar was excellent as well as the beef patties. The buns were a bit over grilled and the lettuce not what you would expect in a hamburger but overall it is very likely the best Hamburger option in town.

My only comment would be that their hamburgers tend to border on the French side of Burgerdom and in my book, when it comes to hamburgers, I would say that the more classic and more American the better!

These burgers can be had here !

Why We Should All Speak English

I recently learned that a proposition made by the director of a renowned French Business School (ESSEC) to teach in English was met by the usual French narrow-mindedness and unwillingness to accept change. It seems that my fellow French citizens fail to realize the scope of the global changes that we are witnessing.

Jet flights as well as advances in communication (read: Internet)  have dramatically changed our perception of distances and the world has, indeed, become a smaller place. We realized, fifty years go, that almost any place on earth could be reached in less than 48 hours. Nowadays, almost everyone is connected to everyone else thanks to the mobile Internet. I tweet, you tweet, everybody tweets and in doing so we all are inter-connected. The main issue now is not to make global communication technically feasible but to be able to understand each other. If we want the world to become an even smaller place, we need to share a common language.

People afraid of change (the French are probably the best at that... Well at least they can still claim to be the best at something) will argue that using a common language will deny people of their cultures and peculiarities. I can only disagree with that. There are many countries where dialects are still spoken although there is an official language that everyone speaks in addition to the aforementioned tongues. Using a common language simplifies communication among all citizens and yet they can all still claim their local identities and traditions through their dialects. In this day and age, we have to realize that national languages are today's dialects and that a common language is needed. Beyond simplifying communication amongst us, it will allow everyone to feel closer to one another and by doing so may reduce the need to go to war: just because our history is full of examples of countries going to war against one another simply because they're different or don't understand their differences.

If we assume that I'm right (how could I not be? I'm French!), then we need to decide what language should be used as a common tongue for all earthlings. My fellow citizens will probably argue that French is the best choice but once again, I will have to disagree and go for the obvious choice: English. As a matter of fact, who could argue that English isn't already on its way to become tomorrow's global language? Indians speaks English, Chinese people learn it, Brazilians go to language schools everyday to become proficient at it and Russians need to master it for global commerce.

So please join me in thinking that sharing a common language wouldn't be a bad thing and do your share by learning it if you don't already speak it. One of my first posts detailing the concept of Culture Shifting shows that even a French like me can learn it by only watching TV and using the Internet. So it can't be that hard, can it?

Of course, in my own tradition to maintain a certain level of absurdity in this blog, this post will only be read and understood by people who already speak English and it will, therefore, defeat the purpose of making non-English speakers realize what they are missing. Well, at least I can find comfort in the fact that they won't be hurt by my words.

The American Express Centurion Card In France

Finding accurate information about the American Express Centurion card (aka The Black Card) is not easy. Localized information is even harder to find, so as a follow-up to my Luxury Travel 101 post, here's some detailed information about the American Express Centurion card in France.

- By invitation only: unknown spending  threshold but likely less than the American threshold (US$ 250,000 charged on one Amex account in 12 months).
- Annual fee: € 3000 (with an initiation fee of €3000) as of March, 31st, 2012. No fee for additional cardholder (as opposed to the US).
- What you get: 1 main Titanium Centurion card, 1 supplemental Titanium Centurion card (for Business expenses which will however be debited from the same bank account than the main card), 1 additional Titanium Centurion card (for spouse for instance), 4 additional Platinum cards (for family members who will benefit from the same service and insurance than the main cardholder).
- Priority Pass: 2 top-tier Priority Pass memberships for both the main and supplemental cardholders. The Priority Pass program comes in handy when flying economy or domestic in the US as both cardholders will have unlimited free access to Priority Pass lounges worldwide. Both Priority Pass cardholders can invite a guest at no additional cost every time they use a lounge.
- American Airlines Admirals Club, Delta & US Airways Lounges: Access the lounge by showing the Centurion Card even when booked on a flight with the corresponding airline.
- Complimentary dedicated service to accompany you in Charles-De-Gaulle or Orly Paris airport when flying to or from these aforementioned airports if flight is non-domestic and was booked through American Express Travel Services
- Mandarin Oriental Hotels: Stay one night, get one night free once per property per year per Centurion cardholder (it usually works to use this benefit for both the main and supplemental cardholders).
- Airline status: Cathay Pacific (CX) Diamond status. This translates into One World alliance top-tier Emerald status
- Hotel status (only for main cardholder): Hilton Diamond, Starwood Gold, Priority Club Platinum, A Club Gold. Centurion cardholders will keep their hotel status for as long as they spend at least one night per year in one of the properties associated with each program.
- Eurostar lounge: access to the lounge regardless of class of travel
- Relais & Chateaux: Top-tier Club 5C membership. Although most Relais & Chateaux properties don't qualify as luxury properties in my book, there are some nice exceptions to the rule and service as well as recognition for Club 5C members is top notch.
- Car rental status (only for main cardholder): Avis President's Club (great deal!), Hertz #1 Club Gold President's Circle
- Great travel insurance: you will, for instance, get € 500 per person for emergency purchases if your bags get to your destination later than four hours after you when flying a commercial airline.
- Access to the Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) American Express program (same than for Platinum cardholders): this program is great as Amex has special agreements for almost all the best hotels in the world. They sometimes have preferred rates but not always. Most of the time, they will match the best available rate with special FHR perks: Late checkout, upgrade at check-in upon availability, free breakfast and a special amenity (depending on the property it can for instance be US$ 100 food & beverage credit, or US$ 100 Spa credit or free afternoon tea...).
- The Amex Companion Airline program: Buy 1 business class ticket, get the second one free. This is basically useless as most the time the initial ticket is at least twice as expensive as what you can find anywhere else.
- Centurion Travel Service: you will have to book through them if you want to take advantage of the FHR program. They aren't top notch in France and their English is less than average. Every reservation they make should be double checked as they are error-prone (which is a shame when you think that they advertise themselves as the best of the best).
- Centurion Concierge Service: once again, they're supposed to make the impossible possible but they can't be compared to top of the line private concierge services such as Mint or Preferred. Basically they're good if you want a last minute table reservation at a restaurant with which they have an agreement or if you want last-minute tickets to a show. Bear in mind, that most of the restaurants in France that are part of their fine dining program are located in Paris. Other requests are hit and miss.
- Special gifs and promotion: in 2011, they, for instance sent cardholders a €1000 gift certificate to be used at the Arije jewelry stores in Paris as well as a US$ 500 gift certificate to be used at a an Orient Express Hotel & a US$1000 gift certificate to be used for an Orient Express cruise or train ticket.
- Cruise perks: with some cruiselines, you'll get onboard credit and an upgrade.

There's a lot of controversy as to the value of this card. The FHR program & travel insurance can pay for the fee depending on your travel pattern. If you're looking for more information, visit the Flyertalk American Express forum.

Time Machine And Disk Utility Conflict

I recently stumbled across a bug in the Time Machine utility in Mac OS X. It seems that whenever you run, through the Disk Utility application,  a "verify disk" command, Mac OS X is subsequently unable to backup changes in Time Machine. The worst part is that Time Machine will continue to work just as usual but it will simply not backup changes made on your source HD to the destination HD. The only solution I found to this problem is to make a whole new Time Machine backup. As it unfortunately defeats the purpose of using Time Machine, I'm basically back to cloning my hard drive using Super Duper.

Apple is aware of the problem but no fix has been made available yet.

Club Sandwich Foursome

This is esthetically pleasing !

Burger Apocalypse

I think it was Plato that once said (or could it be Ronald McDonald?): "In case of a burger apocalypse, we would thank God for club sandwiches". Well, here's proof he was right!

I, personally, hold these recipes to be self evident that all club sandwiches & burgers are not created equal.

Ray Kurzweil's Singularity Theory & Quantum Consciousness

I wanted to comment on Time Magazine's recent article titled "2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal" but it seems they are not accepting new comments anymore. I, hence, am using my blog to state my reactions.

First of all, let me say that I'm, in no way, opposed to Kurzweil's theory. As a matter of fact, as a technology enthusiast, his idea that machines will, one day, evolve to become conscious, does not seem far-fetched to me. My generation has witnessed so many advances and achievements in the various fields of science and particularly IT in the last 20 years that it would seem rather preposterous to say that this unstoppable march might just stop when it almost reaches human intelligence. Such a narrow view would, indeed, not be smarter than when our ancestors thought the Earth was at the center of the universe.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can agree on the numbers that Ray Kurzweil takes into account. It seems to me that his whole theory is based on the premise that consciousness or human intelligence or whatever you wanna call it is simply the result of an astonishing amount of neuronal connections. Based on the amount of connections in a regular human brain, Ray Kurzweil estimated that machines will have enough connections to become conscious by 2045.

An easy way to criticize his theory would be to point out the petition of principle in his reasoning. He is assuming he knows what consciousness is all about when he demonstrates how machines will achieve it. The only problem is that we are yet to find out how consciousness arises, what it is and how it works.

Another critical approach would be to ask the following question: what if human intelligence weren't the simple result of an astonishing amount of neuronal connections? I'm not necessarily talking philosophy or religion here. I might just, once again, mention Stuart Hameroff and his quantum consciousness theory. To him, consciousness isn't the result of a huge amount of neuronal connections but would be based on the principle of quantum computation in microtubules within neurons and this dramatically changes the order of magnitude to reach consciousness through network connections. Here are the numbers:

- The neuronal connection approach breaks down like this: we have 10^11 brain neurons with 1000 synapses per neuron switching in the millisecond range of 10^3 operations per second. This amounts to 10^17 bit states per second for a human brain.

- Stuart Hameroff's approach takes into account that each cell contains approximately 10^7 tubulins, then nanosecond switching in microtubules automata predicts 10^16 operations per second PER NEURON (you have to take into account we're talking subunits of microtubules being able to change states). Since the human brain contains 10^11 neurons, nanosecond microtubule automata amounts to 10^27 brain operations per second!

So, in my book, it's gonna take a lot more time to reach the so-called Singularity than in Ray Kurzweil's calculations!

Burgerless food for thought!

Voyage To The Center Of The Club Sandwich

My passion for Hamburgers is only matched by my pursuit of the best
Club Sandwich! Beauty lies in the heat of the melted cheddar!

The Quest For The Perfect Club Sandwich

Who said you couldn't multitask? This is a variation on the now world famous Sunday Burger Challenge!

The (Update: Former) Best Hamburger In Strasbourg (France)

Without any doubt the best hamburger in Strasbourg can be found in the picture above and IRL (well, almost) at the location disclosed below:

Soul Meat
(For some unknown reason, you will only find their contact information in the yellow pages if you look for "Diable Bleu")

Update as of July 8, 2011: this place doesn't serve the best hamburgers in town anymore. For the best hamburgers, go to "Le Pied de Mammouth" or "231 East St."

Reconstructing The Braschhhnyyyi Language

A long time ago, the now long forgotten Braschhhnyyyi language was the most common language on earth. It is, actually, thought that it was the first language spoken and that, through the Morphogenetic Field Of Consciousness, it was instantly shared and spoken by all human beings at the very second it came into existence.

Ten years ago, thanks to my own designed meditative technique that essentially consists in absorbing large quantities of melted cheese (in this case on a "Cordon Bleu"), I reached a state of bliss only augmented by the consumption of a few beers with the aforementioned cheese.  One could argue that the absorption of such high quantities of cheese full of the amino-acid tryptophan might have led to a supercharge of serotonin in my brain hence leading to the state described above and granting a pseudo-scientific explanation for what comes next.

What happened that day was that I instantly became fluent in Braschhhnyyyi along with a few friends that were sitting at the same table with me. We talked Braschhhnyyyi the entire evening up to the point where one of us (whose identity won't be disclosed because we're talking about me) literally had a cheese-running nose.

As I cherish the knowledge that was gifted to me on that precious evening, I wanted to share it with the world so that generations to come will remember what it meant to speak Braschhhnyyyi when humankind was just another species on earth with an uncertain future.

The Complete Noob Guide To Installing DD-WRT & 12vpn On An Asus RT-N16 router

Installing a VPN service can be challenging for many of us but the advantages of using a VPN service are well worth the pain it causes to make things work. First of all, using a VPN service makes your internet more secure than it already is by tunneling all traffic through an encrypted channel to the location of your VPN provider. From there, the traffic will be redirected to its intended destination. You will hence be free of geolocation restrictions and should you use your VPN service on a wifi hotspot your data will be safe.

So, let's assume you bought an Asus RT-N16 router (one of the most powerful yet moderately priced router out there) and want to configure your home network to use 12vpn. Make sure before and after every firmware upgrade that you reset your router using the 30-30-30 sequence (press the wps button for 30 secs while router is on, keep pressing and unplug it for 30 secs, keep pressing after plugging it back for another 30 secs). Now, here is my step-by-step guide:

1. Make sure you download all the necessary firmwares mentioned in step 1 before your connect your router to your computer through an Ethernet cable (as you will then lose Internet connectivity) on one of the 4 LAN ports.

2. Go to this blog and follow the instructions on how to flash the factory firmware with a different one. Instead of using the Tomato firmware, use the initial dd-wrt firmware located here (Otherwise go to: http://www.dd-wrt.com then Router Database then type Asus & choose Asus RT N-16 & Image for Initial Flashing). After following the steps in order to install this firmware, you should install the last firmware through the dd-wrt web interface (by logging in to http://192.168.1.1 and going to administration). Here is the location of the latest firmware: choose the "dd-wrt.v24-15962_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega.bin" firmware. Once you're done with that, you will need to login again to the newly flashed firmware administration web interface (http://192.168.1.1).

3. Start by disabling the firewall by changing the router password and going to Security->Firewall->Firewall Protection->SPI Firewall: Disable

Save and Apply.

4. Disable Wifi as it is activated and open by default

Save and Apply.

5. Configure LAN like this (don't update the WAN configuration yet):

Router IP:

Local IP Address: 192.168.0.210

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Gateway: 192.168.0.1 (This is your DSL or Cable router address, change it accordingly)

Local DNS: 0.0.0.0

DHCP Server: Disable

Save and Apply.

In this example, I'm using 192.168.0.210 as the url to access the router assuming your DSL or Cable router address can by accessed at http://192.168.0.1. In case your DSL or Cable router has a 192.168.1.1 address in order to access it then you should change all 192.168.0.xxx addresses in my configuration example to 192.168.1.xxx addresses.

I'm using a xxx.xxx.xxx.210 address assuming it is not already taken by another device on your home network. It can basically be any non already used address but if you have a DHCP server running I suggest an address close to xxx.xxx.xxx.200 to make sure it won't be attributed by the router to another device.

6. Disconnect the router from your computer and connect it through Ethernet on one of its LAN ports to your DSL or Cable Router. You will now be able to access the configuration of your dd-wrt router through your home network by entering http://192.168.0.210 in your browser.

7. Configure WAN as in the last screen capture.

WAN Connection type: Static IP

Wan IP Address: 192.168.0.200 (not the same address than 192.168.0.210)

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Gateway: 192.168.0.1 ((This is your DSL or Cable router address, change it accordingly)

Static DNS 1: 8.8.8.8 (Google DNS for better performance)

Static DNS 2: 8.8.4.4 (Google DNS for better performance)

Static DNS 3: 0.0.0.0

STP: Disable

Save and Apply.

8. Go to the Services tab and OpenVPN:

Start OpenVPN Client: Enable

Server IP/Name:     CHECK 12vpn.com to choose the server you want to use

Port: 1194

Tunnel Protocol: UDP

Tunnel Device: TUN

Encryption Cipher: Blowfish CBC

Hash Algorithm: SHA1

Use LZO Compression: Enable

nsCertType verification: ticked

Advanced Options: Enable

Enable NAT: Enable

Bridge Tap to br0: Disable

TUN MTU Setting: 1500

Mss-Fix/Fragment accross the tunnel: 1300

TLS Cipher: OFF

TLS Auth Key: Leave Blank (other configurations might require ta.key)

Additional Config: Leave Blank

CA Cert: copy & paste ca-vpnservices.cer

Public Client Cert: copy & paste vpnxxxxx.crt2.pem

Public Client Key: copy & paste vpnxxxxx.key2.pem

(For certificates copy & paste between BEGIN and END)

9. Connect an additional Ethernet cable from your DSL or cable router to the WAN port of your Asus router

10. Configure any of your home computers, consoles or Apple TVs like this in order to use the VPN connection:

Static IP

ip : 192.168.0.2xx  (use an unused address for each device)

subnet mask : 255.255.255.0

gateway router address : 192.168.0.210  (this is the Asus router address)

DNS address : 192.168.0.210 (sometimes 8.8.8.8 might work better notably with an Apple TV)

11. If you don't want to use the DD-WRT VPN then configure your computers to use the DHCP server (automatic default configuration) from your DSL or Cable router and your connection will be exactly the same it was without any VPN service or Asus router. You can also switch back and forth according to your needs.

12. You might want to automatically reboot the router everyday to ensure continuous connectivity.

The added beauty of 12vpn is that they allow simultaneous connections from your home router and an iDevice (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) using IPSEC/L2TP. This means you can be connected at home and also from a wifi hotspot or 3G connection on your iDevice. The configuration on an iDevice is straightforward by following the steps mentioned on the 12vpn website.

Voila! Enjoy it!

Sunday Sandwich Sunday

Tonight's special!

New Restaurant In Strasbourg: La Table De Louise

This newly opened restaurant in Strasbourg features classic French food. I had their "inspiration" menu and really liked it. Foie Gras was excellent, Lobster original, & the Veal Piccata was fabulous! I finished this delicious meal with cheese and dessert and will definitely go back!

Foie Gras:

Lobster:

Veal Piccata:

Cheese:

Dessert:

All and all, it looks like famous chef Philippe Bohrer did an excellent job with this new venue! Should you find yourself in Colmar, feel free to visit its eponymous sister location.

How To Legally Watch American TV From Abroad

Let's face the truth: we all love American TV shows and we all watch them (even if some of you might not admit it). Why? Because they're the best! Why? Well, they have the best actors, the most budget & the best writers! There is, however, a huge problem: only Americans can watch American TV. There is almost no legal way of watching American TV shows without waiting a long time for them to be available outside the US. This is absolutely nonsense in this day and age. Almost everyone has broadband and there are so many illegal ways to download content that it is just crazy of the TV industry not to make their content available to the world for a fee or at least targeted advertisement. So what happens? Well 90% of the people choose to download content illegally. It is easy, free and fast!

But what if, you wanted to go the legal way? Well, there are possibilities although one might argue that the're not entirely legal as almost all services mention in their T&C that watching outside the US is illegal. So here are your possibilities:

1) If you're located in Europe, you could subscribe to the excellent British satellite TV channels known as SKY. Although technically reserved to UK residents, it is possible to find companies on the web that will take out a subscription for you and send you a satellite receiver and viewing card for a fee. SKY TV is home to many American TV shows and movies that are aired with not too much delay compared to the US and you can receive it from almost everywhere in Central Europe (satellite dish size may vary depending on your location). You will get top notch HD quality and hundreds of channels!

2) Use a VPN service. As you might have realized, most American TV channels have the option on their website to watch the latest episodes of their shows on the web. If you hook up a computer to your widescreen TV, this can be a great option. The only problem is that the aforementioned websites check your location disclosed by your IP address and won't allow you to watch anything if you're not in the US. There is a way to circumvent this by using a VPN service. Technically such a service will channel all your Internet traffic to one of their servers in the US (or a different country depending on your choice). Then all traffic will be dispatched to its destination. The bottom line is that the website you reach will think you're located where the VPN server is! In this case, it will think you're in the US and hence grant you access!

The necessary software to use a VPN server can be installed on a computer or a router (such as the Linksys WRT54GL flashed with the Tomato firmware for instance). Bear in the mind that the Linksys WRT54GL has limited resources and a faster router such as the ASUS RT-N16 will give you better download speeds. The cool thing is that if you use a router, then any computer on your home network can use a US IP address. Even a Playstation 3 or Apple TV! Think Hulu Plus (available on PS3) or Netflix (available on the Apple TV). Both services will let you subscribe and pay with a prepaid credit card that can either be bought online or in supermarkets in the US (think about it on your next trip there). Netflix won't work on a PS3 although it is available on this platform as it will check for the region code of your videogame console. So if you didn't buy your PS3 in the US, you won't be able to access Netflix from it even if you use a US IP address and official subscription!

VPN services are relatively inexpensive: less than US$ 100 a year for unlimited bandwidth. Some of the most known VPN providers are Witopia, Ace VPN, 12vpn etc...

Hulu Plus and Netflix subscription price is US$ 7.99 per month each.


3) Use the US iTunes Store. As a matter of fact, the US iTunes store has loads of shows and movies to be watched from, either a computer, iDevice or Apple TV. The latest generation of the Apple TV will let you rent TV shows and movies whereas the first generation Apple TV won't allow for TV show rentals. But how can you access the US iTunes store? Well it is relatively easy: buy a US iTunes store gift certificate on eBay (a US$50 gift certificate can usually be had for US$55) or in an Apple store on your next trip to the US. You will then be able to create a US iTunes store account using any valid US address and Voilà! You will, from that point on, be able to buy US iTunes store apps for your iDevice or rent movies & TV shows from the US iTunes store for your computer or Apple TV. The great thing about the US iTunes store is that it does not check your IP address for your location so you can rent and download content using the full speed of your broadband Internet connection! Many shows and movies are available in 720p HD with Dolby Digital sound and this is just great!

4) Subscribe to Habu.TV or A2BTV. These services will subscribe to cable TV in the US for you and hook up your cable box to a broadband router in a datacenter in the US. You will then be able to access and control your cable box remotely from anywhere in the world using a SlingBox. This is, on the paper, the best solution as you will have live access to American TV. It however, requires, a very good broadband connection on both sides. In my limited experience using a demo account, I wasn't able to achieve HD video quality but barely VHS quality. The good think is that you can subscribe to absolutely any TV channel that you're interested in in the US.

If you use any of the solutions mentioned above you will pay the same price for content than any American resident and will therefore not "steal" content. If you use a VPN service, you will, however pay a little bit more for this part of the solution.

Using AirPlay With A First Generation Apple TV

This might be old news for many of you but since I hadn't mentioned it earlier on my blog, I had to make sure this precious info reached all of you! So, yes finally it is possible to use AirPlay with a first generation Apple TV. For those of you who don't know what AirPlay is, it is an audio & video sharing feature that lets you send media from a computer or iDevice to an Apple TV. It was initially only available with the Apple TV Take 2 (first generation Apple TVs had the ability to receive audio only through AirTunes) but thanks to RemoteHD hack, you'll be able to enjoy it on your old Apple TV. Keep in mind you'll have to purchase RemoteHD in order to activate the hack and of course it will only work on a jailbroken first generation Apple TV!

Here's the complete tutorial:

RemoteHD brings AirPlay to your old AppleTV

Enjoy it!

Sunday Burger Sunday 06 FEB 2011

And the challenge goes on !