Felix Horn

Author: Felix

  • 50 Countries

    50 Countries

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    by

    Felix

    Here’s a photo of a street in Doha, Qatar that I took a week ago. Qatar is the 50th country that I have visited – and I am so thrilled about hitting this mark. 50 countries is quite a number when you think about it. Still, a long way to go to 193 – which…

  • Small Town, Big Town

    Small Town, Big Town

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    Felix

    In the connected world, where would you work? Are small towns as good as capitals?  Take Bodø for example – a small town with just 50,000 inhabitants in the north of Norway. The best part – you can walk from the airport to the city center. You have the sea, the mountains, the views. Great…

  • We, Robot

    We, Robot

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    Felix

    We were promised robots. Robots as butlers, drivers, housekeepers. And we’ve got some of those, haven’t we? Robotaxis are in the news. Robot arm-powered factories make fancy LinkedIn posts (even though YouTube likes go to some Indian guys making stuff – from car tires to large metal tanks). Robot butlers are a wonderful idea. The…

  • Steamboats and Interfaces

    Steamboats and Interfaces

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    Felix
    in

    Analog or digital? Stavanger hosts a tall ship festival every now and then, bringing majestic sail ships from around the world. Steamboats, though? Not so much. That’s why the Fjordsteam Festival was such a treat this year, filling the city harbor with historic steamers. What a stroll – you could explore ship cabins and even…

  • Age of the Great Imitators

    Age of the Great Imitators

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    by

    Felix

    Some day, people will look back at our era and call it the age of the Great Imitators. That’s what today’s AI engines really are – incredibly skilled at identifying and following patterns, predicting the most probable next word. The next chess move. The next protein fold. The next frame in a video. The next…

  • They Live (In XR)

    They Live (In XR)

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    Felix
    in

    Computers are the windows allowing us to transcend between physical and digital. For years, our laptops and phones have dominated this realm. Let’s not forget tablets – the prodigal son that showed so much promise, but never truly delivered. The iPad launched in 2010 with hopes it would become the new work device for everyone.…

  • I, Underwater Robot

    I, Underwater Robot

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    Felix
    in

    ROVs – remotely operated vehicles – are a huge part of the offshore and industrial world, yet remain practically unknown outside of it. Today, out at sea, hundreds of these remotely controlled robots are at work – inspecting pipelines, installing subsea engineering structures, cleaning offshore platforms, and maintaining mooring lines. The underwater engineering installations they…

  • Sport Is Useless

    Sport Is Useless

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    Felix

    I was up on a mountain today. Not for sport – just for the sake of moving, doing the bare minimum to keep up. Norway is great like that – you don’t really need to “do sports,” just step outside and go for a run. Or do a hike. But I’ll never keep up with…

  • A Dining Room to Remember

    A Dining Room to Remember

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    Felix
    in

    You can still visit the Titanic today, even though it sank. And I don’t mean diving down in a carbon-fiber capsule steered with a Logitech gamepad. There’s a simpler way. In Bloomsbury, London, stands the Kimpton Fitzroy hotel – formerly the Hotel Russell. Built in 1898, and still operating. A little worn, sure. But who…

  • I’m Guybrush Threepwood, and I Wanna Be a Pirate

    I’m Guybrush Threepwood, and I Wanna Be a Pirate

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    Felix
    in

    I used to play Monkey Island as a kid. And I don’t mean casually – I played the hell out of it. Back then, point-and-click adventure games weren’t just a genre – they were a phenomenon. Full Throttle, Space Quest, Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max Hit the Road, The Dig. I played them…