Today, I officially submitted my Masters thesis.

I am finally done.

I almost shed a tear before leaving the local PostNet. It felt like I was leaving behind a part of myself. I was suitably, and still am, a bit emotional about it.

My Masters thesis has been a part of my life for the last few years. I have worked on it for countless hours. It became a part of my daily routine. It was my job. Now it is no more.

Although I am relieved to have finally finished, I am also incredibly anxious.

This intense anxiousness stems from the inevitably looming question: “what now”?

I hope you will join me on my journey forward as I try to find the answer.

Until the next time Milieunairs!

“Three Apples changed the world: One seduced Eve, One awakened Newton and One fell into the hands of Steve Jobs”

Steve Jobs has passed away.

My sincerest condolences to his family.

I may not have known Steve Jobs personally, although I wish I did, I am deeply, deeply, saddened by his death.

Steve was an inspiration to many, including myself, and his innovative vision and quest for perfection will be sorely missed.

Rest well Steve and suffer no more.

[I wrote a larger piece on Vamers if you are interested to read it]

If you do one thing today, do yourself a favour and watch this speech that Steve Jobs gave to graduates at Stanford University:

I promised to update biweekly and then I neglect to upload a single post for the month of September 2011. An entire 30 days of inactivity.

I am in the final stretch for my Masters. Almost done. Just a few more weeks… so please bear with me.

Until the next time Milieunairs!

South Africa’s very first iPhoneography exhibition is taking place on Thursday 1st September 2011.

For those who do not know, iPhoneography is the process of taking and editing photographs with only the use of an Apple iPhone.

A few weeks ago, I submitted some of my photographs for the exhibition.

I got in.

When I submitted my photographs I did so under the guise of “why not”. The idea is new and the concept is great. So I took a chance and my photographs were accepted.

Believe me, I was truly taken aback when the email arrived in my inbox telling me that my photographs had been selected for the iPhoneography exhibition. Needless to say, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to display my photographs as ‘works of art’ – a term I did not think I would be able to attribute to any of my photographs that were taken with only a mobile phone.

I have been fortunate enough to have 17 pieces accepted for the exhibition. 16 canvasses and a single ‘unique’ creation.

Previews of some of my photographs that will be on display can be seen in the gallery below. The photograph with the ‘story’ is a teaser for my unique piece titled “Life: A Journey Through Time”.

The exhibition will be held at the iStore on Sandton Drive on ‘spring day’ (Thursday 1st September 2011). Everyone should come on down and be a part of this novel and potentially groundbreaking exhibition. I know that there will be many photographs that will absolutely blow your mind from other extremely talented South African iPhoneographers. The best part? If you like what you see, you can purchase the artworks on display.

For those who will be driving, please note that there will be road closures in and around Sandton City for the Springbok send-off. Be sure to plan ahead accordingly.

For those who, like myself, will be using the Gautrain, please note that once you arrive at the Sandton Station, you will need to catch a Gautrain bus running on the S4 route. There is a Gautrain bus stop directly in front of the driveway to the Sandton Drive iStore. For more information about Gautrain bus times, please call 010 223 1098.

For my fellow Twitter folk who attend, please be aware that the official hashtag is: #iPhoneographySA. If Facebook is ‘your thang’, you can RSVP to the event here.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Until the next time Milieunairs!

This stems from the fact that I am continuously working on my Masters thesis, which requires me to write and think, sometimes even simultaneously, for hours and hours at a time.

As such, the amount of time needed to create posts that are, in my opinion, worthy of being published, take too many productive hours from my day. It is a poignant but valid fact.

Of course, it does not help that, alongside my masters, I am simultaneously attempting to create, run and maintain several of my own websites and a bevy of social media profiles, all the while attempting to sustain some semblance of a social life. Granted I am still in a very fortunate position, being a full time student and all, but just because I do not have a “formal” job does not mean that I am not busy.

In many ways, writing a research based masters thesis is very much like a full time job. The only downside is that it is the kind of job that is not complete until it is finished. What this means is that I have not had a proper relaxing holiday or weekend in the last 18 months. No matter what I do, I know that I have work waiting for me. In fact, I actually feel guilty when I do go out or if I use my time for other endeavors that are not related to finishing my masters. Truthfully, it is actually quite an intense psychological strain. However, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and I am currently on a downward slope towards that exit.

At the moment I am currently finishing off my thesis. All I need to do now is write a conclusion and rewrite the last section of chapter four. Once that has been completed, I will have a full draft of my entire thesis. Then the real editing and proof reading will begin. Should all go well, I will be able to submit towards the end of September. A moment I cannot help but feel both excited and anxious about.

Until the next time Milieunairs!

I have not officially or formally announced it, but I have started my very own video games and technology based website called Vamers.

I soft launched the site in June 2011 and I have been attempting to populate it with content ever since (along with a few other able writers). I do plan to officially launch the site in September 2011, preferably on Spring Day, and will have a Gears of War 3: Epic Edition competition to go along with it. So be sure to keep a keen eye out for future ‘Win with Vamers’ posts.

Since I own Vamers I will do some cross posting on Hans’ Milieu from time to time. In fact, this post is the very first cross post of that nature.

To help ease the Vamers brand into the blogosphere, I am giving away a single copy of inFAMOUS 2 (Special Edition) for the PlayStation 3.

For details on how to enter the competition simply follow this link:

Win with Vamers inFAMOUS 2 (Special Edition)

I hope that you will join me in helping to make Vamers a primary online  resource for interesting gaming and technology related news, reviews and journalistic endeavors.

Until the next time Milieunairs!

I am flabbergasted that the last time I updated Hans’ Milieu was just under five months ago. In fact, I am appalled that I have neglected you – my fellow readers and the blog itself, which I regard as the online extension of my living entity – for so long.

So much has happened over the last several months that it would be almost impossible to detail it all in a single post. I will eventually get to updating my milieu, but until then here is a brief account of the major events that have transpired:

• I am another year older.
• I have almost finished my Masters – something I am both excited and anxious about.
• I am a now Mac user – who would have thought?!
• I have made wonderful new friends.
• I have grown stronger emotionally, mentally and, most importantly, spiritually.
• I am still single.
• The Upper Palatte is making a glorious return – beginning again in August.
• I have started a website for video games and technology: Vamers - officially launching in October.
• One of my Tweets went viral.
• I am committed to going from Flab to Fab by December this year – just in time for Summer.

I will attempt to update as often as possible, at least once a week from this day forward, but my education comes first. So until my Masters is complete I will be unable to update as frequently as I would like. Only a few months to go!

Until the next time Milieunairs!

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend and be one of the first people in the country to play with Nintendo’s latest portable device.

My first hands-on impressions of the Nintendo 3DS and a general overview of the spectacular launch party are right after the jump!

The official South African launch event for the Nintendo 3DS was held at La Toscana in Monte Casino last night. I must say, I was impressed.

Nintendo South Africa seemed to pull out all of the stops for the 3DS launch with soothing lighting, crazy visuals, Cirque Du Soleil-esque performers (believe it), an open bar, hot 3DS demo girls (and guys) and, of course, the chance to play with the Nintendo 3DS itself!

This event was probably one of the best product launch events I have been to – kudos to the organisers, you did a really fantastic job *High Five*. However, as good as the performances, food and bodacious 3DS models were, the star of the show was none other than the Nintendo 3DS… *Cue promotional video*

Truth be told, I was skeptical about the device’s capabilities. Having read a lot about Parallax Barriers (the 3D tech used in the 3DS) I was mentally convinced that Nintendo would not be able to pull off a satisfying portable 3D experience. Boy was I mistaken!

Although I may not be an audio visual expert, I do believe that I have a fair amount of experience with the current iteration of 3D technology available in the marketplace today (I have a gorgeous 63 inch active shutter glasses Full HD 3D television that I use daily). With that said, I believe that Nintendo has done a sterling job with the 3DS. There is really something beautiful about being able to enjoy 3-Dimensional content without the need for any additional attachments or peripherals.

In terms of 3D, the 3DS uses a Parallax Barrier screen to provide a 3-Dimensional effect:

A parallax barrier is a device placed in front of an image source, such as a liquid crystal display, to allow it to show a stereoscopic image without the need for the viewer to wear 3D glasses. Placed in front of the normal LCD, it consists of a layer of material with a series of precision slits, allowing each eye to see a different set of pixels, so creating a sense of depth through parallax in an effect similar to what lenticular printing produces for printed products. A disadvantage of the technology is that the viewer must be positioned in a well defined spot to experience the 3D effect.

(Wikipedia 2011)

The only other device I have used with a Parallax Barrier screen is Fujitsu’s FinePix REAL 3D camera. Of course that was about a year ago and although the technology worked, it was still very much in its infancy (it still is actually) and was more of a gimmick than a functional improvement. The same cannot be said for Nintendo’s 3DS.

Although the Nintendo 3DS still suffers from some of the same drawbacks associated with parallax barriers, most notably with regards to poor viewing angles (goodbye screen sharing), the 3D effect provided by the device was exceptionally good. In fact, I was taken aback by how well it functioned.

Each and every unit I used, including the first device I picked up and inadvertently “broke” by unintentionally placing it into development mode by pressing the ‘home’ button (turns out the 3DS demo units were exactly that, demo units), provided a great 3D experience. Just as long as you kept the unit fairly still and within about 30 centimeters from your face; like under normal operating practices. However, I did find that any sudden jolts or moving the device further than about a rulers length away from your direct line of sight, would result in a loss of the 3D effect and cause a weird cross eyed feeling as your eyes try to adjust to “what the heck just happened”.

Although the 3D effect is very good and remains quite constant, I am still bothered by the small viewing angle within which the 3D sweet spot lies. Granted it does not make much of an impact if you are sitting or standing still, but it remains to be seen how well this 3D effect will be able to perform when one uses the device while travelling. After all, this is what a portable gaming device is all about. Thankfully the 3DS does have a 3D-Slider which allows one to turn the 3D effect off completely or boost the effect to its maximum.

Despite the issue of a 3D sweet spot, the size of the device and the enlarged 16:8 formatted screen, made the overall game playing experience both worthwhile and intensely pleasurable. In fact it made each and every game on display feel fresh and ‘alive’, whether the games were new or simply 3D remakes. In my short experience with the device, I would place the graphical fidelity of the 3DS to be roughly equivalent to that of the Nintendo Wii.

The twin 3D cameras and the internal face camera allow for some pretty cool “on the fly” morphing effects in both games and general use. However, things really become interesting when the cameras are used for more than just taking and editing photographs.

Possibly one of the coolest aspects of the 3DS is the devices ability to merge an augmented reality scenario with a 3-Dimensional experience. A perfect example of this is the demo of how the 3DS turned an ordinary playing card, which was emblazoned with a yellow box and a question mark, into a fully fledged game playing experience. The opportunities for this kind of a setup are limitless. I cannot tell you how excited I am about the possibility of an augmented reality 3D Pokémon game. Just the thought gives me a geekasm! This is the future of gaming!

Although my time with the device was short, the experience has been long lasting. In a way, Nintendo has spoiled me. For when I look at my phone or any of my other portable devices, I cannot help but wish that they too could have 3D screens. In short, I will most probably end up buying one on launch day and when I do I will offer my personal verdict on whether or not it is worth owning.

Nintendo 3DS: South African Launch Event VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

For those who are interested, the Nintendo 3DS will officially go on sale in South Africa on Friday 25th March 2011 – just three weeks from today – for a suggested pocket busting retail price of R2799. Yes, that price is quite steep. You could buy an Xbox 360 4GB (R2399) or even a Nintendo Wii (R2499) and an accompanying game for that price. Games for the 3DS are similarly priced and are suggested to sell for about R499 each. I thought it would be worth mentioning that the Nintendo 3DS will retail for about $250 in the USA and between £150 – £230 in the UK (depending on the retailer).

A variety of games will be available at launch with over 30 games being made available for the Nintendo 3DS between 25th March 2011 and June 2011.

Personally, I really like the Nintendo 3DS and I believe Nintendo have done a fine job of, once again, redefining the mobile gaming arena. However, do not just take my word for it. Make a plan and head on over to Skoobs in Monte Casino anytime from 16:00 (4pm) until 20:00 (8pm) today for a sneak peek and some hands-on action with the Nintendo 3DS!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and I look forward to hearing your comments about the device.

I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to everyone who contributed towards allowing me to be a part of such a fun filled event. Thank you!

Until the next time Milieunairs!

For the first time I will attempt to “Live Blog” the event as it happens – from 18:00 (6pm) GMT+2. Please bear in mind that I have never done anything like this before. So it remains to be seen whether or not this will be a “hit or miss” endeavour. Nevertheless, I look forward to your feedback.

If you are interested, the Live Blog is right after the jump.

I will also be Tweeting the event. So if you have a Twitter account you may follow my updates via @HansHaupt. Additionally, the official Twitter hashtag is #N3DS.

I hope you enjoyed this attempt at something new.

Until the next time Milieunairs!

Two poems in one week? Who would have thought!

If you are interested, my latest poem is featured right after the jump.

Helen of Troy

Oh Helen of Troy, you are quite the Viceroy.

You are so Coy, your beauty nothing but a Decoy.

I am aware of your Ploy, to deflower the innocent Choirboy,

This has served to Annoy, all of those in your loving Employ,

Thus nothing can save this scorned Killjoy, not even a reduced Octroy,

From alerting the Kings Convoy, approaching from beloved Hanoi.

~ Hans Haupt

The beautiful blonde in the image above is none other than Diane Kruger, the stunning German born actress who played Helen in the Hollywood blockbuster film Troy. With that said, if this is what the Helen in my poem looks like I would not, in the least, mind being the Choirboy.

Until the next time Milieunairs!