Nächste Woche: Stuttgart, Oberkochen und Köln
by Volker Weber
Exzellenter Vortrag von @vowe auf der @heisec Tour. Er ist halt einfach ne Rampensau...
— hessi (@hessi) May 15, 2012
Sehr netter Kommentar zu unserer Heise Security Tour, letzte Woche in München. Nächste Woche singen wir noch mal in Stuttgart und Köln. Und dazwischen schaue ich mir bei Zeiss noch mal in Ruhe das Nokia 808 Pureview an. Leider kann ich noch keins mitnehmen. Aber lange kann das nicht mehr dauern.
Windows 8: Does Metro actually work?
by Volker Weber
Introduced by Microsoft as a key element of Microsoft Windows Phone strategy, Metro is now being positioned as the aesthetic standard just shy of an absolute requirement for Windows Phone and tablet-optimized apps for Windows 8 and Windows RT.
What no one’s asking, though, is this: “does Metro actually work?”
In my opinion: No.
I don't agree. It works for me. Well, read on ...
Sonos Soundalier
by Volker Weber
We asked Lindsey Adelman to create a custom speaker for a unique audio experience during NYC Design Week
"Advertorial Content" - that's a good markup.
Endless roads #4
by Volker Weber
The hardest job in the world
by Volker Weber
Ask Siri "what is the best smartphone ever"
by Volker Weber
Research in Mothers
by Volker Weber
Aus einer Pressemitteilung:
"Der Muttertag ist den Deutschen nach wie vor wichtig: für etwa 70 Prozent der Teilnehmer einer aktuellen Studie zum Muttertag, die der BlackBerry-Hersteller Research In Motion durchgeführt hat, ist dieser Tag eine wichtige Gelegenheit, um Müttern die Zuneigung auszusprechen."
Mir scheint, RIM könnte dringendere Fragen klären.
[Titelidee: Bodo Menke]
Kompliment
by Volker Weber
"... ich dachte mir, wenn ich mal 54 bin, dann will auch auch noch so technisch flexibel, interessiert und am Ball sein wie Du."
Das ist nicht schwer. Keine Routine einreissen lassen. Neugierig bleiben. Staunen. Also, das Kind am Leben erhalten.
Die Suche nach der besten iPad-Hülle ist beendet
by Volker Weber
Seit gestern meins. :-)
Fifty Four
by Volker Weber
Model: Linus
Photo: Derek H. Pokorny
BlackBerry und TomTom kooperieren
by Volker Weber
Gestern kam das als Pressemitteilung:
CTIA Wireless, New Orleans, 8. Mai 2012 - TomTom hat heute angekündigt, dass Research In Motion (RIM) künftig den vielfach ausgezeichneten Echtzeit-Verkehrsinformationsservice TomTom HD Traffic für BlackBerry (R) Anwendungen einsetzt. BlackBerry Traffic ist ab sofort "powered by TomTom HD Traffic" und ermöglicht seinen Nutzern den Zugang zu den genauesten, umfangreichsten und aktuellsten Verkehrsinformationen auf dem Markt. Darüber hinaus kommen TomTom Karten und ortsbezogene Daten in BlackBerry Maps und BlackBerry Locate Services zum Einsatz. Drittanbieter und Entwickler können so Karteninhalte und Verkehrsinformationen in die eigenen Apps integrieren.
Das klingt schon mal gut. Problem: BlackBerry Traffic gibt es nur in Nordamerica. Bisher jedenfalls. TomTom HD Traffic aber ist in Europa gut ausgebaut. Wann wird es also BlackBerry Traffic auf der Basis von TomTom HD Traffic in Deutschland geben? Keine Ahnung. Ich kann das nicht rausfinden, auch wenn ich eigentlich ganz gute Kontakte haben.
Wer TomTom HD Traffic nutzen will, muss dafür bisher bezahlen. Entweder als Live Services für ein TomTom Gerät (die ersten zwei Jahre sind bei den Spitzengeräten dabei), oder als In-App-Verkauf bei der iOS-App. Mal gespannt, wie das bei BlackBerry geht.
Hiding all those video components
by Volker Weber
My TV was living inside a nest of cables and AV components. Up until this weekend. Now it's all hidden away. And it works brilliantly. Here's the story.
I solved my TV sound problem a long time ago. Run a cable from TV audio-out to Sonos line-in, program the ZonePlayer to switch to line-in as soon as there is a signal, and presto, great sound coming out of my stereo.
Video was a different story. My TV does digital terrestrial but not satellite. I am running three separate boxes to augment the TV:
- A dual antenna digital sat receiver with hard disk recording from a company I no longer recommend.
- An Apple TV, which serves as the target for Airplay video, Photostream and movie trailers. We stream live video from iPads to this box.
- A Netgear NeoTV 550, which plays all the media files from my NAS that the Apple TV refuses to acknowledge that they are there.
So I was running three HDMI wires into the TV, and all of these boxes had so sit on a shelf in the vicinity of the TV, so that they could be controlled via IR remote controls. To resolve this mess Belkin last week sent me a big box with two components (and another small remote): the ScreenCast AV 4 Wireless AV-to-HDTV Adapter.
ScreenCast AV has a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter connects up to four HDMI sources and sends the data stream over 5 GHz wirelessly to the receiver. The receiver connects to one HDMI port of the TV. The receiver also picks up IR signals from your remotes and send them back to the transmitter who emits the same IR signals through a four-headed IR blaster back to your components.
Now you can hide away your AV components, plus the transmitter and the IR blaster inside a closet, and only keep the receiver at the TV. I have mounted the receiver to the back of my TV where it picks up the IR signals as they bounce off the wall. The messy cables and the three AV components are now hidden away.
I have not dealt with any of the technical details. Belkin says that the ScreenCast can achieve full 1080 video, 3D video and 5.1-channel surround sound over a distance of up to 30 feet. I am just transmitting the signal over a short distance through an IKEA BESTA shelf. And it all just works.
Next step is to move all AV components into the basement. That's would be only 10 feet away from the TV, but going through a serious concrete floor.
Gerald hat die Nase voll. Ich auch.
by Volker Weber
Liebes Google, liebe GEMA,
lange genug haben wir uns Eure fadenscheinigen Argumente angehört, warum deutsche Besucher auf YouTube seit zwei Jahren dauernd traurige Smileys serviert bekommen statt Shakiras kreisende Hüften.
Super Editorial in c't.
A great start in the morning
by Volker Weber
New Belkin keyboard
by Volker Weber
I love my Belkin Bluetooth keyboard and have used it on numerous travels. Whenever I need to write a longer text for a report, I just whip it out of my bag, prop up the iPad and start typing. The battery seems to last forever and charges from my BlackBerry power supply.
Now there is a new one. It has all the same features, it's smaller and thinner, but it uses exactly the same technology and has the same physical dimensions for they keys themselves. So there is no training going from one to the other. Belkin moved the with to the front, the led to the left side where it wraps around the edge so you can see it from the top. And it know has a little thumb rest, which makes typing even more convenient.
Keyboard for BlackBerry PlayBook: the verdict
by Volker Weber
I have good and bad news for RIM. The good news is, you can have the keyboard back, after just two days. The bad news is hidden in my FAQ: it's completely useless to me. I am absolutely sure it would only collect dust and never be used again.
In theory this is a great concept. Pop in a PlayBook when you need to connect to a remote PC. With Citrix Receiver you have a physical keyboard, you have cursor keys, you even have a trackpad. Genius.
The bad news is, that this does not work at all, for a number of reasons:
- The folio is very heavy. With the keyboard it weighs more than the PlayBook itself.
- I simply cannot type on the keyboard without a typo in each and every word. The keys are too small and too close to each other. They are vertically aligned and I cannot get a German layout.
- When the PlayBook is in the folio, it's very unwieldily. I cannot use it anymore unless it rests on a table.
- Finally, the straps that hold the keyboard in place obstruct the on/off switch and the escape and backspace key.
What you get is a netbook without a lot of software, with broken hinges, and an unusable keyboard. The PlayBook is much nicer without it. Of course you can ditch the folio and use some other means to prop up the PlayBook, as I do it with my Belkin keyboard. In that case the keyboard would not have to be constricted to the small PlayBook size.
Not recommended. Misses the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award my a mile and a half.
Super Moto
by Volker Weber
Sonata Lite, a basic Sonos controller for Windows Phone
by Volker Weber
Sonata Lite is a quick Sonos controller for Windows Phone. Does only the basics, but a good secondary controller. And it's free.
LinkedIn to acquire SlideShare
by Volker Weber
Mountain View, Calif. - May 3, 2012 - LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with 161 million members worldwide, today announced it agreed to acquire SlideShare, a leading professional content sharing community.
Make sense to me. Death by PowerPoint, for a business network.
RIM is in a dry spell
by Volker Weber
Captain Obvious at the mike:
- BlackBerry 10 looks really neat. So did Nokia N9.
- BlackBerry 7 was the king of the hill. So was Symbian (in Europe at least).
- Unlike Nokia, RIM is sticking to their guns.
- Unlike Nokia, RIM has a strong infrastructure play.
The big elephant in the room is this: will RIM be able to drive volume for BlackBerry 10 from the installed base?
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