December 2009

DROID 2.1 for G1

by Volker Weber

Our good friend Drizzy has been hard at work converting the DROID Android 2.1 ROM over to the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1 and his dedication has paid off.

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Lotusphere sessions on your iPhone/iPod touch

by Volker Weber

lsmobile

The Turtle Partnership has published a handy Lotusphere guide in the iTunes App Store. It caches session descriptions on your device, so you don't necessarily need Internet access once loaded.

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A little something from Nokia

by Volker Weber

NOKIA_DC-11

After all, Nokia had a nice Xmas present, to the first ten people who sent seasons greetings: an Extra Power DC-11. You charge it with a standard (small round plug) Nokia charger, which is not included. And the device itself will give you one extra charge of your mobile, either through the same plug, or through microUSB, the new standard port for all devices. The only thing it is missing: the DC-11 itself cannot be charged through microUSB.

In any case, this is a keeper. It not only charges a Nokia phone, but also other devices using a microUSB or a Nokia 2 mm charging interface. Very handy for a Palm Pre for instance.

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Last Christmas

by Volker Weber

Frohes Fest 2009

by Volker Weber

Black is beautiful

by Volker Weber

n900sound.jpg

I am still on the N900, which I find somewhat surprising, since I found quite a few limitations when I started using it.

The killer app is having both Skype and Google Talk running in the background for chat and presence. I tried that on the Android G1, but had a few stability issues with the phone app when Skype was installed. On the N900 it just works a treat.

On some days I am surviving on one charge, but often I need to top it up during the day. It's by far the boxiest phone I have, which becomes very apparent when compared to the sleek BlackBerry Bold 9700, which is my security blanket. However, I haven't used the blanket a lot — a vote of confidence for the N900.

One of the things that have improved over the last week is ActiveSync with Google. I have not seen connection problems, and contacts are now replicating postal addresses as well.

Nokia Multimedia Transfer has added support for the N900, so you can automatically transfer content from and to iPhoto and iTunes as soon as the phone connects. Download 1.4.1 beta here and update from within the app to 1.4.2.

I am going to stick it out for a little.

Carl Tyler: What do you install to use Sametime 8.5 ?

by Volker Weber

Now that Sametime 8.5 is available, you might be confused by what you need to download and install to get certain capabilities. Before you start though be sure to read the IBM Lotus Sametime Standard V8.5 Windows i5 Multilingual Quickstart Guide, also if possible for your first couple attempts I would suggest installing under VMware, and taking lots of snapshots as you progress, I can pretty much guarantee as some point you'll screw up and wish you could go back.

Summary: it can be very complicated. All the new capabilities require Websphere and DB2, plus all the supporting software.

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Light is racist

by Volker Weber

Funny video, but once again it proves that photography is mostly about light. Especially with dark subjects.

The Truth of Open

by Volker Weber

The art of business in the 21st century is figuring out how to open up your suppliers’ and competitors’ business while keeping yours tightly sealed. And in that endeavor Google has proven highly successful.

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It works!

by Volker Weber

infocenters.lotus.com.png

I understand the excitement. Both the SSL certificate and the DNS record are correct.

[Thanks, Martin]

Winter in Cape Town

by Volker Weber

winterincapetown3

Sehr schöne CD als Weihnachtsgeschenk aus Hannover bekommen. Stelle nun fest, dass die noch niemand in die CDDB eingestellt hat.

nocddb.png

Mit Titeln wie "Lakutschon'ilanga" wird das ein schöner Spaß werden, die für Sonos zu importieren. :-)

Don't take pictures. Give pictures.

by Volker Weber

Help-Portrait is a collection of photographers around the world using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate. Read about Heather and see her pictures.

And this was Frankfurt:

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[Thanks, Stephan]

Design by committee

by Volker Weber

After watching this, you have an idea of how hard it is to re-design Lotus Notes.

Going to Lotusphere? Put this in your calendar.

by Volker Weber

BP201 Meet “The Grumpies”: Eschew Obfuscation!

Wednesday, 8:30am, Dolphin Northern A-C

Bob has a track record. Paul still has to acquire it. :-)

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Which Android phone would I recommend?

by Volker Weber

I received this question:

Welches Smartphone mit Android OS kannst du empfehlen - mit und ohne Hardware-Tastatur?

And it requires a longer answer. For those who can only speak English, the question is which Android smartphone I would recommend, with and without a physical keyboard.

The answer is: none.

This space is in rapid development, and each phone is trumped by a better one within weeks. Hang on in there for a couple of months. It has been a year since the original Android Dev Phone 1 (G1), an unlocked HTC Dream, came out. Since then it has been updated to 1.1, 1.5, and 1.6 of Android. While I like the phone, its design is somewhere stuck in 2006. Then came a bunch of similar devices without keyboards, starting with the HTC Magic. The best device in this range is the HTC Hero. I played with one just briefly and would have liked one to keep, but that never happened.

The latest and greatest currently is the Droid/Milestone, with a superior screen, and dreadful battery performance. While I know it is powerful, I don't like the design at all. The technology plays in the same league as the N900, while being uglier and thinner. Where the N900 has class, the Milestone feels cheap though.

What I expect is that HTC will come out with a competitor real soon now, in 1Q2010. On the scale of the HD2, but with Android instead of WiMo. And that's what you want.

WiFi Analyzer

by Volker Weber

wifianalyzer.png

When I needed a quick WiFi analysis, what did I turn to? The Android phone. Kevin Yuan has written a really cool WiFi analyzer and published it in the Android Market - for free. Turns out all three APs are on the right channel. 11 is for SonosNet.

Modern times

by Volker Weber

Ask me something

by Volker Weber

formspringanswers.png

Some question will not be answered.

Zitat des Tages

by Volker Weber

Heißes Porzellan sieht genauso aus wie kaltes Porzellan

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Clients From Hell : We need you to agree to the legal terms in our...

by Volker Weber

"We need you to agree to the legal terms in our contract so that we can more easily sue you if your work isn’t to our satisfaction."

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I think I have N900 addicition

by Volker Weber

N900 availability

As I wrote in my conclusion, the N900 is only for those who want a computer that also happens to be a phone. Which is actually what I need. Within less than a week, I acquired one addiction. The N900 is a Skype phone, with both chat and calls. And that's way cool.

N900 availability

The other two things you can see is that battery life has improved somewhat, now that it has been depleted and recharged a couple of times. And that the sync with Google often fails. I know, so far it is unsupported.

What's bothering me a little is that it only syncs phone #s and mail/web addresses with Google. I would want business/home address and notes as well. And yet, I am reconsidering the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award.

[You have to check the full resolution]

DB Navigator - für iPhone und Pre

by Volker Weber

12_115322

Thomas empfiehlt den DB Navigator allen iPhone-Benutzern. Wir legen noch die Pre-Benutzer drauf. :-)

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From my inbox

by Volker Weber

Hi..

i came across your website.. basically i need some pro-advice on calendar issues with lotus notes..

Hi..

any help would be appreciated...

That's the problem. It never is.

Stay safe

by Volker Weber

I really mean it. This is an important message, especially this time of the year.

Old Pilots

by Volker Weber

An old Pilot sat down at the Starbucks and ordered a cup of coffee. As he sat sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him. She turned to the pilot and asked, 'Are you a real pilot?'

He replied, 'Well, I've spent my whole life flying biplanes, Cubs, Aeronca's, Nieuports, flew in WWII in a B-29, and later in the Korean conflict, taught 50 people to fly and gave rides to hundreds, so I guess I am a pilot, and you, what are you?

She said, 'I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about naked women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about naked women. When I shower, I think about naked women. When I watch TV, I think about naked women. It seems everything makes me think of naked women.'

The two sat sipping in silence.

A little while later, a young man sat down on the other side of the old pilot and asked: "are you a real pilot?"

He replied, 'I always thought I was, but I just found out I'm a lesbian.'

[Thanks, Hajo]

What matters now

by Volker Weber

whatmattersnow.jpg

Seth Godin writes:

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.

Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around. I hope a new ebook I've organized will get you started on that path. It took months, but I think you'll find it worth it the effort. (Download here).

Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O'Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

It's free. It displays in Acrobat, formatted for the screen. You don't need an IBM ID to download it here >

Which Office tools are you using, and why?

by Volker Weber

iWork

When I have to prepare presentation slides, I use Keynote, leftmost icon above. It is simple, it gets the job done, it makes beautiful presentations and has the best presenter display. When I have to create a nicely formatted document, I use Pages, rightmost icon above. I never use Numbers, Apple's spreadsheet program.

Office

Besides iWork, courtesy of Apple, I also have a copy of Office, courtesy of Microsoft. I do spreadsheets in Excel, and any creative writing in Word. Both are slow, but Excel is the default for spreadsheets, and Word has the better spell and grammar check. I never use Powerpoint.

I have also installed and tried Symphony and OpenOffice. Can't stand them. Symphony is prettier, slow, crashes a lot. The word processor is usable, the spreadsheet is a joke, and the presentation software makes IBM slideshows. OpenOffice is meh.

On the netbook I use Microsoft Office 2007, which I like a lot. It's fast, and the ribbon interface works well for me. I only use Excel and Word. Powerpoint made me buy a new MacBook Pro, so I can use Keynote.

What are you using?


Public bookshelf

by Volker Weber

Bücherschrank

This is one of those really neat ideas: a public bookshelf. If you want to read something, go there and take a book. After you read it, you put it back. If you have a really nice book, take it there. Others might enjoy it.

The photo is geocoded. Click through and Flickr will tell you where the bookshelf is.

Vom Marketingsprech ins Deutsche übersetzt

by Volker Weber

Bullshit:

xxx stärkt seine Kapitalbasis

Namhaftes Investment sichert Zukunft des Unternehmens

yyy, 10. Dezember 2009: xxx erhält mit einem zusätzlichen signifikanten Investment eine nochmals verbreiterte Kapitalbasis. Das gab heute die Geschäftsführung des mittelständischen ...herstellers bekannt. Mit der Maßnahme geht xxx gestärkt in das Jahr 2010.

Detection:

Der Insolvenzantrag mit Nummer zzz IN zzz/zz AG München vom zz.zz. wurde zurückgezogen, es hat sich kurzfristig doch noch jemand mit etwas Kohle finden lassen.

The Beauty Demo

by Volker Weber

Skype beta for Symbian S60 3rd edition

by Volker Weber

Skype has just launched a beta application for Symbian S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 and Feature Pack 2 devices. The hefty 4.2 MB installation file takes up 6 MB of your phone’s internal memory, making it one of the largest Symbian application I’ve come across, and the number of clicks required to install the application, easily over 10, is absolutely ridiculous. You’ve been warned. That being said, once installed you get all the awesome features of Skype on your desktop such as: free Skype-to-Skype calling, call mobile and landline phones using Skype credit, receive phone calls with your Skype number, instant messaging, group chat, and file sharing. The Skype beta works over 3G and WiFi

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N900 - Conclusion

by Volker Weber

Nokia_N900_48_lowres.jpg

I don't want to dance around the most important question, so without further ado: do you want an N900? Probably not. Not yet. And it's not winning the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award.

The N900 is different from all other smartphones I have. Maybe because it isn't a smartphone. It's a mobile computer. The smallest one I ever had. Your mobile computer lets you make phone calls. Over SIP, over Skype, over Google Talk. So does the N900. It's just much more convenient to hold to your ear. Plus, you can call over GSM and text messages, like a smartphone would do.

You have to keep this in mind. This is not a phone that happens to also be a computer. This is a computer that happens to also be a phone. Which actually matches my usage model much better. I hardly ever use a smartphone as a phone. Most of the time I use it as a computer.

Other than most of the other phones you buy, the N900 comes without strings attached. You own this phone. You are 'root'. This comes with a responsibility. You break it, you own all the parts. Nobody to complain to when you installed that one application you should not have.

Out of the box, the N900 plays more audio and video formats than any other device. It has Flash support in the browser. It has multitasking that works. And it has a powerful chipset to drive the whole thing. Plus a good camera with a great lens.

Sound like you want one? Bear with me.

Let's get to the parts that will drive you nuts. Battery life is a joke. Much like the G1, or the Pre. With the added bonus that it will drive itself down until it's dead in the water. No more "power up, make one important call". Remember, it's a computer. You sometimes wish there would be a hibernate mode, were it shuts everything down besides alarm clock and receiving phone calls.

Then, it's the early days. There basically is no interesting software yet. And not a lot of buyers who would create a market for software to be built and sold. So it's for enthusiasts, and if you are looking for the most requested features, you will find Ogg Vorbis support. Very geeky indeed.

Email is working. Exchange ActiveSync with Google not so much. Throws a lot of error messages, although it seems to be partially working. If you ask me, one of the problems is that you can't say "[ ] Mail, [X] Contacts, [X] Calendar, [ ] Tasks". You can only say "[ ] Mail, [X] Contacts, [X] Calendar & Tasks". Google Sync only supports contacts and calendars. Won't sync with Exchange 2003, only 2007. Traveler? No idea.

There is a very basic Twitter client, but no Facebook client. Xing, Linkedin? Nope. On the other hand: Skype (IM and calls), Google Talk (IM and calls). So it depends on your preferences.

The one thing that the N900 demonstrates is 'Nokia is not dead'. Maemo gets the network stack right, unlike Symbian. You can use this thing without a data tariff and live happily ever after. It will assume you only want Wi-Fi until you tell it to also use the mobile network, at which point it explains this might be expensive. The N900 is on your side, not on the operator's. And that makes a huge difference.

At Nokia world, Anssi Vanjoki, the top brass at Nokia as far as devices is concerned, said that Nokia needs five generations to get a platform right. Let's count: N770, N800, N810, N900.It's not only that the N900 is missing software. Its hardware is also not up to task. Like all other Nokia touchscreen devices it suffers from the resistive digitizer. Touch needs capacitive. And that means that Maemo needs to get finger friendly. Currently you have to use the stylus a lot.

Nokia needs another year. And they are quite able to make that. The propaganda says that Nokia is firmly behind Symbian. They have no choice, because that's the only card they can play today. You won't see (many) Maemo devices in 2010. That's 2011 and beyond.

So, do you still want one? I am not so sure. If you want something that works, and you are not afraid of the chains you have to wear, go with BlackBerry or iPhone. If you want a glimpse of the future, get an Android. Or maybe, wait until Feb/Mar and then get an Android. If you want sleek integration and you have some patience for software to show up, maybe you want a Pre. There are two more platforms, but you don't want any of those. :-)

Only if you really want a computer that is also a phone, you want an N900. Prepare to want a new one a year from now. The fifth generation.

Other posts:

Habemus N900
First update on the N900
Second update on the N900

Chrome features

by Volker Weber

Second update on the N900

by Volker Weber

Maemo canvas

Here are some screenshots to give you a better idea of the user experience. You will have to click through to the full resolution shots on Flickr to get an idea of the resolution of this screen.

What you see above is the desktop that I call the canvas. It consists of max four pages. I have currently disabled one of them so that I am down to three. The browser is probably one of the best Maemo applications, since it is very fast and full featured. No need to visit mobile pages. Just use the real thing:

More >

First update on the N900

by Volker Weber

After playing with the device for six hours straight, there are things absolutely brilliant, and other things lacking. So here is a first update.

The N900 has zero navigation buttons. The iPhone has one. While the iPhone is easy to understand, the N900 is not. A beginner will have a steep learning curve. The first thing you have to learn is that the Maemo 5 UI has four distinct layers you need to be aware off:

  1. The first layer is the canvas. By default it has four pages where you can layout icons (shortcuts), bookmarks, widgets and so forth. There is a useful calendar widget, you can place your favorite contacts on the canvas, and there are some less useful widgets like the scrolling Facebook widget.
  2. The third (!) layer has all the icons for your installed programs. On the canvas you hit an icon with six squares in the upper left corner to get there. Once in this layer, there is no obvious way back to the canvas. What you need to do is to hit somewhere between the icons to make them disappear.
  3. When you start your first program, things change. The six squares icon is replaced by a two square icon. Now you get to the second (!) layer from the canvas. There you find a small window for each program running. You can either go to one of the programs by clicking on their small window, or you hit the six squares icon in the upper left corner of the switcher. If you need to back to the canvas from the switcher, you hit the background outside of the small windows to make them disappear and let the canvas fill with its normal content.
  4. The fourth layer is the currently running program. It will usually display the two squares icon in the upper left corner to get to the switcher on the second layer below. Unless it is running in full screen, like the web browser does by default.
Imagine you are in a web browser and want to make a phone call. What do you do? Well, you take it out of full screen by hitting the lower right corner, you take it to the switcher by hitting the upper left corner, then from there to the programs icons on the third layer and then hit the phone icon. Would be easier if it had a green button, right?

If you have a phone shortcut on the canvas, you go to the switcher from the program, then hit the background to get to the canvas. Simple, eh? This is the first phone where I am kind of nervous when one of my friends picks it up and wants to try it out. It is almost impossible to have a good experience if you don't understand this concept.

On to the brilliant stuff:

These are early days. There is even less software than for the Palm Pre. No Facebook, no Twitter. And I am not counting a widget with no interaction.


Yann Tiersen on six iPhones

by Volker Weber

[Thanks, Heiko]

Habemus N900

by Volker Weber

DSC_7561

After reading about the N900 in this week's FAZ, I was curious to play with the N900 myself. Emailed the Nokia agency, and here it is. Thick as a brick. There is no other smartphone at vowe's magic flying circus as boxy as the N900. Besides the E90 of course.

First impressions:

For you N900 riders out there: what do I install?

Update your Adobe Flash player on Mac

by Volker Weber

aflash1003218

I bet you still have this version. If so, you can upgrade here to fix some known vulnerabilities:

aflash1003218

Apple is always a bit late fixing Flash, but we have you covered.

Site news: vowe.net back at normal cruising speed

by Volker Weber

I had several complaints that vowe.net was slow and that it would take more than five seconds to display a page that would display in the blink of an eye before. Several of the hamsters driving the site called in sick, but are now back at your service.

Die Pre-Ziehharmonika gibts auch in Facebook

by Volker Weber

.. nicht nur im Kalender. Find ich gut.

Barcoo jetzt auch auf dem iPhone

by Volker Weber

Berlin, 10. Dezember 2009 – Der Handy-Barcodescanner barcoo liefert Verbrauchern Qualitäts-, Preis- und Gesundheitsinformationen für Produkte. Die Anwendung ist ab sofort auch kostenlos auf dem iPhone verfügbar.

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Noch drei Wochen bis 2010

by Volker Weber

presseausweis2010

... und ich habe schon den neuen Ausweis. Das hat es noch nie gegeben. Und wem habe ich es zu verdanken? Unserer aufmerksamen Redaktionsassistenz. Danke!

Amazon EC2 Running Microsoft Windows Server 2008

by Volker Weber

You can now run Microsoft Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 Express, and SQL Server Standard 2008 on Amazon EC2. There has been a lot of demand for this particular feature and I'm happy to be able to make this announcement!

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Nokia Messaging account deactivated?

by Volker Weber

nokiamessagingdeactivated.png

I thought I had figured this out. But apparently I haven't. You can download a Nokia Messaging client or it comes with your phones. When you run your first setup, you create a Nokia messaging account. Did that. Then I returned that phone, got a different one, used Nokia Messaging. Then I returned that phone as well, got yet another one, used Nokia Messaging. Then I returned that phone, got a different one, used Nokia Messaging.

Several phones later I get this message. I am holding plenty of phones eligible for Nokia Messaging, and now you are deactivating my account? Is this working as designed?

Lotus Office Cloud?

by Volker Weber

Looks like the e-office guys spotted a leak:

so don't miss this session to hear a new web-based document editing and sharing service from Lotus. This new collaborative document editing service will go far beyond basic web editing to deliver a cutting-edge user experience -- supporting web, Lotus Symphony and mobile clients. We'll demonstrate early builds, share our roadmap for market introduction and how it will fit with the larger Lotus portfolio. Don't miss the opportunity to get an early preview!

This smells of Dandelion, a research project demonstrated at Lotusphere last year. Collaborative online editing of documents.

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Nothing really changes

by Volker Weber

It's been a hundred days since I last wrote about OpenNTF 2.0. After talking to a few members I am under the impression that they know what's going wrong, but they can't fix it. Plenty of chiefs, not enough indians. It's not so easy to find volunteers who would like to work under committee supervision. The site continues to be as engaging as the Lotus Notes landing page at ibm.com.

openntf0912

If you actually read the meeting minutes, you will find that Elguji has rejoined OpenNTF, which is a good thing.

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Nokia Türchen Nr. 9: Langenscheidt Standard-Wörterbuch Englisch

by Volker Weber

nokialangenscheidt1

nokialangenscheidt2

Nachdem es die letzten Tage nur Pillepalle gab, heute dann wieder ein kleines Schmankerl: ein Englisch-Wörterbuch von Langenscheidt. Lässt sich auf der microSD-Karte installieren, hat 350.000 Schlagwörter mit brauchbarem Wortschatz und läuft auch auf dem E71 superschnell. Man kann innerhalb der Schlagwortdetails blättern und muss nicht über die Liste gehen. Und das geht im Zweifelsfall schneller als man lesen kann. Man braucht nie auf das Programm zu warten. Super.

Dummerweise brauche ich kein Englisch-Wörterbuch mehr. Ich komme eigentlich auch ohne ganz gut zurecht.

The nice thing about the internet is that it's xmas all the time

by Volker Weber

Lotus History: The First Five Years

by Volker Weber

More Photo Booth Effects

by Volker Weber

More Photo Booth effects More Photo Booth effects
More Photo Booth effects More Photo Booth effects
More Photo Booth effects More Photo Booth effects

Six of 24. They are very simple to enable and utterly useless. Why do it anyway? Because you can.

Google Chrome for the Mac is here

by Volker Weber

googlechromemacbeta.png

A rugged everyday camera

by Volker Weber

panasonic-lumix-dmc-ts1

I have recommended this camera to a couple of families, with kids who like to drop things. It has now been tested and approved in the toughest household known to mankind: Francie's cast-away indoor camping in the Carribean. It's available in many colors, so you can get one less flashy.

Actually, I never had one myself, so I can't refuse to give it back.

PS: Who wants to see some fish? Ask the camera chick. :-)

franciesnorkel.jpg

Google Goggles - cool new search app for Android phones

by Volker Weber

goggles1

Available now in the Android Market. Try it out!

First Augmented Reality Browser for Symbian

by Volker Weber

N97

Before today, Augmented Reality (AR) applications were reserved for iPhone 3gs and Android users. Now, with the Symbian version of Wikitude, also Nokia N97 and Nokia N97 mini owners can use their mobile phone camera as an Augmented Reality Browser.

More >

[via Jeff]

15 Failed Predictions about the Future

by Volker Weber

"Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia."

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Das schlägt dem Fass die Krone ins Gesicht

by Volker Weber

Ich bin in der Redaktion bekannt für solche Verwurschtelungen. Die sind gar nicht so leicht zu erfinden. Wer sieht die neueste?

Als PLATO aus der Höhle trat: 20 Jahre Lotus Notes

by Volker Weber

Heute vor 20 Jahren begann Lotus mit der Auslieferung der Groupware Lotus Notes in einer Version für DOS 3.1 und für OS/2.

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A MASTERPIECE!

by Volker Weber

Google suggests Dinosaurs we...

by Volker Weber

dynosaurswe.png

Grow your own grass

by Volker Weber

Last December I wrote about Viral Training Wheels. Lots of great feedback to a lame video that smelled a lot like astroturfing. Looks like it's the time of the year for another bullshit detection post.

Remember when IBM started the Lotus Knows campaign:

Things start off with a "Lotus Knows Jam" planned for the week of August 17th; from there, there will be opportunities for you to submit testimonials, videos, and more to contribute to the messages.

That was going to be a real grass roots campaign this time:

The key thing around this campaign is that IBM wants to engage the community. They want us to create videos, blog, tweet, and spread the message. They want partners to take the branding and apply it to their messages and own marketing. IBM is hoping to leverage our community - and work with us.

The turnout was "fantastic". They selected the best of the best and put them on a site mentioned in their ad campaign: lotusknows.com. If you browse through the site you will notice that many videos are by the same person:

zmood zmood
zmood zmood
zmood zmood
zmood zmood

Actually all of the good ones are by the same person. So who is he? Never heard of him in the Lotus community space. Let me google this for you. The second link goes to a LinkedIn page that isn't linked very much. The first link points to a more interesting page. Let me jump directly to the About me subpage. Apparently he works for IBM's agency.

This isn't grass roots. This isn't testimonials. It's just plain advertising. And that's OK. Just say it. People like good advertising.

You don't have to fake it when having sex with yourself. :-)

Time for a rant

by Volker Weber

IBM calls this high-res

This is a high-res screenshot of Lotus Notes. Click through if you want to see the original PNG that I took off my screen. Don't believe me? Go here. I went to 16 Lotusphere conferences, and I have asked for high-res screenshots every single time. I have seen many things, like Ami Pro files with embedded graphics, I have seen 400x300 JPEGs. Over the years the JPEGs got larger. It's always been a great surprise for PR, that there would be people asking for footage and screenshots.

This photo is two years old. Right after that, things got better. IBM now uses Flickr, which is a lot easier to upload to than IBM's press room. See here for a nice sample:

Notes 8.5

I have given up explaining what we need. Maybe somebody wants to point here for future reference:

If you can't follow the simple rules above, you will get less coverage for your product. As simple as that.

If by any chance you would love to see a lot of coverage, then start making screenshots. Hire an intern and task him with making a hundred of each of your products. And then put them on a public website. And link there.

While we are at it: Wouldn't it be great if you could engage a visitor that goes to lotus.com/notes? Or if this landing page for the product would actually show it?

Hans-Werner Sinn: Amerika mutiert zur Volksrepublik

by Volker Weber

Die Mutation des Kasino-Kapitalismus zur Volksrepublik ist atemberaubend.

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Upgraded BlackBerry Storm to 5.0

by Volker Weber

I upgraded my old Storm 9500 to the recently leaked build of 5.0.0.402. This is just to let you know that it seems to be working well. You will find the build on the Internets. Please note, that this is not working on a 9530 (a.k.a. Verizon Storm). If you break your device, you own all the parts.

With this build the 9500 behaves like the new 9520, minus Wi-Fi and the new screen of course.

Quote of the day

by Volker Weber

If Rush Limbaugh is on your side, you are on the wrong side.

Translated from German:

Wenn Rush Limbaugh auf deiner Seite ist, dann bist du auf der falschen Seite.
Felix von Leitner

The New Yorker: Photographs of World Leaders

by Volker Weber

An interactive portfolio of portraits by Platon of world leaders, with commentary by the photographer.

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Photoshop günstig

by Volker Weber

Heute bekam ich eine Mail, in der ich als Spezialist gefragt war, der ich gar nicht bin:

Hallo Volker,

ich denke du bist hier Spezialist. Kannst du mir einen Tipp geben wo ich eiene Photoshop Lizenz für meine Tochter günstig herbekomme? Sie wünscht sich eine zu Weihnachten.

Ich bekomme schon eine Menge Angebote, etwa vorgestern dieses:

Ausgezeichnet Gas,

Mit gute Rabatte angeboten von unseren Geschäften kann man jede erforderliche Software, die Sie für angemessenen Verhältnis zu kaufen. Warum zahlen Geld für eine CD-oder DVD-Medien, wo man die Software sofort nach dem Kauf herunterzuladen und zu speichern eine beträchtliche Menge?


Die Diktion lässt vermuten, dass sich die Anfrage nicht unbedingt auf ein derartiges Geschäft bezieht. Interessant ist aber, dass die zu beschenkende Tochter noch Schülerin ist. Also habe ich mich wiederum mit einer Anfrage bei einem Freund bei Adobe blamiert. Der schrieb nämlich freundlich zurück:

Hallo Volker,

Bevor ich Dir das komplette Programm erkläre, hier ist die Quelle:

http://www.adobe.com/de/education

Auf diesen Seiten ist wirklich alles rund das Thema Adobe und Education erklärt, inklusive der einzelnen Modelle.

Und dort fand sich auch das Gesuchte: Photoshop CS4 Extended - Student Edition für rund 200 €. Nicht "bis zu 80% Preisnachlass" aber doch für weniger als die Hälfte. Man vergleiche hier.

Signing off for party tonight

by Volker Weber

Unattended children will be given an Espresso and a free puppy

by Volker Weber

unattendedchildren.jpg

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Extra points for good reasoning

by Volker Weber

observeraisdead.jpg

Nokia verlost irgendwas an Windows-Nutzer

by Volker Weber

nokiaunsupported.jpg

Wo die halbe Welt gerade bei Apple einkauft, hat Nokia 'ne ganz tolle Verlosung von irgendeinem Silvesterkonzert, wo man auch irgendwelche mit Musik kommenden Handys gewinnen kann. Man muss sich nur in irgendsoeinem Musikladen anmelden, der nur mit Windows geht. Das sollen schon so hunderttausend Leute gemacht haben. Also weltweit, meine ich.

Viel Spaß >

Commute Greener

by Volker Weber

CGiPhoneScreenshot2

If you want to keep track of your CO2 balance, Volvo is here to help you.

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Plain vanilla

by Volker Weber

VW drops the New Beetle

by Volker Weber

vwragster.jpg

Volkswagen just announced they are going to stop making the New Beetle. And here I was hoping they would follow up with the Ragster design prototype.

Well, the Polo just won Car of the Year 2010 and that is a much better design anyway:

polocaroftheyear.jpg

Updates to the Exchange Supportability Matrix

by Volker Weber

Two pieces of feedback occurred numerous times: the need to support Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008 R2 and the need to support Exchange 2003 against Windows Server 2008 R2 Active Directory servers. In response to this feedback we will be making several updates to the supportability matrix.

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New mobile Twitter site

by Volker Weber

mtwittter1

mtwittter2

Very useful for BlackBerry users in locked down environments, who cannot install client software. Go to mobile.twitter.com

Tweetdeck has cleaned up the UI

by Volker Weber

tweetdeck321

Much nicer, with fewer buttons. Get the new version.

Nokia Türchen Nr. 4: Verkehrsinfo

by Volker Weber

verkehrsinfo1

Verkehrsinfo - nützlich, wenn man die Karte im Kopf hat. Sonst würde ich mir das grafischer vorstellen. Geht laut Hersteller nur in D-A-CH. Neben einem lokalen Überblick gibt es zu jeder Störung auch die Details:

verkehrsinfo2

Schnell, einfach zu bedienen. Gefällt mir.

This time it's adults

by Volker Weber

Google Public DNS

by Volker Weber

Google Public DNS is a free, global Domain Name System (DNS) resolution service, that you can use as an alternative to your current DNS provider.

Weiß Zensurulla davon?

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Selbstverständlich gelogen

by Volker Weber

luegenselbstverstaendlich.png

Weil so ein paar kleine Details nicht so ganz perfekt sind, lassen wir zwei Tage vor dem Termin unsere groß angekündigte Eröffnung platzen, laden die Presse wieder aus und verzichten großzügig auf das Weihnachtsgeschäft.

Genau so muss es sein.

Do you know who has your Sonos remote?

by Volker Weber

Yesterday:

BREAKING NEWS: BBCClick Twitter account hacked into! Utter nonsense being posted (no change there!) Passwords changed. Enquiry underway!

Then an hour ago:

Well the culprit has been discovered!! Turns out the editors 3 yr old daughter picked up the Sonos music controller while playing and... Managed to push the right buttons to send a tweet from our account! How sweet! Panic over

Vorerst kein Obstladen auf der Freßgass'

by Volker Weber

Apple macht einen Rückzieher. Vor Weihnachten wird das nichts mehr mit Applewoi iBembel. "Anfang Januar" heißt es nun.

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Tag 3 auf dem Nokia Adventskalender

by Volker Weber

Und wieder ein Türchen auf:

nokiaadventday3

Wieder ein direkter App-Download. Ist ja gut, dass nicht alles durch den Ovi Store muss. Sonst könnte Nokia diese Nummer vergessen. Äußerst spannende Anwendung heute:

s60callrecorder.png

Der CallRecorder kann Telefongespräche aufzeichnen, als WAV oder komprimiert als AMR. Dabei kann man über Regeln festlegen, welche Gespräche er mitschneidet und ob er fragen soll. Das lässt sich nach Kontakten und Gruppen organisieren, oder auch bei anonymen Anrufen triggern. Zwei Beispiele sind voreingestellt:

s60callrecorderrules.png

Das werde ich in Zukunft verwenden, wenn ich mit irgendwelchen Hotlines telefonieren muss. Nicht vergessen zu sagen: "dieses Gespräch wird zur Qualitätssicherung aufgezeichnet".

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Mein Zitat des Tages

by Volker Weber

Der erwachsene Mensch kennt einfach zu viele Lösungen für nicht mehr existierende Probleme.

Ich bin manchmal ein bisschen langsam. Jetzt habe ich zum Beispiel erst den Artikel von Kathrin Passig zu Standardsituationen der Technologiekritik gelesen. Wunderbar. Ganz wunderbar.

Which color is best?

by Volker Weber

Feeling A-list today?

by Volker Weber

twitterfollowers.jpg

So you are really, really proud to have thousands of "followers". Sorry to burst your bubble, but it takes celebrity to get to some real numbers. And that is still not millions. No, you don't have to take off your shirt. Yes, that's old media. The stuff that no longer matters, now that you have Twitter.

Hallo? Jemand da?

by Volker Weber

Zwei Jahre ist es her, dass mich die Marketingabteilung meiner Bank dazu beglückwünschte, dass ich jetzt eine lebenslang gültige Kontonummer erhalten würde. Also eine andere als die, die ich bisher lebenslang benutzt hatte. Dabei war ich mit meiner alten immer recht zufrieden gewesen.

Mittlerweile habe ich es geschafft, diese neue Kontonummer allen meinen Vertragspartnern mitzuteilen. Nur bei O2 geht das nicht. Dort brauche ich nämlich meine persönliche Kundenkennzahl, die ich vor ein paar Jahren sicher auch mal wusste. Was macht man, wenn man die vergessen hat? Man teilt O2 schriftlich eine gewünschte neue Kennzahl mit. Wer erkennt das Problem?

aenderungkennzahl.png

OK, dann benutzt halt einfach weiter die alte Kontonummer. Bis meine Bank das nicht mehr mitmacht. Vielleicht können Eure Marketing-Abteilungen sich gegenseitig positive Mässägäs schicken.

Collaboration for Dummies

by Volker Weber

Dummies cover

IBM has commissioned a book to tell Dummies how to collaborate. The first lesson is actually not in the book itself, but in the process to get it. You can either go the IBM way or the Google way. This is the IBM way:

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Zwei Tage aus dem Nokia Adventskalender

by Volker Weber

Ich habe jetzt mal angefangen, die Software aus dem Adventskalender ernsthaft zu testen. Am 1. gab's gReader, das besonders vollmundig beworben wird. Das Programm ist ein schlechter Witz. Wenn man die News mit Google Reader abgleicht, dann starrt man minutenlang auf diesen Dialog:

greaderslow.png

Ich habe eine halbe Stunde damit rumgespielt und dann aufgegeben. Wenn ich mal schlechte Laune habe, dann mache ich ein Video und stelle es auf YouTube.

Am 2. nun hat der Kalender Twittix im Angebot. Das sieht schon brauchbarer aus:

twittixe71

Auf dem N97 sieht man natürlich noch mehr, aber dort ist die Bedienung wie immer verkrampft. Auf dem E71 funktioniert die Software gut und hat eigentlich alles, was der Twitterer so braucht:

twittixmenu.png

Endlich mal was nützliches und Tweets60 kann ich nun auch kicken.

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Le calendrier 2010 d'Aubade est arrivé

by Volker Weber

calendrier

Download the calendar >

100 lessons of seduction >
Screensaver for Windows or Mac

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[Thanks, Boudewijn. This year you won. :-)]

Klipsch speakers for your iPhone

by Volker Weber

LaScala_II.jpg

The first time I heard the Klipsch La Scala, I was in awe. What an extreme monster. This was more than 25 years ago. A friend of mine built a replica, since he could not afford the real thing. I did not even have a place where I could listen to them.

When Klipsch sent me their press release about iPhone headphones a couple of weeks ago, I was interested. At the time they had two very affordable sets, the Image S2 and the Image S2m (with microphone). I asked for a test sample, but the agency would not have any. Then I got another release about their S4 and S4i models, which I found even more interesting, but not as affordable. Anyway, yesterday they offered to send me test samples, and I selected just one pair, the Image S4i, because it has the most interesting features:

s4i.jpg

Both the S2 and the S4 series are ear canal headphones (ECH). This is the only design that gives you an isolation from your surrounding noise. I prefer ECHs to the closed noise cancellation designs that Bose sells for quite a lot of money to business travelers. The ear gels give you a 16 to 20 db isolation, and I have enjoyed that for two years now with my Ultimate Ears headset.

The S4 has a better connection between cable and earplug. Where the S2 just sticks out of your ear, the S4 cable drops right down the side of your head. My Ulimate Ears are designed to run the cable around your ear, which is even better, but it's much harder to get the plugs in and out of your ears. When the cable sticks out like the S2 design, you are more likely to touch it.

The S4i does not only have a microphone but also three buttons which lets you control the latest iPod and iPhone models. Works well with my iPod touch 5G and somewhat limited with my iPhone 3G. Check their compatibility statement. These are limitations in the iPhone/iPod line, and also apply to Apple's headsets.

The S4i is very comfortable and needed less time to get used to than the Ultimate Ears (which have no mic or remote). I had to replace the ear gels with the largest set that came with the headphones. If you have big ears, you may find yourself unable to achieve sound isolation, which is necessary for deep bass sounds. ECHs are not loud enough if they don't seal your ear canals.

So how do they sound? In short: amazing. Not on the scale of the speaker above, but pretty good for such a small kit. Klipsch claims "bold bass, sizzling percussion and smooth vocals". If you still use the gear that came with your iPhone or iPod I urge you to upgrade.

Note that Apple has a similar set that is actually a bit cheaper. However, I have destroyed quite a few of their headsets within three months of use. I never bought their ECHs, so I can't tell you if they are any good.

The Klipsch S4i has a unique feature. Their remote/mic does not sit in one of the cables, but at the yoke where the two cables come together:

s4i-skin

This design works very well for me when answering a call. Let me see what the agency says when I tell them about the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award. :-)

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Old vowe.net archive pages

I explain difficult concepts in simple ways. For free, and for money. Clue procurement and bullshit detection.

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