April 2011
Da war mal Marmelade
by Volker Weber
Chart of the day: Microsoft keeps burning hundreds of millions online
by Volker Weber
Microsoft just turned in strong earnings, but once again, there's a big ugly blotch on the report in the online division. Microsoft had a $726 million loss from online operations, the second biggest lost since March 2006.
RIM cuts Q1 earnings and revenue forecast
by Volker Weber
WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 28, 2011) - Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today provided an update on its financial guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 ending May 28, 2011 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP).
RIM now expects fully diluted earnings per share for Q1 to be in the range of $1.30-$1.37, lower than the range of $1.47-$1.55 previously forecasted by RIM on March 24, 2011. This shortfall is primarily due to shipment volumes of BlackBerry smartphones that are now expected to be at the lower end of the range of 13.5-14.5 million forecasted in March and a shift in the expected mix of devices shipped towards handsets with lower average selling prices.
IBM has a social business website
by Volker Weber
News from Social Sandy @ IBM
by Volker Weber
Read the invitation first, and then click on it (or scroll down).
Nokia announces plans to transfer Symbian software activities to Accenture
by Volker Weber
Espoo, Finland and New York, US - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced plans for a strategic collaboration in which Nokia would outsource its Symbian software activities and transition about 3,000 employees to Accenture.
Microsoft Q&A on Location Data
by Volker Weber
How does Microsoft provide location services?
To provide location services, Microsoft assembles and maintains a database that records the location of certain mobile cell towers and Wi-Fi access points. These data points are used to calculate and provide an approximate location of the user's device by comparing the Wi-Fi access points and cell towers that a user's device can detect to the location database, which contains correlations of known Wi-Fi access points and cell towers to observed latitudes and longitudes.
Does Lotus really know? And does it matter?
by Volker Weber
Lotus Connections just became IBM Connections. Sametime may be next. Portal has always been WebSphere. Lotus as a brand has been toned down even at Lotusphere. And business cards now read "IBM Collaboration Solutions".
It appears this "Lotus Knows" campaign was a huge waste of money. Carefully avoiding to show the product, it pushed a brand, that is now going invisible.
My favorite Nokia Booklet 3G feature
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Apple Q&A on Location Data
by Volker Weber
1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone?
Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.
Sonos controller has replaced my desktop controller
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
When I sit at my desk, I used to control Sonos with the Mac Desktop Controller. It's easy to type in an artist to quickly select what you want to listen to. However, since I put a CR200 on my desk, I find that I use this control point more often than the Mac Desktop Controller. It's more immediate, it's quicker when you want to turn down the volume.
I know that at its price, it's pure luxury. When away from my desk, I don't carry the CR200 with me. I'd rather use any of the software controllers on iPhone or iPad. But the convenience of having a dedicated device is a good thing. Even more so in households that are less IT-driven than mine.
The four front buttons make all the difference. You don't have to launch an app and find the icon. If I want silence all over the house, I just hold down the mute button and it will mute all players, no questions asked.
Tomi Ahonen is not happy with Stephen Elop
by Volker Weber
Nokia is right now doing about 4 times as badly, as Motorola in its darkest hours. And this the new brave honest American-style CEO calls a 'solid' first quarter? What business school did Stephen Elop go to? This sounds like "They will greet us as liberators" style Rumsfeld-Cheney'ian deliberate suspension of any tiniest thread of reality. When I said, that for any Nokia CEO to write the 'burning platforms' memo, I said he'd have to be a "delusional psycopath who willingly suspends reality". Come on? Stephen Elop called Q1 of Nokia 'solid'?
Decision
by Volker Weber
More thoughts on mobile location tracking
by Volker Weber
Alex Levinson posts "3 New Thoughts on Mobile Location - A Follow up to Apple Location Tracking" and has some valuable tips:
- Enable Backup Encryption & Use a Lock Passcode
- Use Caution Surfing the Web, E-Mailing
- Be Careful Modifying Your Device (jailbreak)
Especially the last point is important. Jailbreaks do not necessarily benefit the user.
Here is why your smartphone sends data about your location
by Volker Weber
Google and Apple are gathering location information as part of their race to build massive databases capable of pinpointing people's locations via their cellphones.
That is the reason your phone can show your location, immediately, even without GPS coverage and indoors. There is way more data available than GPS coordinates. It will tell the server which WLAN access points it sees, what the cell towers are around it, and of course also GPS coordinates if available. The server returns the location. And it learns from the data you sent over the network.
There is not much to gain for Apple or Google to know where vowe is. But there is a lot to gain from the data vowe's phone collects.
Personally I am not too concerned about operators or Apple and Google knowing about my location. Otherwise I would not carry a mobile phone at all. I even use services that track my iPhones, my BlackBerry as well as my Windows Phone 7. I would just like to know where they are when I lose them.
If you do not want to give up that information, you can tell your smartphone to not use location services. Or you could use a phone that does not even have that capability. Your carrier will still know where you are.
If you do use location services, Google or Apple should make a considerable effort to remove data that identifies you. According to the WSJ Android phones transmit a unique identifier which is not good. There is a lot of room for improvement here.
Seltsame Freigaben der Fritz!Box in Sonos 3.4 unterstützt
by Volker Weber
Nun hat nicht nur AVM das Problem in der neueste Labor-Firmware umschifft. Sonos akzeptiert in 3.4 nun auch Shares mit einem Punkt im Namen:
\\fritz.box\fritz.NAS\
So oder so reden also Fritz!Box und Sonos miteinander. Danke an Axel für den Hinweis. Schön, dass sowohl Sonos als auch AVM eingelenkt haben.
Fritz!Box ist als NAS ziemlich lahm. Aber für Sonos reicht es dicke. Man kann übrigens mehr als ein Gerät anschließen, indem man einfach einen Hub dazwischenschaltet.
Nokia and Microsoft sign definite agreement
by Volker Weber
ESPOO, Finland & REDMOND, USA - After 10 weeks of intense collaboration, we are pleased to report that Nokia and Microsoft have signed the definitive agreement for our strategic partnership to build a new global mobile ecosystem that is unlike any other.
Two reasons Lotus sales might look worse than they could be
by Volker Weber
Afaik, there are two technical reasons that hurt Lotus:
- IBM Forms and Websphere Portal are sold through the Lotus business. They are expensive products so sales people like to push them. However, they are reported under the Websphere brand.
- IBM does not compensate for renewals. There is no reason for sales people to push renewals into the mid market. When was your last visit?
Take this with a grain of salt. IBM does not really give me that information directly.
Alex Levinson: 3 Major Issues with the Latest iPhone Tracking “Discovery”
by Volker Weber
As a fellow researcher, I champion their creativity and their development. As an expert in this field, I have three points of argument to raise.
Lesebefehl für alle Kollegen.
iPhoneTracker lets you see the log your iPhone keeps of your location
by Volker Weber
Your iPhone knows where you have been. If you want to see that log, use iPhoneTracker.
What are PR people willing to do for coverage - an experiment
by Volker Weber
Blatantly commercial items like these never get published in big, influential newspapers. But PR people — bless their indefatigable hearts — keep sending these items in, tiptoeing that taut tightrope between optimism and desperation.
Just how desperate are they? I designed an experiment to find out. Now, I know some of you might call this experiment cruel. However, others might call it very cruel.
Fernsehen am Mac: Mediathek
by Volker Weber
Wer will einen Sonos ZP100 tauschen?
by Volker Weber
Habe hier einen ZP100, den ich gegen einen S5 tauschen würde. Der ZP100 ist "das Original", das sowohl Line-Out als auch Lautsprecher-Ausgänge sowie einen 4-Port-Hub hat. Der dritte Ausgang ist für einen Subwoofer. Der ZP100 kann alle Ausgänge gleichzeitig beschicken. So kann man eine Anlage, einen Subwoofer und zwei zusätzliche Lautsprecher anschließen.
Sonos Maximus :-)
IBM 2010 Annual Report is in
by Volker Weber
This is the software business. Download the full report here >
First quarter results for middleware:
Revenues from the WebSphere family of software products increased 51 percent year over year. Information Management software revenues increased 13 percent. Revenues from Tivoli software increased 8 percent. Revenues from Lotus software increased 1 percent, and Rational software increased 5 percent.
Ladies and Gentlemen, update your Sonos
by Volker Weber
Lots of goodies in 3.4. Highlights:
- Android Controller (at last)
- iOS Controllers support multitasking (at last)
- If you send music through AirPlay to a connected Airport Express, the ZonePlayer starts playing this stream immediately
As always, a free upgrade.
PS: Sonos cannot add AirPlay in software. You need to license and buy silicon from Apple.
Microsoft Photosynth on the iPhone
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
The app is simply amazing. Photosynth is an incredible technology developed in Microsoft Research. What's not obvious: when you finish a photo, it automatically gets saved to your camera roll.
Runs on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 2, and iPod touch 4th gen. Not available in Microsoft-free zones.
Mainzelmännchen auf dem zweiten Bildungsweg
by Volker Weber
Niemand schöpft Verdacht, schon gar nicht in der Mainzer Senderzentrale. Ein großes Haus wie das ZDF hat viele Abteilungen, viele Zuständigkeiten. Wochen vergehen, da erreicht die beiden Jungs in Baden Württemberg die folgende Direktnachricht:
I wish I could declare a bullshit-free zone
by Volker Weber
Ed declares his home a Microsoft-free zone:
In short, I live a Microsoft-free life. I'm successful in both business and personal life without any influence from Redmond.
Or more specifically, he lives in an Apple household. That works for a lot of people. Just a few conditions that don't work for many of his customers:
- No development. (Domino Designer needs Windows)
- No project management. (Microsoft Project is the goto product)
Ed also uses a couple of IBM products, where Apple has the superior alternative. I am pretty sure, an Apple product manager could declare an IBM-free zone and a Microsoft-free zone, where a Microsoft product manager could declare a Microsoft-only zone.
Nothing of this nonsense for me. I use whatever works best. I have no reason to exclude Microsoft products from that mix.
PS: For the german audience: Bei c't arbeiten in jedem großen Ressort Leute auf Windows, Mac und Linux. Das öffnet den Horizont. Aus dem gleichen Grund nutze ich Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Symbian, WebOS und Windows Phone 7.
Auch letztes Jahr war der April der schönste Sommermonat
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Sony Music Entertainment is just too stupid
by Volker Weber
If you block your own videos in your own official channel on YouTube, you deserve to die.
Group schluckt Pavone
by Volker Weber
Noch so eine Freitagsnachricht:
Frankfurt, 15. April 2011 - GROUP Business Software (GBS) hat bekanntgegeben, dass die Dachgesellschaft GBS Enterprises, Inc. (OTCBB:GBSX) die PAVONE AG ... übernommen hat.
"They are at their peak of their power at the age of fifteen and sixteen"
by Volker Weber
Oracle's OpenOffice Announcement translated to plain English
by Volker Weber
REDWOOD SHORES, CA, Apr 15, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Oracle Corporation ORCL +1.12% today is announcing its intention to move OpenOffice.org to a purely community-based open source project and to no longer offer a commercial version of Open Office.
We can't make any money off OpenOffice.
"Given the breadth of interest in free personal productivity applications and the rapid evolution of personal computing technologies, we believe the OpenOffice.org project would be best managed by an organization focused on serving that broad constituency on a non-commercial basis," said Edward Screven, Oracle's Chief Corporate Architect. "We intend to begin working immediately with community members to further the continued success of Open Office. Oracle will continue to strongly support the adoption of open standards-based document formats, such as the Open Document Format (ODF)."
We have no further interest in OpenOffice.
Oracle has a long history of investing in the development and support of open source products. We will continue to make large investments in open source technologies that are strategic to our customers including Linux and MySQL. Oracle is focused on Linux and MySQL because both of these products have won broad based adoption among commercial and government customers.
OpenOffice hasn't.
Comment by Doug Mahugh:
Strawberry, my favorite
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
[Danke, Sven]
Wired May 2011 as free iPad download
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Hi - We've just announced the IBM Champion program for the Lotus/IBM Collaboration Solutions brand. I would very much appreciate your help in publicizing this.
Done. Or should I mail all my contacts? Have not been educated what it means to "Get Social. Do Business."
Path 1.5.2 is out
by Volker Weber
For Path 1.5.2 we've worked with our friends at SimpleGeo to add weather, including the temperature and the forecast, to all of your moments. Bringing a new layer of context to the social web.
No more lying about the weather. :-)
Carl Tyler: No one ever claimed IBM moved quickly
by Volker Weber
Here's an example of how quickly they actually move... 2 1/2 years ago I blogged this Where's the IBM Lotus Collaboration Champion Program to this weeks Announceing the IBM Champion program! The rewards are still nothing compared to those provided by the Microsoft MVP program, but at least IBM is starting to realize there are others involved in creating their success.
Life in Microsoftland is complicated
by Volker Weber
Photos: vowe
Can I just wag my Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate DVD in front of the Netbook camera, please? Do you know how many editions of Mac OS X there are?
A Tiny Day in the Jackson Hole Backcountry
by Volker Weber
heise online - re:publica: Openleaks als digitale Babyklappe
by Volker Weber
Domscheit-Berg betonte die Rolle einer guten Organisation des Projekts und die Notwendigkeit einer soliden Finanzierung. Zum Start der Alpha-Phase hat Openleaks nach seinen Angaben 600 Euro via Flattr sammeln können.
Nein, da fehlen keine Nullen.
Dreierstecker für's Auto
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Hat mein sein Navi erst mal im Zigarettenanzünder eingestöpselt, dann findet das Ladekabel für's Handy keinen Strom mehr. Wie in einer Altbauwohnung rangeln alle um die einzige Steckdose. TomTom hat jetzt das richtige Zubehör. Die Steckdose wird nach hinten durchgereicht, auf der Seite findet man zwei USB-Buchsen. Eine davon ist mit dem Zusatz Fast Charge ausgestattet und liefert 2.1 A. Da kommt zum Beispiel das durstige iPad dran. Die andere liefert immerhin noch 1.2 A, mehr als die meisten Ladegeräte. Hinten kann man dann einen normalen 12V-Stecker einstöpseln, aber bitte nicht den Zigarettenanzünder:
Quelle: TomTom
Windows Phone 7 love
by Volker Weber
[via Amygeek]
What is Maqetta
by Volker Weber
Maqetta is an open source technology initiative at Dojo Foundation that provides WYSIWYG tooling in the cloud for HTML5 (desktop and mobile). Maqetta allows User Experience Designers (UXD) to perform drag/drop assembly of live UI mockups.
Facebook makes it easy to handle event SPAM
by Volker Weber
Just select the checkbox. Thanks, Alper, for providing the example.
Running Windows update on the netbook
by Volker Weber
I don't get much usage out of netbooks these days. The iPad has all but killed it. Once in while though, it's pretty neat to have an always connected device with a keyboard. I have recently started using a Nokia Booklet 3G, and this is by far the best netbook I have ever seen. The only thing I would change is a solid state disk instead of the regular hard drive.
I am not running lots of software on it. Windows 7, Office 2007 (which is the latest version I have on my shelf), Chrome, Picasa, Dropbox, Evernote. And I am getting eight to ten hours of battery life from a single charge. Impressive.
The odd thing is the HDMI out. It has an internal HD display (1280x720) and it can mirror this easily to a TV. When doing presentations I usually have to interface with a VGA cable. Have to find out if there is a dongle to go from HDMI to VGA.
Upgrading Ovi Maps from 3.06 beta to 3.06 release
by Volker Weber
I fired up the Nokia E7 yesterday and it had an update for me: Ovi Maps 3.06. Go to SW Update. Select Ovi Maps update. Let it run. Done. That was easy.
Then I went back to the N8. Go to SW Update. Select Ovi Maps update. Let it run. Update fails. Try again. Fails immediately. Maybe the files are broken. Connect the N8 to the Mac. Find the files under /private. Delete. Disconnect. Go to SW Update. Select Ovi Maps update. Let it run. Downloads OK. Update fails. Arrgh.
Connect to the Mac again. Move the files to a directy File Manager can see. Disconnect. Open File Manager. Run one update file. Fails. Open other update file. Fails again. Arrgh. Maybe we need to reboot. Reboot. Open File Manager. Run one update file. Fails. Open other update file. Fails again. ARRGH.
Hold on, this is the phone that was running 3.06 beta. Where you can download maps directly to the phone, without any PC nonsense. Maybe we need to remove the beta first. Go to Application Manager. Ovi Maps not listed, since it is pre-installed. Go to Applications. Menu, Organize. Hold Ovi Maps icon until popup appears. Select Remove Application. Uninstall fails. ARRGH. ARRGH.
Hard reset the N8. Go through installation wizard. N8 subscribes itself to My Nokia spam SMS. First SMS appears on the iPhone. Go to My Nokia. Try to unsubscribe. Error: still waiting for initial activation. We'll see how this pans out. Go to SW Update. Select Ovi Maps update. Let it run. Done. That was easy. Now re-install all maps. Re-install all accounts. Re-install all apps.
Can't wait for WP7 on Nokia hardware. Concepts below:
Photo: Nokia
Announcing Symbian Anna aka "PR2"
by Volker Weber
Photos: Nokia
Today we launch the Nokia X7 and Nokia E6, both of which come with a renewed version of the Symbian operating system. This version — which has been referred to previously as PR2 — is now known as Symbian Anna. It comes with a faster browser, improved text input, fresh, new icons and the latest version of Ovi Maps.
This is the small update: new icons, split screen text entry, qwerty in portrait mode. PR3, the big one, formerly known as ^4, is supposed to be released later this year.
Symbian Anna will also be made available for owners of the Nokia N8, C7, C6-01 and E7 in the coming months.
What? Months?
The exact dates on which Symbian Anna will be available for download to existing devices are not yet available, beyond "in the coming months".
Yeah. Take your time, Nokia. No need to rush. Sheeesh.
terreich
by Volker Weber
30 Qt apps for your Nokia Symbian^3 phone
by Volker Weber
Below, you will find a list of the best 30 applications based on Qt that you can get
Verflogen
by Volker Weber
Photo: Parrot
Vor zwei Tagen erhielt ich eine Mail. Ob ich vielleicht mal eine Parrot AR.Drone testen wolle. Was für eine Frage. Natürlich wollte ich. Hintergrund: die Drohne hat eine iPhone-Steuerung, die als Open Source veröffentlicht ist. Nokia hat sie nun auf Symbian portiert und im Ovi Store angeboten.
Das Video entspricht in etwa meinen "Flugkünsten" nach zweimal 10 Minuten Flug, unterbrochen von 90 Minuten Batterie aufladen. Um zu Beginn mal etwas Nettes zu sagen: die Nokia App lässt sich in der Tat mit einer Hand bedienen. Um das zu verstehen, muss man erst mal die Drohne erklären.
Die AR.Drone hat vier Props, die von je einem Motor angetrieben werden. Es gibt zwei verschiedene "Karossen". Eine umschleßt die Props, damit man auch mal leicht eine Wand berühren kann, die andere lässt die Props frei. Das ist im Freien brauchbar, weil die Drohne dann weniger Angriffsfläche zum Wind hat. Sobald man den Akku anschließt, startet die Elektronik der Drohne und bietet als Access Point ein WLAN an, in das man sich mit dem Smartphone einklinkt. Die App hat einen Button, mit dem die Drohne startet oder landet. Sie bleibt automatisch in einem Meter Höhe in der Luft stehen. Mit Ultraschall misst sie die Höhe, mit einer nach unten gerichteten Kamera die Lage über dem Boden. Leichte Windstöße gleicht sie aus.
In dem Video sieht man, dass man durch Kippen des Telefons die Drohne kippt. Sie fliegt damit vorwärts, rückwärts oder eben seitwärts. Dabei hält sie automatisch den Abstand zum Boden. Diese Steuerung aktiviert man beim iPhone durch ein Control links unten auf dem Bildschirm.
Will man die Höhe oder die Ausrichtung der Drohne ändern, so benutzt man eine Art Joystick auf der rechten Bildschirmseite. Rauf und runter, links und rechts. Das machen iPhone und Nokia App gleich. Zusätzlich gibt es noch einen Panik-Button, der schaltet die Motoren einfach ab und die Drohne fällt wie ein Klavier vom Himmel.
Die Nokia App macht das besser. Sobald man einen Finger auf dem Bildschirm legt, erscheint der Joystick, den die iPhone App für Höhe und Richtung nutzt. Gleichzeitig wird der Lagesensor aktiv, so dass man die Drohne kippen kann. Das ist intuitiver als die iPhone-Steuerung, und man kann entweder den linken oder den rechten Daumen nutzen.
So weit schlägt sich die Nokia App ganz wacker. Was nicht funktionierte, war die Video-Übertragung von der Drohne zum Telefon. Nema problema beim iPhone. Das N8 aber zeigte nur ein Standbild. Außerdem fehlen der App fast alle Einstellungen der Drohne. So kann man etwa die Höhe limitieren, das Ansprechverhalten regeln, maximale Kippwinkel festlegen, etc. pp. Alles in der kostenlosen iPhone App drin, nicht aber in der von Nokia. Erweiterte Apps wie PowerFlight (auch mit Einhandsteuerung) gibt's schon gar nicht.
Die iPhone App erlaubt außerdem, die Drohne mit neuer Firmware zu laden. Das hat Nokia anscheinend nicht probiert, denn mit der aktuellen Firmware funktionierte dann gar nichts mehr. Auch hier rettet das iPhone mit dem Firmware Manager. Downgrade auf 1.4.7 und das Nokia-Handy mag wieder.
So, und jetzt packe ich die Drohne wieder ein*. 10 Minuten fliegen, 90 Minuten laden ist nicht mein Rhythmus. Und das Biest macht ordentlich Krach, geht also den Nachbarn schnell auf den Senkel. Im Wohnzimmer fliege ich nicht damit rum, dazu bin ich viel zu grobmotorisch. Die nach vorne schauende Kamera hat etwa die Qualität einer 10 Jahre alten Webcam. In 5 Meter Entfernung kann man zwar einen Möbelwagen erkennen, nicht aber sein Nummernschild. Bei leichten Windböen treibt das Fluggerät schnell ab und ich habe es in zwei kapitalen Abstürzen erfreulicherweise nicht kaputt gemacht. Aber man soll sein Glück nicht zu sehr strapazieren.
Irgendwie ist jedes Fluggerät ein Wunder der Technik. Aber ich habe keinen Schimmer, warum man sich gerade dieses Kaufen sollte. Vielen Dank an Nokia, dass ist das mal selbst probieren durfte. Aber eine Empfehlung für die App gibt's trotzdem nicht. Da fehlt einfach noch zu viel.
*) Ich glaub, ich packe sie doch erst Sonntagabend ein. :-)
Lieferung ohne Geldscheine
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Dankeschön! Das habe ich ab jetzt immer dabei. Wieder ein Wunsch weniger. :-)
Die spinnen, die Franzosen
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Spring - and Hipstamatic Junk
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Hipstamatic junk:
Ich messe jetzt den Strom
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Die ersten Bilder von diesem Gerät habe ich schon vor mehr als einem halben Jahr gesehen und nun ist es endlich da. Ich habe zwar schon ein Strommessgerät von Tchibo, aber dessen Bedienung muss ich immer erst nachschlagen, und dann erzählt das Gerät zwar, wieviel ich verbraucht habe, aber nicht in welcher Zeit. Wertlos.
Jetzt aber, das Belkin Conserve Insight. Zwischen Steckdose und Ablesegerät 1.5 Meter Kabel. Drei Knöpfe, versteht jedes Kind. Im Prinzip gibt es drei Anzeigen: Stromverbrauch in Watt, monatlicher/jährlicher Stromverbauch in Euro und CO2-Äquivalent in kg/Jahr. 45 Minuten lang zeigt das Gerät den aktuellen Verbrauch, danach den mittlereren. Das ist beispielsweise bei Kühlschränken, die im Ein/Aus-Modus laufen, sinnvoll. Für den Strompreis und das CO2-Äquivalent sind brauchbare Voreinstellungen gespeichert; sie lassen sich auch manuell anpassen.
Editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award. Aber sowas von.
So you think you're a badass? Think again.
by Volker Weber
Netgear has new ReadyNAS Firmware
by Volker Weber
x86-based ReadyNAS NVX, Ultra, Ultra Plus, Pro, 1500 ... 4200 only
4.2.16 now lets you manage your add-ons. Great source for add-ons: readynasfreeware.org
Windows Phone 7 update is here
by Volker Weber
La Prochaine Fois
by Volker Weber
Expresso forte
by Volker Weber
Unfassbar. Gestern erzähle ich was von Seife, ein Kommentar weist auf Amazon, ich klicke auf "meinem Wunschzettel hinzufügen", ein paar Minuten später ist der Artikel verschwunden. Und eben klingelt der Postmann:
Photos: vowe
Danke! Es ist sehr schön, etwas "zurück" zu bekommen. Leider habe ich nicht viele bezahlbare Wünsche.
The artist formerly known as Lotus Connections
by Volker Weber
IBM Lotus Connections is being renamed to IBM Connections. IBM Connections consists of social software that is enabled to take advantage of the broad capabilities in IBM's software portfolio. For example, Connections is now packaged with certain IBM Cognos Business Intelligence offerings to support integration between the two products. This naming change better aligns with that effort to create IBM solutions which involve multiple brands designed to address our customers specific business needs.
Riecht gut
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Omas konnte man früher mit einem Stück Seife eine große Freude machen. Bei mir funktioniert das auch. Diese Roger & Gallet Bois d'Orange habe ich irgendwo in Deutschland im Hotel mitgenommen, vermutlich im Pullman in Köln. Und die riecht dermaßen gut. Unglaublich.
Wenn jemand ein Zimmermädchen bestechen kann, meine Adresse ist bekannt. ;-)
What happens when engineers own dogs
by Volker Weber
[via George Chiesa]
One week of sunshine, one night of rain
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
You are a leader, if people follow your lead
by Volker Weber
I am lucky. I don't depend on IBM for mobile support.
In 2008, Apple announced iPhone 2.0; today we would call it iOS 2. iPhone suddenly came with enterprise support. Which Apple translates to Microsoft Exchange. It was quickly dismissed:
we don't really know yet how good the iPhone's support for Exchange is, anyway. It was pointed out to me that the iPhone's support for other e-mail systems, such as Yahoo mail, only checks and syncs mail on a fifteen-minute interval. Other systems do e-mail only, no calendar or contacts. We don't yet know what the Exchange support actually is in the real world.
Well, it did not take long to find out that it's pretty good. Instant. Email, calender, contacts. IBM thought for a while that Notes mail access in a browser would be good enough. Finally, after much handwringing, they bit the bullet and added Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) support for the iPhone to Lotus Traveler. It shipped 16 months after Apple announced iPhone 2. People love it. It was the smart thing to do.
For anything but the iPhone/iPad/iPod, IBM supports selected devices with their own client and protocol. Windows Mobile and Symbian for instance.
Six months ago, my first Symbian^3 device arrived. Symbian is supported by Traveler, right? Wrong. Traveler only supports older versions of Symbian. Half a year after it became available to the public, Symbian^3 is still not supported by Traveler. Not on any of the devices. Three months ago it was finally available in the Ovi store. Not on Symbian^3.
For Android, IBM wrote their own client stack. Traveler protocol support, clients for mail, calendar and contacts. That's good and bad. Good for admins, because they tackle fragmentation. Bad for users, because they can't use the excellent clients in HTC Sense for instance. As with Symbian, you depend on IBM to support your particular device.
I believe this approach does not scale.
How does mobile support look outside of the IBM world? The lingua franca is EAS. Every server speaks EAS. Exchange does, all the Exchange clones do. Even Google Apps does. Not a big surprise: every mobile device does. A smartphone that does not talk to Exchange is considered a defect. Does any smartphone vendor care about Traveler? Not really. Unless IBM writes a client, as they do for Symbian.
It's almost three years later, and nothing really has changed. IBM discusses if there really is a need to support Windows Phone 7. Of course not, because it's "not an enterprise device". Should Microsoft suddenly think, that it is, and they will, good luck. Six months was not long enough to add Symbian^3 to Symbian support. How long would it take to add Windows Phone 7?
We called the iPhone "JesusPhone". Because it divided time in "before the iPhone", and "after the iPhone". It has accelerated the consumerization of IT. People have better stuff at home than at work.
If you host your mail on Microsoft Exchange or Google Apps, you can be pretty sure that you are covered. Somebody brings in a device and asks you to put mail on it, you can do it. You will be able to slap a password policy on the device. You will be able to locate it if lost. You will be able to lock it, make it ring if muted. You will be able to wipe it. With a "not an enterprise device" like Windows Phone 7, if you want.
What can IBM do? Obvious, isn't it? Take that iPhone EAS support and extend it to all devices. All devices. IBM says, EAS is "too narrow". I say iPhone only is too narrow.
Drama Queen
by Volker Weber
RIM's CTO is divesting
by Volker Weber
The objective of Mr. Yach's new ASDP is to facilitate the sale of 120,000 RIM shares by Mr. Yach over a two-year period.
Tweet of the day
by Volker Weber
Dwight Morse, IBM:
Complaining about Lotus Notes as an email product is like complaining about the fuel economy of a Ferrari..explore the other benefits
Or explore other more economic options, maybe?
Microsoft to migrate to Lotus Notes and Domino
by Volker Weber
In a suprise move Microsoft announced today it is going to migrate to IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5 Maintenance Release 2 Fix Pack 2. IBM promises an incredible boost in productivity. A team of five developers will be able to replace Microsoft's entire portfolio using the RAD capabilities of Lotus Domino Designer within a single week. Before end of business day a single developer will be able to replicate the capabilities of popular Q&A sites like stackoverflow.com. Microsoft CEO Steve Baller says: "XPages is a break-through technology never seen before in this industry. Outside of Lotus Domino. And Workplace."
Microsoft expects great savings in quality assurance. Due to more than 20 years of quality engineering the platform is practically free of any defects. The new application portfolio will be published as user supported community editions and toolkits. The documentation will be written by customers in the comfort of their own cubicle, using a brand new technology called Miki. Patent pending.
A migration of this scale does not come without some pitfalls. Microsoft is re-thinking their mobile strategy since IBM only implemented a subset of protocols. The award winning Windows Phone 7 is currently not supported and will take approximately 60 month to add to the portfolio. IBM does not see demand from its large customers and a small business like Microsoft will not make a difference. Current devices of partner Nokia also fail to comply with strict requirements in the Domino product. Microsoft is currently in talks with Apple and Google to use their mobile platforms.
As compensation for the deal Microsoft is taking over some top IBM marketing talent. A senior vice president will be conducting experiments around the next desktop strategy. Microsoft will also be contracting some partners to explain possible failures. Additionally, Microsoft is going to release Office 97 free of charge to relieve IBM from developing Symphony. The product comes without any document templates and the company expects to upgrade large portions of the user base to Office 2010 later.
Microsoft employees unhappy with the move will be given 30 days to find a job outside the company before being shot.
