August 2016

Furminator

by Volker Weber

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Frau Brandlinger hat zwei Fellwechsel im Jahr. Der erste von Januar bis Juni, der zweite von Juli bis Dezember. Mit anderen Worten: sie haart wie Sau.

Heute kam eine Überraschung von meiner Amazon-Wunschliste. Der Furminator. Das soll wohl an Fur und Terminator erinnern. Und wie man sieht, funktioniert der auch so. In zehn Minuten habe ich mehr Haare aus dem Fell geholt als sie in einer Woche in der Bude verteilt.

Danke, Jonas!

Sonos + Spotify + Alexa

by Volker Weber

Big announcement today from Sonos in New York City. Cutting to the chase, three things are happening:

  1. Control your Sonos with Amazon Alexa; far-field voice control. Works with any Alexa-enabled device like Echo, Echo Dot, Tap and FireTV. Beta at the end of the year, available in 2017.
  2. Sonos joins the Spotify Connect ecosystem. You can control Sonos directly from your Spotify app, no matter where you are. Beta in October.
  3. New Sonos update very shortly making it easier to control your speakers from the Sonos controller. Instead of managing the queue, you now default to playing directly whatever you select. Queue management takes a backseat but does not go away.

Exciting stuff, especially looking forward to the Spotify integration.

PS: I also learned that Sonos has a CMO who is not a good public speaker. :-)


Much leading

by Volker Weber

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IBM publishes a blog post naming Inhi Cho Suh as the author. It celebrates an IDC finding that positions IBM as the leading enterprise social software vendor.

I can't help thinking that the community is waiting for a different blog post, addressing the Notes/Domino situation.

Office Lens on Windows 10

by Volker Weber

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Microsoft has quietly published the Office Lens app for Windows 10. However, Windows Store tells me it is not supported on Surface. Let's hope this is just one of those Windows Store quirks.

Update: Yes, it was only a Windows Store quirk. Now it's available for everything Windows 10.

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And it works just as you would expect it:

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Signal :: Private Messaging and Calling

by Volker Weber

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If Vanity Fair starts chatting up Signal as a secure 'Snowden-approved' channel, it may finally see a breakthrough. It's my third messenger next to iMessage and WhatsApp.

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iOS 9.3.5 Zero Days ein “Desaster für Apple”? Im Gegenteil.

by Volker Weber

Nach bisherigen Informationen wurden 3 bisher unbekannte Schwachstellen in iOS entdeckt, die in Kombination nach Klick auf einen Link zu Schadsoftware Zugriff auf das iPhone ermöglichen.

Ist das Grund zur Panik? Nein.

Onkel Frank erklärt Euch das mit der Sicherheit. Und der weiß voll Bescheid.

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How ad platforms learn your real social graph

by Volker Weber

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Facebook has two messengers. Messenger works with your Facebook login and your "friends", WhatsApp with your phone number and your address book. The interesting information is not the directory but the traffic between those people. Whatsapp is so pervasive because you don't need to build your directory. It's already in your address book.

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Google, the older ad platform, has had many messengers, but eventually Hangouts persevered. It works with your Google ID. And Google failed to convince you to build your circles in Google+. For Gmail users, they have a directory, but not everybody in there als has a Gmail account. That is why they are creating the chat app Allo and the video app Duo, which should actually be one app (and may be eventually). Allo and Duo work just like WhatsApp. Your phone number is your ID.

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Whether you are using Facebook or Google, the choice is yours. Both are ad platforms.

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iPhone/iPad users have a good alternative with iMessage and Facetime. Apple is not an ad platform but a traditional business which takes money from users and does not sell them to others.

Do not hit "Agree" on WhatsApp

by Volker Weber

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I know, we are all trained to just accept any changes in ToCs. But this time, don't. Instead, tap on the "Read more ..." at the bottom of the page. It will take you to another page, and there at the bottom is a switch. Toggle it from 1 to 0. It should not be green before you agree.

Too late, you say? Already hit that Agree button? Follow the steps under Option 2.

That "App Modernization" story

by Volker Weber

I would like to ask you what you need for your Notes/Domino app development. Please work under these assumptions:

That is what I call "maintenance mode".

So, what do you need in terms of development? Be smart. Don't ask for the kitchen sink. Name your top priority, and then maybe two more things.

Sophisticated, persistent mobile attack against high-value targets on iOS

by Volker Weber

From the lookout blog:

Lookout’s analysis determined that the malware exploits three zero-day vulnerabilities, or Trident, in Apple iOS:
  1. CVE-2016-4655: Information leak in Kernel – A kernel base mapping vulnerability that leaks information to the attacker allowing him to calculate the kernel’s location in memory.
  2. CVE-2016-4656: Kernel Memory corruption leads to Jailbreak – 32 and 64 bit iOS kernel-level vulnerabilities that allow the attacker to silently jailbreak the device and install surveillance software.
  3. CVE-2016-4657: Memory Corruption in Webkit – A vulnerability in the Safari WebKit that allows the attacker to compromise the device when the user clicks on a link.

Without a jailbreak you can't install the exploit. That is why Apple regards a jailbreak as a number one security threat. As does BlackBerry on their Android devices.

You can help the attacker by applying a jailbreak (or root access in case of Android). Then they only need the third attack vector. You have already let down your guard.

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What comes after the firetruck?

by Volker Weber

As you get older you lose many capabilities. As much as I'd love to ride a longboard, that has become way too dangerous for my bones.

But you gain something from watching the world around you. It's like a carousel. Firetruck, horse, motorcycle, car, ... and then firetruck, horse, motorcycle, car ... You don't have a time machine, and you still know the future.

About eleven years ago I went to a Groupwise conference. I knew for a fact that Novell was milking its customer base. But here they were, a rather small group of people very enthusiastic about their platform. There was a keynote, there were small features being added to the product. There was a beta of Groupwise 7, etc.

I don't make this carousel go around. I can't stop it. But I do know what comes after the firetruck.

How to not share your WhatsApp account information with Facebook

by Volker Weber

Facebook is an ad platform. Get used to it. It's not a social network. It is an ad platform. Got it?

An ad platform works best if it knows your social graph. Not the hundreds of "friends" but the people you are talking to. Likes and comments. And chats. That is your real social graph. That is what Facebook Messenger does. And WhatsApp now as well.

Did you notice how Facebook pressured you to leave your phone number to make your account "more secure"? It's your ID. And by joining your WhatsApp graph (who do you chat with), your Facebook account becomes more valuable.

If you are an existing user, you can choose not to share your account information with Facebook to improve your Facebook ads and products experiences.

New user? Tough luck.

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Domino 9.0.1 and beyond

by Volker Weber

Ed Brill, commenting on Darren Duke's blog:

To comment on the support point specifically, in the next few weeks we will announce formally that support for 9.0.x will be extended to 2021. It doesn't depend on a version update. And as you note, things originally expected in 9.0.2 are going to come in what are currently called fixpacks. I haven't decided what to call the update with Verse on Premises yet.

Reading between the lines:

Now my interpretation: As I said after Lotusphere 2016, there is no plan for Notes. The plan for Domino is Verse on Premises. It was promised for end of 2015 by the old management team (Schick et al), but never worked on. Now it is being worked on and will ship somewhere in December, even if that month may have 90 days.

Am I clear enough? Not? Let me spell it out for you. No. More. Notes.

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Wohin steuert IBM bei Domino und Notes?

by Volker Weber

Alexander Neumann für Heise Developer:

Viele Domino-Entwickler befürchten schon seit längerem eine unsichere Zukunft für ihr angestammtes Aufgabengebiet. Das kulminiert derzeit in etlichen kritischen Blog-Beiträgen. Vielleicht tritt aber schon nächsten Monat etwas Ruhe ein.

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An insider's view on Apple Music exclusives

by Volker Weber

There’s one guy who is behind ALL of these campaigns — and he is light years ahead of everyone else. He works intimately with each artist as a creative peer, and develops an amazing plan, this is no simple land grab. He works closer with the artists than labels do.

Fascinating read. I did not know about this major change in the industry.

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Apple Music Festival 2016

by Volker Weber

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Apple has another Music Festival in London. This times it is for Apple Music subscribers only. Which I think is fair enough.

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Liberate your Notes app with KEEP.WORKS

by Volker Weber

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Moving off Notes applications is next to impossible. Notes has a unique set of capabilities that are not easily rebuilt on other platforms. That is what is keeping companies from retiring their Domino servers, even if they have long migrated messaging. I call it the Asbestos problem. Easy to put in, very hard to get out.

A few days ago I told you about the partnership of LDC and PSC, where the LDC VIA platform serves as a delivery platform for legacy Notes applications. Now LDC has built a self service platform on top of LDC VIA and it is called KEEP.WORKS.

You upload your notes app and they host it for you. No IT support required. You will have to manage your users, but that's about it.

IT is going to go ballistic. Imagine your business users breaking free ...

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Finding text in OneNote images

by Volker Weber

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This seems to be difficult to believe, but OneNote really does find text in images. OCR is done in the cloud. If you can't get it to work, just follow my simple steps. Open OfficeLens and take a photo:

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Although I did not frame the document correctly, it irons it out. Now save the document to OneNote:

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It will default to just a generic title and I will leave it at this. No tags, no folders, nothing.

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Open OneNote and type some text into the search field. Here is my document:

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So it may not work for you, but it certainly does for me. This should not be news, since I posted a video more than a year ago:

Connections/Verse not running on Android Nougat, yet

by Volker Weber

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Heads up from IBM. Both Connections and Verse clients don't work on Android Nougat. If you don't want to be cut off, postpone that update until after IBM releases the next version in September.

I think they are also way behind on iOS. Last time I looked they did not support iPhone 5S features (TouchID), nor 6 (resolution), let alone 6S (3D Touch). I hope nothing breaks with iOS 10. Nougat is only available on a few devices, iOS 10 on most.

Making money on apps? That's over.

by Volker Weber

Brent Simmons on the state of creating paid iOS apps:

Do we still talk about new apps and recommend apps to people? Hardly, these days.

Vesper is shutting down. If Simmons and Gruber cannot keep an iOS app viable, the ecosystem really is in trouble. Games & junk just mask it.

You can still make money by creating apps that solve difficult problems. You can still make money by creating apps for people who pay for development. But solving a simple problem does not pay anymore. No matter how good your app or your marketing is.

Hindsight is 20/20. Work on Vesper started in 2012, before Apple started working on a viable Notes app or Microsoft started to throw it weight around. Evernote was the only game, and that was just awful.

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Android Nougat is here

by Volker Weber

Google has released Android Nougat, a.k.a. Android 7.0. If you have a Nexus 6, 6P, 5X, Pixel C, or Nexus 9, you can upgrade right away. If not, you may have to wait a few months, or most likely never get it unless you buy a new device. Next week will be the anniversary of the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro announcement, which wasn't available for months. It came with Android 5.1, was never upgraded to Android 6.0, and has not received security fixes since March, 1. And that's an expensive flagship device. Other vendors like Samsung might upgrade a few of their flagships, BlackBerry will most likely ship their next device with Nougat and upgrade the Priv and DTEK50. But most Android devices will not see this upgrade.

Unlike iPhones and iPads, when Apple releases iOS 10 next month.

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LDC Via partnership with PSC Group

by Volker Weber

PSC Group and LDC Via have entered into a strategic partnership. Under this partnership PSC Group will adopt LDC Via as a platform for customers seeking to migrate data and applications away from legacy IBM (Lotus) Notes & Domino, and also as a preferred platform for the development of new software applications that might otherwise have been developed on Domino.

That is pretty big. PSC Group is a very respected consultancy in the US. LDC is a group of developers in the UK; love those guys. And LDC has developed a technology that gives you access to your old Notes data without having to run (and thus pay for) a Domino infrastructure.

That's a win for everybody involved. PSC gets to use this technology, LDC sells its solution, the customer is happy. Even IBM wins since it provides a good exit.

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Zacht Zout

by Volker Weber

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Move from Evernote to OneNote on a Mac

by Volker Weber

Since last March, we have helped Windows users import 71 million Evernote pages to OneNote. Following the great feedback we received, we want to help even more people make the move. Today, we are launching the OneNote Importer tool for Mac. You may feel hesitant about moving all your notes from a place you know to a new online home. Don’t worry, the Importer tool makes moving day easy.

This was announced just two days ago, but I missed it.

I moved from EverNote a long time ago, even before Microsoft had a migration tool. And I never looked back. That's not the same for everyone. I know quite a few Evernote users who tried OneNote and did not like it. The thing that convinced me was that I could easily move pages to where I wanted them. OneNote is very much like a regular notebook in that it has sections and pages. And you can write and draw on these pages whereever you want.

OneNote is free to use on as many devices as you want. It's supported on Android and iOS as well as Mac and Windows.

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Finally, a white Sonos SUB

by Volker Weber

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Two Sonos speakers are only available in black: PLAYBAR and SUB. When I was in Santa Barbara last December I talked to senior management about the missing white models and we agreed that at least the SUB needs a white model. This will finally be coming this fall. Sonos unveiled one at Kanye West's store. SUB also gets a minor design change. The only thing I see is the smaller logo.

Arrival :: Story of Your Life

by Volker Weber

Arrival promises to be an intelligent movie, even though they added all this global war nonsense to an intelligent story. I have read thousand of SciFi short stories and books throughout my life -- see, you don't know everything about me -- and Ted Chiang's "The Story of Your Life" is among the best. Just read this senctence:

"I'd love to tell you the story of this evening, the night you're conceived, but the right time to do that would be when you're ready to have children of your own, and we'll never get that chance."

There is something odd, isn't it? She knows something about the future. Just a few pages later:

"He and I will drive out together to perform the identification, a long silent car ride. I remember the morgue, all tile and stainless steel, the hum of refrigeration and smell of antiseptic."

What would you do, if you knew the story of your life?

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It's available for Kindle or iBooks. And it contains more than this one story. Strangely enough, Googling the story returns a PDF on the first page.

Sonos is deprecating support on old operating systems

by Volker Weber

Minimum requiremensts for a full featured Sonos controller as of version 6.4 will be:

Older versions will still allow you to play music from your library, from music services, group and ungroup rooms, and set the volume. Adding new players or services and changing the equalizer settings require the minimum operating systems mentioned above.

This change affects only few devices. Less than 2 percent of Android devices are below version 4 (or API version 15), iOS 7 is supported all the way down to the iPad 2, iPad mini and iPhone 4. Sonos customers are unlikely to be still on Vista or XP and Mavericks is suppoted on mid-2007 iMac, late-2008 MacBook and Macbook Air, early-2009 Mac mini and mid-2009 MacBook Pro. Most Apple users are quick to update to the latest version anyway.

Gartner's 2016 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies

by Volker Weber

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Source: Gartner (August 2016)

Never heard of Smart Dust? That's easy. There are two types of dust: white and black. White dust settles on dark surfaces, black dust settles on light surfaces. That's smart.

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Ist mein PGP-Schlüssel echt? Garantiert nicht.

by Volker Weber

heise security berichtet:

Unbekannte haben gefälschte PGP-Schlüssel auf öffentliche Key-Server hochgeladen. Darunter waren auch Fake-Keys des Linux-Entwicklers Linus Torvalds und der c't Kryptokampagne.

Gefälschte PGP-Schlüssel sind bei mir leicht zu erkennen. Sie sind alle gefälscht. Ich habe keinen PGP-Schlüssel. Zu kompliziert, zu eingeschränkt, zu lästig.

Es ist einfach, mit mir verschlüsselt zu kommunizieren: iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal. Jeweils mit meiner Mobilfunknummer.

Carriers love Android

by Volker Weber

Verizon was seeking between $1 and $2 for each device affected, executives said. Verizon started courting advertisers with app installations late last year, pitching retail and finance brands among others, agency executives said. It has only offered the installations on Android phones, because Google's software is open for carriers to customize. Apple controls its platform more tightly.

"More tightly" is beating around the bush. No crapware from carriers. No "Intel Inside" stickers.

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Dueling ads :: What is a computer?

by Volker Weber

Intel Core i7 Processor? Full Office instead of app versions? Oh dear. Apple wins this hands down.

IBMers can use Outlook now

by Volker Weber

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Just got a heads up from IBM. The CIO office of IBM is supporting Outlook as of now. This is using the technology IBM has developed previously as Project Hawthorn. It connects an Outlook client to a Domino server and is otherwise known as "IBM Mail Support for MS Outlook".

That is going to take some pressure off. It's for Outlook 2013 on Windows only. Poor sods.

BlackBerry ain't Apple

by Volker Weber

Proud announcement by BlackBerry:

I’m happy to announce that a patch for all of the QuadRooter vulnerabilities is now available for the PRIV and DTEK50 users. Customers who bought their devices from ShopBlackBerry.com should see the update today 

That's good.

and most of our carrier partners will be rolling it out to their users starting this week.

That's not good. You can be as quick as you want, but if you rely on your "carrier partners", you still can't help your customers. And it's not only the carriers. BlackBerry distributed the August patch on the first of the month to their STV100-1 PRIVs. The STV100-4 variant distributed in Europe got it one week later. My DTEK50 still has not seen it. I asked BlackBerry about that and am waiting for an answer. My DTEK50 is a beta device and needed a config change. It does have the hotfix now. New build is AAG124, up from AAF959. The way that hotfixes work, it does not show the correct security patch level. It says July 5 when in fact it is beyond August 5.

Now waiting for the hotfix on the STV100-4 PRIV.

Dog wags the tail, not the other way around. BlackBerry is the tail, carrier is the dog. Only Apple is a dog big enough to wag the carriers. When Apple ships, they ship worldwide, to every single device.

[Update 17. August] The Hotfix is downloading to my STV100-4 PRIV.

Tim Cook on mistakes

by Volker Weber

The classic big-company mistake is to not admit their mistake. They double down on them. Their pride or ego is so large that they can’t say we did something wrong. And I think the faster you do that, the better — change gears to something else. If you’re honest, people will give you the benefit of the doubt. But if you have your head stuck in the sand and you just keep doing it, I think you lose your employees and your customers as well.

I had to immediately think of Lotus' Workplace disaster. Dual highway, pile the software stack on Notes & Sametime, and sink it all.

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Terror in the office

by Volker Weber

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This project emulates the sound of my old faithful IBM Model-M space saver bucklespring keyboard while typing on my notebook, mainly for the purpose of annoying the hell out of my coworkers.

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Backlight on Logi Create

by Volker Weber

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I am really liking this keyboard. Logi Create with iPad Pro 9.7 and iA Writer in Night Mode. Full focus, no distraction. It's completely effortless.

Das ist doch keine Tastatur. Das ist eine Tastatur!

by Volker Weber

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"That's not a knife. That's a knife." Der Filmausschnitt ist etwa so alt wie die IBM Model M Tastatur. 30 Jahre. Für viele die beste Tastatur, die je gebaut wurde. Funktioniert die mit einem iPad Pro? Und ob:

Dabei muss man zwei Generationen der Technik überspringen. So einfach passt die Tastatur nicht ans iPad.

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Vom Lightning Port des iPad Pro kommt man mithilfe des Kamera-Adapters auf USB. Das reicht aber noch nicht, weil das IBM Model M einen PS/2-Anschluss hat.

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Jetzt braucht man noch einen Adapter von PS/2 Keyboard auf USB und schon kann es losgehen. Genau den hatte ich aber nicht in der Schublade. Aber mein Weggefährte Rolf, der mit mir meinen ersten PC mehrmals umgebaut hat. Ja, 50 Pfund hielt man damals für mobil.

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Das sind 183 g Kabel. Exakt das Gewicht einer Logitech Keys-to-go, aber viel voluminöser. Jetzt braucht man nur noch die Tastatur selbst mitzuschleppen.

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2245 g solide Hardware, die ordentlich Krach macht. Wer mal bei Starbucks fotografiert werden will, der nehme diesen ganzen Kram mit und baue ihn auf. Überhört wird man garantiert nicht.

Running a tight Twitter ship

by Volker Weber

This is a simple script that will automatically delete all of your tweets and likes that are older than a specified number of days. If you use Twitter for conversation and not posterity then you'll like Amnesia.

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[Thanks, Samuel]

How to use WhatsApp on your iPad

by Volker Weber

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WhatsApp can only be installed on one phone. But you can remote control it from any Mac or PC. You probably know that and use it. What I did not know until today is that you can also remote control it from your iPad. Here is how:

  1. Load Safari
  2. Go to web.whatsapp.com
  3. You will be redirected to whatsapp.com and told to download an app.
  4. Here comes the trick. Hold the reload button and request the desktop site.
  5. Scan the QR code with your WhatsApp on your phone.

Hah!

Aus meiner Inbox

by Volker Weber

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Wie bei Sonos: wenn man reich ist, kann man erst mal was anderes kaufen.

How to draw squiggle birds

by Volker Weber

Jump to 1:00.

[Thanks, Andreas]

Wie Selbstoptimierung die Motivation zerstört - und wie man sie zurückgewinnt

by Volker Weber

Plausibel, aber nicht nachgewiesen:

Plausibilitätsannahmen folgend können wir also festhalten, dass Sport-Watches oder ähnliches gut sind für denjenigen, der NICHT gerne rennt, rudert oder schwimmt. Aber für leidenschaftliche Sportler sind sie ab dem Moment eine Gefahr, ab dem sie als selbstbelohnendes Kontrollinstrumente empfunden werden. („Oh je, der Bewegungskreis ist heute noch nicht geschlossen, und gestanden habe ich auch nicht genug“). Und das Ding fliegt nach einigen Monaten samt unserer Restmotivation in die Ecke. Das Gleiche gilt für alle anderen Tracker wohl auch: Auch wenn dringend empirische Forschung in diesem Bereich notwendig ist, so können wir doch aus  heutigem Kenntnisstand ganz klar ableiten: Selbst das zarteste Pflänzchen intrinsischer Motivation nimmt Schaden, wenn wir daran ziehen. Selbstoptimierungsinstrumente sollten keinesfalls bei Tätigkeiten eingesetzt werden, die wir mögen, die wir lieben, für die wir brennen. 

Bei mir führt (Eigen)kontrolle zu größerer Disziplin.

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[Danke, Joerg]

DTEK50 :: This is not a BlackBerry

by Volker Weber

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I have had the DTEK50 for more than two weeks and I am struggling to explain why I like it so much. "This is not a BlackBerry" is probably the best I can come up with.

Here is the deal. This phone does not feel like a BlackBerry. It was never designed by the company, it does not say "BlackBerry" on the front and the 'berry logo on the back is hardly noticeable. This phone was not designed for corporate use, it's a TCL reference design for a consumer phone. Thin and light, very decent cameras, stereo speakers front and back. And while it is thin and light for its size, it still feels solid. You put it in your pocket and then just forget about it until you use it. It's a phone for somebody who does not show off.

BlackBerry gives you its secure Android, but you are holding a good midrange Android phone. Andrew Orlowski from The Register was with me in New York, and he shares my sentiments. Read his review here.

[There are no scratches on the screen. I just like to have a black fur as my wallpaper.]

Apple Smart Keyboard or Logi Create :: Which is it?

by Volker Weber

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Two weeks ago there was no option if you wanted a German keyboard that would also protect the screen of your iPad Pro 9.7. Then Logitech announced the Logi Create and Apple made the Smart Keyboard available in more languages. On the very same day. Instead of having just one simple choice we had two. I have worked with both and I have come to a decision.

I have a theory that says you will drop everything you carry in your hands, eventually. We don't drop laptops as much as mobile phones, because we carry them in bags and then put them on a table. That's why we put phones in cases, and laptops not. That has a profound implication on whether Logi Create or Apple Smart Keyboard is right for you.

Create is a tank. It wraps your beautiful thin iPad in a big protective envelope. That envelope will hold your Pencil, it has the better keyboard, and it will protect your iPad much better than anything you buy from Apple.

Smart Keyboard on the other hand is thin and light. It's the bare minimum of what Apple could have designed to both protect the screen from scratches and provide a decent keyboard. It's lighter, it's thinner, and it does not disfigure your sleek iPad Pro.

If you use that iPad mostly at home and once in a while need to compose longer pieces of text, then Smart Keyboard is right for you. You can tear off the keyboard easily and connect other accessories to the Smart Connector. I like to put the iPad Pro on the Logi Base when I am not using it. Smart Keyboard lets you use your other accessories like the Silicone Case. All of these things fit neatly together.

If your iPad is a laptop replacement, the only computer you use day in and out, and if you drag it around wherever you go, often without a bag, then Create is a better choice. It will keep your Pencil, you can more quickly set it up as laptop, you can place it on the table like a folio for taking notes, you can drag the iPad towards you and place it over the keyboard to draw on a slightly inclined surface. But taking it out of the Create envelope and putting it back does not feel right.

If I go on a business trip, I feel more inclined to use Logi Create. It just keeps it all together. In all other use cases I would prefer the Apple Smart Keyboard.

Both products win the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award. I did not expect that to happen for either one. Isn't it nice to have two good choices?

[Please note that this is only for the iPad Pro 9.7. The big 12.9 is a completely different machine. Adding a Logi Create to that beast is going to make it very unwieldy.]

Room for improvement

by Volker Weber

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Did a quick bicycle run this morning. If I hadn't activated Outdoor Cycling in Workout that would not have counted as 300 but only as about 150 cals. The Apple Watch does not discover cycling well enough. Manually setting those activities is often to bothersome. Yesterday I was halfway through my bicycle distance before I remembered to turn it on. And when I returned home, I forgot to turn it off until about ten minutes after arrival.

I heard many reports from people who cycle to work and feel that Apple Watch is not correctly registering their activity. And I think that observation is correct.

Logi Pop

by Volker Weber

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I may start to sound like a fanboy, but Logitech has made a lot of products in the last twelve months that I really enjoyed. The latest three are the Logi Circle, the Logi Base, and the Logi Create. And now they are bringing out yet another one: Logi Pop.

Pop is a Smart Switch that gives you simple push button access to some of my favorite smart home "things", Sonos and Wemo for instance, but also Hue and many more.

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Logi Create für iPad Pro 9.7 :: Erste Eindrücke

by Volker Weber

Nachdem mir letzte Woche das Apple Smart Keyboard so gut gefallen hat und dann noch rauskam, wie schwer Logi Create ist, war ich kurz versucht, die Bestellung zu stornieren. Das wäre ein Fehler gewesen. Logi Create ist nämlich auch hervorragend, nur eben anders.

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Das Smart Keyboard (170 €) von Apple ist ein Deckel mit eingebauter Tastatur, der sich allein mit dem iPad Pro 9.7 nutzen lässt, oder mit einem Silicone Case (80 €), das auch die Rückseite schützt. Kauft man beides, dann hat man schlanke 250 € ausgegeben, um aus einem iPad Pro ein Notebook zu machen. Bei der Logi Create geht das für 140 €. (Alle Preise gerundet).

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Um es klar zu sagen: Logi Create ist ein dicker Brummer, der glatt das doppelte des Smart Keyboards wiegt. Aber sie fühlt sich "richtig" an. Das Gewicht passt zur Größe, zur Stabilität, und zum Rundumschutz. Wenn diese Hülle mit iPad vom Tisch fällt, passiert rein gar nichts. Und man kann problemslos damit verreisen, ohne weitere Umverpackung. Die Anmutung ist wie eine DINA4-Schreibmappe.

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Und, tadaaa, endlich eine brauchbare Unterbringung für den Apple Pencil. Sowas wünsche ich mir auch von Apple. Wie das Apple Smart Keyboard wird auch Logi Create vom iPad mit Strom versorgt. Das ist schon ein merkwürdiges Gefühl, wenn man ein neues Gadget nicht erst mal aufladen muss.


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Die Tastatur ist noch mal ein ganzes Stück besser als die von Apple. Tasten mit ordentlichem Hub, hintergrundbeleuchtet in mehreren Stufen, mit einer sechsten Reihe von Tasten zur Bedienung des iPads.

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Das Layout gleich mehr einem MacBook Pro, mit einer zweireihigen Anordung der Cursortasten. Daran bin ich gewohnt und damit fühlt sich das Keyboard einfach besser an. Nur zwei Tasten (# und +) musste Logitech etwas kleiner machen. Das Ä hat die normale Größe, die Entertaste ist ebenfalls korrekt ausgeformt. Statt der Esc-Taste gibt es eine Home-Taste, die den Startbildschirm des iPad anzeigt. Dort, wo beim Mac F4 ist, schaltet man die Eingabesprache um; das geht auch mit Ctrl-Space. Dort, wo die Fn-Taste liegt, schaltet Create die Bildschirmtastatur an und aus, perfekt etwa für Emojis.

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Auch wenn Logi Create stabiler als das Smart Keyboard ist, taugt sie doch nicht für den Einsatz auf dem Schoß (on top of your lap). Beide brauchen einen Tisch, bei Logi eine Daumenbreite tiefer als bei Apple. Auf dem Tisch lässt sich das iPad auch dann gut benutzen, wenn man Create wie eine Schreibmappe aufklappt. Klappt man die Tastatur nach hinten, dann liegt das Paket auch sauber auf den Oberschenkeln. Will man das iPad aber als Tablet in der Hand halten, dann nimmt man es aus der Hülle. Das Paket ist sonst zu dick und schwer.

Und genau hier fällt auch die Entscheidung. Will man das iPad Pro als Laptop-Ersatz nutzen und unterwegs mit dem Stift Notizen machen, dann ist Create perfekt. Die Hülle umschließt, schützt und vergibt das iPad Pro. Braucht man die Tastatur nur gelegentlich, dann ist das Apple Smart Keyboard viel einfacher zu montieren. Schreiben kann man auf beiden gut, auf der Create aber nochmal einen Tacken besser.

It's the people

by Volker Weber

Coltrane Curtis for AdvertisingAge:

Influencer marketing is not about knowing who the right people are, it's about actually knowing those people.

Coltrane is right. But he missed the bigger picture. It's always about people.

What else do you think you can't do?

by Volker Weber

Grab a pen, a piece of paper, and play along. 15 minutes that will change you.

BlackBerry Blend R.I.P.

by Volker Weber

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New entry in the BlackBerry graveyard: BlackBerry Blend, the software that would bring BlackBerry messages, calendar et al. to your desktop or tablet. It was announced with the BlackBerry Passport less than two years ago. It looked really cool but was killed by enterprise IT which blocked it with policies "for security reasons".

BlackBerry and Productivity

by Volker Weber

BlackBerry CEO John Chen almost two years ago:

Last week's launch of our new BlackBerry Passport handset provides a clear indication of BlackBerry's singular focus: We are innovating mobile technology for serious users who care about serious productivity.

This clearly has not worked. Productivity at BlackBerry is at an all-time low. Proof point: BlackBerry PR is trying for three consecutive weeks to get me the presentation slides to 15 sessions of a conference I have attended myself:

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There were 20 sessions, I have the top left one, the third one on the bottom row is NDA, four are just customer podiums. That makes it 15 PDFs, which BlackBerry cannot find, or cannot sign off on. In three weeks.

I have to assume that BlackBerry is now so security-focussed that they are locking away their marketing collateral so that nobody knows what they are selling.

@BlackBerry: Never mind. I have what I need. Despite your best efforts. :-)

Nerdwriter: Casey Neistat - What you don't see

by Volker Weber

A few numbers about Neistat: just a year ago he hit 1 million subscribers. Now he has 4 million. And he is accelerating. It took only 80 days to get from 3 to 4 million. He has almost 100 million views a month. How much money is he making on that? A thousand views are estimated to bring in between one and two dollars. 100 million views thus are between 100,000 and 200,000 dollars a month before expenses.

There is a price to pay. Three weeks ago I walked past his office on Broadway in lower Manhattan and there are a lot of people hanging outside trying to meet him. A year from now he cannot go anywhere without being bothered.

Message to self

by Volker Weber

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I don't keep a todo list. More precisely, my todo list lives inside my brain. There is no paper, there is no app. But there are things that are easily forgotten, like YouTube URLs and things I posted and have since deleted.

To keep track of these things, I send a message to myself. Not an email, but just a message on Slack. This space also has bots that collect stuff from all over the net for me. I can look at this stream from anywhere, from every device I have or any other connected screen.

There you have it. This is how I keep the unimportant stuff out of my brain.

Google Photos

by Volker Weber

Gruber writes:

This commercial is going to turn millions of people with 16 GB iPhones into Google Photos users.

I have already converted lots of users to Google Photos. It's exactly what everybody needs. Unlimited storage, freeing up storage on your iPhone, making all your photos and videos available on all devices, and an Assistant that creates stories out of your photos. Google Photos lets you share with friends, and it is improving rapidly. Check out some of the features: shared albums, smart albums, or search my emoji. What? Search by emoji. Yes, search by effing emoji.

Apple is only catching up to some of those features with iOS 10. But Apple needs to make a big change, if they want to keep a chance to stay in the game: instead of storing everything on the device, they need to store in the cloud and only cache on the device.

The difference between a vulnerability, an exploit, and an attack

by Volker Weber

Time for some bullshit detection and clue procurement.

Vulnerability: Somebody discovers a flaw in software. Typical flaws are unchecked variables. What is that? You write to memory, but what you write into memory does not fit into the assigned space. That creates an overflow "behind" the variable. The flaw is that the program does not check if the content fits the variable.

Exploit: Somebody creates a piece of code which uses the flaw to inject program code into memory which ultimately gets executed.

Attack: Somebody builds an exploit which ultimately does something bad to your computer. We call this malware, as in malicious software.

When news outlets fall over themselves to report that a billion Android phones are now in grave danger, they forget that knowing of a vulnerability does not necessarily enable you to build an exploit. And having an exploit does not enable you to launch an attack. Ideas are cheap, execution is hard. An idea does not lead to profit, as shown here:

Step 1: Idea
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit

Example? Imagine you want to attack all Android phones. They are not alike. A PRIV/DTEK50 for instance defends much better against two typical exploits: buffer overflow, the example I used to explain vulnerability, and rights elevation. Your exploit which works on an LG might not work on BlackBerry. Actually, it probably won't.

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Source: imgur

Now assume that somebody was able to create an attack against PRIV/DTEK50 and is actively deploying this weapon. That's where the hotfix comes in. BlackBerry has secured a way to distribute hotfixes at will. Like: now. Withiut waiting for Google or for a carrier. They did not have to do that ever since the PRIV came out.

Keep calm and carry on. And ditch those Android devices that never get fixes for vulnerabilities. They are the ones that will be attacked.

BlackBerry patches on Mondays

by Volker Weber

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The BlackBerry PRIV STV100-1 received its 05-Aug-2016 security patch last Monday, the first of August. The -1 model is the one sold through Amazon and the BlackBerry store in the US. The EMEA Model is designated STV100-4. It received its update today. Again on a Monday. The July patch was distributed on July, 04. Again a Monday. Do you see a pattern here?

Alternative: Magic Keyboard

by Volker Weber

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Das Smart Keyboard von Apple hat mich überzeugt. Es ist der beste Kompromiss aus Gewicht und Qualität der Tastatur. Es bleibt eigentlich nur ein Problem: diese Tastatur passt an genau ein Gerät und sie ist ziemlich teuer. Wenn man zum Beispiel nach einiger Zeit feststellt, dass man die falsche Größe von iPad hat, dann wechselt man nicht nur das iPad sondern auch die Tastatur. Ich hatte in der Vergangenheit bei den Belkin-Keyboards das Problem, dass jeder Wechsel des iPads auch einen Wechsel der Tastatur nach sich zog. Und beim Smart Keyboard passt die Tastatur auch nur auf das iPad Pro, wegen des Smart Connector.

Ich habe zwei sehr preisgünstige Alternativen: das Keys-to-go und das K380, beide von Logitech. Funktionieren mit allen iPhones und iPads, laufen "ewig" mit Akku respektive Batterie und scheinen annähernd unzerstörbar. Allerdings sind sie nicht nur billig, sondern sehen auch so aus. Und der Apple-Kunde mag nicht billig aussehen.

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Was liegt näher als das Magic Keyboard? Also das, was Apple zum iMac liefert. Hat man einen großen iPad Pro 12.9, dann passt diese Tastatur locker mit in die Tasche. Sie ist zwar sehr scharfkantig, aber wenn man sie mit den Gummifüßchen auf die Rückseite des iPad stellt, flutscht sie locker mit in jede Hülle. Bonus: das Keyboard wird über einen Lightning-Stecker geladen und den hat man ja als iPad-Nutzer ohnehin dabei. Beim iPad 9.7 ist das nicht ganz so elegant, weil das Keyboard größer ist als das iPad und deshalb nicht den rechten Abstand hält. Das muss man gesondert packen, sonst gibt es Kratzer auf dem iPad.

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Das Magic Keyboard eignet sich wunderbar als Reisetastatur, weil es einen mechanischen Aussschalter hat. Damit wird es sich in der Tasche nicht selbsttätig einschalten, wenn die Tasten gedrückt werden. Sieht man mal vom Design ab, dann ich auch die Funktion einwandfrei. Es ist einfach eine sehr kleine und flache Desktop-Tastatur, mit der man überhaupt keine Umstellung hat. Man nutzt einfach sein iPad als iPad und wenn man mal mehr als eine Seite Text schreiben muss, dann nimmt man diese Tastatur in Betrieb, die man ja schon von zu Hause her kennt. Das aktuelle Magic Keyboard hat übrigens den gleichen Anschlag wie ein Macbook und auch die Cursortasten-Anordnung. Ich bin eher an das MacBook Pro und die alte Bluetooth-Tastatur gewöhnt.

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Viele Mac-User haben das alte Modell noch im Schrank, ich habe sogar eins mit drei LR5/AA Batterien. Selbst dieses Uralt-Modell funktioniert immer noch mit den neuesten iPads. Diese alten Keyboards unterstützen allerdings nur Bluetooth 3.0 und damit kein Low Energy. Entsprechend brauchen sie mehr Strom, aber AA-Batterien und Akkus gibt es wirklich überall.

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Das Magic Keyboard ist in der Funktion kompromisslos. Nur bei der Verpackung muss man etwas improvisieren. Ich hatte ursprünglich gedacht, dass ich diese Lösung dem Smart Keyboard vorziehen würde. Drei Tage Test haben aber ergeben, dass bei mir das Smart Keyboard gewinnt. Die Zehn-Finger-Schreiberin des Hauses hat ebenfalls den Segen gegeben. Kommentar: "Man trifft die Tasten sehr gut. Und weil sie in der Mitte mehr nachgeben, hat man die Finger sehr genau drauf liegen."

Ich würde also kein Magic Keyboard als Alternative anschaffen. Wer aber eins im Schrank hat, der sollte mal daran denken. Nur für den täglichen Wechsel zwischen iMac und iPas ist es nicht geeingnet. Das Bluetooth Pairing wird zu lästig.

Ich habe einen Fehler gemacht

by Volker Weber

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In meiner Vergleichstabelle für iPad-Pro-Tastaturen war ein massiver Fehler. Ich hatte das Gewicht der Logi-Tastatur viel zu niedrig angesetzt. Danke an Dieter für den Hinweis.

Schaut man sich nun den korrekten Vergleich an, dann sieht man, dass Logi das Gewicht des iPads glatt verdoppelt. Zum Vergleich: ein Surface 3 wiegt 621 g und die Tastatur dazu 273 g, zusammen kaum mehr als die Logi-Hülle samt iPad Pro 9.7. Ein Surface Pro 4 wiegt 786 g und das exzellente Keyboard mit Trackpad 292 g. Das entspricht in etwa dem iPad Pro 12.9 mit Apple Smart Keyboard. Logi boxt dort zwei Gewichtsklassen drüber.

Das wird jetzt eng für Logi.

We don't know enough about the other side

by Volker Weber

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On November 12, 2002 -- yes, my memory is terrible as in 'I don't forget' -- I read a dossier about myself. And it was very good.

I was in Florence for an IBM event and I returned from a party to our hotel (@Vesey, this is where me met). At the welcome desk I picked up some material and in that stack of paper, there was a folder intended for an IBM executive, preparing her for the event. This was the first time I read the "other side".

Then yesterday I read this tweet by my esteemed colleague:

Does Microsoft Germany have dossiers about journalists? Of course they do.

It dawned on me that journalists know too little about the hard work of PR professionals. The work they do when preparing meetings between executives and journalists. I was just lucky to have seen it years ago. And it was quite a revelation. Not that this folder contained anything shocking. It was just a testament of the excellent work that went into it. What was in there?

This was fascinating reading. Not only did I have everything I needed to prepare my story. I also knew which questions I did not need to ask, because I already had all the answers to those. This was one of the best and most enjoyable interviews I ever had. An intelligent conversation between two well prepared people.

I wasn't supposed to have this folder and I returned it in the most discrete way. But it has opened my eyes to just a small part of what PR people do. And it made me curious enough to learn more about this profession. I think that journalists should do an internship in a PR agency to understand what is going on there.

We can turn this observation around. There are too many PR people who have no idea what happens between their pitch and an article in a newspaper.

Key mapping on the Apple Smart Keyboard

by Volker Weber

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As soon as you add a hardware keyboard to your iPad, you get a new setting under "Keyboards". Notice that I have two input languages as indicated by the (2) behind Keyboards. As you enter this new Hardware Keyboad Settings panel, you get a separate setting for each input language you have pre-selected.

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For each of those languages you can select your preferred keyboard layout. There is no hardwiring. You could buy a US keyboard and apply the German layout. It does not really matter what is printed on the physical keys.

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I chose the German keyboard layout for both German and English, because I don't have to switch around the layout inside my head. You can also do this for the on-screen keyboard if you want. The layout defaults to the language locale, but you customize it any way you want.

This mapping applies to all hardware keyboards, not only the iPad Pro connected Smart Keyboard but also to Bluetooth keyboards.

Apple Smart Keyboard für iPad Pro 9.7 :: Ein kurzes Video

by Volker Weber

Ich habe mich mit dem Apple Smart Keyboard bisher nicht so recht befasst, weil es keine deutsche Tastaturbelegung gab. Das hat sich jetzt geändert. Und ich habe festgestellt, dass es ganz schön schwierig ist, die verschiedenen Faltungen dieses Zubehörs zu erklären, wenn man kein Video verwendet. Deshalb fange ich damit mal an.

Erster Eindruck: das ist alles ganz schön durchdacht. Man kann das Keyboard wie ein normales Cover verwenden. Also einfach nach hinten klappen, einfach abreissen und wieder dran stecken, oder ebenso einfach als normalen Aufsteller verwenden, in dem man ein Dreieck bildet und die Tastatur hinter das iPad klappt.

Dazu kommt die eigentliche Verwendung, die aus einem iPad Pro so etwas wie einen Laptop macht. Und um das gleich vorwegzuschicken: als Laptop im Sinne von "on top of your lap" taugt es überhaupt nicht. Es braucht unbedingt einen Tisch. Wenn man den hat, dann kann das ein sehr kleiner Tisch sein, etwa ein Klapptisch im Flugzeug oder Zug, weil die Grundfläche des Aufbaus identisch mit der des iPad ist. Wo ein iPad hinpasst, passt auch die Tastatur mit iPad hin. Es sei denn, darüber wird der lichte Raum durch die Lehne des Vordermanns komplett in Beschlag genommen. In jedem Fall ist es kleiner als irgendein Notebook, auch das Apple Macbook ohne Pro.

Wie schreibt sich drauf? Positiv: identisches Layout zu den unteren fünf Reihen einer Mac-Tastatur mit einer Sprachumschaltung ganz in der linken unteren Ecke. Negativ: keine Hintergrundbeleuchtung. Beim 9.7er iPad Pro sind die Tasten natürlich geschrumpft, aber ich Sieben-Finger-Schreiber komme sehr gut damit zurecht. Warum sieben? Die Ringfinger und den rechten kleinen Finger benutze ich nicht. Das ist ein ganz eigenes System.

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Gar nicht überraschend: das Smart Keyboard passt wie das normale Cover exakt zum Apple Case. Man kann also das iPad auf der Couch ohne Keyboard nutzen, auf der Logi Base aufladen und dann geschwind das Keyboard andocken. Perfekt.

Ebenfalls super: der Andock-Mechanismus über den Smart Connector. Anders als bei Bluetooth Keyboards gibt es nichts zu verbinden oder zu schalten. Die ganze Stromversorgung geht über den Connector. Und die Tastatur schaltet sich erst in der Laptop-Konfiguration ein. Wenn man das Keyboard wie ein Cover nach hinten klappt, dann hat man weiterhin die Tastatur auf dem Glas. Was auch nicht mehr passieren kann: Tastatur liegt an der anderen Seite des Raums, ist noch eingeschaltet und verhindert das Aufklappen der Bildschirmtastatur.

Soweit also alles prima. Jetzt muss ich erst mal noch ein paar Meter mehr als diesen Text schreiben.

Nachtrag: Das Keyboard passt mit und ohne Silicon Cover perfekt. Es hat die Größe des iPad und liegt "im" Rand des Covers.

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Nachtrag: Smart Cover und Smart Keyboard haben den gleichen Anstellwinkel. Nur wenn man die Tastatur nach hinten klappt, steht das iPad fast senkrecht.

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Apple wins round #1

by Volker Weber

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While I am still waiting for availability of the Logi Create for the iPad Pro 9.7, Apple shipped both options I would like to test: the Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro 9.7 and the Magic Keyboard. I will work with both over the weekend, I will let a true touch typist try both and then tell you how I feel about those two options.

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Apple has always had a spectacular agency. Less than 24 hours from order to delivery, DHL Express accounts for 21.5 hours of that time frame.

Once Logi ships the Create to my door, I will update my findings. Until then, round #1 goes to Apple.

Aus meiner Inbox

by Volker Weber

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Hach. Dankeschön! :-)

c't kaufen: Android absichern

by Volker Weber

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Titelthema der c't 17: Android absichern. Wie erkennt man Malware, wie wird man sie wieder los? Mein Alternativ-Vorschlag: Man beginnt gleich mit einer sicheren Android-Version.

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Instagram murders Snapchat

by Volker Weber

Casey is right. I have already deleted Snapchat. And my Instagram is here >

They would have gotten me

by Volker Weber

As far as I know, this was the first time I was targeted personally by an attempted identity theft. The scammer did very many things very right and nearly got me to give up my account details. Maybe if I’d read the email before looking at the SMS (in which the strange address was a bit more prominent), they would’ve gotten me.

Scary story. iPhone gets stolen. Thief tries to steal Apple ID as well.

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BlackBerry lizenziert Hub+ für andere Androiden

by Volker Weber

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Für die Android-Smartphones PRIV und DTEK50 hat BlackBerry eine Reihe von Apps entwickelt, die nun auch auf anderen Geräten nutzbar sind.

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BlackBerry Hub on Android updates

by Volker Weber

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BlackBerry Hub on Android updates. And it gets the most important update since it was ported from BlackBerry 10:

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Tastaturen für das iPad Pro

by Volker Weber

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Der August bringt uns zwei neue Tastaturen für das iPad Pro. Einmal das Original von Apple und ein Zubehör von Logi. Die Preise sind heftig. Zieht man die anderen Dinge ab, die man damit einspart, bei mir Apple Silicon Case (80 €) und Apple Smart Cover (60 €), dann relativiert sich der Preis etwas. Ja, es gibt billigere Hüllen, aber die kommen mir nicht auf einen iPad Pro 9.7 für 1200 €.

Es gibt aber noch zwei nicht so offensichtliche Alternativen: das Apple Magic Keyboard, normalerweise mit dem iMac geliefert, wird wie das iPad Pro über ein USB-Lightning-Kabel geladen. Und das von mir sehr geschätzte Keys-to-go von Logitech kostet bei Amazon gerade mal den halben Listenpreis. Beide fliegen lose in der Tasche run, brauchen selbst keinen Schutz, schützen aber auch nicht das iPad.

Die Apple Smart und die Logi Create sind beide auf das iPad Pro spezialisiert. Keine eigene Stromversorgung, kein Bluetooth, dafür Smart Connector. Die Apple Tastatur hat fünf Reihen, die Logi sechs. Die Apple ist gummiert, die Logi hat echte Tasten. Logi Create sieht simpler zu falten aus und verstaut auch den Pencil, Apple macht sich dafür geringfügig schmaler.

Die Apple Magic und die Keys-to-go dagegen koppeln sich mit genau einem Gerät per Bluetooth. Das kann auch was anderes als ein iPad Pro sein, aber der Wechsel ist mühselig. Ich denke, Logi wird hier in Kürze nachbessern und eine Version bringen, die man auch umschalten kann. Die anderen Keyboards der Firma kennen drei Geräte gleichzeitig und können auch andere Belegungen (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS).

[Alle Preise gerundet]

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

by Volker Weber

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Gestern also wieder einer dieser Unpacked Events, die immer noch dem gleichen Schema ablaufen. Ein pompöser Anfang, danach eine eher peinliche Vorstellung eines wichtigen koreanischen Managers, der nur sehr schlecht englisch spricht, gefolgt von der eigentlichen Demo. Wer das aushält, kann sich hier die volle Stunde geben. Oder man schaut das auf sieben Minuten komprimiert.

Das ist ein ganz fantastisches Gerät, das mich leider nicht anspricht. Die Hardware ist sowas von perfekt, aber ich mag die Software nicht. Ich mag das TouchWiz-Design nicht, ich mag die doppelte Samsung-Software nicht. Aber das ist nur meine ganz persönliche Präferenz. Tolle Kamera, bestes Display, ein sehr brauchbarer Stift, der immer dabei ist. Jetzt auch wasserdicht und mit Speichererweiterung. Neu: ein Iris-Scanner für die Sicherheit. Die Galaxy S7-Reihe ist damit komplett.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update installiert

by Volker Weber

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Gestern hat Microsoft mit dem Rollout der Version 1607 begonnen. 16 wie 2016, 07 wie Juli. Das letzte große Update war 1511, November 2015. Das Schlüsselwort heißt "begonnen", da der Rollout nicht auf allen Geräten gleichzeitig angeboten wird. Dem kann man leicht abhelfen, in dem man diese Seite besucht. Die erste Option dort lädt den Upgrade Assistant. Hat bei mir bestens funktioniert. Glatte Installation ohne Fehler.

Wichtig: beim Start bietet Windows 10 an, die Einstellungen für den Datenschutz zurückzusetzen. Es gibt einfach eine Menge neue Funktionen, die mit restriktiven Einstellungen nicht funktionieren. Wer das nicht will, wählt dort nicht die Express-Einstellungen. Ich bin sicher, da wird wieder einigen Kollegen der Nucki rausfallen, aber so ist das nun mal. Wer sich von Cortana (Bing), Siri oder Google helfen lassen will, der hat andere Präferenzen als derjenige, der lieber allein gelassen wird. Ich brauche Cortana nicht und habe sie entsprechend abgestellt.

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Apple Smart Keyboard mit deutscher Belegung

by Volker Weber

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Kaum erzähle ich, dass Apple das Smart Keyboard nur in US-amerikanischer Belegung liefert, klärt mich Oliver auf, dass das seit ein paar Stunden nicht mehr gilt. Das sind ja wunderbare Nachrichten.

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Logi Create für iPad Pro 9.7

by Volker Weber

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Apples Tastaturhülle gibt es immer noch gab es nicht mit deutscher Tastenbelegung. Die kann man zwar in der Software einstellen, aber dann sind die Tasten halt falsch beschriftet. Jetzt kommt Logi mit einer deutschen Tastaturhülle für das iPad Pro 9.7. Die große gibt es schon länger. Sehr schön: sie nimmt auch den Stift auf.

Mein Versuch mit dem iPad Pro als einzigem Computer zu reisen, war ein voller Erfolg. Auch das Microsoft Keyboard hat bestens funktioniert. Nur die Stiftunterbringung hat mir gar nicht gefallen. Und ich hatte eine Menge Einzelteile: iPad Pro, Case, Cover, Tastatur, Tastaturdeckel als Aufsteller. Logi Create wird das hoffentlich komplett lösen. Aber ich muss erst mal auf der Tastatur schreiben. Kann es gar nicht erwarten.

Shield Break

by Volker Weber

Nutze des jüngsten Pangu-Entsperrers für Apple-Geräte berichten über Merkwürdigkeiten bei Kreditkarten, Paypal- und Social-Media-Accounts. Das chinesische Jailbreak-Team weist die Vorwürfe zurück.

Ihr müsst das wirklich mal lernen. Das ist kein Jail Break. Das ist ein Shield Break. Wie hieß es letztens in einem Kommentar? "These people have their reasons, most of them are fully aware of the security risk and they decided to accept it." Na, viel Glück damit.

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Always makes my day

by Volker Weber

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A few years ago I decided to drop ads from this site. It's free as in free beer. It has always been free as in freedom. I don't take money from advertisers, I don't do sponsored posts, nothing. I do get test samples, but I don't own them. However, when readers send me candy or stuff from my Amazon wish list, that is always a very welcome surprise. Thank you, Alper!

And yes, I know, the items on my wish list are awfully expensive. It's very difficult for me to find stuff I don't already have and have put off for purchase later. Please do not send me anything that you can hardly afford. I can easily buy these things for myself. And I will actually do, later.

MobilePay in Dänemark

by Volker Weber

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Fotos: Ole Saalmann

Mobiles Bezahlen kann so einfach sein. Beispiel Dänemark. Man bezahlt mit Bargeld oder MobilePay. Und das geht ganz einfach. Man verbindet sein Konto mit der Mobilfunknummer und kann unter dieser Nummer dann Geld empfangen. Und senden natürlich.

Bruce Schneier on sloppy IoT security causing real world disasters

by Volker Weber

Classic information security is a triad: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. You’ll see it called “CIA,” which admittedly is confusing in the context of national security. But basically, the three things I can do with your data are steal it (confidentiality), modify it (integrity), or prevent you from getting it (availability).

So far, internet threats have largely been about confidentiality. ... On the Internet of Things, integrity and availability threats are much worse than confidentiality threats.

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Now I broke it. And I own all the parts.

by Volker Weber

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Apple Activity has given up. I keep piling on perfect days, and I seem to have screwed up the backend. I have now been awarded the perfect week 116 times. But I only have had the Apple Watch for 61 weeks and three days. Which is 430 days.

I only missed the move goal on June 20 by three calories, as well as on the very first day. That makes it 428 perfect days, which is way less than 116 weeks. Next goal that Activity cannot track is 500 days mid-October.

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