December 2016
SIMmelalbum für alle
by Volker Weber
Ich war ja ein bisschen früh mit meinem Sample, aber jetzt gibt es das auch in Amazonien. Sehr praktisch für den Weltreisenden.
GuardPeanut
by Volker Weber
You heard about the Peanuts before. One-purpose IoT devices, that are inexpensive and simple. I have two ThermoPeanuts that worked really well, until they quickly burned through their batteries. Sen.Se found the bug and fixed it with a firmware update and they are back in operation.
Sen.Se also apologized for the trouble and offered a free Peanut as compensation. Instead of a third ThermoPeanut I asked for a new GuardPeanut.
GuardPeanut is a motion sensor and there are a number of different use cases. First of all you pair it to your phone and then you switch it on and off with a long press. When it's on it will record when it is moved. Attach it to the inside of your door and you will know when the door was opened. It also can sound an alarm, on the Peanut itself and/or on your phone. Switch it on, drop it in your bag as you walk away. When somebody moves your bag it will complain. In either case you can see when motion was sensed, right now or later.
Fritz!Ausbau
by Volker Weber
Foto: AVM
Letzter Ausbau dieses Jahr: zwei neue Repeater. Mitten im Haus steht eine Fritz!Box 7580, die eine VDSL-Verbindung zum Internet herstellt, VoIP terminiert, alle Schnurlostelefone versorgt und WLAN mit 802.11ac+n bereitstellt. Im Studio hatte ich bisher eine ältere 7390 stehen, die ebenfalls WLAN anbot und DECT verstärkte. Im Erdgeschoss war das bereits modernisiert und nun wiederhole ich das gleiche Setup im Studio.
Foto: AVM
FRITZ!WLAN Repeater 1750E ist über meinen zentralen Gigabit-Switch im Keller mit der Fritz!Box 7580 verbunden und spannt ebenfalls ein WLAN mit 802.11ac+n auf, im 5-GHz-Band mit bis zu 1.300 MBit/s und im 2,4-GHz-Band mit bis zu 450 MBit/s. Die Kabelanbindung ist ein Luxus, damit der Repeater nicht als Repeater sondern als Access Point funktioniert. Hat man keine Ethernet-Verbindung, dann fügt man den Repeater einfach durch Tastendruck ins WLAN ein. Repeater gibt es für ganz kleines Geld bei Aldi und Co, aber ich bevorzuge Geräte, deren Software ständig verbessert wird.
Foto: AVM
Auch das DECT reicht bei mir nicht in jede Ecke, deshalb verwende ich FRITZ!DECT Repeater 100, um die Reichweite zu vergrößern. Der Setup ist simpel. DECT-Taste an der Fritzbox und am Repeater für ein paar Sekunden drücken, fertig. Da der Repeater eine Steckdose hat, geht nichts verloren. Man kann ihn einfach irgendwo einschleifen.
Der Repeater erscheint in der Fritzbox unter Heimnetz/Smart Home. Er hat zwar keine Schaltfunktion, zeichnet aber die Temperatur auf. Die Schaltsteckdosen für innen und außen (!) haben keine Repeaterfunktion.
Sehr schön auch die Übersicht in der Fritz!Box. Man sieht auf einen Blick, ob die Software der Geräte aktuell ist und kann sie gleich hier aktualisieren, wenn nötig.
Der Umbau von der alten 7390 auf die beiden neuen Geräte spart sogar noch ein bisschen Strom. Im Modus DECT-Repeater und WLAN Access Point hat die 7390 8,2 Watt gezogen. Der FRITZ!DECT Repeater 100 zieht 1,2 Watt, der FRITZ!WLAN Repeater 1750E benötigt 3,2 Watt. 3,8 Watt mal 24 Stunden und 365 Tage sind 33 kWh im Jahr. Das sind nur ca acht Euro also eher was für's gute Gefühl. :-)
Ein Wunsch für 2017
by Volker Weber
Wie jedes Jahr gab es gestern wieder einen schwungvollen Jahresausklang, wie immer organisiert und ausgerichtet von Thomas Lang, vielen von Euch besser bekannt als ueberall-musik.de. Ich habe viele Freunde und Bekannte getroffen, einige nach sehr langer Zeit zum ersten Mal wieder. Und ich habe neue Bekannte, die mich endlich mal angesprochen haben. Danke dafür.
Für nächstes Jahr habe ich einen Wunsch: vergrößert das Netzwerk. Wenn Eure Freunde Interesse an Sonos haben, dann sorgt dafür, dass sie bei Thomas einkaufen. Ich möchte, dass er gute Geschäfte macht. Weil er ein gutes Geschäft betreibt. Und weil er einfach ein Supertyp ist.
GoPro is going down hard
by Volker Weber
Mark my words: GoPro is toast. This company will not survive their own stupidity. Not only did they try to build a drone from scratch and launched it without a test. And then had to call back every single one of them when they fell out of the sky. Not only did they get pummeled by the incumbent DJI and their Mavic Pro.
No, not only that. Now somebody has decided that you cannot use their existing remote control software without a login to a "GoPro+" account. And you need to be connected to the Internet to do that. How do you connect to the camera? You enable a Wifi access point, then connect your phone to that access point, then you talk to your camera. That is complicated enough. But now that remote control software wants access to cellular data so it fcuking can log you in. Oh, great.
What is the problem, you say? GoPro are used everywhere. No connection required. Until now.
This! @GoPro https://t.co/EuywbBMe8H just happened to me in a remote location w/o connection. Who's stupid idea was this?! via @vowe
— Willy (@willyyR) December 31, 2016
GoPro it was nice knowing you. Bye bye. Here is your rating:
Android without security updates
by Volker Weber
Family member's tv is bricked by Android malware. #lg wont disclose factory reset. Avoid these "smart tvs" like the plague. pic.twitter.com/kNz9T1kA0p
— Darren Cauthon (@darrencauthon) December 25, 2016
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier :: Spotify arrives
by Volker Weber
There isn't a whole lot of useful software for the Gear S3. That is why Spotify makes a big splash. It's a standalone app that streams music over Wifi to the watch and then feeds bluetooth connected headsets or speakers, and would even play through the watch speaker. Sadly it does not have an offline mode, so you need Wifi. In the US, some carriers sell an LTE-enabled S3 Frontier which isn't available here.
This is the first version of the software. Maybe a future app will allow you to download tracks and play offline.
Bullshit detection: N26
by Volker Weber
Damit ich es nicht jedem einzeln erklären muss. Der Angreifer musste Dein Passwort kennen, um sich damit erfolgreich bei N26 anmelden zu können. Das danach vorgeführte Kunststück funktioniert seit Anfang Dezember nicht mehr.
Triviale Lösung: Teile niemandem Dein Passwort zu Deinem Bankkonto mit.
Meine Lösung: Ich kenne das Passwort gar nicht. Es ist sehr lang und kompliziert und ich kann es mir nicht merken.
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Not so Secret Santa, from Iceland no less. Danke, Jochen!
How to be happy
by Volker Weber
Frau Brandlinger says:
- Surround yourself with people who make you happy.
- Stay away from Facebook.
- Get out and walk as much as you can.
I could not agree more.
Things that don't work for me :: Assistants
by Volker Weber
I love using Siri for dictation. Speak and let it transcribe to text. But I never ever ask Siri for information, not let it do something. Even for the most simple tasks like dialing a phone number, I use some other means. There is only one exception: when I am wearing a Plantronics Voyager headset and cannot touch the iPhone.
And I am not singling out Siri here. I have tried Alexa, Cortana and whatever-Google-calls-it-today. Yes, I see the potential but today it's just too much effort for me.
Yesterday I witnessed the worst use case for Alexa: turning on or off the lights. How about you? Does this stuff work for you?
Immer sachte mit den jungen Pferden
by Volker Weber
Apple hat das neue iPhone 5S mit einem Fingerabdruck-Sensor ausgestattet und natürlich fragten wir uns, wie sicher ist Touch ID?
Antwort: total unsicher. Boah, waren da alle aufgeregt, vor drei Jahren. Die Ähnlichkeit mit aktuellen Vorgängen ist beabsichtigt. Bullshit detection und so.
Resolution for 2017
by Volker Weber
I will continue to try and complete all three Activity rings with a Move goal of 600 for every single day of the year.
Der Inschinör bedankt sich
by Volker Weber
Ich mag die Österreicher und ihre Liebe zu Titeln. Danke, Lukas.
Alles auf Null
by Volker Weber
Ich habe gestern Surface Pro 4 einmal neu aufgesetzt. Diesmal steht auch die ganze Konfiguration auf englisch. Deutsch ist nur zweite Sprache. Kleiner Vorteil: Cortana kann sich nicht einmischen, da die Software nicht mit der Kombination Simplified English (US) und deutschem Locale zurecht kommt.
Warum alles neu? Ich konnte Surface nicht mehr ins WLAN kriegen. Als Fehler monierte Windows 10 an, mein Heimnetz habe keine Internet-Verbindung. Alle anderen Geräte in meinem Heimnetz waren anderer Ansicht. Nachdem alle Medizin, die Microsoft anbot, versagte, habe ich Windows 10 neu installiert und nun findet auch Surface Pro 4, dass mein Heimnetz super ist.
#WaaH #WindowsAsAHobby
Ladeproblem mit Microsoft Surface 3 gelöst
by Volker Weber
Jochen schrieb vor knapp drei Wochen:
Probleme habe ich allerdings nach wie vor mit dem Akku, der nicht lädt, solange das Gerät eingeschaltet ist. Was schlicht heißt, dass nach etwa 4-6 Stunden Betrieb der Akku leer ist, selbst wenn man zuhause oder im Büro sitzt und das Netzteil permanent eingesteckt ist. Das ist ein Riesennachteil und sehr nervend. Habe bisher keine Lösung gefunden, obwohl ich es mit verschiedenen Netzteilen versucht habe. Scheint ein Software Problem zu sein.
Microsoft hat über Weihnachten (!) unbürokratisch geholfen, ein neues Ladekabel geschickt und jetzt macht Surface 3 das, was sie auch bei mir macht: sie wird auch dann geladen, wenn sie eingeschaltet ist.
Vielen Dank an alle, die geholfen haben.
Windows 10 Signature Edition on ThinkPad laptops
by Volker Weber
Lenovo has decided to ship 2017 ThinkPad models with Microsoft’s Signature Edition Windows 10 right out of the box. So, users don’t have to worry about bloatware anymore. Signature Edition PCs are clean, fast and protected.
Signature Edition is what Microsoft ships on Surface. It's not entirely free of bloatware:
These apps download automatically with 3D Builder, Get Office etc. Once this initial provision has completed, you can delete them. On ThinkPads Lenovo will stop adding their own bloatware that continues to ship on Yogas I presume.
[Thanks, Martin]
What would you like for Christmas, little boy?
by Volker Weber
“What would you like for Christmas, little boy?”
— not Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) December 24, 2016
“An update for the Android device you brought me two years ago.” pic.twitter.com/w6BUHGcptF
Moving to Surface Pro 4
by Volker Weber
I like this machine a lot. It will change a few workflows that are currently firmly in Apple territory. One of these is presentations. For the last ten years I have been using Keynote which only runs on iOS and macOS. I have developed my own style which is very clean, mostly uses photos and very few words and now I am practicing this style on PowerPoint.
This turns out to be a bigger struggle than anticipated. Apparently I cannot add a personal template to PowerPoint Mobile and would have to live with the awful designs Microsoft provides. Or I would have to always start from an existing presentation and pull a "Save as". Which is a dangerous workflow. Duplicating a file and then renaming it before opening in PowerPoint should be safer.
I am an O365 subscriber, so technically I could be using Office 2016. I briefly installed it, opened Outlook 2016 and then ran as fast as I could. It is as bogged down with old features as Notes and still does not know how to do a proper archive in Gmail. It is stunning how little Microsoft knows what Microsoft knows. Outlook on iOS is perfect, Outlook on Android is somewhat broken, the Mail client in Windows 10 isn't too bad but does not know about aliases, the full Outlook client is hell.
Word Mobile works well for me. PowerPoint Mobile would work very well if it had personal templates, which it will eventually have to add. With their new "on any client" strategy, Microsoft is hitting the right notes for me. With a terabyte of storage in OneDrive as backup, life is incredibly easy.
Merry Xmas 2016 :: A big THANK YOU
by Volker Weber
Thank you coming to this place.
Thank you for engaging in discussion.
Thank you for those beautiful presents you gave me.
Wishing you all a peaceful time, whatever your religion is. And a big thank you for your friendship.
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier :: The Verdict
by Volker Weber
I have stopped wearing the Gear S3 since I already have an Apple Watch that I am not leaving behind. But I think I understand this watch very well by now and I like it very much. It has a great UX driven by its large rotating bezel and a touch screen. The software is just pretty without being busy. Watch faces are a personal taste. I like pure but there are plenty of other watch faces for those who like more classic designs.
The watch straps are 22 mm wide and completely standard. You can buy any men's strap if you like different designs. I prefer the black silicone strap that comes with the watch, but once again you may like something completely different.
I rate the battery as 48 hours under my normal use and that means I have the display on all the time. With a black watch face and a dimmed display it did not make much of a difference. When you flick your wrist it comes comes on in full brightness but it's very glanceable even in standby. This is one of the many benefits of this design. You will always survive a full day and it recharges in about an hour a day, two hours after two days.
Gear S3 has a wireless dock which recharges the watch when you rest it sideways on the dock. When you travel, you only have to bring the dock, since you can just plugin any MicroUSB cable. You can get really cheap replacement docks on Amazon, so you will probably buy an extra one that you keep in your bag for travel. I have tried a Nokia Qi charger and it did not work at all.
My final verdict: if I did not have an iPhone, this would be the watch I would buy.
Surface Pro 4 and Surface 3 :: A look at the hardware
by Volker Weber
Surface Pro 4 and Surface 3 are both 2015 machines. Surface 3 is just a few months older and to most people they look very similar. Surface Pro 4 has a larger and better screen with higher resolution, a smaller bezel and the kickstand is adjustable in every angle. Surface Pro 4 has vents and a fan, Surface 3 only cools through the body.
Surface Pro 4 is thinner and larger. It does not have a MicroUSB port for charging. That port was barely powerful enough to charge Surface 3. Instead it has a proprietary reversible dock connector that looks like a MicroSD slot in this photo. The headphone jack is on the other side. The other two ports are USB Type A and DisplayPort. I have used this port with an Apple adaptor and it worked just as well. Looking at the photo it appears to be bent a little bit. You will find the same dock connector on Surface Book, both one the Base and the Clipboard and obviously on Surface Dock.
Again, both look remarkably similar. The keyboard however makes a big difference. It's larger to fit the larger body, the keys are less tall and are spaced so it's much easier to type without hitting the adjacent key.
The other big difference is the trackpad which has grown considerably and an improved surface. While the old trackpad was barely usable, the new trackpad is much nicer. I only used the Surface 3 trackpad when I really could not select something with my finger, I use the new trackpad all the time.
This grey keyboard is a Signature Type Cover which is wrapped in Alcantara. It's a luxury. And it technically fits the smaller machine. Microsoft has not changed the connector from the original Surface. It's just too big.
Yes, Surface 3 has taken a beating with scratches and chips all over the place. I expect the same to happen to Surface Pro 4, if not worse.
udoq delivers
by Volker Weber
At IFA 2016 in Berlin I met Marcus Kuchler who was about to start his Kickstarter campaign for udoq - unifiy your docking. I was immediately attracted to Marcus' design. Not tied to any specific hardware, with interchangeable cables for different ports — currently Apple 30-pin, Lightning, MicroUSB and USB Type C — and no electronics, this was a product that could last longer than any device it currently docks. You bring your charger. Julia Riemer handed me a sample that I carried for the rest of the day.
I also liked the person. A seasoned industrial designer who has developed products that I already own, the Rimowa Salsa suitcase for instance.
When I was home it took me a few days until I unpacked the dock and assembled it with three connectors. Two Lightning connectors, one for MicroUSB. And then I told you about it when the Kickstarter campaign launched. I also wrote about it for iX and the story was picked up from vowe.net by a few fellow writers.
The Kickstarter campaign got to a good start, then it was fully funded. Oh, I love it when a plan comes together.
This week, Marcus delivered the first rewards from the Kickstarter campaign. I added another MicroUSB because we were often fighting for the single one and I added my first USB Type C connector. udoq is now complete and I have a few cables to adjust to the future.
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Thank you, Secret Santa!
Surface Pro 4 :: Which one should you get?
by Volker Weber
Surface Pro 4 comes in a variety of configurations. Which one should you get? All Surface Pro 4 have the same multi-touch display with a resolution of 2736 x 1824 pixels. It supports a precision pen that comes within the box. For reference, a MacBook Pro Retina (all models) has a non-touch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels; the newest model has a "Touch Bar" replacing the funcion keys with a 2170 x 60 touchscreen and obviously no pen support.
Surface Pro 4 prices vary widely by CPU and memory. Let's look at CPU first:
- The entry level model has a Core m3 and slightly smaller battery than the more expensive ones. That makes the device slightly lighter, but does not provide a longer battery life since the display eats most of the energy anyway and the less power hungry CPU cannot outweigh the smaller battery.
- The other models come with i5 and i7 CPUs. Both of them are in Ultrabook territory and are good replacements for regular laptops. The i5 is less power hungry and its battery last the longest of all Surface Pro 4 models, the i7 is simply more powerful. And also more expensive.
Depending on the CPU and price point Surface Pro 4 comes with 4, 8 or 16 GB of RAM. 4 GB is fine for light workloads, 16 GB is only required for demanding workloads, especially if you plan to run virtual machines. Windows 10 runs fine in all of those memory configurations.
Sticker prices vary widely between the models and you should remember you are basically getting the same machine, no matter which one you buy. So it is largely a matter of how much you are willing to spend.
Do not pay the sticker price. Microsoft is running specials on these machines all the time. A Surface Pro 4 with m3/128GB/4GB lists for 999 € but I have seen it as low as 799 € recently, including the optional keyboard, that you absolutely positively need to buy anyway. The Core i7/1TB/16GB top of the line model lists for a whopping 2979 €.
So what about the keyboard? There are three models, all of them very similar. The regular Type Cover lists for 150 € and is currently available for 120 € at the Microsoft online store. The Type Cover with Fingerprint ID is currently 135 € instead of 180 €. While the regular Type Cover comes in a variety of colors, the Fingerprint ID cover is only available in black. Then there is a Signature Type cover for 180 €, which is wrapped in Alcantara.
The Signature cover is a luxury (that I had to have). The Fingerprint ID is wasted for most users since Windows Hello with the IR camera works so well, that you will only need it if mandated by corporate policy. That means the regular Type Cover that is often included in Surface deals is perfectly fine.
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 :: First impressions
by Volker Weber
It's kind of weird writing a first impressions for a product that is already more than a year old. But as it so happens, I just started using one today. I am a Mac user but I have a good background in using Windows, all the way back to the very first version. In fact, I have more PCs running Windows than I have Macs. The machine I have used the most during the last 18 months has been a Surface 3 with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. It’s still working fine, but I wanted a better keyboard. And I got way more than I thought I would. Surface 3 runs on a mobile CPU which was mostly fine for me. So I was looking at using the same configuration with Surface Pro 4. But then the opportunity for a much faster machine arose.
So here we are: Surface Pro 4 with Intel Core i7-6650U running at 2.2 GHz with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. I never had issues with not enough RAM or not enough storage. My workloads are simple and I don't keep much data on the device. It’s always somewhere else in the background, in my own storage or in cloud storage. I travel light. That means I would have been fine with 128 GB of storage as well, but 256 is the minimum for i7 machines. Think of it as a two-seater sports car. And a sports car it is. Man, this thing is fast.
The thing I was worried about is fan noise. If you have a big engine, you need big cooling. Surface 3 has a tiny engine and no fans, so does the entry level Surface Pro 4 with an Intel m3 CPU. But now I am glad that I have the fast engine, because the fans only turned on during the initial load when Surface was installing updates, pulling down files from cloud storage and similar background tasks. I have not heard it since. And when it was on, it was rather quiet.
Three things happened today:
- I was blown away by the keyboard. It's no compromise. This is the real deal, especially compared to Surface 3, but also compared to many other keyboard I use. It’s completely transparent to me. I don’t notice it at all. I just type without thinking about it. And that experience includes the trackpad on the keyboard. It feels natural to me as a Mac user, unlike the Surface 3 trackpad, which is barely usable at all.
- When I set up the machine, it activated Windows Hello. That means it asks you to look at the camera and then it remembers your face through the infrared camera that sits left of the real camera. It also asks you for a backup PIN so you have another means to unlock the machine, if Hello fails. And that never happened. Surface recognizes me immediately, even before I sit down in front of it. This trumps a fingerprint reader by a margin.
- The pen I used with Surface 3 was my favorite after Apple Pencil. The pen that comes with Surface Pro 4 however plays on a whole new level. There are no buttons at your fingertips, which were always kind of tricky to hit. It does have a button at the top for launching OneNote, taking a screenshot or calling Cortana. And it also works as an eraser, like you would with a pencil eraser. It has a flat side, there is a strong magnet and you can attach it to the left side of Surface, or the top, depending on how you hold it.
Better pen, much better keyboard and trackpad, very useful Windows Hello. And having that faster CPU has already made a big difference. I can finally use Flipboard on Windows which was way too slow on Surface 3.
For now, vowe is a very happy camper.
Wie genial ist das denn?
by Volker Weber
Kommt sofort in meine Reisebrieftasche!
They are here
by Volker Weber
[Thanks, Stephan]
Was Deine Mailadresse über Dich sagt
by Volker Weber
Ich kriege ja eine Menge Kommentare und sehe was, was Ihr nicht seht: die Mailadresse. Und die sagt etwas über Dich.
- schnullebacke@gmail.com: Du nimmst das, was funktioniert.
- schnullebacke@schnullebacke.com: Du hast eine eigene Domain.
- vowe@schnullebacke.com: Du glaubst, ich bin ein Arschloch.
- f!ck.d!ch@!ns.kn!e: Du bist ein Arschloch.
Option 3 und 4 heißt außerdem, dass Du ein Deutscher bist. Gmail.com steht für alle SaaS-Anbieter.
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Another Secret Santa from my Amazon Wishlist. Thank you!
Microsoft Surface 3 :: Die Überraschung
by Volker Weber
Ich bin seit mehr als zehn Jahren Mac-Nutzer. Und war davor zehn Jahre mit Windows unterwegs. Und davor nochmal zehn weitere Jahre mit OS/2, Linux und DOS. OS/2 und DOS sind Geschichte, Windows und Linux aber nicht. Und diese kleine Maschine hat mich dazu gebracht, Windows wieder häufiger neben meinen Macs zu benutzen. Damit hatte ich nicht gerechnet.
Mein Lieblingsprogramm ist NextGen Reader UWP. Ich lese fast alle News in diesem Programm, ich mache mir Notizen in OneNote und ich male auf Screenshots herum. 2015 habe ich mit Windows 8.1 angefangen, dann auf Windows 10 aktualisiert und dies wiederum vor Monaten auf das sogenannte Anniversary Update. Wir hatten unsere Probleme miteinander, aber ich habe sie am Ende immer durchgebissen.
Surface 3 ist mit mir weit gereist, nach San Francisco, nach Orlando, nach New York, nach Santa Barbara und Los Angeles. Und es war ein treuer Begleiter, der mich nie im Stich gelassen hat. Die Kombination aus Tablet und Laptop, mit Zeichenstift und Tastatur, hat sich als ideal für Reisen herausgestellt.
Warum dieser Nachruf? Morgen beginnt ein neues Kapitel. Surface wird erwachsen. Ein größerer Bildschirm, ein i7 und vor allem eine bessere Tastatur. Ich freue mich.
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier :: Auto Workout
by Volker Weber
Wie bei anderen Smartwatches kann man auch bei der Gear S3 ganz bewusst einen Workout starten. In diesem Modus überwacht die Uhr dann die Herzfrequenz und zeigt auf verschiedenen Panels an, wie schnell man unterwegs ist, was der Puls macht, etc. Mit der Lunette schaltet man zwischen diesen Modi um.
Für mich ist das alles viel zu viel Zauber. Was mir gefällt, ist die Automatik. Die Uhr erkennt selbst, wenn gesportelt wird. Dabei erkennt sie Gehen/Laufen, Radfahren, Elliptical, Rudern und einen Multisport Modus, sprich Muckibude. Bei mir sind nur Gehen/Laufen und Radfahren aktiv.
Sobald man 10 Minuten unterwegs ist, fängt die Gear automatisch an, die Aktivität zu beobachten und anzuzeigen. Links sieht man die Übersicht, von da aus kommt man auch zur Geschwindigkeit (Pace). Sobald man (für eine Minute?) anhält, bekommt man automatisch die Zusammenfassung. Hier 1h17m weil ich bei 1:18 schon stand. Die ersten zehn Minuten zählen übrigens mit, die Anzeige beginnt bei 10:00. Apple Watch und Gear S3 sind sich übrigens völlig einig, was Entfernung und Kalorienverbrauch angeht.
Wie man sehen kann, ist die Auswahl in Listen auf einem runden Display nicht so leicht zu gestalten. Aber was Samsung hier abliefert, finde ich sehr ansprechend. Vor allem das Display begeistert mich immer wieder.
Oracle finally targets Java non-payers – six years after plucking Sun
by Volker Weber
Oracle is massively ramping up audits of Java customers it claims are in breach of its licences – six years after it bought Sun Microsystems.
Sen.se acknowledges the Peanut battery drain problem
by Volker Weber
You are having trouble with your ThermoPeanuts and we are truly sorry about that. We have found a bug in the ThermoPeanut software that drains the battery way too fast. We would like to apology for this problem. We understand that this may have been a disappointment for you, but we want to let you know that we are actively working to correct the problem. This is a software issue, which means it can be corrected by a simple update. There will be three updates: one for the iOS App, one for the Android App, and one for ThermoPeanut firmware. We will publish them before the end of the week.
When I get the update, I will try again. I really liked the ThermoPeanut, and I only stopped using it after it burned through a CR2012 within two weeks. If you also have this problem, I suggest you write to support. They offer a free Peanut:
In compensation for theses problems, we would like to offer you a free Peanut of your choice (Thermo or Guard). Simply indicate to us your choice and we will be happy to send you a coupon to get it
That is very nice of them. But I do think the software update is the bigger deal.
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier :: Dinge, die beinahe funktionieren
by Volker Weber
So langsam stoße ich auch an Grenzen und finde Dinge, die funktionieren, aber nicht komplett. Beispiel: Music Player. Der kann Musik auf dem Telefon steuern oder eigene Musik abspielen. Das heißt, man kann Tracks vom Telefon auf die Uhr beamen und dann unterwegs hören, auch wenn man kein Telefon dabei hat. Dazu muss man nur ein Headset mit der Uhr pairen. Man schaltet zwischen beiden Modi um, in dem man das Symbol recht oben auf dem Zifferblatt antippt. Soweit alles bestens. Im Remote-Modus kann man den aktuellen Musik-Player steuern. Und das ist gerade der Sonos-Controller. Dazu braucht man keine eigene App auf dem Telefon. Start/Stop/Pause, Forward und Rewind funktionieren, nicht aber die Lautstärkeregulierung.
Auch der Kalender funktioniert sofort. Allerdings beginnt die Woche am Sonntag und ich finde keine Einstellung, das zu ändern. Die Uhr soll die Einstellung vom Telefon erben, macht das aber weder mit dem BlackBerry noch dem Google Kalender. Die Tatsache, dass beide Kalender eine eigene Einstellung haben, weist darauf hin, dass das in Android nicht gut geregelt ist. Die Entwickler gehen wohl davon aus, dass auf dem Telefon S Planner läuft.
Bei Amazon ist die Uhr gerade ausverkauft. Ich würde das gerne meiner "Lobhudelei" zuschreiben. :-)
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier :: Fitness Tracking mit S Health
by Volker Weber
Wer eine Sportuhr sucht, sollte sich wohl eine Garmin kaufen. Aber ich mache ja keinen Sport, sondern laufe nur mit dem Hund durch die Gegend. Und doch wird das sowohl von der Apple Watch als auch der Gear S3 als sportliche Betätigung erkannt, wenn ich nur schnell genug unterwegs bin. Die Gear S3 erkennt nach 10 Minuten Belastung, was man da anstellt, und beginnt hier, das Gehen mit "Healthy Pace" zu begleiten, und zwar rückwirkend. Ab dann zeigt es die Zeit und die verbrannten Kalorien an. Ja, die 42 sind volle Absicht. :-)
Diesen "Sport" erkennt man an dem grünen Segment in der Tagesübersicht. Das blaue Segment ist Schlafen. Dreht man an der Lunette, dann wandert das kleine Dreieck durch die Segmente:
Die Angaben sind sehr realistisch. Ich brauche tatsächlich etwa zwei Stunden intensive Bewegung, um auf meine 600 Mobilitätskalorien zu kommen. Da ich das weiß, brauche ich eigentlich nur noch die Zeit zu nehmen. Mit einem Grundumsatz von ca 1900 kCal komme ich damit auf ca 2500. Und wenn ich es schaffe, unter 2000 zu essen, dann nehme ich nicht zu.
Gear S3 und Apple Watch sind sich übrigens völlig einig, zeigen das nur anders an. Die Gear S3 geht Anfang Januar zurück an Samsung und dann kommt die Apple Watch wieder an das andere Handgelenk. Zwischenzeitlich trage ich beide. Die eine zum Testen, die andere, um die Kette nicht abreißen zu lassen.
Don't break the chain. Ich bin in der 82. Woche.
How to build your own single-purpose Sonos controller
by Volker Weber
Our kids used to run to us parents all the time in order to choose the music or audio books for them in their room. So we figured out they needed their own Sonos controller. For obvious reasons, we didn't want to give them a full smartphone to do this.
Hanno (@hzulla) has built a controller from an old Android phone by installing CyanogenMod and MobiLock
Find My Phone :: A short film by Anthony van der Meer
by Volker Weber
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier :: Tizen & Software
by Volker Weber
Große Heiterkeit gestern bei diesem Tweet. Die beste Antwort kam von @mosmann:
Rundungsfehler.. Manchmal ist man vom Rumsitzen total fertig und weiß nicht warum,.. dabei hat man aus Versehen 2000 Schritte gemacht...
Nein, das war's nicht. Ich hatte der Apple Watch erzählt, ich steige jetzt auf's Fahrrad. Und dann bin ich statt dessen gelaufen. Wenn ich mich nicht einmische, so wie heute morgen beim Brötchenholen, dann sind sich die beiden einig:
Schritte zählen am Handgelenk ist keine exakte Wissenschaft. Abweichungen um 10% sind normal (und irrelevant), größere Abweichungen durchaus üblich. Man sollte die Uhr deshalb nicht an der dominanten Hand tragen. Was man früher ohnehin nicht gemacht hat, um mechanische Uhren vor Erschütterungen zu schützen. Bei mir geht das nicht, da ich "ambidexterous" bin. Ich mag das Wort, es heißt einfach nur beidhändig, im Sinne von "kann beide Hände gleichberechtigt benutzen". Heute morgen stimmen die Werte so genau überein, weil ich die Uhren angezogen habe und gleich intensiv gelaufen bin, ohne andere Sachen zu machen.
Nach gut eineinhalb Jahren mit der Apple Watch, und davor noch einem Jahr mit der Pebble, bin ich der Ansicht, dass die mitgelieferte Software stimmen muss. Was man nachträglich installiert ist oft lieblos oder wenig hilfreich. Bei der Apple Watch benutze ich das Fitness Tracking und die Benachrichtigungen vom iPhone. Dazu die ganzen Hilfsprogramme wie Wecker, Timer etc. Und Apple hat bis zum watchOS 3 gebraucht, bis die Uhr gut nutzbar wurde.
Ich weiß nicht, wie lang Samsung schon übt. Das aktuelle Tizen hat die Version 2.3.2.1 und stammt aus der Ahnenkette Maemo und Meego. Nokia-Fans werden sich erinnern. Und mit dieser Uhr hat Samsung ein sehr überzeugendes Bedienkonzept vorgelegt, das sich im Sinne des Wortes um die Lunette dreht. Mit einem Dreh an diesem großen Rad wechselt man im Ruhezustand zwischen seinen Widgets und löst andere Aktionen aus, oben beispielhaft Annahme oder Ablehnen eines Anrufs. Das funktioniert unglaublich gut, mit nassen Fingern oder mit dicken Skihandschuhen. Das passt zum runden Display. Vieles andere passt nicht so gut. Wenn man etwa Nachrichten oder Emails liest, dann wird der Text zentriert und franst an beiden Seiten aus.
Die Uhr hat nicht nur die Drehlunette sondern auch einen Touchscreen, den man eigentlich eher selten braucht, sowie zwei Knöpfe an der rechten Seite. Die Navigation in Tizen muss man lernen, aber ich habe mich leichter getan als mit dem watchOS.
Fitness Tracking kann die Apple Watch gut. Aber S Health ist auch ganz wunderbar. Jeden Tag gibt es eine Übersicht, alle 24 Stunden in einem Kreis. Das ist gewöhnungsbedürftig, weil das Zifferblatt ja 12 und nicht 24 Stunden hat. Hier sieht man zum Beispiel, dass ich gestern knapp 7 Stunden am Stück geschlafen habe.
Der Kreis zeigt auch Ruhezeiten (grau) und aktive (grün) an. Im schwarzen Sektor habe ich die Uhr nicht getragen. Das gilt auch für diese Nacht:
Die Schlaferkennung geht automatisch. Die Uhr erkennt selbst, wenn man einschläft und wieder aufsteht. Sie erkennt auch sportliche Betätigung. Das zeigt zum Beispiel der dunkelgrüne Bereich an. Dreht man an der Lünette, dann zeigt die Uhr an, was sie erkannt hat:
Für Darmstädter: Das ist der Rückweg vom Oberfeld um die Lichtwiese nach Hause in Bessungen. Davor gibt es noch einen weiteren Sektor mit dem Hinweg, genau genommen sogar zwei wegen eines kleinen Schwätzchens. Das Schöne ist, man muss nicht vorab eingreifen. S Health macht das alles automatisch. Und ich hatte weder das Smartphone dabei noch GPS eingeschaltet.
Das ist alles sehr überzeugend. Was übrigens nicht für S Voice gilt, das Siri niemals gefährlich werden kann. Und man sollte bedenken, dass Tizen keine bevorzugte Plattform für App-Entwicklung ist. Am besten nimmt man an, dass es gar nichts gibt, dann ist man ob der Ausnahmen immer hoch erfreut.
Samsung Gear S2 classic :: First impressions
by Volker Weber
I am not looking at one Gear watch, but at two. The Gear S3 has a predecessor, which is very similar in concept. It also has the same rotating bezel and runs the same Tizen software. The new Gear watch has added GPS, a 50% larger battery, 50% more RAM and also has picked up in size. I think that many people will like the S2 over the S3. Added bonus: it has gotten a lot cheaper over the course of the year. While the S3 Frontier is still brand new and sells for 377 €, you can find the S2 classic for 277 € and the S2 for 220 €. The S2 classic looks like a mini version of the S3 Frontier, while the S2 and the S3 classic are different designs.
There is one difference that lets me pick the S3 Frontier over the S2 Classic immediately: Samsung has improved the rotating bezel which is now much easier to grab and turn. For me this makes up for the larger size. More battery is also good, while the S3 has survived a full day with the display always on and still has 45% charge left. Without the luxury of keeping the display always on you can safely travel and stay overnight without bringing the charger.
There is no real difference in the software or how you use either watch. That means I can fully concentrate on the S3 Frontier. There will be no more updates on the S2 classic.
So mache ich das mit N26
by Volker Weber
Ich glaube, ich muss das noch mal mit Bild erklären. N26 ist mein Zweitkonto für kleinere Geschäfte. Wenn ich bei Amazon, ebay oder irgendeinem kleineren Händler bezahlen will, habe ich die Auswahl zwischen Kreditkarte und PayPal. Die Mastercard ist eine Debitcard. Die kann nur soviel bezahlen wie auf dem N26 Konto ist. PayPal hat gar kein Guthaben von mir. N26 wird per Überweisung flüssig gehalten. Das geht von meiner Hausbank aus. N26 kann und darf sich nicht selbst befüllen. Das hält das Risiko klein, sollte doch mal ein Online-Händler geknackt werden.
Kleine Beträge bei Einkäufen beim Discounter zahle ich ebenfalls mit dieser Karte. Das geht per NFC drahtlos und blitzschnell. Man muss die Karte nicht mal auspacken. An das Terminal halten und fertig.
Das N26 Konto ist kostenlos, die Mastercard auch. Die Einrichtung des Kontos dauert acht Minuten. Gestoppt. Da ruft ein Callcenter per Videocall an und lässt sich den Ausweis zeigen. Die Karte wird per einfacher Post zugeschickt und vom Nutzer aktiviert. Geht alles in der App, inkl. Einstellung von Limits, Sperren, Entsperren, Auslandsfreigabe.
Wer hat noch nicht, wer will noch mal? :-)
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier :: First impressions
by Volker Weber
I asked Samsung for two smartwatches: the 2016 Gear S3 and the 2015 Gear S2. This is a first look at the Gear S3 which comes in two models. This is the bigger Frontier.
Spoiler alert: I am super impressed.
I was at the launch event at IFA 2016 in Berlin, and it was quite a bombastic show. I wasn't impressed then. Too much show, not enough content. The S3 looked too big, compared to the much simpler S2 and I did not like the way that Samsung tried to mimic traditional wristwatches. If you have a watch face with fake metal reflections, that looks so cheap because the reflections don't actually move like the real thing.
But now I have a watch in my possession and I can make it mine. This changes the game completely. I am using the SuperAMOLED display to display mostly black and that not only looks good, it also saves on battery life because those black pixels are off. Only the red numbers are on. Look around this site. Which colors do you see? White, black, red. Yes, this is mine.
This display is always on. It does not have to be, it's not even the default. But I want it on. Because I can. See that bezel around the screen? That's the real thing. It turns. And it is one of the inputs. You can swipe between different widgets which are similar to Apple Watch Glances. Turn clockwise to get to the weather, a favorite contact, a reminder, your next calendar event, your calorie burn, your steps, your alti-barometer, and so forth. Add any widget you like. This works with your gloves on. It's cold outside! Remember how you could operate a Lumia 920 with gloves on? You can do that with the Gear S3 as well. Just turn up the touch sensitivity for the screen and you can touch and swipe with your big ski gloves.
I paired the Gear S3 with my BlackBerry PRIV, which works just fine. It's not listed as compatible but the requirements are rather low. 1.5 GB of RAM, Android 4.4+, that's about it. You have to install the Gear Manager, it will install a Gear S plugin and Samsung Accessory Services. And you want the S Health app to track your fitness.
Samsung is working on an iOS app which is currently in beta. But trust me on this: if you have an iPhone, you want an Apple Watch. If you don't have an iPhone but want one later, Samsung will probably have you covered. This watch runs on Tizen and it does not need Android.
Samsung is making some promises which are not working out today. The Gear S3 is supposed to have Spotify support but it's not here yet. And with that I mean streaming from your watch with cached tracks, not a remote for your phone. Apple Watch does not have that, but needs it badly. My guess is that Gear will have it first.
Stay tuned. There is so much more to talk about.
Above Avalon: The Elephant in the Smartwatch Room
by Volker Weber
The writing is on the wall. There isn't a smartwatch industry. Instead, there's only an Apple Watch industry.
Great reading.
[Thanks, David]
N26 fluppt
by Volker Weber
Ich könnte mich wegschmeißen, wenn ich die ganzen N26-Klagen in meinem Twitterstream lese, von Leuten geschrieben, die gar kein N26-Konto haben. Ich habe nämlich eins und das funktioniert perfekt. Seit ich diese NFC-Mastercard habe, zahle ich auch Kleinstbeträge blitzschnell drahtlos. Das geht schneller als Bargeld rüberreichen und Wechselgeld einkassieren. Über den APNS wird jede Kontobewegung sofort auf der Apple Watch angezeigt.
Das N26-Konto ist außerdem zwischen Amazon oder Paypal und meine Hausbank geschaltet. Ich zahle per Paypal, das sich dann Geld bei N26 holt. N26 hat nur einen relativ kleinen Geldbestand; mangels Überziehungskredit ist da auch nichts zu holen. Wenn der Brunnen zu trocken wird, überweise ich was von meiner Hausbank an N26. Paypal hat gar kein Geld mehr von mir und auch keinen Zugriff auf meine Hausbank. Ist wie ein finanzieller Firewall.
Andere Leute mit N26-Konto können mir Geld überweisen, ohne meine Kontonummer kennen zu müssen. Meine Email-Adresse vowe@vowe.net reicht. Könnt Ihr ja mal probieren. :-)
Das Konto ist übrigens weitgehend kostenlos. Ausnahme: zu viele Abhebungen an Geldautomaten. Kostenlos kriegt man Bargeld übrigens an jeder REWE-Kasse. Die sind froh, wenn das einer wegschafft. Aber, siehe oben, ich brauche wenig Bargeld.
Wenn ich jemanden werben soll, einfach Email an mich. Die Einrichtung ist eine Sensation und geht in 5 Minuten per Smartphone-App und Livechat.
With Pebble gone, now what?
by Volker Weber
Pebble was one of my recommendations for a functional smartwatch. Now that Fitbit is taking over parts of the business, that is no longer the case. If you have an iPhone, my recommendation is simple: get an Apple Watch. It's brilliant.
For Android, I will be looking at alternatives. And at the top of my list are two watches from Samsung: the Gear S3 pictured above, and also last year's Gear S2. Both watches run on Tizen and I will try to use them with BlackBerry Android. There are a couple of reasons why I also consider the S2. It is smaller than the new model and the price has gone down considerably.
I will need a few days to befriend these watches. Expect a first impressions soon and more thoughts early next week. You should still be able to get it in time for Xmas.
vowe dot net is about to move
by Volker Weber
This site will move to a different server soon. We are currently on 136.243.238.234 and will move to 46.4.80.4. But I jumped the gun because the new server isn't working as expected yet.
I will update when we are ready.
Sonos Trueplay with iPhone 7
by Volker Weber
[Screenshot upside down on purpose. That is how you hold the phone while tuning.]
I just re-tuned my PLAYBAR/SUB/PLAY:3 setup. With my iPhone 7 Plus. Trueplay Tuning needs to understand the characteristics of the microphone inside the iPhone/iPad being used. It wasn't initially supported, but now it is.
This is the reason why you cannot tune with Android. Too much fragmentation, this time in hardware. Just borrow a supported device from a friend. Or invite him over to show your setup. Chances are he will want one as well. Once you tuned your rooms, you no longer need an iThing.
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Thank you, Secret Santa. No paper in the box, but I am happy to complete my VIPP collection.
Apple AirPod :: Kaufen oder nicht?
by Volker Weber
Kurz vor Weihnachten bringt Apple doch noch die AirPods. Da stellt sich vielen die Frage: Kaufen oder nicht kaufen?
Ich lehne mich mal aus dem Fenster. Kaufen.
Warum? Viel ist drüber geschrieben worden, von vielen, die gar keine haben. Ich habe auch keine, aber ich habe sie mal ausprobieren können. Nicht so lange, wie ich das sonst tue, bevor ich eine Empfehlung ausspreche. Aber sie haben mich von der ersten Sekunde an überzeugt. Das ist ein Qualitätsprodukt, wie man es von Apple erwartet. Das Case fühlt sich wunderbar an, die AirPods schnappen da rein, genauso schnappt auch der Deckel zu. Nichts ist daran billig. Bei mir passten die AirPods sofort perfekt in die Ohren und sie fielen auch nicht raus, Headbanger oder nicht.
Erwartungsgemäß klingen die AirPods wie offene Earbuds. Sie isolieren kaum von der Umgebung und sind nicht laut genug, um Umgebungsgeräusche zu übertönen. In ruhigen Umgebungen taugen sie prima, aber den infernalischen Lärm meines Autos drücken sie nicht weg.
Einziger Kritikpunkt: solche weißen Ohrgehänge muss man selbstbewusst tragen können.
macOS 10.12.2 update
by Volker Weber
Before and after the 10.12.2 update. Apple removed the time remaining indicator because people weren't happy with the numbers they were seeing on the new MacBook Pros.
Cannot find that change in the release notes though.
Sonos has some fantastic people
by Volker Weber
It all started out with Spotify dropouts in a yet unreleased version of Sonos. I was unhappy with the way I was supposed to report the problem. Then the Head of Beta Program Management reached out to me. And she made a senior technical support engineer email me six days ago.
Badre analyzed my diagnostic, he suggested changes, looked again, he found (very old) problems that had existed for years. They were rooted in my strange mix of pre-release and release hardware with different region settings for wireless. A PLAYBAR could suggest a 5GHz channel that the satellites would be unable to use for instance.
Step by step my Sonos network got healthier, but there were still lingering problems. There were broadcasts on my network every ten minutes with 11 Mbps. So we tamed those with settings in my Linksys smart switch. I learned about Bridge Multicast Filtering, Unregistered Multicast Filtering, the correct STP settings, the lot. And finally, after rebuilding a router from scratch, the network is clean. Now I can go back to testing that yet unreleased version of the software.
Badre would never give up. He would ride home and then check again. He was almost apologizing that he had to go to sleep. Badre is an exceptionally dedicated engineer. People like Badre make Sonos stand out from the rest.
Please report your BlackBerry Android security updates
by Volker Weber
Google is releasing the December patch and I would like to understand when BlackBerry delivers the update to which devices. Please fill out this form when you are receiving your security update. It just takes a few seconds and should work on your phone. This is what I am collecting:
- Model
- Where you bought it (Carrier, Shop BB, etc)
- Android security patch level (date)
- Model number
- When you installed the update
The first three are mandatory. Number 4 is the more specific answer to number 1.
The results are public and I am not collecting personal information.
Update zum Thema Diensthandy
by Volker Weber
Ich habe sehr viel Email zu diesem Thema bekommen. Viele Emails spiegeln das wieder, was auch in den Kommentaren steht. Und das hat die ganze Bandbreite von "ich will das trennen" bis zu "keine Lust auf zwei Geräte". Ein Trend ist da nicht zu erkennen.
Aber eins hat mich überrascht: es gibt viel mehr Unternehmen, vor allem große, die alles außer iPhones rauswerfen. Das habe ich nicht erwartet. Die Markanteile in Deutschland suggerieren einen Durchmarsch von Android. Die Gründe sind vielfältig, von Anwenderwunsch über Sicherheit bis zu Wartung und Kosten. Der Anschaffungspreis ist eben nicht alles.
Und eine weitere Überraschung: ein sehr großes Unternehmen hat die perfekte Mobil-Policy, die ich auch als Best Practice empfehle. Alle Geräte ins MDM aufnehmen und möglichst wenig regeln. Sechsstellige PIN, die nicht turnusmäßig geändert werden muss, Support für Touch ID. Anwender darf alles, was nicht explizit verboten ist. Und das ist sehr wenig, z.B. Jailbreak. Alle betrieblichen Apps und Konten sind "managed". Private Nutzung kann man für einen geringen monatlichen Betrag erwerben.
Logi Circle mit mehr Premium Features
by Volker Weber
Von allen IP-Kameras haben mich nur zwei überzeugt: Netgear Arlo für den Außeneinsatz und Logi Circle für drinnen. Die beiden sind mit völlig unterschiedlichem Fokus gestartet. Arlo ist batteriebetrieben und durch einen eigenen Hub abgeschottet. Die Kamera wird von einem Bewegungssensor gestartet und zeichnet nur auf, wenn sich was tut. (Mittlerweile gibt es auch eine Arlo 'mit Kabel', die man innen einsetzt.)
Circle dagegen hat einen ganz anderen Zweck. Oder man muss sagen, hatte. Mittlerweile schwenkt Logi immer mehr Richtung Security Camera. Da die Kamera keinen Bewegungssensor hat, arbeitet sie mit Bildverarbeitung.
Wenn man ein Premium-Paket abschließt, dann kann man neue Alarme setzen, etwa zur Erkennung von Personen oder in bestimmten Bereichen. Circle kann zwischen Personen und Haustieren unterscheiden und dann alarmieren, wenn jemand das Sichtfeld der Kamera betritt. Arlo dagegen würde nur die Bewegung erkennen und in jedem Fall melden.
Dafür speichert Arlo kostenlos eine ganze Woche und Circle nur einen Tag. Will man mehr als einen Tag, benötigt man Circle Safe Basic. Die neuen Features gibt es nur in Circle Safe Premium. Heute gab es einen Update der App. Alles, was gut ist, blieb erhalten. Und das Setup ist einfacher, weil man nicht mehr Icons raten muss.
Kleine Tankstelle
by Volker Weber
Kleines Weihnachtspaket von Equinux mit neuer kleiner tizi Tankstelle. Zum Vergleich: iPhone-Netzteil, kleine Tankstelle, große Tankstelle, iPad-Netzteil. Das iPhone-Netzteil habe ich erkennbar nicht mal ausgepackt und das iPad-Netzteil wird nur noch selten genutzt. Die große Tankstelle hat vier LEDs, die anzeigen, was gerade los ist: schnelles Laden, langsames, Fehler etc. Der kleinen Tankstelle fehlen diese LEDs, mir aber eigentlich nicht. Die Ports passen sich an die Ladewünsche des Gerätes her und liefern bis zu 2,4 A, auf jedem der Ports aber nicht auf allen gleichzeitig. 4 A schafft die kleine, 5 A die große.
Mit Apple Watch und iPhone braucht man jede Nacht schon mal zwei USB-Ports, mit iPad dazu einen dritten, mit Powerbank einen vierten. Die kleine Tankstelle ist etwa halb so groß wie die große. Wie gut, dass ich jetzt die Wahl habe.
Beautiful
by Volker Weber
There are exactly two IT vendors that have built hardware which is pretty enough to serve as furniture. Both of them were founded by the same person.
Hallo. Haben wir verlängert.
by Volker Weber
Suchbild: was ist das?
by Volker Weber
Die Weihnachtszeit beginnt hier seit vielen Jahren mit einem Geschenk von Sirius-Net. Dieses Jahr ist es ein Holzbrett. Jetzt die Frage: was macht man damit?
Auflösung hier. Wer zu Hause noch ein dickes Brett rumliegen hat und eine Fräsmachine nutzen kann: 11 mm breit und 16 mm tief ist die Nut.
Ist Messaging nur ein Hype?
by Volker Weber
Ich habe schon so viele 'Email-Killer' erlebt, die am Ende selbst in der Ecke verstaubt sind. Selbst Leute, die über zu viel Email stöhnen, organisieren sich in der Inbox. Die ist Posteingang, Todo-Liste, Benachrichtigung und das alles auf einmal. Der neue haiße Schaiß ist jetzt Messaging. Slack, Hipchat, jetzt wollen auch Microsoft und nächstes Jahr IBM mitspielen.
Ist das jetzt der Email-Killer, zumindest für interne Mails? Wie ist Eure Einschätzung?
Stirbt das Diensthandy?
by Volker Weber
Früher wurden BlackBerrys von der IT 'ausgerollt'. Heute hat beinahe jeder schon ein Smartphone mit Flatrate in der Tasche. Braucht man dann überhaupt noch ein Diensthandy?
Mich würde Eure Meinung interessieren. Was passiert bei Euch im Betrieb? Wer mir das lieber privat mitteilen will, kann gerne diesen Email-Link benutzen.
The Grand Tour is tired
by Volker Weber
What will happen is we’ll end up watching the natural, slow death Top Gear would have had, only much more expensively: it’ll get worse, people will switch off, and it will end. Perhaps the BBC will have the last laugh after all.
The original spec for Lotus Notes
by Volker Weber
$1.2M in, $3.5B out over 11 years. https://t.co/wWeK9IQrSY
— Mitch Kapor (@mkapor) December 7, 2016
In what was clearly my 5 minutes of Internet fame, Mitch Kapor quoted a tweet where I picked up Ray Ozzie's celebration of the 0x20 (decimal 32) year anniversary of the original seed funding of Iris Associates, where Notes was developerd. He followed up with this more important tweet:
Memo from me as Lotus CEO of internal announcement of Notes 12/7/1984. pic.twitter.com/GX6RgmobjA
— Mitch Kapor (@mkapor) December 8, 2016
This lead to Mitch posting the original spec for Notes (pdf). If you are into NoSQL databases and see yourself at the forefront of development, you have to read this. It's still relevant today.
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Thank you, Gregg!
BlackBerry nennt jetzt alles anders
by Volker Weber
Um den Schwenk vom Smartphone-Hersteller zum Softwareanbieter zu vollziehen, benennt BlackBerry sämtliche Produkte um. Die Marken Good und Watchdox verschwinden. In Zukunft heißt alles BlackBerry.
Setapp Announces Early Access to 'Unstore' Alternative to Apple's Mac App Store
by Volker Weber
Setapp is a new subscription service that makes a growing suite of more than 45 popular macOS applications available to users for a flat monthly fee. Anyone who wants early access to the platform, which is scheduled for release early next year, must register at the Setapp website and priority admission will be granted on a rolling basis over the coming weeks. The new service is the latest spinoff of hugely successful, award-winning Mac software company MacPaw which has an installed base of more than 5 million customers worldwide.
It's a pretty impressive list of apps, most of which I don't know, with a few I like (CleanMyMac) or don't like (Elmedia Player). Setapp will work like Netflix or Spotify. You pay a monthly fee (think 10€) and you can use all apps in Setapp until you stop paying up.
I will have a limited number of invites that will grant instant access to the beta. Just comment if you'd like to be in.
The Weeknd :: Starboy
by Volker Weber
This was a pretty spectacular segment of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Paris. If you play this on your phone or PC, you are missing most of the sound.
BlackBerry is going to rewrite history today
by Volker Weber
BlackBerry is going to make a marketing move that nobody has tried before. The standard process goes like this: you talk to analysts, then you talk to press, then you talk to the public. Companies that have known me for a while tend to put me into the analyst bucket, those who don't into the press bucket.
Here is the new move: BlackBerry will talk to the public at 5pm and then to the press at 10pm.
I am not sure what that means. Without any insights into what they put up their sleeves a few things are obvious:
- "Software is the new BlackBerry" is kind of backwards. BlackBerry is making software, that is what it says. Software does not fall out of the sky, like hardware often seems to. That means, you can build it out over the years and make it something like BES 12.x, or you can buy it, like WatchDox. There are no real surprises.
- If you can't make new things fall out of the sky, you can paint them a new color. That is called re-branding. Example: what was once Lotus Notes became IBM Lotus Notes, and then IBM Notes. If "Software is the new BlackBerry", then software gets a new name. Things that were once called x, are now called y. And that means things will be called BlackBerry that were not called BlackBerry before.
- Painting things a different color does not change much but the looks of it. As I said, software moves rather slowly. But it's often the case that perception and reality don't match. BlackBerry is still perceived as a maker of smartphones and a software company that manages those smartphones. And they need to change that. They want to be perceived as a software company that manages all sorts of endpoints, not only their own smartphones, not even foremost their own. The software can do that today. But the public does not know, and the competition is interested in keeping it that way.
The transition is already happening, as you may have noticed on your Android device. This used to be WatchDox.
Here is a little before and after comparison. WatchDox or BlackBerry Workspaces is a DRM scheme that locks away your files.
Speaking to the public first and to press later means something that I haven't figured out yet. We will find out tonight. I hope it's not stupid.
A conversation with Donovan Brown about DevOps and Docker at Microsoft
by Volker Weber
Donovan Brown is the Senior DevOps Program Manager at Microsoft. We talked at the Microsoft Technical Summit 2016 in Darmstadt.
IBM Verse on Premises to ship at the end of the year
by Volker Weber
Just approved shipment of IBM Verse on Premises, planned release on 30 December 2016. #IBM #NewWayToWork #IBMVerse
— Ed Brill (@edbrill) December 7, 2016
I love it when IBM delivers on its promise. And it's not one of those Decembers that has 62 days.
Pebble has left the building
by Volker Weber
Pebble is ceasing all hardware operations. We are no longer manufacturing, promoting, or selling any new products. Active Pebble models in the wild will continue to work. ...
Backers will get refunds for any unfulfilled rewards. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, we were excited to bring Pebble 2, Time 2, and Core to the world. We’ve since shipped every Pebble 2 possible, but can’t say the same for the remaining rewards. Pebble Time 2, Pebble Core, and Pebble Time Round Kickstarter Editions will not go into final production.
Save the date :: 30-DEC-2016
by Volker Weber
Es ist mir wie immer ein Fest. Ich bin da. Und Du?
Mural
by Volker Weber
Mural was a nice discovery at the Microsoft Technical Summit. It does not only work on Surface Hub, but any Windows 10 PC. The app is free but you need a paid subscription.
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Somebody looking for work:
So far, I completed fifteen Notes mail to Exchange/Office 365. Eight using Binary Tree's CMTe and seven using the Quest/Dell's Migrator for Notes to Exchange.
That is quite impressive. However, if I may dispense a piece of advice: that works is eventually going away. Build new skills. MEAN?
Sonos 7 out with two huge improvements
by Volker Weber
I have had no communication* from Sonos on this release, but Sonos 7 is now live in the App Store. And that comes with two huge improvements, one of which is unknown so far.
- You can now play on Sonos from Spotify. That means, right within the Spotify app you can select the Sonos players you want to play on. Nothing goes away. You can still do it from the Sonos app. For controlling your Sonos speakers from the Spotify app you need to set up a connection between your Sonos ID and your Spotify ID. If that process does not trigger, just remove your Spotify account from Sonos and re-add it.
- Trueplay now works with PLAYBAR. It's a two step process, if you have back channels attached. It will first balance the volume on all speakers so that you get to sit in the center of the soundstage. And then it will do the usual wave and measure routine that worked so well with PLAY:1, PLAY:3 and PLAY:5.
Trueplay Tuning has made a huge difference in my living room. That room has eight meters of floor to ceiling windows, which is a nightmare for audio. Year after year it boggles my mind how Sonos improves the products that you already paid for. It's a yardstick for all other consumer electronics companies.
*) I am always extra careful not to spill any secrets. When you go from release to release or beta to release, I already went from beta to the next alpha.
Capt vowe is in the Holodeck #msts2016
by Volker Weber
Photo Franz Mattes
Hololens is everywhere at the Microsoft Technical Summit 2016 in Darmstadt. Partners showcase their ability to write software for the platform. And Microsoft offered me a 30 minute private session with a Hololens.
Hololens is not a peripheral tethered to a powerful PC, unlike the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. Both of them are Virtual Reality Headsets that immerse you in a different world. Hololens is also not a a simple diving goggles style smartphone accessory like the Galaxy Gear or Google Daydream.
Hololens is a self contained computer, complete with motherboard, sensors, cameras. You wear all of that on your head where it sits on an adjustable ring that would barely fit my huge skull. The round glass you see is actually only a visor that wraps around the two screens in front of your eyes. You can see right through them and you are not isolated from the world around you. I was wearing my regular glasses right inside Hololens.
Hololens provides mixed reality instead of virtual reality. Part of what you see is the real world, and it is augmented by a 3D virtual world. Hololens scans the room around you before you begin and it lets you place new objects in this real world. You field of view is surprisingly small, so you need to turn your head a lot to get these objects inside the field of view. You control Hololens by glancing at objects, gestures that "click" them and your voice. There are small speakers above you ears but you can also wear normal earbuds if you need more isolation.
This Hololens gear is only a first model that took many years to develop. I am sure it will get lighter, more powerful, and more robust in the future. But I can see today that the potential is huge. It is hands-free, untethered computer that augments your real world with additional information. Heads-up displays are only a tiny fraction of what Hololens can provide.
You won't be running around on the street with this any time soon. But I can see many applications in the workplace. Just don't let anybody record you when you are wearing it. You look completely silly, when you wave your fingers in front of you to "click" objects. It goes way beyond "Hey Siri".
Microsoft Technical Summit 2016 in Darmstadt #msts2016
by Volker Weber
Der Microsoft Technical Summit hat sich in Darmstadt etabliert. 1300 Teilnehmer, ausverkauft. Und ich habe einige bekannte Gesichter gesehen, die ich vorher nur von IBM-Konferenzen kannte. Und natürlich andere Teilnehmer aus den Vorjahren.
Scott Guthrie war angereist, um im wesentlichen die gleiche Rede wie in New York zu halten. Er hatte sogar das selbe Hemd an:
Und wenn man ein bisschen genauer hinschaut, dann sieht man, er benutzt Google Chrome, Adblock und Spotify:
Morgen gehe ich noch mal hin. Und wer nicht da ist, kann Sessions auch live streamen.
Don't break the chain :: one and a half years
by Volker Weber
One and a half years later I am still doing 600 kcal a day, 30 minutes of exercise and 12 hours of standing up. I missed one day by 3 kcal on the Move goal. That is why the move goal only shows 78 instead of 79 weeks. How Apple gets to 126 perfect weeks from that, I have no idea.
This program has worked out very well for me. I am stronger, thinner and lighter. No Touch Bar though.
Lenovo Yoga 910 looks very convincing
by Volker Weber
Photo: Lenovo
The other day the son of my friend asked me for advice. He had waited all year for a new MacBook Pro to replace his ageing MacBook Air. But he did not like the range that Apple came out with. Too expensive for him. He wanted 512 GB storage and that meant either 2200 or 1940 € with or without the new Touch Bar, plus dongles. I suggested another MacBook Air which he did not like because of the screen res.
Then I suggested the Yoga 910 but warned he would need to use Windows. He said, no problem. He had worked with Windows. And then he looked at the machine and said "this is it". Just like that.
I tried the Yoga 910 only briefly at IFA in Berlin back in September. And I did like it. There is one adjustment necessary. The right shift key is way too small and you will hit the up arrow key initially. But if this is your only computer, you will adjust quickly.
Yoga 910 has two USB Type C port on the left side. And it retains a USB Type A port on the right. In that respect it's a perfect bridge between the present and the future. There is a model with a 4k display coming up, but the HD display will give you much longer battery life.
The display looks kind of weird with almost no bezel at the top and sides and a huge chin at the bottom. This is where the sensors sit, and the webcam. If you video conference and don't want the other party to look up your nose, just turn the device over into the tent configuration.
Photo: Lenovo
This is btw a full unibody metal design. My old Yoga 3 Pro was plastic. It was thinner, it was lighter, it had a higher resolution. But I think that Yoga has improved tremendously with this new machine.
Now I only need one.
BlackBerry December Security Patches
by Volker Weber
Here is my educated guess of what is going to happen in December. First you will see an update for the PRIV, then a few days later for the DTEK60. DTEK50 will receive the November update that was never released, followed by the December update a bit later.
BlackBerry is not communicating about what happened to the DTEK50 November patch. The most likely cause is that they tried to bundle an operating system fix with a security fix and subsequently failed a test.
The bigger problem here is that BlackBerry went dark. When you fail to communicate, everybody assumes the worst.
You may want to turn this off
by Volker Weber
I received two Live Photos today. And they should not have been Live Photos, because nothing was moving in the pictures. What is a Live Photo? It's a short movie that shows what happened right before you shot that frame. You see them when swiping through your photos.
Live photos are really nice when you take pictures of people, pets, or anything that moves quickly. But they come at a cost, besides taking up more storage. Since the camera has to record a live video stream it cannot play out its full potential in low light. Rule of thumb: don't shoot Live Photos at sunset or indoors.
I suggest you turn this feature off. And then turn it on consciously when you want it.
Pebble, it was nice knowing you
by Volker Weber
Pebble booth at IFA 2016
Pebble built the first watch I wanted to wear after having a naked wrist for more than ten years. Charge it once a week, wear it carefree, get notifications from the phone. I loved the original watch. At first I could not use it since I was on Lumias, but when I went iPhone only, Pebble was my companion.
I did not like Pebble Steel in matte black with matching steel band, but eventually the stainless steel model with leather band grew on me. It was always a geek magnet, nothing for the general public.
And then Pebble lost it. First with the Time and Time Steel models. The display was too small, and the colors were so dull that it got blown away by the Apple Watch. The round watch never appealed to me. Pebble lost me.
In 2016 Pebble tried to go back to its roots by running yet another Kickstarter campaign, and essentially osborned all of their Time watches. Pebble had to lay off 25% of staff.
The company has been looking to sell itself for a while. Now it looks like Fitbit will buy them. That makes sense for Fitbit since there is hardly any overlap. And it's the only competitor they can buy. Xiaomi rules at the low end of fitness trackers, Garmin has sports watches, Apple has premium smartwatches. They are all way bigger. Acquiring a smartwatch platform and the talent behind it - for a reasonable price - is a good thing.
Everybody, from Xiaomi to Apple, is heading in the direction of health and fitness. It's a difficult market since fitness bands get quickly abandoned and end up in a drawer. It's the silicon version of the gym membership. You know you are not exercising enough, but you tried.
I expect the Pebble brand to disappear. Fitbit will rebrand the platform and make new devices, again strengthening the health & fitness theme. In a way, it is another proof point that smartwatches do not sell. Many Android Wear vendors passed in 2016, Lenovo Moto will even pass on the Android Wear 2.0 launch in 2017. Samsung has made at least ten different designs in their Gear range, now on Tizen.
There is one company that got it right. They built a smartwatch business the size of Rolex.
