June 2007
You did it
by Volker Weber
Thank you for helping. Come next year's ILUG conference, it may be good that you are on this list. :-)
Die Dosis macht das Gift
by Volker Weber
Sehr geehrter Herr Weber,
Sie selbst hatten bzw. ein Mitarbeiter aus Ihrem Hause hatte am 29.06.2007 Kontakt mit xxxxxx xxxxxxx aus unserer kaufmännischen Serviceabteilung.
Unsere Mitarbeiter sind ständig bestrebt, ihre Service-Leistungen zu verbessern und legen daher großen Wert auf Ihre Meinung. Sie helfen uns dabei, indem Sie unseren Service unter
http://survey.einsundeins.com/survey.php?survey=nnnnnnnnnnnn&case=nnnnnnnn
bewerten.
Sie benötigen dafür nur ein bis zwei Minuten. Vielen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Ihre 1&1 Internet AG
Danke, der Service war sehr gut. Was mir auf den Sack geht, sind diese automatischen Befragungen. Darf ich auch mal anrufen, ohne hinterher belästigt zu werden? Vielleicht nur alle 100 mal oder so?
Generationswechsel
by Volker Weber
Der kanadische Blackberry-Hersteller Research in Motion (RIM) hat in den vergangenen drei Monaten glänzend verdient. RIM steigerte den Gewinn im ersten Quartal des laufenden Geschäftsjahres laut Mitteilung um 73,2 Prozent auf 223,2 Millionen US-Dollar (165,8 Millionen Euro).
Der PDA-Anbieter Palm hat im Schlussquartal und im gesamten Geschäftsjahr 2006/2007, das zum 31. Mai endete, einen starken Gewinneinbruch erlebt. ... Der Gewinn sackte um 43,4 Prozent auf 15,4 Millionen Dollar ... ab.
Too much SMS exposure
by Volker Weber
Zitat des Tages
by Volker Weber
Allradantrieb bedeutet, dass man dort stecken bleibt, wo der Abschleppwagen nicht hinkommt
Windows Live Folders: 500 MB of free online storage
by Volker Weber
- 500 MB of free online storage, available from any computer with Internet access.
- Create personal, shared, and public folders -- you decide who has access to each folder.
- Folders work well on any Windows or Macintosh computer with Firefox 1.5 or higher, or Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.
This commercial not brought to you by Delta Airlines
by Volker Weber
A quick update on the Nokia smartphones
by Volker Weber
When I explained the differences between the E61i and the E90, I said there are strength and weaknesses in both products. I am keeping both charged and ready to go. It does not really matter which one I grab when I leave home. Having said that, I always take the E90. It is a pleasure to use. I like to play with it when holding it, opening it for almost all actions into Communicator mode, checking email on the outside display when I only have one free hand.
It is simply wonderful, and I don't mind that it is a heavy device. Maybe it's because heavy objects just feel more expensive and worthy than light ones.
I am currently using "Mail for Exchange" to send and receive mail, and it's working well. Not great, but well. Sometimes it loses the connection to the server and I have not figured out why. As with all things Microsoft, a reboot cures that situation. :-)
Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections are gold
by Volker Weber
Both Quickr and Connections went gold and can be downloaded from Partnerworld and Passport. Quickr is available as "Services" for Domino and Portal. The quick installation guide is quite funny since it leaves out a huge part of the flow diagram where you install Portal.
Quickr installs as a "portal server" itself, not on top of one. So in effect you do not have a WebSphere Portal server on WAS, you have a Quickr server on WAS. It's a little more streamlined install, reminiscent of WSE install which was easy. There are more decisions about infrastructure, LDAP, etc. to make and more products to install if you don't want the base install.
The bad news here is that the Quickr portal server is not on top of another portal server, for both licensing and technical reasons. Meaning it's another box if you already have Portal.
Nokia E90: Navigation with Nokia Maps
by Volker Weber
Nokia bought the German company gate5 in August 2006 and supplies the free mapping software smart2go as Nokia Maps with the N95 and the E90. It supports the built-in GPS receiver. You can download the software for other phones (S60 2nd and 3rd Edition and Windows Mobile 5) and use it with an external GPS receiver.
The interesting idea behind this software is that it is an onboard as well as an offboard solution. You can either preload the maps (onboard) via the Nokia Map Loader or download them as you go (offboard). The maps are free, but you pay for turn-by-turn instructions. Depending on the region of the maps you pay between 6.50 Eur for a week, and 100 Eur for 3 years. This is an interesting business model since it lets you travel to different places in the world without worrying too much about maps until you actually need to know your way.
I have currently preloaded all of Germany and have used the three day trial period for the turn-by-turn instructions. Without them you can still plan a route for free. You only need to have a co-pilot who clicks through the instructions and reads them out to you.
The software is very straightforward to use and has some nice options like preventing the screen from going dark either when Maps is in the foreground or during navigation only. It also works both on the internal and the external display of the E90. Recommended.
Nokia Media Transfer is working very well
by Volker Weber
Nokia Media Transfer is a joy to use. You need to tweak it to make it work with Eseries phones, but it does work fantastically. I use the Device Browser all of the time to exchange files between the E90 and the MacBook:
Driver bloatware
by Volker Weber
If there is any reason to not buy HP hardware, it is HP software. If you want to use a more recent HP scanner, you need to install some hundred megabyte of software on your Mac. One of the things it does is to add a background task to your machine that not only takes up 3.7% of your CPU:
It also prevents the system from properly going to sleep. It also does not add itself to the login items as the documentation suggests. It rather creates a new folder inside /Library which contains a program to launch the HP Scanjet Manager at login. Remove that folder and you can still use your scanner. Without the CPU hog in the background.
Corollary: If there is any reason not to buy Microsoft hardware, it is because it only runs under Windows. The LifeChat is a case in point. I am going to shelf it until somebody forces me to use Windows. PCs don't come with decent hardware for internet phone calls so it will come in handy then.
Why you should not accept (or send) e-cards
by Volker Weber
This could be a Notes error message
by Volker Weber
... but it isn't. ;-)
Read before you buy an iPhone
by Volker Weber
Update: This story is bogus. My apologies. If you look at this picture, you can see what appears to be a SIM tray.
The iPhone does not have a (replaceable) SIM.
Yes, that is right. It operates on GSM/EDGE networks, but unlike all other GSM phones, it does not have a replaceable SIM. So how do you use it? You buy it at the store, you take it home, you activate it via iTunes. So you paid $499 or $599 for the phone, you then pay a minimum of $60 per month, plus $36 activation. You are basically paying between $2000 and $6000 over two years, depending on your plan. If you decide to cancel that contract, you pay $175 cancellation fee. The phone then becomes useless until somebody else activates it.
It you take the phone out of the country you can still make phone calls, but only on an AT&T roaming plan. You cannot put your own SIM into the phone.
Now I am waiting for somebody to crack the device open and find the SIM inside. :-)
Good review by Walt Mosberg >
Nokia 770 Internet Tablet for $140
by Volker Weber
The tablet runs on Linux and has a 800x480 touch screen with stylus. Software includes RSS Reader, mail client, Opera browser with Flash player. It plays AAC, MP3, RA (Real Audio), WAV and WMA audio as well as 3GP, AVI, H.263, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, RV (Real Video) video.
Pretty neat toy at $140. It currently sells for 270 Eur ($360) in Germany, and has been superseded by the Nokia 800 selling for 350 Eur.
Cannes Lions
by Volker Weber
Evolution is a very worthy winner of the Grand Prix. Some of the Gold Lions are also pretty intense, for instance The Day You Went To Work. Dangerous Liasons is my favorite. Also do not miss Executive Cow.
Lotus Quickr and Connections Podcasts
by Bruce Elgort
Episode 62 of the Taking Notes podcast covering ILUG 2007, Developer2007 and Admin2007, Collaboration University, Domino Dojo development and Lotus Quickr is now available for download. Lance Spellman of Workflow Studios and Rob Novak of SNAPPS were our special guests for this show.
Episode 63 covers Lotus Connections with Mac Guidera from IBM and will be available later this week is now available.
Podcast downloads range from 1,500-4,200 downloads per show depending on the topic and/or special guest. Thank you to everybody for your support and constructive feedback.
Nokia releases the E61i in the US
by Volker Weber
White Plains, New York - Nokia today announces the availability of Nokia Eseries business devices in the U.S. through a variety of channels, allowing both business and individual users to obtain enterprise-grade dual-mode devices - including the new Nokia E61i and Nokia E65 - in this market.
E61i and E65, but not the E90 so far. Beware that the E65 has a tiny display and no QWERTY keyboard.
Nokia E90: Beautiful theme
by Volker Weber
After I started using the E61i I complained about the default themes in S60. Subsequently I used a couple of the Dots themes, that Nokia has released. The E61i defaulted to the grey one, then I tried the red and finally the blue theme. In the end I came back to the original grey theme.
With the E90 everything has changed for me. I love the default blue Dots theme. It has a darker blue than the one I downloaded for the E61i. The screens are all very readable and I am staying with the default. If you like a color that complements the dark brown body of the E90, you can also download a Dots mocha theme.
Download the themes here: blue, grey, red, mocha
Second life
by Volker Weber
[Thanks, Andrew]
Nokia E90: Sports Tracker
by Volker Weber
I have no idea who would carry an E90 when working out, but the Nokia Sports Tracker is a great tool if you would like to create a KML Track and display it in Google Earth:
The software keeps track of "workouts" with a GPS receiver. It is supported on Nokia S60 3rd edition phones, such as N71, N73, N75, N76, N80, N80ie, N91, N92, N93, N93i, N95, E50, E60, E61, E61i, E62, E65, E70, E90, 3250, 5500 Sport, 6290, 6110 Navigator. It helps if the device has a built-in GPS receiver but you can use any Bluetooth receiver:
You can look at all kinds of statistics on the phone, but if you want to see the track on a map you have to go through Google Earth:
The track also comes in handy if you want to geocode your photos.<
Update: Henrik comments that Sports Tracker does not record date/time stamps. That is at least partially true. The KML file does not have time stamps for the coordinates. The XML track that SportsTracker exports does have time stamps but they are offsets to the track start. This file would first need to be translated into a suitable file for geotagging. I will have to look at this in the future.
Alinghi wins first America's Cup match race
by Volker Weber
This did not look good for Emirates Team New Zealand. SUI 100 seems to be the faster boat.
Besser zu Hause bleiben
by Volker Weber
Heute ist der Tag der rücksichtslosen Idioten. Auf der Autobahn ein BMW-Fahrer in dritter Spur, der sich bei dem Regen nicht schneller als 80 km/h zu fahren traut, die beiden rechten leeren Fahrspuren aber unter seiner Würde ansieht. Dann ein gelber LKW von DHL, in einer Wohnstraße mitten auf der Fahrbahn neben einer zehn Meter langen leeren Parkbucht abgestellt, um drei Pakete auszutragen. Fünfzig Meter weiter ein Servicepartner der Post, der seinen Sprinter ohne Not mitten auf einer Kreuzung abstellt, um seine Briefkästen zu leeren. Und schließlich ein Busfahrer, der eine am Stock heran eilende alte Dame allen Ernstes im strömenden Regen stehen lassen wollte. Als der seine Tür vor ihrer Nase schloss und den linken Blinker setzte, habe ich mich an meine Pflicht als rücksichtsloser Idiot erinnert und bin mit eingeschalteter Warnblinkanlage einfach so lange vor dem Bus stehen geblieben, bis er die Tür wieder aufgemacht hat.
Man muss sich nur anpassen, dann klappt das.
Damien is hooked
by Volker Weber
I've had the Sonos two days and I already want more players.
I told him so. Before you got your fix, you think Sonos is expensive. After, you just want more of them.
How do they get the van out when they are done?
by Volker Weber
[via Paul]
Nokia E90 or E61i?
by Volker Weber
I know some of you guys want a verdict on which phone to get. As it turns out that is actually much easier than I thought. My expectation was that the E90 would simply outclass the E61i in every respect, but that is not the case. Although they share much of the same software, they feel completely different and you will have no problem deciding which one you like. Here are a few not so obvious differences:
- The E61i has a LED indicator, which flashes as new messages arrive. You can configure how long it should flash and for what type of messages (missed calls, sms, email). As an email junkie you want that feature. The E90 can only signal these conditions with a tone or vibrate. It you are out of the room, when a new message arrives, you won't notice when you return. The E90 will just sit there (or be stolen).
- The E90 finally has an automatic keyguard. It can be configured in Menu > Tools > Settings > General > Security > Phone and SIM card > Keypad autolock period. Almost as well hidden as an easter egg. On the E61i you can use a 3rd party utility to get the same thing.
- The E61i has access point groups. However, they are not really supported by any software. I thought they were a good idea, because you could tell the phone to look for your WLAN first and then use cellular when you are not in the office. Nokia probably took a lot of heat for not supporting them, so they are gone from the E90.
- The E90 has a builtin GPS receiver. However you won't initially be able to use it with many 3rd party applications which are hardwired for external GPS receivers. Google Maps Mobile currently does not know about the GPS.
- The E90 supports UMTS/HSDPA with up to 3.6 mbps, the E61 is a regular UMTS device (WCDMA 3GPP Release 99) with up to 384 kbps
- The E61i uses a proprietary POP connector, while the E90 switched to mini-USB. Too bad it cannot charge through this port. At least you can use a 2.5mm headset plug. Would be nice if Nokia took the extra step to provice a 3.5mm jack for regular headsets and charge via USB.
Then there is the obvious one: size. The E90 makes you think of the E61i as "the small one" which is kind of funny since it the largest "candy bar" phone out there. And it has two faces: one is a regular S60 phone with regular phone keypad and a 240x320 screen, the other one almost a subnotebook
with full keyboard and a 800x352 screen, which is just gorgeous if you want to surf the web. You don't need the mobile version of a website. The display will work with most sites just fine (click through for full size):
While the two faces make for a more capable device, it is also somewhat more complicated. If you have only have one free hand while standing in line with a bag in hand, you cannot really use the E90 to its full potential. You'd be much better off with an E61i style device then. Everything is just a little bit easier with the E61i, because there are less options. The camera is a case in point. It does not have all the bells and whistles of the E90 but you can snap a picture much quicker.
The decision gets much easier if you take the price into account: one E90 buys you two E61i. Finally, if you have an E61, stay where you are.
Nokia E90: the perils of testing
by Volker Weber
I was hitting a roadblock with the E90. No matter what I tried, I could not send outgoing mails via Direct Push. After trying all sorts of settings, including changing network connections I was ready to conclude that Direct Push would not work with the device. But I was completely wrong. I only needed to fix something completely unrelated to the phone to make it work. Here is the story.
I started noticing that I could receive messages just fine, but that all outgoing messages would sit in the outbox this evening. Since I had not had much outgoing mail today, I could not remember whether I had successfully sent any messages before. The first check was the Mail for Exchange log: there it was - message discarded. Then I watched the phone connect to the server. Incoming messages all fine, deleted spam messages all fine, outgoing message: failure. Changed a lot of settings. Failure. Removed the component, downloaded component from Nokia, reinstalled, downloaded three days worth of messages. Failure. Dang.
If all else fails, go back to something that worked. So I removed my SIM from the E90, put it back into the E61i, booted it up, wrote an outgoing message. Failure. Hah! It could not possibly be the E90, if the E61i failed as well.
The root cause for the failure was not the software. I simply was over quota on my managed account. It would still allow me to receive messages, but not to send any. So I removed old messages, emptied the spam and trash folders, and everything is working just fine.
It's always the cable.
STFUs of the day
by Volker Weber
#1:
Hallo, Mein Name ist Alexander Rjanow. Ich bin Direktor der Konsultantsgesellschaft "SIDCON", die auf den professionellen Beraterservice auf dem Gebiet des Business und der Leitung sich spezialisiert: ... Treten Sie bitte in Verbindung mit uns per E-Mail fuer folgende Information SIDCONdir@aol.com
#2:
Hey, I really enjoyed reading some of your blogs (though I must admit my German is a bit rusty). I thought that sometimes adding a poll to a blog here and there would definitely be a cool addition to your site. Come check out AirHead's new poll widget!
Nokia E90: First impressions
by Volker Weber
Here is quick write-up of the first few hours with the E90. You will find plenty of feature reviews, so let's just cut to the impressions and not the boring facts.
Even if you are accustomed to using large smartphones, you cannot help but classify the E90 as huge. Reminds me of this scene:
[Dundee is threatened by a mugger with a switchblade]
Sue Charlton: Mick, give him your wallet.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: What for?
Sue Charlton: He's got a knife.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: [chuckling] That's not a knife.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: [Dundee draws a large Bowie knife]
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: *That's* a knife.
[Dundee slashes the teen mugger's jacket. He and his friends run away]
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Just kids having fun. You alright?
Sue Charlton: I'm always all right when I'm with you Dundee.
Like a Bowie knife, there really is no proper way to carry this thing in your clothes. The E61 fits in a short pocket (flat, wide) or in the inside pocket of a jacket. I can fit it in my (baggy) pants. The E90 however is going to draw some jokes (Are you happy to see me, or is that a Communicator in your pocket?). Definitely bigger than the 9300 but smaller than the 9500. And quite heavy at 210 g.
Once you get over the sheer size, it is a beauty. The case is not black but a very dark brown. The metal hinges look sturdy, but I don't want to test them. All the wires run through them, so there is no concealed ribbon like the 9300 had. Is it fast? Well, sort of. Much much faster than the 9300, but faster than the E61i? No, not really. I would call it fast enough.
What have I done so far? Downloaded the iSync plugin from Nokia, added the E90 to the trusted Bluetooth devices on my Mac, synced all calendars and contacts to the phone, set up the internet connection so I can use it as a modem. Installed Mail for Exchange and configured my hosted Exchange account. Put the device into Direct Push mode. Took a few photos and was really underwhelmed. The E61 has the inferior camera, but it works much better. Maybe I need to practice a little bit.
I also tried to use the barcode reader which uses the camera, and tried my luck with the navigation software. So far I have been unable to get a GPS fix. This is not as good as SirfSTAR III receiver, not by a wide margin.
The keyboard is wonderful. Only to be used with both hands, but very easy to type on. The screen is just a beauty. The resolution does not fit this margin, so you have to click through to see the full screenshots:
Alternative links for people without a Flickr account: message and full screen browser.
[To be continued ...]
Flickr relaxing the filter for German users somewhat
by Volker Weber
German users are now able to view "moderate" pictures but not "restricted" ones. A step in the right direction but not good enough.
The Eagle90 has landed
by Volker Weber
Receive box from DHL. Unpack. Wow. More later. Have to play.
Ten four ten
by Volker Weber
Klasse Spielzeug: TubeStick
by Volker Weber
Heute hatte ich was in der Post, was richtig Spaß macht. TubeStick sieht ähnlich aus wie ein iPod Shuffle der ersten Generation. Kleine Stabantenne hinten dran, Software "The Tube" installiert, und schon empfange ich DVB-T, wo immer ich will, respektive dort, wo es DVB-T gibt. Also hier zum Beispiel. :-)
Die Antenne hat einen Magnetfuß, hält also an vielen Flächen, u.a. auf dem Autodach. Die Software scannt automatisch nach Sendern und kann mehrere Senderlisten für unterschiedliche Standorte speichern. Das ist wichtig, wenn man mal woanders TV empfangen will, ohne alles umzuprogrammieren.
Während man eine Sendung schaut, schreibt The Tube das empfangene Programm in einen Puffer. Deshalb kann man beliebig zurück springen oder das Programm mal eben anhalten. Wenn man eine Sendung mag, dann kann man sie auch später aufzeichnen und The Tube bedient sich einfach aus dem Puffer. Aufgezeichnete Sendungen kann die Software nach iTunes exportieren, so dass man sie auch auf Apple TV oder dem iPod anschauen kann. The Tube kann Aufzeichnungen auch als DV exportieren, so dass man mit iMovie die Werbung rausschneiden und das Ergebnis danach mit iDVD brennen kann.
Der eigentliche Hammer ist der Preis: 40 Euro für den TubeStick, die Antenne, die Software. Und zur Einführung gibt es dazu noch Media Central, das alleine schon 30 Euro kostet.
Netgear startet ReadyNAS-Verkauf
by Volker Weber
Drei Konfigurationen hat die RND4000-Reihe:
- RND4425: 4x 250 GB
- RND4250: 2x 500 GB
- RND4450: 4x 500 GB
Die Listenpreise ab 1200 Euro klingen wenig sexy. Bei Cyberport geht es aber bereits ab 899 los.
Your CEO buys an iPhone. What is your next move?
by Volker Weber
As I was discussing integration between Microsoft products and various other offerings today, I suddenly had this thought:
You run an IT shop in a medium business. For the sake of argument let's assume you are running Notes 7 and are getting ready to move to Notes 8. Next week, your CEO is going to buy an iPhone. And he will demand you support its applications, foremost mail and calendaring.
What do you do?
Microsoft Bounty
by Volker Weber
Apple battery claims
by Volker Weber
Apple claims in a press release:
iPhone will feature up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback.*
* All Battery claims are dependent upon network configuration and many other factors; actual results may vary. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.
Compare this to the MacBook specs:
55-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 6 hours of battery life
Real life battery performance on the MacBook is up to half of that claim. You may want to adjust the iPhone specs accordingly.
Reifen platt
by Volker Weber
Das habe ich mir heute Abend nach acht Uhr in den Reifen gefahren und gleich dreimal Glück gehabt:
- Die Kette hat schön laut am Schutzblech geschlagen, so dass ich den Plattfuß sofort bemerkt habe.
- Keine fünf Minuten später kommt ein Freund mit seiner Gold Wing vorbei. Und hat Tirefit im Kofferraum.
- Der Händler um die Ecke war noch da und hat den Roller gleich in die Werkstatt genommen.
Morgen früh wird der Reifen bestellt. Am Mittwoch fährt die Vespa wieder. Und da ich am Dienstag sowieso bei Microsoft bin, werde ich den Roller nicht mal so sehr vermissen.
Na, dann weiß ich ja bescheid
by Volker Weber
Und was soll ich jetzt machen? Nochmal buchen klappt auch nicht.
What is Skype trying to tell me?
by Volker Weber
I think it means, that I am not on Gregory's buddylist. Or that Skype thinks I am not on his buddylist. ;-)
Eine kleine Nachlese
by Volker Weber
Die DNUG-Konferenz ist vorüber, und es ist vielleicht an der Zeit, ein paar Worte darüber zu verlieren. Wie sich mancher vielleicht erinnert, habe ich mich vorher zweimal dazu geäußert: am 1. März habe ich gefragt, ob es denn überhaupt eine gemeinsame Veranstaltung von IBM und DNUG gibt, und am 20. April habe ich noch einmal nachgefasst.
Diese beiden Postings sind bei der DNUG anscheinend im falschen Hals gelandet. Deshalb will ich einmal erklären, worum es mir eigentlich ging. Eine Konferenz braucht einen ziemlich langen Vorlauf, um überhaupt zu einer Agenda zu kommen. Und ohne Agenda fällt es sehr schwer, die Konferenz auch zu verkaufen. Je kürzer die Zeit zwischen Agenda und Beginn der Konferenz, desto schwieriger wird es, eine ausreichend große Zahl von Teilnehmern zu bekommen. Meine Vermutung Anfang März war, dass IBM nicht so recht in die Puschen kommt und deshalb nur 100 Tage vor der Konferenz noch gar nicht klar war, wie die Veranstaltung aussehen wird. Mein erstes Posting diente nur dazu, einmal öffentlich das Glöckchen zu läuten.
Nachdem sich diese Zeitspanne halbiert hatte, war ich ziemlich besorgt, dass das überhaupt noch etwas wird. Also habe ich noch mal geläutet. 50 Tage sind brutal kurz, und das Ergebnis war entsprechend. Erst wenige Tage vor der Konferenz kamen die Mailings hier an.
Der Vergleich, den ich mit der ILUG-Konferenz gemacht habe, hinkt an vielen Stellen. Die DNUG hat ein ganz anderes Geschäftsmodell und eine andere Dimension. Die ILUG-Konferenz ist ein einmaliges Ereignis, während die DNUG ein ganzjähriges Programm mit Arbeitsgruppen, regionalen Treffen und zwei Konferenzen bietet. Die DNUG hat fest angestellte Mitarbeiter und muss sich über Mitgliedsbeiträge und die Konferenzen finanzieren, während die ILUG-Konferenz nur ein überschaubares Konferenzbudget glattstellen muss. Während die DNUG ein (bisher) funktionierendes Geschäft betreibt, funktioniert die ILUG nur durch eine brutale Selbstausbeutung von zwei plus vier Organisatoren. Tanker vs. Ruderboot.
Auf dem Tanker ist jedoch die Hektik ausgebrochen. Man diskutiert über Namensänderungen, aus Dresden habe ich auch von schwierigen Abstimmungen gehört (man wählt so lange, bis es passt). Ich kann das durchaus verstehen, weil das Engagement natürlich um so größer ist, je dichter man das Messer am Hals hat. Eine Parabel: Warum hat der Fuchs den Hasen nicht gefangen? Der Fuchs rannte um sein Mittagessen, der Hase um sein Leben.
Abseits aller organisatorischen Belange liegt die Lösung meiner Ansicht nach klar auf der Hand: Es sind die Vorträge. Eine Konferenz funktioniert immer dann, wenn über Dinge gesprochen wird, die Menschen hören wollen. Alles andere ist nur Beiwerk. Man kann in zwei Tagen nur ca 15 Vorträge hören. Und die müssen passen. Es ist völlig egal, wie viele parallele Tracks ich nicht höre. Das einzige, was zählt, sind die, die ich hören konnte.
An dieser Stelle hat ILUG geglänzt. Meiner Ansicht nach hat das mehr gebracht als zwei Tage Lotusphere. Ohne lange Anreise, ohne lange Märsche zwischen Vortragsräumen, mit kurzen Pausen ging es Schlag auf Schlag mit den Besten der Besten. Den Teilnehmern hat es gefallen.
Wie es auf der DNUG war, weiß ich nicht. Ich war zum ersten Mal seit zehn Jahren nicht da.
HTML entity lookup widget
by Volker Weber
Ben has found a great Dashboard widget for HTML coders. Installed!
What is this?
by Volker Weber
The freedom to leave
by Volker Weber
Here is one feature on LinkedIn I have been missing from openBC/XING: export all your contacts to a vcard file. I have been adding new connections on LinkedIn within the last two weeks, and it is slowly turning into a very good address book.
Being able to export all my contacts into one file is something I call "freedom to leave". I feel much more comfortable with a database if I am able to download its content and take it elsewhere.
Here is my profile. Link to it if I forgot you.
Nokia E90 coming up
by Volker Weber
The E61i has won the battle against all other smartphones at vowe's magic flying circus. But there may be a new Sheriff in town soon. Nokia is going to send me the E90, which is the biggest honking smartphone on the market. At 210 g it weighs even more than the E61i (150 g), a Pearl is only 90 g. But it has very, very impressive specs, for instance two transflective displays with 800 x 352 and 240 x 320 pixels resolution, 3G with 3.6 Mbps HSDPA, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, and the list goes on ...
As usual, it will take a couple of weeks to deliver, but I am very much looking forward to it.
Update on Flickr filters
by Volker Weber
It looks like my speculation about distributing porn to minors was right on the money. Yahoo is trying to protect the people in their German office. They probably couldn't care less if they did not have those people on the line.
It is all about §184 StGB, which prohibits the distribution of porn to minors, punishable with up to one year in prison. It is also pretty clear, that Yahoo has two problems:
- Yahoo has no working age verification system.
- Yahoo has no means to identify pictures which qualify as porn.
Their only available option is to lock everybody out of everything that could potentially qualify as porn. The collateral damage is huge.
It is a solution we have seen before: treat every passenger and every visitor as a potential terrorist.
Synced
by Volker Weber
Treffer, versenkt
by Volker Weber
Täglich kommen hier Dutzende von Pressemitteilungen an. Manche belanglos, manche routiniert, manche interessant. Und ab und zu eine gut gemeinte, oder besser eine schlecht gemachte. Beispiel gefällig?
Fehler #1: Die Mail geht an die falsche Adresse.
Fehler #2: Der Betreff ist total nichtsagend. Ich habe keine Ahnung, wer Mapsolute ist und warum mich eine Pressemitteilung von denen interessieren könnte.
Fehler #3: Der Empfänger wird nicht persönlich angesprochen.
Fehler #4: Die ersten beiden Zeilen der Mail enthalten zweimal die Betreffzeile, jeweils leicht paraphrasiert.
Fehler #5: Jetzt erst kommt der eigentliche Betreff, aufgespaltet in zwei Zeilen. Dann ist die Mail schon zu Ende und schließt mit dem Pressekontakt. (hier entfernt)
Fehler #6: Der eigentliche Inhalt steckt in einem Attachment. Attachments werden immer erst dann geöffnet, wenn man hinreichend neugierig ist. Das ist definitiv nicht der Fall.
Fehler #7: Das Attachment ist im .doc-Format. Viele Redakteure öffnen niemals eine unverlangt zugesandte Office-Datei.
Wir machen mal eine Ausnahme:
Fehler #8: Rechtschreibung und Zeichensetzung sind miserabel.
Fehler #9: "Dabei bedeutet ...". Wobei?
Fehler #10: Die Word-Datei enthält ein möglicherweise brauchbares Bild. Allerdings nicht als Bild, sondern eben eingebettet in eine Word-Datei und nicht als brauchbare Datei.
Is Flickr filtering pictures and for whom?
by Volker Weber
There is quite a commotion going on about Flickr filtering pictures for users from Germany, and a few other countries. People are rallying behind a protest and asking me to join. I'd be happy to do that. However, I cannot verify the alleged censoring.
My Yahoo profile contains a German address and I am still able to see all pictures.
I don't know why it would make sense for Yahoo to censor "unsafe" pictures for all German visitors. We do have a law* against providing pornography to minors, but adults are fair game. Maybe Flickr is filtering pictures for visitors where they are not sure if they are dealing with adults? I have no idea.
Is there any official statement from Flickr about this issue? I really don't want to participate in a witch hunt.
*) A "wardrobe malfunction" is a non-issue here. We are more concerned with violence than nudity.
Twelve hours downtime
by Volker Weber
From my inbox:
The planned upgrade of Lotus Connections for Partners to the Lotus Connections Beta 2 level of code has been rescheduled for tomorrow, June 14th. It will begin approximately at 8am EST. The team will also be doing some routine maintenance on the environment; therefore, we expect the site to be back up by 8pm EST after all associated work has been performed
Upgrade from beta 1 to beta 2. Some routine maintenance. 12 hours.
Can you turn Office 2004 Test Drive into the full version by entering your serial?
by Volker Weber
Ute's sister just bought a MacBook. She also bought Microsoft Office 2004, but I told her to just use the installed test drive and register it with her Office key. That may have been a bad advice since I have no idea where you can enter the number. My regular install asked me for it, but I cannot find a way to enter it into the test drive version.
Is is at all possible to register the test drive version or do you have to install Office again?
Domino Admin in Safari 3
by Volker Weber
The Gumzman sent me this screenshot. Apparently Domino Web Admin runs inside Safari 3. This is not a supported (read: tested) configuration, but while Safari 2 still has issues, Safari 3 is able to run the Web Admin application.
Putting the fun back into Nokia business
by Volker Weber
About a dozen years ago I had a discussion with a client who wanted to have Solitaire removed from his OS/2 workstations. At the time I thought this was a stupid idea, because Solitaire teaches computer novices how to use a mouse. I does take a few hours of training until you can easily grab things with a mouse. Anyway, the client wanted to have it removed since games had no place in business.
You can see this again today. Nokia makes two lines of smartphones: the E-series and the N-series. The E-series is for business, the N-series for fun. They both run on the same operating software, but they are marketed to different audiences.
Nokia apparently thinks that blogging has no place in business, so you cannot use Lifeblog with the E-series, although some of those have full keyboards and would be well suited. Games also have no place in business, so the E61i comes without any.
And now Nokia has released Nokia Media Transfer for the Mac, which does really neat things like replicating music from iTunes or exchanging photos with iPhoto. But it only runs with N-series phones. Luckily this can be easily changed using profiles provided by users. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Media Transfer to the E61i:
"Hello everyone, I'm Steve Jobs"
by Volker Weber
[via Leo]
Approaching 75%
by Volker Weber
We are slowly inching towards 75% on Eileens fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland.
A couple of interesting observations:
- Those, who gave big money for Eileen's and Paul's gifts, gave again.
- Some of those who did not even make it to Dublin are thanking with their money nevertheless.
- Those who insisted a free conference is a free conference ignored this campaign as well.
- The other organizers gave their "drinking money", Paul his Malta trip.
- Eileen still has no idea why we are doing this.
Well, I can help her with the last one. ILUG 08 will be huge. And there is no way that Paul can pull this off without a real manager. So we need to make sure that Eileen has no way saying no, when Paul asks her for help.
How does that sound for an evil master plan?
Week numbers in Notes 8
by Volker Weber
A few weeks ago there was a discussion in the beta forum about a Notes 7 feature that went missing from Notes 8 beta: week numbers in the calendar. A few days later John Lance, the calendar designer, stated "Week numbers will not, unfortunately, be in Notes 8. We do realize how important they are, and we are working very, very hard to get them into the 8.01 release."
As I had learned (not from him) John Lance actually tried to tell development this feature was necessary about 6 months ago.
So I asked "Do you use week numbers?" Lots of good comments, then a poll which resulted in 69% saying they did indeed use them. Chris wrote a piece asking "Does Lotus have a death wish?"
As you can imagine, there was quite a flurry of emails going back and forth in IBM.
[Time passes]
Now, Ed Brill has good news.
[No, we can't do that with every feature you would like to have in Notes 8. The date for the ship party has already been set. It appears to be in August. :-)]
Dialup access in Italy
by Volker Weber
A friend of ours is going to Italy in a week from now to stay at his house in Pettenasco at Lago d'Orta. He has a phone line, but so far has had no Internet access. He will take along a notebook computer with a regular modem, but he has no plans to get a DSL line.
How do I get him online?
Are there any dialup providers in Italy, which just charge through the phone bill without requiring a contract with monthly fees? I heard that Fastweb provides free dialup services, where you just pay the local call, but I am unable to find the information I need on their website.
Can anyone of my Italian readers help? I would need the number to dial from Pettenasco and the login credentials to set up in Windows.
Zu dumm zum Spammen
by Volker Weber
Ladungsfähige Adresse beim NIC.
SuperNTF
by Bruce Elgort
Kevin Pettitt has released a beta version of his "SuperNTF" template on OpenNTF. SuperNTF is a Lotus Notes Client application framework built from the ground up with the goal of making development best practice easy for both novice and experienced Lotus Notes developers. The template allows developers to easily take advantage of tricky Notes features such as soft deletions, integrated help, and document locking, as well as advanced customizations like user activity and field change tracking, configuration, error logging, and exporting.
Several other OpenNTF projects and Code Bin submissions were used in the construction of SuperNTF, making this project a true "child of OpenNTF". Some of the code was also taken from or inspired by some of the databases and templates that ship with Notes, including DDM (Domino Domain Monitoring), Notes Help, and Mail. Many other features were drawn from or inspired by members of the Domino Community, including the many bloggers who have participated in the "Show-n-Tell Thursday" phenomenon.
I have worked closely with Kevin on this project and I am happy to see the beta release out in the wild. Kevin, Vince and I demonstrated SuperNTF at ILUG 2007 and it was well received in the two OpenNTF sessions we gave.
Too funny
by Volker Weber
Albanians love the POTUS. But they love his wristwatch even more. It gets nabbed between :54 and :58. Check it out.
Update: According to The Register, the White House has denied reports that his wristwatch was stolen:
The White House has denied reports that enthusiastic Albanians greeted President Bush to their sun-kissed land by swiping his wristwatch. ... A White House spokesman simply said: "The President took his watch off."
Are they just habitual liars? About absolutely everything?
Watch the WWDC 2007 Keynote Address
by Bruce Elgort
Anyone at WWDC?
by Volker Weber
If you get the Leopard beta, send me the green backdrop.
Update: Thank you! :-)
Sonos plays tracks from iTunes Plus
by Volker Weber
Lukas asked me the other day about Sonos and the tracks he purchased from the iTunes store. My answer was twofold:
- If you purchase iTunes Plus tracks without DRM, then Sonos will play them just nicely. It does not matter that they are 256 kb/s AAC instead of MP3. As you can see in the specs, Sonos plays MP3, WMA, AAC (MPEG 4), Ogg Vorbis, Audible (Format 4), Apple Lossless, Flac (Lossless) as well as uncompressed WAV and AIFF.
- You have to rid the iTunes tracks you already purchased from the crippling DRM that makes them unusable. There are two ways to do that. Either you can upgrade them to iTunes Plus, which is currently only possible with the EMI repertoire. Or you burn them to CD and rip them back in.
Here is proof that the track above playing on Sonos is indeed an iTunes Plus track:
Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer.
One More Thing™
by Volker Weber
Now this is going to be interesting. Apple brings Safari to Windows. This should help the browser's market share.
Update für die deutschen Leser: Safari hat einen dicken Lokalisierungsfehler. Einfach im Safari-Verzeichnis en.lproj in de.lproj umbenennen und English.lproj in German.lproj. Schon klappt das auch mit der Darstellung. Ohne die lproj fehlt der halbe Browser.
Vorher:
C:\Programme\Safari\CFNetwork.resources\English.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\CoreFoundation.resources\en.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\PubSub.resources\English.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\Safari.resources\en.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\WebKit.resources\en.lproj
Nachher:
C:\Programme\Safari\CFNetwork.resources\German.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\CoreFoundation.resources\de.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\PubSub.resources\German.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\Safari.resources\de.lproj
C:\Programme\Safari\WebKit.resources\de.lproj
Quote of the day
by Volker Weber
Leopard shipping in October. Basic Version, $129. Premium Version, $129. Business Version, $129, Enterprise Version, $129. Ultimate version, $129. It's all the same... most people are gonna buy the Ultimate Version.
— Steve Jobs
Treo 680 in the house
by Volker Weber
After having used the Nokia E61i for a couple of weeks, I was a bit shocked when I set up the Palm 680 that came in the mail today. What a fat mother. It's not heavier than the Nokia, and it is not bigger. It's just not as thin.
Essentially the 680 is like the 650 with the antenna stub removed. Same body material, same screen, more memory, new phone application. It is by no means a "must update" from a 650.
Having used the 750 for a while there are a few things I noticed immediately, apart from the better screen resolution on the 680:
- The keyboard layout is different. On the 680 the top row buttons make and break calls. On Windows they are reserved as soft keys and make/break go to the second row. The 680 layout is better for the phone application. The menu button however is in the lower right hand corner, which is the worst possible location for a right-handed person.
- The smooth surface of the 750 body feels at least 100 Euro more expensive. Well, actually it is. :-)
- Palm OS feels a lot more complicated than Windows Mobile. Want to hear that again? Palm OS feels a lot more complicated than Windows Mobile. There you have it. The Treo has far too many "home screens". There are five in the phone application, one in the calendar, and the launcher. Some of the application are slimmer than on Windows Mobile. Calendar and Contacts for instance. But the overall integration is worse.
- Pocket Outlook beats VersaMail when browsing messages. In Pocket Outlook you just hit left and right. In VersaMail you first have to move the cursor to the top bar and then hit the right or left arrow with the Navigator. Pocket Outlook does not let me mark all messages as read, while VersaMail can do that.
- The 680 has a standard SD slot, which is much better than the Mini SD (not MicroSD) in the 750.
VersaMail let me set up ActiveSync with the Exchange Server but so far new messages are not pushed down to the device. Need to install this update.
More as I test TomTom on the 680.
Sicherheitstheater
by Volker Weber
Ich hoffe wirklich, dass dieser Quatsch bald wirklich aufhört:
Die Beschränkung, maximal 100 Milliliter Flüssigkeit pro Behälter mit an Bord zu nehmen zu dürfen, sowie die geplante Beschränkung der Handgepäckgröße seien nicht praktikabel, hieß es.
Laut ADV fallen täglich in Deutschland bis zu sieben Tonnen Flüssigkeiten an den Kontrollstellen an, pro Woche werde ein Warenwert von zwei Millionen Euro vernichtet - ohne dass daraus ein erkennbarer Zugewinn an Sicherheit entstehe.
Man kann heute nicht mal mehr eine Flasche Wasser mitnehmen und ist auf den "Service" an Bord, der einem nach einer Stunde Flugzeit 0.1 l Cola hinstellt, angewiesen. Innerhalb Deutschlands fliege ich ohnehin nur im Notfall, aber nach Irland ging es nicht anders. Da darf man aktuell seine Tube Zahnpasta im Plastiktütchen vorzeigen.
Die Amis überdrehen die Schraube derzeit ohnehin: nicht nur alle Fingerabdrücke soll man nun abliefern, sondern auch noch 48 Stunden vorher alle möglichen Fragen beantworten. Damit haben sich Transatlantik-Flüge für mich erstmal erledigt.
Mike Rhodin on social software in the enterprise
by Volker Weber
Last week there was a Lotus Executive Panel (audio replay here) which was designed to give a midyear update on the progress Lotus is making on the Lotusphere announcements. Nothing surprising, but some good statements. I particularly liked Mike Rhodin's statement on social software in the enterprise:
The sound quality is very bad at only 16 kb/s, so in order to crop the audio to this quote, I needed an editor which does not encode the file again, losing even more quality. The best one I could find was not the ubiquitous Audacity but MP3 Trimmer. It gives you a very nice way to set the in and out point and then saves the file without re-encoding:
Bubble Breaker
by Volker Weber
Bubble Breakers (here on Windows Mobile) is about as addicting as Mine Sweeper. It's best played before you go to sleep. It wears you down completely, so you fall asleep in 10 seconds flat. Does anybody have this game for Symbian Series 60? It's the only thing I am missing right now.
SteveNote coming up
by Volker Weber
Photo: Mathieu Thouvenin
Monday at 10 AM Pacific (19:00 CEST) Steve Jobs will deliver one of this famous keynotes at the WWDC 07 in San Francisco. Unfortunately, Apple has stopped broadcasting them a few years ago. The best live coverage is usually available on the macrumorslive.com IRC channel. Mac users should download Colloquy and point it to #macrumors on irc.macrumorslive.com.
Frankly, I do not expect any surprises. Steve may provide an update on the iPhone, but then it's Leopard, Leopard, Leopard. OK, maybe one more thing. :-)
Update: Here is the Bullshit Bingo game, that goes with it. [Merci, Claude.]
Collaborative online mind mapping
by Volker Weber
Last week Andreas sent me a link to MindMeister, which lets you create and edit mind maps online. The service imports from FreeMind and MindManager.
There is one free version and a paid version for 50 US$ a year. Check out the differences here. The most important one seems to me that only the paid version exports your maps to FreeMind and MindManager.
c't kaufen
by Volker Weber
Es ist eine Zeit lang her, dass ich einen längeren Artikel für die c't geschrieben habe. Normalerweise macht mir heise online mehr Spaß. Aber im Heft 13 sind fünf Seiten von mir über mobile E-Mail (S. 98). Wer morgen mit dem Zug fahren muss, mag vielleicht eine kaufen. Steht noch mehr drin. :-)
Apropos morgen: Mike wird nicht dort sein, Ed und Rocky auch nicht. Und auch ich bleibe diesmal zu Hause. Danke allen, die gefragt haben. Aber die Entscheidung ist gefallen.
Nokia E61i software updates
by Volker Weber
I downloaded and tested a few software updates today: Mail for Exchange 1.6 and BlackBerry Connect 4.0.
Mail for Exchange 1.6 was an easy one. Download, transfer to phone, install, works. Very uneventful. The new version includes support for Nokia E90, adds a few new features and fixes a number of bugs. Please check the release notes. It is still missing a feature I am waiting for: support for access point groups.
BBC 4.0 could have been exciting. It has a number of important enhancements for BES customers, including OTA contacts sync and OTA enterprise activation. However, I could not get it to work with BIS. I was able to register PIN and IMEI. I did receive the CMIME service book, but I could neither receive nor send messages. Maybe I should have waited another 30 minutes. At least I was able to connect, with the Vodafone SIM. With the O2 USIM it tried to connect but failed. As every device since 4.2.1 came out.
"Oh, we changed the way we read the USIM in 4.2.1". That is what the engineer said at CeBIT. RIM knows about the problem, but it does not look like they are going to fix it. I am getting a bit wary of this. Simplicity wins for me. And that is currently MS Direct Push.
Bush in Rome, or "Looks like they forgot to fill her up"
by Volker Weber
[Thanks, Pieterjan]
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye
by Volker Weber
Edit text, check spelling, count words
by Volker Weber
Bean is a rich text editor, with many niceties added to make writing convenient, efficient and comfortable. It is, to use a horrible cliché, Text Edit on steroids. Bean uses Apple's very cool NSText object to do most of what it does, but it adds live word count (thanks Keith!) and the ability to adjust printed margins. Lots of other bells and whistles too (see Features below). MS Word, OpenOffice, etc. try to be all things to all people. But sometimes you just want the right tool for the job. That is the niche where Bean lives.
Bean is all I really need when writing manuscripts. But since I have Microsoft Word, and it works so well for me, I will probably continue to use it. And if it is only for the grammar check. But Bean is tempting ...
Gerne groß
by Volker Weber
Irgendwie sind wir hier umzingelt: Groß-Gerau, Groß-Umstadt, Groß-Zimmern. Ob die wirklich gerne groß wären?
Naja, Klein-Gerau, Klein-Umstadt und Klein-Zimmern gibt's auch. Oder besser klein-gerau, klein-umstadt und klein-zimmern?
Listen up
by Volker Weber
Bill Gates speaking in Harvard.
[via Tom]
VoweWiki to be decommissioned
by Volker Weber
Over the weekend I will be shutting down VoweWiki. If there is anything of interest for you, please copy it now. Next week it will be gone.
The root cause for the shutdown is abuse by spammers. The wiki is not used enough to justify the maintenance effort to keep the scumbags out.
Quote of the day
by Volker Weber
Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places.
— E. Joseph Crossman
Thanks, Andrew.
AbsofBEEPinglutely awesome
by Volker Weber
Can I have a transcript please? :-)
[via Alex]
New poll: who wins the America's Cup?
by Volker Weber
Who wins the America's Cup?
- Alinghi
- Emirates Team New Zealand
- No idea
Wundermaschine
by Volker Weber
Überhaupt sollte jeder Mann so eine Maschine haben. Vielen Dank, Alex.
Totalschaden einer Kundengewinnung
by Volker Weber
In Darmstadt gibt es zwei Vespa-Händler. Beim einen haben wir im Laufe der Jahre zwei Vespas gekauft. Auch wenn der Laden sehr kompetent ist, hat mir der etwas harsche Umgangston dort nicht gefallen. Nach dem Diebstahl (und dem Wiederfinden) war nun eine Reparatur fällig und ich wollte nun dem anderen eine Chance geben, einen neuen Kunden zu gewinnen. Und das ging für diesen Händler ziemlich in die Hose.
Geklaut wurde der Roller zwischen Mittwoch 20 Uhr und Donnerstag 15 Uhr, wahrscheinlich in der Nacht. Bei der Polizei haben wir das um 16 Uhr angezeigt und um 17 Uhr haben wir den Roller wiedergefunden. Er war so schwer beschädigt, dass ich ihn nicht fahren konnte. Den Händler habe ich Freitag informiert und am Samstag hat er den Roller geholt. Am darauf folgenden Montag habe ich mich erkundigt und der Händler meinte, das sei ein wirtschaftlicher Totalschaden. Wiederbeschaffungswert 775 Euro, Rahmen müsse getauscht werden. Reparatur bestimmt 1000 Euro. Die Versicherung schickte einen Gutachter. Der stellte einen Restwert von 975 Euro fest und Reparaturkosten in Höhe von 1475 Euro.
Letzten Samstag sind wir dann zu dem Händler gegangen, um eine Lösung zu finden. Dabei hat er versucht, uns den Roller madig zu machen. Der Gutachter habe nicht genug Arbeitszeit aufgeschrieben. Das würde noch mal 200 Euro mehr kosten. Und überhaupt, er würde damit nicht mehr fahren. Wenn da was an der Lenkung wäre. Nein, das mache wirtschaftlich alles keinen Sinn. Den alten Roller könne ein Bekannter in Zahlung nehmen. Für 250 Euro. Woher er den Preis wisse? Der Bekannte habe den Roller schon gesehen und das angeboten. Eine Telefonnummer habe er nicht. Der Bekannte käme ab und zu und vorbei. Kann der Bekannte denn vielleicht anrufen? Ja, aber es kann sein, dass der erst in zwei Wochen wieder vorbei komme ...
Riecht hier jemand was? 250 Euro für eine Vespa in perfektem Pflegezustand mit 3400 km?
Ich habe das Gespräch freundlich beendet und mir Bedenkzeit erbeten. Vorgestern bin ich dann zu einem echten Handwerker gegangen. Ich hielt den Roller noch für unfahrbar und schlug vor, er solle den Händler am Dienstag aufsuchen und, falls er sich die Reparatur zutraue, solle er den Roller gleich mitnehmen. In der Mittagspause hinterließ ich entsprechende Instruktionen auf dem Anrufbeantworter des Händlers. Zwei Stunden später ein Anruf. Der Abholer müsse aber fünfzig Euro für die bisher angefallen Arbeiten berappen. Ich schlug statt dessen vor, dass ich diesen Betrag bezahlen würde. Das müsse ich aber tun, bevor der Roller abgeholt würde, sonst könne er ihn nicht herausgeben. Ich sparte mir die Diskussion, ob man ein Fahrzeug zur Geisel nehmen dürfe und schlug vor, dass ich umgehend zum Bezahlen komme.
Auf meine Frage, ob der Roller denn fahrbar wäre, meinte der Händler, er sei auseinander gebaut. Erst auf insistierendes Nachfragen hieß es, ja er sei fahrbar. Nun, wo erkennbar wurde, dass dieses Fell wohl wegschwimmen würde, war der Händler wieder sehr kooperativ. Nach dem Kassieren der 50 Euro und Ausstellen einer Quittung, half er mir, alles provisorisch zusammenzuschrauben, eine Sicherung zu ersetzen und erklärte mir die Bedienung ohne Zündschlüssel.
Mit dem Handwerker ging das dann ganz schnell. Ersatzteile für 45 Euro, kompetent geliefert aus dem großen Ersatzteilbestand des anderen Vespa-Händlers, gut angelegte 175 Euro Arbeitszeit, und heute fährt der Roller wieder. Jetzt warte ich noch auf zwei Karosserieteile für zusammen 40 Euro und das Abenteuer ist beendet. Das macht dann Summa Summarum 50 + 45 + 175 + 40 = 310 Euro. So schnell macht man aus einem wirtschaftlichen Totalschaden eine wunderbar funktionierende Vespa.
Bis letzten Samstag hat der Händler alles richtig gemacht. Er hat die richtigen Vorarbeiten gemacht, mit dem Sachverständigen gesprochen und sich seine 50 Euro verdient. Aber dann ist er zu gierig geworden. Er hätte ein ehrliches Angebot für den Ankauf der kaputten Vespa machen können, er hätte eine faire Reparatur anbieten können. Statt dessen hat er Reparaturkosten weiter hochgeschraubt und die Nummer mit dem telefonlosen Aufkäufer abgezogen.
Der Handwerker meinte nur: "Was glauben Sie, wie oft der mit so was durchkommt?"
NZL 92 beats ITA 95 five to nil
by Volker Weber
This went much smoother for Emirates Team New Zealand than I expected. 5:0 is pretty depressing for Luna Rossa. Let's hope that Alinghi can defend the Auld Mug.
Best Firefox shortcut ever
by Volker Weber
Command-T opens a new tab in Firefox. But as I just learned, Command-Shift-T opens the tab you just accidentally closed. I don't know how often that shortcut would have saved my ... you know what it would have saved. Awesome.
Agendasetting per Pflasterstein
by Volker Weber
Nico trifft den Nagel auf den Kopf:
Ich frage mich, wieviele Pflastersteine noch geworfen werden müssen, bis sog. linke Gruppen endlich realisieren, dass ihre Duldung des schwarzen Blocks und ihre hanebüchenen Erklärungs- und Rechtvertigungsversuche der Daseinsberechtigung eines schwarzen Blocks bei Demos einzig und allein dazu beitragen, dass das eigene Anliegen völlig ins Hintertreffen gerät. Da werden wohl noch etliche Kilometer abgedeckter Bürgersteige ins Land gehen, bis diese Erkenntnis bei den Demo-Veranstaltern durchsickert.
Macho computing
by Volker Weber
Tom has a firewall for women.
Want an iPhone?
by Volker Weber
Here are some ideas to get one.
iTunes Plus marks your music. So what?
by Volker Weber
A few people have sent me links to stories reporting that the iTunes store is adding people's names and email addresses to the music they purchase, probably assuming that I am against this practice.
Well, I am not.
Adding your name to the stuff you purchase is the ultimate personalization. It says, this stuff is mine. iTunes does not even try to hide the information. You can see it in the Info dialog.
What I am opposed to is restrictions what you can do with the stuff you buy. There are technical restrictions as imposed by DRM. And there are license restrictions which look very stupid at first sight. "You must not use this track as a ring tone" comes to mind.
You still don't like the fact that your iTunes tracks are marked? Convert them to MP3 and be done with it.
Two people, same place
by Volker Weber
In Dublin I discussed this picture with Duffbert. Somehow he looks taller than her. Select your viewpoint and framing carefully. :-)
Linked In
by Volker Weber
Just added a few people I met at ILUG in Dublin. Feel free to add me, if I missed you. My network on XING is much larger however:
Candid camera
by Volker Weber
Apple is ramping up for the iPhone
by Volker Weber
DNUG in Dresden
by Volker Weber
In einer Woche ist es soweit: Die DNUG richtet ihre Frühjahrskonferenz in Dresden aus. Und sie hat eine gute Idee übernommen: Hier gibt es die die Agenda als iCal-Datei, fertig für den Import in Lotus Notes und andere Programme. Am Montag gibt es die IBM FUTUREINSIGHT, gebührenfrei inclusive Keynotes von Ken Bisconti, Kevin Cavanaugh und Ron Sebastian, sowie Jumpstart Sessions und Zugang zum IBM Experts' Lab. Alternativ kann man auch die gesamte Konferenz mit 60 Sessions bis einschließlich Mittwoch buchen.
Ich habe letzte Woche entschieden, dass ich diese Konferenz ausfallen lasse. Das hat vor allem damit zu tun, dass ich mich dieses Mal nicht nützlich machen kann. Vorträge habe ich in den letzten Wochen genug gehört und ein Update von IBM kriege ich auch schon am Dienstag. Einige Leute haben mich gefragt, ob ich kommen werde und ich habe das bisher noch offen gelassen. Tut mir leid, wenn ich Euch enttäusche.
TomTom kostenlos für Treo-Käufer
by Volker Weber
Wer ein Treo 680 oder 750(v) seit dem 7. Mai gekauft hat oder bis Ende Juni kauft, erhält von Palm kostenlos ein Navigationspaket:
Plug & Go-Erweiterungskarte mit TomTom® NAVIGATOR 6 und Karten von Deutschland, der Schweiz und Österreich, Bluetooth® GPS-Empfänger, Docking-Station für das Auto und Autoadapter für Smartphone und GPS-Empfänger.
Vielleicht ist das meine Gelegenheit, mal ein 680 zu testen.
Sonos says: feed me!
by Volker Weber
Heiko was right. On heavy rotation now. I know Klassik Lounge is not cheap. But it's also very good.
Reality distortion field
by Volker Weber
Steve Jobs at D5: Bill built the first software company, in the industry. And, I think he built the first software company before anybody really in our industry knew what a software company was, except for these guys. And that was huge. That was really huge.
Quick reality check: Microsoft was founded in 1975. SAP was founded in 1972.
