May 2010
Pilots
by Volker Weber
Q: How do you know that there's a pilot at a party?
A: He'll tell you.
[via @pasty_face ]
Wird nochmal knapp mit dem Hardchor
by Volker Weber
Die Franzosen haben aufgeholt.
Kino
by Volker Weber
Ich habe hier seit Monaten zwei Freikarten für's Kino rumhängen und ich kann mich nicht aufrappeln, da hinzugehen. Woran liegt's? Ich mag nicht zwischen Popcorn futternden Mitmenschen sitzen, ich mag mir die grässliche Werbung nicht anschauen, ich mag keine synchronisierten Filme, bei denen Anthony Hopkins, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Jean Reno und Harvey Keitel mit der selben Stimme sprechen.
Wo gibt's denn noch echtes Kino, im Original und ohne Merchandising? Ich mein jetzt, außer zu Hause.
Arthur D. Little on DRM
by Volker Weber
The media debate regarding DRM the past few years has pitted two groups against each other: End users accused of wanting a free lunch (e.g., through file sharing) and content owners who sometimes have been overambitious in building fences around their rights.
Looks like they are missing the largest group. Users who want to buy stuff without being harassed by DRM. Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer.
Garden
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Self-censorship and the iPad
by Volker Weber
When a girl goes to the beach topless, she is going to be arrested? Yes, if in the "land of the free". No, if in Europe (exceptions apply). Completely acceptable behavior here, not so much over there. At the same time, the porn industry pretty much operates out of the San Fernando valley over there.
Which leads us to the Apple App Store. The porn industry is very good at monetizing the two faced world of prudes. In order to prevent that, Apple has set up their censoring process to not allow anything in the App Store, that might taint the public face.
It does not really matter that the iPad is an almost perfect device for porn. Hey, you have a browser, you can watch videos and pictures. What Apple wants to avoid is being part of the process. Otherwise we would see a completely different top 100 list in the App Store. Watch how the iPhone list is dominated by games. I am pretty sure the iPad list would be dominated by porn.
This may look perfectly well to anybody in one particular country, but not necessarily so for countries with different standards. Which leads to the interesting effect that newspapers in Germany can't publish on the iPad what they can easily offer in print.
The solution is simple: write your applications to run on top of Safari, and not as native iPad apps. Google is doing it. The porn industry is doing it. Don't miss the boat.
Remember: you can't show a naked breast on American TV. Unless it is chopped off with a chainsaw. That would not be "porn". It would be violence, which is acceptable. The killing of humans is perfectly safe for TV, the creation of new ones is not. A strange world indeed.
Lena hat gewonnen
by Volker Weber
Mein Geschmack ist offensichtlich nicht so exquisit wie der anderer Zeitgenossen. Mir hat der Vortrag von Lena nämlich gefallen. Sehr charmante Auftritte, selbstbewusst, nicht tiefstapelnd und auch nicht überheblich. Sie hat gewonnen, und ich find's gut.
Wer die letzte Woche noch einmal Revue passieren lassen will, der schaue einfach Niggemeier und Co. Auch sehr entspannt. Ich dachte nicht, dass Stefan Niggemeier so locker ist. Raab und Kerkeling haben ihm allerdings auch seine Grenzen gezeigt. ;-)
10 Tage bis DNUG
by Volker Weber
So, alles geregelt. Am 7. fahre ich zur DNUG-Konferenz nach Berlin. Wer kommt noch?
Wet squirrel
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Photo: vowe
It's late May. Amazon, you can get going.
by Volker Weber
The 2.5 software update for Kindle and Kindle DX is coming soon. We are rolling out the new software update to a limited group of Kindle users and plan a broad release in late May 2010. Check back here for updates on the release schedule.
What is the perfect iPad companion?
by Volker Weber
What it the perfect iPad companion? Hint: it's not the iPhone.
The iPad is basically an iPod touch XXL. Or the other way around: the iPod touch is an iPad nano. They are very similar. No camera, no phone calls. But since it's much bigger, it's going to stay at home much more often. This means, you are going to be fine with Wi-Fi most of the time.
When you do leave home however, you will need to connect via a carrier. That's where the iPad 3G comes in. And where you are asked to pay extra. Not only for the 3G modem, but also for a contract. You would think your carrier would give you an extra SIM for a small one time fee, but instead most carriers would like to sell you an extra contract for the iPad, and you are most likely to not use it that much. Makes perfect sense to the carrier, but not to me.
Since you are likely to carry a mobile phone with you at all times, why can't you just use that to connect? Carriers have invented a new term: tethering. In the olden days you would run a wire from your notebook to your mobile phone and use that as a modem, in more recent times you would use Bluetooth to replace the wire. That however would require the Bluetooth DUN (dial up networking) profile on the iPad, or better yet, the PAN profile (personal area network). That would be low power, easy to setup and very robust.
The carriers don't like that. You might actually use the bandwidth you already paid for. What they do like is to sell you another contract for the iPad. That's why the iPad does not have this capability, same goes for the iPhone.
Things change, when you introduce an Android 2.2 phone to the equation. An uncrippled Android 2.2 phone, that is. It will allow you to create a wireless access point wherever you are. Connect the iPad via Wi-Fi and you are online. Same phone, same SIM, same contract, no extra cost.
The Android phone is not your only option. You might also try any other platform that provides that capability, for instance the Palm webOS devices. However, there is a second reason to go with the Android device: you get access to all the software, Apple would not let you have. Like Wi-Fi finders for instance. Which again is handy for the iPad Wi-Fi.
An iPad runs all iPhone software, an Android 2.2 runs all of the apps in the Adroid Market. And it gives an iPad mobile internet access with no added cost. That's a pretty powerful combination.
Google Buzz for mobile now available on more devices
by Volker Weber
When Buzz launched, it was only available for devices running Android 2.0+ and iPhone. Not any more! Today we’re a releasing an XHTML version of the Buzz website which can be accessed from many other mobile devices, including those running Android pre-2.0, Blackberry, Nokia S60, and Windows Mobile.
And on WebOS. Just type buzz.google.com into your browser.
How To Use Google Wave for Live Blogging
by Volker Weber
I never felt the urge to live blog, here is a good way to do it:
Last month we wrote a short post about using Google Wave for live blogging. Today, during Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook privacy press conference, we decided to put this theory into practice and live blogged the event with Wave. The reaction to our experiment was overwhelmingly positive, so we decided to share how we it up for our live blogging session today.
iPhone Apps von wolbee publishing
by Volker Weber
Bisher gab's schon:
- Baumschule Lorenz von Ehren
- Garage 11 cars '09
- Der Süße Mops - ein Tierbuch
Und seit heute auch:
- IBM - Ideen für den Mittelstand
Die erste Kundenrezension:
Absolut hilfreich - extremely helpful *****
von KS_NOR
Diese App setzt Maßstäbe für die mittelständische Wirtschaft.
Neben verständlichen Darstellungen aktueller wirtschaftlicher Fragestellungen findet man hier Anregungen zu deren Bewältigung sowie Hinweise auf Unternehmen in der Region, die einem dabei helfen.
This Application defines new standards for small and medium businesses.
Besides a comprehensive description of current economic challenges, this app provides hints to overcome them and to find regional partners to support you with that.This Application defines new standards for small and medium businesses.Besides a comprehensive description of current economic challenges, this app provides hints to overcome them and to find regional partners to support you with that.
Klingt irgendwie nach IBM Marketing.
Ladybug Seats
by Volker Weber
Photo: barbera*
Jetzt aber mal schnell für den deutschen Hardchor stimmen
by Volker Weber
So kann das nicht bleiben >
De Passage
by Volker Weber
Photo: Bert K.
Rocks
by Volker Weber
Photo: Tony Armstrong
Erste deutsche Zeitungen auf dem iPad
by Volker Weber
Heute auf #2 der kostenlosen iPad-Progamme, gleich hinter iBooks, Die Welt. Gut gemacht, ein bisschen wie die New York Times. Kostenlos natürlich nur für eine begrenzte Zeit, nämlich einen Monat. Werde ich sie danach bezahlen? Sehr unwahrscheinlich. Die gedruckte Ausgabe nehme ich normalerweise nur im Hotel mit. Die Online-Ausgabe ist nicht schlechter, aber auch die lese ich nur selten.
Vorteil: man kann die Zeitung in einem Rutsch runterladen, übrigens jede Stunde in einer aktuellen Auflage. Wird das reichen, mir ein Abo zu verkaufen? Wohl kaum.
Auch die wunderbare brand eins ist mit einer App gestartet. Eine Ausgabe gibt es kostenlos, dummerweise die vom April und nicht das aktuelle Heft. Jede Ausgabe soll knapp 7 Euro kosten, das sind nur 61 ct weniger als das gedruckte Heft. Das wird noch knapper als Die Welt.
Ein bisschen Frieden
by Volker Weber
First steps with Maemo 5 Version 1.2
by Volker Weber
Instead of waiting for the OTA download, I just went to the Maemo site, grabbed the images and flashed the device. While I encourage you to backup first, all my data was retained through the update process.
I quickly tried a few of the promised updates. Ovi Maps gets a new interface, but it is still only a mapping application, not a navigation one with turn-by-turn instructions.
Nokia added Facebook Chat, but that is actually quite a small change since Maeomo already supported Google Talk and Ovi Chat, both using the Jabber/XMPP protocols. Choices for Chat/VoIP accounts are now Ovi, Skype, Google Talk, Facebook, Jabber (sic) and SIP.
I tried making a couple of video calls with Skype, but they would not work. The other party won't see me, and they can't activate their own camera. No error message on my end. I can turn the front facing camera off and on, but to no avail. So far I have tested Macs and Ubuntu at the other end. Need to try with Windows.
Good Nokia, bad Nokia
by Volker Weber
Good:
Attention Nokia N900 owners: there’s a new software update coming your way this week (UK release today, and global release tomorrow Wednesday, May 26). Version 1.2 (V10.2010.19-1) comes offering a range of enhancements to the already bursting Maemo5 mobile computer.
Bad:
Nokia doesn’t have plans for a full scale commercial MeeGo upgrade on the Nokia N900
Android versions cheatsheet
by Volker Weber
Notice to self. These are the codenames for Android versions:
1.5 Cupcake (that's the one I immediately updated G1 to when I first started using it)
1.6 Donut (as of today, the G1 is still running this version)
2.0 Eclair (Moto Droid launched with this version)
2.1 Eclair (yes, same codename, very small changes, Nexus One launched with this version)
2.2 Froyo (Frozen Yogurt, Nexus One updated, others to follow)
Next up is Gingerbread, in 2H2010. Confirmed so far it will display WebM videos. Gingerbread does not seem to have a version number attached to it yet.
The advances from the 1.0 G1 to 2.2 Nexus One are staggering.
Deutscher iBooks Store started mit alten Schinken
by Volker Weber
Die iBooks App ist sofort #1 im App Store. Schauen wir mal, was es Freitag zu kaufen gibt.
Nokia and Yahoo in strategic partnership
by Volker Weber
From the Nokia press release:
- Nokia will be the exclusive, global provider of Yahoo!'s maps and navigation services, integrating Ovi Maps across Yahoo! properties, branded as "powered by Ovi."
- Yahoo! will become the exclusive, global provider of Nokia's Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat services branded as "Ovi Mail / Ovi Chat powered by Yahoo!"
- Nokia and Yahoo! plan to work on ID federation between their services, beginning by making it easy for people to use their Ovi user IDs across select Yahoo! properties to easily access the online content and services they need.
No word on photo sharing. It would make sense to me if Nokia used Yahoo's Flickr service instead of their own effort.
Ovi Mail is currently running on the same infrastructure as IBM's LotusLive iNotes product, run by the Hong Kong based company Outblaze, whose messaging assets IBM acquired to speed up their LotusLive initiative. With a couple of million accounts gone, they won't be running into any capacity issues soon.
My favorite features in Android 2.2 Froyo
by Volker Weber
Having the update to Android 2.2 available just a few days after Google I/O again makes the Nexus One the best Android phone. These are the two features that make the Nexus One so much better:
- Portable Wi-Fi hotspot: previously I could do this on the Palm Pre Plus, but it now came to the Nexus One as well. A small checkbox, hidden too far away in the settings turns the phone into a Wi-Fi router. Connect the iPad, or any other Wi-Fi device, and boom, you are on the internet baby. No extra Micro-SIM for a 3G iPad ...
- Multiple input languages: available on iPhone and BlackBerry "for ages", I now can switch between English and German by swiping over the space key. Very useful for people who use more than one language.
Is it faster? Don't know. The Nexus One always felt very fast to me. It might be even faster now.
John Paczkowski: Apple Selling More iPads Than Macs
by Volker Weber
Apple is selling more than 200,000 iPads per week. Which means, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky, that sales of the company’s new device have outpaced those of the Mac in the United States and are closing in on those of the iPhone 3GS.
So IBM isn't going to ship pretty Lotus Notes database icons? Big deal.
by Volker Weber
A lot of handwringing now that Lotus is going to catch up with 20 years of graphics development with Notes eight dot five dot two. And will ship the capability to assign pretty database, err application icons, but not a complete icon set that replaces the 90s icons used so far. No icon testing capacity, I hear.
Go ahead and make them yourself, and then share them. Or let IBM make them and share them. Set up an IP clearing process. And a Pretty Notes Icon Design Steering Group. And a chairman for that. And publish the meeting notes. With full transparency. I mean for the icon background.
Things I did not hear at Google I/O 2010
by Volker Weber
I did not particularly enjoy the smugness in Google's keynotes. They'd look better if they did not try to piss on Apple as much as they did. Let people decide what they want. Apple has good stuff. So does Google.
Stuff I missed:
- Google announced Froyo, Android 2.2 (Frozen Yoghurt). They did not say who gets it when. There has to be a plan. Share it.
- They demoed stuff on the iPad, acknowledging that it's a force to reckon. What is Google or a partner planning in this space.
- What's going to happen to the many devices out there on 1.5 or 1.6. I know, it's up to the vendors. Ask them. Share what they say. People on these devices want to see a roadmap.
- If you can swap out software to the SD card, can you fit Froyo into the G1?
And the big one. Why do we need Chrome OS and Android?
Xobni startet Internationalisierung mit deutscher Version
by Volker Weber
San Francisco, USA, 20. Mai 2010 - Xobni, das Unternehmen, das hilft, Kontaktdaten in Microsoft Outlook und auf mobilen Geräten zu finden und zu managen, kündigte heute als erste lokalisierte Version sein Desktop-Produkt auf Deutsch an (http://xobni.de). Xobni gab zudem seine Partnerschaft mit XING, dem populärsten Business-Netzwerk im deutschsprachigen Raum bekannt. Sie ermöglicht Xobni-Anwendern, die XING-Kontaktprofile und Aktualisierungen direkt in der Xobni-Randleiste in Outlook anzeigen zu lassen.
Deutscher iPad App Store ist online
by Volker Weber
While we are trying to rid the world of IE6
by Volker Weber
On the Windows blog:
In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video as well as VP8 video when the user has installed a VP8 codec on Windows.
So, if you bring the codec, IE9 will use it. That does not mean, Microsoft is backing WebM or VP8.
Next up: Apple.
This Google Wave looks promising
by Volker Weber
Google I/O 2010 - is Lotus watching?
by Volker Weber
As I am sitting in my comfy Fatboy watching Google I/O 2010 sessions in HD on my iPad, I wonder, is Lotus watching? Are they realizing how much Lotusphere has to suddenly change?
The session I am currently watching before the conference starts in three hours is one that introduces the App Marketplace. And again, I am thinking, is Lotus watching?
iPhone stand
by Volker Weber
Singapore
by Volker Weber
This is a pretty large picture. If you have a Flickr account, click through.
How to share your Android apps with your friends
by Volker Weber
HTC just announced a new entry level Android phone, the Wildfire. One of the features presented was a way to share your apps. That is actually already available from the Market: App Referer. Point your Android barcode reader here to install it:
App Referer displays a list of your installed apps. Select one and it will give you a multitude of options to tell your friends about it. SMS, E-Mail, Twitter and a QR Code like the one you see above. Your friend could point his barcode reader at your screen to get a link into the Market. Very cool.
[Screenshots at the source]
Putting email in context with Gmail contextual gadgets
by Volker Weber
Since launching the Google Apps Marketplace in March, Google Apps administrators have deployed integrated third party apps to more than one million users, and today we're excited to build on this momentum with the launch of a new Gmail API that lets Marketplace apps present relevant information to users right in Gmail, when they’re reading a message.
Plantronics Offers Call Control for IBM's UC2 Solutions
by Volker Weber
Plantronics improves the Sametime Audio experience and increases business productivity by integrating with Sametime voice, data and video communications providing more productive and collaborative working environments. By offering users a comprehensive range of UC headsets with intelligent remote call control software, a Sametime user can be truly hands-free to easily receive and control calls.
How Sonos PR invents a feature that does not exist
by Volker Weber
This is pretty funny.
The US press release for the Sonos 3.2 update says:
Sonos customers can now customize alarms for different days of the week. Wake up to your favorite radio station on one day and a Pandora station or playlist on another. Set the room, the time and the music for any or every day of the week.
For the UK press release this is translated to:
Sonos customers can now customise alarms for different days of the week. Wake up to your favourite radio station on one day and a Last.fm tag radio on another. Set the room, the time and the music for any or every day of the week.
The reason of course is that Pandora is not available outside the US, while Last.fm tag radio plays in the US, the UK and Germany. The only problem is, the software does not know you can set a Last.fm tag radio as an alarm. The feature simply does not exist.
Thanks to Axel for spotting this mistake.
Gentlemen, update your Sonos software
by Volker Weber
Last week, I started talking about Sonos 3.2. Now it's here. Key features from the press release:
- Crossfading: Customers can create smooth transitions between songs just like the DJs do. You can select the crossfading playback mode from the Now Playing screen for any tracks in your music library, plus select music services including Napster, Last.fm and Deezer.
- S5 Stereo Pair setting: This innovative audio feature allows customers to use two Sonos S5s in the same room with one S5 serving as the left channel and the other as the right channel.
- Japanese and Simplified Chinese language support: Customers using the Sonos Controller for iPhone, the Sonos Controller 200 and the Sonos Controller for Mac or PC can now control Sonos in nine languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Swedish.
- New alarm settings: Sonos customers can now customise alarms for different days of the week. Wake up to your favourite radio station on one day and
a Last.fm tag radio* on another. Set the room, the time and the music for any or every day of the week. - iheartradio: Sonos customers in the U.S. can now enjoy the iheartradio service for free, providing instant, computer-free access to more than 750 of America’s favorite radio stations, including exclusive digital stations like Christina Aguilera Radio, CBGB Radio, Radio Weezer, AT40 with Ryan Seacrest, Jim Rome, Dr. Laura and much, much more.
Get one of your remotes and check for updates. For those without a Sonos: what are you waiting for? The kitchen sink? ;-)
*) Update: you cannot set a Last.fm tag radio as an alarm. It's radio stations and playlists only.
Chrysler moving to hosted Exchange/Sharepoint?
by Volker Weber
John Coolidge writes:
OK Chrysler is moving away from Notes. Moving to a hosted Exchange/Sharepoint environment! Now granted, I have no prior knowledge to this prior than hearing about it today,
Me, neither. And I didn't expect a press release from IBM.
Belkin Leather Sleeve for iPad
by Volker Weber
Everything you carry around, you will drop one day. At least I do. And I dread the day I am going to drop my precccccious, err, my iPad. Since I am sucker for bags, I like to try out different solutions to the problem.
So far my favorite sleeve for the iPad is the Leather Folio from Belkin. Around the house you don't need to use the lid, so you have to fold it back. Time to try out the Belkin Leather Sleeve, which is actually very similar. There are two differences:
- No lid. Makes it less useful on the go, but also less bulky.
- iPad slides in from the top instead of from the left. There is a velcro latch closing this opening, much like a brown envelope.
What I am liking is that the iPad does not slip out of the left side, as it can happen on the Folio, if rotate counter clock wise with the lid folded back. It's a tight fit. What I don't like is that the latch is quite thick, so the back is no longer even. Props it up nicely in portrait mode, but not so nicely in landscape. It also pulls on the top end of the front, as you can see in the other pictures. I expect this to get better when the leather softens up.
Here is a little detail I failed to mention when reviewing the Leather Folio. Both the Folio and a Sleeve don't have hole where the iPad button is, but they have their own button which pushes the iPad button. This is one of those details that set these sleeves apart from lesser ones.
The frame around the display is thick enough to protect the screen if you push the iPad into a bag facing a hard surface. I don't feel as confident about it as I am with the Leather Folio, but it should be ok. I am going to be using both and see what I end up with.
Wie man aus Versehen WLAN-Daten mitschneidet
by Volker Weber
Kristian Köhntopp, unaufgeregt wie immer:
Die Software, die da zur Erfassung der WLAN-Daten geschrieben und betrieben worden ist folgt der Struktur, die die Technik und der WLAN-Standard der IEEE vorgeben. Das Vorgehen, das Google bei der Erfassung der Daten zeigt, ist logisch, vernünftig und in Deutschland illegal (§89 TKG und §202b StGB, wahrscheinlich).
Die Erklärungen, die Google für das Entstehen des Fehlers gegeben hat, sind in im Kontext der Standards und im Vergleich mit anderer Software, die ähnliches leistet, konsistent und schlüssig, der Fehler, der zu dem Problem geführt hat, ist naheliegend.
There is an app for that. Do I want one?
by Volker Weber
Here is an interesting observation: yes, there are apps for the iPad. But in most cases the websites behind them are better. Case in point is Twitterific and Twitter. It's a popular iPhone app, but on the iPad? Most of the time I just use Twitter.com:
More information, clean layout, very quick. The website loads a lot faster than the app. And it has already refreshed its content.
There are quite a few publishers who hope to sell you apps for their content. If they don't stop publishing to their website, and how could they, most of them will be in for a surprise. The iPad is actually quite good without any apps. And without apps, there isn't much of a lock-in from Apple.
Will IBM ever get anything done this tidy for Lotusphere?
by Volker Weber
Point your Android barcode reader here >
Wer hat Angst vorm Butzemann?
by Volker Weber
Was für ein hübsches Beispiel für die deutsche Paranoia. Google fährt also mit Autos durch deutsche Städte, um die Mails von Leuten abzuhören, die zu blöd sind, ein WLAN abzusichern. Also nicht die ganzen Mails, sondern die Pakete die binnen der 0,2 Sekunden zufällig übermittelt wurden, in denen das Auto vorbeifuhr.
Das erinnert mich an das Gerücht, die Buletten in McDonalds-Produkten würden aus Regenwürmern gemacht. Kinder, das ist viel zu aufwändig. Die kann man viel leichter aus Kühen machen. Und Google kann Mails viel leichter lesen, wenn sie wollen. Die speichern nämlich aktuell bis zu 7454 MB für jeden, der ein kostenloses Postfach haben will. Und die haben große dicke SMTP-Server, wo die Daten durchlaufen.
Was will Google eigentlich? Wir sind uns ziemlich sicher, dass das Internet der Zukunft vor allem mobil ist und dass ortsbezogene Dienste eine sehr große Rolle spielen. Und dazu muss man zunächst mal wissen, wo man ist. Gestern habe ich Telmap ausprobiert, das man von O2 geschenkt bekommt. Telmap verlässt sich auf GPS zur Ortsbestimmung. Und das funktioniert lausig schlecht in Städten. Was viel besser funktioniert, ist die Ortung anhand von WLANs. So wie es Google Maps macht. Das Handy übermittelt die WLANs, die es erkennt, an Google und bekommt als Antwort die aktuelle Position. Wie geht das? Mit Skyhook.
Man braucht dazu eine große Datenbank mit HW-Adressen und Geopositionen. Statt die Position, nicht die Daten, bei Skyhook zu kaufen, will Google die Daten nun selbst erfassen, wenn sie sowieso die Häuser abfotografieren. Interessant sind nur die HW-Adresse und der Ort, an dem sie beobachtet wurden. Der Rest ist Datenmüll. Und in diesem Müll können sich tatsächlich auch mal Fragmente von E-Mails, oder wahrscheinlicher, Bilder unbekleideter Damen befinden.
Wer so ein offenes WLAN betreibt, ist nicht so sehr in Gefahr, von Google "abgehört" zu werden, sondern eher von seinem Nachbarn, der ein größeres Interesse daran haben könnte, was man so hinter seinen Gardinen treibt.
Google To Add Tethering, Wifi Hotspot To Android 2.2 Froyo
by Volker Weber
Techcrunch reports:
Froyo will have built in USB tethering so you can share your data connection with your laptop, something Apple and AT&T still haven’t managed to allow in the U.S. And even better: you can turn your Android phone into a portable wifi hotspot as well.
They expect 2.2 to drop as early as next week.
IBM Turns to Software as It Reboots
by Volker Weber
WSJ reports:
The top priority this time for Big Blue—which famously dumped its personal computer business in 2004 to focus on consulting and services—is software. Mr. Palmisano wants that high-margin business to account for about half of the company's pretax profit by 2015, up from just over a third in 2003.
In particular, Mr. Palmisano wants to sell programs that help clients sort through the mountains of data being generated by the growing number of transactions and record keeping that have moved to electronic form. Those programs, called analytics, help retailers dig through real-time sales figures to spot unexpected trends or governments plow through piles of records to more quickly catch welfare fraud or find fire risks.
Dictionary on the iPad
by Volker Weber
This is a feature I love while reading english books. I understand most texts very well, but my vocabulary is not as good as a native speaker. So once in a while I love looking up words I don't understand. I never did this on the Mac which has the same capability, but a couple of times each day when reading a book.
Grün und doof
by Volker Weber
Liebe Post,
ihr seid doof. Und Eure Datenbank ist pillepalle. Die Netgear Deutschland GmbH und ihre Geschäftsführung sind nicht in Darmstadt. Das weiß auch Google. CO2-neutral bedruckt Ihr tote Bäume und schickt Eure "Wichtigen Informationen zur Umsatzsteuer" durch die Gegend. OK, ihr könnt Eure eigenen Briefmarken drucken und Eure unterbezahlte Briefträgerin schleppt den Umschlag bis zu meinem Kasten. Geht alles, wie der Businesskasper sagt, "out of baseline".
Aber wozu? In allen Umschlägen, auf denen "Wichtige Informationen" steht, steckt doch nur Werbung drin. Ganz besonders, wenn da "an die Geschäftsleitung" adressiert wird. Und wenn da ein Umschlag ist mit dem Wort "Antwort" drin steckt, dann kann man den Papiermüll da reinpacken und in einen Eurer gelben Müllkästen entsorgen. Ich schreib jetzt mal drauf "Unbekannt" und schick Euch das zurück.
Wollen wir wetten, dass Ihr das trotzdem nicht lernt? Und in ein paar Wochen wieder so einen Schmarren schickt?
Google Mail: Drag images into messages
by Volker Weber
Recently, we launched a feature that allows you to drag an attachment from your computer right onto Gmail. ... Today we're launching a feature that allows you to drag images from your computer into a message.
Much appreciated.
LotusLive Meetings for iPhone
by Volker Weber
IBM writes:
Lotus knows you are always on-the-go. With a free iTunes download of LotusLive Meetings for iPhone, you can now access LotusLive web meetings from anywhere, at anytime.
LotusLive users can also access Web meetings on the Blackberry smartphone. Click here to learn more. And soon, LotusLive users will be able to access LotusLive Meetings from the Android smart phone and the Apple iPad.
Haven't tried yet it, since I don't use LotusLive for online meetings.
New "Sonos" speakers
by Volker Weber
As I was thinking about the S5 stereo pairs, I just noticed another small change in Sonos' offerings. They dropped their own branded speakers. I always liked them, they were OK, but not really great. I am running one pair in the bedroom and another one in the office, supported by a Yamaha subwoofer, which adds the missing punch.
I was thinking it did not make much sense to buy a ZonePlayer ZP120 and add the Sonos branded speakers, when already one S5 outperforms this setup. If you can pair two S5 players they would fly rings around the ZP120 plus Sonos speakers. What Sonos did now is up the ante. They are recommending (and selling) speakers that promise to be much better than what they used to offer. I have to say "promise" since I have not heard them, and Sonos will be reluctant to send them my way, since nothing great ever leaves the gravity of vowe's magic flying circus. ;-)
So which speakers do they recommend now? It depends on where you live. In North American Sonos offers the Klipsch RB-51 for $389 or for $300 in the bundle:
In Europe Sonos offers the Canton Karat 520 which is even more expensive than the Klipsch: 499 € alone, or 300 € in the bundle:
Both raise the price of a ZP120 plus speakers above the S5 stereo pair. What would you want? Depends if you have power at both speaker locations. Without having heard the new speakers, I would probably get the S5s.
Having said that, the Canton speakers would look really nice in my office. Wink wink.
Upcoming Sonos Software Update 3.2
by Volker Weber
Thank you all for sending me links to Engadget's coverage of the upcoming Sonos update. As you can imagine, this has hardly been news to me. I have been running this software for a couple of weeks, but as these things go, I don't write about them before it's time. Let's just say I am not impressed on how Sonos is handling communications around this software update.
This should be of no concern to Sonos customers. They will soon have a new software release, free of charge, that gives their Sonos installation new capabilities. The most obvious one will be that you can pair two S5 players so that one plays only the left channel and the other one the right channel. On all five speakers of course, using all five amplifiers. It's quite an impressive setup and bound to remove the paint from your wall if you crank it up to eleven. Do you remember I told you quite some time ago, you want two S5 players? This is the reason.
Since I have been given the go ahead on the update, but not when it is going to hit (after all, there could still be an unknown bug to delay the update), here is what is going to happen:
After this update you get a new Sonos ZonePlayer setting which will let you join to S5 zones (only S5!) into one zone:
The two S5 players will show up as one zone as indicated above. Notice that "Garden" has disappeared and "Sun Deck" is now showing "L+R" (in the settings only). This setup is extremely easy, and just requires you to select two players and to press one button on the left player so Sonos knows which one is the left channel. You can set this up in seconds and break it up at any time. You can still use the individual line-in ports as if the players were separate.
That's it for today. There are more new features, but since those have not been disclosed by Sonos, I am not going to leak them here.
PS: Sonos kaufen in Deutschland? Bei Thomas. Nein, ich kriege keine Provision. Die geht auf Euch.
There is an app for that. Not.
by Volker Weber
Funny observation on the iPad. There is not a single app I like to use for Google Reader, Twitter or Facebook. The respective websites are better than all the apps I tried. And I tried only the free ones.
Feeddler RSS was close, but after a week I found out that the free version was just a time-bombed demo version. Tweetdeck would be cool if it weren't so buggy.
Oh, yes, you don't use iPhone apps on the iPad. They just look ridiculous.
Wicked way
by Volker Weber
Now I need to find out why this reminded her of me. :-)
CouchDB: Making it Okay to Work Offline
by Volker Weber
Damien Katz, the creator of CouchDB and CEO of Couchio, is working with the Palm development team to implement further mobile syncing features with Apache CouchDB. At the recent Palm Developer Day conference, Palm announced that the next version of WebOS will include services for syncing locally stored data with a CouchDB non-relational database in the cloud. CouchDB allows database content to be replicated in the cloud and on the edge of the network (mobile devices, smartphones, etc.) so that users always have the latest versions of their data whether online or offline; bringing the data with you no matter where you are. DZone spoke with Katz about CouchDB and what multi-device syncing means for the future of computing.
[Thanks, Jan-Piet]
Facebook-Würmer gibt's jetzt auch in Deutsch
by Volker Weber
Wer Hat Dein Profil Angeschaut
Sigi hat den Freund/die Freundin, der/die Ihr Profil angeschaut hat monitorisiert. Tritt in die Anwendung ein, um die Freunde, die dein Profil angeschaut haben zu sehen und sieh die Liste deiner Freunde, die dein Profil angeschaut haben.
Jeder hat mindestens einen Facebook-Freund ohne Medienkompetenz. Und was der anschauen darf, darf dann auch der Wurm anschauen.
Update: Die Spitzenreiterin heute morgen hat es gleich dreimal nacheinander probiert.
Fifty Two
by Volker Weber
Louis Gray: Why I am Using Google Buzz as An Alternative to Facebook
by Volker Weber
The Internet is a big place, and there are a lot of opportunities for me to find places to spend time. But I am increasingly spending my time in Google Buzz. Google Buzz made sense to me from the first day it was launched, and it continues to improve.
iPad in Deutschland
by Volker Weber
Aus der Apple Pressemitteilung:
iPad Wi-Fi ist in Deutschland als 16GB-Modell für einen Preis von 514 Euro inkl. MwSt., als 32GB-Modell für 614 Euro inkl. MwSt. und als 64GB-Modell für 714 Euro inkl. MwSt. erhältlich. Die Wi-Fi + 3G-Modelle des iPad kosten als 16GB-Modell 614 Euro inkl. MwSt., als 32GB-Modell 714 Euro inkl. MwSt. und als 64GB-Modell 814 Euro inkl. MwSt.. iPad wird über den Apple Store (www.applestore.de), die Apple Retail Stores und ausgewählte Apple Fachhändler vertrieben. Die iBooks App für iPad, die Apples iBookstore enthält wird als kostenloser Download ab dem 28. Mai aus dem App Store bereit stehen.
514 Eur kommt zustande aus 499 Eur (wie in Frankreich) plus 15 Eur Urheberrechtsabgabe. Verdoppelung des Speichers jeweils 100 Eur, plus nochmal 100 Eur für das UMTS-Modul.
Vorbestellung ab Montag, Lieferung in drei Wochen am 28. Mai.
Update 10.5.: Apple hat jetzt rausgefunden, dass die Urhehberrechtsabgabe erst ab 40 GB Speicher anfällt. Abweichend die Preise für die Vorbestellung:
Deployment Guide for Microsoft Office 2010
by Volker Weber
This book covers information about the fundamentals of Deploying Microsoft Office 2010
SEE VVHO HAS VIEVVED YOU is just another variant of the SEE WHO HAS VIEWED YOU Facebook worm
by Volker Weber
Sven liked SEE VVHO HAS VIEVVED YOU on Facebook and suggested you like it too.
Kids, you should learn this one of these days. It's sending itself to all your friends and makes you look stupid.
Garantiert rausgeschmissenes Geld
by Volker Weber
Wer so etwas anbietet, hat keine Ahnung von Pressearbeit.
Belkin Leather Folio for iPad
by Volker Weber
I don't do this very often, but I have an unusually strong recommendation for an iPad sleeve after having tried Apple's rubber sleeve and several Belkin sleeves: you want the Belkin Leather Folio. It's being held close with a wide rubber band that sits inside a groove on the back. When you untie the rubber band it sits on the front. You can just open the folio, or you can fold it back. It won't prop up your iPad like the Apple rubber sleeve, and it is much thicker, but I prefer the touch of soft leather to the rubber. Take a look at the other photos on Flickr that show you all the features.
The Peat Sleeve is OK, the sock is very weird. The Leather Folio is the one I am going to use.
Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia Debuts
by Volker Weber
First deliverable from the Microsoft and Nokia alliance:
REDMOND, Wash., and ESPOO, Finland — May 4, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. and Nokia today launched the first application from their alliance around mobile productivity, Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia devices. This new unified communications client connects directly with a company’s communications systems to streamline mobile collaboration. Owners of a number of Symbian-based Nokia Eseries smartphones can download the English version today from Nokia’s Ovi Store, the easiest place to get content on their Nokia devices.
Very limited device support: Nokia E72 and Nokia E52, and new devices going forward, including the recently announced E5.
John Cleese explains why extremism is good
by Volker Weber
Explains the whole "war on terror", doesn't it?
Trust me, Emily Owen at mywebvideoplayer.com, it is spam
by Volker Weber
Invisible
by Volker Weber
Presenting with iPad
by Volker Weber
Marco promised to send me this adapter which I forgot to order (and cannot get in a store here). Even my trusted PR folks don't have one. If it is delivered in time, I am going to do my next presentation this week from the iPad.
The adapter connects iPad to a secondary display, that does not mirror the primary display. So it only works with very few apps. But that is exactly what I want.
Apple does not nickle & dime you. They $29 you.
SocialScope is getting better, but when will they release?
by Volker Weber
Look Ma, no Flash!
by Volker Weber
I love this ad
by Volker Weber
It is very interesting how this song has evolved. Originally by Billy Joel (1978 in Bremen and 2006 in Tokyo), it is covered here by Fyfe Dangerfield of the Guillemots. The song is on his latest album Fly Yellow Moon.
'Avatar' Blu-rays Have Some Buyers Seeing Red
by Volker Weber
This was to be expected. Excerpt from TheWrap.com:
All they wanted to do was watch some blue-skinned aliens defend their home planet. Yet a number of the millions of people who made "Avatar" a record-breaking Blu-ray seller have been unable to get their discs to take flight.
Retailers have fielded calls from angry customers since the Fox blockbuster hit stores last week.
The problems plaguing James Cameron's science-fiction opus mirror those that crop up every time a tentpole movie hits Blu-ray -- be it "Iron Man" or "The Dark Knight."
The culprit, an individual at Fox told TheWrap, is not the discs, but that certain Blu-ray players need to be upgraded with new firmware
This only hurts paying customers. There are plenty of copies on the Internet that work without an update. Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer.
[Thanks, Oswald]
Facebook "I just sent you a gift"
by Volker Weber
Watch your Facebook wall today for gullible friends. If you receive some random, insignificant gift today from a Facebook friend for no reason at all, it's a worm. Do not send it back. Do not touch it. Carefully hover over the wall post to the right, and then hit the Remove button as it appears.
How to get started with your new iPad
by Volker Weber
The iPad is not yet available in Germany. I got mine through Oliver B., who just attended WES 2010 in Orlando and offered to bring one over. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don't want to rub it in that I have an iPad, and you don't. Yeah, right. Anyway. Here is some information to give you a head start once you get yours. You don't want one? Quit reading. Before I get started, I just want to say it really helps if your data sits in the cloud, and if you already use services like Google Apps, Evernote and Dropbox.
If you have an iPod touch or an iPhone, you know how to start this thing. Hook it up to iTunes. Once you are through that, set up your Wi-Fi and your mail account. If you have your mail, calenders and contacts on Google, just set it up as an Exchange account with m.google.com as your server. Instant push mail and all your data.
Now you have a nice tablet to surf the web. But you want a lot more. I installed 31 apps in two days, and most of them are pretty good.
The iTunes store does not work yet on the device itself, if you want to get your apps with a German account. You can fetch your apps through iTunes on the desktop though. For some apps you currently need a US account. Setting one up is quite easy, but if you want to spend any money on apps, your best choice is a gift card. $50 will do for a while.
There are now three types of apps in the iTunes store: iPhone/iPod apps, iPad apps, and universal iPhone/iPod/iPad apps. Don't bother installing your iPhone/iPod apps, unless you really, really need them. For me, that would be the Sonos remote for instance. Here is what I got for universal apps:
The only must-have is Evernote. IMDb is a huge time sink, since it lets you watch trailers, cross reference actors, etc. Once you start, you can't put it down. Kindle is for, err, it's your second or third Kindle. Very nice app. Google Mobile app is your starting point for all Google service. Google Mail has a special iPad interface. Very well done.
Here are the iPad apps:
There are four paid apps. Keynote, Numbers, Pages, $10 each, and GoodReader. That's the killer app, and it only costs a dollar. Why? It lets you view your documents, and it will connect directly to your servers, and your services. That's right, you can fetch them directly from Google Docs, from Mobile Me, from Dropbox, etc. Don't leave home without it. And then there is is iBooks. You can only download this from the US store, so this is where you need your US account for now.
iBooks will nicely display ePub books, if they are not crippled by DRM. (Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer.) You just throw them into iTunes and the iPad will sync them from there. Good sources for free ePubs are Project Gutenberg and Feedbooks. If you already have un-crippled ebooks, you may want to take a look at Calibre which will convert about everything to ePub. And there is a somewhat hidden secret: Calibre lets you convert online content into ebooks, for instance The New Yorker. For free.
As you can see, most of my other apps are news apps. Some ore good, some won't survive. Feeddler syncs with Google Reader. Twitterific is not terrific, but Tweetdeck isn't working well so far.
And now I have to put this thing down or I won't get any work done today. Oh wait, did I tell you it's a lot simpler to type on than I thought? And yes, the editor-so-refuses-to-give-it-back-award is earned. Why would I even want to give it back? This is not a test unit. It's mine. Shiny. Precccccious.
My American friends, what can you tell me about your iPad?
Darmstadt Kurier on iPad
by Volker Weber
Nice try
by Volker Weber
But one day, I will also fall for one of those phishs. :-(
This just in
by Volker Weber
Twitter has an official Android app now
by Volker Weber
Available now from the Android market ...
What is declining?
by Volker Weber
Ed Brill says:
use of POP/IMAP is declining dramatically in the consumer space
It's only what all the iPhones and Androids use, or the iPads, I mean unless they use Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. It's what the Mac uses when the user sets it up, unless the Mac is talking to an Exchange Server. It's what Ubuntu configures in Evolution, unless ... you get the drift. Ah, yes, I forgot, Windows 7 as well.
You would not want to try that in Notes. POP/IMAP in Notes and Domino are stuck in the last century. They only serve as proof for being "open" and "standards based". But then again, who is going to try that anyway, now that you can talk to a Domino server with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync?
