May 2011
Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote now on the iPhone
by Volker Weber
Apple has published the 1.4 versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote as universal apps for iPhone and iPad. My presentations imported well. Now I need to find out how to present directly from the iPhone. Best case would be that the VGA adapter works.
Update: And that's exactly what it does. Connect the VGA dongle I have always used for the iPad and I get the presenter display on the iPhone 4 screen and the current slide on the beamer:
That's a whole new dimension of "travel light".
First Symbian Anna phones, now shipping
by Volker Weber
The first Nokia phones featuring Symbian Anna, the Nokia E6 and Nokia X7, are now shipping
So far, so good.
And fear not Nokia N8, E7, C7 and C6 fans - Symbian Anna will be available for you in the coming months.
I am sure all your customers will be so patient.
Darren Adams is still cool
by Volker Weber
It's old news already, but I can confirm that I have resigned from IBM and departed.
— Darren Adams
Looks like he did not get a raise.
Danny MacAskill plays Capetown
by Volker Weber
Carving the mountains
by Volker Weber
Ein treuer Reisebegleiter
by Volker Weber
Wenn ich ins Ausland reise, dann ist der BlackBerry mein Fallschirm: zuverlässig, minimales Datenvolumen. Auch in Deutschland nehme ich den BlackBerry mit. Der kommt am besten mit der lausig schlechten Mobilfunkabdeckung auf Bahnstrecken zurecht.
Nicht als Fallschirm, sondern als Flugzeug bin ich diesen Mai mit einem iPad 2 auf Achse gewesen. Und ich habe nicht einmal ein Notebook vermisst. Zwei Verbesserungen gegenüber dem ersten iPad sind hängengeblieben:
- Wenn man den VGA-Adapter anschließt, wird der Bildschirm des iPad gespiegelt. Damit kann man nicht nur Keynote, Photos und Videos anzeigen, sondern alles, was auf dem iPad läuft. (Keynote zeigt aber weiterhin das Presenter Display.)
- Das Smart Cover ist ein Hit. Chic und funktionell.
Die anderen Verbesserungen des iPad habe ich nicht wahrgenommen. Die Kameras sind peinlich schlecht, Facetime funktioniert ebenfalls schlechter als mit dem iPhone 4. Ob es schneller als das "alte" iPad ist, merkt man nicht. Den HDMI-Adapter konnte ich ebenfalls nicht benutzen, weil ich nur über VGA präsentieren konnte.
Ich reise gerne mit wenig Gepäck*. Wegen des dünnen Covers brauchen iPad 2 plus Kindle weniger Platz als das iPad. Die Kamera im iPhone 4 genügt meinen Ansprüchen, so dass ich kein weiteres Gerät brauche. Wenn man mit dem iPad auch noch "normal" telefonieren könnte und die iPad-Kamera besser wäre, dann hätte ich nicht mal das iPhone gebraucht. So perfekt das iPad 2 ist, es muss ja noch was für #3 zu wünschen übrig sein.
Das iPad 2 hält sich übrigens sicherer in der Hand und es liegt auch besser auf dem Tisch, weil es keine konvexe Rückseite hat. Dafür fühlt sich das Original einen Tick solider an. Das rote Leder war übrigens eine gute Wahl. Die Cover werden schmutzig bekommen Patina und das funktioniert mit rot sehr gut.
* Sagt der Hotelportier: "Haben Sie Ihr Gepack aufgegeben?" - "Nein, ich habe nur diese Tasche".
Offline Gmail not working with Chrome Browser
by Volker Weber
As we move the Gmail Offline capability to a Chrome web app, we will deprecate the Google Gears-based Gmail Offline. This coincides with the version 12 release of the Google Chrome browser which no longer supports Gears (Gears blogpost). As a result, Google Gears-based Gmail Offline will no longer work with the Chrome browser as of Tuesday May 24, 2011. Google Gears-based Gmail Offline will continue to work in versions of Internet Explorer 8 and Mozilla Firefox versions 3.6.
Looks like the Chrome team is faster than the Gmail team.
Returning the BlackBerry PlayBook
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
I have had the PlayBook for a week now, and today it's going back for the next person to test it. No editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award although I did like it much more than I was expecting. You have to have a BlackBerry. And even then, BlackBerry Bridge isn't perfect. I have had issues reconnecting. Bluetooth is not as robust as you would like it to be.
It's an impressive media device. The display is crystal clear and I was able to play everything but .mkv containers. The stereo speakers are much better than any of the other tablets, and the cameras are certainly good enough (unlike the iPad 2 cameras). I like the UI. It's both pretty and powerful. It reminds me a lot of webOS; same gestures for switching between apps and stopping those you don't need.
And yet, the PlayBook does not have a snowball's chance in hell to replace my iPad 2. It's the software I am missing.
Introducing the Gmail people widget
by Volker Weber
Email is just as much about the people you communicate with as it is what you communicate about. We think it can be helpful to view relevant information in context, which is why over the next two weeks we’re rolling out a new people widget located on the right hand side of your messages. The people widget surfaces content from friends, family and colleagues that is already available to you but may be hard to find and makes it easier to connect with them.
Hey You! What Song are you Listening to?
by Volker Weber
The OpenNTF boat race
by Volker Weber
You probably heard the corporate boat race joke before (1 person rowing and 8 people steering), if not then Google is your friend. A week ago, I was at DNUG, and once again met Niklas Heidloff. He is the one person rowing. And it's working much better, since the other eight persons got a bit tired of steering. I said that, not Niklas.
Anyway, if you like OpenNTF, Niklas is the person who deserves the credit.
Microsoft announces details of Windows Phone Mango
by Volker Weber
REDMOND, United States – Today Microsoft has announced the key new ingredients of the latest ‘Mango’ release of the Windows Phone operating system. This is the software that will be used on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device, and so should be of keen interest to Nokia-watchers everywhere.
Kaspersky: Android ist das neue Windows | heise mobil
by Volker Weber
Laut den Experten hat Android ein echtes Sicherheitsproblem: Die schwerfällige Updatepolitik der Hardware-Hersteller, unzureichende Kontrollmaßnahmen im Market und nachlässige Anwender machen Daten auf Android-Smartphones zur leichten Beute.
Webmink: GagaGate, DRM and How To Cripple The Cloud
by Volker Weber
I think that’s the answer. My hunch is that the GagaGate meltdown is all the fault of DRM. Rather than just adding a pointer to a shared file to the Cloud Drive, Amazon are required by the record company to create a unique copy of the file for every customer, watermarked to show who bought it. What’s more, the unique copy includes at least one MD5 hash that has to be computed on a per-file basis. So Amazon has both an enormous computing task and potentially an enormous storage bill (assuming it doesn’t just compute the watermark on the fly).
Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer vendor.
Google Apps: Summarize your data with pivot tables
by Volker Weber
I missed this last week:
Starting today, we're rolling out pivot tables in Google spreadsheets. Pivot tables make it easy to process and summarize large data sets in seconds.
Das unmagische Amazon Kindle
by Volker Weber
Darauf soll ich Texte lesen? Ja was denn, bitteschön? Okay, es gibt viele Bücher und eine kleine Hand voll schlecht aufbereiteter Zeitungen fürs Kindle. Den unerschöpflichen Ozean an tollen Informations- und Unterhaltungsquellen im Netz ignoriert das Gerät ohne guten Grund aber komplett.
Da vergleicht jemand einen Hammer mit einem Schweizer Taschenmesser. Der Hammer schneidet schlecht, man kann keine Schrauben reindrehen und Weinflaschen muss man den Hals abschlagen, weil man den Korken nicht rauskriegt.
Der Kindle ist das derzeit beste Lesegerät. Es funktioniert überall, lenkt nicht ab, ist robust und leicht. Passt in die Manteltasche, und lässt sich ohne Zögern einfach irgendwo reinquacken.
Ich habe Kindle und iPad. So wie ich einen Hammer und ein Schweizer Taschenmesser besitze.
Odd PlayBook screens
by Volker Weber
I like the PlayBook UI. Flicking from the touch sensitive border lets you switch apps and bring up the menu very easily. It gives you great control over which apps are running. As you can see in screen above, there are still some glitches like disappearing icons, but those should eventually be ironed out.
Switching from landscape to portrait also does not work perfectly yet. Lots of apps only work in landscape, which is the preferred way to hold the device anyway.
Landscape is good for watching movies and reading web pages, but it requires quite a bit of scrolling. If you switch this around to portrait, you get a very long window that isn't really readable:
Like other widescreen devices, the PlayBook feels odd when held in portrait mode. Maybe that's why Apple chose 4:3 for the iPad?
What I am not happy with is UI consistency across apps. PlayBook developers will need guidance from RIM to get this right.
Another odd screen. Who can explain this error?
What are you doing with your BlackBerry PlayBook?
by Volker Weber
So you went to BlackBerry World and came back with a spanking new BlackBerry PlayBook. How are you using it? What exactly are you doing with it?
I am asking because I have a PlayBook that I am keeping for a week*. I have installed BlackBerry Bridge, so I can look at stuff that's on my BlackBerry. I could also tether it for mobile Internet access, but I don't want to task the data budget on the BlackBerry. So I connect via Wi-Fi, if necessary through an iPhone Personal Hotspot.
I don't have the full package. Just a naked device, a neoprene sleeve and a standard issue BlackBerry charger, not the PlayBook charger. No other dongles that would allow me to hook up a TV or beamer. I have downloaded and installed the FaceBook app. I have also watched a few short movies on the device that I copied over USB.
Frankly, I am a bit underwhelmed. So I am looking for reasons not to use iPad. What are you doing with this thing?
Here are a few must haves, that it does not have: Evernote, Dropbox, decent Twitter client, capable Facebook client. The BlackBerry is actually much better at Facebook and Twitter. The PlayBook would not even alert me of anything going on these platforms.
So far the PlayBook feels a bit like the Nokia N900. Without a phone.
*) No editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award.
Delivereads for your Kindle
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Now look at this
by Volker Weber
You have to register to download an analyst report, but IBM Communities are wide open. Not much going on, but odd nevertheless.
Jule hat 'ne neue Platte
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
BlackBerry PlayBook: First Impressions
by Volker Weber
It's been eight months and countless "presentations" since the Church of PlayBook. And yet, the first thing the PlayBook did today was install an update. This is hot stuff. RIM is still forging the software.
Executive summary: It's a powerful little device. If you are welded to your BlackBerry, you may want to have a PlayBook. The integration between both devices works really well. If your carrier and your admin let you install BlackBerry Bridge. What does it do? Play media, surf the web, show you business content from your BlackBerry. That's about it. There is a Facebook client less powerful than the one on your BlackBerry and there is no third party software you would want to have. This might change in future ...
The user interface is very familiar to anyone who has ever touched webOS. Swipe from the bottom to get all running apps in a stream of cards. Swipe a card to the top of the screen and the app closes. Different: swipe from the top to open a menu, and swipe left or right to switch apps without going into card mode.
Launching an app is similar to BlackBerry 6. You get multiple panels (All, Favorites, Media, Games, Bridge) which you can open to find more than the top six apps. You can also tap the icons in the top status bar to get further info, here: battery charge.
I like the weather app from Accuweather that is pre-installed on the device.
Transferring media files between Mac and PlayBook was also quite easy. You install the Device Manager right from the device when you first connect it via USB.
Then you can connect the PlayBook via USB. Device Manager establishes a network connection over than interface. You can also use Wi-Fi to connect to the PlayBook. Once again, a network connection. PlayBook lets you protect the share with a password.
Photos: vowe
Bridge installed
by Volker Weber
Playing with the book tomorrow. This has been the longest foreplay ever.
Getting better ...
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Miratech: "We skim on an iPad and we actually read on paper"
by Volker Weber
Our study analyzes the differences between iPad and newspaper reading patterns. We asked a representative sample of participants to read similar information from a printed newspaper first, and then from its iPad version.
I would think that a Kindle would render results similar to a paper.
Quote of the day
by Volker Weber
If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have said "a faster horse"
— Henry Ford
Jammin'
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
From my inbox
by Volker Weber
Ich konnte den Einsatz des iPhones aus Sicherheitsgründen in unserem Unternehmen verhindern.
Ich halte das nicht für eine Erfolgsmeldung.
Cloud computing
by Volker Weber
We are a monitoring company and are monitoring hundreds of cardiac patients at home. We were unable to see their ECG signals since 21st of April.
Why the iPad 2 is indeed better
by Volker Weber
As I am using the iPad 2 I don't find many good reasons to upgrade from an original iPad. Just the other day I discovered a significant one: when you hook up the VGA connector that was available for the original iPad to the iPad 2, it mirrors the internal display to the second screen. This is advertised for the HDMI connector, but I wasn't aware that this also works through the VGA connector. And VGA is the connector you need to use in most presentations.
So far I had only used Keynote, Videos and Photos to display content through a beamer. The iPad 2 allows me to also demo applications as they run on the device. Here's your reason to upgrade.
Eins plus mit Sternchen
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Was für ein Brett
by Volker Weber
Man muss Raab nicht leiden können, um diese Performance genießen zu können. Vor 1:41 geht es gar nicht richtig los. Und ab 4:00 wird es großes Kino. Nicht vor 4:40 abschalten! ;-)
Check your status
by Volker Weber
I read this passive-aggressive "status" every morning. Because Alan is almost at the top of the list. On top of Angelina Jolie. Reading further down the list I see mostly outdated nonsense. People preparing for events months ago, "cool" statements, ads for a software they once tested (imo.im anyone?). Check your status. You are probably embarrassing yourself.
There is one exception. Thomas Meyer of Sonos often has a good status, telling his colleagues where he currently is. "SB" for "Santa Barbara" for instance. Without any "mayor" nonsense.
Ovi is dead. Long live Nokia.
by Volker Weber
Starting with first services on some of the new Nokia devices in July and August, Ovi services will be rebranded as Nokia services in a transition expected to continue into 2012. Each of the services under the Ovi umbrella will simply be rebranded as Nokia, with no planned disruption to the service roadmaps.
Surprise surprise. There is an actual announcement. And they are not calling it Nokia Mobile Solutions.
There is nothing special about "enterprise"
by Volker Weber
Big companies, IBM likes to call them "enterprise", are often run like China. Build a great firewall around them, and impose strict rules within. They are slow to adapt, and like large ships, they can take on a lot of water before getting in trouble.
The people who work in those places have a private life as well, or so do we hope. And these days, they are much more advanced at home than at work. Much like kids who can educate their teachers about the Internet, they have adopted way faster than their "enterprise".
The real fun starts when the experts of collaboration venture out into consumer space and find themselves behind the herd.
Just in time for this week's journey: new Moby album is out
by Volker Weber
teezeh has the book.
Paul Simon And A Moment Of Pure Sobbing Joy
by Volker Weber
What a great emotional moment to kick off the week. Paul Simon invites a fan on stage to play "Duncan".
From Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps
by Volker Weber
From Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps A Google Apps migration is difficult, costly, time-consuming, and virtually unsupported by Google -- so why do it?
Das Apfelbrett Pro
by Volker Weber
IBM Exceptional Web Experience Conference 2011
by Volker Weber
An Exceptional Web Experience is achieved when the intended users' expectations have been met - or better yet - exceeded. This annual event is dedicated to helping organizations learn how to keep pace with the expanding, and ever increasing, Web-savvy user.
I wonder who the intended users of IBM's own website are.
A smart cover
by Volker Weber
I have been using an iPad 2 with a smart cover for a while now, and much to my surprise, the cover is my favorite new feature compared to the original iPad. I never liked the original black "scuba" folio offered by Apple, though it turned out to be the best choice for the iPad. But it was very hard to get the iPad in and out.
The new cover folds back when the iPad is in use, it covers the front when not, without ever coming off. It switches the iPad on and off, and it serves as a stand for typing or watching movies. It attaches and detaches very easily, without being too loose. Ingenious. Watch the movie. It's even better in reality.
Apple is going to sell a ton of them. Certainly more than iPads.
Heute in Frankfurt
by Volker Weber
Chromebook
by Volker Weber
Chromebooks boot in 8 seconds and resume instantly. Your favorite websites load quickly and run smoothly, with full support for the latest web standards and Adobe® Flash®. In fact, Chromebooks are designed to get faster over time as updates are released.
I have briefly tested a CR48, and I was quite impressed.
49 threats
by Volker Weber
Since everybody seems to be talking about Mac malware these days, I decided to run a scanner on a machine that has been upgraded all the way from Mac OS X 10.2 to 10.6. The disk content has accumulated over 8.5 years. 1.6 million fiiles.
Result: Sophos found 49 threats. All of them Windows malware attached to spam and phishing emails. Not a single one would have been able to execute on a Mac.
I can live with that. Goodbye, Sophos.
"Many of you have purchased books and would like to keep them"
by Volker Weber
Thank you for being one of our valued customers. We are writing to you today to make a very sad announcement. BeamItDown Software and the iFlow Reader will cease operations as of May 31, 2011.
Many of you have purchased books and would like to keep them. You may still be able to read them using iFlow Reader although we cannot guarantee that it will work beyond May 31, 2011. ... We also strongly recommend that you go to our website and download all of your books to your computer which will let you access them with Adobe Digital Editions or any other ebook application that is compatible with Adobe DRM protected epubs.
Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer.
Das schlägt dem Fass die Krone ins Gesicht
by Volker Weber
BlackBerry Developer Conference Europe
by Volker Weber
Announcing BlackBerry DevCon Europe! BlackBerry DevCon Europe is where developers can get the latest innovations and breakthroughs with the BlackBerry Development Platform.
Can anybody spot a date and a venue?
Replacing a Mac
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Wire up new Mac. Start Migration Assistant. Enter six digits. Walk away.
Update: In the morning, there were three files to manually copy, deactivate Creative Suite on the old and activate on the new iMac. That's all Charly Brown.
Who thinks PCs are cheaper than Macs?
Brothers in arms
by Volker Weber
Fifty Three
by Volker Weber
Photo: Derek H. Pokorny
Board Room Babies
by Volker Weber
NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES & SILICON VALLEY, Calif., May 9, 2011 / — The National Association for Serious Studies (NASS) — a research association dedicated to a variety of serious studies — today announced the results of a decades-long research effort that uncovers solid evidence that CEOs are just like babies.
[via misp.]
Microsoft still has no clue why people buy a Mac
by Volker Weber
Many Steps
by Volker Weber
Aged to perfection
by Volker Weber
EDFE
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
IBM WebSphere - and so many familiar faces
by Volker Weber
Dear Sophie
by Volker Weber
Little Scarlet Strawberry Peach
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Danke, Andreas!
Social Sandy moves on from Twitter and learns Facebook
by Volker Weber
I guess she will start teaching soon.
GitHub/leftnode/get-shit-done
by Volker Weber
get-shit-done is an easy to use command line program that blocks websites known to distract us from our work.
The great Playbook giveaway, and other odd news
by Volker Weber
All the lucky guys at BlackBerry World get a PlayBook. The not so lucky guys at BlackBerry World bought one, before being given a second one. It's a good move. People at BlackBerry World tend to have a more recent BlackBerry, which they need to get at their email on the PlayBook. There are a few "proud" postings on Facebook of people who managed to download the client from the store and install it.
More significant: Balance, the artist formerly known as Dual Persona. Keep company apps and data separated from private data. Very good concept. I wish all smartphones could do that.
Steve Ballmer was at the show, and later this year the BlackBerry gets another handicap by setting the default search provider to Bing. As much as RIM needs to give away a lot of the PlayBooks, Microsoft needs to pay people to put their search engine on the device.
The Bold Touch looks neat. BlackBerry lovers will love it. iPhone lovers, not so much.
Tue Gutes und lasse andere darüber reden
by Volker Weber
Als Journalist hat man oft mit Pressestellen und PR Agenturen zu tun. Im schlechtesten Fall schicken die irrelevante PR-Meldungen an viel zu viele Leute und telefonieren dann noch hinterher. Im besten Fall pflegen sie über Jahre eine gute Beziehung und wissen exakt, wer was wann braucht.
100zehn ist so eine perfekte Agentur. Und der Ableger PRfection, der den Kunden Apple betreut. Wenn ich nachmittags nach etwas frage, dann ist es am nächsten Morgen da. Nicht am Ende des nächsten Tages. Every. Single. Fucking. Time. Wie immer ist es nicht die Agentur, sondern es sind die Menschen, die dort arbeiten. Danke. Für all die Jahre.
Aus gegebenem Anlass: vowe's choice. Nur falls jemand eine schlechtere Agentur hat.
RIM buys a lot of companies
by Volker Weber
Research in Motion is buying lots of small companies who can't make it on their own, in a struggle to remain relevant:
- Viigo March 2010
- Dataviz September 2010
- TAT December 2010
- Gist February 2011
- Tungle April 2011
- ubitexx now
Is it working?
BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900
by Volker Weber
Get things done with a 1.2 GHz processor, 8 GB of onboard memory, 720p HD video recording, dual-band Wi-Fi®, a built-in compass (magnetometer) and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. It’s the definitive BlackBerry smartphone.
And 1230 mAh battery.
RIM Launches BlackBerry Balance
by Volker Weber
Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) is advancing work-life balance on BlackBerry® smartphones with BlackBerry® Balance™ - new technology that makes possible the convenience of using a single BlackBerry smartphone for both work and personal purposes without compromising the security of company content and the privacy of personal content. RIM is introducing this technology in response to the growing trend by businesses to allow employees to use personal BlackBerry smartphones for work, or company-owned smartphones for personal, and the need by businesses to secure, manage and control confidential company or client information on these devices.
BlackBerry Balance presents a unified view of work and personal content on a BlackBerry smartphone while keeping the content separate and secure. The division between work and personal content is transparent to the user unless they try to perform actions prohibited by company policy.
Excellent idea. Keep your business and private data separate from each other. With Balance, BES administrators should have no problem allowing users to install their own apps. Requires BES 5.0.3 and the latest BlackBerry 6 device software.
Not a Libyan URL shortener
by Volker Weber
If a cliff jump is not enough, create an avalanche
by Volker Weber
AirPlay is one of those Apple things that don't just work
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
Trying to beam a YouTube video to the big screen. The iPhone played it just nicely, but it would not transfer to Apple TV. This happens a lot with video. Sometimes I get the audio across, but the video keeps playing on the iPhone. This time, no workie at all. And persistant.
Darmstadt von der Ludwigshöhe aus gesehen
by Volker Weber
Photo: vowe
