April 2016

Snapchat is my smalltalk

by Volker Weber

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Snapchat has made it to my iPhone front page. I did not expect that when I tried it a week ago. First I wanted to understand how this thing works. That's far from obvious. But once you understand the navigation, it's efficient. Very efficient actually.

Once I understood how it works, I wanted to know what to do with it. And this is where it differs from the kids. For kids, especially young teens, it's a way to find an identity. You style yourself, you style your snaps. It's very important to appear in the most flattering way. You are your story.

For me, it's the exact opposite. Completely casual. What I do here on my website lives for years if not decades. Same thing for everything that I publish professionally. But Snapchat? Pffffrt. Just do it. For more serious conversations I use WhatsApp or if it has to live longer plain old email. In Snapchat I just tell things as they happen. It's only a few seconds per snap. I don't even worry, if you understand me. If you only heard me speak English, you can hear my speak German now. Probably sounds like Klingon to you.

I have only a few dozen contacts on Snapchat. But I already came to know some really nice people a lot better.

Napster via ALDI Life auf Sonos

by Volker Weber

Steuere deine gesamte Musik drahtlos und mit einem simplen Fingertipp: Das funkgesteuerte Musiksystem Sonos® bringt dir den gesamten Aldi life Musik powered by Napster -Katalog in alle Räume. Höre im ganzen Haus einen Titel oder fülle verschiedene Räume mit unterschiedlicher Musik! Sonos ist direkt mit dem Internet verbunden und ermöglicht dir den kabellosen und bequemen Zugriff auf Millionen von Titeln und tausenden Hörbüchern bei Aldi life Musik powered by Napster.

8 € für 30 Tage. Interessant auch im Paket mit ALDItalk. Da gibt es zwei Pakete für 10 und 15 € mit Inklusivminuten/SMS, Community-Flat und 200 bzw 500 MB Daten.

More >

No universal search in Amazon Prime on Sonos

by Volker Weber

I asked Sonos Support why search isn't working as expected. Turns out it's not intended to work, yet. Disappointing, but apparently being worked on.

Finch is an awesome Twitter client

by Volker Weber

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I am not a big fan of 3rd party Twitter clients, since I need to learn different interfaces on all my devices. But Finch is really nice since it supports big Android tablets. Also nice on smartphones:

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Zwei Quickies zum BlackBerry PRIV

by Volker Weber

Zwei Kurznachrichten:

  1. Die PRIV aus der deutschen Distribution und von den Carriern bekommen ihr Update erst nächsten Dienstag, 3. Mai. Ihr könnt vom "Check for updates" Button runtergehen.
  2. Heute hat Amazon ein Blitzangebot für den PRIV. Keine Ahnung zu welchem Preis. 659 € zahlt man aktuell. Und ich nehme den PRIV ausdrücklich aus der Alex-Warning raus. 17:00 für Prime-Kunden, 17:30 für andere.

Gear

by Volker Weber

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Thought I should share this with you. This is the gear I am currently working with. Fujifilm X-Pro1 with 35mm f/1.4, iPad Pro, Microsoft keyboard, iPhone 6S Plus, a couple of Manfrotto tripods, also a big one off camera, and the Shoulderpod mount for the iPhone. The Fujifilm camera has an eyeFi card for wireless transfers of photos.

How did I shoot this photo? BlackBerry PRIV as backup. All of that lives in my bag. Count the cameras.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow Now Available on PRIV

by Volker Weber

We have a sweet treat for PRIV users: Android 6.0 Marshmallow (M) is now available on ShopBlackBerry.com and is coming to all major carriers offering PRIV starting May 3. You’ll be able to update to the latest version of Android, completely patched to include our coming May 2016 update, simply by downloading the software update on your PRIV (be sure to connect to Wi-Fi to avoid unnecessary data charges).

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Three hundred thirty three

by Volker Weber

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Everything is back to normal. Apple skipped one day to adjust the count.

iPad Pro 9.7 :: My favorite keyboard

by Volker Weber

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A week ago I told you I need to update you on my usage pattern. And it turned out that nothing changed. The iPad Pro is down to around 10% in the evening. Which means I used it nine hours each day. When I go to bed, the iPhone 6S still has around 60% charge. That means a lot of my usage has moved back to the iPad. I did not really expect that.

If I want to get serious work done, I need a keyboard. The Apple keyboard is unsuited, failing to provide a German key mapping. I could possibly set it in the software, but then the keys won't match the mapping, which bothers me too much. Time to look at my other options:

What am I waiting for? A keyboard that connects to the iPad Pro 9.7 connector. With a German keyboard mapping. My bets are on Logi.

Nokia plans to acquire Withings

by Volker Weber

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Espoo, Finland - Nokia has announced plans to acquire Withings S.A., a pioneer and leader in the connected health revolution with a family of award-winning digital health products and services to help people all over the world lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. Withings will be part of our Nokia Technologies business.

More >

iPad Pro 9.7" :: Logi Base

by Volker Weber

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Photo: Logitech

I just received a press release about the new Logi Base. This thing uses the smart connector at the side of the iPad Pro. Both the big and the regular one. That is a very smart move, because it docks and undocks very easily with one hand.

I need this. But I warned Logi that Base is all but guaranteed to win the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award.

Sonos-Verlosung bei Amazon

by Volker Weber

Aus einer Pressemitteilung von Sonos:

Anlässlich der Einführung von Prime Music auf Sonos verlosen Amazon und Sonos zwischen dem 3. und 9. Mai ein Sonos Play:5, Play:3 und Play:1 an jedem Tag für eine ganze Woche unter allen Prime-Mitgliedern, die Prime Music streamen. Zwischen dem 29. April und dem 2. Mai haben Amazon Nutzer mit Studenten-Mitgliedschaft zudem die Möglichkeit, 1 x 2 Tickets für die ultimative Prime Music House Party in den Sonos Studios in London zu gewinnen. Reisekosten und Unterbringung inklusive. Die exklusive Party findet am Mittwoch, den 18. Mai im Londoner Stadtteil Shoreditch statt. Jedes Zimmer der Location wird speziell im Look von Prime Music Radios und Playlists designt. Außerdem wird an diesem Abend der "Godfather" der UK-Garage-Szene, Mark Hill, auflegen. Mark Hill ist Gründungsmitglied der Artful Dodger und Produzent von Songs wie "Re-Rewind", "Fill Me In" (mit Craig David) oder "Movin‘ Too Fast" (mit Romina Johnson). Amazon Prime-Mitglieder können unter www.amazon.de/primemusic am Gewinnspiel teilnehmen.

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And just like that, we are back in business

by Volker Weber

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I just got a new Longest Move Streak award this morning. 332 days on 25.04.2016. Compare this to my former award: 331 on 23.3.2016. There is the missing day, without breaking the chain.

We have to dig deeper.

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I got the Apple Watch on 29.05.2015, on the UPS truck after noon, and after my long lunch walk. I did not complete any move goals that day. On the next day I completed all goals and every single day ever since. Let's take a look:

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216 days in 2015 plus 116 days in 2016 equals 332. Not 333.

Holy cow, Apple just fixed a bug.

Amazon Prime Music is now available on Sonos in the UK, Germany, and Austria

by Volker Weber

I'm sure this is pure coincidence.

Don't buy crap

by Volker Weber

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If there is one thing you should learn from this site, then it would be this: don't buy crap. Rather buy nothing at all.

We have too much stuff. Make the stuff you own really good. Many of the things I have are twenty, thirty, forty years old. When you buy gear, make sure the vendor has great support and does not abandon his products.

Most importantly, never ever buy knock-off products that only look like the real thing.

Confirmed: Apple stopped my daily move streak

by Volker Weber

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No more awards for my daily move streak. Saturday was the last one at 331 days, today would have been 333. As you can see, I did not fail. Apple did. It does not really matter, since I keep moving:

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Important update here >

iPad Pro 9.7" :: GoodNotes

by Volker Weber

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Last week I told you about two new apps I had installed on the iPad Pro. GoodNotes was the easier one to get into. It works best with two use cases:

This feels like real pen and paper. You can select both the cover and the paper stationary. In the end you are holding an expensive machine that basically does the same thing as a cheap paper notepaper. The good news is that it never runs out of ink or paper.

GoodNotes works with files and folders. It supports all major cloud storages: Box, Dropbox, Google, iCloud, OneDrive. If you don't want to scribble giant notes like I do, you can also use a screen loupe. You can enter really tiny text this way. And since scribbles are vector graphics, you can zoom in as far as you want.

Well worth the 8 €.

How to get access to more music services on Sonos

by Volker Weber

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You would think that it is easy for me to get information from Sonos, but that is not the case I am afraid. I have been trying for months to get info on Sonos' plans to provide Amazon Prime Music in Germany. To no avail. The service has been available since 5 Nov 2015 to German customers, just not on Sonos.

Let me share a little secret, since Caschy already published the trick in German. Sonos makes different services available by country. When you hit "Check for Updates" in the Sonos controllers, it checks whether there are any updates waiting for your Sonos ID. When you go to sonos.com and change your profile to a US address, it will give you different updates next time you ask. It will then tell you, that everything is fine, and that there are no updates. However, when you try to add new services, you will find a different list. If you have an account on one of the services that just became visible, add it to your services and log in. If the service you added does not use geo-blocking you are good to go. You can then go back to sonos.com and reset your address. .

I found a glitch in the Apple matrix

by Volker Weber

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I collected four achievements today. First the green 7 for a perfect week of exercise of at least 30 minutes a day. That is what I always finish first. Second was the blue 7 for a perfect week of reaching my stand goal every single day. Then I quickly received both the pink 7 for a perfect week of always reaching the move goal, and then the rainbow one for reaching all three goals every single day of the week.

What is missing? The daily move streak is missing. This cannot end if you have seven perfect days. But it did. Compare the move streak that Apple thinks ended yesterday, and the perfect week, which ended today.

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Place your bets. What is going to happen tomorrow:

  1. No daily move streak
  2. Daily move streak of 332 days
  3. Daily move streak of 333 days

Important update here >

Microsoft does not know what Microsoft knows

by Volker Weber

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I am now on the Fast Ring of Windows Insider builds for the Surface 3. And I am already liking what they are doing with ink. Part of the process is a Windows update, and Microsoft once again installed all the crapware that I had previously removed. 3D Builder, Solitaire Collection, Get Office, etc.

First thing that happens:

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Push message. Into notifications. Fcuking advertisement. For a product that I am already subscribed to. On the same Windows account that I logged in with Windows. Don't fear Microsoft. They have no idea what they are doing.

Purple Rain

by Volker Weber

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You should see the large version of this brilliant photo that Sabine shot commemorating Prince.

When you get up very early

by Volker Weber

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Today is going to be a nasty and cold day. I woke up early and thought, why not make my run before the sun is up. Now it's past seven and I feel very energized. 73 minutes of exercise done. Should be easy to get to two hours today.

Photo shot with the iPad Pro 9.7". Zero edits, just a bit of cropping.

iPad Pro 9.7" :: New Software

by Volker Weber

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I have always been an iA Writer (5 €) user and I am currently on the beta program. See the orange dot. I also liked Paper (free) but only got to use it more with Apple Pencil. Today I bought two new software packages that should work well with the Apple Pencil: Pixelmator (5 €) and GoodNotes (8 €).

GoodNotes is really impressive, right from the start. Pixelmator will need some work. More on both next week.

iPad Pro 9.7" :: Apple Pencil

by Volker Weber

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FiftyThree Paper is my killer app on the small iPad Pro. The other day I was asked whether I would recommend the Pencil made by FiftyThree or the Apple Pencil. I was baffled. The difference between those two pens could not be bigger.

The FiftyThree Pencil has a big squishy tip. It's very difficult to draw anything delicate and almost impossible to write with. It's not without merit. You connect it to the app by pointing it to a designated area until it connects. After that, you can draw on the iPad without worrying about touching the display with the back of your hand. Just rest your hand on the screen and draw. This works with all iPads and iPhones. When you want to recharge this stylus, you just pull on the squishy tip to drag the electronics board out of the Pencil. There is a USB plug on the other end that goes into the iPad charger. No parts to lose.

Apple Pencil is a completely different beast. Way more sophisticated. It has a pointy tip that is pressure sensitive. You pair it with your iPad by charging it. When you remove the cap at the other end, it reveals a connector that plugs right into your iPad. If it ever goes out you don't have to find a charger or a wall outlet. Just quickly insert it into your iPad and in no time you can continue to work. Don't lose the cap. Using this Pencil feels like a real pencil. Or a ballpoint. Or a fountain pen. It can be all of these things. And depending on how you hold it, you can shade with it like with a real pencil. Apple Pencil only works with the iPad Pro.

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Which one would I recommend? For the iPad Pro always get the Apple Pencil.

Don't buy an Android phone. Not right now.

by Volker Weber

I used to call this an Alex warning. If you are in the market to buy an Android phone, I'd suggest to wait until June 10 before you make a decision.

Mary Jo Foley: Why I broke up with Windows Phone

by Volker Weber

I'm no longer part of the one percent. It took me almost two years longer than my Microsoft-watching colleagues Ed Bott and Tom Warren, but I've given up using Windows Phones as my daily driver.

Mary stays away from the iPhone. Reason: she does not like Apple and wants to stay on PC.

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No Windows 10 Controller from Sonos

by Volker Weber

I almost missed this post on the Sonos forums:

Some of you have been asking about a native Windows Phone controller app for Sonos, and we’ve been slow to provide a clear answer. We’re sorry about that. The truth of the matter is that up until now we’ve been unclear internally on this very question. In fact, it’s been the source of many passionate debates because we recognize that some Sonos owners are also Windows Phone users.

In the end, however, we’ve made a decision that Sonos is not going to build a Windows Phone 8 app nor are we planning to build a Windows 10 'universal' app.

As a vendor, you have to make hard decisions about where you invest. Windows Phone came and went away. UWP apps aren't here yet. The few people who control Sonos via a Windows 10 computer, can make do with the desktop controller.

What is Sonos working on?

Our focus right now is on Voice and Paid Streaming Services, and we’re exploring quite a few innovative ways to experience and control your music – on your device and off.

More >

Attention marketeers: this is how you can win me

by Volker Weber

Today I told you that you can't just waltz in here, promise a commission and I will haul your goods to my readers. This doesn't work. But there is a way. Listen up:

  1. You must have a brilliant product. Your product has to be interesting to me. Your product isn't just a little bit better than your competitor's product. It's one of a kind. And it's not a kickstarter project. It's a real product that one can buy.
  2. You ask me if I would like to try your product. If it matches everything above, chances are I do. Just talk about the product, not about how it makes me rich and famous. I am not going to take your money.
  3. If I like the idea, you may send me a product sample.
  4. Once I have the product, I am going to try it. Immediately. If it does what you promised, I am going to write a "First impressions". Readers like new stuff they did not know about. And they like an honest opinion.
  5. And now things get interesting. If I like your product, chances are that I am going to obsess about it. That I am going to use it every day and cannot stop talking about it. This is when you win. What do you win? You win the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award. That means you will probably sell hundreds if not thousands of it.
  6. However, you might lose. I don't obsess about it. It turns out your product isn't any good. Then you can pick it up a few days later. Or you send me a UPS label and I will return it within 24 hours. Readers here are smart. They won't buy something that does not go beyond a "First impressions" post.

What happens if you win the editor-refuses-to-give-it-back award? Do you ever get your product back? Of course you do, if you need to. But that's only for the accountants. I always ask what I should do with a product I have no use for. Most of them go back. Some will be donated. Some are trashed. I will never ever sell your product. And I will always return it to you when you ask. See #6 above.

But that's not what you want. What you really want is an even better product. See #5.

SnapChat :: Click

by Volker Weber

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When the world goes crazy over something and I don't get it, I probably did not look hard enough. It's pretty normal that I don't understand something that everybody else seems to understand. Or the other way around. I tried SnapChat a couple of times and I did not get it. I always ended up deleting it.

A few days ago, I gave it another try. And this time I wanted it to click. And it did. It's like always. Do something a thousand times and you can master it.

Here is the thing about Snapchat: it's transitional. Nothing is kept forever. That means you don't care that much. You live in the now, not in the yesterday. There are two conversations: 1:1 and 1:n. In my first couple of Snapchat trials I was focussing on the 1:1 chats. Why would I want something to go away? And the other party could take a screenshot and stuff would not be safe, or would it. Completely wrong mindset.

This time I looked more at the 1:n conversations. Every Snapchat user has a "story". When you snap a video or a photo you can just add it to the story. Your story is 24 hours long. Things that are older than a day, they just go away. You keep on adding to the end. All your friends can tune into that story and replay it if they want to. They can also reply to the story at any given point in that story and open a 1:1 chat.

Here is the thing, that makes Snapchat so enjoyable: nothing is important. You don't obsess about style and composition. You just snap away. Videos are better than photos. Keep them short and just add them to the story. And just say what your thinking. It will be in your story.

And tomorrow it will be gone.

You can add me to your Snapchat. Either by snapping the photo above, or by username. Simple rules:

1. Be nice.
2. Have your full name on your account.
3. Maybe have a selfie on your account.

Break one of those rules and I am not playing.

I know this is really difficult to understand for some folks. So let me say this again. If your name field in your account does not contain your full name at the time you are inviting me to your party, then I am not coming.

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Attention marketeers: you cannot buy me

by Volker Weber

We are about to launch a ***** Friend program in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and some other EU countries. The ***** Friend program means that we are giving out personal discount codes to tech bloggers in Europe - if you would be interested in writing about the ***** and call out the information that you have a code we are offering a 100 EUR fee to you from each ***** sold using your code (for example if 5 of your followers buy the ***** from our web shop and use your personal code it means 5x100 EUR reward to you). Your followers will get a -10% discount using your code.

Now you know why I never take commission. Conflict of interest. I don't care if you buy the stuff I am excited about. It does not make a difference to me. Now watch out for tech bloggers getting all excited about a scooter.

iPad Pro 9.7" :: Built-in SIM

by Volker Weber

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When you buy an iPad Air with LTE modem and you don't use a SIM, it will tell you "Missing SIM" when you reboot. And it will indicate there is no SIM in the upper left corner. I always put in an old defunct SIM to get around this error message. I just went into Mobile Data and switched if off.

With the new iPad Pro 9.7", you will get your empty SIM slot for your own SIM. But you can also use the Apple SIM that's already included in the device, hidden away in its belly. When you go into Settings/Mobile Data, you have a new button that lets you set up the account you want. The iPad loads a list of available carriers in the country you are currently in. For Germany this is Deutsche Telekom and two other virtual carriers I never heard of.

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Pricing for Deutsche Telekom is reasonable. You can get the same rates by buying a SIM from the store. The iPad makes it easier because you don't have to get a physical SIM first. Think of it as a store front.

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The other two were less reasonable. I wonder what the prices will look like when I switch this on abroad. I was also told this is not an "eSIM" but an "Apple SIM". This photo from Apple.com suggests I can get a good deal while in the US:

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Falls Sie die zweitbeste Agentur suchen ...

by Volker Weber

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Falls Sie mal die zweitbeste Presseagentur suchen und keinesfalls die beste haben wollen, dann rufen Sie niemals diesen Mann an. Weil, sonst haben Sie am Ende die beste. Und das wollen Sie ja nicht.

Bewerben sollte man sich doch auch nicht, wenn man in der zweitbesten Agentur arbeiten will. Weil, siehe oben ...

Die ideale Kamera

by Volker Weber

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Als technischer Laie glaubt man gerne, dass man nur einen Experten fragen muss und viel Geld investieren, dann kann man die ideale Kamera kaufen. Und das geht überhaupt nicht. Und zwar vor allem, weil jede Kamera ein Kompromiss ist. Irgendwas geht immer den Bach runter.

Beispiel Panasonic FZ1000: 16-fach Zoom, mit dem man alles fotografieren kann, egal ob nah oder fern. Zu einem sehr ordentlichen Preis. Problem: Das Trumm passt in keine Jackentasche. Es gibt keine Kameras, die etwas kleines, schnell bewegtes wie einen fliegenden Vogel abbilden können, und gleichzeitig klein sind. Die FZ-1000 ist schon ziemlich klein für diese Anforderung. "Richtige" Objektive, die mindestens Blende 2.8 können und das über den ganzen Bereich, sind oft so lang wie ein Unterarm.

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Wie gesagt, auch die FZ1000 ist ein Kompromiss. Für das doppelte Geld gibt es einen viel größeren Sensor und ein f/2.8-Objektiv in der Sony RX10 Mk2. Das Kürzel Mk2 sagt schon, das ist die zweite Version. Kauft man die, gibt es bestimmt bald die Mk3. Genau das ist passiert. Die Mk2 hat eine maximale Brennweite von 200mm und liegt damit hinter der FZ1000. Was macht Sony? Eine Mk3 mit 600mm. Also nochmal dreifache Vergrößerung. Das kostet nicht nur Geld, sondern braucht auch Platz, ist dabei aber nicht größer als eine FZ1000:

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Und wie passt jetzt ein 600mm-Zoom in das doch nicht viel größere Gehäuse? Mit einem weiteren Kompromiss. Das kann nämlich kein f/2.8 von Weitwinkel bis Tele, sondern hat am Tele-Ende nur f/4.0 und beim Weitwinkel dafür f/2.4. Wer also weit entfernte Motive heranholt, braucht viel Licht. Kleinere Blende und größere Entfernung.

Egal wieviel Geld man investiert, nächstes Jahr kommt dann das nächste Modell, das noch mehr kann, und der Preis des guten (alten) Stücks fällt in den Keller. Man vergleiche mal X-Pro1 und X-Pro2. Wieder ein Kompromiss, hier beim Preis. Besser das ältere Modell kaufen, das vor zwei Wochen noch super war?

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Mein Rat: nimm die Kamera, die Du hast. Solange bis Du das allerletzte herausgeholt hast, was sie kann. Und wenn das nicht mehr reicht, wirklich nicht mehr reicht, dann kaufe etwas Größeres. Etwas viel Größeres. Dann meinst Du es ernst und schleppst die Kamera wirklich mit.

Profis wie Teymur haben einen Koffer voll Kameras und Glas dabei. Und einen Assistenten. Oder ein iPhone.

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Links Teymur, rechts vowe. Man beachte, das Objektiv links hat auch nur 200 mm Brennweite bei f/2.8, wie die sehr viel kleinere Sony RX10 Mk2. Das ist also noch nicht die ganze Story. Daumenregel meines alten Chemielehrers: Viel Pril hilft in der Regel viel.

[Alle Größenvergleiche mit camerasize.com]

Twitter schießt sich in den Fuß. Und ich schau zu.

by Volker Weber

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Die Geschwindigkeit, mit der sich Twitter fortgesetzt in den Fuß schießt, ist wirklich atemberaubend. Timeline remixed, blödeste Werbung, dümmste Vorschläge. Und keine Möglichkeit, das abzustellen.

Wenn man dies beklagt, steht jedesmal einer auf, und meint, das betreffe ihn nicht. Schließlich verwende er [insert your favorite third party Twitter client here]. Oh doch, das betrifft auch Dich. Weil Twitter den Bach runtergeht.

Und jetzt kommt die FAQ:

Q: Wieso nutzt Du nicht [insert your favorite third party Twitter client here]?
A: Lohnt sich nicht.

Wieso lohnt sich das nicht? In einer idealen Welt hätte ich ein iPhone, ein Macbook und vielleicht ein iPad. Tatsächlich nutze ich aber mehr als ein iPhone, mehr als einen Mac, mehr als ein iPad, mehr als ein Android Phone, mehr als ein Android Tablet, mehr als einen BlackBerry, mehr als ein Windows Tablet, mehr als einen Windows PC und mehr als ein Windows Phone. Und mit "nutze" meine ich, die sind voll in Betrieb, tagesfrisch gepatcht und sofort einsatzbereit. Ja, das geht tatsächlich, aber nur wenn man auf solche Sachen wie [insert your favorite third party Twitter client here] verzichtet. Und warum mache ich das? Weil ich dauernd neue Sachen ausprobieren muss. Und das geht nicht, indem man nur mal kurz guckt.

Rule of thumb: You need a name

by Volker Weber

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In Snapchat you need that moment where it clicks. You might think it is difficult, but it's not. It's just casual. Thanks for adding me. If you have your name on your profile, I am adding you back. I can't remember your handle. Chances are, I never heard it before. A recognizable selfie helps. I will be going back to the screen in the right to see if you found the place to add your name. Hint: it's behind the gear on the left screen.

Caution: lots of dog content on my daily story.

I'm walking

by Volker Weber

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600 is not enough. I need to walk more. Last week I made it past 100,000 steps. Now I need to up it once more for 100 km. How do you get to this display? Open Activities on the Watch. Force touch. Select Weekly Summary.

Radiooooo.com - The Musical Time Machine

by Volker Weber

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You pick a country and a decade. And it starts playing. No skipping. Just music. Apps for Android and iOS, but they just wrap the website.

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iPad Pro 9.7" :: Grab the screen and listen

by Volker Weber

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I told you how FiftyThree Paper became my killer app. And in my first impressions I said, I will be coming back with more. In no particular order:

While the iPad Pro might look like an iPad Air 2, it's actually much better. If you can afford the money, avoid the good deal you are getting on the Air.

Kauf eine Schaukel. Eine ordentliche.

by Volker Weber

A photo posted by @karlasabineweber on

Überall sehe ich in den Gärten Baumarkt-Müll rumstehen. "Baumhäuser" mit Plastikrutsche, Aldi-Pools, blau-rot-gelbe My-first-Schaukel. Der Pool fliegt nach einem Jahr auf den Müll, die Schaukel hält nur Kleinkinder aus, und vom "Baumhaus" ist allenfalls die Rutsche brauchbar. Und, ganz beliebt, die quietschenden Trampoline mit Sicherheitsnetz.

Was ihr wirklich kaufen solltet, ist eine massive Schaukel für zwei Erwachsene. Da können auch Kinder drauf schaukeln. Und sie werden es noch tun, wenn sie längst aus dem Haus sind und die alten Eltern besuchen. Diese Schaukeln könnten viel erzählen. Wichtig: das muss alles massiv sein. Stahlrohre, Ketten statt Seile, alles reparierbar. Für ein ganzes Leben.

Und ganz wichtig: es müssen zwei Schaukeln sein. Zwei gleiche. Damit man sich was erzählen kann.

Wo wir dabei sind: folge diesem Instagram-Account. Und folge diesem Ello-Account.

Der unaufhaltsame Untergang des Darmstädter Echos

by Volker Weber

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Als ich nach Darmstadt kam, gab es noch mehrere Lokalzeitungen. Übrig blieb nur das Darmstädter Echo. Das Geschäftsmodell mit Kleinanzeigen erodierte zuerst. Und dann wurde die Redaktion nur noch dahin geschickt, wo auch größere Anzeigen winken. Mittlerweile ist das Unternehmen an eine größere Gruppe verkauft, die Redaktion ist geschrumpft.

Immerhin haben sie eine Socialmedia-Truppe, die überwiegend Artikelchen mit Symbolbild verlinkt, die aus dem Polizei-Bericht abgeschrieben sind. Der Leser wird getrackt und wenn er fünf Artikel im Monat gelesen hat, dann soll er sich mit Namen und Adresse registrieren, damit er noch mal fünf lesen kann. Jeder weitere Artikel ist dann zu bezahlen.

Das Geschäftsmodell auch hier: von den Werbetreibenden kassieren und von den Lesern. Dumm nur, dass sich die Website größte Mühe gibt, auch den letzten Leser mit Flash-Gezappel, Popups und Overlays zu vertreiben.

Ein Drama. Oder besser: eine Provinzposse.

Teaching old people Snapchat

by Volker Weber

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Kids use Snapchat, because their parents don't get it. But it's easy. So let's do this.

First of all you need an app for Android or iOS. Sorry, no Windows Phone. Then you need to create an account. Make a selfie. Yes, you need to make a new one, and it's going to be more of a movie.

That's what you get. What's the yellow outline? That's your "business card". SnapChat apps can read this and find your account. So, if you are in SnapChat, you can just snap this photo and you found me. Or you find me as "volkerweber", which is my name in SnapChat. Your kids of course have much cooler names.

When you are in SnapChat, you basically only see a camera interface. And you shoot everything in portrait, even movies. Click the shutter button for a photo, hold for a video. When you created something, you can either send it to one of your friends, or you add it to your "story". Swipe the camera interface. To the right are other people's stories, to the left are your chats and on top are you and your friends. That is the hardest part. Instead of swiping you can also hit the icons in both lower corners or at the top.

Hold the camera interface to get a set of filters. They are really goofy. Now start playing.

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And if that's all you have to offer, you will have to play with yourself.

High Velocity Aerial Filming

by Volker Weber

Visual Studio Code 1.0 Release

by Volker Weber

Today we’re very proud to release version 1.0 of Visual Studio Code. Since our initial launch one year ago, 2 million developers have installed VS Code. Today, we’re excited to report that more than 500,000 developers actively use VS Code each month.

VS Code works with directories and files instead of projects. Open source, extensible, cross platform.

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How Canadian Police Intercept and Read Encrypted BlackBerry Messages

by Volker Weber

Imagine for a moment that everybody’s front door has the same key. Now imagine that the police have a copy of that key, and can saunter into your living room to poke around your belongings while you’re out, and without your knowledge.

By way of metaphor, this is exactly how the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s federal police force, intercepted and decrypted “over one million” BlackBerry messages during an investigation into a mafia slaying, called “Project Clemenza," that ran between 2010 and 2012.

This is actually no big news to anybody who knows how BBM works. But it is going to bite BlackBerry, because they like to pride themselves as the master in security. The truth is that BBM is not more secure than SMS, because all messages are encrypted with the same key. And access to that key is what countries wanted from BlackBerry, when they demanded lawful inspection. They could read SMS just fine, but not BBM. Since you can easily run a man-in-the-middle attack once you have the key, it is exactly as insecure as SMS.

BlackBerry also has a product called BBM Protected which puts end-to-end encryption on top of BBM. But that's not free. It really does not matter much anymore since everybody and their grandma now uses WhatsApp which has end-to-end encryption to begin with. The only thing that is going to happen is that this case will damage BlackBerrys image. And it's their own fault since they always lumped insecure technology together with secure one under the same brand, pretending it was all secure.

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Social networks are passé. Messaging is the new thing. Take two.

by Volker Weber

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When your house is on fire, you won't write an email to the Fire Department. You also wouldn't tweet for help. Not the right tool.

People are smart. They always find a way to get their work done. And they will find tools that do that well. When I wrote about Social vs Messaging the other day, I was referring to that. Apparently we have to teach people to "be social", to share on a team space, on an intranet portal, in a community. I am not saying that this teaching is futile. What I am saying is that people found a way to reduce their mail workload. And it's not the tool we are selling them.

Messaging is that tool. You create a group, a channel, or whatever you call it and everybody is on the same page. This is small scale sharing. It works for small groups but not for big ones. But if you analyze your inbox, chances are that you exchange almost all of your short mails with a group of ten people. You can have everybody in your team on one channels, all parents of your kid's kindergarten on another one, your family on a third, and so forth. When you plan an event, you just create another channel.

Messaging vendors have taken this simple concept and extended it to other tools. Where the real work gets done. Integrate into Salesforce, for a sales team. Integrate into a bug tracker, for a development team. Integrate into file sharing, for everybody.

File sharing has always worked best on network drives, in shared directories. Services like Dropbox have taken the concept to mobile and disconnected devices. They are way more popular than Sharepoint or file libraries. Everybody uses them, even those who want to ban them from the workplace.

This is what is happening. People discover tools that solve immediate problems. They don't do architecture. They get their work done. In the least painful way possible.

Does that mean they don't need a community site? Not necessarily. But it may not be the most pressing problem they have.

Please remember: you are not running a kindergarten. Your people are smart. Stand in their way and they will find a way around you. New strategy: find out what your people like. And then give it to them.

Skiwandern ohne Ski

by Volker Weber

Es ist Frühling. Im Wald singen die Vögel um die Wette. Und dann kommt sie, die Gruppe laut schnatternder Wanderer in Funktionskleidung, mit Bauchgurt und Wasserflasche, damit niemand auf den drei, vier Kilometern dehydriert. Man erkennt leicht, ob sie gerade Stöcke schwingend losgehen oder Stöcke schleifend ankommen. Die Wanderer nehmen stets die ganze Breite des Weges für sich in Anspruch, zuweilen vor wildem Fahrradklingeln empört ausweichend.

Der Hund schaut dem Treiben misstrauisch zu.

Läuft

by Volker Weber

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Das war einfacher als gedacht. Früher aufstehen, Fahrrad stehen lassen. Und nach 10 km ist man schön "aktiviert".

Lenovo updates the Yoga Tab 3 Pro

by Volker Weber

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Just when I told you that Lenovo has all but abandoned the Yoga Tab 3 Pro, they issue an update. It was compiled exactly two weeks ago. It is on Android Security Patch Level 1-Mar-2016, so one level down from the BlackBerry PRIV, but at least it is no longer three months old.

More importantly, it looks to have solved a major memory problem that was crashing some tasks. At least it has not happened in the one hour I have tested it so far. I know how to recreate these crashes (on the old software), so I am cautiously optimistic that Lenovo has nailed this update.

Funny thing I just noticed is that the date strings show the same day of the month and almost exactly the same time: 28th at 11:27 vs 11:30. You can also see that the February update was no longer installed on my machine so I went from January to March. I am pretty sure I had a February security patch prior. My guess is that Lenovo rolled back this update. Jan → Feb → Jan → Mar would be the sequence. Which explains why there was this large gap.

So, good news, Lenovo is working on this machine. I like that, because I love using the projector.

Social networks are passé. Messaging is the new thing.

by Volker Weber

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Facebook users are sharing fewer personal updates. That was one of the headlines that caught my eye. And I am not surprised. Kids have moved on to Snapchat, because their parents don't understand Snapchat. Facebook has become a place for old people.

Interestingly enough most projects in the enterprise around social networks are focussed on change management. How can you make employees use the platform? A few years ago vendors told their customers they could no longer attract younger people if they did not have some sort of Facebook internally. Are those same vendors now advising to build an internal version of Snapchat?

Before moving on, I took a brief look at some of the networks I am a member of. Most of them have been ruined by marketing. Who else would buy fake followers?

Still rolling out your enterprise social network? Social is passé. Messaging is the new thing. And bots of course. Here comes the tough thing for enterprise IT. It's already too late. People have messaging and they have messaging devices. They are going to use them, no matter what you do. Slack and Ryver are interesting places to watch. They are growing from the bottom up. That's far more powerful than any top-down solution.

I even got a message from IBM today. They can send me their press alerts over WhatsApp now. Not that I need that.

600 is not enough

by Volker Weber


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Before the winter started I completed my one year of 10k steps/day and 100 km/week. I switched to tracking with Apple Watch only with a goal of 600 active cals a day. This has been both successful and not so much. I am now at day 319 of my continous longest move streak and have completed 45 weeks of reaching all move goals. That is the good news.

The bad news is that my weight is crawling up ever so slowly. I blame the bicycle. So I am shifting back to walking more. And I have a new rule: 600 by noon. And two hours of exercise, minimum.

46 days, or six and a half weeks to complete the year.

WhatsApp Bullshit Detection

by Volker Weber

Ich lese immer wieder, WhatsApp übertrage das Adressbuch des Anwenders. WhatsApp sagt expressis verbis etwas anderes:

You expressly acknowledge and agree that in order to provide the Service, WhatsApp may periodically access your contact list and/or address book on your mobile device to find and keep track of mobile phone numbers of other users of the Service. When providing your mobile phone number, you must provide accurate and complete information. You hereby give your express consent to WhatsApp to access your contact list and/or address book for mobile phone numbers in order to provide and use the Service. We do not collect names, addresses or email addresses, just mobile phone numbers.

Da eine solche exakte Aussage für WhatsApp rechtlich bindend ist, glaube ich dem mehr als irgendwelchen Phantasien.

WhatsApp funktioniert mit mobilen Telefonnummern. Sie sind der identifizierende Schlüssel. Der Rest ist dem System vollkommen egal. Über die Telefonnummern findet WhatsApp die potentiellen Kommunikationspartner. Wer nicht im eigenen Adressbuch steht, wird bei eingehenden Nachrichten auch als potentieller Spammer markiert und WhatsApp bietet an, den zu sperren. Telefonnummern muss man übrigens nicht speichern. Es reicht aus, die Nummern zu hashen. Das braucht weniger Platz und kann schneller übertragen werden. Wer ein System für Milliarden von Teilnehmern baut, der denkt an sowas.

iPad Pro :: I think I fell in love again

by Volker Weber

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Three days in a row, I have run down the iPad battery almost completely, while the iPhone is at 60% in the evening. I will have to see in a week if that is still the case.

Doodling in Paper a lot. A lot!

Surface or iPad? The answer is not so easy.

by Volker Weber

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Martin asked me this easy question: do you prefer the iPad Pro or Surface? And I didn't know the answer immediately. Let me elaborate.

If I had to have only one computer and one smartphone, that would be a Macbook and an iPhone. That's all I really need. My workflow is centered around the Mac and I can do amazing things with the (big) iPhone. I could replace the Macbook with a Surface, but I would hate to do that. Because of Windows. Windows bogs me down. On the other hand, do I need an iPad? No, it's a luxury.

I do however have a friend who owns a 16 GB iPad 3. And that is the only computer she needs. She can browse the web, do her banking, watch TV, look at photos, write the occasional letter. She stores all her photos and videos in Google Photos so the 16 GB don't bother her, and it all works a treat. She hardly ever needs my support. When she had a PC, nothing really worked, ever. It was a constant source of frustration. Would I give her a Surface? Never in my life. Surface is orders of magnitude more complicated than iPad. It's a "full PC" and comes with all the maintenance that needs. An iPad howeever, that takes care of itself.

Could I live with only an iPad (Pro) instead of a Macbook? No, I can't. I have to do things that require tools I don't have on iPad. For instance a photo editor that will upload a photo via SFTP to my image server. Maybe it exists, but I don't know. I need to use a web app that won't run in Safari on iPad. Maybe it will work in some other browser on iPad, but I haven't tried.

What I have is a Surface 3. It's fanless, it "only" has an M class processor, so it's not fast. But it is fast enough for everything I require. It's the right size for me, it's heavier than iPad but not to the point where it bothers me. The keyboard is OKish, and beats what I have for iPad. But it's not Macbook or Thinkpad class. A Surface Pro 4 with its new keyboard might be different. But that requires its own power supply. Like a Thinkpad or a Macbook.

What Surface does not have is any modern tablet software. Most of the time, you are running old Windows apps that were never designed for a touch experience. NextGen Reader is an exception. I can live with that for a few days, but I certainly don't want to do it always. It's a convenient travel companion. It has a pen, I can draw in OneNote. I can hold it in my hand and browse the web. I can use that web app I mentioned.

Where are we? I don't want to give up a Macbook for a Surface or an iPad. And between the Macbook and the iPhone, there is a perfect place for an iPad Pro. More than for an iPad Air. Because of the Apple Pencil. And there is actually a lot more that the Pro does better than the Air.

I played with FiftyThree Paper a lot today and yesterday. And I have a feeling that this takes my clue procurement to a new level. When I worked at the university I liked to draw my lectures on an overhead projector. Do these exist anymore? With iPad Pro I can do the same.

The real question is Macbook or Surface. That's a very personal decision that I would always answer with Macbook. Even if I have to give up touch. I wouldn't ever swap the Macbook for a Surface. For the same reason I would not swap the Macbook for a Thinkpad. It's Windows.

If I could only have two devices, those would be iPhone and Macbook. If I can have three, iPad Pro is next.

[I wrote this on the iPad Pro with the Logitech K380 keyboard in iA Writer.]

Und jetzt nehmt bitte auch WhatsApp

by Volker Weber

Kollege hat einmal nachgeschaut, ob die WhatsApp-Verschlüsselung auch funktioniert. Ergebnis: ja, das tut sie. Und Jürgen Schmidt kommentiert:

Bei Skype liest Microsoft jede einzelne Nachricht mit. Nicht manchmal, nicht theoretisch irgendwie, sondern ganz real und immer. Das ist keine Verschwörungs-Theorie sondern harter Fakt – wir haben sie inflagranti dabei erwischt. Beim Messenger schnüffelt Facebook, bei Hangouts wertet die Datenkrake Google unsere Nachrichten aus.Und SMS-Nachrichten kommen sowieso beim Mobilfunkprovider im Klartext vorbei. WhatsApp ist der einzige große, plattformunabhängige Messaging-Anbieter, der das nicht macht.

Nun habt Ihr alle WhatsApp. Jetzt nutzt es auch.

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There is a Cookie Monster inside of me

by Volker Weber

Less is more? Yes, less is more.

by Volker Weber

A few things got me thinking:

Now take these thoughts and figure out what you really need. What would you carry with you when you travel? Do you need a car? If you need a car, do you need another one? Do you need a new one every few years? You can have all of these things, if you maximize your income. If you think about how to make more. You can have more money, you can have more stuff, you can borrow money and have even more stuff.

That is not my definition of rich. My definition of rich is that you have more than you need. In relative terms. If you need less, it's much easier to be rich.

And then you figure it out. There is only one resource you cannot have more of. It's finite. You get exactly the same amount every single day. 86400 seconds.

If you have more time than you need, you are rich. The real rich.

iPad Pro 9.7" :: FiftyThree Paper is my killer app

by Volker Weber

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I expected that OneNote would benefit the most from Apple Pencil. But it's FiftyThree Paper that is working just perfectly for me. This app has transformed from paper notebooks skeuomorphism to an idea collector. My use case is that I can shoot whatever photo I want and then annotate it. Brilliant. This might even change the way I do presentations.

I have used Paper before. I even did a full workshop on it. But I never had a decent pencil. The one that FiftyThree makes isn't precise enough, not by a margin. But with Apple Pencil we are talking.

Want to take it up a notch? Watch this.

Aus meiner Inbox

by Volker Weber

Habe der PR-Dame mal vowe.net gezeigt. Falls sie sich bei Dir meldet, bin ich schuld. Falls nicht, ist sie selbst schuld.

Schön gesagt. ;-)

iPad Pro 9.7" :: First Impression

by Volker Weber

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You are looking at 1615 € and I am going to tell you why you want to spend this kind of money. How do I get to 1615 €? Here is the rundown:

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Lets start from the top. You want to keep this machine for a long time. And you want to do serious work on it. Chances are you want all the storage you can get. Because there is no upgrade later. And you want LTE, because this won't be your couch surfing device. That's 1199 € for starters.

Then you want the pencil. That's what makes this device so different from an iPad Air 2. That's another 109 €. You want the Silicone Case for the back: 79 €. It provides all the grip you need. And you want the cover for the screen. Another 59 €. If you kept track, we are now at 1446 €. If you are German, you have to stop here.

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The keyboard is only available in a US layout. But I take it that eventually there will be a German version, and then you are down another 169 €.

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The case and the cover work perfectly together. You can tear off the cover and just hold the device in the case. Perfect grip and the rim will keep the screen from scratching, if you place it on the table face down. But you won't be happy with the cover alone:

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The cover is slightly larger than the iPad, since it matches the case. That is going to drive you crazy. When the iPad is inside the case, everything just lines up:

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Another plus: the camera hump just hides inside the case and is no longer any issue at all. The pen is surprisingly long. Surface Pen for scale. And no, there is no way to store it anywhere. There isn't even a clip. For now, this looks like an issue, but I will figure something out.

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On to the keyboard, and that is the weakest part of the "iPad Pro is your next personal computer" story. Only one key mapping is certainly the biggest one now. But I have more issues with it. The keys are tiny and there is only one angle for holding the iPad up.

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On the upside it is very light, you can attach the iPad even in its silicone case quite easily. It draws (a very small amount of) power from the iPad and there is no Bluetooth pairing. Just stick it on and off you go. It folds in a very weird way though. And quite surprisingly it fits the device perfectly, even without the case.

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I already started typing on the keyboard, but I could not make myself type this text. It's just not working for me. [Update]Ute is a much better touch typist than I am and she is happy with the keyboard. It works for her.[/Update]

The iPad Pro is working perfectly with my Logitech Key-To-Go and the Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard. I am most likely going to use the Keys-To-Go with the Smart Cover as prop-up and the silicone case as protection.

These are only a couple of first impressions about the hardware. I will have a lot more to say in future posts.

Not ready to spend 1600? You can compromise:

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Instead of providing LTE tether to your iPhone. Cut storage in half, save up to buy the pen later. And use whatever keyboard you have. Get the case and the cover because your old cover will not work. Apple has moved around some magnets and you need the new ones. Do not buy the 32 GB version. Thank me later for that decision. This is an extemely powerful machine and you will have it for a very long time.


Hermès is going to sell you Apple Watch bands

by Volker Weber

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Starting mid-April Apple and Hermes are offering the wonderful Hermès bands separately. So you can upgrade your existing Apple Watch with a fine leather band. These don't come cheap, but they are good. There aren't many people who prefer quality over just looks, but if you are one of them, this is for you.

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NextGen Reader for Windows 10

by Volker Weber

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I bought NextGen Reader for Windows Phone and again for Windows 8. Now I just spent another 3 € to buy the Windows 10 UWP app. This is one of the nicest RSS readers and I love to use it on Surface 3. It does not yet work on Windows 10 Mobile, but it will eventually. Bonus points for finally making it readable on the Yoga 3 Pro convertible. The font was too small in the old Windows 8 version. Now it's nice and big.

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LEICA

by Volker Weber

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The new Huawei has a prestigious Leica badge. And if you know Leica, you also know that Summarit is the least prestigious sub-brand within the Leica brand. But let's start from the beginning:

Leica basically invented the modern camera. Instead of carrying around a big bulky camera that would shoot a single frame, Leica used the same material as movie cameras. You could shoot a whole roll of film before you needed to reload. Whether it was reporters or what we call street photographers today, a Leica was the camera to get. Light, ubiquitous, always ready. Does that sound familiar? I believe the modern version of a Leica is the iPhone. It dominates photography.

Leica, the company and the M series rangefinder camera, is a legacy. Since my late friend Thomas was always fond of Leica rangefinders, I got to handle them a lot. What a beautiful piece of engineering. And the shutter sound, shivers. But by today's standards they are not light, they are not ubiquitous, and certainly not always ready. People buy those cameras because they love cameras, not necessarily because they are photographers. Professional photographers shoot heavy Canons and Nikons. They are extremely fast and versatile. And kids who want to keep up with the Joneses, they also like SLRs, even if they never leave full automatic mode. Fashion bloggers, anyone?

So what has Leica got to do with Huawei? It's a marketing play. And it has been played before. Remember Nokia and Zeiss. Zeiss is actually known for great lenses. Hollywood uses them, and their prices run into many digits. Does Zeiss make smartphone lenses? Of course not. They only "co-develop" and certify them. BlackBerry/Schneider-Kreuznach? Huawei/Leica? It's going to impress the tech and the fashion press. Huawei faked it all the way to the sound of the shutter.

I never wanted an M ragefinder. But if you are wealthy and think I deserve a treat, then please buy me a Leica Q. Not because I like cameras. But because I like photography. Did you know my birthday is coming up next month? :-)

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Want security? Make it simple.

by Volker Weber

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You take two years to build out an infrastructure. You build out all the client software. And then, one day, you switch it on.

Bang.

Secure messaging for a billion people.

WhatsApp, of all companies, has done it. Security researchers used to ridicule them for bad practices. When they did client side security for establishing identity for instance. But in the end, simplicity won.

WhatsApp is simple. There are no usernames, there are no passwords, no buddy lists, nothing. You install it, you run it, you verify your phone number. Bang. You're in. All your friends show up.

With that same simplicity you now get secure messaging. This is how you do it. It has to be simple.

[And yes, there is still a market for people who like it complicated.]

BlackBerry senkt den Preis für den PRIV. Um 50 €.

by Volker Weber

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Ein BlackBerry PRIV kostet nun 729 € statt vorher 779 €. Das ist eine super Maschine. Aber wenn ein iPhone SE mit 64 GB nur 589 € kostet, dann wird das schwierig.

WhatsApp: Verschlüsselung für alle freigeschaltet

by Volker Weber

WhatsApp verschlüsselt ab sofort sämtliche Kommunikation auf allen Plattformen, wenn beide Gesprächspartner die aktuelle Version installiert haben. Damit wird WhatsApp auf einen Schlag zum meistgenutzten Krypto-Messenger.

Ab jetzt kann man das Kindertaxi auch ohne Threema verschlüsselt koordinieren.

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Wrapped

by Volker Weber

Wrapped is a short film created by Roman Kaelin, Falko Paeper and Florian Wittmann.

Zu blöd für die Transformation

by Volker Weber

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Das Darmstädter Echo, Gewinner des Verdrängungswettbewerbs unter den Lokalblättern in Darmstadt, kriegt die Kurve einfach nicht. Der Verlag schrumpfte und schrumpfte, bis er letztes Jahr verkauft wurde. Und der Internet-Auftritt? Ein einziger Jammer. Da twittert die Redaktion auf Teufel komm raus den ganzen Polizeibericht rauf und runter, immer schön mit Symbolbildern oder fettem Logo. Und klickt man dann einen Link, dann gibt es erstmal ein Overlay ("Sie haben schon vier von fünf kostenlosen Artikeln diesen Monat gelesen") und dann gibt es oben drauf noch ein Werbe-Overlay. Auch auf den Hinweis, dass man jetzt gar keine Artikel diesen Monat mehr lesen darf.

Viel lesbarer, das Darmstädter Tagblatt. Oder gleich der Polizeibericht.

Lenovo lost interest in the Yoga Tab 3 Pro

by Volker Weber

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The last time that Lenovo patched the Yoga Tab 3 Pro was in late January. And boy, does it need patches. They have resolved many of the crashes I was experiencing from the beginning. But there are still mysterious hangs and crashes. Hint: remove the SD card for making many of those go away. Android security patch level is still at January, 1.

While I am very impressed with BlackBerry's performance on the PRIV, Lenovo seems to have all but abandoned the Yoga Tab 3 Pro. Not quite "Pro" or is it?

Followers (Ello) = Followers (Twitter), for me

by Volker Weber

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I have been on Twitter for almost nine years, never followed more than a hundred accounts and always kept my tweets under one hundred. For a while my followers have been hovering around 3000. There are spam accounts coming and going, but other than that, it's the same bunch of people. I think about 750 of those are still active, the rest is dead wood.

Two years ago Ello launched and I was an early user. It was briefly hyped as a Facebook killer. Which it never was nor intended to be. It is a tiny island, compared to the other networks. And I liked it there. The interesting milestone today was that I had the exact same number of followers there, and the engagement is higher.

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I am not dropping Twitter like I dropped Facebook. It's a place where I get a lot of news. I just found it interesting how quickly Ello has grown for me. And you have to see it. Large, beautiful photos.

BlackBerry releases two features from BBM subscription

by Volker Weber

BBM users on Android, iOS, and BlackBerry devices now have unlimited access to Retract and Timer - previously only available as part of a BBM subscription.

This is so painful to watch. If BlackBerry wants to have a tiny chance to keep BBM relevant, they need to dump every single feature they are not making money on into the product.

More >

BlackBerry patches PRIV to latest Android security level

by Volker Weber

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BlackBerry does not break the chain of patching their device faster than Google patches the Nexus line. Every single month since the PRIV shipped. Color me impressed.

The Panama Papers, explained with piggy banks

by Volker Weber

Brilliant explanation on Reddit:

When you get a quarter you put it in the piggy bank. The piggy bank is on a shelf in your closet. Your mom knows this and she checks on it every once in a while, so she knows when you put more money in or spend it.

Now one day, you might decide "I don't want mom to look at my money." So you go over to Johnny's house with an extra piggy bank that you're going to keep in his room. You write your name on it and put it in his closet. Johnny's mom is always very busy, so she never has time to check on his piggy bank. So you can keep yours there and it will stay a secret.

Now all the kids in the neighborhood think this is a good idea, and everyone goes to Johnny's house with extra piggy banks. Now Johnny's closet is full of piggy banks from everyone in the neighborhood.

One day, Johnny's mom comes home and sees all the piggy banks. She gets very mad and calls everyone's parents to let them know.

Now not everyone did this for a bad reason. Eric's older brother always steals from his piggy bank, so he just wanted a better hiding spot. Timmy wanted to save up to buy his mom a birthday present without her knowing. Sammy just did it because he thought it was fun. But many kids did do it for a bad reason. Jacob was stealing people's lunch money and didn't want his parents to figure it out. Michael was stealing money from his mom's purse. Fat Bobby's parents put him on a diet, and didn't want them to figure out when he was buying candy.

Now in real life, many very important people were just caught hiding their piggy banks at Johnny's house in Panama. Today their moms all found out. Pretty soon, we'll know more about which of these important people were doing it for bad reasons and which were doing it for good reasons. But almost everyone is in trouble regardless, because it's against the rules to keep secrets no matter what.

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Und wo kauft man Sonos?

by Volker Weber

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Thomas ist der Beste. Und die Kunden auch.

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iPad Pro 9.7

by Volker Weber

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My history with the iPad has some highs and lows. I was very fond of my first iPad. Oliver bought one for me in Orlando in April 2010, when it was not yet available on the German market. I kept it for three years before passing it on. iPad 2 was a slim version, iPad 3 brought Retina and iPad 4 shed some of its weight. I never felt the same excitement like with the original iPad.

Then came the iPad Air and that machine really hit home. Boy, it was fast, and slim. This was it. While many people where craving for the iPad mini, I used this machine a lot. Then came the Air 2 with fingerprint sensor. But it was missing the rotation switch. And I had the wrong color. The final nail was the iPhone 6(S) Plus.

When the iPad Pro came out, I wasn't interested. Too big for my usage. But now that there is an iPad Pro in the same form factor as the Air, with pen input, my fingers are tingling. I love to take notes on Microsoft Surface. I can't wait to see if iPad can match or exceed this experience.

And there is another use case that nobody really talks about. An iPad with a camera that matches an iPhone 6S. It never happened before that an iPad had the same great camera as a contemporary iPhone. I am not afraid to hold up an iPad to take a photo. You may be laughing, but I have a huge viewfinder.

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by Volker Weber

Thomas spricht klar. Kein "suche neue Herausforderung". Ich liebe das.

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I explain difficult concepts in simple ways. For free, and for money. Clue procurement and bullshit detection.

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