Author: Volker Weber

Online trolls are also jerks IRL

Why are online discussions about politics more hostile than offline discussions? A popular answer argues that human psychology is tailored for face-to-face interaction and people’s behavior therefore changes for the worse in impersonal online discussions. We provide a theoretical formalization and empirical test of this explanation: the mismatch hypothesis. We argue that mismatches between human psychology and novel features of online environments could (a) change people’s behavior, (b) create adverse selection effects and (c) bias people’s perceptions. Across eight studies, leveraging cross-national surveys and behavioral experiments (total N=8,434), we test the mismatch hypothesis but only find evidence for limited selection effects. Instead, hostile political discussions are the result of status-driven individuals who are drawn to politics and are equally hostile both online and offline. Finally, we offer initial evidence that online discussions feel more hostile, in part, because the behavior of such individuals is more visible than offline.

Alexander Bor, Michael Bang Petersen

Goes with my assumption that the percentage of assholes is a constant, no matter where you take a sample. The Internet just gives them a megaphone.

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Nandi and Dave

This is how it started

My dream is to one day jam with Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins and all the @Foo Fighters! Mr Grohl I would love to have a drum battle with you! I LOVE Everlong it’s really hard to play as it’s so fast but so much FUN!!!

Nandi Bushell
Dave tells it
… without Dave’s speech, but much better

This made me so happy today, especially the part where Nandi loosened up after the break.

Google messaging, or Google mess

Because no single company has ever failed at something this badly, for this long, with this many different products (and because it has barely been a month since the rollout of Google Chat), the time has come to outline the history of Google messaging. Prepare yourselves, dear readers, for a non-stop rollercoaster of new product launches, neglected established products, unexpected shut-downs, and legions of confused, frustrated, and exiled users.

If you don’t have the time for the whole thing, then at least read the table of contents.

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Benks Desktop Headset Stand

Seit Monaten sticht mir bei den Videos von Rafael Zeier ein Desktop-Ständer für den Apple AirPods Max ins Auge. Neulich hat er mir dann verraten, dass das ein Benks Desktop Headset Stand (erhältlich auch bei Amazon) ist. Und der sieht nicht nur unverschämt gut aus, sondern ist auch sehr solider Maschinenbau.

Das Stützrohr ist nach vorne geneigt, so dass der Kopfhörer frei hängt.

Die Aufnahme für das Kopfband ist exakt so geformt wie das Mesh des AirPods Max, so dass es nicht gedehnt wird, wenn der Kopfhörer darauf hängt. Auch wenn das Design maßgeschneidert für AirPods Max ist, funktioniert es auch mit anderen Kopfhörern, die man nicht auf einen schmalen Haken hängen will.

Rafaels Modell ist passend zu seinem Max weiß und chromfarben, bei mir passt schwarz und dunkelgrau besser. Man muss nach dem Auspacken lediglich das Rohr in eine eckige Aufnahme stecken und von unten eine Inbus-Schraube eindrehen. Der Schlüssel dafür wird mitgeliefert. Die eckige Aufnahme verhindert, dass sich der Arm in der Basis dreht.

Man sieht hier auch das Einzige, was das Auge stört: Das aufgedruckte Benks-Logo. Dem muss ich noch zu Leibe rücken.

35 Euro kostet das gute Stück. Finde ich sehr angemessen.

Microsoft Pulls Android Office from Chromebooks

I love Chromebooks, if only for their ease of operation. It takes literally minutes to set them up, all of the configuration is stored in the Google Cloud, they get updates for up to eight years. More recently they advanced from cheap & awful to quite beautiful and powerful. I am currently on a Lenovo Yoga C13 Chromebook, which is stunning.

Chromebooks runs most everything in the browser, but you can also Android apps. For me those were mainly Microsoft Office apps and a few text editors like iA Writer, ruff and Text. Now Microsoft drops support for those Office Apps on Chromebooks and wants me to use the Office Web Apps. Since I have not been traveling a lot recently, I don’t know the implications for me yet.

Teams built into Windows 11

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re beginning to roll out new Windows 11 consumer experiences to bring you closer to the people you love, your friends and family, using Microsoft Teams. This includes a sleek new Chat flyout right off the taskbar as well as an overall Teams desktop experience architected for optimized performance and the Windows 11 design language. You can remain connected to the people you care about with chats and video calls from the convenience of your Windows 11 PC, while they can participate from any device with Microsoft Teams: desktop, mobile, or even just a web browser.

Brandon Le Blanc

I have the Insider Build of Windows 11 on my Surface Pro X, which is an ARM device. It’s running much better than the latest Windows 10 build, and it also looks more modern. Now Microsoft has started to rollout Teams on this build. I am logged in with my private Microsoft account.

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Video-Loops mit Apple Clips

Letzte Woche habe ich dieses Video mit viel Spaß gesehen und hatte nun Probleme es wiederzufinden. Darum poste ich es einfach hier. 😊

Es geht um die App Clips und wie man damit Video-Loops baut. Clips ist ziemlich unbekannt, aber ich nutze es gern, um blitzschnell Videos zu schneiden. Dazu nimmt man die Videos zunächst auf, um sie dann in Clips zu montieren. Man kann auch direkt in Clips aufzeichnen, aber das finde ich unhandlicher.

Matter gets delayed

In May of this year, we saw a development path with first devices through certification by the end of the year in 2021. With the completion of several test events and forecasting, our members have updated the schedule to reflect a commitment to ensuring that the SDK, and related tools, are ready to meet the expectations of the market when launched and enable a large ecosystem of interoperable Matter products. Our refined plans include ongoing SDK and certification program development in 2H 2021, targeting a “pre-ballot” version of the technical spec available to members at year’s end. In the first half of 2022, we expect to see the SDK released, the first devices through certification, and our formal certification program opening.  

Tobin Richardson, President & CEO, Connectivity Standard Alliance

The smarthome market is a mess. Incompatible products, lots of proprietary gateways, different architectures, privacy issues. You will need to replace everything in the future, and we can only hope for better interoperability with a standard. I was hoping to see products towards the end of the year, but now Matter is pushed out further into the future.