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19:58

Beyond the Blue Band Generation

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

2:52

Bhoom Bhoom Africa

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

23:38

Which IT setup would you buy if money wasn’t an issue?

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

In the age of tablet computers and the fact that I do spend about 80% of my computing needs on a stationary computer setup, it may sound a bit ironic that I am still wasting time on wondering about “the ideal mobile computer setup”. Whereas “ideal” stands for affordable and somehow powerful machines that do have that extra gimmick I think I need.

I am currently using an HP Elitebook 6930p (14,1″ Core Duo @ 2,26 GHz), an HP tc4400 (12,1″ convertible tablet laptop) and an Apple iPad2. When in Frankfurt, I use both laptops on an HP docking station which is connected to a 22″ TFT.

The iPad is the first machine I bought as new hardware – all other being 2nd hand or refurbished PCs for about half the price. The iPad is the best piece of hardware I’ve ever bought because it’s instantly online and because it’s good at what it is able to do.

I work with Win7 most of the time because my main client also does. My output needs to look fine on their machines. I have to use MS Outlook (even though I’d like to use something else). I have to use MS Office suites.

I want a laptop with a nice screen (IPS?!, no colour calibration needed, low energy consumption, not higher than 130 dpi). With a nice battery runtime (> 3h). With good and/or switchable gfx. With an illuminated keyboard. With a nice keyboard layout (CTRL + FN keys should be switchable). Touchpad that supports multitouch. 3 USB ports.

Screen and keyboard are my two interfaces that need to be rock solid. My current HPs only have average CCFL-screens – even though their color reproduction is kinda ok.

Going by the above mentioned criteria and the current lack of really cool machines, I’ll probably have to go for an Apple MacBookPro one day. But then – MacBooks? Me?? I grew up with an Atari 1040 STF, there’s the iPad and an iPhone4 – so there’s some sympathy, but else I dislike that there’s no real docking station available for most MacBooks (right?), that the display doesn’t fully open, that all current MacBooks come with a glare type display coating and probably also a few other things that aren’t that great. What I like about them are the magnetic power cord plugs, the illuminated keyboard, the display quality, the battery consumption and the integrated circuit that regulates battery recharging (right?? or is this on Lenovo ThinkPads only?).

So my WHAT-IF question to you is: if money wasn’t the issue, which IT setup would you currently go for and why? Thx!

(there’s a small site run by someone from a German laptop forum which regularly lists good laptop recommendations, but some of those selections are a bit strange. I am currently torn between a modern Lenovo, a MacBook(Pro) or even a business Acer – maybe also HP or Dell (e.g. Dell Latitude E6420), but only if their latest ones don’t have issues like that the internal 3G modem is only activated once the battery is inserted, which is so ridiculous…).

18:51

Pirates, revisited

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

TEDxRM apache An unrelated, but still epic snapshot I took at a recent local TEDx event.

Coming back to my satirical he-said-she-said piece on Pirate Party Kenya, I think there’s 80% truth in it and that Kenya could also use such a modern political party. And this although I also believe that democracy as such still isn’t the best option for today’s Kenya, at least not when it comes to the way it has been implemented in the past and when we look at the historical structure of societies in East Africa.

I am not a member of the Pirate Party Germany because I am trying to be independent and have in the past also contributed to Germany’s first hyperlocal project frankfurt-gestalten.de (which is similar to Mzalendo.com, but for (the City of) Frankfurt am Main only and is more about republishing open data (e.g. hansards from the local parliament) and capturing citizen voices) and have as such tried to keep a neutral position.

I have, however, voted for Pirate Party during the last two local (German) elections because of the following reason(s).

I also voted for them because I am convinced of their concept. You’ll have to understand that about 95% of the German media are currently trying to brand us floating voters as “protest voters“, who voted for the Pirate Party out of protest. This is SO wrong and I am strongly opposed to this limited point of view! The problem is: most of the media didn’t get it. As much as they never understood the need to update their views on the law which regulates the use of (online) content. What’s a free and open media when they are too stupid to understand a completely different approach to politics? A new approach that also requires a different benchmarking system if we are to compare the new option with the traditional alternatives. And please remember: Germany already saw the introduction of the Greens Party (“Die Grünen”) in the early 1980s, so our society here is already familiar with new approaches.

I am calling the Pirate movement a modern party because I strongly believe that their structure is the logical consequence of what the internet has brought us so far. Such as an international and timely response on open issues that have in the past only been dealt with by a relatively small group. I see it as a response to the success of the internet – this world wide network that is as revolutionary as letterpress, radio and television combined. The understanding of the impact the internet has on all of us probably is something that many of the critics do not really want to acknowledge. As such, with new structures that introduced a completely new concept in communication, it’s also about time for a new and different system. Either way, it just happens, whether you like it or not. I also don’t like everything they put on Wikipedia, yet I often use it like many others.

What makes Pirates Party special to me is the integration of modern tools and a completely different understanding of grassroots democracy – something we already know from the internet. “Liquid feedback” is such a system and piece of software that collects voices and forwards votes to a person in the system that has more competence on a particular subject. Everyone can cast his vote on all issues or delegate his vote to someone else. It’s still a relatively new approach, but the one that makes the difference to me. This alone – the different understanding of TRUE democracy – is reason enough for me to give them my vote.

It is also this understanding why I just laugh at critics who are asking me on “how can you vote for the Pirates – they don’t even have a political agenda next to their internet stuff??! 1!11″. Most critics just repeat what they read somewhere.

And the Pirate name? Well, both in Kenya and Germany, many if not all political parties seem to have names that don’t hold true to 95% of their daily business. Maybe the Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany (founded in 1981 by two punks) is one of the few that is as consequent in their approaches as the name dictates. So either way you may want to interpret the name and how it qualifies for a better marketing strategy (given that it sounds a bit anarchic to most conservative voters), it probably only matters for marketing reasons and as such, it isn’t the worst.

In a recent election in two different states within Germany, the German Piratenpartei scored between 7 and almost 9%, thereby securing a few seats in local parliaments. They currently have over 23.000 (!) members in Germany, which is quite a lot for such a young party. Something tells me that a) they are doing it right, b) the interest to engage in local politics isn’t dead and as important as it has always been and c) not all of their members are the stereotypical IT folks with long hair who are into Terry Pratchett and/or have a paranoid fear of everything Google Inc. does. All these members, rich and poor, old and young certainly aren’t engaging for the protest only.

It is for these reasons alone, but also for many unmentioned more that I would to see politics adopting more structures that correspond to the technological framework we currently experience on our planet. New structures that enable crowdsourced project approaches, something that will hopefully also change the way we perceive to live in urban communities (e.g. a modernized infrastructure that plays along with our needs, not the other way round as it has been in the past). Pirate Party as such may not be the best option with all its typical start-up problems, but it’s the one that works and that’s all that matters to me at the moment. If we could have the same in Kenya, I’d be very happy!

9:41

Famous former Kenyan blogger to open Pirate Party branch

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

(Pirate Party Kenya logo courtesy of H.E. Kahenya Kamunyu, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Famous former Kenyan blogger, techpreneur and writer Kahenya Kamunyu today announced the formation of Pirate Party Kenya.

In a festive event at Tribe Hotel, Mr. Kahenya said that Pirate Party Kenya has now been officially registered according to Chapter 7 (a) of the Political Parties Act as a Political Party in Kenya.

Pirate Party International

Pirate Party must not be mistaken for the Eastleigh-based Pirates Ransoms Association (PRA) or the Give Enough Money Association (GEMA), but is instead a Political Party which has of late been successful in different countries such as Scandinavia or German.

Mr. Kahenya today said that the motivation for the formation of the Kenyan branch of Pirate Party came from reading the late Wahome Mutahi’s “How to be Kenyan” which reminded him of the core values within the Kenyan society: good leadership, quick wins and a rich nation.

According to an Internet database, the Pirate Parties support civil rights, direct democracy and participation, reform of copyright and patent law, free sharing of knowledge (Open Content), data privacy, transparency, freedom of information, free education and universal healthcare.

Pirate Party Kenya will be the first Pirate Party branch in Sub Sahara Africa, with Morocco and Tunisia being the other two Up Sahara African countries where Pirate Parties exist, albeit unregistered. This will make Pirate Party Kenya unique on the continent and will underline the important role it will play for the region, Mr. Kamunyu said.

Interested members of the public and all members of Kenya’s famous tech incubator iHub are asked to join and register with Pirate Party Kenya as of today, Mr. Kahenya said.

Upcoming elections

Mr. Kahenya also said that he is going to run for the presidential seat in 2012.

After a quick enquiry via the Nation’s Social Media back channel Twitter, many Kenyan Twitter celebrities welcomed this announcement and said they will support Mr. Kahenya and even vote for him in the upcoming elections.

Twitter is an instant message service similar to SMS and has recently been announced as the official successor to SMS by Safaricom’s pleasant CEO Bob Collymore. In a press announcement via Twitter earlier this week, Mr. Collymore said that his company will offer special Twitter packages and is already in talks with Twitter Inc. in California for a zero costs access service.

Bandwidth, bandwidth, bandwidth

Pirate Party Kenya, Mr. Kamunyu said, will also focus on bandwidth problems which have of late been an issue in the upcoming ICT industry in Kenya’s striving capital Nairobi. “We will actually work for bandwidth“, Mr. Kamunyu said. “Interested IT companies will receive a reduced membership fee for their employees and are also encouraged to pay via stable bandwidth, airtime credits or local content“, he said.

“Pirate Party Kenya will also advocate for Free and Open Software in Kenya and ask the Government of Kenya to introduce a secure web-based email service for all public servants. This will also ensure productivity at various parastatal offices which are often affected by malware and other security issues.”, Mr. Kahenya said.

Mr Kahenya also said that “in a country where you can already pay your rent, your electricity, internet and water bills via mobile payment systems, it is about time to have a modern political party which addresses the needs of all stakeholders. Pirate Party Kenya will stand for these rights and will ensure that Kenyans are prepared for the global competition.
Furthermore, we encourage everyone who is fed up with the current political spectrum to give us his vote as we also provide democracy at a very basic level. All our members can directly vote for a candidate and it is this democratic basis that ensures stability in the long run”.

In a direct response via Facebook, famous Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina said that he will name one of the characters in his upcoming novel “Kahenya”. Mr Wainaina is currently crowdsourcing fictional characters for a novel on a Kenyan who becomes a Swahili star in popular Nollywood movies. It is said to be the first true piece of pan-African fiction after the remains of Muammar al-Gaddafi’s diaries (“United States of Africa”) where found in a sewage pipe in Sirte, Libya in October 2011. Binya, as he is commonly known among his fans, said that “I support Kahenya Kamunyu’s introduction of the Pirate Party system in Kenya because Pirate Party Kenya will play an important role for the acknowledgement of Intellectual Property Rights which have always been an issue in most African societies due to historical reasons.”.

Meanwhile, the website of Pirate Party Kenya could not be reached at the time we went to press. “We are currently experiencing technical problems with the load balancer”, Mr Kahenya said in a telephone interview. “This, however, also is a good sign as it clearly shows the demand for a Pirate Party in Kenya”, he said.

3:51

Hallo ihr Lieben…. #haul

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

“Hallo ihr Lieben” (hello my dear) is the greeting form used on most German haul videos – this peculiar internet meme where young girls present their latest hauls (~ purchases from recent shopping sprees). Their content probably says a lot about the (un)importance in today’s world, but it should also be mentioned that my fiancée likes them, at least for the make-up tips. She’s a teacher and needs these videos with no actual content to calm down after a long day of work. Yes, I love her nevertheless. And because I am such a geek who equally likes to show off his latest deals, here’s my attempt at doing so:

Leatherman sheaths (yes, again…)

After my recent trouble with Leatherman Germany which resulted in paying EUR 36 for a new Leatherman Charge TTi, I thought about the need for another multitool sheath. Now, the sheath issue isn’t new to me as I’ve often talked about it here and even on instructables. Leatherman delivers their multitools with different sheath, but they are all not that perfect, especially since some tools also come with a bit set which often doesn’t fit in a sheath along with the tool itself.

the new collection

So after receiving the Charge TTi with a revised sheath, I decided to buy a Leatherman Molle sheath. MOLLE stands for MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment and is the “de facto standard for modular tactical gear”. It’s a great system, but since I usually don’t wear any military clothes (nor have a need for that), I was rather interested in the sheath itself and how well it would accommodate the multitool, not really worrying about the MOLLE system that would have to work out on my belt.

Leatherman MOLLE The Leathman MOLLE sheath with a Leatherman Charge TTi and the bit kit. And an LED LENSER P2 led torch that won’t fit in there. Bad :-(

Leatherman MOLLE

Well, it just doesn’t work for me. It has some nice details, but since it’s too small and also doesn’t even fit the tool nor the extra LED torch, it will have to go back on sale via eBay. Ah, it could be worse.

Next up was an advertisement I’d seen via multitool.org – a great forum on multitools and other EDC stuff. It’s amazing to see how much and how often people can talk about these tools, but then – I’ve recently learned that these brands we’re passionate about are called “love brands”. If you like Arsenal or Ferrari F1, then those are your love brands. Mine is Leatherman. Obviously :-)

The Skinth OG

So this ad I’d seen was for a new kind of sheath called “Skinth Solutions“, made by a Canadian designer/photographer who’s also into multitools. I saw it and instantly fell in love with it. Given that I had already invested so much time and money into this hobby of mine (~ creating sheaths for tools), I knew I had to order mine from Canada – and just did that. It’s expensive (for me in .DE), it’s simple, it just works, it wins.

I later on realized that the Skinth had also been developed in close collaboration with other multitool.org users. It’s a crowdsourced product, somehow. Made by someone who cares and had MY tool in mind when he created the product.

Skinth OG

The Skinth OG isn’t perfect, it still has some issues, but it’s what Leatherman should have come up with in the first place.

The issue I am currently experiencing is that the torch doesn’t fit – and a few days after ordering mine, the Skinth Sparton OG came out which looks like the ultimate ~~sheath~~ Skinth to me. Hmmm…..

the bunch

In terms of overall height – which is the most important criterion I have as most Leatherman sheaths are just too bulky when fully loaded – the Skinth beats all others. It’s even slimmer than my DIY leather sheaths (which aren’t pictured).

Going by the torch issue, I may swap the Skinth OG for a Skinth Spartan OG. The torch just can’t be fully inserted on the Skinth OG and that’s just bad for my needs. It’s too long for the side pockets.

Nevertheless of this issue, the Skinth sheaths (check out their Facebook page!) are still cool. Juli, the social media manager at Leatherman, told me that “sheath are a very personal issue”, which is why they’re having problems creating good sheaths that will please everyone equally. The Skinth collection, however, instantly convinced me. If you’re still searching for a nice sheath for your multitool, then please try them!

Eric, the maker behind the Skinth collection, also just dropped me an e-mail, telling me that there’s a chance to “undo the stitches that pin the pockets down” which will sort-of solve my issue with the current version. I will try that as it seems to be the best solution atm. Thx, Eric!

Edit: this just worked out fine! W000t! :-)

Skinth OG

PalmMicro

My recent move to the (Free and Hanseatic City of) Hamburg made me pick up a brand new VoIP telephone via eBay Germany. Just EUR 9 for a factory sealed phone ex 2005 from a clearance sale (TelDaFax!) that only works via LAN and requires a VoIP account – I am using Sipgate which are very reliable in Germany. It also is my office number in Frankfurt, so I like to have this with me and not on a Nokia or Apple device in form of an app as this would only drain the battery. Sipgate is cool, this phone…well, it was cheap.

My previous experience with cheaper VoIP phones is rather bad. I am not talking about USB phones (which would require a computer to be online), btw. If I was in need of a professional version with more than one account, I would probably go for a Grandstream phone (where the cheapest will cost about EUR 50 in Germany). On the other hand – there would be no hacking challenge :-)

Primeworx P100

A quick search via Google revealed that most of the phones weren’t delivered with this ugly red frame – and I was lucky to receive it in black colour:

Primeworx P100

The booting telephone…

The pictured Primeworx P100 is the same as the Global IPtel G100, Cistrix CT-100, Siptronic ST-102 and probably some other brands and is based on the PA1688 chip, a low-cost VoIP chip.

It took me several hours / three evenings to eventually debrand the internal firmware and swap it for one of those available online. And since my phone was made in 2005, the website of the distributor is already offline. After some cross-reading here and there, I found this wonderful resource online: PalmMicro – a private site/blog run by a Chinese in the USA who worked in the dev team at PalmMicro/Centrality where they designed the chip, created reference boards and also compiled the firmware. It’s probably as close as you can get to a system – directly talking to former developers who will respond in time – and his blog is also recommendable for the views on hardware development in China and restrictions set by the Great Firewall in China. Reading between the lines, you quickly realize that it’s often just a few smaller companies who create chips and reference boards which are then copied by the industry and sold for a period of a few years. It very much reminds me of the Qualcomm 3G modems we all have in our business laptops with their often undocumented GPS functionality (ask Lenovo, HP, etc.). Anyways. PalmMicro rocks and if you are still in need of recent firmware (as recent as January 2012!) for your cheap VoIP phone, PalmMicro is the place to visit for your Global IPtel G100, Cistrix CT-100, Siptronic ST-102 or Primeworx P100.

AOB:

Werder

Many people often ask me, which football team I support. I actually don’t care about football/soccer and am often scared by their aggressive ~~hooligans~~ fans, so this picture of a lighter I bought today should answer all open questions. :-)

Have a nice week!

2:37

Mein lieber Ilija Trojanow

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

we-are-in-the-same-boat

Mein lieber Ilija Trojanow, mit dem Weltensammler hattest Du mich ja schon erreicht – dieser phantasievoll zusammengetragenen Biographie über Sir Richard Francis Burton, dem wahrscheinlich vielseitigsten Abenteurer und Kosmopoliten des viktorianischen Zeitalters. Ein Buch, dass sich ob des ständigen Wechsels der Erzählperspektive zum Ende hin im ostafrikanischen Schlamm wälzt und in meinem Bekanntenkreis anderer Afrikareisender teilweise schon nach 50 Seiten zur Seite gelegt wurde. Ein Buch, dass so viel Leidenschaft in sich trägt, dass es eines weiteren Bandes (“Nomade auf vier Kontinenten”) bedurfte, in dem das Universum und die Eigenarten des Herrn Burton näher beschrieben wurden. Schwierige Kost, so vermute ich, für all diejenigen, die auch im Zwiegespräch der Kulturen keinen Segen finden. Leidenschaft ist aber ein heimliches Dauerthema in meiner Welt, daher freut es mich umso mehr, in dieser beschriebenen Welt die Feinheiten zu erlesen, die den Herrn Burton wohl ausmachten.

Gefragt hatte ich Dich im Dezember 2006, im Goethe-Institut in Nairobi, nach der gemeinsamen Lesung mit Binyavanga Wainaina, über Deinen “Wechsel” zum Islam. Gelesen hatte ich den Weltensammler seinerzeit noch nicht – die wahre Motivation erschloss sich dann auch erst beim Lesen dieses überaus wunderbaren Interviews.

Ob es dem Burton in Ostafrika eigentlich gefallen hat, frage ich mich jetzt öfter. Ob er aufgrund der Eintönigkeit nicht nur für die Konversationen mit den Kaufleuten orientalischer Abstammung gelebt hat.

Vielleicht die gleiche Motivation, warum sich Binyavanga wohl derzeit am nigerianischen Nollywood-Fieber abarbeitet und auf Facebook Charaktere aus dem nächsten Projekt vorstellt. Ein kenianischer Schriftsteller – in Südafrika studiert, gearbeitet, über einen zynischen Artikel Berühmtheit erlangt; den Literaturbetrieb im Lande aufgewirbelt in den frühen 2000ern; die Hand, die ihn derzeit füttert, kritisierend, sich an einem modernen Afrika versucht – gar einem “interafrikanischen” Austausch, wie wir ihn vielleicht zuletzt beim CFA, bei Kwame Nrkrumah oder der Roamingvernetzung von Airtel Africa gesehen haben. Ein Schriftsteller, der ebenfalls zwischen den Welten lebt. “Nairobi people live in at least two different worlds”. Allein, er wohnt ja jetzt in den USA.

Trojanow Bücher

Nein, nein, dieses “Afrika” aus unserer Kindheit – es ist lange vorbei. Oder zumindest anders. Bei der GIZ vielleicht noch, in der “heilen Welt” einiger Auslandsdeutsche, die mit Hörspielen, dem BVB und dem Sonntag Tatort aufgewachsen sind und diese Werte jetzt ins Ausland tragen – überall dort, ja, das wirst Du sicherlich immer wieder erlebt haben im Ausland, bei Botschaftsempfängen und bei jungen DaF-Lektoren, da ist es noch so.

So wie Du es beschrieben hattest auf den ersten Seiten meiner neuesten Lektüre “Der entfesselte Globus” – eine Sammlung von Reportagen von Unterwegs. Und auf den ersten 12 Seiten sogleich die Beschreibung der deutschen “Community” in Nairobi.

Unserem Nairobi von damals, als die deutsche Community eine ähnliche bornierte Grundhaltung gegenüber dem Rest des Landes zeigte, wie sie wohl in ähnlicher Form nur Tom Hillenbrand (“Hamburg, keine Perle“) formuliert hatte (es muss ja für Daheimgebliebene nachvollziehbar sein) – ich vermute es ist nur noch schlimmer geworden. Alleine weil man in der vernetzten Gesellschaft (Mobilfunk! Satellitenfernsehen! Internet!) weniger Gemeinsamkeiten entdeckt. War die Community wohl damals noch eine Solche, ist es heute eher ein Zweckverbund.

Aber ich will ihr keinen Vorwurf machen – es gibt wahrlich introvertiertere Kulturen, die so dermaßen mit sich selbst beschäftigt sind, dass sie den externen Austausch nur dann wahrnehmen, wenn er neue Qualitäten ins Land spühlt.

Ob es den Weihnachtsstollen noch gibt – ich weiß es nicht. Zwischen uns liegen zehn Jahre Altersunterschied, kein so wirklich großer Unterschied im Nachhinein. Nairobi, mit seinen chronisch verstopften Straßen (Richard Branson stand letztens 2h im Stau), weil vier Mal so viele Fahrzeuge unterwegs wie eigentlich angebracht wären. Die deutsche Auslandsschule, die sich heute (!) nach all den Jahren endlich dazu durchringen konnte, die Verantwortung für die Domain von mir zu übernehmen; die Schule, die bei mir mehr als einmal verschissen hat (“es gibt kein schwarzes Christkind”); die Schule, in der mir mein Mathe- und Sportlehrer nach der allgemeinen deutschen Reifeprüfung nahelegte, “nichts mit Naturwissenschaften zu studieren”, und ich es dann trotzdem gemacht hatte; Nairobi, dass mich mit seinem iHub und meinen Freunden aus der kenianischen Blogosphere anlockt aber ob der Kosten für den westlichen Lebensstil und dem Reichtum der aufkommenden Mittelklasse eher abschreckt. All das, weil ja immer wieder die Frage nach der Rückkehr aufkommt. Gearbeitet habe ich in Kenia, das Land von einer anderen Seite kennengelernt. Das wahre Kenia kennengelernt, fernab der Hauptstadt. So wie Du Afrika bereist hattest. Ich erinnere mich noch gut an das Afrikanissimo Lesebuch, dieser erste Versuch der literarischen Annäherung. Gerne würde ich jetzt schreiben: ja, so war es damals, in den 1990er Jahren, als Kenia unter Moi noch fest im Griff der Mächte war, als es aus Afrika überwiegend Betroffenheitsliteratur gab – gespickt mit ein paar deutschen Reportagesammlungen der üblichen Journalisten, die sich mit einem Afrikabuch ein Denkmal setzen wollten (zurecht, hätte ich wohl auch so gemacht), aber keiner auch nur annähernd an Ryszard Kapuscinski herankam und das Afrikanissimo Buch der erste Schritt in die richtige Richtung war. Aber stattdessen schreibe ich nur: Lavington Green.

“Lavington Green”, die ersten beiden Worte im “entfesselten Globus”, die die Einkaufszeile beschreiben, wo früher zwei fette Punjabi Damen, Mukhwas-kauend, hinter der Kasse sitzend Anweisungen an ihre kenianischen Angestellten gegeben, sich dabei den Sari zurechtgerückt haben. Erinnerungen, die beim Lesen dieser Zeilen wiederkommen, die ich teilweise verdrängt hatte, weil das Einkaufszentrum in dieser Form nicht mehr existiert (der Sailsbury Supermarket aber wohl immer noch). Überhaupt, wir, die mit Forsty neben der Heilsarmee gewohnt haben, wo man jeden Sonntag Morgen die Uhr nach dem Trommelgesang stellen konnte…

Allein, allein, allein – das Buch hatte ich eigentlich ob der Reportagen aus Indien gekauft. Weil ich doch jetzt zum Ende der Woche mit einem indischen Kollegen aus Allahabad eine WG teilen werde – dem Kollegen, der sich unabhängig von mir Deinen Kumbh Mela Bildband gekauft hatte und wir so anfangs ins Gespräch kamen. “Same author!”, sagte ich ihm, und denke mir fortan “auf zu neuen Ufern!”.

Thank you for all these books!

17:18

Meine große Schwester sagt….

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

3:01

My experiences with Leatherman Germany, or: why passion matters.

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

Good news and bad news. Twice.

The good news is that I have a new job in a new ~~town~~ city, the bad news is that the place is so damn expensive that everything I earn will be wasted on a place to sleep as well as on food. The bad news also includes a very low payment. But I chose this path because it helps me shaping my professional profile and interests (which are various).

The other bad-news-good-news-story is a bit more complicated. The recent move to the new place made me pick up my broken Leatherman Charge TTi multitool (yeah, another gadget post – sry, gals :-) and have it sent to Leatherman Germany for a service repair under warranty.

You’ll need to know that Leatherman multitools come with a 25year warranty. Most broken tools will either be repaired or replaced. It’s a great and decent service by a serious company. I love most of their products and am part of the “Leatherheads Anonymous” addicts group on Facebook. These tools turn me on. Geek pr0n, you name it. Needless to say that I do not only have one, but five such multitools. I actually only need one, a working one in good condition, and my Charge TTi urgently needed some professional help.

Some history
Leatherman Inc. recently acquired a majority interest in Zweibrüder Optoelectronics in Solingen/Germany, who are known for their quality LED Lenser flashlights. This obviously happened because consumers who are willing to invest EUR 30 and more on a decent flashlight will probably also go and buy a EUR 100+ multitool. It’s the sales channels they are interesting in, and it’s a smart move.

This development, however, also meant that Leatherman Germany had to pick up the corporate design and philosophy of their US mother – and if you have ever dealt with a German sales person in service, you’ll quickly understand that “good service” in Germany and the USA are two completely different concepts. German “service quality” is about the engineering of the product (and only the product), US “service quality” is more about emotions. You can read up more on this in Clotaire Rapaille’s book on Culture Codes.

Service Quality?
I have no idea when the concept of German accuracy got lost, but what I received in return from Leatherman Germany was just below ANYTHING, below any quality standard ever I’ve come across so far. And what I had to complain about wasn’t some kinky German non-issue (like a scratch or so), but that they had only made the tool worse. Much worse.

There are these security Torx screws on Leatherman multitools, so you just can not mess with it (and it would also void the warranty). What they had done was to unfasten one of the screws which resulted in a wobbly saw blade – and on the other side of the tool the screws were too tight that I couldn’t open all the tools inside the (miss aligned) handles. The multitool was rendered useless – and returned to me in such a state.

This really pissed me off.

I had read so many positive reviews about the Leatherman customer service which made me send in my fifth tool in the first place. After all these years without any troubles, I eventually needed to make use of the warranty service – and then they mess it up.

Markets are conversations.
( – The Cluetrain Manifest, # 1 / 95)

As a result of the failed repair, but more importantly that they had the guts to return the tool in such a state, my trust in the German branch was lost and I decided to report my negative experience on the Facebook wall of Leatherman USA.

I received an instant reply (within five minutes!) from a very kind person at Leatherman USA who a) really took this issue serious, b) apologized on behalf of Leatherman Inc. and c) made sure I receive a brand new tool directly from the factory line.

The story could end here and all would be well, but it unfortunately continues – with some more WTH?!-moments:

The day after that e-mail & Facebook conversation with Leatherman USA, I received a phone call by Leatherman Germany. The guy on the other end of the line – well…. if this was my company, I would send him on a customer training. First of all, he wouldn’t let me explain the situation, then he replied in a snobbish manner and then he tried to bribe me with some “extras”.

Dear Leatherman Germany, please stop the crap next time and just make us have a positive experience when we are in contact with you. And with “we” I am talking about all German customers. The attitude shown during the phone call corresponded well with the delivered repair, to say the least.

my broken Leatherman Charge TTi

He went on explaining that they only recently took over the repair service on behalf of Leatherman (“you were customer number 20…”) and that they still need to learn on how to handle such situations. That’s ok to me, but to be honest: you can not tell your client (who still has a problem which needs to be solved asap!) something like “uhhm, u know we messed up because we’re still not experienced enough…”, even if it’s the truth. “Yes, we have never repaired Ferraris before, but uhm, let us try, it can not to be that hard…” – see? And then of course if you are still inexperienced and I am client number 20, then it MAY be smarter not to repair the knife, but instead give me another one (wouldn’t need to be a new one) or send it to someone who knows what he’s supposed to do.

So after a hefty dispute on the phone (I normally don’t do that, but the guy on the phone was such an arrogant person which prompted me to reply), we settled on him sending me “something small” in return for the expenses I had with Leatherman so far and that I would return my broken Charge TTi a second time for them to see what was wrong.

LED LENSER T7

A few days later on I received a parcel with a) an LED LENSER T7 flashlight (which has a market value of about EUR 30 on eBay) and b) a Leatherman leather sheath for a range of tools I do not own (= useless). The flashlight is nice – too big for me, but the free and unexpected gift was still appreciated. The sheath – well…. it’s useless to me. I’ve put both items on sale at eBay because they are brand new and because I need to cover my expenses.

Expenses? Yes, Leatherman USA, or rather an uncapable UPS courier service, messed it up a second time which resulted in me having to pay another EUR 36 on import taxes for the brand new Charge TTi which came as a replacement. So both sales of the above mentioned “free gifts” will have to cover my costs. Which is ok. It’s extra work, it’s partly my mistake because I accepted the US parcel instead of asking for a duty-free version (and waiting for another week), but in the end I managed to have my Charge TTi exchanged for a working version (my old Charge TTi wasn’t only broken, it also had quality issues ex factory) and paid only a few extra Euros. The money, uh well. Forget about it.

The replacement tool is so much better. I should have requested a replacement for my Charge TTi right from the very start. The Charge TTi line is known for having quality issues, and mine was part of those faulty multitools.

And Leatherman Germany? No response from them whatsoever since receiving the “free gifts”. Not so Leatherman USA who really impressed me with their understanding of quality service and human communication. I hope they will train their German colleagues accordingly.

If there is anything like a silver lining on all of this then it’s probably the insight that good customer service does not depend on a trained concept, but more importantly that it depends on passion.

Passion is the driving force behind a lot of things – and if there’s anything I appreciate in others then it’s their passion for a good cause or good products. It’s so important and clearly shows when it’s absent.

P.S.-1: I take it that the folks of Letherman Germany are passionate about their LED flashlights, because if they act the same way on their flashlights as they did with my Leatherman then we may have a problem…

P.S.-2: Facebook may not be used by everyone, but it’s an interesting marketing instrument and channel for direct interactions with your customers. On the US (=international) Facebook channel of Leatherman they do not only respond in time and very fast, but also deliver follow-ups to problems. They really care. From my .DE point of view, this certainly is a very new experience and highly appreciated.

18:30

On micro SD card readers

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

click for full view

Back when I was still on Nokia and later on Android phones, a microSD card reader on my keychain was key :-) to what I call data freedom. I also believe that micro SD cards are the best invention after sliced bread and that they should be on all phones and should contain all user data (so that your data is secured in case of a water damage). The lack of microSD card compatibility on my iPhone and iPad is that one thing I dislike about these Apple gadgets.

The readers for these microSD cards are cheap – most of them purchased via eBay in China, about 1-3 EUR each. I’ve meanwhile tested a lot and the ones I’ve kept are shown above. Most readers have a similar PCB layout inside and I wouldn’t be surprised if they are all from the same manufacturer.

Here’s my preliminary rating on these types:

1. conventional USB card reader that also accepts SDHC format. Great, lightweight. I have one in my bag with cables and chargers. ==> A

2. The plastic version: one of the first readers and because of its shape nice for the pocket, but only those from SanDisk rock, the rest (like this one) are cheap Chinese copies that may fail. Also card is unprotected, may come out accidentally. ==> A

3. Small, very small, but the microSD card isn’t secured and mine has a problem as it pushes the PCB further down when the card is inserted which means it won’t fit in the USB port. Also no secured cap which may get lost. ==> B-

4. Flat reader, would be nice if only… the “ear” that holds the cord had less sharp edges. Too fragile for the pocket. ==> B

5. One strange reader, inside like no. 6. The plastic bomber. May break any time and is for the occasional user only who doesn’t mind when other USB ports are getting blocked. ==> C-

6. Not the smallest reader, but one where the SD card is secured by another cover. I’ve been using this one for the past few month. ==> A+

7. My latest purchase – the ear for the cord is inside the frame, rounded edges, still as slim as possible. Not the cheapest (4.5 EUR), but well made and from my favourite company Kingston. The recent purchase of a Kingston microSD card actually made me buy this reader no. 7. because the cards and the reader ARE superior - at least to the nameless fake quality I usually go for. ==> A+

What kind of USB key do you use? Also one of these microSD cards on a reader? Or the conventional type? Or non at all?

I know it’s strange to write about these 1-3 EUR gadgets because we just get new ones when the old ones stop working, but it’s the details in life that matter and I wouldn’t want to use one of these USB keys that imo aren’t that well designed (they should be much slimmer). Especially if you can have the full USB pleasure with a card and reader that are as big as your thumb – but much slimmer.

19:56

If I could, I would….

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

16:36

Four reasons for the change of….

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

A final blog post for the end of the past year 2011 which unfortunately saw too many deaths of beloved people and only a few posts on this blog – also due to the Posterous / Facebook / Twitter competition and not many actually willing to read longer blog posts as a result of the information overflow.

It’s not that I am only into tech stuff, but I am passionate about these gadgets and that’s also reason enough to note down the following motivation.

The Apple iPhone 4 vs. The Motorola Defy

There are ~~three~~ four (five) reasons why I’m planing to skip the freedom that comes with Android and switch (back) to an iPhone 4 (not 4S) in 2012:

1. There may be great Android phones and my Motorola Defy (“Jordan, MB525″) is a lot of phone for the money, but it’s a few millimeters too small for my fingers which means that typing on the screen is easier and quicker on the iPhone.

2. Both cameras on both phones have 5mpx sensors, but there’s some magic to the iPhone 4 camera that the Defy camera just does not have. And I’ve tried all cameras on the Android market, am using MIUI on the Defy which also includes the CyanogenMod7 camera app and…well, I just don’t like the results. It always takes several attempts to get a decent, not blurry picture and if the flash is activated, then it’s even worse. It could also be the software processing, less the hardware.

A somehow blurry snapshot, shot on a cloudy/rainy day in October. Not really what I expected to receive from the camera.

I take a lot of pictures with the phone, I knew that the camera on the Defy wouldn’t be that great and I’ve learned my lesson. If a decent camera on the phone is important to you, then go for an iPhone. Also compared to what Nokia used to produce – it’s imo better to use a 50-60% camera that “just works” than one that only delivers blurry images or blinds people with an aggressive flash (hello, Nokia N95!).

3. The dock connector. I am using a docking station on my desk and next to my bed. When I fall asleep, I just want to drop the phone into the docking station where it’s being recharged etc. – and not manually open a flap on the side of the phone and plug in a mini USB cable. I’m used to this procedure now, but I also know that these things are easier with the iPhone and a bit more complicated with the Defy (which is why I sold/gave away both docking stations I had for the Defy).

4. I got a very generous offer from a friend that I just have to accept and which enables me to make the swap to the other phone. The irony is that the iPhone is currently locked to ze Görmän Terrorkom (T-Mobile) network and will only be unlocked in the middle of 2012, but all of these limitations don’t matter to me for the above mentioned reasons. Another motivation probably also is that iOS 5 finally brought the changes that I requested iOS to have (and which I preferred on Android).

5. Not a real reason, but still: my sister, who always refused iPhones (“I don’t need them…”), suddenly surprised me in mid 2011 with the purchase of an iPhone 4 32GB. Which comes with FaceTime! All these years of introducing Skype within the family were rather unsuccessful, but this (stupid) FaceTime app now suddenly introduced video telephony within the family. Yeah, well…. whatever.

What I will certainly miss is the removable battery (haha, just kidding – the only reason to remove it is to reset the phone – seriously) and the microSD card which – and I differ here with experts like Eldar Murtazin – I think is very great because it enables you to keep your user data in one place. Water damage with the iPhone? You’re doomed! But not so with phones where microSD-cards keep most of your data. I think that’s pretty convenient and a valid argument pro microSD-cards. Another great convenience of course is that you just type in your gmail address and it will automatically setup your phone. Totally awesome. Or alternative app stores like AppBrain - so much more advanced than the iTunes store.

As I said, Android is good, attractive and my OS of choice. The Defy is a very nice phone but I’ve realized that for my own daily needs, the iPhone just does a better job.

Half of my geek friends are from the “there’s-no-other-smartphone-than-the-iPhone” group, and the other group is more like “Android-is-better-because-iOS-is-worse”.

So the bottom line probably is that it takes a longer test of all available systems and a small set of important apps that just need to work in order to see which phone suits the user.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the redesign on this blog here: I’ve updated WordPress to 3.3 and that somehow destroyed my blog template – which I had been meaning to change since 2006! Again, it probably takes some interaction from the outside to make the switch. Thx, @alipasha!

Everyone, please have a peaceful and happy New Year 2012!

17:17

Life’s too short for crap

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

I may be late to the party, but I just couldn’t resist and ordered an iPad 2 (16GB, 3G).

It’s a strange situation because I am already an Android user these days for the phone side and really appreciate the freedom (and costs!) that come with it despite Androids downsides (my main criticism is that there are no vouchers available for the Android app market as opposed to the iTunes store => +1.85% on each app purchase while using my EU credit card).

tc4400-ipad2-flytouch3
My beloved HP tc4400, the iPad2 on iOS5 and a FlyTouch 3 Android 2.2 tablet that still lacks a PDF reader because it’s already on auction. The FlyTouch btw also has a 1024×600 screen – as opposed to the other two on who offer a 1024×768 screen resolution. Good fore movies, bad for PDFs.

No, there’s much more to an iPad, obviously, and probably also more than enough reasons why over 29 million (!) iPads have already been sold till now. A “tablet revolution”? No, but a tablet revolution based on the iPad – that’s for sure.

I am used to buying second hand hardware and this time I am glad I had found a way to finance this purchase (via a mobile phone contract = subsidized hardware) and with the sudden loss of a dear family member earlier this year, I also realized that life is indeed too short for crappy products. Why should I waste time with stupid hardware if instead I can also go for the real thing?

This very emotional reason probably is the most honest excuse for this purchase, but you know what? Clicking that “buy” button felt damn good. Whatever they say about Apple products and their fanboyz – it’s true, it’s a *feel-good-world*.

So why should I still blog about this purchase if 29 million out there have already made this buying decision? Because I have a smart list that matters to me. Here’s my TOP5 reasons for the purchase:

Passion
After watching this documentary earlier last month about former Microsoft employees, it eventually occurred to me that most MS products just lack passion .

This is exactly what I like the most about these portable Apple products: a meticulous CEO that demoed his products and also looked at the smallest details.

Or Linux developers who create stuff out of passion. Not because they have to, but because they want to. That alone is a totally different approach and a sign of quality to me.

I am yet to see that on MS products. And I am a Win7 user most of the time, along with this crap called Outlook 2007 (HTML rendering, bollocks!).

And it’s not just the software you can buy. Just yesterday I read through this publication from Microsoft Research on the need for meta data to be implemented in future generations of filesystems. Very valid points and I understand that MS Resarch are doing good work, BUT! – again – the paper was much longer than necessary. So much blablabla and yet the important stuff could have been said on one single page. This out-of-focus-approach is so typical of MS, I think. As a customer and user of MS products, I don’t feel any passion in their products and meanwhile also believe that many lines of code on their OS & apps are just random data.

Hence: any company that shows a passion with their products is highly appreciated. A passion to deliver good quality.

Reader
I think the iPad is the best reading device. Why? Because I can not display most of my PDFs on a 7″ eInk display without constantly zooming in and out. So as long as eInk readers aren’t running a bit faster for this purpose, the iPad is the better alternative to me at the moment although I am sure we’ll soon see more 7″ devices.

The Amazon tablet(s) would have been an interesting alternative to me, but their 7″ Fire tablet isn’t even available here! In my opinion as a customer, if you can’t launch/ship global, then don’t even launch it for a single country. You can do that for Japan, maybe, but not for the US that are so connected with the rest of the world.

Apps
There are SO MANY apps available for the iPad. In fact, most publishing houses in Europe ONLY offer iPad apps for their print products. No Android app, only iOS. Sad, but still the bitter reality. Because I’d also be happy with a competitve (and available) Android tablet.

Talking of Android tablets, my friend Dave recently got an Asus eeePad Transformer TF101 and – as a pilot for an international airline – tried to pick the better alternative. Unfortunately, his tablet already broke after only two month and his biggest complain was the lousy App situation for Android Honeycomb (as compared to the iPad, of course, which is hard to beat). Dave – go and get your iPad. Now!

Adrian – I missed my chance to get an HP TouchPad for 99 EUR. I reckon that it would have been an interesting PDF reader and surfing device for me.

Runtime
Battery runtime on the iPad is just totally crazy. It’s long enough to get me through a day at a BarCamp and that’s all that matters to me.

Also, 29 million customers enable a fabulous aftermarket. You’ll find plenty and cheap chargers as well as other accessorries on eBay, on FocalPrice and so on.

Portability
I remember when Eric told me about his daily trips to the office through Nairobi traffic and mentioned how the iPad actually is the solution to his mobile office.

Just look at how many of us laughed about the iPad and its limited capabilites back when the iPad1 was launched. And now we are even using it to have a mobile office and a quick device for that daily “lemme google that”-moment.

Sure, the iPad2 is heavy and we’ll probably all complain about the size once there are more 7″ readers/tablets, but after my previous experience with a 8.9″ and a 10.1″ netbook, I know for sure that 12″-14″ is the best laptop size for me and that this 10″ tablet does it for me atm.

tc4400-ipad2
HP tc4400 vs. Apple iPad 2
(the HP tc4400 tablet pc also serves as my backup machine)

———————————-

I am not yet ready to fully convert to the Apple world (+ Ubuntu is cheaper anyways :-), but this lack of passion on MS products certainly is a very valid reason for me. It’s also kind of ironic that Bill Gates himself is very passionate about his philanthropic foundation for this passion has already enabled so much good work (the BMGF are imo doing a very good job). I wish some of this passion could reflect back on Microsoft and that their future tablets with Windows 8+ will provide a suitable alternative. But atm, I highly doubt that.

20:34

Tumaini

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

Two days ago, someone on my G+ timeline published a post and some photos of a stray dog they had found earlier on Wednesday morning – with a limping leg. A quick visit at a veterinary clinic revealed that the dog has a broken leg and urgently needs some surgery. Expected costs: 500-600 EUR.

mercy

So we were asked for donations and I did that, donated a small amount (via Paypal). You can do the same if you’d like to and can afford it.

Now, the person behind this G+ post lives in Spain, is probably German with Spanish roots and I’ve never met him. So why should I donate anything to a foreigner I’ve never seen “in real life”?

In February 2011, I posted this item called “offline/online” on my blog, asking my readers: “how important is it to meet offline? Does it change anything? Would you continue working with your online contacts if you were to meet them offline?”

When we told this story to my (probable :-) father-in-law, his first reaction was: “…but you don’t know him! Maybe he’s trying to con you?”. I am sure my sister and my mother would react in the very same way.

Eh, if you grew up in Nairobi, you’re used to folks trying to con you. Or trying to milk your pocket just bcs you live in a bigger house.

And still I gave some of my hard earned money to a stranger. For me, this time it’s not (only) a matter of sharing or giving because you can or because I felt sorry for the dog, but to prove that even these pure online connections matter as much as meeting somone offline. I am following this user on G+ for some time now, read his posts and that’s enough reason to trust someone. For me, that is.

Someone else from the German blogosphere even wrote that “this is how Social Media works”. Amazingly true. A network purely based on trust. Some things will never change, and while these “trust” networks obviously work in other cultures (Dabbawalla in India or Hawala in Somalia), this Christian part of Europe is still having problems with this modern form of trust. But why?

(I just realized that “Tumaini” is a recurring issue and post title on my blog :-)

20:13

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

I was recently asked by a friend of mine if I and the folks behind our local DIY / maker initiative @makefurt could have a look into an older chess computer that would have some issues.

The owner – a former advertising designer here in Frankfurt who collects old movie posters and created this interesting website about it (in German) – came over today and brought this valuable robot to my place: the Novag Robot Adversary chess computer.

The Novag Robot Adversary chess computer when it arrived…

A quick search on the interwebs reveals that “The Novag Robot Adversary is the most iconic of chess computers. Apparently 2000 were built but the failure rate was high and the vast majority of those sold have long since developed faults.” (src)

It’s a chess computer with a robotic arm that moves all chess pieces over a magnetic board, animating each move with an extra show. Hence it’s not just any other chess computer, but probably the coolest or most epic one out there.

According to this Wiki page, this machine cost about DM 3000 back in 1982 which is about EUR 1500 and is powered by a Z80 (CPU) from Zylog, running at 7.5 MHz, has 5 KB of RAM and a 32 KB ROM.

There’s a lot of information on this computer out there (including this Spiegel article from 1982, in German) but we’re yet to find a circuit diagram. Also, I am more the hardware guy so my first step was to completely disassemble it, clean everything (= removing nasty nicotine stains and glue from old gaffa tape) and check the wiring and the PCB for broken components:

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer
20 minutes later

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer

That yellow thing looks like a battery to me. Probably needs to be replaced…

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer

“Robot Adversary Main PCB” – old school! :-)

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer

The motor that turns the robotic arm. Kindly note some previous repairs (badly done, imo).

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer9

s/yellow nicotine stains/soap

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer

There are magnets for each position on this board (underneath).

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer

We do have an owner’s manual (in German). Circuit diagram is still missing though…

Novag Robot Adversary chess computer

I’ll have another look at the robotic arm now and will then try to reassemble everything in order to keep all parts in one place and where they should be.

If you’d like to help us fix it, please feel free joining us next weekend on October 30th, 2011 from 3-5pm at the Museum für Kommunikation here in Frankfurt. Or ping us anytime at info@makefurt.de // @makefurt. All are welcome!

4:24

How to win her over

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

17:07

Hallo, ich habe da mal eine Frage…

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

4:45

Homo faber

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

20:16

the tablet alternative

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

Intro
I have about 20 GB of water & sanitation (watsan)-related publications on my computer. Most of them are in PDFormat, and most of them I’ve just opened once and then archived out-of-sight. With some I’ve also only read the abstract (if available) because relevance is important and there’s a lot of policy blabla papers out there that don’t get me anywhere.

I work from my home office and don’t have any IT department I can call when I have an IT problem. Which means I have to have a backup solution in place for when there’s a problem. Like a 3G modem when the cable modem is on holiday. Or a second computer, ready to be used in combination with my 22″ TFT and external keyboard + mouse combination.

In the past, I’ve used an Asus eeePC 1000HGo (1000HG with a 3.5G modem) netbook ex 2008 (which I’ve blogged about here) for this task and liked this litte machine:

eeepc1000hgo

It’s a very nice netbook with the typical 10.x” setup, matte display, 160 GB HDD, 2 GB RAM, 1.3mpx webcam and a 3.5G Huawei modem (which surprisingly works well and out-of-the-box with Linux). The best part about these eeePC netbooks certainly is the tiny power supply. I don’t like the bulky cords (the cords!) that come with 90W power supplies. Eh.

I’ve also been using it as a mobile DVB-T receiver (TV) and while travelling on holiday. My other, main machine is an HP EliteBook 6930p on a docking station, so I am “mobile computers” only. This eeePC also has a button to switch screen resolutions within Windows between the default 1024x600px to 1024×768 (compressed view) and 800×600. That’s something very handy when you’re dealing with apps that need more than 600px vertical height.

The problem

Now, I’ve been wondering how people actually read all these PDF publications? Do they print it out? You know, some of these publications are well over 100+ pages, also with a lot of graphics. And then I just can’t see myself reading these documents on my computer. My eyes already hurt and balancing a laptop on your…well…lap… isn’t a long-term solution.

Yes, tablets. The Apple iPad or modern Android Honeycomb tablets. Both still kinda expensive and also limited, but very good in what they do. I am actually waiting for Amazon to launch their 7″ Android tablet later on this year. And eBook Readers? I’ve thought about buying an Amazon Kindle (also because it’s affordable), but a) eBooks in Germany are expensive and b) the current eBook Reader is too small for displaying readable PDFs in vertical mode (I think). The Kindle DX would have been an option, yes.

I also did this little survey via FB and some of my friends voted as followed:

ebook-umfrage

Most of my FB friends, it seems, are using their notebook/laptop to read these PDFs. Also, eBook readers seem to be very popular. I also use an eBook Reader / PDF reflow tool like GoodReader (on iOS) or ezPDFReader (on Android) to read PDFs directly on the phone. But even though my Motorola Defy mobile phone has a very nice screen resolution, trying to read longer text on a small device is just an interim solution.

The solution
I’ve often been dreaming about owning an IBM ThinkPad X4* or X6*. Fellow blogger Steve had at one point in the past alreadyrecommended HP tablets to me and also is an avid user of an X61s. I like ThinkPads for two reasons:

a) you can set the recharge level of the battery and leave it on the machine, so it won’t overcharge. Not possible with HP laptops.

b) Fan intake is at the side of the laptop body, not underneath. It’s not that they are cooler than those who suck in air at the bottom, but it’s a matter of overheating because most ppl will keep the laptop on a table or, even worse, balance it on their lap, so the intake may be covered. ThinkPads are smarter.

The other – important – fact to mention is that I realized how crazy this miniature thing actually is. I am tall and don’t want to balance a small 10.1″ netbook on my lap. Makes me look even taller and there’s no need to use a small machine when I can a bit happier with a 12″ device. In fact, I think my next main machine should be a ~ 13″ device. Perfect size, imo.

So I sold my netbook and bought this HP Compaq TC4400 instead. It’s a 12.1″ XGA tablet notebook with a Dual Core CPU (albeit 32bit), 2GB of RAM and some old-fashioned stylus thing. It’s my first tablet, my first Wacom pen tablet (my last + cheap drawing tablet was from 1999 and only worked once) and I am very curious how I will use it. Also, it was cheap. 97 EUR + a used 250 GB HDD + another keyboard with EU-layout (US-keyboard misses one key) + new battery = about 160 EUR. Not bad, given that I received a similar amount for the netbook :-)

tc4400-drawing

Buying 2nd-hand / refurbished items sometimes is like gambling – you never know what you’ll end up with. Of course with a dealer you can return the item (12

month in Germany!), but I didn’t want to return anything and actually enjoy fixing stuff myself. I had to glue a broken display bezel, but to my surprise the rest was very much ok as the vent (often reason for overheating) had already been cleaned by the previous owner.

P1050331

opened-tc4400

P1050326

Note : it’s recommended to refasten all screws on a computer, even the internal ones because the “grade B”-rating that made this one cheaper was upgraded to “grade A” after disassembling it, cleaning all parts with isopropyl alcohol and then reassembling it again.

I am currently running both Win 7 and LinuxMint LXDE on this tc4400 and already love it. Sure, it’s a pen-controlled tablet with a keyboard pre iPad era, but with Win7 a lot of cool stuff is already supported out-of-the-box. Battery runtime seems to be 3.5h (and the battery is really small). I also like it because:

It’s compatible with both HP docking stations in our home office (HP nx8220 and HP Elitebook 6930p).
Caps lock keys suck and unfortunately there’s no keyboard light / illuminated keyboard available. What it does have, though, are yellow led lights next to the key so you’ll instantly know if you’ve activated the caps lock key. Smart design, imo.
I dig the XGA screen resolution. Yes, it’s only 1024×768, but you know what? My 14.1″ Elitebook is WXGA+ 1440×990 which results in about 128 dpi. 128 dpi is tiny! My eyes hurt. Also, it does not have an LED screen (hey, the machine was cheap and is from 2006!), but it has good viewing angles. My main machine does not have such good vertical viewing angles.

That next thing I will need to figure out is why the touchpen (PL800A) has to be so expensive as a spare part. The pen has a circuit inside and while drawing a sample picture on my tc4400 today, I often acidentally clicked on the right-mouse-button of the pen. Maybe it’s just me but I’d also like to try out some alternatives here. Any recommendations?

tc4400-sofa2

And the best part? It’s both a laptop and a reader. Kudos to Steve for recommending this one to me!

I am very curious how I will make use of this (cheaper) alternative to the netbook and how or if I will use it as a reader for the many PDFs waiting to be read. After all, I can still sell it if it doesn’t work out for me and my needs. But going by other reviews online, especially by what HP tc4xxx owners have said about their tablets, this one seems to be one of the best tablets out there.

7:07

about that R.I.P. thing

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

18:45

The culture code thing

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

culturecode Following an article in a German magazine about the French “marketing specialist” Clotaire Rapaille, I’ve recently written a longer blog post on my sanitation-related blog and openely wondered if there is any toilet code in a culture, and if so, how it will be triggered.

Clotaire Rapaille, who runs a company that tries to explore the “hot button” in each culture, also published a book called “The Culture Code – An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do”.

The idea of having someone actually trying to make a connection between consumer behaviour and how a particular society / swarm acts because “it’s in their culture” triggered my interest and actually made me buy this book – and this although Rapaille received a lot of hatred and anger over his remarks on the “code” of the City of Québec in Canada.

I was reminded of this culture code thing today when I openely tweeted about the many demand media and rss-feed link farms from India vs. original content and tried to explain – with Rapaille’s words! – that “Indians are at root a practical people”, which is why they wouldn’t waste time on reinventing stuff.

Now, India of course isn’t about copying foreign works and I truly believe that a lot of innovations and understanding in today’s “civilized” world actually hail from the Indian continent, BUT this “are practical people” somehow stuck with me because I believe it to be very true.

And that’s exactly my reason for today’s blog post: like my post on “The Africans” the other day, there’s always this danger of making such public statements. “Germans, Indians, Kenyans, Spaniards – they are all so and so”. You’ll instantly be hated by your readers if you make such general statements because in most cases they’ll reply with a “WTF?!” and will start arguing with you.

Of course we’re not all the same, and I myself am probably a good example of why such phrases don’t make sense, but despite all our differences, I think there’s still this culture code thing, the hot button as Rapaille calls it, which defines a common nature within a given culture. Something from deep down within, something from the “reptilian brain”.

It may not be the ultimate code that will explain all actions in a society (of course not), but if one of these identified culture codes could help to fix some of the problems we’re currently having out there in this world (e.g. wrong management that will lead to famines, exploitation of natural resources, wrong priorities, injustice, wars, etc.), then I am all for these codes.

Which gets me back to my sanitation-related blog post and the question, if there is any culture code in toilets. Well, is there? How come that in Japan consumers spend ~ 2500 EUR on a computerized toilet while in other, poorer societies, a toilet is at the very end of the wish list? And this while the toilet thing affects all humans on this planet?

A question which – according to Rapaille (or Freud? :-) – makes me think we should seat our kids on 2000 EUR toilets only to trigger such a demand at a very early age.

3:26

I am not here…

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

5:08

Six years and still no Top10 list

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

5:51

We’ll need a universal service to sync all our metadata

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

I’ve only recently joined Spotify (via a Dutch proxy server) – the in-the-cloud music service that has almost all tracks. I like Spotify – a lot – and wouldn’t want to stop using it, even though it isn’t that easy to register an account with them from Germany or even pay for an unlimited or premium Spotify access.

opened guitar amp
a somehow unrelated photo I’ve posted here to focus your attention on the text. (yes, I’ve recently repaired this Marshall guitar amp for a friend of mine)

There are alternatives to Spotify, alternatives that are accessible from Germany, namely Grooveshark and Simfy. Grooveshark is somehow questionable because – as far as I know – they do not have agreements with record labels or the German Society for Musical Performing and Mechanical Reproduction Rights (GEMA) which has for long been an obstacle for internet surfers in Germany to access music videos from a German IP. But nevertheless, from a user perspective – and that’s all that matters right now – it doesn’t really matter which service you are using as long as your stuff is available*. What’s your stuff, you ask? Your metadata.

I am using the term “metadata” to describe all the soft and invisible stuff that provides the extra, the bonus data that brings the icing on the cake. With music services, it clearly is playlists. Your own and those of other users you’ve subscribed to.

Playlists

Now, with all these different music services, music in form of downloadable mp3s and streaming audio to your desktop computer or even mobile phone, it seems to be obvious that the availability of multimedia files as such isn’t the latest fashion, but instead your private or shared playlists. Playlists, I think, are the same reason why I prefer carefully written music blogs to mass music blogs that keep on publishing music-related posts just because it’s their business. No, playlists are the modern mixtape, the human selection that you can share with others. To me, these are very valuable.

When I switched from Spotify to Grooveshark the other day, I was wondering about my playlists and starred tracks on Spotify and how to get them onto Grooveshark. There’s a service that does exactly that: Groovylists.com – which will help you importing up to 200 tracks in one go.

In-Sync

However, I found myself preferring Spotify to Grooveshark for different reasons (there’s Fadhili Williams on Spotify!) so I went back to using Spotify and have been wondering how to keep these lists in sync. Would I want to manually keep all these services in sync? Will this question be solved one day with the introduction of Apples’s music cloud service and the standards (if any) it will set for their competitors? Mimi, me I don’t know. But what I do know is that we’ll urgently need a service that syncs all our metadata to the cloud and makes it available via a secured API to all these fancy new Web 2.0 sites. Just like the already existing password, bookmark and setting synchronisation via Firefox, Chrome, Xmarks and LastPass. Or that I can already backup all the apps from my Android phone to my Dropbox folder via Titanium Backup in one go.

What we’ll need is ONE service that does just that. Something that we can trust and that syncs all the selected metadata, be it private or openly shared, from all devices and all services to all devices and services. I’d even pay for (the privacy of) it.

Does something like that already exist?

(* = “your music”, as in “your mp3 won’t be uploaded to our music service because it already exists on our Amazon-S3-based service where we’re paying for the Gigabyte”, or in other words: it’s not the music files that matter, but the associated data, hence the metadata)

4:30

St.Louis Spéciale

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

21:34

HOLA A TODO EL MUNDO

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

1:47

just another multitool

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

The only reason I am posting the following is because I get terribly excited about multitools. Think of Apple fanboyz and you’ll know what I mean. I think it’s the EveryDay-Carry (EDC) syndrome – the need to have the perfect tool in your pocket.

EDC also reflects a lifestyle of preparedness, where the individual wants to be prepared for the majority of situations ….(…) People who carry EDC items have a mindset of planning ahead for emergency situations. (src)

Fortunately, I am not alone on this and there are others who not only visit EDC-forums, but also come up with detailed reviews on my latest purchase: the Leatherman PS4 (e.g. 1, 2 & 3) and even their own (and very smart) modifications (& here). Unfortunately though, my new Leatherman PS4 does not have screws but rivets, so modifications are very limited. The perfect tool does not seem to exist yet, but we’re getting closer with every iteration.

Leatherman P4
A Leatherman Squirt P4 I bought some time ago and given to her father. He really loves this one and prefers it to his older pocket knife.

Leatherman PS4

The Victorinox Manager 0.6365 I got instead of the LM Squirt P4. A very nice & slim pocket knife that comes with a pair of tweezers and ballpoint pen. Mentioned here because I think the perfect tool should also come with such a handy ballpoint pen and tiny screwdrivers. Also, Torx 5, 6 and 7 would be great!

I bought the LM Squirt PS4 (not P4) because it comes with pliers and isn’t that much bigger than the Victorinox. The tools I need the most are a) knife, b) screwdrivers and c) pliers. When I switched to the Victorinox in 2009, I also stopped carrying my LM Charge TTi – so I always missed the pliers. Hence this recent purchase of the PS4 which is a successor to the P4.

Leatherman PS4
LM Squirt PS4 vs. Victorinox Manager

The quality on the LM could be a bit better. This also applies to the Charge TTi below. There’s a clear difference between the tools Leatherman produced some years ago and the ones they are selling these days. Victorinox clearly wins here, even though steel quality is equally bad. Sufficient for my needs, though.

Leatherman PS4
LM Charge TTi vs. LM Squirt PS4

Leatherman PS4

I’ve paid about EUR 20 for this LM PS4 and it arrived within only 7 days from the US. The cheap EUR-USD exchange rate probably is another reason for my love affair with multitools :-)

Leatherman PS4

The real winner of my EDC concept is the Swiss+Tech Utili-Key 6-in-1 – because it looks like a key and is on my keychain. A great little helper that even passes through TSA while all other tools have to be stored in the luggage.

Are you also infected with the EDC virus? What’s your favourite EDC gadget?

3:21

eggbotlicious

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

18:56

on money

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

3:37

ReverbMag

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

5:05

my vision of a perfect laptop

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

Recent news about an updated range of HP EliteBook (laptop / notebook) computers made me realize that I should compile a list of things I’d like to see on future laptops.

My list, or should I say: wishful thinking (but not utopia), does not include things that I don’t want to see on a laptop, and isn’t limited to material issues. Instead, it’s my own realistic approach to that “good-guy”-thing they’ve been talking about in IT since the very beginning.

Also, most of my observations are based on the business ranges from Dell, IBM/Lenovo, HP and also Acer. Some, if not all desired changes are already possible and available in some parts, others probably limited due to licensing or marketing reasons.

First: I’d like to see a leasing approach on most laptops so that they can be recycled and be made out of better materials.

You as a user / customer only pay for the use of these computers. The manufacturer shall use this relationship and consequently use materials of higher value which can be recycled (not downcycled). This c2c closing-the-loop concept is the basis for me on any product I like to purchase. I am not asking for “biodegradable” materials on my computer, but a good mixture of pollution-free materials that also won’t be toxic to any creature. This is important. There’s already so much toxic waste out there and we spend a great amount of time in front of a computer every day. So the computer should be made of non-toxic, recycable/reusable materials.

Having said that, the following is my list. I consider the display and the keyboard/touchpad the most important interfaces on a laptop.

Display: very bright, should be readable in direct sunlight without problems, high contrast, energy consumption should be very low, very good vertical and horizontal viewing angles, matte (not glossy) cover, ratio 16:10, ~ WXGA+ is ok. Probably also with a touchscreen option, which includes that it can be turned 180° around and flipped over (~ tablet computers).
If this tablet option isn’t included, it should be possible to open all displays up to 180° (or similar).
Keyboard: manufacturer should offer the choice of chiclet and old-school style. Keys should have a unique pressure point, enough width and no stupid layout “specials”. But since opinions on keyboards differ a lot – some ppl still prefer the ThinkPad layout – there should be different keyboard design for the same machine. So those who prefer the “FN” key in lower left corner (instead of “Ctrl”), should be able to change it. Either via a hardware swap, or by using illuminated icons on the keys – similar to Art Lebedev’s Optimus Maximus keyboard.
The keyboard should also be illuminated. But not via an external keyboard light like the one on Lenovo ThinkPads or HP EliteBooks, but instead an illumination from beneath the keys. See DELL Latitude and Apple MacBookPro keyboard illumination – that’s the style I prefer.
Touchpad and / or Touchstick: users should have the flexibility to pick what they like best. I personally never use the touchstick, others love it. Also, the availibity of three buttons for those who need it (Linux users) is important – either virtual within pre-defined areas of the touchpad or physical. And not only on 15″+ laptops.
It’s so easy to include another, third button, so I am wondering why not all laptops already have three mouse buttons.
Size: I like the 13″-14″ form factor best! This way they are often light enough to be carried around, accomodate a full qwertz/y keyboard and can still be balanced on your knees. 15″ is also ok with me for programmers who need the space on the screen.
I used to believe that smaller computers are better and easier to carry, but in the end it doesn’t make a big difference if you have a 12″ or 14″ laptop to carry around. It’s the extras that matter here.
I also believe that A LOT of people prefer a solution like the Mac Book Air where they’ll have the comfort of an OSX computer in a very light bundle with an attached keyboard. Also because more computing power often isn’t required. This may apply to those who do their conference hopping. Others who need their laptop as their “main machine” certainly require a real laptop (hence my post here).
Body: the “HP Duracase magnesium alloy chassis” on my current HP EliteBook is very nice and imo better than most ThinkPads or Latitudes. I would not want to compare it with the unibody chassis of recent Apple Mac Books because that’s a different approach to manufacturing, not worse or better. I think the ideal chassis stability depends on all other requirements. It may appear that the unibody structure is the best (as recent EliteBooks also come with a unibody-styled top cover).
The aim for a durable laptop frame/chassis also includes details like the clam shell design introduced with ThinkPads back in the days where the display cover would not only sit on top of the keyboard (when closed), but also close the gap between the mainboard and the display, thus preventing any obstacles from entering into this area. I’ve seen that modern Elitebooks (i.e. 8640p) have some sort of rubber lip that’s supposed to do that. Interesting design.
Some smarter engineering should also be applied on the display lock. I had to repair the one on my EliteBook – twice. After the second repair, the lock now works very fine. This is so basic yet HP messed it up on my machine.
Likewise, all hinges on all laptops should be as stiff as the ones found on all recent business laptops. No complains here.
CPU & GFX: any Dual CPU is fine with me. I’d like to have an option where I can either choose between the internal or a dedicated gfx chip (both on the same machine, like some ThinkPads T400 had with hybrid gfx chips) OR a modern solution that already does that for me automatically so that I can play the occasional game on my laptop but will not complain about this battery drainer for the rest of the year.
RAM and HDD can be swapped, so I won’t mention them any further.
Connectivity: This is a big one. Of course, USB 3.0 ports. Three or four would be nice (my current laptop has three USB 2.0 ports). Firewire? Never needed it. Express/54 cards? Why? Who needs them? How many business users actually need it? Fingerprint reader. Yes. SecureChip thingy for business users? Yes. Audio-OUT, Audio-IN _AND_ LINE-IN? Yes, so you can use these audio ports on a professional basis and don’t have to add another external audio card (e.g. I use Line-In for Software Defined Radio audio sampling). Oh, and the sound from the internal speakers should also be loud enough for most users. Some professional laptops that cost more than 1500€ are still sold with horrible speakers. Microphones? Of course, stereo. Webcam? Yes, but with a simple hardware cover.
CD/DVD/BlueRay….hmm… yes, but always make it swapable so that those who don’t need it can insert a 2nd HDD instead. Card-Reader: yes, of course, and not only SD/MMC. RJ-11? :-) RJ-45? of course! Display ports: if possible – all of them. If not, VGA & HDMI? Bluetooth? Min. 2.1, if not higher. Wifi? Yes, a/b/g/n. InfraRed? No, outdated.
WWAN, yes, all antennas and a modem that will work with all operating systems (i.e. not this Qualcomm Gobi thing). GPS? Is included with modern Gobi modems. GPS should be accessible. All components should be lockable and unlockable on BIOS level from all operating systems (= you won’t have to boot into Windows just to unlock your disabled WiFi to be used in GNU/Linux).
Docking station: all laptops should have a connector for a docking station (not just USB dockings, but real ones). This is so basic but still my main reason why I am not using an Apple MacBook. No docking station, no fun. And please, this “docking” is a bad joke.
Battery: Minimum battery runtime on the default battery with surfing and wifi on should be 6h. Period.
Batteries should also be removable/serviceable by the user, also because they don’t last as long as the machine.
I don’t know if battery technology will change that much during the next 3-4 years, and my hope is that we find a technology which would enable the production of energy the moment we need it – which would then elliminate the need for high capacity batteries. But as long as we haven’t achieved this, I’d like to see less heat on computers. The generated heat is where all that wasted energy goes to. Imo, optimize the energy consumption and you’ll also fix the heat problem. Regulate much more components, make them use only as much energy as they need. Use more sensors to double check that. Really, there are ways of achieving this and it’s not that hard. But it’s a buying decision. And it’s not about buying spare batteries. If you think the average customer spends around 150€ on spare batteries, just improve your energy management and add this as a surplus charge on your product. Any customer will pay more (see Apple!!) if runtime is improved. I will depend my next buying decision on a) display quality and b) battery runtime.
Heat: as mentioned above, heat is a problem with most laptops. I like the fan intake on ThinkPads (my main reason for ThinkPads) which is located at the side of the chassis. On Dell and HP, it’s both at the bottom. This is stupid. And on MacBooks? You don’t get to hear the vent most of the time but ask any MBP owner on heat problems. Yes.
I would also like to have a computer I can take to work in a dry, hot and sunny African country without having to worry about any components. Cooling, as a start, should be excellent. Again, there’s so much potential on the heat dissemination thing.
Power Supply: Power supplies shouldn’t weigh more than 300gr, should be as small as possible, should NOT come with these really thick 230V cables even if the law still says so (ha! – but the cable weighs more than the transformer…), they all should have magnetic plugs as found on MacBooks (Apple, PLEASE licence this to others) and they should all have an LED indicator light (yes, some still don’t have this!).
Operating Systems: I like Windows. I like Windows because it works fine on my laptop. I like OSX because it works fine on MacBooks. I like GNU/Linux on desktop PC because it doesn’t give a damn about battery runtime. Honestly, I don’t care about the used OS as long as it is adjusted to the hardware I am using.
It’s the details. Hardware that will only work on Windows, not in GNU/Linux even though the machine is certified to be compatible with SUSE Linux. Yeah, right. Software that will *know* how to address my hardware and will make proper use of it. This actually is one of those 1:0 situations for Apple. I prefer their approach (but they don’t have serious docking stations, etc. etc.).

Instant-On-OS: a second, simple OS that may be switched on when the computer is offline. Many tasks are web based these days, some just require a quick check on computer data. It would be nice to have this on my “good laptop” (my EliteBook has this where it’s called “QuickLook” and “QuickWeb”…. but HP, well…., HP is a big bureaucratic company with no clear vision on things, it seems. It still does not work as beautiful as it should probably do).

I think that a lot of the mentioned details above will still not be possible because of:

marketing reasons (because they want to sell more, because their product managers are salespersons and not end users)
technical limitations (the heat problem, smaller power supplies)
licensing issues (patents on technologies such as the magnetic plug, and maybe also the fan intake on the side?)
companies, who are the main customers of business laptops, don’t have such requirements and prefer machines that provide a controllable IT environment instead of any desired flexibility
there’s still no such good + open + secure operating system that will play very well with the attached hardware.
The design is done with a short product cycle, planned obsolescence, no dedicated C2C policy and in regions where quick wins are more important than overall achievements and happy customers (that’s why I suggested the leasing model, btw, because it would help a company to extend the product cycle and so much more).
You can see this with the Qualcomm Gobi WWAN (UMTS/EVDO) modem which is a very nice piece of hardware, but was designed only once and all manufacturers then adopted this design to their needs. Probably licensing issues and the lack of human resources that limit the availibility of proper GNU/Linux drivers for this modem.
Who designs these laptops? Engineers in the US, in Europe or China? Does each company have their own engineers? I don’t think so. Are these engineers paid to define what users/customers need and want?

If there’s any serious manufacturer out there who would like to build THE perfect laptop: I am available. :-)

20:36

Ich habe im arte Magazin gelesen…

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

…dass heute um 17:20 Uhr wieder Yourope ausgestrahlt wird, diese kurze Sendung bei arte, die über Aktivismus und Widerstand in Europa informiert.

Karriereorientiert und bloß auf Sicherheit bedacht – so wird die junge Generation gerne beschrieben. Doch die jungen Europäer in dieser “Yourope”-Sendung beweisen das Gegenteil: Sie setzen sich höchst engagiert für eine bessere Welt ein – und riskieren dafür eine Menge.

Man möchte Stéphane Hessel gerne diese Sendung zeigen und sagen: hier, schau her, die Jugend empört sich und ist aktiv, organisiert sich (bereits seit Jahren), klärt auf, engagiert sich unentgeltlich für soziale Themen, nutzt dabei das Internet und zweckentfremdet Kunst für ihre Zwecke. Wobei man natürlich Kunst als solche auch für genau diese Zwecke verstehen kann.

Über die Aussagen von Stéphane Hessel kann man sicherlich geteilter Meinung sein, aber wer mit 93 im Fernsehen noch so schön Gedichte aufsagen kann, darf nicht nur als Randnotiz auf der Facebookwand gepostet oder gar in der späten Nacht im Nischenprogramm bei 3sat ausgestrahlt werden. YouTube, unser geliebtes Poparchiv, gibt uns hier die Freiheit.

Und nun?
Anlass für diesen Blogpost war für mich eigentlich das Thema Zweckentfremdung, also die Nutzung von Medien für einen ganz anderen Zweck. Ich finde es sehr interessant, wenn Menschen aus allen Altersgruppen Medien für ihre Zwecke anpassen und auf eine Art und Weise verwenden, die abseits der geplanten und üblichen Pfade eine neue Art der Interaktion ermöglichen.

Die zentrale Frage bei all dem ist für mich auch immer “wie kann ich Mitbürger erreichen”, und das schreibe ich deswegen weil ich mich ja eigentlich hauptberuflich mit dem Thema Toiletten und Stoffstromoptimierung beschäftige, welches oft schon mit einem Imagefaktor von -10 an den Start geht. Toiletten sind ein Tabuthema, über das weltweit eher selten geschrieben wird. Einen Anfang habe ich jetzt bei reverb magazine gemacht, für das ich einen zweiteiligen Beitrag verfasst habe.

Aktivismus als solchen finde ich vor allem hinsichtlich der verwendeten Mittel interessant. Die Themen selber sind für mich eher sekundär, wobei klar ist dass lokale Themen eine größere Erfolgschance versprechen. Das sehe ich bei unserem Hyperlokal Projekt Frankfurt-Gestalten.de, aber auch bei lokalen Facebookgruppen.

Im arte Magazin wurde übrigens eine Yourope Folge über “junge Mieter und bezahlbare Mieten” versprochen, bei der die Jeudi-Noir Gruppe in Paris überteuerte Wohnung besetzt und Wohnungsbesichtigungen in Spekulationsobjekten (in Hamburg) lahmgelegt werden. Das Thema Hausbesetzungen ist sicherlich ein altbekannter Hut, dass aber hier Wohnungsbesichtigungen geentert werden ist natürlich nochmal ein ganzes Stück interessanter.

Wenn sich jemand beklagt, können wir es immer noch als Kunst deklarieren. Praktisch!

21:22

on e-mail

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

18:28

Anmerkungen zum Fall Goodmountain

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

Bevor der Fall Guttenberg im kollektiven Bewusstsein verschwindet, möchte ich auch noch kurz meinen digitalen Senf zur Diskussion hinzufügen und dabei zwei Umstände nennen, die mir bei all den Beiträgen unterm Strich interessant erscheinen:

1. “Der Aufstand der akademischen Klasse wird für Guttenberg zur Gefahr”, hieß es Anfang der Woche von Franz Walter, Politikwissenschaftler an der Uni Göttingen, in diesem trefflich beschriebenen SPON Kommentar.

“Aber seinen Stuhl und Posten wird der fränkische Edelmann womöglich am Ende deshalb räumen müssen, weil er die meritokratischen Ansprüche und Stellungen des hiesigen Bildungsbürgertums elementar gefährdet.”

Genau so sehe ich es auch. Gutti ist bisher mit allem durchgekommen, aber erst durch die sich androhende Verwässerung der deutschen Promotion ist die sonst so ausgeglichene akademische Welt auf die Barikaden gegangen und konnte sich erfolgreich durchsetzen. Erst als es um ihre eigenen Werte ging, um die Abschwächung der eigenen Leistungen kam die für einen Protest kritische Masse zu Stande.

Gerade hinsichtlich der Frage “womit können wir unsere Mitbürger erreichen?” finde ich dieses Ergebnis sehr interessant.

——————-

Auch die vielen Facebookgruppen für und gegen zu Guttenberg sind köstlich. Aktivismus! Oder wie es Andreas letztens dort kommentierte:

Hell freezes over: Ich kann auf Facebook sowohl für als auch gegen die Jagd auf dem Dr. Guttenberg seinen Titel sein. Gleichzeitig. Super! :)

Selbstverständlich gibt es auch eine “Wir wollen Gutenberg zurück” Gruppe (mit einem “t”).

1:0 für das Internet.

2. Die immer noch andauernde Popularität zu Guttenbergs ist sicherlich nicht nur der Medienpräsenz oder seiner Arbeit zu verdanken, sondern vor allem den fehlenden Alternativen, die sich ähnlich gut verkaufen können.

Ein ewig grinsender Ministerpräsident Bayerns – geschenkt. Eine Horde vollkommen glanzloser Beamter in Berlin – geschenkt. Eine in der DDR und post-DDR sozialisierte Kanzlerin – geschenkt. Ein unmöglicher Aussenminister – geschenkt. Eine noch unsympathischere Ministerin für Arbeit und Soziales – geschenkt.

Nein, nicht die Regierung, nicht das Bundeskabinett trägt hier die Mitschuld, sondern auch die so schwache Opposition.

SPD? Grüne? Linke?

Sicherlich ist die Politik ein gnadenloses Geschäft mit einem großen Maß an Rhetorik, aber wer nur solche Personalien in der Führungsetage anzubieten hat, darf sich meiner Meinung nach nicht über die große Beliebtheit zu Guttenbergs wundern.

Ich finde es geradezu erstaunlich, wie sich bei Diskussionen mit alt und jung, von arm bis reich, von links nach rechts immer wieder herausstellt, wie beliebt dieser zu Guttenberg bei den Wählern “doch eigentlich” ist. Und wie gleichzeitig über die “unmöglichen” Kandidaten aus der Opposition gelästert wird. Insofern wundert es mich überhaupt nicht, dass der zu Guttenberg so weit kommen konnte.

Allein, es gibt viele andere – gute – Kandidaten mit ähnlichen Qualifikationen (Fremdsprachenkenntnisse, small talk Fähigkeit), und so wird es meiner Meinung nach (vielleicht ähnlich wie bei Obama seinerzeit mit seiner social media campaign) zukünftig vermehrt zu solchen Kandidaten kommen, die diesen vom Ehepaar zu Guttenberg vorgelebten Glamour für sich übernehmen und ausnutzen wollen.

(filed under: politics – obwohl es hier überhaupt nicht um politische Inhalte geht)

5:03

Five reasons why the Motorola Defy sucks (not really)

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

Yes, I know – five blog posts about a phone within two weeks may be too much for most readers, but some people have asked me how I like my new mobile phone – the Motorola DEFY – so I went on and compiled a review on it. In German, for Amazon.de.

jke defy

Don’t speak German? Then read on….

The part where you’ll lose your readers is probably where you start talking about how good product xyz is. There are 163 reviews on Amazon.de about this particular phone at the moment, and almost all reviews describe how great this phone is. So I went on and tried to focus on the disadvantages of the Motorola Defy – which I think are important facts when you’re about to invest some money in a new phone.

It’s an incomplete list, things (especially some software issues) are subject to change, we’re talking about a Motorola Defy in mid February 2011. Also, I started as an Android n00b (when I got this phone a week ago).

1. The micro-USB port is at the side of the devices, so you’ll have troubles finding a suitable docking station. I’ve built my own, but the device still acts up when inserted into the docking station, even with the latest (unofficial) software. Plus the port is covered by a piece of plastics which needs to be removed (and is fixed to the body of the phone) – thus: a docking station will always have to provide enough room for this flap. It’s still better than the flaps on the Nokia phones I’ve reviewed in the past and of course helps protect the phone from water and dust.

defy port

2. There’s no specialised accessory available as of yet except for the usual suspects such as car chargers, (passive) car mounts, display and body covers. No docking station, no headphones, no spare parts. And this although the phone has sold quite well over the last few months. Where are all these Chinese manufacturers when you need them? Or could this be related to the nasty docking station issue I’ve experienced on my Defy (phone switches into flight mode, starts media player)? Or is that just a “media dock”-mode? Hmm.

Moto DEFY car mount menu (very nice!)

Moto DEFY media dock menu (before it started acting up…?!).

opened Motorola DEFY headset (hint: iPhone headsets do work)
tip = L // 2nd ring = R // 3rd ring = M- // sleeve = M+

3. The ear speaker problem a lot of (not all, but many) Moto Defys came with is due to low quality speakers and should have been avoided by quality management. Especially since the rest of the phone is top-notch Motorola quality. The Sony K770 (mobile phone) is said to be a resource for alternative speakers….

4. The camera. I believe that the camera module inside the phone is capable of doing much more than what we see as end results. The picture quality is far away from the likes of Nokia N95, N82 or even N8 (it’s just a simple 5mpx module after all) and when I installed new firmware on the phone, I realized how much better this camera can be. Really, an upgrade of the camera software should be recommended to Motorola.

2011-02-17 04-18-41 353

2011-02-17 17-12-23 586
How about these two totally unrelated macro sample shots? (taken with the phone on Android 2.2)

5. Motorola currently ships this phone with Android 2.1. I am using a retail version which means any upgrade of the internal firmware isn’t possible over-the-air (OTA), but instead only via a Motorola software on my computer. So I upgraded it from version 2.2.1 to 2.5.1 (both within Android 2.1) and still had some nasty bugs on it like folder names that disappeared after rebooting the phone, or missing lock screens after pressing the main button. Also, I wasn’t using Motorola’s own Android skin “Motoblur”, so I can’t remark on that one. Anyways, after experiencing all these bugs, I decided to flash it with a leaked BLURless ROM from Orange Poland (!) to Android 2.2. What you actually do is a full wipe of all user data on the phone, install the new ROM, do another full wipe and remove some Orange default settings. It’s an automated process that will certainly kill any warranty on the phone, so you should only do it if you know what to do. I didn’t, but I tried it nevertheless and was really surprised:

Motorola Defy + Android 2.2 – Motoblur = AWESOME!

Don’t get me wrong, this preliminary BETA via Orange Poland still has some bugs, but Motorola would be well advised to change their policy on this Motoblur thing and have it removed, or only make it available upon request. Or keep it for business customers who need a closed environment. Not because Motoblur is bad - it isn’t - but because the development and adjustment of Motoblur slows down the entire process for future Android releases on the phone. Seriously, you can not ship a brand new phone (released to the market in Nov. 2010) with Android 2.1 while the competition already has 2.3 and while I can get 2.2 on any cheaper 100€ Android device (ZTE, Huawei, etc.).

Else, I think the Motorola Defy is a great phone and is unique enough to remain on the market (even with Android 2.1!) for a very long time.

Another detail I eventually also realized: you’ll need to register a credit card with Google to buy software on their Android market. On Apple iTunes, there are vouchers available for purchase in our local supermarket. So it’s not only the great UI, simplicity of the iPhone or good apps that made the Apple iPhone dominate the market, but also this ecosystem called iTunes (compared to other like Android market) that contributed to the success of the iPhone. You’ll read about such things and think: “yeah, of course…”, but then when you are charged extra fees on your CC because it was used on Google checkout (US <=> Germany), you’ll quickly understand that some things are smarter with iTunes for a very good reason. This, however, isn’t related to the phone, but to all Android devices.

So…. does the Motorola Defy suck? – NO, of course not.

3:34

4 days on Android

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

old vs. new

There’s something about Apple’s iPhone that just won’t go away. I think it’s this “one button to rule them all” philosophy – the home button – that will make things a bit easier for the user.

When you’re already used to an iPhone, it’s hard to switch to any other mobile OS, especially if this includes letting go of a beloved app and a service that made things a bit easier for me:

the app to control my bank account (currently no Android app available)
no push notifications for Android 2.1 & Twitter app

I may be repeating myself here, but such a basic and important service like Twitter push notifications (forget about Facebook) not being available on my Android device is really sad. The only alternative to this is the use of an automatic sync (~ every 15 min.) via TweetDeck, Hootsuite & Co..

Else, my first 4 days on an Android device were less hectic. I received the phone, installed the latest available update (it’s still on Android 2.1!) and downloaded a plethora of interesting apps. Apps that I can even share with the rest of the world via Appbrain. Wow!

You know it’s a bit irritating when you’re already using Google Chrome, have a Gmail account, sync everything via this account and then you are wondering where your bookmarks are. Not synced! Why? No browser on Android supports this. Yes, there’s an extra app for this + I am a LastPass/Xmarks Pro user, so solutions are available, but still – this chaos at Google reminds me of Nokia’s Ovi.

Unfortunately, the Moto Defy also still has some open software issues and tends to “forget” a few settings after each reboot. I will also need to optimize energy consumption on it – my Symbian approach of closing apps which are not in use does not really work with Android.

As for the iOS vs. Android discussions:

Need games? => iOS
Need your (Google) tasks & calendar on a home screen? => Android
You’re fine with iTunes? => iOS
Want to backup your phone to a Dropbox account? => Android

To be honest, I am still at this point where I think that an iPhone is the better phone for most consumers – even though I’ve seen a lot of iPhone users who’d even be ok with a simple Nokia S40 phone (as they only need telephony and SMS).

5:55

Motorola DEFY docking station (DIY)

» ‎ Kikuyumoja

JKE Motorola DEFY docking station project
The Motorola DEFY ships with a simple (bulky) charger & a micro-USB cable.

Docking stations for mobile devices may not be on everyone’s agenda, but since I am working from home most of the time and also use a docking station for my HP laptop, I prefer these convenient solutions to have the phone (or any other mobile device) charged when I need it. Besides, I’ve also used such docking stations for my previous phones, so I made sure I’d get mine for this new phone.

The problem: there’s no docking station available for the Motorola DEFY, even though it has been on the market since November 2010 and has since then sold quite well.

There’s an offer on eBay for such a third party docking station from China, set to be available from March 2011 onwards – or later, because the same was also said in Decemeber and January and the release date has been postponed more than once.

Another issue is that the micro USB port is covered by a little flap, so you’ll always have to move it to the side while accessing the USB port. It may be against this background that third party manufacturers haven’t come up with a docking station for the DEFY as of yet.

The solution: build your own by modifying one made for the Motorola Milestone. Such Milestone docking stations like the one below currently sell for 10,90 EUR via eBay.DE (incl shipping), which is ok.