Well, I just have to do a blog posting using this topic – I really have to. Joern started it, and even the Grützekraftwerk had some musings to add to this topic. So this is my official coming out. I’ve bought expensive shit, too. Not only that I’ve switched to a 4GB Ipod Nano as an Mp3-Player, but I also couldn’t resist in buying an Iphone, when I was on holiday in the states. Well, to my defense I want to add, that it was a bargain – 500 USD for 16GB Iphone is even cheaper, than the cheapest Ipod touch 16GB I would get here in Germany.

After toying around with the Wifi-capabilities for the first weeks, I’ve now been using the Iphone for about 3 weeks as a replacement for my S/O/N/Y P1i (I switched after I got subscribed to a data rate, which gives me 200MB of traffic a month using GPRS/EDGE or UMTS). The much I was impressed by the great mobile web-browser and other data application the more I’m now disappointed by the native phone features.

My impressions can be summarized quite simple: Apple just is no phone manufacturer. Therefore the Iphone is no capable replacement for my P1i. There is a bunch of feature I love on my P1i which I can’t get with the Iphone:

• Bluetooth communication. Apple doesn’t need to work with standards – they just set their own. Instead of equipping the Iphone with a capable Bluetooth stack, like other phone manufacturers do – enabling a fast possibility of exchange functions, Apple just implements their own rudimentary version of Bluetooth. Therefore
  • My expensive AVRCP and AD2P headset is able to get calls transferred, but that’s everything. No access of the phonebook to dial using the headset, no music transfer, no remote control of the phone.
  • You need that contact? You want that picture? You want that song? Phone content can be exchanged really easy using my P1i – Apple won’t give you that option.
  • My car is compatible with AVRCP, it works perfect using the P1i – but I can’t get it working properly with the Iphone. Judging from message boards, I would have to exchange the Bluetooth module in my car to get the Iphone working. Thx BMW, thx Apple…
  • There is no compatibility with Bluetooth GPS receivers. I’m using TomTom on my P1i with a Nokia LD3W GPS mouse – I would have loved to see a navigation software on that big Iphone screen…
• Dialing via voice recognition. I don’t even demand such a complicated service like the new Nokia phones come with (you don’t need to save speech patterns for contacts), just a simple pattern based dialing mode, where you set the contacts voice code personally would suite me well.
• MMS. Not that I would have used that feature too often during the last year – at least not phone to phone. But I’ve set up my o2 communication center to forward certain important E-Mail via MMS + I can send MMS to E-Mail for free, and use this for mobile blogging. No native support on the Iphone. I’ve tried Swirly-MMS a third party application, but it doesn’t work properly.
• Video capabilities. With 3G phones it is a native phone feature – just record little video clips to send them via MMS or as UMTS video calling. With those great internet and Web 2.0 features the Iphone is aimed to, it would be just too great, to get videos directly to Youtube…
• FM Radio. Well, no native phone feature, and why FM, if you can have Internet Radio over Edge? This is probably Apple’s argument – but I really love this feature.

There is just one feature I would really really need, which is the car compatibility – but the other missing things are annoying, too. So I’m currently waiting for an o2 multicard to use the two phones simultaneously.

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Daily Life, Media, mobile at 18:15 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

Why this topic? Don't know probably, because of "Lola rennt", which I should probably watch again sometime - Since that "80 Minutes" movie by Thomas Jahn didn't turn out too entertaining. Or because the attached video reminds me of that "Lola"-advertisement. Guess you know what I mean. Anyway. Enjoy the Ewok Gospel.

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Media at 16:35 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

It's just one more day
No one said
There would be rain again
Won't blame it on myself
I'll blame it on the weatherman
Get away for a while
Here I am out on my own again
Won't blame it on myself
I'll blame it on the weatherman

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Media at 00:27 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

I didn't have much time to blog here after my holidays in the US, since I went skiing in Switzerland a few days later. Now, I finally managed to get some short vlogs online onto my blip.tv channel (http://maljaysia.blip.tv). Also have a look at the skiing pictures from Laax!

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Daily Life, Media at 01:35 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

I found a nice meme on Fox's blog today. I consider it really nice, because it is so easy to answer:

• take the nearest book with at least 123 pages
• go to page 123
• find the 5th sentence on this page
• oost the next 3 sentences
• refer this meme to five other bloggers

Beispile hierfür sind SADT (StructuredAnalysis and Design Technique) [Balz82] und SA (Strukturierte Analyse). SA wird in Abschnitt 5.3.1 behandelt.
Ein IS wird in SA als Mengevon Datenflüssen definiert, die durch Aktivitäten transformiert werden.

Now guess which book I'm quoting from *g*

I want to refer this meme to the Grützekraftwerk (long time no blog..), Vroni (easy one for you), Mac (hope the book leaves room for new gossip ), Anima and last but not least Philipp (Citysitting.de).

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Media at 21:16 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Lately Winamp has really been giving me the creeps – additional of not being able to handle my media library in a efficiently way, it wouldn’t just load to play a single mp3 track, but would also load the whole library using up to 400MB if memory space and taking quite a while. It took me a while to figure out that it is not only necessary to select "Do not load the Media Library database at Winamp start-up" under "Options>Preferences>Media Library>Local Media>Options" but also to disable "Use library title information for Playlist Item Formatting". Amending this changes Winamp "only" uses up about 50MB of memory after start-up and is way faster.

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Media at 21:42 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

Following Radiohead’s example last year, who released their latest album online, Nine Inch Nails put out their new record up for download yesterday. The first nine tracks of the instrumental album called "Ghosts" is available for free download in DRM-free mp3 format. The whole album can be bought as a digital release for the bargain price of 5$. Also different hard-copy releases will bei available for fans relying on physical media.

Trent Reznor describes the album as a "soundtrack for daydreams", each track has his own album art supporting the mood created by the track. Reznor also states, that he has been planing an album like this since years, but it took him up to now, to be able to do it. Probably the new distribution strategy is part of his plans. Tracks of the album are released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Comercial-Share Alike License. So fans are encouraged to create there own remixes of the tracks. The initial work of NIN is just a starting point to elaborate on those given impressions.

This has been possible due to the breaking free of NIN's contract with their recording company. Now NIN holds the rights to their new works exclusively, and therefor can use them as they like. In the past there already has been a quarrel about a planned remix page by NIN. The innovative project was stopped due to the danger of lawsuits. I think this is a good example for "copyright-kills-music".

In my opinion Radiohead and NIN are examples for the new upcoming modell of music distribution. To a certain grade recording companies have been rendered useless. Well known artists can set up their own distribution, where unknown artists gain there popularity through social distribution using myspace and other networks.

The official homepage for thise album seems to be down due to overwhelming response of the fans. The free version of the album can be download via Bittorent here. NIN even posted a statement additional to this official torrent:

Now that we're no longer constrained by a record label, we've decided to personally upload Ghosts I, the first of the four volumes, to various torrent sites, because we believe BitTorrent is a revolutionary digital distribution method, and we believe in finding ways to utilize new technologies instead of fighting them.

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Media at 15:03 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

[Trigami-Review]

Ever tried to use video calling on your brand new UMTS phone? Guess most of us will answer that question with a clear “No”. Rates up to 0,99 EUR, while a normal call is priced at 19 cent or is even free (since many of us have flat rates) this feature is still really uninteresting. It also requires UMTS connection enabled – and most us will switch of this feature, since it is power consuming. Well, I don’t want to write a statement on why not to use that feature, but rather point out a possibility on why it might be interesting.

The Berlin base ViiF mobile Video GmbH, which calls there product “your mobile entertainment community”, offers a service which could get you to at least try out the video call feature. There software uses this video call feature as interface to get videos of your phone and into the internet and vice versa. Currently this feature is free for customers using the German O2 network. All that is needed is an UMTS connection and a call to the service number 22557. No special software or data rate needed!
Especially the feature enabling direct vlogging caught my attention – media directly to your personal weblog is the promise you get at the ViiF homepage. Unluckily I’m currently at my parents place in Truppach with no UMTS coverage, so I won’t be able to try this feature before I at least visit Bamberg or Bayreuth. But I’m really curious, whether this vlogging feature will work any good, since I’ve tried to start a kind of mobile vlogging some while ago, but never kept up with it. If the ViiF service produces any reliable quality I might get back on track here Also it will be interesting to see, which kind of Media they will offer in there community. Probably some of me readers in an UMTS area could try the feature and comment a few words about this?

As long as the ViiF manages to keep there call rates low, considered an enabling technology – enabling to distribute and receive content without having to subscribe to expensive data rates, and without having to tweak your mobile phone too much. With all those mobile carriers still trying to get back the billions they invested in UMTS licenses and their UMTS network, I really hope this can be done, our mobile market needs such innovations - at decent prices, though! I’ve subscribed to the ViiF-Blog and will be watching their progress. Also expect me trying this vlogging feature soon.

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Media at 17:25 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)