Technology
iPhone vs. Rock
Feb 2nd
iPhone vs. Rock
Mir fallen da gleich noch zwei Sachen ein:
Austauschbare Batterie: Stone: X iPhone: X
Gewinnt bei Stein-Schere-Papier: Stone: V iPhone: X
Faellt euch auch noch was ein? 
Google Chrome Extensions
Jan 30th
Vermutlich kennt jeder von euch Googles Browser: Chrome. Bisher war der bei mir immer nur zweite Wahl hinter dem Firefox. Diese Entscheidung habe ich damals getroffen, weil Chrome (natuerlich) Werbung anzeigt, ich aber keine Werbung sehen moechte. Fuer den Firefox hat das Plugin Adblock Plus geholfen.
Seit heute kann man im Google Chrome auch Extensions installieren. Und es gibt auch hier eine Extension die Werbung verhindert: Adblock.
Google Chrome
Super. Seit heute ist also Chrome mein neuer Browser Nummer 1. Die zweite neue Funktion: Bookmark Sync zum Google Account (Wird in Google Docs gespeichert) funktioniert auch super. In Google Docs sieht das dann so aus:
Bookmark Sync @ Google Docs
Wie bestelle ich mir ein Google Nexus One nach Deutschland?
Jan 17th
Google hat ja vor kurzem sein erstes “eigenes” (ist ja doch nur ein HTC) Handy auf den Markt gebracht, das Google Nexus One.
Google Nexus One
Doch leider hat Google das Handy nur fuer die USA, Singapore, Hong Kong und die UK zum Verkauf angeboten. Wenn man also eins haben moechte und nicht in einem dieser Laender wohnt, hat man ein Problem.
Es gibt jedoch zwei Moeglichkeiten, trotzdem an ein Google Nexus heranzukommen! Und weil ich gerne ein Google Nexus One haette, habe ich mir mal angeschaut wie die aussehen:
Moeglichkeit 1
Global Roaming (Ein Anbieter von SIM Karten fuer weltweites Roaming) bietet hier das Nexus One an. Man kann ganz einfach sein Land auswaehlen und der Versand kostet immer 49.99 USD. Das Handy selbst gibt es fuer 589 USD. Fuer ca. 445 EUR kann man also das Nexus One sein eigen nennen. Optional gibts fuer 10 USD auch noch ne Versandversicherung, die fuer einen eventuellen Verlust aufkommt.
Moeglichkeit 2
Diese Moeglichkeit ist etwas umstaendlicher:
- Man beschafft sich die Software Hotspot Shield. Nach der Installation wird die eigene IP Adresse verboregn. Der Google Webshop kann somit nicht feststellen in welchem Land man sich befindet und erlaubt Bestellungen.
- Man geht auf MyUSABox.com und richtet sich eine Postbox in den USA ein. Die Benutzung ist umsonst, allerdings fallen beim erstmaligen Anmelden Gebuehren in Hoehe von 5 USD an die beim ersten Benutzen abgerechnet werden.
- Nun brauch man einen Google Checkout Account. Wenn man schon einen G-Mail Account hat, kann man die beiden einfach miteinander verknuepfen. Hier sollte man seine echte Adresse angeben, die in jedem beliebigen Land der Welt sein kann.
- Wenn man jetzt auf google.com/phone geht kann man sich das Nexus One zu seiner USA Box Adresse schicken lassen. Die Rechnung sollte man am besten an seine eigene Adresse (vom Google Checkout Account) schicken.
- Das Nexus One wird an deine USA Box geschickt. Von hier erhaelt man automatisch eine E-Mail sobald das Paket da ist.
- Jetzt kann man sich bei MyUSABox.com einloggen und das Paket an seine eigene Adresse schicken.
Das ganze kostet einen 5 USD Anmeldung bei MyUSABox, 529 USD fuers Nexus One (+ sales tax, leider weiss ich nich genau wie hoch) und den Versand von MyUSABox nach Deutschland von 44 USD. Macht also gesamt ein EUR Preis von ca. 403 EUR. Ich vermute, dass die Sales Tax jedoch im Bereich von ca.10% liegen, womit dann Variante 2 noch mal um ca. 36 EUR teurer wird und somit auf ca. 439 EUR klettert.
Preislich nehmen sich die beiden Moeglichkeiten gemessen am Gesamtpreis von ca. 450 EUR nicht wirklich etwas. Moeglichkeit 1 finde ich jedoch wesentlich bequemer, ausserdem gibts da auch noch die SIM Karte von Global Roaming dazu.
Also wer in Deutschland wohnt und nicht warten will bis es Vodafone auf den Markt bringt, kann es sich jetzt einfach bestellen. Und das beste: Das Handy kommt natuerlich SIMlock frei!
Picasa 3.6 – Gesichtserkennung
Jan 8th
Seit einiger Zeit gibt es die beliebte Bildverwaltungssoftware Picasa in Version 3.6 (wenn auch nur in englischer Sprache, hier). Wichtigstes neues feature ist die Gesichtserkennung. Nachdem ich also alle meine ca. 45.000 Bilder von Picasa habe scannen lassen, wurden ca 30.000 Gesichter erkannt. Das scannen hat zwar insgesamt mehr als 48 Stunden gedauert, aber gelohnt hat es sich. Nachdem ich Picasa bei einigen Gesichtern mitgeteilt hatte, dass ich darauf zu sehen bin, hat es mich mehr als 2000 mal erkannt. Davon waren ca. 10 Fehlerkennungen dabei. Eine ziemlich gute Quote, gemessen an der Zahl an Beispielen die ich Picasa “gezeigt” hatte. Jedes Gesicht kann man dann uebrigens mit seinen Google Kontakten verknuepfen oder neue Google Kontakte anlegen.
Doch jetzt stehe ich vor einem Problem. Picasa erkennt ja die Gesichter nur von vorne. Ist ja klar, von hinten ists ja kein Gesicht. Sollte man jedoch nun auch alle Bilder mit Personen mit den sogenannten Name Tags vergeben, auf denen die Gesichter nur von hinten zu sehen sind?
Man haette den Vorteil, dass in den “People Foldern”, also den Ordnern fuer jede Person, auch wirklich alle Bilder zu finden sind, auf denen die Person zu sehen ist.
Der Nachteil waere, dass Picasa wohl nicht mehr zuverlaessig Gesichter der betreffenden Person erkennt, da es z.B. bei roten kaputzen von hinten immer denkt, darunter stecke die gleiche Person, nachdem wir einmal auf einem Bild eine gewisse Person markiert hatten.
Alternative waere die Bilder mit normalen Tags zu versehen. Allerdings hat man dann quasi 2 Stellen an denen Personen “verlinkt” sind. Das gefaellt mir irgendwie nicht.
Was denkt ihr, was hier am meisten Sinn macht?
Ich denke, ich werde die Personen trotzdem markieren, weil ich es einfach praktisch finde, auf z.B. den Namen eines guten Freundes zu klicken und alle Bilder zu sehen, auf denen die Person zu sehen ist, egal ob von vorne mit Gesicht oder nur von der Seite oder von hinten.
Aber jetzt begebe ich mich erstmal ans benennen der restlichen 24.000 erkannten Gesichter
How to update the G1 (developer version) firmware from 1.5 to 1.6 and new features
Oct 20th
If you want to update your firmware from version 1.5 to version 1.6 you can basically follow the instructions below. Of course you will need the update files to follow the instructions.
- To get the needed update files you can go to this official HTC site. But as that one seems to have some issues, you can alternatively go to here and download the 2 needed files. (Files are: ota-radio-2_22_19_26I.zip and signed-dream_devphone_userdebug-ota-14721.zip )
- Rename the “ota-radio-2_22_19_26I.zip” to “update.zip”
- Plug your G1 into your computer and mount as a USB mass storage device using your USB cable
- Copy the “update.zip” onto your SD card in your G1
- Unmount the USB mass storage device and than disconnect the phone
- Shut off the G1
- Start up the G1 by pressing the “home” and the “power on/off” button at the same time (and hold) until a triangle with a “!” appears
- Flip the keyboard and press “ALT” and “l” (lower case “L”)
- A screen appears with a menu
- Press “Alt” and “s” to apply the “update.zip” on the SD card
- If the installation is finished (it tells you when), press the “home” and the “back” button and release them again to reboot the system
- If the system has rebooted, mount the device as USB mass storage device again, by using your USB cable
- Delete the update.zip from your G1 SD card
- Rename the “signed-dream_devphone-ota-14721.zip” to “update.zip” and copy this onto your SD card
- Unmount your USB mass storage device and disconnect the G1 from your computer
- Power off the G1 by pressing the “power on/off” button
- Start up by pressing the “home” and the “power on/off” button at the same time (and hold) until a triangle with a “!” appears
- Flip the keyboard and press “Alt” and “l” (lower case “L”)
- A screen appears with a menu
- Press “Alt” and “s” to apply the “update.zip” on the SD card
- If the installation is finished (it tells you when), press the “home” and the “back” button and release them again to reboot the system
I did update my own phone this morning and everything seems to be fine. The new features of android 1.6 are (from here):
New User Features
Quick Search Box for Android
Android 1.6 includes a redesigned search framework that provides a quick, effective, and consistent way for users to search across multiple sources—such as browser bookmarks & history, contacts, and the web—directly from the home screen.
The system constantly learns which search results are more relevant based on what is clicked. So popular contacts or apps that have previously been picked will bubble up to the top when a user types the first few letters of a relevant query.
The search framework also provides developers a way to easily expose relevant content from their applications in Quick Search Box.
Camera, Camcorder, and Gallery
An updated user interface provides an integrated camera, camcorder, and gallery experience. Users can quickly toggle between still and video capture modes. Additionally, the gallery enables users to select multiple photos for deletion.
Android 1.6 also provides a much faster camera experience. Compared to the previous release, launching the camera is now 39% faster, and there is a 28% improvement in the time from completing one shot to the next.
VPN, 802.1x
A new Virtual Private Network (VPN) control panel in Settings allows users to configure and connect to the following types of VPNs:
- L2TP/IPSEC pre-shared key based VPN
- L2TP/IPsec certificate based VPN
- L2TP only VPN
- PPTP only VPN
Battery usage indicator
A new battery usage screen lets users see which apps and services are consuming battery power. If the user determines that a particular service or application is using too much power, they can take action to save the battery by adjusting settings, stopping the application, or uninstalling the application.
Accessibility
Users will be able to download new accessibility services built on the new accessibility framework and enable them in Settings.
Android Market Updates
For devices with Android Market, the latest version improves the overall user experience and makes it easier for users to discover great apps and games from developers.
- At the homescreen, users can choose among Apps, Games, and Downloads.
- Inside a category, users can explore titles that are Top paid, Top free, and Just in.
- For each title, users can now see screenshots submitted by developers in addition to reviews from other users.
New Platform Technologies
Expanded Search Framework
The Android search framework has been redesigned and expanded to provide third-party applications the opportunity to surface content from their applications in Quick Search Box, the global search tool. To do this, developers will need to make their app “searchable” and provide suggestions in response to user queries. To enable application search suggestions, users simply select each application from which they’d like to receive suggestions, under Searchable items in the Search settings.
Text-to-speech engine
Android 1.6 features a multi-lingual speech synthesis engine called Pico. It allows any Android application to “speak” a string of text with an accent that matches the language. The engine supports the following languages: English (American and British accents), French, Italian, German and Spanish. If you’re using a T-Mobile G1 or Dream device, you’ll need to download the SpeechSynthesis Data Installer from Android Market, which includes the “voices” needed by the text-to-speech engine.
Gestures
A new gestures framework provides application developers with a framework for creating, storing, loading, and recognizing gestures and associating them with specific actions.
Developers can use the new GestureBuilder tool included in the Android 1.6 SDK to generate libraries of gestures to include with their application.
Accessibility
Android 1.6 provides a new accessibility framework. With this framework, developers can create accessibility plugins that respond to user input, such as making a sound when a new window is shown, vibrating when navigating to the top of a list, and providing spoken feedback.
Expanded support for screen densities and resolutions
Android 1.6 adds screen support that enables applications to be rendered properly on different display resolutions and densities. Developers can also specify the types of screens supported by their application.
Telephony support for CDMA
Android 1.6 includes support for CDMA in the telephony stack.
New version of OpenCore
Android 1.6 includes the updated OpenCore 2 media engine, which has:
- Support for OpenMAX encoders
- Support for additional audio codecs in AuthorEngine
- Improved buffering model supports shared buffers allocated in the decoder
2.6.29 Linux kernel
Android 1.6 upgrades the Linux kernel from 2.6.27 to 2.6.29.
Panasonic Lumix FT1S – Waterproof at all?
Sep 28th
Alright guys. As some of you may already know, I own the nice Panasonic Lumix FT1S which is an underwater camera waterproof up to 3 meters.
So why am I blogging about this camera again? Well, as the title already shows the camera does have some troubles with water. Here is what happened:
I bought the camera in July and after it arrived I took it to the local swimming pool. I took a couple of pictures and everything was fine. The next time I took it to the Berry Springs nature pool. We took some pictures there until the camera was taking blurry pictures. As described in the user manual I let the camera dry for a couple of days with the case opened and not in direct sunshine. After a couple of days it still was taking blurry pictures. So I called the Panasonic hot line to ask for support. They said that they have a service provider where I could send the camera to. That’s what I did. After arriving in Sydney the camera went through a pretest and passed. They couldn’t find any problems at all, so they suggested the blurry screen was due to fogging.
On my 4 week road trip I passed Sydney and picked the camera up. In the service report it said that the camera passed the pretest. After asking what this exactly meant, the lady explained to me that the camera was still perfectly fine and waterproof. We took some pictures to try the camera and as they weren’t blurry anymore moved on with our trip. So the camera seemed to work fine at that stage.
So what happened next? One day before we hopped on our sailing, diving and snorkeling trip to the great berrier reef, we took the camera to a local swimming pool in Airlie Beach. And guess what happened? Right. The camera died. After 5 -10 minutes in the water. It just turned off and never turned on again.
Now imagine:
You bought a waterproof camera.
You are about to go snorkeling at the great barrier reef.
You and your partner were looking forward to this for the last 6 months.
You only have 1 more day left until the trip starts.
You take your waterproof camera to a pool.
Your camera, waterproof up to 3 meters and for 1 hour, dies at approx. 20cm water depth and after 10 minutes.
Now if this doesn’t suck, what else? What the hell am I supposed to do with an underwater camera that breaks (or at least doesn’t work for a week – remember the blurry pictures?) as soon as I take it underwater? I just can’t see why the camera died in a pool. I could imagine it dying in saltwater, maybe with strong water currents, if you take it too long, too deep. But in a f*****g pool with fresh water, at 20cm after 10 minutes? …
I even took my Canon Ixus 70 once out on a wakeboarding trip where it was raining the whole day. The camera was completely wet and still working. With the Panasonic Lumix FT1S I am now even scared to take the camera into rain!
I did send it again to Sydney today and I am waiting for their response. So I’ll wait and see what they say to this.
Panasonic Lumix FT1S
Jul 14th
Today my new camera I ordered a couple of days ago arived. It is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT1S (sometimes also called DMC-TS1S). I am not going to write down the whole bunch of specs (read them here on amazon) , or a complete review.
I took the camera to the Parap Swimming Pool after work and made some underwater pictures with it. So here is proof the camera is really waterproof:
Me underwater
New A/C
May 26th
Today the A/C in my room finally got exchanged. It was broken for a couple of weeks. With the start of the dry season I thought that I don’t need an A/C anymore, but the sun shines directly into my room. So when I come home from work it is like 40 degC in my room. The very old model (build in 1978) has now been replaced with a brand new split system. This means that it the A/C consists out of 2 units, with one being in the room and one being outside. So the newer model is very quiet.
The old aircon
The new one
Shell Eco-Marathon 2009 – proTRon II ruled!
May 12th
Every year Shell hosts the so called Eco-Marathon. In this competition teams from all over the world (though the competition is divided into three separate ones: Europe, Asia, America) come together to a race. The goal of the race is not to be the fastest, but to be the most economic one. So every team builds a car and tries to drive as far as possible with the energy equivalent to 1 liter of unleaded fuel. More information can be found here.
Last year in my last two semesters of my bachelor study I was part of the ProTRon II team and responsible for the internal communication using a CAN bus. We drove to Nogaro last year and participated in the eco marathon. With 2592km on 1 liter of unleaded fuel, we had a very good result last year and finished at 3rd of our class (fuel cells, prototypes) and 5th overall.
The team with proTRon II and aeris
This year the ProTRon II team was able to break through the magic 3000km mark. They finished as best german team with a result of 3178km. This was good enough for a 3rd place in their class and a 4th place in total. The team made a good progress from the 1800km in the first year over 2500km in the second to finally 3100km in the third year. They also built their first UrbanConcept car called Aeris. This did not make it into the finish, but according to the reports, it was way ahead of other teams with development of a roadworthy design.
Congratulations to the ProTRon II team and all its members!
The new features of the G1 firmware 1.5
May 7th
The first impression I got was the sam when I got the G1 first a couple of months ago. Wooow. Smooooth!! They improved the smoothness of the interface even though I thought this wasn’t possible. But they made it. Also some small changes on the screen appearance. But everything looks just this little bit better than before. As i don’t have the time at the moment to have a closer look at all the features, here is the list you can look up on the android developer page. As far as I had a look until now I have to say: I like the changes!
User Interface Refinements
- System-wide:
- Refinement of all core UI elements
- Animated window transitions (off by default)
- Accelerometer-based application rotations
- UI polish for:
- In-call experience
- Contacts, Call log, and Favorites
- SMS & MMS
- Browser
- Gmail
- Calendar
- Camera & Gallery
- Application management
Performance Improvements
- Faster Camera start-up and image capture
- Much faster acquisition of GPS location (powered by SUPL AGPS)
- Smoother page scrolling in Browser
- Speedier GMail conversation list scrolling
New Features
- On-screen soft keyboard
- Works in both portrait and landscape orientation
- Support for user installation of 3rd party keyboards
- User dictionary for custom words
- Home screen
- Widgets
- Bundled home screen widgets include: analog clock, calendar, music player, picture frame, and search
- Live folders
- Widgets
- Camera & Gallery
- Video recording
- Video playback (MPEG-4 & 3GP formats)
- Bluetooth
- Stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP and AVCRP profiles)
- Auto-pairing
- Improved handsfree experience
- Browser
- Updated with latest Webkit browser & Squirrelfish Javascript engines
- Copy ‘n paste in browser
- Search within a page
- User-selectable text-encoding
- UI changes include:
- Unified Go and Search box
- Tabbed bookmarks/history/most-visited screen
- Contacts
- Shows user picture for Favorites
- Specific date/time stamp for events in call log
- One-touch access to a contact card from call log event
- System
- New Linux kernel (version 2.6.27)
- SD card filesystem auto-checking and repair
- SIM Application Toolkit 1.0
- Google applications (not available in the Android 1.5 System Image that is included in the Android SDK)
- View Google Talk friends’ status in Contacts, SMS, MMS, GMail, and Email applications
- Batch actions such as archive, delete, and label on Gmail messages
- Upload videos to Youtube
- Upload photos on Picasa
Loading ...