- Do they recruit IT people with a personality (only few of them are around ;-))?
- Do they support People Power (as in grassroots revolution)?
- Are they trying to convey that they indeed have a personality (the name indicates that is must be a confusing one)?
- And how does all this fit together?
1/15/2008
Personnel Agency Bullshit Bingo?
If you name your personnel agency like this: Personality IT People Power, what am I supposed to make of this? What kind of thoughts have (mis-)created this name?
1/11/2008
Und nochmal eine Bahnunterhaltung
Mann und Frau sitzen sich seit geraumer Zeit (geschätzte 20 Minuten) gegenüber und es ist nicht erkennbar, daß die sie kennen. Müssen sie aber, denn plötzlich geht es los:
Frau: "Ich war heute in meiner alten Arbeitsstelle".
Schweigen. Mehrere Minuten.
Mann: "Und wie wars?"
Schweigen. Überlegen?
Frau: "Anders."
Danach war wieder tiefes Schweigen für den Rest der Fahrt.
Frau: "Ich war heute in meiner alten Arbeitsstelle".
Schweigen. Mehrere Minuten.
Mann: "Und wie wars?"
Schweigen. Überlegen?
Frau: "Anders."
Danach war wieder tiefes Schweigen für den Rest der Fahrt.
Intelligenzia in der Bahn - Teil 2
Man könnte ja praktisch nie aufhören, dieses Thema zu backern, aber dies hier hat sich wirklich gelohnt: zwei ca. 16jährige Mädels unterhalten sich und kommen auf Urlaub zu sprechen.
A: "Ich war mit meinen Eltern in unserem Haus an ... äh ... wie heißt der See in Südtirol nochmal?"
B: "Gardasee?"
C: "Genau!"
D: "Ja, da haben wir auch ein Haus. Mit Pool. Aber den braucht man ja eigentlich nicht, wo man doch gleich im Meer schwimmen gehen kann."
A: "Ich war mit meinen Eltern in unserem Haus an ... äh ... wie heißt der See in Südtirol nochmal?"
B: "Gardasee?"
C: "Genau!"
D: "Ja, da haben wir auch ein Haus. Mit Pool. Aber den braucht man ja eigentlich nicht, wo man doch gleich im Meer schwimmen gehen kann."
1/10/2008
Xobni is Outlook Inbox Backwards - or Faster
There is a new tool out there, enhancing Outlook - and who does think that Outlook is not in desperate need of enhancements 
It adds a new sidebar for the most common tasks like scheduling meetings and other stuff, but the two things that made me get it are these:
Publish Post
Check it out here:
It adds a new sidebar for the most common tasks like scheduling meetings and other stuff, but the two things that made me get it are these:
- fast email search (Outlook cannot beat any other software when it comes to searching)
- automatic extraction of phone numbers from emails, so I don't have to go through lengthy emails trying to find the information
Publish Post
Check it out here:
1/07/2008
Why Buy a Noxon iRadio Anyway?
Already owning a Noxon Audio it would have been a natural step to upgrade to the Noxon iRadio to access my UPnP server. It is a bit expensive though, and it seems that the remote control and display have not improved since I bought my original model, which was three years ago! Despite of all the criticism Noxon have got on forums because of this.
So I went looking for alternatives, using the TwonkyVision web site as my starting point, where they list all compatible devices. I came across the Philips WAK3300, which basically has the same functionality and in addition it has an alarm clock, which can play an MP3 of your choice and it has an FM receiver. It is way cheaper too, and does not have the limitations of the remote control (with Noxon you need do direct it straight to the device, completely unusable from the slightest angle) and display (Noxon displays are terribly slow and cannot be viewed from an angle). Oh yes, and it is a lot cheaper too, something in the range of 60% of the price of an iRadio!
The setup was easy enough, I got it working with my WLAN and TwonkyVision UPnP server within 10 minutes. Only when I hit the "update firmware" button without having had registered, I nearly wrecked the gadget! It told me that I needed to register first, then it started to boot, boot again, boot again, ... Even after a complete power-off the behavior remained and the reset button did not do its job. I was close to returning it, but then tried hitting the reset button multiple times while the thing was booting, and with some luck it did reset. Phew! After registering the firmware update was easy and the weird behavior is gone completely.
So my bottom line is, I am glad I did not go for the iRadio; I paid less, and got more functionality at the same time.
The only little downside is that the device is all plastic, which makes it cheap to the touch, but it looks OK (admittedly, the iRadio does look better!) and it does not retain the time when I unplug it to move it to another room. Luckily it does keep all other settings :-) and for the time there is a workaround: it can synchronize itself with a server when you activate that service through the Philips site.
Edit: After using this device for a while, I still like its features, but have encountered the following problem: when I move it from one room to another, i. e. unplug it and plug it in again, in 99% of the cases it will not start up any more. It needs to stay disconnected for at least 8 hours (found by experimenting), and even then it tends to ask you for weekday and time every time you turn it on. If you leave it unplugged for 24 hours (I did not take the time to experiment with this duration) it is all back to normal. So if you are planning to move your music device at all, buy another one!
So I went looking for alternatives, using the TwonkyVision web site as my starting point, where they list all compatible devices. I came across the Philips WAK3300, which basically has the same functionality and in addition it has an alarm clock, which can play an MP3 of your choice and it has an FM receiver. It is way cheaper too, and does not have the limitations of the remote control (with Noxon you need do direct it straight to the device, completely unusable from the slightest angle) and display (Noxon displays are terribly slow and cannot be viewed from an angle). Oh yes, and it is a lot cheaper too, something in the range of 60% of the price of an iRadio!
The setup was easy enough, I got it working with my WLAN and TwonkyVision UPnP server within 10 minutes. Only when I hit the "update firmware" button without having had registered, I nearly wrecked the gadget! It told me that I needed to register first, then it started to boot, boot again, boot again, ... Even after a complete power-off the behavior remained and the reset button did not do its job. I was close to returning it, but then tried hitting the reset button multiple times while the thing was booting, and with some luck it did reset. Phew! After registering the firmware update was easy and the weird behavior is gone completely.
So my bottom line is, I am glad I did not go for the iRadio; I paid less, and got more functionality at the same time.
The only little downside is that the device is all plastic, which makes it cheap to the touch, but it looks OK (admittedly, the iRadio does look better!) and it does not retain the time when I unplug it to move it to another room. Luckily it does keep all other settings :-) and for the time there is a workaround: it can synchronize itself with a server when you activate that service through the Philips site.
Edit: After using this device for a while, I still like its features, but have encountered the following problem: when I move it from one room to another, i. e. unplug it and plug it in again, in 99% of the cases it will not start up any more. It needs to stay disconnected for at least 8 hours (found by experimenting), and even then it tends to ask you for weekday and time every time you turn it on. If you leave it unplugged for 24 hours (I did not take the time to experiment with this duration) it is all back to normal. So if you are planning to move your music device at all, buy another one!
Buffalo Linkstation and Noxon Audio
As NAS devices have become incredibly cheap recently I just could not resist buying one myself.
My first experience with the Buffalo LinkStation was great; it was so easy to set up!
Trouble (not related to the LinkStation itself) started shortly afterwards: I wanted to copy some larger files to the device over my 100Mbps network and found it was incredibly slow. After a while I fugured out that it was my switch that was the problem: I was using my DSL router (FritzBox 7050) as a switch and did not get any throughput. After installing a proper switch in my network, the speed was awesome, and will be even better once I upgrade my home network to 1Mbps, but that can wait until next year.
Next I found out that the media streaming functionality that is built-in, is not 100% UPnP-compatible: my Noxon did find the LinkStation and listed folders "Music" and "Pictures", but then it was stuck. After some conversation with support, who basically told me that I need to purchase LinkTheater, I found out what hardware the LinkStation runs, and using tips on the forum here, I finally installedTownkyVision.
Doing this involved "hacking" the linkstation by activating telnet and resetting the root password using a software called "ACP Commander". No wonder the support would not officially tell me about this option!
So now my Noxon can play the files and everything works as it should, and I really love my LinkStation :-)
My first experience with the Buffalo LinkStation was great; it was so easy to set up!
Trouble (not related to the LinkStation itself) started shortly afterwards: I wanted to copy some larger files to the device over my 100Mbps network and found it was incredibly slow. After a while I fugured out that it was my switch that was the problem: I was using my DSL router (FritzBox 7050) as a switch and did not get any throughput. After installing a proper switch in my network, the speed was awesome, and will be even better once I upgrade my home network to 1Mbps, but that can wait until next year.
Next I found out that the media streaming functionality that is built-in, is not 100% UPnP-compatible: my Noxon did find the LinkStation and listed folders "Music" and "Pictures", but then it was stuck. After some conversation with support, who basically told me that I need to purchase LinkTheater, I found out what hardware the LinkStation runs, and using tips on the forum here, I finally installedTownkyVision.
Doing this involved "hacking" the linkstation by activating telnet and resetting the root password using a software called "ACP Commander". No wonder the support would not officially tell me about this option!
So now my Noxon can play the files and everything works as it should, and I really love my LinkStation :-)
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