Windows 8 failed

I’m upgraded since a month to Windows 8 and I tried to give it a real chance, but I need to say : It failed… I missed the start button, I hate the Modern UI, the App store is full of crap. Windows 8 is a mixture of good old Windows and iOS, but nobody needs a mixture. Well, iOS is build on top of Mac OS, but it’s even _not_ a mixture of MacOS and just a couple of touch elements. It’s a pure Touch UI (same for Android).

The Metro Modern UI try to combine both, but that doesn’t work for me. When I try change some settings in an App it’s sometimes hidden in the Charms bar, but the Control panel itself is a classic Windows styled UI, how awful must this work on the Surface Pro ? I often need 2-3 seconds to remind how I can go back to the Control panel, did you every try this when you work with a dual monitor setup (and work on the left monitor) ? Yes it works, but I missed often the upper edge.

The app store could be a real benefit , better than Steam, better than the iOS App store, cause we have so many games played in the past on Windows, search for a good classic point and click adventure…. nothing. Ok, I admit, the store needs some more time. but I don’t need that tiny silly iOS games which I played on my first iPod Touch back again, not on a Full HD desktop PC (and please no more Star Trek Angry Birds). AND a simple mail/browser/calendar app program needs to be open instantly.

My biggest issue : I need to work in my daily business with Windows 7 (Visual Studio will _never_ Metro / Modern / Touch UI friendly), so a switch between old/new UI is horrible when you return to your home computer. I missed the start button, I forgot about the Charms bar and other shortcuts…

Microsoft should cut off (and even improve) the good old desktop UI from the Touch UI, both are ok, but both needs their own devices.

Snow, snow, snow

Back from my ski trip, now back to work.

Apple or Deutsche Bank ?

What a crazy world. Apple is more worth than the 30 Top Europe Banks… Can you understand such a development ?

Something went wrong in this world…

30 years later…

Today, the IBM-PC has his birthday ! I’m too young for MS-DOS 1.00, but I remember very good the time when I first time “work” with a PC (Think it was Larry 1 ). My own first computer was a Amiga 500, and stand up : After one year I owned my first 512 Kbyte memory extension…! What was your first computer ?

Next round S95

After 5 years my Powershot S2 IS goes into retirement. I’m very happy with my first digital camera, but during the last year I need a camera with a better result at low light. All the time I’m looking for a DSLR, but I’m just a hobby photographer and so the form factor is at the end more important then the possibilities. Today I receive my second camera : Powershot S95 with HD video and (again) RAW images…

Top 10

The Top 10 of downloaded translation files for NextGEN Gallery :

Funny statistic 🙂

Most expensive browser

Today my iPad arrived at home. Since a couple of weeks I already ask myself : Do I really need a device which I just use for the web and email reading ?

Are i’m now a Apple fanboy ?

Since the keynote from godfather Steve and my final order placement, I often think about the sense to have a third mobile browser device (Laptop / Desktop, phone , tablet ), i can’t give a real answer.

Yes, I love my Apple products (iPhone & iPod touch), nevertheless I didn’t buy everything from Apple just to the fact that it looks better. I recently decided against a MacBook and ordered a Sony Vaio laptop, which is a great device (Full HD, Bluray, HDMI ) with a very good OS (Yes, Microsoft you did right with Win 7).

The main reason why I give the iPad a try , is due to the iPhone OS. I had some terrible expirence with my first Android (HTC Magic), which is now 1 year later not longer supported/upgradable. I know that Android is getting better and better, but to be honest, it needs a long time to get to the level of the iPhone OS.

I remember very good the time when I had the first iPod Touch my hands, I was thrilled from the UI/Concept (And there was no App Store, just Firmware 1.1.2 !). Till today it is a delight to work with the iPhone/iPod touch, it changes thew way I use the computer. If I analyse the amount of time I need a computer, then i use today approx. 30% (of my time) my laptop ( work, development, DVD, stuff where I need a full OS ) and 70% the iPhone/iPod (email, news, feeds, browser, ebay, weather etc.). I’m interesting how the iPad fits into my “tech” needs…

P.S. : I have some great ideas to sync images with WordPress/NextGEN Gallery/QNAP NAS/iPad, maybe I need to buy a Macbook for development some Apps 😦

Google Chart API

Great new Some updated stuff from google… a Chart API, which returns you a image with the chart you defined in your GET/POST request. This is just the first step to have the global power, in the next step Google can now maniplulate all charts in that way, that their own products are always the front runner 🙂

Example :

Apple's Lipstick Jungle

Have you seen the brave new world of the series Lipstick Jungle ? If Apple really sold 10 Mio iPhone’s in the last quarter, then  I’m pretty sure that 5 Mio phones are used in this TV series…

More pictures here

Forums are sometimes horrible…

A wek ago I’ve exchanged my HTC Magic “Android” phone with the iPhone 3GS. My company would normally provide me a Blackberry, but hey I need a Smart-Internet-laptop-in-your-pocket-and-and-not-just-a-email-client-phone ! So I decided to buy me a (SIM unlocked, legal) iPhone. It was easy to setup with my provider (Vodafone Germany), they provide a good document how to setup my iPhone and all works fine (MMS, Internet, Mailbox , Visual Voicemail is  not available) but there is one nasty little problem :

Every time I call or get a call a little popup “Call forwarding active” show up…Really annoying !!!

Now, I start google a bit around and get real frustrated. There are hundreds of “fixes” and “solutions” available in some German forums, no one describe the real problem. The most fixes will are only useful for jailbroken iPhone’s (-> ForwardMSGfix) and a couple of ideas are really stupid. No one describe why this problem happened and after one hour I found some notes about the “ShowCallForwarding” flag in the carrier profile.

With this information I final found a solution for my iPhone without Jailbreak fixes. I really love the Internet and all it’s output, but forums are sometimes give you a wrong direction. Some people wrote silly things and it takes hours to get to the root of your problems…