jastram.de Blog - Lifestyle

What book to read next...?

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:08:59 -0400

I read quite a few SciFi classics lately. I just found this incredible chart, and I may actually use it to pick my next book to read.

Ever wonder why GPS/Map services are free these days?

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:54:32 -0400

Google Maps on Android, Nokia even offering offline maps for navigating abroad - who pays for all this? Well, here is an interesting idea: charge big merchants for leading you past their stores - even if it is a detour.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Book)

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:06:52 -0400

Recommended: This is a classic from Robert Heinlein, one of my favorite SciFi authors.Storyline: The moon is a prison colony and becomes independent with a help of a computer that gained consciousness.

Vector Magic launches YoHDR.com

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:19:34 -0500

High Dynamic Range photography is a really cool technique to aggregate pictures with various exposure into one stunning picture. There is now a free online-tool to do this at yohdr.com. I tried it out - it's great!

There is only one catch: The three pictures must (obviously) be identical, except exposure. The picture I used had some branches that moved in the wind, and on the final picture they were not aligned. Still, for stills, this is pretty amazing.

Help record free music

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:40:03 -0400

Musopen is an amazing website for music lovers. the site offers not only public domain music recordings, but also sheet music.They have a pretty exciting project going on: They are rainsing money right now to hire an orchestra. The recorded music will be released in the public domain. I donated some, and I hope you will too.

Where the money goes you pay for music

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:50:26 -0400

This image is scary. To be honest, it is not clear where the numbers come from, so take it with a grain of salt.

This was reblogged multiple times, check out this explanation.

How to make a living online - Gerald Roush

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:39:56 -0400

Another example on how you can make a decent living online: Gerald Roush had 5000 newsletter subscribers which each paying $130 annually. Impressive. Reminds me of Chris Guillebeau. There is an infinite number of niches like that.

Paradigm Shift in Education?

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:52:23 -0400

Very interesting post on the positioning of universities in the marketplace by Seth Godin.It's interesting how just 50 years ago, universities were serving a passionate elite that was interested in learning, while today it is a production line for crunching out obedient white-collar workers.

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:54:35 -0400

Not exactly new (the Challenge has been running since 1964), but still interesting: The James Randi Educational Foundation challenges people with paranormal capabilities to present them in laboratory conditions. So far, never claimed the money. Next time somebody claims to get a headache from cell phone radiation, recommend that person to apply.

Jabra Kundenservice - Chance Verpasst

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:28:57 -0400

Ich habe mir vor kurzem ein BT3030 von Jabra zugelegt. Eigentlich bin ich sehr zufrieden damit, allerdings bin ich kein Fan von Ketten und ziehe den dezenten Clip vor. Der ist nur leider sehr labil, und ist nach kurzer Zeit zerbrochen. Kein Problem, denke ich, und kontaktiere Frau Stahlhut von Jabra. Diese verweist mich an die Hotline, die aber den Clip als Ersatzteil nicht hat. Wiederum Frau Stahlhut kontaktiert, die mir die Antwort gab: "nein leider kann ich Ihnen hier nicht weiterhelfen". Und damit war für Jabra die Sache erledigt.

Ich wäre sogar bereit gewesen, für den Clip Geld zu bezahlen. Es handelt sich hier um ein Teil, das wenige Cent in der Produktion kostet. Ein oder zwei Anrufe in die Produktion hätten Ihr wahrscheinlich eine ganze Kiste voll aus Taiwan (oder wo auch immer produziert wird) innerhalb von zwei Wochen ins Büro befördert. Oder besser, der Clip hätte als Ersatzteil eingeführt werden können, dafür muss es doch einen Prozess bei Jabra geben.

Positiv ist zu bewerten, dass Jabra schnell reagiert hat - aber das hilft auch nicht, wenn der Hersteller sich weigert, ein sehr einfach zu lösendes Problem zu lösen. Seth Godin würde wahrscheinlich nur den Kopf schütteln.

My favorite Android G1 apps

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:18:04 -0400

OI File Manager for file browsing
AppManager to install apps outside the market place
PDF Viewer - not optimal as it renders externally, but better than nothing
Toggle Settings - most important app! Allows quick turning on and off of power consuming services
Battery Widget - shows the precise charge of the battery
Meridian Player - pretty good audio and video player
Steel - webbrowser, I like it better than the default browser
Notepad with Sync - allows the synchronization of notes with Helipad
Tetherbot - allows tethering of a laptop for web access. Works only with cable and requires root access on the phone.
ConnectBot - SSH Client
Metal Detector - amazingly, it really works
Google Sky Map - cool, but useless in a city
Doom for Android - because we can
TED - Browser and Viewer for TED-Talks
Terminal Emulator - Command Line
The Weather Channel - in my opinion the best weather app - allerdings it only supports °F, not °C.

The Hunt for Gollum

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:08:31 -0400

This weekend an amazing film got released: The Hunt for Gollum, a side plot from the Lord of the Rings. Watch it for free online. This movie shows how the whole can be so much more than the sum of the parts, and that the Internet is an amazing enabler. Enjoy.

How to manage your goals

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:03:12 -0500

A new year, time to set goals! Seth Godin talks about the importance of Goals, and Joel Spolsky added his. Ever since I switched to Linux I missed LiveBalance badly, which I used for several years to manage my goals (and life, for that matter).

I am cautiously hopeful that I found a great substitute: The web-based Toodledo tool. There is even a way for iPhone-Users to use it offline! The free version is already extremely powerful, but at $14.95/year it's a no-brainer to get the Pro-Version.

Possibilities

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:20:16 -0500

Once again Benjamin Zander, showing us the power of possibilities. If you have 30 minutes, watch this video.

Triiibes Q&A Book complete

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:03:40 -0500

I've been lucky enough to be part of an exciting experiment. Several months back, Seth Godin set up an invitation-only website called Triiibes. This accompanied the preparation for his new book Tribes. To get a glimpse on what's going on there, check out The Daily Triiibunal.

This group is inspiring, and moreover, productive! Together with the book launch in October, the group released the first accompanying eBook, the Tribes Case Book. And they just released the second one, the Q&A Book. Especially the second one is amazing in quality and done just by volunteers who are passionate about Tribes. Check the books out, they are free and quite amazing.