Occasional Observations

I'm increasingly fascinated by online networking groups - like LinkedIn, Facebook (although I'm far too old for MySpace) - and will be focusing more on this subject in future.

To kick off, I've just found a new social networking site called InterNations that looks quite interesting, this time focused on expats. In my home town, Munich, there are a heck of a lot of members who are born-and-bred German, but it's good to have a mix.

Get it right, like LinkedIn appears to have done so (it's making money), and a social networking site is a money-spinner.

But how many sites do people really need? And is it really too late for a new site to launch? Right now I'm using LinkedIn for international marketing and general networking contacts, XING for German stuff and Facebook for goofing off.

Most are open to all, some are by invitation only - and the level of difficulty in getting an invitation varies. For Orkut, for example, just being Brazilian is probably enough to know someone who is a member and can invite you.

The hardest club to join right now is aSmallWorld. After spending a lot of time and effort in getting an invitation, I have hardly been enthralled - and to be honest I was equally disappointed when I met aSW's CEO Erik Wachmeister at DLD last week. He didn't seem to be that impressed that I was one of his members, and certainly didn't want to make conversation with me.

Labels: social networking, web 2.0

Having had the BMW 320d almost a month now, in which I've racked up the first 1500km, it's time for a running report.

In general, so far, so good, although there are a few niggles. I've been paying attention to the running-in instructions - no more than 3500rpm for the first 2000km, and don't go over 150km/h. No problems. 150km/h in sixth gear is only about 2400rpm anyway and I've been taking it steady.

My commute mixes largely-unrestricted autobahn with congested urban and lots of traffic lights (German lights take longer to phase shift than in the UK or the US, so the red seemingly stays on forever) - and this combi is hardly ideal for maximizing fuel economy. So far the average is 7 litres per 100km, or 40mpg, which isn't THAT BAD, but it's not great either for a standard saloon car.

Behind the wheel, I'm loving the heated seats and all the switchgear is where I expect, except the buttons to raise/lower the front windows are a couple of cm too far forward - so I keep opening the driver's side rear window by mistake. At first, after my old 5 Series, I felt that the driving position was too close to the windscreen but I've dropped the seat and tilted the wheel and it's fine. My more basic spec model doesn't have the iDrive so there's a convenient drop tray for my mobile.

There's an AV input neatly stowed inside the centre armrest, next to one of the four 9v electrical sockets inside the car. Unfortunately, the armrest lid won't shut when this socket is in use, which is a small design flaw. The stereo system is absolutely fine, and plays MP3 CDs as well as anything plugged into the AUX input, while radio reception is better than the old car: the Munich stations fade out about 10km further down the autobahn.

The engine's a bit lumpy at start-up when temperatures are below zero. At first I wondered if this was because the factory hadn't used diesel with a freezing inhibitor but after two tankfuls it must be something else. Although there's hardly been any snow, when we did have some, the lack of plastic trims on the steel winter wheels led to ice build-up in the rims and consequently an enormous amount of judder through the steering until I stopped and chipped out the ice. It's a bit cheap of BMW not to throw in the covers.

The steering is very direct - you just think and twitch your way around corners, and as for the much complained-of tramlining - yes there's a bit and I'm not a fan of the run-flat tyres as they add to the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) on top of the M&S profile rubber. The handling is super-sharp and this car enjoys being pushed around corners. It's also testament to BMW's focus on handling that the car really doesn't crash into potholes: the structure is super-solid.

Wind noise from the sunroof is a bit obtrusive at autobahn speeds but almost obliterated when the sunscreen is closed. Wind noise from open windows is louder.

As my old car was a low-spec '99 model, I'm adjusting to some fairly standard features for the first time - such as cruise control. I'd always said I'd prefer not to use this on the autobahn but it's been in daily use. One gripe is that there's no instrument cluster illumination to show when cruise control is engaged. The 320 also has automatic lights, which work a treat in the Munich middle ring-road tunnels and automatic wipers with variable speed, which work well unless the screen is excessively dirty, when the wipers stay on full speed. The automatic climate control returns to the option to vary temperatures between driver and front-seat passenger, and works well, but the fan is too noisy.

All-in-all, I'm impressed. No doubt the fuel economy will start to drop as I open up on the autobahns, conditions permitting. I'm also almost even looking forward to that long drive up to Hanover for CeBIT this year.

Labels: petrolhead

Earlier this week I ranted about Martha Stewart's presentation at the otherwise-fabulous DLD08 conference. Now you can decide if she was relevant to a conference of tech-savvy folks, or if she'd stopped off in Amsterdam for a smoke on the way to Munich, as there's a clip on YouTube.

I "poked" Martha (on Facebook , nothing else) and added her as a contact - she hasn't poked back or accepted yet, BUT I'm sure she is busy and will add me soon, since she mentioned that she'd also be writing about DLD on her blog and she hasn't done that yet either. We know she's very important.

For Facebookers, it's quite fun to search on "Martha Stewart" for the Fake Michael Jackson profile alone. Make sure you get the right Martha, mind.

Labels: odd

The now-unmissable DLD Conference has opened in Munich, with author Paulo Coehlo wowing the audience and explaining how his quasi-innocent promotion of pirate digital copies of his best-selling novels have helped increase sales - perhaps because people get a taste of his writing and want more ... the same as has happened to many bands thanks to MP3 sharing.

Unfortunately it wasn't the modest Portuguese author of The Alchemist and other stories who was the most hotly-debated speaker of the day but US style icon Martha Stewart. Sadly for Martha, it was because of the way she crashed and burned during her rambling presentation. Worse still is that she probably won't realize - because she has, how can I put this politely? An exaggerated sense of her own self-importance.

In only four years, DLD has grown into a must-attend gathering of the good and the great in the world of digital, life and design: a chance to rub shoulders with an amazing array of inspirational people who have helped change the world in one way or another. The rest of the audience is made up of advertising agency people and venture capitalists. If you are looking for a place to get inspired, DLD is it. If you're looking to talk to VCs, just being at DLD is probably enough to score a follow-up meeting.

However, it looks as if Martha Stewart either was either badly advised, or too important to actually listen to her advisors. Because she began her 45-minute monologue (it was supposed to be an interview, but more of that later) by revealing the contents of her travelling "tech" suitcase.

So far I have yet to work out the reason why, in a room full of laptop- and iPhone-toting attendees, an all American style queen should choose to share such info. I, for one, would have been 100 times more interested to know the contents of her handbag, or to see the names of the last 10 incoming calls on her mobile: an iPhone, of course - but a non-functioning one because her secretary had forgotten to unlock roaming in Germany. Did we all hear that? Martha's no-doubt well-compensated secretary getting a public bollocking.

So out comes a less-than-stylish suitcase which Martha describes as being "overhead locker size" (which I actually doubt, but, Hey! Being! Martha! Stewart! (did you get that? MARTHA bloody STEWART I said!!!!)) probably travels first class everywhere (good for her) and the prospect of her vitriol on a short-flight, let alone a trans-Atlantic, would probably make most flight attendants cower and acquiesce.

And inside the suitcase are ... everyday business items that most people at the conference probably carry. A laptop. (Gasp from the audience). Except that it's tucked into an under-sized Ziploc bag. Very stylish. A honking great top-of-the-range CANON (or maybe Nikon) digital camera ... yeah, you guessed it - in its $0.25c carrying case, another plastic bag. Her iPhone in a shocking pink leather holster, and a BlackBerry, as one phone is never enough. Two phone chargers. A massive camera battery charger the size of a sub-notebook, and ... an Amazon Kindle - but one of the FIRST models (did you note? Early adopter alert!!!) before they even signed licensing deals with the NY Times and various other newspapers. In its exclusive Martha Stewart plastic bag, of course.

After the tiresome dig into her suitcase, Martha then tells the audience (which includes luminaries such as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales) that she personally uses the internet for many different things, she chats with all of her friends on Facebook (but is really, sincerely SORRY that she has not got time to reply to everyone), she checks her spelling on dictionary.com, and she even buys stuff online.

I really didn't want to knock Martha. But oh boy did she get up my nose with her facile pitch. She probably also annoyed "moderator" Tyler Brule, the editor of Monocle magazine, who was reduced to the role of bystander during the Martha monologue. Finally, after we'd all learned that Martha was very important, he got to ask a few questions - and managed to make those open jaws sag even further by asking Martha, a convicted felon and therefore ineligible for office, which position in the new administration she'd like in the US Presidential elections. This was either completely misjudged, or a deliberate poke at Ms Stewart. I can't even remember her answer but it was a fob-off.

Maybe DLD should be described as "a must-attend gathering of the good and the great in the world of digital, life and design ... and Martha Stewart". Whatever she was smoking, I want a drag. Even Paulo Coehlo's Alchemist would have had trouble in changing Stewart into a credible speaker at DLD today.

Labels: iphone, rant, web 2.0

This lunchtime, I spied a young lady sitting in a corner of the local post office with a pile of letters and a meter-long run of stamps. That itself is quite unusual. What floored me was that the envelopes all bore the logo of a PR agency. Yes, PRs are still sending out press releases per post. This actually comes as a surprise to me...

Labels: odd

Nine years ago I moved to Munich to start a new job, arriving in a Saturday night snowstorm in the middle of winter. Temperatures were down to -20C at night (and some days, didn't climb about -10C) for the first two weeks I was here. I was blinded by the brightness of the snowscape and quickly had to invest in a new wardrobe of clothes and boots warm enough for the extremes of winter.

When I was briefly back in London after two weeks in deepest midwinter, the daffodils were in flower, but it was April before the thaw, that year, in Upper Bavaria.

Admittedly, the 98/99 winter was a biggie, as was the winter of 05/06, when the snow also stayed around until April. But since then, the winters have been too warm and too wet. Take this morning, for example. It was +6C this morning. I don't even have to scrape the ice off my car windscreen in the mornings whereas most winters I've needed to shovel the snow off the driveway before brushing it off the car before scraping the ice. So if this is not global warming, what is it?

Labels: globalwarming, rant

Claudia Schiffer set a precedent when she graced the stage at the WEF last year. It's now the Next Big Thing to have a supermodel at your upscale conference. That's got to be why Naomi Campbell is coming to DLD later this month in Munich.

What next, Kate Moss at CeBIT?

Labels: cool

... and one back. Isn't life always like that?

This is not really a gripe. The world won't stop turning and I'm lucky enough to have this thing to complain about. So, now that's clear, let me explain.

My BMW has a super-cool audio AUX input socket which means it's possible to connect an iPod or other audio device for playback through the car's stereo. That's progress. In the BM, the AUX input is neatly tucked inside the center console armrest, and conveniently located next to the 12v charger socket.

That means power and audio device in the same place, nicely out of sight and out of the way. Great.

I've moaned before about the rubbish battery life in my 4G HP-branded iPod, and since I got an 8GB Nano last year, the 4G has been collecting dust, waiting for its next deployment. Because its Achilles Heel is the battery, especially at sub-zero overnight temperatures, I invested in a ?14 car charger - cheaper and more convenient than an iPod battery replacement kit.

Nearly there, I thought. Until I plugged in the charger - and found that the armrest lid no longer closes with the charger in position.

Bad design all round, chaps.

Labels: iPod, petrolhead, rant