"Gartner Magic Quadrant" For Dummies

via Geek & Poke

So I Updated My E71

... and now?

As you know it was quite a hassle to even get the update to version 300.21.012 for my operator branded E71... but with some pressure from the operator and finally some competent guys in Nokia, they were able to what to me seems like replacing a broken version of the update files on the NSU server with the correct files... and voila it worked.

Thanks and kudos to the guys at mobilkom who helped.

And what for?
Don't really know.

I still can't sync my email every hour... and that should have been an easy fix, right?

Generally the phone doesn't seem more stable then before... but also not worse...

Only the screen saver no longer works properly... the "none/blank" mode just doesn't. Should go black/blank, but actually shows an animation with the current time... only the "current time" is frozen at the time the screen saver got activated... So if that was 15minutes ago at 10:48 it still shows 10:23...
And this problem is already known since one major release. Quite annoying...

One major hurdle with the update was/is, that for the E71 there is no user data protection (UDP) which would keep the personal user data untouched during the update... not for the E71... So you have to backup and restore everything... and reinstall (!!, no kidding) the applications.
So make sure you check what apps you have on the phone and that you have the .sis and .jar files for them ready.

Free QuickOffice 6 software update for E71

The Nokia E71 blog reports that there is a "Free QuickOffice 6 software update for E71 users!"

And indeed there is.
Just installed it via the applications update mechanism, and still works fine.

Gadget upgrade day ;-)

So, I got a new battery for my E71, because my previous one could only with greatest efforts be convinced to last more then one day... and occasionally seemed to refuse to recharge....
Battery - check

And then my iPod Touch updated itself to Version 3.1.2.
iPod - check

And then I got information from my mobile operator (mobilkom austria) that the 300.21.012 release of the E71 firmware finally got published to the Nokia Software Updater... see my previous rants on this subject... update soon to follow.
So I upgraded my E71 and I'm still working on getting all the software back on it... stay tuned.
E71 Firmware - in progress

Windows 7 launch party ...

via Geek & Poke

The Geek Atlas

This sounds interesting ...

The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive by John Graham-Cumming(jgc).

As mentioned on Twit two weeks ago.

Yet another E71 discovery

... a bit embarrassing, to be honest.

I've been using my Nokia E71 now for about a year now, and only today discovered that I can delete an item in a list, e.g. SMS, eMail, Todos ... simply be pressing the delete button.

Until today, I always went through the menu...

Ctrl-K everywhere

Just noticed the other day, that Ctrl-K (i.e. jump to searchbar) not only works in Firefox and Internet Explorer, but also (tata) in Thunderbird...

Now even more handy with the new indexed full search functionality in Thunderbird 3.0 beta 4....

Yahoo pushing its brand?

Seems that Yahoo noticed that they own flickr...
Well, at least they changed the logo :-)

Open vs. Closed - "Steve Cares For Us"

via Geek & Poke

also see TechCrunch about "Googles Nuke" in the Apple vs. Google Voice fight.

Some E71 shortcuts

Here are some keyboard shortcuts for the E71 I discovered:

General:

• Press & hold * (star)
  Turn on/off Bluetooth... quite handy
• Press & hold #(hash)
  Should switch between general and silent profile,
  but does switch between line #1 and line #2 on mine
  I'd have preferred the profile switch...
  

In text edit / messaging:

• Fn-Ctrl-C [1]
  Clipboard Copy
• Fn-Ctrl-V
  Clipboard Paste
• Fn-Ctrl-X
  Clipboard Cut

Useful... yes, sort of...

But try hitting [Fn] [Ctrl] and [C] (or V or X) at the same time... and still hold the phone in one hand...
Almost impossible... see where those keys are located:



Lucky however, that you don't have to press and hold them at the same time. Fn, then Ctrl, then C/V/X is OK... so you can do it quite easily.
--
[1] Ctrl being Chr/Ctrl or Alt/Strg (on German keyboard) - the key in the very lower right corner

E71 usability

Just by accident I noticed that you can select (="mark") elements on a list on the E71 by holding the shift-key while scrolling over the items.... just like on Windows (and others).
Very convenient in the messaging application (SMS, email).

Don't know why I did it... I didn't try on purpose... I guess I just did it, because that's the way it ought to be...
Sad thing is, I noticed only after about a year...

Innovation = unintended use

One excellent example for using a service in a way the creators (of that service) did not have in mind can be found on flickr - the photo community site/service (now owned by Yahoo):

There actually is a group called "Translate Korean -> English" where you can post your picture with any Korean text and some nice flickr members (who speak Korean and English) will add a comment to your picture with the English translation of that text.

A friend of mine needed this service because she owns a Korean (only) washing machine and needed to know how to operate it ...

Cool - isn't it.

And I'm sure that the flickr founders did not think about this - back then.

Tech Support Cheat Sheet

via xkcd

Nokia support is getting ridiculous

So last time Nokia support told me to "have some patience. The problem should be solved in the near future."

Wir bitten noch mal um etwas Geduld. Das Problem sollte sich naher Zukunft erledigen.
[1]
When today after a couple of days I inquired what they exactly mean by "near future" I was told they "could not give me more detailed information. In the near future means 3-4 weeks or more. We ask you for patience".

Wir können Ihnen leider keine genauere Auskunft geben. In naher Zukunft bedeutet 3-4 Wochen oder auch mehr.
Wir bitten um Geduld.

Just a reminder that first, they told me I was too stupid, and then that the website and the NSU database were just not in sync. Now the problem requires a couple of weeks (or possibly months) to be solved...

Just a reminder: the problem is to sync the information on the website with the NSU database requires 3-4 weeks or more... preposterous.

Well, this time I asked for the support manager... let's see what (s)he has to say regarding answers like those.
I'm waiting...

--
[1] re-reading this: they actually say (in German) that the problem would (more like) disappear in the near future.

Still no update...

this is getting boring (for you, dear subscribers/readers probably, too).
There is still no E71 update for me, and asking Nokia Care Center if waiting from Wednesday to Monday is ample time for them to synchronize their web-query and their NSU database, they choose not to answer.

One might think, that Nokia is not under pressure from Apple and Android/G1/HTC/...

Does NSU hate me ?

I'm getting the feeling, that the Nokia Software Updater (NSU) hates me.
See what it did on August 16h, 9:34 (a couple of minutes ago):

All I wanted was to update my E71...

(No) Update on Nokia Service

So I created a ticket with Nokia Care Center for the missing E71 update for my version.

First Level just got back to me with dummy "read the web pages" instructions and how I should download the Nokia Update Software.
Duuh.
I told them my exact problem and wishes.

So I told them again, ... and that I was expecting a more specific answer.
To which they replied that it can take some time between a new version being reported as available on the web page and actually being available through the updater.

"Hier kann es vorkommen, dass die Information auf der Webseite aktueller ist, wie [sic] die Information die der Nokia Software Updater bekommt.
Wir bitten Sie daher, den Vorgang des Update zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt erneut zu versuchen."

("It can happen that the information on the web page is more current than the information the Nokia Software Updater is receiving. We ask you to repeat the Update at a later time.")

Are more than 48 hours enough? One should think so... alas, they are not.
Updater still does not find the new version.

And the Nokia guy didn't even bother to check or involve some back-office / 3rd level support ... Again just a standard answer...

Annoying.

Nokia service (?) quality (?)

I've been waiting for a v2 or v3 update for my E71 for months now - and still am.
As others have ... and already ranted about it (rightfully so).

Problem is, that I have an operator (A1) branded handset, which come with their own product code. Nokia has to release the update specifically for each product code.
Which is OK... and necessary, since the operators should have their say with what goes onto their branded devices[1]... Fair, fair.

Still, the A1 gave Nokia the OK to release 200.xxx months ago... But Nokia did not release 200.xxx or 300.xxx via the updater.

Only yesterday a version higher than v1 (300.21.12) showed up.

Nokia Software Updater, however, on Windows (v1.7.3... to be sure the latest) does not find the new update:

Still wants to keep me on 100.07.76...

So... I complained about it to Nokia...
Let's wait and see...
(mostly wait I guess)

--
[1] not the non-branded ones

Facebook acquires FriendFeed

FriendFeed Blog: FriendFeed accepts Facebook friend request: "We are happy to announce that Facebook has acquired FriendFeed."

Not sure if I like this... hm...lets see what happens.