Chiperoni ku Basel

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  • Firefox Add-ons

    Besides iPod Touch apps, another apps marketplace that has really grown is the one for Firefox. There’s an add-on for everything, it seems.

    Here’s a break-down of Firefox add-ons that I am using:

    Delicious
    This a Firefox add-on I can’t do without. Very stable. Useful. Mark a text on a webpage and hit the TAG button to add a Delicious bookmark.

    Save a Bookmark 3292010 83450 PM

    DownThemAll!
    A Firefox Downloads utility especially for low bandwidth. I’ve used it to download videos, many Word and pdf files. Useful.

    download them all

    Echofon
    I installed this recently cos I don’t like Twitter’s and Brizzly’s AJAX-laden, slow, error-prone web interfaces. I like the iPhone version of Echofon. I really haven’t used the Firefox add-on enough to form an opinion. It looks promising. An intermediate step while I look for an AJAX-less, text-only web interface for Twitter.

    FastestFox
    I really like the page loading function that enables endless pages. Very cool. Works for Google, WordPress blogs, Friendfeed and many other apps with pagers. I don’t use the other functions as much.

    Firebug
    Essential for every web developer and internet project manager. It’s either this or Web Developer. If you don’t have hands on experience with either of these, I will sincerely doubt that you have adequate web development experience. Very useful and highly recommended.

    FireFTP
    I don’t use this add-on much. I prefer Filezilla any day. But for completion’s sake, I’ve left it in the list. I haven’t uninstalled it yet. But Filezilla in combination with Notepad++ are hard to beat.


    FireShot
    Take screenshots within Firefox. I am comparing this tool with Screengrab.

    Google Analytics Watcher
    Links to my Google Analytics and shows the current no. of visits in the Firefox status bar.

    iGetter
    A Firefox Downloads utility especially for low bandwidth. I’ve used it to download videos, many Word and pdf files. Useful.

    Integrated Gmail
    I am testing this. You can switch to Google Reader from Google Mail within the content area.

    Adblock Plus / NoScript
    This is supposed to help block advertising and malicious scripts, but I haven’t really figured out the best way to use this add-on. Tips?

    Screengrab
    Like FireShot, this add-on takes screenshots. Sometimes it doesn’t work and you need to re-start Firefox. Not good. But it takes screenshots of the full page not just the visible area.

    TV-Fox
    I like this add-on. It lists and links to free online TV streaming from around the world.

    YSlow
    This add-on provides a measure of website speed.

    The Browser Highlighter
    Skype when it still belonged to eBay, automatically installed The Browser Highlighter. There is no easy way to uninstall it either. I can only disable it. #Fail

  • Link captions in WordPress

    There is a plugin for WordPress that simplifies adding hyperlinks to captions

    Many thanks to {a.} of Handmade 2.0 for sharing this info.

    Link captions simplify the attribution of Creative Commons photos shared in the public domain.

    Before using any photo, check the licensing conditions first.

    At Flickr, these are listed in the right sidebar under the sub-heading Additional Information.

    add-info

    Please don’t just take, but contact the photographer and ask for permission. If you are using Creative Commons photos and graphics, which are free for non-commercial use, please follow the attribution conditions listed in the license. Usually this is the name, nom de web, or website address of the photographer and a link to the photo used. Contact the photographer to ask how he or she would like to be listed.

  • CMYK JPEGs

    JPEG not displaying in MS Internet Explorer 7 or 8 ? I was puzzled. I checked the src link, re-uploaded the image…

    Well, then I learned that JPEGs saved in the CMYK color model will not display in MS IE, while they do display in Firefox 3.x.

    I guess saving JPEGs in CMYK is unusual, esp. for screen use. I assumed the file was in RGB, given that it was intended for the web.

    More:
    CMYK color model
    Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 does not display JPG images with CMYK color mode

  • Shadows

    shadows

  • Rules, guidelines, research and more

    hmmm…

    70% of your tweets should share resources- sharing others’ voices, opinions, quotes, blog posts, articles, content and resources

    20% of your tweets should engage in conversations with others, responding, connecting, collaborating and connecting with others.

    10% of your tweets can be chirping, chitchat as Angela calls it, on trivial details or self-promotion.

    via 10 Tips For Managing Twitter As Your Usage Increases | Blog of Mr. Tweet.

    All these rules, guidelines. Not sure I endorse any of them. I assume their target audiences are people tweeting for business reasons.

    Twitter is many things to many different people. What works for you may not work for the next person. Or do you plan your conversations to include “70% of resource sharing”?

    But by quoting this guideline, I am showing that this kind of article works. 10 steps to success… Follow this method and success will be yours.

    Research on Jaiku:

    Apparently… who knew… Research has found… Microbloggers are really boring… The article shows 3 things: either there were no linguists on the research team, otherwise they would know that a lot of content that is sent across the communication channel is “meaningless in itself” but serves the purpose of keeping the communication going. Or secondly if there was a linguist on the research team he or she failed to make this connection. And thirdly the amazing culture of searching (errr… by default gooogling) for everything. I entered the new disclaimer of this site as a search phrase “This is a very boring personal website” to find the article on Jaiku research.

    In was für einer Welt lebe ich eigentlich.

    Personal projects:

    The MBA project is moving along. It was quite an experience to be on-campus at a large state university.  One thing that struck me most was the vast expanses of ruralness. When I think of the US from my Euro-centric perspective, it comprises sprawling big cities like San Francisco, New York, Miami, Chicago. Influenced by visits and movies. But 2 weeks in West Lafayette have changed this image. Lots of farmland between O’Hare International Airport and the uni.

    143 cities in china

    I learned – during one of the cultural classes – that China has 143 cities with a population of over 1 million. Compared with the US where there are about 52 metropolitan areas with a population of over 1 million.

    Somehow I find it both comforting and scary that the superpower of the world is based on large expanses of small and mid-sized towns that depend on farming.

    Compare this with the increasing pressures of urbanization in many parts of the world.

    The big three: Land, water, food.

    Blue collar wage rates

    Another amazing fact from a euro-centric perspective: The wage rate in Indiana dropped from $30 to $15 within one year. That number alone shows the crisis.

    New cam: Going to get an S90 to replace my overexposing Ixus 900 Ti.

    Flickr wall: I want to build a Flickr wall based on this example. Wish me good luck…

    Free advice for a Twitter/Google/Facebook/Friendfeed world…

    And a finally word of advice: Remember that all of your precious UGC data that is stored at external, commercial sites may be gone tomorrow. Don’t take 5 years to learn this.

  • Stucky plays Stucky

    Quick blog post to recommend Erika Stucky’s concert “Stucky plays Stucky”. Lots of fun.

    MySpace

    Website

    Lots of Youtube videos

    Kaufdorf car cemetery video

  • Spritely

    For future reference

    Spritely

  • Return on involvement

    How do you master a new skill and become an expert? How do you leave mediocrity behind?

    I am thinking a lot about how to cross the so-called suck threshold.

    I have experienced crossing this threshold for some topics, and that’s where I want to be.

    How to get there? John C. Maxwell writes:
    If you invest one hour into a topic or skill every day for the next 5 years, you will be an expert.

    Not always feasible. And getting involved is the hard part.

    I particularly like Henriette Weber’s term “return on involvement” – ideas for marketing campaigns.

  • The 3Ps of News Distribution

    Via Cyberwriter, here are the 3Ps of news distribution:

    • Portable : 33% of cell phone owners now access news on their cell phones.
    • Personalized : 28% of internet users have customized their home page to include news from sources and on topics that particularly interest them.
    • Participatory : 37% of internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented about it, or disseminated it via postings on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.

    See Overview | Pew Internet & American Life Project.

  • Streams of Content

    QOTD:

    Successful businesses will not be everything to everyone; that’s the broadcast mentality. Instead, they will play a meaningful role to a cohort of committed consumers who give their attention to them because of their relevance.

    via Streams of Content, Limited Attention | UX Magazine.

  • HHI school hall

    HHI school hall

  • QOTD

    Like this (Too long for 140 characters):

    Addictive User Experience (Design) and Scalable Distribution Methods (Marketing) are the most critical components of success in consumer Internet startups, not Pure Engineering Talent.

  • Beautiful sky

    basel - riehen, dorf

    Seen in Riehen, Dorf.

  • Interested in technology

    I stumbled across this quote:

    We assume that people are interested in technology, just because we are. Most people aren’t.

  • My Basel bicycle tip

    I managed to break the key of my bicycle lock last night.

    Thank you for helping me, Tomotec

    Tomotec helped me to extract the broken key from the lock for free. Thank you.

    Tip: remember to lubricate your bicycle lock at regular intervals!

  • Twitter for the masses

    I saw this retweet pointing to Jeremy Toeman’s article Will normal folks ever use Twitter?”. (By default that makes me un-normal….)

    never

    He makes an excellent point which matches my own experience. Most people don’t see the added benefit of using Twitter. The uses are difficult to grasp. Especially since Twitter turned off the SMS service for the rest of the world, which is the single feature that got me started on Twitter. Connecting the mobile world with the web world – at no extra cost – was a killer app in 2007. Unfortunately it didn’t last. Read this 2008 article, What Twitter’s global failure means for Africa by @whiteafrican.

    In addition to not understanding Twitter uses, many people don’t like reading online. Reading deadwood media is more relaxing for the eyes, still more portable, less battery-dependent.

    My suggested uses
    Listed below are some of my Twitter use cases.

    Search
    Twitter Search is great for non-mainstream, niche topics. Many bloggers have added Twitter to their publishing toolset. Un-normal people everywhere in the world that are at the scene, on the ground have access to mobile phones and send out tweets. The data is raw, not confirmed, and unfiltered, but it gives a voice to the unheard and a different opinion from mainstream media outlets that dominate western opinion (commonly known as the gatekeepers). Google now searches Twitter and displays recent tweets:

    google-search-for-twitter

    The use:
    In addition to all the mainstream media I hear and read, I read tweets on currents affairs as a supplement.

    Traffic
    Twitter generates traffic for your website, photo stream, blog, online shop. If you want to be noticed by the early adopter market segment, Twitter is the place to be. I would compare it with blogging in 2004 to 2005, when it was easy to google bomb yourself into the top 10 search results. One thing is certain, web traffic streams are constantly changing. Maybe Twitter will be discarded. The key is good content. Regurgitating or copying content that is not your own will not help you in the long run. Writing yet another review on an over-hyped topic is destined for oblivion. A good example how to build a web audience in a consistent way is Handmade 2.0.

    The use:
    Since generating traffic for websites is part of my day job, hanging out on Twitter helps me to figure out the changing traffic streams.

    Tech help
    I use Twitter to get feedback and help on technical topics. I share my knowledge and experience.

    The use:
    Share knowledge, learn!

    Connect
    Still fascinating after 14 years on the Internetz: connecting with others. Discussing. Reviewing.

    For example, every Sunday evening on German TV there is a murder mystery called Tatort. It’s an institution for some. A distraction for others, ironing clothes for the work week ahead. With Twitter you can review the latest Tatort in real-time.

    The use:
    As in the C.S. Lewis quote: We read to know, we are not alone.

  • Technology Leapfrogs

    I like this quote from Hacktivate:

    We need to stop underestimating people. Don’t expect Africans to be content with boring old SMS and voice for long. Smartphones, droids and even iphones are much higher up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs than we realize, especially if nobody around owns a computers, your schools suck, and the government controls the radio and newspaper. Africans have leapfrogged over landlines. They are now leaping over laptops.

    (Desperate housewives, lonely on their isolated farms, also surprised the world by being the early adopters of the strange world of cranks and dials and operators that made up the original telephones of the 19th century)

    @bikobiko posted a series of cell phone photos used by Community Health Workers in Malawi. One guy paid 8 bags of rice.

  • Connecting to the Internet from Blantyre

    Just got back from visiting family in beautiful Blantyre. It’s rainy season now and there are regular rain showers every other day. Everything is green and lush. The sun is hot. The air is moist. And the shopping centres and outdoor markets of Blantyre are busy with holiday shopping. And except for a couple of power cuts and short water supply intermissions, I had good access to Blantyre’s “Big Three” from my part of town.

    In search of the best Internet connection in Blantyre
    To connect with my MBA study group, I needed an internet connection. Here are some of my findings and observations regarding Internet for private use.

    Internet service providers in Blantyre include:

    • Skyband – the pricing is on the high end; suitable for corporate customers.
    • MTL
    • Globe
    • SDNP

    bt 022

    Mobile phone networks offer data services as well:

    • Zain – a friend connects to the mobile Internet on his iPhone using Zain.
    • TNM

    First, I tried TNM, but unfortunately they did not have any USB dongles in stock at the Chichiri sales office.

    globe max 4g

    Next I tried Globe’s MAX 4G service. This promised the best connection speeds, but unfortunately the reception in my part of Blantyre was less than optimal. Instead of 4 LEDs lighting up, I only got between 2 and 3. And even then, the router showed a high fluctuation in signals. I kept losing my Skype audio connection when the signal dropped. When I got a strong signal it was speedy. But – due to my geographic position – the signal strength was unpredictable. I contacted Globe support and they wanted to update the firmware of the router and stated that they were some problems with Skype, which they had resolved.
    If you don’t need audio or video streaming and if coverage in your area is good, then Globe MAX 4G is a good and viable option. But check the signal strength beforehand. Following the signal fluctuations, I started speculating about the quality of the provided Globe router, the influence of the weather, etc. When I returned the router, Globe suggested installing an external antenna to boost the wifi signal. At the end of the day, I think your geographic position and proximity to the signal decides whether this solution will work for you or not.

    bt 003

    MTL (Malawi Telecommunications Limited) offers a wireless broadband product called MTL Liberty. A friend in Namiwawa strongly recommended it. The company is also advertising a new fibre optic cable connection in all major newspapers. I walked into an MTL shop near FMB in Blantyre to find out more about the fibre optic cable connection. The MTL sales person said that this will indeed connect Malawi to the Seacom cable and improve the Internet backbone, but it was not yet connected. He advised me to go to the MTL headquarters for more information. I didn’t have time to follow up on this.

    bt 021

    I went back to TNM; this time to the head office in Livingstone Towers. The sales consultant was very savvy and explained the various data bundling options very well. I found out that if I have a postpaid TNM sim card, I can easily add mobile data services. The consultant advised me to wait another week and buy a 3G USB dongle. He said the 3G USB modem will go on sale on 30th December 2009. TNM is currently testing 3G in parts of Blantyre.

    bt 009

    Automatic software downloads
    Coming from Switzerland and a flat rate setup where I don’t care how many MBs are downloaded in the background, to a price plan where every MB counts, I realized how dependent software has become on a high speed internet connection. I was unable to download the latest Symantec Norton anti-virus update on my mom’s laptop via Globe Wifi at Chichiri because Norton timed out after 6 MB. I tried 3 times before I gave up. Unfortunately iGetter didn’t help cos Norton connects directly from the app. All kinds of software from Adobe Reader to Mozilla Firefox want to connect and download updates at regular intervals. It’s OK if you’re using a flat rate but if every kB costs extra time and money…

    Software companies should consider alternative options for developing countries. Cloud computing is not yet available everywhere.

    My mom had to go to SDNP to get her legally purchased version of MS Office registered *online*. What a hassle.

    Flat rates connections are not yet very widespread in Malawi and usually only corporate customers can afford them. Most of my friends have Internet at their workplace or on their mobile handset only.

    Opera 10
    I strongly recommend getting Opera. Opera Turbo loads web pages much faster and compresses images. Thank you to Appfrica for their excellent article pointing to resources and tools.

    Web design
    Pages optimized for mobile internet and simple HTML load much faster than CMS-based web pages.

    I was able to access the mobile version of chiperoni.ch at an acceptable speed. While other sites failed to display.

    If you are targeting developing countries, please consider this in your web design.

    Resize photos for lower bandwidth
    Same for emails. My mom still connects using dial-up. Downloading 1.2 MB takes 20 to 30 minutes and many times the connection breaks. And she pays for the length of the dial-up connection. But, so many people from Europe forget to resize their photos for lower bandwidth. Please resize your photos before sending!

    In Picasa 3 it’s really easy. Go to Tools > Options > Email and select a new size such as 640 pixel:

    email options picasa

    You can then email a photo from the Picasa interface.

  • Auto-upgrading WordPress and the .htaccess file

    A pattern I have observed in the past months:
    A couple of days after auto-upgrading WordPress, access to the WordPress blog is blocked.

    My non-programmer’s workaround is:

    • Rename the .htaccess file on the WP level. The WordPress blog displays.
    • Login and go to Settings > Permalinks and re-save settings, or copy old .htaccess file content and upload by FTP to the server.

    I would like to understand why this happens. Immediately after upgrading the WP install, there are no visible problems… but 2 -3 days later I come home to see that my site is down.

  • The web is evolving

    Kevin Marks on Publics, Flow, Phatic, Tummeling and Out-groups – New Words You Need to Know to Understand the Web:

  • Snapshot from Budapest

    A quick snapshot that I took on my daily trek to class:

    IMG_0440

  • WordPress Woes

    I am having some problems with the .htaccess file on the WordPress level. I tried regenerating the permalinks. Hope that will help for a while.

    A couple of days ago there was a lonely s at the end of the file. Amakhala scared.

    And:
    I am seeing a lot of “MySQL server has gone away” error messages in different context,
    e.g. when I updated the WP install, when I try to access the website, in the right-hand area displaying categories.

    I asked the hosting company and they pointed me to this link (which I haven’t tried yet).

    If you have any hints please let me know.

  • Glowing leaves

    leaves

  • Analog Tweet

    I found this text on the back of a signpost in downtown Basel:

    nur ab und zu murmelte er etwas vor sich hin

    An example of an analog tweet…

  • How to Backup your Twitter World

    As many of you probably learnt by experience, Twitter Search only shows results for the last couple of days.

    I guess, one of the preliminary assumptions is that you consider your collection of 140-character-long phrases valuable. And would like to search thru them from time to time.

    Friendfeed
    One easy workaround is to add your Twitter stream into Friendfeed. Friendfeed – currently in a difficult interim situation since the Facebook announcement – still has the best real-time search. It is a great way to archive your tweets and make them searchable.

    Import OPML file into Google Reader
    These days, bloggers don’t talk much about OPML anymore. OPML files (and the legitimate re-use thereof) were widely discussed in the early days of the Swiss blogosphere.

    It seems many apps try to shield us from the underlying technical issues regarding import/export and backups.

    Dave Winer shows how to extract the feeds of your Twitter world using an OPML tool.

    My Twitter world is accessible at http://tw.opml.org/get?user=nchenga&folder=1.

    Next, I can download this file to my desktop.

    And upload it into Google Reader:

    • Go to Manage Subscriptions
    • Select Import/Export
    • Select your OPML file and click Upload

    It puts all of the newly imported feeds into a separate folder. ReadWriteWeb has a detailed how to.
    The only downside is that you don’t want to re-read all of the tweets in your Google Reader. Especially if you’re reading other RSS streams within the same account.

    Offline RSS Reader
    You can use the OPML file to create an offline backup within your favorite desktop RSS reader. I use the feed reader in Opera 10 to pull a copy of my RSS feeds together. Advantage: doesn’t interfere with my online reading.

    Twistory
    Another fun tool is Twistory, which adds your Twitter prose to your Google Calendar. It offers an iCal feed. And you can time events by adding t and /t to your posts.

    Timetracking tagging: start your tweets with both t or /t and Twistory will keep track of what you’re doing.

    Twistory