You can now very easily subscribe to my web site’s content using RSS feeds. Opposed to only having a RSS feed for the News Blog, you can now as well subscribe to my gallery sets from every page on my site. Your should see links to the RSS feeds as far as your browser is capable of detecting them (you may need add-ons). The links should appear in your location bar (Firefox) or browser bar (IE 7). The orange RSS icon lights you the way!

Another comic strip hero I just came across: Wulf Morgenthaler delivers your daily laugh-off!

Gadget mania! After geotagging about 90% of my photos using the flickr map, I was looking for a solution to simplify the tagging process by recording the geo information right while shooting the images. Beside creating less effort, this ensures that the latitude and longitude data can be stored in the data source (image EXIF) and not on a foreign service like flickr.

There are several ways to record geo data, I decided to go for the one Sony currently offers with its Sony CS-1. The CS-1 is a handy 12 channel GPS receiver that perfectly fits into a pocket or can be attached to a rucksack or similar item. When switched on, it records location data it receives to a NMEA compliant log file. After you journey, you can attaching the device to your computer using the included USB cable, download the log file and start processing it with any application that’s capable of reading NMEA format.

My first test case was a recent skiing trip to Austria. I was constantly carrying the CS-1 in my jacket which turned out to deliver pretty nice results. Of course, there are occasional drop-outs in buildings or the ski lift, but that doesn’t bother in general. Satellite coverage was great even in the narrow valleys in the alps!

For post processing the information, there are a bunch of software applications available. One of the programs that are referred to by other photographers around the internet is RoboGEO. It reads diverse GPS input from devices directly, can import numerous log file formats and images. RoboGEO can then apply the location data to the photo’s EXIF, stamp it into the image or export different files for e.g. Google Maps, Google Earth, etc.

It’s astonishing how great those things work. Above, you can see my second skiing day GPS data rendered by Google Earth. This is just a simple export which can be pimped with the photos you’ve taken attached to the way points directly in the map. And more!

Right now, I just like the idea of having my photos arranged on my map without having to drag them onto the flickr map.

One of the things I was looking for in Detroit was getting my ass to BestBuy and test some new PS3 games on the demo station. Last year, when the first consoles were sold on November 17th, the enthusiasm was that enormous, that a large number of folks went to the stores waiting outside for the midnight sale. Helmuth and me went there the next day to get at least a first hands on.

This enthusiasm seems to be gone. Most of the shops like BestBuy and EB Games do have a public console for testing, but a lot of them don’t even have one for public. And of you find one, there’s only Motor storm running with only one level playable. In most locations, the PS3 has hung up and can only be rebooted with a key that no one of the regular sales folks has. Around the consoles you have a hard time finding accessories unlike for the 360!

What’s wrong here with Sony? We’re still waiting for the PS3 to be released in Europe and have to see that the advertisement got already stuck. I hope they get their act together quickly and learn to sell their stuff the way it deserves it.

The way it’s going now, they don’t really impress the customers. Which is sad regarding such a great product!

On my flight back from Detroit saw a scenery that was so unreal that I had to try capturing it. The sun was gone for about an hour when the starts appeared and the clouds were shining slightly beneath the airplane. The take will need some enhancements, but this is the first version of it.

I recently reported about my hijacked GMail and eBay account. About a month has passed now and these are some lessons learned I want to
share.

Current status

Meanwhile, things got back to normal in the sense that I feel kind of save with my accounts. EBay did send me a bill for the activities that happened on my hijacked account. They will hopefully stick to their promise to refund this money.

Google gave me a real frustration. Since I did not get a new password to my secondary email (the hacker changed that mail address), I had to wait for 5 days of inactivity to access my secure question. Weired concept, isn’t it? First, waiting 5 days is not an option when en email account is hijacked. Secondly, in case that guy is using the account, there will not be something like a 5 day inactivity, right?

Before these 5 days were passed, I did not get any confirmation email to my reports I sent Google via their Security Report Form. Opposed to what I’d expect from such a service, there hasn’t even been any response regarding my note! Their Security Center says “Google takes abuse situations very seriously” and “Reports entered through these forms are given our highest priority”. I don’t see this mind set reflected in their actions.

All my waiting was in vain, as the hacker must have changed my secure question as well. The recovering process changed compared to the one before the inactivity phase, though. But no chance to recover anything from my side. I again filled out the form and again reported my case to Google. Whow, I got a confirmation email with a ticket code! But the answer was short:

Hello,
We have completed our investigation.
Because our investigation was inconclusive, this account has been disabled for your security. Gmail takes the privacy and security of our users very seriously. For this reason, we cannot reveal any further information about this account.
We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
Sincerely,
The Google Team

From that minute, all emails to my GMail account failed. Thanks, folks!

What’s the bottom line?

The GMail account is gone and with it…

• all the mails
• my private calendars
• my spread sheets
• Google analytics for my web pages.

Single Sign On is great, but in those situations when it emergency procedures are not supported properly, it causes you massive trouble. From a serious service provider I expect to really take those topics seriously.

Lessons learned: Security

Security: I was really curious where that guy new my GMail password from. My first thought on that was a trojan or root kit. Scans for viruses, trojans and root kits didn’t bring up anything yet. Most probably it must have been a key logger in an internet café in Berlin.

So how can you keep yourself from going through that? You can never be sure, but there are some fundamental steps you can take:

• Make your passwords strong (e.g. at least 8 characters, combine at least 3 categories out of upper and lower case letters, numbers, symbols)
• Use unique passwords for each system or web page. It may help to use your password and integrate parts of the web page’s name in it. This makes it easier to keep in mind.
• Change your passwords regularly
• Don’t write passwords down or have them sent by mail. If I had any account information in my GMail account, I would have been doomed! Deleto those emails, in case someone is sending you a password and tell them not to do so.
• Only use secure systems. In case you don’t know the computer you’re using, don’t type in passwords (which especially applies to internet cafés).
• Keep you own computer secure: Current patch level, firewall and up to date virus scan is a must!

Lessons learned: Service quality

Wisely choose choose what content and services you choose:

• Carefully select from which web sites and providers you use content and services.
• Be sure to agree to the status the service is in. An ever lasting beta should make you think twice!
• Try not to depend on the service. Have a redundant access through an different service. You will then not loose your work due to bad service quality

I’m sure there’s more to think about, but this is what pops up right away. Anything more you can think of?

The flickr folks is updating their service again which affects the flickr API and lets my gallery have a short break (well ok, it’s Sunday anyway). Will be interesting to see whether they just polish their core to be better in future or even directly roll out new services?

See their downtime status here.

English language poses some hurdles to Germans when it comes to pronouncing words correctly. Found a nice web page that helps you with that: www.howjsay.com. For example, straighten out your pronunciation of “certificate”, “signature”, “mandatory”, …
[Update] Try “Expeditor” as well!

Thought this might perfectly fit to one of my recent postings stating
Increase Cum Volume by 500%