… und dann doch nicht Fahrraddieb geworden. Da muss man sich glatt wundern, wenn man diesen Artikel in der Süddeutschen liest:
So wurden 2014 in Münster gut 1500 Fahrräder je 100 000 Einwohner gestohlen. Das reicht zwar immer noch für den Titel „Diebstahlhochburg“ – aber eben nicht für die Spitze der Kriminalitätsstatistik. Dort befinden sich Cottbus (2030 Fahrräder) und Magdeburg (1638).
Falls es bei Lexmark irgendwann nicht mehr klappt, kann ich ja immer noch umsatteln (siehe auch).
Malte Welding schildert drüben in seinem Blog seine Probleme mit der Telekom und Vodafone beim kombinierten Wohnungs- und Anbieterwechsel:
Ich versuchte, herauszufinden, warum die Dinge sind wie sie sind. Warum niemand einem helfen, niemand Entscheidungen treffen kann. Warum man sich als Kunde vorkommt, als sei man in ein Live-Rollenspiel geraten, das von Kafka konzipiert wurde.
Michael Bobrowski, Referent für Telekommunikation beim Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentrale, sagte mir, kundenfreundliche Behandlung stünde mit harten internen Vertriebsvorgaben in Konkurrenz.
Auch wenn ich mit Fyve, die auch zu Vodafone gehören, eher gute Erfahrungen gemacht habe, kann ich das Problem nachvollziehen.
Jedem, der auf der Suche nach einem Festnetzanschluss ist und in einer größeren Stadt wohnt, kann ich daher nur raten, sich mal an den lokalen Kabelanbieter zu wenden. Ich habe bisher eher positive Erfahrungen gemacht. In Magdeburg war ich Freitagvormittag bei Primacom im örtlichen Ladengeschäft, habe einen Auftrag ausgefüllt und mein Modem mitgenommen. Gegen 15 Uhr hat das Internet funktioniert, Telefon ging am Mittwoch der Folgewoche. Oft sind auch deutlich höhere Geschwindigkeiten als per DSL verfügbar. Das Hauptproblem liegt hier darin, dass überhaupt erstmal Kabel in der eigenen Wohnung liegen muss.
Jacqueline Barba in Think With Google:
Gen Ys are a tough crowd for automakers. According to reports, they aren’t all that interested in buying or owning cars. They don’t even really like cars, and they’re not so keen on driving, either. To put this in perspective, the list of things that Gen Ys like better than cars includes the internet, iPhones, tablet’s, and – according to one study published by Auto News – visiting the dentist.
That’s exactly how I feel about cars – maybe apart from the dentist thing. For me, using public transport and car pooling is usually cheaper and easier than owning and maintaining a private car. Another article covering the topic by Hasan Dudar & Jeff Green on Bloomberg tries to give an explanation:
A few days ago I started reading the „Evening Edition„, which describes itself as „[t]he perfect commute-sized way to catch up on the day’s news after a long day at work„. Although I’m not commuting, I like the compilation and especially the angle in which topics are covered. Also I just noticed that there’re two version: one for the UK, which is perfect for actual evening news (in CET), and one for the US, which is – despite its name – great for the morning news. The only thing missing is an edition from continental Europe with a stronger focus on, well, continental Europe’s affairs. It’s already great the way it is though and I can only recommend it.
„What if?“ is a great blog by the author of xkcd. Its goal is „answering your hypothetical questions with physics, every Tuesday“ and so it does – in a more or less serious manner. Today’s topic: „What if there was a robot apocalypse? How long would humanity last?„.
Battlebots, on the face of it, seem like they’d be among the most dangerous robo-soldiers. But it’s hard to feel threatened by something that you can evade by sitting on the kitchen counter and destroy by letting the sink overflow.
Google just announced extended availability of biking data and directions throughout Europa and Australia:
To use biking directions, select the cyclist icon from the list of routing modes when you search for directions. Watch this short video for more information. Biking directions are now available in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Notably missing from this list: Germany. I wonder how Germans (and thus I) deserve being punished by the unavailability of directions for public transport and biking. At least on mobile these are very important features. Probably because we’re a „car nation“.
Phil Hart writes at theoildrum.com:
The Germans today have serious penetration of solar and wind, and a grid at capacity in some corners as a result. I get the sense they are well aware of the challenges they have set themselves and will commit everything that we admire about what it is to be German towards finding the limits of what is possible with renewables.
Seeing a problem and saying „That’s not possible anyway“ is easy. But it’s an attitude of ambitiously throwing money and brains at problems to find and push limits is what got us from living in caves to what we have today. I think in terms of renewable energies Europe in general and Germany in particular are leading the way – and that’s great. But it’s not only renewables:
Something I appreciated outside the conference venue was Vienna’s fantastic public transport. The underground, surface trains and trams were frequent and very efficient at moving us around town. I’ve never seen so few cars in a major city, even in peak hour, nor did I ever feel like I could have got around quicker or easier in one.
As of now I don’t see I reason why I should personally own a car. Bikes, public transport incl. rail traffic, rental cars and car sharing seem perfectly fine, although there’s room for improvement when it comes to reducing transaction costs (German).