Fri, 09 Nov 2007

Forgetful Germans

Eighteen years ago the Berlin Wall fell and Eastern Germans got their freedom.

Today, more than 20% of Germans (in both parts of the country) want the Wall back, according to a poll; 73% of East Germans think that socialism was a good idea in principle. Almost 80% of East Germans, according to another poll (published by the "Spiegel" magazine), hold that the school system was one of the particular strengths of the former GDR - faz.net has some of the facts.

Well, they can have both socialism and the Wall back, I won't mind ...

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 16:57 in /germany. -- Permalink

Finished one e-mail ...

... which had long been overdue, to a good friend. I'm hacking away at my backlog. Now, however, we're off for a meeting with a visitor from Germany - dinner and the light show at Victoria Harbour.

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 16:55 in /life. -- Permalink

Cleaning out my newsreader

I've been going through all the stories in my news aggregator this morning - more than 1000, which I have by now reduced to 140. I haven't found the time to look at my news feeds in several weeks, so now it's taking hours. Seufz ...

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 14:19 in /life. -- Permalink

Yahoo before Congress again

Yahoo's Jerry Yang and senior counsel Michael Callahan were questioned by the U.S. Congress once more over Yahoo's role in the jailing of journalist Shi Tao by the Chinese authorities. Rebecca MacKinnon has posted quite a detailed write-up, with lots of links to additional sources of information.

(Cf. my earlier blog post.)

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 13:51 in /china. -- Permalink

Gmail supports IMAP?

Apparently it does! I have to explore this!

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 12:23 in /technology/internet. -- Permalink

More about the Neo1973 phone

Details about that wonderphone are available at the OpenMoko wiki. I want that phone. Now!

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 11:29 in /technology/phone. -- Permalink

iPhone available in Germany

The iPhone is available in Germany from today - at a minimum monthly rate of 50 euros. Some love it, some hate it.

I'm waiting for the OpenMoko Neo 1973, which seems to be a much better deal.

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 11:10 in /technology/phone. -- Permalink

Impressed by amazon.com

Yesterday, I sent an e-mail to Amazon, asking why I received only the first volume of the 2-volume "Intermediate Reader of Modern Chinese". Their customer service replied promptly - they're sending me the complete set by extra-fast mail, I needn't pay a penny extra, I needn't even return the volume I've already got. Moreoever, they offer me a full refund in case I don't find this satisfactory.

I have to say, their customer service is excellent!

Posted on 09 Nov 2007 at 10:50 in /life. -- Permalink