Ben gisterenavond teruggekomen van een driedaagse trip naar de slagvelden aan de Somme (3, 4 en 5 april). In 1916 hebben de Engelsen hier een redelijk kansloze operatie uitgevoerd die een ommekeer in de patstelling aan het Westfront tijdens WW1 moest gaan worden. Vorig jaar bezocht ik al met vrijwel dezelfde groep de strijdtonelen rond Ieper. Nu was de de Somme aan de beurt. Vrijwel de gehele frontlijn is hier te zien aan de grotere en kleine Engelse begraafplaatsen. Neergelegd, daar waar de mannen en jongens sneuvelden. Vaak nog geen 100 meter van hun eigen stellingen. Het vrijwilligersleger van Lord Kitchener (Minister van Oorlog) dat 2 jaar had getraind, werd binnen een half uur door de Duitse machinegeweren ‘als koren neergemaaid’.
Nu, ruim 90 jaar na dato, is dit fiasco daar haast nog voelbaar. Beklemmend. Ondanks het mooie weer (was het toen op 1 juli 1916 trouwens ook) en het vogelgezang. Ook de resten van de strijd liggen daar voor het oprapen. Een korte wandeling door een klein bos, levert de vondst van een aantal patronen en een grote, niet afgegane, obus op… De onbewerkte foto’s staan op Flickr.
Via dit blog kwam ene Lotje met mij in contact. Haar MacBook had een gebroken scherm. Of ik dit kon/wilde repareren. Zelf had zij inmiddels via Ebay een scherm . gekocht. Welnu, ik leg Lotje’s MacBook net weg. Getest en wel. Weer voorzien van een nagelnieuw scherm. Eerder deze week had ik al een Toshiba Satelite van een nieuw scherm voorzien. Daar was iemand op gaan zitten… En daar kunnen LCD-schermen niet goed tegen.
De Toshiba was een simpele klus. De MacBook was wat taaier. Vrijwel het hele apparaat moet gedemonteerd worden om het scherm er af te kunnen halen. Pas dan kun je de kapotte LCD verwijderen en de nieuwe inbouwen. Vervolgens alles weer in omgekeerde volgorde in elkaar.
Wordt nog wat die reparatiewinkel hier thuis!
I must admit: my GTD routine was a bit low the last month. In fact that is rather strange. Because last month was rather busy. You would say that a strict GTD-routine should have helped to overcome such a periode. But this is proof for me, that my intentions with GTD were just that: intentions (the best of them!) The routine didn’t sink in deep enough to make it second nature. And this is what Ben Tiggelaar is writing/talking/ranting about in his latest publications: to actually change one’s behaviour a lot of very consious and hard work need to be done. After that is all is simple… Because you drilled yourself in a way that the new behaviour became second nature.
Well, my earlier GTD-efforts learned me a lot however. Lessons I can apply now I’m getting back on the train again. The main reason for this – apart from a nagging frustration because I knew things weren’t on track – was the introduction to ThinkingRock (www.thinkingrock.com.au). An Australian (JAVA)applications that runs on my Mac as well as on my PC. It follows the GTD-workflow rather strict and helps me in gathering all things ”IN” in a better, more natural way.
Because this I found to be the hardest in learning and developing GTD-techniques: how to get to a solid, unique and always and everywhere working “INBOX”? How did you fellow GTD-ers manage that?
It happened: my Macbook Pro is broken. The screen that is. Never had any problems with carrying laptops in my old and trusted ASUS-briefcase. But the Macbook Pro showed up with a broken screen yesterday… Kind of fragile stuff. Today I visited a official Apple Service Center in Rotterdam in my lunchbreak. They told me that this is not covered by warranty. The price to fix this? A stunning 758 euros without 19% VAT. The repair will last al least 10 working days. But more likely 15.
I left the shop astonished and determined to solve it in another way, To make a long story short: I ordered a new screen via Ebay. Price: 256,98 Canadian dollars. Including shipment. That is 161,01 euros. The manual that tells in a step-by-step way how to replace the display was downloaded via Powerbookmedic.com This includes details photos on how to do the job. I guess it will take me a maximum of 3 hours, probably less. I’ll keep you all posted on how this story ends. But I guess I’m in for a very satisfying solution (fingers crossed!)
UPDATE – FRIDAY AUGUST 8TH, 2008
The screen arrived! That is rather rapid: ordered Tuesday and delivered Friday from www.screencountry.com in Canada! This evening I am invited to fly with the Dutch Airforce – in a balloon. But otherwise I would have rebuild the MacBook Pro this evening. I’ll do that tomorrow. When all works out, I am done for a bit more than 160 euros. Within a week! Via the official channels the situation would differ quite a bit: at least 750 euros and a waiting time of two – probably three – working weeks…
FINAL UPDATE:
Did it. Just a day after receiving the screen from Canada, I took the thing apart and fixed the screen. Geeting it back together was probably harder than taking it apart… Nice!
It’s the next big thing nowadays: Crowdsourcing. Al lot of specialised agencies pop up to ride this bandwagon (Creative Crowds, The Crowds, Favela Fabric to name a few) or either developing it. And all the media are talking about it. Lately also Dutch radioprogramme Radio Online (TROS) was broadcasting an issue on crowdsourcing. And even presenter Peter de Bie (normally very sceptical) was enthousiastic. Well, the blogs are buzzing, and congress/seminar organizers have a topic again to fill the rooms with. Do I sound negative? That’s not my intention. Because I do believe in the principles behind crowdsourcing. What I do not believe in however – let’s say that I doubt the effect in the long run – is the way many corporations are using crowdsourcing nowadays.
There is simply no true dialogue going on. When a company like KLM is asking clients in their BlueLab-initiative to bring up ideas to better their product, this could be defined as advanced and sensible market research. When KLM implements one of those idease and makes 30 million euro with it, then I start doubting. Because KLM – in this example – is using Open Source techniques to gather ideas, but KLM did not transform it’s business model to Open Source-principles. In the end their performance is measured on the stock exchange: their shareholders are profiting from the ideas clients generate. Those clients ‘only’ profit because they see their ideas implemented and get the attention and recognition.
Apperantely that’s enough for current customers. More than happy that they are to have at least some way to talk back to companies that rested in ivory towers in relation to their clients. I believe that this way of using crowdsourcing (please do read the disclaimer at Dell’s IdeaStorm-website!) will work. But not for long. When companies one sided exploit ideas from crowds, these crowds someday will aks for their fair share. Or they switch to a competitor that does deliver on the dialogue. Other initiatives – like Sellaband – do share the profits with their crowd. In fact: it’s part of their business model. So: be Open Source when using Open Source principles. Or just pay for ideas that you can’t come up with yourself.
It was only a matter of time that someone, somewhere would address this: the difference in brand positioning of Dove and AXE. Both brands owned by Unilever. Dove’s campaign – highly awarded, much appraised – focus on real beauty and take a stand against the cliché image of the beauty industry. While AXE thrives on male hormones and pictures women the way that Dove is protesting against… The mash-up that is on YouTube today was made by Rye Clifton and boosted into the Blogoshere by Paul Isakson (see comments). Campaign (trady) picked it up and the Blogoshere is buzzing.
In fact this is just a modern brand dilemma: how do big corporations manage their different brands? And while communication nowadays is layered with ‘real’ stories: how do these stories relate to each other. It cannot be denied that AXE and Dove communicate on either sides of the same scale. Unilever as brand-owner didn’t make a comment on this issue (yet). AXE is ‘helping young men in the mating game’, while Dove helps ‘women to release their inner beauty’. Quotes are from the Unilever corporate website. While both brands can do their thing in splendid isolation, the corporation can be accused of speaking with a double tongue and for being not genuine or honest. This can boomerang to all other brands. One thing this issue makes clear: splendid isolation doesn’t exist any more. The web/blogoshere is doing it’s transparency-thing again…
Earlier I blogged about the iPhone I ordered via eBay. The first seller didn’t deliver. But because of PayPal’s Buyer’s Protection I was credited for the amount spent. Luckily the offerings on iPhones on eBay is plenty. So, I ordered another one. This time from Florida. The phone arrived in 11 days (USPS advertises 5 days!) but probably Dutch customs kept the package a bit longer before handing it over to TNT Express. Anyhow: the thing arrived in good shape and that evening I spent two hours hacking the gadget in order to get it working with my T-Mobile SIM.
This was an anxious operation but all went fairly well. Now I’m really enjoying this übergadget. The screen especially is great. It is fun to read mail and watch websites. Zooming in on Google Maps is great also. There are some glitches however: text input is not that simple (compared to my HTC).
It’s also funny to see how many iPhones are already going round in The Netherlands. The next day mine was delivered a co-worker went out to buy one. And during my gig at the Marktplein DM, speakers Peter Dörr (former UPC) and Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten (known iPhone aficionado) where in Maastricht with their iPhone. Estimates are that 15% of iPhones sold are for hacking… The restrictions Apple put on the selling of iPhones is also a hint in that direction.
I did it! I bought an iPhone. I was sick of the waiting for the announcement-that-never-came on launching the iPhone in The Netherlands. And after reading about all the hacks that are spreading the net right now, I jumped in. On eBay I found someone from California who had plenty of iPhones on offer. I did a winning bid. And now I am waiting for the parcel to arrive. I guess coming Monday is D-Day.
Then the hacking starts. I already downloaded all necessary programs, manuals and what have you. While reading I entered a complete new world (while familiar with hacking gadgets) where Jailbraking and other intriguing terms rule. This needs to be done, while in The Netherlands the iPhone would otherwise be a very expensive iPod. I am planning to keep you all posted on my experiences. Now I’ll wait in anticipation for the überhyped gadget to arrive.
update September, 26th: The seller @ eBay is very uncommunicative at the moment. He sent me a tracking-number, but this appears to be invalid. No response up until now on my requests for clarification… This might become a lesson in “how to handle when a transaction on eBay goes wrong. I’ll keep you posted….
My iPhone arrived. Read the posting here.
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