The Aardvark Speaks

Please tell us your name

2011-11-08T15:59:52Z

Spammers and phishers never cease to amaze me, and it seems that they provide some valuable insight into the psyche of the people they are targetting. Consider for example this mail, which I received today:

They first address me by my full name, and then they tell me that all they need to send me money is my first name and surname, no additional information required.

I'm assuming that the web page I'm supposed to visit has been designed to install a virus on my computer, but the interesting questions here are:

How many people will actually click on the link?
Is the fact that the mail is asking to provide information that the sender already knows an oversight,
or has it been specifically designed that way because they are assuming that people who don't realize that they're being tricked are also less likely to have anti-virus software installed?

Update: Apparently they're not installing a Trojan, but simply offering a dubious job. Unser täglich Spam has details.

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

2011-10-06T11:55:08Z

When I first switched on an Apple Macintosh computer in 1987, the first thing I saw was a tiny icon of a computer smiling at me. The "Happy Mac" eventually disapeared fifteen years later, but I still see it as an (if you excuse the pun) iconic example of Steve Jobs' philosophy of what computing was supposed to be about.

You could instantly see that Jobs was always emotionally involved in what Apple was doing. His keynotes weren't your average business presentations, they were events that everybody looked forward to. When he introduced a new product that he was excited about, like the iPhone, his eyes sparkled, and his enthusiasm translated to everybody in the room. Even when miscommunication happened (as during the early stages of the iPhone 4 release), it seemed to be because he was so emotionally connected to his products.

Jobs didn't just market products emotionally, he had them designed so that they would appeal to users in an emotional way. From the Happy Mac to the first bondi-blue iMac, to the first version of OS X that looked "so delicious you want to lick it". It's probably why the products create such strong emotional responses and why discussions between Apple users and Apple haters tend to heat up to ridiculous proportions.

Under Jobs' guidance, the company placed priority on preventing anything that could disrupt the emotional interaction between user and computer; this is the main reason why Apple's interface guidelines and the restrictions the company places on developers are so strict it's legendary. Still, the result speaks for itself: if people talk about hitting a computer or throwing it out the window, they never talk about an Apple Mac.

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Unlike other CEOs, Jobs saw interconnections and interdependencies that reached far outside his company into the world of his users, and he was ready to shift the paradigms when he deemed it necessary. Computers are all about technological specifications? Let's concentrate on the user interface instead. Customers want an extensive choice of products? No, a handful is more than enough. Video editing is for professionals only? Welcome iMovie. Apple is a computer manufacturer? Let's revolutionize the mobile phone market.

It was Jobs' way of thinking, his realization that a company's business does not end at the walls of its buildings but that it is a constant interaction with just about everybody, that transformed Apple from the ailing computer manufacturer of 1997, almost ruined by single-minded business executives, into the cutting-edge company that it is today.

Steve's energy and his unique vision will be sorely missed.

Gustav Mahler 1860-1911

2011-05-18T19:31:06Z

This day 100 years ago, on May 18th, 1911, the Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler died at age 50 of heart disease.

During his lifetime, Mahler was both famous and infamous as one of the most meticulous and demanding conductors of his time; when he received the prestigious post as musical director of the Vienna Opera house in 1897, he set about to turn it into one of the leading opera houses in the world; in fact, much of the reputation it has today still goes back to Mahler. His performances of Wagner, Mozart and Beethoven's Fidelio were considered revolutionary at the time. When an anti-Semitic press campaign (Mahler was born a Jew, but converted to Catholicism early on) led to his resignation in 1907, Mahler took on posts at the Met and with the New York Philharmonic.

As a composer, Mahler continued the symphonic tradition of Brahms and Bruckner, paving the way for the musical modernism of Shostakovich, Webern, or Schönberg. However, during his lifetime his symphonies were met with little acclaim, and after his death they all but disappeared from the repertoire, until their grandeur was rediscovered in the 1960s. Today, his symphonies are considered milestones of early 20th century music.

Something of an interesting sidenote, which I noticed some time back, is that Mahler's symphonic music also seems to have had quite an influence on film scores. Take for example the opening to his first symphony, which seems rather close to the original "Star Trek" theme. Or the beginning of the sixth symphony, which appears to have been an inspiration to the "Star Wars" Darth Vader theme. And there's this section, also from the sixth, which a friend of mine noticed was uncannily similar to the "Indiana Jones" theme.

Whether the influence is actually true or merely imagined, there is no doubt that Mahler's expansive soundscapes with their intense emotionality have inspired countless composers and listeners since his death and that he remains one of the most important composers of the 20th century.

Recommended listening:

Symphony No. 2 (Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra/Otto Klemperer), EMI 5 67235 2
Symphony No. 3 (Vienna Philharmonic/Pierre Boulez), Deutsche Grammophon 474 038-2
Symphony No. 5 (Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich/David Zinman), RCA 88697 31450 2
Symphony No. 6 (London Symphony Orchestra/Valery Gergiev), LSO Live LSO0661
Symphony No. 9 (Berlin Philharmonic/Sir John Barbirolli), EMI 9 18725 2

Recommended viewing:

Song clusters

2011-05-15T23:27:15Z

A team of scientists tried to figure out if the perception that certain countries vote for each other at the Eurovision Song Contest is actually true. They fed all available voting data into a computer, and it turned out that there are indeed six clusters of countries with similar musical tastes or other kinds of allegiances.

The results also proved once and for all what we always kind of suspected: that Austria is really located in the Balkans.

Find Osama!

2011-05-15T11:28:39Z

American soldiers have recently found Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. In 1971, the bin Laden family took a trip to Sweden, where this picture (source: Die Zeit) was taken.

Now here's the real mindboggler: Who on this picture is Osama bin Laden? (Click on the picture to enlarge it.) And, most importantly: can you solve this mystery without consulting Google?

Mobile Services at VU Library

2011-05-11T12:12:08Z

At somewhat short (but manageable) notice, I received an invitation to speak at the Verbundtag 2011, a convention of Austrian librarians, where the plenary session of the first day was to be on mobile services for libraries. As I recently coordinated (and to some degree also programmed) a mobile version of Vienna University Library's website, they thought that I could add a local perspective to Patrick Hochstenbach's (excellent) presentation on "Mobilising Ghent University".

My presentation went well. It took a little longer than I had expected, but the audience remained surprisingly attentive throughout, despite the prospect of the free lunch buffet that was waiting outside.

I made a few slides to go with my presentation, and this video, which demonstrates the mobile website and catalogue:

Here is a PDF version of just my slides.
Here is a PDF version of my slides with annotations.

"Ihr Auto"

2011-05-09T08:33:27Z

Irgendwie hatte dieser Gebrauchtwagenhändler den Eindruck erweckt, seine Geschäfte nicht 100%ig legal abzuwickeln.

A modest rural library

2011-04-05T09:41:14Z

From the "Your Life Work" film on the librarian.

Lobbyists

2011-03-27T21:17:46Z

One of many indicators of the sad state of Austrian politics: Conservative MEP Ernst Strasser is filmed by Sunday Times reporters accepting money for legislation:

Here's one of the resulting attempts at comic relief:

Still, nauseating sleaze and desperate humour aside, what's similarly disturbing is that Strasser would have gone free if he had acted as an Austrian MP instead of an an MEP. Contrary to EU law, Austrian law allows lobbyism in parliament, and accepting money for legislation is perfectly legal. I guess this explains several political decisions, and it turns politics into a farce that is losing the people's confidence with good reason.

Unfähige Packl-Schupfer

2011-03-25T10:07:29Z

Es folgt ein Exkurs in die wundersame Welt der Paketdienste. Wobei das einzige Wunder darin besteht, dass diese Firmen nicht schon längst Pleite gegangen sind. Denn mit Ausnahme eines einzigen zuverlässigen Dienstes habe ich von diesen bisher mehr Pakete nicht erhalten als erhalten; in der Regel wurden sie als "unzustellbar" oder "Empfänger unbekannt" einfach zurückgeschickt. Ein Kollege in der Poststelle unserer Bibliothek hat einmal von bis zu 25% falsch oder nicht zugestellten Paketen von Paketdiensten gesprochen (im Gegensatz zu unter 1% bei der Post).

Spitzenreiter meines Paketdienst-Hasses war bisher DHL, deren Pakete ich grundsätzlich nur bekomme, wenn ich das Online-Tracking quasi im Minutentakt verfolge, und selbst dann sollte ich am besten vor der Haustüre auf den Lieferanten warten.

Nun hat UPS, von einer Kollegin liebevoll "Unfähige Packl-Schupfer" genannt, in die erste Reihe aufgeschlossen.

Ich habe etwas vom Apple Store bestellt. Das tut man manchmal, besonders, wenn es ein extrem günstiges Sonderangebot für Uni-Mitarbeiter gibt. Aus praktischen Gründen gab ich als Lieferadresse die Bibliothek an. Bei bisherigen Apple Store-Bestellungen gab es da auch noch nie Probleme.

Anfangs sah alles noch sehr gut aus, denn nach ein paar Tagen (am 16.3.) erhielt ich ein Mail, dass das Paket nun versendet worden sei. Dann geschah mal länger nichts.

Am 18.3. sah ich im Online-Tracking von UPS nach, wo das Paket ist und stellte fest, dass es in Wien angekommen war. Ich erwartete die Lieferung also nach dem Wochenende.

Am 21.3. passierte nichts.

Am 22.3. sah ich nochmal nach, ob das Paket schon in Auslieferung sei, aber da hatte sich nichts verändert. Allerdings fiel mir auf, dass ich bei der Bestellung aus Versehen eine falsche Postleitzahl angegeben hatte.

Erstes Telefongespräch mit UPS am 22.3.: Die Dame am Apparat versichert mir, dass das Paket noch in Wien im Lager sei und es problemlos möglich ist, die Postleitzahl zu ändern. Allerdings könne sie das nicht tun, ich müsste dazu bei Apple anrufen. Mit der Lieferung sei dann am 23.3. zu rechnen.

Telefongespräch mit Apple am 22.3.: Ein freundlicher Mitarbeiter ändert die Postleitzahl und verspricht, dies an UPS weiterzuleiten. Er gibt mir seine persönlichen Kontaktinformationen, falls noch ein Problem auftreten sollte.

Am 23.3. erschien im Online-Tracking-System von UPS der Hinweis, dass meine Postleitzahländerung vorgenommen worden war und ein neuer Liefertermin stattfinden würde.

Am 23.3. gegen Mittag tauchte ein UPS-Lieferant in der Bibliothek auf, während ich gerade in einer Besprechung war. Dieser hatte allerdings kein Paket bei sich, sondern nur einen Zettel. Er redete auf die anwesenden Mitarbeiterinnen ein, er hätte das Paket zwei Tage zuvor (am 21.) hier abgeliefert und wollte jetzt dafür eine Unterschrift auf dem Zettel haben. Da er darauf bestand, eine Unterschrift ohne Ware zu bekommen, verständigten die Mitarbeiterinnen mich. Ich bestätigte, dass ich kein Paket erhalten hatte, der UPS-Lieferant wurde kleinlauter und verschwand.

Da die Dame von UPS am Tag zuvor noch versichert hatte, dass das Paket noch nicht zugestellt war und auch kein Zustellversuch im Online-Tracking erschien, kam mir das alles sehr merkwürdig vor.

Daher zweiter Anruf bei UPS, unmittelbar nachdem der Lieferant verschwunden war: Die Dame von UPS teilte mir mit, dass das Paket am 21.3. nicht zugestellt worden war und am 22.3. eine Adressänderung durchgeführt worden war. Das Paket müsste derzeit in Auslieferung sein. Auf meine Bedenken bezüglich des Lieferanten, der Mitarbeiterinnen zu einer Unterschrift nötigen wollte, ging sie nicht ein, fragte lediglich, ob der Mann eine braune Uniform getragen hätte. Hatte er. Sie sagte dann etwas in der Art von "Das kommt vor."

Am 24.3. Vormittag kam kein Paket. Am Nachmittag erschien dann im Online-Tracking folgende Meldung:

Besonders die Worte "Verlorener Nachforschungsauftrag" beunruhigten mich etwas.

Daher dritter Anruf bei UPS, am 24.3., und nun wird die Sache vollends absurd:

Ich frage, was die Meldung bedeute.
Die UPS-Dame wirkt ungehalten und sagt, Apple habe einen Nachforschungsantrag gestellt, da das Paket noch nicht zugestellt worden ist.

Ich frage, was "Verloren" in diesem Zusammenhang bedeute.
Die UPS-Dame wird noch eine Spur unfreundlicher und meint, sie könne mir das nicht sagen.

Ich frage, ob das Paket noch bei UPS sei und wann ich es geliefert bekomme.
Sie sagt, ich müsse bei Apple anrufen, um eine Antwort auf diese Fragen zu bekommen.

Lassen wir uns das bitte auf der Zunge zergehen: ein Lieferant, der nach allen Hinweisen (und auch nach eigener Aussage) noch in Besitz eines Stücks Frachtgut ist, schickt mich ernsthaft zum Absender des Pakets, weil er selbst nicht fähig (oder willens) ist, mir eine Auskunft zu geben.

Letzte Aktion von mir, heute vormittag: ich schickte ein E-Mail an den Apple-Mitarbeiter, der mir seine Kontaktinformationen gesendet hatte. Weniger als 20 Minuten später hatte ich eine Antwort. Er entschuldigte sich für das Problem, konnte mir aber logischerweise natürlich nicht sagen, wo das Paket gerade ist. Apple werde ein Ermittlungsverfahren einleiten; nach 72 Stunden sollte ich eine Antwort erhalten. UPS müsse den Artikel in dieser Zeit finden oder ersetzen.

Irgendwie ist es absurd, einen absolut professionellen und freundlichen Service (Apple) Seite an Seite mit einem derart inkompetenten und im letzten Telefongespräch auch sehr unfreundlichen Lieferanten (UPS) zu sehen. Ich werde berichten, wie die Sache weitergegangen ist.

Full circle

2011-03-22T12:33:26Z

I couldn't help but notice that in the history of recorded sound, we seem to have come full circle.

About 100 years ago, there was the gramophone, which was revolutionary in that it could reproduce sound, but which wasn't fully convincing in terms of sound quality. Thanks to advances in technology, electricity and electronic amplification, the technology evolved towards high fidelity sound, a reproduction as close to the original performance as possible.

Then, briefly after the turn of the century, digital sound formats and compression were used to fit the music on portable players. Hi-fi enthusiasts complained about the poorer sound quality, while most people, as studies have shown, actually prefer the poorer sound of MP3 to a more natural sound, apparently because it requires less processing power in the listener's brain.

The rise of YouTube and other online streaming platforms on the Internet as young people's preferred source for music, despite the fact that their sound quality is significantly poorer than MP3s, seems to indicate that sound quality indeed does not matter to most listeners.

However, the step down from hi-fi to MP3 to heavily compressed streaming audio is a small one considering how most youngsters seem to prefer to listen to this kind of music: over the external speaker of their mobile phone. The sound coming from these tiny speakers is remarkably similar to the squeaky noise that came out of gramophones 100 years ago. It seems that we're back where we started, at the minimum requirements for recorded sound.

Unser täglich Gift

2011-03-17T00:35:49Z

ARTE hat kürzlich eine Dokumentation von Marie Monique Robin gesendet, in der diese Nahrungsmittelzusätzen und den entsprechenden Genehmigungsverfahren auf die Spur geht. Parkinson, Alzheimer, Immunschwächekrankheiten sowie Diabetes und Fortpflanzungsstörungen nehmen seit 30 Jahren in unserem Teil der Welt stetig zu, während Länder ohne industrielle Nahrungsmittelerzeugung davon quasi verschont sind. Die erlaubten Tagesdosen von Pestiziden und Farbstoffen sind quasi willkürlich festgelegt, die Studien, die deren Harmlosigkeit beweisen, fast durchgehend von den Chemiekonzernen finanziert, die diese Produkte herstellen. Der Süßstoff Aspartam ist aufgrund der selben Studie heute zugelassen, aufgrund der er bis 1987 verboten war.

Das Video kann derzeit hier in voller Länge angesehen werden (gilt voraussichtlich 7 Tage):

(Direktlink)

Blödes Orchester

2011-03-14T08:58:52Z

Using over 200 electric kitchen appliances, the German artist and composer Michael Petermann has built a symphonic orchestra of sorts (the name means "stupid orchestra" due to the "musicians'" limited abilities), which is currently on display at the MKG Hamburg.

The orchestra consists largely of design classics built between 1912 and 1975, including the Braun Aromaster, a coal-fuelled Miele washing machine from 1955, Sixtant razors from three decades and Goertz's famous Starmix mixers, all of which Petermann bought at flea markets and through ebay. For the exhibition, Petermann composed a 30-minute piece, which is relayed to the appliances through a midi interface. The result is a unique and very humourous sonic experience, a 3-minute excerpt of which can be seen here:

Here's an interview with the composer (in German):

On display at the Hamburg Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe until 30 April 2011.

Further information on the artist's website.

The deterioration of the political climate

2011-01-10T10:45:06Z

and why it must be stopped by all means. Keith Olbermann with a special comment on the Arizona shootings.

Strč prst skrz krk

2010-07-24T14:53:27Z

Czech may be the language of most of my ancestors, but unfortunately my grandmother decided to not teach a single word of it to my father, so I am isolated from this potential facet of my cultural heritage. A recent visit to Prague has revealed that most of the language is a total mystery to me. Even after acquiring a few of the quintessential words necessary for survival (e.g. vepřové pečeně), the pronunciation is still something of a challenge. It's not so much the numerous diacritics on the consonants, it's more that the language seems to rely much less on vowels and that the consonants appear in perfectly tongue-splitting combinations, such as in Plch zdrhl skrz drn, prv zhltl hrst zrn or in the sentence that serves as the title for this blog entry and which seems to be famous enough to even have its own wikipedia entry.

They all speak English too. I'm not surprised, considering how many tourists they have to cater for. It would have been fun to hear more of these tourists twisting their tongues while trying to utter something in Czech, but none of them (except myself) did. Cowards. Not that anybody understood much of what I was trying to say, and I also gave up soon enough. I did get the vepřové pečeně and the pivo though.