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flickr: JESSIBRI (alias Jessica)

no time to write, thus simply a photo

110th Street

Recently I bought a netbook and I realized, that computers are probably the most consumed items. Hard- and software are synchronized in a sense that in particular new operating systems often require better hardware performance. In turn, new hardware suggests the usage of more sophisticated software. Accordingly, there are permanently new generations of products and to some extend the consumer is even forced to follow. In particular, games are often designed for hardware that is not even available as standard. This extensive consumption of hard- and software is more pronounced than in other branches considering the price of the products. The only other thing I can think of, that is similar fast in product generations, is fashion. The problem I want to raise is whether one really needs this continuous cycles of products and consumption. It seems like, not seldomly needs are created. An example where this did not work is maybe the fact that many people do not use Vista but skip it and go from XP to w7. Nevertheless, one aspect has to be considered - namely the safety of data. The more powerful features require new standards. Further, the amount of data also increases and recently more information is stored in digital form, such as photos, music, films, but also invoices and letters are not printed anymore. New media for the storage of data are developed, which mostly are not compatible with older ones. This can still be handled as long as the old system is compatible with new media drives. Typically this holds for one generation. In the next one the risk that older standard are not supported anymore is already significant. This means, already by this fact one is somehow forced to follow all cycles of PC innovation.

trans-siberiano (alias Luis)

Escaping the Black Hole (alias Tobias)

artificial owl

painted from a foto

see also this blog

Arriving in New York I had to buy a couple of things for my apartment. Most of them were made in China. One exception was a toilet brush that surprisingly was made in Germany. Since I moved into my apartment in Berlin, I find myself in a similar situation. Among the items I bought recently, there is also a toilet brush – made in Germany. Actually the store had a big variety of brushes, including very cheap ones. Considering that german companies are able to compete with China concerning such a simple product, I conclude this industrial branch must have good know-how in producing toilet brushes. Therefore, the title of this entry.

In NYC I was surprised that in the US there are at least three companies which keep track of every person's credit score who has a social security number. For example, in general, a credit report is needed when one wants to rent an apartment, but also in many other situations. There are funny things going on related to this credit score which is a value between 0 and 1000. First of all, it is not public how it is calculated. The agencies just do it and all of them provide slightly different values, but one does not know how it is done. In particular, it is strange that having a debt increases the score, as long as one pays the rates. This also is partly cause of the current credit crisis. One important remark is that one should check the credit report just to make sure that nobody stole ones identity, such as by using a credit card on ones name (identity theft).
However, one major point of my criticism is, that all this information involved is very personal and critical. Accordingly, it should not be managed by any company but rather by a governmental institution.
Ignorant as I am, I was somewhat surprised, that in Germany there is basically the same system. Here is one company (Schufa) that keeps track of the creditworthiness of each person. The idea is that banks, before opening an account, can make sure that the account holder does not have large debt with other banks. I also had to experience, that in order to rent an apartment, the landlords in Berlin as well ask for a credit report among other documents – a habit that I did not know from where I was living before.

After one week I realized that some aspects of Berlin are not very different from New York. One example are the trains. Ok, in NY they are still much noisier, but the thing of week end schedule happens also in Berlin, although probably not to the same extend. Also, long commute can be necessary in both cities. In this sense, there are also differences. While in NY Manhattan is some kind of center of the city, in Berlin there are many fashionable neighborhoods (Kiez) and it is a matter of taste, where people want to live or go out. To some extend this is also true for NY, but in Berlin it seems to be more pronounced. Probably these similarities are due to the size of the urban agglomeration. In addition, in both cities those people who try to be cool, go by bike. Although, in Berlin a bike seems to be indispensable and there are lot of people biking. It is also more convenient because there are almost no hills. I am not sure about which city is larger in area. In NY I learned that it does not matter how one is styled – as long as one is styled at all. Fashionable people in Berlin also seem to follow this attitude.