The missing ability to run a simple cronjob on my 1&1 hosting package actually contributed to the decision to eventually move all my domain names and sites to another server.

Kwaheri, 1&1…
I don’t know about 1&1 in the US, but here in Germany where they started many years ago (I had become their customer in 1999 when they were still called puretec.de), 1&1 = United Internet AG just suck. It’s their web hosting package that doesn’t provide enough flexibility (limited amount of MySQL dbs, no cronjobs, etc.) as well as how they treat their broadband customers. Back in 2004 when flatrates were introduced to the DSL market in Germany, the flatrate option was only made available to new customers, leaving those with an ongoing contract (min. 24 months) stuck to a volume- or 20h/month contract. And the worst, really worst, part on 1&1 is their so-called customer service. Whoever does their L1-support should be fired and kindly asked to stay away from computers.

Technically, though, 1&1 is great. During all those…9years?? with 1&1, I never experienced any server failures nor speed issues.

And it’s not that I or other customers never told them to improve. The management @ 1&1 (United Internet) obviously never studied The Cluetrain manifesto. Did I already mention how much I hate their customer service? Well….

Anyhow, the missing cronjob and limited number of available databases (5, which already was an improvement to the previous 3!), my good mood on a thursday morning and the perspective to be paying much less in future (I’ve spent like ~2.8000 € on hosting services since 1999 alone) eventually led me to switch to a cheaper and much more competent web hosting service. Not the cheapest - and maybe I could/should have switched to one in the US instead (who btw also often have some hidden extra costs), but one that just delivers. Fast. The way I like it.

As a consequence of that, I’ll be moving (done!) all of my domains and sites from the old server to the new one in the next few days. Let’s hope it all works out, especially the database backups. For those of you trying to get in touch with me via e-mail: try my gmail address or twitter account (@jke). Thx!

It also means that I’ll be implementing some changes, or rather - I’ve thought about changing a basic issue that has been bugging me for quite some time now:

change of name / blog title
My online presence under the nickname “Kikuyumoja” started off in early 1997, with my own home page residing under different URLs (AOL, geocities.com, Rhein-Main.Net, Manri.com) until I managed to register kikuyumoja.de in early 1999, quickly followed by uhuru.de and umoja.de.

While searching for an adequate blog title way back in June 2005, I chose to continue using “Kikuyumoja’s realm”. My blog was accessible either via http://blog.uhuru.de or even via http://kikuyumoja.de .

Now, imagine the situation where someone asks you what “Kikuyumoja” actually means. That is, to me it’s just a name, but to many others it’s either “Kikuyu1″ or “Kik-Kuuu-ju-moh-jha”. Something that remains difficult to explain. And yet it’s just another (sort-of) brand name like WhiteAfrican, Afromusing, Mentalacrobatic, tHiNkEr’S rOoM to name just a few.

So please allow me to ask the following questions:

1. What do you - dear reader - think I should do? Change it from “Kikuyumoja’s realm” to just “Kikuyumoja”? “Kikuyumoja’s”? “JKE”? “Kikuyumoja Inc.”? “Kikuism”?

2. I didn’t use uhuru.de as the starting page of my blog, as I am currenty hosting different sites on my webspace of which some are accessible via uhuru.de/xyz.
So I was wondering: should I configure my blog to take uhuru.de as the ultimate starting page and force other sites on uhuru.de to use their own domain names? Much like it already is the case with WhiteAfrican.com? Solved!

3. How long does it take to load my blog in areas where there’s no broadband available? Should I maybe reduce the amount of posts shown on a single page? And what should I do with that blogroll? Do ppl still need it? Will I need it or may I just kick it out?

4. What about those Google Ads on my site - are they offensive in any way? I’ve noticed some advertisement for Asian dating services on my blog - which is kinda strange. I understand that GoogleAdSense isnt the only advertisement programme out there, but they at one time in the past at least helped me to *pay lunch* - so I thought about keeping their ads inside my blog.

Ah, so many open questions. Comments on these are highly appreciated!

Thank you.

[EDIT: DAMN....will still have to do something about that UTF-8 issue...argh!!! Fixed!]

[EDIT2: just registered kikuyumoja.COM after 9 years of kikuyumoja.de - and although I do not think Kikuyumoja is such a good name, it still is a brand).

It’s almost one year ago that I published three (1, 2, 3) articles on mobile blogging - and nothing has really changed since then.

Back in 2007, both the Nokia N95 and the Apple iPhone were released - two completely different phones that were only compared on numerous blogs due to setting new standards on each segment: the N95 being a true multimedia phone with a decent 5mp cam, 640×480 @ 30fps video (albeit a mono mic), a (slow) internal GPS module and a really nice multimedia player. With the latest firmware, it even plays flash videos (YouTube & Co.) and has different applications run at the same time (sort of multitasking). The iPhone on the other hand provided a compatible device that suits Apple users - a nice user interface and all-in-one device like the N95 which unfortunately still missed some basic phone tools (MMS, Bluetooth exchange, etc.). And although both phones aren’t the only cool devices out there, they sold quite well. Even if the iPhone doesnt feature all these special goodies the N95 comes with, Apple’s phone still has the best browser on a mobile phone.

GoogleReader on my N95…

Back in 2007 I had bought the N95 because the music player on my Nokia 6230i had constantly failed (due to a bug in the firmware) and because I urgently wanted to have a new, sexy phone. Something that enables a better mobile blogging experience.

And that’s exactly the basic point here: until now, no mobile phone has actually delivered this *sweet mobile blogging* experience so far.

Back in 2007, I argued that it’s a software issue. And still believe it is. So instead of buying new phones, a systematic adjustment between the phone’s software (firmware & single programmes) and your blogging platform (WordPress, Vox, Typepad, etc.) comes into mind.

Sure, there’s this WP iPhone app some of us have tested some time ago, but still: it doesnt work that well, and it doesn’t provide a similar experience we’re having online on our laptop, surfing the net with decent browsers on bigger screens with full JavaScript support etc..

And this - I believe - is also one of the many reasons for the success of Twitter. Twitter just filled that gap on mobile blogging, phone manufacturers have failed on providing. Why? Because that special Twitter experience is the same whether you’re online via a browser window on your laptop, use it via an extra widget somewhere on the desktop, have it run as a stand-alone utility on S60 & iPhone platforms or just use SMS (for sending only, though).

You know I had a discussion with my Minister of Finance earlier this week on getting a new phone (again), and I had mentioned the new Nokia E71 and why it could be an improvement on what I am looking for (~ mobile blogging device). However, with the above mentioned discussion on mobile blogging being a software issue, I am rather confused now and think I should stick to my N95 at this point. Maybe wait for Google Android’s phone being released by the end of this year?

Another interesting developement since 2007 is the success of so-called Netbooks - which are lightweight laptops at 7″-10″ screen sizes, often equipped with an energy saving CPU, a solid state disk and enough flexibility to provide surfing the net, answering your e-mails and doing some other office work. Battery runtime still is an issue though, often only giving 2-3 hrs. Netbooks are currently sold for 300-400,- EUR in Europe and are small enough to fill that special gap the need for mobile blogging has created.

So here’s my conclusion: instead of waiting for the ultimate mobile web experience via a dedicated & maybe also expensive smart phone, I’ll bet on another setup: ppl - especially those in need in a rural Africa - will imho be introduced to the combination of basic GPRS & UMTS (3G) phones, hooked up to cheaper laptop computers such as netbooks.

Not today, not tomorrow - but maybe in two years time when basic netbooks wil sell for ~ 150,- EUR and will also be sold on the African continent in a big style. Why? Because a mobile phone is - although it is often shared with members of the extended family - still a device for a single user (despite of these new Nokias that come with multiple phonebooks). A computer though can easily be shared with others. Here’s what I had in mind:

Solar panels are already for sale in rural Kenya as well as simple GPRS-capable phones, netbooks could be equipped with a free & open OS (+ BT, serial port & USB cable driver package) and it would still cost below the amount you’d normally spend on a) getting a normal desktop pc online or b) a fancy smartphone that just still doesnt deliver the real web experience.

And the best part: this setup isn’t reduced to the needs of a rural environment, but also applies to urban areas in the US, Europe or Asia. In other words: if I had to do true mobile blogging right now, I’d go for this setup (ok, maybe without those solar panels).

Netbooks are what Twitter is used to be to SMS: added value.

What you see here is the first page of a brand new textbook for 12-year-old German kids who want to learn Spanish (as a foreign language).

It starts with a listening comprehension unit and provides relatively short exercises throughout the whole textbook. Nothing really new so far, but with the difference that most pages come within a teen magazine style.

And that’s exactly the trend today: providing small bits of information which may then be served to the inattentive YouTube generation - a new generation used to max. 10-minutes videos online, single mp3 files instead of complete (music) albums, Google-able knowledge and interests for specific topics (only).

This development, however, is not as bad as it may sound in the first place. Sure, today’s kids may find a different learning environment than what we had when we were kids, and one could argue if a school should continue supporting this open, free & easy approach. But then, in today’s world where everything and everyone needs to be *special*, needs to have specific knowledge on something and thus requires much more of this *modular knowledge* (as I call it - modular, as in exchangeable), it’s very interesting to see that publishers are already starting with textbooks to adopt to new learning (teaching?) methods.

It’s not that things had really changed over the years when it comes to language textbooks. I remember having a longer discussion with my mum many years ago on such a topic where we were both wondering about the very strange and embarrassing approach in textbooks for German as a foreign language (Deutsch als Fremdsprach, DaF). Some of those exercises were just so….ouch! + *sigh* + out of this world.

The real difference between this DaF textbook back in the days and today’s “Gente Joven” Spanish textbook is that the latter is focused on the YouTube generation.

Now, if we argue that the next generation is our biggest asset - how will they perceive this world in future, how will this upcoming generation positively influence the future and in which way does their specific knowledge, paired with a healthy ambition to win competitions, contribute to the future?

In the end, it all starts with what we’re providing them with right now - as much as our own success is based on previous generations (e.g. the creation of programming languages and integrated circuits, implementation of a world-wide IT network, etc.).

Another interesting developement is the introduction of A1/A2, B1/B2, C1/C2 levels on a school level - the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR): Learning, Teaching Assessment…

… which provides “clear standards to be attained at successive stages of learning” and helps to evaluate “outcomes in an internationally comparable manner”. I wish we already had this system way back in school!

Clearly, the harmonization of (language) learning levels and setting of standards is a very good way to create a common basis in Europe. Imagine the problems I am always having explaining my German degrees to the English speaking world… and again, Europe is becoming such a modular world.

Is this already mainstream cinema?

2 Days in Paris - a wonderful movie on sex, food and relationships.  And this although it beautifully covers the cliché of both the French & American’s inability to communicate in any other language then their own, the cliché of the French(wo)men always talking about sex & food, racist tendencies in a multicultural Paris (~ taxi driver scenes), the freedom of soixante-huitards and all of this embedded into never-ending neurotic conversations between all actors.

If you already liked Before Sunrise & Before Sunset, you’ll definitely like this one.

Here’s the final scene:

I especially liked it being in both French & English, even the German version is in German and a subtitled French (that’s btw one thing I will never understand about Germany: dubbed movies. They usually dub all of them - which is also why most Germans have such a bad pronounciation of English words. If you never get to hear the original version, there’s no real comparison possible…sigh).

“I ain’t go anywhere in the United States of America and see another black man and give him a power shake…and there’s unity there. There’s a beauty there that I can communicate with this brother…”

Right on.

(via on-point.be)

I’d seen this video (which is part (13/14) of a very nice documentary on  the Wattstax festival) two weeks ago while searching for more Blaxpoitation content. It also features Isaac Hayes who sadly passed away this last sunday.

As much as I hate posting (ready-made) multimedia content on my blog, this documentary and the ability to just enjoy it via YouTube et al makes me happy. Besides, the above mentioned Belgian on-point blog is a very nice resource for such and other - really cool - content.

While I would like to do a little obituary for Isaac at this point, I honestly don’t where to start - his legacy and influence on the contemporary world of “cool” + “style” is just so ginormous.

@Isaac: now at least you have enough time to jam with Fela Anikulapo Kuti and give us a nice SoulFunkAfrobeat-mashup. :-)

(p.s.: I really like that power handshake sequence. So true…even among white Mal d’Africains!)

Talking about (urban) alottment gardens the other day, one of the advantages of living in downtown Frankfurt am Main is that there’s this special park in the neighbourhood which used to be a nursery a looooong time ago. After it had closed many years ago, the biggest part of the garden was turned into a public park, the other part into a *wilderness* with lots of small paths and a diverse flora & fauna.

In other words: there’s this public shamba next door that delivers free food for those who just don’t see a green wilderness but instead an ideal source of natural ingredients for the afternoon tea healthy drinks!

Because just like Ishtar, I also prefer fresh food! :-)

After picking a bag full of fresh blackberries, we decided to use half of them to create a milk-shake. And since I like to try out new stuff, I also added oats and some leaves of fresh lemon balm:

Now, what do I do with the other half? A blackberry-pancake? Blackberry sorbet? Blackberry salad with lovage (from the garden)? Blackberry cake?

[edit: I eventually mixed the remaining blackberries with an apple, some milk (rice) pudding and some shots from a French & evil almond cognac.]

This (quote from an article by Rebecca on the new M-Pesa online payment gateway):

Intellectual property is another challenge identified by Mulamba, where software developers who work for a company realize they can offer similar services.
“Safeguarding intellectual property is a challenge; people thrive on stealing other people’s ideas and that is why there is a high turnover of software developers in many companies,” said Mulamba. “One is forced to work with a smaller team of trusted people and take a longer time, instead of a larger team that would have taken a shorter time to complete the project.” (source)

…reminds me of an e-mail I’ve received two weeks ago:

“To be sincere I do not like dealing with Kenyans when it comes to jobs or something professional, not that I hate my people but because sometimes I know how they feel about other people´s success.”

Mchonga mwiko hukimbiza mkono wake?

1. Apple fun: “I Am Rich was a $999.99 app that did nothing“. Muahahahaha…..

Dear Apple disciple, please explain this to me:

You want Apple to CONTROL the market for you?

Besides, for that special *one-click shopping pleasure* there’s also CNR. Click, pay, install. I know you’ll like that.

2. Nerdpol

I LOVE THIS!

It’s a cartoon from a popular German site called nichtlustig.de. Found this in their newsletter this morning. It says: “Guys, we have a visitor. This is my cousin Hubert. He’s from (the) NERDPOL” (Nordpol = North Pole).

3. There’s no 3rd.

Sure, I could link to this funny video (with regard to a choleric Michael Arrington :-), but then….funstuff on the inet is just so….2005.

Have a relaxed weekend, will ya?