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  • A little over 50 Euros are acceptable

    The 9-Euro Ticket was considered experimental in first place. And still deemed to become a huge success in Germany. At the price-point, the ticket was unbeatable and created lots of debates about the future of mobility in the country. First research showed accessible public transport can lay grounds for a modal shift in the population. After many controversies, even the liberal forces in the government acknowledged the need for affordable transportation.

    The Technical University of Munich now conducted a survey. Results conclude that just about 50 Euro would be affordable / acceptable for the majority of possible audience.

    iStockphoto.com / andreaskrappweis
    iStockphoto.com / andreaskrappweis

    The experimental “9 Euro Ticket” general transit pass has run its course and the calls for a successor pass are growing. A study conducted by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) accompanied more than 2000 people during the 9 Euro Ticket trial period, interviewing them on a regular basis. In addition to questions on mobility behavior, information on the price which the participants were willing to pay for a follow-up pass also played an important role.

    Technical University of Munich (TUM) conducted a mobility study.

    Being from the Metropolregion myself, this comes not at a surprise. The city ticket here alone comes in at about 70€ a month, and to reach TUM alone, the monthly ticket will set you back by roughly 100€. At 50€, the ticket therefore still will be a bargain for anybody. Whether it creates the same effects the 9€ ticket created is questionable. For those that have a car, it’s likely still to complex.

    After all, the debate continues and how mobility needs more diversified products. At the same time, simplification to many is the key to solve the problem.

    Source: A little over 50 euros acceptable for 9 Euro Ticket successor – TUM

  • IEEE working to reconfigure Geo Regions

    Ever since IEEE has been organised into regions by geography. While at first thought the idea serves a global organisation well, the distribution has been questionable for the same period of time. For those readers not being members of IEEE: Region 1-6 are all located in the United States, whereas Region 7 and 9 are at least on the same continent. Canada finds itself in a Region (7) and South-America are organised in Region 9.

    China, Southeast Asia and Australia are gathered under Region 10.

    That leaves the “Rest of World” to Region 8. 56 countries gather in this organisation, spanning from South Africa to Norway, from UK and Ireland to Russia and all of the Middle East.

    For any volunteer, this makes an interesting setting: having the opportunity to meet most diverse cultural backgrounds and the ability to exchange with most interesting markets, all on the one hand.

    To bridge these timezones and cultural backgrounds makes decision making difficult for most of the time. Any new initiative require deep embedding of any individuals in the organisation to know the preferences and navigate the complex networks that evolved over time.

    Region 8 includes 15 timezones

    Discussions are underway about dividing and merging regions

    Quote from IEEE Spectrum

    The discussions are at least as old as my first involvement with Region 8. With IEEE Spectrum reporting about tendencies to reconfigure the setup, this may have more meat than only disgruntled volunteers ranting about the necessity.

    Source: IEEE Is Working to Reconfigure Its Geographic Regions – IEEE Spectrum

  • Wiesn 2022

    Münchner Kindl beim Einzug der Wiesenwirte 2022
    Münchner Kind

    Für Aussenstehende ist das alles wahrscheinlich nur schwer nachvollziehbar. Für München und Münchner ist die Wiesn nach 2 Jahre Corona-Pandemie bedingter Pause eine Erlösung. Das Oktoberfest fand zum allerersten Mal anlässlich der Hochzeit von Kronprinz Ludwig von Bayern und Prinzessin Therese am 12. Oktober 1810 statt. Das seit 1810 jährlich stattfindende Oktoberfest markiert traditionell das Ende des Sommers und wurde im Lauf der Jahre etwas nach vorne in den September geschoben, so dass heutzutage nur noch das letzte Wochenende im Oktober stattfindet.

    In seiner 222-jährigen Geschichte ist das Fest 26 Mal angesagt worden. Darunter 2 Mal Aufgrund einer Cholera Epidemie, zuletzt 2020 und 2021 wegen der Covid-19 Pandemie, zum ersten Mal seit 1949.

    Die 187. Wiesen findet von heute, dem 17. September. bis zum 3. Oktober 2022 statt. Und so heisst es nach 2 Jahren warten dieses Jahr endlich wieder „O’zapft is! Auf eine friedliche Wiesn“

  • 911er Dachzelt.

    Dachzelt für den Porsche 911

    Man kann mit dem Porsche 911 nun auch campen gehen. Dank des von Porsche Tequipment entwickelten, hergestellten und vertriebenen Dachzeltes. Jedenfalls berichten das einschlägige Motormagazine. Das sortiere ich einmal unter “Produkt” ein, offenbar gibt es dafür eine Marktlücke.

    Ich dachte, Ihr solltet das wissen.

    via motorsport-total.com

  • Patents are for the weak

    Jay Leno and Elon Musk

    Jay Leno visited SpaceX to interview Elon Musk. The quick trailer on Jay Lenos Twitter channel shows them debating Raptor Engines, used in SpaceX’s rockets. In the converation, Elon Musk takes a hot take on patents. He claims the company ain’t using the mechanism, that won’t help progressing anywhere. His take is patents are meant to keep others from progressing along. My bubble will appreciate.

  • Jailbroken

    Corellium

    In case you were wondering. Corellium shared on twitter they’ve jailbroken iOS16 on iPhone 14 Pro.

  • VR Microphone to preserve privacy

    The Metaverse is uncharted land. A big bet for many. Because it opens up so many new opportunities, that lie in the virtual and the physical world. MuTalk is concerned about your voice in public. With goggles on, it’s impossible to note who’s around you. Anything expressed in such a setting can end a leak to bystanders.

    To let you immerse into the Metaverse on, say, a train platform while you wait for your commute, MuTalk now allows you to do virtual meetings with your corporate colleagues without risking your privacy.

    MuTalk Microphone

    MuTalk is a bizarre-looking Bluetooth microphone that lets you chat privately in public thanks to its sound absorption material.

    From the article

    The Metaverse is huge opportunity, that attracts lucky knights.

    Source: Shiftall’s Voice Suppression Mic Coming Later This Year – VRScout

  • Meta Meetings

    We know Facebook has big plans for the Metaverse. The company even rebranded as Meta to underline it’s ambition. On Labstalk, we almost spent the entire season discussing benefits and goals of the technology, alongside with all the other tech topics in the same space, like Web3, NFTs and DOAs.

    Introducing Horizon Workrooms: Remote Collaboration Reimagined, https://about.fb.com

    Back to Meta (the company) and the Metaverse: among others, one of the foundational use-cases the company re-imagines – to make it attractive to the promising B2B market: virtual or remote meetings.

    And if you ever get to see any of the promotional images: At first glance, these that really look like a meeting in a 3D Room can be a viable alternative. In the pandemic the corporate workforce first came from plenty of travel and got force-used to Zoom and Teams meetings, only to develop even worse meeting fatigue because in-person required travel. Now after almost three years of pandemic, the audience is eager for something new and the time seems right for a different format.

    Alone: the hype doesn’t materialise.

    Parmy Olson from Bloomberg reports that Accenture, among other companies that are reference customers to Facebook/Meta’s Occulus platform, bought plenty of gear, 60k devices, some as long as 2 years ago. To use these devices for new hire orientation. AstraZeneca, another major customer, wouldn’t even comment.

    The virtual conference room needs to die. VR is better used for fun and building relationships.

    Source: Meta’s VR Headset Quest Won’t Replace Zoom – Bloomberg

    A major reason for the lack of momentum I can confirm from own experiences is the bad reputation Facebook/Meta has for their perspectives on privacy and handling of sensitive data. The ‘surveillance capitalism’ approach the company takes with this new technology and economy bet becomes apparent in the pricing strategy for these Occulus devices. The Facebook/Meta (or ‘surveillance’)-free version of the device, that appears technically identical, is about 30% more expensive, according to sources in well informed circles.

    Personally, I believe in the concept but can re-affirm these concerns and understand the restraints that come alongside the curiosity. While the investments that Meta makes in the technology help the hardware make necessary progress towards user-acceptance, other players need to step in and provide applications to help solve corporate acceptance.

  • welle: erdball – Drogenexzess im Musikexpress

    Welle:Erdball - Drogenexzess im Musikexpress
    Welle:Erdball – Drogenexzess im Musikexpress

    Irgendwie verfolgt mich Welle:Erdball gefühlt schon mein ganzes Leben, obwohl die Formation nie richtig Mittelpunkt meiner Aufmerksamkeit war. Zum ersten Mal wahrgenommen habe ich die deutschsprachige Elektropop-Band bei einer meiner ersten Demoparties. Das muss ca. 1997 gewesen sein, Mekka Symposium in Fallingbostel bei Hannover. Dem Publikum habe ich das Duo kulturell sehr nahe bzw. sogar verwandt wahrgenommen. Und irgendwie hat mich die Auffassung der Szene genausowenig losgelassen wie die Musik. Und so kommt alle paar Jahre was neues von Welle:Erdball in meine Filterblase. So wie gestern Drogenexzess im Musikexpress. Es ist immer noch nicht komplett meine Musik und trotzdem kann ich mich irgendwie ein paar Tage für den sehr speziellen Synth-Sound erwärmen:

  • EU: So viel Solarstrom wie noch nie

    Nachdem in Twitter und allen anderen Medien alle durchdrehen zu scheinen, scheint die kurze Durchsage der Denkfabrik Ember Climate bei tagesschau.de hier nicht unwichtig:

    Mitten in der Gaskrise ist in der EU in diesem Sommer so viel Solarstrom produziert worden wie nie zuvor. Allein in Deutschland kam nach einer Studie knapp ein Fünftel des erzeugten Stroms von der Sonne.

    aus dem Artikel

    Source: Stromproduktion in der EU: So viel Solarstrom wie noch nie