Free Wifi via e-mail

It's nice that a store offers free WiFi, especially when abroad. However, needing access to my e-mail before being able to go online ... not so useful after all, is it?

But to be honest, it turned out you did not need the link to go online. After this welcome page, you could just go online :-) Maybe adjust the wording of the landing page a little bit.

Digital at #RW15

Nog 6 dagen, 22 uur en 12 minuten. De applicatie van Rock Werchter 2015 telt af naar de start van mijn persoonlijke hoogmis van de komende weken. Vier dagen vertoeven op de weide, vier dagen genieten van verschillende artiesten in de Barn, Klub C en het hoofdpodium. Niet van de Foo Fighters, maar dat terzijde.

Mijn digitale zelf kreeg een extra boost toen aangekondigd werd dat de samenwerking met playpass uitgebreid werd. Buiten sneller binnen raken en een Facebook status posten, zal je nu ook met je werchterbandje kunnen betalen op de weide: een cash vrij festival.

A long way for a #cashfree society, but looking forward to a cashfree #RW15 - via @RockWerchter @PlayPass_EU http://t.co/UtPOAPpxYz

— Bert Hendrickx (@bhendrickx88) June 11, 2015

Ik registreerde mij, om vervolgens geen bevestigings e-mail te ontvangen. Dat kan gebeuren natuurlijk en ik contacteerde Playpass support via de opgegeven weg. Ik ben voorstander van korte en to the point support, maar "uw registratie was succesvol" in SMS stijl van een "no-reply" adres vind ik toch wel heel beperkt.

Voorlopig heb ik geen verdere info ontvangen op de toch wel relevante vraag: 'hoe en wanneer link ik mijn Paypal zodat ik geen cash moet meebrengen?'. Hopelijk moeten we niet met z'n allen op de weide gaan aanschuiven om de link met Facebook en Paypal te kunnen maken.

Als Playpass en Paypal niet werken, zal Herman me dan wat geld voorschieten, of zal je mobiel kunnen betalen met de bancontact app of SEQR?

Gisteren volgde dan het tweede digitale hoogtepunt: de lancering van de RW15 app. Wat. Een. Teleurstelling. Al dagen wachten we met onze groep vrienden op de app, zodat we onze favorieten kunnen aanduiden en we onze timelines kunnen vergelijken. Zo ging het vorige keer toch.

Rock Werchter ging nu echter in zee met Appmiral, een standaard applicatie voor festivals. Misschien efficiënter en goedkoper, maar voor de festivalganger toch een stevige stap achteruit. Mijn schedule ziet er als volgt uit op mijn toch redelijk groot scherm (5'5 inch):

Moest ik niet weten dat er drie podia zijn, de Barn zou aan mij geen frequente bezoeker hebben. Via diamant-icoontjes kan je wel je favoriete artiesten aanduiden. Dankzij @Ineswillems heb ik dat overzicht dan terug gevonden bij mijn profiel, in plaats van bij mijn schedule.

@bhendrickx88 twee pintjes en t is ok ;-)

— Ines (@InesWillems) June 18, 2015

Appmiral reageerde alvast op Twitter dat er begin volgende week een update van de app uitgerold wordt. Mijn persoonlijke voorkeur zou zijn geen beta-versie de weide wereld in te sturen, maar nu het toch zo is, alvast wat gratis advies:

• Integreer het plan van de weide
• Maak het 'schedule' volledig zichtbaar, of horizontaal met een duidelijke tijdsaanduiding
• Gebruik de Facebook login om te linken met vrienden en een gedeeld schema te kunnen zien
• Integreer een alfabetische lijst van artiesten
• Een desktop / web versie om je festival voor te bereiden
• Integratie met Playpass voor leuke (je bent X tijd op de weide) en nuttige (je hebt al € X uitgegeven) weetjes

Nog 6 dagen, 21 uur en 5 minuten tot #RW15, ik ben benieuwd!

My first ten days with the Moto 360

As you know, I have been looking forward wearing a smartwatch for quite some time. Last week, it was finally the time when I was able to order the Moto 360, Motorola's smartwatch. Combining stylish design and Android wear, it's my favorite smartwatch currently available. Allow me to share with you why I fell in love with a € 250 technology gadget after only a couple of days.

It was time #smartwatch #moto360 #androidwear #tech #toysforboys

A photo posted by Bert Hendrickx (@bhendrickx88) on Jan 6, 2015 at 3:14am PST

1) It's a watch, it tells you what time it is

Prepare yourself if you consider buying a smartwatch, people will ask you 'what does it do?'. There is however a short answer to that question: 'It's a watch, it tells you what time it is'. After all, smart or not, that is what watches are supposed to do. Motorola and Google kept this in mind while designing the user experience: no screen touches, no buttons, no voice commands ... you just turn your wrist as with any traditional watch you've ever had, and it shows you the time. 

2) It guides you during a busy day

As I have been using Google Now for quite some time already, my smartwatch didn't face to much challenges getting to know me. My smartphone and Google Now already told me the traffic in the morning, the weather, my upcoming meetings ... I don't get up with my watch on, so I still check my smartphone first. However during the day, I don't.

During the day, it's the Moto 360 that keeps me on track. It tells me I have another meeting in '30, or in '15, where that meeting is and what time I should leave from wherever I am at that moment. I don't have to worry about forgetting something, my wrist reminds me.

3) It offers distance from your smartphone

One of the initial ideas behind Android Wear is reducing the time we spend (loose) during the day by checking our phone far to often (i.e. for notifications). The Moto 360 provides a filter, reducing the need to pull out your phone. Notifications are pushed towards the watch immediately, allowing yourself to decide whether or not it is important enough to grab your phone. For me, it works like a filter during both office hourse (being more productive) and private time (no, or at least less FOMO*).

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl4Qne-RpcM

So far, the smartwatch basically offers a convenient way of using Google Now and your notifications on your wrist. There is room for improvement, for example Dutch voice commands, and actual useful apps are still rare. However, I'd like to share the MyShopi smartwatch app, one I actually use.

As stated before, I expect a smartwatch to guide me during the day, and to look like a watch. The Moto 360 and Android Wear manage to do just that. Sophisticated simplicity on your wrist, that is why I love it.

*FOMO or the 'Fear of missing out' is a form of social anxiety, whereby one is compulsively concerned that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, profitable investment or an other satisfying event (source: Wikipedia)

Dear twitter, I don't like what I see

Dear twitter,

No, I do not like to scroll down. No, I don't like it when I have to undertake an extra action to see what I want to see.

When I visit someone's twitter profile, I would probably like to undertake one of the following actions.

• read his or her tweets
• follow his or her tweets
• tweet to that specific account
• find out who he or she is

He or she can of course also refer to a band, company or whatever the twitter profile is representing on the medium.

Here is what I probably don't want to see at first glance when I visit a twitter profile

• a big ass cover picture covering half of my screen
• one or no tweets of this account
• no possibility of tweeting to this account

When I want to undertake the actions of my first list, I need to scroll down to complete intentions 1 (read more than one tweet) and 3 (tweet to that account). That is, if I were not to be horrified by the account's cover picture.

Dear twitter, please update the profile pages with some common - user experience - sense because, no, I don't like what I see.

Multi-device advertising

Today I stumbled upon a print ad in a newspaper about a real estate company. Ok, I didn't find it myself, it showed up in my twitterstream (thanks @Brilliant_Ads).

Nothing special at first sight, but when you look closely at the ad, you can see they just took multi device usage to the next level.

Recent research showed that a lot of people switch devices while performing a certain task (I mentioned this research earlier) and Harcourts is just ahead of this trend: click on this traditional newspaper print ad to find out how you can add $$$'s to the value of your house when selling!

Some might say it's just a print ad fail, but is it really so absurd? Glasshole or not (I am - unfortunately - not), this might just be the future.

Have a look at how Google Glass is used to make reading the newspaper more like reading a website at Engadget.

It's about connecting anyone who reads the (actual, physical) newspaper to everything that doesn't make in on to the page, whether that's more photos, related articles, or video.

It's time

It has been on my 'wanted' list for over a year: a smartwatch. The last months, I have had many chances for buying one. Nevertheless, it's only on my wishlist, not on my wrist.

Why? I don't want to buy just any smartwatch, I don't want a cellphone on my wrist. I want a watch, that is also smart.

Too bad, this is in contrast with today's try-outs of many brands (The Pebble, Sony Smartwatch, Samsung Gear ...). They have many technical issues (bad battery life, only compatible with some devices, too basic ...), but most of all, they don't look like real watches.

Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style. - Kobe Bryant

In my opinion, a smartwatch needs to start with the essential: being a watch, telling you the time. Next to that, it should support you during your (busy) days. Keeping your schedule, keeping you up to date, keeping you on track.

A couple of days ago, Google launched 'Android Wear', an OS for smartwatches. And however it seemed like something for the future, Motorola already took it to the next level two days ago. Enter the Moto 360, a watch that seems to be smart.

Moto 360. It's time.

The concept videos are promising, but we will only know if Motorola can keep up it's promises during the summer. My birthday is the 30th of July, can I finally scratch 'smartwatch' of my wishlist then?

more info on their beautiful website

Spot, sweet.

I don’t know whether I should cry or laugh. But definitely memorable.

Spot - Date Clipper for Google Calendar

The world turned upside down

Normally, you hear things like “it works always, just not in Internet Explorer” or “Does it really have to support Internet Explorer 8?" (Yes, it does).

However, I recently received the message below, this is just sad.

User Manual Experience

I came across a non-intuitive online tool, so I went looking for a user manual.

Fortunate enough, there were 3 manuals available: the user manual, the super user manual and the project manual.

Unfortunately, I will never read them.