Monat: Mai 2019

Here is the problem. My daughter will start the Gymnasium next fall and has opted for the computer only option. No books, only downloads. What is the best option for her?

The school recommends something with a touch screen. I would have said iPad Pro, but that does not fly, because the school wants that they use software like OpenOffice, VCL or Gimp and only accepts certain types of files like .ods or .pdf. It looks like we are stuck with Windows. Now I am running around to find something that isn’t too expensive (think greed at school and she does not like to stand out) but will with a high probability work flawlessly for three years heavy duty (kids, you know!).

We looked at a few 2in1 computers and tablets from HP and Lenovo at Mediamarkt and I was rather shocked about the bad screens, compared to iPad or Surface Pro. What we know already, Surface Go is too small. It should be something in the size of the Surface Pro (daughter’s choice anyway).

Here are the questions:
Which machines should I look at?
Where else should I look except Amazon and Mediamarkt in Switzerland (Amazon is not cheaper as Mediamarkt as far as I can see)?
Is the pen a useful tool with the mentioned open source software?

Sometimes I do wonder what is going on in the minds of people who built processes in certain companies.

I had to order a new throne for my drum kit and DHL would deliver it. In all these confirmation emails were three important informations: the delivery date: Monday the … The need for a signature on delivery AND – drum roll – the delivery time: „BIS ZUM TAGESENDE“ (until the end of the day). Frankly DHL, that’s not a time, that’s a date.
Since they needed a signature, somebody had to be available at all time. No trip to the loo for 24h, because the delivery person does not have the patience (or just too much pressure) to ring twice.

Here I was, waiting the whole day for the delivery but in the afternoon, I had to leave the house for a while, but my wife promised to be there. When I came back, what do I find? The package in front of the garage. Nobody ever rang the door bell.

Dear DHL, what is the point of asking me for a signature beforehand, if you don’t really need it? And frankly „bis zum Tagesende“ is as inaccurate as one can be in 24 hours.

As an end note: My throne was picked up in Basel, then went to Zürich, then back to Basel and from there to me in the middle of Switzerland. In this day and age of computing power and global warming, shouldn’t it be possible to eliminate at least the most useless transport from Basel to Zürich and back?
On the website of DHL is an email address to the CEO of DHL Switzerland and since I find that a rather good idea (and playing naive) I wrote him a message, asking him about this situation. I got back an email from somebody else or even a bot (who is excused for not having any sense of humour) who had obviously not read my email.
Dear CEO of DHL Switzerland, why do you pretend to be interested in the customers opinion. Just do it like everybody else, don’t bother. OK, that was mean. The problem is, that you pretend to do something, which you obviously can’t do. It is impossible, that you read and answer all the mails about problems that arrive. You have better, more important things to do. Therefore be honest. Tell people that there is somebody, who will take care the customers problem. That’s OK. We understand.