Thursday 13 September 2012

9 months without iPhone



because of questions on Google+ asking for my experience/opinion about a switch from iOS to Android I wrote this response which might also be interesting outside of Google+ 

Over the last 3 years (iPhone3G in 2008, iPhone3Gs in 2009, iPhone4 in 2010) I had spend a serious amount of money in the AppStore (w/ Navigon Europe for €89 being my most expensive App). I had at least €200 worth of Apps on my iPhone4 in september 2011 when Apple did not give me the larger iPhone5 I wanted/needed. Nevertheless the lock-in relation I had with the iTunes AppStore I decided to give other platforms a chance. The most important reasons to move away from iOS start looking around: I was expecting the larger screen iPhone5 and I was heavily disappointed when they showed just the 4s. But more important I was very disappointed in iCloud/MobileMe: not your own email domain (always a @me.com-address), iCloud's Agenda/Mail/Contacts are incompatible with everything out there other than Macs (apart from a 1990s type of synchronization in Outlook) so they already forced me to switch entirely to GoogleApps. And that's were I started to look to Android.



But first I played for about 3-4 weeks with an HTC HD7 w/ Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. It was a true disappointment, apart from the particular interface I couldn't get used too there were no Apps available that could satisfy me. apart from email, agenda and calling my phone needs a good Twitter App... and for WP at that time (October 2011) there was nothing. the WP-designs were too slick and lean. I hope to give the Nokia Lumnia 920 w/ WP8 a try soon to see how HW, OS and Apps have developed in a year time.
Sidenote: I think coming from the Apple iOS springboard (all these icons on your screen) the step to Windows Phone is a giant one. From Android, with all its widgets, the WP-Tiles maybe make more sense, they do not feel so different (good point in favour of Android: it combines the best of both)
So after my short flirt with WP I bought an Android device, the Google Samsung Galaxy Nexus, now 9 months ago (hence the title od this blog). No HTC Sense or Samsung TouchWiz skins to ruin the work of Google's programmers, the real stuff, Google's Android Vanilla interface. It was the the first Android device with OS 4 Ice Cream Sandwich. And OMG how I regretted my choice for at least 1-2 months. OS 4.0.0/4.0.2 was still very buggy (unstable Wifi connections, OS-crashes, Apps crashing). Only when 4.0.4 came I could relax and everything finally worked as I expected and I started to enjoy Android. Since 2 months there's JellyBean available for the Galaxy Nexus and it is fantastic, a few neat enhancement/improvements but above all a much smoother interface, for sure better then iOS5 on any of the iPhones I've seen (so that excludes the latest iPhone5).

Would I do this switch again? Knowing what I know now: yes, for sure! The integration with the Google applications (Gmail, GDrive/Docs, Picasa, etc) is perfect, I love the flexibility of Agenda/Calendar, Contacts and Email. I wouldn't be able to live again with iOS shortcomings such as having to launch the Calendar-App to see if you have any upcoming appointments (why not on the lockscreen?) or the lack of a some simple buttons (widgets) to switch WiFi on/off, or datasync (in case of roaming), etc. I would probably end up jailbraking the iPhone again (as I did with all my iPhones) in order to get the iPhone to do what I want it to do. In fact one of my best read blogs ever (from Dec 2009, in Dutch) is about how to get more out of the iPhone. But my experience with Jailbraking is that it does make the iPhone unstable (not the JB itself, but some Cydia Apps do). I had to (soft)reboot at least once or twice a day.

my main homescreen with 
Calendar, Gmail and 
Evernote widgets 
Now to the Apps: I like to play around and test a lot of Apps, just for fun. I do not hesitate to buy any App cheaper then €1,99 if I think it could help me and if there's no Free version to test available. So I have spend already a lot on Android Apps as well (all from the official Google Play Store), probably around €100 in a year time. I have seen the Android Apps grow, they're getting mature. But there's also still a lot of rubbish in Google's Play Store, more then in the iTunes AppStore is my impression, especially from a design point of view. For almost all of my iOS Apps I found (cheaper/free) alternatives on Android. All my key Apps work perfect, look great on my Galaxy Nexus. For a long time I have been searching a Twitter App that could match the design, versatility and functionality of TweetBot (only available for iOS) but the latest version of Plume and the final version Boid are very promising!

Switching from iCloud to other alternatives is easy and you only get more functionality. Both Dropbox and Google Instant Upload offer a better alternative to PhotoStream. Better since it's far more easier to get access to your "photostream" from other platforms, my main problem with all Apple-Apps is they offer no or bad support for other platforms then iOS/OSX. Gmail has always been better (and more versatile) then your @mac.com/@me.com account, accessing a Google Agenda is possible from anywhere and from a wide range of devices/apps and you do not need an iPhone to get access to a shared agenda. Google Drive/Docs and all the plugins/extensions make your life a lot easier.

Conclusion: if you do not care about throwing away the money spent on your iOS Apps your life will get better on Android ;-)

PS: my wife and kids still use all those iOS-Apps I bought over the years on my 3 old iPhones and iPad1. And I still haven't replaced my iPad2 with an Asus Nexus7 so on the couch I can still enjoy TweetBot!

Tuesday 14 August 2012

4 jaar na dato

Ik heb wel eens ergens gelezen (zal wel in "Ik mis alleen de HEMA" zijn geweest) dat je als emigrant vier jaren nodig hebt om helemaal die omslag te maken en te verwerken. Nou, vandaag is die dag! Vandaag is het vier jaar geleden dat we Nederland vaarwel zeiden en vol goede moed naar Italië vertrokken (hier de link naar de blog van 14 aug 2008). En wat is er in vier jaar veel gebeurd en wat zijn we veel wijzer geworden! Nou... wat zijn we in vier jaar eigenlijk wijzer geworden?



het roer om

Allemaal kennen we wel de mislukkingen en hopeloze pogingen van emigranten op TV in programma's als "het roer om". In de eerste minuten weet je al dat het plan gedoemd is te mislukken: geen duidelijke (economische) plannen of veel te rooskleurige plannen, ze spreken de taal nog niet of nauwelijks en het steenkolen engels zal ze ook niet ver brengen... maar toch... ZE DOEN HET WEL! Ik kreeg in de aanloop naar de emigratie vaak te horen "ja daar hebben wij ook over gedacht" en "dat zouden wij ook wel willen"... en telkens waren het mensen die veel beter dan de hoofdrolspelers uit "het roer om" zich zouden hebben kunnen redden. Waren zij die veilig thuis bleven zo realistisch en zij die de deur achter zich dicht trokken zo optimistisch?

Zonder een goede dosis optimisme lukt het in ieder geval niet. Het optimisme heb je vooral ook nodig om je voort te trekken, om te voorkomen dat je bij de tegenslagen (die je geheid gaat tegenkomen) bij de pakken gaat neerzitten.

Even wat info vooraf voor diegenen die onze gehele voorgeschiedenis gelezen hebben. Ik (Dagmar alias daggy72) heb in 1995 en 1996 twee keer zes maanden in Varese gewoond tijdens mijn stage resp. afstudeerproject bij Whirlpool, in het kader van mijn HTS-Elektro opleiding. In die tijd raakte ik hier zo thuis dat ik eigenlijk niet meer weg wilde en hier zeker terug wilde komen. Mijn toenmalige vriendinnetje zag het echter niet zitten om hierheen te komen en haar ouders achter te laten en dus ging ik terug naar Nederland, vastberaden ooit terug te komen. In 1999 ben ik met dat "vriendinnetje" getrouwd en niet veel later werd Maddy (alias Maddalena71) de moeder van mijn dochters Giulia (alias G1, uit 2001) en Giorgia (alias G2, uit 2004); niet geheel toevallig Italiaanse namen voor de meiden.
Een combinatie van factoren zorgde er in de loop van 2007 voor dat de tijd rijp werd voor verandering: ik had weer een aantal aantrekkelijke projecten in de Randstad moeten afwijzen omdat de afstand vanuit Kerkrade niet te overbruggen was en Maddy bleek eindelijk een goede oplossing gevonden te hebben voor haar zieke moeder (die ze zowat al sinds haar zestiende alleen verzorgde) waardoor ze wat rust begon te vinden. En zo gebeurde het dat we in september/oktober 2007 besloten de horizon richting Italië te verplaatsen. Lees hier meer over dat besluit in de blog van 8 okt 2007).
En dus ging eind 2007 ons huis in Kerkrade in verkoop en kochten we in mei/juni 2008 een mooi huis in Morazzone, nabij Varese. We kochten dus meteen, heel vastberaden en definitief dus!
Omdat we de sleutel pas op 11 september zouden krijgen en Giulia al vanaf begin september naar haar nieuwe school moest hebben we een maand gebivakkeerd in een te klein en te donker appartement in Marchirolo, niet echt ideaal maar dat hebben we overleefd. De natuur daar (Valganna) was in ieder geval geweldig mooi en het was geweldig om Giulia iedere dag via die weg naar school te mogen brengen en ophalen. 

de eerste crisis

Maar zoals ik al even vermelde in de introductie kun je tegenslagen verwachten, en die kregen we ook. De eerste kwam al vrij snel in het najaar van 2008. Nadat we de sleutel van onze Italiaanse droom hadden gekregen, onze spullen uit de opslag hadden gehaald en het huis hadden ingericht werd het tijd om weer aan de slag te gaan. De projecten die er lagen op te pakken. Maar dat viel dus tegen, de economische crisis zette  een dikke vette streep door de oorspronkelijke plannen. De afspraken uit voorjaar 2008 met diverse Duitse en Nederlandse (MKB)ondernemingen bleken niets meer waard of zouden meer gaan kosten dan opleveren.  Probleem was ook nog eens dat niet alles ineens werd afgeblazen, was dat maar zo geweest dan had ik meteen kunnen bijsturen. Nee er werden nieuwe beloftes gedaan "eerst dit project afronden en dan kunnen we met jou starten", "even wachten tot die klant betaald en dan hebben we budget om met Italië aan de slag te gaan" en nog meer van dat soort... Van uitstel komt afstel, dat spreekwoord ken ik nu wel! En zo liep 2008 zonder omzet ten einde en begonnen we vol goede moed aan 2009.

een villa aan het Lago Maggiore

Op zoek naar opdrachten, projecten of een normale baan viel mijn oog in het voorjaar van 2009 op een advertentie van een grote internationale makelaar aan het Lago Maggiore, ze zochten meertalige makelaars/consultants. En aangezien de mogelijkheden in de buurt niet voor het oprapen lagen leek me dat een leuke uitdaging. Makelaardij, iets heel anders, maar ach, in noodgeval was ik ook bereid geweest om druiven te gaan plukken. En dus werd ik Consulente Immobiliare voor Engel & Völkers in Cannobio en Porto Valtravaglia beiden aan het Lago Maggiore. Een geweldige tijd met leuke collega's en iedere dag aan of zelfs op het mooie Lago Maggiore. Ik heb menigeen jaloers gemaakt met mijn sfeerplaatjes op Facebook en Twitter. En 's avonds de schoolbanken in voor de cursus makelaar van de Kamer van Koophandel, 4 avonden per week van 20:00 tot 22:30... wetten, regels, methodes en dat allemaal in het Italiaans. Maar toen er na een paar maanden die Duitsers niet mijn villa kochten maar die van een collega, of het bod van mijn Nederlandse klanten werd overtroefd door dat van een stel Russen was de lol er snel vanaf. Eén verkoop was voldoende geweest qua commissie om van door te kunnen gaan maar als je twee keer zo dicht bij bent en het ketst dan af...
Ondertussen was ik niet stil blijven zitten, mijn profiel op LinkedIn en de vacatures aldaar hield ik goed in de gaten, net als de lokale arbeidsmarkt. Maar op die lokale bedrijven zaten helemaal niet te wachten op een eigenwijze meertalige Noord-Europeaan die hier net een jaar woonde en veel te veel wilde verdienen.

Zwitserland

Maar uiteindelijk kwamen er toch een paar mooie opties om uit te kiezen en dus startte ik begin 2010 als Account Manager bij Permobil in Zwitserland. Ik zou wel eens even de markt voor rolstoelen in Zwitserland en Noord-Italië op de kop gaan zetten. Rolstoelen? Hoe kom je daar nu bij? Nou die van Permobil zijn toevallig wel de beste in de wereld en behoorlijk complex en aangezien ik verstand heb van computers en elektronica en verkopen leek ons dat wel een goede combinatie. Dat was dan misschien wel zo, maar een Zwitserse baas met een totaal andere kijk op de markt en dan ook nog eens 4-5 dagen per week 225km van huis af logeren in hotels aan de andere kant van de Gotthard is niet ideaal. Dus na ruim een jaar (juni 2011) besloten Permobil Schweiz en ik het beide op een andere manier -zonder elkaar- te gaan proberen.

geluk bij een ongeluk

Maar eerst even terug naar 2010, want op maandag 7 juni van dat jaar kreeg ik een telefoontje uit Morazzone, de buurman... Ik moest niet schrikken maar Maddy was aangereden op haar fiets door een auto en moest naar het ziekenhuis. Ik was net in Zwitserland aangekomen en kon alweer omdraaien. En dan zijn 225km ineens erg lang, heel erg lang. Meer details over het ongeluk staan in deze blog. Helaas kampt Maddy nu ruim 2 jaar later nog steeds met de gevolgen van dit ongeluk, een pijnlijk linkerbeen en blijvende invaliditeit zijn het gevolg. Hiervoor is iemand aansprakelijk en zijn verzekering zal haar hopelijk tegemoet komen met een ruime schadeloosstelling, we starten na de vakantie de afronding van deze hele kwestie via onze advocaat. Het voordeel van dit ongeluk echter is dat Maddy onder de dorpelingen bekend werd en dat met name de buren ons te hulp schoten tijdens mijn afwezigheid. Ik was na een week thuis de boel te hebben gerund immers weer naar Zwitserland vertrokken. Buren die de luiken 's ochtends kwamen opendoen, middag- en avondeten voor haar bereidden en de luiken 's avonds weer kwamen sluiten. En ook later toen ze aan de revalidatie kon beginnen waren er naast haar Nederlandse vriendinnen ook de buren en Italiaanse vriendinnen die met haar naar fysio en ziekenhuis reden, en weer iets later samen met haar gingen sporten. Sinds het ongeluk is ook Maddy beter op haar plek hier en heeft haar eigen contacten. 

zwarte dagen

En toen gingen we eind juni, vlak na het ongeluk, naar Nederland voor een feestje en zakenreis (naar Zweden) van Permobil toen het plots slecht ging met mijn moeder die sinds april 2008 tegen kanker probeerde te vechten. Twee jaar hard gevochten, alles geprobeerd maar het mocht niet baten. Binnen een week is ze toen overleden. Hierover is in mijn blogs niets terug te vinden op een klein "excuus" na in de eerstvolgende blog op 11 oktober 2010. Ik had er even geen zin meer in en ik wist dat mijn ouders die aandacht niet op prijs stelden.


terug naar onafhankelijkheid

In mei/juni 2011 was ik dus op zoek naar weer eens een nieuwe richting, een nieuwe uitdaging. Met name door mijn hyperactiviteit op de social media als twitter, facebook en linkedin kwam ik snel in contact met ondernemers met plannen in Italië. Als eerste het verhuurbedrijf Boels uit het Limburgse Sittard, maar met inmiddels bijna 300 vestigingen in Nederland, België, Duitsland, Polen, Tsjechië, Slowakije, Oostenrijk en dus ook nu in Italië. Dit was een geweldig project om samen met de facilitaire afdeling van Boels uit te voeren: 3 vestigingen in Assago (bij Milaan), Gussago (bij Brescia) en Verona heb ik met hen mogen opzetten. Het heeft me een schat aan ervaring opgeleverd en hopelijk kan ik in de toekomst bij de volgende vestigingen weer wat voor hen betekenen.
In dezelfde tijd dat ik met Boels startte kwam ik ook in contact met Salesupply, een bedrijf dat zich gespecialiseerd heeft in het ondersteunen van de internationalisatie van e-commerce ondernemingen (webshops). Met vestigingen in de belangrijkste online markten van Europa: Nederland, Duitsland, Groot-Brittanië, Frankrijk, Denemarken, Zweden, Polen, Spanje en dus ook Italië. Salesupply helpt bij het vinden van de juiste markten (in welke landen maak je de meeste kans op succes), de aanpassingen van de website voor dat betreffende land (vertaling, webmarketing, seo, linkbuilding, logistieke, juridische en fiscale aspecten, keurmerken e.d.) en (en daarin verschilt Salesupply tot veel andere lokalisatie bureaus) het ondersteunen of zelfs compleet uitvoeren van de klantenservice (callcenter) en ondersteuning bij logistiek, met name de afhandeling van retouren. Als Country Manager Italy begeleid ik webshop ondernemers van buiten Italië op de Italiaanse e-commerce markt en binnenkort hoop ik ook de eerste Italiaanse webshop  naar het buitenland te begeleiden. Zo hebben we in het najaar van 2011 Tennis-Point.it gelanceerd, de Italiaanse website van Tennis-Point.de uit Duitsland. Vrij succesvol mogen we wel stellen want de Italiaanse shop doet nauwelijks onder voor echte e-commerce landen als Nederland en Frankrijk (met die laatste wisselen we steeds stuivertje qua resultaat). Daarnaast begeleiden we nog een aantal andere webshops uit Nederland en Duitsland en staan we op het punt een aantal te lanceren na de zomer.
Ik heb Boels en Salesupply in Italië op weg geholpen en dankzij hen heb ik ook weer de juiste weg gevonden. 

school & vrienden

En de kinderen dan? Nou zoals je zo vaak hoort, hebben die nog wel de minste moeite gehad om zich aan ta passen. Giulia ging verder in het Nederlands onderwijssysteem op de Europese School (in een klas met Nederlandse en Vlaamse kinderen en leraar). Ze heeft inmiddels de basisschool afgesloten en gaat begin september verder op de middelbaar onderwijs, ook weer aan de Europese School. Giorgia heeft de eerste twee jaren hier de lokale Italiaanse kleuterschool bezocht en zo heel snel en accentloos Italiaans geleerd, inmiddels heeft de eerste twee jaren basisschool op de Europese School er ook weer op zitten. Beide meiden spreken heel net en correct Nederlands, mooi sophisticated Engels en Italiaans. Uiteraard is hun Italiaans niet zo goed als het geweest zou zijn als wanneer ze op een Italiaanse school zouden hebben gezeten. Maar daar staat tegenover dat hun Engels perfect is en ze ook het Nederlands verder ontwikkelen. En tegen de tijd dat ze met 18 de Europese School verlaten zullen er nog wel een taal of twee bijgekomen zijn. 

Vriendschappen, tja, dat is een moeilijk iets hebben we gemerkt. Hoewel we best wel veel mensen kennen en ook vrienden hebben gemaakt blijft het meestal toch oppervlakkig. Misschien omdat Maddy de taal niet goed genoeg beheerst, misschien omdat Noord-Italianen niet zo hartelijk en open zijn als men misschien zou denken. Begrijp me niet verkeerd, ook onze ECHTE vrienden in Nederland waren op de vingers van één hand te tellen hoor. Het zal toch met cultuurverschillen te maken te hebben en zo; je wordt hier niet snel thuis uitgenodigd voor een kop koffie en stuk taart of een etentje. Aan de andere kant ga je wel sneller met elkaar de stad in voor een aperitivo en dat mondt dan vaak weer uit in een gezellig etentje. 


Conlusies

Belangrijkste vraag die ik moet beantwoorden: "Heb je er (ooit) spijt van (gehad) dat je naar Italië bent verhuisd?"
Nee, ik zeer zeker niet! Maar Maddy zal een wat minder eenduidig antwoord hierop hebben denk ik.

"Had je het anders gedaan als je geweten had dat..." Tja wie niet, teveel tijd verloren in 2008 en 2009, maar als je alles van tevoren zou weten...

Nu ik de blog even vluchtig nalees valt me op dat ik heel veel woorden aan werk heb besteedt, wat weer typisch Nederlands is en wat velen van jullie je ook (terecht) afvragen. Maar dat is natuurlijk niet de reden dat we hierheen zijn verhuisd. Als je je baan belangrijk vind dan meot je dus nooit naar Italië verhuizen. Maar wil je buiten die 40-60 uur per week dat je werkt ook kunnen leven en kunnen genieten. Dan is Italië een topland om te wonen. Ondanks alle sores die wij persoonlijk over ons heen hebben gekregen, die de huidige crisis misschien nog in petto heeft voor Italië, de Italianen en ons... één ding is zeker, je kunt hier heerlijk genieten. Genieten van de omgeving, lekker eten thuis of buiten de deur (voor een betaalbare prijs). Hier kan IK na mijn werk mentaal de deur achter me dicht trekken, op de tuinstoel gaan zitten over de wei en het bos heen kijken en denken.... La Vita è Bella!

Dus dat is wat ik nu ga doen: Living La Dolce Vita!




Monday 13 August 2012

homemade Lasagna with Zucchini

Here's the recipe for the Lasagna I made earlier this evening.

As usual my lasagna was based on homemade ragù and bechamel, this time in combination with zucchini.


I never care so much about quantities and portions, if there's something left I usually find use for it in tomorrow's lunch so forgive me for being a bit vague.

click Read more below to go to the recipe!



RAGÙ 

  • 1kg of minced beef
  • small dices/slices of bacon (pancetta affumicata)
  • 1 shallot, 1 small carrot, ½ a stalk of celery all chopped brunoise
  • 2 big cloves of garlic sliced in half and squashed a bit
  • 2 glasses of red wine
  • 1/4 tube of concentrated tomato paste or 2 small tin cans
  • 5-10dl of stock (chicken or beef) (depends on whether you want to add the tomato pulp)
  • optional: 1-2 jars of tomato pulp (cubes) <<< THIS IS NOT REQUIRED IN RAGÙ
  1. melt the bacon slowly in a deep warm pan but don't fry it
  2. add some olive oil and let the garlic, shallot, carrot and celery sweat
  3. now heat up the fire and when it's hot add the minced beef, spice it up with S&P
  4. once the meat is fried and dry add 1 glass of wine
  5. once the wine is evaporated add the concentrated tomato paste (be careful not to use too much, better start with a bit less and something more next time) and mix it under the meat
  6. now it is time to add the stock, careful not to make a soup, it should remain a sauce, so if it's too liquid make it evaporate. 
  7. OPTIONAL: add the tomato pulp (I do for the lasagna, I don't for pappardelle al ragù)
  8. put a cover on the pan and have it simmer on the lowest fire on your stove for at least an hour (2 hours is better). if it gets too concentrated add some more stock, or even a sip op milk (careful with the stock it might get too salty) - SO KEEP ON TASTING!
  9. the ragù is finished and can be used in today's lasagna or over spaghetti, tagliatelle, penne (almost any kind of pasta)

BECHAMEL SAUCE

  • 100g of butter (the real stuff, I don't know margarine) 
  • 100g of flour
  • 10dl milk (1 litre)
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  1. heat the butter in a saucepan over low heat until melted
  2. add the flour and stir until smooth. cook until it turns a light, golden sandy color (about 5 minutes)
  3. meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan
  4. add the hot milk to the butter mixture bit by bit, whisking continuously until very smooth
  5. bring to a boil. cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.
  6. add salt and nutmeg, that's all

ZUCCHINI

  1. slice the courgette in thin slices

LASAGNA

  1. oil your dish (I prefer one of 5-6cm high)
  2. add a layer of either one of the sauces (just remind which one)
  3. a layer of the zucchini
  4. a layer of the lasagna (I prefer the fresh lasagna from the supermarket fridge or better homemade)
  5. a layer of the other sauce
  6. a layer of zucchini
  7. a layer of lasagne
  8. GOTO Step 2. and repeat until the dish is full
  9. finish it off with some grated parmesan and put it in the oven (according to the instructions for the pasta)
Buon Appetito!


Adding the zucchini to the lasagna were a test (first attempt), thinking of it I will probably try to replace the bechamel with a ricotta based sauce... keep you posted!


Monday 9 July 2012

good customer service does exist: it's named Amazon.it

Yesterday my brand new Kindle Touch Wifi froze! The screen was stuck on a page and it did not respond to any screen touch or button press any more. In the Amazon Kindle Touch FAQ I was instructed to press the ON/OFF switch for 20 seconds where after the screen would flash and the Kindle would reboot. Unfortunately not mine! In which case I was invited to contact the Amazon Support desk. Since it was Sunday and I was in NL about to leave for the airport to return home I send an email to Amazon's Italian support desk, hoping to get an answer on Monday morning.

When I arrived at the airport I noticed someone tried to call me 4 times but since it was from a private number I didn't know whom to call.



After check-in and security control we sat down, enjoying a cup of coffee and the FREE Wifi on CGN (Cologne-Bonn) Airport. *blieb* you've got mail. A mail from Amazon, first apologizing for the inconvenience with the Kindle Touch and noticing that she (Giovanna from Amazon Support) tried to contact me via phone a couple of times and if I could please verify the number since she did not reach me... the four missed calls obviously. I responded by mail that I was travelling at the moment and she could reach me after I landed or the next day (today). I don't know why but I missed another (private) call around 21:00 yesterday evening, I probably need a louder ringtone.

So nevertheless being Sunday and Sunday evening even. Amazon's customer service employees tried to contact me to solve my issue. That is great, it even makes me forget the problems I had with their device!

Had? Yes, I HAD problems, because this morning I tried the reset once more, without any luck, the screen was still the same, but when I looked after half an hour again, the Kindle was functioning normal again... the battery ran empty though (from 90% to 10% in less then a day judging by the battery indicator). So I send and email to Amazon saying the Kindle was back alive and thanked them for their efforts, even got a friendly email back again.

This was my second experience with Amazon.it's support (also the other one was very positive despite the problem) and I must admit that although you might sell the best or cheapest products online, there's always something that can go wrong. How you counter and handle these issues makes the difference!

Monday 2 July 2012

the Jelly Bean experience

I have used Jelly Bean (Android OS 4.1) on my Galaxy Nexus for a couple of days now and I can only say it offers a great experience! 
  • Google managed to get the interface more fluid and have it respond faster (Project Butter is a succes)
  • The new notifications (with previews) are beautiful and much more useful then the old ones
  • The improvements on how App-icons and Widgets are placed was not more then necessary, even Apple managed to do that smoother ;-) (only with App-icons of course, iOS still lacks Widgets)
  • Google Voice Search works great and I think I even might start using voice commands for the first time. I still have to see if it works via my bluetooth carkit. I just ran outside and tested it via my Parrot carkit and that works too. I've seen some comparisons on YouTube on how much faster and better Google Voice is compared to Apple's Siri (in the case of the 1600 questions you really see how bad or useless Siri really is).
  • I haven't had a change yet to really experience Google Now yet, but like Google explains it has to learn to know the user to predict what he/she might need (travelling directions, etc). But I really like how it already relevant information like your current or next appointment, last searches, etc.
side note:
I've never been a fanboy of either Apple nor Android, in fact I still use my iPad2 a lot and prefer certain Apps on iOS over those on Android (TweetBot for example), too n00bs I still recommend the iPhone in stead of an Android. But with the way Apple tries to force us to use all of their products versus the liberty that Google offers me (f.e. iCloud vs Google Apps) I'm becoming more and more anti-Apple!



Tuesday 19 June 2012

problemi con 3Italia per un passagio da Vodafone


A febbraio/marzo decido di passare dalla Vodafone alla 3 perché ho visto che hanno migliorate la rete, ora c'è una antenna che copre Morazzone e quindi posso usufruire la loro rete 3G al max anche da casa. Passaggio da abbonamento a privato con Vodafone a abbonamento con 3 con passaggio dal mio numero non è nessun problema. Entro 1 settimana il vecchio numero è passato alla 3. 

Il 25 aprile decidiamo di passare anche l'altro numero (quello che usa mia moglie) dalla Vodafone alla 3. Contratto fatto alla MediaWorld di Varese (Iper Malnate) e con la nuova scheda USIM 3 nella sua iPhone4 anche mia moglie è contento e carica le sue foto velocissima su Instagram... ;-)

Dopo 2 settimane però non è ancora passato il suo numero. Strano... chiamo 3 IO (loro non si sono fatto sentire) e mi spiegano che c'è stato un problema con il passaggio. Il cliente alla Vodafone non corrisponde con quello nuovo alla 3... Ma sono IO? il stesso Dagmar Sporck, come privato però, non con P.IVA... e magari li c'è stato un errore (causata dalla ragazza delle MediaWorld) che ha preso i miei dati (con P.IVA) presente nei sistemi di 3... ma tutto si puo risolvere se torno alla MediaWorld e faccio rifare tutti documenti.... SCUSA? voi (3 e MediaWorld) fatte errori ed io li devo risolvere? Dopo qualche telefonate (passano giorni) finalmente qualcuno mi manda una mail.

scambio di qualche mention e DM su Twitter tra me e @3Italia sui giorni 8, 11 e 12 maggio


Il 12 maggio ricevo finalmente una mail con i documenti da (ri)compilare... passano qualche giorni (sono in viaggio) e compilo tutti dati ed il 24 maggio ritorno i documenti... non succede niente.

il 25 maggio chiede via Twitter DM  se hanno ricevuto i documenti, rispondano il 27 maggio che non sanno di che cosa sto parlando, altri DM i giorni 28 e 30 maggio

PASSATA UNA SETTIMANA e vari DM e finalmente mi chiama 3, è il 31 maggio, 5 settimane dopo il contratto iniziale! Ora c'è un problema col numero seriale della SIM di Vodafone... chiamo Vodafone, mi faccio dare il numero coretto, lo passo alla ragazza della 3 quando richiama e lei -seduto dietro al PC- mi CONFERMA il passaggio per la settimana dopo, venerdì 8 giugno, "il computer mi da la data, non posso cambiare nulla Signor Sporck, sarà 8 giugno"!

allora... aspettiamo 8 giugno... passa 8 giugno....

mando un altro DM il 10 giugno chiedendo cosa sta succedendo... "segnalazione girata" risponde 3SocialCare (cosi si chiama la squadra su Twitter e FB di 3).... niente però... 

chiedo ancora il 12 giugno (tardi però), "segnalazione girata" mi rispondono il 13 giugno

chiedo ancora il 14 giugno e lascio per la x-esima volta il mio recapito

"possiamo chiederti un recapito alternativo?" chiedano il 16 giugno. ora rispondo arrabiato, però lascio ancora il mio numero per la x-esima+1 volta!

niente... silenzio totale... e quindi il 18 giugno chiedo un altra volta perché nessuno mi chiama e sopratutto cos'è il problema? Da quando (31 maggio) mi è stato promesso il passaggio per il 8 giugno non ho più sentito qualcuno che mi ha spiegato la problematica.  - "abbiamo sollecitato ancora" rispondano il 18 giugno

alle 15:02 oggi (19 giugno) chiedo ancora. risposta: "Il tuo problema è in gestione" ed allora ho deciso di scrivere questo blog. 

settimana prossima saranno 2 mesi dopo che abbiamo richiesta questo passaggio, che ora non servirebbe più perché tutti sanno questo nuovo numero. ma visto che ti danno solo lo sconto al passaggio lo dobbiamo fare per forza. nel fra tempo paghiamo però sia 3 sia Vodafone (anche se quella non viene usata). abbiamo perso troppo tempo, mi sono arrabbiato più che una volta per una cazzata! 

ma peggio di tutto... NON COMUNICANO quelli della 3. Bon ti chiamano, non ti mandano un email, tweet o sms spiegando la situazione.... non so il perché e quindi come posso comprendere la situazione... magari ci sono dei motivi, ma io non li so e quindi mi arrabbio... tanto!


UPDATE 19/6/2012, 16:38  4 minuti dopo che ho pubblicato il blog e ho avvisato 3Italia via Twitter e FB mi hanno risposta via Twitter (chiedano una fattura, non capisco perché ma lo ho già mandato...)


UPDATE 20/6/2012, 18:00 ieri sera 2 dipendenti (presumo) di 3 hanno lasciato dei commenti sulla mia blog su Facebook e a base di quei commenti ha fatto una domanda via Twitter-DM a 3, guarda e piangi con me cosa hanno risposta!




UPDATE 26/6/2012, 10:00 6 giorno passati e nessuno della 3 si ha fatto sentire, ovviamente una soluzione non c'è ancora. via Twitter mi dicano sempre "segnalazione girata"... girata dove? nel buco nero? è ora che troviamo un'altra soluzione. non mi serve più di passare il numero, ma ovviamente solo ai condizioni agevolati!


UPDATE 1/7/2012, 9:00 abbiamo appena ricevuta un sms dicendo che come richiesta il numero è passato alla 3. controllato e risponde davvero il vecchio numero. Finalmente dopo 67 GIORNI sono riusciti a passarlo... (adesso dobbiamo informare tutti che è tornato attivo il vecchio numero). Strano però che nessuno si ha più fatto sentire dopo il 30 maggio. Peggio ancora che non siamo mai stato informato sui problemi e non abbiamo mai ricevuto notizia di che tipo di problemi che ci fossano... STRANO. ma funziona. Adesso però vorrei aver rimborsato i costi per 2 abbonamenti per 2 mesi!

Tuesday 12 June 2012

an e-commerce story with an Italian flavour







this story is from a recent personal experience!

I wanted to try the Lavazza coffee pads at home (and home-office) and therefore last week Sunday evening (June 3rd) I went onto the Lavazza Modo Mio website, registered, picked a nice coffee machine and selected some pads. Then the "problems" began:


  1. despite ordering a €100,- coffee machine you still need to order at least 8 boxes of their coffee pads. Being a good boy I choose all eight various tastes and went on with the ordering; 
  2. the payment step: my credit card was rejected for the payment (strangely enough I used it 15 minutes later to order Nespresso cups without any problems). So I choose Payment at Delivery which is a common payment method in Italy. One I personally do not like (now even less) but I was left no other option; 
  3. For a week I did not hear anything, a mail I send them via the Facebook page was NEVER answered -so far for Social Care- and also no one delivered this nice new shiny Apple-white with Galaxy-silver touched Italian coffee machine to my doorstep, not even an email, nothing. On their website my order status said is was "in progress"; 
  4. On Friday (so 5 days after ordering) I called Lavazza Customer Service in Turin where someone told me they should have contacted me to ask if I really ordered the machine, etc. I asked them why and she explained it was standard procedure to call every client after an order. To me it seems a waste of time and money... Why I did not receive that call, nor email, nor sms she could not really explain me. I told the operator I still would like to have the machine and that she could proceed with delivery; 
  5. Today, 9 days after ordering (that's a lot of cups of coffee later), the TNT delivery guy phoned to know if he would find me at home (bonus points) and he promised me he would be here within a couple of minutes. As he did; 
  6. BUT... he could only accept CASH or cheque *LMAO*, and since I rarely have more then €100,- in my wallet I had to send him off... 



  lessons learned by me:
  •  when ordering online your credit-card doesn't always work even if there's still enough to spend; 
  • despite ordering online you will have to wait for a phone call before the order process can proceed; 
  • despite ordering online within Italy do not expect fast delivery (Nespresso delivers within 1-2 days); 
  • not all couriers accept credit-cards/bankcards for the deliveries 







lessons to be learned by Lavazza:

  • people ordering online might have other (higher) expectations; 
  • why a minimum order quantity? (you could ask delivery costs for smaller orders); 
  • check the payment methods and check with the payment provider why a valid credit-card bounces; 
  • why disturb the fast (and cheap) order process with a phone call?; 
  • and if this call is so important why not care about informing the client via mail (or sms) you would like to contact him for the order process to run smoothly, so he can contact you if you do not reach him; 
  • 9 days delivery time without any communication about the order status (via email) is not normal, the BIG example Nespresso does it within 1-2 days (like I already said); 
  • if creditcard payments in the webshop work you will have no trouble with (modern) customers not used to cash money or cheque books
 Let's hope Lavazza will learn from this (I have) and maybe contact me to see how Salesupply can help them to improve their e-commerce in Italy and abroad!


UPDATE 13/6/2012: I went to pick it up (on the other side of Varese, driving 15km) at TNT where I could pay with modern money ;-)

UPDATE 19/6/2012: the coffee is great, better then Nespresso, the machine a bit complicated (not as easy as the Nespresso we had)

Tuesday 7 February 2012

#TasteandMatch

Last Friday I was browsing my Facebook event calendar and saw an  invitation for an interesting event that caught my eye: Taste & Match Milano, something about 8 wines and 8 foodbloggers that "invented" a matching dish for one of the wines. Interesting concept, interesting price (€30,- each), not too far away from home (a 40min drive into Milano) and above all... interesting people! Interesting people I already "knew" virtually via Twitter and/or Facebook, foodbloggers whose blogs I read regularly that I could finally meet & greet in real life (IRL so to say). And since I prefer meeting IRL and food & wine seem to be more then a hobby (Klout even thinks I am highly influential about these items, especially in combination with Italy) I decided (together with my lovely wife Maddy) to go and discover this for ourselves.

So despite me feeling destructed after travelling all week, Maddy who just recovered from a muscular inflammation and the snow falling down over Morazzone we hit the road and drove (carefully) to Milan(o). It turned out to be a great evening! Where do you get the chance to have an 8 course dinner with 8 matching excellent wines for € 30,-? Even better: the 8 'enogastronimic' addicts (aka foodbloggers) had given it weeks of thoughts to combine the wine they had been given with a meal . They were serving the dishes and wines themselves so you could ask for explanation, recipes and reasoning!

Here in a short overview the 8 foodbloggers, the 8 wines with the 8 matching recipes!
unfortunately all recipes are only available in Italian but with a little help from Google Translate and by asking the foodblogger you might be able to get there as well



THE ANTIPASTI
The first antipasto was made by Cristina, blogging as "Zucchero e Sale" (sugar and salt), she had us start with her "Fagottini di brisè con persico e patate alle erbe" a delicate combination of "bread" stuffed with perch, potato and herbs, together with the "Rosé brut Conti di Buscaret" (a sparkling rosé) a perfect start for this evening.

Next up was Tania from blog "Speck and the City" (I really love the original name of certain blogs). She prepared "Tartare di Gamberi su Patate e Carciofi con Crema al Basilico", Tartare of Shrimps on Potato and Artichoke with a Basil sauce. Delicious, in these 3,5 years that we now live in Italy I've become a huge fan of the artichoke and this combination was just wonderful! The only non-Italian wine, Kakhetian noble white 2008 from Georgia (not USA, but ex USSR), was maybe a bit too complicated for me though. Maybe I would have needed more time (and more wine then just that 2 sips I could take since I was driving), but Tania's dish was perfectly able to compete it!

THE PRIMI
On to the primi, first the pasta prepared by Pietro and Francesca of "Singerfood". This lovely couple had the honours to use one of my favourite white wines, the Roero Arneis! In this case Roero Arneis DOCG Marquis Incisa della Rocchetta. They prepared a wonderful looking dish "Calamaretti" that tasted even better then it already looked. What a delicious combination of calamari pasta filled with shrimp, salmon and buffalo mozzarella! Complimenti!



Next up was the cute Teresa (aka Tery), of "Peperoni e Patate", her "Vellutata di Ceci con Sautè di Vongole e Crostino di Pane alle Mandorle" (velouté of chickpeas with clams and a toast of almond bread) was an unexpected surprise. The simple chickpeas were transformed in a soft creamy silky 'soup' with perfectly spiced clams and the almond bread with a swift of garlic, DE-LI-CIOUS! And she combined this around a good glass of Pinot Nero "Marchese Leopoldo 2009 Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta".


THE SECONDI
Cristiano of "il Cucinotto" prepared the first main course we tasted:  "Flan di Cardi e Porro con Cannolo Nero di Crema al Sifone di Capra con Miele di Castagne su un Letto di Caviale di Melanzane" a mouthful of ingredients resulting in a fingerlickingly good dish combining very well with the Pinot Nero "Rollone 2009" of Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta, another pinot nero of the same house as Tery used for her Primo, but this one seemed to be a bit more mature. The dish itself ones more proved to me that even eggplant can be tasteful (I rarely eat it), here's the best English translation I could come up with: Flan of thistels and leek with a black horn filled with goat cheese and chestnut honey on a bed of eggplant caviar"...

On to Roberto (the one having invited us to this dinner) from "di Cotte e di Crude" who prepared "A Gualtiero, Club Sandwich di Pan Brioche con Polpetta d'Oca, Scalagno Confit, Radicchio e Crema di Zafferano". Seems the guys for the main courses had their internal contest on who could invent the longest name *kidding*. Problem for me is translate it: "to Walter, club sandwich of sweet bread with a goose meatball, caramelized shallot, radicchio and safran sauce", Apart from the fact the bread could have been a bit thinner it was again a delicious combination. Pitty was that by the time we reached this dish others had finished the Barbaresco San Stunet 2007 and they jus opened a fresh, from the car, cold bottle. Therefore I couldn't judge this wine properly... (pitty)

DESSERTS
Next and last stop, the desserts, the first one "Torta soffice allo sciroppo di limone e rosmarino", soft cake with lemon and rosemary syrup  prepared by Alice of "Food Couture". The rosemary gave that surprising kick to the perfectly soft cake (need to make that to impress my guests one day). She combined with a typical Moscato d'Asti 2010, Felice from Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta.



And last but certainly not least where there the "Brownies al cioccolato bianco e nocciola con salsa alla vaniglia" by Gaia of  "Shake and Bake". Brownies of white chocolate and hazelnuts with vanilla sauce (although her linked recipe is without the vanilla sauce). She created her delicious brownie to combine with the Niades 2011, Brachetto d'Acqui of our big (and tall) friend Gianluca Morino of Cascina Garitina. It was the first time I drank this Brachetto and I hate to admit: it was good, not so sweet as other brachetti, which is good!



Thank you Fernando for a great evening, it's a great concept! If you get the chance then go and visit Taste & Match, next occasion is in Venice on 25 February!

below a video of the evening (pay attention around 0:50 where Maddy and I have our big moment as the Twitter Brigade)

Taste&Match (Milano 28/1/2012) by FernandoWine from FernandoWine on Vimeo.

Monday 16 January 2012

why #UglyUGGs are bad for economy

It's a known fact to my Twitter-followers I am not fond hate UGGs and that I keep on calling them #UglyUGGs (the #, called hashtag, is something typical Twitter-like to make searching for some topics easier). I think #UglyUGGs are the worst things in fashion over the last years. Well... together with skinny models. They look horrible (both the models and #UglyUGGs), they are bad for your feet (so are high heels, but at least these look good on a woman) and if they get wet they will not keep you warm at all, no worse they'll cause influenza because of wet cold feet!

So WTF is the advantage, why are women wearing these horrible things? Because they are so comfortable and  warm is the most heard answer. Warm? But once they get wet? Which could happen in winter (especially in the Netherlands). Then you end up having soaking wet and cold feet all day! Comfortable? Ow so you girls walk on heels and other fancy shoes because they are comfortable? I don't think so, most women just buy shoes because they look nice, or make them look nice. Which is absolutely okay! I like to look at women (what an eye-opener this must be for some people), I like to see women with nice shoes or boots. Especially with heels, it makes their legs look even better. But hey, if you want to feel comfortable, no problem at all! But why does comfortable needs to be horrible and ugly? There are many many comfortable, warm and still great looking (and CHEAPER) alternatives!

The point I wanted to make is: #UglyUGGs are bad for economy! Today in a short twitter discussion between me and two (until last week completely unknown to me) women concluded that #UglyUGGs are probably the best contraception there is! And likely to be allowed by the Church as well: they cause absolute sexual abstention! And that is what makes them bad for economy! In today's crisis we need people to spend and we need as much people as possible working to pay our future pensions, so children are a must!

So if you want to get your economy going: STOP buying #UglyUGGs!


Friday 13 January 2012

We don't need no #TVOH !

It happened last year and although I should've known better this year I fell again for the "purity" and joy of the blind auditions of a new Talent Show on Dutch TV: "The Voice of Holland", on Twitter known as #TVOH. For those who haven't seen it in their country yet an explanation of this concept:
this talent show starts with so called "blind auditions" where the jury members can't see the candidates in the beginning. They're turned with their backs towards the podium. Based on only the vocal performance they have to decide whether they want the candidate to go through to the next round, if they think he/she is good they hit a button and this juror's chair turns around and so he/she can see who is making that great sound.
It's especially nice when the candidate is a bit weird, particular, like the fully tattooed Ben Saunders. He was one of last years' contestants (and winner). Watch the video of his audition below here. Ben turned out to be a sheep -no a lamb- in wolves' clothing.

To make it even more interesting for the viewer the jury members who turned their seats (and thus want the candidate to go through) have to convince the candidate to choose him/her over another juror to join his/her team. So roles turn, it's not the candidate anymore that needs to convince the jury, it's the jury pulling on the candidates' limbs.

But back to what I wanted to point out. Right after so called blind auditions the Voice of X (fill in your country) turns back into being any other talent show with SMS votings and so the best looking boys are way ahead of the other candidates. (It's a known fact that teenage girls are the most active voters. Although Ben's charisma even managed to beat that.) But what made this show even worse is the infinite trust and positive comments by the jury. Even after a lousy performance. Where X-Factor was so interesting because the jury was sometimes very hard and direct this show looses it because it's soft, way too soft and it lacks criticism. So last week it was enough... I couldn't handle it anymore! This was too sweet and t0o incredible!

And then yesterday evening I saw the best "talent show" of this year. Seven teenage girls, tonight they'll  probably be voting for one of the cute boys in #TVOH's semi-final, were selected out a group of over 400 girls by one of Holland's best DJ's trying to become the Dutch Birdy. It was a very compact election, the 400+ girls send in a video via YouTube, the DJ (Giel Beelen) selected the best seven and they performed in the studio yesterday morning. Live on national radio and then Giel announced the winner. Apart from the fact that the best one won (Anna Verhoeven) I was very impressed by the performance all seven gave that very same evening in my favourite TV-show "De Wereld Draait Door" #DWDD singing Birdy's hit "Skinny Love". And that led to my conclusion that we do not need shows like TVOH. We just need YouTube, Social Media to push them and talent watchers like Giel!

Here below the clip of the performance by the Dutch Birdies, judge for yourself and let me know what you think by leaving a comment! (and here a link to the entire item/interview with all seven Birdies - in Dutch)

Saturday 7 January 2012

Pizzoccheri della Valtellina




Via Twitter, Facebook and Google+ I received some requests for the recipe of Pizzoccheri. I have taken the recipe of the box of the pizzoccheri I usually buy in our local supermarket.

Ingredients (for 6p):
500g pizzoccheri
300g potatoes (in 2x2cm cubes)
150-250g butter (I think 150g is more then enough)
300g Savoy cabbage, chard leaves (the white stamps) or spinach (I prefer Savoy cabbage) sliced
500g half fat cheese from Valtellina (Casera, Bito) - these can be hard to find outside Italy, maybe Fontina, Toma or (worst case) Brie can be used as an alternative (sliced)
150g grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic
some leaves of sage

Preparation (15-20mins):
Cook the potatoes and vegetables in boiling water, add the pizzoccheri after a couple of minutes and boil it for another 12-15mins until the pasta is nicely cooked "al dente".
When the pasta (and potatoes and veggies) are cooked drain the water and mix the slices of cheese and grated Parmesan under the pasta and veggies.
Meanwhile melt the butter on low fire with the garlic and sage (don't fry the garlic) and serve it over the pasta.

Buon Appetito!