Patrick – Page 5 – Patrick's WebLog

TP-Link Archer VR900v Router an Vodafone VDSL-100-Anschluss

(Since this post is specific for German Vodafone DSL connections, I’m keeping it in German)

Ich setze seit ca. zwei Wochen einen TP-Link VR900v Router an meinem Vodafone VDSL-100-Anschluss ein. Mittlerweile bin ich sehr zufrieden mit dem Gerät, aber ich hätte es anfangs fast zurückgeschickt, da ich es erst partout nicht am DSL-Anschluss zum Laufen bekam. Deshalb hier ein kurzer Post der anderen vielleicht hilft, schneller die Lösung zu finden:

Beim Konfigurieren des DSL-Zugangs im Router-Web-Interface werden unter anderem die Punkte “Vodafone/Arcor_VDSL” und “Vodafone/Arcor_VDSL(DT Resale)” angeboten – hier musste ich erst einmal stutzen, da ich nicht wusste ob mein Zugang “DT Resale” (DT steht wohl für Deutsche Telekom) ist, oder nicht. Der Unterschied der Optionen liegt wohl in der anderen voreingestellten VLAN-ID. Für meinen Anschluss ist VLAN-ID 7 korrekt (was auch mit der “DT Resale”-Option voreingestellt wird). Und dann stellte sich heraus, dass keine der Optionen funktioniert, wenn man nicht weiß, dass der von Vodafone im Willkommenschreiben angegebene Benutzername (vb<Nummer>) um den Präfix vodafone-vdsl.komplett/ ergänzt werden muss. Die von mir zuvor ausprobierte Fritzbox und Easybox setzen diesen Präfix wohl automatisch, da ich ihn dort nicht angeben musste, um einen funktionierenden DSL-Anschluss zu erhalten.

Hier noch ein Screenshot der funktionierenden DSL-Konfiguration mit dem TP-Link Archer VR900v an einem deutschen Vodafone VDSL-100-Anschluss (Stand August 2016):

My instant messaging communications platform (2014)

In 2008 I have published a similar post. Wow, that’s six years ago – or 28 Internet years – that post is basically a classic already.

Today I decided to post an update. Interestingly, there are not that many changes – which probably shows how well that system is working for me:
The most noticeable addition is that I’m using mosh instead of ssh more and more, especially on the smartphone, through the Mosh-enabled Irssi ConnectBot App, which I launch directly from the IrssiNotifier App that brings up a notification when someone sends a message to me. IrssiNotifier leverages Google’s Push notification system, which makes it resource efficient – and the messages are end-to-end encrypted from my server to my phone. The mosh protocol makes it fun to work in a terminal, even if the server is far away and you’re changing between WLAN, 3G and back frequently through its roaming ability and the local echo.

Here is an updated Overview graphic (OpenDocument format).

Rendered as PNG:

That said, I also use WhatsApp more and more, for the same reason why I used to use ICQ many years back: Everyone has it. Let’s see how this will have evolved in another six years! 😉

Three days with my first smartwatch (Pebble)

it’s time

… that’s what the packaging says in big letters 🙂 On Friday I found my Pebble, ordered on 21st of May, 2012, finally on my table. Now, after having used it for nearly three days, I want to give a quick overview on how I’m using the watch, and what I like and dislike about it.

Let’s start with what I like about it:

SDK availability, that I can develop stuff to run on it (which is also the original buying reason)
Very easy to set up and install watchfaces / apps on it through my Android phone
The functionality that’s already available (much through third-party apps like Pebble Reminder)
Display contrast, backlight, triggering backlight by shaking the watch
Dimensions and weight are just right

But there are also some things I don’t like about it:

Display resolution – being used to look at my 265 ppi smartphone (which is by far not top of the line in this respect), that can also use anti-aliasing and stuff like sub-pixel hinting for better font rendering etc. – the ~140 ppi of the watch look pretty disappointing. This low resolution limits what you can display on the watch seriously, since you have to keep font sizes quite large to keep the text readable, and any non-rectangular shapes look so ugly that you better don’t have them at all
Appearance – it’s just cheap plastic, no matter how you look at it. I’ve got the grey version – maybe other colors look better…

Here is how I’m using the watch, and what apps I settled on after a few hours of trying stuff out and fiddling:

I’m running Pebble Reminder on my Android phone, and the watch app that comes with it, which gives me the following functionality:

Notifications from any app I choose (e.g. AquaMail or IrssiNotifier, which is the newest extension to my instant messaging communications platform)
Weather conditions for the current location, incl. multi-day forecast + sunrise/sunset time
Show the next event in my phone’s calendar directly below the weather, or browse the calendar
Access some information and settings of the phone, such as its current battery level, profile (silent / normal / loud) etc.
Send predefined text messages (“I’m driving, call you back soon” or something like that)
(Added 2013-10-01): Use the Pebble Locker app on my phone to have the phone locked with a PIN when the Pebble is out of reach. When the watch is connected, the phone is only locked with a simple swipe gesture. This turns out to be very useful for both phone security and convenience. It’s like as if I have my phone on a leach, and as soon as it’s further away from me than a few meters, it locks itself securely.

What I can say so far: The Bluetooth connection between phone and watch is pretty reliable, and doesn’t seem to draw any noticeable amount of battery from my phone. The fact that I get all (important) notifications on my watch now let me keep the phone in my pocket for hours, when I would take it out every half an hour or so, just to find a spam SMS, or some other info that wouldn’t have been worth the effort of taking out the phone and the power consumption for a few seconds of having the display on. Therefore I already consider the concept of having a smartwatch as a kind of extended display of your phone on your arm useful.