Comparison test: Smart TV portals

Television and the Internet are growing together. This statement has been heard for years, but the convergence of the media does not really want into our heads. Television we connect rather with relaxation in the evening, with to sprinkle with as high-quality entertainment.


Picture gallery


The Internet, on the other hand, comes from the world of work and is a very active pastime, because the number of offers from which you have to choose your information is high. It is unimaginable to call up a website and then look at it for an hour without interaction - just as you're accustomed to using classic television.


Each portal is different


Surfing is a more personal affair. With the partner or the family you can look at a film, tweet together or news networks, but no more as well as read a newspaper together.


When the old and new media are brought together, one has to rethink and only take the best of the original forms. Smart TV is supposed to offer more interesting content for everyone than the classic flicker box. It should be more fun and relaxed than the Internet.


The easy selection of great content and their stress-free presentation for the larger viewing distance are decisive. In addition, the handling should work intuitively and quickly with the remote control.


Obviously, unchanged sites on the TV are not useful, but some specially prepared content is much more fun than on the computer screen. We want to show you which content is currently available on four selected portals.


The important question, which contents in what form on the TV screen are brought, each device manufacturer has answered for itself. In the run on the smart contents no company wanted to let the company look into the cards and rather the competition before completed facts. A well-prepared portal and cooperation with the right content providers is crucial for the acceptance of the web TV portal.


The quality of the services offered is just as important as their quantity, in order to provide the customer with the offer of his choice. Through these new features, one promises better sales of the top television and perhaps even some money from the content providers. It is ultimately about money, and the corporations do not have fun.


The collaboration on a common standard for Smart TV has therefore not considered a manufacturer of the first hour. Exactly the opposite is the practice: in order to be able to sell its TV devices as the best interactive, each TV producer has entered into exclusive cooperations with content providers and, if necessary, adapted the hardware to their requirements.

In the first generations the worst case for the consumer emerged. The ARD and ZDF media councils were quite open for a fast implementation. Philips was particularly active here. Anyone who wanted to borrow the many HD movies from Maxdome, but this was only possible with an LG TV, because the right rights management was integrated.


Football fans watched great film content from the DFB and from the World Championship - but only on a Sony TV. And Skype friends could only talk about Panasonic or Samsung devices.


While most manufacturers used their web portal as an additional video input, that is, alternatively to television, Samsung specialized in Yahoo! Widgets: small applications, which could be displayed as info next to the TV picture. As a multimedia veteran, Loewe concentrated on Internet radio and webcasts, but left out a lot of colorful portals.


Download: Table


M2M revolutionizes the working world

The Internet of Things is the next evolutionary step in global networking. Not only humans, but also machines are now exchanging information in real-time across company and country boundaries. This brings completely new challenges to enterprise management, as IT structures, business processes and working methods do not always correspond to the dynamics of real-time communication.


Digital thinking, networked steer


Thus, common reporting and controlling tools are not helpful if they are based on several days or even weeks of old data. Instead, task- and employee-specific dashboards are necessary, which, for example, bring production data from all the global sites to the production manager's smartphone in real-time. However, regardless of the field of application, the size of the company or the sector, the discussion of the Internet of Things is important because it is already changing our working world in many ways.


Decide better and faster


With the so-called Digital Natives, a generation of new employees takes on more and more tasks in the company for which a world without Internet, smartphones and apps is completely unimaginable. Whether this generation thinks "digital" does not play such an important role - it contributes significantly to a more dynamic, narrower clocking in the operative action.


Also interesting is


This has both a psychological and technological background. On the one hand, digital natives define the boundaries of the "unattainable" differently, are more open for a glance beyond the horizon of what is obviously possible. On the other hand, this is exactly the right thing to do with the technological networking that is so self-evident for the generation as the air for breathing: a division between private and professional life takes place here only marginally - for example, with whom with Facebook or LinkedIn.


Knowledge instead of treasures


Technologically speaking, however, there are no longer any limits: the smartphone is as self-evident as the watch. This generation of employees is correspondingly open to adapting new impulses to the IT industry beyond the workplace's own desk or team - be they data gauges, sensors or software tools for data analysis.

It is precisely this cross-border thinking that drives the organizational changes that the Internet of Things brings to business: Decision-making processes are increasingly oriented towards the data that is available across the entire value-added chain according to the 24/7 principle. However, the relevant information must also create the transfer from the local server to the decision-making template of the board set - the faster, the better.


In order to achieve this, companies should definitely encourage and use the creativity and the networking skills of web-based employees such as the digital natives. The more data is available, the greater the risk of failing at the complexity of information overload.


However, if employees are motivated to networked thinking and a playful approach to challenges, this will promote a transparent, consistent availability of information - be it for individual instruments such as graphics, result charts, project reviews or linking market research results with strategic decisions .


The rapid transformation of our working world is, however, far from being completed. A look at the IT milestones of the past decades shows how comparatively rapid the current change to the internet of things is and will continue to happen. From the 60s, information technology developed slowly but steadily from standalone mainframe to PC- Networks.


Each step in this evolution was aimed at shortening the time span between data collection and its availability for operational and strategic decisions. But in spite of this progress, it was mostly within the company's own boundaries.


This changed for the first time in the mid-1980s, when innovation-fueled companies such as Federal Express linked their global transactions with the corresponding IT infrastructures and even included partners and customers.


With the appropriate technology, managers have been able to operate a "data collection" in the network of logistics chains for the first time - from the position and the state of raw materials through the processing and transport via suppliers and partners to the final consumer

Instead of the analyzes based on estimates so far, it was thus possible for the first time to provide a fact-based mapping of business processes, which allowed precise conclusions to be drawn on risks and opportunities for improvement.


From 2G Mobile to M2M and Cloud Computing


A decade later, the 2G mobile technology provided a new breakthrough without which our current mobile lifestyle would not be possible: the manufacturers of mobile phones were no longer exclusively focused on linguistic communication, but were founded by departments dealing with the usability of data via mobile radio Employment. The result was the first cellular communication module that could be integrated as an independent component not only in telephones, but also in the electronics of machines, cars, alarm systems and many other systems. For the first time, an interface was available that allowed not only the telephony, but also the exchange of information such as position and temperature or simple action commands between different devices and data systems


From this development step came Machine-to-Machine-Communication (M2M), which should raise the possibilities of the present presentation and networking of business processes to a completely new level.


Test lab for new business ideas


At the same time, the breakthrough of the Internet in the 1990s caused a worldwide, fundamental change in the markets. Analysts have calculated that retail prices typically include a 50 percent mark-up for logistics - a significant value-added component that could disappear with the Internet.


In the face of international trade in the billions, the Internet offered enormous potential as an independent industry. This was the initial spark for the expansion of the Internet in business processes. As a result, our working worlds are changing in the increasing pace that we already experience as normal today.


The dynamic released here will continue for some time. After all, many companies have not yet realized what opportunities they can offer if they develop their business models so far in networks. Particularly interesting perspectives result from the combination of M2M innovations with the possibilities of cloud computing, as discussed, for example, in the topic "Industry 4.0".


Outlook: Management by data helmet?


The cloud simply and securely provides the immense storage space that the raw data of machines, sensors and other devices need. In addition, it can serve as a "test lab" for the development of new business ideas, for example by combining different data sources in the cloud or monitoring the performance, profitability and competitiveness of individual machines or even complete production processes - almost in real-time Br>

How can we imagine a manager in 2030 when the networking of M2M technologies, software tools and cloud services on the Internet of things is not a novelty, but a matter of course?

In terms of technology, the comparison with a jet pilot is perhaps realistic: just as the pilot already considers the quintessence of hundreds of data from the sensors and systems of his aircraft and the control center in his helmet, the manager of the future can use data goggles and glove Directly change a production process, hold a presentation or pursue an advanced training seminar. From the home office, while colleagues from locations around the world are involved.


This kind of networking is likely to extend beyond all company levels, so that the board set-up is constantly supplied with up-to-date information. The term "glass boardroom" has already been established in the USA. The main difference between technologies already used today will be the direct interaction possibilities.


Any analysis, any simple process can be discussed and changed directly with an employee on the other side of the world, without breaking down due to different work systems. This can be, for example, the virtual repair of a machine that an engineer directs without being in person.


However, the generation of the digital natives will probably not change one's job psychologically, if the latter has conquered the executive boards in 2030. Personal contact will also be difficult to replace even with the most advanced video conferencing systems or virtual offices. From time to time, a common conversation at lunch or a direct negotiation session may provide valuable experience that is lost on the virtual path.


SetOne multimedia memory

Film classics and favorite series can be recorded and archived directly on the inserted multimedia memory. In addition, the recordings stored on the unit can be edited or edited at any time on the PC.


The SetOne multimedia memory supports the PVR-enabled receiver series from the SetOne and EasyOne brands. The device offers 500 GB of storage capacity, is slim in design and comes in three color versions.


Compared to conventional PC hard disks, the device fulfills all requirements relevant for starting current and formatting and can also be used with only one USB cable. A USB 2.0 interface is available for data transmissions between multimedia memory and receiver.


The SetOne multimedia memory is available now at a price of 99.95 Euro (UVP) in theSetOne online shop as well as in the trade.


Skype: Free video conferencing - this is how it works

After starting Skype, select a person from your contact list and start a video call. Whether your call partner uses Skype on a PC or Mac or whether the Xbox-One version is used does not matter. The Skype versions for mobile devices and smart TVs, however, do not support group video calls.


Step 1: Start Skype Videoconference


When the person has accepted the video call, the connection is established and you see the video image of the remote. If you want to invite another person to the meeting, click the pluss icon and select Add participants to this call.


Step 2: Invite other participants


Lesetipp: Skype video conferencing - Create webcam and add contacts


Step 3: Options


In the contact list that appears, tap one or more entries and confirm with Add to call. All people who accepted your invitation will now be displayed in separate windows. If you tap one of these chat windows, it will be enlarged.


Step 4: Create groups


During the video chat, you can click the icon at the bottom left to display the contact list. For information on transfer quality, click on the right icon. To move a participant out of the group video hover, move the mouse pointer to the corresponding video window and click on the hangup button


If you regularly perform group video chat with the same people, it is advisable to create a new contact group. To do this, click Contacts and select New Group Conversation. Click the group name, enter a new label, and close the dialog. Then add contacts and start the group video chat via video call.


Lesetipp: Skype tips for better voice and image quality


To ensure that users do not misuse the free Skype group service, Microsoft has limited their use: a video call can last no longer than four hours, a maximum of 10 hours can be chatted per video per day, and up to 100 hours per month Br>

Website kit 2017: Telecom and Conclusion

The offer of the magenta giant opens a selection for the templates after the start. This is divided into sectors – the user is shown the appropriate designs and also selects the desired specification by mouse click. The options include the font, fonts, colors, and images for the header area and the menu. The selection of the website themes is sufficient, but the look can not convince. The layouts are not original and seem to be older.


Telekom: Homepage Starter


When editing, the user has many freedoms and finds many design elements. Via the box layout, the areas are divided up and filled with content. These include photo features, social media snippets, or maps for the location description. This works excellent, and the selection is very extensive.


Conclusion


The design of web pages is a simple matter with the tested building kits. You do not have to have any knowledge in web design. The five test candidates all beat each other very well, and the results were convincing. The wizards are created using the wizards. The included designs can be easily searched by the division into categories and the appropriate topic quickly find. The user interface allows the user to quickly adapt the fonts or to insert elements such as pictures or logos. The templates take the design work with HTML and CSS from the customer.


The processing of the contents was also convincing. The tutorials via online tutorial or with videos help the user at the beginning. Thus, even inexperienced weavers should take the first hurdles. All five test candidates are very flexible when designing page content. The inclusion of elements such as texts, buttons or images is supported very extensively by the supplied specifications. This also applies to the insertion of content from social media and other web sites.


In terms of equipment and extras, all test candidates trumped. The storage space and transfer volume are more than adequate for small projects. Great pictures for photo galleries or the use of video is nothing.


With a large selection of templates 1 & 1 points. Here, mass with class. The designs can be seen, and the user is sure to find the right layout. MyWebsite Basic also has its nose at the front. The modular system records an additional point by its integrated image processing. Therefore, the total victory goes to 1 & 1. The Strato building kit is the first tracker and loses the duel among other things due to its somewhat dusty templates for the websites. The Telekom pushes through the equipment still past Host Europe and DomainFactory, although the design templates do not necessarily impress. The offers from DomainFactory and Host Europe surprised by very successful design templates - unfortunately, the number is too small. Here manufacturers should give the user some more designs. The operating concept has also succeeded in both systems: it has a clear and simple user interface.


Apart from the technical evaluation, the cost of using the homepage kit is an important point in the purchase decision. Here, 1 & 1 shines with a fight price and leaves the competitors behind for the first year far behind. For the next time you should look closely at all providers and compare the costs.


Solve USB problems: Solutions for typical errors

Solving problems ensures joy. We dedicate ourselves to the good old USB.


Consider the installation instructions


Most external devices are connected to PCs via a USB port. No matter, whether smartphone, printer, mouse, keyboard, microphones and more, each device can make problems. With an add-on tool and an ideal approach, you can get any device running.


In the device manager for order,


Connecting USB devices is not a complicated procedure. Normally, Windows automatically detects the device, installs the driver, and you can use the product. Good advice is expensive if that does not work. Simply disconnecting and reconnecting can help, but when a device is not detected for the first time, it often causes problems with the second connection. Especially smartphones and tablets, so mainly iPhone and Android smartphones are not always as easy to access as is desirable. In addition, there is the problem that Windows does not have its own onboard device to display all connected USB devices. Here you can download free tools to help keep track of the problems and fix them.


Replace faulty devices


Also, for printers, WLAN adapters, or other devices, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for installation. Some manufacturers recommend installing the driver before connecting the device for the first time. If you do not follow the given order, problems can occur quickly.


Search the Internet for information


Smartphones, especially the iPhone, often create difficulties when connected to a Windows PC via USB. The problems are mainly due to the fact that the iPhone's memory is either not displayed as a drive in Explorer or does not display content. But this is necessary, for example, to quickly and easily, especially without iTunes, to copy photos to the PC. Often the iPhone is connected, but the message on the iPhone, that it should trust the PC, is overlooked.


This helps remove and re-connect, and then the Confirm Allow on the iPhone / iPad when prompted to access this device for photos and videos. However, not all problem solutions are so simple, and the approach does not always help. Partially, it also helps to open the photo app on the smartphones, which also applies to the connection of Android smartphones.


But also this is not always helpful. For the iPhone and other smartphones, however, the same procedures apply as with other devices. In the following contributions we show the possibilities for this.


For all current Windows versions, even up to Windows XP and also in Windows 10, all hardware devices and their drivers are managed via the device manager. This is the fastest way to do this by entering devmgmt.msc from the Start menu or from the Home screen. Here you can see at a glance whether all devices have been correctly recognized. Faulty devices show Windows at the top or in the respective group with a warning sign. If you find drivers that are not recognized or faulty, you are already a good deal further. Here you see at a glance all existing devices and their drivers.


For iPhones and iPads, for example, the driver Apple Mobile Device USB Driver plays a very important role. Other devices use other drivers.


If a faulty driver is recognizable, two simple procedures help. First, you can use the context menu of the command to call Update Driver Software. In the wizard, you can then search for a new driver in the Internet using Automatic Search for Current Driver Software on the Internet. Many problems can be solved.


If the driver does not update the driver, remove the device from the PC, call the device manager with devmgmt.msc, and also remove the faulty driver by selecting the device and delete it with the [Delete] key. Confirm all messages and wait for Windows to remove the driver. Then reconnect the device to the device manager. If the device is still faulty, you must take other troubleshooting measures, including the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver. If the driver is not displayed, double-click the usbaapl (32-bit version) or usbaapl64 (64-bit version) in the directory C: \ Program Files \ Common Files \ Apple \ MobileDevice Support \ Drivers .


Also does not help uninstall iTunes and all Apple applications from the PC and remove the appropriate directories. Disconnect the iPhone / iPad from the PC and reinstall the latest version of iTunes. In the same way, repair other devices. Obtain the appropriate drivers and install them.


If you have connection problems with a USB device, it helps if you search for information in a search engine. If, for example, the Brother DCP L8450 does not run on your Windows 10 computer, look for Brother DCP L8450 problems USB Windows 10. This is how you can find specific information for the device and the exact type. Because you can assume that problems with USB devices are not specific in most cases, but other users have problems with the devices, and these problems may be solved. The information from the next mini-workshop will help.


3D printers and printing services

3D printers have arrived in the domestic living rooms, but the idea behind them is not new. What is revolutionary, however, is to “print” a 3D volume model designed on a PC as an ordinary document as a real object. However, you need a 3D printer, and it is an advantage to be familiar with 3D software. Good 3D software is available free, for example Blender. A 3D printer already costs less than 1000 euros. Conrad Electronic offers a 3D printer kit for 699 euros.


3D printer method Fused Deposition Modeling


In order to create a real three-dimensional object in a 3D printer, there are several methods, of which we briefly describe only the two mainly used in the home use.


3D printer method Stereolithography


The first and most commonly used method is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). This method uses plastics for the final product, which are liquefied by the action of heat and thus melt into the desired form layer by layer (melt coating). This works in principle as in a hot glue gun in which a hot glue is liquefied by heat. In the printer, the hot-melt adhesive is a plastic wire, which can have different color and characteristics depending on the end product. In addition, the nozzles are much finer here and are guided precisely by precise mechanics. The mechanics are controlled by a special software which, for example, is free of charge for most of the offered kits as open source software.


17 Minutes 3D Printer Printing


The second method applies to 3D printers, which are used for both private and business applications. This is the principle of stereolithography already developed in 1980. An interesting example of this is the 3D printer Form1 developed by the US-based company Formlabs. With this principle, a liquid resin is used as the material, which cures at the exact point where a laser beam hits it.


Also interesting is


The resin is filled into a vessel at the bottom of the printer. After the data of the 3D volume object is sent to the printer and the printing process starts, the printhead plunges into the liquid resin. Immediately, the first layer of the part to be printed is bombarded with the laser beam, point by point, so that it hardens. Thereafter, the print head is raised by a few micrometers to immediately form the next layer by means of the laser beam. This is repeated until all the layers and thus the complete part have the desired shape. With this method, much finer structures are possible (25 microns per layer) than in the previously described melt-coating method.


For home use, 3D printers are still the exception and more for enthusiasts, but that could change soon. And at the latest, when the devices are steadily cheaper, similar to laser and inkjet printers. The diversity and the falling costs of the materials which can be used for printing also contribute to this. For example, there are already 3D printing processes that create 3D volume models made of metallic or ceramic materials on the PC. Thus, models or prototypes can be produced cost-effectively in a comparatively short time. However, such printers cost several tens of thousands of euros and are also not suitable for their desk at home because of their size and way of working.


But at least: For the hobby-capable 3D printers, there are also already different plastic materials. This also includes those which remain elastic and soft after cooling. For example, you could print a pair of extravagant shoes for the offered. It is also possible to produce 3D spare parts, such as a special sealing ring or an abnormal screw, which are no longer available or difficult to procure. This requires knowledge of the operation of a 3D program.


Even if you do not want to have a 3D printer, does not go blank. There are now a number of service providers that offer 3D printing on the Internet. To do this, you first upload the data from a 3D project to the service provider online and select the material and color of the object. Subsequently, the object information is checked and the costs for the part to be printed are determined from the expected material consumption and work. Small items such as earrings or finger rings cost around 10 euros. If you accept and pay the costs, you receive your virtual 3D volume model as a real object after a short time.


Nearly all 3D printing service providers also offer their own designs, such as jewelery, fantasy objects or objects of everyday use (cups, plates, vases), which are made available by other customers, in almost endless creations. Thus it is also possible without knowledge of the operation of 3D software, already for less than 10 euro rare objects to be produced by 3D printing. Our table on the following page shows a selection of 3D print service providers.


If you are not familiar with 3D software, you can access freely available 3D data from the Internet. This data can then also be uploaded to the service provider in order to produce a real product using 3D printing. An example of this is the design template of a cover for the smartphone Nokia Lumia 820. This could then be redesigned with own ideas, so that one is almost unique.


Download: Table


3D printers are becoming cheaper


3D printer services


Google Play Music increases upload limit to 50,000 songs

Good news for all friends of Google Play Music: The streaming service has significantly increased the number of songs that users can load from their private music collection into the cloud. Up to 20,000 songs have been uploaded free of charge to Play Music, now the upload limit is 50,000 tracks. With an average 3-minute sonication and an average file size of 3 MB, the whole 104 days of music and a music collection of 150 GB would be equivalent. This should be enough for hard-working collectors.


Own music on Google Play Music - that's how it works


The upload function of Google Play Music is free, only one account has to be created. A paid Google Play Music subscription is not required. So if you prefer to continue to a private music collection in the streaming age, you can still use the advantages of streaming free of charge.


On Google Play Music, you can upload your own songs and then stream them from anywhere in the browser through the Google Play Music website and mobile through the Android or iOS app. The upload works either via a web interface or the small Tool Music Manager, which is available for free download at Google.


It's a great experience for audiophile music lovers: on Google Play Music, you can not only upload music files in MP3 format, but also the formats AAC, WMA, FLAC, OGG, AAC and ALAC are supported. In the online archive, however, these are adapted to the MP3 bit rate or converted to MP3 files with 320 kbit / s. Accept MP3 files up to 300 MB in size.


Fujifilm X-E1 in the RAW test

Fujifilm uses the same 16 megapixel sensor as in the top model X-Pro 1 (1,600 euros) in the 350 g light, 3.9 cm flat, mirrorless system X-E1 (900 Euro): an “X-Trans” CMOS with APS-C format, which thanks to its quasi-irregular color filter structure manages without low-pass filter. There is no video function in either case. Compared to the X-Pro 1, Fujifilm saves on the X-E1 at the viewfinder, here a simple, electronic variant, and on the monitor (2.8 instead of 3 inches)


Image quality


The Fujifilm X-E1 deserves a big praise for its JPEG image quality, can not hold this good result however in the RAW test. In fact, the RAW resolution can only be increased appreciably at higher sensitivities, especially at ISO 800 and 1,600 (partly at 1,903 LP / BH).


Buying advice system cameras: How to find the right mirrorless


The non-linear interventions are even stronger in the raw data we developed than in the corresponding JPEGs (1.3 kurtosis). With the Fujifilm RAW converter, we were able to achieve slightly better results without topping the JPEG result of the camera in the basic setting.


Note: This is the RAW test of the Fujifilm X-E1, which focuses solely on the image quality of the mirrorless system camera in RAW mode (more about our test procedures and the new RAW test). For all technical details of the camera and a comprehensive review, including the evaluation of processing and operation, please read our JPEG test of the Fujifilm X-E1


Fujifilm Finepix X-E1 RAW 1.7


Braun Master II in the test

The Braunmaster II was equipped with a new look and the faster Ambarella A7L chipset compared to the previous model. The CMOS image sensor comes from Panasonic and offers a resolution of 16 megapixels. The Master II has an electronic image stabilizer that works quite neatly. Too many shocks can not happen, as the camera in the protective case has too much play.


Braun supplies a very large accessory package including many brackets. Curiosity: Those who want to mount the protective housing on a conventional action cam mount, must first grab the drill and expand the hole. The Master II shows its strength during operation: American menu, clear and logical navigation. The display is not easy to see in sunlight. Alternatively, the control also works via Wi-Fi and App - with the preview on the smartphone quite delays. It is very convenient to use the included remote control.


The Master II is full-HD with 50 or 60 full-color images. If you reduce the resolution to HD, the slow shutter also works with up to 120 pictures. The Braunmaster II also allows various color adjustments - the Vivid mode is very colorful. In normal mode, the camera tends to brownish tint. The control of the brightness works well, and when the light decreases, the noise is limited.