The sixth generation iPhone is here!

It’s time. No other electronic device has stirred up this much talk, rumour and excitement since the release of…well the last iPhone I’d say. Of course, I don’t want to bash on Samsung, their Galaxy SIII flagship phone is also one very impressive piece of technology. But still, the Apple brand and the smartphone revolution brought about by Steve Jobs five years ago with the introduction of the original iPhone is legendary to say the least. Samsung simply does not have the same type of followers. While some people who hate Apple, I got to read what one had to say by the way, are so frustrated by the company’s success, they are going mad – telling people in their article to consider the fact that the iPhone is not a Swiss pocket knife with all sorts of handy gadgets, like a knife for example to cut off some mushrooms in the woods. Now I don’t know what kind of mushrooms that specific journalist is into, but I believe he once thought Apple might be a drug selling company and just got really disappointed when he found out that this is not the case.

While certain saint-like people criticize Apple for not selling drugs, but letting poor Chinese workers build their iPhones under harsh conditions for companies like Foxconn instead, people like me just can’t help but admire the economical success of the company. Let’s now take a look at the Apple shares in the period of 2003 – 2012. Suffice it to say, there is nothing else quite like it:

Since products like the iPhone and the iPad have been introduced, Apple has simply made a fortune. A lot of people outside of the company got rich too. And let’s not forget, the US budget also profits in a time of global shortage of cash. That’s why the verdict on the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung was not a big surprise for many people…

But let’s get back to the topic. Early today, Apple showed a little hint that something big was going to come, since the online Apple store has been down all day. If some people still had their doubts about the new iPhone getting presented today, they should have vanished in the meantime.

Mystery in the online Apple store…

Not much was known on technical specifications of the new iPhone, as usual, but tech-fans assume that performance levels will be contending with the Samsung Galaxy SIII. However, rumours were that it will include worldwide LTE support. Now that is a big call, since LTE networks are somewhat different from country to country. Also of course, iOS 6 will be released and while we all already got to enjoy a little preview, it will be interesting to see what changes Siri and Apple’s new map application will have in store.

The main reason Apple went with the development of their own map/navigation software is obviously due to their competitive relation with Google, as in Android. While Google Maps have made all of us, whether we’re Apple supporters or Android fans (I haven’t forgotten about you Windows guys, but let’s be honest, you’re not in the picture right now), Google’s navigation has made all of us quite happy. My biggest fear is that the app is more limited when it comes to actual maps, compared with Google’s product.

So, what did the keynote say? Well, it’s official, the next iPhone is officially called iPhone 5. It has got a metal backside and the display is larger. According to Phil Schiller, marketing manager at Apple, it is the thinnest iPhone ever and he considers it a “jewel”. Here are all the specs from the keynote so far:

– It is only 7,6 mm at its thinnest point
– With 112 grams, it is also lighter than the iPhone 4S
– The display is 4 inch retina-display, with a resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels
– LTE is also included
– It is shipped with a brand new processor, the A6 chip
– Battery life headlines with 8 hours of voice calls or surfing via 3G, as well as 8 hours for surfing via LTE according to Schiller. It can also do 225 hours of standby time before you need to go and find a plug
– The iPhone 5 comes with a new camera, capable of taking photos with a resolution of 8 megapixels (3264 x 2448). It also includes new features, like noise reduction and an infrared filter, getting close to the quality of SLR cameras. It can only also take panorama photos with up to an incredible amount of 28 megapixels!
– It comes with three microphones and a noise-cancelling earpiece, in order to increase audio quality
– A new dock connector is also introduced, which is 80% smaller compared to the previous one
– The iPhone 5 comes in black and white versions
– Prices for the new version of the iPhone will stay the same, i.e. it costs as much as the iPhone 4S did until now
– The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S get cheaper

P.S. iOS 6 will come out on September 19th and it will also run on the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone itself will be available as from September 21st.

UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 preview

Nearly two weeks ago, this year’s UEFA Champions League groups have been drawn. After a surprising and very intense final between FC Bayern München and FC Chelsea, us football fans eagerly anticipate the return of Europe’s elite football tournament.
There are quite a few interesting groups again this season, most outstanding however is by far group D. D as in death you might even say, four national champions will fight for a spot to the next round in that group. Nevertheless, a few rather unknown teams have yet again made it to the group stage, including: BATE Baryssau, CRF Cluj, FC Nordsjaelland and the surprise champions of Ligue 1 – Montpellier HSC just to name a few…

Of course, chances are that one of Europe’s big names will win this year’s trophy. The last underdog to win the cup was José Mourinho with FC Porto back in the 2003/2004 season. But let’s take a closer look at the eight groups:

Group A:
FC Porto
Dynamo Kiev
Paris Saint-Germain
Dinamo Zagreb

-> Group A will be interesting, since PSG are considered one of the favorite new teams to climb the ladder of success in Europe, even though that is due to very large sums of transfer capital. FC Porto are also always a contender and favorite to reach the next round, therefore my guess is that these two clubs will progress to the round of sixteen.

Group B:
FC Arsenal
FC Schalke 04
Olympiacos Piraeus
Montpellier HSC

-> While group B definitely looks decided already, if it comes down to club names and reputation, we should not count French champions Montpellier HSC out just yet. It will be tough however for such an inexperienced team to contend with Europe’s top notch clubs…
My tip: FC Arsenal and FC Schalke 04 should make it to the round of 16.

Group C:
AC Milan
Zenit St. Petersburg
RSC Anderlecht
FC Málaga

-> First time group stage contenders FC Málaga are in a tough group with legendary AC Milan. It will be interesting to see how these “inferior” Spanish clubs will perform, in comparison to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. We should also have a lookout for Zenit St. Petersburg, as Russian clubs have always proven rather difficult to play against, especially within the borders of Earth’s largest country.
Still, I see Zenit and AC Milan progressing, with FC Málaga in a good situation to reach the UEFA Europa League.

Group D:
Real Madrid CF
Manchester City
Ajax Amsterdam
Borussia Dortmund

-> THIS is the toughest group this season. With four national champions in one tiny pond, this year’s Champions League football should prove to be a real feast. It is very difficult to guess the outcome here, but since I am a Madridista, I tend to think Real Madrid and most probably Manchester City will progress to the next round, with German champions Dortmund reaching the UEFA Europa League…

Group E:
FC Chelsea
Shakhtar Donetsk
Juventus Turin
FC Nordsjaelland

-> This group only has one outcome in my eyes: FC Chelsea and Juventus Turin reaching the next round, I do not expect any surprises here. However, we will have to see how debut group stage contenders FC Nordsjaelland will perform.

Group F:
FC Bayern München
OSC Lille
FC Valencia
BATE Borisov

-> Group F also contains some very interestig names, including last season’s runners up Bayern, who are in as favorites in this group. But not to forget, FC Valencia used to be a tough contender in this competition and could prove to return to their former reputation, as I expect these two to make it to the next round.

Group G:
FC Barcelona
Benfica Lisbon
Spartak Moscow
Celtic Glasgow

-> While Celtic Glasgow will most probably dominate the Scottish Premier League more than usual with Rangers being relegated due to financial problems, it might not be as easy in this competition. As FC Barcelona is expected to win this group, Benfica and Spartak Moscow are two very tough nuts to crack…

Group H:
Manchester United
FC Braga
CFR Cluj
Galatasaray Istanbul

-> And last but not least, group H should see Manchester United win this group with ease. Galatasaray is back in business and will most probably join ManU in the last sixteen. Let’s wait and see if Braga und Cluj are in for a surprise this season.

While I could be very wrong on some of the outcomes, one thing se for sure: this season will not disappoint and football fans around the world will get to enjoy more of Europe’s elite football competition. Group stages start on September 18th.

Fantasy genre taking over Hollywood & co.

Quite a few fantasy movies and series have been produced over the last couple of years that have been very successful in terms of critics, viewership and revenue. From the Lord of the Rings to the Batman trilogy (yes, I do consider superhero movies as fantasy), from Smallville to Lost to Game of Thrones – each had or has its qualities and flaws.

Since our society craves more and more entertainment, action and suspense, it’s no wonder the movie & series studios invest heavily. Let’s take a look at the estimated budgets of the Batman trilogy, Snow White and the Huntsman and Prince of Persia. Together, they add up to an estimated budget (source: IMDb) of $ 955.000.000! Now some of you might think these were exceptions. But let’s take a look at another statistic: the 50 highest-grossing films ever (worldwide gross). And of these 50 movies, all except for two were either fantasy, science-fiction or animated.

Since I am a huge fan of Smallville and Pirates of the Caribbean, I keep an eye on what the respective actors are up to. I stumbled upon two titles that are to be released soon: Hansel & Gretel – a movie, as well as Beauty and the Beast – a series on the CW Television Network, which aired successful shows like Smallville, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries and America’s Next Top Model.

Let’s take a look at Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. I think it’s safe to say that even kids outside of Germany know the famous fairytale of the two siblings, who got lost in the woods and get caught by a witch in a house made of candy and other delicious sweets. The latter of course, being every child’s dream, the former causing nightmares. Since fairytales recorded by the Brothers Grimm have already been made into a TV series (Grimm) and Snow White was such a success financially, it’s no wonder more fairytale blockbusters are to follow. The trailer promises a lot of action, the CGI scenes look great and it appears that a lot of work has been put into artwork. Sound effects are also quite intense in the trailer. The only scene that made me think “that’s silly” was the mini-gun. Check it out for yourself:

Also, Gemma Arterton is in it, which might be reason enough for quite a few guys to check it out 😉

The second title I discovered is called Beauty and the Beast and it starts on October 11th. As I mentioned before, I am a huge Smallville fan and the simple fact that Kristin Kreuk is in it will make me watch. But I have to admit, I don’t think this show is going to come anywhere near the quality of Supernatural or Smallville. The trailer scene where Kristin Kreuk is yelling in the subway tunnel definitely takes some getting used, since I have never seen her in such a masculine role. Even in Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li she seemed less of a bad-ass. Also, the narration sounds all wrong to me – it seems like too much attention is put on clear pronunciation and she speaks a bit too slow for my taste. I certainly hope it is only included in the trailer…
Anyway, you can check it out here:

Let’s hope for the best.

Germany’s ex-First Lady cleaning up

Wulff. A name not that uncommon in German-speaking parts of the world.  It is only one of the different variants we have. Some others include Wulf, Wolff and Wolf. Although the exact meaning is unclear today, it established itself as a reference to the legendary canid. If you would ask people on the street to describe the behaviour of a wolf, quite a few different terms would come up. Personally, I would describe a wolf as a very beautiful animal, powerful, fierce, cunning. Who knows, some attributes might also be applicable for people carrying the name.

Germany’s former president, Christian Wulff, who resigned in February, after the department of public prosecution of Hanover filed for the abrogation of Wulff’s legal immunity as president of the Federal Republic of Germany in order to be able to begin with investigations of corruption, at least managed to get German linguists to get creative. As a result of his more or less legal intrigues, a new verb came up: “wulffen” – which means to babble onto someone’s answering machine, as Wulff did with editor-in-chief of Bild, Kai Diekmann.

Since Wulff stepped down as president, another big discussion started because of the “Ehrensold” – the gratuity sum Germany’s former presidents receive after their services for their country have ended. Of course, in Wulff’s case “services” get a whole new meaning. Germans got furious after they found out that Wulff was to receive 199.000 € per year of tax payers money. Immediately, debates arose on whether such a scandalous and rather fruitless period of presidency was worthy of receiving such a large sum of money for the rest of his life. And for quite a long time too, since Wulff was Germany’s youngest president in history, at age 53.

I have to admit that I also do not agree with the Ehrensold for Christian Wulff. I do not want to play down the work Wulff has done in his time as president and I think it is difficult for third parties to rate Wulff’s efforts. But this large sum of money seems a bit too much, considering that he was only president for about two years. Furthermore, his predecessor Horst Köhler, who stepped down as president due to controversial statements on foreign deployments of the German Bundeswehr, turned down his Ehrensold, even though he was in office much longer than Wulff, having been president of Germany from 2004 – 2010.

Since it was the media who started to uncover the alleged scandals surrounding Wulff, claims have also been made about his wife, ex-First Lady Bettina Wulff, who allegedly has worked in the sexual services industry in her younger years, before she met her husband.

Apparently, she googled herself and was rather unpleased with the results and keywords that popped up. On Friday, she filed an action against Google and also against famous German TV host, Günther Jauch, who had quoted from an article in the “Berliner Zeitung”. According to local newspapers, she pursues a declaration of discontinuance from Jauch about mentioning the topic.

Let’s think about this for a second. I can understand that Mrs. Wulff dislikes connections of her being brought into connection with prostitution from an ethical point of view. And the media making statements without actual facts is also a never ending story. But to order a TV host from keeping his mouth shut and not being allowed to quote what or whom he wants is unacceptable in a nation that so proudly speaks of freedom of press/speech/opinion. In the meantime however, Günther Jauch agreed to the request within a few hours of these legal steps.

Another point that makes you think is the fact that you are allowed to say: “I think/heard that John Doe worked as a toilet cleaner from 2000 to 2001.” Now I am not a lawyer, but in my opinion I only made a statement about a profession I think a certain person had performed in a certain period of time, irrespective of the ethical point of view of the profession. Since prostitution is legal in Germany and employees of the sexual service industry also have to pay taxes and also get statutory health insurance, I really do consider seeing Mrs. Wulff succeed with legal cases for reputational damage as incorrect, when speculating on a former profession. A prostitute who meets the legal requirements such as majority age, health issues etc. is not performing an illegal profession. It would be a whole different story if I would make the statement that a certain John Doe worked as a hit-man or a drug dealer.

A large number of people commented on this story on the internet. Since Mrs. Wulff also filed for compensation for pain and suffering, many believe this is just another addition of the Wulff family trying to increase their wealth. And of course this is not the first time a member of the Wulff family tries to get a muzzle on the press…

If I recall correctly, the majority of Germans do not consider the greater part of  statements from Christian Wulff to be true. Of course, no one can say Bettina Wulff worked in the sexual service industry for sure without having any proof supporting the statement, but honesty is a term most people do not bring into connection with this now infamous surname…