Hello Netzwelt: Gone is the naïve love of technology

Allow me, Bane. The Bane from Batman. I gave up my real name Michael for two weeks. That’s how long it took to test what is probably the craziest product of the year. Not surprising that this comes from Dyson. British engineers are notorious for blowing a fuse from time to time. In a positive sense, of course.

Billions (no joke) of research money are being raised to develop a hair straightener with flight mode. The latest coup is the Dyson Zone, headphones with a built-in air purifier. A crazy part that is worth a closer look.

It just makes you look like Bane from Batman. I like trying out new things, especially technical ones – and I like observing the reactions of those around me. I can still remember well what it was like to be one of the first to sit on the S-Bahn with Apple’s AirPods. Everyone giggled, every other one made the “looks like toothbrush heads” joke. Everyone has long since gotten used to the white in-ears.

I don’t want to lie, but I was definitely one of the first in Hamburg to dare to hit the streets with hoverboards and electric roller skates – and survived to be able to report about it. In short: I can be embarrassed. The fascination and curiosity for new products was always stronger than the fear of making a fool of oneself.

But for some time now, I’ve had a different feeling every time I unpack a product. A feeling beyond curiosity, beyond wanting, beyond “we have to shoot an unboxing video right now”.

The first thing I look at is the packaging. How high is the recycled content? Is there unnecessary plastic, styrofoam, foils? And also the question: do you really need it? Was the product made fairly? What are the working conditions like on site, which raw materials are used? The question “Do you really need that” is almost dangerous in our job, as you can probably imagine.

This can of course be interpreted as a sign of the times. The products we have tested are also different than they were a few years ago. Of course we still have fun with lightsabers, quirky e-bikes and other curiosities. But products such as balcony power plants, solar systems, power stations, environmentally friendly laptops or even the Dyson headphones have long been mixed in, which are not just for entertaining fun. They’re serious products, they’re sort of grown-up products.

It’s certainly good that our “naive” because unreflected and unconditional love for products has decreased and that other things have come more into focus. But secretly I long back to the time when I simply ripped open the packaging, strapped something under my feet, pressed some power button and just enjoyed it at first and only much later – sometimes never – asked questions about the meaningfulness. How are you? Write to us at [email protected].

VW presents new hippie bus

Volkswagen seems to be stuck in a similar dilemma and mourns the old days almost coaxingly. The car, the individual transport as a whole, is under criticism. How do you reach young people there? Sure – at festivals! So the British branch of the group presented a psychedelic painted ID.Buzz. The interior was designed in such a way that you want to sit down, take a picture and post it on social media. Exactly that was also clear calculation of the action. “The hippie bus is back. Woodstock, we live you,” is the message.

“Of course. A hippie bus from 64,000 euros … You can see very impressively that VW has somehow lost touch with reality,” someone writes to us on Facebook. You can’t revive an entire generation’s attitude to life with a bucket of paint and a little social media fuss.

A square soccer ball specially designed for women

Consumers are becoming more critical – definitely a good development that we would like to support and encourage. If something is in trouble, no longer up-to-date, then it should at least be addressed, sometimes even denounced. That can be the task of art, such as design.

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand underway, we stumbled over a suspiciously square ball, the unofficial ball of the Women’s World Cup. But unlike Wilson’s revolutionary airless basketball, the square football is not intended to be used in official games.

As well as. Imagine how difficult it would be to hit a cross with a square ball, take a well-placed shot on goal. Every shot would be agony.

That’s exactly what the “Unplayaball” by the designer duo Oliver Binnian and Willem Slegers was developed for. Here’s the full story and the answer to the question: Did FIFA boss Giovanni Infantino really hold that protest ball in his hands?

Those were other top stories of the week

Lightning and thunder: what you should bear in mind when riding an e-bike during a thunderstorm

In summer there are often spectacular thunderstorms to admire – of course only from afar. Even if the risk of being struck by lightning in Germany is rather low with a probability of one in 20 million, you should always keep a respectful distance.

But what do you do when you are on a bike tour and are surprised by a thunderstorm? Is the risk of being struck by lightning greater on an e-bike than on a normal bike? And is the bicycle actually a Faraday cage like the car? Does lying flat on the floor actually help? We answer these and other questions in this article.

The job of the week: The best software booth ever!

msg DAVID GmbH in Braunschweig describes itself as the “best software booth of all time” and as a “software understander since 1991”. A look at the company’s website shows that they do indeed seem to be a friendly bunch. And they are now looking for a new UX designer (m/f/d).

If, like us, you are at war with many user interfaces – then please help to make them more understandable, prettier, more colorful, more intuitive in the future! Here you can find out more information and apply directly.

The flat joke of the week

Friends of Netzwelt, the lights are slowly going out here, we’ll read you again next Friday at the latest for the next issue of Hallo Netzwelt. Until then, stay kind, open-minded and like you always were – the best newsletter readers in the world.

What do you call an alien who works in information technology?

Italy!

There are even more flat jokes at this point on Netzwelt.

A lot of effort goes into this. We look forward to a recommendation!

Your friends aren’t fools either, laugh at each other when they joke about something and are interested in the latest topics from the world of technology? Then forward this newsletter by clicking on the following link. If you have any comments about this newsletter or just want to get your opinion across, please write to us at [email protected].

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