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 | Stefanos Karagos - publisher | |
Stefanos Karagos worked in media and publishing for 17 years. In this time, he published more than 17 different technology and lifestyle titles in Greece. He also provides consultancy to several companies around the world, helping them to build innovative online communities. As an information architect and word of mouth (WOM) marketeer, he uses his experience in social media to create online communities and services:
His blogs: anabubula.com and karagos.com
Social media: foracamp.gr, blogz.gr and foracamp.com (under private beta)
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WITH MY LIFEFOOK IN THE IGNITION OF OLYMPIC FLAME
Recently I was invited by the Ministry of Culture to be at the ignition of the Olympic Flame.
Of course that was very interesting for me and my loyal “friend” LIFEBOOK T4220.
Ancient Olympia was the site of the ancient Olympic Games, which were celebrated every four years by the Greeks. Olympia was situated in a valley in Elis, in western Peloponnisos, through which runs the Alpheus River.
I leaved Athens on 24th March very early in the morning, because I had three hours driving to the ancient Olympia. I had to go first to the hotel where we would stay for one night.
The first thing I did, was to set up my LIFEBOOK T4220 with the Wi-Fi network. I was planning after the ceremony to post all my notes, photos and video, in my on line media.
Then I went to the place were the journalists could have a seat, having with me my LIFEBOOK T4220. I have never thought to leave it behind, because of its usefulness and because of its light weight, I keep it with me, like I do with my wallet.
The Beijing Olympic flame was ignited in a traditional sun-ray ceremony on 11:45 at the Hera Temple of Ancient Olympia.
The High Priestess Maria Nafpliotou lit the flame out of a concave, burnished steel mirror. Then the flame was transported in a replica of an ancient urn to the ancient Olympia stadium where it was to kindle the first Olympic torch.
Prior to the lighting, Nafpliotou and 20 female priestesses - all wearing pleated white dresses and sandals - performed an ancient ritual. Following a short dancing ceremony on the slope of ancient Olympia stadium, the High Priestess ignited the first Beijing Olympic torch.
It was very easy (and quick) for me to keep detailed notes for the whole ceremony using all the capabilities of the LIFEBOOK T4220 tablet and the Windows One Note. The most amazing feeling was that I was there in the ancient Olympia the centre of the great idea of Olympic Games which were started at 8th century b.c., using high tech technology products of 21st century.
Back to the hotel I had many things to do. I posted all the details of the ceremony with photos in many on line media and social networks.
I posted also a very interesting video from the ceremony. And beyond all the others journalists I believe I was the one who had the chance to keep alive the feeling of the ignition of the Olympic flame, through my LIFEBOOK T4220 and to pass it to the rest of the world!
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| Stefanos was traveling a lot in the last view weeks. Here is a report from Berlin, where he attended the 2nd Global Digital Media Conference of FIPP (International Federation of the Periodical Press) in Berlin. During this conference his work for his magazines didn’t stop. Sitting in his hotel room he had to do the final edits to “FACEBOOK”, an extra publication that PC magazine released explaining everything about facebook and its functionalities. |
ME AND MY LIFEBOOK IN BERLIN
The 3 hours flight to Berlin passed very easily as I watched the second part of the movie series PRISON BRAKE in my LIFEBOOK T4220. The battery of the notebook, for another time was proved strong and “healthy”.
In the Deutsche Tekekom Conference Centre the arrival of the attendees was impressive. More than 800 people, from all over the world were there, to discuss the future of Media. CEOs from the biggest Media Companies were there to exchange ideas for the digital media success. For me, beside my main purpose of meeting with all these great people, it was the big challenge to find a way of directly publishing my event impressions. My LIFEBOOK T4220 was my unique companion and supporter for this plan.
During the two days conference I kept all the interesting notes using the notepad functionality. Amongst others I heard speeches of two very interesting people, Dr Hubert Burda, Chairman and Publisher of Hubert Burda Media, and Mrs Christie Hefner, Chairman and CEO Playboy Enterprises. I was also able to upload photos to facebook and to flikr networks, using my LIFEBOOK T4220 and my mobile phone. The most interesting case was that I could run live broadcasting videos through the Flixwagon services, another unique experience with my LIFEBOOK T4220.
Going back to my hotel, there was a lot of work waiting for me. All the 150 pages of the extra publication “FACEBOOK” we had planned, were there, via e-mail, for my last check and comments. The truth is that I was very tired after the all day event, but all the production of “FACEBOOK” publication was waiting for this and of course I couldn’t do anything different. Despite the difficult situation, I was very optimistic because my assistant LIFEBOOK T4220, was there with me. The speed and flexibility of my LIFEBOOK T4220 helped me to do all the work, quick and easy.
Next day returning at home there was a nice surprise for me. An invitation for a party, where I was “kindly” asked to help with the music. That was very easy for me and my LIFEBOOK T4220. Very quickly I installed the Virtual DJ software and I started to organize the music program for the party. After two hours me and my great friend LIFEBOOK T4220, were ready for the party time! |
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Eighteen months ago I started the first search engine for the Greek blogosphere. I created it in two hours using Google's API. Today, there are over 28,000 registered Greek-language blog entries by Greeks. The search engine is impressively accurate and makes it much simpler to search the Greek blogosphere.
To keep abreast with the rise in popularity of social media, I started to enrich blogz.gr with social networking features. The first beta version should be online a week from now. The LIFEBOOK T4220 will be my device to build the major social bookmarking network exclusively for the Greek blogosphere. |
 | Every member will be able put forward a list of their favourite articles and other members will be able to vote on those they think are the best, ultimately creating a pool of the very best articles for the Greek blogosphere. They will be able to create mash-ups of Google maps and widgets for the automatic entry into international social media like Twitter and Pownce, increasing web traffic.
LIFEBOOK Τ4220's dual core CPU helps me programming in PHP, editing graphics in Photoshop but also creating complex widgets without delay.
Its small size and with its connectivity options allow me to work even in places where I wouldn't do it otherwise, like for example in Starbucks, while waiting for my partners for an morning coffee-meeting. |
Today, I installed an amazing utility, Process Lasso, that helps the dual core CPU and Vista not to get stacked because of being overused by some applications. Now, I have at least five open applications ;-)
Do you think, it's too much? No, it's a necessity that can by covered by LIFEBOOK T4220's power! |
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In the past three years, Stefanos has had more than four different notebooks and over eight smartphones. He was in the process of deciding which new small, flexible, high-performance notebook to buy when we offered him a trial of the LIFEBOOK T4220.
After just two days of familiarising himself with the LIFEBOOK T4220, it had become the mainstay of his mobile armory – the mobile devices he carries and uses day-to-day.
As a publisher and information architect of technology magazines, word of mouth (WOM) marketeer and social media consultant, it’s crucially important that Stefanos has 24x7x365 internet access so he can carry out the following activities on the move: |
- Swift updates of internet content
- Check the calendar
- Collaborate with the team
- Participate in social media
- Give presentations at conferences and forums
- Design, analyse and create online services and sites
- Update his two personal blogs
- Manage online communities - foracamp.gr and blogz.gr
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But it’s not all about work. Stefanos is also using the LIFEBOOK T4220 to run specialised software and video that helps him study and improve his golf game. He also likes to create 3D paintings with fractals and ASC11 art (transforming photos to images consisting of letters with the use of a very powerful mathematical algorithm). He renders these images on the LIFEBOOK T4220.
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| Last week I was busy preparing a presentation about “The Art of Start” in Open Coffee. With the help of MindManager – software for the creation of mindmaps – I created the main structure on the LIFEBOOK Τ4220 in tablet mode. After all, handwriting has its own charm, even if there is no optical character recognition for Greek in Windows Vista as yet.
For the first time, I decided to make a presentation without the use of PowerPoint. I considered using either a great online service called SlideRocket, or an XUL file through Mozilla Firefox. In the end I opted for the former. As a Flash application SlideRocket pushes the processor to its limits, but the LIFEBOOK T4220 had no problems. |
Being a fan of Professor Lessig and Takahashi’s presentation style, I quickly created 120 slides – 120 slides to appear in just eight minutes – for a clear and strong presentation with memorable messages.
Since I knew there’d be no Internet connection in the presentation room, I quickly transfered the slides from SlideRocket to PowerPoint. The LIFEBOOK T4220 did this in lightening-quick speed.
I tested the presentation running on the LIFEBOOK T4220 in tablet mode, but for the actual event itself I used the multi-purpose venue BIOS and Logitech’s very good presenter for remote slide control. It was a great success and there was much applause.
In preparation for a forthcoming exhibition with photographer Kostas Mitropoulos, I was keen to experiment using various imaging techniques on photographs of good friends and associates from Facebook.
The process of transforming photographs into ASCII art demands enormous amounts of processing power. I was pleasantly surprised by the LIFEBOOK T4220’s fast image rendering, even of large files. |
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ARCHIVE - Richard Bron & Sorin Nistor
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RICHARD BRON - ROAD WARRIOR | |
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 | Richard’s job as CEO of Blueprint Digital takes him all over the world. In a typical month he’ll visit retailers across Australia, drop in on some of the world’s best-known software companies in Silicon Valley, and dine out with movie producers in LA. It’s a glamorous lifestyle. But one that’s not possible without the very latest mobile technology. Extended time on the road means Richard requires the very best in performance, reliability and durability. Connectivity is also crucial for keeping in touch with colleagues and associates around the globe, as well as family in London. |
OCTOBER 1st, 2007 - Last Blog | |
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| Sadly Richard’s trial has almost come to an end - this is the last diary entry – although he will be making a short video round up of his experiences which will be streamed on this site over the next few weeks. He joins us today, in reflective mood, from Blueprint’s London offices. |
Over the past three months the Fujitsu Siemens Computers’ kit has been with me every step of the way – on four transatlantic trips, all round the States, to Barbados, France and Albania. It’s certainly stood up to the pace, perhaps indeed better than I have. We’ve been caught in the fallout from two hurricanes, countless traffic jams, and numerous late-night hotel-finding missions. I’m just about ready for another holiday.
So what can I say? I’ve really enjoyed using the notebook and the handheld together with the rest of my usual mobile arsenal. I’ve found the devices really easy to use, hard-wearing and reliable. It’s been an extremely positive experience all round.
I’ve particularly liked using the Pocket LOOX. I’d rather I had a phone that incorporated satnav, but as a device itself the LOOX is slick and neat. |  |
The Navigon software is, without doubt, the best I’ve ever seen. Ideally I’d use these maps on my mobile phone in future.
It’s also the first time that I’ve ever used a notebook with embedded UMTS/ HSDPA and now there’s no looking back. From now on, whatever notebook I choose will have to have this feature. Anytime connectivity makes working on the move so much more convenient. The ability to access the Internet from quite literally anywhere offers complete mobile freedom. There’s no need to mess about setting up mobiles as modems, and no need to interrupt journeys to find the nearest wireless hotspot.
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| A rare turn of events - the past week has been relatively low-key for our Road Warrior. The only traveling he’s done has been between home and the office. With little to report on the mobile working front, Richard’s opted to describe in a bit more detail the kit he takes with him on his business trips. Most of us travel with two or three devices – a notebook, mobile phone and often an MP3 player, Richard travels with at least eight. Here he gives us a quick run down of his ‘mobile arsenal’. Clearly there’s never been a person with a more urgent need for the ultimate all-in-one device. |
A new gadget is delivered to the Blueprint offices at least once a week. On average we spend about €2,200 a month on mobile electronics, but that’s what you have to do these days to keep on top of the development cycle. We also receive lots of brand new and prototype devices from manufacturers.We don’t just use the equipment for business communication, but also for development. We need to know what’s available and what’s possible so that we can keep our offering fresh and competitive. Whether we like it or not the choice of mobile device we use speaks volumes about who we are. Here at Blueprint anything less than the best creates a bad impression. For our presentations, demos and meetings we need to be seen to be using the most up-to-date equipment with the best functionality. We accept no substitutes.
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It’s no surprise then that, over the years, gadgets have started to play an essential role in my life. It’s not uncommon for me to travel with a mobile arsenal of eight to ten devices. Obviously the LIFEBOOK T4215 convertible notebook and Pocket LOOX N110 mobile navigator have been a key part of my kit over the past few months. The notebook for showing demos and presentations, taking meeting notes, watching movies and TV programmes, using Microsoft Office, surfing the net and keeping in touch with colleagues and family; the LOOX for finding my way quickly round dozens of cities across Europe and the US. But that’s just the beginning.
In addition, I always travel with two mobile phones and a Bluetooth headset. A reserve notebook is also a necessity. Then there is a camcorder for movies and a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 for stills. And I also take an extra device for digital entertainment. An i-go plane/car mobile adaptor allows me to charge all these devices anywhere in the world. On top of all that there are countless wires and second batteries.
How long before there’s a device that can do everything?
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| Richard is back in the UK after his two-week holiday in Barbados. We hear it was a thoroughly relaxing break despite being caught up in the beginnings of Hurricane Felix. In fact, that’s two hurricanes in nearly as many weeks, with Hurricane Dean causing numerous delays to his recent US trip. Richard joins us now from Blueprint’s London offices, reporting about his meetings in the US: Content on mobile devices, this is obviously one of the hot topics when it comes to new business opportunities in the internet areas. |
During August I spent just two days on the office. The rest of the time I was on the road, catching ten flights in the ten days running up to my holiday – taking in London twice, New York twice, Richmond Virginia twice, Milwaukee, Chicago and LA. But this is absolutely typical for me. Virtually the whole of my working life is spent on the road connected to my office via a virtual private network.
Without anytime, anywhere connectivity, there’s no way that I could my job as I do today. Compared to the old days when I could only connect via hotspots, technologies like embedded UMTS offer complete mobile freedom. |  |
Using Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 I can access documents, presentations, email, address books, calendar and instant messenger just as easily as I could in the office.
A few weeks ago I met the CTO of Microsoft Windows Media to show him the work we’d recently been doing around securing rights on mobile devices – basically a service that allows people to legally download pictures, music and video to their mobile but then stops them forwarding it on to others.
Thanks to embedded UMTS, we were able to quickly run through this on the notebook at Los Angeles airport, saving us both time.
I’ve also had several meetings recently in LA, with the president of Fox Sports. We’ve been looking at how we can help them secure and transfer their rights onto mobile devices. Fox owns the rights to broadcast all NFL games in the US including the Super Bowl, all college football games and the Daytona 500. A perk of this negotiation was being invited to an NFL season kick-off party in New York attended some of great names in American Football like Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman and Jimmy Johnson.
The Pocket LOOX has also proved useful once again and is basically an essential piece of kit when you’re moving from one city to the next on a tight schedule. A recent flight to Richmond was severely delayed due to Hurricane Dean meaning I arrived at 3.00am – six hours later than planned – to pick up the rental car. I would, literally, have been lost without the LOOX. |
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| Richard is back in New York after an extremely busy week in Los Angeles.
Today his report comes from a presidential suite overlooking Central Park.
He’s in town for a few days meeting with several lawyers and investors before flying back to London and then on to Albania for a wedding.
Last week was back-to-back meetings with movie producers in Los |
| Angeles. We continue to work on our film download service and met with some of the biggest names in the business – Universal, Sony, Warner Bros, Disney and Paramount Pictures to name a few. It’s nothing short of a miracle that we managed to get to where we were going during what must have been three of the busiest days of my life – getting round Los Angeles quickly by car is near impossible. |
The LIFEBOOK T4215 joined me for the madness. Microsoft OneNote was particularly useful, as was HSDPA connectivity, which enabled me to download presentations from London in the car en route to meetings. Previously I would have had to stop off at Starbucks and use a public WiFi network to download anything on the move so this was a particular bonus.
Another big advantage was being able to connect to the internet over a mobile phone network whilst in meetings. Corporate firewalls would have blocked internet access before making it impossible to show important content for demonstrations. |  |
On Wednesday night we went to see the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the San Francisco Giants at the Dodger Stadium. It was set to be a momentous event as many thought it would be the night that the Giants’ Barry Bonds would equal Hank Aaron’s record of 755 homeruns. Sadly we were an hour late – Los Angeles traffic again. We would, in fact, have been even more delayed had we not had the Pocket LOOX to hand to find an alternative route. And sadly, or fortunately for us, it didn’t happen anyway.
On Saturday we traveled down to San Diego for a family trip to Seaworld. Coincidentally Bonds did actually break the world record the same night in San Diego against the San Diego Pedros but you can’t have everything. We’ll make up for it tonight. We’re going to look round the set of Adam Sandler’s latest movie – You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. |
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| Following a fairly low-key few days, Richard’s road warrior status has been firmly reinstated – after travelling just short of 13,000km over the last four days he joins us in high spirits from a taxi in Denver, Colorado.
My hectic tour of the US has begun in earnest. Over the next five days I’ve got 30 back-to-back meetings with some of the biggest record producers, movie studios and IT companies in the world. Not least |
Universal Studios, Warner Music and Microsoft.
On Saturday, together with my wife and two girls (incidentally both big fans of dad’s online diary), I caught an early flight over from London to New York. It’s the start of their summer holiday, so we spent the afternoon taking advantage of the favourable exchange rate in Manhattan’s shops – it’s a good excuse at least.
Early evening we managed to catch our first Arsenal game in weeks – a pre-season friendly with Paris St Germain. Thanks to Slingbox, we were able to watch some of the match on the LIFEBOOK T4215 whilst in the back of our car – a 2:1 victory was enjoyed by all, and hopefully a sign of things to come.
On Saturday night I had dinner with a contact from Walmart. We’re in negotiations with them to set up a digital entertainment store, enabling people to download music and film direct from Walmart’s website.
A rather late night was followed by a 6.00am flight from New York to Los Angeles. A brief chance to rest before joining one of my co-directors, who runs our US operations, for an afternoon BBQ in Silver Lake – a district east of Hollywood. After that it was a fairly early night after watching Entourage on HBO. If you get chance to watch it, do. It’s one of the best programmes on TV.
Monday morning and another early flight, this time to Denver for another meeting with Archos and a meeting with EchoStar Communications – the company that maintains satellites for the DISH network in the US.
Two great things about the LIFEBOOK T4215 are Microsoft Windows Vista and the fact that it converts from a notebook into a tablet. Using Microsoft OneNote on the tablet makes it really easy to prepare for meetings whilst on the move – allowing me to send web content direct from Internet Explorer to OneNote, make hyperlinks between notes, insert graphics and Google maps and so on. |
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| Richard’s latest report comes after a relatively quiet weekend in London – no meetings, no travel and sadly no Arsenal home games for the time being. A welcome rest though before a busy few weeks in the US.
Well there hasn’t been a huge lot happening since last Thursday. I travelled to London from Paris early on Friday morning after an interesting meeting with Archos. We’re still on schedule for a September launch for the movie download service, which is good news for us, and good news for them. |
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I got plenty of time to put the LIFEBOOK T4215 through its pace on the Eurostar and managed to get quite a lot of work done. It logs on quickly to HSDPA, even on the train, which is brilliant considering I spend a great deal of time downloading music, movies and so on.
Back in London things were fairly low key, but a trip to PC World on Saturday revealed that I’m now able to get GPS capability on my mobile phone – a chance to compare it to the Pocket LOOX. Bit of a dead heat really – the phone was quicker to load the maps, but the software is not as good as that on the LOOX.
Other than that, it’s a fairly quiet week all round – with meetings in London only and potentially a wedding in Albania. More on that soon.
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| Richard has a lifetime's experience in the music industry, having been directly involved in virtually all aspects of the business. In 1994 he established Blueprint Software Limited. The company, now known as Blueprint Digital, develops digital media platforms - the Open Media Gateway and Entertainment Centre.
It currently provides web and digital supply chain services to the music and film industry, including Sanity – Australia’s leading entertainment provider, and Robbie Williams. |
Richard travels all over the globe for business and has regular trips to the States and Australia. He is a self-confessed gadget addict, currently owning around 10 PDAs and five laptops. He uses these for personal and business communication, and also with a view to music and video download development.
Today we join Richard on one of his ‘shorter’ business trips from London to Paris. After leaving his North London home in the early hours, Richard headed down to London Waterloo to catch the Eurostar to Paris – it’s a well-worn route. This first diary entry reaches us from onboard.
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"Yesterday I was in Amsterdam for a meeting with Roadrunner Records – heavy metal label and home to the likes of Nickelback, Megadeth and Slipknot. We’re in discussions as to how we can help them with online sales. Clearly the cab driver wasn’t a fan, and looked blank-faced as to how to get to Roadrunner’s office. The Pocket LOOX was on hand so we thought we’d give it a go. It worked. Mission accomplished. Not bad for a first trial run.
I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be in use again today trying to get to Archos HQ on the outskirts of Paris. Archos is a portable electronics company. I’ve got a meeting this afternoon with the CEO and COO. We’re currently negotiating a deal with them to sell movies directly onto their portable media players. Blueprint technology will allow people to download movies over WiFi straight to the device. If all goes well, they’ll be ready for launch in September
Another cool thing was on the plane coming back from Amsterdam yesterday. Mapping the journey on the Pocket LOOX, it was completely in synch with the airline satnav – in terms of direction, altitude and speed. Not work essential, but impressive all the same.
The LIFEBOOK T4215’s been more temperamental and I’ve had difficulties making it work together with the T-Mobile card I was sent. It has been working well with my Orange SIM though.
If the connectivity issues can be sorted out, it’s really going to come into its own on some of my longer business trips for taking meeting notes, spreadsheets, emails and stuff. I’m also a big fan of Slingbox – real-time TV over IP, which helps me through the jet-lag-induced early hours. I’m looking forward to seeing how the LIFEBOOK performs with these applications over the next few weeks.
Dinner tonight at my favourite restaurants on the Left Bank - great views of Notre Dame, maybe a nice cognac, and a chance to chill before a rather hectic few weeks in the US. New York, Chicago, Denver, LA, San Francisco and Detroit are all on the agenda. After that, it’s half way around the globe to Australia.”
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SORIN NISTOR - ACCOMPLISHED "MOUNTAINEER" | |
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 | Sorin first set foot on a peak at the tender age of seven. Since then he’s accumulated 40 years of mountaineering experience and taken part in six expeditions. He’s agreed to put the LIFEBOOK P7230 through some rigorous and punishing tests by taking it on his latest expedition to the Himalayan Gasherbrum 2 – at 8035 metres it’s the 13th largest mountain in the world. |
AUGUST 13th, 2007 - Last Blog | |
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| Sorin’s entire expedition group has in the meantime returned to Germany in good health. Unfortunately, the summit could not be reached, a tragic mountaineering accident foiled the team’s plans. They witnessed how another group was swept away by an avalanche. One of the four mountaineers was killed, another is still reported as missing and the two others were to some extent seriously injured. After taking care of the injured, the team made its way back. In their blog of July 22 the mountaineers wrote: “After the sad events of the last few days and on account of the weather conditions we have decided to strike our tents on Gasherbrum II for this time and set off for home.” |
Sorin’s impressions are nevertheless positive:
From my point of view the Gasherbrum Expedition 2007 was a success, all the members of our expedition returned home in good health after the dramatic events on the mountain. The “newcomers” gained interesting impressions and the “seasoned campaigners” can be satisfied at having made the best of the difficult conditions on the mountain.
As far as I am concerned, I have had to make a bitter decision and for the first time leave an expedition, in which I invested so much - the consequences of my accident in February and the well-being of my family forcing me to take this step.
In the Karakorum mountains the concept of time is expanded into a dimension that does not want to be measured. However, more and more cracks are also appearing in this stress-free idyll; radio masts are taking over the remote valleys of the Karakorum, technical progress is approaching at a rapid pace.
Back in the “First World”, i.e. Germany, everyone went about his own business, but at a get-together in Andechs we again made plans for the future; with South America and Nepal making the running. The world is large and still full of beautiful places! |
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| The LIFEBOOK P7230 has been examined very closely in Augsburg over the last weeks. Sorin explains when the Notebook came to fail:
We loaded some music from an external hard disk. At the same time I wanted to open an image. Windows XP crashed and I only had a blue screen. When rebooting with HD Check XP did not start but Windows VISTA started instead. However, nothing worked on the following day.
The tests in Augsburg provided the following results: |
The disk shows massive read problems over the entire surface. The damage was possibly due to various influences, such as temperature, the shock of falling 80 centimeters and the altitude. Tests revealed the following: the distance between the read heads and hard disk was presumably too small due to the low air pressure and this resulted in head/media contacts which in turn damaged the disk and head, causing dirt and contamination.
The hard disk can probably not be saved. However, the Quality Assurance experts in Augsburg are still satisfied: “The fact that the Notebook operated for such a long time in such extreme conditions is already a fantastic result. The damage would not have occurred if the new Solid State Disk technology had been used. In future, the equipment will be even more reliable at such altitudes.” |
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| The bad news is confirmed. Sorin didn’t make it and is in the meantime already back in Augsburg. And so is our LIFEBOOK P7230 – it also had problems with the exertions at an altitude of 5,500 meters under the permanent demands of writing texts, processing pictures and downloading music. The satellite telephone had already capitulated some time before. Sorin writes about the pitfalls of the mountains and of technology: |
| Before I made the final descent on July 7, I waited for the members of our expedition to return safely to camp 2. Due to the danger of avalanches they needed a day longer for the ascent. I later heard that during their attempt to reach the summit on July 13 they had to turn back at an altitude of 7,700 meters. Snowfall setting in, increasingly poor view and the ice-cold heavy gale were too great a risk. They intend starting another attempt on Saturday. |
As early as July 1 I made the following entry in my diary:
Having difficulties sending memos to Germany; only thing to be seen on our satellite telephone is the blue display. The expeditions that followed us either do not have a satellite telephone - their gear has been lost somewhere between Katmandu and Place Concordia) - or they have too little credit on the card. Although some of them have a telephone, it has a different driver…. |  |
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 | However, thanks to the good weather the batteries of our LIFEBOOK P7230 are full so we even use it as a stereo system, there’s enough space for the MP3s on the hard disk! I haven’t even had a chance to feed my entries into our P7230…
I have to add here that our notebook has become the group’s favorite. Everyone has fed the hard disk with pictures via the card reader; these then had to be converted and brought into low resolution so |
that we could dispatch them via the satellite telephone. Our solar system supplied enough power for the notebook, the batteries enabled us to work longer and by using the second battery we always had enough power reserves.
And with the very good power-saving settings we were able to save energy on the days with bad weather.
On July 3 the notebook also failed.
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| Sorin has brought the LIFEBOOK P7230 back to Augsburg, where we are now examining which components ultimately failed. In his reports he told us that other expeditions had their notebooks transported in security cases with polystyrene protection by separate bearers. The tests should show whether it was ultimately the cold or perhaps the consequences of the fall. |
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| Bad news reaches us from the team: “Sorin, the expedition leader, and Stefan are no longer part of the expedition. Sorin had to give up because of the injury to the vertebra of his neck, which he suffered in a cycling accident six months ago. Stefan could not come to terms with the altitude. The remaining members of the expedition are on their way to the summit today. Together with the Swiss expedition team they intend from Thursday to first lay out and secure the route to the fourth camp at an altitude of about 7200 meters and then to the summit. If the weather remains stable until Saturday as forecast, there should be enough time to reach the summit on Friday and to return to the base camp.”
We will wait and see what Sorin has to report.
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We hadn’t heard anything from Sorin for a long time and were beginning to get worried. However, Sorin, his team and the LIFEBOOK P7230 are evidently doing well as we have just received his latest e-mail:
28 June: At midnight there wasn’t a cloud in the sky but by 1 a.m. the stars could no longer be seen. After a meager breakfast we start off at 2 a.m. The expeditions ahead of us on the mountain have needed three attempts to find a way through the broken ice on the Gasherbrum glacier. Finding the route via headlamps is proving to be very difficult. We are not the only ones on the move; time and again we can see dancing lights in the maze of crevasses. |
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We are moving quickly and having overtaken almost all the other roped parties, we reach camp 1 (altitude: 5950 meters) after only 5 hours and 20 minutes (it normally takes seven to nine hours). We swiftly put up two tents and try to escape the dark clouds that are looming from the West.
On our way to the base camp an enormous noise causes us to look back; smaller avalanches are constantly thundering down the mountain, but this was considerably larger than anything we had experienced. The avalanche’s dust cloud covers the whole width of the glacier of about 1.5 kilometers and thus the path we had just used.
It would not have been dangerous, but we would have looked like a lot of Father Christmases!
30 June: Shortly after reaching the base camp, it started to snow. I only hope that the snowfall is light and does not destroy our tents in camp 1. It has been snowing for two days now, and it’s always the same: the tap, tap, tap of the snow falling on the tent, then it becomes quieter; shake the tent, and then the tap, tap, tap once again…
2 July: The snowfall has cost us three days plus another two days as we could not walk on the steep slopes above camp 1; the snow needed to set. At 2:30 a.m. we leave base camp heavily laden in the direction of camp 1 with food for several days, personal gear and material to secure the route in our rucksacks.
Unfortunately, it starts snowing again just as we’re beginning our preparations.
We will not be starting our ascent today!
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On 3 July the team is again condemned to inactivity. And then Sorin, who could not train optimally before the start due to an accident, suffered a bitter disappointment on 4 July.
3 July: The very intense sunlight here at an altitude of 5000 meters, which even cuts through the clouds and makes sun protection with factor 50+ necessary, causes the snow to melt. Thus, the snow here in the base camp hardly reaches 20 cm whereas camp 1 already has 1.50 m of new snow. I am presently reading the autobiography of the world-famous mountaineer, Kurt Diemberger; not a great deal has changed in the last 50 years. Everyone has to come to terms with the altitude and the exertions. Your psyche has to be in good order, regardless of if the weather is bad, you have difficulty finding a route or when deciding whether to ascend or descend. I’m in my tent listening to the tap, tap, tap of the snow, when between two gruesomely thunderous avalanches “Food ready” was called. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be better; decide to ascend to camp 1.
4 July, decision day: Again wake up is at 2 a.m. Take the rucksack weighing 15kg and start off for camp 1 with a small group. I need a rest, the rucksack is too heavy for me. Attempt to go on, but have to stop after 1 ½ hours: if I already have to slog with the rucksack through the minor icefall here, what will it be like on the way to camp 2 or 3? Back at base I lie down, but cannot sleep … a beautiful sunrise!
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A journey through ice and rock to reach Base Camp |
| The next report from Sorin reaches us from the Base Camp at Gasherbrum 2. This means that the group has successfully completed the first leg of their journey. There is a note of relief in the tone of Sorin's report, which is hardly surprising considering the events of the preceding days, as described in his report: |  |
23 June, we encounter a glacier for the first time. In a series of ascents and descents we follow the line of the enormous, scree-covered Baltoro glacier. The next camp, Urdukas, is in a last green oasis next to the glacier. The following day, after and eight-hour trek through moraine, we reach the Gore 2 Camp in good condition. Granite rock faces reach to the sky to the right and left of the Baltoro glacier.
In the early morning - the bearers start to cook at 4.00 a.m. - we break camp the next day for Concordia, before continuing to the Sharing Camp at an altitude of 4500 meters. As I eat breakfast, I observe our American team member, who seems quite apathetic and doesn't feel well. Good enough reason to stick with him during the trek. Our guide Raza and I share out his pack between us and stop at regular intervals to rest and drink; suddenly he asks for a break, lies down and falls unconscious. I have to wait for the climber behind us before I can go for help. He shouldn't be that far behind us, but takes about 30 minutes to reach us. I offer him a drink; he sits down, then lies down and also falls unconscious. I get help quickly. Thanks to the cooperation of all the members of the expedition we succeed in dealing with the situation.
Our two comrades will spend the night where they are; a guide, a bearer and a cook will provide for them. The rest of the group remains at Concordia.
One thing is certain: both men will return to Base Camp safely.
Unfortunately we can't really stop to enjoy the natural wonders that surround Concordia. Nonetheless, I have seen all 14 eight thousand meter peaks, but none of them is anything like K2, an imposing pyramid that takes your breath away on first sight. Just incredible!
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 | The LIFEBOOK P7230 underwent another tough test today. Having been required to do duty in extremely dusty conditions (sometimes you couldn't see the colors any more), this time it was its robustness that was put to the test. The barrel containing the notebook toppled over. This time it wasn't protected by my sleeping mat, so that the machine took the full impact of being dropped from about 80 centimeters.
The LIFEBOOK P7230 continues to work perfectly!
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| The group reached Base Camp (BC) on 26 June: |
| The first leg of our expedition is complete and everyone is back at BC safe and sound. The platforms for the tents had to be formed from the coarse rubble that covers the moraine. The tents that will be our home for the next three to four weeks have been erected. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. |
| The climb to the peak will start from Base Camp over the next three to four weeks. Four higher camps will have to be set up on the way to the top. |
27 June. Together wit our guide I visit the other expeditions on the mountain. Among the teams are Swiss. Slovenes, Czechs, Japanese, Americans, Australians, Italians, Hungarians, etc. A state-sponsored Chinese expedition and the Japanese have saved themselves the nine-day trek by having a helicopter fly them in. It's all a question of money. An emergency flight alone costs over 6,000 dollars.
I have decided that tomorrow we will strike out for Camp 1 for the first time. We share out the equipment among those who are to climb tomorrow and settle down for the night at sunset. We will be woken again at 1.00 a.m. |  |
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| Having set off a week ago, first word from Sorin Nistor reaches us from the Himalayan village of Payu at an altitude of 3300 metres: "a green oasis in the middle of inhospitable high mountains," he notes in his travel report. When his journey started a week ago, he made sure to meticulously pack his luggage and to get his LIFEBOOK P7230 ready for departure. Sorin, who in "normal life" works in the Fujitsu Siemens Computers Augsburg production facility, has sewn on a well-padded pocket just for the notebook, making sure it fit the dimensions of his strictly regulated luggage: Each luggage container may weigh a maximum of 25 kilograms. At just 1.25 kilograms, this light LIFEBOOK is the ideal companion for him with a long battery life and shock-proof hard drive. He will use it to write up reports of his journey, create and process photos using ConfCamera and send his material via a satellite phone. |
The crew comprises eight mountain climbers from Germany and the USA, as well as a 175-member support team. Here is Sorin’s first-hand report on tackling section one of the mountain:
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| "After a short night's sleep, the large entourage set off towards today's destination: Jula. The weather is pleasant; the temperature is above the 35-degree mark even in the morning. Under unparalleled starry skies, we spend the night in Jula at an altitude of 3100 metres. We set off early the next day at 6am and reach the next camp 3300 metres up at Payu by 3pm. En route we get a clear view of K2, an extremely rare, sublime spectacle. We have a day's rest in Payu to allow the support team the necessary break. They use the time to sing, dance and bake traditional ciabatta bread. Many of us also use the day to take a hike up to the 3800 metre mark in order to acclimatise. The whole team feels fit and is already looking forward to the next stage that passes over the Baltoro glacier." |  |
Although not at such a high altitude, the trip by jeep to the first expedition point was no less exhilarating:
"19 June 2007: A not entirely reliable jeep picks us up from the hotel in Skardu bright and early. The route takes us to Askole. After the final kilometres of tarmac we leave the main road and with it civilization. The wildest jeep ride of our lives lies before us. Travelling at a crawl, our driver struggles to overcome the debris left behind by avalanches that have rolled down the slopes in winter. Only by carrying out numerous shunting movements is our jeep able to keep to the hairpin bends above a 200-metre sheer drop. With great relief we reach Askole.
Our departure had unfortunately been delayed by a day. This year at Broad Peak there are around 37(!) expeditions underway, this being the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the mountain:
Therefore there is a significant lack of support team personnel and we, as a smaller group, have lost out. This means that this year our base camp could easily be overlooked. The next report will properly test the LIFEBOOK P7230 for the first time...."
We are crossing our fingers that everything goes well with the notebook. It took three hours to install the software for the satellite phone, a task that Sorin had carried out |
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