Multicity Carsharing Berlin

Recently we have been invited to test out the Multicity Carsharing Berlin service. The service is, as the website states;

'Multicity Carsharing is a ground-breaking approach with a future-oriented solution to modern, urban mobility: It is practical, flexible and, above all, environmentally friendly. It is the first carsharing service in Berlin entirely consisting of 100% electric vehicles.'

With around 350 cars available throughout Berlin, we have already seen them on the streets but still knew little about the service and of course have never actually tried it.

There are other car sharing services in Berlin with a similar concept, but what sets the Mutlicity service apart is that it is the only 100% electric fleet (other services include some electric or hybrid vehicles but are generally petrol/diesel cars). In addition to being 100% electric, the cars are also the same model (a Citroen C-Zero, details available in English at Citroen UK) which means you always know what car you are going to get when you book one...a 4 seater Citroen electric car!

 Registration with Multicity also gives customers the entitlement to use Deutsche Bahn's car sharing service Flinkster and e-Flinkster as well as their bike rental program.

With the invite to test the service I went and registered at the head office at Shönhauser Alle 179 in Prenzlauer Berg. As we were invited to the service, we were provided with free registration (a saving of 9.90 Euros) and some free minutes to test the car.

Registration was quick in person, less than 10 minutes, though it can also be done online. In person, I needed to show;

• my passport 
• drivers license 
• email address
• mobile phone number
• provide my address (which in Germany is best provided through your Anmeldung) 
• and also a method of payment (in my case a German EC card though you can also provide a credit card).

Once registration was completed I was given a 'starter pack' (all in German) which included a brochure about how to use the cars and also a plastic card, which is used to tap on the windscreen of the vehicle to gain access. It was good to be able to talk in person with the nice guy there as I had a few questions which he was able to easily answer. 

Once I got home I had an email waiting for me, welcoming me to the service and providing some further information.

We will find out more about how the service works in a later post, but you may be wondering how you find a car to use in the first place? To find available cars, you can look at a map online on their website to see where the nearest cars (and charging points are), though most people on the go would use the Multicity Carsharing apps for smartphones and tablets, available for Apple and Android devices (as far as I am aware, no dedicated apps are available for Windows phones).

Now that we are registered we are looking forward to putting the service to the test in the near future. As we are now so used to going everywhere by bike, the availability of the car opens up some new opportunities, and perhaps some concerns. Once we test it out we will let you all know about it in another post!

As a thank you for our testing of the service, Multicity have also offered free registration and 60 free minutes to our blog readers! You can check out the offer here and sign up online if you are interested.

Failed hardware, new computer

The last entry I posted was about our laptop and how it failed (the 7 beep thing) - and then how I managed to bring it back to life. I knew the technique was only temporary, but I kept it going as long as I could.

The computer failed several more times, and it got baked several more times until it reused to cooperate anymore. We had since been looking out for a new computer but I wasn't really satisfied with the options out there - a price vs performance thing.

So I decided that I knew how to fix the old computer, it just needed a new motherboard. I found some sellers online that sold the board I needed. Unfortunately none were in Germany so I had to order it from the US. In less than a week the 'new' motherboard came.

Excitedly I got to work and disassembled the laptop...

And going from previous experience when I lost track of all the screws, I made a diagram (which made things A LOT easier!)...

Compared the motherboards...

Applied the thermal grease to the processors...

Reattached the fan assembly...

And switched it on...and it friggin worked. So relieved...

With the computer working again, I immediately backed up some stuff and started some heavy duty photo processing. After about 2 hours of use it was shut down while we had dinner. After dinner, went to boot it up...7 fucking beeps!! A short shut down and reboot and it started again. Good that it booted, not good that it beeped. After only a short bit of use it shut down unexpectedly, and after that it wouldn't turn on, beep or anything. Boooooo! 

The 'new' motherboard had the same fault as the old one, except worse. Geez. The next day I stripped the computer apart again, Unbuilding and rebuilding over and over, testing all possible scenarios. Basically though, a connection in the motherboard was loose and unable to be fixed by the home hobbyist.

I eventually reinstalled the old motherboard, baked it to get it working so that we could at least get some critical work and backups done. That too failed after not long.

In the meantime I was refunded for the 'new' motherboard, but that didn't include shipping and import taxes :(

The hunt for a new laptop began, Until we had made a decision it was a couple of week without a laptop, and since the thing had failed the first time, over a month without a proper functioning computer. It was an interesting experience to go through computer withdrawals, feels like you NEEDED a computer, then realise its not SOOO important, and then come to terms with what you really need devices for in this age of the machine. Basically, we still needed one to get our biznatch taken care of.

So after much procrastination and pro and conning, we made a decision and have a new lappie! Its not the greatest, its not the worst, but its good and it works. Its even touchscreen which is an experience. It came with Windows 8 which meant a bit (but not much) of an adjustment. The biggest adjustment is getting used to the German QWERTZ keyboard and other relocated keys.

Just happy to be digitally back once again. Some things really were falling behind without a computer, including this blog!