Author: Joe Wilcox

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Sennheiser Momentum 2 First Impressions

In middle age, my ears can’t tolerate booming bass any longer. Seems like amped lows is the state of audio design, and this is unfortunately standard among wireless cans.  That’s one reason I use Grado Labs’ Rs1e reference headphones, which give better balance across the range, particularly warm midrange and highs.

But the RS1e means a cord, which largely inconveniences my digital lifestyle. I would rather listen to music, podcasts, and such while on the move in the apartment, or elsewhere. My last set of Bluetooth cans delivered way too much bass, and I sold them when buying the Grados. Last night, after reading professional and purchaser reviews, I bought a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 wireless headphones from Amazon, My quick, out-of-box impressions follow. 

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The iPhone 6s Doppelgänger

Without even turning on the HTC One A9 (which I haven’t yet), the physical similarities with iPhone 6/6s are unmistakable. The smartphones share striking design ethic, separated by the shape of the home-button fingerprint sensor, placement of the rear-facing camera, and left-side SIM and microSD card slots. But these differences aren’t immediately obvious.

My question: Is this the Android for people wanting the iPhone 6s look but something more flexible than the iOS platform? If there is truth in marketing, HTC’s tag lines reveal much: “Design worth imitating”, which while referring the company’s One legacy also could be interpreted as backhanded praise or even fist-to-snub about Apple’s device, which some could argue imitates earlier One models. “Power to choose”—customization and personalization options not offered on fruit-logo handsets. 

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I Love ‘X Factor UK’ But Must Leave It

Six months ago, nearly a year after cutting the cord, the Wilcox household reattached—to AT&T U-verse. At the time, my daughter was moving back home, and Cox cable comes into the room where she would reside. Given the importance of the Internet to my daily work,and not wanting the modem and WiFi access point to be in a place with limited access, we signed up for AT&T Internet service and television with it. The connection is in the main room of our apartment, where Cox can’t come without drilling and cabling the landlord won’t allow.

Before the Fall college semester started, Molly moved out to a group place near the ocean. Around the same time, U-verse started to behave badly. We had bandwidth, but some websites consistently hung or slowly loaded. Top of list: Anything Google. I would later learn that, coincidentally or perhaps not, Google Fiber courted San Diego County

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Flickr a Day 306: ‘I Just Have To Make One More Call, He Said’

Day of the Dead actually is a three-day celebration, ending November 2nd. I can’t resist slipping in another timely portrait, captured by Tom Waterhouse on May 10, 2008. He shot self-titled “I Just Have To Make One More Call, He Said” using Panasonic DMC-FX100. Vitals: f/4.8, ISO 80, 1/100 sec, 16.6mm. I picked the pic for being interesting and for bokeh, composition, perspective, and the photographer recognizing opportunity.

In 2015, Tom takes the Fujifilm X100T to the streets, where his focus is facial character. “I’m currently trying to make a serious attempt at becoming a credible street photographer”, he says. I say: He’s earned his street cred. 

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Nexus 9 Revised Review

My May, lukewarm assessment begins: “t want to love Google-branded, HTC-manufactured Nexus 9. But ours is a contentious relationship”. I didn’t see value for the cost, particularly comparing performance to other tabs similarly priced. On Oct. 29, 2015, Amazon delivered a new N9, and the user experience dramatically differs from the previous device—so much I must revise my review.

Days earlier, I parted with iPad Air 2 LTE. The family hopes to change cellular carriers, and there was opportunity to amicably relinquish my payment responsibility to Verizon. I would love to replace the Apple with Google Pixel C, but the tab’s forthcoming release date is uncertain. I reconsidered Nexus 9 and found the 32GB white model available from Amazon for $130 less than list price. I ordered, knowing that the device could be returned for refund if Pixel C imminently released or if N9 dissatisfied again. Lower price made buying and trying again an easy decision.