Author: Joe Wilcox

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 9, 20153:35 pm

iPad Pro: My Story in Tweets

Apple’s newest tablet, announced earlier today, isn’t on my shopping list. At 12.9 inches, the screen on the iPad Pro is too big. The device can’t comfortably fit the hands for long periods of time. I have experience with 12-inchers. I will likely keep my iPad Air 2, unless Google comes out with some gotta-have Nexus tab before Apple starts selling its beast in November.

The media event marks a big day for the fruit-logo company, which also introduced new Apple Watch models. That’s code for same internals with more case color and band choices. Apple TV gets a big refresh, and new iPhones are queued up for preorders starting Saturday September 12. The company usually does Friday, but that’s the 9-11 terrorist attack anniversary.

Mobility by Joe WilcoxSep 9, 20159:35 am

Pixel Me Life

I am in one of my moods today, waiting for the big Apple media event to start in about 30 minutes. For no reason, other than perhaps boredom thinking about what’s to come, I wrote a quickie poem—an ode to Chromebook Pixel. It’s all just for fun and doesn’t pretend to be anything more.

When you work alone in a home office and there is no one to tease with spitballs and paper airplanes, making fun is a singular effort. The poem is meant to be read with rapid meter. Confession: I don’t play a fife, but it rhymes with life. Maybe I will add more verses later.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 9, 20156:42 am

Flickr a Day 252: ‘Happy Hour’

The animal parade continues, and choosing wasn’t easy. Ingrid Taylar presents a National Geographic-like menagerie of beasts and birds that captures character and detail. Self-titled “Happy Hour”, which she shot on May 31, 2013, takes the Day for being interesting. How often do you see something like that? Ingrid used Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm lens, because “my workhorse, the Olympus E-3 is in the shop”, she says. Vitals are not available.

From San Francisco, Calif., but living in Seattle, Wash., Ingrid is what I call a “lifer”. She joined Flickr in August 2004, about six months after the service was founded. Her blog, “The Wild Beat” is a real treat,

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 9, 201512:42 am

Neko Siesta

Heatwave descends on San Diego. Just after 12:30 a.m. PDT, and my smartwatch says 28 C outdoors. Tomorrow’s expected high: 32. Air is muggy by SoCal standards but mild (45 percent) compared to the East […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 8, 20156:49 am

Flickr a Day 251: ‘What the …?!’

As a graphic designer, Sascha Etezazi brings fresh perspective to shooting. There are some real gems in his photostream—and some surprises. He snapped self-titled “What the …?!” on March 5, 2011, using Canon EOS 500D and […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 7, 20157:20 am

Flickr a Day 250: Moon Shot

I remember when about a decade ago, Canon released an EOS 20D model for astrophotography. It was an exciting development for backyard stargazers. Here we have a capture taken with something less that is something […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 6, 201512:30 pm

I Like Apple Music, But…

Yesterday, I joined the 61 percent. The figure represents the people who, in a MusicWatch survey of 5,000, had turned off auto-renew on their free Apple Music trial, which for all ends September 30. Unless something really big comes out of this week’s media event, where new iPhones could debut and iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan receive release dates, I will listen elsewhere. For now, I will stream higher-fidelity tracks from Tidal, and expand my musical horizons at services like SoundCloud.

Strange thing: I don’t dislike Apple Music. Curated playlists are “frak me” good. Family pricing, $14.99 per month, is very reasonable. The library is voluminous; if I want to listen to it, Apple Music likely has it. Then there is the benefit of easy access to my own library of about 14,000 tracks alongside juicy fruit picked from the orchard.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 6, 20157:29 am

Flickr a Day 249: ‘Truganina Cemetery’

The series first tombstone greets this fine September day. I do hope it doesn’t forebode badly on the 248 posts behind and those still to come. Jamie Davies captured the moment on Aug. 18, 2015, […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 5, 201510:50 am

Which are My Fav Flickrs a Day?

As the 250th photo in my Flickr-a-Day series approaches, I review those that have come before and think: “Which are my favorites?” I pick pics for many reasons—among them which others there are in the series and the stories behind the images or about the photographers.

I have my own tastes, too. So why not give fans of the series—eh, there are some?—sense of what appeals to me. I pick 15 from the 248 and identify the top five favs.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 5, 20157:12 am

Flickr a Day 248: ‘Ombra’

Choosing today’s selection, I considered many—emphasis many— by Andrea Donato Alemanno. Among them: hugging couple; kissing couple; older gentleman; tailor; and woman with flowers. His photostream is a rich study of street black-and-whites, mainly captured with the […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 4, 201512:58 pm

‘Bold. Brilliant. Brutal.’

Documentary “Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine” is in theaters and on-demand, starting today. Tagline “Bold. Brilliant. Brutal.” snatched by attention, because it’s so evocative of Apple marketing style under the cofounder’s leadership. I doubted […]

Mobility by Joe WilcoxSep 4, 20159:15 am

Nexus 6 Returns

Contemplation turns to action. I had been looking for Nexus 6 to test Google’s Project Fi. My sister bought my phablet two months ago, when I got iPhone 6 Plus to test iOS 9, but N6 is the only device currently supported on the cellular service.

Last night, I oogled at Nexus 6 for $499.99 on Amazon, which already was a hefty discount. This AM, I rolled out of bed to see $349.99. Both prices are for the 32GB model. Double the memory and pay $399.99. Yesterday: $549.99. Surely the price and supply can’t last. That’s helluva good deal—and for both colors: Cloud White and Midnight Blue. What the hell. I ordered the bigger capacity dark one for free same-day delivery.