Author: Joe Wilcox

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 5, 20156:45 am

Flickr a Day 125: ‘Cuba Girls’

Cuba is big news here in the United States, following the historic meeting between Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro on April 11, 2015. Four months earlier, the White House ordered full restoration of diplomatic relations with the island nation.

Photos like self-titled “Cuba Girls” come from non-Americans, because of travel restrictions that the Obama Administration is lifting. Doug Wheller lives in London. He used Canon 550D to capture today’s selection, on April 20, 2012. Vitals: f/9, ISO 200, 1/400 sec, 70mm.

Gear by Joe WilcoxMay 5, 201512:20 am

Chromebook Pixel LS Review

Nearly perfect is how I describe Google’s newest, and only, computer. If you’re going to manufacturer one thing, then it should be exceptional, which is the other way I describe Chromebook Pixel LS. The company introduced the original in February 2013, available in two configurations. Twenty-five months later, the notebook refreshed—refined rather than revolutionized—beating Apple to market shipping a laptop with USB Type-C, which brings new connectivity and charging options.

FedEx delivered the costliest Chromebook configuration to my door on Friday the 13th, in March. I ordered the newest Pixel from Google two days earlier, within hours of the laptop’s launch. I use no other computer. It’s more than my primary PC and could be yours, too. This laptop rests at the precipice of future computing, for those open-minded enough to welcome it. This review is purposely preachy, which reasons hopefully will be apparent should you read all 1,800 words.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 4, 20157:02 am

Flickr a Day 124: ‘Run Deep, Run Wild’

Sometimes plans change. I originally meant this selection for May Day, continuing the portrait-behind-water-and-glass theme started with April 30th’s “Peace“. But as the hours closed on the old month, I decided instead to begin three days (121, […]

Critters by Joe WilcoxMay 4, 201512:49 am

Friends Forever?

My 20 year-old daughter moves home this week after two years of living elsewhere—college dorm, then group home. She will take our bedroom, in a swap with her parents. As part of the preparation, my […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 3, 20158:20 am

Flickr a Day 123: Rescue Dog

John Bell and his dog Darcy search for survivors in Chautara, which is northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck on April 25, 2015. The UK Department for International Development uploaded the […]

News Media by Joe WilcoxMay 3, 20156:29 am

Responsible Reporting Section 1 ‘News in Context’: Chapters I and II

My ebook Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers is divided into three sections. The first, “News in Context”, is a state of the online news industry. The second, “The Five Journalisms”, examines five categories of news gathering most relevant to the age of context. The last, “What You Must Do”, applies concepts from the other two to present guidelines for responsible reporting.

In this second installment, I present two chapters from the first section. Opener “In Just Eight Years” is in part adapted from my June 2009 analysis “Iran and the Internet Democracy“, which is a provocative lens for looking back to look forward at the state of the news industry.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 2, 20156:53 am

Flickr a Day 122: Baby is Born

Once again, our attention turns to Nepal and the relief effort following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated parts of the country on April 25, 2015. Here, a baby is born at the Israel Defense Services […]

Gear by Joe WilcoxMay 1, 201511:21 am

LG Watch Urbane Goes Onto My Wrist

Late yesterday morning, LG Watch Urbane arrived from Verizon. Turnaround is quick for anyone who wants one right way, rather than waiting for Google to ship (now 1-2 days rather than by May 8). I am rushing a first-impressions review for BetaNews, and some comparison to the Moto 360 is mandatory. If round is your taste, consider one of these two smartwatches.

Meantime, to collect my thoughts for the review and for anyone considering the Urbane, I share something sooner. Overall, I am satisfied with the initial out-of-the-box experience. Urbane is gorgeous and looks like a traditional watch. The always-on, dimmed face contributes to the effect—without bleeding dry the charge. The watch is also more functional as a timepiece, as such. I mean, shouldn’t it be?

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 1, 20157:06 am

Flickr a Day 121: Teen Rescue

We commemorate rather than celebrate May Day with the first of three photos documenting the aftermath of the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015. Yesterday, rescuers pulled 15 year-old Pemba […]

Blogging by Joe WilcoxApr 30, 201510:30 am

Brief Moment of Reflection

Six years ago today, Ziff Davis Enterprise and I parted ways. My earning power has never been the same, in part because of the circumstances affecting my profession, undesirable San Diego, Calif. location, and age (mid-50s, gulp). At the time, I wrote two blogs: Microsoft Watch, which I inherited from the esteemed Mary Jo Foley, and Apple Watch, which I created. Got to wonder: What kind of legal issues would there be if the second blog continued today in context of the Apple smartwatch and the company’s well-publicized tactics for extinguishing anything brand offending.

ZDE laid me off with offer to stay on, in different capacity and 36-percent pay cut. I declined and only occasionally regretted the decision. Groveling commands no respect and is no position from which to advance. My role would be nothing more than a journalist past his prime meeting a 5-story a day quota that would require the kind of news writing that pollutes the web today. The Google free economy is not a sustainable source of revenue for most news sites—more so for those with niche audiences.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 30, 20156:39 am

Flickr a Day 120: ‘Peace’

Our series’ fourth month ends with, like Day 87, the Leica Camera AG M Monochrom. Ross Pollack captured the photo in Hong Kong, when he lived there. He is now stateside after residing a decade […]

Mobility by Joe WilcoxApr 29, 201510:30 pm

Microsoft ‘Continuum’: Lucky Timing, Right Context

They say in business that timing is everything. Before Microsoft shown a spotlight on new Windows technology “Continuum”, earlier today, Gartner released a disturbing forecast strangely validating the concept.

The analyst firm predicts that currency devaluation will compel major computer manufacturers to raise prices as much as 10 percent—particularly across Europe and in Japan. Higher prices mean more consumers will do with leaner configurations, and many businesses will push back upgrades. All the while, PC makers will give customers less for more money by cutting back features to preserve margins and shifting sales priorities to markets where currencies are more buoyant.