When your tablet or ebook reader runs out of juice, hope is just down the street.
Author: Joe Wilcox
Google Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead Doodle is so awesome.
Meet Cali
On October 20, my daughter’s cat Cali moved into the Wilcox domicile, where she and our other feline Neko slowly, but surely, adapt to one another. The kitty is the second to adopt my now college-age child and chance for some redemption for the first.
I met Cali on a pleasant summer evening in early June. Molly—that’s my daughter—moved into a group house, and I had just dropped off a last load of belongings. As I crossed the street to the car, a slim Tortoiseshell cat approached down the sidewalk. She raised her head to receive pats, just as a San Diego State University senior approached. He and I chatted about education and careers for about 15 minutes. Then we parted from one another and our new feline friend.
Why is Tim Cook’s Personal Life News?
My colleague Mark Wilson takes on the task I failed to (but should have) in commentary: “Apple’s Tim Cook is gay—the fact it needs to be announced shows what’s wrong in tech“. The CEO’s admission, in a Bloomberg-Businessweek opinion piece, isn’t surprising. The news media’s overglowing reaction is the shocker, as Mark observes: “Websites have practically fallen over themselves to heap their praise on the announcement”.
What? Are bloggers or reporters afraid they might appear to be homophobic if neglecting to add their voice to the echo chamber? Many news writers called Tim Cook’s announcement courageous. This morning, in chat, I told Mark: “Your response to it is hugely courageous”. He chose not to join the echo chamber and even to risk recriminations for rightly questioning why so much news space was given to Apple’s CEO.
Happy Halloween!
I really miss Maryland once a year. We lived one-a-half-blocks from Perry Street, which transformed into Scary Perry each Halloween. Most every house decked out for the occasion, and trick-or-treaters converged from far and wide […]
An Earnest Discussion About Q3 2014 Mac Sales
My website captures so few comments that I consider turning them off. There is engagement around posts, but the extended storytelling typically takes place somewhere else—primarily on social networks. The interaction, while valuable, provides no context here, where it belongs.
I don’t know where Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or any other social network will be five or 10 years from now. A decade ago, MySpace sizzled with popularity. Now it’s a ghost town. So I feel compelled, and disturbed for the need, to post some comment interactions that take place elsewhere—particularly those where my responses are lengthy.
iPad Sales That Go Down Are Mac Sales Going Up
On May 15, 2001, while previewing the first Apple Store to analysts and journalists, then CEO Steve Jobs boasted: “Apple has about 5 percent market share today”, but the remainder “don’t even consider us”. Jobs exaggerated, and not for the first time, seeing as how Mac global share was more like 2 percent.
But the ambition, to use the retail shops to “double our market share”, was achievable. Three years following his death, with 10-percent long ago reached in the United States, something more startling occurred: During calendar Q3 2014, Apple moved into fifth place for global PC shipments, according to IDC. The question is why.
Should Journalists Accept Free Travel to Apple Events or Any Others?
This morning, I awoke to a perplexing question in the BetaNews Tips inbox. Reader Mark Bryant shares a story from Medium and asks: “Should Journalists be obliged to declare in their reviews that the company has paid for business class travel to the event and given them free devices?” It’s a goddamn good question given too little attention.
“The True Bendgate: How Apple Bends Reality and Why the Media is Playing Along”, by Richard Gutjahr with German-to-English translation by Elka Sloan, is excellent and informative reading. Medium is good forum for the tale. Richard tells about receiving an invite to last month’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch event, for which he reports Apple paid for transportation.
Visual Studio Team System Song
I am in the process of restoring archived posts, originally on TypePad, from last decade. Yesterday, I reposted, with revived links, one highlighting a hilarious Visual Studio Team System rap song from Microsoft Korea. My wife […]
The Scoop
Link love: What’s in a ‘scoop’? The White House has a strategy for that. In August I looked at how differently the Nixon and Obama White Houses dispatch leaks. Washington Post does better, in a […]
Just When I Cut the Cord, Cox Pulls Me Back In
In July, connected TV service went dark in the Wilcox household, as we pulled the plug on AT&T U-verse and switched to Cox Internet. That reduced our monthly bill from about $130 to $59.99 exactly; there are no taxes or surcharges applied to the Net. Now Cox tempts with a compelling offer: Add local channels and HBO or STARZ, with no-cost HD set-top box for another $9.99 month. Installation is free, and there is no contract. Price is good for 12 months. Should we?
Cox promises 44 channels, plus either of the premium channels (I want HBO). But, realistically, that means 10, since we only watch HD, plus the “Game of Thrones” channel. We already receive five over the air using a Mohu Leaf 50 HDTV antenna, which I have to review.
Lies, Damn Lies
Newspapers don’t tell the truth under many different, and occasionally innocent, scenarios. Mostly when they don’t know the truth. Or when they quote someone who does not know the truth. And more and more, when […]