Our selection is quite unplanned and adds yet another feline (I know, I know—too many). Last night, I discovered that Oct. 29, 2015 is the 10th annual National Cat Day, founded by animal welfare advocate […]
Category: Media
Android vs iPhone: When Hype Bites
The haughty headline from yesterday’s Apple fiscal fourth quarter 2015 earnings report isn’t big revenue or profit performance ($51.5 billion and $11.1 billion, respectively), but a figure given by CEO Tim Cook during the analyst call: “We recorded the highest rate on record for Android switches last quarter at 30 percent”.
Blogs, and some news sites, set the statement off like an atomic blast of free marketing for Apple. The fallout spreads across the InterWebs this fine Wednesday, largely undisputed or corroborated. Just because Cook claims something doesn’t make it true. To get some perspective, and to either correct or confirm the public record, today I asked a half-dozen analysts: “Does your analysis of the smartphone market support that assertion?”
Flickr a Day 301: ‘In the Rain’
Do I even need explain why Patrik Nygren takes the Day with this street portrait? Her expression looks permanently fixed, and it might very well be. Is the weather, the photographer, or both what she […]
Flickr a Day 300: ‘Destiny Calls’
For out three-hundredth selection: The appropriately self-titled “Destiny Calls”. To which Neal Sanche smartly adds: “Sometimes, when the phone rings, you should answer it”. I feel a bit of destiny calling as our series crosses […]
I Couldn’t Break the Surface Tension
Today, Microsoft started selling Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, and I strongly considered buying either. During the past 10 days, I visited the company’s Fashion Valley store four different times specifically to play with the devices. The hardware dazzles, but I couldn’t get beyond Windows 10 when compared to benefits I receive using Chromebook Pixel LS. SB’s price, which starts at $1,499, is another impediment.
There is something to be said for straightforward, simple, and efficient computing, which Google gets right. Contextual sync is among Chrome OS’s biggest benefits. Little things, like popping my camera’s SD card into Pixel’s slot and the laptop backing up photos to Google Drive, which is accessible from the file manager as if local storage. Granted, there are application gaps, but the overall user experience fills them in.
Flickr a Day 299: “Higher Calling”
The “photostream is full of life” a commenter expresses to Matthew G., who doesn’t reveal his last name on Flickr or Facebook. She rightly identifies his street style, which makes picking a single pic misery. […]
Flickr a Day 298: ‘Violinist at Pike Place Market’
After a hiatus, we return to street photography for the next couple of days. “During my walk around Pike Place Market, I encountered a street performer who was playing a violin”, Lan Phan says. Hence […]
Hey, Washington Post (and Other Investigators), How About Comparing Candidate Spending Habits?
Let me preface: this is not a political endorsement for Donald Trump or anyone else. But the comedy and drama of this early campaign cycle sure is interesting. Among yesterday’s dramedy stories catching my attention: Washington Post on Mr. Trump telling super PACs to return contributions gathered in his name.
The presidential hopeful finances the campaign from his wealth and smaller donations from individual contributors. I got to wondering: Wouldn’t a candidate largely using his own money spend differently from someone getting to what amounts to free cash? There’s a stereotype that people spend their own (say, savings) more prudentially than what comes easily and freely (like credit). Is there a difference this early on among the would-be nominees in how or where they spend on the respective campaigns?
Flickr a Day 297: ‘Lost and Found But Useless’
Composition and beautiful bokeh—and story behind the pic—make today’s pick. I also like the contrasty colors set against the device’s drab and recognizable Apple logo. Cacho Menguito shot self-titled “Lost and Found But Useless” on Sept. […]
Chromecast (2015) Review
This is one of the easiest reviews to write—and the shortest, too. If you own an Android or iOS device, buy the new Chromecast. Nothing more needs to be said, but I am obliged because you do want to know why. Right?
Google opened up the streaming stick category with launch of the original Chromecast, in July 2013. Release of its successor, on Sept. 29, 2015, makes an already compelling platform better. I see two benefits that matter: WiFi AC support and the hanging dongle design. Wireless update primps the device for faster routers, like Google’s own OnHub. The other is more crucial. Some people needing or wanting to plug into one of a TV’s rear HDMI ports may find the original Chromecast won’t fit. The new design, puck hanging from HDMI cable, solves that problem.
Flickr a Day 296: ‘Jack Frost’
What an interesting autumn shot, and I’m still not 100 percent sure what we see. Is that a coin, or a token? I immediately thought train tracks, but we look down the boards of deck, […]
Bump Art
Sometimes I am shocked to find myself out of touch with popular culture—and that’s a terrible admission living in Southern California, where pronounced body art can be seen everywhere. Yet, not until yesterday’s Flickr Blog post “Belly Paining” and link to small gallery of photos had I ever seen such a thing.
Yeah, my wife and I are middle-aged parents with a daughter in college—removed from immediate contact with expectant-mother lifestyle. Nevertheless, how in the land of tattoos could I miss something so interesting, creative, and personally expressive? What a wonderful way to celebrate the joys (and hardships) of pregnancy.