Category: Media

Journalism by Joe Wilcox
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Whither Windows Death?

Over at BetaNews I pose question “Will you upgrade to Windows 10?” and provide readers a poll to answer the question. Timing coincides with the official launch of the platform tomorrow. To be brutally honest, I seriously considered using headline: “Will you upgrade to Windows Death?”

Because: if Windows 10 doesn’t succeed it will be the last viable version, given the success of Android or iOS; shipments of both mobile platforms either match or exceed Windows computers; and Microsoft’s advancing cloud strategy signals the end of Windows as we have come to know it, as the operating system evolves and updates in a manner more like Chrome OS than the big release delivered every few years. Then there is the criticism, much of it among beta testers, that makes upgrading to Windows 10 seem like Death. 

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Apple by Joe Wilcox
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Hey, Apple Music, Glitch or Licensing Change?

Sometimes I need loud power pop to drive my writing. While working on a story about Windows 10 for BetaNews, I selected R5 to stream from Apple Music—and not for the first time. I started with track No. 6, “Smile”, which is among the two highest-rated tracks from album “Sometime Last Night“. But today, rather than the full song, I get a 90-second preview.

What the frak? 

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News Media by Joe Wilcox
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Responsible Reporting Section 3 ‘What You Must Do’: Chapters I and II

Serialization of my ebook Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers, resumes following a three-week hiatus. Two sections behind us, we come to the final one. What came before: Foreward; Section 1, Chapters I and II, III and IV, V and VI; Section 2, Chapters I, II, III, IV, and V.

The book published in Spring 2014, and all information herein was current then and nearly all of it is still relevant today. The first two sections build up to the third, and I strongly encourage you start at the beginning and read through the previous 10 chapters plus one before continuing. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Build Your Own Camera Backpack

When I set out to buy a bag for my Fujifilm X-T1, four criteria topped the list: Smaller rather than bulky, shoulder straps, quality for price, and color (orange). No backpack made for carrying cameras qualified, after exhaustive search across the InterWebs. But one had my attention: Filson Rugged Twill Backpack, which coincidentally is on sale for about 37-percent off. The other two colors, neither of which appeals to me, are full price.

I chose instead the ONA Bolton Street Backpack, which as explained yesterday is too bulky for my bodily frame and digital lifestyle. Ahead of opportunity to reach that conclusion and reluctantly return the tote, I attempted to cancel the order before Amazon shipped it but failed. A year-old Gizmodo post by Nicholas Stango and the sudden Amazon availability of the Filson (for the sale price) and a Crumpler changed everything. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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There’s Something You Should Know About the ONA Bolton Street Backpack

It’s beautiful but bigger than it looks. I ordered and returned the Bolton Street this week, fulfilled by Amazon from one of its retailer partners. Words cannot express how much I wanted to keep the backpack. The craftsmanship is fine art, attention to detail is finer still, and quality of materials is outstanding. But the thang doesn’t fit my digital lifestyle or my back. Depth is the problem.

My story starts on July 9, 2015, when I walked out of Best Buy with a ridiculously fantastic deal: Fujifilm X-T1 kit body and 18-55mm lens, discounted $250, bundled with the XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS for another $100. The second lens alone retails for $699. My previous digicam, the Fuji X100T, is so compact that I didn’t use backpack or other carryall. But interchangeable lens camera changes everything, so I started looking for an appropriate backpack. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Flickr a Day 204: ‘Planking’

Some fads are short-lived, while others you wish hadn’t been even that long. There is my reaction to planking four years ago. I was oblivious to the thing until someone commented on a pic of our cat Kuma posted to my social network. For fun, and no other reason, we begin three days of selections searched using the “P” word.

First up, from Patricia van Casteren, is the appropriately self-titled “Planking”, which she shot on June 21, 2011, using the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 200, 1/500 sec, 210mm. “Even the polar bears are totally hooked on planking these days”, she says, providing reference to a Wikipedia article for folks who don’t know what the hell the thing—also known as the “Lying Down Game”. I am surprised to see the origins go back more than three decades, given the sudden surge in popularity four years ago. 

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