Category: Media

Society by Joe WilcoxMar 16, 201510:30 am

At Launch, HBO NOW is No GO

The past 7 days is so chock full of tech-related news, like Gigaom’s closure or updated Chromebox Pixel, feels like a year has passed since Apple announced the new MacBook and exclusive distribution of streaming service HBO NOW. I don’t know what the device maker paid for the privilege, but big benefits belong to it. I wonder: What made HBO executives think that the service benefits by tying its early destiny to a single platform during telecast of the popular Game of Thrones series?

Particularly for cord-cutters who don’t have Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, or iPod and want GoT Season 5 the choice is simple: Buy ATV for 69 bucks or spend more on another device capable of running HBO’s iOS app—or steal! On March 10, 2015, my colleague Alan Buckingham, who owns no fruit-logo products and cord-cuts, wrote that he might get the streaming box. I asked if he really plans to buy Aople TV. “I likely will”, he says.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 16, 20156:51 am

Flickr a Day 75: ‘Matera — the Old Town’

Today’s selection steps back from the parade of people to urban photography. Michele Ursino shot self-titled “Matera—the Old Town” on Sept. 16, 2014, using Nikon D7000 and 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. Vitals: f/4.5, ISO 100, 1/200 […]

Gear by Joe WilcoxMar 15, 20154:01 pm

The Grados Prayer in C

While no geek, I still appreciate good tech. Nexus 6 and Grado Labs RS1e headphones are two of my four best acquisitions made since summer 2014, and both will be reviewed—ah, someday soon. The others: Fujifilm X100T used to take the above photo and Chromebook Pixel LS received two days ago.

Too often, the measure of quality cans is classical music. Bah! Modern headphones should encompass a complete tonal range—not just the highs of the great dead composers’ violins or the lows from the thumping bass preferred by the Beats generation. Fullness and roundness are exactly what the RS1e deliver to my aging ears. Today, I listened to a song surprisingly showing the headphones’ tonality, streamed from Google Music to, yeah, the N6.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 15, 20157:14 am

Flickr a Day 74: ‘Student’

Chilean Francisco Osorio describes himself as a “social anthropologist very interested in photography since childhood. I remember my father bringing home a book to learn how to make photographs, which I read from cover to […]

Society by Joe WilcoxMar 14, 201511:29 am

Comic-Con Heroes: The Volunteer

Three more profiles, and the conclusion, remain before I release my ebook Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make The Greatest Show On Earth into the public domain, on July 8, 2015, after my current commitment with Amazon KDP Select ends. To recap: The tome features 12 attendees from the 2013 San Diego convention. This year marks my seventh, but I am a paying participant; for reasons I don’t understand, my press credentials weren’t recertified.

So far we have met, in order of appearance: The Dark Knight, The Fighter, The Collectors, The Academic, The Nerd Culturist, The Writer,The Bicyclists, The Heroine, and The Time Lord. They represent a surprising cross-section of Comic-Con attendees, ranging from a toy anthropologist to a hopeful future storyteller. They’re all worth your attention. Place look back.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 14, 20157:10 am

Flickr a Day 73: ‘OMG!’

Reviewing the last few days of selections, I see that the subjects are all older. We can’t have that! I picked today’s pic mainly for staging. The umbrellas are perfect additions, and what’s not to […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 13, 20157:12 am

Flickr a Day 72: ‘Going That Way’

For this second Friday the 13th of 2015, Juan Carlos Gonzalez is your lucky charm. His Flickr stream is a magnificent presentation of color and composition. Many of the photos seem to leap off the […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxMar 12, 20158:16 pm

Google pulls an Apple-Like Media Coup

Bias in the media is inevitable, and any news gatherer who denies this fact is a liar. Companies seek favor or to influence in countless ways. It’s the nature of the beast, which cannot be tamed. So I wonder how Chromebook Pixel embargoes impacted reporting about Apple’s newest laptop. If they did, as I’m convinced, Google pulled off one hell of a marketing coup.

The search and information giant provided many tech blogs and news sites with the new Pixel about a week before the l aptop launched yesterday and the first reviews posted—that was also days before Apple’s well-publicized media event where a new MacBook was rumored. Both computers share something in common: USB Type-C, which is bleeding-edge tech. The connector received much media attention on Monday and Tuesday two ways: Buzz about it being the next great thing, and MacBook having but one port (Pixel has two, and others).

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 12, 20156:50 am

Flickr a Day 71: ‘Silence & Serenity’

Belgian Lie—”pronounced as ‘ee’”, she says—distinguishes her photographic art by a distinctive characteristic: Red. She uses the color to accent and punctuate her images. If you spend time browsing none of the other photographers’ photostreams […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 11, 20157:27 am

Flickr a Day 70: ‘Reading Light’

Lighting is today’s selection’s winning quality. Illumination behind the subject, enveloped by darkness all around, creates cozy feeling. Don’t you just want to grab a book and join him? Carol Blyberg shot self-titled “Reading Light” […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 10, 20156:49 am

Flickr a Day 69: ‘Breaking the Silence’

The intensity exploding from the photographs of Isengardt can’t be ignored, and it draws in and envelopes you. Today’s selection is among his tamest, but I’m not alone fancying it. The image is his Flickr banner. Color and mood make self-titled “Breaking the silence”. Yeah, I can almost hear that car punching through the fog.

Bond is a name. You don’t need to hear the James. I have to say the same of Isengardt, whose name is a mystery to me. But not his equipment. He used the Canon EOS 550D to shoot this photo, on Sept. 30, 2012.

News Media by Joe WilcoxMar 9, 20158:58 pm

Goodbye Gigaom

Twice a day, my wife or I take meals to her 93 year-old dad, if he doesn’t want to eat out for lunch. I sat with the gent in his apartment early this evening reading to him about the day in history when a Twitter notification from Harry McCracken caught my attention: “Stunned to hear that Gigaom is no more, but also confident that its excellent staff will find good gigs elsewhere”. Say what?

It’s true, and not a prank as I first suspected. A pioneering tech blog—one of the few credibly news reporting—has ceased “all operations”. What looked like a normal day of posting, and with higher output given the Apple Watch event, was anything but. Maybe the backstory will make sense of today’s closure. For surely an operation with news, research, and events doesn’t evaporate suddenly. The greater concern is resurrection as something less, with menial staff, and focus on posting for pageviews.