Category: Digital Lifestyle

Web by Joe WilcoxApr 16, 20154:19 am

Amazon Brews Unexpected Coffee Deal

I best be watchful, for my wife is smarter than she pretends to be. If not, she’s the mother of all coincidence. Because by all appearances, the woman used the vendor online tracking everyone suspects to snake a great discount from Amazon. Maybe you can turn to advantage persistant invasion of your privacy.

Our story starts on Feb. 11, 2015, when following days of price comparisons she ordered a 12-pack of one pound Café Bustelo from the Internet retailer. Price: $52.90. As we consumed coffee, she returned to Amazon on March 17, when a shocker waited: Same item cost $69.31. Ah, yeah. That’s a 31 percent increase. But by apparently gaming the system, she later purchased for 19 percent less than previously paid.

Apple by Joe WilcoxApr 9, 20158:45 pm

Apple Watch Social Sentiments Slump

As the clock passes Midnight and takes us into April 10, Apple Watch preorders begin. Sales start two weeks later. The buzz is big, but will actual demand be? Argus Insights, an analyst firm that is new to me, doesn’t see strong sales ahead. The metrics are interesting: 7.8 million social interactions and 65K online reviews about wearables.

“Though the Apple Watch will of course be successful, we don’t see the product to be wildly successful”, John Feland, Argus founder, says in a statement. I reviewed the firm’s report, which data is from September 2014 to end of March 2015, and it’s interesting reading. The question, and Apple Watch sales likely will answer: Is online social buzz a means for predicting a product’s success?

Apple by Joe WilcoxApr 8, 201512:03 pm

The Verge on Apple Watch

I am impressed with The Verge’s magazine-like presentation for the web, and the Apple Watch review is exceptional example. Presentation in PC browser or either of my Androids, Nexus 6 or 9, freshly flows from graphics to text overlay to paragraphs of experiential writing. Format, using the device during one day and fine touch of battery icon and time per major graphic, beautifully fits content and context.

Last month’s NeimanLab post “This is my next step: How The Verge wants to grow beyond tech blogging” spotlights changes ahead. “What The Verge has been doing the past six months, and will be doing for the next six, is turning itself into a site that covers pop culture, science, and even cars with the same voice they’ve trained on the world of technology”, NeimanLab assistant editor Justin Ellis explains. The Apple Watch review, posted today with a scad of others, illuminates transition underway. What impresses is writer Nilay Patel’s apparent honesty about the device’s benefits and shortcomings.

Web by Joe WilcoxApr 2, 20155:06 pm

A Tidal Wave Approaches

Fraking fantastic is my reaction to Tidal’s high-def audio.. I spent much of April Fools’ Day testing, and quite enjoying, the music service, although I am skeptical that most streaming subsctibers will care—not for $19.95 per month. Still, I see hope for the 10-buck standard quality other option if Tidal delivers enough artist exclusives and superior curation. The iTunes hegemony, and Apple’s rapidly evolving Beats Music acquisition, is all about content, much of it available nowhere else, better presented, and more easily discovered. With musicians” support, and unique content with it, maybe, just maybe, a Tidal wave approaches.

The service essentially relaunched on March 31, 2015, with a gala event hosted by Jay Z and other music superstars. He acquired Tidal, for $56 million two months earlier, but the lossless streaming service launched in October 2014. Architecture, audio quality, two-tier pricing, and streaming are essentially unchanged. New owners’ commitment, that of other artists, big marketing push, and 30-day trial distinguish Tidal today.

Gear by Joe WilcoxApr 1, 201512:42 am

It’s No Joke: $149 Chromebook

If Google made its big Chromebook announcement today instead of March 31st, I would think it’s an April Fools prank. Seriously? One-hundred-and-forty-nine dollar models, from Haier and Hisense, with one available from Walmart? I know some of these laptops sell for $199. But this is a new low.

Meanwhile, ASUS will, in summer, start selling something for even less: Chromebit, a $100 candy-bar size carry-all computer. Plug it into a HDMI display (say, the TV), and your Chromie lifestyle is even-more mobile. The company also will release Chromebook Flip, a tablet-convertible wannabe, sooner. Someone tell me: This isn’t a Foolie prank?

Aspiration by Joe WilcoxMar 28, 201512:30 pm

Comic-Con Heroes: The Millennial

Today’s excerpt from my 2013 ebook Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make the Greatest Show on Earth is the last of the dozen profiles, which I started serializing Saturdays more than two months ago. One more installment remains, posting in a week, after which, on July 8, 2015, when my current commitment with Amazon KDP Select ends, the book releases into the public domain.

To recap: “Comic-Con Heroes” is a collection of profiles. Twelve attendees. The people whom I believe are the real stars of the show. Not Hollywood, which presence feels larger every year. As I write in the book’s opening section: “While many Conners role-play fictional characters or superheroes, fans of every ilk play the most important role of all. They are Comic-Con. But no one tells their stories. I want to change that”.

Apple by Joe WilcoxMar 26, 201510:50 pm

If Just 1 Percent of Apple Watch Buyers Go Gold…

Behind buying polls there are as many questions as answers, like: “How many people saying they will buy X, really will?” Oftentimes the number wanting something and actually getting it are usually much less than tallied results indicate. Considering those caveats, an Apple Watch buying poll I have running at BetaNews nevertheless illuminates how the device could be hugely successful even from a small number of sales. I do mean big.

Among the more than 1,100 respondents, as I write, 19 say they will buy Apple Watch Edition, which price ranges from $10,000 to $17,000. Assuming they all purchase and do so on the cheap, the math is easy: $190,000. Another 482 people want either of the other two models (Sport and standard Apple Watch). for $216,618 calculated at base prices of $349 and $549, respectively. The closeness of these two total dollar figures, possible profit margins behind them, and differences per-customer profits are ghastly.

Gear by Joe WilcoxMar 24, 201512:46 am

Nexus 6 Review

When isn’t a cell phone too big? The Motorola-made, Google-branded phablet answers that question for me, and may very well for you. From Samsung’s introduction of the original Note, I scoffed at large-screen smartphones—and, honestly, the seemingly stereotypical gadget geeks using them. But big is better, and my arrogant attitude about phablets and the people buying them was unwarranted.

Simply stated: Nexus 6 is the best handset I have ever used. The experience is so fresh and delightful, the emotional reaction reminds of using the original iPhone that I purchased on launch day in June 2007. N6 shatters my negative preconception about phablets, particularly unwieldiness when used daily. That said, I made some lifestyle changes, including choice of clothing, to accommodate the mobile’s massive size.

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.

Apple by Joe WilcoxMar 9, 20154:50 pm

Apple Returns to Its Roots

Following today’s splashy media event, Apple looks lots more like the company I loved—and loathed—last decade. The smartwatch and new, ultra-thin and light MacBook take Apple back to its core (no pun intended). Both products are all about status. Make no mistake: The devices you use establish status—having the newest, coolest thing. Appealing to the desire for coolness is a longstanding Apple design prerogative.

But that aspirational quality has been missing for a good half decade—and I suspect not coincidentally during the latter stages of cofounder Steve Jobs’ illness, retirement as chief executive, and tragic death. Aspiration remained in the marketing but the quality falls short of products released from around 1998 to 2010. On Twitter today, “Wow” is a common response to the new MacBook, about which many tweeters regard as the bigger announcement. I agree. The 12-inch screen laptop goes on sale April 10, starting at $1,299.

Apple by Joe WilcoxFeb 16, 201512:45 pm

The Smartwatch isn’t a Dumb Idea

Over the holiday weekend, I started using the Moto 360, which user experience is way better than anticipated. (My old watch is left in the photo.) For all the nutcases calling Apple Watch innovative and revolutionary—without there even being a device for them to test—Android Wear is, ah, timely. Google gives great utility that will be difficult for the fruit-logo company to match. Reasons are simple: Context, search, sync, UI design, and Google Now.

I resisted the smartwatch concept for having been there before. Few of the gadget geeks gushing about wearables are old enough to remember Microsoft SPOT. Mid-last decade, the company partnered with real watchmakers (Fossil, Suunto, and Swatch); the devices were as much jewelry as functional timepieces; FM radio delivered appointments, news, weather, and other alerts independent of cell phones; and battery life lasted three days or more (which wasn’t enough). By these measures, SPOT watches were so much more and still failed. Hence, these are reasons why in past analyses I called the decade-later attempt dumb. But I was wrong.

Digital Lifestyle by Joe WilcoxFeb 1, 201510:54 am

Cox Flex Watch Temps Me More

Anywhere from two to three times a week, Cox sends offers to join Flex Watch, which would add $19.99 to my $59.99 Internet service. The cable company guarantees the price for 12 months—no contract—and would provide HD set-top box with access to local networks and some premium, subscription channels. Last year’s offer: HBO and Starz. Last month’s adds Encore. This week, Cox sweetens by tempting with Cinemax and Flix for just $5 more.

The HD box and local channel access doesn’t tempt the slightest. Cox would have to rewire our setup to enable access from the living room, but I’m a believer in the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach to networking. I’ve got 120Mbps Internet pumping down to the bedroom, where there is no TV, and don’t want to risk mucking up what we’ve got. But I am tempted to pay $19.99, or $24.99, for the subscription channels and stream to the tellie content in their apps—which I find offer better experience and more options. But does that cross the line? Is it still cord-cutting?