Category: Apple

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 20, 20269:40 pm

A Shot in the Dark

San Diego Comic-Con 2016, I was functionally blind—and the realization how much came during Preview Night 10 years ago this evening. My daughter accompanied me to the Convention Center, where she received a complimentary companion full-event pass as the helper for a disabled attendee—a status I never imagined myself as being.

Crippling cataracts clouded my eyesight, and I saw how severely when scanning the show floor and realizing I couldn’t read any of the large numerical signs hanging from the ceiling. Disheartened, I walked into the crowd, blindly pointed iPhone 6s, and shot the Featured Image, which essentially is the only photographic record I have of the event. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 80, 1/15 sec, 29mm; 6:41 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 13, 20269:52 pm

Stormtrooper in a Kilt

Ho-ho, the on-this-date review from San Diego Comic-Con continues—reaching back to July 13, 2012. My attendance started in 2009, although I had a press pass for 2008—about nine months after the Wilcox family moved to Southern California. My return for two days next week will be my first appearance since 2017.

The Featured Image is intriguing for a couple of reasons. The kilt is obvious. You can see that. You have to wonder what impression a brigade of like-adorned stormtroopers would make. Would rebel forces laugh and not take their adversaries seriously enough, ending up even more dead?

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 30, 202610:00 am

MacBook Neo: Sadly Underpowered, Easily Overwhelmed

If you are an iPhone and/or iPad owner who has pined for a somewhat affordable Mac, if you aren’t rushed and don’t mind waiting, and if you are bestowed with Herculean patience, then Apple MacBook Neo is for you. If you don’t mind paying $100 more than you would have five days ago, by all means partake the forbidden fruit.

For the record, other than anyone fitting the above criteria—or perhaps someone wanting to be one of the cool kids—I don’t recommend MacBook Neo for almost anyone who does more than surf the web or check email. Lag is the best term to describes how the Neo feels in real world usage. Performance reminds me of early Chromebooks, other than Google’s own Pixel series, and also Netbooks. Remember those?

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 4, 20269:47 pm

How We Missed a Day

I believe that yesterday was the first day missed posting to this site since daily publishing started on Jan. 1, 2024. Last night, I drove my daughter to the local emergency room and stayed with her during the short—as in several hours—examination. False alarm. She worried for nothing. On a different day, with more time, I may explain about what.

I didn’t think to take a photo last night, so we’re pulling art from the archive. The Featured Image comes from Apple iPhone XS on Feb. 21, 2021. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 25, 1/2208 sec, 4.25mm; 11:37 a.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 30, 202610:39 pm

Photo Fun with Galaxy AI

There is something disturbing—frightening, really —about how easily artificial intelligence can manipulate digital assets from the simplest of commands.

Take for example the Featured Image. From the original (see companion photo), I instructed Samsung Galaxy AI to dress the cat in prison clothes. The animal waited outside my neighbor’s apartment building’s gate, which on closer inspection reminded of prison bars.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 19, 20267:28 pm

Apple Store Turns 25

Twenty-five years ago today, the first Apple Store opened at Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. I was there, covering the event for CNET News. Four days earlier, then CEO Steve Jobs briefed journalists and a handful of bloggers (an oddity back then) across the way at upper-scale Tysons Galleria. Skepticism hung heavy in the air, with respect to Jobs’ ambitions. Recession gripped the country and rival Gateway was in process of shuttering more than 400 retail shops. Everyone knew: Jobs was either genius or crazy.

But companies that take big risks during economic downturns are most likely to reap rewards later. Retail would be Apple’s third walk across the tightrope during 2001. The others: iTunes (January); OS X (March); iPod (October). I’ve said before that these four are foundation for all the company’s successes that followed, including iPhone.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 16, 202610:02 pm

I Know They Cage Animals, But Plants?

I am in the process of changing laptops, which makes me short on time and also reviewing older photos as files transfer or archive. The Featured Image is one of them, captured on Aug. 1, 2017.

With time, I tend to forget what was captured where. But I remember this plant cage, because it was so unusual. I also chose not to share the shot, because you can’t really make out enough of the greenery growing inside. But tonight, with an applied filter to add some character, here you are.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 27, 20269:12 pm

You can Resist!

I don’t long for sweets like days gone by. Thirteen years ago in July, I radically changed my diet by vastly cutting carbohydrates and reducing added sugars to a nearly immeasurable amount. My health improved, my weight dropped, and I avoided diabetes; my doctor had been ready to put me on an insulin regime. Not necessary.

Discipline and self-control are possible, and I say that to everyone who wants a lifestyle of having your cake and eating it, too. You can’t have both. Eat your cake, or donut, and there will be consequences to your health. I love pasta, for example, and consumed it heartedly. I gave it up. You can, too.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 31, 20258:52 pm

Meaningless Milestones–or Are They?

In the Featured Image, taken with iPhone 6 on Dec. 31, 2014, our cats Neko and Cali look out into our old apartment’s courtyard and onto the impending new year. The portrait showed up in my photo memories feed for today. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 32, 1/250 sec, 4.15mm; 2:40 p.m. PST.

I take a moment to look ahead and behind with respect to meaningless milestones with respect to my use of online services—some of them for longer than many Gen Zs have been alive. October marked 20 years using Flickr. Yep, since 2005. Christmas Day was the twentieth anniversary for Twitter, now X.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 12, 20249:59 pm

Microsoft, Copilot This!

Yesterday, I dropped by Best Buy for a quick looksee. My local store, in San Diego’s Mission Valley district, is undergoing changes that started with remodeling last year—or, gasp, was it 2022? Oh, how we lose track of time. Regardless, a dramatic change greeted me.

What can best be described as an Apple mini-store occupies some of the space once dominated by Microsoft, Surface devices, and OEM laptops. The newer setup is all about digital lifestyle, with all-Apple devices gathered together in one area. If there was space being made for Windows Copilot+ PCs packing Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite and Plus processors, I couldn’t find it. But nobody could miss all that fruit-logo fare.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 23, 202310:04 pm

Merry and Macabre

Six years ago today, I shot the Featured Image to mark then what continues now: Neighbors putting out Halloween decorations in September. Welcome to Southern California, where residents celebrate pagan holidays with reverence.

This one comes from iPhone 7 Plus. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 20, 1/396 sec, 28mm (film equivalent); 11:10 a.m. PDT, Sept. 23, 2017; composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 25, 20238:38 pm

Remembering Something Special for Outdoor Readers

A decade ago, Amazon temporarily set up an outside reading lounge at Westfield UTC in La Jolla, Calif. The Featured Image is one of several that I captured using iPhone 5s on Nov. 9, 2013. […]