Category: Gear

Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Fujifilm X100 Review

Few digital cameras have caused as much stir as the retro-styled compact now available in the United States on a limited basis. The Fujifilm FinePix X100 joins the Leica X1, Sigma DP1x and DP2x, Sony Alpha NEX-3 and NEX-5, and micro four-thirds cameras like the Olympus PEN E-PL2 and E-P2 or Panasonic DMC-GF2 in a newer class of mirrorless digicams. I used or owned the DP1, DP2s, E-P2, GF1, and X1.

However, like the Leica X1 or Sigma DP series, the X100 is eccentric—the lens is fixed and cannot be changed. Who on earth would buy a digital camera without telephoto? I, for one. Many professional photographers for another. I’m no pro, but I have specific needs as a journalist for which the X100 is ideally suited. The Fuji is the only camera I own. Whether or not it will be sufficient for my needs, or possibly yours, is question answered by continuous use. For now, I offer my first impressions and explain what are this camera’s major benefits. 

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Apple by Joe Wilcox
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Why iPad is Successful

Two reasons stand out: iPod and iPhone, and the ecosystem supporting them. Apple launched its tablet with huge manufacturing, distribution, and third-party support, something it didn’t have with iPod and less of with iPhone. Purely from that perspective, and discounting design or technical merits, Research in Motion and Samsung are strategically in best competitive ecosystem positions to release viable iPad competitors. But will they?

Some Apple fans will disagree, arguing that iPad’s size, design, and user experience make it far superior to other tablets. I won’t debate those points here but only observe they would be meaningless without the supporting ecosystem created by iPod and iPhone. Apple didn’t launch iPad into a vacuum but with lush sales and distribution environment. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Itsy Bitsy Etsy Shop

On December 1, my wife started selling handmade bead necklaces at Etsy. It’s something we discussed for a long time. She’s new to Etsy, but not me. I have long been early adopter of online services. For example, I opened my Yahoo account in 1996, I rented my first Netflix DVD in 1999 and in 2006 I joined both Facebook and Twitter. I opened an Etsy account in July 2006 to purchase for my daughter the Amigurumi Flowery pink bunny rabbit with matching bag. It’s pictured below without the bag; photo taken today. My teenager still has the handmade animal four-and-a-half years later.

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Apple by Joe Wilcox
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MacBook Air is Netbook Enough for Me

Last week, at the suggestion of Betanews founder Nate Mook, I asked question: “Is MacBook Air a netbook killer?” I first posed it to Betanews readers who responded by email to an earlier post and then to some analysts. The majority of folks emphatically said, “No”. I was surprised because my answer would be  something like: As a pair iPad and 11.6-inch MacBook Air are netbook killers. I put aside my own opinions and let the reporting lead the story. As I explained later, in “MacBook Air will redefine personal computing“, Apple’s little laptop—and its itty-bitty tablet, too—are category redefining products because they share so much in common with consumer electronics devices.

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Leica by Joe Wilcox
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Ken Hansen: Mr. Leica

Since late February, I looked to buy the Leica X1, but the camera is unavailable most everywhere. Steve Huff’s review turned me onto the X1, which, aside for price, is exactly what I have been searching for: A compact digicam with high IQ (image quality). In early March, I got on the Pro Shop for Photographers Leica X1 waiting list and waited and waited. The call came in late June when I was too cash poor; I had to pass on buying one of the two cameras the Leica dealer received that month.

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