Moto 360 Review

A smartwatch by any other name is compromise. The question: How much are you willing to pay, if anything, for the privilege? No matter what any manufacturer promises, battery life will never be enough, particularly when daily recharging is the minimum requirement. If you use the wristwear as prescribed, no less is demanded, regardless of the device maker. None delivers daily use without sacrificing something.

Nearly all these mini-computers on the wrist aren’t smart enough. You need a phone, too. Is two of one and half-dozen of the other worth the trouble? The answer depends much on your lifestyle. If you text and drive, and can’t break the habit, a smartwatch could save your life or others. If your mobile handset feels like a ball and chain, adopting glance-and-go lifestyle can liberate you. But if your smartphone is practically surgically attached, for its frequent use, you shouldn’t add another tech accessory. If your phone battery often runs out, because you forget to plug in, don’t multiply your troubles. If you don’t wear a watch now, and haven’t for years, don’t bother.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 20, 20157:14 am

Flickr a Day 110: ‘Salt Pans’

Drama and composition make this pic, by Dave Lansley, our pick. Interestingly, his Peru 2007 album includes about a dozen photos from the same location. Today’s selection was the one I first saw and stand-out choice […]

Living by Joe WilcoxApr 19, 201511:38 pm

Epitaph

On a blustery night in February 1978, I sat in my college dorm gripped with writer’s block. A song lyric wouldn’t come, so I decided to write a poem; a rarity. Pure poetry isn’t my thing. The verse is short, and I decided then, at age 18, that it would someday be my epitaph.

I originally posted the poem with title “Lay Me Down” on Jan. 31, 2004, when this blog resided at TypePad. Rather than restore the original post, I revive instead.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 19, 20157:03 am

Flickr a Day 109: ‘Two Seconds of Hesitation’

Our selection compliments Day 108. Both photographs use different techniques to split the viewpoint between subjects. Here, the mirror image creates dynamic perspective and leaves anyone looking closely wondering. Because to the far right, there is a man’s partial face in the reflection, watching her. The questions raised by his presence make the image more interesting—even more so with self-title “Two Seconds of Hesitation”.

Thibaud Saintin used Nikon D700 and 50mm f/1.4 lens to shoot the pic on Jan. 1, 2013, at the “Edelweiss cafe, Georgetown, Penang”. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand, where he teaches French. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 1000, 1/40 sec, 50.4mm.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 18, 20156:47 am

Flickr a Day 108: Bus Ride

Early Micro Fourth Thirds and oddballs like the Sigma DP1 led affordable, mirrorless cameras to popularity. Among the key benefits: Convenience of a rangefinder, like the one used on Day 87, but for much less cost; physically smaller size; and lenses that are less bulky. The DP line, like the Fuji X100 series or the Leica X1 and X2, stand out for being compacts with fixed lenses and APS-C sensors common among digital SLRs. Another, the Sony Cyber-Shot RX1, and companion RX1R, up the ante by offering something more: full-frame sensor.

A full-frame sensor is typically 24mm by 36mm with an effective focal point of 35mm. APS-C is cropped, by comparison, adding an effective multiple of around 1.5 times (depending on the camera) to the lens’ focal length. Full frame captures more detail, suffers from fewer visual artifacts, and produces better results in natural or low-light. You pay more, too. Either RX1 retails for around $2,800—for camera with fixed, non-interchangeable lens.

Justin Kern used the RX1 to shoot today’s selection, which I chose for its detail, rich color, and stark contrast—perspective smartly split between the bus interior and the road outside. Vitals: f/2, ISO 125, 1/80 sec, 35mm.

Gear by Joe WilcoxApr 17, 20159:04 pm

Amazon Warehouse Makes Me Mad

Yesterday, I made the mistake of ordering Harman/Kardon Nova speakers from Amazon Warehouse, which advertised: “Used, Like New. Item will come in original packaging. Packaging may be damaged. All accessories are present and undamaged”. Present, yes. Undamaged, no.

A cord connects the two speakers together, but the pins on one end were badly out of alignment. I did try to straighten out the damn things but failed. I’m not sure success would have been better than what happened: Demanding a refund (that will take days); writing a stinging one-star review; and reboxing and returning the Nova.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 17, 20158:29 am

Big Cat in a Small Tree

Neko is primarily an indoor cat, but we do take him out for brief jaunts in the apartment complex courtyard. While he’s not trim, our bulky boy can still climb when motivated. Here he finds […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 17, 20157:30 am

Flickr a Day 107: ‘Snowy’

When choosing photos for this series, I weigh many considerations, such as: Image quality and appeal, composition, and story behind the image or the one about the shooter. Today’s selection is soft and doesn’t represent the high IQ typical of Matt MacGillivray. But it’s a great shot superbly composed (or cropped) that is interesting. Bird and bricks? WTH?

Matthew works for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as a web application system architect. But birds are a passion, as his photography shows. He shot self-titled “Snowy” on Jan. 4, 2009, using Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi and Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 lens. Vitals: f/7.1, ISO 200, 1/400 sec, 400mm.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 16, 20157:01 am

Flickr a Day 106: ‘La Nave de Juan Diego’

Today’s selection comes with a question: Does the effect appeal to you? Computer scientist by day, photographer the rest of the time, Pedro Szekely is a fan of HDR—high dynamic range—techniques for shooting and processing images. Done right, the method can add great depth to the final photo, particularly when taken in unfavorable conditions, such as low or harshly-mixed lighting.

Self-titled “La Nave de Juan Diego”, captured on July 10, 2013, is one of Pedro’s better photos using HDR. On Day 105, we saw example of a photographer who years later decided the original was better than the HDR composite. By contrast, given the high view count of this photo, more than 22,000, and that of other renders in the photostream, many, many other people presumably prefer Pedro’s punchy style.

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.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 15, 20156:44 am

Flickr a Day 105: ‘Mickey’s Diner Take 2’

File today’s selection under category “less is more”. Joe Dammel borrowed a friend’s Nikon D3000 to shoot self-titled “Mickey’s Dining Car” on Oct. 26, 2011. The original was a “7-shot HDR image” that nearly two years later demanded re-processing “to better-reflect my editing tastes today”—June 2013, according to the metadata. “I realized that the original single image kept all of the tones I’d ever need”.

Hence, we have “Mickey’s Diner Take 2”. He adds: “My workflow now is about isolating the subject in a more natural way, emphasizing the tonality of the image rather than tone mapping the hell out of it”. Please compare to the original; I, too, prefer the second take. Vitals: f/8, ISO 100, 1 sec, 18mm.

Money by Joe WilcoxApr 14, 20155:03 pm

What Sucks about .Sucks Domains

As someone whose name also is his brand (welcome to 21st-century journalism), I watch with interest the new .sucks top-level domain, which is available for select preregistration through May 29—the only time to surely secure your .sucks. Yesterday, i looked to a reputable registrar to see what joewilcox.sucks would cost me. Cough, cough: $3,797.99 now, during the so-called Priority Access (e.g., Sunrise) period, or $407.98 when general pre-reg starts in June.

The new TLD is just one among hundreds of available or forthcoming domain extensions sanctioned by governing body ICANN. “I think the motivation behind the release of all these new domains is money”, says Roger Kay, who describes the sellers as shady land speculators. “The .sucks domain is particularly nasty”, the president of consultancy Endpoint Technologies Associates emphasizes. “It’s pretty close to blackmail”. But is it really? This analysis means to help you decide.