I Gave up TV for This

On Tuesday we sold our TV, streaming boxes (Roku 3 and Apple TV), and Blu-ray player to a couple of law students (he wants to prosecute criminals and she protect kids). They don’t have cable TV service, just Internet, so the setup is just ideal.

Yesterday I went from being a Craigslist seller to a buyer, using the Tellie bounty to buy a Korg Concert 4000. I don’t play but will learn (this time). We once owned the Korg SP-250, a much newer and more sophisticated model, to a missionary family. A daughter died in Indonesia, and they were returning after nearly two years stateside.

News Media by Joe WilcoxAug 6, 201411:11 am

WTF is the Right Domain Question

I must thank Todd Bishop, whose tweet about a GeekWire story alerted me to the then forthcoming .wtf domain extension, which is now available. Generally, I think these dot-com wannabes are just plain stupid, but someone wants them—or ICANN decision-makers believe so. I ignored every domain registrar solicitation to grab one until .wtf.

My first concern is brand protection. I’ve pissed off more than a few fanboys over the years and I worried about someone snagging joewilcox.wtf and using that as a platform against me. You should worry, too, if you have any kind of brand to protect. “What the fuck?” is right. If your name is your brand, grab .wtf before someone else does.

Living by Joe WilcoxAug 5, 20143:12 pm

First We Cut the Cord, Now We Sell the Tellie

I got this knot of tension today for the stupidest reason,. My wife and I decided to take cord-cutting to another step. We’re selling our 42-inch Sony TV, Blu-ray player, Apple TV, Roku 3, HDMI-switcher, and stand. We’ll keep Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast, for future time when we might buy a 1080p PC monitor for streaming.

I posted to Craigslist and several buyers responded. One of them comes by in about three hours. OMG! There’s no TV tonight!

News Media by Joe WilcoxAug 4, 201410:20 pm

RT News is Punchy, Aggressive, and Provocative

For the summer I’m doing this “Microsoft All-In“, which makes Windows Phone my mobile platform. The app ecosystem improves, but the gaps range from disappointing to perplexing. Choices often aren’t as good as Android or iOS. Windows Phone is the third world of operating systems. You live in envy and make do with less.

There are ridiculous gems, some of which I look and wonder: “Why is that one available?” There are no official BBC or NPR apps, but RT.com—known during another era as Russia Today—is there. The app is pretty good, too. But given Windows Phone’s low global sales share, I wonder why the news service would even bother. Not that I mind.

Gear by Joe WilcoxAug 4, 20145:11 pm

Smartphones come of Age

Wired hits a homer with an incredible August issue on smartphones. As battery life and utility expand, so does my device’s use as secondary—and sometimes primary—device. Nokia Lumia Icon is all the digital device I carried to San Diego Comic-Con 2014. Snap. Edit. Share. And I took notes during the panels. It’s not a question if my smartphone replaces a PC but when.

Five years ago (this month) I asserted, perhaps a bit prematurely, that “Your Next PC is a Smartphone“. That was before the tablet craze sidelined attention, but I’m convinced the smartphone’s day is come—and so do Wired editors.

Music by Joe WilcoxAug 4, 20142:39 pm

Grados Grab an Earfull

I am not big on selfies, but Grado Labs headphones require visuals to appreciate, because they’re like none other. I cleaned out all my birthday money and added Craigslist sales (e.g., my Sony Premium Bluetooth headphones) to buy a pair of RS1e. About 18 months ago, I sold my RS1i for the wireless convenience of the Sonys and regretted right away.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 4, 201412:31 pm

Neko Naps

The Nokia Lumia Icon is consistently one of the best dSLRs I have ever used. You read that right. I don’t desire a big-ass camera carrying this little beauty. I shot all of San Diego […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 1, 20145:57 pm

That’s One Big Cat

Today I started updating my profile photo with the one taken by my wife this morning. She used the Nokia Lumia Icon, which is a fantastic shooter. I edited and square-cropped (because that’s the profile […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxJul 29, 20148:07 pm

My Daughter’s iPhone is Too Destructible

Sshould I blame daughter or device? Last night, she texted: “My screen cracked again. I’m so sorry”. That’s the third shattered iPhone 5s since May; two 5ers busted before that. Clearly, she’s fumble fingers, but something just doesn’t seem right. The college student sticks the damn device in a protective case. Did Apple put pretty design before damage durability?

I spent several hours searching for smartphone breakage data today—on the web and contacting several sources compiling stats. Strangely, the most compelling comparisons are years old. For example, in late 2010, SquareTrade reported that iPhone 4 accidents exceeded the 3GS and devices from competing smartphone manufacturers. In a 2012 survey of 2,000 iPhone users, 30 percent had damaged their device in the previous 12 months.

Google by Joe WilcoxJul 28, 201410:28 am

More Chromebook to Come

Last week, while I attended San Diego Comic-Con, the ASUS 300M Chromebook arrived for review. I will work on the review concurrently with a new ebook tentatively titled Choose the Right Chromebook, while also updating […]

ebooks by Joe WilcoxJul 26, 20146:24 pm

My Books are Now Exclusive to Amazon

I have removed my ebooks from Google Play and all stores but one. Amazon. The decision wasn’t easy, but as an author I believe it is the right one. The retailer just launched Kindle Unlimited, which some social sharers call the “Netflix for books”. Subscribers pay $9.99 per month for whatever written or audio books participate in the program, and Amazon claims 600,000 titles.

To join the Kindle Unlimited program, independent publishers must put their books into KDP Select and give exclusivity for 90-day intervals (or longer). As a writer and reader, I love the “Netflix for books” concept, but as an independent publisher my participation means commitment to Amazon.

News Media by Joe WilcoxJul 9, 201410:38 am

I write Affirmative Headlines

This morning, I responded to a Betanews commenter who asks: “I’m curious though about one thing and have been for a time. Does a Editor or someone else choose your titles or do you?” He responded to my story “I’m Microsoft All-In“, writing: “I personally have found my groove with ‘All-in Apple. for many years.

He asks a good question, and I answer at length, which I share below (and not in block quotes for readability reasons):