Tag: context

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.

Google by Joe WilcoxFeb 10, 20159:55 pm

There’s Something You Should Know About Google

In 2004, at JupiterResearch’s defunct Microsoft Monitor blog, I took a contrary view about Google, by asserting that it is not a search company. “Search is a means to an end, and information is that end. Google monetizes the information through search and contextual advertising”. That Google is all about information should be obvious enough now, although perhaps not to many people outside the company 11 years ago.

In a post four days ago, but only seen by poor pitiful me this morning, Washington Post reporter Brian Fung rightly explains why Google will “win” with its push into telecommunications. He writes: “What made Google one of the world’s five biggest companies? Data…If Google forges into the wireless space, the search giant wouldn’t just be another alternative to Verizon and AT&T. It would control a vertical slice of this universe in a way that no other company does”. Yep. The information giant’s interest in wired and wireless information share the same destination.

Gear by Joe WilcoxJan 15, 20157:16 pm

Toshiba Chromebook 2 First Impressions

This afternoon, I received the Toshiba Chromebook 2, purchased 24 hours earlier from Amazon. The computer tests my taste for the contextual cloud, as I contemplate moving back to the Google lifestyle abandoned in early summer 2014. While in some ways my creativity flourishes on Apple products, I also feel encumbered. Synchronization still stumbles across Apple devices; informational utility of Siri sucks; fumbling around with apps across the user interface is distracting and time-wasting.

While having used Toshiba laptops in the distance past, this is the first I paid for. I chose the Chromebook for what it has that nearly no other does, 1080p IPS panel. The screen type offers bright and bountiful viewing angles. Most other Chromebooks rely on TN panels that are typically 200- or 250-nit brightness, or likely less than your smartphone. There is one, good viewing angle—straight on! The Toshiba tops 300-nits, which is similar to my 13.3-inch MacBook Pro (late-2013 model). The published numbers I’ve seen vary, with the most consistent 339 and 320 nits, respectively.

Aspiration by Joe WilcoxJan 1, 201512:50 pm

What 2014 Life-Changing Tech Means to 2015

Three weeks ago, at BetaNews, I asked “What tech changed your life in 2014?” Readers answered there and on Google+. As the new year starts, I wonder what will make all our lives better. Apple Watch? I doubt it. Shake me awake from the nightmare if the wearable isn’t the most successful flop of 2015. Windows 10? Skipping nine is a good sign, but is giving users more of what they don’t want to let go life changing? Eh, no.

At the precipice of looking ahead, this is a last look behind. Once Consumer Electronics Show leaks and early announcements rush the InterWebs, all eyes will turn forward—blind to what many people have, focusing on what they want instead. That’s because “aspiration” is the defining word of the technology era, and the promise if you buy newfangled This or That your life will be better for it. Sometimes the promise is true, but too often not, which is why I asked the important question three weeks ago.

Apple by Joe WilcoxDec 31, 201411:03 am

Five Tech Products Changed My Digital Lifestyle in 2014

Looking back on this last day of the year, I wonder how my daily tech changed so much since the first. On Jan. 1, 2014, my core computing comprised Chromebook, Nexus tablet, and Nexus smartphone. Midyear, I switched out to all Microsoft—buying Surface Pro 3 and Nokia Lumia Icon. While commendable the effort, Windows poorly fit my lifestyle. Today, I’m all Apple—13-inch MacBook Pro Retina Display with 512GB SSD, iPhone 6 128GB, and iPad Air 128GB. I can’t imagine using anything else.

I abandoned my Google lifestyle for numerous reasons, with my desire to create more content rather than consume it being primary. Google gives great contextual computing, with respect to information that is relevant to where you are and even what you want. But Android and Chrome OS, and their supporting apps, aren’t mature enough platforms for consistent content creation.

News Media by Joe WilcoxMar 3, 201412:06 am

What's Behind the 'Wall Street Journal' Paywall?

The other day, I investigated current Wall Street Journal subscription pricing, as part of broader research about paywalls. The Journal still charges more than I want to pay but I am relieved to find one price for online, smartphone, and tablet.

People consume information contextually, so paid content should be available wherever they want to get it. What follows is my chat with a Journal sales rep, with full pricing.

Mobility by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20149:57 am

I Told You So

Sony selling its PC business rocks techdom today. I am in process of writing an analysis for BetaNews and decided to excerpt a portion here, posted sooner, that hopefully will help anyone looking for context.

Additionally, because I work on a book about writing well and responsibly online, there is opportunity to refute long-time accusations leveled by aggressive BetaNews commenters. Yeah, the two are related. With that introduction…

Tech by Joe WilcoxSep 25, 201311:02 am

Age of Context

Robert Scoble and Shel Israel are this week’s tech media darlings, with release of their book Age of Context. Robert sent me an advanced PDF copy, which obliged an Amazon review (gladly given).

I reserve the punchier comments for here, if you want to skip past the block quote.

ebooks by Joe WilcoxSep 13, 20137:21 am

My first Kindle ebook gets a Face Lift

Last night I republished This Book is not a Kindle Single [The Rejected Essay] with the originally-intended title (The Principles of Disruptive Design) and major content updates. The preface and afterword are gone (as they pertained to the gimmick title) and there are updates throughout, the most considerable to the first section.

The updates deal directly with Apple iPhone 5s and 5c nd questions about Apple innovations, or lack of them.

News Media by Joe WilcoxMay 5, 201010:46 am

Wall Street Journal's Pay-more Paywall demands Too Much

Do you pay Rupert Murdoch 18 bucks a month for a Wall Street Journal iPad subscription? I dare you to confess. Today, during News Corporation’s earnings call, CEO Murdoch claims that the Journal has 64,000 active users on iPad. Presumably one of them is you.

I ask because I see the Journal as having gone too far with its paywall approach. I’m testing iPhone 3GS again, and I downloaded the WSJ app last week. I logged in with my web subscription account, and the Journal let me read for a couple days. Then came the demand for more cash. Not much, just a buck a week. But I already pay for the web subscription, for which the Journal charges about $150 a year. So Murdoch wants another 52 bucks a year for iPhone and about another $215 for iPad, which I also am testing? OK, it’s only $207 a year for iPad if taking advantage of the $3.99-a-week promotion.