Let's Talk Tech
To begin at the beginning.
Before we tackle more advanced topics, I think it’s important to start with some of the basics. When we talk about different types of audio solutions, it’s handy to have a chat about the strengths and weaknesses of those different solutions.
For headphones, there’s quite a bit of variety, so let’s take a quick stroll through the options you might want to buy! Continue reading “Choosing the Right Headphones for You! #2020Hearing”
Test driving the Sony A7iii!
I’m so used to shooting on phones, it was refreshing to take a Sony mirror-less out for a spin. Our holiday memories this year are looking REALLY good. After a couple weeks, I’ve got some thoughts to share on this monster camera body, which completely deserves all the praise it’s been receiving.
Is it good enough to convince me to switch? Let’s take a look!
Continue reading “Christmas on the Sony A7iii: A full frame miracle!”
Let’s be frank. If I hadn’t put “Apple” in the post title, would you have clicked on it?
The reason this article is going to focus on Apple, they are the highest profile company pushing these kinds of manufacturing decisions. If you’re a fan of Apple hardware, I’m sure there will be an inclination towards defending your brand.
Other companies should be criticized too.
Though, we should acknowledge that many of these companies wouldn’t be following this path without Apple. AirPods show how profitable it is to make expensive headphones as disposable as possible. Apple stands to take the lion share of the profits with this tactic. It’s my belief we should start with the largest companies, and THEN work down to smaller players copying Apple.
We should “punch up” with our criticisms. Apple is currently the king of this e-waste hill. We’ll start with them. Continue reading “Apple: Premium e-Waste and Normalizing Disposability”
I love GaryExplains. Easily one of my favorite tech channels on YouTube. He’s one of the only TechTubers I feel actually explains things worth explaining.
Gary recently put out a video (embedded at the top of this article) where he explains why he doesn’t test network performance in his smartphone commentary. His reasoning is absolutely sound.
But, just because network speedtest apps can’t be counted on for consistency, doesn’t mean we can’t control for SOME variables on our own. Continue reading “We CAN test SOME Network Performance: Where I respectfully disagree with GaryExplains!”
And the immediate reaction by consumers will likely be a shrug.
“What can you do?”
The problem is, that apathy shouldn’t be a surprise. We don’t have much room to “vote with our wallets” these days. The reality of the tech market, these supposed “upgrades” happen way too quickly for consumers to react. Gadgets sales paced out over years from individual consumers don’t guide manufacturing decisions.
The in-display fingerprint sensor can apparently be unlocked by ANY finger. I discussed this on the #SGGQA podcast while the story was fresh, and the general sentiment from Samsung fans was that this had to be a case of user error. We’re getting confirmation now that this is a flaw in the current software from Samsung. Users are starting to test this flaw, and it has nothing to do with improper setup or using Non-Samsung approved accessories. BBC confirms Samsung will release a software patch for the problem.
Here’s a video of a Galaxy S10 owner on Twitter demonstrating the problem, freshly training a thumbprint, and then bypassing the fingerprint lock with a different finger. Continue reading “Smartphone design “improvements” are not progress: Prettier is less practical”
Here’s the thing.
I actually don’t have a problem with the IDEA of a premium/expensive phone, but what I want to see is the phone start to disrupt OTHER computers. Many manufacturers are looking to mobile processors (ARM chips) for future laptops and computers. If those new portable machines use the same processor as your phone, why can’t we just use the phone?
I had a blast joining the crew at RelateCasts on the ‘Tech Down Over’ podcast to talk about expectations on phone performance, and finding the right phone for you. Give it a listen! Give it a share!
Check out more Relate Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/user/RELATECasts/videos
Don’t let EIS BLUR your video! Software stabilization and “super steady” modes can look AMAZING in great light, but as soon as you shoot in slightly dimmer or darker conditions, video gets foggy and shifty. Shooting indoors or at night, here’s a quick tip for producing the smoothest and clearest video you can. Continue reading “Stop Software Stabilization from BLURRING Your Video!”
The main takeaway, which became resoundingly clear over the last 48 hours?
Marketing works.
Tuesday we all sat through a round up of new product announcements from Apple, with the stock boiler plates of innovation and improvement. The most amazing products yet created. The most powerful products on the market. We were shown this year’s collection of bar graphs touting the huge lead Apple hardware enjoys over the competition.
Revealing “pro” versions of the iPhone, Apple leaned heavily into video creation to showcase the new cameras and the new A13 chipset.
The iPhone 11 Pro is so powerful you can make movies on it! Just don’t pay attention to the multi-million-dollar sound-stage, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on equipment, lighting, and the talented team of filmmakers behind the phone, but I digress…
It’s those bar graphs though. Since the PowerMac days, Apple has had a love affair with simplistic, unlabeled bar graphs. We’ve seen them through so many keynotes over the last decade, that we just take them for granted. It’s just common knowledge that iPhones are more powerful than Androids.
But what happens when we test Apple’s performance claims against their video production claims?
iOS fans on Twitter get REAL flustered… Continue reading “Sorry Apple, iPhones aren’t for pro video! -OR- What I learned arguing with people on Twitter!”