Category: Editorials

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You can do better than this commercial Samsung. Confusing “HD” with more MegaPixels? Really?

Dear Samsung,

I’m a fan of your work. I think you cracked the code on funny ads which skewer your competition (namely Apple). Those spots featuring people sitting in lines for the next iPhone? Priceless.

Samsung? Are you comparing the Galaxy S4 to an iPhone 4S? Seriously?
Samsung? Are you comparing the Galaxy S4 to an iPhone 4S? Seriously?

Of late however, it seems like you might be struggling. Depending on fiscal quarter, you’re often the number one in sales. It’s a little harder to beat up on your competition when you’re in the top spot without looking like a bully. We’re also reaching that point where it’s getting a bit more difficult to communicate to consumers why they should upgrade their phones, when it seems like all we’re getting are modest spec bumps.

Case in point, your most recent ad featuring the Galaxy S4’s camera is the worst combination of picking on Apple and throwing around meaningless buzz words and specs to try and impress us.

I honestly don’t mind a snarky tone, but it’s the absurd implications of what “Full HD” means which bothers me.

First of all, “Full HD” really only pertains to video and is a consumer shorthand for 1080p, which itself is an abbreviation of the actual video resolution of 1920×1080. Thirty times a second, a 1920×1080 resolution image is flashed on the screen which allows for fluid and highly detailed video. It has NOTHING to do with still photography. That’s where megapixels come into play. The iPhone’s 8MP camera shoots 1080p video, but each still is 3264×2448. That’s a whole lot more than “Full HD” isn’t it? You missed out on an opportunity to feature drama shot more fully, and to brag that pictures from your camera will have a resolution of 4128×3096.

Of course this is all inane as you can’t even win the resolution war. Nokia has you handily slapped with 20MP (4992×3744) and 40MP (7152×5368) resolution cameras. What’s worst, I’ve detailed on numerous occasions how resolution doesn’t mean you’ll get better images. Things like OIS and image processing can often provide more significant improvements to photos and videos than just having millions more dots. Congratulations, you’ve brought us back to the MEGAPIXEL WARS that consumer point and shoot cameras fought years ago.

Not to mention phones like your own Galaxy Note 3 or the LG G Flex are capable of delivering 4K video which is FOUR TIMES the resolution of the video on the GS4. Doesn’t little Jack deserve full motion video with that kind of clarity for his big life moment?

This is not your best work Samsung. We all know you can do better than this. As we’re closing in on the release of the Galaxy S5, which many are criticizing for not being enough of a departure or upgrade from the S4, hopefully your ad agency is able to bring a bit more nuance to the discussion.

Sincerely,

SomeGadgetGuy

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Google and IBM want to make the internet a LOT faster, but will consumers ever get the upgrades?

server rack rear cablingWithin a day of each other, complimentary stories about Google and IBM hit the net.

Google is working on plans to improve their fiber offerings from 1Gbps to 10Gbps, meaning their uploads and downloads would be 200 and 2000 times faster than what I currently have access to in Los Angeles. We can also easily estimate that the service would be cheaper than the top tier broadband in So-Cal. Originally their plan was to roll out 10Gbps connections over the next decade, but in light of 4K video services popping up to supply people native resolution content for their new TV’s, they’ve shortened that window to three years. The internet is going to need bigger pipes to handle future services.

And if you think Google’s data sounds audacious, IBM has even bigger goals in their sites.  Continue reading “Google and IBM want to make the internet a LOT faster, but will consumers ever get the upgrades?”

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It’s a Cloud Services World. We just pretend it’s about the hardware…

server rack front panelsWe all like to speculate about what’s coming down the pipe, what “THE FUTURE” will look like. One thing is becoming abundantly clear however, a good chunk of what’s coming is going to be delivered via networked, over the air, services. AKA The Cloud.

I know, shocking revelation. I’m sure none of you saw that coming, which is why it’s a good thing you read this blog, as I’m pretty terrific at delivering the obvious. All joking aside, we’re seeing some pretty exciting trends, and a few concerning ones.

Storage & File Delivery
This was essentially a proof of concept that basic data intensive services could work online. Putting larger files onto a server for easier delivery than email or “sneaker-net” style solutions. From YouSendIt to DropBox and everything else in between, we’ve flirted with the cloud primarily to sync and share information. It’s only been recently that data networks have gotten robust enough to offer…

Media Services
We’ve had Youtube for about nine years now. It’s made such a profound impact that it’s difficult to remember the internet without it. Of course, the push for HD video, and then competing services like Netflix and Hulu, really took hold over the last couple years. Online streaming radio is hot right now, and improved sharing and creation tools have lead to…

Collaborative Services
It’s not enough that we can upload a document. Multiple people can now work on it at the same time instead of emailing revisions back and forth. It’s not enough that I can vlog in front of a webcam, I can now broadcast to a live audience with multiple participants and have that automatically added to my Youtube channel.

So What Comes Next? Continue reading “It’s a Cloud Services World. We just pretend it’s about the hardware…”

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SomeGadgetGuy 2.0 – Faster, Stronger, Better

bluehost 01

Yesterday was an interesting day…

I was planning on wrapping up a few videos, maybe doing a live hangout, and I had some articles I wanted to write. Trying to log into the site, I could barely type a handful of words into WordPress without getting kicked off the server.

See, when you host a site through a company like Bluehost, they’ll set aside a certain amount of server power for you. Cross that threshold and the server will throttle your site. When I moved SomeGadgetGuy over to Bluehost, it was kind of an emergency maneuver. I never really took the time to properly optimize this site. Surprisingly even my plain, old, white-backgrounded theme was a humongous resource hog.

As the site has grown in popularity, all of that inefficient code has exponentially exacerbated those throttling issues.

Continue reading “SomeGadgetGuy 2.0 – Faster, Stronger, Better”

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Will more attractive frames solve Google’s Glass perception problem?

new google glass titanium framesThey do look better, less sci-fi, more natural.

I think heads up displays are our wearable tech future. After using several fantastic smartwatches, nothing seems to solve the problem of eye-level information like Google Glass. Of course it brings a completely different kind of stigma in that you’re wearing a computer on your face, which really seems to weird people out. A common criticism of Glass is that it looks too geeky, and now it seems Google is taking steps to curb that complaint.

Following their partnership with eye wear designer Warby Parker, Google is piggy-backing on the designer’s Titanium Collection of frames with four new looks for Glass that Google is calling “The Titanium Collection”. Not very original, but Google isn’t known for fashion, so maybe it’s better they leave that job to the pros.

This also marks the beginning of Glass supporting prescription lenses. From the FAQ: “Google is in partnership with VSP Vision Care for VSP members and VSP eye care providers to receive reimbursement on Glass frames up to the frame allowance provided within their current vision benefit. The prescription lenses are also covered under the patients’ lens benefit offering through their VSP coverage.”

See the new frames in this Google promo vid:

This does not change the process by which you go about getting Glass, it’s still a very public BETA, and the Explorer program is still the gateway through which people acquire their own face computer. This is simply another iteration in the design of the heads up display, hopefully making them a bit more socially acceptable for people who are concerned about the design of the original Explorer Edition Glass. Google is pushing into very new territory, and that can make consumers squirrely. Restaurant owners asking Explorers to leave, law enforcement issuing citations for operating motor vehicles with screens visible to the driver, there’s a stigma to this product Google’s going to need to overcome. You know you’re in trouble when The Simpsons dedicates an entire episode to showcasing how socially awkward heads up displays are.

The Explorer program isn’t getting the job done. For as many people who are fantastic ambassadors for this technology, there are just as many Glassholes who taint the product in the minds of people who might be apprehensive about its capabilities and their privacy. Google is still publicly stating “the end of 2014” for the consumer launch of Glass, but they’ve got some significant PR hurdles to clear before then. These new frames at least area  step in the right direction.

RELATED: Chris Emerson Interview – Two Months as a Glass Explorer

Full Google FAQ below: Continue reading “Will more attractive frames solve Google’s Glass perception problem?”

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Google Beats Facebook for AI Company DeepMind, Pays $500 Million

Google_logoDoes anyone else think this company missed out on a terrific opportunity to name their AI “Deep Thought”? Anyone? 42? Is this thing on [tap, tap, tap]?

Beating out Facebook with a $500 Million dollar bid, Google is now the proud owner of DeepMind, a company focused on creating algorithms which will help computers learn in a way which resembles human experience. Artificial intelligence. Now, most people are linking this to Google’s recent acquisition of Boston Dynamics as if we’re all on the cusp of a Skynet inspired apocalypse. While I’m sure learning algorithms would be a tremendous boon to the robotics community after watching excerpts from the DARPA Robotics Challenge, it was very clear that we’re a LONG way off from Skynet or Asimov’s robots, there are a number of other projects at Google HQ which could also benefit from some good old fashioned learnin’

Improving the responses of automated, self-driving cars for instance. Making those systems more flexible and adaptable to changing road and traffic conditions.

Watson's_avatarGoogle is first and foremost an information broker.

Search will continue to be an ever increasing issue as we dump more and more info into this giant bucket we call the internet. Google is now facing incredible competition from companies like IBM with their Watson project. A computer system which isn’t self-aware, but is able to adapt, add information, and make sense of casual instructions and commands to deliver meaningful results. If Google doesn’t start working on a similar program, they’ll find themselves disasterously behind. Given a choice between Siri, Google Now, and Watson, I know I’d prefer to send my search query to the computer who spanked the crap out of the top two most winning Jeopardy contestants in that show’s history.

We instantly assume that working on aspects of Artificial Intelligence means that we’ll flip a switch someday and all our machines will have distinct personalities. What will most likely happen first is more likely to be painfully dull for the general populace. Purpose built computing systems which are subtly, but noticeably better at their individual jobs. Think of a WHOLE animal brain, so many different pieces to regulate and control various aspects of an organism’s life. We’re a LONG way off from poorly replicating the human frontal lobe. We’re a LONG way off from building a system which could rival a house cat’s ability to problem solve and learn tricks.

Let’s not forget that Google’ main competition for acquiring DeepMind was Facebook, a company that failed to put out a branded phone. If there were any more reassuring fact that we wont see this AI in some near-future skeletal doomsday robot warrior, it’s the fact that Facebook is most likely looking for better systems to sift through user data, not to operate machinery.

So when Google flips the switch and we all get slightly better turn by turn recommendations, when predictive search results and ads are a little better targeted at our needs, we can all shrug a sigh of relief. However, if I’m wrong, allow me to be the first to welcome our future robot overlords. I’d make a fantastic liaison officer in your new world paradigm where humans are kept like cattle for some unexplainable but dramatic reason.

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Happy 30th Birthday Apple Mac

4.0.1

It’s an icon.

For all of our tech gamesmanship, Apple vs PC, iOS vs Android, days like today are fun to celebrate regardless of which team you’ve sided with.

The Mac is 30 years old.

Many are focusing on the revolutionary ad which played during Superbowl XVIII. Seeing “18” in Roman numerals makes me feel damn old, as I was actually alive for that presentation. We of course have that video linked below, but I wanted to focus briefly on the actual Mac itself, and what we might still be able to learn from it today.

It’s impossible to overstate how important the Mac was in making computing accessible to consumers. For many people my age, it was likely their first computer and graphical user interface. In schools, it was often the computer used to populate labs where we learned basic programming skills, supplemented traditional math, science, and writing education. It was probably one of the first machines we were able to play games on. I’m pretty much always down for a round of Oregon Trail.

What made it so revolutionary was a focus on the user experience. Utilizing precious little computing power by today’s standards to draw pictures and icons on the screen. It gave many first time users a much clearer understanding of what they could accomplish on a little magic box. We live in a world now where my watch is more powerful than those cute little Macs of old, so this aesthetic wasn’t easy to pull off.

A multi-disciplined team of individuals was responsible for bringing Mac to life, including doctors, artists, even an archaeologist. All working together to bring a more informative UI to the user than the flashing text prompt of UNIX and DOS. It’s where we first started having conversations about conveyance and skeuomorphic design.

As we move forward…

As we look towards the next 30 years, we must keep asking ourselves the same questions those early Mac pioneers struggled with. We must keep demanding efficiency, but not at the cost of experience. We’ll constantly be evolving, receiving more powerful devices, but we must have applications for that power.

Lastly, we need to start having frank conversations about our social use of technology and ergonomics. How we incorporate it into our daily lives, use it respectfully and safely.

Happy birthday Mac! You’ve been an inspiration for generations.

(Photo courtesy of  Mac History)

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Your Podcast Audio SUCKS! Here are some pro tips to make it a little better…

I work in voice over and spoken word recording, and it’s kinda killing me how many people are still pumping out bad audio for their podcasts.

With all of the radical improvements in our technology, it really does drive home the point that nicer equipment doesn’t guarantee better results. If you’re wanting to produce more professional sounding audio, you’re still going to have to learn the basics of how recording works.

So, in true internet geek fashion, allow me to insult you for a bit while we take a look at some tips to improve your home recording.

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