If you ever want to see how a company can destroy years of goodwill in a few seconds, look no further than the recent Sonos kerfuffle involving software updates. Sonos has been around since 2001 and their original gear – speakers and a clever little tablet that predated the iPad by almost a decade – was revolutionary.
(more…)Tag: gear
What did you score on Cyber Monday?
What did you guys grab this weekend for Christmas or whatever? I picked up a pretty cheap graphics card for my son, a pair of crazy cheap Adidas runners, and some LEGO. We’d love to hear what you picked up and what you’d like to see us review in time for the holidays.
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Camera sales have cratered
DSLR and mirrorless camera sales have crated, falling far below 2018 numbers in Q3 2019. Estimates point to about 3 million cameras sold in 2019, down from 9 million in 2018 and similarly dismal number sin 2016 and 2017.
The numbers truly began to fall in 2012 when smartphone cameras began to do DSLR tricks like bokeh and artistic lighting simulations. As a result, most photos are taken on phones and viewed on digital screens.
“Let me bring the parallels between servers and cameras into focus for you. Sony and its brethren have taken a page from the Sun playbook. They keep pushing cameras that have features, like higher megapixels, that most people don’t use or don’t care about. And the executives don’t seem to get a key fact about the market reality: what we do with with cameras and photos has changed,” wrote Om Malik, an investor and photographer.
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A long time ago, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy quipped, “Technology has the shelf life of a banana. By the time you buy it, implement it and train people on it, it’s obsolete.” He was talking about servers, but I can’t help but think that his words are just as true for cameras,” he wrote.
Microsoft is having a Labor Day sale and the Surface Book 2 is $500 off
One of my favorite laptops, the Surface Book 2, is $500 off in today’s Microsoft Labor Day sale. The Surface Book is pretty much the epitome of Windows 10 hardware just as the Pixel is probably the best Android phone. As a Mac user I never thought I’d say this but devices like the Surface “just work.”
Unfortunately the gateway drug of Surface devices, the Go, isn’t on sale but at $399 you can give the platform a try without breaking the bank. If you plan on using it as a daily driver, however, I’d get the faster one with more memory for $549.
Anyway, back to the BBQ.
These Field Notes x Wilco notebooks are not trying to break your heart
If you’re a fan of Americana-inspired mope rock and small paper notebooks, have we got something for you. Wilco, one of my favorite bands, and Field Notes, one of my favorite notebook makers, have teamed up to release something that can only be described as outtasite.
The notebooks were made in conjunction with members of the band. From the press release:
We paired each member of Wilco with an exceptional artist, handed them all the same limited palette of colors, and let them improvise. This “Wilco x Field Notes” Box Set is the result of that collaboration. The six Memo Books reflect the craft and talent of the artists and the passions and personalities of the musicians, and they’re waiting for your lyrics, set-lists, and show notes – or maybe your reminders, grocery lists, or meeting notes. Whatever it is, it’s always a good idea to write it down.
Field Notes is a great little business. They made their notebooks in America and I’ve used a few of them over the years. The artists in this special set include:
Jeff Tweedy & Aaron Draplin
Mikael Jorgensnen & John Gall
Glenn Kotche & Cody Hudson
Pat Sansone & Lauren Dickens
John Stirratt & Brett Stenson
Nels Cline & Lawrence Azerrad
I, for one, will use them to write notes for my heavy metal drummer. You can pick up the notebooks at WilcoWorld for $27.50.
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