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7月19日 You know you're doing something right if......the big fish from the same pond want to swim alongside you rather than at you!
Konica Minolta, long known as "just another name" in the wide, wide world of consumer photography, hasn't really basked in the glow of consumer loyalty. And one can't really wash it off to bad marketing or non-US marketing, either. Minolta's a regular at WalMart, and I always cringe when I see their form factors in comparison to their specifications. The specs are great. The shape...not so much. Whoever's been designing those needs to get out of the lab a bit more than on Geek Nights at the Y.
On the flip side, the ones with the good form factors have the added advantage of being very well-built cameras with good specs and an overall good feel. And their customer service ain't too shoddy, either. I've had the distinct displeasure of having to return one for an in-warranty repair on the 360th day of its one-year warranty period, and was glad to see the box they returned the repaired item to me didn't contain an invoice.
Or so I hope...I tend to rip packaging a tad too quick for my own good at times!
Anyway, the big fish in the consumer electronics' pond - good ol' Sony - has teamed up with Konica Minolta to make digital single lens reflex cameras. Yeah, that's what DSLR stands for. Yeah, I know you didn't know. No, I didn't have to Google it. Really.
As you can imagine, this is an interesting partnership decision, both from a technical perspective and from an economics' perspective. The DSLR market is a prosumer, fairly-deep-pockets' market that caters to the kind who spend several hundred dollars on the camera, and return to spend anywhere between a few hundred to a few thousand on specialized lenses. The marketing mind would think that any device with the Sony - Minolta name on it would spur enough credibility to make most take a second look, thereby attracting their money. The product development mind would love this since it would be a fusion of two well-developed think tanks to make one supercool product line. In effect, the sky's the limit when these two come together.
However, the skeptic's view could be different. Sony's a big name by itself, capable of selling anything from $40 digital armband radios to $4,000 flat screen consumer TVs to $40,000 high-end home theater systems. Its a big name in photography, both in the consumer and prosumer segments. In addition, they've got the green and the industry clout to make a very, very sweet deal to anyone who could help them make another gazillion.
Offering to "team up" instead of "acquire / merge / take over" a much-smaller name in the same market segment, and teaming up to create a high-end product has the faint smell of Sony realizing their shortcomings, methinks. However, as a business synergy, I think it'll do good by the consumer - Sony's got the art of creating nice form factors and overall usability down to a fine art; and if Minolta's contributing the high-end optics and electronics; I don't think the consumer will suffer too much.
Unless of course, this is another way to sideline the CompactFlash / Secure Digital storage formats that Minolta (and the rest of the world) prefer to make away for world domination of Sony's MemoryStick format. Come to think of it, it would make perfect sense. The camera market is quite the one-time market, and it drives a lot of other markets - for example, people like Sony TVs for having the MemoryStick slot but hate it when someone pops out at CompactFlash card or a SecureDigital card from their camera. And that ticks off two sets of people - the TV owner(s) and the camera owner(s) - potentially against buying future Sony products. Cornering the portable camera-friendly storage market by teaming up with a lesser-known camera optics / electronics wizard is one way of making sure a lot of people are happy...
...and continue to be loyal Sony customers.
Its also somewhat like creating a subscription model where one doesn't exist. While everyone would like to believe that portable camera-friendly storage and rechargeable batteries are similar in concept to the average high-end digital camera; they're not. Photographers with the green to drop on a DSLR often buy multiple high-capacity cards and continue to buy higher-speed cards so that they can capture a hundred quick shots of a hummingbird in flight at a trillion megapixels. The results often put a smile on two sets of faces - the photographer's, 'cause the pictures are spectacular; and Sony execs, 'cause the annual revenues aren't too shabby either!
If I were to read between the lines of this newsbyte, I would think:
Did I just give stock tips? Wow. Must eat fruits more often... 6月27日 ExtremeAutoFestAfter spending Friday night watching a movie about a guy who races a slick, tricked-out car at high speeds on city streets; much of Saturday was spent at a car show dedicated to...
Slick, tricked-out cars that were designed to race around at high speeds on city streets.
Interesting how that worked, huh?
No, it wasn't some Batman convention. It was a "car show", called ExtremeAutoFest. Why the double quotes? Because it would be a stretch for most of those cars to be street legal, or even be called regular "cars" without making an effort to keep a straight face.
Street-racer chic at its finest, ExtremeAutoFest was an exhibition of the best in souped up, tricked out riders that had their exteriors glossed and their interiors flossed like nothing I'd ever seen before...in real life.
So, from all these pictures - did I have a favorite? The paint job on the Infiniti was a sure winner in my book, and the LCD in the engine compartment was the exact opposite. The rest were someplace in between... 5月12日 Day 3: Still rollin'I wish I were "rollerblogging" this from before the very start...and I wonder why I didn't! I think its not too late to start, given that I'm only about a week into it, and everything's pretty fresh in my mind so far; so here goes nothing (the very words that go through my head when I trundle down the ramp and pick up speed!)...
What got me thinking about this? Um - a few things. I needed something that would have my butt getting off a seat. Mountain biking and bike tricks on a BMX were always fun, but I figured it was easier to get really, really carried away with those - and bikes aren't really that easy to store. In addition, a bicycle would still have my butt on a seat.
Rollerblading's different 'cause its "walking, and then some". Translated, almost anyplace that will let you walk, will let you rollerblade - and you don't have to wonder about having bike racks on your car and bike locks to secure your precious gear to a few flimsy iron rods on a park perimeter. And then there's always that thing about the strongest bike locks being popped open by a $1 ballpoint...
The only places that won't let you blade are parks reserved for hiking only. These are the kind that run through densely wooded forests and have trails that go through some very delicate forest ecosystems. Stuff that makes me wonder if humans should be allowed around there at all.
And then there's the whole balance thing. The part that appealed to me the most was that this was a "sport" that just had to make your reflexes better. After all, the only place one falls in slow motion is a bullet-time movie set. No brakes, wheels on your feet, momentum against your will and an aging body that doesn't quite do what you want as fast as you want it to - what's not to like in all that?!!
I'll be posting some links to my gear soon, and a few close-ups of my wrist-guards. The amount of dents and scrapes they've endured within five hours is enough to make me want to get another five pairs just because I never want to be without 'em while blading.
'Nuff said...lets get to the fun stuff. How many crashes into a tree so far? Well, no trees just yet - but I did attempt making myself a human piledriver into a closed garage door more than once. Scratches and the token drop of blood and everything. I guess all I have to do is start bawling when I fall next to complete the "blood, sweat and tears" trio...
Oh, and I learned how to turn. I still can't pull a U (that was the garage door...), but I figured out the scissor turn thing.
Want some video? Well, I'm still trying to figure out how to convert 640 x 480 QuickTime to 320 x 240 AVI. My QuickTime export works great, but doesn't let me resample the resolution down to an easier-on-the-eyes 320 x 240; and all those square pixels popping up on the screen just aren't pretty enough to post. If you've got any ideas, I'm all ears... 5月10日 Day 1About ten scrapes and two tumbles later, I'm waiting to do it again! Never thought I'd grow to appreciate the hard plastic on wristguards as much as I did in one hour last evening - and I'm sure that's only going to grow with time.
What is it, you ask? In-line skating for the uninitiated, rollerblading for the hip set and just "skating" for the too-cool-to-care.
Am I not too old for skating around? Isn't that something high school kids usually do?
No, and yes. And I refuse to justify my new hobby on a scale of "cool-ness" through comparison or example. Feel free to point and laugh if you see me roll by and/or take a tumble in front of you. You know you want to do it...and probably can't!!
And if you're interested - its a great form of physical exercise that involves getting out, speed, control and balance that has the distinct capability to put some proud sport-scratches on your otherwise pudgy exterior. Equipment costs run low, service costs are zero, and the adrenalin rush comes from a variety of factors, namely:
And there's the fringe benefit of having a true alternative to "walking someplace nearby for a quick errand". Just "walking" has always been waayy too slow for me. 5月9日 Finally...I know a very few people with active "hobbies". There's the generic "computers", which translates into spending time at work in front of a screen and Googling your way through the lunch break and buying some tech toys as time and budgets permit. There's the generic "camping" which translates into bundling a LOT of stuff into a car to try and clone the comfort of home while voluntarily sleeping on the ground at a pretty location and spending the night hoping that a bug doesn't crawl up your ear and/or a bear doesn't tear down your tent. And there's the generic "photography" which involves taking half a gazillion pictures with the new digital camera and trying to acquaint oneself with all the features before its time to keep up with the Joneses and buy a higher megapixel version.
And then, there are the more serious "hobbyists" - people who build little rockets, mod PCs and cars into high-performing monsters, plant and nurture amazing gardenscapes, and climb rock walls or real mountains on weekends. Stuff that requires more than a trivial committement of time, money and effort. Stuff that really takes one's mind away from the mundane and into moments of complete focus on an activity that may have no bearing whatsoever on one's "regular life".
There's the obvious argument - "I don't have the time for that". And I seem to attract the constant dig - "You have waayy too much free time". So, I figured I'd try to make sense of popular perception and get myself a real, honest-to-goodness "hobby".
Stay tuned. If all goes well, I'll have some video up shortly. What is it? Um - it involves the usual suspects that make for fun - wheels, control, speed and a risk of injury! 4月20日 A bug for the shutterbugOne would think that hooking up a camera to a TV would make for a pretty easy, nondescript event, wouldn't it? Apparently, it takes all kinds to make the world go around. I had to take some pictures yesterday; and fired up the camera to find that the LCD monitor / camera on-board display wasn't coming on. Thumbed through the right buttons and some others - still nothing.
About an hour of apprehension and anger later, it dawned on me that the last action I'd performed with the camera was hooking it up the TV - for the very first time, ever - since I'd bought the camera about a year ago. The TV hookup worked fine, and I remember being quite impressed that the camera's display scaled up to the fit TV screen without any pixelization or the sort. The TV hookup also turned the LCD monitor off; and in this case, it apparently stayed turned off.
Fiddling with the menu and some other features showed that the camera's LCD monitor came on only when I tried to change the value of the LCD's brightness, thereby proving that the LCD hadn't "gone bad". A-ha! Methinks I found a bug with the camera's software, but this had to be somewhat localized, 'cause hooking up to a TV isn't that much of a geek action that a bug like this wouldn't be reported already.
Googling didn't help. Talking to the manufacturer's tech rep had her run me through some basic (inane) steps like "Turn off the camera and turn it back on again" and "Take the batteries out" that I yawned through. By the end of the call, the only step that I could perform was to mail the camera back to their service center for a look-see. That's three weeks, at least, of being without the camera - and the possibility of having to pay for the "repair" 'cause its been over a year and its probably out of the warranty period.
I'm wondering - is this a "repair"? This is an advertised feature not working as advertised. I guess I'll find out...the hard way.
Note to self: Test out ALL the advertised features of the next piece of big-ticket consumer electronics that you buy.
Stuff like this takes all the fun out of being sorta-LifeHacked for the second time... 4月2日 April AutoweekendIs photography art? I think so. A painter uses the tools at his / her disposal to translate a perception into a visual on canvas. A photographer does ditto.
"When you put it like that..."
I draw a line in the genre of "contemporary art" to divide it into "analog art" and "digital art". The former's entirely old-school - from from to function to appreciation to intended audience. Its got a lot of "by touch" and "you gotta be born with it" stuff going for it. The latter, on the other hand, uses technology variants to translate creative inspiration into electronic paint on a canvas made of digital media. It could be a fractal image, a digital photo, a mix of gradients generated by PhotoShop, or perhaps even the output of a WinAmp plugin. The tools are scaleable, replicable and can technically make an artist out of anyone with the motivation to learn and apply.
For example - I've yet to see someone who hasn't stopped to stare at a high-speed still of a milk drop hitting a surface and turning into that familiar momentary white crown, or a bullet piercing an apple. That's digital art. Someone wondered what it would be to ponder at the beauty of those missed moments in time that all of us are too slow to appreciate, and used technology to make that creative impulse into some stunning pieces of art.
As with most things today, I think there's a hybrid. A place where analog and digital art mesh with real physics. Its called "modding". And I think its a lot more than just a garage trend that'll die out with time.
If a true "hacker", is one who has researched a system so intensively that he / she can then utilitize that deep understanding towards a means of overcoming the conventional limits of access and resources granted by that system, a real "modder" is probably a level higher. Why? Simply put - making is a lot harder than breaking (no offense to the hacker elite..you're my heroes, too!)
From computers to cars, everything's up for mods now. And y'know its hot when it spawns a slew of slang synonyms. From "Pimping a ride" to "Tricking out a set of wheels" to"Modding a case", the concept of customization is on the upswing - and its not limited to the dark corners of the digital underground or a garage in the bad neighborhood. Most TV channels are now recognizing (and cashing in on) the customized-car trend. MTV's "Pimp My Ride" started something big, 'cause there's a similar show on Discovery Channel, on TLC, on Speed and I've seen some promos on G4 about a new show called "The Whip Set" that promises to drive more traffic to auto-modder websites and garages than before.
Ditto for computers. There used to be a time in the not-too-distant past when it was cheaper to build your computer yourself. Not anymore. The cumulative price of components is often higher than buying a system of comparable specifications out of the box because its usually the "modder" community that's using those individual components towards building some really awesome systems. I hate the increased prices, but their creations deserve kudos. There's a lot of talent out there...
In the bigger scheme of things, it makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Almost every major metropolitan city on the planet today is getting to be the proverbial melting pot of a multitude of cultures. Cuisines are fusing, dialects are fusing and everything's getting to an interesting, constructive mix. Its a fun time to be.
One of my favorite mods is the hybrid car. Call it an industry-accepted mod, if you will. And then someone went and mixed things up a shade better! Gotta love those tech wizards in Palo Alto...
This evening will have me heading off to a car show that showcases only modified cars. "Tuners" to be specific. Cars customized with modified engines, lowered bodies, slick electronics and lotsa visual aesthetics to make for an exciting ride and look - one can't get any more "mod friendly" than that, can one? 2月21日 Conquering the commuteThink your commute's a killer? There's always someone who's got it worse. I've known people who used to drive almost a couple of hours one-way to get to work. And before you make the quintessential roll-of-the-eyes suggestion to "move closer to work, then", think twice. Median housing rates almost anywhere on the planet that can call itself a metropolitan area are tipping the scales when it comes to being 'reasonable'. They've been doing so for a while now, but I guess there's this perception going around that the economy's done an about-turn and that everyone's suddenly flush with funds to finance their dream homes.
The paper carried an article today about things I like to call "commute alternatives for the yuppie". Translated, it was an article about stuff that one can do while being in one's car during the commute. Translated, it applies to those of us who choose to not use public / shared private transport because of a multitude of "pressing reasons" that influence us every day. The only slack I'll cut is for those who truly have an impractical public commute alternative. I have friends who live about 90 miles away from work, and they have to drive about an hour just to get to the nearest train station - after which it takes 'em close to an hour-and-a-half to get to work. And they do this every day. So, before you start whining about all the "errands" that you "have" to do every day - get real.
So, what was the paper talking about? Technology and toys that can help keep the average yuppie occupied during his / her commute. That's XM Traffic Radio, pop-up 5-inch screens showing a live GPS marker on a map that also showed what traffic conditions were like ahead, and many more. Ranging from free talk radio to $10/month satellite radio, the paper carried it all.
My opinion's divided on this one. Should one really consider ways and means to channel one's free time in traffic? Is it really "free time"? For starters, one is required to pay attention to the road and cars ahead. And whatever one does, automotive technology hasn't really progressed to the point that we can go beyond the real problem: the constant brake-and-gas combination that one has to do in traffic for an extended amount on time. That, and the feeling of claustrophobia amongst the smog and the crowd of metal all around. These are real, physical, ambient factors that can only be slightly alleviated by distractions like music or advance knowledge of the traffic conditions ahead.
No, that doesn't mean one doesn't need any entertainment at all while in traffic. I think entertainment's great, anytime. However, parting with $10 / month for advance knowledge of traffic conditions that one can do absolutely nothing to change and/or to listen to commercial-free quasi-customized music isn't exactly the best use of those $10 - even if you're riding around in a Ferrari.
I would recommend getting a cassette / FM adapter and sending you your notebook's audio output / MP3 player into your car's audio system. It would be a great way of walking in to work with your notebook powered and ready to go as well. I would recommend getting an audiobook and listening to someone read out a good book to you on the way to work. Audible's got a great collection. I would recommend getting one of those squeeze-balls or steel-spring-grip things to get a little workout on the way.
Oh, well...'nuff said. You get the idea. Keep your eyes on the road. |
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