technology

[DamageX]

You obviously don't wear Paul Harnden

Hahaha! I should have factored that into the equation!

[savant]

Got the HTC one yesterday

Magnificient build quality and everything, apart from camera just being average-decent enough for social media, compared to my previous Galaxy S3's camera

Wanted a black stealth one but unavailable in my country for some reason

[jj.still]

Any DAC suggestion? Requirements: decent look and sound quality, silver colour, optical and usb in. Thinking about Nad m51

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Dear Jackg, am listening now to the Zizek lecture, and must thank you for the post... it is really great. For the record, I believe "technology" especially in regards to how we might define "advanced technology" is oftentimes a very subjective matter and quite open to both opinion and argument. I provide an image of my own official GBS regular-use phone technology as an example, which I challenge all others to beat for both speed and efficiency of making phone calls, and dropping on the ground an unlimited amount of times per day, as well as other very special and useful features including increased privacy protection from government and private organizations, and absolute lowest economic costs of usage and ownership. They don't make this phone anymore, so I have purchased several additional ones with extra batteries to ensure I will continue to have one available for my use well into the future, even though the one in the picture has already lasted almost 10 years. Enjoy...





As hysterical as it appears though, as designer and owner-manager of a very complicated and very busy international micro-production firm with a mountain of growing demands and responsibilities, my cellphone is actually one of my most critical operating tools, so I do not make this choice casually. I can afford just about any of the current smartphones on offer today and have reviewed them on a continual basis, but none of them serve my basic needs for the tool adequately. They are too big, too complicated and need too much of my extremely limited and valuable time to learn how to use (I have far too many other things to do with my time than figure out how to use someone else's idea of better technology that was not designed for someone like me). That was what used to make Apple products so great for some of us. Jobs defined the mission many times as providing the tools for the genius customer. And they did that. But now their market is changed, they have become the biggest company in the world in certain measures by widening their target to the mass market customer more and more, and changing their product accordingly. Although I make no claims to being a genius, I am not the customer they are now trying to serve. So I actually find that over 80 percent of smartphones' "advanced technology" that they spend so much on to develop and charge so much for on the consumer's end... is useless for me. The only new phone purchase I am considering right now is the new Nokia 20 megapixel camera phone, but that is literally because I am more interested in the camera than the phone. My guess is still that getting a phone call out while on the run will still be a complicated maneouvre with that thing, so I plan to use the old guy in the photo above to make my calls with.

Each and every day, I have to make an endless number decisions and bets that influence greatly upon the success, survival or failure of many things involving many people around me. My number one high technology computing tool to get this job done properly is still my own brain, and anything that compromises, distracts, confuses or clouds its ability to function at absolute maximum clarity and efficiency to concentrate on what I and my firm and my family need to do today, tomorrow, and in the future is to be avoided at all costs. While it might be making a ton of money for others (don't forget that the richest man in the world currently, Carlos Slim, does telecom), it isn't for me.

Technology can work in many ways for better or for worse. The key is to know how, when, where, and what to use accordingly for maximum positive results. That means understanding the technology and selecting it appropriately, not just blindly accepting and adapting every latest new gadget or gene splice that comes along from whoever is selling it to you.

We live in a world where much of our most "advanced" technologies can kill or poison us, wipe out civilizations, and where very recently, we are discovering are being used to watch us and record every movement and communication we make... while we pay all of them to continue to do so. So, I suggest we take care in jumping into new technologies. Some of them can hurt us bigtime, inspite of what their pundits and providers promise us.

Great thread. Thanks to all. And again, listen to Zizek, he's got some serious things to say in that vid that any member of the human race not just SZ, needs to consider now. Cheers, Geoffrey

[jackg]

Thanks Geoffrey! I think Zizek is fantastic and offers some really poignant insights into negotiating the modern world.

Thanks for your post, you certainly have an interesting take on technology and convey it so eloquently.

[PaintedBlack_7]

GBS, i think you misunderstood job's philosophy, he always wanted it to be a mass market brand. even in the 1980's, before the issey miyake sweaters, in his cheap tacky suits and wide ties. In fact apple's early marketing strategies advertised to the people who "couldn't figure computers out" and just wanted something that did what others did, but did not understand how to build them.

then they changed their design ethos and marketing strategy to people who just wanted an appliance, just like a low end car they wanted their computer to "just work". In fact apple's tag line for awhile was "it just works. Job's never intended to market to a "genius" customer. Or a customer a standard deviation above the mass market level of technical skill.

i think you got that from the "genius bar" where they got what people imagined to be experts who often times built "those" computers they never quite felt comfortable around, small businesses with their own file servers, common in the gaming pc/tech world but in the design/graphic design industry, unheard of.

that is who apple serviced, the general consumer who did not pride themselves on having 4.0ghz clock speeds on air cooling in the early 00's. Apple served quite the opposite, the people who were a little more simple than those who could easily assemble their own systems in one sitting. I can, and i could have since i was a kid. And i thank my EE father for that, prior to his career in law. Infact, if i wanted to play a video game like my friends did on their gateway. I had to build my own system after learning the min sys reqs.

Back in college, i even "rescued" laptops so they said. A simple HDD swap, or memory upgrade. Thinking back i should have charged for my services, from what i heard i could have made at least a few thousand doing what i was doing. At least i made some money on a bet about hackintosh

[Faust]

/\ I agree in a way because when Apple started coming back they advertised this whole "just works" thing to death and I distinctly remember thinking that their "you send emails, browse the web, and look at pictures on your computer approach" as one for computer illiterate retards. Microsoft Office was kicking their ass on the work front and still does. It wasn't until they designer the half-globe Mac that was just so ahead of its time in terms of mass market design that Apple got my attention. The idea of not having a separate CPU for me was revolutionary. And then I realized that I have become one of those retards, all I need is a copy of MS Office on my pretty iMac!

[Icarium]

Yup that's Jobs philosophy. Though Excel still kinda sucks on osx :(

They don't really have the best software nor the best hardware, but definitely the best design and probably still the best UI though google products are fast catching up imo.

I think once software engineering is necessary to take usability to the next level though that's when Apple is in trouble as they were fundamentally never a software company, though they certainly have the resources to change that (Hiring/building a stronger team there). As inferior and nearly irrelevant on the consumer front as Windows OSes are... there's still probably at least 10x the engineering/complexity there than any iteration of OSX, but clearly that's not the secret to success.... yet.

I still believe there will come a time where branding genius and design will be limited by your engineering capabilities and when that day comes... Google and other's who have invested more in that area may clearly and unequivocally take the lead.

Edit: jj.still - Get a music fidelity vlink for converting usb -> digital. This will be guaranteed to do a better, cleaner, less jittery (Google jitter for audio) solution than anything in any companies unit besides Ayre's who licensed the same solution but at much higher cost e.g. I think they used to sell a unit that did the same thing for 500 dollars developed by Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio. I haven't shot this out compared to my RME card, but I bet it sounds better or close.

If you need 192khz

If you only need up to 96khz

And then get dac from a reliable company from the 90s (Spectral, Parasound, Assemblage) as the engineering and components in one of those will be nearly unequaled by anything these days for 10-20x the cost. The 90s were kind of the sweet spot for audio design and technology (Go early, the design is great, but the tech wasn't there and go more current.. the tech focuses more on cost cutting and marketers who are buzz-word driven try their hands at design). Obviously there are still great modern solutions (Look at solid designers who use the new ESS Sabre DAC chips), but your money is going to go way less bang for your buck.

[PaintedBlack_7]

/\ I agree in a way because when Apple started coming back they advertised this whole "just works" thing to death and I distinctly remember thinking that their "you send emails, browse the web, and look at pictures on your computer approach" as one for computer illiterate retards. Microsoft Office was kicking their ass on the work front and still does. It wasn't until they designer the half-globe Mac that was just so ahead of its time in terms of mass market design that Apple got my attention. The idea of not having a separate CPU for me was revolutionary. And then I realized that I have become one of those retards, all I need is a copy of MS Office on my pretty iMac!

I would like the brand as more of a low end/mass market electronics accessories line.

maybe drop the iphone, or do a collaboration with vertu wireless.
and just keep the ipads/ipods

[Faust]

Does anyone know if the standard iPad cases match iPad air?

[Dane]

Depends on the case, but generally no. Sleeves and whatnot will, but not skins, etc.

[Faust]

I'm talking about the magnetic one that everyone uses.

[endorphinz]

^
lots of cheap options

[Dane]

I'm talking about the magnetic one that everyone uses.

Nope. Old Smart Cover only fits previous generations, and new Smart Cover only fits Ipad Air, according to the "compatibility" sections of their website.

[Faust]

Bitches. Not surprised, of course. More of a reason to buy an ipad air today and get a $75 gift card and sell my old iPad.