Tag: gadgets

Print versus the Tablet

When I visit a doctor or dentist I always look at their selection of magazines.  Hoping that their selection isn’t merely the magazines I subscribe to.

I received my last print edition of Newsweek yesterday.  My subscription expires March 12, 2013.  So the final 2½ months will available to me on their website.  Try taking those issues to the kitchen table or the bathroom (one of my favorite places to read).  For that matter I can’t give the magazines I have read to my friends.  Most of Newsweek’s really outstanding reporters and writers have been laid off so the quality of the magazine has been mediocre at best over the past year or two.  The newspapers have been shrinking in size and quality too.

That leaves me with those shrunken newspapers and just two periodicals.  Bloomberg Businessweek and The Week.  I anticipate their days are numbered too.  Both of them are publicizing their “apps” for the iPad and other e-tablets.

Perhaps the lovers of the horse and buggy were horrified when they saw their easily controlled mode of transportation replaced by those new fangled horseless carriages.

Going back in time to 1439, Johannes Gutenberg, a German blacksmith, invented a printing press with movable type and brought literacy to the world.  The use of movable type marked the end of the handwritten manuscript, which was the existing method of book production.

Perhaps the development of e-readers will bring literacy to even more people than ever before.  I can only hope.

Tablet ReaderAs for me I will be in the bathroom with my e-reader, pocket size version.

Tablet Computers are the New “Must have” Device

This blog is still written using MS Word and I still love my 19″ desktop computer. That is not likely to change.

There were e-readers before the iPad but Apple made tablets the new ‘need to have” category.  Suddenly Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook had taken on new value.  Actually the iPad did both of those devices a favor.  They spurred them to improve the quality and capabilities.

We saw some Europeans in San   Diego last summer (2011) with their tablets.  I realized they knew where the restaurants were located and could obtain other worthwhile info you were on vacation.  Dragging a 17” laptop to London and Paris this past summer was no fun.  It’s old and slow too and that made it even more unpleasant.

When Microsoft announced their new Surface tablet this past August I knew I would have to consider this new connection to the world.  Now Apple has announced their new iPad Mini that does not include a mini price tag.

Many potential iPad buyers may have been contemplating the purchase during this coming Christmas buying season. They might now buy the Mini to save some money.  Apple will have diverted buyers and that means less profit.  From a shareholder viewpoint this decision will impact the bottom line.

The challenge for me is to determine the size and capabilities that will fulfill my immediate needs and what future needs I might have.

Surface by Microsoft coming October 26

I can hardly wait!  As a dedicated PC user, I have been disappointed by the offerings of the primary PC manufacturers.

Apple’s iPad tablet computer is reported to hold 70% of market share.  None of the competitors have been able to come even close to making a dent in Apple’s dominance.  H-P has dropped out of the market entirely and Dell offers a tablet but I do not know anyone with the unit.

Thus the entry of the Surface by Microsoft might bring on even more sales and a significant migration from the laptop format.  To add extra spice it is rumored that a low cost 7 inch version may be offered at $199.  That could be the reason that Apple is reportedly introducing its own 7” iPad.

On our recent trip to Europe I did see a few people carrying tablet computers.  The really are too big to use as a camera.  However, for finding your way around New York, London, Paris, Rome, etc. they would be a great benefit.  Of course they will be an easy way to update your blog.

Photography is Ever Evolving

 

As good as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 camera is, there is always room for improvement.  Thus I have purchased a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150.

This will most likely be the last camera I will buy.  It has all the features of the FZ28 but has a somewhat longer lens, much faster shooting burst speed (12 fps), a faster focusing system, and my favorite Photo Style option (STANDARD / VIVID (Brilliant effect with high saturation and contrast.) / NATURAL (Soft effect with low contrast.) / MONOCHROME / SCENERY (An effect appropriate for scenes with vivid blue skies and greens) / PORTRAIT (An effect appropriate for portrait picture with a healthy and beautiful skin tone.) There are many other addtional features too numerous to list here.

The advanced manual is 202 pages long.  No wonder they chose to provide it in an Adobe reader format.

I bought the camera with a 30 day return privilege and that time has now passed.

Two problems with the camera are:

1. Like the FZ28 indoor pictures has a yellowish cast that is apparent when there is no outdoor sunlight.  The issue seems eliminated by using a polarizing filter.  Note the camera will take 52mm threaded filters without an adadpter.

2. The camera is bulkier than the FZ28 and weighs 18.62 ounces.  The FZ28 weighs 14.71 ounces.  You definitely will notice the difference.  My compensation is using a wider cloth neck strap rather than the supplied leather strap.

Although they have seen the camera sold out at most locations it appears they have discontinued manufacture of this model.  My guess is they want to add a longer zoom and connectivity to the internet in their next iteration.

The Tech impact has Just Begun

When my son had his car stolen, my daughter called to say she learned about it on his Facebook page.

No one doubts that technology has impacted our way of life. Computers, television have morphed into computers, cell phones have become smart phones, tablet computers are replacing lap top computers, and music is now downloaded rather than played on CDs or records (what are records?).

Despite all the new stuff, electronic retail has seen a continuous downward trend over the last few years.  First it was Circuit City that once was the largest chain of electronic stores in the nation and now Best Buy seems to be following with the closing of 50 stores by the end of this year.  Six (revised to 7)in California, six in Illinois, and the balance in Minnesota (revised to 17 states and Puerto Rico).

This really is the impact of technology.  Borders Books is gone and Barnes and Noble is barely hanging on.  All these businesses are impacted by the internet.  It’s the place I made two purchases this month from Amazon.  One was a new camera (tech product) and the other was sugar bowl (that is a blow to all retail).  Banking? On line.

What is the message?  Retail will never be the same.

What about jobs?  Many of us will be working from home.

Betty White may be correct when she said, “Facebook is a big waste of time.”  Just don’t tell the millions of people who use it as a primary means of communication.