Category: Blog

Weekly Digest

Slightly different look to the post this week thanks to Gordon’s article on how he automates his Weekend Reading posts. So I’ve followed his advice and use Workflow on iOS to save a few steps and quite a bit of time. Enjoy!

Life
Straight back in to work and it’s busy busy busy. Set yearly goals and hoping to deliver a few more than I managed last year.

Media
Sherlock…just not doing it for me this year.

Forza Horizon 3 on the Xbox One. Really enjoying it. Great gameplay, lots to do and it looks and sounds gorgeous.

Links

  • Thanks Mom!
    On Christmas in 1995, I unwrapped a shiny new IBM Aptiva. Much to my delight, my mom had gifted me my first PC. Each time I’ve thought about my mom making this purchase, it’s been thru the lens of someone looking back in time.
    Love this post. Reminds me of my mum and dad getting me an Amstrad CPC for Christmas. Money was tight and they must have scrimped and saved to get it but I loved that machine and in many ways set me on a path.
  • Apple’s 2016 in review
    This has been the winter of our discontent. 2016 was the year the tone changed. There’s always been a lot of criticism and griping about anything Apple does (and doesn’t do — it can’t win) but in 2016 I feel like the tone of the chatter about Apple changed and got a lot more negative.
    Excellent post and captures what many feel about Apple right now.
  • Wind just generated more power than coal in the UK, for the first year ever
    During most years since the industrial revolution, the UK has relied on coal to produce the lion’s share of its energy (in the last 10, gas has been top some years, and coal others).
    Good to see our reliance on fossil fuels decreasing.
  • Alexa: Amazon’s Operating System
    The concept of an operating system is pretty straightforward: it is a piece of software that manages a computer, making said computer’s hardware resources accessible to software through a consistent set of interfaces.
    Alexa won CES this year. VW & Ford are putting it in their cars, many vendors had integrated Alexa into their products and Amazon have a real leg up on their competitors with Alexa. Interesting times.
  • How ‘Rogue One’s’ Princess Leia, Grand Moff Tarkin Were Created
    Bringing back the late Peter Cushing and 19-year-old Carrie Fisher for a story taking place before the 1977 “Star Wars” was a CGI challenge.
    Still found the CGI characters false and jarring in amongst the real actors. Do not like.
  • That mystery Go player crushing the world’s best online? It was AlphaGo again
    DeepMind’s AlphaGo is back, and it’s been secretly crushing the world’s best Go players over the past couple of weeks. The new version of the AI has played 51 games online and won 50 of them, including a victory against Ke Jie, currently the world’s best human Go player.
    AI is taking over the world, one little step at a time.
  • Mini Metros
    Love this – minimalist graphics of the worlds light rail systems.
  • What Did And Did Not Happen In 2016 – AVC
    As has become my practice, I will end the year (today) looking back and start the year (tomorrow) looking forward. As a starting point for looking back on 2016, we can start with my What Is Going To Happen In 2016 post from Jan 1st 2016.
    Review of the year by Fred Wilson. His 2017 predictions are worth reading too.
  • The Scottish pioneer whose plan for a basic income could transform Britain
    In the city where Adam Smith developed the free-market theories that inspired Thatcherism nearly 300 years later, a young Labour politician is pursuing an economic vision that takes a drastically different approach to “the wealth of nations”.
    Not sure if this will work but it’s worth trying and one could argue it’s better than what we’ve got now.
  • First 10 Years of iPhone: How It Has Changed Our World
    The Legendary Intro 10 years ago from now, Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone. I was luckily covering the event onsite.
    January 9th 2007. Time flies.
  • Journey to Iceland
    @Shortstache full trip. Entire country of Iceland over 10 days.
  • this is iceland
    I really need to book a trip to Iceland.

Forth Bridge

The Forth Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in the world, not just in the UK. I took advantage of a clear but cold day to head over to South Queensferry to try and get a good photo of the famous structure.

Forth Bridge

Rather than take hundreds of images I set off with one image in mind. I wanted a long exposure of the bridge with the morning sun casting it’s glow on the red painted steel and brickwork. The skies were clear as expected but soon after sunrise the sun was shrouded by a rogue cloud. Damn. After 15 minutes the sunlight returned and I got the image I was after.

During the wait I took the opportunity to fire up the drone and take some alternative shots. My video wasn’t great – lack of practise and preparation, but I did get a couple of images that I was pleased with. I got warnings while flying of low temperatures and also over stressing the motor which was a bit disconcerting as the drone was about a mile out from me over water. Between that, batteries running low and me starting to freeze I didn’t get as much out of the drone as I should have.

Forth Bridge

My biggest fail of the day was I got cold. It was 0, feels like -4 and I was on a bit of sand/riverbank so very quickly I started to get cold. I needed more layers and better footwear. After 90 minutes I had to move on as I was that cold I was getting pains. A brisk walk to get another view of the bridge helped but it really was too late and I spent the rest of the day feeling cold and sore.

Forth Bridge

This trip was my first using the Peak Design Everyday Backpack. I love the design and flexibility that the bag offers but need to think how best to configure the flex fold dividers as one collapsed as soon as I removed the camera due to load but thats easily fixed by altering the layout. I loved all the expandability that the bag had as well and it meant I could use one 20L bag to carry all my gear. However it’s not watertight. This didn’t effect me yesterday but I wouldn’t trust it on a day out with variable weather. Its water resistant but the top pocket doesn’t seal so you run the risk of water getting into the main compartment. Overall I’m pleased with the purchase but not convinced I’ll be able to use it 100% of the time unless I also carry a rain cover for the unpredictable Scottish weather.

Next on the shopping list is probably a set of Lee filters. They aren’t cheap but will help with a lot of the photo’s I like to take. Before I buy I’m going to get out and use the camera more. I upgraded to a Fuji X-T2 towards the end of 2016 and I love it but need to use it more not just to understand it fully but also to improve my photography. There’s only so much a book or manual can teach.

If you want to see more of the Forth Bridge photo’s then the album is here on Flickr along with my other photos.

Weekly Digest

Life
End of the year and the last weekly update which has as most other posts at this time a reflective feel to it. Been a good break and now looking forward to 2017.

Media
Festive TV has been in general pretty poor. Charlie Brooker’s 2016 Wipe was an exception and I’ve got high hopes for Sherlock tomorrow. Caught up on Star Trek Beyond and it was OK but felt like an extended TV episode rather than a movie event. Maybe one for the Star Trek fans?

Links

Apple AirPods

7th September seems an awfully long time ago. Apple announced the iPhone 7, removed the headphone port but also heralded a wireless future…October will see the release of Apple’s AirPods which will make you totally forget about wired headphones. Except October came and went with no AirPods released. Last week they announced availability online and also in store from December 19th. I’d had no big inclination to buy them but I was keen to get rid of the wires, EarPods had suited my ears up to now and I was keen to play with a new toy – what is there to lose? I’ve used them for four days now, in and around the house and also on a couple of longish walks so felt that was enough time to share some views.

Design
The AirPods aren’t just wireless earphones. The case they come in is also a charging and storage device. When you first unbox the AirPods and open and close the case it just feels right. There’s a nice weight to the case and the lid has a nice magnetic close – it’s great for fidgeters.

When you first unbox the AirPods the case has some charge as do the AirPods but it looks like the amount of charge varies looking at posts on Twitter. The AirPods battery life is around 5 hours and a fully charged case + AirPods will provide around 24 hours of battery life. Popping the AirPods in the case for 15 minutes will provide around three hours of charge so if you do run out of juice it doesn’t take long to get back up and listening. The case is charged via a lightning port on it’s base and before you throw out or store your AirPods box remember to take out the charging cable.

One of the slams against the AirPods is that you’ll lose them – I just don’t get that. You’ll use the case to carry them around and unless you are a total klutz I just don’t see them being lost. If you do lose one of the AirPods a replacement will cost £69 from Apple. The case however is easily pocketable and really makes for a great carrying and charging solution. Switching on the AirPods is also really easy – just remove them from the case. To switch them off place them in the case…which also uses magnets to snap the AirPods back into place. Something I have found with the AirPods is that they are on the slippy side. They are small and I find it a little bit awkward getting them in and out of the case and into my ears. Potentially I can see this getting worse over time as they get a bit greasy from use so maybe the replacement from Apple will be a thing, not for lost AirPods but for broken ones as I’ve dropped mine a couple of times already.

Smart Apple
Opening the case near your iPhone pops up a pairing screen. Click on the Connect button and the AirPods are paired, renamed and the pairing information is sync’d across your devices via iCloud. The AirPods are at their heart just a set of bluetooth headphones but Apple have added a series of touches that make them the easiest bluetooth headphones to use. To see the current battery levels, open the case near the phone and up will pop the current charging level of the case and the AirPods. Pop an AirPod into your ear and you hear a small chime letting you know that the AirPods are on and connected. A duller chime will tell you the battery is almost dead.

Another nice feature is removing one AirPod will cause the audio to pause. Replacing it will cause it to resume. This in many ways makes up for the lack of controls but not totally as you need to rely on Siri – more on that later. At work if someone approaches or I want to answer a call I need to pause and take out my headphones or just let them play and move back through the song or podcast. Now I just remove an AirPod, carry out a conversation, then place it back and the playback resumes. You can also just use one AirPod if you are making telephone calls. Each AirPod has a built in mic and you only need one for making and receiving calls. I’ve had no issues on a couple of calls so far with the AirPods although they weren’t outside so I’m not sure how they perform in windy conditions.

So…Siri. I don’t get on that well with Siri and if there’s a major downside to the AirPods so far is their reliance on Siri to carry out commands. To invoke Siri you double tap on the AirPod and then ask Siri to change volume, skip track etc. It’s clumsy. It’s slow compared to a physical button. It’s weird, especially in public. It’s also not always accurate which a physical button usually is. It’s the biggest miss for me compared to wired headphones that have some form of clicker.

You can visit the bluetooth settings in your iPhone to change the double tap behaviour from Siri to play/pause or just switch it off. It’s a shame there isn’t some more options here. Why can’t I configure a single or triple click? Why can’t I configure the double click to skip tracks? Why can’t I configure each AirPod to act differently to a tap?

Another thing thats weird is that if you have no internet connection…then no Siri…and no changing the volume via Siri – it just fails. Very un-Apple like and kills the experience. I’ll rely on using the phone or watch to make volume changes or skip tracks as it’s far easier and quicker.

Sound and Fit
Headphones are no use if they don’t sound good and are comfortable to wear. Lets deal with the sound first. At work or out walking I listen to a mixture of podcasts and music. The sound quality of the AirPods to my ears is better than the EarPods but clearly isn’t the best out there. For me the quality is good enough. Audio is clear and plenty loud for my needs apart from on the underground. They aren’t noise cancelling so for airplanes there are better options. Flipping between AirPods and EarPods there is slightly more bass with the AirPods but I’ve some older in ear buds that sound much better. At work though I don’t want to be totally isolated from whats going on so the AirPods are good for me…I know others think differently or work in scenarios which mean they don’t want any distractions. If thats the case then the AirPods aren’t for you.

Fit is more tricky. When I was running I had real difficulty getting in ears that would stay in my ear without having to fix them every minute. However the EarPods stuck in my ears no matter how sweaty, windy, wet it was. The AirPods are a slightly different shape to the EarPods but again they fit perfectly for me. They are comfortable, never feel like they are going to come out and I’ve worn then for hours and you forget they are even there. I did a shake test which shows they don’t come out for me. However I know others for whom the AirPods just don’t fit. They slip out easily or are really uncomfortable.

So the fit is fine but there’s one last niggle – do AirPods look weird? I don’t think there’s much difference between AirPods and EarPods but they do look…odder. Longer and they stick out slightly. The design is where we are with batteries right now and how much can be packed into such a small volume. I’m fine with it and I’d rather walk around with AirPods than a large over the ear type device.

Should You Buy?
AirPods aren’t cheap at £159 and that will put off a lot of buyers. For the price you can definitely get better sounding wireless headphones but for me the upgrade over the EarPods and the move to wireless are well worth the asking price especially as they work so well with other Apple products. If EarPods haven’t been an issue for you and their sound quality has been good enough then the AirPods are a great purchase. It’s Apple’s most delightful product in years.

Weekly Digest

Life
Finished work for the year last week so I’ve got 20 days off until returning on Jan 4th. Plenty of present buying completed…and I’ve got AirPods on the way too.

Media
Two films in the last few days which couldn’t be more contrasting.

Rogue One – Enjoyed it and it ticked some of the Stars Wars boxes but also did things differently with a sombre tone at times. Looked stunning and considering everyone knew what was going to happen they did well to keep the story interesting. Still not sold on CGI actors and I’d love to know why some scenes from the early trailers never made the final cut. Also loved bitter droid. Need a BB-8 and K-2SO buddy movie.

Suicide Squad – A travesty of a movie. Imagine 20-30 music videos played back to back, with a seemingly connected story, but each one shot by a different director and written by a different writer. In fact that would have delivered a better movie than Suicide Squad. Crap dialogue, a focus on ass shots from the director, a terrible plot and a truly awful joker. Complete shite.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
Business trip to Portsmouth last week. Gorgeous day but long and left me tired and playing catchup for the rest of the week. Good news with my camera – there was a dead/white pixel on it but shop I bought it from fixed it and I have it back in my hands. Christmas shopping continues…still quite a bit to do.

Media
Can’t wait for the last episode of Westworld. Such a great show. Watched Suicide Squad – pile of shit. Picked up Tomb Raider for the PS4 and the 4k graphics are very nice indeed.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
Busy this week capped by slipping yesterday morning on an icy step. Old duffer. No lasting damage but a scraped arm and bashed leg. Lucky. Also lucky that I didn’t smash my camera and it was the tripod plate that took the impact which gouged a chunk of metal out of it. Shows how easy it can be to have a nasty fall.

Media
Still enjoying Battlefield 1 although some of the rounds can be just brutal. Also spun up Halo to play some old map remakes…wish I could say it was fun but. No.

Started watching Atlanta – very good. Also enjoyed the first episode of The Grand Tour, more so because of the 4K HDR cars than Clarkson and his merry men. It was just a more expensive Top Gear. If thats your thing, great. If you were getting jaded of the old format then there isn’t much different here.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
Back to work but just over three weeks until I stop for the Christmas break so not too bad. Had a checkup at the hospital on Wednesday to rule out anything around the heart being an issue with my health. An ECG, ultrasound and 17 minutes on a treadmill and the heart got a thumbs up which is great news. Doctor concurs with others that it is a viral infection and I need to keep fighting and it will eventually pass. Fingers crossed.

Media
2 similar but different shows this week. Westworld is really hitting it’s stride and the last 2 episodes have been terrific. Also excelling in its second season is Humans on Ch4. Good to have some intelligent sci-fi on the TV.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
Good week off work and another year older as it was my birthday yesterday. It was also a week for new toys. Finally got a working Samsung 4k TV and the picture is gorgeous. Also picked up a PS4 Pro (cheers Shak) and you can certainly see an upgrade in performance. Titanfall 2 looked great and the HDR/4k on The Last of Us is stunning. If you are interested on my old PS4 then take a look here.

Media
Titanfall 2 is a very good game. It now has a single player story which so far has been excellent, multiplayer as good as the original and a promise that all future map and mode’s delivered for the game will be free. Bravo and highly recommended.

Links