Why are the knives out for RIM?

I just posted this as a comment on the PCPro website but felt it could make a mini blog post on it’s own:

Why are the knives out for RIM?

There seems to be a real tone in a lot of what I’ve read around the net. That tone is that BB10 will fail, RIM is going down in flames, and people are queuing up to dance on the ashes. Funny how these same outlets trip over themselves to suck up to Apple and give them free coverage. (Or is it free?)

This schadenfreude seems to extend to Nokia also. I don’t get it. For years people loved the products provided by these two. The iPhone came along, shook things up, and they were a bit slow adjusting to the new paradigm. That doesn’t mean we should gloat over their troubles as if they were a dictator who has finally got his comeuppance.

As an iPhone user I’m half tempted (before I’ve even seen anything) to give BB10 a go, just as an exercise in getting away from idiotic, marketing controlled, techno group think.

Why did I buy a film camera in late 2012?

Yesterday I ordered a Canon AE1-Program with 50mm F1.8 lens on eBay.  Why did I do such a thing?

The benefits of digital photography are legion and I don’t intend to start a film vs digital debate here.  For most people and most purposes, digital won. The end. Or is it?

Many technologies have been replaced or superseded.  Does that make them useless?  Does it make them irrelevant?  It would seem not.

Diesel and latterly electric trains have not persuaded steam enthusiasts that their fascination with old engines is folly.

A decent quartz watch keeps better time than almost any mechanical one.  People nonetheless pay thousands of pounds to own a miniature piece of precision mechanical engineering from Breitling, Omega, Rolex et al.

The convenience and reliability of CDs and now MP3s has not persuaded vinyl lovers to ditch their turntables.  And ask any guitarist if he’d rather have transistors or valves (tubes) in his amplifier.

Age doesn’t not inherently confer irrelevance but the manufacturers of electronic devices and equipment would like you to think otherwise.

With their planned obsolescence strategies, products designed to fail after a certain time and relentless marketing campaigns, these companies (unknowingly?) conspire to reduce the enjoyment of your purchases and keep you looking to the next thing.

Many of today’s bloggers and podcasters are unwitting co-conspirators in this.  Sure talk of new gear is exciting and people want to hear about it.  It’s their talk of “old” gear that concerns me.

One podcaster was heard to give his young son his “Old Nikon D90 which was lying around gathering dust.”  The D90 is a 2008 vintage camera.  It is my main camera and it takes wonderful pictures, in absolute terms, not just for a 2008 model.

“Oh and look, should you choose to upgrade your knackered, 18 month old piece o’ junk, click on my Amazon affiliate link would you.”

Consumerism gone absofrickinlutely mental.

The other thing I have noted of late is the Instagram induced vintage filter craze.  Everyone is at it, making their work look like it came from a bygone era.  Why?

My feeling, based on no research at all but plenty of day to day observation, is that this is a hankering for “realness”.  Everything over the last few years has been turned upside down.  No one trusts their Government, no one trusts their Banks.  If only things were simpler.  There is a feeling that images created today lack authenticity.  If only things were like the good old days.

The good old days.  There are plenty of books and articles on nostalgia but one of the key elements is that you survived the past.  The fact you’re reading this proves it.  The future though….there are no guarantees about that.

In the good old days, there wasn’t any of this “virtual nonsense”.  You took a photo with a camera that went click because that’s what it did, rather than having the sound piped out of a speaker.  Then you gave your actual film to an actual person and actually had it developed.

When you received either you slides or your prints back, you actually had a physical thing to hold.  The unique chemistry of your choice of film imparted the image with certain qualities in terms of grain, sharpness and saturation.

While probably not realising it so keenly at the time, this made images that now evoke a time and place.  To understand what I mean, search for photos of Americana, shot on Kodachrome.

Digital images however come out of the camera feeling somewhat nondescript.  Sharp and clear yes, but hardly evocative.

With Instagram or one of the many other filters, you can get “authenticity” at the touch of a button.  Make it feel like it came from an age when some things could be relied upon.  When there were fewer uncertainties.

And so we come to my new (old) camera.  I’ve become wearied of the cycle of higher megapixels, faster computers, bigger hard drives, more buttons and ultimately less fun.

I fancied buying a camera that would outlast the latest fad in digital processing.  I wanted something that feels real in the hand.  Something less automated.  Something less forgiving of ignorance.  A camera where pressing the shutter has a consequence.  Where the photos come out with a certain look because that’s the nature of that film stock.  Where “authenticity” cannot be applied with the click of a mouse.

Digital will remain my main medium but it will be fun to play with the old way of doing things.

I started out on film at the age of 5 on an old Instamatic camera.  I watched my Dad use Canon A1s and T90s in the 80’s and an EOS 5 in the 90’s.  In ’99 I bought an EOS 3000 and used it until 2004 when I switched to digital.

In a way, this purchase is only 50% about photography.  The balance being a middle finger to the instant gratification throwaway world we find ourselves living in.

Here’s to authenticity.

G

Photography quick tip: Motor drive to avoid camera shake

Something most of you probably know but which I heard for this first time on a podcast recently:

If you’re using a slow shutter speed and are worried about camera shake, set your camera’s shutter release mode to continuous high speed.  (Known as motor driving on film cameras.)

While the act of pressing the shutter release may cause some camera shake, that should have stopped by the time the second or third frames have fired, giving you a better chance of getting a sharp result.

Also, dont forget the old rule for handheld shutter speeds: your shutter speed as a fraction of a second, should not be lower than the focal length of the lens.  So if you’re using a 200mm lens, 1/200th of a second is the slowest shutter speed likely to get a sharp image.  Obviously this goes out the window in the case of VR (Vibration reduction) or IS (Image Stabilised) lenses.

iPhones are not built to last

The lock button on my iPhone4 is broken.  It no longer clicks down nicely but is stuck down.  If you push it really hard, it sometimes works.  The home button is also not as responsive as it used to be – it frequently needs more than one press before it responds.

I’d had my old iPhone 3G about four months when the speaker phone and Bluetooth functions packed in.  Apple replaced that handset without quibble, but before that one was a year old it became really flakey, dropping calls for no apparent reason several times a day.

I paid £500 for the iPhone4 on the day it was released, back in June 2010.  Since then it has only had moderate use.  And I REALLY look after my stuff – the phone looks almost like new.

Is it too conspiratorial to suggest that iPhones are engineered so as to make you want or need a new one as your current handset approaches its second birthday?  I don’t know, but what I do know is that I have a little old Nokia which despite 5 years of solid use, still works as well as it did on day 1.

Come on Apple – you can and should do better.

Why buying a PC at retail sucks

This morning I was in the electronics section of John Lewis.  There was a large stand demonstrating Apple equipment and it could have been lifted straight from the Apple Store.  Then there was a space about 3 times that size dedicated to selling PCs from other manufacturers.  I wandered over to a Sony all in one PC.  The first thing that popped up on the screen was a message from McAfee Antivirus warning that the PC “may be at risk”.

Many computer buyers are already paranoid about this kind of thing, and with Apple vocally touting their less frequently infected wares, is it any wonder they do so well, while the rest of the PC industry is struggling with falling sales.  Seriously, I’m no sales guru but I surely it’s obvious that “this computer may be at risk” is not a good sales pitch.

I’m sure it’s not just Sony; the same would probably have happened with any machine I had picked in the store.  Of course without internet access, the anti virus programs will be out of date and complaining.  But on a display machine?  One that’s meant to generate sales?  A big D minus – must try harder.

I don’t want to live with a cow called Mabel

Daily, people are bombarded by conflicting messages.  On the one hand, we are told the economy is in a dire position and that what we need to do is get our wallets out and spend.

Conversely, we are told about the perilous situation the environment is in, and that we should stop buying things we don’t need, take fewer (long distance at least) holidays and generally go easier on the planet.

No wonder so many people seem somewhat confused and permanently stressed.

I can see both sides of the argument and to extent find myself agreeing with both of them.  However they are such conflicting objectives, such diametrically opposed ideals, that it’s hard to come to a final position on the matter.  In fact by the time your work for the day is done, and you finally have a few moments to meditate on these matters, it’s all to easy to just go for some form of escapism in TV, books or computer games.

Our economy is largely based upon people consuming things they don’t need.  We actually NEED very little.  Food, shelter, warmth, clean drinking water…that’s about it really.

You might enjoy a new car but will you actually be happier?  Probably not.

So how do we square this circle?  How do we achieve an economy that can sustainably employ people without using up every last resource Earth has to offer?

There are those who advocate a return to a pre industrial society.  This is simply not going to happen.  Yeah let’s all sleep in one big room, along with all our pigs, goats and a cow called Mabel – the ultimate in open plan living….

There must be some middle ground where we get to keep the good things which have been invented over the past 300 years, without seeing it as a catastrophe if we begin to consume less, year on year.

Your thoughts?

Queen comes within 20 feet of certain death

“This paper can exclusively reveal, that the Queen has been mere feet from almost certain death on more than one occasion in 2011.  On one occasion she was traveling with Prince Philip down a single carriageway A Road at 60mph.  Another vehicle, also traveling at 60, went past in the other direction.  With a closing speed of 120mph, an error of a few feet on the part of either driver would have spelt a grisly end for all concerned.”

This is the kind of hogwash which is pumped at us night and day and day and night by the media in Britain.  Take something perfectly ordinary, imagine the worst possible consequence of the situation, and pump out a doom mongering headline.  If possible try and link it to cancer too.  No wonder so many people have lines of stress and worry etched into their faces.

It’s not just the newspapers either.  The BBC is guilty too – if not more so.  To paraphrase a recent article, “After a period of low rain, if it continues to not rain, we will have a drought.”  No shit.  But it gives them the chance to write about DROUGHT WARNING.  Sound the alarm!!!

So. Stop reading that tripe.  Have a drink.  Be glad you live in Britain.  It really is a rather lovely place.  It’s got a Queen and everything.

I can’t stop quitting and I’m grumpy.

“What could I possibly say that’s of any interest to the world at large?” is the question I keep asking myself.  I do enjoy writing now and then but in between the fits and starts, I’m routinely overcome by the general noise of the internet.  How to say something of worth?  What can I say which hasn’t already been articulated with more skill elsewhere?

To a certain extent, the same applies to photography.  I make a decent image now and again, with friends sometimes saying, “Wow, you’re really good.”  But friends would say that, wouldn’t they?  Even the briefest nose around Flickr or more recently 500px, however, and it puts one’s so called skills into perspective.  It’s not just the quality of the work – there have always been master artists, but the sheer quantity of it.  Tens and tens of thousands of people are churning out amazing images every day.  And I come away thinking well what’s the point of adding more third tier images to the mash?

I look at the blogs some people write and they are so upbeat and affirming.  I want to be upbeat and affirming.  They tell everyone that, yes they too can make it in their oversubscribed field of endeavour.  “Listen,” they declare, “If this boy can make it, you can too.”  Can I?  Really?  I’m not sure make make it would even mean in my own context.

I guess I have some notion that I could become a self employed artiste or some crap, sticking it to the man by telling my corporate employer I’ve had enough of his job.  For the record my job is pretty good as jobs go.  People spend a lot of time and money to do what I do.  However a decade in any industry can rub a little of the shine off, can’t it?

So I find myself contemplating ways to scale up some kind of self employed business while scaling down my “work” commitments, all the while leaving my family unaffected financially.  Then I realise that’s quite an ask, so I become despondent and quit.  Again and again.  Let’s be clear, I have no excuse at all for despondency; my lot is good.  It happens all the same.

Occasionally some event or other will spur me to write on political grounds.  I will get all fired up and send angry letters to my local MP or David Cameron.  I always get a polite reply; either of agreement, saying that what can be done is being done, or telling me I’m wrong.  Then I continue about my business as normal.

During school, I discovered that playing the guitar was a good way to attract females.  A bit of Wonderwall and they were like moths to a flame – okay maybe not, but this geeky non sportsman finally felt like he had an angle.  In the sixth form I even played in a couple of bands.  I think we mainly sucked but it was a good laugh.  To this day I still strum the same old tunes a few time a week, thinking about the career in music that wasn’t.  Of course, the fact that I never bothered to put in the time and effort to achieve a standard which would make that possible, we shall ignore.

The common thread that runs through all of these, is one of quitting.  Try a bit.  See some moderate success after limited effort.  Quit before actually failing.

If you’re expecting me to do a Stephen Fry now and round this off with some nicely crafted prose, I must disappoint you.  This was mainly a splurge of thought to keyboard.  I want to be positive.  I want to write something that will improve the day of the reader.  I don’t want to be the angry internet ranter.  I have no excuse for being so.  The fact is that right now, I’m just a bit grumpy.

Why the phone hacking suspects should be cut some slack

Rupert and James Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, various Metropolitan Police officers, Glenn Mulcaire the private detective; just a few of the names linked with the ongoing phone hacking scandal.

Whilst we have indeed been presented with some rather compelling evidence against these people, we should all pause before saddling up our high horses. These individuals are as entitled to a free and fair trial, before a jury of their peers, as anyone else. To deny them that, is to make oneself complicit in denying a person the justice they deserve.

It may well be that the justice they end up receiving is a lengthy term in prison and should that be the case, I doubt Kleenex shares will see an upsurge. However we would all do well to remember that thus far, most of the evidence against them has been presented by rivals to the Murdoch empire (for which I have no love whatsoever) and the government controlled BBC.

If we’re going to pitch our tents on Mount Moral High-ground, let’s make sure we actually have a case for being on said mount.

Will Apple ditch the pro creative market?

Before I begin I should point out that I write this as the layest of lay people.  I write with no inside knowledge of the industries concerned; these are simply my observations and reading between the line-ings.

So the question I put before the house is: “Will Apple ditch the pro creative market?”

It is oft mentioned that the Mac now only accounts for one third of Apple’s revenue, with the other two thirds consisting of iPod/iPhone/iPad sales, the iTunes music/movie store and of course the phenomenally successful App Store.

However I don’t believe there’s an equation that says consumer success = shutdown of pro departments.  If there’s profit to be made then why not keep going?  What I wish to point out is a few things that Apple HAS done which lead me to question their commitment to the pro market.

1. Glossy screens

Aside from a couple of build to order options for the MacBook Pro, Apple no longer offer any matte display options, including the stand alone cinema display.

Almost everyone working in the professional photo or video sectors, where colour accuracy is critical, will tell you they prefer a matte screen to a glossy one.  Glossy screens look great in a shop and certainly give one’s photos a good deal of punch.  However they also tend to crush dark greys into black and are not suitable for people who need to know that what’s on the screen is what’s going to come out of the printer.  Indeed on his website’s gear section, well known photographer, Chase Jarvis says this about the glossy display:

“We’re up to 4 of these and they are slowly growing on us [Dartanyon at least]. The glossy display takes a little getting used to, but we are finding a place for Apple’s latest display.”

As a normally vocal proponent of Apple products who can be found marketing Apple’s Aperture software here, it is hardly a glowing recommendation.  Ironically in that video, you actually see him and his team working with the old school matte Cinema Display.

2. Discontinuation of XServe

With the discontinuation of the XServe server product, Apple have left a hole in many a production house’s IT strategy.  Their suggestion that one can use either a Mac Mini or Mac Pro running OS X Server (which is soon to be integrated into OS X Lion) is a little optimistic.  The Mac Mini is a consumer device with neither the robustness nor the performance to run high I/O mission critical functions.  The Mac Pro on the other hand is not rack mountable and does not feature server basics such as multiple power supplies.

Again I make no pretence at being a server expert of system admin but Apple used to provide a one stop shop for all your creative editing needs.  Now X Serve users will be forced to look elsewhere.  Referring to Chase Jarvis once again:

“The venerable XServe is now off of Apple’s menu … discontinued. We’ve got 2 running our XSan network. Dartanyon hasn’t quite figured out what we’ll be doing going forward.”

3. Final Cut Pro X

Anyone with quarter of an ear to the ground in the video editing scene will know the stink that Apple has created with the release of this product.  Briefly, after several years in development, the latest version of Final Cut Pro lacks so many basic elements considered essential by pro editors, whilst simultaneously dumping elements of Final Cut Studio such as “Color”, not to mention Final Cut Server.

A brief search will give you more detail (and indeed accuracy) than I ever could about the specifics, but suffice it say that a common feeling is that it should be called iMove Pro.  It’s unclear whether this was a genuine attempt by Apple to foist a reinvented wheel upon pro video editors or whether they are in fact deliberately dumbing down the product with a view to appealing to more of a mass audience.

Either way they must have known that this would never sit well with existing pros; doing away with the “Color” component of Final Cut Studio has left people who made careers out of colour correction high and dry.  Unless something which looks and feels more professional finds its way out of Cupertino soon, Adobe and Avid will soon find themselves with an increase in trade.

4. iOS effect on OSX

OSX Lion is set to adopt quite a few iOS like features.  From the (imho pointless) Launchpad app launcher, which mimics the icon grid seen on iOS devices, to the Mac App Store, OSX and iOS will continue to look more and more similar.  (Anyone who wants to know what OS11 will look like should keep an eye on iOS over the next few years – it is only a matter of time before the two systems are one and the same.)  A nice little grid of icons may be fine on a mobile phone but on a high end number crunching computer it represents nothing more than a massive dumbing down – a reduction of the system to the lowest common denominator of user competence.

Indeed OSX Lion itself and FCPX are only to be available as downloads from the Mac App Store.  This is fine from a consumer perspective but what about pro studios with 50 machines, some of which need to be kept offline?  Why is Apple so unforthcoming with support for this segment – the segment which created the halo effect on which so much subsequent success has been based.

5. War on the file system

For details on this, see my previous post on the very topic.  Doing away with the file system may be an idea for those who have no clue about computers, and for day to day personal use I’m sure auto syncing of documents to the cloud will be great.  However I fail to see how any of this will help creative professionals or indeed any other sector which has to wrangle 10′s if not 100′s of terabytes of data.

Again this is but a series of observations which others and I have made of late.  I don’t claim to know what they mean when taken as a whole but I have my suspicions.  It would be interesting to hear from those who, amongst all of the above, can argue for Apple’s continued commitment to the pro market.  Personally I’m just not seeing it.

At the recent WWDC conference Apple continually referred to the “Post PC” era.  (increasingly referring to the Mac as a PC when previously they had used PC as a derogatory term for Windows machines.)  In the professional arena however, the PC – as in large powerful lump of a machine, is not going anywhere soon.  Perhaps rather than this being a Post PC era, it’s that Apple Inc. is a Post PC company?