OK. First we need to talk about the picture. His name is Graham. Don’t get too creeped out. He’s not a real guy. He’s just a rendering. You’ve probably already seen Graham. His picture has been floating around the web-o-sphere for a while. He is what a guy might look like if he’s evolved to survive car crashes. But I’m pretty sure it’s also what you would look like, after Alexa has her way with you.
“These companies copy other peoples' inventions, flood the market with chintzy products sold at bargain basement prices, and make consumers pay with their privacy.”
Alert readers will recall that in my previous blog I questioned whether Big Tech/Big Data had monopolistic motives. And lo and behold, last week the DOJ went full antitrust nuclear. First I inspire Superman to build a computer, and now I cause the U.S. Government and eleven state Attorneys General to file suit against Google. Never, ever, underestimate the power of Sound & Vision magazine.
You can call me old fashioned. You can call me a Luddite. You can even call me Ishmael. But I like to read books. Paper books, thank you very much. Based on that, my homies at Barnes & Noble apparently think that I like to listen to vinyl too.
Trinitron, Betamax, Walkman, PlayStation, Compact Disc, MiniDisc, Blu-ray – and EV. Yes, you read that right. In the not-so-distant future, you can pre-order your Sony Electric Vehicle. With a little help (or maybe a lot) from Honda, the proud block-letter logo of our favorite electronics company can now reside in your garage. And I'm not talking about that old Trinitron in the corner of the garage that you keep meaning to recycle.
For the last few months I’ve thought a lot about the health of the audio/video industry. I worried that the success of smartphones and tablets was irreparably overwhelming traditional consumer-electronics technologies like audio/video. I tried to convince myself that smartphone mania would taper off and the mass market will rediscover big stereos and big TVs. I desperately wanted to evangelize for the profound pleasure that a kick-ass home theater can bring. But lately I’ve changed my mind. I have a new message for everyone glued to their phone: drop dead.
Unfortunately, your house is on fire. Which of the following should you do?
(a) Call 911.
(b) Grab your fire extinguisher.
(c) Grab your garden hose.
(d) Crank up the bass.
The answer, of course, is (d).
With all due respects to all the great analog engineers out there, it is my opinion that anything an analog circuit can do, software can do better. You don't agree? Fight me. Case in point: software-defined radio.
How many copies of Jurassic Park do you own? I'll give you an hour to tell me. That's because if you are a dino-fan, it will take awhile to tally them all. Don't miss any! There's VHS, Laserdisk, DVD, the Trilogy DVDs, the Adventure Pack DVDs, Blu-ray…. So, how many copies of Jurassic Park do you own? Well, get ready to buy some more. The Jurassic Park: Ultimate Trilogy Blu-ray set is being released today (with a freshly remastered DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack and a whole lotta extras as incentives to purchase). And after that. . .
I am an audio guy. All my life, I have been fascinated by the physics, physiology, and technology of audio. You might be surprised to know this, but my hearing is more important to me than my eyesight. But hearing is a privilege that not everyone shares.
How important is internet connectivity? In a poll of 18- to 25-year-olds in the U.K., they valued a good internet connection more highly than trifles such as a healthy diet, hot water, daylight, and the welfare system. Now, I admit that vegetables have never been high on my favorites list. Hmm....
Money, get away
Get a good job with good pay and you're okay
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team
You can admit it. You are intrigued. Of course, it can’t be true. But is it purely nonsensical? Is it a “pigs can fly” kind of declaration? Or is there someway, somehow, a grain of truth in it? And if that’s the case, how on earth could you conceivably connect the dots between the Little Corporal and the Compact Disc?