Friday Ephemera
Chap rotates his own feet 157 degrees. // More tongue than is decent. // “Mr Estala appeared to be intoxicated.” // Libation station. // Oil-absorbent material of note. // Organ relocation during pregnancy. // Globe-making of yore. // Smart glasses with liquid lenses. // Starfleet spacecraft comparison. His looks bigger than yours. // At last, an assault trombone. // Robot pianist. I said pianist. // 3D-printed housing. (h/t, Dr W) // Corked honey. // Headline of note. // “Antarctica’s best cuisine, with fine wines and seven-course lunches on Sundays.” // Frankly, I’ve been to worse gigs. // Phones from antiquity. // If you get pulled over, this will be the new sobriety test. // Doctor Strange reversed. In which time takes one for the team. // And finally, reassuringly, a bedtime tale.
the instantaneous gratification of not being able to text/tweet/farcebook/ their alleged friends, watch YouTube videos, play games, or take pictures of their lunch.
Yes, the twin evils of gin and jazz are surely corrupting our hitherto pure-souled youth.
Smartphones destroyed the point and shoot market because they take pictures that are good enough for the people who would have bought a point and shoot, and they combine several such devices into a single easier-to-carry form factor. One of the original use cases for Bluetooth, the PAN, has been quietly forgotten because it’s unnecessary when everything that would have used a PAN exists in the same handheld device.
the point is comparing the “camera” in a phone with a real camera.
That’s irrelevant; the 35mm DSLR market doesn’t compete with point-and-shoots or smartphone cameras, and is perfectly healthy. Of course a smartphone isn’t comparable to a “real” camera. Point and shoots weren’t “real” cameras either.
Of course a smartphone isn’t comparable to a “real” camera.
Neither is a “smart”phone camera comparable to but only the cheapest kid’s toy point and shoots, a $90 Sony, $110 Nikon or Canon will have a bigger sensor, and real optics, not a generally lens shaped piece of plastic. You are right, however, that people are willing to accept rubbish, because rubbish, as many of David’s links bear out, is becoming the standard.
Yes, the twin evils of gin and jazz are surely corrupting our hitherto pure-souled youth.
The phones are surely not making the youth (and most adults) any better. 10 years ago one could go to a restaurant, concert, or movie and not be surrounded by addled idiots spending more time playing with their phones than either eating or talking to their companions, listening to the music, or watching the film regardless of how much jazz they listened to (not that they would), or how much gin they swilled.
Aren’t communists just adorable?
Forgive me Father, for I have had dark thoughts about 46th-trimester terminations.
… regardless of how much jazz they listened to (not that they would), or how much gin they swilled.
I ain’t the guy who said “gin and jazz,” but I thought it was allegorical, rather than literal.
people are willing to accept rubbish
People are willing to trade off quality for convenience, which is completely rational. I take a picture, maybe, once a week. That picture is usually promptly shared in some manner (e-mail, SMS, etc.).
You’re suggesting I’m some sort of philistine for not lugging around my Canon point-and-shoot on the off-chance I’ll want it. I’ll then need to get the pictures off said Canon – card-reader, perhaps, or maybe I’ve got that special cable. Maybe a nice fanny-pack to hold all that nonsense. Plus I’ll need my laptop to actually transfer it and share it out; though maybe that can wait a few hours until I get home.
It’s not that those pictures would be so much better if I used a point-and-shoot – the vast majority of those pictures would just never be taken, period.
The best camera is the one you’ve got with you.
What all said above re the positives of smart phones. However should FMM wish to make this exact point regarding iOS8 or numerous other OS and similar upgrades, I’m behind him 100%…ok, 89.5%.
Re “I’m a Communist”…Clean your room.
I’m not quite sure how the robot pianist is a significant advance on the CD player, the record player, or, for that matter, the magnificent Player Piano of yore. Player piano rolls are in existence recording the finer nuances of Chopin and Lizst, for instance!