At Home with Tech

The Art of Inaction, Part 1

Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard have finally been shown the door by Apple. Lion rules. Losers get to stick out their tongues.

Some people just absolutely have to have the newest gadget. And for many of them, they go through great effort to wait on line to be among the first to own it.
(Apple products tend to generate this level of enthusiasm.)

It is a badge of honor for these new tech adopters to be on the bleeding edge of consumer tech. (if only for a few days)

Remember when your friend or colleague came in with that first iPhone a few years back? It didn’t matter that it cost $500 for the entry-level 4-gig model, or how slow it was by today’s standards.
These consumer tech trailblazers flaunted their status as near demigods, and for anyone slightly interested in technology, we marveled at their status. And we all drooled with envy. (Well, at least I did.)

Hedge Your Bets
There is an irony with this approach to buying consumer technology, because common tech wisdom says to never buy the first of anything. And you should also wait a while till new software or updates are proven to operate properly. Who really wants to be a guinea pig?

A lot of the time, new tech has glitches. And if you’re one of those who must own it immediately, you’re really not more than a canary in a cage deep in a mine.

But if there’s new OS or IOS system software available for your Mac or iPhone/iPad, some folks sprint out the door, or press the download button without thinking.
Who cares if it’s still a little buggy?

The hedge says, wait a few weeks. That’s all.

The Tao of Total Caution
But there’s another tech wisdom that lives on the completely opposite side of the spectrum of caution.
It says, don’t upgrade unless you absolutely have to.

I know some techies who live by this rule, and they do make a compelling argument. If you’re happy with your tech, why mess with a good thing?
So don’t do it.

Period.

The web is filled with horror stories from people who failed to get to the finish line with their software upgrade. And if it’s an entire operating system, that means big trouble.

Love and Fear
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m no tech slouch when it comes to computing.
I’ve got my 2-year-old iMac and iPhone 4S. My wife has the new Mac Book Pro and an iPad. I feel we’re reasonably current at home with tech.

In an early post, I confessed my inaction towards the necessary iCloud switch over.
Maybe I didn’t use the proper word, but I’ll admit to it now.

It’s fear.
I’m afraid I’m going to destroy my happy home-digital-homeostasis.
This fear has kept me in the camp of total caution.

See, it’s not only about losing MobileMe and my photo/video sharing functionality. It’s something much more critical.
I feel a very real primal threat to my precious iMac and all its contents.

I love Apple, but I don’t feel the stability of the relationship I really want. Apple has always had a focus on the next big thing, and they are a wildly successful company. Part of that success requires them to cut loose products and functionality that don’t fit into that vision.

My Leap of Faith
When MobileMe goes away in June, the only way to sync your data between devices will be through iCloud . And you’ve got to upgrade to Lion to use iCloud. That’s it. Everyone else on Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard- it was nice knowing you.

I’ve been very happy with Snow Leopard as an operating system on my
2.93 GHz Intel Core i7 iMac (That’s what it calls itself.)

There is always a risk when you upgrade to a newer operating system that not all of your software will be compatible. And there is also the risk your computer won’t reboot after the upgrade.
There are a thousand reasons why.
(Again, the web is filled with stories…)

But Lion has been out since last July, and the reviews are all positive. The vast majority of Lion users are seemingly doing just fine.

I knew I really had no choice.
So yesterday, I decided I had procrastinated quite enough.

Beyond the fear of wondering if my iMac would survive the upgrade, I was particularly concerned about one program making the transition. Final Cut Pro.

FCP X’s New Brain and Lost Heart
A few years back, I made the jump from iMovie to Final Cut Express, and then to Final Cut Pro.

My story is hardly unique, but with the new version of Final Cut Pro X, I know I can’t continue to use my current editing projects from Final Cut Pro 7.
FCP 7 is a dead platform that Apple abandoned when FCP X premiered last summer. You can’t up convert your old project files to the new platform.
(See you later, lover, and please leave your keys on the table on your way out.)

There’s been a lot of chatter on the web about how horrible FCP X is.
For now, I’ve decided not to make a decision on that dilemma.
(And no, there was never a FCP 8 or 9.
Apple skipped over those two numbers.)
The real problem I’m stressing about is whether FCP 7 works with Lion.

I know that FCP 6 and Lion don’t play together at all, but the web didn’t offer a unanimous perspective on FCP 7 and Lion. That said, my research suggested it would probably work.

Probably.

So what’s so important about preserving my ongoing editing projects on FCP 7? Two family history videos.
I’ve been working on one with my father for the past four years. (It’s amazing stuff. You all should be doing this to bridge family history detail across generations.)
And I’ve been documenting the first years of my wonderful two-year-old son.
Say no more.

How would you feel at the prospect of losing all of that?
I call that fear.

Making the Go/No-Go Decision
But I had everything backed up. As a worse case scenario, I figured I could always throw myself down at the mercy of an Apple Genius and hope my digital world could be restored.

So with the knowledge that I really had no choice, I prepped my iMac in disk utilities by verifying the integrity of my hard drive and disk permissions, did a final Time Machine backup, and then downloaded Lion from the Mac App Store.

$30 and 30 minutes later, it sat there on my desktop.
The Lion icon stared at me. I think it was angry I had waited this long.

I move the cursor with my mouse to hover over the word, ‘Install.’

I hesitated for a moment more.

And then I clicked the bu

April 18, 2012

Is It Time to Stockpile Light Bulbs?

Behold! The new award-winning LED bulb from Philips. This 21st century tech may save the world. But there’s a catch.

How many Americans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

The 133 year-old answer used to be – 1.
And that was Thomas Edison.

Not any more.
Now, the number seems to be more like 4,815,162,342.

Edison was Wrong
Thanks to The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 signed by President Bush, incandescent bulbs aren’t cutting it anymore and need to get 25% more efficient or else. As we approach Earth Day you might say that’s a good thing.

The problem is the law creates a mandatory phase out of many incandescent bulbs, beginning with the 100-watt bulb this October. The kill dates for other bulbs all the way down to 40 watts continues through 2014.

Now, the targeted bulbs can get a reprieve if manufacturers can improve their efficiency numbers, so maybe there’s no cause for alarm.

Maybe.

As far as I’m concerned, this is all pretty complicated, and I’m feeling a bit in the dark on what’s really going on. I just want the lights to work.

I’m not yet ready to hoard light bulbs in preparation for the new green Dark Age to come, but I’m not glowing either.

The $10 million Light Bulb
One bright spot in this dim tale is the news that our government also wants light bulb manufacturers to innovate. Just fixing the old filament model isn’t enough.

Also in 2007, the DOE announced their $10 million Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition to spur the development of a 60 watt equivalent LED bulb with strict standards to replace incandescents.
Philips Lighting North America was the only entrant, and after much nail biting, (drum roll please) Philips took the prize last August with their new
L Prize LED bulb.

And this weekend, the wait for consumers to illuminate their bright and efficient future is over. The L Bulb goes on sale this Sunday at retailers like Home Depot.
You might want to be the first in line, because I bet there’s going to be a stampede to snap up this new bulb of the future.

It will sip only 10 watts, last for 20 years and offer a natural, dimmable light.
Plus, there’s no mercury in it like those icky compact fluorescent bulbs.

Don’t get me started on the promise of expensive CFLs and how burned I felt after I bought into all of that hype a decade ago. (Anyone else?)

And the price tag for the new darling L Bulb?
$50

Cancel the trip to Home Depot.

I don’t care how efficient or how long lasting the bulb is.
How can $50 compete with your warm and cozy $1 incandescent?

Philips says discounts will bring prices down through sales via utility companies.

I’ll be patiently waiting.

Look, I totally understand that as a country we have to become more energy efficient.

Our old light bulb tech is bleeding energy. I get it.
So our government takes a tough stand for the greater good and eliminates a lot of standard light bulbs, as we know it.
You now need new tech to light your home or you’ll be breaking out that box of candles from your closet.
Then the government hosts a little $10 million contest. And only one player enters. And then the one winning entry costs $50.
Do you see a little problem here?

I’m just a little unsettled about how I’m going to be turning on the lights next year.

Waiting for the Light Bulb to Go Off in the DOE’s Head
The whole thing seems half-baked.
(Not that LED bulb tech isn’t cool. Wired Magazine did a great cover story on it last September.)
The timing of this tech sea change is simply too quick. Get us a bulb that can serve as an energy efficient replacement bulb that people will actually buy.

If Uncle Sam could put a man on the moon in the ‘60s, I think he can do a little more on Earth today to help keep the lights on at an affordable cost.

New tech is supposed to make your life easier. Not force you to go broke, because an update to a hundred year old technology isn’t ready for prime time.

Plus, there’s no argument here that says you can just “do without.”
This is not a nice-to-have item at home.

We’re talking about light so you can see at night.
Remember, that cool nineteenth century invention?

Aren’t you a little bit worried?

1 Comment

April 15, 2012

Please Rate this Product…or Else

This seller’s fate lies in your hands, and your finger is feeling a bit twitchy.

It feels like someone is always asking you to rate every consumer interaction in your life.

-Every customer service phone call
Usually before you’ve had the actual experience.
A recording confidently asks you to press 1 if you’re willing to stay on the line after the human interaction…

-Every app on Apple’s App store
With over half a million available apps, each one lives or dies by how popular it is.

-Every purchase on Amazon
Amazon asks you to rate everything you buy from them.
They send you an email, which contains an easy ‘excellent’ button to press.
(I’m not so sure that’s a totally objective way to gather feedback.)

I’m not a regular reviewer on Amazon, at least not yet.
Recently I rated a light bulb I bought on Amazon, just to see how it felt. It was an illuminating experience. (You had to see that coming.)

But seriously, it just felt good. There’s a certain power to it.
As suggested with the title of my previous blog post, (which references dialogue from the ending of the movie, Spider Man) you’ve got to exercise some level of responsibility when you influence/affect others.

Or do you?

The Pros
I think the social/moral mandate is clear when it comes to well-regarded ‘influencers.’ In the tech review world, there are a few sources I regularly check out.

CNET
They cover a good selection of tech gadgets with a reliable team of reviewers.

David Pogue
He writes for The New York Times and is also on CBS News Sunday Morning.
He’s approachable and witty.

Engadget
Their selection of reviews is smaller, but it’s still worth checking out.

Digital Photography Review
This is the place for geeks to research any and all specs on new cameras.
Not for the casual reader.

The Crowd
But if you’re one of a million everymen and women with posted opinions, I think you’re not considering your journalistic integrity.
You’re just letting it rip. Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!

You’re an often-anonymous entity who could be a genius or a luddite crackpot. Without credentials, you can pretty say what you want with impunity. That’s the beauty of it all.

So everyone’s got an opinion, and with the democratization of public communication via the web, everyone wants to share. And isn’t there some value to each and every one of them?

The Problem
The fact is, I simply won’t buy any home tech without first reading what others say about it.

Beyond the pros, I spend plenty of time researching what ‘the tech commoners’ are saying. I find reviewers in all sorts of places like YouTube. Those raw reviews often show me the product up close and personal in ways that go beyond the typical professional review.

Mid 20th century psychologists would call my information gathering process- informational conformity. Listening to the opinions of others leads you to your own conclusion. Often, it’s just a popular conclusion, which may or not be entirely accurate. But short of spending your entire waking day looking at every product out there, it’s all you’ve got.

Tech Group Think
I call this conformity phenomenon as it relates to home tech –
Tech Group Think.
Yes, I’ve made up another little term, but I think it’s accurate.

The irony of Tech Group Think is it’s actually hard to find consensus on how good any tech really is. It’s kind of complex, and you’re often left with lingering doubt after some heavy-duty research.

It’s easy to simply freeze up with too many differing opinions and just do nothing for fear of making a mistake. At the very least, you’re feeling unsettled with whatever choice you do end up making.

So what do you do?
It’s like Vegas. Play the odds, be confident, and do your best.

Barrett’s Rules of Tech Group Think
-There is no Perfect Score
You’re never going to find a unanimous rating on anything. Somebody always hates something. But if there are lots of one stars popping up, start worrying and move on.

-Damn the Psycho Babble
Look, you’re not a lemming. You’ve got to trust someone.
So go with the crowd.

-Believe in the Force
I say the good news here is much of Tech Group Think usually gets it right.
It’s just a strong hunch, and I’m going with it!

Mass Success = Happiness
There’s no one path to successfully using Tech Group Think. You just need to personalize it in a way that works for you. And a lot of people do it every day!

My wife is a perfect example.
While I often struggle with the simplest tech purchasing decisions, she is out there gathering all the data on the web she needs to help her make some decisions of her own.

She won’t go to a new restaurant before checking it out on Yelp.

Before putting a vacation together, it’s Trip Advisor or bust.

New recipe? Epicurious.

I should qualify that my wife isn’t spending time researching technology.
That’s my job.

Actually, her Tech Group Think is really just plain Group Think via tech.
(You’ve got your chocolate in my peanut butter!)

But it works out pretty well for her. And just about everyone else, it seems.
Who’s really worrying about informational conformity, anyway?!

Maybe they’re all onto something!
…and it’s finally time for me to take the blue pill.

For now, I think I’ll put my red pill aside and share the power of my painfully researched Tech with her effortlessly successful Group Think.

I make lots of grunts hunting the right tech to bring home.
She efficiently gathers knowledge via her tech links to the world.

I call that the typical life of a 21st century family.
Surely a topic for another day…

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