Headworx

iPhone photography is great and it is clearly now my main camera. As the old saying goes - the best camera is the one you have with you. And it also makes very good photos. Purists will argue that a large aperture prime lens cannot be matched (and I agree) but a large aperture prime typically weighs 1 kilogram or more (and requires an equally heavy camera). So it is impossible to have a lens like that at hand all the time. One thing the iPhone (and most smartphones in general) lack is a long telephoto. Yes they have an equivalent of 70mm or even 120mm but there are certain "telephoto moments" when there is no substitute for a really long lens. I have been on a quest to find a lightest and most pocketable long lens setup for a long time. And we are talking about focal lengths of 400mm or more. Have tried different setups, such as the Ribcage - modified Sony DSC-RX0 , but nothing has worked well so far. Playing with the DSC-RX0 I realized I really needed a viewfinder to properl...

I was running Windows 10 for, well, close to 10 years. Since it's original release in 2015 almost till the end of 2024 when I had the motherboard in the 2018 MacBook replaced. It was the original install which then survived two Lenovo laptops and was then cloned to the MacBook. Unlike the older Windows releases (the unfamous Vista and earlier), Windows 10 has never suffered from the problem of getting slower with use. And it was super stable. The motherboard replacement triggered me however to perform a clean install of Windows 11 , prompted mostly by the Windows 10 line nearing its end of life, meaning mostly the end of support and security patches. There was the initial disappointment of not being able to move the taskbar to a vertical position (most monitors today are wide, so it really really makes sense to have the taskbar on the side), but other hat that Windows 11 runs just fine. Overall cleaner here and there but generally the experience has been as great as can be. There a...

I have finally decided to pull the trigger and get myself a pair of Apple Airpods (Pro 2). The key motivation has been to get a set that is comfortable for daily runs while providing decent sound isolation. It the past I praised the virtues of the non-isolating headphones. I still use the Bose Frames on my trail runs at home. But these runs are in nature's sanctuary: it is just me and the woods and some wildlife. I also absolutely love the bone-conducting Shokz with a boom mike for teleconferencing. They sound fabulous (on both ends of a teleconference). And I also have Bose Earbuds which I use when flying - still nothing comes close to Bose when noise canceling is concerned. But they don't feel quite right when running. One reason that had prevented me from buying the Airpods in the past was the white color. They just look like you have cigarettes sticked in your ears. And per the Apple / Ford rule you can have them in any color as long as it is white. But there is a soluti...

I blogged in the past about my love-hate relationships with Bluetooth products and Logitech was brought as the example of a company that maintained technical excellence while losing on the support / delivery side . I was still bringing the excellent product aspects of the KEYS-TO-GO 2. That opinion was based on my initial product experience. After several months of using the keyboard on a daily basis, I must unfortunately admit the product is not so great after all. As a matter of fact it can be quite annoying (but there are workarounds). The key problem (pun intended!) with KEYS-TO-GO 2 is it is powered by coin-cell batteries. And the batteries die quickly and without any warning. The power consumption is not as bad as the other Kickstarter keyboard I had in the past . But still since purchasing the keyboard 9 months ago, I had to replace the batteries 3 times. That means batteries last for 3 months on average. That is a far cry from the advertised 3-year lifespan . Although, to be fa...

There is no doubt the leading social media platforms influence and shape peoples' opinions globally. Elon Musk was criticized for overpaying for Twitter yet this gamble clearly played out as he is now able singlehandedly command millions across the world, making him probably the most influential person on Earth. But Twitter is of course not the only game in town. There are the well established Facebook and LinkedIn, and for those hoping for more neutrality there is BlueSky and Substack. I'm a member of both platforms, but mostly passive. I have been circling around Substack trying to understand what it is and if I should become more active there. It seems many notable people I respect have found their home there. But the key question is how the social media landscape looks like in 5, 10, or 20 years from now. This blog has been around for 20 years and despite not being promoted, difficult to find, and not very interesting, has had a steady stream of followers. People who are mo...

5G (cellular data) generally beats WiFi. That is my conclusion after the recent travels in Asia and North America. Public WiFi has aged. In most places it has probably stayed at the 802.11g (50Mbps) while 5G is typically 5-10x faster. On top of that the WiFi backhaul in many places is slow too. And very often has many restrictions. Of course 5G costs (some) money and WiFi is theoretically free. But then you probably remember that meme where "no internet" and "fast internet" are smiley while "slow internet" is the angry face. Which is very true. Speaking of WiFi restrictions - some are well known and kind of obvious (like Google services being blocked in China), so for a westerner entirely reliant on GMail, Google Maps, etc., a roaming eSIM data plan is probably a must. Also WiFi is probably the only technology thing in China which is universally bad. Budget hotels, premium hotels, factories, offices - all are slow (and restricted). 5G on the other hand is ...

I generally stay away from loyalty programs. It simply feels like having more freedom of choice when you are not by default confined to just one brand. But there is one exception - the frequent flyer program run by United Airlines, who are a member of the Star Alliance. The reason is I do fly a lot, and most of the connections from/to my home town are served by Star Alliance airlines: LOT, Turkish, Austrian and Lufthansa. That is - of course - when you do not count the European low cost behemoths: Ryanair and Wizz. Intra-Europe destinations are typically best served by the two. Yes I know people complain a lot, but this is a typical whining to get more clicks. Because - to be honest - the low cost airlines deliver just awesome value for money when you fly point-to-point. There are no transfers and the flights are typically very short so the tight legroom does not matter. Things are different when there are no direct flights, which typically is the case for any intercontinental trip. Th...