CES

In this article by Mat Honan from Wired, he highlights a major problem with technology journalism today - people are bored with just about everything. These are just TVs, this is just another tablet, that iPhone is hardly any different from the last one… blah blah blah.

This year the CES coverage seemed to be more pessimistic than previous years. The latest iPhone release seemed to be received as more disappointing than previous years. The anti-Apple folks say that Apple has peaked and can’t keep up their momentum without Steve Jobs. The rest of the tech bloggers think that CES has lost its shine. These aren’t two separate things, there is one explanation - everyone has gotten used to insanely brilliant, beautiful, and incredible technology. Many believe it is bland and boring because we’re surrounded by it.

Some interesting picks in here, definitely seems to capture the best products there. With that being said, I’m still not seeing anything that is standing out.

• Oculus Rift keeps making these kinds of lists, but it seems to be in a perpetual state of development.
• Sony Z1 Compact packs a top end punch into an iPhone-size device, a rarity for Android devices.
• There are a LOT of fitness trackers, I don’t see that changing any time soon.
• The Mother sensor system seems interesting. Not a grand slam, but a fresh take on smart home technology.

There has been a lot of 4K news at CES, no surprise there. Computer monitors make sense and a 4K computer monitor should excite anyone who uses desktop monitors. 

TVs are a different story. When talking TVs, the important thing to remember is that you don’t sit nearly as close to them. When you sit farther back, even the most perfect human eye can only differentiate a certain level of detail. Read more here. Here’s the quick version; this diagram shows you the screen size versus viewing distance chart and shows at which range a given resolution is actually valuable.

John Gruber posted an interesting tweet yesterday regarding how important the aesthetic design of a product is:

We’ve always judged cell phones by how they look, and we keep them in our pockets. Wearables — glasses, watches, anything — can’t be ugly.

— John Gruber (@gruber) January 6, 2014

Of course, some folks aren’t interested in the design of a product, but in general it holds true. Some of the appeal of the iPhone is how stunning it is to look at. Part of the appeal of the Moto X is how clean and simple the design is while still being highly customizable.