Austin Mann Reviews the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus →

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Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) for video is hands down the most significant improvement in the iPhone 6s Plus camera upgrade. The 6 Plus has OIS for stills (mainly helpful with low-light photos), but it wasn’t active when shooting a video or time-lapse. Now, with the 6s Plus only (not the 6s), we have active stabilization of all video and time-lapse content and the improvement is dramatic.

The time-lapse piece at the top utilized the Optical Image Stabilization significantly. The ability to create stable time-lapses anywhere, anytime, opens up so many doors. I can't wait to see what everyone creates with this.

If you had any doubts about going with the iPhone 6s Plus, they should all be absolved with Austin Mann's thorough review.

JetBlue's 'Recurring Dream' Commercial

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It's always nice seeing new JetBlue commercials. I wish that I was in a market to see more of them but because San Diego only has two destinations out of Lindbergh Field, I can see why the budget in this locale isn't much. Check it out though!

Love the Wi-Fi too which, if I didn't already mention, is the fastest in the Continental United States! Did I also mention that it's free!

The Search for the Commuter Car (cont.)

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A few months ago, I wrote about VW's awesome performing TDI Sportswagen Wagon along with my aspirations to buy one. With the 2016s around the corner, I called up a few dealerships last Friday about deals on the 2015s. Not surprisingly, I got a response to start with that they'd be discounting them around $2k.

That was last week. Of course, we have all come to find out that VW has been duping the EPA by programming their TDI vehicles to hide the truth; that they were emmiting up to 40% of the standard requirements. All this while still producing an amazing 50+ mpg! The NYTimes and other various news outlets have created an infographic on exactly how they were able to hide the pullutants which is quite ingenious as we've come to find out that other car manufacurers have been trying to game the system for quite a while .

So what now? Looks like Honda's new 2016 Civic, their Fit (which was in the running for Motortrend's Car of the Year, losing to VW's Golf) or Toyota's new Prius might have to be the key to "saving" me money on my weekly commute to Long Beach. Although, driving up to 28,000 a mile measured at 3x a week (most unlikely), maybe a more comfortable car with autopilot would fit the bill much better. =)

I'll be updating my "search" for a while. Right now, with my current 1999 BMW Wagon, I'm at ~ $0.14 a mile where the VW would have been $0.05. The Honda Fit and Toyota Prius would respectively cost $0.08 and $0.06. These calculations do NOT include the monthly payments or maintenance fees or tax, title and insurance. But that's where I'm at right now. All the new calculations show that over time, the Fit would be the way to go. If you want to peep my Google Sheet, check it out here.

Rear-Facing Until 2 Years Old in California Starting 2017 →

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All in the name of safety. Still don't know why it doesn't go into effect for another 15 months when January 2016 could have easily been the target date.

The bill, signed Monday, was backed by doctors and traffic safety experts. It will extend the mandated use of rear-facing seats from the current 1-year requirement when it takes effect at the start of 2017. Children taller than 40 inches or weighing more than 40 pounds will be exempt.

My wife and I, including our little Norah, favor the Diono variety. As expensive as they are, capitlize on the Amazon sale or the Toy 'R Us trade in program which is happening now!

 
 

Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program Is Perfect →

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PSA from AppleInsider

If you're a U.S. customer, you plan on upgrading your iPhone in less than two years, and you aren't interested in T-Mobile, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program is your best bet, hands down. Carrier installment plans are too restrictive and confusing, while Apple's offering is simple, streamlined, and will let you get a new iPhone every year at no extra cost to you, outside of the ongoing monthly payment plan.

If you upgrade every year, this is an interest free loan with Apple Care+. Just do it and make sure to order this Saturday for a delivery by the 25th of this month! Also, iOS 9 is out on the 16th. 

"Everything Has Changed"

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Apple really pulled out all the stops with this update. For one, the megapixel and processor boost then the 3D touch. Count me in. If you don't believe me, take a look at the photos from the iPhone 6s! Also, yes, if you want Optical Stabilzation, you'll have to opt in for the 6s Plus. Now if I could decide which case to get.

note: I'm still using an iPhone 5 at the moment so an upgrade was due a year ago

Websites Sharing All Your Data

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I've always wondered why over the years or so that one of my favorite websites started to get bogged down by excessive loading times. Now I know exactly why and no it's not your old iPhone / Android phone model.

Holy crap. It took over 30 seconds. In the end, it fetched over 9.5MB across 263 HTTP requests. That's almost an order of magnitude more data & time than needed for the article itself.

Just to put this in some rough perspective: Assuming I had a 1GB / month data plan, I could visit sites like The Verge about 3 times per day before I hit my cap. If I'm lucky, some or most of this will get cached between requests so it won't be quite that bad. In fact, another report tells me that a primed cache yields 8MB transferred - so maybe 4 visits per day.

Read his entire analysis and tell me what you think. It's mind boggling really.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Debuts with an 80% from DPReview →

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After over a year and half without even a rumor, Olympus dropped their successor to their wonderful OM-D E-M10. Appropriately dubbed the Mark II, this replacement boasts a slurry of advancements and upgrades that make this the ultimate starter camera. Don't take my word for it but if you pair this with the Panasonic Leica SUMMILUX 25mm f/1.4, which by the way is the only lens that I've been shooting with on my OM-D E-M5, you'll have yourself the best duo that is out right now in that price range. Do it and check out the delicious f1.4 bokeh paired with the right body!

The E-M10 II is well-suited for those moving up to a more capable mirrorless camera and don't need the weather-sealing of the E-M5 II. The E-M10 II is also an attractive choice for those seeking a lightweight second camera. Either way, the E-M10 II offers a lot of camera for the money, and is well worth considering. DP Review

Exposing Holes and Shortcuts in Android

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First this (via Reuters):

The change came after security researcher Joshua Drake unveiled what he called Stagefright, hacking software that allows attackers to send a special multimedia message to an Android phone and access sensitive content even if the message is unopened.

then this:

Samsung Vice President Rick Segal acknowledged that his company could not force the telecommunications carriers that buy its devices in bulk to install the fixes and that some might do so only for higher-end users.

Samsung and telecoms taking care of only the top...maybe. And if you use the HTC One Max X and utilize the fingerprint reader (via The Guardian):

Researchers from FireEye have found that data that could be used to clone a user’s fingerprint was stored as an unencrypted “world readable” image file on HTC smartphones.

Four security researchers discovered that the image file, which is clear replica of a user’s fingerprint, could be stolen by rogue apps or hackers.

“While some vendors claimed that they store user’s fingerprints encrypted in a system partition, they put users’ fingerprints in plaintext and in a world readable place by mistake,” the authors wrote. “On the HTC One Max X the fingerprint is saved as /data/dbgraw.bmp with a 0666 permission setting (world readable). Any unprivileged processes or apps can steal user’s fingerprints by reading this file.”

This is why Apple does what it does. I can't say never, but so far, they really are winning when it comes to security and protecting its users.

Watch This: Westworld on HBO →

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This looks like a great show to add to HBO's already award-winning lineup.

Loosely based on Michael Crichton's 1973 sci fi film of the same name, Westworld is set in a theme park where robots fulfill human guests' most hedonistic desires. However, HBO president Michael Lombardo told us earlier on in the month that the series will focus on the robots this time around.

As Expected, Apple Watch Chips Away at Traditional Watch Sales →

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The market for watches that cost less than $1,000 is most at risk, as consumers in that price range have indicated they’re the most likely to buy an Apple Watch, Levin said. Sales of watches costing between $50 and $999 registered drops in June, the biggest being a 24 percent decline in timepieces from $100 to $149.99, according to NPD’s data.

This is huge. I'd go as far and say it's a significant swing in the market especially in light of all the newcomers such as Marc Jacob and Nixon. This is their territory.