Google Project Fi Review - Nexus 5X

Google’s Project Fi cell service adds U.S. Cellular

Google continues to expand its fledglingly (and rather superb) cellular service known as Project Fi. T-Mobile and Sprint were original partners. Today, Google announced that it has added a third: U.S. Cellular. Project Fi is a unique service that automatically switches between available cellular networks, in addition to local wi-fi hotspots, to...
Pebble 2 Kickstarter Campaign Breaks $10 million

Pebble Kickstarter campaign breaks $10 million mark – demand strong for low-cost wearables

The demand, she is a strong. Today, Pebble's 2016 Kickstarter broke the $10 million (USD) mark. To date, over 52,000 people have backed the campaign. Good news for Pebble: there's still 26 days to go before funding closes. That Pebble has already surpassed $10 million in pledges seems to suggest consumers like what...
Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera

Top 5 DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras for Shooting Videos

In the market for a new camera for shooting videos? Whether you're researching and shopping for yourself, or as a gift for a loved one, I have some good news and some bad news. The good: there's an amazing number of quality cameras out there that shoot superb video, and don't cost...
Pebble Core - Amazon Alexa voice recognition announcement

Pebble teams with Amazon, adds Alexa voice search to new wearable (Analysis)

"Alexa, ask Pebble how the Kickstarter campaign is doing." Another savvy move by Pebble. Today, the Redwood City wearable maker announced its upcoming Pebble Core wearable will feature Amazon's Alexa voice search assistant. This means you could use a voice command while you're running, for instance, to play a song. Or ask any...

Sound Design in Video Production: Before and after (Video)

What does a scene for a short film feel like before sound editing? I took "A Surprise Delivery" from my short All American Apple Pie (full video at bottom of post), and was curious to know how the original footage looked and sounded before the mix. I wondered how different it would feel without...
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Shooting on RED Raven: Thoughts from a DSLR guy (Test Video)

It's a wrap! We finished our first shoot with the RED Raven cinema camera and I'm here, as a DSLR/Canon C100 kind of guy, to share the experience, along with a few thoughts. What's good and bad about shooting a Stark Insider video on RED? But first, some brief context -- I...

Top 10 YouTube trends for 2016

Once upon a time YouTube was all about the cat video. While there's still plenty of content starring cute, cuddly and quirky pets (and people), in 2016 YouTube is about a whole lot more. I've been following YouTube, and online video in general, since we started posting Stark Insider videos to...
Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 Q&A

Pebble 2 Q&A: Top 10 questions about Pebble’s next-gen smartwatches answered

Pebble is pouring it on today. First, the big announcement this morning. The Redwood City start-up unveiled three new wearables. Follow-ups to the original Pebbles, called the Pebble 2 ($99 USD via Kickstarter) and Pebble Time 2 ($179), and, perhaps most interestingly, a screen-less fitness tracker called Pebble Core ($69). The...
New Pebble Time 2 Smartwatch

Pebble intros 3 new wearables, launches Kickstarter, prices start at $69

"Hey gang, it's time to write the next chapter in wearables." Pebble continues to out-innovate its rivals. It's much larger rivals; the Apples, Googles, and Samsungs. Take heed, today the Redwood City-based (so long expensive Palo Alto office) start-up announced not one, not two, but three -- count 'em -- new...
HTC Vive - VR Headset

Here’s the key reason why VR is destined to fail (at least for now)

Content. Without content, the best hardware in the world just sits there, in a corner, unloved. Such is the premise of a thoughtful new WSJ piece on the prospects of Virtual Reality (VR). Christopher Mims contends that the whole thing is going to come crashing down. That because "the depth and...