I’ll be doing a DJ set on Friday, July 26th here in San Francisco at 1015 Folsom. I’ll be playing a lot of favorites along with some tracks from the new Tycho album. Hope you can make it!
Euphonic Conceptions & 1015 Folsom Present
RE:CREATION
featuring
TYCHO (DJ Set, Ghostly)
STARKEY
ANDREILIEN (HEYOKA)
Insightful // B. Lewis // Dailon
Ryury // Ribotto // Bedrockk
+ MUCH MORE TBA
FRIDAY JULY 26TH, 2013 / 10P-4A / 21+ ONLY
Object autopsies from Todd McLellan’s book Things Come Apart. No idea how he got those exploded views but they’re incredible.
Via Wired
I have never owned a Mac Pro nor do I ever plan on owning one (probably, never say never). I am writing this from the perspective of a life-long PC user (which I am) who thinks very highly of Apple products (I use Macbook Pros for the Tycho live shows). I love OS X, I love Apple hardware; I just prefer PC as my desktop environment when creating music, design, and video. I don’t have any great explanation, I just do. But I’ve always envied those shiny aluminum behemoths lurking in the corners of my friend’s studios. The interior of the Pros was always what did it for me: that blue color on the PCBs, the brushed finish on the capacitors, the thermal compartments. So I too was waiting on this new machine, if only to see what Apple would come up with next.
Considering I’m not a Mac Pro user it’s not really my place to be thrilled or disappointed, I guess I’d just say I’m surprised. This was a radical step in a new direction and for that, I applaud Apple’s stones. With their dominance in the consumer sector this could have gone two ways: The Mac Pro could have just gone away, or, with nothing to really gain or lose, they could do something completely unexpected and truly innovate. They chose the latter and I think it’s a great thing for the PC industry as a whole.
I would have said let’s put aesthetics aside and just discuss the specs on this machine, but it seems the two are inexorably linked, which depending on how you view this, could be a good or bad thing. On the one hand it’s compact and sleek, on the other it seems very proprietary, further limiting the already limited list of compatible hardware. But don’t forget what’s around back: six Thunderbolt 2 ports. The first thing I thought when Thunderbolt 1 was announced was “here comes modular computing”. The first thing I thought when I saw the 2013 Mac Pro and the Thunderbolt 2 announcement was “here is the face of modular computing”. A compact central computing element with an external interconnect protocol capable of PCIx+ speeds. This opens some very large doors in terms of upgrading and/or easily and quickly adjusting your system for changing needs.
The form factor is incredibly efficient (take a look at the Mac Pro site at Apple for more on the unified thermal architecture, brilliant). For someone who transports a very large PC ATX case to and from various studios, the idea of a compact, tubular enclosure like this is a dream. I could fit this thing in a messenger bag or a small flight case. For tour it could be great too; mount two of these horizontally in a flight case so that when the case caps are removed the intake and exhaust are exposed. I’ve seen the old Mac Pros mounted two-up in 19″ flight cases on stage before, it’s a huge footprint, this would be a welcome change for many a stage manager / tech I’m sure. As I’m writing this I’m starting to convince myself this might make a good next desktop, we’ll see.
All in all I think it’s a beautiful piece of engineering with the specs to back it up, but what do I, a lowly PC user, know? What do you current Pro users think? Does this scare you? If so, why? What do you think of the look? Are you going to get one?
Pleasantly surprised by the striking good looks of the newly revealed Xbox console. Wired has a piece detailing the new unit and the design process that formed it.
I’ve read a lot of people bashing the design after the reveal. I’m not sure what they’re comparing it to, this or this or even this, but in my book it’s the best looking console thus far. Of course it’s all relative considering the gaming industry consistently produces some of the worst product design imaginable given their budgets and resources. I’ve seen a lot of people online comparing it to an 80’s VCR. I love 80’s VCRs, I love stackable media components, and I’ve always loved Xbox, so I suppose I’m somewhat biased.
Wes Anderson has always been know for his nostalgia and attention to detail and his animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox was apparently no exception. According to a comment on the original post these are based on the following real-world watches: “Casio Databank, Rolex Submariner, Casio A158W, Timex Weekender”. And here is an image showing the watches next to their real counterparts.
Via Reddit
The Verge has posted an interview with Apple product photographer Peter Belanger. Amazing how much work goes into the process. As evidenced by this video, there’s a lot more than straight up photography going on, which is to be expected. Was a little surprised they went as far as to accentuate the chrome on the bezel but I supposed it’s par for the course with this sort of thing.
Overall I was a little underwhelmed with the process. I would have assumed Apple did this all in-house in some space that looked like a set from 2001 with airlocks and cleanroom suits.
Some great shots of Audi’s R18 “E-Tron” Hybrid Le Mans Race Car. Terrible name aside, this thing looks insane. Here’s some footage of it taking corners at ridiculous speeds:
Photographer Paul McDonough spent time during his summers in the 70’s and 80’s travelling across America and captured some wonderfully nostalgic images. Sasha Wolf Gallery is having an exhibition of the work entitled Sight Seeing through May 5th, 2013.