Improbable Insights

Not-So-Smartwatches Meaning Special guest and watch guru John Cook joins the gang for a lively discussion about wearables -- particularly watches. We talk a bit about the history of the watch, the wrist as affordance, and the state of smartwatches. Eric notes the wrist is an ideal location for displaying small amounts of information, but it's not clear anyone knows how to exploit that. John discusses watches as fashion statements, which seems to be something Apple and Android Wear makers are reaching for, but falling a bit short. We wrap up with some debate about what the future might hold. Tools   Loyd wants to build a really small gaming box, one with few compromises. We talk about cases, power supplies, and related items. One key ingredient: AMD's Radeon Fury Nano, the most powerful short graphics card you can get today.  Loyd also discusses his UPS, an APC Back-UPS 1300G, which evolves into a general discussion of UPS's and smart surge suppressors. Loyd's particularly fond of the Back-UPS 1300G'