Thread March 5, 2016 editorial: comments

Smartphone Junkie

I’m starting to think my iPhone has become an extension of my body. It’s in my pocket all day and on my bedside all night. I haven’t counted how many times over the course of an average day I look at its screen, but it’s got to be over 100. It functions as my alarm clock; my book reader; my calendar; my video, music, audiobook and podcast player; my metronome, my tuner, my GPS, my decibel meter, my game platform, and occasionally, even my phone. 

It’s also the ultimate argument stopper. Let’s say I’m at a party and my friends are squabbling over something obscure, say, how many years ago the Pleistocene Epoch ended. I just pull out my trusty 6S, and within seconds I’ve Googled my way to a Wikipedia entry, and say, “11,700 years!” If this question had come up in the pre-smartphone era, we probably would never have resolved it — unless someone at the party was a paleontologist, or the host had an encyclopedia handy. Remember those?

Assuming that my phone is not bombarding me with harmful electro-magnetic radiation, is it really so bad that I’m addicted to it? How do I know I’m an addict? When I misplace my phone, I’m a basket case until I find it again. Perhaps it’s not such a good thing to be so dependent on a piece of technology, but it sure is fun.

If 20 years ago, somebody told me that I’d be carrying around a pocket-sized device that could do so many different things, I would have thought it was something from science-fiction. And while smartphones are not quite to the level of the matter transporter on Star Trek, it’s hard to argue that they aren’t pretty damn cool.

Another piece of technology that’s pretty damn cool (and which I would also have considered something from science fiction is you told me about it 15 years ago) is Waves NX, which we reviewed this week. Called a “Virtual Mix Room” plug-in, it uses psychoacoustics to create a 3D mixing environment in your headphones that’s spacious and free of acoustic anomalies. What’s more, it can also create a virtual surround sound mixing environment — also in your stereo headphones. It’s way cool, and surprisingly inexpensive. If you haven’t read the review, check it out. I also produced a video that explains the plug-in’s features in detail.