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Tech
iPhone SE better value ‘per dollar’ than iPhone 11, but camera doesn’t compare – 9to5Mac
When you’re weighing up which iPhone to buy, you have to balance features and performance against cost. A new comparison today argues that the iPhone SE is better value ‘per dollar’ than the iPhone 11.
The comparison looks at benchmarks for both CPU and GPU, as well as battery-life and storage, while a separate piece compares the camera performance …
MacWorld’s piece is an interesting way to look at it.
How good of a value is it, really? Perhaps a few charts will make everything more clear. By taking performance metrics and dividing it by the base starting price for every new iPhone you can buy, we are able to get a measure of performance-per-dollar.
The results do underline the value you’re getting from the 2020 iPhone SE.
The iPhone SE delivers nearly double the CPU performance per dollar as the next best iPhone […]
If you recall from our iPhone SE review, we noticed that while most graphics benchmarks perform the same on the iPhone SE as the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, there was an exception with the 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme benchmark. For some reason, it ran 10 to 20 percent slower than other iPhones with the A13 chip. Despite this, the $399 price tag still makes it a far better value […]
The life-per-dollar champ is the iPhone XR. With a big 2942mAh battery it lasts a very long time, and now starts at $599. Despite the fact that the battery dies about 35 percent sooner in the iPhone SE, it’s affordable price tag makes its battery-to-dollar value just slightly less than the iPhone XR. The iPhone 11 lasts as long as the iPhone XR, but starts at $699 […]
With all phones having the same amount of storage, the least expensive one is obviously the best value. The iPhone SE gives you more the double the gigabytes per dollar as the iPhone 11 Pro, and almost three times as many as the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
While a ‘per dollar’ comparison may make the iPhone SE better value, I’m not personally sold on this as a useful metric. My take is you need to consider the factors that matter to you, and then consider what those elements are worth to you. The site’s Jason Cross does acknowledge this, pointing to camera compromises as a key issue to consider.
How much is an Ultrawide rear camera worth to you? Or a telephoto camera? How badly do you want to take Night Mode photos, or Portrait Mode photos of non-human subjects?
A CNET camera comparison found that while the SE could hold its own in some settings, such as well-lit scenes using the standard lens on the iPhone 11, the iPhone SE camera is significantly weaker in many situations.
- More lost shadow areas and blown highlights
- Less natural Portrait Mode with people, and none with animals or objects
- Noiser images in low light
- No night mode, making some iPhone 11 photos impossible to take on the SE
- Lower contrast and more blown highlights when shooting 4K video at 60fps
- Only 1080p video and no slofies from the front-facing camera
- Poorer audio in videos
Check out the full comparisons over at MacWorld and CNET.
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Tech
Ashleigh Oakridge offers boutique-style condos with concrete construction – Vancouver Sun
Peterson Group’s latest project will be chock-full of amenities and have timeless interiors
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It may not sound exciting to say the big selling points for a new condominium project are that it’s concrete construction and four storeys. But start thinking in terms of getting all the benefits of concrete-tower construction in a sophisticated, boutique-style building of only 34 to 35 units, chock-full of amenities, situated on a quiet, tree-lined Vancouver street and the appeal is obvious—especially to those downsizing in the neighbourhood.
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“That on its own really sets it apart because if you want to be in a boutique setting, you don’t love the idea of highrises, and you want a concrete home type, there aren’t many options. It’s highly unique,” explains Barrett Sprowson, vice-president of sales and project marketing at Peterson Group, the developer of the Ashleigh Oakridge project, which will be composed of three buildings when completed.
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Two of the three buildings, the Berkley and the Alma, will be constructed first, with the Cambridge following later. Each one will have its own curb appeal, but all are designed to integrate into the neighbourhood, hence the plan to maintain the existing trees. The wellness amenities of sauna, steam room, cold and hot plunge pools and fully-equipped fitness room are centrally located in the Berkley for all the residents’ use. All three buildings have their own rooftop amenities that feature an indoor-outdoor flow from an expansive entertainment and co-workspace to patio lounging, dining, fire pits, communal gardens and children’s play area.
The interiors of the homes, which Sprowson says offer generous, well-laid-out floorplans, feature numerous elevated design details that complement a classic esthetic. His personal favourite is the pot filler over the gas cooktop in the kitchen. “There’s not too many times you run into that, and there’s a little feature that’s practical, helpful and useful but is also tricky and expensive to do,” he says.
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The interior design team at Ste. Marie Studio framed their overall concept around the idea of classic styling accented with design-forward touches.
“We looked at it through the lens of a single-family home and wanting it to feel really timeless,” says Craig Stanghetta, founder and creative director of Ste. Marie Studio. “We don’t want it to feel that it doesn’t have a little bit of risk. There’s a little bit of risk in terms of some brushed metal accents.”
Their use of a bold marble for the kitchen backsplashes makes a dramatic visual statement, but though striking, the pattern is a classic marble, not one heavily veined, and one that would be at home in a Paris apartment or a New York brownstone, Stanghetta observes. In the larger homes, they’ve used it to wrap the islands. “They become a big feature, but in some of these other ones, we’re using the manufactured stone in those areas and letting the backsplash be the big design gesture,” Stanghetta says.
In the smaller units where the backsplashes are marble, but quartz is used on the counter and island surfaces, the team introduced a dining table-island combination that works for multiple uses—kitchen prep, home office or dining—and the generous bank of wall storage available in the L-shaped configuration allowed for this unique style of island.
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“I think we just acknowledged that sometimes people are prioritizing different things, and if you’re in a one-bedroom living scenario, then we want the flexibility to choose your own adventure with that piece of furniture,” Stanghetta explains.
The appliance package is Miele and features built-in coffee makers, gas ranges, speed ovens, wall ovens and, in some units, wine fridges. There are also sleek can lights over the islands and open shelving for personalizing the space. Sprowson notes that the full-height pantries also boost the kitchens’ functionality and that, though expected when downsizing from a single-family home, they’re often not an option in condo living.
“It’s also a striking kitchen. You look at the marble backsplash and the marble countertop with the waterfall edge, and you’ve got all the functionality, but it’s also, dare I say, very pretty to look at,” he says.
The bathrooms reflect that same mix of functionality and sophisticated styling, with details like flattering sconce lighting and wall-mount toilets. Stanghetta says the floating shelf under the medicine cabinet creates a “nice balance of high-functional storage but then these clean lines that also give you a more fully designed and realized space.”
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He notes that the double vanities in the larger bathrooms have an oversized countertop, a beautiful detail that works with the timeless design concept: attention to detail that will last. The combination of timelessness with contemporary accents creates interiors that reflect the project’s overall vision.
The development is ideally situated to allow residents to be central to everything while enjoying a quiet location.
“This is a viable option for anyone who wants concrete, a good amount of space, decent amenities, all the walkability and proximity to Oakridge and all the cool stuff that’s on the Cambie corridor,” Stanghetta observes.
Ashleigh Oakridge
Project Address: 5080 Ash Street, Vancouver
Project Scope: A development of three, four-storey, concrete, boutique buildings offering one, two and three-bedroom homes that range from 590 to 1,800 square feet. Each building features rooftop amenities and a shared wellness and fitness centre in the Berkley building.
Developers: Peterson Group
Architects: GBL Architects
Prices: Starting in the low $800,000s
Sales centre: Ashleigh PC 2094 W 43rd Ave, Vancouver
Sales centre hours: Open daily (Except Friday), noon to 5 p.m.
Sales phone: 604-476-429
Website: ashleighoakridge.com
Occupancy date: Estimated completion summer 2028
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Tech
Ask Andy: How can you tell whether a startup is a good place to work? When is it safe to disclose a mental-health challenge to coworkers?
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As a software developer who would like to work for a startup, what should I look for in a company so that I know it’s legit? If I am putting a lot of work into a product, I want to know that at minimum it’s for a legitimate company and founder—not just another person with an overdone app idea that knows nothing about the tech world. – Sarah C.
If you’re learning the startup game, the best bet here is to go later-stage. Focus on a pre-IPO company that is growing quickly, has raised money from blue-chip investors, and is getting positive buzz in the market that it will go public within the next two years.
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Then, don’t believe any of it.
Network your way into three of the company’s team members on LinkedIn or through your network. Have three virtual or IRL coffees. Have them tell you about the culture: If they’re learning; if the company’s really growing; and most importantly, whether or not they respect and, ideally, admire the leadership.
Keep looking until you find this vetted opportunity.
That’s a systematic, rational approach. But that’s not the only way to go. You could throw it all out the window.
Find a company where you believe in the mission. One where you fall in love with the product or service. You might already be a high LTV customer or a power user. Check your credit card statement and your app home screen to source ideas. Your passion for the mission will make it work for you for some time, even if the company doesn’t work in the long run.
However you get there, once you’re inside for a year or two, you’ll be learning.
You may have to switch horses. That’s okay.
When you do, you’ll know more people, you’ll have more insight, and the path on what to pick next will be clearer. Heck, you might even notice an inflection point and meet a cofounder that leads to you starting a company yourself.
It’s like dating.
You probably won’t marry your first love—but you might. If you don’t, your judgment will iteratively improve. And the good news is unlike a marriage, you can change out your partner every few years. (What I’ve found, though, is that the most successful people professionally, and those who generate the most wealth, have more like 5- to 10-year runs.)
Trust your intuition. Follow your heart on the mission or product. Then, don’t trust yourself. Study the market. Use the product. And do at least three off-list references outside of who you interview with. Read every single Glassdoor entry.
And then jump!
You’ll be fine.
Do you think you could have shared your mental health conditions publicly BEFORE you were professionally successful, and still have been successful? Or was the fact that you had already achieved professional success what allowed you to be open? – Zack
No, I don’t think I could have shared before we succeeded. I wouldn’t have had the courage to, and I feared it might be career-limiting.
Then again, it was almost seven years ago that I had my I-can’t-deny-this-any-longer moment with my Bonobos colleagues and investors. As of today, I think it’s becoming more possible to be candid about mental health. I hope we can move to a world where I could have been more open, sooner, at least selectively with my leadership team and board.
Some entrepreneurs ask me when to tell their VCs about the mental-health challenge or mental-health diagnosis they wrestle with. I always say the same thing: at a breakfast meeting, four months after you’ve closed the round and hit your numbers. Nobody cares about your neurodivergence if you’re performing—and most VCs actually know enough to know that most founders have more going on than meets the eye.
With your team, I think it’s doable, even now. Perhaps especially now. The truth is, they know. They know you deal with stuff because they’re around you. And the vulnerability you share in disclosing will multiply their respect for you. More importantly, it’ll give those team members the space to reciprocally share their stuff with their colleagues, and potentially you as well, and bring their full selves to work.
Wouldn’t that be cool?
Tech
Take-Two Buys Gearbox And Its New ‘Borderlands’ Game From Embracer
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If you’re a game developer owned by Embracer Group at this point, you are nervous about layoffs, shutdowns or game cancellations after the last few years. But now, there is a somewhat happy ending for one of them, Gearbox.
It’s just been announced that Take-Two, which owns GTA developer Rockstar, will purchase Gearbox for $460 million. This also includes the properties Gearbox owns, the Borderlands and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands franchises, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms and Duke Nukem. The report says Gearbox has six games in development, five sequels, including a new Borderlands game, the not-announced-but-definitely-happening Borderlands 4. Here’s Strauss Zelnick:
“Our acquisition of Gearbox is an exciting moment for Take-Two and will strengthen our industry-leading creative talent and portfolio of owned intellectual property, including the iconic Borderlands franchise,” said Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives.”
Gearbox has been working with 2K and Take-Two for decades, so it was a logical place for them to land. This is, of course, not a great look for Embracer, who only purchased Gearbox three years ago. The price tag back then was “worth up to $1.3 billion” but there were a lot of strings attached to that where it’s not necessarily the case that selling for $$460 million netted them a ~$900 million loss.
As for what this means for gamers, it would seem something like the Borderlands franchise is now on more stable ground, as it was hard to believe any project at Embracer is fully safe these days. Last year, Embracer quietly cancelled 29 different unannounced games and shut down seven studios in a six month period including Volition and Free Radical Design. That came with around 1,400 layoffs. More recently, Embracer laid off 97 people at Eidos in Janaury and cancelled a Deus Ex game.
Sufficed to say, those at Gearbox probably feel pretty good about this. And as for Take-Two, Borderlands is still a valuable IP, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderland was a surprise hit. There’s a new Homeworld game coming as well. In an era for multi-billion dollar acquisition, Gearbox for $460 million doesn’t seem that bad. That’s probably a third of what GTA 6 will sell on day one next year.
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