Light Start – New iPhones on sale today, archiving GIFs, Obama’s lame sci-fi list, and the end of the R8 e-tron
CraigWilson
iPhone, you phone
For some people, today is the most exciting day of 2016. How come? Because it’s the day the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus officially go on sale in South Africa, and if you’ve pre-ordered one with your favourite mobile operator or your local iStore, you’re probably all ready in the queue to collect it. On the upside, at least it’s probably a pretty short queue. While it’s pretty amazing a smartphone can generate queues at all — especially here where the starting price is R13,000 — it’s testament to the enduring cultish mass appeal of Cupertino’s signature product (sorry iPods). If you’re getting a new iPhone today, we’re excited for you. Mmm, that fresh Apple product smell. If you’re an Android fan who held out for the Note 7 and now doesn’t know what else to buy, we send our condolences… and offer you the iPhone price list, just in case, you know?
The GIFs that keeps on GIFing
So, you still think the humble GIF is merely an internet curiosity that’s passing through? Well, as if we needed any more convincing of the value of the short animations as cultural markers and zeitgeist-trackers (we didn’t), the US National Archive has now got its own curated page of GIFs on everyone’s favourite source of emergency Facebook birthday posts, giphy. The selection of 156 GIFs (at time of writing) includes a dancing Bugs Bunny, Nixon and Elvis in the oval office, the Apollo moon landing, a couple of Albert Einstein and arguably too many of the Beatles. Need to express your wonder at how long Friday lunchtime is taking to arrive? How about a picture of a Zeppelin? No, you’re right, a handbag-sized dog licking a distracted girl’s ice cream’s probably a better fit.
Between Barrack’s songs with Jimmy Fallon, Michelle’s Carpool Karaoke and the fact the Obama’s have hypoallergenic pooches, there’s little point arguing against their credentials as the coolest first family since… well, ever. But the “essential sci-fi viewing” choices POTUS made for Wired have got him taking more fire than a Viper that’s accidentally bumped into the Cylon fleet. With choices like The Matrix, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope the criticism isn’t that the chosen films aren’t sufficiently awesome, but rather that they’re boring and safe bets, and almost certainly don’t reflect the movies Obama would’ve chosen if left to his own devices. After all, we’re pretty sure Barrack’s an Empire Strike Back sort of guy. And no, we don’t know which version of Blade Runner he favours… but we’re choosing to believe it’s the final cut from 2007.
After a pretty convoluted birthing process that saw it unveiled at the 2009 Geneva motor show but take so long to reach production there was a whole new R8 upon which to model it, Audi has announced its canning the R8 e-tron — its fully electric supercar — with reportedly fewer than 100 units sold. The $1.1 million (R15.7 million) price tag may’ve had something to do with its lack of success, and the indecision of the German automotive manufacturer as to whether or not to bring it to market can’t have helped consumer confidence in the product. Audi’s not abandoning electric cars entirely, mind you, but it’s turned its attention to a somewhat easier-to-sell segment of the market, SUVs. So long R8 e-tron, it was nice almost meeting you.
