Wire to the Ear's Oliver Chesler visits the Engadget Questionnaire
Every week, a new and interesting human being tackles our decidedly geeky take on the Proustian Q&A. This is the Engadget Questionnaire.
In this week's edition of our nerdy 21 questions, Wire to the Ear blogger and musician Oliver Chesler drops by to discuss planet communicators and Lego-colored Skylabs. The full bank of responses awaits just past the break.
What gadget do you depend on most?
My iPhone is the planet communicator and friend in my pocket from the moment I wake until I sleep at night.
Which do you look back upon most fondly?
My TRS-80 Color Computer. I used to log in to local BBSs at 300 baud, load games off cassette and print to my Epson RX-80 dot matrix printer.
Which company does the most to push the industry?
Google is amazing. They are connecting us to everything else. Soon they will drive me around.
What is your operating system of choice?
I work in Mac OS X. Eventually I suspect it will go touch and run iOS apps or something like that.
What are your favorite gadget names?
There is a modular synthesizer module called "MATHS." How badass is that?
What are your least favorite?
iPad. Slate, Glass or Window all would have been cooler!
Which app do you depend on most?
On OS X, it's Ableton Live because I make my art with it. Nothing is more important than music to me. On iOS, it's my TomTom app with Traffic. I live in NYC and that thing steers me around traffic every single day. It adds time to my life. How valuable is that?
What traits do you most deplore in a smartphone?
Siri sucks.
Which do you most admire?
I can record the world with it and rebroadcast what I find.
"My iPhone is the planet communicator and friend in my pocket from the moment I wake until I sleep at night."
What is your idea of the perfect device?
Something that helps you succeed and makes your life easier.
What is your earliest gadget memory?
I received a hand-me-down Magnavox Odyssey 2 video game system. I loved UFO and KC Munchkin.
What technological advancement do you most admire?
The internet. I almost can't believe it didn't exist when I was a child.
Which do you most despise?
Pre-roll video advertising.
What fault are you most tolerant of in a gadget?
Heat. I kinda like a hot lap or pocket.
Which are you most intolerant of?
Data plan tiered pricing.
When has your smartphone been of the most help?
Avoiding traffic (see TomTom answer above).
"The Buchla Skylab. It's colored like the Legos I owned as a child and makes fantastic noise. At $14,000, no child can afford one. Now that's a gadget!"
What device do you covet most?
The Buchla Skylab. It's colored like the Legos I owned as a child and makes fantastic noise. At $14,000, no child can afford one. Now that's a gadget!
If you could change one thing about your phone what would it be?
I'd like a refresh of the graphic interface design. Windows phones look cooler than iOS at this point.
What does being connected mean to you?
It means I'm never alone.
When are you least likely to reply to an email?
When I'm drunk. I've learned that lesson the hard way.
When did you last disconnect?
1994.
