Here at The Plug, we aim to provide exciting and easy-to-digest tech news, tips and reviews. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling out a new series, UnPlugged, featuring the voices of thought leaders and influencers in the world of tech and consumer electronics.
To kick off UnPlugged, we interviewed a true renaissance man. He is a video blogger, actor, podcaster, voice guru, and Star Trek enthusiast – he is Michael Fisher.
Michael is the man behind MrMobile, a different kind of YouTube channel producing quality videos for the discerning tech enthusiast. He has been reviewing consumer electronics for nearly 5 years, but has obsessed over them for the better part of his life. In this interview, he gives readers advice on purchasing new products, and tells us about his favorite gadgets, including a few he encountered at this year’s CES. Can you finally own a real-life tricorder? Read on to find out!
First things first, as a lover of Sci-Fi, what book, movie, tv show, etc. do you think predicted current and emerging technology the best – barring Back to the Future II as too common of an answer?
Well, I need to qualify my sci-fi fan status. I call myself a “narrowband nerd” because I’m only really hardcore about the Star Trek universe. That said, even thinking in a broader sense I do think Trek got a lot of things right about technology, from the bio-monitor beds in sickbay to the design of the Enterprise bridge, which the U.S. military studied for potential command center designs (or so the story goes). Of course, the handheld tech is my favorite: from the obvious communicator-as-cellphone analogy to the upcoming manifestation of the tricorder as a real-life medical instrument, Star Trek has played a bigger role in shaping personal technology than any other series I’m aware of.
What is the one gadget you currently feel you can’t live without? What is something you can’t wait to replace, and why?
Well, the obvious answer is my smartphone, but that’s such a boring response that I’ll pick something else. My line of work demands that I film a lot of video outside of my studio in the “real world,” and for that, I use a DJI Osmo Mobile handheld stabilizer. You pop a smartphone in it, fire up the camera, and the Osmo keeps that sucker steady enough that whatever you shoot looks like it came straight out of a Steadicam. I love companies that put typically expensive technology in the hands of the masses, especially when it’s used to more easily make art. It’s fantastic.
(Runner-up answer: my Bose QC35 headphones. I travel a lot, and having an excellent set of noise canceling cans that last me for 20 hours between charges is a godsend.)
As for what I can’t wait to replace: probably the software on my Moto 360 smartwatch. It’s an absolutely gorgeous watch (I have the revised version from 2015), but Android Wear has badly needed an upgrade for a while now.
Technology is moving forward and upward – for some too quickly, for some not quickly enough. What advice do you have for folks who feel overwhelmed by the constant change in technology?
Honestly, it’s tough for me to sympathize with those folks because since I was 8 years old I’ve been the guy pointing at the latest new thing and saying “look how cool this is!” while 95% of the people around me have been like “meh, I guess.” But look: the thing about technology is that it continues to evolve and permeate society regardless of how you feel about it. So it’s like … adapt or die, right? You can either learn how to use technology to your advantage, or you can let it pass you by and then complain about how the world isn’t devoted to making you happy. Obviously, I think the former is a lot more productive than the latter.
What advice would you give to folks who are uncertain about what and when to purchase new products – anything from mobile phones to smart home devices?
Despite what I said a second ago, I do respect skepticism when it comes to new technology; much of the stuff I see at CES every year is utterly ridiculous (looking at you, smart hairbrush). So when it comes time to buy something like a smartphone or a smart home hub or whatever: do your research. There are thousands of folks writing and filming technology reviews every single day; find a few of them you like and trust, take in their opinions and then buy the thing that checks the most boxes. And remember to check for a return policy – that’s a big one. Buy from a retailer that allows returns or exchanges within 14 days, and use that time to thoroughly test drive the product to see if it really fits your life!
In regards to your trip to CES this year, if you could have any gadget that was revealed at the show, what would it be?
That SCiO handheld spectrometer. That’s as close as I’ve come to holding a real-life tricorder, and I want to take it out into the world and scan some fruit. I love that stuff.
Based on the trends you saw at the show, is there any technology you see radically shifting the market in the near future? What are you personally excited about?
To be honest, I’ve never been that great at reading the market. But connected-home stuff is definitely the darling of the media these days, filling the vacuum left by the now-passé smartwatch segment. Personally, I’m eager to see the next wave of smartwatches because I firmly believe that’s a category that can deliver real benefits once someone really figures it out. Same with VR, which can produce truly incredible experiences through platforms like the Vive … but it still needs time in the oven, and the price needs to come down too.
What are lifestyle trends and habits you believe consumer electronics companies should, but have yet to, tap into? What is something you believe would improve efficiencies in your life?
Fitness seems to be a really safe bet for tech companies. This might seem cynical, but I feel like we’re a country full of folks who 1) are living pretty unhealthily on average, 2) know that we’re living unhealthily, and 3) desperately seek out products that will make us feel like we’re doing something about it. I’m definitely projecting a bit here: I really hate the gym, so I tend to glom on to tech that “tricks me” into exercising. I’d love to see more games like Ingress and Pokemon Go, which force players to get out of the house and get moving in order to play. I think those kinds of things are fantastic. I also use the more pragmatic stuff like MyFitnessPal, but calorie logging takes a lot of discipline to keep up with even if the app’s nutrition libraries are kept accurate (which they seldom are). So I’d love to see some improvements there.
Where can readers go to learn more about you and your work? Anything else you’d like to plug?
I produce between two and three videos per week at MrMobile, focusing on the technology that helps people live their best lives on the go. When I’m not doing that, you can find me hopping between the usual watering holes (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) and pretending to be young enough to use . Thanks for having me!
