Why Most Hardware Specs Are Total Bullshit

[techieguy]

To measure is to know, said Lord Kelvin. But as marketing departments get more and more creative with their published specifications, what we're left measuring—and by extension, knowing—about our gear is increasingly worthless.



With the gadget-buying squarely in season, most of us will soon be turning to those ubiquitous columns of numbers, ratios, and percentages before making our final selections. Frequency responses will be consulted, dynamic contrast ratios compared, and color gamuts critiqued—all in an effort to gauge performance, determine value, and quickly pit one product against one another. The only problem? In many cases, you'd better off consulting chicken bones and fingernail clippings. Not only are a growing number of published specs misleading and/or overinflated, some have become downright meaningless. And it's getting worse.         

Why Most Hardware Specs Are Total Bullshit [Gimmicks]