.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The New Mercedes Driverless Car Even Has The Driver's Seat Facing Away From The Road

Business books are notorious for being loaded with MBA lard, trotting out "key takeaways" like "take risks,""build a great team," and "don't be afraid to fail." 

But the ones worth reading ditch the platitudes in favor of instructive anecdotes — which is why they so often come from execs who have lived through it. 

'The Hard Thing About Hard Things'

What is the hard thing about hard things? That they don't have a formula, says Ben Horowitz.

"Hard things are hard because there are no easy answers or recipes," he writes. "They are hard because your emotions are at odds with your logic. They are hard because you don’t know the answer and you cannot ask for help without showing weakness." 

Horowitz, now one of the most sought-after investors in the game, used to be CEO of software management company Opsware before it was acquired by HP for $1.6 billion. 

Buy it here >>

Disclosure: Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, is an investor in Business Insider.

'Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business'

In 2013, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey published his business manifesto, "Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business." 

It's as much about management as about philosophy. 

As in: 

This is what we know to be true: business is good because it creates value, it is ethical because it is based on voluntary exchange, it is noble because it can elevate our existence, and it is heroic because it lifts people out of poverty and creates prosperity.

Buy it here >>

'The Promise of a Pencil'

In "The Promise of a Pencil," Adam Braun takes you on his journey from backpacker to consultant to founder of Pencils of Promise, the rapidly growing education nonprofit.

"I realized that I needed to live a life that reflected the themes of the stories I wanted to one day tell," Braun writes, "and when I veered off that path later on, it was time to make a change." 

He wants the reader to follow a similarly individual path. 

"Your life should be a story you are excited to tell," he writes.

Buy it here >>

.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The New Mercedes Driverless Car Even Has The Driver's Seat Facing Away From The Road

In the '90s, Mayim Bialik was a teen sensation on NBC's "Blossom."

She quietly disappeared from the limelight voicing a few cartoon characters until she joined CBS' comedy "The Big Bang Theory" in 2010.

Bialik's not the only star from the '90s working in Hollywood today.

But some former young stars have faded from ubiquity. For example, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, whose poster adorned many teenage girls' walls, keeps a low profile.

We've compiled 30 stars who were huge in the '90s to see what they're up to now.

Here's Kel Mitchell from "Kenan & Kel," the wildly popular Nickelodeon series. He faded out of the spotlight after he auditioned with Kenan for a spot on "Saturday Night Live"— and lost out.

Source: The Atlantic

Today, Mitchell maintains a low profile doing comedy shows. He's had a few bit roles co-hosting the dance competition series "Dance 360" and briefly returning to Nickelodeon on the now-canceled "Sam & Cat."

Sources: The Atlantic, IMDB, KelMitchell.net

In the '90s, Mayim Bialik was known as Blossom, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers.

If you're looking for a city with tons of innovative companies, look no further than San Francisco.

We have compiled a list of 25 of the hottest startups in San Francisco. To do so, we spoke to investors, employees, journalists, and active members of the city's tech scene.

Though our list includes some big names, it also features young startups, some of which you may not have heard of yet. 

Parenthoods is a social network for moms and dads.

What it is:

Parenthoods cofounder Jeni Axline got the idea for her startup when she became a mom. "Being home alone all day, you kind of want to pull your hair out,"she told TechCrunch. Being a new parent is as lonely as it is exciting and draining. Axline cofounded Parenthoods to provide a mobile community for parents. Parenthoods, the only female-founded startup in its 2014 Y Combinator class, offers stories and advice from real parents.

And because it is localized, Parenthoods lets parents orchestrate meetups and buy or sell things like children's clothing on its app. It's an on-the-go version of mommy blogs and parenting forums.

Founders:

Jeni Axline, Siobhan Quinn

Funding:

$1.3 million from Eugen Miropolski, David Breger, Oliver Jung, Paul Buchheit, Justin Kan, 500 Startups, Liberty City Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Y Combinator, Clara Shih, Slow Ventures

Launch date:

August 2014

Website: 

http://parenthoods.co/

Product Hunt will help you find the next big thing in tech.

What it is:

Some of the most tech-prolific investment firms in New York and Silicon Valley — including Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Raptor Ventures, Betaworks, SV Angel, Y Combinator, and Techstars — use Product Hunt to find the next big thing.

Product Hunt, which started in November 2013 as an email list, has since come into its own as a website that looks sort of like Reddit. Product Hunt similarly relies on user upvotes to show you which new products, startups, apps, and websites are the most popular that day. Product Hunt features 20 to 40 new products daily that are curated by a small number of its users. Each product gets one line to explain what it is and to provide a link to its website. Founders and other users participate in the comments, which ultimately help the founders decide whether to fix their prototype or seek out investors. 

Founders:

Ryan Hoover

Funding:

$7.5 million from Kevin Colleran, Alexis Ohanian, Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, Vayner/RSE, Tradecraft, SV Angel, Slow Ventures, Nir Eyal, Ludlow Ventures, Naval Ravikant, Jack Altman, Google Ventures, CrunchFund, Cowboy Ventures, Brenden Mulligan, Betaworks, Abdur Chowdhury, A-Grade Investments

Launch date:

November 2013

Website:

http://www.producthunt.com/

Use Bannerman to order a private bouncer for your events, on demand.

What it is:

When it comes to hiring private security for parties and events, the process can be confusing. Bannerman has stepped in to provide on-demand security guards. You just type in the date and address of your event and the number of guards you need (Bannerman suggests one guard per every 75 guests), and Bannerman will set it up for you within half an hour.

For a rate of $35 an hour per security guard, you'll get individuals — many of whom are former military guys and gals, according to Bannerman's website — who will keep the right people in and out of your events. Bannerman also provides guards for building security and home protection. Bannerman's security guards all have valid licenses and have passed background checks administered by the FBI and the Department of Justice.

Founders:

Craig Martin, Curtis Lee

Funding:

$120,000 from Slow Ventures, Kevin Colleran, Fresh VC, Y Combinator

Launch date:

June 2014 

Website: 

http://getbannerman.com/

These days more than ever, young people can do almost anything.

Business Insider ranked the most powerful people under 30 across all industries based on four criteria: how many people they formally command; how much they're worth; how much they have shaped the world; and how much they are likely to shape the world in the future.

It may be subjective, but power is always subjective. And everyone on this list, from celebrities to tech moguls, has it in spades.

At the top of our first annual list is 24-year-old Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Although his company has only a few dozen employees, this guy has created an incredibly popular and extremely disruptive social media platform, and the sky's the limit for his company, as seen by its soaring valuation. Spiegel himself is supposedly worth near $2 billion.

28. Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, cofounders of The Skimm

Keeping up with the hordes of news stories that break every day can be overwhelming, especially for the young professional on the go. Enter The Skimm, a daily email newsletter that brings easy-to-digest summaries of the day's biggest news stories straight to your inbox. And with more than a million subscribers — including Oprah — it's proven pretty effective.

Founders Weisberg and Zakin, both 28, started the service in 2012 as a way to keep busy young women informed, and it's caught on. They've recieved over $7.8 million in funding, and they plan to continue expanding the subscriber base as wide as possible.

27. Alex Banayan, venture capitalist

During his first semester at USC, Banayan became obsessed with the careers of successful people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. He set out to write a book on success and a year later came across Ernestine Fu — then Silicon Valley's youngest-ever venture capitalist — and sent her a cold email. Fu agreed to meet with him and set up an interview for him at Alsop Louie Partners where she worked. A few weeks later, Banayan joined Alsop Louie, becoming the youngest VC of all time at just 19 years old.

As a VC, Banayan, now 22, travels the country making pitches, attending conferences, and hosting events. He's also advised on projects for Lady Gaga and Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, according to Forbes. Banayan has written for both Tech Crunch and The Washington Post and is still working on his book about career success.

26. Veronica Roth, author

During her senior year of college, Roth, 26, a creative writing major at Northwestern, spent hours holed up in her room writing a novel instead of doing her homework. But her dedication paid off, and her book, "Divergent," a dystopian teen novel, became the first of a best-selling trilogy.

"Divergent"— along with subsequent sequels "Insurgent" and "Allegiant"— quickly became a national phenomenon, selling a combined 6.7 million copies in 2013 and nearly another 4 million in 2014, as well as spurring a series of films starring Kate Winslet and Shailene Woodley. The first film performed well at the box office, raking in $288 million worldwide, and the second is set to release this spring. 

Iceland is a beautiful country. 

Most of the island is an uninhabited landscape of jagged lava rock, fields of bright green moss, hot springs, towering waterfalls, glaciers, and volcanoes. 

Many visitors say that the country is reminiscent of another world. 

Plus, it is a perfect place for any adventurous traveler — visitors to the island can scuba dive between two continents, hike amongst a massive volcanic desert, journey into the center of a glacier, and soak in a geothermal spa. 

From great waterfalls to the ‘crystal caves,’ here are 32 photographs that will make you want to book a trip to Iceland. 

Iceland is a very small country (about the same size as Kentucky) but there are plenty of incredible things to see.

A majority of the island is a treeless moonscape of vast craters and volcanoes.

It is covered in great fields of lava rock and bright green moss.

Junk bond billionaire Ira Rennert has a massive house in the Hamptons.

It's also pretty controversial. The business mogul, who Forbes says is worth $5.9 billion, was recently in court defending the funding of his Sagaponack estate. Representatives of a now-defunct mining business he used to own claimed he looted the company to build it, and in late February he was ordered to pay back at least $118 million in damages.

But the mansion, constructed for about $110 million but now valued much higher, has been the center of a number of controversies since Rennert built it in the 1990s.

We're here to walk you through the giant, limestone, Italian renaissance home and its surrounding estate. And thanks to our friend Jeff Cully at EEFAS for supplying the gorgeous aerial photos and video footage of the property.

1. Fair Field, Rennert's estate, is one of the largest homes in the United States.

According to Crain's, Rennert's mansion spans 62,000 square feet, which is equivalent to nearly an acre and a half of land. And the property itself is massive, covering 63 acres of prime Hamptons beachfront. 

It's also one of the most valuable. The home is worth $248 million, according to the Fiscal Times, and would be listed for about $500 million today, one real estate broker told Crain's.

2. There are actually several houses on the estate.

In addition to the colossal main home, there's also a play house and two pool houses at Fair Field. Altogether, the buildings cover more than 110,000 square feet.

3. The mansion has somewhere between 21 and 29 bedrooms, and between 18 and 39 bathrooms, depending on who you ask.

By most reports, Fair Field has 29 bedrooms and 39 bathrooms, but Zillow, which collects real estate data using public records, counts 21 bedrooms and 18 bathrooms. (For what it's worth, we think it makes more sense to have more bedrooms than bathrooms.)

The confusion could stem from whether you're counting  the rooms in all buildings on the property, or just the main house.

4. It has 12 chimneys. 

Mother Jones noted the dozen chimney, presumably leading to a dozen fireplaces, in a 2012 story about Rennert's fight with his neighbors about his the path of his helicopter.

5. And a 91-foot-long dining room.

That's the distance between the bases on a baseball diamond.

6. The 10,000-square-foot playhouse includes a basketball court and a two-lane bowling alley.

That's according to Crains and Southampton news site 27East. Rennert is widely reported to be reclusive, so we're not sure who he plays with in his play house. Oh, and there's also a billiards room, two tennis courts, and two squash courts.

7. The mansion has its own 164-seat theater.

You could basically stage a Broadway production at this place.

8. Rennert's property taxes alone are enough to buy a few other houses.

Curbed Hamptons reported Rennert's property taxes at $483,742.54 – or more than $40,000 a month – in 2008. According to CNBC, his taxes were up to $649,281 last year, or as they put it, enough to buy two houses in most other parts of the country.

9. The garage can hold 100 cars.

10. The hot tub cost a reported $150,000.

That's in addition to three swimming pools.

11. Rennert has repeatedly ticked off his neighbors with his grand plans for Fair Field.

Back when he constructed the place in the 1990s, neighbors found the mansion "audacious,"New York Magazine reported. They fought the construction "tooth and nail."

They also weren't pleased when he tried to build his own private museum on site.

According to Curbed, Rennert tried to build a new, 10,000-square-foot museum on the estate. He supposedly owns $500 million worth of art. The reason his neighbors were ticked off that time? He reportedly broke ground for the new building without seeking permission from the village.

They were also peeved when Rennert tried to expand his pool house to include a pilates room. In 2013, he requested permission to add a Pilates studio and, yes, another bathroom, to one of his two pool houses. His neighbors were reportedly fed up with the number of zoning rules he'd already scooted around.

"I don’t even object to the square footage," one neighbor told 27 East. "It’s a question of principle."

In the end, the addition was never built.

WATCH: A flyover of the estate

SEE ALSO: 19 Crazy Facts About Bill Gates' $123 Million Washington Mansion

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch Mark Zuckerberg's Neighbors Get Really Ticked Off About Construction At His Mansion

The story of the Greek crisis is often painted as either one of the reckless borrower gambling with other people's money, or the victim of an inflexible European project that squeezes its weaker members for the benefit of the stronger.

There may be some truth to both of these narratives, but to get a fuller understanding of the causes of Greece's current problems you have to look further back at the country's own history. What you find is a sorry tale of nihilistic political populism, a wilful suspension of disbelief by international partners and a series of unfortunate accidents that helped turn a promising post-war recovery into a nightmare for its citizens.

Very few people involved in governing, investing or monitoring the country emerge from the past four decades without at least some of the blame resting on their shoulders. Yet, as is so often the way, many of those who were at fault managed to enjoy the good times but are reluctant to take any share of the burden that Athens now faces.

After the World War II, Greece underwent an 'economic miracle'.

GDP growth averaged 7% per year between 1950 to 1973, second only to Japan. The period also saw low unemployment and moderate inflation.

Moreover, the living standards for Greek citizens also improved hugely. In the 1960s and 1970s, GDP per capita increased by 210%, or an average of 6.1% per year, as workers became much better off.

On Monday Apple revealed more details about its smartwatch, the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch will debut two different watch sizes in three distinct styles: the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport, and the Apple Watch Edition.

Preorders begin April 10 and the Apple Watch launches officially on April 24. 

You'll only be able to use the Apple Watch with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, and iPhone 5S.

SEE ALSO: Here's what Apple announced at today's big Apple Watch event

Here it is: the Apple Watch.

Tim Cook says the Apple Watch provides "new, intimate ways to connect and communicate" from your wrist.

The Apple watch comes in two sizes: 38mm and 42mm.

It was revealed Monday at the Apple Watch presentation in San Francisco that the most expensive Apple Watch will cost a whopping $17,000.

Of course, that's small potatoes compared to this $2.6 million Swiss watch which is arguably the most complex wristwatch that has ever been made.

For its 175th anniversary, the luxury Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe invented a collection of limited-edition commemorative timepieces called The Grandmaster Chime with 20 complications, two dials, and 214 parts.

The watch measures 47.7 mm in diameter and has 1,366 individual components. It took a whopping eight years and 100,000 man hours to develop, 60,000 of which were spent just on the watch's movement. 

Patek Philippe calls the Grandmaster Chime an “intelligent watch” with features such as a minute repeater, instantaneous perpetual calendar with a four-digit year display, and a second time zone.

It also has two deluxe features that are a world-first for chime watches, including an acoustic alarm that strikes the alarm time and even a function that chimes the date.

The Grandmaster Chime is the first double-face wristwatch to be presented by Patek Philippe, meaning that it can be worn with either dial facing up — one shows the time, while the other shows the calendar. The “swivel case,” which enables the watches smooth reversal, took an astounding four years to perfect.

Both sides are equally stunning. The 18k rose gold 16.1 mm thick clasp was fully engraved by hand. Even the strap is meticulously designed — hand-stitched and made from alligator.

Only seven of the Grandmaster Chimes will be produced, and Patek Philippe will keep one in the company’s museum in Geneva where it can be admired by the public. 

And for those who want to purchase the remaining six, it's not enough to have $2.5 million in the bank. Lucky customers must also be interviewed by Thierry Stern, the chairman of the watchmaking brand.

"I would like to chat with the client and make sure he's a watch lover and make sure he's going to enjoy the watch for many years,"Stern told CNBC.

SEE ALSO: This Wrist Watch Has 876 Parts And Costs $2.5 Million

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch 2 armed gangs fight on a busy road in China

In 2006, photographer Tim Mantoani was sensing a major shift in the photographic industry as shooters began to move away from film and towards digital media.

So over Christmas, Mantoani, who had shot with film for most of his career until then, decided to rent a massive 20x24 Polaroid camera, "knowing that the opportunity to shoot on this format would most likely be limited," he told Business Insider.

He knew he wanted to shoot something special with the massive camera, so he invited over two of his photographer friends, Jim Marshall and Michael Zagaris. "I asked each of them to bring in a few of their most iconic or favorite shots and I made my first portraits on this format. The process for both myself and subjects was special," Mantoani said. He knew he was on to something.

Since then, Mantoani has photographed 150 photographers from California to Boston. He says the process was organic and happened somewhat by chance. "One referral and shoot led to the next," he said. The subjects wrote about their experiences on Mantoani's Polaroid prints.

"My hope is that people understand that cameras don’t make photographs, photographers do. Without the incredible dedication and passion of these image makers, these moments would not exist," Mantoani said.

His series, titled "Behind Photographs," has been compiled in a book which you can purchase here. 

"Customs, 1972. I was traveling with the Stones and we were crossing from Canada back into the U.S.—milling about. I saw the sign and called Keith over and took two frames—then I looked up for Mick (thinking I’d get them both— 'Jagger-Richards aka The Glimmer Twins'). The customs official noticed us and barked, 'Stop right away or we’ll confiscate the film'. I stopped. I knew what I had and didn’t want to lose it."— Ethan Russell

"John Lennon asked me to come to his penthouse apartment on the east side of New York to take pictures for the cover of his ‘Walls + Bridges’ album. After we took a series of portraits for the record cover, we took some informal shots to use for publicity. I asked him if he still had the New York City t-shirt I had given him a year earlier and he went and put it on and we made this photo."— Bob Gruen

"Originally an inside opener for Rolling Stone cover story of Nirvana in conjunction with the release of 'In Utero,' my first Polaroid (with negative) was by far the most emotional and revealing of his spirit. Two months later Kurt died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. This photograph became the memorial RS cover."— Mark Seliger

The Apple Watch is almost here, and already thousands of apps are being developed for the new device.

Apple announced a few new apps during its big Apple Watch event, but we've combed through the entire list of Apple Watch apps and collected the ones we're most excited about.

From unlocking your hotel room or open your garage door to ordering an Uber, here's what people will be using their Apple Watch for next month.

Order a black car from your wrist with Uber.

Uber's Apple Watch app lets you request a car, track its arrival on a map, and shows a photo of your driver and car so you can easily find it.

See your friends' photos with Instagram.

Instagram's Apple Watch app lets you browse your news feed, like photos, and post emoji comments right from your wrist.

Stay in the know with NYTimes.

The New York Times on the Apple Watch sends you the latest headlines and breaking news, letting you read the opening of an article or jump over to your iPhone to read the full thing.

The problem with the 18k gold Apple Watch Edition isn't that $10,000 is a lot for a watch. It isn't. 

It is, however a lot for a first generation gadget.

Once you get into the $10,000 range in watch buying, you start buying for investment. These are the watches that become family heirlooms: timepieces that are kept forever, worn on special occasions, and eventually passed down to children.

It's virtually guaranteed your children are not going to want a first generation Apple Watch. In fact, in only a few short years the Apple Watch Edition will probably only be as valuable as the metals that can be salvaged after melting it down

Luxury watch brands, on the other hand, have been making mechanical movements and gorgeous watch cases for centuries.

Their intricate movements and insanely strong pedigree helps them maintain their value. And the best part is: the technology never changes.

Here are just a few smart purchases for those in the market for an investment-grade watch.

IWC Portugieser Automatic IW5007

The Portugieser is one of IWC's most popular models. With its legendary Pellaton winding system and select ceramic components, this watch is sure to hold its value.

Suggested Retail: $13,700

Rolex Datejust

Rolex is probably the most recognized watch brand in the world. This means that everyone knows how great the Datejust is — and everyone wants one.

Suggested Retail: $12,750

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Memovox

Jaeger-LeCoultre is a watch name that needs no introduction. It's been making spectacular watches with insanely precise movements since 1833 and the elegantly designed Master Memovox continues that tradition.

Suggested Retail: $11,100

Later this month, Apple will join the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Apple will replace AT&T, which was better-known as American Telephone & Telegraph when it originally joined the Dow in October 1916.

This 30-stock index has seen a lot of turnover in its history. And believe it or not, there were only 12 stocks in it when it was created in 1896.

"The Dow Jones Industrial Average consisted entirely of industrial stocks, as it was published for the first time," noted S&P's Howard Silverblatt. It's a lot more diverse today.

And only one of the original 12 members continues to hold a spot in it.

American Cotton Oil

What it did: It formed as a trust after several mill owners in Texas and Arkansas combined syndicates to regulate the price of seeds. It became a corporation in 1889 after the trust was dissolved through a lawsuit.

Where it is now: It evolved into a company that's now part of Unilever. The original company was dropped from the Dow in 1901.

Sources: Scripophily, Wikipedia

American Sugar Company

What it did: It was the largest American company in the sugar refining business in the early 20th century, with investments in the Caribbean. It was established in 1891 with $50 million in capital. 

Where it is now: It has since been acquired by American Sugar Refining, whose products include Domino Sugar. It was dropped from the Dow in 1930.

Source: Wikipedia

American Tobacco Company

What it did: The American Tobacco Company acquired over 200 competitors to become the dominant player in the industry. It was founded in 1890.

Where it is now: The Supreme Court ordered it to dissolve following an anti-trust lawsuit. It splintered into many smaller companies and renamed itself Fortune Brands. It was dropped from the Dow in 1985.

Source: Wikipedia

We recently pitted the iPhone 6 camera against the DSLR Canon 5D Mark II and the point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot SD1400-IS. The iPhone held its own in many areas, and it's unbeatable when it comes to portability.

And as the adage goes, "The best camera is the one you have with you."

But for those of us who make a living taking photos or count photography as a serious hobby, the camera phone will never replace a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex).

Here are my reasons why:

Interchangeable lenses

The biggest difference between a smartphone camera and a dedicated camera is the ability to use different lenses.

The importance of good glass cannot be understated. High-quality lenses produce unparalleled sharpness and image quality. These photos look crisp, detailed, styled, and hyper-real. They look like photographs instead of snapshots.

In addition, a professional or "prosumer" camera allows you to use whatever lens is appropriate for the situation. If you are shooting sports, you can put on a zoom lens to get close to the action. If you are taking a portrait of someone, you can use a short telephoto lens. If you want to capture a crazy party, put on a wide-angle lens to get the entire scene. You get the idea.

The striking photo below, for instance, was taken from more than 50 feet away with a Nikon D90 and a 300-mm telephoto lens. An iPhone attempting the same photo would never have been able to zoom that closely without pixelating the entire image.

In addition, portraits simply look better with a DSLR and a lens designed to flatter people. The iPhone is stuck using its default, slightly wide-angle lens, which isn't flattering on people.

That’s just the utility aspect. If you want to get into the craft and artistry of photography, using different lens is one of the foremost ways to produce different, interesting images.

There are external lens attachments that you can add onto your iPhone, like the Olloclip 4-in-1 iPhone Lens System, the iPro Lens Kit, and iZZi Orbit Pro. These are an improvement over the default lens in the iPhone, but the quality cannot compare with a DSLR lens.

In general, the materials in external smartphone lenses are not high quality. It's hard to expect them to be. The most expensive of these external lenses ranges between $200 and $300. The lowest-end DSLR lenses start around there.

In addition, many of the iPhone lenses have issues with vignetting (when a photo darkens or blurs near the edges), sharpness, distortion, or are just plain clunky.

Ergonomics

A smartphone will always beat a professional camera for portability. It’s built to travel in your pocket everywhere, and it's easy whip out at just the right time. It’s sleek. It’s cool. It fits nicely in your hand. One thing it’s not built for? Taking photos.

Think about every time you’ve ever taken a photo on an iPhone. Sure, it's only a couple of clicks to the camera app and snapping the photo, but think about the actual feel of it in your hands and how hard it is to frame an interesting photo.

It’s awkward. You have to hold the phone out in front of you. You have to look on a small screen to see how everything fits. Even on a large phone like the iPhone 6 Plus or a Galaxy S, it’s difficult to see whether all of the elements in your photo are composed exactly the way you want or if you’ve captured the delicate focus you are looking for. It’s hard to take photos in a crowded setting and not have everyone around you know exactly what you are taking photos of.

Compare that to just about any dedicated camera. It’s made for the explicit purpose of shooting photos. It sits in your hands nicely, easily allows you to adjust settings without fumbling with the back of the screen, and the camera responds tactilely to the press of the shutter.

Best of all, there’s a viewfinder. You can look through the viewfinder and see exactly what your photo looks like at the size you are looking at, not through the prism of a smartphone screen. Composing small details and framing is easier, more accurate, and more precise.

Manual settings

The iPhone, like almost all smartphones, is hopelessly lost in this category. The iPhone’s default Camera app, which most people use, offers no way to manually adjust settings.

Here's why that's a big problem.

All cameras, including the iPhone and my Canon DSLR, are pretty dumb when it comes to determining proper exposure in all but ideal situations. Imagine a black-and-white photo. All cameras’ automatic sensors want to turn everything in your photo into a dull, even gray. Shooting snow? Gray. Shooting jet-black asphalt? Gray. All photographers know this, and it's why every good photographer uses manual settings to compensate.

Now the iPhone does have manual settings, so long as you download an app like Manual or Snapseed. These are helpful and bring the smartphone closer to what I'm looking for in a camera, but ultimately they are mere approximations to what a true camera does. The shutter speeds and ISOs that smartphone cameras can handle — two out of three factors when determining proper exposure — are so limited that most of the time you are better off just letting the auto settings on the camera do its thing.

Further, smartphone cameras have lenses with a fixed aperture (the hole in the lens through which light passes). Being able to change your aperture is important because it allows you to do all sorts of stylistic things that make photos look great. Shooting a mountain landscape? Adjust your aperture so that it is very small and everything from the mountains to the field in front will be in focus. Doing a close-up of a flower? Adjust to a wide-open aperture, and you can make sure the camera focuses only on the flower, while the whole background turns into an aesthetically pleasing blur.

Here's what a close-up photo looks like with a Canon 5D Mark II and 35-mm lens:

And the iPhone 6:

Notice anything?

First, the iPhone has predictably turned our white bowl gray in all but the brightest areas. Second, the bright orange of the carrots has lost some of its luster. The photo is exposed and focused well, but overall it's boring.

Take a second look at the DSLR photo. The exposure settings have been adjusted manually to make sure the bowl stays bright white. Doing so also pitched up the colors of the carrots and jalapenos, making a more aesthetically pleasing shot. Finally, by using a sharp 35-mm lens and a large aperture, I created a visually interesting focal plane that draws the eye in. And that's in a shot that took me all of a minute to set up.

Manual settings are also hugely important when shooting motion. Depending on the lighting in the situation, shooting motion (like sports and moving cars) is one of the most difficult photographic situations there is. It requires constantly tweaking your settings in minute ways to trick your camera into giving you the best it can. In all but bright and sunny conditions, smartphone cameras just don’t measure up. Adjusting settings on the fly is clumsy and autofocus is too slow and imprecise. In addition, smartphone cameras simply can’t handle the high shutter speeds necessary for capturing motion. It’s a recipe for bad photos.

Sensor size

One of the biggest determinants in digital image quality is size of the image sensor in your camera. When it comes to that, smartphones simply can't measure up.

Digital camera sensors are full of millions of light-sensitive spots that record information about what is seen through the lens. The bigger the sensor, the more area for the camera to capture and record light. (In the old film days, the equivalent was the size of your film: A large-format camera that took 8-by-10 film always took far more detailed photos than those taken by a 35-mm camera.)

How big is the difference between sensor sizes? Look at this graphic (note that even though Apple introduced a new sensor with the iPhone 6, it’s still the same size as earlier models):

Cameras with larger sensors are capable of capturing more information, producing photos that have more contrast, more accurate colors, and less noise, especially when shooting in low-light situations.

Ever try shooting in a dark room with an iPhone? The photos are barely passable. There’s blur and noise if you're lucky, and ugly flash if you're not.

Here's a photo I took with my iPhone at a Jack White concert earlier this year:


Here's a photo taken by a DSLR on Getty Images. It was taken last year at Governor's Ball in New York City. White was using roughly the same stage and lighting set-up.

Leaving aside the fact that the DSLR was able to get much closer with a telephoto lens, the most obvious difference is the detail in White's skin tone and clothes. While the DSLR was able to turn a difficult lighting situation into a compelling photo, the iPhone struggled to capture even the largest details. The band members' skin is too bright and everything else is too dark.

The problem is equally pronounced in bright situations. Here are two photos I took of identical street scenes. The first is with the DSLR, the second with the iPhone 6.

While both have some issues with lens glare and contrast — a hallmark of shooting in the middle of the day — the iPhone's issues are more pronounced. The DSLR retains detail in the brightest parts of the image without blacking out all of the shadows. The iPhone 6 image, on the other hand, has extreme lens glare, almost no detail in the shadows, and bright light clouding most of the image.

Leaving aside lighting issues, larger sensors produce higher-resolution photos, which means that when you want to blow up the photo on your 80-inch plasma TV or print them out to hang on your wall, they still look sharp.

Ever tried to print out a photo taken on your iPhone? They generally look awful. I’ve had plenty of friends try to show me prints of iPhone photos, and I’ve had to lie more than a few times that their photos "look great."

Now some of you will probably say, Pssh. Just give Apple/Samsung/HTC some time. They’ll make a bigger sensor. Chances are they won’t. Consider the form factor of a smartphone and just how much other stuff they have to pack into that ever-slimming frame. They may increase the sensor marginally, but it will never match a dedicated camera.

The verdict

All of this isn’t to say that an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S, or other smartphones aren’t fine cameras. They are. Ultimately, the quality of photos comes down to skill level of the person taking them.

Hand an amateur an 8-by-10 large-format camera and they won’t know what to do with it. Alternately, give a skilled photographer an iPhone and they can produce awesome, awe-inspiring work. (If you want to see some amazing iPhone work, check out the book Hashtag Sandy.)

But give me a choice, and I would always pick my DSLR.

SEE ALSO: Visit the utopian summer camp where campers make up their own rules

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 10 things you didn't know your iPhone camera could do

The way we access the internet has changed rapidly over the past few years, transitioning from desktops to mobile devices.

Now, the internet is expanding again — coming to all of the everyday devices found in our homes, businesses, and cities.

BI Intelligence has created a slideshow highlighting the most important ways the Internet of Everything market will develop, the benefits newly connected devices will offer consumers and businesses, and the potential barriers that could inhibit growth. 

BI Intelligence is a new research and analysis service focused on the mobile and Internet of Things computing markets. 

Only BI Intelligence subscribers can download the individual charts and datasets in Excel, along with the PowerPoint and PDF versions of this deck. Please sign up for a trial membership here.

Brown University is consistently named one of the smartest colleges in the country. 

The Ivy League school has gained attention over the years for its celebrity students, most of whom enroll in the school's prestigious Theatre Arts and Performance Studies (TAPS) department. But the school also counts incredibly successful alumni in business, finance, and tech.

From media mogul Ted Turner to actress Emma Watson, here are the most successful Brown alumni.

CNN and Turner Broadcasting founder Ted Turner says he spent "three very interesting years" at Brown before his expulsion in 1963. He was expelled for living with his girlfriend on campus while he was on suspension. Turner was commodore of the yacht club, vice president of the debating union, and he pursued studies in economics and the classics.

Source: Brown Daily Herald

"Harry Potter" Actress Emma Watson graduated in 2014 with a degree in English literature. Despite the occasional "10 points for Gryffindor" comments, Watson says that the students and university were great about respecting her privacy. Watson is now a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and has delivered compelling speeches at the UN and Davos advocating for gender equality with her HeForShe campaign.

 Source: Huffington Post, Huffington Post, Business Insider

Standard Oil heir and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. sang in the glee club, managed the football team, was the president of his junior class, and graduated Brown with a Phi Beta Kappa key. Since his 1897 graduation, the university has lauded Rockefeller with many awards and named the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library in his honor.

Source: Brown

There's fierce competition among the world's most powerful and influential cities, and there are a lot of questions: Are the megacities cropping up in the developing world displacing the western world's hubs? Does London or New York come out on top?

CityLab and the the Martin Prosperity Institute have teamed up to compile a new ranking of the 25 most economically powerful cities in the world today.

They've based it on four major factors: Overall economic clout, equity and quality of life, financial power and global competitiveness. Their estimates for these are drawn from a bundle of different sources.

There are some surprising cities pretty high up on in the ranks, and you can check where they all sat three years ago when the list was last made. Some have surged up the ranks and some have dropped back considerably.

23 (tie). Moscow (unranked in 2012)

23 (tie). San Francisco (unranked in 2012)

23 (tie). Washington (14th in 2012)

A man needs more than just tips and advice to reach his style goals. He also needs inspiration.

And one the best places to find that inspiration is the visual paradise of Instagram.

We've chosen a few of our favorite Instagram feeds to inspire you to live your best sartorial life.

The legendary Nick Wooster's Instagram is just as awesome as you would expect it to be. His signature brand of style is in full force in every 'gram.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/zJMT-lmHSz/embed/
Width: 658px

Follow him on Instagram here.

StayClassic's Tim Melideo puts together low-budget outfits in new and interesting ways every day. His Instagram curates his best looks, along with some pretty photography. Perfect follow for the cash-strapped.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/yfkR-JGUEd/embed/
Width: 658px

Follow him on Instagram here. 

Follow EJ Samson, but be prepared to be jealous. The former GQ fashion director (now leading Hearst's men's group) has an insanely good wardrobe paired with the life you wish you had. He chronicles it all on his Instagram for both life and fashion inspiration.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/zu6UnMOgyz/embed/
Width: 658px

Follow him on Instagram here.