New Sony Notebooks look just like Macbooks
Monday, August 18th, 2008 2:01 PM
So Apple’s influence on the phone industry has been undeniable. The iPhone looks and works like the future and other manufacturers have taken note. Sony has taken a page out of the Apple playbook when it comes to notebooks however. There new line of VAIO computers seems to look exactly like the Macbook, even copying the built in iSight and chiclet keys, almost right down to the font.
New iPhone 3G released ...
Monday, June 9th, 2008 10:46 PM
Today, Apple announced the release of the long-awaited 3G iPhone.
iPhone 3G: What’s new and good:
- 3G radio
- Assisted-GPS
- New case design made of plastic instead of aluminum
- Better battery life
- Better speakers
- Metal buttons on the side
- Flush headphone jack
- If you choose the 16GB model, you get a choice of white or black
I’m glad the the headphone jack is finally flush but there are some significant drawbacks to the the new phone such as the loss of the ultra-innovative at-home activation process.
iPhone 3G: What’s Bad
- Plastic back that scratches easily and doesn’t look as classy as the aluminum. Picks up smudges and fingerprints
- Actually is thicker than the old iPhone
- Activations take place in store now like the old phones of yesteryear (no innovative activate at home)
- Less ability to unlock at home due to the aforementioned activation process, which means less choice
- Fairplay DRM wraps for applications purchased from the App Store ( so much for Apple standing for no DRM)
- Same old 2MP crappy camera.
- Still no cut and paste, or MMS or SMS counter which is unforgivable
- No front facing camera for video conferencing
- Cheaper upfront cost but higher overall cost due to increase in AT&T rate plans
- No dock included anymore
So there you have it. Not much too crow about IMHO. I was hoping for a much more substantial upgrade. Cut and paste would have been a nice start. The plastic back is cheap looking and the inabilty to activate at home is a big drawback which will set the innovation-driving hacking community back and stop these sales.
Vibrating broomstrick a hit with teenage girls
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 2:11 AM
I laughed a bit today when I read this review via BoingBoing. Thought you might enjoy it.
Enjoy your extra day!
Friday, February 29th, 2008 6:43 PM
Today is leap day and I’ve been anticipating using this extra day for something truly great, truly life changing. Instead, I wasted it as far too many other days are and here we are, halfway done with it and I’ve done nothing too spectacular save for a few energetic arguments. Perhaps I’ll finish the day with some Pina Coladas. Yes, I think I will. I’m leaving to buy the ingredients now. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy your extra day and make it count. In case you don’t succeed in making it count, take solace in the recipe below:
4oz of fresh pineapple juice
3 oz of coconut cream
2 cups of crushed ice
Blend together until smooth. Serve.
Toshiba Kills HD-DVD
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 6:58 PM
It seems we knew this day was coming but it’s kind of sad nonetheless. Toshiba this morning held a press conference to announce the discontinuation of their HD-DVD business. Blu Ray has won. All of this came together after Netflix announced they’d no longer support HD-DVD, which was followed by announcements by Best Buy and finally Walmart. Then just for good measure Nelson Muntz came by and pulled HD-DVD’s pants off and laughed at it. The announcements by Neflix, Best Buy and Walmart signaled the end to Toshiba and shortly thereafter they pulled the plug. The greedy format war has come to an end.
I’ve said before it’s kind of a shame that HD-DVD lost since HD-DVD had arguably more-consumer friendly technology having lower prices for hardware, less DRM, no region codes, and a final specification. Blu Ray has more DRM, higher hardware prices, region coding and to top it all off the specifications haven’t quite been finalized by the BD consoritium. The players that are out there now, Profile 1.0, won’t be able to play the newer Profile 2.0 discs when they’re made available. They can’t be upgraded either, except for the PS3. Profile 2.0 players are only shipping later this summer.
The tipping point as we’ve said earlier was Warner Bros, which was apparently paid $500M to switch to Blu Ray exclusively. I’m glad the war is over, I only wish the war was decided on merit.
U2 3D: Best. concert film. Eva!
Friday, January 25th, 2008 10:08 PM
Today I had the opportunity to see U2 3D at an IMAX theater. I wasn’t prepared for such an immersive, enjoyable experience. It replicates, if not surpasses the feeling of being there at an actual performance of the great Irish rockers. The 3D is great too and much more than simply a gimmick. It adds to the realism and atmosphere bringing the often-distant concert experience into the realm of the intimate. The audio in my theater was stunning and felt just like being at the show. I cannot recommend this experience enough. Be forewarned, IMAX 3D performances cost as much as two regular movie tickets. The price at my theater was $15. Considering a cheap U2 ticket runs $45 before the awful and ridiculous Ticketmaster “convenience and delivery charges,” this is a bargain.
Warner Decides Format War: Blu-Ray for the Win
Friday, January 4th, 2008 10:37 PM
Today Warner Bros. dropped a shocker. They announced they were supporting Sony’s Blu-Ray Disc exclusively for their high definition disc releases. They were previously format-agnostic in the confusing and costly HD disc format war, supporting both HD DVD and Blu-Ray, providing HD DVD with a very necessary lifeline by giving them much needed studio support for their format. With Warner’s help, studio support for the two formates was pretty much 50/50. Today, in their surprise announcement, Warner has shifted the weight of the industry strongly on the side of Blu-Ray and put HD-DVD in a position where its hard to see them exist for much longer since 75% of studio output would now be exclusively Blu-Ray. Only Universal and Paramount now support HD DVD, though they may have to finally cede to Blu-Ray.
HD DVD has less DRM and no region encoding, both features which make it slightly more consumer-friendly than Blu-Ray, both features which will be missed as the format eventually disappears and goes the way of Laserdisc and Sony’s Betamax. Warner says money had nothing to do with their industry-defining decision, unlike Paramount’s decision to support HD DVD exclusively a few months ago which was widely rumored to be the result of a $150M payoff by the HD DVD consortium*. Rather, Warner says their decision was based around the need to choose a clear winner in the confusing format war, which they site was eating into cash-cow DVD sales along with hurting sales of both HD formats, with low consumer adoption rates.
Perhaps now, with a clear victor in sight, HD discs will finally start gaining much-needed momentum. The end to the format war is good for the industry and the consumer but without the competition HD DVD provided, Blu-Ray discs and players may not be priced as aggressively as they were in the past few months, which may be one of the bigger downsides. If HD DVD does go the way of the Dodo, this writer will be glad he only has to buy one format without worrying about obsolescence but at the same time can’t help but feel a bit sad for the underdog.
* Update: Apparently, Warner did receive a payoff even though they deny it was a factor in their decision. Sony is rumored to have paid Warner $500 million dollars for their allegiance to Blu-Ray.
Awesome Stuff of 2007
Monday, December 31st, 2007 5:37 PM
On the last day of the year, I thought I’d share some products I enjoyed this year. Drum roll please …
Ceramic Frog Scrubby
This item was spotted on the TV show, Weeds, and took some diligent searching to find but now you too can have the wide-mouthed green goodness of this awesome frog. Buy it here or here
And of course …
iPhone
Simply the best, most intuitive cell phone ever. Never mind the niggles.
Buy here.
Hilarious TV Infomercials
Monday, December 31st, 2007 3:42 PM
I’ve always marveled at the crazy exaggerated expressions on the actors’ faces in those cheesy TV infomercials. Now, Glen Thompson at Cracked has compiled a fantastic list of the most hilarious of these commercials. Don’t wait! Visit the site now! If you one of the first hundred visitors now, you’ll get double the hilarity for the price of a single visit!
It's a pretty harsh world out there ...
Thursday, December 6th, 2007 12:42 PM
A girl, aged 7, was shot 6 times trying to save her mother from a gunman. Is there any way to turn Detroit around?
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