One Fine Day

This past saturday, me and my oldest son went to the Voodoo Fest to see Lil Wayne. It was a beautiful day, sunny and 65 degrees, the amount of people was just right, they slowly moved in leading up to the main events. Between each band, we roamed around checking out the different vendors. We had fun checking out Sony's new game "Little Big Planet". While in the Sony truck, I noticed Veronica Belmont, wheeling a guitar, she was playing Rock Band 2. Veronica is the host of Revision 3's Tekzilla with Patrick Norton. I must say, I couldn't think of another place I'd rather be, so as she was leaving I asked her to sign the back of my iPhone, she said "Really?", foe sho... (WOW! Smiling all day).... So I thanked her from a little app, Twinkle (addition to Twitter). She twinkled back, well thats for me, but Veronica is truly the sweetest girl on the web. Get hooked http://revision3.com/tekzilla

Get Ya Play ON

Just downloaded and installed iPhone software 2.1.1 and tried out the gaming capes of this phone. COMPLETELY amazed!! Just try Tetris on the touchscreen, it is addictive. The graphics are amazing, OS X rocks. I've tried all the Game-On-The Go devices, and it was hard to stay stimulated. It must be the finger joy, I've tried the PSP, DS, and none complete me like the iPhone. I remember looking through magazines and just thinking, how phone games are so lame and primitive looking. Well the day has come, you can have full page web browsing, bluetooth handsfree calling, texting, phone calls, camera, games, and soon to be T.V., while waiting for that plane, dentist visit, or park sports to be done. Oh did I forget, it is the greatest Music player, connected to the largest music library online. Motorola getcha learn on. I've seen the new flip keyboard thingy, but its a long way off.

Apple, Thank you..

Wireless Game Adapter

Wireless devices are expensive if purchased for each device (and I have 4 devices), made by different manufactures. For instance the Xbox 360 wireless adapter, $100 just to connect the console to the internet, so I came up with a better solution, 1 Linksys wireless-to-ethernet adapter and 1 5-port Switch/Hub. The Hub has an uplink port that connects to the wireless adapter and 5 ports for connecting the Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, and the Direct Tv OnDemand HD-DVR. The WI-FI game adapter is $90 and the Hub was $40.

It sounds difficult, but it’s really easy once you have a wireless router setup and connected to your DSL or cable internet connection….lol. Go AT&T. Will provide pic soon.

Well a little off the tech path: I’ve really got into the TV series of “The Two Coreys” on A&E lately. For some reason when I look at Haim, its like, that could be me! Growing up I watched all of the movies he made, I think we’re the same age, and if I was still single without kids, I think my path would’ve been similar. All I can Say, is kids have a way.

It was a little techie how I watched the previous shows though. When I connected the Ethernet to the back of the DVR, I searched for the show and downloaded them from the net, so cool.

Off the Grid

I just tried this new demo "GRID" for the Xbox 360, and I can't get enough. The sense of speed is awesome. The detail that is put into this game is just amazing, the damage physics are mind blowing. The in car view is so life like. Give this a test run, if you're into this type of thing. High Definition gaming at it finest.

Wires contained

Well I'm off to The Smokey Mountains to rough it, yeah right. The cabin, well they call it a cabin, it has a 100" screen with a projector, Xbox 360, Internet, and an LCD in every room. I'm gonna love it. Well I'll post before I leave.

My wife complains about wires all the time, and i really don't care for them myself, so I solved 1 major issue.

The Salamander triple 30 is the entertainment center of my dreams. It can hold all my game consoles and audio equipment. The wires are all contained in the cabinet, it has plastic removable covers on the back, held by knobs. It was a dream setting up. I still plan on attaching the plasma to the wall above the cabinet. The greatest feature is the 8 wheels, it can be pushed around to get to the 50 wires contained in back. The game selector (blue LCD) is one piece of equipment that helped with so many game consoles, because the Yamaha receiver has only so many component inputs. I still have to connect my projector with the 84" screen. We used it to watch Fool's Gold the other night, just gotta have it. The receiver is sweet, it converts all inputs to HDMI, so all I have is 1 wire going to the plasma. Total cost for something like this...well I won't go there, my wife does read this..lol.. It costs roughly $9,000.00 far all components in the picture...Nuts, but watch and listen to it, you'll throw that 32" with the rabbit ears in the can. Heres the list of components: Yamaha HTR-5990 receiver, Onkyo 200 Watt pre-amp, Pelican Game selector pro, Bose 901 speakers with EQ, Apple TV, Direct TV HDR with Tivo, Xbox 360, Yamaha DVD Player, Panasonic VHS, Xbox 360 (Halo Edition), PS3 80gb, Nintendo Wii, Xbox (Halo Edition), JBL 12" 400watt Sub, Infinity 6 1/2 wall mount surrounds, and 42" LG Plasma. Some people fish or hunt, I stay home and entertain myself.

So Attached

I've had 6 different laptops in the past 3 1/2 years, and this Apple MacBook will be sticking.

What hooked me?

First of all its all white, it really helps in low lighting. The feel of the keys are just right, they are square but spaced apart and feel great. Apple didn't add any little control buttons, the "F" keys control all sound and screen controls. One great feature is the multi-touch pointer, place 2 fingers and you can scroll up, down, right and left. Editing photos is so cool, use both index fingers and you can rotate the photo, and pinching the pad zooms in and out. The battery life is great, using the new Intel Penryn Cpu, I find there's a lot less heat. The AC plug is incredible, I can't recall how many times I went to move and yanked the plug out, well Apple fixed it, the plug is magnetic and its square and pops right off, love it. The slot loading drive is really convenient and no fragile tray hanging out. Its really thin and light, compared to my Dell 710m. Its so sleek and smooth, no parts. plates, covers, or battery protruding from the sides or the bottom. Thats just a lot of the physical aspects. Like Alex Albrecht would say "Its just Sexy". I also love the lit Apple on the lid. Nerdy Specs are 2.4 Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR2 667, 160GB HD, Bluetooth, Intel Graphics (could've been better but less weight and heat), 13.3" widescreen, and under 5lbs. OK it has 1 flaw, no pc card slot, say for a 3G wireless Express card, but I still love it, I'll just have to hunt down a usb adapter if needed.




Now to the Operating System, OS X Leopard "insanely Great", I'm really starting to like a Registry free OS, when a program is not needed anymore, just drag it to the trash can. Every one hates to backup files and directories, with the addition of an external drive when at home, "Time Machine" takes care of it. "Time Machine" is a program that is a graphical way of going back in time through a graphical display of windows panes to locate missing files. The software suite included is great, "iLife", it includes programs for photos, editing and publishing videos, and audio editing. If need be, to use an Windows application, Windows XP or Vista can be installed with the use of "Boot Camp", its an Apple app that can burn a CD, and partition the Hard Drive to add Windows.

OK...Windows still has its uses, its a cheaper machine, but who drives a Cavalier. Engineering is where its at, you buy everything for its design, its feel, its look, and its durability...oh yeah and its price, but Mac machines can fit in any budget, you'll just take a little longer. I just find Windows reboots are a frequent thing though. For games Windows still wins, but with the new game consoles, PC games are slowly fading, its just so easy to purchase a game for say a PS3 and insert it and your on your way. PC games now a days, require high system requirements to experience the game the way the developer intended. The worst thing is installing a game and as soon as it starts...ERROR code..This program performed an illegal action... Now its a task to go online and locate the game patch and or the latest video card driver, that will ultimately cripple any older game you have installed. Console game systems, with the help of wireless internet, can easily go online and retrieve any updates a game may need, but 9 out of 10 times it won't be a hardware issue, because all console games are built to play on specific hardware, when PC games have 100s of different Graphic cards and sound cards from different manufactures to support.

Just give me a mouse for my PS3 and Xbox 360, and my PC gaming days will fade.

You may delay your move to Apple Macs, but Apple iPhone is making its way into the business arena. Just a matter of time.

Working out can be fun

See



Wii Fit Sold Out...lol

Off running, over Vista

My days with Vista are almost over.



I love you MacBook.



Safari is well on its way to my heart. At first I tried leaving internet explorer altogether, but pages with squares and random numbers were a frequent thing. Microsoft had me hooked, but Leopard is making it so easy to bury my PC forever.



Apple is winning the interactive entertainment war. Finally, a company is putting all of the pieces together and making it so easy to turn your laptop and relax on the recliner, flick the power button on the plasm and just enjoy all the internet has to offer. Youtube at your finger tips, while reaching for the lever of the Lazy Boy.



I remeber a couple of years ago (like 10), when paying for music involved heading to the store and looking through rows of CDs and coming home with 5 albums, because it was such a task, you'd pay for Cds for just 1 song you liked, hoping at least 2 more songs on the album were worth listening to. Thats why downloading the music on share sites for free, was redemption for years of paying $18 for 1 song. Then iTunes comes along with the .99 track. At first it seemed like alot of money for 1 song that could be downloaded off of share sites, within a minute, but after awhile quality versions of songs were harder to find, because duplicate files with static or loud noises every 15 seconds were so aggravating. So I'd download 6 different files to scan through, hoping to find one worth saving.

Why buy songs on iTunes? I look at like this.. Its the time spent, most people work and receive pay per hour, even on a salary, it can be broken down per hour. Purchasing something or spending time reviewing products before purchasing, takes time and effort. Say for instance you make $30 an hour, you get in your car to drive to the store to search for the album that contains the song you must have, pay for it, and drive back home. 2 hours spent cost you $60, plus the CD $15, loading to the computer 15 minutes and 5 minutes to get it to your ipod or mp3 player or phone. Your cost would be roughly $90. Now for the internet route, $50 for internet access, unless you borrow it from a neighbor, Open a share site on the computer, search for the song and 30 versions of the same song fill the screen, you must now begin the task now of downloading the files and sorting through to find a full version of the song that plays the full length of the song, now..does it have gaps, repeats, slient spots, or loud noises and static every 15 seconds. That would take 45 minutes for 1 song, then if you wanted more from that album, multiply the time by 10. The Share site is about $80, less if you borrow from your neighbors wireless access, but if everyone did it this way, music would slowly begin to cost more, because your not paying the artist. The iTunes route.. Internet access monthly charge $50, open itunes and search by artist, all albulms with album art, and 30 second clips of each song on the album. Now think of the time and money your saving. Now select the song you want, listen to it and press buy, you can buy just the song or the whole album, but its delivered instantly, with fastest servers, unlike the share sites with borrorwed bandwith. The version of the song is the right one, with no filtering or scanning for viruses or static. Time is money saved.

I derailed a little, but iTunes will be the demise of Microsoft. I like instant gratification, and Apple does it well. The quality isn't the greatest on films or even songs, but as more people get online and purchase content, the faster the servers will become and the better the quality we will receive.

I've seen internet video get better, one example is http://revision3.com. The video streams of the shows are incredible, the best I've seen so far, and thats from IPtv internet shows, that started as 2 guys drinking beer, and talking about stories posted to http://www.digg.com, referring Diggnation. Check'em out. Later..