new toy

so, it's not quite yet my birthday, but i already got my present from monticore.



160 gb goodness.

3rd party iphone apps

so, with the release of the latest version of the iphone they also brought out the application store and the idea that you could put whatever you want onto your phone. i didn't get a new phone, and we'll see if i eventually upgrade. however, i have been checking out some of the apps. i haven't decided to pay for any of them, but i did get several of the free ones. what did i get?
-yelp - nice. i love to yelp, and this application figures out where you are and then allows you to read reviews of stuff near you. unfortunately, it doesn't let you review in the app, or i haven't figured that out yet, but i can still do that through the mobile internet.
-remote - this app works with your itunes or appletv. so, yes, i can sit three feet away from my laptop with itunes open and use my phone as a remote control.
-jott - this is a cool little service where you can record a voice note and it transcribes it for you
-imaze- roll a ball around a maze my changing the angle on the phone
-shazam - want to know what that song is? well, hum it, play it, whatever and shazam figures it out.
-tap tap - this is basically guitar hero. i downloaded the app to check it out, but since i'm not a huge guitar hero fan, i'll probably end up dumping it
-bible - nice, searchable bible. many different versions (translations) and it even has 3 spanish options.

what i've been dealing with

as you may be able to tell in that blurry picture, the powercord for my powerbook g4 was breaking. i had some duct tape on it, but it was on it's last leg, and i knew if would be a short time before it broke completely. so, i was off to the apple store.



there, i purchased a replacement cord. so glad that we have an apple store in fresno. it's definitely quicker than ordering it online and waiting, and i love that i can talk to someone in person rather than on the phone for tech issues.



here's the new cord in action. and, since i was in the store i thought i'd pick up something else.



new covers for my iphone screen. i've been using the film that come on the phone as a cover, and after several months it was all scratched up. so, bought a two pack of anti-glare covers.

now, this next one wasn't today, but yesterday rather. it caught my eye and i thought i'd snap a pic.



ummm, is that a quotation from someone? is the president, or whoever is in charge of the postal service, telling me thank you for not smoking in line? or, are you being sarcastic and not really thanking me and therefore encouraging me to smoke in line? that's our gov't at work, folks.

third party aps for iphone!

alrighty then. apple has announced (or bowed to pressure, look at it however you want) and will soon be allowing 3rd party software to be installed on the iphone. sweet. i can't wait until someone creates minesweeper or solitaire. shoot, forget that, i can watch movies on this thing. someone figure out how to get halo on it.

honestly, this can be a very good thing. and, it shows that apple hasn't suffered a complete disconnect with all of the forward thinking innovators that have helped support apple all along. let's hope that people make good programs. and that i can get firefox and ditch stupid safari.

now, if they just open it up to other networks. i imagine that'll come in 2 years when the first round of contracts expire.

more apples to eat

i knew it would happen. i just didn't figure it would happen quite so fast.

the iphone price is dropping. the 8 gig i have will soon cost $200 less than i paid. i had considered waiting until the 2nd or 3rd run of the phone to wait for all the kinks to be ironed out and any possible price drops. but, i wanted the phone then. i don't feel bad about the extra expense.

apple also unveiled a new ipod, call the ipod touch. same touch screen tech as the phone. also, has a wireless internet connection! wow. maybe this will convert you anti-apple cultists (jay, i'm looking squarely at you). and, maybe those who are thinking of dropping of the bandwagon won't (adam). they're also putting out a new nano that plays video. sheesh. the prices on these two new ipod versions are decent.

iphone - the saga continues

so, as i mentioned the other day, my iphone went on the fritz. part of the touch screen stopped working. this was a manageable problem while i was out of town, but it wasn't one that i was going to live with much longer. i had tried the simple solutions at home, such as doing a reboot, and even went as far as reinstalling all the software and firmware through the itunes. no luck.

so, this morning i went down to our local applestore. within 45 minutes, i was walking out of the store with a new phone. sort of. i chatted with their "genius squad" or whatever they call them (really, it's genius something. that's a bit cheeky). anyhow, they checked it out, hooked it up, and verified that yes, it was broken. so, they have to send it off for repairs. that will take 3-4 days.

here is where i had wondered about what would happen when people would have to be without their phone while it was being fixed. they give you a replacement phone. well, they actually rent you a replacement for $30 while your phone gets fixed. that's pretty cool. even cooler, the guy that was helping me waved the fee entirely. so, my phone is getting fixed for free, and i have a phone to use in the meantime for free. that's pretty good service in my eyes. or is that in my i's?

btw, i skimmed my applecare agreement and it does talk about them either fixing using new & refurb parts or completely replacing the defective device. but, it doesn't say exactly what will cause which. i'm sure they do this to cover themselves rather than openly say what will cause a replacement versus a fix.

how do you like them apples?

uh oh

looks like i may have drank too much kool aid. iphone will be taking it's first visit to the apple store for some service. some of the touch screen isn't responding to touch. that's no good. we'll see how well apple care treats me.

mac vs pc

i'm currently watching an interview w/steve jobs & bill gates. pretty interesting and amazing stuff, to see these two guy sitting together on a stage being interviewed and just talking pretty openly about their situations, market, etc. be warned, it's a long interview, 7 different segments, each about 10-15 minutes long. but, worth the watch if you're into that sort of nerdiness.

apple o' my eye

ah, thursday. i bought one of these today.





i had a wireless router before, but it screwed up @ some point. and, the conversations i had with a very nice lady @ some outsourced location helped but couldn't fix the problem. so, i figured i would go w/the matching apple one. so i can now walk wirelessly around the apartment connected to the internet.

also did a little memory upgrade. did a partial one when i bought my lapper, but finished the job today.

still not sure about getting one of these yet:

when does it come out?

my heart is filled with lust.



hot stuff.