Bitstream

Nikon D-60

Asus Puts The "NO" in Nova

I really wanted to like this more, but C'MON!!! ONE frakin' measly gig of RAM???? Vista will plow through that like some...weird...thing...that can never get full from eating...stuff...

Technology Talk Is Dangerous to Ovaries

Me to Samsung: "You Like Card Games---I Get It." The Ace is actually is a decent follow up to the Blackjack II on the Sprint Network. If you don't mind a lack of wifi but enjoy a slim, easy to use phone running the Windows Mobile 6 platform, then get it. Or don't. I'm not your mother.

Robot News

Boring Macworld Photos PLUS Parting Thoughts!

I took a handful of pictures at Macworld, so to wrap up the topic for this year here's a link to them.

My final thought about the event is that it was a big sack of fun to be there, but I'm not all psyched up about the "big" announcements. I shall further express my lack of psyching in list form:

iPhone: Customizable home page, great! How about opening that sucker up to third party non web-based apps? The simulated GPS locater is also nice, but why can the phone triangulate my position on the Earth but still not sync notes or cut and paste text? That had to be higher on the complaint list than, "Why can't I stick a pin anywhere I want."

ipod Touch: Don't care.

Apple TV: This actually intrigued me. I like the new UI and went out and bought one today at the reduced price. The prospect of renting films finally made this device useful to me. I'm sure I'll write more about it later.

Time Machine: Wireless router/hard drive? Veeeerrrry clever. I'd like to use one before I judge it, but I like the idea of it. Though with the recurring wireless theme Apple pushed this year, their slogan of "There's something in the air" seemed a little on the nose ESPECIALLY with the next announcement...

Macbook Air: I'm going to wait at least a year before I consider this one. Yes, the base price is $1799 if you want the HDD model but it jumps to $3000 if you want SDD, which I would. The 64G capacity just isn't enough to justify the price in my mind ESPECIALLY when you consider that the OS takes up around 23 of those Gigs, not to mention the lack of an optical drive. I do see computing moving away from the CD, or "Caveman Disc," but not just yet. The Air is a strong move toward the future of computing but I feel like it's just a tad soon. When SDD prices fall and capacities go up, I'll plunk down my money---maybe all in nickels because I like the idea of paying for something with a bag.

Macworld '08: Mac Quicken Redux

 

Anyone who uses Quicken for PC and then has the unfortunate displeasure of switching to the Mac version feels an overwhelming sense of castration. Sometimes I feel like Intuit went out of its way to say, "Heeeey, suck it Mac User!"  The interface is dreadful, batch editing is a drag and many times I yell at the transaction download system like it was an under-achieving teenage son. You might imagine, therefore, that I was pleased to run into a guy in front of the main showroom handing out flyers for the Intuit booth and its brand new iteration of Quicken for Mac, which will be out this fall. Codenamed "Heathrow" but soon-to-be-named "Quicken Financial Life," Intuit has shown a bold leap into the refreshing waters of Lake Leopard. As sure as the contrivance of that last metaphor, look for a completely new iTunes-y UI with intuitive features and easily navigable data. 

The first major change I noticed was the look...QFL has optional cover flow for crapsake! Secondly, all of your accounts can be seamlessly integrated across multiple users. As I dug a little deeper I noticed that the Windows 3.1 notion of categories had been replaced with a tagging system, which led to my favorite new feature, THE TAG CLOUD. Intuit, how can you not be getting tired of blowing my mind?? This major undertaking was the reason that they neglected to release Quicken for Mac 2008, which I can only assume would have come with a middle finger on the box. 

I don't know what kind of fire ignited under their asses over there...perhaps it was the realization that the fractional global Mac market seems to be getting slightly less fractional, or maybe a mini asteroid collided with the Intuit building and extinguished the sauropods in Mac programming...but I don't care. As someone who uses Quicken EVERY DAY and had previously felt the kind of hopeless depression someone feels in a loveless marriage, this September release offers to pluck me from the doldrums of my bookkeeping ennui and make love to me on a pile of efficiency. I wholeheartedly recommend that they put Quicken Financial Life on an Oprah makeover episode entitled, "From Skeksis to Sexies!"

As a side note, I offered to Beta test it...I'll let you know how that goes. Below are some iPhone stealth shots:

click to enlarge

Sweet-Ass Macworld '08 Coverage

Well, I'm sure you know every big Mac announcement by now. I texted Kevin Pereira 15 minutes after Steve Jobs' keynote was over and he already had the dirt on the Macbook Air. Check out Attack of the Show! on G4 Wednesday at 7 Eastern, 4 Pacific for my floor coverage of this wonderful Nerd Hive. I'll write about my adventures (no, there were no pirates) tonight, tomorrow and possibly the next day. I saw some nifty stuff and actually kind of liked the vibe better than the one at CES. If you're a Quicken user, I have some HUGE news for you along with some screen shots that I don't believe I was supposed to take. If the idea of Quicken sounds like grandparents having sex to you, then I have other photographic morsels, all courtesy of my newly updated 1.1.3 iPhone.

2008 CES: Casio EX-F1 Camera

2008 CES: The Neonode N2

While eating at a schmancy sushi place in the Venetian, I noticed a Nordic looking fellow when he pulled out what looked like the result of an iPhone accidentally knocking up a CB radio mic. The bastard device in question was the Neonode N2, a cellular phone of Swedish citizenship with no carrier in the US yet. At first, I thought this might be the greatest thing in the world, but since CES I have heard gripes a plenty. Wired associate editor Joe Brown told me that the voicemail was impossible to find and someone else threw in that the battery life was the opposite of awesome. Still, it's a nascent platform and if given the time to develop could be the phone every douche at a loud Hollywood bar pulls out while trying to nail drunk wannabe actresses. After they all get tired of it, the normals might enjoy it as well.

*HUGE SIDENOTE...I mistakenly referred to the iPhone as "pressure sensitive." This is a complete lie. The iPhone is not, in fact, a resistive technology but rather a capacitive one. Whenever your finger touches or comes close to touching the screen it disturbs the electrical field like a dick neighbor. I apologize to Apple and Science for this fatal blunder for which I shall never forgive myself.

2008 CES: 3-D DLP HDTV

Samsung really impressed me this year. From the capable yet stylish Blackjack II cell phone to a powerful virtual surround Sound Bar with a wireless Bluetooth subwoofer to a new Ultra Mobile PC to RSS on your TV to OLEDs and larger smooth HDs to a freaking PERSONAL CELL TOWER, this peddler in electronic delights was probably my favorite overall exhibitor. The attached video demonstrates a 3-D technology that is available on '07 and '08 DLP HD TVs. You certainly don't feel like you're going to get poked by anything on screen, but it adds an undeniable dimension to your programming. It's a $199 software add-on, but certainly worth it if you have kids, are kids or simply get excited about cool looking things like kids.

*Note: The glasses are actually wireless and only tethered for security purposes