A recap...

It's been a while...

Working backwards: The Amazing Race has started back up. Watching the opening I almost thought that they would have the racers begin at Griffith Park Observatory. That would have made for some interesting moments as they tried to quickly make their way down the hill to the freeway to get to LAX. Survivor also started up. In HD this year. It looks weird in HD. But I attribute some of that to what has to be a fairly rugged HD camera type in use compared to a show like Mythbusters or even American Idol in HD. They also seem to be using some different editing techniques. It's almost documentary-like in the first episode. The camera movements and zooms where much more noticable when the crews were back with the teams in their respective camps. They also managed to get rid of the two most annoying people right off the bat. Who will I learn to hate now? What is Survivor or The Amazing Race for that matter without the ability to be all judgemental based on an edit of footage shot of a person in a new, unfamiliar situation? That said, I expect Michelle to be annoying at all times now matter what sort of edit she got on the show.

The new season of Sarah Jane Adventures also started this week. I almost forgot. Is that bad?

The Torchwood radio show from BBC Radio 4 - Yeah. That was...bad. It was like the first draft of a regular Torchwood script. Some good could have come of it if they took their time and re-wrote it a bit. But that didn't happen. Martha was also there apparently to ask everyone how they felt. I thought she was a medical doctor, not a psychologist or a therapist.

I may be doing a day trip to LA in a couple weeks for a special project for work. No details and specifics yet. Fingers are crossed.

I also got an iPhone app to post blog entries from. Naturally I haven't tried it. What were you thinking?! Perhaps one day.

Lost has finally become semi-interesting late in the first season. I'm still at the "meh" stage.

Finally saw the first two Dr. Mabuse films. The original silent movie in two parts was better - and considerably longer - than the sequel which started to take a somewhat unwanted supernatural approach towards the end. I think this is a concept ripe to be re-explored again and to ressurect this forgotten character.

The iPhone 2.1 software - Oh, so that's what you meant all along isn't it, Steve Jobs? The 2.0.1 version is to show us the potential, the 2.0.2 was to keep all those nice apps from crashing every five minutes and the 2.1 version was to baby us in luxury and make us feel loved. Cell phone reception with it is also amazingly improved. Example: the comic shop I go to is traditionally a cell phone black hole. My previous phones were like this, the iPhone with the 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 were like this. You could get a call in there...maybe...and you had about 2 bars if you were lucky. New version? Full strength. Awesome. Lovin' my iPhone and I'm finally gonna drop my land line once and for all, which will invalidate something that's in Red Rocket 7, but progress is on the march.

Soon to be gone...

Tris that is, gone from the iTunes app store that is for iPhone and iPod Touch users. It will be removed from the app store tomorrow. So let's see what's hot for free games for the iPhone and iPod Touch right now this instant, shall we?

Thought so. Well, everyone's grabbing this while they can because the official Tetris client for the iPhone and iPod Touch is apparently lame. Oh, and $9.99 too. Can't beat free... Even though I do acknowledge that the company that owns the rights to the game does have a bit of a legitimate gripe here.

100th post

It was just like yesterday, or a year ago that I started this mess as I went off to India and circled the globe in search of adventure and mystery. Look where we are today. I've add in social networks in the links on the right and now you can even follow me on Twitter. Where will the fun stop?
My next travel destination will be lovely San Diego, California for the San Diego Comic Con. Let's hope this year that the Fire Marshals won't be called in due to overcrowding. Since it's been about 5 or 6 years since I last went, it will be interesting to note the changes from my last trip. Apparently it takes over the entire convention center now, and with the stories of the overselling of the tickets and hearing all four days are sold out, I expect a crowded time. But I get a chance to see my pal Bill again and hopefully check out the TV Batmobile if it's there again this year.

I'll be leaving bright and far too early on Thursday morning and arriving back in town on Sunday. Get yer requests in...
I've also been working on something new as well that's been getting positive notes from Mike and Jamie. As soon as I finish the second pass at the treatment, I think we're good to go for scripting. Fingers crossed.

Not much else to say, other than I now have a lovely ghetto iPhone stand as seen above. Krusty the Clown and Batmobile not included. Actually, the stand is more clever than ghetto. Instead of paying an outrageous sum of money for some stand that the seller would describe as "hand crafted from the purest titanium and custom molded to the contours of the iPhone itself" I just went down to Wal-Mart and found a cell phone/PDA stand for a car instead. Adjusted the bendy arm bit to move the center of gravity around when the phone is put in the cradle and boom. Instant iPhone cradle. Exactly what I needed and less than $10.00!

Do you like video games?

Hey kids!

Do you like video games?

Do you like swearing loudly?

Sure! Who doesn't? We all do!

Then you'll love Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone! Buy it today from the iTunes App Store. Brought to you by our friends at Sega.

Really. It's a fun game, but vicious. You need finesse to move the Monkey Ball around the play field using the iPhone's accelerometer. It's tricker than it looks. But, hey - 100 levels for $9.99? Cheap!

Next up is magic post number 100...

I got my iPhone 3G

It took an extra day, but I managed to get one. This time I was first in line. Lucky me. So now that we have this...

Let's ponder briefly what next year's iPhone model will bring while I wait for all my music to load up. I'd say realistically (because a hardware keyboard just isn't going to happen unless Steve Jobs gets replaced by a Pod Person) we might see:

1. Better battery life - this is a given. They love to tout battery life and how it's much better now than it was. With the addition of the battery-sucking 3G technology, you'd better hope they're working on adding in some higher capacity batteries.

2. Double the storage - another given. I'm going to a 16 gig iPhone from a 16 gig iPod Touch. They have 32 gig iPod Touches now, and while I'm actually quite comfortable with 16 gigs, I'm sure I'm like most people and wouldn't turn down double the storage.

3. Haptic touch screen feedback. This will help with people trying to type on the virtual keyboard as they would get feedback that they can feel as they type. It could also be used for other programs on this theoretical iPhone, but for those who complain about the current keyboard situation, it would be a boon.

4. Stereo Bluetooth. Now I could get a little envious of this. Stereo Bluetooth means I can listen to the iPod portion of the phone without all those pesky wires tethering me to the device. But this wouldn't make me sell my soul in a year to get one if it were true.

These are all keen things, but not killer apps for me if these were to appear in an iPhone refresh in a year or so. This is why I took the plunge this morning and I'm not waiting another year. The software updates have been free so far, so no worries there. So I'll just wait for the model after the next one when my new AT&T contract expires in two years.

But this thing is gonna rock...

Getting an iPhone?

I sure am. Or I hope I am. They go on sale this Friday and I'll be in line at my local AT&T store to pick one up, because going to an Apple Store in Portland really is too far to drive for this sort of thing. Of course, AT&T has provided a helpful guide for everyone who will be wanting to get their iPhone with a minimum of fuss come July 11th...

Fan-tastic. Thanks AT&T! I did especially enjoy the important note there about getting your old phone number from a different carrier ported over to AT&T. While the movie was playing I heard this important note - which was to make sure to bring in a copy of your bill to the store to get the account number and so on to help with the number porting. This was playing while I was in the middle of shredding documents. Specifically at the time my Verizon bill. I believe this may count as irony. I'm not sure right now. However, I will not let this small issue stop me. Somehow.

Hello, it's me again...

Contrary to what some may say or think, I do tend to keep somewhat busy. The past couple weeks have been no exception. Especially since I am preparing for my return to Nerd Prom 2008 this summer. I've tried a few attempts at creating a new entry, but none of them were really any good, and I only want to present the finest quality words, hand selected with you, the reader, in mind.

I have been watching Lost, or The Lost as I call it to annoy fans, or Crappy Version of Gilligan's Island as I refer to it personally. I'm still on the first season and finished up the 2nd episode on the 3rd disc. I'm completely convinced that at least up to this point they were making it all up as they went along.

Yes. I realize that the point of a weekly dramatization on television is indeed that the stories are made up. It is my firm understanding that I have not been watching a documentary and it is a "story" created by "writers." However, as is the current trend in dramas, and something you think would be pretty much a requirement for Lost, most shows have an overall story arc, goal for the season, and a logical game plan to take the characters to this narrative's finish line. It's my guess that the writer's room for Lost at this stage is "Yeah! Then they find a POLAR BEAR!" "OK! Then...let's see...how about this? A monster made out of smoke!" "Sure! Then they can find someone who's been on the island for 16 years!"

Sure, this is fine when plotting out your season's arc...but when you're in the thick of writing scripts after being picked up by a major television network could prove problematic if you aren't fully prepared.

Fortunately, even though they do seem to be playing things fast and loose and very much be ear, they do have the masterful Paul Dini on board. The first major reveal has also happened as well and I am assured that things turn into a tighter ship down the road. So I'm still on board and won't give up on this just yet. I promised Mike Allred I'd watch it anyway since he's watching Doctor Who now. A promise is a promise after all.

I also just finished up about a half hour ago or so a new wallpaper for Mike's site. It's set up for widescreen monitors and should look quite nice (I hope) on a 30 inch Cinema Display for those lucky owners. It's from the cover of the second printing of Madman Atomic Comics #1 and the guys on Mike's forum asked for a wallpaper ages ago, but I didn't have a copy of the 2nd printing to use...but I've got one on loan.

A second little side project was also completed this past week. Still not ready to talk about it. I need to give it one more look over and tighten things up a bit with that. Then maybe I can pester Jamie S. Rich for some feedback. It's more than dashed off notes, but it's not what I'd call a finished state yet.

The iPhone 3G as we all know by now also comes out on the 11th of this month. Yes, I will be getting one. This saves me from having to lug a Lenovo laptop down to San Diego later this month and I'll be able to check my email on the road and hopefully post from the show. I can also play Super Monkey Ball with it too! What fun! That makes it worth the investment right there!

Macworld keynote impressions...(screw you, Mr. Jobs)

It's a day late, all thanks to Fox's new 168 hours per week of American Idol programming, which is not soon enough for them thanks to the WGA strike.

However...the Macworld keynote recap

The good...

Nice update for the iPhone and AppleTV. I sit patiently by my AppleTV every night waiting for it to tell me that there is new shiny goodness waiting to be sent down the Intertubes to me.

That Macbook Air is also pretty sweet. The sealed battery is cause for hue and cry among those who love to mindlessly hue and cry and are generally irrational Apple haters anyway. Of course they deny it and try to pretend to be rational and call everyone else who disagrees mindless fanboys for not climbing on the "Look, Apple is successful, it is only right that they be hated" bandwagon.

Still, do comment on the sealed battery - do you need another one immediately? Do you not understand that to get the system engineered to be the size and design that it is that it kinda had to be sealed? Do you care in the slightest that the replacement cost doesn't seem that out of line with other laptop batteries, at the very least other Macbook batteries? Or that the cost of labor to replace the batteries is included in that? Or are you too busy frothing over little things to also ignore nice stuff like the recyclables in the product that they were touting. No, no...feel the hate...it's post Macworld keynote and the crazies come out like everyone's favorite Mr. Always Wrong, John C. Dvorak.

Another unexpected surprise, the Time Capsule - I know someone right now who needs one and I hope gets one. A convenient and clever combination of 802.11n router and hard drive to perform automated Time Machine backups. I've got an external drive for Time Machine right now, but I may go for one of these, just for the convenience of it all.

The bad...

Movie rentals - I'd almost side with the haters on this, but the 24 hour viewing restrictions weren't Apple's idea - they were apparently put in to placate cable and satellite companies. These same companies (and let's face it, television networks), who are probably starting the process of wetting themselves as they see the future unfold before them. Television shows and movies on demand for rental/purchase. It's got some hamstrings in there on the rentals thanks to those cable and satellite companies, and only being able to rent HD on the AppleTV is annoying for those without said devices. However, I can see studios freaking out at the thought of an HD movie even touching a hard drive of a computer where all sorts of nasty haxoring can be done to it - because we all know the AppleTV is a deadlock sealed box that nobody can get into...

The ugly...

YOU SERIOUSLY EXPECT ME TO HAND OVER $20 TO GET THE REST OF THE RELEVANT APPLICATIONS FROM THE IPHONE FOR MY IPOD TOUCH? WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE? SCREW YOU, JOBS! SCREW! YOU!

Ahem... I may yet do that - but I assure you, as I hand over the credit card numbers, not a hit of a smile will dare cross my face. I would hope that some reconsideration of explanation will be forthcoming. A clear explanation of accounting rules would actually go far to placate me.

Creature Features tomorrow - American Idol notwithstanding...

My inner 5 year old is smiling...

At last all the legal hurdles have been overcome, all parties have made their agreements and fans across the world can have the one, the only, One True Batmobile. This of course from the very serious 1960s crime drama (to the eyes of a 5 year old) Batman. Apparently this is a very hard to find Hot Wheels edition of the car. Later in the year there will be larger scale versions, which, of course, I will have. But for now, this will go quite nicely on my desk at work next to my Batmobile of 1950, which is a close second for best all-around Batmobile. Admittedly this isn't the best picture, and I blame the equipment. I believe that you should find the overall composition and so on more than adequate. I just couldn't get it to auto-focus on the car. End of excuse.

But man do I love this car...now just please get the tv show on DVD and I'll be a very happy camper.

Meanwhile, in technology news...I just wanted to let the dust settle for a while over the iPod announcements and iPhone fallout. Sheesh - you thought that the world was coming to an end over some of them. So the iPhone drops $200 in price and some are up in arms. Mind you, dropping that fast after 2 months is bound to cheese some off admittedly, and Apple is aiming to get aggressive in the coming months for the holidays, so it is a case of not being able to please everyone. So the $100 credit for early adopters is at least some small way to take the sting out. At least I didn't take the plunge and since I am tied to Verizon for at least a few more months, it's probably just as well.

So how about them iTunes ringtones? Yeah...so you pay $.99 for a song and another $.99 for 30 seconds of that song to use as a ringtone on your iPhone. How about a heaping helping of "NO!" there Steve Jobs? Yes, it's much cheaper than what other carriers charge, and you do get the whole song with that as well. But really...this has got to be the record label's idea there to do this - after all they came up with the brilliant "Ringle" after all. Still, I don't think there is a better recap of the whole thing than what Daring Fireball has to say on the subject.

I'm very happy with the Doctor Who theme that plays on my RAZR as my ringtone...

So then new iPods! Whoohoo! Overall, I'm rather pleased with the changes and were I not immediately enthralled by the iPod Touch, I'd probably be very interested in an 80 gig iPod Classic. The new iPod Nano with its new video playback capabilities reinforces the direction Apple is going with their iPods with just the Classic being the only hard drive based media player. All others being flash memory based now. While the Classic is the most recognizable of the iPod designs, I expect that in the next year or so when Apple can produce iPods of a capacity similar to the Classic without the hard drives, the Classic will simply go away and the Nano will take its spot.

But that iPod Touch - boy howdy...for someone like me who 1) Doesn't want to necessarily want to use AT&T and 2) Stuck in a cell phone contract anyway, this is a dream come true. The iPhone without the phone bits. However, there is a downside to not getting the iPhone - namely the software. No email client like the iPhone is included and with the Calendar app you can't edit or create entries. However, you do have twice the available storage on the Touch than the iPhone (16 gigs vs. 8 gigs). So there is give or take. I think that Apple will eventually add the missing functionality to the Touch eventually so it doesn't completely cannibalize iPhone sales. While I am nearly overcome with lust for the iPod Touch, I'm going to sit this out for the meantime since I'm very happy with my 30 gig 5th gen iPod and it's nearly full with music and a rotating set of podcasts to listen to and videos to watch. So call me when Chairman Steve introduces at least a 30 gig Touch and we'll talk.

That's all for now...time to go load some new images up on Mike's site and get ready to call it a night...

iPhones and Safari for Windows

This week is WWDC, like Christmas for Macintosh developers and headlined by a keynote from Chairman Steve himself. Yesterday's keynote was pretty much all about Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard and all of the keen features it will have when released this October (well, 10 of the 300 apparently). However, there were a couple of the infamous "One more things..." in store at the end. Firstly, a public beta of Safari 3 for both the Mac and Windows and that if you're a developer and want to write apps for the iPhone, right now you're going to use AJAX and Ruby and it's going to run within the Safari browser on the phone itself. Needless to say the reaction from developers on this was muted at best. If you're going to write first class applications for the phone, you want to write them as full fledged applications, and not so much web-based applications within a browser. However, I suspect that this is a temporary situation and by this time next year there will be a full developer's kit add on for XCode and everyone will be a happy camper once again.

Then there was the Safari announcement. Some were puzzled, some were offended, some seemingly didn't care, and most didn't quite get the point because they were distracted by the smoke and mirrors of the Reality Distortion Field. Steve stood there and said they wanted to grow the Safari market share past what it could be with the installed Macintosh user base, and sure, that's fine, and a sharp stick in the eye is better than using Internet Explorer, but what really would be the reason for porting it to Windows, then release as a beta version? Don't get me wrong, on the Macintosh, Safari is a great browser, and I'm not saying that porting it to Windows is a waste of time, or that web browsing on a Windows machine is inherently better by any stretch. But right now if you're on Windows and are looking for a better browser experience, perhaps Firefox may be more to your liking.

The timing for the release of this beta could not be more obvious. The release of the iPhone is now just a few days away on the 29th of June, and there are people interested in developing for it, and some of these people do not have Macintosh systems with Safari and very likely do not necessarily wish to purchase a Macintosh just to get access to Safari to test their application out with the same rendering engine that Safari on the iPhone uses to display web pages. Thus, to get people started on writing applications for the iPhone on both the Mac and Windows, Apple is throwing the beta out there for users. They can crow all they want about it being about growing the Safari market, and if it does get widespread adoption, it can help with those few weird websites that don't adhere to proper web standards and render their information properly only in non-compliant browsers like IE and make the developers write their code properly.

But the big thing is the iPhone. Because now, no matter if you use Windows or a Macintosh, all you need to write for the iPhone is server space, a copy of Safari and plain old Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac OS X (and massive brainpower). Of course, if you're a real developer you would have a real development environment to do syntax checking and to colorize keywords and tags, do line counts and power searches and so on, but simple HTML (which, really, any iPhone app will have more than this) can be done with a no frills text editor. So substitute that with whatever your favorite web development environment happens to be and with a healthy knowledge of Web 2.0 you're ready to start writing for the Phone of the Future.