New MacBook Air….The Point?

OK, everyone that knows me knows that I am and Apple nut. I make up reasons and excuses to buy the new shiny gadgets they put out, no matter what the cost, but I tell you, I am having a hard time accepting the new MacBook Air.

For starters let me say, I have yet to even lay my eyes on one, so this is VERY subject to change.

Now to the point. Lets start with some specs:

11″ MacBook Air
1.4 Dual Core Processor (base model)
2GB DDR3 SDRAM (base model)
64GB Flash Storage (base model)
WiFi 802.11n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Mini Display Port
USB 2.0 x 2
Stereo In/Out Port

….and thats it. No optical drive. No ethernet port, etc, for the low low (sarcasm) price of, wait for it……$999. I just cannot figure the point of this thing when you can (A Get a full blown laptop in the standard MacBook with twice the specs for the same price, and (B Can get an iPad, that is very comparable to the new MacBook Air in specs, for HALF of the price. Sure you are talking iOS vs Snow Leopard, but to be honest, most of the people that are going to be interested in this can do everything they want on iOS.

I feel like Apple is asking a premium price, for half of the product. If it would have been priced in the $600-$800 price range, they would have sold like hot cakes. I get that its thin, and the wave of the future, and so forth, but I am, and many others like me, are willing to compromise looks for cost and functionality.

Call me a cheapskate, but I could not justify spending $999 on the new MacBook Air with the other Apple options for the same or less money, that do the same things. Will Apple sell as many as everyone is predicting? Probably, because well….it is Apple, but at least I will not be buying one in the near future.

In closing, my final thought about it is:
It sure is pretty!

Until Next Time,
–Kev

Cutting the Cord!

So, I have this life philosophy I live by: “It’s what we allow ourselves to accept”. Now this has many meanings. If we allow ourselves to pay $700 a month rent for a one bedroom apartment, then it will continue to happen. If we allow ourselves to pay $2.00 for a glass of tea at a restaurant, then it will continue to happen. If we allow ourselves to pay $50 bucks for a hair cut, etc, etc…..which brings me to my point. If we allow ourselves to pay $80 bucks plus for cable television, it will continue to happen.

So, I’m cutting the cord. I am shutting my cable off. Have you seen the reception you get with an antenna since the digital conversion? Quite impressive. Broadcasts coming to your TV at 1080i (if you have an HDTV). Looks fantastic! Do you realize that the majority of the TV shows that come on can either be viewed online for free, or you can download  from iTunes, or Zune Marketplace? Hulu and Fancast have thousands of TV shows for your viewing pleasure. Some old, some new, for FREE. Netflix now has streaming services of TV shows and movies for around $9 bucks a month. With all of these services out there, why in the world would I continue to pay $80 bucks a month for about 100 stations that I will never watch, when I can get all of my viewing pleasure for practically free? Sure it will have its drawbacks. Sports: Most sports programming comes on stations like ESPN. Luckily, I’m not that big of a sports fan, and can get my fix with the sports programming that comes on the local channels. News: Cutting cable would stink for a news junkie. There is not a good alternative to a news channel without cable. I can live without it, but CNN and FOX news will be something that I miss. Real Time: This is probably the biggest drawback. With services like iTunes and Hulu, new episodes are generally it not put up for viewing or downloading several hours or  days after the show airs. Basically this means that you have to avoid all human contact until your show is available, and you are the last to know what happens. Still, this is a small price to pay vs. the cable bill.

So my antenna is installed (granted it cost me a trip to the doctor, and to be on crutches for a few days), I have my 32 digital channels programmed, and iTunes raring to go. How will it go once I shut down the cable? I will post my progress here, so check back often for updates.

Until next time,

–Kev

Saturday April 3rd, 2010…A Sad Day

While living on a budget, with a family, tends to cut drastically into my frivolous spending. Due to this fact, I was not able to pre-order my iPad in time to get it on April 3rd. Now, I have to trust fate, and fight the masses at Best Buy on that day, and hope for the best. However, due to rumor, and speculation of production problems, and limited quantities, Saturday April 3rd, 2010, could be, for me, a very sad day. Wish me luck!

Until next time

–Kev

Podcasts & iTunes…Step it Up

So, I love podcasts. Listening to them, watching them, and ultimately, if I can ever find the rhyme or reason, creating them. Now, if I am correct, Apple and iTunes didn’t invent the podcast, but they sure did help to pioneer it. That being said, wouldn’t you think they would do it better that anyone else? Answer: NO, they do not.

Before I seen the light, I was an avid Windows, PC user. I was also a, dare I say it, a Microsoft Zune user (yes, one of only a couple of handful). Before you go knocking the Zune though, give it a try. Its actually a very solid player, at least the hard drive based ones. I cant attest to the new touch flash ones. The only thing that keeps it from gaining real traction though I think is the Zune Marketplace. While its very pretty and user friendly, it has some major bugs to it (one of those bugs is the reason why I quit using it, but I wont get into that now), and the content is very limited. One thing it does, and does very well though, is manage podcasts.

Since I switched to the iPod, I have had countless problems getting my podcasts to “act right”. Here is what I mean by act right: With the Zune, I had the option to auto download all of the episodes that I wanted, keep the ones that I wanted, and best of all, when a new episode downloaded, I didn’t have to do a thing. If I chose, the new episodes would auto sync to my player. It was as easy as turning on a radio. I suddenly realized in my disarray  over this, that it is only because I am spoiled to how the Zune handled my podcast. With iTunes, I don’t have the option to auto download a set number of episodes, I am having a problem with it keeping the Album Art after it downloads, and how it does auto sync, it only does it when you first connect the device, not when a new episode downloads. Its just the difference in the software I guess.

Am I doing something wrong? If I am, please let me know. I am still a rookie with iTunes, so I could potentially be missing something. I would think that since iTunes helped to pioneer the podcast, they would do it better than the rest. If I could warrant the expense and aggravation, I would purchase a 4 or 8 gig Zune to manage my podcasts, just because it does it so well. Im just saying….

Thoughts??

Until Next Time

–Kev

iMac Unboxing

So, as promised, here is the iMac unboxing video. This was the 1st time that I had ever used iMovie or Garage Band, so try not to be too critical. After I learned the basics of the software, things stared to jive together, but the learning curve was a bit tough.

After being a Windows head ever since I have known what a keyboard was, diving into the Mac OS X has been a bit overwhelming to say the least. Not saying that its hard to use, in fact, it is very straight forward, and very user-friendly. It’s just that it’s totally different to what i am used to. It’s like taking a guitar player, and making him play the drums. Yea sure, the guitar player will know the concept, but it will be totally different, and over time the guitar player will get better and better.

I’m sure I will talking more about converting my computer life over from Windows to Mac, so stay tuned, this could get interesting.

By the way, let me know how you think that I did with the movie and the music. I was my 1st time you now….

Until Next Time

–Kev

The Possible Usefullness of the iPad

So after my last rant about the iPad, I got to thinking about the real, practicle uses of it. Sure, you can listen to music, watch videos, and play games and such, but I do already have an iPod Touch for that. I think that the fun factor on the games will increase with the bigger screen, but that’s not near a good enough reason to drop 500 bucks on the thing.

Here are some of what I feel could be practicle uses for the iPad:
1. For starters, iBooks. Now, I’m not that big of a book reader. When I sit down to read a book, it’s very specific to me, and normally very gere specific, and when I’m done reading it, I have no desire to read it again, nor do I care to have it collecting dust, and cluttering up a book shelf after the fact. Now my wife on the other hand is the exact opposite. She will read all sorts of books over and over again, and clutter up a bookshelf. With the iPad, problem solved for both of us. Download a book, no clutter, no wasted space. Read it, and we can choose to keep it on the HD for future reading or dump it. It’s actually a very “green” idea if you think about it. No trees were harmed during the publication of this book.
2. More times than one, I have seen my wife lug the laptop into the kitchen to reference a recipie. And then she’s trying to find a place to sit it so it’s out of the way and it doesn’t get wet, but she can still read it. I feel like the iPad will be compact enough to where she can take it into the kitchen with her and easily place it to where it’s out of the way yet still be able to see it.
3. However this is a small feature, the digital picture frame is great as far as I am concerened. I have always wanted a digital picture frame, but the big ones, especially around 10 inches, tend to be a little on the expensive side. Now sure the iPad is not cheap, but it’s a whole lot more than just a picture frame.
4. For the 4-5 times a year that I travel for work or vacation, the last thing I want to do is have to to take another bag along with me for my laptop, especially when all that I am going to do with it is update my Twitter and facebook statuses. The iPad should easily slide into a backpack or bag that I would be taking with me anyway. Now sure I could do the same thing with my iPod Touch, but I wouldn’t be able to upload a cool picture to facebook that I just took on vacation with it like I will be able to do with the iPad with an accessory.
5. I have a 2 year old, and a wife that has control of the television about 98% of the time. With the screen size of the iPad, it would be very easy to watch a tv show with headphones bought from iTunes, while the television is otherwise occupied. I wouldn’t dare try this with my iPod on a regular basis. Can you say eye strain?

So there are some, and if you get to talking about future tense, especially with the magazine subscription rumor, that just adds to the list. I get Rolling Stone twice a month, and Maxim once a month, while my wife gets several women’s magazines monthly, and Entertainment Weekly, well, weekly. Do you know how much clutter I can save if they were to offer subscriptions to these magazines? Wow….

Worth the 500 bucks? No, but what ever is worth the money? It’s all in how you look at. Am I still buying one? I have all intentions to.

Until next time
–Kev

My Thoughts on the iPad (eveyone else is, I guess I will too)

iPad….everyone else is talking about it, I guess I will too.

Is it the beat all, end all product of the century? No. Is it ground breaking technology? No. Is is a super sized iPod Touch? Yes. Will I buy one? I have all intentions to.

I have heard, and read, and watched all of these videos and artcles, where all of these people are going on like Steve Jobs just ripped their heart out and stomped it into the ground. “It’s not good enough”, or “I’m so dissapointed”. Well ya know, these same people are probably the same ones that are going to be standing in line at their local Apple stores on release date to buy one.

Yes it’s an oversized iPod Touch/iPhone, but don’t we love that product? As my computer is still busted, I am typing this up on my iPod Touch, so I can see the convenience, and luster of having an iPad.

Will it replace the netbook like it was intended? No, not unless they give it more functionallity, like mutitasking, or ways to input to it (which I understand they are/will sell an accessory for). “Well why didn’t they do these ting from the beginning”? That’s another argument that I have heard. It’s money making people! It buisness, it’s not personal, I promise. It’s how buisness is done. You release, sell, make money, update/upgrade that same product, then release, sell, and make money all over again. That’s just how they do it. That’s how they, and every other buisness do it.

Before you go bashing it too much, you really need to ask yourself, are you really going to buy it, because if you don’t you might have mud on your face when it’s sitting in your lap and you realize, “Wow, this is an oversized iPod Touch. How cool is this”!

Until next time
–Kev

A Long Road

I realized the other day that I have a long road ahead of me as a father of a daughter. My wife hands me a hairbow, and says “put this in Scooter’s hair please”. Assuming this was a simple task, I replied with “sure, no problem”! So, my wife leaves the room, and I begin to work on the hairbow. I pry, yank, and pull on this aluminum like curved shaped accessory, but with all of my efforts, I can’t get this damned thing open! This shouldn’t be that hard. Why won’t it open!? By this time, The Scooter was looking up at my like, “really Daddy”? “I’m sorry baby” I say. “It must be broken”. When my wife re-enters the room, I hand her the hairbow and say, “it’s stuck or something, I can’t seem to get it open”. With a look of, “you have got to be kidding”, she takes the hairbow from me, and with a simple bend, SNAP, the hairbow opens. As I stand there feeling like Mr. Scott talking to a 20th century mouse, I realized, I’m in for a very, very long road ahead. Lord help me when she starts to come into woman hood if I can’t even figure out a hairbow.

Until next time,
–Kev

New Style

So, ever since I started this blog, I have been trying to decide where to go with it. Now I could sit here and write about gadgets or movies and music until I’m blue, but it’s all the same drivell. While listinig to Wil Wheaton’s (of Star Trek TNG and Stand By Me fame) Radio Free Burrito today, he gave an idea. Instead of trying to use this as a place to write about Radom thoughts and want and likes, use this as a place to keep notes and stories about my daughter, The Scooter, so years down the road, I can look back on these stories and notes like you would a picture or home video. Now I’m sure I will still drop the occasional musing of theatest gadget or something that burns my buns, but I’m gonna try this for a while. Let’s see how it goes. If my daughter can’t inspire me, nothing can.

–Until next time
Kev

The Great War

  So The History Channel has been running this new series called WWII in HD. It follows 12 soldiers, reporters, and nurse’s timelines from 1941-1944. I have to say, I am addicted to this show.  It’s gripping, intense, joyful, and sad, all wrapped into one package. It really makes you think about what those soldiers in that war had to be going through. Knowing that you may not live through the next day has to be difficult to deal with, but they did it, and did it with smiles on their face. Something interesting that I learned in this show is that most of the soldiers in WWII were not drafted, but went to war by their on hands. Think about that for a minute…..went to war by their hands, knowing damn good and well what they were getting into.  What does that say about those men and women of that era. If a situation like  WWII were to happen again today, would the masses come out like they did back then? No offense, but I highly doubt it, yours truly included. I have no desire to run around a jungle or a desert wondering when I was going to get my ass shot off. But they came out willingly because it was the right thing to do at that time.

  Watching this show has given me a new found respect for the men and women that fought, and died in WWII. It’s hard to say, but this was a necessary war. If not for it, half of us today would likely be speaking German, and the other half Japanese. So if you are lucky enough to speak to a WWII vet, thank them for the sacrifices that they gave for you and for me. It doesn’t matter if they were a cook, or a front line soldier, each man and woman that served in that war, made it possible for us to have the freedoms we do today…..

 

Until Next Time

–Kev