5th Avenue Apple Store

2006-05-21T23:28:00.000-04:00

I recently attended the grand opening of the 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York City and had a fantastic time! In case you are interested in reading about my experience, you can check out my MySpace blog.

Also check out my .Mac Photo Album!

Thanks for looking!

Apple Releases the MacBooks

2006-05-16T18:47:00.000-04:00

The MacBooks are finally here! Today Apple quietly released them via their Web site. First off, here's what it looks like:

Nice and simple, just like the iBook. As you can see, the MacBook does sport an iSight camera in the middle, just like on the MacBook Pro. The microphone can be seen next to it as well. On the bottom right of the MacBook is the infrared port for Apple Remote; again, as seen on the MacBook Pro. What makes this so different from the iBook is well... everything! Take a look at the specs for yourself:

Wait a minute... what's that on the far-right? Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. Apple is indeed now offering a black version of its notebook. I'm not really a fan of black notebooks myself, but I know tons of people that are and this will really make a lot of Mac users happy. It worked for the iPod, so why not the Mac?

So as you can see, the specs are very impressive for a notebook. The new MacBooks make the iBooks look like... well, let's just say they suddenly seem very outdated. The only downsite to all of this is the Intel integrated graphics. The MacBook uses GMA 950 for its graphics, the same as the Mac mini currently uses. This isn't a huge deal, as the MacBook is not meant to be looked at as a killer machine. Sure the specs are very impressive, but you won't be playing any high-end 3D games on this baby.

My thoughts?
Overall the MacBooks are very impressive, especially at their price points. Sure the base model iBook was $999, but you are getting so much more for an extra $100. I don't think the black MacBook should cost extra, but that's just my opinion. We all know it will sell like crazy anyway. I myself would love to own a white MacBook, but I am getting a Mac mini very soon. And plus, I already own a 17" PowerBook for my mobile needs. It may be a little large, but it works.

Besides the MacBook, there has been some other Apple news worth talking about. Two weeks ago Apple started their "Get a Mac" switch campaign on television. There are six TV ads in total and can be viewed here. I really like these ads and I think they are really well done.

Also the flagship Apple store in Manhattan, New York City is having its grand opening this Friday at 6:00 PM. Very fortunately, I will be there for the event and will snap tons of pictures. I'll be sure to post my top few shots in another update, but if you would like the entire roll, just e-mail me and I can send them to you. Steve Jobs may even be making an appearance, so good times are definitely to be had!

Apple Announces 17-inch MacBook Pro

2006-04-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

Today Apple announced at the NAB conference they will be releasing a 17-inch model of its new MacBook Pro. The factory specs of the system are as follows:

2.16 Intel Core Duo Processor
667 MHz front-side bus
Up to 2GB of RAM (667 MHz DDR@ SDRAM)
iSight Camera
MagSafe Power Adapter
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 PCI Express graphics 256MB
Firewire 800, Firewire 400
Bluetooth, Airport Extreme

This new model will sell for $2799 and it ships starting next week.

I think this is great news. Not only is it under $2999, but this new model sports FireWire 800, something that was lacking from the 15.4" model. Now the real question is: will Apple release an even smaller version of its MacBook Pro, most likely at the size of 13.3"? Perhaps they'll just hold off on that spot and fill it in with a 13.3" MacBook (Intel iBook). If you're a professional computer user on the go, you most likely wouldn't be going around with a 13.3" sized notebook. I only believe this because of the low resolution it would offer. It could always happen, though, so don't go by my beliefs.

Next Mac to be announced? Without a doubt the MacBook! But not yet...

Apple's solution to booting Windows on a Mac

2006-04-05T13:35:00.000-04:00

Well I certainly didn't see this coming today, if ever:

Today Apple released a public beta of their software, Boot Camp (pending title). Boot Camp allows any user of an Intel Mac to burn a boot disk for Windows XP. While the $13,000 solution was an alright one, it definitely had plenty of flaws and drawbacks, mainly having to do with missing drivers. Apple's solution, however, is completely user-friendly. The boot disk you create comes with all the necessary drivers, and yes, that means hardware graphics drivers. Now Mac users will be able to play their favorite PC games natively. Boot Camp is a public beta so if you are interested and have an Intel Mac, you can download this for free right now.

So what will you need to go through this process successfully? Taken straight from Apple.com:

What you’ll need
- Mac OS X Tiger v10.4.6 (check Software Update)
- The latest Firmware update (check Support Downloads)
- 10GB free hard disk space
- An Intel-based Mac
- A blank recordable CD
- A printer for the instructions (You’ll want to print them before installing Windows, really.)
- A bona fide installation disc for Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Home or Professional (No multi-disc, upgrade or Media Center versions.)

All of these requirements are pretty obvious to any computer user, except for one thing: the Windows XP disc you must use to install this on your Mac needs to be Service Pack 2, Home or Professional versions; also no Media Center Edition versions, sorry.

So how is this good for Apple? This may finally be their chance to gain many switchers. A lot of people depend on Windows for specific programs that aren't available on the Mac. This, however, is their time to switch. Not only will they have Windows XP at their fingertips, but they will also be a proud owner of a brand new Mac. =D I think this is a very smart move for Apple and it should show in the coming months. It isn't exactly the virtualization technology we have been looking for, but dual-booting is definitely the next best thing. Kudos to Apple for doing this!

Apple...

2006-04-04T23:29:00.000-04:00

... what happened? Your 30th birthday has passed you didn't even publicly acknowledge it. I have to say, I am actually disappointed. :( Even a simple birthday celebration front page on your Web site would've been enough for me. Oh well, no one's perfect. So yes, that means no Intel iBooks just yet. Recent rumors are actually pointing towards a June release, which isn't that bad. Aril is already here, so two months is nothing. Also in the rumor mill is Bluetooth iPods. Steve Jobs himself even said a Bluetooth iPod isn't that great of an idea. This is because of two thing: having to recharge your Bluetooth headphones and poor sound quality because of low transfer speeds. Who knows, though... maybe they actually got it to sound good. Recharging Bluetooth headphones will always be an issue, but to me that's really no big deal.

So today is my dad's birthday...

Happy birthday, Dad! You're a great father and should never change. Thank you for all you have done for me. I love you!

Yeah, I know... the birthday shout-outs are bit "there." You're just going to have to deal with them. I'm a nice son, okay? :-P

So I've been thinking about this for a little while now... why should I have to force my readers to go through all my Apple talk in my posts? Why can't they just read my blog in hope for some interesting things, like what happened in my day or how school is going. Don't get me wrong. I love talking about Apple, it's my hobby... but so is blogging. What I am trying to say is I may be shutting down this blog and starting two entirely new ones; one for all the tech talk I like to do and the other would be more of a personal blog. After all, that's what it used to be like. But why shut down this blog you ask? Mainly because of the name 'p0intblank' in my blog's address. I need a new name... something that will sound good and not get old. p0intblank is more of a gamer tag for my online games, so a new name is definitely in need. This will eventually happen and when it does, you can be sure I'll let you know well ahead of time. But until then, just keep reading this blog. More to come!

Happy 30th Birthday, Apple!

2006-04-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

Today marks a milestone in the world of technology. Apple Computer has officially turned 30 years old. Sadly, though, it turns out Apple isn't publicly acknowledging this important day. No new products were announced and no press releases were made. Their front page at apple.com hasn't even shown recognition. Something is up... you would think a company who cares about their products and more importantly, their fans, as much as Apple does, they would at least upload a 'Thank You' page of some kind. It is also April Fool's Day... but I doubt Apple would pull a fast one on such an important day. Perhaps wait until Monday or Tuesday for something to happen... either way, I would just like to say:

Happy 30th Birthday, Apple! I have only been a true Apple fan for 1.5 years now, but I definitely look forward to many years of great products to come. Thank you for allowing me make the switch to the Mac!

While there hasn't been any acknowledgment from Apple today, I definitely do not expect them to just put this day aside and not do anything about it. Check back here in a couple days for an update, whether or not something happens.

So today is also my mom's birthday, so I'm here to also say:

Happy birthday, Mom! I love you so much! Keep the great years coming! I love the relationship we have going. You're more than a mother to me. You're also my friend.

Alright, enough with all the sappy stuff! ;-) I'll be back in a couple days regarding Apple's birthday and if anything happened or not. Until then... later!

So it's Tuesday...

2006-03-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

... and still no indication of Apple holding an event for their 30th anniversary. This makes me sad, because you know how much I enjoy watching Steve's keynotes. Their anniversary is this Saturday, so you would expect an event of some kind either this Friday or upcoming Monday or Tuesday. However, that doesn't seem to be the case here. Maybe Apple will quietly release a new product or two via their Web site. The rumors have been saying for a while now that the Intel iBook, aka MacBook, could be introduced in April. The same goes for a full movie download service on iTunes. Alongside this movie service could be an announcement of the also long-rumored real iPod video. You would think Apple would hold an event for such a big product, but it's really hard to tell at this point. I guess it's best to just be patient and wait it out. After all, we only have a few more days to go. As always, you can be sure I will post an update of what happened or what did not happen.

So what else is going on? My mom's birthday is also this Saturday, along with April Fool's Day. My dad's birthday is next Tuesday, so it's pretty busy for the beginning of April. School is going well...

Ah, I have something to talk about! The movie The Island... awesome movie! It definitely was not what I expected. Not only does this movie have some great action scenes and special effects, but the story line is very deep and involving. Do yourself a favor and rent this movie this weekend... borrow it from a friend... "acquire" it... just watch it. It's definitely worth your time. I would explain what it's about, but it's just better to find out for yourself.

Well there's really nothing else to talk about, so I will be back this Saturday, maybe before if something happens regarding Apple's anniversary. So until next time... later!

Windows XP on a Mac and Patty's Day

2006-03-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

The contest, of which has been going on for a couple months now, to boot Windows XP on a new Intel Mac is finally over. I don't have the winners names, but they won $13,854 for doing so. That is a lot of money! They deserve it, though. This obviously wasn't easy. Basically they had to be able to dual-boot both Mac OS X and Windows XP on an Intel Mac. It took some major hacking skills, but it was finally done. However, I don't think it is fully complete. There are still a few setbacks. For example, the onboard speakers on the iMac are not working properly yet. The same goes for the video card drivers. No one has been able to find compatible drivers with the iMac's video card. These shouldn't be too hard to fix, though. Just give it a little while longer and all of the problems should be solved.

So what does this mean for computer users? Well for one, anybody thinking about switching to the Mac as their primary computer, but are also in need a few Windows-only programs, this could finally be their step into the door. However, I don't exactly see this taking off at this time. The install process requires some tricks to be done, such as creating an install disc... basically tasks an average computer user would prefer not to do. However, this is huge step into the process of running Windows programs on a Mac. A project currently under development would allow the user to run Windows programs within Mac OS X, rather than having to actually dual-boot the operating systems. This is really what I want to see, as it would allow me to run some of my favorite PC games on my Mac. It's still under development, though, so I don't know much about the whole situation. I do believe it's coming... so stay tuned!

So it's St. Patrick's Day... or as I like to call it, St. Patty's Day. Are you wearing any green today? I am. :) I don't really have anything to say on this topic. LOL Sorry, I know, boring post! That's why I haven't updated in a little while, because there hasn't been anything really that interested to talk about, except for of course the idea of running Windows XP on a Mac. Would I ever install Windows on a Mac? Most likely no. For one, I currently use a PowerPC-equipped Mac, and this new install process only works on the new Intel Macs. And secondly, I really don't have a reason to do so. I already have a well-built Windows box used for gaming. Perhaps I can see myself doing this in a few years or so, when my Windows machine becomes seriously outdated and I need to play a game or two. But for now, only OS X will remain the only operating system on my Mac. :)

So that's it for today. Are you happy I finally updated my blog, Dan? (He's been begging to update it) It's kind of a slow time right now, as far as interesting stories go. April 1st, aka Apple's 30th anniversary, is quickly approaching! The rumors have been saying Apple will be hosting another media event around their anniversary date, so definitely stay tuned for blog updates then. Hopefully I will have at least one more before then.

I could've sworn I said I was going, so I guess I will go now. Later!

Intel Mac mini and iPod Hi-Fi

2006-02-28T15:06:00.000-05:00

Steve Jobs got up on that stage today and announced some fun, new products that will interest a lot of people. Fun, new products... hmm, I guess they were right. Anyway, what exactly was announced today? Two big things...

Intel Mac mini

The long-waited Intel Mac mini has finally arrived! Jobs announced the Mac mini will be getting the Intel touch starting today, and at two configurations! Consumers have a choice between a 1.5 GHz Core Solo and a 1.66 GHz Core Duo machine. Yes, you read that correctly. Due to popular belief, Apple is indeed offering a Core Duo model of its Mac mini! Not only is that surprising, but it's very cool. Imagine... a dual-core computer as small as the Mac mini performing heavy duty tasks. These new Mac minis also feature the following:

667 MHz Frontside Bus
512 MB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (upgradeable to 2 GB)
60 GB, 80 GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA hard disk drives (upgradeable to 120 GB)
Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB
Built-in Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
Included Apple Remote
Front Row software (now with new Bonjour connectivity)
iLife '06

To put it simply, this is one sweet machine in such a small package. The Core Solo standard config retails for $599 and the Core Duo for $7.99. The one big downside? If you read the above list of features, you'll notice this new Mac mini has integrated graphics. Ick! Integrated graphics was also a big downer for those budget PCs you see on TV all the time. But who knows, maybe the mini will handle it better than expect. I sure hope so... because if not, then I'll be leaning more towards the iMac... so what's next? Ah!

iPod Hi-Fi
Also a long-rumored product, the iPod Hi-Fi was introduced at today's event. Think of it as a boombox, but with Apple quality and style applied. Looking only like a center channel speaker, the iPod Hi-Fi really seems like it can put out some impressive audio. I'm no audiophile myself, but I know good sound when I hear it. Judging from the specs on Apple's page, I really want to try one out as soon as possible. The iPod Hi-Fi ships todays for $349. Oh and a side comment, I really do wish the front removable grill was white, rather than black. I do have to see this thing in person, though, so it probably does look very sleek. I don't think Apple would let us down in the style department. Here is what it looks like:

Apple also announced they will be releasing leather iPod cases in mid-March. They will retail for $99. That seems a bit much to me, especially since you cannot access the iPod's click wheel or screen while in the case, but I guess we'll see about that. If the quality of these cases is really that high, then maybe $99 is worth it.

So that's it. The event was a quick one too... under one hour long. I'm hoping Apple posts the Quicktime stream on their Web site because I really enjoy watching Steve's keynotes. They are always interesting to watch.

I totally forgot to mention this in my last post, but iTunes has hit its 1 billionth song download. This really is a milestone in the technology world. 1,000,000,000 legally downloaded songs... Apple has proven that people are willing to pay for their music digitally and legally. The billionth song downloaded was by a 16 year old teen in Michigan. He won ten 60 GB iPods, a 20-inch iMac, $10,000 in iTunes purchases and a full scholarship for his high school. He must be one popular person in his hometown right about now.

Well that is it for today's post. I promised an update on today's event and that is exactly what I gave you. :) Now to go and... do stuff. Later!

"Fun, new products" tomorrow!

2006-02-27T20:39:00.000-05:00

"Come see some fun, new products from Apple."

That's exactly what the invitation that Apple sent to a select number of people says. The invitation was sent last Tuesday I believe and the event takes place tomorrow at Apple's headquarters. Unlike past invitations, this one doesn't really hint at what Apple could be announcing. There was only the "Come see..." text along with a graphic of an iCal icon with tomorrow's date. So what could it be? Many people believe it could be an iPod boombox of some kind, possibly called the iPod Hi-Fi. It sounds like this would be a portable stereo that allows you to connect your iPod to and stream it throughout your Wi-Fi network... or something to that effect. The other highly talked possibility is an Intel Mac mini. If this is true, it would most likely be the long rumored media center Mac that we have all been waiting for. I know I would love to have one of these in my room. Front Row on my TV = sweet. :) It would even be sweet on my desk, which is where I would most likely use it anyway. But who knows... I still want the new iMac so badly! Seriously... Apple is an expensive drug and there is no denying that. Ah, who knows what is going to happen! Let's just wait until tomorrow. You can guarantee I will post what Apple announced. I always do, don't I?

Until tomorrow... think different!

First Mac OS X Virus? Not exactly.

2006-02-16T21:05:00.000-05:00

So you may have heard by now that Mac OS X has been hit with a trojan recently. A trojan is NOT a virus, so let's not jump to conclusions here. Tons of news sites are reporting this as the Mac's first virus, when it really is not. It all started in a thread over at MacRumors Forums where a new user posted a file disguised as a screenshot of Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). It turns out it was actually a Unix command, which when opened would launch Terminal and run actions to send the file to other Macs connected to the network. It would also send the disguised file to contacts on the user's iChat/AIM buddy list. However, evidence has proven that this file does not do any harm. Instead it turned out to be a failed attempt to exploit dangerous actions.

You know what the scary part of all this is? I was in the thread when all of this happened. Luckily I didn't download the file, even thought it's harmless. A user reported on what the file did and he was quickly banned. Ever since then the news has spread like a wild fire.

So what does all of this mean? Well for one no one is 100% safe from viruses/trojans/spyware; not even Mac users. Yeah, I said it! I know no one is completely safe from these exploits... it had to happen sometime. But you know what? This is simply a Unix command. It's not actually a virus, so PLEASE do not listen to the news when you read or see them say this. The only way you can become "infected" is if the user downloads the file, opens it and then enters the administrator password when prompted for it. Yes, it asks you for your password. That right there is a huge red flag! Since when does opening an image file make OS X type in your password? It doesn't! So please, take precaution and use common sense. This goes for any computer user, no matter what operating system you are using.

And two, the Mac is indeed still virus-free, which is very nice to know. So yes, I can still brag about not having to worry about viruses and spyware. Why? Because I can... for now. After seeing this exploit happen, I really do take my security on my Mac more seriously now. I still don't see the Mac getting a real virus anytime soon, but this latest fiasco has definitely opened my eyes a bit.

Well I just thought I would fill you all in on this interesting story. It's definitely the Mac-related story of the year in my opinion; well so far at least. Until next time... later!

It's snowing apples!

2006-02-14T22:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's not snowing apples. Actually that makes no sense... I just couldn't think of a good title to combine the two topics I am going to talk about in today's post. So onto the babbling!

It snowed this past weekend. A lot. We got about a foot of snow, which is awesome! We don't see that kind of weather that often here in South Jersey. It was a really fun weekend. Chris and Mike came over Sunday. We had an actual snowball fight in our backyard. I haven't had one of those in... years! We froze our feet off, too. Oh and get this! Mike was wearing shorts. In the snow. Like a dumbass. Sorry, Mike. I had to throw that in there. So yes, awesome day with awesome weather. There is still a lot of snow leftover. I don't see most of it melting until this upcoming weekend or soon after. My Monday morning class was cancelled, but I didn't find out until I got there. My professor for that class... ugh! Let's just say we all call her Crazy Lady.

So how does Apple fall into all of this? Well it's Tuesday and any Apple nut knows that is the day the company uses to announce anything, whether it be big or small. This announcement was definitely a big one. The MacBook Pro is officially shipping started today! And not only that, but Apple surprised us with a speed bump in the Core Duo lineup. The MacBook Pro now comes into two configs: 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz, up from 1.67 GHz and 1.83 GHz. Apple is also offering a built-to-order upgrade of 2.16 GHz. How awesome is that? We never saw this kind of treatment from IBM with the G4 and G5. Clock speed upgrades for those chips were far in between. I don't think a 3 GHz Core Duo chip can be too far off now. I know tons of Mac users have been wanting that for a while now. But with any other chip, clock speeds aren't a huge deal. It all depends on how the chip is built and how it is utilized by applications.

Just a little Apple tidbit: a Software Update for Mac OS X 10.4.5 was released today. It fixed a few issues, but you can just click here to read about it. This was a very quick released update. 10.4.4 was just released during Macworld and we're already up to 10.4.5! I don't see Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) being that far off, judging from the rapid release of updates we've been seeing lately.

So what took me so long to finally update my blog again? It's mainly a combination of school and work. I'll try to post another update sometime this weekend. If not this weekend, then definitely the following week. Until then...

Later.

Disney buys Pixar!

2006-01-24T19:13:00.000-05:00

Official article

Disney bought Pixar today for $7.4 Billion. Wow... what a day. A company as large as Disney buys a company as small and independant as Pixar. Who would've thought? Actually it isn't that odd. Disney and Pixar have always been in somewhat of a relationship for a while now. That relationship was set to end this summer after Pixar's next animation film "Cars" was released into theaters. Disney was obviously scared of losing a company as great as Pixar, so why not purchase them? It was originally rumored that the purchase would cost $6.8 Billion, but I think the extra cost in price is more than well worth it. Of course this purchase comes with the possibility of Pixar's animated films to be changed, but seriously, let's hope this does not happen. While all of Pixar's films have been hits in the box office (Finding Nemo coming out on top with $865 Million), this isn't exactly the case with Disney. They may be a huge company, but the following fact still stands: quality of quantity So what does this mean for Apple? One thing is for certain: iTunes will quickly gain a ton of new Disney content. This could be HUGE for Apple. iTunes is already a huge success and this could only make it better. It could also mean more ABC content, but there isn't much from them lately, so don't expect too much. But from Disney, expect lots! Disney also owns ESPN so that is another possibility. I'm not a huge sports fan or anything like that, but I know a lot of people would love to take ESPN content on the go with them. So yes, now Steve Jobs is the CEO of both Apple Computer and Pixar, and is now on the board of Disney. Jobs is the quite the busy man!

So what's been happening with me lately? School started again last Thursday. So far I've had Illustration II, Art History and Concepts of Mathematics II. Illustration II rocks! My professor is awesome, my projects sound like a lot of fun to do and all my friends from my previous art classes are still there. Art History was exactly what it sounds like: boring! And math... well, it's math. Tomorrow I have Portfolio Seminar, so that should be fun. Same professor as last semester as well as the same friends, so it's all good. Gayle's surprise birthday party was on Saturday and what a GREAT time it was! The people were great, the drinks were awesome and the photo opportunites were sweet. I took over 150 photos that night, so I call it a success. I worked all day today, so there should be some good money rolling in soon. :) I plan to not spend any money for a while, as I am saving up for a new Mac. It'll most likely be the new iMac 20-inch, but who knows what Apple may unveil within a month or two. The Intel transition is set to be complete by the end of this year, so new Macs could come at anytime. Apple's 30th anniversary is on April 1st of this year, which is awesome! Hopefully some type of awesome anniversary-type Mac is unveiled. I would love to have a Mac like that on my desk. Not only would it be great for bragging rights, but it'd be nice to have a Mac to look back on 20 years from now and remember what computers were like and to compare it to what we have then (in the future). I mention the possibilty of myself purchasing a new Mac and I go on and on...

Well that's it for now. I'll be back in a couple days or so with another post.

Keep thinking different!

Macworld 2006 - Overview

2006-01-14T19:04:00.000-05:00

So Macworld 2006 is over and now we are back on schedule of unexpected events and announcements. I said I was going to post an overview of what I thought of this year's expo, so let's get started!

This year is without a doubt designated as Apple's year of switch. By the end of this year, Apple says all Macs will be running on Intel. This was originally slated as the end of 2007, but Apple is obviously way ahead of schedule. I think it's great that they chose the iMac to be one of the first machines to be Intel-equipped. It was unexpected, but definitely a very nice surprise. I am actually considering purchasing one soon. The MacBook Pro was also unexpected, but I don't quite understand why Apple went this machine this soon. It is a pro computer, meaning pros could be stuck with using PowerPC applications under Apple's Rosetta emulation technology. Then again, no one is being forced into purchasing the new MacBook Pro. Also a negative side for the new notebook is that it does not sport a FireWire 800 connection, only FireWire 400. This is important to users who need that extra speed, especially for large capacity hard drives. Also the PCMCIA slot is gone, but was replaced by the new standard, which is now called ExpressCard/34 Slot. There will still be solutions for this, though. Eventually we will see ExpressCards that give the user the ability to connect FireWire 800 devices. Another thing missing from the MacBook Pro is a dual-layer SuperDrive. The latest PowerBooks sport a dual-layer drive, but this new notebook only has a single-layer one, and at 4x speed. The previous model had 8x speed. But hey, this new MBP sports a dual-core processor and option of 256MB of video RAM. These specs alone warrant a purchase for many people. The iMac on the other hand and in my opinion, is perfect right now. The G5 model was a great machine and it has only gotten greater now that it's equipped with Intel. I still cannot believe Apple gave the new iMac this much power. Dual-core processor... a max of 256MB video RAM... and finally extended desktop! For those of you who don't know, extended desktop allows you to connect your computer to an external display to "extend" your "desktop." This allows you to utilize more screen real estate.

As for everything else, we saw a few nice iPod accessories unveiled, but that has been happening for a few years now. The iPod is a huge success. I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but Apple revealed that they had sold 14 million iPods in the holiday quarter of 2005. That is just... insane! Also I believe Steve said that they have sold over 3 million videos in iTunes since they began selling them. 3 million videos sold that quickly is a big deal. This shows us that consumers are willing to spend $1.99 or more on a video, whether it be a TV show episode or a music video. The point is the world of digital downloads/purchases is evolving and it's great.

So that's about it. iLife '06 and iWork '06 look really cool, but I already talked about those in my first Macworld post. Sorry if this post was a little boring... it was basically a recap of what was shown by Apple at the expo. My next post will most likely be a random one, probably about school since it starts again on Thursday. Do me a favor, though. I want to know who reads this blog. So if you readit , just leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail over to p0intblank@comcast.net. I should be getting iLife '06 soon, so I'll be sure to talk about that in a post or two.

So until next time... later.

Macworld 2006 - Day Three

2006-01-12T19:16:00.000-05:00

As promised, I am posting another update on Macworld 2006. Like I mentioned in my previous post, don't expect much. So onto the update...

Macworld and CES... uh oh.
This is kind of off-topic, but I found it interesting enough to post anyway. According to Dow Jones Macworld and CES are going to overlap each other when the time comes next year. This should be really interesting, mainly to see which developers choose to go where. CES is a larger show than Macworld is, but Macworld is the grand daddy of Apple events, so it should be interesting to see how it works out.

TubeTwist
GarageGames released a new puzzle adventure game today called TubeTwist. By 21-6 Productions, this game offers the player fives worlds and more than 80 levels. It's now available for $19.95. The game requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later and 64MB of RAM. Did I mention MacWorld news is slow?

Best of Show
Macworld.com has posted their Best of Show article for this year's Macworld. You can view the list by clicking the above link. If you are too lazy to read it (I kid, I kid...), here is a list:

Adobe Lightroom
Apple MacBook Pro
Apple iLife '06
Browseback
Docktopus
EyeTV 2
JBL On Time
Google Earth
iSee 360i
LightZone 1.0
Marware Project X
MemoryMiner
Micromat Techtool Protege
Suitcase Fusion

And there you have it! I am sorry to say, but that is it for today's post. The official Macworld Expo Web site says the expo continues onto tomorrow (Friday), but I don't really expect any major announcements to be made or new products to be unveiled. I may post another update tomorrow. I may not. I guess we'll just have to find out together, huh? I'll be sure to post an overview of what I thought of the expo as a whole, so that will be something interesting to read.

Until then... later.

Macworld 2006 - Day Two

2006-01-11T17:22:00.000-05:00

I have to be honest. There isn't much else to talk about regarding this year's Macworld. The expo's big highlight is Steve Jobs' keynote, so everything after that is kind of ho-hum, depending upon what you are into. I know I previously said to expect another big update, but let's see how far I can get with today's post...

How is the MacBook Pro?
The MacBook Pro is set to ship in February, but Inside Mac TV did a quick overview of it in their latest video Podcast. You can view it by clicking here. (iTunes is required, Mac or Windows)

Scott Sheppard just talks about the infrared port on the front of the MacBook Pro, the built-in iSight camera, the new MagSafe power connector and the overall build of the system, so don't expect anything too in-depth here. When there is an official review out there on the net, I'll definitely comment about it.

Another iPod Accessory!
I have never seen so many accessories for one product line... but do you blame all these companies? I sure don't. They must be racking in tons of money. Anyway, onto the product.

Griffin Technology announced at Macworld its newest iPod docking station, the TuneCenter. You can use the TuneCenter to charge and dock your iPod, as well as connect it to your television or stereo to display your Playlists, photos and videos. It comes with a 14-button remote to control your iPod's playback from afar. Of course you can play all your music through a stereo if you wish, as well as Internet radio. Scheduled to ship in March, the TuneCenter will cost you $99.99. Here is an image of what it looks like:

Google Earth
Google Earth has officially been released for Mac OS X. There was a beta available for download for a little while, but the final release is now available for download. For those of you don't know what Google Earth is, it is an application that allows you to input locations and specific addresses and a 3D globe representing the Earth pinpoints where you requested. You can most likely find any place your mind comes up with. This includes schools, restaurants and organizations. Go here if you would like to download a copy for your computer. (Mac OS X (10.4 or later) or Windows 2000/XP are required.)

Well that is all I can provide for you today. Like I said earlier, this update may have seemed a little on the ho-hum side. As for tomorrow's post, I honestly don't know what to expect. Expect something, though.

Until tomorrow... later.

Macworld 2006 - Day One

2006-01-10T17:18:00.000-05:00

I have to start off by saying that last night was the most difficult sleep I have had in a long time. I kept waking up after having Apple-related dreams and then I could not get back to sleep for a little while after each time. I laid there like a nine-year-old child trying to get to sleep Christmas Eve night. Well the morning finally came and now I just had to patiently wait until Steve Jobs' keynote started at 12:00 EST. Well the keynote has happened and lots of new products were unveiled! I promised my readers a big post on Macworld, and that's just what I am going to give them. Today I am going to focus on Apple and their announcements, followed by 3rd party unveilings in tomorrow's post, and most likely Thursday's and Friday's as well. So let's get this iParty started! (most images can be clicked on to reveal high-res versions)

Intel Macs
Yes, it's true. Intel Macs are finally here! There were some disappointments for me in this area, but they were made up with a couple surprises. The first Intel Mac that was unveiled was the iMac:

Everything remains the same... the iSight camera is still built-in, Front Row still works with the Apple Remote, Photo Booth is there... same computer as before, except for one thing: it's equipped with an Intel Core Duo processor, aka two cores on one chip. Yep, you read that correctly. The iMac now has a dual-core processor from within, so multi-tasking will be faster than it has ever been! According to Apple, the new iMac is up to two times faster than the previous model. Both 17- and 20-inch models are now available to order. Click here for an official specsheet. Here is another image for viewing:

There's one more thing... ah, yes! Apple likes to call this beauty the MacBook Pro. I'm going to have to get used to the new name, but I think it fits rather well. This means the 'PowerBook' name is no more... sad, I know. But this new MacBook Pro kicks the circuitry out of previous PowerBooks. Like the iMac, the MacBook Pro sports an Intel Core Duo processor, enabling the pro users to multi-task more efficiently on the go. Finally! We Mac users have been waiting for a dual-core PowerBook for years now, and the MacBook Pro takes the spot. It looks very similar to the aluminum PowerBook G4, but is capable of so much more!

Look closely and see if you tell what is different about its exterior design. Well on the bottom face of the MacBook Pro is an infrared sensor. This is used with the included Apple Remote. And the Apple Remote is used with Front Row, which is also included with the system. Now you'll be able to enjoy the Front Row experience wherever you and your notebook go. Show it off to your friends and make your enemies stare in jealously. I really do sound like a commercial, don't I? Hey, it's what I do. There is something else noticeably different about the MacBook Pro, that was not on the PowerBook: a built-in iSight camera. This is perfect! Say you are on vacation or out on a business trip and you would like to keep in touch with someone back at home. It's perfect with this new notebook. The camera is always there and ready to use.

I like to think of this new MacBook Pro as an iMac on the go. They are undoubtedly very similar computers with just a few differences. For instance this new notebook only has one display size at this time: 15.4-inches. While there is no 17-inch model, it still gives the user a nice resolution of 1440 x 900. Why there is no 17-inch model with a resolution of 1680 x 1050, that is beyond me. After all, isn't this a pro machine? It's early yet, so who knows what lies in store for the future. If you absolutely the 17 inches on the go, Apple still sells the G4 configurations online, no price cuts included. The same goes for the iMac G5. I don't suggest buying a G5 configuration at this time, though, since the Intel machines are clearly faster to work with. The MacBook Pro currently comes in two configurations: 1.67 GHz ($1999) and 1.83 GHz ($2499) The 1.83 GHz model comes with 1 GB of memory installed, so that is an excellent plus. Apple usually defaults all their models with 512 MB. Oh and by the way, Apple is saying these new MacBook Pros are up to four times faster than the PowerBook G4. Four times faster! This is definitely a notebook that many people are going to want to have come this February, which is when they ship.

iLife '06
Every Macworld Apple introduces the next addition to their iLife suite. This year of course comes iLife '06, with tons more to play it. The usual lineup of iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and GarageBand are there. However, this is a new addition this year and it's called iWeb. Instead of covering all the new features in all the iLife applications, I am just going to focus on iWeb and what it is all about. I'll provide a link for information on the other applications, though.

So what is iWeb? iWeb, put simply, is of your iLife creations on the Web. This means your favorite photos from iPhoto, your edited movies in iMovie, the Podcasts you created in the new version of GarageBand, and a brand new addition: your very own blog! Sure blogging has been around for quite some time now, but now Apple is doing it their way, and that means in style. All this is done as easily as other iLife apps have allowed for the past few years. Everything can be done by simply dragging-and-dropping your creations and then clicking on the .Mac button to upload and publish for all to see. You don't have to use .Mac to publish everything, but it is nice to have. Apple makes everything so simple and that's why we love them. For a full overview of iLife '06, go here. It is available for purchase today for only $79. That's not bad at all, considering that was the price of iLife '05, and that we get even more with this version. I know I will definitely be upgrading since I am still stuck on '04. Oh and for those of you who do not know, iLife '06 is included for free on every Mac. So if you are purchasing a new Mac anytime soon, you will get iLife '06 included. Good deal, eh?

iWork '06
I have to be honest. I don't know too much about iWork, so I am just going to link you to the official page. From what I have seen, this edition seems to be really interesting, so I might just have to purchase a copy. Here is a snapshot I took off the official iWork page:

I hope that gives you a good idea of what iWork does. I'll definitely read more into it since I have not yet done so.

The iPod Gets FM Radio
Yes, well it had to happen sooner or later. Steve Jobs has always said FM radio isn't something the iPod really needs. He also said the same thing about video, but that is obviously old news. There have been many FM receivers for the iPod already, but never an official one. Check it out:

This is pretty cool, but nothing I would jump for. I do like the display it puts on your iPod's screen. It costs $49 and works with both the iPod (with video) and iPod nano. Now shipping.

Well that is it for day one of Macworld 2006. The expo goes all the way into Friday, so expect much more to be added to this blog throughout the week. Like I said in the beginning of this post, today's main focus was Apple and what they had to offer. For the rest of week I will cover many products unveiled by 3rd party companies and any announcements and unveilings that they may have. Overall I must say today was a very successful day, for both Apple and Intel. Ahead of the scheduled date of mid-2006, they managed to get the new Macs out the door and into the public. It'll be interesting to see how they fair in the real world, and of course I will be here to keep you updated. But for now, let's look forward to tomorrow. Who knows what will be unveiled!

For a video of today's keynote, you can go here to view it. The connection may be sluggish right now, due to heavy traffic, but definitely watch it when you have the time. It's always great to see Steve up on stage and in control of the crowd's reactions.

I'll be back tomorrow with another update. Until then... later.

CES 2006 - Days Three and Four

2006-01-08T23:40:00.000-05:00

So today was the last day of CES 2006. Overall, I have to say it was a successful expo. It wasn't terribly exciting for me, but that is because I am mostly Apple biased, so all the Windows Vista talk did not impress me much. Other manufacturers' products have me excited, however. We saw plenty of HD-DVD players for the first time, as well as unbelievably huge LCD and plasma televisions. So with today's update, I am just going to cover a few products that I think stood out from the crowd.

Spy... wirelessly.
Here is an interesting product: Creative's Live' Wireless web cam

This wireless web cam has a resolution of 648 x 480, the same most of the other cams in today's market. It uses 802.11g to feed back live feed to the included wireless server. I would be definitely be interested in purchasing something like this. The only thing I don't really like about is its design and size. For being a wireless web cam, you would expect to be more... shall I say, stealthy. But then again, this is a web cam and only that, so I don't expect too much from it. This web cam will cost you $199.

Huge LCD TV. No, really.
Westinghouse unveiled their new 56-inch LCD television. Sporting an insane 3840 x 2160 resolution, this is one high-end set. That's eight megapixels of resolution, folks. That is FOUR times that of 1080p! While this display is not available for purchase yet, expect to see it later this year. Oh and it will cost you around $10,000. That's cheap, right?

Google Video Store
Yes, you read that correctly. Google will soon be launching an online video store, to compete directly with Apple's iTunes. Among the content that can eventually be purchased includes commercial-free episodes of hit CBS shows like CSI, NCIS, and Survivor. Expect much more than that, too. Other content includes NBA matches, music videos from Sony BMG, news footage, indie films from Greencine.com, cartoon classics and Charlie Rose interviews. Pricing has not been announced yet, but I expect it to be similar to that of iTunes, meaning $1.99 for one episode of a normal television series. Special content and events may cost extra, but that is just my prediction. A very interesting note is the following:

"...they're also making their non-copy-protected content available for download DRM-free encoded for the iPod and PSP (though there's also no word on what it is we're going to have to deal with in terms of DRM on purchased Google Video content)."
(Thanks to engadget.com)

It'll be interesting to see how Google fairs up against Apple, especially since their content seems it will be compatible with the iPod.

World's Largest Plasma TV
Up until now, Samsung has had the world's largest plasma TV, measuring in a 102 inches. Matsushita Electric Industrial (also known as Panasonic) unveiled their new 103-inch plasma TV. Sporting a 1920 x 1080 resolution and a 3000:1 contrast ratio, this is one huge TV. That's not to say, however, we won't be seeing an even larger TV within a month or so! Here is what it looks like:

No price or release date was mentioned at CES, as far as I know.

Well that is all I wanted to highlight in this post. CES 2006 is officially over as of now. For a full list of announcements and unveilings at this year's CES, head on over to engadget.com for full coverage.

Well, CES if over and now I can look forward to Macworld 2006 even more! Steve Jobs will be making his keynote Tuesday morning, so I'll be sure to post yet another huge update of what was announced and unveiled, with of course pictures included. Ah, Macworld... it's like Christmas all over again!

Until Tuesday... later.

CES 2006 - Day Two

2006-01-06T16:08:00.000-05:00

CES 2006 is still rolling along with tons of great new products to be looked at. Yesterday's post was dedicated to Microsoft and their future regarding Windows Vista. We saw some pretty nice announcements, like the multiyear partnership with DirecTV and a new music subscription service called URGE. However, we also saw some pretty bad things, namely Microsoft's way of introducing "new" features into Vista. Some of these "new" features consisted of photo management, a GPU-powered graphic user interface, a fast file searching tool and Internet Explorer with tabbed browsing. Of course when I say "new" I mean that from Microsoft's point of view. Apple has had ALL those features in OS X for a while now. Last time I've checked, innovation does not include copying other companies' ideas. Get your own ideas, Microsoft. They also announced they will be released an external HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. I am still unsure about this one... I heard on a Podcast yesterday that this drive will only be used for watching HD-DVD movies and not to play games on. This doesn't sound too good... why release it at all? Just buy yourself a nice HD-DVD player when the media actually begins to hit the market. DVD is still becoming the industry standard... slow down with the new media types, people! I know I am not alone in thinking this. Okay, so onto today's post!

Dell's New 30-inch LCD Monitor
This was actually announced yesterday, but since I focused on Microsoft entirely, I am posting this today.

Anyway, Dell today unveiled it's 30-inch LCD monitor, the Dell 3007WFP. It retails for $2199, 300 bucks cheaper than Apple's offering, but more on that soon. The 3007WFP sports some pretty impressive specs. It drives a 4-megapixel resolution of 2560x1600 with a pixel response time of 11ms. I took a screenshot of the specsheet (thanks to extremetech.com):

(Click for larger version)

And the actual unit itself can be seen below:

Dell did away with the original stand of which their other LCD monitors currently use, which is a good thing. This one looks to be much better. They also cut down on the number of face buttons showing, so it has a much more minimized look to it, aka nice and simple. However, Dell still does not offer an aluminum display like Apple does. In my opinion, and you may think differently, Apple's displays win hands down when it comes to looking good. When it comes to overall specs and performance, however, Dell's 30-inch monitor fairs better. So what kind of system do you need to drive a huge display like this one? That would be a graphics card that has a dual-link DVI connector. Monitors these large no longer require two separate DVI connectors.. One dual-link DVI connector can handle the job just fine. If you're interested in purchasing this display, check your system's specs to see if you can handle it. If your specs don't meet the requirements, you can can always upgrade your video card. I would go into what kind of card to get, but I'm not here to post that. This is CES week!

Alienware... you are not Apple.
What you are about see may frighten you. It may even scar you for life, or perhaps make you sick to your stomach. I give you Alienware's new all-in-one gaming computer, the Area-51 5400:

Wow... just wow. Alienware, you are pathetic. Not only did you copy Apple's idea and design of the iMac G5, but you totally mutilated it. This has to be one of the ugliest computers I have ever seen, and there is no exaggeration going on here. This thing is hideous! It even has the camera on the top, just like the iMac G5 has. And look to the sides of the camera... what kind of moron designed this? I may be getting annoying, but this thing is just downright ugly. And what is with the huge Alienware logo in the middle? They made it way too big and distracting. Also take a look around the LCD screen. Why doesn't the case's material and color match the casing under it? And what is with the feet on the bottom? At least make it look good. I'm done here, I am disgusted. >_<

On another note, the keyboard looks nice. It'd be interesting to try out the touchpad on the right and see how it performs for gaming.

Well that's it for today's update. Both of these products I talked about were actually announced yesterday. Everything else that has been announced so far involves HD-DVD players, new dual-core notebooks, media center PCs, new phones and new monitors. I only talked about the products that I think are a big deal. And remember this: I am an Apple person. A lot of products announced throughout CES do not really pertain to me. That doesn't mean the updates are stopping, though. CES does not end until Sunday the 8th, so expect at least one more update. It all depends upon what is announced, unveiled, etc.

If you haven't done so already, please read my 'CES 2006 - Day One' report. That one is definitely more interesting than today's. All the big announcements and unveilings tend to happen in the beginning of the expo, hence the keynotes.

So until next time... later.

CES 2006 - Day One

2006-01-05T17:16:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again! The Consumer Electronics Show of 2006 is officially underway. I woke up this morning to some great articles about new products that have been unveiled. Before I go into that, however, I would like to talk about Bill Gates' pre-CES keynote that was given yesterday. The main highlight of his keynote was, not surprisingly, Windows Vista. For those of you who not know what Vista is, it is Microsoft's next major version of Windows, like Windows XP was a few years ago. Windows Vista, which is set to be released either late 2006 or early 2007, is looking quite nice. I have to admit the overall graphical user interface (GUI) looks very slick. Here is a screenshot for the desktop:

Click here for a high-res version.

As you can see, everything looks very sharp. It does look very similar to Windows XP, though, but that is beside the point. I am posting here today to talk about what Microsoft showed off this week that is NEW and interesting to read about. So onto what was unveiled...

Photo Management
Basically Vista will sport photo management software, something that was always missing from XP. There wasn't much revealed about the particular software, but there was a screenshot shown to the public:

In my opinion, it looks okay. It seems a little unorganized, but it's too early to officially judge anything. There was something to be said about this software. Users will be able to edit and enhance photographs without ever actually altering the original. Basically if you edited a photograph's brightness and contrast settings, saved it, and decided you did not want it anymore, you will always have the original to go back to. Hmm... this sounds oddly familar. Ah, yes! Apple's iPhoto application has been doing this for quite some time now. How innovative of Microsoft! What's next...

Tabbed Browsing in Internet Explorer
Finally, tabbed browsing! I have been waiting for this feature for a long time now. Oh wait a second! Doesn't Apple's Safari already utilize this feature? What's that you say? Firefox and Opera (two other Internet browsers) already utilize tabbed browsing as well? Get out of here! But seriously... tabbed browsing is nothing new. Not only that, but who wants to use Internet Explorer (IE) anymore? IE is the number one browser to be open to malicious spyware and viruses. Microsoft says Vista will tighten down on security, really, who is going to believe that? It may be pretty to look at, but this is still Windows we are talking about. The security issues are not going away anytime soon, if ever.

More Powerful GUI
Microsoft is finally getting with the times by allowing Vista to utilize the graphics processing unit (GPU) to output nice effects and transitions within the OS. This means transparent windows, nice transitions between windows and programs, and whatever else Microsoft comes up with. All of this will be rendered in real-time, which is pretty neat. Hey, wait a second! Doesn't Mac OS X already do this? Why yes it does; and for a few years now! Silly Microsoft... taking other companies' innovations.

Instant Search Tool
Vista will be sporting an instant search tool that will allow users to locate files on their hard drive very quickly. Is this a rip-off of Apple's Spotlight? You bet it is! Spotlight is probably the best feature of "Tiger" (Apple's latest installment of Mac OS X) and Microsoft is ripping it off. Again... how innovative!

Partnership with DirecTV
Now this is cool! Microsoft and DirecTV have teamed up to form a multiyear partnership to provide users with an excellent way to watch digital cable TV on their home computers. All of this will happen within Media Center. Users will be able to subscribe to this service and receive DirecTV content, to either watch at home or transfer onto a portable video player to take on the go. This is all possible with Intel's new VIIV platform. I would talk about VIIV, but to be honest, I don't know too much about it and how it works. I do know, however, that VIIV is a media center type of platform that will make for a very enjoyable experience. Intel is also expected to incorporate VIIV technology into upcoming Mac configurations. How Apple will go up against Microsoft with this excellent media service strategy, I don't know. One thing is for sure, though: Apple has something very similar in store and we will most likely find out with it is next week at the Macworld expo.

Do you have the Urge?
I'll copy and paste some information from engadget to give you an idea of what this is all about:

"URGE will offer a customized relationship to music, a sense of musical discovery ... over 100 radio stations .. a chance to learn about the roots of songs and lyrics ... a chance to interact with the artists. You can make URGE the soundtrack to your own event. It will be programmed by music fans for music fans. Subscribers will tell us what sucks. We will engage an army of music professionals, bloggers, musicians, etc ... Take note, we are trying something new with URGE, like Music Television was twenty years ago. And it certainly needed improvement -- can you say Flock of Seagulls five times a day?"

Thanks to engadget.com for this quotation.

Competition for Apple's iTunes? Definitely. Will it fair better than iTunes? Highly unlikely. But wait, Dave! MTV is a huge name and everyone knows who they are. They have to succeed! Sure this service may succeed, but there is a catch. Urge is not compatible with the iPod. This alone screams "Look elsewhere!" But hey, props to Microsoft for finally jumping on the digital music bandwagon. It took them a few years, but they're finally here.

Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 demand is very high and they are selling well. That's good. But what about its future? What's in store for us gamers? HD-DVD, that's what. For those of you who do not know, HD-DVD is the evolution of DVD. This means higher capacity discs to store data onto and of course, high-definition media. HDTVs are becoming cheaper and cheaper and more are being seen households everyday. The Xbox 360 currently doesn't support HD-DVD, until now. Microsoft announced they will be releasing an external HD-DVD drive to be used with the Xbox 360. Will this be used for games? Who knows. It's obvious it will be used for HD-DVD movies when they eventually become available. If this external drive is used for games, and it most likely will, I'm not too sure if it will take off. In my opinion the Xbox 360 is just fine without HD-DVD. You don't really need this new technology to have a good time. Sure it will allow for larger games to be stored on only one disc, but will the average consumer be willing to shell out the money for the drive? Again, who knows. It would be nice if Microsoft gave this drive to all current Xbox 360 owners so they would be ready for the future, but the chances of this actually happening is very slim to none. Add-ons for consoles don't necessarily do very well. External hard disk drive, anyone? Yeah, Sony, I'm talking about you. Support for the hard drive is already obsolete, so let's hope this same thing does not happen with the Microsoft's HD-DVD drive.

Well that is it for today's update. There are some other things I would like to go into, but I would rather save all that for my next update, which will be posted tomorrow. As for today's update, I think it went rather well. Lengthy? Yes. Informative? Definitely. It may seem like I was putting down Microsoft a lot, but that is because I was. Seriously, folks. Microsoft is a huge company and all, but let's face it. When it comes innovation and providing a stable operating system, they just don't cut it. Thinking back to a post I saw on MacRumors Forums earlier, it makes me wonder this: where would Microsoft be if Apple never existed? I would like to hear your thoughts on Microsoft and how far they have come... how they fair against Apple... what their future looks like... please, leave comments. Link this blog to your friends and family. I really would love to hear your thoughts about all of this.

Until next time... later.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

Whew, I made it in before midnight! As you can see, I have revamped my blog. It now looks much sleeker and more streamlined. Everything now blends together more nicely in my opinion. I ran into some HTML coding problems, so that's why I was afraid I was going to miss the deadline, but I made it. So anyway...

Happy New Year, everyone! 2005 is now behind us and the future of 2006 is beginning. I was thinking to myself the other day, "What did 2005 bring me that is interesting enough to think back on?" Well I have given it some thought and I can't really think of anything that interesting... I started college in 2004, so that's not something to think about. I got my first Mac in 2004 (September 21st to be exact), so pass on that. Oh okay, well there is something Mac-related to talk about. 2005 was the year millions of Mac users' jaws dropped when Steve Jobs announced Apple would be switch to Intel for their chip providers, and leaving IBM behind. The real excitement takes place this year, however... possibly even next week at the MacWorld expo, but that's an entire post altogether. So what else happened last year that is worth mentioning? Ah, I know! Microsoft beat Sony to punch this time in the console wars by releasing the Xbox 360 before the holidays. Sure there have been hardware problems, but doesn't every console have its problems in the beginning? Overall it seems like it was a successful launch. There is a severe shortage of units, but this is most likely just a marketing strategy to people to want one even more. Microsoft isn't stupid... they have this under control. It'll be interesting to see how they fair up against Sony when the PlayStation 3 is released, but who knows when that will be. Hmm, what else? I had a great Christmas! By far my favorite gift is my new Canon Digital Rebel XT. I've already taken over 300 photos with it and am already obsessed. I've never used such a complicated camera that produces such stunning photographs until now. I uploaded a few of my favorites into my deviantART gallery. If you want to view them, just click the link on the right sidebar. My favorite of the bunch is the photo of Smokey (the gray cat). I would like to hear what you think of them, so please leave comments! Another thing just jumped into my mind. 2005 marks the year of which I started doing graphic design work for clients. With my new camera, I hope to eventually do some kind of related service, whether it's on a Web site or for in-person clients (parties, weddings, etc.). I don't see myself actually doing photoshoots in for clients in person anytime soon, but I have been thinking of starting a Web site where I could sell my photographs, possibly stock photography. That would be a fun business to take part in. That is all I can really think of that interested me last year.

Going off-topic, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) takes place this week! It should be exciting reading about many of the new products that are going to be unveiled. I am hoping for some nice Mac and/or iPod 3rd party products to be unveiled. I don't really expect Apple to announce anything at the show since MacWorld is literally next week, but you never know. They may surprise us and announce something interesting. If they do not, however, I won't be disappointed. The Macworld expo will, without a doubt, be awesome. iLife '06 will be unveiled... possibly new iPods will shown... and of course, the first Intel-equipped Macs! But like I said earlier, that is an entirely separate post to be created. Expect a huge post after Steve's keynote covering all the big announcements!

So CES 2006 is this week, and of course I am going to create a big post for that, too. Expect tons of information on great new products!

It's 11:52 PM... I finished this post before midnight. I'm glad I did because I was not sure if I was going to make the deadline. Okay, so I'm out. I hope everyone had a great new year. May 2006 bring you great times!

Happy Holidays!!!!!

2005-12-25T23:20:00.000-05:00

Happy holidays, everyone! I hope everyone had a great day today. I know I did! Well, as promised, here is what I got for Christmas this year:

Canon Digital Rebel XT dSLR Camera
USB 160 GB External Western Digital Hard Drive
Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo DS)
Sonic Rush (Nintendo DS)
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Times (Nintendo DS)
Burnout Legends (PSP)
Conker: Live & Uncut (Xbox)
LEGO Star Wars (Mac)
Apple iPod Universal Dock
Apple iPod Remote
iDog
Boy Meets World: Season 1 (DVD)
Boy Meets World: Season 2 (DVD)
Boy Meets World: Season 3 (DVD)
Meet the Fockers (DVD)
Family Guy: Volume Two, Season 3 (DVD)
Extreme Tech: Podcasting (Book)
iCon: Steve Jobs (Book)
Secrets of Podcasting (Book)
Revolution in the Valley (Book)
Cocoa Progamming for Mac OS X (Book)
Photoshop Restoration and Retouching (Book)
The LOST Chronicles (Book)
Leo Laporte's 2006 Technology Almanac (Book)
The Cult of Mac (Book)
Time & Temperature Projection Clock
Mario Kart (Yoshi) R/C Microsizers
$50 Apple Gift Card
$39 Apple Gift Card
$25 iTunes Gift Card
$10 Wawa Gift Card
$25 Visa Debit Card
And tons of clothes!!!!

As you can see, I'm going to have a lot of reading to do! Oh and for my birthday I got a 60GB iPod (white), which is totally sexy by the way. Christin got me an "Old School" NES t-shirt, which is sweet.

I had a great holiday and I hope you had the same. This may or may not be my final post for this year. Either way, I just wanted to give you readers a heads up on what it is to come. With the new year comes a new look. I will be redesigning my blog's layout to look more attractive and streamline. I'm not sure yet on how extensive this redesign is going to be, but definitely expect changes. Until then... happy holidays!

Happy birthday...

2005-12-22T21:42:00.000-05:00

to me! :-D As of today, I am 20 years old. Yup, that's right... no longer a teen! Crazy, isn't it!? Next year will be the big year, as I will be 21. Yup, 21!! Now that is a great age to be. I'll be able to legally drink and gamble, which will be pretty sweet. But until then, I'm 20. :-)

Okay, what else? Ah! Just three days until Christmas and I still have some shopping to do! WTF is my problem!? Nah, it's not that big of a deal. I literally have only two or three more gifts to buy. I'm doing that tomorrow at the mall, so that should be interesting. Traffic is crazy this week, but it doesn't really bother me. I actually enjoy it. I get to beep at strangers every two minutes or so. ;-) After that we'll be going to the diner like any other Friday night. It's going to be awesome, though. We're all going to be exchanging gifts, so that is always something to look forward to. I get a couple gifts since it is my birthday as well. Oh, about that... I haven't gotten my birthday present yet. I'll be opening it in an hour or so. My mom is just now making dinner, since we spent a lot of time at the mall. It's 9:48 PM right now, so yup, that is one late dinner. LOL But hey, I don't mind. After that we'll do the birthday celebration thing. I'll be sure to post what I got in my next post.

So yeah, that's it for now. I don't have much to say tonight. However, my next post will consist of everything I got for my birthday and Christmas, so you can look forward to that. ;-)

I wish everyone a great and safe holiday! Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Kwanza!

Best Wishes,
David

Wow.

2005-12-09T00:39:00.000-05:00

My last post was on the XBOX 360 launch date... time sure does fly. Sorry for not updating for a while. So what did I leave off talking about? Ah! Black Friday! It was awesome. Huge crowds of people, the longest lines you'll ever see and tons of great sales. While I didn't buy anything that day, my mom did buy me the external drive I went there hoping to get. It's a Western Digital External 160 GB USB 2.0 HDD. And it was 80 bucks! $80, people! You can't beat that kind of deal, especially being an external drive. I can't open it until Christmas day, but I sure am looking forward to it. I'm going to install OS X on it so my PowerBook will feel like a completely new system. The drive is 7200RPM and that just plain rapes the 4200RPM internal drive I am using now. Oh, speaking of upgrades... I now have 1.5 GB of memory in my PowerBook. Performance feels so great now. I can finally mutlitask like its supposed to be done: quickly and smoothly I can finally keep Photoshop and Illustrator open at all times and not have to worry about having enough RAM free for other apps to run up to speed.

So I finally went Christmas shopping this morning. I went to Target and then to the mall. I found some pretty good deals, both for my mom and my dad. I still have to get my sister something, but I have no idea as to what it is going to be yet. Maybe something for her iPod mini? Well she has the ability to read this, so I won't say anymore. :-P

Ah! How could I forget? Thanksgiving was excellent! That night some friends came over for dessert and just to hang out. Well Josh's brother was nice enough to bring over his... XBOX 360!!!!!!!! That was very awesome of him. I didn't even see it coming. We playing a little bit of Call of Duty 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and Quake IV. CoD2 definitely impressed me more than the kiosk demo did. While it wasn't giving me that true next-gen feeling, I can tell the future is going to be bright. It's nice to know we finally have PC-quality graphics on a console. The anti-aliasing was excellent, as everything was very sharp. Unfortunately we didn't have it in Dolby 5.1, so I can still look forward to that when I eventually get a 360. When I get my 360, I know I will have that next-gen feeling. You have to keep in mind: not any of the games they brough over were true XBOX 360 games; they are practically ports from another platform. That's why I am looking forward to playing Project Gotham Racing 3, Perfect Dark: Zero, and Kameo: Elements of Power the most. And not only that, but the Xbox Live community is just so excellent. Microsoft hit the spot with the community. Everything just falls into place real well. You can purchase and download fun 2D games... music videos... movie trailers... video game trailers... and even game demos! Finally, what I have been waiting for in a console: the ability to download actual playable demos right to your hard drive. It'll be nice not having to rent a game or wait for that special magazine to arrive in the mail, when I just download it for free through Xbox Live. Now THAT is next-gen. I'm glad the online community has really caught on; gaming is better than it has ever been. I can't wait to hop online with PGR3, CoD2, and PD:Z. There are certainly good times to be had. I just really hope I get one for Christmas. If not, I understand since I am probably getting the Canon Digital Rebel XT dLSR camera. w00t!

Yup, that's right! I may finally be upgrading from my 3-megapixel digital camera. I'll finally be able to control my shutter speed, exposer settings and tons more that I could never do. The one thing that has me the excited most is the ability to upgrade my lens. No longer will I be stuck limits (other than money) of my photograph-taking. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, though. The camera IS around $1,000 you know. :-P

Wow, I didn't think I had that much to say. Oh yeah, my birthday is in less than two weeks (December 22nd)! w00tness! Okay, I'm out. Leave comments, please! I want to know that people are actually reading this thing. ;-)

And with that... keep thinking different!

Exciting times

2005-11-22T23:25:00.000-05:00

In those trucks are a bunch of XBOX 360 consoles, Core and Premium. Yup, that's right. The XBOX 360 has officially launched and with a big bang! G4 even had live coverage of the events. It was a pretty cool feeling to see it all happen. Unfortunately I don't own one... yet. I am hoping to the Premium package for Christmas. If I don't, you can count on my buying one afterwards with whatever Christmas money I get from relatives. But yeah, the XBOX 360 is one HOT item right now! The Core and Premium packages are selling for well over the retail price. For example:

Check it!

Yes, you read that correctly. This XBOX 360 Premium package is about to sell for over $1,000. $1,000!!!!!!!! Whoever the seller may be, they can count on bringing in huge amounts of cash. If I were to do this, I'd buy myself another 360 with a few games. What a deal! There are some smart gamers out there. Or who knows, they may be using it something else. Either way, the XBOX 360 is one of the must-have items of the holidays.

So yeah, the XBOX 360 is out and hugely popular. If you can find one in stock, I suggest you go out and get one right now. Even if you don't own an HDTV, definitely go for the Premium package. It's a much better bang for your buck.

So what else is going on? Well I'm done school for the week which is pretty sweet. w00t! Thursday is going to be great. We're (obviously) having a huge dinner and then having people over at night for dessert. We'll be singing karaoke, playing video games, listening to music, eating tons of pie, drinking coffee... it's going to be awesome. I love Thanksgiving! :-) And then Black Friday awaits us! For the first time ever, I'll be waking up early in the morning to catch some of the hot sales that will be going on. I'm aiming for a 6 AM start of my day, so we'll see how that goes. If you want to see some of the sales awaiting us and don't feel like waiting for the Thanksgiving ads to come out, then go here:

Black Friday 2005

Check out Best Buy's section. There are some EXCELLENT deals to be had. Call of Duty 2 for $24.99! You can't beat that. Just don't expect to see any XBOX 360 games in stock. ;-)

But yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun. It should be interesting to see the kind of traffic we hit and people we have to shove through, but hey, I live for this stuff! It should be very exciting.

I'll post an update this weekend on how my Thanksgiving and Black Friday extravaganza went. I'll even be taking pictures if I feel like it. :-P I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving weekend! Stuff your faces like your lives depend on it!

And with that... I'm out!

I played the Xbox 360. Have you?

2005-10-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

I walk into my local EB Games this past Friday night and low and behold:

the Xbox 360 kiosk was up, working and playable! Excuse the poor picture quality; I took it with my cell phone... I fixed it up in Photoshop a little, but couldn't really do much. :-/ Okay, anyway, back to the subject! So I played the Xbox 360 this past Friday night. Seeing it in EB Games as I walked in there made me want to cry in joy. I couldn't believe we got it this soon... I read EB Games wasn't supposed to receive their units until the first week in November. Oh well, the earlier, the better! So what did I think of the Xbox 360? First of all, it's a beautiful system. It's very sleek, unlike the current Xbox. It was white, silver, shiny, reflective (disc tray)... beautfiul. :) The design team over at Microsoft definitely did a great job in designing the system. Even the hard disk drive on the side of the system was nice looking. But with a console comes a controller, and oh man is this thing awesome! It fit right into my hands like it was built for me. It's definitely smaller than the Controller S and feels a lot better. I was getting hand strains, but that was because the controllers were mounted at an awkward level. I'm definitely looking forward to holding this thing at home (wirelessly of course). So what about the games, Dave? Tell us about the games!!!! There were three playable demos: Kameo: Elements of Power, Call of Duty 2 and Peter Jackson's King Kong.

Kameo... I can't really comment on this because I had no idea what to do in the freakin' demo. LOL Seriously, I had no idea where to go. The graphics didn't really impress me, but that isn't saying much at all. The part that I was in was dark and gloomy, so it was definitely unfair to judge the game's graphics that night. I know for a fact this game is going to look amazing, judging from the videos and screenshots I have seen.

Call of Duty 2... honestly, this game didn't impress me that much, from a graphical point of view. The resolution was way up there. Everything was very sharp, crisp and smooth. The graphics, however, looked like any other Medal of Honor game I have played before on the PC. This isn't a big letdown to me since I wasn't really looking forward to this game in the first place, but still... it could have been better. Then again it isn't an Xbox 360 exlusive so you know what that means: port it and forget it. I still plan to play through it when it's released, but it isn't up on there on my "Most Wanted" list of Xbox 360 games.

Peter Jackson's King Kong... didn't play it, had no desire to. I have the PC demo and the demo they had playing was the exact same thing. It did look better than what my PC can put out, but I could still notice some framerate problems. This wasn't a big deal to me, so I didn't even think much of it.

So what does all this mean to me for the Xbox 360? Will I be getting one? Please... it's me. Of course I'll freakin' get one! Come on now! :-P I don't plan to get it at launch since I am in the process of saving up for my Power Mac setup, but I hope to get one for either for my birthday or as a Christmas gift. While the demos in EB Games failed to impress me much, that doesn't mean I am no longer hyped for its launch, because I am. The best games to come weren't even on the demo disc, and that includes Perfect Dark: Zero, Dead or Alive 4, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Project Gotham Racing 3. We already know Oblivion is going to look pretty bad ass, so you can count on that being a launch hit. The same probably goes for the other three games I listed. In my opinion the Xbox 360 has a pretty strong launch lineup. There is something for everyone. We can't forget the other games aimed for the launch window, such as Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Madden NFL 2006. Those should be pretty cool.

So those were my impressions of the Xbox 360. Oh yes, two more things I forgot to mention: the Guide button on the controller is very cool and responsive. The side window loaded almost instantly; and the Dashboard (where you access your games saves, system settings, etc.) was very cool and looked excellent on the Samsung HDTV they had set up. I didn't look through the media section of the Dashboard, but I expect it to be very cool. I saw an option for Windows Media Center while browsing around, so the potential for media on your system is awesome. I can't wait to stream pr0n over to my TV... :-P Hey, it's true!

Well... another post well-typed. I probably bored all you non-gamers out there, but oh well. You're just gonna have to deal with it. :-)

And with that... keep thinking different!

Apple is a drug.

2005-10-23T01:25:00.000-04:00

I just want more and more of Apple's products! Let me begin by saying I went to the Apple store last night with my dad to get his iPod (more on that later). Looking around in that store is seriously like Heaven to me... anyway, I FINALLY got to see the iPod nano up close and in person. That thing is sooo freakin' tiny! I couldn't believe it. I knew it was small, but not THAT small! I thought I didn't want one anymore with the new iPod out, but now I do. My first iPod priority is the first one, mainly because my 3G is aging and I would love to have photos and videos on the go as an extra. The iPod nano is something I would ask for for Christmas... or possibly my birthday? So I'm there playing around with the iPod nano and the new iPod and a guy comes up behind me and starts asking questions. Of course the Apple freak I am known to be strikes up a conversation of the new iPod versus the iPod nano. I told him the price points, the differences among the two, the storage capacities, how one was hard drive-based and the other is flash-based... it was great. I seriously felt like I worked in that store. I think I sold him the new 60GB mode because he even asked if they are available now. Okay, with that story now aside... I played around with some Macs. Sadly they didn't have the new PowerBooks and Power Macs set up, as I really wanted to play around with them. I still did play around with the Power Mac G5 Dual 2.7 GHz model. It loaded Photoshop CS2 within a few seconds... my PowerBook takes around 10 seconds, maybe more, to start it up for the first time since a system restart. After that it takes a few seconds, but still, this Power Mac was a beast. It's not like I did not know this before, I just never really gave it that Photoshop startup test. I can't even imagine how fast the new Power Mac Quad is. So after I got done drooling over the sexy machine that it is... oh wait, there was also an Apple Cinema Display 30-inch setup along with it. I've seen it person before in other Apple stores, but it never fails to amaze me. This thing is HUGE! Okay... onto the iMac! I played with Photo Booth for literally a few seconds because I didn't know what I was doing. I get the interface now; I guess I wasn't thinking straight when I was there... you know, all that quad-core dreaming is jogging my mind! :-P So yeah, long story short: I had fun and my dad got his new iPod 60GB. We got something to eat afterwards, came home and immediately synched the new iPod with my dad's iMac G5. We're forced to use USB 2.0 now so the transfer wasn't as fast as it should be... (R.I.P. FireWire iPod support!). After it was done my dad purchased and downloaded a Black Eyed Peas music video just so he could have something on there to watch. It isn't exactly the brightest music video out there, so I was in need of a little more brightness on the iPod's screen... not a big deal, though. The majority of videos I plan to put on mine when I eventually get one are pretty bright (Family Guy, Lost... *ahem* pr0n). Speaking of the screen... this thing is HUGE compared to previous iPod models. So very bright and vivid when navigating the menus! Oh and photos look sooo much better on this new iPod than they did on the photo model, mainly due to the larger screen size. It's definitely faster too, as far as browsing photos goes. Videos take a couple seconds to load, but after that it's smooth sailing. Skipping forward and back in a video is very quick. It's done as it normally is with a song: select button, scroll forward or back on the clickwheel

I'll probably be getting my iPod after I purchase my Cinema Display. I am hoping I get a few clients soon, because I need all the extra money I can get! The more logos I design, the better. :-) Then I'll finally order a Power Mac Quad, if I decide that is the one I want... which it really is. I can't refuse a kick ass system like that. My room is going to look like a studio by the time I am done purchasing all this Apple stuff. Like my title suggests, Apple truly is a drug and I am never quitting.

And with that... keep thinking different!

The power of four.

2005-10-19T23:35:00.000-04:00

There it is. At last, the dual dual-core Power Mac G5! w00t! This baby is equipped with four cores of processing power. For those of you who don't know what that means... basically it has four processors within the system, but on two chips (hence the name 'dual-core'). The top model sells for $3299, which is a lot of money, but definitely worth it. In my last post I said it was rumored to be sold for $2999, but that isn't really a problem since I can still get it for that much using the .edu discount on Apple's Web site. But then there's the midrange system, the dual 2.3 GHz config. That would definitely be enough power for me and the tasks I do. But if any of you know me by now, you know I like getting the best there is. So the fact that I can still get the quad-core config at $2999 and get my money's worth... well that is up to me. Don't get me wrong. The dual 2.3 GHz and dual 2 GHz (the third config) systems are still kickass machines, but I like the best, so I'm going to get the best! I mean it's just money, right? And with the money I am making right now from clients, that could certainly help a lot. But hey, I haven't made up my mind yet. Either way, I'll be getting one sweet system. Oh some other cool things: these new systems support up to 16 GB of RAM. Yes... 16 gigabytes!!!!!!!!! I would never need more than 4 GB, but video professionals would. This is certainly an awesome time to be a Mac user. When is it not? :-P The new Power Macs also use PCI-Express. Finally! Up until now, Mac's have always used AGP and PCI for video cards, so adding on support for PCI-E cards is definitely something to look forward to and take advantage of. Okay, enough about the Power Macs. You know I love them and I could keep going on and on about them, but it's time to talk about the Apple Cinema Displays.

So what happened with the ACDs? No hardware updates which is a minor bummer, but they did finally get price drops. The 30-inch model has been dropped to $2499 (down from $2999) and the 23-inch model down to $1299. Sadly the 20-inch model remains at $799. I was hoping they'd drop it down by $100, but what am I gonna do? Obviously buy one! :-P I have waited long enough, so I am going to go with the 20-inch model. The 23-inch is a minor possibility, but I wouldn't count on it. With the .edu discount, I can get the 20-inch for $699. It's still kind of high, but you really get what you're paying for: a very nice design, very minimilistic, sharp clean display and best of all: two USB and FireWire ports on the back of the panel. No other display I have seen is equipped with a FireWire hub. This is something I really need since I have an iSight. I would definitely connect it via the display's hub and mount it on the top. So sweet! :-)

So yeah, the event was cool. I'm hoping Apple posts the video of the event on their Web site soon... it's usually up by now. Oh yeah! Apple also unveiled a new pro photographer software application called Aperture. I read about it and it definitely seems very cool. It sells for $249. I wouldn't have any use for it since I am not a pro photographer, but I'm sure I will buy it someday. Especially since I am getting a digital SLR soon, I'll begin to get more serious with my photography. No more being stuck with a puny little 3.1 megapixel digital camera. Ugh! I need a dSLR! Badly! Seriously, I can't wait to see what I can do with one.

Alright, well I'm out. I have class tomorrow morning. I'll be back with another update probably by this weekend. Later.

And with that... keep thinking different!

Quick update before Apple's event tomorrow

2005-10-18T17:04:00.000-04:00

I know what you're thinking: "Apple is holding another event already?" Yep, they sure are! :-) This time it is a 'Pro Innovations' event. What does this mean to us? Let's just say that chances are very high that we will be seeing new PowerBooks with high-definition displays (finally!) and new Power Macs equipped with dual-core processors. And yes, the new Power Mac will most likely be a dual dual-core CPU. Yep, four cores is right! If you ask me, that's just awesome... it'll definitely be the most powerful Mac a consumer can buy. Four cores... just imagine how much multi-tasking you can do that much power. I'm hyped! There will probably be another Power Mac config equipped with one dual-core CPU, but that is still a lot of power (obviously). Non-geeks reading this right now probably have no idea what I am saying, but oh well; we can't all be the same. :-P Rumors are speculating that the highest-performance Power Mac will sell for $2999, the same price as the highest current model. In other words, if this is true, then you'll be getting twice that power for the same amount of money. Now that is what I call a deal! But that is only a rumor, so let's not get TOO excited (yet). As for new PowerBooks, expect high-definition displays (current highest model runs in 1440x900) and increased storage. Rumors are saying not to expect any big speed bumps, if any. But you never know with Apple; for all we know, they could be unveiling a dual-core PowerBook. :eeeeek: Don't keep your hopes up for a dual-core config, though. Hmm, what else? Oh yes! The Apple Cinema Displays are in need of an update. I am hoping Apple does update them, as well as drops the prices. I also hope they do something special and unexpected with them, like they did with the iMac and Front Row. Maybe they'll include an iSight built-in? Even if they don't include anything extra, I would still like double the contrast of current displays and lower prices. That is all I ask for. Many people don't know this, but the iMac 20-inch's display is twice the contrast of the current ACD 20-inch. I think that tells us something: time for an update!

Ah, we'll see tomorrow. I have to go to math class soon... how pointless. :-/ But tomorrow will come soon enough. :) And you can be sure I will post tomorrow night with what happened, pictures included!

And with that... keep thinking different!

The new iPod

2005-10-12T23:50:00.000-04:00

There it is, folks. It is finally a reality: a video-enabled iPod! While it is only called the iPod and not iPod video, this baby packs a lot. Not only does it allow you to play your music and view your photos on the go, but now you can also watch video! Coming in two models, 30 GB ($299) and 60 GB ($399), you're getting more than your money's worth! All that for just $299 is a steal, especially when compared to older iPod models. Apple also released iTunes 6 for download today. Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently Apple enjoys jumping from 5 right to 6 in just a little over a month. What happened to iTunes 5.0.2? Oh well, a large number never hurt anyone. :-P Anyway, iTunes 6 packs several new features, the most noteworthy one being the ability to download, manage and transfer videos. And of course it's Apple, so it can all be done by clicking that mouse button just a few times. Hmm, what else? Oh yes! The iMac got an unexpected update today; a BIG one too! The new iMac now has an iSight camera built-in, so no matter what you'll always be able to stay in contact with your family and friends through iChat and/or AIM. This new updated model also includes a new app called Front Row. There's a lot to type about this, so you might as well go to the official link and read all about it: http://www.apple.com/imac/frontrow.html You won't be disappointed if you're into the whole living room media scene. :-) It's very cool of Apple to finally be entering the media center market, as Microsoft takes it seriously and sells many copies of its Media Center Edition of XP. Not only does Apple do it better, but it just... works. ;-)

Oh yes, about the long-rumored dual-core Power Macs... they weren't there; sad, but true. :-( However AppleInsider still says there is a chance of them being introducted later this week or even next week. How well I can trust that... ah, I don't know! :-P All I know is I've been waiting for a while now and really need these new Power Macs to be announced. It's a matter of life or death, people! Nah, not really... but it may feel like it. :-P When they are eventually announced, you can be sure I'll make an entire post out of it.

So about graphic design... I finally got my business going! I have two clients right now and one pending (waiting for his design requests). I am trying to build my portfolio so I am not charging much at the moment. I prefer not to say the pricing, as it may have an effect on my business. It most likely wouldn't, but you never know who reads this. ;-) But yeah, I'm making money with my graphic design skills and it feels great! One of my clients is located all the way over in Los Angeles, California. How cool is that? :-) Okay, well I'm out. Gotta get up early tomorrow for school, then work and then more graphic design work for clients. If you need any graphics designed for cheap, e-mail me for a quote: daviddifranco@gmail.com

And with that... keep thinking different!

This post is for you, Gina.

2005-10-08T19:52:00.000-04:00

Apparently Gina is frustrated that I don't update my blog enough, so this one is for you! LOL Are you happy now? Onto the post!

So school is getting busier... fun! No, not really. I just got done my English paper this past week and now I have two projects due soon in my Photoshop and Illustrator classes. My Photoshop one is about 80% done, so that'll be easy. My Illustrator one, however, still needs to be started. I'll most likely start it this week (I kind of have to). Work is good too, getting busier now and then. We have two schools coming up that are due for inspection so that should be cool. The more work I do, the more Apple money I receive. :-) Actually, I call that Mac Money™. Yes, I trademarked it!

Speaking of Mac's... Apple has sent out private invitations to certain distributions:

Many people are anticipating the long-rumored video-enabled iPod, hence the movie curtain in the background. However I think it is way too soon. I don't think Apple would release an iPod video this soon after the iPod nano (introduced just a little over a month ago). This would definitely take sales away from the nano, which is why I think we won't see an iPod video until either late 2005 or early 2006. I'm leaning more towards early 2006 since that is when the MacWorld San Francisco 2006 expo is being held. But what explains the movie curtain in the background? Maybe Apple is introducing a new application that can sort and manage your movie files. They already have iTunes for your music collection and iPhoto for your photos, so why not a movie management app? This would be neat, but I wouldn't really any major uses for it yet. The only videos I capture are with my 3.1 MP digital camera. :-P I do plan on getting a digital camcorder one day to make movies, but that's a different post altogether. I guess we'll find out what Steve Jobs has up his sleeve come this Wednesday. I'll be sure to post an update with the details within 24 hours of the announcement.

More Apple-related news: rumors are stronger than ever that Apple could finally be rolling out the dual-core Power Mac G5s. The Power Mac G5 already uses dual-CPU configs, but imagine dual-core dual-CPU computer... definitely a monster within! If these are announced, chances are very good that I will be ordering one for myself. Which config I'd go with, I have no idea. I'll have to wait and see which configs Apple is offering. This new Power Mac would be my main computer to work on for everything, especially graphic design and digital photography. My PowerBook is a very nice system, but I am need of more power. Afterall, nothing beats a desktop for digital production. I am also hoping Apple lowers the prices of the Apple Cinema Displays. I am planning on getting the 20-inch model to go with my Power Mac. Even if the prices aren't lowered, I'll probably still get one since I have been saving up my money for a while. After all this is purchased, you can guarantee my room is going to like a digital production studio. It's gonna be so sweet! :-D Okay, enough about that. I'm getting hyped just talking about it. :-P

So about Gina... I know you're reading this, but I'll talk anyway. I talked to her last night on AIM about our past and how much fun things used to be. I gotta admit, I was even getting a little choked up thinking about how perfect everything used to be. But stupid me had to mess things up and there is no going back. I just wish I had one last chance to go back in time and change things. I even talked to her about it and she didn't mind listening. :-) Then I talked to Anthony about it too... I don't know; I just had to express myself. I mean, why did I screw up!? I was such an idiot. But that's the past and the present is now. What my future holds, I don't know. But you never know what could happen. I don't really expect anything, but there could be a turn of events. Chances are very low, but I do believe in fate. Gina, if you're listening to this, I am really sorry for everything that I messed up and I just want you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I also wish I could go back and change how I handled things. However! I am happy for you right now. I'm glad you found someone right for you. Remember one thing: have confidence in your relationship and don't "fear" anything bad that may happen. Just do what you think is right and have fun. :-) Unfortunately I didn't handle it totally well, but at least I've learned from my mistakes.

Sorry to everyone else who is reading this. LOL You must be thinking "oh God, Dave. Shut up with all the love talk!" Or I don't know, some of you may find this interesting.

So that's it for today! I hope you're happy, Gina. I finally updated this for you especially. ;-)

And with that... keep thinking different!

I promise I'll begin to update this more often.

2005-09-25T21:14:00.000-04:00

Has it been THAT long? I'm sorry, I tend to forget to update this thing. :-P I'll try harder to remember, though. Anyway, what has been going on with me since my last post? Well school's going great; it's definitely getting busier. I have an English paper do in two weeks and have yet to start it. I'll most likely begin typing it sometime this week, though. I have a couple other projects coming up in my Illustrator and Photoshop classes coming up, but those should be easy to do (at least the Photoshop one should be...). Oh yeah, I closed BlogFX. You can go there to read why I decided to no longer update it. It just wasn't worth my time. I am finally looking into getting a graphic design business going, so I figured that is much more important to focus on. This means I will have to purhase a domain name and host soon, so that should be fun for my wallet. o_O But hey, it'll be worth it if this business kicks off. I love what I do, so working for money will actually be kind of fun. :-) Oh yeah, I've decided to take the plunge and purchase a Power Mac G5. There are rumors Apple introducing dual-core models, so that would definitely sell me. Can you imagine the kinds of tasks I can pull off simultaneously with a dual-core system? Hell, I might even go with the dual dual-core system. Ah... what a beast it would be! Of course I'd have to pay for it with credit and a monthly payment since I don't have $2800 or so just lying around. But hey, that's better than NOT having it. :-) I am also getting an Apple Cinema Display 20-inch soon to go with the Power Mac. There are rumors of those getting price drops, so I am going to wait a little while and see if I can get the best deal. You know Apple, they like to surprise you with announcements. :-)

Well, that's it for now. I'm feeling kind of tired. I might listen to the new Inside Mac Radio Podcast, so that should be fun. Talk to you later!

What's smaller than an iPod mini?

2005-09-07T23:42:00.000-04:00

An iPod nano of course! Apple today unvelied the iPod nano, a flash-based iPod with color screen screen and photo support. The nano will replace the mini lineup as it is obviously the better choice and no need for one or the other. Like I said before, the nano is flash-based. For those of you don't know what this means, here's a quick rundown... flash memory is basically storage on a stick. This means there will be no moving parts inside of the nano, which also means no skipping of music playback whatsoever AND 14 hours of battery life. Awesome. The regular iPod model still uses a hard drive, but that's because its capacities are much larger. Anyway, back onto the topic of the nano what it's all about. It weighs just 1.5 ounces and sports a 1.5-inch color screen, a first for any iPod model other than the regular. This means, yes, you can finally display those photos you love to your friends and family if you can't afford the higher end iPod. The nano is so small, it is scaled to be skinnier than a number-two pencel. Ladies and gentlemen, that is insane! Think of it as a credit card with music on it, but just a little thicker. That's how small this thing is! It comes in two models, 2GB @ $199 and 4GB @ $249. The 2GB model can hold up to 500 songs and the 4GB model can hold up to 1000 songs; not even close to the storage capacity of the regular iPod, but do you really need THAT much music on the go anyway? And oh yes! The nano comes in two colors, white and black. This is somewhat of a disappointment to me as I loved the mini's variety of colors, but it isn't a big deal. If anything, I find white to the most attractive color when it comes to MP3 players. But if you must have your colors, you can always buy a set of Apple's nano Tubes for $29. Not bad for a set!

Apple also unveiled the first iTunes-compatible phone today, the ROKR. I won't go into much detail with this story, as it honestly doesn't interest me much. If you want to read the official product page, click here. Also iTunes-related, Apple released iTunes 5. This new version of iTunes sports a new user interface (UI). It's more a shiny look rather than Apple's well-known brushed metal. I'm not too fond of it, but hey... what are you going to do? It's just an interface; afterall it's a programs functionality is what matters. To read about all its new features and what makes it different from the version of iTunes you are using now, go here. You can also download it for the Mac and PC linked from that page.

Well that about covers what happened today in the world of Apple. Anything new happen with me? Well I started my second year of college last Thursday. So far I'm loving it; obviously, I'm a graphic design major. :) My classes are as follows: Electronic Image Processing, Electronic Illustration, Mathematics with Applications and English Compostion II (online course). I think this will be my best semester, as two of my classes are using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator as our main tools of production. I live for this stuff! Well, I'm out. I have class in the morning, talk to ya'll later!

BlogFX: NOW OPEN!

2005-08-30T00:36:00.000-04:00

My new blog dedicated to graphic designers and digital photographers is finally open. You can go there by clicking here. Please tell your friends about this blog, as I want to get at least a handful of viewers each week. Even if you have never used applications such as Adobe Photoshop before, this blog is still very useful. I will constantly be updating it with new tutorials I have found throughout the Web, tutorials I have created myself, submissions from other users, tips and tricks... everything that I think will be useful for my viewers. Afterall, it is a community blog, so I hope my viewers get the most out of it. So please go there, check it out, bring some friends and just have fun.

So with that out of the way, you can obviously tell I am back from New York City. The trip overall was awesome. As I said in my previous post, the SoHo Apple Store rocks!!!! Best. Store. Everrrrrr! :P Nintendo World was also a very cool store. I got Nintendogs there on launch day; such a cute game! :) I came across two other Nintendogs owners and acquired their Trainer Info. One of them was off one of the kiosk stations, so that one didn't really count. However, the other owner I came across was actually one of the employees who worked in the store. He came over to me and said "Excuse me, is your dog named Jasmine?" Yes, her name is Jasmine. I named her after our pug. Anyway, we talked real quick about how our dogs liked catching the frisbee and whatnot. Definitely cool stuff. I hope to meet other owners in the near future, which is why I am bringing Nintendogs with me every public place I go. I'll have it in Bark Mode so I never know who I may come by. I can see myself playing this game for a while to come. I plan to buy three other breeds: the beagle, corgi and dalmatian (all the dogs we own in our house)

Well I'm gonna go for now. Make sure you visit BlogFX; the more viewers, the better! Thanks in advance for anyone who visits.

p0int 0ut!

SoHo rocks!

2005-08-24T00:29:00.000-04:00

I'm up in New York City for the week with the family for a vacation, having fun so far. I brought my PowerBook up with me so I can transfer my photos from my camera and access the Internet. I took a little over 60 photos so far, so this was definitely needed. :) Anyway, went to the SoHo Apple Retail Store for the first time ever today. My God... what a beautiful store! I don't feel like typing my impressions again, so I'll just copy and paste my thread post from Modojo:

My God what a beautiful store! I'm up in NYC for the week with my family so I was definitely looking forward to paying a visit there. Amazing. It totally KILLS the one I go to in Delaware. The 15-foot stairs are made totally of glass... there's a glass bridge going over the store entrance, just awesome! I must've spent over an hour there. I went to their workstation for iTunes/iPod. I already knew everytihng they were saying, except for one little fact. Over half the audience had their iBook's and PowerBook's with them. I have my PowerBook with me for the week so I am thinking of going back with mine to do another workstation, and just because it's seems like a cool thing to do. I got to play around with the Mighty Mouse. I was VERY satisfied with it. It doesn't even feel like a two-button mouse. It's different than what I expected, but that's a good thing. My dad bought himself one and I am probably going to get myself one sometime before Christmas. I finally got those colorful iPod socks... 29 bucks! But hey, my iPod deserves it. I also didn't find out about the price until after my dad bought them for me. We all have iPod's in the house so we can all get some use out of them. Hm... what else? As usual, the 30" ACD still amazes me with its HUGE size. The Mac mini is still small and cute. Tons of iPod accessories!"

Seriously ... best. store. EVER!

I'm probably going to Chinatown tomorrow to look around a bit, mainly at the pawn shops to see if there is anything worth picking up and reselling on eBay. I've always wanted to do that. :P And now is my chance. Well, I better get to sleep. Gotta wake up early tomorrow. I might be going back to the SoHo Apple store again tomorrow just for the hell of it.

Apple 0wnz0rz j00!!!11!1!

0utness.

Just another night

2005-08-20T01:13:00.000-04:00

I didn't end up going to the Apple store after all, which sucks... but oh well. Anthony decided to change plans without going through it with me first. Way to ruin plans... this was just a quick update. And I am...

0ut!

Has it been 10 days already?

2005-08-19T17:34:00.000-04:00

Damn, time really flies... anyway, nothing exciting has really happened that is worth posting about. I'm going to the Christiana Mall tonight with Anthony. We're going to the Apple store because he's getting an iPod for himself. So that should be cool. I'm gonna give their new Mighty Mouse a test run and see if it's worth getting for my PowerBook. The only reason I have a 3rd party mouse for my PB is because Apple only had their classic one-button model available. But now that Hell has frozen over for a third time in the world of Apple, I'm all set to go. I just don't know if I will like the tounch-sensitive buttons, but that's why I am doing a test run. Oh yeah, I'm also in the process of getting a new blog going. Of course this one will be still be updated. This new blog I am creating will be a community for graphic designers to talk about the industry and post their newest creations. It'll also be for sharing your ideas, tutorials, etc. I just hope it kicks off. That's why it is going to be so hard to get it running... I want at least a handful of visitors each week. I haven't decided on a name yet, so if you have any suggestions, throw them in the Commends section. I highly appreciate your help.

So Anthony should be here soon, so I should get ready to go. Ttyl!

0utness.

Quick one

2005-08-09T22:55:00.000-04:00

So I finally designed a custom banner... thoughts?

Am I in the 16-bit era?

2005-08-07T19:37:00.000-04:00

So we went to Seaside Heights for the weekend again. I guess I should've mentioned that before leaving. Oh well, I'm back aren't I? Anyway, it was cool, although not terribly exciting. I can only take so much Seaside for the summer, that's what makes it fun. But I still had fun anyway. Of course I had a few Midway cheesesteaks with sauce... GODLY!!!! Seriously... best. cheesesteaks. EVER! Hmm, what else? Oh yeah, I decided to play through Golden Axe in its entirety. I never played the game when I was younger so I decided why the hell not? It took a little over $5 to finish it, well worth the money! I recall playing Golden Axe 2 on SEGA Channel back in the day, but don't remember playing the first. So I live history and I'm proud of it. :) On a related note, beating that game inspired me to download a few emulators and tons of ROM's to relive the past even more. I'm craving a retro fix, so I'm gonna do that.

Anything else worth writing about happen? Oh yeah, I'm listening to it right now: the original soundtrack to Final Fantasy X. I downloaded it (yes I am a pirate) through BitTorrent; excellent music! If you're into orchestral music, I highly recommend downloading some tracks, especially Suteki Da Ne. I actually just started to use BT a few days ago. I've learned it is much easier to download entire music albums this way, rather than finding track by track through p2p. And now I am waiting for the soundtrack to We Love Katamari to finish downloading. BTW, that game comes out on September 6th, and I'll be at the mall on release day to buy it. The music in that series is so bizarre it's great. Definitely one of the best video soundtracks I have ever heard. I also recommend downloading/buying the soundtracks to both those games. I haven't listened to the sequal's soundtrack yet, but my expectations are high from the first one.

I guess that's about it. I work tomorrow, so the more money the better. :) Ah! Speaking of money... well I guess this has to do with it; it just reminded me. I've decided on my CPU for my next rig which I'm building in summer 2006. I am going with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester Dual-Core Processor. Dual-core, people! This will be a big step for me, as I am going to be using an AMD processor for the first time and this will be my first dual-core processor. For the non-computer geeks out there who don't know what any of this means, a dual-core processor is basically two processors on one chip. Therefore, multi-tasking won't even be a chore anymore. Certain applications dedicate themselves to one core of the processor, while others to the other core. Understand? I hope so, cuz it's awesome technology. It's marked at $509.99 right now on NewEgg, which isn't TOO high... especially for what I am getting. And I am not ordering it until spring 2006, so the price will definitely drop even more by then. But I really don't mind paying that much for this kind of CPU. It's a freakin' beast!

Well, I'm out. I guess I'll play around in Photoshop for a while. Ttyl.

0ut.

Update! Read all about it!

2005-07-28T18:10:00.000-04:00

I admit I'm slow when it comes to updating after a week's long vacation, but you're just going to have to deal with it! ;)

So Seaside Heights was aweosme, as it is every year. I didn't win on any of the wheels, but the rest of the family won candy, a poker set and a moving picture (I guess that's what they are called...). The beach and ocean were awesome, very hot! I got a kickass tan and looked sexy as hell. :) Tons of beautiful women! I got a couple smilers/lookers here and there, those never hurt. I had Midway cheesesteaks with sauce several times, GODLY!!!! Seriously, no one makes better cheesesteaks than Midway Steakhouse does. Boardwalk pizza is always the best too, especially Maruca's. Also GODLY!!! :P Our uncle, aunt and cousins came down to visit... hung for a while, one day and another. We went to the movies and mall. We saw War of the Worlds (very cool, but also very disappointing... definitely over-hyoped IMO) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (complete opposite of WotW; I fucking loved it! Is that so normal?). I got a new PSP game, Ridge Racer. Pretty cool, awesome drifting (or drafting as Mike calls it) skills required! Overall, awesome vacation!

I didn't work much this week; only put in two days so far. But that's because my dad doesn't need me to work that much at the moment. That's always cool with me, more free time. :) But on Monday and into Tuesday, I ripped about 170 CD's onto my dad's iMac G5. Whew... never has it taken so long to rip CD's! 170 of them! But it's well worth it, I'll get paid for it in my next paycheck. Now THAT is what work is, ladies and gentlmen. Tomorrow I am in the office all day, since Susan is taking off. I'll just watch the office the entire day, answer phone calls, take messages, go on the Internet, back-up data... all that good stuff.

After work, Chris is coming over. He'll be staying the night, so he is bringing his PC, monitor, games, CD's... all that good stuff! Can you say "free games and CD's"? :) Yes, I am a pirate. But hey, aren't we all? Anyway, we'll be playing games into the wee hours of the morning, get a little bit of sleep here and there, go to the mall, eat, blah blah... this is stuff gamers do. We're going to be lazy (and damn proud of it). :D

And now I'm here posting this. I might make some more sigs in Photoshop soon, I'm learning all kinds of new techniques lately. I might start making my own video tutorials since I just got a new Logitech headset. So yeah, I don't feel like typing anymore; carpel tunnel is kicking in.

0ut.

Yay!

2005-07-14T00:49:00.000-04:00

After a month of being in Canada, Chris is finally back! :D I never really told you about Chris, did I? Well he's one of my closer best friends; I met him in my early years of high school. We are definitely alike. We both LOVE video games. We both LOVE computers and talking about them. We both listen to similar music (sometimes). He actually turned me onto metal, including Metallica, Godsmack, Slipknot and many others. We think similary, meaning in a totally crazy way! Duuuuuuuuuude! LMAO! But yeah, it's cool that he is back. I don't know why we waited so long to hang out again (it's been over a year since we really did stuff together). If I had a brother, he would be it. He actually wants to move in for a few months until his house is finished being built, but my parents would never say yes, which totally sucks. But hey, he is less than five minutes from me and is currently NOT working for the summer, so we'll be able to hang out a lot. Oh and don't forget about my other best friend Anthony. Chris and Anthony are both my best friends, they're just total opposites of one another. It's just cool to have someone to talk to about computers and shit like that. Anyway, enough about that fucktard...

I didn't go into work today... didn't feel like it. Nah, my dad said he didn't need my help. I'm not even going in tomorrow, he doesn't need my help AGAIN! I like staying home, but I also like making and earning money. Oh well, one small paycheck won't hurt. :)

So I'm at McDonald's today to get a quick dinner and low and behold, Dan is front of me in the drive-thru line. It was nice seeing him. He was a chef at Botto's (my old job in case you forgot) and was always one of my favorite people there to talk to about guy things (I'm sure you know what I mean. :P). Anyway, long story short: he ended up paying for both his AND my meal, so yeah, I got a free Big Mac meal. :) Go me! I got the Big Mac for the PSP contest they are holding, but I didn't win. Oh well, free food is always a good thing!

I'm on my way home from McDonald's... waiting at a stop sign for traffic to pass by then there goes Chris! Two days in a row of my seeing him on the road. So I change my mind and turn right to go by his house, beep and yell "COCKBITE!!!!!!!!!" He hears me, pulls out of his driveway and follows me home. Mike was with him. They stayed until about 10:15 or so. We played games, talked, looked at my PC and see what could be done with it to make it cool better (temperatures could be better)... you know, stuff I like. :roxy:

And now I am here, it's 1:12 in the morning. I might play some of the FlatOut demo soon. Chris downloaded it for me so I am getting into that game. It arrives in stores tomorrow and is only 30 bucks. Chris is buying himself a copy for his PC, so I get one too to play with him. And a new game for $30 never hurts. :)

Well, I'm gonna go. I'm hungry, might get some chicken from downstairs. Oh and check out my deviantART gallery, I've added a few submissions recently: http://p0intblank.deviantart.com/gallery/

p0inting 0ut that life is g00000000d! Get the food!

You're back from Seaside, Mr. Freeman.

2005-07-11T15:44:00.000-04:00

Let's start with work and Seaside last Friday and into Saturday. Wooo... that was one hard day of work. We (my dad and I) worked from about 9:00 AM until 7:00 PM. Busy day, but definitely interesting. I got to do more than just Web work or pressing a button to reset the panel this time around. :P I got to remove celing tiles in order to run wire from panel to panel. We installed Carbon Monoxide detectors and it took a little longer than we expected. It was in a nursing home and they just happened to be having an open house that day, so that made it go a little slower than expected. But overall, it was cool. That's what I love about working for my dad. I always have a wide range of tasks to do, not the same old thing everyday.

So when that was done, we finally got to Seaside Heights around 8:00 or so and met my mom, Christin, Gayle and Trudy at the motel. We got pizza for dinner and ate back in the room... HUGE slices! :) After that we did our normal boardwalk adventure. Gayle and I played Dance Dance Revolution in the arcade. I totally SUCKED! I used to be good, but that's only because I haven't played in months. I'm probably going to do a few practice runs this Thursday in time for when we go down again for our real vacation, once again: Seaside Heights. We were only there last weekend because of our job. But yeah, it was fun. The next day came, we left around 11:30... went to the mall... I bought Half-Life 2: Collector's Edition (I'll talk about that later)... ate lunch and did our thing.

Eventually we were back home, I installed my new video card (XFX 6800GT 256MB Dual DVI), which runs EXCELLENT by the way! I installed Half-Life 2, went to the diner to meet the family for dinner and came back home. I must've played HL2 all night long, cuz the next thing I know it's 5:30 in the morning. So I figured I should get some sleep. Then I woke up around 1:15 on Saturday... played Half-Life 2 from 3:00 until 3:00 AM or so. :) I am obsessed! I went to church and breakfast Sunday morning, came home, played Half-Life 2 all day long again, watched Hitch (pretty good movie, not terribly exciting, though) and then back to more HL2. I finally beat it last night! :D Awesome awesome awesome game! I'm serious when I say this: Half-Life 2 has been one of the best game experiences I've had. Ever. If you don't have this game yet and have a computer that can run it well, then I highly consider you go out right NOW and buy yourself a copy. It's THAT good! I gave up my whole weekend for the game, so that has to tell you something. :)

So here I am. It's Monday... my dad didn't need me to go into work today. But I am going in tomorrow morning. We're doing an inspection at Logan Township School. That should be cool, as I used to go there for my elementary years.

Well I'm going to go now. I'm hungry and need something to eat. Oh yeah, check out my favorite screenshots I took while playing Half-Life 2: http://photobucket.com/albums/v609/p0intblank/Screen%20Caps/

Good stuff.

0ut!

No, I am not dead!

2005-07-06T14:12:00.000-04:00

As you can see, I'm a little behind on my blogging. :P Let me give you a quick recap of what has happened since my last post:

-I purchased a DELL 2005FPW 20.1 monitor for use on my PC. Yes, it's DELL! I will never buy their computers, though. But hey, their monitors actually kick ass! I got this thing for about $500. You can't beat price! I am actually getting another one for dual displaying. :)

-I purchased a new video card. It's an XFX GeForce 6800GT 256MB, a huge step up from my current Radeon 9600XT. I got it for two reasons: to play all the new games at my monitor's native resolution of 1680x1050 and to dual display with two 2005FPW's. It has dual DVI ports, so this is going to be awesome! I've never dual-displayed before, so it'll definitely be a new experience.

-And oh yeah, besides a new video card and monitor, I also upgraded my rig's fans and lights. I replaces all my old 80mm and 120mm fans with brand new ones. I also got a fan/light controller, which is also a new thing for me. It's aweosme being able to control my fans now. I can sleep peacefully at last without having to worry about the noise coming off my PC. :P

-4th of July weekend was awesome. We had a family cookout on Sunday, along with a few close friends. Of course Gayle brought her digital SLR, which always impresses me. I am probably going to be getting one this Christmas. It's finally time to upgrade from my 2.5 year old Kodak EasyShare DX4330, which is only 3.1 megapixels. Gayle's camera is a whopping 8-megapixel model! I also want one for the faster shutter speeds, upgradeable lens... everything SLR! It's finally time to move on to the professional side of photography. I'll always keep my Kodak, though, since it was my first digital camera and all. But yeah, Sunday was awesome. We ate a lot of food, went swimming, hung out in the Jacuzzi, I showed off my iMovie videos I make, viewed some slideshows on my dad's iPod photo and Gayle's iPod photo, too. Overall, it was a lot of fun.

-Tomorrow we are going to Seaside Heights and staying overnight, and then coming home Friday afternoon. We are really going for work (my dad and I), but the rest of the family and Gayle are also coming along to have fun. When my dad and I are done working, we're going to meet up with them and have pizza (HUGE slices!) and walk the boardwalk. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures as usual. I love Seaside Heights, so this will be a nice a little preview of whats to come when we go down there for our real vacation on the week of the 16th. I can't wait! :-)

And that's about it. Some people have been asking why I haven't updated my blog in a little while *cough* Gayle! *cough* so I hope you're happy. LOL

p0int out!

We survived.

2005-06-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

Six Flags
1 Mile

That's the sign we saw a couple times on the way back home. Yep, Anthony got us lost, but it was funny. LOL Anyway, onto the fun part!

Six Flags was awesome! We got there with no problems at all. As a matter of fact, we got there just in time to see the park open at 10:00. This was a first for me, so it was pretty exciting. Learning from our mistake last time we went there, we ran (literally) straight to Superman. The line for that coaster builds so quickly you wouldn't believe. So we got that out of the way. As usual, it was fun. Nothing amazing in my opinion, except for going uphill and that first loop since you are laying down rather than sitting up like on a regular coaster. After that we went on all the coasters in order of appearance. Late into the day, probably around 4:00 or so, we finally made our way to Nitro. We had to wait in line for about an hour, but it went fast. We made it fun. :P When we finally got there, I was beginning to think about the uphill voyage. Nitro's hill is by far THE hill I fear most. Going up is slow as hell, pretty steep and just down right nerve-racking. But hey, you know what? I enjoyed every second of it! I actually didn't panic going uphill. I kept looking past the side of the train to see how much we still have until we get to the top. At one point we were half way up there, and I just kept wanting to go up and up... and up! I look to my left and we FAR about the trees. Awesome view! If I could get my camera out in time, take a picture and put it away, then I would've. But I'm not that crazy. :P So we're at the top... we begin to lean over... the track is so steep I can't see any of it. It seems as if we falling into an empty space heading straight for the ground. But along we go! Down the track at 80 MPH with the wind in my face. :D Incredible feeling! Not once is there a dull moment on Nitro. Constant hills, constant turns, constant speed! I greyed out in the same spot I did last year. That's always a good thing. :P Christin swears she saw a deer standing near the track when we went down one of the hills. It's cool too because we are right by the trees. The view is just so beautiful. I'm a freak when it comes to nature. :) We load back into the station and it's over. I want to go back so bad! Gayle, if you're reading this and I know you are, I promise you we are going to go on day this summer. And since you have already done Nitro, I can trust you to go on it with me. If anyone wants any pictures of Nitro (or any other coasters), just say so in my comments section, along with your e-mail address, and I will send them to you.

So overall, yesterday was awesome. I got to hang out with my friends ALL day, had a fun car ride there and back and got to ride one of the highest coasters in the world. I'll definitely be going back sometime next month to ride Kingda Ka (tallest and fastest coaster on Earth). And with that....... I'm out!

[/nitrosity]

Eventful weekend

2005-06-18T14:20:00.000-04:00

Last night Anthony, Christin and I all went bowling for a few hours. I kicked ass, 4 out of 5 games were owned by me. Anthony got lucky in the end and I hope he's reading this... :P We also had Taco Bell for dinner that night, which was awesome as usual. I love my tacos! Pretty soon the family and I are going down the street to Jessica's graduation party. That should be a lot of fun... and plus, there will be free food. Always a plus in my book! When that's done and over with, I'll just come back here to play some games, go on the forums and whatnot. Tomorrow is Father's Day, we are taking my dad out to Botto's for dinner. That should be interesting, as I used to work there. I am looking forward to seeing some of my friends there, others I am NOT looking forward to see. :/ But oh well, that should go quickly.

And then there is Monday! Six Flags: Great Adventure, here we come! It'll be Anthony, Christin, Trudy and me. Yup, no Gina. :( That really disappointed me, but we have all summer. I just want to hang out with her again like old times. Anyway, back to the topic of Six Flags. It turns out I am driving, how exciting. Nah, I don't really mind. It'll go fast with my friends in the car. If you didn't hear already, Kingda Ka, the coaster we were all looking forward to going on the most, has been shut down for a couple week. There is something wrong with the launching mechanism and it needs to be fixed. Oh well, there is always Nitro. :D I cannot WAIT to go on that! Awesome freakin' coaster, people! That'll be an all-day event. We are leaving the house promptly at 8am, stopping for a quick breakfast and then we'll hit the busy road! It'll be a work day, so the roads should be "interesting." Anyway, I'm out. I am offer to Jess's party now. It takes a while to get there (approx. 2 mins. by foot), so I should leave now. :P

And oh yeah... HAPPY GRADUATION, GINA! May your future be AWESOME AS HELL! :) Good luck out there! I know you'll love it. I already do. College > high school

Okay, now I'm out!

[/mr. eventful]

Tigers, hoes and flags... oh my!

2005-06-11T01:36:00.000-04:00

Better late than never, right? Right! I finally upgraded to OS X 10.4 Tiger. Dashboad is highly addicting, Spotlight is amazingly fast and useful and system performance has definitely seen a noticeable boost. I could go on and on about why this is the best OS to date, but I'll sum it up in one sentence: it rocks.

So I bought Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas tonight for the Xbox. I already have the PS2 version, but stopped playing it as soon as I read there was an Xbox version of the game in works. Whenever a game goes multiplatform, I usually try to purchase the one that will give me the best overall experience. And that is why I bought it for the Xbox: 480p widescreen, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, improved graphics, custom soundtracks and overall better performance (especially the load times).

And June 20th seems to be the official Six Flags: Great Adventure day. Kingda Ka, here I come! Nitro, here I come! Great American Scream Machine, here I come! Or at least I hope... I have to ask my dad if I can off from work on that day, since it is on Monday. I don't see why I cannot have off, I could always put in more hours on Friday (usually my day off). Anyway, it's going to be me, Anthony, Gina, Christin, Trudy, Anthony's sister and Anthony's sister's friend. w00t! Color my hyped! Anthony, Gina and I will be hanging out again just like old times. :)

Hell has frozen over. Again.

2005-06-06T22:54:00.000-04:00

Read it and be shocked: http://news.com.com/2061-10793_3-5733723.html

Yes, you read correctly. Apple has chosen to go with Intel and their processors in future Macintosh computers. The rumors were strong before all this happened... but it has indeed happened. Hell has frozen over... again. Apple fans know what I am talking about. :P Anyway, this news is HUGE! IBM is out and Intel is in! I was a bit skeptical about it at first, but after reading several news articles and viewing the interview with Steve Jobs on CNBC, I can safely say this is a very smart move. Higher clock speeds, cooler CPU temperatures, less power usage, better performance... this is a great time to be a Mac user! And not only that, but expect future Mac systems to be more affordable by the average consumer. w00t. I am hyped!

http://www.apple.com/ If you are not yet a Macintosh user, go to the official Apple Web site and see what all the fuss is about. Expect all Mac's to be equipped with Intel processors by the end of 2007. Everything begins mid-2006.

[/apple computer does it again]

Survey time!

2005-06-06T01:15:00.000-04:00

I saw this survey in Gina's Live Journal entry, so I went at it with my own results:

The Favorites, Have-You-Evers.. and Last Times! Oh, the variety!
Created by -ambiguous and taken 55183 times on bzoink!
What is your favorite..
gum	rarely chew gum anymore
restaurant	the colonial diner
drink	mountain dew: code red
season	winter
type of weather	depends on my mood and what i am doing that day
emotion	happy
thing to do on a half day	play video games or work on the computer
late-night activity	play video games or work on the computer... duh.
sport	don't play sports
city	never been there, but Los Angeles, California
store	probably GameStop
When was the last time you..
cried	prefer not to say; i'm secret like that
played a sport	i don't do that
laughed	half-hour ago
hugged someone	sometime recently
kissed someone	family: recently girlfriend: a while ago when we were dating
felt depressed	when the one i love suddenly broke up with me
felt elated	wtf does elated mean?
felt overworked	never really... i'm a tough guy! :P
faked sick	no idea
lied	i don't know
What was the last..
word you said	know
thing you ate	donut from Dunkin' Donuts
song you listened to	Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz
thing you drank	Mountain Dew: Code Red
place you went to	Wawa
movie you saw	Are We There Yet?
movie you rented	don't rent anymore, i buy
concert you attended	last week's high school concert
Who was the last person you..
hugged	my mom
cried over	not really cried... but i think gina
kissed	seriously and not a family kiss: gina
danced with	gina
shared a secret with	probably anthony
had a sleepover with	your mom... tell her i had a great time!
called	anthony
went to a movie with	anthony
saw	not counting family... theresa (sp?) from my old job
were angry with	christin
couldn't take your eyes off of	gina on friday night
obsessed over	probably gina when we were dating
Have you ever..
danced in the rain	nope
kissed someone	obviously, i'm a stud.
done drugs	nope, drugs are for losers
drank alcohol	yup, great times
slept around	nah
partied 'til the sun came up	if LAN/console parties count, then multiple times
had a movie marathon	not really
gone too far on a dare	no
spun until you were immensely dizzy	yes
taken a survey quite like this before	yes, i have too much time on my hands.
Create a Survey \| Search Surveys \| Go to bzoink!

[/time killing]

Dogs and water slides do not mix.

2005-06-05T17:54:00.000-04:00

I found out today that dogs and water slides don't mix. As sad as it is, it's true. :-/ I felt like putting our Pug on the little water slide we have out back leading into our pool. I put her on, she does a 180 half way down, almost falls off the slide and plops into the raft I had waiting for her in the water. Pretty funny actually... she looked petrified. LOL She's a small dog, so don't try this if you have anything bigger than a weiner dog (she's about the size of one). Just wanted to update you on that real quick.

[/dog abuser]

Now THAT is work.

2005-06-04T14:04:00.000-04:00

Who needs the restaurant business? Yesterday I worked the entire day with my dad. We went to a job site to do an inspection, had lunch afterwards at Applebee's, and then went back to the office to do random tasks. I went to Wawa to pick up some sodas and coffee for my dad, Susan (his secretary) and myself. I also went home real quick to pick up my PowerBook to work at the office. I ended up working on Susan's computer after she left. I setup Outlook Express to send and receive e-mail using her new official address (part of the Web site). I am going to set my dad's up sometime next week. Now THIS is work. I get paid to do things I like: work on the computer, run errands involving a car ride, work on the Web site, design graphics, straighten up the office (I'm very organized... well, most of the time) and more stuff like that.

After work I went home for a little to change my clothes and get my paycheck I accidentally left there. I cashed my check, got my money, and headed off to the mall. I bought the new Gorillaz CD entitled Demon Days. It has the new Feel Good Inc. song, which totally kicks ass and has an awesome beat. It is also one of the songs featured in one of the few new iPod TV ads.

Well I am about to play some Chaos Theory matches, so I'll back to ya later. !tuO

[/neckbreaker]

Seeing her face again made me smile

2005-06-03T08:37:00.000-04:00

Who am I kidding? Seeing her face again last night just made me smile and think of the old times. I just wish everything was perfect again... but she is happy right now and I'm glad.

So last night was the band concert at Kingsway. I got to see some old faces again, which was cool. I saw Mike, who just keeps getting fatter. :P Dee was there, a woman I met in two of my college classes. I didn't get to say hi because she was busy talking to her family. Of course Gina was there, who looked great by the way. Her hair looked absolutely beautiful by the way. I am going to her graduation party at the end of this month, so I am definitely looking forward to that. I just hope my emotions don't kick in... I tend to get jealous when I see her hanging around another guy she likes. But what can I do? Okay I'm going a little off topic.

Last Memorial Day weekend was awesome. Not only was it my first official weekend off from my old job, but I had a great time on Sunday. I got to see Gayle, which I always look forward to. She brought over her new digital SLR camera. Wow, that thing made me jealous! I am definitely getting one for Christmas now. It's time to move on from my 3.1MP point-and-shoot digital camera. We also got to talk about her new Mac and how she likes it so much. I recently got her to switch. Jobs would like that. :) But yeah, she loves it. I also taught her a few handy Photoshop techniques to use on her photographs. Gayle also has an iPod photo (aren't you glad I made her switch! :P), which has also convinced me that I want one, but not until Apple comes with a video model of it. There are rumors of the iPod video eventually coming out, but no solid details have been given. But you know Apple, last minute announcements mean last minute releases. Everything is a surprise with them.

My cousins were also there that day, which was cool. We all played a game of baseball in our backyard which was a lot of fun. I got a few runs. :) Almost everyone one of Rob's hits were home runs. Oh yeah, that's another thing. Rob got a motorcycle. I had no idea he had one until last Sunday when he showed up on it. I don't know my bikes, but it is an orange sport bike with some sexy exterior. Like I said, I'm not a know-it-all when it comes to bikes, but I definitely thought this thing was awesome. It kind of made me want to get one, but would I really need it?

And now it's Friday... I am waiting for my dad to wake up. We are going on a job site in a little while and then getting lunch afterwards. This definitely beats working at Botto's. Anyday.

OH YEAH! My dad finally purchased the domain name for our company Web site. We are going with Network Solutions for the host and http://www.dcdfireandsecurity.com/ for the domain. Go there now to check it out. NS had their own default "Under Construction" page setup, but I tore it all down and built our own temporary page all with raw HTML coding. It's nothing special, just a temporary page to hold people over until it is eventually fully up and running. I am aiming for a release date of July 1st. So if you know anyone who needs a fire/security system installed in their home or business, it'd be nice if you could refer us. :)

Lots of words for so early in the morning... okay, well I am out for now. We're leaving soon. I'll let you know how everything went.

[/w0rk out]

E3 2005 Thoughts

2005-05-24T15:21:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a next-gen show! Microsoft showed off some great upcoming titles for their new XBOX 360, Sony wowed us all with the PlayStation 3 and unbelievable graphics, and then there's Nintendo... they unveiled a prototype version of the Revolution, there next contender in the console wars. And that's about it, Nintendo barely showed anything. We got to read some details about it, like how we'll be able to purchase and download 20 years' worth of Nintendo games and play them right there on the console. Let's not go too into it right now, as I am categorizing them for a brief afterthoughts session:

Microsoft XBOX 360
The console itself is very nice looking. When I first saw it, I have to admit I wasn't very fond of its design. Now it has fully grown on me and I love it. The glowing green light when the console is on looks awesome. It can be placed horizontally or vertically. It looks like Sony's ways have rubbed off on their competitors. It is also very convenient if you don't have much space around your entertainment center. The XBOX 360's controller is perfect. It represents the design of the Controller S, with shoulder buttons added (black and white were removed in favor) and a new white shell. Also it is wireless so that is awesome. It will use Bluetooth technology to communicate with the XBOX 360 console for cord-free gameplay. Finally, it's a standard! Now onto the games:

Dead or Alive 4 - Looking very nice, but the character models don't look THAT amazing, especially when compared to Dead or Alive 3 on the XBOX. The environments are definitely a jaw-dropper. As long as the gameplay is there, I am going to absolutely love it.

Project Gotham Racing 3 - Wow. And I thought PGR2 looked amazing when it was first unveiled. Now THIS is freakin' next-generation, people! Just go to http://xbox360.ign.com/ and look around for some PGR3 screens and you'll see what I mean. Man does this game look realistic. And get this! All 360 games shown at the E3 show were running at 1/3 its power! It wasn't even running on finalized hardware. So this game is going to look and perform even better. This is definitely getting a purchase from me at launch.

Gears of War - Think a first-person shooter meets a survival horror game, and you have Gears of War. The gameplay and graphics on this game look AMAZING. Like I said before, this next-gen is going to be huge! I don't have much to say about this game, except that it is going to absolutely rock my socks off!

Kameo: Elements of Power - It's Rare; that is all I have to say about this game. It's Rare. It's going to rock. I'm buying it!

There were other games shown off to the public, but those were the most important to talk about. One game that was NOT at the show was Perfect Dark Zero. Forget the early screens you have seen from the MTV showing that Thursday night. It has been confirmed that this game looks absolutely beautiful! Xbox Live is returning with TONS of new features. Custom content, downloadable demos, Gamer Cards... MORE! MORE!! MORE!!! I am an Xbox Live whore so this has me really hyped. Oh and by the way, Microsoft is trying to push the whole media all-in-one box thing with the XBOX 360. Be ready to show off you photos, videos, music... everything to your family and friends all on your console. It also has two USB 2.0 ports for connecting external devices, such as your MP3 player (yes, iPod is included in compatibility) or digital camera. Surprisingly, the XBOX 360 does NOT have Wi-Fi built-in. But you could always buy the external adapter (might be included at launch, not yet confirmed). Oh yeah, another thing. The XBOX 360 is only backwards compatible with the top-selling Xbox games, which means I won't be able to play my entire collection on the thing. But oh well, it's not like I am selling my XBOX. I love my baby. :) It would've been nice to have FULL backwards compatibility, but oh well; what can you do?

Sony PlayStation 3
Yup, that's the name of Sony's next console. Did it actually surprise you? The console itself is very bulky, but it still says "I'm futuristic-looking" to me. In my opinion anway... some people think it is fugly. It looks okay, but good enough. It has 6, yes SIX, USB 2.0 ports for connecting your devices, such as a digital camera or MP3 player. It uses Blu-Ray technology. You heard me correctly: BLU-RAY! Talk about big bucks, Sony! But this is great news. When Blu-Ray becomes big, I'll be all set with my PS3. :) Sony is looking into the future and they are doing it the right way by including this. The PS3 has Wi-Fi built-into the console, so no extra adapters needed. Sony, like Microsoft, is also pushing the whole all-in-one media box functionality. They are also finally opening their own online service, just like Xbox Live. Thank you, Sony! It looks like I'll be online with this baby come next year. :) Now onto their controller. Sony, if you're listening... what the fuck were you smoking when designing the PS3 controller? It looks like a freakin' boomerang! But I guess if it is comfortable, then all is good. I still don't dig the analog sticks being right next to one another, especially since I play a lot of FPS's. It would have been nice if Sony designed their controller similar to that of the XBOX 360's. It IS wireless, so that's always a good thing. Everyone is in fact going wireless for their controllers, so it is about time. Now for the games... uh, I'm not going to list them because I don't fully believe the PS3 is capable of what I saw at the show. Well I do believe the Fight Night real-time demo they showed off, because it has been confirmed that it was in fact in real-time; no pre-rendered bullshit. The Killzone 2 demo amazed everyone, but like I said: it was pre-rendered. It was simply shown that way to give us an example of what to expect from the power of the PS3. Expect this bitch to be expensive. Oh yeah! It is fully backwards compatible with ALL PS1 and PS2 games. How cool is that!? Sony, I love you.

Nintendo Revolution
Nintendo barely showed anything off regarding the Revolution, except for that fact that we can purchase and download 20 years' worth of Nintendo titles. That's basically all we have heard. Except from a few small details, that's about it. No controller... nothing revolutionary shown. Yet. I hope this "Internet" functionality they added isn't the revolutionary feature we were all expecting. But hey, as long as they put out the AAA titles they are known for, I am fine with that. I want Mario 128 damnit!!!

Nintendo also revealed the GBA Micro, a micro-sized version of the Game Boy Advance. I MIGHT buy one, as it is a very small and sexy unit. I'd rather play my GBA games on the Micro than my bulky DS, while only using one screen. And the smallness of the screen should mean an excellent resolution. Games will look extra sharp, as 2D games are meant to look. We also got to see some new screens/videos and read more information on upcoming DS games, like Animal Crossing DS and Mario Kart DS. AC DS is going to rock, as is MK DS! :D

Well there you have it. E3 2005 was awesome this year, as it every year. I think this show was strongly focused on new hardware rather than showing off new games. After all, it is most likely the last E3 before Microsoft and Sony both roll out their new consoles. Nintendo might not launch the Revolution until holiday of NEXT year, but that is only a rumor. We know the XBOX 360 is being released this year in time for the holidays. It is rumored the PS3 will be released mid-2006. But no official dates have been given yet.

So look forward to next-gen and save your money, kids! It's gonna be hell of an expensive ride.

Bottowned!

2005-05-21T01:29:00.000-04:00

It's official, my weekend notice is in and I finish on Sunday. Ken (my boss) gave me a little trouble about how I gave such short notice and all that shit, but hey... do I care? Ha, I think not. He can suck me. So yeah, my weekends will very soon be back. :)

Never work in a restaurant.

2005-05-20T13:32:00.000-04:00

Well today is the day. Today I am putting in my one week notice for quitting my busboy job at Botto's. I would do a two weeks notice, but I start working for my dad this Monday. So I am getting out of there as soon as possible. Sure I am going to miss a lot of people there (mainly Adolfo). But I promised him we would do stuff over the summer and continue to hang out. Go swimming, go to Six Flags: Great Adventure for the day... all that good stuff. Other than meeting good people there, I really didn't like working for them. I had to work on holidays, late hours into the night, I never had my weekends to spend with my family and friends... meh. >_< I'll get back to you tonight on how it went. The next post after that will be my big E3 update.

Quick update, more later.

2005-05-18T17:26:00.000-04:00

Ah, E3. :) It's like Christmas time for the hardcore gamers. Sony has unveiled the PlayStation 3 (official name, duh), Microsoft has shown off what the XBOX 360 can do, but more on that later. Then there is Nintendo; they showed a prototype design of the Revolution console. They also unveiled the Game Boy Micro, a micro-sized version of the Game Boy Advance. I'll make a big post about all the big stories in my next post, but for now you can look forward to it. :P

Also, my mom won $1,000 on Q102 (local radio station). She was caller number 102 and won a grand. Isn't that awesome? Holy tater tots!

What a waste of film and money

2005-05-16T02:05:00.000-04:00

Hear me on this, people: Open Water is just a waste of your money and time. Star far far away! Seriously, what a STUPID movie. I got it as a part of a Buy 2 Get 1 Free deal at Blockbuster, and it wasn't even worth the price of free. Anyway... things are lookin' good on the possibilities of me working for my dad. If all goes well, I'm going to put my week's notice in. Yes, one week, not two. Fuck them; I'm doing it my way.

Star Wars: Episode III starts this Thursday! w00t! I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, but I am certainly looking forward to the premiere. It's kind of sad to think Star Wars is all over after this Thursday. Sure there will still be tons of video games based on the series, but movies are done with. :( Oh well, these things have to happen sometime.

The whole XBOX 360 scene is looking awesome. E3 2005 is this week, so expect TONS of updates in a new bl0g entry. Get your reading glasses ready! OMG.... can't wait! LOL

That's it for now; I gotta get to sleep. Tomorrow is my last final for the semester. It's going to be easy. Afterwards I am going to the mall to get Anthony a gift for his birthday (it's tomorrrow). If you see this, Anthony... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUDE!!!!

Introducing the XBOX 360

2005-05-13T03:37:00.000-04:00

There it is, folks, in its oversized greatness: official renders of the XBOX 360 console and the controller. Sporting three, yes THREE, processors, a killer GPU and 512MB of memory, this system is going to be one hell of a beast! Wireless controllers = awesome; Media center-like functions = Godly; optional/upgradeable hard disk drive = smart move; customizable faceplats = sweetness; XBOX 360 = the system to own this Christmas!!!!!

I am officially hyped. :) Now I just have to wait until E3 rolls out next week for TONS of new info. Expect a huge update that day!

[/Xbot]

Working and "Rollerskating"

2005-05-09T00:58:00.000-04:00

Whew, what a weekend. I'm glad it is over with... I worked 12 hours today for Mother's Day, from 9 am to about 9 pm. I was so tired I left early without helping the other busboy. :P Hey, I don't give a shit about that place anymore. I am most likely putting in my two weeks notice this Friday. I may be working full time with my dad this summer. I would go with him on his quotes he always does; I am finally going to design his company's Web site, which means I have to learn Adobe's GoLive. I would use Microsoft FrontPage since I am already familiar with it, but hey: I say screw "screw you, Microsoft!" Adobe > Microsoft anyday! But yeah, if this all works out, it's going to be awesome. I'll finally have my weekends back and I will be back by a decent hour during the week. And I'm working with my dad. How does it get cooler than that?

In other news, Apple has released a new iPod ad:

http://www.apple.com/ipod/ads/rollerskating/

Pretty cool if you ask me. It's a very catchy tune about half-way through. I like how Apple went with the rollerskaters. They've never done that before, so it feels pretty fresh and stands out from their other ads. I wish I could save the ad, but I don't have Quicktime Pro, just regular version 7. I still agree Jeff from the forums on how Apple should give us Mac users Pro for free. It's got some pretty sweet features.

Hm, what else??? I guess that's it for now. I'm gonna browse the forums and eBay for a little whole and then go to bed. No class tomorrow morning, so I can sleep in for as long as I want. :) w00t! Night, bitches!

[/blank of p0int]

Fun and "interesting" night

2005-05-05T02:22:00.000-04:00

Anthony and I went bowling with Marjo tonigh. A bunch of our friends were there from school so that was cool. I hung out with Devin and them for a while. I got into my occassional PC versus Mac arguement with Devin and his friend, but oh well... I win everytime. :) Afterwards we went to Taco Bell and ate like crazy. We were starving mofos! Then on the way home I made Ant stop at Gina's house just so we could say hi. We haven't talked in about a month or so. Anyway, we pull up. Anthony goes to the door and says to Gina that someone (meaning me) wants to say hi real quick. Well she slams the door so Ant's thinking "okay...". He's getting back in the car. Next thing you know, Gina comes out of her house with some loser who randomly says "what are you doing here?" and then "why are you still here?" Who the fuck does he think he is? We were just there to say hi and this loser makes it into something big. So Ant and I simply say we were there to say hi and that's not a problem. He still doesn't understand us (his IQ must be low or something...). Gina is laughing at Ant and me, so this REALLY sets us off. Ant gets back in the car, I give them the finger and we speed off. Gina had no reason to laugh. She was at least Ant's friend and she is laughing at us? Well if you see this, Gina, I honestly mean this: fuck you. You're a loser who doesn't know what she is doing. And you're changing too. So fuck you.

Sure it seems harsh, but she deserves it after all we've been through. It's a long story, but I just had to vent. Afterall I don't want to turn this into a soap opera.

I came home, took an online quiz for tomorrow's class. I score an 85, which is good enough for me. And now I am here. I should get to bed, gotta wake up tomorrrow at 10:00.

[/p0int]

Couple days late... o_O

2005-05-01T14:32:00.000-04:00

I've been busy lately, so I am finally creating a new post. Let's have a recap of what has happened in the past few days:

-the Photoshop expert/professional photographer that came into my class last Monday was cool. He did indeed show us how to digitally transform a lady's shoe into a fish. I liked it so much I tried at my own and came out with a dog. :P

- Apple has officially released Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger'. I still don't have it, but I should be getting it within the month. Dashboard and Spotlight are going to own me.

- the senior trip to Walt Disney World has been a disaster from what I have heard. LOL This is funny because a certain "someone" was on that trip.

- I worked 12 hours yesterday and my body is still in pain from it. There were several parties, including one of which numbered at 150 people... fun!

- Oh yeah, how I could I forget! Apple also introduced their new Power Mac G5 lineup, including some price drops too. But more importantly to me, the Cinema Display prices have dropped dramatically. The 20-inch model can be had for only $699 with the edu discount. HOWEVER, I am now going for the 23-inch Cinema HD Display which can be had for $1299 with the edu discount. Though it may seem high, it is an EXCELLENT price considering past models and their costs. Just imagine: an actual high definition display on my desk. Ahhhh... :drool: I have around $1000 in my PayPal account so it shouldn't long until I get the display.

Well I am out for now. I have to get ready for work in about a half-hour. I might be back tonight with another post. Only two more weeks of school! w00t!

-dew it

Games, friends and school... life.

2005-04-25T10:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a few days since I updated, so here it goes...

Thursday night was fready; the good kind of freaky. I made a new friend on Xbox Live who is JUST like me. It began when he asked me where I live. I said New Jersey of course. It turns out he lives 30 minutes from me, over in Pennsylvania right over the bridge. AND he has been to three of the local malls I go to. Then I ask the question: have you ever been to the Apple store in the Christiana Mall? Surprisingly, he loves the Apple store. He is a Mac user! 0mz0rz! LOL But seriously, that is awesome. Then we did a one-way video chat on iChat since he has an iBook G4. He is getting his iSight within a week or so, so then we can video chat both ways. It's cool too because I leave my iSight on while I am playing Chaos Theory. So that way Alex (that's his name) can watch what's going on on my TV while he is on the other team. Sure it's cheap, but it's fun. :P We also talk through iChat, so it's fun to do that too. He tells me where he and his teammate are. Shh, this is top secret. LOL But yeah, made a new friend. He's awesome. The game is awesome. I love my games. :)

This Friday the Tiger finally gets let out of its cage! Can't... wait... any... longer! It's gonna be sweet. And oh yeah, I got two free Mac games from usickenme at the forums. He gave me Rune and Sin. Not the best games out there, but hey... they're free. You can't beat that! If you're seeing this, usickenme, thanks a lot man! I really appreciate it.

Leaving for class in about 15 minutes. Today were are going to have a Photoshop expert come in and show us a sweet technique. I believe he is showing us how to turn a boot into a fish using nothing but Photoshop tools. This is my kind of class! I'll get back to you later tonight with the details. For now, I am going to browse the forums and get my stuff together for class.

p0int 0ut.

Good times!

2005-04-21T22:05:00.000-04:00

The last couple days have been awesome. I rarely get to do anything alone with either just my mom or dad; you know, the two of us. Well Tuesday after my painting class got out, I met my dad at the diner for dinner. It was nice just being the two of us. We got to talk about things we like to do, how GameStop and EB Games are merging... all that good stuff. And then yesterday my mom and I both didn't have class because it was some kind of in-service thing they were having at the school. Anyway instead of class that night I decided we should go bowling. It came to my mom as a surprise since we NEVER go bowling. The last time I did was more than a few years ago. We sucked up the allies big time. We were horrible. I think I got around five strike out of five games total. We sucked bad... afterwards we met the rest of the family and my sister's boyfriend at the diner for some grub. Yes, that's THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW! I told you we're there too much. And now I am here. My mom should be home soon with some McDonald's for dinner. Yes, it's a late dinner but it is better than nothing.

And oh yeah, 8 days until Tiger is released. w00t w00t! Ohhh, man I cannot wait for this! I'm hoping my dad buys it next weekend while I am at work. But if not, then I'll get it from Apple's Web site with edu discount. You can't beat 70 bucks! Well I'm out for now. Gonna eat dinner when it gets here and then play some more Chaos Theory.

0ut.

n00bs suck!

2005-04-19T16:07:00.000-04:00

Just got done playing a handful of games in Chaos Theory... with n00bs! Seriously though, it doesn't take that much common sense to STAY IN THE FREAKIN' ROOM I TELL YOU TO! If we both agree to stay in our own rooms each, then stay there. Don't wander around the map looking like an idiot. Chaos Theory takes teamwork and a lot of skill to win a match. If you don't have both of those, then practice in unranked matches instead of bringing MY stats down.

Okay, now that that's over with. :)

I have to leave early for class today because my dad has to pick up his car from Tweeter. He is driving so I can just relax. :) After he gets his car, I have to then drive back to the school for Painting I. I'm finishing my abstract paiting tonight, so that is a plus. It's not the BEST painting I have ever done, but it is good enough. I don't know if I am meeting my family at the diner afterwards. I'll find out later.

Tomorrow should be cool. I don't have any classes so I will have plenty of time to play Midnight Club 3 and earn myself some new rides. I am also going to my old high school's talent show tomorrow night, so I might see some old friends of mine. Then I'm driving my sister, her boyfriend Ray, and myself to the diner for dinner. Yes, we are there way too much. But I love it there. Then from there on, who knows...

stay creative.

Street racing is cool.

2005-04-18T19:58:00.000-04:00

I went to class this morning, left 15 minutes early because we had a lecture on an introduction to layers in Photoshop CS. The professor already knows I am very familiar with Photoshop so she doesn't care if I leave early. Anyway, after class I went to the mall real quick to get Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition for the Xbox. I always get the Xbox verison if it's multi-platform; mainly for the best experience (graphics and sound) and Xbox Live. Left the mall with my new game in hand and then got my haircut.... went home, vacuumed my car and FINALLY popped in MC3. This game is phenominal! The attention to detail of customiztion of your car is amazing. You can create your own license plate text, totally revamp your car's body, add exterior neon lighting, add decals... let's just say this alone will sell you a copy of the game. Then there's the Career mode. Nothing really that special here, but it's still fun and addicting. Cruise around town looking for opponents to race. You earn cash, spend that cash on car parts or a new ride altogether... blah blah blah! But like I said, it's so well done you will keep coming back for more. I haven't played any matches on Xbox Live yet, so no quick impressions there. Playing some Chaos Thoey afterwards, owned as a Merc and sucked as a Spy. :P I'll play more tonight. Now I am off to the Colonial Diner for some dinner. I'm taking my sister with me, so I won't be all lonely in my car. :P I'm gonna get there early so I can read some more of my Steve Jobs book. Be back tonight!

l8er.

Another Sunday... sort of

2005-04-18T01:38:00.000-04:00

Today was just like every other Sunday, but with an added extra in the end. But I'll talk about that later. Every Sunday I have the same routine. I wake up around 9:30 in the morning and get ready to go to church. After mass is over and done with, my family and I always go to The Golden Palace for breakfast. It's not really palace-like, but any h000... when I got home I played a few games of Splinter Cell: Chaos Thoey. I made a new friend and we totally kick ass as a team! I definitely look forward to playing alongside him in future games. When that was done with, I went on the Internet for a half hour or so and watched some TV. Then came 3:30; I got ready for another boring Sunday of work. Eh, it was okay. Adolfo went home early, so we didn't really get to talk all that much. When I was done work, I went over to The Great Wall (Chinese restaurant across the street from Botto's) to pick up some food for my friend Tammy. Brought that back, said goodbye to everyone for the week and went back to my car with Adolfo (I went to his house to get him as soon as I clocked out). From there we went straight to McDonald's to our usual #5 meal, a chicken sandwhich with fries and a soda. But before we got the food, something happened. We were waiting at the drive-thru intercom speaker and I went to back up because I wanted to pull up closer to the curb. Well stupid me goes in reverse without even checking behind me and I hit the lady's car. I'm thinking "oh shit... what the hell do I do?" Well here's her freaking out! "Fucking asshole! What the fuck is your problem!" I'm thinking "oh please, shut up and get a life!" I freakin' bumped her.... BUMPED HER! It was a somewhat light tap, so obviously no damage was done. She even got out of her car, crappy at that I might add, to check... >_< So she sped around me and went inside to order her food. Lameass... I don't really care anyway. I even checked the back of my car. There was a slight white smudge but I whiped it off with my finger. So no damage here. :) My brand new car > her crappy ass car Yes, seems snotty of me, but hey... that's how I am. :P I drive a Mitsubishi 2005 Galant by the way. Very sexy! :) Anyway! From there on, we ate our food, went to WaWa afterwards to get some MORE food... relaxed in my car for twenty minutes or so and then I dropped Adolfo off back at his house. Blah blah blah... and now I'm here after playing some Chaos Theory. I sucked bad... LOL Anyway, I'm out! I have to get up tomorrow at 10:00 for class. Yay, Digital Photography ownz j00! I might pick up Midnight Club 3 for Xbox after class gets out, but I'm not sure yet. I really want a new PSP game. Okay, I'm still here huh? Now I'm leaving. Nighty night, don't let the bugs bite you in the ass!

Work in 30 mins.

2005-04-16T15:01:00.000-04:00

I have a half hour until I get ready and go to work. I am a busboy at a local Italian restaurant, Botto's. I have been working there for a little over one year now. It's okay... I get free food constantly so that's always a plus. However, it is time to get out of there. It's just not the place for me. My boss is a rude jerk who doesn't deserve to work there... my co-workers are often miserable... and it's just boring as hell sometimes. Eckerd is hiring new people for their photo department, which I REALLY want to take part in. I'd take that over working in a restaurant any day. I believe they "touch up" people's photos too, so that's definitely something I am interested in. As mentioned before, I am a graphic designer so I am very familiar with all this. If I do work there, I won't start until school is over, which is around the middle of May. And their closing times are so much earlier than those at Botto's. I would get done around 9:00 PM on weekdays and Saturdays, and 6:00 PM on Sunday. That's freakin' awesome! Anyway, I'm going to go now. Lunch time! :) I'll probably post another entry tomorrow before work. p0intblank: out!

Must... stay... awake...

2005-04-15T02:41:00.000-04:00

I'm so tired, but I have to stay up to watch Attack of the Show at 3:00 AM. I don't HAVE to, I just really enjoy watching it every night. On a more interesting note, Apple has announced they are officially releasing Tiger (their next OS X upgrade) on April 29th. I'll be getting my copy within a month of release. I can't wait. It is going to sport 200+ new features. The ones I am looking forward to playing around with the most are Spotlight and Dashboard. Apple 0wnz0rz me!!!11!1!

Anyway, I'm out for tonight. I don't have much to say right now... so tired. <_< Night.

Boredom, here I come!

2005-04-13T16:46:00.000-04:00

It's 4:47 PM... almost time to leave for Elementary Algebra, the MOST boring class I have ever taken. I know how to do everything already, I've done most of the homework ahead of time I am so bored... it sucks. The only reason I am taking it is because I failed the placement test by two points. TWO FREAKIN' POINTS! But oh well, I'll just read my book 'The Second Coming of Steve Jobs' to pass the time. Afterwards my mom and I are going to the Colonial Diner for dinner. My Aunt Theresa is a waitress there, and the best one at that! She's awesome. Her nickname is MaMa T because she is always helping people out with their problems. She recently helped me about a problem concerning my ex-girlfriend Gina. But let's not get into that... if you DO want to join her group, follow this link:

http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupid=100283726&Mytoken
=20050413135155

You must be a registered member of myspace to join it, though. It's definitely worth it. While we are on the topic of myspace, here is the link to my profile:

http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=3200856&Mytoken
=20050413135423

MySpace is an excellent community to be a part of. You can join groups, get in touch with old classmates, make new friends... it's awesome. I visit there everyday to see what is going on. I am soon going to design a graphic for MaMa T's group, "Let's Talk." I somewhat have an idea of what to create, but I'm still generating it in my mind.

Well it's off to class! Be sure to drop by MySpace and take a look around. I think you'll like what you see. I will probably be tonight around midnight or so to add another post. Until then, think different.

Ah, so it begins.

2005-04-12T15:25:00.000-04:00

So this is my blog... I've been wanting to make one for a while now, so here it is. I guess I'll start out with telling you about myself. My name is Dave and I am currently attending Gloucester County College. It is only my first year, so I have a lot of to do still. I am majoring in Computer Graphic Arts and loving it. I have always enjoyed designing graphics and messing around with them. I guess it goes back to the years of The Print Shop Deluxe. I used to make birthday cards, flyers, advertisements... all that good stuff. They weren't usually for real use, just stuff to have fun with. I eventually acquired more knowledge and began to use more advanced applications like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

For years I used a Windows-based computer. But then came college. One of my first required classes I took was Mac Literacy. Ah, yes... the Macintosh. Before this class, I had no interest whatsoever in Apple and their computers. I used to always look at them as "weird" and "different" (heh, I know). But then I took this class... did this open my eyes! There it was: a classroom filled with PowerMac G4's. I was thinking "ah, this is pretty cool." After a class or two, I was hooked. I loved the Mac and everything about it (except for that one-button mouse, but I'll get to that later). One night at the Colonial Diner after class got out, my dad was telling me how if I did well that semester, he would buy me a 17" PowerBook G4. That REALLY got me excited, as I would actually own a Macintosh in my house. Well I couldn't wait any longer. I am very impatient by the way. I just had to have my PowerBook as soon as possible. I finally got it through CompUSA (my dad picked it up for me one day and brought it home). I would've gotten it through Apple, but that's a whole other story.

And there it was; sitting on our dining room table was my 17" PowerBook G4. It was love at first sight. :P To me, getting a new computer is like Christmas. I just had to play around with it. I messed around with Mac OS X and its features... watched some movies... painting in Painter IX (with my mouse at the time...) and all that good stuff. I could go on and on about my Mac, but let's just jump to present day.

Here I am now sitting in my room, typing this up on my PowerBook. It sports a 1.5 GHz G4 PowerPC Processor, 512 MB of memory (I am soon upgrading to 1.5 GB), ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 video card, 80 GB hard disk drive and a beautiful 17-inch widescreen display. To say the least, this thing is my life. I am on it everyday, accomplishing many things.

Back to graphics and Macs, I now use Adobe Photoshop CS as my primary graphics-editing application. I also have Corel Painter 8, but barely use it. That will definitely change come this summer when I have more time and classes are over with. I also have a Wacom Intuos3 6x8 digital tablet for precise editing.

Alright, enough of that stuff. My other hobbies are as follows: video editing in iMovie 4. video games (can't live without them!), digital photography with my Kodak EasyShare DX 4330 3.1 mega-pixel digital camera (I am soon upgrading to a digital SLR), Web design and painting

Yes, I know; that is a lot of hobbies. But hey, it keeps me busy and I am proud of my skills.

Well, that is it for now. I want to get some Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory in before I have to leave for class. If you have Xbox Live and are ever up for a match, find me sometime. My Gamertag is p0intblank32 (the 0 is a zero).

See ya for now!