The Gadgets Page

Advertisements have been popping up everywhere for Cadillac. In my gaming magazine, on my websites and everywhere. They feature alternative-looking individuals who are obsessed with Cadillacs. It really makes me feel bugged. You can see the videos that they have put up here:

• mycadillacstory

The whole advertising campaign makes me mad. You can’t make me like your cars by sticking one of my peers behind the wheel. Cadillacs are monsterous boats of cars with the gas mileage of an SUV. There is NOTHING about them that appeals to me. Just sticking a multi-tattooed person in front of them isn’t enough to make me want one.

Here’s a unique idea, Cadillac: Try designing a car that I want to buy! How about a sleek tiny thing with great gas mileage and unique styling? It can cost a lot of money. That’s what Cadillacs are, but throw me a bone.

With the design of their cars, Cadillac is running into the sad fact that their consumers are getting so old that their children have taken away the keys. Your population is dying off, Cadillac. I’m sure you realize that, but you can’t get the living to buy your cars without an automotive makeover.

If you are looking for the ten best Valentine’s Day Gadgets, you’re out of luck. Valentine’s Day is about saying I love you and the best way to do it is with your ACTIONS, not your gifts.

For Valentine’s Day, ask your partner what things you could do to show him/her that you love them. Each person is different and they might not even be able to answer that question today. Listening for it is your goal. When your loved one asks you to take out the garbage, do it, and then do it again next week without being asked. When you they ask you to put your dirty clothes in the hamper, do it. It’s those small things in life that show them that you love and respect them.

Love isn’t about diamond rings and expensive gifts. It’s about the little actions that you do every day to show them that you love them.

Also, it might be a good idea to keep your eyes open for all the little things that your partner does to show you love. Are you insane about where the toothpaste should be in the medicine cabinet? Does it get put away in the “right” spot every time? Then thank them. Do the dishes that you put into the sink mysteriously get put into the dishwasher, washed and put away without your input? Then thank them. Does your towel get hung up, even though you leave it crumpled on the floor after every shower? Then thank them.

Gratitude and awareness will get you further than any fancy gift could.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I got Guitar Hero II for Christmas from Mike this year. Stacey and Dan gave me an extra guitar (wireless, baby!) so that we could all play together. It has been so fun that Stacey and Dan actually bought a Playstation 2 just to play the game. Seriously, we have had many fun hours together the four of us pretending that we are rock gods. Okay, I don’t need to pretend. The game is so good that I really think I AM a rock god.

I’m not the only one who loves to play. This review at Infovore is so descriptive that it will make you run out and buy Guitar Hero II:

• Infovore » Great gaming moments of 2007 #1: Guitar Hero II

I love his description of the finale of the game:

The greatest moment in the game is the final encore. It’s the final gig. You’ve shredded your way through four hellish solo-heavy songs, playing a special gig at Stonehenge. And the crowd start clamouring for an encore. But this time around, they’re not chanting indecipherable words, oh no.

It’s quite clear what they’re yelling.

“Freebird! Freebird!”

They want you to play Freebird.

He didn’t even tell you the BEST part of that final gig. If you can make it through it (I couldn’t. Mike had to do the encore.), your character is taken for a ride of his/her life! I’ve really enjoyed playing Guitar Hero II and we’ve only gotten the Medium difficulty. Now we are trying the hard difficulty level and the fun has just begun!

Via: Meriblog: Meri Williams’ Weblog » links for 2007-01-10

This is a brilliant film from Germany comparing the iPhone to a recent Windows Mobile unit. Not only does Windows Mobile do everything the iPhone does, it also does GPS navigation from Tom Tom and is a radio receiver.

The sad truth is, the iPhone isn’t about features. It’s about easy to use features. The iPhone is also about fashion. As much as the geek community hates to admit it, they are just as much slaves to fashion as celebrities at a Versace fashion show. MacWorld and Fashion Week have more in common than either of them want to admit.

Via: Found Footage: iPhone vs. Windows Mobile – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

I talked about the O’Neill iPod Ski Jacket when it was announced in September of 2005:

• The Gadgets Page » Solar Backpack and iPod Jacket for Skiers

At the Eleksen booth at CES, I was able to see the O’Neill jacket firsthand, in addition to a lot of other products that Eleksen is a part of. Eleksen manufactures touch sensitive fabric. Back in September, I wondered if the jackets were machine washable. They are. In addition to that, you can crumple the fabric, dry it in the dryer and type on it for hours.

When I tested the products, I expected there to be little buttons under the arrows that felt like a good click when you pressed them. Instead, they are as smooth as any fabric with no indication that you’ve pressed the button except the music stopped playing. It was amazing.

Eleksen has used their fabric in ski jackets, dress jackets, backpacks, and a great laptop sized keyboard that works with your PDA or Pocket PC. The keyboard rolls up to a tiny size and weighs almost nothing. They were having a little trouble getting it to communicate with the Pocket PC at the booth. They didn’t demonstrate it with a Palm-OS unit, but they said it works with Palm. I felt uneasy typing on it because I’m used to a familiar “click” when I’ve finished pressing a button. This keyboard had no tactile response and I had to watch the screen to see if the letter I had pressed showed up. I also couldn’t feel if my fingers were placed properly on the keyboard and I suspect that over long term use, they would tend to drift.

All the products they displayed at the Eleksen booth were interesting and I really enjoyed playing with them all. I was amazed that fabric could be touch sensitive and I feel like this is one of the most innovative products I saw at CES.

Official Eleksen Website

Here is a great comparison between the iPhone and the Treo 700p. I’ve owned a Treo for a couple of years now and I’ve loved it, but the iPhone has appeal. Here’s the initial stackup:

• rentzsch.com: iPhone vs. Treo

He missed one thing in the equation: it’s an iPhone. Just the fact that it’s a phone made by Apple has some geek appeal. We have to face it that our choice in phones can be judged just as harshly as our taste in clothes or music. If a lawyer showed up to his meeting with an iPhone instead of a Blackberry, everyone in the room would tilt their heads to the side and make snap judgments.

The same is true for the geek. In a year or so, the geek who shows up with an iPhone will either be considered an equal or laughed at. Right now, it could go either way.

Consider this, however. I bought an original Palm Pilot. I sold it for $50 to a real estate agent who wanted to try out this new technology stuff. Matt Strebe bought a Newton instead. He sold his for three times what he paid for it to a person who was obsessed with Newtons. Will the iPhone be like the Newton or the Palm Pilot? Considering its heritage, I’m banking on the iPhone.

Via: Rentzsch: iPhone vs. Treo + iPhone Bug – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

I remember this commercial. It came out when the Playstation 2 was brand spanking new. Now that we are living with PS3, it’s fun to see the PS9 commercial. I don’t know if I want my video games to be lodged in my brain, though…

Jon and Heather used to shoot all their pictures with a Nikon, but they have recently purchased their new camera from Canon. He explains the switch here:

• Blurbomat | Camera FAQ

He wanted to buy a Canon 5D last year, why did he wait?

When we were in Austin last spring, I shot with a Canon 24-70 2.8L USM and its buttery goodness forced me to make a mental note. A couple of hours later, I was able to take a few shots with a 5D and the game was nearly over at that point. So a Canon would be our second camera. And then we replaced our sewer. And got sued. I took on more freelance work. And then Santa Claus came.

It’s nice to hear reviews of products from real people instead of insane photography nuts. Of course, it’s hard to justify the sanity of anyone willing to drop $25K on a camera.

We were at CES when Steve Jobs announced the iPhone. Somehow, Steve Jobs stole the show from 568 miles away. I have been ruminating about the iPhone for a LONG time. In fact, I’ve been waiting for it ever since Steve Jobs closed down the Newton division at Apple so long ago. Here’s a wrap-up of what I said and how it actually turned out:

The Gadgets Page » Rumors of Apple’s iPhone

Well, the pictures were bogus, but the basic advertising idea is the same, “Many Abilities. No Buttons” isn’t quite right, though. The iPhone has ONE button, so in the end, this was just a rumor or a red herring placed by Steve Jobs to test the marketing company’s security.

The Gadgets Page » Can I Have My Newton Back, Please?

The rumor mills were all-abuzz about an ultra-portable, but Steve Jobs just blew them away with the iPhone.

The Gadgets Page » The Return of the Newton?

This is yet another mockup that never came to pass. Sure, the iPhone is a wide-screen iPod, but it looks nothing like this.

In the end, all the rumor-mongering is just excited fan-boys. I find it interesting that Steve Jobs was able to bring in the iPhone with no leaks. He said himself in the keynote address, “We wanted to announce it ourselves instead of having the FCC announce it for us.”

This is the first product from Apple that literally blows the Newton out of the water. Newton was so ahead of its time. Watch these commercials from Apple of what the Newton was to know why I have missed it so:

This is the Apple Newton Getting Started Video that describes all the functions of the Newton and how it works:

When I was at Comdex so many years ago, I remember sitting in front of a huge screen listening to Douglas Adams talk about how cool the Newton was going to be. I would have to wait a year to see one in person. The only Newton they had was under glass at Comdex, much like the iPhone was at MacWorld. It’s the first thing I’ve seen that could woo me away from the Palm OS platform. I’m waiting for June like everyone else…

I need a new computer. My video editing software runs like molasses on my current PC and I need a faster one. Unfortunately, Windows Vista is now offered on every new PC that I look at. I don’t want Windows Vista. I’ve watched it run. It runs like molasses on the fast machines.

All over CES, there were huge signs screaming “The Wow Starts Now,” but everyone on the shuttle buses and on the convention floor were talking about the iPhone. Any “wow” that was discussed was reserved for Apple, not Windows Vista.

The thing is, I don’t want an Apple computer. There are some things about Apple that just aren’t as good as on the PC. I know the Apple Cult cries foul everytime someone says that, but it’s true. Some much greater minds have discussed in detail here:

• Windows features OS X should ‘adopt’ at The Apple Blog

• Apple Matters | What OS X Could Learn From Windows

Sure Apple is better at some things, but they aren’t better at EVERYTHING and I have a hard time giving up the PC. But Windows Vista is totally different than Windows XP. I’m going to have to learn a new system if I upgrade to a faster PC and I’m going to have to learn a new system if I upgrade to a Mac.

In the end, I don’t think Microsoft was thinking of me when they created Windows Vista. I think they were thinking a little too much of how to compete with Apple. I don’t know if Apple was thinking of me either. I’ve never really felt part of the Apple Cult. It always seems like Steve Jobs is a little elitist and I don’t know if I’m “good enough” to be an Apple owner.

All I want is to be able to edit my video and burn it to a DVD in less than 12 freakin’ hours. Is that too much to ask?