Blog
Is Apple The New Microsoft?
I know, you Apple purists are now throwing up your hands in resignation, saying, "I thought Dan was turning to our side!" Well, I think I still am, but recent acctions by the big fruit company are making me wonder. For those who missed it, a number of months ago Apple sued a company who was publicly publishing insider secrets that Apple wanted to keep quiet. (Apple is well known for their extreme secrecy.) And this week the judge delivered a preliminary ruling in Apple's favor saying that the websites should discolose their sources (although the websites admittedly get some of these from employees who let some info slip, either purposely or accidently. So Forbes asks, Is Apple The New Microsoft? I think it's a very good question, because Apple's basically discouraging all their biggest fans from following the company as much as they do. Apple has made a name for themselves becaue their fans are so charismatic about their favorite company, but if sharing the secrets of the company (or any other company in the world too) was illegal, would anybody care?
Join The Revolution
I don't know exactly what the problem is, mostly because I haven't had the guts to sign up for an account. But, the way it's talked about, it can't be good. So I'm joining Colleen's campaign:
My brother, who does nothing with computers (except when he was addicted to Age of Empires) even said it was cool. That's enough to scare me away from it. Now, if it was made by Google, I'd probably be there. But it's not.
iPod Battery Life
Finally! According to this article, the next iPods should get a major boost in the battery life department. That'll be nice. Actually, well, the problem of the battery crapping out 18 months after is still the main problem. The only thing is... I haven't figured out if my battery has a problem. The only time I've tried using the iPod recently is when I'm outside, and apparently the battery won't operate under 32 degrees Farenheight. So, since it's almost 40, today's the first time in a long time I walked for over an hour and the battery didn't stop working. I guess I'll have to get them to make cold weather iPods or somethin'.
Wallace and Gromit Trailer
Stop Presses! You just have to head over and see the Wallace and Gromit Trailer. It looks smashing!
I'm Addicted
Most people have addictions to coffee or smoking or something. My dad is addicted to Diet Pepsi and my mom is addicted to that cheap instant coffee stuff. And then, there's all those that are addicted to alcohol.
But I'm addicted to Chipotle. That's right, just about once per week I need to stop over to the local mexican grill spot and get my burrito fix. It's probably not the cheapest addictions in the world, but it tastes good and it fills me up.
Ironically, most of the time I go over there is because we haven't had anything spicy or mexican for the last week or two. Ironically, every time I go to Chipotle for lunch for that reason, that night we have tacos or something for dinner.
E's Secret Indentity
Did you know that Edna Mode, the character who stole the show on The Incredibles, is voiced by none other than the director, Brad Bird? I didn't either. But now I have excellent proof.
Head over to Oscar.com and click for the backstage press room videos. While Brad Bird is in the press room answering questions about this year's Academy Award-winning animated feature, a little bit of Edna Mode slips out. She comments on the night's fashion and her co-presenter, Pierce Brosnan.
Use That Dead Hard Drive
A couple months ago my external hard drive with all music on it died. (I didn't make too much of a fuss on the blog here because I didn't think it worthwhile to complain about it.) But I've finally found something to do with it. One of these days I'm going to take it apart and turn it into a windchime!
A Great Experience
Whew! Dinner's finally over! OK, so dinner was at least over by 8pm, but now it's 10:30. There were a couple guests over, but we spent all of the last three and a half hours around the dinner table telling stories. It was great to just hear about somebody else's life and stuff. Of course, most of them were talking about when they were my age (and all of these people were my age around 1970). But it was great to hear stories.
Actually, I might be able to do it tomorrow night too. That'd be fun. It was also good and challenging to tell a story about my life myself, and I think they enjoyed it. I'm just not normally used to talking to six other people at a time, so I was a bit nervous. (I'm comfortable with 2 or 3, but more's a bit more scary.)
Updated iPods
Yay! iPods are now cheaper for the masses!
Here's the new lineup:
Finally, Apple's cutting their huge profit margins in favor of keepin the upper hand in the market. Good move, imho.
Now if I get a job I might have to upgrade to a 60GB iPod photo.
STAR WARS
SPOILER ALERT! Do not follow the link if you want to go see the movie with no idea what will happen!
A fan has compiled many reports and shots from different sources to give us a look at Star Wars Episode III. It looks really cool, and I can't wait until it really is here.