Toast Is In The Air

Yesterday, I read about a toaster that will brand handwritten messages onto your toast (yes, one commenter did refer to these as "Toast-It Notes"). Today, Kevin sent me an e-mail featuring the ultra-cool (and -geeky) Darth Vader toaster. Add in the "Toaster toaster" from July (heh heh), and toasting seems to be weirdly chic.

To round it out, here's a list of novel toasters from September, featuring several out-there designs. Apparently, a lot of work is being done in the "custom-image-on-your-toast" market; it certainly seems smarter than the "combine-exposed-electric-elements-with-water-for-toast-teapot-combo" market.

HD Waterproofing

There's something about the image in this article that's kind of... hot.

The late-80's styling with the modern waterproofing is a cool combo. Excessive and unnecessary, but fun.

Wii Number

Mario Kart has come out, and despite the fact that I preordered via Amazon.com in March, my copy still hasn't arrived.

Weak.

The game has an online multiplayer function; as Nintendo uses the "Wii Number" system to add contacts and friends, I assume I'll be needing to exchange Wii Numbers with the friends I haven't yet.

So let's make this simple: my Wii Number is 4217-6827-2856-6615. Drop yours in a comment if you want to, or shoot me an e-mail, and we'll get ourselves registered up.

iTunes For The Win

Big news; Ars Technica is reporting that Apple is the number one music retailer in the United States:

The news was announced in an e-mail sent this afternoon to some Apple employees, a copy of which was seen by Ars Technica. It includes a screenshot of an Excel file showing the top ten music retailers in the US for January 2008, and Apple is at the top of the list. The iTunes Store leads the pack with 19 percent, Wal-Mart (which includes the brick-and-mortar stores as well as its online properties) is second with 15 percent, and Best Buy is third with 13 percent. Amazon is a distant fourth at 6 percent, trailed by the likes of Borders, Circuit City, and Barnes & Noble. Rhapsody is in the tenth slot with 1 percent.

Wow. Take a look at those numbers – for every five songs sold nationally, one is bought on iTunes. Not bad for a store that didn't exist five years ago.

To my mind, this just goes to show how the old media business models are in upheaval; this is a lead Apple may not be able to keep up in the long term, but the days of the RIAA's hegemony are over. Hollywood faces the same challenges, and the next decade will feature a lot of similar rises and falls before the market figures out a new structure it can support.

Either way, NBC-Universal had better get back on iTunes!

Apple backs the news it up with a press release of their own.

iPhone Getting Native Games

Looks like with the release of highly anticipated iPhone SDK, Apple has arranged for some semi-high-profile games to get ported to Mobile OS X: we're getting Super Monkey Ball and Spore!

My response?

Hell-fricken-yes!

I look forward to getting a few apps on my iPhone (an installed Sudoku, a few games, maybe a mobile MarsEdit for blogging, etc.), but, at least right now, I'm not planning on installing everything under the sun. I'm pretty happy with the iPhone as-is; Sudoku without a web connection is really all I want right now.

"Keep it simple, stupid," and all that.

That being said, if some amazing stuff gets released... who knows?

Apple TV "Take 2" Thoughts

Last night, I updated my Apple TV (or is it TV?) to the 2.0 software, and hot damn.

The new interface is a great implementation of "simplify simplify simply." The rotating graphics of the previous version are replaced by two simple (but elegant) columns in a box. The left-hand column is the master list of options; the right-hand one, it's sub menu. Delve in beyond that, and you end up in custom windows as necessary, in a very logical flow. And these submenus are quite tasteful: beyond interface graphics (buttons and such) and the occasional separators, the only graphics are the cover of the song/album/show/movie in question, either as the list itself, or accompanying a details page.

I love it.

The ease with which I can connect to my Flickr page, and through that my friends' pages, is incredible. The same goes for the .Mac Web Gallery connectivity.

The HD rentals blew me away from the start. How do you win over a geek like me? Easy— carry all of the Star Trek films in HD! No, I haven't rented one yet, but Josh has, and he seemed pretty impressed. They may only be 720p, but that's better than the nothing Paramount has released on any kind of HD disc so far.

I do wish the trailers/preview for HD movies were HD themselves, but I suppose that's asking for too much.

A lot of fuss has been made about the 24-hour viewing window (once activated), and I agree, it's a bummer. My guess: within the next year, that gets expanded to two full days, if not three. I have no inside connections to back this up, but it makes sense. Right now, the viewing window is identical to cable T.V.'s video-on-demand timeframe, and until downloads prove themselves as solid a revenue stream as that, the studios won't be cutting Apple any extra slack. I expect this to take off, though, and with existing rental models all favoring two or three days, I expect the digital formats to follow suit.

There are other little fixes here and there, too. Playing videos and slideshows before, I;d often get a little jaggy white line at the extreme bottom edge of my screen. This is the kind of error we'd never notice on SD tube televisions, as that part of the image gets cut off. In HD, on an LCD, a single row of pixels being off shows up. This problem is nowhere to be seen after the new update, which is a site for my sore eyes. Apple also added AirTunes support to the Apple TV. Basically, just like the Airport Express, you can select the Apple Tv as anew speaker set within iTunes. This is a much more elegant solution than linking to a streamed library through the Apple TV interface, all while preserving your ability to control that playback with the Apple TV remote.

Plus they upgraded all of the interface graphics to 1080p. Yes.

What becomes instantly clear to me as I play around with the new features is how limiting the "sync-to-a-central-computer" model is. Here's my utopian dream: that when you buy something, it's hosted on the web. You call it up on any device you own that is registered to your account, and it can only be active on any one device at a time. That way, you aren't responsible for the gigabytes of media you accrue; you just need an internet connection to access stuff. This is probably not appropriate for music, as waiting for it to stream is a drag, but for video... well, a boy can dream, right?

That being said, I am the guy who keeps telling all of my friends that buying HD discs (specifically Blu-ray discs) is a safe bet, because digital downloads are at least 5-8 years from becoming mainstream and ubiquitous. And I still believe that. Until I can get the same kind of selection in 1080p quickly with hi-fidelity 5.1 audio from the internet, in formats I can store and access quickly and painlessly, I will continue to buy the discs I really want. I'm all for digital downloads, I'm just for quality first.

That won't stop me from renting from iTunes; indeed, as a large amount of the HD titles aren't even available on any HD disc yet, it may be my only choice. It just means I'll be buying Blu-rays of the movies I want to own.

Anyone with an iTunes based media library should seriously consider an Apple TV. I've had mine three weeks, and I use it almost every day. With the new update, it'll only become more useful. Check out the "Guided Tour" here, but be warned: about halfway through, she rents Live Free or Die Hard in HD, and the Apple demo video plays the video in the wrong aspect ratio. No joke; instead of letterboxing the movie to preserve the 2.35 image, they stretch it out to fill the 1.78 frame. Amateur hour, even at Apple.

If any of you are curious about picture quality, iLounge has a great comparison up between Blu-ray, HD Cable, DVD, and Apple TV HD rentals. AppleInsider also has a solid in-depth review as well.

iPhone Upped to 16 Gigs

Straight from the horse's mouth.

I'd just like to quickly point out that this is exactly what I predicted back in November. A friend was concerned about getting an iPhone, because of the chance that they'd just come out with a new model at Macworld in January. And I said that the chances of that were small, I figured a true new model wouldn't hit before July, and was more likely for Fall 2008. I said that if we got any update at all before summer, it'd be a storage bump to 16 gigabytes.

Booyah.

Leopard Agreement

Remember my original thoughts on Leopard, and how I thought the inactive window coloring was the opposite of how it should be?

I'm proud to say that I'm not alone, and this guy is smart enough to create some Photoshop examples as for why our alternate idea is better.

In the comments, someone points out that Apple already implements darkening effects when you invoke Dashboard or Exposé, so maybe they'll "see the light" on this one, too.

And, at Geek & Mild, we have another concept, whose capability is built in to Leopard's Core Image protocol: using depth of field.

[c/o Geek & Mild]

Demand Done Right

This is exciting news, I only hope it's true.

This is why I've been waiting until January 14th to buy an TV; it may not get updated, but now is a pretty foolish time to buy, all things considered.

Here's to hoping there's a version of these digital files available in (at least) 720x1280 resolution...

Leopard Update

Monday's Leopard install was fairly uneventful. Considering how long I had been looking forward to 10.5, I'm surprised I made it this long without upgrading. Even my Dad noticed— he said it's the first time he's beat me to it.

It's always nice with the big updates—regardless of how major the changes, aesthetic or under the hood, it always feels like a new computer, at least for a day or two. I'm still trying to get used to/familiar with the new Finder windows, the dock, the pointed-edged menu bar, etc. I actually really like some aspects of the new menu bar— just not the transparency part.

One of the first things I did was to go to this AppleInsider forum and use Post #1's replacement files for the Dock. My new black Dock looks far better, and is more functional; those blue indicators are actually visible now. More Dock replacement files can be found here for those who are interested.

I also opted to switch over to the default Leopard background, that purple aurora borealis image you see in all of the promotional material. I figured, since I was already exclusively using NASA images, I might as well mix it up with a new photo for a while.

Something I hadn't realized: the "inactive" window look is very different; now anything inactive loses most of its shading and gets bright. I'd have gone in the opposite direction— darken and de-emphasize anything that was inactive. The new, current style actually draws me toward the very windows I'm supposed to ignore.

All in all, though, I am digging it, as I knew I would. Anyone who is waiting, I fully recommend going for it; QuickLook and CoverFlow are worth the price of admission alone. Unless you're waiting for specific program compatibility; in that case, keep waiting.

Johnny Chung Lee, I Salute You

There are some smart people out there, and this guy is one of them.

This is the kind of thing that I imagine people like Jamie and Adam already know about; but consider my mind blown. I get the idea of what's going on here— I couldn't engineer the device or program the computer to do it, but the ideas are very straightforward, especially as Mr. Lee explains it. Still, the second he demoed the "Camera-Eye View" of the effect, I started screaming and calling out for someone else to come and see it.

This won't be practical for general programming, like movies or TV—the single user experience discounts groups watching the same screen together. But as far as gaming is concerned... awesome.

I agree with Johnny; someone, somewhere, please make some games that utilize this!

Time For Leopard

Here we go...

OS X Dock Stacks

I came across this video showing the behavior of Stacks in the Dock back in beta versions of Mac OS X Leopard.

The salient difference, for those of you saying "That's the same as my stacks now," is that the stacks are in the application portion of the dock. Not consigned to the Document/Trash/Windows side of the dock, but useful as a true application launcher.

I think this looks pretty cool; the ability to name (and rename) stacks, as well as live-reorder them, seems pretty damn awesome too.

Maybe in an update? 10.5.3 or something?

Flash Drive Testimonial

Yesterday, I sent my USB flash drive through the wash, nestled comfortably in my pants pocket.

Doh!

Imagine my surprise and pleasure, then, to discover that it still works perfectly.

If ever there was a better recommendation that this, I don't know it.

So, everyone, if you're in need of a USB flash drive, I heartily recommend the Cruzer Titanium — I have the 2 gig variety.

Go Cruzer!, originally uploaded by Hutson H.

Amazonian Kindling

I was going to make a post regarding Amazon.com's new device, the "Kindle," but Fake Steve just does this stuff so much better than ever I could. Check it out.

I mean, really? This looks like bad sci-fi from 1987; it belongs on a shelf with old portable audio cassette recorders.

Doh!

Courtesy of Fake Steve Jobs, check out these stills from "The Bionic Woman." To add to iJustine's comments about the iPhone being upside down, I'd also like to point out that the screen is on, which doesn't happen during talk as the iPhone has "proximity sensors" or somesuch that kill the screen when it's against your cheek, to save on battery life.

Whoops!

Any "Bionic Woman" fans out there who can tell me if these pictures are of "Leoban" from "Battlestar Galactica?"

Audio What Now?

If any of you think that it's confusing when I talk about the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray hi-def disc format war, be warned: Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate.*

Standard definition DVD audio is already home to many formats: Stereo, Mono, Dolby Digital, Pro Logic, PCM, DTS, WTFLOL.** But what I hadn't realized (and perhaps should have) is that each format has its own "High Definition" upgrade, some with compressed and uncompressed versions. 5.1 gets upgraded to 7.1, sometimes if you can't do one the same encoded audio will downgrade itself for backwards compatibility, sometimes not, uncompressed PCM audio streams that branch... my head is already spinning.

Fortuitously, Hi-Def Digest has posted a great article detailing all of this info. Well organized and well explained, if the next level of A/V equipment and standards gets your juices flowing, this is a must-read.

But I'll be god-damned if all of this technology doesn't make for one hell of an expensive upgrade.

[* C'mon, take a guess... I bet more of you know this than you think... okay, well, it's the top search on Google.]

[** So I made the last one up. Sue me.]

Sic Transit iMac...

I want to take a moment and mourn the passing of a friend... my iMac G5, after 3 full years of service, is dead.

I attempted to replace the hard drive today, but found that a plastic connector (for what must, to my mind, be a temperature sensor; it connects to the chassis of the hard drive, not any actual drive components) had become so brittle that just touching it caused it to fall apart. I can only assume my computer had, in the past, gotten too hot for too long; this plastic was truly degraded. I proceeded anyway, and did my best to reconstruct the part, but when I went to start the machine up, the drive wouldn't engage for several minutes, and no start-up screen ever loaded.

Dead for a ducat, dead.

So farewell, dear iMac. You served me well, and we had good times.

I'm glad I backed you up last week. I have to figure out a way to get you recycled, now...

In the meantime, I think it may be time for Tracy to get a laptop of her own. I still want one of the new aluminum iMacs, but I need to wait for that... Leopard comes out soon, and I can wait for the next revision to come along. Besides which, I plan on making a TV my next big purchase... So Tracy having her own machine will give us a home computer solution in the meantime. Besides which, she's started talking about it recently, so hopefully I can convince her... ;)

Anyone interested in a 500GB internal SATA drive? High quality, ready to rock; I'll sell it cheap for 80 bucks. Let me know...

LEGO Mania

I have always been a huge LEGO fan.

Growing up, that was probably my favorite toy. I was a member of the LEGO club for several years. Back home, between my siblings and myself, we filled plastic crates full with our assorted sets. We had sets from all categories, but favored the castle, space, and pirate brands. Back in my day, the types were literally called Town, Space, Castle, and Pirates. And there were few (if any!) custom parts. Yessir, I watched as LEGO diversified, and started calling their lines "Space Police," "Wolfpack," "M:Tron," "Black Tron," "Black Knights," "Dragon Masters," "Ice Planet," "Space Police II," and started doing movie tie-ins with "Star Wars," "Jurassic Park," "Harry Potter," and "Spider-Man."

I built hundreds of custom sets... recreating the suggestions on the backs of the boxes, doing my own ideas, working with my siblings and friends to build larger concepts. My shining achievement was "Mount Dragon," a name ripped right out of Lloyd Alexander's "Prydain Chronicles." It was a completely original castle shaped like a dragon, with large wings, an opening mouth, a dungeon, and catapults.

It was awesome.

LEGOs were the first thing I ever took money out of the bank for. I remember my mother making sure it was something I wanted to do, me saying "yes," and then she took me to take $100 out to go and buy... I think it was an "Ice Planet" ship set.* Ian got some at the same time. We both used to spend a lot of time at a store called, fittingly enough, "Ask Your Mother." Long gone now, it was on Pleasant Street in Brunswick and had the best LEGO selection. I still look at Target, Wal-Mart, and Kmart, and wonder where a kid can go to see the full range of LEGO toys I remember...

I still collect and build LEGOs these days, although at a much smaller scale. A few "Star Wars" sets here and there, the occasional nostalgia purchase on eBay, sometimes building old sets from my youth that I've dug up during trips back home.

In that spirit, here are three LEGO-themed bits of news...

First, check this out; this is the kind of building I didn't do very often, but I salivate while thinking about it now. I wish I had the time to spend on exploits such as this; I think I'd be good at it, as well as love it.

Secondly, David H. pointed this out to me last week: "Forbidden LEGO."

Talk about awesome. This book is the ultimate guide to mischief: take a favorite (and in my life, common) toy, mix in adolescence with a touch of knavishness, and bring to boil with solid instructional material. Catapults, rubber-band guns, fast cars, this book has it all. I've pre-ordered it already, and look forward to showing it to Ashby someday.

Thirdly... I lied earlier. When I said I only collected on a small scale. Because every once and a while, LEGO history is made. Just like with the iPhone, I can't just let that pass me by.

So, several months ago, I took steps to ensure my place on the cutting edge, the front line of the mature LEGO collector.

And Tuesday, earlier than expected, I found this waiting for me at work:

You'd better believe I'm excited now! (And yes, I know I need a haircut) The "Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon" is, at over 5,000 pieces, LEGO's biggest set. EVER. And looking at the end result, it looks like it's low on custom pieces.

That's right, good old fashioned generic pieces seems to be the majority here.

I plan on updating as I go through the building process. I haven't started yet... part of me wants to leave the box untouched and pristine, but that part of me will lose out to the part of me that will always want to build LEGOs. The whole process will (hopefully) have a Flickr set devoted to it, and I'll post whenever it's updated.

Wish me luck...


[* Thanks Mom!]

iMac Hard Drive

I think I've found my replacement hard drive: The Samsung HD501LJ 500 GB SATA drive.

The price is right, and with 446 5-star ratings at NewEgg (77% of the total ratings!), I feel like I'm getting a solid product. Hey, I like Samsung RAM, I want a Samsung TV more than just about anything, so why not a Samsung hard drive?

The time is most certainly now, as the iMac struggles more and more each day. I did a Carbon Copy Clone of the existing internal drive last night; so I am ready. Time to bite the bullet, order the drive, and spend the 110 bucks.