Yahoo’s 10 worst IT products

Yahoo article via TUAW:  I agree with putting the Apple TV on a “under-achiever” list, but is it really as bad as Vista?  Apple TV does what it is supposed to do, and even if you wanted it to do more at least it lives up to its description.  Putting the Apple TV on the same list as Vista is akin to saying that an MCSE that can’t find the network settings in Debian is just as much a charlatan as a auto mechanic that can’t change your spark plugs without breaking your oil pan.

Vista is so far from what it is advertised as, it should be the subject of a lawsuit.  The Apple TV?  While I wouldn’t buy it and think that it has little purpose, it is every part the overgrown iPod that it says it is.

Buy•N•Large

via the Pixar blog:  Wether or not his timeline is correct, the Buy•N•Large site is very interesting.

iTunes Movie Rentals

via Financial Times article & NYT article:  I have bought a few shows & movies on iTunes, but not nearly in proportion to the amount of music that I’ve purchased.  Renting movies and TV shows makes so much more sense than music, after all isn’t that why there is a Blockbuster and not a Platinum Album Store?

Transformers II

Hilarious if this were in Transformers Two.

MacWorld Predictions

1.  thin, tiny, subnotebook

2.  new display styles and better resolutions

3.  new macbook or macbook pro form factor (reflecting #1)

4.  show off the dev kit for the iPhone

5.  brand new software package (they already revised ilife, iwork, and the OS)

6.  itunes subscriptions for video

7.  upgraded Apple TV

In a couple of days I will give them a probability of happening.

Why I Love Apple Products…

I was going to just post my predictions for MacWorld, but I thought that I’d better quantify where I stand.

I’m a cultist.  I’m obsessed.  I’m a fanboi.  But not of Apple (necessarily)…   I think that everything that I use should be three things:   consistent, simple, and beautiful.  I crave consistency, I feel that “less is more,” and I think that beauty can be defined.  I also want a product that does what it is supposed to do.

Those four principles are why I use Apple’s hardware and software.  It fits those four qualifications the best.  Apple has made poor products, but I said “the best” not “perfectly.”

So if an obsession with a consistent, simple, and beautiful UI that does what it is supposed to do (and doesn’t get in my way) has made me an Apple ‘fanboi’  …  I’ll take it as a compliment.

And…if in three years, Geindour (a fictional linux distro) can support a better UI, I’ll give it a try.  Because Apple and the Mac OS isn’t perfect.

Mazda Furai

via Autoblog:  So, I don’t normally post photos, but this car just looks way too awesome to not post a photo from this shoot from Autoblog.  I absolutely love those curves!  Amazing. Oh, yeah, it runs Ethanol.

Amazon’s MP3 Store

via DLS:  Amazon’s MP3 store now has added more tracks.  I’m so happy for this; and hopefully it will lead to a more aggressive and competitive Apple.

6 Megapixels

via DF linked list – Article Link:  Basically, if you’re going to buy a point-n-shoot, you’re better off getting a 4 to 6mpxl (you’ll still get great 8×10’s) then getting a 10 to 12mpxl.

This entire discussion reminds me remotely of the CPU wars from 2000 to 2002.  The speed of CPUs was getting so much faster, but that didn’t translate into better performance and sometimes the new CPUs were much worse.  But increasing your Mpxl is almost always terrible.

Why?  The sensor needs a given amount of time to record for each point of light coming through the lense.  The more points of light that you ask to be displayed (mpxl), the longer the camera must be absolutely still.  Have you ever wondered why that old Kodak you had took better indoor pictures than your new Sony?  It has nothing to do with the brand (typically), but it has everything to do with the number of points of light that the photo is trying to display.

My Nikon D50 (6mxpl) is a fantastic camera (and yes, I realize that lenses come into play with dSLRs), and I’m not running out to get that new Nikon D40x (10mpxl) because it records the same image to the same size sensor but chops it up into smaller pixels.

Still Lost?  Think of a pie, or a cheesecake.  Take three of them for example.  Let’s cut one into 4 slices, one into 6 slices and one into 12 slices.  Your twelve guests might be impressed with your cheesecake, but not with their slice…

Experience

via MSN: Political discussions are so dangerous, but I’ll comment anyway. Who in the Presidential races (on either side) has experience? This is one of the worst choices of candidates since I started paying attention (early 90’s). And, no, I don’t think that being First Lady is worth all that much, but it’s probably more than 7 years as a state senator and 3 years as a senator.

What a mess.

Aboard the Swdish Icebreaker Oden

Wired Photos: A fascinating set of photos. I would love to take a trip on an icebreaker sometime; you can get tickets for some Russian ones.

Don’t (Pt. 2)

Here are some photos to go with my previous post Don’t.

Merry Christmas!

Just a little Christmas cheer from our family, Merry Christmas!!!

Don’t

Try this (YouTube Link) at home. For Mark.

the Twelve Days of Christmas

Even better (YouTube Link).

the Hallelujah Chorus

Hilarious (YouTube Link).

Apple Needs a Nikon

Daring Fireball Article :  “Canon’s cameras are better because there’s Nikon — and vice-versa. Canon-vs.-Nikon arguments can get ugly, but in the end, they’re arguments about two companies that make great cameras and great lenses. Apple has no such rival.”

I totally agree; a company to challenge Apple to continue to set the bar higher would benefit anyone who uses an iPod, iTunes, or OS X (Macs, iPhones, Apple TVs, etc.)

Canon SLRs

via Engadget:  Canon has sold 30 million EOS SLR since 1987 and 10 million EOS dSLRs since 2000.  Congrats.

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

History fascinates me. Whenever I’m watching a movie or TV show, I have my laptop on my lap with Wikipedia (or similar) open. So at the end of National Treasure, when Ben Gates (Cage) tells a completely uninterested Riley (Bartha) that the house that he just bought belonged to Charles Carroll…well, I had to look him up. Seems, that most of us have heard of his house; it’s the main campus of John Hopkins University (which is where the fictional Caroline Ryan studied).

…sorry, digressing is so much fun…

Anyway, Charles Carroll was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independance and the last surviving signer of the Declaration as well, outlasting Jefferson and Adams by six years. He was perhaps one of the most motivated men as well; under English law he was forbidden from participating in politics because he was a Catholic. Read more about him on Wikipedia.

Aptera

Aptera: (english, noun) I want one. (courtesy jls dictionary)

via ABG: I feel that when God created the earth, He made it our responsibility to take care of it. Hi-efficiency vehicles are a descent start (though if you look at the statistics, even if everyone never used a car again, there still would be massive issues with CO2 emissions.) Aptera has a working coupe and plans to start selling them in 2008. Sign me up, that thing looks sweet!