I'm Singing (and Talking) in the Rain...

How any times have you been talking on your cell phone and it starts to rain?  You're suddenly torn between continuing the conversation and abruptly ending it and shoving the phone in your pocket.  Well, talk on my rain soaked friends!  A new process called Golden Shellback promises to completely waterproof ALL of our precious electronics.  Developed by the Northeast Maritime Institute, Golden Shellback is a barely discernible clear coating that is applied in a vacuum and covers all of the electronics' components, both inside and out.  So, if you're fond of sipping soda while working on your computer, fear not!  Dribble all you want.  Talk in the rain, type while you wade and use your iPod in the shower.  

The only drawback I can see with the process is that you have to send your electronics to Golden Shellback for the procedure to take place, not a big deal, but you will have to go without your toys for a few days.  Still, that's a small price to pay for being able to dunk your phone in a bucket and not have to worry about it.  In fact, they actually have footage on their website of that very scenario taking place, and considering the premium we pay to have cutting edge electronics, this process just might pay for itself the first time you're caught in a downpour.

Follow Your Instinct!

Have you seen the Samsung Instinct cell phone yet?  It is one sweet looking phone and something of an homage to the iPhone.  It has a haptic touch screen (it vibrates when you choose an icon), a really cool UI and a built in GPS, that actually works.  The best thing about it is that it's on the Sprint network using their EVDO REV-A, which offers faster speeds than AT&T's 3G AND has more reasonable data plans. In fact, Sprint is known for their Everything plans, which give you unlimited data and messaging with generous voice time.  

I like this phone, A LOT.  Having played with it in the store and read extensively in the user forums, I think it's a great alternative to the iPhone. Sure, it's not perfect.  The browser is not as elegant as Apple's, but compared to most other cell phones it's above average.  Plus, the GPS works with voice commands.  You can say "pizza" and it'll take you to the nearest pizzeria.  OR, what if you want to find the cheapest gas in your area?  It can take you there too.  Plus is give you verbal directions while you're driving... or walking for that matter.  How much would I have loved that last year when I walked around San Francisco for an hour looking for a particular Dim Sum restaurant.

For me though, the deal breaker with the phone is the fact that it won't sync with Outlook calendar and it won't sync with a Mac at all.  So, while it's a killer phone, it might not qualify as a SmartPhone for the business user.

I Hate You Too, Windows!

What the heck did I ever do to Bill Gates, except help him amass his quintillion dollar fortune by buying his products for nearly 20 years?  I mean really, what did I do to deserve all of the HATE I still get from Windows, even on my new Mac?  

If you've been following my blog (and I don't know why you would), you know that I just got a Mac Book Pro.  I was a bit skeptical at first, but now I know why they cost so much more than a PC laptop...because they're worth it.  But I digress...anyway, I'm loving this Mac and having NO problems with it, until I install a program called Parallels that allows you to run Windows on your Mac.  In case you haven't guessed, the only problem with it is that it requires...wait for it...WINDOWS!  Kill me now.  Four attempts at installing a working version of windows on the Mac, FOUR!  WTF?!?  Why do I get no love from windows?  I was SOOO happy to be working in the Mac OS and then I just HAD to use a windows program.  Just when I thought I was free, they pull me back in...

BTW, if you're wondering, now that I have a successful install of windows on my Mac, it runs like a champ on those occasions when I need to run a windows program.  In fact, Windows XP actually runs better on my Mac then it did on my old Acer laptop.   Man, I hated that Acer.

Learning to Walk All Over Again...

Well, after staying home ALL day yesterday waiting for the UPS man to bring me my new MacBook Pro, he finally showed up at 6:30 PM.  What a waste of a day.  BUT, on the bright side, I did get my new Mac, my first Mac for that matter.  Here's what I noticed right away...

• REALLY slick looking machine in a nice understated way.  It's not all whored up like a lot of PC laptops I saw while shopping.  Simple, beautiful aluminum case.
• Lightweight.   It really is a laptop.
• Quiet.  You don't even know it's on, because there's no fan noise.
• Fast.  It boots up really quickly and opens programs in seconds.
• Maybe the best keyboard ever.
• Intuitive, if you're not already a slave to Windows.

I was going to do a list of pros & cons, but so far I haven't found anything not to like about this laptop.  Except, maybe the learning curve.  I'm not a programmer by any stretch of the imagination, but with a PC you have to learn your way around the machine's back alleys as a matter of necessity.  With the Mac, I almost get the feeling the machine is telling me, "yeah, don't worry why this happening, it just is", which is both comforting and disconcerting all at once.  I'm not used to trusting my computer to do exactly what I want without some prodding on my part.  So, for now, I just go with it.

A Mac, a Mac, my Kingdom for a Mac!

According to UPS tracking, my new MacBook Pro should be here tomorrow morning. From what I've been reading, I'm one of the lucky ones.

Apparently, the feeding frenzy caused by the iPhone 3G launch had an adverse effect on those wanting to stroll into an Apple store and buy a Mac, as in they couldn't get into the store. In fact, even today in some areas there was still a line for those wanting to buy a 3G (which makes sense) and another for those who wanted to do other Mac stuff like buy a computer (which makes no sense). Even worse, some AT&T stores actually made ALL of their customers wait in line last weekend, regardless of whether they were in line to get an iPhone or pay their bill. Ouch.

Over One Million Served...Um, Sold!

Wow, have you seen the stats on the sales of the iPhone 3G?!? After three days they did what it took McDonalds years to accomplish...over one million sold. By comparison, last year when they introduced the original iPhone (which BTW, was updated to software version 2.0 as well) it took them 75 days to sell that many units, so it looks like all off the hype worked!

Now, the last thing I want to do is too turn this into an iPhone blog (I'm no Apple fanboy...yet), but hey, it is the hottest thing out there right now. Sure there have been some issues with the supply meeting the demand and LENGTHY activations, but even if the darn thing was a brick right out of the box, you have to admire the marketing machine that made it all possible.

So Many Gadgets, So Little Time...

Folks, this is a magical time to be alive! Every day some new digital toy is coming on the market, ready for us to consume...new cell phones, computers, gaming consoles...isn't it great having some shiny new toy to lust after every few months? Even if it's just an updated version of your last shiny toy...which you paid double for...and bought just six months ago.

If you're like me (what marketing types call an early adopter), then you HAVE to have the latest digital toys as soon as they come out. If you're also like me (what financial types call poor), then you HAVE to window shop while you save up for the aforementioned latest digital toys. But, in doing so, I usually manage to wait out the beta's, the bugs and the fixes that plague most new products. Still, you have to admire the moxie of all of those folks who waited in line for days to get the new iPhone 3G. Sure, they could've waited till this week and walked right into the store and bought one, but those two days when THEY had one and YOU didn't was priceless! Don't get me wrong, I love the little electrotoys as much as the next geek, but sheesh, I like my sleep a little bit more.