I'm Just Saying....

Shawn,

I was interested in your talk with John Gruber last week on YML. I was surprised at the vehemence of how Apple's ringtone support was received.

I thought I'd list a few things that occurred to me why Apple is doing it the way they are.

Click here to read more "Ringtones"

He quotes the AP as saying, "Even for a company that's mastered the art of product-launch hoopla, Apple Inc. appears to have pulled out all the stops to propel iPhone hysteria into the stratosphere."

He points out that Apple has released 6 iPhone press releases in 2007....

While the AP has done *17* stories in just 14 *days*.

AP? That's your owwn petard you're sitting on now.

Click here to read more "The AP on Apple's iPhone "hype machine""

The NYPD are on the scene in downtown Brooklyn at 22nd Street near the Gowanus Canal. They are confirming that they have a 15 foot pilot whale stuck in an enclosed area, and in distress. They are attempting to free it.

Click here to read more "Whale in Brooklyn waters?!!"

(Shawn's Comment: WTF is the "NYC Jewish News" covering a whale story in Brooklyn!? )

I *love* movie trailers. I can and have wasted a great deal of time watching them. But I *hate* when they give so much plot away.

A perfect example are the Spiderman 3 trailers.

The one on the Apple Trailer Page shows the story as we are pretty sure we know it so far. But the one on this page should have a huge "SPOILER ALERT" button on it because it gives away a *crucial* plot point!

Why do movie studios do that? I really get the feeling that there's no reason for me to go to the theater to see the movie now - I'll just wait for it to come out on DVD....

From ValleWag

I'm not interested in what you had for breakfast. I don't need to know when you leave for work. Got stuck in bad traffic? Keep it to yourself. Your work habits aren't even important to your coworkers. Your lunch choices matter to no one. Now you're reading your favorite blogs? Color me uninterested. When you leave work, I don't want to hear it. If you go out for drinks, keep it between you and the bartender. And when you get home, don't share your TV viewing habits. They're about as interesting as watching paint dry. What are you doing? I really don't care.

Yours truly, Dave

(Shawn's Comment: LMAO Dave is talking about those folks signed up to Twitter.com and I've gotta agree with him!)

Click here to read more "Dear Self-Obsessed Nerds"

Apparently, I was right when I told Lesa "GhostRider" was gonna suck.

Well, I'm betting I go two for two with this next prediction - "Underdog - The Movie".

Now, before you get all excited and think, "Cool! Underdog was one of my favorite cartoons!" - watch the trailer.

Now that you've seen it...I'm right, aren't I?

(Shawn's Comment: Even I think this is stupid and I love penguins! :) )

Click here to read more ""

How many of you remember the paper edition of MacWeek magazine? If you do, you're getting old. :)

I saw this site referenced somewhere and got excited, thinking MacPublishing was bringing the old venerated (and hated) MacWeek name back. But, when i go to the site, I saw that they were using WordPress and it didn't look anything like the other MacPublishing products.

After investigating further (actually, spending about 60 more seconds on the site), I figured the site was run by a couple of kids and will be taken down......oh.....let's say before the weekend is out. :)

But it brings up a couple of points. One is that there is an entire "generation" of Mac users who have no clue about the "Good Old Days" and two, if you're going to use a particular obvious name, at least do a Google search to make sure someone else doesn't own it. :)

One of the most frequently asked questions, either to me or on web sites, mailing lists and forums is, "When are the new (insert name of product here) coming out?"

Everyone is so (justifiably) afraid of buying a brand spanking new machine, only to have Apple release a spankier one the next day or week. The problem is, the only *honest* answer to the question anyone can give you is, "I don't know." No one at Apple is going to tell you and, if you're not at Apple, you have no clue when new machines are coming out because Apple rarely pre-announces new hardware (the iPhone and Apple TV being notable exceptions).

The only advice I can ever give is, if you *need* a new machine, buy a new machine. If you don't absolutely need it, wait until the next revision of the product.

Chris H on the Your Mac Life Mailing List points us to this web site - The Macrumors Buyer's Guide. As much as I hate rumor sites, this page is interesting because it shows when the last time a particular product was revised and gives you some small indication as to when it *may* be revised again. But keep in mind their own disclaimer:
"Disclaimer: This page is based on rumors and speculation and we provide no guarantee to its accuracy. We take no responsibility for purchase decisions made based on this information.

My wife has turned me into one of "those people".

I used to walk into Starbucks and order quickly, easily, simply.

"I'll have a Venti (strongest Coffee of the Day)".

The cashier would take my money, quickly pour a cup, hand it to me and send me on my way. A shot of Half and Half and I was out the door. The whole thing took maybe a minute to transact.

I always hated those people who would walk up to the counter and order like this:

"I'll have a Grande, no whip, half caff, extra hot, double shot, skim Americano with sprinkles...."

The cashier would holler the order to a Barrista. The Barrista would repeat the order back, like we're on a nuclear powered submarine, filming a sequel to The Hunt for Red October.

I just wanted to grab the person and yell, "Just get a cup of hot brown water and get out of here!"

OK...I'll admit....in the summer time, I would occasionally try a cool, refreshing Frappuccino.

But it was only every now and then and I could quit any time I wanted.

Then my wife made me try her latte.

She's smart, my wife. She knows, like any good crack dealer, you give 'em the first hit free.

That first one was good....not as good as a straight up Sumatra but not bad. And then I started to experiment. And that's when things started to go horribly wrong.

Now, here's what I order when I go to Starbucks:

"I'll have a Grande, extra hot, triple shot non fat latte".

Kill me now....

"Nothing i would trade my new Canon 400D for just yet...."

Thomas posted the above in our comments and it got me thinking (always dangerous).....

What *would* you trade you present camera in for? Regardless of whether you're a point-and-shooter or a pro, what features, real or imagined, already existing or not, would you trade your present camera in for?

As a brand new SLR'er (that's an awkward word), I can't imagine ever needed anything more (well, maybe faster). So what is it about the Nikon D70 or D80 (both supposedly better than what I'm using now) or a pro Canon camera that makes them "better" cameras? Is it just more megapixels? Bigger sensors?