Apple iPhone, {apple}TV, and CES, and Christmas pictures....

Well, I must say ever since I got a MacBook Pro laptop...I have been amazed and blown away with the Apple brand. Apple was actually one of my first computers...well it was my brother's computer...but I got to play games on it too, heh.... but then Microsoft came into play and it became THE machine for games and if any of yall know me you know I like video games......so it was an easy choice...to go with Microsoft and the PC.... but ever since I have gotten a taste of Mac OS X and seen some of the simplest, yet amazing things they do with their products (like the two finger scroll on the mouse pad on the power Macs...very easy and cool) I am blown away...and also since my design classes in Undergrad I have had a flavor for good design and there is no one in the consumer market that can beat apple with the class and design of their products. Well, the rumor sites have been hinting at it al along and with Kevin Rose on Diggnaton leaking a few f the specs it seems that the big day @ the Mac World Expo has come and the iPhone is a reality.... And why am I freaking out (along with the rest of the geek nation)????


(click the image for all the info and stuff)

Well that is why! It is a phone (only through Cingular Wireless as of right now) 4G and 8G iPod with widescreen, TOUCHSCREEN, video capabilities (i.e. download TV shows, music videos, and movies from iTunes and watch them on it), Wi-Fi internet browser, can hold your contacts, calendar, a 2Meg digital camera, widgets, clock, calculator, email, runs Mac OS X, bluetooth 2.0,has 2 batteries one for the iPod part and another for the phone so that you will not kill the other one if using the other.....(you get the point....it is an end-all-be-all in your pocket device! I am actually surprised that they did not make a deal with Starbucks and it could make your mocha in the morning and your frap in the evening...(but during Steve's Keynote speech he did order 4,000 cups from Starbucks to go fro the iPhone by using Google Maps on the web browser, heh)
So how much for this little fella??????

4 Gig = $499
5 Gig = $599

Yep, for the price of this device that fits in your pocket....you could buy a PS3, or a small HDTV, or a decent computer, etc.... So I am sure that Cingular will give their usual more or less $100 discount when you sign up for a 12 year agreement with them for the phone...and not sure about anything when it comes to warranty, heh.... but pending the FCC allowing it to come to market... Apple has single handedly revolutionized the cell phone and MP3 player market forever! Amazing just amazing....

Steve also just mentioned the
(click the image again for info)
{apple}TV

for your home that costs $299 that will hook up wirelessly to your computer and iTunes and will allow you to watch your downloaded movies, TV shows, Music, etc...from iTunes on your widescreen TV in your living room! This product and others like it may very well kill both the next gen HD-DVD and Blu-ray-DVD High Definition DVDs out of the water! While they are fighting in another format war just like VHS and Beta Max....the download able services found on the Xbox 360 live Market Place and Apple's iTunes may lay them both to rest and the thought of walking around with a hard copy of a movie with be a thing of the past...because it will just reside in your phone...that someday you will just put next to your TV that will play the High Definition movie wirelessly! And seriously I do not think that kind of dreaming is not too far off.

Anyway.... this is the week that a part of me was in the consumer electronics business. The Mac World Expo is going on and so Apple is telling the world what is new in their corner of the world...and the the CES show (Consumer Electronics show is also going on too! CES...is the place that all the consumer electronics manufactures gather to gather to show off their latest technology, from gadgets, to cell phones, to TVs, to surround sound, etc... And man I know that I would just loose bowel control if I had the opportunity to attend one of these events... but until that happens some day and I make friends with Steve Jobs or good old Bill gates...I will just have to get my news from the people I can almost trust (news websites, the companies themselves, bloggers, etc...)

Well, needless to say I am very excited about all the electronic stuff going on especially the HDTVs that are being shown there... (especially since mine is being worked on and I am without my TV for 7-10 days.....aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh, just kidding it is not too bad...especially since I have borrowed the church's projector (thanks Gary)...but it is still not in HD...and with someone who just bought for Christmas the HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360

(clickable again)
it is all mine...my precious....my love.....(oh wait that would be Jesus and my wife...wel, it sure is fun to enjoy and play around with, heh heh heh....)

...it does kind of suck a little bit, heh....
But, some very cool technologies are out there and coming to TVs....like Sony's new OLED technology that claims to have 100,000:1 contrast ratio...(it means very good ability to show the difference between the darks and lights in a picture which gives it much better clarity and definition no matter how much light is in the room that the viewer is in) this is something that plasma and LCD have been having a hard time with as far as a technology is concerned...but then Mitsubishi has a new technology that uses lasers to give the picture on their TV...and that has the potential of producing "perfect" colors instead of having to use red, blue, and green to produce the other colors, they will use CMYK and Red, Blue, Green...this will allow the yellows, Magentas, etc...to be really vibrant...and I am sure that technology will be amazing...even though I have not heard anything as of yet about it at this years CES, but the show still has a few days to go yet.... And all the news is towards the High Definition Format war...with LG even producing a player that plays both formats...so that it will not matter what movie studio goes with which technology that the consumer will be able to play them both, heh heh... and others (Warner) have gone the route that will allow the movie distributors to put both a HD-DVD movie on one side of the DVD and a Blu-ray HD movie on the other side! Very cool that someone out there cares about the consumers instead of being greedy and having a format war.... these selfish battles killed Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio....but then again downloaded movies might just kill them both off anyway...oh well.............

Well, let me see..... ah yes, Christmas and New Years....Tiffany and I had a great trip to TX (i.e. the promise land) and got back safe and sound with lovely gifts and the best gift of all getting to see family! So, I guess until I can get a few of the videos into youtube I will just have to put up a few pictures for yall to enjoy...so here you go.....


Here is one of my favorite gifts I got from Kevin...who i always have a "gag" gift for...it was just my way a long time ago of welcoming him into the family...and this year my plans were shot...so he got to have all the glory...and yes, that is a jewel encrusted toilet bowl plunger...and why you may ask did he do this...well, for a few of you long time blog reader you might remember this little gem of a post/story that involves Tiffany, poop, a plunger, and a phone call.


my parent's dog Teddy


Teddy sleeping


My Dad and Brady (Kevin's (the Holy Plunger guy) youngest boy)


The Stones and my aunt


Here is Caleb Nephew on tiffany's side that did not want to hold anyone's hand when he crossed the parking lot to the movies, heh... he was a wonderful delightful...handful, heh... But boy do we love him!


Here is Halley our Niece on Tiffany's side...I loved the tongue she gave me for the picture.


Tiffany's Dad with Noelle's dog Sunshine


Me with little Haley


Caleb face


Caleb face 2


Central TX clouds....I just loved this shot


And to top it off a shot of that wonderful state of TX....God bless her!

Yall have a good night and go check out the tech stuff. It really is very cool stuff! KUTPs...and be looking forward to videos of our Christmas soon!