Triumph The Insult Comic Dog - Weather Report Hawaii

Why can't weathermen in LA be this cool?

Rambling Blondes.

Dec 8th 08 MeToday! (long and boring, you were wa.rned

Everybody wants to be a Gangstar

Even pasty white German guys. See above

Star Wars Lego Millennium Falcon Building - Scene 6

I was so tempted to get this at the Lego Store this weekend. You can see why? Enjoy it and have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Vote and Get Free Coffee from Starbucks

Come get some!

New MacBook Pro Review

Hello,

I bought a MacBook Pro two weeks ago. I have had a lot of fun. First and foremost the positives.

1. The Speakers on this MacBook Pro are amazing. I can listen to all my music without attaching speeakers to it.
2. I can play World of Warcraft on a Mac at full speed with x8 Anti-Aliasing.
3. Did I mention its fast, very fast. I can stream NFL Sunday Ticket Games from DirectTV.
   

Now or the negatives.

1. Single trackpad as a one-click mouse? It has taken a lot of getting used to.
2. No FireWire 400, jut FireWire 800. I had to go out and buy a cable for my Video Camera.
3. The Dispay port adapter? I have to wait until November 14th for a Displayport Monitor

Now let me say this, the last time I bought a Mac was in 2002. I was a student at UCLA and that G4 Titanium Powerbook was awesome and also had some features that were very new.

1. A DVI Port. which didn't catch on but became the standard and replaced VGA in 2005.
2. FireWire? At the time the only FireWire device I had was the original iPod.

I can only epxect the new MacbookPro to become a an example of things to come. I agree with Steve Jobs, Blu-ray is still a "Bag of Hurt." I can download Mad Men and Entourage on iTunes so I'm good.

img_0012.jpg

Posted via Pixelpipe.

iPhone 2.1 update is out: Talk Longer

Hey guess what? I can nhow talk to my girlfriend non-stop for 45 minutes without dropping a call frm my house. While she drives home on the 134 and 5 Freeways in Los Angeles. We would count the number of dropped calls before hand. Now we don't get any dropped calls. I very big achievement in Los Angeles for AT&T.

In other news. When you buy the HD version of a TV show you also get the Standard Definition version in yout iTunes that you can sync to yout iPhone or iPod. Not bad for $2.99.

The Normalization of a Billionaire

This is brilliant. Making Bill Gates the face of the company. Check out the video.

iPhone 2.1 update is out: OMG 4 Bars!

• I have 4 bars in my house now...



• before I only had one... I had to make calls outside.



• let's see if this actually translates into good call quality,



• less dropped calls, etc.fingers crossed.

Battlestar Galactica in HD on iTunes!

Nerds of the World Rejoice, me included, Battlestart Galactica in HD downloadable on iTunes.

Apple release new iPods Today

Apple will release new iPods today. Increased capacity and lower prices. This makes me think about Sony. Is a Sony Walkman, even a Digital Walkman still relevant?

Read this article from C|Net  It's time for Sony to refocus on its products not its Brand.

Sony has relied on its name for too long. The company needs to get out of those markets where it's barely relevant and become a more agile company that's capable of putting its money into those endeavors that matter most. Being an also-ran isn't acceptable anymore for Sony and it needs to start realizing that the future is in being the best in every market it competes in.

Seriously Sony was great in the 80's and 90's but they have produced anything worthwhile in a long time. Blu-ray doesn't count unitl The Godfather, Ironman and Star Wars is available.

Microsoft Jerry Seinfeld Bill Gates Shoe Circus Commercial

I think Microsoft is trying to re-brand itself. By putting Bill Gates, the richest Man in the World in a bargain shoe store they are trying to create a softer image for the company. I am looking forward to the next commecial in the series.

Bought my girlfirend an iPhone

Yes The George bought his girlfriend an iPhone this weekend. Nothing says love like free minutes and unlimited text. It's an upgrade for her, she used to have T-Mobile. I will let you all know how a relationship via iPhone goes.

iPhone Destroyer!

Behold the Blackberry Bold. Available October 2, 2008. Everything you expected the iPhone to be but with working 3G!

I WANT A CHEESEBURGER!!!!!!!

If a girl like Justine wants a cheeseburger, bring her a cheeseburger.

PC World Confirms AT&T Network Slow

PC Magazine's Blog has a post about the lack of speed in AT&T's 3G network. I am shocked that it is so slow in San Francisco too. I can accept Los Angeles, because AT&T has always been crap here but not SF. What gives? Link Here.

Apple Rumor - New iPods

Siginificant Price Drops in the Month of September.

Rogers BlackBerry Bold 9000 Unboxing

Oh Canada, the land of RIM. The Blackberry Bold is the new Hotness. Can you feel the love?

Ahora en Espanol!

A great review of the Blackberry Bold and the iPhone. Gigs are "Gigas" en Espanol.

My 100th Post "Wicked Cool"

I hit the century mark. There are lots of things I can say, but I will use my 100th post to highlight one of my favorite blogs on the internet, Stuff White People Like. It's Wicked Cool.

Now there's a phrase I would never be caught saying, "just sayin."

One Month with the iPhone 3G

Greg: "You have two phones."

Me: "Yes I do. I am not giving up my Blackberry."

Greg: "But you can get a Blackberry with AT&T."

Me: "Yeah but I have a Verizon Blackberry. It has much better service."

Greg: " Oh."

That sums up my experience with the iPhone 3G so far. After a month of regular use I find it harder and harder to give up my Blackberry. The Verizon network has a stronger signal, in about a month 3G will be available in the United States and I will most, likely update my Blackberry Curve to a Blackberry Bold with 3G. (See picture above.)

The iPhone is like a sports car, an Italian sports car, it gets a lot of attention but its not a very good phone for everyday use. Not a daily driver you'd take to Costco. On August 19, 2008 Apple release a 2.0.2 firmware update for the iPhone 3G, signal strength improved but my voice calls still drop inside my house.

The Safari Browser is limited. Apple should allow Flash to work. I think I will hold my breath until there is a 2.1 firmware update. After a month of good use the Blackberry is still a better phone, the Blackberry Bold may have a better browser. I will let you all know. It will be available for AT&T in September and in January 2009 for Verizon.

Tropical Storm Fay and Me

I live and work in Pasadena, California, but my sales territory includes Florida. Yesterday most of the state was shut down due to Tropical Storm Fay. So I had a "Hurricane Day." Similar to a snow day, offices and schools were closed. Most of my contacts were unavailable. Thankfully everyone is safe and there were strong winds and lots of rain to report.

I was able to leave the office early. Hurray. I even got a chance to play Warcraft.

iPhone Firmware 2.0.1

Fixed a lot a problems for me, especially intalling updates to software. It made typing on the iPhone easier. I recommend that everyone should download it if they haven't already.

iPhone Withdrawal

I left my iPhone at home today on purpose. Let's see if I suffer from withdrawal at all. I doubt it. I will keep you all posted.

One Week with the iPhone

It's great toy, but its not ready to be a business phone. Let me list the reasons why.

1. Battery life. You have to disable a lot of the features that make the iPhone worthwhile.


2. No Copy and Paste. Someone sends you an e-mail with a Contact number you can't copy and paste it and dial it.


3. AT&T Service is bad. At least in the Los Angeles area.


4. I finally disabled Push Media Feature. My Verizon Blackberry handles e-mails a lot better.

Macs are Cool if you got the money . . .

This has been my response to Macs for the last seven years. That was the last time I actually bought an Apple product with a keyboard and mouse. Since then I have only bought or recommended iPods and lately the iPhone as a solid Apple Product. "Macs are Cool if you got the money . . ."

I have been teasing myself with getting a new Intel Duo 2 Core Powerbook, er MacBook Pro, see that's how far behind I am. The last time I bought a Mac I was at UCLA and had the benefit of a University discount. The darn things cost $2,500. For that price I could get two Dell Notebooks and a Printer.

However there may be a new offering from Apple this fall. the New York Times reports that Apple will introduce a new line of portables this fall at competitive pricing. Apple executives have figured it out, "most people don't buy our stuff because it's so expensive." The sales of the iPhone at $199 prove that. Likewise the introduction of low cost PC Laptop at Staples and BestBuy may be the motivating factor behind being more competitive on pricing for Apple.

Here is the link form the New York Times.

Los Angeles Fast Food Ban?

It just doesn't make sense. The road to the Police State is paved with good intentions, it's for your safety? The world is a dangerous place, the role of government is to maintain order and protect people from harm, not HAMBURGERS! Los Angeles City Council memebr Jan Perry believes otherwise.

I have posted about this before. This ban will hurt small businesses and the residents that depend on these jobs. Legislation like this will not stop people from eating bad food. The time and energy is best spent on educating people about the hazards of eating fast food 5 times a week rather than restricting free enterprise.

Read the story here on LA Eater.

iPhone Shortage! Day 7

Oh snap son, the iPhone 3G is unavailable in California. I just checked their website for availability. Unless you want to drive to Simi Valley, no iPhone 3G for you.

Pink Slip Nation

My friend KK has a new Blog. Stop it this picture is as sexy as it gets. The time has come for a political blog by a woman that's not afriad to use pink. Read on at PinkSlipNation.

Starbucks WiFi & iPhone: Day 6

Not actually Day 6 but this does deserve its own entry. The free AT&T WiFi gives me a reason to go into a Starbucks. I have the good fortune of having a Starbucks on the ground floor of my building at 80 S. Lake Ave, in Pasadena. This means I have access to the AT&T WiFi signal from the store. The signal is surprisingly strong on my iPhone 3G. I can even check my e-mail and browser WoWinsider.com and ESPN from across the street!

The only downside is that I am limited to two hours of access per day. But if I keep my browsing down to lunch time and the few mintues I keep to myself after work before I go home this is great place to sit, relax, WiFi and oh dear enjoy an overpriced dry cup of coffee.

iPhone GPS Success! Day 5

So today "The Girlfriend" and I used the iPhone's built in GPS and the Yelp Application for turn by turn directions from the Century City Mall on Santa Monica Blvd. to the the noteworthy Fathers Office restaurant in Culver City. As Borat would say, it was a great success. Yes.

We did miss a turn on Manning, but it was tiny little street with no street light. Once we turrned around, U turn, we were well on our way as we followed the little blue dot down to National Blvd and Venice.

The best way to use GPS is to find the location first. Save it as a bookmark and then press, "Ask for Directions." The iPhone does the rest and the little blue dot keeps moving on both the EDGE and 3G network. The iPhone keeps the signal regardless of your network connection.

(Special comment by "The Girlfriend:" This really only works if you have a passenger who is navigating. Do not attempt to do this while driving.)

Yeah man, that would suck if you crashed and damaged your iPhone.

iPhone Battery Woes: Day 4

This is by far the best review I have read about the battery life for the new iPhone 3G. Honestly unless I plug it in by 2 PM I run out of battery life in regular use in a normal work day.

Read it Now on Engadget.

The battery life on the iPhone is a real concern. 6.5 hours available in a 12 hour work day as a professional? The iPhone isn't ready as a primary business phone unless you have a spare charger in your office.

My BlackBerry Curve 8310 kicks it ass.

iPhone in Real Life: Day 3 Update

D. Asks, "How is that iPhone?"

I reply, "It's fun, but for real world stuff my BlackBerry kicks it's ass."

Sure enough the wave of euphoria I had for the iPhone has ceased now that I am back at work I can really feel its limitations. I can get Sales leads and notifications on my BlackBerry instantaneously. I could have the same feature enabled on my iPhone but that would require that the iPhone be on all the time. The iPhone is awesome so long as you have a full battery or access to a nearby power source.

The battery life really sucks on it.

iPhone Battery life: Day 3

Today's post is brought to you by an original iPhone User. I guess that makes her "OG" and an authority on the subject.

I've read on HowardForums that the battery life is terrible on the new phone! You might check Amazon for reviews on headsets. What type of case did you get? If there is something you are looking for, such as a extra charger or even a certain headset, check with Tad first as we have a wholesale catalog that carries some of the iphone goodies. (he can't get the headset that is made by Apple).

Also, we got extra insurance (you have 30 days) through SquareTrade.com. It was relatively inexpensive and if you do it within the 30 days you can add extra protection in case you drop it in water! I purchased it for our first GPS on got on Ebay and we had a problem with the GPS and they fixed it and we had it back in a week.

If you decide to get SquareTrade do a search first on Google for a coupon code. Usually you can find one for at least 10% off and they have several sales during the year for 30% off. I suggested to Jen to get it for the Sam's but not sure if she did.

iPhone 3G Day 2

It's 3:30 PM in the afternoon and my battery is already low. I haven't made any calls with it today. Battery life is definitely an issue with the iPhone. I should carry my charger with me, or at least buy a spare for the office.

I turned it off right now. I will update you all tonight.

Update

My battery drained to 20% today and I didn't even make any calls. I will have to bring my charger to work to keep the battery alive. Its like have a pet canary with me.

Once I charged the battery to full I had no problems making calls or keeping the signal strong inside buildings. There could be a correlation between battery life and performance.

I am considering a head set for the iPhone because I don't want to take it out in public and possibly drop it or attracting un-wanted attention.

iPhone 3G review

I tested the Apps last night. The Facebook App works great and it saves me time. I don't have to boot up my PC or my Laptop to check my profile page. The same is true for the Twitter and the Yelp App. The Apps are easy to use and fast on both a WiFi and 3G connetion. My favorite so far is the Remote App, I can really control my PC from across the room with my iPhone, now if I could just do that with my LCD TV and my DirecTV HD DVR.

As a cell phone, the iPhone does not like to be moved around much. The AT&T signal is weak in both Pasadena and West Hollywood. The calls aren't as clear or loud as the Verizon Network calls. there are some hotspots in both places where the signal strength is very good.

Since today is the first day I am using it at work for real world stuff I should have a much better review this evening.

Day One with the iPhone

After standing in line for two hours, not bad really, The George has come home to a cold glass of white wine and blogs about his new toy . . . er productivity device.

I got an iPhone 3G folks! After considerable delay. I waited until Sunday. Two days after the worldwide launch. I left early in the morning to stand in line in front of the Apple Store at The Grove. The line was very tame. It wasn't as crowded as Friday or Saturday. Some people I met had stood in line on Friday since 5 in the morning, disappointingly going home after the activation servers were shut down. The people were really nice both in line and inside the store. The Apple Employees handed out water bottles. I was surprised the 16GB "white" iPhones were still in stock. I worried that they would be the first to go.

After going through the activation. I turned on the phone and found the controls very easy to understand and sent an SMS text to the iPhone from my Verizon Blackberry. Which I am keeping by the way.

Why? The iPhone is the new . . . .

No it's not, actually AT&T has one of the weakest signals in Los Angeles. One of the reasons I did not make the jump to the iPhone a year ago. I can't make a phone call from inside the house, and the first generation iPhones had a notorious reputation for dropped calls. As a test I had my girlfriend call her mother, a 1st Generation iPhone user. The call went through while she and I were sitting on the porch. However, when we tried to order food, I could not get a signal inside the house. As a phone the iPhone is just not there yet, because AT&T has such poor service in Los Angeles. Verizon has the best service in Los Angeles so as far a phone goes, Verizion is my first choice.

But wait! Why did you get the iPhone, if you already have a phone?

The iPhone is as fast, if not faster than the Dell XPS M1530 Laptop we have inside the house. When you connect the iPhone to a WiFi wireless network you can really appreciate the elegance of the Operating System. Now if I could only have Mozilla and Flash on the iPhone I would near use this Dell XPS again, except for Warcraft. Ooh Warcraft on the iPhone!

Apple 3G launch = EPIC FAIL

Where were you for the "iPocalypse?"

Thankfully I had to be in the office at 7 am in the morning today. So missed out on all the camping and waiting in line in front of Apple Stores and AT&T shops. That's avery good thing. All the hype surrounding the new Apple iPhone 3G has died.

It's dead bro, the brillaint Marketing Hype that welcomed the new phone is gone. All those great fuzzy feelings connected with the product evaporared when the most, loyal, the most patient, the most unemployed were faced with a nightmarish senario. Having their working iPhone Disabled by an Apple or AT&T employee, to activate their new shinny iPhone 3G. Well this did not happen. Most new iPhone 3G buyers were sent home with in active phone. Some were caught in the nightmare of having two deactivated phones. If AT&T is your only mobile provider, then those folks are stuck with no phone at all.

GG Apple!

The gadget blog Gizmodo christened the problems the "iPocalypse", while the Information Week columnist Mitch Wagner said Apple had compounded problems through "negligence and failure to anticipate demand"

Read this article for the full impact. INFOWorld Activation Blues. Thankfully I have 5 more hours here in the office and I have a Verizon BlackBerry. So I will be immune to all this nonsense.

Look for my iPhone 3G review Tomorrow.

700,000 in One Month

Check out the link 700,000 former Paladins agree, Age of Conan is better. Age of Conan adds 700,000 in One Month

European NonSense

Breaking News: "According to new rules unanimously passed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, at its meeting here, any company, organization or country will soon be able to apply for a new Web address extension, called a top-level domain." New York Times Article

If everyone has a top-level domain, then no one will benifit from having a top-level domain. Addresses like .com and .org will be even more valuable. If Icann achieved anything it made it easier to distinguish top-level content from homemade content.

If everyone is Special, no one is Special.

Energy Drinks? Who needs them?

Truth be told I am the only person in my office building that drinks Diet Dr. Pepper. I tried Tea, not strong enough. I tried energy drinks, too strong. I get too shaky. My hands start to tremble. Which made me think? Are Energy Drink just another marketing success story. Like plastic Water Bottles for a $1.00. These Energy drinks often cost between $1.75 to $3.00. Are they really worth it when you can get a Diet Dr. Pepper or a Diet Coke for 0.75 cents?

I don't like them at all I am sticking to Diet Dr. Pepper, even if people think I am wierd.

Finally an iPhone I can afford!

Yes price is a big dealbreaker for The George. I have not gone over to Blu-Ray because I really don't want to spend and additional $500 just to see the wrinkles on Matt Damon's face. I waited two years for the BlackBerry Curve to drop in price. Now I can finally have an iPhone. I can finally buy an Apple product without the use of Credit Card! Behold the new Hotness at Engadget.

Sine qua non Hillary.

Obama has won the Democratic Nomination . . . oh wait let's rephrase that. Hillary Clinton's trainwreck of a campaign is over. "But she lost because America wasn't ready for a woman . . ." Whatever bro, stop crying in your pillow. Hillary lost because her campaign was incompetent and didn't bother reaching out to the grassroots. She never tapped into the anger surrounding the Iraq War or George Bush's lack on leadership. She was the Miller High Life "Champagne of Beers Candidate."

Saying your the best and proving you are the best are two different things. Sine qua non Hillary.

Obama is Thrall!

Aimee Mann? Where have I been?

Sometimes I feel so out of touch I should kick myself. I just discovered Aimee Mann. Perhaps she has just reached critical mass. Yeah Jenny was right.

Conan and a Sandwich!

Please note, you can not eat a sandwich and play Age of Conan. Age of Conan requires your full attention. The combat system relies on combos, which require 2 to 3 keystrokes.

I am considering moving to protein bars and M&M's.

The End of Warcraft

At least for me, I never thought I would stop playing World of Warcraft. But along came Age of Conan, and I am hooked. I stopped pressing buttons and started having fun.

I have played a Paladin since day one in Warcraft and have seen my role diminish from that of a warrior in armor to a healer in armor, to a back up healer in armor. Not so in Age Conan.

Here I play a conquerer, a two-handed DPS machine that wears armor and has buff and can heal, surprisingly similar to what a Paladin was intended to be. I may return to the World of Warcraft, but for now I serve Conan!

Further Proof of the Eee PC's Hotness

Yeah I am big cheerleader for the Eee PC right now. All I need from a device and the ability to Plug and Play. Check out this photos.

Eee PC MacBook Air Killer!

I declare the Apple MacBook Air dead. How can you seriously spend $1,800 on a "notebook" with only an 80 GB Hard Drive and no external ports. Nice machine if just Blog and send e-mails. But for $1,800 I can buy "FOUR" Eee PC's all with USB ports and external video for presentations.

For example the Asus Eee PC, which runs Windows XP or Linux, sells for less than $400.

I am waiting for Dell to announce theirs tonight at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2008, see the full results on Engadget.com

Blackberry Blogging

Hey guys long time huh? Well I got new job in software sales and now I also have a Blackberry Curve from Verizon.(The true test of functionality is if I can update my Blog from it.)

So here's to first time.

MISS KITTIN - FRANK SINATRA

What I listening to now.

Kobe Bryant jumps over an Aston Martin! KB24.com

This is the most awesome thing I have ever seen. Notice the shadow of the lamp post and Kobe's shoe. He did JUMP OVER THE ASTON MARTIN.

Hello Kitty Island Adventures

Today's entry is dedicated to my good friend KK. I loves you KK. L3@rn1ng 1337 Sp3ak.

Happy Chocolate Bunny Awareness Day!

Let the Mac Hate Flow!

I takes too long to get things done on a Mac. Case in point an artist designed a presentation using a Mac and burned it on a DVD. The DVD did not work in a DVD player or a PC, it only worked on a Mac.

I called him up told him to put it on a hard drive and bring it into the office. I then burned a DVD myself on my Dell PC.

He then had the nerve to ask me to pay for his gas and validate his parking. I ignored him.

Microsoft Vista SP1 - Part 4

Update! My nVidia 8800GT OC/BFG, yeah baby, is idling at 60-61 degrees Celsius. That's a full 10 degrees Celsius less that normal. 71 degrees Celsius is chilly for a graphics card like that, 60 degrees Celsius is sub-Arctic, well for a video card at least.

Microsoft Vista SP1 - Part 3

An undocumented feature is that my computer is quiter now. How so? Well it turns out that Microsoft Vista SP1 has fine tuned its display capabilities for laptop and sub-notebook computers. So I thought, hey I wonder if this works on desktops too?

My graphics card, an nVidia 8800GT OC/BFG, yeah baby, idles better. I was able to remove a case fan from my computer to reduce the noise. Which means the volume of my TV is much lower now. Making my neighbors that much happier.

Tax Incentive Rebate?

I can't wait until my Tax Incentive Rebate arrives in the mail. Why? Because George Bush is getting me a new hard drive. Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Only $129.99 at New Egg. That's 640 Gigs!

Microsoft Vista SP1 - Part 2

So far so good. The complete install took a full hour and three restarts. My computer starts up faster now. The other notable change is that the "Search" function has been removed. Good thing I have Google Desktop. I will post more later. But I am alive and browsing.

Microsoft Vista SP1

CARPE DIEM! I have decided to install Microsoft Vista SP1, while nursing a very good and well deserved hangover from St. Patrick's Day. I will be back to post of my success on this blog. If you don't see an update in an hour everything has gone terribly wrong.

Fox goes all-HD for 2008 MLB season

Yes Child! Now is the time to buy that 720p LCD TV ($899 at Best Buy, yo) I told you about. Every game on Fox this upcoming season will be in HD. Here are the first four big weekend games. the Los Angeles Dodgers are presently scheduled to appear nine times on FOX.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

New York Mets at Atlanta Braves

Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres



Saturday, April 12, 2008

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks



Saturday, April 19, 2008

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins

Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves



Saturday, April 26, 2008

New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Detroit Tigers
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres

SXSW is the New Sundance Festival

Yahoo, Google, CitySearch, Dell all have booths at SXSW this weekend. It is like the New Sundance, back when Sundance was cool, before it became a shopping mall for SWAG.

SXSW is a music festival in Austin Texas from March 7th - 16th. If you can't make it to texas then tune into DirecTV's channel 101 for 24/7 music coverage. The 101 channel will carry music coverage from March 13 to March 15 to catch eight hours of daily live coverage starting at 5 pm ET. If you don't have DirecTV, then you fail at life.

I Google Phone Is Real!

Engadget has a link to the first video of the Google Phone. It's real and it works and it is not on the miserable AT&T network. Link here.

Tonight on CNN: Debate!

The debate, to be held on the campus of the University of Texas, will air live on CNN, CNN International and CNN.com from 8 to 9:30 p.m. ET (5 pm Pacific Peeps). The debate will also air in Spanish on Univision at 11:30 p.m. ET. Should Obama win DKP will be distributed at the conclusion of the raid . . . er debate.

Obama is Thrall!

New Loot Tuesdays!

Barnes & Noble is joining in on the HD-DVD abandoning bandwagon, with a page of HD-DVDs marked 50% off. Many titles are then $13.49 - extra 25% off with coupon code Y4R4K7D = $11.25, with free shipping on $25 orders. Titles include Elizabeth, Apollo 13, Shaun of the Dead, Pride & Prejudice, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, and many more.

HD DVD Players for Cheap!

This weekend marks the begining of the end for HD DVD players, Best Buy and other major retailers like Amazon.com will be offering big discounts on their hardware and movies. I recommend purchasing an HD DVD player, but not HD DVDs. Why? Well the logic is simple, if you have a 720p or 1080p Televsion your regular DVDs will look great on an HD DVD player because of the upscale.

Upscaling is a process that mathematically matches the pixel count of the output of the DVD signal to the physical pixel count on an HDTV, which is typically 1280x720 (720p) or 1920x1080 (1080i - and, some cases, 1080p). - Robert Silva,

This means your regular DVD collection will look better with an HD DVD player on a high definition televsion than without one. There will also be a 2 for 1 bargin bin sale at Best Buy for HD DVDs if you so choose to stock your collection with classics like, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, currently only on HD DVD.

Buying Books Online

MaxMapps says, "To hell with physical media!" Well I won't go that far there is a certain reliability in having DVD's and Books in your hand. There's a reality to them but iTunes does make life easier.

Today for example. If I buy the book I may just read the first two chapters and suddenly get busy with something or someone and leave the book like so many of my other books on the shelf unfinished. Would I ever do that to a good meal? No, not on your life. I know what it's like to go hungry at night just so you can eat the next day.

So I bought Anthony Bourdain's book on iTunes instead. I will listen to it on my iPod for the same reason I watch his shows. He sounds and acts like a guy who knows who he is and what he likes. Beside I don't have time to visit a bookstore.

Apple's new iPhone and iPod Touch

I think I will be using my Economic Stimulus Payment Tax Rebate on a new iPod Touch. The new model is now 32GB and a true alternative to my 30GB iPod. For $499 I can now check my mail, read the NYTIMES, update my blog and listen to my entire Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis Collection at the same time. The $145 billion economic stimulus package represents 1 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product) and just cleared the Senate yesterday. So hurrah! George Bush is getting me an iPod touch!

Oh they also updated the iPhone to 1/2 the capacity of the new iPod Touch, this is lame. The iPhone is now 16GB and includes a $300 upfront fee from AT&T, which still make the cost of ownership to high for me. It also lacks a camera. To quote Gremlin on Engadget, "$500 iPhone should have 24GB, or they should have made it $550 and made 32GB. Either way, it just doesn't make much sense to run out and get this 16GB iPhone."

Peace Can Be Sexy!

I want to live in a world where violence in only a video game. The cost of war is too high to wage. So I support peace. So does George Clooney. "I am the son of a newsman," he said. "The job of messenger comes with the responsibility to deal with facts, not to tell people what they want to hear, but to tell them the truth, unfiltered."

Word!

AT&T Offer Superfast 10Mbps Downloads and ESPN

In one of the best announcements of 2008 so far, AT&T has announced 10Mbps to all its high-speed DSL subscribers. The new service will launch under the AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet Max moniker next month, and AT&T will offer it to subscribers of its U-Verse TV-over-IP service for $55 a month.

Currently, the fastest service available to AT&T Yahoo! customers is rated for up to 6Mbps downstream with 1Mbps upstream, allowing respective maximum download and upload speeds of 750KB/s and 125KB/s. The 10Mbps service, by contrast, will allow top download and upload speeds of 1.25MB/s and 188KB/s (1.5Mbps), respectively. With U-Verse, AT&T uses part of the bandwidth of its broadband service to deliver access to as many as 320 TV channels, giving customers the option to bypass cable altogether.

AT&T says it will give subscribers of its DSL services free access to its Wi-Fi network, which counts 10,000 hot spots across the United States. Free, unlimited access will be available to anyone with an AT&T broadband service from the 1.5Mbps plan to the upcoming 10Mbps one.

Maria Sharapova and the MacBook Air

I was too busy watching Maria Sharapova win the Australian Open to blog last week. But there are some incredible pictures of the new MacBook Air I'd like to share with you all. They are both as sexy as their earlier iterations, i.e. the G4 Titatinum PowerBook and Maria at 19. But all things get better with age.

Hi Everybody? Do you like Bears?

Yes Bears, but not the ferocious land mammals or the cuddly cartoon bears. No "Care Bear Stare" here. The Asian economies are entering hibernation. Without funds from the U.S. Mortgage Industry to finance foreign spending, most Asian Economies are going into a "Bear Market," meaning trading in their economies, overall buying and selling of stocks will slow down. Daniel M. Harrison at theStreet.com has written a fact filled analysis of the oncoming Bear Market.

But George what does this mean for us? I thought this was gift blog? It means cheaper electronics! Vendors are going to try to make you spend money by providing deep discounts on normally high priced electronics manufactured primarily in Asia.

This Just In: Starbucks make you fat!

Black Coffee is only 9 calories per 16 oz serving. A walk through a parking lot can burn that off. A fortified Sugar Free White Mocha is still 300 calories. There is a great blog about it on the New York Times. GIRLS! Lay off the Starbucks, embrace McDonalds, its actually healthier.

Mac Love @ Macworld SF 2008

This space is reserved for some totally awesome news. Until then we have a live feed at Engadget.

To quote Steve Jobs, "I'd like to say all of us have tried. We have, MSFT, Amazon, TiVo, VuDu, Netflix, Blockbuster -- we've all tried to figure out how to get movies over the net onto the TV. We've ALL missed. No one's succeeded yet. We tried with Apple TV -- it was designed to be an accessory for iTunes and your computer. But that's not what people wanted."

So Video Streaming and HD Rentals on Apple Hardware is a Reality Now. No new iPhones or iPods. Macs are still expensive, $1799 for an underpowered Super Thin MacBook Air. But you can play Warcraft on it. The Dell XPS M1530, 15.4" is bigger, faster and only $1299.

Blu-ray HD Downloadable Content

Blu-ray HD Downloadable Content will be available in the summer of 2008. Available only on Blu-ray Branded Appliances, yes your Playstaion 3 is a Blu-ray Applicance. Here is a picture of Veronica Belmont, from Mahalo Daily, the full story and the details are available on Engadget. It looks a lot like iTunes.

Best Little Thing @ CES 2008

I am going back to my Gift Giving Ways. The best little thing at CES 2008 was the SONY HDR-SR12 Camera, it is not a Video Camera because it records directly to a 15GB Hard Drive, there is no Analog Conversion, so there is no Video, just a pure Digital Recording in High Definition. Yes you can now have the your own home movies in HD on that HDTV you bought at Christmastime. Engadget has the full product line up. I am goign to get one for my kid brother soon. You should too.

**HD Recording at Home is going to be the hot item in 2008.

New Hampshire Primary: Thrall in 2nd Place.

Obama is Thrall! The big story however is the collapse and resurrection of the Hillary Clinton campaign. They had $100 in the bank. According to MSNBC, "'...The Clinton campaign has raised over $100 million, but has "only" $15 to $20 million left. It faces donor reluctance to give more in the face of the Iowa defeat and the prospect of a second loss in New Hampshire today. Even worse, the campaign fears defections among those fundraisers who want to be with a winner and who might be easily persuaded to support Barack Obama." On to Neveda.

Remember Obama is Thrall! The US needs a Thrall right now.

What Girl's need to know about their geek Boyfriend

Yes I play World of Warcraft. So what? Ralph is our modern-day Everyman.

CES Day 2: Leaving Las Vegas

But Daily Mahalo is still there. Veronica Belmont reports from the floor. We are packing it up and going home for some good burritos.

The War is Over; in HD

Q. What if Toshiba, Universal and Paramount don't go blu. How do you convince consumers the war is over?

A. The market will decide.

January 7, 2008 will be remembered as the day that the "The Format War Ended." Blu-ray dominates, they have more movies and their hardware is getting cheaper. Read the full story of the conquest here at Engadget.

Mr. Gates and How I learned to Love Blu-ray.

The biggest problem I had with Blu-ray was their price point. Well over $400 for the most basic of players. HD-DVD had Blu-ray beat on that for over 2 years. However after CES 2008 most future content will be available on Blu-ray. Warner Bros., New Line Cinema both announced they would go Blu-ray exclusive. Sony also finally announced a $200 Blu-ray/DVD-RW Drive for your PC. Apple is also going Blu-ray but thats no surprise, Steve Jobs, sits on Disney's Board of Directors, and the Studio is Blu-ray exclusive, so it makes sense that all new Apple Macs will ship with at least a Blu-ray Reader. Apple is saving this announcement for Macworld San Francisco, next week.

To wrap up CES 2008 I can say this. You're a mean one Mister Gates. You will never wow the audience like Steve Jobs can at Macworld. Bill Gates gave his last keynote as Chairman of Microsoft last night. The audience was underwhelmed by his announcent about the new Windows Mobile. Seriously Bill people will never give up their Blackberries for an underperforming version of Microsoft Outlook on thier phones.

At least we got to see Slash on stage playing 'Welcome to the Jungle.' Which reminds me I need to play more Guitar Hero III.

**Remember Thin is In and 720p is Dead. Take that Nietzsche.

Thin is In and the End of 720p

So Toshiba and LG had their press conferences this morning. The results are two fold. The new LCDs and Plasmas are bigger and thnner in 2008. Some are no thicker than a hardback book at Barnes and Noble. I can also safetly say that 720p is dead. All the new models have a minimum of 1080i to 1080p (interlaced vs. progressive), 1080p being better. So if you want a big LCD go out to your local Shiny Stuff Store there will be deep discounts for 720p TVs this Spring.

Girl Spotted @ CES 2008!

Alert the Internets! There is a cute girl at CES and she is not a Booth Babe! Progress my peeps. Veronica Bemont. She has a Blog at Mahalo Daily. Check it out, she filmed the CES Unveiled event. This is the best report on CES available on the internets. Take that CNET!

**Notice the fat guy in Cargo Shorts.

Best Little Keychain in the World @ CES

Engadget has a feature story on a little keychain viewfinder. Just like the kind we rocked in the 1990's in High School. "The 1.5-incher sports a 128 x 128 resolution display, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio and 32MB of internal memory, while the 2.8-inch iteration (shown after the jump) packs a 320 x 240 resolution screen, 10,000:1 contrast ratio and a currently undisclosed amount of storage." Check out the story here.

Barack Obama is Thrall!

I started a group on Facebook. Yes Peeps, The George is on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6794363009

Here is the description:

So I was trying to convince my brother to support Barack Obama. I used every bit of political knowledge I had. Finally I settled on an analogy. Barack Obama is Thrall! You see my brother and I play World of Warcraft, and Thrall is the the most charismatic and popular personality in the game. Even members of the opposing faction admire Thrall. No one says a bad thing about him and everyone admires him for his courage, honor and personality.

Why does Thrall get so much respect? Well he unified and restored the scattered nations of the Horde. Transforming this disorganized faction (Democrats) into a capable, unified and determined faction by giving them leadership and something to believe in, something greater than themselves. He defeated the Burning Legion, the bad guys, and brought peace to the world.

If you know someone under the age of 25 and they play World of Warcraft and you want to capture their imagination then use this analogy. Barack Obama is Thrall!

The US needs a Thrall right now.

Warner Bros goes Blu-ray Exclusive

Owners of Playstation 3 rejoice. You can now play Warner Bros. movies on your overpriced gaming system. Warner Bros goes Blu-ray Exclusive on the eve of CES Las Vegas 2008. Driving the HD DVD group to drink and cancel its presentation and press conference tomorrow.

Movies you won't get on HD-DVD:

1. I am Legend (Will Smith)
2. . . . Jesse James (Brad Pitt)
3. all the other movies are already available on HD-DVD or Blu-ray so it doesn't matter.
   
   The George laughs at you early adopters and is going to play more Guitar Hero III.

Ford Sells Jaguar to India

One of the best stories of 2008 so far. Ford needs money. So they are selling their assets. The Jaguar/ Land Rover Group is one of their best assets. Now the what makes this story so great is that the buyer is India's Tata Motors. India a former British Colony will now employ Englishmen and Scotsman as the owners of the Jaguar/ Land Rover Group. What irony!

Apple News at CES

Apple will distribute Movie Rentals online. Just like Netflix. It is only a matter of time before Television Stations like ABC, NBC and Food Network do this too. Live reaction on G4TV today.

Xbox 360 ULTIMATE!!

1080p HDMI output
built in Wi-Fi
hi-def audio ouput
cooler hardware
extremely quiet fan
built in HD-DVD drive.
320GB hard disk

CRY MORE SONY!!!

HD Content: Direct Download in 2008 (Part 2)

Netflix! Just announced a direct download service. HD content won't be far behind. Read the SF Gate Story.

Gadget Time! CES 2008

Yes Christmas has passed, so has New Years and the overrated and over matched College Bowl Games. The Patriots have gone undefeated and the holiday ham has all been eaten. But wait boys and girls, the best is yet to come. The most awe inspiring event in the Western World is upon us . . . CES 2008. The largest most spectacular electronics and entertainment expo, no its not E3 (where are my Booth Babes) but it is as close as we may ever get to an electronic wonderland. New products will be announced by Dell, HP, Samsung, Sony, Hitachi and Microsoft. Apple decides to hold back any public announcement of its products until MacWorld Expo, a week after CES, so no Apple news for you.

Here is the link to the main page for CES. G4 TV will be covering the show non stop on DirecTV next week. The internet is already a buzz with news from the show and new model releases from Dell and HP. New notebook model starting at $500 and new Media Center PC's.

There is also news on WirelessHD, soon my prediction will be proven true, no more duplicate versions of movies you already have. Just download and broadcast the HD version from your PC to the flat-screen LCD you bought at Christmas time.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.