Just for Fun
I was catching up on some blogs today now that I have some time and came across something that just struck me as being very entertaining over at BoingBoing. Someone took a few WowWee robots and recreated a very memorable scene from "The Shining".
Customer Experience
3G iPhone now or later
I wasn’t going to spend any time posting on this subject. There has been plenty of blog space dedicated to it, especially since WWDC and quite frankly, I learned my lesson the first time around. The fact that the new firmware will be available to my current iPhone is really what has me excited. I can’t wait to see what apps are available and yeah, I’ll be purchasing a game or two as well. So why am I even spending any time on this subject?
Over the past couple weeks I have been asked the same question over and over…"So..are you gonna get the new iPhone :)" The wink is because all last year from the release, I was saying to my friends that by next year we’ll see the 3G version. Of course the more I looked at the phone, the more obsessed I became with it. Ultimately, my wife bought one for me for our anniversary (albeit a 4gig model but an iPhone none the less). And to re-iterate, this is by far the best mobile phone I have ever had. I make that statement based solely on the fact that even after a year, I don’t have the itch to get anything new. The typical life span of a mobile phone for me is 6-9 months and then its time to get something new. I simply just get bored and dissatisfied with he user experience of most phones.
So why am I not getting in line? Simple, I still really like my current phone. But here a re a few other reasons.
- I’m not sold on the plastic back of the 3G version (I tend to drop my phones).
- $20 for my current data plan is too much and I think $30 is worse, especially without SMS included or included tethering capability.
- I think we’ll see a big price drop some the holidays and/or we’ll see a new model with more capacity so we can really take advantage of the plethora of apps being developed. The one thing that that really stick out for me and I haven’t seen anything written up about is the fact that the phone is a bit thicker in the back. Presumably this is to accommodate the larger battery and GPS module. Now lets back track for a moment, the reason the 1st gen can’t get above the 16g capacity is because there is no space for the added memory chip like there is in the Touch. Well, now there would seem to be more space, so maybe there will be one by the holidays which would be in line with how Apple has been releasing updated models to its line over the past 2 years.
Sara over at pop17.com put up a great video on this subject and I think it summed up how I was feeling on the whole buying a 3G iPhone question. Of course, after it’s out who knows what I’ll end up doing. Last year I lasted about 60 days.
Toys with Rhythm
Here’s a fun little video of Takara Tomy’s RhythmBit. It’s a fun little toy that wiggles around changing direction to the beat of the music. The little creature gets its instructions from home base via an infra-red signal. They were released in 2007 and have been selling like hotcakes ever since.
Personalize to Remember
I love taking lots of pictures when I’m on vacation or at family gatherings. I usually get a few great shots and others that are not great but reminds everyone of a really great moment in time. But what to do with these special photos?
I took my wife and daughter to Key West a couple years ago and I have to say that it still ranks as our #1 vacation. I know it was my first one in at least 5 years and was the first one I had taken in a long time that work did not follow me (Hint: to make a vacation great…be on vacation). Everyone relaxed and simply went with the flow. We didn’t fill our week with an itinerary and simply went where ever we felt like going. One of the best outings was a little walk at night to get an ice cream cone. I got a great shot of my wife and daughter with the best smiles. I think these kinds of pictures make great photo cards. Photo cards simply being cards that have been personalized with a photo and some text/greeting. I use them for invitations and holidays and the personalization always makes my cards memorable.
One service I have used to make these cards is Cardsdirect -
Photo Cards. The service is pretty simple to use as you would expect from such a well known company. You can select from cards that are ready to go or completely customize your own card. What makes the service really unique is that you can customize the text not only on the inside of the card but the front as well. This is really cool so you could always add something like "Fun in the Sun" on the front along with a picture of you on the beach to make your friends jealous. Photo Cards can be used for all sorts of things from thank you cards, wedding invitations or even just to say Hi. Their uses are only limited by your own creativity. Cardsdirect does a great job of creating high quality cards from your own design or a mix of your pictures and their templates. In addition, you can currently get 4 personalized lines, a custom verse and only $5 ground shipping.
Newton virus on a Mac
So this is a really old video in intertube years. I just happen to see it again and was simply amused once again by it so of course I had to share….
Twitter Addict
I signed up for my Twitter account several months ago, thus becoming a twitterer. Limited to 140 characters per Tweet, I found myself being much more concise in what I was saying. Ok, i do admit that at times I do resort to SMS speak just to save character space. What you’re not on Twitter or don’t know what it is? Check out this small video from CommonCraft.
Twitter has become my link to the world before any other sources. Twitter is the first thing I look at in the morning to see what peeps were up to while I was sleeping and the last thing I look at before sleeping. Some call it obsession or addiction, I look at it from different view points. What Twitter is to me is multi faceted
1) It is my link to breaking news from all over
2) I pick up many tips and hints from other Twittizens.
3) Entertainment - Many tweets are read out of context and form a new world when brought together with other tweets (very much like a drama or soap opera)
4) just like any other social site - it brings people together 
I keep seeing references to being twitterholics and like any good addiction, I also see more ways being invented to feed the hunger. I have seen many posts pop up lately sparking the conversation of ‘Do you blog less now that you Twitter?’. For some thi sis a fact, as the micro-bloggin gof Twitter has moved them away from keeping their own blogs current. I’m currently somewhere in limbo of being an addict and just an avid user of the service. How are you using Twitter and are you following ‘phoFuki’ ?
A tiny comic for you
Check out XKCD.com for more great comics!
Free music download
Nine Inch Nails is doing it again. You may recall the free album download from not too long ago. Well, you can now get your hands on a single, ready for you to download and again it’s FREE. Head on over to the Nine Inch Nails | Discipline site for your freebie.
I made it back
What a great weekend camping on the beach, eating sand, fishing and freezing my but off. I did make it without a computer, WiFi, or a phone and was pretty happy about that. I will admit that I did have to seek out a Starbucks for a DoubleShot Saturday morning. While I was there I tried the new blend Pike Place which was really just OK for me.
I started to head back Sunday morning and stopped at a few fishing spots along the way like Tilghman Island and Kent Narrows. Nothing seemed to pan out so by 4:30 in the afternoon I packed it in and jumped in the Jeep. Although there were storm clouds rolling in, I decided to ignore them and leave the top down.
Lesson: Yes, as long as you stay at a speed of 60 mph or faster you can avoid getting wet even in a big down poor. I made like I was driving the bus in Speed to avoid getting wet. Unfortunately, with any big rain comes big traffic and slowing down meant getting soaked. Oh well, those things happen right ;) I did find a bridge to hide under long enough to put the top back up.