By way of TUAW today, we have They iScrewed Me Again, a (very well done) MadTV rant against Apple’s upgrade churn on the iPod product line. Video below, mild language warning (if you’re offended by Olde English terms for children of questionable parentage, then this video has got a word or two you’ll want to avoid):
Heh.
New York City Walkers: Too Dumb To Cross The Street
…Or so a certain New York state senator apparently believes, as NYC residents apparently can’t be trusted to cross the street while listening to an iPod without getting all squishified ala the Frogger cabinet in that one Seinfeld episode. Sounds like a real case of the stupid leading the stupid, if you ask me. Residents of Brooklyn – toss this idiot out of office next chance you get, or pretty soon he’ll be trying to outlaw talking on a cell phone while riding a bike just like New Jersey tried to.
What the heck is in the water up in Albany (and Trenton, for that matter) these days? Remember: when iPods are outlawed in crosswalks, only outlaws will have iPods in crosswalks, or something. I dunno, I wasn’t really paying attention – my iPod’s on shuffle mode and Hocus Pocus just came on.
Apple Stole My Thunder, Gol-Durnit!
I had a nice post all ready to go this morning in which I lambasted cell phone makers for their current lineup, ready to compare the offerings to those in the sports shoes market: flashy, ugly and without enough compelling features to cause me to overlook said flugliness. Then, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone live at Mac World San Francisco. Oy.
Watch the interface videos of it functioning as a widescreen iPod, a hand-held internet device, and the slickest phone you’ve ever laid eyes on.
Great, now everything stinks by comparison. Q? Crap. Blackjack? Practically Stone Age. Treo? Puhlease.
Now hand me that cup o’ Kool Aid. It’s not going to drink itself, you know.
I Now Officially Have One More Item To Distract Me From Safe Driving
After soliciting your advice, poring over oodles of online reviews, product descriptions, etc. I decided to acquire the Griffin RoadTrip FM Transmitter and Auto Charger (well, technically, it’s a birthday present from my lovely wife. Thanks hon!). It arrived yesterday and thus I’ve had a small amount of time to get acquainted with it.
Amazon had it for a relative steal at ~$54 (most stores seem to want $80-90 for it) and the reviews were largely positive. My total impressions will have to wait, as I’ve only used it in the car on my commute this morning, but one very nice feature of the device is the fact that the FM transmitter module is completely detachable. The kit comes with a combined USB/stereo cable that allows you to hook the transmitter up to any computer with an audio-out jack and a USB slot (placed reasonably close together, of course) to broadcast the sound from the computer to any nearby radios. I tested this out for a bit using my MacBook Pro and our home theater last night and the audio was impressively clear – I detected very little artifacting or signal loss.
Now I can finally quit endangering myself and others by listening to TWiT on my headphones. *grin*
This Kool Aid Tastes GREAT!
So it’s official: I’ve joined the iPod Generation. We had a choice for our Christmas bonus at work this year between a Slingbox Pro, a digital picture frame, a portable DVD player and a 30 GB iPod. I went with the iPod, thus making my transition to the Mac Dark Side almost complete.
Now I’ve got to accessorize – an FM tuner/car charger is next up. Any recommendations anyone?
I’d Best Be Working Some Overtime, Then.
I have to admit, I’ve started to become a bit of an Apple fanboy in the wake of my Powerbook/MacBook Pro conversion, but even if I hadn’t started down the road to Macdom, I still would have lusted after an iPod. (Not a Nano, not a Shuffle, a full-up iPod. I want to store my whole music collection on a single device. Shiny?) There’s only one small problem: the iPod has always been just a bit too pricey for my tastes, thus I’ve never pulled the trigger on a purchase. Apple seems to have their collective head screwed on just right when it comes to the portable music player market, so it was with interest that I “tuned” in to Engadget’s live coverage of Apple’s Tuesday “Show Time” keynote/press conference/whatever. After the event began, I hit the “Refresh” button on my browser about once every two minutes or so. What follows is an illustrated guide to my approximate thought process as Jobs’ presentation proceeded.
Blah, blah, blah, we’ve sold 50 gazillion iPods in its three model lines. Get on with it!
Continue reading “I’d Best Be Working Some Overtime, Then.”
