Man of Leisure

A First iPost

After much discussion and wearing-down, I got an iPhone this week. There are a host of reasons why I wasn't going to get one when they came out, but the biggest reason evaporated when the price dropped to $299 for the 4GB phone.

So far, I am stunned by how beautiful it is. The scrolling is quick and intoxicating. When on wi-fi, youtube videos look crisp and almost better than watching them on a hi-def TV. (They're much grainier when downloaded on the at&t EDGE network.)

Sent from my iPhone

Comic Genius

John Hodgman is a riot. His appearance last evening at Powell's was better than an hour of serious therapy - funny, engaging, and multi-sensual (if that's even the right word to describe visually and aurally pleasing entertainments).

I sat in the front row of a packed Pearl Room, and before the reading began, interacted a bit with Mr. Hodgman by suggesting that he read the list of 700 hobo names as part of his presentation. Later on, he gave me a shout-out by name, saying, "And, by request of Ken, I will now read the 700 hobo names in order. Number 1: Stewbuilder Dennis."

He took questions from the crowd, including one about his work in the Apple adverts. I have posted a clip of his answer, where he describes one of his favorite ads that began airing this week. He talked about the iMovie ad, and how the guy who played the home movie composed on a PC reminded him of Jon Lovitz. The clip is over on the GoogleTube (I guess that's what we call it now?):

Tonight: Complete World Knowledge!

I am so excited! Tonight I will be found at Powell's City of Books, the famed independent Portland bookstore, for a reading and signing by John Hodgman, the author of The Areas of My Expertise, and Jonathan Coulton, musicial collaborator of the aforementioned Hodg-man.

Even if you don't read chapter books, you know John Hodgman. He's the "PC" in the current crop of Apple adverts -- you know, the dumpy-looking businessman who has no clue what's happening and why he's so uncool. He can also be seen occasionally on The Daily Show as the "Resident Expert". Here are some Hodg-man resources for your edification:

Apple adverts
The Daily Show excerpts
The Areas of My Expertise website (with free audiobook clips!)

Think Different

Here's to the crazy ones.

The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.

They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent.
They imagine.
They heal.
They explore.
They create.
They inspire.
They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world... are the ones who do.

iPod is key to Musical Genius?

The Evening Standard has a piece about how constant music bombardment can lead to hallucination. The title of the article is rather pessimistic, methinks. Sure, we've all experienced the odd effect of continuing to hear a song in our heads long after the music stops. But, as the article points out,

With no sound via the ears, the brain generates random impulses it interprets to be sound. It then matches these to memories of music and a song begins in the head. This may explain why Beethoven was able to compose after going deaf.

So, let me get this straight: if I listen to my iPod, I could become one of the greatest musical minds of all time?

iPod, you've done it again!

Bill Gates Eats His Words?

Following up on my post of May 12, Bill Gates has acknowledged that the iPod is a beat-down-stick, and he was on the receiving end of said beat-down. The LA Times has an article about how M$ is hoping to strike deals with studios before Apple does. In said article, Gates admits that Microsoft hasn't given any viable option to the iPod, and after losing on the digital music front, "we're really having to work more closely with partners in the hardware industry and content industry, to really think through the whole end-to-end experience and make it better. That's where we've done our mea culpa. We are fixing that."

Let's see what Apple has on the horizon. Rumors abound that next week will feature some new hardware from Cupertino...

Bill Gates: Last Comic Standing

Bill Gates, super genius, told a German newspaper that the iPod won't last. Reality check, Bill: MSFT has declined 25% in value, while AAPL has increased more than 40% over the last five years (the difference is even more striking in the 2-year and 1-year charts).

I guess investors like a company that actually delivers products (e.g., the iMac, the iPod, OS updates), rather than "Chief Software Architects" who travel around the world just to bad-mouth others. And glad to see your biatches in Redmond are bringing innovation to the computer world, Tiger!

Humour is del.icio.us!

Ready for a laugh? Check out the latest special offering from Apple: the GodPod.

Have y'all heard of del.icio.us? It's a user-centric site where users collect their links to other sites, like browser bookmarks on steroids. Not only do users list the links, but they categorize each link with as many categories as they feel appropriate, making the same site appear in several different "folders". Then, inasmuch as users choose to share their del.icio.us bookmarks, the collective categorization makes the most useful sites bubble to the top - since del.icio.us lists the links with the number of folks who've listed it in their own personal list.

This is actually a return to the original concept of weblogs, which started out as annotated lists of links. But with the ability to see what others are linking to, it is much more useful, because you don't have to read 100 blogs to see what folks find interesting - you can subscribe to an RSS feed and see what's new and interesting. Revolutionary!

PS - My del.icio.us bookmarks can be visited here.

Apple Gets It

Apple's new products are pretty amazing. The Mac mini is only 6.5" square by 2" tall. That's actually small enough to fit underneath my monitor, and it's three times as powerful as the computer tower that sits on the floor next to my desk. At $499, I fully intend to purchase one sometime soon - I only hope it's well before my exisiting computer decides to give up the ghost.

The other major new product introduced today is the iPod shuffle, a USB pen drive that features the iPod's simple interface at a price that will simply drive the other manufacturers out of the market: $99 for a 512MB model (120 songs) and $149 for the 1GB model (240 songs). Considering that it has a built-in 12-hour rechargable battery and weighs less than an ounce, this thing is poised to rock the miniscule portion of the world that hasn't already purchased an iPod.

What's amazing about today's new products is that they represent the first time that Apple seems to have "gotten it" in terms of saturating the market with products that combine the cool of Apple design with the gotta-have-it price of the commodity PC. I look at the Mac mini and began thinking that it's something that I could carry in a bookbag to plug in to an external projector and keyboard in a classroom setting. It's as powerful as a laptop that costs twice as much, and it's little larger than a stack of six CD cases. And the iPod shuffle has "impulse purchase" written all over it. If they introduce those at Target, they'll have to open a new factory just to build iPod shuffles!

Other products include an inexpensive page layout software package called "Pages", and a new version of the iLife suite with updated GarageBand, iMovie, iDVD and iPhoto. Nothing earth-shattering, but still cool. I am looking forward to trying Pages, since I was introduced to Macintosh in high school with Pagemaker 1.2.

Way to go, Apple. You're making the right decisions and keeping us cool.

SNL Taps U2 to Regain Respect?

U2 continued their dominance of the TV airwaves by appearing on Saturday Night Live last night. They played the standard two sets, beginning with "Vertigo", the iPod/ITunes Music Store song - which I enjoy quite a bit. The second song was a guitar-heavy ballad, quite pleasant.

It was the end of the show where they broke free of the shackles. Host Luke Wilson, sitting on the edge of the stage with Bono, gave the typical "I had a great week..." line, and then looked over to Bono, who stood up and ran over to the music stage for a third song with the band. It was a rockin' number, and halfway through, he stepped off stage into the audience to ham it up for the crowd and the cameras. As the credits rolled, the song ended, and Bono could be heard repeatedly saying, "Saturday Night Live! LIVE! LIVE!"

For sure, U2 is promoting their new album, trying to stay on top of the world (check this article from the Christian Science Monitor, or this one at Time Magazine for proof of that); but given that SNL itself has taken some heat for the Ashlee Simpson lip-synch debacle, I wouldn't be surprised if Lorne Michaels et al. hadn't begged the band to crank it up for the cause. Certainly the third song was planned well in advance, because they had to make time for it in the show. Given the reaction of the cast, it looked like at least the folks at SNL were pleased. I haven't seen anything about it on the "murmurNet"(tm) yet, but perhaps folks are just waking up from their revels.

Just last Thursday, I asked one of my RAs whether or not U2 was still a relevant band. He told me that the kids still really enjoy "The Joshua Tree" - that warmed my heart, since I grew up with that album myself. But he also hinted at a kerfluffle about U2's deal with Apple to go commercial and endorse a product, with some bemoaning the "sell-out" factor.

So we have a plea for attention from Studio 8H, featuring a band whose star may have flared out already. Will it work? Time will tell.