The Apple Announcements

As I have said before, I am quite the Apple fan. However, I was rather disappointed with the news today.

Yes! The Intel Mac Mini. No! A price bump and no DVR software. Sure, you can hook it up to your TV, but what's the point if it's just going to act like a DVD player?

If I can get a Dell WITH a monitor for less than $600, why would I buy a Mini? If Apple wants to stay (sort of) competitive with a low-end desktop, they need to bring that price point back down. If they're going to go all-out and make a media center out of it, give it the bells and whistles it should have to justify the price hike.

And what's this business with $100 iPod cases? Apple...are you getting greedy?

The Bachelor Party

Clayton and Alysia are over to watch the final episode of "The Bachelor"... so we're calling it the bachelor party. Amy bought roses and everything.

I find all of this particularly funny because we don't really ever watch the bachelor. I think we've seen it twice. But, hey, any excuse for a party.

Update: we were happy to see Sarah win.

Microsoft Origami

Rumors have recently surfaced of a Mircrosoft mini-tablet PC concept, codenamed "Origami" being revealed (coincidentally?) February 28th, the same day Apple is set to announce some "fun new products".

The Origami should be able to do some pretty interesting stuff. From what I can gather, it really only has one major thing working against it: Microsoft is producing it.

Nevertheless, it could be something (dare I say it?) really interesting and cool. Could Microsoft beat Apple to the punch on something?? Releasing a very portable, tablet PC? Regardless, the Origami is supposed to sell in the sub-$500 range, and I seriously doubt anything Apple produced would ever come close to that affordable. Which is serioulsy unfortunate considering more people are interested in Apple now than ever, but their computers tend to be twice as expensive as comparable PC machines.

Am I plugging Microsoft here? HECK no. I'm just interested to see what Tuesday brings.

OS X Leopard?

If I reckon correctly, Mr. Stevie J. said they were going to release the next version of the Mac OS (10.5, or "Leopard") before Windows Vista came out, which reportedly will be happening before Thanksgiving (yeah, right).

So could we expect an announcement about it at this event on the 28th? Maybe a preview April 1st for their 30 year anniversary? Or will it be later in the summer, closer to the relase of Vista?

It's probably too soon for another full-fledged relase, although Apple gave a preview of Tiger in June '04 when it wasn't released until April 2005, ten months earlier. That wouldn't rule out a preview of Leopard now, eight to ten months ahead of time.

$365 million

Yes. Someone in Nebraska won the lotto worth $365 million. They haven't come forth to claim the money yet. Can't blame 'em too much. I wouldn't do it right away if I won (which is statistically impossible since I don't play it). Nevertheless, it's always wise to be prepared so I have a plan in place as to what I would do if I won that kind of money.

Upon claiming the money, I would tell everyone the following: Yes, I will be giving vast amounts of money to charities and worthy causes. But if you ask me for it, it won't be you.

I would then proceed to my local BMW dealership and purchase two BMW M5s and two X5s, in cash. The M5's for my father in-law and me. The X5s for my wife and her mom.

Off to the Apple Store! High-end Powermacs and MacBook Pros for everyone! Don't forget those 30" cinema displays and extra software! Boo-ya!

I'd head over to the homes of my friends and family, drop off their new computers take them to their bank (driving exessively fast) and pay off whatever school and car debt they have. Then I'd put some money in their bank account (probably about $10,000 in spending money to start out with) and tell them to meet me for dinner at...uh... Olive Garden. Yeah. Olive Garden.

At "The Garden" I would take a page out of my father in-law's book and give the waitress $500 up front. Then say, "There are a few things I like when I eat at Olive Garden. I like warm breadsticks on the table at all times. I like my strawberry lemonaide pre-stirred and always full. And I would like more than two olives in my salad. Afterall, this is the Olive Garden."

I think I'd give every server in there a $1,000 tip.

That night everyone would stay in suites at the Grand America. I would then pay my bellhop to go to each of my guests rooms and tell them, "The hotel would be most honored if you would please steal the towels and bathrobes." I think that would be funny.

I'd hide $100 bills around my suite for the maids to find when they were cleaning.

After breakfast in bed we'd all fly to Hawaii first class (because I've always wanted to fly first class). No need to pack... we'll buy new clothes there.

Hawaii would be a lot of fun, and we'd all do the fun stuff I've never done before like jet ski, swim with dolphins, parasailing, surf lessons, SCUBA, etc.

After a week or so in Maui we'd come back, tan and happy. I think I'd go back to work and set up college funds for all the kids of the employees. Laptops for everyone so they could use them at work and at home.

Oh yeah. And I'd buy a bulldog.

After work I'd take another week or two off and go look for a house with my wife. I think we'd probably get one in the Avenues and pay for it in cash. Then while I'm at work she could work with an interior decorator and deck the place out however she wants.

Basic things I'd do for friends and family:

• Establish retirement funds
• Give cool, good cars that are expected to last
• Pay off houses
• Cover any and all schooling
• Provide a living stipend as long as they had full-time jobs

Some specific things I'd do for specific people...

Ryan: pay for his tuition, room, board and supplies for Art Center.

Rob: pay off tuition through his PhD, sponsor any research he wants to do and maybe buy him a nice pair of binoculars and some quality hip waders.

Neil: buy some of his stuff and pay off his medical bills. Get that back of his fixed for good.

Jeffy: pay for tuition, room, board and books. And a new boot knife.

Alysia/Clayton: a cabin up at Brighton.

Brad: startup money for his new business.

Heidi: transportation home from school as often as she wanted.

Parents: send dad on a golfing trip to Pebble Beach and give mom as much money as she wants to decorate/revamp the house while he's gone. I'd also buy dad a new 7-series and mom a Prius and a XKE.

Bowman: let him pick out skis of his choice and do a heli-drop onto whatever mountain peak he wants. Repeat as desired.

Mike G: I'd cover all expenses related to your adventure up to Portland.

Mike T: I would most definitely replace your car. And the iPod. And the cameras.



More to come!

A bulldog

So, for whatever reason I woke up this morning and thought, "I really want a bulldog."

I've been writing names down all day, although my wife says we can't get one until we have a kid. But that could be nine months away!! So I think we should get a bulldog. I checked the humane society website and they don't have any. To buy one from a breeder can cost over $2,000, and I definitely don't want one that bad.

Here's my list. Vote for your favorite in the comments, or add one of your own.

BOY BULLDOG NAMES

Ed
Frank
Trogdor
SoHo
Greenwhich
Clint
Howard
Bracket
Ogilvy
Salem
Yankee
Herb
Sonny
Mac
Windsor
Murray
Kronk
Willie
Spud
Lard
Tubby
Drew
Brutus
Ebeneezer
Stiny
Quish


GIRL BULLDOG NAMES

Sarah
Pearl
Whitney
Fifi
Beatrice
Trix
Hillary
Chelsea
Suzy
Helen
Apple
Lilly
Lexi
Beesley
Dot
Daisy
Dollop
Quish

Curling

I'm afraid I don't understand the "sport" of "curling".

Last night I made the off-handed comment that curling was the only Olympic sport with a athlete smoking lounge. My sister in-law sternly rebuked me, insisting all "curlers" were true athletes in fine physical condition.

I'm sorry, but I retain my position that "curling" (so-called) is a sissy sport. First of all, the people who participate in in are called "curlers" which is also what women put in their hair (sissy).

In addition, they use brooms which they rub back and forth in front of the "curling stone".

I'm not sure what makes that sissy, but it is.

Lastly, it's mainly played by Canadians which, as we all know, are a bunch of pansy northerners who run around in beaver pelts and eat their own special kind of bacon.

Personal Medals

I have just been watching Olympic figure skating. The commentator, when the couple performing screws up, says something such as, "Whether they are awarded with a medal here tonight, they get a personal medal," or "They certainly get a personal medal for taking that risk."

Personal medals? Excuse me? My guess is that the commentator has a few "personal medals" of his own. He probably has a display case for them too.

Heck, if it's that easy then I'm awarding myself a "personal medal" for figure skating too. A gold one.

Updated: Brett made me a personal medal, an virtual emblem if you will, representative of my accomplishments in various Olympic and semi-Olympic undertakings.

An Apple gift on Valentine's Day

Various sites are reporting that Apple has given all their pre-order MacBook Pro customers a free processor upgrade: 1.67 ghz to 1.8, 1.8 to a previously unannounced 2.0 ghz, and even the option to upgrade that to a 2.17 ghz. That's good news for Doug and everyone else who's been "patiently" waiting for their laptops to arrive.

Thank you Apple!

It also raises the question: was this the plan all along? Was the whole 1.67 ghz thing a backup in case they didn't get the 2.0 chip in time? If not, what's happened to all the 1.67 chips? Into the Mac Mini perhaps? That would certainly give the Mini enough juice to function as a media center (which I am desperately hoping for).

Or the up-and-coming iBook? Perhaps the low-end model will have the single-core processor, and the high-end the duo.

Also, is the iBook going to be called the "MacBook" as opposed to the "MacBook Pro"? I could see them doing something as simple as that. It would certainly help with marketing: promote one name, but two product lines.

The end of heat

BLESSINGS! The office manager came in today and we convinced him to turn off the radiant heat along the south wall of the building.

This is good for a number of reasons:

1. Now maybe I won't sweat when I type.
2. I should be able to turn off the AC over my head which sounds akin to Niagra Falls.

OK. Two reasons. But they're both very good reasons.

SLVR v. ROKR

Did Motorola address the main issues they had with the ROKR? No. Not really. It still has the filthy artificial 100 song limit, it only transfers songs via a snail-slow USB 1 connection, and the menus still jerk and lag betweens screens.

But the SLVR will do much better than the ROKR.

That's because the ROKR was pushed as the "iTunes phone" and had very little else going for it (see my earlier post) including the carrier, Cingular, which is so bad it sucks AND blows at the same time. And, well, when you screw up the iTunes aspect of the iTunes Phone, you have something people aren't going to be too happy with. But the SLVR has a lot more going for it, namely, its form-factor.

People flocked to the RAZR when it's standard set of features was the exact same as existing Motorola models. Why? Because of the amazingly stylish and fresh form-factor. The SLVR brings, I believe, and even cooler look to the table and, oh, by the way, it has iTunes.

Personally, I look at the SLVR as a sweet-looking phone with some cool features, one of which happens to be iTunes. I don't think the iTunes should be pushed on customers. The mobile version sucks, to be frank, and this is coming from a devout Apple fan. Focus on the plethora of other features, and mention iTunes in the second breath, not the first.

What's in a name?

I recently learned Rob and Ryan have (temporarily, I hope) discontinued the writing of their book, from which this blog was named.

So should I rename the blog? If so, what should it be named?

A funny quote

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." - Mark Twain

Entriprerurialisticalish

I have entrepreneurial blood flowing through my veins. I've always got something for sale, or know someone who does, and am usuall trying to sell something myself. I feel like I need to channel these thoughts, develop them and use them for good (not evil).

But how?

I'm thinking about looking into business classes at SLCC or maybe Independent Study at BYU. I'd like to have a side-business or something going on, even if it was pretty low-key... just to bring in a little extra spending money.

We know this guy who has his hands in a dozen little business projects at a time. He has hookups overseas, imports and sells at a markup. Wherever he sees an opportunity, he makes something happen. I'd love to get into something like that: I have something you want. I can get it cheap and sell it to you cheaper than you can get it elsewhere... hot dog, it's a win-win.

But how to get started? I don't have access to hookups, or the knowledge to run a small business: two big obstacles.

Anyone have any ideas of how I should proceed?

Superbowl Ads

Today was Adbowl XI at work. While Adbowl was fun, I wasn't all that impressed with the ads. Granted, if I'd had a commercial air on the Superbowl I'd be thrilled. Unless it was the Overstock.com ad, or the PS cleaning solution. Or the Gillette ad. Then I'd be ashamed.

One that did make me laugh out loud was the Budweiser "Hidden Fridge" spot. Of course, I have no idea why that would make me want to buy beer, but for entertainment value I liked it quite a bit.

I also liked the Sprint "Crime Deterrent" and the FedEx spot with the dinosaurs. But the stinkiest ads were by far the PS Cleaner, Gillette and Pizza Hut spots. The GoDaddy spot was lame too.

Injustice and depravity: reckless foes run amok in Utah

The double cheeseburger has been removed from the dollar menu at the McDonalds in the Gateway.

State of the Union

I was able to catch part of the State of the Union address last night. It's quite amazing how divided or country is when it comes to the issues facing us today. More than once the republicans were on their feet clapping, and the democrats sat there and, according my wife, rolled their eyes and what President Bush was saying.

One thing this has got me thinking about is what a great country we have. We have these polar opposite points of view, on moral and very emotional issues, but our government still functions. It's an amazing thing that our government is structured in such a way that it allows for different points of view, and allows them to be expressed without legal repercussion, no matter how dramatically opposed they may be to what the president's options are. While I generally disagree, sometimes strongly, with the opponents of the president, I am so thankful we live in a country where they can voice their opinions.

That being said, I don't understand how the democrats remained sitting when President Bush spoke about promoting abstinence and adoption to protect human life. What is wrong with that statement? Why wouldn't everyone be supportive of that? It completely baffles me.

Just so y'all know (by which I mean Brett, because I think he's the only one who reads this), I do have qualms with Bush. I'm all for slashing our dependency on foreign sources of oil, but everything he laid out was fairly long-term. What about Exxon's record profits? Exxon made the largest profit last quarter of ANY company in America, EVER. How about calling on some of his oil buddies to stop gauging us at the pumps so they can "recoupe expenses having to do with hurricane Katrina"?