Passion
Watch or Wait?
In a few minutes, Apple’s special event is going to start with Steve Jobs announcing the McGraw-Hill announced tablet. Biggest question for me is do I “watch” the event unfold online or simply wait. Many, many sites offer live updates and tweets covering the event, but it’s maddening refreshing a bunch of web sites or catching 140-character tweets of news. And really, as the event happens in real time, how much updates can you expect every minute?
It’s almost a time saver to wait to the end or at least near the end of the event then catch up on sites like Gizmodo or Engadget. You probably can read all the live posted information in 10 minutes versus staying tuned for 60 minutes.
Adding to the time sink is actually watching the QuickTime video of the event. This is a must, more so with the introduction of a new Apple product. You heard about augmented reality with regards to iPhone apps? Watching Steve Jobs preside over an event is the definition of augmented reality!
So do I watch or wait?
Reading The View from Space
Checking out a new local kine blog called The View from Space (… the one between my ears). Give it a read; yeah only three posts so far but it’s a good start.
Update: Fear not if the URL didn’t work for you since it’s been changed to http://www.theviewfromspace.net/
I Like “Canvas”
Macworld has a list of potential names for Apple’s forthcoming tablet. From their list, I like “Canvas”.
It’s already spreading around the Net about the CEO of McGraw-Hill spilling some beans about Apple’s product announcement tomorrow.
I’m still hoping for some kind of tethering or MiFi-like wireless sharing for the iPhone and Canvas combo. I really don’t want to pay yet another wireless bill for the Canvas.
Feasting on GaGa
So the verdict is there cannot be too much GaGa. Lady GaGa is simply ubiquitous and cannot be denied. So if you’re a converted fan, you can feast on the popular music of GaGa at Amazon’s MP3 Store. For a limited time, Amazon is offering The Fame for only $5.
You’re talking Just Dance, LoveGame, Paparazzi, Poker Face, and all other The Fame tracks for one Abe Lincoln.
If that’s not enough GaGa to feast on, how about munching on these GaGa inspired cookies? Oops, it appears that too many like munching on GaGa since the server is currently offline. 🙁
Break Out Your iTunes Gift Cards
You know all those iTunes gift cards you received for Christmas? It’s time to break them out, redeem them, and start shopping! This week in the iTunes Store features a ton of great new stuff.
- Hope for Haiti Now
- The Sea, Ooooh that voice! Corinne Baily Rae’s second album is here.
- Ultra Dance 11 featuring 24 tracks for only $8
- Under the Milky Way covered by Sia
- I’m Beamin by Lupe Fiasco
- Michael Jackson’s This Is It soundtrack
- NOW That’s What I Call the 90’s, 70(!!) favorites from a good decade for $35.
- On the video front, Twilight’s New Moon can now be pre-ordered for release on March 20, 2010.
Support Hope for Haiti Now
Have you made your pledge to help the disaster in Haiti? Go to Hope for Haiti Now to make a donation.
You can also support the cause by purchasing the Hope for Haiti Now album. All proceeds go to organizations aiding Haiti. The cost of the album is $7.99 and features somber, emotional performances by Alicia Keys, Coldplay, The Boss, Shakira, John Legend, Taylor Swift, Sting, Beyonce, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Bono, and much more.Â
This is another great way to support hope for Haiti now. You can get the album on 
.
Throwing Back a Throwback Throwback
I’m throwing back Mountain Dew’s new old Throwback made with real sugar. This is probably the same recipe for the original Mountain Dew Throwback, but this Throwback has a throwback can design.
The flavor of this Throwback is the same as the previous Throwback, smooth and flat, but when opening the can, it actually fizzled with dew spewing out.
And just for fun, some additional pictures of the new Mountain Dew Throwback.
Anxious for Eclipse, Are We?
Still five months away, and Pearlridge is already advertising Eclipse, the third chapter of the Twilight saga, as coming soon…
DSLR Camera Starter Kit
So I’m no photo pro, nor do I aim to be. I just take a bunch of pictures and wanted an upgrade to the point and shoot world. The digital SLR world is huge with so much to learn but yeah, I’m more the automatic-mode-picture-taking kind of guy. 😉
After doing some research, here are some items for a DSLR camera starter kit. Some factors for picking these items:
- Lower cost for entry level learning. Like I said, I don’t aspire to be a professional photographer, so I don’t want to spend the bucks.
- Amazon availability. These items are sold through Amazon which ships to Hawaii for free. I would have picked other products sold by third party vendors but the additional shipping was cost prohibitive.
A little more about this list:
- Canon EOS Rebel T1i
. Does HD video as well, but I wouldn’t get the camera just for the video. While good to have available, using the camera in video mode is clunky. But still a great camera to start with.
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
. Supposedly a 50mm lens is a must have and at $100, why not? There are more expensive, higher quality versions, but to begin with, I’m willing to spend $100 to learn.
- Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens
. What can I say, but I’m cheap. One of the cheaper telephoto lenses.
- Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash
. So needed when taking a bunch of pictures in low light. The built-in flash can’t keep up.
- Tiffen 58mm UV Protection Filter
. For the included 18-55mm T1i lens. Did I mention it’s cheap but will protect the lens from damage.
- Delkin eFilm Pro 8GB Secure Digital SD Class 6 Memory Card
. You need a high speed aka Class 6 memory card so your camera is ready for the next shot. You don’t want to see that BUSY message as your camera is saving images to the memory card.
- Lowepro Fastpack 250
. I’ve said enough here.
- Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Boxed Set
. I picked up Volume 2 from Costco, and it’s great. Each page is one lesson in photography with topics explained in non-photography terms. This set has all three volumes.
With this gear, check out these simple, short, and extremely useful Canon tutorials. Most of these are 3 minutes long and explain topics in easy to understand ways. Here’s one on choosing lenses. Fantastic!
Buy Mac Software and Donate to Haiti Relief
For today, January, 20, 2010 only, independent Mac software developers have joined together to offer their support for Haiti relief efforts. If you buy their software today, proceeds go to supporting Haiti.
Check out the great list of apps at IndieRelief and make a buy today!
Update: Hope you made your purchase to help support the relief effort in Haiti. This win-win promotion raised $143,000!
Sony’s Bloggie Is Kinda Cool
I gotta admit that Sony’s new “web cam,” the Bloggie, is kinda cool. Here’s a vid of the unboxing of a Bloggie. That 360-degree lens is wild!