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This is just another example of why hardcore Windows people hate Apple. I am a recent Mac convert, I was baptized some time February in the year of our lord 2,009th. Today I went to my local Apple Store to pick up the latest version of Mac OS X, 10.6, Snow Leopard. Something was amiss but I couldn’t immediately place my finger on what it was. I made my way to the corner with all of the software, grabbed a copy of Snow Leopard (only $29) and headed to the cash register... Wait a minute, that is what’s missing!
I don’t know how recent of a change this is or if this is something that has happened at Apple Stores worldwide. Here at my local Apple Store, there are no cash registers. I walked around looking for someone to ring me up so I could get out of this crazy place. That task in itself proved to rather difficult. How am I, a recent convert, expected to discern a casually dressed, thick framed eyeglass wearing, tattooed hipster that works at the store from one of the store’s casually dressed, thick frame eyeglass wearing, tattooed, hipster patrons?!
Within a few minutes a young lady, with a sleeve of tattoos, noticed that I was walking around aimlessly with software in hand and the oh-my-God-where-are-the-cash-registers-in-this-place look on my face and came to my rescue. Apparently, in the stores of the future, they just use handheld devices to swipe your credit card and ring you up. No receipt is printed out. Instead, the receipt is emailed to you.
Lauren from the “I’m a PC” ads said, “I guess I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person.” Well Lauren, sometimes I don’t feel cool enough either but I sure keep trying.
Microsoft recently allowed retailers to start accepting pre-orders for Windows 7 upgrades. XP and Vista users can switch to Windows 7 Home Premium for $49 and Windows 7 Professional for $99. This offer will run through July 13, 2009 so if you are planning on upgrading to Windows 7 you might as well order it now to save yourself a few dollars. After July 13, you will need to fork up quite a bit more for the upgrades, $119 for Home Premium and $199(!) for Windows 7 Professional. If you order it from Amazon.com, they will guarantee that you receive the new OS on your door step by October 22, the official release date, and they won’t charge you until they actually ship your item.I did download Windows 7 RC to test when it was first made available. In the beginning I only had it installed as a virtual machine running within Vista. Even then I was impressed with how little computing power it needed to work but did not use it that much. I have since installed the RC on its own partition so I currently have a Vista and Windows 7 dual boot machine and I use Windows 7 a lot more now. There have been a few hiccups but that is to be expected with a test version.
Windows 7 really is as great as Microsoft says. Of course there will be the OS X comparisons because of the new taskbar but Windows 7 is much more than just a new taskbar. Again, I have to mention how efficient it is at handling system resources. This is a huge deal for me. As a comparison, I have included a screen shot of Vista and Windows 7 both running with two web browsers and a word processor open. You can see how much less system resources Windows 7 uses and how the two operating systems differ visually. I definitely encourage all Windows users, especially those that have suffered Vista, to upgrade to Microsoft’s new OS.
During the mid 90's I went through a phase of not going to bed until 1 to 3 a.m. This was not due to an excess of partying, I simply could not sleep. So I would stay up watching late night TV. “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” with its witty, awkward, lanky, red pompadour haired host quickly became my favorite show of the twilight. Conan and his writers had a knack for mixing an absurd idea with a twist of intelligence to create real laugh-out-loud moments. Last year, the announcement came that "SNL" alum Jimmy Fallon would be taking over “Late Night” and my first thought was: Really? Jimmy Fallon, the goofball that couldn't keep a straight face during skits on "SNL" and would do that annoying thing where he looks at the camera all the time? That guy?
March 2, 2009, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” premiered. Throughout the first week, Fallon came off as an excited, nervous child that was in a state of shock and could not believe that he actually had his own TV show. During his first week, Fallon had a few of his famous friends on the show as guests: Tina Fey, Drew Barrymore, Justin Timberlake, and Cameron Diaz. His interviews were less interviews; it was more like Fallon and friends exchanging “Remember that one time when...” anecdotes. Fallon's monologues and skits were not all that funny (he has an obsession with He-Man's Skeletor. Not funny.) Perhaps Fallon's show was just off to a rocky start and it would get better with time, I thought. I gave it a couple of weeks and checked in this past Friday. Fallon seemed a bit more relaxed but he was still not funny (there was another Skeletor joke in an opening skit.) His monologues and skits are still better than anything Carson Daly has done on his show during the past several years, but only by a slim margin. Fallon does have one thing going for him, though, his access to great guests.
Here is my proposal to NBC's CEO, Jeff Zucker, a.k.a. J.Z. If Fallon is not able to get his act together in the next few months, why not just hand the reins over to a complete unknown like say, I don't know, me … Think about it, what would you have to lose? If Fallon is tanking, just let me take over. Not only would you get a new host, but you would also make headlines and create a huge buzz. “NBC Pulls Fallon from 'Late Night,' Some Dude Named Yangstein is Set to Host.” You should seriously consider this, J.Z. My man Non could be the DJ/band leader/co-host. We could tackle such weighty issues as whether or not this economic recession is real or if it's all something that has been manufactured by the media and the government to scare us. Okay, if you think it is too risky to let me have “Late Night” at least let me try my hand at Carson Daly's show. He's been stinking up “Last Call” far too long.
I have finally found my favorite post-run meal. After running, I want something to replenish me. Quick. Chilled soba noodles is my answer. For those of you not familiar with soba, it is a Japanese buckwheat noodle that is similar to spaghetti, but chewier and with a slight nutty flavor.My first encounter with soba noodles happened during my visit to Hawaii. On my last day there, I stopped by a small Asian market and picked up some soba from their prepared foods section for lunch before I headed to the airport and just fell in love. When I got back home, I searched for a soba serving restaurant to no avail. I even wrote to a local restaurant reviewer and not even she was able to deliver my precious noodles.Though I never found a local restaurant with soba noodles, I did find dried soba noodles at my neighborhood Asian store. Four minutes in boiling water and a quick rinse cycle under cold water is all you need to prepare them. In the picture I served the soba with some cucumber slices, cracked pepper and tsuyu sauce. The combination of crisp cucumbers, chewey, nutty noodles and the sweet and salty tsuyu sauce is irresistible. The cooling effect of the cucumber and chilled noodles really makes this a refreshing summertime and/or post-workout meal. Enjoy.
It has been nearly inescapable for about a month. Even if you did not want to hear anything about the movie “Watchmen,” there was no way you could avoid it. By now you might have read at least one review by a professional reviewer writing for a well known newspaper or entertainment magazine. You have probably also had conversations with co-workers about what they did over the week and chances are they caught a showing of the movie.
The two reviews I read, one by A.O. Scott and the other by Kenneth Turan, both reviewers did not think too much of “Watchmen.” Actually, they hated it. Two of the four people at my office that I discussed the with also did not like the movie. The common complaint amongst these haters: it was too violent and there was unnecessary sex and nudity.
If these people would have done a bit of research, they would have known what they were in for. I had no idea what “Watchmen” was about before I saw the movie trailer for the first time. After seeing who was directing it, Zack Snyder (“300”), and a quick Wikipedia search about the comic, I had a pretty good idea was to be on screen. Did I know that I was going to as violent* as it turned out? No. But I knew it was going to be pretty brutal. I was expecting the nudity. Zack Snyder was trying to recreate the panels from the graphic novel on screen. One of the characters from the graphic novel happens to be a glowing blue naked God-like being, Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup). And apparently in the comics, glowing blue God-like beings have no need for a cod piece. Not wanting to comprise the vision of the comic, there was a lot of blue man penis on screen (Three people at my office mentioned this as an area of discomfort).
The highly stylized visuals in this movie are stunning, violent fight scenes, naked blue guy and all. You do not have to be a complete “Watchmen” fanboy to enjoy the film. You should, however, have a general idea of what is going to occupy 2:43 hours of your life before heading to this movie. Read reviews. In his review A.O. Scott wrote “'Watchmen' is rated R. It has extreme violence, a naked blue man and some superhero sex.” If you do not like reading reviews before seeing a film, at least look at the MPAA rating. It's there for a reason. The MPAA even tells you why the movie is rated as such, “Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.” Do the research. It's easy, people. The Internets is on computers now.
*Watchmen is really ultra gory. Really. The husky bearded nerd next to me (husky bearded nerds were everywhere) covered his face with his hands a couple of times.
As you may recall, last year I wrote about how I purchased an iBook then a couple months later got rid of it out of frustration. A few months after that I wrote about how I switched from the ubiquitous iPod to the underdog Zune. Needless to say at that point I was not too pleased with Apple. Even the annoyances I experienced with my Windows Vista machine didn't make me want to look at OS X again. Sure, every time a program crashed I would yell at it and threaten to switch to Mac but neither my Sony VAIO nor I took those threats seriously. It was all just part of our relationship banter. Towards the end of 2008, my VAIO pushed me over the edge.
One of my hobbies is beat making. I'm a home bedroom producer. As with nearly all home brewed music makers nowadays, I rely heavily on my computer. My setup on my computer includes Reason and Live along side a few fists full of VST plug-ins. During one particular session in December, I tried to open Live as I had done many many times before but it stalled. I didn't think too much of it. No application is immune from crashes and Live is especially temperamental. So I just ctrl-alt-deleted, ended the task and tried to start a new instance of Live. Again, it stalled and again I ended the task and tried to restart Live. I must have tried this five times before I decided to reboot the whole system. After Vista regained composure, I was able to open Live. However, I had no audio and my MIDI signals were not being recognized. So I unplugged my MIDI controllers and soundcard then plugged them back in and everything worked. I had hoped that this would just be a one time thing. Unfortunately, it was not. It kept happening again and again, day after day and it was getting old.
I had been saving my nickels and dimes for a few months waiting for the right time to buy a Mac. About a week ago I found a refurbished newer model unibody MacBook at a discounted price and decided it was time. Actually, I hesitated for about half an hour before finally purchasing it. The buyer's remorse struck hard and fast. I struggled for a couple days questioning whether or not I should cancel the order. My MacBook arrived earlier this week and I took a day off from work to set everything up, i.e., install software, hardware and updates. I've been living with the Mac for four days now and it's washed away the bitter taste that the iBook left.As with any of my big purchases, I did tons of research and read countless reviews, positive and negative ones. One of the recurring themes in the negative reviews I read were the objections to the new glossy glass displays. “It's a mirror disguised as a computer display,” some said. When I first took the computer out of the box and saw how reflective the display was, I started thinking about all of those reviews. When I powered the computer on, all of those unfavorable reviews seemed unfounded. The bright LED display, for the most part, is able to counter its mirror-like properties.
The MacBook's physique with its all aluminum case, and sleek, slim design is, of course, a huge part of the Mac's appeal. I personally love the keyboard on the MacBook (I'm currently using it to write this) and the new trackpad with the multi-touch gestures. When I first heard about the multi-touch gestures, I thought it was just a gimmick. However, after using them, I must say they're very practical. Namely, two-finger tap for right-click, two-finger scroll, and four-finger swipe for Exposé.
On to OS X. Apple is currently shipping OS 10.5, a.k.a. Leopard. My last encounter with OS X was with 10.3 Panther on my iBook and I hated it. Well, I thought it looked nice but it felt limited compared to Windows XP and Vista. Trying to run Panther on that iBook was also sluggish. Leopard on my new MacBook feels fast, really fast. Leopard still feels restricted to me. I just don't feel comfortable with an OS that limits what I can do and what info it's telling me. They say that OS X is a more advanced OS than Windows, but I feel like Windows allows more advance customization.
OS X is great at handling system resources, especially when compared to Vista. By comparison, upon start up, without any applications open OS X only uses 285 MBs of RAM while Vista hogs 760 MBs of RAM upon start up.
Although my MacBook will be my main computer, (if I don't end up returning it. At the time of this writing, I have about 10 more days to return the computer) I also have an old bulky IBM ThinkPad running Windows XP as my backup laptop/travel buddy. This MacBook has changed my mind about Apple products and OS X. But that's not to say that I'm a complete Mac guy now. I still cling to Windows XP. I have high hopes for Windows 7. I'm sure I'll lust for a new computer with Windows 7 when it's finally released.
So which side will I choose next time an inevitable “I'm a Mac” and “I'm a PC” flamewar breaks out? Well, I'm going to have to play the Switzerland card and just stay neutral. I like them both. I'm just a computer nerd.
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