Finding Mu

Here goes my first blog entry in oh, what, half a year? As for a taste of some random things I've been up to during that time (and don't worry, this entry is eventually getting somewhere related to the title..)

I've...
- Moved all the way across North America, from Seattle to Toronto, by car, and discovered there are no vegetables but french fries in some mid-U.S. states.
- Been eating Chinese food about 5 out of 7 days a week (and yes, mmm, that's a good thing!)
- Become a fan of Ron Paul like the rest of the internet... though still being completely confused by some of his positions (eliminate the IRS??)

And... (drumroll please!)
- Switched from PC to Mac (to be exact, a MacBook Pro)

Which brings me to the title of this post. I've really started to like my Mac. I'm not religious about it, I just think it's a nice computer to use, powerful and reliable, and does pretty much anything I want to do with a laptop (except run one of those oh-so-useful Russian-made flirting chat bots, which only run on Windows!!!)

The recent MacWorld 2008 had me listening closely. Back 6 months ago when I was shopping for my first laptop, I really liked the idea of a tablet PC. I love the idea of taking notes, like I would on paper, and having them saved indefinitely, easily accessible, in one place. You know, sometimes, how ideas just flow better when you're using a pencil and paper? But then you have to copy those ideas back to a computer later? Boom! Do it all at once! What could be better?

So, my dream of having a usable tablet PC, combined with the buzz about one being developed by Apple, made me wonder whether I'd be ditching the MacBook soon for something a bit cooler...

Alas, it was close but no cigar. The MacBook Air is surely a radical new product from Apple. A so-called "sub-notebook", thin and light. I'm sure new-time buyers will be happy with this laptop, but it won't have me switching from my MBP anytime soon. Especially with alternatives in the market like the Asus EEE: smaller, lighter, and (here's the kicker) 1/6th the price, AND runs Linux by default! And the ModBook, an aftermarket MacBook modified into a tablet.

Despite not having a tablet this time around, the MacBook Air sets Apple up to hit a home run with a tablet the next time around. I'm sure the product development is in rapid motion. Maybe they had planned it for January but missed the mark? Well, for such a world-changing product, you might as well be patient and get it right on the first shot. Good things take time.

Posted by at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aint technology great? The first BlackBerrys to come out of RIM almost a decade ago were tiny pager-like devices that did pretty much one function, and did that function really, really well. Wireless email was the killer application that started the BrackBerry craze and eventually led to the term "CrackBerry" to describe their addictive nature.

Today there is a BlackBerry to suit everyone's needs. I've recently had a chance to check out my friends' shiny new BlackBerrys- specifically, the BlackBerry 8820 and BlackBerry "Curve" 8300- and wow, am I impressed. Email? That's just the start- these things do everything but make you a sandwich (though I've never really tried issuing the speech command "make me a sandwich", so I can't tell, but I'm sure RIM is working on this one.)

What struck me, besides the incredibly wide range of features on both, was the one key difference between the two (at least, on the surface): the BlackBerry Curve 8300 has a built-in digital camera, and the BlackBerry 8820 has a built-in GPS locator. But you can't get both! Why not? I can only assume that this came down to a matter of price and real estate on the device, and RIM is almost certainly planning to combine the two in the next version of the device.

For now, you'll have to decide which capability you want: Camera or GPS? Looks like the 8300 is positioned as the ultimate consumer wireless device, for people in constant touch with friends and family, always looking for a photo-op. The GPS-equipped 8820, on the other hand, seems positioned well for the world traveler or on-the-move business person who on occasion needs to get from point A to point B at all costs, and taking pictures along the way is just a nice bonus.

So what to choose? 8820 or 8300? Well, I'd skip the Apple iPhone- for now RIM still has the coolest wireless offerings around, with an actual keyboard for those who need to type at warp-speed. As for Camera or GPS? In my case, I'd go with the Curve 8300 with the built-in camera. I can ask for directions when I can't find point B, but those picture-perfect moments are one-time opportunities I just don't want to miss.

Posted by at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Just saw this very interesting video about Bikram Yoga on 60 Minutes.

Copywriting Yoga poses? I don't know, seems a little sketch to me. Yoga in America straddles the border between fitness and spirituality, and we all know fitness programs have been legally protected before (Richard Simmons, Billy Blanks, etc.)

The question is, can you copyright spirituality? Brings to mind Scientology and Dianetics. In this day and age it will become a bigger question: does commercializing spirituality really work for the benefit of society, or are the risks (mainly, the *slight* conflict of interest) too great?

Posted by at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)