Jeffrey Donenfeld

Category: News

  • Iowa has more cell phones than landlines

    Cell phone towerQuick blurb I read over at The Raw Feed…. Iowa now has more cell phones than landlines. They are the first US state to reach this landmark, and I’m proud of them! I personally haven’t had a landline in.. lets see… 8 years.. since I started college and got my first cell phone. And I’m really never going back. I think that nowadays, considering the widespread cellular coverage, half-decent rates (debatable), and all the extra kinds of communication you can do with a cell phone, there’s no need for land lines. And I like having only one number – it’s just more simple. There are some things that land lines are good for… disasters, call quality (cell phones are quickly catching up, though), and last-choice internet connectivity. But given my needs, the cell is the way to go.

    Bravo Iowa, bravo.

  • Yahoo soaring on $45 BILLION MSFT bid!

    Real quick.. what’s been going on with Yahoo! lately?! This is insane!

    Quick wrapup of the last few days for Yahoo!….

    Totally amazing. And look at Yahoo!’s stock price.. soaring. This deals a huge blow to the likes of AOL, and even Google…if this acquisition goes through, it would be a major consolidation of key tech and net superpowers…

  • Yahoo adopts OpenID, critical mass may have been reached.

    OpenIDNo matter how cool or innovative a particular new technology is, without the critical big business adoption process, it’s usually doomed. We’re in the midst of seeing this with Joost, as they can’t sign the big content deals with major providers. We’re NOT, however, seeing this doom with OpenID – it seems to be doing great!!

    In a great stroke of luck for Janrain’s OpenID unified user account sign-in technology, Yahoo has just adopted the standard, and is now offering OpenID authentication to all users (read on TechCrunch). It’s a simple and free upgrade to your account, and is available immediately. After upgrading your Yahoo! account, you’ll be able to enter me.yahoo.com/username as your OpenID on supported websites, and have to remember only one password to surf the web. Awesome! (For the record, I currently use MyOpenID.com for my OpenID server)

    Given that I currently have approximately elenventy billion user accounts strewn about the web, widespread adoption of OpenID would be great for me. One password to logon to all my web services. And plus, with portable identities, even signing up for new sites is easy.

    Finally, somebody today asked me about security.. is having one logon for everything safe? First of all, OpenID is engineered for security, and as of late, has started to support some advanced security protocols, such as Microsoft Cardspace, Passwords, and Client Certificates. And also, if your OpenID is compromised the system is logged, and it’s easy to change your password throughout the whole system. I do think that there should be an ultra-secure protocol for changing a password… so if somebody does get your current password and hack into your base OpenID account, it won’t be so simple for them to change the password and lock you out completely…perhaps multi-factor authentication, etc.

    Still confused about what OpenID is? Check out some quick and simple intro videos and guides:

    OpenID According to Dave, on YouTube

    Simon Willison’s slightly stuffier OpenID screencast

    Straight from the horse’s mouth: OpenID primer from Janrain

  • No aliens yet for SETI…

    Darn, not this time. Just when I thought we were making some progress with the SETI@home project, it comes out that the whole story of SETI finding a valuable signal was just twisted around by some reporter.

    Here’s how it went down: Dan Wertheimer, an astronomer, told a reporter from KTVU that he may have heard a pulse from space. Not that he did, but that he may have. The reporter then took that tidbit, and a bunch of other loosely related information and spun it way out, ultimately publishing a story (now corrected) that made it seem like we had found and alien civilization.

    Unfortunaely we didn’t, but it did renew my interest and hopes of the SETI@home project. I’ve been an active member of SETI@home since before college, and have given as much of my processing power over to the project as possible. Although I, (or anyone else) haven’t found anything yet, its still really cool to be a part of this project. Cool to be part of a mission that may be mankind’s only chance of salvation.

    Anyway, I’ll keep my computer crunching radio recordings from space, and hopefully someday I’ll be able to write a much more exciting blog post…

  • Joost doomed?

    Joost doomed?

    JoostThis is just the story I need to hear to convince myself that Joost is doomed. Apparently Joost’s former CTO Dirk-Willem van Gulik was fired and then hired by BBC on the same day. Sounds like there’s some unrest within the Joost office, that would cause them to fire a guy who the BBC things is a prime for the job. This just reinforces my position that although Joost is a cool application/technology/delivery network, it is doomed in it current state. They haventsigned the critical big-hitter partnerships that are needed to get it the must-see content it needs. The player is full-screen only, hogs bandwidth, and isn’t as flexible or familiar as other sites. I’ve been using Hulu a lot lately, and I like it because it A. has decent content (although Hulu’s doomed too, for other reasons..), and it has a familiar web-video interface, with some nifty extended features to make it more conducive to watching full tv episodes, tv style – full screen, dim the rest of the screen, playlisting, etc.

    Content is kind. And if Joost could manage to sign a few big content deals, they might have a fighting chance. That, however, seems unlikely. NBC might be re-hasing their deal with iTunes, (which is why I think Hulu is going away) and Fox is offering their content both on itunes and on their own “Fox on Demand” site.

    Joost, you were cool while you lasted, and your interface/bit-torrent-y technology is cool, but step up the content, or else you’re toast.

  • Facebook apps on any website! RIP OpenSocial?

    Facebook apps on any website! RIP OpenSocial?

    Facebook PlatformQuick update.. I just learned via Tech Crunch that facebook has opened up a brand new client library, that makes it possible to embed ajax-nifty facebook applications on any website! Plus, there’s no local server-side code needed, so users can simply paste embed code into their site – much like embedding a simple YouTube Video. No other setup required.
    So, will this hamper the adoption of Google’s OpenSocial? Why would I want to use an Open Social app with (currently) limited reach, when I can simply embed on my myspace profile an app from facebook that all of my friends already use?

    Finally, as Adam pointed out last week, social networking on mobile devices is just heating up. In lieu of full-on facebook on my phone, what if I could custom create one-off widgets for my mobile phone (eyeing the iPhone here) out of Facebook applications? (Read on Tech Crunch)

  • The war is over, Blu-ray wins!

    I’m officially calling the format war finished. Blu-ray has emerged as the clear winner, thanks to two deciding influences – the studios and the porn industry. Blu-Ray wins

    The major windfall for Blu-ray from the studios was Warner Brothers’ decision to go blu-ray exclusive.. just the thing that the industry needed to help sway the tide. Before Warner’s decision, it was almost evenly split, and besides the technical factors, the big differences were content and pricing. I think that blu-ray has always had better content, but hd-dvd was still hanging in there because they were able to sell their players cheaper. Now, despite the still less expensive hd-dvd players, blu-ray has over 90% of the movie studios support, which will ensure a win on the format. And regarding pricing? Blu-ray hardware will continue to become less expensive, especially as they introduce new, cheaper player components.

    Next up, the porn industry…

    (more…)

  • Squishy Pig Lokulokus invade America!

    Squishy Pig Lokulokus invade America!

    It’s finally arrived, shipped fresh from the Tai Po Post Office, Hong Kong. The squishy pig “Lokulokus”. I read about these and saw a youtube video of them a few weeks ago on a japanese blog, at the time they weren’t available in the states. Now, thanks to our buddies over at Deal Extreme, they’re available for order, and are shipped direct from Hong Kong.

    These jelly, squishy, diesel fuel smelling pigs squish almost completely flat when you hurl them at the floor, and then slowly rise back up.

    Check the squishy pig video, shot by Kristen with Adams nifty Flip Video Camcorder.

    Update*****DO NOT throw your squishy pig up on the ceiling. He will stay.

    A gold squishy pig on the ceiling.
    A gold squishy pig on the ceiling.

  • Macbook Air – Why it rocks

    Macbook Air – Why it rocks

    Macbook Air Movie RentalsYes, I’ve heard all the nay-sayers out there, ripping on the new, glorious Macbook Air. You’re saying that it has no user replacable battery, no firewire, no optical drive, is too flimsy, yadda yadda.

    Yeah well, that’s not the purpose of the Macbook Air. You want to do intense mobile HD video editing? Ok, that’s exactly what the Macbook Pro is great at! Do-everything-ok basic work computer? That’s the Macbook. The Macbook Air is sleek, thin, lightweight, and powerful. It cut’s out all unnecessary bulk, to offer a platform you can easily travel around with to perform basic work tasks. I ask myself, how often, when I travel, do I REALLY need a dvd burner, firewire 800 ports, etc? Not often. Yes, I understand some people work in industries where they need that – Go get a Pro. The bulk of my work is surfing the web, working with MS Office, chatting, video conferencing, and listening to music. The Air seems perfect for this.

    Regarding the non user replacable battery. Meh… I only have one battery for my 15″ Macbook Pro, and I’ve rarely been in a situation where I’ve needed to go for more than 4.5 hours using my computer, away from a plug. Charge up in the airport, hack out some work on the flight, re-charge when you get to your hotel room that night. Perfect.

    And what about movies/music etc? No optical drive? I haven’t watched a movie directly off a dvd in years! Pretty much all of my on-laptop computer watching comes in the form of watching mpeg movie file backups of the dvd’s I own. No messing with shuffling disks around, and when I want to watch a movie, I just load it up instantly from my external HDD. And if I’m going on a trip, I’ll just move a few movies over the the internal HDD before the trip. Also, with the iTunes store now offering both movie purchases and rentals, in HD nonetheless, who needs to lug around an optical media drive everywhere? (yes, I know optical media is not dead, and I’m a huge supporter of the Blu-ray camp, but that’s another discussion…)

    For networking, the Air supports 802.11 A, B, G, and N. N wireless is fast. In fact, I believe its speed definitely faster than any internet connection I will ever be on, and most likely faster than most LAN’s i’ll be on. No, it’s not gigabit ethernet, but really, when am I using all that speed? Especially on a portable. For streaming video off of my wirelessly connected Time Capsule, it’s perfect.

    Finally, no, it’s not going to be flimsy. Full disclosure, I haven’t handled one myself, yet. However knowing Apple’s historically excellent and solid build quality, I’m sure this thing will be solid. From the pictures, it looks like it has a solid edge bevel, akin to the iPod Touch’s edge… and a metal casing similar to the iPod classic. The hinge will be rock solid, and just like my apple keyboard, although it’s extremely thin, I don’t think you’ll be able to bend it easily.

    So, there’s my take on it. It will be a great computer for road warriors, commuters, or trendsters who want a powerful, capable, but minimal computer for home/lifestyle.. perfect to sit on the couch with at night and check email and chat, perfect to catch up on the latest new music on Beatport, or tv shows on Hulu.Time will only tell how well it’s picked up, but I’ll surely be down at the apple store asap, to give it a quick handle.

  • Macworld Keynote Speech – Initial Impressions

    His Steveness just got done delivering the long awaited Macworld San Fransisco Keynote speech…Check out the liveblog of the speech over at Engadget, Gizmodo, and Macrumors. (yes, all at the same time)

    Apple Macbook Air

    Some impressions:

    • Time Capsule – I really didn’t expect this, but am glad they did.. sounds like a great integration of storage and wireless access. I’ve had my own mega super ultra backup/hard drive issues before, including frantic service calls to Drivesavers for physical recovery etc. Now that I’m on leopard with my Macbook Pro, I’m more or less backed up all the time.. but its still a pain having to plug in my hard drives ever time. I have a 1tb backup drive, and then two other 300gb and 500gb storage drives. So i have time machine configured to backup my mac’s hard drive, and both my 300gb and 500gb drives, all to the 1tb backup drive. So having this 1tb wirelessly accessible sounds perfect. My one hope is that, like the “old” airport extreme, this new “Time Capsule” still comes with an available USB port, so I can plug in an additional hard drive (most likely my 500gb music drive).. That way I’ll be able to work away from my desk, and still have access to both my music storage hdd, and my time machine hdd. Finally, psyched to upgrade to the N wireless… I’m currently using a Linksys WRT54G, which is good with dd-wrt on it, but having the faster N access, especially for wireless backup, is key.
    • iPhone upgrades – The webclips will be handy for getting to custom apps such as Google Reader etc, and it’s great to hear multiple recipient SMS is now available… but it doesnt matter! I don’t have an iPhone! I’m still going to hold out on getting one until they release the 3G iPhone… the improved network speed, and most likely larger storage and other upgrades will add significantly. In any case, the initial version, and all subsequent versions and software upgrades of the iPhone are worlds better than my crappy Blackberry Curve 8300.. the hardware on it is good, but the software is absolutely worthless. But that’s for another rant…
    • Movie Rentals – Especially since they are offering them in HD, and for direct download to the Apple TV.. this is great to hear. My only big hope is that you’ll be able to sync movies you downloaded direct to your Apple TV back to your mac. Also, what about time machine running on your Apple TV, syncing back to your Time Capsule? Sounds fun to me…
    • Macbook Air – This is long awaited for a ton of people. This product will help capture yet another segment of the market for Apple, and help pull in the “mobile professional” crowd. I think that the combination of the Macbook Air, along with Microsoft Office 2008 will really make Apple a more viable contender in the corporate world. Holy shit! Its thin! Only .76 inches thick.. and it looks like it has the same kind of edge styling as the iPod Touch.. amazing. Sounds perfect, wish I had the budget/need for one. Also, they are finally offering SSD drives, as an option… this technology is super cool, and allows for faster drives, better reliability, and power savings.. my next laptop will def have an SSD. Finally, it’s a smart move to offer the external optical drive for $99, but the best part is the software for sharing an optical drive across a network. Good thinking, as that will be a great counterpoint for retail employees when people say “but it doesn’t have an optical drive! wahh!!”
    • Overall– Good products, and I’m especially psyched about the time capsule..I might actually get that one. However there were a few big holes here, which I’m still waiting to be filled. First, no 3G iPhone.. but that wasn’t really expected yet. Second, only 64gb ssd for the Macbook Air. Yes, I know they are expensive, even at 64gb, but it would be good to have the option of a bigger drive. We’re all sitting around in my office fixed on the live-blogging, and as soon as Steve announced the 64gb ssd, one of my office mates said “what? that’s way too small! If I get one of these, it needs much bigger… at least 128!” Anyway, hopefully as prices drop on ssd’s, they’ll start offering larger ones.

    There you have it, Macworld’s Keynote 2008. Some amazing products, some mysteriously left out. But you know I’ll be the first one to rush out to the apple store as soon as these things are on display.. And let’s hope these new products drive Apple’s (AAPL) stock price back up…

  • Open Networks, Open Standards – the critical next step

    Google WirelessBroitman, I think you’re right on with giving Google the openness award. Your importance of being open article is spot on, but I just wanted to step back a bit to how they got to this new openness.

    Google has to free up technologies that can have the most impact in an open environment. Technologies like cellular networks and broad-area wireless coverage, such as the 700mhz networks they helped to free, are the pathway to the future. Additionally, I agree that the opening up of the social networking standards, cell phone platforms, music formats, etc, is all the way of the future. In fact, the very industries that built up these technologies will die without openness.

    However, we didn’t get to this point easily, and we definitely could not have gotten here without initially constructing closed, proprietary systems. In fact, I’m all for closed systems and technology, at least for the beginning stages of growth and adoption. When a company develops a new technology and keeps it closed, it encourages that company to pour as much as it can into the tech, building it up to make it the biggest and best. Additionally, fundamental values, operating procedures, and quality control are concentrated. If, for example, the wireless 700mhz spectrum were always a freely available chunk of spectrum, I think that its effectiveness would become diluted. Way too many people would be making half-assed efforts to use it, and it would never be able to concentrate that critical mass of userbase, tech base, and monetary support.

    Going forward, I’m eager to see where we go in developing new applications based on formerly closed, now opened technologies. If the industry can break out of the molds already made by the industry, we could begin to see some really killer technologies. Google’s Android and Open Social are just the beginning.

    The one potential step back that i see the industry trying to take is Net Neutrality. I’m all for it, and think that the reason the internet is great, and will continue to be great is that its neutral – bandwidth is bandwidth. So let’s keep it open too, ok?

  • Designing a blog: What’s it take?

    The Jeffzilla blog is new. Yes, I’ve had this domain for a number of years, and yes, its been used for other projects, etc (and it still is), but this is the first real time there’s been a blog on it. Designing and implementing a new blog can either be quick and simple, or a fairly involved process. For this one, I started off simple, using just the wordpress default template, but have (and still am) modified it quite a bit.

    So, here’s a few of the elements/resources that have gone into the Jeffzilla blog, so far….

    Initial Setup: Since I use Dreamhost for both my web hosting and domain registration (is that too much info to put out on the web? security?), the installation of wordpress was easy.. it’s one of Dreamhost’s “one click installs”. Additionally, keeping upgraded to the latest version of wordpress should be easy enough in the future, as dreamhost simply has an “upgrade WP version” button next to my installation info in my Dreamhost account. My only concern is upgrades breaking my template in the future.
    After the very easy initial setup was complete, Toby helped me set up the template and related files for editing in Dreamweaver (I’m on CS3). I’ve tinkered around with Dreamweaver before, but never really seriously…. This is my first real run at it, and I’m learning new things every day.

    Figuring out the design: This is the phase I’m in now. Getting my look is taking a good amount of research and tinkering around. I surfed a whole bunch of blogs, looking at their template, what colors they use, etc etc, getting little ideas here and there. I’m going for a simple, usable, clear design. Some of the blogs I’m taking design cue and just think look cool are:

    • Robjn.co.uk – Robjn is a graphic designer and mixtape genius. Her blog/site is minimal and nice, packing a ton of content into a simple, easy design. Light on your bandwidth, too. By the way, Robjn recently put out an amazing ambient mixtape, available for download here.
    • Other blogs yadda yadda try to act cool.

    Now I’m in the phase of figuring out how to make all my design changes/optimizations etc. I’m fairly new to php/css programming, so there’s a lot of learning involved.

    Optimizing it: “SEO’ing” the site has been a big concern of mine as well. Since I work as and SEO specialist, I think it would be good for my personal site to reflect all the advice and “best practices” I usually preach. So, I’m going through, making sure I have good title tags, accessable RSS, etc etc etc. One final element of code optimization that I hope to incorporate into the site is compatability with a wide range or browsers/readers. The blog must look good on normal web browsers (Firefox, Opera, Safari etc), however I also want it to be optimized for viewing on cell phones, mobile platforms, bandwidth restricted platforms, etc etc etc.

    I’m going to try to track hits on the site using both Google Analytics and Quantcast. I’m experienced using analytics, and know that it delivers good, in depth information. Of note, when I signed up this blog on my analytics account, I was prompted to install a “new” analytics tag.. no more urchin. Apparently it enables some more advanced features… we’ll see how that goes. Quantcast is just taking hold, but hopefully it will catch on.

    Posting to it: The most important part! What’s a blog without content?!?! So, to keep myself posting, I have to make it easy. I’m using three methods to post, which will hopefully give me ultimate flexibility and accessibility. First is directly in the wordpress interface, online. This is my preferred method, since I have the most control over the formatting, and can directly upload graphics etc etc. Second is Qumana, which is a blog editor program for Mac. It allows me to compose blog entries “offline”, and post them later. Good for plane flights, etc. Finally, I’ve set up a “post via email” system, whereby I can send an email to a special address, and whatever I send will get automatically posted up on my blog. This is the last ditch effort, but is great for accessibility. If I’m at a locked-down internet terminal and can’t get to the wordpress admin, but have email, I can still post. I can compose messages on my cell phone, so can post from there. And in bandwidth-restricted places/computers, sending a simple text-only email is often the most efficient way to get information out.

    So, there you have it, my blog progerss as it stands. Check back soon, as you’ll likely see little changes happeneing as I get stuff setup.

  • Protect your macbook from destruction? Sure!

    Protect your macbook from destruction? Sure!

    A colleague of mine recently got a shiny new white Macbook, and came to me for advice on how to protect it.. here’s what I told her:

    Ok, protecting your Macbook.. here are some cool products i know of to keep i

    t nice and shiny…

    Speck See Thru Hardshell Case

    First of all, if you want ultra minimal, but arty and cool scratch protection, Gelaskins makes some cool giant decals for your stuff.. pick out a cool design, and its just a big, removable decal to put on the case of your computer… will keep it from getting scratches, but thats about it.

    Moving up, Speck makes these hard plastic snap on cases for the Macbook.. will offer you wrap around scratch protection for the Macbook, and minimal impact protection too.. and it stays on your computer. Doesn’t protect ports etc from dust, etc, though, so you will need another case if you want to throw it in your bag.

    Now, onto what I personally use now…. for tossing my computer into my messenger bag for the day, I have this ultra minimal and suedey soft Tucano Second Skin.. its jus

    t a sleeve, and is fairly thin, but def protects from bumps, scratches, and dust.

    For when I want to just carry the laptop and not inside another bag, I use an Incase Nylon Sleeve.. its about as minimal as you can get for a full featured case with handles, shoulder strap, and accessory pockets.. it even has a little detachable key cord.

    So, thats what i use.. I also have AppleCare, which is key….

    -Jeffrey

  • Ambient Sounds

    Ambient Sounds

    post-6874-image-7af061522131ee44a856b6ec8b413031Listening to: The Buddha Machine

    Check this out! Last night I was in Flight001, a travel store near my house which I love. I found this neato little sound machine, called the Buddha Machine, made by FM3. It has a speaker and a dial and a button. You turn it on and turn up the volume, and it plays any one of 9 different ambient audio loops.. just trippy and serene background sounds.. bells in the distance, alternating hums, etc etc. It’s pretty nifty, and it compliments me and Nat’s recent purchase of the 5 disk box set of “Nature Sounds”. Sitting in my cube right now with the nature sounds, I feel like I’m on the coast…

    Buddha Machine from FM3

    Nature Sounds box set on Amazon

  • Blu-ray…. pulling ahead

    Listening to: The Decemberists – The Crane Wife

    Ahh, a breath of fresh air.. just read this morning at the better format, Blu-ray, is finally pulling ahead of the other, lesser hd-dvd. Nielsen just reported their data, and it looks like Blu-ray is selling 2:1 over hd-dvd. This is great news,and I really really hope we can resolve this format war, and that the industry realizes that blu-ray is the better format.
    Cheers

  • Holiday 2006 Wishlist

    Listening to: Blockhead – Downtown Science

    Ok, thanks to wishlistr (an obvious flickr/web 2.0 rip…), my (in progress) wishlist is online.
    Check it out… https://www.wishlistr.com/jamfan2

  • Razr DISAPPOINTMENT!

    Razr DISAPPOINTMENT!

    Listening to: The Crystal Method – Vegas

    Ok, so I ran out to the Verizon store.. even took a cab there. Bought the new razr v3c, and tried it out. DISAPPOINTMENT. Ok so the phone is super cool and sleek and lightweight etc. However there were a few things that prevented me from adopting it. It’s a bit outdated in terms of physical functionality nowadays.. no mem card slot, no headphone jack. The keypad wasn’t quite as textured as I would like it to be… When using it in a dark room, I had to actually look at the keys to see what I was pressing. I’m a little more used to feeling it out and navigating with a little more tactile feedback from the keyboard. (like Das Keyboard!). But the main thing that killed the razr v3c for me was the speed of the UI. Now, the Verizon UI that their putting on all their new phones nowadays isn’t all bad. It’s on my LG VX7000, and once you get to know it, its good.. a bit simplistic, but good. So besides the crippled bluetooth, I didn’t mind the Verizon ui on the Razr. However, it was S-L-O-W! To search for and dial a number in my phonebook, I could hit the key sequence before the phone could even switch from the home screen! I would hit the contacts and then the first 2 letters of my contacts name and then send, and 5 seconds later you would see the phone quickly flip through the screens and then freeze for another second or two, and then dial the number. Not good. This lag was consistent throughout the whole UI. Scrolling through menus, there would be a slight lag on the response, so you would often pass the line you want to select in a list. It was also quite annoying having that lag when switching ringers, ringtones etc. Also, V-cast. Although I thought the vcast service was pretty cool, when watching videos, even when I have full reception, the razr drops frames left and right, and unsyncs the audio. It feels like its having trouble rendering the video in time or something.
    I returned the razr to the store the next day, and talked with a tech about it. He said that yeah, the razr is slow, and they might fix it with a firmware update.. but it might be a while, because most people don’t really notice the slow ui.

    Guess I’ll just wait for another good one…

  • Jingle

    Listening to: Medeski Martin & Wood – Combustication

    ***UPDATED!!***
    Ok, so here are some cool gadgets etc that I’ve been eyeing lately.. you could call it my holiday gift guide…

    – Insulated Thermos. Yeah, one with a sealing lid and a lit that tunrs into a cup.. i like the kind of slender ones they sell at starbucks.. but maybe with a cooler logo on it or something. No glass liner, either.. breaks too easily.

    -40 inch LCD tv. Perfect to hang on the exposed brick wall in my studio. I hear the that panasonic got pretty good reviews.. Also, must be able to do 1080i with hdmi, ideally 1080p.

    -Sony Playstation 3. Yeah so, i’m pretty much trying to boycott sony nowadays, given all their drm shit, atrac3 stupid codecs, proprietary connectors etc, but the PS3 is going to be sweet when it comes out, complete with a bluray drive.

    -Shure e4c sound isolating headphones. I’ve been wanting a pair of these super high quality headphones for a while… perfect for blocking out noise on the subway, compact for travel, accurate sound for critical listening.

    -“Professional” shoulder bag. Something small and sleep, with a handle and strap to carry to work every day and keep work papers in. I believe some people call that a “briefcase”. Hmm…

    –Fisher Space Pen. Ok, so I actually allready use one of these, but I think it would be cool to have the acutall model of the pen that the Astronauts on the Apollo Missions, and all other manned space missions after that use.. Also, the “Cap-o-matic” style is cool, and a little cheaper.. perhaps teh matte black all metal military model?

    -Leather Bound travel atlas. I was in this super ultra mega cool store called “Flight 001” last night. They sell all sorts of super yip, cool travel gadgets and accessories. I saw this small pocket sized world atlas that looked pretty cool (along with everything else in there)

    More to come…

  • Lomo

    Listening to: Natural Selections Vol 1 by DJ Jesse Mann

    Ok, while in the Brooklyn museum of art the other night with Shannon, I saw the lomo super sampler and lomo fisheye cameras in the gift shop.. super uber mega cool.. i want one of each! or just a dslr camera with a cool fisheye lens…

    This weekend was quite eventfull, including triple crown, spirit, walkin round soho, and lots of sleep. Even though i dodnt really have any incredible stories or anything, i’m posting anyway.. i think i need to start posting more regularly, even if they are not “ultra super mega posts” like ive been doing lately.

    The Razr for verizon is coming out in a week, and i think i’m definetly going to get it, despite the v3i will be out is the gsm flavor soon… its frusturating that verizon is a good 9 months behind cingular in terms of releasing new cool phones. They chalk it up to “reliability testing”. Puh.

    Last thing, saturday night i was walking home from the L train in the west village at around 3:30 am sunday morning, and i got to see the first snowfall of the year in nyc start! it was amazing! Now i just have to get up to the mountains!

    Ok and for the link… check out the new amazon maps.. they have incedible pictures of all the streets in selected citites.. creepy… Amazon Block Maps