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iPhone
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Written by Sammy
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Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
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I had a chat with an AT&T Rep today about the iPhone... Read more for all the bits and pieces...
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Read more...
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Breweries
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Written by Sammy
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Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
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This past Saturday, July 12, 2008, I attended the Made in the Shade Beer Tasting Festival in Flagstaff, AZ, at the Coconino County Fairgrounds. The entry fee was $40 for regular admission and $80 for VIP. The difference? The VIP peeps got in at 2:30PM (that's 30min before everyone else), they got a different glass to drink from, and there was a special area for VIP only (which looked lame from the outside).
So, what did you get when you got there (at the $40 admission price)? A little plastic mug with company names, and quite a few beer tickets (I never counted but I'll get to that in a bit). You also got a hell of a lot of rain! Yes, it rained and it rained HARD. For the first hour and a half it was raining pretty hard off and on and then towards the end of the fest, it started to slow down and then stopped completely at one point. Now, in comparison to the beer fest earlier this year in Mesa, there didn't seem to be as many brewers but I had way more fun. I ran into a couple people I haven't seen in forever, met a lot of interesting girls and guys, and just had an all-around good time. So... what was my favorite brew there? I wish I could remember...haha... It was a chocolate stout and it was amazing. I seriously cannot remember and it's driving me nuts. If anyone was there reading this, the brewer was in the barn against the right wall about two in as you entered... I'll have to go through the pics and see if it's in there. OH! The pics! I will have a Flickr page up and I'll edit this post tonight with all those pics. So yeah, great time, good beers, what more can I say? Oh, and before I forget, I was feelin' pretty good and I still had about 5 tickets left... lol...
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Videos-Review
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Written by Sammy
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Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
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Henny from thabizness.com demonstrates how to use Beatmaker on the new 3G iPhone. I can see the iPhone being a new DJ tool for the ultimate in portability and improv creation. Similarly, I can see street performers hooking up their iPhone to an amp playing the harmony while they rock the guitar solos and singing. Either way, Apple has truly created another development platform that will surely kill the other smartphones all together.
Henny makes beat on iPhone 3G using Beatmaker!!! from Henny on Vimeo.
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iPhone
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Written by Sammy
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Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
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Hacker or “elite byte adjuster” is what the iPhone Dev Team called another unlocker *cough*Zibri*cough* in their latest update for their much anticipated Pwnage Tool that will unlock/activate/jailbreak (not in the exact order) your current gen iPhone using the 2.0 update from Apple. Some would call this a slap in the face by the Dev Team, I call it awesome. So yeah, if you haven't seen the video of the 2.0 software being pwn'd, be sure to navigate around the dev team blog for vids. So, what did I do with my iPhone? My 2.5G iPhone? I still have it, it's right in front of me playing some Thievery Corporation right now. It is still doing very well and I will upgrade as soon as my contract with T-Mobile is up in Sept. Until then, I'll be rockin' my iPhone proudly! So, here's the link to the iPhone Dev Team blog update, very good read. LINK
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Bars
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Written by Sammy
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Saturday, 05 July 2008 |
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My 4th of July evening was spent at Rosie's Water Work on Water and Highland in downtown Milwaukee. It was great. An energetic and fun crowd, combined with great local brews (Spotted Cow was there!), amazing music, and the freedom to dance on tables, benches, and whatever else, makes for a fantastic evening. Oh, and did I mention really awesome friends? Yeah, two of my good friends here in Milwaukee took me out and we just had a blast. There will be a "Milwaukee Vacation Trip" Flickr page for all to see as soon as I get them posted. So yeah, enjoy the couple pics I uploaded from Rosie's and also, check out the last pic, that's from the Pizza Shuttle parking area. Pizza Shuttle, amazing pizza. AMAZING!
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Upcoming Events
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Written by Sammy
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Thursday, 03 July 2008 |
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Summerfest, honestly, amazing. I literally just got back from seeing two of the greatest bands of my time perform, Tortured Soul and Thievery Corporation. Seriously, amazing. I will post pics and videos soon. So, why was today at Summerfest so awesome? Well, as much as it sucks going to a concert by yourself but it's all worth it in the end when you find some cool people and hang out with them for the duration. I met these two really awesome girls and one of the girl's fiancee and we all just hung out, talked, enjoyed some good music and had a fun awesome great time. So yeah, while back in my home state of Arizona where the weather is scorchingly miserable, I had to have a light jacket on while I listened to some of the best music ever. I love Milwaukee. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. love.
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Upcoming Events
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Written by Sammy
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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
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Ok, so, as I mentioned in my last post, I'm on vacation in Milwaukee and Summerfest, one of the (if not the) largest concert venues ever is being held here. I'm going to see, for sure, one show, and that's Tortured Soul. Thievery Corporation is here too and I'm going to try and check them out as well. So, if you are going to be at Summerfest, come and find me. You know what I look like if you have seen any of my product reviews. Let's meet up, I'll buy you a beer. I'll be at Summerfest tomorrow (July 3) around 8ish.
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Beers
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Written by Sammy
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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
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So, there's a lot to say about Miller and Schlitz and Pabst. Sure the latter two are far better but what about the craft brews here in Wisconsin? I'm taking a vacation and decided to come to this amazing city and since my first trip here a few years back, I look forward to one thing. New Glarus' Spotted Cow. One of my favorite beers ever. It is a cask conditioned ale thats brewed with flaked barley and Wisconsin malts. This is a true WI beer. This ale is unlike any other. A golden rich color with an easy start and clean finish. Flavors rush to your head like a fart enters the room, it sneaks up on you and then lingers a little and then says with a smile, see ya. But it keeps coming back with every sip. 
Another beer, not specific to WI, is Bell's Oberon Ale. This is a seasonal ale brewed only for a few months and is only available in a few states in the midwest. I was introduced to it by a former co-worker years ago before I took a trip to Michigan. Ever since, whenever I get a chance to sneak a bottle in, I go for it. Amazing, color and nice rich taste, the Oberon Ale is a definite summer beer that I wish were brewed year round and available all over the country. Seriously, while this wheat ale hits a lot of high notes... well, hang on, that's all I got. It hits a lot of high notes. It's delish. More info on New Glarus' Spotted Cow More info on Bell's Oberon
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Product Reviews
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Written by Ethan
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Tuesday, 01 July 2008 |
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What's not to like, the Otterbox Armor Case for the iPod Nano 3rd Gen provides such quality protection as to turn a tortoise green with envy. It's rugged appearance and the promise of inclusive protection against the scraps, scratches, dirt and dust will relieve any reservations you may have about taking an iPod outdoors.
Pros:
- a hard plastic case that provides complete iPod protection against dust, dirt and scratches.
- the case is waterproof in depths of up to three feet. (I'd suggest testing the case before inserting your iPod_
- the case allows access to the iPod wheel.
- a sealed jack allows for the use of standard iPod headphones.
- the case comes with a lanyard and a built-in belt clip.
- the case provides peace-of-mind; I wasn't worried about taking my iPod on a three-day hiking/camping trip.
- the case is perfect for the outdoorsy and/or the clumsy iPod owner.
Cons:
- the case deadens the iPod wheel's sensitivity, making it harder to operate the iPod.
- a paradox: the case is bulky and cumbersome, yet provides complete protection.
- not an everyday use case.
Rating:
8.5/10
You can purchase this item directly from Otterbox.com for $39.95. An excellent deal! The mechanics for this case are very similar to the armor case for the iPod Video 30/60/80gb I reviewed. Please click here to see that video review. (Note: These pics were taken during a hike of the Havasupai Canyon)
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General News
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Written by Sammy
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Monday, 23 June 2008 |
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George Carlin passed away due to heart complications. Instead of being sad and upset about his passing, how about reading some of his jokes that not only made you pee yourself but also made you ask, "Why" and "How do they get away with it?" By the way, most people don't call them, "George Carlin's Jokes" they simply say, "Quotes by George Carlin." That's something huh? When your comedy actually crosses over into the realm of being quoted as opposed to being retold. Which other comic reached that level of... I don't even know what that's called. It's something though. These are some of my favorite quotes, the language might be offensive to some so if this is an issue for you, you have been warned. I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me . . they're cramming for their final exam.
No one ever says, "It's only a game" when their team is winning.
If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
What's all this stuff about motivation? I say, if you need motivation, you probably need more than motivation. You probably need chemical intervention or brain surgery. Actually, if you ask me, this country could do with a little less motivation. The people who are causing all the trouble seem highly motivated to me.
Ever wonder about those people who spend $2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward.
(EVIAN BACKWARDS IS NAIVE)
Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
Swimming is not a sport. Swimming is a way to keep from drowning. That’s just common sense!
A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.
No one knows what’s next, but everybody does it.
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, “You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.”
Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you and he needs money.
If it requires a uniform, it’s a worthless endeavor.
Reminds me of something my third-grade teacher said to us. She said, “You show me a tropical fruit and I’ll show you a cocksucker from Guatemala.”
I knew a transsexual guy whose only ambition is to eat, drink, and be Mary.
You can prick your finger — just don’t finger your prick.
Isn’t it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do “practice”?
Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child who’s self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car.”
Catholic — which I was until I reached the age of reason.
One great thing about getting old is that you can get out of all sorts of social obligations just by saying you’re too tired.
I love and treasure individuals as I meet them; I loathe and despise the groups they identify with and belong to.
Once you leave the womb, conservatives don’t care about you until you reach military age. Then you’re just what they’re looking for. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers.
The planet is fine. The people are fucked.
Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.
And now, in the interest of equal time, here is a message from the National Institute of Pancakes: It reads, and I quote, “Fuck waffles.”
Whoever coined the term “Buyer Beware” was probably bleeding from the asshole.
Cloud nine gets all the publicity, but cloud eight actually is cheaper, less crowded, and has a better view.
“Meow” means “woof” in cat.
Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.
“No comment” is a comment.
The Golden Gate Bridge should have a long bungee cord for people who aren’t quite ready to commit suicide but want to get in a little practice.
Do you think Sammy Davis ate Junior Mints?
Hooray for most things!
I don’t have a fear of heights. I do, however, have a fear of falling from heights.
I have as much authority as the Pope. I just don’t have as many people who believe it.
So far, this is the oldest I’ve been.
Instead of warning pregnant women not to drink, I think female alcoholics ought to be told not to fuck.
You can’t argue with a good blowjob.
The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.
Just think, right now as you read this, some guy somewhere is gettin’ ready to hang himself.
The only good thing ever to come out of religion was the music.
I think everyone should treat one another in a Christian manner. I will not, however, be responsible for the consequences.
Have you noticed that most of the women who are against abortion are women you wouldn’t want to fuck in the first place? There’s such balance in nature.
I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol was a man nailed to two pieces of wood.
I never joined the Boy Scouts. I don’t trust any organization that has a handbook.
I never fucked a ten, but one night, I fucked five twos.
I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.
Lastly!!!
There are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven you can’t say on television. What a ratio that is! 399,993 to 7. They must really be baaaad. They must be OUTRAGEOUS to be separated from a group that large. “All of you words over here, you seven….baaaad words.” That’s what they told us, right? …You know the seven, don’t ya? That you can’t say on TV? Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits.
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Product Reviews
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Written by Sammy
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Sunday, 22 June 2008 |
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So, there are a lot of watches out there, and a lot of them are really great, but... my love will always be for the Seiko watches. My most recent purchase is the Seiko Coutura Perpetual Kinetic watch (model SNP007). I got it for a screaming price and I couldn't resist. The SNP007 (I'm not typing the full name over and over so I'll just call it by it's model number) features the awesome Kinetic technology allowing the watch to run without a battery. Instead, the watch is powered by movement. My last Seiko didn't require a battery either. In fact, that watch was over 30 years old. It was my dad's and at one point, I started wearing it. It kept the time but was off by about 5min/month, lol. Anywho, I bought this SNP007 and it's aweshum. Here's some specs: - Brand Name: Seiko
- Model number: SNP007
- Part Number: SNP007
- Dial window material type: sapphire
- Clasp: fold-over-push-buttton-clasp
- Case material: stainless-steel
- Case diameter: 47 millimeters
- Case Thickness: 12 millimeters
- Band material: stainless-steel
- Band length: mens-standard
- Dial color: black
- Bezel material: stainless-steel
- Calendar: date-month
- Movement: kinetic
- Water resistant depth: 330 Feet
- Warranty Type: Manufacturer
Pros: Classy, easy to read, heavy, very accurrate, no battery! Cons: Heavy...lol... Score: 8/10
See my Flickr page for more pics.
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General News
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Written by Sammy
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
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 I just wanted to share that I bought a new watch a couple weeks ago, a Seiko Coutura Kinetic Perpetual with the black dial. It is aweshum. AND!!! Just last night, on Woot.com, I saw a really nice looking Invicta Speedway for $89. It was a steal considering the lowest prices anywhere else on the internet was coming close to $200. So, I picked it up. I have never spent so much on watches ever in my life (at least in a single month). When the Invicta comes in, I'll put up either a video or pictures.
On a sidenote, I have been doing a ton of traveling with my day job and haven't had much time for this site or Buymeaniphone.com. I have at least a dozen reviews that need to get edited and posted. I wish I had like a week of nothing else just so I can post them to YouTube. Video reviews waiting to get published are: - Otterbox iPod Nano 3rd Gen Defender and Armor case
- 4 new iPhone cases
- Screen Protectors for iPhone
- Various accessories for iPod/iPhone (think connecting to TV accessories)
- Invisible Shield and Best Skins Ever skins for DS Lite, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPod Video
In the meantime, check out this thread at Watchgeeks.net (I just joined this morning) for more pics of that Invicta watch I bought today.
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Videos-Review
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Written by Sammy
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Tuesday, 17 June 2008 |
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Videos-Funny
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Written by Sammy
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Monday, 16 June 2008 |
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Videos-Funny
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Written by Sammy
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Saturday, 14 June 2008 |
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In case you haven't noticed, through Installer.app (if you have a jailbroken iPhone) now lists an app called iPhone Video Recorder. This app, by DreamCatcher, allows your jailbroken iPhone to record video and audio direct from your iPhone. You are able to record the video with several compression settings (audio and video), change the brightness levels, and change the audio amplification. The video recorded is saved to disk and once you stop recording, it will process and encode the file into an MP4 video file. There are three ways of getting the file off, YouTube, Email, or SSH. Email is, by far, the easiest way to share and save the file to your computer. You can rename, delete, preview, and share the recorded video directly from your iPhone giving you flexibility when you aren't near a computer. The only problem with this app (and it's not really a problem) is that it's not free. It does offer an evaluation mode where you are limited to 30sec of video recording and it watermarks whatever you take. I took a video and did some editing with Garageband and iMovie and threw in a couple photos from the iPhone with iPhoto to make the video below. The entire process from start to finish took less than 10minutes (even the uploading to YouTube). The quality is surprisingly good considering that the camera on the iPhone is less than those of most Nokias available today. Below are the file settings for my test video: - File Length: 0:00:31
- File Size: 2.3mb
- Video Dimensions: 320x240
- Audio bitrate: 128k bps
- Recording Volume Amplifier: 2.00
- Image Quality: Better
- Brightnes: 0
- Video Mode: Best performance (landscape)
Ultimately, this is a great app and if I were to give it a rating, I'm thinking a solid 6/10. I still think it needs a bit of polishing around the UI and a preview screen before you start recording would be nice. Also, the post processing isn't too bad of a wait for the 30sec clip that the eval mode gives you but I wonder how long it would take on a 5 or 10min clip. Either way, be sure to check out this much needed app at the DreamCatcher website: LINK
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Videos-Funny
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Written by Sammy
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Friday, 13 June 2008 |
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Apple
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Written by Sammy
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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Yeah, this morning, Apple (AAPL) was sailing at $183ish per share and post keynote, the stock is seeing a price of $177.90. Yeah, apparently the movers and shakers are trying to sell down the stock as much as possible so they can pick it up at the lowest price before July 11, when the 3G iPhone hits everywhere so they can make some moooolah. So, yeah, Apple released the long awaited 3G iPhone today and it sports a slightly new design, better battery life, A-GPS (assisted GPS, I'll get to that in a minute), improved sound quality, and iPhone 2.0 software of course. What is it missing? Well, it looks like the dock is long gone, the cool powerbrick is gone and replaced with a much cheezier looking usb adapter. The headphones, still the same crappy ones it looks like, but the price, omg the price, 8gb for $199, 16gb for $299. You can bet your ass I'll be buying a 16gb soon. I might even switch over to AT&T if the awesome iPhone hacking guys can't get it to function on Tmo (but I would want the 3g so I'll probably switch, again - anyone want to buy an unlocked iPhone 1.0?) The biggest deal for me, battery life. OMG I'm so happy about that. While I am not much of a talker on this phone, I do use the web and video A LOT. So, to get some better battery life for those two applications would be great. The idea of A-GPS doesn't really excite me that much since it's not true satellite based GPS but at least it's better than strictly cell-signal/wifi-signal based location services (faux GPS). MobileMe, now this is something I know a lot of people have been waiting for. I used to be a .Mac subscriber and although it was a great service at first, it started to lack quite a bit as the rest of the world advanced. But now with the introduction of push services for all the devices connected to the MobileMe (me.com) service, it is definitely worth the $99/yr pricetag. I cannot wait to get in on that. Appcenter? I'm curious to see how it will function. I wonder if they will ripoff Installer.app all together. I'm really curious. I don't like that they are charging iPod Touch users $10 for the ability to buy apps. I think that's sucky of Apple to do. They already got screwed with the addition of the latest software pack. Snow Leopard. Cool. I wonder what that will be like and especially when it will be released. I hope they don't charge for it or if they do, make it less than $79 Steve, we just threw down money on Leopard a couple months ago! Lastly, no MacBook Pro upgrades. UGH, I'm really upset about that. I want to upgrade my MBP desperately and it's the time where I know if I buy one they are just going to turn around and release a newer version DAYS after. I can't handle that disappointment right now. So, yeah, where can you find all the pictures and details for all the stuff I mentioned today? Apple.com of course!
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Apple
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Written by Sammy
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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 Yeah, I figured I would take some Pre-WWDC 2008 screenshots and post them on Flickr so we can compare later. I used my MacBook Pro and Paparazzi! to take the screenshots (great app by the way). So, let's see how much changes tomorrow.
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Videos-Funny
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Written by Joey
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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