Apple Powerbook Greatest Gadget

No disrespect to Apple for my belated post, I should have done so shortly after Mobile PC magazine announced the Powerbook as the top gadget of all time. This is a just reward for a company that has learned from and understood the value of industrial design from the beginning. It also goes to show the lessons they have learned along the way too. Even the Apple snow white industrial design language which had been very successful throughout the 80's, developed by frogdesign, could not save their barely luggable only moderately successful Macintosh Portable. This was a product that appeared only to apply an industrial design language cosmetically to the surface. From the more appropriate grey color, to the integrated palm rest and trackball, the Powerbook line better integrated its industrial design language into the 'DNA' of the product and as a result, everybody followed, manufacturers and customers alike. I took me a little time though, as much as I loved the design. I did not go mobile until the arrival of the Duo and Duo Dock. It was a little smaller notebook (but a bit more fragile), and the math co-processor (I think that was what it was) enabled me to also go mobile with my 3D modeling too!

February and Christo: Out Like A Lion?

More fun headed to the tri-state area today, as Christo and his gates say good-bye to Manhattan, Mother Nature and her snow are getting ready to pack another wallop! I just love heading home to put another log in the fireplace, and something yummy warm and comforting to eat in the oven. ETD from work and ETA of something yummy and warm in my stomach now pending the arrival of this end of February Nor'easter. Just hope the folks helping Christo and Jeanne-Claude are able to ‘wrap’ things up quickly over in Central Park for the dismantling of the gates.

President's Day Fireside Weather

I've got a busy day tomorrow, but at least I am off from work for President's day and not too busy to enjoy the snow coming down. No fun having to work while it is snowing outside. Looks like we will be honoring President's Day in the tri-state area with hopefully 5-8" by the time all is said and done. While there will be no fireside speeches from George W, there should be lots of fireside relaxing in the Northeast. Enjoy the snow, and hope the folks get a break from all the rain in the southwest too!

Panera: The Free World's Free WiFi Leader

Eat your heart out McDonald's, the nations largest and free wifi network built to date is owned by Panera, a smaller, more caffeinated yet healthier (compared to McDs) fast casual food restaurant with 573 wifi enabled locations, according to this article. My wife probably could not care less, although thanks to her, she introduced me to their soup and sandwhich combos about 2-3 years ago. Kind of don't frequent there much anymore, but once the weather warms, I think I'll pull myself up a chair out on their patio and work on my blog. My parents even happened to stumble on the Soprano's being filmed at the Panera located in West Caldwell, NJ. I suggest you pop that wifi card into your notebook and mosey on over. See if there is one in your neck of the woods.

NHL 2004-2005 Season Iced

I think there was a fleeting moment in my life from about 1980 to 1982, thanks to the Lake Placid Miracle On Ice, that I enjoyed watching ice hockey. I was never really any good though at skating or playing the street version, which could be part of the reason why I never could get into watching the game much on my own. I guess the folks up north must be upset as a result of the season cancellation, perhaps it is due in part to over expansion. Never really could understand why there needs to be hockey teams in Florida and Phoenix. Can't say that I'll miss it either, but just wanted to say, rest in peace and hope you get your act together next year.

Better Living Through Design: The Incredible Edible Egg

This one is a no brainier. Most people buy eggs a dozen at a time, but I do not understand why most all refrigerators come with an egg storage tray or container that only holds the dozen eggs you buy at the grocery store. If you are like me, eggs go on the shopping list when you are low, say with 1 or 2 left, not when you get pissed-off because you cannot cook something you wanted to because you are out of eggs. Therefore, if you are like me, you are always stuck with 13 or 14 eggs after you go shopping and have to either keep the 1 or 2 orphans in the egg crate from the supermarket anyway, or strategically place them in the fridge where they will not roll. Why not just make a 14-16 egg storage tray or accessory the standard for storage instead?

Google Maps Is Here!

Just out of google labs is the google maps beta. I just played around with it a bit and liked the experience. Probably what I was struck with most was how visually appealing the maps are designed, they seem less cluttered and easier to read than the others. The page is nice and clean too without any ad clutter. The maps are also draggable! Lets say you want to pan right, simply drag the map or select the appropriate cursor button. Finding a pizzeria is now easier than ever, in one text box enter the word 'pizza' and a zip code and your good to go!

Racquetball: Where blue balls are fun!

Anyone looking for a great t-shirt (in addition to my blog t-shirt) ought to check out the busted tees website. I especially like their racquetball t-shirt. Racquetball is a great sport that has unfortunately been passed by. With all of today's extreme-ism sports and fitness fads it's too bad. I think Racquetball has them all beat as far as an extreme cardio and physical sport goes. Just thought I'd pay my respects. But I wonder, why don't they just make the balls a different color and avoid us the embarrassment?

Location Location Location

No, I am not talking real estate, I am talking advertising. Sports is probably one of the most advertising saturated industries going. Just look at all the hype around advertising for the *big game* this weekend (I don't even know if I can say superbowl w/out express written consent from the nfl). Don't you just love what they can print/paint onto baseball and footbal fields these days? From baseball backstop blue screens that networks superimpose advertiser logos on inning to inning, to the MicronPC.com Bowl and grass logo painting, what will they think of next...How about one for the individual athlete rather than the team or the sports league. Richard 'Rip' Hamilton looks to be blazing new trails, or shall I say *tread-locks*, with his Goodyear Assurance TripleTred tires hairdo. Lucky for him he can switch to all-season radials come spring. Still trying to see the resemblence though...

Word Of The Day: Mobisode

I think I was in 6th grade, the year was winding down, and the teacher asked the class, what new words might you find in the dictionary next year? At that time the consensus in the classroom was 'watergate'. If that same discussion took place at the end of this year perhaps the word would be, 'mobisode'. Aside from its initial appeal perhaps to mostly 6th graders (provided they have enough cash), short video-clips of your favorite TV drama or soap opera are coming to America for your cellphone today. Still want to watch? While it is not yet in the dictionary you can read lots more about it on the web today by the BBC's Stephen Evans, or the Washington Post's Yuki Noguchi. While we witness the dawning of a new video medium unlike Cinema, TV and the Internet before it, initial experiments will most likely meet with only marginal success. I certainly do not think the slam dunk highlight reel is as in your face as it is on the big screen, or that a talking head sitting in front of a big flat screen message board makes sense for a 2" LCD screen, nor do I want to watch Gilligan's Island reruns...my neck gets stiff just thinking about it. Pricing plans aside, its going to take a lot of trial and error to hit upon that perfect (or almost perfect) balance between, what works on a 2 inch LCD and what an American consumer has enough patience for, in order to create a truly unique piece of content apropos of being called the first successful mobisode.