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Yesterday, Steve Jobs’ made his biannual descent from Cupertino to enlighten the masses with what Apple has been up to for the last six months. The verdict? Largely disappointing. At the start of the keynote, Steve said he had four things for the crowd which turned out to be Time Capsule, the iPhone SDK and software updates, iTunes movie rentals, and the Macbook Air.

The Time Capsule, though obviously a major bullet point in Steve’s presentation, wasn’t given much time on stage. However, that was probably due to the nature of the product. It’s a wireless router with a network hard drive in it. Not all that exciting to demo. Out of all the things announced yesterday, Time Capsule was the one thing I actually would consider buying in the next year. Though, $499 for a 1TB drive and a router seems a little spendy. A similar setup using a router with a USB port and an external hard drive would cost me at least $100 less. I guess that’s why it’s called the Apple tax.

The iPhone/iPod Touch SDK was item number two, but was also glossed over rather quickly. Instead, much of item two consisted of updates to the iPhone and iPod Touch software. Multi-person SMS, triangulation of your location on Google Maps, some new apps, and a customizable home screen were among the features added. These are all things people have been screaming for from the beginning. It’s becoming more clear that despite it’s widespread success, the iPhone v1 that came out last summer is incomplete. Even with all the additions, you still can’t copy/paste, you still can’t get one with more than 8GB of storage, and still no 3G.

Something that really bothered me was they announced 5 new applications for the iPod Touch that cost $20 for anyone who already has a Touch. Anyone who goes and buys one today (or any other time in the future) gets these apps for free. Everyone else who already has one has to pay $20 for them. Why? Did these apps really cost that much to develop? That clearly isn’t the case as the apps are already on the iPhone and they’re being included on new models. Obviously the only people who are going to buy this little software package are current Touch owners. Was the $300 or $400 you already got off these people not enough Apple? What’s $20 when you’ve already spent $300+. Bad Apple, bad.

The third item of the day was has been expected for some time now: iTunes movie rentals. The big surprise was they managed to get all the major studios on board and they completely redesigned the Apple TV interface so rentals without a computer are possible. The fact that you can rent movies isn’t such a big deal. Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon, and others all have made this available for awhile. The killer feature is that you can do it right on your TV and without any computer. It’s now a stand alone box, not an accessory. To top it off, new Apple TV’s are $70 cheaper than before and existing owners get a free upgrade.

The price $3.99 for new releases, $2.99 for other titles is spot on. However, the fact that you have to watch it within 24 hours is not. Make it 72 hours. Give me a weekend. I buy something on Friday night, but end up going out instead. I should be able to watch it on Sunday when I have the time. And the HD versions (sold at a $1 premium over their standard def counterparts) can only be rented on the Apple TV, not through your computer. I suspect that restriction came from the movie studios paranoia about piracy, not from Apple itself. Good Apple, (mostly) good!

The final line item was the Macbook Air; a $1800 ultra-portable laptop. Just as with the movie rentals, ultra-portable laptops are nothing new. However, no one is quite able to do things like Apple does. The Air is super thin; Apple claims the world’s thinnest. I’m still not sure if that means it’s more sexy or more flimsy. The other notable thing about the Air is it is virtually devoid of ports. It’s got 1 USB port, 1 Mini DVI port, and a MagSafe connector for power. There is no optical drive and there is no ethernet port. I guess thinness comes at a price.

After sitting on it for a day and reading all the fallout online, I’m still trying to figure out where the Air fits into Apple’s lineup. The two sweet spots they don’t cover is enterprise workstations and the mid-range desktop and these are two areas of the market Apple has said they don’t want to go after. Back to the question at hand. Who is this machine targeted at? The type of person who is going to buy this (besides the type who just want you to gawk at their expensive toys) is someone who doesn’t need to do a lot of heavy work and someone who doesn’t have much of a budget. The only group of people I can see fitting that profile is writers. What kind? Columnists, novelists, freelancers, and the like. They are probably traveling quite a bit. Their primary needs are word processing, email, and internet connectivity. However, it doesn’t make sense that Apple would release a computer for such a small niche of consumers. They clearly have something else in mind and I can’t quite put my finger (or mouse pointer) on it.

After hearing about all of the announcements, my overall feeling was one of disappointment. There was nothing in this keynote for me. None of it made me want to run out and buy it right away. None of it had me checking my bank account and making exceptions in my budget. Is that selfish? Sure, but Apple has conditioned me. The thing I was hoping for most, a 32GB + iPhone with 3G, wasn’t even hinted at. Not even a 16GB version like the iPod Touch. There was indeed something in the air yesterday at Moscone Center and it smelled slightly foul.

Being the good Mac fanboy, I was anxiously awaiting Apple’s announcement today. With a title like “The beat goes on,” you knew it was going to be new iPods. Having just taken it all in, I have some reactions.

Well the word is out and so are the new iPods. New colors for Shuffles. Blah. New “fatty” nano. Don’t care. New iPod “Classic.” Interesting, nice price point. iPod Touch. I was hanging on every word until they got to the size, 8GB and 16GB. Wifi enabled. Sweet! Wifi iTunes Store. Also sweet! Starbucks partnership. *silence*

I was all ready to go to the Apple Store after work to buy me a new iPod Touch until I found out they were only going up to 16GB. I can’t live with 16GB. I’m the kind of person who likes to be able to hear a song on a whim. The only way to do that is to carry my whole collection around with me. I reached the point where I could no longer fit all my music on my 60GB iPod not long ago. I deal with it by only putting the stuff I listen to somewhat often on it. That reduced collection is somewhere between 25-30GB. Why couldn’t you have made a 32GB version, Apple? Charge me $499 for it. Everything else about it is sweet, but if you have a device that’s supposed to hold my music, video, and photos, it’s going to need to be larger than 16GB.

A week or so ago, I noticed the power cord for my laptop was becoming increasingly sensitive. If it wasn’t at just the right angle, it wouldn’t charge. Knowing my laptop was out of warranty (I thought it was 90 days, but I guess it is a full year) and with a replacement costing $80, I dealt with it. Sunday, I plugged in the adapter and went back to working on my desktop. I looked over an noticed it wasn’t charging. I reached for the cord to try and fiddle with it to get the magic angle again and immediately became alarmed at how hot it had become. I quickly unplugged it from the laptop and the wall as to not start a fire or damage the laptop. After I did this, I noticed there was a small hole in the plastic coating of the cord and it had partially melted.

Rick, Kristi, and I were planning on going to see Superbad (so hilarious!) at the mall and so we left a little early to stop by the Apple store. Once there, I was informed by an employee that I needed to make an appointment to see someone at the Genius Bar and that their next appointment was right in the middle of our movie time. The nice thing is you can schedule appointments online at any time. I got one set up for 1:30 the following day at the Apple store a few miles from work.

At work the next day, my laptop lasted for about an hour before the battery was pretty much drained, so I was forced to use my old Linux desktop machine. Man is it slow compared to my Macbook Pro. After spending about 2 hours just getting the thing updated to where I could start programming, I tried to get some work done. The results were less than amazing to say the least.

I never realized how much more efficient I am on my Mac. I have to give credit to the excellent text editor, Textmate. I felt crippled without it. All it’s little bundles and keyboard shortcuts add up not only a much more enjoyable programming experience, but a more productive one as well.

As 1:30 rolled around, I took my seat at the Genius Bar. The store was packed and the Genius Bar was obviously behind schedule as I sat around for a good 15 minutes before anyone called my name. Eventually, a Genius, Dave, came over and called my name. He explained that he’d seen the melting power cords before. The cause seems to be when the cord gets bent at an extreme angle and breaks a small wire inside the cord. After some trouble pulling up my info (it was due to the purchase being made under my boss’s name), he replaced the adapter without any further questions. I thanked Dave for his help and was on my way back to being an efficient, Mac loving, web developer for the rest of the day.

Today, I’m supposed to be filled with patriotism. Instead, today only means I get a day off without having to take vacation. How can I be proud to live in America when America has so much wrong with it?

Recently, I saw Michael Moore’s new movie, Sicko. A scathing expose of the health care system in America. Many people don’t like Moore because of the way he spins information to tell his stories. Frankly, I tend to agree with most of what he says, so I look past it. This time around Moore spent relatively little time on camera and instead let a small group of people tell their stories. The message was clear, the health care system is broken. People who are sick aren’t getting the care they need to be well or even stay alive.

The movie hit very close to home 2 days after I watched it. We do not have health insurance at TheHoneymoon because it simply was never before needed at the company. As result, my coworker and I both are on continued COBRA coverage. My coworker’s former employer decided to close the business and thus ending my coworker’s insurance policy. She was told by one representative at the insurance company that her coverage would continue until the end of the month only to find out the next week that she was without any coverage at all. She was left with $700 in prescriptions to pay for. I watched her, tears streaming down her face, call the pharmacy asking them if she could pay for her prescriptions 1 week at a time. Sadly, stories like this are all too common.

We are fighting an undeclared war against an intangible opponent, terrorism. The deaths of soldiers long ago exceeded the number who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks. President Bush insists that sending more troops to their death is the answer. Not to mention all the innocent journalists and civilians who get caught up in the battles.

We have a president who thinks he can do whatever he wishes. When he gets into legal trouble, he just changes the law or makes himself exempt. Most recently, he commuted the sentence of a convicted man because he thought it was “too harsh.” That’s right, Mr. Bush. Rich white lawyer friends of yours should never have to go to that awful place called prison. They can pay a fine and go on probation and that’s good enough. Oh please! Of course I speak of the Scooter Libby case which has now become another scandal. One of many in the past 8 years.

Yesterday, I read a striking story on Digg about a man who was moving. This man, a Holocaust survivor, was moving back to Germany because “…I’ve seen this before.” As a boy, the man had watched Hitler’s government commit atrocity after atrocity and no one did anything about it. The parallels between the Bush administration and Hitler’s government were too much. The man felt he was too old to do anything to stop it and so he was moving out of Bush’s grasp of power.

Millions of Americans will be drinking, BBQing, and watching fireworks today. I ask again, what is it they are celebrating?

Over the last few days I’ve watched 3 movies now. Saturday afternoon I popped in Donnie Darko (the Director’s Cut). It was just as good as I remembered. What I forgot was the music. They use all this cheesy 80’s music since it’s set in the 80’s. It’s been ages since I originally watched Donnie Darko, so I couldn’t tell you what’s new in the director’s cut and I didn’t bother to watch any of the extras

Sunday the roommate, Laura, sat me down to watch the new version of Amityville Horror. Can’t say I liked it. It wasn’t really scary except for the really-quiet-then-all-of-a-sudden-something-makes-a-loud-noise gimmick. That and I kept thinking to myself, “That’s Van Wilder.” I think the only reason I’d want to see the old school version would be to see if it’s actually scary.

Last on the list was Ong-bak. This one sorta just dropped on me too. Hank got it on Netflix and I had nothing better to do while I ate dinner tonight. I wasn’t really enthused about it at first. I figured it’d pretty much be another Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It wasn’t. The fighting was really sweet. One of the main characters, Ting, had this crazy style. He’d come in like he was going to kick and then throw a punch or an elbow at the last second. He used his knees a lot too. It was really acrobatic, kind of like Jackie Chan’s style, but not as corny. This guy kicked some ass. Some of the fighting and action stuff was just overdone. I prefer this type of movie to be more believable. At one point Ting fights this burly dude named “Mad Dog.” He was throwing chairs and tables at him like they weighed nothing and Ting was pulverizing them by blocking with only his arm and leg. The physics where a little off too. Stuff like that just makes me groan. I forget that I should be watching an actual fight scene and remember I’m only watching actors.

How’s the saying go? “Two out of three ain’t bad?”

I got the crazy idea to try and catch the midnight showing last night while at work. Maybe it was all the hype, but I just didn’t care if I made it to the premier or not prior to last night. I am glad I did decide to go. Hank and I took off at about 11:30. The first theatre we went to had a line halfway through their parking lot. We decided to skip that place and try another. Luckly, the next place we visited didn’t even have a line.

We skipped the concession line which was about as long as the line for the first theatre. After taking our seats, we only had to chill for maybe 15 minutes before the show started. I thought it was funny the manager came in and told everyone to keep their lightsabers and cell phones off.

Now on to the movie itself.
***WARNING SPOILERS***
Overall, I agreed with Ebert’s rating of 3.5 stars. There was that overall feeling of evil through most of the flick and the end tied up all the loose ends from the first two movies. I found the evolution of technology to be quite impressive. I saw shades of AT-ST walkers, A-wings, X-wings, and Imperial shuttles. I remembered when I first saw the Phantom Menace thinking the vehicles and starships were too strange and didn’t fit in the Star Wars universe. But aftering seeing the final chapter, I thought things worked out nicely. Even the lightsaber battles were better. I guess when you look back, all the lightsaber battles in the original trilogy were between old Jedi. The first trilogy is about the heyday of the Jedi and it makes sense they’re going to have a different fighting style.

What could’ve used a little more work is some of the dialogue. The scene’s with Anakin and Padme were entirely too dry and predictible. I do not stray from my previous statements of Natalie Portman’s hotness though, but I digress. Anakin’s betreyal to the darkside could’ve been a little more fleshed out. It seemed like all of a sudden he’s Darth Vader. That’s another thing. Why the name? It never really gets explained. The Emperor just goes Hey you! You’re now called Darth Vader kid! and Anakin is like OK boss. I’m not too sure where this General Grievous came from either. I don’t remember him from any of the other movies. Which reminds me of another thing. Dooku! In Episode II, he’s this big bad final boss that not even Yoda can defeat. Then in this one, Anakin pretty much dominates him after a couple saber swings. I guess I’m embellishing a bit, but it could’ve been made to look like more of a fight. I noticed early on that Anakin and Obi-wan didn’t seem to so much as break a sweat during battles. It’s like they’re not giving any effort. I remember in Return of the Jedi Luke is sweating his balls off while fighting Vader.

I guess that’s enough rambling. I could probably nitpick for hours. There was a lot I very much liked about the movie and a few things I didn’t. It does put a fitting end to the saga. Unfortunately, I left the theatre still hungry for more. Yet I know this is going to be it for Star Wars.