Archive for the ‘reviews’ Category

My New iPhone 3G S – Not a Life Changer

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Apple iPhone 3G S

My first generation iPhone was a real life changer when I got it. I loved it. It did things I hadn’t considered using a phone for. It was like always having a computer with me, as well as a phone and an iPod. It served me well until the battery quit holding a charge about two weeks prior to the launch of the new iPhone 3G S. I considered this pretty good timing. So I kept my old iPhone near a charger all day and prayed it would last. It did.

I received my new iPhone at about 10am PST on the launch day. I couldn’t wait to get home to set it up. I bought the 32GB model in black.

I’ll cut to the chase. The new phone is simply evolutionary. It’s faster than my old phone. It has WAY more storage (which is pretty sweet and solves my longest running complaint about my old iPhone). And it does a few more things, but nothing that makes my jaw drop. Turns out, after a few days with the new phone, it’s simply another iPhone that holds a charge and a lot more music. Nothing wrong with that, but not necessarily worth $300. And not a life changer.

I haven’t done much with the camera. Maybe that will improve my opinion somewhat. I don’t care about video.

Also, I was hoping that the reception and call quality would improve with my new iPhone. It didn’t. AT&T still sucks! I’m not a big fan of Verizon Wireless, but if they ever offer the iPhone, I’ll leave AT&T immediately. Even if it requires an early termination fee.

Here’s a link about the 3.0 software that comes on the iPhone.

Here’s a link to a review of the 3G S hardware.

I loved my old iPhone and I love my new iPhone even more because it holds most of my music. But my advice is that if you have a functioning iPhone 3G, I’d pass on the upgrade to the 3G S. If you have a first generation iPhone, maybe it’s worth the upgrade depending upon your priorities. But try installing the 3.0 software first. If you have ANY other phone, upgrade to an iPhone NOW. I’d actually recommend the $99 3G. It’s a MAJOR bargain.

The Toaster Oven in San Francisco

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

My boss and I tried the Toaster Oven the other day. Limited menu, but great sandwiches. You can read my review on Yelp.

Apple TV, part 3 (Boxee)

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

I hooked up the Apple TV, accessed iTunes on my Mac mini, and synced my music from my mini to the Apple TV.

Next up was installing Boxee. Not quite as easy as the instructions made it out to be, but I still got it installed and working. There was some overscan on the video but the software has a really easy way to adjust the overscan, so no problem.

Boxee Logo

Hulu worked, though it listed videos that weren’t available anymore. That was annoying. ABC.com didn’t work, nor did Fox. That’s makes Boxee a lot less useful. Didn’t try You Tube.

I like the Apple TV’s implementation of Front Row for music much better than I like Boxee. I see Boxee as my avenue to Internet video. For that it works well. I had an episode of 24 running from Hulu. It looked great.

The Apple TV and Boxee are definitely worth it.

Apple TV, part 2

Friday, January 30th, 2009

As I said earlier, the Apple TV is a breeze to setup. I’ve since loaded all of my music onto it. It took forever to load 65GB of tunes via Wi-Fi. But it’s done and it looks and sounds great. It operates pretty much just like Front Row on my Mac mini. So it’s a keeper. I’ve disconnected my mini from the TV and taken it downstairs to the office where it will replace my ancient mini-ITX project PC. My next step is to load my photos onto the Apple TV. Then I’m going to try out Boxee.

Apple TV

Apple TV

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

I’m setting up my new Apple TV today to replace my Mac mini in my entertainment center. So far, it’s been a breeze to get it connected to my mini and to get it on my wireless network. I’ll let you know more once it’s all set up.

Apple TV

Speisekammer in Alameda

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Great German food and great live Jazz. You can read my review on Yelp.

Customer Service Disaster

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

We talked about excellent customer service on 1/17. Here’s the flip-side.

We all make mistakes but doing things that are plainly unethical, that’s different. I found this on CrunchGear. Here’s what happened:

A site called The Daily Background found evidence that Belkin Bizdev guy, Michael Bayard, is paying folks 65 cents to write good things about Belkin routers.

Here’s Belkin’s response (also from CrunchGear):

We’ve acted swiftly to remove all associated postings from the Mechanical Turk system.

We’re working closely with our online channel partners to ensure that any reviews that may have been placed due to these postings have been removed.

I wouldn’t say that they fixed the problem. Yeah, they got rid of the reviews but they didn’t mention firing the employee (which I think should be a given for something this stupid and blatantly unethical), nor did they mention refunds for customers that may have purchased the products based on the false reviews.

The moral of the story – be careful what you do on the Internet.

Fisherman’s Wharf

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Dad and I went to Fisherman’s Wharf today. It’s always nice to get fresh Dungeness crabs and clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl. Yummy!

Fisherman's Wharf

The sea lions were out making a bunch of noise at Pier 39.

Sea Lions

And out in front of the In-N-Out Burger was The Bushman. This dude sits on a milk crate holding branches he cut off of a tree. He hides behind them and pops out to scare people walking by. He got us when we walked by. We wondered how he kept from getting his ass kicked. Turns out he hires a body guard. Claims to make about $60k a year. You can read about him at the link above. Pretty interesting stuff. He’s been doing this for years. It’s hilarious watching him. We sat in the In-N-Out burger watching him while we ate. BTW, In-N-Out Burger kicks ass!

The Bushman

Alcatraz was just as impressive the second time around as it was the first. The island was opened up so we could walk around more. The place is much smaller than you’d imagine and the cells are depressing. They’re small, damp, and cold. Few get any sunlight. It must have been terrible to have been there so close to the city, being able to hear all the life going on around you, yet knowing you were stuck in your little cell on the island.

Alcatraz

After checking out Alcatraz, we saw the entire Miami Hurricanes football team waiting in line for their chance to see Alcatraz. They were in town to play Cal in the Emerald Bowl.

Miami Hurricanes Football Team 2008 at Fisherman's Wharf

Mellow Mushroom – Great Pizza in Fort Worth, TX

Saturday, August 26th, 2006

After getting a haircut in Fort Worth, I was hungry for some pizza. Sandy pointed me to Mellow Mushroom by TCU. So I headed out to to Bluebonnet Circle.

She said it would be crowded and she was right. But it was worth it. The pizza was great. The service was good. Somewhat pricey for a pizza, but it was so good I’m not complaining. I had the Kosmic Karma. The crust was kind of thick. It was chewy. The sauce was pesto. I loved it.

Their pizza choices are pretty eclectic. I’m adding Mellow Mushroom to my list of good, unique pizzas.

Time to Give a Shout Out to Amore’s in Grapevine, TX

Sunday, August 6th, 2006

I’ve been going to Amore’s for years. It’s not unusual for me to go multiple times per week. The service is good, as is the food. The prices are very reasonable. I generally get a slice of cheese pizza and a salad with house dressing, but the other things on the menu are also worthy of your consideration. It’s BYOB so bring some nice wine.