Apple has been known, in recent years, for innovating devices, that change the landscape of whole markets. Well, they have done it again. Today Steve Jobs announced the “iPhone”, which is the new “widescreen” video iPod, amazing cell phone and “Mobile Internet Communicator” all in one. Not only that, but it runs desktop apps and OS X, and uses a multi touch, touch screen technology. I just about peed myself with excitement (YES, i am a dork, but if you read this site, you know that). It really is a BEAUTIFUL and amazing peice of technology. There are only two downsides to it - for the time being, (2 years, possibly more) it is ONLY through Cingular, which apparently has been bought by AT&T, and the battery life is only 5 hours when using it as a video viewer, and 16 hours when listening to music.

Regardless, Apple has done it again. This is going to be HUGE for Apple. They aim to take just 1% of the cell phone market which, if they are succesful means about $5.5 billion of Gross sales on a completely new revenue stream. And all indicators point to them being 100% successful. Just imagine if they are only HALF as successful in this market as they have been in the iPod market, their revenue will go through the roof! Today alone, as I write this, their stock has gone up 8%. And I fully expect analyists to put their 12 month price forecast up quite a bit.

As I have said before, Apple will take over the world.

For more info on the iPhone, click here or here

WARNING: This is a post about Apple Computers

It has been 4 years since I bought my last computer. And this time last year, I realized that the good ol’ G4 “quicksilver” was on it’s way out. It’s processors (Dual 876Mhz) just could not keep up, even with 2 gb’s of ram. So I started saving. Back in the spring, Apple released their new MacBook Pro’s, which had Intel processors which meant they could run the Windows OS. Don’t get me wrong, I hate windows, but if I got a “MBP” then I could use it for work by running Windows on it. I have never had my own laptop, so I guess the idea of having a portable, take with me, Mac really appealed to me.

One rule of thumb one should follow with technology is to never buy the first generation of a new machine. So, I decided to wait for the second generation, which promised to have the new Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The processors were “released” in September and I figured it was only a matter of a small amount of time that the new MBP’s would be released. Well, I waited, and read rumors, and waited and read more rumors. FINALLY, on October 24th, Apple released them. I was SOOOO excited, i couldn’t hold my excitement in, (yes, i admit I am a dork, so what?!?) Well, I ordered it online that morning and to make this short - I FINALLY got it on Wednesday November 15th.

I was busy with work, so it actually took me a few days before I could even begin to think about setting the computer up, but after several hours, I had it ready to go. It works beautifully, and looks beautiful. I really like it. I expect to get my copy of Windows XP Pro this week and using “Parallels” i will be able to run Windows and OS X at the same time. So cool! It comes with a remote(the white rectangle on the laptop, to the right) which i can use to run Front Row and the keyboard is ambiant light sensitive, so when it gets dark, the keyboard lights up.
My old machine:
Macintosh G4, Dual 876 Mhz PowerPC processors, 2 GB of ram

My New Machine:
MacBook Pro, 17″

• 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
• 2GB (two SO-DIMMs) of PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 3GB
• 667MHz frontside bus
• One FireWire 400 port at up to 400 Mbps
• One FireWire 800 port at up to 800 Mbps
• 17-inch MacBook Pro
  • Three 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports
• ExpressCard/34 slot
• Built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme wireless networking (802.11g standard)⁽²⁾
• Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
• ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics processor, dual -ink DVI support, 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM.
• 2 gb of RAM

Today is a very special day. As you know, I (chris) am a Apple Fanatic, and being such, I was super excited to see Apple announce the much awaited release of their new MacBook Pro’s. What made it even more thrilling is that I have been waiting for this announcement for the last 4 or 5 months, because I decided that when they did release them, I was gonna buy one. So I just about had a heart attack when I saw they are available. About a year ago I realized I would need a new computer and started saving. It is such a neat feeling when you save for something for a long time, and finally get to purchase it. It makes the purchase that much sweeter.

I was hoping to go to the Apple store in K.O.P and pick one up, but I had to order it online because they 17″, which is the one I bought isn’t in the stores for a week or so, so I just went ahead and ordered it online. I also bought a software program called “Paralles” which allows you to run windowns right along side of OS X, which I am super excited about. This means I won’t need two computers to work, I can just use my MBP.

One last note, my friend Dan and I were talking about the cost, and after looking into it, a dell with the comparable specs is actually more expensive. The Dell XPS M1710, with comparable specs, comes to $3044, while the MBP is $2700. Huh, imagine that! The Apple computer is ACTUALLY less money. Maybe Apple will take over the world. Also, the MacBook Pro 17″ is about 45% less volume than the Dell (4862 cubic cm vs 2690) and 25% less weight. Once I do get it and get everything up, I will post a review about the machine, for those few of you out there that do care about this stuff. So, with that said, (buy apple stock), see yall later.