Massive Failure!

Sometimes I can be mean but I swear it's not that I WANT to be.  I've been told I have a strange sense of humor and I can see that.  When I first saw this video I couldn't stop laughing and I didn't know why.

It wasn't because I didn't have any pity for those involved.  It wasn't for any lack of sympathy I felt for the those thousands of people expecting a longer show.  It wasn't because I didn't feel for the city that paid all that money burning up in the sky.  I even felt a little bad for the employees who wired this thing all up.

I can't help but picture the look of confusion on the folks bordering on seizure as if to say, "WTF are we looking at here in this tremendous display of fire?"  Just absolute chaos.  A show that is meant to be enjoyed by people living at ten times the speed of human life.  Sometimes humans can be pretty entertaining in their own special way.  Please enjoy the first 120fps fireworks display provided by the city of San Diego California.

YouTube

Magnetic Wallpaper

I don't usually post things like this but I thought it was so awesome that I should share.  If you all like it and I get a significant amount of views, perhaps I will post more.

Magnetic wallpaper!  I could DEFINITELY see this as convenient for people who like to change their rooms around.  Children's rooms could also benefit.  No more posting paperwork on the fridge!  Keep it in the kids room!  I would find it personally convenient for the home office as well.  At work we have the cubicles we can pin things too.  Having this sort of solution at home is nicer to look at.

Unfortunately its currently priced at $133 for a 16 foot roll but if this becomes popular and available by multiple manufacturers it would be great.  Perhaps a small strip of it would be magnetic to reduce price.

Here is a link to the wallpaper.

Gaikai Cloud Gaming

Not the tech industries first foray into cloud gaming but in my personal opinion, the best with a chance successful if and only because of the huge installed user base.

All you need is a networked Samsung television.  Relatively speaking, that is quite a few televisions and given their recent history, just a sample of the future success they will have.  On their website though I found a curious image they chose to use.  It is a render mimicking the design of an HP MediaSmart server.  Which as a local, consumer focused media server is great.  Nowhere near what is necessary for global internet connectivity and hosting.  I just thought it was funny.

Giant Chickens

More and more researchers are siding with the belief that our favorite childhood monsters were instead...fluffy soft and birdlike. I'm sad to admit that I have always thought they looked like plucked chickens myself.

Check out this link for more detailed information.

To which my response is a half serious, half mocking...

Another One

Story Link

:(  They say burgers are safe.  But moo really knows anymore.

Apple Event (3-7-12)

Right now Apple is holding an event announcing new tech.  The new iteration of the iPad should be announced.  iPad 3, 2s or HD, whatever they call it should be completely disclosed within the next few minutes.

Sit tight.  I will be posting as much information as I can cram in.  Side Note: In my previous blog I posted that Apple may be working on some sort of tactile feedback with their new iPad and it appears some folks agree.

I will be updating this blog post as the info comes in.

10:03 - Tim Cook is on stage making investor statements.  How much they sold.  How great their stores are etc.  Nothing I'll bore you with.  I will keep these updates specifically to the hardware information.
10:09 - Well, iOS 5.1 isn't exactly hardware but its significant.  Available today.  Lackluster way of announcing it.  May only include minor changes.  Tim emphasized Siri in new languages.  Useless to anyone but 4S owners at this moment.
10:11 - iCloud now supports movies in 1080p.  (Apple TV supports only 720 so perhaps there is a "one more thing" announcement coming at the end of this event?)
10:17 Guess they couldn't wait. $99 available March 16th and for pre-order today.

10:21 Low blow attacks to Samsung.  Looking at a shot of Twitter on the Galaxy Tab.  "It kind of looks like a​ blown-up smartphone app running on a tablet -- and that's exactly what it is!"  Ouch.

10:22 New iPad.  I don't see a home button!  (But it is there.)
10:25 2048 X 1536.  3.1 Million Pixels.
10:27 A5X processor confirmed.  Quad Core.  Ok faster processor, check.  Higher resolution, check.  Increased saturation, surprise.  Hints of more "new features."
10:29 Same camera as the 4s.  Pretty good.
10:30 1080p video recording.  Face detection.  Strange that there isn't any flash.
10:31 Voice dictation.  Interesting.  (That button will get in the way of the language toggle.)

10:33 Looks like there IS a home button after all.  Unless they are waiting....4GLTE!  Wow.  21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42 Mbps.  LTE @ 73 Mbps.
10:35 AT&T, Verizon, Telus, Rogers, Bell it looks like.
10:39 Battery life still at 10 hours.  9.4mm 1.4 lbs. .07 lbs. heavier.
10:40 $499 16GB - 32 $599 - 64GB $699
10:41 4G $629 - $729 - $829  Available March 16th.  Preorders start today.  (Queue Apple.com crash.)
10:42 Pre-orders in US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Japan on the same day.
10:43 Interesting stuff but nothing extraordinary just yet.
10:45 Now showing demos.  Namco showed off a game called Sky Gamblers and they found it important to note it was "exclusive."  (That got a groan from me.  Nothing says we would rather sign contracts than innovate like exclusivity deals.)
10:49 Still waiting for that shock and awe as we trudge through the software demos.  Epic Games is up and they announce Infinity Blade: Dungeons.  This is significant because Epic has been the company to push arguably the best graphics out of previous Apple devices.
10:54 Rambling about software continues.  No mention of the new name but "New iPad" has been used.  iWork and Garage Band have been updated.  Nothing major.  iCloud support, smart strings...yada yada.
11:03 Updated iMovie and now iPhoto is available.  Minor photo editing it looks like.  Wireless sharing between devices which is great.  I used a bluetooth transfer app which worked...but it was slow.  We shall see how this works out.  iPhoto supports up to 19 megapixel images.
11:06 Welcome whomever you guys are.  Apparently I'm getting a lot of hits on this page today.  So thanks and I hope you're enjoying my simple format and short summary of the event.  :)
11:07 iPhoto is being shown off with autoenhancing and cropping... things that the built-in tools of iOS 5 already do.  Small differences like brightening dark areas, white balance etc.  Decent.  I hope its free though it doesn't look any better than what is available for free in the app store.

11:11 I hope they modify the camera kit interface to allow you to zoom in with the preview and to avoid importing the raw images if they won't let you edit them.  No mention of either.  You can view in Calendar format using metadata and geotags if available.  They include weather which is a nice if superfluous touch.

11:17 iPhoto $4.99.  Yikes.  I don't think I will be buying that when 99 cents will buy you arguably better tools.  No new dock connector.  (I was hoping for a mag lock.)  No SD reader.  (We can dream can't we.)
11:21 iPad 2 16GB wi-fi $399.  $100 drop across the board I'm assuming.
11:22 They keep calling it the "new iPad."  That is pretty bad considering the old one is called the iPad 2.  When people go to the Apple Store...I can see inevitable confusion from the masses.
11:24 ...and that's it.  They ended with a hint of things to come.  "2012 There's a lot to look forward to."  "We are just getting started."

Thanks for following along and I hope you had fun, whoever you are!