For years, the Windows world has enjoyed carrying around these notebook-like PCs- called Tablet PCs. On these, a person can write, or draw out ideas for projects and even use them in presentations.
But on April 1, we Mac-heads- who have salivated over these tablet PCs for years- finally get our own tablet.
The ModBook, made by Axiotron, and distributed exclusively by Other World Computing, a vendor for Macintosh computers- will be released. It runs on the Mac OS X (Tiger, currently, though support for the upcoming Leopard is expected), and has the Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and GMA 950 graphics card inside. In the 1.83 GHz model, you get 60 GB hard drive; 512 MB memory; and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive. That runs at $2279. For $300 more, you get a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; 1 GB memory; WAAS-enabled GPS; and 80 GB hard drive. The top of the line has the same features as the $2579, but in addition, you get 2 GB of memory and 160 GB hard drive.
On all models, an iSight camera is on top; a Wacom(R) Penabled (TM) Digitizer pen is included. The 13.3" display is made of Chemically Strengthened glass, and the ModBook allows you to write on it. It's Bluetooth-equipped. The only thing the ModBook doesn't have is an external keyboard (though, it has an internal one. Just turn it on. Got that, Ballmer? It does allow you to use an external keyboard, if you like).
And yes, after you finish your work, you can pop in a DVD and watch that porn flick you've been itchin' to watch all day.
The ModBook is targeted for professionals who edit photos on programs such as Apple's Apeture and Adobe's forthcoming Lightroom.
The ModBook arrives on April 1.
With Axiotron building the first non-Apple Mac computer in ten years, this could mean that Apple will once again open up licenses for computer manufacturers to run the Mac OS X on their computers. If the ModBook is a success- and with many Mac-heads wanting a Table Mac for quite some time, it'll likely be that- look for other manufacturers to put the Mac OS into their computers. I'm guessing- and I'm no computer expert, so don't quote me on this (not yet, anyway...)- that Sony and HP will likely jump on board (HP could turn its' Compaq brand into a Mac division. Who knows? I'm just guessing here. Or it could be a dual-OS or even multi-OS division,with computers running on Mac, Windows, and Linux...).
But right now, the ModBook opens up possibilities that the Mac OS may soon no longer be confined to just Apple. Sure, Apple will continue to create the OS, and control the rights for some time (I doubt very seriously that Steve Jobs will give up his baby). But I'm guessing in about a year- at least- and no more than three to five years, the Mac may be on HP, Sony, and even Toshiba computers. That'll give those knuckleheads up in Redmond a combination of a grand mal seizure and an Excedrin headache.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
CNN.com
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports Widget
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Scooter Libby Found Guilty On Four of Five Counts in CIA Leak Case
I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, has been found guilty on four of the five counts in the ongoing CIA leak case where an agent's true identity was revealed.
He was convicted on obstruction; perjury; and lying to the FBI. He faces 25 years in prison.
Stay tuned to CNNfor the latest developments.
I'll talk more about today's verdict, later today.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
He was convicted on obstruction; perjury; and lying to the FBI. He faces 25 years in prison.
Stay tuned to CNNfor the latest developments.
I'll talk more about today's verdict, later today.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The Dumbass' Guide to Teaching Your Baby Nephews How to Smoke Weed
The video that's linked here (just click on the title) has many- myself included- infuriated.
The young boys, one, two years of age, the other, five, being coerced by two knuckleheads- one being their 17 year old uncle- to smoke marijuana. The young two year old takes a hit, and chews, as if he's eating the toxins.
Now, for the record, I don't give a shit if the 17 year old- and his 18 year old friend- smokes the herb. After all, it's their bodies. They do what ever the fuck they want to do with them. But to force their two and five year old nephews to do this, I'm not at all surprised that authorities are calling it a blantant form of child abuse.
What in the hell were these idiots thinking? Granted they were high, but what were they thinking when they gave the weed to those babies? If anything, the anti-drug people- the ONDCP people and Partership for a Drug-Free America- upon seeing this will have much more ammunition for their draconian view of 'a drug-free America'. What the two men, Demetrius McCoy, 17, and Vanswan Polty, 18, need to realize is that they're more or less hurting the cause for adults to smoke marijuana freely and responsibly. And in the former's case, he shouldn't even be smoking the chronic himself.
There's no telling how long this has gone on- for all I know, this is probably not the first time those babies were exposed to weed. And now, they run the risk of having developmental and behaviorial problems- hey, I'm no doctor or psychiatrist, but even so, it doesn't take either to figure out what's wrong with the picture I've witnessed.
Stupid, man. Damn stupid.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
The young boys, one, two years of age, the other, five, being coerced by two knuckleheads- one being their 17 year old uncle- to smoke marijuana. The young two year old takes a hit, and chews, as if he's eating the toxins.
Now, for the record, I don't give a shit if the 17 year old- and his 18 year old friend- smokes the herb. After all, it's their bodies. They do what ever the fuck they want to do with them. But to force their two and five year old nephews to do this, I'm not at all surprised that authorities are calling it a blantant form of child abuse.
What in the hell were these idiots thinking? Granted they were high, but what were they thinking when they gave the weed to those babies? If anything, the anti-drug people- the ONDCP people and Partership for a Drug-Free America- upon seeing this will have much more ammunition for their draconian view of 'a drug-free America'. What the two men, Demetrius McCoy, 17, and Vanswan Polty, 18, need to realize is that they're more or less hurting the cause for adults to smoke marijuana freely and responsibly. And in the former's case, he shouldn't even be smoking the chronic himself.
There's no telling how long this has gone on- for all I know, this is probably not the first time those babies were exposed to weed. And now, they run the risk of having developmental and behaviorial problems- hey, I'm no doctor or psychiatrist, but even so, it doesn't take either to figure out what's wrong with the picture I've witnessed.
Stupid, man. Damn stupid.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
What Will Apple Release This Time?- Chapter Two
April 15, at the NAB convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, Apple will hold a special event. In the past, the all-in-one house of Steve (all-in-one meaning they build both the computer and the operating system- something Microsoft will never do in another million years, considering that they've already screwed up Vista...) has released products for us Mac lovers. I'm talking updated versions of our favorite Mac computers and software, and probably an update of iTunes as well.
So, what will Steve Jobs and company give us Mac-heads this time?
I'm guessing Leopard will be released around this time. Or at least, Steve-O will give us the date of release.
Perhaps, Apple will come to its' senses finally and lower the price of Macs across the freakin' board. Which means I won't have to spend $1500 on the 13" black MacBook I've been salivating over forever.
Perhaps Apple will release a 42" plasma HD Cinema Display monitor for the professionals among us. Just picture looking at our files from across the room would be great- particularly for those of us who use Final Cut Studio (or even Final cut express and iMovie...speaking of which, Apple could release FCS 5.2, or even 6.0, ahead of Adobe's return to the Mac platform with the Production Studio suite that will run exclusively on Intel-based Macs. Production Studio comes out in June).
As usual, the gang in Cupertino keeps everyone in the dark- probably so those fuck-ups in Redmond don't try to spy on the Apple lab, and try to sneak in something ahead of the release of the next Mac product...I don't trust those nimrods from Microsoft.
Also go to http://www.nab.org for the National Association of Broadcasters website. Click on the title above for the Macworld article.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
So, what will Steve Jobs and company give us Mac-heads this time?
I'm guessing Leopard will be released around this time. Or at least, Steve-O will give us the date of release.
Perhaps, Apple will come to its' senses finally and lower the price of Macs across the freakin' board. Which means I won't have to spend $1500 on the 13" black MacBook I've been salivating over forever.
Perhaps Apple will release a 42" plasma HD Cinema Display monitor for the professionals among us. Just picture looking at our files from across the room would be great- particularly for those of us who use Final Cut Studio (or even Final cut express and iMovie...speaking of which, Apple could release FCS 5.2, or even 6.0, ahead of Adobe's return to the Mac platform with the Production Studio suite that will run exclusively on Intel-based Macs. Production Studio comes out in June).
As usual, the gang in Cupertino keeps everyone in the dark- probably so those fuck-ups in Redmond don't try to spy on the Apple lab, and try to sneak in something ahead of the release of the next Mac product...I don't trust those nimrods from Microsoft.
Also go to http://www.nab.org for the National Association of Broadcasters website. Click on the title above for the Macworld article.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Bluffton University Men's Baseball Team Bus Crash
The men's baseball team from Bluffton University, a Mennonite-affiliated school in Bluffton, Ohio, was on its way to Fort Myers, Florida to play in a baseball tournament. Most of the young men were asleep when the bus reached Atlanta.
At about 5:00AM Eastern time this morning- that would be 2:00AM here on the west coast, the driver exited off Interstate 75 on to the Northside Drive, NW HOV ramp.
The bus crashed off the overpass, back onto I-75, in the southbound lanes.
Six people, including the driver, were killed. Nineteen were injured, some seriously.
Most of the severely injured were taken to Grady Hospital, the level one trauma center in the city center. Others to nearby Piedmont Hospital, around Howell Mill Road
Atlanta police surmise- and it was my guess as well- that the driver never intended to exit.
An unintentional misjudgement, but given the fact that some Atlanta roads are tricky, the drive probably never knew that he was in the HOV lane. Or he probably did, but thought that he was safely into the other lane when the crash took place.
As I watched the news conference by A.J. Ramthun, 18, of Springfield, Ohio (just outside of Dayton), I felt his pain over the loss of some of the fellow baseball players, and the driver and his (the driver's) wife. His older brother Michael, also on the team, suffered hip injuries.
My condolences goes out to the families of those lost, and my prayers go out to the families of the survivors. May the injured find healing and strength through God, and know that the entire country, and the world, are at your side through this tragedy.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
At about 5:00AM Eastern time this morning- that would be 2:00AM here on the west coast, the driver exited off Interstate 75 on to the Northside Drive, NW HOV ramp.
The bus crashed off the overpass, back onto I-75, in the southbound lanes.
Six people, including the driver, were killed. Nineteen were injured, some seriously.
Most of the severely injured were taken to Grady Hospital, the level one trauma center in the city center. Others to nearby Piedmont Hospital, around Howell Mill Road
Atlanta police surmise- and it was my guess as well- that the driver never intended to exit.
An unintentional misjudgement, but given the fact that some Atlanta roads are tricky, the drive probably never knew that he was in the HOV lane. Or he probably did, but thought that he was safely into the other lane when the crash took place.
As I watched the news conference by A.J. Ramthun, 18, of Springfield, Ohio (just outside of Dayton), I felt his pain over the loss of some of the fellow baseball players, and the driver and his (the driver's) wife. His older brother Michael, also on the team, suffered hip injuries.
My condolences goes out to the families of those lost, and my prayers go out to the families of the survivors. May the injured find healing and strength through God, and know that the entire country, and the world, are at your side through this tragedy.
Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
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