I’m watching the WWDC Keynote and I’m thrilled with the new Macbook Pro updates, the upcoming $29 Snow Leopard, iPhone 3.0 software, and the iPhone 3G S. (why the space?) I can’t wait to ditch my iPhone Classic for a new voice activated, compass directed, Youtubified Video pocket-sized computer. My iPhone offered me the great opportunity to ditch a laptop, and I seriously need the extra battery life.
Snow Leopard looks like it will deliver an OS that will color even the most hard core Linux fans a slight shade of green. (10.5.7 is pretty stable now- but 10.5, in it’s initial offering, was possibly Apple’s worst user installation/upgrade since OS8). I’m certain my Apple-fanatic customers will all go for the 13″ Macbook Pro now that it has firewire again (what was up with that?)and a drop-dead low price (you’ll still want to add memory).

Bang for the Buck- that’s what Apple delivers, and the WWDC keynote as the premiere stage for unveiling these much rumored devices and quelling overarching expectations can be an super-geek-salivating experience or a frazzled limpy hack disappointment. On a scale of Ripe to Rotten I give this keynote an Almost Ripe with a worm. Here’s why.

Apple doesn’t know how to deliver the “bad news” effectively. I’m specifically talking about issues with ATT-MMC support (which is on other platforms) and Contract service options (ATT has had a seriously huge contract expansion because of the iPhone). When Scott Forestall popped up the MMC support vendors and then said something like “um err ATT is working on it….” you could hear the air suck right out of the room. Probably why thy the “Balloon Burst” demo failed. I think they should have had a guy from ATT come out and publicly THANK Apple for having this tremendous opportunity of exclusivity.
Some folks might say this is a ridiculous idea but listen- All the iPhone holdouts I know are either waiting for the Verizon iPhone
(people keep asking me about this- and I swear to them it won’t happen with an iPhone- but perhaps with something else) or in
a fervent state of deniability (my Blackberry is better because….of course it’s not- Blackberry is fine, but its not an iPhone either).
ATT has a unique and fantastic product which doesn’t get stranger as it progresses (I’m referring here to the Palm products – anyone care about pen computing anymore?) Apple’s phone is getting better- much better with 3.0 software looming.

I have to say kudos go to Keynote presentation software-courtesy of Demo Demi-God Steve Jobs – Phil, Bertrand, Craig and Scott did well enough- and seeing the developers sweating on stage -kind Demo Gods or not (who hasn’t done a blown demo) all of these folks do better than most under this unbelievable pressure (ever see Steve Ballmer’s youtube’s -that guy exemplifies Windows these days)- but Keynote is an awesome package that all presenters should use.
Still, I wish an iChat or an iPhone call was made to Stave Jobs. I think that would have tipped the keynote over into exuberance land. Or in lieu of that- Wozniak in a pink satin shirt dancing on stage would have been sufficient. I mean – geez- the Two Original Garage Developers that this particular crowd ultimately respects and owes their livelihood to – should be frontmost at this particular Keynote Developer presentation. It would have also distracted from failed demos or the curious lack of luster with ATT’s Apple-centric benefits.

Contrary to controversial belief- Your Apple product: Macbook, Mac Pro, iPhone, Apple TV etc…
are not emergent objects that have evolved into their current function but were specifically designed individually for their purpose-on purpose- by and with the intention of an intelligent being.

Reports of an Evolutionary process- starting with the Apple I and II in the 1970’s, are contradicted in many phases of the initial emergence of Computers- distinct from other manufactured computers of the same era and distinct from subsequent Apple computers as well. Features such as keyboards, color video chips, a tethered rock (called “a mouse” after another ID object from nature), have differences containing completely separate, and though admittedly similar function,derived from brand new chips- not chips that have evolved due to environmental changes.

These “Intelligent Design” differences can be startling and, for years, attributions to evolution are claimed by many computer specialists with respect to various models and functions in connection to current communication and business devices.
Many theorists state a process where the cycle would start with a particular device and then evidence would trace and identify features in a new device that appear similar and conditional to the original stated device.
A Prime example of this is the iPhone- which some claim evolved from Newton. The Newton had several versions,it was primarily – a Pen computing device- yet evolution does not explain the Newton Emate a Pen device with a keyboard!- similar to the original device yet underpowered, and much larger than the version 2000 series – does evolution devolve? One would the think of iPhone as having acquired some base level of similar funtionalitiy if this “evolution” theory is to be believed
yet all traces of the Newton Operating System now cease to exist. In looking at the codebase of the iPhone, on sees evidence of the FINGERPRINTS of Intelligent Design (the designers have a sense of humor- they call it “Darwin”) as well as a touch interface heretofore not seen on a device and manipulation with a PEN interface.

Abrupt changes in form factor among other devices abound and disprove the evolutionary cycle. This strongly indicates that there is not a process of environmental weaning and tweaking due to communicative functionality. The arrival of the iMac is another stunning example of ID – as it appeared out of nowhere with stark brilliant color casing in contrast to the bland beige predecessor. Whole features were missing (floppy disk) or added (usb and Firewire) haphazardly as well as the confusion that was created by the most obvious distinct missing feature: cable management.
Evolutionary theorists completely disregard the distinct “consciousness” of variable stability with operating systems in either OS 8.6, OS 9, and the radically different OS X. Again, the ID humorists jab the evolutionaries with terms like “Carbon” and “NeXTSteP” as the base operating functionality between these distinct and radically different OSes-proof positive that DESIGNING not EVOLVING construction is evident while the obvious exterior structural changes bolster the ID argument even further.

Subsequent Apple products become obvious “poster Children” for Intelligent Design- The Bubble Imac, turned into an iLamp,( where did the Luxo dna come in to play?), into a White Panel …
a Blue and White tower becomes a Steel-Cheese-grater-like apparatus…?
A Laptop computer loses almost all of it’s ports and some usefulness – again to “de-volution?”
I think not.
This is simply more evidence that someone had to DESIGN the MacBook Air with only ONE usb port, wheres the tenets of true Darwinistic Evolution, amid the proliferation of USB Devices these days, would be that it have several separate USB ports.

One final proof of Apple’s Intelligent Design (which should be taught in Engineering Schools worldwide) is the simple fact that inbetween devices do not exist and new products arrive, often
without a basic evolutionary pedigree (for example Apple TV), suddenly -from seemingly out of nowhere. Speculators- as fervent as UFO abductees, postulate what might pop up from Apple, often wrongly described and with unpredictable delivery dates. This pointedly Created Confusion confound trade websites, computer store owners and technicians profoundly.

Those people that would think computers are a “Naturally” emerging and evolving mechanism need to look specifically at the form and function changes and how evolution does not and cannot explain the functional changes of such devices over such short periods of time. Indeed, it is a job of Intelligent Design from the hand of an Intelligent Being.

In a couple of days the Presidential Crown will be passed from George W. Bush to Barack H. Obama.
In my humblest personal opinion- George W. Bush had the qualities of a man whose values are based on a part of society that ignores anyone who is not the room with you. I’m sure he’s an affable fella, but I could care less about his demeanor- he basically did the monumental bait and switch on America
using 9/11 as a stepping stone to Iraq- A move to avenge Saddam’s assassination attempt on George H. W. Bush. We’re now left with a country in financial shambles fighting a war against an entity that has been bolstered by ignorance and an attitude of arrogance without compassion.

President Obama has a long long road ahead of him- fraught with the residue of the past 8 years of insolence and intolerance -not to just to the American people but to the whole world- We’re left with looking for democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, we’re left with America turned into vicious aggressors instead of competent defenders. We’re left with worse situations in Congo, Haiti, Gaza, Pakistan and many other places. The Financial/mortgage companies, energy/oil companies, and Automotive industries gouging themselves with their (imaginary) profits- and then laying off thousands of people-destroying pensions, and driving the country into a financial recession. Where-ever there was an opportunity for expoitation GW allowed this- and Obama must try to repair.
That long Long road is one which I feel everyone can walk down. I don’t mind living lighter, although I’ve been living pretty lightly all along- thanks to the last burst bubble of 2001.
Where George Bush has told us we must be the Aggressors, That we must live in fear, That we don’t need the government in our day to day lives unless there’s oil to to be reaped or profits to be made, now we come to a place where we need to get along with the world- set an example for modernization and efficiency-and derive new technology to solve the many riddles of our existence in order that the world be a safer saner place than the one we have known for the last eight years.
Bye Bye George- don’t let the screendoor hit ya on the way out.

I intended to POST from my iphone in Prague- however i ran in to all kinds problems enumerated below:

1) International service – as provided from ATT via Vodaphone was difficult- hence the ability to post
was quite awful. Tower switching is main culprit, tower switching and wifi seems to battle each other for priority- turning off wifi didn’t help- turning off cell/data services didn’t help either. Anytime
I wanted to post something I had to restart the iPhone. most of the time the post wouldn’t go through-

2) As you can see I have several pictures in one post rather than several posts with comments. This is a problem with the WordPress iphone app, which -even when i updated it – failed for me from Europe. Though this is the latest and greatest software- it is not so great.

3) Prague, of course, was wonderful and I really wanted to send images with tiny comments all the time. Kind of a drag that it didn’t work right. I suppose I could have automated some of these features or BOUGHT some software to blog better- but …..

4) I think I’ll set up a separate Prague Blogue page and post my images from my other camera there
You should go to Prague- it is beautiful- I suggest maybe the spring when the weather and the flowers play nicely.

I woke up this morning dazed and confused to the rough purring of Bela- on the pillow next to me in the way he likes to wake me up every day. I got up, made coffee, and sat down to read the AM
emails. That’s when I recalled my dream.

I was in Harvard Square. Well Not really Harvard Square but somehow I think that’s where my dream was taking place. I was on a side street sitting outside at some restaurant’s table. The ambiance on this side street was reminiscent of a Venetian restaurant; alley-like with people walking about looking for a place to eat or simply walking past the close quarters.
I was sitting at a table and two familiar people, a man and a woman, were down the alley walking towards me. She had my iPhone and was waving it toward. He was walking with her talking about how great the iPhone is. She was bulky in a Janis Joplin kind of way. it may have been lightly raining or just high fog.
From a distance, I watched the iPhone slip out of her hand and land on the cobbled street. Ha!-
I thought – the durability of an iPhone. She picked it up (they were still coming toward me, in the way things come at you dreams but hold their distance) looked at it, suggesting it was fine.
And then it slipped out again and crashed on the street again. This time the phone was not so resilient. I went over to my friends and she picked up the phone and showed it to me. The iPhone was completely smashed up but still together- kind of like the way safety glass holds together when a rock hits a windshield on a car. Crumpled.
Oh, I thought, my iPhone is broken as I stood there with my friends. She reached in her pocket and pulled out many several large sized bills in weird denominations- 100$ 250$ 40$ 50$ – each denomination had its own bill and for some reason I think the end total was around 650$ or more.
Fast forward into the light-I’m in a similar place a street still in Harvard Square but the ambiance is brighter. My friends aren’t there but I’m talking to a friend who I know buys many iPhones. I was telling him how I was going to get a new phone and he said he just upgraded all his phones and I could buy his old ones. I was thinking at this time how this would be great since I knew he is a careful user and the phone wouldn’t be all crapped up.
Next thing I knew, I was in Harvard Square on JFK Street at the OLD SBLI photo store where I used to buy black and white photo supplies. Come to think of it- I think this dream was in black and white.I was still with my friend who directed the guy behind the counter to get his phones. The counter guy reached below the counter and pulled out two ziploc baggies, each with a gen1 iPhone. I chose one after looking at them like I was buying a Zebra fish from a pet shop and I still had a whole bunch of bills in my hand so i counted out 200$ and gave it to him.
I remember pulling the SIM card out of my crumpled iPhone and trying to put it into the new old phone. It didn’t fit- the SIM card looked too large. I was having trouble pulling it out of the crumpled iPhone but I could see it in there distinctly. That’s when the purring started. That’s when I woke up.

So, that’s my first iPhone dream.
someone once said:
“Dreams are not worth the paper they’re printed on”
that could have been me – in a dream.

This is a picture of a chair on my porch that I’m using to demo a photo and blog post from the old iiphone.

C’est fino.

I was going to Blog about iPhone 2.0 software and the radical hit on battery life in my iphone
but I figured I’d get all worked up and then start a secondary rant about mobileME and how it’s
not quite there yet-partially because anything less than a 5mbs internet connection makes it creep
slowly and is prone to stuff like sendmail failures and flaky redraws, and various Browser incompatibilities.

no no no I’m simply posting a list of links to Apples updated Mac101 “one sheets” which are succinct
and useful to the new (and old) Apple user.
so Here they are:

Mac 101: Address Book

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2486

Mac 101: Automator
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2488

Mac 101: Dashboard
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2492

Mac 101: Dictionary
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2496

Mac 101: DVD Player
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2499

Mac 101: Expose
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2503

Mac 101: Font Book
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2509

Mac 101: GarageBand
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2510

Mac 101: iCal
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2513

Mac 101: iChat
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2515

Mac 101: iDVD
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2516

Mac 101: iMovie
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2479

Mac 101: iPhoto
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2481

Mac 101: iSync
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2484

Mac 101: iTunes
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2489

Mac 101: Mac Essentials
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2477

Mac 101: Mail
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2500

Mac 101: Modify Your Windows
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2487

Mac 101: Preview
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2506

Mac 101: QuickTime Player
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2507

Mac 101: Safari
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2521

Mac 101: Spotlight
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2531

Mac 101: TextEdit
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2523

Mac 101: The Desktop
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2472

Mac 101: The Finder
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2470

Mac 101: VoiceOver
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2529