May 2001

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Tuesday, May 15, 2001

 

Win, Lose or Ti-

Monday at lunch, I decided to look at portables to purchase in time for WWDC. As many of you are aware, Apple has two lines for their portables: the Consumer line (which are the iBooks) and the Professional line (which most recently is the Titanium portables, knicknamed the Ti-Book). The Ti-Books were announced in the last few months, have an especially wide screen, fast G4 processor, and made with commercial grade Titanium. For quite some time, I had decided that this would be the first portable I would buy for myself (despite being a bit pricey at $2599). However, my friend from Apple (who is on the iBook team) recommended that I wait until May before making my decision. He wouldn't say why, but I knew enough to trust him. And sure enough, the new iBooks were introduced, knicknamed the iceBook for its color.

Unfortunately, these iceBooks are extremely scarce, going faster than new Macintosh knicknames. However, I had the fortune of finding the only one left in Ann Arbor (four had come in that morning, and this was the last one left at noon). Seduced by its simplicity of design and affordable price ($1295 for a 500MHz G3 portable), I went ahead and bought it. I was so proud to show it off to my co-workers and they all drooled.

But in the back of my mind, the doubt of my decision began to grow. Sure the iBooks were cool, but they weren't exactly cutting edge. They were in fact, not terribly different than my old G3 portable at Kodak, except much faster and much lighter. By 3:00 that afternoon, I had changed my mind, returned this rare find of a portable for the one true love, my Titanium portable.

I should mention that my co-workers teased me relentlessly about it, making impulsive decisions and then changing my mind within two hours. Remember though that my decision was not based upon anything negative about the iBook, but the coolness of the Ti-Book was too irresistible.

As an aside, TJ called me by cell on my way to return the iBook, as he was in search of one in time for WWDC. He had contemplated even buying mine and having me FedEx it out to him that day, but TJ wanted the DVD model, and I had the CD model. Regardless, it was still good to hear from him, and we will be hooking up in San Jose this weekend.

 

"Get Your Stinkin' Paws Off Me, You Damned Dirty Ape!"

For you movie buffs with broadband internet connectivity, definitely check out the new Planet of the Apes movie web site. It is way cool with a kick-ass trailer. Hopefully the movie will be as good as the web site.

 

 

Thursday, May 10, 2001

 

Long Wait

My apologies for the three week delay, as I have been exceptionally busy, so there has been less to report. With no further delays...

 

Truth, Justice and the American Way

On April 21st, I finally got to see the Director's cut Superman the Movie on the big screen. The event was hosted by Jay Towers, the morning DJ of Detroit's #1 radio station WDRQ. Like me, Jay has always been a big fan of the movie, with this being his all-time favorite. He pulled some strings from people he knew in san Antonio to be able to give this private showing. I wrote a review of the event, which got posted in an article at Superman Cinema.

The extra scenes were fantastic, particularly the additional Fortress of Solitude scene after Superman's first night. The audio rework was very impressive, although I didn't care for all of the changes they made for the sound effects. It seems they went a little overboard with them, and it detracted from the musical score; however, I admit that this a minor quibble for most people.

This same Director's cut is on the Superman DVD released on May 1st, which put an end to the hopes of a nationwide theatrical re-release. All four films are now on DVD, although only the first one got the extras and special attention. It should be available at any Blockbuster or Hollywood Video to rent. Also, this cut of the film will be shown on the Turner Classic Movies cable station on June 2nd and August 31st.

Now that this has finally come to an end, will you all miss my constantly talking about it??

 

Hats Off to the Driver's Group!

Life goes on at Kodak without me, sad as that may sound. When I spoke with the Driver's group last week, they all seemed quite well, and I found myself missing them terribly. Ed was kind enough to email me a picture of a Hat Day occassion they had in April. Click on the picture to see it larger. I noticed some people missing, so I can only speculate what hats might have been worn by Lee, Gary or Kathy. As for me, I think I might have been seen wearing this one.

 

Just the Facts, Ma'am.

Those of you who have been keeping up with the journal since its inception will recall my encounter with highway law enforcment. On Wednesday, I appeared in court to state my case. To remind you, I was tagged doing 42 in a 25, and yes, I was as guilty as all Microsoft (that's my new phrase I'm starting, please start using it). In New York State, to reduce your points, you must plead Not Guilty, and they'll cut you a deal by reducing the speed. Usually, you end up paying the same fine, but you'll get fewer points.

In Michigan, it works differently: instead of two, you have three pleas to choose from: Not Guilty, Guilty, and Guilty with an Explanation, and it's the last one that you want to knock down the fine. Unfortunately, that does not affect the points, which means more to me than the fine itself. However, in a college town such as this, they are so accustomed to student drivers speeding, it doesn't pay them to negotiate. In any event, I showed up at the appointed time of 11:30AM. Judge Sexsmith (yes, his really name) informs me that Officer DeGrand (again, real name) is away on funeral leave, so he is dismissing my case. I couldn't contain myself and burst out "Woohoo! In your face, Judge!!" Actually, it came out sounding more like "Thank you, your Honor", but I'm sure he knew what I really meant.



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