Best Price for iPod Touch

A couple of weeks ago I decided to buy myself an iPod Touch 32GB. The retail price for the 32GB version is $399. It doesn’t matter where you try and buy it (Apple Store, Best Buy, etc) since the price is pretty much controlled by Apple. You can take a chance and buy it through eBay save a few bucks and hope you are getting a new device and not being ripped or buy it for a few bucks less at Walmart. Bottom line is that along with tax you’ll drop about $425 for this gadget.

I am Costco member and buy there most of our groceries. On my visit there a couple of weeks ago I decided to check the price that they have for the iPods and was amazed to see that they had a special promotion for the iPod Touch 32GB for only $362 . This is of course for a new iPod and not refurbished. I decided to buy it right there even if it’s not as cool as buying it in the Apple store . So all together with NC sales tax I spent $386 which is about 10% discount from retail – Not bad for this bad economy. If you are looking for an iPod, take your Costco card (or find a friend that has one) and go to your local Costco store!

P.S.: Don’t bother trying to buy it online with Costco. You can only get this in their store…

I’m a PC Inside a Mac

I have been a PC user for more than 20 years now. My first PC was an IBM Compatible XT and had an 8 MHZ CPU. I remember it had a “Turbo” button that would spike the CPU to a whooping 16 MHZ. This is what kids call today “overclocking”. I went pretty much through every model possible and used the PC for games, development and work. A couple of weeks ago when the new MacBooks were released I decided to go and buy myself one. I did not get a MacBook because of Apple’s TV ads and not even because of all the negative reviews about Windows Vista. Actually the first thing that I did when I got the laptop was to use BootCamp and install Windows Vista 64bit and use it as my main OS. I’ve been using Vista 64 bit on my home desktop since the day it was released and had no problems at all with it. I found all the drivers I needed and it is a great powerful desktop that I keep on 24x7 without any glitches.

I was never a fan of MacBook and OS X. I tried using it in the past but had some basic problems which are mostly due to the fact that I’ve been using Windows for so long. The first thing that drove me crazy when I first touched a Mac was the lack of a right-click menu. I think right-click menu is the best invention in user interaction and if you think “object oriented” it makes a lot of sense. In the new MacBook, Apple went even further and killed the left-click button as well. Now to click on something you click on the whole trackpad (or you can configure to tap also). This is pretty cool and you can also enable a right-click button these days. The other thing that always seemed weird to me, is the application menu. When you open an application, the menus are not part of the application window. They are docked across the screen detached from the application itself. The menus in the dock change according to the application that is in focus which can be a little confusing to someone that is used to see menus inside the window of the application. So why did I decide to join the MacCult?

Apple (or Steve Jobs) made two smart decisions that helped them boost the number of laptops sold in the last few years and reach outside their main user base, which was graphic designers and students:

1. Switch to Intel CPUs – This was the smartest thing that Apple did since they “invented” the iPod. By using the Intel platform they transformed their cool laptops and desktops to usable hardware that more people can use by simply installing Windows instead or in addition to Apple’s OS and enjoy the best of both worlds on one computer.
2. Limit Xcode to Apple OS only – I don’t know if this was done on purpose or simply because they don’t see the need to do this on Windows, but the fact that you can develop iPhone and iPod Touch applications on Apple’s OS only means that you must buy a Mac, or try installing Leopard on a PC or VM image and violate their license agreement, if you wish to develop applications for this platform.

I decided to play with the iPhone platform because I think it is a great mobile device to develop applications for, so since I can do it only on a Mac I decided to get one and enjoy running Vista on it also for the rest of the things I need to do. I must say that so far I’m happy with the laptop. The setup of Vista was easy with all the drivers that Apple provided and it’s really nice to carry this laptop on flights. It’s much lighter than my Latitude D620 and the AC adapter that comes with the MacBook is also much smaller and lighter. The 13” screen is beautiful and its a great size to work on the airplane (even in coach when I don’t get upgraded).

ThinkPad X300 vs. MacBook Air

This humorous video shows Lenovo's opinion on the MacBook Air manila envelope commercial. Basically they claim that they provide an ultra-portable without Apple's compromises. Once you add to the MacBook Air all the extensions you need (like optical drive, USB hub etc) it is a little difficult to fit it back in that envelope .

MacBook Air Take 2

I have to say that when I saw the MacBook Air I thought to myself that this will be my first Mac. I read all the reviews of the disappointed people as to "it doesn't have enough USB ports" or "it doesn't have a CD ROM". I guess they are all missing the point. People got used to the fact that today laptops got so strong that they simply replaced the desktops. MacBook Air takes a step forward (or backwards) and says this is not your main and only machine - This is your machine on the move. And as such I think it is a great one. In any case, like it or not, you will  probably enjoy this parody on the MacBook Air by Rob Beschizza:

Hello, I'm a Mac

Although I'm a happy Vista user (yes there are happy ones..), I love the Apple commercials that show the differences between a Mac and a PC with the "cool" guy and the nerd that is supposed to look like Bill Gates. Apple just released 3 new ads to present their new OS Leopard vs. Vista. Enjoy the clips:

Technorati Tags: Apple,Microsoft,Vista,Leopard,Mac

Nano Me 3.0

My amazing soon-to-be-wife bought me the new iPod Nano 8GB for my birthday! This would be the 3rd iPod that I purchase (had the classic 3 years ago, then got the Mini and now the Nano 3.0) actually the 4th if you count the Nano 2.0 that I bought my sister. I think that Steve Jobs should start giving a couple of Apple shares if you bought more than one iPod, after all their share has been going crazy thanks to the iPod sales in the past 4 years. Who remembers today that 10 years ago the situation was so bad that there were rumors about closing the company and Microsoft came to save them and invested $150 million in Apple and in return they develop Office for Mac... Ho well... Let's stop talking business and move on to the pleasure:

The first time you hold the new Nano in your hand you think "Damn that thing is small"! At the beginning I was a bit skeptical to watch video on it because of the size of the screen, but I must say that the resolution (320x240) is amazing and after you start watching a show you don't notice the size. Besides, it beats opening your laptop in coach and try to watch a movie/show...

The battery life is great! I've downloaded from iTunes 4 free TV shows and a bunch of video Podcasts to watch on my flight to Amsterdam and after watching about 2 hours of video and hearing music the rest of the flight I only used about 25% of the battery.

The "Cover Flow" mode to browse albums is great! It's the same as on iTunes and allows you to select an album to listen by flipping through the album covers.

The only thing missing right now is a cover / case (which they still don't have in the Apple stores...) to protect this fragile beauty.