Apple WWDC Keynote - Thrills and Disappointments

So Apple has announced the new updated MacBook Pro lineup and the new iPhone 3GS. These have been highly anticipated, especially the iPhone announcement.

I'm glad to see that the new MacBook Pros inherited some of the slightly older 17" MacBook Pro's features. The new MacBook Pros now have the better battery life, faster processors, more memory supported, bigger hard drives and a lot of generally excellent upgrades. At a reduced price! Very tempting!

Personally, I was hoping that the iPhone would be a worthwhile update, and it seems that it is. EXCEPT, for the fact that with AT&T, no tethering... yet... no MMS... yet... the pricing for people who bought their iPhones a little bit later is also a lot higher, the announced prices are mostly for people who have had their iPhones for 18 months or longer... that mostly tells current 3G owners to piss off or pay the higher prices. Really disappointing.

I guess I'll have to be happy with my current iPhone 3G for a little while longer, or maybe wait for the next version.

Boredom does strange things...

So I saw this while waiting for Terminator Salvation to start... Edit Your Own video for Hyundai. Here's my first rough effort.

Edit: Hrm... the sound track didn't seem to make it in the embedded video. :(
Here's a direct link, hopefully you get the soundtrack: Scream and Rush.

Manny Pacquiao KOs Ricky Hatton

After 2 knockdowns in the first round, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao knocks Ricky Hatton out in the last few seconds of the second round. That was an amazing fight last night. The Pacman showed that he is still the "pound for pound" best fighter in the world.

Congratulations!

Amateur Radio

It has been a while since I last got on the air using any of my radios. I have to admit, I have been slacking in that department. I really should make better use of my Amateur Radio License. So, right now, I am charging up my radios and batteries, and I am planning on going on a ham radio outing this weekend.

Not quite sure where I want to go yet, or if I'm going, but if I do decide to go, at least all my gear will be charged and ready to go! Being part of the local ARES/RACES group here, I really should have my gear ready just in case we get called upon to help out. It has been a while since I've been to an ARES/RACES meeting or to a PAARA meeting.

Well, the next PAARA meeting will be on the first Friday of May, and that's next week! Hopefully, I can go and meet up with some of my ham radio friends and catch up with everything that's been happening in the radio world.

Amazon Kindle 2

About three weeks ago, I bought the new Amazon Kindle 2 as well as the Leather Cover that Amazon sells for the Kindle 2. At first, I was just planning to use the Kindle for the various reference books that I buy for work and other personal projects. Then after receiving the Kindle, I have since bought several books, and have yet to buy a reference book!

I'm very happy with my Kindle, and take it almost everywhere with me. At first, I was a bit worried about the image quality, but needless to say, I am very happy with it. And I have found that the display is indeed easy on the eyes, much better than a bright LCD screen. I find that I can read on the Kindle much longer than I do on a regular LCD screen like my laptop!

I like having a bunch of books with me. Whenever I feel stressed out, I can take out the Kindle and lose myself in a few pages of any of the books that are stored on the Kindle. I also like the other features of the Kindle such as being able to browse the web, albeit at a lot less snappier pace than say, on my iPhone 3G. It's not the network, but the display it seems. Then again, the Kindle is not built to be used as an Internet browsing device.

Buying books on the Kindle is easy, and the Whispernet delivery is fast! Although, I would prefer to use a shopping cart over Amazon's One-Click purchasing, it is not a deal breaker for me. All-in-all, a very nice gadget, and definitely something that I will use for a long time!

Tax Day...

Tax day is almost over and done with... 59 minutes to go. Have you finished yours?

Catching up...

So, I keep doing this... neglecting my blog, then playing catch up after a few months of neglect. I went back to Manila last January for a few things...

Mike and Thess got married... again...

And my Dad celebrated his 75th Birthday:

As usual, pictures on Flickr and Multiply.

More Test Photos..

Just got home from Petaluma, CA for a test shoot with Jessica who's getting married in June... check out some of the photos:

Multiply

Flickr

Update: Heh... had the links going to the wrong places... fixed now.

MacHeist Bundle.. last 4 days! (updated)

MacHeist's insane bundle is still on sale for $39.

Update 2: The breached the $500K amount, unlocking "The Hit List" and "Espresso". Awesome deal if you ask me.

Update: BoinxTV was just unlocked after reaching the $400K amount for charity. "The Hit List" and "Espresso" are going to get unlocked once the $500K amount is reached. They also added "Times" as an unlocked application as well.

This is getting better and better! 2 days to go!

12 Applications included (currently 10 are unlocked)

iSale
Picturesque
SousChef
World of Goo
PhoneView (I love this one!)
LittleSnapper
Acorn
Kinemac
WireTap Studio
Cro-Mag Rally

25% of the proceeds go to charity. Not bad at all. Click on the link and find out!

MacHeist

Neglected Blog

Yes, I have been neglecting my blog for the last 6 months. Maybe this time I won't let too long a gap in between posts...

Things I've been up to... let me try to catch up on that...

Winston, Kyla and I have been practicing our photography using Winston's strobes... check out our results on my Flickr page or my Multiply Account.