The Sorcerer's Apprentice Trailer

Since magic is all the rage these days, Disney is dipping into the dark arts and pulling "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" out of it's hat. Directed by Jon Turtletaub (who might or might not be turtle'y enough for your turtle club) and starring Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Alfred Molina, it doesn't look like it has much in common with the "Fantasia" short that might have inspired it, but it still looks decent enough to watch thanks to super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer throwing tons of money at this project. The trailer looks pretty slick and, despite the presence of Nick Cage, pretty darn good. Check out the trailer in YouTube format, or, for the more discerning trailer watcher, click on this link to take you to the Apple page for all sorts of Quicktime options. This movie comes out in 2010.

Couples Retreat Trailer

"Couples Retreat", for all intents and purposes, is something I should have no interest in watching. It's a little formulaic and decidedly intended for women. But, just like the latest batch of romantic comedies that I have enjoyed (ex: "I Love You, Man" and "Away We Go") it seems to incorporate elements that even I can enjoy. I might even take the wife to go see this, and I'll be a fucking hero for choosing a movie that doesn't have explosions or transforming robots. Check out the YouTube trailer above, and for the more discerning trailer viewers, check out the movie's Apple trailer page for more pristine viewing.

Zombieland Trailer

"Zombieland" is something I had heard about a few months ago, but didn't know much about it other than it's supposed to be a zombie comedy starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin. Now, Apple has the trailer for the movie, in Quicktime, for your zombie viewing pleasure here. From the looks of the trailer, it seems like this might be a pretty fun movie. Take a peek at the trailer and get ready to visit "Zombieland" when it opens in wide release later this year.

Update: For those that don't have Quicktime, and don't like to be re-directed to other sites for trailer-viewing purposes, here's a streaming version of the trailer courtesy of Youtube.

Terminator Salvation - 4 Minute Extended Trailer

The summer 2009 movie season is in full effect now. All those movies you heard about last year and have eagerly been anticipating are starting to get released to audiences looking to be wow'ed. "Terminator: Salvation" is one of those movies. Apple has a 4 minute extended trailer up on their site that you can view (if you have Quicktime) to get you pumped up and ready to fight SkyNet. Check that out, and get ready for the beginning of the end (just quoting the poster) on 05/21/2009. Click on this link and choose your HD poison.

The Mojave Experiment - Ground Breaking?

Oh Microsoft. Lately, everywhere I go on the internets, I'm running into banner ads for this "Mojave Experiment" that Microsoft is trying to push on us to drum up some good publicity for Windows Vista. I get it. Your much bally-hooed operating system is crap and you want to sell some more copies of it. I guess they got a bunch of people into a focus group session and made sure their only exposure to computers excluded everything except other Windows OS versions. There's a couple of videos in their video wall of people reacting to something Microsoft is calling "Instant Search". It's ground breaking apparently.

If it hadn't been around forever and a day ago in my beloved Mac OSX. And not even the latest one. I'm still rocking version 10.4. You can head on out to this website to check out Microsoft going on and on about this feature, and other features that are new to them, but have been around for quite some time for Mac users. Oh, and just for shits and giggles, I decided to do my own search for my computer's calculator application using "Spotlight". Check it out.

Haha! Suck it Microsoft! I found my calculator (not that I didn't already know where it was anyway) without using Windows Vista.

Watching the Watchmen

Zack Snyder, the genius behind "300" and the "Dawn of the Dead" remake, has a trailer up for his new movie "Watchmen" up. I included the YouTube version for quick viewing, but you have to head on over to Apple for a much nicer, crisper, Quicktime trailer. You'll love the difference. Oh, and this movie looks bad ass. Really sweet trailer too. I'm totally geeking out right now.

Mac OSX: Leopard

If you've been thinking about switching from that piece of crap Windows based PC, to an Apple based operating system, I don't think there's a better time. I'm not making a sales pitch, but the new version of OSX is coming out in a couple of days, and from watching the preview over at the Apple website, it has totally blown my mind. Here I thought that my current Mac operating system was superior to that new Windows Vista system. Leopard just widens that gap. I could go on and on, but you can check out the video here. You'll need Quicktime, and a high speed connection. That page is for the large version of the video. I specially can't wait to mess around with "Time Machine" and "Spaces" . . . and the new "Finder" is so much better improved. But, I'm just rambling now. Leopard will come pre-installed with any new Mac computer you buy after 2 days from now. And hey, you can access the Apple store using that conveniently placed banner ad at the top of this blog. Hmm . . . how'd that get there anyway.

I guess I was making a sales pitch all along.

XBOX 360 Boxed Up

Today, I send out my XBOX 360 for repair. I had the red-ring-of-death hit my most favorite gaming console at the beginning of the week, and Microsoft finally delivered the packaging needed to send it to their repair center in Texas. Why Texas? I don't know, but it seems to be a pretty popular place to get your shit repaired, specially if it has to do something with technology. I remember the last couple of times that I had to send in my Apple iBook (before I got the intel-based MacBook) for repairs for a faulty motherboard, it went to Texas as well. I don't know what they do over there. Maybe strap it on to a mechanical bull and the rest is Texas-magic. But whatever they do, I hope they can get it back to me before the 4th of November. Partly because I miss playing games, and Gamefly just delivered "Beautiful Katamari", a game both my wife and I had been dying to play since we downloaded the demo, but also because I will be going out of town for a week, and when they return the XBOX 360, they need a signature to confirm delivery. If I'm not here, I can't sign for it. And that would be pretty fucking inconvenient if they have to send it back to Texas because I wasn't around. But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully it can be back here and hooked up within the next couple of weeks.

It might be a good idea to call up Microsoft to see if they can arrange a delivery either before or after I come back. That's something worth thinking about. But now, I must venture out into the world so I can find me one of those UPS stores, so I can send the broken bitch to get fixed.

Techno-Addiction - MacBook

It was bound to happen. My old G3 iBook (nearly 4 1/2 years old) was in bad shape. So, the hell with bills and debt. We went out to the Apple Store in Pasadena and picked up this baby for a pretty penny (actual amount of pennies with-held) and a free printer after mail-in rebate. Sure, I could have waited until I actually had the money to buy one of these, but screw waiting. I had been dealing with a screen on a laptop that lasted a minute tops before it became a garbled mess of greens and purples. It actually looked like I had somehow tapped into "The Matrix". So, I bit the credit card bullet and plunked down for this sweet computer. Tech-specs for the geeks as follow:

2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
80 GB Hard-Drive
Superdrive (DVD-R/CD-R)
Airport Extreme & Bluetooth
13.3 inch Widescreen display
64 MB of VRAM
2 USB ports & 1 Firewire port
Mac OSX 10.4.8

And it's perfect timing as well, since my days at technical support are numbered (and can be counted with 2 fingers . . . more on that later), my co-workers won't be able to rag on me for not getting a piece of crap PC running Vista. We tend to butt heads when the Apple vs. Windows debate comes up, and I'm usually the only one on my side. Just because I don't want to dry hump the ground Bill Gates walks on. And, I'm blogging 5 minutes after going through the fairly easy to get through set-up. Try that with your PC, bitches.

Techno-Addiction - iPod Shuffle

My wife and I bought each other iPod Shuffles for Valentine's Day this past weekend. And yes, we have been using them since. Hey, it's a fake holiday invented by Oprah Winfrey and Hallmark . . . the hell we're going to adhere to the actual date of to give each other our presents. But seriously, who could wait to get their hands on these tiny wonders. I'm listening to my silver one (Heather got the green one . . . because of her Irish pride. No, they did not have a beer-colored one) right now as I write this post, and it makes the time go by much faster while responding to technical support e-mails. It almost makes me want to not punch my computer screen every time I open up a message from another incompetent anti-virus user.

So, tech specs? Um, it holds 1 GB of music. No screen, but that is by design. The iPod Shuffle mixes your music for you and never throws out the same play list twice at you. It is thin, just a little larger than 1/2 of my thumb (it goes from the tip to just past the knuckle) and it is infinitely cooler than anything Creative Labs has to offer. Like I told my associate, Mike V., who moonlights as a rep for them . . . "If this thing had an FM tuner like the ones your company tries to sell, it'd be as big as a beeper. Who needs that?" He just laughed, and called it the Anti-Christ.

Smart-Vertising - Apple Taunts Vista

I love these Apple commercials. I'm just a Mac-geek I guess. And it's not just some un-warranted shot at the process of upgrading Vista. My step-father is thinking about updating his computer so he can run the new operating system and it's most likely going to cost him in the 4 - 5 hundred dollar range. Also, the ad below is another clever way of pointing out just why Apple is better than PCs.

Vista "Innovation"

I was at the Best Buy yesterday, trying to explain to an aunt of mine the folly of buying a Windows-based PC. So, we were in the laptop aisle, and the store had a couple of Vista-ready machines on display. No prices, because Vista is not released until tomorrow. Actually, funny side note on this. If someone were to actually ring up a computer with Vista installed on it, the Best Buy registers would ring them up with a value of $10,000.00. Yeah, this would be to deter any before the launch sales of PC's with the operating system (OS) in them.

So, back to my observation of the so-called innovations that Vista is packing. Sure, you can put full motion videos of a babbling brook as your background (who cares?) and it all looks "prettier" now. Kinda pretty like a Mac . . . hmm . . . we'll get back to that in a paragraph. But it all taxes your system to the tune of 1 Gig of RAM. To handle the new OS. What are all the people that are still running 256 MB's of RAM or less that we talk to everyday. "Buy a new computer" I guess is what they'll be hearing a lot. Good for commerce. Fucked up for the consumer if you ask me.

And, here's what I'm a little worked up about today. Vista Gadgets. Take a look at these.

It's the ones on the far right of the screen shot. They sure do look helpful right. Nice to have the weather and the time (although, computers already have a clock on the bottom right-hand corner) and other things that tell you about whatever you might want to know. It's nice. It was even nicer almost two years ago when Apple's OS 10.4 came out. It had a little thing called "Widgets". Take a look.

Oh my God (OMG for the cool kids), it's like totally the same thing. Sure, Apple's is less obtrusive, since with a touch of a key on your keyboard then disappear and then come back with the same keystroke. With Vista's . . . they're there unless you turn them off . . . individually . . . what a chore. I'm sure there's a "easier" way to do this, but for the average computer user (or, as they like to call themselves - computer stupid) they're always going to have the "Gadget" just sitting there, taking up real estate on their computer monitors. So, even when Windows clearly borrows (or steals if you want my opinion) from Apple, they don't do it right.

Enjoy your new Vista-ready PC's you dumb fucktards. Remember, those innovations . . . we Apple users have already had for at least a couple of years.

Still Drooling - Apple iPhone in Action

Goddamn it . . . I need this phone. And I need a new computer. I hope I get my settlement money soon, 'cause I totally need some of this cellphone action. Hmm . . . that reminds me, I have to call the lawyers. Anyway, check out this video and drool over just how uncool this phone makes your phone look.

iPhone Dials up my Interest

Well, the time has finally come. The iPhone from Apple is revealed . . . and it indeed does not have buttons. It also does not look like the previously leaked image that can be found in that perma-link there. So, the information was a little off. Who cares, look at that thing. It runs OSX, aka - what Windows Vista wants so badly to be. It's 11 mm thick. That's millimeters. Get metric already. That's 1.1 centimeters thin, or, if you want to use the British measurement scale, it translates to roughly "thinner than anything out there". So, how do you use it? Well, it will have a stylus-free, multi-finger touchscreen interface. It contains motion-sensors to detect orientation. So if you hold it sideways, the display will flip to accommodate you. Automatically senses when you put it to your ear and turns off sound and picture. It connects with your iPod, and syncs with iTunes to show video and pictures and play MP3s. Allows real-time scrolling of music either stored on the phone or through connected iPod. And, it senses ambient light levels and adjusts display to optimum quality. It also gives Jaimes multiple orgasms when you put it up to their ear(s). So, there it is. Who's getting one?

UPDATE!
OMG OMG OMG. This picture is much better than my original picture, and can be found as part of Gizmodo's MacWorld coverage. Thanks to Ryan for bringing that to my attention. This cellphone's like the 2nd coming of Jesus.

Calling all Mac-Addicts - iPhone?

While I'm not big on cell-phones (why do they work everywhere except your own home?!), this leaked, potential design for the long-rumored iPhone is intriguing. I mean, no buttons? Is it as big as a Nano? What gives? It looks much nicer than my current LG cellphone, but just how much is Apple expecting its rabid fan-base (I include myself in that category) to pay for this? So many questions. I'll be making a phone call this weekend. Part wishing someone a merry X-mas, and part information gathering.