Tuesday, May 6, 2008

The iMac turns 10

I've still got one of these somewhere in the basement and, of course, there's the modern edition sitting on my desk on which I type these very words. Happy 10th birthday, iMac!

Friday, July 13, 2007

iPhone: Meet the grandparents

I love this photoset of an iPhone alongside a Newton.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

I will iPhone

We're just a couple of days away from what the media are frequently reminding us is one of the most anticipated personal electronics launches in history, the release of the Apple iPhone. From the very product announcement, I was certain that I would own one, someday. But I've relaxed my tendency to live on the bleeding edge. I will wait, I thought, until my current cell phone contract runs out, about a year hence. By then, there will probably be a new version with more features and even more whiz-bang.

Then I watched this video and decided I needed one sooner. Much sooner. With any luck, I'll own an iPhone by summer's end and will tithe the penalty to be released from my current contract with pleasure.

Here's the thing: I'm not unhappy with my current phone. In fact, the Treo 650 I've been toting is probably the best I've ever owned. It permitted me to give away my Palm organizer, stop fretting about toting a camera everywhere I went, gives me a great sounding phone experience on a broad Sprint network and serves as a perfectly acceptable—considering its limitations—web and e-mail device.

And it looks antique next to the iPhone. Which will, oh yes, be mine.

That's because it's that last bit of feature I've come to rely on the most: access to e-mail and, especially, the web. And that's what all of the reviews to date (1, 2, 3) say the iPhone does best.

I can't get away from the phone; I'm in the professional communications business after all. But even sitting at my desk, even spending a few hours a day on the phone, I spend much more time in the web browser and pushing e-mail around. It has changed the way my business works and drastically reduced the number of people I actually have to speak with daily. If you took the phone off my desk tomorrow, I'd adjust and hardly miss a beat. I can't do my job these days without Eudora or Firefox.

So what I need most when I'm out and about (and not schlepping a lightweight laptop) is a great e-mail machine, a web browser, my calendar and contacts and a phone—in that order. That's what the iPhone appears to be. If I can use it to update the websites I administer, dash off e-mail replies to media queries, do modest research while I'm stuck at an airport gate (and, more than occasionally, consult the IMDb to settle a bar bet), manage my schedule and even from time to time call my mom, then it's exactly what I need.

The web is my backup brain (with apologies to Tom and Dori) and I can't wait for the iPhone to help me make a synaptic connection.

Can't. Wait.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

links for 2007-03-01

• the show with zefrank: ray
  Ze meets Ray, right in my own backyard. Amazing.
  (tags: zefrank stlouis)
• Don't you?
  Well, don't you?
  (tags: beaarthur)
• iPhone Matters
  A weblog for everything iPhone/
  (tags: macintosh apple iphone)

Sunday, January 14, 2007

links for 2007-01-14

• The Complete Apple Keynote Collection - The Pirate Bay
  [this is insanely great]
  (tags: apple macintosh)

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Fudge Packer and Pearl Necklace

• Piracy is Good? How Battlestar Galactica Killed Broadcast TV
  Hard to believe this piece is over a year old.
  (tags: bittorrent battlestargalactica entertainmentj)
• Apple Store - Fifth Avenue
  If you build it, they will come. In this case, the "it" is the 24-hour glass cube-topped Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York. Here's a time-lapse Quicktime movie (in segments) of the store's first 24 hours.
  (tags: apple macintosh)
• pearl necklace on Flickr
  Oh, come on. Everyone loves a pearl necklace.
  (tags: bathhouse humor)
• Billy's Dad is a Fudge Packer!
  Will Billy grow up to be a fudge packer like his dad? Starring Robert Gant, Cady Huffman and Alex Borstein.
  (tags: gay humor)

Friday, July 23, 1999

Sort of an ice cream theme

Peter sez the tangerine iBook reminds him of a creamsicle. So, is it just me or does the color schemes remind anyone else of the old Howard Johnson design concept? (Either way, I have a serious case of iBook lust. Consider that puppy pre-ordered!)

Friday, July 17, 1998

NewHoo debut

Sign of the Times? Spotted on a Methodist church in the Central West End: "Sun Worship 11 am"

I'm Re-reading Sedaris: "Snowball just leads elves on, elves and Santas. He is playing a dangerous game." — from "Santaland Diaries"

The Daily Instigator Watch continues. ("Not as late as Windows 98")

...and The Loser Chronicles seem to have gone AWOL. Any sightings?

A new weblog appears, nice looking and substantive (although not recently updated). Say hello to Pigs and Fishes. [Heads up from Robot Wisdom]

Apple Computer is doing just fine, thankyouverymuch, with 3rd quarter profits that have even former naysayers ceasing their search for adjective synonyms for "beleaguered." Meanwhile, it looks like Tom Hanks is gonna play Steve Jobs in the movie! [Daily Variety]

The proprietor of the impressive Obscure Store & Reading Room has an equally impressive account of his observations at the Jeffrey Dahmer trial. [Obscure Store]

An Internet Directory to Watch: The volunteer-built NewHoo. (Editors wanted!)

A concise and cogent debriefing of the recent Supreme Court decency in the arts ruling, by a writer who clearly "gets" Karen Finley. [Kansas City Star]

Build your own supercomputer, for fun and profit. [Lotus.dev, heads up from my buddy Chris]

Assume the missionary position with these wacky tracts. [Brunching Shuttlecocks]

And speaking of the missionary position (ahem!), have you heard the brouhaha about Our First Time? Smells like a really slick publicity stunt: Two "teens" plan to lose their virginity live on the Internet.

• Media Falls Hard For "First Time" Sex Site [TechWeb]
• Their First Time? [Brunching Shuttlecocks]

Friday, July 10, 1998

Who’s next?

MacWorld Expo continues in New York, and it's (almost) all about iMac. Check out major web coverage:

• Macintosh News Network
• MacInTouch
• MacAddict
• MacSurfer
• MacCentral

And, of course...

• Apple Computer
• AAPL Stock Price [via Yahoo]

Coming soon: Why Brad is trodding the boards in St. Louis once more...and why viewer discretion is advised.

Brown Out: Certainly not something a lot of folks didn't see coming, but yesterday, Tina Brown went and made it official—she's stepping down as editor of The New Yorker. The former Vanity Fair editor weathered her share of criticism, some of it valid, some of it petty. I, for one, enjoyed the mag under her leadership. Here's some coverage:

• Tina Brown Quits The New Yorker [Washington Post]
• Hot Copy Takes Note (about midway down)

So...who's next? Well, Graydon Carter—who succeeded Tina Brown when she left VF is near the top of everyone's armchair short-lists, but reportedly turned down the gig last week. The speculation about Spy's Kurt Andersen is intriguing, no?

Free food alert: My friends and former co-workers at the Times are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a picnic bash come Monday.

Buy vintage stuff on the Web at Po' White Trash! (I haven't had time to completely browse, but this could be a lot of fun!)

An interesting exercise in hypertext (and a fairly good read, too) debriefs The X-Files. [Feed]

Monday, June 1, 1998

June 1, 1998

"This is the theme to Garry's show, the opening theme to Garry's show. Garry called me up and asked if I would write his theme song. I'm almost halfway finished. How do you like it so far? This is the theme to Garry Shandling's show." -- Randy Newman, It's Garry Shandling's Show theme song

Look, ma! I'm a domain! It's official: The BradLands now have a home of their own. Starting here, starting now, this site and all its descendents make the move to www.bradlands.com. Put it in your bookmarks and come back often. (Along with my new domain name comes a new e-mail address. Please direct your correspondence to sitemail@bradlands.com.)

Here's something cool: The history of Apple Computer, told through the tee-shirts made up for each project team. Almost even cooler than the website is the pricey coffee-table book it's hawking. I'm saving my pennies.

On a related note, the (non-tee-shirt) history of the Apple ][ computer, the platform on which I cut my programming teeth.

What I've added to the 'To Read' pile: Cavedweller by Dorothy Allison, the subject of this Salon Magazine interview.

Have a little fun with consumer culture at www.placing.com. You can even play along. (You've heard of Carl Steadman, haven't you?)

What I Believe In, #23: I don't believe in cavernous monster-chain bookstores with contrived-to-be-hip coffeehouses tucked in a corner. I do believe in friendly, locally-owned, small bookstores with genuinely hip coffeehouses next door.