The handset is centered around a 480 x 800 4.3-inch TFT LCD, with a Snapdragon QSD8650 1GHz processor under the hood (the CDMA version of the QSD8250 in the HD2 and Nexus One), and even a helpful 1GB of built-in memory and 512MB of RAM — hello app storage! Even the battery is bigger than the HD2, and the camera is an 8 megapixel monstrosity with flash, that’s capable of 720p video, and is augmented by a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for good measure. The phone features HDMI out (though you’ll need an adapter for turning it into a TV-familiar HDMI plug), 802.11b/g WiFi, and an 8GB microSD card. There’s that still-rare Android 2.1 underneath an updated version of HTC’s Sense UI. But… despite all these wild features, what actually sets the EVO 4G apart is the fact that it’s Sprint’s first 4G phone. The handset runs a combo of EV-DO Rev. A and WiMAX, with calls still being made over CDMA and the EV-DO / WiMAX options for data.
UPDATE: I beat all the big tech blogs to the punch with this news 🙂 But there’s more detail about the phone coming out now, including the fact that Qik will be providing an app for two-way video chat. Also, Gizmodo has the press release and notes that 4G will cost an extra $10/month, and the tethering an extra $30/month. Ouch, but still yummy.
I’ve actually been stereotypically awol in blog posts in my “Fitness” category. But there actually has been recent movement on that front; we bought an elliptical machine which I’ve been making regular use of (averaging 4x a week, 25min) and I got my cholesterol and vitamin D levels checked as part of a basic checkup. I’ve started taking multivitamins, and am taking daily 5000 IU of D3 since I’m highly deficient. Plus my cholesterol is a normal-but-high 169 and my HDL is a baseline-minimum-normal 40. So, there’s room for improvement, and I’ve started reducing my fast food accordingly (but not enough).
I haven’t totally changed my lifestyle around but I am making these initial, positive steps (exercise, diet, and supplements). In a couple of months I have a follow up and lets see what effect it has.
Now, I’m going to go to a conference for a week, and get very little sleep, no exercise, and eat junk the whole time. sigh. I’ve got my vitamins, though!
I’m going on a trip to Stockholm tomorrow, for my annual conference. Will try to post photos etc. In the meantime, any suggestions on essential things to do there would be welcome… probably won’t have any time to do anything extra-curricular, but who knows.
How do you take a comic steeped in cold war ideology, fixated upon a Vietnam war vet who becomes a philandering tycoon that rubs elbows with gods, monsters and superheroes and translate that into a viable franchise for a post-9/11 world? Favreau’s answer was to focus on the character, surrounding him with a terrific supporting cast whose primary objective is to wrangle Tony, while peppering the landscape with robots, power suits and plenty of explosive mayhem. He is played as the very antithesis of Batman: while Batman is the brooding hero pretending to be a rich socialite, Stark is the rich socialite moonlighting as a brooding hero. And Stark has better toys.
I really didn’t find the first Iron Man movie that interesting, and have never really been a fan. I might have to check IM2 out, though, on the basis of this alone.
I found this via Mark Ashley‘s indispensable air-traveller blog. Mark notes,
You’ll notice some gaps, especially over France. That doesn’t mean that there’s no radar over French airspace. Rather, the website’s data are gathered by individual aviation enthusiasts who hook receivers up to their computers, to capture and track planes with ADS-B transponders. It’s an enthusiast community, sorta like HAM radio operators. (I’ll defer to the site’s “About†link for an explanation, since I claim no expertise in transponders.)
But regardless of the technology driving the site, it’s a neat video. You’ll notice a few test flights, some flying a loop. Then a few more. And then, the deluge.
In particular, note the impact when London Heathrow comes online. A behemoth.
All this is particularly reassuring to me personally as I have a little trip to Europe myself coming up.
Steven links to a “rock solid” argument that Batman would beat Superman in a fight, with caveats about “winning”. I find it highly circular, however (aren’t all tautologies “rock solid” by definition?).
The premises – that Supes is dumber, that Batman is more canny, that Supes is more moral – create a very restricted scenario. I can provide a much more compelling argument about the outcome of any hypothetical match, without any axioms whatsoever. All we need to do are make the following observations:
* Superman can fly, has super strength, and heat and xray vision
* Batman has access to Kryptonite, money, and technology
So, the scenario:
1. Batman prepares complex, expensive scheme involving technology and kryptonite
2. Superman arrives on scene, and from aerial position uses xray vision to locate threat, and thus maintain sufficient distance to avoid effect of Kryptonite
3. Superman melts Batman’s technology using heat vision
There’s no scenario in which Batman can deliver the kryptonite to a threatening distance to disable Superman. The fact that Lex Luthor routinely achieved this in the comics, however, is more a failure of imagination on the part of Superman’s writers than Superman’s abilities.
In fact, I will postulate that Superman’s powers effectively render him invincible even to kryptonite since there is no scenario in which kryptonite’s radius of influence can exceed Superman’s area of influence via heat vision and xray vision, or ability to escape via flight and super strength.
This is the problem with Superman, in a nutshell: he’s super. Essentially, he is a god, something barely ever hinted at in the TV and movies and rarely addressed in the comics. There’s really only one ending to the story of Superman, no matter what universe or storyline or timeline you are in: Superman decides to rule the Earth. The tyranny will come, it must come, inexorably. The logic of this is quite simple:
– Superman routinely uses his powers to intervene in human affairs
– Superman routinely makes choices, therefore, about what human affairs to intervene in
– People close to Superman benefit disproportionately from Superman’s intervention
Therefore, Superman is already making decisions about life and death on behalf of the human race. And doing so with no more omniscient wisdom than the most erratic Greek gods – namely, none. He’s ruled by human impulses and acts on them with godlike power. That means that for all his alien-ness, he is still susceptible to the basic law of human civilization: absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The battle lines are being drawn, with technology companies on the right side and the network/media companies on the wrong side. Luckily, the FCC commissioner looks ready to fight.
via AICN I see that there’s a Voltron movie planned, and continued rumblings about Robotech:
MTV Splash Page notes that “The Losers” director Sylvain White has expressed interest in helming an adaptation of the classic “Robotech” animated series.
“Well, [‘Robotech’ is] not a project that’s greenlit,” related White during an appearance at last weekend’s WonderCon (via Sci-Fi Wire). “It’s a great cult series. When it came out, I actually saw it in France, growing up. I saw it in French. It’s a pretty amazing cartoon. And I’m hoping it’s going to come to fruition.”
“I read a draft that’s really good,” continued White. “I’m interested in doing it, but the project is not fast tracked or anything like that, so there’s no official thing. There’s no deal… They sent me a draft. I liked it. It’s a work in progress.”
Robotech was Harmony Gold’s compiled localization of mecha anime “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross,” “The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross” and “Genesis Climber Mospeada.” However, given the level difficulties involved, a movie is more likely to be weighed toward South Cross and Mospeada than the moe popular Macross.
(…)
Corona Coming Attractions reports that efforts to make a Voltron movie are back to square one. Neither the Justin Marks script nor the more recent Jeff Davis rewrite will be the shooting script; the production is officially in “reboot mode” and Max Makowski is no longer attached to direct.
neither of these looks to be approaching production status anytime soon. However, there’s a website for a Gurren Lagann movie, which in many ways would be far cooler than either of the others.
What is it with mecha mania? I wonder if the Transformers movies have given a boost to the genre, or whether they are perceived as a separate sub-genre?
I admire the iPad. It’s a marvel of engineering and all things geek service. In fact, Netflix and Kindle are probably the killer apps for obvious reasons of color and viewing size. But technolust aside, it doesn’t replace any of the screens I use on a regular basis: my television, my phone, my PC, and my portable entertainment device(s). And at $500, for vastly reduced functionality relative to a comparably-priced netbook, it’s purely a status symbol and luxury item rather than a genuine productivity tool or primary entertainment device. (Plus, I hear the wi-fi doesn’t work so well…)
Steve Jobs’ ambitions aside, this is actually a great year for the Four Screens. Here’s my wish list of upgraded versions of each.
1. HDTV
Samsung 42inch 720p HDTV for under $600This year or early next we will upgrade to an HDTV, with DVR. The prices are fast approaching the $100/inch mark which means a 50″ plasma will cost the same as an iPad by the end of the year!
We already have our Netflix disc for Wii and a DVD player, the latter of which also supports some digital formats on USB. I’ll expand my video file format options with a Roku or popbox or equivalent at some point, too. Virtually all my video is now consumed on my TV, instead of my PC, and that will reach 100% soon. If I’m sitting on the couch, would I rather be watching the big screen or staring at an iPad? And which is better for family viewing?
2. Sprint Evo 4G Smartphone
The Sprint Evo 4GRight now I’m using an ancient flip phone on Sprint. My renewal discount is coming up this month, and I’d previously been torn as to whether to go Palm Pre, a Blackberry, or an Android phone. None of the options really excited me, until I recently heard about Sprint’s Evo 4G coming out this summer. It’s magnificent. We don’t have WiMax in Madison but it’s available in Chicago and Houston, where most of our family resides, so I expect to get some use out of it. But even on the 3G network, this thing is going to be amazing. And it’s Android, so no Apple heavy hand dictating what apps are allowed to run and which aren’t – I’ll be running Skype, Google Voice, and the ubiquitous social networking apps from day one.
3. Pine Trail / Ion 2 netbook
Asus 1201PN – Pine Trail + Ion 2 (Optimus)My primary PC at home is still my trusty Thinkpad T42, and I have a second homebuilt machine for the kids and my Warcraft addiction. But the PC I use when I’m out of the house is my stalwart little Asus EEE 901. It’s showing it’s age, though, and given that the latest batch of Atom 2 netbooks can actually play WoW, I’m definitely ready to upgrade. The Ion 2 chipset is essential, however, because it allows for switching between dedicated graphic or integrated graphics on the fly, preserving battery life without sacrificing performance. My only concern is that it might be hard to find one with an SSD – but that’s ok, I can always upgrade, as SSDs are also getting cheaper and cheaper with time. True, SSDs are lower capacity, but I’ve been doing just fine with an 8GB drive on my EEE. I’ll manage 🙂
Its clear why Apple didnt create a netbook – they dont want a low-margin product. The iPad is their attempt to displace the netbook market – Mossberg is buying it hook, line and sinker – but you just cant do things on an iPad that you can on a netbook, and never will. Including writing, coding, Skype, or video chat (at least until version 2, anyway).
4. Kindle 3
Amazon Kindle 2Technically the last category of screen, “portable entertainment”, is a multi-device option. We have an iPod Touch, an IPod nano, and a Nintendo DS Lite. All of these are primarily used by my kids, of course – I use the iPod Touch for Skype at work, and the Nano while working out on our home elliptical, but other than that I dont really do much media consumption. I expect that will change with my new smartphone, but I am also ready to go Kindle when Amazon makes it’s inevitable response to the iPad challenge. To be honest, I still would prefer a Kindle 2 to an iPad, because e-ink is frankly superior for reading under any lighting condition – especially outside. And at half the cost, it’s a no-brainer, despite being a niche device. But let’s see what goodies Amazon packs into the new version – touch screen? color e-ink? I’d pay up to $300 for it, which is still 60% cheaper. It’s worth noting that Amazon’s post-iPad strategy is still laden with profit opportunities, which benefit me as a consumer more than buying into iPad’s closed ecosystem.
Overall, the cost for all these goodies? HDTV: $500, Evo 4G phone: $200 (estimated, including 2 year contract renewal), netbook: $500, Kindle 3: $300. That’s a total of $1500 – if the iPad could replace all of this functionality on a single screen then I’d be interested in paying $1000 for it. But instead, the iPad is completely redundant with these screens and thus costs me an extra $500 on top of that. I’m looking forward to upgrading my toys this next year, and while no one is going to notice my geek chic in public, at least I wont be sacrificing any functionality or convenience.
Then again, what do I know? Maybe the iPad really is the Next Big Thing. “Instead of holding a MOUSE, you’re holding MAGIC.” who can argue with that? 😛
I’ll admit that it isn’t as good as their classic Hobbits to Isengard but it’s still catchy. No Warcraft version is likely to be made of this one, however.
