Products

My original model iPod is chugging along just fine, but these new models sure do have a lot going for them! I’m tempted to make the move to OS X and iTunes 4 just so I can use the new Apple Music Store. Consumers are excited about that store, too; they purchased gobs of songs the first few days, and Apple’s stock went up dramatically when the Street saw how well the idea was embraced.

Two friends are considering laptops. Doing a little homework to make recommendations for them only made me drool over these machines myself. Again, my Blue & White G3 is chugging along fine, but sooner or later I’ll eventually succumb. It’s like when you buy a new car, and you start thinking about trading it in a couple of years later. My 2000 Honda is doing fantastic, but every once in a while I get a pang …must …resist. It’s silly to want something new just because it’s new, as long as the older model is still working pretty well. The trick is to maximize your investment, not to keep swapping in new gadgets just because they’re available.

News Items

There’s a conference in San Francisco in June with a preview of Panther, the next major version of OS X. Can Bobcat be far behind? As long as they stick with kitty cat names, I’m happy.

Macs used to create movie characters and effects. Yup. We knew that.

Macs used to chart molecules of drugs during testing. Coolness.

Macs used to analyze MRI results. Fast. When they need it.

Macs used to chart astronomical phenomena. Far out.

Mac used by screenwriters for the hugely successful summer movie X-2: X-Men United. “Mutation. It is the key to our evolution.”

The even cooler thing that isn’t in the news? All of us, right now, are using Macs to interact with each other and to explore our own creativity and to challenge ourselves to be better.

Movie Trailers

The Last Samurai. It has swords and Tom Cruise. I’m there, but not until December.

A Mighty Wind. Out now. Goofy, weird, funny, by the same people who did Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. I had a bad experience with a question about Guffman on a game show, so I’ll probably never watch it. But friends who have seen it say it’s great, and so is this one.

Hulk. Another comic book. Ang Lee directs, so it’s way more overdone than Spiderman or X-Men. Looks cartoonish rather than comic booky. But there are several other trailers available; maybe one of them presents a different perspective.

It is so cool that we can see movie trailers at home now, without having to wait for them to appear on television. I like the ones we get before movies in the theaters; they’re big and loud and compelling. These QuickTime versions sell the movies pretty well, though.

Apple Stock

Still a good buy. A good company that knows how to stay ahead of the market, and how to make consumers want its products.

This was a good visit to apple.com. I believe I’ll have to wander by more often.

Onward.