08/31/2004

The iMac G5

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

Oh, also today, Apple unveiled the brand new iMac G5…

Speaking as a long time Apple fan (but not one of those fucking mindless “Apple zombies”, the ones who love Apple way too much, and would never admit that the company has ever done anything wrong) I guess I sorta like it. At first I was a bit underwhelmed; after the iMac G4, I was expecting something much “more”. Then again, the dome model was (and still is) pretty fucking amazing, and is almost impossible to top.

I know many were hoping (or expecting) it to be a touch-screen based/tablet computer, but that’s always been pretty unrealistic. Imagine how much that would have cost? This is Apple after all. Plus OS X is not suitable for such a massive shift it usability, at least not yet.

But it stays close to the Apple Cinema Display line, which is smart, plus when you consider the 20 inch iMac costs $1900 and the same size Cinema Display is $1300, you’re getting a G5 system for just $600 which isn’t that bad. Plus anyone who’s used Apple’s Cinema Displays can attest to how awesome they are (they easily blow away every other LCD monitor on the market and are actually worth the high cost).

Though the meager amount of ram (256MB?!) is pretty inexcusable. Anyone who uses OS X will tell you that you need 512MB at the very least. The last thing you need with a G5 processor is ram related bottlenecking. Also, why no Firewire 800 port? Again, with a G5 on board, why not take advantage of it with the current crop of high-end gear? Plus, it would have been nice if wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard and mouse were included. And I really wish the footprint was all white instead of aluminum, to match the whole body, but that’s really nit-picking.

Otherwise, I dig the look of it. Looking straight on, it looks just like an eMac, just with a wider display and no disc-tray. Speaking off, the slot loading drive is back, which looks a lot cooler than a disk tray, but I have to admit, the slot loader of my iMac G3 gave me some problems (and potential hear attacks), and my eMac’s tray hasn’t. Also of note, the speakers are at the very bottom of the unit, with the sound bouncing off the ground. Apple says that there’s no loss or distortion in sound. Weird. Plus it’s nice to see that it’s far easier to upgrade when compared to the dome model. As much as I like the look, upgrading was a real nightmare, but this time it does indeed to be super simply like Apple says.

But once again, I really dig the dome model and wish it stuck around longer (for me to get one of course, hehe). That adjustable arm was indeed a marvel of engineering, which was also super useful. But now we have that aluminum hinge/stand which felt rather flimsy when I handled the new Cinema Display at the Apple Store.

I know some people are complaining about the frontside bus and the ho-hum video card, but it is a consumer level computer after all, so perhaps criticism is a bit unfounded… or maybe not. This is, once again, Apple’s mid range computer for families and the such, but PCs aimed at the same target are faster, more powerful (at least in the eyes of the general public), and most importantly, more affordable. So I suppose it’s no surprise that Apple is reminding folks that it’s from “the creators of iPod”, which is actually mentioned in the new ad campaign (which is a bit sad if you ask me). Maybe they’re thinking people will buy a new iMac simply to compliment their iPod? I wouldn’t be surprised if folks actually did this, at least die-hard Apple fans. After all, these same people were stupid enough to buy the iPod Mini. I just wish Apple would stop appealing to such an annoying, narcissistic audience assholes, though they do have money…

Then again, I just wish Apple would just fucking fix my eMac, an “entry” level computer that I spend close to $1500 on, and which I actually sprung for the $300 AppleCare, assuming it would guarantee repairs no matter what, instead of being told that my computer’s problem is “not bad enough”. But that’s for another time…

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08/31/2004

It Was A Good Day

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

Oh man… all I can say is that it’s been a wonderful past couple of days, internet-wise. There’s just simply too much crazy shit to take in, but today alone, I’ve been enjoying:

- The aforementioned (and still scary as hell) kung fu kid.

- The first clip from the latest Godzilla flick, Final Wars (or “Destroy All Monsters 2004″) which features guy in a suit Godzilla (Japan) vs. CGI Godzilla (USA).

- A story about how Batman crashed some kid’s birthday party.

- An awesome cliff’s notes version of Metal Gear Solid.

- This pic of a vespa that looks like the Star Trek Enterprise.

- News that robots are being used as security guards at Japanese shopping malls. Can’t wait for those inevitable reports, and pics, of robots going berserk and killing shoppers.

- An eye opening timeline regarding the never-ending development of Duke Nukem Forever.

- Another wacky film from Japan, this one about some giant squid turned professional wrestler. Be sure to check out the trailer. Hopefully, if there’s a sequel, he’ll face off against a member of America’s own Kaiju Big Battle.

All I can say is… Viva la Internet!

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08/30/2004

Obligatory Political Rant (Part 2)

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

One more thing regarding yesterday?s demonstrations against Bush and the RNC: it?s nice to see the media act like they always have… cluelessly and irresponsibly.

This morning I was watching NYI for their front page breakdown, where they go over the headlines of each of the city?s papers, and of course, at least one is portraying the event as complete chaos, with a focus on the arrests that took place (which there was just a handful of), as well as the totally innocuous fire that broke out (no turned over cars, just some paper dragon that got lit), instead of the message that was being conveyed. Of course, one can always depend on the Daily News or the New York Post (I don?t know which one; they?re virtually identical in their shitiness) to take whatever subject or event, regardless of how grave it might be, and make it seem totally inconsequential with some retarded catch phrase.

Speaking of NY1, I love thier stellar coverage of rails and roads, which is basically the only reason to watch them for. Nice to know all their reports stating that subway service has not been affected was a total lie: it took forever to get to work, with all the police activites and the such. But you?d think a major news organization would at least know what the rest of us (who actually use the subways) already know: that whatever the MTA has to say is total bullshit regardless of the occasion.

Back to the protests, I?m curious to see how the national media portray it since we all know how useless and inaccurate they usually are as well. It?s amazing how they gloss over pretty fucking important stuff, such as how our grand President is not even spending the night in NYC this Thursday. He?s just coming in, doing his speech, and getting the hell out of town. Even the mayor has publicly voiced his disappointment over this.

But not that it really matters actually. There have been major revelations exposed to the public on an almost daily basis regarding Bush?s poor decisions and code of ethics, yet most people choose to totally ignore the facts. And I?m not just talking about the war, but like the recent overtime law that Bush supports which threatens to screw over the working class. You?d think there?d be rioting on the streets of any given city in the Midwest, but they choose to mindlessly support him as always. Oh wait, he ?got Saddam!? and he hates gay marriage. For a while there, I forgot what this country cares about.

The aforementioned pathetic state of news reporting today is precisely why I choose to get all my facts from the Daily Show (and I know many others do so, and without shame). John Stewart is seriously the only reputable newscaster on American television today, period. He?s so good in fact that he actually is hurting the Democrats. Case in point, the time he has Kerry on for a sit down interview recently. Stewart never shy always from the tough questions and asked him pointblank if he thought he had a chance against Bush in a debate. Kerry was totally frozen by such a response and it took him a full three seconds to answer, and without a hint of confidence, that the only the debates will show a winner. That?s a ?no? in my book. And the best part was when Stewart asked him for Kerry?s thoughts regarding the flip-flop accusations, and I forget exactly what was said, but the guy actually made himself look bad to somewhat agreeing it was true; you could see Stewart goes crazy trying to help save Kerry?s face.

But to show you precisely how much of an impact Bush has over my political stance, I?m actually thinking about voting for Kerry, despite the fact that guy is the very definition of a phony politician (at least once I heard of how during that big anti war rally where he first made his name, he used someone else’s purple hearts to throw in a fire). I entertained the idea of going for Nader again, but it seriously is just an ego trip for him right now (and I honestly don?t think he would have been able to handle 9/11 all that hot if he was indeed prez). Though it would be great chance to get on people?s nerves for no good reason (heaven forbid I make a stance regarding the status quo yet again). But once again, I know just as well as anybody that Kerry will have no problem capturing New York state, so perhaps it doesn?t ?matter? if I vote or not, but I refuse to be one of those assholes who complains about the system, yet never vote. And on a related note, it?s exactly why people need to get more involved with their local politics, which often has more of an impact that the national level.

Alright, enough politics (like I said before, I don?t even like talking about it). Here?s a funny of vid of some crazy kung fu kid. I don?t care who you are, like how tall or what age you are, this kid will kick your ass.

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