Wireless bandwidth getting crowded.

This is just crazy, that wireless has taken off like this, in average households:

...consumers are flocking to wireless Internet connections, in some cases dropping landline accounts altogether. ABI Research projects U.S. mobile broadband subscriptions will climb to 150 million by 2014, up from 48 million this year and 5 million in 2007.

Facebook death like Samurai: seppuku Seppukoo

This sounds pretty cool...basically dying honorably in cyberspace. However, knowing me, I'd have to go back on Facebook to reconnect with someone and then I'd have to rebuild my profile all over again.

While I aim to be honorable, I'm much more lazy.

Future fees for iPhone apps!

An AT&T exec stated on 12/9/09 that iPhone data usage could become more restrictive in order to provide better service overall. Basically, AT&T is saying "Thanks for getting hooked on our hip product, but now we're going to charge you fees to use it because our service sucks." Nice.

Consumer Reports agrees:

Yet, both Apple and AT&T encourage iPhone owners to use more of those bandwidth-hogging features.

AT&T cares about dropped calls? Probably not.

They just have to seem like they care so people won't jump ship from iPhone to Droid or Windows OS phones.

Just call them iLousy. iPhone now had an app (now there really IS an app for everything...) to report their faulty service with dropped phone calls. The irony is the dropped calls aren't because of iPhones. It's AT&T's lousy coverage. So, what recourse is there for AT&T customers who are not iPhone users, with dropped calls? None, because AT&T doesn't care about you. Just your friends with iPhones who may see that newer technologies are on the horizon for smartphones. Hopefully Apple won't steal them and roll production ahead of time!

Droid to overtake iPhone?

Based on recent write-ups, not likely anytime soon. But Droid seems like a good alternative if Apple and AT&T aren't for you (or me).

The basics:
Both the 16GB iPhone 3GS and the Motorola Droid (which goes on sale Nov. 6, and comes bundled with a bundled 16GB microSD memory card) sell for $199 with a two-year contract. (If you buy the Droid through Verizon, it's actually $299 with a $100 mail-in rebate; you can also get the Droid at Best Buy for $199, no mail-in rebate required). Each phone also requires a $30-month 3G service plan. Also, both phones come with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm headset jacks, and (of course) 3G support.

Look and feel:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, so you'll have to decide for yourself which phone wins the most style points. Personally, I happen to prefer the iPhone's sleek lines, slim profile, and relatively light weight. But while the Droid is a bit sharper and boxier, it has a bigger (3.7-inch), sharper display, and at just 0.5 inches thick, it's the slimmest QWERTY slider I've ever laid eyes on. The Droid tips the scales at 6 ounces, nearly an ounce heavier than the iPhone, but it fits quite nicely in a jeans pocket.

Input method:
This one's pretty obvious. For the iPhone, you do all your tapping and messaging on the virtual, on-screen QWERTY keypad, while the Droid has a physical, slide-out QWERTY keypad. Which one's better? Well, that'll mainly depend on your preference. Personally, I've gotten so used to virtual keypads that I often found myself tapping on the Droid's screen even though I had a slide-out QWERTY at my disposal. Then again, at least you have a choice with the Droid; the iPhone, of course, has no physical keypad at all. That said, keep in mind that the keys on the Droid's roomy keypad are so flat that they're almost slippery; yes, you get used to it, but there's a learning curve. Winner: Tie

Interface:
Google's Android UI has come a long way in just a year, and with its speedy processor and first-on-the-market implementation of the new Android 2.0, the Droid does a great job of showing off what Android is capable of. I also love the Droid's ability under Android to let you add live widgets—be they for weather, sports, the music player, Facebook, or Twitter—to the phone's home screen, and arrange them in any way you so choose. But while the iPhone's interface isn't quite as flexible as the Droid's, it's unmatched at doing what it does. On the iPhone 3GS in particular, windows, menus, lists, and apps open smoothly and instantaneously, and you're never at a loss about what to do next. Peppy though it is, the Droid's UI still feels a big sluggish in comparison.

Calling:
The iPhone's touch-enabled calling interface couldn't be any easier to use, and it'll even wirelessly hook into your iCal contacts if you're willing to shell out $100 a year for a MobileMe subscription. But the Droid arrives with the ability to automatically pull in all your Google and Facebook contacts, for free, and you can also use the downloadable Google Voice app (still unavailable for iPhone) to receive calls from a single Google Voice number, as well as send free text messages and place cheap international calls. Then there's the issue of which network—AT&T or Verizon Wireless—you want to be on. Your mileage will vary depending on your coverage area, of course, but if I had a nickel for every call my AT&T-bound iPhone has dropped, well ... Winner: Droid

Music and video:
Yes, the Droid comes loaded with a basic music player, and there's also a free podcast application ("Listen") for download over the Android Marketplace, but neither can hold a candle to the iPhone's best-in-class, touch-enabled iPod player. And while the Droid packs in a streaming YouTube app, same as the iPhone, it doesn't come with a build-in video player—that you'll have to find (and probably pay for) via the Marketplace, (I prefer the 99-cent Act 1 Video player, by the way). Indeed, the Droid doesn't even support the streaming video clips on Verizon's V Cast service. The iPhone, on the other hand, plays video out of the box, and you can also rent movies or buy TV episodes over-the-air via iTunes. This one's a no-brainer.

Mapping and navigation:
You can't beat the iPhone's Google-powered Maps app when it comes to ease of use, smooth operation, and overall slickness (slickosity?), but the Droid's mapping features under Android 2.0 pack more punch. Not only do you get the same basic searching and point-to-point direction features, but you also get the digital compass-aided Street View (which automatically changes the Street View perspective depending on the direction in which you're holding the phone), layers for traffic, satellite view, transit lines, and Wikipedia, and—best of all—Google's new Navigation app with voice-aided, turn-by-turn directions, just like you'd expect from an in-car navigation system. Great stuff—and free, to boot. Equivalent GPS navigation apps for the iPhone, on the other hand, all come with either monthly fees, exorbitant price tags, or both.

Web browsing:
The Droid's solid, touch-enabled Web browser is nothing to sneeze at, and come next year, it's slated to add support for Flash-powered videos and embedded content. But the Droid's browser doesn't support such handy features as multi-touch gestures (for "pinching" or zooming text on a Web page, for example), and it's not immune to sudden crashes, jerky scrolling, or jumbled HTML rendering. Meanwhile, the iPhone's Web browser—Flash-less though it is, for now—makes for the smoothest, speediest, and most seamless browsing experience you'll find on a smartphone.

Camera:
The iPhone's middling camera has been its Achilles heel (or one of them, anyway) ever since it launched, and the iPhone 3GS's 3-megapixel, auto-focus snapper is only marginally better. The Droid, however, boasts a 5MP camera with auto-focus, a dual LED flash for night shots, and image stabilization, not to mention sharp (if not quite "DVD quality") video recording. The Droid's snapshots might not measure up to, say, the gorgeous photos you can get from the Nokia N97 or the Samsung Memoir on T-Mobile, but it easily bests the often-murky pictures that the iPhone cranks out, particularly in low-light conditions.

Messaging:
Pretty much an even playing field here, especially since AT&T finally enabled picture messaging for the iPhone. Both the Droid and the iPhone now support corporate Exchange accounts, not to mention push e-mail, Web accounts (like Gmail, of course, Yahoo!, AOL, etc.), and POP/IMAP mailboxes. Both handsets do threaded messaging for SMS and picture messages, but neither has a unified inbox for all your e-mail accounts and text messages (the Android- and MotoBlur-powered Motorola Cliq does, but the Droid doesn't).

Apps:
The Android Marketplace is undeniably growing at a steady clip, with about 10,000 free and paid apps now available for download, including some (like Google Voice) that you won't find on iTunes (or at least, not yet). But who are we kidding: Apple's App Store has close to one hundred thousand apps, including a wide selection of cutting-edge mobile games (Real Racing, Doom: Resurrection, F.A.S.T. Modern Combat: Sandstorm, for starters), productivity apps (like DataViz's Docs to Go), communication (Skype, now over 3G), social networking (Facebook, MySpace, Foursquare), sports, weather, navigation ... the list goes on. The Android Marketplace may be gaining momentum, but the App Store has a massive head start.

Battery life:
The iPhone's become notorious for its iffy battery life, and for good reason. There are days when my iPhone barely limps past dinnertime, and that's after only moderate use, and since the iPhone battery is sealed inside the case, you can't swap in a fresh one when you're on the road. The Droid, on the other hand, does has a user-replaceable battery, and its battery life is pretty solid; in my tests, it made it though nearly six hours of voice calls on a single charge. Watch out for those multitasking Android apps, though. I unwisely elected to allow IM+, an instant messaging application, to stay connected while the phone was asleep; an hour later, the red-hot Droid was burning a hole in my pocket, and its battery capacity had plunged to just 25 percent. Oops.

Here Wii go again...

Wii want to bowl!

1. This has disaster written all over it. Bowling ball in the tv, anyone?
2. Seriously, why wouldn't someone just go bowling?

Homer Simpson GPS!!

Turn left in 300 meters. I mean right. Doh!

Tweet dat: idiots rule.

So, Trent Reznor of Nine In Nails (NIN) is on Twitter and is one of the original celebs to embrace the technology (+640,000 followers). Well, that's changed. I'll let Trent's words speak for themselves, since they genius-ly sum up why Twitter could've been the next generation of social networking, but failed by going mainstream too fast:

I will be tuning out of the social networking sites because at the end of the day it's now doing more harm than good in the bigger picture and the experiment seems to have yielded a result. Idiots rule. Anyway, we're in a world where the mainstream social networks want any and all people to boost user numbers for the big selloff and are not concerned with the quality of experience.

Apple mugs it's iPhone clitentele and sets them up to get mugged on the street!

Wow, that was a fast iScrewjob. Turns out Apple won't let you be cool for under $399.

...Those of us who were eager (dumb?) enough to buy last summer's iPhone 3G will not be eligible for the discounted $199/$299 iPhone 3G S pricing...Instead, prepare to pay $200 extra for an 'early' upgrade, which comes out to $399 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S or $499 for the 32GB version. According to TUAW, some iPhone 3G owners aren't even being offer the 'early' upgrade option—in which case, they're stuck with AT&T's 'no commitment' pricing of $599 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S or (gulp) $699 for the 32GB model.

That's a bunch of iBull. Buy a Crackebrry, you iSuckers! True, you don't get to look cool scrolling through screens hard and furious with your index finger, but who can afford an iPhone upgrade in this economy? And if you can afford it, do you really want the iSnob label while loudly pointing through apps?

And the number one reason not to upgrade: you're going to get mugged for your iPhone3GS! Ask Apple if they make an iTaser while you're at it...

Now you can be iCool for $99.00!

Apple announced it's the dropping the 3G iPhone price. How great, right? Eh, not so much. You see, they already have a better, sleeker, faster and more capable iPhone 3G-S waiting to hit the market, which will prompt current iPhone users to pay $199-$299 again. So, go ahead, be cool. Drop another wad of cash for a new phone and new apps (you don't think Apples going to let you transfer all of those between phones, do you?).

Ain't technology a kick in the pant?!

Twitwits

I still don't get why people think Twitter is of use other than telling people mundane happenings in their lives. Yes, even more mundane than the crap you post on Facebooks or MySpace or LinkedIn. Twitter does nothing to improve on those social networking sites, other than expediting ways in which self-promoters and spammers can capitalize on innovative technology and people's leisure. Even Kanye agrees. And he's pissed.

A chickouse?

50% mouse, 50% chicken. 100% creepy. this is a strong argument for why mankind should not be messing with Mother Nature by cross-breeding...

Zune to crush iPhone

Not that I'm a supporter of Microsoft continuing to expand their monopolized empire, but I think I hate proprietarized Apple a little more. The new Zune HD phone will bascially be one-stop shopping for all of your entertainment needs.

iPhone down

Yeah, bitches. Crackberry takes the lead! Can you tell what kind of smartphone I have?

Facebook vanity

Facebook might be planning for users being able to purchase specific URL's for their Facebook profiles. Isn't this how MySpace went wrong and made it easy for spammers to target users?

ant-iPhone

I've made it no secret on here that I hate Apple and iAnything. It's fine that people like their Apple merchandise, but when it affects those of us who decide to opt away from overpriced, proprietary, glitched-ridden products, it pisses me off. Basically this post is about how T-Mobile's Google/Android phone (the HTC Dream) is selling well, but not even close to iPhone sales. This is actually positive because Android is the open-source OS alternative to Windows.

Down with monopolies!

Let me Twitter dat.

The title of this post (and the video below) kind of sums up why Twittering went from a hip new technology to the lame grocery listing of daily events that people do. When I first discovered Twitter, I thought, "I can probably now keep up with blog/facebook posting better. Maybe connect with some people on my Crackberry [with Twitterberry app] while out and about." Then , I paused with my revelation when I started reading about celebrities competing to get the most people following their Tweets. Ashton Kutcher won, which tarnished Twitter even further for me.

Now, the blogoshere is abuzz now that Oprah is Twittering. The problem is most bloggers are saying that Oprah will eventually put Twitter out of its misery due to the sheer cheesiness of her announcing show ideas with millions of her mindless fans (who only signed onto Twitter in order to receive her announcements). I have to say I agree with THIS. Not that Twitter usage will go down from Oprah, but that an innovative technology has become commonplace. That rather than investigate Twitter as a new toy, people will join Twitter in the hopes of communicating with a celebrity. That now, in addition to gossip magazines, paparazzi photos and TMZ videos, "news" in the US might consist of a report that Oprah Tweeted "@Gayle i quit" or that Ashton Tweeted "@iamdiddy told ya id win." Because when something mundane happens to any us, your first thought should be, "Let me Twiiter dat."

Wii in trouble.

First off, this photo alone made me want to post again about how much I dislike the Wii. (Why would someone want to do something in a game and not in real life? makes no sense.) How hilarious would it be to watch someone in your bar bowling like this? It'd be like watching a voguing pantomime! I might have to look to see if any bars near me have Wii just for the entertainment. "Wii watching" might be a new past-time I just invented!

In sad news, it turns out people are getting hurt doing "sports" on the Wii. Now, I've read it all: Wii users getting sports injuries? They're not athletes! I mean, we're talking about basically "carpal tunnel" of the knees, hips and elbows, right? I'm going to laugh my ass off if someone I know tells me they have a Wii injury. The only injury I can understand is the injury to your wallet when you bought a game system to avoid doing legitimate physical labor.

Luckily, the Wii fad is hitting it's saturation point and is losing to rivals PS3 and X-box. Those are gaming systems as they should be: lethargic with a callused thumb.

A Flying car?

Seriously, you know we have a long way to go before flying cars are legit when they look dorkier than the Jetsons' flying car. A company called Terrfugia has a street legal prototype in testing. Somehow, I don't see testing going well with consumers. Is a mini airplane in your driveway our best option? I'd rather get air jumping a Segway off a ramp. Hmmm, I bet there's Youtube vids of that. I'll have to look. Those might be funny.