Apple TV Unboxing

I received an Apple TV for Christmas so I figured I would share the unboxing with you guys. Hope you all enjoy!

Cec

Analysis: Episode 606 "Mafia"

I am a huge Office fan. It is one of my favorite shows. So every now and then, I will give everyone my analysis of the most recent episode. I hope people enjoy this. I know there are podcasts such as TWSS (which I am a fan of) but I want to let people know my thoughts. So here we go.

This week's episode is called "Mafia." The basic plot focuses around Michael buying insurance from whom he thinks is an Italian mobster. So he, Dwight and Andy go undercover in order to prove that he is, in fact, part of the mafia. I will be honest: I found this plot line terribly unfunny. With the exception of Andy trying to jump start a car, I hardly laughed throughout this entire episode. The fact that they thought this man was mafia was very weak and didn't really have any moments that would send the viewer into a state of heavy laughter. And the fact that Michael was served with factual proof by Oscar that this man was an actual insurance salesman,and ignores it,just made it the more unbelievable. Now as promised in the episode description, Erin ruined Pam's drawing. But this plot was completely cut from the show. Instead, it was replaced with Kevin's story line and was moved to a 2 minute deleted scene. This actually sounded interesting. Erin hasn't really been defined in my opinion in terms of what type of character she is and this would of been a good opportunity for viewers to get a glimpse into that window. As I said, it was replaced with Kevin's plot. Basically, he is using Jim's office to "pass gas" while Jim is in Puerto Rico. So Kevin gets a call from Jim's credit card company reporting strange charges in Puerto Rico and accidentally cancels the card. This wasn't funny, and it had no real ending. If they follow up in the next episode with this, than I can let it go, but it didn't really seem believable. For one, it says that Kevin gave the company his S.S. number. I didn't buy the fact that a smart guy like Jim would leave his important personal information laying out on his desk. It wasn't plausible to me. I think this storyline could of easily been swapped out for the Erin/Pam painting bit. We didn't need to see Kevin acting more like a man-child.

Well all-in-all, I will give this episode a rating of 2.5/5

This episode had little to no strong or high points. No real LOL moments and I think fans will agree with me. I hope you enjoyed my little rant/review/analysis. Feel free to send feedback arguing or agreeing. I am open to all points of views. More to come in the future.

twitter.com/troyallen

History of iTunes

If you don't know what iTunes is, you have been living under a rock since 2000. In 1999, SoundJam MP was released by a company known today Casady & Greene, which shut down in 2003.

At the time, SoundJam MP was the second audio focused application for Mac OS, next to Audion, developed by a now popular Mac OS X developer company named Panic. Apple first approached Panic about working together on Audion to create a audio focused application that came bundled with the operating system. However, Panic had been talking to AOL and was never able to meet with Apple about the bundled audio application. Apple then moved to SoundJam MP, bought it, , removed a few features, revamped the interface, and named it: iTunes. By version 2, there was complete support for Mac OS X and the original iPod.

Version 4 released the iTunes store. Possibly one of the greatest decisions Apple has ever made. Apple quickly acquired rights from various record companies to sell their music, and give them a percentage of the profit. Apple also introduced iTunes cards, which were pushed out to thousands of stores across the United States. The cards could be redeemed for credit on the iTunes store, rather than being charged to your credit card.

When Apple added support for Microsoft Windows, iPod sales shot up dramatically. Apple became champion of the MP3 world. More and more features began rolling out, ratings, TV Shows and Movies, Cover Flow, Multiple languages, International iTunes Stores, Rentals, and then, Apple released the App Store for iPod Touch and iPhone.

The App Store update was just as successful as the release of the iTunes Store it's self, companies not even associated with music began developing applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Games, Social Networking tools, Medical tools, GPS and turn-by-turn, MS Exchange, and more were now all on the iPhone, and all of it had to be done with iTunes.

Though there are copies and competition of the iPods and iPhones there is surely nothing quite like iTunes.

JD

My Bite Into Apple

A New TV Show Favorite: Top Gear

Hi,

Other than my favorite online shows (e.g Diggnation, Hak5, and the CNET podcasts), I occasionally like to watch TV shows. Since I am currently on vacation in England, I have found a new favorite: Top Gear.

A show produced by the BBC network, Top Gear is a car show with a twist. Unlike other car shows that usually just go on and on and on about cars and their parts, Top Gear test drives new and old cars by putting them to the ultimate test. Now when I say ultimate test, usually people would think that they will just drive around a race track. That is where your wrong. Top Gear takes the selected car as the underdog and put it up against huge and powerful machines. In one episode, they take a Bugatti Veyron and raced it against a Euro Fighter plane, and in another they take a Land Rover against a tank! Usually you would think that the bigger machines would win, but in some episodes, you can be mistaken. Now other than the racing, there is a lot of comedy in this show coming from the 3 hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammonds, and James May. They like to act childish and insult each other and giving each other a hard time, but in the end everyone is happy.  

So if anyone who would take interest in this kind of stuff, go ahead and check it out. If you live in Britain, watch it on TV. But if you live in the US, don't worry, they have a Youtube Channel. Overall, it has become one of my favorite TV Shows and I hope no one cancels it!

Cheers,

*Note: This is based on a users opinion so please be respectful. 

Panasonic to release a HD Recorder

Panasonic, a big brand in the UK for consumer appliances in the UK, have released their own HD DVD recorder. The 'DMR-XS350' is to feature HD recording to the 250GB hard drive (which I don't think is enough for HD files) which then can be copied to disk. One special feature of the DMR-XS350 is that you can watch Youtube videos and view pictures on Google's Picasa via the VIERACAST platform. Twin TV turners allow 2 programme recording, or watch 1 programme and record another. The DMR-XS350 will also feature a high definition chroma processor, which to me sound like one of the best?, is compatible with the UK's freesat service, SD memory card and USB ports, along with a power saving utility!

Want one? It'll set you back around £620 ($999)

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Watch me on Youtube (sometimes in HD!)

[Note: Panasonic hasn't paid me to do this blog post :-( ]