Not Quite Conversation by Kevin Ohannessian

12:50 pm | 1 recommendation | 2 comments

Mac Rumors Live Hacked During Apple Keynote (NSFW)

Mac Rumors, among the most popular and best-known websites covering Apple, was hacked during its live coverage of today's MacWorld keynote presentation. Readers were shocked when one of the liveblog's auto-updating text messages said: "Steve Jobs Just Died." Many thought this was a poorly worded joke, but then a retraction was posted shortly after. From there the text messages got more esoteric and vulgar. (Screens below -- NSFW due to expletives.) It's unclear which group of pranksters is responsible for the intrusion, but the they were making plenty of jokes about the security features of Apple products.

11:34 pm | 1 recommendation | Be the first to comment

Is BD-Live On Dark Knight REALLY The Future?

Tonight's Dark Knight Blu-ray event was the first ever BD-Live experience in America. But the live text commentary featuring the film's director, Chris Nolan, left much to be desired. The questions that were texted in resembled the same hit or miss quality as online chats -- and only rarely related to what was actually happening during the live viewing of the film. As for the questions that were interesting, even those garnered little attention because most of Christopher Nolan's typed responses were short.

Nolan talked about Heath Ledger's process for creating his version of the Joker, which was captivating, especially since the extras on the disc barely mention the late actor. Further, discussions about IMAX and 35mm filming vs. digital filming were highly technical, probably turning off some. Later, Nolan artfully dodged questions about a third film. And there was a live marriage proposal between two fans -- but did we need it? And why did Nolan ignore a question about piracy?

Though interesting, this BD-Live event didn't fully represent the future of home entertainment that Blu-ray promises to offer us. Both Nolan and the Dark Knight deserve better than what was experienced during this event. In fact, the film should have had audio commentary to begin with. And even a tribute documentary to Ledger might have been a worthy inclusion. Hopefully, Warner Bros. learns from this experiment and comes back with a richer experience next time.

With that said, now I'm going to take a five-minute pee break, just like the one Nolan took during tonight's event. Maybe I'll find some relief from my disappointment.

04:30 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

The Perfect Gadget For The Inebriated

Need a Christmas gift for that friend who drinks a little too much at parties, and then wants to drive? Or maybe you're even distrustful of your own driving after a rocking New Year's Eve? Then David Steele Enterprises just may have the perfect gadget for you. The company's iBreath, an accessory for the iPod, helps you to self-administer a breathalyzer test. After five seconds of breathing into it, it will display your blood alcohol level. The iBreath will run you $79 when it's released the end of this month, after a long wait from 2006 when an initial model never made it to market.

Don Bassler, CEO of David Steele, says, "It's for people who imbibe alcohol. iBreath is a tool to assist them to make intelligent and safe decisions." And by the way, the iBreath also features a built in FM tuner. Just a little something to occupy your time while you hail that taxi, or wait for your body to process all that alcohol.

04:43 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Macworld R.I.P -- Can Our World Survive Without Steve Jobs' Keynotes?

Apple has announced that Macworld 2009 will be its last. Long gone are the days of Steve Jobs unveiling iPhones, MacBook Airs, and the like. What's worse? Jobs won't even present this year's keynote. You have to wonder if this decision has more to do with Steve Jobs' health or his future at the company (or the future of the company for that matter), than the company's ubiquitous presence.

Can tech sites survive the loss of the reality distortion field? Will Apple geeks weep at the end of an era? And what huge announcements will be made at the last keynote in January? Stay tuned.

Steve Jobs shows off the new MacBook Air at the last Macworld.

03:29 pm | 1 recommendation | Be the first to comment

Microsoft's Black Friday and the Success of Xbox 360

Microsoft announced today that on Black Friday its Xbox 360 game console outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 at a 3 to 1 ratio. That record weekend of sales puts the 360 over 25 million systems sold worldwide, surpassing the sales of the original Xbox -- and in only three years.

Say what you will, but Microsoft clearly learned from the mistakes it made in the last console cycle. It gambled at launch that being the first one to market (a year before rival Sony) and with more cost effective components (DVD rather than Blu-ray), would give them an advantage. Since then, Microsoft has created a robust online community with significant sales of digital content (simple games and extra content of game discs) and a respectable digital media strategy (sales of video downloads, streaming Netflix). And with the wide support of developers, it continues to offer more titles than its competitors.

With the move at the start of September to lower the price of the console, Microsoft has ensured the 360 is recession-proof. And the recent monthly sales date released by research firm NPD Group confirms that -- with the gap in U.S. sales between Microsoft and Sony only increasing since August. Money-strapped Americans will not pay $400 to $500 for a game system, even if that includes Blu-ray. I am sure that trend will continue through holiday game sales.

So where does Microsoft go from here? Besides continuing the strategies that have worked for them so far, it needs to amp up the promotion -- including some impressive exclusives. And maybe then it will create the buzz necessary to leave the war with Sony behind and take on Nintendo.

11:46 am | 1 recommendation | Be the first to comment

Future Science Now

CNN reported today that a woman successfully received a transplant of a section of trachea made from her own stem cells.

That's right. Doctors grew her a windpipe grown in a lab.

For years, scientists have been saying stem cell research could lead to a revolution in medicine. For me, this is the first tangible result of that. The future that has been forecasted by experts has begun to become a reality. What organs or tissues will be grown next? How many lives will be saved?

As the last decade has gone by there has been so much technological and scientific growth. The Internet has gone from downloading pieces of images on Usenet to streaming HD films. Cars are now electric, or automatically react to accidents, or park themselves. Objects, and even buildings, are being made from green materials. Videogames near photorealism, films present us whole new worlds, and television has hundreds of high-definition shows.

I have followed futurist Ray Kurzweil for the last few years. While I am not sure our society is climaxing to a singularity, I agree with his observation that societal change and technological progress has rapidly increased. In ten years where will my examples above be replaced with?

We may be hearing about routine transplants from stem-cell-grown organs. The Internet may be a massive social network connected to everyday objects and completely customizable in every way. Electric, hydrogen, or solar cars may be the norm. Sustainability and green living will be every day life. Videogames will be photorealistic and feature very detailed simulations of the real world (or fantasy worlds). And the first 3D or holographic televisions will probably be hitting the market.

And maybe I will be able to get those bionic eyes I have always wanted.

08:22 am | 1 recommendation | Be the first to comment

Barack Obama Makes Internet History

As President-Elect Barack Obama gave his victory speech, there was one moment among the many powerful minutes that astonished me. As Obama told the story of 106-year-old Anne Nixon Cooper, he gave a wonderful account of the moments in American history she has witnessed. He started with women's suffrage, but where he ended affected me.

"A world was connected by our own science and imagination." With those words, President Obama made plain a major reason why he won the election. His recognition of technology and the Internet is impressive. And his campaign's use of the many facets of the Web only supports this. The days of politicians seeing the Internet as simply "a series of tubes" are over.

So how will President Obama take the next step of using this tool that aided his bid for the presidency? If his online campaign and his co-sponsorship of USAspending.gov are reliable indicators, a Government 2.0 is in the wings. Web Czar? Secretary of the Internet? From where I am standing, anything is possible, now.

02:16 pm | 3 recommendations | 1 comment

Sometimes It's NOT the Little Things

As the last days of the election go by, the smallest details have become hyper-important: Sarah Palin's wardrobe, Joe Biden's line about Barack Obama being tested in office. And the candidates have followed suit as well: John McCain's mailings about Joe the Plumber, Democratic robo-calls demonizing Republican robo-calls. Does the race really need such distractive scrutiny?

There was a time when the race was about Tax plans or Health Care policies. But substantive discourse has been replaced with petty needling. It reminds me of what I said about the iPhone product launch, how little things can become mammoth in proportion. At some point, people need to take a step back and take stock of what is really there and what really matters.

Come November 5th, who wore what or whose surrogate said what to whom will not matter. Economic plans and energy initiatives are what will have a lasting effect. Innovation and change is sexy, not veiled insults or passive aggressive sound bites.

12:13 pm | 1 recommendation | 1 comment

Transparent Leaders: The Health of John McCain and Steve Jobs

The New York Times published an article today about how transparent the candidates are being about their health. The incomplete nature and unanswered questions about John McCain's history of skin cancer has been a topic of discussion on liberal blogs ever since Sarah Palin was chosen as his running mate, but the subject has finally reached the media.

The McCain campaign has released thousands of pages of medical records, half in 2000 and the rest back in May. But the fact the records only covered part of his history and were only given to a small group of journalists for a few hours, is a clear lack of transparency. And Barack Obama has been less than forthcoming as well, only releasing a letter from his doctor with the simple message that he is in good health.

Earlier this year, many questioned Apple about the health of CEO Steve Jobs, probably contributing to the loss the stock took. Apple eventually explained Steve Jobs apparent weight loss as being from "a common bug" and not a reoccurrence of pancreatic cancer; the company even joked about Jobs' blood pressure at the last press event it held. Due to the hit the stock took, Apple was forced to respond. Yet, the same sort of pressure isn't being applied to the presidential campaigns.

Can you blame the candidates for the lack of full transparency? The business media or interested public care about a CEO's health, but the American public and the entire media (liberal elite or not) can barely mutter about those who may be the future leaders of our country. It doesn't seem to matter to America that the country may vote in one leader, but then wind up being run by his second-in-command due to cancer treatments. Or that his opponent, who is currently leading in the polls, may have had some ailment in his past, despite his current state of good health.

Until both campaigns feel like they will be hurt because of their secrecy, there is no need for them to embrace a strategy of complete disclosure. All four principles involved in the election should release their entire medical histories -- transparency should be the norm, not the exception.

11:59 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

How Netflix is Hurting Blu-ray

Last week Netflix sent out an email telling subscribers that the monthly fee will increase by $1.00 if they subscribe to Blu-ray discs. With times being what they are, I do not fault the company for increasing prices. I am just not sure about the logic of the particulars.

Why not raise it by $1.00 for everyone? Would that have been too dangerous to the brand? Instead, it penalized early (and at this point, not-so-early) adopters who want high definition films. Does it make sense to use a strategy that may be detrimental to mainstream movement from one standard format to a new standard? Shouldn't it be fostering the migration from DVD to Blu-ray?

One could argue, by doing it this way, Netflix is gradually preparing its users for increased prices. From that light, the strategy seems to make sense. But, to video enthusiasts with 50+ inch displays it seems like a penalty.

Could Netflix have used a different strategy when increasing prices?