John Chow just informed me that he was one of the first to get the pre-release edition of the iPhone that is being officially launched in Canada, with the new version 2.0 software mounted in it, which means installable 3rd party applications to make your iPhone do even more (like it needs to!!!).

John Chow used to be against macs - he said to me, when I first got my Macbook Pro, “Should have gotten a PC!!!” but recently he got a Macbook Pro (same as mine!) and is loving it. Now he’s finally done it - he got the iPhone the first moment Rogers started releasing limited editions.

Check out John Chow’s review of the Rogers iPhone here. Yes, Canadians no longer have to jailbreak and unlock US editions of the iPhones anymore. What relief!

According to a recent news flash, Toshiba, who is behind the HD DVD format, is considering withdrawing from HD DVD as it seems apparent that Blu-Ray DVD technology is projected to be the winner.

Blu-Ray currently has over 80% of the market share, and more retailers as well as movie producers are choosing the Blu-Ray format over HD DVD format for a variety of reasons.

This review, however, did not trigger a decline in Toshiba shares, but rather, an incline, as it is viewed as a wise move to cut losses. Admitting defeat is also a very admirable trait, I suppose, and Toshiba shares went up, and the rating by Nikko citigroup for Toshiba shares went from “neutral” to “buy”. This is a rather interesting movement on the stock front, a somewhat unconventional one (although maybe it seems that way because I’m not an expert in stock trading).

Full News Story on HD DVD’s potential defeat to Blu-Ray

On Sunday night I was driving at 2AM after spending some time with a friend and I was on my way to return my DVDs. My battery light had been on all weekend and I was going to have it checked out on Monday. However I didn’t make it very far. My radio died first, and then a few blocks later my engine started slowing down. No electricity means no sparks, hence no engine piston strokes. My car came to a dead stop as all the electrical circuits went dead, and I had to struggle to turn the steering without power steering.

Out of all the places I could have ended up in, I ended up pulling into a bus stop. It was on Robson Street, however, so with the help of some drunk passer-bys, I managed to roll the vehicle back into a smaller street and parked it.

At 2:23, I called a tow truck through BCAA (I have a BCAA plus membership), and at that point the lady told me 40 minutes or so. I was on the phone with somebody for a while, and after 40 minutes I phoned again to check. She said she located the driver a few kilometres away, and that he should be arriving soon. Another half an hour passed so I called to check again, a bit irritated. I’m supposed to show the BCAA guy my membership card to get it towed to my mechanic so I couldn’t quite abandon my car, so I had to stay, and I was getting sleepy.

She told me that the tow truck itself had mechanical problems, and the driver is trying to sort it out.

Talk about irony eh? My car breaks down, and then the tow truck that got called to help me out is about to break down too. Luckily, the driver managed to resolve the situation on his own, and finally, at 4AM, I managed to get home.

Turns out the alternator was dead, according to my mechanic (and it was also my #1 guess based on my read of the symptoms). If you don’t know, the alternator is the spinning part that does the reverse of an electrical motor - it converts spinning motion into electricity. It connects via a drivebelt to the engine shaft, and as the engine runs, it spins, charging your battery. If this thing dies, or a wire becomes loose, you’re draining your battery and when you finally kill it, your car dies. So if your electricals become weaker and weaker, die one by one until the engine finally dies while driving, you’ve got a non-charging battery.

However. If your car runs fine once it’s going, but has a hard time starting up, it’s the opposite - the alternator is working, but the battery isn’t supplying the energy. It’s either the battery wire/terminal, or the battery itself. In that scenario, while the car is running, the electricity generated by the alternator keeps the sparks going as well as your radio so your car won’t die during operation, but once you shut her down, you’re done.

Yes, not only do I know how to build websites and databases, I know a fair bit about mechanics and engineering too.

I bought a pair of BOSE Speakers today for my office. It’s intended to be a small speaker set for casual music listening and what not. My old set by Creative Labs was dying out. The sound quality was messy, and the volume would fluctuate at lower volumes - probably a circuitry problem. Anyhow, I went to Future Shop to test out some new speakers. At first I was hell-bent on buying a 2.1 Speaker set. In case you are not aware, the .1 decimals on speaker sets indicate a subwoofer added to it. So 2.1 means 2 speakers with a subwoofer down below. I love having subwoofers as I feel that it gives the music so much more beat while taking the load off the satellite speakers, making the noise much more clear. I’m not a fan of very heavy bass though - so it’s usually not on very high.

But when I tested out the BOSE Companion 2 Speaker set after checking out some Logitechs (which are great great speakers if I may add) and Altec Lansings (which by the way have very messy sound, if your ears are sensitive enough), I was blown away. I couldn’t believe how much sound clarity and weight was coming off a 2-speaker set without a subwoofer. Their slogan is “better sound through engineering” and they were not kidding. The difference in the clarity and tone of music was so obvious, I was sold in a few minutes. It was $99 in price. I could have gotten a 2.1 set from Logitech for around that price, or some lower-wattage models, even less, but I was still going to stick with the BOSE set I chose.

After some struggles trying to get my new AMEX card to put the transaction through, I brought them home to test it out.

Here is my critique on this speaker set:

1. Sound clarity is amazing. Especially considering these are single channel speakers. This one sounds better than the 3 channel speaker set by Logitech that I tested out. Usually speakers with 2 different channels sound better but this one proved that presumption wrong.
2. The bass is very powerful, even without a subwoofer. This is great, because it saves me a lot of space by not having that big subwoofer sitting on my bottom shelf. I can now utilize that space.
3. If you like to plug in other devices such as an MP3 player, or some kind of an external device, however, it’s a bit wonky. Usually these speakers come with an extra port for external devices other than the laptop itself, but this one doesn’t. It means you need to unplug-and-replug when you switch devices. Not a big problem for me however - I don’t own ANY portable music devices whatsoever.
4. The speakers cannot be mounted on the wall. So even though I saved space in my bottom shelf, I lost space on my desktop. Not much lies behind my laptop anyways, so it’s not a huge loss.
5. They could have made it a bit prettier. But oh well, it sounds good so I guess the looks can be compromised a little bit. But it’s basically a slanted box with a steel mesh covering - pretty typical for speakers.
6. If you’re used to having a wired remote sticking out for volume control, forget it. This has one volume knob on the right side speaker. No treble or bass or tone switches… but then it sounds so good

Overall, this was a worthy investment, priced at $99 and tax at Futureshop. They’re having a sale - they claim that regular price is $150. The BOSE website, however, sells them for $119.99, which is a curious thing in regards to Futureshop’s pricing. Usually manufacturer sites are the most expensive, and then the prices get slashed as you go to other more competitive retail outlets.

There’s always debate and hype about which type of computer is better. Should you buy a Microsoft base computer with Windows Vista or XP on it for business computation purposes? Or use an Apple computer with the OSX Leopard installed in order to experience smooth and easy computing with more drag-and-drop? Is Apple more stable? But isn’t Windows better for software compatibility and high-caliber business applications?

It is true that, overall, Apples are more stable, and are less likely to crash. But then there’s the issue of software. Just this week I had a major mix-up with a client because my Macbook Pro with OSX Leopard did not read the docX file from my client’s Office 2007 properly. It wasted quite a bit of time and energy and it sucked. I used to have a hard time backing up software as there was nothing too solid built into Windows XP or Vista that came even close to the ease of use and the power of Time Machine, which is built into the OSX 10.5 (Leopard is the nickname). But then most CRMs are tailored to send synchronization data to Office Outlook 2007, not Mail or iCal. Not to mention, my blackberry synchronization software does not work on my computer and it always errors out, killing half the functionalities of my handheld.

My Macbook pro does run the Adobe CS3 suite quite fast and smoothly with very little margin for error or slowing down. And the expose and stack features are just amazing for productivity. But then I still miss the interface of Microsoft Excel which was much more technical, while Numbers 08, my Apple, feels more like a granny’s software with its short list of functions and menus, and the overly “easy-to-use” feel to it. It’s a spreadsheet program and I expect a hundred buttons, not thirty. But then that’s simply a matter of preference I guess.

I remember the age old problems with Windows XP of not being able to shut down the computer due to some error, or that problem where a virus would infiltrate within seconds of booting unless you patch your Service Pack 2 immediately before connecting to the internet without a firewall. Routers did more than just route - it was important to start up your computer for the first time unless you already had the latest patch pre-installed. And then there was that Windows Vista problem where the wireless network was fine but the LAN connection would be a 50/50 for connectivity, not to mention it would slow down a lot trying to perform its fancy graphic effects not meant for Windows based systems.

Now my Mac faces similar problems where, it often loses internet connectivity after a sleep-wake cycle, and often fails to shut down. When it fails to shut down, I need to force reboot it, and when that happens, my entire external harddrive that contains the Time Machine needs to be re-indexed, which means for 4 hours my computer will be sluggish. And then I just faced a problem of iChat not allowing me to add my friend Gary Lee. Danielle Nagami was added successfully (I guess I do have better luck with the girls!).

My conclusion after going through all of the major Microsoft Operating Systems, as well as switching to Apple with convincing from some friends, is that ALL COMPUTERS JUST SUCK EQUALLY, and problems will never stop because nothing is perfect. So I will just shut the hell up, not complain, and simply do my best to try to fix each bug as they come along. Microsoft’s claim that Vista is the most stable and functional OS ever was a scam, and so was Apple’s claim that “It just works.” It’s all a sack full of crap just like Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy. It’s a bundle of deceits just like the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and successful democracies installed in all of US conquered territories. It’s a… OK I’ve run out of analogies. Computers suck, just like Britney Spears.. and Clay Aiken.. I’d make a joke about Heath Ledger sucking in Brokeback Mountain but that would be disrespectful cause he just died.

I know it sounds incredibly cocky of me to say this but I now consider myself a pro in this Design, Marketing and Internet field. I’m not saying I’m the best, but I definitely do have an edge as well as years of experience in this area so I will reveal the software and hardware I use. When I choose these these things I take into consideration multiple angles and purposes. Not all of my gear is top-notch gear that provides best performance - some of them are optimized for the scale of my business to meet the balance between budget and functionality.

Hardware

Macbook Pro 15.4″ 2.2 gHz - I have the newest (as of early 2008) Macbook Pro by Apple Computer (in case you didn’t know). I run OSX Leopard (version 10.5) and with VMWare I run Windows XP Professional with SP2. This cost me $2200 Canadian plus the 2 year extended warranty and tax. Cost me almost $3,000 with everything in.

Toshiba M60CD4 - It’s my old Toshiba laptop, which has a dead screen. It cost me $1500 and tax back in late 2005. It’s been my longest lasting laptop I’ve owned so far unless the new Macbook beats it. It is connected to the external monitor, and I mainly use it for some coding stuff, and also to test websites on Internet Explorer 6. It sits on my desk, closed, so it’s more or less a desktop. It helps when I need to look something up quick, without having to open my Macbook out of its case.

Acer 22″ Widescreen LCD - The LCD screen is my secondary monitor for my Macbook, and also for the Toshiba. It cost $289 and tax, and it’s given be exceptional value so far. It’s a great way to extend your desktop to have more space and improve work efficiency.

HP CM1015MFP - This is my massive multifunction color laser printer. It is a relatively new model with a scanner and all. Cost me nearly $500 plus tax. The print quality is great, and it’s great for producing print proofs and invoices that look sleek and clean. My industry relies largely on image, so even invoice printing out of an inkjet printer looks bad. Hence the investment for a printer that cost 5 times as much as a generic multifunction would.

Logitech Mouse/Keyboards - I won’t list the models but I only purchase Logitech brand mouse/keyboard combinations. I have a wireless keyboard/mouse set, as well as a wired laser mouse that I carry around with my Macbook.

Blackberry 7250 - This is my primary phone, and of course, I get emails. It gives me much more mobility when I need to reply to urgent emails and what not. Sounds like the everyday marketing phrase but I’m really not restricted to my home office, or even my laptop at all times. Which is great. This is the older model of the Blackberries, and this is the sturdiest blackberry ever made, in my opinion, and I don’t care if everybody else flashes their brand new Blackberry World 8830s or Blackberry Pearls. I like mine the best.

It’s a given fact that laptops bring more mobility, and it’s also a hassle to run both laptop and desktop for data integration purposes. Mobility in businesses is increasing day by day, and the efficiency of our society as a whole is increasing along with it. Laptops are becoming cheaper and much more affordable and more businesses and individuals are transitioning over to the laptop and blackberry driven world. Here are some things that are needed in order for our workforce and society as a whole to improve our efficiency.

Backup System

A solid backup system is a must if you are to enter the world of mobile computing. Most businesses will understand that data inside a laptop is much more important than the laptop itself. Laptops are more likely to be lost, stolen, or damaged during transportation. Without a solid backup system, the fate of your data goes hand-in-hand with your laptop hardware. With an automated backup that is done on a regular basis, you can be assured that even if something happens to your laptop, your data is safe.

Mandatory Wireless

Any office and meeting room should be equipped with high-speed wireless, and this needs to be a standardized culture in the business world. For the business itself, its employees, as well as other visitors and clients that may be coming to your office, providing them with wireless internet is a great thing to promote the spread of mobile computing.

Increasing Reliance on Web Based Software

Web based software is becoming more and more common as servers are becoming more powerful, and the increase of internet speed helps it too. Web based software is an amazing tool when it comes to collaboration, productivity, and data security. Let’s face it - you’re more likely to get your laptop stolen at a coffee shop than you are to have your server data hacked out. You may argue that many hackers can do it but the reality is, a lot of hacks or bombs are ones that simply paralyze the server, rather than take data out in a sophisticated manner. Having web based software also helps for frequent travelers. You can access much of your work data and communication without having to be at the office on your desktop. Corporate intranets will slowly disappear as web based, or internet based (as opposed to intranet) software becomes more and more dominant.

Security Habits, Safety Habits

Your laptop probably contains lots of private data that needs to be secured. While there is no such thing as 100% security, you can always use measures to reduce the likelihood of a data loss in the event of theft or loss of a laptop. Most laptop theives will simply re-install the software and sell it to somebody else. If the laptop itself has a secure password on its OS, it’s very difficult for anybody to get into the files and access them. Put yourself in the shoes of a petty laptop thief. Try to hack the data, or just re-install factory setting software and sell it for $300? It’s an easy one to answer.

Also try to develop the habit of keeping your laptop with you at all times. I never leave my laptop in my car unless my vehicle is in my plain view. Even when I go into restaurants, I will bring my briefcase in with me so that my laptop is secure. It is very rare that my laptop leaves my side unless I leave it at home.