My Favorite Paintings

I love art. You may not know that, but I love art. Paintings, for example. Paintings are beautiful if done right. I'm not going to talk about them; just look at them and enjoy them. Click on them for a bigger, nicer picture.

The Daily Utopian

"Derek's Tablet" is now history. Say hello to "The Daily Utopian". The layout's been slightly changed, the graphic design is completely different, and most importantly, I have a brand new partner who's going to be helping with the blog who should be making his first post soon. Obviously I can't exactly call this "Derek's Tablet" anymore now that it's not just me. The new name is The Daily Utopian. I'm in love with it.

Here are my goals with the blog from now on:

-Post a variety of different subjects, not just Technology and Apple. Arts, music, lifestyle, philosophy, politics, movies, etc will all be covered.
-Promote the blog more. Right now, the amount of readers the blog has is pathetic. If you're actually reading this, drop us a line and then pass the blog onto your friends. We need all the attention we can get.
-Organize the posts better. A lot of really old posts aren't in categories. We'll change this soon.
-Be relevant to others.
-Implement new features.

By the way, my email is derektherock@gmail.com (sorry, I can't do an email link). Please bear with us while we make this into a great blog.

-Derek

Frequent Apple Criticisms

One thing I notice with people complaining about Apple is that they always use the same arguments, which are arguments that are very old and have been answered a million times. This is a summary of those questions, plus my response to them.

Apple just makes overpriced computers with no upgraded specs.

This is very untrue. People assume that just because there are $600 PC's and $2000 Macs, that must mean that those are the only price ranges for both computers and they must have the same specs. Macs have many specs that $600 PC's don't have. Let's look at MacBooks for example:

-Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (at least)
-Built-in iSight camera (high quality)
-Glossy glass display
-Full Aluminum unibody enclosure
-Giant trackpad
-Multitouch Trackpad
-LED display

These things cost money to put in a notebook. Am I saying that no PC has these things? No. What I'm saying is that they do, but they are about $1000-$2000 dollars, which is the same as Macs. I'm leaving out a lot of other features, but those are the main ones. Macs aren't overpriced any more than high-quality PC's are overpriced.

PC's have a much bigger market share than Macs do; they must be better if more people use them!

This one just won't die, and even Steve Ballmer himself is trying to fuel it. Just because more people use a product doesn't mean it's better. It means that it's more attractive for them to spend money on. PC's can cost as little as $350, which people figure isn't much. But add all the expensive fixes and upgrades, and it costs more than that. But my point is, PC's are the McDonald's of computers. Less people eat at, say, Olive Garden, than McDonald's by far. Nobody takes that to mean McDonald's is better. They're just cheaper, and they're everywhere. That's the other reason so many people buy PC's: everybody else seems to have one, so they're afraid of something different.

Mac's are a dying company which isn't successful at all.

Apple couldn't be further from dying. Their market share has risen like crazy over the last couple years. Go to an Apple Store, and look at all the people inside. It's always really busy. Studies show that half of those people in the store are new to the Mac, and a huge percentage of that ends up buying a Mac eventually. And by the way, people have a passion for Mac more than any other computer. Which brings me to this:

Mac users are all just stupid, crazed fanboys.

This is a huge stereotype that's all over the place. I understand that some people are crazy enough to stand in line for an iPhone weeks ahead of time just to get the first one, but that doesn't mean every Apple user is like that. I'd go as far as to say that not even 1% of Mac users would consider doing that. All the Mac users I know are just normal people. Get this idea out of your head please.

Macs are only good for graphic design, movie-making, etc, while PC's are better at business.

This is another one that just won't die. The fact is, Mac runs Microsoft Office. It also runs iWork, which is far better. iWork is even compatible with Microsoft Office, using the same formats (.doc, etc). The next version of Mac will be able to run Microsoft Exchange (finally!). If there's something PC's can do in business and Macs can't do, read the next criticism.

Macs are hardly compatible with any software, as opposed to PC.

First of all, Mac is compatible with tons of software. Pretty much any big game for PC has a Mac version. However, if you find something that isn't PC compatible, just buy a version of Windows and run it on a Mac. Yes, you can run Windows on a Mac. Mac comes with a program called Boot Camp where you can run either Mac OS X or Windows on your Mac computer. This eliminates all compatibility problems with Mac.

Bill Gates is a better man than Steve Jobs because he donates to charity.

You can't say this for certain. There's such thing as anonymous donations, which Steve could've done. He may think that publicizing your donations makes it selfish, which is an opinion I share.

Apple can't go on without Steve. It's going to fall apart.

Just because we see Steve all the time in keynotes, Apple events, and so forth, doesn't mean that there's no other skilled people at Apple. As long as Apple has talent and focus, it will go on. I'm not saying it will be the same without Steve. It will be a different company. But it will go on if it has the talent. Also, you shouldn't jump to conclusions and say that Steve's out of the company forever.

I might post more of these eventually. Thanks for reading.

-Derek

New "Premium Games" section of App Store on the way?

Rumors are starting up about Apple getting ready to release a new section of the App Store called "Premium Games". In this section, games will be priced at at least $19.99, and they will be similar to console games.

I love this. This is a step in the right direction. Apple has been bragging about how the iPhone can compete with the DS and PSP, but now they might have something to fall back on. Not to mention, I'm a hardcore gamer despite hardly ever talking about it on this blog (maybe I should start). I'd love to see some great games on the iPhone. Only problem is, it kind of destroys the original "help the little developers" spirit that the App Store started out with; according to the rumor, only big-time companies, such as Electronic Arts, will be making games for this section.

Here's what I want for the Premium Games section of the App Store:

-New Super Mario Bros. (a port)
-A classic Nintendo series, like Zelda or Metroid
-Mega Man, maybe in the style of Mega Man X
-Metal Gear Solid
-Street Fighter (a brand new portable version)
-Mortal Kombat (maybe Mortal Kombat vs. DC)
-Yoshi's Island (the controls could work really smoothly)
-Some brand new concepts for games that work perfectly with the touch/accelerometer controls
-Last but not least, a video game completely developed by Apple themselves

Just imagine the possibilities!

Next iPhone Software Expectations

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a new iPhone software update within the next month. If this happens, then here's what I and many other people want:

-COPY AND PASTE.
-MMS messaging
-Horizontal keyboard support in Email (and all other applications)
-Javascript and Flash support in Safari
-iChat
-Video Recording

Please bring this to us, Apple.

-Derek

Monty Python releases videos on YouTube, sales increase; RIAA's flaws show

Monty Python now has their skits on YouTube for free. Here's a message straight from them:

For 3 years you YouTubers have been ripping us off, taking tens of thousands of our videos and putting them on YouTube. Now the tables are turned. It's time for us to take matters into our own hands.

We know who you are, we know where you live and we could come after you in ways too horrible to tell. But being the extraordinarily nice chaps we are, we've figured a better way to get our own back: We've launched our own Monty Python channel on YouTube.

No more of those crap quality videos you've been posting. We're giving you the real thing - HQ videos delivered straight from our vault.

What's more, we're taking our most viewed clips and uploading brand new HQ versions. And what's even more, we're letting you see absolutely everything for free. So there!

But we want something in return.

None of your driveling, mindless comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies & TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years.

Pretty funny. But what's also pretty funny is the fact that their sales increased 23,000%. I'm not kidding. I'm dead serious. RIAA? Are you listening? In fact, I won't start ranting about this. I'll have Gizmodo do it for me.

Are you paying attention, MPAA and RIAA? A controlled release of free material keeps people from resorting to piracy and keeps them in your controlled ecosphere, which can include, yes, ways for fans to give you money. But when you're a bunch of pricks, people go to The Pirate Bay and think of you as the enemy, and then you don't get any money. Take notes, you idiots.

-Gizmodo

Awesome. Make sure to find Monty Python's channe here, but remember, it has mature content.

-Derek

Get well Steve

In honor of Steve, here are some really cool clips that I found of him. Let's all hope for the best for him and the company!

Steve to his employees on what Apple means to him:


Steve paying respect to Microsoft where it's due:


Steve criticizing Apple's competitors:


Steve demonstrating Dashboard, with the best sense of humor from him I've ever seen:


-Derek

Obama's Inauguration

Today we cancelled class just so we could all huddle around the radio and listen to Obama's inauguration address. To sum it up, it was great. I walked in the classroom hearing him say, "We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories." That's what I like to hear.

He basically was talking about how we're in an age of uncertainty and depression, but as long as we stick with our values and reforge our loyalty in our government and America itself, we can do anything we put our minds to.

A great part was when he said, "To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." He said that "[Our nation] can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to the effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

Fantastic. I'm sure he'll do great as our new president.

-Derek

Positive things about Windows 7

Let me make one thing clear about Windows 7: It's far better than Vista. Far, far, FAR better. I haven't installed the Beta of Win 7 yet, and I don't plan to unless I have an extra computer to do it on. However, what I've heard about Windows 7 sounds great. What's great about it?

-It runs on cheaper, less powerful hardware than Vista. Vista runs terribly on the laptop I used XP on. Windows 7 apparently 'uses half of the 1 GB of RAM" on the same type of laptop, which is exciting to hear.
-It's snappier, more reliable
-It organizes files better
-It's compatible with all major hardware and software from the start, unlike Vista
-It looks very nice, and you can customize colors and themes
-Microsoft has said that they're working to make it "faster and more reliable". Of course, that's what they've said every time they've released a new OS, but this time it looks like they're telling the truth.

Of course, that doesn't exclude the bad things.

-It continues the tradition of ripping off of Apple with features that Microsoft calls "innovative"
-It changes a lot of UI concepts, when 90% of Windows users don't want change
-It comes in many different versions, and that makes it confusing to get an OS with everything you need while not costing to much
-And of course, this.

But I think this is finally going to be Windows users' big break. It's far better than Vista, and it's exciting for me to eventually get it.

-Derek

Brand New Goal

I am planning to wait until Windows 7 is released, and if it's cheap enough ($99-$199), I'm going to build my own desktop computer and run Windows 7 on it. It's a relatively simple process depending on how you do it. I want mine to be really powerful: it needs to have a nice processor (I'm talking about Intel Core Duo at least, if not Core 2 Duo), a nice graphics card for gaming, an big hard drive (I don't want to have to get an external hard drive later), stuff like that. I also want the screen to be nice and big. No cutting corners on display. I've already made a personal checklist of parts I need to build it. I'll need to save up money for a while.

-Derek

Introducing: the iPhone 4G

Well, not really. But Apple needs to start thinking about that, and according to electronista.com, there's a new chip that they may put in their iPhone called the SMARTi LU from Infineon. It apparently has something called "Long Term Evolution" (LTE), but what interests me is that it has 4G technology, and it's backwards-compatible with 3G and 2G networks like you'd expect. Apple might want to put this chip in just to get ahead of the competition.

-Derek

:(

Yes, I'm just as shocked and disappointed as you. Unless you didn't hear.

Steve Jobs, just days after describing his "hormone imbalance" health issue, wrote a letter to all his employees announcing that he's taking a "medical leave of absence" because the issue is "more complex" than he originally thought. He doesn't plan to return until late June. Tim Cook will be running Apple until then.

I'm really scared. No Steve Jobs for 6 months? I don't have faith in Cook's abilities to be CEO, and even if he does do a decent job, nobody can match Steve. They never had a back-up plan, and that could really tear the company apart if this continues.

Dan Lyons, AKA Fake Steve Jobs, appeared on CNBC and threw a hissy-fit while talking about this.



I'm actually told that he was banned from CNBC because of this. I don't blame them. Let me tell you something about Dan. He's an idiot. And he doesn't care about his FSJ fans. If he did, he would've kept running the FSJ blog. All he is is a jerk who tries to bring attention to the dying magazine he works for, Newsweek. You know what he said a while ago? He said "If Steve Jobs is still running the company at year-end [2008], I'll be shocked." Too bad he wasn't speaking literally. Maybe it would've knocked some sense into him for a change. It's now January 2009, and not only did Steve run the company, he technically still is running the company. He stated that he's still going to run CEO operations while he's away. Here's the full letter.

Let's hope that Steve stays okay so we can have our awesome CEO back and so we can have our awesome computer company back!

-Derek

Pirates of Silicon Valley clip

In the spirit of love, I'll share a clip from the amazing film "Pirates of Silicon Valley". It's fantastic. This is the stuff that makes technology politics so interesting.



-Derek

Windows 7

So CES just happened. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made many inane statements that make no sense. For example, he said something along the lines of "2008 was a really bad year economy-wise. But these economic problems don't affect those who are innovative." Well in that case, Microsoft is pretty much screwed. They haven't ever been innovative. It doesn't look like they're planning on starting being innovative, as shown by their latest updates on their latest OS, Windows 7.

For example, there's one feature called "Aero Shake". Whatever the "Aero" means is beyond me. It means that when you shake a window, all other windows will minimize. The video can be seen here. Now really, look at this. It doesn't take much shaking at all to minimize the windows. What if I accidentally make it all minimize when I didn't want it to? Apple did something that could be compared to this, called "Shake to Shuffle" on the iPod Nano. Now that could've been risky, since you might accidentally shake it and have it shuffle when you didn't want it to. However, Apple actually thought of this and made so that it knew when you were really shaking it. I'm worried about whether Microsoft was smart enough to do that with "Aero Shake". Also, didn't Apple do the same basic thing with Expose'? The only difference is, instead of shaking it, you just hit a keystroke. You can also see all the windows of a certain application in Expose.

There's another feature that I don't know the name of, where you move your mouse to a certain corner, and you can see the desktop. Sound familiar? Yes. Apple did the same exact thing, once again with Expose'. The only little difference is that instead of the window flying out of the way, the window turns into a square outline of the window, as if you're looking through a sheet of glass. Cool effect, but otherwise, it's a blatant copy. And what's really funny is that somebody from Microsoft spouted about how "innovative" they were by doing this. They keep using the word "innovative". What's with "innovative"? Are they trying to talk like Apple? News flash, Microsoft: even if you're going to copy off of somebody's work, that doesn't mean you have to act the way they do too.

Anyway, I'm not going to completely bash Windows 7. I actually secretly have high hopes for it. Why? Because I'll never afford a Mac, so Windows is all I have. I want Windows to be as good as possible. But I'm sure it's still going to be a memory hog, and I'm sure it still has a confusing interface, just retouched to look different.

Macworld 2009 Recap

Steve Jobs never showed up at Macworld, and now I can see why. Pretty underwhelming show. Here's the scoop:

-New iLife '09. iPhoto has features like "Faces" where you can search through your library by a specific person's face. iMovie has advanced features that were left out in the last version. GarageBand has an instrument-learning feature.

-New iWork '09. Most notable features are in Keynote, where you can use new slide features and even sync them with your iPod Touch and use it as a clicker for presentations. Nice.

-New 17-inch MacBook Pro. The best thing about it is its absolutely stunning battery life: 8 hours. To make this happen, it's sealed, but what makes up for that is that it lasts for over 1000 full charges; over three times the industry standard. It doesn't add any size, weight, or price to the notebook.

-One More Thing...: iTunes is now DRM-free. iTunes Plus is now the "new iTunes standard". You now get better song encoding (better quality), and the songs are burn limit-free and digital rights-free (so you can play it on any device). They also thought this through; you don't have to buy every song all over again. You can just upgrade the whole library to iTunes Plus, but bad news: it costs 30 cents to upgrade each song (60 cents for music videos, and 30% of an album's price to upgrade a whole album). Oh well. New prices for iTunes as well. Songs, depending on the music label's wishes, will either be 69 cents, 99 cents, or $1.29. Most full albums will still cost $9.99.

...And that's it. That's all. Pretty disappointing final Macworld, but I think it's a symbol that Apple's done relying on Macworld as a deadline for all of their work. They now work on their own schedule and will probably rent a venue whenever they want to showcase any new products. The best news for me is that Steve is alive and soon to be well. The slate, in my view, has been cleaned for Apple. Time to make some great products again.

Breaking News: Steve Jobs Reveals Health Problem

I made a mistake. Macworld keynote is tomorrow. Sorry. My bad.

But that doesn't mean I don't have any news to share with you. Steve Jobs has officially informed the Mac community through a letter written by him what his sickness is and that he's not dying. Here is the letter in its entirety:

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

Sounds great. I can't tell you how happy this makes me, it really lifts a weight off my shoulders. I hope he feels much better by late Spring.

A lot of people are actually mad at the letter (they find a way to be mad at everything Apple- or Jobs-related). They say it wasn't specific enough. For them, the letter had to state which hormones were imbalanced, what treatment he was under, etc. What I say to that is, come on you morons. Give the man a break. It's his own personal business, just like your health is. I understand that Apple should share with us what is happening with Dear Leader so that they don't manipulate the stocks, but this is where I draw the line.

More people say, "He came off pretty cranky," and "What's with the attitude?" My response: Wouldn't you be cranky too if you were just trying to enjoy the holidays for once, and the whole world was hanging on to every word you said, every action you made, and how your health was? He's obviously tired of all the "ZOMG STEVE JOBS IS DYING!!!" people who won't leave this matter alone. He's also probably tired of the news stories making really inaccurate claims about his health and about how Apple's doomed.

The way I see it, Steve Jobs isn't going anywhere, whether it's to a retirement home or to Heaven. He's here to stay, and as long as his treatment cures him as scheduled, I think we can expect to have him as CEO for years to come.

One last thing: Does this mean Fake Steve Jobs is coming back? Just saying.

-Derek

The Final Macworld Keynote

This is an important Macworld, as it is the last Macworld keynote ever. The keynote will be on January 5 (oh crap, that's tomorrow!), probably at 12:00 Central. As tomorrow's a half-day at school for me, it'll be easy for me to find out the news. I'm probably going to secretly check out the results of the keynote from school though. Here's a round-up of just about all the rumors floating around:

Desktop Macs:
-Quad-core iMacs, Mac Minis
-NVIDIA graphics iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros
-LED iMacs
-New 28" iMac model, 20" being replaced by 24"
-Support for dual displays for Mac Mini

MacBook Family:
-Unibody 17" MacBook Pro
-Non-replaceable MacBook Pro battery for 17", with longer battery life
-White MacBook will be discontinued, Unibody MacBook's price will be dropped to $999 (I hope so!)
-New Netbook MacBook
-Mac Tablet

iPhone:
-New iPhone Nano, smaller version that costs less
-"Large Screen iPod Touch Device" (could be the Tablet)

Other:
-Multi-touch Mighty Mouse
-Snow Leopard demo, possible Snow Leopard release

Have fun. Let's keep our fingers crossed to see Steve there.

-Derek

New enemy of Derek Brown: "pavelmah"

What the word "pavelmah" is supposed to mean, we may never know. But what I do know is how much of an idiot he is.

So there's still a huge "Digg Revolt" going on that's probably making Kevin Rose cry. Pavelmah has been pointed out by Raisedinhell, the Digg revolt leader, to be a cheater in the system. To my surprise, as of right now, Pavelmah's account has NOT been deleted. This is ridiculous since he obviously has been doing rapid-Diggs and has been duplicating for most of his user history, though people haven't noticed it until now. He's still trying to cover it up, but it's like he's trying to do it in the most douchebaggy way possible. At the moment, he's pointing out a few supposed duplicates that Raisedinhell made, which can't be proven.

That's pretty stupid, because the key difference is that in Raisedinhell's case, the "duplicates" accusation has no actual evidence (it's a long story), and in Pavelmah's case, it has obvious evidence. But pavelmah, even if this turned out to be true about our revolt leader, would it make you the better man? No. You'd still be a hack with no life who wants to control what people on Digg read.

Pavelmah is officially a Derek Brown Enemy, not only because he's denying his own obvious guiltiness, but he's swearing at people and acting high and mighty and all that stuff. Whatever. Take it to YouTube or something, not the sacred comments temples of Digg. We want peace and harmony, not your presence.