Is any app worth $999.99?

In an app store where 4.99 seems too much and 9.99 better some with some extras; an app for the price of $1K is just crazy right? I would say no. I'm not talking about the "I am rich" app. This new one is called ivip black. http://short.to/yfim

The app is basically an address book for high end events and places. It does a good job but any person that has some form of high end income will have a consigliore or at least P. Diddy on speed dial to help them book events. This is app an example of why the app store is getting saturated. Good apps are too hard to find.

New Site on the Block: http://causefx.net/forums

CauseFX

Get used to that because I am sure it will become a house hold name in a matter of months in the same likes that appulos.us and geohot are. This is more than a forum or website this is a 600 plus community of well informed and creative jailbreakers.

Although the site is fairly new the creator of the site has been on the scene for quite a while and has only now decided to step from behind the curtain so to speak to stand tall in the lime light. Only time will tell if this good or a great move. So far this site seems to be on a fast reliable server. Don't ask about ipa's or apps. That is not what this site is about or is it? I would not tell you if it was because piracy is not a thing that should be glorified. Thus I will say this; CauseFX a community that prides it's self on being a place where any and all information on the jailbreaking scene can be found. Look for it to do great things and look for more post as it grows.

Games: Big Business

Games use to be something kids did but most people in the 30's play games because that age group grew up with Nintendo, Sega and Sony. Now games have grown with the age group while picking up younger children. Now that games are on the radar of huge companies expect to see more and more blockbusters. The only thing though there is still a stigmatism with games. Which is what is keeping from having a blockbuster every year just like people look to the summer for movies. There is no feeling like that with games.

Randomly there is a Halo, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto other than those three games; no others have come up regally. With better games and record breakers like this year's Call of Duty it may spur on a trend. Call of Duty broke every entertainment record for a single day period. That includes movies, games and music.

HTC Eris vs. Motorola Droid

Have you developed an opinion on the droid or droid Eris yet? That was the question I just got asked on twitter by makegood. This is the 100 time I have been asked about the two phones since I got my hands on them a month ago. After using both for a while now. I will go into detail with full review. As always you can just go to the bottom-line and read my one sentence opinion if you don't want to read how I came to that thought.

Motorola Droid:

The Droid is a big at 4.56 by 2.36 by .54 inches and 5.96 ounces. A 5-megapixel camera. It has a very nice 3.7-inch, 854-by-480 LCD capacitive touch screen. Below the huge screen are four light-up, touch-sensitive buttons. There is also the pointless lip with the microphone on it. I got amazing 6 hours, 2 minutes of talk time. Repeat talk time. That means everything else was turned off. No Wi-Fi, no data using widgets. I got 5 hours and 20 minutes of normal use. If you are a power user you will get 3 hours and 50 minutes before your battery bar goes to 2. Yes that does suck and is the only flaw in a great phone. Droid is the fastest Android phone in the market. This is the first Android phone with an ARM Cortex-A8 processor, the same Cortex-A8 that powers the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre. [Side bar: So why no multi running apps apple?] The big screen is the best I have seen on a phone. Just like the iPhone, the Droid's screen rotates when you turn it. But unlike the iPhone web pages load up very fast thanks to Verizon's great network. Too be fair though Droid does not do Flash. The QWERTY keys are a little too flat and small. They seemed like an afterthought of function rather than design. The Droid is not the greatest voice phone but quality was still acceptable. The Droid runs Android 2.0 but it should be called Google 2.0. That means to get the best use of the phone you must have a Google account. The phone does a good job of walking you though the setup. Google & Verizon relies on the tech-savvy customers to turn the Droid their own phone. Out of the box will be a learning curve but it is worth the time.

HTC Eris:

The Droid Eris a clone of the HTC Hero. Nothing that really separates it from the pack except the name and the company it is now on. While both the Eris and Hero have a 3.2-inch, 480-by-320 pixel screen, the Droid Eris supports 262,000 colors while the myTouch 3G has just 65,000 colors. The phone is slow when you stand it up next to the Droid it is like comparing a NES to a Wii. Years behind the competition. The Droid Eris has a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM 7600 CPU running Android 1.5. The Eris has a 5.0-megapixel camera that lacks a flash, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.0; includes a GPS receiver; and supports the 800MHz and 1900MHz bands on the Verizon Wireless network. It also has a standard headset jack, something the myTouch does not.
The Bottom Line:

Get a Motorola Droid if you are in the market for a new toy and avoid the Eris at all cost but if you are business person and love your Blackberry just wait for the BlackBerry Curve2. I'm not a Blackberry person but even I want one. I know it was not real VS. That would be unfair fight. Droid would win hands down with a knockout.

The next best thing: Ipod with keys

I just saw and iPod with a keyboard. No I was not dreaming. It was a fake but it still got me excited to wonder about the possibilities. I also wonder why no one has come up with an add on for it. I would be very helpful. For I know as much as you love your iPod. You can't stand the touch screen keys.

BlackRa1n: Fact vs. Fiction

Fact: Blackra1n is qucik and easy to run.
Fiction: Blackra1n is a 30 second ALL device 3.1.2 jailbreak.

That is right people. Although Blackra1n is very easy to use. So simple in fact a child could do it. This simplisity does not come without some drawbacks. Fist you can not do a hard reset. If you let the battery run out on your iPod touch or perform a "hard" reboot, you'll have to boot your iPod while connected to your computer the next time using BlackRa1n to boot it. If you want your iPhone to be unlocked to use with another carrier, don’t upgrade to 3.1.2 and do not use Blackra1n to jailbreak your iPhone as you wont be able to unlock it from your carrier. So this jailbreak should only be used on ipods that are not 8GB or 3rd gen. So far it has worked great.

UPDATE: With RC3 Blackra1n now does do all it claimed in the 1st place. 11/3/09

Fox: Fair and balanced

On Sunday, Chris Wallace tried to spin President Obama's snub of the Fox Propaganda Network into a positive, saying that Fox is "the only place you won't see" the President pitch his health care plan. Wallace went on to promise a big "exclusive" for his talk show. The exclusive? Yet another discussion of ACORN. Big surprise, eh?

Worth noting: not only did Fox broadcast network refuse to air President Obama's health care speech to Congress, last week Fox News also refused to air a daytime speech by the President on health care.

Both speeches were covered by MSNBC and CNN, so when Fox says that they are the only place where "you won't see Barack Obama" talk about health care, they aren't kidding around.

Thanks to & story by: Jed Lewison

Touch Pro 2: I do everything

The Touch Pro 2 is a great phone so far but still lacks what it takes to be an iPhone killer.
Why?
Here are the cons of the phone:
1 : Apps
I know Windows mobile has way more apps than Apple has in the app store but its so spread out with so many different sources its nearly impossible to find what you want.

2: Multi media
The music store by Sprint is well setup but really no syncing companion for your computer what is the point? The camera although very sharp at 3.2 mega pixels does not have a flash. Why would you do that?

3: Extras
There are non. The TouchFlo 3D while way better than Windows; is still not up to par with iPod's OS. I recommend installing SPB Mobile Shell 3 to help with the gap.

Now the Pro:
Video playback is as good as an iPod Touch. HTC has its on video player that natively plays many codecs without conversion software. Battery life is very good for a multi media rich phone. There is a built in 3.5 headphone jack. No need for an adapter. The keyboard is large enough for big fingers. The system is fast and responsive without the normal lag of a Windows Mobile OS.

BOTTOM LINE:
This phone can do almost everything you can ask for but it is still no iPhone. In the end you will get what you want a phone that has great clarity, rich multi media, speed and sex appeal (yes, phones have it).

Jay-Z: Blueprint 3 (review)

The Blueprint 3 11th album

Over 13 years in the public eye, Jay-Z has gone from former crack-dealer to the most respected person(not just rapper)in the music world. The journey from MC to CEO has, perhaps inevitably, taken some of the edges off Shawn Carter.

Many rappers have a faster flow (rhyme), but few have more clarity, or make as much sense. Timbaland and Kanye West are among his producers, Blueprint 3 has a dynamic rang, from the tightly looped electro chant of Off That to the anthemic club pop of Empire State of Mind featuring Alicia Keys.

A thread that runs the length of the album is Jay-Z addressing all of his critics. Shots are fired in all directions. Dame Dash and Jaz-O are addressed on "So Ambitious" Cam'ron and Jim Jones are on the receiving end of a particularly venomous verse on "Thank You" (I was gon' kill a couple rappers, but they did it to themselves/ I was gon' do it with the flow, but they did it with their sales). Not to mention "Hate," "Thank You," and "Reminder," all of which Jay dedicates to his detractors, there are even some throwaway subliminals for The Game and Joe Buddens.


At 40 years old, Jay-Z comes across as a well-rounded, sophisticated and with more wit, charm and verbal assault. Such qualities may be taken as a sign of weakness among young but Hov's Blueprint 3 is a mainstream rap album & suggests Jay-Z still has the skills to shake off the pretenders.
Here is the track list. The only bad song is Venus Vs. Mars. I don't know how that made it to on there but its bad. Just skip it.
1. What We Talkin' About (Jay-Z + Luke Steele of Empire Of The Sun)
2. Thank You
3. D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)
4. Run This Town (Jay-Z + Rihanna + Kanye West)
5. Empire State Of Mind (Jay-Z + Alicia Keys)
6. Real As It Gets (Jay-Z + Young Jeezy)
7. On To The Next One (Jay-Z + Swizz Beatz)
8. Off That (Jay-Z + Drake) Listen
9. A Star Is Born (Jay-Z + J. Cole)
10. Venus Vs. Mars
11. Already Home (Jay-Z + Kid Cudi)
12. Hate (Jay-Z + Kanye West)
13. Reminder
14. So Ambitious (Jay-Z + Pharrell

Quake Live – A First Person Shooter on a Browser

Quake live, A First Person Shooter on a Browser has a relatively high chance of being a HUGE success.
If you are at work, this is gonna be what gamers play. Screw flash games. However, here at TechXav, we don’t play games while at work
All jokes aside, I got a chance to try this out and it is responsive. Quake is one of the founding fathers in First person shooters that everyone plays now and is made by the famous id software. It shaped first person shooters to what it is now with help from Doom and Halo.

Give it a try
http://www.quakelive.com/

Summer Dresses: Final

That was the day that broke the camels back. We had a long night and got up late in the afternoon to a sunny summer day. I being the wonderfully stupid house wife that I was at that time, fixed him breakfast then went back to bed to wake your father. We ate breakfast in bed and then umm, well, we took a nap. Mike visibly squirmed in his seat. Frances noticed and moved along. I thought it was going to be a good day even special in some way. I mean it was a perfect storybook day. The sky was blue; there were big puffy white clouds in wonderful shapes. The birds were chirping to nature’s song. But alas in my old age I have come to realized that was just wishful thinking on my part. I see that now and I feel that it is better to learn later then to never learn at all.

As soon as we got outside the apartment it was like we were at the dealership, he just kept gawking at all the younger models of me. Like women are cars and the sidewalk was the show room or display lot. After we passed 8th Ave. we headed towards Washington Square.

Since I was feeling romantic because of the way the night had ended and the morning had started, I wanted to spend the whole day alone as a couple. Basking in the glow of love, I wanted to take all the steps needed to make sure I would have a day to remember. I should have known then that I was on the long one-way street of love by myself and because of that I would not have a day to remember, instead I had a day to forget but could not.

Michael agreed with me that spending the day together would be fun and romantic. He also was motivated by the thought of blowing off the snobby newly weds the Stevenson’s. We had planed to drive in the country with them but that was out of social guilt not choice. I was so happy, I kissed him but did he kiss me back? No, two timing asshole just politely informed me as if I was a school child that “this is 5th Avenue.” Like he has lived a dignified life or something. How dignified is it to gawk at young women while your wife of many years is holding your arm, standing or sitting next to you?


Anyway, we sat down and started to go over what we should do with the rest of our lovely Sunday. At the time I believed that I could somehow, someway repair this day or at least salvage what remains of it. While I was shooting out ideas for what we should do, he was having ideas of his own. Not one woman that walked by lost his lustfully glances. When I told him he is always looking at other women. The prick looked me in the eyes and with out any shame what so ever delivered that male patented line. “God gave me eyes so I use them. I look but do not touch.” The same old tired cliché. It’s like you guys are thought that at birth or something. It makes me sick. As we were walking to get what had become some much needed drinks. Your father told me that he had never touched another woman. I had been told otherwise by friends of mine but never paid them much attention. I had never before had a reason not to believe my husband, your father. But when he repeated that he had never touched another women for the sixth time in a span of three minutes, it became clear that he was trying to convince himself just as much as me.


I told him how I feel when he looks at other women. I said that it felt terrible but in retrospect it is worse then that. It is like being able to watch from afar as your best friend stabs you in the back over and over again. No, it really feels like you are losing the one you love each time. You build up your significant other as the only one for you, as your soul mate and when that mate looks at others the same way he looks at you, you feel lost and start to doubt there commitment to you.

He… France continued despite fighting back tears which are proof even though she acts like she has moved on the pain in her heart has not yet nor will it ever really be healed. Your father told me that he wants them all. He wants every single woman he looks at but yet he insist that he has never done anything about the feeling. You hear me Mike? Without any regard for my feelings, your father the bastard said blatantly that he wants other women. I asked him point blank would he cheat on me someday and he said yes. Why did I stay with him after that conversation is beyond me. I did and just six months later he did cheat on me.


Mike began to ask the question he always wanted to ask his mother but was cut of in mid sentence. Yes, Mike. It was with your mother that he cheated on me with. Your mother is a good woman. I do not blame her in any way for what your father did. Mr. Stevenson although not at all happy about what transpired, did what I could not; he remained with your mother as if nothing had happened. I on the other had had found the courage to divorce your father but you know what? There is not a day that I do not think about him because I did then as I do now and always will love him. But he still looks at other women. I guess that is why he is on his fourth wife now. He only sees women as girls, girls in pretty summer dresses.

Summer Dresses: Part 2

Wait till I tell the other guys he thought to himself as he ran outside before his father could stop him. Mike yelled that is not what he had meant the point of the conversation to be but by that time it was too late. Franklin was long gone, probably somewhere teasing Cathy or gloating to his friends about his new found knowledge.

Frances came in the room from the hall wall. How long have you been listening, asked Mike? I was behind the door and long enough to hear you pollute the young man’s brain with filth that your worthless father passed down to you. Sit down young man let me really tell you about the events that Tran squired that faithful summer day. Your father wanted any piece of ass he could get his hands on and those he could not have he made it a point to gawk at to his hearts content regardless if I was there or not. That bastard, I should have left him a long time ago but I was too in love or just too scared to be by myself. Regardless of the reason that day he made the choice for me.

Summer Dresses: Part 1

Michael watched her walk, thinking what a pretty girl, what nice legs. And then what happened? Asked Franklin. "Nothing at least that is how my father used to tell me the story. So you see Franklin it is not just you it is in our genes." Franklin looked even more perplexed then he did before he asked his father the question in the first place. Mike taking his son's facial expression into notice, tried as best he could to explain the story about his parents once more. Alright Franklin, it's like this; women don't like it when a guy shares his attention with anyone but them. That is why Cathy got mad at you. She is very fond of you my son and if you care for her in any way you will not look at another girl when you are with her.


A deep cloud came over his son's face as he realized in amazement what his father had said. The wheels in his head were turning and it all made crystal clear sense now. Wow, I never thought about that before. Said Franklin. So what you mean to tell me is... Franklin's voice trailed off as his father nodded him along. What you mean is that Cathy likes me!!! Franklin said with a youth's excitement that was clear in his voice.

2009 Xbox LIVE Update Preview

My 360 told me Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to the 2009 Xbox LIVE Update Preview. Welcome, and we are glad that you are on board!

This morning my Xbox signed me out and updated it's self than. I was honored with the new Live update. I will be chronicling my experiences from now until it comes out to the public.

First I will go over what is in the Preview than I will go over what is missing.

What is part of the update?

• Avatar Marketplace is great. I love that you can buy toys for your avatar. (160 MP is high though)
• Netflix now lets you add to your queue. I tried it and it works instantly
• User Ratings for movies, shows, games and content will be helpful when everyone has it
• Games on demand are faster than most movie downloads and works well (tired with Halo)
• Solutions. It’s a new blade that has well...tips and solutions to help you with the 360
• Your gametag now has a number that represents how long you have been a member
• I have not tried Parties yet but it’s said to be streamlined
• You can now watch previews of games before you download a demo

What I am still waiting for

• Twitter (I was really looking forward to that after E3)
• Facebook (read what I said above)

Yeah that's it. Closing thoughts the blades are a lot faster. I am sure I will find more...

PocketTwit vs. Twikini

If you own a Windows Mobile Device and you love twitter chances are that you have a mobile twitting program. There are two that are at the top of the pile that I will briefly review today.

Right off the bat both offer a rich graphical interface that is a welcome change from Twittday.
After using both of these great products I think that PocketTwit takes in terms of options that are offered to the user.

PocketTwit allows you to have multiple users. Check the timeline of anyone using Twitter, set up groups to send Twitts to, follow or unfollow right from the program. The speed is very fast but with the intensive graphic use I recommend an unlimited data plan.

Twukini starts up very fast and allows for updating the AIP at set amount of times. Some features that I think are a must that were missing were from Twikini was that you have no control over how much cache you want to store and where to save it. There is also no option for auto scroll it get real annoying scrolling to the top to read new tweets. PocketTwitt has these features and much more. So for me it’s a better fit but if you are not a power Twitter go with Twukini.

Why upgrade to Windows 7?

Microsoft aims to put Vista troubles far behind its self. That is the real only reason it is coming about with a new system. You would think after ME that it would have learned its lesson. Microsoft might and could stop Vista as soon as Windows 7 is released. Not a good move.What if you’re just fine with your copy of Vista and you don't want to upgrade to a new OS? Richard Francis, general manager and Windows client business group lead at Microsoft Asia-Pacific, in an e-mail said an enterprise customer that purchases a PC with Windows 7 pre-installed is allowed to downgrade to Vista should they desire, similar to what we have today on Vista to XP. If you’re not an enterprise customer you’re out of luck. How about support? Microsoft will stop supporting all versions of Vista in April 2012, Francis said. Humm maybe that is what Nostradamus saw. Microsoft had high hopes for Vista, but the OS sluggish on all but the fastest computers and permission prompts required for almost every task was annoying. Dissatisfaction with Vista kept user demand high for Windows XP from the business and customer side alike. There were some brave souls like early adaptors that used Vista anyway. Eastman Chemical and Continental Airlines were listed on Microsoft's Web site -- decided to roll out Vista within their organizations. "It's been a long time since we've had a version of Windows that will actually run better [than the previous version] on the hardware that most customers have," said Mike Nash, corporate vice president of the Windows product management group at Microsoft, during a conference call with reporters.

I have been using some form of Windows 7 for about a year now and I must say that I am very impressed. At first glance you might think Microsoft is trying to pull a fast one on you. The OS looks almost just like Vista but once you start using it you find that it is nothing like it. There are still prompts that need attention to allow task but now you can customize them. IE upgrade is welcome to compete with Chrome and Firefox but still has compatibility problems with some web sites. There are now libraries instead of folders. All in all it is a great upgrade and worth the buy.

RIP Michael Jackson

Death of a Icon & End of a legend/

Makes you wonder why the good die young & the imitators keep on living/

Haven't spit in a while but my thoughts is running rampant/

So I had to take my visions from the mental & pen it/

Music touch the world with hits like Man in the Mirror & Earth Song/Regardless of accusations from haters your legacy will live on/

-RIP Michael Jackson-

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

6pack by August 1ST

I know you read the title and think. Really is this what a tech savvy blog has come to. The self serving interest of a suddenly health consciouses blogger. Yes, sort of. I will be using information from various web sites and the latest tech to help in my quest for abs. As well as keeping a log. My first discovery is http://hundredpushups.com/ that claims to help you to do 100 push ups in one rep in only 6 weeks. Today was my first day of it.

It's all over

Anyone that knows me knows that it is very hard for me to admit that I was wrong. Well world here you go. I may have been wrong. But it really wasn't my fault. I like every other sports fan was lead to believe something that seem to be a given. Somehow that did not happen. The magic upset the Cavs and in the process killed the superstar show down. No Kobe vs. LaBron. Just Kobe and the best equipped team in basketball at the moment vs. lucky upstarts of the Orlando Magic.

Los Angeles is up 3-1, its elimination time for Orlando Magic. Everyone has counted them out in each series. Can the Magic pull off one more win to take the series back to LA? Or, will they have to watch Kobe Bryant and his crew celebrate on their home floor? I think they can win this game and I think the Lakers will come out with energy but it won't be enough. There is no way the Magic let the Lakes win in their home. They have too much pride. Then again I have been wrong before. We’ll see tonight.

1 vs. 100: Impressive

I have never been a real big fan of Arcade games. That all changed after playing this game. Unlike other people, I had no problem getting into a game session. There are some things you should know ahead of time. Do not listen to Microsoft. They tell you to be ready to play just five minutes before a session. That is not going to work; you need to be into the lobby at least twenty minutes ahead of time. You must also be a gold member to try out the demo. It is helpful if you set a reminder.


Now on to the game review. When you are at the lobby the game will automatically pick your destination. 1 vs. 100 players nationwide compete against each other during a live event at scheduled times on Friday and Saturday nights for a 13-week season once the Beta season ends. You will be a member of the crowd, mob or The One. You can only be a member of the Mob just once per show that night. The One only one time the whole season and the mob anytime. Which when you think about it will be most of the time. I was a member of the Mob at first. Soon as you get wrong answer you become a member of the crowd.


The questions were relatively easy at first but they got hard real quick. Don't even think about cheating by using Google or the internet. The questions come and go way to fast for that kind of nonsense. You are paired up with 3 other players to help so even it is 1 vs. 100 you never really feel like it. Never the less the host makes you feel like you are in a Sprint Theater.

The game itself takes place in the Sprint Theater, named after the game’s primary sponsor. The outside of the theater has the Sprint logo on the building. Inside, Sprint signage lines the walls like HD TV's in a sports bar. The lighting behind the mob bleachers will flash Sprint yellow.
Despite that the game is in a word very very "Impressive."

Mafia Wars vs. Spymaster

The social Networks have transitioned from a place to just leave messages to a place to play games and make money for developers. No arguably has done a better job at this than the makers of Mafia Wars. This game is as addictive as cupcakes to 6 year olds at a party. It is the top game on Facebook as well as MySpace. With its ability to buy more tools to help you in the game at the cost of real money or your time with trails and surveys it is also very profitable to the developer. Now there is a new kid on the block that intends to change that with the help of another new kid in the park. Twitter is the place to see and be seen in this day and age of social networking. There have been attempts at games for it before but none has been as addictive as Spymaster. At first glance it seems like a carbon copy of Mafia Wars with a different title but you would be wrong. It takes more than just random "jobs" to reach new level. Although it is easy to get people to follow you on Twitter, it should be interesting to see who followers view the tweets that the game produces. I think some will view it as spam but others will be tempted to join the fun.

Pulse Pen: The netbook's netbook

The Pulse Pen at first looks like an oversized pen but you quickly learns that this pen is more like a mini computer than anything else. I have the 2GB version which has more than enough space. The pen records audio and links it to what you write. While I thought I would not use this feature. I soon found that sometimes it was easier to record a note rather than writing it down. The pen comes with a pair of headphones that let you record in what is called 3D. What it really amounts to is surround sound. I test it out at Barns & Noble, Best Buy and Buffalo Billiards. The sound performed perfectly. I was able to record conversations from all directions.

This pen would have been very helpful during undergrad. If you are still in high school or college I highly recommend getting one. Although the instructions say that you can only use the pen on one computer, that is not so. If your tech savvy enough you can share it with as many computers as you wish. All you have to do is install the Litghtscribe desktop to a Live Mesh folder. If you don't have a Live Mesh or never heard of it, than you should sign up for it. It's free by the way. The Pulse pen software lets transfer & share your notes, organize them, and even search for words within your notes. The best thing is that you can upload your creations online for everyone to see, hear and play. The reverse of that works very well also. You can download someone that teaches you how to draw a cartoon say Family Guy or notes to Calculus class from an A student. (To be used for studying of course) At just 1.3 oz. The pen will fit just about anywhere. The instructions say that the Pulse Pen requires Windows XP with service pack 2 or Windows Vista to run but I have found that it works just fine on Windows 7 RC as well.

Terminator: Salvation?

Is this Terminator the salvation the franchise so desperately needs? Will this action packed summer flick be the best thing McG has done since Charlie's Angles? Does Mr. Christian "F bomb" Bale live up to the hype?

In a word yes, although I did not walk away completely over joyed with the plot. For one thing Skynet tells Marcus the half robot & half human that he is the only one of his kind but a few cut scenes later he is fighting his upgrade Arnold. Little things like that should not happen in a movie of this size. But all in all this movie does pass the bill of being a summer action blockbuster. You should see it just for the soon to be infamous helicopter scene right in the beginning. That is the best action sequence I have ever seen . There is not much of a review needed for this movie. You know what you are getting. Heart pounding action from start to finish. Who needs cohesive plots anyway?

I give it a 4 out 5 stars.

Angles & Demons: Unrealistic but good

Angels and Demons is a good meaningful film that has lots of heart but features a message that tries very hard not often anyone. I give the movie 3 out of 5. Now read on for the full review if you still want to see the movie.

A man from The Vatican who seeks Robert Langdon’s help. Right away it is evident that this film is a lot more straight forward and to the point. It is not a sequel to DaVinci Code nor does it seem like a predecessor although there are many hints to the contrary. Hanks is flawless as he always is in every film he does. Therefore he is not the problem nor is it Howard's impeccable directing. The movie is just not as enticing as the first movie and you keep hoping that it will live up to that older sibling but it never does. The science is sound in some places but so unrealistic in others it hurts to watch if you’re a tech geek. Creating antimatter is not impossible but containing it is. Also creating it in such a great quantity is also very unrealistic. The impact of antimatter and regular matter is just so unpredictable. No one really knows what will happen.

The special effects are great but there were was not much to do to make it that way. A side from the ending which I will not tell you, the FX was largely stunts by doubles that any company could have done. There you have it an unbiased review. Next week I will review Terminator: Salvation.

Star Trek: A J.J. Abrams Story

If your a fan you can name each of those captains in the picture. Now imagine all that back story never happened. I’m a Trekker not to be mistaken with Trekkie Trekkers love Star Trek but leave at that. Trekkie eat, breathe and dream all things Star Trek. They go to conventions and name their kids after the show characters. Now that is clear, I will sum up the movie in one word and go from there. Overhyped. Ok, I may have cheated since technically that is not one word. But you get the point.

J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the franchise will generate enthusiasm among Trekkies which leads to repeat viewings will enable the film to do very well at the box office. Why? Because even if the movie sucks it is still a Star Trek movie and Trekkies only care about that fact. Now a Trekker such as I and others like me will go see the movie once and leave it at that. Why? Te movie lacks in key parts that would make it a great movie. The DNA of Abrams is all over this movie from the time traveling paradox to father/son conflict that is in all his shows. He did leave in all the catch phrases such as "Beam me up!” and “Set phasers to stun!” but there were done in a classy way. They worked with their respective scenes. All cannot be put on JJ's shoulders, writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman who collaborated with Abrams on Mission: Impossible III have come up with a head-achingly (think LOST) plot that effectively has no relevance to nearly 40 years of Trek. Six TV series and 10 movie history was brushed under the carpet like they never happen. It felt like JJ read about the show (Yes read because he admits to never watching the show or movies) and took just the characters names and worked with that.

As a fan of Star Trek your left feeling kind of cheated. I understand the movie had to appeals to a greater audience but at the cost of core fans is not the way to do it. Transformers did a great job or appealing and appeasing the core fan boy.

Bottom line. This is a good movie but not a great movie and definitely not a summer blockbuster. Here’s to hoping Transformers does not let me down.

1, 000 Tweets!!

I have made to another twitter milestone. There are a few to keep track of.
1. When you get your first non friend or relative to follow you
2. When you reach 100 Followers
3. When you have 1000 sent out tweets
4. When you have 500 Followers

I have just gone past 1000 tweets sent out. Next up is to try to get 1K followers. This is not going to be an easy job. A non celebrity actually has to work to get and maintain followers. This is done by delivering good and accurate content consistently throughout the day. If you can do that than your following will grow and grow. Mobile twitter is an absolute must as well as an automatic distribution system such as Twuffer that allows the Twitter user to compose a list of future tweets, and schedule their release. Once you reach 500 Followers your community is on auto pilot from then on. A good rule of thumb is to keep giving your followers the same class of content meaning don't go from to one topic to another. If you want to switch topics start another twitter account for just that topic. The flip side of that is if you started going all over the place from the start than it's too late continue doing it, they must like it if they are following and switching now would only hurt. Remember they started following for a reason.

30's the new 20?

I heard a great poet say one time that 30' the new 20. Well if that is the case than why does age seem like an uphill climb rather than a stroll around the park? Whoever that poet may have been must have been living in a different time line or circumstances. Ah wait, Jay-Z aka Hova aka Young Hov aka Jigga aka Sean Carter was this poet. Mr. Cater came from nothing on the streets of Brooklyn to International Superstar. So he can say that he is like 20 again with that kind of transformation.

Short Blog but I will be updated it daily

PSP Rumor or Truth

Many rumors have been going around about Sony's next handheld gaming system. Namely the PSP or what some are already calling the PSP Go! While rumors are almost always just that, rumors. This time a movie can be based on a true story. This rumor would be one of those.

The PSP will be called PSP Go! Since it already has such a slew of European PSP peripherals with the PSP Go! moniker. The Go! View application hopefully will follow stateside too since it is the best one by far. The most talked about rumor is the loss of UMD or as I like to think of it the gain of more flash memory. This is the rumor most gamers as well developers want and pray is true. There are 8GB and 16GB versions rumored to come out. Although I don't think that is going to be enough space when you count that the PSP has always been more than just a gaming machine. It was only a matter of time before Sony came to its senses with UMD. It was a novel idea in the beginning but come on folks. The dream was held on a little too long. The cost of converting games to different systems is not cheap. Now developers can easily port games over to the system via the Play Station Network similar to Apples App Store. This could be a real turn around for Sony if it hopes to compete with Nintendo DSi and Apple iTouch/iPhone. There are those that say abandoning the UMD will anger earlier adopters of the Play Station Portable and could cause Sony to lose new customers. I think not. I as an early adapter think it will past due for a change. Without any clunky UMD bay as part of the design. Expect the design to be altered.

A cosmetic overhaul might be miss leading though. I don't think Sony will go overboard with the design change. Enough people have begged for dual analog sticks since the initial release of the PSP, one hopes that Sony delivers. While at it, the PSP Go! must have a touch screen as well as a camera of its own to compete with the iPhone/iTouch and Nintendo's new DSi. There are about 5 different designs on the radar that could make it to the final unveiling at E3. Yes, I said E3. It will be there because more than ever Sony needs a show stopper to help drive sales since the Play Station 3 just does not seem to be making much head way. The release date will be before 2010 as in before Christmas. I know that is a big statement but it’s a tough market out there. Sony cannot afford to have Nintendo with the only new portable gaming system out this holiday season.

A day in DC

Today was like most days got up at 8am. Set up my auto trade strategy for the stock market based on reports that are due after the closing bell. Then set up about 6 hours of twitts based on the most interesting news feeds at that moment. After that I make breakfast and do an hour on the Wii. Shower than off to work, normally anyway. But since I am off and the weather is so nice, I'm thinking a day in DC is in order.

The only problem with that is the sheer abundance of activities the city offers on any given day. I started off with the Spy Museum, although not dull it was a bit over rated since I've been there so many other times. The Woodley Park Zoo is not going to happen on a hot day like this. Heat and wild animals do not mix very well at all. What does that leave? Chinatown's Bar Louie for drinks and Lucky Strikes for bowling of course. Don't knock it, bowling is fun. -via Cell Phone Blog

2009 NBA Championship Game

Everyone is waiting and David Stern is praying it happens. What am I talking about? Los Angeles Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers of course. Kobe vs. James would be a ratings monster for the NBA and also in my opinion a great thing for fans that long for real captivating games. Let’s be honest the Celtics were lucky last year. None of the "Big 3" lived up to the hype. This year the Bulls proved that Boston is not a real contender or an elite team, they can be beat in the first round.


Now for The Lakers to reach the final championship game Kobe Bryant, who was 16-for-24 yesterday, does not need to be Superman every game in the next two remaining rounds. The only real treat in the western conference that he will have to lock down are the Dallas Mavericks . If by some chance The Spurs beat Dallas than Kobe can just take a vacation because the Lakers bench can do it alone against The Spurs.


For Cavs to reach the summit even though they had 66-16 record this season and they protected home court (39-2); they will have to get by Miami and Boston. Ok, just Miami. LeBron James is considered one of the NBA's best scorers but this year he has stepped it up in another direction, namely defense. Lots of it, suddenly he is a fearsome defender that is in a players face from the moment the ball is in those players’ hands. So the cards are set but the Cavs will have a harder time getting there while Kobe will be waiting to make history happen either way.

Windows Mobile 6.5 Not ready yet

I have been playing with Windows Mobile 6.5 build 21500 for a while now. I must say it is a whole lot faster than the previous build which was slower than molasses on a hot day. You now have the option to ad weather & Top Friends (like T-Mobiles top 5) via a plug-in. Which begs the question when the "official" Windows Mobile 6.5 is release will users be able to buy plugging like they do now with Today screen add ons for Windows Mobile 6.1? There are 6 standard themes that come with the including one from Isaac Mizrahi that looks like a pink & purple plaid shirt. I expected more Mr. Mizrahi. What I was not expecting was to like the widgets so much.


There is a Weather, MSN Money and Windows Live widget all tied into MSN of course. You cannot control the rate at which these widgets update but never the less they are a welcome gift since before you had to pay for these perks via a third party. All in all the Windows Mobile interface is a wonderful upgrade but it is not yet ready because it is still not customizable yet. With Windows mobile 6.1 you can pretty much do whatever you wanted to do with the Today screen from making look & work like an iPhone, Android, Palm Pre or even dare I say it blank, thanks to 3rd party programs. I am sure WM 6.5 will get there, hopefully by Windows Mobile 7.