Apple in a Blaze of Glory

If I had a webcam, you'd see utter shock on my face right now. The big announcement that Apple was planning for today was, in fact, the new iPod Video (which comes in white or black). I even asked the Apple campus recruiter last night about it, and she (and her boss) had no idea what it would be. They come in 30 GB and 60 GB models ($300 and $400, respectively) to replace the old generation of iPod Photos with longer battery life (supposedly). I started watching the special event and it made me realize just how much I want to work for Apple. They started out with a totally sweet new iMac that makes me want to trash my Wintel machine and it includes not only iSight but also a remote control and the standard suite of top-notch software. What you want to know more about though is this new iPod though, and there's a very informational Q&A here explaining all the basics about how the video stuff will work. They're planning on offering television episodes the day after airing for $2 apiece to be viewed on your computer and your iPod, and yes it can be connected to your television. Obviously, that means they're also revamping iTunes (there's a few other changes, but they're not as huge). That'll be the first thing I get if I nab the internship at Apple. This is really a pretty impressive risk that they've taken and though they've only worked with Disney so far I'm sure that other key players will follow suit soon enough. I just can't get over how great this business move is; they've totally put their competitors in checkmate.

Dish network is actually unknowingly competing with this new iPod with a larger portable video device they're calling pocketDish. Guess who got more buzz? Microsoft and Yahoo are teaming up their IM service protocols to allow Yahoo users to IM MSN Messenger users and vice versa, which I think is very smart move. Comcast is pushing for a rather intriguing feature where for $17 you can watch a movie on tv on-demand and then have the DVD mailed to you. Doesn't it seem like the theme today is innovation? Sorry to burst the bubble, but the broadcast flag is still a problem and you really need to contact your representative to stop doing stupid crap like this.

Christopher Nolan has revealed that talks have indeed begun for a sequel to Batman Begins and he will be helming it, but we'll have to wait a while since he's already working on The Prestige. Good things come to those who wait after all. There's some murmurs that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be the longest movie in the series yet at over 2 and a half hours. IGN spoke with Kiera Knightly and Tony Scott a bit about Domino, and it sounds like they're proud of their work. Lastly, AICN has an early review of Doom, and though it's positive I think it's just a fanboy's inflated opinions.

Now for some Wednesday Mind Humping:

01. Can you remember where you were in life ten years ago? If you could travel back in time and whisper something to yourself ten years ago, what would it be?
I was just about to turn 9 so probably not a whole lot. However, things were much simpler and I definitely got more sleep than I do now.

02. You inherit a large piece of land and decide to build a theme park a la "Disneyland, Sea World, etc.) What would you name your theme park and what would your mascot be?
I would built Computerland where all the rides would be computer related and the mascot would be a giant monitor. This is why I'm a CS major and not a theme park designer.

04. What would someone absolutely HAVE to know about you if they were considering sharing a room with you?
They have to be clean. I'm a surprisingly tidy guy and I can't stand things like dirty dishes in the sink.

05. According to the song White Rabbit, "one pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small". If you were offered these pills today, which pill would you take and why?
I guess larger since I'm pretty short. Maybe I'd get a little more respect if I was larger, who knows.