Eight Years for Apple

Even though Apple has shorthanded me on an interview (my application is still "undecided", but interviews are on Tuesday) I still feel that the biggest thing to talk about today was something that a BusinessWeek blogger has reminded us of. Eight years ago, Michael Dell said that he would shut down Apple if he was running it and give the shareholders back their money. Isn't it ironic how much they've changed since then under the strong leadership of Mr. Jobs? I think part of why you have less Apple detractors than Microsoft is because they're a company that has endured hardship and hasn't forgotten its roots. Now they've taken the world by storm and it seems that almost everywhere you go you see some bright white device that they've pumped out. So do you think they'll let us run Mac OS X with our Windows? Dell would actually be interested in shipping it if they could form an agreement with Apple, but they may be too proud to try it at first. We'll have to play it by ear.

Did you ever think that you could be paid for secretly being the AI of a computer system? Amazon.com has unveiled a Mechanical Turk service where they'll pay you a few cents to corroborate information about locations near you, which they consider too difficult to program a computer to do. It's actually a good idea, but how do they know that you'll tell the truth? I'm sure that many of you feel dumb when the term "dual core processor" is thrown around and you nod along like you know what that means. Well fear not, ZDNet has put up a comparison of the top Intel dual core processors (for the mass market, that is) and the AMD ones in which they explain what the second core does and how much it helps. It makes me wish I had an Athlon chip in my machine. Lastly, we may see legal movie downloading as soon as next year. It's going to be a unique path for the movie industry since there's no Napster already existing for movies (I don't think BitTorrent counts since it's so decentralized), and they're still working out licensing and costs so I'll keep you abreast of any developments.



IGN is running a feature with what they would consider the top 25 crime movies of all time and I mention it because the top 7 on that list are actually some of the best movies I've seen in my life (including Pulp Fiction) so look into those if you haven't already. All the other news is from IGN as well, coincidentally. They've caught wind of rumors that Will Smith may be up for the role of Nick Fury in that comic book movie, which I fear may mean that they're trying to compensate for a less than compelling script with a pretty actor. Lastly, you can expect to catch Superman Returns in IMAX (which means the Edwards Marq*e if you're in Houston) next June if you're in a city that has an IMAX-endowed movie theater.

Now for Friday's Feast:

Appetizer
What was the last game you purchased?
I guess I'd say Half-Life 2 since a friend purchased it and then just gave it to me when he beat it.

Soup
Name something in which you don't believe.
I don't believe in taking the bible seriously and alienating people when we don't need to. Beyond the fact that the religious right is wrong, it shouldn't affect our politics.

Salad
If you could choose a television personality to be your boss, who would you pick?
I kind of like Mr. Weed from Family Guy. He's quite a funny character.

Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
Don't do drugs. Just kidding, I'd say that girls are nothing but trouble till you find the right one.

Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.
It would probably play the whole series of Pure Moods CDs and maybe have a waterfall in the background or something. Water is nice. Maybe it'll come with a mini-bar, too. Now, that would be relaxing.