TechnoRogue.com

Although I like the WordPress blog engine, I’m not 100% thrilled with how it handles photos. It’s great for a pic here and there, with text around it, but if you’re just trying to show a bunch of pictures, I’m not sure it’s the best option. Granted, I may just not know what I’m doing. So in order to share the images I have captured and will capture, I decided to join the SmugMug 14-day trial.

So far, I’m really liking the interface and how it displays the photos. I’ll most likely be signing up for a full account soon (probably after I finish posting this). So if you want to see more pics from ComicCon 2010, be sure to go to http://technorogue3825.smugmug.com for your viewing pleasure. I’ll be posting more pics of ComicCon 2010 soon, too! Enjoy and thank you.

Here are some more pics from my trip to the San Diego Comic Con 2010. There’s not much to say here on my part, so feel free to leave some comments, and thanks for stopping by!

Of course, no trip to Comic Con would be complete without pictures of my girlfriend with a Slave Leia or two!

Given this was my first ComicCon, I was in high gear sensory overload — so much to the point that I forgot to take a lot of pictures. Don’t worry, I won’t have the same problem next year, and I still have some to share in upcoming posts. The point of this post is to give those of you reading this a quick look at just how many people attend this conference. As stated earlier, I have never seen this many people congregated into one general locale. The exhibit hall floor, which spans a good majority of the San Diego Convention Center, was buzzing with people. Take a look for yourself –

Navigating through that at times was a challenge, much like rush hour traffic in the Bay Area, although I was much less tempted to bitch slap people at the SDCC. With the exception of the “penning” at Hall H, this is a more mellow crowd then those driving around the Bay Area as well. Next year I’ll definitely try to balance enjoying the event along with capturing video and pictures of all the amazingly geeky things to see!

As some of you may know, and if you saw my tweets a week or so ago, you know I went to my very first Comic Con. In a nutshell, WOW! what an experience. Never before had I seen such a massive collection of people. I’ve been to numerous concerts, and other types of conferences, but nothing, I mean NOTHING, compared to this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Not only was it utter madness, but it was an absolute geekgasm as I walked from booth to booth, panel to panel. I got to see classic comic books, famous artists, movie props, Stormtroopers, Boba Fetts, Iron Men, Wonder Women, and then some!

Although I’ll be adding more when I have a bit more time, I wanted to share some of the images I captured from my very fist Comic Con. Enjoy!

And here’s Bat Woman on the left…Wonder Woman on the right…and My Woman in the middle. Geekgasm again!

I have now had my iPad for one full week. I must say I absolutely love this device. The display is gorgeous. The larger screen size allows for easier typing as well as viewing. Yes, it’s basically a really big iPhone or iPod Touch — and it’s completely worth it! Even the battery life is impressive. iBooks is a great way to read an eBook, and I may even start reading more now because of it. I’m also looking forward to more of my favorite iPhone apps being ported over to the iPad. AND where else could you get The Uncanny X-men #1 for just $1.99 — I know it’s only a digital copy, but thank you Marvel Comics!

I’ve heard various comments from others stating “it’s not really a netbook”, or “it won’t replace my laptop ever”. It’s not supposed to people! I consider the iPad to be a supplemental device, augmenting my media consumption experience, as well as offering some productivity assistance. Although I can do a lot of things on my iPhone, it is the larger display that makes it a hell of a lot easier and more enjoyable. Checking email and getting tech news in the morning while my eyes are still adjusting to the utter lack of sleep is now better than the iPhone could ever make it.

The point of this device is for quick web surfing, emailing, and other tasks where you’d like a larger screen but don’t want to drag out the laptop (or drag your ass out of bed to go to your laptop), and the iPhone just isn’t big enough. I know some people who plan on using the iPad as a “laptop replacement” for the majority of their day. That’s great for them and if it works out for them, that’s even better!

But is the device “magical and revolutionary”? I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it’s pretty fucking close! I don’t think the iPad is quite revolutionary…yet. However, it will be the absolute foundation for the upcoming revolution in this arena of computing. I’m looking forward to this revolution and all the wonderful tech geeky goodness it will bring.

One of my more recent interests has been photography. I’ve always liked it, but I am now really getting into it thanks to a wedding I helped shoot with my girlfriend (you can follow her at www.fotozenphotography.com, and @fotozen). I didn’t think I would have so much fun spending 9 hours taking pictures, but it was a great experience! So a few days after the wedding, I went out and bought a better camera since I wanted more control over various settings. So I picked up a Nikon D3000 for just under $500. Great price, great camera.

I’ve been learning the camera more, as well as general photography. As we all know, practice makes perfect, so I’ve been taking pictures as frequently as I can. One way to help me with that is the 365project.org site, where you post a picture every day. This allows you to not only see 1 year of your life in picture review, but you’ll also get more practice taking pictures, and see how your skills and talents have progressed over a year. I’m only 10+ days into it, but so far, so good. You can follow my picture progress at www.365project.org/technorogue3825. Please feel free to check it out and leave a comment there, or here, or on Twitter. Thanks for stopping by!

In a recent article from TiPB.com, “5000 Sex-based iPhone Apps Removed…“, it appears that Apple has laid down the law regarding Apps having any form of sexual content. Really? Based on my most recent visit to the app store, just an hour ago, this doesn’t appear to be the case. Apple’s inconsistencies with respect to the App store continue. Ok, there are a few problems with this new policy (I’m sure there are more than just a few…but I’m only going to discuss a few).

Firstly, why not implement this policy across the board? As I write this, I can still get the Playboy app. There is NO way this app doesn’t have “sexual content”. I’m even considering spending $0.99 on the app just to prove a point. If Apple is going to have a policy like this, then enforce it fairly and equally. Does Playboy give a special kickback to Apple to keep the app in the store? Has Apple just not got to this app yet? Has TiPB.com exaggerated the number of apps to be removed? I don’t know for sure yet, but will look into this further.

Secondly, why not let the consumer determine what they find offensive and non-offensive? There are plenty of apps I consider to be utterly useless and “offensive”, so I protest it by not purchasing the app. I don’t care if it’s in the app store, or even if it’s in the “Featured” or “What’s Hot” lists. Congratulations to the developer for getting it on the list and making some money! You didn’t get my money, so no skin off my nose (or no deductions off my iTunes credit, as the case may be).

Thirdly, if Apple is going to enforce policies such as “No images of women in bikinis” or “Nothing that can be sexually arousing”, then what about medical/educational apps that deal with anatomy? Yes I know anatomy texts rarely have women in bikinis…in fact, they usually show A LOT more. So will these apps be pulled, or will they be saved because they are for educational purposes? I certainly hope the latter is the case. I actually have a few of the bikini/model apps because I use them as reference models when drawing. Sure I could look up pictures via Safari (provided Apple doesn’t pull Safari because it can contain “sexually arousing” images), but it is a lot easier to simply go to an app and find a picture that works. What about the “Art Model” apps currently available in the store? Will those be pulled as well? So “sexy” apps are bad, but “farting” apps are good? Not in my opinion.

Lastly, and here’s the biggest problem I see with this recent policy — if Apple continues to cripple the content available to the consumer, then the consumer will find other means to get what they want, whether it be via different devices, or un-crippling the current device. It’s almost like Apple is forcing us to jailbreak our phones if we want some form of “adult” content. Don’t forget Apple — Safari is on our device and we can easily find that content you are so eager to block. Why not just make a full “18 and over” section to the app store and let the people decide what apps they want to get.

In a recent article I read on Wired.com “Apple and Lables Hope to Reinvent Digital Album as Something People Buy“, they discuss how Apple and the major music labels are working on increasing full album sales, rather than the current single track that have been the staple of digital music retailers. I’m old enough to have seen quite a few format mediums come and go — I even remember 8-tracks! I was very excited when CD’s came out — I could now just forward or rewind to my favorite tracks on the album! No more fast forwarding or rewinding in small bursts, hoping I didn’t shoot pass the track I wanted to hear. CD’s solved all those problems, and I began growing my collection as soon as I could. I relied on birthdays, Christmas, and good ol’ BMG and Columbia House to help my collection grow as quickly as possible. I now have over 1,000 CD’s, which I’m sure isn’t as impressive as others, but decent enough for me.

And then the .mp3 came along…and this changed everything even more! With .mp3′s and a CD burner, I could make my own CD’s with just the music I wanted, or CD’s for certain moods/events (I don’t know how many CD’s I have labeled “Driving Mix – Fast”). Of course, this was also A LOT easier than making mix tapes as everything was now digital, and more easily manipulated. This was a technological advancement that made life great for us music aficionados.

And then the iPod was born, and with it as iTunes and other like services were born, I could buy my music directly in digital format. Even better, I could get it a la carte! I no longer had to buy a CD for two tracks, and 12 “filler” tracks for $14.99+. This was brilliant! Just the music I wanted. Just the good stuff, no crap. But then I realized I was missing something — all the album artwork, liner notes, and lyrics. Damn! Sure, I can get the album cover from iTunes, or other sources, but I’m still missing some of the other artwork that goes into the CD insert. I have an iPhone app that looks for lyrics, so not all is lost there, but I still don’t have the liner notes. Damn again! I’m sure a lot of people don’t care, but I actually enjoy reading about who the band wishes to thank, and what strings the guitarist is playing, or the keyboards used. I’m a music geek like that.

So now Apple and the major labels are looking to revive album sales by offering a digital version of liner notes and all that good stuff. Excellent! I can now read through trivia about the band and see who they’re thanking…if I buy the album. For some bands I like, this isn’t a problem as I enjoy the majority of the work. But what am I going to do if I only want a few songs from an album, but still want some of the liner notes? Sure, I didn’t get liner notes before unless I bought the full CD, but technology has changed A LOT about music — how it’s written, how it’s performed, how it’s recorded, how it’s produced, and of course, how it’s distributed.

Which is more enticing to buy — the digital “LP” or the digital “45″? Are the liner notes important to most people? Will they have an option to get all the “extras” for an extra price? And if I buy a digital “LP”, will my iPod or iPhone be able to display this new information to me? Wouldn’t it be great if you could flip through the “CD insert” on your iPhone using Apple’s Cover Flow approach? But please let me buy just the tracks I want and get the Insert separately if I decide I want it. Either way, it’s money being spent. I’m willing to help stimulate the economy, but give me options to buy what I want…within reason, of course >:-)

I like to stay on top of the Tech News as much as possible, especially when that news is Mobile or Telecom related. Therefore, I was excited to see the headline “RingCentral offers self-service VoIP phone system” in my FierceVoIP email newsletter. I hadn’t heard anything from RingCentral in a while, so it was about time they made some news. Upon reading the press release, I felt somewhat robbed in that this announcement was far from exciting and new. They’re offering a 4-line self-service VoIP system, with their usual set of features. That’s it? That’s their news of the day? *Yawn*

Perhaps it’s just me, but I’m failing to see how this is new or revolutionary. There are other providers out there offering very similar services. Packet8 offers a similar plan, but may lack in the business phone needs when compared to RingCentral; however, VirtualPBX offers their iVPBX plan for $49.99/month for 5 extensions, inbound fax, ACD queues, and unlimited* minutes. All that for almost half the price of RingCentral. There are, of course, a few differences between the offerings from RingCentral and VirtualPBX.

• RingCentral is offering their own VoIP service, providing the hardware phones pre-configured for your convenience. VirtualPBX offers their plan in partnership with Gizmo5. If you want a hardware phone, you’ll have to buy it and configure it yourself. However, you can use the VirtualPBX plan and Gizmo5′s softclient with little setup and configuration time.
• RingCentral offers both inbound AND outbound faxing. Ok, that’s cool! I’m  still waiting on VirtualPBX to offer outbound faxing, but I hear that’s coming soon.
• VirtualPBX has true ACD queueing, whereas RingCentral makes use of the standard, less “intelligent” hunt groups. If you need to evenly and intelligently deliver calls across multiple agents, the True ACD Queue is the better choice.

Given the current economic times, I’d probably go with VirtualPBX’s plan for $49.99 and take the time to either configure the hardware myself, or just use the softclient. And with the $50/month savings, I could eventually save up and buy some cool new tech gadgets!

In the end, I’m just hoping that we have some more exciting Tech News this week. Last week was fairly slow, so I’m not sure I can handle a consecutive week!

Must. Have. Tech. News!

The original title of this post was going to be “iPhone 3GS: To Upgrade or Not To Upgrade”; however, while at the mall, I couldn’t resist the temptation any longer. My tech lust got the best of me (and got the best of my lovely girlfriend who actually purchased the phone for me – Thank you My Love!). Before upgrading, I weighed heavily the pros and cons, thinking that most of the “ooh shiny” new features were mostly part of the OS 3.0 update. After having the new 3GS, I still think many of the “ooh shiny” features are part of the OS 3.0 update. However, given the hardware upgrades of the new 3GS, I have but only one conclusion – it was SO worth the upgrade!!!

The speed alone makes it worth the price and contract renewal. App launching, swiping from screen to screen, and even connecting to my WiFi connection are all significantly faster. General performance improvements in addition to voice recognition, the 3.0 megapixel camera with video capabilities (and yes, a compass) make the 3GS the greatest phone/gadget I have ever owned, ever. Period. For the numbers on the performance improvement, go here: We Get It — iPhone 3GS is Faster than Fast Fast!

I’ve only had the phone for a couple of days, so I’m learning more and more about it each day. For example, I didn’t discover until last night how to actually activate the voice recognition. I could have RTFM’d, but what’s the fun in that? But it’s not all love and infatuation. There has been one disappointing aspect of this tech lust with the new 3GS — some apps no longer work. Granted, I believe that’s part of the OS 3.0 update, and not the actual phone itself, but I upgraded too soon before I could test that out. Hopefully an update will be released soon for the broken apps, or a “bigger and badder” app will take its place. Either way, I love my new “Ooh Shiny” iPhone 3GS.

P.S. For those curious, I’m not another Apple FanBoy ranting and raving about the almighty Apple. I’m a very long time PC user, and only recently turned to the Dark Side. And I have enjoyed every step of my journey.