Hah… a photo I took when I first got my 1st Gen iPhone made its way onto another technology blog recently. My gnarled hands are in beautiful contrast to my pristine, jailbroken iPhone, in this particular shot, LOL.

More than anything though, I’m proud and amazed that so many people choose to use my photos, and this one in particular, over and over again to accent their blog posts.

Here are some more examples:

(Consumerist.com: EECB Results In Excellent Customer Service From AT&T)

(Consumerist.com: Very Strange Circuit City iPod Touch Bait And Switch)

(InOverYourHead.net: Apple flushing podcasting?)

(StuffEm.WordPress.com: Open The Door And Let ‘Em In)

m.vincentbrown.com:

Hanns-G HW192D 19″ LCD Monitor

Desktop screenshot:

Wallpaper and WindowBlinds theme courtesy of VisionLeague

I Like The Apple iPhone, But… (in no particular order):

1.) I wish ring-tones could be accessed and loaded on the phone more simply, without all the restrictions. The fact that you have to pay an extra $.99 to make an iTunes purchased track a ringtone is beyond ridiculous to me.
2.) Why couldn’t Apple, Inc. include the ability to send SMS and MMS messages to multiple contacts like my OLD Motorola phone could?
3.) Apple, Inc. should be nice and stop thwarting efforts to load 3rd party applications on the iPhone (or just simply open it up to better functionality and access). Firmware 1.1.2 kills the Firmware 1.1.1 tiff exploit
4.) The iPhone probably could have been as thin as the Motorola SLVR, my SLVR had almost every functionality that my iPhone currently has minus the WiFi and touch screen (the iPod Touch has a touch screen and it’s as thin as my SLVR).
5.) Everyone mentions the storage space.. 8GB, sheesh, after a few albums, two videos and some photos I’m damn near full.
6.) No voice activated dialing.. that’s a feature I simply fell in love with on my Moto SLVR, yet it doesn’t exist on the “Greatest Invention of the Year?”

Now, I was aware of all of these caveats when I purchased the device. Having it in my hands and in full use is a much different experience. What I like about the phone far exceeds what I dislike about using the device. Also, the popularity and fame it automatically gives me is a plus. However, unless Apple addresses these and other issues (which are basic usability and functionality omissions), I may have to consider selling it if the “next-Great-thing” comes along.

Go here (iLounge.com) for everything you need to know about the Apple iPhone.

This is somewhat important to me because I’m mildly excited about the movie release in November, with Jay-Z’s album releasing a few days later ON MY BIRTHDAY. Not that I buy many albums these days, but I may grab it off iTunes now that I’m a recent convert, iPod owner. And yea, I know this will inevitably be leaked weeks before it hits shelves, lol. Hell, the first single has been out for how many weeks now?

“Jay-Z is currently putting the finishing touches on his tenth solo album entitled “American Gangster,” which is inspired by the upcoming flick of the same name starring Oscar Award winner Denzel Washington.” – Sohh.com

Gank the album cover here

Here’s a closer look at the iTunes Exclusive tracklist:

Jay-Z – “American Gangster”
1. Intro
2. Pray
3. American Dreamin'
4. Hello Brooklyn 2.0 (feat. Lil Wayne)
5. No Hook
6. Roc Boys (and The Winner Is)
7. Sweet
8. I Know
9. Party Life
10. Ignorant Shit (feat. Beanie Sigel)
11. Say Hello
12. Success (feat. Nas)
13. Fallin'
14. Blue Magic
15. American Gangster
16. VIDEO: Blue Magic [Pre-Order Only]
17. Digital Booklet - American Gangster

So, by now, if you know me – You’re probably already sick of me AND my new iPod. That’s right, I bought the new iPod Touch. Based on reviews of the new crop of iPod’s, I made the plunge. Actually, I was very much conflicted about what to buy. On one hand, I wanted to upgrade my cellphone from my current Motorola SLVR. On the other hand, I wanted to upgrade my puny 4GB iPod Nano to a media player that would hold a more substantial amount. Bear in mind, my entire music collection is nearly 200GB (about the size of a standard harddrive that might come with a new computer these days). Imagine filling that up with nothing but music (most of it carefully categorized by: Artist/(Year) Album).

But I digress. I could have settled both needs with the Apple iPhone (review) – but based on reviews and some slick marketing antics played by Apple this early in the products life, I decided wholeheartedly against it, for now. The only option left in the new crop of iPods that quelled my thirst for geek points was the iPod Touch. Neither the iPod Classic or new iPod Nano had touch screen capabilities, nor could they access WiFi networks like the Touch.

As you can see in the picture above, it displays web sites beautifully in its built-in Safari web browser. I’m accessing Google.com from an unsecured Linksys router on someone’s network FROM THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART. I’ll report back with my own pro’s/con’s of the iPod Touch later in the week.

More photos:

The large photo above was taken on my – Photowalk: Art Museum / Water Works

Take the ‘Technosailor Self Importance Test’ test here.

So, I was on my friends MySpace page posting a comment when I clicked on her profile photo and it took me to the MySpace login page. Well, McAfee’s SiteAdvisor protected me by re-redirecting me to their page explaining to me what had just happened.

Well done!
www.siteadvisor.com

Related story: “Regarding my MySpace account“

- Vince

…yea, I sold my soul to yet another social networking website. First it was deviantART, Flickr, then it was MySpace, now, Facebook. WHEN DOES IT ALL END? Lord help me, I can’t seem to keep my life private. But I’m enjoying it, hah. It’s great being in contact with friends and family members in this interactive way. Who cares if people know who I hang out with, where I work, and what photos I’ve taken (or appeared in). Life’s meant to be lived, to its fullest… just do it. If you know me, we’ve connected in some way, somewhere, look me up.