Spent yesterday mostly in a zombie-like state, adapting to the temperature difference between New York and New Delhi and trying to shake off the jet lag. Right now I’m sitting on a balcony in Nizamuddin East, listening to the trains at the nearby railway station and the various cart guys touting their wares and services around the neighbourhood. It’s a very relaxing morning, sitting here with my cup of coffee. I’m breaking a sweat just sitting here – feels a bit like working out without doing any actual work. The day is slowly getting started and it’s now time to score some breakfast.
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R just got the Samsung Galaxy S 4G from T-Mobile. We are on our way to LGA and she is talking on the phone. I am writing this from my iPod touch while connected via WiFi to the access point in her phone. How cool is that?
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After getting an iPad, you may wonder what use an iPod touch would be. So did I – which is why I decided to get one. Or, more precisely, which is why I persuaded my wife to get one for me for my birthday. Its convenience is the primary benefit; much like an iPhone, the touch will go where the iPad will not. It’s also quicker to type on it with just my thumb. Typing on the iPad with one hand is challenging at best. One downside: the camera doesn’t stack up to that of the iPhone. In tests of my current generation touch against my friend’s iPhone 3GS, my pictures were noticeably grainier, so much so that I think the camera may as well not be there. With WiFi enabled, the battery life also leaves something to be desired. Other than that, though, I’m quite pleased with this latest acquisition in my ongoing conversion to a fully Apple-enabled home computing environment.
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In February, I blogged about my misgivings regarding the
iPad. Yet somehow, I couldn’t stop obsessing about it. In July, I
finally succumbed and bought the 32GB WiFi only version. It is no
exaggeration that the iPad has become the primary computing device
in our household. Want to read the news? Fire up the New York Times
or NPR. Need to make a reservation? There’s the app from OpenTable.
Restaurant reviews, menus, weather forecast, online shopping,…
There is an app for everything. So what’s not quite there yet? The
display would benefit tremendously from the retina technology that
was introduced with the iPhone 4 and the latest iPod touch. Even
though the screen is smaller than that of the iPad, I actually
prefer reading on the touch – when I’m not using my Kindle, that
is. I’m also a fan of the cameras in the touch that enable
Facetime; when the Skype client supports video on mobile devices,
video calling could really take off. And hopefully they can do
something about the way the cameras distort your appearance at
close proximity. All in all, I’m very positive on the iPad and I’m
glad I got one.
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I bought a Kindle. Then, I decided to look for a few books I’d like to read on my upcoming trip to Mexico & Belize. What I discovered surprised me at first and then just pissed me off: many Kindle books are twice as expensive (or more!) as their paperback cousins. I wouldn’t even care if they were the same price, but how can an ebook possibly cost more than a physical copy printed on dead trees?!? I canceled my Kindle order immediately.
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Can somebody please tell me what should be compelling about an oversized iPod Touch? All I can see are deficiencies. There is no built-in camera, so it’s out as a Skype device. It runs the iPhone OS, so the lack of Flash support delivers a crippled web experience. I thought perhaps it would make for a cool e-book reader plus lightweight computing device (think e-mail, work remote access to check Outlook, etc.), but the keyboard accessory doesn’t appear to be very portable and attaches in portrait mode! Clearly, the money is going towards the screen and the A4 processor; at $499 for 16GB, the storage sure isn’t compelling. And the virtual keyboard – seriously, every time I want to type using it, I’m supposed to find a place to put up my legs?! Since that fact alone suggests it’s supposed to be used only in one’s living room, why would I watch a movie or listen to music on it when I can just pop a Blu-ray disc into my PS3 that delivers a full-on sonic experience through my home theater?
Perhaps 2010 is the year that Apple is consumed by its hubris. I read a news article today where Steve Jobs reportedly called Adobe “lazy.” The execution of the iPad suggests, to me, that Jobs should take a long, hard look in the mirror.
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rock
of ages, i
am tumbling down
where the roots of trees
embrace you i do fall
upon my knees
and ask you how
you can just sit there and be
rock
of ages, i
am crumbling now
in an avalanche
i’m reaching for the rock
of ages, rock
of ages
father
now i have stepped
beyond my bounds
now the pack i wear
weighs a thousand pounds
it drags me down
make me think crazy
oh rock
of ages, i
have gone astray
i heard my brother call
i turned the other way
now i’m ashamed
to face him
oh rock
of ages, rock
of ages
oh rock
of ages, rock
of ages
reach for the rock
of ages, rock
of ages
in the avalance
in the avalance
heavy rock
i reach for the rock
i reach for the rock
in the avalance
that falls, it beats
for the rock
i reach for the rock
and reach for the rock
in the avalance
in the avalance
heavy rock
heavy rock
such a heavy rock…
(c) 1994 Grant Lee Buffalo
Even though I didn’t see you in a long time, Sarah and Asim, I will always remember you with fondness. You left us too soon and who knows why, but I hope that you knew that you were rocks of ages to me, and continue to be.
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After the whole debacle with Delta, we booked our second attempt at a Winter vacation directly through JetBlue’s website. The booking experience a welcome change from the usual bullshit and the execution was what it should be – not an exercise in frustration, but an experience of professionalism. I just hope they add a direct flight to Cleveland so that I can avoid the whole BS with Delta, Continental and AA altogether. Hope springs eternal, as they say. According to Live:
come on baby leave some change behind
she was a bitch but good enough
to leave some change,
everybody’s good enough for some change
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suetheairlines.org is a pretty useful online resource I found for going after an airline.
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