brandon.pope@hotmail.com has a new email address

brandon.pope@hotmail.com has a new e-mail address. Old E-mail Address: brandon.pope@hotmail.com New E-mail Address:brandonpope@live.com Hello. I've got a new e-mail address. Instead of contacting me at brandon.pope@hotmail.com you can now reach me at my new Windows Live Hotmail address. Please send all future e-mail message to me at brandonpope@live.com. In fact, you can simply reply to this message to contact me. Be sure to update your address book now. Check out the new Windows Live Hotmail. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free Windows Live Hotmail and more.

3rd Party App's on the iPhone

All I can really say is FINALLY!  I have heard arguments for and against the iPhone, and many of them are valid, but the one thing that the cons have, or had, won is the fact that the iPhone could simply not be considered a smartphone without support for third party applications.  The phone, like all of Apple's products, would just never seep into the business environment when it sacrificed usability for style and control.  Now we will see.

Apple Set to Launch Next-Gen OS

This article by Paul Thurrott is actually very funny.  Now while the update to OSX leopard is not going to be all it is cracked up to be for sure, I do think it has a few notable features. 

"Plagued by delays and missing any of the exciting "secret" features promised a year ago, Apple's next-generation Mac OS X operating system, codenamed Leopard, will be released to the public on October 26, the company announced. Leopard is the fifth minor revision to the company's OS X system, and it is shipping almost exactly a year after Windows Vista, an OS that Apple incessantly ridiculed for its tardiness.

Yep, reality really is distorted in Cupertino. And if you're looking for even more proof, consider the way that Apple hawks this system. "Leopard is packed with more than 300 new features and introduces a brand new desktop," the official announcement reads. Many of these 300 new features are, of course, comical. 10 of them exist in Xcode, a developer tool (in total, over 40 of the new features are only for developers). Six new features are, seriously, listed under the screensavers category. Fully 24 of them exist in iChat, Apple's instant messaging application. There are 6 new fonts features, 3 new Quick Look features (though Quick Look is itself, go figure, actually a new feature) and 12 new UNIX features.

If you can stop chuckling for a moment, Leopard does include a few minor but notable improvements. A new feature called Time Machine, a prettier version of the Previous Versions feature Microsoft first shipped in 2003, allows users to resuscitate previous versions of files. A new feature called Spaces allows users to utilize a years-old UNIX feature called workspaces in typically elegant Apple fashion. And Leopard can dual-boot with Windows Vista, a feature that might prove to be the system's most popular.

Apple is pushing other minor improvements like a slightly-updated shell and desktop, minor revisions to the system's email and Web browsing applications, and new parental controls that more closely mirror what Microsoft added to Vista. In short, Leopard appears to seriously under-deliver compared to both the competition to what CEO Steve Jobs promised would be major secret new features. None of these have ever materialized.

In related news, Apple also announced the Leopard version of Mac OS X Server. This one boasts only 250 new features, so it's presumably 17 percent less interesting than the client OS."

HA!

iPhone version 1.1.1

iPhone Software
Version 1.1.1

WARNING: Apple has discovered that some of the unauthorized unlocking programs available on the Internet may cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software. IF YOU HAVE MODIFIED YOUR iPHONE'S SOFTWARE, APPLYING THIS SOFTWARE UPDATE MAY RESULT IN YOUR iPHONE BECOMING PERMANENTLY INOPERABLE. Making unauthorized modifications to the software on your iPhone violates the iPhone software license agreement, and the inability to use your iPhone due to unauthorized software modifications is not covered under your iPhone's warranty.

This version of the software includes additional new features, bug fixes and supersedes all previous versions.

New features include:

• iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
• Louder speakerphone and receiver volume
• Home Button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls
• Space bar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space
• Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape
• Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be re-ordered
• Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar
• Support for TV Out
• Preference to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally
• New Passcode lock time intervals
• Adjustable alert volume

For feature descriptions and complete instructions, see the users guide for your iPhone at:
    <http://www.apple.com/support/manuals/iphone/>

For more information about iPhone, go to:
    <http://www.apple.com/iphone/>

To troubleshoot your iPhone, or to view additional support information go to:
    <http://www.apple.com/support/iphone>

For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this website:

This is straight from the software install agreement page in iTunes.

Microsoft Unveils Internet TV Beta for Vista Media Center - Paul's SuperSite blog

 

Microsoft Unveils Internet TV Beta for Vista Media Center

Some interesting news from a Microsoft press release:

On the morning of Sept. 28, 2007, U.S. users of Windows Vista Home Premium edition and Windows Vista Ultimate edition will find a new feature inside Media Center: the beta release of Internet TV. This new feature will allow people to enjoy a range of television and video content on their PCs and TV sets without a TV tuner in their PC. This streaming video content will be supported by an advertising platform provided by YuMe and will be available to viewers for free.*
The content available in Internet TV comes from MSN Video, with more than 100 hours available at the start of the beta period, including the following:

• Full episodes of TV shows such as the critically acclaimed “Arrested Development”
• Full-length music concerts by artists such as Chris Cornell, Snoop Dogg, Elton John, Pink, John Mayer and the Pussycat Dolls
• High-quality movie trailers from major movie studios
• The latest news segments from MSNBC
• Sports clips from FOX Sports

Internet TV has been designed for both the TV and PC screen, and features high-quality video optimized for broadband streaming. Viewers can enjoy these high-quality videos on Extenders for Windows Media Center, including Xbox 360 consoles, as well as PCs running Windows Media Center in Windows Vista (available in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate).

Neat. We'll have to see how annoying the ads are, of course.

Thanks Paul...

Halo 3 Initial Thoughts

I just finished the game last night.  It took me two days an an estimated 6 hours.  I must say I am impressed, if not blown away.  The visuals in this game are amazing.  Some complain about the length of the cut scenes, but as a personal preference, I enjoy the feeling that I am playing a movie.  As far as game play, well it is Halo, and Halo has always been pretty good.  After getting over the initial balance configuration and controller scheme changes, Halo 3 fits like an old glove. 

The end of the game is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, and not to be accused of spoiling, make sure you watch through the entire credits like you would for Halo 2 and Halo CE. 

There is a sense of relief that this story like is completed and after the story is over it is nice to be able to focus on the multiplayer aspect of the game.  While I haven't had enough time to fully explore the many possibilities of the multiplayer experience, I can say that my initial reaction is positive.  It feels like Halo, but it is obviously more polished.  I have confidence that Bungie didn't let the complaints of Halo 2 and the data from the Beta go to waste. 

While the Halo series is all about the multiplayer, the replay value of that aspect of the game is yet to be seen.  Will it be able to keep the level of interest that Halo 2 achieved years after launch?  Time will tell but it looks like Bungie has put together a good product all around. 

Halo 3 Released

Well, I preordered my copy at Best Buy because of a promotion that caught my eye so I am sitting here right now with no Halo 3.  BB opens here in around 1 hour and 15 minutes so until then I will wait.  I will post some kind of mini review after I beat the story mode, and then again once I get used to the multiplayer.  I have heard mixed reviews as of this morning and I am anxious to see for myself.