Bob Barker to Retire after 50 years

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bob Barker plans to retire from "The Price Is Right" in June after 35 years as emcee of U.S. television's longest-running game show, the CBS network said on Tuesday.

Barker, 82, who launched his national television career 50 years ago as host of the popular NBC show "Truth or Consequences," had been considering stepping down for some time, a CBS spokesman said."

Wow. He had to eventually, but it's still sort of shocking. At 82, I think he can take some time off. Let's hope he lives to June!

It's HERE! New MacBook Pro in the wild

Wow, this thing is fast! I got a call from the Apple Store at Village Point (Omaha) and got in my car. Thankfully my editor shot my 1:00pm assignment for me. I made it from Sioux Falls to Omaha and back in under 6 hours. Thankfully Iowa's finest weren't out in full force today! :)

I opted for the stock 15" MacBook Pro with the Anti-Glare screen. I've used the glossy screens only for a few hours on friends' machines and that the (brightly lit) Apple Stores, and from this brief time, I am sure that they are not for me. That's a long discussion, but that can wait.

NEW Specs are:
• Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.16ghz
• 1gb DDR2 RAM
• 120gb 5400rpm HD
• 6x DL-DVD SuperDrive
• One FireWire 800 port.

Along with these changes are the updated Airport Express card. From what I've read it is an 802.11n draft card. The standard isn't complete, but this thing is supposed to cook. From normal use on an 802.11g router, I'm more than pleased.

Also, no one has posted this, but I think the keyboard has been lowered about .5mm. I am noticing that when I type at my kitchen island, a spot used regularly with my old MacBook Pro, that my finger touches the case when I depress the spacebar. I have to admit this is a good thing. I have noticed keyboard marks on my screen on the old laptop, a problem very common among the Titanium PowerBook G4 from Apple about 5 years ago.

All in all, this thing cooks! It is very fast. I love the extra HD space and am excited to use the new DVD drive. The keyboard is firmer than my older one, and I like it! This isn't a feature and I have noticed keyboard variations between models just like the variations in the trackpad buttons and hinge tightness even when comparing the same models. If you're interested in photos please email me and I'll post some of the original (1.83ghz Intel Core Duo) MacBook Pro next to the updated Version 2.2 (as claimed by the system profiler.)

IGN's F.E.A.R. review for the Xbox 360

Well, it's good. IGN gave it a 9.1 and they aren't too generous. Read the full review here.

With this, Gears of War, Call of Duty 3, and some other really exciting games this is looking to be a great holiday for the Xbox 360. Not to mention the Wii launches November 19 with the PS3 coming out just before that on the 17, but honestly their launch lineup only includes 3 games that you can't get on other platforms and none look good enough to justify a $600 system. It has been recommended, and I agree, that Sony fight their platform war (blu-ray vs. HD-DVD) somewhere else.

New Tiger Features Keep Coming!

MacRumors references the newest build of OS X Tiger (10.5) from a post on ThinkSecret.com with lots of cool screenshots. Minor tweaks, but the details MacRumors has on the new upgraded OpenGL sounds really amazing. Doubling the performance of apps!

Anyone else notice that when Windows upgrades come out your PC gets slower? What's that like? Wouldn't you rather have your computer go faster with upgrades? hmmm, maybe it's just "a mac thing."

IGN's Wii Launch Guide

IGN put together a really nice Wii Launch Guide. Get in line early if you didn't pre-order!

http://wii.ign.com/launchguide/?RSSwhen2006-10-24_171400&RSSid=741563

Time for a new computer....

Apple today, in a half-expected move, announced upgraded MacBook Pros. I'm SO happy. The things they changed where the only things I had on my list of upgrades I wanted as the original MacBook Pros were very quick.

They upgraded all the machines to Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 2.16ghz with an optional 2.33ghz. These are 64-bit dual core chips that Apple claims are 39% faster and take less power, cool - more power, more battery. Along with that major upgrade Apple increased the entry level hard drive capacity to 120gb with a maximum of 300gb! Your MacBook Pro now comes with 1gb of ram standard, not 512mb, and can be outfitted to 3gb. It also has a 6x Double-Layer DVD drive, where the original had a 4x single-layer. This drive will burn 2x the data and do it faster! Another, to me at least, rather pointless inclusion was the FireWire 800 port. Perhaps I will find a use for this VERY fast port, but for now...'eh.

So, as soon as I hear that the Omaha, N.E. store has some, I will be making a short car trip to pick up my new MacBook Pro.

STINGRAYS ATTACK AGAIN!

CNN.com is reporting that an 81 year old man has been stabbed in the heart...BY A STINGRAY! Just weeks after taking the life of Australia's beloved Steve Irwin, the creatures are testing more methods of terror. Panic stricken residents of Lighthouse Point, F.L. have been seen running for shelter. "They know our weakness now and will use it against us!" said one witness.

Okay, okay...well, 1/2 of that is true. The thing "flopped" into his boat and impaled him. Doctor's removed the barb by pulling it through his heart. The victim remains in critical condition.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/19/stingray.ap/index.html

Apple now has 6.1% computer market share

This is major. Apple has always hung around 4-5% in the market share world, and a full percentae point along with yesterday's profit announcement really shows the power Apple has behind it. Given the recent reliability ratings as well and the "Halo Effect" with the iPod it's not hard to see why Apple is climbing while others are struggling.

Appleinsider.com has details.
"Apple's 6.1 percent share puts it right behind Gateway, whose 6.4 percent share allowed it to maintain its No. 3 position for U.S. PC shipments.

Dell held onto the No. 1 position in the U.S. PC market with a 32.1 percent share despite a 7.1 percent decline in shipments year-over-year. It was followed by HP, which grew its share of the market from 21.2 percent to 23 percent."

Apple retail: 50% of sales to switchers

Not a surprise...Apple states that 50% of their retail sales are to people switching from Windows. They are very tempting, and seeing friends use Apple's without virus protection, spyware blocking, and the easy and reliability (see yesterday's post about that) I wouldn't expect that number to rise. Maybe even as high as 70% of users...okay, that might be a big much.

Apple claims 4,000 Universal Apps

This is a big deal. In just over a year of announcing the switch and less than 1 year of having Intel products available, Apple has posted over 4,000 Universal Apps that run on the new Intel architecture without using the Rosetta Stone translation. As a MacBook Pro owner I am relieved that I can get almost EVERY program, but Photoshop in a universal format.

Congratulations Apple!

Apple and IBM/Lenovo Lead Reliability...by a LOT

I thought this was FAR too interesting not to share...

Apple and IBM make most reliable computers
By Macworld staff

Apple and IBM/Lenovo lead a list of the most reliable computer brands, according to fresh US research.

Adjusted by market share, Rescue.com's latest findings are based on the number of calls the troubleshooting company receives for each make of computer. Results were based on 20,000 calls.

"When people purchase computers they want to know about reliability," said David Milman, founder and CEO of Rescue.com. "We're constantly asked our opinion about the best computers to buy. The Computer Reliability Report helps address this question and can be used as a helpful tool for those in the market for a new computer."

The report shows that computers from IBM/Lenovo are the most reliable, scoring an index rating of 243 points. Apple is close behind, with a score of 201 points.

Next runners up include: HP/Compaq, 12 points; Dell, 4 points; Gateway with minus 12 points and "others" with minus 16 points. Large numbers are better.

"Whether it's due to hardware quality or vendor customer support, clearly IBM/Lenovo and Apple are well ahead of their rivals when it comes to reliability," Milman says.

"We're pleased to be able to offer this insight to help computer users make informed choices when deciding which computer they should buy," he added.

Great breakdown on an ingornant mac review

So this guy is a technology advisor and tried a mac and wrote about it. He had an obvious bias and turned to Microsoft products when he could figure out how to setup Mail in OS X. His review is full of holes and this guy, Wil Shipley, tears it apart with facts. For instance, the reviewer complains about a single button mouse when a paragraph before he explained he spent $4500 in May 2006. Shipley makes the correct point that Apple's 4-button Mighty Mouse with it's 6-axis scroll ball shipped as the Standard mouse on all Apple computers in Oct. 2005.

It's people like this reviewer that make me furious. There are those of us that are technologically savvy and we understand computers in the broad sense. Then, there are those who think they know, when really all they understand is how to run Windows well. Believe me, there is a big difference from those of us who have intuition and those who think they do.

Read Up!
http://wilshipley.com/blog/2006/10/flame-my-birthday-present-to-me.html

Blogger Beta, Who Killed the Electric Car

Since I can't post to my blog via Google's Reader, the Blogger OS X widget, Digg, or even Google Video because I switched to Blogger Beta and can't switch back, my posts have slimmed down and become far less frequent. Please watch my starred news. Those are the things I would be blogging if it was easier. Funny, I switched to this service because it was simpler and now it's a nightmare.

Anyways, please check out a very important movie. "Who Killed the Electric Car?" is FREE on Google Video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5599073542041338932

It's an amazing movie and everyone who drives a car should watch it and get upset.

UPDATE: The movie link is dead...sorry. But do go watch the movie.

It's Official: Google Buys YouTube.com for $1.65B

Whoa, this is huge. They were huge competitors and this seemed to happen very quickly. There was a little rumble last week, and boom. $1.65B seems really low too...Google got a deal!

USD, your time is coming...

Tuition has more than doubled in the 5 years I've been an undergrad. In Colorado they take our school money to fix the roads. The roads still suck so I decided to be a pain in the ass. It took 2 hours for all of it to be counted at the cashiers office. They had to accept it because the dollar bill state "this currency is valid for all debts public and private" or something like that. I would love it if this became a national trend!" (from CollegeHumor)