sounds.fuzzy

Chris Elliott’s Mac vs. PC Commercial 2

According to a picture posted on Flickr, one lucky U.S. Army soldier was saved by his iPod after the music player took a bullet from an AK-47. Kevin Garrad with the 3rd Infantry Division was patrolling the streets of Iraq when he rounded a corner and went face to face with a gun-toting insurgent. Gun fire was exchanged and Garrad was hit in the chest. The insurgent was killed.
At point blank range an AK-47 round is devastating and has a decent chance of passing through the Interceptor body armor vests used by Army soldiers, but the ipod apparently slowed the bullet enough to be stopped completely by Garrad’s vest. From the picture, it appears that the ipod was hit in the upper-right front corner and the bullet exited out the back.
Soldiers often take iPods, MP3 players, portable gaming consoles and other electronic devices to reduce the boredom that often comes from being stationed overseas.

Read Full Story and more pics

Technorati Tags:
iPod Family, Apple

Okay, I know the earth is about to dissolve, according to Al Gore, from global warming. However, I really want one of these.

This is from UniCat.

FAQ – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. What is the price range of the UNICAT Amerigo models?
A. Starting prices are:
Amerigo with Ford F550 4×4 starts @ $275,000
Amerigo with Unimog U500 4×4 starts @ $450,000
Amerigo with International 7400 4×4 starts @ $450,000

Q. Why are UNICAT Expedition Vehicles so much more expensive than standard RV’s?
A. Everything about these vehicles sets them apart from conventional RV’s - design, workmanship, safety, comfort, reliability, durability, range, and capability. Modifications to the cab and chassis alone, for example, double the cost of the truck. The body and everything in it is designed and built to withstand the most extreme terrain. They are built to withstand the rigors of safaris, be it in the desert, jungle or cold climates. Their purpose is similar to that of a yacht designed to cross oceans without failure. Other RV’s would break apart if they tried to follow a UNICAT.

Q. Do you offer financing?
A. We work with financial institutions that will gladly provide financing at competitive rates and terms. If your intended use is as a primary or secondary residence, you may even qualify for certain tax deductions (please check with your accountant).

Q. How long does it take to get one?
A. Our current delivery schedule is eight to twelve months depending on personal preferences and options.

Q. Do you rent these vehicles?
A. We do not currently have rental vehicles. This could change in the future if we get sufficient requests.

Q. Do you have local dealerships?
A. Initially, all vehicles will be built to order and delivered from our main office in Palo Alto, California. Our intent is to then open regional dealerships throughout the continent.

Q. Are the vehicles U.S. highway legal?
A. Yes, all of our vehicles meet EPA and DOT requirements and can be licensed and registered in all states.

Q. Can the vehicles be serviced in the U.S.?
A. Yes, servicing or repair of your chassis can be arranged at any Ford, International, or Unimog dealership. Body systems, components and appliances can be serviced or repaired at most RV dealerships or independent service centers such as Camping World, Coach Care Service Centers, and HWH Corporation. Consulting and sale of extra equipment, such as tools and spares are also part of our service. Of course, if required, we will send you these items wherever you happen to be. And if it’s not otherwise possible then our worldwide repair service will drop by and save the day. Due to our detailed vehicle databank we know, even years later, exactly what we put in your vehicle.

Q. Can I order a body similar to the ones on European chassis?
A. Yes, we will gladly custom build any body you see (or don’t see) on UNICAT’s European website and integrate it onto a US chassis.

Q. Can I buy a new European model and license it in the U.S.?
A. No, European models are not EPA and DOT certified. Even if you go through the trouble and expense of conversion, they would not have a warranty and getting spare parts and servicing would be difficult. Although MAN and Volvo 4×4 chassis are popular for use as Expedition Vehicles in Europe, making them US legal would make the price prohibitively high and would still not solve the problem of warranty, servicing and spare parts. We have been informed by MAN and Volvo that they have no plans to enter this niche market.

Q. Can I buy a pre-owned European model and license it in the U.S.?
A. If a vehicle is 25 years or older, it may be licensed as a historical vehicle. Servicing and purchasing spare parts for the chassis and body systems and components would be very difficult.

Q. Where are the vehicles manufactured?
A. Although many of the components are manufactured in the US, the bodies are built and assembled in Germany, the birthplace of the automobile. In fact, UNICAT is located 1 hour from Mercedes Benz, 1 hour from Porsche, and 30 minutes from the Unimog plant. The Amerigo line of models will be integrated in the US while custom and “Special” vehicles will be assembled and integrated in Germany.

Q. Are there any other US street-legal chassis options?
A. We have had discussions with Stewart & Stevenson, a company that manufactures an overhead cab configuration strictly for the military. If we get sufficient requests, we have been led to believe that they would sell us these excellent chassis.

Q. Why do you offer so many different body sizes and wheelbases?
A. When it comes to size, each vehicle is a compromise between off-road capability and comfort. Depending on individual needs or preferences, we strive to provide a choice of several options.

Q. Are the shown angles of approach and departure shown in your computer graphics to scale?
A. Yes, the purpose of showing these details is to give you as much information as possible in order to make the right choice. While the sloped back offers a better departure angle, a square shape offers much better usage of the storage area beneath the bed or seating area. The square shape is also ideal for installing a rack for 1-2 motorbikes or an ATV.

nina simone - my baby just cares for me

The year 2007 is already shaping up to be “revolutionary” for our favorite fruit-flavored computer electronics company, with the introduction of its newest pet projects, the Apple TV and the iPhone. However, 2007 marks something else very important, both to us as dedicated followers of Apple and to Apple as a company. No, it’s not Apple’s 31st anniversary on April Fool’s Day.

February 7, 2007 will mark the 10-year anniversary of Steve Jobs’ return to Apple. And what a ten years it’s been.

Before these last 10 years got rolling, the prolific co-founder of Apple Computer was forced out of the company by John Scully & Co. in 1985 due to disagreements about where to steer the company. Steve spent his time after his ousting trying to find himself, acquiring Pixar, and founding NeXT, which ultimately landed square in our laps as the base for the Mac OS X that we use today. Apple, on the other hand, went through a string of “interesting” ups and downs—some successful, some not so much. This included the introduction of the first PowerBook, System 7, a failed lawsuit against Microsoft for theft of intellectual property, the QuickTake camera, the ever-so-loved Newton PDA, the Quadra and Performa lines, the switch from 68k to PPC processors, the failed Copland project, and the brief break into gaming with the Apple Pippin, to name a few. Oh, and those crazy, crazy Mac clones.

Among the downs of that period were record low stock prices and even worse financial losses, overseen by Gil Amelio (who eventually became CEO). The company, which appeared to be innovating on the outside but was rotting to the core (see what I did there?) on the inside, was desperate to right itself or get ridden into the ground.

That finally brings us to February 7, 1997, when Apple purchased NeXT, bringing Steve back into the company that he started all those years ago. Gil Amelio was kicked out of the company later that year, and Steve Jobs stepped back up as interim CEO—nicknamed the iCEO. Clever.

Steve was presented with a lot of crap that needed righting. Among the first things he did upon his return to Apple was axe the Newton—much to Infinite Loop writer Erik Kennedy’s distress—as well as the clone project, among other projects that he felt were going nowhere (read all about Apple’s discontinued products on Wikipedia). It was in 1997 when the looooong-rumored fear of getting fired in the elevator started. According to some sources, however, this actually happened very rarely but still instilled fear in nearly everyone who worked there at the time. Wikipedia says that “This practice became known as ‘getting Steved.’”

Steve’s first keynote in 1997 upon his return to Apple was, to put it lightly, surreal. For one, the man wore a vest, for chrissakes. Apple’s audience was a rather tough crowd by that point, and Steve was met with a mix of relieved fanboyism and skepticism. Among some scattered applause, Steve got booed several times. During this keynote, Steve attempted to explain what was wrong with the company (”Have you called…? I mean, I’ve called the AppleCare support system myself. *laughter*”), and what he was going to do to save it.

This was also the notorious keynote in which Steve Jobs announced Microsoft’s $150 million investment in Apple, with the monolithic projection of Bill Gates’ face up on the stage. The audience didn’t know what to think—looks of pure shock and disbelief were shown in the audience, not to mention some cautious booing. This is where the nerdtastic movie Pirates of Silicon Valley ominously ended.

But Microsoft didn’t end up taking over Apple, like the end of that movie might have implied, and what many people feared at the time.

So, what are a few of the things that Apple has done since 1997 with Jobs back at the helm?

Whew. (This is obviously not an all-inclusive list, but includes many of the more notables.) What an exciting trip it has been over the last ten years, huh? One thing that might be useful to mention is a point that’s discussed a bit in iCon—the fact that many of the products that were axed or released within the first couple of years of Jobs’ return were, in fact, on their way out (or in) before Jobs came back, according to Gil Amelio. Makes sense, but kinda’ puts a slightly different spin on things for a bit.

Where will Steve take us next? To infinity… and beyond? All we can say is that the Apple fans of the world are glad to celebrate Steve’s 10-year-anniversary of returning to Apple, and we look forward to the mystery that Apple holds for us in the future. Steve’s ending to the 2007 keynote left us all wondering where the company might go next: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” — Wayne Gretzky

In a surprising move, the Mozilla Foundation officially announced today that it was renaming it’s popular internet browser, Firefox, to Lucky Kitty. They’ve also released early mockups of Lucky Kitty’s new icon.

Well, OK… not really. But did I have you going, at least for a second? This actually comes from Miss Cellania, who noticed an uncanny resemblance of this photo, floating around the internet, to the Firefox logo… right down to the position of the paw and tail.

I thought it was funny.

There was a post over at TUAW about a cool DIY cut and fold paper iPhone template. The guys who made the template also had a countdown (in the form of an iPhone) on their site.

Dashcode has a built in template for countdowns, and an iPhone countdown would be better as a widget, rather than a webpage. So, here ya go.

Now, we don’t have a firm ship date for the iPhone. Steve just said ‘June’, so this widget counts down to June 1st. It will be updated to v2 when we get a firm release date.

Let us know what you think.

Download iPhone Countdown (requires OS X 10.4.3+)
Crafted by: OneDigitalLife

I’m a big fan of Apple’s advertising, especially some of the past SuperBowl stuff.

So, Apple was rumored to be planning a big SuperBowl announcement and that the smart money was on the Beatles in iTunes (and maybe a new iPod). Well it turns out all of the prognosticators were wrong. While there were some amusing ads, nothing showed up from Apple. I guess we should probably have known better since the ultimate source of the rumor was the Toronto Sun tabloid. CBS has posted all the commercials and Apple is not listed. Apple.com and the online Apple Store are also unchanged.

Oh well, I guess we can now start waiting for the next rumor!

Until then, enjoy one of my favorites… The 1984 Superbowl Ad. The commercial that inroduced the Apple Macintosh Computer to the world.

Of all the things I knew the iPhone was gonna do…
I had no idea of some of it’s features.

Late Night With Conan O’Brien had a funny video talking about all the uses of the much-hyped Apple iPhone and how it can do everything including open a bottle, change TV channels, blow dry your hair, grate cheese, and even function as a prophylactic.