LEGO Star Wars mini-movie coming soon

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e-Column #110

Free online encyclopedia written by volunteers
The noble foundation upon which the Internet was formed is a digital world where the free exchange of information and knowledge connects the world. And one Web site that represents a noteworthy use of the Internet in that regard is Wikipedia.org.

e-Column #111

Microsoft, Google, Yahoo battle over desktop search
For some computer users, the speed and accuracy of search engines has made finding information online incredibly easy. Now some of the Internet's biggest companies are stepping up to make finding files on your computer just as easy.

Where has the e-Column gone?

My last e-Column for the East Oregonian ran on January 9. Although I had written one for January 23 (topic: Wikipedia), it has not yet run. Since my columns have sometimes been printed in the paper but not on the Web site, I sent another one to the Sunday editor (topic: desktop search). It turns out, though, that there has simply not been enough room anymore to print it. However, the editor has graciously agreed to continue to run the column on the web site. And as space becomes available in the news section, he will return the column to the print edition.

LEGO® Star Wars™ The Video Game!

"Coming in April 2005, the all new LEGO® Star Wars™ video game lets you become a true Jedi Knight as you battle against the dark side of the Force through all the fun, action and adventure of Episodes I to III."

As can be seen from the trailer, this is not stop-motion animation like The Han Solo Affair, but instead computer-generated animation. Still, that provides for more facial expression than regular LEGOs and the ship models seem pretty true to the toys.

The surfeit of trademarks aside, this is another combination I can get behind. First U2 and the iPod, then LEGO and Star Wars. What's next? The Simpsons and Transformers?

UPDATE: The LEGO Company and Lucasfilm are teaming up to celebrate Episode III with a one-of-a-kind five minute computer-animated special that combines all the action of Star Wars with the imagination and fun of LEGO bricks. It will air on the Cartoon Network Sunday, May 8, 7 p.m.

Star Wars: Episode III Release Poster
"The theatrical release poster is now on its way to movie theaters. The new one-sheet is illustrated by Drew Struzan, continuing a tradition begun with the Special Edition release of the Star Wars trilogy in 1997."

Courage

Dan Rather Signs Off 'CBS Evening News'
"Dan Rather echoed a word he once briefly used to sign off the 'CBS Evening News' — courage — in anchoring the program for the final time after 24 years on Wednesday."

What this article doesn't explain is the source of Rather's usage. It's from the musical "Man of La Mancha" ...

macCompanion March 2005

The March 2005 issue of macCompanion has now been posted and the issues are now available in HTML format again instead of just a giant PDF. There's also a Flash Paper version, but you need Windows to use that. Hmm, a Macintosh-related publication in a Windows-only format. No, it makes no sense to me either.

• Leo Laporte's 2005 Mac Gadget Guide
  if you're a Mac user (you're reading this, right?) that's interested in gadgets, and don't want to search out lengthy reviews online, you'll enjoy this guide. At least for a few months

Man of La Mancha

Make your vacation plans now, everyone! I'm going to be performing in a production of "Man of La Mancha," April 28-30 and May 5-8. I've been cast in the role of Padre. There's only been one full week of rehearsals so far, but if the set looks anything like the sketches that've been prepared, it will look incredible. The costumes and props are already coming together and also looking great. The cast seems very talented, the director is well-organized, and the musical director and his accompanist are quite helpful. I can't think of a single thing to complain about! Could this be one of the best shows I've been involved with?

2005 Macworld Expo SF part 4

Boy, it's a good thing I only went to Macworld for one day. If I'd spent all week, you'd be waiting all year for my recap...

After the keynote ended, and the familiar strains of the Black Eyed Peas played (ironically, "Let's Get It Started"), us 'other' media were instructed to wait in our holding room while large banners were unfurled outside. They were so large that it would be too dangerous for us to be underfoot. This took about 15 minutes. It is unclear to me why these couldn't have been unfurled during the keynote.

I had an 11 a.m. appointment with Griffin Technologies and although the keynote was scheduled to end at 10:30 a.m., it was already after 11. They forgave me, though, and showed off their product SecuriKey, a small USB token that, when inserted into your computer's USB port, acts like a key that allows you to access your computer. And just like your car, no key -- no go. Even if someone steals your laptop and guesses your password, they will not be able to get to your files without your SecuriKey token.

It was spiffy, and their rep answered all my (good) questions effortlessly. I was impressed, but they didn't give me a review copy. What they did give me, though, was a thank-you snack bag. This may have been the best freebie I got the whole day. It contained chocolates, pretzels, nuts, some kind of snack mix, and a tiny bottle of Stolichnaya Russian Vodka. Yes, hard liquor! Just what any Expo-goer needs!

I headed over to the media center, which was now open. The attendants were handing out cards on which were printed the login and password to access the wireless network. It's now about 11:30 a.m. and they were still cutting the cards out as I walked in. Hmmm, and this place was supposed to be open at 8 a.m.? What were you people doing for three hours?

I asked the attendant if we would be receiving food vouchers (which we did last year). He said we wouldn't because a free lunch would be brought into the media center. However, he warned me to be there at noon, since it might go fast. I headed out for just a few minutes to take a quick look around the exhibit hall and then got back to the media center at 11:40 a.m. The food had been served and there was already a line 30-people long. D'oh!

I did get my free lunch, though, and it was quite good for a convention center. I recommend the Moscone Center Pasta Salad. Unfortunately, there were only diet soda drinks available. No, Diet Dr. Pepper is not as good as regular. But it does taste more like regular Dr. Pepper than ... Diet Coke. Hmmm, I guess that's an accomplishment.

My other main appointment for the day was a special, private press briefing by Adobe. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding everything I saw there. So I can't tell you much until ... well, I'm not certain I can even say that. And I'm not interested in getting cut off from Adobe's product flow.

During the briefing, I sat at a table with an older gentleman that worked for the New York Times. We had quite an interesting conversation, during which I learned he attended the actual keynote in the ballroom. He said I might have been more fortunate to be in the other room, since the ballroom was a little insane with teenagers taking pictures of themselves.

I think I can legally share that Adobe had an incredible food spread, including the best crabcakes I've ever had. In addition, they gave us all hardbound reporter's notebooks with embossed Adobe logos and high-quality silver ballpoint pens (with etched Adobe logos). And they had real soda available, not diet. Oh, and alcohol, of course.

McCartney show sparks complaints to FCC

The FCC has received a handful of complaints about Paul McCartney's performance at the Super Bowl – but not because it was too racy.

The complainants said that the show put on by McCartney was boring and didn't entertain them.

And you thought I was a complainer. At least I don't make a federal case out of it (literally).

In addition, two people submitted complaints this year about last year's duet by Jackson and Timberlake.

First I'm not the biggest complainer and now I'm not the biggest procrastinator?!

'Simple Life' Episode Upsets Residents

WOOD-RIDGE, N.J. - An episode of "The Simple Life" that showed hotel chain heiress Paris Hilton and sidekick Nicole Richie working at a funeral home upset some local residents.

They ... spilled what appeared to be human ashes onto a carpet, then used a vacuum cleaner to clean them up.

The ashes were actually a mixture of cat litter and cement, according to John Podesta, the owner of Kohler Funeral Home.

Podesta said he has received few complaints and would not have participated if he thought the episode would hurt the funeral home's reputation. He said the funeral home was not compensated for hosting the show's taping.

How bad must the funeral home's reputation be for the owner to think that allowing Paris Hilton to fake spilling human ashes on television apparently wouldn't hurt it? And no compensation? Wow, could this guy actually be dumber than Paris herself? Well, maybe not. I don't think his T-Mobile Sidekick got hacked because he picked his dog's name as a password.

Darth Tater

"Not even Mr. Potato Head can resist the power of the dark side. Meet Darth Tater. This Sith spud comes with a red lightsaber, black cape, and helmet, shoes, eyes, nose, teeth, and more! Darth Tater will be available for purchase this April at a toy store near you."

A Closer Look at a Mashing Success

macCompanion February 2005 articles

The February 2005 issue of macCompanion has now been released in PDF form. The feature article is my review of Steve Jobs' keynote at Macworld in January, which is different than the one I just posted here on the blog yesterday. Double your pleasure!

I also wrote a review of Entourage 2004. As did fellow macCompanion staffer Ted Bade. Although I was interested to read his opinion, both our reviews were cut up and spliced together into one long review. My remarks are in blue, but are completely out of order.

February 2005 - 2.8MB PDF (7-minute download for 56K dial-up users)

• Watching the Keynote From the Basement – Page 19
  
• Entourage 2004 version 11.1.0 – Page 61

2005 Macworld Expo SF Keynote part 3

Wow, it's not until part 3 that you get my notes on the actual keynote. Well, I suppose part 1 was really more of a prequel. Too bad!

Normally, when Steve Jobs first comes out on stage, he thanks everyone for being there and notes what a beautiful day it is in San Francisco. He didn't do that this year, since it was a cold, rainy and pretty miserable day (another reason why I didn't show up super early to wait outside). Instead he noted that this was the first keynote to be projected in High Definition (HD). And all of us sitting in the overflow room watching a non-HD broadcast could care less. As will all of those who watch the streaming webcast and are seeing a "buffering" message every few minutes. Well, best to get the least exciting announcements out of the way at the beginning of the keynote instead of the end. So he then gave us all an update on the retail Apple Stores: 21 stores now open; 1 million visitors per week; newest store in London. The new London store did look pretty nice. If you're ever there, go visit.

An update on the iMac G5's progress was next, in which he proclaimed that it "gets rid of all the cables." Maybe in the promotional pictures it does. Maybe if you order it with the optional Bluetooth module direct from the online Apple Store and add an AirPort Extreme card and wireless mouse and keyboard and hook your printer up to your wireless router. But for the rest of us, there's actually just as many cords as usual. You have to hook up your iPod, right? He noted that it's gotten some great reviews in the press; and deservedly so, I think. But don't mention the Wall Street Journal's Walt "I Haven't Met An Apple Product I Haven't Gushed Over" Mossberg. Although he didn't cite specific sales figures, Jobs noted it is now Apple's highest-selling Mac.

Moving on to OS X, Jobs noted that there are now 14 million active users and "the transition to OS X is complete." Last year he said "the transition to OS X is over." Apparently the difference between 'complete' and 'over' is 4.5 million users. Also, that's still only 59% of the estimated installed Macintosh base. My prediction for 2006: The transition to OS X will be 'finished.'

We were told back in June 2004 that the next version of OS X would arrive in the first half of 2005. And since we're now IN the first half of 2005, I was hoping we'd find out a more specific timeframe. Unfortunately, we didn't. Which I presume rules out January, February and March as possible ship dates. Jobs' demo of the unfinished system upgrade showed one reason why there's no official ship month yet: it crashed.

It was obvious from the beginning that there would be a GarageBand demo (and presumably an update), since a guitar could be seen on the stage. So it was no surprise that the entire iLife suite was updated (except iTunes, which lives in its own, exciting iPod world). Now that we have a G5 at home and a videocamera, I was actually interested in what the updates would be. iPhoto 5 got plenty of applause, especially for a demo showing how easy it was to straighten a photo with the horizon. And I took delight in the fact that U2's "Sweetest Thing" was used in the iDVD demo. In fact, when Bono sang "My love, she throws me like a rubber ball," the home video footage actually showed someone throwing a rubber ball. John Mayer (who Jobs reminded us many times was up for two Grammies) returned to show off GarageBand 2, specifically its new music notation capability. One interesting feature is that you can manually alter the notes directly on the notation by dragging them up and down the clefs. Of course, after Jobs did that to a recording Mayer made, it sounded incredibly awful, as expected. I can imagine GarageBand 2's advertising slogan: "Now it's even easier to make horrible music!"

iWork, Apple's incredibly late successor to the aging AppleWorks, was a welcome announcement. It's different in a couple of ways. First, it doesn't have as many varied capabilities as AppleWorks (spreadsheet, database, drawing, painting). Also, it is not bundled with new Macs. Pages, the "word processing with style" application looked more like an easy-to-use page layout application. The funniest part, though, was when Jobs noted that it would include 40 templates, a "new concept." Yeah, because no one has ever included pre-built templates with their apps ... except maybe Adobe, Microsoft, and, oh, Apple, among others. Although a new Apple-created 'Office' software bundle has been predicted since Keynote 1.0 was released, no one predicted the low price of $79. (A lot cheaper than the $400 it would cost to get Microsoft's Word & PowerPoint)

Similarly, although rumors were rampant that a cheap, headless Mac would be introduced at Macworld, there were still plenty of surprises. First, it was not pizza-box shaped. Believe me, I know pizza-box shaped. I used a Quadra 605 from 1994-1999 and it even opened like a pizza box. Instead, the Mac mini is shaped more like a Nintendo GameCube. Plus, it's shockingly small. Apple continually does injustice to its products by photographing them in a white, Matrix-y void. It is impossible to realize how small this G4 computer is until you see it in person. And when Jobs held up the box by its little handle, the crowd was blown away. I've seen bigger (less fashionable) purses.

Normally, the Mac mini would be the 'one more thing' at a keynote. But it actually got short shrift in keynote time for the new iPod shuffle, which is like a Bizarro Apple product. Normally, Apple creates something that is innovative and feature-rich. PC users ignore it, citing its high price tag and noting that 90 percent of the market uses something else; while Mac users tout its superior nature. The iPod shuffle is not particularly innovative and is certainly not feature-rich. Now PC users will complain about how lame it is while Mac fans will note that it's really cheap and Apple has 70+ percent of the digital music player market. Personally, I have no desire for an iPod shuffle, but it broadens the iPod line even more and gives folks a more affordable way to join the party. Comparisons of the iPod to the Walkman have come up often, but I don't recall the Walkman costing $300. $99 is an incredible price and everyone predicts they'll sell a few tons of these things. Of course, everyone said they wouldn't sell any iPod minis and those sold incredible numbers, so now I'm slightly wary.

Apple is good at surprises. But it's one thing to beat low expectations. It's another to not live up to high ones.

Next time: post-keynote euphoria; free vodka; and does Diet Dr. Pepper really taste more like regular?

Ants

I was hoping to post another chapter in my one-day saga at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, but have been battling ants all weekend. So I put our Christmas videocamera and the new iMovie software to use. The one-minute movie is available here.

2005 Macworld Expo SF Keynote part 2

Okay, it's now been one week since I got back from my one-day trip to San Francisco for the annual Macworld Expo. And during that time, seemingly every pundit in the tech universe has published their thoughts on the possible ramifications of what was announced there. My "official" and largely unimportant view is reserved for macCompanion, which is how I was able to attend. So here's my experience as a "media" member:

Preparations for Macworld Expo start pretty early. Media registration opened on Nov. 19, I applied on Nov. 26, and my application was approved on Nov. 29. Why did I delay slightly? Once you are approved, you start to become bombarded with e-mails from the companies exhibiting at Macworld. This is nice if you have an interest in these companies or their products. But seeing as I was only going to be attending for one day, and the morning would be consumed by the keynote, I would not be able to interview the 50+ companies that e-mailed me (and some that phoned me).

IDG World Expo, which organizes Macworld Expo, sends out an e-mail one week prior that gives all the details: where to get your badge if you haven't received it in the mail already (I had), where to get your badge holder, procedures for getting into the keynote, media center and hours of operation, and show highlights. The e-mail noted:
Steve Jobs’ keynote presentation ... takes place ... at 9:00 a.m. in the Esplanade Ballroom. Please allow yourself enough time to pick up your badge and/or badge holder on keynote morning. If you did not receive your badge/badge holder on Monday, we recommend arriving at Media Registration no later than 7:00 a.m. to ensure you get to the keynote on time. Media Registration opens an hour earlier this year – at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. When you have your badge and badge holder, please follow the Media signs to the Lower Esplanade Lobby. This is the staging area for the media. You must be in the Lower Esplanade Lobby by 8:30 a.m. to ensure admittance to the keynote.

Last year, to ensure that I would get into the keynote, I showed up between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Unfortunately, that meant standing outside the Moscone Center in the cold for quite a while. It also meant standing non-stop until 9 a.m. I wasn't going to do that again, so this year I arrived at about 7:40 a.m. Last year, I waited with a group of other media folk in front of a door marked with a large sign that said 'Media Enter Here.' After an hour or so, we were told that was the wrong door, which caused us to lose our place in line for the keynote. And this year, once again, I went to the door marked with the giant sign that said 'Media Enter Here.' At which point I was told it was the wrong entrance for media, who were supposed to enter at a different door. No, these signs are not stuck in any way. They are on movable stands.

Thankfully, the media registration booth was open as promised and I got my badge holder. It's not enough to have a badge, see, you have to have a badge holder. This is so that you can wear your badge around and everyone can see your status: exhibitor, presenter, staff, media, etc. According to the instructions in the e-mail, I was supposed to "follow the Media signs to the Lower Explanade Lobby. This is the staging area for the media." Except when I tried to head to the Lower Esplanade Lobby, I was directed down the escalator and into a presentation room that had been roped off and was surrounded by Expo staff. 'Hmmm, maybe this is the staging area,' I thought. But there were two giant video screens in the room; both were turned on, and showed a broadcast schedule of music and color bars leading up to the keynote at 9 a.m. That's when I realized, 'That's no moon!' ... I mean, 'This is no staging area, we aren't going to get to see the keynote live!'

I thought perhaps my showing up at 7:40 instead of 6 a.m. was the problem. No, there were other people in the room that had been there as early as possible and had been immediately directed to this media overflow room. What was really happening was that they had separated the real and not-so-important media.

One thing I learned at last year's Macworld keynote is that there are two levels of the media: the group I'm in and the real media. The real media do not wear media badges and do not wait outside in the cold to get into the keynote. They get complimentary food and beverages and get let into the keynote five minutes before everyone else to sit in reserved seats. I'm fine with that, because I understand that I do not belong in the same group as those from the New York Times. But last year we still got to get into the keynote as promised. Apparently there were so many real media people that registered at the last minute they kicked the rest of us into the overflow room downstairs. But there ended up being between 100-200 media people in that room and not all of them were worthless. Meanwhile, I found out from a New York Times writer that the MacTeens.com folk were in the Ballroom for the live keynote. Here's a clue: if someone with a media badge is a teenager, should they be allowed in the keynote while a TV news cameraman is sitting downstairs? Also, I sat next to some MacTeens last year and they were incredibly rude, annoying and unprofessional. From what the New York Times writer told me, that hadn't changed.

One of the other problems I faced last year was that wireless Internet access for media is provided but you must know the name and password for the wireless network, which is provided in the media center. Since I was waiting outside to get into the keynote the whole morning, I didn't have that info and had no Internet access prior to/during the keynote. Since the media center was scheduled to open at 8 a.m. and was right next door to the media overflow room I headed over at 8:10 a.m. to get the name and password ... and the doors were locked. How many years has IDG been organizing this thing? Also, everyone was quite thirsty and hungry but the food vendors refused to sell anything. One even turned around the coffee pots because people were pouring themselves coffee (which they wanted to purchase). Yeah, you wouldn't want to make money with your coffee monopoly.

I resigned myself to my fate and found a good seat facing one of the giant video screens. What I thought was hilarious was that a bunch of other media people had found seats in the front center of the room ... which did not face the video screens. Apparently they were deluded into thinking someone was going to use the stage (David Pogue was going to ... the next day). At some point prior to the keynote starting, the video screens displayed pressoverflow and the wireless network to use to gain Internet access. Everyone with a laptop excitedly logged on, to discover that although they were on the network there was no Internet access to be had. Oh, but the MacTeens were posting live updates from the ballroom upstairs.

At 9:07 footage started streaming in of various people actually at the keynote. Notably, I saw David Pogue, Al Gore and Steve Wozniak. Then the keynote started. Then some dude came in and sat down right in front of me. Seriously, can I catch a break here? This guy shows up for the 9 a.m. keynote at 9:08 a.m.? What the .... !

The good news was that I go to watch the entire keynote as it occurred on a large, quality screen with 100-200 other media. And since there was no satellite feed nor a live webcast this year, that was, indeed, something. But Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field doesn't extend beyond the ballroom, so I probably noticed a lot more than I probably would have noticed live. Like how he said the G5 iMac 'gets rid of all the cables' while the accompanying slide has pictures of it in use ... with many cables. Oh, there's plenty more to come ... in part 3

Best U2 B-Sides

U2 has a number of songs that have never appeared on their albums, yet are quite good in their own right. Some, like "A Celebration," were released as singles on vinyl to maintain radio interest in the band. Others, like "The Three Sunrises," were put on EPs. And some, like "Silver and Gold," were performed live on a semi-regular basis. Now that nearly all of U2's released songs are available at the iTunes Music Store as part of The Complete U2, I've created an iMix of what I consider the 13 best b-sides. These are completely original compositions and do not include remixes, covers, or live performances. Also, one I would have included is the mid-1980s track "The Sweetest Thing." But that was remixed to great effect, released as a single in 1998 and placed on their "Best of 1980-1990" album, so seek it out there.

iMix: Best U2 B-Sides

I can always add or subtract to the list if anyone makes a comparable argument for or against any song.

2005 Macworld San Francisco Keynote

I finally have Internet access here at Macworld so I'm just going to make a quick post here while I have a free minute. I saw Steve Jobs' keynote. And by saw, I mean I watched it on a screen in the basement with 100-200 other media people in a separate room below the actual event. Lame.

There's plenty of other lame things that happened (maybe I really should rename this blog Something Bitter) but there were plenty of notable new hardware/software products announced at the keynote that you should check out:

iLife '05
iWork
Mac mini
iPod shuffle

Is that enough for ya?