Tony Walla's Random Ramblings » Uncategorized

TWRR 000 – Pilot

Tony — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:55:27 +0000

Here is the pilot episode for the TWRR podcast. I needed to put something together quick in order to get a validated iTunes podcast. Looking forward to serving up some content from Macworld Expo in February in the short term, and we’ll see where this takes us in the long run.

Hello World!

Tony — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:20:01 +0000

Now look what I’ve done. I’ve blown up my blog. I’ll be poking around with WordPress settings over the coming weeks until I feel I have something I like. If you have any suggestions for themes or must have plug-ins, please feel free to comment.

My goal is to use this site for quick posts that are too long for Twitter, post a few photos, and eventually create a personal podcast.

Macworld bound

Tony — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:37:25 +0000

I’ll admit it. This was really Geri’s idea. I never thought I would be going to Macworld. We leave tomorrow afternoon for San Francisco. Geri almost seems more excited than I do at times. She wants to see “Welcome to Macintosh” again and spend some time with Rob and Josh. This is the event that spawned the idea in Geri’s head. I was lucky enough to interview the duo at the WI Film Festival in April. We’ve kept in touch since then, and they have invited us to the Macworld premier on Thursday. Travel costs were pretty good so we decided to go.

Now I get to see old friends from New Media Expo in Vegas, and meet new friends like Liana Lehua and the TUAW crew.

Geri is also armed with my 1st gen iPhone. She “allowed” me to upgrade to the iPhone 3G. Now she can’t put her iPhone down. I swear we’ll turn her into a full-fledged geek soon.

Tomorrow brings packing for the trip and some last minute items… Time for bed.

Some people’s kids… er, parents

Tony — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:32:42 +0000

Yes this is my dad back on 8-30-08 when my parents visited us in Madison. I’m surprised the spring didn’t snap.

Dancing fool?

Tony — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:28:54 +0000

I normally don’t repost stuff from the web, but I received this link from Twitter overnight from The Mac Mommy. Very interesting concept. http://www.vimeo.com/1211060?pg=embed

iPhone follow-up

Tony — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:28:01 +0000

Now imagine the same interface and OS running on a 7-9 inch touch display panel. I really believe Apple is quietly working on such a device. It will never be called a tablet by Steve but it will have similar functionality. This would be a huge win for Apple and the medical community alone, but I could easily see this device having broad consumer appeal.

What we don’t know yet:

What does Steve mean by better audio? Is it a better D/A chipset?

GPS for the 1st Gen iPhone? We know the original iPhone does not have the GPS chipset. It would be nice if Apple opened up Bluetooth support so I could use a small Bluetooth GPS puck to get the same location aware functionality that iPhone 3G users will enjoy.

What happens if I damage my iPhone 3G in a way that isn’t covered by Applecare? Clearly Apple/AT&T isn’t going to allow me to replace the iPhone for the same $199/$299 price that I originally paid since AT&T is now subsidizing the cost. So, what is the true cost of iPhone 3G?

What about the iPod Touch price? On the surface, it appears that the iPhone 3G is now cheaper than the iPod Touch. Again, the cell carrier subsidy is being masked. If Apple or AT&T doesn’t explain this, people are going to be upset or confused with the iPod Touch price being higher than the iPhone. I do NOT believe that Apple is planning a price cut for the iPod Touch.

Will Tony get one? Unclear. I’m holding out for a 32GB version. I believe Apple is working on the 32GB model if it isn’t already complete. I also think there will be more announcements for the iPhone platform before the July 11th launch date. I also wonder what AT&T’s plan if for those of us who want to transfer the existing iPhone to a spouse in order to justify the purchase of the iPhone 3G.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let me know!

Local fire – really local

Tony — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:48:06 +0000

There was a garage fire about a half a block south of us tonight. Geri and I took a walk down to the school to get a view of the garage. Check out the shots of the garage next door and the siding of their neighbor’s house. Here’s the link to the Flickr gallery.

iPhone wish list

Tony — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:47:03 +0000

I was listening to MacBreak Weekly hosted by Leo Laporte, and I heard Leo talk about a Bluetooth wristwatch GPS device he uses to geo-tag his photos. Before they could start talking about it, I thought it would be great if iPhone OS 2.0 would allow the 1st gen iPhones to get real GPS. It sounds like a great solution. The GPS wouldn’t drain the iPhone’s battery (although connections to the EDGE network for map updates could.) I like the idea of having GPS in my car, but I don’t want the extra box. I would even accept a small GPS puck to place on the dashboard that is tied to the iPhone via Bluetooth. I’ve already purchased a cell phone mount w/ windshield suction cup to hold the iPhone or iPod. I could see that as a big win for 1st gen iPhone owners that may feel left in the dust when the 2nd gen iPhone comes out.

This started me thinking about other iPhone features that I would like to see in iPhone OS 2.0. I’ll bet if you search the net, you’ll find 100 other lists like this, but here’s mine:

Color code my iCal calendars on the iPhone as I have them setup in iCal.
If I set iCal to ignore alarms on my wife’s calendar, migrate that setting to the iPhone as well. (My 3G 30Gb iPod can do this.)
Sync iCal to my .Mac account in real time! (I think there may be a big announcement about tighter integration to .Mac at WWDC) I want my display to update after my wife ads her iCal events… especially when I am away from home and away from my Mac.
Video recording – but here’s why it won’t happen for the 1st gen iPhone… where’s the microphone? If Apple thinks the mic isn’t suited for video recording, they won’t do it because Apple doesn’t want to release something that might appear half-assed. Regardless, I would be happy with 90 second clips.
Add the Google maps drag route feature. There are times when I don’t like the route that Google picks and would like to modify it like you can on the web version.

Most of my other wishes will come from 3rd party developers.

Slowly inching closer to the finish line

Tony — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:45:31 +0000

I got some good news via Twitter earlier today from The Mac Mommy. We’re trying to start our own podcast and we’ve been putting a lot of thought and research into it rather than just record some audio and throw it out there. She’s gotten a good idea about a name for the show that I like. We also found a few potential domain names we can use as well that are available. I’m tempted to buy the names just in case. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the graphic elements. I already have ideas on how to break up the segments of the show.

Also, thanks for your comments on the episode of Typical Mac User podcast. Again, you can find it from this link. Typical Mac User Podcast episode 129.5

Featured on the Typical Mac User podcast

Tony — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:40:21 +0000

Today, Victor Cajiao released a special episode of The Typical Mac User Podcast featuring an interview I did in early April with the filmmakers of “Welcome to Macintosh.” I am honored to be part of a show that I’ve listened to regularly since Mike Rose at TUAW suggested I check it out. Please head over to http://www.typicalmacuser.com to check it out. If you’re coming from there after listening to the podcast, welcome! Feel free to leave a comment.

Here are a few links related to this post:

http://www.typicalmacuser.com – Victor Cajiao’s Mac website

Permalink to the post and podcast in question.

http://www.welcometomacintosh.com – WtM official website

http://welcometomacintosh.ning.com – WtM offical forrums