First Generation Nerd

As if anyone doubted, Gizmodo is reporting that it has been confirmed that the new iPhone will be introduced at WWDC on June 9.  There have been many rumors floating around about the specifics of the hardware, new form factor, and date of availability, but here is what I have gathered so far:

•  The new iPhone will launch and be available on June 9
• It will have a forward facing camera that will allow face-to-face video chat (via the new software)
• It will likely have a slightly larger form factor with curved rear casing
• Integrated GPS (for real, not cell tower triangulation) will be available
• Software version 2.0 will have support for Exchange email, among other advancements
• The new iPhone will probably be part of a new line of iPhones at differing price points
• This new line may be opened to other networks, as AT&T will have its own model that it can subsidize; new 2-year contract holders will get the phone at a significant discount

As I have mentioned before, if the new phone has 32 GB of capacity, it is the ultimate device for me.  I can’t imagine what availability struggles they will have and/or the line I am going to have to wait in to get one, but it will all be worth it.   

So what?

This announcement is definitely going to revolutionize the smart phone market.  Since the launch of the iPhone one year ago, there have been advances in the mobile web, and we have gotten the sense of what consumers want and need when it comes to advanced mobile devices.  The iPhone is no Blackberry in capability at this point, but it is solid hardware and the advances (including Exchange support) will take a chunk out of Blackberry’s marketshare.

It has been a while since I’ve updated, but this time I come bearing gifts. I have spent some time (with the help of Alicia) compiling the shows from my day of filming at Sony Studios, and have uploaded my appearance to a streaming server. If you missed my show, be sure to watch it here! You need QuickTime 7 to view the clips, and they will load in a QuickTime window when you click on the links.

Click here to see my WOF appearance

My 20 seconds of fame on 6ABC 11:00 News

Wow. It has been a whirlwind week. From being in the newspaper three days in a row to being served a citation for PDA from the college I work for (just for fun :-), I certainly have been enjoying my 15 minutes of fame.

My viewing party has to be, bar none, the coolest viewing party in the history of WOF. My fiancee and two friends threw a party in the college chapel that was attended by more than 400 faculty, staff, and students. The Philadelphia ABC affiliate was there as well as a newspaper reporter and photographer. There were balloons everywhere, and they had a “Congratulations” cake made and dollar sign cookies.

I started off with a greeting, then picked three people to play a game on the big screens (the WOF “Plug it in and Play” game manned by my fiancee). After getting through the bonus round, it was time for the show to air! As soon as I showed up on the screen, the crowd ERUPTED in applause. When I mentioned the college or the town, more applause ensued. As gameplay commenced, they would boo the other contestants (sorry Kim and Courtney!), while cheering me on. During each commercial break, I went up on stage and explained what we were doing (getting makeup retouched, being prepped for the next round). When it came to the end, people were standing up and high-fiving each other as they realized that I would be going to the Bonus Round.

It was almost silent in the room when the Bonus puzzle was revealed, but when I said “Formal Gown,” everyone jumped up and cheered even louder than before. People ran up to the front to congratulate me, and I jumped back up on stage to field a few questions. Alicia and Amy came up on stage as well, and I had them talk about what they were thinking as I went to the Bonus Round. After a few more questions (”How much do you pay in taxes?” “What was up with your hair?” and “Can I have a loan?”), the cake was revealed which had the amount inscribed in icing.

What an incredible night. My sister in Massachusetts had a viewing party, as did my aunt, and before it struck 8:00pm, I had already received more than 50 text messages from my friends and family. I was also congratulated by Nona, Wednesday night’s winner, as she called later that night (we auditioned together and she called me her “good luck charm” as she played her round right before me). The story was at the end of 6ABC News at 11, and the celebration was captured in the paper the next day. My hometown (weekly) newspaper had a feature article on April 24, and is also running a recap this coming Thursday.

Thanks for all of your congratulations as well! It makes me happy that everyone left with at least something; the girls each received a trip and some cash, and we all had a great time overall. I’m making a DVD of the 5 shows this week, as well as the other show taped on March 28 that airs in June. HUGE thanks to Alicia, Amy, and Mary for THE BEST viewing party ever. For those of you wanting to read the official recap of the game, click here.

Tonight is the night!  We are all set for our big viewing party in the chapel at VFCC starting at 7:00pm.  If you’re in the area, please come out and watch with us.  On Monday, news of my appearance made it’s first public viewing, as I was featured on the famed “Greg the Barber’s” barbershop window. I’ll post pictures as soon as my mom sends them to me. Then yesterday I was interviewed by Dennis Wright of The Phoenix, Phoenixville’s local newspaper.  They are running a two-day series about my journey to Culver City, finishing with the viewing party tonight.

Check it out in today’s Phoenix!

Thanks to everyone who has either responded on Facebook, in this blog, or in person.  I’d also like to thank Alicia, Amy and Mary for their support and friendship and for planning the whole party for tonight.  Now we can all wait in anticipation for tonight. YEE HAW!

The Wall Street Journal ran an article today posing the question, “Is Faster Access to the Internet Needed?”, citing a recent announcement that Comcast has released a new higher speed broadband service to the metropolitan Minneapolis area (to the tune of $150 per month). The 50Mbps downstream speed (5Mbps upstream) is more than 10 times faster than Comcast’s current offerings, and it intends to expand both the speed and coverage in the near future.

The article goes on to describe how other vendors believe that money needed to enhance the backbones of their networks to accommodate higher speeds can be better spent on other projects, which would leave Time Warner Cable and AT&T subscribers at a standstill with their current bandwidth offerings. The author believes that “aside from a few niche applications like high-end videogaming, no real applications exist to allow users to take advantage of the higher speeds.”

So what?

I’m sure in 1996, WSJ writers touted 56k as “The Fastest Thing Since 4800 Baud!!!”, but without the innovation of broadband, we wouldn’t have the Internet that we have today. Are you happy with waiting 10 minutes to download a 100MB video podcast? Waiting 30 seconds for a video clip to buffer? Watching a tiny 320×240 postage stamp with pixel blocks the size of Tic Tacs?

Let’s take a look internationally.

Japan has the world’s fastest, cheapest Internet access. Western Europe has a faster growing broadband penetration than the US. A 75 year-old woman in Sweden has 40 GIGABIT speed to her home. Yeah, you’re right, 5 Megabits is way too fast. (And I won’t even mention Comcast’s wonderful habit of throttling bandwidth if they deem fit.)

So, is faster access to the Internet needed? In a word: YES. I’m sure it is financially beneficial for ISPs to sit on their laurels and rake in the cash while their networks remain stagnant, while people are content paying a minimum fee for minimum service. But when those “few niche applications” turn into money-making machines, they will be scrambling to catch up to the rest of the world.

Steve Jobs must be rolling in his grave.

Okay, so he’s not dead, but if he’s ever uttered the words, “Over my dead body” about a cooperation with another company, he’s just as likely to preemptively roll in his proverbial grave. The wonderfully tight-lipped Mobility CEO of AT&T has announced that a 3G iPhone will be “coming in months.” He attempted to be a little sly by not mentioning the iPhone by name, but his cues were anything but ambiguous.

So what?

This little slip means that I am one step closer to my purchase of an iPhone! I am anticipating that the 3G iPhone will probably be a higher end model at the $599 price point, and I’m hoping that it will also be 32GB. That way, I’ll be able to ditch my old 30GB iPod and have one device for telephony and portable music. YEE HAW!

Well.

We are back from a crazy few days in Los Angeles! What a stinking amazing experience.

Thursday night, we arrived at the hotel (Radisson, Culver City) to find that they did not have the rooms I had reserved. Instead, the girls ended up in a room next to some MTV dance team, and I had a handicapped room that smelled like smoke and had a shower that leaked all over the bathroom floor. Thus ends the bad part of the trip.

Friday morning, I hopped on a shuttle with some of the other contestants for the 15 minute drive to Sony Studios. We sat in our contestant room for most of the day, going over forms and joking around with each other, until Vanna walked in! She was wearing a sweatshirt and no makeup, but she looked great! She wished us all good luck then went to get ready for the day’s taping. We went into the studio (which is way smaller than it appears on TV) and got a tour and practiced spinning the wheel. After makeup (yes, makeup) and more waiting, it was time to tape!

They tape six shows in a day, and my particular show was number 4, which ended up being after lunch. The shows themselves don’t take much longer than they are on television, with each basically taking between 30-45 minutes to complete. After a lunch break, it was my turn! I played with a girl, Courtney, from Worcester, MA and another girl, Kim, from the Chicago area. I won’t reveal how we all did, but watch us on APRIL 24, 2008 to find out!!

After the taping, we went to Santa Monica Pier and drove around Hollywood for a while until we were tired. Here are a few pictures from our trip (none of the , and don’t forget to tune into WHEEL OF FORTUNE on APRIL 24!!!!

So today is it! We are heading out to Los Angeles this afternoon for tomorrow’s taping at Sony Studios in Culver City, California. The crew is me, my fiancé Alicia, and our friend Amy. Alicia and I are flying Southwest with one stop, while Amy got a non-stop that leaves an hour after us, but gets in only 10 minutes after we do. We aren’t allowed to bring cell phones or cameras into the studios, so my photos will be limited of the actual event, but I’ll try to post other pics from the trip when I can.

Wish me luck!!

Apparently someone close to the source of information can’t (or doesn’t want to) keep his mouth closed about Apple’s new initiative to add an unlimited music option to the iPhone. Nokia already plans to offer a similar plan, to the tune of $80 for the life of the device.

So what?

Well, first of all, I think that this is a great idea. Sure, it’s unlikely that, once you have the music, you’ll be able to get it off the device. But if your iPhone (especially a 32GB) is acting as your iPod, is it really that big of a deal? If someone tells me to check out a track, I would be ecstatic if I could listen to the entire track instead of a lame 30-second preview.

Second of all, if I really like the tracks that I can listen to on my iPhone, I’ll throw down 99 cents to get full access to the file. It’s no different than my current iTunes setup, just great mobile access to their entire catalog at all times!

Hey Apple, here’s a great way for you to break it before it begins: Don’t let us wirelessly download without syncing, and make the tracks only 128kbps AAC files. Yeah, who needs iTunes Plus on their phone?

PLEASE don’t mess this one up!

via Apple Insider

Ben Stein has embarked on a new journey: a journey to bring back validity to intelligent design. The trailers to the film look very interesting, and feature segments of interviews with top scientists from both sides. As part of the film, Stein interviewed scientists who have lost their jobs, tenure, and professional credibility simply for their views on intelligent design. The film will be released on April 18th…check out the trailers!