Sing, sing, sing....

Some days, all we want to do is "sing, sing, sing..."

Two versions of the classic "Sing", by Travis. At the top, the most recent one, by Peter Jöback and Kate Pierson. The bottom one is by Travis themselves, live on the "Later" show. And there goes a decade...

Sem palavras...

Recebi hoje meu exemplar do "The New Yorker" desta semana, e o cartoon da capa me deixou sem palavras. Este é para emocionar mesmo um ateu de carteirinha como eu...

Should I Buy the New iPhone 4S?

I'm the best possible "target" buyer for the new iPhone 4S: I still have an iPhone 3GS, and my 2-year contract has expired, so I should be able to get the new phone for the lowest price possible. However, until this morning, I still wasn't completely convinced I should upgrade to the iPhone 4S.

This story in today's New York Times convinced me that I should, indeed, fork over the $300 and get a new phone. It's the best review I've seen so far, and the one that really explains the differences between this and the older iPhone models. I went to the NYT's web site looking for the story, and found out it's the MOST EMAILED story today! That's a big deal for the paper (hundreds of thousands of people must have emailed it today), but it's even a bigger deal for Apple, since the review is basically a big "thumbs-up" on the new iPhone.

I went to the Apple site and also did a rate plan comparison, and came to the conclusion that Sprint is probably the best carrier for me (as opposed to AT&T and Verizon). AT&T and Verizon are much bigger companies, and probably have better coverage areas, but Sprint, the new kid on the block, is offering the best data (unlimited), messaging (unlimited), and voice (almost unlimited) plans around. Sprint is also throwing in a 4G mobile hot spot as part of the deal (for $20/month for 5G of data), which is huge!

By the way, I've been trying to download the new iPhone update system (iOS 5) since about 11 a.m. this morning, but Apple's servers are too busy...

Steven Jobs' Death in the Media

The New York Times consistently has some of the very best obituaries around. I actually often use their obituaries in class, to teach my students that you can report about someone's death (and celebrate their life) without being boring or bureaucratic about it. The NYT's obituaries are the opposite of boring or bureaucratic. They outdid themselves today, publishing Steven Jobs' obituary on the front page (main headline). One of the best obituaries I've ever read.

In fact, most U.S. newspapers today had Steven Jobs' death on the cover, many of them as the main headline. The coverage continued inside with the main, business and technology sections devoting several articles to him, to Apple, and to Jobs' influence on areas such as computers, technology, music, animation (Pixar), as well as society in general.

One of my favorite obituaries today came from a British publication: The Economist, which also always has some of the best (and most idiosyncratic) obituaries.

Something about Jobs that was rescued by the NYT's and the Economist's stories include the fact that he was very much the product of the "flower power" generation--a visionary rebel, influenced by the concepts of social justice, equality, creativity, and the power of technology to change the world. In fact, when Steven tried to convince John Sculley, who was then the CEO of Pepsi-Cola, to leave Pepsi and come to Apple, he said: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?”

iPhone 5 / Amazon Kindle

So, Amazon managed to steal some of Apple's thunder. Less than 24 hours after Apple sent out invitations to a select group of journalists for next Tuesday's iPhone 5 unveiling, getting the Internet, Twitter and all the tech blogs abuzz, Amazon announces THREE new Kindles, and gets the whole world talking!

That must be humbling for Apple. Despite the fact that I'm an Apple fanatic, I love competition and what it can do for innovation, so I was mildly amused and satisfied by this turn of events.

Guess what? It turns out the Kindle is a great product, so Amazon is right to invest in technology and innovation, and come out with a brand new line. To top it off, all new Kindles, including the Touch, the Touch 3G and the Kindle Fire, will be sold for under $200. To be honest, the Kindle is no iPad, but it doesn't even pretend to be. However, it is a great, successful product for what it is: a reasonably priced media reader.

To be sure, Apple is still the company to try to copy and steal from. Even the moniker "Touch" brings to mind Apple gadgets. Amazon also leaned from Apple when it comes to marketing, putting Jeff Bezos center stage in Manhattan to make the announcement in front of a crowd...

Glacier Franz Josef, Nova Zelandia

Acabo de voltar de uma hike de 6 horas rumo ao topo da glacial (geleira?) Franz Josef, na Nova Zelandia. Uma das experiências mais incríveis da minha vida!

As fotos abaixo dão uma idéia, mas certamente não fazem justiça majestade do lugar. A experiência de tirar o fôlego, literalmente :)

Prometo publicar mais e melhores fotos quando baixar minha digitais pro computador. Estas foram tiradas com o iPhone. Enjoy!









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Location:Main Rd,Franz Josef Glacier,New Zealand

Wellington

Algumas fotos de Wellington, segunda maior cidade e capital da Nova Zelandia. Passei um fim de semana fantástico aqui, com muito sol e novos amigos.

Parto esta tarde rumo a ilha do Sul, menos populosa e mais aventureira. I love you, New Zealand!

Vista externa do museu nacional Te Papa, um lugar fascinante.


Área portuária, que foi transformada pela industria do turismo, com hotéis e restaurantes de alta qualidade


Dentro do museu Te Papa, onde passei ótimas horas ontem.


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Location:Thorndon Quay,Pipitea,New Zealand