iSad

On October 5, 2011, the world of computers lost a legend.
On October 5, 2011, the business world lost a leader.
On October 5, 2011, the music industry lost its savior.
On October 5, 2011, the art of design became less sleek and more bleak.
On October 5, 2011, consumer electronics lost an innovator.
On October 5, 2011, the mobile phone genre lost a revolutionary.
On October 5, 2011, the tablet movement lost its forerunner.
On October 5, 2011, the movie studios lost a champion.
On October 5, 2011, the tech universe lost a star.
On October 5, 2011, garage tinkerers lost an inspiration.
On October 5, 2011, Apple lost a father.
On October 5, 2011, many people the world over lost a hero.
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs lost his life.

You will be greatly missed, Mr. Jobs.  Your vision will live on in the pockets, hands, laps, messenger bags, dorm rooms, ears, eyes, hearts, and minds of the millions and millions of lives you have touched.

Thank you for thinking differently.  Our world is a better, cooler, sleeker, BOOMier, easier to use place because of it.

Oh, and one more thing....

Two Video Weekend

Yeah, so I was feeling pretty creative this weekend, I guess.  Because here are 2 videos (for the price of none!).

The first has to do with a crucial mistake I made a few years back that still haunts me to this day.



The next video is just this song I wrote, entitled "This is the Song I Wrote".  Enjoy!

In brightest day....

Green Lantern is coming - but not just to a theater near you, also to consoles, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, & 3DS.

As you can see in the image above, the game is 3D compatible (on the PS3, 360, & 3DS).  To check out some interactive 360° screenshots - check out the "3D Energy Viewer" on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/GreenLanternVideogame

Here are some insider screens I got for the 3DS version.  Sadly, since 99.999999% of you are *not* viewing this post on a 3DS itself, they are presented in stunning 2D and full color, for your viewing pleasure.

You can preorder "Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters" now, or buy it when it comes out on June 7.

"JOLT!" by: Phil Cooke - Shocking Revelations, or Buzz-kill?

"JOLT!  Get the Jump on a World That's Constantly Changing"

By: Phil Cooke, Published by Thomas Nelson

Disclosure: I received a free electronic copy of Jolt! from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson for review purposes. This review reflects my true opinion.


Fast Review:  3.5 out of 5 stars - Starts well, but doesn't keep up the intensity.  Big on broad concepts, light on detailed instructions. Could be just the inspiration you need to seek out the next steps.

Jolt! is a book about changing your life.  The author offers 25 "Jolts" to your system that are aimed to shake you out of your comfort zone, pull you out of the rut you've fallen into, and set you on the path towards your dream life.

At least, that's the idea.

The author is very inspirational, but despite promising to be different than the mass of self-help books out there by not just offering feel-good motivational speech, but actual nitty-gritty how-tos - the book ends up being mostly just that.  A pep talk before the big game as opposed to the actual game plan.

If you are looking for motivation and inspiration, this may be the book for you.  If you are looking for a life coach style plan for change - you won't find that here.

"Max On Life: Answers and Inspiration for Today's Questions" By: Max Lucado

Let me start by saying that I love Max Lucado.  I can't even tell you how many of his books I have read and own.  He has a way of taking the truth of God's Word, the art of storytelling, and real world experiences, and blending them in ways that inspire, motivate, and build up the reader, while honoring and glorifying our Savior in the process.  His latest book, "Max on Life," however, does not inspire nor motivate.
The book is a series of questions and answers.  Dozens of them; 172 to be exact.  And since the book - indexes, addendums, advertisements, and all, is barely over 250 pages, you don't have to be great at math to realize most questions are answered in less than a page.  This doesn't give Max the space needed to draw the reader in and share a meaningful story, which is his gift.
On top of that, many times the author doesn't even directly answer the stated question.  He merely uses a question as a jumping off point to share some other, almost unrelated, thought.
I was pretty disappointed in this book.  I don't even recommend adding it to your shelf just in case you need to look up one of the answers, because even if you find a question that is close to what you are wondering, chances are good that the answer will be too short to help, and possibly not even related to what you are looking for.
I do want to thank Thomas Nelson, the publisher of this book for sending me an advance review copy of "Max on Life: Answers and Inspiration for Today's Questions" By: Max Lucado. I am sorry that I didn't have more good to say about it.

Augen Genbook 108 10.2" Android Netbook Hands On

Thanks to a day on a woot-like site, 1saleaday.com, and another day on ebay's featured deals, for only $99 in both places, the Augen Genbook 108 10.2" Netbook running Google's Android operating system has found its way into the hands of hundreds of new owners, including one Chad W. Smith.

The sale price was for $99 with free shipping, but you can still find it online for $150 or so.

Augen 10⁸ Specs 

First, some quick specifications.

• 800 Mhz CPU
• 10.2" Screen
• 1024 x 600 resolution
• Google Android v2.1 "Eclair" Operating System
• 256MB DDR Ram
• WiFi b/g
• SD Card Slot

Now, some questions I couldn't find the answers for before I bought it, the GenBook does not have a camera - there's just some plastic nub where the webcam should be.  The GenBook does not have VGA out, (or HDMI, DVI, or any other type of video out).  There are 3 USB ports, a headphone/speaker jack, a mic/line-in port, and an Ethernet port.  There is no BlueTooth.

Something that was really weird is that both places had the system listed as having 2GB of onboard flash storage, however, my packaging, manual, and system info all say it has 8GB, so - bonus.  I'm not sure why mine is different, but I'm certainly not going to complain.  Not bad to pay half price and get 4 times the storage.

I say half price because the Augen made a splash last year around Black Friday time when K-mart started selling them for $190 - a price that made headlines.

The GenBook does not come with the official Google Android Marketplace, although there may be ways to install it - a feat I have yet to test.  And you could always just go to market.android.com.  It does, however, come with access to the Apple-annoying-named "App Store" - officially, the AndAppStore.  "And", I assume, being short for "Android", and not some attempt to be the AppStore And More, or anything clever like that.

Apps

It comes with some pre-installed apps, a web browser, a media player, the aforementioned AppStore, a file browser, and Documents2Go - a MS Office compatible mobile suite, that for some reason requires you to have the documents on an SD-card, other than on the system's flash drive.
The apps from the AndAppStore may or may not be legit - and/or not all apps will work with this system.  The reason I say that is because I downloaded AngryBirds - for free - and it didn't work right.  None of the on-screen "buttons" nor the score and other text appeared on the screen - just some blocky misshapen white boxes where the buttons/text should be.  I'm not programmer, but I use Photoshop everyday, and I'd call it a layering issue.  The top layers were missing.

Initial thoughts

The system is lightweight, 1.8 lbs reportedly. The keyboard is almost full-size, and works well - other than some weirdness I have yet to figure out with the function keys, but that could be a result of me not reading the manual and never having used Android before.  The trackpad is absolute junk.  It's bad enough that they are using an operating system that is clearly designed for a touchscreen phone on a netbook - but the fact that the trackpad stinks is truly awful.  It was less than 10 minutes of use before I gave up and plugged in a USB mouse.  Good thing it comes with 3 USB ports.

I don't know if it can be upgraded to Android 2.2 or 2.3 - but I'm not exactly sure why I would want to do that, either.

So far, I'm not sure how well I enjoy this system.  If I can get over/used to the crappy trackpad, and learn how to navigate/operate the shoehorned cellphone OS - it might be a valuable edition to my tech arsenal - if not, I'll try to install Ubuntu, fail to do so,  and then mothball it next to my Leapfrog Didj.

"Pujols: More Than the Game" by: Scott Lamb, Tim Ellsworth - Review

Let me start by saying, I'm no fan of baseball. It's not really that I dislike it - I just can take it or leave it, and most of the time, I choose to leave it. I live in a big baseball city - St Louis - and I've even gone to several Cardinals games, and I've watched a game in Yankee's stadium… Still not going out of my way to watch the sport. To illustrate, all of the games I've been to, my ticket was free.

That said, I do appreciate a great sports story, some of my favorite movies are sports movies, and one of the best real-life sports stories that is happening right now in my own city, is the story of Albert Pujols of the Saint Louis Cardinals. No, I'm not referring to the controversial contract negotiations. I'm referring to a nice family guy who goes to church, is faithful to his wife, doesn't do drugs, and is the undisputed NL MVP time and time again. You see, Albert Pujols, the homerun leader of the Cards, is a Christian, a true, practicing, converted, Christ-following Christian.

Which is why when I was given the chance to get a copy of a book on the life - so far - of Mr. Pujols, I didn't hesitate. Much like my baseball tickets, my copy of this book was free to me, the publisher asked me to review it. The book is called "Pujols - More Than the Game" it was written by Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth, and published by Thomas Nelson.

The book has everything you'd expect in a book about a baseball player, overall stats and a recount of awards and accomplishments. But, as the title suggests, it's not just about baseball, in fact, more of the book is devoted to his home life than his life at home plate. Following Albert from his childhood in the Dominican Republic through his meteroic rise to the heights of success in the sports world, the reader learns about his contagious love of Christ, and how that passion for Jesus has spread to his whole family, to people on his team, and to the fans.

"Pujols - More Than the Game" is an inspiring story of someone who isn't perfect, but is true to his Savior and successful in the secular world. Too many times we are told of Christians who are true to God through their adversity, we often forget that Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to be a Christian. In Albert Pujols, we see a man who is able to have success in this life, and still is laying up treasure in Heaven. And as Albert would be quick to point out, the glory goes to Jesus Christ, and not to Albert, for his success on the field and off.

I would recommend this book for any baseball fan, and if you know a baseball fan who isn't a Christian, this book may be a way to start the conversation about becoming one. Make no mistake, it's not a bible tract. There's no "plan of salvation" page or Romans Road list of verses to follow. But I can easily see a lost person wanting to know more about Jesus after reading this book.

It's also convicting to Christians, at least it is to me, if someone wrote a book about my life story - would it be just as much of a draw to the Savior as this book is?

My review, 4 out of 5 stars.

If you'd like to pick up a copy of "Pujols: More Than the Game" - here are some places to find it, learn more, and read other people's reviews:

• "Pujols: More Than the Game" on Amazon
• "Pujols: More Than the Game" on Thomas Nelson (the publisher)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”