The random technotheolosophical blogging of Reid S. Monaghan
The Onion News Network just scooped what Apple will be releasing at MacWorld tomorrow. Here is the video featuring the breakthrough device.
Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
My favorite quotes:
Note: POCBlog does not support or endorse everything on the Onion News Network
Some of you must be deeply disappointed in the Simpsons...how could they...how could they get it so wrong?! We all know that Steve Jobs gives us overpriced computers, phones and MyPods because he loves us and has our good in mind. Afterall, he gave us the greenest laptop EVER!
By the way, Jacob's Well bought one of those overpriced MacBook Pros this week to run media here in the future. We even paid extra to have a real warranty called "AppleCare" and extra dongles so that we could actually hook it up to a video projector! To be honest, every PC I bought had a warranty and I can plug my Dell laptop up to a VGA or HDMI projector or TV without any 30 dollar dongles. But we are thankful to have our MacBook Pro on the way!
OK, I am just about bored with Mapple discussions...but one good piece of news came out this past Week...Logos for Mac is ready to go.
(HT - Brian Lowe on the Simpsons and Zach Harrod on Logos)
As I am on the record as being quite a fan of Windows Vista (SP1) and being in the company of and in friendship with many Mac users, I felt compelled to write. I have long feared my Mac friends tend towards conformity and in the extreme I fear many stoop into odd forms of Idolatry. In light of this troubling technological sojourn I have found a profound mind which has given voice to my feelings.
The eminent linguist, philosopher and critic Umberto Eco has a very insightful comparison in the ancient Mac vs. PC debates of yore. Though his writing was more to the DOS/WIN era vs. MAC I find the echos of Eco's thoughts quite relevant today. What is his thesis? Mac is much more like Roman Catholicism and the PC much more like Protestantism. Oh yes...now before my Mac using, uber cool Protestant friends tear thy garments go on over to read Eco's essay - The Holy War Mac vs. DOS.
I find the comparison quite revealing and interesting...
Of course all is lost today in the spin and noise. Mac's are cool - PCs are stodgy, nerdy people who are just not hip. Just watch the switcher ads - Mac...young, cool with it. PC is...well, a lovable nerd...great advertising which gives great laughs...but far from the truth.
Only Mac people can feel "unique, rebellious and special" for using laptops that are sold in preconfigured bundles with little to no individual customization. It is a profound social phenomena the uniqueness of Mac users. I think perhaps the blog "Stuff White People Like" describes this phenemona best. I'll give Christian Lander the last words here today:
...Apple products tell the world you are creative and unique. They are an exclusive product line only used by every white college student, designer, writer, English teacher, and hipster on the planet...
...Apple products also come with stickers. Some people put them on their computer, some people put them on windows, but to take it to the pinnacle of whiteness, you need to put the Apple sticker in the rear window of your Prius, Jetta, BMW, Subaru 4WD Station Wagon or Audi. You then need to drive to a local coffee shop (Starbucks will do in a pinch) and set up your apple for the world to see. Thankfully, the Apple logo on the back will light up! So even in a dark place, people can see how unique and creative you (and the five other people doing the exact same thing) truly are!
Oh you just have to love Stuff White People Like...You can read the entire post in context here: Stuff White People Like #40 - Apple Products. Carry on my Mac brothers - you are cooler than me and Mac's are a fine computer - just like Steve Jobs wants it. He always knows best!
(PS - this is humor for all the especially zealous Mac religious devotees who might be very angry with me - it is meant to promote laughter, not flame mail in the comments...but if you must, give it back to me below. Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day!)
...but not like this
Uhh...not sure what to say. There is some real sadness in all this...an example of worshiping creation rather than Creator. Bring me to this rock that has this incredible life? Steward the rocks and the trees and care for our resources...but worship not a rock...unless it is the rock.
(HT - David)
Proverbial wisdom says that you can always build a better mousetrap...I think I found proof that this is indeed true.
Poor little mice...their brains are just to small to know what hit them. One more reason to believe that their is a vast distance between man and beast. Those with soft hearts towards mice, Kleenex available here.
(HT - Engadget)A friend sent me this link...awkward snap of the camera. On Yahoo...all the people way too jazzed up about political wranglings please laugh today.
Dr. John Piper recently got a new coat from the kind people of Mars Hill Church Seattle. Picked up at a skateboard park in the pacific northwest and freshened up with some Desiring God logo fabric art, John Piper just got style-warped.
Check out the video below:
More videos and messages from the recent desiring God conference can be found here - The Power of Words and the Wonder of God
Source - "Duty Calls" Copyright xkcd - some stuff on this site is not as savory - use caution.
(HT - Tim Dees)
These guys are awesome - I hoped this was a parody - but the sad thing is that this is likely actual footage. Please mourn with me...for all the mockers out there...Jesus can be your friend too...but you don't have to roll like this.
Here are my favorite lines
Now, this video by my boys Rhett and Link has me perplexed this morning. It either makes me nostalgic for this part of the country or it makes me pretty happy to be moving to New Jersey. I'm looking forward to "barbecuing" some asparagus and shitaki mushrooms once we become northern people here soon.
Warning - this video is funny. And who the heck told people in South Carolina to put Mustard on BBQ meat. Just to settle the issue - Tennessee and Memphis barbeque is the best. Period. No debate, discussion necessary. Yet do watch this video...my dear friends in the Northeast, I cannot explain these people to you. I just can't.
Just so people know the actual costs as well - here are some quotes...the first on the hardware costs is from Engadget, the second on the total costs is from Gizmodo:
There's not much that's surprising here -- new customers and those eligible for an upgrade will be able to nab the phone for $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB), while "early upgraders" will have to fork over $399 or $499, all with a two year contract and $18 upgrade fee, of course. The telco says a no-commitment version of the phone will be available for $599 and $699, though it looks like that will come after the initial launch.
Yes, the iPhone 3G will cost you $160 more than the original iPhone over two years. If you don't need 3G at all (or GPS), you might not need to upgrade if you've got an old one. Otherwise, $160 is a small price to pay—for us at least—over the course of two years to drastically increase your email and browsing speeds.
Enjoy the new iPhone guys! I like it quite a bit - but will pass again. I just don't want to use AT&T and not be able to type.
Just when you thought it could not get any better on this July 11th, iPhone 3G day, a day that new Apple idolators were born. A new accessory arrived unexpectedly. The iPhone videoconferencing kit!
More information available at Gizmodo - when looking at this, you may even see how to mod your iPhone for videoconferencing with products found in any household bathroom.
[HT - Jason Seville]
Many of you have read, heard about and watched Matt. His videos are cool, his dancing style is unique...but is Matt cool?
I'm just not sure what to think? I think Matt is cool.
Just in case you were wondering: "What are Rhett and Link up to these days?" - Well, they are traveling the country on a road trip with a little guy named Speedy. I personally liked this one...time wasting hilarity awaits you...then get back to work.
This is just some crazy stuff...I can't imagine how much time this took. Not sure if the guy broke the law or not, but his work is pretty creative stuff.
OK, I was baited into this one by a good friend whose PR department would not permit him to blog it...and he figured I would be his huckleberry. Well, he guessed correctly. Christoga - a nice combination of YOGA and Christ - or is it? Now, I happen to have some dear friends who are committed Christians who were converted from Hinduism. It is interesting that Indian people who become followers of Jesus typically call poses dedicated to certain eastern gods...well...idolatry. Not us western, Oprah Winfrey watching, syncretism loving "Christians." We like our bodies to be filled with Yoga and our hearts with some person we vaguely call "Jeeezus."
Now, I am not going to get into a debate here on whether stretching is bad - of course it is not. Of course Yoga type stretching increases flexibility, strength and can make your body healthier. Yet if you want to stretch you do not need "Christoga" to do so. You certainly do not need yoga to "worship Jesus." Also, "getting centered" and eastern meditation are the antithesis of seeking the peace of God through meditation upon God's works, his Word and his attributes. Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46)...this is the result of something Yoga cannot offer, a relationship with the creator God who is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble...yet we love to grab cool eastern stuff and mix it up without even knowing what it means.
OK, all the Yoga loving Christians can now send me your kind, loving, tolerant comments...
I am really not so sure why we take an ancient instrument of execution upon which God incarnate gave his life in sacrifice for sin and make it into trinkets. Here is another installment in the history of Jesus Junk - a Cross shaped MP3 player. I guess this is supposed to make a statement but I do not know what statement. Here is how this one was reported on Engadget:
Good lord. No, really. Good lord. The TEO MP-301 MP3 player from IceTech USA crams 1GB of media storage into -- as you can see -- a very Jesus-friendly form factor. The $49 player features a built-in microphone with voice recorder, mirrored front panel, and even a little speaker. According to reviews, the player has some serious interface issues and a weak screen, but if crucifixion is your thing, you can't go wrong with this necklace cross-cum-MP3 player. Or is that the other way around? Is this an MP3 player that's also a cross? Anyway, there you have it: the cross-shaped MP3 player, indeed.
My small counsel to the kind souls which produce this sort of thing - STOP IT. OK, now podcasts of Christ centered preaching are really great on iPods. That is how I would rather experience "Cross" and "MP3 player" in the same sentence. But maybe its just me...
OK, the style and flow of this may be a bit raw for some...but it is quite creative. This video is apparently being debated on the net - Is this a slam against atheists or believers? One cannot know, but one can laugh. Rated POCBlog PG-13.
(HT - Uncommon Descent)
