Busy Is Good

January 30, 2009 by admin · 1 Comment
Filed under: "Whitestone Design Werks", Apple, Life 

I’ve found myself caught in the enviable quandary of not being able to update my blog due to an increase in business. I’ve had three unpublished posts sitting unfinished since the middle of January and haven’t had the time to really develop the thoughts out the way I would like. For me, posts do not usually fall into place (with the exception of this one) because I am forcing myself to post something–even if it is “thrown-up” so to speak.

It also seems ironic that the busier I am and not able to finish blog posts, I seem to get more ideas of potential good ones. For example, I’m just itching to write another post about AppleTV with all the news out the last week and a half about it. The only problem is that if you don’t sit down and start writing right away, specially if it involves breaking news regarding technology or politics, your final post–when you get around to finishing it–won’t be as fresh and relevant, not to mention, other news can break that might render your unfinished ideas and points moot anyways. So, the pressure is on to strike while the iron is hot and get that post finished.

In the meantime, back to werk!

Boxee Trying to Make AppleTV a Better Hobby

October 22, 2008 by admin · 1 Comment
Filed under: Apple, Tech 

I wrote about Boxee earlier this month and indicated how I was Intrigued with AppleTV for the first time. Today, I read over at MacRumors.com, that to sweeten the pot, the folks at Boxee have now announced they have added more content to their application that runs on AppleTV that includes Hulu, CBS and Comedy Central. Now I still haven’t gone out and bought my AppleTV yet, (remember, I said I was “intrigued”, not quite “convinced”) so I’m probably not the most qualified to comment knowledgeably about this system, but it seems to me that Boxee has really stumbled onto what many people have hoped AppleTV would provide all along. The only thing that is missing at this point is the ability to record live broadcasts from a cable or antenna feed (TV tuner + DVR/Tivo), but that’s what your cable-supplied DVR or Tivo is probably already doing. Would it make sense for Apple to include a TV tuner and DVR capability into the AppleTV? While I’m sure this would appeal to many people, Apple seems to have good reasons for not including these—at least yet. Read more

Left Field: Apple HDTV?

October 11, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Apple, Design, Tech 

To see the Apple logo emblazoned, front and center, in the living room on a 50″-ish HDTV and not just tucked away on the desk in the office or bedroom or den, but where everyone lives–what a branding opportunity. Not that Apple has ever created a product just for the sake of brand-building, but if there was ever the perfect blending of meeting a need in an arena where brands are defined like no other, creating an HDTV that wirelessly ties into the iTunes store and runs Front Row so brain-dead simple and right out of the box, this would be it. If Jason Calacanis from Valleywag is correct as reported in Nate Lanxon’s blog on CNET UK, which I originally found the link on TUAW’s Rumor Roundup) (link-love spread around), it might finally be taking shape in Cupertino and even more importantly, close to being released to the public.

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Boxee Makes AppleTV Intriguing for First Time

October 2, 2008 by admin · 1 Comment
Filed under: Apple, Tech 

Boxees home screen with recommendations and friend activity.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a true videophile. We do not have a monumental HD altar dedicated to the pantheon of gods emanating from Hollywood. We have consciously downplayed the role of the television in our household to focus on more profitable, mind-challenging activity such as; conversation (how novel!), reading and game playing (physical games like cards and board games — not Wii, PS3 or Xbox). In fact, with the exception of a couple of 20″ and 24″ computer LCDs, we don’t even own an HD set.
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