Hyundai Equus

According to Autoblog.com, the new 2011 Hyundai Equus will come with a free iPad (16g, WiFi) with the owner’s manual pre-loaded. Apparently, the manual is an app (not just an iBook) and will allow the owner to schedule maintenance on the car and make contact with your dealer.

There will also be video in this app to show the owner how to use the car. Maybe there will be a video showing what will happen to your car if you use the iPad while driving.

Hyundai will update the owners manual app via iTunes so that owners can keep up-to-date on anything new with their car (like recalls). That’s assuming Apple accepts this app to be in the App Catalog.

Manuals are becoming scarce, especially for gadgets, and are going more to online versions. If Hyundai is the future of what’s to come, Apple will have to have a special app section just for interactive manuals. This is good for trees and people who are running out of space for all their manuals. I think I still have my manual for my Atari 2600 somewhere.

The day is coming when printers and the Postal Service are gone.

After watching the mayhem from the last iteration of iPhone mania, I already knew it would not be easy to reserve the new iPhone 4 online. But something like that has not stopped me in the past and won’t deter me now. I knew standing in line at the Apple store, going to AT&T, Best Buy or Radio Shack would be out of the question. From my past experience, I know that most of the clerks won’t even know what I’m talking about and/or just help me go to the Apple or AT&T website.

Starting at midnight, I started refreshing the Apple website on the iPhone page once every 10-15 minutes and got nothing very interesting. After many attempts, I finally got this screen.

Ready for pre-order?

When I tried to start the pre-order process, I kept getting this message below:

Apple server confused or busy

Inactivity!? I’m typing my address in as fast as I can. After a while, I figured out that the website was not really ready to take my pre-order so I waited. When I tried again later, I kept getting this message below:

Apple website probably being updated

When I got the “Oops!” message, there was no way to return back to the normal part of the Apple website except just to re-start from scratch. On one of my tries, I got this crazy screen:

Whoa! WTF!?

I have no idea what this error means but I’m sure my pre-order didn’t go through. Then around 3am, I finally got this message.

Apple website getting ready for pre-orders

This is what happened last time when they were pre-order selling the iPad so I already knew that I would have to wait until about 5-5:30am until the website was back up. While doing other work on my computer, I kept periodically refreshing the browser.

At about 5:30-ish, I was able to get back on but still kept getting errors. I was not able to get the online store to ship to me, maybe because I’m not a current AT&T customer, or because the AT&T servers were overtaxed, so I decided to try picking it up at the Apple store.

By the way, the white iPhone is not available for pre-order. If that’s what you want, you’ll just have to wait. Personally, I like the black one better. It looks more Vader-ish.

But I digress.

After several attempts at trying to do the pickup at the Apple store, I finally got to this:

Booyah!! Jackpot!

According to their email, I have to the end of business day on June 24 to pick up my iPhone at the Apple store. Nice.

In hindsight, I probably should have just waited a few hours and let everybody use the servers, then did my pre-ordering. But what would be the fun in that?

At last year’s E3, Sony showed a demo of their motion control device, to compete with the Wii and Microsoft’s rumored motion control device (also shown at E3 last year).

Well, a whole year has gone by and at this year’s E3, both Sony and Microsoft are now showing off their motion control devices and the games that will use them.

Sony decided to go one step further and demo the devices at the local Best Buy. They will be showing it today at both Culver City Best Buys and the Burbank Best Buy.

It’s so funny that both Sony and Microsoft are playing catch-up to Nintendo after calling the Nintendo motion controller a “fad.”

Yes, it’s just a fad. A fad that allowed a “kids” game console that doesn’t even have HD to kick your respective asses.

As everyone that knows me already is aware that the main reason for me not getting the iPhone was the lack of a physical keyboard. And this is why I decided to get the Palm Pre last year.

Since the Palm Pre has many features that the iPhone didn’t have, like cut/paste, multi-tasking, sending pictures via MMS, combined multiple email accounts, flash, no-plug recharge, I felt justified in my decision. Not to mention that they are on AT&T, which nobody seems to like.

Over the last year, the iPhone has been steadily upping the ante and correcting and adding many of the missing features.

On June 24th, the new iPhone 4 will be coming out. It adds multi-tasking, a 5MP camera with flash, HD video recording (with LED light) and editing, front facing camera for video chatting, 326 PPI LED backlit screen, and a few other goodies. They already have voice control, visual voice mail, and of course 200,000 apps online.

Virtually every techie friend that I have has an iPhone already. But I’m not one to break down to peer pressure.  However, it’s getting harder and harder to justify NOT getting an iPhone. Now with the new iPhone 4 with it’s new features, I think I’m going to have to break down and drink the Koolaid.

At this point, the only thing even remotely slowing my decision is AT&T. If the iPhone was on Verizon or even Sprint (since that’s who I’m with now), the iPhone 4 decision would be trivial.

When I’m going out on a fun outing, I have to bring my Palm Pre, my Sony digital camera and my JVC camcorder. It’s ridiculous. With this new iPhone, that’s all I would have to bring.

The straw that broke the screen in half was the fact that Bank of America finally came out with their app for the Palm WebOS today. That’s great news, except WebOS still doesn’t have one for eBay, Paypal, Chase, or any of the other big ones that I would actually be using. How much longer do I have to wait? The HP buyout of Palm was also good news, but who cares if I can multi-task and browse websites on my printer?

That’s it. I’m getting it on day one.

Now the only question is… can I actually get one?

When my old Samsung SyncMaster monitor died after many years of use, I decided to look around for a new one. My old monitor was a regular 4:3, 21 inch so I wanted something a little bigger.

One trend that I’ve noticed is that many of the computer “monitors” are now really just LCD TVs that can also be used as computer monitors. In terms of pricing, that’s good. But in terms of some typical monitor features, not so good.

Since I needed a replacement monitor the same day, ordering online was not an option. So off to Fry’s Electronics.

When it comes to electronics, Fry’s is the place. I hate their long lines for customer service, and some of the sales people are clueless, but nobody else has the selection and inventory in a retail environment. But I digress.

After examining all the available monitors for sale, I came across the Samsung SyncMaster P2570HD, which is a computer monitor slash 24.6′ wide screen (16:9) HDTV. One thing that I was concerned about was the lack of vertical height adjustment available in the stand.

My old SyncMaster was able to be adjusted vertically, tilt, and even switch to portrait mode. Although Samsung does have a line of “business” monitors with these features, the consumer monitors available at Fry’s did not have these feateures. Unfortunately, when compared to other factors, like screen size, price, and features, I had to compromise on height adjustment.

The MSRP is $548, but Fry’s had this Samsung for $349.99. It’s been about 9 months since this came out to the market so the price has come down. You can get it for $319 on Amazon and maybe cheaper at other online places.

There’s a little assembling required for the stand but everything comes together very easily. It turned out that the height was just right with the stand. The base does allow the unit to swivel around but not tilt.

On the back of the unit, there’s just about every possible input available: DVI, PC, component, HDMI, and cable/antenna input (digital tuner included). Sorry for the glare in the picture but the non-flash version was too blurry to use.

Since I’m using this unit as a computer monitor, I cannot comment on the picture quality as a TV. As a monitor, I am very satisfied with it. I have it running at maximum resolution at 1920 x 1080 and it’s great to have the wide space on screen. The 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio really makes things look sharp and bright.

For those planning on using this as a TV, it comes with a remote control. You can use this to change the options and settings, as well as the regular TV related functions. Also, the speakers seem to output the sound towards the bottom, so this might not be the best “sound” if you’re using this as your primary TV or game monitor. I’m using an external speaker system so this does not affect my situation.

Although the box comes with batteries for the remote and an HDMI cable (nice touch), it does not come with a DVI cable. So if you are planning on using it for a monitor, you might have to pick one up. Since my old monitor was using analog input, I have to get a DVI cable to connect the monitor. I’ll have a post on that later.

All in all, I’m very happy with the quality and size of this monitor.

There are new high tech parking meters in downtown Los Angeles that take credit and debit cards. You simply slide and pull out your credit card, just like at the gas station, then use the blue “+” and “-” buttons to add or subtract time to enter into the meter. Of course, you can still use coins.

There are green and red LEDs on the opposite side for the meter-maids to see when they drive by. On the user side, there’s an LCD and 4 buttons to control usage. The unit gets power from a solar panel on the opposite side, but I’m not sure it’s not getting some power from the grid also. Somehow, the meter checks your credit card and authorizes or rejects your card. I’m not sure how it’s doing this but it’s pretty fast. Not sure if they have WiFi or underground wires.

So far, I haven’t tried using a bad card but I assume it’s really doing the check. One thing I don’t like is, when you put your credit card in, the amount defaults to the maximum ($2) and allows you to reduce the amount using the minus button. However, it will time out automatically and charge the maximum if you do nothing. This is a problem if there’s something wrong with the buttons and you cannot enter anything. In that case, you will be charged the maximum automatically. I guess with LA’s budget crisis, they have to do everything they can to make a few extra bucks.

Be sure not to use your credit or debit card if you’re going to commit a crime. They’ll be able to trace you down to your exact location from your card.

Update 6/14/2010:
I just found out that the balance on the debit card that I was using at the meter was zero but the parking meter accepted it. Either the “Authorizing…” message is fake or I’m going to get a letter from the city.

One of the great features of the Palm Pre on Sprint is the turn-by-turn navigation app. The 3D graphics is done pretty well and it’s just as good as any stand-alone navigation device. In case you’ve never seen it in action, here’s what it looks like when it’s working properly.

Screen capture of Sprint Navigation app

But after upgrading the firmware recently, my Sprint Navigation app started giving me this error message shown below.

Account expiration error

Since the error message seemed to indicate that my account had expired, I called the TeleNav number. TeleNav is the company that provides Sprint with the app. The TeleNav call was very short. They told me that they were aware of this problem, because many other Sprint users were calling about this problem, and that the best thing to do was to have Spring 3 way call them with me on the line and they would talk them through the fix.

Armed with this information, I put a call into Sprint’s technical support. There was a lot of confusion and plenty of waiting on hold while the tech support people checked their manuals and on-screen instructions. I told them that TeleNav had told me to have Sprint do a 3 way call to them. However, the Sprint tech told me that they are not allowed to do this. You can see in my OomaVOIP status that the first call was about 1 hour when I gave up.

After trying a few other things myself by doing some Google searches and experimentation, I gave up again and decided to call Sprint back again for a second call. This time I was determined to get them to do the 3 way call to solve my problem. Unfortunately, Sprint does not have a “reference” number type customer service system and each time you call, you basically have to start from scratch. It took me another 42 minutes to the same point as the last call where they told me that they cannot make the 3 way call.

Frustrated, I asked the Sprint tech if it would help if I went to the Sprint store instead of calling. They told me that the store has less access to my account but that they might be able to make the call to TeleNav for me while I was there.

When I arrive at the Sprint store, there is nobody there. When I say nobody, I mean no customers or workers. It was completely empty. I guess Sprint’s not doing so well.

In any case, the tech guy finally came out and tried to help me. Unfortunately, he told me that the Sprint tech support has the access to more information and that he was not allowed to call TeleNav himself. The only thing he was allowed to do was call the Sprint tech support number for me. WTF?!

This situation totally reminds me of how PC hardware and software companies keep telling the user to call the other company.

The only thing I can say is that everyone that I talked to, on the phone and in person, were super friendly and wanted to help me but none of them were allowed to do the one thing I was asking them to do. If the no 3 way calling is really the policy, this needs to be changed. Why can’t the Sprint store tech guy call TeleNav? Very strange.

The bottom line is, my Navigation app still doesn’t work. That was one of the big features that I loved about the move to Sprint because I had to pay monthly on Verizon. But I guess you get what you pay for. Since it’s free on Sprint, there’s no incentive for them to try to fix it for me.

Luckily, Verizon now carries the Palm Pre Plus.  Maybe I’ll be moving back to them again.

Have you seen the Oreck ProShield™ Plus Air Purifier with Helios Shield™ infomercial on TV? I did too. And since I’m a victim of advertising, I decided to order it and try it out.

The unit is approximate the size of a small desktop computer and can be placed flat (like in the photograph below) or vertically like a tower PC. The design and look is pretty good and I like the blue lights. The model I ordered is the middle priced unit and comes with a tiny remote control.

Oreck XL Air Purifier - $399.95

The control buttons are on the left (or at the top in tower mode) and there are 3 power settings. In low mode, it’s very quite and you can barely hear it in a quite room. In regular mode, it’s louder and just loud enough that it may disturb your TV viewing or music listening experience unless the unit is far away. In high mode, it’s very loud and should only be used when smoke or other impurities must be taken out of the air quickly. The lights indicate what mode it’s in and can be seen from across the room.

Close-up of control buttons

Personally, I don’t suffer from Asthma or severe allergies so the purpose of my purchase was just to keep the air cleaner since I live in LA and the air is basically dirty all the time. From what I could tell, it did seem to keep the air cleaner as advertised. It’s also supposed to kill viruses and germs but there’s no way for me to know if it’s really doing that. What I did notice is, it did take away odors pretty well. It takes a while but if you leave for work and come back, that’s enough time for the odor to go away.

The first few weeks that it was in use, the air did “smell” different. Actually, there’s no smell at all. Whatever “smell” was present is just gone and it’s strange. In fact, a friend of mine who works in the medical field said it smells like a hospital. I’m guessing that hospitals also use the same kind of unit to kill germs and viruses. After a few weeks, I got used to the non-smell environment and forgot it was even there.

After a couple or 3 weeks, the “Collector Cell” light comes on, indicating that it has to be cleaned. To do so, all you have to do is open the top and remove the collector cell.

Cleaning Light On

Here is the collector cell in my sink under water. After a few minutes the water turned gray so I know that it did “collect” something. It’s disgusting what I’m breathing into my lungs. Next, just take the cell out of the water and air dry it. It’s a very simple procedure. If I can do it, anybody can.

Collector Cell In Sink

The Purifier also comes with a free refrigerator air purifier that’s about the size of a coke can and uses 4 “C” batteries. You can set it for “Hi” or “Lo” mode. Other than the blinking light, it makes no sound so you really don’t even know it’s there. Frankly, I cannot rate this unit because I don’t have enough stuff in my frig to make any type of comparison.

Free Refrigerator Air Purifier

On top of the free refrigerator air purifier, you get to pick yet another “gift” from a list on their website. You can choose from one of: Floor sweeper, car vac, speed sweep, or cordless speed iron. I decided to get the free car vac, which turned out to be a bad choice. First, I didn’t realize that it was corded and although the cord is pretty long, it really gets in the way and there’s no good way to store it in your car.

The car vac really works well sucking up the dust and dirt but unfortunately, the design is bad and once you pop the unit open to clean it, it’s very hard (or nearly impossible) to close it again because the latch is not constructed properly. I literally used it once then threw it away at the gas station. You get what you pay for.

Free Car Vac

Instead of offering all these free crap, I wish they would just lower the price of the purifier. So far, it’s been a good product for me. Do I need it? I’m not sure but it sure makes me feel like I’m doing something good for my body. Which is more than I can say about my eating habits.

According to Gartner, at the end of 2009, Palm WebOS still has only 0.7% of the global smartphone market. In the same 1 year period, iPhone went from 8.2% to 14.4%, Google Android from 0.5% to 3.9% and RIM went from 16.6% to 19.9%. Only Nokia Symbian went down from 52.4% to 46.9%.

So now that Verizon is carrying the Palm Pre and Pixi, it was only a matter of time before Palm started pushing things a little more. They switched from the creepy lady TV ads to the 80′s mom ads, then removed the 80′s mom and now they just show the Pre.

In print ads, they’ve started pushing even on the side of a bus, as shown here. It just shows some apps running on the screen.

Will this increase WebOS market share in 2010? Well, it can’t really go down from 0.7%, so I guess things can only go up.

When I watched this video, I was thinking how robots will probably replace surgeons and operations that now take hours could be done in seconds by robots. There will be no such thing as intricate detailing by humans in any factory or shop.  That sounds like people will be out of jobs, but that’s not the bad news. Unfortunately for us, when the robots become self-aware, they will eliminate the carbon units off the face of the planet.