Adam-Jackson

In May of this year, I was contacted by a marketing company that represents Ford and asked if I wanted to test drive a vehicle for a few days. That vehicle was the Lincoln MKS and it was an absolute joy to drive as I stated in my review, “I’ve never driven a more comfortable ride that has enough power to take on most vehicles on the road.” You can read the rest of that review, here.

Well, a few months later, the same group contacted me again about a promotion they were running involving the brand new 2010 Ford Taurus. The new Taurus is completely redesigned with some of the most advanced features seen in a full-size sedan and the promotion involved a road trip a season opener NFL game. I applied and was picked as one of the winners! The full details of my road trip were outlined in this post.

The drive was just over 800 miles or 13 hours of non-stop driving through farm country, mountains, cities and flat highways. Being the adventurous person that I am, I accepted the offer and made my way up to Seattle for the Seahawks’ opening game against the St. Louis Rams.

The Ford Taurus exceeded all expectations of what Ford could deliver in a car that’s sticker price is under $50K. The all new Taurus starts at $25K but with every feature loaded on this vehicle, it soared to just over $40K. Regardless, every addition to this vehicle enhanced the experience and would be on my Taurus if I was in the market for a new car.

Before I begin, I’d like to note that this is not a professional car review. I’m just a blogger who absolutely loved test driving this fine work of craftsmanship on wheels. Let’s begin.

The exterior of this car was aggressive, stylish and a much needed redesign to the Taurus I grew up with. Accents on the front & hood added the look of speed with a hint of sport that I’d expect from a Camaro or Mustang. The back of the Taurus had a raised look which made the car look as if it was leaning forward. This is a similar look that the Lincoln MKS had too. The raised rear didn’t impair the my viewing angle when looking in the rear-view mirror but it did make for much more room in the trunk than I’m used to after driving import cars for so long. If there’s one takeaway from domestic cars, it’s that the trunk is huge and I love it! In fact, the trunk was so large that I slept in it! I’m not ashamed to admit it but maybe that’s all I should say about that!

I unlocked the vehicle and hopped in. The plus leather and stylish interior did not look like that of a Taurus. There were curves, accents & wood finish that looked like I was sitting in a Jaguar minus that classic analog clock that Jaguars have. Yes this was a modern sedan that I would be happy in even after 13 hours of driving it. In fact, every time I got out of the car to pump gas or use the restroom, my body ached to get back in because it was that comfortable!

Technology was not absent from this vehicle. The best part was that the Taurus contained technology that improved the safety of its occupants where most features act to distract the driver and passengers. Here are the features that completely wowed me!

1. Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning
2. Intelligent Access with Push Button Start
3. MyKey parental programmability
4. Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross Traffic Alert
5. Rain-Sensing Wipers
6. EasyFuel capless refueling
7. Ford SYNC and Voice-Activated Navigation with SIRIUS Travel Link
8. In-Truck safety lever (you can get out of the trunk if locked in)
9. Auto-lighting based on outdoor conditions

Here are some extra features that enhanced the comfort of the ride:

1. Interior “mood” lighting
2. Dual-Climate Controls
3. Heated & Cooled Seats
4. Sony Surround Sound Stereo system
5. Bluetooth & USB Media support (music playback & hands-free calling)
6. Sun / Moon roof

I’d like to elaborate more on each feature to review exactly what I loved about each one. I have very little to say negatively about any of these features.

Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning - This is one of my favorite features. I actually detailed my love of this features in a few YouTube videos (here & here). Basically, with cruise control enabled, the car will slow down based on a preference you set on the distance you want to keep between you and other vehicles in front of you. It will slow down and if an imminent collision is expected, the car will flash a red bar on your windshield, the music you’re listening too will mute and the car will begin braking as needed. This feature worked even when I was in complete control and ready to his the brakes. It wasn’t too sensitive and was perfect as I used it at all times while on the highway. ACC even resumed the speed you were going once the cars in front of you either move over or speed up themselves. You can set it to 72MPH and it will remain at 64 as the cars are in front of you and then resume shortly afterward. The system uses radar to judge the distance between you and other cars. One thing I found interesting was at 2AM on a rainy mountain road, I had cruise control enabled and the car would disable the cruise control. I don’t know if it was the winy roads, rain or darkness but when the car was unable to judge radar, cruise control would auto-disable.

Intelligent Access with Push Button Start – There were those shiny red lit numbers on the exterior of the car for easy keyless access. I didn’t use those since the key I had contained a lock / unlock button. Once inside the car, I started it with the push of a button but only if the key was in the car. It just knew and I honestly don’t know how that even works!

MyKey parental programmability – As soon as I turned on the ignition, the seat adjusted for me to the last position and I was ready to go! There were probably other features like mirror position and radio presets but I didn’t get into those since I was the only person driving the vehicle.

Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross Traffic Alert – This was amazing! The car let me know when a vehicle or object were beside me and by the end of the trip, I stopped paying attention and looking over before changing lanes.

Rain-Sensing Wipers – These worked flawlessly! It rained on the drive home and the wipers worked perfectly to clear away water from the windshield. I have zero complaints here!

EasyFuel capless refueling – This totally just makes forgetting your gas cap a thing of the past. Open the lid and insert fuel pump. That’s it!

Ford SYNC and Voice-Activated Navigation with SIRIUS Travel Link - This was a feature partly available on the Lincoln MKS but the SIRIUS Travel Link wasn’t enabled. The travel link shows local prices of fuel w/ directions, a weather report and even local movie listings. The coolest thing is that Travel Link warns me when there is traffic delays ahead or construction so I can avoid it and re-route. Very smart!

In-Truck safety lever (you can get out of the trunk if locked in) – On Saturday night, I didn’t feel like getting a hotel for 4 hours since I had to be up so early so I parked near the Seahawks’ Stadium so I could also snag one of the free parking spots before the big game! Sadly, the area was full of questionable activity so instead of risking my safety of sleeping in the car for everyone to see, I decided to camp out in the trunk. It was roomy, comfortable and very quiet! I expected that I would need the trunk button on the included key set but when I got in, there was a level that I could pull to get out. This safety feature was pretty cool when my alarm went off at 6:30AM!

Auto-lighting based on outdoor conditions - The car’s dashboard & headlights would auto-enable once the outdoor lighting dropped at dusk or during a storm. very intelligent!

Interior “mood” lighting – The inside of the car had 5 customizable colors with different brightness intensities. It sounds tacky but made the ride a lot more comfortable as I could see my way around but was tame enough that it didn’t distract driving at all. You can see a video & picture of it.

Dual-Climate Control – I rode alone but I enjoy cars that have dual-climate control. I generally have a very warm body temperature and like it extra cold.

Heated & Cooled Seats – Due to my hot body temperature, I can’t stand heated seats but I used the cooled steas nearly the entire trip! It was pure bliss!

Sony Surround Sound Stereo system – Jay-Z’s new album dropped right before going on my trip and I listened to it time after time. The SONY system was exceptional!

Bluetooth & USB Media support (music playback & hands-free calling) – I had technical issues with this feature in the Lincoln MKS w/ iPhone 3G. My iPhone 3GS worked great in the Ford Taurus. I could stream music via Bluetooth or USB. The system was flawless and I used it for the entire trip! Music would pause when a call came in.

The Ford Taurus was a technical wonder with an exceptional exterior and interior! There was certainly power behind the wheel but I was less than impressed by handling, park-ability and the size of the car.

The Taurus was fast, very fast! I read reviews before picking up the vehicle that stated you usually are going faster than you think and this happened a few times. I’d be on the Interstate going 74 miles per hour and decide to pass a truck and suddenly was at 98 mph. I admit to breaking the law because I quickly slowed down but that speed difference happened in seconds after hitting the gas.

0-60 tests, I didn’t do but I was impressed with the overall speed of the car. Handling is another story. Overall safety handling like going down a mountain pass at 65 miles per hour in the rain was perfect. I never lost control of the car or heard tire noise going around curves. Overall, the vehicle was extremely well built from a safety standpoint but I never quite felt a sporty aspect to this car. The design suggestions aggressive sport handling but the reality is that this is a luxury sedan that’s perfect for businessmen (and women) and it’s strong points are design and interior comfort.

Gas mileage was okay. I got 24 miles per gallon on the interstate and 19 within Seattle and Portland city limits. It’s not 30MPG like most import auto-makers get but for a powerful and VERY HEAVY car, I was satisfied by the gas mileage.

Overall, I’m happy with the Ford Taurus. Now I need to justify to myself the fact that I need one RIGHT NOW. I had the most fun driving this car and yes I drove it for a total of 32 hours over the course of 3 days! However, I still loved every moment of it and never thought how tired I was of driving this amazing vehicle! Ford has made luxury affordable and I loved every moment of it!

I encourage you to check out the videos & photos I took on YOUTUBE & FLICKR.

iPhone users love to complain about everything they don’t have. It’s not really iPhone users but instead I see it as those that use iPhones are the ones that complain about a lot of things like their hatred for Microsoft Exchange or why they think Twitter should just start monetizing already. There’s a group of people within the iPhone user community that have been complaining about the lack of MMS aka, PictureMail since the iPhone was released back in 2007. The group got smaller and smaller until Apple mentioned at WWDC ’09 that MMS was finally coming to the iPhone but said AT&T wasn’t ready for it yet. The users got pretty upset.

This trend of hating AT&T continued until they finally announced that MMS would be available for iPhone users on AT&T at the end of September. Yay! Let’s take a moment and look at a few things that pretty much make MMS obsolete and why adding this feature now doesn’t mean much to iPhone users. First, let’s talk about MMS and what it is.

MMS Stands for Multimedia Messaging Service and is used to describe photos, audio or video that’s sent cell phone to cell phone using the cellular network. Many of the dumbest phones like those free phones AT&T gives you by signing a contract can send & receive MMS messages without any problems. There’s a price to pay as AT&T’s website lists.

On the “Messaging FAQs“:

Purchasing

Q. What is the cost for Picture & Video Messaging?

A. You are charged $0.30 for each message you send and receive unless you are on a Messaging package or a data package. When a single message is sent to multiple recipients, the sender is charged one message for each recipient and each recipient is charged for the message received.

Q. What is a Messaging Package?

A. It is an allotment of messages that are priced lower than the per-message charge. With a Messaging Package, you can send or receive text, picture, video and instant messages for the same price. Picture & Video pay-per-use rates are priced differently than text messages.

Q. How do I add a Messaging Package to my account?

A. There are a number of ways you can subscribe. To learn about each of the Picture & Video Messaging packages and sign up, go to the Shop Services page.

Existing customers can also log in to My Account and go to My Features. If Messaging is available for your account, it can be added here. New customers can add this feature as a part of ordering a phone online. You can also call Customer Care at 1-800-331-0500 or dial 611 from your wireless phone.

Q. What is the pricing for international Picture & Video Messaging?

A. It’s $0.50 to send an international message. Sent messages are not pulled from your bucket of messages. International picture & video messages received will either pull from your message bucket or be charged a normal per-message charge.

Q. What is the pricing for using Picture & Video Messaging while roaming?

A. There are no additional charges for sending and receiving picture & video messaging while roaming in the United States. If roaming internationally (where available), picture & video messages sent are $1.30 each and do not pull from message buckets.

So it looks like you’re going to pay between 30 cents and $1.30 just to send OR receive a message so even if John sends me a photo while I’m in London, I now have a $1.30 fee on my bill. That’s absurd and just like text messages that cost 10 cents a piece, I can’t tell AT&T to never allow MMS to my device. So when John has too many drinks while in Vegas and I wake up to 35 new MMS messages, those range from 30 cents to $1.30 and there’s nothing I can do about it. Unless I have an unlimited messaging plan from AT&T.

AT&T’s Messaging Unlimited Plan:

Text messaging

* Private, to-the-point communication
* Just type the message, pick a wireless phone number, and send

Picture and video messaging

* Share a smile, a cute moment, or that thing you just have to buy
* Snap the photo or video with your camera phone, pick a mobile phone or email address, and send

Instant Messaging

* Chat real-time with IM on your phone
* Use AOL® Instant Messenger, Yahoo!®, and Windows Live Messenger®

So, for the low cost of $20, I can send & receive unlimited messages to and from my device. Ok, that’s a little more fair but let’s keep something in mind. If you’re an iPhone 3G user, that’s $20 on top of the $30 you’re already paying for 3G data service and the $49 that you’re paying for the 450 Anytime Minutes just for making calls.

My math may be a little off here but $49+$30+$20+$15 (fees & taxes) = $114 a month.

So $20 isn’t a lot of money for the ability to send and receive an unlimited amount of text & multimedia messages. What’s important here is that with 3G we didn’t need this feature. We could send unlimited Twitter DMs via 3G or unlimited emails and we could send photos to friends, TwitPic, Facebook & Flickr FOR FREE using 3G which we’re already paying for. Better yet, don’t pay for 3G and just find an open Wi-Fi network and now you’re truly paying nothing to connect with people.

I have a wild guess that when MMS is enabled for iPhone users, they’re going to start getting these messages and 30 days later their first post-mms bill is going to be $20 more than usual and they’ll go to a store very pissed off only to learn that they need this $20 a month package in order to get unlimited MMS messages. Sure they’ll go for it since they can’t stop friends from sending them these messages but I’m pretty sure most people will keep doing things the way they have for a while and that’s to just email / tweet content to friends.

MMS is great but it costs more and even if you have a fancy unlimited messaging plan (like me), sending MMS messages to friends that don’t have a plan is only costing them more money. Just out of respect for my friends, I’ll refrain from sending MMS messages out to them because I don’t wan to be the reason they have an elevated AT&T bill next month.

Back to the core reason I wrote this post – We love to complain and we love to have every feature possible and sure we’ll pay heavily to have it but at the end of the day, we’ve survived 2.25 years without MMS and I feel we’re finally going to get it and it’s not going to make our lives any easier. Tethering for iPhone is going to be expensive and I think people will complain about the price and so goes the cycle of begging for a feature, getting it and then complaining about it.

Originally posted over at Laughing Squid, this video is a time lapse video shot in HD on a Canon 5D Mark II over the past couple of months in San Francisco. Beautiful footage. Watch it until the end and also go full screen if you can. It’s HD so might be slow on some older computers.

Another Cloud Reel… from Delrious on Vimeo.

The first time I was exposed to Michael Moore was in the late 90s when I saw “Bowling for Columbine”. I was just recently a teenager and didn’t quite grasp every aspect of the film which is a reminder that I should probably go back and watch it again but I do remember the research and attention to details that Moore presented was phenomenal. He has deserved every award and dollar received in the past 15 years. Sure I have a few complaints about Michael Moore but, compared to what I witnessed tonight at his screening, my thoughts are completely different from what everyone else has to say about Moore. First, let’s focus on his new film because that’s what this post should be focused on.

“Capitalism: A Love Story” reveals the corporate greed & corruption that happens in the American business system. He details the destruction of democracy, the exploitation and abuse of the “peasant workforce” and how our government’s greed let this all happen. Yes it was a fantastically produced Michael Moore documentary that made things easy to grasp for us simple folk but it was also entertaining and received as many laughs as it did gasps from the audience. As usual, I’m never surprised by what I see in these documentaries. In many ways, the way I was raised has exposed me to the harsh realities of our world in terms of corporate america, how the government truly works and even where our food comes from. Documentaries only serve as a brief refresher (not reminder) to how things are but I’m certainly well aware of how things are in the world from a big picture standpoint.

Something that I find worth noting too is that I get a lot of hell from the web and friends about my lack of knowledge about current events, celebrity news and the latest this or that. Honestly, I don’t care and I do pay attention to such news when someone tells me about it only enough to track exactly how long before that news is no longer “news”. Things that really matter to us and our world are on my mind and I’m actively doing something about it. Who’s dating who and even wary / terrorism around the globe aren’t on my radar. The reason why is that these stories are big news for 2 days and then gone despite the fact that the war or global issues are still happening. So chill out about my lack of knowledge about what governor cheated on his wife and instead try yourself to not get caught up on what’s cool now and what’s important right now. Anyway, back to the review.

My complaint about each of Michael Moore’s films and this actually pertains to most documentaries is that everything is one sided. Filmmakers use extreme happiness & extreme sadness to get their point across. A mother who lost their child to a disease is shown crying on screen while the corporate insurance exec is shown getting out of his limo while narration of his 400 million dollar a year bonus is discussed. Yes this is reality and yes I’m not arguing the validity of the film but what I’d like to see is an honest look at both sides of the fence from a reporter or journalist that is truly non-biased. During my talk with Moore after the film, he was introduced as a “liberal, political commentator” and I see this as an issue. I am liberal and generally voted democratic unless I see a candidate who has values and a track record of truly doing the right thing and not just voting along with his party’s core values.

Moore is truly presenting the case from a far left point of view which is completely okay and I support him simply because his films are full of information that would have taken me a lot of time to learn from myself. Moore works for years on a film and it shows and for that, I applaud him. What I hope for is a far-right version of Michael Moore that shows an honest and straightforward display from the other side of the fence but it has to be honest and not full of BS. Better yet, let’s get someone who has Michael Moore’s passion for uncovering the truth but presents this truth in a bi-partisan fashion and then I’ll be a fan. I doubt this will ever happen.

The film is worth seeing as I recommend all of his movies because it uncovers many truths that were previously buried deep below our modern consumer economy mindset. The truth was there but we chose not to see it. We need more Michael Moores to help us see what was in front of us the whole time.

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I saw the movie early as I am a part of the California Commonwealth Club. They offered members a chance to see the film weeks before release followed by a discussion with Moore himself, Q&A and refreshments afterward. It was a pleasure to meet Michael in person but something struck me about people in Moore’s position and that’s being called a HYPOCRITE.

My position on calling people that is that I don’t. I simply don’t call someone a hypocrite even if they murder 50 people and then travel around selling bibles and reciting the 7 deadly sins. The definition of hypocrite is:

a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

On the exterior of Moore’s personal in these films, it would be easy to call him this. In the latest film, he discusses capitalism and how democracy should be implemented in every workplace as he highlights a few business that are doing this where every employee is a part owner and each of them have a vote. Naturally, during the Q&A, someone stood up and criticized him for making so much money from these films and not distributing it to the people who helped him make the film. I was partly expecting this ever since I saw Moore arrive with two trained body guards at  his side that remained near his stage during the Q&A. It was clear that he’s dealt with public criticism and perhaps physical attacks in the past. His response to this question isn’t important. It was clearly rehearsed but why share it with you now? Because it doesn’t matter.

Michael Moore is a filmmaker. His job is more to entertain than it is to inform and ultimately, good films make money and given that he’s the writer, producer and director of these films, then it only makes sense that he made money from each of these movies. I’m not christian but the teachings of Jesus even if mostly fictional do have value on our daily lives. The lesson of the stone throwers as Jesus asks if those without sin cast the first stone and everyone realizes that they are all full of sin and therefore they can’t possibly stone this person given their past sins. This is why I don’t call someone a hypocrite. Michael Moore is adding value to our lives by informing and entertaining us who choose not to see. A result of that is that he makes millions of dollars. For any of us to criticize how he lives his personal life is completely false and so typical of us to do.

The analogy of crabs in a bucket comes to mind and the fact that we always want to pull those who have success down with us by any means necessary. You know how you can prove something to Michael Moore? Take a job in finance or public office or health care and live out your career without become corrupt, greedy or bought. Help people and make our world better and support others who live by the same standards that you do. Start a co-op business based on a democratic system, buy American and respect your employees. Don’t take bribes, don’t buy with credit when you don’t have the money and, as Michael said, “go make your own film and inform me.”

Michael Moore is on his own path and he is adding a valuable product to our lives that we can purchase and enjoy that betters our lives. Just because he’s overweight, has millions of dollars and doesn’t donate 80% of his income to charities doesn’t mean he’s not contributing to our society and making the world a better place. Everyone is contributing in their own way and as I type this blog post at 1:20AM on a Friday morning after working from 7AM-Midnight for the 6th day in a row, it’s clear that I’m contributing to society in a positive way. When you go home at 5PM and plop down on the couch for a football game and read this post in disgust, just remember that both myself and Michael Moore are probably working our ass off trying to make the world a better place as you sit there and criticize us for not living what we preach. For the record, Michael isn’t preaching and is only presenting the truth. Whether he chooses to apply what he has uncovered to better himself or his world is up to him just as it is up to you whether you want to use the knowledge for good. Stop casting stones and start looking inward.

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Mr. Moore did comment on the newspaper industry and I was extremely happy in what he said as I align with his opinions on this. The newspaper industry will be dead in 12 months. He and I both agree that this is a sad ending to a 400 year tradition of the world’s news delivered to your doorstep each and every day. Moore says that millions of Americans are illiterate or can’t read beyond a 4th grade level. He also added the European newspapers focus on circulation as their primary income while American newspapers focus on advertising revenues. Newspapers are more likely to lay off staff than simply focus on improving the quality and circulation of their paper. The combination of Americans becoming more stupid, paired with the fact that newspapers have not evolved has ultimately led to their failure.

It wasn’t too late for the newspapers a few years ago but now it is. The sad part about this situation is, “John with a blog in redwood city talking up a storm about the Afghanistan war can’t report like the New York Times can” and this is from Michael’s mouth word for word. It pisses me off how people are fighting for citizen journalism and praising the death of our newspapers and traditional media. There has to be compromise or a middle ground. Bloggers need to go back to Journalism school and learn how to write honest and thoroughly investigated stories about current events. Newspapers and TV reporters need to let go of the greed, forget advertisers and try to honestly report the news to the best of their ability with ZERO FILTER and together both mediums can exist.

If the traditional press continues to lose our trust and bloggers continue to write op-ed pieces (like this one I’m writing now) that have zero investigation or insight then the way we get information is doomed for failure and there isn’t a single technological advance that can truly resolve what is happening right now. Real-time news systems like Twitter and FriendFeed aren’t going to do it and we’re going to feel (and actually be) stupid when newspapers are gone and we’re a dumber nation because of it.

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The evening with Michael Moore was enlightening, fun and educational. Go see the film and keep your opinions of Michael’s personal lifestyle to yourself. Finally, do what I did and subscribe to the Sunday local paper. Get it delivered to your doorstep and support the industry.

LINKS:
Video (Available Soon):Fora.tv
Audio (Available Soon): Commonwealth Club
Moderator Website: http://angiecoiro.com/

The best way to summarize this entire review is to say that Apple’s MacBook Air is the best $1900 Netbook I’ve ever owned. Apple has managed to create a notebook that can go anywhere, do anything and satisfy 90% of my needs in such a small package that it makes me wonder what took me so long to get one. Yes, there are caveats but I’m the happiest Mac user ever with The MacBook Air.

I was at Macworld San Francisco in January of 2008 when Apple’s MacBook Air was released. At the time, I was using a 2.33Ghz MacBook Pro 15″ and would soon be upgrading to a 2.6Ghz Model. This was pre-unibody so many of the construction & material decisions of the Air were new and cutting edge. Apple’s notebook line didn’t see the black keyboard and unibody construction until October (7 months later) so yes there was a bit of drooling going on but the 1.8Ghz processor w/ 64GB SSD for a whopping $3100 was just too much for a middle-class income person to buy.

My opinion didn’t change until June’s WWDC Keynote when Phil Schiller announced the Air would receive a CPU bump to 2.13Ghz w/ NVIDIA’s 9400 GPU (The same as the MacBook Pro has) w/ a 128GB SSD and for only $1799. One year and five months later, the MacBook Air received a healthy CPU boost, improved GPU and storage and over $1300 price drop. I was ecsatic but wasn’t ready to buy just yet.

Since January of 2009, I was convinced that a netbook was in my future. Windows doesn’t bother me and I as feverishly trying to find a netbook that fit my needs when I was away from my desk or traveling. Honestly, I would spec out a slew of netbooks once a week and always be dissapointed. My dream netbook cost somewhere around $800 with a 10″ screen, 1.6Ghz ATOM processor and 2Gbs of ram. These netbooks were all the same with slightly different form factors and all of them came loaded with Windows XP. My thought was that I should just wait for Windows 7 and NVIDIA’s next gen low-power chipsets but the MacBook Air kept calling me.

MacBook Air could run all of my favorite shareware apps, open all of my iWork documents, sync between my other Mac seamlessly and was thinner and lighter than most netbooks with a much larger screen. Yes the mental tension was high but it wasn’t until I purchased the 17″ MacBook Pro (June ’09 version) that I craved the Air even more! That’s right, the unibody 17″ Pro is too thick and too sharp on the edges for extended use. It was great when plugged into my external monitor at work and it was great at home where it was, once again, plugged in to my 30″ Dell LCD. the problem arose when I decided to travel or simply work from a coffee shop that day. Only one hour after I started working, the pain in my wrists from the sharp edges would begin to cause pain and soon my hands were falling asleep and in an 8 hour writing session for my book, my wrists started to bleed like I had been cutting myself. The construction of the unibody macs are simply awesome but for long periods of time, I honestly can’t use them.

The MacBook Air is extremely thin at the front (only .18″) which means my wrists sit on it for hours and hours and I don’t even know the air has a front piece. Basically it’s non-existent and I write for hours without a hitch and yes I love it. The MacBook air is the utlimate portable Mac for typing. If you type a lot or you’re starting your next book, get a cheap, used MacBook Air because it will change your life.

Another thing I realized about the Air is that it does most of the things that most users need most of the time. I know that sounds confusing but the Air has been an excellent machine for me and I can accomplish most of the things that I do without any issues. The only issue I’ve had is 2Gbs of ram limit and the only thing keeping me from using it full time is the 128GB solid state drive. If I could bump the machine to 4 gigabytes of ram and a 256GB SSD, everythign else would be completely perfect.

The machine is fast and I mean very very fast! It’s mostly because of the SSD but I never put the MBA to sleep. Instead, I just shut it down and put it to sleep because I don’t need to keep it asleep. Booting takes around 12 seconds with Snow Leopard. I can run every single one of my apps, even iMovie and Photoshop but those two have a bit of weirdness when it comes to encoding, exporting or applying filters. For casual use, it’s fine for most tasks. Remember, iMovie was released originally when Apple Computers were sporting G3 Processors at 233Mhz. iMovie 9 is certainly more advanced but a 2.13Ghz Dual-Coare Processor w/ SSD & a 1066Mhz Front Side Bus can handle most of what iMovie could throw at it. The only issue is storage.

I still own my Macbook Pro 17″ but I don’t carry it with me at all anymore. It’s either at home or work and the only place it goes is in my bag. Why even have a Macbook Pro? Because, I’m still taking it between home and work. It’ll be at my desk at the office nearly all week and then go home with me on the weekends. The Air is with me AT ALL TIMES and I use it for everything that I need to do. I turn on the computer, launch 8 of my every day apps and then it’s time to work.

The Macbook Air is the most portable, accessible and easy to use Mac ever made. When I had a meeting before the MBA, I’d be forced to close my 17″ MacBook Pro, unplug everything, put it and the power adapter in my bag and load up for a long haul (or at least a heavy one). When I had to “whip it out” at meetings, the 17″ would be a beast and take up an entire table at Starbucks. People say that I should just get the 13″ Macbook Pro but I honestly love the screen resolution, speed, functionality and power of the 17″ model and the 8 hour battery is something of beauty. I would never give up my 17″ because it’s just awesome in every single way except for portability.

The MacBook Air is always in my bag and if a meeting is close, I find myself just grabbing it and going to a meeting with just a sleeve on it. Opening it is easy and as long as there’s wi-fi I’m on board. The size is a thing of beauty.

MacBooks are normal now and everyone in SF has one. The MacBook Air is an envy machine and I’m taken back to 2003 when I had an iBook and everyone looked cause it was a beautifully designed Mac but after 5 seconds they’d add, “but Macs Suck!” That’s ok but they were still drawn in by the amazing design and construction of my 600Mhz 12″ iBook. That was gone with the MacBook Pro but with the Air, it’s a cool machine and everyone wants to hold it, feel it and use it and they’re always amazed at just how fast it is.

What about price? Well yeah that’s a big caveat, huh? To be honest, there are $999 MacBook Air models on Apple’s refurb store and some are cheaper on eBay. These are mostly first-gen Airs with 1.6Ghz CPUs, a slow front side bus, hard drives and Intel integrated GPUs. Be prepared to have a slow machine that doesn’t satisfy. If you’re looking at the MBA, get at least a 1.8Ghz CPU w/ 64GB SSD & NVIDIA 9400m GPU. This machine was released in October ’08 and was updated in June with a faster CPU. You’ll get a good machine that’s known universally as The MacBook Air Rev B. This is a great machine that doesn’t have many of the issues that Rev A had.

Your lowest entry point for the Macbook Air will probably be around $1300 for a refurb or slightly used model. That’s around $900 more than some of the best netbooks so is it worth it? That’s totally up to you.

• Do you want the experience of a machine that will probably replace your current laptop?
• Do you want a computer that you feel good about using?
• Do you want a computer that runs all of your current Mac apps?
• Do you want a computer that can do most things you throw at it?
• Do you want a computer that has great support and a great warranty?
• Do you want a computer that is designed and constructed well w/ great included software?

OR….

• Do you want a computer that runs Windows xp?
• Do you want a computer that has a low quality support system w/ a warranty that forces you to call India?
• Do you want a computer that doesn’t run any of your Mac apps?
• Do you want a computer that doesn’t read your Mac formatted drives?
• Do you want a computer that is difficult to back up and you need antivirus software for?
• Do you want a computer that has a 7-10″ screen?
• Do you want a computer that’s slow and can barely keep gmail & facebook open at once without locking up?
• Do you want a computer that looks bland in a sea of windows laptops?

Yeah of course I’m putting the best and worst features and laying them out here but I’m sure you see my point regarding which one is a superior machine. The thing is, most people that have used the MBA would agree that it’s a better machine. The problem is, that huge price tag is a big hurdle. I think the MBA is a full-size netbook and more people should consider it. Just to show you though how bad it is, I went into The Apple Store to buy one and the employee tried to talk me out of it and into a 13″ MacBook Pro. It’s clear that even Apple has issues with people thinking the MBA is too expensive and too slow but it’s really not.

It’s a great full-featured netbook and it has the speed, storage, size and even ports to show this. I’ve enjoyed my MBA and can’t wait to show it off to more people and sell a few more. It’s the one computer I don’t want to see cancelled by Apple if sales are less than stellar.

It wasn’t until the end of this post that I determined what the title would be. I joined Twitter on December 21st, 2006 but quickly determined it was a waste of time. It wasn’t until I got back from Macworld and then subsequently was invited by a few friends that I joined as @AdamJackson on March 21st, 2007. My first tweet [TWEET] was naive & a tweet that I’m very happy with.

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One year after joining Twitter, I reached 20 thousand tweets. The day was March 21st, 2008 and I was the top 10 most active (human) Twitter user. It turns out there are millions of bot accounts and some have over 1 million tweets so those don’t count. These days, I sit at around #36 as the most active user. There are a few users, mostly in Japan that have completely dominated and pushed me out of the top 25 but I did some analysis and my assumptions were correct that every single human Twitter user that is ahead of me in rankings sends more replies than original tweets.

With that said, it’s a safe assumption that I am the most active human Twitter user based on unique tweets that simply answer the question, “What are you doing?” This is a dumb thing to feel good about but I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t ecstatic about having this title.

On March 21st, 2009 I once again gained 20K tweets and celebrated my 40K tweets. The science of reaching 20K tweets every 365 days like clockwork is no easy task. To prove just how “scientific” this process is, Today is the 14th of September which is 7 days short of 6 months into my 3rd year on Twitter and check it out – I’m at 50K tweets (half way to my 60K mark). Yeah I’m 7 days off but it’s a very scientific process of always gauging where I am in tweets and ensuring I’ll be at 60K on my 3 year anniversary of using Twitter.

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I’ve been thinking about my 50 thousandth tweet for a long time now. 5K is a big milestone and so is 25K but 50 is a big number and 2nd only to “100″. Naturally, it’s been a personal struggle for me as to what I would do. I had a plan but timing got in the way.

I’m generally very vague about what’s going on and this post is no different. I’m working on two big things. One of these you know about and the other is going to blow everyone away when it’s launched in just a few short months. My goal, upon reaching the 40K mark in March was to announce the completion of my book, which is done but needs heavy editing & restructuring. The text rocks and is very helpful but it just needs organization. The second project is the most challenging thing I’ve ever worked on and when it’s done, you’ll see why. It’s killing me to complete it but it’s so hard that no one wants to help me with it and others scoff because it sounds so impossible. The reality is, they have a reason to respond this way. More details soon.

If those two events aligned as I had planned, tonight would have been my last night as a Twitter user. To be honest, I’d be fine with it. I take 4 weeks off from Twitter every year (spread out of course) and I do it to mathematically make sure I don’t go over my 20K a year mark but also to prove to myself that I don’t need Twitter and can function fine without it. Twitter is a valuable tool and I owe so many of my accomplishments to Twitter but life without Twitter is still life and it’s important to always remember that.

In summary, I wouldn’t be living in San Francisco with a great job, great friends and great business opportunities knocking on my door if it weren’t for Twitter. However, according to my calculations [TWEET], I’ve spent over 34.5 days just tweeting and that doesn’t include reading tweets or sending DMs. That number is amazing when you consider I’ve been using the service just shy of 2.5 years. This statistic is saddening and a testament to the life I’ve created around a service that is just for broadcasting what you’re doing (at the core of it).

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You’ll be happy to hear that I won’t be leaving Twitter at this time. Who knows what the future may hold but for now, I’m going to stick around. I’d like to celebrate my 100 thousandth tweet at the 5 year mark, assuming Twitter is still around then but for now I use it as a tool to improve my life on all levels. The fact that I have over 3,700 people that follow along is a number that I can smile about. Personally, 100 people following me was a good thing and every additional person I gain makes my day.

Every person I follow & interact with on Twitter has taught me something. You’re all friends to me and I hope we can learn more about each other and that I can continue following your inspiring stories. [TWEET]

“It’s about stories,” -@garyvee YES!

Yes it is and that’s the core value. Keep telling stories and I’ll keep reading. Maybe my story interests you enough to follow along. Thanks to all of you for your support.

In May, which which was only 4 months ago, I announced that Laura and I were going on a road trip. Ford Motor company provided me with a brand new Lincoln MKS Sedan for 5 days and I would be traveling to Las Vegas via Los Angeles and back. The trip was very well documented and I think Ford was extremely happy with how I covered the event. Here are a few resources from our last trip that are still online.

It’s own FriendFeed Room “RoadTrip 2009″

It’s own Blog Page

Tons of blog posts

A Huge Flickr Set

Tons of Videos

and more

This time, they’re giving me another car from this Friday (the 11th) until Monday (the 14th). For this second road trip they didn’t just give me a car though, I had to apply for a 2nd go around and luckily, my past work with Ford was very influential and they chose me again for another test-drive. This time, only 4 days but it’s slightly more exciting! The first road trip I went on was in a very luxurious car from Lincoln and this time it’s a more affordable full-size sedan but with some updated bells and whistles that will make for an exciting drive!

Ford Motor Company has offered their brand new 2010 Ford Taurus. The new Taurus has some kick ass features that will be sure to turn heads. First of all, it has the new Ford eco-boost which delivers 365 horsepower but has the fuel economy of a 4 cylinder car with far less horsepower. The interior has been completely revamped and it now has Microsoft Sync (which is what the Lincoln MKS that I tested has). There are other available features like all-wheel drive and a brand new body design. For the complete run-down, check out the new 2010 Ford Taurus Website!

I have to admit that it was fun taking that 5 day road trip back in May but something was missing. I really missed not having a destination. It sounds odd but I was looking forward to a destination and a place to go in the Lincoln instead of just driving for the hell of it. Well, there’s another detail that I haven’t yet shared yet.

Two tickets to the Seattle Seahawks vs St. Louis Rams NFL Game on Sunday.

Two nights hotel accomadations

A very healthy fuel reimbursement budget

And of course…The brand new 2010 Taurus for a few days.

All of this combined with a beautiful drive from San Francisco to Seattle is going to make for a very awesome weekend! The car will be dropped off at my office on Friday morning and it’s due back Monday night. If I take I-5 North, it’s around 12 hours to get from San Francisco to Seattle.  If I take Pacific Coast Highway from Portland to Seattle, I’ll add about 4 hours of driving but I hear it’s totally beautiful! My plan (right now) is to take I-5 to Portland on Friday and see some friends and then wake up on Saturday and take PCH into Seattle, hang out in the city, visiting Microsoft HQ and get a hotel that night. Then see the game on Sunday and drive straight home overnight. It’s going to be an awesome weekend!

But wait; aren’t there two NFL tickets that you have? Who’s going with you? Well, that’s a good question. I’m probably going to go alone. The truth is, I don’t know anyone other than Laura that I can spend 15 hours in a car with without going completely insane. If I can find someone last minute, that might change. My goal is to take my cameras, laptops and video equipment and put as much of the trip on the web as possible in real time. I won’t be doing as much coverage as I did last time but it’ll still be pretty meta. Oh and I’ll be hitting my 50 thousandth tweet this weekend so that’s pretty exciting!

Thanks everyone for your support and I’ll be seeing you online!

TechCrunch is the site that always makes a point to say, “we told ya so.” For those of you that respond with, “well they’re just that cool.”- maybe so and that’s why I’m going to “pull a TechCrunch” and take full credit for Apple’s new vertical artist tab in iTunes 9.0.

That’s right. Not only did I call it but I also am the only person on The Internet that inspired Apple to do this. I called it back before the engineer that coded it was even working at Apple. Just like TechCrunch, I’m that cool. Jealous? Yeah, you should be!

In 2005, while we were still using iTunes 4.7, I wrote a blog post on my (now defunct) blog, DailyTechTalk about what we could expect from a future version of iTunes. Sure I said that this was a feature that should be in version 5 but Apple spent the past 4.5 years perfecting it so I’ll let this one slide.

In this post, I said:

The way we organize music is more and more difficult every time I get a new CD. I have almost six thousand songs in my iTunes library and finding one to listen to is difficult so I just hit the Random button or organize the library by “Date Added” and listen to my latest songs because I have songs in my library I am tired of and tend to skip more than I listen to. Apple should add a hierarchical view in the Playlists area that enables Playlist grouping. You can create a group called, “Favorites” and put your top 25 songs, favorite love songs, dance, hip hop and movie soundtrack theme songs. The list is yours to make but grouping them together would be great for users with tons of playlists. I was connected to someone’s library via Airport and saw they had hundreds of playlists for only ten thousand songs. I was amazed how they even navigate those playlists.

Also, you can organize songs one way. You can sort them by name, artist, genre, album, year, type and more. What if I want to hear all songs by Michael Jackson organized by year. I would have to create a playlist with all Michael Jackson songs and then sort by year. I could save time by having two sort bars at the top of the screen. The top bar would be general organization. The second would look the same but would organize those songs. You could organize all songs by Genre then all genres organized by Artist. All Oldies songs would be in order and each artist would be in order in that genre or year, album, whatever. I proposed this idea in an old article but is a feature I would really like to have. I also think you should be able to save a search in iTunes to a playlist. I feel this will be added with Tiger’s spotlight technology and is only a matter of time since Tiger’s Finder can already do this.

So there you have it. I out-scooped TechCrunch and I wanted everyone to know that I was first at calling this feature! Me and only me! No one even had a bit of insight to to this on iTunes until I said it so I guess you can say that I had the exclusive taste of the vertical artist sidebar even back in 2005. BOOYAH! Naturally, I wanted to make sure everyone knows I’m just being sarcastic.

BTW, don’t make fun of my old blog’s text formatting. I’d rather not talk about it.

When you think of American cities that love coffee, the first thought is Seattle and I don’t think San Francisco rivals Seattle in the amount of coffee shops or sheer volume of coffee fandom there. However, living in SF, and I’d argue that it’s a close 2nd. Sure New York will have more variety, more coffee lovers and perhaps more rabid bean fans but its size makes the coffee community more spread out. With that said, let’s talk about SF and its love for a good cup of coffee.

I’ve been living in downtown San Francisco for nearly 16 months and it’s been an exciting time. However, just yesterday when I had a favorite coffee shop dead set in my mind, I ventured into a popular place called Philz for the first time and was blown away by how amazing it was. I went back today despite it was a 20 minute bus ride away from my place. That’s the point about coffee is that once you think that you’ve found the best cup, the very next day another amazing cup will hit and it will be a revelation in coffee drinking.

I honestly drink coffee for the taste and not for the energy boost. Below are a few of my favorite spots in SF to drink coffee based on taste, service and how well that location can be used to open up your laptop and work. The best coffee places have some of the worst locations for getting work done as an Internet Cafe. These are listed in reverse. The last coffee shop on the list is my favorite.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (4th & Market): Their coffee is drip style, there’s nothing fancy but the flavors are pretty darn good for a chain coffee place. There’s only a few in SF and they’re usually over-run with tourists. Good luck finding a seat but Internet is always fast & reliable. Their selection of Teas are also pretty darn good an I like that it’s an affordable standby for anyone looking for a good cup.
Starbucks (3rd & Market Street): This location is the best Starbucks in the city. It’s not open very late and it doesn’t always have a spare seat but it’s central to my work & home plus the place has high ceilings, comfy chairs and even couches. Plus, it’s one of the only Starbucks locations in San Francisco that has the new $11K Clover Coffee Machine which has a distinct taste. Other than that, it’s just a Starbucks. I like their service though and surprisingly non-rush hour lines are usually less than 60 seconds.
Peets Coffee & Tea (2nd & Mission Street): This Peets has an atrium with over 50 seats and tall glass windows. I like the open atmosphere a lot but it can be quite a wait during the weekday between 8-10AM. Local SF residents know all about Peets. Their coffee is strong with zero bitter after-taste and a distinct full body. They also have an excellent tea selection with tea from all over the world at a great price. I’m also a sucker for their blended ice coffee drinks. Peets can be on the pricy side ($1-$1.50 more than Starbucks) but well worth it considering the extra quality you receive in exchange for the premium.
The Creamery (4th & King): The creamery doesn’t have wifi and doesn’t have power outlets. All of the other cafes to this point do but the creamery isn’t for meetings & hanging out on a Saturday. It’s a place that’s strictly for on the go coffee consumption but I personally don’t like their coffee. Nope, The Creamery has the best Vanilla Latte I’ve ever had and reviewers on Yelp confirmed that I’m not alone. Go to The Creamery, grab a vanilla latte and then head to the office. It’s well worth it!
Sugar Cafe is my 3rd favorite coffee shop for a few reasons but it isn’t the quality of their drinks. I’d love it if Sugar started brewing coffee from my top 2 favorite places but they use some generic stuff and it’s not very good. They do have some good espresso based drinks and they make up for the bad coffee with amazing pastries, breakfast sandwiches & mimosas. Where Sugar Cafe wins is in their seating, myriad of power outlets, hours of operation and super fast wireless Internet. It’s the best freelancer hotspot in the city and one that I couldn’t live without. I can show up at 6AM, eat breakfast, lunch & dinner (keeping my tab open the whole day like a bar) and then at 2AM leave to go home when they close. At 5PM it remains a cafe, but they have a full liquor license and people are there working all day. I love Sugar Cafe and will always keep it in my top 3 but it could be #1 if their coffee improved.
Blue Bottle Cafe (Mint Plaza; 5th & Mission): Blue Bottle was first a dumb thing in my mind because you’d wait for 25 minutes to get a cup of coffee with lines going out the door and a 5 minute process just to brew a cup. The coffee isn’t that expensive either – $2.3 for a 12oz cup of freshly brewed coffee. I’ve never had their pastries but it’s like The Creamery where I usually just go once every 2 weeks for that special cup of coffee and then leave to head off to another location. They don’t offer wifi or power outlets and their seating is scarce so I am only rating it based on the fact that their coffee is just so damn good! They resell their coffee so other shops in town brew Blue Bottle but don’t have the lines and w/ free wifi. I’ll try to find one of those in the near future.
Philz Coffee (18th & Sansome): My new favorite cup of coffee also has free wifi good hours and decent seating. Philz is owned by a guy and his son and they only have around 5 locations at this time. The story is that the founders have spent 20 years mixing beans, traveling and experimenting to find the perfect coffee “recipes” meaning Jacob’s Wonderbar (an actual flavor) is a collection of different beans from all over the world brewed at a certain temperature and ground perfectly as each cup of coffee is made to order just for you. To top it all off, you can get a few mint leaves in your cup which really adds a sweet kick to your cup. Philz is usually open 7AM-8PM. Hey have 8 tables & decently fast Wi-Fi. The staff is super courteous but the coffee can be high. My favorite coffee – The Turkish Blend is $3.50 a cup. There are 4 Philz locations in SF and each one requires a bus or subway ride of 15+ minutes. This is my new Sunday work hangout for sure and it’s always a treat.

There are over 25 other notable and popular coffee places in San Francisco and I’m only going off of what I’ve tried and what my favorites are. If you’re ever in SF visiting, stick to my top 5 and you won’t be disappointed! Maybe I’ll update this in the future when I finally make it to ritual roasters, sight glass or one of the many more coffee shops that people rave about on Twitter / Yelp.

I’m in the middle of reading Chris Anderson’s Book, “FREE” and how the free economy has been around for a very long time but has radically changed since the Internet has become a part of our daily lives. There are many things that I use online that are free but many that aren’t. If there’s a premium model of a service where you get extra features for more money, I’ll weigh out the features and look into if I’ll actually use them and will usually upgrade for a primary reason. Reliability.

I want to know that a product or service is reliable which is why most people will get a certain brand of car or shop at Gap instead of Old Navy. It’s a common trait of ours to pay a dollar more for something that is significantly better than the cheaper or free product. The Internet is no different and I pay for nearly everything I use online. It gets expensive but my experience is richer, more stable, more secure and overall more reliable.

Just recently, Gmail was down for most of an entire day. This was not the first time the big G was down not just for Gmail.com users but also users of Google Apps which is Google’s business targeted email & collaboration suite. Google Apps has a free plan but for $50 per user per year, there’s a premium model with a ton of excellent features. What stood out to me is 24/7 phone support & 99.99% uptime guaranteed. It was a year ago when I was a standard free Google Apps user and the service went down for the last time. That was the last straw. I spent the $50, upgrade my account and haven’t seen downtime since then except for one day when I called and they made a few changes and I was back online. Last week, when Gmail was down, I was fine and had zero email interruption. Of course, since most of the people that email me are on Gmail which meant I didn’t get many messages that day, anyway. Hah.

In my last post about data backup, I uncovered that I’m paying over $350 a year just to keep my data secure, backed up, in sync and accessible across all 4 of my devices. Yes, there are free versions of software and free services that I could use but why would anyone trust their data with a free service? Remember all of those 500 photos you manually scanned in of you as a child and stored on your computer that are not synced to an online backup system? Well don’t cry when your computer is stolen and due to some freak encryption problem, those online backups aren’t recoverable. Instead of paying $15 a year, you chose to be cheap and now those photos are lost forever.

I also have two virtual servers that I pay monthly for. Don’t worry, they’re super cheap and aren’t a huge expense. One is a Linux server used to host my websites, store some random data and host some misc. Services like Yammer (self-hosted) and stuff that’s private. The other server is a Windows server that runs Sharepoint 2007. Sharepoint can be expensive but it’s basically PBworks, BaseCamp, Yammer, PHPBB, Vbulletin, WordPress, Box.net, BuddyPress and Google Calendar all rolled into one site. It takes about a week to fully setup with custom modules but then you’re rolling. Any project I do is setup in Sharepoint and I invite collaborators to work in this environment. It’s backed up, secure and reliable. Sure there’s a single point of failure with all of that data behind one password but I don’t want to trust that any one of those other services are around 5 years from now, nor do I want to pay for all of them separately and finally, I don’t trust the people operating the “free” services and I’d rather host all of it myself on my own box. It’s piece of mind, flexibility, cost-savings and more control. Sharepoint alone costs me about $50 a month but all of the services above paid for separately would cost even more and many charge on a Per-User basis. Sharepoint is up to 500 users for one flat license fee.

The final round of things I pay for is desktop software. Software is important and good software can help you stay organized, optimize your workflow and simply make day to day activities a lot easier. A good user interface, simply usage workflow and solid crash-free app is worth something to me. Freeware is great and I have found wonderful freeway but there is usually something better that comes around and it usually costs money. There’s no shame in paying if you get more features. I go back to my original point though of support & reliability. Paying for something usually means you’ll get a certain level of support from the developer. I’d rather pay and be able to email the developer 1 or 2 times a year than be stuck when some preference file goes corrupt and I’m stuck with a task list that I can’t open.

I don’t believe in paying for something just to remove ads though. Ad-free isn’t a business model that I participate in if that’s your only offering. For example. Every 5 or 10 times I launch Tweetie (a Twitter app for Mac) it gives me this little teaser asking that I purchase it and throughout the day, ads are injected into the application between every 25 tweets. It doesn’t bother me and $20 for an ad-free model just doesn’t appeal.

I didn’t go into every aspect or product that I pay for but the reality is that I pay for things I use online and I get a better product & support because of it. Consider paying next time and you’ll be amazed at the results you get.