Rocking on the iPhone

These videos are just another example how amazing the iPhone is. Can you do this on your Blackberry or Nokia? Yeah, that's what I thought! The sky's the limit when it comes to designing applications for the iPhone as evidenced by thousands of programs one can find in the Application Store on iTunes. That's why there can never be another iPhone but only countless of copycats or iPhone wannabes.

I don't have this particular guitar app in my iPhone but I do have other musical apps such a drumming app, along with Tap Tap Revenge and Guitar Hero. Anyway, it's cool that with only a few frets these guys are able to play the intro to Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." It'd be more impressive if he can replicate Kirk Hammet's buzz-saw guitar riffs from the earlier Metallica albums like "Kill 'Em All" and "Ride The Lightning" but I don't think it'd be possible on the iPhone. Or even the intro of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" for that matter. Still a tremendous effort though.

Don't Talk to Strangers

The internet is arguably one of the greatest human inventions ever; it revolutionizes the way people communicate and connect with each other around the globe. It allows people to form a parallel social life alongside the more tangible one they live in everyday. So much so that people craft and tweak their online persona ever so meticulously in order to fit various online communities they're in - just like what they're doing in REAL life. They meet people in the cyberspace and interact with them like they do in their normal lives. The question now is what kind of social etiquette and norms are needed for this very young society, and how do people who straddle both worlds deal of them effectively, safely, and ethically?

Okay, obviously these are hugely profound sociological and philosophical questions and I don't pretend to try to address them nor do I have the intellectual capacity to comprehensively deal with the complex issues surrounding these questions. But I'm interested in finding out what happens when the two worlds meet and collide with each other. Is meeting and interacting with someone online similar to its real world counterpart? Can one's once exclusive online social circle be extended to one's real world circle? One can argue that it's not because a person can be better judged through body language and verbal patterns, traits that are non-existent in the cyberspace. Physical judgment can be wrong sometimes, but maybe less so than sizing up a person through his/her online persona. Still we can see nowadays that people, especially the younger generation, are less inhibited in divulging personal info online through Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, etc. I guess part of it to take mystery out of the anonymity that the internet provides and to increase the level of mutual trustworthiness and understanding that are needed in any kinds of social interactions.

Speaking of trust and the overlapping of two distinct social arenas, should a person meet an online friend out in the physical world? We already know for a fact that, despite what our moms' admonishments are about not talking to strangers, we still talk to them online. I talk to unknown people online all the time and so do millions of people around the world. What happens then when if this "cyber buddy" wants to meet in real flesh? How well should you know a person online before you finally decide it's okay and safe to meet (or not) in person? I personally have no problem meeting in real life people I've known on the internet. I've done it many times before and I'll do it again in a heartbeat. It's easy for me to do it because I'm a guy and I can physically protect myself if meeting goes awry. The same cannot be said for females, I guess, and I understand their trepidations of meeting online male friends for coffee or dinner.

My advice is, if you really have a dying curiosity to meet any of your exclusively online friends, then make that first meeting in as public place as you find. Never agree to meet in a secluded park or at somebody's house. If you have bad feelings about the meeting, cancel it. After a few minutes, if your erstwhile "cyber buddy" gives you the bad vibes or rubs you the wrong way, then don't hesitate to leave. Lie if you have to, but get the hell out of dodge! Scram! Skedaddle! Why risk it with this one person when you have other physical friends you've long known and trust? In all I think it's cool to meet your online friends out in the real world, especially after you get to know them very well on the internet. I guess it's helpful also if you can get references for your online friend before agreeing to the meeting. Ask somebody who personally knows this person in order to vouch for his/her honesty (or lack thereof). What I'll say is to be a bit risque and get some sense of excitement in your life. Be careful...

P/s: The reason I blog about this topic is that I've met this girl online recently and we've been chatting almost ceaselessly. My personal record for longest time chatting is with this girl: more than six hours yesterday on GMail Chat, though we did take brief breaks intermittently, mainly because it was during her working hours. We plan to see each other in person next month; hence this post!

The Phone that ends all phones

At 6pm today, the iPhone will be officially released for the American public. Yes, the long-awaited and much-hyped iPhone. And yes, damnit, I want one so bad! No, I'm not one of those gadget freaks who needs to get a hold of hot new contraptions the very second they're introduced in the stores. I think it's dumb to camp out for three days in front of Best Buy for the privilege to be the first to buy PlayStation 3; ditto for the iPhone. But still I want an iPhone, and my reason for wanting one: I've been a loyal Apple user for ages and I don't mind paying the premium price for its products. Take the iPod for instance. iPod was first released exclusively only for Mac users, and I was one of the hardcore Mac users--the enlightened five percenters, if you ask me--who bought the 1st Generation Mac-only iPods. People had seen the ultra-cool iPod commercials on TV then, but since 95 percent of the PCs in the world are run by Windows, hardly anybody had the chance to own an iPod. I was living in Washington, DC when the first iPod came out in 2001 and I bought one almost immediately. Playing my iPod on the Metro resulted in quite a few admiring stares, curious inquiries, and impromptu demonstrations. I saw it as my call of duty to shill for Apple products and lure PC users away from the Dark Side aka Micro$oft. Then Apple came out with the Windows version iPod, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So, how can iPhone revolutionizes the cell phone world? Well, just take a good look at that damn thing and tell me it's not revolutionary. It has (almost) everything one will ever need in a cellphone and a bag of chips. It does, however, has an Achilles heel, several minor flaws, if you may. The iPhone, first of all, does not have video camera (but it does have a 2 MP camera). It's almost a travesty not to have a common feature that is found even in the crappiest Nokia phones. Considering the iPhone's other shining features such as ultra-high resolution screen and the ability for movie playback, it's almost mind-boggling for Apple to omit the video camera function. Other gripes include there is no support for Java and Flash. Unless if you're a hardcore cellphone gaming fan, Java-support is something one can certainly live without. As for Flash, the iPhone has a specific YouTube module, which plays all of YouTube's Flash videos, which then begs the question: what else do you need Flash for? Others bitch about iPhone's lack of 3G-support and tactile keyboard for SMS (or texting, as you Yanks call it). About 3G, it is not supported by any cellular carriers here in the US; hence its omission. When the iPhone comes to the European and Asian shores by early and mid next year I'm sure it'll be 3G-equipped. The non-tactile keyboard (it's touchscreen), unlike the ones found in Blackberry, Palm Treo or Nokia Sidekick, just needs a little getting used to, that's all. If given the choice, would one rather have a full-blown keyboard for the supposedly easy typing or a much larger screen with ultra-sharp resolutions that plays movies in widescreen format? Yes, I thought so!

Anyway, I desperately want an iPhone right now. If I'm not leaving for Indonesia next month I'll definitely get one. In order to buy an iPhone one has to sign to 2-year contract with ATT/Cingular, which is something I cannot do at this moment--not until August next year at least. I only wish that Apple would have released an unlocked version of the iPhone...

My (soon-to-be) sexy mistress

Yes, I have found the new love of my life, and yes, I am in love with a machine. I figure it's about time to replace the old mate--my almost five-year old iBook G3--with a much younger, faster, sleeker and not to add, intoxicatingly seductive, objet d'art. Read the MacBook review here for more info. I've already been to the campus DoIT (computer) store several times simply for the opportunity to salivate over this piece of computing and artistic marvel. And yes, soon enough you will be mine. We are destined to be one. You and I. It's our kismet. Together, we the five-percenters--Mac users--will rule the world with our OS X, iTunes, iLife, Safari, Sherlock and other bedazzling features that PC plebeians can only hope to jerk off to in their pathetic wet dreams.