Apple iPad First Hands On

It’s substantial but surprisingly light. Easy to grip. Beautiful. Rigid. Starkly designed. The glass is a little rubbery but it could be my sweaty hands. And it’s fasssstttt.

Apple didn’t really sell this point, but it’s the single biggest benefit of the iPad: speed. It feels at least a generation faster than the iPhone 3GS. Lags and waits are gone, and the OS and apps respond just as quickly as you’d hope. Rotating between portrait and landscape modes, especially, is where this new horsepower manifests in the OS.

Build
Imagine, if you will, a super light unibody MacBook Pro that’s smaller, thinner and way, way, way lighter. Or, from a slightly different perspective, think about a bigger iPhone that’s been built with unibody construction. The iPad really does feel like some amalgamation of these two product lines from Apple. And, in the hands, it feels great—not too heavy at all.

The screen looked nice, and it’s able to display even small text crisply. Touch responds like a dream.

But one point of the build seems odd. It’s the Home button. In portrait mode, hitting the Home button is far less natural than on an iPhone because your thumbs naturally rest in the middle of each side of the case (not the bottom). A Kindle-like side Home button may not have been a horrible idea, even if it broke up the stoic minimalism of the case a bit.

iBooks
It’s an optical illusion, but just seeing the depth of pages makes the iBook app feel more like a book than a Kindle ever did for me. The text is sharp, and while the screen is bright, it doesn’t seem to strains the eyes—but time will tell on that.

Keyboard
Typing in portrait is better than anticipated but still a BIT of a stretch for our average-sized hands, which means that letters like F G and H will take a moderate conditioning for some.

Pictures
Pinch, zoom, whatever—like we said, it’s fast—the photo app is faster than iPhoto performs on an aging Core2Duo laptop.

Apps
Apps can play in their native resolution, or be 2x uprezzed for the screen. How does it look? An ATV game we tried actually looked pretty good—limited more by its base polygon count than the scaling process itself. Bottom line: it’s about as elegant solution as Apple could have offered, even if that graphics won’t be razor sharp.

Browsing
Over Wi-Fi, Gizmodo loaded quickly. The 9.7-inch screen is an excellent size for reading the site. You can pinch zoom, but you won’t need to. Of course, on such a pretty web browsing experience, not having Flash makes the big, empty video boxes in the middle of a page is pretty disappointing. Put differently, the fatal flaw of Apple’s mobile browser has never been more apparent.

The 2010 Super Bowl – Super Bowl 44 (XLIV) – will be played on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at Sun Life (formerly Dolphin) Stadium in Miami, Florida. It will be broadcast on CBS, which lists the start time as 6:18 p.m. EST (Tune in at 6 p.m. for the full kickoff show).  The kickoff show is from 6:00 to 6:25 p.m.

The 2010 Super Bowl (XLIV)

Super Bowl XLIV will be an American football game pitting the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts against the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2009 season. It will be the 40th annual championship game of the modern-era National Football League after its 1970 merger with the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969). It will be the first time since Super Bowl XXVIII that both number one seeds will face each other in the Super Bowl. It also marks the first time that two teams who play in an domed/retractable roof stadium will play each other in a Super Bowl.

The game will be played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. This marks the tenth time a Super Bowl will have been played in the South Florida metropolitan area: five times the game has been held at Sun Life Stadium; the other five were played at the Orange Bowl. It will mark the fourth time the Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts franchise have played in the Super Bowl, each of which has been played in South Florida, as well as the first time the New Orleans Saints have ever made it. The game will be played on February 7, 2010 at 6:30 PM Eastern Time. It is the latest calendar date for a Super Bowl thus far.

Host selection process
Sun Life Stadium, the venue of Super Bowl XLIV.

The league initially voted on March 23, 2005, that New York City host the game, contingent on the completion of the proposed West Side Stadium being built for the New York Jets by 2008. After New York state government officials declined to approve $300 million for the stadium, the NFL decided to reopen the bidding for the game’s site.[3] The league reconsidered the other, unsuccessful candidates for Super Bowl XLIII: Atlanta, Houston, and Miami. On October 6, 2008, the league selected Miami as the host city.

With Tampa as the host of Super Bowl XLIII, Super Bowl XLIV will mark the third time that consecutive Super Bowls have been played in the same state. Super Bowls II and III were both played at the Orange Bowl. Super Bowls XXI and XXII were both played in California: XXI at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium and XXII at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.

Miami will become the first city to host two Super Bowls designated as a National Special Security Event (NSSE). In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, every Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXVI has been designated as an NSSE. Super Bowl XLI was Miami Gardens’ first Super Bowl designated as an NSSE.
Pro Bowl changes

This will be the first time the Pro Bowl will be held during the off-week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. It was announced in December 2008, that instead of the traditional Pro Bowl the week after the Super Bowl, it will instead be held at the new time in Miami, the first time it will not be played at Aloha Stadium since 1979. Twelve players from the Super Bowl participants – seven from the Colts and five from the Saints – will not play in the Pro Bowl. The playoff schedule gives conference champions an extra week to rest and prepare for the Super Bowl. The NFL has indicated this may not be a permanent transition, but is merely something they have been wanting to try out, and has discussed a rotating location for the Pro Bowl.

The move also means that the game, which otherwise would have been played February 14, will not compete against the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, the second full day of competition in the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the 52nd running of the Daytona 500.
Teams
Indianapolis Colts
Main article: 2009 Indianapolis Colts season

Indianapolis stormed to an NFL best 14-2 record on their way to earning their second Super Bowl appearance in the last four years. Once again, the Colts boasted a powerful offense led by 10-time pro bowl quarterback Peyton Manning, who threw for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns during the season, with only 16 interceptions, earning him a 99.9 passer rating and a league record fourth National Football League Most Valuable Player Award. His top targets were veteran receiver Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark, who both recorded 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Wayne led the team with 1,260 yards, while Clark was second with 1,106. Manning also had other reliable targets, such as recently aquired receivers Austin Collie (60 receptions for 676 yards and 7 touchdowns) and Pierre Garçon (47 receptions for 756 yards). Running back Joseph Addai led the Colts ground game with 821 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while also catching 51 passes for another 336 yards and 3 scores. The Colts offensive line was anchored by pro bowl center Jeff Saturday.

Indianapolis’ defensive line was led by pro bowl defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. Freeney led the team with 13.5 sacks, while Mathis added 9.5 sacks and forced 5 fumbles. Behind them, the Colts had a solid corps of linebackers featuring Clint Session and Gary Brackett, who each recorded 80 tackles. Pro bowl safety Antoine Bethea led the secondary with 70 tackles and four interceptions.

Under their new coach Jim Caldwell, the Colts started off the season with 14 consecutive wins before suffering their first loss to the New York Jets, 29-15, a game in which Caldwell made the controversial decision to rest his starters after the team took a slim lead rather than keep them in to play for a chance at a 16-0 season. Indianapolis finished the season at 14-2 following another loss in which they rested their starters and went on to advance to the Super Bowl, making them perfect in all their games in which their starters played all four quarters.
New Orleans Saints
Main article: 2009 New Orleans Saints season

The New Orleans Saints finished the season with an NFC best 13-3 record and went on to advance to the first Super Bowl in their 43 years as an NFL team. It had been a long journey for New Orleans. After joining the NFL in 1967, it took them 21 years to record their first winning season and another 13 years after that to win their first playoff game. Five years later, the New Orleans suffered another setback when their stadium was devastated with the rest of the city by Hurricane Katrina, forcing them to play all of their home games in 2005 elsewhere as they finished with a 3-13 record. But in the offseason, the team’s fortunes began to turn. First, they signed pro bowl quarterback Drew Brees, who would go on to throw for more passing yards than any other quarterback over the next four seasons. They also drafted multi-talented Heisman Trophy winning running back Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston, two players who would become major contributors on the Saints offense. The following season, New Orleans improved to 10-6 and advanced to the NFC title game for the first time, which they lost to the Chicago Bears. Although they failed to make the playoffs over the next two seasons, they continued to sign new talent, and by 2009 they were ready to make another run at the Super Bowl.

The Saints offense led the NFL in scoring, averaging just under 32 points per game. Brees finished the season as the NFL’s top rated quarterback (109.6), completing an NFL-record 70.6% of his passes for 4,338 yards and 34 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions. His top target was Colston, who caught 70 passes for 1,074 yards and 9 touchdowns, but he had plenty of other weapons, such as receivers Devery Henderson (51 receptions), Robert Meachem (45), and tight end Jeremy Shockey (48). The ground attack was led by running backs Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. Thomas rushed for 793 yards and caught 39 passes for 302, while Bell added 654 yards on the ground. Bush was also a major contributor, rushing for 390 yards (with a 5.6 yards per carry average), catching 47 passes for 335 yards, and adding another 130 yards returning punts. New Orleans also had a strong offensive line with three pro bowl selections: guard Jahri Evans, center Jonathan Goodwin, and tackle Jon Stinchcomb

Pro Bowl defensive lineman Will Smith led the team in sacks with 13. Another big weapon on defense was linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who led the team with 87 tackles and intercepted three passes. The Saints secondary was led by 12-year veteran defensive back Darren Sharper, who recorded 9 interceptions and set an NFL record by returning them for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Cornerback Tracy Porter was also effective, recording 49 tackles and 4 picks.

Like the Colts, the Saints also started out the season strong, winning their first 13 games. But then they became the first 13-0 team ever to lose their last three games of the year. After losing their next game to the Dallas Cowboys 24-17, they suffered a narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime after Garrett Hartley missed a potential game winning field goal, and then closed out the season with a 23-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Still, they clinched the #1 NFC playoff seed and scored 76 points in their two playoff wins en route to their first ever Super Bowl.

Halftime

The NFL announced on the November 26, 2009 CBS Sports broadcast of the Oakland Raiders-Dallas Cowboys game that The Who would perform at the Super Bowl XLIV halftime show.

The NFL team Minnesota Vikings brought the American Idol cultural phenomenon General Larry Platt to sing “Pants on the Ground”. The 62 year old  auditioned for the show in Atlanta, Georgia. He sang his song entitled “Pants on the Ground,” the song was one of the hits of the American Idol show. NFL superstar Brett Favre jumped on the band-wagon before a game singing “Pants on the Ground” for his Viking Team-mates.

Pants on the ground – Vikings Playoff: http://www.jamesstjohn.net/just-for-fun/2010/01/nfl-vikings-sing-%E2%80%9Cpants-on-the-ground%E2%80%9D

Before the Vikings NFL Playoff game they watched the American Idol cultural phenomenon sing “Pants on the Ground”. The 62 year old General Larry Platt auditioned for the show in Atlanta, Georgia. He sang his song entitled “Pants on the Ground,” which has already captured the attention of millions.

Pants on the ground – Brett Favre: http://www.jamesstjohn.net/just-for-fun/2010/01/brett-favre-sings-%E2%80%9Cpants-on-the-ground%E2%80%9D

One of our insiders shared some exclusive information on how iPhone is planning to drop the exclusive contract they currently have with AT&T. Apple has come under a lot of pressure from the US government.All the buzz over this has gotten Apple & AT&T to start a blame game. wow – what a shock, it almost feels like 1st grade all over again with all the blame shifting and blame games that these two companies are already starting. And this is before they have made anything official.

All the talk and hype on the internet now (at least in the geek world) is about the big Apple event planned for January 27th. Even though all this is officially speculative our insiders have told us to expect to hear word about this split on Wednesday.

What is our Apple contact saying:

[RUMOR] Our contact at Apple has let us know that AT&T has been a horrible partnership and gives poor customer service ultimately making the Apple brand look worse, also the AT&T network is very unreliable and is unable to handle the iPhone. Apple is also stating that they are under a lot of pressure from the Justice Department, who has brought up concerns they have with the exclusive AT&T and iPhone partnership.
[FACT] The Apple iPhone is very demanding on the current 3G network and will cause issues due to its large data usage. Yes AT&T has been given poor ratings for customer service repeatedly by several different sources, and independent research firms. And the last part of the Apple rumor is also TRUE; AT&T has many reliability issues and has a difficult time keeping up. I personally think that AT&T thought they were better prepared to handle the iPhone then what the AT&T network was capable of.

What is our AT&T contact saying:

[RUMOR] Our contact at AT&T is blaming Apple.. They say that the Apple iPhone is a data waster and uses more resources than it needs to in order to function. Also AT&T is trying to make this nasty split come of as their idea.
[FACT] Yes, the Apple iPhone is a data hog and puts a lot of pressure on the AT&T network, the 3G network is not properly suited to handle the amount of data and the quantity of iPhone users that are currently on just the one network. No, this split was not started by AT&T it was Apple that has repeatedly brought up the partnership struggles in closed session meetings with AT&T. But to try and bounce back from this PR nightmare AT&T has prepared a line of phones that they will be releasing as soon as the Apple / AT&T split is official.

I have compiled several 2010 lists due to popular demand, and I am getting a lot of positive feedback on them. As far as this list it was inspired by a conversation I had over Christmas Holiday that talked about some of the gadgets that came out in 2010 and which ones were preferred. After doing more research on the topic I have put together the best list of gadgets for 2010, as always enjoy.

Here is a list of the TOP … best gadgets of 2010

1. vPhone: The vPhone is a new promising gadget of 2010. The main reason this has made the top of the list is its ability to allow you to perform video calls from your cell phone. The Video Phone (vPhone) is being developed by Saygus a small firm that specializes in video-calling software. Verizon will be the first to carry a two-way video-conferencing phone complete with a large touch screen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a 3D accelerometer. This phone is meant to compete directly with the iPhone and to out-perform Droid (Droid is the current device Verizon is using for this market). The vPhone is set to be the first mobile device approved through Verizon’s Open Development initiative, a program designed to allow developers to build technologies to operate on the Verizon network. The vPhone from Saygus will not be available in stores but only through the Utah based company Saygus.
2. The mCube90 developed by Innergie is a universal power adapter and surge protector that can be used on airplanes, in cars, or at home. This adapter is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand (comparable size to an iPhone) and solved the problem that most of us who travel face… How do you keep track of all your chords and adapters for your mobile devices, but more so this device powers your mobile devices with its battery power. It has the ability to power your laptop, cell phone, MP3 Player, or any other device that has a USB power input.
3. Copenhagen Wheel, a dream come true for any cyclist
   

This question has finally been answered by Bing with the end of year 2009 search query top 10 search queries being published.

Here is the list Bing came up with:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Twitter
3. Swine Flu
4. Stock Market
5. Farrah Fawcett
6. Patrick Swayze
7. Cash for Clunkers
8. Jon and Kate Gosselin
9. Billy Mays
10. Jaycee Dugard

I try to keep you informed as much as possible with the latest and greatest news in the Social Networking World, Search Engines, and with anything new and interesting with the Internet. The information posted at Twitter mostly points back to here.. Be sure and Bookmark this site.

http://twitter.com/james_st_john

List of the best Funny Facebook Status Updates

The original page that I posted on funny facebook status updates got a lot of attention and has grown so much that I had to create a second page for it. So here you go. These Funny Facebook Statuses are even better than the first batch. Keep the facebook status updates coming, I enjoy reading them and posting them here if they make me laugh

1. is wondering who was the first person to look at a cow and say, ” I think I will squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?”
2. says I wouldn’t say I was special, I’m better than that! I’m the limited Edition!
3. Born Free……..Taxed to Death.
4. its called the American dream…..because you have to be asleep to believe it.
5. Thinks it’s time to find a beach lined with swaying palms and tropical cocktails served all night by hot young babes.
6. You know those days when you just wake up and look outside, then want to go out and kick Jack Frost in the snowballs?
7. Life gave you lemons – tried to make lemonade – cut my finger with a knife, got juice in the eye, sugar spilled and broke the pitcher – UUGGGHHH lemons!!

8. Is dreaming of warmth, sunshine, sandy beaches, flip flops and pina coladas

9. How does paper beat rock? Ill throw a rock at you and you protect yourself with a piece of paper, lets see who wins that!

10. had an awesome day ツ I hope you did too!
11. 
    Can’t face me? Turn around, Can’t stand me? Sit down, Think I’m Tripping? Tie my shoe, like me? Great, Hate me? Even better, think you know me? You have no idea
12. The mightiest of weapons is truth. And everyone knows you’re not permitted to enter a Government building with a weapon.
13. If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.
14. I have loved u since the day we met..hasn’t been my whole life..but once u entered my world u made me happy and kept me on my toes..i love u starbucks!!
15. India Foxtrot Yankee Oscar Uniform Charlie Alpha November Uniform November Delta Echo Romeo Sierra Tango Alpha November Delta Tango Hotel India Sierra, Charlie Oscar Papa Yankee Alpha November Delta Papa Alpha Sierra Tango Echo Tango Oscar Yankee Oscar Uniform Romeo Sierra Tango Alpha Tango Uniform Sierra
    (for those of you who dont understand this is written in “Military Phoenetic Alphabet” basically its all the code talk that army guys and gals do when they are communicating and it is when you take the first letter of each word to spell out a word, the “Military Phoenetic Alphabet” is also adapted by other groups and government agencies including the police. The purpose of this is to remove confusion from similar sounding letters like “D” and “P” and “Z”.)
    The above line says: “If you can understand this, copy and paste to your status”
16. My neighbor asked if he could use my lawnmower. I told him of course he could, as long as he didn’t take it out of my yard.
17. Life is like a doughnut. You’re either in the dough or in the hole.
18. A candidate is someone who gets money from the rich and votes from the poor to protect them from each other.
19. An egotist is someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.
20. Your gene pool could use a little chlorine.
21. Without ME, it’s just AWESO.
22. The human brain is a wonderful thing. It starts working the moment you are born, and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.
23. Roses are red violets are blue, I’m schizophrenic and so am I.
24. What are the days of the vampire week? Moonday, Toothday, Veinday, Thirstday and Frightday
25. If the economy is slowing down, how come it’s so hard for me to keep up with it?
26. No wonder newborn babies cry. They’ve got nothing to eat, no clothes and they already owe the government money.
27. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.
28. You should work eight hours, play eight hours and sleep eight hours. But not the same eight hours.
29. One day your prince will come. Mine just took a wrong turn, got lost and is too stubborn to ask for directions.
30. Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
31. I’m not myself today. Maybe I’m you.
32. Conference, n. The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.
33. Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
34. I have a lot of special people in my life… Too bad I don’t have a short bus to drive them around in
35. My biggest problem with the younger generation is I’m not in it.
36. My girlfriend said she wanted me to be more like her Ex. So I dumped her.
37. My mom never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.
38. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow they may make it illegal.
39. Some open minds should be closed for repairs.
40. If you need space then work at NASA.
41. Good judgment comes from bad experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
42. It’s okay to let your mind go blank; but please turn off the sound.
43. If at first you don’t succeed, buy her another beer.
44. Don’t tell any big lies today. Small ones can be just as effective.
45. I don’t love salsa dancing. I love salsa just the way it is.
46. A dollar saved is a dime earned. The rest is taxes.
47. I can tell you’re a man with an open mind. In fact, I can feel the breeze from here.

Please post a link to this page on your website, blog, forum, facebook, twitter, etc

http://www.JamesStJohn.net/just-for-fun/2009/12/funny-facebook-status-pt2

Please add your own funny facebook status messages, I will re-post the all best ones in a follow-up post.

Find your favorite Funny Facebook statuses, Best 2010 Funny Quotes, & Funny Twitter Updates Spread the love and link to these pages

Funny Facebook statuses for 2010

1. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to NOT interrupt Taylor Swift if she is making an acceptance speech at a music awards ceremony.
2. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to hide the golf clubs before having multiple “transgressions”.
3. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to avoid having 8 kids and getting a reality TV show.
4. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to come up with another way to get on TV instead of faking that his 6 year old son is in a runaway weather balloon.
5. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to see Michael Jackson live in concert.  What?  He died?  How come there was no media coverage?
6. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to be on the guest list for Obama’s next state dinner.
7. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to re-enact the movie “The Hangover” in real life.
8. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to find hidden immunity idols in his house with no clues.
9. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to finally collect on his fortunes from Nigeria… Suckers!
10. ’s 2010 New Year’s resolution is to be more like Sarah Palin a finish evertything that I st

Please post a link to this page on your website, blog, forum, facebook, twitter, etc

http://www.JamesStJohn.net/just-for-fun/2009/12/funny-2010-facebook-status-updates

Please add your own funny facebook status messages, I will re-post the all best ones in a follow-up post.

Find your favorite Funny Facebook statuses, Best 2010 Funny Quotes, & Funny Twitter Updates Spread the love and link to these pages