I dunno.. but I dont think the RIAA’s strategy is working.. logging into Kazaa Lite Resurrection right now, I see there are 2,552,170 users online, sharing 1,038,871,535 files or a total of 6,993,152 gigabytes.

I think the RIAA needs to learn you can’t MAKE people do or not do something.. rather, they need to influence the behavior of individuals.. reward those individuals that do purchase music legitimately.. reward them how? how about producing some CDs that are worth paying full price for? .. iTunes has satisfied many.. paying $0.99 per song or whatever is worth it for many people.. the cost of purchasing the music is less than the cost of downloading the song illegally and living with the guilt, I guess.. I guess paying $1 per song is OK.. problem is, I just dont think there’s that much new stuff worth paying $1 for.. all my older stuff is already on CD.. but its just a pain to encode it to MP3.. so is it still worth $1 to download legally? no..

Anyway, I don’t have much to say about the RIAA that hasn’t already been said.. I’m just doing my part in the googlebomb.. bunch of pricks

General | 2 Comments »

My Dad got “our” (“ours” because he paid but I carried it with me to look cool ..) first cell phone back in 1990.. it was one of those Mitsubishi transportable phones.. it was like a base with a handset and a handle.. it would be unspeakable to carry around such a monstrosity today.. but 14 years ago, it was “cool” .. anyway, soon after that, I became a long time Motorola cell phone user.. I had like the 550 and 650 (I think, had the better display?).. then the MicroTAC then MicroTAC Elite (the black one with the answering machine, this predates voice mail.. I still have that phone).. then onto the StarTAC.. I had the StarTAC for quite a while I think.. I don’t remember what came after the StarTAC.. oh oh, I remember.. it was the Motorola 7892 I think.. it was a piece of crap, but at the time, I refused to use Nokia.. so the 7892 was Motorla’s answer to Nokia’s 6190..the first time I used a Nokia, it was the 6190.. probably towards the end of 2000.. then in early 2001, I got an 8290.. I used that until 2002 when I switched back to a Motorola.. the V60.. I used that faithfully until October of 2003.. my V60 was fine, other than a few scuffs and scratches from being dropped.. but I wanted color.. so I’m currently using a Sony Ericcson T610.. prior to the T610, I had some experience with a T68i.. I loved that phone.. fairly small, stylish, color, bluetooth, blah blah blah.. but there were two things that bugged me so much about that phone: (1) the buggy firmware.. sometimes calls wouldn’t go through, they’d drop.. whatever.. and (2) the phone was so damn slow to do anything.. it took literally minutes to flip through maybe 50-60 phone contacts.. it was so slow it was unbearable to use.. anyhow, I, as well as most of my friends and collegues I’m sure, patiently waited for Nokia to come out with something new and fresh.. but they seemed to have “stuck” with that whole 8290 style.. small, flat, easy to use, but not very technologically advanced.. at least that was always the perception.. personally, I think Samsung stepped in and filled a void left by Motorola and Nokia’s absence of a “cool” phone.. but that all may change soon.. Nokia FINALLY announced a few new phones.. here’s my first impression of them:

Nokia 6260

Here’s a brief description from Geekzone.co.nz:

Nokia also launched the Nokia 6260 business phone. It offers the latest mobile technology features and applications, including push to talk, email, Bluetooth connectivity and a VGA camera in a fold design. The tri-band Nokia 6260 smartphone is based on the Symbian OS and Series 60. It is expected to start shipping in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and Americas in third quarter, 2004. The estimated, unsubsidized sales price of the Nokia 6260 is expected to begin at ¤400.

The features sound cool.. and I’m sure the phone will perform decently well and be fairly easy to use.. BUT its kind of ugly.. it looks too rigid and too square.. the only thing redeeming for Nokia is that they claim this phone will be a “business phone”.. but whats up with that? People who do business or use their phone for business need something that looks like crap? I’m not even talking about looking conservative.. it just doesnt look good, period.. I dunno.. I’ll have to see whats up with this phone.. I like the features.. but damn, it just doesn’t look good..

Nokia 6170

Here’s a brief description from Geekzone.co.nz:

In the mid-range, the Nokia 6170 is a clamshell camera phone with a stainless steel design. The company says the strength of this phone is its flexible messaging options: e-mail, instant messaging, MMS and push to talk all in one handset.

This phone looks like a winner.. in fact, I would go so far as to call it the next “Motorola V60″.. I say that because the V60 was a pretty cool phone.. it was metal.. shiny.. relatively small.. and it was affordable (a few months after its release).. the Nokia 8890 was the phone everyone really wanted.. but the 8890 was never affordable.. so instead, everyone got a V60.. anyhow, from the photo, the phone looks super thin.. but I dunno.. it might just be some marketing magic that makes that phone look extra thin.. we’ll see when its released.. it doesnt sound like this phone is heavy on features.. it doesnt even sound like its going to come with a camera (although a camera really isnt THAT useful, as I’ve found out).. but whats cool is that its going to be in stainless steel.. or stainless steel design.. whats that?

Nokia also released a 2650.. I don’t see how its a clamshell design.. but it kind of looks like a piece of crap with chicklet style keys.. I’m not even going to mention it here because if you’re my friend, you wont be caught dead with this phone .. they also released a 6630.. it looks like a miniaturized 3650 from the picture.. but who knows.. that’s supposed to be their new 3G phone.. but I’m not really thrilled about the design and you shouldn’t be either.. anyway, you can see the article at Geekzone.co.nz with the full text and the pics.. Nokia also has full press releases available here..

Tech | No Comments »

So I had some spare time at lunch today (mainly because I choose not to eat the slop they try to pass off as food in the basement-level cafeteria) and I was thinking about cars again.. you see, before I left the comforts of Southern California, I had a 2001 Is300.. it was the car I wanted back in 2000 when Lexus made the announcement that they would be selling an “entry level sport-luxury car”.. ok, so the ‘sport’ part as well as the ‘luxury’ part is debatable.. but bottom line, it was Lexus’s entry into the low-mid $30k car market.. perfect for someone like myself.. with a 1987 RX7 Turbo II project car in the garage that I could work on (that’s debatable also) and getting a little to old to be zipping around in my car at the time, a 1986 Toyota MR2 with an HKS turbo kit with an XS Engineering T28 pushing a whopping 4.5psi (just barely enough to blow a head gasket).. but, as life would have it, I couldn’t afford a 30-something thousand dollar car at the time and I was still getting used to the whole “house payment thing”.. anyhow, finally, in May of 2003, I decided to get a used IS (thats after I drove a 1994 Civic EX Coupe for 4 years and bought a new 2003 Honda Pilot as the family car).. although the car was used and in slightly-less than perfect condition (dings here and there, etc), I still liked it a lot. Driving to and from work was the best part of the day.. what was I talking about again? Oh yeah.. looking at new cars.. anyway, I figure when I get to move back to So Cal, I’ll be ready to purchase a new car.. so I’ve been thinking..

2004-2005 Infiniti G35 Sedan
I really liked the idea of this car when it was introduced.. it was perfect, 260 horsepower, 4 doors, and Infiniti quality and service.. but as I saw more and more of them on the street, I grew to dislike the sedan (I still love the coupe, but thats not practical for a family man like myself). It was kind of ugly.. everytime I saw one, I thought it looked too “tall” and it was too “narrow”.. I’m sure its nothing a 2″ drop and a set of 19″ Volks couldnt fix, but still.. the car just didnt look good to me anymore.. the new 6 speed with the Brembo brakes is nice.. but still.. kind of ugly.. whoa, I just found out that in 2005, the G35 is getting a facelift (minor change) and more horsepower! The VQ35 is going to offer 277hp now, with a new Sport coupe model offering somewhere around 295hp! nice work, Nissan!

2004-2005 Acura TL
The new one is pretty nice.. when I first saw spy pics, I thought it would be a cool car to own.. it looked good, interior was nice, Honda’s reliability, and Honda’s ability to squeeze 260 (or was it 270?) horsepower from a 3.2 liter.. problem was, it was front wheel drive.. granted, it wasnt a problem before, but after driving my IS, I learned to appreciate the balance of a rear-wheel drive car (whereas when I was in college, rear-wheel drive just meant one more thing to worry about in fast, hard corners).. then, like the G35, the more I saw the TL, the more I began to think it looked like a Chrysler Sebring (at least from the back).. I still like the car.. but another turn off was that it is based on the Accord chassis.. that would be like buying a Lexus ES330 knowing its just a Camry in disguise. But, like I said, I still like the car and what it “stands” for.. so I won’t cross the TL off my list..

2006 Lexus GS330
Its ugly and will most definitely be out of my league.. ’nuff said.. but, here’s a pic.. I dunno.. I’ve seen some “better” pics.. but still.. I dont like the back.. I like a clearly defined trunk lid.. not that sloped, wanna-be hatchback/stationwagon look.. I could care less if it has more headroom or whatever.. I’m not sitting in the back ..

2006 Lexus IS
Although right now its mainly rumor and pure speculation.. fact is, Lexus will be coming out with a successor to the current IS.. I’ve read that it should be out by November 2005.. but we’ll see.. rumors have been saying that the next IS will have a 3.5 liter V6 that should be making around 250hp.. 250hp is OK, I guess.. better than 215.. but still, sounds a little underpowered compared to everyone else.. a good source of 2006 IS rumors is IS300.net and Autospies.com..

I’m also considering a used car again.. financially, its much more wise.. buy a car after its already done most of its depreciating.. maybe after 1-2 years.. thinking about it, the main reasons, for me, to want a new car are: (1) body style won’t be outdated as quickly and (2) its new. Anyhow.. here’s what I’d consider in the Used category:

2002+ Lexus IS300
Yeah, I had one.. but seriously, for about $20k (with about 30k miles and 1-2 years left on the factory warranty), its a great deal.. there’s not much new you could get for $20k and be “happy”.. a Honda Accord with a V6 would run you more than $20k.. the only thing is the new body would be coming out.. and even though you could be happier than a pig in shit with your 2002 IS300, when the 2006 comes out, you’ll feel like your car is all old and broke down n’ stuff.. I dunno.. thats how I’d feel, I think.. especially since the 2006 will probably so much better in every aspect..

2004 Subaru WRX
Can’t deny that the WRX is a great platform for “fun with horsepower and boost”.. and with Subaru’s notorious depreciation, I could probably pick up a 2004 WRX for like $15k when I get back (which is soon, hopefully) .. toss another few thousand on it for a turbo upgrade, intercooler upgrade, suspension, some modest 18″ wheels, various electronics.. and I’d be a happy camper.. shoot for maybe 300hp? Oh, can’t forget the clutch.. got to have a good clutch.. only problem is, it’s a Subaru.. the interior will always feel cheap (always reminds me of an ol’ skewl Nissan Sentra) and it may (or may not..but may, more likely) fall apart in the near future..

Thats about it.. haven’t thought about used car as much.. of course, when I get back, I will need a car ASAP.. so I might just end up buying whats convenient.. or just really cheap..

Cars | 6 Comments »