Cigar reviews!

Recently, I picked up a huge collection of cigars (probably about 25 unique brands). I will be reviewing them in the coming months (perhaps years), so this will add to the content of this blog. I will detail the flavors, aromas, sizes, styles, and overall experience of each cigar, while keeping the wrappers in order to create my own personal scrapbook. I may even post pictures of said scrapbook when completed. It is certain to be quite an experience.

Stay tuned, loyal follower!

Thor movie review:

Full. This movie seemed full. Full of action, drama, and of itself. Overall, it's certain to please, but, given the sacrifices needed, at what cost?

In the opening scene (using media res), we are introduced to Natalie Portman and her two companions (one being the forgettable comedy relief and the other being an elderly/father-type figure). They form the films "real world" travellers, seeking storms and phenomena using their super-sci-fi-advanced-hootenanny and what have you. They meet up with Thor (thanks to Portman's repeatedly bad driving skills) and the opening credits roll. We are then sent back to the beginning of Thor's story, in the realm (world maybe?) of Asgard. Mystical, sweeping, kindom-y stuff happens (narrations and all) and Thor is shown to be the braggy, arrogant, narcasist that we have all come to appreciate of our heroes before they learn their lessons. Things happen and characters develop and it all feels fairly rewarding.

Thor seemed to have been a very difficult movie to make. Plotwise, we have so many characters that are introduced so quickly that it becomes hard for the audience to feel any weight when they are put into turmoil or pain. Early on, one of Thor's companions (the one affectionately reffered to as "Robin Hood") is stabbed by the frost giants. The pain isn't really felt, as this character was just introduced a few minutes prior to this event, so this character could have died without any real consequence and the story would have continued on without him. Moments like these plague the movie and can be a derailing element for some viewers.

Overall, Thor proved to be a good addition to the "Avengers" film family, even with it's hiccups. Hopefully, the upcoming Captain America movie is at least an improvement.

Thoughts: iPhone 5, tsunami, and the Apple Paradigm

Less than 2 months ago, Apple's iPhone 4 was finally released on Verizon's network. Slight performance tweaks (both hardware and software) were included and many consumers were satisfied. There seem to be much reason to jump on the bandwagon, but there exist some issues regarding the corporate abilities that Apple has at it's disposal. Just as with the original iPod and all subsequent devices, Apple is believed to be releasing a new iPhone this coming June, since nearly all of their products are updated and released at a yearly rate, and the iPhone's update cycle happens to start in June. With an annual release calendar for many of their products, it would seem that many of Apple's critics have a credible argument. With only a year, each of their products gains only small updates, such as a 3mp to 5mp camera from the 3GS to 4 models, respectively. I would include the comparisons, but tables elude me (for now). Apple Paradigm: So, if the updating is so frequent and little, how is it that people are so satisfied with their products? The answer is fairly simple: loyalty. Apple's greatest strength, for as long of Steve Jobs has been a leader in the company, has been loyalty. The loyalty of the company to it's constituents. Apple listens to it's consumers and tries to appease to their wishes. With their appetites satiated, the consumer comes to form a trustful relationship with the company, and goes out of their way (financially) to continue that relationship. This is what I would call the Apple Paradigm. Back to the iPhone 5: With the recent earthquake/tsunami's that have devistated Japan and surrounding countries, many companies has suffered losses in production and capital. As a result, many are worried, including Apple, that they may not be able to produce enough to meet their release calendar. This problem weighs heavy, as the Apple Paradigm revolves around the company being able to meet the demands (in this case, expectations) of the customer. If a release date is missed, we can expect many bloggers, news reports, and other muck to come up to bash their former messiah. Time will tell how the problem resolves itself, and if other consumer-electronics companies experience similar issues.

Preview: Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101

Long long ago, back in January (how did we survive that long?), I saw the Asus Eee Pad Transformer (herein called “TF101”) at CES 2011. I did not know what this device had in store.

Meh? At first, the TF101 did not turn any heads, as about 70% of all devices at this year’s CES were tablets. From Samsung, to Motorola, to Blackberry, we were flooded with too many tablets to shake a stick at. Little did we know that we were ignoring a true diamond in the rough.

“Transforming” the way we think about tablets As you can see from the pictures, the most striking feature of the TF101 tablet is that it has a keyboard dock, which can be attached and detached at will. Not only does the dock act as a keyboard, but it contains a battery providing up to “8 additional hours” of life, on top of the purported 8 hours the tablet itself already has, bringing you a device that can survive for 16 hours. The way that the tablet connects is equally impressive, since, when connected, you can treat the amalgam device as a netbook: foldable, connection-ready, portable, etc. This duality of netbook and tablet makes the TF101 an attractive machine.

Capable? The Honeycomb-equipped TF101 comes equipped with the Tegra 2, Nvidia’s latest “mobile super chip” architecture designed for multi-tasking with ease, powerful graphics, and low power utilization. The mainboard features a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9, a successor to the A8, found on the iPhone 4, Nexus One, and Motorola Droids (1, 2, X). Power and connectivity certainly won’t be an issue for the TF101.

(taken from the official press release:)

Product Specifications:

- Display 10.1" IPS Panel with LED Backlighting, 1280x800 resolution, 10 finger multi-touch support, scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass

- Operating system Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)

- Platform NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2

- Memory 1 GB

- Storage 16GB /32GB + Unlimited ASUS WebStorage (*)

- Wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

- Camera 1.2MP (front), 5MP Auto focus (rear)

- Interface 2-in-1 Audio Jack (Head Phone / Mic-in); 1x mini HDMI 1.3a port 1x Micro SD Card Reader; 1x Internal Microphone; 1x Stereo Speaker

- Interface on optional mobile dock 2x USB 2.0; 1x SD Card Reader - Sensor G-Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope, E-compass, GPS

- 3G Module Optional in Certain Locales

- Flash support Yes(***)

- Multi-tasking Yes

- Applications ASUS Launcher, MyLibrary, MyNet, MyCloud, File manager, PC sync(*)

- Battery 9.5 hours; 24.4Wh Li-polymer Battery(**) 16 hours with dock(**)

- Size/ Weight 10.6*6.9*0.51” / 1.49lbs (w/ battery)

*Configurations and Applications offered for the Eee Pad Transformer may vary based upon SKU, Country, and Locale. Functionality, release dates and specifications are subject to change.

**9.5 and 16 hour battery life estimates based on specific media playback and usage patterns.

***Adobe® Flash® 10.2 support requires an upgrade available online after product launch.

Affordable? Without hesitation: yes. While the device has yet to be released here in the US, Best Buy has revealed it on their website, with a provocative price of $399. Whether this includes the keyboard dock is uncertain, but even so, one can’t beat that kind of price (for perspective, the Motorola Xoom is currently priced at $600).

With way too much to be excited for, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer has shaped up to be a great addition to the tablet family. It provides all the things we’ve come to expect, and more. It’s old school enough, but also unique enough to warrant all of the leering of passersby. Expect to be wowed when the TF101 is release this coming April.

JoeAceTech's first post

Hello all. Welcome to my new blog. In it, I will be posting reviews, previews, and other exciting tidbits that I have found across the net regarding technology (which, to me, includes video games, computers, electronics, etc). This blog was originally to be called "JoeTech", but availability did not allow for that (Thanks to the current "JoeTech" which has apparently been abandoned since 2005). So with that out of the way, let me tell you about myself. I am a Kettering University Undergrad, pursuing a dual-degree major of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. I say that, because I believe anyone who says to themselves, "Hey, I like computers, so when I get into college, I should do Computer Science". Please do not be fooled. Computer Science uses 'computers' as much as a dog uses a cat's bowl (he knows it's there. Sometimes, he takes a byte, but he doesn't see it very often). My fascination with gadgetry began at a young age, a similar story for many of those reading this. I have, and have always had, an immense love for all things electronic. I have been playing video games from a young age, as well (first game I played was Contra on NES and the first game I owned was Super Mario World on SNES). I currently have 3 computers (soon to be 4, after my first paycheck!), each of them more capable than the last (depending on the order you see them?). HP Touchsmart TX2 (small, take to class/on the road) Dell Studio 1737 (huge, use it as my night-time computer) Dell Inspiron 530 (desktop, best for gaming and the like) While some of you may scoff at my choices in computer (brandnames), I can assure you that even with the strenuous, demanding, and outright volatile things that I have done to each of my machines, they have endured and stood the test of time. I have a PS3. Nuff' said. So, I hope you like the content that I post here on this webzone and that I can get some work done in the process.