To make a long story shorter. I had held out hope that SP1 for Vista would fix the long list of issues with this operating system and yesterday after attempting to update Quicken only to have it corrupted to the point where it would no longer load, I decided to set aside some time to get and install SP1 after reading awhile back that it had finally been released. 4 hours later (only a 65mb file) I finally got SP1 installed and after a number of reboots I was finally ready to put it through it’s paces.

To my utter disgust, none of the issues I had originally were fixed, it still wouldn’t shut down, I still couldn’t load software, and new to the list, all my user settings including my iTunes library had disappeared. To put the icing on the cake, the PC now ran so slow that it was pretty much useless.

Ok, so what was plan B? I figured I should go back to the point before installing SP1, at least the PC was usable. So I went to Windows restore to go back to the restore point that I had set before the upgrade and of course I discovered that not only had that restore point disappeared, every one that I once had was now gone! Thank you Bill Gates, may I have another?

I had hoped that Microsoft had learned from Windows ME that rushing a product to market and then expecting it’s users to wait patiently for them to fix it once it was released would not fly. Obviously I was wrong so Mr Gates, my latest hair pulling experience with one of your products will be my last. I did something yesterday evening that at one time I said I would never do, I bought a Mac…

According to cellpassion, AT&T’s pulling a similar move as Apple did last year, disallowing any employee vacations for a period from June 15 to July 12. If this is true, there’s only one reason why AT&T would do this: the 3G iPhone.

What’s that you say, we can’t get the iPhone in South Dakota? Nevermind…

If you’ve been wanting a large capacity (30gb) portable MP3 player now is your chance at a fraction of the cost. Check it out and feel free to bid as I need to pay off it’s replacement because unfortunately most of Bush’s incentive check arriving next month will probably have to go towards paying for the $4 a gallon gas that is coming around the same time.

What did I get to replace this you ask?

So how cool is that? It’s an iPhone minus the phone also known as the iPod Touch. Why not an iPhone? I would have loved to get one but as I have documented here numerous times, AT&T doesn’t think us South Dakotan’s would would like such cool toys, too bad.

Of course with others you might say, it should have taken longer. I am not quite sure which category this falls into but it is interesting just the same.

(h/t - gizmodo)

Only last week the backers of Sony’s Blu Ray high def DVD standard pretty much provided a death blow to the Toshiba/Microsoft backed HD DVD camp when most major movie studios including many in the porn industry backed Blu Ray. That announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show had the Blu Ray backers jumping for joy and HD DVD buyers looking to dump their cheaper and more refined players.

Enter Steve Jobs and the re-focused Apple TV 2.0. Until this morning the Apple TV was considered one of Apple’s few recent flops with very few adopters and poor reviews, not anymore. How does HD movie rental on demand sound? Apple has redone the set top box, integrated it with Apple’s new movie rental service, gotten rid of the PC requirement and voila, HD and standard DVD’s on your set within minutes all for as little as $229, a full $100 plus cheaper than the cheapest Blu Ray player and it still plays your purchased music from iTunes.

I’ve been using NetFlix movies on demand now for a few weeks and have been pretty much unimpressed with their selection of On Demand movies and TV shows none of which are in high def. Want a new release? Forget about it until you can get it mailed to you, if it is available that is. Apple promises to have their movies available no more than 30 days after the DVD is released and considering they have every studio backing them, better HD selections minus the format concerns could surely follow.

Now being a South Dakotan that has been totally left out of the iPhone phenomenon/debacle because of AT&T’s lack of a presence here, I am reserving final judgment and my money until the service matures for awhile before I consider adding it to my home theater and unlike NetFlix which gives you movies on demand as part of your normal monthly service, Apple plans to charge by the movie with regular movies for around $2.99 - $3.99 each and HD titles starting at around $4.99. Still cheaper than your local video store and you have 30 days to start watching them and 24 hours once you do before they expire.

And finally for those of you drooling over the MacBook Air, I can’t forget about you so I thought I would pull your chain a bit. As with the iPods, you can forget about changing or replacing the battery, you can’t. And while your at it forget about the hard drive and memory as well and don’t forget that all these “features” will cost you a minimum of $1800.

The technological development is rushing forward, sometimes at the expense of environment. Nowadays caring about the environment is a central priority. SWEDX aims towards a better environment and makes its products 100 % recyclable cabinets in factories with environmentally friendly certificates.

Not only do they make TV’s from 17-46 inches, they also sell PC monitors, mice, and keyboards all made with wood with more products on the way. Unfortunately though it appears that they only have outlets in Europe and the Middle East so those of us in the West might have to wait to get our solid oak wall mounted flat screen.

Denise Ross discusses over at the Hog House blog what Tom Daschle has been up to lately including his work with Barack Obama while finishing up his new book. I wonder if Dave Kranz or anyone else on the Argus editorial staff will feel the need to review this book when it comes out or will they look for an independent reviewer?

Perry Groten from KELO TV apparently found enough people willing to admit that they are Atheists in very conservative South Dakota after his call last month. Again these folks tell of how Christians like to say they will pray for them and how they get the I am sorry for you comments. From my post last month on this.

Would an Atheist care if:

- Someone prayed for them and their soul?
- They were told they were going to hell?
- People felt sorry for them because they can have no hope for the afterlife?
- Were called immoral because they didn’t believe that the 10 Commandments existed?

Finally, I haven’t talked much lately about Apple and their iPhone but it is becoming even more apparent that I am not alone in condemning their marketing strategy of choosing an exclusive cell provider (that doesn’t even have a presence in South Dakota among many other issues). It seems they are employing the same strategy across the pond which is not only enraging many Brits but is also getting under the skin of die hard Apple supporters. Apple lovers normally never utter a bad word against the almighty Apple and normally defend anything they do (sort of like your typical Ron Paul supporter) but are now getting a bit wary of Apple’s new make as much money as possible at the expense of their customers attitude.

By the way Mr. Jobs, check out my new MP3 player, I got the brown one…

That unit is still being tested but it is now being joined by another similar unit called the L-3 ProVision millimeter wave from L-3 Communications which is well known in the airport security business as they already provide Explosive Detection Systems (EDS) for many of the larger 400 plus commercial airports in the US. As with the backscatter unit, the L-3 ProVision, which uses what is called millimeter wave technology, is designed to replace the standard metal detectors at airport security checkpoints and would add the ability to scan for metal, ceramic, liquids and plastic objects hidden even under layers of clothing that could possibly be missed by your standard metal detector.

Also like the backscatter unit, it outputs an image that some will not be very happy with. The unit software has the ability to blur the image somewhat as depicted in the promotional image shown here but there are some privacy experts that have taken issue with the images produced.

“If you want to see a naked body, this is a naked body,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s program on technology and liberty.

Airport installations of this unit would have the image display portion placed in a private screening room out of the view of the public and could be setup to only show images to TSA personnel when an actual alarm is detected.

So when could we see something like this is Sioux Falls? I would have to say not anytime soon as I see a few potential pitfalls for placement here (other than the obvious modesty ones). First off it costs from $100,000 to $120,000 each but the major stumbling block is that it is rumored to only have a throughput of around 200 people per hour. That may sound like a lot but in busier airports like Sioux Falls which would only probably have room for one, that could slow down the screening which is already not known for speed. In airports with multiple lanes like Phoenix Sky Harbor where it is currently being tested that isn’t as big of an issue.

Whether or not the L-3 ProVision gets placed in an airport near you, it is still quite cool to see technology catching up with what at one time had only been a movie fantasy.

You can now pick up the iPhone for $399 and experience the same slow internet functionality, terrible battery life, unreliability, and phone book size bill from AT&T that those who paid $599 dollars for their new toy just a few days ago have been experiencing since the iPhones celebrated launch a short 6 weeks ago. Thank you Apple can we have another!

But those of us living in areas without iPhone availablity weren’t forgotten this time around either. Apple’s top of the line next generation iPod was announced as well yesterday. It’s called the iPod Touch and gives you the same size and look of the iPhone including the touch screen with up to 16GB of storage and Wi-Fi. Of course it will set you back $399 for the large capacity version while the next gen iPod video now comes with up to 160GB (40,000 songs) of storage for a paltry $350 minus some of the bells and whistles.

There is a lot more news from the Apple news conference including tidbits on all the new models and some interesting iTunes news as well all of which can be read about here.

The most recent flap involves those living in areas not served by AT&T taking a gamble and buying the phone anyway and then taking advantage of the carrier’s agreements with other cell phone providers to enable them to use the phone. You see, AT&T like many cell companies, enters into agreements with other carriers to provide their users with service in areas not covered by their systems. This allows them to activate the phone, using a number and address from an area with AT&T service, and then taking advantage of these agreements to use the phone in areas where you cannot normally buy the phone.

Sounds like a fair workaround to me. Techies get their iPhones, and AT&T gets more paying customers. One problem, AT&T doesn’t agree. In fact, buried in the legalese from the service contract is a provision that specifically bans that practice. Those choosing to go this route risk having their service canceled which pretty much turns your brand spanking new iPhone into a $600 dollar paperweight.

What an interesting business plan don’t you think? Limit the number of customers you can service and anger those that are willing to go to great lengths just to pay for what you offer. I doubt we’ll be seeing this lesson taught over at Harvard Business School anytime soon, unless of course it is an example of what not to do.