Song Of the Day: The Girl From Ipanema Astrud Gilberto

cartoon 6

cartoon 5

cartoon 4

cartoon 3

cartoon 2

new yorker cartoon

The O'school

Hyde Park

Song of The Day: Time is on my side the rolling stones

Article in The Economist

Song of the day: Oingo Boingo Just Another Day

The truth about Apple and Flash

"Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.

First, there’s “Open”.

Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.

Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash). HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member.

Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android’s browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft’s uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.

Second, there’s the “full web”.

Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web’s video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren’t missing much video.

Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.

Third, there’s reliability, security and performance.

Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.

In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?

Fourth, there’s battery life.

To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other companies.

Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.

When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Fifth, there’s Touch.

Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?

Even if iPhones, iPods and iPads ran Flash, it would not solve the problem that most Flash websites need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices.

Sixth, the most important reason.

Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn’t support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.

We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.

This becomes even worse if the third party is supplying a cross platform development tool. The third party may not adopt enhancements from one platform unless they are available on all of their supported platforms. Hence developers only have access to the lowest common denominator set of features. Again, we cannot accept an outcome where developers are blocked from using our innovations and enhancements because they are not available on our competitor’s platforms.

Flash is a cross platform development tool. It is not Adobe’s goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps. And Adobe has been painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple’s platforms. For example, although Mac OS X has been shipping for almost 10 years now, Adobe just adopted it fully (Cocoa) two weeks ago when they shipped CS5. Adobe was the last major third party developer to fully adopt Mac OS X.

Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications. Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.

Conclusions.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind."

Steve Jobs
April, 2010

Tell it like it is Apple.  

If you beleive in god why not a flying spaghetti monster makes just as munch sense

Frannie's great food

a great restaurant
great service

Song of The Day: Snoop Dog Featuring The Doors Riders on the Storm

"Never do anything in anger" - Genghis Khan

One morning, when he was home from the wars, he rode out into the woods to have a day's sport. Many of his friends were with him. They rode out in good spirits, carrying their bows and arrows. Behind them came the servants with the hounds. It was a merry hunting party. The woods rang with their shouts and laughter. They expected to carry much game home in the evening.

On the king's wrist sat his favorite hawk, for in those days hawks were trained to hunt. At a word from their masters they would fly high up into the air, and look around for prey. If they chanced to see a deer or a rabbit, they would swoop down upon it swift as any arrow.

All day long Genghis Khan and his huntsmen rode through the woods. But they did not find as much game as they expected. Toward evening they started for home. The king had often ridden through the woods, and he knew all the paths. So while the rest of the party took the nearest way, he went by a longer road through a valley between two mountains. The day had been warm, and the king was very thirsty. His pet hawk had left his wrist and flown away. It would be sure to find its way home.

The king rode slowly along. He had once seen a spring of clear water near this pathway. If he could only find it now! But the hot days of summer had dried up all the mountain brooks. At last, to his joy, he saw some water trickling down over the edge of a rock. He knew that there was a spring farther up. In the wet season, a swift stream of water always poured down here; but now it came only one drop at a time. The king leaped from his horse. He took a little silver cup from his hunting bag. He held it so as to catch the slowly falling drops.

It took a long time to fill the cup; and the king was so thirsty that he could hardly wait. At last it was nearly full. He put the cup to his lips, and was about to drink. All at once there was a whirring sound in the air, and the cup was knocked from his hands. The water was all spilled upon the ground. The king looked up to see who had done this thing. It was his pet hawk. The hawk flew back and forth a few times, and then alighted among the rocks by the spring.

The king picked up the cup, and again held it to catch the trickling drops. This time he did not wait so long. When the cup was half full, he lifted it toward his mouth. But before it had touched his lips, the hawk swooped down again, and knocked it from his hands. And now the king began to grow angry. He tried again, and for the third time the hawk kept him from drinking.

The king was now very angry indeed. "How do you dare to act so?" he cried. "If I had you in my hands, I would wring your neck!" Then he filled the cup again. But before he tried to drink, he drew his sword.

"Now, Sir Hawk," he said, "this is the last time." He had hardly spoken before the hawk swooped down and knocked the cup from his hand. But the king was looking for this. With a quick sweep of the sword he struck the bird as it passed. The next moment the poor hawk lay bleeding and dying at its master's feet.

"That is what you get for your pains," said Genghis Khan. But when he looked for his cup, he found that it had fallen between two rocks, where he could not reach it. "At any rate, I will have a drink from that spring," he said to himself.

With that he began to climb the steep bank to the place from which the water trickled. It was hard work, and the higher he climbed, the thirstier he became. At last he reached the place. There indeed was a pool of water; but what was that lying in the pool, and almost filling it? It was a huge, dead snake of the most poisonous kind.

The king stopped. He forgot his thirst. He thought only of the poor dead bird lying on the ground below him. "The hawk saved my life!" he cried, "and how did I repay him? He was my best friend, and I have killed him."

He clambered down the bank. He took the bird up gently, and laid it in his hunting bag. Then he mounted his horse and rode swiftly home. He said to himself,

"I have learned a sad lesson today, and that is, never to do anything in anger."

EQUILIBRIUM BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!!!

A GREAT ACTION FILM with a humanitarian message STARRING Christian Bale, Emily Watson, and Taye Diggs.
Plot Summary:
A future after a third world war, and a society is formed to take away the inhumanity of human to human.
All artwork, music, literature, and anything that evokes emotion or makes you "feel" is outlawed and the outlaws become heroes.

Song of The Day: Yes - I've Seen All Good People (Your Move)

Song of the Day: Drunken Tiger 8:45

song of the day: Alice Cooper-Schools out

Can't wait until Alice Cooper's words become a reality!!!!!!

Reporter: An Eye Opening HBO Documentary

What has Samuel L. Jackson not done?!

seemingly nothing!

song of the day: I'm Bored - Iggy Pop

Informog new and improved: My blog has been updated

I removed the picture of me for the Apple Snow Leopard wallpaper, to be more creative.
I also revised the fonts, and font colors. I refreshed the background. I changed my title as well to be more concise. Finally I added a new graphic at the bottom to be original to compensate for using Apple's graphic.

music for relief

I am bored

I just finished my high school, sophomore, first semester finals today, now what. I hope my friends will chill with me later, as its a 3 day, 22.5 hour weekend. BLAH BLAH BLAH. I am bored young white guy lol. Peace.

She The Cloud

HER GOWN A DRAPING FLEECE OF SNOWFLAKE TO BE TASTED ON THE FIRST EXPERIENCE OF DARK TUNDRA AMONG THE MIST OF HER DIFFICULT SADNESS FLOODING OVER POOLS TO SPLASH OF YOUNGER, LIGHTER AGES ALL BEFORE HER FINAL FLEETING MOMENT OF EVAPORATING EXASPERATION UNTO ENDLESS SADNESS AN END

80's music to hear

Political cartoon(in words)

I heard a relative use a few words that define the roman catholic church to me. He said the catholics recruit young people by sticking their tentacles in at a young age. It made me think of it as a giant squid killing a wale (the American people.)

Insane yet, "positive" news/What is with our foreign "policy?"

Kidnapped US captain freed; snipers kill 3 pirates By TODD PITMAN and LARA JAKES, AP 1 hour ago Loading... Must Read?Thank YouYes 2584 news-general-20090412-Piracy In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, Maersk-Alabama Capt. Richard Philli... * Email Story * Discuss * Print * Digg * Del… * Share NAIROBI, Kenya — Navy snipers on the fantail of a destroyer cut down three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued an American sea captain in a surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas Easter Sunday, ending a five-day standoff between a team of rogue gunmen and the world's most powerful military. It was a stunning ending to an Indian Ocean odyssey that began when 53-year-old freighter Capt. Richard Phillips was taken hostage Wednesday by pirates who tried to hijack the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama. The Vermont native was held on a tiny lifeboat that began drifting precariously toward Somalia's anarchic, gun-plagued shores. The operation, personally approved by President Barack Obama, quashed fears the saga could drag on for months and marked a victory for the U.S., which for days seemed powerless to resolve the crisis despite massing helicopter-equipped warships at the scene. One of the pirates pointed an AK-47 at the back of Phillips, who was tied up and in "imminent danger" of being killed when the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge made the split-second decision to order his men to shoot, Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said. The lifeboat was being towed by the Bainbridge at the time, he said. A fourth pirate was in discussions with naval authorities about Phillips' fate when the rescue took place. He is in U.S. custody and could face could face life in a U.S. prison. The rescue was a dramatic blow to the pirates who have preyed on international shipping and hold more than a dozen ships with about 230 foreign sailors. But it is unlikely to do much to quell the region's growing pirate threat, which has transformed one of the world's busiest shipping lanes into one of its most dangerous. It also risked provoking retaliatory attacks. "This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it," said Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding the Greek ship anchored in the Somali town of Gaan, said: "Every country will be treated the way it treats us. In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying," he told The Associated Press. "We will retaliate (for) the killings of our men." Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old self-proclaimed pirate, told the AP from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl, that: "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)." "Now they became our number one enemy," Habeb said of U.S. forces. Phillips was not hurt in several minutes of gunfire and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet said he was resting comfortably on a U.S. warship after receiving a medical exam. "I'm just the byline. The real heroes are the Navy, the Seals, those who have brought me home," Phillips said by phone to Maersk Line Limited President and CEO John Reinhart, the company head told reporters. A photo released by the Navy showed Phillips unharmed and shaking hands with the commanding officer of the USS Bainbridge. Obama said Phillips had courage that was "a model for all Americans" and he was pleased about the rescue, adding that the United States needs help from other countries to deal with the threat of piracy and to hold pirates accountable. Phillips' 17,000-ton ship, which docked with the 19 members of his crew Saturday in Mombasa, Kenya, erupted into wild cheers. Some waved an American flag and one fired a bright red flare skyward in celebration. "We made it!" said crewman ATM Reza, pumping his fist in the air. The ship had been carrying food aid bound for Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda when the ordeal began hundreds of miles off Somalia's eastern coast Wednesday. Crew members said they saw pirates scrambling into the ship with ropes and hooks from a small boat bobbing on the surface of the Indian Ocean far below. As the pirates shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men, crew members said. Phillips was then taken hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was soon shadowed by three U.S. warships and a helicopter in a standoff that grew by the day. The pirates were believed armed with pistols and AK-47 assault rifles. Talks to free him began Thursday with the captain of the USS Bainbridge talking to the pirates under instruction from FBI hostage negotiators on board the U.S. destroyer. The pirates had threatened to kill Phillips if attacked. A government official and others in Somalia with knowledge of the situation said negotiations broke down late Saturday. The stumbling block, Somali officials said: Americans' insistence the pirates be arrested and brought to justice. Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat Friday and tried to swim for his freedom but was recaptured when a pirate fired an automatic weapon into the water, according to U.S. Defense Department officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about the unfolding operations. On Saturday, pirates fired a few shots at a small U.S. Navy vessel that had approached, but the U.S. sailors did not return fire. The U.S. Navy had assumed the pirates would try to get their hostage to shore, where they could have hidden him on Somalia's lawless soil and been in a stronger position to negotiate a ransom. Somalia's government, which barely controls any territory in the country, welcomed the news of Phillips' rescue. "The Somali government wanted the drama to end in a peaceful way, but any one who is involved in this latest case had the choice to use violence or other means," Abdulkhadir Walayo, the prime minister's spokesman, told the AP. "We see it will be a good lesson for the pirates or any one else involved in this dirty business." Worried residents of Harardhere, another port and pirate stronghold, were gathering in the streets after news of the captain's release. "We fear more that any revenge taken by the pirates against foreign nationals could bring more attacks from the foreign navies, perhaps on our villages," Abdullahi Haji Jama, who owns a clothes store in Harardhere, told the AP by telephone. Pirates are holding about a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the Malaysia-based piracy watchdog International Maritime Bureau. Hostages are from Bulgaria, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Tuvalu and Ukraine, among other countries. The Navy said Phillips was freed at 7:19 p.m. local time. He was taken aboard the Norfolk, Va.-based Bainbridge and then flown to the San Diego-based USS Boxer for the medical exam, 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said. Christensen said Phillips was now "resting comfortably." The USS Boxer was in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, Christensen said. U.S. officials said a fourth pirate had surrendered and was in military custody. FBI spokesman John Miller said that would change as the situation became "more of a criminal issue than a military issue." A spokeswoman for the Phillips family, Alison McColl, said Phillips and his wife, Andrea, spoke by phone shortly after he was freed. "I think you can all imagine their joy and what a happy moment that was for them," McColl said outside of the Phillips home in Underhill, Vt. "They're all just so happy and relieved. Andrea wanted me to tell the nation that all of your prayers and good wishes have paid off, because Capt. Phillips is safe." Capt. Joseph Murphy, the father of second-in-command Shane Murphy, thanked Phillips for his bravery. "Our prayers have been answered on this Easter Sunday," Murphy said. "If not for his incredible personal sacrifice, this kidnapping and act of terror could have turned out much worse." Murphy said both his family and Phillips' "can now celebrate a joyous Easter together." "This was an incredible team effort, and I am extremely proud of the tireless efforts of all the men and women who made this rescue possible" Gortney said in a statement. He called Phillips and his crew "heroic." Terry Aiken, 66, who lives across the street from the Phillips house, fought back tears as he reacted to the news. "I'm very, very happy," Aiken said. "I can't be happier for him and his family." ___ Jakes reported from Washington. Associated Press writers who contributed to this report include Mohamed Olad Hassan and Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu, Somalia; Michelle Faul, Elizabeth Kennedy, Malkhadir M. Muhumed and Tom Maliti in Kenya; Matt Apuzzo in Washington, John Curran in Underhill, Vermont, Matt Moore in Berlin and Dena Potter in Norfolk, Virginia. Who knew pirates still existed of the big screen? We are screwed with all these international issues Obama made a big mistake, one captain, over a nation.

2 cool movies/80's & 90's movies

Red Dawn is a sick action/war movie from 1987. Scanners is another 80's fave of mine, '81 to be exact. I love 80's and 90's movies so many classics, Back to the Future 1, 2, and, 3, Red Dawn, Scanners, Ace Ventura 1 and, 2, Bad Boys 1 and, 2, GODZILLA, MIB, Mission Impossible, The MATRIX. I listed all the 80's and 90's titles in my collection of over 100. Those are the top 13.(Red Dawn and Scanners not in my collection(YET!!!)

Best Tasting Apple Cider(5-Star/Top - Notch)

I love Zeigler's Old-Fashioned Apple Cider. I do not have any stock in this company however, It's taste is addictingly good(irresistable).

Best Tasting Apple Cider(5-Star/Top - Notch)

I love Zeigler's Old-Fashioned Apple Cider. I do not have any stock in this company however, It's taste is addictingly good(irresistable).

If videos are audio and video shouldn't they be called audio videos?

I have noticed videos especially, those as files on a computer have two parts an audio and a video codec, in this case. So how is a combination of two things just one of the two(arbitrarily.) I then asked in the title If videos are audio and video shouldn't they be called audio videos? I also know how annoying that sounds but maybe abbreviate.

avi files are more universal than mkv

Avi is probably to simple an explanation but mkv's are not universal in that they do not have codecs to play on many devices. If you adjust the avi's codec it will play on an iPod, PS3,XBOX or any DivX or XviD player. This depends on if it is the DivX codec or XviD codec. DivX being just avi or XviD being mp4 avi. The DivX codec is good for many devices while the XviD codec is for pickier devices. However, I have noticed my DivX certified set-top DVD player plays both codecs. I have also noticed some DivX videos also have different audio formats so, is DivX really just one codec? It must depend on the audio codec as well.

life's Mystery

Isn't life a mystery It comes and goes without warning It ends abrubtly like a column or article I like to think it ends there but with a legacy I think life ends with a mystery and unanswered questions, this is good, because without unanswered questions the search for truth would end.

Poetry In Stock

I just added some works from my own poem anthology. ENJOY!!! comment freely it's your first amendment right. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism welcome.

Poem Anthology: Friendships II John Tracy

John Tracy Friendship II Now I realize that broken friendships are not meant to be fixed. To restart a friendship is like standing on a skyscraper and declaring your ignorance to the world. It is not because of the reuniting of anger. It is like trying to finish a puzzle with pieces that do not fit together. It is as if you are trying to walk through walls or travel through time: it cannot be done. It is a bad, sorrowful, treacherous match that seldom turns out well. But, Amidst seldom odds, great occurrences are born. Without risk-takers, This life as we know it would be quite boring and wretched. So we must try-against all or any odds-to accomplish great things; to keep the world at peace. You dreamers and wishers: Keep trying to reach your goals; Aim for the Stars. The best of happenings will come out to meet you in the end.

Poem Anthology: Zebra By John Tracy

Zebra By John Tracy Wind traveling swiftly across the Savannah White and black, or is it black and white? Hunted by lions A swift stomp for defense Is all that lies between you and a carnivorous end Run, run with your Blinding stripes Across the African plain