The World of Scott Mindeaux

Cute Alert! Jonny Lee Miller

After trying to convince myself that I should watch LOST, I waited until the last 2 minutes that started watching a new show called Eli Stone. Eli Stone stars Jonny Lee Miller. The premise of the show is that Eli is a prophet. In the first epidose he keeps hearing George Michael singing Faith. As the show progresses, he keeps seeing George Michael and hearing the music playing. In one scene George Michael was in his living room and Eli runs out shirtless and it was nice to see. Next he starts hearing trolley bells. Turns out the trolley bells are from a memory he had as a kid.

Well I’ll save the “review” of Eli Stone for another posting. I think Jonny is cute!

Nuviphone – iPhone Killer?? Nah.

Garmin surprised everyone with the release announcement of the Nuviphone.  A new handheld device to join its brothers in the popular handheld GPS market.  Some have speculated that this will be a big blow to Apple’s iPhone.  Some say no.

It’s biggest feature is the GPS with other features like MP3s and a camera are secondary.  Yes, it’s a phone, but the OS is closed and it support simple, already-here features. One kewl feature is that any pictures take are automatically geo-tagged  for location-based services.

Most like the phone will end up on the AT&T network as an HSDPA client as well as quad-band GSM.

Release date will be sometime in 3Q of 2008. No pricing has been set.

My iTunes Rental Experience

So on Saturday I decided I was going to try the iTunes Rental program. I purchased Simpson’s The Movie $3.99 and it started its download. From my MacBook Pro, the picture was excellent, but I had to stop watching the movie. I remember that the iTunes store said that I had 30 days to start watching the film and that once started I had 24 hours to watch it.

After having to wait until the next day to finish watching the movie, there was a warning on the page saying I only had 36 minutes until it would expire. I figured, eh…I have 55 minutes left to watch…if I start it, it will let me finish it.

NO. At the 36 minute mark, the screen went grey, but the audio was still working. I was able to pause and stop, but when I clicked play again, it was still grey. My time has run out. So I rented the movie and I didn’t get to see the ending….

I know…most people actually WATCH the movie in one sitting, but I tend to get distracted and watch movies over two to the three periods. What a rip…I didn’t get to see the ending. While I’ll probably rent again, I’ll need to remember that I have to watch the whole thing. With NetFlix and Blockbuster, I can rent at DVD and watch it as many times as I want, as long as I return it. One would think I could watch the movie as many times as I want with iTunes, then have it automatically delete on the 30th day.

Ugh.

Legos Turns 50

It has been 50 years since these little plastic blocks came into the hands of young and old people alike.  I remember growing up with tons of Legos.  I admit, that everytime I see Lego’s I want to make some grand sculpture of something.  Today there are several themes of Legos ranging from Star Wars Legos to Bionicle.  The Lego company also makes Duplo and the toys of Thomas & Friends.

Happy Birthday Legos.

New CA Driving Laws…

Here are some new laws that took effect in the State of California this year that I did not know. Of particular interest it the third one that states that if I kill someone as a result of a car accident while under the influene, I could be charged with murder.

The other two laws are also listed below of laws that I didn’t know went or will go into effect this year.

Smoking in Vehicles With Minor Passengers

Makes it an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for a person to smoke a pipe, cigar, or cigarette in a motor vehicle any time a minor is present in the vehicle.

Wireless Telephones and Mobile Service Devices — Operative July 1, 2008

Prohibits a person under the age of 18 from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone, even if equipped with a hands-free device, or while using a mobile service device, as defined.

Required Declaration on an Original or Renewal Application for a Driver License — Operative July 1, 2008

Requires an applicant as a condition of obtaining or renewing a driver’s license to sign a declaration acknowledging that a driver may be charged with murder if a person is killed as a result of driving under the influence.

Hands?? No, Palm’s Down

Palm will be closing all of its retail stores by the end of this quarter according to a company press release.  After losing a class-action lawsuit from way back in 2005, the company must now payout to Palm Treo 600 and 650 owners that had their Treos serviced/replaced at least twice between September 2005 and mid 2006.

I’ve been in one of their stores at the Grove up in LA.  Nice quiet store, not on the main stretch of the Grove, but on a side street. No real customers there. I went in to buy protective film for my Treo 650, but they didn’t have any in stock and wouldn’t have any for a few weeks. I walked out disappointed as I haven’t been able to find them anywhere. Oh well. I have since then ditched my Treo and had to go Blackberry for my job.