simplicity

The new iPhone is in one word beautiful.

The first thing I noticed when I took this technical marvel out of its box is the form-factor and size. Unlike its predecessor the iPhone 4 does not feel like a piece of plastic. Every single minute detail is beautifully crafted in a way that only Apple could do. The phone feels perfect in my hands. And it’s down right amazing how much Apple has been able to pack into such a thin case.

The second thing I noticed is the screen. I can’t say enough about the “Retina Display”. I don’t know how to put into words what it’s like to look at this screen. One has to see the screen at work to appreciate it.

One of the, I won’t say downsides instead let’s say repercussions of the screen is that it makes the iPads screen look inferior. Another repercussion of the new iPhone 4 is that it uses iOS 4.0 which the iPad currently doesn’t… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to double click home on the iPad hoping to see the fast-switch bar pop-up.

The major issue I’ve noticed is the signal degradation problem associated to the ‘death-grip’. I’ve noticed it at work but not at my apartment. I’m hoping that Apple will somehow fix this…

Back to baseball season, Manny is in town!

Ugh, really don’t have much to say. It was a great game up until the fourth, both teams played their butts off on defense. It was heart-breaking to see the Cs offense flutter in the fourth. I blame that partially on the refs.. They let the players play for three quarters then they decide to gift wrap it for the lakers by putting Boston in the penalty with seven minutes to go. Cs could never get into a partial rhythm..

I’ve got the World Cup and the US Open to drown my sorrows in.. Oh and the Sox are only 2 games back and Manny is in town

Had absolutely no idea  that Google Docs new document editor is missing some key functionality:

The problem with the new editor is that it lacks many features that were previously available in Google Docs: translation, editing CSS and HTML, document settings, custom dictionary, comparing revisions etc. These features will probably be added to the new editor, but users expect to find new features in a major update, not missing features.

Another issue is that most documents will open in the old editor, while recent documents will open in the new editor. Google will offer an option to migrate the existing documents to the new format, but users shouldnt have to deal with converting between formats.

It’s going to be a kick in the pants to a lot of people who will be migrated to the new editor.

Sucked..  That is all…

Not a lot to say about game five that probably hasn’t been said. Thought the C’s played team basketball. There were a few moments, especially towards the end of the game where I thought they could have potentially blown it but they continued to pull the right strings. I was impressed with Pierce, KG, and Rondo. Thought the three of them showed up and played great basketball.

I thought the C’s played great defense even though Kobe went off in the third quarter. But where I thought the C’s really shined was in that 3rd quarter: for every basket Kobe made the C’s had an answer on the offensive end. They weren’t being complacent or getting down on themselves after Kobe continued hitting one after another of the most ridiculous/contested shots.

Refs, can’t really complain about them. They did make some awful calls, but that’s expected. However, for a second straight game the refs were letting the players play, which was great.

Cs need to ride this momentum into game six and just put their foot on the throat of the Lakers…

A win is a win.

It doesn’t matter whether you get the win via the starters, the bench, or what it’s come down to at some points in these playoffs the refs. Last nights game again started off well for the starters, but it again felt like they expended all of their energy within the first 5 minutes. Knowing full well this was a must-win for Boston, everyone expected Paul Pierce to have a huge game. He started off the night really well, scoring the first 10 of Boston’s 16? points. But then it looked like he started to get tired. And by the half you could see that Kobe was starting to light it up and some unbelievable Laker shots were going in (Derek Fisher’s flop no-foul jumper). Going into the half, I think everyone was worried even with the C’s down just three. Personally, I thought they were very lucky being down just three. I was at the bar and the mood wasn’t that great, especially after the Sox blew it against Cleveland in the bottom of the ninth. Ugh!

However, the second-half, specifically the fourth-quarter the bench played unbelievable. They scored on nine straight possessions. “Big Baby” played with the same fire he’s played with all through the playoffs. The man, along with the bench, put in some quality minutes. Huge put backs, huge rebounds, huge points. The man is a human redbull.

Obviously I’m happy with the win, but I’m still not seeing the consistency in our offense from our starters. While that does scare me, I think I’d be more worried if I was a Lakers fan. Think about it this way, last night Kobe had what most would constitute his best game of the series and the C’s still won. To top it all off, the C’s starters, 4 out of the 5, have been stagnant in every game:

• Game one: No one showed up for the C’s
• Game two: Ray Allen/Rondo decide to outplay everyone on the floor
• Game three: KG has a stellar game, even with the loss
• Game four: Pierce, while not at his best, was clutch

At some point in this series you have to believe two of the big three or even dare I say all three of the big three are going to have a coming out party. That should frighten Laker fans, especially if Bynum can’t play more then 11 mins a game.

Boston needs to capitalize on this momentum. Game five is a must-win for Boston, no if-and-or-buts about it. You’re already in scary territory by needing to take one game in LA to finish out this series, but taking two is next to impossible. There are a lot statistics against a C’s championship in these playoffs:

• Phil Jackson is 47-0 in the playoffs when his team has won the first game of the series.
• Since 1985, when the 2-3-2 format was introduced the team that won game three won the the series: 100% of the time

So as you can see there’s a lot at stake.

Finally a little about the officiating last night. While there were missed calls both ways I personally thought this was the best officiated game of the series. Not saying it was great, but it was a little above sub-par. They let the players play and that’s all you can ask for.

The two things that have me worried are: Perk and Sheed are one T away from being suspended a game. That would be two huge losses for the C’s.

However, a win is a win…

I hate reflecting on a loss. I’m one of those fans that hates to go to ESPN.com or SI.com or any other major sports site after a playoff loss, it’s hard to swallow. And last night, last night was very difficult to swallow. Granted the game started off on the right foot w/ Garnett and Rondo leading the way but it seemed like Phil Jackson called the timeout perfectly after the C’s went on a 6 – 0 run. They never regained that aggressive mentality after that timeout until well into the second-half. It was one of those types of games that the C’s continue to have in each playoff series. They go down by double-digits only to come back but the come back falls short. The line they just couldn’t cross, it was if the there was something holding them back *cough*officiating*cough. Each time they bring it within two or four the refs call something or the offense just runs something downright awful.

The C’s had their chances to tie this game up, they just didn’t convert. While I’d love to blame the ref’s, who again have been just atrocious the blame has to be placed on the inconsistent C’s offense. Ray Allen went 0-13, however Doc continued to go to him at the end of the game. Why on earth would you go to someone whose been that cold at the end of the game? I understand how good he has been but you can’t try to get him going w/ 2 minutes left in the game and being down only four. Frustrating to watch him miss all those open looks. You can bet he won’t have a game like that for the rest of this series.

Being down four and with 40 seconds left you have to play defense, you can’t let Fisher drive and convert a three-point play. The C’s just self-destructed there. Speaking of Fisher, what’s with the crying at the end of the game dude. It’s game two grow some balls…

Anyways, here’s hoping the C’s come back with some fire in their eyes and take the next two. C’s can’t go back to LA down a game, they need to make it 3-2 before they leave this city.

Frustrating night all around…

Deece

I’ve been using the iPad for a little less than a week and I’ve really enjoyed it. Im eating some of my words from my previous post on the iPad announcement but at first sight it definitely reminds me of a giant iPhone/iPod Touch although after using it for awhile you realize it is a lot more. It’s really a hybrid laptop. I’ve had the chance to exclusively use it for a few days because my MacBook was in the shop. The only issue I have is that some web pages have parts that don’t work correctly like the Facebook friends listing that pops up. Also, the iPhone apps run well but look awful. I need a version of the reeder app for the iPad and a Facebook app. Also it would be great if meebo would get an ipad app out there. Other then those issues the device itself is fantastic. It’s basically the Internet in your hands. I’ll have more thoughts on this and the new iPhone 4.0 os when I have some more time.

By the way this post was written on the iPad

YouTube – OK Go – This Too Shall Pass – RGM version.

Wow…