Information Overload

Macworld 2010 Registration Code

The iPhoneworld Macworld 2010 organizers are giving away a free night's stay at the San Francisco Marriott to people who refer five friends to sign up for at least a free Expo Hall-only pass using the following priority code: BN958. It's a clever idea to get word of mouth, and people to potentially attend more than one day during February 9th through 13th next year.

MobileMe iDisk for iPhone

Apple's MobileMe iDisk app for iPhone and iPod touch is finally out! It's a convenient way to access Public Folders as well as one's own iDisk when a Mac or PC isn't available (or needed). Files can also be shared from MobileMe iDisk, which is great when a file is too large for an email attachment or AT&T's network. The only caveat is that the shared file has to be on the iDisk in the first place. Hopefully, a future enhancement will be the addition of landscape keyboard support when sharing a file with other people.

UniWar for iPhone

gpan found a Weewar-like game for the iPhone and iPod touch called UniWar. The graphics are more advanced than Weewar. There's even some basic character animation and sound FX. However, UniWar's UI is still a bit rough around the edges, and its library of maps is limited. The developers should consider harnessing the power of user-generated content. That said, UniWar is worth the few bucks for its single-player campaign alone. Online multiplayer extends its replay value until the interesting maps are exhausted.

Mini DisplayPort + USB Audio To HDMI Adapter

Sweet! Earlier this month, a company called Kanex announced that they plan to release a Mini DisplayPort and USB (for uncompressed digital audio) to HDMI adapter next month. Now we just need MacBook Pro's with built-in Blu-ray drives...

Peet's Coffee Freddos

Peet's Coffee Freddos are much better than their Tea Freddos, and also way better than Starbucks' Frappuccinos. Seattle's blended coffee beverages are permeated with crunchy grains of ice. The Freddos from Berkeley are free of icy detritus to the last drop! Too bad Starbucks has more convenient locations, and forms of payment.

Defiance

Defiance, based on a book by Nechama Tec, tells the story of the Bielski brothers who sheltered some 1,200 Jews deep in the Naliboki Forest during Germany's occupation of what is now Western Belarus. The film is solid entertainment despite three Brits (Craig, Bell, MacKay) and one American (Schreiber) alternating between speaking Russian, and English with a Russian accent. Might have missed it in the movie, but some situations would have been more believable if it were clear that Craig's character, Tuvia Bielski, had military experience.

Obama Birth Certificate FUD

There's a problem when an anchor on a major news network continues to fuel conspiracy theories that have been repeatedly disproved. CNN's Lou Dobb's may claim to believe that President Obama is a U.S. citizen, but he does the public a huge disservice by sharing conspiracy theorists' fixation on Obama's original birth certificate. People who are obsessed with seeing the president's original birth certificate versus the legally recognized copy could be more constructive by supporting Congressman Ted Poe's proposed (IMHO, lame) legislation to exempt presidential candidates from the privacy laws that they are afforded themselves.

Comic-Con 2009

With the exception of Up, summer so far has been a mild let down of movies that haven't lived up to their hype, Terminator Salvation being the biggest disappointment to date. T2 director James Cameron offers hope for the holidays, as fans from Comic-Con who saw 25-minutes of his epic sci-fi fantasy film, Avatar, are all in awe of what they saw yesterday. Those who didn't trek to San Diego will get a chance to watch a 15-minute screening—for free—in theaters around the world on Friday, August 21st!

Kevin Spacey Explains Twitter

@KevinSpacey explained Twitter last night on the Late Show with David Letterman. He provided a fairly accurate description except people who aren't celebrities with over 831,131 followers might still wonder why it's worthwhile. Letterman was also unconvinced of its value even though Twitter is totally suited for people in show business. Well Dave, this blog post represents word of mouth promotion of your show because of all the twittering and blogging about your interview with Kevin Spacey. Talk to @JimmyFallon. His #fallonmonologue is pretty funny, but sometimes it gets lost. If @AKGovSarahPalin can twitter, so can you! 

simplehuman touch-free sensor soap pump

The "simplehuman touch-free sensor soap pump" works about as well as the IR soap dispensers found in public restrooms. Suppose there's a reason why Costco is selling a two-pack for $50. Filled the first one with some method hand wash (wtf is up with all lowercase?), and four fresh AA batteries. Its pump motor burned out after a night of semi-heavy use during a house party. Transferred soap and batteries to the second unit, and it's already sounding like the first pump before it failed. Now debating whether to make a warranty claim with simplehuman directly, or wait in Costco's customer service line from hell...