Banner Logo
Home
The Real Kato
About Me
Twitter
Facebook
Frozen Lunches
Links
Kottke
Daring Fireball
Amalah
Secret Agent Josephine
Dooce
Contact



Archives
Most Recent

2024 March
2010 April
2010 March
2010 February
2010 January
2009 December
2009 November
2009 October
2009 September
2009 August
2009 July
2009 June
2009 May


Categories
All Categories 

bloggers 
books 
commentary 
dating 
food 
funnyhaha 
interesting 
life 
movies 
music 
politics 
reviews 
science 
site-business 
sports 
style 
techwatch 
television 
theater 
travel 


Recent Comments
On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre...
Ken said:
Yeah, we've both had our share of hope and disappointment in this game. Let's just hope for a good b...
On College Football 2022: Week 6 Recap and Week 7 Pre...
Dan* said:
I'm not sure how I feel about this game. On one hand, I feel pretty optimistic that we have the tale...
On College Football 2022: Week 1 Preview
Dan* said:
Glad to see you'll be back writing football again, Ken! Congrats on the easy win today. You didn't ...
On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P...
Ken said:
Yeah, sorry one of our teams had to lose. I've come to appreciate Penn State as a classy and sympath...
On College Football 2021: Week 10 Recap and Week 11 P...
Dan* said:
Hey Ken, congratulations on the win yesterday! Some really odd choices by our coaching staff in that...


Articles: 2010 April

<< Previous: 2010 March | Back to Most Recent | Next: 2010 May >>

Page 1

Tech Stuff
Friday, 2010 April 30 - 2:41 pm
So a brief interlude between all the lunch reviews and American Idol recaps... there are a few tidbits in the tech world that I need to comment on today.

Amy's iPad 3G arrived today. I'll post unboxing photos and a full overview of it later this weekend. As I noted in my Facebook status: the FedEx guy asked me, "What is this thing? We've had THOUSANDS of them being delivered today." For all the naysayers who figured it would bomb... there's a web site with a running tally of the estimated number of iPads online. As of this moment: over 1.1 million. Some estimates have Apple selling 7 million in 2010.

Meanwhile, Microsoft this week admitted that it would not be releasing its rumored "Courier" device. This thing made a splash a while back when the oh-so-reliable "We Buy Stolen Prototypes" Gizmodo web site claimed that Courier was a real device, in the "late prototype" stage of development. The basis for this was a completely artificial marketing concept video. My guess is that "Courier" had never gone much past the drawing board before Microsoft's developers realized there was no way they'd ever deliver such a device.

And also meanwhile, today HP announced that they were ceasing development on their "Slate" tablet device. Remember this? Microsoftians were certain that this vaporware product, hyped by Steve Ballmer, would easily trump the iPad. Microsoft likes to talk about how they were pioneers in tablet computing... funny how that never translated into any decent products.

I hope this is a lesson for people who are so quickly dismissive of Apple: there is an immense amount of engineering effort that goes into an Apple product, and it's really not easy for other companies to copy them, much less surpass them. Next time Apple comes up with a groundbreaking new device, and you start listing reasons why you'd rather stick with your outdated Creative Nomad MP3 player, your Palm Treo, or your Dell netbook... maybe you'll look back on this week's events and you'll open your mind just a bit.
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: techwatch

Wednesday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Sweet and Spicy Orange Zest Chicken
Friday, 2010 April 30 - 11:23 am
From the "Café Steamers" collection: "Chicken Tenderloin with Rice and Vegetables in a Spicy Orange Peel Sauce".

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 7: Top 6
Tuesday, 2010 April 27 - 9:41 pm
It's Shania Twain week. Woo, uh, hoo. Tim finally went out last week. As it turns out, Tim had been the longest-running "VoteForTheWorst.com" contestant in history.

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: musictelevision

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Orange Sesame Chicken
Tuesday, 2010 April 27 - 10:21 am
From their "Fruit Inspirations" collection. "Breaded chicken tenderloins in a zesty sesame orange sauce with rice."

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara
Thursday, 2010 April 22 - 6:01 pm
"Ziti pasta in a delicious marinara sauce topped with mozzarella, monterey jack and parmesan cheeses." Again, why the need to explain that ziti is pasta? And if yesterday's meal was "Asian-style", why isn't this one "Caucasian-style"?

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetables
Thursday, 2010 April 22 - 5:49 pm
"Grilled white meat chicken and Asian-style vegetables in a sweet and spicy teriyaki sauce over white rice." Asian-style, eh?

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 6: Top 7
Tuesday, 2010 April 20 - 9:02 pm
Andrew and Katie went out last week. This week is "inspirational songs" week, ugh. Alicia Keys is the mentor. Tomorrow Bill Gates is supposed to make some kind of surprise appearance for Idol Gives Back.

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: musictelevision

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Suiza
Monday, 2010 April 19 - 1:28 pm
"In a zesty sour cream and green chile sauce with Spanish rice." Wait: Smart Ones has two nearly identical enchilada meals? Or is this one a replacement for the other one?

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Monterey
Thursday, 2010 April 15 - 1:01 pm
"Two white corn flour tortillas filled with tender chicken, smothered in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce paired with a side of southwest style rice and corn." Note to company: I am not fooled by the fact that you named a California city in your product.

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Spicy Caribbean Chicken
Thursday, 2010 April 15 - 12:54 pm
"Chicken Tenderloins, Pineapple, Black Beans and Corn, in a Jerk Sauce, Over a Bed of Whole Grain Rice."

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 5: Top 9 Again
Tuesday, 2010 April 13 - 9:45 pm
Michael was the bottom vote-getter last week, but was saved by the judges. This week: Elvis. Adam Lambert is the mentor. The cast of "Glee" is in the audience.

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: musictelevision

New MacBook Pro Lineup Announced Today
Tuesday, 2010 April 13 - 10:29 am
The skinny:

13" MacBook Pro:
  • Prices unchanged at $1199/$1499
  • CPU speed bumped from 2.26/2.53 GHz to 2.40/2.66 GHz; still Core2 Duo.
  • Standard RAM is 4GB on all models (previous low-end model was 2GB).
  • Standard hard drive lineup up from 160/250 GB to 250/320GB.
  • GPU is now GeForce 320M instead of GeForce 9400M (Apple says it's up to 80% faster)
  • Headphone port now supports iPhone headset
  • Battery life up from 7 hours to 10 hours

15" MacBook Pro:
  • Prices lineup went from $1699/$1999/$2299 to $1799/$1999/$2199
  • CPU options were 2.53/2.66 GHz Core2 Duo; now 2.4/2.53 GHz Core i5 or 2.66GHz Corei7
  • Standard hard drive lineup up from 250/320/500 GB to 320/500/500 GB
  • GPU is now IntelHD+GeForce GT 330M, instead of GeForce 9400M+9600M; auto-switches on the fly
  • New optional high-res 1680x1050 display
  • Headphone port now supports iPhone headset
  • Built-in subwoofer
  • Battery life up from 7 hours to 8-9 hours

17" MacBook Pro:
  • Prices dropped from $2499 to $2299
  • CPU options were 2.8/3.06GHz Core 2 Duo; now 2.53/2.66 GHz Core i7
  • GPU is now IntelHD+GeForce GT 330M, instead of GeForce 9400M+9600M; auto-switches on the fly
  • Headphone port now supports iPhone headset
  • Built-in subwoofer
  • Battery life up from 7 hours to 8-9 hours

Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: techwatch

Today's Frozen Meal: Kashi Red Curry Chicken
Monday, 2010 April 12 - 12:26 pm
"Kashi 7 Whole Grains & Sesame Pilaf; Chicken Breast with Fire Roasted Sweet Potato, Red Peppers, Bok Choy, Bamboo Shoots & Kale; Zesty Thai Style Red Curry Sauce."

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 4: Top 9
Tuesday, 2010 April 6 - 9:55 pm
Didi went out last week. This week: Lennon and McCartney.

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: musictelevision

Today's Frozen Meal: Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake (Again)
Monday, 2010 April 5 - 1:10 pm
Based on feedback from a few people, I went back and tried this meal again. Click here to read the updated review.
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

Friday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Home Style Beef Pot Roast
Monday, 2010 April 5 - 1:08 pm
"With carrots, onions, potatoes, green beans, & gravy."

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food

Thursday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Traditional Lasagna with Meat Sauce
Monday, 2010 April 5 - 1:01 pm
No further description provided; I guess "lasagna with meat sauce" speaks for itself.

Box

Read more...
Permalink   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: food


Page 1


Login


Search This Site
Powered by FreeFind