TECHNOLOGY COLUMN

 by Jackie Ordan

 

I was so excited. All summer I’d argued with my parents about the prospect of buying myself an iPhone. But to my parents, switching cell phone carriers seemed like too high a price to pay for what in my mind was the greatest idea since the wheel. The iPhone combined everything in life I love, into one; E-mail, cell phone, all on a Mac operating system. I was in heaven. Much to my shock, I was not able to win the argument with my parents, alas I would be stuck still with two clunkers in my pocket: a good old cell phone and an iPod. 

 

Enter the mastermind of my holiday season wish-list: Steve Jobs. It seems he overheard my plight over the iPhone. Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc. always has the answer to every high tech problem I can think of. His solution to my dilemma: iPod touch. Cue disappointment.

 

The iPod touch has everything the iPhone has, except for the things that I wanted the most. It has an internal wi-fi capabilities so it can log onto any open network anywhere, but it does not have access to a universal network as the iPhone does. It can surf the web, but does not have an application dedicated solely. It seems like the iPod touch is a lacks most of the features that I want.

 

So now I don’t want an iPod touch. Surely Steve Jobs has something else up his sleeve. Bingo, iPod Classic (yet new) and iPod Nano. Stevie redeems himself with these winners. A new software interface gives a sleeker update to the one we have seen for quite some time now. This includes cover flow, which allows users to browse via albums and actually see the art from the album as they choose. With a sleeker design, these new iPods really seem great. The classic has 160 gigs of memory (that’s A LOT, in case you aren’t huge losers who know about gigs). Previous iPods maxed out at half that number. The iPod Classic is also much thinner than iPods we have seen and the iPod nano finally can play videos on its amazingly large screen for a product called ‘nano.’

 

Of course, as in all new pieces of technology, there are always a few flaws. Most of these complaints fall to the iPod nano. Your local geometry teacher can tell you why. The new nano does not follow the golden ratio of rectangles and thus looks ugly to people. It also does not have nearly the storage capacity of the classic. This is ironic because the big deal with the nano is that it can play videos- maybe it is in the fine print that the videos are going to take up all the space in no time. 

 

Overall, I give Jobs and Company a C. In truth the grade would be much, much lower if it were not for the classic. Individually the grades break down as follows:

iPod Classic- A

o       Tons of storage space, cool new software, thinner design. Only possible flaw is it remains to be seen if the product as enough RAM to sustain the cover flow software.

·        iPod Touch- D

o       Yes, touch screens are cool. Yes, the touch is cheaper than the iPhone. No, its not worth it. For a little more money you get many more features in buying an iPhone. 

·        iPod Nano- D

o       It’s ugly. Not only that, but its lack of memory huge question mark. Why Apple decided to upgrade all of the software on the Nano without increasing the storage space is beyond me.

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Life

FALLing into Winter  

The temperature has finally dropped below fifty degrees, and the idea that global warming doesn’t exist is starting to look pretty silly. For a second there, we were starting to get a little scared. What would happen to our snow days? If there’s one year we’d like to have a week off from school, it’s this one. Just hopefully not Valentine’s Day week like last year; we love chocolate and secret admirers as much as the next person. But hey, we’ll take snow and sleep over candy and crushes any day.

 

For now though, let’s focus on fall. We miss the days when we could jump in leaves without thinking about the possibility of staph lurking at the bottom of the pile. It’s a good thing that helpful, instructional video taught us several methods of treatment, even though its antibiotic resistant… But, even if you are home sick with MRSA, you could cozy up on the couch with your favorite sitcoms. Oh wait. That was last year. Now you have to read thanks to the Writer’s Guild of America and their noble quest for a pay raise. We hope you still remember the meaning of DEAR time. (Drop everything and read!).

 

There seems to be an inverse relationship between temperature and the amount of Ugg footwear gracing the hallways. With each lowered degree, the amount of such shoes triple, maybe even quadruple. Here’s an alternative to television that doesn’t involve, God forbid, cracking open a book: hit the streets of Bethesda and attempt to count the number of Uggs you see. Beware, it might get out of hand quickly.

 

Aida is finally over, after weeks of seemingly endless rehearsal. What will the cast talk about during lunch now? They’ll probably just go back to obsessing over key signatures and pitch, or will reminisce about how hellish hell week was. We can’t wait. Good thing we can top their stories any day with our flat night escapades. Hall walks, burrito smuggling, and the ecstatic emotions we feel when we are RWC’ed (oh my!). Speaking of flat night, yearbook wanted us to wear all black for our group photo. Why just black? It’s not like were headed to a football game or anything—more like the exact opposite.

 

The point is that it’s getting cold. As you shop for a new scarf, think of so-called “Hot-lanta” and its forecasted snow. (How could you still argue that global warming is a myth, hmm?) That will be us soon, and if you want to stand out in the crowd, choose leopard print, for everything. It’s what all the cool kids are doing, and you’re nobody ‘til you’re talked about. XOXO, Gossip Girl. 

 

The leopard trend doesn’t stop with fashion. Apple’s new Leopard operating system can amuse anyone for unhealthy amounts of time. Admit it. Photobooth’s new backdrops are surprisingly addictive; you can instantly transport yourself to Paris, the sky or an underwater wonderland (see photo). We think it’s awesome, but then again, we do listen to chorus gossip all day. And now, thanks to the near arctic temperatures, we have to eat lunch cooped up inside, so we can’t even run away. Bummer.

 

For the four approaching days of Thanksgiving break, you can put all of this behind you. Your focus should be solely on Whole Foods’ pumpkin pie, voted best in the area. Don’t think about the fact that there is an English paper due the Monday after break, (is that even allowed?) or that you can’t watch “The Office” and recite the jokes all week, making your few non-fan friends borderline insane. Don’t fret about the 2008 election; the suspense kills us too. Perhaps Stephen Colbert will win, with his free time from the show’s hiatus and all. We’ve got our favorites, but we’re not saying anything until at least the primaries. So scarf down your turkey and catch some z’s, and if for some reason you make the faulty decision to leave the house, make sure you’re wearing at least one leopard-esque accessory, for your own sake.