The Apple website summed it up this way…”Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius…his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Indeed, the world has lost an amazing human being. Steve Jobs has passed away at age 56, after years of suffering through pancreatic cancer, and a liver transplant in 2009. He had just resigned as Apple’s CEO in August, and turned the company’s leadership over to Tim Cook.

Some mainstream media are comparing the contributions of Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison or Leonardo da Vinci, whose inventions and innovations created a huge impact on modern culture.

Consider Steve Job’s lifetime of achievements, which brought form and function together in elegant consumer products. He made technology cool, and more importantly, he made it work.

1976: Apple Corp. founded with Stephen Wozniak
1977: Apple II personal computer
1980: Apple III
1984: Macintosh personal computer & Mac OS graphical operating system
1985: NeXT Computer Inc.
1986: Pixar Animation Studios
1998: iMac desktop computer
2001: iPod media player & iTunes software
2003: iTunes online digital media store & Safari web browser
2005: Mac mini, iPod Nano & iPod Shuffle
2006: MacBook & MacBook Pro notebooks
2007: iPhone & iPod Touch
2008: iPhone 3G & MacBook Air ultra-thin notebook
2009: iPhone 3GS
2010: iPhone 4 & iPad media tablet
2011: iPad 2 & iPhone 4S

ABC News has assembled a short video tribute to Steve Jobs’ life and legacy.

CNN has a well produced collection of video clips and MacWorld highlights
with Steve Jobs introducing some of Apple’s coolest products…

Sc’s Sci-Trek is currently broadcasting a series called “Breaking Time.”

The program talks about the elasticity of time and how it not only runs and flows, but also stretches and bends in space.

There’s time present, time past and future time. There’s also space time, with fantastic possibilities for time travel.

Both the Science and Discovery Channels have some great technology programs
to stretch your mind:

Download: The True Story of the Internet Hosted by technology journalist John Heileman, it’s a look behind the silicon curtain at the technological, cultural, commercial and social revolution of the internet.

It’s All Geek To Me Host David Pogue looks under the hood at the technology behind laptops, iPods, digital cameras, cell phones, and all the geeky gadgets that we use daily. He also addresses some techy problems like how to save past data.

Beyond Tomorrow A look into our future to see what is now within the realm of possibility. Hosted by a cast of reporters who travel the globe, informing viewers on a diverse range of subjects including medicine, aviation, computers, space, agriculture, transport, architecture, energy, environment, sport, leisure and adventure.

Source: science.discovery.com

Today I made this observation about teenagers at the mall;
their typical posture is the slouching walk while staring at the screen of their phone or iPod. How do they avoid walking into things while texting their friends?

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was an app for the iPhone that would allow you to walk, type and text at the same time, without running into other people, or objects, cars, whatever?

And then I stumbled across it on Twitter; an iPhone app that uses the phone’s camera while texting, so you can walk and type at the same time!

It’s called Type n Walk, and here’s what their website www.type-n-walk.com has to say about it…

The Type n Walk iPhone app allows you to see in front of you via the iPhones camera while you are typing. When combined with your peripheral vision it should allow for just enough visual information to help you avoid obstacles, like people directly in front of you.

Unfortunately because the iPhone doesn’t allow background processes for non-apple apps. you have to cut ‘n’ paste what you have typed into the app. you want it in.

Thanks to my Twitter followers who stumbled upon this cool app!
www.stumbleupon.com/

Follow me on Twitter!

Apple has announced their new iPad, and I’m just now getting an iPhone. But isn’t that the way it is? How many of us can afford to buy every new device that hits the market? Just wait until the latest device comes out, then the prices drop on the older models and suddenly it’s affordable.

I got a 3G iPhone, which seems to be all I need at the moment. The capacity of this phone is almost overwhelming with all the thousands of apps available, plus the many ways the phone can be used.

I’m just getting into the apps, but so far I like the Hootsuite Twitter app, and the free Facebook app.

What impresses me the most is the multi-tasking capability of the iPhone; simply amazing the way you can make a phone call and surf the web at the same time; or do any number of other tasks.

I thought the iPod was great, but the iPhone is the most elegant and addictive electronic device I’ve ever used.

Apple has finally debuted their new tablet computer, the iPad. Weighing in at only 1.5 pounds, it has a 9.7 inch multi-touch screen and Wi-Fi, with optional 3G connectivity.

The iPad in only half an inch thick, and can run almost 140,000 of the available apps on the App Store. iPhone and iPod owners can use existing apps by syncing them to the iPad from Mac or PC, and run them in their original size or maximize them to full screen.

The iPad looks just as stunning as the iMac and MacBook Pro did when they were first introduced. Question is; what kind of impact will the iPad make in the market already saturated by Amazon’s Kindle?

But the price points of both devices still have somewhat of an ouch factor. Amazon’s Kindle DX has a 9.7 inch screen and can store 3,500 books, priced at $489.00. Apple’s iPad 16GB model is priced at $499, then $599 for 32GB and $699 for the 64GB model. And 3G will cost you extra, of course.

Just like the web, content is king. So after the media hype settles and the iPad is actually available, we’ll see what kind of books, magazines, newspapers and other online content will be available. That may be the real test.

Amazon Kindle DX

Apple iPad

The official website www.cesweb.org breaks it down into these catagories: (along with my comments)
Audio – The Classic iPod is still my favorite portable media player.
High-Performance Audio
Digital Imaging
Emerging Technology – iPhone, Apple Tablet, Google Droid, GPS, ???
Gaming – The Beatles are finally in Rock Band; what’s next for Xbox 360, Playstation3 and Wii?
Home Networking – When is total wireless connectivity coming?
Home Theater/Video
In-Vehicle Technology – We really need a spiffy name for this, like AutoTech.
Wireless – I just love the Acer AspireOne Netbook I bought last year, it’s so portable it works anywhere!

I’ve been following different tech sources to keep up with CES news, and I’ve listed them here:

CES Official Site: www.cesweb.org

CES on Facebook: www.cesweb.org/facebook

CES on Twitter: www.cesweb.org/twitter & twitter.com/intlCES

Mashable mashable.com

Mashable on Twitter: twitter.com/mashable

Engadget: www.engadget.com

Engadget on Twitter: twitter.com/engadget

2000: Napster gets sued for music file sharing violations by Metallica, Dr. Dre, Madonna and A&M Records. The site shuts down the following year after an RIAA injunction.

2001: iTunes launches as the killer music app for the iPod.

2002: Napster files Chapter 11 and is forced to liquidate it’s assets.

2003: MySpace & WordPress debut. WordPress becomes a leading open source content management system.

2004: Firefox 1.0 debuts as an alternative standalone browser to the bloated Mozilla web suite that includes Netscape.

2005: YouTube & Google Earth debut. My first blog posts appear on ThisCrazyCosmos.

2006: Twitter debut, Facebook opens registration to the public, instead of just students.

2007: DailyRover, my new blog about the web goes online.

2008: Google’s Chrome browser debuts after public beta. Napster is purchased by Best Buy.

2009: Internet Explorer 8.0 is introduced as the first real Windows browser upgrade since IE7 in 2006. Google Chrome replaces Safari as the number three web browser of choice, behind Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

2010: What will happen next? Will Twitter finally find a way to make money? More users than ever will Tweet this coming year, especially from the Olympic Games via iPhones and other mobile platforms.

It’s a given that Chrome will take market share from both leading browsers as Google continues world domination. YouTube will continue to create new sensations from home video, and Facebook just keeps getting bigger. I’m sure someone, somewhere is already making predictions for 2010.

cnet.com coverage of CES…includes the LG VX8360 phone…Pioneer car audio…Vaio P series Lifestyle PC…ATI Mobility Radeon graphics…Samsung LED monitor…and my favorites so far, the Ion USB turntables and iPod speaker docks!

gearcrave.com has a nice review of Sony’s Cybershot DSC-G3…10 megapixel, 3.5-inch LCD, 4X optical zoom, 4 GB memory, Wi-Fi and a web browser for uploading your pictures or video to Shutterfly or YouTube.

phone news from phonedog.com…who said talk is cheap?  Palm comes back with a full touch-screen phone running their new operating system called Nova.  Blackberry Storm & Curve…Nokia…LG…Garmin…Sony Ericsson, and new Android phones.

informationweek.com talks about the proliferation of LG HDTV’s, including new wireless and broadband models that A. allow you to avoid all the messy wiring, and B. download Netflix videos right into your HDTV.

Soda machines go high-tech.  Samsung displays a Coke machine with a touchscreen display, network connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and digital camera.  Have a Coke and a smile with cnet.com.

The Official Site for cesweb.org

Also, check out the new gdgt.com from Peter Rojas and Ryan Block, the guys behind Engadget and Gizmodo.  They’re also covering CES and Macworld.

Follow on Twitter …… twitter.com/CNETatCES …… twitter.com/mikiesoft

Amazon.com has list prices marked out with sale prices listed in red on thousands of items, like Guitar Hero On Tour $29.95, Kingston 16GB USB Flash Drive $24.99, plus DVDs for $4.99, Blu-ray $10.95, and CDs under $9.00.

BestBuy.com started their 2-day sale on Sunday, with a 40-inch 1080p Toshiba LCD HDTV priced at $799.00, an Asus Netbook with 8.9-inch widescreen, 1GB memory, built-in webcam and 16GB hard drive for $279, and an Acer Aspire Laptop with a 12.1-inch widescreen, 3GB memory, 250GB hard drive and DVD burner for $799.99.

CircuitCity.com has the Sony Cyber-shot Digital Camera for $109.99, Apple’s 8GB iPod Touch for $226.99, and a SENS 8-inch Widescreen portable DVD player for $119.99.

Dell.com is finally offering laptops and notebooks under $500 now.  Their Inspiron Mini 9 is priced at $299 and comes with Linux installed, a 4GB Solid State Drive and an Intel Atom Processor.

eBay has their One Dollar Doorbusters through December 8th, like an iPod 8GB Nano or a LEGO Star Wars Republic Gunship.

OfficeDepot.com is offering deals like, buy one and get the second at 50% off.

Overstock.com has some good prices too.  For example, they have a large selection of LCD TV’s, some refurbished units and some brands I’ve never seen before, like the Hannspree Flora 12-inch LCD TV.  Like amazon, overstock offers savings on a wide variety of merchandise including furniture, clothing, shoes, jewelry, electronics and home items like bedding and housewares.

Sears.com is advertising online only specials like 10 to 50 percent off Tools, 15 percent off Appliances, and an extra ten percent off Fine Jewelry and Watches.

A lot of sites like Target.com are offering Free Shipping on orders of $50 and up, depending on what you’re buying, like clothing or furniture.  Target makes it easy to shop online by offering specials by price, where you can select gifts for under $25, $50 or $100.

Walmart.com has 2-for-$30 Game Bundles for Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and Xbox 360.  They also have the cool new Flip Video MinoHD 60-Minute High Definition Digital Camcorder bundled with a free tripod and case for $219.88.

KeepCash.com also features daily product deals and has online coupon codes for most major retailers.  They’re one of many sites that are tracking all the holiday sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The big day has arrived, and Black Friday has the Big Deals you’ve been shopping for!

If you’re shopping for electronics like I am, you’ll appreciate these shopping tips from Consumer Reports on the big items being sought after this holiday season.  It’s always helpful to arm yourself with a little knowledge so you can avoid any buyer’s remorse later on.  Scoping out the prices online can help narrow down the number of stores you actually have to shop at too.

If you’re looking for any of these items, chances are you can probably find a better price by comparison shopping at least two other stores. 
blackfriday.info has items indexed by category like:
Cell Phones
Digital Cameras

Game Consoles like the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 or the XBOX 360 are really hot, and most stores are offering a bundle package with 3 or 4 games.

Laptop and LCD HDTV prices have really dropped with several models priced at or below $500.

Best Buy:  Samsung 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV $499

Circuit City:  Apple 8GB iPod Touch $229

Office Depot:  HP Laptop 15.4-inch, Dual-Core, 3GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive, $349

Sam’s Club:  32-inch Vizio LCD 1080i HDTV $448

The video game version of the new hit Disney movie “Bolt” is already available for Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, Xbox 360 and Toys R Us has it as low as $29.

Sears has a Sony 32-inch Bravia 720p LCD HDTV $499

Target is advertising Guitar Hero World Tour $59

Walmart has some incredible deals advertised:
Xbox 360 Thanksgiving Day Value Bundle $288
7-inch Digital Photo Frame with 2GB SD Memory Card Bundle $39

more info at http://www.blackfriday.info/online/