Trading Up

It seems like I've been switching over to a lot of new technology these days. Granted, I'm a gadget whore and I can't get enough of new electronics, but it certainly seems like the past couple of weeks have been especially active. How about a rundown:

It's been a while and I know I've talked about it, but it's worth bringing up again- I bought a MacBook in July and I love it. I have officially switched to Mac and I'm not going back. Whenever I need a new desktop it will be whatever Apple is offering at the time. I've joined the cult and I'm not ashamed. It just amazes me how much better this computer is than anything else I've used.

For Christmas (from my company) I got an iPod Touch. I didn't really need a new iPod. The one I've had for almost 4 years now still works quite well (it's a 4g black and white screen model). I never thought I'd want to watch video on my iPod. Then I got the Touch. It's gorgeous. I've been watching Monty Python on it and it looks stunning. I can't believe how well the touch interface works. I heard rumblings about this cannibalizing the iPhone market, but this has just made me want the phone more. It's the coolest new tech I've seen in years.

Just switched over from cable internet to DSL. Long story short- Time Warner is awful. Just awful. Their customer service is embarrassingly bad, and actually seems to be getting worse. I'm not knocking cable technology, I've like the other companies I've had. But Time Warner is the worst company of any kind I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with. Also, the new DSL is half the cost and while it's supposed to be half the speed, it actually seems to be going about double the speed. MAJOR upgrade there. It's only a matter of time before I ditch my cable TV for satellite. Anyone reading this have satellite and want to recommend something? Fire off in the comments, I'm all ears.

Finally, on a smaller note, I've dropped AIM on my work PC in favor of Pidgin. It's open source, it's cleaner than AIM, and it takes up way fewer system resources. I'm a big fan of open source options, and this one's a big winner. FYI- on Mac, if you don't like iChat (I love it for audio/video, it's just ok for IMs), Adium is the way to go. It's superb.

Just thought you might like to know these things. And what things am I looking at for the future? A network printer, a new external hard drive, and (maybe next year) a DSLR camera. And after MacWorld next week, probably about a dozen Apple products. I'm such a nerd.

Cheers,
Eli

PS- It's become popular in the past week to pick the Jaguars to beat the Pats. This is stupid. My one rule in betting is that when a team is on a great winning streak, don't bet against them until they actually lose. I don't know, maybe the Jags can cover the spread (I don't exactly understand betting lines. Wanna help? Comments) but I don't care. The Pats haven't shown me this season that they are even capable of losing. Until they do, don't bet against them. Just thought I'd share.