Jake's Quote of the Day: Henry Royce on Quality...

F. Henry Royce (of Rolls-Royce legend) once said "Quality is that which remains, long after the price has been forgotten." 

Upcoming Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe and Sedan...

I don't think I am a Rolls Royce kind of guy, but these photos of upcoming Rolls Royce cars are so cool looking...

Crazy Chinese Farmer Flies through the sky with home made airplane...

I don't know why this video seems so fascinating to me, but it does...

Jake's Quote of the Day: Hellen Keller on Security...

Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. —Hellen Keller [The Open Door, 1957]

Note: This is one of my favorite quotes of all time. I think it is profoundly true.

First Impressions: iPhone 3G Preview-Serious Game-changer...

I think I have finally had a chance to digest all the details from the Apple World Wide Developers Conference that took place in San Francisco a few weeks ago where Steve Jobs showed off the soon to market 3G iPhone, so I thought I would share my insight with you. The new 3G Apple iPhone will be available to purchase in 70 countries.

If you are new to the iPhone, please understand while it is a superb phone, it is really more of a mini laptop that easily fits in any pocket and can go anywhere with you. The iPhone is also the best iPod and with the new version might become the new ideal portable gaming platform.

The new iPhone is roughly the same size as before but the edge curves have been enhanced to make it more ergonomic. Apple will offer the 8GB model for $199 in black only, and the 16GB for $299 in black or white.

Some people say the new iphone is not that much different than the original in look and that is true, but the real game-changer is the opening of the Apple iPhone Application Store which will allow you to run all kinds of cool new application on both the original and 3G iPhone.

I think the upcoming 3G iPhone looks like an absolute winner. In a year the price for a 8GB model has dropped from $599 to $199. Lowering the price to $199 Apple has successfully eliminated all price resistance and that is a very important factor for ubiquitous adoption.

Since the iPhone now operates on the 3G network, the speed increase should be at least twice as fast, if not three times as fast. The Safari web browser will benefit most from this increase. Also Apple added Global Positioning System (GPS) Satellite technology, which means the phone will always know where it is, so if you are using Google Maps, it will navigate you similarly to a car GPS system.

According to Steve Jobs, they significantly improved the sound quality of the external speaker, which was much needed, but they did not update the software to Bluetooth A2DP so that you could listen to music wirelessly, which I think is a huge blunder. I hope they update the Bluetooth software to A2DP soon after launch. I can't stand the cabled headphones, particularly when I am working out–they always get in the way and get tangled when you try to store them.

I think the black back version look much better than the white back, because it makes the phone look smaller and more streamlined and modern. By changing the back from metal to plastic Apple reduced the weight of the iPhone and significantly increased the quality of radio reception.

Apple eliminated the dock as coming standard with the iPhone and significantly reduced the size of the power supply as seen below.

Apple added a live search find feature to the address book, which will make many people happy. My Uncle Chris literally refused to buy an iphone and stuck with his Treo because the first generation iPhone lacked this highly useful feature.

Apple had build in support on the iPhone for Microsoft Exchange Server which will allow enterprise to easily integrate the iPhone into the enterprise environment. The two most significant obstacles Apple has over come with the 3G are making the iPhone affordable at $199 and adding support for Exchange Server.  Doing so is a sea-change game changer.

Apple is replacing their .Mac service with a new service named Mobile Me which the refer to as Microsoft Exchange for the rest of us. Mobile me used the cloud computing paradigm to keep contact and calendar information synchronize between all your computers and your iPhone–very cool and very useful feature. Also, Mobile me offers a new push email client that should be interesting.

Another significant feature missing from the iPhone has been the lack of a to-do list that syncs with your computers. I did not notice this in Mobile me, but I hope they include it.

I believe the most profound innovation of the 3G iPhone is that Apple developers with make the iphone much better through the iPhone Application store. This is were most of the innovation will come from on the iPhone.

There are still some gaping hole features like the lack of cut and paste, and the camera is still only 2 megapixels!?! This in my mind is the biggest blunder of the iPhone 3G. It should be at leas 3.2 Megapixels. I did however notice on photos that are not on this review, that the camera lens appears larger on the 3G, so hopefully it will take better quality photos.

The whole beauty of carrying one device is that it does everything well and I don't want to have to carry a separate camera around with me to get good snapshots. Also, the iPhone lacks video, which also seems like a mistake to me.

I hope that either Apple builds in software for Voice recording or a developer builds it. I would love to be able to take voice notes and dictation with the iPhone.

I think it is pretty much game over for Palm, Motorola and Nokia & Everybody else. As far as I can tell Apple has the competition in Check Mate.

If you want to watch Steve Jobs WWDC Keynote video to see the introduction of the 3G iPhone and learn much more about this fascinating piece of history click here.

This is a most interesting photo...

This is one of the most curiously interesting photos I have ever seen. The photo is of a tribe in Papua, New Guinea know as the Dani.

I seem to be as fascinated with observing them in this photo as they seem to be fascinated checking out the Chief exploring the Sony, VIAO laptop. I think it is kind of profound that as I write this, I am looking at them looking at a laptop–from my laptop.

Something about how the entire Universe is connected in a seamless but typically invisible web...

2009 Porsche Carrera S4 Carrera...

This is a great shot of the upcoming Porsche 911 S4 Carrera Convertible...

Jake's Quote of the Day: Thomas Jefferson on Information...

Information is the currency of democracy. —Thomas Jefferson

The Future of Cars: Solar Powered...

For a long time, I have the future of autos would be to solar power them.

A Hungarian comany named Alto Solo built this hybrid electric/solar powered car named the Solo Duo. This prototype car get 120 mpg in the city and 160 mpg on the highway and seats three.

I don't understand why they dont cover the entire vehicle with solar panels, like on the front hood & side panels? I think the entire skin of the car should be covered with magnified solar panels.

To visit Solo Duo click here.

Spinning Hotness...You have got to watch this cool video...

Warning: Don't try this yourself...

Jake's Quote of the Day: Walter Winchell on Real Friends...

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. —Walter Winchell 

The Future of Office Furniture...

I have designed and manufactured a lot of furniture and I have always been fascinated with office furniture design.

This office chair with laptop ledge is an interesting design made my bene design. You can read more about the design by clicking here.

What the Internet is doing to our brains?

Fascinating article from the Atlantic about what the Internet is doing to our brains. Click here to read it.

The future of TV & Computers: The video wall...

Computers are slowly replacing TV and I believe that 10 years from now we will have video walls in our home and offices, where the entire wall is a computer display that can be used for watching video and computers use. I also think we will be able to have an entire video wall conversation with with somebody else where it appears their room is part of your room.

Imagine a scenario where where you are celebrating a holiday event with family and friends in San Francisco, and on you wall living room wall you have your family or friends across the planet appear on the screen as if the room they are in was an extension of your room. 

I also think you could potentially walk up close to the wall and have a quiet conversation with somebody in the other location. I know Apple filed for a patent that puts video censors in between the pixels of a display. This would allow you to stand in front of a video wall face to face and literally look into somebody's eyes. If you made the surface of the video wall so there are miniature microphone sensors as well as mini speakers, you could get a very realistic virtual reality experience.

Comcast has already taken a baby step toward this vision with the 10 Million pixel video wall in their headquarters as you can see in the video below.

Jake's Quote of the Day: Jimmy Buffet on life...

Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party. —Jimmy Buffet

This Photo Always Cracks Me UP!!!

Driving The Camaro Convertible Concept...

I don't just want this car. I need this car...For some reason whenever I see this car Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love" starts playing in my head really loud–I'm serious!!!

Check out this 3 Part Video Documentary to learn about the upcoming Camaro Concept Convertible...

Jake's Quote of the Day...

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Disney's Innoventions Dream Home Kitchen is Cool...

Disney recently had a grand opening for their Innoventions Dream Home located in Tomorrowland in Anaheim, California where they showed off this kitchen which seems kind of cool.

Jake's Quote of the Day: Alexander Graham Bell

The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion... It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider - and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation - persevering in what he knows to be practical, and concentrating his thought upon it, who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree. —Alexander Graham Bell

Kor One Most Excellent Reusable Water Bottle...

The Kor One water bottle retails for $30 has a really cool design.  You can learn more about it by clicking here.

The Kor One is environmentally friendly and is made from BPA free plastic.

Flying Wing Aircraft...

For some reason I have always been fascinated with any form of transportation design whether it was cars, boats, planes or trains.

The evolution of the flying wing aircraft is amazing.  Having a solid wing design cuts down on noise, resistance and increased stability. It also benefits from a enormous payload capacity, and much larger fuel capacity.

Pictured below are a early prototype for the B2 and in the second image is the B2 Bomber.  The last three images are of a Boing Prototype flying wing airplane in the last three shots.

Northrop Aircraft Company pioneered the flying-wind design and built the YB-49, which first flew in 1947.

The B2 bomber is a descendent of the Northrop YB-49. 

$1.5 Billion B2 Bomber Video Crashing Caught On Video...

First watch this CBS video story on the B2

Here is the $1.5 Billion B2 Bomber Crashing:

Jake's Quote of the Day: Confucius Proverb...

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance. —Confucius

Lamborghini Gallardo...Great Lines

The Two Steves...The Other Apple Steve

Turns out I was not the only one who noticed how gaunt Steve Jobs looked at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference last week.  Fortune has a great write up on what is likely the case.

I hope that Steve is o.k. and wish him the best.

You can read the Fortune article by clicking here.

On the left Steve Jobs looks more like Steve Wozniak or Santa Claus.

Steve Wozniak Teaches Kathy Griffin How To Ride A Segway...

This is so funny!!! Woz and Kathy are like Laurel & Hardy.  The Bravo channels new show stars Kathy Griffin and is named "My Life On The D List."

In this segment, The Woz teaches Kathy how to ride a Segway.

You can watch the video by clicking here.

This scene is so funny when Kathy's dog bites Steve Wozniak!!! You have got to love Steve!!!

Jake's Quote of the Day: Albert Einstein on the Universe

"The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. 

"The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. 

"It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books—a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects." —Albert Einstein

1800 Year Old Roman Glass Gaming Dice Piece...

This Roman glass gaming dice from the second century was auctioned of by Christie's recently for $17,925.

Nobody has been able to figure out what the mysterious markings mean or how the game was played...

What Does Life Mean To You ?

I want to share something with you. I am politically and religiously agnostic.

I vote purely on the issue and base my decisions upon my perceived content of peoples character.

That being said, I really like Barack Obama. 

Almost everything he says resonates well with me.

There is no question that Barak Obama is a superb orator, something I believe the oval office of the United States can use.

I have not made my decision on who to vote for yet.  I will listen carefully to both messages and then make my decision.

I thought I would pass along this superb Father's Day speech by Barack Obama on the significance of being a good father.

Enjoy...

Jake's Quote of the Day: Charles Swindoll on Attitude...

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. 

"It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. 

"The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. 

"We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. 

"We cannot change the inevitable. 

"The one thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. 

"I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. 

"And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes." —Charles Swindoll

Floating Cities of The Future..

Floating Lilypad cities of the future might make sense?

At least, that is what Architect Vincent Callebaut's vision is.  Vincent designed each floating lilypad city so support 50,000 people.  

The floating cities are completely self-sustaining and have a zero-emissions footprint.  

They use wind, solar, tidal and biomass power to generate energy.  Vincent's ark has skin made out of titanium dioxide that allows it to combat rising atmospheric CO2.

Now if he could just figure out how to make them fly, they would look like Independence Day all over again...

Cool BMW M1 meets the Concorde Shot...

Awesome Lamborghini

This Shot Says It All...

jake's Quote of the Day

There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, "Yes, I've got dreams, of course I've got dreams." Then they put the box away and bring it out once in awhile to look in it, and yep, they're still there. These are great dreams, but they never even get out of the box. It takes an uncommon amount of guts to put your dreams on the line, to hold them up and say, "How good or how bad am I?" That's where courage comes in. —Erma Bombeck

Cool New 3G iPhone Commercial

Jake's Quote of the Day

The best time to handle a problem is before it ever comes up. —Anthony Robbins

F-35 Supersonic Joint Strike Fighter...

The Joint Strike Fighter F35 is an amazing design.  

The way it can take off and land like a helicopter is incredible.  

Check out the video below:

Steve Jobs Video Interview on 3G iPhone...

CNBC's Jim Goldman interviewed Steve Jobs after the launch of the 3G iPhone.

Click here to watch the video and scroll down the page.

Great Steve Jobs Video Interview on Macbook Air Design History...

Great Steve Jobs CNBC Video interview on the introduction of the Macbook Air and a discussion on the iPhone.  This video is 6 months old, but fascinating...

Click here to watch video and scroll down the page.