I’m in the final countdown for my Kindle 2 to arrive. The original Kindle was “ok,” but the snowspeeder like design and the pokey page change refresh rate was a definite put-off. As an avid book reader, I’ve been waiting for an e-reader with a “good enough” e-Ink based display and a relatively smooth e-book buying/download experience. Amazon has most of that covered now with their Kindle 2 and their holistic buying experience (you can purchase via Amazon.com and on the Kindle 2 itself via 3G / EVDO on Sprint’s network, which by-the-way is free - no wireless fees). The new Kindle 2 also gets a 20% faster e-ink display with 16 shades of gray vs the old Kindle’s 4 shades. It should arrive by Wed, Feb 25th (at least that’s what Amazon.com tells me). I really can’t wait.



Proof of my eagerness? I already ordered the following e-books:

• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
• Anathem by Neal Stephenson
• Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
• The Shaolin Way by Steve DeMasco
• American Shaolin by Matthew Polly
• UR by Stephen King
• Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link
• A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow
• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

And a subscription to the MIT Technology Review: The Authority on the Future of Technology

More Proof? I also pre-ordered an Oberon Design Cover for the Kindle2. Unfortunately, it won’t arrive until the 3rd or 4th week of March. The design I ordered was the “Creekbed Maple” shown below:


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Tags: kindle, kindle 2, amazon, amazon.com, books, gadgets, e-ink

In all the hoopla regarding the latest 2.1 firmware upgrade to the iPhone (fixes many of the lingering issues I still had since previous posts on the subject), one piece of iPhone news may have been overlooked. Laminar Research, the developers of the popular and highly accurate Flight Simulator for the Mac, PC, and Linux, have released a version of X-Plane 9 for the iPhone. Their Flight Simulators on the bigger platforms are so accurate and well liked by the Aviation community that the FAA even allows its use for logging flight time towards certification.



I downloaded and tried the simulator out. Although limited in many aspects regarding terrain range and instrument simulation (relying instead on a HUD), the simulation itself is fairly solid for a mobile App. The graphics are quite nice for the iPhone, especially the external flyby views. Controls utilize the Accelerometer and some on-screen sliders and buttons for Throttle, Flaps, Landing Gear and Brakes. You also have your choice of various planes and high level of control over the weather and time of day.

Per Austin Meyer, the creator of X-Plane:
The iPhone is not QUITE as powerful as a Quad-Core desktop, so I had to really scale it down to a perfect little ’slice’ of X-Plane.

You can choose from the Cirrus Jet, Columbia-400, Cessna 182, and Piaggo Avanti, with flight physics that are about 95% as accurate as X-Plane for desktop, so the flight modeling is really just amazing for a little device of this size.. really just stunning.

I’m surprised that the launch of this Flight Simulator on the iPhone hasn’t garnered more attention. I didn’t see it on the Apps, Games, or Entertainment pages of the iTunes Store yet, so it may still be below the RADAR (so to speak), but you can find it by following this link to get it from the App store. It goes for $9.99.
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Tags: iphone, games, gadgets, flight simulator, simulation, x-plane, apple, apps

Haven't had much time for my blog lately.. it's been all Halo, Oblivion, or work lately. I have huge backlog of photos I have to edit as well.

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Tags: halo, xbox 360, gadgets, games

I've copied some of my old Personal Finance Tips and Tech Reviews from my old site to the new one. I'll be able to continue writing more reviews and tips now! You'll find them on the side navigation bar or at the links above.

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Tags: personal finance, tech review, 401k, gadgets, money, investing