June 9 – 13, 2008 marks this years WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) and Steve Jobs will be speaking.  No claims are being made on what Jobs will be releasing at the conference (cough cough 3G iPhone cough cough) , but the keynote is scheduled for 10AM PST on Monday, June 9, rather than the usual Tuesday.  The assumption is being made that Steve will continue the trend of black turtlenecks..

Here is the “official” release from the boys in Cupertino.

CUPERTINO, California—May 13, 2008—Apple® today announced that a team of Apple executives, led by CEO Steve Jobs, will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 9, 2008 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. This year’s WWDC will showcase two revolutionary development platforms, the ground-breaking innovations of OS X Leopard® and OS X iPhone™, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system.

The five-day WWDC event, which runs from June 9 to June 13, will feature the first ever iPhone track for mobile developers with in-depth sessions and hands-on labs to fully explore the capabilities of the OS X iPhone 2.0 software, including the iPhone SDK and the App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to iPhone and iPod® touch users.

The iPhone track will also enable mobile developers to work side by side with Apple engineers to create amazing applications that leverage iPhone’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface, animation technology, rich set of APIs, including programming interfaces for Core OS, Core Services, Media and Cocoa® Touch technologies, built-in three axis accelerometer and geographical location technology to deliver truly innovative mobile applications.

This year’s Mac® track will give newcomers and seasoned veterans alike the technical foundation and techniques needed to develop world-class OS X Leopard applications with sessions that discuss every level of the system, including interface design and implementation, application frameworks, security, localization and networking.

WWDC 2008 will offer over 150 information-rich sessions and labs where Apple engineers will go in-depth on the innovative technologies that power OS X iPhone and OS X Leopard. Developers can bring code to the labs and work one-to-one with Apple engineers, applying development methods and best-practices gained from sessions to enhance their applications.

Other activities at Apple’s WWDC 2008 include:

* presentation sessions led by engineers that provide an in-depth look at OS X iPhone, OS X Leopard and innovative tools and technologies such as the iPhone SDK, Cocoa Touch, Interface Builder, Xcode® and more;
* practical hands-on sessions where attendees can learn Apple’s own coding strategies and techniques;
* technology labs where attendees can work one-to-one with Apple engineers; and
* special events, including the Welcome Reception, Apple Design Awards, Lunchtime Speakers and Stump the Experts.

Want to go ?  I do, but I doubt I will be there. Two trips to San Francisco in less then two months is too much for this geek, but if your planning to be there, go [ here ] first.

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I haven’t been to Magic Mountain since I was about 9 years old, and back then the only major ride was Colossus.

Now… there are a ton of rides… Like Tetsu.. Here is a pic :

It was fun… but I can barely talk now, and I am keenly aware of how old I am.. ugh.

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ugobeSarah posted on the pleoworld forums…

Hey all,

The folks that were behind this stunt did it without authorization or approval. It seems the prankster spirit overcame them, and FYI, there was quite a ruckus here in the office about it today. Many people were shocked and appalled, including the UGOBE reps at our Maker Faire booth!

We ourselves make emotional bonds with Pleo too!

Thanks for your concern! It is perhaps a small consolation to know that the Pleo destroyed was a factory prototype?

It won’t happen again under our watch!

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AT&T has AGAIN pulled free wi-fi off the plan for iPhone users…. yesterday all the iPhone plans on the website indicated that Free Wi-Fi at AT&T hot spots, today however, no such offer is available…

Of course, given that this is a Phone company the flip-flop pattern makes complete, because of sunshine, flowers and make believe where they can just make their customers take whatever they give them and the customer smiles and takes it..

AT&T … Epic Fail.

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Piracy has now been added as a “public nuisance” and allows the authorities (or “the man”) to crack down on properties where piracy is occurring..  Read the [ new ordinance ].

Fines, evictions, and the seizure and sale of the property involved in piracy are remedies that the county can pursue now that piracy is listed as a public nuisance that “substantially interferes with the interest of the public in the quality of life and community peace, lawful commerce in the county, property values, and is detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare of the county’s citizens, its businesses, and its visitors.”

Really!?  Are they really going to climb into the bed of morons known as the RIAA and MPAA? C’mon…

When will someone large enough finally be tired of the stupidity and stop supporting a backwards, outdated, and ultimately failing business model.  The RIAA and MPAA have become bullies who go around pushing the common man around, who generally are doing nothing more then legally copying thier own music and movies.

Currently this ordinance is limited to people who are actively producing and distributing actual media in their homes, or offices.. and I have no problem with that.  However, does anyone really believe that this will end there.  Does anyone really believe that the RIAA is going to stop at just those people.. NO.. Due to the broad nature of this “public nuisance” law, this will end up resulting in your grandmother being evicted from her house because her next door neighbor jacked into her wifi and downloaded Iron Man….

RIAA & MPAA I implore you to stop the madness… Stop wasting time and resources trying to prevent the unpreventable and spend that time and money on finding and executing a legitimate business plan that will allow for the DRM free distribution of media.

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Man can come up with some pretty cool stuff every so often, but nothing compares to what a Chilean Volcano has decided to spew forth ….

Yep, that is lightning coming out of that volcano… and that folks, is pretty freaking cool. Unless you live at the base of that particular volcano. Then it probably sucks.

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fake sky lights.

[ The Sky Factory ] has produced a solution to the poor saps that sit in a windowless office.

I am one of those poor saps that sits in a windowless office in the bowls of a large corporate structure… Some days I have no idea what the weather is even like outside…. Not that these would help with knowing the weather, but they sure would be cooler to look at then the white wall with a clock on it that I stare at now…

A few years back, my wife and I took a cruise on a carnival cruise ship and had an inside room … WOW did that suck.. I would force myself to stay asleep since I thought that it was still really really early, when in fact it was really 10 in the morning. The room was literally in total darkness. Of course they had a big white screen that didn’t do anything and I thought it would be a good idea to slap a cheap flat screen in there and mount a few HD cameras on the front and back of the ship and let people “pretend” they have a window… you could even upcharge the room that has that…

Of course, a dude like me has no play with Carnival, and therefore my excellent ideas fall on deaf ears…

Their loss, as far as my wife and I, we only cruise with a balcony now anyway.

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So, I spoke about how much I loved the [ Pleo ] at Maker Faire last weekend… then today I was sent a video on You Tube of the Pleo being put into a combat ring with a combot.  I am not going to post the video since I find it rather disturbing.

First of all, let me make a few facts known.  I am not against combat bots and the sheer enjoyment of building a desctructobot to destroy other destructobots..  Nor am I some sort of wacky PETA person who is going to equate this to being the same thing as having “real” animals fight, since that is just stupid.

HOWEVER… Ugobe [ the company that makes the Pleo ] has created a robotic dino that is supposed to be very life-like. It is supposed to act like, and be treated like a pet, and yet they take this cute, cuddly dinosaur and stick it in the combat ring to be shredded and mutilated by a remote controlled lawn mower…

Sick.

You can hear kids in the background crying and people being noticeably disturbed by what is happening. Robots destroying robots can be quite enjoyable to watch, but only because those robots are not at all life like.  When you market your robot to be a life like cute pet, and have it programmed to act and react as such, it is irresponsible to engage it in these types of activities.

Ugobe, you should be ashamed of yourself.  I know I for one am embarrassed for you.

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well … I wish I was… because dang it.. he is just freaking cool.

I went last night to see this, yes I am aware it has been out for several days.  I was at [ Maker Faire ], and had WAY to much going on to squeeze a viewing in while I was there.. so anyway… saw it last night.

First of all I want to say, that this is the coolest movie that I have seen in a long time.  Robert Downey Jr. was perfectly cast as Tony Stark and did such a magnificent job on this movie.  The story line was great, with a couple of exceptions which I will get to, and had very few “slow” parts.  I never felt like I could get up and run to the bathroom and not miss something.

Jarvis, the computer system, and his various robot helpers were great.  I love when movies can create an emotional connection with a non-sentient in the movie.  (i.e. Wilson in Cast Away).

The Iron Man suit was so awesome…. The creation of it, the look of it, even when he put the freaking thing on .. was just cool.

Comedic aspects of the movie were well balanced.. Not too much, not too little.

There were some problems that I had with the movie.  Bear in mind, I don’t like to hate on, or unnecessarily critique someone else’s work, but there were a few things that would have made this movie beyond stellar if they had fixed.

[ SPOILER ALERT ] I don’t give too much away… but there are some

1. The soundtrack really sucked.  Don’t get me wrong.. I am a fan of Audioslave, AC/DC, and “Iron Man” by Sabbath may be one of the better songs ever made… (note the title of this post).  But in this movie, it just didn’t work.  The actual original scores done by Ramin Djawadi should have had much more intensity in the film, but for the most part where vacant.  The one scene that I felt the music really added something was in the cave when he was building the original suit.  That was cool.  Also, what is with Sabbath’s Iron Man being held off till the credits… GAY!  That should have been played through the scene where he was stomping the kidnappers in the cave..  That would have ROCKED!

2. “The Dude” as Stark / Iron Monger.  To be clear, I LOVE Jeff Bridges.  I am a HUGE fan, and watch Tron, and The Big Lebowski at least once a month.  Honestly though, Jeff Bridges has two characters.  Flynn, and The Dude.  He will look or sound like one of them in every scene.  So throughout the final sequence where Iron Monger and Iron Man duke it out on the roof top, when Iron Monger takes his helmet off and Obadiah Stane start talking… I completely expected him to ask “Mind if I do a Jay?” …  It was distracting and removed the dramatic edge of the scene.  They should have kept Iron Monger and Stane separated.  That would have helped keep the character more menacing.

3.  The end…  Really?!, they end the movie with Stark identifying himself as Iron Man…. No.. I don’t think so.  Iron Man, was always Stark’s bodyguard, allowing him to remain anonymous, as are all Super Heroes.  Being known as Iron Man takes away the mystique and added task that all superheroes have of maintaining duel identities.

Again, the movie rocked.  It was uberfantastic… but I think the second one will be even better, and I am already looking forward to it.

Also … Marvel released a possible production schedule for upcoming “avenger” movies ..

April 30th 2010- Ironman 2 .. Plot rumor :  Nick Fury (Sam Jackson – if you hung around after the credits) comes back and asks for help to fight the evil Mandarin.  (no suprise here)

June 4th 2010- Thor

Thor is a great story … and the concept of a dude in NY who can turn into Thor.. ROCK!  I am stoked about this one.  IIRC, Thor (or at least his story line) is also responsible for the formation of the Avengers… so hopefully this will be the movie that does that as well.. I would love to see the battle Loki initiated with Thor and the Hulk…. that would be awesome..

May 6th 2011- The First Avenger: Captain America
[ may skip this one, unless they do something pretty spectacular with it... I am not a CA fan ]

July 2011- The Avengers – this will kick ass… I said it here.. you heard it.

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First of all… I can sum of this weekend with one word … “Awesome!”.  No.. let me change that … “AWESOME!!!  Yes it was an all-caps awesome.  I arrived in San Francisco on Thursday and met up with Chuck and Sean, the guys from [ Toolmonger ], who had invited me up to be a maker with them for the weekend.  Our project was an 18 foot 3 dimensional Stegosaurus made completely from plywood.

For some reason, I assumed that they were bringing the one they had built in Texas with them to the Faire.  It
was one of those moments were the glaring obvious completely escapes you. So, when I got there and was staring at 4 sheets of plywood, I was like, where’s the dino…  They all just looked at me and laughed as I slowly came to the realization of just how stupid a question that was… LOL

So, the four of us set out to cut out “Bob” from the plywood, using a couple of jig saws and a belt sander.  The goal of our project was to produce and show a project that, literally, anyone could do, while still showing something that would wow the kids.   Like Chuck said, “I see parents spending 200 – 300 dollars on a blow-up dinosaur for the front yard for their kids parties, and for half the money we built a WAY COOLER dino, and you get to keep it.

So by Thursday evening, we had all the parts cut, sanded and notched and ready for us to take to the faire to assemble the next day…

Friday morning we arrived bright and early at the Faire, which was really cool, since no one but the other makers are there, and you get to have some time walking around seeing what they brought, and what they were doing and talking to them a little about the project, without the mass of people that came Saturday and Sunday.  Plus since the Faire was just getting started they were still excited to talk to you about… by Sunday night you could tell they were ready to head out… LOL

We began putting Bob together and only had to make a few minor adjustments to get him together..  It was an indescribable amount of fun to take a mallet and just beat the crap out of this collection of plywood …

and then end up with a seriously cool looking dinosaur.

Once we had Bob built and ready to go, we had to get our signs and booth ready to go, and funny enough people seemed to really like taking pictures of our kickin’ sign.

Saturday and Sunday we had a blast.  J.R. manned Bob and dealt with the “adults” who came by and wanted to talk about how we made Bob and what they needed to complete such a task, and managed the “kids” table.  We set up two small 2D versions of Bob and cut them into jig saw puzzles for the kids.  It was so cool watching them run over and sit down to put it together, and then the parents would get involved and help them out, and the puzzle was WAY harder then it looked.   Even the one that was for the “little” kids was stumping some of the adults that came by, and the puzzle that was for the older kids was so hard that only 14 people were able to solve it during the entire show.

We also gave out 100 books on how to make your own 3-d Dinosaur.  Toolmonger.com also posted photos and instructions on how to make the dino we made [ dino instructions ].

So here were a couple of my favorite pics from the show…

Crucible had their “Educational Response Vehicle” out at the Faire .. it was a fire truck that blew fire balls into the air.

Then there was the Lego room… I spent A LOT of time in there…  They had a whole lego train set, with running trains, full cities, farming community, and mountains.. AWESOME…

Then of course, they had the “science fiction” legos.. stargate, star trek, and star wars legos.

There were all kinds of robots, including B9, the Lost in Space Robot… “Danger Will Robinson, DANGER!

… but of course the star of the show was…..

R2 was a such a hit, and mostly because of the guy who built him.  He was FANTASTIC.  He would stand about 20 feet away and have R2 roll up to kids and beep and talk at them … they would just SQUEAL, and hug him and you could tell that it just made their day and the show…

And finally, my personal favorite of the show was the Pleo … a little robotic dinosaur that responds to touch and sound, and was just freaking cute…  I would totally buy one of these little guys for my kids.

So, Maker Faire 2008 is over.. and it was great.  I had the time of my life and I want to extend a special thanks to Chuck and Sean from [ Toolmonger ] for having me up and letting me be a part of the team for the weekend.

It was the experience of a lifetime… and I will for sure be back next year.

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