IKnowRusty.com

Ok, so this product has been around for a while now, but they have an iPhone compatible version of it COMING SOON. That program is called GadgetTrak. Basically what it does, is put lo-jack on your device, so that if it were ever stolen or misplaced, you can find it. It makes it really easy with the iPhone 3G, since GPS comes bundled on the device. They have been making this product for many other electronic devices for a couple of years now, but have finally ported to the iPod Touch/iPhone. You can see a full description and details at the GadgetTrak website (or blog), but it is a really GREAT product and has been on MANY different tech websites and praised all over.
There is an alternative FREE app that is in the App Store right now that is very similar, called GPS Tracker(links to the App Store), but it leaves the iPhone running while the program is on. Therefore, leaves the main backlight on the entire time the program is open. Now this can drain the battery tremendously, and after testing this program, it seems to work very well. It will update my position on a Google Map if I so choose, which I can then embed on to any website or blog. The only BIG thing is, that this is more of an application that you have to turn on knowingly, whereas the GadgetTrak will be more hidden, I think. For full details, you can checkout their HowTo Guide.

You can check out InstaMapper/GPS Tracker at their website and see the video for GadgetTrak below:

Ha, I've never been one to being such a kid, but it was cool to hear my name on Tekzilla, I have been emailing them and posting on their forums forever, so it was a small moment of child like excitement to hear it, but at 4:14, I was in a small list of people who emailed in about LogMeIn.com. You can see the full episode online without having to download at the Revision3 website. I would start @ 3:55 when she started the list, but mine was towards the end... I have even embeded the episode here:

I am so happy right now, my iPhone has ARRived!!! All I have to do is go to the store and pick up the phone!, YEAH!!!!!!!!!

(iPhone Fanboy Rant)

so the new iPhone is just around the corner (WWDC - June 9th), and the internets is swirling about with rumors and "leaked" photos of the upcoming 3G iPhone, but there is a another story that is noteworthy that I don't think is getting the press it needs. I was over at ArsTechnica, reading that the French cell company Orange is offering their current iPhone owners a pretty good price for upgrading to the new 3G iPhone. Somewhat along the lines of turning in your old 1.0 iPhone and paying an extra 50€ to get the new version or getting the new phone at a subsidy price with a new plan. There is no official response from Orange as of yet, but how great would that be for current iPhone users??? I say that the US company (AT&T) that holds the chain to the iPhone, should do the same thing. Make some sort of offer to current iPhone users to have them upgrade to the latest version. Just a few days ago, I did get an email from AT&T giving me a an offer like this, but no mention of the iPhone anywhere in the email, but it doesn't expire until June 30th, 2008, so we shall see.. (you can see the email below, click on the pic for a larger pic you can read)

So Netflix has announced their new set top box that streams movies from their servers, but is it really worth it? Lets take a look.

As the website states:

* Over 10,000 movies & TV episodes
* No advertisements or trailers to sit through
* Movies start in as little as 30 seconds
* Fast-forward, rewind and pause or watch again and again
* Near DVD picture quality



As you can see, Netflix has also made it compatible with today's HDTV by adding in the component and HDMI connections,so there is easy out of the box to television experience. Now their is S-Video for those of you who haven't upgraded yet to a flat-screen, flat-panel, HDTV. This will do just fine for the viewing experience since the movies are only up to near DVD quality. No HD content as of yet!? I find this a hard buy, since many other content providers are out there and broadcasting HD content for a long time now. Comcast with thier On-Demand service, which is supposed to make up for the fact that they don't have as many channels as DirecTV???(That's a whole other can of worms). But if you check out the FAQ of the new player for Netflix, it says they are currently working on that, so it could be a possibility in the future.
Now don't forget the couch potato lovability with the remote as well.Now, this isn't as nice and big as some of those other universal remotes out there, but it seems to do the job, I guess(I don't have one to review, but it looks small). I guess since this is a 1.0 product we can't complain too much right now. We just have to take what we can get for now, and wait for later upgrades I guess.

Which brings me to the UI. Does anyone have this thing yet?? Is the interface easy to search around in? Is it as beautiful as the lovely AppleTV?? Can I add RSS feeds to my favorite podcasts??? Will we ever have HD content?? How is the lag on a 8MB Comcast connection?(that's what i currently have) Will they add more to the selctions?? Does the UI seem to be sluggish as some other set top boxes out there??? Seems to be questions that need to be answered by a professional reviewer. I shall wait and see if is worth the $99 before i lay down that many clams...

-RustyG