To The Moon And Back

Have you heard about Phone-007? It’s a special telephone that you can use to record phone calls or conversations nearby in a discreet manner. All sounds are then stored in a secure network so you can listen to it via phone anywhere in the world or through the web. This type of service may be intrusive but according to the website, there are tons of cases where this phone actually helped people catch a cheating spouse, monitor a baby, or find out what their teenagers are up to.

It may be invasion of privacy to some but I think it depends on what you plan to do with this spy phone. And if you’re the owner, you can do what you want to ensure the safety of your kids or home. Now, for working mothers, there’s no better feeling than knowing that their babies and toddlers are being taken care of by their nannies. Think of Phone-007 as a nanny cam. Instead of recording videos, the spy phone can record all sounds your baby (or nanny) makes even when the phone is not in use. Wherever the mom is, she can just dial the Phone-007 access number to listen to recordings or download audio from the web. This process also applies to checking on your teenagers or elderly at home. You can make sure that everyone at home is safe or not doing what they’re supposed to when you’re not around.

I’ve never had a Mac. I’ve played with my boss’ Macbook Pro before while he was having lunch. There was this one time when I spent two hours using my client’s while presenting a design. I’ve also touched the new Macbook Air from an Apple store. And on those three times, my need to have one increased tenfold.

I don’t just want it. I need it. As a graphics / web designer, owning multiple computers is a must for browser compatibility. I already have two but both of them are using the Windows platform so there’s no way that I can check what my designs look like on a Firefox, Safari in Mac. I always rely on my colleagues who use Mac so they can check if my websites are working properly on their browsers. It sucks, and not exactly convenient.

I won’t go for Macbooks since I already have my trusted HP laptop. What I really need is a high powered machine that can run multiple graphic applications while running a web server. It needs to have more than 2GB of memory and a minimum of 250GB hard drive. The monitor has to be very huge so I can check how my website looks like on all resolutions.

Having browsed through all the possibilities, it boils down to the perfect option - a 20 inch iMac.

At $1100, I can have all these and more:
2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory (upgradable up to 4GB)
250GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory

Slim, all-in-one design
Setting new standards for elegance and simplicity, the all-new, all-in-one iMac packs all its components — from processor to video camera — into an astoundingly thin, anodized aluminum frame.

Intel Core 2 processor
At speeds up to 2.8GHz, the advanced dual-core Intel processors that power every iMac are faster than ever — delivering greater performance for everything from enhancing photos to playing games and more.

Dazzling displays
Your photos, movies, and games will come to life in rich, vivid color thanks to the new glossy widescreen display on every iMac.

Should I continue dreaming or just go right ahead and ask my boss if he can buy me one? He was the one who introduced me to iMacs so I guess if I convince him how I really need it, he might just consider getting one for me. In fact, his old iMac will do. I will use this to improve my designs which at the end of the day, is really just for the company’s sake.

Oh, yes, I am crazy about anything that has to do with Apple. I blame my boss for this recent addiction of mine. Not that I own any Apple product except for an iPod, but still, it won’t stop me from checking out what’s new, hoping that I can get hold one of them soon. Plus, Apple.com is my top favorite website design of all time. Everything is so web 2.0 - lots of white spaces, huge boxes, fonts, gradient surfaces, shiny graphics and icons. It’s worth taking a daily trip just to inspire myself.

So now, on to the latest news - Apple TV.

What Apple TV does is let you rent movie directly from your TV. It has an interface that allows you to browse, rent, and watch movies from every major movie studio such as Touchstone Pictures, Walt Disney, Universal, Paramount and more. The movie rentals are $2.99 for library titles, $3.99 for new releases and $1 for HD titles with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Movies are downloaded instantly and the faster your Internet connection, the better! And for TV show addicts like myself, you can also buy your favorite TV show for only $1.99 each. Still not enough? How about access to free content like YouTube, podcasts, photos, music videos? Yes, they have those too!

Yummy! My husband will definitely drool over this.