The Monkey

I need to make a flight reservation.

Please tell me you've tried it and that it is brilliant.

If I still have the SkipJack by CJ, I'll bring it to Chicago. We could have some fun with it there. When I was in big pharma, we were all about the double-blind (except when it didn't suit us ).

Obviously all of those things are at work. But I think there is a deeper issue for these people. By acknowledging a bias, they are forced to acknowledge that they are not always 100% consciously in control of their thoughts and actions. I think that scares them. EDIT: DanC, Deepak...you guys need to get SkipJacks.

^ This. My big DAC adventure was a good learning experience in that regard. At first, it was very frustrating because I had a hard time admitting that teh shiny new DAC (e.g., Bryston) maybe didn't sound as good as the cheaper old DAC. But once I sort of gave in and admitted that I just didn't like it as much as some other DACs regardless of price and/or shininess, it felt kind of liberating not to "have" to like it. It's amazing to me how difficult it is to overcome those biases. It is also consistently surprising to me how unwilling most people are to admit that they even have such biases, especially when a "review" or opinion about a piece of gear is at issue. I don't understand the defensiveness.

Good article. Thanks, Ric.

I agree that iAd is great for Apple and marketers. Call placed to Mrs. Monkey to get on it!

I think it's the "genuinely useful information in advertisements" that I don't necessarily agree with or like. That's not to say I like the ads the way they are now, but Apple's focus on how to more seamlessly interweave advertisements with the other things we use on our devices seems intrusive to me. Also, I'd like to know more about what kinds of data collection iAd is capable of, if any. I the following Jobs answer during the Q&A is part of what I didn't like here: "11:38AM Q: Are you concerned about leaving out your older customer base (with the lack of features for older devices). A: (Steve) Well, a lot of these products that are out there are the most recent products. The old devices will get the update, but they'll miss some of these features like multitasking. If that's an incentive for them to upgrade to a new device... terrific." This update seems like an unabashed attempt to monetize the existing user base rather than just an OS update. And that of course is Apple's right and duty, I guess. But this presentation seemed to be directed more at marketers and app developers than end users. Whatever. I'll just get a new iPhone anyway.

Having just gone through a similar exercise, I would recommend the vintage DAC path. However, just because it's vintage doesn't mean you're going to love it. If you can afford a new DAC and a vintage DAC (or if you can demo a new DAC), then that would be ideal. Really, the only way you can make an informed decision is to hear them for yourself. I've found that it is very difficult to get an idea of the sound of a source based on reviews.

iAd is seriously creepy. iPad getting OS 4 in the fall is fail. Something about this event strikes me as odd, and I don't know what it is.

Just FYI, in addition to an app for the iPhone, PS Audio is working on an app for the iPad that will control the PWD--and later, the bridge.

Yup, and the rumored available date is almost exactly as I predicted in relation to my receipt of the iPad. I expect a thank you card from everyone at Macrumors.

That would be a great craigslist classified.

^Exactly. With this:

For some reason, I get his movies mixed up with John Malkovich's. Are the fingerprints as big an issue as I think they are on the iPad?

It was tough for me to even get an arc assembly for my O2 mk1.

It's a sign, Larry. Get rid of those inferior DACses. I have not noticed similar behavior, but I have noticed the awful beachball a lot more with Snow Leopard. Have you tried a powered hub?

Plants v. Zombies FTW.

Neither can WiFi, apparently.

Nums, there was some talk about a group buy, but Stax is rather twitchy about its parts. I'm not sure where the GB stands. Has anyone heard from Craig lately?

If you want an HE60, then that's what you should get. Stax 'phones are Stax.

Thanks!

I agree. I'm really hoping this isn't a hardware issue (duh). From the few dozen posts I've read, I'm wondering if WEP or WPA is the culprit.

In one of the articles (that 'stretch linked to, I think), didn't one of the Apple folks say that it was designed to be tossed into a bag or the backseat of the car? In other news, I just got back from the Apple store on 57th street. That place is a disaster, but that's for another post. The iPad is really cool. The screen, while fingerprinty, is lovely. And the whole thing just feels super responsive. I can see how the overall experience would feel more organic than a traditional laptop. Some observations/comments based on my 10 mins: Typing is much easier than I anticipated, which alleviates a major concern. It feels heavier than I expected. It's fast, but some websites (e.g., MSNBC, WSJ) took a bit longer to load than I had hoped. The WiFi antenna indicator showed full strength, so no apparent WiFi issues unless the slow page loads is a symptom. The letterboxing on some of the videos makes the image ridiculously narrow, but blowing it up does not seem to crop as much as I feared. The iPhone apps look awful. This thing wasn't meant to have all kinds of dongles and doohickeys hanging from it--I get that more now. WANT