There are two things I find strangely irresistible: extreme French horror films and male teen pop sensations. The latter obsession harkens back to my youth, when my sister and I were deep into a New Kids on the Block (or NKOTB as we called them) obsession. In college, I went through a Backstreet Boys/*NSYNC phase where their infectious pop hits dominated a good 80% of my workout mix. I may or may not have debated at length with my friend about which Justin Timberlake hairstyle I liked the best.
Now, I'm not one to swoon or scream over these sorts of bands myself - I'm more of a "only discuss it around like-minded friends and always with a sense of weird guilt" kind of fan. But these bands do inspire that screaming obsessive behavior in many of their fans; I remember hearing a rumor that if you attended a NKOTB concert without ear plugs, you risked permanent hearing damage from all the high-pitched screaming. That's part of what draws me to these sorts of acts, because I'm constantly fascinated with dissecting exactly what it is about these groups that appeals to their fans (more specifically, their younger fans).
Needless to say, when I started hearing internet rumblings about one Justin Bieber a few months back, I was intrigued. I had seen the Twitter trends, and had heard a few internet memes going around, but for a long time I had no idea who he was. It was like he was living in some parallel world where everyone seemed to know who he was. I resisted for awhile, but finally had to see what all the fuss was about. I downloaded My World 2.0 and fired it up on my drive to work.
Here's how the album breaks down:
Track 1 - "Baby" This is an exact transcription of what went through my head as I listened to this song: "Hmm... Is that a girl? No, that must be Bieber. Ok. Damn, they auto-tuned the shit out of this song. It's still pretty catchy though. '
Baby, baby, baby, baby, ohhhhhhh...' Ha ha, oh my god - is that Ludacris I hear? I think it is. WTF? Ludacris is rapping about playground love. That is weirdly awesome." I have to admit - overall this is a great track and I'm not surprised that it's hit single. By the second time I listened to it, I was singing along. It's a tasty pop confectionery treat for the ears.
Here's the video of the song, which confirms Ludacris's presence. My favorite part of the song is when Justin dances up all close on the object of his affection like maybe he's going to get all sexy on her. Honestly though, the way it plays out, it seems like the only physical contact she's in danger of is enthusiastic hugging.
Per
Engadget, take a look at the foxy new tablet from ICD called Gemini.
Some of the remarkable things this sexy beast features are the ability to make phone calls via the built-in 3G, do videoconferencing (thanks to a 2MP camera that faces you), take pictures (thanks to a fancy 5MP camera that faces out), and read from SD cards. It also has a USB connection (yay!) and the user can swap out the battery. It sports a 1366x768 resolution and is capable of playing HD video
Now, I don't want to sell this as an "iPad killer". I don't WANT the iPad killed. What makes me excited about this sort of product hitting the market is that it seems (from its specs anyway) to be a viable
alternative to the iPad. The iPad is a great piece of technology, but it worries me because the hype is so great for it that it may choke out all other entries into the tablet market. I want choice in which tablet I want to buy, and I want a competitor to the iPad that forces developers to hopefully push for open standards, so that their software can be used on multiple platforms.
Given the wide range of features, I'm doubtful that the Gemini will have the amazing battery life that the iPad currently boasts (a whopping 11 hours of video, which blows my mind). I'm also not sure how it'll handle, in terms of weight (the Gemini is larger than the iPad) and general touch screen usability. But for a geek like me, who felt that there were several features missing that prevented the iPad from being a viable platform for me, the Gemini is a really exciting piece of hardware.
There's no release date or price for the Gemini yet, but I'm hoping it comes sooner rather than later before Apple completely consumes the tablet market.
Check out the Engadget page for an excellent rundown of the full specs of the device, plus a side-by-side comparison to its direct competitors.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/06/icds-tegra-2-powered-gemini-is-the-most-feature-complete-tablet/Other coverage can be found at:
ZDNetElectronista
photo taken from the Engadget.com site linked above
There are two things I find strangely irresistible: extreme French horror films and male teen pop sensations. The latter obsession harkens back to my youth, when my sister and I were deep into a New Kids on the Block (or NKOTB as we called them) obsession. In college, I went through a Backstreet Boys/*NSYNC phase where their infectious pop hits dominated a good 80% of my workout mix. I may or may not have debated at length with my friend about which Justin Timberlake hairstyle I liked the best.
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