All posts by jasonian

Verizon offers subsidized netbooks   ◆

It's not just AT&T offering subsidized netbooks. Also $199 for the computer, and 250 MB of data for $40/month, or 5GB for $60/month. Overages are $102/GB and $51/GB, respectively (way cheaper than AT&T's overages).

David Pogue Likes the Palm Pre   ◆

Sounds like a more-than-decent phone:

The Pre, which goes on sale Saturday, is an elegant, joyous, multitouch smartphone; it’s the iPhone remixed.

I'd consider it if I wasn't wedded to my iPhone.

The art of “Up”   ◆

Lou Romano, a development and production artist at Disney/Pixar, talks about his early work on "Up". I'm always fascinated by seeing early art and how it influences the final product. I loved this:

A challenge in film is conveying how something feels, not how it exists in reality. Research trips can be a blessing and a curse: the blessing in that visiting an actual place surpasses what you can get from video and photos alone, the curse in being too much a slave to the actual place. Imagination and feeling should dictate everything, not reality.

Subsidized netbooks coming from AT&T   ◆

As low as $199 with a "qualifying plan" that starts at $40/month for 200 MB of data. Total base cost over the two years is $1159. Don't go too far over your plan though: It's $105 per gigabyte (of course, they market it as $0.0001/KB).

The $60 plan gives you 5GB data, and charges $503 per GB ($0.00048/KB) above that. Total base cost of ownership is $1639.

I'm not sure who goes for this. At the very least, AT&T should give away the netbooks.

Pre-order The Beatles: Rock Band   ◆

Following up from The Beatles: Rock Band videos, turns out you can pre-order the game from Amazon and other places, and get behind-the-scenes footage and artwork. (If you order from this link, I get a tiny kickback.)

Liquid Protein Drinks   ◆

These folks were offering tasting samples at the local Costco recently. 25 grams of protein and 100 calories in three ounces. Tasted like a syrupy fruit punch. $20 at Costco. Not quite a meal replacement, but useful for recovery after working out.