Tidbits of news and other things I find interesting

Well it’s official, Apple released the long awaited iPhone at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Let me be the first to say that it is very impressive. Has some amazing features that have been longed for in a true smartphone for a while.

I kept on hoping that they would find him alive in the Oregon wilderness and that everything would be ok.

For those of you that don’t know, James Kim a senior editor with CNET was stranded with his family in the Oregon Wilderness for over a week. In a last ditch effort, after burning even the tires on his car to keep his family warm, he went out on his own to find help.

As luck would have it his family was found and rescued two days after he went off on his own.

Yesterday they found his body and we now mourn the loss of a fellow gadget lover. I always enjoyed his CNET reviews on CNET, first on the web and later on my cell phone. CNET has put together a video to remind us of his enthusiasm and great personality.

While this is a terrible time for the Kim family, they should take solace in the fact that the web community has come together in such a strong way to support the search for his family and then him. From the fact that a satellite was rerouted to help with the search to the use of diggs to push the news to the front page, I for one am proud of my brethren for coming together in a time of need to help one of our own.

He will be missed.

Rest in peace James, rest in peace.

Technorati Tags: James Kim, CNET
powered by performancing firefox

Just when you thought you knew all the things an iPod does, now you can add lifesaving to the list. A mushroom picker that was lost deep in the woods in Oregon was found thanks to the glow of his iPod Nano. Click here to read the story. Talk about lucky.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to try Google Reader you really should take a moment and try it out. It has some great features and I find it to be one of the easiest to use RSS readers around. I really like the fact that since it is on Google I can get to it from any web browser. I like not having to be tied down to an installed app. I also like the fact that I can share the articles that I find interesting and it automatically builds a web page with those articles. I have added a link to my shared news articles here on my blog permanently on the right under links. Very nice feature. Try it out, I think you will like it.

Every once in a while you find something online that makes you go “um……what?” This would be one of those times. Apparently Sam’s Club, the warehouse version and division of Wal-Mart, is now selling a Cessna Citation Mustang for the “rollback” low price of $2,734,600. Well isn’t that special. Oh and here’s the best part, they will throw in a lifetime membership to Sam’s Club if you buy it. Hello, McFly, is anybody in there? Have the geniuses behind this offering been in a Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club lately? I hate to break it to them, but the Wal-Mart brand has not really caught on with the upscale shopper they are targeting here. Let me go down my list of things that I can check off on the “I associate with Wal-Mart” list:

• Mu mu’s and flip-flops — Check!
• Stuff that should cost more, but is made in China so it is really cheap and I don’t really expect it to last very long — Check!
• Unhealthy food — Check!
• Cheap gifts for people you don’t really like — Check!
• Lines filled with screaming kids — Check!
• Folks walking around in what looks to be sleepwear yelling at their kids to shut up – Check!
• Multi-million dollar jet aircraft – um…..not so much

It’s a good thing they got this on their site before Christmas. You want to make sure to get something like this in stock before the big rush…