I was in line for an iPhone 3GS on release day, just as excited about my new purchase as I was about getting Darth Vader on Christmas, 1982. But of all the new features that intrigued me – faster speed, voice memos for interviews and even just getting a black model instead of my white 3G – the feature I really didn’t care about was the new voice control. I had the feature on my Blackberry and never used it then, and it wasn’t reliable in any previous phones I had, either. So why would I even use it?

Fact is, I didn’t. Not until recently, anyways. I was driving to Las Vegas on business and I needed to call the dog sitter to let them know when we’d be back in town. I was going 80 mph the legal speed limit down I-95 at the time, and I didn’t want to take my eyes off the road to find the phone number. I considered what I was going to do, and then I remembered that I had a 3GS and voice control, why not give it a shot?

“Call Tanya, iPhone,” I said, and that’s when I heard two tones and a distinctive voice. “Calling Tanya, iPhone.” Next thing I knew, I was talking to Tanya.

For the past few weeks I’ve been playing around with the app, testing its accuracy, and I haven’t had a problem. Sure, it mispronounces my friends names, but it still pulls up their correct info. and if I say “mobile” instead of “iPhone” or vice versa, it still makes the connection. It’s pretty amazing how well it works. So much so, that it’s my new favorite toy.

The iPhone is an amazing device for me because every time I think I’m getting tired of it, something new comes along – or I discover something new – that changes it all and makes the phone appear new to me. This time, it was voice control. Who knows what it’ll be next month.

I have a few different Macs in my house/office, and I like to be able to sync documents across the two machines. For example, I have a spreadsheet I use frequently, and it’s nice to have access to it whichever computer I happen to be using. It’s also nice because anyone can get 2 gb of storage through Dropbox for free, and if you want a little bit more, you can get 50 gb for $9.99 a month or 100 gb for $19.99 a month.

But recently, I’ve started to toy with the idea of using Dropbox as a file server. In my line of work – photography and writing – I have a lot of large files that I need to store somewhere. Currently, I have them backed up on USB drives and my Time Capsule, but when one of them fails – which will happen at some point – then I’ll have to figure out another way to make it happen. Something that comes up a lot for me, is having an editor call me late at night when I’m out and about, asking for a file immediately. Having to carry around a USB drive isn’t always that convenient, and if I’m away from the computer or an internet connection, I just can’t send the file. But Dropbox has an iPhone app, so if I used Dropbox as a file server, I could just send it off immediately from my iPhone. The only catch now is that I wasn’t sure if 100 gb was enough for me. Then I saw this in an e-mail from Dropbox:

Coming Soon to a Dropbox Near You
We’ve received some great feedback from many of our users and are hard at work on the stuff you’ve asked for. In the next few months you can expect larger storage options, PayPal support, and selective sync. And that’s just the beginning!

Looks like using Dropbox as a file server may become an option for me pretty soon.

Dropbox

I just read about Apple winning the copyright infringement case about Psystar today. If you are not familiar with the Apple vs Psystar case, Psystar is a corporation that believes in open computers. And with this ideal, they sold non-Apple machines with OS X operating systems for a more affordable price. They are the first ever company to commercially distribute Mac clones or Hackintoshes.

Apple filed the lawsuit against Psystar last July 3, 2008. Wow, it’s been more than a year and it’s only now that some sort of finality has been made.

This event has made me wonder, what if Psystar won and installing OS X on non-Apple machines became a norm? How will that affect the sales of Apple laptops and desktops? We all say that Apple is actually selling it’s hardware more than their software that’s why they don’t really care much about their operating system or OS X being pirated (for a lack of better term), but would that change if Psystar won? Would they become more protective and become more like Microsoft?

I find it ironic that you can install Windows on an Apple machine, but you can’t install OS X on a non-Apple Machine. Just makes you wonder.

[ Image courtesy of Image Cave ]

If seafood is a part of the every day, every other day, every week, or every year’s diet, than the “Seafood Watch” App is an absolute must have. The application is free for the iPhone, and makes purchasing and eating food from the sea a whole lot easier!

For those who have been disappointed with the flounder that was brought to the plate looking a little like an oil spill, “Seafood Watch” helps to insure a tasty and healthy meal. Upon opening the App it locates the user’s location to determine the best seafood available in the area. Then an entire list of every seafood imaginable is alphabetized, and can be looked at as easily as scrolling through the Contact list in the iPhone.

Each fish, crab, lobster is given in detail, including where they were bred or caught which is essential in getting healthy tasty specimens not full of iodine, or worse. The App also says which Chilean sea bass is an endangered species, or which flat fish are becoming endangered (because of the long amount of time it takes them to mature). The premature fish is not necessarily always a tasty fish either.

“Seafood Watch” is a unique guide to being a responsible, healthy and satisfied seafood customer. There is also a button to press to switch the guide to sushi for another amazing insight listing.

Grade: A

While other retailers call them flagship stores, Apple has announced that they are targetting to open around 40-50 ’significant Apple stores’ all over the world by the end of 2010.

Just this year, they have opened around 26 stores, including three (3) brand new ones in Paris, New York and Australia.

The largest Apple store to date is the UWS (Upper West Side) Apple Store in New York which boasts of an all-glass arched roof and a 45-foot genius bar. Wow.

Apple is aiming to open stores in major cities such as Paris, London, Shanghai and in other countries such as Canada, Australia, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

As for me, I just wish an Apple Store would open up in Manila, Philippines. We actually don’t have an official Apple Store here. What we do have are authorized resellers and service centers. Having an Apple product or parts serviced takes twice as long, sadly, since they have to request for approval from Apple Singapore.

As for Apple’s expansion plan, this move reminds of me what Starbucks did. The next thing you know, there’s an Apple store in every corner.