Today Apple announced, among other things, a second try at the Apple TV. It is just a software upgrade but it has made the product significantly more attractive. Let me give you a quick rundown of this revision based on my initial review last year.

Last year I said:

Likes:
Small (Still the same size)
Relatively Inexpensive (Even cheaper now at $229!)
Has HDMI out (No change here)
Intuitive interface (Possible better with more feature integration)
Syncs to 40 GB local drive (Upgraded to bigger hard drives option at 160GB)
Portable (Still very portable at the same size)

Dislikes:
Needs new Airport or needs hardwire (Same)
No DVD playback (Same)
No DVR (Same, probably by design)
No native media acquisition (Much improved now without the need of a computer)
iTunes software is too bulky but required for use (No longer required)
Minor dislike, no 1080p support (Still likely no 1080p but apparently looks very good)

Overall, I think the Apple TV 2.0 is a great improvement over the first iteration. The price cut makes it even more attractive. But I think it is still too expensive for at the $229 price point. If and when it gets closer to the $99 range, I believe they will have mass adoption. For now, I am saving my money for a MacBook Air…

Journeyman is one of the new shows this last season that is facing that untimely death. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I will really miss not knowing where (when and who) Dan Vasser will be visiting in the non-existent future episodes. There has to be a place where good quality shows like this can live and be profitable. I don’t know if the Internet is the answer but certainly the SciFi network or some cable station should at least pick it up for us fans to continue to enjoy the show.

So please, NBC, give the writers what they want and bring back Journeyman!!!

TechCrunch – Already ran out
GigaOm – 1766 left as of posting
ReadWriteWeb – 2207 left as of posting
Ars Technica – All 2500 still available as of posting

The above list ranks the mega bloggers in order of douchbaggy-ness.

Update: Mashable also was graced with their very own 2500 invites.

Having waited patiently this past year to see how it will all end, last night’s series finale was brilliantly executed. and broke all the boundaries of dramatic television series finales. The HBO forums are still buzzing from last nights big event which was titled Made In America.

I’m not going to go through what has been going on in the last episodes but I have not felt so tense while watching a television show in maybe ever. David Chase, the creator of the show, wrote and directed this last episode which ended with Tony and his family in Holsten’s, a modest italian family restaurant, about to have dinner. Suspicious characters are dotted all around the room as Carmela, AJ and Meadow all showed up individually giving Tony some time to queue up the 1981 power ballad by Journey, ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ on the jukebox.

Chase has become a master at creating so much tension in a scene that makes you want to vomit. You get the same kind of feeling while watching a horror movie when you think the killer is going to jump out and scare you in any second. The last scene showed Meadow running late while struggling to parallel park her Lexus across the street from the restaurant. Without any indication, the screen cuts to black as she opens the door and enters the restaurant. No video, no audio, just a black screen that seem to have lasted forever but in reality was merely seconds. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”. I didn’t know what had hit me and I started to think maybe my TV died during the most anticipated scene of the series of this entire year. Of course that was not the case. David Chase had intended to end the show in darkness and silence. As the credits started rolling, a million thoughts were going through my head. What happened? Who is the suspicious looking guy at the counter? FBI? A hit man? Does he take out Tony? What’s the significance of the song? Do I like what just happened? Does Silvio survive? So many unresolved issues yet the show is over. Man, it’s over…..

As of now there are many theories and interpretations of how this show ended. The one that makes the most sense to me but not necessarily how I wanted it to end is that Tony was whacked by the suspicious guy at the counter as he exited the restroom. Their table was right next to the restroom door and as Meadow walks into the restaurant, you see Tony’s perspective and real quickly the audience’s perspective of Tony just before it all goes black and silent. In episode 78 named “Soprano Home Movies“, Tony and Bobby were sitting in the boat on the lake when Tony tells Bobby what he think it’s like when it happens. He says and I paraphrase, “I don’t think anything happens, it just all goes black.”

Obviously this show ended this way so people like myself will interpret and conspire about what we think the ending might be. I don’t think Chase will ever tell people what his intentions were or if there even were any. I can’t wait to watch it all over again…

Just a small town girl
Living in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere

CUT TO BLACK

There are even guys now selling their invite tokens on eBay which I’m guessing you have to be pretty desperate to do. OK, I thought about doing that too but I’ve decided against it. If you need an invite to Joost and don’t know anyone already in the beta group, post a comment below and tell me why I should give you one of mine.

These are big numbers for my standards….

Apple recently launched international versions of their Mac and PC ads. Many of the ones floating online have specifically been the UK versions. I just found a version made for the Japanese audience that stars the very same comedic duo from the land of the rising sun…

AppleTV:

Likes:
Small
Relatively Inexpensive
Has HDMI out
Intuitive interface
Syncs to 40 GB local drive
Portable

Dislikes:
Needs new Airport or needs hardwire
No DVD playback
No DVR
No native media acquisition (Ways to buy content directly on the device)
iTunes software is too bulky but required for use
Minor dislike, no 1080p support

Unknowns:
Can if be user upgraded to more disc space?
Will it support third party apps?
Does iTunes store sell 720p content?
Will it support other file formats?
Can the Mac Mini do the same thing?

Summary:
Great device for someone already deep in the iTunes ecosystem
Great device for novice user looking to move from their mac to their tv
Not great for people with collection of videos in other formats
Overall a very good device for a good price

Apple iPhone:

Likes:
Large screen for web browsing and video
Seemingly intuitive interface
Sleek design
Powerful architecture
IMAP and POP3 email support
Multitasking support
320×480 resolution

Dislikes:
No 3G means slow internet (given the price!?!?)
Cingular partnership – ulterior motifs, will want to charge for basic services like SMS rather than using iChat
On screen keyboard has no tactile feel and is an x-factor
More screen means more grease to clean off
Expensive even with 2-year contract
Battery life will probably suck when using multiple features like wifi and bluetooth
No existing ecosystem so current apps dont work
No IM (iChat), likely due to opposition from Cingular

Unknowns:
Do current widgets work?
Is it easy to develop for?
Does it need memory management like Pocket PC?
How many hours of video will it hold?
What is the battery life of video playback?
Coverflow, is it necessary or just eye candy? (Don’t answer, it’s rhetorical.)
Will the accelerometer work when you are laying down or sideways?
Whats the camera for besides stills and video capture? Can it work with iChat in the future somehow?
How powerful is it? CPU type, RAM/ROM capacity?

Summary:
great technological breakthrough
Very innovative industrial design as well as software design
Does not have the magical formula (Magical formula will entail 3G)
Needs to be field tested for real world usability.
Too expensive for the regular user. (And no, it’s not like the original iPod kinda pricey. Much more than that.)
Not enough storage especially for the price.
Powerful processor and features that will likely be enhanced in the future.
Very democratically designed by involving various tech giants (best of breed Web apps from Google and Yahoo)