Kudos to Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive and everyone else at Apple.

Look how far you’ve come. People seem to forget your status as the underdog just a decade or two ago.

I remember.

I remember being reluctant to switch from the industry leader, to move from a PC to a (gasp!) Mac. The PC was king. IBM was a player — a blue chip/work-there-for-50-years-get-a-pension-and-a-gold-watch company. In fact, I remember having IBM as a client, touring a facility in Poughkeepsie, New York and marveling at the mainframes.

What a different world it was. It was all about the software. Or so some people thought.

Who predicted that you would be bigger than Microsoft?

Not many.

But you are. I consider it a magnificent accomplishment, worthy of some applause and respect.

Instead, you get an uproar over death grips and faulty antennas.

Many (most?) iPhone owners don’t mind a little frustration and imperfection.

My guess? The vast majority of iPhone 4 owners (okay, well, at least my husband and I) believe the product is marvelous. Beautiful and efficient. Elegant and powerful.

Yet some critics delight in their schadenfreude over a pseudo furor that’s actually relatively insignificant.

Why?

It leads me to wonder (with some degree of sadness) why people like to knock other peoples’ success. Why they expect (demand?) perfection and then pounce (shine a spotlight on it?) when they discover the slightest flaw.

I believe in a principle of abundance, where people support one another and trumpet the greatest achievements of friends, family members and respected colleagues, then support them and encourage them through hard times or whenever they stumble.

So I applaud you, Apple.

And you know what?

The iPhone has improved the quality of my life. I often forget that it’s a phone because that’s the least important part of the device. People who don’t use the iPhone don’t understand that fact. It’s not about the telephone. Even the word, telephone, is so…last millennium.

Now, it’s all about the apps…and the developers’ passions. Not to mention the passion of each and every iPhone owner. Each device is so customized, so specific to each user that it becomes special. Each owner makes it special, depending on his/her own interests, needs and passions.

Oh, and FaceTime?

It’s now. It’s tomorrow. It’s very Jetsons. And it works. Simply. It helped me endure some recent trips away from my family. Heck, it made them feel as if they were right there with me. It affected our quality of life. It brought us immeasurable joy.

So forget about those naysayers, haters and foes.

Congratulations on another extraordinary creation.

http://media.theonion.com/flash/video/onn_player.swf
New Google Phone Service Whispers Targeted Ads Directly Into Users' Ears

Aw, c’mon now, it’s just meant to make you smile. Did it? Did the corners of your mouth turn up just a little?

I hope so.

Check out some of his remarks at this year’s All Things Digital Conference:

http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/main.swf

This one (above) is on the iPhone and the iPad.

And how about that whole Gizmodo mess?

http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/main.swf

Finally, watch him when talks about Google (below) and at the end softly says, “Just because we’re competing with somebody doesn’t mean we have to be rude.”

http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/main.swf
Wonderful. Very nice.

For more videos (brief enough to view selectively) click here.

The iPad.

Ahhh…soak in its loveliness.

My favorite part? It’s too hard to choose.
hi-res color iBooks, the keyboard dock, the revised iCal (that looks much better (and resembles my ancient (no, wait, did I ever actually use one of those?) Filofax)) or the ability to view all my apps on a larger screen.

Here are David Pogue’s first impressions.

Honestly? It is so very tempting for me. To say the least.

I was in a bus filled with middle school kids today and they were all atwitter, excitedly chattering away about how each and every one of them wanted to get an iPad. Mmmhmm.  Those naysayers on Twitter don’t know what they’re talking about.  This baby is going to be sizzling hot. I can feel it.

What about you?

Just another gadget you don’t need or want? Or are you dreaming about it and frequently thinking about it? Giving up your Kindle for this thing? Or sticking with your hardcover bestseller?

Hmmm….

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For more information about the iPhone 3G s, read this or this.

[video removed]

My intention was to publish a review of Amazon’s new Kindle 2, but after learning about the release of the iPhone Kindle application, I felt pretty strongly about its release and wanted to tell the world about it.  After calming down (and researching more information about the intent behind Jeff Bezos allowing that Kindle app to be sold), I recorded more rational (and hopefully helpful) comments.

To hear general information about the Kindle 2, start about halfway in (5:10).

Also, in mid-March, my daughter and I talked about the Kindle 2 on our radio show, Parents and Kids Talk Radio. Download the show by clicking here.

What’s a Kindle?  It’s an electronic book reader produced by Amazon.

Kindle 2 by Amazon

Anyone who travels several times per month (and likes to read) should seriously consider investing in this device.  It holds 1500 books and is smaller and lighter than some paperbacks.

My video review is coming soon…

Congratulations to the winners of the Shaun White Snowboarding Wii games:

Ashlie of Mommycosm

and

April R of Sweet Leaf Tea!

I haven’t tried it out, so I can’t vouch for the quality. But the novelty alone makes it worth checking out, don’t you agree??

Wow.

and asked the waiter if the restaurant sold them or if he knew where I could buy one.  The restaurant did not sell them and he had no idea where they were from.

Enter my handy dandy iPhone.

I read a few key words on the carafe, entered them into Google on my iPhone and in a matter of minutes…voilá! I found the website for these thermal carafes.

Isn’t technology grand?

.

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UPDATE (11.30.08):

Want something more elegant (as requested in an email to me)?  How about this one?

Or visit the Alfi website for a variety of well designed carafes.

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Note: I did not receive any form of compensation for this post, I just like the carafes and thought it would be nice to share the story.