Yeah, I admit it, I have no willpower what-so-ever. I will give my self credit for at least considering the situation carefully before picking up an iPhone. I know damn well what I’m getting myself into, and I also know 600 for a phone is somewhat insane, but at this point, I could care less. I know all of the iPhone’s weaknesses and that it is entirely possible there will be a new version in under a year, and I still don’t care.

After seeing countless commercials, and reading countless articles, and doing my own share of bashing, I just could resist the thing.

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Most people don’t know who John C. Dvorak is, so they might be shocked by his claim that “Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone”, those that do know of him, would just consider this business as usual. He has always been extremely skeptic of Apple products but he’s smart enough to substantiate his bold claims with some sort of logic. He raises several interesting points, including:

• It’s the loyalists who keep promoting this device as if it is going to be anything other than another phone in a crowded market.
• [The mobile market] is not an emerging business. In fact it’s gone so far that it’s in the process of consolidation with probably two players dominating everything, Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc.
• The problem here is that while Apple can play the fashion game as well as any company, there is no evidence that it can play it fast enough. These phones go in and out of style so fast that unless Apple has half a dozen variants in the pipeline, its phone, even if immediately successful, will be passé within 3 months.

You may already be sold on the “Jesus Phone”, but the article is worth a read.

By now, everyone that would be interested in a device like this has probably heard of the Xbox 360 Elite, due out April 29. It’ll cost about $80 more, and for that, you get a 120GB drive and HDMI outputs. I’d imagine the new changes are to support the high definition push that manufacturers seem to be making lately. The problem is that while most people listed the price of the PS3 as the prohibitive factor in getting one, it’s now starting to look more and more like Sony got it right the first time, considering they included WIFI, HD movie/game playback and an easily upgradeable drive that won’t void your warranty. So let’s do a little math, shall we?

• PS3 Deluxe Version = $600

• Xbox 360 Elite + HD DVD Addon + Wireless Adapter = $480 + $190 + 90 = $760

Does $160 make up for the fact that the PS3 comes with an 80GB drive rather than the Elite’s 120GB? I don’t think so. So maybe after all this, it turns out the PS3 is the better deal after-all. And if you’re the type that doesn’t need all these extras, you’re probably better off with a Nintendo Wii anyway, which is much cheaper at 250… assuming you can actually get your hands on one.

I’ve finally made the switch from Windows XP to Windows Vista on my main PC, against the wishes of Apple, and I think it’s great. After reading countless accounts about how poor an operating system it is, I am actually surprised by just how much I like it. A lot of things that were a pain in the ass in XP (Networking, User Management, Backups, even Screenshots) have been simplified. The security “nag screens” aren’t nearly are instrusive as I thought they would be, they only pop up after you’ve initiated some sort of action so it’s jut one extra click and doesn’t add to load times.

To those who are still on a fence about whether to upgrade or not, ignore all those doubters telling you to wait for the first service pack or telling you it will ruin your experience, the upgrade is entirely worth it. I’ll write a more in-depth article about my upgrade experience at another time, there are still a few core programs that I used regularly on XP that I’m making sure are still compatible with Vista.

In my quest not to get rail-roaded into buying an iPhone simply due to the juggernaut that is the Apple advertising machine, I will be occasionally posting information about alternate smart phones that will soon be coming to market. I have recently been seeing a lot of gadget sites, including Gizmodo and Engadget (two of my favorite sites for tech news) comparing every upcoming phone with a large (touch)screen to the iPhone. Somehow, a few people have managed to convince themselves that touchscreens and media-centric phones did not exist until Apple announced the iPhone, which is rather idiotic if you ask me.

So with that, I present the Samsung F700 which is due out in the near future. I’ve provided a few links below where you can do some research on the phone, enjoy:

• Gizmodo: Apple iPhone vs. Samsung F700: Which is Touchscreenier?
• Engadget: Samsung outdoes itself with Ultra Smart F700
• Samsung: SAMSUNG Unveils Revolutionary Ultra Smart F700

Another article aimed at slamming Vista with a vast list of gripes that end up being nothing more than a collection of whining about new features or methods of completing old tasks, that someone could become accustomed to in only a week of using the new OS regularly.

There’s lots to like in the newest version of Windows. Vista’s look is stunning, the OS should be more secure, and finding things is often easier. But Windows wouldn’t be Windows without those aspects, big and small, that just drive you nuts with frustration. Here’s our list of Vista features that just make us wonder, “What were they thinking?”

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Well the speculation had been flying all day after the NY Post article dropped, and it’s finally happened. Sirius and XM Radio have merged. This could either be a very good thing, or a very bad thing. At the very least, it means more content for customers.