Graphic designer by trade and industrial designer by heart, I founded blueantstudio and chairwhore five years ago, as a visual outlet from my everyday grind as a creative managing director at an advertising agency in South Florida. My home has been always surrounded by technology, and to keep everything on one platform, it's mostly made by the fruit company.
Modern minimalistic would be a good way of describing my tech style; and I would pay a premium for a device that is well designed, wireless and made of hi quality materials. I would love to start seeing more gadgets made of carbon fiber, ceramic and other composite materials. Here are the 10 gadgets that make me very happy every time I use them.
• Apple iMac 27" i7: Love that everything is within one enclosure, so it's less of a cabling nightmare. All my daily duties are done speedier than ever with plenty of room for extra windows and palettes. You really don't need anything else. Upgrading the RAM to 12Gb makes everything feel snappier.
• Apple iPad WiFi: Almost a year later and I can't put it down one second. My wife has her sights on it since she gave me a MacBook Air for X-mas but I have bigger plans for the trusted iPad. Magazine reading, game playing, internet browsing device and also as a client's presentation tool.
• Apple iPhone 4: A mini computer for the pocket. Browsing, twitting, facebooking, texting and playing. When was the last time you received a phone call?
• Mechanical Watches: The very first portable gadget invented. I can stare hours to the tiny movement oscillating and the little gears moving at a perfect pace. I know a Casio may be a more precise choice but the charm of a watch that you have to manually wind every two days (or in the case of the IWC, 7 days), make you take two steps back and appreciate life more. It's all the little things that matters.
• DIY Wireless Speaker: Created this out of a necessity with prioritizing looks above performance. It ended sounding pretty good with a set of dolby 3.1, off the shelf components.
• Nintendo DS: This was Isabella's first toy. A blessing at restaurants when she was fuzzy. Now she asks for mommy's iPhone.
• Apple MacBook Air: The "bestest" gadget is always the "latest" one! Literally got this tiny laptop one week prior to this article. Still on my honeymoon phase but I'm loving this! I call it "The Guillotine". So thin and light... it's ridiculous.
• Apple TV: This particular AppleTV has a lot of meaning to me, as I was awarded 2nd place on the Unplggd Small Cool Tech contest a couple of years ago. It changed the way I watch movies today. I'm able to stream my whole video collection from the iMac to my TV and I can also watch previews of new movies using Apple's portal.
• iPod Nano: I bought this iPod exclusively to use it as a in-car-entertaintment. it holds all my music, easy interface and sounds great thru a direct connection between my car audio and the 30 pin cable. CD changer who?
• Leica D-Lux 4: If you want quality pictures in low light and you are tired of the cheap, plasticky feel of other cameras, this is the best you can get for the price.
Technology/device I'm most looking forward to in 2011: There are two devices that I'm really hoping to get early 2011. One being the iPad 2 with the 2 cameras, so I can give my current iPad to my daughter Isabella; The other device that I'm excited to get, is the new MacBook Air (which I got as a surprise from my wife few days ago!). Being able to install CS5 in a package that is hardly any bigger than my current iPad is very convenient, not to mention that I can transfer files back and forward more easily between work, home and Macbook Air. Using the iMac in Display mode for the Air, is another big benefit.
Tech or tech organizational tip: The 2 best tips that I can give are: Backup your data often and go as wireless as you can. Not only thru WiFi but also bluetooth. Keyboards, mouse, trackpad, speakers, printers... They are available right now and you should take advantage of that. Your desk will thank you later.
I never leave home without: Wristwatch, iPhone and iPad. I know The iPhone and iPad sounds redundant but they are two totally different devices that I use in very different ways: the iPad being more of a work/game related device (once you play your favorite game on an iPad, you will never want to play it on your iPhone!) and the iPhone is to keep me connected thru email, text and phone calls. The watch is just one piece of mechanical wonder.
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Comments (10)
"Mine is maxed out with 32Gb of ram and it shows!"
Yeah it shows what an pretentious prick you are! You can only max those out with 16GB of ram.
Also, I hope you're enjoying you're white iPhone. If something goes wrong with it, you're at the mercy of buying a a new. Apple won't fix it because you've voided your warranty.
Happy New Year!
Sheesh Skrutzen, go easy on him. 'Season of peace and good will to all men' etc.
Why is there so much anger out there? And a general lack of civility, too. Or is it that the Trolls have finally found a medium?
This is just a guy who likes his gadgets, a gadget freak, so cut him some slack. He's having fun.
I run a 24" iMac with a ton of external storage, a 17" iMac running Ubuntu, a G3 iMac, and an eMac. I also have a couple of tiny iPods and an iPod Touch. I also love my Kindle. I'm having fun, too.
Does it really make any difference if we're Apple Freaks or Android Freaks? Apparently it does if you're a Troll.
To put to rest the backplate warrenty myth. I asked this question to a friend who is a sales person with the MOA Apple store.
I was told that changing the back plate will not officially void your warranty, but an uptight employee from any store may have a hissy-fit and refuse to work on your iPhone 4. We both agreed that if you think your going to go into the Apple store with a iPhone problem, switch back to that old plate.
I replaced my back plate when unplgged ran the story of the alum. brushed back plate replacement. Its so easy to replace the backplate, it's almost like this was going to be an overpriced Apple-supplied customization that never received Job's approval.
I'm as big an Apple fan as anyone but something about this article is making me feel snarky............
Sarcastic, cynical, and arrogant.
yeah, the tone if this article is a little annoying.. and I am an Apple fan (but not enough to believe everything they make is magic - take the Apple TV, for example.. I feel there are better options out there).
One can be an Apple fan, but that does not preclude being jealous, and then commenting as some of you above have.
Tech quipment are the tools of his trade, thus he is very particular. I've seen his work in publications around the world, so by stating what works best for him, and he has had success as a result, does not merit insult. Probably you could learn something from his advice.
I have an old Apple TV running XBMC (free) and it's wonderful ! So I'm sure for a lot of money there are other options.
Certain commenters seem to only make snarky comments - that's why I'm the Superhero called Snarkophile - I hunt them down.
I think some of the comments aren't so much based on his being particular, but based on the tone in which he is using. And I can kind of see where they are coming from.
Is that a White Iphone 4?