In case you haven’t heard, a new generation of digital SLR cameras are being released with the ability to shoot high definition video. Canon let Vincent Laforet borrow the soon-to-be-released Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Using this mouth watering piece of equipment, Laforet was able to shoot an incredible video. Before you watch Laforet’s masterpiece below, watch the behind the scenes video to get a better idea of how cool this really is.
After watching the behind the scenes video, continue on below:
(Click image for Larger Photo)
Just received a coupon to try oatmeal at Starbucks. Has the world come full circle? I saw something about this in one of the stores, and now I guess I’ll have to try it. If it’s better than the Vivano smoothie, that will not be saying much.
Possibilities for Starbucks oatmeal should include:
Will update with a picture when I try it.
Finally, broadband speed wherever you go.
In a nutshell:
Cost:
Anywhere from free to $150 for the device itself, depending on what promotion you get. Service is $69.99 per month for unlimited data. AT&T forces you to get into 2-year contract to get this service, so if you do not envision yourself having it for two years, be prepared to pay the $175 termination fee.
Coverage:
I have used the card in Chicago, DC, and NYC. In addition, I have used it extensively on the bus from DC to NYC. Overall I am very pleased with the service. Even when traveling at 65mph on the highway the connection stays surprisingly steady.
Speed:
If you are within 3G coverage areas, the speed is very impressive for this device. For regular web surfing, E-mail, Remote Desktop, and downloads under 30mb, the speed is absolutely sufficient. YouTube videos load fast enough to have no lag time, and I was even able to watch instant Netflix videos.
Reliability:
The connection, while mostly reliable, can sometimes be buggy on Windows Vista. At one point I received the dreaded Error 668 but was I eventually able to fix it. The problems have been few and far between, and would not be a reason to not purchase the card.
Conclusion:
If you are like me:
Then you probably will want this card. I have gotten a tremendous amount of use out of it, and definitely am glad to have it. In addition, it never hurts to have redundancy at home, in case the cable goes out.
Amazon Prime, otherwise known as free 2-day shipping on most Amazon items, is offering a rare 30-day FREE trial of their service. It costs nothing to sign up for the trial, and you and up to 3 family members can take advantage of the offer.
Amazon Prime includes:
I normally would not post a free trial offer here, but last time they ran a free trial of Prime I got a ton of use out of it when ordering books.
Need to take a bus from DC to New York City (NYC), or from NYC to DC? After taking four different bus lines I am now confident that I have found the best one: BoltBus. I rode on Greyhound, Chinatown’s Apex Bus, and Tony Coach in the past, and they all pale in comparison to Bolt.
Here is quick summary of why you should use BoltBus:
Price
BoltBus is comparable in price to most of the other bus lines. If you are the first person to book a ticket on a ride, your ticket only costs $1. After that, the tickets go up incrementally. Do not expect to pay under $15 for a one-way ticket. In general, expect to pay around $20 each way to get to NYC. Bolt also offers service to other cities including Boston and Philadelphia. BoltBus does sell available seats for $25 each way on a walk-up basis, but these seats are never guaranteed. Your best bet is to always book online in advance.
Reliability
BoltBus is about as reliable as a bus can be, which is at best only slightly reliable. My experience with DC to NYC buses in general has been riddled with delays on all bus lines, BoltBus included. This usually cannot be held against any company, as they do not control traffic. BoltBus is by far the most reliable of any buses I have taken.
Service
BoltBus drivers generally have a great personality, and make a legitimate effort to make sure everyone feels accomdated. BoltBus uses Southwest Airlines-style boarding, in which every person belongs to a boarding group (A,B, or C) and board the bus starting with group A. This is an ingenious idea, so people do not have to worry about showing up early to get a good seat on the bus. If you have an “A” boarding pass, you can feel safe arriving there 20 minutes before scheduled departure. Any later than that and you will be stuck boarding behind everyone else.
Wifi + Power
The one thing that really made BoltBus stand out for me is as simple as power. There are few things that can make a 4-6 hour bus ride enjoyable, but having unlimited use of power for a laptop is about as close as you can get to making it tolerable. To make matters better, they have wifi on board all buses. The wifi is VERY temperamental, so by no means should you ever depend on having internet access via BoltBus wifi. That being said, the wifi has worked much better as of late than it did when the bus line was first starting out.
DC Location
Boltbus picks up and drops off at 11th and G St NW, right at one of the entrances to Metro Center.
NYC Location
Boltbus picks up in multiple locations in NYC, the one I always prefer is the Penn Station stop, which picks up at 33rd st and 7th Ave, right outside of Sbarro’s.
In closing, if you find yourself needing to travel between NYC and DC for cheap, Boltbus is definitely the best and most cost-effective method. Riding on buses for more than an hour is never fun, but BoltBus really does make the trip as enjoyable as it could possibly be. Feel free to also check out MegaBus which picks up in the same DC location as Boltbus. I have not tried it yet, but it is definitely a good second option should BoltBus ever be unavailable.
If speed is the most important factor, forget the bus, and even forget flying. Take the Acela, which generally costs around $130-$190, EACH WAY. It will get you from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC in a blazingly fast 2 hours and 45 minutes (I clocked the speed of the Acela in excess of 140mph at some points of the trip via my Blackberry GPS), but you pay dearly for it.
Matt is a serial entrepreneur who is obsessed with technology. Read More
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