Making Heads or Tails of New Penny Design

The saying goes, "find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck."  Unfortunately it's not always true.  Case in point:  the last time I picked up a Penny, Lehman Brothers collapsed and ushered in The Great Recession.  To make matters worse it wasn't even a U.S. penny, it was Canadian.  (No offense, Canada, but I've been taught that Canadian currencly is always less valuable than its U.S. equivalent regardless of currency exchange rates.  Current USD/CAD rates from Google.)

I don't know exactly when in 2010 the new penny design first entered circulation.  ("US Mint Unveils New Penny Design for 2010," United States Mint.)  I first came across them on August 6.  At first I was intrigued by the novelty value of it.  The novelty value of new 2010 penny: slightly more than the cost of bending over to pick it up.  Plus it was soooooo shiny.

Can the blind identify the new pennies as pennies? Old design had the parallel lines of the Lincoln Memorial. Is the new design distinct enough from the dime by touch?  There's no confusing it with the dime because the dime has the serrated edge (as does the quarter, half-dollar, and dollar coins).  Therefore, the only coin it could plausibly be confused with is the nickel.  The parallel lines (the pillars of the Lincoln Memorial) on the penny were a distinguishing characteristic between the penny and the nickel.  I decided to employ the scientific method:  I closed my eyes and held both a new penny and two different nickels (with two different designs) in one hand, trying to distinguish amongst them by touch alone.  I was able to tell that the nickel was larger, but if I didn't have both coins in hand to compare I don't know if I could have detected that difference by touch alone.

Jefferson in Profile

Jefferson - Portrait

The new penny is more easily distinguished from the old style nickel which has a portrait depiction of Jefferson.  On this nickel the face is very prominent and can be felt as a smooth rounded raised area against the background of the coin.  However, the newer nickel design featuring a portrait of Jefferson is flatter and more like the head side of the penny and harder to distinguish.

The new design reminds me of the Interstate Highway shields.  Sort of.

Supplemental Reading:  

A Short History of the One-Cent Coin, The United States Mint.

Bostwick, William, "New Penny Design Makes No Cents," February 18, 2010, Fast Company.

UPDATE: T-Mobile Responds re: Jailbreaking the iPhone

iPhone Owner
Attempting to Jailbreak

T-Mobile responded to the post, "T-Mobile:  Help iPhone Owners Jailbreak", via Twitter as follows:

TMobile_USA @ruve We can't help but we certainly don't mind you helping each other: http://cot.ag/d6x8QW ^CG

T-Mobile: Help iPhone Owners Jailbreak

Last week the Copyright Office and Library of Congress determined that jailbreaking Apple's iPhone does not violate The Digital Millenium Copyright Act ("DMCA").  ("Jailbreaking Is No Longer Illegal," July 26, 2010, New York Magazine.)

The ruling could be helpful to iPhone owners who were reluctant to jailbreak their phones when the legality of that act was questionable. Now iPhone owners can install non-Apple-approved apps without fear, right? Not exactly. Some viruses target jailbroken iPhones ("BitDefender Warns iPhone Jailbreaking: Legal, But Dangerous," July 28, 2010, BitDefender Press Center) so consumers should be careful.

iPhone owners need an easy safe way to realize the full potential of their devices. Recent news stories have highlighted the simplicity of using Jailbreak.Me to jailbreak iPhones with a simple touch. ("How to Jailbreak iPhone or iPod Touch With A Single Click?" July 26, 2010, TechGadgetsWeb.Com.) But there's no guarantee to the safety of jailbreaking an Apple device using the above service. Some users may worry that the hack will leave their iPhone vulnerable to attacks.

Who should offer a simple and safe solution to jailbreaking? T-Mobile, who will probably be the greatest beneficiary (after users) of legal jailbreaking. Jailbreaking an iPhone will permit a user to unlock the device as well. An unlocked iPhone can be used on any carrier, however since the iPhone is a GSM phone, it will only work on a GSM network. In the United States the two GSM carriers are AT&T and T-Mobile. T-Mobile would benefit because when iPhone owners have to decide whether or not to renew their AT&T contracts, many may opt for T-Mobile. T-Mobile tends to have better pricing plans than AT&T. Additionally, AT&T is eliminating its unlimited data contracts for iPhones and replacing it with a tiered plan based on usage. iPhone users who still want unlimited data might switch to T-Mobile if there were a safe and simple way to jailbreak and unlock their phones.

So how about it, @TMobile_USA? Ready to help iPhone owners switch from AT&T? 

Kindle: Amazon sells out of new Kindle within days! (NASDAQ:AMZN) | Business & Finance News

The Wealth of Nations,
(Kindle Edition)
Adam Smith

Kindle: Amazon sells out of new Kindle within days! (NASDAQ:AMZN) Business & Finance News

Books, Pixels, & E-Ink Gadgets

UPDATED:  See New Post

The NEW Amazon Kindle

I've been keeping a close eye on the electronic book reader market ("e-readers") for this simple reason:  I want one.  There are a lot of PDF documents that I have on my "to-read" list that I haven't gotten to because I don't want to (1) print a zillion pages, nor do I want to (2) tether myself to my computer any more than I already do.

Amazon's recent announcement of its new Kindle (3G+WiFi, WiFi only) brought the secondary market in used Kindles to a near halt.  A "like-new" Kindle2 auctioned at a starting price of $25 on ebay.com failed to attract a single bid, even with free shipping.

In the hopes of helping interested buyers find the e-reader that is right for them, I have included the pros and cons of each of the e-readers I have considered below.

Amazon's Kindles

As of August 27, 2010, Amazon will be selling three varieties of Kindle:  Kindle (3G+WiFi), Kindle (with WiFi only),and Kindle DX.  All three devices use E-Ink technology which allows for a long battery life and low glare.  E-Ink devices are not self-illuminating and require a light source (e.g. lamp, booklight, sun) for use.  All of Amazon's e-readers connect wirelessly to Amazon's virtual bookstore, which contains many, many titles (over 630,000 according to Amazon as of July 30, 2010).  Amazon allows users to download samples chapters from ebooks so readers can browse a book before deciding to buy.  The devices can hold up to 3,500 books, according to Amazon's website.  Furthermore, all of the devices natively support PDFs (good news for me).  They also all are capable of reading texts via text-to-speech technology.  Notably, Amazon disables text-to-speech for some titles based upon the wishes of the rights holders.  Kindle (3G+WiFi) and Kindle (WiFi) are available in either black or white.  (Apparently some people care about this.)  The Kindle DX comes in black only.  For those who like to listen to music while reading, the Kindle doubles as a comicly large MP3 player.

Kindle DX

Amazon Kindle DX

The Kindle DX is the large screen version, boasting a 9.7" screen.  It includes AT&T 3G wireless connectivity via Amazon Whispernet.  The DX is the most costly of Amazon's e-readers at $379.00 new.  (At least there's no extra cost for shipping.)  It's main selling point is it's larger screen size, but some (including myself) would find that feature to be a negative.  At nearly twice the price and twice the weight of the next-most-expensive Kindle and considering its lack of WiFi connectivity I think it's a loser.  I can only imagine consumers wanting this if they really, really could make good use of the extra screen real estate.  This is probably not the ideal device for most users.  The DX has a battery life of between two and three weeks with wireless turned off and about a week with wireless on.

Kindle (3G+WiFi)
The Kindle (3G+WiFi) sells for $189.00 new, has a 6" screen, and weighs less than nine ounces (8.7 oz).  For the Kindle2 I read on Amazon's website that users could browse the web over 3G (the Kindle2 did not have WiFi) for free, although Amazon reserved the right to start charging for web browsing.  However, I could not find any information regarding Amazon's new Kindle that indicated whether they would continue to allow users to use their "beta" web browser over 3G.  The site for the new Kindle states, "Your Kindle may use wireless connectivity to make other services available, such as wireless delivery of personal documents, which may require an additional charge."  (Link.)  It makes no reference to the web browser capability that the Kindle2 had.  Perhaps this is just Amazon refocusing the Kindle on being a reading-only device and less focused on competing with Apple.  I thought that the ability to surf the web via 3G was one of Kindle2's main selling points that would make it a better value than other readers (despite notoriously-slow web browsing).  Or maybe Amazon has decided not to hype it's web browsing capability.  This model has a batter life of about a month with the wireless turned off and a week and a half with wireless turned on.

Among the Amazon models, the Kindle (3G+WiFi) would be my pick:  it's small enough to carry easily, about half the price of the next most expensive model, connects via 3G and WiFi, and is more aggressively priced than it's similarly 3G capable competitors (most notably the nook 3G).  If you plan on subscribing to an electronic periodical (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or even popular blogs such as Boing Boing) you will probably want this model or the DX (above) because you'll want to be able to receive your paid content even when you're not near a WiFi signal.  After all, it's only "news" while it's new.  I have no need for old newspapers and I doubt you readers do either.

Kindle (WiFi)
This model is identical to the Kindle above with a key exception:  it does not have 3G wireless connectivity.  The trade-off is a $50 reduction in price.  Amazon's entry-level e-reader still has WiFi connectivity, so if you never stray far from a WiFi signal, or if you don't feel you need to be connected to Amazon's store 24/7, then you may prefer this model.  This model has a battery life of about a month with WiFi on and about three weeks with WiFi turned off.

Barnes & Noble's nooks

Barnes & Noble nook

Barnes & Noble offers two varieties of their nook e-readers:  a 3G+WiFi version and a WiFi only version.  The two models differ in only three ways:  connectivity, color (of the back panel), and price.  Like Amazon, Barnes & Noble charges $50 more for the 3G enabled model.  The nook 3G sells for $199.00 and the nook (WiFi only) sells for $149.00 at Barnes & Noble.  For some reason, Barnes & Noble has decided to distinguish the two models by including a dark grey back on the 3G enabled version and a light grey one for the WiFi only model.

Barnes & Noble is a relative new-comer in the world of e-reading (the nook debuted in the late fall of 2009) and they seem to work harder to make up for it.  Their prices are only $10 more than the comparable Amazon model.  (B&N dropped the prices of their e-readers and hours later Amazon acted in kind, leading me to believe that Amazon's recent price drop was precipitated by B&N.)

Instead of a physical keyboard, like the one employed in the Kindle, the nook has an LCD touchscreen in addition to it's E-Ink screen.  Working samples are displayed in many Barnes & Noble locations and employees are on hand to answer questions and help patrons try the sample devices.  Additionally, nook users can read Barnes & Noble titles free in the store.  Additionally, as with the Kindle, the nook allows users to read sample chapters for free even when not in a Barnes & Noble store.

The nook allows users to surf the web over WiFi (but not 3G) and includes games (chess and sodoku, but surprisingly no crossword puzzles).  The nook runs Google's Android mobile operating system.  Android could allow enterprising users add apps that would expand the utility of the device.  A group of hackers at NookDevs have already been able to run Pandora (a music streaming service) and Facebook on the nook.  (See "The Nook gets Pandora, web browser, Facebook apps" from Crunch Gear.)  There's a lot of potential for the nook to add more utility because of it runs Android, but who knows how much of this will come to fruition.

A major factor that distinguishes the nook from the Kindle is that the nook allows users to add more storage.  The nook comes with 2GB of storage (compared to 4GB with a Kindle), but nook users can easily supplement the 2GB with microSD cards.  Additonally, the nook allows users to replace the battery.  Nook supports EPUB as well as PDF, but unlike the Kindles it does not have support for Microsoft Word documents (.doc).  The nook (like the Kindle) will also play MP3 files.

I was leaning towards the nook 3G before Amazon's announcement because the nook has so many nice features and the Android OS suggests that more competitive features may be on the way.  If the new Kindle is unable to browse the web via 3G it would provide even more reason to favor the nook.  If it supported more document formates (like MS Word) then the choice would be clear:  nook.  However Barnes & Noble may respond to Amazon's new Kindle with an updated nook, updated nook software, or perhaps by matching or beating Amazon's lower sale price.  Changes in the market may make the nook an even more attractive option.

Between the nook and the nook 3G I would again lean towards 3G because I wouldn't want to have to depend on the availability of WiFi to receive news subscriptions.

Sony, Kobo, Cool-Er, Apple iPad

The Sony, the Kobo, and the Cool-Er are not reasonably priced and therefore I won't consider them unless they lower their prices.

Sony, Kobo, and Cool-Er

Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition

These products were competitively priced about a month or so ago.  Now that Amazon and Barnes & Noble lowered the prices on their e-readers it doesn't make sense to buy one of these models.  The cost about the same but lack wireless functionality.  I like the Sony e-book software for PC, but I don't think this is enough of an incentive to give-up wireless connectivity.  The greatest virtue of the Sony products is that they've teamed up with libraries to allow library patrons to borrow electronic copies of library texts.  I wish other e-readers did the same, but I wouldn't want to give up wireless functionality for that privilege.

If an e-reader costs more than $100, then it should have wireless capabilities of some sort.  The Kobo, Cool-Er, and Sony (except for the Sony Daily Edition which is priced well above the Kindle and nook) lack any wireless connectivity and cost nearly as much (or more) then the nook or Kindle WiFi.

iPad

Apple iPad

The Apple iPad, despite it's ability to display electronic books, is not really an e-reader; it's a tablet computer.  It has some nice features like the ability to browse the web via 3G (with an AT&T subscription), it can play videos, and it looks cool.  It has less functionality than a full computer but more than an e-reader.  It's a Swiss Army knife in that it can do many things but where it really excels is in browsing the web, not reading e-books.  The battery life is a puny 10 hours (good for a computer, terrible for an e-reader), it's glossy screen fares poorly in sunlight.  Oh, and it suffers the misfortune of being named the "iPad."

Computer

Of course, I could just read electronic books on a computer, but that's what I'm trying to avoid.

Dead Trees

Toy Story 3 (2010) and The Brave Little Toaster (1987)

I recently saw Pixar's Toy Story 3 (IMDB, Amazon), which I sincerely believe may be Pixar's best feature to date.  (I'd put it in a dead heat with WALL-E [IMDB, Amazon].)  The plot of Toy Story 3 got me thinking about The Brave Little Toaster (IMDB, Amazon).

I watched The Brave Little Toaster again today and realized that it must have been more than 15 years since I last watched it.  (I noted that the master's name is "Rob" and that the last time I watched this film was years before I started calling myself Rob; I used to call myself Bobby.)  The Brave Little Toaster is worth watching again and I highly recommend it.

What I remembered most about the movie from my youth was that it was scary.  In fact, the only scene I could remember was the repair shop scene where the Frankenstein-esque mismash of broken, quasi-repaired appliances sing to the protagonists (Kirby the vacuum, Lampy, Blanky, the Radio, and the Brave Little Toaster) about the desperate state of broken appliances at the repair shop.  (The shop owner disassembles them and uses them for spare parts.)

***Toy Story 3 spoilers alert***

The similarities between Brave Little Toaster and Toy Story 3 are remarkable.  (I believe I heard that Pixar/Disney's John Lasseter had worked on Brave Little Toaster, although I couldn't find his name in the credits at IMDB.)  Both stories center around a group of living inanimate objects; paradoxically, humans believe that these objects are lifeless but secretly they live.  The toys of Toy Story 3 and the appliances of The Brave Little Toaster live to please their "owner" ("master" in the vernacular of The Brave Little Toaster).  Thirdly, both sets of protagonists mistakenly believe that they have outlived their usefulness and are destined for the trash heap, which they nearly are.  The protagonists in both films are miraculously saved from certain destruction by the Brave Little Toaster (demonstrating its bravery) and by the deus ex machina of the Pizza Planet aliens operating "the claw" in The Brave Little Toaster and Toy Story 3, respectively.  In both films the protagonists finding that they aren't worthless after all.  The Brave Little Toaster, et al, join their master, Rob and his shapely female companion (presumably his girlfriend) on his journey off to college.  In Toy Story 3, the toys' owner, Andy introduces his toys to a new owner upon whom they can refocus their adoration.

The films excel at conveying the story of these supposedly inanimate objects and convey the emotion of being an unused appliance/toy.  The Brave Little Toaster, unlike Toy Story 3, makes extensive use of song; the characters themselves often sing.  Toy Story 3 is a more humorous take on the same basic story without sacrificing the sincerity of its more dramatic and emotional moments.

As I mentioned above, Toy Story 3 is probably Pixar's best.  However, The Brave Little Toaster is certainly worth watching and re-watching.  It also serves as a reminder that Disney/Pixar is not the only studio that can succeed in feature-length animation.  It has inspired me to make a point of watching some other non-Disney animation that I recall watching as a youth:  An American Tail (IMDB, Amazon), Fern Gully (IMDB, Amazon), All Dogs Go to Heaven (IMDB, Amazon), and The Secret of Nimh (IMDB, Amazon).  (The last of which, The Secret of Nimh, I haven't actually seen, but it has been recommended to me.  Additionally, I've been told that it's available on Hulu.)