motorola

Shutterbug Saturday: Scenes From A ROT Rally 2006

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These shots were taken by my buddy and childhood friend, Hank…well, most of them. I grabbed the camera a couple of times. He shared these with me but, the copyright is all his. This was my first motorcycle rally and the first time I’d laid eyes on Hank in 20+ years. It was such a fun time and reunion and, the only time I have ever seen Joan Jett, live. “ROT” is short for “Republic of Texas”. The Rally suffered quite a bit during the plandemic and lost its regular venue in Austin. They are trying to make a comeback. ~Vic

Hank Image One
My Buddy Hank
Hank's Hog Image Two
Hank’s Harley
(in the center)
Bike Line-Up Image Three
So Many Motorcycles
Big Trike Image Four
Big Ol’ Trike
Flaming Bike Image Five
Shooting Flames
Joan Jett Concert Image Six
Joan Jett Concert Screen
Worn Out Image Seven
Worn Out
Orange Lights Image Eight
Night Lights
Blue Glow Image Nine
Blue & Green Glow
South Side Rider Image Ten
Polaris Slingshot Prototype?
Shot Of Me Image Eleven
Yep. This is me…several pounds heavier than today.
Notice my cute, pink Motorola flip-phone…
and my Marine Corps gear.
I was still issued to the Jarhead back then.

Wayback Wednesday: Apple iTunes & iPhones

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Steve Jobs iTunes Photo
Photo Credit: computerweekly.com

January 9 has been a very special day to Apple, Inc. On this day in 2001, Apple announced iTunes at MacWorld San Francisco, an application for Internet radio, music playing, ripping music from CDs and maintaining a library. The software ran on MacOS and Windows and, in 2003, you could download media from the iTunes Store. In 2005, Apple extended functionality for video and podcasts…University lectures in 2007 and, books in 2010. iTunes Radio, free music streaming, came in 2013 followed by Apple Music, paid music streaming, in 2015.

iTunes Logos Image
Image Credit: themusicsite.com

Apple has come under criticism for its digital rights management (DRM) encryption FairPlay. The protection of the music greatly limited what devices could play the files and brought about a movement to remove the restrictions. Steve Jobs penned an open letter to the music industry in February 2007. By April, non-DRM music appeared for download and the entire music catalog was DRM-free in January 2009.

1st Generation iPhone Image
Image Credit: igotoffer.com

On this day in 2007, Apple announced their first smartphone…again, at the MacWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Quote from Steve Jobs:

“This is a day that I have been looking forward to for two and a half years. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.”

From Wikipedia:
Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless. The development cost of the collaboration was estimated to have been $150 million over a thirty-month period. Apple rejected the “design by committee” approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola. Instead, Cingular Wireless gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone’s hardware and software in-house. The whole effort was called Project Purple 2 and began in 2005. Six weeks before the iPhone was to be released, the plastic screen was replaced with a glass one, after Jobs was upset that the screen of the prototype he was carrying in his pocket had been scratched by his keys.

With the iPhone X costing $1,000 dollars, Apple rules the world.