Damn you Steve Jobs!

JUST when we thought we were all happy with our new Macbooks, here comes Apple again with a sexier, lighter, and greener Macbook! I hate you Steve Jobs!

The New Generation 2.0 ghz version is being sold by Apple at $1,299 (P61,053). I assume that local Apple resellers or authorized Philippine dealers will be retailing it for at least P67,000. Not bad I think considering the new goodies therein...like being made of one single thick sheet of aluminum which makes it lighter; they completely got rid of the rectangular mouse adjoining the trackpad; it now carries the 802.11n wi-fi draft standard, an LED backlit glossy display coupled w/ a new graphics processor which makes the colors just pop; while the new 2.4 ghz version has an illuminated keyboard (if you like typing in the dark then I guess this is the computer for you); etc. All that in a 4.5-lb package, w/c is a pound less than my recently-bough Macbook.



I want! A source and fellow Macnut tells me this new beauty will be available at the new A-shop at the Podium "in a week and a half." Hmmm...I wonder if the store accepts trade-ins.

Btw, I was just in that store this afternoon and I've already listed down a few yummies that I want to get for my Macbook. Pero, ipon-ipon muna!

* * * *
MEANWHILE, if you still haven't watched it, go see Tropic Thunder starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, and our very own Reggie Lee (ok, lemme say it...mabuhay ang Pinoy!). You will surely howl in laughter at this new comedy which pokes fun at Vietnam war movies and the Hollywood film-making machine. It also lampoons actors who take themselves seriously and I must say, Robert Downey Jr. plays Russel Crowe ever so perfectly. In this movie, he plays an Australian actor who plays an African-American. Downey Jr brilliant as usual!

And while I have never been a Tom Cruise fan, his portrayal of a loud-mouth, cursing, money-grubbing Hollywood film producer who loves rap music was just superb! I have officially become a fan...although, you still can't make me watch The Last Samurai, War of the Worlds, MI3, or Valkyrie. I somehow feel that when 2001 rolled in, Tom Cruise just went severely mental w/c affected his acting and his ability to pick out winners for films.

Anyhoo, this film is super-funny I swear!

And the winners are...

I PICKED up a newspaper today and actually read it (well just the main pages and business section)...a change from my usual habit of reading the news on the web. While it's more efficient to read newspapers online, sometimes you do miss nice bits and good photos.

And not to mention, the print ads. If I didn't pick up the paper this morning I wouldn't know who the winners were of MasterCard's latest cool gadgets giveaway promo:

Amable VR Aguiluz (Apple MacBook Pro--oooh, I envy you! and a Nokia N95), Victoria Garchitorena (Nokia N95), David Guerrero (Nokia N95), Harry C. Tan Sr. (Nokia N95), Inigo Zobel (Nokia N95), and Ambrosio Jay Velilla Padilla (Sony Cybershot 10.1MP camera).

Anyone sound family, hehe? Congratulations to the winners.

* * * *
Dang, if I only knew there was a promo (see, that's what you miss out when you read the news online), I could've used my MasterCard. Then again, I'm not one who swipes like crazy just because I want to buy something. I have about 4 credit cards, two of them Platinum and one Gold. And yet I keep being sent new ones, which I cut up since I don't need any more in this lifetime.

Especially these days, when interest rates are moving up, I use my cards rather prudently. I only bring them when I travel abroad, but keep one in my wallet for emergencies (not shopping emergencies ha, but real ones like for medicines or hospitals, etc.). I still believe that cash is king. And if you can't afford to pay for your purchases in cash, then you can't afford it. Period.

Of course some bring credit cards so they don't have to bring lots of cash around (or so they claim). In the personal finance stories I write, I always advice paying for the entire amount on your billing statement, if you use your credit card often. That way, you don't get buried underneath your debts.

But it's very easy to get your wallet picked as well with all those credit cards lying in it...then that's even more of a headache cancelling all your credit cards and requesting for new ones. Araykow.