Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo

Porsche has just rolled out its new Shooting Brake concept, the Panamera Sport Turismo, at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. This concept moves the Panamera from a 5-door coupe to a wagon...a much more useful configuration.

This particular Panamera is powered by  a hybrid engine, with electrical and gas motors combining for 416 horses. Porsche is rolling out the car to gauge public perception. By my reckoning, a 2-year old can pick between a butt-ugly coupe and a stunning Shooting Brake. So let's get to it Porsche...you know what you need to do.

Don't Buy 3rd Party Lightning Cables for iPhone 5

It seems everyone got their undies in a bundle when Apple switched to the new Lightning cable. Apple has a long history of embracing new technology and leaving the old behind...so you just have to get used to that.

But when you get that new iPhone 5, do not be tempted to buy cheap cables from a 3rd party manufacturer. The cables are proprietary to Apple, and to keep them that way, Apple has placed an authenticator chip in all of their Lightning cables. The authenticator chip is also proprietary to Apple and cannot be duplicated.

What that means is that 3rd party cables will fit your new iPhone 5, but they will not work. Without the authenticator chip, the cables are unable to transmit power or data. Caveat emptor.

Why I Love CrossFit

Three years ago I began CrossFit and it changed my life. Thanks to CrossFitMN, I am in better shape at 60 than I was at 30. It is hard. It is brutal. But there is a dedicated group that shows up every day at noon and thanks to them, I learn more every day. Check this out: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/170733216.html?refer=y

Nike Free Inneva Woven

When it comes to shoes for CrossFit, I'm a huge fan of Nike Free Run. They're lightweight, unbelievably comfortable and a great all-round shoe for the different exercises that pop up in the WOD. My only ding on the shoe is their lack of lateral support.

Enter the Nike Free Inneva Woven. The  nylon-woven shoe fabric and the laces are integrated so that the entire shoe can be adjusted for lateral support. I can't wait to try these on. Launch date and pricing to be announced shortly. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_x3yX0yqNc

iPhone 5

Here's the important stuff from today's intro:

• 4" screen
• 18% thinner, world's thinnest smartphone.
• 20% lighter
• 16:9 aspect ratio for movies
• LTE world phone, data transfer is higher speed than most cable modems
• New high speed WiFi, up to 150 Mbps
• 2x faster processor than iPhone 4S (new A6 chip). This really matters. This phone has the highest performing processor in the industry, meaning Apple has leapfrogged them all.
• New camera: 8 megapixel, low light capable and new Panorama mode
• 1080p HD video
• New audio: 3 microphones
• Noise canceling ear hole
• New earbud design, called EarPods
• Lightning connection cable: high speed transfer and charging
• iOS 6 with new 3D mapping, turn-by-turn nav and real-time traffic
• New improved Siri
• On-contract pricing: same as iPhone 4S ($199, $299 and $399)
• Pre-order September 14, ships September 21

EarPods, from my September 2 blog.

Sony 4K Bravia KD-84X900

Sony's 84" 4K TV is available for pre-order today. (4K offers nearly four times the resolution of today's 1080p high resolution TV's.) You will need a fair amount of pocket change available as this little puppy will set you back a cool $24,999.99 (only the marketing geniuses at Sony could make this seem so incredibly appealing and desirable by discounting the price by a penny). This is a $3,000 premium over the 84" 4K TV that Samsung rolled out just this past summer.

So here we are at the brink of a new shift in TV technology. The drums are beating louder....4K is coming and it is going to suck all of the oxygen out of the room for 1080p. Are you in?

GoWatchIt iPhone App

Last December I wrote about new software called GoWatchIt:(http://grogs4cogs.blogspot.com/2011/12/gowatchitcom.html). It is a fabulous program that lets you keep track of movies you want to see. I used to use Netflix for that, but since they have abandoned new releases, their queue is basically worthless. GoWatchIt actually tracks all of the movies in your queue across all of the distribution channels and notifies you when they become available on each.

I'm a big fan of foreign films, so I find the software incredibly useful because most foreign films are just quietly slipped into distribution....without GoWatchIt I would not know that they are available. Plexus Entertainment created the software, and now they have brought it to the iPhone. Their new GoWatchIt app for iPhone has all of the functionality of the original software in a really easy to use iPhone format.

It's a very elegant app. When you come across a poster of a movie you want to see, you just hit the camera icon and the movie automatically gets entered into your queue. Then GoWatchIt tracks your movie and notifies you when it becomes available on each distribution channel: movie theaters, Fandango, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Hulu, YouTube, SnagFilms, Sundance Now and movies on demand for cable and satellite.

I just love this app and the best part is that it's absolutely free! If you are interested, head to the iPhone App Store and search for GoWatchIt.

New Apple Earbuds?

Apple fanboys have their tongues wagging about the latest Apple rumor...that the earbuds you see above are the first major redesign since the launch of the original iPod earbuds. This design and photo surfaced in Vietnam where they are supposedly being manufactured. Will they accompany the new iPhone 5 and iPods? Stay tuned for the big Apple announcement on September 12.