MarcForrest.com

Category: Personal

  • RIP Steve Jobs

    There isn’t much more to say about this inspirational man, in so many of our lives. The fact this his visionary and innovation has changed the way we all work, live & play says enough. On a personal level, there is an emotion of longing for my mom & dad, after been inspired by Steve Jobs and his way of thinking.

    These words below, from a talk at Standford university in 2005, bear memory of how we should live our lives:

    “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
    – Steve Jobs 

    Thank you, and may you Rest in Peace.

  • This time, Smokoo really is a SCAM

     

    The last time I posted that Smokoo was a scam, I got asked to take the post down. Thanks to a couple of things going on in my life at the time, I didn’t have much of a choice, but to take it down.
    But now, I am really confident in saying, they have pulled off such a stupid scam, they really are the laugh of the town.

    A while back Smokoo decided to auction off an iPhone5– http://www.za.smokoo.com/auctions/smokoo_iphone5

    Yip, you read that. iPhone5. Which didn’t even exist then, and still doesn’t exist now. This evening, Apple announced the launch of the iPhone4s, while Smokoo hapily boasted about an iPhone5 they auctioned off. The winner ended up paying R2.97, foe what is effectively now a cardboard box. Ouch !

    If you take a look at the auction page, they go on to give specs which they “think” would be in the iPhone5.

    Breaking news – Apple iPhone launch – now it’s official: Invitations have been sent out for the event on October 4, saying, ‘Let’s talk iPhone’. Apple staff have been banned from holidays in the first two weeks of October in America, and tech insiders expect the iPhone 5 from the launch to appear in stores shortly after – on October 14

    It doesn’t get more exciting than this!

    The iPhone 5 is set to become the best-selling iPhone of them all. Be the first to own one by securing this auction. Place the final bid and the iPhone 5 is yours.

    Model: iPhone 5 32GB

    Some of the most-wanted features on the iPhone 5 include: Enhanced voice control, Micro-HDMI out, Removable battery, Expandable memory, Biometric security, NFC-enabled, Better home-screen and notifications system, Enhanced cloud-computing support, FaceTime over cellular network, Flash support, Larger screen, Better camera, Dual-core processor, Upgraded 3D graphics and Fewer dropped calls.

    Smokoo has garnered a reputation for being the first site to sell the iPad, iPad 2 and the iPhone 4. Our customers save an average of 96% on these items and other high-end items like cars and bikes.

    Notes:
    iPhone 5 will be shipped after official release by Apple
    Product pictures are for illustrative purposes only
    Shipping cost includes insurance

     

    What the…Seriously. Removable Battery, Micro-HDMI out, Biometric Security. SERIOUSLY. My eyes are bleeding !!! Somebody help me. The only thing they did seem to get right was the release date. Well done Smokoo !

    Honestly, I can’t believe that these guys are still going. It utterly pisses me off when companies try and push stuff like this, KNOWING that people will fall for it. It is utter BULLSHIT.
    I honestly hope Smokoo gets taken to task for this Smokoo Scam. It is totally unacceptable !!

    [Updated] Just seen on their FB page, they also offering you a “chance” to go to New York to “…get your iPhone5 with the Smokoo Team”. Really ? Really !!

     

  • Check out the Property Index from Private Property

     

    At Private Property we launched a brand new product last week, called “The Property Index“, which allows you to see your property value AND all the properties around you. I have been playing around with it for the last couple of days, and I am amazed at what properties go for in various areas. I went past my childhood home, and am shocked to see what it is valued at today. The site still might have a few little niglys which we sorting out, but it’s def a first in South Africa.

    This from the Property Index FAQ’s:

    The Property Index is a set of tools to help the general public get in touch with the property market. Get to know towns and suburbs across the country, find out what your home may be worth or check out the estimated value of anyone else’s home. The information is continually being refined and updated, and you’ll see new features being added over time.

    Check out this video for a bit of a visual overview on what it is all about:

    This is really handy if you are looking to buy property, or just want to see what your property is worth. Let me know what you think in the comments below and I’ll pass it onto the relevant people.

     

     

  • iPhoneographySA exhibition a SUCCESS !

     

    I know this is a couple of days late, but I have been trying to come off of the high of the 1st ever iPhoneography exhibition that was held on Thursday evening at the iStore in Sandton.

    After 5 months of planning, emailing, choosing photos, getting images, hanging & sweating, it all culminated in an awesome event. From all the comments we had, both on the night and after, everyone only had good things to say. We had around 200-250 people come through the exhibition on the night, and have had requests to do another event, possibly in Cape Town. All I can say, is that it “should” happen, but probably only in a while. There were a lot of lessons learnt, and loads of planning for this one, so if we end up doing another one, it can only be better. If anyone has suggestions, complaints or compliments, I would love to hear them in the comments below.

    The event trended on Twitter during the course of the evening as well ! We also got some awesome coverage in The Sunday Times Lifestyle section & iMaverick. Also check out Jeanette Verster’s blog post & Matthew Arnold’s post for some pics on the eve.

    Shaun Lavagna also put this cool walk through video together of the whole exhibition.

    I am also busy putting together an iPhoneography blog – www.iPhoneographySA.com where I will focus just on iPhoneography apps, events & profiles. Stay tuned :)

  • Road Closures Sandton 1 Sept 2011

     

    If I wasn’t such a loyal and patriotic fan of the Springboks, I would have been more upset that I am already, but luckily, luckily, I’ll (try to) forgive them this time round. Well, that and today I found out that it’s not as bad as I expected.

    You see, for the last 6 months, I been been planning the iPhoneography exhibition at the Sandton iStore, and yesterday I found out that the Springboks are having a little going away party, for the World Cup, on the SAME night as the exhibition !! With road closures around the whole Sandton area, I started panicking a little.

    So, if you are attending the iPhoneography Exhibition on Thursday eve, please make sure you give yourself a bit of extra time to get there, as there will more than likely be congested traffic. If you coming from Rivonia Road side, try and avoid it, by coming around and approaching from Rosebank side. Or alternatively coming from William Nicol side. The iStore itself isn’t too affected as it is on the complete opposite side of Nelson Mandela Square, where the Springbok do is. Another alternative is to to perhaps use the Gautrain, bearing in mind that the last train from Sandton leaves at around 20:30. Check the timetables here. 

    On a side note, today I looked at the map again, and realised that someone had been very lazy, and confused the heck out of people.

    At first glance you would think that all the yellow roads were closed off. But look again. Only West street is closed. You see they have 2 black lines at the end of West Street, and only the 2 thin black lines on the other side of west street. Given that the standard colour for showing a major road on a map is yellow, these guys decided to just use Microsoft paint and draw in 2 lines, and colour in the other side of the road red. Silly people !

    It’s only 3 more sleeps, and I’m really really excited. And nervous. A bit :) See you there