It’s no surprise that Apple has a spring and fall event to showcase the future of Apple each year. This year is no different and the spring event is on March 21st, here is a rundown of things you should expect.

  1. The iPhone SE
    • This device has been rumored since late last year. Now we get to see the fabled device in action and what it is really all about. At the moment, it is rumored this device will have a 4-inch screen with the hardware specs of an iPhone 6/6s. Are these rumors true? We will find out come the 21st.
  2. A new revision of the iPad Pro
    • it is no surprise that Apple always has some sort of revision to their devices. The iPad Pro is no exception to this. It is rumored that a new model of the iPad Pro will debut at this event as well. As a person who uses the iPad Pro right now in day to day life, I am excited to see if there is any truth to this. I personally feel the iPad Pro is fantastic, but we will see what the rumor holds come March 21st.
  3. More Apple Watch Bands
    • Currently, there is a decent amount of Apple Watch bands out in the market. Most are 3rd party compared to the limited official Apple branded bands. It is expected that Apple will announce several new bands that will be coming out in the near future.
  4. New Software updates
    • If history has taught us anything, it is that certain events are destined to repeat. During the past Apple spring events, they would reveal the newest software update for their devices. This one seems to have no exception to this rule. It is rumored we will see the newest WatchOS, OS X (10.10.4) and iOS (iPhone and iPad version 9.3) updates at the event. We can also possibly get some sort of release window on the updates.
  5. New revision on the MacBook, iPad Air & iPad Mini
    • I would file this one under wishful thinking, but there seems to be a rumor that we may see a new MacBook, iPad Mini and new iPad Air at the event. I would be skeptical considering for the iPad Mini 5 rumor because the Mini 4 just came out last September. The iPad Air 3 rumor seems possible considering the Air 2 came out October 2014. The MacBook is possible since it’s right at a year old.

All and all, it seems to be a packed event. It will all go down March 21st. We’ll will be here to post the main points of the event. So stay tuned for it.

Via: HackInformer

Sony Logo - CES 2013Coverage notes of the Sony 2013 coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Sony Xperia Z and ZL. Xperia Z has full HD 5inch screen & is powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 for brilliant colors, contrasts, sharpness. Xperia Z has a 13 MP camera w/ Exmor RS, world’s 1st image sensor w/ HDR video for smartphones. Sony COO Phil Molyneux said “It has the sharpest & brightest full HD screen that Sony has ever brought to a smartphone.”

Mr. Molyneux stated, “You can use your Xperia Z anywhere whether it’s blogging in a bathtub or downloading in a downpour.”

Sony presented the Sony One Touch System – SRS-BTV5, a BlueTooth and wireless speaker system.

Displaying later the Sony Bravia 84″ 4k TV with Triluminos Display and the Sony Generation X Headphones. New 4K TVs will feature magnetic fluid speakers for awesome sound as well as 4K X Reality Pro upscaling technology. Sony will introduce the world’s 1st to-the-home service will allow owners of our 4K TVs to download native 4K movies created by Sony Pictures and others. Later this summer, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment w/ Sony Pictures Colorworks is working to release a 4K lineup of Blu-rays of existing films this spring.

The brand new Cyber-shot WX80 is Wi-Fi enabled. Send pics to your phone to be shared on your social networks!

“Be Moved” was a central theme throughout the press conference and many loved the visuals.

Stay tuned. We’ll post more information as it comes available!

Hell's Kitchen

As fans of the show, we wrote some drinking game rules for Hell’s Kitchen. Enjoy and drink responsibly!

1. Original Rule: Any time someone says they’re getting “thrown under the bus”, Person who is visiting has to drink.
2. Revised Rule for first rule: Any time someone makes a *traffic related remark* (“just got sideswiped, you’re trying to t-bone me, don’t run me over”) regarding their treatment in Hell’s Kitchen, Everyone has to drink.
3. Each time Gordon Ramsey says “dig in”, Everyone has to drink.
4. Each time someone says “I’m not here to make friends”, Person who is visiting has to drink.
5. Each time the canned-noise that resembles a buzz-saw happens, Everyone has to take at least a sip.
6. Any time food is raw during dinner service, Host/Person Supplying Seating & TV has to drink.
7. Any time food is over-cooked during dinner service, Person who is visiting has to drink.
8. Any time Gordon says the dish is well-done during dinner service, Everyone has to drink.
9. If there’s a risotto on the dinner menu, each time it is mentioned Host/Person Supplying Seating & TV has to drink.
10 If there’s anything on the dinner menu with “puree” in the title (Eggplant Puree, Sweet Potato Puree), Person who is visiting has to drink.
11. Every time there’s a cut to commercial before announcing who BOTH won AND/OR lost (different drinks for each) during competitions and eliminations, Everyone drinks.
12. Every time Gordon asks someone to take off their jacket but returns them to the line to eliminate (or not) someone, Everyone drinks.
13. If you blurt out who you think is going to get eliminated and you’re wrong, you drink twice.
14. If Gordon kicks anyone out of the kitchen during dinner service, Host/Person Supplying Seating & TV has to drink.
15. When Gordon says “Open Hell’s Kitchen”, Everyone drinks twice.

Mobile Mardi Gras Flag

We all know that Mardi Gras started in Mobile, Alabama (contrary to what those will tell you who live in New Orleans). So why not enjoy Mardi Gras where it started?!

Mobile is known for having the oldest organized Carnival celebrations in the United States, dating to the 18th century of its early colonial period. It was also host to the first formally organized Carnival mystic society or “krewe” in the United States, dating to 1830.

Here’s the schedule for the 2012 Mardi Gras events happening in the Mobile, Alabama area:

Mobile, Alabama (courtesy of the Mobile Bay CVB) —

Checkers LogoIf you’ve driven down east Airport Boulevard in Mobile within the past few weeks, you’ve probably noticed something great. Checkers is coming back with a brand new look. And coming back is great because they have some of the best burgers and fries around. Not only that, but they’re going to be giving away to the first 100 people who attend the launch on Saturday Free Checkers Fries for a year!

According to their website, Checkers was first started in Mobile back in 1986 and has been cooking up great burgers ever since. The Checker’s story, which some of you may know from outside of the area as Rally’s goes like this:

“Checkers & Rally’s restaurants were born out of the idea that a bland and flavorless burger was downright bad and that Americans everywhere deserved a better tasting burger — one that was unexpectedly bold, made-to-order and priced at a value that was hard to beat. Founded by experienced foodies with a renegade spirit, both the Checkers & Rally’s unique double drive-thru concept, with its over-the-top checkerboard squares, chrome styling, red neon signs and of course the food, was an instant hit. These two new burger experiences were hot, fresh and served with a smile. People were hooked, and the world of cookie cutter corporate burger establishments was about to change.”

And here’s the official release about the re-opening:

Checkers French FriesThe new reimaged Checkers restaurant at 2213 Airport Blvd in Mobile, AL will host a Grand Opening celebration for the hungry public on Saturday, November 12, 2011.

To kick off the grand opening on Saturday, November 12, Checkers is offering FREE fries for a year to the first 100 guests in line. And, guests in line, 101 and after will receive FREE fries with purchase all weekend. So, be sure to be one of the first people in line, as we anticipate people camping out!

During the grand opening celebration, there will be a kickoff to food eating contests open to the public with a competition showdown at 11am between the University of South Alabama’s STATS (Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow) student organization versus the University of Mobile’ SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) student organization.

Checkers will also give away prizes, coupons, and promotions to reward the community and its loyal fans.

Hoping to see you all there!

2011 South Alabama Film FestivalThe 3rd annual South Alabama Film Festival seeks to showcase and educate the community about filmmakers and their creations, while welcoming all who enjoy the medium. One of the nation’s oldest and most beautiful cities, Mobile will alight with the cinematic arts throughout the year, culminating in November’s three-day festival.

In addition to feature-length and short films, the festival will offer seminars and workshops for adults and school children, to further its goal of educating – as well as enchanting – the growing regional film community. In its third year, and for many more to come, the festival strives to be the yearly event in Southern Alabama for all who love, and create, film.

The festival takes place November 4th, 5th, and 6th at multiple venues throughout Mobile, AL.

Passes for the festival are available now and at the downtown office. Weekend passes will be $30 and individual film tickets will be $5. Click here for tickets.

The South Alabama Film Festival is a part of the Mobile Arts Council made possible by the generous support of the Mobile Public Library, The Crescent Theater, The Center for the Living Arts, The Bike Shop, The Fort Conde Inn, The Hampton Downtown.

FEATURE LENGTH FILMS
Wrestling For JesusWrestling For Jesus (documentary)
Sat, Nov 5
3pm
The Crescent Theater

A documentary about Timothy who was born in Mobile, AL and grew up a wrestling fanatic. After moving to South Carolina, Timothy started a Christian wrestling organization. His goal is to use wrestling to evangelize his neighbors. However his passion and vision for his ministry are tested when his personal life begins to disintegrate. Wrestling for Jesus is a raw and honest all-access pass into the two worlds of independent wrestling and religion in the rural South.

– Timothy (T-Money) is originally from Mobile
– Timothy is scheduled to attend

http://www.facebook.com/wrestlingforjesus
http://wrestlingforjesus.com

Missing Pieces (special preview screening) (narrative)
Missing PiecesSat, Nov 5
5pm
The Crescent Theater

This is a story about a man who’s lost everything and his misguided attempts to put it back together. Missing Pieces is an emotional enigma about love and loneliness…and a kidnapping. Through interwoven, poignant vignettes, this multi-plot tale unfolds and untangles into a truly unique and heartfelt love story about finding hope when all is lost.

– Kenton Bartlett (writer/producer) is from Birmingham
– Started the film when he was 19; he’s now 23
– Filmmaker is scheduled to attend
– Along with film Q&A, Kenton will also be participating in a workshop/Q&A session with the kids camp students

http://www.facebook.com/FindYourMissingPieces
http://www.findyourmissingpieces.com

Prairie Love (narrative)
Prairie Love PosterSat, Nov 5
9pm
The Crescent Theater

When a mysterious vagrant living out of his car among the snowy plains discovers a nearly-frozen local with a pen-pal girlfriend, he sees an opportunity to change his lonely existence. From the harsh Midwestern frozen plains, comes this wonderfully bizarre but heartwarming look at three people searching for love and self discovery in the oddest ways.

– This will be the first screening in South Alabama
– Ashley Bias & Dusty Bias (from Baldwin County)
– Filmmaker scheduled to attend
– Official Selection: 2011 Sundance Film Festival
– Grand Jury Prize, Best Narrative Feature: 2011 Oxford Film Festival

http://www.facebook.com/prairielove
http://www.prairielove.com
http://www.prairielove.com/press/mr.pdf

Man of Deeds (documentary)
Sun, Nov 6
1pm
Bernhiem Hall

Born into the chaos of the French Revolution, Mathias Loras would come to develop a vision for a state of spirituality in the New World that few dare dream. Brought up in an elegant, bourgeois family he would eventually become a missionary assigned to a remote outpost in the frontier territory of Iowa. There he would sow the seeds of the church to rough miners and farmers, while battling the unending hardships of life on edge of civilization.

– Filmmaker Craig Schafer is scheduled to attend
– From 1830-1832 Mathias Loras served as the first president of Spring Hill College

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Loras

The Reconstruction of Asa Carter (documentary)
The Reconstruction of Asa CarterSun, Nov 6
4pm
Bernhiem Hall

Forrest Carter, best-selling author of The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Education of Little Tree, was an exalted Cherokee hero of New Age wisdom. As a leader in the Native American cultural revival of the 1970’s, Forrest touched millions of readers with his gentle and earthy tales of Indian life. Twelve years after his death, however, the public learned that Forrest had a hidden past. Forrest Carter was actually Asa ‘Ace’ Cater, violent Ku Klux Klansman and Alabama Governor George Wallace’s principal speechwriter; author of the infamous 1963 inaugural address, ‘Segregation Now! Segregation Tomorrow! Segregation Forever!’

– Filmmaker Douglas Newman scheduled to attend

http://www.facebook.com/reconstructionofasacarter
http://www.reconstructionofasacarter.com

FESTIVAL VENUES
Ben May Main Library, Bernheim Hall
The Crescent Theater
Space 301
Cathedral Square

More films are scheduled to show. Check the South Alabama Film Festival Website and find out more:

http://www.southalabamafilmfestival.org

Follow the South Alabama Film Festival on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/SoALFilmFest