Google's open source mobile platform, code name Android, has finally been released to the public, and was officially demonstrated last week on T-Mobile's first Android based handset device, the G1, also known as the HTC Dream, by HTC.

The Telegraph, Britain's number one newspaper website, has reviewed the G1 phone, compared it to Apple's iPhone, and compiled short review quotes from several of the best and well known technology critics on the internet such as TechCrunch, CNET, and Gizmodo.

I am a Mac user, I respect Apple, and I think that the iPhone is a cool and innovative device/gadget, but one of the thumbs down for me was complete absence of a full qwerty keyboard. I spend a lot of time on my phone responding to emails, texting, and researching the web so the ability to type quickly is very important to me...I like the feedback!

The price of the HTC Dream will be priced at $179, with a 2 year contract with T-Mobile (not bad). From the looks of it, it has everything I need: a large sliding screen (touch screen), and a full qwerty keyboard. On the  Software side, based on this Android Demo, the new mobile platform looks blazing fast on the G1, and is very promising.

Application wise, I am looking forward to ShopSavvy; a tool that turns the G1's camera into a barcode scanner, allowing the user to photograph the barcode from any product one may want to buy, then searches the internet to find the cheapest price out there for that particular item...pretty cool huh! You can check our more Android applications on the Android Market.

I must note that I do not plan on switching to T-mobile anytime soon, but I do hope that HTC is open minded enough to have an unlocked version of the G1 for the rest of mobile community to use...I won't mind paying a few extra dollars for an unlocked G1 warranted by the manufacturer...something Apple will probably never bother entertaining!

I'm out to change mine! I went to the art store a few weeks ago. I was looking for a piece for my home office…something that defined me, with inspiration and flair. I look at this everyday before going work, and everynight before going to sleep.

I've always been about my business. When it comes to this world, I'm a person with few words. I work hard, pay my dues, plan my moves, stay focused, keep a positive attitude, and repulse negative energies surrounding me. I am ruler of one world...my world.

First, let me say that when we lived with my parents, my brothers and I were never required to take our shoes off when entering the house.  Had it been enforced, I don't think I would have had any issues with it. The floors throughout the house were being cleaned daily regardless of the situation; so it made no difference in the matter.

About a week ago, I had a discussion with a friend of mine regarding the famous "Shoes-off Please" topic. Based on the research I have done on the subject, as well as my friend's opinion, it is my understanding that this is sensitive subject for a lot of people out there. From what I gathered, many are against removing their shoes when entering someone's home for various reasons.

Personally, I understand why some people maybe against it, but at the same time I was also raised to respect other people's way of life. We are all different in our own little ways, but overall, I think it is OK for one to look beyond personal preferences in order to make the hosts feel at ease about receiving you in their home. Of course, it also depends on the occasion. Events such as black tie or dressed to impress parties are examples of situations where one cannot be expected to remove shoe wear. In situations like these, I think it is up to the homeowner (or tenant) to understand the type of event to host in their private residence.

For me, this has simply become a way of life. What can I say, I like to keep things clean, simple, organized, and of course casual. I believe that my house is a reflection of me, and the way I do things in my daily life. With that in mind, I designed the entertainment area with a warm, trendy and cozy feel to it; and I think it works...without shoes :)

 For the past couple of months, I noticed my girlfriend handcrafting all sorts of small goods. Up until a few weeks ago, I had no idea what all of it was for. Soon enough, she explained to me that she had discovered ETSY, an online store where people buy and sell all things that are handmade. It sounded cool so I checked it out.

As a graphic artist, Anabela has perfected a skill for making things by hand, and using her skills in Origami and Amigurumi (bear in picture above) to create unique pieces to add to her ETSY store, Beladonna Graphics, where everything is handmade with love.

If you like handmade stuff, feel free to follow her on Twitter and get daily updates for the recently added store items, or logon to Facebook and join the group called "Support BelaDonna's Etsy shop", and show some support. If you read this and dug it, please pass it along to your friends.

Enjoy!

I usually refer to my Sunday as "Chillaxin' Sunday".  This is a day where I like to do nothing but house stuff such as relaxing, washing my car, catch up on personal items, play video games, and enjoy the my time at home before the work week starts...Obviously things did not exactly go as planned today...

The automatic window failed (out of nowhere) on the driver side door of my car Saturday afternoon while I was running some errands with my girlfriend. Something inside the window assembly broke and prevented the glass from rolling up or down properly. It was causing all sorts of clunking noises and rattles, as if the window was shattered, which you can believe was a bit scary being that I was not near home.

I woke early on Sunday to do some research on the web and found the possible culprit to be the windows regulator. From what I read, this is was a known and common issue on the BMW E46 body style car. The window regulator is mechanical set of components that controls the up and down sliding movements of the glass window.

I decided to investigate and see for myself, so I proceeded to the garage and took the entire door panel assembly out. One thing to note is that BMWs are well put together and are not easy to take apart. After removing all trims, screws, foam, moisture protection, door handle assembly, door air bag, and 3 speakers (in one door!!), I found the rear regulator supporting the rear of the window was completely broken...not sure was caused that, but from what I read it is pretty common.

After removing the rear rail, the front trail had an inaccessible and stripped bolt, which I needed to unscrew in order to remove the glass from the  regulator assembly. I went to my buddies house, and he helped me drill it out...lucky me!

After investigating the damage, I found another E46 owner on the web that ran into the same issue and came up with a possible fix depending on the damage. I decided to give it a shot and what do you know...it worked! Both Cylinders guiding the regulators up and down where worn and broken so the glass was being miss-guided anytime it was being rolled up or down. By adding heavy-duty zip ties at key points on the assembly, I was able to secure the cylinders back into place...seriously! I respect German Engineering, but this is a shame! I really hope BMW seriously addresses this issue.

My window is fully operational again, and it is as if nothing had ever happened. Of course that only took 8 hours to complete so you can guess what else I was able to get done today right...nothing!!!

Yes! I, and most African American men, have a natural habit of getting a haircut every week, or at least every 2 weeks. I believe this is both a culture and fashion trend...and here is why:

Among the African American community, it is natural for young and grown men to keep their hair in good shape with regular trims by a professional African American hairstylist in order to maintain a clean and sharp appearance. For Professional African American men, the standard is higher. It is a natural instinct to consistently maintain a sharp appearance.

Fashionable African American male Icons and celebrities are known to have mobile barbers follow them around at all times...no surprises why people like Jay-Z, Will smith, Jamie Foxx, or many others are always looking so sharp you would think their hairstyle was crafted by a robot using a laser blade...I mean dang, those guys' hairstyles are always on point!

The average number of visits to the barber for most black men is at a minimum of once every week or two. Some cultures may see this as excessive or unnecessary, and others just can't seem to be able to tell the difference. Could this be due to indifference, culture differences, or simply a lack of attention to detail? Who knows...

Clean lines, defined edges, and an immaculate beard or gotti trim are the characteristics of a perfectly crafted haircut, which most African American men seek in order to maintain a clean look at all times...and that’s just what I like.

The FitBit Tracker was unveiled yesterday on TechCrunch during the TC50 2008 Conference event.

The device itself is a 3D wireless wearable sensor that acts as a diet monitoring system. Its purpose is to track the wearer's food intake and activity levels based on daily activity.

The sensor is tiny, clips on virtually any piece of clothing, collects and records information, and transmits the data anytime the wearer passes by the wireless base station.

The readings are then uploaded to the fitbit website where all the data is processed, allowing the user to view detailed information regarding fitness activity levels and sleeping patterns. The website also allows the user to add various data about different foods eaten.

I don't know about you, but I am all about fitness, so I am definately getting me one of these. The kit is priced at only $99, and is available for preorder today. The FitBit Tracker will go on sale sometime in December or January...just in time for the holiday good eats!

I have been using Twitter for some time now. All my twittering is usually done via some twitter client on my Mac while I am stationary at home or at work. I’ve been looking for an efficient twitter client for my Samsung Blackjack v.1 smart phone (Windows Mobile 6) in order to get twitter updates while on the go. I stumbled on Tiny Twitter, which is built to run on Windows Mobile and Pocket PC smart phones, and most blackberries and other java enabled devices out there. It has built in support for TwitPic, and also supports user timeline follow, direct messages, updates, retweet, and uses your Internet connection, so no SMS every time someone updates.

The application is free, so try it! Just go to http://www.tinytwitter.com/m/ from your mobile phone's browser, download and install the .CAB file, and voila!

I never really had an eye for this type of stuff. Every since I moved in my house however, I have been meaning to get some artwork, but never found anything a really liked, and if I did, it was overpriced.

I went to Pictures and Mirrors this past weekend and finally got around to getting a few pieces to dress up my naked walls. There was a very large selection on traditional, modern and contemporary artwork pieces for unbelieveable prices.

Everything in the store was on sale due to their new stock arrivals. All pictures and mirrors were 50% off. Everything else was between 25 and 40 percent off. Click hereto check out the gallery and see some of the items I picked up.

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Dexter's Restaurant is a nice hangout spot well known for its great tasting foods and wines, a nice urban feel, and a cool atmosphere. They have been in business in the Orlando area for 20 years, and are well known around town as they have been crowned for being the Best Brunch in Orlando for 2007. They also have one location in Winter Park, and another one in Lake Mary.

I met with a friend of mine there earlier today for brunch. I thought it was pretty neat hangout spot. The people were friendly, the staff was very attentive and responsive, and the food was delicious. I was not sure what to order so our waiter recommended the Malted Waffles from the brunch menu; and as you can see, I was not disappointed! My friend ordered the Peach French Toasts...which I will try the next time I go there. Enjoy.

I have a gym membership at LA Fitness and normally make it there right around 7pm 3 to 5 times a week. They recently opened a new location in Altamonte Springs, FL, which is 2.5 miles away from my office. I decided switch it up and put my lunch break to better use. I am now 3 weeks into it, and I am loving it.

I get to work 30 minutes earlier and leave 30 minutes later in order to make up for my longer lunch break and get a good workout...and it works. The workout is quick, intense, and effective since the gym is nearly empty.

Getting home from work has been great lately (7pm instead of 9pm or later) mainly because I save so much time from not being at the gym after work during peak hours. This gives me more time at home to do my perosnal management, cook dinner, relax, and make it to bed at a decent hour...Try it!

Bento Cafe is an urban style restaurant Downtown Orlando, near Church street. Its trendy atmosphere and pan-asian style cuisine will leave you wanting for more.

It is a great place to meet up, hang out, and catch up with friends while enjoying some sushi or Japanese inspired "Bento Box" meals. The service is fast and the food is tasty.

My favorite dish so far is the teriaky chicken rice bowl, served with brocoli and dark meat chicken. My bill was $7.51, and the serving size was very generous. The music is nice and upbeat, and set at a decent volume making the overall atmosphere enjoyable.

Google has just released a new browser called Google Chrome. Take a few moments to read up on it on the google site.

I am excited about it, mainly because it's from google, and because google stuff just works. Google Chrome is basic, lightweight, and really does make it seem like the internet just got faster. The menus and options are short, simple, and straight forward. I was up and running in less than one minute after installation.

As of today, there is no release of Chrome for Mac OS X. Being that I am a Mac user, I am currently using it on a Vmware instance of Windows XP on my MacBook Pro until google releases a working version for Mac.

A few minutes ago, I encountered a bug, which caused the flash plugin in Chrome to crash...and here is what showed up on my screen!!!

Well, it has been long overdue. I have finally made the some of the required changes to the site, and udpated some content. I added the friends' galleries subsections, so send me your galleries if you want me to link them from here. I also added new content in the "My Car" section, and created a subjection for the history of my old car. This is really just clean up and maintenance.

Anyway,  next I plan on working on videos for the site, maybe some simple flash or something...who knows! We will see when I get for more time. I also added some RSS, so you can now get updates when I blog

Oh and I added a subdomain URL for my blog, so now,  you can reach my blog by directly typing - http://blog.thegzone.net/  -  That's it. Going to sleep now!

I made quick and simple dinner this evening. I had a productive day off today (labor day). By the time I finished with all I had to do, it was about 7pm, so after a quick shower, I threw a little something together for dinner...just in time to watch the season premieres of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill on the WB network.

I made a chicken friend rice, with garlic, green peppers, white onions, mixed vegetables and dressed the whole thing up with some parsley, sesame oil, and some dried crispy noodles for a little crunchy kick.

I mean...how hard can this be! It has been just about a year since my last post!. This is very sad. I know I said I would do a better job at keeping my site up to date than I have in the past. Obviously that has not worked out too well. I can't believe it. I easily spend 15 hours a day on a computer, and I can't even keep my blog/site up to date...I have time to do everything else and help everyone else, but I have no time for my own stuff sometimes. I really need to do a better job at it...and believe me...this time I am for real. I count of you guys (whoever reads this) to call me out on it if I keep slacking.

Anyways, a lot of things have been going on this past year (better yet, since the last time I blogged)...Work, Travels, immigration, family, friends, girlfriend, good times, new house, new car, new projects, new ideas, new businesses, new goals...I mean the list just goes on...and as of today, I will start being a blogger again!!!!