Lady GaGa is only getting bigger, and she’s putting the biggest acts in pop to friggin’ shame.  Check. Out. This. Video!

Not only am I excited to see her finally releasing my favorite track on her album as a single, but the video is massive… and wicked fun.  Like videos used to be, before there were shot in a single afternoon.  The outfits.  The creativity.  The debauchery.

And the ending is sure to be a bit questionable to parental groups (that don’t even know who she is, yet). 

She never said she was a role model.

That is, unless you’re a pop icon.

Best part?  That outfit 6 minutes in!

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Let’s face it.  Compared to every other handset out there, Apple was the first to make browsing the web truly usable on a mobile phone.  Say what you will about the evils of the iPhone, but the fact is it’s been 2 years and so far, every other handset manufacturer still isn’t matching the experience you get using mobile Safari.  And regardless what individual preference you or I might have, the numbers are hard – in even progressive mobile markets in Europe, less than 11% of the general mobile population use their handsets to regularly access the web.  Sure, 33% of smartphone are jumping online, but a whopping 80% of iPhone users are regularly browsing the web. 

Apple is doing it right.

A couple months back, I had a thought while in the shower (watch my nerdiness in full disclosure during this confession!) about how Apple might introduce real mobile photography for the iPhone.  Not how *I* would do i… not how others would like them to, and not how other manufacturers would.  But how the evil genius Apple would do it.  IF they do it.

What they WON’T do, is have a spec race.  There won’t be a 8 megapixel camera in the new iPhone.  I’d love it, but that’s not their style.

What they WILL do – if they do anything at all – is launch an modestly improved camera in the new iPhone, with an unsurpassed offering of integration with their own software and with third party services.  An ecosystem for a camera phone, like they made an ecosystem for a portable music player.

Apple has neglected incremental improvements to the camera, and I think it’s in an effort to launch an “experience” for mobile photography in an upcoming version. 

Well, we know MMS is coming with the 3.0 software.  And UI spy shots of the 3.0 beta software seem to also confirm some video recording capabilities.  But I don’t think they’ll stop there – that’s old tech.  MMS-only camera phones are old school. 

I can see hard partnerships with Flickr, and especially YouTube.  I’m thinking that if they positioned it right, the iPhone could launch a new YouTube SERVICE, even (YouTube Live, anyone?). 

Imagine being able to take a video with your iPhone, edit the video on-device, and post to YouTube and Facebook.  Sure, this functionality is present on other devices (like Nokia N Series) now… but the experience is disjointed and a bit lengthy.  So much so, that it’s just not worth it.  The process  needs a full ecosystem to support it  – like iTunes supports digital music for the masses, and the App Store supports third party mobile software by providing a no-brainer channel onto every iPhone.  THIS is Apple’s strength.

And of course, beyond third party stuff, I’d expect improved iPhoto and iMove integration, with the possibility of tiny mobile versions of those apps on your iPhone (that will develop over time).  It’s less likely that iChat for the iPhone would debut, unless Apple has been working over the last two years to deal with both significant hardware additions (a secondary front-facing camera) and negotiating data issues with carriers to launch such a data-taxing service. 

But one can dream.  Or at least daydream in the shower.

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I’ve been following the development of NCsoft’s AION Online: The Tower of Eternity for a couple years now.  And it’s only looking better and better.  The game is already being played in China, and thanks to plenty of youtubers recording HD footage, there is a great deal of eye-candy to see for those of us excited for it’s North American release.

AION is a next-gen MMO due out this year (sometime), is one of the two new MMO betas I want to get into this year (the other is Champions Online).  AION has such STUNNING visuals for the genre, and is (in my mind, anyway…) a sort of hybrid of my two favorite gaming worlds – Final Fantasy, and World of Warcraft.  Character customization is much more extensive than in most popular current MMOs – but customization seems to be the next killer feature of a few games in the MMO pipeline.  Champions Online, is gonna take the cake in that arena, though.

Check out the videos below.  They’re super high quality, so they might be hard to skip around in, so just watch ‘em through.  If you want super eye candy, click a video when it’s playing back (to go to it’s youtube page), and then click the HD button for big hot 720p gameplay footage deliciousness.  DELICIOUSNESS!

TRAILER:

COMBAT FOOTAGE:

MEANDERING AROUND TOWN LOOKING AT PEEPS:

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I’ve been asked more than a couple times, about who my favorite DJ is.   Most are surprised to know…. it’s Kaskade.

Why are they surprised?  Because his released work is often very smooth and not as aggressive and crunchy like the tunes in my mixes.  I find his production and taste just so spot on.  Whether he produces smooth tracks like the live version of 4am in the video above, or the BANGING mix CD like his latest, "The Grand.”

He’s been my favorite for years.  Check out his most recent remix release  on iTunes, if you aren’t familiar:

Kaskade - “The Grand”

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