Word: livee
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Falceto's first trip to Ethiopia in 1985 was not encouraging. Eleven years of military dictatorship under Colonel Mengistu and a dusk-to-dawn curfew had all but extinguished Addis Ababa's nightlife. The few hotels in the capital offering live entertainment were mostly the haunt of business and diplomatic flotsam and hookers, while the music was desultory generic pop, played on cheap synthesizers. "It took several trips and several more years before I understood what had happened," says Falceto. "These big bands were dead. They just didn't exist any more." Incredibly, the vibrancy of Addis's musical life...
Until this time, Selassie had kept Ethiopia's cultural life on a tight rein. Live music was entirely the domain of the state bands, members of which could end up in jail for leaving barracks to play a nightclub. Importing or pressing records was also a state monopoly. "Up until the late 60s, it was impossible to have your own band," says Falceto. "But even the emperor at some point thought it was better to let these youngsters go ahead." The effect was startling. The state bands added guitars and keyboards and started dressing sharp. Ahmed and scores of other...
...generation, which in non-geek speak translates to Web pages and mail messages that, ideally, load about three times faster than on the original iPhone. Even better, 3G coverage enables you to make a phone call and surf the Web at the same time. That's great, if you live or work in a place where the 3G network of AT&T (the sole wireless carrier of the iPhone) is active. (To find out, check AT&T's virtual map.) That's not so great in cities like New York where AT&T's cellular coverage is awful...
...Here's my top gripe: the iPhone 3G does not let you record video or watch live TV, features that are standard (and free) on less expensive rivals like the Samsung Instinct and Verizon Voyager. There is no excuse for leaving out these functions. Otherwise, I can live with the unremovable battery and accept the skimpy battery life (about 5 hours with heavy usage in my tests) as the price for the iPhone's big, bright screen. Since I don't have a huge media collection, the unexpandable memory (8 GB comes standard...
...live with the $70-per-month fee for all-inclusive data and voice calling - and can get decent coverage with AT&T where you live - it's certainly worth considering. If you're on a budget (and who isn't?), though, you'll find more useful features on less pricey rivals...