I come from a divided family of PC users and Mac users. For years we've debated the advantages of one over the other. I, myself, am primarily a PC user, though oddly enough I've had to familiarize myself a bit with Macs because I'd provide tech support for my brother, Jj. Go figure.

Anyway, despite all the debates, there's one thing I'd gladly concede to Apple -- they have fantastic marketing campaigns. They just know how to make cool ads!

So enjoy the latest ad campaign just launched by Apple. Have fun!


P.S. In case you haven't seen this, please download this video. It came out a few years ago, but it's still one of the funniest parodies of the Apple commercials.

The video I mentioned in a previous post. I downloaded this from Google video. It's actually formatted to play with the iPod video, but you can just use Quicktime to view it. Enjoy! :)

To download and view the movie, right-click the image below and choose "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As..."

A funny parody video, verified produced by Microsoft, that has been circling the internet. It's apparently an internally-circulated video that was supposed to warn Microsoft's marketing team about going overboard with their packaging requirements and designs.

Watch as the clean, minimalist packaging of the original iPod released by Apple is given the Microsoft marketing department treatment... and slowly morphs into a grotesque amalgamation of marketing jargon.

Enjoy!



Click here to download the video from Google video.

Ever wonder what it's like working in the offices of Google? What kind of working environment produces the world's most popular search engine, Gmail, Picasa, and a whole lot of other applications? Google employs some of the most intelligent programmers on the planet, so how do they keep them happy?

Take a sneak peak, and wish your own office was like this...

On a side note, check out the new company and product that Google recently purchased. Looks like they're moving on Microsoft's home turf...

Hearken back to the early days of the personal computer, when DOS was king, everyone used WordStar & Lotus 1-2-3, 10MB hard drives were a luxury, sound cards were hardly in use, and all PCs had 5-inch floppy disks!

Ok, most computer users (especially programmers) who were born in the 70's (or older) can appreciate this video. But for the rest, a little background...

The IBM 8088 was one of the first successful personal computers that was sold in the 80's. It was primarily a work machine, so everything was done using a text interface -- which meant you had to memorize commands and type it in using key combinations, like "Ctrl + O" to open a document. The few programs and games that could run on those machines had 16-color CGA graphics -- which looked like this. You couldn't even play Minesweeper or Solitaire on this computer, folks!

The IBM 8088 had a 4.77Mhz processor with 640kb of RAM. Frankly, your cell phone has a hundred times more power than this computer. Hell, I think a modern calculator has more power than this computer!

Now given these "limitations", a programmer -- as in a uber geek one -- was able to get the 8088 to run a full screen, high-frame rate color video with sound. An incredible achievement!

Click on the play button below to view the video, or click here to go to the Google Video page.

A few weeks ago, it was announced that a group from MIT was developing a laptop that would cost $100 to be used for schoolchildren in developing nations.  The idea was to get children used to technology and bridge the technology gap between 3rd world and developed nations.  Pictures of a prototype were unveiled the other day. 

Given that it will sell for $100, the laptop isn't as crippled as you think it would be.  In fact, the designers claim that there isn't much difference in the capabilities between the $100 laptop and a $1,000 laptop! 

For an incredibly scaled-down computer, the laptop has impressive specifications.  It has wifi networking, 1GB of memory, and a 500Mhz processor.  To keep costs down, it runs on Linux (free) instead of Windows (between $100-200).  It has a web browser, and I wouldn't be surprised if it will come with OpenOffice so that it can do word processing, spreadsheets, or presentations. 

The laptop doesn't have storage, but it does have a lot of USB ports, so it's possible to connect thumbdrives or external hard drives to it.  And because of its wifi connectivity, the $100 laptop can always connect to a server, whether in a network or over the Internet, so that means big files like images and music can be stored remotely. 

One unique feature is the hand crank.  The designers correctly assumed that electricity will be an issue with several areas, so it's actually possible to manually charge the laptop!  It sounds like something from the 1800's, but if it works, then kudos to them!

Ok, some of you may be wondering about the design.  Admittedly, the laptop looks like a children's toy.  But that's a conscious choice -- the laptop is meant for schoolchildren after all, so it's designed to appeal to kids, not intimidate them. 

The MIT team says that this will not be sold at retail, but to government and educational institutions, to make sure that it reaches the hands of schoolchildren.  In fact, their goal is to have each child have access to their own laptop.  So while the laptop will currently cost $100, they are still going to try to lower that cost.

Will this ever reach the Philippines?  Personally, I hope so.  This can really help out in the public schools, especially the ones in the provinces.  Let's hope some of our politicians are aware of this project. 

For more information, check out the links below. 

Cnet Asia - $100 Laptop prototype launch pictures

$100 Laptop official website

Proof that some people have too much money and time on their hands. Some hard core computer geeks figured out that it's possible to install Linux on the iPod... Any iPod...

So when you start your iPod, you have a choice of choosing Linux or the original iPod software. And since you have Linux on your iPod, you can also install and play the original Doom!

Check it out!

For more info on Linux on iPod, go to http://ipodlinux.org.
For more info on Doom on the iPod, go to http://idoom.hyarion.com/index.php

To download and view the movie, right-click the image below and choose "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As..."

Another PC case modification for Star Wars geeks everywhere!  We've seen the TIE Fighter, Millenium Falcon, X-Wing Fighter, and a Death Star subwoofer.  Now to present, the R2D2 PC case! 

Just check out the links to the article and pictures below. 

The R2D2 Case Mod article

The R2D2 Case Mod picture show

 

The perennial debate between which is better, the PC or the Mac, has now escalated to even geek-ier proportions.

Behold... PC vs. Mac Millennium Falcon Case Mods (modifications)! 

In one corner, the PC Millennium Falcon is definitely hard core.  The innards of a PC has been fit into an old Millennium Falcon toy from the original Kenner toy collection from the 70's or 80's.  Aside from the CPU/Millennium Falcon, an X-wing Fighter toy has been modded to become the mouse!  And a keyboard has been modified to match the used future tech look of the Falcon.

Read about it here.
View a picture gallery.

In the other corner, a Macmini has been stripped off it's top casing, and stuffed in a Playskool Millennium Falcon case.  There's a USB port in front to stick in an iPod Shuffle, and the cockpit of the Falcon has been modded to fit an iSight! 

Original article.
Mirror of the article on another site. 

Who wins?  Who cares?!  You just have to be amazed at how much time people have on their hands, and how much of a Star Wars fanatic they are! 

The ultimate work desk.  Stylish and functional.  Click here or on the picture below.