Cuppacafe

You remember that classic Superbowl commercial where the Coke driver was drinking Pepsi (or was it a Pepsi driver who drank Coke). Truly it doesn't matter (at least for this post), in that brand loyalty is de rigueur when working for a particular company, in that you should probably use their product while on site that company.

Imagine then being a tech-head working for Microsoft, and showing up to work with an Apple iPhone.

The perils of being an iPhone user at Microsoft were on display last September. At an all- company meeting in a Seattle sports stadium, one hapless employee used his iPhone to snap photos of Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. Mr. Ballmer snatched the iPhone out of the employee's hands, placed it on the ground and pretended to stomp on it in front of thousands of Microsoft workers, according to people present. Mr. Ballmer uses phones from different manufacturers that run on Microsoft's mobile phone software.

In fact, in a discussion about Microsoft employees using iPhones, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer once told company executives that when his father worked at the Ford Motor Company, his family always drove Fords. Seems like a pretty clear stance, eh, however, Despite Mr. Ballmer's theatrics, there are apparently plenty of iPhone users operating in in plain sight at the sprawling Microsoft campus in Seattle. In fact, among the top Microsoft executives who use the iPhone is J Allard (who helped create the Xbox game console and is chief experience officer for the entertainment and devices division). Further, there are nearly 10,000 iPhone users were accessing the Microsoft employee email system last year, say at least two people inside the company.

Interestingly enough, Brand loyalty over at Apple, is much stronger, because, in contrast, appear to be more devoted to the company's own mobile phone. Several people who work at the company or deal regularly with employees there say they can't recall seeing Apple workers with mobile phones other than the iPhone in recent memory. Makes you wonder, eh? (In a related item, we recall seeing a story of how Google was giving Google-powered Android phones out as year-end bonuses to their employees at the close of last year.)

Personally, I wouldn't mind what Internet-powered smart-phone that someone wanted to give me. I promise to use it and say nice things about it.

The Perfessor

Three or so days ago I lost my bluetooth earpiece to my cell phone.

I wasn't too, terribly worried about having lost it, because I knew that it was inside my house (someplace). I was sure of this because, whenever my cell was close to it, the two devices would link-up electronically, and "talk" to each other.
of course this also meant that while the two devices were linked, my phone wouldn't ring at the handset, because the ringing was "forwarded" to the hands-free device, thus rendering the phone essentially mute.

Well, today I located the Bluetooth (it was under the couch in my office), and plugged it into the charger. Soon I'll be able to drive and talk at the same time.

Today is definitely looking up.

The Perfessor

When it comes to playgirl videogames don't look to me, I personally gave them up back when my Atari 2600 was still the hottest game system on the market. Back then, I was just starting out in my writing career, and was getting paid a (relatively) obscene amount of money to play a game then write about it (and keep the game). Well, when I stopped writing about videogames, I literally stopped playing the, as I determined that why should I waste time playing them when I could be working.

Well, a couple of decades later, and I just ran across this little gem called Heavy Rain that (almost) makes me want to buy a game system again. it is an interactive "choose your own adventure movie-cum-game that was developed by the Paris-based Quantic Dream. From what I understand it’s a murder mystery in the film noir genre, that was created using a 2,000-page script, and has a deeply profound and complex plot. Game reviewers from all over are falling all over themselves to praise the game, which was released last week Sony (SNE) for PlayStation 3.

The New York Times’ Seth Schiesel, for example, wrote on Friday, in what was a typical rave review of the “Heavy Rain”:

“In terms of eye-hand coordination or ‘gamer skills,’ Heavy Rain is negligible, even trivial, in its challenge, which will offend twitch fiends. Yet this is no simplistic Choose Your Own Adventure for children. This is a wrenching, often disturbing, almost entirely gripping experience for grown-ups.”

Near as I can determine, it is something wicked-cool, with soul and creativity, unlike most of the shoot-em-up videogames currently available. Needless to say, it still contains gut-wrenching violence, as you try catching a serial killer who drowns young boys in rain water. While there are some who think the game feels too much like a straight-to-DVD movie, it might also be just the kind of change that the weak games market needs to reinvigorate itself.

Here are a couple of (mature-themed) trailers for the game.

Not sure how the game turns out (or even if I'd have enough time to actually play it), but I think that I'd like to see the film version. For more videos, go here.

The Perfessor

Anyone who has either seen the 1977 version of (what was once) Star Wars (and is now Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope), or has seen any of the subsequent DVDs of this classic bit of Sci-Fi space opera will appreciate this bit of silliness.

True, it is a tad long (clocking in at nearly 20 minutes), but it is really well worth it for the true Star Wars Geek.

I urge you t not only watch it all, but, well, sit through the end credits for the cut tag-out at the end.

Yes, this (especially) means you, Walt.

The Perfessor

OK, all of you Pink Floyd fans get ready to pop you 8-tracks of Dark Side of the Moon and hit play, because NASA is about to bring the Dark Side of the sun to Your iPhone.

As the sun reawakens from an anomalously quiet period, keep track of solar flares, sunspots and coronal mass ejections with a new iPhone app that puts the real-time status of the sun in your hand.

“This is more than cool,” Dick Fisher, director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division, said in a press release. “It’s transformative. For the first time ever, we can monitor the sun as a living, breathing 3-dimensional sphere.”

With the free 3D Sun app, you can set your phone to alert you when a new solar flare erupts, watch video of a solar prominence or a comet heading into the sun. You can manipulate an image of the sun in three-dimensions with your finger.

Enjoy your iPhone Geek-boy!

(Needless to say, I'll be getting mine when it starts streaming me Spider-Man apps)

The Perfessor

This just in from The Unofficial Apple WebBlog (TUAW), the newest toy that they are all going to want.

TUAW bloggers Mike Schramm, Dave Caolo, Steve Sande, and David Winograd visited with the oh-so-lucky dudes from Parrot yesterday pre-Macworld, and had a chance to try our hands at flying this incredible little device. No, we don't know what this is going to cost, nor do we know when it will ship other than "in 2010," but if you have your geek on, you're going to want one of these. Watch the above video by our awesome videographer Chad Mumm for the scoop.

As for me, I'm still waiting for my jet pack!

The Perfessor

Hey there kids, are you an Apple fan? do you own a Toyota Prius? Has your car been recalled? If so then you are going to love this! it seems that Apple’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak, recently suggested that Toyota’s troubles with a defective accelerator pedal may have more to do with software, rather than mechanical problems. This apparently occurred after his Prius sped up while in cruise-control mode.

"Since my foot never touches the pedal," Wozniak told ABC News, the problem "cannot be a sticky accelerator pedal.... There might be some bad software in there."

He said the problem in his Prius might be related to the random acceleration issue that has forced Toyota into a massive recall of eight million vehicles worldwide and a halt to US sales and production of eight affected models.

Interestingly enough, Woz unsuccessfully tried to get the attention of both Toyota and US authorities months ago, when his own acceleration problems cropped up while his 2010 Prius was in cruise control. Well, thanks to recent interviews Woz granted to the media attention this week, Toyota has (finally) responded to him by offering to borrow his car for a week to diagnose the problem (as reported by The Los Angeles Times).

Wozniak told ABC his acceleration problem in his Prius can be brought under control by braking and by a radar system that regulates distance from other cars by slowing it down.

He also spoke to CNN about his car troubles, stressing that "I love this car" and downplaying his earlier comments to ABC about a possible broad Toyota software problem.

"It's more like a radio button that doesn't work all the time. The car will start to accelerate in cruise control. You can hit the brake to stop it," Wozniak told CNN.

Good thing the Toyota’s internal software isn’t designed by Microsoft, eh?

(more...)

So you think that the buzz surrounding the release of the super-large easy-reader iTouch iPad made tech-heads hyperventilate, then you haven’t seen anything yet.

Asustek, the Taiwanese manufacturer that essentially invented the netbook category, is trying to dream bigger than that.

Using the Waveface banner, Asustek has been playing around with some more radical design ideas, including a sophisticated wrist-top computer, a laptop that folds like a newspaper and a TV that works with gesture commands. (Behold the jargon-filled demo video.)

The watch-like device, the Waveface Ultra, is made out of a bendable display that can connect to the Internet, make phone calls and do a fair amount of data-crunching. In short, it’s a bracelet that acts like a smartphone.

Asus is hardly the first company to kick around the idea of bendable displays or wristwatch computers (remember Microsoft’s ill-fated Spot watch?). But its ideas are interesting because of what they portend for displays. All three products hinge on a lightweight, flexible display material with built-in computing smarts.

Much of the cutting-edge display work takes place in Taiwan, and PC makers like Acer and Asustek have the most direct insight into what the display companies have cooking. AU Optronics, for example, is one of the world’s largest LCD panel makers and was once known as Acer Display Technology before a merger.

Personally, what I find the coolest part of all of this tech is the “wrist TV” from Asustek because, quite frankly, I saw this little item probably 30 or 40 years ago (and no, not on something as forward-looking as Star Trek, but on something far more mundane). I first saw this little item in Chester Gould’s very cool comic strip, none other than Dick Tracy.

Yep, it was that futuristic flatfoot from the past who taught us about wrist radios (which became wrist TVs), antigrav devices, the Moon Maid, and all sorts of other clever devices. You can’t imagine how thrilled I am to learn that my present has finally caught up to his past.

The Perfessor

OK, we’ve already reported on some of the random silliness that has surrounded the release of Apple’s iPad, well, by all appearances, the pimp-slapping of Apple (and Jobs) is not going to go away anytime soon, as folks keep taking swipes at the goofy name.

The iPad - watch more funny videos

Yeah, we like the MadTV version better, but, well, you know that there are just going to be some clunkers along the way.

Hey, they can’t all be gems!

The Perfessor

If only this tactic could work for the rest of us!

During Colbert’s Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger segment last night, he gave a tip of the hat to ScareBear Trail Companion, an iPhone app that is intended to ward off bears. As always, Colbert gave a rather funny demonstration of how the app works and how it is intended to be used, but it was his parting statement before a commercial break that really caught my attention.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Tip/Wag - Creigh Deeds & ScareBear Trail Companion
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

If you remember, he tried this approach when the iPhone came out, but it didn’t work then. Well, this time he had better luck...

...it seems like after begging for one the entire week, Stephen Colbert just saw his dreams come true.

Tonight at the Grammys, instead of pulling out the “Song of the Year” envelope, he managed to surprise everybody with a shiny Apple iPad.

One can only assume that the iPad needed a boost that the iPhone didn’t.

I’m not saying that I will go out an buy this over-priced, awkward toy, but if Steve Jobs wanted to give one to me as well. Still, some guys have all the luck

The Perfessor

Yeah, you probably saw this coming, what with Cisco pre-buying (and then selling) “iPhone” to Apple, well, as it turns out...

Seems that Fujitsu already has a product called an iPad (pictured), a gizmo mainly used by shop clerks. According to this WSJ story and this NYT article, Fujitsu applied for an iPad trademark in 2003, and is claiming that it should have sole ownership of the name. Click here, also, for the FT story.

Like I said, somebody had to see this one coming. Now the “pad” jokes aside this could be just a “throw money at it” glitch, but given the tepid response that the iPad is getting, you have to wonder if this one of those rare Apple misfires.

The Perfessor

So by now you've heard that Apple had released info about their new tablet which they are calling the iPad. And don’t worry about the built in joke, because Steve has not only already heard it, but he doesn’t care.

Well, that didn’t take long–even as Apple CEO Steve Jobs was launching the new iPad tablet computer today at an event in San Francisco, legions of geeky dudes–and also a lot of women too–let fly with the feminine-protection jokes.

It is the name, iPad, that Apple (AAPL) chose for its newest device that sent them deep into wink-wink-nudge-nudge territory about how it sounded like a Maxi Pad and would hurt the brand.

Get it? Get it! Like a tampon! My seven-year-old could come up with a cleverer comparison.

Besides, Mad TV already made that joke like 10 years ago:

Then of course, he’s Steve Jobs and you’re so not!

Are you one of those folks who buys the extended warranty on products, or do you feel that a product is going to last as long as it is going to last, and the warranty is just a way for the manufacturer to extract more money from your pocket? Or, are you one of those folks who believe that products are designed to “self destruct” the moment their warranty runs out?

Well, if you have purchased Sony products, perhaps you have heard of the mythical “Kill Switch” built into every Sony machine?

For nearly 20 years Sony in Japan has been plagued by the myth of the "Sony Timer" – but is there really a kill-switch that destroys your device just after its warranty runs out? Many Japanese genuinely believe that there is.

It was the recall of more than 4.1 million Dell laptops containing faulty Sony batteries in 2006 that jump-started a rumour that has been around for decades. From 1980 to 2006 geeks and tech-obsessed Japanese had joked about the existence of the timer, creating sarcastic manga and venting anger through online forums. But the Dell recall launched the urban legend into the public eye and angry Sony sufferers jumped at the chance to denounce the company.

Unfortunately for Sony their campaign clearly isn’t going that well because the belief in such a kill switch has become so commonplace in Japan that Sony products are often avoided in that country due to a genuine belief that they simply won’t last. While the Playstation 3 still remains highly popular as it is apparently exempt from the timers’ curse; younger Japanese are wary about purchasing VAIO laptops.

The Perfessor

I’m not sure if we’ve posted this interesting video before (I think we might have), but — in either case — I’ve decided to post it (again) because it really is a very cool video, and (I believe) worth repeating,

How cool is that?

The Perfessor

So yeah, we’ve all been riffing on the Late-Night silliness that has been going on for the last couple of weeks,and well, (virtually) every party has been heard from thus far, and that’s cool and all. Still, there is another reality of a hi-tech digital source that has not yet been considered, that is until now.

What would happen if instead of NBC’s two big guns duking it out for the 11:30 time slot, they tried something different. Nick Bilton from The New York Times offers this opinion.

...So here’s my advice to Mr. O’Brien: After he leaves NBC and spends a few months healing his wounds and pulling the troops back together, he should come back and make the Internet his time slot. He doesn’t need to abandon television — there are still millions of viewers who sit around the living room and tune in at a specific time — but he could take the battle in the direction the audience is clearly migrating: online.

He has a point, how many of you folk out there watch TV when it was on, that is to say, when was the last time you caught a Letterman, Leno, Conan, SNL or other late-nite bit live. Most folks I know (especially younger folks), are doing something else and watch later online at a time that is more convenient to them.

I have to be completely honest, I didn’t even know “The Tonight Show” went on the air at 11:35 p.m. until the drama surrounding the shows’ time change happened recently. Just like Mr. Carr and his daughter, I sit at home watching Web clips of the show on my computer — as I do with all my television programming.

Over the last week I’ve enjoyed watching the hosts snipe back and forth as my friends shared links to specific clips, passing along the daisy chain of comedy to others.

Still, that’s not even the only option, as this commenter to Mr. Bilton’s article pointed out:

I think a more realistic version of this scenario would in fact make sense. I'm sure the technology exists for it to be possible on digital tv, for people to just press sth on their TV to just choose which show they want to watch, if both were on at the same time. Since there doesn't seem to much overlap between the 2, that way everyone could get what they wanted and NBC would increase its ratings. This would be a truly revolutionary move, the kind Zucker thought he was achieving with the original plan. Of course, in addition to this, instant replay should be possible for those who do want to see both, similar to what TimeWarner offers in some markets. And in addition, of course clips from all shows should be available online and all over the world (no geo blocking). Internent users in Europe could not access many of the NBC clips being shared last week because of senseless IP blocking. A positive example in this respect: Comedy Central and The Daily Show/Colbert Report, perfectly accessible in Europe as well.

Now what could be cooler than that? The next revolution will be on the Internet.

The Perfessor