Now for some Friday fun.
You know those “I’m a PC” Microsoft Windows 7 (MSFT) TV ads with the cute Asian kid? The ones that make you want a cute Asian kid more than Windows 7? (Zing! haha)
Her name is Kylie Kim and she’s been getting some attention, like from Sony VAIO and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
So you know what that means. Time for a parody!
Via: 8Asians.com
Like this post? Leave a comment
Now for some Friday fun.
This could be a good ad for that car manufacturer (whatever car that is). Safety first!
Via: Failblog
Like this post? Leave a comment
Now for some Friday fun.
This is an oldie but a goodie. The Website is Down is a set of hilarious indie videos showing the phone conversations between the main protagonist “Web Dude” Derrick and his arch nemesis “Sales Guy” Chip. Other characters also make an appearance, such as data center admins, network admins, and other sales people.
The brainchild of Joshua Weinberg, The Website is Down is a parody of what IT support staff experience every day. I did IT support work for a summer internship and can empathize.
A 2009 Webby Award winner in the Viral category, The Website is Down is the brainchild of a tech support geek turned independent filmmaker Joshua Weinberg from Denver, CO.
The inspiration for The Website is Down came to Weinberg while he was still in college. As he tells the Rumpus:
For a long time I had an idea about making a movie that took place on the screen of someone working at a computer. I thought it would be cool to see that, watching the story only through the actions onscreen. Originally, I had this idea when I was in school getting my computer science degree. At the time the it was not going to be a comedy, but a mystery where you would watch someone uncovering a secret, like detecting a hacker or whatever. It was going to be all text, all Unix commands, but only ultra-geeky people would know what the fuck it was about.
…That didn’t happen. Really, it’s been more fun doing it as a comedy; obviously more people can appreciate it that way. I had the idea for [The Website is Down] in my head for a very long time and finally the pieces just fell into place. I’ve been making a lot of movies with Casey [Cochran], who also works in tech support, so he completely understood the characters and scenario. He plays Chip Moorhead, the Sales Guy.
Total PEBAK. Go watch the rest of their episodes before their website goes down.
Like this post? Leave a comment
Talk about a purple cow.
Yelp just released a new version of their Apple (AAPL) iPhone app with an easter egg: Monocle, an Augmented Reality (AR) feature. This feature is only available on the iPhone 3GS.
According to Robert Scoble, to get this app, follow these steps:
And that’s it. If you hold the phone vertical and point the iPhone around the room, you’ll see the camera working. An overlap of Yelp reviews will appear in the direction of that particular business. If you need more help, Mashable also has step-by-step instructions, along with screenshots and this video:
It’s a pretty neat feature. Major props to the Yelp team for pulling this off. They earn loads of geek cred for this.
If I lived in New York City, I could see this being somewhat useful. The compass-based directional map on the Google (GOOG) Maps iPhone app is more useful though. The prime benefit of Monocle is letting me know which direction a restaurant is located. Google Maps does that too, plus it includes zooming in and out. Sadly, the Google Map on Yelp doesn’t have the directional feature. Maybe Yelp should add that as their next feature.
Another nice benefit of Monocle is letting me know which restaurants are near me. That’s pretty nice, if I want any ole’ restaurant. But generally, I use Yelp to find me a good, high-quality restaurant. Being a little bit further away is fine because I’m looking for good food. I’m not sure what Monocle’s distance limit is, but what if a great place is just ten steps to my left? Would I miss out on it because I wasn’t standing close enough for Monocle to display it?
To be fair, the same could be said about Google Maps if, say, a great restaurant was just off the left edge of the screen. But it’s easier to scroll the screen to the left than it is to know to walk ten steps in some direction.
But enough criticism. Geek-cred-wise, this is pretty cool. Lots of people are talking about it too, which is even more cool. Awesome demonstration of AR technology, guys. I’m looking forward to other AR applications soon.
Like this post? Leave a comment
Need a cool product, technology, or business idea? Turn to nature! After all, it’s given us major advances in aviation, maritime technology, architecture, etc.
Two talks from TED also offer some examples of how nature can offer great ideas:
The next time you watch TV, flip to the Discovery Channel. Maybe you’ll find your next big idea there.
Like this post? Leave a comment
I’m feeling pretty pumped right now. Been watching lots of TED talks through their iPhone app lately. Damn good stuff.
I just watched Ray Kurzweil’s talk, “A university for the coming singularity“, where he discussed information technology’s growth being a series of S-curves that are exponential instead of linear. Moore’s Law, for example, is one such exponential trend that would fit into an S-curve. Once Moore’s Law ends (apparently around 2020, says Kurzweil), it will be replaced by another paradigm. Perhaps one governing green technology?
And speaking of green technology, this segment especially pumped me up:
…we’re all concerned about energy and the environment. Well, this is a logarithmic graph. This represents a smooth doubling, every two years, of the amount of solar energy we’re creating. Particularly as we’re now applying nanotechnology, a form of information technology, to solar panels. And we’re only eight doublings away from it meeting 100 percent of our energy needs. And there is 10 thousand times more sunlight than we need.
Eight doublings, where a doubling occurs ever two years. So in ten years, according to Kurzweil, solar harvesting technologies could be efficient enough to make all the energy we need.
Halle-friggen-lujah!
On a side note, there was an article today on Techmeme that was also positively-pumping: “Could this be the end of electric power cords?” by David Colker from the LA Times. Colker writes about how the company WiTricity has been working on technology to send wireless electrical power to remote devices.
This technology is based on the work of MIT physicist Marin Soljacic, who spoke at a TEDGlobal conference in Oxford, UK. According to Colker, the technology “works on something called resonant magnetic coupling and is safe for humans. And on an environmental note, [WiTricity CEO Eric Giler] said it could not only eliminate power cords but also tons of batteries used yearly to power household devices.”
Great strides in green technology. Enough solar power to relinquish the need for fossil fuels. And all happening in the next decade or so. Oh man.
Good times are coming!
Like this post? Leave a comment
Now for some Friday fun.
Kyle Webster, an illustrator from North Carolina, put together this wacky video. Funny stuff! A pretty good job of self promotion through social media marketing too.
Not a bad idea if you’re trying to make a name for yourself. Charles Lewis also did it through the Poetic Prophet viral video he made.
And now, the lyrics to “Original Design Gangsta” (though admittedly, the lyrics are all in the video already…)
Yeah.
What up, Winston?
Yeah.
Press check!
Keep those guides locked.
Coming to you from the South
with the mutha-kernin’ skills
take a look inside my mouth
I even letterpressed my grill
Paula Scher on speed dial
Sagmeister’s my man
I got Mok on lock
Done time with Paul Rand
Wearing black on black
Designer rims ’round my eyes
Yo my clients call me ‘Snoop’
‘Cuz my concepts is so high
Don’t use PhotoShop filters
Lens flare is for prankstas
Holla back at K-dubs
Number One Design Gangsta
What? What?
Got the key commands down
And my fingers is my tools
Never use command ‘Z’
‘Cuz I don’t make mistakes fool
My mechanicals is fresh
I’ll mock ‘em up in your face
And you know my work is clean
‘Cuz I’m using white space
AIGA,
Print, How and Graphis
I’m the best in the show
When I enter my piece
I pass on swipe
‘Cuz whack stock is fa’ prankstas
O.D.G.
Original Design Gangsta
O.D.G.
You know my rulers are long
And my type is strong
Spinning hot concepts
‘Til the break of dawn
Just my M-A-C and me
I’m so Design Gangsta
Yeah. Yeah.
PMS 187 runs deep in my veins
Metallic 8643 in my gold chains
I’m a classic font hustla’
Pimpin’ Mrs. Eaves
Trade Gothic, got Futura up my sleeve
Surfstation
K10k in my faves
Playas at Newstoday
Always giving me raves
I’m a FreeHand man
Not an InDesign pranksta
Multi-page layout
Is for true Design Gangstas
Yeah yeah…
Multi-paaaaage
And my messenger bag hangs low
And my Cooper’s riding high on 24s
On the weekend I be spending mad dough
At the North Cackalack Apple Sto’
Got the RAM for the ladies
In my G5 tower
When it comes to logos
Homies call me ‘Jack Bauer’
‘Cuz I kill ‘em
With one click of the mouse
K-dubs,
No. 1 Design Gangsta in the house
One Two
Yeah
Press check it
You know my rulers are long
And my type is strong
Spinning hot concepts
‘Til the break of dawn
Just my M-A-C and me
I’m so Design Gangsta
Yeah
CMYK
Turn those guides on son
No widows, you heard?
Now for some Friday fun.
Guess how quickly you can design a website? Two minutes! No kidding! Watch:
No, just kidding. This video was created by the design firm Wevio as what I’m guessing is a clever piece of social media marketing. On the video’s YouTube page Wevio says that:
This is a time-lapse video of what was originally about 2 hours.
This video doesn’t portray how a website is really made. It takes hours upon hours of researching, designing, developing and testing in different browsers as well as platforms.
Too true. And too bad, ‘cuz having a professionally made web design in two minutes would be awesome.
Mike Lee is an internet entrepreneur, web geek, talent manager, guerilla marketer & business owner.
