Monday, January 14, 2008
snotty holier-than-thou types
As a followup to my previous post (Children with Blogs) about Gizmodo, I thought I'd pull a posting off their own blog about the device used in their CES prank.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/notag/tv%20b%20gone-23694.php
Here's the posting in its entirety:
Copied Text Below -------------------------------------
Mitch Altman is an asshole. And not just any asshole, but one of those snotty holier-than-thou types who has nothing better to do with the money he made as a founder of 3ware than to develop a device with the sole purpose of imposing his viewpoint on others. See, Altman hates the television and its encroachment into public space. Rather than just doing what most everybody else has done—which is either not really caring or, failing that, getting the fuck over it—Altman has invented a device called the 'TV-B-Gone' (obviously having expended every last vapor of his creative ability developing the product, he was left to co-opt the most obvious name schtick ever). Essentially a universal remote that cycles through every possible code, the TV-B-Gone has a single purpose: to power off televisions whenever the user feels like being a dick.
Read the Wired News profile, where Altman wanders through a city, turning off other peoples' televisions, peppering his behavior with such gems as, "We just saved him several minutes of his life." Maybe after making his tens of dozens of dollars on the TV-B-Gone, Altman can invent a gadget that transports self-important cocks who think they're waging a subversive culture war to a log cabin coffee shop where they can reassure each other how awesome they are for hating television. Free berets for the first 100 pricks to use the word "Sheeple!"
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/notag/tv%20b%20gone-23694.php
Here's the posting in its entirety:
Copied Text Below -------------------------------------
Mitch Altman is an asshole. And not just any asshole, but one of those snotty holier-than-thou types who has nothing better to do with the money he made as a founder of 3ware than to develop a device with the sole purpose of imposing his viewpoint on others. See, Altman hates the television and its encroachment into public space. Rather than just doing what most everybody else has done—which is either not really caring or, failing that, getting the fuck over it—Altman has invented a device called the 'TV-B-Gone' (obviously having expended every last vapor of his creative ability developing the product, he was left to co-opt the most obvious name schtick ever). Essentially a universal remote that cycles through every possible code, the TV-B-Gone has a single purpose: to power off televisions whenever the user feels like being a dick.
Read the Wired News profile, where Altman wanders through a city, turning off other peoples' televisions, peppering his behavior with such gems as, "We just saved him several minutes of his life." Maybe after making his tens of dozens of dollars on the TV-B-Gone, Altman can invent a gadget that transports self-important cocks who think they're waging a subversive culture war to a log cabin coffee shop where they can reassure each other how awesome they are for hating television. Free berets for the first 100 pricks to use the word "Sheeple!"
Sunday, January 13, 2008
My new Tivo
I recently bought TiVo HD DVR
from Amazon
. It's my fourth Tivo (yes, fourth.) I waited until recently because some lame politics and corporate BS prevented Tivo from being able to enable the multi-room functionality of the new HD Tivos, and I wanted all my Tivos to work together. The wait was worth it. I can now have HD content on my HD TV. It also has dual tuners allowing me to record 2 things at one time. They typically sell for around $300, but Amazon has them for just under $260. The Tivo HD is also expandable via the Western Digital MyDVR drive. Best of all, the familiar and user-friendly Tivo interface is the centerpiece of the DVR.
from Amazon. It's my fourth Tivo (yes, fourth.) I waited until recently because some lame politics and corporate BS prevented Tivo from being able to enable the multi-room functionality of the new HD Tivos, and I wanted all my Tivos to work together. The wait was worth it. I can now have HD content on my HD TV. It also has dual tuners allowing me to record 2 things at one time. They typically sell for around $300, but Amazon has them for just under $260. The Tivo HD is also expandable via the Western Digital MyDVR drive. Best of all, the familiar and user-friendly Tivo interface is the centerpiece of the DVR.
Children with Blogs
I've seen a lot going around the web about Gizmodo's CES stunt. If you want the short version, Gizmodo, a gadget blog, went to CES (Consumer Electronic Show) and began turning off TVs with a device that turns off TVs. I suppose someone with a Homer Simpson-esque sense of humor might find it funny to turn off a wall of TVs that potential customers are looking at, but they then proceeded to interrupt a product presentation by Motorola that was showing on a set of TVs during a press conference.
CEA, the company that runs CES, obviously banned the person responsible, but they are being unclear what, if any, further actions will be taken. I think when it comes down to it, there were 2 partys harmed in a clear way by the prank, Motorola and CEA.
The harm to Motorola was clear when Gizmodo interrupted their press conference. For those that don't know, companies compete for press coverage at this even, and often a good presentation can raise the value of a company's stock (or lower it.)
Before CEA meters out the final sanctions, I'm hoping they realize what this prank has done to their credibility. Companies pay unbelievable amounts of money to participate in the convention, millions in some cases. They do this with the belief that they will be in an environment with professional press, and retail buyers from around the world. For the first time, it became clear that children are being let into the event. Spoiled children who get gadgets for free because they have a successful blog, but children nonetheless. I can't help but wonder what the fallout will be from this next year. Obviously, a few pieces of electrical tape over the IR recievers of the devices would prevent this from happening again, but will someone try to outdo them next year?
Honestly, the prank wasn't even funny. It wasn't creative, it wasn't harmless, it just wasn't funny. I'm sure that some people got satisfaction watching someone "stick it to the man," but beyond that, there wasn't much funny about it.
CEA, the company that runs CES, obviously banned the person responsible, but they are being unclear what, if any, further actions will be taken. I think when it comes down to it, there were 2 partys harmed in a clear way by the prank, Motorola and CEA.
The harm to Motorola was clear when Gizmodo interrupted their press conference. For those that don't know, companies compete for press coverage at this even, and often a good presentation can raise the value of a company's stock (or lower it.)
Before CEA meters out the final sanctions, I'm hoping they realize what this prank has done to their credibility. Companies pay unbelievable amounts of money to participate in the convention, millions in some cases. They do this with the belief that they will be in an environment with professional press, and retail buyers from around the world. For the first time, it became clear that children are being let into the event. Spoiled children who get gadgets for free because they have a successful blog, but children nonetheless. I can't help but wonder what the fallout will be from this next year. Obviously, a few pieces of electrical tape over the IR recievers of the devices would prevent this from happening again, but will someone try to outdo them next year?
Honestly, the prank wasn't even funny. It wasn't creative, it wasn't harmless, it just wasn't funny. I'm sure that some people got satisfaction watching someone "stick it to the man," but beyond that, there wasn't much funny about it.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Browser Game of the Year
The folks over at Galaxy-news.net have announced the nominees for Browser Game of the Year. My favorite game Weewar was nominated for no less than 6 of 15 categories! Way to go guys!
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