The New Seinfeld-Vista Ad

In a previous blog, kingdaved made clear his distain for all things Microsoft and their new ad campaign with huge comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Well, that new ad has been released and to say the least: it sucks. 

I have to give it to them, they definitely play off of Seinfeld’s strengths by making the ad about nothing. But, that is the main problem of the ad in itself, you are expecting something. When you get nothing you feel disappointed, especially when you aren’t even laughing. Seinfeld sadly acts like a big goof, and Bill Gates tries his best at acting. While this is a huge ad campaign for Vista, it is never mentioned in the ad and only a small Windows symbol is shown at the end for five seconds. Personally, I think it failed and miserably. If they wanted to bring a war to Apple, they showed up with knives to a tank fight and got blowed up….real quick. The one thing that I definitely noticed about the ad was how old Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld have become. It doesn’t help Windows much when big red letters keep flashing “Windows is an old, out-dated pile of trash.” Ok, that didn’t happen, but that is what I saw when I see Bill Gates looking like Father Time. They even show his age even more when they slip in a small id picture of him when he was a teenager. 

Here’s the real kicker, they spent millions on Jerry Seinfeld, for this? How depressing. They should really consider getting better writers and getting rid of Bill Gates. The best case scenario would be if they did some kind of Seinfeld stand up bit attacking Apple, but Microsoft knows they don’t have to go on the offensive because they already own the market, but doing ads like this is just pathetic. I hope the next one is better, because this was just awful. Awful. 

 

…awful

Posted by Alcamadus

Sony Vaio Recall

Today is an unfortunate day for many Sony Vaio owners as an announcement has been made to recall the laptops due to potential overheating or short circuit. Sony believes that it could be due to poor wiring in the laptops and wants to fix the problem for its users. If you send them your laptop, they will fix the problem free of charge.

They are recalling 74,000 units in the United States and 440,000 units worldwide according to Reuters. The recall is for the models VGN-TZ100, VGN-TZ200, VGN-TZ300 and VGN-TZ2000 series. Sony has had poor battery quality in the past and many computer companies such as Dell, Apple, and Toshiba have had to recall their Sony batteries due to it being a fire hazard.

On another note, it seems like Sony is making a lot of errors in the technology department. Playstation 3 is still putt-putting along in sales, the PSP is constantly being revamped and just recently getting more popular, and now their laptops are having to be recalled. I used to really like Sony as a top product, but now they are more like a joke. Why pay so much for a company you know isn’t making a quality product? Then again, this stuff happens and even Apple has been making boo-boo’s lately on their equipment. Sometimes you have to give these companies the benefit of the doubt, especially if they are willing to give good customer service and fix the problem.

If you have a Sony Vaio with the above model, I would consider looking into this further to get your laptop fixed (or maybe even get a better deal).

Posted by Alcamadus

Microsoft’s Fails Again

“I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.” 

What a great song, one that microsoft has apparently taken to heart.  Sadly, they should stay down.  After a miserable attempt at dethroning the iPhone (see “Zune” in the dictionary, or also under “failure,” “worthless,” and “stupid pile of junk that nobody is going to buy,” in your thesaurus) they decided that their saving grace must be Windows;  the operating system we all love to hate.  It has screwed us over for years now, and with every “upgrade” it gets slower and less reliable.  They released Vista as their new OS, rushing it out to try and beat the release of Mac’s new OS Leapord. Apparently they decided to follow Sony’s lead in putting out an inferior product thinking people won’t notice, and thus losing tons and tons of money.

It’s almost like they don’t realize that people are not stupid when it comes to computers anymore.  We understand much more than we did in 1995, so you can’t give us a crappy system and expect us to use it.  Stupid Microsoft.

So, now Apple is leading all laptop sales on college campuses, have the leading mp3 product, the most popular phone in the world, and what is microsoft doing?  Shelving out 300 million dollars in an ad campaign for their already worthless Windows Vista.  Instead of using that money to update Vista to stand up to Leapard, they have decided to turn to Jerry Seinfeld to save them (with a 10 million dollar paycheck, I might add).  I don’t understand their thinking.  They are losing the young people’s business, so they get a comedian that appeals to the baby boomer generation.  Jerry Seinfeld is amazing, don’t get me wrong.  He is one of my top 3 favorite comedians of all time.  But it just doesn’t make sense to try and get college students to want your product using a comedian that their parents love.

It is just like Microsoft to attempt to copy Mac in everything they do, but instead they make a pile of steaming trash.  Apple puts out the iPod, Microsoft tries the Zune and fails.  Apple puts out their extremely popular OSX operating system, Microsoft answers with Vista which is a pile of trash.  Now they are copying Mac’s add campaign, using Seinfeld as a “PC”…. however Bill Gates will also be a PC.  So, apparently college students will buy this because old people and nerdy thieves like it.  Stupid.  I guess the thievery makes sense seeing as Gates stole the idea for Windows in the first place.

Finally, to quote the article on FoxNews.com:

“The new ad effort is expected to use some variation of the slogan “Windows, Not Walls,” according to several people familiar with the matter. Those people say the point is to stress breaking down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting.”

Does microsoft really think that they are “breaking down barriers?” No, they do not, but they think the average consumer is that stupid, which should be insulting.  What they are really saying is, “Hey, our product is inferior, and you will hate it and waste a ton of money and space on your pc to have it, but we know you are idiots and will do whatever (fill in celebrity name here) tells you to do; so, we don’t actually have to make a good OS for you, have a nice day.

Posted by kingdaved

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,407702,00.html

The Future is Nigh

How far is our technology going to take us?

Right now we are enjoying the ride and loving every second of the continual advances in technology at ever increasing speeds. Never in history has humanity excelled so quickly with new technologies, and science fiction has long prophesied that with new technology there will be new obstacles, if not new terrors that await. With all that said, something unexpected has appeared in advertising. Marketers are taking advantage of a new system that allows sound to travel threw lasers directly into individuals ears while other people are clueless that anything audible is happening. This way supermarkets and other places selling goods can personalize the sale (just like Amazon.com lets you know about their recommendations). This is just another addition to the list that we are living in a completely unique, bizarre, and technologically advanced civilization and era. There’s no going back.

The full article is here.

Posted by Alcamadus

Ninja’s Could Be Looking for Work Soon

According to a recent article on CNN, Scientists have gotten one step closer to achieving a full body

This could be us one day....or maybe not.

invisbility cloak. While details are scarce on the technology, they have said that it is mostly done by metamaterials that refract light, radar, or other materials. Metameterials are made of metal and circuit board materials such as teflon or ceramic. The technology is being heavily funded by the US Army.

I don’t know about you, but this makes me excited and freaked out simeltaneously. I’m assuming this technology is going to have to be heavily restricted. Can you imagine the damage it could do if it was mass produced?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/08/11/invisibility.cloak.ap/index.html