Nov 20

imageYour PC is lying to you.  John Hodgman, also known as “PC” in Apple’s catchy “Hello, I’m a Mac” commercials, has published a new book, “More Information Than You Require.”  It’s an almanac of facts ranging from the historical to the trivial, except most of the facts are actually absurd fabrications.

For example, consider this helpful folk remedy:

“If you have lost a finger, numb the pain with a poultice of goose grease and pine needles.  Leave the poultice on the finger stump until it becomes sticky.  Now find another finger.  Stick it on there and seek no further treatment.”

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Aug 21

JerrySeinfeld

Microsoft is apparently tired of being portrayed as a dumpy has-been in Apple’s "Hello, I’m a Mac" commercials.  The software giant has just launched a new $300 million ad campaign with Jerry Seinfeld as its celebrity pitchman.  Seinfeld will appear in the some of the ads with Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates and will receive about $10 million in payment.  The ad campaign will debut September 4 and is one of the largest in the company’s history.

The new ads will use the slogan "Windows, Not Walls," which really speaks to me as a computer user because I’m always running into walls and… wait, WTF does that mean?  Apparently the point is to break down the barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting.  Hmm, hasn’t Microsoft ever heard of that thing called "The Internet?"  As Homer Simpson once said, "Oh, they have the Internet on computers now." 

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Mar 03

Apple’s share of the U.S. PC market jumped to 8.1% in the third quarter of 2007, a 37% increase from the previous year.  One reason for Apple’s surging success is its catchy “Hello, I’m a Mac” commercials starring Justin Long as “Mac” and John Hodgman as “PC”:

 

As you might expect, these successful Mac vs. PC commercials have spawned a legion of spin-offs and parodies. 
 

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