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IBM looks back on 100 years of history, finds plenty to be proud of (video)
Want to know who the self-confessed "mother of the motherboard" is? Or why every piece of organically farmed, tenderly loved food at your local Trader Joe's has a barcode on it? Or perhaps you're curious to learn more about how millions of airline reservations can be made around the world with unfailing reliability? All those queries have their answers in IBM's self-congratulating videos after the break. Commissioned as a celebration of the company's upcoming 100th birthday, they chronicle some of its more notable moments in the global spotlight. Our favorite little nugget of discovery was finding out that testing for the IBM Personal Computer included the question, "would it run Pac-Man?" -- conclusively proving that the foremost reason for the PC's existence is, and has always been, gaming.
New iPhone ads showing up on TV today
It's football season, and you know what that means: new iPhone ads? Yes, apparently there are three new ads, starring Doug, Elliot and Stephano, all shot in a variant of the Errol Morris "Switch" campaign style. In these ads, the (apparently real, and possibly recruited online) iPhone users are standing in front of a black backdrop, relating the ways in which iPhone has changed their lives for the better. At the end of each ad, you see the backdrop in wide shot, with the surrounding street scene visible.A quick review of the final shots indicates that all three ads were filmed in New York City (I can't be 100% sure about Doug, although it might be on West 24th Street...). Elliot is on Fulton St. in Lower Manhattan downtown Brooklyn, and Stephano's body shop appears to be in Chelsea, judging from the presence of a bit of the High Line crossing over the street and the sight of the US Postal Service facility (the distinctive red, black and white building) in the right-hand side at the end of the street. A bit of Google Maps investigation leads us to 506 West 25th Street, where you can see the "ED Auto Designs" awning right where you'd expect. Of course, all these shooting locations are within a cab ride of the new Meatpacking Apple Store under construction...Thanks to all who sent this in.
