John Hodgman -- Engadget

john hodgman posts

Microsoft's new ads: Seinfeld and Gates out, Hodgman lookalike in

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 17th 2008 at 9:05PM

According to a report from in the New York Times, the next phase of Microsoft's latest ad campaign is set to begin -- sans Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. Apparently, the new ads do away with the unusual (and somewhat ill-received) banter and "real life" experiences of the two celebrities, and trade them for an earnest embrace of... Apple's "PC" character. Apparently, one of the new ads even begins with a John Hodgman lookalike stating, "Hello, I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype." Beyond the flip on a rival's depiction of its brand, the campaign will feature cameos from Eva Longoria, Deepak Chopra, Pharrell Williams, and even Gates -- though Seinfeld doesn't make the cut. While we're curious to see what the company cooks up in the new ads, it does strike us as somewhat odd that the supposed narrative Microsoft was establishing with Gates and Seinfeld has abruptly been abandoned in favor of these new spots. Is this a decision which was made long ago, or did the largely negative / confused reaction to the last set of ads force the company's hand? We only have its official statement to go on: "We will be executing the second phase of our advertising campaign tomorrow, as planned from the start."

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Screen grabs: disoriented, time-traveling Hodgman takes call on upside down iPhone

by Ryan Block posted Mar 20th 2008 at 12:54PM

Our latest micro-series, Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and occasional misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with a screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

Last night's Daily Show discussion on the nation's impending recession prompted John Hodgman (aka PC) to bust out his Uncle Rico-esque time machine to take a peek into our collective economic future. We're still trying to decide whether it's richer in irony that (not unlike Jon Stewart) Hodgman uses an iPhone, or that he pulled it out and used it upside down Charlie Sheen / Bionic Woman style. Video after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: The Hodg-man emailed -- it wasn't intentional. Apparently he was worried about breaking the antique stock-ticker and was distracted. Although we'd like to think it's because he just used a real life time machine -- for reals. Either way, there you go.

Continue reading Screen grabs: disoriented, time-traveling Hodgman takes call on upside down iPhone

AdAge asks Gates about Hodgman to ill effect

by Ryan Block posted Mar 15th 2007 at 10:32PM

Don't people know any better by now than to taunt Billy G. with Apple's indubitably (and unintentionally) lovable John Hodgman PC character? Check out this exchange from a recent interview of Gatesy by Advertising Age's Bob Garfield:

AdAge: I want to ask you one more thing: Those Mac ads -- how do you feel about the John Hodgman character?
Gates: I can't comment on someone else's ad.
AdAge: OK ... but he's you.
Gates: Yeah, I'm not gonna comment on someone else's ad.
AdAge: OK, well, Bill Gates, thank you so much for joining us.
(Silence)
AdAge: Can I just have a clean goodbye?
(Silence)
AdAge: OK, can you just say goodbye? Thank you or goodbye or something like that?
Gates: Goodbye. [Oh, and it was curt alright.]

Damn son. We might recommend just pretending you're Justin Long (aka Mac) next time, and see what happens.

[Via digg]

Bill Gates on Mac ads: "I don't even get it"

by Paul Miller posted Feb 2nd 2007 at 5:35PM

So, we didn't get our wish of a Gates vs. Hodgman showdown on the Daily Show this week -- too bad -- but that doesn't mean Bill has been totally mum on the topic. "I don't think the over 90 percent of the [population] who use Windows PCs think of themselves as dullards, or the kind of klutzes that somebody is trying to say they are," said Gates. "And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it's superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say?" He continued, "Does honesty matter in these things, or if you're really cool, that means you get to be a lying person whenever you feel like it? There's not even the slightest shred of truth to it." Perhaps it's good there wasn't any Gates / Hodgman interaction after all, things could've gotten a bit testy. Gates was also asked straight up if Microsoft would have a new OS in 2010-2011, to which he responded, "Absolutely." Which seems to put to rest some of those will-they-won't-they rumorings. He also had plenty more to say about the future of Windows, calling it "more user-centric" in a portability of data sort of sense (read: Windows Live). Bill also promised even more handwriting recognition and speech improvements, claiming "Students won't need textbooks, they can just use these tablet devices." Gee, we've never heard that line before.

"I'm a PC." "And I'm also a PC.": Gates vs. Hodgman on Daily Show tomorrow?

by Peter Rojas posted Jan 28th 2007 at 12:11PM

Turns out our old friend Bill Gates is going to be making an appearance on the Daily Show tomorrow evening to promote the launch of Windows Vista, an event which is interesting in and of itself, but which also raises the tantalizing prospect of him finally coming face to face with John Hodgman (AKA "PC" from those "Mac vs. PC" ads). As far as we know Bill's only there for a straightforward sit down with Jon Stewart, but nevertheless we'll be filling the next 35 hours or so with plenty of geek fantasies about what could potentially be some hot PC vs. PC action.

Interview with John Hodgman, the PC from those "Get a Mac" ads

by Peter Rojas posted Oct 5th 2006 at 2:26PM

Yup, we interviewed that guy. But John Hodgman isn't just a metaphorical stand-in for the PC (even though that's what we mainly asked him about), he's also an editor at the New York Times Magazine and a contributor to the Daily Show. Read on to find out whether he's really a PC user, Microsoft's attempts to recruit him, and how he got the gig in the first place.

So first things first: Mac or PC?

Here is the joke that is absolutely apt, though I once promised I would never make it: "I play one on TV, but I am not a PC." It is true. I am first of all: not a computer, but a human being; and second of all: a Mac user, almost exclusively, since 1984. There was a brief period in the wilderness between 1997 and 2003. Let us not speak of it.

Continue reading Interview with John Hodgman, the PC from those "Get a Mac" ads