john hodgman
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John Hodgman's (aka PC) Areas of My Expertise Free on iTS
As many people have observed already, if there's one problem with the Get A Mac campaign, it's that PC (John Hodgman) often comes off as more likable than Mac (Justin Long). Mr. Hodgman is a talented comedian, appearing often on Comedy Central and This American Life. Well now Apple and Audible.com have an early Christmas present for you: an abridged audio version of his recent book Areas of My Expertise is available for free on the iTunes Store (and don't worry, the abridgment is still nearly 7 hours long). It's read by the author in his inimitable deadpan style and offers humorous observations about a whole variety of topics. Erica already mentioned this as part of our weekly iTunes Free Weekly post (and a couple of commenters realized Hodgman is PC), but I thought some of you might have missed it. Thanks Alexis Cordova!
Justin Long a Mac no longer?
Radar Online is reporting that Justin Long, the actor who plays the part of the Mac in Apple's Get a Mac campaign, is no longer an Apple spokesman. A new round of ads is being worked on with John Hodgman (the PC) and director Phil Morrison but Justin Long with not appear in them, according to his 'people.'Was this Apple's decision, or Justin's? We may never know, but Justin's representative said, "Justin's a movie star, not a commercial guy."So, dear TUAW readers, who do you think should fill his shoes as the Mac in the new commercials?Thanks, Matt.
John Hodgman not a PC, just plays one on TV
Initially I found those Get a Mac commercials charming, but after a while I started to wonder why Apple chose to make the intellectual and funny guy represent the PC and the annoying dork represent the Mac. What twisted logic was used there? Anyway, I'm a fan of John Hodgman's work on The Daily Show, while I find Justin Long's snide arrogance to be perfect for sitcoms like Ed and movies like Dodgeball, but counter-productive for a pro-Mac marketing campaign. So it's with great pleasure that I read Engadget's interview with Hodgman and learned (as I had suspected but never truly cared enough to find out) that he's a Mac user in real life and has been for 20+ years, excepting "...a brief period in the wilderness between 1997 and 2003," which he'd rather not speak of. You can see more of the interview over at Engadget... don't worry, it's a short read.
Interview with John Hodgman, the PC from those "Get a Mac" ads
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.
Found Footage: I'm a PC on the Daily Show
John Hodgman, the fellow who plays the PC in Apple's recent commercial blitz, is a regular Daily Show guest. This clip features Hodgman discussing Net Neutrality by way of pretending that he is a computer of some sort. I wonder what kind of computer he would be. Watch the video and find out.
