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Airliner's near miss with drone injures two crew members
The threat of drone collisions near airports isn't just scary -- it can lead to very real injuries, even if there's no accident. Canada's Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident where a Porter Airlines flight bound for Toronto took evasive maneuvers in an attempt to avoid a reported drone, injuring two crew members. The exact circumstances (including the nature of the injuries) isn't clear, but it took place near Billy Bishop Airport, an island hub right near Toronto's downtown core. It wouldn't have been hard for someone on the mainland to fly a drone into the path of a low-flying aircraft.
Panasonic's medical robot returns after the first-gen sold but two
Remember Hospi, the digital porter from 2004? We wouldn't blame you if you didn't, since Panasonic only sold two of the things in the better part of a decade. Now, the company is looking for a do-over, having redesigned the robot to actually provide some use to Japan's hospitals. This time out, the Hospi is designed simply to transport medicines to patients and take medical records to staff members. Not that it's just carrying around the odd beaker or folder, since Panasonic's designed the gear to lug around 44 pounds of weight at any one time. Given that each robot costs almost $100,000, you'd think it might be cheaper just to hire some interns or plumb in a vacuum tube system -- but it transpires that one hospital used the latter, and it cost almost $10,000 a month just to keep it running.
Microsoft investigating retail options, hires former Walmart exec
Microsoft is giving retail stores another try, even after closing its only store at the Metreon in 2001. It plans a "small number" of stores, but did not mention locations or size. The company is hiring Walmart veteran David Porter -- an expert at negotiating deals between the movie industry and the big-box retailer's expansive DVD sales division. Porter most recently worked at Dreamworks Animation, managing worldwide product distribution for their games and movies. The stores apparently will be geared for sales and education about Microsoft's product line. Porter said, "I am excited about helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases, and we'll share learnings [sic] from our stores with our existing retail and OEM partners that are critical to our success." If Microsoft is aiming to compete with Apple on a retail level, they seem to be omitting a key part of Apple's retail success: Service. The Genius Bar is arguably the most crowded area in Apple retail stores, with every store booking appointments well in advance. A Microsoft service bar for both PCs and Zunes could be a very popular destination. If Microsoft stores can offer a competent service experience for the vast diversity of PC hardware, they might have something. Microsoft has a 20,000 square-foot "Retail Experience Center" in Redmond, on the company's corporate campus. The Center is designed to show how Microsoft products can be used in every corner of a business' operations: from the loading dock to the reception desk. It's unclear if it will serve as the model for Microsoft's new retail initiative. [Via ifoAppleStore.]
Microsoft gets serious about retail stores with exec hire
Remember those pretend Microsoft stores from last month? Looks like the crew at Redmond are taking that idea one step closer to reality. The company's announced that former DreamWorks SKG exec, and more interestingly Wal-Mart veteran, David Porter has joined up as corporate vice president of retail stores to "create a better PC and Microsoft retail purchase experience" and -- here's the key -- develop Microsoft-branded stores. Porter's first order of business will be defining a time frame, locations and specifics for the retail rollout. We can't wait to see how the Simpsons mock this one.
Microsoft airs second ad, campaign makes sense
Microsoft aired the second in its series of new ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates, and unlike the first ad, we finally discover that the pair are trying to find out what life is like for the average person. Since Gates "lives in a moon house over Seattle" and Seinfeld "has so many cars he gets stuck in his own traffic," the pair are living with a stereotypically average family in order to "connect with real people." Thus the theme of the campaign: "perpetually connecting." PC. Get it? Mac developer Daniel Jalkut thinks the ads are genius: "They are so random, indeed so touchy-feely, that the universal reaction among the 'smart-asses' I know, is to declare them ridiculous, not-funny, and utter failures. [...] So if you think the ads suck, don't worry, you're not the target audience." You Look Nice Today's Adam Lisagor adds a salient point: "If you smile even once, the Windows brand wins." Thus the heart of the matter: The ads are not intended to sell Windows: They're ads to sell The Windows Brand. Think of it as The Soul of Windows. If, by the end of this campaign, we only think of Microsoft as the company with the weird ads, then Microsoft will have saved Windows' soul.
What's the deal with Seinfeld doing ads for Microsoft?
Microsoft has set aside $300 million for an ad campaign featuring once-funny comedian Jerry Seinfeld in a series of advertisements targeting Apple. [Insert "master of his domain" joke here. -Ed.] According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft will pay Seinfeld $10 million to appear in a series of ads for its "Windows, Not Walls" campaign that will feature Seinfeld and Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman. According to AdWeek, other highly-relevant comics like Chris Rock and Will Ferrell may also appear in the ads. Wired notes that Microsoft's "choice of Seinfeld was an effort to avoid pandering to the kids with 'a celebrity that was too hip.'" Mission accomplished. It's unclear why the titan even has to advertise; its highly successful Windows Vista and Zune media player products have dominated the landscape for ... I'm sorry. I just can't type anymore. I'm laughing too hard. The campaign is due to launch September 4, and will be produced by MDC Partners' Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The agency is responsible for such memorable hits as Burger King's "Subservient Chicken" and Miller Lite's "Man Laws," the latter with Burt Reynolds. Will his star ever stop rising? [via Macworld]
A lovely selection of DS cases for the extravagantly wealthy
Import retailer Renchi just started carrying a line of high-end, fashionable DS cases from Yoshida Porter and Head-Porter. They look pretty nice and all, but they're not for us. They're for the exclusive club of people able to spend a minimum of $85 for a DS Lite case.We love cases, of course, but we enjoy them most when they're homemade or especially useful. We can only stare in bemusement at high-fashion status-symbol cases like these. They look okay, sure, but they don't really look that different from normal-priced cases, and in fact don't really approach the eye-catching beauty of some of Hori or Keys Factory's more design-conscious work. And the excellent Waterfield case, which is normally too expensive, seems quite thrifty compared to these. You could buy one of those and tell people it cost more.None of this is to say that we don't appreciate Renchi for importing some unique and hard-to-find cases. We really do, even if we can't buy them! A better selection is always a good thing.
PORTER reveals pricey new PSP cases
SCEI has unveiled four new cases from PORTER. These pricey cases are fetching a mighty 9500 yen (about $90). That'll take a bite out of any PSP fan's wallet. The Japanese promotional site has a few promo pics of people using the case ... and don't they look oh-so-happy?
Space Invaders Extremely Expensive Luggage
Yoshida & Co. know how to sell bags to nerds: put game imagery on them. We've never cared enough about luggage to choose any but the cheapest and nearest-to-our-hand suitcases, but now we kind of want some luggage -- because of how it looks!There's approximately negative infinity chance of us getting any of the items in the "Porter" Space Invaders line. Judging by the prices of Yoshida's Playstation collection (PSP case and strap: $205), we'd be better off keeping Yoshida from invading our wallet. We'd choose a copy of Space Invaders Extreme over a bag with some invaders on it.[Via Kotaku]
Final Fantasy case steals fans money
It's not easy being a Final Fantasy fan. You have to suffer through intolerable waits for the games, and pay astronomical prices for its merchandise. Take, for example, this Final Fantasy-themed case. The case, from Porter, dons a Crisis Core logo. But not only that, it has a pretty steep price tag: ,975 ($86). [Via PSPHyper]
PSP cases for girls with expensive taste
In case there are any fellas in dire straits to find the perfect gift for that very special girl gamer, we've got a potential deal maker. The PSP cases shown are a collaborative effort between X-girl, PS Pictogram, dance group Genki Rockets and luggage manufacturer Porter. Each case costs 9,975 yen, which makes it about $110 in U.S. currency. It even comes with buttons. Come on, you know she's worth it. Go ahead and splurge. [Via Kotaku]
No GTA or downgrading needed to run homebrew
PSP owners are getting even more and more choices every day. People with older PSPs could emulate newer ones. People with newer PSPs could downgrade to older ones. For those that want to have fairly new firmware for new games, and also have the ability to run homebrew on one machine without too many confusing steps now have an alternative: simply running homebrew on PSPs, up to version 2.60. Ditlew and Fanjita have released a new eLoader called "Porter" that lets you run homebrew apps on your PSP. In order to use it, you'll have to download the appropriate files, and then run it on your system before using homebrew. While this may sound complicated, it's a lot better than the previous method, which involved having a copy of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.The hard-working team of coders won't stop there. They're already working on getting PSPs 2.80 to work, and eventually... a way to run homebrew directly from the XMB without even having to use the eLoader. Wow.[Via DCEmu, Thanks craig!]
