humor
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The verdict is in: children prefer the DS
Vinnk, a blogger and Ninty devotee at 4 color rebellion, is also a teacher in Japan. And in his off time, he makes children cry. Doesn't sound like someone we want on our side -- at least until the whole story comes out. Vinnk often takes his trusty DS Lite to school and allows the children to play with it. This is a practice of which we heartily approve (get 'em young!). However, on the day in question, his students found not the DS Lite they'd come to love nestled inside Vinnk's blue Nintendo case, but a Sony PSP. The students were so horrifed and disappointed that one even began to cry. He asked them if they wanted to play with the PSP. They weren't interested. He showed them a game, and they stared at him, stoic, as loyal to the DS as samurai to their lord. It almost makes us want to cry. Score one for the DS -- as though it needed to win any more battles. [Thanks to Andrew at PSP Fanboy, where we're sure they're hanging their heads in shame.]
Weird Al: "Don't Download This Song"
Love or hate him, Weird Al has unquestionably cranked out some of the most notable humor and satire of the late 20th - and now 21st - centuries. The Digital Music Weblog (a sister site) has discovered Mr. Weird is at it again with "Don't Download This Song," a tongue-in-cheek anthem about the dark road of lying, cheating and stealing that file sharing can lead down. Weird Al is using a small marketing site to pimp the song, complete with a music video and a download link (yes, of course it's free), as well as the upcoming album the song is featured on.Grant at TDMW cites a favorite line of Christopher Springman at Public Knowledge: "Cause you start out stealing songs/then you're robbing liquor stores/and selling crack/and running over schoolkids with your car." Personally, I don't think the record labels care where you're getting your cash, just as long as you use it to pay their outlandish monopoly prices.Feel free to grab the song, as the RIAA can't nail you for downloading this one. At least, I think.
Interview with a Blu-Ray
Aeropause sits down for a disturbing chat with an anthropomorphized Blu-Ray disc. Sample quote:One time when we were young, HD-DVD and I played "Show Me Yours and I will Show You Mine" We got caught and we never tried it again, but what I saw was impressive, but I think mine is just as good! That moment scarred me for life. If that would not have happened I would have had a much higher capacity.At least they went to the source.[Thanks Lucas]
Microsoft survey asks about Aqua
It seems like even Microsoft's marketing department knows a thing or two about nerdy UI stuff, as a recent survey that offers copies of Vista Beta on CD asks what the fancy new 'let's make everything 50% transparent because transparency is teh r0x0r' effects in Vista are called. Wouldn't you know - Aqua is one of the multiple answers! Right up there along with 'Aero' (the correct choice) and 'Zero' (funny how they rhyme). I would honestly love to see the stats on these test results.Fortunately, Microsoft also allows Vista beta hopefuls to share how the four-years-late OS truly makes them feel with another question: "Windows Vista brings _____ to your world" has three options: Confusion, Creativity and Clarity (nevermind the large Vista banner at the top of the survey page - pictured). Be careful how you answer kids; you do want that copy of the clarifying (hint hint) Windows Vista beta, right?Right?Thanks Ety
Dead Rising humor: I hate you, Otis
Here's a little bit of comedy for Friday, courtesy of Something Awful. For those of you who have played the game, you know of the security guard Otis. He's the guy who gives you a transmitter -- quite possibly the biggest mistake you can make. Otis will provide you with "scoops," which are essentialy the side missions of the game.However, it seems that Otis only calls you when you're being swarmed by a group of zombies and, when he calls, you can't attack (as you're holding the phone while the text is displayed on the screen below). Doing so will hang up on Otis but, no worries -- he'll call back. "Don't hang up on me," he says, "it's rude." Way to be understanding there, Otis, you fu ...... you know, we'll save the rant for Something Awful. It's pretty funny, so click on the link and enjoy.
TUAW makes Joy of Tech cameo
Well color us red: TUAW reader loki capret tipped us off that we've been honored with a cameo appearance in the latest Joy of Tech! The comic (their latest as of this writing) features Apple's keynote command bunker, and you can imagine everything they need to keep track of in such a top secret and secure monitoring facility. Without ruining much more of the comic, you can simply see a screenshot of TUAW (alongside Engadget) on what must be a massive Cinema display for internal use only.Check out the comic for yet another good laugh from the JoT crew, and a big thanks to them for the cameo! We'd also like to thank the readers, and our AOL overlords, and the committee, our manager for believing in us and...Thanks, loki!
Yet more Mac spoof ads - now with Linux!
I was waiting for someone to add Linux into the mix, and TrueNuff TV did a pretty good job with a series of Mac Spoofs. Parodying (of course) the latest series of love-em-or-(mostly)-hate-em ads, TrueNuff has produced 6 spoofs that poke fun at the Mac, though Linux, admittedly, takes quite a beating as well (but c'mon - it's Linux!). The spoofs are featured at TrueNuff TV's site and also on YouTube. Enjoy.
Asleep at the Halo switch
Anbody who ever stayed up until 4am playing Halo 2 (or blogging) can relate to the above vid. Pretty funny, if about nine minutes to long. More narcoleptic Spartans here.
Switched On: The next PlaysForSure ad
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: At Microsoft, we know that customers appreciate the importance of choice and compatibility. If you're in the market for a new digital media player, look for the logo that ensures interoperability with a wide variety of players from our valued partners and wretched competitors such as Creative, Samsung, iRiver, Archos and Sandisk. PlaysForSure means that you won't be locked into one company's digital media player. On the other hand, isn't that worth the convenience and elegant integration you'd get with a sweet, sweet Zune player?
