News Archive
Justin Long - Still “a Mac”
Justin Long reports on his website that he is, in fact, still the “Get a Mac” guy…and is even shooting some holiday themed commercials tomorrow (or maybe today, the post was from 6:40 am this morning)…perhaps the report was a hoax trying to make him seem like even more of a “jerk” than some people already seem to think he is?
I don’t know…personally, I don’t think he comes off as smug or pompous. I think the “Get a Mac” ads are funny and entertaining, and I hope that last at least through Macworld ‘07.
If you don’t want to read Justin’s entire post here is the “Mac” guy focused portion in it’s entirety:
… as for the mac commercials, i don’t know where that report came from that said i wasn’t going to do anymore - i literally setting my alarm right now to wake up for a mac shoot tomorrow - if i’m not doing anymore i guess i can sleep in on my day off - that’d be nice. but yeah, we’re doing some holiday spots now which i think will be pretty funny - not nearly funny enough to justifiy the money they’re paying me though, i’ll be honest with you. as for the future, i really don’t know what i’m going to do - i’m surprised, frankly, that the campaign hasn’t become tired and they’ve just ended it on their own - but i try to live as much in the present as i can considering the future doesn’t exist, i’m not really sure. they’re easy to do, i love john (the pc guy) and working with him is so effortless and fun that i definitely wouldn’t rule out doing some more - and, as i said, they pay us nicely.
Click Here to visit Justin Long’s official site.
Go Postal with the Postal Fudge Pack
The classy folks over at Running with Scissors have released an ultimate Postal Compilation called the Postal Fudge Pack. The pack includes the original Postal game from 1997, along with the “Special Delivery” add-on levels. It also includes Postal 2, including the multi player “Share the Pain” component, the expansion pack “Apocalypse Weekend”, and a total conversion mod called “Eternal Damnation”.
It even includes a fan-made mod called “Weekend in Paradise” and even more extras. All of this wholesome entertainment can be yours for $29.95.
System requirements: Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later, G3/700MHz or faster, 256MB RAM, 2GB hard disk space, and 32MB ATI Radeon or Nvidia GeForce2 MX or better 3D graphics.
Most of the contents is rated M for Mature (and all of it probably should be).
BRIEF: iTunes Flexible Album Pricing/Microsoft Pays Universal Off the Top
There is a new iTunes rumor circling around the web…this time it’s about album pricing. Cnet reported on it a few days ago, saying that iTunes may allow for flexible album pricing on albums where you have already purchased some of the songs individually.
If it’s true, all I can say is - it’s about time.
This rumor, if proven true, is another step in the right direction for DRMed music files, and making the purchasing of music online more affordable and fair to the consumer.
It is unfortunate that while this rumor of things happening positively for music lovers, over on the other end of the mp3 player spectrum (namely Zune territory) it was revealed last week that a major blow for consumers has been allowed by Microsoft.
Microsoft is paying Universal (one of the largest music companies in the world) money off the top of EVERY Zune sold…ya know…because EVERYONE that buys a music player is a pirate and is stealing things from the recording industry. This sets a terrible precedence, that the music companies have already hinted they expect to use when re-negotiating contracts with Apple over the iPod.
For my two cents I think Steve Jobs will shove his hand in a meat grinder before he gives into the that kind of extortion (whether that’s a good or bad business move is another debate entirely), but it’s going to be an issue in the near future, and one that I’m sure will have a large effect on the future of the iPod - and how much we pay for it, and the music we download.
Japanese “Get a Mac” Ads
No John Hodgman, no Justin Long, these “Get a Mac” ads from the land of the rising sun seem to be the same commercials with Japanese actors…but I don’t speak Japanese so I don’t know for sure.
Click Here to view three of Apple Japan’s versions of the ads
and just in case you’ve forgotten, you can click here to see the American versions of the ads.
One digger, geminitojanus, asked an interesting question on the site:
The real question is: Is there going to be an American camera/chick when they remake the “Network” ad, and will the conversation be in English?
I sure hope so…that would be hilarious.
[Link via digg]
Ahem - make that 100 Invites to Mac Heist
Just checked the Mac Heist account, and my invites have increased to 100.
I have 99 left…if you want them, they’re going quick.
25 Mac Heist invites to give away — anyone interested?
MacHeist is the new online project from the creators of My Dream App. It’s hard to describe what it is exactly, but it will require your sleuthing skills and creative thinking - with the reward being cool Mac software (and possibly more).
After making several contacts with the folks behind MacHeist I have been able to attain 25 invites for Apple Gazette readers. The first “mission” is still underway (with prizes ta boot!), and the first 25 readers to contact me requesting an invite will get them.
You can either leave your contact info in the comments below, or contact me through the submissions link on the site…but I’d hurry, I would imagine these will go fast.
Macworld Blooper Compilation
I know this isn’t really new, but it’s a Friday and I think we all deserve some pretty light stuff to get us into that weekend mindset. This is a compilation of slip-ups during Steve Jobs’ keynotes at Macworld. Well, what can I say? Probably only Steve can handle situations like these with grace.
‘Gotta love that Macworld crowd!
[Video originally posted at MacNN forums]
Apple goes after adult iPod Accessory
Jason D. O’Grady from ZDNet’s Apple Core Blog posted a bit of interesting information this morning. Apple is engaged in a bitter legal battle with the makers of the gPod, an “adult toy” accessory for the iPod. Ichiro Kameda is the president of the two man company that markets the gPod, and filed a trademark for the “gPod” which was approved last year.
Jason seems to speculate that the lawsuit is somehow over what the device is (i.e. an “adult toy”) and even points out Kameda’ defense of the product as non sexual.
Kameda - “Putting it simply, the fight is all over what I call our beat generator. There’s a small device with three different, sound-activated motors. It’s a revolutionary invention. You can plug it in to iPods or mobile phones. It can also be programmed to operate only for certain voices.”
Jason’s final paragraph reads as follows:
I wonder why is Apple targeting gPod, when OhMiBod and iBuzz have been around forever? iBuzz prominently markets its product as “the music activated iPod sex toy” and even has sexy parodies of Apple’s silhouette iPod ads on their site.
I want to take this opportunity to answer Jason’s question. This legal battle has nothing to do with what kind of product the companies are selling. The lawsuit is over the term “Pod”. That’s why they haven’t gone after the OhMiBod or the iBuzz…they don’t have “Pod” in their names.
Apple is getting a lot of bad press for trying to lay claim to the term “Pod”, and I can understand it to a certain degree. I can also understand Apple’s point of view. If they don’t stake a claim on “Pod” then Creative could released a myPod or similarly named device that could “confuse” the market place. Apple doesn’t want to lose the name of their product…of course, they should have nipped ths thing in the bud from the beginning if that’s what they wanted to do. I think, at this point, it’s a little too late to run around threatening to sue everyone in sight.
Fox coming to an iPod near you?
According to MacRumors Fox has had “positive talks” with Apple about adding their movie library to the iTunes Music Store. No time frame was offered, as several details need to be ironed out. Hopefully the addition to Fox to the iTunes Movie line-up will encourage other studios to join the iTunes Movies bandwagon in the near future.
I can’t help but wonder if Fox will add television shows to iTunes as well if this deal goes through. Shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and King of the Hill would all be shows I would like to download to my iPod…not to mention lost pilots like Heat Vision and Jack, and classic shows like Married…with Children, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fox has a huge library of content that would be a valuable addition to the iTunes store.
More as it develops…
Justin Long a Mac no more…
Radar Online reports that Justin Long (the “Mac” from the “Get a Mac” ads) will not be appearing in the next round of “Get a Mac” ads. Was he fired or did he quit? Well…that’s unclear, but his rep had this to say: “Justin’s a movie star, not a commercial guy.”
uhh…right.
Long most recently appeared in the summer comedy “Accepted”, and is currently set to appear in “Live Free or Die Hard” along side Bruce Willis.
John Hodgman (the PC from the “Get a Mac” ads) is set to appear in a new series soon. Will there be a new “Mac”? Well…one would think so, but I’m not sure how they’re going to go about introducing a new Mac character. If it’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that Apple’s advertising folks will come up with something interesting for us, and I, for one, can’t wait to see where they go with it.
[link via TUAW]
