Surprise defeat

… took some images of Coppa with the Mac Air.

Actually, we didn’t sneak, but we did half expect to be asked to leave. Instead, we drew a crowd of managers and techies wanting to chat about that ‘danged cool’  robot.

Yesterday, I took my laptop to the Apple Store, and it was quite the experience:

So, the appointment was at 5:45, but I got there at like 5:20. My dad bought the Nike+Nano workout set that he could use at the gym. Afterwards, my dad and I had a lot of time to look around. We looked at the Mac Mini; he wants one for the upstairs office. We looked at the Mac Air; he wants one for himself, EVEN THOUGH I am currently using his 2-month-old laptop. We looked at the iPod Classic (I have it in silver); he wants one in black, EVEN THOUGH he just got a new iPod Nano about 2 months ago. We looked at the Apple TV; he surprisingly doesn’t want it all that much. Then, we looked at the iPhone. Neither one of us had ever held one. I think they’re really cool, but I don’t understand why people my age have iPhones because they’re really made for business people. My dad, the pharmecuetical consultant, friggin LOVED IT!!! And believe me when I say that I won’t be surprised if he comes home from work with one in his hand.

Finally, that thingy-ma-bob that the one of the orange-t-shirt-guys gavve me started buzzing. Which allowed me to approach *drum roll* … ThE GeNiUs BaR, where everyone wore t-shirts that said, “Not all heroes wear capes”. Joshua was the guy who helped me out.

So, I get to the G-Bar, and I pass Josh the laptop. I tell him that the question-mark-file keeps popping up and that Apple Care said my hard drive has crashed. I also tell him that the laptop doesn’t register the battery so you have to used the AC. He plugs up the computer, turns it on, and begins to try and fix it. And that’s when I started sweating.

I’ve never had a nervous sweat before. Normally, I sweat because I’m hot or I’ve just worked out, but I was really sweating, and I could smell it. I didn’t smell bad; I just smelled like sweat (kind of like after you’ve had a really long run and somehow you have all the energy in the world). I was so surprised that I was so scared about having to get a new computer.

As he was attempting to get the laptop working again, he was humming some song stuck in his head. It was a movie score, but I couldn’t figure out what movie it was. He said, “You would think I would have the Olympics theme stuck in my head”. Then we talked about the Olympics for a bit. Did you know that ping-pong is an Olympic sport?!?!? I knew it was really competitive, but not Olympic.

Then he tried to get my installation disc out of my computer. Then he realized; “It’s stuck in there, isn’t it?” I replied “Yeah… Also, my webcam never works it always says that it’s being used by another application, when its not”.

So, after about 30 minutes, here a list of all the damage:

1. My hard drive has crashed; it’s going to be replaced.
2. My battery is failing; It’s going to be replaced.
3. My webcam doesn’t work; It’s going to be fixed.
4. My topcase is cracked and light shade of brown; It’s going to be replaced.
5. My cd slot it broken; It’s going to be fixed.
6. There was something wrong that I didn’t even know about. I think he said something about “HD” or “whining” or something. Well, what ever it was, I’m getting a new logic board to fix it.

In total, over $600 in damage, but here’s where it gets good: It’s all going to be fixed… FOR FREE!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

NEW logic board, NEW top case, NEW battery, NEW hard drive WITH an additional 20 GB!!! (They don’t make the 60 GB anymore, so they’re gonna give me the 80 GB!!!) FOR FREE!! Thank God my dad bought that warranty two years ago. I never even thought that warranties were all that important, but now I’m soooo gonna get a warranty every chance I can get.

The laptop is going to be gone for about 5 days, and I’m not going to be near a computer this weekend, so I most likely won’t be posting anything new.

But when I come back, I’ll have a list of all the things I wanted to talk about on my totally amped up Macbook!!!

Rientrato da qualche giorno di vacanza riprendo l’attività di blogger non prima di aver letto in lungo e in largo le novità in rete, gli argomenti interessanti e le tendenze… pronto per sciolinare il mio pensiero sui colossi dell’informatica, sull’open source etc….

Parto dicendo che, da grafico, ho avuto modo di lavorare con diverse aziende del settore, spesso mi capitava di lavorare in Windows e passare lavori che sarebbero stati aperti con Mac. I primi tempi era difficile, poi l’integrazione delle due piattaforme hardware e software ha praticamente reso pressochè trasparenti tutte queste attività multipiattaforma. Fin dai primi anni però ho sempre detto a chi mi guardava sgranando gli occhi con 10 postazioni Mac: “I Mac sono computer destinati a sparire”. E avevo ragione. Già allora (alla fine degli anni ‘80) in molti services il parco macchine era distribuito al 50% tra pc e mac, ora il mac rimane ancorato al lavoro del grafico e niente più. Un sistema troppo chiuso che cozza pesantemente con quello che sono i principi di condivisione lo porterà all’estinzione. Non è un caso che la stessa Apple, ormai con vendite computer ridotte al lumicino, abbia puntato negli anni ad integrare windows sui suoi sistemi (con i processori intel) e che da almeno 5 anni a questa parte riservi le sue principali energie a sfornare telefonini e ipod a raffica dimenticando di essere un’azienda di computer. Mi ricordo quando già negli anni ‘80 era praticamente impossibile trovare assistenza per un mac, mi immagino ora (mi preoccupo perchè ne sto per comprare uno). Uso entrambe le piattaforme per lavoro e devo dire che pagare il doppio per un computer che fa le stesse cose del suo concorrente è una politica al suicidio. Poi vi siete mai accorti che i mac non scendono mai di prezzo? (Così come tutti i prodotti Apple)  Potete girare cento superstore del computer ma il vostro ipod o il vostro IMac avranno sempre lo stesso prezzo ovunque, niente offerte, niente sconti come succede per qualsiasi altro prodotto informatico … assurdo direi.

Peccato perchè dietro ci sta un buon sistema operativo che meriterebbe di piu’. A casa Apple allora devono aver pensato, se ci sono rimasti solo 5 clienti, che comprino almeno prodotti esclusivi. Ecco allora che si sforna Mac Air…. forse l’oggetto più inutile della produzione Apple finora. Diciamoci la verità…. ma chi volete che vada in giro con un portatire da 3000 euro spesso neanche due centimetri e la paura di romperlo al primo strattone? Metterlo sulla scrivania farà un figurone si, ma fa anche un po’ tristezza … andiamo verso il mobile accessibile (vedi asus e notebook a basso costo) e dall’altra parte, per fare le stesse cose (nella maggioranza dei casi) dobbiamo spendere 5 volte tanto? Mah…

Non sono mai stato un estimatore Mac, ci ho lavorato e ci lavoro, ne sto per comprare uno per casa, ma ho sempre pensato che il Mac fosse il computer per chi non sa usare il computer. Il problema è che più andiamo avanti e più tutti sapranno usare il computer e del Mac nessuno avrà più bisogno… ahimè… in compenso avremo la casa piena di Ipod che ci farà ricordare che la Apple era una azienda di computer una volta.

1 – Let’s be honest, it really doesn’t matter what this movie is about, people…err…dudes are going to see this. (Coincidentally, I did already know what Witchblade is about since it is another comic book adaptation. Could be an awesome flick, but I’m reserving judgment until I see some actual footage, not just actual skin) [via FilmDrunk]

2 – What happens when the ex-White House Press Secretary writes a book about working in the Bush administration? Political sh*t storm. There’s already been plenty of people still in the administration to come out and condemn/tear down Scott McClellan, but you can be sure there will be more before this goes away. You can read an excerpt through the link and see that he doesn’t necessarily say that Bush is an idiot at all, just that he was horribly misled and deceived by the people in his own cabinet. I’m not sure which scenario makes my stomach turn more, but it’s time for a political antacid. [via Wall Street Journal]

3 – For those lucky ducks with nice new IBooks or MacBook Pros (you can add in the Mac Air, but I am still holding out on calling people lucky for having those), you can all enjoy some neat style and comfort along with protection for your expensive baby gadget. Since it looks kinda like an airmail pouch, you can convince people you are just always on the move. You jet-setter, you. [via JoshSpear]

4 – Is this just a glimpse into Jon’s mind or have we all started to hear burp from invisible fat cats? I think it’s time to refill my Xanax prescription. [via Garfield Minus Garfield]

5 – As excited as I am to buy and read Snuff, the new book from Chuck Palanhuik, that thrill only gets bumped up more by the first trailer being released for the newest movie in his adaptation train of films, Choke. I’m already interested since it is Chuck’s book, but you add uber-talented Sam Rockwell in as the sex-crazed, morally depraved lead role, a part he might have been born to play, well then, you had me at “Choke”. [via FilmDrunk]

6 – This is why we don’t want artificial intelligence. Eventually even the machines will be perverted. [via GorillaMask]

7 – I always wondered why Robin’s costume was so feminine. The truth is just shocking sometimes. [via GorillaMask via Crave Online]

8 – A little kid skates under forty cars and these people celebrate like he won independence for the country. Someone get these people cable TV stat! [via Pandachute]

9 – Not the greatest production value for this imagined conversation between Iron Man and Batman, but I chuckled quite a few times on my way through, so take that video! Advantage = Audio. [via Yikers]

10 – Everyone has dreams and everyone has projects they want to accomplish, but we hold ourselves back way more than we realize (or want to realize), but comedian Kyle Cease is not going to let us flounder in mediocrity. He’s writing a daily blog post for the next month where he is detailing one or more things each and every day he is doing to better his life and his career. The more pumped up he gets about it, the more he wants to inspire others, so take a moment or two to catch up on this blog and see if he can’t help give you that little kick in the ass we all need to start the ball rolling. Trust me, it’s not as hard as it seems to make that move from where you are to where you want to be. [via MySpace]

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–gnad

Quand hier, je faisais l’ apogée de la disruption avec la publicité suédoise de Baume & Mercier, Thomas de Darkplanneur faisait lui l’ apogée de la création simple, entièrement recentrée sur le produit des derniers films Mac (Mac Air et Iphone).

Dans un cas comme dans l’ autre, les publicités sont simplement réalisées pour mettre en avant le produit, et développer rapidement sa visibilité, sa notoriété et sa demande; car le produit se suffit à lui-même, sans artifice.

Le travail du publicitaire “se résume” donc à sublimer le produit, avec plus ou moins de decorum. Dans les deux cas, nous remarquons que le scénario de chaque spot est orchestré de manière subtile en jouant sur des leviers totalement différents :

- le jeu d’ acteur, des dialogues très drôles pour Baume et Mercier, mais pour finir sur un pack shot et une promesse très forte “Made In Heaven”

- Capitalisant sur la musique romantique, douce et suave pour Mac AIR ou sur un dialogue très commercial pour iPhone (destiné au Geek?)

Quoi qu’ il en soit, la stratégie de ces marques ne doit pas simplement se résumer à la stratégies créatives. Nous devons l’ inscrire dans l’ ensemble de la démarche marketing orchestrée de main de maître, notamment en terme de circuit de distribution sélective.

Pour ces deux marques, l’ ensemble de la démarche marketing et créative permet à leurs futurs acquéreurs de pouvoir appartenir à une communauté de personnes raffinés, de fin connaisseurs qui apprécient les “beaux” objets :

“J’ achète donc j’ appartiens “.

Et si nous revenions à la bonne vieille méthode des années 50/60? Cela pourrait être simple et efficace?!

Something as sleek as the MacBook Air deserves equally funky fashion. Pod Canvas designer and Mac devotee has joined the thinnovation revolution by designing the MacBook Air Felt Case.

The MacBook Air Felt Case is available in charcoal or amber felt. Secured with an envelope esque double button and string.

A best seller on Amazon Japan, the MacBook Air Felt Case is a stylish sleeve to keep your skinny Mac cozy.


Handmade in Japan. Choose from charcoal felt with red stitching or amber felt with tan stitching.

Once upon a time there was a Laptop (AAPL) that belonged to a mid-sized wazir of the realm. It was a rather large laptop as laptops go, with a big, roomy heart filled with all kinds of good things, an impressive collection of ports, and big, strong hardware that could stand the test of any situation into which its owner might put it.

The Laptop had served its owner well for many moons and was proud of itself. “There is no function I cannot perform should my master demand it,” it said to itself at times when it was charging, at rest after a long day at the office, on the couch at home, or on the road in a random hotel room somewhere. “Be it spreadsheet or word processing or even photography, I am up to the job.” And then the Laptop slept as its owner did the same.

One day, when the market was doing nothing and American business was slogging through another day of senescence, lethargy and malaise, its owner was watching CNBC at his desk when a commercial came on. It showed a slender, lovely hand inserting a notebook computer into what looked like an 11″x14″ envelope. This Notebook was so thin and light that it only took one little hand to slip it into that small enclosure, and was silver and carried a sexy logo to which the owner had already formed a symbiotic attachment.

“Wow,” said the owner, “Yum yum yum.” And so are major purchasing decisions always made.

And so the owner went to the online store that dispenses happiness for those who seek it in those quarters, and pre-ordered the bright and gleaming Notebook, along with the remote DVD drive that was necessary because the tiny unit did not have one built in. “That is a small compromise to make, given its amazing lightness and elegance,” said the owner to himself. He also acquired all the necessary chargers, since his older ones were not quite right either. “All new hardware requires these kinds of initial investments,” the owner added to himself.

Ironically, it was from the Laptop that the owner ordered all this new gear. “That’s all right,” the sad Laptop told itself as it conveyed the credit card information to the online store. “This is just a little Notebook my master can utilize when he’s making short trips to the coast. Due to its tiny size, it cannot do all the wonderful things of which I am capable!” And the Laptop felt sanguine, as we all do for some reason even when it’s not particularly warranted.

Then one day in the spring the new notebook arrived in a big box with the logo on it, the one for which the owner had already developed a drooling affection. And he opened up the box and there was the wafer-thin, juicy, sexy little Notebook. “Ah!” said the owner in a paroxysm of joy, and he held the thing to his bosom and the music swelled in his imagination and all was right with the world.

That night, the owner put the Laptop on a shelf in his closet. “Oh my,” said the Laptop, looking around at the shelf on which it had been placed next to an IBM (IBM) ThinkPad and an old HP (HP) printer with nothing but serial ports. “This don’t look good.”

Several weeks went by. The owner and the Notebook went everywhere with each other and for a while they were very happy. True, he found the lack of a firewire port very annoying at first, since it made the transfer of data from his other computers — once the soul of simplicity — into a complex wireless process that he detested. And his face fell when he also realized that all of his remote hard drives no longer worked with the new Notebook, making his photos and iTunes folders suddenly difficult to access.

But the Notebook was indeed very light and easy to transport, and people did notice it wherever he went, which made him feel very good about himself (at least for a while, until everybody else started having one). He barely complained when the wireless feature on the new computer had difficulty reading his existing network. After only two nights of cursing and yelling, that problem was solved as well. So he was happy for a while.

Then one day he took the Notebook on a transcontinental flight. For some reason, on this particular journey, he was not upgraded to Business and was therefore consigned to a Coach seat that had no power outlet. “This will be no problem,” he said rather smugly to himself, “since my new Notebook is advertised to have five hours of battery life.” As the plane took off from New York, he took out the silver platter and began working.

After about ten minutes, he saw the battery indicator slip from the original 5:00 hours quite abruptly down to 3:25. “Hm!” he exclaimed to himself. “That can’t be right.” He turned off the wireless feature and dimmed the screen in hopes of extending battery life but within a few moments the indicator had now slipped to 2:20. “Well,” he muttered to nobody in particular, “This bites.”

In the end, the owner got about three hours of use out of the Notebook, perhaps a little less. In the old days, he would simply have swapped out a new battery into his old Laptop, which was now languishing in the closet back in New York. But the new Notebook, as a concession to weight and overall bulk, had a built-in battery that could not be replaced with a fresh one and required a full charge before it could pop into maximum life again. The owner said nothing. But something shifted in his heart.

When he returned to New York, he put the Notebook on his nightstand and plugged it in. “You’re cute,” he said to it, running his hand along its sleek, smooth skin. Then he went to the closet and got the Laptop down. “Hello old friend,” he said to the Laptop.

He opened it up and remembered a few things, like how many tunes he had stored on its capacious hard drive, and how he really didn’t mind the old operating system, which somehow felt a bit more solid and well-baked, and how it was nice to have 30 gigs of photos at his disposal, and how much he appreciated the ability to watch movies and burn DVDs from a dedicated optical drive, not to mention how nice it is to have every port a person might need right at one’s fingertips.

Today, the owner still takes the little Notebook here and there, like when he’s going to Starbucks (SBUX)for a cup of coffee and a few hours on the web, or perhaps when he’s definitely upgraded transcontinentally to a seat that for sure has a power jack. The rest of the time, however, the Laptop is still #1 in his life and will be for quite some time to come… unless he gets really serious about the Big Mother Desktop he’s had his eye on for a while.

But that, my friends, will be another story entirely.

I’m not the only one, but I LOVE the vibe from the song by Yael Naim. It’s a very Northwest vibe of song. It has that Silicon Valley, fresh money, stars in your eyes in an optimistic, I think people are nice, inspire me to change sort of way.

Remember how we were all discussing the new Mac Air when it first came out, and complaining about how the lack of features was particularly concerning? Well here’s what How to Change the World’s blogger’s new Mac Air looks like. Just looking at it makes me think it’s going to spontaneously combust!

Apple ha lanzado al mercado su nueva Mac AIR, ahora podemos ver que no todo lo que brilla es oro. Ya han comenzado a publicarse los principales defectos del MacBook Air.

1. Usa el mismo disco duro de 80 GB del iPod. Un lento modelo a 4200 RPM.
2. Memoria no ampliable. Los 2 Gbytes incluidos están soldados, así que olvidaos de instalar más si os hace falta.
3. La opción SSD es extremadamente cara, y no parece compensar a pesar de la mejora de la autonomía de batería y el rendimiento del disco.
4. Un único puerto USB.
5. No tiene tecnología 3G.
6. El procesador no es de última generación, se trata de una versión reducida de los Intel Core 2 Duo de 65 nanos.
7. No hay entrada de micrófono.
8. Batería no reemplazable ni intercambiable a menos que mandes el portátil a Apple para que te la cambie por 129 dólares.
9. No es tan fino: el Fujitsu Q2010 es tan sólo 0,5 milímetros más ancho, y dispone de conectividad 3G, ranura ExpressCard, puerto SD, dos puertos USB, salida VGA, Ethernet, Firewire, y sensor de huella dactilar.
10. No tiene puerto Ethernet.

Con un puerto USB podemos tener un puerto Ethernet, o lo que es mejor, utilizar un ladrón de puertos. El resto de defectos os dejo que los valoréis vosotros.

Lol es vean este video de la Mac AIR, la laptop mas delgada del mundo!!!

Parte 1º

Parte 2º