*give or take a jillion

Aside from the fact that it was just a lame attempt to try and elevate Microsoft's 'cool' factor, it immediately struck me the same way that the 'Pepsi Challenge' did way back when.  Pepsi was never content with their share of market, always trying to compete with Coke with a series of elaborately overproduced commercials like the one where Michael Jackson's head went up in flames.  From their 'blind' taste tests to their MTV video-inspired spots, their efforts were misplaced on making their marketing sexy instead of focusing on the product attributes themselves, and delivering on that. 

The bottom line is that Apple is cooler.  There's no question about that.

Macs are slicker, sleekier, sexier and just 'ier' all around than PCs in almost every way. 

And the multimedia capabilities, fuhgeddaboudit.

But, to me, it's never really been a contest.  So why is to Microsoft? And to such a degree that they are desperately clinging to a syndicated pop television icon hasbeen to re-ignite their popuarity.

Macs have their place.  So do PCs. 

OS has some key functionality. So does Windows.

Safari and Internet Explorer... OK, so that one gets a little dicey but the fact of the matter is that the entire planet is not ever going to completely switch to Apple no matter how impressive the apps unveiled at the developer's conference are or how many kazillion Gigabytes the new iPhone has.  Short of teleporting you to another location Star Trek-style, mass conversion is not imminent.

What Microsoft should be doing is focusing on the people who are loyal users of their brand and reach out to them instead of trying to appeal a whole other segment of the population who is never going to convert to Microsoft even if they do develop the 'moistest,' 'chewiest' new products. 

And while we're on the subject.................. moist? 

This is an adjective best reserved for those peddling lubricant or touting the right-out-of-the-oven moist and chewy goodness of a Tollhouse cookie. 

But it should never be used to describe software.

Never.

I think that's in the Ten Commandments actually. 

Thall shalt not use the word 'moist'  in vain.

Shame on you, Crispin Porter.

I wonder if they were motivated more by the media frenzy circus resulting from this spot or winning an Addy award than advising Microsoft effectively about their brand. Or maybe the Creative Director 'lost' the strategy brief because it certainly doesn't seem to be meeting any sound communications objectives.

In my opinion, all Miscrosoft's succeeded in doing is alienating their current customers while becoming the laughingstock of the diehard Apple disciples. 

Bill, you're not hip. But that's OK.

You're a trillionaire ten times over; isn't that enough??! Just focus on what it is you do, and do it well.  Leave the glitz and glam to Apple and focus on your productivity suite. Quit spinning your wheels on 'delicious' concepts and sharpen your business game before the forbidden fruit takes a bite out of that too.

In the end, remember it was Coke who taught the world to sing and Pepsi who said, 'we're better than Coke,' and Coke is still the market leader.

Top 5 TV Theme Songs (Just 5 will be tough)

OK...I've narrowed it down to 9...no...make that 10

now down to 6....or 7

Hmmm...ok here we go...

Hill Street Blues - Mike Post

Hawaii 5-0 - The Ventures

South Park - Primus

Batman - Neil Hefti

The Dick Van Dyke Show - no idea...some studio orchestra

Nigella and Chocolate....what on earth could be better???????

“Kalau memang ada edaran dari Menko Infokom bahwa kami harus tutup atau menghentikan siaran, ya kami tutup. Nyatanya kami tak menerima apa pun bentuk edaran resmi hitam di atas putih dari Menko Infokom termasuk KPID Jatim tentang hal itu. Toh kami telah lolos melalui empat tahapan untuk perolehan ISR, mulai dari uji faktual, pra evaluasi dengar pendapat (EDP) I, EDP II ,dan EDP untuk proses mendapatkan ISR,” jelas Direktur Utama Batu TV, Andry Hoediono, kepada Malang Post. kemarin.
Dia bahkan mengatakan belum juga turunnya ISR bagi TV-TV lokal yang telah lolos pengajuan izin, bukan melulu salah KPID apalagi TV lokal dimaksud. Namun lebih kepada respon pemerintah pusat dalam hal ini Menko Infokom.

“Dasar kami tetap mengadakan siaran TV sampai sekarang, disamping kami tak pernah mendapat edaran resmi untuk penghentian, juga kami resmi telah mengajukan ISR sejak lama. Selain itu lewat prosedur resmi sesuai dengan UU No. 32/ 2002 tentang penyiaran dan PP No. 1/2005 tentang lembaga penyiaran lewat mekanisme resmi di KPID Jatim,” ungkap pimpinan TV lokal yang berlokasi di Dresel Oro Oro Ombo Batu itu.

Andry membeberkan, bahwa Batu TV sudah sejak 2003 mengajukan izin siaran, yakni 7 Oktober 2003 dan 25 April 2006 ke Menkoinfo serta 27 Maret 2006 ke KPI Pusat, dan tanggal 23 Juni 2004 ke KPID Jatim.

“Semua pengajuan izin tersebut hasilnya nihil, padahal kami lengkap telah melampirkan kelengkapan administratif dan faktual di lapangan. Namun pada saat kembali kami mengajukan ke KPID Jatim tanggal 14 Desember 1007, barulah Batu TV mendapat respon baik, sehingga kini tinggal menunggu terbitnya ISR dari pemerintah,” lanjut pemilik TV lokal yang berfrekuensi 48 UHF itu.

Ia menegaskan pihaknya tak akan menghentikan siaran dan menolak dikatakan TV illegal. Sementara semua tahapan mekanisme untuk pengajauan mendapatkan ISR telah sesuai jauh-jauh hari dilakukan dan sesuai prosedur resmi sesuai peraturan.

“Tidak benar kalau TV lokal yang harus dipersalahkan dan disebut TV illegal. Bayangkan uji kelaikan EDP terakhir kami baru tuntas tanggal 30 Agustus lalu, jadi butuh waktu untuk menerbitkan ISR setelah itu,”imbuh Andry kemudian.

Hal senada juga diungkapkan Kepala Dinas Infokom Kota Batu, Drs Syamsul Huda yang membawahi Agropolitan Televisi atau ATV Batu. TV yang berdiri 17 Oktober 2003 dan berjaringan 36 UHF itu, kini juga tinggal menunggu terbitnya ISR dari pemerintah pusat atau Menko Infokom.

“ATV juga telah melewati semua prosedur resmi pengajuan, mulai dari tahapan uji faktual, pra EDP I, pra EDP II, hingga EDP dan kini KPID Jatim yang membawa berkas kami ke KPI Pusat dan Kementrian Infokom di Jakarta. Soal penghentian siaran, kami kok tidak tahu bentuk edaran resminya dari Menko Infokom apalagi mendapatkannya. Kami akan berhenti siaran, kalau memang ada perintah resmi dari tim khusus bentukan dari KPID,”ujar Syamsul, ketika ditemui Malang Post di kantormya di kawasan Dresel Oro Oro Ombo Batu, kemarin siang.

Baik ATV maupun Batu TV yang sama-sama hadir dalam uji kelaikan EDP di KPID Jatim akhir Agustus lalu, dikatakan juga belum mengetahui persis kapan ISR itu akan turun.

“Kapan ISR itu turun, itu bukan wewenang kami, sebab sudah diurus oleh KPID Jatim ke Jakarta. ATV sendiri telah mengajukan izin siaran sejak tahun 2004 lalu ke Kementerian Negara Komunikasi dan Informasi. Pada uji EDP lalu, kami lengkap diuji di hadapan 15 komisioner dari kalangan KPID Jatim, KPID Pusat, PP NU, PP Muhammadiyah, DPRD RI, DPRD, Balai Monitoring, Infokom Pemprov, dan lainnya,” tukas Syamsul lebih jauh. (nov/jon) (Noval Lutfianto/malangpost)

It's so sad, it almost makes me want to cry. As a dog guide handler, I see daily how wonderful dogs can be, what wonderful personalities they have, how loyal they are, how intelligent they are, etc. To know that people are training dogs to bring out the worst qualities in them, for what seems to be nothing more than money and profit, saddens and angers me.

I'm not one of these kind of people that would put animals above humans, but I've had dogs all my life, I'm on my second Leader Dog, and my first Leader Dog saved my life literally. So I don't know, just wanted to say that dogs are wonderful when they're trained, well-behaved, well-balanced, and have stable personalities. Mistreatment of animals is just something that makes me sad. As does mistreatment of people, but that me that just goes without saying.

Anyway, back to Ramadan, had a good day today, fasting went well, I am a little tired and am looking forward to getting some extra sleep tomorrow. Had Subway for my iftar lol. Watched the Dog Whisperer and Dog Town. Plan to continue my Qur'an reading (have to read a translation on the *gasp* computer as my hard-copy Braille English Translation of the Qur'an is at my parents I think). And can anyone recommend where I can read some ahadith? Just to read, not interpret or anything like that. Perhaps I'll try to go to Tarawih this weekend.

But Inshallah, my Ramadan is going well, now Inshallah, I won't get sick (I always seem to do that during Ramadan, usually it's a cold). I wish I had something more substantial to write. But at this moment, I just want to pray, relax, and later go to sleep. I'm just glad I've not gotten the "Ramadan headache", though I did, oddly, get one the day before Ramadan, when I wasn't even fasting. How odd.

BEV 901 Keys friedayz Sept 5, 2008

BEV 901 Keys as of Sept 5, 2008 13:15 EST
KEY0= 79A98BCDA62B74EAF0C8854653311449
Key1= 0138B1F337FD46D68DF85377F9EE88BC

Not sure how true it is, but I found this to be interesting.  Point #4 is an especially interesting proposition; for all practical purposes, one could say that Oprah is Obama's honorary VP pick anyway- why not have them go head to head?

five reasons why O should have Palin on:

1.) To talk about motherhood, her family and Bristol; if you're really hung up on politics, O, then this doesn't have to be a "political" debriefing at all, per se, but a larger look at even more important issues, which your show claims to care about.

2.) It'd get a huge number. Hell yeah! Perhaps one of the biggest numbers in "O" history. This is a mercenary business, O, in case you've forgotten.

3.) It'd get the show back to that sweet spot of "relevance" and "news-worthiness." Wonderful to have all 150-or-so Olympians on Monday's season premiere, but the Olympics are old news; Palin is fresh news.

4.) Of course, it's O's right to support Obama in whatever forum she chooses, but she's simply too transcendent - her word - a cultural figure to pretend she's lil' ol' objective and non-political Oprah on her show, and yet Obama's most important supporter in the WORLD when she's not on screen. That's a silly artifice, transparent to all. Why not get Palin on and say, "OK, lady, I happen to think this guy walks on water. Now you tell me why he doesn't, and let's go at this." That would be great TV, and far better than a dreary debate between Palin and Joe Biden.

5.) O helped secure at least a million additional votes for Obama but probably lost hundreds of thousands of McCain supporter-viewers - if not more - to her show in the process. Here's her chance to say to everyone, "I have a right to support whomever I choose, and now to prove to you just how open-minded I am, here's the gun-toting mama from Alaska on the show."

So what about it, O?

Multicanal 2301/2201 Hispasat 30ºW 11535 V 24500 5/6 28-05-2008
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Digital Cable Group (Swiss Cable) Ident: 39 01 05/07/2008
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Joan Rivers Attacks Jolie In TV Interview

A comediante-atriz-apresentadora matusalém Joan Rivers disse que Angelina Jolie pode ser muito bonitinha, muito bacaninha, mas é a prova viva da máxima "mulheres bonitas são burras". Rivers jura de pé junto que Jolie é daquelas que é capaz de perguntar ao Stevie Wonder qual a cor favorita dele.

Tipos, eu espero que seja uma piada, um momento apse auge de "eu faço standup comedy", porque acredito eu que coisa que dona Jolie não parece ser é burra, néam?!

Já Joan e sua filha me parecem mais,como direi... bem, elas acreditam que o mundo tem o poder de visão do Steven Wonder e a tal sabedoria que Rivers diz que Jolie possui, porque veja bem o naipe das duas:

O Tevê Notícias vai publicar mensalmente reportagens especiais com os assuntos mais populares entre os leitores deste site e o assunto deste mês é o SBT.
A emissora de Silvio Santos conseguiu nos ultimos meses uma boa alavancada no Ibope graças as estréias e principalmente Pantanal. Mas mesmo neste ritmo, alguns problemas rondam a Anhanguera.

Um dos primeiros problemas que ronda o SBT atualmente é a divulgação de seus próprios programas. A queda nos números do Ibope de algumas atrações, tem entre os motivos, a falta de divulgação. As séries que o SBT tem, são uma das mais premiadas do mundo, e o SBT estréia séries e novas temporadas de séries, sem divulgar e esperando que o telespectador adivinhe que aquela série vai estrear.
Os programas recém estreados também sofrem com a falta de divulgação. O Olha Você, por exemplo, deveria ser um dos programas com maior divulgação da casa, já que estreou recentemente, e nas primeiras semanas patina no Ibope.
Cinema em casa, Chuck, Grey's anatomy e a maioria dos programas da casa sofrem com a falta de divulgação.

Na sua opinião, quais são os atuais erros do SBT?

Hal di atas diungkapkan Fajar Arifiyanto, Ketua Komisi Penyiaran Independen Daerah (KPID) Jatim kepada Malang Post, Jumat sore. Fajar memberikan kabar buruk ini sembari mengikuti rapat dengan Depinfokom di Jakarta, terkait alotnya pemberian izin yang akan diberikan untuk TV-TV lokal di Jatim.
‘’Tidak hanya di Malang Raya, tapi TV-TV lokal se Jatim yang sedang kami bicarakan sekarang (kemarin, Red.). Kami tidak menyangka kalau persoalannya ternyata sangat rumit dan ruwet,’’ tandas Fajar.

Seperti diberitakan diharian ini sebelumnya (MP, 05/09) seluruh TV lokal di Malang Raya ternyata belum ada yang mengantongi izin resmi siaran dari pemerintah atau pun KPID Jatim. Tetapi, kenyataannya mereka sudah lebih dahulu siaran dengan dalih izin masih diajukan.

Fajar tidak menyebutkan, satu kanal frekwensi TV lokal di Malang Raya itu akan diberikan kepada siapa. Apakah, TV-TV yang sudah mengajukan izin ke KPID Jatim atau TV yang izinnya sudah diajukan dan memasuki tahapan Evaluasi Dengar Pendapat (EDP).

‘’Antara kanal frekwensi tersedia dan pemohon izin siar keadaannya tidak seimbang. Karena itu, tidak semua izin akan bisa lolos. Terlebih lagi ternyata di Malang Menkoinfokom hanya memberi satu izin saja,’’ ujar penyiar berkacamata minus ini.

Ketika didesak Malang Port, apakah satu izin tersebut lebih berpeluang bagi Agropolitan TV (ATV) atau Batu TV yang sama-sama sudah EDP, Fajar belum bisa memastikan. Pasalnya, ada kaidah-kaidah lain juga yang menjadi bahan pertimbangan.

Contohnya, ATV belum tentu akan lolos atau mengantongi izin karena ATV bukan televisi swasta tetapi hanya Lembaga Penyiaran Publik (LPP) lokal.

Karena itu, jika dilihat tingkatannya sama-sama EDP, Batu TV mungkin lebih berpeluang. ‘’Sama-sama sudah EDP. Tetapi, siapa yang berhak mendapatkan satu izin itu, tunggu saja mas,’’ tuturnya.
Menurut Fajar, sebenarnya keruwetan itu timbul salah satunya disebabkan karena TV-TV lokal di Malang Raya, yang sudah lebih dahulu melakukan siaran. Seharusnya, sebelum izin resmi siarnya belum keluar lebih baik tidak usah siaran dahulu.

‘’Ini juga salah satu pertimbangan, alotnya pembahasan mengapa jatah satu kanal frekwensi sulit untuk ditambah. Sebaiknya sih, selama izin masih dalam tahapan proses, lebih baik tidak siaran dahulu,’’ ujar Fajar dengan menyebutkan beberapa TV yang dimaksudkan.

Sementara itu dari data yang dihimpun Malang Post di Infokom Jatim menunjukkan, seluruh TV lokal di Jatim, utamanya di Malang Raya terlanjur kebabalasan siaran karena berlindung di balik uji coba peralatan. Di mana dari uji coba itu, maka formulir persyaratan baru bisa diisi sesuai uji coba yang ada.
‘’Tapi, karena kenaken (keenakan) uji coba siaran, akhirnya terus. Malah ada yang sudah siaran komersial. Buktinya, ujicoba kok ada iklannya,’’ kata M Andi, Kabag TU Infokom Jatim meyakinkan. (has/avi) (harry santoso/malangpost)

Random updates coming all Saturday and who knows? Maybe a liveblog of the Miami game if I'm feeling up to it.

And as always, please make sure the Joker is not in your broadcast booth. You never know when he might show up.

A ênfase do Colóquio será a análise de produtos, de modo a permitir a interlocução sobre as metodologias de análise e interpretação de produtos televisivos que se constroem na vinculação com o real. Alguns eixos temáticos propostos são os gêneros e formatos da produção televisiva sobre a realidade; as narrativas sobre o real na TV; as vinculações entre televisão, história e memória; a construção do real pelo telejornalismo; as representações do real na teleficção. Mais informações podem ser obtidas por e-mail.

Para submissão de artigos aos grupos de trabalho, os candidatos deverão encaminhar título do paper, resumo de até 500 palavras, nome do autor, dados de identificação institucional e contato. Os resumos serão submetidos à Comissão Cientifica e a relação dos aprovados será divulgada até 15 de setembro. Para fins da avaliação dos resumos submetidos serão considerados qualidade científica da proposta, pertinência em relação à temática do Colóquio e abordagem do tema através da análise e interpretação de produtos televisivos.

Para a apresentação do trabalho no Colóquio, será necessário que pelo menos um de seus autores tenha realizado a inscrição no evento. Os autores podem apresentar apenas um trabalho. Em caso de co-autoria, será possível que um dos autores apresente mais um trabalho. Os textos completos deverão ser encaminhados até 30 de setembro de 2008, de modo a serem incluídos nos anais. Os textos devem ter no máximo 35.000 caracteres com espaços (incluindo títulos, resumo, notas de rodapé, referências bibliográficas). O resumo, no artigo final, deve ter entre 500 e 1.000 caracteres. A inscrição no evento será gratuita para docentes, pesquisadores e alunos do PósCom/UFBA.

* says "In a matter of seconds - Probably" LOL  :D

"A TV Globo tem muita honra de ter sido, em 1969, uma das empresas fundadoras da Academia Internacional de Televisão, Artes e Ciências [Iatas], organizadora do prêmio de maior reconhecimento do mercado audiovisual, o Emmy Awards.

Há três anos a TV Globo é também uma das patrocinadoras do evento anual da premiação [festa de gala] e gostaria de fazer dois esclarecimentos:

- Pelo regulamento do prêmio, uma emissora de televisão ou seus representantes jamais podem votar nas categorias em que estejam concorrendo. A Academia não participa do julgamento. Quem avalia os programas inscritos são cerca de 600 profissionais de televisão, de 40 países. Todo o processo é auditado pela Ernst&Young.

- No período em que é patrocinadora do evento de gala, a TV Globo não ganhou nenhum prêmio. Em 1981, ganhamos um Emmy com o musical "Vinicius para Crianças", na categoria Performing Arts. Em 1982, o caso especial "Morte e Vida Severina" levou o Emmy de Popular Arts. Finalmente, em 1983, Dr. Roberto Marinho recebeu um Emmy pois foi homenageado como Personalidade do Ano.

A TV Globo gostaria de reafirmar sua total confiança na independência e isenção da Academia e comunicar que continuaremos competindo duramente, todo ano, com as melhores emissoras do mundo em busca do reconhecimento da qualidade de nossa produção.

Central Globo de Comunicação

Rio de Janeiro, 05 de setembro de 2008"

Segundo a agência Reuters, a empresa não revelou quanto está gastando com a turnê do ônibus, que começou há algumas semanas, e nem quais serão os benefícios financeiros. Depois de nove temporadas na NBC, o episódio final do programa, em maio de 1998, atraiu 76 milhões de espectadores, dando a ele o título de "uma das franquias mais valiosas da televisão".

"Seinfeld", que conquistou 13 Emmy, alcançou a marca de mais de 9 milhões de DVDs vendidos nos EUA, e, segundo a Home Media Research, já rendeu estimados 456 milhões de dólares nesse formato.

A data foi definida hoje durante uma reunião da cúpula da emissora. "Revelação" marca a estréia como novelista de Íris Abravanel, mulher de Silvio Santos.

O SBT ganhará seu segundo horário de novelas, assim como a Record. A faixa de horário em que "Revelação", que tem a atriz Tainá Müller no elenco, será exibida ainda não foi definida. No entanto, a coluna Ooops informa que é possível que seja antes de "Pantanal", exibida às 22h, e depois do "SBT Brasil".

Divorce papers reveal Hulk Hogan's net worth

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Thousands of dollars spent on clothing, grooming and vacations are among the average monthly expenses for Hulk Hogan's wife, according to financial affidavits filed in the couple's impending divorce case near Tampa.

Linda Bollea's monthly expenses include $7,258 on clothing; $1,318 on grooming; $6,100 on vacations, the documents state. Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, spends $102 on clothing by comparison, and more than $38,000 on legal and accounting fees.

The couple disagrees over Hogan's net worth; Hogan claims it is $32 million, while his wife, Linda, claims it is $26.7 million. Meanwhile, their son Nick is serving an eight-month jail sentence for causing a traffic crash that left a passenger permanently disabled.

Well, for one, if only I could afford to spend six large on vacations every month. If only my yearly clothes budget was $7K, instead of $7.

I'm confused over the fact that Hogan's insisting his net worth is more than his wife says it is. It seems the logical thing would be to opt for the lower number, so she could lay claim to less. But really, isn't it the last sentence that's just awkward?

Jeu japonais

6 days and I'm still surviving on face to face conversation, socializing with friends/family and a DVD of the season 3 of the Office

* My baby is 10 weeks old and still inside my finance's belly

* Including the playoffs and the Super Bowl the Giants are 5-0 in 2008

* I've returned to my parent's empty nest ( future wife and 2 cats in tow) last weekend. Free food and shelter = Pro, Fox News on a loop on the living room T.V= Con

* The Tommy Messano radio show on the World Combat League Radio. I'll take a shot at it.

* Working at a Scottsdale Ranch for 25 hours a week to the pay the bills is what it is. Part baby sitter at times part servant. I'm getting good at not rolling my eyes. Thank God all the people who work there are very cool. Like Happy Days Fonzie Cool

* Just to have them down in witting UFC 88 Saturday September 6th predictions Liddell, Henderson, Franklin, Marquardt, and Kim. Zero upsets. Bet on it!

* Rock Band 2 9/23/08, next baby Doc appointment 9/22/08, Birthday 9/28/83....... Heyyyyy things are looking up this month

• Autumn Reeser ("The O.C."), will guest star in the season premiere of "Pushing Daisies" as a Southern Belle named Kentucky Fritz who has a deadly run-in with some killer bees. "She's the number one girl at Betty's Bees, who may or may not have been up to some mischief when she was stung to death by a swarm of bees," teases Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. [via Ausiello Files]

• Gail O'Grady ("American Dreams", one of my all-time faves!) is joining the cast of Desperate Housewives as a Mrs. Robinson-esque seductress. Producers are currently casting the role of her hubby. Anyone know what Tom Verica's up to? [via Ausiello Files] Answer: directing Grey's and Private Practice episodes! Good ol' Jack Pryor does some lensing! Nice!

• "Gossip Girl frenemies Leighton Meester and Blake Lively are close to a deal to guest-star in a November sweeps episode of 30 Rock. The duo will play former high school classmates of Liz Lemon's in a flashback sequence that reveals a shocking and deeply ironic truth about Tina Fey's morally superior alter ego: She was a Mean Girl! Gen. Ius. C'mon, admit it: This is 10 times more exciting than Jennifer Aniston." [via Ausiello Files] Sadly, I couldn't agree more.

• "Real-life BFFs and frequent collaborators Seth Green and Breckin Meyer are nearing a deal to join the cast of Heroes for multi-episode arcs. The Robot Chicken duo will play Atlanta-based comic book nerds aficionados who cross paths with (and perhaps serve as advisors to) one of the Heroes." [via Ausiello Files]