Is Philips brilliant or just creepy?

I saw this commercial a few weeks ago and automatically thought that it was just too weird for my taste. After making my own judgement I researched a bit to find some other opinions on the female cyborg electric razor idea. On AdFreak, I found that there was some talk and opposition to the decision of making the cyborg Asian instead of keeping the facial features neutral. It turns out some believe that although it may seem creepy to women, for men it could very well be sexy. Anyways, not for me at least. What's your opinion?

Of course it could be worse. You could be watching Orville Redenbacher back from the dead.

Video Game appropriateness: an endless issue

In light of Professor Geoffrey Rockwell's blog post on the 2007 Video Game Report Card, I had to touch on this subject. I have been working for a company promoting and demonstrating Nintendo Wii and the console's newest games for the past 2 weeks. I can tell you we have had our share of problems concerning the appropriateness of games.

The Wii Interactive set-up displays 6 TV screens in total with 6 different games - 3 with teen rated games and 3 with more child-friendly games (facing away from each other). "Rayman: Raving Rabbids" - a quirky/funny/grotesque game aimed at teens is displayed, yep, you guessed it, on the teen rated side. Even still, we have had a number of parents complain about this game. The majority of comments typically had something to do with the burping contest mini-game players can take part in. I realize that burping is not necessarily an example of good etiquette, but it's fairly innocent when timing is taken into consideration - after all, this is just a game we are talking about. Rayman also features a number of other mini-games that are not in any way harmful. For example, in one you can find yourself competing in a clothes washing competition. So what.

The irony is that this game Interactive is situated next to "Link's Crossbow Training"; a far more violent game in which players use the Wii Zapper controller (shaped like a gun) in gameplay. A player literally shoots Zombies and other monsters until they explode. Guess how many complaints I heard about this game? Zero - explain that one to me.

Toyota: Back in Time...

I just realized, I post about Toyota a lot. Now, I don't really think - in fact I'm certain it's not because I like the brand in terms of what cars they pump out of the assembly line (I can't see myself ever owning a Celica or Camry for that matter). Maybe I'm just bitter that the Tundra is absolutely dominating the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series points standings and manufacturers chase. Whatever it may be, I sure hear myself and many others constantly gossiping about Toyota. Questions like, "did you see their new commercial?" or, "did you know Toyota is the number one manufacturer?" I either hear from friends and family or see on the Blogosphere everyday. How about, "Mike Skinner and the Toyota boys are sure killing it this year on the track." Whatever you may think of 'Toyota talk', one must argue that for the most part any news is good news in the world of not just consumerism, but the entirety of popular culture. Toyota is big news! So despite my bias toward other big name auto corporations in the industry, I take my hat off to Toyota. They sure learned how to market their goods.

Oh, and here's a link to what I think is one of the best car commercials in recent history.

Mac ad

I just found a Mac ad I hadn't seen before and thought it was pretty clever.

PS. It's exam period at the moment, please don't give up on me! I should be back to my regular posts in a few weeks.

Anyhow, here it is.



Brad

Chrysler's own initiate for saving our planet

When it comes to cars, and really any technology, I have found that people often have false pretenses based on rumours or what they heard through the grapevine. For me, one has been that turning off my car engine only to turn it back on again minutes later results in more fuel consumption than leaving the engine running for that period. This is essentially just not true.

I know this because Chrysler has just announced that will be equipping a select number of its models with an engine start/stop option. What this feature will do is turn your car's engine off when the vehicle is in a stopped position, and once the brake is released the engine will automatically turn back on. This option is expected to increase fuel economy by up to 5%.

No wonder America is broke...

I apologize for not updating for a few days, but I have been really busy with schoolwork and whatnot. In the meantime, just to give you a laugh I thought I'd post an interesting statistic I found while studying for a paper. Enjoy.

"Birdwatching is estimated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to generate spending of about $18 billion per year by over 24 million birders" (EPA, 1996).

Car audio frustration

Because I am in a Multimedia program I am taught to criticize site design, link placement, colours, typefaces and all that stuff only to finally learn from and apply this knowledge to my own work. I like to think I know what a good interface looks like and what it means for a site to be user-friendly. Everyday I see both good and bad sites, but today my design criticism went beyond the web and into my own car.

I just bought a 2004 Ford Focus. Before this car, I never listened to the radio; always to CDs. I also never realized why until this afternoon. My first car had an after market deck installed from Pioneer with tiny little buttons as most after market decks have. My new car's stereo has big, chunky buttons. It is so easy to preset radio stations to an allocated number and change stations whenever I want - I absolutely love it. In at least 3 years of having my first car I had never learned how to do this.

My question is this: why does every after market stereo deck manufacturer come up with a different version of the same complex faceplate with terrible button design year after year? I am 6'1'' with big, fat finger. Before my Focus I could easily press two, three, or even four buttons with one finger. I mean, I wouldn't want to put that much concentration into pressing a button even if I wasn't supposed to be focusing on the road ahead of me.

That's it. I'm quitting school and starting my own car audio business.