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Getting a BOT to do things upon command is easy. There is going to be a limited number of things that can/will be asked for, these can be pre filmed/rendered in advance. If they do come up with a new required antic - then you don't get to login; is that a problem? Breaking 10% of accounts mechanically still gets you into lots of accounts.

10 years ago The Subservient Chicken was doing this. It was bought by Burger King .... now all that remains is an inane video.

As someone who work at an ad agency, let me say, I would be freaking thrilled to come up with an idea half this good. Not only do these clips entertain the viewers, they also highlight what's excellent about the product being sold. Compare that to something like the Subservient Chicken, which is entertaining but really says nothing about Burger King's product.

I hope Blendtec sticks with whatever agency/marketing intern came up with this concept. It's solid gold.

Yes, well good point -- and while you're at it, there is Kino-Automat...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_cinema
...an unsuccesful 1968 "interactive film"; which is like The Godfather compared to the appalling "I'm Your Man"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171392/
...made for Sony's disastrous early 90s interactive cinema experiment, using cinemas with laser disk players.

I fully agree that for those who remember history to avoid repeating its mistakes, there is no shortage of discouraging precedents. I also agree that interactive filmmaking attracts a steady stream of fools and charlatans.

However, I would suggest that there are some glimmers of hope:
* broadband is a stable, worldwide medium with pretty good data speeds, going to pretty powerful computers in millions of homes and offices worldwide
* sorry, you know that of course, just trying to make a point which is that the techonlogical infrascturcutre is in place in a way that was not the case before -- I don't know the tech details of CDi, but it would have been running at about 1x or 2x CD speed, I assume, so proably around 150kbps? And only going to homes with the right player installed. That's a big disadvantage.
* when you're talking about cinema, digital cinema is still not mature, but it's been rolling out fast since 2006.

* But your key point remains valid: becuase the question is whether these new media will give rise to useful and interesting interactive presentations or not. We'll have to see. A couple of encouraging sites are
http://www.subservientchicken.com/
http://www.movieactive.com/ -- which has links to UK stuff done for the National Theatre, Tate, etc.
...but I grant you, the jury is still out.

Why in the world do they need 7.5Gb/sec video streaming? Are they ramping up for a hi-def knockoff of Burger King's silly idea?

One other poster mentioned it, but didn't provided the link to The Subservient Chicken. Alternately creepy, and at the same time addictive ! Try making it moonwalk or do yoga :)

Look, it can't be any scarier than the subservient chicken. Yeesh. If I drink enough and leave a light on, I can almost sleep through the night. http://www.subservientchicken.com/

Are these superchickens docile, or does this mark the end of the era of the subservient chicken?

The Burger King sponsored subservient chicken is much more responsive.

Yeah, it's simple. Put a little bit of electronics in your brain, and the computer can send the commands over an unsecure wireless link. What could possibly go wrong.

It's not like people would spend their days trying to create a Subservient Bill website.

Not as creepy as the Subservient Chicken.

(It's a fake webcam which plays precaptured frames of some guy dressed up as a chicken according to the command you type in. At least I think they are precaptured frames.)

http://www.subservientchicken.com/

I believe Subservient Chicken beat them to the mark.

The chickens are already cybernetic.

Is there no sound?

Its really weird to see the chicken shaking its rear then rolling around on the ground after typing "In the ass"

Its smart enough to give different responses though. i got a 'thumbs down' and a 'naughty naughty' hand gesture too.

Lol, after a quick google search, turns out this has been around for a while. Heh heh, and that once upon a time they forgot to read-protect the vids directory. Here's the weirdos behind the whole thing

I think I'll manage so long as noone tries to take away my subservient chicken.

Ah yes...the Subservient Chicken. Even funnier was the list of stuff it would actually do!

Right, I couldn't decide what was sadder: the original story, or the WSJ reporter checking up on it. Just wait till they discover the subservient chicken, they'll close Wall Street for a week.

When your job is outsourced to India we will see what way you come up with to both feed yourself and pay the rent.

As for myself, I am looking at something like this:

Link

I figure with this getup, I will be one of the last people to be placed against the wall when the revolution comes.