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Posted by chrisd on from the slashdotting-our-own-bandwidth dept.

x180 writes "Those goofy hackers over at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in San Diego this week have, in a spate of fun, put together a series of Switch ad spoofs for the geeky ones. Writes Rael Dornfest in his blog, 'You've no doubt seen Apple's fabulous Switch campaign commercials. But what of the others? The geeky ones. The scripters. The sysadmins in their server cages. The command-line jockeys. Those through whom the source flows openly.' See the stories of hackers chucking Emacs in favor of Vi, leaving Perl to explore Python, and leaving the familiar home of Unix to play with XP." These, of course, aren't the only switch parodies. Their numbers are Legion.

152 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Phoenix News Service by carl67lp · · Score: 4, Funny

    We at the Phoenix News Service had a news story in a similar vein: PC Companies Counter "Real People" Campaign With "Real Porn Stars" Campaign

  2. Audio? by HaveBlue34 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well maybe if all the movies didnt sound like the parents from Peanuts I would appreciate the humor a bit more. As it stands maybe they should switch to some film classes.
    HB

  3. Vi? by Kwikymart · · Score: 1

    "Emacs in favor of Vi... and leaving the familiar home of Unix to play with XP."

    Please, whatever you do, don't equate Vi to Windows XP!

    --

    Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
    1. Re:Vi? by leviramsey · · Score: 1

      No, look at the analogy:

      Emacs : Vi :: XP : Unix

      So Emacs == XP. Ha!

    2. Re:Vi? by wdr1 · · Score: 2

      I fully agree.

      XP is not *that* bad. ;-)

      -Bill

      --
      SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
    3. Re:Vi? by MaxVlast · · Score: 1

      Zing!

      --
      There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
      Max V.
      NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
  4. Elitest Assholes by Bonker · · Score: 5, Funny

    http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2002-7- 12&res=l

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    The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
    1. Re:Elitest Assholes by TheDanish · · Score: 1

      Beat me to it. Anyway, yeah, what's with the switch campaign? What's wrong with what I have? It works, it doesn't crash, it does what I want it to whenever I want it to. This is a problem because...?

      Oh, wait, I got it, "because it's not a Mac." Well, I'm certainly convinced, just you *TRY* and hold me back from getting a Mac now.

      --
      Danish != nationality
    2. Re:Elitest Assholes by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 1
      it does what I want it to

      Maybe the problem is that you don't want enough.

    3. Re:Elitest Assholes by Bobartig · · Score: 1

      Um, the concept of an ad campaign is to try and sell something. They identify a problem (that lots of people have) and present a solution. I'm trying to figure out how you can have issues with this. I hate to shock you, but PC companies advertise too.. DUUUUUUDE, yer gettin' a DELL!!! (*ROLL*)

      --
      This is where I get my recommended daily allowance of "Foot in Mouth."
    4. Re:Elitest Assholes by TheDanish · · Score: 1

      You're probably right; I don't ask enough. Let's see... I could ask it to... well, I don't know. I guess I'm just one of those simple folk. So, for those simple folk such as myself, who want to do things like surf the net, print stuff, scan stuff, listen to stuff, program stuff, play stuff, burn stuff onto CDs, watch DVDs and other videos, IM people and share stuff quickly, the
      For doing stuff I don't do, though, I'm sure Macs are really great.

      --
      Danish != nationality
    5. Re:Elitest Assholes by TheDanish · · Score: 1

      ... people and share stuff quickly, the (less than $1000) parts that would upgrade my comp to a reletively high-end system would suffice...

      no, it was not my computer's fault that I used an angle bracket for a less than sign. That's just what a stupid Joe PC User such as myself do.

      --
      Danish != nationality
    6. Re:Elitest Assholes by TheDanish · · Score: 1

      Alright, you got me. I don't have any particular problem, and I'm sure many others don't (that's why many others don't have Macs), but there are those that do and are willing to spend a pretty penny for those problems to be fixed. That pretty penny, of course, is worth it because of its value, much in the same way as Microsoft saying its OS is more of a value than *nix, and hence the extra money is better spent.

      --
      Danish != nationality
    7. Re:Elitest Assholes by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      I thought that strip was kind of funny, but I think the penny arcade guys missed the point of the spots. I don't think the commercials are aimed so much to say macs are better, but rather to simply try to address the misconception the average windows user has that macs are inferior toy computers.

      I think it's stupid in this day and age that anyone would think along those lines, but unfourtunatly most of the people out there are just this ignorent of computer topics. Heck, look how often the one mouse issue will come up on any slashdot discussion. If in a fairly tech savy comunity there's that long lasting a misconception, I think apple is smart to have these comercils to target the averge computer shopper.

      Heck, I'd love it if some distro funded a "I'm a Linux user, and I don't type everything on a command line" comercial.

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
    8. Re:Elitest Assholes by nathanh · · Score: 2
      [Re: 3D] XFree86 was designed as a network transparent windowing system (whatever that fucking means), so it has the added overhead of opening network ports to ... guess what? Talk to itself!

      The DRI module in XFree86 is an acronym for Direct Rendering Infrastructure. 3D graphics applications render directly to the hardware, avoiding the overheads of the network pipe.

      [Re: Wine] In fact, I'm not sure what it is, since most people aren't even able to run Notepad with it.

      I run Office 97. It's not exactly hard.

      [Re: Linux is free] The biggest lie of all, since Linux is only free if your time is worth nothing.

      Nonsense. Linux is still free, no matter how much your time is worth. The cost of the product is distinct from the cost of using it. Otherwise there would never be anything that was free.

      Also the "Linux is free" phrase has a double meaning. Focussing solely on the cost aspect is either ignorant or deceptive. Either way you're gay.

    9. Re:Elitest Assholes by nathanh · · Score: 2
      It was a ridiculous claim in the first place. X does not communicate via TCP sockets on a local machine -- it does so via unix sockets, which are just a fancy way of accomplishing IPC and incur virtually no overhead compared to network sockets.

      It wasn't a totally ridiculous claim. The UNIX socket means two redundant copies. There's also the overhead of encoding the request, decoding the request, and sanity-checking the result.

      The XFree86 developers also toyed with a shared memory transport instead of the current UNIX socket. It turns out that sockets are so quick and video cards are so slow that it didn't matter.

  5. more parodies by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.benbrown.com/switch/
    http://animoller. com/switch/
    http://www.ubergeek.tv/switchback/

  6. Sad by yzquxnet · · Score: 4, Funny

    Okay, that was just sad watching those videos. I want to praise them and call them geeks, but honestly, they looked more like DORKS in the video. 2 thumbs down man.

  7. kinda funny by martissimo · · Score: 2

    that a few of the parodies listed at the top of googles search have been hit with cease and desist's by Apple, and yet the www.benbrown.com/switch one is still up.

    it is hilarious though :)

    1. Re:kinda funny by flonker · · Score: 5, Informative

      Parody is a protected form of speech. Get legal advice, but most likely the cease and desist letters don't have much legal footing. From the Chilling Effects website:

      Even though the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, trademark and copyright owners have rights, that may or may not be violated by the name or content of a web site you have dedicated to protest, criticism or parody.

      ... on another page ...

      Question: What is "parody"?

      Answer: The courts have defined the word parody in the context of an Internet site. Here's what some of the cases have to say: A "parody" is a "simple form of entertainment conveyed by juxtaposing the irreverent representation of the trademark with the idealized image created by the mark's owner." A parody must "convey two simultaneous--and contradictory--messages: that it is the original, but also that it is not the original and is instead a parody. To the extent that an alleged parody conveys only the first message, "it is...vulnerable under trademark law, since the customer will be confused." While a parody necessarily must engender some intial confusion, an effective parody will diminish the risk of consumer confusion "by conveying [only] just enough of the original design to allow the consumer to appreciate the point of parody."

      #include

    2. Re:kinda funny by EvanED · · Score: 2

      Someone should do a switch parody for Linux that includes this line:

      "And they don't serve you with cease and decist letters for parodying their ads."

      In the video portion, display the quotes from the US Code (Title 17) or the court decision that established parody is legal. Cornell's search engine finds no hits of "parody" in Title 17, so I expect that the excemption for parody was set by a court decision on fair use. (IANAL though, so can't speak to it)

    3. Re:kinda funny by flonker · · Score: 2

      I did a bit more research, and found this article. Some quotes:

      Since copyright law prohibits the substantial use of a copyrighted work without permission of the copyright owner, and because such permission is highly unlikely when the use is to create a parody, it may be necessary for the parodist to rely on the fair-use defense to forestall any liability for copyright infringement. However, the fair-use defense if successful will only be successful when the newly created work that purports itself to be parody is a valid parody.

      ...

      The courts have continually struggled with parody cases when ascertaining whether a particular parody falls within the parameters of fair use or is instead copyright infringement. The fair use section of the Copyright Act specifically enumerates criticism as one of the purposes for which the fair use defense was contemplated, but should this imply that a parody should have more extensive latitude than other types of creative works when the fair-use defense is invoked?

      And this was supposed to be on my previous message, but I messed it up:
      #include <IANAL.h>

    4. Re:kinda funny by KFury · · Score: 2

      The easy way not to get hit with a cease and desist is to not use the Apple logo or one of Apple's trademarks.

      Imitate the style, but don't make something that infringes on their marks, and should the cease and desist come in, you can laugh at them, and maybe call them up to do it to their face.

      --

      Kevin Fox
  8. Yuk by RedOregon · · Score: 1, Redundant

    All in streaming QuickTime for your viewing pleasure.

    No thanks.

    --
    Skivvy Niner? Email me!
    HEY! Look left just ONE MORE TIME!
    1. Re:Yuk by NanoGator · · Score: 2

      Heh yah, I'd hate Quicktime too if I wasn't maxed out on karma.

      A pet peeve of most animators is when somebody is unwilling or unable (bandwidth, etc) to install a codec or player. It sucks because we spend so much time picking the right one for the project. Until a single codec comes along and wipes the others out in every single category, you're just going to have to deal with having a bunch of different players despite the slimey tactics some of them use.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:Yuk by EvanED · · Score: 1

      MPEGs are avaliable if you follow the link to the perl.com mirror

    3. Re:Yuk by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      It sucks because we spend so much time picking the right one for the project.

      I do sympathise with that. I've gotten enough complaints over the fact that I use Ogg Vorbis for my projects from people who don't want to upgrade winamp, but who want to play the games music in it. But the problem here was that much of the target audience can't install the codec. Not can't be bothered to install it, just can't. A significant enough amount of the target audience for something like this, from what I can tell of the descriptions at least, would be using Linux to warrent encoding them in something we can actually watch.

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
    4. Re:Yuk by Afrosheen · · Score: 2

      Until a single codec comes along and wipes the others out in every single category, you're just going to have to deal with having a bunch of different players...

      Uh, this happened already, it's called DiVX;-) and is freely available to everyone. I don't know if it'll stream or not or what it takes to stream it if it will though.

      I guess you could always use a divx codec in a quicktime wrapper, leave it in an mpeg wrapper for those of us without macs.

    5. Re:Yuk by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      No, DivX has it's problems too. I like DivX, but there are reasons an author making stuff for the web may not use it. One example would be this: "I chose Windows Media over DivX because many people have it installed already." If you're launching something for mass market audiences "Who don't want to install stuff", then DivX isn't going to get much consideration.

      I'm not anti-DivX or anything, that's just one of the limitations that makes people search for other codecs. One day it could hit that magic mark, but it'll be a while. It does seem more than capable of pulling it off tho.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    6. Re:Yuk by Toraz+Chryx · · Score: 2

      DIVX ;-) kinda needs better audio/video syncronisation IMO

    7. Re:Yuk by Afrosheen · · Score: 2

      Might just be your slow box, you never know.

      To quote from the Linux User Top 10 Bad Sayings, "It works fine for me".

    8. Re:Yuk by paganizer · · Score: 1

      ....Which is why I always put my stuff up in at least 3 different formats, .mov, .mpg & .asf Everyone Is almost certain to have a codec for one of them. It's easy, it's free, and it's just plain sense. (yes, I will start using OGG video when I can figure it out.)

      --
      Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
    9. Re:Yuk by NanoGator · · Score: 2

      Yeah, that's definitely one of the best ways to approach it. I'm not sure why somebody wouldn't do that to be honest. (Unless they feel they NEEED to stream...) Fortunately some of the big sites are okay about that.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    10. Re:Yuk by Toraz+Chryx · · Score: 1

      it's not my machine, it can play a file straight through without problems.. the problem is when you try to jump to a specific point, and you get audio lagged behind (or running ahead of) the video.

      (and since when is a 1.5Ghz AthlonXP with a gig of DDR ram a _slow_ computer?)

    11. Re:Yuk by Afrosheen · · Score: 2

      Oh ok, now we get to the root of your problem. Most people aren't going to read your mind to realize that divx has sync problems when you're skipping forwards and backwards through a clip.

      I've seen this on my box too, generally I just pause the clip and hit play again. Takes all of a half second and the sync matches easily. I use either mplayer or xine and xine tends to do this more often than mplayer.

      Beats the hell out of using Windows Media player though.

    12. Re:Yuk by Toraz+Chryx · · Score: 1

      I use either Sasami or "THE PLAYA" as I'm Win32 here, either way it's frickin' annoying. especially when it wouldn't be _that_ difficult to fix it so workarounds weren't needed..

      I mean, comeon, they can compress video to a fraction of it's normal size, but they can't work out how to keep that synced to audio?.. bah.

  9. "Linux saved me from the blue screen" by slugo3 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I propose linuxadvertising.org
    we could take donations from the community and make our own commercials. One could be about schools that made the switch to linux in fear of M$ audits and such. Ive always scoffed when people start talking about linux hasent lived up to this and isnt ready for that because linux is not a company but a little self promotion doesnt hurt :)

    1. Re:"Linux saved me from the blue screen" by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      Perhaps a joint venture betwean Linux users tired of explaining we have a gui, and Mac users tired of explaining that their operating system supports multi button mice.

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
  10. Apple gamers? by WildBeast · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here's one about Apple Gamers, it's pretty funny.

    http://www.drunkgamers.com/switch0001.shtml

    1. Re:Apple gamers? by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      Yep, saw that at work yesterday, funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

      And yes, I play Warcraft III on my iMac.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    2. Re:Apple gamers? by karnal · · Score: 2

      Does anybody else find it funny that the file (yes, it's downloading) is a .mov? .... :)

      --
      Karnal
  11. Re:Apple Gaytime Pro by Flarelocke · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, thankyou for that in-depth critique, but if you look closer, you'll see that it's not only in quicktime. There are also mpeg's provided.

  12. It's a nice little irony... by bachelor3 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...that all the movies on the site are in Quicktime, no?

    1. Re:It's a nice little irony... by Ig0r · · Score: 3, Funny

      Not as funny as the fact that they were edited with iMovie on an Apple notebook.

      --
      Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
    2. Re:It's a nice little irony... by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 2

      ...and judging from reports of just how quick and dirty these little videos are, apparently they were effortlessly thrown together by amateurs in iMovie on an Apple notebook. Hmmmmm ;)

    3. Re:It's a nice little irony... by Ig0r · · Score: 1

      I have used iMovie before for a small video project. It was fairly easy to get started using and produced nice results, until the audio filter started fading out on every clip and I had to restart the edit...

      It looks like these guys just didn't have any lights or microphones, and didn't preview it at all.

      --
      Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
    4. Re:It's a nice little irony... by geekd · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      I've been at the OSCON all week, and I am shocked at the blatant, ongoing Apple OSX commercial that OSCON is.

      Everyone is sporting and flaunting thier iBooks and other OSX machines. I thought this was the *Open Source* convention. Run linux on your laptop like a real geek.

      posers

    5. Re:It's a nice little irony... by rjung2k · · Score: 1

      Hey, iMovie is easy to use, but even it won't turn crap into gems.

      --

      --R.J.
      Electric-Escape.net

    6. Re:It's a nice little irony... by Ig0r · · Score: 1

      I didn't expect it to turn my crap into a gem, but I do expect the program to not randomly apply audio filters with no way to remove them (none of the clips properties showed fade outs, but many of them had fade outs, so it's a little difficult to remove a filter that the program doesn't think is applied).

      --
      Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
  13. For the 3 people who can see them... by berb · · Score: 1

    I just clicked on the Vi one, and wouldn't you know it, its QUICKTIME --- so tell me how it is you 3 /. M$ users ?!?

    --
    In teh event of an actual emergency this space might provide useful information.
    1. Re:For the 3 people who can see them... by AELinuxGuy · · Score: 1

      Get CrossOver Plugin (link is to free nagware download)! It will cost you $25 if you want to get rid of the reminders to buy the program, but lets you play Quicktime, Windows Media Player, etc. and is really easy to use.

  14. who needs parodies... by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    When we have this

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:who needs parodies... by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

      Dude, I know what you're thinking, but she is sooo mine... sorry!

      --

      Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

    2. Re:who needs parodies... by crisco · · Score: 2
      "I was writing paper..."

      "It was good paper..."

      Yeah I'm sure it was good paper...

      That ad kept me entertained for most of an evening.

      --

      Bleh!

    3. Re:who needs parodies... by Artifex · · Score: 2

      Yeah I'm sure it was good paper...

      Hey, you expect too much from junior high girls =)

      Plus, she never said "I was good student..."

      --
      Get off my launchpad!
    4. Re:who needs parodies... by TechnoPops · · Score: 1
      Yeah, I'd hit it! [animated GIF of a grinning smiley giving two thumbs up]

      Oh, wait. This ISN'T an off-topic forum? Whoops, sorry. :P

      --
      "Each time you smile, it'll only last awhile. Life may be scary, but it's only temporary."
  15. So just use something everyone has... by autopr0n · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Like MPEG.

    It might not be the 'best for the project', but it will work for the most people. Quicktime is proprietary crap, and the player on windows sucks. Real is proprietary crap all around. And MS is proprietary (although the windows player is ok). If you use MPEG, everyone is happy.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:So just use something everyone has... by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

      Quicktime is proprietary crap, and the player on windows sucks.

      That may be true for the standalone player, but I've been pretty pleased with the ActiveX Control that loads in IE... it loads instantly, and you can view movies while they are partially downloaded.

      --

      Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

    2. Re:So just use something everyone has... by NanoGator · · Score: 2

      Um no, let's clear a few things up:

      MPEG (1 I assume?) is capped at 352 by 240something. Plus its' compression isn't as good as modern codecs.

      Quicktime is not proprietary crap, it's actually very good for things such as movie trailers. Plus, it's both PC and Mac. Some of us artist types think that's important.

      Real's viewer stinks, which is a bummer since it has cool development tools, good bit per quality ratio and great a great servers olution.

      MS has a better viewer than Real, and is about the same on the other points I brought up.

      DivX is pretty cool but for mass market there aren't enough people with it installed.

      Bink is like MPEG2, and it's slow as heck to compress. But the quality is good, it can play back on slower computers, and it has some kick ass options for viewing like making it executable. (Which also makes people paranoid about viruses. Heh.)

      So no, MPEG1 does not 'make everybody happy'. Why you got a +1 for that I'll never know. Trust me, if it were that simple, they'd all be using it. However, every codec and viewer has their advantages.

      This is the sorta thing you become knowledgable about when you actually make videos.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    3. Re:So just use something everyone has... by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      Whatever.

      Btw, I've never made a Star Trek mesh. Heh.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    4. Re:So just use something everyone has... by squiggleslash · · Score: 2
      MPEG 1 has a maximum resolution of, IIRC, 16384x16384,the resolution you're quoting is VCD resolution which is an MPEG stream that conforms to certain restrictions (resolution of 352x240ish, fps, bitrate, etc.) I regularly reencode DVDs I own (that haven't been CSSed) to a little under 500x390 because that's the optimal speed/resolution combo for MPlayer on my 300MHz laptop. (People who want to do this should check out FFMpeg, which is awesome for this kind of thing.) I'd agree it's not a good streaming media format, but there's two other MPEGs, and one, MPEG4, certainly is.

      Quicktime may not be proprietry per-se but the latest codecs for it are. It runs on Windows and Mac, not PC and Mac - Linux, the BSDs, BeOS, etc, do not have players available and it's up to Apple to make such players available - they'll sue anyone who tries to do it themselves. Overall, that makes any QT stream using Soressen,etc, for all intents and purposes proprietry and non-cross platform. QT without the latest codecs or MPEG4 is much, much, uglier than older RealPlayers, I strongly doubt you're proposing the use of QT with a non-proprietry codec, and if you were proposing MPEG4 I'm pretty sure you'd have said that.

      Finally, Windows doesn't come with QuickTime, and Real is bundled with certain webbrowsers, so picking QT over DivX on the grounds that "not enough people have it installed" looks a little absurd in my book.

      Until Apple do the decent thing and either open up their codecs, port them to more platforms, or maybe even produce a Java version of their player (god help us!) I don't think it's reasonable to treat it as non-proprietry. Probably the best codec to use right now, because it genuinely is cross platform and the spec is open, is MPEG4. QT6 and WMP support it natively, Real plans to make their's compatable with it, and there are free-software solutions in programs like MPlayer. And it's very high quality.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    5. Re:So just use something everyone has... by autopr0n · · Score: 2

      QuickTime is not proprietary crap, it's actually very good for things such as movie trailers. Plus, it's both PC and Mac. Some of us artist types think that's important.

      I know it's often used for movie trailers, much to my annoyance. But why exactly is it "quite good"? Because apple will provide free hosting? MPEG or MPEG4 would work just as well IMO.

      Look I don't care about what makes a video easy to 'make' I want something that will be easy to view on any computer. And the best bet for that right now is MPEG(no, the res is not capped).

      DivX is nice, but you can't really call it non-proprietary these days. The last release actualy included spyware...

      --
      autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    6. Re:So just use something everyone has... by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      Well, I can give you two reasons why I chose Quicktime over the otehr codecs mentioned once:

      Let me explain, I made a 3D Animation that used a lot of soft colors and details that I wanted to show people on a forum I frequent. I ended up using Quicktime with Sorenson 3.

      It had two distinct advantages over the other codecs (DivX, Real, WMP, and so on)...

      1.) The image quality was pretty damn good. The artifacts didn't destroy what I was trying to show like they did with the other codecs.

      2.) You can seek through it VERY fast. As I said, I wanted to show this on an art forum. The was the final result of talk I was giving on aspects of animation to think about. So I wanted somebody to be able to seek through it and look at a particular frame. In my experiments, QT was the best for that for what I had at the time.

      Now, let me be clear about something: I'm not saying QT's better than anything else. I'm not saying everybody should use it. All I'm saying is that for what I had, it was the best choice for me. If you like MPEG, hey go have fun with it. It's just not my first choice. Me personally, I like DivX 5.

      Yeah looks like I'm wrong about MPEG. It kinda bugs me because I read matter of factly "MPEG1 has a resolution limit...". What I was reading was about the codec, not about VideoCD's. So it looks like that wherever I read they, they got their details messed up. Here's an example of a site that has lead me down that read:

      http://www.vcdhelp.com/mpeg2.htm#MPEG1

      *ShruG* Not something I'm going to go down in a bloody death defending. ;)

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    7. Re:So just use something everyone has... by MrNiCeGUi · · Score: 1

      The spyware is only for the pro version of the encoder (so it could still be free for those who do not want to pay for it). The decoder, as well as the standard version of the encoder were always free (as in beer) and non-spyware.
      I'll give you the bit about it being proprietary, though.

  16. mmmm... by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    That Ani Moller has a sexy accent.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  17. ultimate switch parody by ceejayoz · · Score: 5, Funny

    The ultimate "Switch" parody has to be this one - one by Billy G. himself!

  18. Scripts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I took the time to type up the scripts because I thought they were funny. If you can download the videos, it's worth the wait and pain of using quicktime.

    ------------

    So when I started using linux, all the people were talking about was emacs. You know emacs, emacs, emacs!
    It does everything. I'd type in emacs, and I'd wait for it to load. I'd wait a really long time.
    And I mean, my pinky started to hurt. You know the ctrl-alt-meta-escape thing.
    So eventually my system administrator suggested that I try vi, so that other people could log into the machine.
    So, I tried out vi, and it was really fast, and it was really good, and I loved it.
    And my pinky stopped hurting. -- holds up hands, spells out VI -- Vee Eye
    vi/switch
    Chris DiBona, and I'm an editor for Slashdot.

    ------------

    I've been using python for years, to pretty much everything.
    And life was pretty good. And then my space bar broke... and then my tab key broke...
    So then I couldn't use Python anymore. So I had to switch programming languages.
    I work with Geeslin, Young, and Serrati. SO I picked perl, it seemed pretty natural. In fact, perl seemed natural.
    I mean, it did pretty much what I ment all of the time. Even if I didn't know what I ment.
    I mean, I get to macho code. I have job security, and I get to use all the keys on my keyboard... It's nice.
    perl.com/switch
    Hi, I'm David Asher, and I'm a developer for active state.

    ------------

    You know, I never thought that I would make the switch but,
    I've heard it was something that people did, and it was something that I wanted to try out.
    There's so much more room to grow, everything runs so much cooler, and I find it so much more intuitive.
    I have the freedom that I've always sort of wanted, and it fits my life sytle, just better... and I love it, I love it.
    boxers/switch
    Hi, my name is Ken Willaims, and I wear boxers.

    ------------

    Ahh... white space... Ohhh
    Byte code... byte code! I mean, it actually compiles to byte code.
    Guido van Rossen is just so much cooler then Larry.
    Larry Wall, what's that? 5.. 4.. 9 letters.
    Guido van Rossen, I mean, that's definately into the double digits.
    I mean, he's even longer than Larry. Wall, what kind of name is Wall? Now Rossen, that's a name!
    -- turns around and begins talking with his ass cheeks --
    This is my ass! My ass likes Python!
    -- ass talking -- Hahahahar, python good! nanannanananaaaa
    -- turns back around --
    Ohh, and then there's all the cool Monty Python jokes. Because I love monty python so-oo much.
    I mean, that dead knight guy who wouldn't die. Ohh... that kills me every time.
    I'm so sick of camels... what is it with camels? Camels in the desert, oasis...
    Yawn, yawn, yawn! I want a sexy, sleek... phallic?! Wait... excuse me.
    python.org/switch
    Nat Torkington, pron star

    ------------

    So my dad had this linux box that I used to use for programming assignments.
    I just like hacked all night using vi, gcc, perl, you know all that stuff.
    Window managers... desktop managers... editors...
    You had to be like a computer scientists, just to like even pick something.
    And that's why I switched to Windows XP.
    I mean, it's sooo much simpler. All my decisions have been made for me.
    There are only 3 color schemes to choose from!
    And really, if I want to pick colors, I'm going to paint my toe.
    You know, all that glittery stuff... glow in the dark...
    I mean there are just so many shades of pink.
    So right, XP, simple... it's easy for a girl to grok... or something.
    Sure, it crashes now and thing, but you know, you just push the, you know, button thinggy.
    I mean, you know the one, the button thingy.
    xp/switch.
    I'm Sarah Burcham, blog news

    ------------

  19. Re:Well then... by Dyolf+Knip · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, it's an ISO standard. 'Legion' equates to a quantity of 3520. 'Multitudinous' is 1579, 'numerous' a mere 89, and 'sundry' is 567 everywhere except the US (where we think it's 543. it's even worse than our adherence to the imperial measuring system). I hear they'll be quantifying 'myriad', 'voluminous', and 'uncounted' next year. 'Flock', unfortunately, was a fiasco after that incident with the bird-watchers in Paris and the official decision has been put off till 2008.

    --
    Dyolf Knip
  20. I'd switch to Apple / OSX Tomorrow... by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

    ...If I get to bone that Ellen Feiss. God damn she is a hottie. Shoot, she didn't have to switch to a PowerBook... I would have gone over and fixed her PC for her... uh huh huh huh huh....

    "Beavis, I think I have seen the light... uh huh huh huh huh huh...." ;-)

    --

    Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

    1. Re:I'd switch to Apple / OSX Tomorrow... by Afrosheen · · Score: 2

      You're an easy man to impress...I took one look at that page and nearly lost my cookies. That dopey look, those gigantic teeth, just...frightening.

      Then again I married a woman from Thailand so my concept of beauty probably doesn't match the average american's.

  21. Hrm... by autopr0n · · Score: 1

    Compared to some of the other ones posted in this thread, the O'Riley switch parodies really suck. You guys really need to learn how to adjust the audio and gamma...

    Using people who are not hideously ugly might help. Btw, was that chick pregnant or just fat?

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:Hrm... by dvdeug · · Score: 2

      Using people who are not hideously ugly might help. Btw, was that chick pregnant or just fat?

      I agree. The first thing we should judge anyone who intends to leave their house on should be physical beauty. No one cares if what your personality is like, or how skilled you are. If you aren't extraordinarly attractive, just stay inside.
      </sarcasm>

    2. Re:Hrm... by Large+Green+Mallard · · Score: 2

      If you're talking about the Sarah one..have you had your eyes tested lately? :P

  22. Oh, and... by autopr0n · · Score: 3, Funny

    What exactly can you do with a mac that you can't do with a PC? Act all elitest?

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:Oh, and... by scrod · · Score: 1, Troll

      run an OS that doesn't have to search the entire hard drive after you move the target of a shortcut? Don't tempt me. I have plenty more.

    2. Re:Oh, and... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wow, if they are as good as that one, we can expect some real zingers!!!

    3. Re:Oh, and... by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

      run an OS that doesn't have to search the entire hard drive after you move the target of a shortcut? Don't tempt me. I have plenty more.

      Now way?! Holy shit! I've got to switch to MacOS now! Apple's got to start going after details like that... it would work like Joe Fucking Camel on kids!

      --

      Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

    4. Re:Oh, and... by scrod · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, you'd think they would've thought of that a decade ago or something.

      "Sarcasm is the recourse of a weak mind"

    5. Re:Oh, and... by Lars+T. · · Score: 2

      Oh, you can do that much better on a PC - and faster too.

      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

  23. flamebait? by autopr0n · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Yeh, okay...

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  24. Porn Stars? Apple beat you to it. by MasterVidBoi · · Score: 1

    Macworld New York Stream, starts 1 minute 10 seconds into the show.

    http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/jul/keynote/m wn y_mp4_2_28_56_100_300_ref.mov

  25. Mod Parent Up by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

    Hahaha!! that is sooooo true. I loved it when he mentioned the "Puzzle" game on the apple menu.... I actually thought of it before I watched the clip.

    I remember back in the grade school days when we thought Macs were the shit cause they had BreakOut/KnockOut on them. We would play that stupid, worthless game for hours! :-)

    --

    Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

  26. Apple controls the conversation by burgburgburg · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The sheer width and breadth of the Switch parodies just goes to show: Apple really does control the conversation. It has the mindshare.

    An article on Yahoo News today about Northgate's new "challenge" to Apple with their all-in-one computer/home multimedia machine (Personally, I think it looks sort of a combo iMac/eMac ... an eiMac) was the latest example to my mind.

    Flat screens were unusual and esoteric. Apple makes them defacto with the iMac; now they are expected, necessary. MP3 players externally were the size of walkmen (and internally not much better then zip disks), connected via USB (if you were lucky) and were incredibly kludgy. Out comes the iPod; everyone is racing to remake/top them.

    I remember when the beige computer makers tried to reinvent their products with translucent plastic as if that was the key to the original iMac/G3s. I remember how desperate and sad Windows 1 - 3.1 were in their attempts to approach the simple elegance of the Mac OS. I remember how many Gnome/KDE Aqua themes were floating about (and still are, slightly under the radar) after OS X was unveiled.

    My point: however much Linux drives the geek masses forward in their open source quest, Apple is the internalized mental image that a majority of people hold when they think of the next step in computing. Not just civilians: examine the Aqua themed page that you're reading right now.

    (For every "too damn expensive, one button mouse" geek dismisser, I wonder how many are willing to admit that they drool at night at the thought of owning a TI Powerbook, and wish they could have back all the months it took them to try and configure their window manager to approach the functionality of Aqua out of the box).

    1. Re:Apple controls the conversation by Artifex · · Score: 2

      I wonder how many are willing to admit that they drool at night at the thought of owning a TI Powerbook

      I probably would have gotten one years ago if TI really was the manufacturer (they used to make some of the best laptops on the market, and have experience in making things rugged from their decades as a defense contractor).

      As it is, I still want to get a Mac after I get another job, but I'm unsure whether to get a desktop or laptop right now. I could use a new laptop, but, I'm sorry, naming a laptop after the material it's made from is pretty funny, and smacks of conspicuous consumption. It's almost like an SUV with Greenpeace stickers, or a vegan leather dyke. Besides, if you stick to that convention, wouldn't you have a "recycled plastic emac" line, too? =)

      --
      Get off my launchpad!
    2. Re:Apple controls the conversation by GutBomb · · Score: 2, Informative

      apple does not use the monicker TiBook. They call it the PowerBook G4. it is the users that call it the TiBook.

    3. Re:Apple controls the conversation by lawyer+boy · · Score: 1
      (Personally, I think it looks sort of a combo iMac/eMac ... an eiMac)
      Shouldn't that be an i.e.Mac?
    4. Re:Apple controls the conversation by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, I htink the real reason that Apple ad parodies are so common is because most people, PC or Mac user, find the ads insulting and pathetic. It is almost as if Apple found all the biggest bunch of morons and blithering malcontents they could and got them together as an attempt to show why to switch to Mac.

      This has not been the winning strategy some seem to think.

      PC users are offended because the ads are amazingly condecending and arrogant. Many Mac users are offended because they hate being associated with such a bunch of whiners and idiots. Well, some people then decide to have a little fun with it, and whip out a parody.

      I really think that this advertising campaign is by far the worst Apple has ever done and one of the worse ones I've seen. Their Think Different ads were cool, they made a statement (and were widely copied) without being insulting to either side. These seem to make a statement by being insulting to both sides.

      " wonder how many are willing to admit that they drool at night at the thought of owning a TI Powerbook, and wish they could have back all the months it took them to try and configure their window manager to approach the functionality of Aqua out of the box"

      Well with an attitude like that, you might just be a good candidate for a switch ad. You seem to be very self righetous about owning a Mac, and very ignorant of the computing population at large. Believe it or not many people use PCs because they really do work just as well or better than a Mac for them. I personally don't long to own any Mac products, my choice of a PC was an informed one and it works well for me. If a Mac works well for you, great, but take teh blinders off your eyes and stop assuming that everyone (or even most people) secretly wants a Mac.

    5. Re:Apple controls the conversation by Artifex · · Score: 2

      apple does not use the monicker TiBook. They call it the PowerBook G4. it is the users that call it the TiBook.

      If the users call it "TiBook" or "Ti Book" or "Ti Powerbook," that's all fine by me. "Ti" is the proper abbreviation for titanium. However, when they say "TI Powerbook," they make it look like it's a TI product, and that's wrong. That's all I was really trying to say. =)

      --
      Get off my launchpad!
  27. exactly. by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    Dude, 5 minutes of hair, makeup, and wardrobe would have made these people presentable. It wouldn't have hurt if they practiced their little bits and actualy had something funny to say.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:exactly. by ealar+dlanvuli · · Score: 1

      Because how you look is 50% of how well you do.
      the rest is 25% social skills, 25% work skill/effort.

      --
      I live in a giant bucket.
  28. apple.com/switch should become apple.com/wesue by Adrian+Lopez · · Score: 3, Informative

    Speaking of Switch parodies, one of the reasons I refuse to switch over to Macs is Apple's disgustingly litigious attitude. This website was forced by Apple's lawyers to take down their parody of the switch campaign, if there's any truth to the webmasters claims. I wonder how long these other parody sites will last.

    --
    "In prison you just have to shut your eyes and take it. Here you have to shut your eyes and give it."
    1. Re:apple.com/switch should become apple.com/wesue by Malicious · · Score: 1

      You can still find this fine parody over at PunchBaby.com

      --
      01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
    2. Re:apple.com/switch should become apple.com/wesue by SamBeckett · · Score: 1

      Uhh that wasn't so much as a parody as it was a legitimate Apple advertisement with annoying pop-ups placed all over the place.

    3. Re:apple.com/switch should become apple.com/wesue by dvdeug · · Score: 2

      This website [lickmysweaty.com] was forced by Apple's lawyers to take down their parody of the switch campaign

      If it's the one linked to slashdot that has linkmysweaty.com's name in it, it used an entire commerical of Apple's, instead of making their own. That's crossing a major line, legally.

  29. Switch time? by dimator · · Score: 2

    After watching all of the switch ads, especially this one, maybe its time for me to switch?

    But I'm running kde3 now, and fancy UI effects don't impress me much. Add to that the organs I have to sell on the black market to afford some nice Apple hardware, and the interest doesn't seem justified.

    --
    python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
    1. Re:Switch time? by FunkSoulBrother · · Score: 2, Funny

      this isn't everything2, you don't need to make pointless links in your post.

  30. Yeh, well. by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    It works for me pretty well right now, but I've had trouble with it in the past. Like when it ate the mime association for PNG and BMP files. If I tried to go to a .png URI it would load the whole thing scaled to the size of the window and I couldn't save. PNGs in pages used IE's internal renderer and didn't have a problem

    Then there was the time when closing a QuickTime subwindow would kill IE and close every browser window I had open... Got to a page with a QuickTime move, go back or close the window, loose all the surf sessions. It was annoying as fuck.

    And lots of other times it just didn't work. Id rather just not deal with it. What's wrong with MPEG? I'd rather have a 10% larger file or whatever then deal with all this crap

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:Yeh, well. by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

      Right... QuickTime is like Real in that it likes to take over every mimetype imaginable on the system. I set it to only associate to MOVs and QTs.... you're right; it IS annoying as fuck.

      --

      Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

  31. I may be biased... by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 1

    Because I work in the Film and Television industry, and do this stuff day in and day out, but DAMN...

    At the bare minimum, get a farking Microphone and a couple of lights...

    --
    "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
  32. Sarah? by Laplace · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Is that you? The one I went to school with? Sorry to say, dear, but you're looking like shit. Get out. See the sun. Exercise a bit. You used to be cute!

    (not trolling this time, she's an ol' wustl bud of mine. heh heh)

    --
    The middle mind speaks!
  33. Yeh okay... by autopr0n · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Maybe there are a lot of switch ads because people find them annoying and stupid?

    An article [yahoo.com] on Yahoo News today about Northgate's new "challenge" to Apple with their all-in-one computer/home multimedia machine [northgate.com] (Personally, I think it looks sort of a combo iMac/eMac ... an eiMac) was the latest example to my mind.

    Well of course you do. But to me, it just looks like any other 'all in one' PC. There's no rounded bulb like the old school imac/emac, there's no swivel stand like the new imacs. There are lots of

    MP3 players externally were the size of walkmen (and internally not much better then zip disks), connected via USB (if you were lucky) and were incredibly kludge. Out comes the iPod; everyone is racing to remake/top them.

    That's not true either. There were, and still are, a lot of mp3 players that were a lot smaller then the iPod, True all of the 'hard drive' mp3 players around were big and clunky, but not all mp3 players.

    Yeh, the iPod has a nice design, but it's hardly the end-all, be-all that Mac zealots seem to think it is. A nice refinement, but hardly revolutionary

    (For every "too damn expensive, one button mouse" geek dismisser, I wonder how many are willing to admit that they drool at night at the thought of owning a TI Powerbook, and wish they could have back all the months it took them to try and configure their window manager to approach the functionality of Aqua out of the box).

    No, my Sony Vaio SR is good enough for me, and smaller and lighter then an ibook with all the video editing capabilities (Firewire and all). And yes, it has more then two buttons.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:Yeh okay... by Saint+Fnordius · · Score: 2

      Maybe there are a lot of switch ads because people find them annoying and stupid?

      There are a lot of annoying and stupid ads out there. Why are we all so fixated on Apple's? Why do these incredibly ordinary-looking people come across so, well, ugly and unskilled?

      My guess is because of Apple's place in the public's eye. People have been told again and again that only savvy paople and hard-core artists use Macs. Apple's new campaign is trying to dismantle the "artsy fartsy freak" image and show totally average people with all of their foibles.

      And I think the real reason people react so badly to the commercial is because most pictures of "real people" try to gloss over their blemishes. This one highlights them mercilessly. Not what you expect in an age of wardrobe departments, hair stylists and Photoshopping.

      After all, how many parodies of the flying XP users did we see mentioned on Slashdot?

  34. The Blue Screen of Death by Malicious · · Score: 3, Funny
    This is one of my favorites, not because it's a parody, but because it's a brutalization of one of the origional Ads. Makes it more funny in my mind.
    It's also a WMV file

    *mild content warning*
    Punchbaby.com Apple Parody

    --
    01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
    1. Re:The Blue Screen of Death by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 1

      THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU!

      If I had moderator status right now, you'd be getting a +1 for "insightful" ;P

      This one is a keeper (and completely accurate IMHO).

      Lol

      --
      "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
  35. You seem to be wrong. by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    Well, I just tried that out and all I can say is that if it only takes a 3rd of a second to search a 30 gig hard drive my computer must be pretty god damn fast!

    Anyway, I asked what you could do not what you could do slightly faster on a mac that you couldn't on a PC.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:You seem to be wrong. by scrod · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, you asked a stupid question, and you got a stupid answer. I mean, it's not like I care what you personally think, but generally stupid questions should be indicated as such. Software is software, and any abitrary piece of code can be duplicated, simulated, or imitated on any other computing platform (hell where would Microsoft be today if that weren't true?). The question isn't what you can do, it's how well you can do it. Though I suppose anything that works is "good enough" for sheep^H^H^H^H^HWindows users.

    2. Re:You seem to be wrong. by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

      Mac folks seem to keep forgetting the fact that if it wasn't for Microsoft, Apple would have been down the tubes long ago. You can go on and on about superiority, blah, blah... no one really cares. The truth of the matter is that Microsoft could have pulled the plug on Apple long ago if they really wanted to. But they didn't --- Apple is a niche market, and not so much as a competitor as it was back it... umm.. was it ever really a competitor? 84 maybe?

      Anyway, Bill Gates and Co. have put lots of bling-bling into Apple if you know what I mean.

      "My name is scrod, and I'm an elitist asshole."

      <fade to black>

      apple.com/switch

      --

      Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

    3. Re:You seem to be wrong. by Lars+T. · · Score: 2
      I have a real computer. Not a MAC. I don't want a MAC, I want a real computer that is not gay.

      I call myself the Verizon Guy, and I'm unemployed.

      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

  36. Switch to Macs. by The_Shadows · · Score: 2

    Using Macs. It's like Iceland.

  37. Re:Porn Stars? Apple beat you to it. by rakslice · · Score: 2

    Dead link. 404... Got another one?

  38. Oh, look by Laplace · · Score: 5, Insightful

    chrisd is posting it, and he is featured in one of the "funny" switch ads. how cute.

    --
    The middle mind speaks!
  39. sweet. by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    some mod that up.

    "I couldn't find the any key and e-machines told me to go fuck myself"

    Brilliant.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  40. Bait and Switch by KFury · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Another parody, combining 'switch' and the '.mac' debacle...

    Yeah, I know it's a self-link, but.. well... mod me down if it's not funny.

    --

    Kevin Fox
    1. Re:Bait and Switch by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      Business contacts, okay. Hot women? Don't you have phone numbers for both of them? Or does the TRO prevent that?

      Seriously, I like it. It made me laugh.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    2. Re:Bait and Switch by KFury · · Score: 2

      Yeah. 'Jeb' (the character I played) gives out his email a lot, and is sure that torrent of emails from the hot women in bars are just about to roll in.

      But I think the point still stands. :-)

      --

      Kevin Fox
  41. Well fantastic for you! by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    To bad apple didn't give me the choice a few years ago. Yes, they are better now but burned bridges are still burnned, and MPEG is still easier to deal with.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:Well fantastic for you! by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      I think this thread mutated from it's original point. I didn't mean to start an 'I Hate MPEG' thread. Heh. I was just saying that each codec has it's ups and downs. DivX, for the moment, gives you the most pixels per bit. But most people don't have it installed and the perception is that they're too lazy/stupid/unwilling to. So sometimes it's not the most useful choice. That make sense?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  42. No, watch the video. by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    Emacs : Vi :: Unix : XP. Not the other way around. Also, change your sig. April 27th is long gone...

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:No, watch the video. by leviramsey · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I posted before watching the video...

      I may have been away from /. for several months (since before the blackout), but I think I've gotten back into the mindset.

      PS: great site!

  43. Re:Porn Stars? Apple beat you to it. by TechnoPops · · Score: 1

    The address above has an erroneous space. Here it is corrected and linkified for your convenience.

    --
    "Each time you smile, it'll only last awhile. Life may be scary, but it's only temporary."
  44. Well by The+Cat · · Score: 2

    I'd say the ad campaign worked.

  45. Is that chick high? by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 2

    Man... she looks baaaaked ;) Red squinty eyes, slow speech, and the use of the word "bummer"

    --
    "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
    1. Re:Is that chick high? by Verizon+Guy · · Score: 1

      Duuuuuuuude! I bet she has an Apple® iBong with the new translucent look.

      --

      Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski

  46. mov by loz · · Score: 1
    apparantly I have to switch to something that can handle .mov files

    loz

  47. Re:I indeed dream of a TiBook... with 3 buttons! by kyrre · · Score: 1

    The copy and paste method of X11 is nice. But you don't need a three button mouse on the mac. You can copy by selecting, apple+c, and paste with apple+v. This works with all applications. On X11 I've cursed more than once after copying a link only to have the copy promptly replaced by the current link when clicking on the Mozilla link box.

    I know one can select and middle click to open pages, but sometimes I'd like to edit the link before I go there.

    If ctrl+c, or apple+c works with all applications I prefer that way. Of course, select and middle click is really nice in console mode with gpm, but thats not an issue with os x.

    If you want three buttons, buy yourself an usb mouse.

    Having Jobs listen to its users and release the eMac with a non-educational license would help too, for my home desktop.

    Home users can buy the eMac.

  48. is this dude CG ? by green+pizza · · Score: 2

    Maybe it's my gamma setting, but that dude almost looks as though he was computer generated!

  49. MPEG Conversion? by lpontiac · · Score: 2

    Pretty please? Somebody?

  50. stoned/hungover chick... by green+pizza · · Score: 2

    At least we know Jobs has a sense of humor!

  51. Thanks /. by theolein · · Score: 2

    You made my saturday morning funny.

  52. eMac available outside educational world by Quietti · · Score: 1

    Good that they changed that "for students only" license reminescnet of the Next box. However, their 1099 USD price doesn't compute. By the time I check out local Finnish retailers, I actually goes for 1500 EUR, instead of the expected 1150 EUR.

    As the the keyboared shortcuts on Mac, yep, I know them. I simply find the X11 3-button trick much more efficient; it also happens to be supported on every UNIX variant I have tried. So, you like CTRL-something shortcuts, I prefer X11 mouse actions; Apples and Oranges (pun intended). To everyone their own cup of tea.

    --
    Software is not supposed to be about how to work around a useability issue. - Ken Barber
  53. much too young by Alric · · Score: 1

    I don't know how old she is or how old you are, but Ms. Feiss looks quite young. She is still high school.

    Wait till she's in college (but before she packs on the extra pounds). Then she'll be perfect for you to lust after and/or stalk.

  54. Emacs to VI by bsd-mon · · Score: 1

    Ha! AOL!

    pinky pain, and load time (esp. on 33.6k dialup) were the main reasons I left emacs too.

    --
    To read makes our speaking English good. - X. Harris
  55. I know this is off topic. What the hell do I care by JSmooth · · Score: 1

    So there I was enjoying the videos. I really liked the VI one. The guy makes me look cool. Then I watch the Win XP vid. Hmm 3 color schemes. All the decisions made for me. Crashes all the time? Oh wait she wasn't talking about Windows XP she was talking about Windows 3.1 you remember that OS back when Windows managers were poo poo'ed by everybody.

    Then it dawned on me. The windows bigots got it wrong. It's not the OS it's the users! If only brillant people used Windows it would never crash. I, being a brillant person, have NEVER (let me say that again NEVER) had windows XP crash on me. In fact, come to think about it, I have not had a Windows generated crash since Windows 98. All the crashes I experienced in NT or 2000 were buggy program related. Hmmm. I guess brillance will always shine through. I wonder how /. nerds' boxes I could hack because they have no idea what security means... Hmm...

    Love,

    A netware geek.

  56. these people are cool by rfsayre · · Score: 2

    http://www.benbrown.com/switch/

    http://animoller.com/switch/

  57. Not really by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just because you think the switch ads are retarded doesn't mean that you can't like Apple or their products. All of my friends that are Mac users think they switch ads are moronic, and somewhat insulted at being associated with the bunch of morons and blithering malcontents featured in them. That doesn't mean they still don't like their Macs, though, or that they are going to quit using/buying them.

  58. Re:Secret to BillG's success is now out by ealar+dlanvuli · · Score: 1

    Bill G looks exactly the way he wants to, a suit and 90$ haircut aern't the isn't the only way to look good. I'm sure Bill choose the nerdy look because it allows him to catch other buisness persons offguard when he steps up and plays world class executive after making them downplay him (proy dosen't work so well anymore, but I'm sure it worked very well once upon a time). Also I've never heard of Bill G as being a bad dresser, I've heard he dresses slightly nerdy, but nerdy isn't bad, it's just not powersuit and stylist following him around all day.

    I guarntee until your friends with your boss/co-workers the better looking person who gets along with everyone looks better in the managments eyes. Starting as the messy dreser vs the guy who irons his well matched (not really expensive/powersuit) outfit and has a decent haircut, the decent looking guy is above you. Naturally once everyone knows eachother well it's less important, but your appearance is the first thing people see about you when you make a first impression.

    I seem to have done pretty well by following the rule 'always dress better than your co-workers, and do more work than them', so I would feel safe advising it on other people. If your milage varied, good for you, but for me I'll continue dressing just slightly below my managments outfit because it works for me.

    --
    I live in a giant bucket.
  59. Sarah Not So Sad by spiedrazer · · Score: 1

    If you checked out the last one of Sarah B. you should have seen a very non-geeky skit that was a riot.

    --
    Keep passing the open windows...
  60. It was a question designed to expose stupidity by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    The person I was replying to said that someone didn't "Want enough" when they said their PC did everything they wanted. Now, don't you think it's fair to actually ask them what the hell they mean? What is it the PC user isn't wanting? What is it they can't do on a Mac.

    You just replied with an idiotic statement that has no bearing in reality.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:It was a question designed to expose stupidity by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 1
      The person I was replying to said that someone didn't "Want enough" when they said their PC did everything they wanted. Now, don't you think it's fair to actually ask them what the hell they mean? What is it the PC user isn't wanting? What is it they can't do on a Mac.

      I didn't say you could necessarily do it on a Mac. What I said was that if your computer does everything you want then your desires are rather limited. For instance, I want mine to understand plain English. It can't. So my computer doesn't do everything I want.

      That said, on a more mundane level your computer, if it's not running OS X, is probably inferior in its abilities. There may be other drawbacks (cost, lack of freedom, general Steve-ness) but that's not part of what you want it to do (rather than be).

  61. Hrm by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    Well, obviously the ads are designed to say that Macs are better. I mean, all of those people said their lives improved soo much going to the Mac. It's more intuitive, it's more UNIXy, it's less crash prone, etc.

    That last point really irks me, because until OSX, Mac OS was one of the least stable OSs out there.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  62. Nope, sorry by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    First of all, older versions of DiVX were hard to aquire and install. If you're a geek who wants to watch pirated moves, it's OK. But I wouldn't put up web content in it. I wouldn't think your average luser would know where to find it

    The fact that DiVX has gone propritary and even includes spyware (well, the last time I checked) dosn't help either. If you tell someone to 'download divx' they might just end up with that.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  63. Pull the plug? by Pope · · Score: 1

    Tell that to the graphic design, multimedia and publishing industries.

    --
    It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
  64. I switched by Snafoo · · Score: 2

    Man, I used to be a math major...

    You know, with all those, like, problems, and
    equations and stuff...

    Calc, linear algebra, advanced calc...

    Group theory...

    But then my GPA went down, so I switched to computer science!

    Now, all I have to do is get into protracted fights about obscure and ill-thought-out Notepad clones
    that have terminally silly keyboard shortcuts...

    Yeah. Like Emacs, vi....

    It's all so easy, and my profs are amazed that
    they have a student who pays attention!

    http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/switch

    Now I have an A+, and I go drinking every night!

    --
    - undoware.ca
  65. Re:Porn Stars? Apple beat you to it. by paganizer · · Score: 1

    "quicktime is missing software needed to perform this operation. Unfortunately, it is not available on our server" I have to admit that is one HELL of a error message.

    --
    Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
  66. MOD +5, Informative as hell by paganizer · · Score: 1

    just thought someone should....so few actually understand video. Indeo Is also pretty good, if you use the 5.11 codec. I do all my BIG projects in it, virtually lossless.

    --
    Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
  67. Just when I start to fear... by Weeb · · Score: 1

    ...that I'll never get laid before age twenty, the Lord hands me proof that there are others worse off.

  68. Actually that's about right by overunderunderdone · · Score: 3, Funny

    3,520 is on the small side but would be enough to be considered a legion. (that is: between 3000 to 6000 infantrymen & another 100 to 200 cavalrymen)
    from dictionary.com

  69. Re:Well then... by Maniakes · · Score: 1

    I hear they'll be quantifying 'myriad', 'voluminous', and 'uncounted' next year.

    Myriad is greek for 10,000.
    Voluminous still needs a standard, as does uncounted, although the latter standard needs to take into account the fact that 'uncountable' is a subset of 'uncounted'

    --
    A legparnasom tele van angolnaval.
  70. Re:Porn Stars? Apple beat you to it. by DavidRavenMoon · · Score: 2
    "quicktime is missing software needed to perform this operation. Unfortunately, it is not available on our server" I have to admit that is one HELL of a error message.

    You need Quicktime 6 to view the stream.

    --
    -- if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic - Lewis Carrol
  71. Re:I know this is off topic. What the hell do I ca by GigsVT · · Score: 1

    I guess you never changed your hardware under a NT based windows. Try changing your motherboard, guaranteed stop error. You will have to delete all your HAL to fix it.

    Linux just works, you can generally transplant a hard disk to a complete new system and Linux will just boot up and work, especially with things like the extremely modular kernels that come with most distros.

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  72. Deja vous by Eminor · · Score: 1

    Ummm, wasn't this story, along with this entire thread posted before?

  73. Ellen Feiss Shirt by geigercounter · · Score: 1

    My favorite part of Apple's "Switch" campaign is, of course, the very stoned looking Ellen Feiss. Is this how the marketing drones of America see our youth? Cute, stoned 15-year-old girls? Makes me wonder what these people are doing in their spare time... While digging up Ellen Feiss spoofs I found a funny shirt for Mac and/or Pot geeks: http://www.deepmonkey.com/switch/