Amnesia Team Photo.

Not that anyone cares what we really look like but here we are…

We all know team shots can be so boooooring….

And then you try to be wacky, but you just look like a pack of idiots….

Yeah, that’s much better. Welcome to Amnesia.

Word of the day from Urban Dictionary. Grade Digger.

Another reminder on why Urban Ditctionary is so good:

A Grade Digger:
Girl who only talks to you for help with her classes.

“Yo, who was that chick at the union?”
“Nothing, grade digger”

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Grade+Digger&defid=2144711

Live Maps from Microsoft working for Australia

Live maps is now fully functional for Aus including driving directions.

http://maps.live.com/

Windows Vista Viral Campaign Site

http://www.clearification.com/

To quote a guy in a forum at Evil Avatar
“I’m only 30 seconds in, and I can say that Microsoft has the weirdest idea of marketing, ever.”

Yes, there’s a fine line between a compliment and an insult.

OK, watch episode 1 and you will discover that it’s all about a guy with ‘HAND TOSS” (Yep you heard right.)

Hyper
Achiever with
No
Direction and

Tendency to
Overcomplicate
Situations
Syndrome

Bottom line for me - I actually like this site. Great use of audio. Solid humour and script. Refreshing

Another Viral marketing PR disaster. This time it’s Sony PSP.

Is this bigger than the Coke “Zero Movement” stuff up? …Probably!

Sony’s PSP campaign, a thinly disguised blog…
http://www.alliwantforchristmasisapsp.com/
(Site has currently been pulled) - hopefully we will find a proxy version somewhere and post link here soon.

Here’s Penny arcade’s cartoon today.

And here’s the article from Dec 13 : Tycho: http://www.penny-arcade.com/

This statement I wholeheartedly agree with:

” We need to distinguish between “viral” marketing and “guerilla” marketing. The reality is that no agency can create viral marketing, this is the sole domain of the consumer. Viral marketing is what happens when a campaign works - when we allow their message to travel via our own superefficient conduits. Perhaps it is entertaining on its own terms, divorced from the message. Perhaps it is a game or a story, like I Love Bees or other ARGs, where we take ownership in it. What distinguishes this from Guerilla Marketing is that we are aware of the message. When we are not aware of the message, or when the agents of the message misrepresent themselves, we call this “deception.”

Well done Penny Arcade.
Thanks for keeping us sane.

Creative bus ads…

And you thought bus ads were boring? Nice collection here…

http://www.2loop.com/creativebusads.html

Is coke ripping off the the little guy?

Rob from B3ta.com makes some rather interesting observations on recent coca-cola creative…

http://www.robmanuel.com/2006/12/13/is-coke-ripping-off-the-little-guy/

The bigger question - how much of this is going on? We’ve certainly been the victim of it in the past.
But with the amount of content being produced (there will be coincidences) and natural progression in how we design for digital, where is the line?

For instance : How many times has Josh Davis’s (Praystation) “Tsunami interface” been replicated since it came out a few years ago?

OK: Post any obvious rip off’s here in the comments

LogMeIn Remote Access through browser

http://www.logmein.com

This is a neat browser based app for remotely accessing a PC (eg: operate your home PC from work using your browser).

There are some advantages with this over XP Remote Access - you don’t need to open any new ports on your firewall, and you don’t need someone at the other end clicking the ‘accept’ button.

The paid version lets you transfer files, but you could always improvise and use www.yousendit.com instead.

Gets 5/5 stars for being easy to use. Works well and no problems so far…

Roxik

This site roxiks!

http://www.roxik.com/toy1.html

Check it out!

Don’t Make Me Think - A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Being a firm believer of knowing the rules before you break them, I’m a huge fan of anyone who can explain common sense usability concisely. Among other joys it gives me ammo for explaining/defending interface designs to clients.

Reading Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think - A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability at the moment and digging it. Here’s an excerpt explaining the importance of designing with web usability in mind:

“Making pages self-evident is like having good lighting in a store: it just makes everything seem better. Using a site that doesn’t make us think about unimportant things feels effortless, whereas puzzling over things that don’t matter to us tends to sap our energy and enthusiasm - and time.”

It’s the kind of truth that’s refreshing to read. People do actually write about this stuff. And well.

Buy it on Amazon…

Line Rider gets an update

One of the best flash “games” ever created online just got a well earned update.

http://www.official-linerider.com/play.html - This is the official site (Beware clones).

You can now use an eraser, create ‘flag points’, and an accelerater line to give your little guy a speed boost.

Not sure what all the fuss is about? Watch this, then go draw a few lines

Comparing HDTV Resolutions

Not sure if it’s worth updating your home entertainment gear to HD?

Here’s a side-by-side comparison between XVID, Standard DVD resolution and both 720p and 1080p High Definition using frames from the movie I Robot.

Remember, kids, Will Smith + Robots + Guns + HD = Big Fun.

MSX. Could this be the future of computing?

1984. The world is locked in a battle for the future of home computing.
One man thinks he has the answer. Time will tell who is right.

Who needs retro gaming when you can have retro video.