vincedoggy's Xanga

Drool

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:17:31 GMT

This concept phone from Nokia looks AMAZING. It's featured in the “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibit at the MOMA. I don't know how far along the technology is, but according to Nokia, some of its design elements will appear in high-end products within the next seven years.

Source: Iconowatch, 3/18/08

You can't fully appreciate how awesome the concept is until you watch this animated video (just right-click and select "Save As..."). Watch it all the way until the end...it's worth it.

US Travelers Rejoice!

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 10:42:19 GMT

Very exciting news for those of us who travel within the U.S.

Virgin is launching Virgin America, a brand-new airline that operates only within the continental U.S. And they've just added SFO to their roster of cities.

This is one sexy new airline. I mean, seriously...when was the last time you WANTED to fly just for the sake of flying?

Mood lighting in the main cabin. Electric, USB and ethernet outlets at every seat. Personal TV screens with remote/control pad and a full QWERTY keyboard and...get this....seat-to-seat instant messaging! You can actually create "chatrooms" and invite other passengers to chat. Oh, and first-class seats have a built-in massager.

On top of everything, prices are totally reasonable. Prices start at $49 from SFO to LAX and $399 from SFO to JFK.

Frequent flier miles on United are nice, but Virgin is just in another stratosphere. Oh my, this is exciting.

Great Hong Kong Harbour View (or, How To Fall In Love With A City All Over Again)

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:50:14 GMT

Reason No. 35,428 why I love Hong Kong:

Put your mouse on the picture and move up and down, you'll see HK harbour view from 6:10 am to 7:40 pm.

http://61226.com/share/hk.swf

(yoinked from an e-mail forward, but I figured it was worth sharing)

iCan't-Believe-How-Much-I-Dig-This

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:48:34 GMT

Is anybody else craving the iPhone??? I haven't lusted after a product this way since the original iMac (OK, maybe the video iPod).

My biggest concern about the iPhone, battery life, was just alleviated 3 days ago when Apple issued a press release saying that they extended the battery life of the iPhone beyond the original estimates of 5 hours talk time/internet use/video playback and 16 hours audio playback to:

8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, 24 hours of audio playback, or 10 days of standby time. That's sick (by comparison, most other "smartphones" offer 4 to 5.5 hours of talk time).

My second-biggest concern, the touch-screen keyboard, was alleviated yesterday when I read this.

Now, the biggest question left for me is the price. Can I stomach paying $600 for this thing when, just like the iPod, the next-generation iPhone will be much cheaper and better in every way?

p.s. Microsoft's answer to the iPhone, pretty promising in its own right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZrr7AZ9nCY

Read more (make sure you click on the "Launch" video link on the right)

Are you hungry?

Thu, 24 May 2007 18:15:52 GMT

Just thought I'd pass this on - it's the cooking show that I asked you guys for advice about earlier. The show, ingeniously dubbed "Hungry Bytes," is currently on Episode 4 of an inaugural season that includes sumptuous recipes like Asparagus Proscuitto & Truffle Essence Risotto or Spiced Meatballs & Chorizo with Romesco Sauce.

Episode 1: A Romantic Dinner

Episode 2: The Cocktail Party

Episode 3: The Sushi Rave

Episode 4: WINE + FOOD

Each 10-min episode features a different recipe, and can be downloaded on iTunes (for free!) so you can play it (or rewind, pause, etc.) on your iPod while you try out the recipe in your kitchen.

Bon appetit!

Eu-Google-y

Thu, 10 May 2007 17:53:32 GMT

Check this out - it's a search engine that bunches your search results into categories (i.e. clusters). Makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. Nobody wants to schlep through 1,520,000 results, right?

http://clusty.com/

They even have a "Wii-optimized" version of the site that has a slew of enhancements, making it the most user-friendly search engine for surfing the web on your Wii:

http://wii.clusty.com/

Great stuff! This search engine has legs. The first worthy adversary to Google that I've seen. It wouldn't surprise me if Google or Yahoo bought these guys out someday.

Zeroes

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 08:34:26 GMT

Viral marketing at its best!

Zeroes: Episode 1

Zeroes: Episode 2

This hilarious spoof was created by a marketing director at NBC for a measly $17,000. So far, it's racked up more than 1.5 million views on various websites. The whole operation was done on the DL - the marketing director (Vince Manze) didn't even tell Tim Kring, the creator of "Heroes," that he was doing it.

On Mobile Phones and Maps

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:21:06 GMT

One of the best parts about working in marketing is observing what others in the field are doing. This is a pretty sweet website that Nokia created to promote its marvelous new mobile GPS device - and it puts all other GPS advertising I've seen to shame.

http://www.the-passenger.com/

The concept is called an online "advergame" - it puts you behind the wheel of a Mini as it drives around nighttime Paris in an experience that's part interactive movie (with cut scenes and real Paris street footage) and part video game (don't expect a tough challenge, though - except from the lady sitting in the seat beside you).

Best of all, from a marketing standpoint: The user gets to experience the product (the GPS mobile device) in idealized conditions - i.e. driving through the streets of Paris in an ultracool sports car, and controlling the car (and music) with little to no effort ... ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - the product message. And it confirms our long-suspected notion that the woman whose breathy voice graces most GPS systems is, in fact, a femme fatale in a slinky red dress.

Enjoy.

Catchy Names for Cooking Show

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:47:39 GMT

Hello everyone!

It's been a looooong while since I last posted, but I've got a fun little question for you today. My cookware company is sponsoring a series of webcasts (a.k.a. video podcasts, webisodes). We're looking for a catchy name that appeals to our young/hip target audience (24-35 years old and mostly female) - which coincidentally happens to be most of you guys!

What's the show about? Picture this:

The scene opens with Mike (the chef) and Taya (the girl) in the living room, with the football game playing behind them. Chef Mike is telling Taya how she doesn't have to stick to chips and salsa all the time. They head to the kitchen. For the next 8 or 9 minutes, they're in the kitchen and he's teaching her how to make Smoked Cheddar & Jack Quesadillas with Corn & Chive Crema [note: I was on set during the filming of this episode, and the food was, like, ridonculous]. Throughout the episode, he offers little cooking tips that viewers will find useful for their own cooking. See screenshot below:

Here are a few names to jog your creative muscle:

ChefCast

A Chick and A Cook

GrubTube

The Foodie Fix

Gourmet Crackers

Bitchin' Kitchen

Thoughts on any of the above? Got suggestions? Please comment!

Chocolate

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 22:26:40 GMT

i'm not the biggest dark chocolate fan, but i was intrigued when i came across this "How to Taste Dark Chocolate" article today.

did you guys know that there are actually HEALTH benefits to eating dark chocolate? apparently it seeps slowly into the bloodstream and thus "the sustained energy it provides is ideal for endurance activities and even weight training routines."

http://www.wikihow.com/Taste-Dark-Chocolate