Saturday, January 31, 2009 Google Fail

Sorry.

Google has a rare glitch (AKA This post may harm your computer)

Every result Google is delivering has a warning note saying: 'This site may harm your computer'. Oops. The Twitterers are already all over it.

The worst thing is you can't click through to search result without copy and pasting the URL from the warning page. That is a fail of epic proportions.

Here's what happens when you search for 'google'...



And then when you bravely click on a result...



Or perhaps you might curiously click on the warning...



FAIL.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 rustyrockets takes off on Twitter like a, erm, disgraced celeb who the papers demonised but who has recently been reborn?

Russell Brand joined Twitter today, using the Twitter handle @rustyrockets. The fact that he's a celebrity on Twitter isn't particularly interesting (celebs seemt to have embraced Twitter as quickly as they embraced the Sidekick). The fact that he's a few weeks behind best chum @wossy isn't particularly interesting. The fact that his tweets were in a camp pseudo-Victorian style while referencing 80s sci-fi isn't particularly interesting.

But the fact that I did a Twitter search on 'rustyrockets', went to make a cup of tea, then got back and he'd had 384 new results was *unbelievable*.



Actually, make that 402.

Oh, and in the last hour he went from a few followers to 3,740. I give up.

Saturday, January 24, 2009 Bye bye DR

One of my all-time favourite design houses, The Designers Republic, has gone under, I've just read on Creative Review.

Big shame as, ever since I was first exposed to their twisted genius at the start of an unhealthy obsession with WipeOut (this and this still give me chills), I've admired their work. I love the mix of Japanese pop culture images, ironic distaste for consumerism and audacity to sell DR 'Home Access Device Identification Units' (or, in other words, keyrings) for too much money.



According to the interview with CR, however, they'll be back. Founder Ian Anderson makes some interesting comments too on the dynamic that was forced on DR following its big client wins: “I want to go back to what DR was. Working hands-on and not through account managers. I’ve never liked that agency model - it’s not where creativity lies. DR accidentally ended up there in order to service bigger clients."

Thursday, January 22, 2009 Review from the top

As a journalist, I used to write a column for Internet World magazine reviewing gadgets. If you don't believe me here's a weirdly cached article I wrote in 2002 on a new device called the 'BlackBerry'.

As a result, nice PR people would send me free stuff. Stuff to review, of course, but also wine and chocolates and books because they were nice PR people and I was a journalist. That means they get paid for sending me free stuff. Overall, the relationship was good.

Then I sent an email to an old friend, and ended up working on 'the other side'. I didn't get sent free stuff any more. I was the one doing the sending. (You know what's weird - some journalists send stuff back. Now I feel really guilty.)

But thanks to this blog attracting a small but respectable following, I'm getting free stuff again. Some of it is like the old days (tickets to mobile phone launch parties, new gadgets), while others are more random and due to me signing up for Kevin Dixie's fuelmyblog site.

All I'm really trying to say is... Prepare for some reviews appearing on this blog. I promise I'll be honest.

Sunday, January 04, 2009 Sony video channel continues to amaze

Sony's YouTube channel is an unbelievable and slightly worrying shrine to how not to make corporate videos. I'm a big fan of Sony - but they really need to stick to making good quality TVs and solid consoles instead of trying to be hip and 'social'. In this case, it's just going make them look old and embarrassing, like your mate's parents when they dance at a wedding.

Exhibit A: Mylo video makes skateboarding look less fun than maths



Exhibit B: 'Behind the scenes' interview unveils Sony's secret weapons



Exhibit C: Anti-packaging skit makes us yearn for a clamshell comeback



Watching these makes me feel like I've slipped into a parallel universe. What are they thinking? Am I being unfair?

Saturday, January 03, 2009 Three conversations in one day

One.

Me: "What do you mean I can't order the chairs until they've reached the warehouse? What would be the point in me ordering them?"
Habitat employee: "It's company policy. We just can't let you. You can order them on the day they arrive."
Me: "OK, fine. When's that?"
Habitat employee: "I don't know. We're not told."
Me: "Bye."

Two.

Me: "It's almost as if they didn't want us to buy anything."
American person: "I tend to find that's true for most companies in England."

Three.

Me: "Can you let me know what you can do about it?"
Griffin Technology employee (in the US): "Email me your address and we'll send you the product immediately."
Me: "Does it matter that I'm in the UK?"
Griffin Technology employee (in the US): "Not at all, sir. We want to do everything we can to ensure our customers are happy."
Me: *faints*