So AT&T has struck back at Verizon’s coverage attack ads, by having Luke Wilson stand on a huge map and talk about all the areas where AT&T has coverage. It’s important to note that he says “coverage” and not “3G coverage”. I’m pretty sure he’s talking about places where a person can use their phone, but not at 3G speeds. I like Luke Wilson, but these commercials just rub me the wrong way. The fact that I am a Verizon customer has nothing to do with it, I swear.

The way I’ve seen them is as follows. This one airs:

then a couple of other commercials try to sell me stuff, and then the ad CONTINUES with this:

While I will admit that it’s kind of clever to have the conclusion after non-AT&T ads, it gets REALLY annoying when you see it numerous times in one night. This was the case during the CBS 2-hour comedy slot on Monday. I don’t know if AT&T assumes that people who watched the first hour weren’t tuning in for the second, but I personally got annoyed the second time around. Why? Because I knew precisely what was going to happen after the first ad cut off. Oh, Luke. You’re no Justin Long, and I would STILL be annoyed if I had to watch him in a similar ad.

New Ad

Now AT&T has a non-map-related ad with Luke Wilson, where he helps a Verizon customer multi-task. You see, AT&T allows its customers to talk on their phone and browse the web at the same time. That’s all fine and good, but who actually TALKS on their cell phones anymore? I honestly am rarely in a situation where I find myself on the phone and wanting to browse the web.

Apple Also Runs Multitasking Ads

To complete the 1-2 multi-tasking punch, Apple also has an ad that touts the iPhone’s ability to do voice and data simultaneously.

Too bad the iPhone can’t natively run multiple apps, like Pandora while web browsing or typing an email. That ability, I suspect, is far more useful to most users than being on a call and being able to change a reservation. But, in the end we all get better smartphones because of the competition we are seeing these days between Verizon/Droid and AT&T/Apple. When all phones and networks can do all things, what will we have to complain about?

In case you missed this groundbreaking and world-changing news story, President Barack Obama bowed to Japanese Emperor Akihito. Exactly. What’s the big deal, right? Well, let’s have a look at what some people are saying.

Conservative pundit, William Kristol:

“I don’t know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it’s not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one.”

and

“I’ll bet if you look at pictures of world leaders over 20 years meeting the emperor in Japan, they don’t bow.”

William Bennet, former Secretary of Education in the Regan years:

“It’s ugly. I don’t want to see it…We don’t defer to emperors. We don’t defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States – this coupled with so many apologies from the United States — is just another thing.”

As Graham Gillete points out in his article for the Des Moines Register, after bowing to the body of Japanese Emperor Hirohito (who was in power during WWII), George H.W. Bush said:

“I’m representing the United States of America. And we’re talking about a friend, and we’re talking about an ally. We’re talking about a nation with whom we have constructive relationships. Sure, we got some problems, but that was all overriding — and respect for the Emperor.”

Hmmm…interesting huh? Remember Bill Kristol, who just can’t understand what President Obama was thinking? As Gillete writes:

It should be noted that Kristol served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle when President Bush bowed to the dead Emperor.

Well, would you look at that? What a coincidence. He must have forgotten. Also, I bet that’s the only other time that anything like this ever happened though, right? Oh, wait. No it’s not.

Richard M. Nixon’S Northwest Trip & Meeting With Hirohito In Alaska (1971)

You can find the source here.

George W. Bush Holding Hands with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah

George W. Bush Grabbing German Chancellor Merkel From Behind (2006)

Oh, but President Obama wanting to show a little respect to the Emperor of Japan with a customary greeting, in the hopes that he may repair America’s image overseas? That’s unacceptable!

LMFAO

The Black Eyed Peas seem to have kicked off an epidemic of techno-inspired rap music, with their 2009 LP The E.N.D. One could argue that they resigned themselves to pop-dom long ago, but Lil Jon, Flo Rida and Three 6 Mafia (among others)? Rolling Stone had a piece about 6 songs that seem to follow this style, so I present them to you. Courtesy of Lala.com:

Which is YOUR favorite?

Further Reading

Wikipedia

How Stuff Works

CNN

Narrator: “Or why you can watch videos at 3G speed almost anywhere, there’s a map for that.” Up pops another map labeled Verizon Wireless 3G Coverage.

Click to enlarge.

Narrator: “And if you wanna know why some people have spotty 3G coverage, there’s a map for that too.” Up pops up a map labeled AT&T 3G Coverage.

Click to enlarge.

Narrator: “Yup! With 5 times more 3G coverage than the nation’s #2 wireless company…” Comparison map is displayed. Narrator: “There’s lots of reasons to switch…to Verizon Wireless.

Watch for Yourself

AT&T’s Claim

Consumers are interpreting the white or blank space on the maps to mean that AT&T customers who are not in an AT&T “3G” coverage area have no wireless coverage whatsoever, and therefore have no ability to use their wireless devices for any purposes in vast areas of the country. This interpretation is not surprising as Verizon, in its own coverage maps, uses white space to inform customers that no coverage of any kind exists.

Really? Is that what consumers are doing? I know that many people aren’t cell phone geeks, and they may not know what 3G means, but this is such a weak claim. As Gizmodo says:

AT&T Suing Verizon Because “Map” Ad Is Confusing to Dumb People (and Lawyers)

Are the Maps Accurate? You be the Judge!

VERIZON (blue and yellow area is 3G). Click to enlarge.

Conclusion

Personally, I think this ad is very effective. Considering that the iPhone (3G is right in the name of it) is AT&T’s bread and butter, it makes sense to attack the weakness of their 3G coverage. The ad is very clear in what they’re comparing, and anyone who doesn’t understand that shouldn’t be buying a smartphone anyway (if I’m being honest). I read somewhere (I forget where) a theory that the “There’s a map for that” play on Apple’s “There’s an app for that” could be foreshadowing the partnership of Apple and Verizon. I doubt that’s the case considering considering Verizon’s chief executive had the following to say:

This is a decision that is exclusively in Apple’s court. We obviously would be interested at any point in the future they thought it would make sense for them to have us as a partner. And so we will leave it with them on that score.

 

AT&T should spend the money they’ll spend on litigation and do something USEFUL with it, like improve their network. If you’ll notice in the ad below (from AT&T’s website), they don’t mention US coverage, but rather worldwide. Haha! That’s great, but what about where most Americans spend the majority of their time?

When I was a kid I bought a book about MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, and I remember sealing it (in tin foil) and storing it. Why? Because I thought they were gonna be huge and it would be worth something. Haha! How ridiculous is that? About as ridiculous as these two washed-out artists performing together in UTAH last February (I JUST found out). Makes sense, though. Utah IS the hip hop capital of America. Can you tell how upset I am that I missed this?

Stanley Kirk Burrell and Robert Van Winkle

1. Fuze – free

One of the main reasons I discovered this app is that Windows Live Messenger just won’t work on my BlackBerry. I don’t know why, nor do I REALLY care that much to figure it out. I’m not a huge fan of it in comparison to some others out there. If I had $19.95 to spend on an app I would definitely go for Beejive Instant Messenger (which has a 30-day trial), but there’s a free alternative that lets you (yes, you) keep in touch with friends on AOL, Google, ICQ, Jabber, MSN and Yahoo. I only downloaded it yesterday, but so far it seems to be a great free option.

Check it out on BlackBerry App World.

2. Snaptu – free

This is a cool little app that serves as a launching pad for several other applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, Flickr, News/Blogs and more. It’s similar to Viigo in the sense that it allows one-click access to many different things, but I prefer the look and feel of Snaptu. It’s easy to customize which of the many apps/web links you want as shortcuts. Although it’s made in the UK (since there’s a London Tube app and cricket scores) there are plenty of useful features for everyone.

Check it out on BlackBerry App World.

3. QuickLaunch – $4.99

Have you ever wished that you could create quick and easy shortcuts to your most frequently used items? Well, now you can with QuickLaunch. With its sleek and well-integrated interface, this app will save your trackball, since you won’t have to navigate nearly as much in order to use your BlackBerry. Although it’s not free, I think $4.99 is a small price to pay (for the right person) to make your smartphone as easy to use as it should be.

Check it out on BlackBerry App World.

4. KBLauncher – $3.99

Although it’s not as pretty as QuickLaunch, this one offers you quick access to your things in a different way. Rather than set up shortcuts in a menu, KBLauncher (which has a free trial) lets you type in what you want, and it gives you options to choose from. While it won’t find everything, it is an easy way to reach your BlackBerry destinations. You click on its icon and upon typing the first letter, a drop down menu pops up with your available locations. With a free trial, it’s well worth trying out. It may be a better solution than QuickLaunch, for some people.

Check it out on BlackBerry App World.

5. Capture It – free

If you’ve ever wondered how people get screenshots (like the ones above) of their BlackBerries, on such way is with Capture It. While it won’t let you do it EVERYWHERE, on most screens you are able to access ‘Capture It’ from the BlackBerry menu. Once you take the shot, your BlackBerry will vibrate and the image will be in your Pictures folder starting with the word “capture”. Useful if you need to show someone your screen or if you want to prank a friend by setting their background to a snapshot of their home screen. Watch the confused look on their face.

Check it out here.

*Hat tip to my sister-in-law, Jeni, for telling me about this.

Now, check out the

Some Stuff I Searched

Hotmail Pre-Microsoft (December 1997)

Wow, do you remember when it looked like this?

YouTube (June 2005)

I wasn’t even into YouTube when it looked like this. Were you?

Facebook (January 2006)

I vaguely remember this. I was a late adopter of Facebook, but eventually succumbed.

CNN’s Site on 9/11/2001

Eerie, isn’t it? Seeing it as it was that day.

Video

Here’s a brief video explaining what’s going on:

People Freaking Out

Here are some people going back and forth about who or what may live on the moon and what a missile could do to them. An excerpt:

We all know that there are humans and other races on the moon conducting these projects. What do the various government, intelligence, and defense agencies say about this? What is really going on? If it is actually true that NASA is firing a missile and striking the moon wouldn’t this upset the ecosystems, bio-systems, and kill some people (human and other species) who are there? What would this do to agreements we have with other species of people?

From NASA

If you’re looking for more information, including how to see this event, check out NASA’s site.

Source: NASA

If you’ve never heard of this site, I highly recommend it. While it is aimed mostly at designers and web developers there is a lot of content there to keep the non-geek interested. Today I’m going to highlight a particular post on the site:

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: October 2009

Seeing as how tomorrow is October, I figured I would point you to some awesome computer desktop calendar backgrounds. Now, in order to fully enjoy your new calendar, you’ll want to free up your desktop of all those pesky icons. Here’s how:

Windows

I’m sure there are other ways of doing this, but here are a couple that I know.

Windows XP

Right-click on your desktop, select Arrange Icons By, uncheck Show Desktop Icons.

Windows Vista

Same steps as above except you select View and then uncheck Show Desktop Icons.

Software Solution

There is a little application called Iconoid that gives you WAY more flexibility in how you control your desktop icons.

As you can see above, there are a lot of tabs there that will allow you to customize your desktop icon experience.

Mac OSX

While I was looking into hiding the desktop icons on my Mac, I came across this interesting post at osxdaily.com. Rather than try the solution proposed, I checked out one of the apps recommended in the comments: Camouflage. It lets you hide icons, and double-click on your wallpaper to go to your Desktop folder in Finder. Right-click on your wallpaper and you’ll see an option to show your icons again. I suggest having this launch at login, to save you the trouble of activating it every time.