Anyway, I forgot to post a couple of Buzz Out Loud episodes I guested on recently, so here they are in video form. This is really more for my own archiving purposes, but maybe there’s one or two of you that care about this sort of thing.

Buzz Out Loud Ep. 961

Buzz Out Loud Ep. 968

Here’s my brief take on the recent “I’m a PC” ad campaign by Microsoft:

1) Microsoft didn’t need to do this. It has like 90% of the world’s marketshare, while Apple has like, what, 5%? 10%? Apple has always served a niche market, no matter how many of those “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads they show on TV. What Apple has managed to gain is MINDshare, which I guess is what Microsoft wants to do too. But I think it’s… a little over-defensive. It’s like a giant elephant trying to chase away a fly.

2) In the Apple ads, the “PC” and the “Mac” do not represent people. They represent computers/operating systems. Here in the Microsoft ad, it’s trying to associate “PC” with people. So they’re in essence pushing people to self-identify with their choice of computer. Can I just say that this disturbs me a little? I use a Mac, and I do NOT want to say “I’m a Mac.” Neither do I want to say “I’m an iPhone” or “I’m a Dell monitor” or “I’m an Old Navy t-shirt.” I do not want to self-identify with my consumer purchases, thank you very much.

3) Obviously, Microsoft is attempting to battle the Apple ads (which come across as elitist) with a “common people” approach (people from all over the world use PCs). This is a great thing, but here’s where it misses a crucial fact: ALL COMPUTERS CAN DO THIS. Regardless of machine, regardless of operating system. Computing in general connects people from all over the world. The only way I can see Microsoft claiming ownership to this idea is that Windows is the operating system in the majority of the world’s computers (see point number 1).

Here’s the disclaimer of course: I use a Mac as my personal computer, and I could be considered an Apple fangirl (except that I wholly acknowledge the Mac’s failings in many things, and I like the flexibility of a PC). And I can see this ad being effective to many people. It’s a nice big middle finger to the Apple ads — although I do feel sorry for the poor guy who had to be the Hodgman-clone in the beginning.

But I think Microsoft is missing the point a little bit. What they should be doing is making it extremely clear what Windows brings to the table. The Apple ads basically say “You can do this crazy cool shit with a Mac but not with a PC.” Microsoft kinda needs to say the same thing. Microsoft needs to point out the spinning beach ball of death, Safari’s lack of security, and the crazy number of things that run on Windows (Almost all ATMs, NASA computers, electronic billboards, etc.). It also maybe needs to say “Hey, about our viruses and spyware? There are ways around that.” Apple happily touts its all-in-one software-and-hardware philosophy as the superior platform — Microsoft needs to point out that this all-in-one platform is draconian and allows little room for flexibility. The fact that Windows runs on all kinds of hardware means that it can offer greater flexibility for a greater number of people.

As for why I’m a Mac user? To me, Windows is slow and ugly. The kinds of third-party applications available for Windows is highly unappealing, with consistently bad UI. On the Mac, I can install applications by dragging and dropping; I don’t have to launch an executable. Uninstalling programs is also as easy as dragging and dropping them into this app called Appzapper (You could argue Windows has Add/Remove programs, but Appzapper is way faster). I also like that you only get one menubar per application (With Windows, you get a menubar for all of the windows within the application). And quite frankly, Quicksilver is so amazing that it’s quite possibly THE reason I could never go back to Windows. For me, the Mac experience is smoother, easier, prettier, and incredibly stress-free.

But to each his/her own. I use Windows at the office (begrudgingly, but I still use it), and it works well for most people. And really, considering the number of CNET readers who can’t stand Apple, I don’t think Microsoft needs to worry (We also have a healthy number of Apple lovers).

Now, if Microsoft meant PC as PERSONAL COMPUTER without any sort of Windows connotation, I could maybe buy the ad a little more. Also remember: You can run Windows on a Mac.

It references a whole list of YouTube memes. So I went out and looked for the links of every single referenced video that I could find. Let me know if it isn’t complete:

(In order of appearance)

One Man Band
Numa Numa
Dramatic look rodent
Afro ninja
Canon in D electric (Same desk/room look)
Diet Coke and Mentos
Guy catches glasses with his face (A VERY subtle reference)
GI Joe PSA
T-shirts
Star Wars kid (Jennifer in the comments pointed out the Afroninja is twirling the staff like the Star Wars kid)
Chris Crocker/Leave Britney Alone
All your base are belong to us
Miss Teen South Carolina
Light saber duel (Okay, so they technically appear at the end, but Miss Teen SC does wield a light saber here).
Soulja boy dance
Evolution of dance
Chocolate Rain/Tay Zonday
K-Fed
Daft hands
Daft bodies
Girl in socks/Sex advice girl
Shoes
Dancing baby (This is the best link I could come up with; looks like other dancing baby vids were removed or something)
UFO in Haiti
Sneezing panda
Peanut butter jelly time
Blendtec Blender
Rubik’s cube
Charlie the Unicorn

I might’ve missed one or two links, but this is about 99% correct.

• Working. Writing reviews and stuff. Trying to write more outside of my beat, but finding it difficult.
• Playing. As some of you know, I’m pretty big into World of Warcraft, and have been trying to raid every week or so. I’ve also gotten myself into a bit of a leadership role, and often am raid assist when our regular raid leader isn’t there. I’ve also become the defacto Public Relations/Recruitment officer of the guild, which is a bizarre thing to think about, but there it is.
• More playing. I’ve recently picked up Mario Kart for the Wii, and that thing is a tough mutha. Getting used to the wheel takes time. I especially despise the Rainbow route. Damn you Special Cup!

Other than that.. yeah, nothing. I’ve been pretty slackerly in my off-work duties, like blogging for 8asians.com and seeking outside work. I’m just so lazy. But since I’m turning 29 this Thursday, I should probably start turning my life around and get more productive. Lord knows I’m not getting any younger.

Today.. I’m starting today.

So the consensus is that geeks can be snobs, but not all geeks are snobs. And it seems that the line between geek and snob can be easily crossed.

And actually, I don’t think being a snob is a bad thing, as long as one doesn’t take it too far. It’s healthy to have strong opinions and beliefs about something, and it’s healthy to have strong disagreements with others. I’ve voiced in a previous entry about the gadget blog rivalry that I’m uncomfortable with such things, and I usually am. But this is mostly because I’m precariously thin-skinned and sometimes take things personally when I shouldn’t. I don’t quite like it when other people are over-sensitive about what I have to say as well, so I understand.

But I digress. If you’ve trained yourself so deeply in a topic to the point where you are in fact an expert at it, it’s almost required to be a little arrogant. And in the field of food snobbery or film snobbery, there’s nothing wrong in wanting and expecting the very best.

The real difference, I think, comes from the attitude. Are you a Steve Wozniak, or are you a Steve Jobs? Both are geeks, no doubt. But Jobs is clearly the snob — he won’t step down, he won’t give face, and he has a distinct air of superiority. I’d even compare Jobs to Bill Gates — Gates is the geek, Jobs is the snob. And we don’t really hate Jobs for it, do we? His arrogance is almost endearing in a way. After all, it’s what makes Fake Steve so damn funny.

Anyhoo, my real point of this whole stupid thing is that I’ve become intrigued over what makes a geek a geek. It’s not JUST an obsession about something. There’s something more. There’s a certain personality tic, a certain curiosity about the world, and a certain desire to move beyond what’s expected. This is why the mainstream-ization of geekery bothers me — just because you know what RAM is doesn’t mean you’re a geek (And don’t get me started on the geek chic phenomenon where people pretend to be geeks when they so aren’t). No, to be a geek, you need to care too much about what RAM is. In short, in order to be a geek, you need to care too much about something, period.

I have more to add on this — I hope to bring my recorder and camera out of the closet and start interviewing people about it — but that’s what in my head for now.

Above photo is courtesy of Ryan King