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Actors Paid to Line Up for iPhone Launch in Poland

Turns out not everyone is gaga over the iPhone, people in Poland are saying “hell no!” to wanting to pay for the “privilege” of shelling out a lot of cash in monthly phone bills, in addition to giving richly for some of Steve-O Jobs’ love.  So instead, Orange (the Apple approved phone operator of choice – Orange… Apple… insert joke here if you can) has decided to pay actors to stand in line outside of stores to try and create fake buzz in the iPhone.

Why do I get the feeling that if Microsoft or RIM did this, the iCabal would be up in arms – arms I say!! – about it.  Hell, they threw a tantrum about the Mojave Experiment campaign when it started…

From Editor and Publisher:

(McCain Campaign Spokesman Michael) Goldfarb compared the editors to a blogger “sitting at home in his mother’s basement and ranting into the ether between games of Dungeons & Dragons.”

Bloggers sitting at home ranting in between Dungeons and Dragons games?

*looks around nervously*

*whispering* How did they know?

(UPDATE: I have a review of the Sony Imagination Studio Suite HERE)

About a year ago, I wrote a post about the iLife suite for Mac (which to be honest, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – I tried to use it at work and Garageband is the best, and only decent, program in the suite) and that some companies should try to come up with a PC version of the iLife suite, if Steve-O Jobs didn’t want to release his beloved suite.  I even put together some bundles of PC software from Sony, Adobe and Open Source/Windows built in software to show how these could work together.

It turns out, Sony was listening. Not only that, but they also appeared to take quite a bit of my advice.

Now I don’t know if they were reading this blog per se, but since I had been writing about it, and the biggest hits on here by far are my iLife for PC posts, and that I’ve got just enough of an ego to think I had an impact, I’m gonna say the crew at Sony Creative Software (great people by the way, I met them at the New Media Expo – more on that later) and Sony picked up on the need for a content creataion studio for PC vibe and created a new suite that includes the software I mentioned before (Vegas Studio, ACID Studio, Photo Go, and Sound Forge) with an addition I hadn’t thought of – Cinescore Studio, so soundtrack music is quickly available for any length of video you wish to create.

This new suite of software is only available from Dell, another interesting move since Dell was also offering a small studio from Adobe that was Dell only.  A big move for Dell, getting a nice suite of software to compete with iLife that you (might be able to) get on preloaded on a Dell.

So ladies and gentlemen, let me present you with Sony’s new content creation studio – the Sony Imagination Studio Suite.

Sony’s Imagination Studio includes all of the tools you need, sans iWeb, to create content and get it up on YouTube or Sony’s own AcidPlanet (what?  you expected them to export to the nightmare that is Mobile Me?).

So what is in this new iLife for PC possibility?  Let’s take a look at the tools!

Read more…

I’m wrapping up the evening’s festivities and getting ready for a quick nap before heading to work tomorrow morning and I realized that it was a pretty good day.  I’m on a compressed work week at the university, working four 10 hour days instead of five 8′s, so I had the day off, which works great for me because my fiancee also has Monday’s off.  (There’s been a little bit of consternation in the media about the compressed work week – how dare those ungrateful people working for the university work only four days instead of the five we have to work.  Of course, the media want us to work five 10 hour days and only get paid for 40 hours, like they do, but that’s a story for another time).

Most of today was spent working around the house, playing on the XBox 360 (Call of Duty 4 and Half Life 2, Ep 2) and planning out the rest of my work week.  This month’s UNM Today stories are due on Aug. 11 and I’ve got a light writing load this month.  Although our office is also working on an experts list for the upcoming election.  Keep your eyes on this space to find out more soon!  I’m only working a couple of days this week, my birthday’s on Friday (big 35, now I’m looking at the downside of my angry 30′s) and I’m heading to Vegas next week for the New Media Expo and Podcasty Goodness Convention.  I’m really looking forward to that.

But the big news for today comes from the future Mrs. Net News 54.  She went to meet with her heart doc today and came away with pretty much a clean bill of health!  As some of y’all know, earlier this year, she was rushed into the hospital with a weak heart – her blood ejection fraction was around 20%, which was perilously close to “Danger Danger Will Robinson!” status.  Today her ejection fraction was back up to 55%, which is normal, and the doctor’s weaning her off of some of her meds now that her heart is stronger.  So my birthday present came early this year, and it’s all I really wanted anyway – my fiancee to be OK again.

Well, it’s time to crash and get ready for another exciting day of PR goodness!  Watch this space soon for my thoughts on “educational consumers,” or as I like to call it, WTF?

Peace out, Space Cowboy.

When you beat your swords into plowshares.  Who knew?

see Obama pictures

Hat Tip: Pundit Kitchen, brought to you by the I Can Has Cheezburger network.

Wow, I go offline for a month and the next thing you know people are switching jobs!  Bob LeDrew – blogger, musician, house concert promoter and all-around good cyber-dude extraordinaire – is leaving his job at Thornley Fallis PR in Canada to move back to the dark side academia and become the Director of Communications at Algonquin College in Ottawa.

Congratulations Bob!

As seen on campus last Friday, two gentlemen were standing on Cornell Mall, right outside my office offering free hugs to all who wanted them.  Just the right thing for a long, drawn out Friday afternoon.

Suffice it to say, they didn’t let me get away after this picture without a hug.