Imagine you are at the doctor’s office and receive some unpleasant news - the doctor wants you to come in for a colonoscopy. She sees your disappointment and decides to cheer you up a bit by showing you some educational material on the procedure’s preparation:

(pic link)

That’s right, a giant pink plastic polyp. Complete with sticky squishy eyes (in this case, a fly has stuck to one of them, yummy). This is actually a REAL marketing product developed for Fleet’s Phospho-Soda (a fast acting laxative), in tandem with their print campaign:

Considering the polyp’s choices of hiding spots, I’m hoping that they don’t create a TV commercial of it playing peek-a-boo.

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Rajkumar Hirani goes for a change from Sanjay Dutt to Shahrukh Khan. Who can forget the rediscovery of Gandhian views in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, it was one of the finest movies of Sunjay Dutt and now it will be Shahrukh Khan creating the same magic for us. Hirani has decided to take Shahrukh Khan […]

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Filed under: Interviews

Phil Harrison sat down for an interview with GameSpot prior to the Kaz Hirai keynote and, in addition to dodging some questions we’ve got answers to, he talked about all the media comparisons of the Nintendo Wii against the PlayStation 3. It’s not flamebait, really, just his thoughts on the whole ordeal of overcoming bad press from an awkward angle.

• When asked if Phil was concerned over the “Wii outsells competition 3:1 or 5:1″ comments, he said, “I’m not worried about it, no. Obviously I would like it to be the other way round, but it’s not really fair to compare two products that serve different markets and are at different price points.” He agreed that it was unfair to compare the two systems, but refused to mar the statement with an unreasonable analogy.
• Phil talked about Sony’s plan to innovate and widen the market as the Wii had done, also. He cited the new EyeToy, SingStar, and Buzz! as examples of more light-hearted games moving onto the PS3.
• He doesn’t think focusing just on the hardcore market is a good idea. Looking at the trends, “your initial audience is very different to the audience you have buying into the console seven, eight, or nine years later. So, we try to make software which is slightly ahead of that trend, software that enables younger users or new users to come in.”

We are glad that Sony is in the process of moving some of the less-hardcore titles from the PS2 onto the PS3. While the price may keep the less-hardcore at bay for a while longer, it is true that a few years from now, different types of consumers will be adopting the machine. It’s just how the world works. About not making an analogy, though, we’ll leave that up to you guys. You can be unreasonable if you like, just don’t be too profane. Like, “it’s sort of like comparing selling more Micro Machines than actual Porches” or something. It’s all in good fun, Wii fanboys, so you can make your own counter-analogy also.

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Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), International Business Machines (IBM)

Now that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has begun to go after Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Office, International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) wants a piece of the action as well.

Big Blue will launch a new, free office-like product called Symphony. It will be available on the internet, and it is free.

According to The Wall Street Journal “Symphony is based on software available from Open Office.” The same foundation is used for Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) and Google’s desktop applications processes. The product also has functions from Notes, a product IBM bought years ago. Notes was almost run out of the market by Microsoft. IBM hopes that the free software application will help it sell more recent versions of Notes, which includes e-mail and instant messaging.

Does the IBM launch matter? Probably not. Nor does the recent upgrade of Google Apps to include software similar to PowerPoint. Microsoft has about 500 million desktop applications running on PCs and the Journal writes the company has “sold 71 million licenses of its latest version of Office in the fiscal year ended June 30.” The Office software sells for slightly more than $100.

Getting customers to leave Microsoft, with its huge installed base, is almost impossible.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 247wallst.com.

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Camping Sauvage (projet), Tentes igloos, toile de spi, ballon météo, hélium, 100 x 200 x 200 cm chacune, 2006.

I love this art proposal from La Guardia. Because free camping is forbidden in France, La Guardia decided to create a new genre of tents, still attached to the ground using ropes tied to stakes, but the tent itself is floating in the air. This allows anyone to camp without law infraction as well as being suitable in any type of landscape environment.

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Filed under: Business, Stores & Shopping, Health & Medical

This week’s food recall announcment: Dole salad mix.

No one has gotten sick yet, but a store in Canada sold a bag of Dole Hearts Delight that tested positive for E. Coli. The recall is for nine states and includes all packages of Dole Hearts Delight. The states involved are Maine, Mississippi, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana. The recall also includes Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada.

Here’s a rundown on the lot numbers and the dates on the packages.

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Looks like older folks grow tired of robots easily, as evident by their feedback after having the $4,300 Ifbot “communication robot” mingling with them at a Kyoto nursing home for about a month. Majority of the elderly see “robots as overly-complicated and unpractical”, which goes a long way in denting hopes that robots will be the primary caregivers of the elderly in the future. What’s more, it was discovered that old people prefer to have simple things, like a cellphone with large numbers on it. The next time you want to surprise grandpa on his birthday, get him a regular teddy bear and not a flame-throwing Robosapien.

Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones

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Filed under: Cell Phones

A disconcerting report, released this morning from researchers at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India, revealed that people who talk on a cell phone for more than an hour a day were found to have suffered losses of high-frequency hearing. While that may not sound so bad, such hearing loss actually results in an inability to hear consonants like F and T, giving a whole new spin to the phrase “Can you hear me now?”

The team of researchers caution that “[their] intention is not to scare the public” and “there is as yet no cause for alarm.” They also don’t give any explanation of why a cell phone is any more dangerous for hearing than a traditional headset. But, if you’re a heavy cell phone user and value your (or your children’s) hearing, you might want to think about laying off the babbling a bit.

From textually.org

Related Links:

• Purdue University To Test Emergency Text Messaging System
• Lost? Get There By Text Message
• Direct-to-Cell Phone Advertising Coming

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Remakes and Sequels

I feel bad for this guy, because it’s obvious he’s so darn excited about appearing in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls that he just can’t contain himself. Not only that, but he’s being interviewed by the local paper. “Did you hear that Ma! It’s the local paper — and they want to talk to me! Me, Ma! Me!” Anyway, some dude named Tyler Nelson was interviewed by James Coburn at The Edmond Sun about his involvement in the next Indiana Jones film. Turns out Nelson was chosen to play a “dancing Russian” (kid you not) in a fairly big scene — well, big enough that it gives up Cate Blanchett’s character, as well as some other major plot points. Nice. And no, the studio won’t mind at all, right?

Wrong. AICN claims folks are a bit peeved, and in the hour since I first spotted this story, the link to Coburn’s article no longer works (for me), and is under password protection. Luckily, AICN took a bunch of notes and posted them up on their site for all to see. Here’s where I have to throw up the big ol’ spoiler warning, so keep away if you don’t want to know anything regarding Indy 4. Are you gone yet? Ok. Apparently Nelson was cast as a Russian solider; part of a group who kidnap Indy when they learn that the famed archaeologist is searching for the same thing they are — yup, crystal skulls (which Nelson calls “crucifix skulls,” but chances are he heard wrong). Anyway, they blackmail Indy to help them by threatening to kill Marion (Karen Allen) … and lets just say Blanchett’s involvement in this scene ain’t exactly kosher. I’ll stop there, but AICN spills some more beans (as well as clearly tells you who Blanchett will be playing), so head on over there if you’re interested in knowing more. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls rolls into theaters on May 22, 2008.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Now, we know how hot-under-the collar you guys get when we note El-Jobso’s movements in Europe, but news is news, people. Just as speculated yesterday, it appears that the Apple honcho is working his way across Europe, moving nation-to-nation to spread the good word of iPhone wherever his New Balance touch ground. Not content with just launching the device in London for the O2 network, the company is taking this show on the road, traveling to Berlin on Wednesday where Jobs and his turtleneck will supposedly announce a partnership for the iPhone with T-Mobile. Expect EDGE, lots of screen touching, and Steve saying, “OH-, eine weitere Sache.” Then, as we hear, it’s off to France for some sightseeing. Just kidding… about the sightseeing.

[Thanks, Floris]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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