The Macbook Wheel: a revolutionary new addition to the Macbook family with a unconventional clicker touch wheel in place of a keyboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA
My main reaction when I was first shown that very commercial was a complete exclamation, “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!” I mean, come on, not a mix of the Macbook Air and an iPod! The commercial was produced by “The Onion News Network”: a production group of many whose purpose is to create false news broadcasts for amusement. It still took me a while to do a small amount of research online to verify that the Macbook Wheel was created purely out of parody. A side result of parody is, of course, to fool the viewers in a humorous way. After all, with Apple’s constant strive for simplicity as well as the easily recognizable symbol of the clicker-wheel, which is primarily associated with the iPod, they could honestly get away with making a laptop such as this had they really wanted. It’d be foolish, I think, to make a piece of technology so simple that it is unnecessarily complicated to use (hence why I freaked out when I first saw the commercial). Avid Mac fan though I am, some flaws just can’t be covered.
On a bit of background history, apparently The Onion News Network has been around since 1988; created by two college students from the University of Wisconsin. Here’s the link to their home page in case it would be of any interest.
http://www.theonion.com/content/index
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I found this video to be very entertaining for several reasons. For one, I completely agree with you that Apple could get away with making this product. They are constantly innovating and releasing new products and ideas. I also enjoyed the sheer quality of the video. From the good video quality to the shiny computer graphics, it looked just like a real news broadcast. I think it is truly amazing that parodies such as this can be made to be so successful. The Internet has always been full of such joke videos, and no matter how many you see, the next one will still amaze and make you laugh.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help but think this was hilarious, but investigating further into The Onion's presentation, they know how to play on the notion of todays, televised, news broadcasts. Little details like the moving text at the bottom of the screen enrich the experience, but the group makes very clear that it is a fake news segment and makes no effort concealing it. It just so happens that because we respond more to the video coverage and its audio we would more than likely miss such clues. Some of the messages are pretty funny like, "...forensic chef helps piece together slain millionaire's last meal." Also, if you aren't keen the language of public broadcasting, news anchors rarely say "dicking around" on the air.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this spoof has been shown to a few classmates of mine as well, and they were completely sold on the product, PURELY because it was an Apple product.
ReplyDeleteHurray fanboy/girls D:
Thankfully, digital editing allowed for spoof videos like this to exist, and provide the realism needed to convey such a believable segment. With the whole interface shown being created in video editing software, teamed with image editing, a very believable spoof results.
But yeah, agreed on the whole "freak out" thing, all the Mac fans I showed were sold on this idea though, proving The Onion's purpose, being that since it's an Apple product, it "MUST" be amazing, and will sell, regardless of how horrible this would really be.
I remember viewing this article a little less than a month ago and I had a good laugh. I am aware of The Onions reputation and actions, however, the article regarding the Click Wheel Apple Macbook could easily pass off as true. With technology advancing rapidly, the way we operate machines could easily be manipulated to make way for the “future” of manipulation. Apple has been notorious in doing this as we know by looking at their line of Macbooks and especially the iPod. The Macbooks have gradually slimed down over the years to become what we know as the Macbook Air. The Apple iPod has captured nearly every aspect of media through its technological advancements. What began as a simple device with clickable buttons to playback audio has developed into a pressure sensitive scrool and click wheel mechanism to the latest generation of iPod which completely removed the ability to click by making a complete touch screen device with tilt sensitivity. Although the Macbook Wheel looks like a device that Apple would shelve in retailers worldwide, this technological advancement may actually be taking a step back in time. With the ability to touch screens, a function that has been developed for many years, it would be wiser for the Apple corporation to create a completely touch screen Macbook and attempt to aim for a futuristic appeal and style. The article was most definitely good for laughs though, but it really makes you wonder .
ReplyDeleteI came across this same video online about a month ago and for three weeks I believed they were actually going to start selling them. I mean I thought it was stupid at first but then again it wouldn’t hurt to have a laptop without a keyboard. I actually told two of my friends about this great (NOT) technology. It wasn’t after two days that I found out it was bogus. They were probably trying to get the consumers reaction. Watch them come up with an improve version a year or two down the road. It would take a great deal of improvement for me to buy it. Then again I don’t like Macintosh computer so.
ReplyDeleteApple could sell water to a fish and salvation to the Pope.
ReplyDeleteI’ll admit the first time I saw this video, I was really confused for a couple seconds before it sunk in that it was a parody press conference. The quality of this parody is fantastic, and the Steve Jobs press conference is extremely well edited. It would not surprise me to see Apple trying to come up with an alternative method for keyboard input. They will only be able to lighten or shrink their laptops so far before they cannot get any smaller. Thankfully they are starting to make their batteries last a lot longer than previous Macbook models. The sad thing after viewing this video is that there are some Apple fanatics that would buy this product simply because Apple produced it. If you look at the lines for the iPhone, people were going crazy for that product. If you have an Apple store in your area, you can always tell when they get a new shipment of iPhones as there will be a huge line of people outside. I feel that Apple’s next computer will go the way of the iPhone and have touch screen capabilities. We’ll see how it goes…
ReplyDelete