Update: Duncan Rawlinson at the Last Minute Blog has created a much better comparison screenshot of the two videos, which I’ve nicked and posted above. Duncan has a slightly higher-resolution version on his site. Also, in the comments, it seems some people think I’m referring to similarities in the music, but it’s the visuals that are similar, if not identical. Plus it’s the whole idea: the concept, the setting, the narrative. Compare the corridor tracking shots, the movements of the wafer-making machines, the interaction between the male and female workers. The Apple ad is not just “influenced” by the Postal Service video, it’s a remake.

Apple is at it again — making TV ads that bear an uncanny resemblance to other people’s videos.

Apple’s latest TV advert, touting Intel chips inside its new Macs, is remarkably similar to a music video from The Postal Service for the song “Such Great Heights.”

Both are set in clean rooms, and feature bunnysuited workers making eyes at each other.

See for yourself. Here’s the Apple ad, and here’s The Postal Service video (Windows Media download).

Apple is currently being threatened legally by Lugz, which claims an apparently actionable similarity between Apple’s iPod ad featuring Eminem and a 2002 spot for Lugz footwear.

Of course, in the latest case, Apple may have an agreement with The Postal Service or its record company, or may have hired the same director, or licensed the work.

Developing…

Except for Intel-based hardware, the big thing here at Macworld seems to be syndicating photos over the net — or Photocasting.

Not only did Steve Jobs showcase a new photocasting feature in iPhoto on Tuesday, on Monday ex-Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki introduced the Mac version of a new photocasting application called FilmLoop.

Photocasting isn’t new — several photoblogs offer syndicated snaps via RSS, as do photo-sharing websites like Flickr and Buzznet. But until now, few desktop applications made it easy to download pictures from a camera and push them automatically to friends’ and relatives’ machines.

In his keynote speech, Jobs demonstrated how photos and galleries in a new version of iPhoto can be pushed, or photocast, to subscribers’ computers.

“This is podcasting — for photos,” Jobs said.

Instead of publishing to the web, photos are delivered automatically to subscriber’s computers. In iPhoto, the user creates a photocast album. All the pictures added to, or deleted from, this album are automatically pushed to subscriber’s iPhoto libraries, where they show up in a gallery in the source list.

“It’s like magic,” Jobs said, with typical understatement. “You take away the machinery, and it’s just like magic. It’s amazing.”

Publishing a photocast requires the new version of iPhoto, which has been updated as part of Apple’s $80 iLife 06 suite, and a .Mac membership (TK a year) — but subscribers can be on any platform.

“Anyone can subscribe. You don’t even need a Mac,” Jobs said.

Meanwhile, Kawasaki’s FilmLoop combines iPhoto photocasting with Flickr-like photo groups.

Not only can FilmLoop users subscribe to each other’s galleries, or “loops,” they can add comments and even contribute their own snaps.

The FilmLoop network has public loops dedicated a wide range of topics, from news and sports to pictures of all the Corvettes for sale on eBay.

The FilmLoop system is free — but loops are sprinkled with ads.

Kawaski is a member of the company’s board and a backer through his firm, Garage Technology Ventures.

Beyond Macworld, several tinkerers have hacked together homebrew podcasting systems, including Chris Pirillo using a Sony PSP, and Philip Torrone with Flickr and some scripts.

MACWORLD — It’s 1997 all over again! Microsoft and Apple have renewed their marriage vows for another five years, Microsoft said on Tuesday.

Apple and Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit have signed a formal “commitment agreement” deeming Microsoft to continue developing Office for Mac for at least another five years, Microsoft said.

“We wanted to comfort our customers around the world that we are in this for the long term,” said Scott Erickson, the Mac BU’s director of product management and marketing. “It makes sense to really publicly show our commitment to the platform.”

The blissful marriage between the two companies looked rocky after Steve Jobs announced Apple will be switching to Intel chips, which may or may not also run Windows. Plus, Apple has been developing its own software to compete with applications traditionally developed for the Mac by Microsoft — Safari, Keynote, etc.

“We’ve been in the Mac software business for more than 20 years,” said Erickson. “And it’s been a great business for us.”

Erickson said the deal was signed in November 2005.

The “commitment agreement” is reminiscent of Macworld in 1997, when Bill Gates joined Steve Jobs’ keynote speech via a satellite linkup. Looming large and Big Brother-like, Gates said he was happy to invest $150 million in Apple, which was in trouble at the time, and sign a five-year commitment to continue developing Mac software.

In addition to renewing its vows, Microsoft said it will enhance Entourage in the spring. The Mac email, contact and calendar software will synchronize with iPods, among other devices.

It’s Macworld, which means it’s time for Mac haircuts.

Here’s Gabe McIntyre, who said he’s always getting his hair styled with one theme or another, usually Apple related.

Above is the haircut he had for Apple Expo Paris in 2004, and below are various haircuts honoring Apple’s operating system updates — Jaguar, Tiger, etc.

“I feel like while I still have hair, I might as well make art from it,” he said. “I feel like I’m doing performance art with my hair… Plus I am a diehard Apple geek.”

McIntyre is such an Apple geek, he said his students call him “Gabriel Macintosh” rather than McIntyre.

McIntyre is a 30-year-old film professor from Amsterdam, Holland, who also directs and edits films and commercials with his business partner Gabriel Bauer.

An American living in Holland, McIntyre teaches video podcasting at the College of Arts in Utrecht (HKU). His business site is Whisper Media; his video podcasts can be found at Gabe & Gabe’s World (personal videos) and Xolo.Tv (his video podcast news and review show).

His girlfriend styles his hair.

“(She) loves it and can’t wait for my hair to grow out so she can do another haircut,” he said “She used to be a PC user till she met me. Now she’s an Apple geek as well… My hair is a way to get her creativity out sometimes.”

Take a (virtual) walk along Infinite Loop — the road that loops around Apple’s campus, courtesy of Redbug Technologies, a company that makes virtual reality tours.

The Apple Campus tour is the 3rd down on the left.

Redbug’s Andrew Hagenbuch writes: “Built with love by two Mac users. Kinda cool for those who haven’t been there. Mac love at its best!”

What a weird bunch of crap Disney is rolling out with its latest expanded TV offerings for iTunes.

ITunes will feature a couple of dozen shows, snippets and shorts from several Disney-owned outlets like ESPN, ABC Sports, Disney Channel and others.

Except for the sports, which I personally have zero interest in, the list includes gems like the 70s kids cartoon “Schoolhouse Rock,” SOAPnet’s biog show “Soapography,” and bits of “Good Morning America.”

Good grief America. The only thing I’d take the trouble to download is Ebert and Roeper, which I never catch when it’s broadcast on TV.

I know on-demand video is supposed to be all long tail and niche, that’s half the point, but where’s the HBO? Or Seinfeld? The Shield? Or anything worth watching?

The cleverly-named PyP-Bomb iPod/Guitar Amp is a battery-powered speaker and amp made from a section of PVC pipe.

Optimized for the iPod, the $150 PyP-Bomb generates 18 watts of sound and is “seriously loud,” according to ThinkGeek site, which sells them.

Can that be true? Is 18 watts a lot of sound? Sure looks distinctive.

Accessories for the iPod seem to be getting more and more niche. There’s the iPod boxer shorts, of course, and now here’s a $35 pair of gloves with special electrically-conductive fiber in the thumb and index fingertips. The fibre allows control of the iPod clickwheel without taking the mitts off.

As retailer J&R explains:

“The clickwheel on iPods functions by detecting the minute electrical charge in fingers and tracking it as it moves from point-to-point. Gloves adds a layer of insulation between fingers and the clickwheel’s surface, blocking the electronic sensors. Tavo’s new gloves allows charge to pass through the gloves from fingers to iPod’s clickwheel.”

The gloves also feature a “Gripper palm” to stop you dropping your precious music player in a big puddle of slush.

The Associated Press has the most incredible story about Dick Cheney’s travels to Iraq and Afghanistan in a silver, cargo-plane mounted Winnebago, and the precedence the charging of his precious iPod took over all other matters.

The vice president is an iPod fan, and keeping it charged is a priority for his staff.

Normally that isn’t an issue, even when he’s flying around the world. Air Force II is equipped with outlets in each row of seats.

But when Dick Cheney was traveling home overnight Wednesday from his diplomatic mission, most of the outlets went on the fritz.

Working passengers began lining up their laptops to share the power from a couple of working outlets — particularly the reporters who urgently needed to prepare their articles to transmit during a quick refueling stop in England.

But when Cheney said his iPod needed to be recharged, it took precedent above all else and dominated one precious outlet for several hours. The vice president’s press staff intervened so a reporter could use the outlet for 15 minutes to charge a dead laptop, but then the digital music device was plugged back in.

That way, Cheney got his press coverage and his music, too.

Of all the iPod nuts I’ve met, and read and written about, this description of Cheney beats them all. In fact, the story is so preposterous, it beggars belief. But maybe it tells a lot about the man: his power, the self-absorbtion, a surprising obsession with music.

If previous reports are true, the iPod was a Christmas present from his daughters.

Happy Holidays one and all!

In thanks for reading this rubbish all year, I give you the gift of music.

Here’s the best holiday song ever: Walking in the Air, sung by 11-year-old Declan Galbraith, who’s blessed with an extraordinary set of pipes.

Of course, the song isn’t available anywhere on iTunes, or I’d buy it in a second (nothing I want ever is).

I did find this though: an excellent version of Carol of the Bells by MystiQuintet from the Christmas Re-Grooved album.

(Via Robotwisdom)

John Venzon, curator of the Newton Museum is shutting down the website and selling his collection of every Newton ever made.

Venzon has run the website since 2001. Venzon said his collection includes “one of every Newton ever made plus every developer scrap of paper, software and manual.” The collection is for sale through eBay.

“I’m closing up shop for the very prozaic reason that my wife and I are remodeling our house, and the collection is housed in a room we are tearing out to make space for a family room,” Venzon said. “The sale is also helping to pay for it. My hosting is up in June, so I’ll be passing it on to the person who buys the collection, if they want it.”

Venzon added: “I still use my original Newton I bought in 1993, though. I’m keeping that!”

Update: I emailed Venzon to ask how much he thought the collection was worth. Venzon, a feature film editor, replied:

Ah, Newton, is there nothing you can’t do?

Google’s year-end Zeitgeist — a roundup of the year’s most popular search terms — is full of iPod action; at least, the “Froogle” section, which is devoted to online shopping, is. The iPod’s various flavors crop up in four of the top 10 Froogle searches, including the number one position.

1. ipod
2. digital camera
3. mp3 player
4. ipod mini
5. psp
6. laptop
7. xbox
8. ipod shuffle
9. computer desk
10. ipod nano

Public domain Torrents has links to more than 500 movies in the public domain available for download via BitTorrent. Most are compatible with the video iPod.

There’s a lot of silent-era stuff, but also a rich vein of kitsch trash, including clunkers from Ed Wood (Plan 9 from Outer Space), George Romero (Night of the Living Dead) and a Russian psychotronic/cult/camp sci-fi oddity called Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women.

King of Kong Island seems typical. According to the IMDB review:

An Italian Spanish Co-production with America’s own Dick Randall involved in the ‘presenting’- King of Kong Island mixes horror movie, nudie-cutie and jungle adventure with toppings of National Geographic stock footage- all set to a jungle beat of exotica.

An exhibition of video art is to be presented entirely on video iPods at the Fine Art in Space gallery in Long Island City, NY.

PodART will feature the work of several multimedia artists whose work has been reformatted for the iPod, including MTAA and Marisa Olson.

The show is “the first group exhibition of video art intended to be viewed and sold solely on the iPod. Apple, the computer of choice by much of the art world is the inspiration for our new exhibition,” a press release says.

The artwork will be sold at the show, pre-installed on an iPod. “Each video object is a limited edition and is sold in iPod format with the player,” the release says. No pricing is given.

The exhibition runs December 9, 2005, to January 17, 2006. The opening reception is December 9, 7pm to 9pm.

(Thanks Walt)

Underwear with an iPod pocket: the iBoxer — only $22 apiece.

The Play iBox Solid Boxer is an ideal knit boxer for trendy, gadget-savvy music lovers. Made from a cotton/spandex blend, this button fly boxer has a discrete front pocket which is perfect for holding your iPod, other mp3 players or your cell phone. This Play iBox Boxer is available in solid fashion colors and the solid waistband features a racing stripe and the Play logos. If you buy 2 pairs of the Play iBox Boxer, you’ll receive 3 free iTunes. iPod not included with purchase.

(Thanks Chris Uriarte)

What a great phrase “Money for old rope” is. And as writer/editor Giles Turnbull notes, half the new shows on the iTMS are exactly that — dreadful old crap with little but nostalgia value. And they’ll probably sell like crazy.

“The cost of licencing and converting old TV shows to a suitable digital format is a fraction of the cost of making new shows, or licencing the rights to use shows that are broadcast in peak time right now.

This is money for old rope. The iPod generation is being wooed into spending money on old content it has already seen and in many cases already paid for. Just as we bought CD copies of albums we’d already bought on tape or vinyl, and in some cases then bought the same tracks again on the iTMS. The same thing, purchased three times! That sort of brand loyalty makes record and TV company executives smile.

There’s a perceived value in nostalgia. People of my generation get a warm feeling when they hear those late 70s / early 80s new wave hits. And the same applies to some TV shows…”

Damian Kulash Jr., lead singer for the band OK Go, argues convincingly that in this day and age, file-sharing is essential for his band’s success.

In the New York Times, He writes:

“To be clear, I certainly don’t encourage people to pirate our music. I have poured my life into my band, and after two major label records, our accountants can tell you that we’re not real rock stars yet. But before a million people can buy our record, a million people have to hear our music and like it enough to go looking for it. That won’t happen without a lot of people playing us for their friends, which, in turn, won’t happen without a fair amount of file sharing.

As it happened, for a variety of reasons, our label didn’t put copy-protection software on our album. What a shame, though, that so many bands aren’t as fortunate.”

Eric Wolfe, a 17-year-old senior, met his girlfriend when he “jacked” into her iPod in a darkened cinema.

IPod jacking is when two strangers swap headphone jacks to sample each others’ music. It’s one way to discover new music, and can be used to break the ice. IPod jacking was a lot easier when iPods were rarer, and the white earbuds signified membership of an exclusive club.

Eric is from La Quinta, California, near Palm Springs. He met his girlfriend, Bailey Smith, at an outside mall called “The River,” which has a movie theater.

Here’s Eric’s story, as told via a recent IM-terview (which I’ve lightly edited to make it easier to read):

ERIC: so i was here at “the river” with a couple friends
i had my ipod on me, like i always do, (it’s as normal as taking my wallet)
and i saw a girl walk into the movie theatre with her friends….. i notice the famous white earbuds and knew she had an ipod.

i convinced my friends to move down a couple rows closer to the screen

so when i was walking down i plugged in my earbuds and put on a cute song real quick i thought she might like….. i sat 2 seats to her side
i waited till she glanced over at me( i was kidna lucky she ever did)
so i looked back at her and put on a small smile and said hi
she seemed friendly
so i asked what she was listening to while taking out her headphone and plugging in mine
she was a little confused at first but then laughed when she realized what i was doing

ME: cheeky

haha yeah…. i was kinda nervous but i pulled it off
we only had a couple minutes to introduce introduce each other and talk about music before the movie started
but that’s pretty much it…. i got her screenname
before we left

ME: what was the song you chose for her to listen to?

hopeless love by daphne loves derby

ME: and what was she listening to?

dark blue by jack’s mannequin

ME: so you approved of each other’s taste in music?

she liked what i had, i wasn’t too fond of jack’s mannequin, but its grown on me since

ME: how long you been going out?

3 months
a little over

ME: you have any other ipod jacking stories?

just one other… i “kinda” knew the girl though
she was an old friend’s little sister
i just used it to “break the ice”… it seemed more interesting than saying “hey, are you josh’s little sister?”

ME: so — you’re a serial jacker?

haha

ME: what kind of music do u like? name a couple of bands.

a thorn for every heart, boys night out, the academy is, armor for sleep, bloc party, brand new, dashboard confessional, the early november, emery, the faint, halifax, hellogoodbye, mae, matchbook romance, motion city soundtrack, northstar, panic! at the disco, park, the plain white t’s, the postal service, silverstein
typical ’emo’ stuff
that was a bit more than a couple, but thats just off the top of my head

ME: so it’s a good way to approach girls?

most definitely

This case for the iPod nano is swedish and designed by Johan von Konow.

It’s very thin – only 0.3 mm – which feels like a high priority for a case that surrounds a nano. Four colors to choose from, the three seen above and one transparent.

A smart feature is the holder for the earbud cable on the back of the case. Only available in Sweden right now, unfortunately.

So I just woke up and see that Apple is offering about a dozen new TV shows for download from NBC, USA Network and the Sci Fi Channel. Sorry for being the last person on the Net to post this.

The new shows include:

NBC’s “Law & Order,” “The Office,” “Surface,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,”

the USA Network’s Emmy Award-winning “Monk”

Sci-Fi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica”

classic TV shows including “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Dragnet,” “Adam-12” and “Knight Rider.”

Pricing is a bit weird. Entire episodes of “Law & Order” cost $1.99, but so does a 10-minute clip of Conan O’Brien.

CNET:

The Princeton researchers that have done much of the work deconstructing SonyBMG’s recent controversial copy protection software have found an interesting new tidbit. According to their new findings, the Sony software had a hidden component that could convert songs from the CD, or other ordinary MP3s, into a file compatible with Apple’s copy protected FairPlay format.

That would mean that the songs could be played on iPods, which hasn’t been the case with copy protected CDs in the past. It apparently accomplishes this by using open-source, yet copyrighted code, a practice deemed a no-no in programming circles.

It’s not yet clear how this came about. Record labels have hoped to establish compatibility with the iPod for their copy protected CDs for some time, and EMI Music has even said that its CDs are close to reaching that point. Apple, for its part, denied EMI’s contention.

This is a big deal:

Britain’s independent music labels are about to make music available for podcasts, reports the BBC. Britain’s indie acts include Franz Ferdinand and The Prodigy.

Songs by acts signed to UK indie record labels are to be made available to podcasters on a trial basis.

The Association of Independent Music is selling six-month worldwide licence deals for its members’ music to be used on download radio programmes.

… “We believe there will be huge global demand for the AIM podcast licence,” (said an AIM spokeswoman)

As one of the BBC’s interviewees points out: “I see podcasting and subscription services as playing a big role in where the music consumer wants to go.”

Steve Wozniak:

My best computer prank involved counterfeiting twenty thousand brochures for a phony computer. I did it at the West Coast Computer Faire, where the Apple was introduced.

Bruce Damer’s ever-excellent Digibarn Computer Museum has a scan of Wozniak’s proudest prank.

What’s the most expensive Mac money can buy?

According to Gadget Madness, it’s a “2.5Ghz Quad-core PowerPC G5 with 16GB of RAM, 1 TB of storage, Quadro FX 4500 graphics card with 512MB of memory, 16X dual-layer Superdrive, and two 30″ Apple Cinema HD displays.”

Cost — a cool $24,000 — but shipping is free.

UK blogs Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny have named the iPod Shuffle as this year’s “Must Chav Gadget.”

A chav is slang for a member of Britain’s “peasant underclass” — a lowlife, in other words.

Says Tech digest:

The shuffle is perfect for chavs. It’s cheap. It’s by a cool brand, and you can let others know you have one as it is designed to be worn round your neck. As it is white it also accessorises well with those classy gold chains Chavs wear. The sad part is that the shuffle is the worst player in the Apple range — more like some dodgy back street knock-off than the excellent other iPods. The fact it has no screen so you can’t program it or choose a track — it chooses the music for you — also saves Chav brain cells for the much more important business of, ahem, pimping their rides.

Second prize went to the Motorla Razr — “standard fixture for every Tom Dick and Chav.”