The Web Hostess: Apple Event, Top Timewasters and More
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009; 1:00 PM
A weekly chat about the best ways to kill time online. Our Web Hostess, Monica Hesse, sifts the Internet so you don't have to, searching for meaning, manners, and the next great meme.
This week, we chat about Apple's big announcement and get your opinions on the Apple or PC wars, discuss Al Franken's Senator Al Franken map-drawing parlor trick video and, just for fun, We Didn't Start the Swine Flu.
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Monica Hesse: Hi Everyone -- Thanks for coming this afternoon. Couple things going on today.
First: Apple is having a much bally-hooed Big Announcement Right As We Chat. Is it about a new iPod Touch? A cheap MacBook? Is Steve Jobs an alien? Got any predictions on what they'll announce?
Personally, I'm more interested in the Cult of Apple. Do you belong? Why? Or do you hate the Apple followers? If you have to hear one more person talk about their iPhone, might you tell them to stuff it? (I bet there's an app for that?)
Second, I have an article in the Post that just went live, about the insanity surrounding the new Dan Brown Book, which has been hyped mostly through the Internet, with clues, easter eggs, Twitter, etc. I'm interested to know what Internet campaigns have ever stoked your interest for a novel/book/TV Show.
And THIRD: Below I'm posting an opening moment of Internet bliss for the day. This video was made six months ago when Swine Flu mania started. I missed it then, but with the new cases at Washington State, it's even better with age.
I'll post a closing moment of Internet bliss at the end of the chat, if someone sends something amazing.
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washingtonpost.com:
Monica Hesse: Here you go. Love the pig.
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Washington, D.C: about the Apple announcement, I am hoping for the Beatles on I-tunes (is that so wrong?). On another note, how does one download songs not available on iIunes to their iPods (no I don't mean a CD but rather music downloaded from another site.)
Monica Hesse: Beatles on iTunes would seem really anti-climactic to me. But then again, I'm not an iTunes user (Ducking while you throw things at me).
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Adams Morgan, DC: Please, what is a meme, someone tell me so I'll know if I see the next great one and can post it to you. Thanks so much.
Monica Hesse: I think I answered this in an earlier chat, probably smarter than I will now, but basically: A meme is anything that spreads like wildfire on the Internet. A video that goes viral, a catchphrase that suddenly everyone's using, etc. It can even be a practice, like RickRolling, where people would hijack links to be directed to a Rick Astley music video.
Basically, if you think it's funny or interesting, we want to see it here.
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Monica Hesse: So far, I have one awesomely amazing video nomination to post at the end of this chat...
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Washington, D.C.: A couple of years ago I had to go to Quebec for work. Before leaving, I looked around the internet and found a site with a Webcam located in a Paris cafe. You could hear conversations and pick up the culture. Sometimes people would walk over and chat. It made learning a little French somewhat easier.
I've tried to find that site again, but no luck. Wondering if you may know of any sites to help keep up to date in French?
Monica Hesse: Hmm. Off the top of my head, I don't know anything specifically designed for that purpose (sounds like your experience was just a random Web cam?), but maybe other chatters know?
It's not a site -- but I'm a Rosetta Stone fan. I still remember that random vocab.
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Houston, TX: It's easy to get non-iTunes songs onto your iPod. Just burn 'em onto a CD first.
washingtonpost.com: Or select the files from File - Add File to Library in iTunes.
Monica Hesse: Thanks Houston and Paul!
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Mac users: I want to punch most of them in the heads. The smugness is out of control, and those ads with Drew Barrymore's boyfriend pushed it over the edge.
Monica Hesse: One vote in the anti-Mac camp...
Mac owners are required to evangelize, though, right? Like they have discovered a secret others haven't?
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For last week's receptionist ISO interesting websites to visit: Modern Language Association -- View the Map
Select the language of your choice (33 choices besides English) to see the distribution of its usage throughout the United States.
Monica Hesse: Ooh, dorky and Time-Waster-y. I love!
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Apple announcement: I have been thinking (and hoping) that iTunes will add the Beatles to their catalog. It would be a great way to trump the Rock Band headlines for the day.
Monica Hesse: Another vote for the Beatles add...but no smack-talking about Rock Band. Unless you meant trumpET, which I would totally approve.
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washingtonpost.com: The Unofficial Apple Weblog has info on iTunes 9 revealed
washingtonpost.com: The Unofficial Apple Weblog has info on iTunes 9 revealed
Monica Hesse: Paul is monitoring as we chat...
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Re: Keeping up with French: France 24, a French cable news channel, streams video 24 hours per day in English, French, and Arabic. They offer an excellent free iPhone/iPod Touch app.
All of the major French magazines and newspapers have web sites.
There are a bunch of free podcasts on iTunes (and elsewhere) for learning or practicing French and other languages as well.
There are several language translators available for the iPhone, and Google Translator and Babblefish are good resources.
I'd also suggest googling "French practice", although "French lessons" might not return what you'd expect from UK sites...
Monica Hesse: Or maybe they would return *exactly* what we expected.
These are great suggestions, thanks!
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Wondering if you may know of any sites to help keep up to date in French? : How about listening to streaming audio of radio stations in La Belle Province? I'm sure some of them must be online, with announcers speaking impeccable Canadian French. (Same applies for other languages in other parts of the world as well).
Monica Hesse: Another great suggestion.
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Wal-Mart: So I just got this link about random people watching in wal-mart and its kinda funny, its also kinda sad: People of Walmart
Monica Hesse: And kinda offensive, and kinda Wow, and kinda...
This will not be our closing moment of Bliss (got a frontrunner that needs to be toppled), but I'll pass on anyway as a "Well, I could certainly end up spending an hour here" kind of site...
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Drinking the Apple Kool-Aid: I've been a PC all my life, but when my last PC died (only months after I got it-- from viruses and other issues), I bought a MacBook Pro. And I haven't looked back. They are so worth the hype: no viruses, it's more intuitive than Microsoft, the support is unrivaled, and I can even go to classes at my local Apple store to get help in getting un-PC'd. It's been a great experience. Is an Apple more expensive? Yes, but it's worth it in every way.
Monica Hesse: "Intuitive" is the word I hear most often with Macs. Love to hear users explain it more. After growing up on PCs, I had a job that for four years required a Mac. Personally, I never intuited anything more than a deep sense of failure over not falling in love with it.
But here's strong pro-Mac vote.
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Arlington, Va.: I don't hate Apple users. Many of my colleagues (I work in IT) have made the jump as Apple has become the favorite Unix/Linux platform for them to use. However I am going to laugh when a virus hits and rocks the Mac world because so many people believe they are secure purely because their is an Apple on their laptop and do virtually nothing to protect themselves. The reason you don't get viruses isn't that your more secure, it's that it's not worth it to write them for the relatively small user base.
Monica Hesse: No laughing allowed. Just slightly-smug sympathizing.
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iTunes: If you don't get your music from iTunes, where do you buy your music? CDs? Other music download places? Illegal??? (Just joking).
Monica Hesse: Such a basic question that can get so existential. Where does music come from, if not from iTunes. Chatters, where do you get yours?
Scandalously, I don't buy music. I'm mostly an NPR kind of gal.
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Ellicott City, MD: If you want Mac users to stop evangelizing, stop complaining about Windows! It's like ringing Pavlov's bell.
Monica Hesse: Hahahaha!
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Atlanta: We are HUGE Apple/Mac fans in our house. We have Macs. My husband always requests a Mac when he gets a new job (he works doing Web stuff, so he tells them he needs a Mac to know how things look on them, etc).
That said, I lobbied my husband (and won!) to get a netbook. We just bought one for less than $200 (deal was on Woot, it is gone). Cause our laptop died (after about 6 years) and I couldn't see spending the money for a new one.
The netbook has linux on it, tho, so I'll deal with that, unless my husband can hack it and get the Mac OS on it. :)
Monica Hesse: But if it died after Six Years -- ancient in laptop terms -- I'm surprised you didn't want to re-invest! Kudos for branching out, though!
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Rockville, Md.: Two of my favorite sites
There, I Fixed It: Epic Kludges + Jury Rigs
washingtonpost.com: The top picture on Awkward right now is fantastic.
Monica Hesse: It's true, Paul. So true.
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Gizmodo Live: Gizmodo has the heated Apple event as introduction of iPhone/iTouch 3.1 and iTunes 9.
3.1 will have a genius program for music and applications.
Monica Hesse: Just posting...
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Woodbridge: It's not that viruses can't be written for Macs; they can. But Macs don't represent enough of a market share for the virus writers to even bother. So if the pro-Mac people are successful in getting lots of folks to join them, they may find themselves victims of their own success.
Monica Hesse: An elaboration of a previous poster, so I'm posting again.
Question: Do Mac users really want everyone else to join them?
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New Orleans: Apple stores call their employees "geniuses." How friggin' pretentious!
Monica Hesse: (silent).
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RE: laugh when a virus hits and rocks the Mac world: No reason to laugh. We Mac lovers know that day is coming and we'll be ready. But for now we're loving it without those headaches!
Monica Hesse: That's the spirit!
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Apple non-cult?: I have a Macbook and an iPod and an iPhone, but I'm not in the cult. I think they're good products - not like the best ever in the history of the world - and I don't evangelize. I just sit and silently enjoy my stuff. Who else is with me?
(I don't get that "more intuitive" thing either.)
Monica Hesse: "I just sit and silently enjoy my stuff" might be the most zen-like self-assured tech related statement of the week.
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Meme: So a meme would be that wedding entrance video where the wedding party entered dancing to "Forever." Within a few days, something like a gazillion people had seen it.
washingtonpost.com: The Web Hostess: Wedding Dance Videos, E-Mail Protocol, Annoying Facebook Friends, More
Monica Hesse: Exactly -- we discussed it in an earlier chat, in fact.
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Mac Owner, VA: It's no more a requirement to evangelize for Mac owners than it is for Republicans to scream "Socialism!" or Democrats to tax away your money. You just don't hear about the nonvocal majority.
-Mac owner for years. And PC owner, too.
Monica Hesse: This is true bi-partisanship, People.
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Rockville, Md.: How do you get an album cover file from your PC to your Ipod for MP3 files that were ripped from a CD (not purchased from ITunes).
washingtonpost.com: There are a lot of ways to do it (and I think iTunes has a built-in utility for it?) but I like MediaMonkey, personally.
Monica Hesse: Paul is on a roll today.
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Apple: I just bought a new iPod nano and now it looks like they are bringing out new stuff. I want to cry. And the Web site is down. Blaaaah.
Monica Hesse: But that is the law of technology. If You Buy It, They Will Upgrade.
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Your profile of Brian Brown: Are you going to take any questions about your profile of Brian Brown of NOM, which was so widely criticized?
Monica Hesse: Nah -- let's keep this place for Internet tomfoolery. Suffice it to say, I intended the piece to have one effect and it had nearly the opposite. I'm responding personally to anyone who writes me at hessem@washpost.com, though, so I'll look forward to corresponding with people that way.
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Where to get your music: You definitely don't want to download your music from pirated music sites. Have you seen the new Don't Copy That Floppy video? They will come for you Momma!
Monica Hesse: And this intro, which really says it all, bring us to the winning nomination for today's moment of Internet bliss, which was nominated by several astute readers. I'll post it below in a minute.
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Don't Copy That Floppy Sequel?: Monica - do you remember Don't Copy That Floppy? It was an awesomely bad early '90s educational video about software piracy (and an unintentional homage to "Saved by the Bell") that went viral.
WSJ is reporting that SIIA, the group that put out the original, has just launched a sequel to the video 17 years later....I guess because the first left so many unanswered questions?
washingtonpost.com:
Monica Hesse: Here it is. It is genius, and I thank the chatter for providing it to us. We still have a few more minutes to revel in its glory -- or to try to top it with other nominations.
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State College, Pa.: I sent this to you this past week, but thought I'd submit it again.
For time-wasting on the Internet:
London's Trafalgar Square has three statues and one empty plinth (the thing a statue sits on). The empty plinth has been given over to an exhibition called One and Other (although I think most people are just calling it "plinth").
Basically, everyday people applied for a spot to appear on the plinth for one hour and they can do whatever they like in that one hour. One woman stood like a statue, another did belly dancing, one guy took his clothes off (it's somewhat NSFW because you don't know what people will be doing/saying), another woman talked about a charity she wanted people to support. It's fascinating to see and hear what people do up there. Best of all, it's on 24 hours per day. So if you're up in the middle of the night, check out the plinth.
Monica Hesse: Yes! I'm glad you submitted to this chat, because this is a prime example of time-wasting fodder. Good work, State College.
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iTouch: Can someone please explain to me what the iTouch is? Is it like an iPhone without the phone part? I am considering getting an iPhone, but am a little put off by the 30 bucks per month data fee. Can I get an iTouch as a substitute for everything but the phone? Sorry for the basic question!
Monica Hesse: As we've determined, I would answer this question only with a blank stare, or an emergency Google. Chatters?
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iTouch: iTouch is essentially everything but the phone. Music, TV, Movies, Web, Pandora, and Applications. It utilizes the Touch technology, but you can't make phone calls.
Monica Hesse: There ya go.
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Legal Music (not free, legal): Amazon has a really strong mp3 department too.
I've gone from a million albums and CD's to an iPhone, and there's no looking back.
Monica Hesse: Amazon's UnBox program for television and movies is generally pretty good, too.
(And regards to the previous post, Paul wants me to make sure to point out that the iTouch needs wifi in order to get online).
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No Other Nominations Necessary: Don't Copy That = Genius.
Still remember the original and the Zach Morris clothes/hair.
Monica Hesse: TBS or some TBS-like channel shows Saved by the Bell reruns at 8 am. A few days ago they showed the episode where Screech's zit removal cream turns Kelly's face maroon.
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sw DC: Am I the only person who finds the Genius part of iTunes creepy? I've turned it off, but it keeps begging me to turn it on.
-shudders-
Monica Hesse: Don't give in. After you turn it on, THEN what will it want from you?
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Monica Hesse: Alright, everyone. Paul's computer is acting up (is it a PC? A Mac?), so we're signing off for now.
Thanks for stopping by...and please send your moments of Internet bliss to hessem@washpost.com throughout the week. The best time-wasters are meant to be shared.
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Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
