Beyond

This article was written for posting on a site that I write for, or for posting on this blog; one or the other. Due to increased workload it was overlooked and never posted by the other site, and due to my illness at the time, which had me flat out in bed feeling like death warmed up, it was never posted on this site either

Although the fire’s gone out to a large extent regarding this post, I though that I’d rather post it than waste it. Please remember when reading it that this post was originally meant to be published on or around 30th September 2008:

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Contrary to popular opinion; Microsoft may have not yet pulled the plug on the Gates/Seinfeld advertisment series.

According to Gizmodo.com:-

"From a trusted Crispin Porter source, we’ve learned that some sites have jumped the gun and that the Microsoft Gates/Seinfeld ads have not been axed. It’s true, Microsoft apparently asked the agency to focus on the new "I’m a PC" spots. And it’s true, the agency has gotten plenty of "I don’t know what this means" response in their measured statistics of the Gates/Seinfeld ads. But no one has pulled the plug on the dynamic duo just yet."

There are more Seinfeld/Gates adverts in the pipeline then: That’ll come as a relief to Apple; who thought the Softies might be about to produce something that would be more effective in countering the successful Apple advertising campaign.

But according to other reports; Microsoft are ready to step up a gear after their ads which have got everybody talking about Microsoft. In the next series Apple’s strategy is ripped into with a Microsoft engineer resembling a character in Apple’s ads appearing with the words “Hello, I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype.”

The renewed campaign carries the theme “Windows. Life without walls”. Microsoft intend to turn Apples own tables on them; by using the image of the PC that the Apple ads have attempted to generate - but against Apple.

It appears that Seinfeld has no further part to play in the forthcoming advertising campaign; at least initially and for the foreseeable future; although Bill Gates is set to remain very much a player, along with Eva Longoria, author Deepak Chopra, and singer Pharrell Williams - These stars play regular PC users who confirm their happiness at running PCs utilising Microsoft software. (I really do hope that they’re not still trying to convince the public that Vista is any good though; otherwise the new ads will be about as effective as a Windows ME salesman giving away a pound of apples with every purchase.)

Also starring in the Advertisments are 60-plus other Microsoft employees (Including and extra to Bill Gates.) - An unusual example of how; in a few cases, being company-employed can make you rich - all of whom publicly display their email addresses: Spammers take note.

Microsoft want to take back the initiative from Apple and be positively realistic about the benefits of the PC. Apple have tried with some success to negatively caricature the PC; but Microsoft want to reverse this without dragging Apple through the mud. If it works it could strengthen the flagging dominance of Microsoft as a market-leader possibly; but having said that the proof of the pudding is in the eating - Microsoft are going to have to ensure that Windows 7 is a markedly better than and totally bug-free operating system compared to Vista; which is still being compared to ME as a total flop.

Advertising agency Crispin Porter; who produce the Microsoft series of advertisments ,appear to have thus-far acted true to form by first getting everybody talking prior to the main thrust of the campaign designed to reverse the tactic used by Apple of PC mockery whilst glorifying the Mac.

What do you think about this strategy?

The experts from the scientific institutions such as Oxford Uni and NASA recently convened a gathering aimed at devising ways to prevent information technologies threatening human dominance and possibly bringing about the end of civilisation as we know it.

(Personally I think it might be a good idea if done right - I mean look at planet Earth right now: Humans are trying to self-destruct as a species as it is by the looks of it. Maybe it’s time for a change brought about by the cyber-gods we create? Jobsweh and his ilk aren’t doing very well after all; Gates has retired; and a conflict between Redmond, Jobsweh, and “cyber-terrorists” from the open-source community - The dark side in jackets - appears to have kicked off in a small way anyway.)

Is the Matrix to become a reality? I suggest pre-empting it by rewriting Smith if so. Will we become slaves to vast armies of terminators following a nuclear war started by our computers? I think not - That scenario appears a bit too far-fetched to me; considering the fact that such a war would obliterate most of the worlds computers, internet communications, and server units, anyway.

The lightning pace of information technology may be of concern to some; but would it be so bad to be controlled to some extent by a higher, if non-human, intelligence? Once again I really don’t see what’s so terrible about that. Humans replaced Neanderthals because they were more adept at survival, so what if some technologically-enhanced race of humans superceded humans as we know them today?

OK ignoring thoughts of the Borg that are now running through the heads of Trekkies reading this blog - Forget the Borg collective consciousness and forget cruising the universe in a cube looking for vulnerable civilisations to turn into more of the collective - I really can’t see what’s so bad about having unobtrusive implants attached to increase the sensitivity of the human senses, in addition to being a replacement for worn out parts. OK maybe it might change humanity totally; but is that so bad after all? We already have the capability to self-annihilate within minutes and it only takes some set of power-crazy halfwits with access to the right button to make it happen: What if technology could prevent it from ever happening? What if some implant could correct the chemical imbalances in people’s deranged minds: No Hitlers, Stalins, no warmongering Bush hearing voices from “god” telling him to nuke his enemies.

The experts say that the reason humans are the dominant species on this planet is because of our intelligence - Pah! - What intelligence? - We’re just clever monkeys having bigger inter-tribal wars with each other and using rocket-propelled sticks and stones that explode and kill more of the enemy; otherwise we’re no better than Neanderthals as a whole, apart from being better suited to today’s environment physically. If technology threatens that position due to having greater intelligence then good: Isn’t evolution wonderful? Isn’t it just engineered evolution taking its natural course? - Or do we fight it and carry on blowing each other up until there’s nobody left to kill?

They think that they could create a super-computer with recursive artificial intelligence that could become more intelligent than humans. I say do it: You can’t get more stupid than some humans in some regards; and those stupid humans usually end up leading an army of followers…You know the story - Look at Osama Bin-Laden as one example.

“Anything that has more brains than us, can develop more technology, more quickly - including powerful weapons technologies. It could also come up with strategies and plots much more quickly and would therefore be extremely powerful.” said Bostrom; one of the so-called experts in question. If that were the case then surely it would soon see how the way humans have turned out is only going to lead to oblivion; therefore it might even ensure a future for humanity- rather than the 50/50 chance of self-elimination.

The mind boggles! - Aided of course by the latest multi-cored processing technologies. If only…

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