Four Misnomers about Windows Vista

There's no denying that Windows Vista has a bad rap. When my old laptop died, I was kind of worried when I found that every new computer came pre-packaged with Vista. I ended up replacing it with a very suave HP Pavilion dv6815 Entertainment Notebook featuring Windows Vista, and I have to admit -- it's not bad.

The Expectations

Like most users of the Internet, I have heard the horrible things said about Windows Vista, and that is what I expected when I first booted up my new laptop. Throughout high school, I experimented with various Linux distributions and shell edits to the Windows platform -- I know my way around a good operating system. These are the things I've heard said about Vista:

1. It's slow
2. It isn't backwards-compatible
3. It's asks too many questions
4. It converts people to Mac computers

Strangely, I happen to disagree with all four of these concepts. Lets start at the top of the list...


1. It's slow

There's no denying that Vista tries really hard at being pretty, and unfortunately, this can take away from performance. What many people don't seem to realize is that these settings can all be turned off from the control panel.

Still, I will confess that Vista does use considerably more system resources than XP, but that is to be expected as we move toward newer technologies. Now-a-days you can't even buy the newest PC video games unless you also poses a brand-name , top-of-the-line, I-really-like-hyphens computer. Even then, the darn thing will be too slow for Crisis 2. While XP should definitely stick around, it won't be necessary for long as computers get more and more powerful. Computers from 1995 are now laughable by today's standards, so the resource issue is no issue at all -- Microsoft is just trying to step ahead of the market.


2. It isn't backwards-compatible

That's the silliest rubbish I've ever heard. When you launch a program, you can right click on the icon to launch it in "XP mode" or any other previous Windows operating system. In the months that I've owned Vista, the only program I couldn't get to work was Peer Guardian 2, and that's probably because I didn't try hard enough.


3. It asks too many questions

Sometimes it does seem a little excessive on security to ask before launching a program from my desktop that I clicked on, but honestly its not any different than the "sudo" admin method used in Ubuntu. The only difference is that in Vista you don't have to retype your password each time. Security is nice. Stop complaining.

4. It converts people to Mac computers

Don't you hate those commercials with the lame Windows guy in a suit and the "cool" Mac college kid making fun of the suit guy? Me too. Mac marketing people are smart. They know their audience, and they know what people have been saying about Windows. Their advertisements only perpetuate the misnomers about Windows.

Macintosh computers are built with one concept in mind -- ease of use. Everything about a Mac is designed to just work, and it does just that. Windows, on the other hand, has traditionally been designed to be flexible. The new Windows Vista seems to be Microsoft's attempt at a compromise between the two. I love some of the new features in Windows, even if they seem overly simplified, but it's no Mac.

Macintosh marketing is working to convert people to their brand by leaching on to Microsoft's scarred reputation and sucking on it like the media sucks on Obama's preacher.

In conclusion...

Vista isn't bad. While it's still stupid to upgrade from XP to Vista, it still doesn't deserve the bad rap that its been given. So come on, guys... Lets try to love, OK?

~Jw

VNC vs. Orb

The concept sounds cool... "VIEW YOUR DESKTOP FROM ANYWHERE!" And you're right. It is cool. But pointless.

For many years, I've been a user of a program called VNC, a program similiar to Window's Remote Desktop Connection. In a nutshell, this program runs in the background on your desktop computer, then when you travel to another computer, you can point your web browser to your home computer's website and control your mouse and keyboard from anywhere in the world. Its like being at the office, but from anywhere! (I prefer TightVNC if you want to give it a try.)

Unfortunately, VNC is slow, choppy, and super dependent on the speed on your internet connection. It sucks bandwidth like an infant sucks a nipple. On the bright side, it freaks out people who see you're computer working by itself.

Well, I have found an alternative! Its a program called "Orb." It consumes practically no resources, isn't stopped by complicated network settings, and works no matter how slow your internet connection is.

I originally started using Orb as a way to stream media to my Wii (which it is great for, by the way). After installing the program on my desktop, I just had to point my Wii Internet Browser to Mycast.Orb.com and log in. Wherever you log in, you have full access to all the files on your computer, you can stream all your legally downloaded movies, watch live TV (if you have a TV tuner card in your computer), and listen to your music like you were sitting at your desktop.

Seriously, its everything I used to do with VNC, minus the bandwidth. Check it out! Both programs are completely free, and even if you only use it once, it can be a lifesaver.

~jw

The Xlerator!!

So I found this amazing piece of machinery while traveling through North Carolina with a stomach virus. Ok, maybe that was too much information, but just look at how strong that wind is! You can see the skin on my hand flap in the wind! Its like there's a jet engine on that thing! =-o

Also, how cool is that name? Sounds like the bag guy from Terminator 7 or something... "THE Xlerator!!!!!"

~jw

4 reasons Chain Letters Suck

Chain letters, in all forms, are one of my biggest pet peeves, and for 4 reasons.

4. They're immature

It seems to me that most people who send chain letters, chain comments, or chain e-mails are simply trying to get attention. People have an innate desire to have an impact on the world, and someone, somewhere is immature enough to derive some sort of pleasure from seeing their letter being posted all over the internet.

3. Who is idiotic enough to think they are real?

It is sad to me that someone out there really believes that if they send an email to 10 people and then hit "Ctrl+Alt+del" two times real fast that the name of their lover will appear on their computer screen. I know computers are amazing, but they're not freaking magic. Stop being retarded.

Example from a You-tube comment:

"In 1997 a girl called lauren was walking in a forest and then a she just dissapeared no one ever found her untill 2000 when a yoing girl called Mary found her body and markings on her chest saying: I wasnt pretty enough" and now you have read this she will appear in your mirrorrsaying your not pretty enough and kill you. by the way the girl called mary died shortly after. To be saved paste this to 5 other videos. THIS IS TRUE Now uv started readin dis dunt stop. This is so scary. Send this to 5 ova videos in 143 minutes. When ur done press F6 and ur crushes name will appear on the screen in big letters. This is scary cause it actually works."

Seriously. I swear I didn't make this up. The sad thing is, this comment was posted on the video over the first 10 comments. That means that 10 people felt their lives were in danger, but if they managed to save themselves, then their "crushes name will appear on the screen in big letters." If you did believe this, it's online harassment. If you don't believe it, then you can now graduate from Middle School.

When I ask people why they pass on chain letters, I seem to get the same response over and over again. "Hey, it doesn't hurt to try it! It might have worked." Well, guess what? It didn't. And it never will. Just give up.

2. It is guerrilla junk mail

It's easy to block junk mail from "getabiggerpenis@generic.com," but its not so easy to ignore an email from your friends and family. Perhaps the worst spell of chain emails I ever received were from my Aunt. My Dad told her my email address and she sent me an average of two chain letters a day. It doesn't sound so bad, but it got old fast. Her email address is blocked in my Gmail account now...

1. Stupid threats just piss me off.


For the love of God, this is a big one. If you threaten me with something, don't make it as FREAKING DUMB as a dramatic, dead girl named Mary. The thing is, even though I know its just a big pile of crap, it still infuriates me to be threatened by a freaking You-tube comment. I know it's not a big deal, but it gets annoying. It's kind of like having someone drive by in a car while you're walking down the street, and they yell out the window, "I'M GOING TO EVERYONE YOU LOVE IF YOU DON'T THREATEN 5 PEOPLE TODAY!" You know it's a lie, but it still makes you mad.



So guys, please. Just stop sending those letters and hit the "delete" button. Thanks.

~jw

Google Blog Search

With Blogs becoming the new fashionable wave that they are, Google has released a new search engine... THE GOOGLE BLOG SEARCH! I've got to admit, this is pretty exciting. As you might have noticed from the existance of this article, I'm a pretty big fan of teh blogs. So get to searching and start browsing, Blog friends!

Check it out! I'm there too!

Have fun, guys!

~jw

New Times Day - A new holiday!

This morning, I got on the elevator on my way to class, and I noticed a sign that read, "Think positive! This year is a leap year, so you have 24 extra hours!" To put it bluntly, that is crap.

Having one more day this year means that I'm just going to have one more day of work. That is why I believe that we should declare February 29 a holiday. Let's put that extra 24 hours to good use! Why bother working an extra day when life is so short?

I'd call this new holiday, "New Times Day." (New years eve + Father time + Day)

Got a better name for this new holiday? Lemme know in the comments! :-)

~jw

P.S. Join the Facebook Group!

Delicious Chicken feet

Last night was the Lunar Eclipse, right? So what better to do than have a cookout with a portable grill while watching the moon?

Anyway, me and some friends went to Publix to find some steak or bacon or some other delicious food to grill, when I stumbled upon this Alabama delicacy... Chicken Feet.



Ironically, the rest of the chicken was for sale right below it. Still can't find the heads... I guess there's just a big dumpster full of chicken heads behind the factory. Or maybe they become hotdogs.... Hm....

Ew...

~jw

The perfect ice-cube

My girlfriend came up with a brilliant plan for the perfect ice-cube.

So, I love myself some cheap, off brand lemonade from Wal*mart. It costs about $1.50 for 12 liters, so who can argue?


Anyway, she really hates it when the ice melts and her drink becomes all watery tasting, so yesterday, she came up with a BRILLIANT IDEA.


Ta-da!! Lemonade Ice cubes! Of course, they come out a little yellow, but the drink NEVER becomes watery!



As an added bonus, if you finish the drink before the ice cubes melt, there are little lemonade flavored Popsicles in the bottom of your cup! Best. Idea. Ever.

Oh, and I bet this works with other drinks. Try it out and let me know what other drinks this works for!!

~jw

Why is it so hard to find original content on Stumbleupon?

I'll tell you why.

People want to gain traffic to make money, and they seem to all use the same 5 things to get said traffic.

5. Generic Lists

I know. I'm doing it right now. Still, its crude but effective. I'm not hating on the list... I love the lists. Still, it doesn't provide for a lot of variety.

4. Online flash-games

I'll admit it; I LOVE online flash games. Remember fishy? The point is, you start to see the same material over and over again. If a game gets popular, someone will post it again on their own site to get a slice of the pie. Even worse is when a website just links to it and then places a frame around the original website. Thats just low...

3. Articles about other already popular articles

Now we're getting into the dirty tricks. Saw a funny video? Read an interesting news article? Well, post a blog about that funny video or crazy news article you just saw and link to it! Instant traffic, no work. Thats just lazy.
2. Funny pictures, lolcats, or boobs

The occasional lolcat or "un-inspirational" poster is fine. It's seeing the same picture 20 times in a row that makes it lame. Simply put, funny pictures on the internet get recycled and slapped with new logos in the corner ever five minutes. Its just lame.

1. Viral Videos

I love me some You-tube. I hate me some REALLY FREAKING OLD viral videos that cycle around like a bazillion times. Again, the only way to make this worse is to put a frame around a You-tube or Google Video page and then resubmit it. We as a community need to encourage ORIGINAL and innovative content, or they will simply keep recycling the old. It's just like ever sitcom to ever come on the air after Seinfeld.

~jw

5 reasons the new X-play SUCKS

I used to love X-play. In fact, I would never buy a game without first checking to see how Morgan and Adam rated it on a scale from 1-5. I'd even TiVo the thing everyday so I wouldn't miss the newest reviews. That was.... before.

Today, we live in a post-x-play world of hate. And it sucks (for 5 reasons).


5. They be disrespecting their fans

Remember the stupid skits with the interns? Yea, I didn't like them that much either. But thats not the point! The point is, those stupid sketches between reviews where what made the show X-play. The new X-play has taken the characters of Adam and Morgan and just made them into announcers. I loved X-play because its hosts loved video games, too!

Still, occasionally Adam and Morgan's passion for games comes out in their monologues between segments, but the show has still been robbed of its very essence. I miss you, X-play...

4. Interviews suck

Ok, so not everyone will agree with me on this one, but I think interviews suck. Why would I want to hear about how a game was created before I've even had time to play it and appreciate it? I say this to the interviews done with creators of games that haven't been released yet (cof cof SPORE cof coff).

Now, I'll admit that the segment on joining the video game Industry is pretty interesting, but again, thats not why I watch X-play. I love me some video games, but I don't want to create them -- I just want to play them.

3. I never liked "Cheat"

Now that "Cheat" has been combined into the show, I have even less respect for X-play. For one, "Cheat" doesn't actually show cheats anymore. Instead, its more like tips. Here's a good example...



I own Super Mario Galaxy. I've gotten about 103 stars of the 120. The game isn't all that hard, but its a ton of fun. On yesterday's X-play, they showed a "cheat" for Mario Galaxy, but the cheat was actually a tutorial on how to beat the SECOND BOSS in the game. Honestly, if you can't beat the mole man level, then its not going to do you much good to get past this level. It only goes uphill from there.

2. It has become "Attack of the Show II"

Let me first say that I like Attack of the Show. But I also liked the first "Land Before Time." My point is, we don't need another "Attack of the Show." I realize that X-play is still more gaming focused that AotS, but it doesn't change the fact that it is very suddenly merging toward the same goal. I actually now like AotS MORE than X-play, because at least it has Gadget Pr0n and more realistic hosts. X-play makes me sad now. :-(

1. They don't review video games anymore

This is my biggest complaint. Each show has maybe one game preview and one review. Once again, I'm not a big fan of game previews, but for a video game reviewing show, I've seen a couple of the new episodes with out a SINGLE REVIEW. That is just wrong.

Now, I hear that they have recently decided to start pre-releasing Zero Punctuation's reviews on the show, but thats kind of cheap. I went to Zero Punctuation after I lost all hope in X-play. In fact, X-play sucking made me a huge fan of Zero Punctuation. I just hope X-play doesn't drag ZP down with them....

So...

As much as I criticize the new X-play, I would like to give kudos to their new website design. Its simply easier to navigate and I can find reviews quicker. Also, Zero Punctuation has stolen my heart, so it's too late, X-play.... I just can't believe you're having an affair with ZP... I'm not quite sure how to feel about that.

~jw

4 reasons stumblecards suck

Stumblecards. The site description claims "Its the latest sensation sweeping the web!" Everyone else claims it sucks. So here are four reasons that Stumblecards SUCK.


4. They're pointless

If I wanted trading cards, I'd get trading cards. The whole point of "trading cards" is to try to obtain the hard-to-find ones, but with stumblecards, the most wanted cards are at the top of a Google search. Oh, and you can type "stumblecard" in the stumbleupon search engine and find all of them in about 2 seconds.


3. It's a viral marketing trick

Really, its just a way to get traffic for websites and advertisements for things like the Batman movie (I'm talking to YOU, Joker card) or Nintendo (your turn, Link card).

Oh, and the Link card makes him look like a girl. As if being an elf wasn't gay enough...


2. They're boring

I use stumbleupon to keep me entertained... Like Television, Youtube, or Wii. I don't want to go to some boring picture of a dude and then get told to Thumbs it up just because its the "in" thing. Who gets to decide that this is the "in" thing? Stumble cards suck. You can bite me if you think I'm going to give a thumbs up to that.



1. They ruin the point of Stumbleupon

Any site that tells its viewers to give it a thumbs up in stumbleupon kind of pisses me off. I just can't help it. For one thing, Stumbleupon is about letting the USER decide what is good and what is bad. In a sense, stumblecards are attempting to take the power of user review AWAY from the user.

Also, stumblecards just plain seem lazy. I use stumbleupon to find the latest, most innovative (or just most interesting)sites on the web. Anybody can copy and paste a new card on top of the old card and call it a stumblecard. Come on, guys. At least try...


In conclusion...

I will always give a thumbs down to stumblecards. They suck now, and they will suck forever. The worst part is that they have succeeded so much already. If I wanted to play "stumblecards," I would buy some damn Pokemon cards. You suck, stumblecards.



~jw

P.S. You know what also sucks? Stumble Upon experiments. Click here to see why


UPDATE -- I've gotten some responses from stumblers on ideas how to stop em!

The first idea can be found here... It basically says to block the people who first stumble the cards.

The second idea is just stumbling ONE PAGE instead of stumbling a bunch of cards all day long.

Check it out, yo's! Stumblecard = sad

Watch TV online! And not illegally this time!

So, being the avid Internet user that I am, I often find myself stumbling upon websites promoting full online versions of my favorite television... And time and time again, I find myself disappointed by the low video quality, sketchy web page design, and excessive advertisements. Well, not this time!

Yahoo! has just launched a beta version of Yahoo! TV. And it is actually pretty cool! The best part? After a 5 second advertisement, you can watch high quality online versions of your favorite TV shows! Legally!

Family guy, King of the Hill, The office, The Simpsons, Are you smarter than a 5th grader?, etc. Check it out...

Oh, and also Ghost Hunters is listed there! Check it out... That show terrifies and amazes me most every time. Most.

Here's the link if you missed it: http://tv.yahoo.com/tv-shows-online;_ylt=Ao_9eTsY0ficYGBfsX5fJnb7o9EF


Enjoy!

~jw

If game consoles were cars

Wii

The Wii would be a Volkswagen Bug. It may not be the fastest car in the world, but it’s cheap, fun, and does what you want it to do. It handles great and looks interesting, but if you're a guy and have one then someone is eventually going to make a sexual joke at your expense.

Playstation 3 (PS3)

The PS3 would be a top-of-the-line Ferrari. It is way out of the ordinary person's price range, so it has a smaller market, but if you have enough money to get it, it has the most high-tech engine available under the hood.

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 would be a Jeep Wrangler. The biggest market it appeals to are people in their teens and twenties. It is considered cooler than the Volkswagen by many but is cheaper than the Ferrari, making it a good middle-of-the-road vehicle. Upon the decision to purchase the Jeep, the future owner has the option of getting either a skimmed down version or a tricked-out off-roading version.

Unfortunately, the Jeep is notorious for easily breaking. It is top heavy, easy to flip, and the motor dies quicker than other cars.

Playstation 2 (PS2)

The Playstation 2 would be an old (but well kept) Toyota Camry. They still make new ones, but they are not the car of choice. Many of them are still on the road, and most of them look and run just fine. By far the weakest of the current cars, it is also the most affordable. Although it is a dying breed, its availability makes it more attractive to the common driver.

Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS would be a Go-Kart. Not technically a car, but still a blast to drive around in! People love to race around in these things, but no was meant to use this as a regular car. It’s affordable and fun, and because of this it is popular.

Playstation Portable (PSP)

The PSP would be a Harley Davidson Motorcycle. It is more powerful than a Go-Kart, but a lot more intimidating to drive. Steering can be tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it can be pretty fun. You look cool driving it, but it is less fun than riding a Go-Kart. It can be used as an everyday car, but it was more designed for joyriding than transportation. As a bonus, there is a large fan-base of riders who love tricking out their Harley’s, and they would be more than willing to help you tweak yours too.

~jw

P.S. I tried to stay semi-non-biased, but if you disagree let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!

An open response to a Bible thumper

So, today I was deleting my old notes off of Facebook when i came across a note I posted about a year ago. As a southern Christian, I was really offended by a dude giving a "hell and brim fire" speech at my college. Anyway, I gave him my own speech. I posted a copy of the story below. I'm not trying to impose my religion on anyone or anything, but its more of an effort to clarify what it is I believe.

Earlier this afternoon (3/7/07), I took my Bible, wrote down some verses, took my Megaphone, and delivered a little speech to Brother Micah at the Ferguson Center at the University of Alabama. For those of you who don't know this man, he is a Bible thumping traveling preacher who twists the word of God into his own sick translations. Want to see a video clip?

Here is the contents of my speech. The Bible verses quoted are from the New International Version (NIV).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I am a sinner, but I am also a Christian. My name is John Wesley Mason-Smith and I have been born and raised a Methodist in Alabama. I have a few things I would like to say.

First:

Matthew 7.1-2, 5 Pg. 1264 – DO NOT JUDGE


"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judges and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. "

I spoke to this man earlier and he claims he has no sin. He claims he has confessed his sin to Jesus and is now pure, quoting a story in the Bible about a woman caught in the act of Adultery. Jesus stated, "He who has no sin may cast the first stone." I would like to read the END of that story, which this man has chosen to ignore.

John 8.7,10-11 Pg. 1389 – JESUS FORGIVES AND DOES NOT THROW STONE

"When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

"Jesus straightened up and asked her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'

"“No one, sir,” She said.

"'Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.'"

Jesus had ABSOLUTELY no sin, but even he did not throw a stone. He showed compassion and forgiveness. Even if this man WAS free of sin, if he is a Christian he would through no stones, deliver no insults, and hate his fellow man.

1 Corinthians 4.3-5 1477 – DO NOT JUDGE EVEN YOURSELF

"I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in the darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

This man cannot be judged, not even by himself, until he has lived out his entire life. Time is for the convenience of HUMANS and means nothing to God. He claims his sins are forgiven, but HE IS NOT INNOCENT.

2 Corinthians 11: 13-15 1504 – THOSE WHO DO ARE SATANS SERVANTS

"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve."


If this man had claimed to be a Atheist and said the same things, he would not have been able to push as many people from the love of God. The God this man speaks of is not the caring, loving, MAGNIFICENT and FORGIVING God I have grown to fall in love with. This man speaks of a spiteful, angry, hating God. (This wasn't in my speech, but doesn't that sound like Satan?)
(He then claims I am not reading real scripture from the bible. I stated, "Read it yourself" and crumpled up the paper and threw it at him.)

Sir, I have one last thing to say to you.
GET BEHIND ME SATIN.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After this, I walked away and didn't look back to see how he responded, but I heard him say that I must have been a Homosexual. Sorta made me laugh, actually. Was he really that desperate? Not only that, but I said at the beginning that I was a sinner, so being a Homosexual doesn't make a big difference. And I was on the way to my Girlfriend's dorm.

Now, after all that, I want you to know I am not mad at the guy, but I do feel sorry for him. I'd like to request that everyone who reads this would pray for this man, as I believe he is being used as a tool for Satan and needs all the help he can get. Clearly he has some very skewed theology....

Wal*Mart DEATH SHOES

So me and a friend visited Wal*Mart, being the Christmas Season and all, and I stumbled upon a pair of shoes. "Spinners," to be exact. They were a generic rip off of those shoes with the roller blade wheels shoved in the heel. But these where different... Take a closer look.


Notice anything off? Odd? Strange?



THE WHEELS DO NOT RETRACT. That means there is NO WAY to walk normally, unless you balance on your toes and act like a freaking ballerina. Well, before I noticed this, I had already found the biggest size they carried and crammed my feet in them. When I stood up, the first thing I noticed was the fact that the back wheel is HALF A FREAKING INCH from the heel.

Of course, as you could figure out from your Physics 101 class, that places my center of revolution at the back of my feet. Logically, the first thing that happened when I stood up was that I fell backwards. Well, maybe I suck at shoe-skating. So I decided to try and roll forward. Now notice that there are no wheels past the middle of your foot. All your weight must be toward the heel in order to roll. Instantly, the front of my shoe touched the ground and down I went again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE: I went to Wal*mart again recently, and here is video evidence of me trying to roll around in these shoes.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now hold on a second... Something you might not know about me is that I was a figure skater for six years of my life. I even competed in the National level for Dance with my partner Kelsey. And I just got my butt handed to me by a pair of Skate Shoes.

On our way out, I noticed that the picture on the billboard next to the shoe rack showed a kid all decked out in safety gear wearing his normal looking tennis shoes. I guess that means they expect you to dress your 7 year old in a helmet and knee pads before he (tries to) walk to school.

Wal*mart, did you even LOOK at these shoes before you shoved them out the door? Shame on you. SHAME. Please, people. Don't buy these shoes for your kids. They will cry.

~jw

P.S. If you really want, you can snag a pair at the low low cost of $20. Missed the link? http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7679582

My Coke Rewards - The good, the bad, and the ugly

Ever see a grown man digging through trash cans at a bus stop collecting the lid from an empty can of cokes? Yes, that was me. I have discovered "My Coke Rewards." MCR is an advertisement campaign by, well, Coke that operates by a points system based on the size of the product purchased. A standard 20 oz coke product gives 3 points, a 12 pack gives 10 points, and a 24 pack gives 20 points (or 50 points if you're lucky). The sad thing is, Coke rewards have taken over my life. So, after being an addict for about a year now, how do I like it? Good thing for you, I'm about to tell you!


The Good...

Well, obviously the best thing about My Coke Rewards is, well, the rewards. The rewards update about once a week and can be viewed at their website, www.mycokerewards.com. Points come from any coke product, soda or not. After creating an account on their website, you can send in your codes through the website or via text messaging. The prizes range from key chains, to Nintendo Wii's, to Grills, to Vacations. Sounds pretty awesome, right? That's what I thought when I started....


The Bad...

Ok, so you want a key chain? 50 coke points, please! Wait... isn't 50 coke points the same as buying 15 cokes. Its a bad deal. No one is doubting that, and since you're a coke addict anyway, might as well get something back for it, right? So what about that Wii? Only 26,000 points. That's only... 8,660 cokes! Umm... Never mind.


"But I drink so much Coke, I could get that in no time!" Wrong. The prizes can only be won a limited amount of times. First come, first serve. Its not really saving points up for things, but more saving points up for whatever appears that looks cool first. Not only that, but even if you did drink enough cokes, you can only enter 10 coke codes a day. Hmmm... your chances are looking bad.


The Ugly

What it comes down to is that the awesome prizes are simply unattainable. No matter how much you want that Wii, you might as well just go out and buy it now instead of trying to drink a bazillion cokes a day. Plus, it will save you some visits to the hospital from caffeine shock.

Sadly, the worst part is what it does to people on an individual level.

Case study: Me

I currently have 15,550 points. The coolest thing I've ever bought with my coke rewards was entrance to Six Flags for 800 points (but it was only there for two weeks online). I now have my own personal army of reward collectors... My Dad, my girlfriend, and even my Academic Adviser's grandmother. That is not even a joke. I really have her Grandmother send me Coke reward codes. What am I saving my points for? I don't know. Will I ever stop? I doubt it.

~Final Thoughts~

Do you drink Coke? And I mean, a LOT of Coke? Then go for it. Get you're free T-shirt. Hey, you can even save up 18 points and buy another coke! Then enter those points toward a third coke!

Don't drink coke? Then avoid this like the plague. It will take over your life faster than a prom night dumpster baby.

Will I quit? No. And you can email me your Coke codes if you want. Leave em in the comments!

~jw

P.S. Wanna play but not want to buy coke? Google it and I bet you can get some free coke reward codes...


Links:
Mycokerewards
My Coke Rewards Wiki
Cheater's Codes for MyCokeRewards

Yahoo! Messenger goes Star Wars

Yahoo!, that annoying company with the punctuation in the name, has gone Star Wars! For some reason, this long after the star wars sixtuplet ended, Yahoo has just decided to release a custom Star Wars themed version of Yahoo! Messenger.

Not only does it seem untimely, but the emoticons are wii-tastically cute. Its almost too much. Still, if you use Yahoo! Messenger and you can't get enough of Star Wars, then this is the must have download this year. Check it out here.

~jw

P.S. If you missed the link, thats http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2007/12/13/may-the-force-be-with-youon-im/