Yes, Even FOREIGN Internet! (12/5/03)
SceneLink
 

Just a quickie to close out the week, folks, because we're about to fall over backwards, sideways, and forwards simultaneously. (We'll try to capture the moment on video for you. It should be special.) You may have noticed a nice piece by David Pogue in yesterday's New York Times in which he shares a "Thanksgiving thought" that amounts to slobbering fanboy acclaim for iChat AV and its partner in crime, the iSight camera. It seems that David was in London a couple of weeks ago, and via the magic of iChat AV he was able to use his AirPort-enabled PowerBook and a borrowed iSight in a WiFi-equipped coffee shop to videoconference with his wife and kids back here in the states. He describes the event as "an almost overwhelming experience"-- an "emotional, powerful, simple, perfect example of how technology can change a moment, solve a problem, and despite the gulf of time and distance, bring you face to face with the people you love."

This is the part where Bart Simpson interjects with lots of gagging noises.

That said, we're certainly not going to contradict David, nor are we going to accuse him of unconscionable oversentimentality. We know all too well just how powerful a force iChat AV can be; sure, we were skeptical when it was introduced, but we've already told you in our own unconscionably oversentimental way how iChat enabled Anya's grandmother to see her granddaughter walking for the first time. And if you want another testimony of the power of iChat that isn't quite so Lifetime TV, it enabled one of us to give a guest talk to a UCLA communications class a few weeks ago, despite us being on one coast, them being on the other, and three thousand miles of stuff resting in between. In short, we're totally on board with the "iChat Rocks!" assessment-- even the weepy bits out of a Hallmark commercial.

No, the part that threw us was this: David describes how he was moping all homesick-like in that coffee shop in London when his new friend mentions that he uses iChat AV to videoconference with friends in the states, and David actually says "I had no idea you could use it across the Atlantic."

Which is just weird, when you think about it. This is David Pogue, after all, the author of a gazillion books on Macs and Windows, a frequent speaker at Macworld Expos, and just generally a very well-connected guy. Surely he understands that iChat does its thing via standard TCP/IP, so where on earth would he get the idea that it wouldn't work across the Atlantic? Did he think iChat's network packets are afraid of water, or something?

Or maybe he meant he expected Apple to have crippled the application to prevent it from working outside of the U.S. for some reason, sort of like how you have to be in the states to purchase songs from the iTunes Music Store or to order prints through iPhoto. But even if David thought there were some bizarre licensing reason for Apple to have done that, Steve has iChatted publicly with overseas buddies during at least two big media events-- with Jean-Marie Hullot in Paris during the original iChat AV intro at WWDC and with Bono in Dublin during the iTunes Music Event. So, what... David Pogue (Mega-Huge Mondo-Important Mac Journalist-Type) didn't see either of those? Inconceivable.

You do realize what this means, of course; David Pogue has been kidnapped and replaced with an exact double. Alert the feds.

 
SceneLink (4375)
And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors
 

Mash-ups and original music by AtAT's former Intern and Goddess-in-Training

Prim M at YouTube
 

The above scene was taken from the 12/5/03 episode:

December 5, 2003: Some show in Britain names Bill Gates more powerful than Steve Jobs. Meanwhile, still more rumors swirl about 90-nanometer G5s slated to appear at next month's Expo, and David Pogue somehow thought that iChat AV doesn't work across the Atlantic...

Other scenes from that episode:

  • 4373: Plus, Who's Got The RDF? (12/5/03)   We're afraid we've got some bad news, people: faithful viewer David Poves alerted us to the fact that a British show called "The World's Most Powerful" evaluated Bill Gates versus our very own Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates "won."...

  • 4374: Same Rumor, Different Day (12/5/03)   This is it, folks: Macworld Expo is only a month away, the pre-show gossip season is officially underway, and we therefore find ourselves clinging to the only known active Stevenote rumor like grim death-- namely, that Power Macs are going to get jiggy with a dose of 90-nanometer Go Juice courtesy of the white coats at Big Blue sometime soon enough to give Steve something neat to point at while he's onstage...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...

Vote Early, Vote Often!
Why did you tune in to this '90s relic of a soap opera?
Nostalgia is the next best thing to feeling alive
My name is Rip Van Winkle and I just woke up; what did I miss?
I'm trying to pretend the last 20 years never happened
I mean, if it worked for Friends, why not?
I came here looking for a receptacle in which to place the cremated remains of my deceased Java applets (think about it)

(1287 votes)

Like K-pop, but only know the popular stuff? Expand your horizons! Prim M recommends underrated K-pop tunes based on YOUR taste!

Prim M's Playlist

DISCLAIMER: AtAT was not a news site any more than Inside Edition was a "real" news show. We made Dawson's Creek look like 60 Minutes. We engaged in rampant guesswork, wild speculation, and pure fabrication for the entertainment of our viewers. Sure, everything here was "inspired by actual events," but so was Amityville II: The Possession. So lighten up.

Site best viewed with a sense of humor. AtAT is not responsible for lost or stolen articles. Keep hands inside car at all times. The drinking of beverages while watching AtAT is strongly discouraged; AtAT is not responsible for damage, discomfort, or staining caused by spit-takes or "nosers."

Everything you see here that isn't attributed to other parties is copyright ©,1997-2024 J. Miller and may not be reproduced or rebroadcast without his explicit consent (or possibly the express written consent of Major League Baseball, but we doubt it).