The Spin Since Michael Dell returned to the helm a year ago, Dell has struggled mightily to rebrand itself as cutting edge rather than value-minded. On the product front, that's entailed everything from rolling out a worthy iMac competitor to veering away from lackluster AMD chips. But the more noticeable changes have occurred on the marketing side, where Dell has focused on creating glammed-up ads targeted toward the style conscious. (Hype Sheet previously swooned over the company's use of the Flaming Lips' "The W.A.N.D." in one great spot.) This (RED) ad, directed by the man responsible for Nirvana's seminal "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video, continues the trend. (See below for that promised behind-the-sceneser.) But Dell doesn't want you thinking they're just in the computer game to make cake—they've also got heart, just like fellow (RED) backers American Express, Microsoft, and (perhaps most notably) Apple.

Counterspin Cynics, including our tart-tongued droogs over at Consumerist, have raised some important questions about Dell's (RED) pricing scheme. The laptop featured in this ad, for example, costs $150 more than its plain-Jane peer, yet only $50 of that goes toward the Global Fund. The only spec difference is that the (RED) model runs a tweaked version of Vista. Is that really worth an extra $100? Or has Dell built in a way to make a little coin off consumers' best intentions? On top of that, the intersection between commerce and charity is always guaranteed to make some folks squirm—especially when the commerce part is far more visible than the end results in the developing world. Last year, AdAge controversially estimated that the (RED) campaign has spent more than its raised, a claim that elicited a strong rebuttal. Hard to tell who's right here without taking a closer look at the books, but Dell should realize that today's consumers are a naturally suspicious lot; you can't just say you're on the side of the angels and expect immediate praise.

Mission Accomplished? The spot certainly spurred a lot of Google searches, which was Dell's true aim—note how they leave the details of (RED) vague, and simply tease with the joinred.com URL at the end. Will that translate into gangbusters sales of (RED) XPS laptops and desktops? The hunch here is "no"—the price premium seems a wee bit high, and I trust that the majority of charity-prone consumers might prefer direct contributions (as well as their attendant tax write-offs). But even if you're an ultra-cynic about the commerce-charity meetup, you have to admit this is an effective ad—the do-good angle aside, it basically makes the XPS M1530 seem like the computing equivalent of Axe body spray. That's a pretty impressive image overhaul for a brand that, until recently, couldn't shake its rep as the Night Swept of hardware.

Hype-O-Meter 7.5 (out of 10). Yes, you can certainly question the sincerity of Dell's commitment to the cause. (And, please, do so in comments.) But this spot fits in rather neatly with the company's efforts to shed its Ben Curtis past.

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired, a columnist for Slate, and author of the forthcoming Now the Hell Will Start. His Hype Sheet column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

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If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers, most of whom are women...The challenge here is to design a system including profit and recognition to do more for the poor.

Yes, before our commenters flip out, we realize the 1984 spot was a shot at IBM, not Microsoft. [cnn]

Dell and Microsoft will announce later this week that they will offer customers a simple way to make a difference, through the purchase of unique (PRODUCT) RED branded personal computers and a printer. Adding to the premium experience, all Dell (PRODUCT) RED PCs are powered by Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED, that include six unique desktop wallpapers, a screensaver, two innovative Windows Sidebar gadgets and a (RED)-themed Windows DreamScene. Dell is the exclusive PC and peripheral partner of (PRODUCT) RED.

• When a consumer chooses either laptop - the XPS M1530 (PRODUCT) RED or XPS M1330 (PRODUCT) RED with Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED (starting price $1,149 for either laptop) - Dell and Windows will make a total joint contribution of $50 directly to the Global Fund, which buys nearly 4 months of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

• When a consumer chooses the XPS One (PRODUCT) RED with Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED (starting price of $1,599), Dell and Windows will make a total contribution of $80 directly to the Global Fund, which buys 6 months of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

• When a consumer chooses the 948 All-in-one (PRODUCT) RED Printer (starting price of $149), Dell will make a $5 contribution to the Global Fund, which buys more than ten days of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

More information about (RED) is available at www.joinred.com.

Yes, Apple has donated 100 nanos to a group of kids who were victims of the recent fires, which was nice of them. Sure, it wasn't completely selfless, but it's not like it's their job to get them new houses or whatever. It wasn't a random donation, either, but rather a request that they fulfilled. Poway resident Steve Boyack emailed King Jobs asking for them, saying that "iPods are an accessory most kids like and can't live without." See, I would have said a bed is an accessory most kids like and can't live without, but that's just me. In any case, soon after shooting off the email, 100 nanos arrived into the hands of a bunch of confused, homeless kids. Thanks, Apple! [Sign on San Diego via Gadget Lab]

I'm afraid you can't, became Okutta doesn't exist. It's all a figment of charity War Child Canada's imagination, who made the video to draw attention to the plight of the world's child soldiers who do end up in war training camps. [Camp Okuttavia Neatorama]

It's not as cheap as throwing some quarters into a Salvation Army bucket—digitizing 10 minutes of film costs $110, up to 45 minutes runs $244—but supporting and preserving the arts is always a worthwhile cause. Besides, it shows the MPAA that internet+film doesn't always = piracy. [Save a Film via Boing Boing]

Keep A Child Alive, a charity that campaigns to bring anti-retroviral drugs to African kids with AIDS will get the proceeds from the sale of the iPhone, once Mr Vulkan has flogged it on eBay. So if you see him, shake that man's hand and tell him he's Top Banana.

And if you want to donate to Keep A Child Alive, then you can do so here. Oh, and Steve, if you're reading this, then why don't you be a love and match the final eBay total?

First in line for an iPhone at Apple store Soho on Flickr [Flickr via Boing Boing]

As with the Wii Mod, some of the proceeds of this DS Mod auction are going towards Child's Play, Penny Arcade's charity for sick kids.

– Jason Chen

Auction Page [eBay]

The Gallery [Gizmodo]

As for the casemod itself, a portion of the proceeds from the eBay auction goes to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity, so you can feel good about spending (probably) over a grand for this. – Jason Chen

Pretty much the best Wii case mod ever [eBay via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Update: Fixed the link, as the old auction was de-listed due to a technicality.

Microsoft is launching a new program called the i'm Initiative. Basically, users of Live Messenger can put a small logo at the end of their screenname, and then every time they chat with someone a small amount of money will be donated to the cause of their choice. The more you IM, the more money gets donated. Seems like a pretty awesome deal to us. What's the catch? I can't really see one other than the fact that an undefined "portion" of ad revenue from the emoticon (how does an emoticon generate ad revenue, anyways?) goes to the good cause, with the rest presumably going to put gas in Bill Gates' jetpack. –Adam Frucci

The i'm Initiative and new secret emoticon [Inside Windows Live Messenger]

"The Office" Signed iPod Nano [Via iLounge]

But casting a slightly cynical eye toward this project:

First of all the Warner Music Group doesn't mention how much money it donates to Habitat for Humanity for each mix you send. Plus, Habitat for Humanity International, a religious organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing and homelessness and whose motto is "Building houses with God's people in need," has a two-star (out of a possible four) efficiency rating from the Charity Navigator, Your Guide to Intelligent Giving. And its CEO earns over $210,000 a year. Just thought you might want to know. – Charlie White

U-MYX - Get inside the Music! [Warner Music Group]

Well, at least each $25, 128MB player has part of its proceeds going to the Detroit Medical Center's breast cancer prevention program. Which is the least they could do after giving their fans such a lousy fake player. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Palace Locker Room Store via Electronista]

If you're skipping Vista or you're a Mac user, why not just donate your old thumb drive to charity? But hey, what the fuck do kids in Africa need with thumbdrives? How about food, education, computers, stable government.... – Charlie White

Faster Vista [Shiny Shiny]
Thumb Drive Drive [Inveneo, via boingboing]

There is no cover to enter the event, but bring some dough for the raffle and prepare to rock out. Hit the link below for more information. – Travis Hudson

Fünde Razor II

Other Red [via MacMinute]

We also heard the red iPod nano is making an appearance at the 5th Ave. Apple Store. If any readers wander down there, email us some photos of the iPod and we'll hit you up with a personalized email with your name in it and a "thank you". If we're feeling generous, we'll even attach our signature.

Oh and by the way, the reason Gizmodo was red yesterday wasn't because we were helping The Global Fund. We just sold out to Radio Shack for a day. Go us! – Jason Chen

Oprah and Bono to unveil Product Red iPod nano tomorrow [Apple Insider]

Here's how it works: get your stuff together, pick the charity you'd like to help out, and print out a free shipping label. It's an excellent way to help both the environment AND other people.

And if you're not so big on the "helping others", there's always the tax deductions. – Jason Chen

Recycling For Charities [via Lifehacker]

It's not all free candy and soda pop for Mysore's ladies, however, given that the smart cards will hold their medical history. Obviously, the idea here is to encourage the prostitutes to get checked for sexually transmitted diseases more often. The smart cards will interact with an Indian computer known as a Simputer, letting doctors easily look up the prostitutes' medical data.

See, Bill Gates isn't evil—he's trying to make the world safe for everybody, one prostitute at a time. – Nicholas Deleon

Gates gives 500 hookers smart card [The Inquirer]

In addition to that, it would be a great thrill for me, because I can't stand the way my cellphone sounds, its lousy reception, its fat form factor, its constantly dropped calls and its ugly façade. It would only take the slightest provocation to resort to throwing it even without benefit of a sanctioned competition. I'm going. It's all for a recycling effort, anyway. Better to throw it in some Finnish stadium for charity than having it taking up space in a drawer somewhere. Just so you know, the current world record is 94.97 meters. – Charlie White

Info Page [Mobile Phone Throwing Championships, via Textually.org]

To recap, the phone has a VGA camera, two displays, Sprint PCS VisionSM and Picture MailSM compatible, voice activated dialing, 3.6 hours of talk time and weighs 3.5 ounces. Pick one up today to support a worthy cause. Or should we say, two worthy causes. Oh yeah, we're going to hell. – Jason Chen

Sanyo 3100 - Pink Phone To Benefit Breast Cancer Foundation [Mobilewhack]

The concept definitely isn't lame though. Cingular's auctioning off 10 phones to benefit Bon Jovi's charities through Samsung's "Four Season of Hope" program. Their phones, however, could use some work. They took perfectly nice Samsung D807s, let an autistic 4th grader Elmer's Glue sequins all over the back, and then had Ryan "I made out with Teri Hatcher" Seacrest sign it.

Do you think the people who fall into the Bon Jovi + American Idol + Ryan Seacrest fanbase has thousands to plop down for a charity phone? Probably not. Here's hoping the kids get something nice out of this. – Jason Chen

Auction Page [eBay via Press Release]

Liveright has gotten 1526 people to sign up so far, but the project is not endorsed by Nicholas Negroponte's Media Project, the hand-cranked computers are not being offered for sale, and even if they were, there is no specific plan to distribute all these contributed computers. If enough people sign up, though, we're thinking someone will be able to figure all that out. – Charlie White

$100 Laptop Pledge [PledgeBank] (Thanks, Jonathan!)

If you're a neighbor to the north, you best run down to your local Rogers dealer so you can pre-order a pink RAZR. Only 5000 will be available for pre-order and last I checked, it's hip to have a pink RAZR, so make haste. Why should you get one though? Easy. $25 from each phone is donated to breast cancer research, so you're doing something good while trying to be the next Vincent Chase from Entourage. Of course if you're really cheap you could make a $5 donation to breast cancer research and buy a faceplate off eBay.

Only 5,000 Pink RAZR Available Canada [I4U]