Gizmodo: dummy

Guy Buys $999 I'm Rich App, Discovers He's Just Dumb

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:30:00 EDT

While this image may be doctored, I want to believe it's real. What really wins this for me is the desperate tone in the review from the guy who actually bought the $999 I'm Rich iPhone application, saying the application is a scam:

THIS IS NO JOKE...DO NOT BUY THIS APP AND APPLE PLEASE REMOVE THIS FROM THE APP STORE....APPLE MUST MUST MUST START TO SCREEN THESE FAKE APPS AND RIDICULOUS SCAMS.

Dear Lee5279xx,

No, Lee, this is not a scam. The application clearly said what it did and—if you are telling the truth—you went ahead and clicked on "BUY." That's not a scam. That's you being a moron.

Still, you've got a point. After all the fuss about only allowing good quality developers into the iPhone application store, the whole thing is loaded with crap. Crap with no real functionality, crap with bad design, crap with horrible icons. Except a few quality applications, the screening process is obviously useless. The I'm Rich application is just an extreme example that highlights what's wrong with the store, no matter how good it is in other aspects.

Still, dear Lee5279xx, we hope you can cancel that charge. Dummy.

Lots of love,
j.

[Digg, Thanks Marius]

Segway Crash Test is Awkward For All Parties Involved

John Herrman — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:05:00 EDT

Some agency not called the National Pedestrian Walkway and Novelty Tour Commission apparently ran the Segway though a battery of crash tests, dummies and all. I'm sure that by now many people have experienced something resembling this test, so it was probably wise to run the Seg into a few things to make sure it wouldn't kill anyone. As expected, the effect is almost identical to a tall man sprinting into another, face first. An alternative back story for this video: It's a performance art piece entitled "Dude, You Kissed My Eyeball." [YouTube]

Life-Size Robotic Ventriloquist Dummies: The Next Retail Craze?

Wilson Rothman — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Last time I was in a store, I was like, "Why is there no creepy animatronic sea captain here to tell me today's specials?" Apparently that's what the founders of Characters Unlimited thought too, because they've come up with a vast array of Hall of Presidents-style robotic people—and a few animals, too, like the ever-popular dog in overalls, or the smoking buffalo—aimed specifically at retailers who want to jazz up their stores, maybe after striking out with Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men. The things can move and talk, their lips synched to either live or pre-recorded messages. (Was that a tape recorder I saw?) The company president told Aving they'll do custom jobs, can even clone you if you want, but from the look of their lineup, it helps if you're old and/or disfigured. There's a video after the jump if you're not already properly skeeved out. [Aving USA]

Mock-up Nokia E61i Spotted: Please Stop Teasing Us

Gizloco — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:29:21 EST

For the low, low price of $22.99 you can get your hands on this non-working, store display version of the Nokia E61i, successor to the E61. We've learned not a damn thing about the smartphone in the process, but we're willing to bet that it still runs some sort of Symbian OS. Maybe you can be unscrupulous and sell it as a real E61i on eBay, like similar scams we've seen in the past. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Cellular NationWide Network via CrunchGear]