Gizmodo: mistakes

Amazon's Unfortunate Windows 7 Freudian Slip

Jack Loftus — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Surely this is some kind of innocent SEO-related keyword slip, right? I mean, Microsoft definitely doesn't want one of the biggest online retailers in the world billing its new OS as Windows Vista 7 Home Premium, right? Right?!

I mean, such labeling would play right into detractor's hands.

Regardless, Hodgman has been dispatched. New Apple I'm a Mac ad is imminent. [Amazon Windows 7 Resource Center - Thanks, Matthew]

Oops! Best Buy Selling a Palm Pre Case with 'iPod Sold Separately'

Adam Frucci — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT

Here's something Palm execs can't like to see: a listing for a Palm Pre holster on BestBuy.com that says "iPod sold separately" on its image. At least the picture is of a Pre, right? [BestBuy.com; Thanks, Rob!]

CBS's 'Worst Week' Mistakes iPod for iPhone, Sends Nerdier Viewers into Convulsions

John Herrman — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:14:03 EST

'Worst Week' is apparently some kind of adapted British show about a guy whose life sucks, or something. I don't know. All I do know is that this guy's iPhone is not an iPhone.

To add insult to injury, the person on the other end of the line has an actual iPhone, assuming that he isn't entirely hallucinated by the iPodder. Note: with the whole iPod thing, that would make sense, AND set off a pretty neat little story arc. NOW PAY ME, CBS. [CBS—Thanks, Kelly and David!]

We Can't Wait for the New iPhone G3

Mark Wilson — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:30:00 EDT

"It's even faster than the old iPhone G3."

Found on Time. Think you can do better? You probably can. Hit the comments and give it your best shot. [Time via BGR]

How to Implode a Tanker Car in Under a Second

Adam Frucci — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:45:00 EDT

Here's a tip for next time you're emptying a sealed storage tank on a train or a truck: make sure you properly vent it! If you don't, it'll implode in an amazing fashion, which might make for an entertaining video but will probably get you yelled at and fired. But hot damn, who knew tanks could crumple themselves up like a soda can like that? [Neatorama]

MPAA: Did We Say 44% of Piracy Was Done By Students? We Meant 15%, Our Bad!

Adam Frucci — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:20:53 EST

So the MPAA used to shout about a study they performed that showed that 44% of illegal movie downloading was done by college students, a figure they used as evidence that our government needed to enact some laws to keep our feckless youth population under control. The only problem? The study was complete BS, with the real figure hovering a bit closer to the 15% mark. Oops!

To their credit, the MPAA has admitted to the mistake, saying that "We take this error very seriously and have taken strong and immediate action to both investigate the root cause of this problem as well as substantiate the accuracy of the latest report." Great, MPAA! Thanks for taking the time to stop vilifying college students as a roving pack of thieves as the RIAA loves to do. Now lets see if it changes your behavior at all, shall we? [Yahoo via Consumerist]

Microsoft Customer Service Makes a Follow-Up Call 10 Years Too Late

Adam Frucci — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:45:52 EST

Here's a call you never expect to get: a customer service followup from Microsoft… ten years after the first call. That's exactly what happened to a guy who had called the big M way back on January 7, 1998. On the 8th of this month, he got a followup call to make sure everything was going OK. A nice gesture, but what really makes it a great story is that his copy of Windows ME still sucks. You'd think they'd have resolved those problems by now, wouldn't you? The real reason for the delayed call is pretty simple: a typo. Yep, they put in '08 instead of '98. Understandable, I suppose. [Consumerist]

Sony's Spelling Blunders

Travis Hudson — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:40:43 EDT

A reader of our blogging cohorts, Kotaku, hit up Sony's Ginza showroom and found a comical spelling error on the displayed Playstation 3 controller. Sony just can't seem to get anything right as of late. We highly doubt the SERECT spelling error will make the shelves, but it is still nice to giggle at their expense. Kotaku's overseas correspondent, Brian A, says that SELECT is an unusual word and could be a common translating mistake. So maybe we should cut them some slack—nah, I'll just go back to laughing. – Travis Hudson

OMG, Playstation 3 Controller Spelling Mistake [Kotaku]