From a trusted Crispin Porter + Bogusky source, we've learned that some sites have jumped the gun and that the Microsoft Gates/Seinfeld ads have not been axed. It's true, Microsoft apparently asked the agency to focus on the new "I'm a PC" spots. And it's true, the agency has gotten plenty of "I don't know what this means" response in their measured statistics of the Gates/Seinfeld ads. But no one has pulled the plug on the dynamic duo just yet.

In fact, CPB has another completed spot featuring the lovable, affluent couple in the can, ready to air (even though it won't quite yet). And while the agency has prioritized development to the anti-Mac ads, there are still full plans to go ahead and produce more Seinfeld/Gates spots unless Microsoft were to pull the plug first (which, once again, they have not at this time).

It's good to know that in a time of economic uncertainty, Gates and Seinfeld haven't been laid off just yet.

UPDATE: We talked to our source again after speaking to Rob Reilly from CPB. While Rob Reily has denied that another Gates/Seinfeld ad is sitting in the ready, our source confirms, once again, that it is. Our source explains that if the Mac/PC ads running now prove to be successful, there's a good chance that last Gates/Seinfeld spot will air.

However, there's even more of an indication now that Microsoft aggressively cut the Gates/Seinfeld spot production short, canceling the shoot for a fourth spot just three days into production. The spots were intended to be part of a running series with up to 12 planned spots conceptualized. Now it's unclear whether or not we'll even see the last spot air, let alone Seinfeld come back for a reprisal.

One thing I can tell you for sure is that there will be no new version of the Kindle this year. A new version is possible sometime next year at the earliest.

Oh well, maybe next Christmas. Sorry Timmy, don't cry. Santa still loves you—it's Jeff Bezos who doesn't. [NYT]

While moving hard drives have higher power requirements on paper, in reality, those peaks are only reached when random data is being searched out. On average, these drives have become very power efficient and rarely peak even when data is being accessed.

SSDs, on the other hand, pretty much have an "on" mode and an "off" mode. That's it. So while you are using your hard drive, that mode is pretty much always going to be the "on" one. SSD manufacturers haven't focused on other power saving principles at this time. And until they do, don't expect things to get any better.

Note: the benchmarks were all completed on the same Dell laptop. A 5400 RPM hard drive would have even lower power consumption than the 7200 RPM model tested.


As for buying that new SSD for your notebook...I'd suggest you wait a bit longer, even if you have the cash. [Tom's Hardware via Crunchgear]

NASA said in a statement today that they haven't talked with any German student and that, from what they have read, he's absolutely wrong. The student said that NASA's math was erroneous because they didn't take into account the probability of Apophis hitting a geosynchronous satellite, which would have made the "apocalyptical" piece of rock hit the Earth in its next orbit, basically killing most life in the planet a lot of the life over a large region, with an impact energy estimated in 880 megatons of TNT, Jerry Bruckheimer-style.

To give you an idea of how powerful this is, the original atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima unleashed only 13 kilotons of TNT, while the combined energy of all explosives used in World War 2 was an estimated five megatons. Or compared to a more modern example: the largest bomb ever detonated in this planet was 50 megatons, the Soviet RDS-220 hydrogen bomb or Tsar Bomba (you have to love the fact that Humanity can be more destructive than any asteroid passing by.)

The space agency, however, says that there's no chance of Apophis hitting a satellite because it's not going to get anywhere near the "main belt of geosynchronous satellites," saying that the Near Earth Object Program at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory maintains their previous hit estimate: 1 in 45,000 chance of Apophis destroying some Earthlings in 2035. And a 1 in 23 million hit probability in 2037.

This makes Apophis a type 0 in the Torino scale. In other words: "NO HAZARD. The likelihood of a collision is zero, or is so low as to be effectively zero. Also applies to small objects such as meteors and bodies that burn up in the atmosphere as well as infrequent meteorite falls that rarely cause damage." Quite far from the other extreme alternative, the type 0: "A collision is certain, capable of causing global climatic catastrophe that may threaten the future of civilization as we know it, whether impacting land or ocean. Such events occur on average once per 100,000 years, or less often."

But even if it Apophis hit Earth, according to NASA it would not be devastating for planetary life. The effects would have been bad, yes, depending on the composition and the area of impact, but it wouldn't have been enough to start a global climate change according to the projections. It could have destroyed something like the West Coast with a giant tsunami, if it fell on the Pacific, but not obliterate all life in the Northern Hemisphere.

In any case, we are glad that this is the case. First, that a) this German kid is an idiot, b) the news agencies are stupid, and c) we are even more stupid for believing them. Still, our favorite tin foil hat theory is that this may all be a conspiracy to hide Humanity from the prospect of certain extinction. Your bet, in the poll:

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NASA Statement on Student Asteroid Calculations
WASHINGTON — The Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has not changed its current estimates for the very low probability (1 in 45,000) of an Earth impact by the asteroid Apophis in 2036.
Contrary to recent press reports, NASA offices involved in near-Earth object research were not contacted and have had no correspondence with a young German student, who claims the Apophis impact probability is far higher than the current estimate.
This student's conclusion reportedly is based on the possibility of a collision with an artificial satellite during the asteroid's close approach in April 2029. However, the asteroid will not pass near the main belt of geosynchronous satellites in 2029, and the chance of a collision with a satellite is exceedingly remote.
Therefore, consideration of this satellite collision scenario does not affect the current impact probability estimate for Apophis, which remains at 1 in 45,000.

[Apophis, Torino Hazard Scale, NASA Near Earth Object Program, and NASA News Release]

Microsoft, which has stopped making an HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, would continue to invest in its Xbox Live online service that already lets users rent hundreds of movies, including ones in high-definition.

According to this source, these are not the MacBook Pros you are looking for:

I just printed the inventory at FutureShop, the store I work at, and found new MacBooks... NOT MacBook Pros. The items are APPLE MACB MB402LL/A and MB403LL/A. I saw this posted in other places, but the prices is what will interest you. They're listed at 1149.99 and 1349.99. These are Canadian prices, mind you, so I imagine they'll be less in the states. Take a look at the picture, the two I'm mentioning are at the bottom.

Of course, Obi Kenobi here could have printed this out off Excel. But Macrumors recently got a separate source showing similarly low prices attached to the new model numbers.