Tag: Languages

Daisy Daisy . . . or . . . Songs About Computers . . . kinda . . .

Daisy    Daisy
. . . or . . .
Songs About Computers
. . . kinda . . .

Daisy Daisy … on a bicycle built for DU  –  PLEX? Well, the HAL 9000 never could carry a tune! This might technically be cheating, as HAL is singing a song, but I prefer to think that this was part of his diagnostics and it truly is a song about a computer. A very lethal computer! LOL!

Full  Disclosure – I  have never taken ANY music lessons and …  it shows! And on my iPhone, I don’t have a single track of music. Not one. I have some movies, but not a single song! 

So why songs about computers? Why not! It is my OAC blog and I try to combine computers, languages, words, programming, learning, pop culture and legacy technology …. all in one place! Hit and miss, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes …. it rains! Can you name the movie line came from? No computer songs, but a great movie and soundtrack!

Surprisingly, there were not too many actual songs ABOUT computers ‘out there’. Lots of soundtracks geared towards the computer content of a movie, but a little digging and found a few things.

I consider the soundtrack to ANY movie, more like a character IN THE MOVIE! I bet that if I just mention movies with famous soundtracks, you can instantly bring to mind, some of the tunes that are part of that movie – The Hobbit, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pulp Fiction, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apocalypse Now, Guardians of the Galaxy … you get the idea! At least, that works for me! LOL!

So, after this, I just might put some tracks onto my iPhone! I will probably start with the soundtrack from … Guardians of the Galaxy – Volume I! LOL! Yeah, probably bent my rules a bit to include songs sung by computers, songs written by computers and just plain old … favourite songs and soundtracks! Thus and hence and therefore …. KINDA!!!!! All those data bits gotta end up somewhere!

And the usual YouTube videos to follow with some BRILLIANT and HILARIOUS computer parodies of popular music videos! I was … amused by them!

And especially weird and wonderful – how to make a huge array of floppy disk drives actually perform in concert …. POP MUSIC! Definitely Weird and Wonderful today!

Enjoy!

  1. Top 10 Songs About (or to) Computers
  2. Songs About Computers and the Tech Industry
  3. 12 songs inspired by tech
  4. The top 10 songs about video games
  5. Listen to These Odd Pop Songs Composed by a Computer
  6. Now computers are writing perfectly acceptable pop songs
  7. Songs about computers music
  8. Songs About Computers or Technology
  9. The Best Songs About Computers
  10. Computer Songs – Lyrics
  11. The 50 Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time

As long as I have an old iPhone with literally NO music on it … there will be OAC posts! Seriously.. no music!

 

ENJOY!

 TTFN!

 

Database Skills
Sia Cheap Thrills Parody

Sia – Actual Cheap Thrills

Call Me Maybe – Parody Video
Sys Admin Song

Call Me Maybe – ACTUAL Song

Lady Java

Lady Gaga – ACTUAL Poker Face

Seven Databases in Song

Pikotaro – PPAP
Pen Pineapple Apple Pen

THUNDERSTRUCK
on FLOPPOTRON

Bohemian Rhapsody
on FLOPPOTRON

Sheldon Allman
Univac and Humanoid

Wintergatan – Marble Machine

        

‘No one does research with such flair. He’s the Boogie Woogie Google Boy of Division B.’

Mozart on a computer,

Pandemic

 

Throwback Thursday . . . or . . . Laughter and Chuckles!

Throwback Thursday
. . . or . . .
Laughter and Chuckles!

Why did the chicken cross the road? Error 404. Road can not be found.
ALMOST a … Dad Joke! Years ago, I once ‘collected’ cartoons from the comic section of newspapers or editorial pages, specifically looking for Math, Statistics or Numbers in general – for use as motivation in my classes! I probably still have them somewhere in ‘The Garage’ and will look for them one day and have a post dedicated to really old math cartoons!

Once, I included a funny math cartoon at the very END of a printed math test for my Grade 12 Math 31 (Advanced) class. This was during my Student Teaching year at U of Calgary.

I had the opportunity to teach ‘Probability’ to my highly motivated International Baccalaureat program at the school I was assigned! Well, this threw them for a loop! “Is this a question?“, “Is this for marks?“, “How do I answer this question?” and ‘What is this for?”

And to his  credit,  my Supporting Teacher let me do all kinds of crazy things in all my classes! This will be a theme for another OAC post one day!

One small amazing Fun Fact: I ended up being paired with not one, but TWO of my OWN High School Math teachers from my high school years … just by chance! What are the odds on that !!! Well, that is what statistics are for! LOL!

So, some Throwback Thursday humour and  random images, YouTube videos and cartoons to maybe provide a chuckle or two!

And that is about it for today! A busy day with some meetings, documents and workshops at the speed of Self Pace too! I might throw new stuff in later! You just never know!   

 

 

Enjoy!

  1. Windows Vs Mac Vs Linux: 10 Funny Jokes In Pictures
  2. The 12 Most Ridiculous Windows Errors of All Time
  3. 21 Hilarious Microsoft Windows Fails
  4. Top 10 Programmer Jokes, Explained for the Rest of Us
  5. The 10 Funniest Computer Fails, Bugs and Errors
  6. Computer Memes

As long as I have stuff in ‘The Garage’ … and the “World Wide Web“, there will be Throwback Thursdays!

 

ENJOY!

 TTFN!

 

Why Computer Engineering
is Like Standup Comedy

I’ve Got a Problem with My Apple
The One Ronnie – BBC

One Day, A Computer Will Fit …
… On A Desk – Arthur C. Clarke (1974)

Computer Joke of the Day
May 1, 2020

Modern Upgrades
for Classic Computers

15+ Funny MS Windows Jokes
That Will Make You Laugh

10 Funniest TED Talks
Compilation

Computer Predicts the
End of Civilization (1973)

Arthur C. Clark
Predicts the Internet (1964)

A Funny Look at the Unintended Consequences
of Technology (TED)

BYOD issues were an even bigger problem in the 1950s.
BYOD was not as much of a concern in the office as BYOG.

‘Well, for starters, I’ve never seen a laptop in Roman Numerals.’
“It’s a fantastic computer! It’s so old that none of today’s hackers know how to hack it!”
“That old computer we recycled in 1989 is now worth a fortune.”

Old-fashioned computer

“Don’t worry Mac, I’ll have that happy face back in no time.”

 

Pandemic

 

Wonderful Wednesday . . . C64 Marketing

Wonderful Wednesday
. . . . .
Commodore 64 Marketing!

SX 64 Receipt 1985
SX 64 Receipt 1985

My first computer I EVER purchased! I think I might even have my original receipt! I will have to dig around my own computer archives aka ‘The Garage’ and see if I can come up with that papyrus document! And … drum roll …. I FOUND IT! Click on the image to see it in a bigger tab!

And why did I buy a C-64, specifically, the SX-64, the World’s First Luggable Computer? It cost me $901.95 (note there was no tax!) and that was a huge amount, in today’s dollars! Actually, it works out to be …. $1,962.18 in ‘today’s’ money! I used the Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator, which I did not know existed until this morning!

SX-64
      SX-64

There were a few reasons – I had just started to work in a classroom that was FILLED with Commodore-64 computers, I was taking a graduate course at the U of C about Technology/Computers in Education and … a buddy of mine could buy it through his company AT A DISCOUNT! But none of those beat out … THIS IS SUCH A  COOL COMPUTER! So had to buy the Commodore SX-64, which was also known as the Executive 64 or VIP-64 in Europe!

So  it got me to wondering about how the Commodore became, at the time, the single best home computer EVER SOLD! And I came to the conclusion that … I don’t know why! LOL! Oh, well, maybe marketing has alot to do  with it! Just look at Apple! I have posted about how Apple have made such fantastic ads before! (Yup, product placement!)

My ultimate, non-academic conclusion is that …. EVERYONE COULD OWN A HOME COMPUTER!!! And if Commodore could make it cheap, easy, small, available and FUN – then they found the magic recipe to sell MILLIONS OF THEIR COMPUTERS! And, literally: 

The Commodore 64, also known as the C64 or the CBM 64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, January 7–10, 1982). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 10 and 17 million units. (From Wikipedia)

And it is a bit unknown as to how many SX-64 computers were sold. There was a rumoured DX-64 with dual floppy drives, but that never appeared.

The exact number of SX-64 sold from 1984 to 1986, when it was discontinued, is unknown. The serial numbers of over 130 SX-64s from series GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5 and GA6, with serial numbers ranging over 49,000 for series GA1, 1,000 for GA2, 17,000 for GA4, 11,000 for GA5, and 7,000 for GA6 have been reported. (From Wikipedia)

I will have an SX-64 dedicated post in the future, showing how fast it booted, cartridges that I have and how I can connect it to my Toshiba large screen tv too!

It really was an amazing computer! And speed – it boots up in about 5 seconds! And it only had the one floppy drive! Remember sorting through floppy disk banks! Good times, good times!

Commodore 128
         Commodore 128

Fun Fact – did you know that  Commodore actually made other computers, including a Commodore PC compatible and another one called the Commodore 128? Fun Fact!

Commodore PC Compatible
Commodore PC Compatible

Be sure to look closely at some of the vintage print ads I included  after all of this! William Shatner HIMSELF – CAPTAIN KIRK – was a spokesman for the Commodore VIC-20 – the computer that came out BEFORE the C-64!! I can legitimately say – I own an Official Star Fleet Computer!

And that is about it for today! Lots of meetings and workshops! I might throw new stuff in later! You just never know!   

 

 

Enjoy!

  1. Commodore History Part 1- The PET
  2. Commodore History Part 3 – The Commodore 64 (complete)
  3. Commodore History Parts 1-8 Compilation
  4. The best ever Commodore 64 music
  5. The Commodore 64 is rebooting the 1980s with a full-size re-release
  6. Commodore 64 : Memories of the Best Selling Computer Ever
  7. Commodore 64 Story & Review
  8. In Pictures: A look back at future tech – Vintage Commodore computer ads
  9. Commodore – Secret Conspiracy at Uncyclopedia – Content Free Encyclopedia (this is funny!)
Commodore PET
               Commodore PET

As long as there are a bunch of old computers in my basement, there will be Wonderful Wednesdays!

 

ENJOY!

 TTFN!

 

Commodore SX-64
TV Ad 1984

Commodore 64 US Adverts

Commodore History Part 1
The PET

Commodore History Compilation
Parts 1-8

C64 Accolade Comics

Games That Push the Limits
of the Commodore 64

World’s First All New
Commodore 64

So You Bought a C64
Modern Guide for Retro Buyers

 

 

 

Pandemic

 

Terrific Tuesday … ENCORE! More Computer Humour

Terrific Tuesday
. . . . ENCORE . . . .
MORE Computer Humour!

Let’s take a breather today and just have a few chuckles about computers and our digital lives! That and I have multiple meetings, training sessions AND I get to pick up a refreshed laptop today too! So I just want to chuckle and laugh today!

There is no doubt working from home or remote working, continues to be very challenging!

So a little diversion is very welcome, at least for me! And for me, meditation, getting up and walking around, stretching, a walk in my yard, tea and honey, scheduled and impromptu chats, coffee breaks and conversations with my colleagues are SO important to me! I haven’t quite reached the stage of throwing my computer across the room yet!

Find what works for you!

Take of yourselves and your families!

I can hardly wait to bike to work again!

 

Enjoy!

  1. Banana Jr. Series Computer
  2. ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ just turned 30 — here’s the history of the strip and its mysterious creator Bill Watterson
  3. Foxtrot – Comic Home Page
  4. James Veitch – YouTube
  5. James Veitch – TED Talks
  6. 5 Most Watched Cat Videos of All Time

 

 

As long as there are cartoons, cat videos at YouTube and The IT Crowd out there, there will be Terrific Tuesdays!

 

ENJOY!

 TTFN!

 

THIS is What Happens
When You Reply to Email

More Adventures in
Replying to Spam

Elaborate Wrong Number
James Veitch . . . again!

Siri vs Alexa

Pandemic

 

Bold Italics Comic Sans . . . or Word Processors Through the Years

Bold Italics Comic Sans
. . . or . . .
Word Processors Through the Years

Typewriter! Whiteout! Ribbon! Carriage Return! That was MY technology when I was writing term papers back in 1975-1982 at the University of Calgary!

Those late nights AND early mornings, pounding away, literally, on my Smith Corona typewriter – trying to balance SPEED with ACCURACY! There was no such thing as DELETE or UNDO … unless you count going through gallons of whiteout! BUT, I had a very HI-TECH version of correcting mistakes!

Basically, it was a dry ‘tape’, with dryer white ‘chalk’ on one side, and a more inert opposite side. But first, you had to recognize that you did INDEED make a typo, AS YOU WERE TYPING! There were no spellcheckers back then! And then, backspace manually TO THE MISTAKE, insert the correction tape, powder side TOWARDS the error, TYPE THE ERROR AGAIN to literally WHITE OUT the mistake, backspace AGAIN, and manually type in the corrected letter! Good times, good times! All this with a single, ORIGINAL, piece of paper in the typewriter! ARGH! And no automatic page feeds so I often ran out of room on my PRISTINE and ORIGINAL PIECE OF PAPER! DOUBLE ARGH!

And then I took my first computer science course! Although technically NOT a word processor, a massive desk with a punched card reader could be consider an early form of a word processor! Every mistake in code (FORTRAN!) I made, took about 30 minutes to actually DISCOVER from the Punch Card Elders who took my deck and ran it into the giant Punched Card Monsters! Then I had to dig out the SINGLE CARD that had a typo or bad code, and type it in again!

The day I discovered the ‘Function Switches’ feature, which would mirror all the text was like a miracle! I would press the copy button, then STOP, type in the corrected command or typo, then continue with copy and the card would appear at the end! Reinsert, hand over the deck and … ANOTHER TYPO FURTHER INTO THE DECK! Repeat as many times as necessary! Good times, good times!

Commodore SX-64
Commodore SX-64

And then, I graduated, not only from U of C, but onto SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY! Well, at least, at the time, it certainly WAS superior technology! My first teaching gig was not only teaching a Beginner Computer Science course, but DESIGNING IT AS WELL! I earlier posted about Desktop Publishing, but … it was really just basic Word Processing with Apple and Commodore Computers!

Yes, that is the manual for my own Commodore SX-64 that I used for some Grad courses at U of C! And I used the worlds best FREE word processor at the time … SPEEDSCRIPT! A future post will discuss just how amazing the SX-64 computer was! AND IT STILL WORKS!

SpeedScript was free, had a spell checker and even had a PREVIEW of the final page, which was YEARS ahead of anything else out there! And did I mention it was … FREE! YES FREE! And amazingly, it used a markup language that is INCREDIBLY SIMILAR TO WHAT HTML IS NOW! Commodore computers were definitely ahead of their time!

And then a commercial word processor – PaperClip came along and … well, due to budget cuts, only 1 copy was purchased for me! Free is free, right!

And the first ever ‘office suite’ was actually a cartridge based system for .. you guessed it … my SX-64! It was called VIZASTAR and had … EVERYTHING you ever needed for what is now considered an ‘Office Suite’ – Spreadsheet, Database and Graphics … but no word processor sadly!

Why here? A future post will be about my SX-64 AND the cool software I still have, including one of he worlds first ever … LIGHT PEN called Flexidraw! VERY COOL even by today’s standards!

I brought up my Commodore SX-64 to our Systems Open House a few years ago! The theme was ‘Time Travellers – Meet the Team:Systems Through Time‘ Click here to see some photos from a previous post! (Yes, always, more Product Placement!)

And then .. progress marches on. The next generation of hardware and software was WordPerfect on a Commodore IBM clone. What? I bet you didn’t know that Commodore made IBM clones! THEY DID!

And I might start an argument, but I always preferred Corel WordPerfect (MAC) to pretty much any flavour of Word through the years! Okay, so maybe now Office 365 is better! But when I was helping to publish our CALL Proceedings, I made WordPerfect the recommended application. Of course, everyone ignored it, but WordPerfect did Word, BETTER THAN WORD back then! AND IT WAS CANADIAN TOO!

Apple even had their own versions of word processors, including Apple Writer, ClarisWorks, MacWrite, MacWrite Pro, AppleWorks, and now Pages. All good! Used them all for various reasons with great success! 

And then there is another package that I have briefly used, and is free for both current WIN and MAC platforms called Libre Office, which was once known as Open Office. I have only used it sparingly, basically enough to answer basic questions about it, and I am not sure it is installed on any computers at UVic anymore, with Office 365 kinda taking over … for free for students and staff! Which, by the way is a VERY GOOD THING!

And then there are now Text Editors – basically a blend of raw ASCII text with minimal word processing features. So, yeah … they are word processors! There are SO many of them, we all have our favourites and they are quick and dirty to see CONTENT as far as I am concerned. If you are using a text editor for word processing …. then let’s talk! LOL!

Soothsayer Cat
    Old School Cat

And if you think about it, creating a post here on OAC is a perfect blend of word processing AND text editor! I can switch to Text if I want to change some nuts and bolts thing with HTML, or just use the New Post and … see what happens! YAY FOR OAC! Many thanks to “mvh” for his patience whenever I have an OAC question for him!

 

 

Some interesting links to tickle your funny bone or perhaps feel compelled to put pen to paper – in a manner of speaking! Remember, I am old school! 

Enjoy!

  1. SpeedScript – Wikipedia
  2. Speedscript – C64 Wiki
  3. SpeedScript 3.2 for the Commodore 64
  4. Speedscript 3.0
  5. Computer GAZETTE for Commodore Personal
  6. PaperClip Professional Word Processor
  7. PaperClip – Wikipedia
  8. Commodore 64
  9. Commodore PC Compatible Systems
  10. WordPerfect 3.x (Mac)
  11. WordPerfect – Wikipedia
  12. Corel – Wikipedia
  13. Microsoft Word – Wikipedia
  14. On the Origin of the Word Processor
  15. The Evolution of Word Processing – Pencils to Wikis
  16. Vizastar – Wikipedia
  17. Flexidraw
  18. Light Pen – C64 Wiki
  19. Apple Writer – Wikipedia
  20. Everything About Punch Cards
  21. Punched Card – Wikipedia

As long as there are words … and Word Processors … out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!

Commodore History – The PET
Part 1 of 8

Remember WordPerfect?
Where Are They Now?

WordPerfect Tutorial
VHS from 1987!

The Oldest Office
for Microsoft Windows

Medieval Help Desk

The History of
Word Processors

Computer Chronicles
Word Processing (1983)

MS-DOS Word Processors

1975 What is Word Processing?

      

I Excel at PowerPoint . . . or Computer Puns and Jokes

I Excel at PowerPoint
. . . or . . .
Computer Puns and Jokes

Taken
Taken

I don’t know who you are or why you stole my copy of Microsoft Office …. but I will find you. You have my .. WORD! I hope I have ‘Taken‘ your attention away from whatever you were doing! Just when you thought it was safe to blog again … COMPUTER PUNS AND JOKES!

CALL Facility Klingon & Sindarin
CALL Facility Klingon

I always try to sneak in jokes, puns or riddles into many of my CALL Facility orientations and handouts too! I once included ‘Klingon‘ in a handout of languages that The CALL Facility had resources for! And it is still at ZOHO!

Soothsayer Cat
Soothsayer Cat

And then UVic goes and offers a course in Alien Languages (Klingon & Sindarin!)! That makes me a soothsayer! I wonder if that means a pay raise or not! My guess …. NOT!

And more ‘Product Placement’ as I posted a previous Bog Blog about … Puns titled ‘When is a Door Not a Door? When it is a Jar“!!

The best part of puns are when they are impromptu and happen instantly! All too often, my eyes widen or roll about and that is an early warning system for colleagues … PUN ALERT! PUN ALERT! People know me all too well! I would be horrible at poker! LOL!

I found one site where a computer was programmed to CALCULATE the funniest puns and it came up with the following….. and …. yeah, NO! Even I have lines I do not cross … and they are often …  lines of code! LOL!

I often say that if I am having fun, then the students are having fun too! There is so much stress nowadays that humour IS good medicine! I won’t bother telling you my absolutely favourite jokes and puns other than …

… it is always my NEXT ONE!

Some interesting links to tickle your funny bone, or perhaps, seek medical attention afterwards!

Enjoy!

  1. XKCD – A Webcomic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math, and Language
  2. Explain XKCD Wiki
  3. 25 Computer Puns That Will LAN You In A Pool Of Laughter
  4. Computer Puns
  5. Com­puter Jokes
  6. Puns about Technology (Misc. Computer Puns)
  7. Fourteen Computer Puns That Only Tech Heads Will Understand
  8. 10 Computer Geek Jokes and Truisms
  9. A Computer Made a List of the 5 Funniest Puns it Knows
  10. Computer Programming Puns
  11. 55+ Best Computer Puns

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!

30 Awful Computer Puns
(in Less Than 2 Minutes)

31 Jokes for Nerds

       

XKCD Eternal Flame Explained

Think Different or . . . Apple Commercials Through the Years

Think Different . . . 
. . . or . . .
Apple Commercials
Through the Years

Think Different Albert Einstein
Think Different


Think Different. As iconic as the ‘1984’ Mac commercial is, this may be one of the most remembered Apple campaigns … EVER! Well, at least for me. I have this poster in my office at home. I uncovered a bunch of them years ago, doing an annual cleanse of some closets we once used as storage! Serendipitous for me!

There is no question that Apple has one of the best marketing programs … in history! This post is predominantly about their ads in video format, which range from poignant and dramatic, to humorous and sometimes silly! They truly do …. Think Different …. all the time!

Kevin Costner - Lisa
  Kevin Costner – Lisa

And at the time, obscure actors might have shown up too! Kevin Costner will forever be linked with the introduction of the Lisa computer, which is a whole different post too!

The BEST ads are cast with actors who don’t take themselves too seriously and actually parody their on-screen presence … and blend it with their off-screen personality!

The Rock x SIRI
     The Rock x SIRI

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson did this perfectly in his ad for Siri a few years ago. I doubt Apple could afford him now!

What Will Your Verse Be?
  What Will Your Verse Be?

My absolute favourite commerical of ALL TIME is probably not what you might think. Oh yes, I do like the 1984 commercial (Directed by Ridley Scott – Gladiator, The Martian, Thelma & Louise, Blade Runner, Alien .. yes THAT Ridley Scott!) but my favourite is for the iPad Air with Robin Williams narrating his poetry speech over some amazing world moments. Do you remember which movie this came from? HUDDLE UP!

As a summer project many years ago, I decided to find as many Apple Commercials on YouTube as I could and learn how to create movies and burn a DVD, dedicated to only Apple Commercials!

YouTube was relatively new and it might not have even been bought by Google yet! Still, I learned how to create and edit movies, burn DVDs and improve my knowledge of various video formats, editing techniques and making movies!

iMovie HD 2005
  iMovie HD 2005

A future post, once we return to UVic, will be about using iMovie HD! What? You have never heard of that version? That doesn’t surprise me!

iMovie HD was one of the very first versions (2005!) and can only

MovieBox DV
    MovieBox DV

run under a macOS that is named after a kitty! But it is surprisingly robust, has simple and intuitive editing controls and works with some old hardware called MovieBox DV (2003!) that can digitize VHS cassettes! Sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks!

And one more thing … Apple has long been the target of parody ads! There is one for a new iPhone at the very end of the videos below. But the BEST one is called ‘The Power to Crush the Other Kids”. It is nowhere to be found on the internet and YouTube has pulled it due to copyright infringement concerns, by NBC’s ownership of Saturday Night Live. If you can find it, it is truly hilarious!

Some interesting links below with even more background to Apple’s numerous ads throughout the years!

As long as there are words out there, there will be a site that Google finds for each of us!

Enjoy!

  1. The most memorable Apple ads of all time
  2. 15 Best Apple Commercials of All Time
  3. The 14 best Apple ads of all time
  4. 10 Apple ads that show how the brand has evolved
  5. 289 Best Apple Ads – Pinterest
  6. The best 18 Apple commercials of all time
  7. The best ad Apple produced from each year since its 1984 Super Bowl hit
  8. THE BANANA JUNIOR 6000: COMPUTERS AND COMEDY
  9. The 10 Funniest Apple-Ad Parodies
  10. The 10 Funniest Mac Apple-Ad Parodies

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!

Think Different
Narrated by Steve Jobs

What Will Your Verse Be?
Apple iPad Air

1984 Super Bowl Ad

The Real Story Behind
Apple’s 1984 Commercial

Best Apple Commercials 2020

29 Best Apple Commercials
of All Time

Complete 66 Mac vs PC Ads

Best Apple Commercials

Every Apple Computer Ad

Top 10 Iconic Apple Ads

Best Apple Commercials

Best Apple Commercials

30 Years of Mac Ads
1984 – 2014

15 Funny Apple Ads

iPhone Parody
A Taller Change

 

New from Apple, the iCan.

 

I’m Sorry Dave or . . . My Favourite Computer AI Voices in Movies and TV

I’m Sorry Dave . . . 
. . . or . . .
My Favourite Computer & AI Voices
in Movies and TV

2001: A Space Odyssey

I’m sorry Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that. If there is one singular voice and image, representing a computer or AI, it is HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This will be my list of my favourite computer/AI voices from Movies and TV shows that I have seen and grew up with! They can be human or actually computer generated. So some of them will no doubt be VERY obscure for many of you young folks! LOL! But that does not mean you should disregard them!  They might prove to be dated, but they have all influenced how we percieve computers and AI, to this day!

The voice of EVERY computer in every episode and movie of Star Trek is Majel Barrett, who was married to Gene Rodenberry! She even voiced the computer in the Star Trek:The Animated Series too! Outside of Michael Dorn (Worf), Majel Barrett has appeared in more episodes than ANY OTHER ACTOR!

Robocop morphed a critically injured policeman with state of the art technology to enforce police protection. What could go wrong? Well, more than you can imagine, including a horrible remake of this classic movie!

And at the time, TRON was the greatest computer movie OF ALL TIME! The graphics were amazing, the storyline was new and amazing and I remember watching it multiple times!

And then they made a reboot of it TRON:Legacy .. and I liked that one too! It got bad review, but I still liked it! And the graphics were amazing too!

               

                            TRON                                       TRON:Legacy

TRON Master Control
WALL-E

And how could ultimate cuteness and the end of the world combine any better than in WALL-E! Eve and WALL-E have instant chemistry, albeit confrontational at first, but it is still one of my favourite animated series and WELL ahead of its time in terms of environmentalism!

And probably the most iconic computer/AI interface, at least recently is the combined character of Vision in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Vision is ‘powered’ by the Mind Stone, one of the Infinity Stones.

And … if you got this far, then you have seen the movies! Vision is a weird blend of the personality of Tony Stark (Iron Man), Ultron (his ‘Frankenstein-like AI), JARVIS (his own AI ‘butler’) and the power of Thor to kick-start him! Yeah, you had to be there … multiple movies and multiple personalities … what could go wrong! Actually, he is a pretty good character and very strong too!

And a childhood favourite that I waited for each Sunday night was Robbie the Robot from Lost in Space – the original series! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! This even pre-dated Star Trek by a year!

And the rebooted series is fantastic too! The new robot, although not named Robbie, is unique, integral to the storyline and has amazing graphics! And it is filmed in Vancouver too! But only one season left! Sigh …… I remember building a model of this robot too!

Another TV show ahead of its time was Knight Rider! A virtually indestructible AI car (K.I.T.T. – Knight Industries 2000) guided by a secret organization dedicated to fighting injustice! Whoa, wait … NOT ELON MUSK! LOL! It kind of looked like a cross between Elon Musk and a Cylon! And we don’t want to go THERE either!

And having mentioned HAL 9000 above, did you realize that there was a SEQUEL to 2001? 2010: The Year We Make Contact featured SAL 9000 (voiced by Candice Bergen) as the upgrde to HAL that did not quite meet factory specifications! LOL! The most obvious difference (no spoilers here!) is that SAL is a blue orb’!

And coming up to just a couple more examples! There are SO many, that I really did limit myself this time! I had previously written posts about favourite computers in all kinds of media at “Shall We Play a Game . . . or Fictional Computers” but that did not focus on anything but the computers themselves. This post is on their actual voices used! Okay, a small distinction! So that does mentioning a previous post count as … Product Placement or what! LOL!

War Games! Just go find it somewhere and have a great popcorn time! A young hacker breaks into a High Security computer, unknowingly trying out a ‘game’ called Global Thermonuclear War and … well, the use of the modem is hilarious! But the voice of WOPR is amazing! If it makes you think of Stephen Hawking …. no spoilers here! A great, great movie!

And I will never hear the end of it from all my colleagues if I don’t include those two wacky robots from a relatively unknown cult classic … C-3PO and R2-D2. Did you ever wonder WHY they are called … R2-D2 and C-3PO? 

Perhaps the quintessential use of voice to convey language! C3PO is designed to be able to talk to ANYONE with his linguistics programming and R2D2 happily whistles, clicks, bings and we can all understand exactly what is going on! The classic straight man out of vaudeville humour and it works so well! Arguably the best parts of Star Wars are those two! Note: Yoda is NOT a computer! LOL!

All the voices mentioned above are in YouTube videos below. I hope I got them all! I might even do a sequel to this in a future post – there were many I have left off and they deserve a listening to as well!

 

Enjoy!

  1. 10 Unforgettable Voices In A.I. Movie History
  2. Computer, Obey Me! Hollywood’s Best Sci-Fi Computer & Robot Voices
  3. The top 50 robots and AI computers in the movies
  4. The Story of a Voice: HAL in ‘2001’ Wasn’t Always So Eerily Calm
  5. The 5 Best Computer Voices Ever
  6. The Most Memorable Voice Performances in Sci-Fi History
  7. 10 Famous Actors Who Are Incredible At TV Voice Work
  8. 10 TERRIFIC VOICES BEHIND GREAT SCI-FI CHARACTERS
  9. The All-Time Top 100 Voices in the Movies

As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics! 

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!

Top 10 Quotes from
Robocop

War Games
Shall We Play a Game?

I’m Sorry Dave
I’m Afraid I Can’t Do That

Dr. Chandra and SAL 9000
2010: The Year We Make Contact

Majel Barett
The Voice of Star Trek Computers

Master Control Program
Quotes

WALL-E Meets Eve

All Iron Man and Jarvis
Quotes

Best of Vision Quotes

Lost in Space
DANGER Will Robinson! DANGER!

Knight Rider
KITT – Knight Industries 2000

R2-D2 and C-3PO
Being Best Friends

And can you identify
any of the computers/AI in the shows below?

 

 

I’ll Take WIN WIN WIN for $200 Alex or . . . CALL Jeopardy REBOOT

I’ll Take WIN WIN WIN
for $200 Alex
. . . or . . .
CALL JEOPARDY REBOOT!

CALL Jeopardy is one of my favourite parts of working for The Computer Help Desk! What could be better – a captive audience, a fun way of training current, new and returning Consultants and … brekkie and lunch provided!

I realized that the MOST RECENT version of CALL Jeopardy: ReBoot,  had not been made available for anyone to try! It is based on the very first CALL Jeopardy, a few years ago, but updated with new information, yet a bit of a retro feel to it!

Unfortunately, it did not really work out the day we tried it online/remote! Somehow, I had an echo, it literally stopped opening up each slide and it fizzled out spectacularly! Oh well, if you are not trying, you aren’t learning!

The original format is PowerPoint but OAC WordPress does not permit PowerPoint files. But the versions here are all in .pdf format, which works equally well, except for some animation and other whiz bang effects that I usually include! Why put a Fireworks option into software without any disclaimers about … design! LOL!

CALL Jeopardy: REBOOT VERSION

The most recent version is clickable on the images beside and below, and your browser should download a .pdf version or present the .pdf in a new browser tab. Either way, you can meander through using the menu or just going through slide by slide. That way, you are assured of seeing each ‘Question’ and ‘Answer’.

I always have a ‘Twist’ to each Category and question. This time, the categories are “OSX …. but not Cats”, “WIN WIN WIN”, and “CALL Stuff”.

In true Jeopardy fashion, each ‘answer’ must be phrased in the form of a question, identifying which movie each quote came from! No, it has nothing to do with ANYTHING at CHD, but the next slide does!

CALL Jeopardy: Famous Movie Quotes

And all of the previous Jeopardy versions are below and all you have to do is click on any image and it will do what your browser does best – either download it or present it in a new Tab to try.

And the first training session below is a history of CALL. It is NOT in ‘Jeopardy’ format, so just ‘slide’ through it if you want to find out a bit more about CALL over the years.

And I am all for accepting any questions you think should be included in any future version of Jeopardy!

And thanks to Tomoyo and Scott for ‘driving’ for me – actually running the computer & PowerPoint file, while the rest of us have fun with CALL Jeopardy in our training sessions!

Enjoy!

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!


CALL Workshop – What is CALL?


Jeopardy: CALL


Jeopardy II: CALL++


Jeopardy III: Knee-d-ful Things

Jeopardy IV: Endgame

Jeopardy V: Pop Culture

Jeopardy VI: REBOOT VERSION
(Famous Movie Quotes)

Jeopardy VIII: DUAL re-BOOT

Jeopardy VIII: TRIPLE re-BOOT

 

Terrific Tuesday . . . upgraded to . . . Terrific TEDnesday!

Terrific Tuesday
. . . . upgraded to . . . .
TERRIFIC TEDNESDAY!

And now for something completely different … mostly! I do have favourite topics and have officially changed today’s name to TEDnesday in honour of TED Ideas Worth Spreading!

Everyone has heard of TED Talks! The first time I was told about them, my first thought was … who is this Ted person and why should I listen to him!

And of course, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design!

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

Just a slight sidebar here … I usually discover something amazing (ie. LEARN something new!) if you look for an ‘About’ or ‘Who We Are’ or even a dedicated search engine WITHIN a website to uncover hidden jewels of information! And it is usually just one click away, or even visible as a magnifying glass icon!

This might be obvious to almost everyone, but … when that one person that lights up because you showed them a neat new trick at a website …. priceless!

So maybe, this next tidbit will help someone – TED actually has a very robust search engine itself!  And they also offer pre-made TED Playlists too! Just click on the images below to see TED Talks Playlists and TED Talks search engine for Languages!

TED Talks Playlists
TED Talks Search for Languages

Many of TED Talks are also found at YouTube as well, but there are so many extra benefits at TED.COM that I recommend looking there first. You never know what you might find!

And using an abundance of caution and a balance of fair play and common sense, I did a search for ‘Worst TED Talks of All Time‘ and came up with this:

But I do DISAGREE with Arthur Benjamin – A Performance of Mathemagic on  that list! No way that almost 10,000,000 of us can be wrong! That is my Inner Math Teacher speaking! LOL!

Enjoy!

  1. The Most Popular Talks of All Time
  2. 20 Quotes From the Most Powerful TED Talks of All Time
  3. 25 Quotes From the Most Inspiring TED Talks
  4. 25 TED Talk Quotes to Inspire You
  5. TED Topics
  6. History of TED
  7. 5 Best Quotes for life From The 5 Most Viewed TedTalks (YouTube)
  8. Debunking TED Myths
  9. 20 Most Inspiring TED Talks of All Time That You Should Not Miss
  10. The 79 Most Popular TED Talks of All Time
  11. TED Talks Are Wildly Addictive For Three Powerful Scientific Reasons
  12. Dilbert – Search for TED Talks

As long as there are words (& videos!) out there, there will be interesting topics! 


And videos too!

ENJOY!
     
TTFN!

Why Language is Humanity’s
Greatest Invention

How Language Shapes
the Way We Think

One of the Most Difficult Words
to Translate

The Benefits
of a Bilingual Brain

How Interpreters Juggle
Two Languages at Once

The Visual Magic
of Comics

Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na’VI
Real Languages?

Jed Talks

 

‘I wonder if TED ever listens.’