The coolest screensaver I've ever seen

[csd214]

Some PC users change their screensaver every week. I'm too lazy, I just want a screensaver to protect my screen (not so important when you have a LCD screen?).

Sysinternal's BlueScreen (http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/bluescreensaver.shtml) is incredible!

Read the instructions!
Relax, the Esc key is still there.

[Corey]

As a protest against laziness, I just use whatever default windows one was on there when I installed...

One thing I am learning about LCDs is that the eyestrain is particularly brutal if you sit off center for too long. I always thought this LCD would cure eyestrain but I'm still getting used to it and some nights I can feel the old temples start tapping as bad or worse than with the old CRT. Maybe I need an LCD with a higher refresh rate. :)

[Josué Alba]

csd214 cheat on me. He said this would be the coolest screen saver and make me waste my time viewing the default Windows screensaver.





Jajaja was funny, now it's my default screensaver. Thx 4 the share!

[AGRO]

Ever since I bought an Apple I have not seen that screen at all. Huh, brings back memories. :D

[Corey]

Yeah, amen. :) I haven't seen a bluescreen since I got my new PC last year. I love this thing, sniffle... My old system used to crash multiple times per work day, maddening stuff. Mahdman! :yes

Saw an interesting video last week where they interviewed a top marketeer about the Mac brand. This guy specifically studied how religious cults recruit and control disciples and then applies that knowledge to his analysis and methods. With Mac, the whole thing is to feel part of an elite group. Ahead of the curve. Successful. In luxury. Etc. Fascinating show. They showed how tens of thousands of people per year take their holiday time to travel to "Mac shows" and social gatherings where the only common thread between a large group of strangers is that fact that they own Macs. Same thing with those Saturn car owner "re-unions" and the series of TV ads documenting them. :wow

Anyhow great show, I learned a lot about branding. :yes if you are interested in the whole school of thought behind cult brands including Mac and many more check out his book. Here's the guy, Atkin:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591840279/speakup-20/002-9645683-4796063

And before any Mac owners post here about what may be perceived as me challenging Mac, please let me aplogize beforehand for any misunderstandings. Those are Atkin's words, not mine. Posted here only for infotainment, and in relation to Mac "the brand" not Mac "the technology". I realize that Macs offer certain necessary performance benefits for video producers, etc. I am not anti-Mac, just fascinated with brand analysis in general and Atkin is a compelling character. As one of 4 principles in a marketing company valued at almost one billion dollars today, the least I can do is listen to the guy for a half hour... :)

Future of the Apple brand will be fun to watch. The "law of expansion" from the "22 immutable laws of branding" says that "strength of brand identity is in inverse proportion to it's scope" so it'll be intriguing to watch what happens now that they're adding new stuff such as iPods, etc...

[eric_darling]

Yes, good points, all, Corey. The mastery behind Steve Jobs and Co. is the focus on industrial design vis a vis their attention to brand. They've done a very good job of it. But the computer industry is ripe for developing brand loyalty - look at their competition. If Dell is the best the industry otherwise has to offer in terms of branding, they've got pretty lax competition.

I would still argue that there are other important benefits to Macs. One is the fact that I've never had a spyware issue on any of my Macs. And the last virus I had was in 1996! Macintosh computers running OS X are irrefutably more secure than any Windows based computer available today.

However, beyond a handful of important apps in my business and the security issues I mention, it's all fluff, people. And many people and businesses will not benefit from Mac ownership.

[Corey]

I won't agree nor disagree. I think it's a multi-tiered issue. One guy who I have been fascinated with for quite some time is this guy (click photo for video):

http://www.rapailleinstitute.com/

I read a transcript recently from a speech he gave to Apple last year, it was one of the more intriguing I've ever seen. Suffice to say I place Mac on the same level as other manufacturers of luxury items...

Rapaille is the guy behind the so called "luxury code" in use as a key marketing strategy by something like 200+ of the fortune 500 companies. The "luxury code" is essentially a roadmap to the base level (primitive brain) human functions which relate to luxury consumption habits. If market acceptance is any judge of success, Rapaille is waaaaaaaaaay up there.

Much of what Rapaille has discovered can be summed up *very* generally in his famous question, "Does the smell of coffee brewing remind you of your mother?" Of course that is an extreme oversimplification of his work, but it gives you the basic gist of his angle. :)

[eric_darling]

Interesting stuff from a guy whose web site is littered with poorly spaced animated GIFs. ;)

[Corey]

Rapaille has the knowledge, but he's not motivated to apply it to his own llife. I can dig that. Who wants to be a brand? He's a researcher. :)

He's somewhat reclusive and probably not on the internet at all. He lives in a big old mansion in upstate NY full of European antiques, collectors art, wine cellar, etc. I can see where's he coming from, he's an observer but he doesn't neccesarily see the game he studies as healthy for the participants. I relate heavily to him in that regard. Here in my mansion. :wow

[eric_darling]

I can see that. Just poking fun, is all. :yes

[Corey]

As Rapaille would say, "My cheese is dead."

I've arranged to order one of each of all his books and videos. When they arrive I'm going to go through them with a fine toothed comb. Then we shall see what we shall see. I don't defend Rapaille, he's nuts just like any decent genius... But I encounter so very few original thinkers anymore that I'm willing to overlook quite a few eccentricities to get at the underlying content.

One thing's for sure, there's definitely a basis to what Rapaille is pointing out because we see the examples everyday of people saying one thing, thinking another, and then just doing what they always do anyways in the end. In ourselves and others. :)

As far as I'm concerned Rapaille's clients use the knowledge for unhealthy reasons. What I'm interested in is if this can be used for healthy reasons. For example what if one could use the code to help people lose weight and get more active. Or quit smoking. It can. I'm 100% certain of that. The associations go both ways, and all humans have a "martyr" mode where they are very content to make certain sacrifices, i.e. for example the traditional image of the poor but happy parents who go without so the kids can have. That's part of the code, so obviously it's *theoretically possible* for people to feel "poor but happy" about quitting smoking if the overarching trigger is in place. You get the idea. Anyhow my personal interest is accelerated learning, specifically *how to help people in poverty reach middle class*.

To be clear I'm hardly the first to wonder, and my ramblings are hardly relevant in the continuum. I have no illusions:)

If you look at *the underlying pith* of what Rapaille is selling, it's just Carl Jung's ideas in a vaguely new packaging. "The Lizard". Oooooh. :wow No surprise, Rapaille studied Jung, and there's nothing wrong with this. One is far better served using Jung's position as a jumping point to further a given idea than to start from scratch. But to be clear Jung was also nuts and waaaaaayyy off base about a few things also, so unless one is prepared to repair those theories as you work them out, then... :)

Anyhow, what do I know? Nothing, that's who... :) BTW One Carl Jung quote I've always loved and which I feel more or less defines my entire identity is:

"The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely."

Eat your heart out Stephen King. I feel that quote is pretty much what being an artist means. Not a visual artist, but a life artist, anyone who operates at 100%.