# This seems like an insane amount of work and expense for a sight gag **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033 "2009-01-13T03:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/21 "2009-01-13T17:50:08Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > But Apple wants to appeal to the people who refuse to even try to understand the very machines they are using. Back in 1980 or so, I was trying to sell computers. Our store didn’t have the rights to the Mac, but we did have Apple II and Apple III in our store. I gave up trying to sell computers after somebody walked into the store and said, “I want to buy a computer that I don’t have to learn how to use;” I told him there’s no such animal, and he said he was gonna go buy a Mac because the ads said he wouldn’t have to learn how to use it. Things haven’t changed much in 28 years. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/22 "2009-01-13T18:11:31Z")
Macs came out in Jan of 84 so they are now 25. Around the same time Apple put out the Lisa which was $10k and similar to a Mac but it was a bomb, very few people bought them. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/23 "2009-01-13T18:13:04Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Me neither. That’s why the video Onion pieces are so priceless. It’s not “an insane amount of work and expense,” because they make it look so real, and the actors play it so real, that if you weren’t listening to what they are saying, you’d think it were just another news piece about “technology.” Then you listen to what they’re saying, and the cognitive dissonance hits you–and that’s the basis for the greatest satire. a Dutch news site recently posted the Onion’s clip [about a little girl who was collecting money to run a McCain hate ad](http://www.theonion.com/content/video/precocious_youngster_sells). I’m looking for it but it seems they withdrew it in shame. I remember though that the first ten people posting comments at that site thought it was ridiculous that parents allowed their kid to do that before someone came along to point out it was not actually true. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/24 "2009-01-13T18:25:39Z")
Apprently [this tech writer](http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11259&Itemid=38) believed it. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/25 "2009-01-13T18:27:13Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > a Dutch news site recently posted the Onion’s clip [about a little girl who was collecting money to run a McCain hate ad](http://www.theonion.com/content/video/precocious_youngster_sells). I’m looking for it but it seems they withdrew it in shame. I remember though that the first ten people posting comments at that site thought it was ridiculous that parents allowed their kid to do that before someone came along to point out it was not actually true. That wouldn’t be the first or only time that a website posted a link to an Onion piece, and the first knee-jerk reactions were by people who actually thought it was real. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/26 "2009-01-13T18:46:01Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Apprently [this tech writer](http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11259&Itemid=38) believed it. Given the editorial comment in parentheses at the end of the entry, I’m inclined to believe the writer’s tongue was welded to the inside of his cheek while writing it. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/27 "2009-01-13T18:50:01Z")
Me too, but what does 5k on Digg mean? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/28 "2009-01-13T18:55:05Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Given the editorial comment in parentheses at the end of the entry, I’m inclined to believe the writer’s tongue was welded to the inside of his cheek while writing it. That editorial comment was added after the fact. On Digg there was screenshot of the original without the final comment. I see no reason to think it was tongue-in-cheek. Might have been, I guess, but he wrote it too straight up to be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/29 "2009-01-13T20:07:51Z")
It was the end of the piece where the news reader said with a concerned look on her face: “Coming up: Police warn that the sudoku kiiller will kill either one, four or nine victims next.” That completely killed me, I nearly fell off my chair. [QUOTE=Mindless technology consumer] I’ll buy anything that’s shiny and made by Apple [/QUOTE] Priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/30 "2009-01-13T20:23:11Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > That editorial comment was added after the fact. On Digg there was screenshot of the original without the final comment. The editorial comment was \<\\> It seems that the editor thinks the author isn’t actually serious. I still don’t know what 5k on Digg means. ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/31 "2009-01-13T20:40:38Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Me too, but what does 5k on Digg mean? As of right now, the article has 6313 “diggs” on [digg.com](http://digg.com/technology/popular/30days). I would imagine that at the time the comment was written, it was closer to 5k diggs. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/32 "2009-01-13T21:19:05Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > It was the end of the piece where the news reader said with a concerned look on her face: > > “Coming up: Police warn that the sudoku kiiller will kill either one, four or nine victims next.” > > That completely killed me, I nearly fell off my chair. > > Priceless. Yeah, that was fucking hilarious, in the old Onion tradition of ludicrous but snappy headlines with no story, where the fun is in imagining the backstory yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/33 "2009-01-13T23:47:19Z")
> [@Alienhand](#): > > My favorite was “The ass brayed at the moon.” “The absinthe arrived by airmail.” That was one of the better Onion videos/articles I’ve seen recently. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/34 "2009-01-14T00:19:40Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > They aren’t too far off the mark. > Isn’t the whole point of Apple to create a world where people no longer have to understand language and jst srt 2 rt lk illtrt iDiots? I’m not sure what you’re getting at: by default, the iPhone actually _corrects_ misspellings in some cases (though not as egregious as you’ve made here), it takes more time to capitalize in the middle of words (and thus would tend to discourage that habit), capitalizes words at the beginning of sentences, capitalizes standalone "i"s, and adds apostrophes in commonly used words. So while people may continue to “write” like that, their messages would likely be substantially improved by using the iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/35 "2009-01-14T00:31:53Z")
> [@MissMossie](#): > > As of right now, the article has 6313 “diggs” on [digg.com](http://digg.com/technology/popular/30days). I would imagine that at the time the comment was written, it was closer to 5k diggs. And…that means? ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/36 "2009-01-14T00:40:49Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > And…that means? You can read their long description [here](http://digg.com/about/) but the short version is [Digg.com](http://Digg.com) is a web site that compiles popular content on the web. Next time you’re out surfing around look at the blogs and articles and you’ll frequently see “Digg this” button to press if you want to report it as popular. The higher the Diggs the more notice it is getting. You’ve heard people talk about how many hits a web site gets. A “Digg” is similar. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/37 "2009-01-14T08:41:43Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > I’m not sure what you’re getting at: by default, the iPhone actually _corrects_ misspellings in some cases (though not as egregious as you’ve made here), it takes more time to capitalize in the middle of words (and thus would tend to discourage that habit), capitalizes words at the beginning of sentences, capitalizes standalone "i"s, and adds apostrophes in commonly used words. So while people may continue to “write” like that, their messages would likely be substantially improved by using the iPhone. The point about conditioning people to spell badly may be wrong, but I think **DMark** was on to something about Apple being a company that tries to produce technology that requires little to no understanding of how it works. Obviously for a lot of people (particularly Apple patrons) that’s a big selling point, but for those of us that are a bit more tech savvy it’s a limitation. Again, that fake comment about buying anything Apple makes that is shiny rings quite true when you consider how the iPhone became the “must have” gadget amongst people who care about such things. You’d think it was the only next gen phone out there or phone capable of using the net/playing music or something. Talking to people who are interested in having one a major selling point of the device seemed to be that it was cool, rather than what it could do better than its competitor models (which makes me a little :dubious: considering its astronomical launch price). ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033/38 "2009-01-14T08:58:24Z")
For me the Onion can be very hit or miss, but that was great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-seems-like-an-insane-amount-of-work-and-expense-for-a-sight-gag/481033.md?page=1)