"Now that's shelf presence."

February 27, 2006 10:42 AM

If Microsoft designed the iPod box. (Faster YouTube) Fanboys of all stripes can agree: it's funny. Via Digg.
posted by fungible (72 comments total)

I think the iPod box is nice and all, but... a Halo? with a "Ding?"
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 10:55 AM on February 27, 2006

I was hoping they would have done something inside the box. Opening an iPod box [especially the 2-3rd edition ones I bought] was an experience. There were covers for the Firewire cables! Apple didn't use the plain plastic bag with a twist-tie around everything.

What also surprises me about Microsoft is its Mac Business Unit does go to some length to have creative packaging for MS Office for Mac. Same boring applications, but they have some more life on Mac side.
posted by birdherder at 10:56 AM on February 27, 2006

I loved every second of that. Hilarious and close to the truth.
posted by mathowie at 10:59 AM on February 27, 2006

It's funny because its true.
posted by fenriq at 11:00 AM on February 27, 2006

And yes, I have sent it on to friends already.
posted by fenriq at 11:01 AM on February 27, 2006

How did they get that perfect recording of the music that plays on repeat in Steve Ballmer's head?
posted by pmbuko at 11:06 AM on February 27, 2006

Two thumbs up on the video. Two thumbs down on the FPP.
posted by spock at 11:06 AM on February 27, 2006

video was as slow as win 95. and it was also predictable. this is the best of the digg?
posted by tsarfan at 11:11 AM on February 27, 2006

good video, bad wording of the FPP
posted by blasdelf at 11:20 AM on February 27, 2006

That's exactly the way it happens. so true. so, so true.
posted by shoepal at 11:25 AM on February 27, 2006

This is off-topic, but what is that song in the background?
posted by cellphone at 11:29 AM on February 27, 2006

Its that frightening music from the YTMD.com with the blue balls. Imagine that as torture....
posted by ParisParamus at 11:34 AM on February 27, 2006

does anybody know what the origins of this video is? It looks way too polished to be done by some troglodite somewhere.
posted by marvin at 11:38 AM on February 27, 2006

cellphone: I'm pretty sure that the music is from Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Don't ask me why I know this.

Also, many thumbs up on this video. Absolutely hilarious, and so very true. Thanks!
posted by malthas at 11:38 AM on February 27, 2006

How did they get that perfect recording of the music that plays on repeat in Steve Ballmer's head?

pmbuko wins.
posted by jpf at 11:42 AM on February 27, 2006

Honestly, I think I probably would have found this far less amusing than I did if I hadn't seen pmbuko's comment before I watched the video.
posted by zztzed at 11:45 AM on February 27, 2006

M$ bashing = lame.
posted by Artw at 11:59 AM on February 27, 2006

This made me weep inside. Silently. Forlornly.

I spend about 30% of my time vainly trying to talk MS and other coroporate clients out of exactly this kind of thing.

Brand is a curse.
posted by tkchrist at 12:01 PM on February 27, 2006

Yes, the music is from PeeWee's big adventure. I kept imagining breakfast being made the entire time I watched it.

And it was hysterical. I adored it, and if someone at Microsoft were to watch it, they should take note. It's just a shame that, if they did, they would take the following note:

To Marketing: Think of anti-apple viral videos we can produce that insult their packaging.

damn it. oh, and the halo at the beginning almost made me stop watching. I hate hate HATE mac-evangelism.
posted by shmegegge at 12:01 PM on February 27, 2006

M$ bashing = justified.
posted by tkchrist at 12:02 PM on February 27, 2006

Pretty damn stupid, alas.
posted by delfuego at 12:03 PM on February 27, 2006

Word has it this was produced by one of Microsoft's branding partners as an educational piece for them.
posted by marvin at 12:07 PM on February 27, 2006

This is off-topic, but what is that song in the background?

Sounds a lot like Raymond Scott....
posted by lumpenprole at 12:18 PM on February 27, 2006

That box has only three sides.
posted by dhartung at 12:19 PM on February 27, 2006

...But apparently it was original by Danny Elfman for Pee Wee's Big adventure.
posted by lumpenprole at 12:19 PM on February 27, 2006

Thanks.
posted by cellphone at 12:21 PM on February 27, 2006

My son sent me an email this morning linking to the video. We are avid Macaphiles. I wanted to post it here, but I'm not allowed to start new posts yet. Anyway thanks for doing it for me. It was so truthful.
posted by Tablecrumbs at 12:32 PM on February 27, 2006

that box was kinda cool.
posted by obeygiant at 12:33 PM on February 27, 2006

I love how the system requirements don't fit on the box.

Also, I took the halo thing not as being 100% serious, but rather as being hip and ironic.
posted by beth at 12:47 PM on February 27, 2006

dhartung writes "That box has only three sides."

I count four: the front, with the rebate sticker; the back, with the system requirements and product chart; the left side, with the "warm" picture of the guy listening to headphones; and the right side, with the third-party endorsements.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:48 PM on February 27, 2006

Why does everyone seem to forget that Apple bought the iPod design. It was NOT designed in house.

And yes, the video was funny.
posted by toxic at 12:48 PM on February 27, 2006

Why does everyone seem to forget that Apple bought the iPod design. It was NOT designed in house.

Well, yeah, but what about the BOX?! ;)
posted by smallerdemon at 12:57 PM on February 27, 2006

I'm pretty sure that the music is from Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Don't ask me why I know this.

Why in the hell would you be embarassed to know this? PWBA is a fantastic film.
posted by glenwood at 1:08 PM on February 27, 2006

I barely remember the movie, but I do remember Danny Elfman's very hummable score.
posted by sonofsamiam at 1:11 PM on February 27, 2006

The "This is an empty box" and "$40 Rebate" stickers were a nice touch.
posted by I Love Tacos at 1:12 PM on February 27, 2006

toxic writes "Why does everyone seem to forget that Apple bought the iPod design. It was NOT designed in house. "

But it doesn't matter, or for the box. What matters is that they were smart enough to go with it. Anyway, this seems implicit in the video, which is clearly a design and review process. It isn't the design that kills it, it's the review.

I liked it.
posted by OmieWise at 1:16 PM on February 27, 2006

Any word on who put this together? Was it Apple?
posted by nyterrant at 1:23 PM on February 27, 2006

Toxic, after the acres of press and publicity about the Apple design team, I think you might have missed something.
Nyterrant, somone told me that Landor Design consultants put it toghether for Microsoft. It looks pretty old to me especially as that's the first rev of the ipod
posted by marvin at 1:39 PM on February 27, 2006

Apple didn't "buy the design". They bought the technology inside it and developed the actual industrial exterior (ergo "design"... the bits you touch and see). It was, in point of fact, designed by this guy (and his team, o' course).

I believe what is being referred to as the "original" designer are these guys, but again... they design the processors and the form factor, not the Sexy™.
posted by basicchannel at 1:45 PM on February 27, 2006

Yup... the song is from Pee Wee's Big Adventure, composed by the enigmatic and slightly freaky Danny Elfman.
posted by super_not at 1:47 PM on February 27, 2006

Also, I took the halo thing not as being 100% serious, but rather as being hip and ironic.

You say that as if it somehow makes it any less insufferable.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 1:53 PM on February 27, 2006

Apple didn't "buy the design". They bought the technology inside it

Right.... the iPod is only an interface and slick exterior designed to keep you from replacing the battery.

I held a prototype in my hands, before apple touched it (or at least before they announced that they'd touched it). No, it wasn't recognizable as the current iPod -- but it was a 10GB MP3 player and it worked well and it had a rotary encoder, er... clickwheel. (yes, it was the PortalPlayer guys).

Don't get me wrong. Apple has done amazing things with the iPod, both industrially and socially, and the success of the unit is mostly their doing. But the unit itself, at least the initial one, really wasn't their doing.

But the box was. And that's what's important, right?
posted by toxic at 2:06 PM on February 27, 2006

But the box was. And that's what's important, right?

When talking about the box design, I think the answer to your question is a resounding "yes".
posted by flaterik at 2:12 PM on February 27, 2006

Nice work.

To Marketing: Think of anti-apple viral videos we can produce that insult their packaging.

They should go to the people Apple works with for adverts. Apple's lastest commercial about Intel's now being in Macs insults many.
posted by juiceCake at 2:39 PM on February 27, 2006

"we should clarify 5GB" hi-larious!
posted by sexyrobot at 2:50 PM on February 27, 2006

That was very subtle. I almost didn't get the joke.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 2:55 PM on February 27, 2006

I held a prototype in my hands, before apple touched it (or at least before they announced that they'd touched it). No, it wasn't recognizable as the current iPod -- but it was a 10GB MP3 player and it worked well and it had a rotary encoder, er... clickwheel. (yes, it was the PortalPlayer guys).

Well, that sounds like a personal problem.
posted by shmegegge at 2:57 PM on February 27, 2006

Yawn, yet another Apple ass-kissing post. We all get it, they are awesome and original and fabulous. Microsoft, sorry I mean Micro$oft (haha get it?) sucks and is evil and blah blah blah. Aren't we tired of this yet?
posted by apple scruff at 3:48 PM on February 27, 2006

That song was not written by Danny Elfman. It is called "Sabre Dance" and was written in 1942 as part of a ballet by Armenian Aram Khachaturian. more info
posted by infowar at 4:18 PM on February 27, 2006

apple scruff - Amen. The whole thing is so damn old.
posted by davebush at 4:22 PM on February 27, 2006

The exact tune is "finale" on the PWBA soundtrack. It's on iTunes even.
posted by mathowie at 4:27 PM on February 27, 2006

No offence, did you even read my link with it's several versions of the same tune? While the soundtrack usedon the linked file may be from the Pee Wee Soundtrack, I'm fairly sure Elfman didn't write it. Elfman composed the track. Elfman's listed as the artist for the Mission Impossible Main Title Theme on IMS, but I don't think he wrote it. IMS also has Social Distortion as the artist for "Ring of Fire" but I don't think they wrote that either.

Khachaturian's Adagio of Spartacus was also the main theme from Hudsucker Proxy, but you won't see it on the credits. Hudsucker Proxy also has a variation of Sabre Dance called "The Hula Hoop".

Regardless, I'm sure if you listen to the two tracks side by side, you'll see where Elfman got his inspiration.
posted by infowar at 5:52 PM on February 27, 2006

applescruff and davebush, did you even bother watching the video first, or were your knees jerking too much for you to be able to see the screen?
posted by ook at 5:57 PM on February 27, 2006

That song was not written by Danny Elfman. It is called "Sabre Dance" and was written in 1942 as part of a ballet by Armenian Aram Khachaturian. more info
posted by infowar at 6:18 PM CST on February 27 [!]

That is not Sabre Dance. To an unsophisticated listener I could see how it would sound "familiar", but that's all it is, familiar.

I'd be willing to go so far as to say Sabre Dance would be an obvious inspiration.

But if you are saying it is "literally" Sabre Dance, you are simply wrong. The melody is completely wrong, the key changes are in the wrong direction, the length of the phrases are different, the signature grace notes and repeating timpani line are replaced with ascending lines and an alternating bass line. Sabre Dance does not even HAVE an ascending line, and the tune on the video has offsetting ascending and descending lines. The underlying rhythm of bam bam BIM BIM bam bam BIM BIM vs BIM bam BIM bam is so different as to be unmistakable.

As far as the video, sheer brilliance. That's all that can be said.
posted by Ynoxas at 6:11 PM on February 27, 2006

ook, yes I watched it, but I feel that all this is so old meme. But of course, since I disagree with you on something obviously I can see why you assume I'm just trolling.
posted by apple scruff at 6:40 PM on February 27, 2006

That was good.

Sadly it's true, marketing rhetoric destroys perfectly good design all the time.
posted by disgruntled at 6:45 PM on February 27, 2006

Funny Video.

Actually, the tune is Breakfast Machine by Danny Elfman. I knew it within 2 seconds because I'm a big Danny Elfman nerd. (Matt, Finale uses the same melody, but it's a different track.) I've never made the connection between that song and Sabre Dance before! It's NOT the same song, but I definitely see a resemblence. I've listened to both of those songs many times and this is the first time I've ever thought to compare them. Interesting.
posted by evoo at 7:19 PM on February 27, 2006

The biggest joke for me was watching the iPod disappear under the barrage of echt-Microsoft accretions. Go back and watch the video and look how it gets shoved to the side and covered up... and by the Final Review, you'd be hard-pressed to identify the product inside the box. The other biggest joke is that every single design decision is legit. It's just not pretty.
posted by ancientgower at 7:53 PM on February 27, 2006

Oh, and I thought the halo was vomitous.
posted by ancientgower at 7:54 PM on February 27, 2006

ancientgower writes "Oh, and I thought the halo was vomitous."

I think I understand why they put the halo in there, though. It's a visual symbol for "this design is good": they didn't trust their audience to see that for themselves.

Which, interestingly, is a bad design decision.
posted by mr_roboto at 8:16 PM on February 27, 2006

But if you are saying it is "literally" Sabre Dance, you are simply wrong.

eat THAT, infowar!
posted by shmegegge at 8:37 PM on February 27, 2006

since I disagree with you on something obviously I can see why you assume I'm just trolling.

Oh, do we disagree? How do you know?

See, the reason I asked if you'd bothered to look at the video because your comment was so generic and apparently unrelated to, well, anything, that it looked very much like you saw "apple" and "microsoft" in the thread title and had an immediate pavlovian response.

Still does, kinda.
posted by ook at 9:17 PM on February 27, 2006

I didn't make any specific statements about it because I did not have any specific issues with the video; I thought that it made some clever points about the nature of Microsoft's marketing and packaging. But we've heard it all a million times before. They chose a new way to say it but the message is still the same thing that has been beat to death already.
posted by apple scruff at 10:45 PM on February 27, 2006

I've done most everything there is to be done on computers, from hand-soldering components to assembly code programming to mastering a dozen applications and their APIs. I've used a half-dozen distinctly different OSes, a dozen languages, a bajillion programs, and have no fear of exploring, tweaking, and locking-down a system.

I used MS Windows as my primary OS for a dozen years. I did all sorts of hacking, learned it inside and out, and then settled back to using it as a production OS: one for work, not play, and thus closely controlled to minimize problems.

And still, Windows annoyed me in the same hundreds of little ways that Windows annoys us all. The stuff of endless books and websites familiar to all savvy Windows users? No more: I switched to OS X.

In many more ways than Windows, the Mac experience is one helluva lot closer to the way things should be, that it is an utter relief to be away from Windows.

Partly, it's the rock-solid OS, based on Unix-like components that are best-of-breed and proven reliable in the hardcore computing world;
Partly, it's the outstanding GUI that has been designed and crafted in a way you've never seen before; and
Partly it's that by far the majority of its applications convey the same sense of craft and well-considered design.

I am really glad I switched platforms. There is absolfuckinglutely nothing that I miss about Windows. Every day it is a relief to not be stuck using that gold-plated turd.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:40 PM on February 27, 2006

I too switched to OSX. Because everyone said I should. I actually still prefer Windows. Not to say that windows is better, but I prefer it. YMMV, as they say.

b.t.w. I also quite liked the box design. I guess that there is a windows fanboy lurking somewhere inside of me.
posted by seanyboy at 12:35 AM on February 28, 2006

Ynoxas is right, that's not Sabre Dance. This is. (8 MB mpg)
posted by mr.marx at 2:55 AM on February 28, 2006

Mr. Marx, where did you find that? Just curious. Also, the little cymbal(?) girl is adorable!
posted by ParisParamus at 3:06 AM on February 28, 2006

Here.
posted by mr.marx at 3:07 AM on February 28, 2006

See? I was right. Fanboys (MS and Apple) can agree. It actually took until Tuesday morning before an OS war broke out.

Even shmeggege thought it was funny!
posted by fungible at 5:52 AM on February 28, 2006

Holy crap, that Marimba Ponies video just caused acute cute overdose.
posted by I Love Tacos at 7:15 AM on February 28, 2006

Even shmeggege thought it was funny!

Gah! what?! I think EVERYTHING'S funny! I'm the guy you go to if you want someone to laugh at something! gah!
posted by shmegegge at 12:26 PM on February 28, 2006

Update for future googlers: turns out the video was made by Microsoft's own package design team. So score one to them for their self-awareness and sense of humor.

(Also, the halo reads differently if you consider that the intended audience is MS employees; they're literally putting a halo on the competition. Still doesn't quite justify it, but almost.)
posted by ook at 11:09 AM on March 17, 2006