Humor

Generally, I don't much like email. It's impersonal, often leads to miscommunication, and simply doesn't carry the satisfaction of personal interaction with someone on the phone, or, better yet, in person. However, for those rare occasions when I ... want to completely avoid emotional contact, email is often the best choice. And apparently, tech retailer Radio Shack feels the same way. Rather than approach employees in a respectful, consolatory manner, the company recently laid off 400 employees through email. The affected workers are (or were) employed at Radio Shack's Fort Worth, Texas ... (view more)

Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor is now playing cupid: he's just launched Eons.com, a dating site for senior citizens (Source: wired.com ). Ironically, the 45-year-old Taylor is ineligible to join his own creation: members have to be 50 or older. ... Taylor obviously understands that most seniors have come to realize that life is a marathon, not a sprint. Unlike the majority of dating portals found on the Internet, Eons encourages more than just a quick fix. It's a full-fledged community that offers its members a variety of features outside of romance: Articles: Entertainment, love, money, body, ... (view more)

Consumerist.com has posted what appears to be an AOL customer service manual that details how company representatives are expected to handle users who wish to cancel their service. AOL phone reps are allegedly required to wear customers down into ... keeping their accounts by employing various questionable tactics -- including assaulting the user with a barrage of annoying sales pitches and asking invasive personal questions to get more information on file. One of the instructions listed in the AOL employee document: "KEEP DIGGING!!" AOL has declined to verify the legitimacy of the manual posted ... (view more)

Destructive viruses that no longer affect most of the world are still lingering in the Middle East, according to one of the world's leading antivirus vendor, Symantec. The ancient Nimda, Jeefo and Redlof viruses are still wreaking havoc in the ... region because the majority of computers there lack critical security and anti-virus patches. The Nimda virus, considered a worldwide threat in 2001, is the second most common virus in the Middle East despite no longer being listed in the top ten anywhere else. Richard Archdeacon, a director at Symantec, believes that these viruses "are not particularly ... (view more)

Have you ever played the game "What if ... ?" What if the Sky was Hot Pink instead of Blue? What if Coffee tasted like Bubblegum? What if Rapper Snoop Dogg was the CEO of Google.com? Infopackets Reader Max F. writes: " Dear Dennis, Google.com is by ... far the best search engine on the planet, providing the most accurate search results and plenty of other great services. But what if Snoop Dogg was the CEO of Google? The other day a friend of mine sent me an Instant Message via MSN Messenger with a link to a hilarious spoof of Google. The site name is called 'Gizoogle' and it looks ... (view more)

I don't normally post jokes in the Gazette; in fact, I've never done so. However, a joke I recently received put a smile on my face. Of course, none of the following story is true -- but humorous nonetheless. See if you can point out the parodies. " ... For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, 'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week, Bryan M. submitted a spoof video file about Macintosh computers: " I came across a very humorous video file about the experiences of using a Macintosh computer. The video is a spoof on those Macintosh commercials which were ... aired on TV a little while back. A typical scenario features big corporate executives who are frustrated by using a Windows PC at their workplace. " Macintosh commercial spoof video file Since then, numerous Readers have asked where they could download video (using_a_mac.wmv) in a in a different file format so that their Mac friends could ... (view more)

Bryan M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I came across a very humorous video file about the experiences of using a Macintosh computer. The video is a spoof on those Macintosh commercials which were aired on TV a little while back. A typical scenario features ... big corporate executives who are frustrated by using a Windows PC at their workplace. In the end of it all, the execs in the commercial say that they prefer to use Mac's because they're simpler to use. Anyway, it's something to that effect. I thought you might enjoy this video and pass it on to your readers. " My Response: I viewed the ... (view more)