email surveillance@theworddepartment.co.uk

If there’s word stuff (technical term) you need to know, it'll be reported here.

 

24 October 2008

Copywriting meets gadget heaven

Love gadgets?

Me too. So like me, you’ll probably love reading www.engadget.com – possibly one of the best blogs around at the minute. It’s got all the latest news on all the latest gleaming goodies (I've got my eye on an eco-friendly, solar-powered lawnmower), and the tone of voice is nothing short of fantastic. It’s informative, and it makes you laugh.

 

Incidentally I met ‘Q’ (Desmond Llewelyn) once. Lovely chap.

 

25 October 2008

Why machines can't write

Computer f****s up iTunes

You know the Arthur C. Clarke novel 2001, where the computer goes nuts? Well the other day, a similar thing happened to the computer controlling the UK iTunes store. Deciding that society was far too corrupt, the computer started to censor titles by plonking asterisks in the middle of what it considered to be offending words. The machine's judgement was questionable though. For example, Sunday school favourites The Pussycat Dolls escaped without any censorship at all, whilst peddler of filth Edward Lear had his smut changed to 'The Owl and the P****cat'. Clearly copywriters won't be replaced by computers any time soon.