Trademark applications usually reveal details about a product or service’s intended purposes and applications in the long-term. Companies who file these trademark applications obviously want to cover all grounds in terms of what the product does now, and might do in the next several years to make sure they don’t lose their trademark when the product expands into new markets.

Today, Microsoft was granted the “Zune” trademark filed on August 16, 2006. As you would expect, the Zune trademark includes uses for a multimedia player and entertainment device, but did you also know, the Zune trademark also covers telecommunication and internet services?

IC 038. US 100 101 104. G & S: telecommunication services; electronic transmission of data files, documents, music and videos over the Internet and wireless networks; electronic mail services; web messaging services; text messaging services; paging services; streaming of audio and video material over the Internet and wireless networks; wireless voice mail services; voice-activated dialing services; providing wireless access to computer networks and the Internet; cellular telephone services; and audio, video and television broadcasting and transmission

Interestingly enough, Microsoft has opted to make sure the Zune trademark includes the description for telecommunication services with ability to use internet and wireless networks, email, web messaging, multimedia streaming and even telephone services. Could this mean Microsoft might expand the Zune in the future to be an iPhone-alike device? Well I guess they’ve got the trademark sorted.

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Edit: I’ve edited this post because I don’t want to send out the wrong message. It’s a cool gift from AMD and I appreciate their efforts and concern. I am keeping the bag because you can never have enough bags.

AMD really likes sending gifts this holiday season. Bloggers would agree. 😉 This is the box that I couldn’t get before I left for CES, I was only able to pick it up today. I had no idea what was coming. A processor-in-a-(very big) box?

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If someone could please explain the connection between Barney The Purple Dinosaur and Microsoft Windows 98 seen at 0:44sec, that would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe one day we’ll look back at videos with spinning laptops with laughter too.

Even the best minds at 42 Entertainment creating the most coordinated and immersive alternate reality game cannot escape the laws of reality and weather. Attempting to pull off one of the biggest stunts in ARG history, weather has disrupted 2 of 5 planned Vanishing Point sky-writing events around the world today. Rain in Austin Texas forced the cancellation of one event, and excessive cloud cover in Phoenix forced the event to be moved 20 miles east.

Robert McLaws was one of many who attended the original Phoenix event only to miss out on the event all together due to lack of communication and coordination from the event organizers.

Taking into account the nature of the event, could you blame 42 Entertainment for the sudden change in plans? Remember, ‘they’ don’t exist in the world of Vanishing Point. Can you blame anyone, except god? Does anyone actually hold any accountability for anything that happens inside an alternate reality game?

Regardless of accountability or crappy weather, the extraordinary people at the Neowin community solved all of the week 2 puzzles within a matter of hours after it was posted, even without all the clues. Loki said she would give extraordinary prizes to extraordinary people, I think she’s found them.

But who deserves to win? The people who actually spends time, effort and brain cells to solve every puzzle, or the people who sits back and read Vanishing Point Wiki the day after for all the correct answers? Because Vanishing Point is a game of chance, not skill, people who don’t solve any puzzles, or even don’t do anything (except register and get 20 free points) can still win. Is this fair to the extraordinarily smart people? I can’t exactly clear myself of the guilt.

Of course, the meta puzzle to win the opportunity for a person’s name to be engraved on thousands if not millions of AMD Athlon 64 FX chips is still a game of skill. Only the first person to correctly solve that side-quest will win that prize. And they deserve it.

Only 14 more days before Loki vanishes. Things are starting to heat up.

Microsoft showed off this teaser video at CES 2007 for the new range of Windows Vista inspired and certified PCs during Bill Gates’ keynote. It’s one of those standard marketing videos with spinning laptops and flying buzzwords, but I can’t help noticing the similarities between it and the Apple Mac OSX ‘Welcome’ video.

Even though the text animation and music may be similar, I still believe both videos are equally cool in its own unique ways.

Speaking of cool, here’s a neat black “Windows Vista Ultimate” wallpaper I spotted during the video on the ASUS Lamborghini laptop’s screen. It has a green and blue flare set against a black aurora background which also happens to be the same design as the retail packaging box. I wonder where you can get it.

I got the chance to meet with the infamous Tjeerd Hoek and Jenny Lam from Microsoft Design, who leads the teams that designed Windows Vista. These people don’t get enough recognition for the influence they have on one of the most popular products in the world. I learned a lot from both of them, some of which will soon be posted.

Thanks to Tim Cahill, from WPF team for taking the picture.