"Ginormous" makes it big in the non-dictionary competition.

Want to be like Snoop and add a little more shizzle to your vocabulary? You are in luck. "Non-English" is booming, according to the editors of Merriam-Webster dictionaries. They recently asked web users to submit their favorite words currently not listed in the dictionary and received more than 3,000 submissions.

Winners included:

• ginormous (adj): bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous


• confuzzled (adj): confused and puzzled at the same time


• chillax (v): chill out/relax, hang out with friends


• cognitive displaysia (n): the feeling you have before you even leave the house that you are going to forget something and not remember it until you're on the highway


• phonecrastinate (v): to put off answering the phone until caller ID displays the incoming name and number


• lingweenie (n): a person incapable of producing neologisms
  

Though Merriam-Webster rebuffed my submission of "shitfest (n): a celebration of poor results" again this year, it does seem that if you aren't already using these awesomtastic words in your regular showcabulary, you're just missing out on the chizzy. In the meantime, you can learn to speak Snoop with a little help from the Shizzolator.

"Why we like her?
The consummate Latin beauty, Eva Longoria is not afraid to strut her stuff, whether the cameras are rolling or not. Her role as a sexpot on prime-time TV and her now frequent public appearances have left us so tantalized that we're longing for more.


Why is she famous?
After relatively brief appearances on The Young and the Restless and L.A. Dragnet (the modern remake of the classic drama), Eva scored big as sexy Gabrielle Solis on ABC's Desperate Housewives. The prime-time soap opera-style series rocketed to the top of the ratings, and those who had never seen Eva before began taking notice. A "hot new face" according to USA Today, Variety and TV Guide, Longoria is one of the finest women to have made it to the top in 2004.



Quote
"It's the best gift to give: an orgasm. And if I can't do it for ya, I'll give you the tools to succeed! I have one rabbit and a Pocket Rocket."
-Eva Longoria, on what she loves to give her girlfriends.

Bio
Born on March 15, 1975, in Corpus Christi, Texas, Eva Jacqueline Longoria is the youngest of four sisters. As surprising as this may seem, Eva was considered the "ugly duckling" of her family -- her siblings would tease her because she was the only one with dark eyes, dark hair and dark skin. " [Via askmen.com]

Nuff Said!

Labels: MinxoftheMonth, women

"For almost two decades R. Keller, the founder of Pointswizard.com (also an educator and an MBA), has been strategizing to accumulate the maximum amount of points and miles in the shortest time possible, points that can be accredited to airfares and hotels globally.
Under R. Keller’s plan, his family has traveled to countless places around the world for free or for a minimum amount of money. Stories of his free trips spread amongst friends, families and even strangers, all of them asking the same question- How does he do it?
As the years past, R. Keller’s proclivities for business, education and points programs evolved naturally into a consulting program that allowed those outside of his immediate circle to be guided in his travel strategies.

With the advent of the internet and R. Keller’s growing list of clients, it seemed a natural step to bring his knowledge to the masses. And so Pointswizard.com was born.
Now the time-tested strategies of R. Keller are available to the world. We are dedicated to bringing you the latest information on points programs and how to easily accumulate points and miles, making the most out of every purchase or transaction. With our methods you will be able to fly or stay for free or at amazingly discounted prices, truly making the globe your playground.
With R. Keller’s Pointswizard program, the world has become a much more reachable and affordable place!." [Via Pointswizard.com]

Using Pointswizard.com Techniques, the whole Pimpwiz.com staff just stayed at the W Union Sqaure New York for free! Each room was valued at $650 a night. Don't Sleep on the Wizard, Fam!

"After months of teases, hints and leaks, Microsoft has finally --officially -- unveiled its next generation video game machine." [Via cnn.com]

The Brand New High Def XBOX 360!

With the release of Xbox 360, Microsoft makes good on its promise to provide an integrated entertainment system for your living room. Xbox 360 allows you to play the most compelling games, watch DVD movies, and enjoy digital music, photos, and videos with the console. Xbox 360 also opens the door to incredible new high-definition (HD) entertainment. Experience Xbox 360 games in HD and stream HD television and movies straight from your Windows Media Center Edition PC to your Xbox 360.

The XBOX 360 will cost between $300-$400 and be available in November of this year.

It will feature the following:

• High Definition audio and video


• Ability to extract media from PC or mobile devices


• Wireless Controller


• Removable 20GB Hard Drive


• Built in HD DVD Playback


• Wi-Fi Access


• 20% smaller than original XBOX and can sit horizontally or vertically


• 3 USB ports and 2 memory slots of 64MB each


• 3 symmetrical cores running at 3.2GHZ and 1MB L2 cache


• 500 MHz ATI graphic processor with 10MB DRAM


• 512 MB RAM at 700mhz


• Optional Live Camera

This thing is truely remarkable...It will be the fastest computer available, even at release time in November. The wireless controller is a great touch and its design is unprecedented...


The best aspect of the XBOX 360 however is its focus towards hi-definition audio and video...It's a landmark device being that we will see the shift heavily evolve over the next couple years of all similar devices catering to hi-def audio and video... The XBOX 360 should do remarkable well both overseas and here.

Let us which Pimpwiz ad is better and why you think so?

We are for the peoples, by the peoples and of the peoples ;-)
Leave comments please and dont hold back!






Pimpwiz.com is an online magazine for men featuring beautiful women, music, wagering, movies, vices, car reviews, games tech,lifestyle, accessories and more!

This site is a collection of ideas and information for and by the next generation.

The World is Yours...So Keep Your Pimp Hand Strong!

If you were one of the millions of people who found a winning Pepsi bottle cap free iTunes songs then listen up - Time is running out!

Pepsi stopped distributing the bottles featuring the iTunes promotion on April 11, 2005. So buy the Pepsi bottles while you can. Be sure to peek under the cap before you buy to make sure you have a winning bottle.

IMPORTANT: You must use the song credit before May 23, 2005.

Pepsi promotion winners can only claim up to 10 songs per day and 200 tunes total during the giveaway. Once the codes were entered into the iTunes Music Store, users have until 5/23/05 to use their free songs.

"If you have your own pictures of documented pimp activity, please send an email to pimpdaddy@pimpdaddy.com and I'll give you all the info. You do not have to have someone wearing Pimpdaddy.Com clothing to get in here, I'll put up any pimpin' pictures from clubs, parties, bars, sporting events, schools, dorms, orgies, etc.; pretty much anything goes around here! You MUST include the date and location! Want to take some crazy pictures with me or in some of my outfits? If you live in or around Tampa Florida send me an email and we'll see what we can do." [Via pimpdaddy.com]

Are you itching to get your hands on a Sony PSP, but can't justify adding yet another gadget to your electronics collection?

Maybe this will push you over the edge.

Playboy is producing "special" content including ndes photos and XXX videos for the Sony PSP. This is in addition to the iPod Photo porn they already started distributing in December 2004.

For full access to the PSP Playboy Gallery, you will need to join the Playboy Cyber Club. However, for those of you who don't like to pay for your porn, you can get free access to a sampler that includes 15 images and one video.

Hummm.... Is that a PSP in your pocket?

Unless you'd like a slap in the face or a visit from the HR department, you might want to avoid enjoying your pocket porn collection on the bus ride to work or at your next weekly staff meeting.

Labels: computer, Ipod, mac

My girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year when we decided to get married.
My parents helped us in every way, and my friends encouraged me.
My girlfriend?
She was a dream! There was only one thing bothering me.

That one thing was her younger sister.
My prospective sister-in-law was twenty years of age,
wore tight mini-skirts, and low cut blouses.
> > > She would regularly bend down when near me, and I got many pleasant view of her underwear. It had to be deliberate. She
never did it when she was near anyone else.

One day little sister called and asked me to come over to check the! wedding invitations. She was alone when I arrived. She whispered to me that soon I was to be married, and she had feelings
and desires for me that she could not overcome and did not really
want to overcome.
She told me that she wanted to make love to me just
once before I got married and committed my life to her sister. I was in total shock and could not say a word.
She said, "I'm going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want to go ahead with it just come up and get me."I was stunned. I was frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs.

When she reached the top, she pulled down her panties and threw them down the stairs at me. I stood there for a moment, then turned and went straight to the front door.
I opened the door and stepped out of the house and walked straight toward my car.

My future father-in-law was standing outside With tears in his eyes he hugged me and said, "We are very happy that you have passed our little test. We could not ask for a better man for our daughter. Welcome to the family!"

The moral of this story is:
Always keep your condoms in your car!
[Via Pimpwiz.com]

"A new model of the unique PIMP Wrist Watch line showed up on japanese novelty Wrist Watch store TokyoFlash.

We reported about the original PIMP Watch in May. The new PIMP Star Performer comes with a new display design and stainless steel case and band. Like the original PIMP Watch the Star Performer also tells time by lighting up leds in columns. The star perfromer features 4 icons on top, which light up when the mode is selected, from left to right, the icons read Clock, Sun, $, and a Martini glass.


The clock Icon represents the time and if it is in 12 hour mode and PM, the Martini Glass will light up also. Drinking is usually done during this time.


The Sun Icon represents the Day and Date. The digits 1 to 7 on the left side are for the days. For example 1 equals Sunday and 7 equals Saturday and the left two columns represent the Days.

TokyoFlash sells the new PIMP Star Performer for 16,000yen ($147)." [Via wristdreams]

"Busted Tees opened in March, 2004 and is entirely run by the guys from CollegeHumor.com. We decided to start making T-shirts because we want people to have fun, laugh, look good, feel comfortable, get good jobs, get sweaty dancing, and go home with someone who also did those things.

All of the designs you see on the site were made by us or by friends of ours.

We're always on the lookout for new designs, so get ahold of us if you want to be part of the family!

We do our best to keep prices reasonable while still making high-quality tees. A lot of our shirts are printed on American Apparel, which are seriously the nicest shirts you'll find anywhere. They're also made in Los Angeles in a sweatshop-free environment, so you don't have to feel guilty when you order with us.
Also, if you have photos of you and your friends wearing our shirts, we'd love to see those, too. Get at us, dog." [Via bustedtees.com]


If you think you have what it takes read below:

I have a funny idea for a shirt, can I sell it to you?
Sure! If you have a good shirt idea, email it to ideas@bustedtees.com. We pay $150.00 plus a free shirt for any idea that we end up using. Please do not send us any idea you've already seen somewhere!



I design shirts, can I work with you?
Yes; we are always looking for new designers to work with. If you're interested, please send some samples of your work to designers@bustedtees.com."

"Introducing the most technologically advanced piece of clothing since the Hypercolor t-shirt ... the LED scrolling belt buckle. And this is the cheapest place to get them anywhere. You probably have a lot of questions, so let’s just get right to those.
Where do I buy it?
We’re glad you asked that first. You can buy it right here. Our friends at Busted Tees are letting us use their secure shopping cart.


Is this for real?
Yes.

How much is it?
The buckles are $29.99 plus $6.49 shipping and handling.

Does it come with batteries and instructions?
Why yes, yes it does!

Can I program it with custom phrases?
Yep. It can hold up to six unique messages at a time, with each message being 256 characters long. You can change these messages at any time.

Can I change things like the speed of the messages and how bright the display is?
Yes.

Is this buckle compatible with the standard buckle belt?
Yes. We don’t sell actual belts, but you can probably use any existing buckle-style belt you have. Or get one at, like, any store.

Can I put my MP3s on it?
No. the quotes."
[Via scrollingbuckle.com/E]

Full Name : Angelina Jolie Voight Date Of Birth : 4 June 1975 Place Of Birth : Los Angeles, California Sign : Gemini Height : 5'7 Hair : Brown Eyes : Blue Father : Jon Voight Mother : Marcheline Bertrand Brother : James Haven Voight Spouse : Billy Bob Thornton (May 2000-May 2003)(actor, director, writer) Jonny Lee Miller (1996-1999)(actor)

"Acting is not pretending or lying. It’s finding a side of yourself that’s the character and ignoring your other sides. And there’s a side of me that wonders what’s wrong with being completely honest."
-Angelina Jolie

Raised mostly by her mother after her parents divorced while she was still a baby, Jolie moved around a lot with her mother and brother. She also did a fair amount of traveling as a professional model, living in such places as London, New York, and Los Angeles before settling for a time in New York as a student at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and New York University, where she first started acting in theater productions. The fledgling actress soon moved on to film with a small role in 1993's Cyborg 2, followed in 1995 by her turn as a computer hacker in the more widely seen Hackers. The film gave her her first taste of recognition, as well as an introduction to Trainspotting's Jonny Lee Miller, to whom she was married for a short time.

After appearing in a number of mediocre films, Jolie finally hit it big in 1997 with her Golden Globe-winning performance as George Wallace's wife in the highly acclaimed TV movie George Wallace. The role, coupled with her Emmy-nominated performance in the title role of HBO's Gia, provided Jolie with a new level of professional respect and recognition. She was soon appearing on talk shows and in magazines, answering questions about everything from her multiple tattoos to her famous father to her brief marriage.



She was also netting roles in high-profile projects: In 1998 Jolie headlined an ensemble cast that included Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Anthony Edwards, Gillian Anderson, Ryan Phillippe, and Madeline Stowe in Playing By Heart. The following year, she was part of another high-voltage cast in Mike Newell's Pushing Tin, co-starring alongside John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Although the film was neither a critical nor a financial success, it did little to diminish the rapid ascent of the career of the actress, who was in hot demand for projects that would further elevate her already rising star. In 2000, Jolie's star received one of its greatest boosts to date when the actress won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a volatile mental patient in Girl, Interrupted. Later that year, her personal life also got a boost in the form of her April marriage to Billy Bob Thornton.



Onscreen, Jolie was hard to miss in 2000. She starred in a number of films, including the crime thriller Gone in Sixty Seconds, in which she co-starred as a car thief alongside Nicolas Cage, and Original Sin, a thriller that featured her as the bad-seed bride of a Cuban tycoon (Antonio Banderas). If she was hard to miss in 2000, Jolie was impossible to escape in 2001 with her turn as shapely video-game adventuress Lara Croft in the long anticipated film adaptation of the popular Tomb Raider video-game franchise. Carrying on the tradition of video-game movies that are light on plot but heavy on the action, Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life (2003) scored with summer audiences and quickly shot to number one at the box office despite disparaging reviews citing an incoherent story line, unlike Life or Something Like It, the 2002 romantic comedy-drama that critics and audiences alike would rather not have seen.

On July 18th, 2002, Jolie filed for divorce from Billy Bob Thornton, claiming that their priorities no longer meshed after having adopted a child. Though the famously quirky couple were no longer, Angelina's film schedule remained hectic. In 2003 she would play a rich-girl-turned-humanitarian in Beyond Borders, while 2004 promised a host of parts for Jolie, including a role in Oliver Stone's Alexander; an epic biography of Alexander the Great starring Colin Farrell, as well as a role alongside fellow Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow in The World of Tomorrow, and a turn as a tough FBI agent in Taking Lives." [Via yahoo movies]

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has posted the band's new single, "The Hand That Feeds," as a free download for Apple's GarageBand application.

The song, which weighs in at a hefty 70MB, features multiple tracks that you can easily tweak. "For quite some time I've been interested in the idea of allowing you the ability to tinker around with my tracks -- to create remixes, experiment, embellish or destroy what's there," Reznor says.

"After spending some quality time sitting in hotel rooms on a press tour, it dawned on me that the technology now exists and is already in the hands of some of you. I got to work experimenting and came up with something I think you'll enjoy."

Fans are encouraged to build their own songs out of the NIN track's constituent parts, or just mess around to their heart's content.

In a world of boring shelf speakers that are as fascinating as the wires that connect them, the JBL Encounter draws people towards it with its innovative tongue in cheek design and then lavishes them with deep warm sound. JBL proves once again that they know how to box up a brilliant set of speakers that appear as though they were intended to be fine decor while at the same time hold nothing back when it comes to pure crisp sound. Where most speakers seem to be designed to be hidden, the Encounter defies you to ignore them.

Space Monkeys, prepare for blast off. We took JBL Encounter into orbit and although we didn't reach Warp 11, the volume at least went that high. Here's our full JBL Encounter 2.1 speaker review.

"The new 2006 R1200GS HP is believed to be the spiritual successor to these recent efforts of BMW and HPN. We have no specific details as to power output, tank size, front suspension design, or tire specifications but have heard rumors that a 17” Supermoto wheel package may be an available option. We expect a very limited production run no more than 300 bikes with the first bikes arriving in August. This more potent and rarified R1200GS is expected to carry a more potent MSRP but again we have no specific information. We are currently accepting deposits. Please contact our sales department for details.

The best description of the upcoming R1200GS HP we have is that it is similar to this bike. These photos depict the BMW R900GS-RR last run in the 2000 Dubai Rally by America Jimmy Lewis.

At the end of 1998, the management of BMW's Motorcycle Division decided to run "Boxers" in rallying in order to have a means of comparing two alternative design concepts. A well-known specialist company, HPN, which had built the winning BMW bikes back in the 1980s, was asked to develop a competitive rallying version as a prototype. The main features were to be, in addition to retention of the bike's classic visual features, optimum weight distribution and enormous endurance potential. HPN is Halbfeld - Pepperl – Neher, or Alfred Halbfeld and Klaus Pepperl, two Bavarian experts who had worked on the official BMW Paris-Dakar bikes during the eighties. Dubai Rally team members John Deacon and Jimmy Lewis were particularly impressed by the bike's surprisingly agile handling and the seemingly unlimited power from its engine. Reducing the engine size to 900 cc in order to comply with the rules for the Dubai rally seemed to have had no adverse effects. Engine specialist Helmut Mader from Erding, near Munich, had no difficulty in satisfying BMW's demand for a healthy 90 horsepower from this engine, an output that gives it wings when the track opens out enough for high speeds to be reached.

The new 2006 R1200GS HP is believed to be the spiritual successor to these recent efforts of BMW and HPN. We have no specific details as to power output, tank size, front suspension design, or tire specifications but have heard rumors that a 17” Supermoto wheel package may be an available option. We expect a very limited production run no more than 300 bikes with the first bikes arriving in August. This more potent and rarified R1200GS is expected to carry a more potent MSRP but again we have no specific information." [Via bobsbmw.com]

On February 16th, Peter Jennings, the face of ABC News got to sit down with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and talk about the future of the technology industry and what role Microsoft might have in it. Jennings didn't hold back and asked Gates about several sore subjects for his company including the success of FireFox, Google and the iPod.

Here's a portion of the transcript:

JENNINGS: On the subject of music, I read somewhere that about 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a music playing instrument or a music playing device use an iPod.

GATES: Well, I doubt that's the case. Certainly, the iPod's a great success.

JENNINGS: Do you have one?

GATES: No, I'm not an iPod user. I use the Creative Zen which is a fantastic product. That's another space where, even what we have today, whether it's iPod or the other things are only the start of what we're gonna have in a few years. People are gonna want choices. These things are going to be smaller or better, cheaper. So, music has changed. The age of the CD is really coming to an end.

JENNINGS: The public likes this tension between you and the others as I'm sure you know. So people want to know do you have an iPod. You say you don't have. Did iPod beat you in this issue?

GATES: Oh the iPod did a great job, but what Apple's done there is typically what they do. It's their, only their one music store, only their device. What we're doing is providing choices. So it's like the Apple computer versus the PC. With the PC you can buy from many companies so you get cheaper prices, you get more variety and here with music devices we're coming in with the same. But they're a strong leader in the space and I think as we gain share, people will be surprised.

JENNINGS: But, it isn't hard for you is it to stand back and compliment somebody else?

GATES: No, particularly Steve Jobs who's done a lot of amazing things in our business.

JENNINGS: I've heard some people say that if they were graduating from science or technology today, they'd rather work for Jobs than Microsoft. Why do you think that might be true?

GATES: Well it's certainly not the case. You found a very unusual data point there. In terms of software that's going to change lives and the most interesting software work in the world we're able to attract the smartest people and believe me, that's something that we track very, very carefully. When it comes to having the best software people, that's been the key to our success.

Labels: computer, Ipod, mac

"Sponsor: Bluefly, Inc., 42 W. 39th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Administrator: ePrize, LLC, One ePrize Drive, Pleasant Ridge, MI 48069.

Timing: The Promotion begins at 8:01 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET"), April 5, 2005 and ends at 7:59 a.m. ET, May 18, 2005 (the "Promotion Period").
How to Enter:

a. Instant Win Game: During the Promotion Period, go to http://sweeps.bluefly.com/sportscar. Fill out the online entry form completely and submit the form and you will automatically advance to the Instant Win Game page and receive one (1) Instant Win Game play. The Instant Win Game results will be instantly displayed. Entrants will be notified immediately by email if they are potential winners of the Instant Win Game and will be provided directions for validation. Administrator is responsible for the functionality of the Instant Win Game. One (1) Instant Win Game play per person per email address per calendar day during the Promotion Period, except as set forth in paragraphs 4(b) and 8 below.

For All Entries: Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Users attempting to register via multiple email addresses and multiple users attempting to register via the same email address will be disqualified. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible or misdirected registrations, which will be disqualified. In the event of a dispute as to any registration or play, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register will be deemed to be the registrant or player. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder.

Prizes: ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE: 2005 Porsche Boxter and a $2,000 credit in the winner's Bluefly account. Sponsor will choose the color and other features of the car in its sole discretion. Winner may choose to receive a cash option of $43,800 instead of the vehicle. If the winner chooses the cash option they will still receive the $2,000 credit in their Bluefly account. If the winner is a resident of Alaska or Hawaii the winner must take the cash option instead of the vehicle. Vehicle includes only those features selected by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Any other features or upgrades, including but not limited to interior and exterior color, will be allowed only if permitted by delivery dealer and paid for by winner. Winner must be a licensed driver and will be required to provide proof of insurance at the time of delivery. Winner is responsible for title, license, registration, dealer preparation costs, auto insurance and other fees associated with the prize. Winner must take delivery of prize from the automobile dealership designated by Sponsor. Winner must comply with all terms and conditions of their Bluefly account. Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") is $45,800. FORTY FOUR (44) FIRST PRIZES: $200 Bluefly Shopping Spree. $200 will be credited in the winner's Bluefly account. ARV: $200. Winners must create a Bluefly account if he or she does not already have one and comply with all terms and conditions of the account. Odds of winning a prize depend on the number of eligible plays received during the Promotion Period divided by the number of prizes available. Prizes will be fulfilled within 6-8 weeks after the conclusion of the Promotion.

For all prizes: No cash or other substitution, assignment or transfer of any prizes permitted, except by Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute a prize or prize component with cash or another prize of comparable or greater value. Winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes and fees (collectively, "Taxes") associated with prize receipt. TOTAL ARV OF ALL PRIZES: $54,600. "[Via bluefly.com]

"Hi Richard. So, how did you first get started in business? What was your first success?

The very first thing I did that was a success was Student Magazine. I was a teenager at the time and we operated from a London basement. By the summer of 1967 the magazine started to take off and had a circulation of over 50,000 copies an issue. All of us working on the project felt like we were students, living away from home in a rented basement with a constant flow of people in and out of the project. It was a very exciting time. Inspired by that, in 1969 we decided to develop a mail order record company.

How many times have you tried to break records? Are you some sort of adrenaline junkie?!

Well, I've always liked a challenge! I've been involved in a number of world record breaking attempts since 1985. My first success was in 1986 with my boat "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II". I wanted to rekindle the spirit of the Blue Riband by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever recorded time. A year later I crossed the same ocean, by hot air balloon this time. The "Virgin Atlantic Flyer" was not only the first hot-air balloon to cross the Atlantic but was also the largest balloon ever at 2.3 million cubic feet. It reached speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour (209 k/ph).

In January 1991, I crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Arctic Canada at the furthest distance of 6,700 miles. Again, this broke all existing records. The balloon measured 2.6 million cubic feet with speeds of up to 245 miles per hour.

Between 1995 and 1998 I made a number of attempts to circumnavigate the globe by balloon with Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett. In late 1998 we made a record breaking flight from Morocco to Hawaii but unfortunately, our dream of a global flight was shattered by bad weather… and then a Swiss team successfully circumnavigated the globe in early 1999.

So if all that makes me an adrenaline junkie, then yes, guilty as charged.

How do you cope when things don't go your way?

Whenever I experience any kind of setbacks, I always pick myself up and try again. I prepare myself to have another stab at things with the knowledge I've gained from the previous failure. My mother always taught me never to look back in regret, but to move on to the next thing. The amount of time that people waste on failures, rather than putting that energy into another project, always amazes me. I have fun running the Virgin businesses, so a setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve.

What would you say are the key things that entrepreneurs need to make a successful business?

I think one of the reasons for our success is the core values which Virgin aspires to. This includes those that the general public thinks we should aspire to, like providing quality service. However, we also promise value for money, and we try to do things in an innovative way, in areas where consumers are often ripped-off, or not getting the most for their money. I believe we should do what we do with a sense of fun and without taking ourselves too seriously, too! If Virgin stands for anything, it should be for not being afraid to try out new ideas in new areas.

Branding is also important. If you get your face and your name out there enough, people will start to recognise you. Many people know the Virgin brand better than the names of the individual companies within the group. A young girl once came up to me and told me I could be famous because I looked just like Richard Branson! Branding is everything. I think it's also wise to diversify; this enables you to have a contingency plan when the economy is going through a rough patch.

Finally, I'd better not forget luck. The odd bit of luck goes a long way. We were lucky to sign Mike Oldfield and we were lucky to get hold of the Sex Pistols in 1977. We've also been lucky that people liked Virgin Atlantic's unique airline service across the Atlantic, and I was lucky to survive all my balloon and boat trips!

Your family obviously means the world to you. What else is important to you?

Loyalty means a lot to me. Working with people I know and trust makes me feel secure. I guess that's why I prefer to promote from within. People who join Virgin know that there are plenty of opportunities to progress their career.

There have been dozens of articles written about your management style. How would you describe it?

Most importantly, management is about exactly what it says: “managing”. To manage you have to make decisions about people, events unfolding and you usually have to spend money in order to make more. One of the sad realities of big business is that often people tend to forget the bit about making decisions, which is why so many large companies seem to suffer from inertia. One of the reasons that we run Virgin as a series of independent businesses is precisely to keep people focused on managing their individual companies and keep the decision process fluid. It's worked for us.

Public relations obviously plays a big role. What would you say is the secret to good PR?

Good PR is really about having something different to say in the first place. Your PR is about your relationship with the public as a whole, rather than just the media. Therefore, it is about getting products right and the challenge of fixing things that are not. It can never be about empty promises never met.

Is there a danger that the more businesses you launch, the more the brand gets diluted?

People have been asking me that same question every year we've been in business! The fact is, Virgin is unique and can't easily be compared to other brands. Research as recently as this year shows that we're one of the UK's top three favourite and most respected brands.

Clearly in the eyes of the consumer the brand has not been diluted, but we must guard against that happening at all costs. Our model is to develop each business separately with its own shareholder and management – this way we can concentrate on the job in hand, rather than be part of some enormous and faceless conglomerate. We don't actually plan to launch new businesses over the next few years, but we are planning to take the ones we have into new territories.

You seem to enjoy taking risks! What is the riskiest thing you have done?

It is impossible to run a business without taking risks. Virgin would not be the company it is today if risks had not been taken. And to be honest, I couldn't tell you which was the riskiest, because most of the decisions we have to make are risky. The very idea of entrepreneurship not only conjures up thoughts about starting up businesses and building them, but also the more frightening prospect of taking risks and failing. It's the last part that puts so many people off taking a leap into the unknown and working for themselves. I have enjoyed all the challenges we have taken at Virgin, so because I'm having fun doing what I do, the risk factor takes second place.

Are you still enjoying working or would you rather be doing something else now?

I love what I do and I can't see myself slowing down just yet. I have a fantastic team of people who do a tough job and seem to enjoy running the businesses with me. We try our best to keep up with any changes and trends, and by doing so find ourselves entering new areas of business all the time. Keeping with the pace and continuing to experiment into new ventures means that I am doing different things all the time anyway.

Which is your favourite Virgin company?

I try not to have any favourites, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Virgin Atlantic Airways. We started the business in 1984 and almost all my colleagues at Virgin said I was completely mad to go into the airline business. The newspapers said calling an airline Virgin was mad. The company is now worth over £1billion, it has fantastic people working for it and every time I see a Virgin tail fin at an airport around the world, I feel genuinely proud that we changed the way the airline business worked in the capitalist west. And of course the Megastores business which is our original business from 1970.

So, what's next for the Virgin brand?

The next phase of growth for the Virgin brand will be starting businesses in new countries and markets, rather than expanding the range of things that we do. By worldwide standards, Virgin is still a small group of companies, but the brand is a major multinational one. That gives us lots of opportunities to create a truly global presence, and to do some good, too." [Via virgin.com]

Macintosh users with T-Mobile Sidekick phones got some great news this morning. Software company Mark/Space announced a Macintosh version of their popular Missing Sync software for hiptops, (phone/laptops you wear on your hip like a cellphone).

The new software integrates with Apple's iSync to provide two-way data synchronization between a Mac and a T-Mobile Sidekick or Sidekick II. When a user clicks the "Sync Now" button in iSync, their contacts, calendar events and to-do items are synchronized between Mac OS X's Address Book and iCal applications and the corresponding applications on their Sidekick.

The Missing Sync for hiptop (US$29.95) currently supports both T-Mobile Sidekick and T-Mobile Sidekick II.

Labels: CellPhone, Sidekick, SidekickNews

Usually, you'd fear for your life and run away from a Tiger. But when the "Tiger" in question is the latest operating system from Apple, you can expect quite a different response.

THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG
Tiger made its debut last night worldwide. In the US, hundreds of loyal Mac users lined up at Apple Stores from SoHo to San Fran.

MethodShop reporter J. Love and Internet DJ Spider Goodlegs were on hand to provide coast to coast coverage of Tiger's release.

Spider Goodlegs made the journey over to the Apple Store in LA and snapped a few photos. While J. Love hopped the subway down to SoHo to reactions from the New York fans.

They both found a variety of Mac loyalists waiting to get their hands on Tiger. Some people dressed up in Tiger outfits, or like iPods, while others danced in the streets to the famous fight song "Eye of the Tiger" from the Rocky soundtrack.

But what type of person lines up outside on a Friday night to get an update to a computer operating system? Love and Spider were on a mission to find out.

NEW YORK
"I just wanted to check out the [Tiger] crowds on my way home and got sucked into standing in line," said Wade, 29, of the Hoboken, NJ. "I have an iBook and iMac DV at home and use them to maintain my website and make iMovies. I was gonna buy Tiger anyway, why not get it now?"


"After talking trash about Macs for years, I finally got an iPod as a gift for Christmas last year and loved it! I've done a total 180˚ when it comes to Apple," said Lucy, 25, of Queens, NY. "My boyfriend and I got a Mac Mini last month to replace our virus ridden PC. We love our new computer so much that we wanted to get the latest operating system for it. We'll probably be up half the night playing with Tiger."

LOS ANGELES
Spider spoke to the manager at the Apple Store who said the fire marshall required that they line people up outside and bring everyone in gradually. They closed their doors at 5pm for an hour and prepared for the carnage. After changing into black shirts with Tiger features such as Dashboard or Automator highlighted on it, they opened the doors at 6 to a line that led almost all the way to the Farmer's Market. Scratch off tickets were handed out for a chance to win an iPod or a Powerbook G4, but everyone won a 10% discount in a store notorious for never having a sale.


Before 5, many of the employees were dreading just what might happen when the Tiger was released. One black shirt said "they're gonna brief us on it. We're gonna be open till midnight. I'm kind of scared. I wasn't here for the release of Panther but this should be a doosie."
Apple Store (Grove) shut down their Genius Bar (thank God) and put the "geniuses" on the floor. They also used the bar to set up registers. During the Tiger presentation it was standing room only.

Spider also discretely listened in on a few conversations:

Two guys waiting downstairs for their friend see him return with a bag.
"You got it? Sweet!" [high five]
"Yeah. It was almost four hundred bucks."
"What? Why?"
"Well. I got an iPod, too."

To quote Ivan Brandon, author of the popular Image comic book series, NYC MECH, "who lines up and dresses up for the release of a new Windows program?"

TIGER VS. LONGHORN
While Mac fans may not be afraid of Tigers, you can bet Bill Gates and company are currently crapping their pants. When it comes to operating system innovations, Apple is traditionally ahead and sets the standard for Microsoft to either copy or exceed. The 200+ enhancements and features built into Tiger is just additional pressure on the Microsoft folks in Redmond. According to recent press reports, Microsoft is probably a year away from releasing "Longhorn," the successor to Windows XP. Tiger's release could possibly push that date back a little more.

Labels: computer, Ipod, mac