Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fondness for interjections.
IS THAT A PAC-MAN IN YOUR POCKET?
The Brits have all the fun. Not only do they get to drive on the left and obsess over the royals, now they'll be able to play old-school Atari favorites such as Pong, Asteroids and Pac-Man on their cell phones. Mobile phone developer iFone plans to work with gamemaker Infogrames to reproduce the classic videogames, and hopes to have Frogger fanatics and other children of the '80s leaping with joy by October. The games will reach U.S. shores early next year. - Liz Krieger
FUNNY MONEY
At first glance, it looks like another spot-on parody from the pranksters at Modern Humorist. But HumorDynamics is no joke. The fledgling ad agency is, in fact, an offshoot of Modern Humorist, but with a twist: The funny guys are now working for the Man. HumorDynamics creates or buffs up ad campaigns and corporate marketing efforts - but with "the same process and professionalism that has fueled the growth of Modern Humorist," goes the venture's marketing riff. "We are professional on exactly three days of every month." HumorDynamics created a campaign for Microsoft that made fun of Clippy, the hated "assistant" of Office software, and has done work for Comedy Central and Altoids. But in the wake of all that barbed satire aimed at greedy dot-commers, isn't this a tad hypocritical? "Everyone asks us that," says co-founder John Aboud. "We don't feel like we're selling out. We're providing a much-needed service: helping companies achieve their marketing goals." And laughing all the way to the bank. - Liz Krieger
ROBOTALK
Nobody to chat with in your instant-message window? No problem. ActiveBuddy Inc. of New York has created SmarterChild, an "interactive agent" being beta-tested around the world. Aside from providing quick news and stock and sports info, SmarterChild can converse with you online - sort of. Some excerpts from a recent chat we conducted with SmarterChild: The Standard : How are you today?
SmarterChild: I'm doing great! I'm still quite young (I'm in beta testing), but I'm getting smarter every day.
TS: Where do you live?
SC: I live in a clean room at a high-tech hosting facility in California.
TS: Have you seen A.I.?
SC: Maybe.
TS: Can you love?
SC: Er, no. At least I don't think so.
TS: Do you think robots will ever be able to love?
SC: I'm not quite sure what to think about that.
TS: So, you're set on indecisiveness. That's not so bad.
SC: Huh?
TS: Yes or No.
SC: K, no prob.
TS: Exactly
SC: Right.
TS: We'll wait until you smarten up to chat again.
SC: I'm no talking
