So there’s this new “flavour” of Tylenol called Tylenol “Cool Burst”. You know what it is? It’s minty Tylenol. Minty! Tylenol!!
Why is this even necessary? The ideas of pills is that you swallow them. Do they really want people to pop in a couple of Tylenols and start sucking on them like candy? “Mmm… minty… refreshing… maybe I’ll have 10 more.”
I’m getting pretty tired of this notion that everything has to be minty. The only things that should be minty are mouthwash, breath drops, toothpaste and other oral hygiene products. I don’t want to eat it, I don’t want to drink it, I don’t want to wash my hair with it. Just take your mint and keep it to yourself, thank you.
(This is a sequel to another post)
Yesterday I washed my hair with this newfangled Head & Shoulders shampoo called “Refresh”. It’s basically shampoo with mint, and it supposedly creates a refreshing, “wake-me-up” feeling. To me, it felt like washing my hair with Vicks VapoRub while eating a Halls and brushing my teeth at the same time. I was coughing and sputtering and my eyes were stinging… a generally unpleasant experience.
I can just picture the marketing people who came up with this..
Marketing Executive #1: “I’ve got an idea… minty shampoo.”
Marketing Executive #2: “Excellent idea!”
Marketing Executive #1: “Yes… because everything minty is good!”
Marketing Executive #2: “Wait… didn’t you also invent Sprite Ice?”
What’s next, Bacon Double McMinty with Cheese?
The first is Google Suggest, which is basically a server-side AutoComplete feature. As you type a search query, it pops up a list of commonly searched keywords which match what you’ve already typed. Amazingly, when you type “por”, the first thing in the list is “porsche”, instead of… well, you know.
Another recently added Google feature is the ability to use POP to access GMail. I’m not sure exactly when they started doing this, but I noticed it a few days ago. Basically, this allows you to read GMail with an e-mail client (like Thunderbird or—God forbid—Outlook Express), instead of logging on to the webpage.
I’m surprised that Google actually decided to do this, because I assumed that most of the revenue generated from GMail is from the ads that they display on the webpage. By using POP to access your account, you effectively circumvent the need to use the web interface, thus avoiding the ads altogether. You have to wonder what Google has to gain from this, but I’m glad that they’re willing to make sacrifices to provide innovative services.
I can think of no better way to fritter away a Friday afternoon than to start a blog…
