The New York Times’ columnist entertains IT types with a parody of “Ooops!… I did it again.”
David Pogue may review technology for a living, but give him half a chance and he’ll revert to his first love: show tunes.
He did it again Wednesday, ending his Interop New York 2009 keynote at the Javits Center with one of his patented song parodies: “Apps!… I did it again,” a Britney Spears classic (if there is such a thing) rewritten for the age of the Apple (AAPL) iPhone.
The performance followed an address that entertained mostly by accident. In what he described in advance as an “exercise in idiocy,” he attempted 15 live demos of his favorite gadgets and apps.
We lost track of how many failed, but it seemed like more than half. “Dr. Kevorkian, call me now!” he cried after one of his simplest — a demo of Google Info (800-GOOG-411) — was foiled by Interop’s overloaded Wi-Fi circuits.
Below the fold: Pogue at the electric piano.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9POug3kHtQ]
UPDATE: Pogue helpfully provided by e-mail this list of the 14 demos he attempted (one got cut for time):
* Mifi
* iPhone Touch as a cellphone (using Mifi+Skype Out)
* 800-Goog 411
* Blurt (for BlackBerry)–video chat with the author in Dallas
* Nikon Coolpix 1000pj (camera with projector)
* Ocarina (musical instrument iPhone app)
* I Am T-Pain
* Jaadu VNC (real-time control of Mac/PC/Linux across the Internet on phone)
* Red Laser (barcode scan/comparative price lookup)
* PushIt2Me (“push” notification of urgent email–wakes the iPhone)
* RunPee Mobile (tells you exactly when, in each movie, you can go pee)
* FakeCalls
* Retina (augmented reality for the color-blind)
* Swine Flu AR (mockup of phony future app)
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[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]