I spent yesterday in Buck’s Country PA and was very impressed the town’s old fashioned flair. It was perfectly summed up by the sign on this Bank’s alarm box. Click here for a close-up.

I spotted this Fandango ticket machine sporting a Windows dialogue box a few weeks ago and my fancy was, as is to be expected, tickled. I’m obviously not the first person to document these types of amusing Windows error messages before (a few examples are here, here, and here).

Common reactions to these error messages usually revolve around how much Windows sucks. While I do agree with that statement, it’s not a fair explanation of the ubiquity of these error messages. Instead, I think it’s just a numbers game. Since Windows computers are cheaper and easier to configure for kiosks/billboards than Macs, you’re more likely to see more error messages on them.

But what about UNIX? I’m no expert, but my understanding is that it’s just as cheap, if not cheaper, to put together a small and portable UNIX machine that would be perfect for a billboard or kiosk. So why haven’t we seen any UNIX error messages?

Got an image of a UNIX or a Mac error message on a billboard or a kiosk? Hook it up in the comments. And to help fan the flames… Windows sucks. Macs rule. And UNIX is confusing.

Check out Macenstein’s blush-inducing review of my Apple Soundtrack video here. Thanks Macenstein! Let me know if you don’t get my bribe check by Tuesday and I’ll cancel it and send you a new one.

I don’t know what they’re selling at bodegas on the Upper East Side these days, but I’m a little hesitant to put it in my mouth.

Ok, thanks for everyone’s input on the caption contests. I’ve given it some thought, and here’s the deal.

Caption contests will now last seven days. After a caption has been posted for seven days, I’ll turn off the ability to add new captions and I’ll declare a winner and a loser based on the votes. (Since I can’t disable the voting feature on certain caption contests without disabling it across the entire site, you’ll still technically be able to vote for completed caption contests, even though a winner has already been declared and your votes will mean nothing. Nothing!)

As an example, I just closed an older caption contest and declared a winner and a loser. Check it out to see what I mean.

Winners will receive a link to their website (if they provided it when submitting their caption) and losers will receive nothing (although I don’t want to rule out the possibility of putting a piece of shit on them.)