Local TV advertising never ceases to amuse. Our TV commercials can be little gems packed with wit and humor. Though again some of them can also be unpretentious purveyors of not-so-constructive values and ideas.

Take the case of a TVC currently airing for a fastfood chain’s pasta products.

The commercial spot, which features a starlet and a couple of other girls, seems to highlight that there are several types of men that women looking for serious relationships should wary of. Near the end of the TVC, the spot shows a man who is impressively handsome enough and the girls seem to be attracted to him.

Then he mispronounces the word “lasagna,” forgetting to keep the “G” silent, and saying it instead the way most Filipinos would: “lah-sagh-nah.” Of course, this elocution blunder costs him much “pogi” points, and the girls are laughing at him as the TVC ends.

Now, after convincing teenage girls that it is not cool to have dark complexion, television advertisers are now telling them how to choose their future partners.

School Big Brother

According to U.S. media reports, the FBI is investigating a school district in the state of Pennsylvania charged with secretly turning on Web cams inside students’ homes. The focus of the FBI investigation is to determine whether school district officials violated any of the U.S. wiretap or computer-intrusion laws.

For their part, school district officials claimed that they remotely activated Web cams only to locate student laptops that were missing. They argued that they never intended to spy on students as alleged by some parents in the federal lawsuit.

Even if the court would find the school district innocent of the computer-intrusion charges, this case illustrates only so well how easy it is for some people to fail to understand technology and its possible results and effects. Also, that some people tend to see monsters everywhere.

Apple – the New Microsoft

For all of Apple’s efforts to cast itself as the antithesis of Microsoft (you know, that bungling bully in the IT courtyard?), the Cupertino-based company is now enjoying the perks of a business ecosystem that in almost everything is an exact duplicate of the Windows environment.

Windows, most industry analysts declare, continues to be Microsoft’s main source of cash due to its intricate and intrinsic relationships with developers.

Because Windows is the dominant operating system, software developers keep on churning out applications designed to run and work on the Microsoft OS. In turn, this helps ensure that Windows retains its hold on the desktop OS market. It is a vicious cycle for vendors and proponents of rival operating systems.

Apple has had a similar experience, albeit at a much smaller scale, with its Mac ecosystem. But this microcosm has grown so much, and most certainly much more profitable. This was made possible by Apple’s launch of its game-changing iPod media players and, of course, the iPhone.

The iPod became the leading media player in the market, while the iPhone drastically redefined the smartphone market. Today, with its online Apps Store, Apple has sold billions of songs and applications. It is no wonder then that most developers are focusing on the iPod/iPhone ecosystem their applications development efforts.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.