John Hodgman

I find it ironic that the de-facto "star" of Apple's PC/Mac spots turns out to be the character behind the PC (John Hodgman) rather than the one behind the Mac (Justin Long). Slate summed it up nicely a while back, criticizing Apple's mean-spirited ad campaign:

Meanwhile, the PC is played by John Hodgman—contributor to The Daily Show and This American Life, host of an amusing lecture series, and all-around dry-wit extraordinaire. Even as he plays the chump in these Apple spots, his humor and likability are evident. (Look at that hilariously perfect pratfall he pulls off in the spot titled "Viruses.") The ads pose a seemingly obvious question—would you rather be the laid-back young dude or the portly old dweeb?—but I found myself consistently giving the "wrong" answer: I'd much sooner associate myself with Hodgman than with Long.

I recently downloaded Hodgman's audiobook, The Areas of my Expertise (available for free via iTunes). It's the funniest thing I've listened to in years. Somehow the more I know of John Hodgman the more I want to buy a PC.

P.S. John Hodgman was also voted one of 2006's sexiest geeks. Right up there with Kari Byron.