October 2011
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Uncredited →
There’s a lot to pore over with Facebook’s new iPad app and the new HTML5 mobile app platform. But I think Matt Rosoff of Business Insider has keyed in on the most important thing that’s currently being drowned in spin:
Facebook won’t let developers use Facebook Credits on the iPhone or iPad.
Obviously, in the native app, Facebook would have to give a 30% cut to Apple...
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We Are Not Disappoint →
The people have spoken. They are so disappointed with what was unveiled at Apple’s event last week that they’ve pre-ordered a million iPhone 4S’s in 24 hours.
That’s nearly double Apple’s previous record of 600,000 iPhone 4’s pre-ordered in 24 hours last year.
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Now Serving: Netflix Waffles →
I’m really starting to worry about Netflix. Yes, Qwikster was an awful name, but the idea that streaming is the future, DVDs are the past is the exact right one. Spinning that business off makes sense as it’s a sinking ship.
Sure, many current customers will bitch and moan at first. But that too will die over time. The customer is always right, except when they’re wrong.
But...
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The 4S →
A great reflection on the iPhone 4S event by John Gruber (unlike, say, this one). Three key takeaways. On the 3.5-inch screen debate:
Bigger is not necessarily better. Apple decided on the optimal size for an iPhone display back in 2006. If they thought 4-inches was better, overall, as the one true size for the iPhone display, then the original iPhone would have had a 4-inch display. It’s not...
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The Rundown →
Matt Drance recalls his first encounter with his former boss, Steve Jobs. What at first sounds like the set up of a horror story, is actually a quite nice one:
Steve knew that his people were his company. And while he made us work hard, never settle, never accept mediocrity, he also made us feel like people. Like we were as much a part of Apple’s success as he was.
This is the Steve few people...
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Marco Arment Reviews The $79 Kindle →
His main takeaway? It’s cheap — both in price and in quality.
As someone who still has a Kindle 2, I had been debating getting this. But I’ll now wait to see the reviews of the Kindle Touch in November.
I suspect it will be largely the same device just with a (shitty) touch screen. Still, I find myself trying to turn the page or highlight something on the Kindle 2 by touching the...
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The First Trillionaire →
Annie Lowrey:
If the United States averages 3 percent annual inflation, and the richest American’s fortunes keep up with Gates’, America would have a trillionaire in 98 years. But now let’s assume that the richest American’s fortune not only matches the rate of inflation, but outpaces it by, say, an additional 3 percent a year. At that rate, we should have a trillionaire...
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Steve Jobs Was Always Kind To Me (Or, Regrets of... →
Great post by Brian Lam on his experience with Jobs, including the iPhone 4 prototype incident. He now says he wished he would have handled things differently. And he emailed Jobs a few weeks ago to tell him that.
Writes Lam:
Young Steve Jobs was known for being unforgiving to those who betrayed him. But a few days ago I’d heard from a person very close to him that “it was all water...
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"Not the right time" →
Everyone seems confused about Samsung and Google postponing their Nexus Prime/Ice Cream Sandwich announcement at the last second. Perhaps I’m reading it incorrectly, but the statement seems to point to one thing:
Samsung and Google decide to postpone the new product announcement at CTIA Fall. We agree that it is just not the right time to announce a new product. New date and venue will be...
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For $60, Eddie Murphy Better Be At My House... →
Peter Kafka wonders if the new Eddie Murphy movie is worth $60 to rent at home when it’s still in theaters.
Short/kind answer: No.
Longer/harsh answer: Hollywood is clearly filled with a bunch of arrogant, greedy assholes who clearly believe that piracy is the future of home movie viewing.
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Steve Jobs Biography Release Moved Up To October... →
Originally slated to come out next year, Jobs’ biography was then moved up to late November (and thankfully given a new title). Now with his passing, Simon & Schuster has moved it up again. It will be out in just two and a half weeks.
If the world’s reaction the past 12 hours is any indication, this book is going to be massive. Can’t wait to read it.
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The Key Feature →
As I reported in March:
A year ago, Apple bought Siri, a virtual personal assistant startup that had released a very cool iPhone app. The Siri team and technology are now said to be a big part of iOS 5.
The use of Siri’s artificial intelligence and assistance technology is said to be deeply integrated into the OS for all the different services offered.
Of course, I was hearing at the time it...
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Apple's "Fall From Grace" →
This is, quite simply, one of the worst pieces I’ve ever read on Apple.
Zach Epstein starts off trashing Apple’s iPhone 4S announcement as perhaps “the beginning of the end” — and does so citing a bunch of analysts.
Analysts.
As anyone who watches Apple closely knows, analysts are absolutely fucktarded when it comes to Apple. If you bet directly against what...
