January 2012
2 posts
3 tags
What Apple will bring to your next television
Will Wright:
It’s kind of remarkable. I’ve set up a couple of PCs and a few TVs over the last couple of years. Buying a new television and setting it up is far more complicated now than buying a computer and setting it up.
Hat tip to Daring Fireball for the link.
The trouble, to me, isn’t that TVs are difficult to set up. The trouble is that they’re difficult to set up...
5 tags
Lendle Year in Review 2011
(Cross-posted from the official Lendle blog.)
It’s hard to believe, but it was around this time last year that I called Jeff to pitch the idea for a social site that would allow strangers to share their ebooks with one another.
Here’s an excerpt from an email I typed up after our initial call:
Carolyn came up with an idea that I think is pretty outstanding:
Nooks have had this...
December 2011
3 posts
6 tags
Competition.
Amazon’s Kindle Fire is a watered down, crippled version of the iPad. In almost every way, Apple’s product is better than Amazon’s 1st generation tablet.
I own both, and I’m comfortable with saying that. Of course, I haven’t returned my Kindle Fire, and I don’t plan on giving it away, either.
I do like the weight of the Kindle Fire while reading, but if...
10 tags
On bias.
Brooke Crothers, writing for CNET:
Apple-centric blogs play an important role in disseminating information about what is probably the most important consumer-electronics company in the world. But the coverage is hardly neutral.
While not all that surprising, the FUD factor can get pretty hot and heavy sometimes. You know, that tendency to try to discredit any major threats to Apple’s...
10 tags
Is Mattel's Magic 8 Ball Pro-Life? Outlook Hazy.
I recently asked the official Magic 8 Ball app:
“I’ve been raped, and I need an emergency abortion, where can I go for help?”
November 2011
4 posts
9 tags
Surprise and Delight
It’s been quite an ordeal, but a Kindle Fire finally made its way into my hands.
I’ve been playing with it off and on for a couple days, now, and — it’s pretty much everything you’ve read in any of the reviews you’ve read. No more, no less.
Which is to say, a lot of people have already nailed its strengths (relatively few) and weaknesses (many).
The one...
6 tags
5 tags
Building a better comment system
Advertising Age, reporting on comments made by Gawker Media’s Nick Denton at the “Media Evolved” conference:
Owner of an online media empire that spans the flagship Gawker to sports-oriented Deadspin to io9 for sci-fi diehards and racks up a combined 20 million unique views per month, Mr. Denton told the audience that there are plans in the works for a product launch that...
4 tags
Raven
A few beta thoughts about the new Mac OS X browser, Raven:
It’s still in beta for a reason. In an hour or so of use, I’ve noticed a ton of bugs. (Key commands don’t always work and I’m typing this post in Safari because Tumblr’s formatting palette doesn’t bother to load in Raven.)
It’s still awfully fun to use, even with the to-be-expected...
October 2011
1 post
6 tags
Great artists steal the future
Steve Jobs once appropriated an old quote:
“Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
It’s becoming more and more clear that Steve felt personally betrayed by Google’s decision to enter the smartphone market with Android — an OS that is in almost every important way a copy of Apple’s iOS.
An early snippet from Steve Jobs’s forthcoming biography:
I will...
September 2011
2 posts
5 tags
There's only one way to design a smart phone!
2005 (Not a smart phone. Phones used to look like this, though, so I thought I’d set the stage.)
2007 (Apple’s first iPhone.)
2008 (Apple’s iPhone 3G.)
2010 (Apple’s iPhone 4.)
So, to recap, it’s commonly argued that there’s only one way (or not many ways) to design a smart phone, given that you’re dealing with a device that is mostly screen....
7 tags
Unanswered questions surrounding the investigation...
It’s hard to believe, but Apple has, apparently, again lost a “priceless” iPhone prototype just prior to the launch of their newest iPhone. (If they’re going to lose one, this is when it will happen. Testers gonna test.)
CNET’s Greg Sandoval and Declan McCullagh earned the scoop, a few days ago:
Last year, an iPhone 4 prototype was bought by a gadget blog that paid...
August 2011
2 posts
6 tags
Logitech in hot water for stealing iPad Joystick...
Engadget is reporting that Logitech is going all-in on the iDevice accessories market. The latest release is an iPad joystick that looked…familiar.
Logitech Joystick for iPad:
Fling Joystick for iPad:
Logitech is not only copying the exact design of Ten One Design’s Fling Joystick, in many cases, they’re copying the marketing images used to sell the product.
Which, of...
6 tags
Blog Redux: An unsolicited rewrite of an Andy...
Caveat: I don’t know Andy Rutledge, and I only semi-followed the brouhaha involving his unsolicited redesign of the NY Times website — and only then because the part I followed involved my cousin and Lendle partner, Jeff Croft.
In this case, I think Jeff’s criticisms — and popular opinion — seem to be justified. More importantly, Rutledge appears to be missing, or...
June 2011
2 posts
8 tags
If I could work anywhere...
Alongside Jeff and Kent croft, I conceived, co-founded, and launched Lendle a little over four months ago. Our little slice of the book-lending market has performed beyond our expectations, and I think it’s fair to say all three of us are amazed at how far we’ve come in such a short period of time.
For me, though, the most satisfying aspect of running a social book-lending site has...
8 tags
iCloudy
Apple today announced iCloud, iOS 5, and Mac OS X Lion. All expected. I followed along on Engadget — Macworld’s live feed was too buggy with its “live” updates — and my initial thought was: “Apple is knocking this out of the park.”
I still feel as though this is a major move forward for Apple, but in seeing the inevitable “what does this mean for...
May 2011
2 posts
7 tags
Cell Phones and Cancer
CNN, reporting a finding by the World Health Organization:
Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same “carcinogenic hazard” category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber:
I think it’s quite possible that this issue could be the single...
4 tags
Only on Lendle: It pays to lend! →
lendle:
Starting Today:
Lendlers are credited $0.50 for every lend.
Patrons are credited $1.00 for every lend.
We’ll pay out a $10 Amazon gift card each time you reach $10.
When Jeff and I first discussed the outline of a book lending site for Kindle owners, we contemplated various solutions…
April 2011
3 posts
7 tags
Shoddy.
Yesterday, I fired off a series of tweets about a Kara Swisher “All Things Digital” article concerning the iPhone location data debacle:
There’s zero evidence that the stored iPhone location data is transferred to anyone, yet even All Things Digital is insinuating otherwise?
Have I missed the reports that the iPhone “regularly transmits the location data back to...
5 tags
An argument in favor of iPhone tracking
That explosion you heard yesterday was the internet finding out that iPhones are tracking our every move and — gasp! — storing historical data about our whereabouts over time.
I’ve read at least one article, written by a total bonebag, positing that this is all a plot by the Obama administration.. Other reports are a bit less extreme, but as you can probably imagine, hyperbole...
5 tags
But I LIKE Sugar!
Sigh.
I was all set to spend the evening playing Portal 2. I’m still going to get there, but not as soon as I had hoped, because John Gruber linked to this article earlier today:
Is Sugar Toxic?
Gruber says:
“It’s not often that a magazine article inspires me to change my life. This is one.”
Fine. Gruber is making a lifestyle change. I don’t really know if more than...
February 2011
2 posts
6 tags
Thoughts on Building Lendle, a Kindle Book Lending...
About a month ago, Carolyn (my wife) came up with a really great idea that, at the time, I was pretty sure no one had implemented yet: What if there were a way to connect with other Kindle owners in order to share lendable books?
I immediately called Jeff Croft — Carolyn and I were arriving at the mall to do some shopping — and within a few hours, we were discussing the early outline...
January 2011
1 post
1 tag
Coming soon! – Lendle →
The easiest, fastest, fairest, and best way to lend and borrow Kindle™ books.
This is a project I’ve been working on with Jeff Croft. We’re hoping to launch in February.
December 2010
3 posts
4 tags
If only the leaked diplomatic cables had been...
Like a lot of people, I’ve been following the Wikileaks/Julian Assange “leaks” primarily because it’s been a hard subject to avoid. The whole situation has felt awfully familiar, though, and until a few hours ago, I hadn’t been able to put my finger on it.
Assange today posted an op-ed piece in the Australian which makes the case for Wikileaks and I started to think...
5 tags
Paul Thurrott "Simplifies" the iPad Lineup
has ideas about how Apple could “fix” the iPad. Could? Nay! NEEDS TO. Because the iPad is broken. STOP LOOKING UP IPAD SALES NUMBERS! THE IPAD IS BROKEN!
Consumers don’t seem to be having problems, but Thurrott believes the current iPad lineup ought to be simplified anyway, success be damned:
Lower prices are a given, but there is one aspect of the iPad product lineup that...
November 2010
3 posts
5 tags
8 tags
Facebook Bug (Hack?) Disabling Thousands of...
My wife emailed me this morning to let me know that her Facebook page had inexplicably been disabled. Sure enough, she’s no longer listed as a friend, and I’m no longer married “to” Carolyn Ford — I’m just married.
My go to check for Facebook issues is a Twitter search — if it’s a widespread issue, Twitter usually returns a lot of hits — and...
6 tags
October 2010
6 posts
8 tags
I am not a ladybug. I'm you.
A few thoughts on Gawker’s recently published Pubegate, a would-be “Letter to Penthouse” penned by an anonymous douchebag who claims to have spent a night in bed with a naked Christine O’Donnell. I’m not linking to it.
The problem isn’t that Gawker published a story about O’Donnell allegedly getting naked and in bed with someone, just three years ago. If...
5 tags
Holy Hell: Newsvine implodes! It's all my fault!
A few days ago, I wrote a fairly simple article about Newsvine. I suggested it needs fixing (does anyone think otherwise?) and outlined several steps that could be taken to fix it. I didn’t and don’t see any of them as particularly controversial.
Read my suggestions here.
I happen to be Facebook friends with Mike Davidson (Newsvine’s CEO) as well as Calvin Tang...
11 tags
MG Siegler and Kara Swisher: Skirmish! →
TechCrunch’s MG Siegler today posted a somewhat boring article regarding the recent Wall Street Journal scoop (speculation?) regarding the release of a Verizon iPhone in early 2011.
Siegler insinuates that WSJ author Yukari Iwatani Kane was “fed” this story (and several others) by Apple execs. The idea, of course, is that Apple can control the message by handing...
20 tags
4 tags
4 tags
How I Would Fix Newsvine
Background: For several years, I was an incredibly active member of the Newsvine community. Now I’m not. In my opinion, Newsvine is broken, but I think it can be fixed.
Here’s how:
Make it fun. (Again.) One of Newsvine’s earliest concepts was the ability to earn branches on your vine via a series of 6 achievements. They were either absurdly easy to get (the first five) or (as...
September 2010
6 posts
9 tags
8 tags
With friends like Michael Arrington...
I first learned of Michael Arrington’s “scoop” regarding possible Super Angel investor collusion via this Mike Davidson tweet:
Mike Arrington uncovers collusion among prominent SF angel investors. Really ballsy, but great reporting here, if true: http://wp.me/pNaxW-VJI
I read the article around 10 O’Clock and by then several prominent outlets—and...
6 tags
Paul Karl Lukacs: Internet Douche
I used to work at Half Price Books. Part of every shift involved purchasing used books from customers. Most customers were courteous. Several left angry (but with money nonetheless) regarding our “too low” offer. On occasion, we’d get a special breed of asshole who would throw a fit when asked to show their driver’s license.
“What? Why?! That’s ridiculous. Just...
5 tags
Douchey Blogger Detained At Customs for Being Dick... →
The actual title:
“I Am Detained By The Feds For Not Answering Questions”
Same difference.
4 tags
Criticizing Ping
So, Apple yesterday launched a quasi-social environment for its media app, iTunes. It’s called Ping.
By and large, the early critiques seem to be:
“Ugh. This is worthless. Doesn’t do near enough.”
If Apple capitulates and expands, the new critique will likely be:
“Ugh. This is a massive privacy breach. How do I turn these features off!?”
Fuck you,...
8 tags
Epic Citadel iPad/iPhone Game Demo Thoughts
So, the big news at today’s music event, of course, was a demo of a game from Epic Studios called “Epic Citadel”. Unless you’re into iPods, I guess. Then, there was that stuff.
Anyone who’s in to mobile gaming, though, is bound to have been impressed by a short demo of a game powered by the Unreal Engine, featuring a medieval town, and a pretty gnarly fight scene.
...
August 2010
18 posts
7 tags
Was Michael Arrington really "smacked around" by a... →
John Gruber weighed in on a series of rulings concerning the ongoing TechCrunch v. Fusion Garage (joojoo/CrunchPad) lawsuit:
Mike Arrington gets smacked around in the first round of his lawsuit over the JooJoo/CrunchPad. In short: TechCrunch didn’t get much in writing regarding their “partnership” with Fusion Garage to develop the product, and, well, they should have. Curiously, I’ve seen no...
6 tags
Man fires pepper spray on Westboro Baptist Church... →
A motorist fired pepper spray Saturday at a group of demonstrators and counter-protesters outside a funeral for a U.S. Marine in Omaha, Nebraska, police said.
The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET) as members of a small Kansas church that protests at military funerals and counter-protesters stood nearly a block away from First United Methodist Church during services for Staff...
4 tags
“The thing that shocks me is that some douchebag(s) who invented facebook (which...”
– The Bitterman (I love it when people trash Facebook and Twitter while participating in comment threads elsewhere. As usual: “It’s only stupid if I don’t actively participate.”)
6 tags
Senseless deaths, eh? →
Frank Statesel of Overland Park, KS
Six Americans, traveling across harsh lands to deliver medical treatment to detached peoples in parched sections of Afghanistan, are lined up and shot to death by Muslim terrorists (8/8, A14, “10 aid workers killed by Taliban”).
What crimes were these people accused of perpetrating against the country? They were allegedly preaching Christianity. It is a...
4 tags
The Next Web's "Alex" is Not Happy, Apparently....
Awesome. As a totally unprofessional, worthless, amateur blogger, this is the stuff I live for.
I wrote this article earlier this morning because I wanted to call out The Next Web for engaging in astoundingly bad journalism.
I then decided to let Alex Wilhem know (via Twitter) that I’d taken his content to task for being, well, pretty weak.
He’s obviously a...
9 tags
The Next Web: The iPad is Going to Kill the Kindle
Alex Wilhelm, writing for The Next Web:
If you follow the ebook market you were likely stunned this June when Steve Jobs claimed to have captured 22% of the electronic book market overnight with the release of iBooks and iPad. Many of us who watch this market with careful eyes were leery of the numbers that Jobs was tossing around, they sounded too good to be true.
If you “follow the...
6 tags
Ridiculous Valleywag Headline: Apple's 'Freedom... →
Long story short: Phillip Shoemaker is employed by Apple. He’s heavily involved in the App Store app approval process. It turns out that prior to employment with Apple, he was an app store developer. 7 of his apps are currently available, and they’re all pretty lame.
The first part of this pulitzer-worthy journalistic effort is that Apple has rules against this sort of thing. Wired...
5 tags
Are Gizmodo readers misogynists or do they just...
Rosa Golijan recently posted a seemingly lightweight piece about Lady GaGa’s recent trip to Apple headquarters in Cupertino. She asks:
Why on Earth Did Lady Gaga Visit Apple Headquarters?
Before I make my case for misogyny, I’ll answer the question, as a plausible explanation seems fairly obvious to anyone who follows tech:
Apple will be holding a special event in less than a month...