Marco.org

Marco.orghttp://www.marco.org/I’m Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, technology writer, and coffee enthusiast.→ Responsive Images and Web Standards at the Turning Pointhttp://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-images-and-web-standards-at-the-turning-point/http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-images-and-web-standards-at-the-turning-point/Tue, 15 May 2012 17:45:11 EDT<p>I like the proposed <code><picture></code> markup except for the tag name. “Picture” is much more specific than “image”, and I bet a very large portion of images used on the web are not pictures. “Photo” would be worse, but “picture” still implies a <em>complete</em> photo, illustration, or diagram, whereas “image” encompasses those plus patterns, textures, gradients, and every other use of image data in use on the web today.</p> <p>How about using that proposed <code><picture></code> markup but instead calling the top-level tag <code><image></code>?</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/15/responsive-images-and-web-standards">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Sponsor: Igloo Softwarehttp://j.mp/M8a9Fvhttp://j.mp/M8a9FvTue, 15 May 2012 10:27:37 EDT<p>Work isn’t a place – it’s what you do.</p> <p>And you might work on a lot of devices – a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad – in a lot of places. You might work on the road or maybe from home (with your Aeropress and clickity keyboard). And that makes it hard to securely use a shared drive, coordinate with clients and collaborate with your team.</p> <p>Igloo offers a complete digital workplace – you get full access to all your files, project discussions and plans for world domination. The information you need to work is available anywhere in the world, literally at your fingertips.</p> <p>Igloo has a space for your team. Each team gets dedicated file sharing, Twitter-like microblogs, activity streams and a host of other collaboration tools in one cloud-based platform. <a href="http://j.mp/J64aiz">Plans start at just $4/user/month</a>.</p> <p>Work better, not harder.</p> <p>Enter to <a href="http://j.mp/M8a9Fv">win an Aeropress</a> and <a href="http://j.mp/M8a9Fv">try Igloo free for 30 days</a>.</p> <p><em>Thanks to Igloo Software for sponsoring the Marco.org RSS feed this week.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/15/sponsor-igloo">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ World Aeropress Championship winning recipeshttp://worldaeropresschampionship.wordpress.com/recipes/http://worldaeropresschampionship.wordpress.com/recipes/Mon, 14 May 2012 20:25:15 EDT<p>The AeroPress recipe (really) at the World AeroPress Championship (yes, really) that took home the Gold AeroPress (these are all real things) this year is remarkably simple.</p> <p>I tried it, and the result isn’t really my style, but it’s quite different than what I usually drink. It’s nice to know that today, almost two years in, I still haven’t explored every brew that the AeroPress is capable of.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/14/world-aeropress-championship-recipe">∞ Permalink</a></p>The rumored thin 15” MacBook Pro with Retina, USB 3http://www.marco.org/2012/05/14/mbp15-rumor/2012/05/14/mbp15-rumorMon, 14 May 2012 17:37:04 EDT<p>9to5 Mac <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2012/05/14/apple-readies-revamped-15-inch-macbook-pro-retina-display-ultra-thin-design-and-super-fast-usb-3-3/">posted a rumor about the next 15” MacBook Pro</a> being in a much thinner (but not wedge-shaped) case, having a Retina display of an unspecified resolution, and having USB 3 ports.</p> <p>It sounds plausible. Assuming that’s all or mostly true:</p> <h3>Thin case</h3> <p>The optical drive’s gone, but at this point, that’s neither radical nor newsworthy. Its removal saves a lot of space, which is nice, but it won’t save much weight — the optical drive is extremely lightweight.</p> <p>To achieve the thinner case and reduce the weight, I’m curious to see if they finally removed the glass in front of the screen. On the current 15” design, the glass adds around 0.4 pounds over the matte option, and its extremely high reflectivity is problematic for a lot of people. If the new 15” offers a plastic-glossy screen instead, like the MacBook Air’s screen, that would save a lot of weight and be far less reflective for people (myself included) who don’t like glass screens.</p> <p>The 13” MacBook Air is 3 pounds and the current 15” MacBook Pro is 5.6. Assuming Apple drops the optical drive and glass screen, they continue to offer at least the same battery life, and they continue to use 45W CPUs and discrete GPUs, I’d expect the new model to weigh 4.5 to 5 pounds. If they drop the GPU and pursue lower-wattage CPUs, they might get a more significant reduction, and the reduced power demands and heat output would result in a better computer for most use.</p> <p>The thin case also means that Gigabit Ethernet and Firewire 800 won’t fit and are probably just being dropped. Expect video pros to complain.</p> <h3>USB 3</h3> <p>I suspect USB 3 is going to do to Thunderbolt what USB 2 did to Firewire 800: serve as the dominant interconnect for most peripherals, with the more-expensive Thunderbolt being relegated only to high-end niches.</p> <p>Thunderbolt has been out for over a year, but there’s still a disappointing lack of peripherals. The few that are available are very expensive, and many potentially useful ones — such as Gigabit Ethernet or Firewire 800 adapters — don’t exist yet as standalone peripherals. (You <em>can</em> get a Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit-and-FW800 adapter for $1000 with a free Apple Cinema Display attached.)</p> <p>It will be interesting to see if Apple addresses this rumored MacBook Pro’s lack of Firewire 800 and Gigabit Ethernet by making adapters available, and if so, whether those adapters use USB 3 or Thunderbolt.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" rel="footnote">1</a></sup></p> <h3>Retina Display</h3> <p>I’m not sure I’d want a Retina MacBook Pro yet. I suspect that adoption of Retina assets among Mac apps will be slower than we saw with Retina iOS devices, and more importantly, Retina graphics for <em>websites</em> will likely take significantly longer.</p> <p>Since non-Retina graphics look worse on Retina screens than on older screens, Retina MacBook users would have significantly worse-looking web browsing for a while — probably years, not months. So I don’t think I’d rush out to get a Retina Mac, but I wouldn’t necessarily <em>avoid</em> a Retina screen when it comes time to upgrade for other reasons.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <hr /> <ol> <li id="fn:1"> <p>Apple has sold a 10/100 <a href="http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/product/MC704ZM/A">USB Ethernet Adapter</a> for years, but since it’s limited to USB 2, it’s extremely slow. A modern MacBook Air can generally transfer files faster over wireless (if it’s 802.11n) than over the USB Ethernet Adapter. <a href="#fnref:1" rev="footnote">↩</a></p> </li> </ol> </div> → Build and Analyze: I Had A Baby, You Launched An Apphttp://5by5.tv/buildanalyze/77http://5by5.tv/buildanalyze/77Mon, 14 May 2012 17:11:58 EDT<p>This week’s podcast: the new 5by5 Radio app, why Apple may not want to add paid upgrades to the App Store, the infinite market for podcast clients and to-do apps, Instacast’s in-app-purchase backlash, how and why to remove features from an app, the new 15” MacBook Pro rumors, Thunderbolt’s likely overshadowing by USB 3, and near-future concerns for a Retina laptop.</p> <p>On the <a href="http://5by5.tv/afterdark/155">After Dark</a>, we discuss horrible German cup holders, and my wife and baby son make their podcasting debuts.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/14/build-and-analyze-77">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ I’m on On The Verge this Thursday in NYChttp://www.theverge.com/2012/5/14/3020068/damon-lindelof-masi-oka-and-marco-arment-are-all-on-the-verge-thishttp://www.theverge.com/2012/5/14/3020068/damon-lindelof-masi-oka-and-marco-arment-are-all-on-the-verge-thisMon, 14 May 2012 16:07:04 EDT<p>I should pack the audience full of my friends so fewer Android fans can pelt me with crappy phones.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/14/on-the-verge">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Adobe has a change of heart, will patch CS5http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2012/05/update-to-security-bulletins-for-adobe-illustrator-apsb12-10-adobe-photoshop-apsb12-11-and-adobe-flash-professional-apsb12-12.htmlhttp://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2012/05/update-to-security-bulletins-for-adobe-illustrator-apsb12-10-adobe-photoshop-apsb12-11-and-adobe-flash-professional-apsb12-12.htmlSat, 12 May 2012 12:04:33 EDT<p>Good. This is the right move.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/12/adobe-changes-heart">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Why Flipping Through Paper-Like Pages Endures in the Digital Worldhttp://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/why-flipping-through-paper-like-pages-endures-in-the-digital-world/http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/why-flipping-through-paper-like-pages-endures-in-the-digital-world/Fri, 11 May 2012 22:53:32 EDT<p>I gave some quotes for this article on why artificial, skeuomorphic pagination is still desirable on modern digital touch content.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/11/digital-page-turning">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Critical Photoshop CS5 security vulnerability won’t be patchedhttp://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-11.htmlhttp://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-11.htmlFri, 11 May 2012 17:21:15 EDT<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2012/05/update-to-security-bulletins-for-adobe-illustrator-apsb12-10-adobe-photoshop-apsb12-11-and-adobe-flash-professional-apsb12-12.html">Adobe changed their mind</a> and will patch CS5. Good.</p> <p>What an awful move by Adobe:</p> <blockquote> <p>Adobe released a security upgrade for Adobe Photoshop CS5 and earlier for Windows and Macintosh. This upgrade addresses vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker who successfully exploits these vulnerabilities to take control of the affected system. …</p> <p>Adobe has released Adobe Photoshop CS6, which addresses these vulnerabilities. For users who cannot upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe recommends users follow security best practices and exercise caution when opening files from unknown or untrusted sources.</p> </blockquote> <p>(Via <a href="http://512pixels.net/adobe-update-to-remain-secure/">Stephen Hackett</a>.)</p> <p>Note the euphemism, “released a security upgrade”: this is not an <em>update</em>, but a paid <em>upgrade</em>. This is not a “Security Bulletin”, it’s a giant middle finger.</p> <p>In English: Photoshop CS5 will not be patched for this vulnerability. The only way to remain secure is to upgrade to Photoshop CS6 <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/buying-guide-upgrades.html">for $200</a>.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" rel="footnote">1</a></sup></p> <p>My wife and I each bought copies of Photoshop CS5 two years ago, since we both use it for our professions. It is now unsafe for us to use this $700-each professional app, and the only responsible course of action is to pay another $200 each for an upgrade that we weren’t planning on buying because we were perfectly happy with the version we have.</p> <p>Adobe’s message is clear: if you need or want to continue using Photoshop, the only responsible course of action is to buy <em>every</em> new version, which most Photoshop customers never needed to do before.</p> <p>Maybe the right course of action is to stop using Photoshop. My wife can’t, so Adobe is just robbing her of $200. But I might be able to.</p> <p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2012/05/update-to-security-bulletins-for-adobe-illustrator-apsb12-10-adobe-photoshop-apsb12-11-and-adobe-flash-professional-apsb12-12.html">Adobe changed their mind</a> and will patch CS5. Good.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <hr /> <ol> <li id="fn:1"> <p>For the first time, the upgrade is only available directly from Adobe’s site, and fewer old versions are eligible for upgrade pricing than previous Photoshop upgrades. <a href="#fnref:1" rev="footnote">↩</a></p> </li> </ol> </div> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/11/adobe-cs5-security">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ iOS 5.1.1 upgrade statshttp://david-smith.org/blog/2012/05/11/ios-5-dot-1-1-upgrade-stats/http://david-smith.org/blog/2012/05/11/ios-5-dot-1-1-upgrade-stats/Fri, 11 May 2012 16:06:45 EDT<p>David Smith’s iOS version stats from his apps:</p> <blockquote> <p>The data for 4 days shows a clear and very consistent progression. Users are updating at a rate of roughly 7.5%/day, leading to a total adoption of around 30% so far.</p> </blockquote> <p>30% of his userbase has upgraded to the four-day-old, no-new-features, not-marketed iOS 5.1.1 release. That’s incredible.</p> <p>Also, if you’re a developer, listen to <a href="http://developingperspective.com/">his podcast</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/11/ios-5-1-1-upgrade-stats">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ 5by5 Radio app releasedhttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/5by5-radio/id520847556?mt=8&partnerId=30&siteID=GfpxbBXXpXE-y3gfJGyOQcSr2tOpkzD12Ahttp://itunes.apple.com/us/app/5by5-radio/id520847556?mt=8&partnerId=30&siteID=GfpxbBXXpXE-y3gfJGyOQcSr2tOpkzD12AFri, 11 May 2012 15:58:35 EDT<p>Nice app to listen to our shows live, and buying it is a great way to support 5by5.</p> <p>We discussed its features and design decisions in the last segment of <a href="http://5by5.tv/buildanalyze/73">Build and Analyze 73</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/11/5by5-radio-app">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Rumored $200–250 7-inch iPad “on track for October”http://www.imore.com/2012/05/10/7inch-ipad-mini-track-october-release-200-price-point/http://www.imore.com/2012/05/10/7inch-ipad-mini-track-october-release-200-price-point/Thu, 10 May 2012 21:33:44 EDT<p>Rene Ritchie:</p> <blockquote> <p>Our source has indicated, however, that the 7-inch iPad will be identical to the current 9.7-inch iPad, just scaled down. That seems to include a 2048x1536 resolution display, just like the new iPad.</p> </blockquote> <p>All of this sounds plausible except that screen resolution. A 7” display is <em>so</em> much smaller by total area than the iPad’s 10” that most apps’ interfaces will need to be manually adjusted or redesigned. You can’t get reliably usable results by just scaling down 10” apps to a 7” screen automatically.</p> <p>And if they can’t reuse 10” apps without modification, why would they need to make the display so dense to keep the same resolution? They’re having enough trouble cramming that resolution into a 10” device and getting enough of the panels manufactured to keep up with demand.</p> <p>If this 7” iPad is real, maybe it has a 1024x768 resolution, yielding a logically 512x384 area, in half of the 10” iPad’s screen area. Effectively, it’d be the iPad 3’s screen cut in half. (Then apps could keep a consistent scale for interface elements, which would make development a lot easier.)</p> <p>That sounds a lot more likely if they want to hit a $249 price and make a profit.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/10/7-inch-ipad-october">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Why I don’t have comments on my sitehttp://www.theverge.com/2012/5/9/3010911/instapaper-version-4-2-update-page-turning-animation-sepia#102127509http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/9/3010911/instapaper-version-4-2-update-page-turning-animation-sepia#102127509Thu, 10 May 2012 12:35:20 EDT<p>An amazing rant-comment by “wast334” on The Verge’s post about Instapaper 4.2, which I hope he won’t mind me posting in its entirety:</p> <blockquote> <p>While I don’t fully fault you for indulging in this kind of app, due to reasons, it’s good to hear that finally someone has recognized this issue, instead of blindly and dangerously praising these ‘developers’. The problem with iOS developers, and indeed all OS X developers, are that they all carry this sense of superiority and disregard of the efforts of those who program for other platforms. They claim on their high horse by bragging and flashing ‘design’ and eye-candy.</p> <p>Contrast this with true developers writing for real life daily use platforms, who develop for functionality and the user, not trying to take control of the user.</p> <p>Marco is actually a part of the Apple cult along with Gruber and the rest of them. These guys have no idea what actual software development is actually like. For this you truly need to look beyond the closed box that is Objective-C, Cocoa, and look out into the world of real languages. These guys won’t have the mindset to code natively in C/C++, for widely adopted frameworks such as .NET, utilizing modern languages like C#. They will not be able to write cross platform code using Java, and hence their inherent hate for Android (of course that is just a side reason for hating, we all know what the real reasons are).</p> <p>Due to this lack of ability to comprehend development at a mature level they will onot be able to really do any web development using things such as PHP, Python, or fully understand and appreciate true RDBMS, as they stick to their Core Data hand-holding playground.</p> <p>All these “delightful” frameworks, built upon a very questionable language, being forced to use and pay for official development tools and being mostly locked into these without any other free alternative. Indeed, look at any Mac OS X development program out there, they are all paid. All made by developers with the same close-minded goals and appreciations. Yet none of them can even appreciate the origin of their sugar coated painted kingdom.</p> <p>Stolen open source projects rebranded by license exploitation by their one true ruler they all look up to. This is after all how the fruit flavored bunch operate, by stealing. Good riddance for companies like Google who saved WebKit from ruining the web world, otherwise we would have all these stupid -web-kit tags everywhere.</p> <p>I could go on but I will just say that be careful about these evangelists. Their only reason for existence or high profile is this. Nothing else. You all need to start reading accounts of true innovators, such as Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman. These are all people who do not give a crap about making a fame in the world, they are there to help the world. And finally, you are better off using Windows anyway.,</p> <p>Thanks again for finally seeing this problem.</p> </blockquote> <p>Hi, I’m Marco, Apple-cult member and Instapaper author.</p> <p>I have no idea what actual software development is like, although I’ve worked full-time as a software engineer for the last 8 years since graduating from college with a computer science degree. I’ve only been working full-time in the closed box of Objective C for the last year and a half — before that, I coded full-time in real languages.</p> <p>I’ve never visited the Core Data hand-holding playground, but it sounds fun. Instead, the Instapaper app’s database layer is written directly against SQLite’s C API. The server-side code is all in PHP, and before moving to the sugar coated painted kingdom, I spent 4 years writing the PHP back-end code to a <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/">little site</a> to handle thousands of dynamic requests per second. Before that, I wrote enterprise search software in C.</p> <p>Nice to meet you. I’m sorry our cult makes you so upset. I hope you can find happiness.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/10/crazy-comment">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Instapaper 4.2 releasedhttp://blog.instapaper.com/post/22751560433http://blog.instapaper.com/post/22751560433Wed, 09 May 2012 21:09:55 EDT<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.instapaper.com/post/22751560433"><img src="http://www.marco.org/media/2012/05/instapaper-4-2-ibooks-pagination.png"/></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/09/instapaper-4-2">∞ Permalink</a></p>Bose SoundLink Bluetooth speaker reviewhttp://www.marco.org/2012/05/09/bose-soundlink-review/2012/05/09/bose-soundlink-reviewWed, 09 May 2012 18:25:25 EDT<p>I use a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004E10KI8/?tag=marcoorg-20">Jambox</a> in my bathroom during the same two situations that necessitate a <a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/06/bathroom-fan-timer-switches">fan timer</a>. When showering, I like to put the Jambox on a shelf just outside of the shower and listen to podcasts, but it’s hard to get enough volume out of the Jambox for speech to be clearly audible over the shower and fan noise.</p> <p>The about-to-be-released Big Jambox caught my attention to solve this problem, but reviews convinced me to order the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KFONIU/?tag=marcoorg-20">Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker</a> instead.</p> <p>The SoundLink looks decent and has great-feeling build quality, as you’d expect from Bose.</p> <p>It produces a very impressive amount of volume relative to its very small size, as you’d expect from Bose.</p> <p>But it also produces a very strange tonal balance: the mid-highs are weak, and surprisingly for something this size and battery-powered, the bass is ridiculously strong and boomy. It’s completely imbalanced.</p> <p>As you’d expect from Bose.</p> <p>I played a few different kinds of songs, and in all of them, the boomy bass was distractingly strong. It’s all I could hear.</p> <p>And that was just in my office, a normal room. When I tried listening in the bathroom, a much smaller room, the bass completely took over like a horrible aftermarket car stereo. It was unlistenable.</p> <p>The original Jambox, not known for particularly great sound quality but very good for volume in a small package, is much more listenable.</p> <p>Maybe it’s just my preferred tonal balance: neutral. I leave EQs off and I listen with close-to-reference headphones and bookshelf speakers. I don’t like standalone subwoofers and don’t own any. But this is an unusual preference: most buyers like big, boomy bass, and Bose is clearly designing for them. That’s good for business, but not good for me.</p> <p>I’m returning the SoundLink to Amazon, and I just ordered a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006AXRR3Y/?tag=marcoorg-20">Big Jambox</a>. Hopefully that will be better.</p> → Obama Says Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legalhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/us/politics/obama-says-same-sex-marriage-should-be-legal.html?_r=1&hphttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/us/politics/obama-says-same-sex-marriage-should-be-legal.html?_r=1&hpWed, 09 May 2012 17:32:57 EDT<p>The New York Times:</p> <blockquote> <p>“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Mr. Obama told ABC News in an interview that came after the president faced mounting pressure to clarify his position.</p> <p>Mr. Obama said his views had changed over the years, in part because of prodding from friends who are gay and conversations with his wife and daughters.</p> <p>“I had hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought that civil unions would be sufficient,” Mr. Obama said. “I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people, the word marriage was something that invokes very powerful traditions and religious beliefs.”</p> </blockquote> <p>This is certainly progress and worthy of celebration. But does it disappoint anyone else that he was so obviously holding it back all this time because he didn’t want to offend all of the bigots?</p> <p>His statements are couched in so much equivocation and accommodation that it’s <em>barely</em> an endorsement. And it’s easy to question his motives as he finally says something to energize Democratic voters a few months before his re-election campaign.</p> <p>It doesn’t feel sincere: rather, it feels like the good-politician move of just telling people whatever they want to hear to maximize campaign contributions and keep themselves in office.</p> <p>And for such an important social and civil-rights issue, that’s just not enough.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/09/obama-barely-endorses-same-sex-marriage">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ “In no way did HP try to mimic Apple.”http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/09/hp-apple-laptop-design-similarity/http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/09/hp-apple-laptop-design-similarity/Wed, 09 May 2012 15:19:09 EDT<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/09/hp-apple-laptop-design-similarity/"><img src="http://www.marco.org/media/2012/05/envy.jpg"/></a></p> <p>(Via <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/sdw/status/200295873694019584">Sebastiaan de With</a>.)</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/09/hp-macbook-air">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Fix Radar or GTFOhttp://fixradarorgtfo.com/http://fixradarorgtfo.com/Tue, 08 May 2012 17:49:33 EDT<p>Speaking of Apple’s bug reporter (“Radar”), here’s an open call for campaigning Apple to improve it. Some of its suggestions go too far or aren’t necessary, but this, I think, is the biggest problem:</p> <blockquote> <p>Radar is also a black hole. We file radars and we’re lucky to hear back about them. The majority of radars are either left untouched or marked as duplicates of other radars we cannot see. … All this makes us feel like our radars make little difference. …</p> <p>By making radars so hard and painful to file, most developers end up not filing them. For every radar that is filed, there are many more that developers would file but don’t consider it a big enough issue to be worth the time. It may be a small bug or feature request, or it may be a common issue that we figure someone else has already filed so there’s no point wasting our time telling you about it.</p> </blockquote> <p>I hardly ever file bug reports for this reason.</p> <p>Despite reassurances from Apple people to the contrary at WWDC, it sure looks to us outsiders that most of our bug reports go unread or skimmed, filed away, and ignored. But it takes a lot of time to file a good bug report, since the filer should take reasonable measures to ensure that it’s truly an Apple bug and not something else in their code.</p> <p>An Apple engineer once told me that if a bug gets even 10 duplicate reports, that’s considered a lot. Given the scope of the iOS and Mac developer community, that’s pretty low. Clearly, then, filing bugs isn’t a complete waste of time.</p> <p>But it <em>feels</em> that way. Maybe if it didn’t, more people would take the time to file good bug reports.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/08/fix-radar-or-gtfo">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ AppleInsider: “Apple says lack of multi-user support on iPad is a ‘known issue,’ ‘being investigated’”http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/05/07/apple_says_lack_of_multi_user_support_on_ipad_is_a_known_issue_being_investigated.htmlhttp://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/05/07/apple_says_lack_of_multi_user_support_on_ipad_is_a_known_issue_being_investigated.htmlTue, 08 May 2012 14:56:27 EDT<p>Why not to believe much of anything in rumor-site headlines:</p> <blockquote> <p>In the suggestion submitted to Apple, the developer simply requested that the company add support for multiple users to the iPad.</p> <p>“After further investigation it has been determined that this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering,” the official response from Apple Developer Connection’s Worldwide Developer Relations team reads.</p> </blockquote> <p>That’s the standard “duplicate bug” response email. It’s a form letter. It means nothing, except that he was not the first person to make that suggestion.</p> <p>In related news, Verizon cares about its customers because the automated voice in the phone menu said so, and they really are sorry about this delay because of this truly unexpected volume of calls right now.</p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/08/an-unusually-high-call-volume">∞ Permalink</a></p>→ Sponsor: CocoaConfhttp://cocoaconf.com/http://cocoaconf.com/Tue, 08 May 2012 11:15:30 EDT<p>CocoaConf is an exciting multi-track conference series for iPhone, iPad, and Mac developers. We start by bringing together some of the best developers, authors, and trainers in the community, giving them the freedom to cover the technologies that they are most passionate about. Next, we sell a limited number of tickets, which provides for an incredibly low attendee-to-speaker ratio. Then we throw in some interesting keynotes and fun, informative panels. And we do it all in a manner that is designed to maximize your learning and networking experience.</p> <p>Our next CocoaConf event will be held on June 28–30, 2012, in Herndon, VA (Washington, DC area). Registration is now open and there are still some tickets available. We will have 18 great speakers, including Daniel Steinberg, Chris Adamson, Mark Dalrymple, Saul Mora, Mike Ash, and more. Get all of the details at <a href="http://cocoaconf.com/">CocoaConf.com</a>. When you register, use the coupon code MARCO for a $100 discount off of the regular registration rates.</p> <p>To hear about future CocoaConf events and other interesting information, follow us on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/cocoaconf">@cocoaconf</a>.</p> <p><em>Thanks to CocoaConf for sponsoring the Marco.org RSS feed this week.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/05/08/sponsor-cocoaconf">∞ Permalink</a></p>