5typos.net

The iPad is a disturbance in the Apple Store

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:24:21 +0100

Most geeks I know have a ritual I call the “fake shopping cart” or FSC. This is basically the online version of window shopping.

The principles are similar, go to your website(s) of preference, and try multiple configurations until you build a dreamy new setup. Just the like intricate and confusing world of female fitting rooms, FSC is not only about one item, it’s about choosing the best combination of products.

Obviously - best - is relative. Although some geeks practice no-limits FSC, the real fun only happens when a certain spending restriction is established. The restriction itself doesn’t have to be realistic at all - you could try to build the best setup for $15.000, a budget that a new imaginary sports team owner like you deserves. In any case, some sort of limit is considered good practice.

Ever since Apple switched to Intel, my FSC has focused around notebooks. While I loved my iBook G3 and G4 machines, they felt underpowered. The jump in performance of the MacBooks made my dream of an affordable notebook with enough power to substitute a desktop real. Of course, there was still room for lots of debate, MacBook vs. MacBook Pro, screen size, RAM, hard-drive capacity and the obligatory external monitor brand question[1][mac].

[mac]: It must be said that Mac users usually have less of a hard time with the facts, since Apple is very good at differentiating their product lines. On the other hand, the self-analysis of what you actually need, can be maddening and humbling.

Recently though, Apple has shaken my FSC beliefs with the introduction of the latests iMac’s and the announcement of the iPad.

During the winter holiday I went to Venezuela and the US. For the first time since I’ve owned a laptop, I left the MacBook behind and only took the iPhone. I was surprised how little I missed it.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, he said that Apple saw a space between the iPhone and the MacBook. However, if you played FSC with a realistic budget recently, you may have found yourself in this situation: more often than not, you choose an iMac over a MacBook.

During his talk at this year’s MacWorld, John Gruber mentioned that next year, he would have to pick between two Apple platforms when choosing where to create, and deliver, his presentation. If the answer to this and other mobile tasks starts to be the iPad, then the functionality give the price of the mobile iMac (the MacBook), becomes questionable.

As soon as I add the iPad to my equation, the MacBook vs. iMac debate shifts from one-size-fits-all to best tool for each job.

The arrival of the iPad at Apple Stores next month is going to mark the beginning of a deadly fight. Not with Google or Microsoft, but within Apple product lines. This is not a problem for Apple, since Jobs probably believes that if anyone is going to cannibalize Mac sales, it better be Apple itself.

However, for Mac fans, it’s judgement time. It’s now time to pay for sins against the Apple II.

Rework from 37signals is out

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:24:52 +0100

Rework from 37signals is out:

I think this book is going to be important. Planning on reading it soon.

Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:08:52 +0100

Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal:

Jonathan Schwartz, on the value of patents:

In 2003, after I unveiled a prototype Linux desktop called Project Looking Glass*, Steve called my office to let me know the graphical effects were “stepping all over Apple’s IP.” (IP = Intellectual Property = patents, trademarks and copyrights.) If we moved forward to commercialize it, “I’ll just sue you.”

Funny, I always thought that Leopard’s dock looked exactly like the one in Project Looking Glass.

/via Daring Fireball

"Get the easy stuff right"

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:31:38 +0100

“Get the easy stuff right”

- Scott Galloway

Steam coming to Mac

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:21:13 +0100

Steam coming to Mac:

Wired’s Chris Kohler, Valve Brings Hit Games, Steam Service to Mac:

“Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step,” said Josh Weier, said Portal 2 project lead in the press release. “We’re always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac.”

I don’t know if it was adulthood or switching to a Mac, but with both I stopped playing computer games. After this, I won’t have the Mac excuse anymore.

Apple iPad Ad - TV Spot. iWant.

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:58:32 +0100

Apple iPad Ad - TV Spot.

iWant.

Edward Tufte Presidential Appointment

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:52:07 +0100

Edward Tufte Presidential Appointment:

Edward Tufte, on being appointed to the panel that tracks and explains $787 billion in recovery stimulus funds:

I’m doing this because I like accountability and transparency, and I believe in public service. And it is the complete opposite of everything else I do. Maybe I’ll learn something.

I attended an E.T. seminar a two years ago. I’m very sure everyone else is going to learn a lot more.

/via Waxy.org

Macmillan Publishers CEO talks eBooks

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:48:19 +0100

Macmillan Publishers CEO talks eBooks:

Macmillan CEO, John Sargent, addresses the changes on their eBooks business model.

On the agency model:

Starting at the end of March, we will move from the “retail model” of selling e-books (publishers sell to retailers, who then sell to readers at a price that the retailer determines) to the “agency model” (publishers set the price, and retailers take a commission on the sale to readers).

On availability:

We will no longer delay the publication of e-books (read: no windowing).

On price:

For physical books, the majority of new release hardcovers are published in cheaper paperback versions over time. We will mirror this price reduction in the digital world.

The price range mentioned is exactly the same as the ones announced for iPad’s iBookstore.

I don’t feel as strongly about eBook’s $9.99 price point as I did for iTunes 99¢ song price. I still refuse to buy songs that go over that limit, but I do see myself buying a new NYTimes bestseller for $12.99. On the other hand, $14.99 will probably make me wait a bit.

All in all, Macmillan’s plan sounds much more reasonable than what the other bozos talked about in December. As long as they provide the same availability as pBooks - at reasonable prices, I’m in.

Making the Case for iPad E-Book Prices

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:40:29 +0100

Making the Case for iPad E-Book Prices:

Motoko Rich, also in the NYTimes.com:

At a glance, it appears the e-book is more profitable. But publishers point out that e-books still represent a small sliver of total sales, from 3 to 5 percent. If e-book sales start to replace some hardcover sales, the publishers say, they will still have many of the fixed costs associated with print editions, like warehouse space, but they will be spread among fewer print copies.

Nobody said innovation is fair - it’s efficient.

Condé Nast Preparing iPad Versions of Top Magazines

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:35:07 +0100

Condé Nast Preparing iPad Versions of Top Magazines:

Stephanie Clifford, from NYTimes.com:

The first magazines for which it will create iPad versions are Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Glamour, the company plans to announce in an internal memorandum on Monday.

Finally.

Lightscreen - screenshots in Windows

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:23:28 +0100

Lightscreen - screenshots in Windows:

I’ve just spend the last 8 hours taking screenshots on Windows 7. While Snipping Tool is included by default, it’s not flexible enough for me.

Lightscreen is free and has a few useful features - like delayed screenshots and instant saving.

Alfred quicklaunch app

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:14:10 +0100

Alfred quicklaunch app:

From the website:

Alfred is a quicklaunch application for Mac OS X, which aims to save you time in searching your local computer and the web. Whether it’s maps, Amazon, eBay, Wikipedia, you can feed your web addiction quicker than ever before.

Fast and small, but I didn’t see the advantage over Launchbar or Google Quick Search Box. Still in beta though, so hopefully it will be worth a revisit soon.

Update: After a few more hours, I have to agree with @navjotpawera in being surprised with its speed. Be sure to read the help page, since I behaves a bit different than other launchers.

Senators Kerry & Lugar Introduce the Startup Visa Act

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:57:19 +0100

Senators Kerry & Lugar Introduce the Startup Visa Act:

From StartupVisa.com, today Senators Kerry & Lugar introduced the Startup Visa Act in Washington, DC:

This would enable immigrant entrepreneurs who are creating new companies to secure visas to come to the United States, if there is investment capital available from a sponsoring US venture capital or angel investor of at least $100,000 in an equity financing of not less than $250,000.

I think this is great, or at least a pretty good first step. Although, not everyone agrees. For a -mostly intelligent- discussion, visit the Hacker News thread.

Shaun Inman's "Mimeo and the Kleptopus King"

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:49:54 +0100

Shaun Inman talks about his upcoming game, Mimeo and the Kleptopus King:

At its core, play, and by extension video games, is learning. Call it discovery or mastery but a good game introduces new ideas (teaches), leverages existing ones (reviews) and layers them to create unique challenges (tests).

The concept and images look great, but it goes beyond that:

In addition to creating the scenario, programming and designing all the graphics I’m also composing and producing all the music.

If you don’t think coding is art, you at least need to accept that game-development is.

/via Daring Fireball

Readings highlighter

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:56:05 +0100

I have already professed my love for Instapaper. Below, three recent articles I enjoyed:

Interview with Mark Pincus, Adam Bryant

One thing I did at my second company was to put white sticky sheets on the wall, and I put everyone’s name on one of the sheets, and I said, “By the end of the week, everybody needs to write what you’re C.E.O. of, and it needs to be something really meaningful.” And that way, everyone knows who’s C.E.O. of what and they know whom to ask instead of me. And it was really effective.

Profile: Jack Churchill, Robert Barr Smith

He organized his men into six parallel columns and, since the heavy undergrowth ruled out any chance of a silent advance, sent them charging through the darkness shouting “commando!” The yelling not only minimized the risk of Commandos shooting each other in the gloom, but also confused the German defenders, to whom this fierce shouting seemed to come from all directions in the blackness of the night.

Easy = True, Drake Bennett

When people read something in a difficult-to-read font, they unwittingly transfer that sense of difficulty onto the topic they’re reading about. Schwarz and his former student Hyunjin Song have found that when people read about an exercise regimen or a recipe in a less legible font, they tend to rate the exercise regimen more difficult and the recipe more complicated than if they read about them in a clearer font.

Choose Wisely, browser chooser app

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:04:49 +0100

Choose Wisely, browser chooser app:

Similar to the shareware Choosy (which I use), Choose Wisely is a minimal, freeware app, which you set as your default browser. When you click on a link, you get the above dialog to choose where to open it.

Web site is in german, but nothing Google Translate can’t help out with.

#FreeWebVe will be a trending topic soon

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:55:04 +0100

Liza López, from El Nacional (in Spanish), writes:

The reform to the Telecommunications Law, left in a drawer since 2008, establishes a single, state-controlled access point, as in Cuba, China and Iran. The presence of cuban vice-president Ramiro Valdés, known as the censor in the island, and congressmen statements over the terrorist character of social networks, have unleashed suspicions.

Six months ago, I wrote:

The government can, and probably will, establish some sort of online censorship. It will not work as expected for the reasons already mentioned. Nevertheless, they will be able to monitor a lot of traffic. And if things someday really heat up, they can disrupt most important Web sites for a considerable period of time.

I’ll revisit my notes and post some useful links when the technical aspects become clearer. However, this is not good.

We are about to see if a generation that grew up under internet freedom, is going to tolerate Government meddling of Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry Messenger.

Twitter, rebel with a cause

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:51:08 +0100

On recent weeks, three related items have caught my attention:

My girlfriend asked me about the best Blackberry Twitter client
Hugo Chavéz called Twitter a terrorist tool
Twitter Co-founder said they are looking at ways to bypass country blocks

I know what you’re thinking, a Blackberry? Still, two of the above items are no big surprise.

The fact that a President, obsessed with controlling media, calls the easiest publishing/communication tool terrorist, was bound to happen as adoption grew.

On the same lines, after last year’s events in Iran, it makes sense that Twitter establishes the idea of global freedom of its service, over regional censorship. If they plan to be the pulse of the internet, they need to make it clear that real and uncensored tweets are all getting through.

However, my girlfriend installing Twitter on her Blackberry? Just amazing. I mean, this is the same person who uses Facebook as a photo sharing site, and still untags herself if the photos are public. She deletes - deletes! - email in Gmail. Even after a long conversation regarding the whole concept of an infinite expanding disk space.

So why would a person, whose default status in all chat services is invisible, be asking about Twitter?

Simple; uncensored news.

Many venezuelans don’t trust what they hear, or more importantly, what they don’t hear in the news.

Visit Twitter on a weekday and you can usually see a flurry of #FreeMediaVE, #FreeVenezuela and #TASPONCHAO tweets going by. Reporting protests and clashes with police and the national guards. With no mention whatsoever about it on local radio or TV.

All of this has lots of interesting internet usage implications. Sadly, the only one I keep thinking about, is that in Venezuela the internet will the next expropriation.

The Wired Tablet App: A Video Demonstration

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:10:00 +0100

The Wired Tablet App: A Video Demonstration:

Although the video has too talking heads to be truly enjoyable (it’s only missing a synergy comment), Chris Anderson, provides some technical details in the article:

Although the Wired Reader starts as an AIR app, Adobe has created tools that allow us to easily convert it for major tablet and mobile platforms. In Barcelona this week, Adobe announced that AIR would run on Android, and Adobe has already announced its Packager for iPhone tool that will allow Flash apps (including AIR) to run on Apple mobile platforms. And AIR already runs natively on Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems.

Very interesting.

I’m really waiting for this app. After 10 years, I cancelled my Wired subscription when I moved to Norway. It just bothered me that they had no digital version. Also, the quality of the articles suffered a bit on recent years.

Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:01:19 +0100

Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy:

Derek Sivers gave this short talk at TED this week :

When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.

If you have 3 min, you should really see it.

/via Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals)