Proper Credit for Last Weeks Link on the Golden
Ratio in iClouds Logo

post from Daring Fireball on 20 June 2011 10:03:37 PM. © Daring Fireball

I first saw this on Alan van Roemburg’s Tumblr blog, and there was no indication that it wasn’t his own work. Ends up, though, that Van Roemburg took the image from Naoki Takahashi. (Van Roemburg has since added a “thanks to Takamasa”, but that wasn’t there when I first linked to it.) My apologies to Naoki Takahashi.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://stam-design-stam.blogspot.com/2011/06/icloud.html

Digg this

Integrity, AOL/TechCrunch-Style

post from Daring Fireball on 20 June 2011 08:03:43 PM. © Daring Fireball

When I want to brush up on my ethics, I always turn to Mike Arrington.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/20/why-we-often-blindside-companies/

Digg this

Why Mobile Web Apps Should Stop Trying to Act
Like Native Apps

post from Daring Fireball on 20 June 2011 07:03:56 PM. © Daring Fireball

I love this piece by Craig Villamor:

If you?ve decided to deliver your app via the Web, you shouldembrace the capabilities and constraints of the Web. Don?t spendtime and resources making a pretender app, spend that time makinga great app that works on the Web.

Villamor cites Bagcheck as an example of a mobile web app that embraces its webbiness and doesn’t pretend to be a native iPhone app. I’d cite 37signals’s mobile version of Basecamp as another. Basecamp maybe veers closer to the pretending-to-be-a-native-app line, but it doesn’t cross it. I like the mobile version of Basecamp more than the “full” version.

(Via Faruk Ate?.)

?

Read The Full Article:
http://cvil.ly/2011/06/19/pretenders-why-mobile-web-apps-should-stop-trying-to-ac
t-like-native-apps/

Digg this

Why Should Somebody Buy This Instead of an iPad

post from Daring Fireball on 20 June 2011 06:04:14 PM. © Daring Fireball

Harry McCracken:

As a lover of competition, though, I?m itching to see othertablets arrive that deserve to do well, too. So that question —“Why would somebody buy this instead of an iPad?” — is stuck inmy head. I?ve been trying to figure out how an Apple rival cancome up with a tablet that pretty much answers that question foritself. And I?ve come up with thirteen ways it could happen.

Great analysis. Nothing particularly original, but a comprehensive look at the entire iPad competitive landscape. Lay it all out like McCracken has and you see just how strong a position the iPad is in.

One quibble, though:

But there are people who take their Flash so seriously that theywon?t buy a tablet that doesn?t support it.

Really? Who?

?

Read The Full Article:
http://technologizer.com/2011/06/20/ipad-alternatives-2/

Digg this

HP TouchPad Goes on Sale July 1, Available for
Pre-Order Now

post from Daring Fireball on 20 June 2011 06:04:14 PM. © Daring Fireball

To me, easily the most appealing iPad competitor. But I think the Pre is the most appealing iPhone competitor, and it hasn’t fared well. HP has matched the iPad’s pricing: $499/599 for 16/32 GB Wi-Fi models.

I think the problem facing HP is summed up in the sub-head on this promotional page:

The ultimate in entertainment with Beats Audio and Adobe Flash.

That’s not a compelling answer to “Why should I buy this instead of an iPad?” I mean, who has even heard of “Beats Audio”?

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000697331

Digg this

Man Robbed Bank for $1, Hoping to Be Sent to
Prison, So as to Obtain Health Care

post from Daring Fireball on 20 June 2011 05:04:07 PM. © Daring Fireball

NBC News:

That’s right, James Verone says he has no medical insurance. Hehas a growth of some sort on his chest, two ruptured disks and aproblem with his left foot. He is 59 years old and with no job anda depleted bank account. He thought jail was the best place hecould go for medical care and a roof over his head. Verone ishoping for a three-year sentence.

Only in America.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.9news.com/news/sidetracks/204061/337/Man-robbed-bank-for-1-to-cover-ja
il-health-care

Digg this

The Theory That Hardware Is Easily Mimicked

post from Daring Fireball on 20 June 2011 03:04:13 PM. © Daring Fireball

Steve Lohr posits that IBM is the model for companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google to follow:

In recent years Apple has been unmatched in applying its coreassets to new markets. Its hallmark skills are the intuitiveusability of its software and the inspired design of its hardware— talents long appreciated by loyal Mac users. Yet in the PCindustry, Apple machines are still dwarfed by those runningMicrosoft?s Windows.

Dwarfed in unit sale numbers, but number-one in profit share.

Apple looks to be riding a money train for some time. Its currentmodel is focused on selling its stylish devices; the company?sonline software and marketplace (for digital media and mobileapps) are mainly servants of the hardware, pleasing consumers sothey are more apt to buy iPods, iPhones and iPads.
Yet Apple?s product designs, however impressive, will eventuallybe mimicked and come under price pressure, just as the mainframedid, predicts Michael A. Cusumano, professor at the Sloan Schoolof Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Intime, he says, Apple may want to borrow a page from I.B.M. andrely increasingly on software and services for its livelihood.

I wonder if professor Cusumano thinks companies like, say, Rolex and BMW ought to shift to “software and services” too? I don’t think this guy understands Apple at all.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/technology/19unboxed.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Digg this

John Paczkowski: Consumers Dont Want Tablets,
They Want iPads

Or as Marco Arment put it back in December: “There really isn’t much of a ‘tablet’ market.”

This is, perhaps, the most polarizing topic of punditry in tech today. Will the iPad’s long-term share be more like the iPod’s or the Mac’s? High-end and market-dominant? Or high-end but niche?

?

Read The Full Article:
http://allthingsd.com/20110620/consumers-dont-want-tablets-they-want-ipads/

Digg this

This Thursday 1-bit Ninja turns 2D into 3D, no
back button required

kode80 LLC today is pleased to announce the upcoming release of it's new iOS game 1-bit Ninja. 1-bit Ninja introduces a unique 2D visual style inspired by LCD games of old that can be dragged into 3D at any time and a control scheme designed specifically for touch screens. 1-bit Ninja brings nostalgia up to date with it's 3D slant on the classic 2D gameplay. Secrets are hidden behind the 3D perspective that require the player to explore beyond 2D.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-27081.htm

Digg this

Skype Said to Fire Executives, Avoiding Payouts
After Microsoft Takeover

Joseph Galante, reporting for Bloomberg:

Skype Technologies SA, the Internet-calling service being boughtby Microsoft Corp., is firing senior executives before the dealcloses, a move that reduces the value of their payout, accordingto three people familiar with the matter.

Cue the Nelson Muntz “Ha-ha!”

?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-19/skype-fires-executives-avoiding-payouts-
after-microsoft-buyout-closes.html

Digg this