The Age of Mechanical Reproduction

post from Daring Fireball on 21 September 2011 08:03:39 PM. © Daring Fireball

Paul Ford, back in July, a lovely gut-wrenching piece for The Morning News. Read it, you won’t regret it. Then, when you’re done, read today’s postscript.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.themorningnews.org/article/the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction

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SwapBall - amazing game that makes you addicted

post from prMac on 21 September 2011 07:06:00 PM. © prMac

Tetralab S.R.L. has announced the released of SwapBall 1.2, an amazing puzzle game that's breaking through on App store. The most people who try this game, want to play again and again, never want to stop! SwapBall is among the 25 top applications in the section: "Top 25 iPhone Apps", section "Puzzle games" on App Store. That's because this amazing game makes everyone addicted! You can try it with the free version. With SwapBall Lite you can play the firsts three levels for free.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-31038.htm

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The Fall Event

post from Daring Fireball on 21 September 2011 07:03:50 PM. © Daring Fireball

Mark Sigal asks a good question, regarding the lack of a September Apple “music event” this year:

Yet, this year they did not have it, nor even alluded to it. Now,first week of October is rumored launch of iPhone 5.
The question that it prompts is does the foregoing of MusicEvent signify something larger about iPod strategy goingforward? Or is it just a case of the dog of growth (iPhone)outflanking the tail (iPod).

If Apple could have made its iPhone announcement this month — September — I think they would have. I think they went into October because it took longer to get everything in order: hardware production, iOS 5, iCloud. (Although I think iOS 5 could have been launched already, if they wanted to, based on the stability of the latest betas. It’s in good shape.)

Apple’s music events were about selling music-playing iPods. The iPhone is cannibalizing that business; their whole iPod division is propped up by the Touch, which is really just a phone-less iPhone. I don’t think they’re going to stop selling audio iPods, but everyone knows, including Apple, that neither the news media nor the masses can get it up for “new iPods” any more. New iOS devices are what we can get it up for.

That’s why I took a guess back in February that Apple might announce two rounds of iPad hardware this year: an iPad 2 in February, and then a new one in September — say, an iPad 2 with a retina display. That was based on two assumptions:

Apple would release a next-generation iPhone at WWDC in June, as per its previous annual schedule.
Apple would need something more exciting than an iPod Touch based on the same specs as this year’s new iPhone to announce in the fall, if they wanted to maintain a high level of anticipation for the fall event annually.

My first assumption obviously was wrong. The second one I still think was right. Apple needs a big iOS device announcement for the fall, is what I was thinking, and another iPad was my best guess. There is no new iPad coming this year, but there is a big iOS device announcement.

No one outside Apple’s top ranks knows whether the iPhone 5 (or whatever they’re going to call it — or them, if there are two new models, not just one) was planned for a fall release all along, or whether it slipped and was originally intended for a June/July release. But whatever the reason, it hasn’t hurt iPhone sales in the interim, and it has created a situation where the company’s upcoming event is more anticipated than it would have been if we were only expecting a new iPod Touch based on specs from a three-month-old iPhone 5.

The fall event is important for Apple because it’s the one where they set their product lineup for the holiday quarter. The company prefers to announce new products simply when they’re ready, not when some arbitrary date on the calendar arrives. That’s why they stopped doing Macworld Expo keynotes. They showed this year that they’re not afraid to do a software-only WWDC keynote. But they can’t move Christmas. Apple is breaking profit and revenue records quarter after quarter. But Apple’s best-selling products sell best during the holiday quarter. iOS devices have “Christmas gift” written all over them.

Nine months into the year and Apple has announced but a single new iOS device: the iPad 2. Time’s up, pencils down.

Read The Full Article:
http://daringfireball.net/2011/09/fall_event

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Paczkowski: Apples iPhone Event to Be Held on
October 4, Tim Cook to Host

post from Daring Fireball on 21 September 2011 06:03:23 PM. © Daring Fireball

John Paczkowski called it back on August 1, reporting that the event would be in October, not September, as is usual for Apple’s fall event. Now he’s saying Tuesday 4 October, specifically. Sounds right.

As for what is going to be announced, the bottom line is that Apple has effectively kept everyone in the dark. A5 processor, better camera, duh. But other than that, no one knows shit. The iPhone 4 might have been a complete surprise, too, if not for the lost-in-a-bar prototype.

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Read The Full Article:
http://allthingsd.com/20110921/apple-to-hold-special-event-on-october-4/

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Hewlett-Packard: Worst Board Ever

post from Daring Fireball on 21 September 2011 06:03:23 PM. © Daring Fireball

Shira Ovide, writing for the WSJ, runs down the track record of HP’s board over the last decade. Every time you think they’ve hit rock bottom, they find a way to make things even worse.

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Read The Full Article:
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/09/21/hewlett-packard-worst-board-ever/?mod=e2tw

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Good Art Is a Kind of Magic

post from Daring Fireball on 21 September 2011 04:03:53 PM. © Daring Fireball

Frank Chimero flags a 1996 exchange on writing and art between David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Franzen, and Kurt Vonnegut.

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Read The Full Article:
http://blog.frankchimero.com/post/10486879259

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NYT: Hewlett-Packard Board Meets on Replacing CEO

post from Daring Fireball on 21 September 2011 04:03:53 PM. © Daring Fireball

Quentin Hardy, reporting for the NYT:

Less than a year after hiring Léo Apotheker as its chiefexecutive, Hewlett-Packard?s directors were meeting Wednesday toconsider replacing him, according to several people with knowledgeof the board?s actions. The leading candidate was Meg Whitman,the former chief executive of eBay, who was sought for her abilityto run a large technology company, they said.
The surprise move revealed not only the confusion inside thecompany over its strategy, but also the directors? difficultiesin choosing the leadership of the company.

You don’t say.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/technology/hewlett-packard-board-meets-on-repla
cing-ceo.html?hp

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How Netflix Lost Its Glamor and Its Way

John Martellaro:

A shrewder group of executives would have realized that streamingwould become the future and never have provided it to DVD rentersfor free in the first place. If a thing has value, and it costsyou money to obtain and deliver, you charge for it. Good CEOs knowthat. Customers who wanted streaming content would have a choice:pay for streaming or forego it. Instead, Netflix gave awaysomething of value, acclimated the customers to an entitlement,then abruptly shocked them with the real costs. Compare that toApple TV where, if you want something of value, good contentwithout commercials, you pay for it.

Interesting point. Really does seem like Netflix has lost its way.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/how_netflix_lost_its_glamor_and_its_way/

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iPhone 5 event on October 4 : AllThingsD

According to a report of AllThingsD, Apple is preparing for the upcoming event to be held on October 4. Report also suggest that new CEO, Tim Cook will be the keynote presenter and will be accompanied by other executives who will take part in the[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ihackintoshfeed/~3/delR4wZeoBQ/

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Graphsim Entertainment Introduces Falcon 4.0:
Allied Force for Mac

The flight simulation franchise that set the gold standard for combat flight sims returns to the Mac in an unprecedented fashion, as Graphsim Entertainment introduces Falcon 4.0: Allied Force for Mac OSX. Falcon 4.0: Allied Force includes numerous advancements over its predecessor, resulting in a flight simulation of incredible detail and realism. New advancements implemented in Falcon 4.0: Allied Force include a new Balkans Theatre of Operations with 18 upgraded or new campaigns.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-31230.htm

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