Yearly Archives: 2012

Mid Atlantic Consulting is wrong

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A couple of days ago Mid Atlantic Consulting published a post detailing how iOS 6 has a limit on the number of apps that can be installed on an iOS device. I call bullshit on this for a couple of reasons.

I talked to some of my sources about the claims of the blog and the supposed limitations of iOS 6. Mid Atlantic says at 500 apps, the device will slow down and at 1,000 apps it won’t even boot. The person I was speaking with had over 1,100 apps on his phone running iOS 6 and said there was no virtual or other type of limit on the number of apps that could be installed. […]

Google dirtbags

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In attempting to fend off Apple and Microsoft’s suits against Motorola Mobility and advancing its own patent litigation against both companies, Google, which is facing a lot of regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and abroad over what some allege is abuse of SEPs, has been arguing that proprietary non-standardized technologies that become ubiquitous due to their popularity with consumers should be considered de facto standards.

So, Let me get this straight. Apple spent billions of dollars researching the best interface for mobile devices and patented their findings. Those methods of interacting with a mobile device became so popular, Google illegally integrated them in its inferior Android operating system.

Now that they’ve been caught, they are arguing that the features are standards and are not Apple’s at all.

You know what else is ubiquitous? Search. Why not hand the code for that over to Apple and let them make a search engine to compete with Google.

Dirtbags.

Google acquires Sparrow e-mail app for Mac, iPhone

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Sparrow, which develops an eponymous e-mail client app for OS X and iOS, announced on their Web site Friday that they’ve been acquired by Google and are becoming part of the Gmail team.

The statement from Sparrow CEO Dom Leca said, “Now we’re joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.”

He said that the Sparrow development team will be “working on new things at Google,” but Sparrow will remain available and the team will continue to provide support for users.

Terms of the acquisition were not revealed.

Apple’s new iPad makes unusually quiet debut in Beijing

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Wall Street Journal:

Apple’s latest iPad model went on sale quietly on Friday at a retail location in Beijing where unruly buyers and sullen crowds had marred past releases. Roughly 40 customers quietly lined up Friday morning outside the Apple Store in Beijing’s high-end Sanlitun shopping and restaurant district. They waited within a cordon surrounded security personnel and reporters. Store doors opened at 8 a.m. without disturbances.In May 2011, customers who lined up for new white iPhones scuffled with employees, leading managers to lock the doors.For the launch of the new iPad, Apple instituted a system new to the location in which buyers were required to take reservations beginning on Thursday, the day before the launch. Customers were then given a set time to pick up their devices.

Apple Propaganda from 1997

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Dan Frommer: Apple has long been fortunate to have an excited fan base promoting its products and helping lure first-time buyers. But did you know that Apple used to distribute free collateral to help its biggest fans spread the message?

Roger loves Chaz

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Roger Ebert:

Wednesday, July 18, is the 20th anniversary of our marriage. How can I begin to tell you about Chaz?She fills my horizon, she is the great fact of my life, she has my love, she saved me from the fate of living out my life alone, which is where I seemed to be heading. If my cancer had come, and it would have, and Chaz had not been there with me, I can imagine a descent into lonely decrepitude. I was very sick. I might have vegetated in hopelessness.This woman never lost her love, and when it was necessary she forced me to want to live. She was always there believing I could do it, and her love was like a wind forcing me back from the grave.

Film citric Roger Ebert’s touching love letter to his wife. Excuse me – I’ve got something in my eye.

When Marissa Mayer goes shopping

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There’s also no better way to gain a view into the most interesting startups than to start acquiring some, notes economist Paul Kedrosky. “[Mayer] needs to take that fire hose of startups that used to be directed at Google and redirect it at Yahoo. And the way you redirect it is to show that you’re a frequent, active acquirer.”

Agreed.

How much does it cost to be Batman?

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Centives:

We all think about it several times a day (it’s not just us, right?…right?) How much would it cost to become Batman? In anticipation of the impending release of The Dark Knight Rises, Centives decided to find out.The total bill? $2.8 million to show the criminal scum that the city doesn’t belong to them.

AMC Pacer

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I laugh every time I see it. […]

Sprint won’t charge for FaceTime use

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Jordan Golson, MacRumors:

While AT&T hasn’t yet decided whether or not it will charge users for using Apple’s FaceTime video-chat service over its cellular network, Sprint says it’s customers can use the service free of charge.

I wonder if that will put any pressure on AT&T. Telcos are famous for flip-flopping on these types of things though, so I’m not convinced this will last.

Twist, the app that tells people you’ll be late

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Wired:

Whether you have a habit of arriving awkwardly early or annoyingly late for meetings, a new app called Twist is here to help. The location-based app, which launched on Wednesday, is akin to Find My Friends, but adds the useful element of notifying family, friends or colleagues when you’re going to arrive at a specific location.The app offers a clean and simple way to accomplish multiple tasks: Track a person’s location, receive directions, share photos along your route, send messages, and get venue and weather details. It’s not the snazziest-looking app, but the uncluttered experience is actually refreshing in a world where apps are trying to stuff as much as they can into the iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen.

I absolutely hate being late and tend to show up 30+ minutes for appointments. Conversely, if someone I’m meeting is 5 minutes late, I worry they’ve been in an accident and are lying dead on the side of the road. This free app might alleviate some of that stress.

Recyclers disagree on impact of glued-in Retina MacBook Pro batteries

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Ars Technica:

Apple’s solution to shaving thickness from the Retina MacBook Pro—gluing its lithium polymer battery cells directly to the aluminum unibody shell—continues to spark debate among proponents of sustainable electronics.Apple submitted the device to the Green Electronics Council for an EPEAT Gold rating last week, prompting critics to argue that the glued-in battery should disqualify it from any rating at all. But it turns out that some recyclers disagree, saying it isn’t dramatically more difficult to safely remove the battery than in other modern devices.Muddying the waters further is Apple itself.

This is The Story That Won’t Die.

Apple granted the mother of all mobile patents

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It may sound snoozy, but the patent — which covers graphical user interfaces ranging from email to Camera Roll to menu lists to the multi-touch interface in general — looks like a dangerous weapon for Apple as it battles Android handset makers.

I don’t usually post about patents, but this is a doozy.

[Via Phandroid]

Harsh

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Matt Alexander:

Boasting a colorfully angular interface, the promise of smooth transitional animations, and a design pandering toward extreme minimalism, Metro is perhaps the most ill-fitting of titles for such a barren landscape.

And that’s just the first paragraph.

Spoiler: It doesn’t get any better.