Yearly Archives: 2012

Android is like “having a motor scooter at the Indianapolis 500”

Written by

Digging specifically at Android, McNamee said that it is akin to “having a motor scooter at the Indianapolis 500.”

“I watch what they have done with Android and I’m flabbergasted because their market share in units is so high but look at the profit share,” McNamee said. “Apple’s profit share is 75 or 80% because Android has been managed essentially to make it a profitless prosperity. Right now, if Google is not careful, Android will be Samsung or Samsung will be Android.”

I laughed. Hard.

Google will not make Windows apps

Written by

Speaking to V3, the firm’s product management director at Google Apps, Clay Bavor, said that due to what it sees as a lack of interest from its clients on the systems, it is holding back on any work at present.

“We have no plans to build out Windows apps. We are very careful about where we invest and will go where the users are but they are not on Windows Phone or Windows 8,” he said.

And the shots go back and forth.

2013: ‘Year of mobile malware’ for Android

Written by

The firm notes that the number of Android devices infected with malware increased by 41% in the second half of 2012 with individual malware reports increased 75%. In fact, 94.35% of unique malware samples in 2012 were found to be Android trojans.

And it’s going to get worse? Yeah, Android is definitely winning.

Apple’s attention to detail

Written by

When you are willing to pay this level attention to detail you can be as great as Apple, and not a moment sooner.

Tablet-native journalism

Written by

Felix Salmon wrote a very smart article on Tablet-native journalism. I don’t agree with everything he said, but it’s worth a read.

Australian police now warn about Google Maps

Written by

Now police in Colac, west of Melbourne, say faults with Google maps are putting people’s lives at risk along the Great Ocean Road and in the southern Otways.

So it’s not just Apple after all.

Squarespace Note

Written by

Squarespace Note helps anyone record their ideas on the fly. Writers, bloggers, and others can use the app to record inspiration and ideas as they happen; notes can be sent via e-mail, or synced with a range of popular services including Squarespace, Evernote, Dropbox, and more.

Until yesterday I thought this app was just another way to interact with the Squarespace Web site, but it’s more than that. It can be used as a notes app. Oh, and if you shake the iPhone when the app is active, it changes from day to night mode.

Sporting News end its print edition

Written by

“After 126 years of printing ink on paper with weekly, biweekly or monthly frequency, Sporting News will officially become a digital brand as of January 1, 2013. … Having spoken with many of our longtime subscribers, we recognize this is not a popular decision among our most loyal fans.”

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough loyal fans to pay the bills. Time to move on.

A question Twitter should ask itself

Written by

Om Malik:

I asked a Twitter spokesperson to describe Twitter’s core design, product and engineering capabilities — stuff they are really good at. What is Twitter’s core competency? So far, no comment.

I don’t expect an answer, but I had to ask. In fact, it is a question that Twitter should ask itself. Because in doing so it will be able to confront the deeper issues that have plagued its relationship with who used to be its customers — people.

S.F. supervisors back micro-apartments

Written by


SFGate:

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to give pint-size apartments a try, approving legislation that would allow for the construction of hundreds of 220-square-foot residential units.Up to two people will be allowed to live in the micro-apartments that are estimated to go for $1,300 to $1,500 a month.

How much space do you think you really need to live in? Would you give up a lot of space in order to live in a desirable area – say downtown San Francisco or New York City?

“Earth at Night 2012”

Written by


We’ve all seen the famous “Earth at Night” composite image showing our planet at night and how much light there still is, sometimes in unexpected places.

Now Google has a new global view of Earth’s city lights that is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite.

With this version of the image, you can even zoom in to get a better (if not necessarily higher resolution ) and closer view.

Meet Jon Gnarr, Mayor of Reykjavik

Written by

Jón Gnarr, the mayor of Reykjavík, Iceland, has posted an Ask Me Anything thread on Reddit, which has generated tons of questions.

The key to the Apple TV puzzle

Written by

There is an ongoing debate about whether Apple will release a physical television or an enhanced box similar to what we have now. People on both sides of the debate square off every few weeks and rehash the same arguments. Ultimately, we get nowhere, but I think that’s because nobody is asking the right question.

Making money

Written by

A picture — or chart — is worth a thousand words.

Google CEO Larry Page talks about Apple

Written by

It’s always the company that steals shit that thinks everyone should share.

And what the hell is this answer from Page:

I mean, obviously we talk to Apple. We have a big search relationship with Apple, and so on, and we talk to them and so on.

He sounds like Miss South Carolina Teen USA Caitlin Upton talking about “the Iraq.”

DOJ may join lawsuit against Lance Armstrong

Written by

Under the whistleblower law, the government can intervene in Mr. Landis’s suit, essentially pursuing the case on its own behalf. According to people with knowledge of the case, the Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Justice have been investigating Mr. Landis’s allegations and continue to weigh whether to join the case.

It’s been a tough year for Lance.