Congrats Tim.

I went to update some apps on my iPad. But instead of being greeted on the update screen with the normal buttons with ‘update’ written on them, they had ‘free’ on them instead. Everything exactly the same, just the wording was different.

It certainly would be interesting if they did allow developers to start charging for updates.

Serenity Caldwell has a good article with some tips on getting Touch ID to work better and some things that may cause it to fail intermittently.

Google Inc has removed an experimental privacy feature from its Android mobile software that had allowed users to block apps from collecting personal information such as address book data and a user’s location.

[…]

A company spokesman said the feature had been included by accident in Android 4.3, the version released last summer.

So a feature to help users keep their info private was included by accident. Makes sense considering it comes from a company that makes its money on knowing every little thing about what you do.

“We are suspicious of this explanation, and do not think that it in any way justifies removing the feature rather than improving it,” said Peter Eckersley, technology projects director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The digital rights website first publicized the change in a blog post on Friday.

Android users who wish to retain the privacy controls by not upgrading to Android 4.4.2 could be vulnerable to security risks, Eckersley said. “For the time being, users will need to chose between either privacy or security on the Android devices, but not both.”

So, what’s it gonna be Android users? Fucked by Google or fucked by hackers?

Tourism is a dangerous job in Canada.

Matthew Ungar sent me these pictures today that he took of iPhones and iPads at China Mobile. Great to see.

I enjoyed reading this piece by Rene Ritchie, especially when he talked about the future. This is what I’ve been saying about Apple’s future devices—expect some magic, not a smart watch like the shit Samsung is putting out.

I’ve seen people posting on both sides of this issue tonight.

This is a pretty amazing story. Blatantly stealing other people’s work is not right.

Truth has never been an essential ingredient of viral content on the Internet. But in the stepped-up competition for readers, digital news sites are increasingly blurring the line between fact and fiction, and saying that it is all part of doing business in the rough-and-tumble world of online journalism.

I’m not saying I disagree, but it seems odd that the Times would post something like this when they are just as guilty as posting shit as the sites they condemn.

I give you Exhibit A.

Sarah Lockard is the “CEO and Publisher” of AroundMainLine.com in Philadelphia, and yesterday Philadelphia magazine ran an email she sent to area restaurants in which she offered them a “VERY innovative” and “exciting” opportunity: to host her family dinner on Christmas Eve in exchange for coverage on her site.

That’s just awful.

The difference is in other cosmopolitan cities, the lower part of society keep to themselves. They sell small trinkets, beg coyly, stay quiet, and generally stay out of your way. They realize it’s a privilege to be in the civilized part of town and view themselves as guests. And that’s okay.

Asshole.

Some good thoughts here from Daniel Jalkut.

When Microsoft co-founder and then-chief executive Bill Gates hired Ballmer from Procter & Gamble in 1980, it was to be “the business guy, whatever that meant,” Ballmer says. Since that day, his rallying cry has always been “How do you make money? How do you make money? How do you make money?”

And this, in my opinion, is why Microsoft is in trouble right now. Apple’s philosophy is “How do we make the best product?” They figure the money will come if they make great products that people want. And they’re right. Ballmer’s philosophy led them to making shitty products that people felt locked into owning. Those days are quickly coming to an end.

Great news for Mac users today from Universal Audio—the company released a public beta of its Pro Tools AAX implementation.

UAD software v7.4.1 is a free public beta that gives Pro Tools 11 users:

• Total session and automation compatibility with earlier versions of Pro Tools
• Access to the complete library of UAD Powered Plug-Ins in AAX 64
• Seamless interoperability with Apollo series interfaces and Realtime UAD Processing
• Support for Pro Tools 11’s faster-than-realtime (offline) bounce feature

There’s also some new functionality including:

• AudioSuite processing for file-based workflows, which allows you to process files and selections with UAD plug-ins, commit the changes and free up DSP
• Multi-mono support, so you can use UAD plug-ins on surround and stereo tracks with full linking and unlinking capability

Is nothing sacred? I mean, really. Stay the fuck away from Santa you evil crazy company.

I’ve been testing Castro and I really like it. If I were going to recommend a podcast app, this would be it.

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