Reuters top photos of 2013

There’s a “View All Images” link on the page so you don’t have to go through the slideshow.

Why Obama can’t have an iPhone

US President Barack Obama admitted Wednesday he was not allowed to have an iPhone owing to security fears — explaining why he is sometimes seen with a bulky super secure Blackberry.

“I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone,” Obama told a group of young people at the White House for an event promoting his health care law.

He added that his daughters Sasha and Malia spend a lot of time on their iPhones.

I didn’t think that was the case any more.

The Loop Magazine Issue 16: Women in Games

The Loop Magazine Issue 16:

In this issue Brianna Wu looks at the status of women in the gaming industry; Matt Gemmell explains why he likes analog tools like pens and notepads to plan; Matt Dusenbury talks about how technology is supposedly helping our health; In New York, Seamus Bellamy takes a trip around town to all the pubs his favorite writer visited; and Steven Aquino talks about why he loves subscription music services.

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Oh Samsung

A global ad campaign to promote Samsung devices, involving soccer stars and an alien invasion story, instead revealed that the fantasy campaign’s star manager Franz Beckenbauer tweets from his iPhone, not a Galaxy device.

Perfect.

“Pixel perfect”

Although the term is still whispered in cobweb-infested hallways to this day, it pretty much fell out of public favor once people realized you could affect “the fold” by simply turning your space phone sideways.

I chuckled when I read that, mostly because I spent years dealing with it. I’m glad that’s gone, but there are new ones to replace it.

Amplified: Everyday I’m Surprised

Jim and Dan talk about Apple’s stock movement, Apple acquisitions, the Beard Calendar, Amazon’s Drones, Slash’s pickups, and more.

Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo

For the new PlayStation 3 racing game Gran Turismo 6, the Mercedes-Benz designers have developed the visionary concept of a super sports car – the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo.

Imagine driving that in real life.

This is what Spotify pays artists

Spotify prefers to break down payouts in terms of monthly activity. In July, a “niche indie album” garnered $3,300, whereas a “global hit album” awarded the unnamed artist $425,000. Based on the company’s projections, these numbers will increase exponentially as the subscriber base grows.

I have to admit, this is pretty good. I’ve been vocal about subscription services and making sure artists get paid, so these numbers are interesting. One question I do have—for Spotify or the artists—why is there such a difference between these numbers and the reported “$10 for a million plays” type of stories that were making the rounds.

Micro-symphonies as ringtones

Mobile Miniatures, as the Spektral Quartet has dubbed its ear-tickling project, is part of its mission to provide living composers with new platforms for their music to be performed and heard.

Love it.

Five out of Ten Magazine

All profits from this issue of Five out of Ten are in aid of SpecialEffect, a charity that works to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

A great cause and an interesting magazine from Alan Williamson.

People should have to take a fucking IQ test before buying an iPad

Not only that, according to the original report, the customer noticed that it was a demo unit after inspecting the sticker on the bottom, but instead of simply returning it to Target, she decided to call a local news agency. You know, for justice.

Sweet Fuck, people are stupid.

PDF Expert 5 for iOS

PDF Expert 5 is a must-have app for anyone who reads, annotates or edits PDF documents on the iPad. It allows you to markup documents with highlights and handwriting, insert text and stamps, sign and even merge PDFs. Moreover, PDF Expert is the best choice for filling out PDF forms right on your iPad.

Looks like a great app.

Doxie Mobile Scanners – Give The Gift of Paperless [Sponsor]

Doxie_PaperlessGift2013

Go paperless with Doxie – tiny and beautifully designed mobile scanners that scan everything, starting at just $149.

Doxie scans your paper: simply and automatically. Battery power and built-in memory means you can scan anywhere, then tuck Doxie away when you’re not using it. Once you’ve scanned everything, Doxie’s included Mac software makes organizing it all easy. Save, share, create searchable PDFs, and send to the cloud.

The Loop readers get free U.S. shipping and Guaranteed Christmas Delivery for all orders placed through December 19th. Order your Doxie today and give the gift of paperless.

Keeping the skies free from drones

Brent Simmons:

I don’t know how I could tell Amazon’s harmless, happy-day drones from Google’s real-time people-watchers — or those of the police or the NSA. It’s best to shoot them all down.

I laughed out loud when I read that. Seriously, how are they going to stop people from shooting them down. It’s got to be a problem, right?

Heart to Heart for UCSF Cardiology Department

Om Malik:

Almost exactly six years ago, I survived a serious heart attack thanks to the team at UCSF Medical Center – specifically the cardiology division.

These past six years have added up to what could be the best years of my life – for now. And I will forever be grateful to the UCSF cardiology team. They saved me from near disaster and gave me a chance to rewrite my life story.

Obviously, a very good cause.

Faces in Things

Have you ever looked at an object and seen a face in it? You’ll love this Twitter account and the pictures in it.

iOS 7 adoption rate outpacing iOS 6

Chitika research:

One week following its release on September 18, 2013, iOS 7 users were generating more than 51% of all iOS-based Web traffic within North America. Growth has continued through the following two months, with iOS 7 usage rates surpassing the 70% mark within the continent. This makes it very likely that iOS 7 will continue to substantially outpace iOS 6 adoption, which reached 83% close to six months following its release in September 2012.

Meanwhile, Android is poking along:

Google’s latest OS dashboard reveals that 1.1 percent of active Android devices are running the new platform roughly a month after it became available. Not that its arrival is slowing down Jelly Bean’s growth, mind you. The older software now represents 54.5 percent of all Android use.

When you release a new version of your OS, the older version should drop, not gain in popularity.

Home To Stay Dog Rescue

As many of you know, my wife has been involved in volunteering for a local dog rescue for a couple of years. Monique and a number of her friends, who also have many years experience rescuing dogs, decided to start their own dog rescue called Home To Stay. […]

BatBeard in the Beard Calendar

The 2014 Beard Calendar is available to pre-order for $10. The guys behind the calendar asked me to be involved as “BatBeard,” an offer I gladly accepted. Meet Mr. May.

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