Back in 2010 the NSA published “Hardening Tips for Mac OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’” (PDF), a terse, two-page pamphlet recommending a series of security precautions. The agency hasn’t updated that pamphlet for more recent versions of OS X—so I thought I’d do so in the agency’s stead.
Some security tips and explanations.
More iOS music goodness from IK Multimedia.
A federal jury yesterday rendered a verdict that makes Google (Motorola) a convicted patent troll. It has been found to have breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing flowing from Motorola’s FRAND licensing pledges to standard-setting organizations. None of the companies typically described as trolls have actually been convicted of similarly unlawful conduct.
Ouch.
I bet these sound incredible.
Some nice looking guitars and basses here including a Rosewood Telecaster, a Geddy Lee 1972 Jazz Bass and a Gold Top Dusty Hill Precision Bass.
It seems unimaginative to me. I don’t know, I just expected more.
Stupid lawsuits.
An article I wrote for Fortune on how important the iTunes Festival for the bands that participate.
Apple on Tuesday sent out invites for a special event to be held on September 10, 2013 at the company’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters. According to the invitation I received today, the event will start at 10:00 am PT.
It is widely expected that Apple will introduce a new iPhone at event.
Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós performed at the iTunes Festival in London last night to a packed house. I had an opportunity to speak with the band before the show about the festival and its importance. […]
Wow. I don’t know what else to say.
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Om Malik:
Microsoft’s legacy as a PC monopoly holder made it incapable of handling the fast changing, rapidly shifting post-mobile world. And now for the next year Microsoft will be distracted by integrating the two companies — all at a time when Samsung will be releasing a barrage of new phones, Google will be improving on Moto X and Android and, lest anyone forget, Apple will have a trick or two up its sleeve. Oh, by the way, there is that other Seattle-based company: Amazon has been quietly working on its own phones and has plans to take on the current smartphone establishment. And they don’t even care about making a profit — they just want marketshare.
That’s probably just how the next year will play out.
It’s a big deal, but I don’t think it will come as much of a surprise to most people.
An article I wrote for Fortune on Apple’s motivation for doing the iTunes Festival.
I posted my thoughts on the opening of the iTunes Festival with Lady Gaga last night. Here are some great shots of the performance. The iTunes Festival runs for the entire month of September with a new artist playing live … Continued
Apple’s iTunes Festival began tonight in London, England with headlining act, Lady Gaga.[…]
I’m in London today and will be attending the opening show at the iTunes Festival, featuring Lady Gaga. Dan Benjamin and I will be doing a special Amplified podcast at 2:00 pm ET before the concert starts. You can join us live to hear about the festival.
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In this issue, Alex Vollmer describes his 20 year obsession with Eddie Van Halen’s famous “Brown Sound” guitar tone; Matt Gemmell reminds us that everything we do online can affect our reputation; Peter Cohen talks about how he got started with the Mac 27 years ago; Steven Aquino is a sports fanatic and technology has made his hobby better; and Dr. Robert Carter tells us how Apple’s commitment to accessibility has changed his life.
You can download The Loop Magazine free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. You also get a free 7-day trial when you subscribe.
Buried in an article about Apple’s upcoming Tokyo retail store, Bloomberg briefly mentions that Apple’s September 10 media event will see the introduction of not only new iPhone models, but also new iPads.
Nope.
No iPads.
Matt Gemmell has some solid tips that you can try the next time you sit down to write. Two tips in particular that I’ve done for a long time are:
I have a habit of adding a bullet-point right after I stop, briefly outlining the very next thing that happens. The following day, I just transform it into a sentence or two, and I feel that I’ve at least started.
I actually do this throughout my stories. As the story evolves, I think of things that need to be added or points that need to be made. The problem is if I stop and add it in, I lose my momentum and I don’t like that. Sometimes a single word will be enough to jog my memory and by the time I’m finished, all of the relevant points have been made in the article.
Just trust yourself. Something will emerge. Unplanned structure.
For me, it’s not necessarily lack of planning, but lack of putting it on paper. I formulate my ideas in my head—sometimes for days or even weeks—before I ever write anything. When I do sit down to start writing, I have a flow that gets me through the toughest part of the article.
Great tip, if you didn’t already know how to do it.
Jim and Dan discuss the Chromecast app being blocked by Google, the New York Times getting hacked, and Apple TVs getting more and more channels.
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After being hit with 171 lawsuits from non-practicing intellectual property owning entities in the last five years, Apple has further solidified its place as the No. 1 target for so-called patent “trolls.”
No company should be sued by patent trolls. Something has to be done.
Hesitation Marks was mastered in two different ways – the standard, “loud” mastering (which is what you’ll find on the CD, on iTunes, and everywhere else), and also an alternate “audiophile” mastering, which we’re offering as a free download option for anyone who purchases the album through nin.com. For the majority of people, the standard version will be preferable and differences will be difficult to detect. Audiophiles with high-end equipment and an understanding of the mastering process might prefer the alternate version.
It’s great to see bands getting away from the “louder is best” mentality or at least giving us an alternative.
It’s a good question. And the answer is pretty simple. It was an attempt to get you to click on CNN.com so that we could drive up our web traffic, which in turn would allow us to increase our advertising revenue.
Great answer. It also explains the shitty tech stories we read everyday.
I like it, especially Vevo and Smithsonian.
Des Traynor:
Once a company succumbs to it, bloat seeps through its veins. A round of layoffs becomes a “Strategic Talent Re-Architecture”, sharing a link becomes “Internal Socialising”, or “Knowledge Cross Pollination”. You no longer “think about things” any more you “incubate them internally”. If you’re thinking about them really hard, you’re now “deep diving to disambiguate”.
Wonderful article. Bloat is everywhere.
Those that listened to Amplified last week may remember I mentioned wanting a nice dark purple iPhone will The Loop logo on the back. Maybe this is the place I can get it done.