The matter came to light when one developer said he’d received a request for support from someone who’d purchased the BB version of his app, despite the fact that he’d created no such version.

Oh RIM.

Creative block, writers block or whatever you call it, is a terrible thing to overcome. It’s that point when your mind will just not think, not let any ideas or words through this giant wall it’s erected in your mind. Stacey Kole offers some ideas on how to get around it.

What a fascinating story.

Kind of the opposite of Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field.

A fascinating premise, but I don’t get it. If we are shopping online more than ever, why go to a book store to see what we want to buy online?

Netflix Super HD requires an internet connection with at least 5Mb/s download. Not all devices can play Super HD. Super HD is only available via Internet Providers that are part of the Open Connect network.

In less than two years, Hulu has distributed 25 Hulu Original and Exclusive Series, offering viewers distinctive premium programming that can’t be seen anywhere else from top creative talent and 2013 is gearing up to be another great year for exclusive and original programming on Hulu. It’s a thrill to share what we have planned, including a new slate of Original and Exclusive Series that’s chock full of superheroes-in-training, rogue French cops, high-energy mascots and more. All shows will be available on free Hulu.com and the Hulu Plus subscription service.

This is the type of content I like to see services like Hulu work on. Exclusive, original, well done content. That’s worth paying for.

I’ve never seen anything like this before. Never.

Dave Klein posted some dates on the 2013 CocoaConf Spring Tour. They have several cities already lined up.

A social media smack down.

Graham Spencer has done a terrific job with his “mapping” series on MacStories.

Rob Pegoraro:

You then watch a parade of executives bantering on about the company’s hopes and dreams and showing off their upcoming wares, which is good and useful–but from the cheap seats, you see no more detail than you’d get from watching video offsite. And except for Sony’s presser, which takes place in its exhibit area at the Las Vegas Convention Center, you rarely get any hands-on time with the new hardware either.

Rob does a good job of summing up the problem with press conference day. I always found CES so big that it was almost impossible to cover. In fact, it’s big enough that even press conferences don’t help reporters like they do at other events.

Poynter’s Matt Thompson has a great article on the use — and misuse — of buzzwords.

Maria Popova has some great letters from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Orr, who has always been reluctant to talk about his many triumphs and has never spoken publicly about his personal relationships, even when they made their way into the headlines, promises to set the record straight on his remarkable life story. While the memoir will include chapters reflecting on the incomparable career of a beloved sports statesman it will also feature the candid thoughts of a man who once lost nearly everything to the treachery of his best friend, then reinvented himself and found renewed success.

I can’t wait to read this.

Yes, this is exactly what CES is like.

Mat Honan:

This is a problem for CES, which has never really been a show about software. As software matters more and more, CES matters less and less. The internet is already the world’s largest trade show. Gadget blogs are the new conventions. The hottest products are all in app stores, or on Kickstarter. Sure, big electronics shows offer the opportunity to meet people and forge relationships. But even that transaction is being moved online in the era of real-time social media.

So true.

I love large TVs and was excited when I heard about this big-ass TV, but damn is it ugly.

MG Sielger nailed it. Samsung’s ecosystem is doing great, but nobody else is making any money.

Still, last year, France’s largest ISP, Orange (the brand name of France Telecom), managed to strike a deal (Google Translate) with Google that required Mountain View to compensate Orange for some of the traffic it was sending. For months now, Free has tried to put pressure on Google to get a similar deal by throttling YouTube traffic for Free users.

When that didn’t work, Free then implemented its ad block last week—which affected, according to BFM Business (Google Translate), all of Google’s ad servers. This halted ads alongside search, Gmail, and YouTube.

They suspended ad blocking for now to try to work out a deal with Google. Given the precedent, I’m surprised more ISPs aren’t doing this.

The company’s lowest quarterly profit since 2004.

Jason Grigsby:

A few months ago I was tasked with finding a good solution for a client who wanted to move to responsive design, but had a web app that they needed to support as well. The question they asked is one that I’ve seen others argue about in the past: does responsive design make sense for apps?

Fred Wilson offers a nice overview of the subscription model and what’s needed to make it work.

You know you want it.