Windows 8’s disappointing usability

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Here’s a summary of Jakob Nielsen’s study on Windows 8:

Hidden features, reduced discoverability, cognitive overhead from dual environments, and reduced power from a single-window UI and low information density. Too bad.

To say that the study is not favorable would be a huge understatement. It’s also worthwhile to read Gruber’s comments on the study, especially the last sentence.

Xbox TV

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Microsoft is building an Xbox set-top box. Multiple sources familiar with Redmond’s plans have confirmed to The Verge that the company plans to introduce a low-cost alternative to its Xbox console, designed to provide access to core entertainment services. The move will allow Microsoft to further increase its presence in the living room, providing consumers with a choice between a set-top box or a full next-generation Xbox console.

Xbox is a strong brand for Microsoft. This is an interesting plan.

Tokens

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Tokens makes it remarkably easy to generate, share, and track promo codes for your iOS and Mac apps.

I don’t believe there is a single Apple developer that wouldn’t find this useful.

Amplified: Conjuring Up Demons

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Jim and Dan discuss the new Apple TV ads, the Microsoft Kin and Surface, the Bruins toaster, Black Friday, the Lufthansa iPad Heist, holiday bundles, AC/DC in iTunes, paying for music, and the Jackson 7-string.

Sponsored by Mailgun use code 5BY5 for 10% off, Shopify, Hover use the code DANSENTME for 10% off, and Shutterstock use code DANSENTME11 for 30% off.

AmpKit arrives for the Mac

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You know as an iOS guitar amp modeling app, but now AmpKit is available on the Mac. I’ve been playing around with this for a little while and it’s really nice. I’ll have a full review soon, but I’m sure you’ll like it.

Studio Devil Virtual Tube Preamp

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Studio Devil Virtual Tube Preamp faithfully emulates the analog circuitry of a discrete, class-A biased, vacuum tube preamplifier. All of the associated analog circuitry, including the vacuum tube itself and the effects of biasing resistors and capacitors, are simulated in amazing detail. Just about any audio source or track can benefit from the natural soft limiting and dynamic warmth that this virtual tube preamplifier provides.

Studio Devil is a great company.

Fake Apple Smart Covers on Amazon

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Something to keep in mind if you’re shopping for an iPad Smart Cover or Smart Case heading in to the holidays: not all of them are created equal, especially on Amazon.com. For many of us, Amazon is a natural place to order an iPad cover or case as a gift this holiday. But as dozens of complaints on the site show, many of the “Apple Smart Covers” or “Apple Smart Cases” for sale on Amazon are not actually sold by Apple and are not the genuine article.

Be careful and be sure what you are buying is the real thing.

“Pile of shit”

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These internal Microsoft videos, provided to Wired by a person who worked on the project, show focus groups testing the ill-fated Kin. According to our source, these are pre-production models that changed very little from the shipping product, although “performance improved some prior to shipping.” Watch them, and you can readily see why the project tanked: Kin phones just weren’t usable. Or, as our source described them, they were a “pile of shit.”

Why should we believe that the latest round of Microsoft products are any better?

iHoliday

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When it comes to devices, kids’ holiday wish lists are simple this year. The most-wanted gifts are predominantly from one company—Apple. According to a recent Nielsen study, Apple’s popularity leading up to the holiday season continues a trend seen over the last couple of years, with American kids aged 6-12 generally more interested in the latest iOS offerings than other consumer electronics and gaming devices.

It’s going to be a good quarter for Apple.

Review: AmpliTube 3

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I started off this review a while ago by focusing on AmpliTube Slash and iRig Stomp. However, I quickly realized that IK Multimedia’s products are more than their separate parts to me. […]

A look at the new Black Pixel

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Matthew Panzarino interviews Black Pixel CEO Daniel Pasco and Director Michael Jurewitz about some of the changes the company has gone through. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these two guys and everyone that works at Black Pixel.

Orange Dark Terror

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I have eight amps in my collection, but I have to get one of these.

MG Siegler on the Microsoft Surface

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In hindsight, I now see why Microsoft did not want me to review the Surface. That was probably the right call from a PR perspective. It’s simply not a good product.

After using it for over a week now, it’s hard to come up with a lot of nice things to say about the Surface. Don’t get me wrong, there are some solid things here. But by and large, it’s a strange, buggy, and clunky product that I simply can’t imagine many people buying after the initial hype wears off.

That’s near the beginning of the review. It gets worse.

25 years of cell phones

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Hmmm, something big seems to have happened around 2007. Wonder what that could have been?

Kaleidoscope 2.0 Public Beta

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Kaleidoscope is one of the world’s best tools for spotting differences in images and text, and now it supports merging of files and folders, too. Kaleidoscope integrates directly with Git, Subversion, Mercurial, and Bazaar to fit perfectly in your workflow.

Go get it.

Jackson 7-string sound samples

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If you’ve been following my Twitter stream, you know that I’m reviewing a new 7-string Jackson guitar. Many of you have asked for sound samples using a variety of products, so I put together a number of them for you. […]

Creating Retina graphics for your Web site

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The more products Apple releases, the more widespread Retina displays become. So far we have Retina capable iPhones, iPods, iPads and MacBooks of various sizes, which together make up a pretty substantial audience. Let’s take a look at how you can create special retina graphics for your website so your design looks crisp, sharp and clear on those powerful screens.

This is something we’re working on too.

10 Mac apps for $49.99

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Here’s a new Mac app bundle that went on sale today. If you use this link, I’ll get a little kickback from the people, which will help The Loop. Thanks people.

Pissed with iCloud

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iOS developer Justin Williams is not happy with iCloud and the services Apple offers that rely on it. While I’ve heard other people pick iCloud apart, I haven’t had any problems. iTunes Match is fantastic, downloading apps works great and syncing is very fast.

Problems in Web publishing

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Harry Marks outlines a problem that we see far too often in Web publishing these days. It drives me crazy as a reader.

Skewed News

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Six of 10 Americans believe news reporting is biased, according to Gallup. Still, we trust the media more than any other source of information. Skewed News Tutor helps news consumers learn to pinpoint exactly why a report might feel one-sided, or skewed.

Great idea.

Microsoft sued over Surface storage

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He discovered that a significant portion of the 32 GB storage space was being used by the operating system and pre-installed apps such as Word and Excel. Only 16 GB was available for him to use.

Seriously, 16GB for the operating system and apps is a bit much.