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Some good thoughts from Om Malik on how Apple can change iTunes. I don’t know that I agree with everything, but there is no doubt that iTunes, which started as the center our media files, has become bloated.

Perhaps even making the iPhone/iPad, when connected, a system service instead of opening iTunes. Removing some of this from the app may help it focus again.

Thanks to Khoi, I feel old too.

London black-cab drivers are planning to cause gridlock in the city to protest against car service Uber.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association complains that Uber’s drivers are using a smartphone app to calculate fares despite it being illegal for private vehicles to be fitted with taximeters.

This is one of the few instances where I like both parties.

Some good advice from Chris Barylick. The Mac is not a major target, but it never hurts to check.

So, the man responsible for copying everything Apple has done got the boot.

Ben Thompson:

the truth is that Apple doesn’t sell phones (or computers or tablets); they sell iPhones. And iPhones are not just hardware, but also the software that runs on them. But even that is missing the whole picture. To buy an iPhone is to buy into an experience that includes everything from advertising to following the news to visiting a store to buying a phone to unboxing to downloading apps to visiting a genius and so on and so forth.

It’s no accident that the Apple Store appears twice in that sequence. It’s a critical part of the Apple experience that increases the value of an iPhone (and Mac and iPad) and works in a very specific way to counteract over-serving and help prevent disruption.

The main part of Ben’s article wasn’t really about the Apple experience, but this stood out to me. It’s this experience that Apple’s competitors can’t replicate, no matter how hard they try. When you combine that with the infrastructure of services that Apple has setup for its products, it becomes difficult to understand how it can be matched.

. Wired:

The modern Formula 1 car is among the most amazing machines ever made. And when you’re going wheel-to-wheel with someone like four-time world champ Sebastian Vettel at 180 mph, you can’t take a hand off the wheel to do, well, anything. Every task a driver might need to do, every bit of information he might need to know, is quite literally at his fingertips.

The modern Formula 1 steering wheel is, therefore, the most amazing ever made. It is, in every way, the nerve center of the car.

How insanely complicated does that steering wheel look?

Apple said North American sales head Zane Rowe, recruited from United Continental Holdings two years ago, is leaving the company.

Apple said Doug Beck, who oversees sales in Japan and Korea, will add North America to his responsibilities.

Multiple podcasts, including Twins podcast “Gleeman and the Geek” (hosted by HardballTalk’s own Aaron Gleeman), another Twins podcast “Talk to Contact,” Pirates podcast “Pirates Prospects,” Mets podcast “Mets Musings,” Cubs podcast “Bleacher Nation,” Yankees podcast “It’s About the Yankees, Stupid,” Rangers Podcast “Rangers Podcast in Arlington” and several others were removed from iTunes.

This is odd. MLBAM released a statement saying they didn’t ask for the podcasts to be removed, but did ask for trademark issues to be resolved.

Over 100 leading technology companies, including Google Inc, Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Amazon.com Inc, have written to U.S. telecom regulators to oppose a new “net neutrality” plan that would regulate how Internet providers manage web traffic.

On stage today at TechCrunch Disrupt New York, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer pushed against the narrative that Yahoo is worth nothing. The company has a market capitalization in the tens of billions, but’s it been pointed out that if you add up the value of its stakes in Yahoo Japan, and Alibaba, the company could be valued at something approaching zero.

Yahoo’s Web sites still look like something out of the ’90s to me. Having said that, I have faith in Mayer.

I want to teach you how to take better photographs with the camera you already have.

Whether it’s an iPhone or a point and shoot or a DSLR, I’ve got ten easy to grasp tips, tricks and techniques that I promise will make the next photograph you take better than the last one.

Great idea to have the teacher online with you, giving the course and answering questions.

During her nearly two decades at Apple, Cotton served as gatekeeper to company co-founder Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook, and guided the media narrative around pretty much everything from the iMac to the iPad. She’s long been among the company’s most powerful executives and played a key role in shaping the mystique and exclusivity surrounding the Apple brand.

I’ve known Katie for a many years and am sad to see her go.

Great riff.

There is always something that will throw a wrench into our plans.

Apple ranks highest in overall satisfaction with a score of 830 and performs highest in all study factors except cost. Samsung ranks second with a score of 822 and achieves above-average scores in the features, styling and design, and cost factors.

Apple is known for its superior design and quality. When you put that together with price and the ecosystem of apps, music and videos, the iPad is unbeatable.

Researchers have uncovered Android-based malware that disables infected handsets until end users pay a hefty cash payment to settle trumped-up criminal charges involving the viewing of illegal pornography.

Sweet baby Jesus, go get an iPhone people.

Wired’s Philip Di Salvo interviewed Om Malik on the future of journalism. Good read.

Justin Williams:

I’ve been a founding member of the ADN movement since 2012 and have renewed each of my developer accounts without much hestitation. I’m abnormal however. I prefer paying my products rather than being advertised to, want to pay higher air fares for better service…

This is such a great article. I’m like Justin: I don’t mind paying for a good product or service, but we’ve become so accustomed to receiving everything for free with services like Twitter and Facebook, that it’s become the norm.

In other words, U.S. Internet providers are the worst at making sure their networks can meet demand, at least from Level 3. Instead of augmenting their network capacity (at costs that are “not significant,” according to Level 3), these ISPs are holding out for payments, either from middlemen or from content providers such as Netflix.

This is what we pay for. As consumers, there seems to be very little we can do because they are all part of the scheme.

That’s brutal.

The Galaxy S5 has 40 applications only, which is much reduced compared to, for example, the Galaxy Note 3 having 51 apps. 40 applications in the 2 pages. That’s it. If wanted, other relatively less frequently used apps can be easily downloaded through Galaxy Essential and Galaxy Gift widget.

Samsung is praising itself for only pre-installing 40 apps? That’s 40 apps… pre-installed. While admitting they used to pre-install more. Fucking morons.

I love this device. I just spent two weeks away in Ireland and Scotland, and was able to keep up on the NHL playoff games, thanks to my Slingbox. The only problem is that I need another one so I can watch my cable box too.

. Ken Segall:

As product names go, iWatch is every bit as obvious as iPhone was. Apple would desire it for exactly the same reason: it clearly describes the category it is about to disrupt, and it echoes all the i-goodness that came before it. It’s a name that single-handedly does an awful lot of the heavy lifting for the marketing dept.

Second, securing the iWatch name may require some fancy footwork. According to Bloomberg there are more than 50 companies that can lay claim to the name. The biggest one of the bunch is Swatch, which has been marketing a product called iSwatch since 2009. Swatch is already making noise that the name iWatch will cause confusion in the marketplace.

It will be easier for Apple when it comes to light that ‘iWatch” isn’t a product but an OS/platform.

Dalton Caldwell, App.net co-founder:

The good news is that the renewal rate was high enough for App.net to be profitable and self-sustaining on a forward basis. Operational and hosting costs are sufficiently covered by revenue for us to feel confident in the continued viability of the service. No one should notice any change in the way the App.net API/service operates. To repeat, App.net will continue to operate normally on an indefinite basis.

The bad news is that the renewal rate was not high enough for us to have sufficient budget for full-time employees. After carefully considering a few different options, we are making the difficult decision to no longer employ any salaried employees, including founders. Dalton and Bryan will continue to be responsible for the operation of App.net, but no longer as employees. Additionally, as part of our efforts to ensure App.net is generating positive cash flow, we are winding down the Developer Incentive Program. We will be reaching out to developers currently enrolled in the program with more information.

Very sad.

. Ars Technica:

Yahoo yesterday announced that it will stop complying with Do Not Track signals that Web browsers send on behalf of users who wish to not be monitored for advertising purposes.

“As of today, web browser Do Not Track settings will no longer be enabled on Yahoo,” a company blog said. “As the first major tech company to implement Do Not Track, we’ve been at the heart of conversations surrounding how to develop the most user-friendly standard. However, we have yet to see a single standard emerge that is effective, easy to use and has been adopted by the broader tech industry.”

As one of the commenters pointed out, “this is in a nutshell why optional compliance doesn’t work.”

EZdrummer 2 is the easiest and the best drum sampler I’ve ever used—and I’ve used almost everything on the market.

This is funny. Sad, but funny.

Matt Gemmell does a great job on offering some advice on the dos and don’ts of working from home. Over the years, the hardest thing I’ve found is the discipline to leave work and spend time doing something else. I still haven’t found a remedy for that.