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Electronic Arts (EA) on Wednesday announced plans to release a Mac version of its new SimCity game on June 11. The company had previously indicated a Mac version was in the works, but this is the first time EA has … Continued

A new survey shows that very few Americans are aware that BlackBerry 10 is out in the world, suggesting the company’s doing a miserable job promoting it.

Tumblr has cut the staff that put together Storyboard, its editorially curated content.

Om Malik has gotten his hands on an HTC First, the first smartphone equipped with Facebook Home.

JC Penney ousted Ron Johnson after less than a year and a half. Why?

I missed this feature from Florence Ion when it ran earlier this month. If you did too, check it out. Some interesting tidbits.

An artist has outfitted Heineken bottles with frosted geometric patterns visible under black light.

Austin, Texas is the next city to get gigabit access through Google Fiber.

The Chinese media is turning up the heat on Microsoft for its Surface warranty.

BuzzFeed:

In Canada, this transcendent dish is served at every possible opportunity — restaurants, bars, truck stops, diners, doesn’t matter. In America it’s still treated like a culinary novelty. The few stateside restaurants that have attempted to make poutine can’t seem to get it right.

This is downright tragic.

I’ve had poutine four times here in the US. Every time, it was utterly inedible. C’mon America!

Apple’s former head of retail, Ron Johnson, was unceremoniously dumped on Monday and replaced by his predecessor.

Intel has announced a faster version of Thunderbolt with twice the throughput of the current version.

If you need to do anything with PDFs, you need PDFpen. You can add a signature, make changes to text and images, correct a typo, fill out forms–and that’s only the beginning. Got a scanned document? PDFpen includes OCR so you can convert that scan into text that can be searched, copied, and corrected. Want to remove sensitive info such as tax ID numbers from your PDF before sharing it? PDFpen can perform redaction, removing the stuff you want to keep private.

The big news is that PDFpen 6 is now available, and the new features make it more powerful and easier to use than ever. The interface and tools have been updated and improved. And now you can export your PDFs to Microsoft Word format for sharing or editing. If you want to see the new features in action, check out the great video by David Sparks where you can see the new features.

Buy PDFpen for $60 in the Mac App Store or directly from Smile. Or buy PDFpenPro for $100 and you’ll get advanced features like form creation tools and document permission settings. Find out more at Smile Software.

Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and one-time boss of Steve Jobs, says companies need to rethink their hiring practices to avoid losing creative candidates.

Thanks to Doxie for sponsoring The Loop this week. There’s never been a better time to go paperless. Doxie scans your paper – simply, automatically, and with no computer required. Just push the button and insert your sheet. Doxie scans anywhere in your home or office with a built-in rechargeable battery and memory.

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Bill Banta relays his experience working at Apple on how to make things and manage a supply line.

Philip Elmer Dewitt rounds up analyst reactions to Facebook Home.

Shawn Blanc does an in-depth review of the camera.

This tongue in cheek breakdown shows the NHL rink the way it’s often used these days.

Esquire:

No American drinks foam. Give one a glass a third full of the stuff at almost any bar, and he’ll indignantly ask, “The hell is this?” Especially for a pilsner. But the exception to this rule is Hospoda, a restaurant in Manhattan that pours the best drafts you’ll find….its bartenders use Hospoda, a unique tap system to pump out four unique pours, each of which enhance the act of drinking in their own way, because of, yes, the foam.

We thought we’d introduce you to them, and tell you how they pour such strange and delicious drafts.

I may never get to Manhattan again so one of you needs to go to this restaurant and tell me just how wonderful and delicious this beer is.

From above the world of “Cars.”

Except it has one major flaw.

The entire dashboard is one giant touchscreen. “But hey, that’s so modern. So Tesla,” you might say. And you would be right – but this is where Tesla’s desire to distinguish itself from any old performance sedan ended up shooting itself in the foot.

Some interesting thoughts.

Sad day.