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EZ-PR [Sponsor]

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Want great press for your startup, app or company? EZPR specializes in getting great stories written about what you’re working on. Call 646-569-9027 or email Ed Zitron to get started.

Staplers, the attachment that’s still making noise

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New York Times:

Even as data moves to computers and the cloud, staplers continue to help people keep it together. On the computer, we can file copies in folders and send messages to mailboxes. We can cut, copy and paste text and files. But which computer activity is similar to stapling? Sure, there’s the paper-clip icon that attaches documents to e-mail. But nothing, really, comes close to the satisfying ka-chunk of a stapler: it’s a sound that means work is getting done.

More than you ever thought you could know about the lowly but oddly treasured office stapler.

Please stop fighting about your smartphone

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Wired:

Do you like Android? You should, it’s amazing. iOS? Wow, what a great platform, no wonder it started a revolution. Windows Phone? Seriously, it’s got a remarkable and beautiful interface. BlackBerry? There are plenty of great reasons people love it. And no matter which platform you adore, it’s shockingly possible to both have a preference and respect that other people may prefer an entirely different device. I know. Totally weird. But true.

Nobody cares what kind of smartphone you believe in. It’s not a religion. It’s not your local sports team even. Stop being a soldier. You are not a soldier. You are just wrong. Shut up.

The “Smartphone Wars” reminds us “old timers” of the Mac vs PC wars. And it’s just as pointless.

“Let Me Tweet That For You” raises concerns for journalists

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Poynter:

“Let Me Tweet That For You” is pretty simple — you type in a Twitter username and a message, and it generates a realistic-looking image of a tweet from that person. It even adds fake retweet and favorite counts to lend some more credibility.

That should be a bit scary for journalists and anyone else concerned about potential hoaxes. Of course, it would be pretty easy to debunk one of these fake tweets if you just visit the person’s actual Twitter profile to see if the tweet really exists.

But what if it’s passed off as screenshot evidence of an allegedly deleted tweet?

Poynter says it raises concerns for journalists but it should raise flags for all of us who use Twitter and social media. Such as this fake Tweet: FAKETWEET

Apollo 11 engines pulled from ocean floor

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engines

USA Today:

Two giant rocket engines that launched U.S. astronauts to the moon four decades ago have been recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Canaveral by an expedition paid for by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The F-1 engines, which powered the first-stage Saturn V boosters that fell back to Earth after their fuel was depleted, were found at a depth of 14,000 feet, Bezos’ expedition announced Wednesday.

Remarkable use of private funds to do public good.

Apple acquires indoor GPS-location firm

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The two-year-old startup has developed ways for mobile apps to detect a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals. It has been offering the technology to application developers for indoor mapping and new types of retail and social networking apps. The company has a handful of employees, and its co-founders include former Google software engineering intern Joseph Huang.

Squarespace

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I’d like to thank Squarespace for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week.

Squarespace is a beautiful and intuitive website publishing platform that allows anyone to easily create professional web pages, blogs, and galleries all in one place.

Simply start with one of Squarespace’s award-winning designs, add images and content, connect your social accounts, and you’ll have a website that looks great on every device.

All Squarespace accounts come with award-winning 24/7 support, as well as cloud hosting, real-time analytics, and a free domain.

Whether you’re a creative professional, business owner, or blogger, Squarespace makes it easy to bring your ideas to life.

Start your website for free today at Squarespace.com.

LG is making a watch too

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Korean technology giant LG Electronics is developing its own smart wristwatch, effectively joining the competition between Apple and Samsung Electronics who are making theirs as well.

Okay, so now we have LG, Samsung and Google that are making a watch to compete with a product that Apple is supposedly going to make.

Apple takes password reset offline

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Earlier Friday, The Verge reported on a significant security exploit with Apple’s “reset password” functionality for Apple IDs. Armed with only your email address and date of birth, a hacker could tweak a specific URL to reset the password for your account.

Wow, that is not good. I’m glad to see they took it offline quickly.

Reuters iOS app

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Very well done update to their app. I especially like the transitions.

Google Maps chief steps down

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Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) continues to shuffle its executive ranks, announcing Senior Vice President of Geo and Commerce Jeff Huber will step down to pursue new projects within the company. The move follows just one day after longtime head of Android Andy Rubin also resigned his post.

This happened almost a week ago, but I missed it at the time.

The end of Android

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Dan Frommer:

But even from the outside, it’s easy to see that the Android situation isn’t ideal. Yes, it is the world’s “most popular” mobile phone platform, if you sort by the number of people using it, and that’s an impressive achievement. But it certainly isn’t making the sort of impact — on the world and on Google itself — that it perhaps could or should.

Interesting thoughts.

Job titles

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It’s amazing how much people respond to your job title. Michael Lopp has a great article on the subject.

Amplified: New Overlords

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Jim and Dan talk about Kevin Lynch, the iOS update, Google Reader’s demise, leaving Feedburner, Google’s priorities, privacy, Dropbox, BlackBerry’s claim that the iPhone is “old”, learning guitar chords, the Line 6 amp, and more.

Governments enter the “patent troll” business

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Patent competition in the United States is usually a fierce arena for private companies, but now the South Korean and French governments are suiting up.

Both countries have launched patent-acquisition companies, with the goal of helping domestic technology firms and possibly making some money in the process. China and Japan are making moves into the business too.

Great, just what we need.

“Why I left Google”

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James Whittaker:

The Google I was passionate about was a technology company that empowered its employees to innovate. The Google I left was an advertising company with a single corporate-mandated focus.

This article is a year old, but I think it says a lot about the changes Google has been, and still is, going through. Worth a read for sure.

March Madness apps

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NCAA March Madness Live:

Watch every game with NCAA® March Madness LIVE on your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and iPad Mini! Download to follow the tournament bracket, check schedule and scores, fill out your bracket, set game alerts, listen to live game radio, and track social activity around all the games. Log in with your TV provider to enjoy unlimited access to live streaming video of all 67 games of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. A 4 hour live video pass will be available prior to logging in.

ESPN Bracket Bound 2013:

The ESPN Bracket Bound App is the ultimate college basketball companion. Follow the nation’s top teams with the latest scores, news, Bracketology and highlights. Personalize your experience for unprecedented coverage of your favorite teams. Create up to 10 brackets in ESPN Tournament Challenge and compete against your family, friends, co-workers as well as ESPN celebrities.