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Book stores foster ebook sales

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

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.

Hulu’s Original and Exclusive Series

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.

CocoaConf

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

Baking cookies on the Internet

An entrepreneurial couple have turned to Indiegogo to raise money to take their cookie business to the next level.

The trouble with CES press conference day

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.

Buzzwords

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

Bobby Orr memoirs coming in October

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.

CESpool

Yes, this is exactly what CES is like.

CES matters less and less

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.

Bitch about the patent system

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be sponsoring two roundtable events in February in an effort to form a partnership with the software community to enhance the quality of software-related patents (Software Partnership). One event will be held in Silicon Valley and the other in New York City.

Now you can bitch to the people that may be able to change it.

Ad blocking

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.

Responsive design for apps

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?

Bold Poker [Sponsor]

Bold Poker replaces your deck of cards with iPhones and has been praised by The Loop, Daring Fireball, and Mashable.

Try out Bold Poker at your next poker game. They’ll buy you a Heineken (i.e. give you a full refund) if the app doesn’t change your Texas hold’em home game for the better.

Interview with former Facebook CTO

Former Facebook CTO Adam D’Angelo believes that the future is about creating more knowledge and adding a layer of reputation to the fast-growing internet. And that is why he started Quora, his first real attempt at being a startup CEO.

Your father’s music

Dave Caolo shares a childhood memory that echoes forward to his own life today.

Organized chaos: here’s what it takes to build CES

building-ces The Verge:

For those who’ve never helped run a booth at a trade show, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the temporary city — an endless sea of lights, sounds, and humans pressing past one another in search of the next great gadget — takes weeks to assemble before the first attendee even hits the floor.

The Verge has an all too brief picture story about the set up and construction of CES at the Las Vegas Hilton. It’s an amazing logistical effort to put on the largest consumer electronics show in the world.

Lego art

These are just incredible.