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Larry Dignan, ZDNET:

Amazon’s fourth quarter sales missed projections, but earnings were ahead. The big wild card was Kindle device sales, which tripled over the holidays.The e-commerce giant reported earnings of $177 million in the fourth quarter, or 38 cents a share, on revenue of $17.43 billion, up 35 percent from a year ago. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 17 cents a share on revenue of $18.25 billion.

Larry says “Kindle sales surged” and “Kindle sales tripled over the holidays.” But then Larry points out that “As per Amazon custom, no hard numbers were disclosed.” So how do you know sales have surged and tripled?

Adam Davidson, The Atlantic:

In the 10 years ending in 2009, factories shed workers so fast that they erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years; roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs—about 6 million in total—disappeared. About as many people work in manufacturing now as did at the end of the Depression, even though the American population is more than twice as large today.I came here to find answers to questions that arise from the data. How, exactly, have some American manufacturers continued to survive, and even thrive, as global competition has intensified? What, if anything, should be done to halt the collapse of manufacturing employment? And what does the disappearance of factory work mean for the rest of us?

In light of the discussion about Apple and overseas jobs, this is an interesting article about manufacturing in America.

So some of you may not realize this, but Laughing Squid also offers cloud-based web hosting services via Laughing Squid Web Hosting. We’ve been hosting websites since 1998 and the revenue generated from our web hosting services helps support this blog and our other projects. One of our main focuses is hosting WordPress blogs, in fact we are one of the web hosting companies officially recommended by WordPress. So if you are looking for a web host, check us out!

I had no idea that they did Web hosting.

IDG World Expo announced Tuesday that approximately 25,000 people made their way to this year’s Macworld | iWorld event, which took place last week in San Francisco, Calif. That’s about the same attendance reported in 2011, when the event was … Continued

IGN Entertainment: We’ve compiled the 20 fight scenes we regard as the most electrifying and just plain jaw dropping that have ever been choreographed and committed to film. Do not go to this story if you have any where to … Continued

The Verge: Point-and-shoot camera sales were down 20 percent last year across the industry, with entry-level shooters declining the most sharply…Dying doesn’t mean dead, though: these cheap cameras still account for as much as 80 percent of camera sales. The … Continued

The Telegraph: Forty-nine per cent of British children aged 12 and under, would be sad without access to the web, while one in five would be lonely. The ‘Digital Futures’ project, which surveyed 1,000 young people in the UK between … Continued

CNET: While supplies last, Target has the Apex Digital LD4688T 46-inch LCD HDTV for $379 shipped. So, what kind of 46-inch TV could $350 (ish) possibly buy? On paper, the TV sounds mixed, I’ll admit. Of course, you’ve got to … Continued

Adrants: Mirroring the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, this long version of a RPA-created Honda CR-V commercial that will air during the Super Bowl follows Matthew Broderick throughout his day as he, like his character did in the movie, calls … Continued

Great explanation of how to use these.

[caption id="attachment_19328" align="alignnone" width="470" caption="Is this the future of driving?"][/caption]Wired:

One landmark study cited “human errors” as the “definite or probable causes” of 93 percent of crashes. Faced with the alternatives — that guy who cut us off without signaling, the mom nursing an Ambien hangover who’s drifting into the right lane, the Bluetooth jockey doing 90 mph — I welcome our new robotic Prius-driving overlords.

I love driving but reading the article makes you realize we might be better off if we let computers take over most of the “heavy lifting” of day to day driving.

The Atlantic:

Over the past week, Norway has been witness to some jaw-dropping light shows, the result of an M8.7 class flare and a coronal mass ejection in a direction pointed toward Earth. Many Norwegians shared their photos of the northern lights — or “nordlys” in Norwegian — on Flickr.

Most people have never seen the Northern Lights in person but if you have, it’s sight you’ll never forget.

Mashable:

In terms of GIFs, we’ve seen everything from mainstream celebrities photobombing major award shows to familiar web trends like cats and Star Wars characters. But when it comes to animated GIFs, one thing is for certain: Humor always wins.

I’m sorry but the above Panda image had me laughing out loud.

Network World:

No need to waste your time sitting through commercials during Super Bowl XLVI when you could be doing other things like eating and drinking and arguing, right? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the geekiest/techiest commercials on tap for the big New England Patriots vs. New York Giants matchup.

Ads from VW, Samsung, GoDaddy and Ferris Bueller is back!

Reuters:

Apple’s Steve Jobs directly asked former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to stop trying to recruit an Apple engineer, a transgression that threatened one junior Google employee’s job, according to a court filing.The 2007 email from Jobs to Schmidt was disclosed on Friday in the course of civil litigation against Apple Inc, Google Inc and five other technology companies. The proposed class action, brought by five software engineers, accuses the companies of conspiring to keep employee compensation low by eliminating competition for skilled labor.

Who said Apple and Google couldn’t be cooperative?

Molly Wood at CNET: The company has been actively auditing its suppliers for labor, health, safety, and other concerns since 2007. Yet, as the Times points out, problems remain–the kinds of problems that kill people. It’s time for Apple to … Continued

Most of us are big fans of our iPhones but have you ever compared it to other smartphones? [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="470" caption="iPhone vs Lumia vs Galaxy"][/caption] The web site Phone Size helps you compare smartphones. Nnot features but the physical size of one phone to other. Amazing how gigantic the Samsung is!

[caption id="attachment_19218" align="alignnone" width="470" caption="Clark Little's "Sand Monster""][/caption]Have you ever stood at the water’s edge, watching waves lap at your feet?

Not Clark Little. He stands in two feet of water and lets fifteen foot waves pound him into the sand – all to get some amazing shots of the surf from a viewpoint few of us have ever seen.

Check out the gallery of pictures and videos on his web site.

The Verge: William Gibson famously coined the term “cyberspace,” and gave us a singular vision of the future in early cyberpunk novels Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive. During his recent book tour, he took time to talk about … Continued

This is just amazing. Much respect to my friends at BAMM.tv for having this made up for me.

From NASA: A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite – Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, … Continued

Ken Segall’s Observatory: …it was a big blow to Apple when Ron left after 11 stellar years. And it was a big wow for JCPenney when Ron signed on as their new CEO. For many, Ron’s move was a disconnect. … Continued

CNNMoney: The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said its fiscal first quarter profit rose to $13 billion, or $13.87 per share, more than double the profit Apple booked a year earlier. It was one of the most profitable quarters ever for any … Continued

The Verge: There’s definitely a huge market for used lenses in great condition, at bargain prices. This guide will hopefully arm you with the knowledge and just the right amount of paranoia to separate the gems from the dogs. In … Continued

NetworkWorld: Adam Lashinsky’s upcoming book, Inside Apple, provides an intriguing look into the inner workings at Apple while examining the management and product development strategies they’ve implemented to create numerous game-changing devices. Now it’s no secret that Apple sweats every … Continued