I’m going to try this one.

I don’t usually post about petitions trying to get Apple—or any company—to do something, but I can get behind this one. With all of the articles that have been published in The Loop Magazine over the last few issues on accessibility, I believe this is an important issue that should be addressed.

Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug for AnandTech:

What this does mean however is that you should be careful about comparing Exynos 5 Octa based Galaxy S 4s using any of the affected benchmarks to other devices and drawing conclusions based on that. This seems to be purely an optimization to produce repeatable (and high) results in CPU tests, and deliver the highest possible GPU performance benchmarks.

Oh Samsung.

I just want the navigation on a responsive design big enough so my fingers don’t hit two or three buttons at a time.

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Daniel Eran Dilger for AppleInsider:

Strategy Analytics is attempting to estimate mobile handset profit shares for both companies. While it generated a lot of coverage for its report, the numbers not only don’t reflect reality, but they were further mangled by sloppy reporting from a variety of major tech websites.

I’m shocked. It’s a great article.

A lot of people sent me this article by Steve Kovach where he sold his iPad because he no longer used it. I think some expected me to lash out or something, but I don’t have a problem with someone selling their device because it no longer fits into their lifestyle. We all use devices differently and when one of them no longer fits, it’s time to cut it loose.

Some of the world’s brightest minds have speculated that a vacuum tube is the only way to do it — but before that idea could even get off the ground, Musk said that the Hyperloop is not based on an evacuated tunnel. With that possibility ruled out, there aren’t actually that many ways of safely and economically propelling carriages at 700 mph (1126 kph). Furthermore, when you factor in Musk’s comments that the Hyperloop “can never crash,” has no need for rails, and is “immune to weather,” the architecture of the system becomes a real head-scratcher. Oh, did I mention that Musk envisions the entire system being self-powered by solar panels, and that it somehow stores energy inside the system itself, without the need for batteries?

The Hyperloop is from Tesla founder, Elon Musk. He is set to unveil the plan on August 12—I’ll be interested to see what it is.

An AT&T employee sealed up the Samsung phone, took it in the water and it leaked like a sieve. Oh, and the warranty doesn’t cover water damage.

“Bob is no longer going to be on Apple’s executive team, but will remain at Apple working on special projects reporting to [CEO] Tim [Cook],” company spokesman Steve Dowling told AllThingsD. He declined any further explanation, refusing to comment on the reasons behind Mansfield’s surprising move, whether he remains Apple’s SVP of Technologies or whether the company plans to appoint a new executive to that role.

Bizarre.

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Glad to see it back.

Amazon.com Inc shares hit a record on Friday after quarterly results increased optimism about the Internet retailer’s U.S. business.

The company reported a second-quarter net loss and weaker international growth on Thursday. However, its domestic business expanded quickly and profit in the region improved.

What kind of crazy upside down world are we living in when this happens.

“We built a few more devices than we could sell,” admitted Ballmer when referring to the slow Surface RT sales. Microsoft recently cut the price of its Surface RT tablets by 30 percent worldwide, and Ballmer and Turner reiterated in the internal meeting that the huge writedown was a price adjustment that was necessary to sell Surface RT devices. While Ballmer didn’t provide a sneak peek at the next Surface, we’re told he confirmed new devices are currently being tested with incremental improvements.

So Microsoft took a $900 million writedown because the Surface RT sucks balls and in response the next version of the Surface will have “incremental improvements.” Perfect.

UPDATE: I updated the headline and post to better reflect Ballmer was talking about the Surface RT.

Jim and Dan discuss the recent Apple security exploit, whitehat hacking in general, Apple’s Quarterly Results, and more.

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These are some great guitars played by some of the world’s best.

While many have questioned the post-Steve Jobs fate of Apple, the company continues to hold its spot as a top technology brand across three mainstream categories, according to findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend (EQ) study. In its first full year under Tim Cook’s stewardship, Apple took home repeat Brand of the Year distinctions in three categories – Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone – in the annual study, which measures the perceptions of 38,500+ American consumers on more than 1,500 lifestyle, product and service brands across over 155 categories.

Well that settles it, Apple is doomed.

During his company’s quarterly earnings call today, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed how Instagram will be monetized. The answer isn’t too surprising: there is a big expectation for the app to one day be profititable, and advertising will be the name of the game.

Not a big surprise. You are the product being sold.

You could almost go through this article line-by-line and pick it apart, but let me just grab a couple of sections.

First of all, the headline makes a statement: “Apple becoming a follower, not a leader,” but the story asks a question:

Instead of leading, will the company increasingly become a follower?

So right off the bat you have no idea what you’re talking about. The author of the article, Andrew Mayer, then asks:

So if thing are great then why should Apple be thinking about bigger screens?

Well, because innovative companies are always testing larger and smaller and wider and thinner screens to see what works best for its customers. It’s called R&D.

Samsung’s Galaxy S4, with its 5-inch screen, has become the fastest selling Android phone in history.

You’re kidding right? First of all, those are not sales to customers, but shipments to the sales channel. Samsung “shipped” 10 million phones in a month. Apple sold more than 5 million iPhones in three days. See the difference there Andrew? Funny you didn’t mention that.

Although Apple has modified its stance, it’s clear that the iPad mini is not quite the device we would have seen if Jobs was around today.

Oh Andrew, please explain what Steve Jobs would have done, please. As an “interactive design consultant” you must know exactly what Steve would have done. Enlighten us please.

In response, Apple is releasing a new version of its operating system in the fall.

No Andrew, Apple releases a new operating system this time every year. Even the slightest bit of research would have shown you that. You could have fallen on Google’s servers and that would have popped out.

The end of the article is where Andrew shows his true brilliance.

That still leaves us waiting for the next big thing. What Apple needs most are bold new ideas, not bigger iPhones or iPads.

Andrew, show me a company that doesn’t want “bold new ideas.” Can you think of any? No, me neither.

I don’t even want to link to it, but here it is.

Realmac has been making great apps for years; Ember is another great example of why they’re a successful company.

Not a big surprise, but I always feel bad for the workers. I hate seeing anyone lose their job, especially when it’s because a company is being mismanaged.

Dan Nosowitz for Popular Science:

The Apple TV costs $95 on Amazon–a lot more money, sure. But you get a lot more for your money (great interface, stellar hardware, support for the enormously popular Apple store, the combination of apps and a slinging feature), and it’s also important to remember that these gadgets can help you get rid of cable entirely. An Apple TV costs about as much as one month’s worth of cable. Suck it up, guys. It’s not that expensive.

This isn’t to say that I’m not excited by Chromecast; I think slinging is exceptionally cool, and I think it’s great that this hardware so cheap and small. But I don’t necessarily think that a device that does exclusively slinging, no matter how cheap it is, is a viable option for most people. It’s best as part of a larger whole.

I agree with Dan. Google basically implemented Apple’s AirPlay, but that’s all Chromecast does. People expect more from an entertainment device in their home and this doesn’t give it to them. That’s not to say Google won’t sell a lot of them—they will, but that initial interest will fade because it doesn’t solve the problem we have with cable TV using a simplistic solution that everyone can use.

UPDATE: As many people have pointed out Chromecast isn’t like AirPlay at all. It only streams video from that you pass from your phone, it doesn’t actually stream the content from your device. Honestly, I don’t get this device.

I’ll watch a free Slash concert any day of the week.