Everyone wants Apple to release a cheaper iPhone, but there are some realities in building and bringing a device to market. Benedict Evans takes a look at it.

I get how it works. I just don’t care. I’m not interested in squeezing something so tight that I get every last drop. I don’t want, need, or care about every last drop. Those last drops usually don’t taste as good anyway. My thirst is usually well quenched far before that final drop.

Interesting thoughts from Jason Fried.

Seth Weintraub:

An extremely reliable source has confirmed to us that Google is in the process of building stand-alone retail stores in the U.S. and hopes to have the first flagship Google Stores open for the holidays in major metropolitan areas.

Here’s what I don’t understand — Google hates talking to its customers, so what are they going to do in a retail store? Obviously, they will have workers in those locations, but having retail stores means having an infrastructure of people. Sometimes people that have to talk to customers.

“We think it’s time to shake things up in the smartphone space,” Mike Woodward, President of HTC America, told ABC News in an interview. “We have decided to come out and reinvent the smartphone.”

HTC is using “Generation Feed,” for those of us keep that looking at our phones.

Apple’s revenue [19.9%] easily beat out rival Samsung, which came in second with 9.3 percent, up from 7 percent in 2011. The rest of the top five saw their share of revenue fall in 2012: HP dipped from 8.9 percent in 2011 to 8.2 percent last year, while Sony and Dell both slid to 4.4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

That is an incredible number.

The slowdown was unsurprising for a network with roughly 30,000 users. So, in order to keep revenue coming, Mr Haddad made Netbot free. But rather than sell his users out for a pittance to online ad men, he took advantage of App.net’s incentive programme. Each month the social network currently divvies up $20,000 in cash among its most active developers, based on usage patterns and a monthly survey of users’ opinion.

Very smart.

BBEdit 10.5 from Bare Bones Software — The leading professional HTML and text editor for the Mac just keeps getting better. Now with Retina support and many other improvements — download the demo and see for yourself!

I’ve been using the app since 1994.

Not everything that Apple does in software design can be classified as Skeuomorphism. Louie Mantia does a good job of explaining it.

The Lumio Illuminated Book:

The name Lumio is inspired by the idea of an illuminated book. The light turns on when you open the cover and turns off when it’s closed. Lumio illuminates when you need light and stows away compactly when unused, ideal for modern living.

I’m not a fan of Kickstarter projects but this is one I’d support if I had the money!

Seth Godin:

Some organizations demand total fealty, and often that means never questioning those in authority.

Those organizations are ultimately doomed.

Totally agree.

WiseGEEK:

Some foods have significantly more calories than others but what does the difference actually look like? When you consider that an entire plate of broccoli contains the same number of calories as a small spoonful of peanut butter, you might think twice the next time you decide what to eat.

As a guy on a diet, this is an interesting series of photographs.

Some amazing shots.

[Via Jim Coudal]

Bobby Owsinski:

Ocean Way has a long history in the music world. Starting as one of the first independent recording studios in 1957, the studio was called United (then later United Western) and was originally owned by audio pioneer Bill Putnam (inventor of the UREI line of audio gear) with the backing of superstars of the day Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.

Some of the best albums in the world were recorded at Ocean Way. I visited the studio a couple of times and it is an amazing place — I hope they keep it open, not only for recording, but because of its historic significance.

As long-time readers of this blog know, we’ve been running for more than four years a friendly competition we call the Apple Earnings Smackdown.

Philip Elmer-Dewitt tracks estimates on Apple quarterly results from financial analysts then compares that information against actual earnings reports. It’s a good gauge of who’s on the mark and who is babbling random insanity.

This story was amended at the request of Google. News.com.au took out the words “massive” and “huge” – referencing the size of the security ‘flaw’. The word ‘flaw’ was also put into inverted commas.

I have no idea why they changed the story, but they did.

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“I don’t care about the specs, I want one.” That Neogaf user’s comment likely sums up how other retro-gaming aficionados will feel about a new notebook PC from Japanese PC retailer Enterbrain, built in conjunction with Sega. The model sports covers themed in three of the classic consoles, namely Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast, along with a generic Sega-branded model.

Too expensive and running the wrong operating system, but very cool looking. No word on whether they’re loaded with Sega games or emulation software, but I doubt it.

In thinking about the latest round of rumors of another company supposedly “beating” Apple to a market in which Apple hasn’t entered yet, I remembered how this sort of scenario happened many times in the past. I wanted to understand if “beating to the punch” is really the parameter we should be looking at.

Couldn’t agree more.

The BBC’s Blue Peter programme has honoured Apple’s design chief Sir Jonathan Ive with its highest accolade – the gold Blue Peter badge.

Congrats Jony.

But is it true? I was prompted to look into the question after several friends—Apple employees, no less—expressed disbelief at the claim. Their skepticism matched my own experience; in my years of reporting on Apple and speaking to many of its employees, I had never heard of such a practice. When I sought answers by interviewing current and former Apple engineers, I found that “fake” projects are certainly not a regular occurrence at Apple—and they quite probably do not exist at all.

Because of Apple’s infamous secrecy, many legends and myths have popped up about the way they do business. Nice to see Jacqui at Ars poke some holes in this particular one.

About three hours into the trip, I placed the first of about a dozen calls to Tesla personnel expressing concern about the car’s declining range and asking how to reach the Supercharger station in Milford, Conn. I was given battery-conservation advice at that time (turn off the cruise control; alternately slow down and speed up to take advantage of regenerative braking) that was later contradicted by other Tesla personnel. I was on the phone with a Tesla engineer in California when I arrived, with zero miles showing on the range meter, at the Milford Supercharger.

An interesting counterpoint to Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk’s blog post yesterday. Musk suggests that Broder had an agenda, Broder offers reasonable explanations for how and why he drove the car as he did, and suggests that everything he did was either with Tesla’s understanding or at their behest.

Any way you slice it, no one is walking away from this unscathed. The Times looks like it had an agenda and Tesla’s CEO looks petulant and vindictive.

The Blues EZX comes with two complete kits; a 1970s Gretsch and a calfskinned Swedish Levin set from the 1940s. On top of that, it features contemporary Paiste and Sabian crashes, vintage Zildjan A and K series cymbals as well as extras such as a suitcase and a set of calfskinned tambourines.

I love Toontrack’s drums.

Daniel Eden:

Let me begin by telling you the single most important thing you can do for yourself — recognise your fucking self worth. If you can’t value your own work, then who the hell will?

[Via Michael Mulvey]

Given Microsoft’s lack of success so far, he was asked if there was an alternative strategy or ‘Plan B’ in reserve.

“It’s less ‘Plan B’ than how you execute on the current plan,” said Klein. “We aim to evolve this generation of Windows to make sure we have the right set of experiences at the right price points for all customers.”

I have a lot of respect for a company that is so confident in its product line that it goes all in. Having a “plan B” means that in some way you aren’t fully committed to the future of the product.

Of course, if you do that, you better be right. In this case, I’m not sure Microsoft is right.

Scroll to the bottom for Phae’s response. You could probably substitute your carrier for Rogers and write the same thing.

Researchers claim to have the beasts DNA.