Matt Gemmell outlines the tools he uses to write. I especially like “something to throw.”

Om Malik is at the event if you’re interested in what’s going on.

I love Poster. It’s my favorite WordPress editor for iOS.

I like Skeuomorphism. I’m amazed at what designers and artists can come up with.

Marco Tabini, Macworld:

Both iOS devices and Macs seem to be impervious to the discount game. In fact it’s so rare to find a significant price variance between retailers that, when it does happen, the event usually draws considerable press coverage.

Many times over the years I’ve had discussions with friends and family about why you can’t find the same “deals” on Apple hardware that you can from other computer companies. Tabini does a good job of breaking down why, exactly, Apple is different, through more stringent control of its distribution network and incentives to retailers to maintain certain prices.

Daniel Jalkut:

His approach uses a novel technique in which the target app itself is built with customized screen-capturing code compiled right in. Then the app can be driven through the iOS Simulator with WaxSim, a command-line tool for launching the simulator with various options.

I never really considered how Apple’s recent change would affect developers who had an app available in many languages. This would certainly cut down on the amount of work that needed to be done to get the app ready for the App Store.

EZmix is a very easy plugin to use and I’m looking forward to giving the Amps Pack a try.

Apple today announced the Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of iPad mini and the new fourth generation iPad with Retina display will be available in China on Friday, January 18. iPad mini and the fourth generation iPad are currently available in more than 100 countries worldwide including the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan and the UK.

Kyle Baxter:

With the proliferation of powerful and cheap microprocessors and sensors for mobile devices, along with wireless technologies and the web, we have the potential to completely re-create what a computer is. Let’s do so in such a way that makes our lives better, and not just filled with more glowing screens.

Some interesting thoughts.

CNET News:

…we were told that we must use the official statement and that we must follow corporate policy to defer all press requests to corporate communications.

We were in an impossible situation as journalists. I could have quit right then. Maybe I should have. I decided that the best thing for my team was to get through the day as best we could and to fight the fight from the other side.

Going forward, I will do everything within my power to prevent this situation from happening again.

Anyone else want to join me in calling bullshit on her statement? She didn’t do “everything within my power” to stop it this time. What makes us believe that she will next time?

Perhaps the weirdness of the math is why the current version of the WSJ article no longer cites the 65 million unit figure. Sometime between Sunday at 8:00 p.m. EST and Monday at 7:00 a.m., the Journal decided to drop the number from its article. But if the 65 million number is not right, is the estimate for halving March orders correct, either?

This is a great article and asks some good questions. The one that stuck out for me is the specific question asked of the Wall Street Journal. Why did they cite and then remove the 65 million figure? I think WSJ has some answering to do.

John Gruber:

Apple’s stock took a beating today on these reports. If you don’t smell stock manipulation here, I have a bridge to sell you.

Yes.

Tim Stevens, Engadget:

In exchange for the series hybrid get-up that drives the [Fisker] Karma, the Destino received a supercharged V8 — more specifically, the LS9 that powers the Corvette ZR1.

I must admit there is a lot going on there. Maybe FIFA should back off of the requirements and let the artists be artists.

Cool, but I don’t think I could use them.

Only Merlin Mann could find this.

He quit over the whole CBS interfering in CNet editorial decisions with the CES awards. At least there is one honest person at CNet — too bad he’s gone.

Have you ever forgotten a password? We all have. That’s why AgileBits built 1Password to keep your website logins, identity, credit cards, and other sensitive information safe but useful on-the-go.

From the new, full-featured Web Mode browser with AutoFill to Favorites and iCloud sync, 1Password 4 for iOS is a top-to-bottom rebuild that puts more security and convenience than ever before in the palm of your hand. Start using strong passwords with 1Password, available now for iPhone and iPad in the App Store.

I use 1Password on my Mac and iOS devices. It’s a must-have utility.

A catalog of 64 famed guitars culled from over 75 years of rock ‘n’ roll history.

Great chart.

Benedict Evans provides a couple of charts comparing Apple’s guidance and results.

Zildjian Digital Vault features 34 classic crashes, splashes, rides, chinas and hihats hand-selected by Zildjian’s master cymbal tester Paul Francis. Recorded in intricate detail by sampling guru John Emrich, the sounds are captured with crisp direct mics and lush stereo overhead and room mic sets. Each cymbal is recorded at multiple velocities while being struck by sticks, brushes and mallets.

Great stuff.

Emily Willingham, SciLogs:

After the 20th cancer-related headline promising a “cure just around the corner,” readers just don’t believe the stories any more. For them, the words “breakthrough” and “cure” have lost meaning. And for good reason.

What’s the harm, you might ask, in a headline that perhaps overstates the case or a lede that does the same, with the balance debuting somewhere around the 10th paragraph? The harm can be a two-way street. Lose reader trust, and you will, I’m assuming, lose your readers.

Willingham’s comments don’t just apply to science blogging and reporting, of course. We see the same thing in the tech blogosphere every day.

Chris Mooney, Mother Jones:

In other words, it appeared that pushing people’s emotional buttons, through derogatory comments, made them double down on their preexisting beliefs.

Mooney cites a recent study from George Mason University that looked at how comment trolls affected participants’ perception of perceived risks with nanotech. The result was interesting.

Jason Fried:

The only answers that matter are dollars spent. People answer when they pay for something. That’s the only answer that really matters.

So true.

I wish more people would adhere to these simple rules.

[Via Coudal]

Nick Bilton:

What struck me about our brief conversation wasn’t that Mr. Cook was talking about two teensy buttons — this is Apple, after all — but that he never once mentioned the technology in the iPad Mini. Instead, he talked about one thing: design.

In all of the meetings I’ve had with Apple executives over the years, design is always one of the first things they talk about. There is an overwhelming sense of pride from everyone at Apple about the products they make.