November 28, 2012
“Is that enough? I can go on” ∞
MG Siegler describing Microsoft’s nightmare.
US-CERT warns about Samsung printers ∞
Printers manufactured by Samsung have a backdoor administrator account hard coded in their firmware that could enable attackers to change their configuration, read their network information or stored credentials and access sensitive information passed to them by users.
Popular logos ∞
This is hilarious. The best is Nokia.
Impressive HTML5 demo ∞
This is just great. Let the demo play through — it doesn’t take long. You can read more about it in a story Om Malik wrote last Friday.
Amplified: The Price Is The Price. Pay It. ∞
Jim and Dan discuss different approaches of growing a business, taking advertising, and building audience. They also chat about past and future logos, the history of iTunes, the Diamond Rio, lame Apple rumors, the Apogee Jam, Amplitube, AmpKit, and more.
Ballmer defends Microsoft’s innovation record ∞
“We’re innovating on the seam between software and hardware,” said Ballmer, asked why his company had fallen behind rival Apple. “Maybe we should have done that earlier.”
You think?
“I feel pretty good about our level of innovation,” he added.
And there is the problem.
A kick in the balls for RIM ∞
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer:
We literally are moving the company from BlackBerrys to smartphones. One of the really important things for Yahoo’s strategy moving forward is mobile.
Sweet Jesus, what else can happen to RIM. Seriously.
Adblock Plus for Android ∞
Adblock Plus blocks all annoying ads on your Android device. NO ROOT REQUIRED! It blocks all online advertising when browsing, and when using your favorite apps like Angry Birds. It is 100% free and makes your Android device much more enjoyable. Adblock Plus blocks: mobile ads, video advertising, banners, push notifications, display advertising, HTML5 advertising, and much more.
Doesn’t Google make its revenue from ads? Sucks when even your own users hate you.
SketchParty TV ∞
This looks like a lot of fun for the whole family. Talk about taking advantage of multiple Apple devices, this is it.
“Scroogled” ∞
Now this is a great campaign from Microsoft. They’re going straight for Google’s heart.
App pricing strategy ∞
Realmac Software’s Rob Jarman discusses the company’s strategy behind the pricing for Clear for Mac. Personally, I hate the race to the bottom with pricing and am willing to pay a developer a reasonable price for their work. “Reasonable” is often the point of contention with many people though.
Dutch court: Samsung Galaxy products infringe Apple patent ∞
A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that some of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy smartphones and tablets infringe an Apple patent in the latest round of the two firms’ worldwide battle.
The court ordered Samsung Electronics to pay Apple damages, determined by how much profit it has made from the sales.
The patent dispute concerns the Android operating system versions 2.2.1 to 3.0 used on Samsung’s Galaxy tablets and smartphones, the court said.
Smart people those Dutch.
Create a greeting card with iPhoto ∞
Dave Caolo takes you through the process of creating a holiday greeting card using one of your own photos. It’s a great tutorial, especially with the holidays being right around the corner.
Every Apple TV ad ever made in a YouTube playlist ∞
One industrious YouTube user gathered together 485 videos that represent every Apple TV ad ever. I honestly don’t know if it’s really every ad ever, but it’s really cool.
[Via TNW]
Windows 8 boxes are misleading, says Australian consumer ∞
Microsoft only sells Windows 8 as an upgrade at retailers in Australia, but the boxes aren’t marked that way. The complaint received the support of a consumer group as well.
Cheetahs running in slow motion
Great video from National Geographic.
A history of the Apple mouse ∞
Stephen Hackett put together a nice history of the Apple mouse, from the Lisa to modern day.
HP, Autonomy allegations heat up ∞
Hewlett Packard Co rebuffed a request by former Autonomy Chief Executive Mike Lynch to detail accusations of accounting fraud leveled against the British software company and its former executives, and challenged Lynch to submit to questions under penalty of perjury.
HP was responding to an open letter that Lynch shot to HP’s board on Tuesday, asking for specifics of the U.S. company’s allegations that Lynch and former Autonomy executives inflated revenue and gross margins, which HP said last week forced it to take an $8.8 billion writedown on Autonomy’s value.
It really appears that both sides think they have something on the other. If Lynch really did do something, wouldn’t he just go hide and count his money? Now HP ups the ante with its “penalty of perjury” request.
It’s hard to know who has the upper hand here.
About the rumor that Apple decimated its pro audio team
A rumor began circulating earlier this week that Apple’s Pro audio team has been decimated.
Apple’s Pro Audio application team is virtually gone, according to recent conversations with a couple of ex-Apple employees. […] In the words of one of them, the team has been ‘decimated’.
Nope.
There’s no truth to this rumor.
Second Life makers introduce Creatorverse for iOS
Linden Labs, the folks behind the 3D virtual world Second Life, announced Tuesday the release of a new $5 app for iOS called Creatorverse. Creatorverse lets you create and animate 2D objects using physical rules, then share them with others.
The company describes Creatorverse as “a two-dimensional shared creative space, a digital canvas on which you can build unique creations, set them in motion, and share them with the world to enjoy and remix.”
Simple drawing tools enable you to create 2D objects, while other tools enable you to define physical rules for your creation such as gravity and velocity. Then you can set your creation in motion and see what happens. Your creations can either be stored locally or uploaded and shared with other Creatorverse users.
Creatorverse runs on iOS devices, Android and some Kindle devices as well. Here’s a YouTube introduction video:
More Amazon bullshit ∞
Amazon today announced that this Black Friday and Cyber Monday were the best ever for the Kindle family, and the popular new Kindle e-readers and tablets remain at the top of Amazon’s best sellers list worldwide.
How many exactly did they sell? Amazon won’t say. Could be they sold 10 Kindles between the two days, nobody knows for sure. Just more bullshit from Amazon.
Windows 8 bloatware ∞
Bloatware is a result of companies not giving a shit about their users. It’s alive and well in Windows 8.
Apple fires Maps manager ∞
Bloomberg:
Richard Williamson, who oversaw the mapping team, was fired by Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information wasn’t yet public. Cue, who took over last month as part of a management shakeup, is seeking advice from outside mapping-technology experts and prodding digital maps provider TomTom NV (TOM2) to fix landmark and navigation data it shares with Apple.
Eddy is cleaning house.
Ballsy ∞
Harry Marks rounds up all the excuses from major publications who falsely reported on Monday that Google bought ICOA. Not a single apology, but lots of finger-pointing.
Update: Matt Panzarino at TheNextWeb contacted Harry and pointed out that they did apologize for posting the wrong information on their Web site.
I think Matt and TheNextWeb are missing the bigger point here. They didn’t do their jobs. Posting the story in the first place was the big mistake. Picking at Harry because they did, in fact, admit to not doing their jobs is a pointless exercise that only makes people like me point out once again that they didn’t do their jobs.
Next time, leave it alone and take your lumps for not doing your job.
Samsung rewards developer for copying iOS game ∞
Samsung has announced the winner of its Smart App Challenge and look who made it to the top! Our old “friends” from Feeling touch with their Gun & Blood shooter! “Their” game is surprisingly similar to our very own Overkill. People with really sharp eyes might even call it a clear copycat, a rip off, a shameless robbery, and we would be inclined to agree with them.
Stay classy folks.
Happy 70th Jimi ∞
If a musician’s greatness is measured by the breadth of his influence — and how else should we gauge it? — Jimi Hendrix’s legacy commends him as one of the most inspiring virtuosos who ever lived. Consider just a few of the acts who explicitly cite Hendrix as central to their sound, or who pay tribute by incorporating at least something of him into their work: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Miles Davis (who, of course, influenced Hendrix, as well), ZZ Top, Stephen Stills, Public Enemy — the list is as long as it is dizzying in its variety.
Like your iOS 6 clock? Mondaine sells ’em for wrists and walls
iOS 6 featured a redesigned clock app that uses a design Apple licensed (post-release) from the Swiss Federal Railways.
If you or someone on your holiday shopping list likes the simple, bold design enough to wear on the wrist or hang on your wall, Swiss watch maker Mondaine reminds you that they’re the official licensee of the design for wristwatches and wall clocks.
“Mondaine would like to welcome all iPad users to the worldwide club of Swiss Railway Clock enthusiasts – a club Mondaine and its consumers have been part of for 26 years,” said the company in a statement.
Mondaine sells the watches worldwide through retailers, e-tailers, museum shops and elsewhere.
Strong iPhone 5 sales knock Android into second place
Apple’s iPhone 5 sales have pushed iOS into the No. 1 spot for smartphone operating systems in the US, according to a new report released on Tuesday.
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s study shows that iOS now has 48.1 percent of US smartphone sales, while Android has 46.7 percent, pushing it back to second place.
Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar said the last time Apple was able to overtake Android was after the release of the iPhone 4S. However, this time the research company expects Apple to beat its previous high of 49.3 percent, achieving its highest share ever of the smartphone market.
The study shows that 61 percent of iPhone 5 purchases have come from existing iPhone owners upgrading, but there have been some crossgrades as well. People switching from Android accounted for 13 percent of iPhone 5 purchases and 6 percent of BlackBerry users have switched to the iPhone 5.
“An impressive 92% of existing Apple owners in the US said they will choose an iPhone the next time they upgrade,” said Sunnebo. “While loyalty is clearly key, it is also important to make sure that new customers are attracted to your brand. With roughly 60% of US iPhone 5 sales coming from existing customers and 40% from new consumers, Apple is achieving this at the moment – a clear sign of the strength of the brand in the US marketplace.”
Kantar noted that Apple is also enjoying share gains in four of the five major European countries, although Germany and Spain remain tough markets for them.
Quilter Labs MicroPro guitar amp ∞
Great sounding amps. Check out the videos on the page for some tone samples.