November 8, 2012
Fantastical for iPhone is coming ∞
I’m looking forward to seeing how they do with this.
Windows 8 apps have built-in ads ∞
So apps in Windows 8 have built-in advertisements. Wow. Microsoft is totally thinking about the user experience in its new operating system.
Windows 8 is 84 percent less frustrating than Windows 7 ∞
Windows 8 crashes 55 percent less and is 84 percent less frustrating than Windows 7, according to a new report.
It’s good to have goals.
Dan Lyons’ angry writing ∞
Dan Lyons was funny as Fake Steve Jobs, but as someone trying to be taken seriously as a writer, he’s failing. He seems angry, bitter and completely out of touch.
Apple’s app approval process ∞
Tricia Duryee for All Things D:
Apple has been criticized for a slow approval process before, and many delight in the fact that Google’s Android has none at all.
Okay, I’ve heard about Apple’s approval process slowing down, as it does sometimes, but comparing it to Google is just ridiculous. Android is infested with malware and to not even bring that up is misleading readers.
Guitar Rig 5 Pro ∞
I’ve been using Guitar Rig since it was first introduced years ago and love it. I was just in my studio building a couple of new presets and realized how versatile the app is for customizing your guitar tone. It comes with a lot of amps and cabs, but my favorite component is Control Room Pro.
Control Room Pro gives you eight slots to put in amps, mics, adjust mic placement, adjust phase and room ambient sound. You can also adjust the volume of each cabinet you add. That will definitely give you a custom sound.
It’s worth taking a look at.
Borderlands 2 for Mac due on Nov. 20
Eagle-eyed gamers noticed recently that Borderlands 2 recently popped up on Steam as a Mac offering, although no Mac version was actually available. Turns out a Mac version is coming soon – November 20, 2012, to be precise, from the folks at Aspyr Media. It’ll cost $59.99 and will be available in a physical box, as well as for download (a Mac App Store is coming).
Borderlands 2 is a four-player cooperative shooting action game that features all-new gameplay and all-new environments to explore. Players once again return to the world of Pandora, this time to take down Handsome Jack and the Hyperion Corporation, either alone or with up to three other players working cooperatively online. The game features drop-in-drop-out gameplay.
Borderlands 2 for Mac supports Steam Play, so you can start a game on the Mac and play it on the PC or vice versa. Aspyr is reading the “Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty” and “Mecromancer Pack” downloadable content for purchase at the time of the title’s release, and has promised to support future DLC as it becomes available.
System requirements will call for OS X 10.7.5/10.8.2 or later, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz or better, 4GB RAM, 13GB hard drive space, ATI Radeon HD 2600 or Nvidia Geforce 8800 or better 3D graphics with at least 256MB VRAM.
AT&T and FaceTime ∞
AT&T has made a shift in its highly unpopular FaceTime over cellular policies today. Previously, it would allow the use of FaceTime only on Mobile Share plans, now it will allow any LTE device customers (aka those with an iPhone 5 and LTE iPads) on a tiered data plan to use FaceTime over cellular.
That still leaves 3G devices out of the mix. However, there are far fewer LTE devices being used than 3G and I don’t think AT&T’s network could handle all the traffic if they opened it up completely.
I don’t give a shit what you just bought, shut up
“Why I bought an iPad mini” and “Why I didn’t buy an iPad mini” articles are the height of tech blogger solipsism. No one gives a shit how you spend your money. Shut up and write something interesting, fool.
Avid WoW player wins Maine state senate seat after all
In early October we brought you the news that a state senate candidate in Maine was attacked by the opposition for being an avid World of Warcraft enthusiast. Smear ads tried to paint her as out of touch with reality.
Good news for WoW players curious about the outcome: Colleen Lachowicz won her seat.
The most important game ever released for iOS is here, at last
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is available for download.
Fall of the Iron Curtain ∞
From the Google Cultural Institute.
Twitter passwords compromised ∞
The cause of the compromise is not described in detail in Twitter’s email — it just says “Twitter believes that your account may have been compromised by a website or service not associated with Twitter”.
Yikes.
My advice for writers and bloggers
Over the past few years I have been asked by many new and established bloggers what the secret is to blogging successfully. In fact, I’ve been asked so many times that I started thinking about it quite a bit and I’ve come up with the answer.
There is no secret. Stop looking for it because you’re not going to find it.
I’ve seen posts on the Internet that claim to give you the best tips for running a successful blog, but I think it’s all bullshit. If you follow that advice, you’ll spend more time working on the site than doing what’s important — writing content.
Here is the one rule that I follow and have followed for the last 20 years of writing: Be honest.
That’s it. I don’t worry about SEO, or making sure that I have lots of keywords in the headlines or anything but writing the content and believing that what I write is the truth. Although for websites that are just starting, SEO is very crucial. Hiring a reputable SEO service provider Malaysia ensures that your website receives the attention it deserves in the competitive online landscape, leading to improved rankings and increased visibility. This SEO agency in South Carolina is also highly recommended.
The only thing I have to offer my readers is honesty. They deserve that from me.
There is no doubt that I have a lot of fun writing and I take companies like Samsung, RIM and Microsoft to task for some of the silly things they say. I also believe that what I say in those stories is the truth. Whenever I need help for SEO, I contact this Boston SEO agency.
I stand behind my opinions on those stories, but honesty doesn’t mean you should be blind. I read a lot of differing opinions and if I’m wrong, then I’ll admit it. You see, honesty goes both ways.
I don’t always go with the popular opinion among my fellow journalists, but I’m comfortable in stepping out on my own and speaking my mind.
I certainly don’t expect everyone will agree with the opinions that I write on The Loop and that’s okay. In fact, it’s great. What a boring world we would live in if everyone agreed with me, all the time.
I enjoy reading articles where the writer has an opinion that they can back up. The stories I hate are the ones that take both sides of an argument so they don’t offend anyone. What’s the point of writing that?
I appreciate all the support my readers give me, whether that’s by becoming a member, subscribing to the RSS, following me on Twitter or reading the site.
I do believe The Loop’s success comes from that one guiding principle — be honest.
Annoying people that annoy you with cell phones
I’m doing this.
Local phone makers push iPhone out of China’s top five ranking ∞
Michael Kan for Computerworld:
Apple dropped out of the top five list in China’s smartphone market for the third quarter, as local handset vendors saw their shipments surge from the sales of low-priced smartphone models, according to research firm Canalys.
Samsung and Lenovo are ranked first and second, respectively, while Chinese handset maker Yulong, makers of Coolpad smartphones, slid into third place. ZTE and Huawei, both Chinese firms, rounded out the top five. The research firm responsible for the study says the five manufacturers produce low-cost smartphones that are more appealing to Chinese consumers.
The news isn’t all bad for Apple, though – the company’s Chinese shipments grew year over year, and the iPhone 5 hasn’t yet been released there.
Time’s cover photo shot with an iPhone ∞
Mel Martin did a great interview with the photographer.
Color Perfect Pixelmator ∞
A big update was released for Pixelmator today that adds Soft Proofing, a feature that allows users to preview and work in CMYK colors.
‘Karateka’ remake is iOS-bound
Jordan Mechner is putting the finishing touches on a new Karateka game, due out for iOS some time this month. Mechner, creator of the legendary game Prince of Persia, made the original Karateka back in 1984 for the Apple II while he was an undergrad at Yale.
Karateka was a martial arts fighting game, and the new version follows that format, though there are a lot of changes to keep with the changing time. The developer describes the new version as a “rhythm-based story fighter,” still retaining core elements of the original storyline: It’s set in feudal Japan, where you must use your karate skills to win the hand of the lovely Mariko. You choose one of three playable characters, each with their own unique story ending.
November 7, 2012
Bones Brigade is the No. 1 Documentary on iTunes
“Bones Brigade: An Autobiography” is a film released this year that features what the director calls “the greatest skateboard team ever assembled.” The film on Wednesday made it to the No. 1 documentary on iTunes.
Featuring Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Mike McGill and Rodney Mullen, “Bones Brigade” uses archival footage and first-person accounts to chronicle the team.
“We’re having an amazing time releasing “Bones Brigade: An Autobiography” in a new and modern way that is putting on the cutting edge of independent film distribution,” says Stacy Peralta, the film’s director and mentor of the original Bones Brigade; “having the support of iTunes, which has the exclusive rental for our film, will help us reach a wider and more diverse audience, and we are stoked, honored and thrilled for their collaboration.”
Cool way to paint a guitar
Every guitar would be unique.
Microsoft Offi… sorry dozed off there for a minute ∞
John Moltz on Office for iOS.
Spot the International Space Station from your house ∞
Spot The Station:
Did you know you can see the International Space Station from your house? As the third brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon, the space station is easy to see if you know where and when to look for it.NASA’s Spot the Station service sends you an email or text message a few hours before the space station passes over your house.
This is kind of a neat idea, especially if the emails give you enough time to get outside and to a good, non-lit location.
Google’s Nexus support sucks balls ∞
You can’t treat your customers like this Google. Don’t be evil.
BlackBerry 10 likely dead on arrival ∞
“We believe BB10 is likely to be DOA,” James Faucette, a Pacific Crest analyst in Portland, Oregon, said in a report. He has the equivalent of a sell rating on the shares. “We expect the new OS to be met with a lukewarm response at best and ultimately likely to fail.”
Well, RIM has its patents.
Watermarking images and copyrights ∞
Great post by Michael Mulvey.
Amplified: Boogeymen in the Closet ∞
Jim and Dan talk about iPad sales and how the press has handled it, the Microsoft Surface, the Nexus 4 and LTE, Google’s iOS Map app approval, Google Search vs. Siri, the “real” iPad, cabinets and the Multistomp Xoom pedal, and more.
Sponsored by Hover (use code DANSENTME for 10% off), Squarespace (use code DANSENTME11 for 10% off), MailChimp, and Symbolicons (use code DANLOVESICONS for 15% off).
Bullshit ∞
Marco Arment:
If you truly dislike bullshit writing and don’t want to support it, hit the publishers where it hurts: don’t read it, and don’t link to it.
Marco brings up a good point, but there is another side to this. The mainstream media often writes complete shit articles that are factually wrong. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. The average consumer often believes the crap these people write, so taking them down a peg or two may help.
I honestly don’t know if it helps or not, but I feel a responsibility to point out articles that are incorrect. Perhaps shaming them and the sites they work for will help.
Of course, there is a group of people that just write bullshit for pageviews — I don’t always link to those.
Apple’s Eddy Cue joins Ferrari board ∞
“I am pleased and proud to become a member of the board,” Cue said in a statement. “I have personally dreamed of owning a Ferrari since I was 8 years old and have been lucky to be an owner for the past 5 years. I continue to be awed by the world-class design and engineering that only Ferrari can do.”
I wonder if Eddy needs an assistant.
Nexus 7 support sucks ∞
I’m seriously disappointed in Google not standing behind a defective Nexus 7, just because I didn’t purchase it from them. Apple and Amazon stand behind their products no matter where you purchased them.
Stay classy Google.