Sotheby’s announced on Friday that it will be auctioning off what the auction giant says is the only known surviving Steve Jobs documents from his time at Atari. The document being auctioned is a five page memo from Mr. Jobs to engineer Stephen Bristow on ways to make Atari World Cup Football, an arcade console soccer game.
I can’t even guess how much they’ll get for this.
Clayton Braasch:
Until I see a screenshot from a better source, this is complete hogwash. I would have revealed this first, because it’s possible to fake an iTunes version string through Xcode; creating something like this would’ve been a bit more difficult, but it doesn’t matter. The entire build that was received is fake, and if any other sources call it “credible”, I find that very hard to believe.
I have no knowledge of this one way or the other, but Clayton seems pretty sure of himself.
Update: This story has been removed at the source.
John Moltz:
But how far does my respect for Windows 8 go? Well, would it surprise you to know that I wrote this entire article on Windows 8? It should. Because I didn’t. I wrote most of it on my MacBook Pro and my iPad.
John is a funny guy.
Shawn Blanc takes at look at Panic’s Coda 2 and Diet Coda.
Daniel Jalkut:
I see The Talk Show’s format as the prototype for many other successful podcasts on the 5by5 network: Dan Benjamin plays the cool, somewhat disinterested straight-man to a “star” whose own temperament, philosophies and interests ultimately define the show. After the initial success of The Talk Show, Dan threw the net wide, inviting folks such as Marco Arment, Andy Ihnatko, Merlin Mann, John Siracusa, Horace Dediu, and Jim Dalrymple to indulge audiences with their own personalities and areas of expertise.
Very true, it’s a great formula for podcasting.
Gruber on why Facebook released a camera app after buying Instagram.
Steve Jobs was quoted as saying that the 7-inch iPad was too small. While the technologies that would allow such a device have changed in the last couple of years, the reasons Apple would release it haven’t.
The reason that most people bring up regarding the release of a 7-inch iPad is the Kindle Fire. Analysts and media types insist that Apple needs to bring a smaller tablet to market to ward off the threat from Amazon.
There are a couple of things to consider with this argument. First, people that use that as the basis for the release of a 7-inch iPad are full of shit. Second, using that argument shows they don’t understand Apple and how the company works.
Apple will not respond to a competitor by releasing a product that they don’t feel is ready to be sold or will not make a significant impact in the industry. The Kindle Fire, while a decent seller for Amazon, is not a competitor to the iPad.
People do not go out and look at an iPad and then decide to get a Kindle Fire, knowing they can get the same experience. The Fire and the iPad serve different markets.
I believe that Apple’s had a 7-inch iPad for a while now, so they could have released it at any time, but they didn’t because it wasn’t the product they envisioned.
In the years since the original iPad was released, chips have become smaller, wireless technologies are better, retina displays have been introduced, and Apple has a better idea of how people use the device. This is crucial information to have when making product decisions.
The 10-inch iPad was the perfect size with the technologies and market data Apple had available at the time. The fact is, it’s still the perfect size.
A 7-inch iPad is only a sign that Apple is filling out its product strategy, not that its strategy has changed. The company does have a history of doing this very thing with its products.
Let’s take the original iPod. Looking at it now, it was big. However, at the time, with the technology available to them, Apple released what they felt was the best product they could make.
Then Apple came out with the iPod mini, which later became the iPod nano, capturing another segment of the market. That release was followed up by the iPod shuffle, again capturing another segment of the market.
It was changes in technologies that allowed these products to be released, but I believe Apple had planned the releases all along.
When you look at a 7-inch iPad, or any other Apple product, don’t look at how it affects its competitors, but rather how it fits into Apple’s product strategy. Doing that will make things a lot clearer.
That same year, Bill Putnam is making the transition from the old standard vacuum tubes to new solid-state technology with his Universal Audio-brand preamps and compressors. The legendary engineer and equipment manufacturer had previously redesigned his original 108 tube microphone preamp (taken from his UA/United Recording consoles in Chicago and Hollywood), into the new 1108 — utilizing the recently invented Field Effect Transistor (FET). Subsequently, he redesigned his successful 175/176 tube compressor (based on the popular variable-Mu design) using FETs, and thus was born the 1176.
Bill Putnam was an absolute genius.
Poornima Gupta for Reuters:
Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook will not be earning dividend income on the more than 1 million shares to which he is entitled, which will cost him about $75 million.
Apple said in an SEC filing that Cook refused the dividend income, but didn’t offer any additional explanation when asked by the press.
Guy English:
Ultimately, the retention of talent will be Apple’s Achilles’ heel.
“…especially those that came in at $42.”
Hilarious.
When the company he flew for (whilst still a frontman for Iron Maiden, mind you) commercially closed down last year, he started offering a limited number of flying lessons in a $10,000,000 Boeing 757 flight simulator. Needless to say, I was one of the first to know.
How awesome is that!
I like that it has multiple positions — that would come in handy.
Apple has posted two new iPhone 4s/Siri ads, these ones starring the actor John Malkovich.
Malkovich is an interesting choice, given that most people find him (wonderfully) creepy.
Facebook has announced Camera, a new standalone app for iPhone that enables Facebook users to post and share photos more easily. The new app should be available sometime Thursday, for free download from the App Store.
The app lets you see your friends and family’s photos as well, showing you albums and individual photos. You can use the app to share multiple photos instead of having to post them one at a time, adding captions and tagging them along the way. Tools let you crop, rotate and add filter effects to images.
The Facebook Camera app works independently of the Facebook Web site and the Facebook app for iOS.
How to take screenshots on the Kindle Fire. You’re joking right?
Ever met someone who uses UX and UI interchangeably? Ed Lea created this photographic infographic to visually define the differences between user experience and user interface design and how they relate to a product.
An app from Many Tricks to hide desktop clutter.
Paul Kafasis:
Today, we’ve been informed that Apple has removed Airfoil Speakers Touch from the iOS App Store.1 We first heard from Apple about this decision two days ago, and we’ve been discussing the pending removal with them since then. However, we still do not yet have a clear answer on why Apple has chosen to remove Airfoil Speakers Touch. Needless to say, we’re quite disappointed with their decision, and we’re working hard to once again make the application available for you, our users.
There has to be a better way to handle this and deal with your developers.
My newest column on Techpinions:
The next time you see a forecast of Apple losing its dominance in a market, ask yourself what the competitors are doing to differentiate themselves from Apple. That answer is all you need to know.
Fortune has a detailed look at Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
Jonathan Ive on Apple’s designs:
“There is beauty when something works and it works intuitively.”
If you’ve already listened to this week’s episode of Jim Dalrymple’s Amplified podcast and you’re looking for more to entertain you, check out my latest appearance on The Bro Show, entitled “Check Out My Aspect Ratio.” Click the headline above to visit the 70 Decibels Web site for a download link.
Some of you have already seen this since I tweeted about it yesterday, but just in case: Presenting the Flashed Face Distortion Effect.
It’s an optical illusion caused by viewing two face images side by side, aligned at the eyes. Your brain plays tricks, and the net result is that normal, even attractive faces begin to appear grotesque, exaggerated and deformed. It’s a very unsettling effect straight out of a horror movie.
Arik Hesseldahl for All Things D, quoting from HP’s 8K SEC filing:
As part of the restructuring plan, HP expects approximately 27,000 employees, or approximately 8% of the company’s workforce as of October 31, 2011, to exit the company by the end of fiscal 2014, with a portion of those employees exiting the company as part of a voluntary early retirement program for U.S. employees whose combined age and years of service exceed certain levels.
I wonder what “portion” of the 27,000 will be allowed to retire.
Lifehacker:
Nearly every modern phone has a camera attached to it and subsequently more and more people are taking photos in public places than ever before. The shot might be as simple as snapping a picture of a parade or as tricky as recording video of a riot. Regardless of the reasons, the rules for photographing in public places are the same.For the most part, your right to take photographs and video in public places in the United States is protected under the First Amendment under free speech. This includes snapping pictures of your favorite monument when you’re on vacation or taking part in a little citizen journalism. It’s not as cut and dried as you may think and it’s good to know your rights and the caveats that come with them.
Good article and subsequent discussion in the comment section about your rights to photograph.
I don’t know what else to say.
Jim and Dan talk discuss the the larger iPhone screen rumor, insight on how Apple works, some great Mac apps, Comic Sans, Dell’s decline, Chrome overtaking IE, Ron Johnson’s performance at JC Penny and how to play lead guitar.Sponsored by Warby Parker, Squarespace, and Shopify.
Harry Marks, Curious Rat, responding to a Gizmodo post entitled “10 Gadgets You’d Be a Fool To Buy Right Now”:
Here’s a better philosophy: Buy what you need when you need it.
I could not agree more.
Many times over the years I’ve been asked by friends and family when to buy a new Apple product – is the MacBook Pro or iPhone I’m getting today going to be outdated soon?
My answer is always the same: Get what you need when you need to get it, and if you can afford to wait, do so. Because within a few months whatever it is you’re looking at is bound to be replaced by something newer with more features and better capabilities.
Buy the right tool for the task and don’t worry about what’s coming down the pike. Trying to avoid buyer’s remorse is a loser’s game.